Feb 12

Today’s News 12th February 2025

  • FDA Lab Uncovers Excess DNA Contamination In COVID-19 Vaccines
    FDA Lab Uncovers Excess DNA Contamination In COVID-19 Vaccines

    Authored by Maryanne Demasi via The Brownstone Institute,

    An explosive new study conducted within the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) own laboratory has revealed excessively high levels of DNA contamination in Pfizer’s mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.

    Tests conducted at the FDA’s White Oak Campus in Maryland found that residual DNA levels exceeded regulatory safety limits by 6 to 470 times.

    The study was undertaken by student researchers under the supervision of FDA scientists. The vaccine vials were sourced from BEI Resources, a trusted supplier affiliated with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), previously headed by Anthony Fauci.

    Recently published in the Journal of High School Science, the peer-reviewed study challenges years of dismissals by regulatory authorities, who had previously labelled concerns about excessive DNA contamination as baseless.

    The FDA is expected to comment on the findings this week. However, the agency has yet to issue a public alert, recall the affected batches, or explain how vials exceeding safety standards were allowed to reach the market.

    The Methods

    The student researchers employed two primary analytical methods:

    • NanoDrop Analysis – This technique uses UV spectrometry to measure the combined levels of DNA and RNA in the vaccine. While it provides an initial assessment, it tends to overestimate DNA concentrations due to interference from RNA, even when RNA-removal kits are utilised.

    • Qubit Analysis – For more precise measurements, the researchers relied on the Qubit system, which quantifies double-stranded DNA using fluorometric dye.

    Both methods confirmed the presence of DNA contamination far above permissible thresholds. These findings align with earlier reports from independent laboratories in the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, and France.

    Expert Reaction

    Kevin McKernan, a former director of the Human Genome Project, described the findings as a “bombshell,” criticising the FDA for its lack of transparency.

    “These findings are significant not just for what they reveal but for what they suggest has been concealed from public scrutiny. Why has the FDA kept these data under wraps?” McKernan questioned.

    CSO and Founder of Medicinal Genomics

    While commending the students’ work, he also noted limitations in the study’s methods, which may have underestimated contamination levels.

    “The Qubit analysis can under-detect DNA by up to 70% when enzymes are used during sample preparation,” McKernan explained. “Additionally, the Plasmid Prep kit used in the study does not efficiently capture small DNA fragments, further contributing to underestimation.”

    In addition to genome integration, McKernan highlighted another potential cancer-causing mechanism of DNA contamination in the vaccines.

    He explained that plasmid DNA fragments entering the cell’s cytoplasm with the help of lipid nanoparticles could overstimulate the cGAS-STING pathway, a crucial component of the innate immune response.

    “Chronic activation of the cGAS-STING pathway could paradoxically fuel cancer growth,” McKernan warned. “Repeated exposure to foreign DNA through COVID-19 boosters may amplify this risk over time, creating conditions conducive to cancer development.”

    Adding to the controversy, traces of the SV40 promoter were detected among the DNA fragments. While the authors concluded that these fragments were “non-replication-competent” meaning they cannot replicate in humans, McKernan disagreed.

    “To assert that the DNA fragments are non-functional, they would need to transfect mammalian cells and perform sequencing, which wasn’t done here,” McKernan stated.

    “Moreover, the methods used in this study don’t effectively capture the full length of DNA fragments. A more rigorous sequencing analysis could reveal SV40 fragments several thousand base pairs long, which would likely be functional,” he added.

    Regulatory Oversight under Scrutiny

    Nikolai Petrovsky, a Professor of Immunology and director of Vaxine Pty Ltd, described the findings as a “smoking gun.”

    “It clearly shows the FDA was aware of these data. Given that these studies were conducted in their own labs under the supervision of their own scientists, it would be hard to argue they were unaware,” he said.

    Nikolai Petrovsky, Professor of Immunology and Infectious Disease at the Australian Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Institute in Adelaide

    Prof Petrovsky praised the quality of work carried out by the students at the FDA labs.

    “The irony is striking,” he remarked. “These students performed essential work that the regulators failed to do. It’s not overly complicated—we shouldn’t have had to rely on students to conduct tests that were the regulators’ responsibility in the first place.”

    The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which has consistently defended the safety of the mRNA vaccines, released its own batch testing results, claiming they met regulatory standards. However, Prof Petrovsky criticised the TGA’s testing methods.

    “The TGA’s method was not fit for purpose,” he argued. “It didn’t assess all the DNA in the vials. It only looked for a small fragment, which would severely underestimate the total amount of DNA detected.”

    Implications for Manufacturers and Regulators

    Now that DNA contamination of the mRNA vaccines has been verified in the laboratory of an official agency and published in a peer-reviewed journal, it becomes difficult to ignore.

    It also places vaccine manufacturers and regulators in a precarious position.

    Addressing the contamination issue would likely require revising manufacturing processes to remove residual DNA, which Prof Petrovsky explained would be impractical.

    “The only practical solution is for regulators to require manufacturers to demonstrate that the plasmid DNA levels in the vaccines are safe,” Prof Petrovsky stated.

    “Otherwise, efforts to remove the residual DNA would result in an entirely new vaccine, requiring new trials and effectively restarting the process with an untested product.”

    Now the onus is on regulators to provide clarity and take decisive action to restore confidence in their oversight. Anything less risks deepening the scepticism of the public. 

    Both the US and Australian drug regulators have been approached for comment.

    Republished from the author’s Substack

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 23:25

  • Busted Fentanyl Super Lab In Canada Makes "Breaking Bad Look Minor League": Former Trump Official
    Busted Fentanyl Super Lab In Canada Makes “Breaking Bad Look Minor League”: Former Trump Official

    Canada’s last-minute decision to cooperate with President Trump on border security and efforts to curb fentanyl trafficking was a key factor behind the president’s 25% tariff threat. While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has pledged to strengthen border security, a former US official who led an anti-fentanyl task force under President Trump’s first term has argued that laws in Canada hinder a proper crackdown on the flow of drugs in the US.

    “Well, several months ago, you had the biggest lab in the history of the world taken over by (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) in Vancouver… It made Breaking Bad look like minor league,” former State Department official David Asher told Canada’s state-funded CBC News’ chief political correspondent, Rosemary Barton, in an interview last weekend. 

    Asher claimed that the fentanyl super lab was “definitely” connected to Chinese organized crime and also pointed to possible connections with Iran and even rogue biker gangs. 

    “Definitely there was ties to Chinese organized crime, possibly Iran as well,” he said, adding, “The facts haven’t been released by your government…I think they know they’re sitting on a big scandal here.”

    Asher continued, “The fact this thing emerged and it’s tied to these biker gangs, who’ve been hired to go down to the United States, in some cases, and assassinate people like my former boss Secretary (of State) Mike Pompeo, President Trump, and others. You know, this is another whole level of scandal.”

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    “But the key thing to focus on is that someone was making over 100 million doses of deadly fentanyl – right under your noses – so how many other labs do you think you have in your country?” the former State Department official questioned. 

    He explained that Canada has “very little border enforcement … most of the drugs are going from Mexico to Canada and then being brought south into the northwest United States on ships. You have almost no port enforcement with police. So we have no idea – except for our sources – what is actually going on. And we hear some bad things.” 

    Asher stated that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Canadian Security Intelligence Service are top-notch organizations, “but your problem is your laws: It’s the Stinchcombe law. Basically, every time we try to go up on a phone number in Canada, almost all the money laundering networks are tied to China, which is about 90% of all the money laundering in the US. So when we’re targeting those numbers – the police have to inform that individual that the US is targeting their number. That’s crazy – how can we run an undercover police operation in the country?” 

    Latest headlines on the US-Canada border situation:

    Let’s rewind to April 2024, when we covered the House Select Committee on China that revealed the Chinese Communist Party used tax rebates to subsidize the manufacturing and exporting of fentanyl chemicals to North America. 

    The report stated, “Through subsidies, grants, and other incentives, the PRC harms Americans while enriching PRC companies.” 

    Recall this report in August: Chinese Narcos In Toronto Run “Command & Control” Fentanyl Laundering Network Used In TD Bank Case: US Investigator. 

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    China hawk Kyle Bass.

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    Meanwhile, on the southern border…

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    A coordinated North American strategy is emerging and essential to stop the drug death crisis in America, killing 100,000 folks (many working-age or military-age men and women) per year. This is hybrid warfare by Beijing – and folks have to start asking why the Biden-Harris regime fueled the crisis with open-border policies. It doesn’t seem like ‘America First’ – more like ‘China First’. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 23:00

  • China A Leading Perpetrator Of Transnational Repression In 2024: Freedom House
    China A Leading Perpetrator Of Transnational Repression In 2024: Freedom House

    Authored by Alex Wu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The Chinese communist regime remained a major perpetrator of transnational repression in 2024, according to the latest data released by the U.S. human rights organization Freedom House.

    People at a press conference and rally in front of the America ChangLe Association, a now-closed secret Chinese police station, highlighting Beijing’s transnational repression, in New York City on Feb. 25, 2023. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

    The Washington-based nonprofit organization recorded 23 governments and regimes perpetrating 160 incidents of physical transnational repression across 34 countries in 2024, the organization said in a Feb. 6 statement. Methods used by authorities in these countries included assassinations, abductions, assaults, detentions, and unlawful deportations.

    The Chinese regime was one of the leading perpetrators along with Uganda, Cambodia, Russia, and Iran in 2024, the organization said. The transnational repression targeted exiled political activists, journalists, former regime insiders, and members of ethnic or religious minorities, according to the Freedom House report.

    The report recorded 1,219 incidents of direct, physical transnational repression between 2014 and 2024. The Chinese regime “remains the most prolific perpetrator, committing 272 incidents, or 22 percent, of recorded cases” in the past decade, according to Freedom House researchers.

    “Transnational repression continues to threaten democracy, freedom, and security globally,” Yana Gorokhovskaia, research director for strategy and design at Freedom House, said in a statement.

    Lai Rongwei, CEO of the pro-democracy nonprofit Taiwan Inspirational Association, told The Epoch Times on Feb. 8 that “the Freedom House report feels very real and credible” to him.

    “Because Taiwan is at the forefront of China’s threats, China’s various means of infiltration against Taiwan are currently taking place in Taiwan and becoming more and more severe,” he said.

    Lai said that since 2019 and 2020, after the Chinese regime’s violent suppression of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy “anti-extradition law” movement, many Hong Kong people have gone to Taiwan to escape the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) surveillance and persecution.

    “During events held by some Hong Kong associations in Taiwan and events commemorating the June 4th Tiananmen massacre in Taiwan, you can see many of the CCP-supported and pro-China groups come to the scene to cause trouble,” he said.

    Lai said that his organization has long observed the CCP’s transnational repression and that the regime employs both formal and informal methods to carry out overseas repression.

    “The formal [methods use] diplomatic and economic means, such as economic sanctions, trade sanctions, and economic aid, to force the governments of other countries to follow China’s position,” he said.

    The Chinese regime also uses technological means to target overseas dissidents, such as monitoring their online activities and hacking their phones, Lai said.

    The CCP also dispatches China’s national security agents to track down their so-called enemies overseas, according to Lai.

    “They also use local agents in some pro-China groups in the local societies of various countries, including spies and informants that they’ve developed. The local agents may also be some pro-China people in society who have been bribed by the CCP for a long time,” Lai said. “These people are there to help increase the CCP’s influence locally. And they go to various occasions and events to harass and counter those who they think are unfriendly to China. Many people, from politicians to civilians, have been harassed by them.”

    In 2022, it was revealed that the CCP had set up secret police stations in Western locations, including New York City, to carry out transnational repression against dissidents, human rights activists, and religious minorities.

    There are also reports that CCP agents have sent threats, including bomb threats, to theaters worldwide to intimidate them into not hosting Shen Yun, a performing arts show that showcases traditional Chinese culture before communism. The show is performed by a New York-based performing arts company.

    Shen Yun Performing Arts’ curtain call at Mesa’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Orange County, Calif., on Dec. 31, 2021. Ji Yuan/The Epoch Times

    “A large number of Chinese people have fled China. Some are economic criminals escaping with large sums of money; some are political dissidents; and some come abroad because they know state secrets or technological secrets,” Yeau-Tran Lee, an adjunct professor at the National Chengchi University in Taiwan, said of various people that have left China in recent years.

    “In order to implement its long-arm repression, China has resorted to every possible means, including using national security and intelligence agencies, to target these people,” Lee told The Epoch Times on Feb. 8.

    Every system within the CCP needs political achievements to make money and expand, Lee said.

    “The CCP has so many intelligence and security agents. After Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement was put out in 2019, a large number of the CCP’s agents were transferred overseas, which has increased the CCP’s transnational repression in other countries,” he said.

    In terms of the effect of the CCP’s transnational repression, Yao-Yuan Yeh, professor of political science and international studies at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, said that “it makes people feel that China’s spies are not only in China but also abroad everywhere.”

    “This can produce a chain effect, silencing those who may be dissatisfied with the Chinese regime abroad, whether they are Chinese or foreigners today, and preventing them from speaking out on the internet. This creates self-censorship through the terrorizing actions [of transnational repression],” Yeh told The Epoch Times on Feb. 9.

    Chinese dissident Wang Yonghong at a press conference and rally to highlight Beijing’s transnational repression, in New York City on Feb. 25, 2023. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

    As for the countermeasures against the CCP’s transnational repression, Yeh said that “each country needs to consciously prevent or reject the CCP’s transnational repression in their country.”

    On an international scale, Yeh said that the United Nations and other international organizations should strongly condemn transnational repression.

    “In international relations, when there’s [a] human rights violation, the most important thing to do is to speak out to expose it, telling all other countries how many evil things this country has done,” he said.

    Luo Ya contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 22:35

  • Freed Jan. 6 Prisoners Speak Out As They Begin To Rebuild Their Lives
    Freed Jan. 6 Prisoners Speak Out As They Begin To Rebuild Their Lives

    Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Prosecutors acted with “unrelenting integrity,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said, as the Justice Department pursued cases against 1,583 people for events on Jan. 6, 2021—a date etched into the American psyche with unforgettable images of vandalism and violence at the U.S. Capitol.

    Illustration by The Epoch Times

    President Donald Trump, who had attracted a massive crowd to Washington that day amid a dispute over his 2020 election loss, decried these cases as “political persecutions.” He tossed out the prosecutions upon his return for a second presidential term on Jan. 20.

    Saying he was ending “a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years,” Trump commuted sentences for 14 serious Jan. 6 offenders and issued full pardons to all remaining defendants—1,569 people, based on federal data.

    Trump showed mercy even to those convicted of assaulting officers—a controversial move. He previously stated that only peaceful, nonviolent offenders deserved consideration.

    But he justified that decision by pointing out that the convicted Jan. 6 defendants had already been locked up for years, often in “inhumane” conditions. They were targeted for political reasons and were punished more harshly than many people who committed worse offenses, including killings, he said.

    A half-dozen of the former Jan. 6 prisoners told The Epoch Times their side. The publication also reviewed Justice Department statements about each interviewee and dozens of other resources for this story.

    ​The interviewees, ranging from a 25-year-old entrepreneur to a 55-year-old former New York police officer, say much information has been suppressed and distorted.

    They, like many Americans, continue to question why security in and around the Capitol was clearly insufficient on Jan. 6.

    They also suspect a government setup—and a coverup.

    Although officials have rejected such claims, a government watchdog’s recent report reignited questions over the actions of “confidential human sources.” Twenty-six of these informants were present on Jan. 6, the Inspector General’s report said.

    Four of the informants entered the Capitol; 13 others entered restricted areas on the grounds—without FBI permission. The FBI didn’t authorize the informants to encourage violence, either. But the report left it unclear whether informants obeyed that order.

    Setting the Record Straight

    The interviewed Jan. 6 defendants say many Americans still incorrectly believe that police officers were killed in the melee; 140 officers were hurt, none fatally, despite initial reports.

    It’s unclear how many civilians were injured, but Trump supporters were the only people who died that day. Police fatally shot Ashli Babbitt, 35, and beat Roseanne Boyland, 34, who was knocked unconscious in a stampede; her cause of death remains in dispute. Investigators cleared officers of wrongdoing in both cases.

    (L–R) Pictures of Rosanne Boyland, Ashli Babbitt, and Benjamin Phillips, who died during the Jan. 6, 2021, incident at the U.S. Capitol, are displayed during a “January 6th Solidarity Truth Rally” near the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 24, 2022. Alex Wong/Getty Images

    The Jan. 6 interviewees agreed that, as more videos surfaced, the American public has begun to see a wider, clearer picture of the day’s events.

    Before violence broke out, many thousands of people listened to Trump’s speech at The Ellipse, a park about 2 miles from the Capitol, where Congress was preparing to certify the 2020 election results.

    Trump said the group should march to the Capitol “peacefully and patriotically.” But before his speech ended, protesters—possibly mingled with provocateurs—had already clashed with police at the Capitol.

    Videos show some people walking into the building through already-open doors—past police who made no attempt to halt them. Some of those nonviolent people faced criminal trespassing charges.

    Others violently tangled with police, smashed windows, and forcibly entered the building. Nearly 200 people pleaded guilty to assaulting officers. Officials set property damage at $1.5 million.

    Common Themes Emerge

    Several Jan. 6 interviewees say they regretted reacting badly amid the mayhem as police fired munitions and chemicals.

    Some people accused police of excessive, unprovoked force. Those accusers include a retired New York police officer. However, a Capitol Police report found all 293 reported uses of force were justified—and a survey found some officers complained they were discouraged from using sufficient force to repel aggressors.

    Two of the six interviewees were convicted of assaulting officers—the offense that sparked much criticism of the Trump pardons. Both of those defendants’ alleged assaults were tied to retaliating against police with pepper spray or pushing against barricades.

    All six interviewees allege they were subject to constitutional rights violations, harassment, and other maltreatment because of their status as Jan. 6 defendants.

    None of those interviewees was convicted of seditious conspiracy; one was acquitted.

    They consistently stated that it was preposterous to call them “insurrectionists” and rejected prosecutors’ assertions that they tried to halt the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to President-elect Joe Biden.

    At most, the interviewees said they expected Congress to pause the election certification to allow further exploration of election irregularities in a half-dozen states. Some said they didn’t even intend to protest; they just wanted to hear Trump speak and show support for him.

    All expressed gratitude to Trump for acting on their behalf.

    And all are hopeful that a new congressional probe will “uncover the full truth that is owed to the American people,” as House Speaker Mike Johnson ((R-La.) stated on Jan. 22.

    Several Jan. 6 defendants said that now that they have regained their freedom, revealing the truth about Jan. 6 is their most fervent wish.

    President Donald Trump at the Save America rally in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021.

    Nonviolent 21-Year-Old Labeled a ‘Terrorist’

    Alexander Sheppard recalls that, as a schoolboy in Worthington, a historic central Ohio community of 15,000 people, he learned about Americans’ constitutionally guaranteed rights.

    But he says being prosecuted for Jan. 6 shattered his “naïve” notions about exercising his rights to free speech and protest.

    Just before Jan. 6, Sheppard was a 21-year-old marketing entrepreneur. He made a last-minute decision to make a six-hour drive from Ohio to Washington for Trump’s “Save America” or “Stop the Steal” rally.

    He arrived at 6 a.m., early enough to score a close spot at the Ellipse. He stood in a massive crowd, about a half-dozen rows away from the stage, as Trump delivered his speech that afternoon.

    “It was an atmosphere of love and patriotism and love for our country,” Sheppard said.

    But after marching to the Capitol, he saw officers firing tear gas into the crowd. At times, he and others got “riled up” over police “using unnecessary force on people.”

    Amid the chaos, “I made the dumb decision to go inside the building,” he said. “I didn’t think I was breaking any laws. Like I said, I thought we had a First Amendment right to protest.”

    Upon entering the Capitol, he and others were mesmerized by its grandeur. He took many videos and pictures that were later used against him.

    “If I thought I were committing a crime, I wouldn’t have recorded so much of it,” he said, adding that he remained nonviolent and committed no vandalism.

    Fatefully, Sheppard was nearby when Babbitt was shot; he drew his hands to his head in disbelief as she fell to the floor. His proximity to that much-scrutinized event probably made him more high-profile, he said. The officers escorted him and others out of the area.

    Nearly two months later, just after Sheppard set foot inside the airport in Columbus, Ohio, for a business trip, about 10 federal agents swooped in.

    Alexander Sheppard in Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 28, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

    He was stunned to be arrested. He was even more shocked to be facing a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding, plus five misdemeanors for being disorderly and protesting inside the Capitol.

    Sheppard was released to await trial. Two years later, in January 2023, jurors convicted him of five charges. His sole acquittal: a misdemeanor for entering a room where he photographed a portrait of America’s first president, George Washington.

    A judge sentenced Sheppard to 19 months in prison, half the time prosecutors had sought.

    In prison, Sheppard learned he was labeled a “terrorist,” which disqualified him from certain privileges.

    He asks, “How could I be labeled a ‘terrorist’ when I was charged with nothing violent?”

    Even before the Supreme Court issued its June ruling, a judge agreed with Sheppard’s attorney’s contention that the Fischer case raised a “substantial question” about the validity of his sole felony conviction.

    Sheppard’s lawyer claimed “that question will not be decided until after he has served more time in prison than is warranted by his misdemeanor convictions,” a judge wrote in January 2024. “Accordingly, he asks the Court to release him from prison at the end of his likely misdemeanor sentence.”

    The judge cut Sheppard’s prison term to six months; he was released in May 2024.

    He said he still benefited “in a big way” from Trump’s pardon. It wiped his criminal convictions—but not charges—from his record. And it lifted his post-release requirements, such as obtaining permission to travel outside of southern Ohio, submitting to urinalysis, and reporting to a court official.

    Now 25, Sheppard has been doing menial labor but hopes to land a better job; he mourns the loss of his solid reputation and unblemished record.

    But he sees public and media perceptions shifting.

    “When I was facing more than 20 years in prison, I was a ‘January 6 Insurrectionist.’ Later on, I was referred to as a ‘Capitol Rioter.’ Now that I WON in the Supreme Court, was PARDONED by the President, and will have ALL charges dismissed, I am called a ‘January 6 Participant,’ he wrote in a Jan. 29 social media post.

    He wants people to know: “We were all denied constitutional due process, and that is why it made sense for President Trump to pardon basically everyone.”

    “This pardon, it really gives to all of us a new lease on life,” he said. “We get to start fresh.”

    A Christmas card sent from a supporter in Poland to Alexander Sheppard while he was in prison, in Columbus, Ohio, on Jan. 28, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

    Mother of 8 Has Some Regrets but Bright Outlook

    Rachel Powell says she went to Washington on Jan. 6 to protect America’s future for her eight children and seven grandchildren—but ended up being separated from them for many months because of it.

    Now 44, Powell said she had harbored concerns—which grew after the 2020 election—about election integrity in her home state of Pennsylvania. She wanted her children to inherit “a fair and free vote.”

    “Everything in America depends on that,” she said.

    But Powell admits regretting some of her actions on Jan. 6. Outrage over officers’ seemingly unprovoked use of force hijacked her better judgment, she said.

    Accused of pushing barricades, Powell said that was a misperception. “The police were moving the barricades towards us,” she said.

    “And people like me, I wasn’t going to move,” Powell said. “I was going to stand there and hold the line—because I had the right to.”

    She entered several locations in and around the Capitol. People were jammed into the West Terrace tunnel and falling on top of each other.

    “I could hear a woman screaming for help at the bottom of that pile,” near the tunnel entrance, Powell said.

    Powell helped other people to pull fallen protesters out of the way. “By [the] time we got to the bottom of that pile … there was Roseanne Boyland, clearly dead at my feet,” she said.

    Horrified and fearful for her safety, Powell retreated to the other side of the building.

    In an act she now sees as irrational, she decided to break a window. Powell thought that creating a new ingress point for protesters would prevent other deaths. “And I know that that sounds crazy, but that’s what it was,” she said.

    Powell said people in the crowd passed implements to her, which she used to strike the window frame, including an object that prosecutors called “an ice axe.”

    Rachel Powell, a Jan. 6 defendant, wears an ankle monitor in a self-portrait taken during home confinement in Pennsylvania. Courtesy of Rachel Powell

    “And from using that tool for probably 60 seconds, they gave me a deadly weapons charge,” she said, adding that the axe “disappeared back into the crowd” and she “never saw it again.”

    Shortly after that, police fired exploding canisters of noxious gas, and she couldn’t see or breathe. “It’s like, all of a sudden, it just snapped me out of it. And I was like, ‘What are you doing?’” she said.

    Powell struggled her way out and left.

    In a little more than a week, the FBI circulated a “wanted” poster showing pictures of her in a pink knit hat and sunglasses.

    On Feb. 4, 2021, police raided her home in Mercer County, Pennsylvania; they broke through the door as a helicopter hovered overhead. Powell, who wasn’t home then, turned herself in. She was freed under strict home confinement rules.

    Afterward, a court ordered Powell’s minor children to remain in the custody of another relative. The separation was particularly gut-wrenching because Powell enjoyed more togetherness with her children than many moms. She became a single mother after her 17-year marriage disintegrated and was also a homeschooler and homesteader.

    Her case finally went to a bench trial in mid-2023. She denied leading any organized effort to overtake the Capitol despite using a bullhorn to direct other protesters. Powell told The Epoch Times that she borrowed the bullhorn from another protester, and she was relaying information about the Capitol’s layout based solely on her observations that day—her first visit to the Capitol.

    “I did not know the layout of the whole Capitol,” she said, alleging that prosecutors “tried to paint me as a ringleader.”

    In late 2023, a judge convicted Powell of nine charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding, destruction of government property, civil disorder, and “physical violence … with a deadly or dangerous weapon.”

    Rachel Powell speaks to press after being released outside the DC Central Detention Facility in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025. Powell was also known as the “Pink Hat Lady” or “Bullhorn Lady.” Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

    In early 2024, she began serving a prison term of 57 months—nearly five years—with no credit for three years of house arrest.

    “I don’t understand how that’s happening in America, that American citizens can be detained in their homes for undetermined amounts of time,” she said, calling that practice an injustice that should end.

    Powell’s experiences at a West Virginia prison caused her even more concern.

    She was housed at the Federal Correctional Complex Hazelton—a facility where whistleblowers alleged “a rampant culture of abuse and misconduct,” several senators wrote in September 2023.

    They called on the Attorney General and Bureau of Prisons to investigate. The Epoch Times was unable to determine the results of that probe by publication time.

    Powell alleges she witnessed deplorable conditions and medical neglect of inmates, echoing the whistleblowers’ complaints.

    Now, Powell said she is on a mission to reform conditions at that prison “because once you see it, you can’t unsee it, and it would be wrong not to do something about it and to leave those women in there, suffering.”

    “It’s the right thing to do,” she said—the same phrase she used to describe her motivation for participating in the Jan. 6 protest.

    But if she could do it over again, Powell said she would have just sat down in protest, “and I would have never left that public sidewalk—ever.”

    After being pardoned, Powell sees a bright future—for America and her family.

    “I love our president. I think he’s a good man. I think the next four years are going to be fantastic … and I think that the time is ripe for these changes,” she said.

    Being away from her loved ones made her value them more.

    “We’re all gonna be stronger because of this, and we’re all more loving … we want more unity in our family,” she said.

    “It’s like a phoenix rising from the ashes … I really think it’s going to be beautiful.”

    Pre-Dawn Tactical Team Arrests Husband-to-Be

    Barry Ramey, then a 38-year-old aircraft mechanic, was living a good life in sunny Florida and was engaged to be married.

    Barry Ramey, 41, of Broward County, Fla., in a self portrait taken at a halfway house in January 2025. Courtesy of Barry Ramey

    But around 5:30 a.m. on April 21, 2022, as he left his apartment to go to work, a tactical team rushed him in the parking lot, “flashbangs thrown at me, and guns pointed at me,” Ramey said. That was nearly 16 months after Jan. 6, 2021—and two months before his planned wedding date.

    Afterward, Ramey said he accepted responsibility for his actions, which included discharging pepper spray at police on Jan. 6. But he said the accusations and punishment he faced as a result were “over-the-top.”

    “I know I committed a criminal act, but I’m not a criminal … I don’t live a life of crime,” Ramey, now 41, told The Epoch Times after Trump pardoned him. He had no prior criminal history, court records confirm.

    As Ramey awaited word on a possible pardon, “it was definitely a nail-biting situation,” he said. Ramey thought that he might only get his sentence commuted because his assault conviction classified him as a violent offender.

    He also was connected to the Proud Boys, one of the most controversial groups of Jan. 6 defendants.

    On Jan. 6, Ramey gathered with the Proud Boys group, although he did not know who they were at that time, his attorney said in a court record. Since then, Ramey said he and other Jan. 6 defendants started a Proud Boys chapter “to look out for one another in very dangerous situations” while incarcerated.

    Five Proud Boys were among the 14 offenders whose sentences Trump commuted; they were freed from prison, but their convictions remain in their records.

    Ramey received a “full and unconditional” pardon.

    “It feels good to know I don’t have to live my life as a convicted felon,” he said. “I can go back to being a productive member of society and trying to leave the world a better place than I found it.”

    In March 2023, Ramey was sentenced to five years in prison for felony charges of civil disorder and “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers,” a Justice Department statement noted, along with misdemeanors for disorderly conduct and “physical violence” on the Capitol grounds; he did not enter the building, his attorney said.

    Prosecutors argued he deserved a harsher prison term because he attacked police with a “deadly and dangerous weapon”—the pepper spray.

    Ramey countered: “The police use it all the time. They even get pepper-sprayed in their training. So [if] it wasn’t deadly and dangerous then, is it deadly and dangerous now?”

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 21:45

  • DC Swamp Uniparty "Unmasked" As These Seven NGOs
    DC Swamp Uniparty “Unmasked” As These Seven NGOs

    X user DataRepublican claims to have identified seven NGOs, partially funded by American taxpayers, that appear to be key players within the so-called Deep State Uniparty. According to their analysis, these organizations have shaped public discourse over the past decade through radical propaganda, portraying Donald Trump as a “threat to democracy,” but in actuality, it’s not democracy itself but rather the challenge that Trump and the MAGA movement pose to their political regime. 

    Here is more color on DataRepublican’s report titled THE UNIPARTY UNMASKED – They Believe They Are “Democracy”: 

    The seven NGOs in the chart below, in my view, represent the Uniparty. Each of these organizations receives substantial financial support from USAID or the Department of State.

    Around 2019, the phrase “democracy in danger” began to dominate public discourse, amplified by the media. This was odd—after all, the U.S. is a democracy (or more precisely, a constitutional republic). But as I traced the influence of these NGOs, a pattern emerged: they are controlled by establishment politicians, they play a major role in shaping political narratives worldwide, and their core mission is always framed as “protecting democracy.”

    Originally, these NGOs were created to support U.S. democratic efforts abroad—many of them emerging during the Cold War to combat the spread of communism. But with the fall of the Soviet Union, their original purpose faded. Instead of dissolving, they redefined their mission. Now, they have positioned themselves as the guardians of democracy itself.

    This shift explains why Trump’s re-election was framed as a “threat to democracy.” To these NGOs, “democracy” means themselves. Their survival depends on maintaining that role, and any challenge to their authority is perceived as a direct attack on democracy itself.

    “Note what they all have in common? They are all dedicated to advocating democracy. And they have redefined “democracy” to mean themselves,” DataRepublican said. 

    If the Uniparty has redefined “democracy” to represent itself, then it’s no surprise that it has spent the past decade waging an informational war against Trump. Across corporate media, the Uniparty unleashed the cannons of propaganda and relentlessly labeled him—and his MAGA supporters—as a “threat to democracy.”

    DataRepublican breaks down each of the seven NGOs… They all have one thing in common.

    DataRepublican then summarized the entire thread (which can be viewed here via Thread Reader): 

    After thinking it over last night, here’s how I would summarize it: These seven NGOs (eight if you count the off-the-chart Solidarity Center) together function as an “off-the-books” shadow U.S. government.

    The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was created to unify the U.S. against communism. Its four core organizations reflect a neat ideological symmetry of America’s two-party system:

    • CIPE pushes free-market policies, Solidarity Center represents labor and unions.
    • IRI serves Republican interests, and NDI aligns with the Democrats.

    CEPPS is another umbrella group that includes IRI and NDI but also brings in IFES under the guise of fortifying election integrity.

    And to make sure the narrative sticks, Internews Network spreads these viewpoints through global media.

    Most of these NGOs were born during the Reagan years. While not all USAID and State Department funding flows through them, they control the purse strings for much of America’s global financial influence.

    DEI initiatives created a system of unaccountability and dependency, which ended up injecting more money into them and further entrenches their power.

    They see any challenge to their authority as a threat to democracy itself. But their greatest enemy is still the same one they’ve had since the Cold War—Russia. They’ve never lost the “Cold War” boomer mindset.

    In their minds, they’re the superheroes keeping America from crumbling. And that entitles them to their travel perks, cushy post-election gigs, and all the other benefits that come with running an unacknowledged empire.

    In recent weeks, Trump sent Elon Musk’s DOGE into federal agencies as a wrecking ball to the Uniparty, halting their grift and use of NGOs to siphon taxpayer funds in an unlimited slush fund via USAID. 

    The Uniparty’s next propaganda blitz has already appeared in the news headlines, indicating Trump and Musk are setting off a “constitutional crisis.” 

    The problem this time is that the Uniparty’s media reach and propaganda efforts have been neutered, with Musk now controlling X and trust in mainstream media at record lows. As the Uniparty grows more panicked, the Deep State will likely become even more desperate.

    Hence this: 

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

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

    Marching orders were given.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 21:20

  • Suggested Trump Admin Reform – End The Illegal ENDS Epidemic
    Suggested Trump Admin Reform – End The Illegal ENDS Epidemic

    Authored by Roderick Law via RealClearHealth,

    As President Trump and border czar Tom Homan set about getting control of our southern border, they have an opportunity not only to clamp down on the horrors of human trafficking and drug smuggling. They can also deal a blow to the Chinese companies that make $3.5 billion a year selling contraband e-cigarettes and vapes in the U.S. and the Mexican cartels that smuggle them.

    It is estimated that 98 percent of the electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) sold in the nation are illegal products, and most of them are made in China. They are cheaper, more potent and manufactured with far less health and safety regulation than American products. Often, the products are flavored, packaged and branded to appeal to children and adolescents.

    Last summer, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally got serious about the flood of untested and possibly hazardous products that find their way from China to U.S. convenience stores. The agency launched a taskforce with the Department of Justice to crack down on vape smuggling. In October, it announced that it had seized $76 million worth of contraband vapes. In December, authorities interdicted $81.5 million worth of e-cigarettes and vapes just in Chicago.

    While fighting smuggling and holding retailers accountable for selling illicit products are productive steps, the FDA has it in its power to impact demand for contraband vapes. The FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) has had jurisdiction over e-cigarettes since 2016. To sell new tobacco products in the United States, companies must file a “premarket tobacco application” (PMTA) and receive a “marketing granted order” (MGO) from the CTP. Companies pay “user fees” to the FDA to cover the cost of the research and testing on the products.

    E-cigarettes and other vapes have been marketed as a healthier alternative to smoking – delivering nicotine without tar and some other byproducts of tobacco. They have helped many smokers quit and are therefore considered a harm-reduction tool. But the CTP has approved just 34 new products out of 26.6 million applications since 2019. Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does the ENDS market. Users want selection and low prices. Retailers want product for their shelves. Illegal Chinese vapes fill the void.

    On the surface, CTP seems like low-hanging fruit for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. But efficiency isn’t the real problem. Ideology is. On nicotine, the FDA shares a prohibitionist mindset with the anti-smoking activist groups it works closely with. In fact, it shares a revolving door with those special interests. The FDA has taken it upon itself to limit the availability of harm-reducing ENDS.

    The CTP allegedly does a lot of goalpost moving. In December, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case brought by two domestic vape manufacturers who maintain the agency pulled what the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals characterized as a “regulatory switcheroo.” The companies say the agency changed standards and imposed new requirements for approval after the companies submitted their PMTAs. Asked by Justice Brett Kavanaugh why the companies were suing the FDA instead of simply resubmitting amended applications, their lawyer cited the agency’s glacial approval pace. The companies simply “can’t afford to wait that out.”

    For their part, retailers have long complained that the FDA is unclear and even evasive about what products are legal for sale. The agency moved to address the issue by launching a Searchable Tobacco Products Database. But inexplicably, the database didn’t include two of the most popular products on the market, Zyn and Juul. They’re legal products. The FDA notes that the database “is not an exhaustive list of all tobacco products that can be legally marketed.” Then why bother with a database at all?

    The problem of illegal, potentially dangerous Chinese vapes lining the shelves of gas stations and smoke shops can’t be fought on just one front. President Trump has promised (indirectly) to staunch the flow of products from across the Mexican border. The CTP needs to do the job Congress gave it and process applications. If it won’t, it and the FDA more broadly need a serious housecleaning.

    Roderick Law is the Communications Director for the Functional Government Initiative. He is a graduate of the George Washington University, with a BS in international affairs and a MA in security policy studies. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 20:55

  • David Tepper Boosted China Holdings Before Latest Rally
    David Tepper Boosted China Holdings Before Latest Rally

    By Yiqin Shen, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

    Billionaire investor David Tepper ramped up his stake in China-related stocks and ETFs last quarter, just before the development of DeepSeek reignited a rally in the country’s shares.

    The president and founder of Appaloosa Management LP, who made waves in September with a call to buy “everything” related to China, increased the firm’s holding of e-commerce company JD.com by roughly 43% in the fourth quarter, according to the latest 13F filing.

    The money manager also boosted his stake in Alibaba, another e-commerce giant, by 18%. The stock remains the hedge fund’s largest holding, accounting for about 16% of its $6.4 billion portfolio.

    The moves came amid a volatile stretch for Chinese stocks, when investors showed signs of wavering commitment after Beijing rolled out a stimulus blitz in late September. The government’s efforts sparked a frenetic rally into early October, but the momentum faded in the following months amid disappointment over the scale of fiscal stimulus, a weak economic outlook and a property crisis. Alibaba fell 20% in the fourth quarter, while JD.com declined 13%.

    Tepper also added exposure to the KraneShares CSI China Internet exchange-traded fund (ticker KWEB) and to the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (ticker FXI), as well as to KE Holdings Inc. and Baidu Inc., the filing showed. Chinese stocks and ETFs giving exposure to the country’s shares made up about 37% of his portfolio as of the end of December, in terms of market value, little changed from the previous quarter.

    China’s market has been on a stronger footing to start the year, with some of China’s equity benchmarks outperforming US and European peers. That’s in part because of China’s growing clout in the artificial-intelligence space, on the back of the success of DeepSeek’s AI model.

    As a result, investors have been re-evaluating the nation’s beaten-down shares, although they’re also assessing the impact of US President Donald Trump’s move to slap 10% tariffs on China. On Friday, the Hang Seng Tech Index entered a bull market while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index is less than 5% from overtaking its October peak.

    Alibaba, which is building its own AI model, has climbed nearly 30% since the start of the year. The company may be able to manage the US-China trade war’s impact on revenue better than its Chinese rivals because its overseas operations are more geographically diverse, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

    Full 13F breakdown below (link).

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 20:30

  • Stubbornness, Divine Providence And Donald Trump
    Stubbornness, Divine Providence And Donald Trump

    Authored by Frank Miele via RealClearPolitics,

    Donald Trump has always been a complex character, but to fully understand him now, one must begin with the assassination attempt at Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.

    Listen to how Trump described that experience in his second inaugural address:

    “Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and indeed to take my life. Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again.”

    Even his harshest critics were hesitant to challenge Trump’s grandiose assertion because – at some level – they could put themselves in Trump’s shoes. And now, three months after the election and a mere three weeks after he was sworn in, the evidence is plain that Trump is a politician reborn, with a purpose renewed. If Making America Great Again started as an election slogan, it has been transformed into a divine mission.

    Trump 2.0 is the Democrats’ worst nightmare. If he had won a second term in 2020, forcing him to govern with a Chuck Schumer-controlled Senate, he would have been virtually powerless. He would have limped through that second term with the usual bluster and name-calling, but without any new vision or agenda. His mandate would have been simple – keep the economy strong and don’t rock the boat too hard. Play golf whenever possible. 

    There would have been no Elon Musk and no Department of Government Efficiency. There would have been no Bobby Kennedy Jr. or Make America Healthy Again. It is unlikely there would have even been a housecleaning at the FBI or CIA. Remember, there would not have been a raid at Mar-a-Lago, nor a “deranged” special counsel, nor a Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol. We would be living in an entirely different world, led for four years by an entirely different Trump on a glide path to retirement.

    The 2024 election would have been a complete unknown. Republicans would have scrambled to find a worthy successor to Trump, but there would be no anointed one. Almost certainly not Mike Pence, but then who? Josh Hawley? Tom Cotton? Nikki Haley? Tim Scott? Not J.D. Vance, who would still be a mid-level literary author and never have been elected senator from Ohio. The Democrats would not have had to suffer through the embarrassment of a senescent President Joe Biden. They would have had a legitimate primary battle in 2024 between Govs. Newsom, Shapiro, Pritzker, and Hochul, and Sens. Klobuchar, Warren, Gillibrand, and maybe Sanders. Kamala Harris would have been an afterthought – or withdrawn before Iowa just as she did in 2020.

    The likelihood of a Democratic victory after two consecutive Trump terms would have been high. MAGA itself might have fizzled out from attrition and eight years of mainstream media overkill.

    So it’s easy to theorize about the role of divine providence bringing us to this point, but one can’t discount the importance of Trump’s own character in asserting his will against the established order either. His ability to withstand the full court press of two impeachments, two special counsels, two assassination attempts, and multiple felony indictments and convictions to convince the American public to return him to the White House is nothing short of miraculous.

    If Trump was indeed “saved by God,” there must have been a reason – something that made Trump a perfect vessel for reshaping our times, even though not perfect himself. So what is it?

    I’ve tried to think of analogs for Trump’s persona in life and literature and largely come up empty. As a politician, Trump is sui generis. You can scan the Bible for other examples of imperfect perfection such as King David and Cyrus the Great, but it’s best not to impute to a contemporary such as Trump the authority of the Old Testament. So where else do we turn?

    A few authors have noted the similarity of Trump to Napoleon Bonaparte, including for his ego, his exile, and his support from the common man. I myself have written twice about such a connection, including once in 2016 before he was elected and once in 2022 after he was banished to Mar-a-Lago. The columns stand the test of time, but there might be one avatar for The Donald drawn from literature that is even more appropriate.

    I am thinking of the character known simply as the Mule in Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” trilogy. Book two of the science fiction series, “Foundation and Empire,” introduces the Mule as a character of such intense individuality that he has the power to break every expectation, exceed every limit, and avoid virtually every trap put in his way as he attempts to conquer the galaxy.

    As Asimov has another character explain, “He has no name other than that of the Mule, a name reportedly applied by himself to himself, and signifying, by popular explanation, his immense physical strength, and stubbornness of purpose.”

    We need not worry about physical strength in our comparison, but “stubbornness of purpose” can be applied to Trump and to only a few others in U.S. history, including George Washington during his role as commander in chief of the Continental Army and Abraham Lincoln as commander in chief of the Union Army. Were it not for Trump’s extraordinary second term, his divine commission, we might never have even understood his stubbornness of purpose. Oh yes, he was considered mule-headed for his unwillingness to follow political conventions, but until his return from exile, he still tried to curry favor with the ruling class by trying to fit in with expectations rather than imposing his will through brute force.

    When Corey Lewandowski encouraged Republicans to “Let Trump be Trump,” we thought we knew what he meant. And to some extent, we did. It meant that the unpolished, imperfect Trump was the most authentic politician since “Give ’Em Hell Harry” Truman and that voters would reward that authenticity with votes. But it wasn’t until the last month or two that we could appreciate how the untrammeled Trump would be able to completely reshape not just the political world, but the actual world, by following his instincts and just getting things done, dammit.

    Which brings us back again to the Mule. In Asimov’s epic narrative, the Mule is the one unpredictable factor that has the potential to change the course of galactic history – a history which has otherwise been mapped out with surprising precision by Hari Seldon, the inventor of psychohistory. Seldon provided mankind with a plan to rescue civilization from a coming dark age, and everything was going swimmingly until the Mule arrived on the scene. From that point on, everything became unpredictable, as this one individual is so far outside the box that the box becomes irrelevant.

    That is Trump. There are other similarities too. People either love the Mule or hate him, in part because of a technique of mind control that the mutant was born with. No one has accused Trump of possessing extrasensory abilities, but they do accuse him of being a cult leader – a Svengali who can brainwash his disciples and expects absolute devotion. Maybe they are right, but it is not necessary to conclude that Trump uses mind control in order to explain his impact on the zeitgeist. Sufficient is “stubbornness of purpose.”

    Viewing Trump as a real-life Mule, the random element in an otherwise orderly and predictable set, is beyond question. He is a disruptor deluxe. And depending on the outcome of his mass re-invention of American political norms, he will either be – like the Mule – the progenitor of a new world order created in the service of self-aggrandizement, or something more.

    What that “more” can be, we are waiting to find out. But one thing is certain: There is no one else like Donald Trump on the world stage today. His kind arrives once in a generation, or once in a hundred years or more. Or on the scale of Asimov’s “Foundation” – once in a millennium.

    Frank Miele, the retired editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Mont., is a columnist for RealClearPolitics. His book “The Media Matrix: What If Everything You Know Is Fake” is available from his Amazon author page. Visit him at HeartlandDiaryUSA.com or follow him on Facebook @HeartlandDiaryUSA and on X/Gettr @HeartlandDiary.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 20:05

  • Egypt's Sisi Cancels Planned White House Visit After Awkward Trump-King Abdullah Meeting
    Egypt’s Sisi Cancels Planned White House Visit After Awkward Trump-King Abdullah Meeting

    Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has canceled a planned February 18 visit to Washington to meet with President Donald Trump. It is being reported Tuesday as an indefinite postponement.

    The key factor, which has reportedly brought US-Egypt relations to a low point, is Trump’s ‘takeover’ plan to expel Gazans into Egypt and Jordan. Another factor is Trump’s repeated reference to Sisi as “the general” – which was used publicly when Israel’s PM Netanyahu recently visited the White House.

    Back in better days…

    “Egyptian officials viewed this as dismissive, sources said,” The New Arab reports. And then there was this during Trump’s first term, back in 2019 at a G7 summit:

    “Where’s my favorite dictator?” Mr. Trump called out in a voice loud enough to be heard by the small gathering of American and Egyptian officials.

    The same report writes of Trump’s controversial Gaza plan, “an Egyptian diplomatic source in Washington said Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty had warned US officials and members of Congress that implementing Trump’s relocation plan could lead to a resurgence of radical Islamist groups in the region.”

    Jordan is lockstep with Egypt on this. Trump hosted Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Tuesday in an awkward meeting which saw the monarch reject Trump’s pressure.

    The king tried to preempt further pressure from Trump by pledging to take in 2,000 Palestinian children. Otherwise Jordanian sources have said they would seal the borders and potentially declare war in Israel if a mass ‘cleansing’ campaign ensues.

    Via AFP

    “The president and the king fielded some questions from reporters from the Oval Office, where Abdullah tried to slow roll Trump’s Gaza proposal, which is vastly unpopular in the Middle East,” The Hill reports. “Trump, meanwhile, vowed to press on but also lauded Abdullah and his pledge to take in 2,000 sick Palestinian children.”

    So in the end, nothing much came of the Abdullah-Trump meeting, but likely Jordan was offered some major incentive by Trump behind the scenes.

    The King immediately following the meeting emphasized Jordan firmly rejects any displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, and said all Arab leaders stand united on this.

    Watch: Trump put a clearly nervous Abdullah on the spot in front of the press pool…

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    Below are some key lines from the press Q&A at the White House meeting:

    * * *

    King Abdullah of Jordan:

    Asked about accepting Palestinians, the King mentioned a plan involving Egypt and discussions initiated by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He said, “We have to keep in mind how to make this work in everyone’s best interest.”

    In response to Trump’s plan for a parcel of land for Palestinian refugees in Jordan: “I have to do what is best for my country.”

    Announced that Jordan will accept 2,000 ill children from Gaza for medical treatment.

    President Donald Trump:

    Repeated his call for removing Palestinians en masse. Said Palestinians will live in “another location that is not Gaza.”

    Stated the U.S. will “run Gaza very properly,” but, “we’re not going to buy it.”

    Proposed the possibility of designating “parcels of land in Jordan and in Egypt” for Palestinians.

    Called Abdullah’s pledge to take 2,000 sick Palestinian children “a beautiful gesture”.

    Gaza: “We’re going to take it, we’re going to cherish it,” says Trump

    Expressed doubt about Hamas meeting the captives release deadline: “I don’t think they’ll make Saturday’s deadline.”

    Abdullah plays the game…

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    Meanwhile…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 19:40

  • Microbiologist, Residents Say China Conceals Extent Of Respiratory Virus Outbreak
    Microbiologist, Residents Say China Conceals Extent Of Respiratory Virus Outbreak

    Authored by Dorothy Li via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Chinese health authorities have said this winter’s flu season is less severe than the year before, but medical experts cast doubts over the transparency of its respiratory illness situation.

    People wearing masks wait at an outpatient area of the respiratory department of a hospital in Beijing on Jan. 8, 2025. Jade Gao/AFP via Getty Images

    Residents from four different cities have expressed concerns about an uptick in respiratory infections within their families and communities when speaking to The Epoch Times.

    Some suspected their flu-like symptoms may actually be caused by COVID-19, fearing that doctors were instructed to avoid such diagnoses, given that the authorities declared a victory in its fight against the pandemic almost two years ago.

    In Shenyang, northern China, a woman named Xu said she’s noticed more people sick with respiratory illnesses have seen local hospitals packed again during the Lunar New Year holiday.

    “I’m feeling unwell myself and haven’t recovered. The hospital said I contracted influenza A, but I believe it’s just COVID-19,” Xu told The Epoch Times on Feb. 7. She expressed concerns about how quickly the virus circulated among humans this time, saying her son, daughter-in-law, and their school-aged daughter have all fallen ill. “The authorities are concealing the scale of the outbreak.”

    Flu Toll Questioned

    China’s top health body has acknowledged the country is grappling with a spike in respiratory infectious illness, but said the rate of influenza has shown signs of slowing down.

    During the regime’s most recent briefing, National Health Commission (NHC) officials reiterated its previous assessment, saying the scale and intensity of the spread of respiratory infectious diseases this year is lower than it was during the previous winter season.

    “No new infectious disease had been detected,” Mi Feng, NHC’s spokesperson, told reporters on Jan. 17, ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, attributing the current infections to a combination of known germs, most prominently influenza. No data was provided during the briefing.

    It remains unclear how many people were infected with the influenza virus or COVID-19 this year. The latest figures showed 112 COVID-19 infections and seven deaths in December 2024, according to a monthly report from China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Since December 2022, after a leaked recording of an internal NHC meeting indicated the COVID outbreaks were far worse than the official tallies indicated, the top health regulator stopped publishing daily COVID figures and transitioned COVID-related updates to its sub-department, CDC.

    In a separate report, the CDC reported 1.5 million influenza cases last December, leading to seven deaths.

    Medical experts have questioned the accuracy of these flu statistics.

    “It’s clear that the mortality rate is being underreported,” Sean Lin, a virologist and former lab director at the viral disease branch of the U.S. Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, told The Epoch Times.

    The official tally means for every 100,000 people who contracted the flu in China, only one has died, a contrast to the much graver rates observed in the United States, where between 5 to 10 out of every 10,000 individuals face fatal outcomes, according to Lin’s analysis.

    “Given China’s [high] level of air pollution and the large number of smokers, the number of people with underlying respiratory diseases in China is supposed to be substantial, so the death toll from influenza is likely much higher than reported,” Lin said.

    Dong Yuhong, a medical doctor specializing in infectious diseases, also raised concerns about the absence of detailed data, calling them essential for preventing potential pandemics.

    Dong recalled during previous COVID-19 outbreaks, there was often a noticeable gap between official numbers and the accounts of frontline workers, crematorium staff, and residents on the ground.

    A mourner carries the cremated remains of a loved one as he and others wear traditional white funeral clothing, during a funeral in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 14, 2023. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

    The Chinese regime has drawn widespread criticism for covering up COVID-related information. The scrutiny goes back to almost the onset of the pandemic, which first emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019. At that time, the regime concealed the outbreak’s true scale and silenced whistleblowers, allowing regional outbreaks to develop into a global pandemic.

    Without reliable health statistics, the international community would be in the dark about the true situation in China, according to Dong.

    “Real statistics are crucial for epidemic prevention. They help us understand the scale of an outbreak and evaluate the effectiveness of our response measures,” Dong told The Epoch Times.

    Concerns Among the Public

    Chinese citizens don’t seem convinced by Beijing’s optimism about this winter illness season, with some appearing to be cautious about the current situation.

    A man working in the industrial hub of Guangdong said he didn’t travel back home for the Chinese New Year, the country’s most important festival, which fell on Jan. 29 this year. He cited concerns about the outbreaks in his hometown of Xuchang, located over 800 miles away, where he heard the situation was “severe.”

    “It’s still caused by COVID-19,” the man, surnamed Shao, told The Epoch Times on Feb. 5. “The hospitals are full … many passed away recently, and the crematorium is busy.” Shao lamented missing his uncle’s funeral that day. His uncle had been healthy and, according to Shao, after getting the domestic COVID-19 vaccine two years ago, he became weak and ultimately succumbed to “white lung” pneumonia.

    Shao’s sentiment was echoed by a dancing teacher in Beijing, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions. She painted a grim picture of the flu season this year, describing it as “very serious” as many of her students have fallen ill and showed flu-like symptoms. Diagnoses mainly pointed to Type A flu or HMPV, a type of flu that recently attracted global attention, though “privately everyone said it was COVID-19,” she said.

    The teacher recalled her relative, a young man who passed away just days after contracting the flu. She said she couldn’t help but suspect that the domestic COVID-19 vaccine played a role, given his previously good health and lack of underlying conditions.

    In the central province of Anhui, a middle-aged father said his child and his mother also got sick, and in his city, he heard many infected were seriously ill.

    “They say it’s just flu,” the man, who declined to be named for fear of reprisals, told The Epoch Times, “but after taking [flu] medications, their symptoms haven’t improved at all.”

    He said he speculated there was a “new virus” circulating, but he heard others linked it to a mutated COVID variant. Nevertheless, “all these news [reports] were concealed,” he said.

    Luo Ya and Xiong Bin contributed to this report. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 19:15

  • Zelensky Offers Land Swap With Putin To End War
    Zelensky Offers Land Swap With Putin To End War

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed his strategic plan for ordering the risky Kursk offensive which began last August, and has resulted in Ukraine forces holding hundreds of square kilometers of Russian territory for the past six months.

    Zelensky said in comments published Tuesday that he’s ready to swap territory with Russia as part of a deal to end the war. He described that if President Trump gets the warring sides to the negotiating table, “We will swap one territory for another.”

    The Ukrainian leader when asked in The Guardian interview precisely which territories Kiev would demand back, he responded: “I don’t know, we will see. But all our territories are important, there is no priority.” Obviously he has the four annexed eastern territories in mind.

    Via Novaya Gazeta Europe

    In September 2022, Russia declared the annexation of the four eastern Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. In some of these areas, front line war zones are still being fought over, but the consensus is that Russian forces will soon conquer them fully as the Ukrainian army has been in slow but steady retreat.

    Moscow considers to four territories to now be part of the Russian Federation, and they have been key to Putin’s war aims, given also they have are largely Russian-speaking from the start. Putin has stressed he will never give them up.

    Ukraine’s cross-border offensive into Kursk was always meant to force the Kremlin to divide its forces in order to defend its land, but this by and large has not happened – or in other words Putin has not taken the bait.

    Instead, there have long been reports that thousands of North Korean troops have assisted Russian forces in seeking to take it back. But Moscow hasn’t appeared in a hurry, and has not sacrificed its gains in Donetsk to make it happen.

    Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova responded in a Telegram post on Tuesday, “In the Kursk region, the neo-Nazis operating there … [control] an area of ​​approximately two meters and a depth of one and a half meters” – in apparent sarcasm.

    She said, “Zelensky makes similar statements in order to hide the true scale of the disaster for the Armed Forces in this direction.”

    Russia’s defense ministry has made frequent statements highlighting Ukraine’s immense losses trying to hold the seized Kursk territory over the last several weeks, stressing that it is Zelensky who has gotten the worse end of the gambit. Some Russian sources have claimed Ukraine has lost some 50,000 troops during the invasion of Russian territory.

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    While somewhat of an embarrassing blow for Moscow in the beginning, events in Kursk have not cause Kremlin leadership to panic, instead officials have constantly downplayed its strategic importance in the bigger context of the war.

    For this reason, Moscow is shrugging off Zelensky’s offer of a territory swap, which means Kiev doesn’t have the leverage it thought it had in taking dozens of Kursk towns and villages, which have long been evacuated of the Russian population at this point.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 18:50

  • Unidentified Drone, Aerial Sightings Continue After Spike In Nationwide Reports
    Unidentified Drone, Aerial Sightings Continue After Spike In Nationwide Reports

    Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    SEDONA, Ariz.—Mike O’Sedona stood out as a dark silhouette in a snap-brim hat against the purple twilight sky, staring at the stunning conjunction of the crescent moon and Venus.

    Unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) investigator and UFO tour guide Mike O’Sedona scans the night sky over the municipal airport in Sedona, Ariz., on Jan. 31, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

    “There’s the Dog Star, Sirius. There’s Rigel, and there’s Orion—along with the belt,” O’Sedona said as his finger moved among the stars and constellations.

    On the eve of Jan. 31, he led a small group of curious visitors on a 90-minute crash course in astronomy while searching for satellites, drones, spacecraft, and unidentified flying objects (UFOs).

    The goal was to learn how to navigate the night sky and identify celestial and man-made objects while examining anomalies with a healthy dose of skepticism.

    The tool they used consists of night vision goggles designed by O’Sedona that enhance ambient light by a factor of one thousand. 

    “There’s a spaceship about 850 miles [up],” he said, peering through his night vision scope. He recognized the object by its relative speed and path.

    “That’s your weather satellite right there. I’m going to try to find a [communications] satellite in a minute,” he said.

    What was once invisible to the naked eye can now be observed through a bright, glowing green field in the viewfinder.

    And there was much to see that night under the celestial dome over Sedona Airport in central Arizona.

    “Okay. See this guy right here? He pulsed. Let’s see if he pulses again,” O’Sedona said. “These guys—they are cruising. They’re spacecraft. Now, there’s an airplane.”

    “This is going on 24/7, guys. Our [U.S.] Space Force stuff is pretty heavy.”

    Since 2018, O’Sedona, owner of Arizona UFO Tours, has guided groups on nighttime adventures, aiming to spot elusive and difficult-to-explain “exotic” objects.

    About four years ago, he remembered seeing a peculiar ball of red light moving at a low altitude near Thunder Mountain, one of the highest peaks in Sedona.

    “It couldn’t have been a falling star because it was below the mountaintop—no trail, just a red ball,” he said.

    It has been about 13 months since O’Sedona last saw an exotic object, and tonight, he and his three customers are hopeful.

    Rampant Drone Sightings

    When the conversation turned to the recent mass sightings of drones across the country, O’Sedona, a retired missile engineer from the Department of Defense, shared his opinion.

    “The drones are not a theory,” he said.

    He believes they are government aircraft used for intelligence gathering. They are searching for something—but what that something is remains a mystery.

    “What the drones are doing is what I like to call ‘fishing,’” O’Sedona said. 

    In November, widespread reports of drone sightings began emerging from at least six states, including heavily populated areas in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. 

    UFO investigator and tour guide Mike O’Sedona tracks the path of a satellite during a guided tour in Sedona, Ariz., on Jan. 31, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

    In response, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) implemented temporary flight restrictions at key locations, such as Cape Canaveral in Florida, Libby Air Force Base in Arizona, and other military installations.

    “Generally speaking, it is legal to fly a drone in most locations if you’re operating under 400 feet, but there are rules—including safety tests, keeping below 400 feet, keeping the drone in sight, avoiding all other aircraft, not causing a hazard to any people or property, and avoiding restricted airspace,” the FAA told The Epoch Times in an email.

    By December, the FAA reported there were more than 1 million registered drones in the United States. Of these, 409,408 were registered for commercial use, while 385,892 were registered for recreational purposes.

    The former Biden administration stated that the drones were not of foreign origin or harmful to the public.

    President-elect Donald Trump previously promised to improve transparency regarding the drone sightings once he took office on Jan. 20. 

    During her first media briefing on Jan. 28, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the mysterious drones spotted along the East Coast were authorized FAA drones.

    “After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons,” she said.

    “Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones.

    “In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”

    There’s An App for That

    Enigma Labs, a New York City-based company founded in 2020, has launched a new iPhone platform that allows users to track sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). An Android version of the app will be released soon.

    Currently, the private startup has about 200,000 users who report sightings in real-time using the application.

    A pair of fire globes cast an other-worldly glow under a nearly full moon in Sedona, Ariz., on Dec. 7, 2022. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

    The company utilizes advanced artificial intelligence and sensor fusion to accurately identify and confirm events, as stated on the company’s website.

    “People are seeing objects every single day and reporting them to us. They’re sending us videos, and they’re sending us photographs,” Enigma Labs spokesperson Christine Kim told The Epoch Times.

    Beginning in mid-November, Enigma Labs said mysterious unidentified aircraft were first reported across the tri-state region. Many sightings occurred near sensitive areas such as military bases, involving “swarms of objects, and prolonged hovering raised public and official concern.”

    “The FAA implemented flight restrictions, local senators called for a state of emergency, and [Connecticut] authorities continue to investigate,” according to Enigma Labs. 

    “The persistent incursions and lack of clear communication drove a wave of public speculation, including fears of foreign drones or loose nuclear material.”

    From Nov. 20 to Jan. 27, Enigma Labs received and approved a total of 520 reports in the Northeast and 480 reports in the tri-state area. The Enigma app sent out 12,000 notifications, which helped drive more skywatchers to focus on the hotspots.

    Enigma Labs categorized the surge in sightings based on their characteristics, behavior, and group incursions.

    The ground-reported data revealed that 16 percent of the objects were described as “exceptionally large.” 

    Additionally, 63 percent of approved reports noted unusual light patterns, while 14 percent described common shapes, including triangles.

    “Forty percent of reports actually mentioned drones and drone-like behavior, and many reported the objects moving in strange patterns,” Enigma Labs wrote. 

    “Fifty-four percent of reports described the object as ‘hovering’ or staying airborne for extended periods of time beyond the capability of a hobbyist drone.”

    Twenty-five percent of reports described objects moving in “swarms” of five or more; 13 percent of Enigma app users reported more than 10 objects. 

    Also of interest, Engima Labs said 364 reports were within 25 miles of military sites, such as Picatinny Arsenal and the Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey.

    “Though there is no consistent pattern, several witnesses reported objects on the coast, several mentioned objects coming from the ocean and flying inland,” Enigma Labs said.

    In Arizona, users of the Enigma app have reported hundreds of sightings: Tucson recorded 884 sightings, followed by Yuma with 155, Flagstaff with 137, Kingman with 130, and Prescott with 107.

    Kim estimates that Enigma Labs has received a total of 32,000 reported sightings through the app, and these sightings continue despite a decrease in media coverage. In December, she said, around 2,500 sightings were reported via the app.

    Sightings Continue

    “We ask a lot of structured data questions because we believe that to study UAPs scientifically, we need the right data,” Kim said.

    “What’s surprising is January was actually one of our highest months, excluding December, where we’re now approaching 2,000 sightings. January is on track to being one of our highest submissions in two months.

    “We’re largely neutral on the origins. There are a lot of theories out there on what they could be.”

    A drone flies over Clinton Township, N.J., on Dec. 5, 2024, in a still from video. Courtesy of Christopher Stadulis via AP/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

    Adding credibility to reported sightings, Kim said many users of the Enigma app are scientists, veterans, and professional skywatchers, so they are always “looking up.”

    “We really prize those submissions. They really have expertise,” she said.

    Kim said that approximately 60 percent of reported sightings deserve further investigation.

    “It’s definitely worthy of investigation. I think there’s a lot of frustration,” Kim said. “What are these drones? Are people doing anything about it? How can we find patterns?”

    Kim said not all of them are unusual. “There are a lot of objects in the air—satellites and planets that people think are UAPs.”

    Regardless of the origins of drones or UAPs, Congress has demonstrated increasing interest in these sightings and has held hearings on the topic. 

    Federal officials and lawmakers have also instructed the military and intelligence agencies to provide updates.

    In 2022, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, launched the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Study Team, which includes a panel of 16 experts tasked with exploring the nature and root source of UAPs.

    ‘Red Rock’ Community

    Each year, around 3 million people visit Sedona, a city with a population of 9,819. It is well-known for its unexplained aerial sightings, alleged energy vortexes attributed to the high magnetic properties of its iron-rich rock, and various sites of New Age spiritual interest.

    “What we have is a dark sky community that allows these goggles to see things you couldn’t see in most places,” O’Sedona said.

    People walk on their way to cool off in Oak Creek in Sedona, Ariz., on July 22, 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

    He urged his three visitors to stay skeptical but open-minded about the objects flying across the night sky.

    “I don’t expect you to believe every word I say because the word ‘believe’ uses the word ‘lie’ right in the middle of it,” O’Sedona said. 

    “On the other hand, I do not exaggerate. I don’t use hyperbole.”

    O’Sedona said it’s important to use common sense when talking about unidentified aerial sightings.

    “You’ve got to have common sense. In the ‘50s it was common. Not so much now,” he said.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 18:25

  • 22 Blue States Signed Secret Pact To Defy Trump Immigration Efforts, Coordinate Legal Strategies
    22 Blue States Signed Secret Pact To Defy Trump Immigration Efforts, Coordinate Legal Strategies

    Attorneys general from 22 blue states along with Washington DC and San Francisco signed a secret agreement just 3 days after President Trump won the 2024 election for a coordinated response to resist Trump’s anticipated actions to end birthright citizenship.

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)

    According to an investigation by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project, the 22 AGs agreed to legal collaboration and communication to defy Trump’s immigration enforcement initiatives, including any deemed confidential or privileged.

    All shared information would be used to coordinate various legal schemes, as well as pre-lawsuit investigations, litigation strategies, complaints, dispositive motions, merits briefs, and amicus briefs. The agreement also bars third parties from accessing any of this shared information, which is defined as all documents, materials, information, and communications exchanged between the attorneys generals’ offices prior to the agreement. 

    The agreement does allow for public records requests, but requires any AG to give five days’ notice to the other AGs about the request before it was due.

    “The Parties have agreed that they have a common interest in developing potential litigation to challenge executive action related to ending or curtailing birthright citizenship,” according to the agreement.

    As AZ Free News notes further, the other attorneys general to enter the secretive agreement oversaw California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, as well as Washington, D.C.

    The city and county of San Francisco, California also joined the agreement last month. 

    Trump issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship during his first day in office. The order extends to children born of illegal immigrant parents in the U.S. It prohibits the federal government from issuing or accepting citizenship documents from persons born under those circumstances after its effective date, which is scheduled to take place later this month. 

    “[T]he Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States. The Fourteenth Amendment has always excluded from birthright citizenship persons who were born in the United States but not ‘subject to the jurisdiction thereof,’” read the order. 

    The order flies in the face of longstanding court precedent on the matter.

    That precedent led three federal judges in separate cases to block Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship. The first two occurred in Washington and Maryland, with the third occurring on Monday in New Hampshire. 

    Mayes joined Arizona to the case blocked in the Washington district court earlier this month. Based on the timeline of the secretive agreement and the filing of their lawsuit, it appears the case emerged directly from that agreement.

    “The court’s decision to block this illegal executive order nationwide protects the basic right to birthright citizenship guaranteed by the 14th Amendment,” said Mayes. “I will keep fighting to protect the Constitutional rights of all Arizonans from the Trump administration’s illegal actions.”

    Several of those states signed onto the secretive agreement — Washington, Oregon, and Illinois — were partnered on the lawsuit with Mayes. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 18:00

  • "It's A Different World" – CNN Admits Trump Is Massively More Popular Now Than First Term
    “It’s A Different World” – CNN Admits Trump Is Massively More Popular Now Than First Term

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    CNN’s resident data reporter Harry Enten highlighted Monday how President Trump has experienced a huge surge in popularity this time around compared to his first term, noting “Trump’s doing what he promised to do.”

    Several polls have found Trump has a net positive approval rating, with a CBS News poll putting him at 53 percent approval, his highest across both terms.

    “It’s not just CBS … I like to take an average of the polls. And holy smokes. I mean, look at what the difference is between now versus eight years ago during the first Trump term, right?” Enten stated, looking at the numbers.

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

    “This is Trump’s net approval rating on February 10th,” Enten said, explaining “You go back to 2017, Trump was already underwater at minus five points in the net approval rating, that’s approval minus disapproval. What a difference eight years makes. He’s on the positive side of the ledger at plus four points.”

    He continued, “And again it’s not just the CBS News poll. We’re talking about the Gallup poll. We’re talking about the Ipsos poll. We are talking about the Pew poll. All of these respective pollsters have Trump in a better position now than they did eight years ago.”

    “The bottom line is, Americans are far more likely to say they like what they’re seeing now versus what they felt during Trump‘s first term,” the number cruncher emphasised.

    Enten also specified how rare it was for Trump to hold a net positive rating throughout his first term.

    “I want you to take a look at this plus sign, right? Compare that to the negative sign, being on the plus side of the ledger, right. In positive net approval territory. A positive net approval rating for Donald Trump. Again, whoa whoa whoa whoa,” the data reporter said. 

    “Entire first term. Just 11 days. Just 11 days Donald Trump had a net positive approval rating. Compare that to the second term just so far. Just so far,” he urged.

    “Every single day of Trump’s second term so far, he has been on the positive side of the ledger, 21 days, all three weeks. That’s already 10 more days than he was in his entire first term,” he stressed.

    When asked to explain why Trump is so much more popular, Enten replied “I think one of the things that’s so important for politicians is for folks to believe what they‘re saying and that they’re keeping their campaign promises. So I think this gives you a pretty gosh darn good idea of what may be going on, Trump’s doing what he promised to do.”

     “You go back to April of 2017. It was just 46 percent of all Americans who said that Trump was doing what he promised to do. Compare that now to February of 2025,” he added.

    “We’re living in a different world,” Enten reasoned, noting that “70 percent of Americans say Trump is doing what he promised to do.”

    He added that “When Americans are 24 points more likely to say that you‘re doing what you promised to do, it’s no wonder that your net approval rating is much more likely to be on the positive side of the ledger than on the negative side.”

    “And so far, what we’re seeing again is Americans 21 days so far versus just 11 days during his entire first term that Trump has a positive net approval rating. Quite a different world,” Enten concluded.

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    Leftists can’t cope with it and are eager to point out that ‘Hitler was popular too’.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 17:40

  • DOGE Investigating Feds Whose Net Worths Have Exploded After Samantha Power Bombshell
    DOGE Investigating Feds Whose Net Worths Have Exploded After Samantha Power Bombshell

    DOGE head Elon Musk said on Tuesday that DOGE is going to investigate federal employees whose net worths have exploded despite their comparatively low pay.

    Elon Musk, with his son X, speaks with President Donald Trump and reporters in the Oval Office at the White House on Tuesday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

    The announcement – which came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to work with DOGE, follows a bombshell report that Samantha Power, former head of USAID, saw her net worth explode to $30 million despite an annual salary under $250,000.

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    “We don’t know why. Where did it come from? I think the reality is that they’re getting wealthy at the taxpayer expense,” Musk said on Tuesday.

    Power, a former ambassador to the United Nations under President Obama, and was sworn in as head of USAID in May of 2021, reported a net worth between $6.7 million-$16.5 million in January of 2021 on a disclosure form. Her net worth is now estimated as high as $30 million, according to the website Biden’s Basement.

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    According to various reports, Power’s sources of income have varied over the years. After serving as UN Ambassador, she reportedly made $471,000 per year as a Harvard professor, and made $351,000 from speaking engagements with major firmst such as Nestle, Google and UBS, along with $1 million in book royalties.

    Most notably, however, was an $11.73 million gain in her investment holdings.

    If we had to venture a guess, DOGE’s access to information from the Treasury, USAID, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), run through Palantir’s intelligence apparatus (including AI), will quickly unravel graft hidden through multiple layers of organizational fog.

    Meanwhile, there’s the issue of lawmakers who have become unbelievably ‘lucky’ when it comes to growing their net worth via insider trading.

    Screenshot via Quiver Quant

    In July, a bipartisan group of senators including Josh Hawley (R-MO) came to an agreement on a renewed effort to ban members of Congress from trading stock.

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    “Congress should not be here to make a buck,” Hawley said at the time. “There is no reason why members of Congress ought to be profiting off of the information that only they get.“

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    Meanwhile, with ad revenues dwindling thanks to the censorship industrial complex, ZeroHedge relies on your support to keep the lights on. If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing or buying something from our store. Our Multitool is particularly awesome – solid in the hand, and makes a great gift! Thank you for your support.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 17:20

  • U.S. Marine Corps: Put Me In Coach
    U.S. Marine Corps: Put Me In Coach

    Authored by Stephen Baird via RealClearDefense,

    In some ways the U.S. military is like an NFL team.  We have an owner, the American people, represented by the U.S. Congress.  We have General Managers, the Chief of Staff of the Army, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC), the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, and the Chief of Space Operations who man, train, and equip their Service for employment by a coach.  The military has several coaches, the geographic Combatant Commanders (U.S. Northern Command, U.S. Southern Command, U.S. European Command, U.S. Africa Command, U.S. Central Command, and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command).  The Combatant Commanders develop game plans (campaign, contingency, and crisis plans) to support the National Security Strategy in their respective geographical areas of responsibility.

    The Combatant Commanders have planning staffs.  They invite their Service Components (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and National Guard) to planning meetings where each Service Component planner identifies their capabilities that can support the Combatant Commander’s plan.  Based on the mission requirements for the plan, the Combatant Commander selects the capabilities from each Service required for mission success.

    Prior to 2020, the Marine Corps were on the first team.  The Marine Corps had three robust combined arms Marine Expeditionary Forces (MEFs).  Each MEF was comprised of a Marine Division, a Marine Air Wing, and a Marine Logistics Group.  The operational capabilities of the MEFs enabled Marine Service Component planners to offer operational support to the Combatant Commanders across the spectrum of conflict.

    With the implementation of Force Design 2030 in March 2020 (now called Force Design), the Marine Corps’ General Manager (CMC), General Berger, divested (cut) 21% of the personnel in infantry battalions, 100% of the tanks, 67% of the cannon artillery batteries, 33% of the assault amphibious companies, more than 25% of Marine aviation (since the initial FD divestments, the Marines have/will bring back almost 100 of the 200 aircraft divested, the percentage loss in the active force is now only about 17 percent), and almost all assault breaching equipment in the active forces.  This action when coupled with the Marine Corps’ abdication of its amphibious ship lift requirement neutered the Service Component planners’ ability to offer operational support across the spectrum of conflict and has relegated the Marine Corps to second team status.  Simply put, the “United States Marines are no longer capable of responding to global crises and contingencies quickly and ­effectively, and in some cases, at all”.

    These “divestments” were made to “invest” in reorganizing and restructuring the Marine Corps to focus primarily on one geographic theater (Indo-Pacific) and one enemy, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).  Today, one infantry and one artillery regiment, have been reorganized and redesignated as Marine Littoral Regiments (MLRs).  The MLRs conduct Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations and employ Stand-In-Force (SIF) missile units on pacific island chains to engage/deter the PLAN.  A second infantry regiment is scheduled to be redesignated in 2027.  One must assume that this new team capability supports the Indo-Pacific Commander’s warfighting requirements. 

    But how about the support of the other geographic Combatant Commanders?  Did the Corps’ GM, General Berger, consult with the other coaches to assess the impact of his actions and how it affects their plans and warfighting requirements?  Was General Berger upfront with team’s owner, the American people, represented by the U.S Congress, on the impact of his actions to the Marine Corps Title X requirements (Title 10 USC 8063)?

    We are now almost five years into the implementation of Force Design and the current General Manager (CMC), General Smith, has not changed course but instead doubled down.  In his statement on the posture of the Marine Corps before the Senate Appropriations Committee on 16 April 2024, he wrote: “I remain fully committed to Force Design and all its supporting efforts.”  Today, not one Stand-In-Force is operational and forward deployed on a pacific island.  Not one missile has been procured.  And, the Navy has postponed the procurement of the Landing Ship Medium (which will transport and resupply the SIFs).  

    In the NFL, when the General Manager fails to effectively “man” his team with the right talent (capabilities) for the coach to employ, he is fired.  Once confirmed, the Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, should consider bringing in a new General Manager (Marine Corps Commandant) who can begin the process of restoring the Marine Corps’ global response capability and restoring its ability to be the nation’s 911 force.  This will move the Marine Corps from the bench with the second team, to the bench with the first team.

    Stephen Baird is a retired Marine Colonel. He served as the G-5 for 1 Marine Expeditionary Force, the Chief of Staff for the 1st Marine Division followed by his last assignment as the Chief of Staff for U.S. Marine Corps Forces Central Command during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.  

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 17:00

  • The One Chart That May Boost MAGA In 2026: End Of The Migrant Invasion
    The One Chart That May Boost MAGA In 2026: End Of The Migrant Invasion

    Goldman Sachs analysts Elsie Peng, David Mericle, Alec Phillips, and others published a note on Sunday titled “The End of the Immigration Surge,” outlining how President Trump’s border policies are ending the migrant border invasion that spiraled out of control under globalist rule via the Biden-Harris regime. The note highlights significant shifts in immigration policy and includes a key chart illustrating this end. 

    Net immigration surged above pre-pandemic levels between 2022 and 2024, peaking at an annualized rate of 3.5-4 million in late 2023 before sliding to about 1.7 million by December 2024, the analysts noted. This surge was largely due to open border policies and a complex network of taxpayer-funded NGOs that acted as conveyor belts, funneling migrants into the US, with industrial-size staffing companies domestically taking care of the logistics of bussing and flying the migrants around the country. 

    Peng and the analysts noted that Trump administration officials are attempting to reverse migration trends in three ways: 

    • First, it has aimed to reduce new immigrant inflows by increasing border security, reinstating “Remain in Mexico,” and ending several humanitarian parole programs.

    • Second, it has sought to roll back legal protections for some immigrants already in the US, which could cause some to lose their work permits.

    • Third, it has sought to increase deportations.

    Here are the latest executive orders Trump has signed to secure the border – all in an effort to restore national security. 

    On Truth Social, Trump already posted deportation success.

    Screenshot, Truth Social

    “We expect net immigration to slow further to 750k per year, well below the pace of the last three years but only moderately below the normal pre-pandemic pace,” the analysts noted, adding, “This would consist of 750k net authorized immigrants per year and zero net unauthorized immigrants, with roughly 500k deportations per year offsetting a similar number of asylum seekers and other entrants.” 

    Chart of the day…

    Deportations are expected to run above average through 2028: 

    The macroeconomic impact of the deportations is expected to be limited. Migrant-driven labor force growth is forecasted to normalize in the first half of 2026, resulting in only a modest effect on GDP growth and inflation.

    Here’s more from the analyst about the macroeconomic impacts of deportations:

    • Under our baseline, the macroeconomic consequences of the immigration slowdown should be limited. The boost from immigration to labor force growth was 100k above normal at the peak, is about 40k above normal at present, and should return to normal by early 2026. The slower 750k per year pace of immigration would contribute 30-40bp less to potential GDP growth than the 2023-2024 pace but just 5bp less than the pre-pandemic pace. And the impact on wage growth and inflation should be modest now that the US labor market is back in balance.

    • In a more extreme risk scenario where the immigration crackdown creates a climate in which unauthorized immigrants are afraid to go to work or employers are afraid to employ them, the economic consequences would be more serious because unauthorized immigrants already in the US account for 4-5% of the total workforce and 15-20% in some industries. Abruptly losing these workers could be very disruptive for many of these industries and have a larger inflation impact.

    • How will we know if the baseline or risk scenario is playing out? We can use both immigration and labor market data to monitor the latest developments. We construct real-time trackers of authorized immigration and of gross inflows and outflows of unauthorized immigrants using immigration court cases, data from government agencies, and daily arrest data. We have not yet seen dramatic changes since the election, though there is a roughly 1.5-month lag in these data.

    • Labor market data might prove more useful than immigration data in real time for monitoring the risk of workers staying home and avoiding workplaces or of large-scale voluntary departures. Specifically, we use the household survey micro data to track recent immigrants’ participation, unemployment, job-finding, and survey response rates, and use the establishment survey to track employment and average wages in industries that employ many unauthorized immigrants. While the job-finding rate has dipped recently, the other indicators have been fairly stable so far.

    The industries where illegals are primarily working. 

    The migrant boost to the labor force is set to end by the end of this year. 

    The importance of the net migration graph will demonstrate to the American people that Trump’s border policies are fulfilling the mandates voters gave him to boost border security and restore national security—bolstering public confidence in MAGA ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

    Recall the graph that saved Trump’s life in the assassination attempt in Butler… 

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    Democrats have already started their 2026 campaign this week by yelling on the streets of DC that DOGE is causing a “constitutional crisis.” Dems are doubling and tripling down on woke and illegals in an era where their ability to control narratives dwindles – this is very dangerous for the party as the Overton Window has shifted from Marxist left to center-right.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 16:40

  • The Empire Strikes Back: Judge Orders CDC, FDA, And Other Agencies To Restore Woke Webpages
    The Empire Strikes Back: Judge Orders CDC, FDA, And Other Agencies To Restore Woke Webpages

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A federal judge on Tuesday ordered U.S. health agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to restore data and webpages that were taken down in recent days to comply with a Trump administration order on gender ideology and diversity rules.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta on April 23, 2020. Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images

    Numerous webpages operated by the CDC were removed after President Donald Trump took office, a spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times last week. Other webpages belonging to the FDA and other agencies operated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were taken down as well, a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration said.

    U.S. District Judge John Bates, with the federal court in Washington, on Tuesday issued a temporary order in favor of Doctors for America (DFA), an advocacy group that filed a lawsuit. He agreed with the group’s arguments that the removal of the pages appeared to violate a provision that mandates federal agencies to provide notice before they end information portals and products.

    “This opinion has documented the harm DFA members have suffered and will continue to suffer absent intervention, but the harm extends beyond them,” Bates wrote in the order.

    He said the organization was able to also supply “declarations from doctors around the country who, although not DFA members themselves, are representative of the widespread disruption that defendants’ abrupt removal of these critical healthcare materials has caused.”

    Pages that were removed in recent days to comply with Trump administration orders include ones for Health Disparities Among LQBTQ Youth, Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of Vaccine for Mpox Prevention, Fast Facts: HIV and Transgender People, HIV data pages, the page for the U.S. global HIV program called PEPFAR, and others.

    A CDC page with the title “Safer Food Choices for Pregnant People” was renamed “Safer Food Choices for Pregnant Women.” When the previous version of the CDC page is accessed, it displays a message saying it was moved to the one referencing women.

    At the same time, the CDC displays a message on all of its webpages that reads: “CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders.“

    Doctors of America argued in its complaint that the “removal of the webpages and datasets creates a dangerous gap in the scientific data available to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, deprives physicians of resources that guide clinical practice, and takes away key resources for communicating and engaging with patients.”

    The group, which filed a lawsuit against the HHS, CDC, FDA, and Office of Personnel Management, also alleged that the removal of datasets “deprives researchers of access to information that is necessary for treating patients, for developing clinical studies that produce results that accurately reflect the effects treatments.”

    After being sworn into office on Jan. 20, Trump issued an executive order targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the federal government, as well as an executive order to end gender ideology in the government. The OPM issued a memo on Jan. 21, meanwhile, that sought to shut down agency DEI offices and asked federal workers to inform the OPM on whether there were efforts to intentionally obscure those offices to prevent them from being shuttered.

    In his order on gender ideology, Trump declared that it is now “the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.” Separately, Trump signed a directive last month to prohibit “pediatric transgender surgeries or hormone treatments” as well as “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children.

    [ZH: we give the last word to Jeffrey Tucker, who wrote on X: 

    “I’ve had plenty of friends who are against democracy. I get it. It’s an implausible claim that people can rule themselves and I’m truly open to the arguments. 

    My own preference is for radical decentralization and anarchism ultimately: probably this is the only true form of democracy. 

    That said, so long as we are sloganeering about democracy, should we not actually try it? For example, should not the elected leaders and their hires have access to the accounting books? 

    How in the world does anyone think that having an unelected and unmonitored elite with permanent positions oversee the nation’s accounting, with protection from federal judges, is a good system of government?”

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 16:20

  • French Far-Left Leader Mélenchon Openly Calls For Great Replacement In Shock Speech
    French Far-Left Leader Mélenchon Openly Calls For Great Replacement In Shock Speech

    Via Remix News,

    In two speeches given less than 24 hours apart in the French city of Toulouse, Jean-Luc Mélenchon delivered some of the most shocking yet brutally honest words from a European politician, openly calling for the older French to be replaced by a “Creole” generation of mixed races and cultures.

    The leader of France’s far-left LFI is calling outright for replacement of White French people, conjuring up the Great Replacement term that has been demonized as a conspiracy theory by the left for years.

    “In our country, one person in four has a foreign grandparent. 40% of the population speaks at least two languages. We are destined to be a Creole nation and so much the better! May the young generation be the great replacement for the old generation,” said Mélenchon.

    According to the dictionary, Creole is defined as a “a person of mixed European and black descent, especially in the Caribbean.”

    He also goes on to make a number of further statements, saying the new immigrants need “to heal France from the wounds of racism.” According to Euronews, France is among the five European countries with the least discrimination. Furthermore, he makes inflammatory statements, calling for “torch-bearers” to bring about change, which has revolutionary undertones, although he stops short of any calls for direct violence.

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    In a column for Le Journal du Dimanche, Arnaud Benedetti writes that Mélenchon “has probably never been so explicit in his words and his vision, even though he never really tried to mask it. But this time, the objective is revealed without obscurantism, with the clarity of an arrow. He points to his horizon and aims at his enemy. His horizon? Creolization, a euphemism in place of the ‘great replacement.”

    “His enemy? Tradition, the past, the France of yesterday and still today, which he denounces as an old rag to be thrown away because it no longer exists,” he continued.

    In another speech last week, Mélenchon reiterated his point: “Yes, Mr. Zemmour, there is a great replacement,” exclaimed the leader of La France Insoumise last Friday, in front of an enthusiastic audience. Mélenchon said this “great replacement” “that “of a generation that comes after the other and that will never resemble the previous one.” He emphasized “the importance of this creolization that creates something new.”

    Mélenchon also defended the settlement of foreigners into the French countryside, and it all appears to be part of a strategy by him to fuel his political support, both from France’s growing immigrant population but also Whites who believe the old White France is a tired and racist cliché voting for National Rally, and one that must give way to a new people.

    “And yet, even isolated, Jean-Luc Mélenchon continues his strategy of radicalization, notably by going even further on immigration,” writes Benedetti

    Appearing on the Europe 1 television network, Frank Allisio, the National Rally (RN) MP for Bouches-du-Rhône, said Mélenchon’s intervention is “both a provocation, a way of speaking again and again to his voters, but also a basis of doctrine, a basis of conviction for Jean-Luc Mélenchon.” Allisio said he believes that Jean-Luc Mélenchon not only backs the thesis of the great replacement, “but in addition, he wants to achieve it.”

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/11/2025 – 16:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Feb 11

Today’s News 11th February 2025

  • Ukraine's Traumatized Troops Could Pose A Security Threat To All Of Europe
    Ukraine’s Traumatized Troops Could Pose A Security Threat To All Of Europe

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

    The EU would do well to indefinitely suspend Ukrainians’ visa-free access to the bloc after martial law ends.

    Outgoing Polish President Andrzej Duda told the Financial Times that a crime wave could sweep across Europe after the Ukrainian Conflict ends if that country’s PTSD-afflicted troops spill into the bloc and engage in organized crime like their Soviet predecessors from the 1980s Afghan War did after 1991. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry swiftly reacted by denying that they could pose any such threat, pointing to how they didn’t between 2014-2022, and claiming that they’re actually a security asset for Europe.

    Their three points are superficial though since traumatized troops anywhere in the world are much more prone to deviant behavior, the latest phase of the conflict has objectively been much more traumatizing than the prior one, and this therefore makes its veterans a security liability for Europe at the very least. Compounding the aforementioned risks is the fact that the US failed to track billions of dollars’ worth of weapons sent to Ukraine according to Reuters so some of these likely ended up on the black market.

    The threat that Duda just drew attention to is thus a very credible and urgent one that should be taken seriously by all European stakeholders. This doesn’t mean that they need to foot part of the bill for Ukraine’s security and development like he strongly implied in his interview, but just that they should at the minimum indefinitely suspend its citizens’ visa-free access to the bloc otherwise traumatized veterans armed with illegally obtained US weapons might turn his warning into a prophecy.

    The floodgates will open if the US succeeds in brokering a ceasefire like it’s arguably aiming to do for the purpose of prompting Ukraine into lifting marital law and therefore legally setting the stage for the next elections. Military-age Ukrainian males will then be able to freely leave to the EU unless the bloc indefinitely suspends their visa-free access. The arguments in favor of these restrictions far outweigh those against them from the perspective of European and Ukrainian national interests.

    Europe already received several million low-wage laborers so it doesn’t need to risk the credible security consequences of accepting traumatized Ukrainian veterans just to obtain some more, while Ukraine needs as many of its refugees to return as possible after the conflict ends in order to rebuild. It goes without saying that Ukraine also can’t afford another large-scale exodus and thus has an interest in requesting that the EU indefinitely suspends their visa-free access to the bloc if it won’t do so on its own.

    Keeping the border open to them would be a recipe for mutual disaster. There’s also the possibility that Poland takes the lead in unilaterally refusing to admit military-aged Ukrainian males after their country’s martial law is lifted just like it unilaterally decided to suspend asylum rights for some migrants last year. 

    That could trigger a legal crisis within the bloc, especially if others like Hungary and Slovakia follow suit, which would be a worst-case political scenario at the time when the EU would need unity on Ukraine.

    Poland’s ruling liberal-globalists, who are closely aligned with EU-leader Germany, might not have the political will to do that though but Hungary might and it could justify this based on Duda’s warning. Even if no member state makes such a dramatic move, some of their citizens might angrily agitate for this if their compatriots fall victim to PTSD-afflicted Ukrainian veteran criminal gangs. The issue deserves to be closely monitored since it’s a credible security risk that could have outsized consequences for the bloc.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 23:25

  • Global Affairs Canada Contributed $1.6 Million In Taxpayer Funds To BBC Charity Pushing DEI In Africa
    Global Affairs Canada Contributed $1.6 Million In Taxpayer Funds To BBC Charity Pushing DEI In Africa

    How soon before we have the Canadian version of DOGE?

    Global Affairs Canada (GAC) contributed $1,623,711 in taxpayer funds to BBC Media Action, the charitable arm of the BBC, in 2023–2024, primarily for DEI initiatives in Africa, according to a new report by True North Wire.

    Despite this, GAC’s website listed only one BBC Media Action project for that year, costing just over $1.5 million.

    The report notes that GAC allocated most of its $1.5 million contribution to a gender equality initiative in Tanzania, “Broadcasting for Change: Empowering Young Women Through Media.”

    Although $2.12 million was budgeted for 2023–2024, only $1,536,981 was transferred. The program funded the youth radio show Niambie, aimed at shifting attitudes toward gender equality and promoting young women’s social, economic, and political rights. When asked about the nearly $100,000 in unaccounted funds, GAC requested an indefinite extension to respond.

    GAC praised the program’s impact, citing radio content on women’s rights, DEI training for media professionals, and reports that 91% of listeners showed gender equality awareness, with 42% using counseling services. This aligns with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy, which cost $15.5 billion in 2022–2023 alone.

    Critics over at True North questioned the spending. “Canadians shouldn’t be forced to pay for our own state broadcaster, and we definitely shouldn’t have our tax dollars going anywhere near another country’s state broadcaster,” said Franco Terrazzano of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, calling GAC “one of the worst waste offenders in the entire government.”

    He added, “With the government more than $1 trillion in debt, we need to open up the books and cut wasteful spending in every department, and that definitely includes Global Affairs Canada.”

    GAC has a history of similar spending. From 2016 to 2020, it provided $4.8 million to BBC Media Action for “Her Voice, Her Rights,” a gender equality media training initiative in Afghanistan.

    In October 2024, True North reported GAC spent over $3 million on alcohol, with GAC declining to respond before publication. Other reported expenses included an $8,800 sex toy show in Germany, a $12,500 talk show featuring seniors discussing sex in Taiwan, Austria, and Australia, and a $51,000 monthly bar tab.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 23:00

  • Zelensky Interested In Trump's Rare Earth Minerals Idea: 'Let’s Do A Deal'
    Zelensky Interested In Trump’s Rare Earth Minerals Idea: ‘Let’s Do A Deal’

    Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview on Friday that he was interested in President Trump’s proposal for a deal that would involve the US getting access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for continued military aid.

    “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” Zelensky told Reuters. The Ukrainian leader insisted the deal wouldn’t involve “giving away” Ukraine’s resources but framed it as a partnership.

    Via Reuters

    “The Americans helped the most, and therefore, the Americans should earn the most. And they should have this priority, and they will. I would also like to talk about this with President Trump,” he said.

    When Trump made the comments about a rare earth deal, he said he wanted a “guarantee” that the US would have access to the minerals because the US was giving Ukraine money “hand over fist.”

    While Trump still says he wants to end the war in Ukraine, the idea of a deal for continued US military aid suggests he thinks the US will continue supplying weapons, something Russia would likely not accept as part of a potential future peace deal.

    Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the most fervent supporters of the proxy war in Ukraine, has frequently brought up Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as a reason to continue fueling the conflict.

    “This war is about money. People don’t talk much about it. But you know, the richest country in all of Europe for rare earth minerals is Ukraine. Two to seven trillion dollars’ worth of minerals that are rare earth minerals, very relevant to the 21st century,” Graham said in November.

    Just one not so small problem: most of those resources Zelensky wants to offer are currently under Russian control in Eastern Ukraine, or the four annexed territories which have been declared part of the Russian Federation…

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    “Ukraine’s ready to do a deal with us, not the Russians. So it’s in our interest to make sure that Russia doesn’t take over the place,” the senator had said. This is a far cry from the mainstream media narrative of ‘protecting democracy’ in Ukraine, however.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 22:35

  • DHS Asks For Deputized IRS Agents To Help Physically Boot Illegals, Bust Human-Traffickers
    DHS Asks For Deputized IRS Agents To Help Physically Boot Illegals, Bust Human-Traffickers

    The Department of Homeland Security has asked to ‘borrow’ a few thousand deputized IRS agents to help arrest, detain, and transport illegal immigrants out of the United States.

    In a Feb. 7 memo from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Noem said that her department needs additional personnel to implement President Trump’s executive order to ‘secure the Southern border and enforce the immigration laws.’

    “It is D.H.S.’s understanding that the Department of the Treasury has qualified law enforcement personnel available to assist with immigration enforcement, especially in light of recent increases to the Internal Revenue Service’s work force and budget,” Noem wrote.

    The IRS has 2,290 trained law enforcement officers in its criminal-investigation division (IRS-CI) who can investigate violations of tax law and other financial crimes (and has been buying tons of weapons and ammo for years). The agency’s criminal investigators also work undercover to combat drug trafficking, money-laundering and corruption.

    According to Noem, agents could also help audit employers believed to have hired illegals, and investigate human trafficking.

    IRS-CI agents typically carry firearms, and are different from the agency’s agents and revenue officers. They typically investigate criminal tax evasion and other financial crimes, and often work with the FBI and other agencies. Part of their work involves tracking financial flows, including fentanyl networks and fraud involving government programs.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 22:10

  • Look, Deluded Squirrel!: FBI Finds 'Secret JFK Assassination Records'
    Look, Deluded Squirrel!: FBI Finds ‘Secret JFK Assassination Records’

    While Trump FBI Director nominee Kash Patel patiently waits for his turn to kick down the doors at the FBI, the ‘old guard’ has suddenly uncovered around 2,400 ‘secret JFK assassination records,’ and then promptly leaked that ‘fact’ to spooky Axios without shedding any light on the contents of said records.

    The move comes after President Trump’s Jan. 23 executive order demanding the release of all records pertaining to the JFK assassination, where ‘a deluded gunman’ killed the 35th President of the United States in Dallas, Texas 61 years ago.

    The allegedly newfound records – which the FBI told the White House about on Friday, when the Office of the Director of National Intelligence submitted its plan to disclose the assassination records – were never provided to a board tasked with reviewing and disclosing the documents, according to the report.

    Axios, citing three sources (who said they hadn’t actually seen the documents), said that the newly found records are ‘closely held secrets,’ and are ‘likely to raise questions about the procedures for vetting and releasing information across the entire government.’

    “This is huge. It shows the FBI is taking this seriously,” said Jefferson Morley, an expert on the assassination and vice president of the nonpartisan Mary Ferrell Foundation, the nation’s largest source of online records of Kennedy’s killing, Axios continues. “The FBI is finally saying, ‘Let’s respond to the president’s order,’ instead of keeping the secrecy going,” Morley continued, without a so much as a hint of scrutiny over whether this could be complete bullshit from the very government that has kept the JFK assassination a closely guarded secret.

    Axios then hedges, suggesting that the new records are “unlikely” to definitively prove the official story – that Lee Harvey Oswald, was a lone-wolf assassin, or was part of a broader conspiracy.

    And as far as “unlikely” goes, we’d venture to guess there’s virtually no chance they’ll validate various theories that our own government killed Kennedy for various reasons (please discuss in the comments).

    In 2017, President Trump delayed the release of the JFK files on the advice of the CIA, while President Biden ordered a limited release of records related to the assassination. Deep state defenders have said that full disclosure could compromise ‘sources and methods,’ the same thing they hid behind during the Russiagate hoax hearings.

    According to the report, Trump has regretted not releasing all of the JFK records during his first term – however his January executive order calls for the release of all JFK, RFK, and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination records by March 9.

    More via Axios:

    What’s next: Despite Trump’s order, sources say, the various intelligence agencies with records of the assassination are still recommending redactions.

    • “When POTUS hears about this stonewalling, he’s gonna hit the roof,” a White House official told Axios.
    • “This is total Deep State bulls**t,” said another.
    • “Don’t be surprised if all these records just suddenly wind up online,” a Trump adviser said. “He wants to move on and call this a promise kept.”

    The intrigue: The newly discovered FBI files could have relevance in the ongoing federal lawsuit filed by the Mary Ferrell Foundation against the Biden administration in 2022. It alleges federal agencies had more documents related to the assassination that they weren’t turning over to the National Archives. They include:

    • Jailhouse recordings of mobster Carlos Marcello, who claimed he was involved in the assassination.
    • CIA files of George Joannides. He was the chief of covert action at the CIA station in Miami and was a case officer for a New Orleans-based CIA-funded exile group that had a series of encounters with Oswald before the shooting. Joannides also was accused of misleading a House committee investigating the assassination by failing to disclose his ties to Oswald. “The Joannides file sounds exactly like the newly discovered FBI files,” Morley said. “It’s something assassination-related that was never turned over to the Archives.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 21:45

  • Justice Department Orders Dismissal Of Charges Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams
    Justice Department Orders Dismissal Of Charges Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

    Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has directed federal prosecutors to drop charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks.

    Bove stated in a two-page memo dated Feb. 10 that the decision to dismiss is based on the timing of the charges and recent public actions by the former U.S. attorney who initiated the case, Damian Williams, who resigned from the post in December and was replaced by Danielle Sassoon shortly after President Donald Trump assumed office.

    Specifically, Bove wrote that these actions have jeopardized the fairness of the proceedings, particularly by generating prejudicial pretrial publicity that could influence witnesses and the jury pool.

    Further, the memo notes that both the actions and the underlying case have improperly interfered with Adams’s campaign in the 2025 mayoral election, and impede his ability to crack down on illegal immigration and violent crime.

    “We are particularly concerned about the impact of the prosecution on Mayor Adams’ ability to support critical, ongoing federal efforts ’to protect the American people from the disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration and resettlement,’ as described in Executive Order 14165,” Bove wrote, referring to Trump’s executive action on securing the border.

    Additionally, Bove noted that the decision to drop the charges was reached without an assessment of the strength of the prosecution and was not meant to call into question the attorneys who had filed the case.

    A key condition for dismissal of charges against Adams is that Sassoon, who has replaced Williams as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, reviews all the relevant factors in the case, including the evidence and strength of the legal theories on which it was based.

    “There shall be no further targeting of Mayor Adams or additional investigative steps prior to that review, and you are further directed to take all steps within your power to cause Mayor Adams’ security clearances to be restored,” Bove wrote.

    The case will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled at a later date.

    Williams did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

    Adams’s attorney, Alex Spiro, hailed the Justice Department’s decision as a validation of the mayor’s innocence. “Now, thankfully, the mayor and New York can put this unfortunate and misguided prosecution behind them,” Spiro said.

    The decision follows months of speculation that the Justice Department would intervene to halt the criminal case against Adams, who faced allegations of corruption. In December 2024, Trump suggested a possible pardon, telling reporters that the mayor had been “treated pretty unfairly.” The president also claimed that Adams was being persecuted by his own party for his criticism of former President Joe Biden’s policies on immigration.

    Prosecutors alleged in an indictment that Adams, the first sitting New York City mayor to face criminal charges, accepted more than $100,000 in campaign contributions and luxury benefits from foreign nationals.

    The accusations involved expensive flights, hotel stays, and other gifts, which Adams allegedly accepted in exchange for political favors benefiting Turkish officials and other foreign interests. Adams was also accused of fabricating false financial records and instructing associates on ways to disguise illegal activities. He has denied any wrongdoing.

    The charges against Adams included conspiracy, wire fraud, bribery, and accepting foreign campaign contributions. Each charge carries potentially severe penalties, including fines and prison time. A conviction would also disqualify him from holding public office in the future.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 21:35

  • US Convinces Palestinian Authority To End "Pay For Slay"
    US Convinces Palestinian Authority To End “Pay For Slay”

    Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas on Monday formally revoked a system which provides payments to families of Palestinians who were killed or wounded during attacks on Israelis. The system also extends for Palestinians thrown in Israeli prisons for assaults or terroristic attacks on Israelis as well.

    The first Trump administration as well as the Israelis referred to the practice as “pay for slay” – and Washington has long sought to force the PA the end the practice, and it has remained a major source of disagreement over many years.

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, via Facebook

    The Biden administration had reportedly spent two years attempting to negotiate an end to the system. The Palestinian side calls it a “martyr’s fund”.

    According to regional source Al-Monitor, “The Palestinian Authority paid out $176.8 million under the program in 2023, according to a January report from the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, an Israeli think tank.”

    Israel, the US, and some European leaders have long complained that it incentivizes violence against Israelis. Since the time of Trump’s first administration, a US law has prohibited Washington from providing direct financial assistance to the PA so long as “pay for slay” is still in effect.

    This means US aid to the West Bank and PA might flow more freely, and clearly this is what was on offer from the US side.

    President Abbas’ Monday decree revokes laws “related to the system of paying financial allowances to the families of prisoners, martyrs and the wounded,” the PA’s WAFA news agency reported.

    Israel remains skeptical, however, with the Israeli Foreign Ministry questioning on Monday whether the payments would actually end: “This is a new fraudulent trick by the Palestinian Authority, which intends to continue making payments to terrorists and their families through other payment channels,” a statement said.

    Over the last half-decade, tens of millions of dollars in pledged US aid has been held up:

    Republican Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho held up tens of millions of dollars in aid to the Palestinian Authority in 2021 over its policy.

    US President Donald Trump has been critical of the authority over the issue. In 2018, he signed into law the Taylor Force Act, which prohibited economic aid to the authority over the payments. The act was named after a US military veteran who was killed by a Palestinian assailant in Tel Aviv in 2016.

    Later that year, the Trump administration cut more than $200 million in funding to Ramallah, saying the money would be redirected to “high priority projects elsewhere.” The aid was later restored by US President Joe Biden in 2021.

    But money is unlikely to start flowing again anytime soon, given Trump’s ongoing campaign to drastically slash all foreign aid. The West Bank is likely to be a very low priority in terms of assistance regardless.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 21:20

  • 12 Simple Things That You Can Start Doing Right Now To Become More Independent Of The System
    12 Simple Things That You Can Start Doing Right Now To Become More Independent Of The System

    Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

    The more dependent you are, the less free you are.  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article about how our system is designed to beat us down and make us weak and dependent, because when we are weak and dependent we are easier to control.  Most of us don’t even realize why the majority of the population is so sick, exhausted, depressed and confused much of the time.  Our bodies, our minds and our spirits are constantly being poisoned by the system, and those that are in control of the system know exactly what they are doing.  If you do not choose to break free, you could end up under the oppression of their system for your entire life.

    Of course for many people inertia seems like the easiest option.  It is just so easy to keep doing what you have always done, and that is especially true once you get older.

    But what are you going to do once the system that you have become so dependent upon starts to crumble all around you?

    Over the past several years, our world has been getting increasingly unstable.  Major wars have erupted, the cost of living has become very painful, pestilences have been raging all over the globe, and historic natural disasters have been hitting us one after another.

    The chaos that we are experiencing now is just going to intensify in the months ahead.

    So what will most people do when the system that they depend on for their survival is shaken to the core?

    The following are 12 simple things that you can start doing right now to become more independent of the system…

    #1 Become Less Dependent On Your Job

    For most people, having a job essentially means living in a state of “just over broke”.  The truth is that it is incredibly difficult to become financially independent working for someone else.  Of course most Americans would not be able to survive without a job, but you don’t want to settle for just surviving.  I know that it can be exceedingly difficult to find the energy for a “side hustle” while you are working a full-time job, but a “side hustle” can eventually evolve into a full-time income.  If you want to live free, it is so important to explore alternate sources of income and different ways to build wealth.  And the truth is that any jobs we have now could easily disappear when economic conditions take a turn for the worse.  But if you have put in the effort to build up a “side hustle”, at least you will still have that.

    #2 Get Out Of Debt

    The borrower is the servant of the lender.  If you want to live free, get out of debt.  No matter how far you try to run, your debts are going to continue to hang over you wherever you go.  Getting out of debt can be completely and totally liberating.  It will give you much more freedom and will make you far less dependent on your job.  In fact, many Americans are already moving in this direction.  Why not join them?  When things start really falling apart and it is difficult for anyone to find a good job, the last thing you will want is a huge amount of debt hanging over your head.

    #3 Reduce Expenses

    For decades, most Americans have been living far beyond their means.  In the future, times are going to be really tough and we are all going to have to learn to tighten our belts.  Do you and your family waste money right now?  If you can eliminate that, you can live on a smaller income and you will have more money to invest in the things that are really going to matter.

    #4 Purchase Land

    Real estate is a lot more expensive than it once was, but the truth is that you don’t want to wait forever to get your hands on a piece of land.  When the system completely crumbles, you don’t want to be stuck in a heavily populated area with no place to go.  You always want to have somewhere that you can “bug out” to if things hit the fan.  In addition, owning real estate is a great way to build wealth.  In some of the most desirable areas of the country that are not heavily populated, real estate prices have doubled or even tripled in recent years.

    #5 Learn To Grow Your Own Food

    Another reason why you want to purchase some land is so that you will have somewhere to grow your own food if that becomes necessary.  100 years ago, almost everyone knew how to grow their own food, and most people also knew how to raise farm animals.  Today, relatively few Americans have those skills.  A great way to begin is by starting your own “survival garden”.  If you are not already doing this, why not start this upcoming spring?

    #6 Find A Reliable Source Of Clean Water

    Do you know what they are putting into your water?  In many parts of the country, tap water is absolutely teeming with all sorts of nasty stuff.  Drinking pure water is an easy change that anyone can make, and it can have a dramatic impact on your health.  In addition, water is going to become a very, very valuable resource in the years to come.  It will be absolutely key for you and your family to have a dependable source of clean drinking water.  If you do not have water, you will not be able to survive for long.

    #7 Explore Alternative Energy Sources

    Have you noticed that your power bill just keeps going up?  In some states, people are being hit with power bills that exceed $1,000 a month.  Of course you may not be able to depend upon the power company at all once things get bad enough.  The truth is that there are very good reasons why so many Americans have been trying to go “off the grid”.  Without power, life gets really difficult very quickly.  But if you are generating your own power then you won’t have to worry about that.

    #8 Store Supplies

    Every time there is a major disaster or emergency, store shelves get empty really fast.  If an extended national emergency results in supply chains being disrupted on a long-term basis, you may have to get by on what you already have in your home.  So do you and your family have enough food and supplies to survive for an extended period of time?  If you don’t know where to start, there are guides that can help get you started.  In America today, there are millions of “preppers”, and the “prepping” industry has been thriving.  But of course most of the population just assumes that they will always be able to depend upon the system for what they need, and someday those people will be in for a very rude awakening.

    #9 Protect Your Assets With Gold And Silver

    Our leaders have been flooding the system with money for many years, and so it was only a matter of time before we experienced rampant inflation.  The cost of living has been absolutely soaring, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.  One way to protect yourself is by getting some gold and silver.  In the future, your paper money may not buy much for you at all, but if you have some gold and silver coins you can always exchange them for the things that you are going to need.

    #10 Learn Self-Defense

    Do you remember the riots that happened all over the country just a few years ago?  Well, the truth is that what we will see in the future will be far worse than that.  When people get desperate enough, they will literally do just about anything to survive.  Just think about it.  What do you think is going to happen once people living in densely-populated areas have been without food for two or three days?  Now is the time to think about how you will defend your home and your property from crazed looters.  It is not a fun thing to think about, but unfortunately we are heading into times that will not always be pretty.

    #11 Keep Yourself In Good Physical Condition

    As Americans, we live such “cushy” lives.  But when times get hard, things will not be so cushy.  In fact, the years ahead are likely to demand quite a bit of physical activity.  So keep yourself in good physical condition now.  In the future, you will be quite glad that you did.

    #12 Make Deep Connections

    It is really, really hard to “survive” all by yourself.  Those that will thrive the most in the future will be those that have a community that they can depend upon.  The truth is that we are always at our best when we work together.  It is time to build deep connections with family and friends, it is time to make new connections, and it is time to focus on what is truly important.  In the times ahead the world will be a very cold place, and a little love and teamwork will go a long way.

    *  *  *

    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
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 20:55

  • US Must Recognize 'New Realities' If Serious About Peace In Ukraine, Kremlin Tells Trump
    US Must Recognize ‘New Realities’ If Serious About Peace In Ukraine, Kremlin Tells Trump

    Over the weekend President Trump said he has spoken directly to Vladimir Putin about ending the war in Ukraine, something the Kremlin neither confirmed nor denied, only saying that communications with the US administration are currently being conducted through various channels.

    “I do believe we’re making progress,” Trump had told reporters, adding that he expects there to be more communications to come. “We want to stop the Ukraine-Russia war.”

    But as of Monday the Kremlin still says it has yet to be presented with any concrete offer that it would be enticed by. Moscow has received nothing to get it to the negotiating table with Ukraine, at a moment it has the clear battlefield momentum.

    Via Associated Press

    Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin expressed this to RIA state news agency

    “It is important that words be backed up by practical steps that take into account Russia’s legitimate interests, demonstrating a readiness to eradicate the root causes of the crisis and recognize the new realities.”

    “Concrete proposals of this nature have not yet been received,” he emphasized.

    As for the alleged Putin-Trump phone call, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said exactly the following: “in this case, I can neither confirm nor deny it” – in response to an inquiry by TASS:

    But even as the White House signals progress and positive contacts with Moscow, a very different message is coming out of Russian state media on Monday. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov at a news conference has said Moscow-Washington relations are on the brink of complete rupture. Here’s a summary of the remarks in TASS:

    Relations between Moscow and Washington are balancing on the verge of rupture.

    The administration of former US President Joe Biden “focused on hybrid warfare, introduced into its documents and imposed on allies in various alliances and configurations the idea of the possibility of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.” As a result, the “antagonistic content” of Russian-US relations intensified and has become “very critical” today.

    Washington’s attempts to give Moscow demands or to demonstrate the alleged doing “a great favor” in exchange for unacceptable US demands are bound to failure in the dialogue with Russia.

    Specifically Russia sees an unwillingness to deal seriously and fairly on the nuclear front, after in the last half-decade several post-Cold War era treaties have collapsed:

    The policy pursued by Washington “poses a significant challenge to global nuclear non-proliferation” and control over nuclear weapons is deteriorating.

    Russia has not yet seen any manifestations of common sense or political will on the part of the West to overcome the crisis in the arms control system.

    The situation around Russia-US dialogue on strategic stability, including the post-New START Treaty period, does not look optimistic.

    Such dramatic statements suggesting a total break in formal relations from the Russian side could just be more diplomatic maneuvering and posturing to maintain leverage at the future negotiating table.

    Still, it’s obvious to all that the Ukraine situation remains extremely dangerous, as arms from Washington have continued to flow, after what was perhaps a very brief halt last week. Trump himself has long acknowledged this, warning that if peace is not achieved, the situation could spiral toward WW3.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 20:30

  • Under-Reported Trump Order Has Sweeping Implications For DEI At Universities
    Under-Reported Trump Order Has Sweeping Implications For DEI At Universities

    Authored by Mark Glennon via Wirepoints.org,

    A sea change is at hand. 

    Little noticed in the blizzard of executive orders issued by President Trump is this provision in Executive Order No. 14173 for getting federal money:

    (iv)  The head of each agency shall include in every contract or grant award:

    (A)  A term requiring the contractual counterparty or grant recipient to agree that its compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code; and

    (B)  A term requiring such counterparty or recipient to certify that it does not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.

    In other words, if you want federal money, you will have to “certify” that you do not “operate any programs promoting” DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) “that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.” And the order eases the way for enforcement through whistleblower claims.

    Major universities may be the most impacted because they rely heavily on tens of billions of dollars in contracts and grants paid out nationally every year by the federal government. Many of those schools also continue to maintain aggressive DEI programs that are highly suspect under Federal anti-discrimination laws.

    That spells big trouble unless they end or curtail DEI programs, and fast. They will either be disqualified from new federal grants or face severe consequences for signing a false certification.

    Among the schools that should be paying attention is Northwestern University. Its total federal revenue from contracts and grants is unclear but undoubtedly very large, with grants from the Department of Defense, NASA, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and other agencies.

    But Northwestern is already being sued for its agreement, following pro-Palestinian protests, to provide special scholarships and other accommodations to Palestinian students. Another lawsuit against the law school alleges discrimination against whites in faculty hiring.

    Such conduct by a university, if proved, likely would be regarded by the Trump Administration as prohibited DEI policy, making it hard for Northwestern to sign the new certification requirement needed for federal grants.

    What about state universities? The order isn’t clear on that. It’s mostly about private sector entities, but the language quoted above is not limited to them. An association of public universities includes the new order among its warnings of changes being implemented under Trump. If Trump’s new order isn’t intended to cover public universities, there’s no reason to doubt that another one will.

    If Trump’s new order does cover public universities, a prime target would be the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It maintains one of the most egregious DEI loyalty oath programs in the nation, requiring woke speech and conduct to be among the evaluation factors for faculty hiring and tenure. We’ve long said it was a First Amendment lawsuit waiting to happen, even during the Biden Administration. We’ve written about that here, here and here.

    Trump’s new order is vague. There’s no definition, for example, of “programs promoting DEI” that are prohibited.

    The order is definitely limited to DEI programs “that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.” What that means, however, is hardly clear. The illegality of some DEI programs is now controlled by the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. Legal scholars and administrators of all types are still struggling to decide what DEI programs are permissible under that ruling.

    But the order and the Harvard decision probably will be interpreted strictly by the Trump Administration, for reasons nicely explained in a recent piece here from the Manhattan Contrarian.

    It gets worse for the woke.

    Trump’s new order includes this:

    A term requiring the contractual counterparty or grant recipient to agree that its compliance in all respects with all applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws is material to the government’s payment decisions for purposes of section 3729(b)(4) of title 31, United States Code.

    Want to guess what that referenced Code section is?

    It’s the False Claims Act – the whistleblower law that allows private citizens to file what are called qui tam actions. That provision in Trump’s new order is specifically intended to make it easier to win whistleblower actions under the False Claims Act. In other words, if a university or other party falsely signs the certification that they have no DEI policies, private parties like their employees can blow the whistle, perhaps getting a cash award. Treble damages are among the possible consequences for False Claims Act violations.

    Many major law firms have posted warnings for their clients about the new Trump order and the potential for whistleblower complaints, such as here. 

    However, the regular press and general public have yet to catch up on how drastically the law has turned against DEI.

    Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in 2007 that “The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.” Like it or not, that’s how the new crowd in Washington sees things. They mean business. Buckle up.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 20:05

  • Tesla Exec Tells Jay Leno: Cybercabs Will Begin "Rolling Around" In Austin, Texas, In June
    Tesla Exec Tells Jay Leno: Cybercabs Will Begin “Rolling Around” In Austin, Texas, In June

    Tesla chief designer Franz von Holzhausen appeared in a video with Jay Leno on the latest episode of “Jay Leno’s Garage” to announce that Cybercab offerings will begin in Austin, Texas, this summer. 

    In the video, Leno asked Holzhausen: “Well, Tesla’s Robo taxi is supposed to start pretty soon?” 

    Holzhausen responded: “Yeah, Cybercabs is like Lars [Tesla VP for Vehicle Engineering Lars Moravy] was saying… We’re testing in Texas and rolling it out in June.” 

    “I think that’s going to be what we’re talking about. That’ll be the technology that feels like the future, but it’s happening today,” Holzhausen said. 

    Moravy chimed in: “Every Tesla comes fully capable with that…” 

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

    There was no further explanation from the Tesla executives in their conversation with Leno regarding the scale of the Cybercab offerings in Austin or whether additional cities are expected to come online in the coming months. 

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

    Meanwhile, the electric vehicle market has lost momentum (read: here & here), with Tesla reporting the first-ever drop in annual deliveries. In its latest earnings call, Tesla reported that fourth-quarter results missed Wall Street’s expectations, and its 2025 outlook was revised downward.

    Tesla may be eager to get that AI multiple to sustain the one trillion dollar valuation club.

    Waymo robotaxis will soon have a new competitor. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 19:40

  • Trump Says Hamas Must Free All Hostages By Saturday Noontime Or 'All Hell Will Break Loose'
    Trump Says Hamas Must Free All Hostages By Saturday Noontime Or ‘All Hell Will Break Loose’

    Update(19:39ET): Amid reports that Hamas has paused the next round of Israeli hostage releases, while accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire, President Trump in his latest words has warned “all hell is going to break out” if the Islamist group doesn’t release all the remaining hostages:

    President Donald Trump said Monday that a precarious ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas should be canceled if Hamas doesn’t release all the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza by midday on Saturday — though he also acknowledged that such a decision would be up to Israel.

    In comments to reporters after signing a series of executive orders, Trump said, “If they’re not here, all hell is going to break out” and said he feared many scheduled for release are actually already dead

    He did add the caveat that “I’m speaking for myself. Israel can override it.”

    The timeline and deadline is interesting, given Hamas is unlikely to obey dictates coming from Washington. To a large degree there has already been “hell to pay” in the course of the war in the Gaza Strip. Hamas at this point has less to lose than before, as much of the Strip is already obliterated and in ruins.

    * * *

    Hamas has announced Monday it is suspending the release of hostages planned for Saturday until further notice due to “Israeli violations” and amid international backlash at Trump’s proposed plan to “take over” Gaza which would block a Palestinian ‘right of return’.

    The last three emaciated-looking Israeli hostages were freed on Saturday in exchange for over 180 Palestinians released from Israeli jails. The Israeli captives have been held for over 490 days. Since the ceasefire took effect last month 21 people have freed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad – 16 of them Israelis and five Thai citizens. Victims’ families in Israel are desperately hoping more will be freed according to plan.

    Until now the truce was looking promising, and is on the brink of entering a second phase of the deal, given the Israeli military this weekend withdrew from from the Netzarim Corridor, which cuts Gaza in half, allowing tens of thousands of Gazans to return to the north and move more freely.

    Via Associated Press

    Hamas has announced the next round of release of captives is postponed “until further notice” while accusing Israel of  violating the terms of the ceasefire deal. Israel has put its military on ‘high alert’.

    Several Palestinians have been shot by IDF forces in Gaza City, but Israel in turn has blamed Hamas for violating agreements, including parading hostages in front of propaganda posters before they are handed over to the Red Cross.

    Hamas has also been fiercely condemning Trump’s plan which would see Gazan’s leave the strip en masse. He’s been pressuring Egypt and Jordan to take in over one million Palestinians. His latest statements have inflamed tensions further. According to Fox, CNN and other outlets on Monday, Trump has expressly said his plan would not support a right of return:

    President Donald Trump said explicitly in an interview this weekend that Palestinians would not have a right to return to Gaza under his plan to take US ownership of the strip and rebuild it.

    “No, they wouldn’t,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News when asked whether the Palestinians would have a right to return. “Because they will have much better housing. Much better – in other words, I’m talking about building a permanent place for them.”

    Hamas has responded by saying the US President tackling the “Palestinian issue with the mentality of a real estate dealer” and this is “a recipe for failure.”

    Many analysts have warned that this White House rhetoric could collapse an already fragile ceasefire deal, and this is precisely what appears to be happening now, also given PM Netanyahu has hailed Trump’s words as “creative” and “revolutionary”. 

    Trump and his top foreign policy officials haven’t been fully on the same page, it appears:

    Afterward, some Trump aides sought to soften or clarify aspects of the plan. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump was proposing only a temporary relocation of Palestinians while Gaza was being rebuilt.

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was traveling in Latin America when Trump revealed his idea, suggested the resettlements from Gaza would be only on an interim basis.

    “What he very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction — the rebuilding of homes and businesses and things of this nature, so that then people can move back in,” Rubio said last week.

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

    But a stance of ‘no right of return’ means that Palestinians would not be allowed back to their homes or communities. Already tens of thousands are returning, and it remains unlikely that Trump’s plan could be practically achievable. 

    The reality is that hardliners within Netanyahu’s government don’t want to see a truce deal stick, as they prefer a military solution. Trump’s words give them an incentive to ‘cleanse’ Gaza of Palestinians, continuing the IDF air and ground operation.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 19:39

  • Democrats Start Platform For Government Whistleblowers In Response To Trump Admin, DOGE
    Democrats Start Platform For Government Whistleblowers In Response To Trump Admin, DOGE

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

    Senate Democrats have set up an online website for government workers to serve as whistleblowers for the Trump administration, particularly the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was formed to slash unnecessary U.S. government spending and is being led by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

    “Whistleblowers are a vital part of Congressional oversight to hold the administration accountable,” states the Senate Democrats’ whistleblower website, which was established on Sunday. “If you would like to submit a whistleblower complaint, you can submit it here.”

    Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) released a statement about the whistleblower portal on Sunday, saying that “whistleblowers are essential in helping uncover fraud and abuse in the federal government.”

    “If you have information you want to share about wrongdoing, abuse of power, and threats to public safety, we stand ready to support you in your pursuit of truth and justice,” their letter said.

    In a post on Musk’s social media platform X on Monday, Schumer said “brave public servants” displaying “courage in stepping forward as whistleblowers to expose corruption and misconduct is essential to preserving the integrity of our democratic institutions.”

    During the Biden administration, some Republican lawmakers set up channels to receive testimony from whistleblowers inside multiple federal agencies, including the FBI, IRS, and CIA.

    Since taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump has initiated changes that his Democratic critics say exceed his executive authority, such as seeking to restrict birthright citizenship, withholding funding appropriated by Congress, and removing heads of federal agencies and boards. They also accused Musk and DOGE of acting in an unauthorized manner in how they have accessed data in multiple federal agencies, including the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

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

    Musk, Trump, and Republicans have said that DOGE is necessary to root out waste, fraud, and other abusive actions carried out by federal agencies.

    “We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse and, you know, the people elected me on that,” Trump said in a Fox News interview on Feb. 9 that aired before Super Bowl LIX. He described Musk as “terrific” and added that DOGE would soon focus on the country’s largest government agency—the Department of Defense.

    The moves have prompted dozens of lawsuits challenging actions including his efforts to tackle illegal immigration, federal workforce protections, and the legal status of DOGE.

    The whistleblower portal is part of escalating efforts by Democrats to resist the Trump administration’s moves. Last week, Democrats held the Senate floor in a bid to protest the nomination of Russel Vought, who was later confirmed to be the head of the Office of Management and Budget.

    On Sunday, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) indicated that Democrats are willing to shut down the federal government in mid-March over DOGE and the Trump administration’s downsizing efforts, accusing them of engaging in “lawlessness” by trying to “dismantle the government.”

    “For us to be able to support government funding in that way, only for them to turn it around, to dismantle the government,“ he told NBC News’ ”Meet the Press,“ ”that is not something that should be allowed.”

    Members of Congress have until mid-March to pass a bill to fund the government, including a spending package for the Department of Defense and one for non-defense programs.

    Democrats have minorities in both chambers of Congress, and Trump has had experience dealing with government shutdowns during his first administration, meaning Democrats currently have limited options available to challenge the president.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 19:15

  • "Cocaine Is No Worse Than Whiskey": Colombia's President Says Drug Only Illegal Because It's Made In South America
    “Cocaine Is No Worse Than Whiskey”: Colombia’s President Says Drug Only Illegal Because It’s Made In South America

    Colombian President Gustavo Petro, during a six-hour live ministerial meeting, claimed cocaine is no more harmful than a glass of whiskey last week, according to the New York Post.

    He argued its illegality is driven by global politics and suggested it could be consumed as casually as alcohol. Colombia – as many already know – is the world’s largest producer and exporter of cocaine.

    “Scientists have analyzed this. Cocaine is no worse than whiskey,” were his exact words. Petro suggested that legalizing drugs is the most effective way to dismantle the illegal drug trade.

    He said: “If you want peace, you have to dismantle the business [of drug trafficking]. It could easily be dismantled if they legalize cocaine in the world. It would be sold like wine.”

    The New York Post article says that in 2023, Colombia’s cocaine production hit a record 2,600 tons, per the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.

    Cocaine-related deaths rose 37% over six years, with 27,529 deaths in 2022, many linked to fentanyl-laced supplies, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

    Back in January we noted an Oilprice.com piece that wrote that cocaine was outpacing oil as Columbia’s most valuable export. 

    The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that the year’s annual output grew 52% year over year, the largest amount ever produced.

    Despite the government in the capital Bogota, with U.S. backing, committing substantial resources to disrupt what is now an economically crucial illicit industry in rural Colombia coca cultivation and cocaine manufacturing keeps spiraling higher.

    The booming cocaine trade drives heightened insecurity and corruption which are damaging key economic sectors, notably the fiscally vital petroleum industry with oil Colombia’s most valuable export.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 18:50

  • "No Way To Avoid Pain Of Worldwide Recession" – Ed Dowd Warns Of "Perfect Storm For Trump Admin"
    “No Way To Avoid Pain Of Worldwide Recession” – Ed Dowd Warns Of “Perfect Storm For Trump Admin”

    Authored by Greg Hunter via USAWatchdog,

    Former Wall Street money manager and financial analyst Ed Dowd of PhinanceTechnologies.com is back with a new report called “Danger of Deep Worldwide Recession in 2025.” 

    The new report shows how a weak economy was propped up under the Biden Administration and how a crash, this year, is inevitable.  

    Dowd says,

    “What we are going to have going forward is the reversal of deficit government spending, which was juicing the economy with illegals.  

    Some of them got jobs, but a lot of them got benefits.  They got housing accommodations.  The NGO system was flush with money to facilitate this massive, purposeful logistical operation.  People don’t understand that the net legal migration in the US is one million a year. That’s one million people a year.  The last four years, we brought in 10 million to 15 million people.  That is a new economic variable, and it distorted the economy. 

    It never got us into expansion territory, but it papered over a lot of the ills we were seeing.  

    Trump’s policies are going to reverse that all out. . . . The velocity of money under Joe Biden really started to rise. . . .  Illegal immigration is very inflationary...

    In the fourth quarter, the velocity of money is already rolling over.  The Trump effect began the moment he was elected.  We’ve seen self-deportations.  We have seen new tenant rents plunge, and that’s what has been holding up the housing market.”

    How bad is the economy going to get?  

    Dowd predicts, 

    “We are seeing a recession in 2025.  The rest of the globe is already starting to roll over.  It’s going to be a worldwide recession.  There is going to be a mini housing crisis.  Housing has been stagnant for the better part of the year.  There is no transaction volume, and nobody can afford homes.  We are hitting the 18-year housing cycle.  The last housing cycle was in 2007, and you add 18 years and you get 2025…

    The economy for the middle-class is going down. . . . As time goes on, we are going to see GDP numbers go lower and lower and lower. . . . It’s kind of a perfect storm for the Trump Administration.  There is no way to avoid the pain.”

    When can we expect things to get better?  

    Dowd says, 

    “This is much like Ronald Reagan in his first term.  He was elected with -2% real wages.  This was the same phenomenon going into the 2024 Election.  So, we are going to have a recession . . . Then, Trump gets his policies, and he has a very short window of opportunity to get all of his policies enacted.  If he does, we will be booming on the other side of this.”

    Dowd still likes gold and thinks rates will begin going lower, which means locking in rates now will be a smart play for many.  

    Dowd says, “Gold is good long term.”  

    Dowd also thinks AI is over-bought and is in a bubble and points out, “There is no money on the other side,” of the AI boom.  

    Dowd thinks AI tech will crash just like the internet bubble in early 2000.  

    Dowd thinks, “AI prices are too expensive, and they will collapse at some point.”

    There is much more in the 51-minute interview.

    Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with money manager and investment expert Ed Dowd, as he talks about his new report called “Danger of Deep Worldwide Recession in 2025” for 2.8.25.

    *  *  *

    If you want a copy of Dowd’s new report called “Danger of Deep Worldwide Recession in 2025,” click here. There is lots of free information on Dowd’s website called PhinanceTechnologies.com. You can order Dowd’s updated book called “Cause Unknown” by clicking here. Dowd’s work on compiling data on deaths, disabilities and injuries caused by the CV19 bioweapon/vax is all free at his website called HumanityProjects.info.  You can see the data by clicking here, and you can donate to the HumanityProjects.info by clicking here.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 18:18

  • Fiat Alternatives Are A Thing…
    Fiat Alternatives Are A Thing…

    Via Charts and Parts substack,

    Before we dive in – the LBMA situation remains a critical event and is still unfolding. While this missive expands on #COTY (Call of the Year), the reality at the LBMA makes everything we’ve been discussing even more urgent. If you haven’t read our breakdown of the LBMA de facto default, you can find it here.

    INTRO

    The central bank trading of gold tells a story, one marked by four distinct phases since Nixon closed the gold window on August 15th, 1971. We’ve recently entered this fourth and most pivotal phase. It is the biggest, the fastest, and most importantly, it is here now. This is our time.

    We got a little lucky with our 2024 #COTY (Call of the Year) which focused on fiat alternatives. The S&P500 and NASDAQ both had a great 2024, meanwhile, our fiat alternatives of gold, silver, and Bitcoin kept pace/outperformed, depending on who’s counting.

    As much as we’d like to call for a repeat performance and a COTY 2.0 for 2025, we’ll instead share a new perspective. Pure fiat was born in earnest in 1971 when Nixon untethered the dollar from gold, leaving the global reserve asset trading on faith. Let’s take a step back and view this experiment from afar.

    PHASE 1 – THE INVENTION OF FIAT

    New systems start with curiosity. Central banks watched and handicapped, and they bought and sold small amounts of gold with no real pattern (see chart on page 1). They tinkered and digested the new rules of engagement.

    This period was also marred with major swings in inflation. The CPI fluctuated wildly, spiking into the teens and then dropped to the low single digits several times before settling down in the mid-1980’s. This paved the way for a major decline in rates.

    PHASE 2 – THE NEW GAME

    A new paradigm was born. The 40-year cycle of rising rates appeared to be over. Rates steadily declined and lifted all boats, as most assets surged higher: bonds, stocks, oil, and real estate. This was a wake-up call for central banks. As asset prices climbed, central banks allocated out of gold, which was left behind on a performance basis.

    Lower rates became the cornerstone to financialization — making money from money. Lower borrowing costs made it cheaper to borrow and easier to lever up. This was the new game and gold got left in the dust. After a parabolic spike high in the early 1980s, gold drifted sideways to down for 25 years.

    Central banks seemed to have it all figured out, and they were net sellers of gold for over 20 years. This period also marked the start of global coordination and interconnectedness with central bank policies, rates, and markets beginning to work in unison. Through the lens of global central bank policy, the world was becoming smaller.

    PHASE 3 – THE SHOT ACROSS THE BOW

    The party had to end at some point. The Great Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008 sent shock-waves around the world. The US housing market bust was felt globally, and the air came out of global markets.

    But the bigger surprise was the central bank’s response to this breakage. This is when central bank “printing” and government bailouts took on a life of their own. Temporary bailout programs became permanent, the handouts grew in size and scope, and crazy concepts like negative yields were born.

    Bailout nation was the new norm. The good news: the system was saved. The unfair news: those making these decisions and closest to the money spigot won the most. The reality: this was the very definition of inflation (creation of currency units), and central banks had just finished 20 years of selling their gold.

    It was now time to flip the script. Goliath and the powers that be were happy to play along, but they also knew this was an inflationary game. With that, the global central banks started to buy their gold back. Since the “temporary” $700 billion GFC bailout, the US has gone through a myriad of additional bailouts, programs, twists and turns to keep the system afloat. Like any drug addict, each round of remedies required a bigger dose to have material impact.

    PHASE 4 – OH SHIT

    The QE experiment came with an “oh shit” moment. It became clear that the printer was the only tool in the kit. Every market hiccup and bank collapse came with the same response – more fiat currency poured into the system — moar inflation.

    To make matters worse, The Fed ramped up buying its own bonds…with freshly minted currency. This circular operation repeated regularly, making it clear these guys were playing for keeps. The Fed’s buying of their own bonds kept a lid on rates, as debts and deficits climbed. The entire QE experiment has suppressed rates in an ever-expanding, debt-fueled world, creating an astonishing divergence (lower rates and higher debts) that defies every rule, concept, and shred of logic in financial markets.

    The real kicker was the freezing and seizing of Russian sovereign reserves. This was the ultimate “oh shit” moment. Rates and market manipulation was bad enough, but this one had a different feel. It’s one thing to press limits with our printing press, but it’s an entirely new game to steal.

    All bets are off. BRICS membership is growing, new competing currency ideas are emerging, and there’s no attempt to slow or manage the US spending, debts, or deficits. The global central bank buying of gold has gone into overdrive.

    BITCOIN – A SHORTER STORY

    Bitcoin was invented at the scene of the crime. It emerged during the GFC and has charted its own adoption curve. Early bitcoin adopters were fighting the bad actors. New rules, regulations, education, investments, and resources evolved in the public eye.

    Institutional adoption has begun, and we are even seeing bitcoin embraced at the sovereign level (Bukele in El Salvador). More importantly, bitcoin witnessed the same “oh shit” moment, sparking a fresh rally. Since November 2022, bitcoin is up over 500%. Rest assured – the central banks are watching closely.

    SILVER – THE BASTARD CHILD

    Silver is one part industrial, one part currency/precious metals, and one part chaos. There’s little transparency in the silver markets, it is impressively small relative to gold and other major asset classes, thus easy to manipulate.

    “WallStreetBets” initiated a silver squeeze in early 2021, fresh on the heels of the GME (Game Stop) battle they had vs. Goliath. The results were mixed. The price reaction was muted, but it was a wake-up call for the asset (silver) in general. At Charts & Parts, we view silver as ground zero for the paper vs. physical fight. We believe the silver market is fractionalized (not enough physical silver to go around), much like our US dollar currency system. This is the basis for our hypothesis in A Silver Heist, summarized below:

    A Silver Heist hypothesizes a scenario where manipulation and fraud in the precious metals market allow Goliath to seize control of physical silver, while paper silver futures settle in cash. We’ve already seen paper markets break down: in 2020 the oil market broke to the downside and oil futures plummeted to negative $30, and in 2022, nickel futures snapped to the upside and gained 250% in just two days, with exchanges stepping in to cancel trades – proving how far we have drifted from free and fair markets. The lack of transparency in the silver market, frequent and blatant paper smashes, and the extreme paper-to-physical leverage all signal that A Silver Heist is not just possible but increasingly likely.

    CONCLUSION

    The fiat alternative asset class is real, and it appears to be doing what it should. Gold, silver, and bitcoin are proving to be effective hedges against currency risks. The story makes sense, and the confirming action supports it. With a gnarly catalyst like a freeze and seize of sovereign reserves coupled with an inflation problem, this asset class just got a lot more interesting.

    Currency systems do not change overnight, and one can argue that it is healthy to have competing currencies. We’ll watch the action and enjoy the ride, as we enter the “suddenly” part of the story.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 17:40

  • Trump 'Committed To Buying & Owning Gaza' As Poll Shows Little Support Among US Public
    Trump ‘Committed To Buying & Owning Gaza’ As Poll Shows Little Support Among US Public

    President Trump has reiterated his proposal to take control of Gaza, saying he is committed to “buying and owning” the war-ravaged enclave in comments given to reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One. Trump described that Gaza should be thought of as a “big real estate site” and that neighboring and regional Arab states could be tasked with handling its redevelopment. 

    “I’m committed to buying and owning Gaza. As far as us rebuilding it, we may give it to other states in the Middle East to build sections of it,” Trump told the press pool while flying to the Super Bowl in New Orleans.

    “But we’re committed to owning it, taking it, and making sure that Hamas doesn’t move back. There’s nothing to move back into. The place is a demolition site.”

    USAF image

    Addressing the question of the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced, he said of Gazans, “If we could give them a home in a safer area – the only reason they’re talking about returning to Gaza is they don’t have an alternative. When they have an alternative, they don’t want to return to Gaza.” However, videos over the past days and week have shown families pouring back into the north, most often by food and carrying possessions on their backs.

    He didn’t put a timeline on this ultra-controversial plan which has sparked international backlash, but the president again called Gaza a “demolition site” and said the “remainder will be demolished. You can’t live in those buildings right now. We’ll make into a good site for future development by … somebody.”

    But Trump is perhaps not taking into full account that Hamas to some extent already has “moved back” in, and is especially showing its continued strength and presence in the south of the enclave, parading well-armed battalion sized units in places like Khan Yunis during the recent hostage handover ceremonies.

    A Sunday Hamas statement responded, “Our Palestinian people will thwart all displacement and deportation plans. Gaza belongs to its people.”

    But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Trump’s proposal as “revolutionary” and “creative” – however he’s yet to address whether the plan could actually be accomplished without years of further fighting in Gaza. Hamas has not in fact been fully dislodged, and could probably wage a guerrilla campaign from the tunnels for years yet to come.

    Meanwhile, among the American public, there’s clearly little enthusiasm for Trump’s plan…

    …with a new CBS News/YouGov poll showing only 13% of those surveyed believing it’s a “good idea” – and with 47% responding it is a “bad idea”. Another 40% expressed that they are “unsure” or that it “depends”.

    The White House has sought to downplay the possibility of sending American troops, though it’s unclear how Trump’s Gaza plan would play out on any practical ground level.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 17:20

  • Renters Are Tired Of Moving, Settling In For The Long Haul
    Renters Are Tired Of Moving, Settling In For The Long Haul

    Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

    Soaring home prices keep many on the sidelines. Renters in need of more space and privacy are making house rentals their long-term homes.

    The Houses That Renters Never Want to Leave

    Point2Homes discusses The Houses That Renters Never Want to Leave

    • Moving after less than 1 year is becoming less appealing: Compared to 2017, the number of house renters who spend less than 12 months in a home before moving fell 4.5% and decreased in 70 of the 75 metros we reviewed.

    • The shares of renters who move after less than 12 months dropped the most in Bakersfield, CA (-12.4%); followed by Tucson, AZ (-10%); and Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA (-10%).

    • Long-term renting is gaining ground: More and more house renters are slowly but surely making the single-family home rental they currently occupy into what may be their forever home.

    • Long-term and very long-term renters in California’s Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario and Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura are leading the trend as their shares increased by more than 7% in the last 5 years.

    • Space is no longer a preference, but a necessity: Nearly half of single-family renters (47%) gravitate toward spacious three-bedroom homes, making them the top pick for those seeking extra room to rent, according to the latest Census data on house renter tenure.

    House Renters Spend More Time Before Moving

    Of the 45,646,491 renter households in the country, 14,227,371 are single-family renter households. And they’re increasingly going the distance: According to Point2Homes‘ most recent analysis of Census data, renters who spend five to nine and 10+ years in their rental before moving increased by 2 and 2.7 percentage points, respectively. On the other hand, the number of renters who move after just 12 months fell -4.5 percentage points compared to five years ago.

    High cost of living, supply scarcity, growing home prices and high mortgage rates make it impossible — or at the very least extremely difficult — for renters to start saving for a down payment, thereby keeping them renting for longer.

    But it’s not just increasing home prices that are keeping renters put. Rental prices have also shot up in recent years, discouraging renters from moving, as that would require taking on a likely higher lease.

    That’s obvious in the nation’s 75 largest metros: Throughout the last five years, the share of renters who move after less than 12 months decreased in all but four metros. What’s more, three metros are posting double-digit drops in the shares of short-tenure renters: In Bakersfield, CA (-12.4%); Tucson, AZ (-10%); and Omaha, NE (-10%), renters really seem to be rethinking their strategy and are staying put.

    Census data is woefully lagging so we need to be a bit careful on such stale data.

    But who really likes to move?

    Based on falling prices of new leases, many claim “rent is falling”. But most people don’t move.

    And the fewer people who do move, the more sticky existing rent prices are.

    The Point of Renting a House

    If Gen Z renters, young, single Millennials and downsizing Baby Boomers can make do with smaller homes, they’re not the majority. Most renters of single-family homes prefer the larger, three-bedroom houses for rent: Nearly half (47%) of all house renters opted for a roomy three-bedroom, whereas less than 10% went for a one-bedroom house for rent.

    Net numbers are equally telling: Nearly 7 million renters live in three-bedroom houses, followed at a distance by the 4 million who choose a two-bedroom rental.

    That’s because single-family homes for rent cater to a very specific demographic — renters who are kept on the sidelines, unable to buy a home big enough for their changing needs.

    Where Do Renters Live?

    • In 2023, 38% of renters in the US lived in apartment buildings with five or more units.

    • Another 17% of renters lived in buildings with two to four units.

    • The remaining 41% of renters lived in single-family homes.

    • 5% of renters lived in mobile homes.

    The above is an AI response to my question. Those who live in a big city apartment may be surprised that only 38 percent live in big apartment buildings.

    People under the age of 30 comprised the largest share of renters in the U.S. in 2022. Almost half of the population that lives in a rental apartment fell in this age group.

    According to research published earlier this year by John Burns Research and Consulting, remote work lives on: “Despite return-to-office policies, remote work remains about four times more prevalent than pre-COVID. […] the resulting outflow to more outlying areas is akin to the massive shifts caused by the car revolution of the 1950s and 1960s that opened up the first ring of suburbia.”

    There’s much more in the article for those interested in renting and rental trends.

    The CPI is Wednesday. The Bloomberg consensus is another 0.3 percent. The Fed would not consider that progress.

    I will closely be watching shelter.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 17:00

  • Russia Would Accept Foreign Peacekeeping Troops In Ukraine, On One Condition
    Russia Would Accept Foreign Peacekeeping Troops In Ukraine, On One Condition

    Starting late last year as the Biden administration was still setting the tone of the West’s Ukraine policy, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot issued statements suggesting that a plan to send NATO troops to Ukraine was being mulled by Western allies as a legitimate ‘option’.

    For example, the top French diplomat said in November, “We will support Ukraine as intensely and as long as necessary. Why? Because it is our security that is at stake. Each time the Russian army progresses by one square kilometer, the threat gets one square kilometer closer to Europe.”

    BBC interviewer Laura Kuenssberg had questioned Barrot on whether that could mean sending French troops into the war. He responded: “We do not discard any option.”

    Without doubt, French Foreign Legion troops and Western mercenaries are already there, and the Kremlin has over the last year said that French forces were killed and wounded in various attacks. This has long been an ‘open secret’ of the proxy conflict.

    Kremlin officials have in the last days complained about ongoing rumors speculating that Russia is ready to allow Western peacekeeping troops into Ukraine. This is happening as the White House has newly confirmed that it is in communication with Putin’s officials about setting up peace or ceasefire negotiations, which could materialize soon.

    dpa/picture alliance

    On Monday Moscow’s ambassador to the UN rejected that this is a serious option. Amb. Vassily Nebenzia said in an interview with RIA Novosti that such a plan would have to have approval of the United Nations Security council, of which Russia is a permanent member.

    “’Peacekeepers’ cannot operate without a mandate from the UN Security Council. Otherwise, any foreign military contingents sent into the combat zone will be regarded as ordinary combatants under international law and a legitimate military target for our armed forces,” the envoy said.

    Of course, Russia can provide a lone veto halting any proposal to send foreign troops to Ukraine, which it would most certainly do. Peace plans recently floated by the West have included a delay on future admission of Ukraine into NATO and the deployment of a peacekeeping force.

    However, President Putin has consistently said that Russia will stay firm in rejecting any ‘timeline’ of NATO membership, whether 20 years or more. He’s described that this would only push off an inevitable war. This issue has remained a non-starter and Moscow is unlikely to enter negotiations until NATO membership is completely off the table.

    It’s as yet unclear on where Trump stands on the issue – though he’s recently expressed that he understands Moscow’s anger over this. This suggests Trump is indeed open to taking NATO membership for Ukraine off the table. As for future peacekeeping troops, this has also been reported to be part of Trump’s plan for ending the war.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 02/10/2025 – 16:40

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Feb 10

Today’s News 10th February 2025

  • Senate GOP Proposes Constitutional Amendment To Limit Size Of Supreme Court
    Senate GOP Proposes Constitutional Amendment To Limit Size Of Supreme Court

    Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

    Republicans in the U.S. Senate proposed a new constitutional amendment on Feb. 7 that would prevent federal lawmakers from increasing the number of justices—currently set at nine—on the U.S. Supreme Court.

    The new joint congressional resolution, the Keep Nine Amendment, was introduced after Democrats in the previous Congress proposed a series of measures to boost the number of justices and enforce ethics standards at the nation’s highest court. Republicans at the time criticized the legislation.

    Congressional Democrats have been demanding ethics reforms in recent years as reports of justices not publicly disclosing gifts have surfaced. They have also grown increasingly incensed by Supreme Court rulings they disagree with on issues such as abortion, gun rights, affirmative action, environmental policy, and the power of the administrative state. Republicans have countered that efforts to regulate the court are unconstitutional and motivated by partisan animus.

    The current limit of nine justices was established by the federal Judiciary Act of 1869. The number has not changed since then. Supreme Court justices are nominated by the sitting president and confirmation requires a simple majority vote by the Senate.

    Amending the U.S. Constitution is difficult. Article V of the Constitution provides that an amendment can move forward only if it is approved by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by two-thirds of states participating in a special constitutional convention. It must then be ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the states to become part of the Constitution.

    The resolution states that the amendment would become effective if it is ratified “within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification.”

    The Democrats’ “court-packing scheme would erase the legitimacy of the Supreme Court and destroy historic precedent,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

    “The Court is a co-equal branch of government, and our Keep Nine Amendment will ensure that it remains independent from political pressure.”

    Co-sponsor Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), said the amendment is needed to check Democrats’ “efforts to undermine the integrity of the Court.”

    He said lawmakers on the other side of the aisle want “to use the Court to advance policy goals they can’t accomplish electorally.”

    Among other co-sponsors of the amendment are Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.).

    Several bills have been introduced in Congress in recent years to expand the court beyond nine justices.

    In September 2024, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) unveiled legislation to add six justices to the Supreme Court, raising the total number of members to 15.

    “The Supreme Court is in crisis and bold solutions are necessary to restore the public trust,” Wyden said.

    In May 2023, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced legislation to raise the cap on justices to 13.

    “Our most fundamentally held freedoms are under attack from an illegitimate, far-right United States Supreme Court,” Markey said. “And if we fail to act, it will only get worse.”

    The Epoch Times reached out for comment to the Democrat minority on the Senate Judiciary Committee. No reply was received by publication time.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 22:45

  • Even Never Trumpers Are Warming Up To The Donald
    Even Never Trumpers Are Warming Up To The Donald

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Commentary

    I’d like to talk a day about an irony. Maybe it’s something that’s a paradox. Have you noticed that there’s certain people who are coming out of the woodwork who are diehard Trump opponents and suddenly they say, sorta, “I like Donald Trump,” or they don’t say it publicly or they don’t write it emphatically?

    President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump pause while speaking to supporters at Joint Base Andrews before boarding Air Force One, in Joint Base Andrews, Md., on Jan. 20, 2021. Pete Marovich/Pool/Getty Images

    And here’s what I mean. He went to Davos and I thought, “Wow, they’re going to destroy Don.” I don’t mean destroy him effectively, but they’re going to try to destroy him. And then the questions and answers were amazing. He outlined tax reform, transparency, low interest rates, targeted tariffs, more energy development, more fossil fuels, closed borders. I thought, “Wow, that is going to drive the Davos people crazy.”

    And then the questions were, “Are you sure you can send us a liquid, not natural gas? We need it in Europe,” or there were, “This sounds great, but when will it start?” And you start to think, these are capitalists and they want Europe to be turned to its former grandeur. And all of a sudden, this man is saying something that is exactly opposite of the socialism that destroyed their countries and which they bought into. And now they don’t have to do it. And they’re secretly, but more openly even admiring Donald Trump.

    Same phenomenon happened when I was on campus, not long on the Stanford campus, a professor whom I know came up to me, and I would say that he is a moderately anti-Trumper, never Trumper maybe, and he whispered, said, “Wow, the end of DEI is actually not that bad, is it?” And what he was saying is, “There’s no more racial quotas and maybe I wanted to be a dean.” I’m saying, I’m extrapolating what he was saying. “Maybe I want to be a dean or maybe I want to get published at University Press and there’s not going to be any racial quotas anymore or discrimination and I’m for that because the DEI is a monstrosity. There won’t be any czar that calls me up and says your syllabus doesn’t have enough DEI material in it, or I’ve looked at your grading pattern and you’re inordinately giving Cs to people of color. No more commissars.”

    So even they are, you know, happy that Donald Trump is doing this. And then we get into the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] and people are really angry at Donald Trump because in this tragedy of the airline accident, Donald Trump actually said things that were quite blunt. He said that DEI was maybe at fault, and we now know that the, and I don’t want to get into a critique yet of the crash, but it seems like the helicopter was too low, and there was culpability, which seems like one of the air traffic controllers was not there. It seems like somebody left early. It seems like there was a mistake on giving directions about the proper elevations.

    But we do know this, and Donald Trump brought it up, and that was that the FAA consistently under Joe Biden had racial quotas and they abolish programs and universities that encourage people who had either expertise through the curriculum or prior military experience who would do well on meritocratic exams to try to join the FAA and they were rejected because of their race. That is a fact and in fact, there has been several lawsuits challenging the FAA and the first nomination to the FAA, of course, the candidate that Biden picked didn’t even know the fundamentals of aviation. He came from the Denver airport, but he didn’t have any knowledge of the actual mechanics of how airports worked, it seemed.

    My point is that when he did that, everybody in the media thought it was awful. But then people who probably didn’t even vote for him said, “Wait a minute. I want to be safe. I want my daughter to be safe. I want my husband to be safe. You mean there’s people in these control towers that were selected for criteria other than merit?”

    And while it might have been illiberal or maybe inconvenient, Donald Trump told the truth. What I’m getting at is this. This country has moved so far to the left on energy, on DEI, on transgenderism, on crime, on the border, that people even who supported it, whether they’re the people in LA that lost their homes, or the people who voted for Adam Schiff—and we saw what he did at the nomination—they want a return.

    And this man is the only person, Donald Trump, with the guts and the backbone to not just make a transition, not to the far Right, back to the center or the center traditional Right that secretly, at least for now, they are happy that it’s going on because they feel that they and most Americans will be the beneficiaries, And you know what’s correct? They’re absolutely right.

    Reprinted by permission from The Daily Signal, a publication of The Heritage Foundation.

    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
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 22:10

  • First CBS News Poll Of Trump Stuns Democrats
    First CBS News Poll Of Trump Stuns Democrats

    President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against CBS News over its “news distortion” of a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris may have compelled the left-leaning media organization, owned by Paramount Global, to report actual news. 

    A new CBS News/YouGov survey of 2,175 US adults interviewed last week found President Trump to be “tough,” “energetic,” “focused,” and “effective” in his first few weeks in office.

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

    Many respondents said the president is going over and beyond in helping this nation, with very few saying he is doing less. 

    His voters note that he has the right balance of focusing on restoring national security by reversing the disastrous open border policies of the Biden-Harris administration and ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the federal government and military. 

    Most respondents approved of the president’s border and deportation policies, while cash-strapped respondents said the administration needs to focus more on tackling the inflation storm sparked by out-of-control spending by Democrats.

    Here are the questions asked in the CBS News/YouGov survey:

    Describe Donald Trump As…?

    Trump And Campaign Promises: Is He Doing…?

    Trump’s Overall Job Rating

    Trump Admin’s Program To Deport Immigrants Illegally In US

    Sending US Troops To The US-Mexico Border

    Large Detention Centers While Determining Who Should Be Deported

    Trump’s Handling Of Israel-Hamas Conflict

    US Trying To Take Over Gaza Would Be…

    Trump’s Focus On Lowering Prices Is…

    New US Tariffs On Goods From…

    Elon Musk & DOGE: Influence Over Gov’t Operations And Sending Should Be

    What’s entertaining is that all of these polls heavily lean to the left—yet, no matter how much the MSM tries to manipulate polling data to generate negative sentiment around Trump, the president’s level of support must be extraordinarily high. And this is what actually keeps the Democratic Party up at night… Poll rigging is not working. Too big to rig. 

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

    MSM’s ability to control narratives and push radical leftist state propaganda through its censorship blob is coming to an end in the Trump era. More and more Americans are realizing that their hard-earned money has been used to fund leftist media outlets and journalists who have spent the past decade calling Trump a “Nazi.”

    Now let’s look at MSNBC’s polling of Trump…

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 21:35

  • Trump Says He Has Spoken Directly To Putin About Ending War In Ukraine
    Trump Says He Has Spoken Directly To Putin About Ending War In Ukraine

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

    President Donald Trump said this weekend that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin about ending the Russia–Ukraine war, drawing a response from the Kremlin.

    Speaking to the New York Post in an exclusive interview on Air Force Once, Trump said that he did speak with the Russian leader about the war, which started in 2022. Asked about how many times he’s spoken to Putin in recent days, Trump said, “I’d rather not say.”

    However, Trump said he believes Putin “does care” about the carnage on the battlefield and “wants to see people stop dying.”

    “All those dead people. Young, young, beautiful people. They’re like your kids, two million of them—and for no reason,“ Trump said, referring to soldiers dying in the war, adding that the conflict ”never would have happened” if he was president in 2022.

    Elaborating, but without providing many details, Trump said that he has a plan to end the war and added that he has a good relationship with Putin.

    “I hope it’s fast,“ he said. 

    ”Every day people are dying. This war is so bad in Ukraine. I want to end this damn thing.”

    Longtime Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the TASS state news agency that “many different communications are emerging” between Moscow and Washington, according to a Russian-to-English translation.

    “These communications are conducted through different channels,” Peskov said when asked by TASS to comment directly on Trump’s interview with the Post.

    “I personally may not know something, be unaware of something. Therefore, in this case, I can neither confirm nor deny it.”

    In February 2022, Putin sent thousands of troops, tanks, and other military hardware to Ukraine as part of a “special military operation” for what he said was an attempt to end a possible threat to Russian sovereignty by Ukrainian forces backed by NATO. He also has said that Russia wants to protect Russian speakers living in Ukraine.

    But Ukraine and its Western backers, led by the Biden administration, have said the invasion was an imperial-style land grab and vowed to defeat Russian forces. Moscow controls a chunk of Ukraine about the size of the American state of Virginia and is advancing at the fastest pace since the early days of the 2022 invasion.

    Before taking office in January, Trump has said that he wants to quickly end the war, at several points saying he would end it within 24 hours of taking office.

    On Feb. 7, Trump said he would probably meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy next week to discuss ending the war. Zelenskyy told Reuters on the same day that he wanted Ukraine to supply the United States with rare earths and other minerals in return for continued financial support its war effort.

    “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” Zelenskyy said. “Let’s develop this together, make money, and most importantly, it’s about the security of the Western world.”

    But Zelenskyy cautioned that Trump must meet with him before he meets with Putin on ending the war. The reason, he said, is because meeting with Putin first would “look like a dialogue about Ukraine without Ukraine.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 21:00

  • "Worst Go First": Baltimore ICE Agents Arrest "MS-13 Terrorists" In Suburban Neighborhoods
    “Worst Go First”: Baltimore ICE Agents Arrest “MS-13 Terrorists” In Suburban Neighborhoods

    Maryland’s radical sanctuary state policies under Governor Wes Moore and the Democratic Party in Annapolis have unleashed public safety threats for law-abiding taxpayers in several counties.

    Real America’s Voice reporter Ben Bergquam joined ICE agents from the Baltimore branch on a ride-along as they targeted “MS-13 terrorists in suburban neighborhoods.” 

    “Embedded with Baltimore ICE Field Office Director, Matthew Elliston and his team along with the Baltimore FBI office, Special Agent in Charge, Bill DelBagno, and the ATF,” Bergquam wrote on X. 

    “Listen to what Matt says about sanctuary jurisdictions, and the crazy news we get after we picked up one of the MS-13 criminal illegals! These guys are all being aided and coached by leftist, activist groups and putting every one of your neighborhoods in danger.” 

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    Gov. Moore and the far-left lawmakers in Annapolis have prioritized time and taxpayer monies on comforting illegal aliens in the state rather than properly addressing the public safety threat of “MS-13 terrorists” roaming city streets and urban neighborhoods. Marylanders are disgusted with local Democrats in the state as sanctuary policies have backfired.

    In addition to the public safety disaster, Gov. Moore is leading the state into a fiscal crisis. The state’s credit outlook is “negative” amid repeated calls by Democrats to raise taxes, which will only increase the exodus of the tax base, thus placing the state on a dangerous death spiral—similar to Illinois—in the next decade.

    Let’s not also forget Democrats in the state have mismanaged the power grid with disastrous green policies that have sparked a power crisis. Taxpayers are now furious this winter that their power bills spiked uncountably.  

    The little hope that Marylanders have in ending this failed progressive nightmare comes from Trump’s deportation initiative, carried out by ICE and other federal agencies, to restore national security.

    Meanwhile, a Republican sheriff of Frederick County told Newsweek last month that Gov. Moore and leftist politicians are making it their “obligation” to protect illegal alien communities. 

    Marylanders did not vote for radical leftist politicians to flood the state with “MS-13 terrorists” and illegal aliens. Democrats are still not reading the room in the era of Trump, doubling down on illegal aliens and wokeism. 

    If Maryland gets a credit downgrade under Moore’s tenure – then good luck trying to make a bid for president in 2028.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 20:25

  • Trump, Musk, & The Deep State: The Battle Over Transparency Begins
    Trump, Musk, & The Deep State: The Battle Over Transparency Begins

    Authored by Roger Kimball via American Greatness,

    Here we go again. At the beginning of his first term as president, Donald Trump issued an executive order temporarily banning travel from several countries – Yemen, for example, Sudan, Libya, and four others – that had been identified as major exporters of terrorism.  The left went nuts, excoriating Trump for his “racist” “Muslim travel ban.”

    It wasn’t a “Muslim travel ban,” but try telling that to Seattle District Court judge James Robart. 

    He sniffed the air, sensed the pleasing hysteria and press coverage, and issued a cursory restraining order against Trump’s executive order. The humorous part of Robart’s order came towards the end.  As I wrote at the time, Robart insisted that the “declaratory and injunctive relief” outlined in his order be applied immediately and on a “nationwide basis” (my emphasis).

    Seattle has spoken, Comrades! Judge Robarts finds (where? how?) that his court has jurisdiction over … well, over just about everything: the president and the head of the Department of Homeland Security, for starters, but also “the United States of America (collectively).”

    So all across the fruited plain, “Federal Defendants and all their respective officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and persons acting in concert or participation with them are hereby ENJOINED and RESTRAINED” from enforcing the President’s executive order.

    This may be the best place to pause and point out that Donald Trump, acting as the president of the United States, was perfectly within his rights to issue an executive order to suspend travel from particular countries.

    And so it is now with Trump’s deputies in the Department of Government Efficiency.  

    Tasked with the Herculean labor of unscrambling the byzantine Rube Goldberg device that is the 21st-century administrative state for furthering corruption, illegal payments, and partisan influence at home and abroad, DOGE commander Elon Musk and his laptop-and-algorithm-toting lieutenants have been patiently uncovering the pyramid of waste, fraud, and abuse that is the foundation of the United States government in its twenty-first-century incarnation.

    In a remarkable piece called “Override: Inside The Revolution Rewiring American Power,” a blogger known as EKO showed how it worked. Four young coders arrive at the Treasury Department in the wee hours of January 21.  Within hours they have succeeded in tracing long-hidden payment directions.

    No committees. No approvals. No red tape. Just four coders with unprecedented access and algorithms ready to run.

    “The beautiful thing about payment systems,” noted a transition official watching their screens, “is that they don’t lie. You can spin policy all day long, but money leaves a trail.”

    That trail led to staggering discoveries. Programs marked as independent revealed coordinated funding streams. Grants labeled as humanitarian aid showed curious detours through complex networks. Black budgets once shrouded in secrecy began to unravel under algorithmic scrutiny.

    The difference between Trump’s first term and his second (acknowledged) term can be explained in two words: velocity and preparedness.  In 2017, Trump’s initiatives were hampered, blindsided, litigated, and smothered in red tape.  This time the Leviathan’s usual expedients are impotent. “Their traditional defenses—slow-walking decisions, leaking damaging stories, stonewalling requests—proved useless against an opponent moving faster than their systems could react. By the time they drafted their first memo objecting to this breach, three more systems had already been mapped.” And here’s the point:

    “Pull this thread,” a senior official warned, watching patterns emerge across DOGE’s screens, “and the whole sweater unravels.”

    He wasn’t wrong. But he misunderstood something crucial: That was exactly the point.

    The left gets it. And their heads are exploding.  So far, their biggest gun was the creaky cannon Judge Robart wheeled out: the emergency injunction with immediate “nationwide effect.”

    The New York Times, a house organ for anti-Trump hysteria, has a long hand-wringing column about the latest wheeze. Paul A. Engelmayer, a U.S. District Judge appointed by Barrack Obama, just issued an “emergency order” to restrict Elon Musk’s and DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s payment and data system.  He also insisted that anyone who had access to those systems after January 20 “destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records and systems.” Fun part: even Scott Bessent, the Secretary of the Treasury, is prohibited from looking into the corrupt structures of his own department.

    Engelmayer’s order came in response to a lawsuit filed on Friday by Letitia James, Attorney General of New York and professional scourge of all things Trump, along with 18 other Democratic state attorneys general. What was the charge?  The stated predicate was that by authorizing the investigation, Trump had failed in his Constitutional duty to “faithfully execute the laws enacted by Congress.” The real predicate was that Musk’s beavers were uncovering the inner mechanism of the deep state and the resulting truths were unbearable.

    “Humankind,” said T. S. Eliot, in “Burnt Norton,” “cannot bear very much reality.” Similarly, Bureaucrats cannot bear very much transparency.  Like vampires, the sunlight is fatal to them.

    How will Trump respond?  We do not know yet.  I hope it will be at least partly as Andrew Jackson is said to have responded in his contretemps with Chief Justice John Marshall.  In 1834, the Supreme Court determined that the Cherokee Indians owned Northern Georgia. Nevertheless, Andrew Jackson evicted the Indians, reputedly observing that Marshall “has made his decision; now let him enforce it.”

    Lincoln responded in a similar fashion to Chief Justice Roger Taney in 1861. In April of that year, Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus between Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. This allowed military commanders to imprison suspected saboteurs without indictment. Taney said (in “Ex Parte Merryman”) that Lincoln did not have the authority to do this. Lincoln basically ignored him, invoking the novel doctrine of “nonacquiesence.”

    As usual, Lincoln demonstrated his deep understanding of the issues involved. “Are all the laws but one to go unexecuted,” he asked Taney, “and the Government itself go to pieces lest that one be violated? Even in such a case, would not the official oath be broken if the Government should be overthrown when it was believed that disregarding the single law would tend to preserve it?”

    In my view, Trump’s actions to expose the partisan corruption of the administrative state are in response to an existential threat is as grave, if less bloody, than the Civil War. The permanent bureaucracy that rules us has for decades been erecting and fortifying a nearly impenetrable edifice from which to preserve its privileges and power, stifle criticism, and export its globalist agenda.  Donald Trump was elected to deconstruct that edifice. Elon Musk is one of his most potent aides in accomplishing that task.  Of course, the left is hysterical.  Their gravy train is being derailed before their eyes. The people who elected Trump are delighted.

    I suspect that the squeals and tantrums of the ruling party and its minions will amount to no more than theater. I further suspect that Trump will resort not only to “nonacquiesence” but also to non-payment.  In 2022, New York received $383 billion in federal spending. There are many ways in which Trump could stanch the flow of federal dollars to obstreperous states. I think he should consider them all. I am also happy to see some official pushback.  Rep. Darrell Issa, for example, just announced that he is “immediately introducing legislation next week to stop these rogue judges and allow Trump and DOGE to tell you where government is spending your money.” Good for him.

    One final suggestion. If left-wing regime-party judges can issue emergency restraining orders with “immediate nationwide effect,” why couldn’t a politically mature district judge in, say, Alabama do the same, overturning the order issued by his left-wing colleague on an “immediate, nationwide basis?”  I offer the idea free and for nothing.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 19:50

  • Trump Says He'll Impose 25% Tariffs On Steel And Aluminum On Monday
    Trump Says He’ll Impose 25% Tariffs On Steel And Aluminum On Monday

    President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will announce on Monday new 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the United States, the Epoch Times reported.

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    “Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25 percent tariff,” he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One as he flew from Florida to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. When asked about aluminum, he told reporters, “aluminum, too” will be subject to the trade penalties.

    Trump on Sunday offered no details about the aluminum or steel tariffs. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said that the new tariffs would come on top of the existing duties on steel and aluminum.

    Trump also told reporters that he would soon announce “reciprocal tariffs” on Tuesday or Wednesday, meaning that the United States could impose duties on products from countries that have placed tariffs on U.S. goods.

    “If they are charging us 130 percent and we’re charging them nothing, it’s not going to stay that way,” he told reporters.

    Steel and aluminum were among Trump’s earliest tariffs during his first term, implementing a 25% duty on steel and a 10% duty on aluminum  in 2018 on grounds of national security.The steel tariffs also come amid a stalled deal by Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. to buy US Steel Corp. for $14.1 billion. The transaction was blocked by former President Joe Biden and is also opposed by Trump.

    Last week, Trump elaborated on the reciprocal tariffs during comments at the White House alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

    “Where a country … charges us so much, and we do the same,” he said. “I think that’s the only fair way to do it. That way, nobody’s hurt.”

    Trump also said that Nippon Steel is now considering investing in US Steel instead of purchasing the company outright. Trump told reporters on Sunday that Nippon Steel cannot have a majority stake in the US firm.

    According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the European Union levies as much as 50 percent tariffs on motorcycles and 10 percent on automobiles, while India places 60 percent duties on U.S. cars and hefty tariffs on agricultural products.

    During the campaign, Trump often said that he would place tariffs on a variety of goods and countries, sometimes even suggesting that the United States could abolish the income tax in favor of tariffs.

    Earlier this month, he warned that he would place a 25 percent tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, along with a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods, if those countries do not curb illegal immigration or fentanyl production and trafficking into the country. Ultimately, he pushed back the Canada and Mexico tariffs by a month after leaders of the two countries agreed to strengthen their border security.

    “The orders make clear that the flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl to the United States, through illicit distribution networks, has created a national emergency, including a public health crisis,” Trump said in a statement before he agreed to not immediately issue those duties against Canada and Mexico. “Chinese officials have failed to take the actions necessary to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known criminal cartels and shut down money laundering by transnational criminal organizations.”

    Both Mexico and Canada said they would send thousands of troops to their respective borders with the United States to stanch the flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl trafficking. The 10 percent tariff on China took effect on Feb. 4.

    Continue reading at The Epoch Times

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 19:21

  • NIH Slashes Indirect Costs, Says Move Will Save Billions Per Year
    NIH Slashes Indirect Costs, Says Move Will Save Billions Per Year

    Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

    The National Institute of Health (NIH) on Feb. 7 decreased the maximum indirect cost rate research institutions can charge the government to 15 percent. Indirect costs include utilities, facility, and personnel, and service contracts.

    NIH predicts the change will save more than $4 billion a year.

    In 2024, $9 billion of the $35 billion granted for research “was used for administrative overhead, what is known as ‘indirect costs,’” the agency said in a post on social media platform X on Friday.

    “The average indirect cost rate reported by NIH has averaged between 27 percent and 28 percent over time. And many organizations are much higher—charging indirect rates of over 50 percent and in some cases over 60 percent,” the NIH said in its announcement.

    The White House said in a statement Saturday that the new NIH policy is in line with what research institutions receive from private foundations.

    The agency said “many of the nation’s largest funders of research—such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—have a maximum indirect rate of 15 percent.”

    Meanwhile, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) announced that the Department of Health and Human Services canceled 62 contracts worth a total of $182 million.

    One of the terminated contracts was a $168,000 contract for an Anthony Fauci exhibit at the NIH Museum.

    “These contracts were entirely for administrative expenses – none touched any healthcare programs,” stated DOGE, the new cost-cutting agency headed by Elon Musk, in a social media post on Friday.

    The NIH has not returned a request for comment.

    The changes have raised concerns by some in academia.

    Jeffrey Flier, a Harvard University professor, wrote on X that cutting NIH grant indirect funding would cause chaos and harm biomedical research in hospitals, schools, and institutes around the country.

    Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) called the move illegal.

    “Trump’s proposal is ILLEGAL & amounts to an indiscriminate funding cut for research centers of all sizes, NOT just Ivies. It will mean shuttering labs across the country, layoffs in red & blue states, & derailing lifesaving research on everything from cancer to opioid addiction,” she said in a statement on X.

    Some lawmakers welcomed the cuts.

    “Eliminating excessive ‘indirect costs’ will save the American taxpayer tens of billions of dollars in overhead expenses,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) wrote on X.

    Harris, who is also a physician, said the U.S. government pays significantly more than nonprofits. He also disputed claims that the cuts would eliminate research.

    “The Trump administration did not cut funding for biomedical research. Funding excessive ‘indirect costs’ is not the same as funding the research itself,” said Harris.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 18:40

  • Musk Calls For Impeachment Of Obama-Appointed Judge Who Blocked DOGE Access At Treasury
    Musk Calls For Impeachment Of Obama-Appointed Judge Who Blocked DOGE Access At Treasury

    Elon Musk has called for the impeachment of an Obama-appointed judge who barred DOGE and the Treasury Secretary from accessing payment systems at the US Treasury.

    On Friday night, Democrats went ‘judge shopping’ to ask that Musk’s team be stopped from accessing Treasury systems, knowing that instead of receiving a judge by random selection, the only available judge would be Paul Engelmayer – who held an ex-parte hearing without DOJ lawyers. Engelmayer did not cite any case law or precedent for his ruling, which many have criticized for vast overreach.

    The order prohibits special government employees, along with those from outside the Treasury department, and the Treasury secretary himself, from accessing the systems.

    On Saturday, Musk posted to X: “A corrupt judge protecting corruption,” adding “He needs to be impeached NOW.”

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    In an earlier post, Musk wrote “it’s time,” in response to the suggestion that activist judges should be impeached.

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    Engelmayer’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit by 19 Democratic state attorneys general who panicked over DOGE investigating waste, fraud and abuse within the US government.

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    “The Court’s firm assessment is that, for the reasons stated by the States, they will face irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief,” wrote Engelmayer in his decision. “That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking.”

    ________

    If you would like to support ZeroHedge, please subscribe to our premium service or purchase something from our store. We just added handmade solid wood American flags from longtime ZH reader JohnO that look great in any patriot’s home, and make great gifts.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 18:05

  • Trump: DOGE To Analyze Pentagon Spending After 7th Failed Audit
    Trump: DOGE To Analyze Pentagon Spending After 7th Failed Audit

    President Donald Trump has directed Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to audit the Pentagon, after the Defense Department failed its seventh audit in a row.

    During an interview with Fox News‘ Bret Baier set to air before the Super Bowl, Trump said he was directing DOGE to investigate both the Department of Education and the Pentagon.

    “We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse,” Trump said.

    On Friday, Trump said during a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba that he was directing DOGE to investigate “Pentgon, education, just about everything,” adding that he thinks Musk will find “a lot” of waste, fraud and abuse.

    “Sadly, you’ll find some things that are pretty bad, but I don’t think proportionally you’ll see anything like we just saw,” Trump said, referring to USAID – where the new administration has placed 97% of the staff on leave. Last week, Trump said that billions of dollars have been stolen by USAID.

    Reviewing the Pentagon will be no small task for an agency which sees roughly $800 billion flow through it, and has never managed to pass its own financial audits with the exception of the Marine Corps.

    The Pentagon employs nearly 3.3 million service members and civilians.

    Musk, who has been appointed as a “special government employee,” is one of Trump’s key advisers, who has set a goal for DOGE to cut up to $2 trillion in federal expenses by July 2026.

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    Last week, DOGE claimed that it had managed to save over $1 billion by slashing contracts related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), through halting “the hiring of people into unnecessary positions, the deletion of DEI, and stopping improper payments to foreign organizations,” as The Burning Platform noted on Sunday.

    On Saturday, Musk said that DOGE and the US Treasury Department have agreed to new anti-fraud measures aimed at preventing tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent government entitlement payments each year, including the following:

    – Require that all outgoing government payments have a payment categorization code, which is necessary in order to pass financial audits. This is frequently left blank, making audits almost impossible.

    – All payments must also include a rationale for the payment in the comment field, which is currently left blank. Importantly, we are not yet applying ANY judgment to this rationale, but simply requiring that SOME attempt be made to explain the payment more than NOTHING!

    – The DO-NOT-PAY list of entities known to be fraudulent or people who are dead or are probable fronts for terrorist organizations or do not match Congressional appropriations must actually be implemented and not ignored. Also, it can currently take up to a year to get on this list, which is far too long. This list should be updated at least weekly, if not daily.

    The above super obvious and necessary changes are being implemented by existing, long-time career government employees, not anyone from @DOGE. It is ridiculous that these changes didn’t exist already!

    Yesterday, I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number. If accurate, this is extremely suspicious.

    When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!!

    This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently defended DOGE’s actions at Treasury – telling Bloomberg in an interview with Bloomberg that the DOGE team is made up of highly trained professionals and “not some roving band running around doing things,” possibly in reference to claims by critics that DOGE has embraced and is applying the adage “move fast and break things,” which is part of the Silicon Valley start-up culture of being innovative, nimble, and disruptive.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 16:55

  • Secession From Illinois? It's A Long Shot, But 6 Six Counties Voted Yes
    Secession From Illinois? It’s A Long Shot, But 6 Six Counties Voted Yes

    Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

    Long shot is a huge understatement, but the sentiment alone says what you need to know.

    Secession From Illinois Is in the Air

    Please consider Secession From Illinois Is in the Air

    As states grow more politically polarized, the difference between good and bad governance is coming into sharper relief for voters. Enough people are noticing in Illinois that some counties want to secede from the Land of Lincoln and join a state that isn’t ruled by public unions and their political yes-men.

    In November, to little national notice, seven Illinois counties voted to consider seceding, and now Indiana is rolling out the welcome mat. Voters in Iroquois, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Madison and Perry counties approved a nonbinding ballot question on cutting ties with Illinois. The votes weren’t close. Six of the seven counties approved the advisory question by more than 70%. Iroquois County’s vote was some 72%, and Calhoun County’s near 76%.

    The Illinois fiscal mess is so great that pressure will keep building to raise taxes again and again. Pension debt was $144 billion in 2024, up from $16 billion in 2000, according to Wirepoints and the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

    Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker called the secession idea a “stunt” and derided Indiana as a “low-wage state that doesn’t protect workers, a state that does not provide healthcare for people when they’re in need.” Illinois has a higher average income, but that’s a legacy of the state and city of Chicago’s economic glory days, which are long past.

    Mr. Pritzker is essentially claiming the superiority of his welfare-state, public-union governance model. But fewer people are buying it. Since 2020, 33 Illinois counties have voted to consider breaking away from the state.

    Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution says “no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.”

    This makes secession a high bar, since it would require Springfield’s agreement and approval from Congress. But maybe progressive lawmakers would be happy to be rid of those red counties so they aren’t regularly embarrassed by their votes to secede. Illinois Republican Rep. Brad Halbrook has introduced legislation for Illinois’s participation in the boundary commission.

    When he runs for President in 2028, perhaps Gov. Pritzker can explain to voters why so many of his citizens want to flee his brand of tax-and-spend governance.

    Related Posts

    March 15, 2024: Congratulations to NY, IL, LA, and CA for Losing the Most Population

    On a percentage basis, New York, Illinois, Louisiana, and California lost the most population between 2020 and 2023.

    March 13, 2024: Chicago Teachers’ Union Seeks $50 Billion Despite $700 Million City Deficit

    If you live in Illinois, get the hell out before unions take every penny you have.

    August 11, 2024: Net Zero Climate Policies Could Leave the Midwest in the Dark

    A cascade of net zero policies put Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois on a collision course with disaster when solar and wind fail.

    November 25, 2025: When Do Mayor Brandon Johnson and the City of Chicago Finally Implode?

    Chicago slashed 2,103 public safety job but added 184 administrators. The budget deficit is nearly $1 billion.

    On October 5, 2019 I wrote Escape Illinois: Get The Hell Out Now, We Are

    And we did in July or 2020. Hello Utah, we love it here.

    Meanwhile, Illinois has only gotten worse. It’s truly incredible how the state keeps electing worse and worse governors.

    And the City of Chicago had a seemingly impossible task of finding a worse mayor than Lori Lightfoot, but Brandon Johnson is not only worse, but amazingly worse.

    Since secession is nearly impossible, I suggest voting with your feet.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 16:20

  • The Super Bowl Is About More Than Just The Game
    The Super Bowl Is About More Than Just The Game

    With all the hype surrounding the Super Bowl, it’s easy to forget that in the end, it is still a sporting event.

    However, if it weren’t for the spectacular halftime show and the special commercials airing during the broadcast, the Super Bowl probably wouldn’t be the global event it has become over the years.

    According to a recent YouGov/Economist poll, only 30 percent of Americans said that the actual game was their favorite thing about the Super Bowl. 

    Infographic: The Super Bowl Is About More Than Just the Game | Statista 

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Meanwhile 26 percent of respondents said they enjoyed the commercials the most and 18 percent were most excited about the halftime show, featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar, who is having quite a week after winning five Grammys last Sunday.

    Who Will Hoist the Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans?

    The Eagles and Chiefs will once again face off on Super Bowl Sunday. The Chiefs enter the contest as slight favorites, though they are arguably up against their toughest competition of the year. 

    The Eagles underperformed to start the season, but now appear to be hitting their stride at exactly the right moment. Although favored, Kansas City will need to continue to play mistake-free football and put on a defensive display for the ages in order to three-peat, a feat that other dynasties such as the 1970s Steelers, 1990s Cowboys and 2000s Patriots failed to accomplish. The Chiefs are well-accustomed to winning close games, with narrow margins of victory common throughout the regular season and playoffs. 

    That said, the Eagles have continuously turned close games into wide margins of victory over the course of the season. FWIW, Wells Fargo expects the Eagles to defeat the Chiefs 31-17, and we agree that an Eagles victory is overdue.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 15:45

  • The Most Dramatic Narrative Shift In Modern History
    The Most Dramatic Narrative Shift In Modern History

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

    The most dramatic narrative shift in this post-lockdown period has been the flip in the perceptions of government itself. For decades and even centuries, government was seen as the essential bulwark to defend the poor, empower the marginalized, realize justice, even the playing field in commerce, and guarantee rights to all. 

    Government was the wise manager, curbing the excess of populist enthusiasm, blunting the impact of ferocious market dynamics, guaranteeing the safety of products, breaking up dangerous pockets of wealth accumulation, and protecting the rights of minority populations. That was the ethos and the perception. 

    Taxation itself was sold to the population for centuries as the price we pay for civilization, a slogan emblazoned in marble at the DC headquarters of the IRS and attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who said this in 1904, ten years before the federal income tax was even legal in the US. 

    This claim was not just about a method of funding; it was a commentary on the perceived merit of the whole of the public sector. 

    Yes, this view had challengers on the right and left but their radical critiques rarely took hold of the public mind in a sustained way. 

    A strange thing happened in 2020. 

    Most governments at all levels across the globe turned on their people. It was a shock because governments had never before attempted anything this audacious. It claimed to be exercising mastery over the whole of the microbial kingdom, the world over. It would prove this implausible mission as a valid one with the release of a magic potion made and distributed with its industrial partners who were fully indemnified against liability claims. 

    Suffice it to say that the potion did not work. Everyone got Covid anyway. Most everyone shook it off. Those who died were often denied common therapeutics to make way for a shot that clocked the highest rate of injury and death on public record. A worse fiasco would be hard to invent outside dystopian fiction. 

    Participating in this grand crusade were all the commanding heights. That included mass media, academia, the medical industry, the information systems, and science itself. After all, the very notion of “public health” itself implies a “whole of government” and a “whole of society” effort. Indeed, science – with its high status earned from many centuries of achievement – led the way. 

    The politicians – the people for whom the public votes and who form the one real connection that the people have with the regimes under which they live – went along but did not seem to be in the driver’s seat. Nor did the courts seem to have much role. They were closed along with small businesses, schools, and houses of worship. 

    The controlling forces in every nation traced to something else we did not normally think of as government. It was the administrators who occupied agencies that were deemed independent of public awareness or control. They worked closely with their industrial partners in tech, pharma, banking, and corporate life. 

    The Constitution did not matter. Neither did the long tradition of rights, liberty, and law. The workforce was divided between essential and nonessential in order to survive the great emergency. The essential people were the ruling class plus the workers who serve them. Everyone else was deemed unessential to social functioning. 

    It was supposed to be for our health – government merely looking after us – but this claim lost credibility quickly, as mental and physical health plummeted. Desperate loneliness replaced community. Loved ones were forcibly separated. The aged died alone with digital funerals. Weddings and worship were cancelled. Gyms were closed and then opened later only for the masked and the vaxxed. The arts died. Substance abuse skyrocketed because while everything else was closed the liquor stores and pot shops were open for business. 

    Here was when perceptions dramatically changed. 

    Government was not what we thought. It is something else. It does not serve the public. It serves its own interests. Those interests are deeply woven into the fabric of industry and civil society. The agencies are captured. The largesse flows mainly to the well-connected. 

    The bills are paid by the people who had been deemed nonessential and who were now being compensated for the troubles with direct payments that were created by a printing press. Within a year, this showed up in the form of inflation that dramatically reduced real income during an economic crisis. 

    This huge experiment in pharmacological planning ended up flipping the rubrical narrative that had largely covered public affairs for everyone’s lifetimes. The terrible reality was being broadcast to the whole population in ways no one had ever before experienced. Centuries of philosophy and rhetoric were being shredded before our eyes, as whole populations came face-to-face with the unthinkable: government had become a grand scam or even criminal enterprise, a machinery that served only elite plans and elite institutions. 

    As it turns out, generations of ideological philosophizing had been chasing fictional rabbits. This is true for all the main debates about socialism and capitalism but also the side debates about religion, demographics, climate change, and so much more. Nearly everyone had been distracted from seeing the things that matter by hunting for things that did not actually matter. 

    This realization transversed typical partisan and ideological boundaries. Those who did not like to think about issues of class conflict had to face the ways in which the whole system was serving one class at the expense of everyone else. The cheerleaders of government beneficence faced the unthinkable: their true love had become malevolent. The champions of private enterprise had to deal with the ways in which private corporations participated and benefited from the entire fiasco. All major political parties and their journalistic backers participated. 

    No one’s ideological priors were confirmed in the course of events, and everyone was forced to realize that the world worked in a very different way from what we had been told. Most governments in the world had come to be controlled by people no one elected and these administrative forces were loyal not to voters but to industrial interests in media and pharma, while the intellectuals we had long trusted to say what is true went along with even the craziest of claims, while condemning dissent. 

    Making matters more confusing, no one in charge of this disaster would admit error or even explain their thinking. The burning questions were and are so voluminous as to be impossible to list in full. In the US, there was supposed to be a Covid commission but it never formed. Why? Because the critics far outweighed the apologists, and a public commission proved too risky. 

    Too much truth could get out, and then what would happen? Behind the public health rationale for the destruction, there was a hidden hand: national security interests rooted in the bioweapons industry that has long lived under a classified cover. This is likely what accounts for the strange taboo concerning this whole topic. Those who know cannot say while the rest of us who have been researching this for years are left with more questions than answers. 

    While we wait for a full accounting of how it is that rights and liberties were crushed worldwide – what Javier Milei has called a “crime against humanity” – there is no denying the reality on the ground. There was certain to be a blowback, the ferocity of which would only intensify the longer justice is delayed. 

    For several years, the world had awaited the political, economic, cultural, and intellectual fallout, while the perpetrators held on hoping that the whole subject would just go away. Forget about Covid, they kept saying to us, and yet the sheer size and scale of the calamity would not go away. 

    We live in the midst of that now, with minute-by-minute revelations of where the money went and who precisely was involved. Multiple trillions were squandered as the people’s standard of living took a dive, and now top among the burning questions is: who got the money? Careers are being wrecked as famous anti-corporate crusaders like Bernie Sanders turn out to be the US Senate’s largest single beneficiary of pharma largesse, exposed for the world. 

    The Sanders story is just one data point of millions. The news of the sheer number of rackets is spilling out like an avalanche minute-by-minute. The newspapers we thought were chronicling public life turned out to be on the take. The fact-checkers were always working for the blob. The censors were only protecting themselves. The inspectors we believed were keeping an eye out were always in on the game. The courts keeping tabs on government overreach were enabling it. The bureaucracies tagged to implement legislation were unchecked and unelected legislatures in themselves. 

    The shift is beautifully illustrated by USAID, a $50 billion agency that claimed to be doing humanitarian work but which was really a slush fund for regime change, deep-state operations, censorship, and NGO graft on a scale never before seen. Now we have the receipts. The entire agency, lording over the globe like an unchecked colossus for decades, seems destined for the trash heap. 

    And so on it goes. 

    Frequently overlooked in all the commentary on our times is how the second Trump administration is Republican in name only but mostly consists of refugees from the other party. Tick through the names (Trump, Vance, Musk, Kennedy, Gabbard, and so on) and you find people who only a few years ago were associated with the Democratic Party. 

    Which is to say that this aggressive rooting out of the deep state is being achieved by what is a de facto third party aimed at overthrowing the establishments of the legacy ones. And this is not just in the US: the same dynamic is taking shape throughout the industrialized world. 

    The entire system of government – properly conceived of not as a democratically elected conduit of the peoples’ interest but instead a complicated and unelected network of unfathomable industrial racketeering with a ruling class at the controls – seems to be unraveling before our eyes. 

    It’s like the old episodes of Scooby-Doo when the scary ghost or mysterious specter has the mask removed and it is the town mayor all along, who then proclaims that he would have gotten away with it but for these meddling kids. 

    The meddling kids now include vast swaths of the world’s population, burning with a passionate desire to clean up the public sector, expose the industrial scams, unearth all the secrets that have been kept for decades, put power back into the hands of the people as the liberal age promised long ago, while seeking justice for all the wrongdoing of these last hellish five years. 

    The Covid operation was an audacious global attempt to deploy all the power of government – in all the directions from and to which it flowed – in service of a goal never before attempted in history. To say that it failed is the understatement of the century. What it did was unleash fires of fury the world over, and whole legacy systems are in the process of burning down. 

    How deep is the corruption? 

    There are no words to describe its breadth and depth. 

    Who is regretting this? 

    It’s the legacy news media, the legacy academic establishment, the legacy corporate establishment, the legacy public-sector agencies, the legacy everything, and this regret knows no partisan or ideological bounds. 

    And who is celebrating this or, at least, enjoying the upheaval and cheering it on?

    It’s the independent media, the genuine grassroots, the deplorables and nonessentials, the pillaged and oppressed, the workers and peasants who were forced to serve the elites for years, those who have been truly marginalized through decades of exclusion from public life. 

    No one can be sure where this ends up – and no revolution or counterrevolution in history is without cost or complication – but this much is true: public life will never be the same for generations to come. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 15:10

  • Israeli Troops Withdraw From 'Death Zone' Corridor Which Cut Gaza In Half
    Israeli Troops Withdraw From ‘Death Zone’ Corridor Which Cut Gaza In Half

    As part of the ongoing ceasefire deal Israeli troops have withdrawn from the militarized zone that cut Gaza in half, called the Netzarim Corridor, and have been removed to the enclave’s eastern border, Al-Jazeera has reported. It has long commonly been called “the death zone”.

    The result is that for the first time in well over a year Palestinians can freely cross between the north and south of Gaza. The corridor stretched the Mediterranean Sea, and videos show large groups of people returning to their largely destroyed communities.

    Netzarim corridor in central Gaza, via IDF

    Israel’s military has described that troops were “implementing the agreement” to leave the corridor in order to facilitate the return of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

    Israeli sources told the NY Times that IDF troops have already exited the Netzarim Corridor by Sunday morning. The day prior, Hamas had released three more emaciated-looking hostages. 

    Hamas has declared the IDF withdrawal, which was agreed to as part of the 42-day first phase of the ceasefire, a “a victory for the will of our people, a crowning achievement for the steadfastness and heroism of our valiant resistance, and a confirmation of the failure of the goals of the terrorist aggression.”

    The deal next stipulates that on day 50 of the ceasefire Israel is required to withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor.

    Since major Israeli ground operations began in the wake of Oct.7, Israel has sought to order all residents of northern Gaza to flee south. However some 400,000 defied these orders and remained in their communities in the north, amid heavy battles.

    “We endured famine, thirst, bombings, fear, everything. We lived among corpses, under ruins, eating food that wasn’t fit for animals. But we never left northern Gaza,” one eyewitness, Saaed Salem, told The Guardian. 

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    “Each time the Israeli army ordered an evacuation before a ground invasion, I moved only to a nearby neighborhood. And as soon as the invasion ended, I was the first to return,” he said.

    Meanwhile, Trump has continued pressuring Egypt and Jordan to take in the Gaza Strip’s one million plus Palestinians. But the reality is that it will simply be a non-starter and practically impossible, without Arab support. The Arabs in turn have blasted this as brazen and open ethnic cleansing campaign of historic and sovereign territory. The United Nation has also issued such condemnations.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 14:35

  • Government Data Is Garbage: Elon Should Focus On Fixing That Next
    Government Data Is Garbage: Elon Should Focus On Fixing That Next

    By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

    Data, “Rules” & Messiness

    It is difficult to believe that the inauguration was only 2 weeks ago, given the fast and furious pace of executive orders and headlines. DOGE has been even more “prolific” in terms of generating headlines than I would have ever guessed, and I already thought it would be impactful. It is going to be interesting.

    But that takes us away from a few key topics for today.

    Data

    If you thought that we were going to start with jobs data, you are mistaken. Today, “inflation expectations” deserve some attention. Right around 10am ET Friday, the stock market started to decline. Until that moment, it had done fairly well even as yields increased on the back of the jobs report. Then out came the University of Michigan CONsumer CONfidence data, showing 1-year inflation expectations jumping from 3.3% to 4.3%! This was lucky for us, as we had pointed out in our NFP Instant Reaction – What to Do With Data You Don’t Trust that we were moderately bearish risk assets. Consumer inflation expectations were not on my bingo card of what could turn stocks, so I guess that we can classify that under “better lucky than smart.” We should just run with it, but we cannot help ourselves. We have never fully understood:

    • Why does the Fed place so much weight on inflation expectations, particularly from survey data? From people who aren’t experts?
    • Not saying that “experts” have all the answers, but do these individuals really have precise, realistic estimates in mind? Maybe the options should be high, above average, average, below average, and very low? I’m hesitant to put a specific number on inflation for the next year and I spend a LOT of time thinking about it.
      • For the first time in my life, I was motivated to go to their site and see what it takes to become a respondent. But with my VPN turned on during my flight from San Diego (where Academy just hosted a great Geopolitical Summit), I couldn’t access the site. But it is on my “to do” list now.
    • But this is the real kicker!

    • I have no idea how UMich comes up with an average of 4.3. Nor do I really care. Not just for the reasons listed earlier, but also the fact that Republicans are expecting 0 and Democrats are looking for 5% seems insane. It is “almost” like Republicans put in low numbers, hoping the Fed sees and cuts rates (or they just believe in DOGE and the president). It is also “almost” like Democrats put in high numbers, hoping the Fed sees and doesn’t cut rates (or they don’t believe in DOGE and the president’s policies). I understand that political views could influence inflation expectations, but this seems extreme!

    Since the inflation expectations data helped trigger the risk asset sell-off that I was leaning towards, I should be happy, but it seems so ridiculous that it needed to be highlighted!

    “Rules”

    Speaking of things so ridiculous that they need to be highlighted, let’s look at some economic “rules.”

    In physics, what we consider rules are termed laws. But for most people, rules are a set of “things” that need to be followed. Whether they are laws or axioms, they are things that are clear and explicitly define and control actions. On the other hand, conjectures, educated guesses, and “rules of thumb” are general guidelines that often work or point you in the right direction. But by no means are they immutable rules that must be followed.

    So why do economists insist on terming certain things rules that are really conjectures? Probably because it sounds better, especially if you want people to believe that they work. Or maybe it just makes it easier to win prestigious economic awards?

    But we revisit this subject today, not to focus on how inaccurate it is to call many of these things rules, but to highlight that the so-called rules definitively don’t work when they are based on inaccurate data!

    Let’s look at the Sahm Rule which came to prominence this summer. It predicts that when relatively rapid changes in the unemployment rate occur, a recession will follow. I was too lazy to look up the exact definition (airline wi-fi, limitations of working on a laptop, lack of interest), but it is something like when you get a 0.5% increase from high to low (using a 3-month average) within 6 months, we get a recession. Many claimed it happened this summer. Some, I think, argued that with rounding, it didn’t occur. But NONE OF THAT MATTERS! We just learned on Friday that the BLS said there were 2 MILLION more workers in the labor force last year than previously thought! A big enough number, that if we knew in real-time, would likely have dramatically changed all of the unemployment rate data that not only triggered things like the Sahm Rule, but also probably affected monetary policy!

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    And let’s not even get started on things like the Taylor Rule or anything that depends on R*.

    GDP – a somewhat wild guess that gets amended, often significantly.

    Inflation, time and again, seems to defy what we live and breathe. With hedonics, measurement issues, and well-known issues (like the lag on OER), it is difficult to take it as seriously as we are expected to (measured to 1 or 2 decimal places).

    So, basing “rules” on things where the data is unlikely to be accurate is bad enough, and then layer in the risk of treating something as a rule, rather than a decent theory, and we are ripe for more policy mistakes (yes, I believe these issues contributed to transitory, etc.). Let’s not even get started on R* or the neutral rate.

    If this rant seems at all familiar, it is because we covered it last month in Jobs and AI. Maybe I’m motivated to hammer this home because I’m actually hopeful that there is the possibility of achieving some change?

    Whether or not we like any, all, or none of the things this administration is doing, they do seem open to change.

    If we could get better, more accurate, and timely data, we should be able to make better decisions.

    That would reduce the risk of policy error, poor business decisions, etc., which would be great and is why I think it should be a priority for the government to revisit – especially in this day and age where almost everything is stored electronically, updated in real-time, and we have the ability to harness AI like we’ve never had before!

    Elon, if you read this, please think about it! Wouldn’t you want better, more accurate, and more timely information in your decision making?

    Messiness

    Reciprocal Tariffs came up on Friday, adding to the problems stocks and bonds were facing. This is very much in line with my current concerns and the view that this year will be messy, but manageable.

    • The market seems to have settled on the view that these are all just “negotiating” ploys. That has led to muted or short-lived market reactions. While we were fully on board with fading last weekend’s tariff war (kind of comical to write that sentence), we are not so comfortable fading tariffs now.
      • Both Canada and Mexico got 30-day reprieves (to some extent) just for agreeing to do what they had already been planning to do on some level. Small win for the president, but not overwhelming. In the case of Canada, I expect the president to decide that it wasn’t enough, and he needs more tariffs. I think that is a mistake for many of the reasons (regarding supply chains) listed last weekend in The New Trump Tariffs. The complexity of existing agreements and the efficiencies built into the supply chain will be disrupted, causing more harm than good for both countries.
      • There are many in the administration (presumably based on UMich responses) that like the idea of getting more and more revenue from tariffs (in order to cut taxes). I cannot say that I completely disagree with that view, but it could be taken to extremes.
      • You can rattle the cage (so to speak) so often before the people inside that cage start making some plans of their own. Tariff uncertainty, even if intended to be a bargaining tool, could turn into tariffs depending on the responses, but could also cause changes to supply chains as companies get tired of the risk. If you assume, as I do, that supply chains are fairly optimized to be efficient, changes (for whatever reason) will be problematic (with inflation being the first potential issue).

    Expect more noise on tariffs as the market has become too complacent, and I think that it is now far more likely to face a downside rather than an upside surprise from “negotiations.” A different view than I had last weekend, but things move fast in 2025!

    Crypto

    We now, apparently, have a sovereign wealth fund (more on that in the future). We have a “Crypto Czar” who gave a speech surrounded by crypto supporters. We have multiple states trying to pass some sort of crypto reserve (no idea why, other than it is popular and probably attracts some nice campaign promises), yet as of the time that we are writing this, Bitcoin is “only” at $96k.

    That seems odd to me. Never has there been so much public support, but so much has been priced in that it is difficult for it to go higher. Maybe, also, on the down days, we realize that because it is hard enough to put a price on things that in theory we know how to value (stocks and bonds), it is nearly impossible to figure out a “fair value” for a bunch of 1s and 0s? The Rise and Fall, or more like the Meteoric Rise and Plummet of meme coins, might also be making some wonder about the validity of the “store of value” nature of this “scarce asset?”

    When you get positive headline after positive headline and don’t get the response that you expect, it is time to get nervous.

    Bottom Line

    Look for moderately higher yields. Shorts have been squeezed. This market, which seems to rapidly oscillate between overbought and oversold, appears to be overbought again. Expect a lot more “cost savings” headlines from DOGE, especially as they start looking at big programs (like Medicare and the Defense Budget). However, it won’t be enough to offset spending, tax cuts (the deficit will continue to rise), or the very real risk that supply chains will be less efficient (due to tariffs or the response from tariff noise) creating inflation pressures (for Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, alike). Still targeting 4.8% to 5% on 10s with 2s/10s getting to at least 50, with 75 as a longer-term target. Bessent does seem focused on getting 10s down, but that might be far easier said than done, especially given the current policy priorities.

    On equities, look for some overall weakness in U.S. markets. Expect value and equal weighted indices to outperform market weighted indices. Be wary of small caps. As much as I’d like to include small caps in my list of outperformers, they seem more likely to bear the brunt of tariffs and policy mistakes than large companies. Just above 5,800 on the S&P 500 is my target, with risk of a big move to the downside if markets decide we’ve been too optimistic about what can be done quickly. Longer term I’m optimistic, but I don’t like the overall market right now (especially since I don’t think yields/the Fed will be helpful).

    Look for foreign markets to outperform the U.S. (positioning is so tilted the other way, that it won’t take much to get this going). Especially if the dollar continues to increase on the back of tariffs.

    I don’t like commodities themselves, but I do like the commodity producers and those companies that play an important role in the extraction and processing of commodities!

    For the first time in what seems like eons (I’m pretty sure it has been shorter than that) I’m leaning towards being bearish credit spreads. Last time we were bearish on corporate credit, this time it is on spreads (in addition to overall yields).

    • IG is tight. We all know that, but with all the uncertainty, it could be difficult to maintain current levels of tightness. A strong dollar may hurt profitability at some large global corporations. If spreads weren’t so tight, not a big deal, but they may need to widen a touch on that. If M&A is returning (part of our thesis), that tends to be negative for IG as those are the companies that can be levered up. Not thinking a big move, but time for some caution.
    • HY is more susceptible than IG. If I’m getting a bit worried about small caps, I have to worry a bit about high yield. Though there seems to be an entire cottage industry dedicated to shorting high yield, so any damage to the market should be small.

    Good luck and hopefully I’m not the only one who already feels like this has been a long year! No shortage of things to think about, to react to, to anticipate, and to do!

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 14:00

  • Super Bowl Pales In Comparison To The Biggest Game In Soccer
    Super Bowl Pales In Comparison To The Biggest Game In Soccer

    While Americans are getting ready for the 59th Super Bowl, the rest of the world isn’t as fussed about what is arguably the biggest overall spectacle in the world of sports. 

    With all the headlines surrounding the Super Bowl and the show that comes with it, Statista’s Felix Richter notes that it’s easy to overestimate the global appeal of the biggest game in (American) football.

    Speaking of football, soccer, i.e. the proper kind of football from a European perspective, far exceeds the Super Bowl in terms of global interest. The FIFA World Cup Final, played every four years to culminate a month-long tournament of 32 nations, really is the biggest game in the world, regularly reaching more than a billion people across the globe.

    Infographic: Super Bowl Pales in Comparison to the Biggest Game in Soccer | Statista 

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    According to FIFA, the 2022 World Cup Final between Argentina and France reached an average live audience of 571 million viewers across the globe, with more than 1.4 billion people watching at least one minute of the 120-minute thriller live. 

    The 2024 Super Bowl pales in comparison, despite reaching new viewing records both domestically and internationally. 

    According to Nielsen, Super Bowl LVIII drew an average audience of 123.7 million viewers in the U.S. plus a total international audience of 62.5 million.

    Over the past decade, Super Bowl viewership has experienced fluctuations. 

    After a peak in 2015, where Super Bowl XLIX was watched by almost 115 million people, viewership declined in four consecutive years, even dropping back below 100 million in 2019 and 2021. 

    However, recent games have seen a resurgence in audience numbers, culminating in the record-breaking viewership of Super Bowl LVIII, which some have attributed to Taylor Swift’s unmatched popularity and her relationship with Travis Kelce, tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.

    Infographic: Super Bowl LVIII Drew Largest TV Crowd in the Game's History | Statista 

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    The Swift-Kelce storyline has further added to the Super Bowl’s significance not only as a sporting event but also as a cultural phenomenon that captivates millions across the nation. It is this combination of sports, show and commerce that makes it true must-see TV.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 13:25

  • Musk Says DOGE, Treasury Agree On New Anti-Fraud Measures To Claw Back $50 Billion In Payment Fraud
    Musk Says DOGE, Treasury Agree On New Anti-Fraud Measures To Claw Back $50 Billion In Payment Fraud

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

    Elon Musk said Saturday that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the U.S. Treasury Department have agreed on new anti-fraud measures aimed at preventing tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent government entitlement payments each year.

    In a Feb. 8 statement shared on social media, Musk described the scale of the problem as “utterly insane,” citing estimates that at least $50 billion annually is being lost due to improper payments, including funds going to individuals without Social Security Numbers or even temporary ID numbers.

    Musk, who leads DOGE and has been designated a “special government employee” by President Donald Trump, revealed in the post that Treasury officials estimated that $100 billion in annual entitlement payments may be going to individuals without verifiable identification.

    In a discussion with Treasury personnel, Musk said he asked for an estimate of how much of that is “obvious and unequivocal” fraud, and the consensus was that at least half—$50 billion per year, or around $1 billion per week—is fraudulent.

    “This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately,” Musk wrote, adding that the DOGE team and Treasury have jointly agreed to a series of reforms.

    One of the most significant changes will be the requirement that all outgoing government payments include a payment categorization code. According to Musk, these codes are essential for financial audits, yet they are frequently left blank, making it nearly impossible to track where taxpayer dollars are going.

    Under the new rules, every payment will also need to include a rationale in the comment field. Currently, many government payments lack any explanation, making it difficult to assess their legitimacy, Musk said. While he emphasized that no judgment will be applied to these rationales at this stage, requiring at least some justification for payments is expected to serve as a deterrent against waste and fraud.

    Another reform involves more effective implementation of Treasury’s Do-Not-Pay list, which is meant to prevent payments to fraudulent entities, deceased individuals, suspected terrorist fronts, and other entities or people who should not be paid by federal agencies. Musk said that this list has not been strictly enforced, with some payments still being made to flagged entities. He also pointed out that it can take up to a year for names to be added to the list, calling for weekly or even daily updates to prevent ongoing fraud.

    Musk said that the above “super obvious and necessary” changes will be implemented by existing, long-time career Treasury employees; not anyone from the DOGE. His remarks in this regard align with Treasury Department Scott Bessent’s insistence that DOGE members have read-only access to Treasury data and that they have not been “tinkering” with sensitive payment systems at the department.

    The development comes as DOGE focuses its cost-cutting and efficiency-enhancing efforts at multiple federal agencies, including Treasury, as part of the Trump administration’s broader aim of reducing deficits and eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse from government.

    Republicans have praised DOGE’s efforts to identify government waste, while Democrats have denounced the body’s actions as an abuse of power and its operations as skirting congressional oversight. There have been protests over DOGE by members of Congress, federal employee unions, and privacy advocates, along with a number of lawsuits targeting its activities. Recently, a judge blocked DOGE’s access to the personal financial data of millions of Americans at the Treasury Department.

    Bessent recently defended DOGE’s actions at Treasury. He said in an interview with Bloomberg that the DOGE team is made up of highly trained professionals and “not some roving band running around doing things,” possibly in reference to claims by critics that DOGE has embraced and is applying the adage “move fast and break things,” which is part of the Silicon Valley start-up culture of being innovative, nimble, and disruptive.

    “This is methodical and it’s going to yield big savings,” Bessent said of DOGE’s work at Treasury.

    In a follow-up post on Saturday, Musk said that the reason no action was taken under prior Treasury leadership to tackle the $50 billion or more in fraudulent government payments is complacency.

    “Nobody in Treasury management cared enough before,” Musk wrote. “I do want to credit the working level people in Treasury who have wanted to do this for many years, but have been stopped by prior management. Everything at Treasury was geared towards complain minimization.”

    The Epoch Times has reached out to the Treasury Department with a request for comment.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 12:50

  • San Diego Supervisor Says Border Now Ghost Town Under Trump's New Policies
    San Diego Supervisor Says Border Now Ghost Town Under Trump’s New Policies

    Donald Trump has been in office for about three weeks. In that time, he signed an executive order to secure the southern and northern borders, deploying thousands of US military troops to restore national security. Now, a senior official at one of the nation’s busiest illegal border crossings has taken to X to highlight the stark difference at the border under the Biden-Harris regime in the last four years and the current situation. 

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    On Saturday afternoon, San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond said the San Diego border region was one area left wide open by Democrats… 

    “For the past four years, our border has been wide open, allowing millions of people to enter the country without proper vetting, including hundreds of thousands here in San Diego. I saw it firsthand—human traffickers dropping people off and walking through into the country without being stopped. Last year, for the first time since the 1980s, San Diego had the highest number of border crossings in the nation,” Desmond said. 

    The official then described the current border situation under Trump and his new policies: “With a new administration in place, I went back to the San Diego border to see what’s happening now. The numbers have dropped dramatically—less than 100 people are crossing a day in San Diego. It’s a stark contrast to the chaos we saw just months ago.” 

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    At the end of Trump’s first full week in office, the president posted a graph on Truth Social that shows the collapse in daily encounters of illegals on the border. 

    Voters are witnessing swift progress at the border, strengthening their confidence in the president. Folks have now seen firsthand that securing the border only takes a few short weeks and an executive order. At the same time, globalists in the Biden-Harris regime lied to the American people that the only way to secure the border was through Congress. 

    Meanwhile, globalist Democrats and their billionaire funders who pushed open borders and wrecked national security will no longer be able to hide behind their public/private censorship blob as Trump, Elon Musk, and DOGE rip down the leftist Matrix. The era of accountability has arrived. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 12:15

  • Trump Doubles CBS Lawsuit Damages To $20 Billion Over Harris's 60 Minutes Interview
    Trump Doubles CBS Lawsuit Damages To $20 Billion Over Harris’s 60 Minutes Interview

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    President Donald Trump has expanded his lawsuit against CBS, doubling the damages sought to $20 billion and adding CBS parent company Paramount Global as a defendant.

    (Left) Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a “When We Vote We Win” campaign rally at Craig Ranch Amphitheater in North Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 31, 2024; (Right) Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, greets supporters during a campaign rally at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nev., on Oct. 11, 2024. Ethan Miller, Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    The amended complaint, filed on Feb. 7 at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges news distortion, election interference, and financial harm caused by CBS’s handling of its “60 Minutes” interview with Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.

    “It is beyond dispute that Defendants wanted Harris to win the Election, and indeed political gain for Harris was certainly Defendants’ intent behind their tampering with the Interview,” the amended complaint reads. “But Defendants’ primary motivation was commercial and pecuniary gain.”

    Trump’s legal team claims that CBS deceptively edited Harris’s responses to make her appear more articulate and composed, while also diverting viewership from Trump’s media platform, Truth Social, reducing ad revenue. The complaint asserts that CBS intentionally aired different portions of Harris’s remarks on “Face the Nation” and “60 Minutes,” misleading the public about her full statements.

    “Once Defendants finally released the unedited version of the Interview, it became apparent that they had engaged in gross broadcast distortion cover-up and manipulated not only Harris’s Reply about Prime Minister Netanyahu, but the Interview in its entirety,” the amended complaint reads.

    CBS has dismissed the claims and maintains its edits were standard journalistic practice.

    “We are posting the same transcripts and videos of our interview with Vice President Kamala Harris that we provided to the FCC [Federal Communications Commission],” the network said in a Feb. 5 statement. “They show–consistent with 60 Minutes’ repeated assurances to the public–that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful.”

    CBS further stated that a longer portion of Harris’s response aired on Face the Nation while a shorter one aired on 60 Minutes for the sake of brevity.

    “As the full transcript shows, we edited the interview to ensure that as much of the vice president’s answers to 60 Minutes’ many questions were included in our original broadcast while fairly representing those answers,” the network stated. “60 Minutes’ hard-hitting questions of the vice president speak for themselves.”

    The uncut transcript reveals that some of Harris’s answers were cut roughly in half and clarifies her full response to a question about the Israel–Hamas war, which Trump’s campaign claimed was awkwardly phrased and was unfairly edited to improve her image. The transcript also shows that Harris’s complete answer was a combination of the two aired clips.

    “Well, Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region. And we’re not going to stop doing that. We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end,” Harris said, per the transcript.

    Reacting to the transcript’s release, Trump wrote in a post on social media that it shows CBS had removed Harris’s “horrible election changing answers” and replaced them with better ones and that this was election interference and “election fraud at a level never seen before.” He also called for CBS to lose its broadcasting license.

    Trump’s original lawsuit, filed on Oct. 31, 2024, sought $10 billion in damages from CBS for alleged news distortion and election interference. The amended complaint seeks an additional $10 billion under the Lanham Act, which covers false advertising and unfair competition, citing harm to Trump’s business interests, including Truth Social.

    “As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ misconduct, significant viewership was improperly diverted to Defendants’ media platforms, resulting in lower consumer engagement, advertising revenues, and profits by TMTG and President Trump’s other media holdings,” the amended complaint reads.

    The new filing also names Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) as a plaintiff, arguing that he was harmed as a consumer of misleading broadcast news.

    Trump’s lawsuit coincides with the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to reopen a news distortion complaint against CBS, initially dismissed in January but revived by new FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

    “CBS played the same question on two different programs and clearly the words of the answers were very different,” Carr said in a Fox News interview. “Was it edited for clarity and length—which would be fine—or are there other reasons?” 

    Democrat FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez called the move a retaliatory effort to intimidate the media.

    The Epoch Times has reached out to CBS and Paramount with requests for comment on the amended complaint.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 02/09/2025 – 11:40

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Feb 09

Today’s News 9th February 2025

  • What Does National Security Have To Do With Soaring Defense Spending?
    What Does National Security Have To Do With Soaring Defense Spending?

    Authored by Casey Carlisle via AntiWar.com,

    Paraphrasing Thomas Jefferson, the natural progress of things is for prices to yield and for quality to gain ground.  Technology is what enables this natural progress.  Do televisions cost more now than they did in the early ‘90s?  What about mobile phones?  Same answer for both questions: both are better and less expensive today than they were in the early ‘90s, which is why one will conclude that something is awry when reading headlines like “Global Military Spending Has Almost Doubled Since the Early ‘90s.”

    USS George Washington Carrier Strike Group underway in the Atlantic

    Why has military spending almost doubled since the early ‘90s?  Arguably for the same reason hospital services have: government intervention.  Those who ‘serve’ in government endlessly tax the present because they arrogantly claim to know what the future should be rather than allow the future to unfold via voluntary exchange between producers and consumers.  Against all reason and historical precedent, they claim that, in order to stay safe, ‘defense’ spending must increase.  But that’s like claiming that, in order for eggs to contain yolks, the cost of raising chickens must necessarily outpace the rate of inflation.

    “But but but” the unthinking screech, “the world is much more dangerous today!”  Perhaps, but is warfare immune from technological advance?  No, as Jefferson’s actual quote helps explain: “The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground.”  The world’s danger stems from governments’ interventions.  Wars aren’t cheap; governments don’t engage in them for fun.  The people would rather not fight, but instead of consulting with the people, governments conscript them.  Increased military spending is inversely proportional to market forces – the will of the people.

    Military spending has almost doubled because the government that allegedly serves us trades our present liberty for its imagined, grotesque future.  Weapons manufacturing is one of the most regulated – if not the most regulated – industries in the “land of the free,” and that regulation paves the way for the most perverse incentive imaginable: though the maiming, killing, and destruction of “them” and their cities equates to the decimation of their economy, “our” business relies on it.Y

    But work divided – not obliterated – is what enables the natural progress of things.  And when the number and duration of wars are unknown, and when that uncertainty is combined with the fact that war – at least its initial phase – is entirely devoid of market forces, weapons manufacturers can charge whatever they like, considering the governments that purchase their products spend their citizens’ money and not their own.  Governments have only what they’ve taken from the people they claim to serve, and they spend that money in the same way they obtained it: without consent.

    There’s nothing natural about military spending nearly doubling; it’s a choice, just like inflation.  But these are not choices freely made by citizens; they’re choices imposed on citizens by those who claim to serve citizens.  Where citizens do have a choice, however, is whether to enlist, but increasingly more patriots have decided to abstain from military enlistment.  Why, then, would military spending increase while the number of those ‘serving’ decreases?  Because, again, military spending is not the product of billions of freely transacting individuals but of a handful who claim with a straight face that they know better than the billions engaging in voluntary exchange (the global economy).

    “That’s just the way things are” is what the parasites hope you’ll keep chanting, but that song is better ascribed to things subjected to market forces.  “This is the way things will be” is why global military spending has doubled and will continue to increase.  As long as the government—not the people – decides which weapons will be purchased and which wars will be funded, the people will continue to fund the increasingly expensive suffering of others worldwide for the benefit of their governments.

    Casey Carlisle writes in the Pacific Northwest.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 23:20

  • CDC Reports 'Unknown' Illness Outbreak on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship
    CDC Reports ‘Unknown’ Illness Outbreak on Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Nearly 100 people were sickened by an outbreak of an unknown gastrointestinal illness this week on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Radiance of the Seas, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    The Radiance of the Seas in Sydney harbour, in this undated file image. Pixabay

    The CDC said on Feb. 5 that about 89 of the 2,164 passengers on the ship were affected by the outbreak, or about 4 percent of the passengers. Two out of 910 crew members reported symptoms, the agency said.

    The primary symptoms, according to the CDC, are vomiting and diarrhea. The “causative agent” was listed as “unknown,” the agency also said.

    The Radiance of the Seas trip started on Feb. 1 and is scheduled to end on Feb. 8, while the outbreak was first reported on Feb. 5.

    Sick passengers and crew members were isolated from the rest of the individuals on the cruise ship, the CDC said. The ship also has stepped up “cleaning and disinfection procedures” and collected samples for testing to determine the nature of the outbreak, the agency said.

    Officials with the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program are now “remotely monitoring the situation, including review of the ship’s outbreak response and sanitation procedures,” it added.

    While the cause of the outbreak wasn’t disclosed, the CDC noted that norovirus is generally the cause of outbreaks on cruise ships and that “finding the agent that caused an outbreak … can take time.”

    “When an outbreak occurs, people whose symptoms met the case definition are asked to provide stool or vomitus samples. These samples are tested to determine the causative agent,” the CDC said.

    Since the start of 2025, the CDC has reported six outbreaks on cruise ships, including the Radiance of the Seas trip. Three of the outbreaks were caused by norovirus, while one was caused by E. coli and other was “presumed” to have been caused by ciguatera fish poisoning, according to the agency.

    Cruise ships are required to report cases where individuals report diarrhea or vomiting, along with other symptoms, to the CDC, the agency has said.

    Norovirus Case Updates

    Cases of norovirus started surging in parts of the United States over the winter, according to government data.

    The most recent numbers from the CDC show there were 97 outbreaks of norovirus reported during the week of Jan.9, although that was down from the 128 outbreaks reported a week earlier. Numbers from the past few years show a maximum of 65 outbreaks reported during that first week of December 2024.

    A norovirus infection is characterized by sudden vomiting and diarrhea. Outbreaks are often seen on cruise ships, in congregate living situations such as nursing homes and jails, and in schools and places where people are close together.

    In a normal year, according to the CDC, norovirus causes between 19 million and 21 million cases of vomiting and diarrhea, 109,000 hospitalizations, and 900 deaths across the United States. The virus also is associated with about 495,000 emergency department visits, mostly in younger children, the CDC says. Most outbreaks occur between November and April.

    If there is a new strain of the virus, there can be upward of 50 percent more norovirus illness. the agency said. Norovirus outbreaks often occur in health care facilities, long-term care facilities, restaurants, child care centers, schools, and cruise ships.

    The Epoch Times contacted Royal Caribbean for comment on Friday.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 22:45

  • Lebanese PM Forms New Government, Includes Hezbollah, Rejecting Trump Envoy's 'Red Lines'
    Lebanese PM Forms New Government, Includes Hezbollah, Rejecting Trump Envoy’s ‘Red Lines’

    Via The Cradle

    Prime Minister Nawaf Salam officially announced the formation of a new government for Lebanon on Saturday, naming 24 ministers to his cabinet, including five allied with the so-called “Shia duo” of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement.

    “Reform is the only path to salvation, and the government will work to restore trust between the citizen and the state,” Salam said during a short speech from Baabda Palace following the announcement. “The government will work in harmony among its members, and diversity will not be a source of disruption. I envision establishing a state of law and institutions, and we are laying the foundations for reform and rescue. No government formation will satisfy everyone, but we will work in unity,” the premier added.

    Via Reuters

    Salam also stressed his government would “complete the implementation of [UNSC] Resolution 1701 and the ceasefire agreement” with Israel, stressing that Israeli occupation troops must “withdraw to the last inch of Lebanese territory.”

    Lebanese officials revealed that the first Cabinet session will be held on Tuesday at Baabda Palace, following the official group photo. The successful formation of Salam’s government comes one day after US special envoy to West Asia Morgan Ortagus declared during a news conference that Hezbollah would not be a part of the Lebanese government and that its “reign of terror” was “over.”

    “We have set clear red lines from the US that they won’t be able to terrorize the Lebanese people, and that includes by being a part of the government,” Ortagus said while alongside Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

    Despite Washington’s interventionist statements, the country’s new cabinet is split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects, including five ministries headed by allies of Hezbollah and Amal.

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    According to local reports, these are: Minister of Interior Ahmad Hajjar; Minister of Finance Yassine Jaber; Minister of Health Rakan Nasereddine; Minister of Labor Mohammad Haidar; and Minister of the Displaced Kamal Chehade.

    “After all the threats and arrogance, the [Shia duo] entered the government in full partnership. Not a single name has changed after Ortagus’s words, and the duo ultimately approved the appointment of the fifth minister,” Lebanese journalist Hosam Matar said via social media, referring to a reported dispute between Salam and the Shia parties over their representation in government.

    “Lebanon announces the birth of a new 24-Ministers government and did not exclude Hezbollah.” – Elijah Magnier

    According to a statement issued by the Lebanese president’s office, the new cabinet members “are nonpartisan,” and Salam’s government was formed “based on competence, experience, specialization, CV, and good reputation.” Saturday’s cabinet formation also marked the end of the caretaker government of long-serving prime minister Najib Mikati.

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    Following general elections in 2022, Lebanon was mired in a years-long presidential deadlock. This impasse was broken late last year after the implementation of a one-sided ceasefire deal with Israel. Under heavy US and Gulf pressure, the Lebanese parliament elected former armed forces commander Joseph Aoun as President. He elected former chief judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Nawaf Salam to head the government as Prime Minister.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 22:10

  • Him & Hers Superbowl Ad Hijacks "MAHA Messaging"
    Him & Hers Superbowl Ad Hijacks “MAHA Messaging”

    The Hims & Hers Super Bowl advertisement is “illegal” due to the lack of a required disclaimer, according to a former consultant for major food and pharmaceutical companies, adding the ad’s theme ripped off RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement while promoting GLP-1 medications.

    Calley Means, the founder of TrueMed, a company that enables tax-free spending on food and exercise, wrote on X:

    This ad is illegal. Ads pushing drugs must communicate the risks of the product. This drug has pronounced side effects – but this ad promotes easy prescriptions for millennials as some kind of counter-cultural moral good. A patient advocacy group should sue – happy to help.

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

    The Hims & Hers ad is themed around “Sick of the System” and criticizes the $160 billion weight loss industry. The ad shows a “life-changing” solution: affordable weight-loss drugs while completely ignoring the true core pillar of MAHA: eating clean, healthy food and exercising. 

    Means continued: 

    The fact that they are co-opting MAHA messaging is cynical BS. We don’t have an obesity crisis because of a lack of Ozempic. It is because pharmaceutical companies have rigged out incentives to profit when we are sick.

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

    On Friday, the New York Times reported that Senators Richard Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, and Roger Marshall, Republican of Kansas, sent a letter to the acting head of the Food and Drug Administration warning the ad “risks misleading patients.”

    “Nowhere in this promotion is there any side-effect disclosure, risk or safety information as would be typically required in a pharmaceutical advertisement,” the senators wrote. 

    However, a Hims & Hers spokesperson told CNBC in a statement:

    “We are complying with existing law and are happy to continue working with Congress and the new Administration to fix the broken health system and ensure that patients have choices for quality, safe, and affordable healthcare.”

    Hims & Hers’ marketing department quite possibly made a bad move by attempting to hijack the MAHA movement by promoting weight-loss medications. MAHA advocates for clean, nutritious food—not low-cost, experimental weight-loss drugs as a solution to America’s broken healthcare system

    Let’s not forget this about Hims & Hers…

    We wonder what MAHA’s Nicole Shanahan has to say about this ad… 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 21:35

  • Bipartisan Bill Would Ban DeepSeek AI On US Government Devices
    Bipartisan Bill Would Ban DeepSeek AI On US Government Devices

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

    A bipartisan pair of congressmen are introducing a bill to prohibit the use of China’s DeepSeek AI on government-issued devices.

    The DeepSeek logo is seen in this illustration taken on Jan. 29, 2025. Dado Ruvic/Reuters

    Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Darin LaHood (R-Ill.) are expected to introduce the “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act” on Feb. 6.

    The pair serve on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and hope the bill will help prevent Americans from sharing sensitive, proprietary information with DeepSeek which could then be stored on servers in China accessible by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

    “The Chinese Communist Party has made it abundantly clear that it will exploit any tool at its disposal to undermine our national security, spew harmful disinformation, and collect data on Americans,” Gottheimer said in a prepared statement.

    He added that the CCP could leverage its control over servers in China to steal American contracts, financial records, and other business documents commonly uploaded to DeepSeek’s chatbot.

    “We must get to the bottom of DeepSeek’s malign activities. We simply can’t risk the CCP infiltrating the devices of our government officials and jeopardizing our national security.”

    Texas has already banned DeepSeek from government devices in the state, and Taiwan, Italy, and Australia have done the same.

    “Texas will not allow the Chinese Communist Party to infiltrate our state’s critical infrastructure through data-harvesting AI and social media apps,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. “Texas will continue to protect and defend our state from hostile foreign actors.”

    DeepSeek has sparked data privacy concerns following the launch of its free open-source AI model in January. The app is controlled by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence and Beijing DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence, according to its privacy policy webpage.

    Major security concerns about DeepSeek center on its censorship rules, possible copyright infringement, and compliance with Chinese regulations and laws that compel individuals and companies to cooperate with Chinese authorities in their intelligence work, such as by handing over data collected both inside and outside the country.

    To that end, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Jan. 28 that the government is looking into the potential national security implications of the DeepSeek AI app.

    Founded in 2023 by Chinese businessman Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek stated the company adheres to Chinese laws and regulations, as well as “socialist core values.” Similarly, social media accounts linked to Chinese state agencies pushed narratives favoring DeepSeek prior to its mass proliferation through the U.S. marketplace earlier this month.

    DeepSeek is not the first technology platform to export the CCP’s censorship and revisionist propaganda.

    Social media giant TikTok came under fire for the same thing back in 2020, when it was found that the company’s platform suppressed content related to the CCP’s human rights abuses.

    Nor is Gottheimer and LaHood’s bill the first legal response to DeepSeek in the U.S. government.

    Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) filed his own Senate initiative in the wake of DeepSeek’s release. That effort aims to stop U.S.–China cooperation on AI development in toto by prohibiting AI products from being exported to or imported from the communist regime. The bill would also ban U.S. companies from investing in Chinese AI development.

    Gottheimer and LaHood’s joint statement said that DeepSeek’s code shared user data with China Mobile, a state-owned telecommunications company that was banned in the United States for its ties to the CCP’s military wing.

    “The national security threat that DeepSeek—a CCP-affiliated company—poses to the United States is alarming,” LaHood said.

    “DeepSeek’s generative AI program acquires the data of U.S. users and stores the information for unidentified use by the CCP. Under no circumstances can we allow a CCP company to obtain sensitive government or personal data,” he added.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 21:00

  • Jim Acosta's World Bends Away From CNN, Towards The Truth
    Jim Acosta’s World Bends Away From CNN, Towards The Truth

    Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

    Jim Acosta — best known for acting like a spoiled infant refusing to give up a rattler during a Q&A with President Trump during his first term — was recently rewarded for his “journalistic integrity” by being relegated to the midnight shift on CNN.

    The network, fresh off watching its preferred Presidential candidate get blown out while the entire podcasting and “new”/alternative media world laughed and ridiculed it, is apparently rethinking its priorities. Long overdue.

    And, well, Acosta would have been relegated to the midnight slot — except, in true “you can’t fire me, I quit!” fashion — he took his ball and went home, leaving the network and announcing on air to the world he was quitting.

    The man who helped peddle both the Russian collusion hoax and “the science” during Covid on the network that outright lied to the public on multiple key issues the last decade, left with the ironic parting words:

    “Don’t give in to the lies, don’t give in to the fear.”

    That flaccid declaration was then followed by Acosta declaring he was going out on his own and moving to Substack. Acosta said on his new Substack account:

    “Let me just say this, I have had quite the day. I am going independent, at least for now. This is just the beginning, but I wanted to invite you to join me here on this platform as we talk about the day’s news, talk about politics, and so on.”

    A good friend of mine told me the other day that the world “bends to the truth.” In context, he meant that no matter what people are saying, the truth always finds a way of seeping out and imposing its will on the world.

    I couldn’t help but reflect on that while reading the news about Jim Acosta.

    It’s hilarious that over the last few years, Substack has been written off as a home for only conspiracy theorists and renegade journalists that supposedly don’t belong in the mainstream. Of course, for years, I’ve been arguing that Substack is just the opposite: a fertile breeding ground of critically thought-out ideas, raised by a collective of people who, for the most part, are interested in getting to the objective truth of matters more than anything else.

    And if I had to bet money on it, I would guess that at some point during his on-air career or off-the-air discussions, Jim Acosta joined a long chorus of people—like Chelsea Clinton—who lashed out at Substack and even, in one instance, called us Substack authors “grifters.”

    But the truth has a funny way of dishing out karma. It was arguably CNN’s inability to tell the objective truth that helped put Donald Trump into the White House this go-round. It also arguably helped accelerate the shift toward alternative media sources for people near the center of the political aisle who just have an interest in, at the very least, hearing both sides of a story.

    It’s funny now to see people like Acosta, former mainstream left-wing journalists like Taylor Lorenz, and a couple of people from The Washington Post embrace what Substack has to offer: free speech and a platform that isn’t going to censor them. If the libertarian and right-wing desire for free speech and autonomy doesn’t make sense to them—now that they are finding refuge in it—they’re never going to get it.

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

    I’ll always think Jim Acosta is a clown for how he’s acted, but I welcome him onto the platform. After all, I acted like a infantile imbecile through most of my teen years and 20s, too. In my 30s, I committed to trying to reform my behavior actively. In my 40s, I’m seeking sobriety and even further personal growth. Maybe Jim is on a similar journey. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.

    And hey — I’ve said many times over, I have no desire to hear only one side to any story, regardless of what my personal opinion is and what the topic is. I’m always interested in hearing all of the facts and then making my decision accordingly. And so, for that reason, I’ll tell you what I don’t need to if you’re already my subscriber: vibrant free speech is a beautiful thing.

    But the irony of this move isn’t lost on me and shouldn’t be lost on you either.

    Substack is a desirable place to be a journalist not just because it makes one’s individual work easy to monetize and provides a wonderful direct-to-reader experience, but because it welcomes all opinions and the company had the foresight to understand that being accepting of everybody—even those people that may have cast off the platform in days prior—is better as a long-term asset than a short-term, prideful sticking point.

    I hope it’s no secret to my subscribers that I’m immensely appreciative of having you as readers. This blog has been cathartic for me in so many ways, and I couldn’t possibly imagine the kindness that you have all shown me as I work to express my opinions and curate content. That gratitude extends to Substack as well, and I’ve told them as much privately.

    And now, publicly, I want to congratulate them—not just on the platform’s success, but in how it was made manifest: by having confidence in free speech and a shared pursuit of the objective truth, and then letting the world bend around Substack instead of Substack bending around the world. Congratulations to the Substack team… and even to you, Jim Acosta. I hope this is a new chapter in a journey where you begin to truly find your voice.

    Enjoy this piece? Join my free mailing list. And now read:

     

    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, 02/08/2025 – 19:50

  • Ayatollah Shuts Door On Negotiations With US After Trump Restores 'Maximum Pressure'
    Ayatollah Shuts Door On Negotiations With US After Trump Restores ‘Maximum Pressure’

    Iran’s top cleric who oversees the state, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appears to have shut the door on opening new negotiations with Washington in the wake of fresh Trump-ordered sanctions intended to disrupt Iran’s oil network and to take exports “down to zero”.

    “First, negotiations with the US have no effect on solving [Iran’s] problems. The reason? Experience!” Khamenei said on Friday. He explained that during the Obama presidency, “we sat down and negotiated with the US for about two years, and an agreement was formed. In this agreement, the Iranian side was very generous and gave many concessions to the other side.”

    During Trump’s first term, he unilaterally pulled the US from the ‘bad’ JCPOA nuclear deal, which happened in April 2018 – after which a “maximum pressure” campaign was imposed on Tehran. Trump this week revived this pressure campaign via ramped-up sanctions.

    Khamenei continued, “But the US did not carry out that agreement. The same person who is now in office tore up that agreement. We must learn from this experience.”

    He then emphasized, “One must not negotiate with a government like the US government. Negotiations with it is not wise, it is not intelligent, and is not honorable.”

    Many critics of Trump’s Iran policy back in 2018 warned that the Iranians would never be able to trust Washington again if a deal to end the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program is dangled in front of Tehran.

    The basics of the JCPOA were that Iran would limit its nuclear energy program, agree to routine inspections, and in return US-led sanctions would be lifted.

    The US is now worried that given last year’s tit-for-tat exchange of major strikes with Israel, Tehran leaders are more incentivized than ever to secretly develop a nuke.

    However, the CIA has long assessed, even recently, that Iran’s leadership has not yet ordered the pursuit of a bomb. The Ayatollahs throughout the decades have also condemned atomic weapons as ‘unIslamic’.

    Supreme Leader Khamenei seems to be favoring the hardliners, who’ve long argued that dealing with Washington is futile…

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    Officially at least, Iran’s nuclear program remains for peaceful energy purposes for the needs of the domestic population. But Israel has long charged that this is but a cover, and US Congressional hawks agree with this allegation.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 19:15

  • Powerful Earthquake Rattles Caribbean Sea Near Cayman Islands
    Powerful Earthquake Rattles Caribbean Sea Near Cayman Islands

    A powerful earthquake has been reported in the Caribbean Sea. According to USGS data, the 7.6-magnitude quake struck about 125 miles southwest of the Cayman Islands. Tsunami alerts have been issued for multiple coastlines along the Caribbean Sea.

    NOAA posted the latest tsunami map. 

    “This was a lateral “strike-slip” quake; minimal up/down motion, so very low tsunami threat,” meteorologist Matthew Cappucci wrote on X.

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    *Developing… 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 19:05

  • Contrasting DEI With Equality Of Opportunity
    Contrasting DEI With Equality Of Opportunity

    Authored by Christian Milord via The Epoch Times,

    Folks with common sense likely were pleased when a recent executive order came down from the Trump administration to ban DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs from all federal agencies. One wonders why it has taken so long to discard such an un-American system from the government.

    What is DEI? It is a Marxist secular construct that claims to embrace diversity and justice in our society. Critical Race Theory (CRT) makes up a part of the DEI vision. Purveyors of CRT and DEI believe that ethnic minorities in America are victims of discrimination at the hands of the majority population and deserve to receive special favors to make up for this alleged oppression. The DEI apparatus doesn’t take into account that minorities in a free society have the same rights under the law as everyone else, and they don’t require extra rights.

    The DEI apparatus also attempts to implement quota systems for minorities regarding higher education enrollment slots as well as in occupational positions whether individuals are qualified or not. In other words, it discriminates based on color, gender, and race instead of seeking to enroll or hire folks based on character, experience, and merit. Martin Luther King, Jr., would likely be disgusted at the DEI apparatus as he believed that people should be evaluated based on character, not physical characteristics. He also noted that, “darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.” The best disinfectant to expose the reverse racism of DEI is the light of transparency.

    Folks who promote the DEI worldview also believe that competition and success should be devalued in favor of the equity of prearranged outcomes. In other words, education must be watered down so that less ambitious students can somehow get a leg up as they move through the educational process. The result of lowered standards is declining test scores, intellectual poverty, grade inflation, and social promotion. Is it any wonder that at least 40 percent of California public school students require remediation in language arts and math when they enter higher education?

    Unfortunately, DEI has permeated businesses and key institutions in our society, and it won’t be easy to dismantle. It tends to punish folks who work hard and want to compete on a level playing field. It also hurts minorities because it creates a blanket generalization that certain minorities are victims and need special assistance in order to succeed. That broad brush claim is insulting to the intelligence of minority communities, and many will tend to believe that they can’t succeed through merit and their unique talents.

    Consequently, DEI has generated soul-crushing damage in our society due to a lowering of standards in academia and the workplace. Visualize for a moment the outcomes that can unfold if an air traffic controller, architect, dentist, doctor, engineer, mechanic, pilot, professor, etc., are hired primarily due to color, gender, or race rather than competence and experience. Lives can be placed at risk if folks who lack the requisite abilities are chosen over others based on gender or skin tone.

    DEI, which includes affirmative action and identity politics, breaks the law when it intentionally targets minorities for college enrollment or career positions instead of marketing to all eligible students and workers regardless of ethnicity and gender. 

    Moreover, DEI attempts to censor folks who question its discriminatory practices. DEI influencers forget that America was founded on the constitutional principle of freedom of assembly, the press, religion, and speech for everyone, not the freedom from these activities.

    Now let us turn to equality of opportunity, which is a principle that is very American in nature. 

    In America, anyone can compete and pursue opportunities regardless of ethnicity and gender. Any individual can also create opportunities that can generate ideas, products, and services to benefit society.

    While most folks value natural cultural diversity and fairness in the big tent that is America, they bristle if an immoral quota-based DEI is coerced upon them. Any form of diversity should never make folks feel guilty for injustices of the past in which they did not participate. Genuine diversity would not pick and choose winners and losers in human endeavors based on superficial characteristics.

    Americans believe that no special interest group should receive extra rights merely due to some cultural, linguistic, or religious differences. Yet DEI demands that minority groups receive preferences over the majority population which undermines the concept of a level playing field for all. Yet DEI can be inconsistent, as witnessed by the rampant anti-Semitic behavior targeting Jews on campuses and in the streets following the heinous ambush perpetrated by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

    By contrast, equality of opportunity offers the same rights to all folks who want to pursue training for a career. Is equality of opportunity perfect? By no means. It doesn’t guarantee success for everyone who seeks opportunities, because nothing in life is guaranteed. What it does is provide options for those willing to study hard and work diligently. If one opportunity doesn’t pan out, other opportunities arise, and folks can revise their academic and career goals.

    The beauty of equality of opportunity is that it leads to limitless opportunities through competition and innovation. People tend to rely on communities and personal initiative to reach their dreams rather than government handouts. While DEI treats people like children forever with its mentality of unearned entitlement, equality of opportunity encourages maturity, merit, and the development of genuine virtues. While the inverted reasoning of DEI would be normal under autocratic rule, it has no place in a representative democracy.

    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, 02/08/2025 – 18:40

  • Democrat Rep. Sterilizes Herself To Protest Trump
    Democrat Rep. Sterilizes Herself To Protest Trump

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    A Democratic state Rep. from Michigan says she has sterilised herself as a form of protest against President Trump.

    Rep. Laurie Pohutsky (D-Livonia) stated “Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America.”

    “I refuse to let my body be treated as currency by an administration that only sees value in my ability to procreate,” she added while speaking to hundreds of extreme left-wing protesters on the lawn of the Michigan Capitol.

    “If you know people who are questioning how serious this is, I’m going to repeat myself: A sitting government official opted for voluntary sterilization because she was uncertain she would be able to access contraception in the future,” she further claimed.

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    Unable to access contraception? What on Earth is she blathering about?

    In 2022, Michigan added a measure to their state constitution that made abortion, contraception, and sterilization a “fundamental right.”

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    Trump has also repeatedly said abortion is a states issue following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

    As such, it is unclear why these people are still claiming that Trump is going to deny them those rights.

    Radical leftists are inventing fake issues as a justification for staying angry and taking extreme measures because they cannot accept that Trump won the election.

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    Footage from the Michigan protest was posted online by Trump supporters who were harassed and told they had no right to be there.

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    *  *  *

    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, 02/08/2025 – 17:30

  • "We Need To Go Gangster Here": NY Mag Editor And Scott Galloway Demand Doxxing And Prison For "Little Pricks" From DOGE
    “We Need To Go Gangster Here”: NY Mag Editor And Scott Galloway Demand Doxxing And Prison For “Little Pricks” From DOGE

    The leftist freakout over government accountability has escalated to open calls for the doxxing and imprisonment of the “arrogant little pricks” working for Elon Musk’s DOGE, who over the past two weeks have descended upon the US Treasury, USAID, and most recently the US Department of Education in order to uncover waste, fraud and abuse. And boy have they found that in spades.

    In a Friday episode of NY Magazine Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher’s “Pivot” podcast with guest Scott Galloway, the two leftists outlined their ideal response to the Trump administration’s recent moves.

    Galloway called DOGE’s actions “illegal” and a “coup,” and called for Democratic governors to throw Musk’s team in prison.

    “I want to know who their names are, and I want to see Democratic governors saying ‘I’m gonna do everything I can in my power to use the full faith, to the letter of the law, to put you folks in prison,” said Galloway, adding “I think what you’re doping is trespassing. I think this is a coup. And be clear – just because the new insurrectionist who was elected… I don’t believe this is legal. And I’m gonna hold the people accountable who are trespassing and part of a coup, accountable.“

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    “To just sit back and say this is horrible and this is unlawful – we need to go gangster here and say ‘look, we are not negotiating around this stuff. This is illegal. This is a coup. This is the unlawful seizure of power. We are not gonna engage in these bullshit ridiculous arguments over Gaza and Greenland. We are going to hold the people accountable. Here are their names, here are their faces, and we have contacted the local authorities where these kids live – these young adults, and we are going to hold them accountable.”

    Swisher suggested that they don’t have that ability, telling Galloway that she’s told concerned leftists; “You actually don’t have the means to do so, because these poor people are in these agencies, and when these idiots come in. These children. These arrogant little pricks come in and say ‘we’re going to call the federal marshals or the president has ordered you to step aside,’ they kind of have to. You have to be resistant and be walked out by security. And then security doesn’t know which one to listen to, right?

    Galloway then called on Congress to stage what the left has defined as an insurrection at a federal building, saying: “I’d like to see all, 48 or 49 US Senators and any Republicans who want to join. I’d like to see a couple hundred members of Congress go to the building where this is, and demand to go in, and physically stop this and let them arrest you.”

    Swisher elaborated on how she thinks the media is downplaying what’s going on, insisting “It’s a coup!” before suggesting that DOGE employees are “so typical … of the juvenilization of men.”

    Amazing.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 16:55

  • The Rise And Rise Of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
    The Rise And Rise Of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

    There is much to learn about the way the world works today by watching the confirmation vote on Trump’s pick of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services. In so many ways, this is a remarkable development with a dramatic story arc, one that speaks presciently to events over the past five years and where they stand in public consciousness.

    In November 2021, a major book blasted onto the scene that hardly anyone had expected. It was “The Real Anthony Fauci” by Kennedy. The author had already emerged as the world’s leading critic of the policy response to COVID-19, which included locking down societies across the globe to prepare the population for a vaccine that was already on record as failing to protect against both infection and transmission.

    This book was not just a criticism of the way that the “nation’s leading infectious disease doctor” had been the dominant voice for shutdowns, closures, distancing, and masking. It dug through the deep history of the U.S. bioweapons program to highlight the role of dangerous research with a military angle. Fauci was not merely the guy telling you how to stay well; he had become a powerful figure in the bioweapons industry, which had a deep relationship with pharmaceutical companies.

    The book was beyond mind-blowing, and its many hundreds of footnotes provide an incredible documentary source for readers to check. I dug through them to discover features of the pandemic response I never knew existed. The depth of research here was simply astounding. As the book became a bestseller, Amazon itself faced pressure to censor it. It acquiesced for a time simply because the powers that be were so awesome and aggressive. Still, the book made inroads in any case.

    At that time, the political constellation in the country was shifting wildly, and no one knew where it would wind up. The Biden administration had doubled down on coercive pandemic policies and added vaccine and mask mandates while issuing wild warnings of mass death for noncompliance. Resistance on the right and left were growing, but no one knew for sure where all of this would end up.

    As Trump clinched the Republican nomination, there was a brief moment when it seemed that the Democrats would be open to replacing Biden on the ticket. A lifelong Democrat and the inheritor of the mantles of both his father and uncle, Kennedy seemed like an obvious choice to take the nomination in an open primary. He started an ad campaign that revived his uncle’s early efforts. But there would be no primary, thus forcing him into an independent bid for the presidency.

    Third-party attempts in the United States always run into the same problem: The whole system is geared toward two parties, and voting logic usually ends up reinforcing that as well. As that reality gradually dawned on Kennedy, there was a growing sense within the large movement that backed him that he needed another option.

    As events unfolded, Trump was subjected to a close assassination attempt on July 13, 2024. That was the moment when the two camps came together. After several days of talking, there was a sudden realization on both sides that they were fighting the same corporatist enemies from two different fronts, one focused on immigration and trade and the other focused on food and pharma power. There was general agreement that many things in America needed to change.

    The sudden emergence of the unity effort of Trump and Kennedy together disoriented both sides, simply because the coalition brought together factions that had long seemed opposed. Kennedy was a long-time environmental lawyer, and Trump was generally an anti-environmentalist. They would agree to disagree on oil and energy but concentrate on the economic and physical health of America, which came to be embodied in the MAGA/MAHA coalition.

    The shock in both camps was high, but the urgency of the moment—and the deep desire for change in Washington—impressed upon the grassroots the need to shake off their squeamishness and get to work together. How much did Kennedy’s involvement help the Trump campaign? Enormously. Was it decisive in the sweeping victory? Very likely.

    As a thank you for joining forces or perhaps a quid pro quo that was nonetheless highly merited, Kennedy gained nomination to the position of secretary of health and human services, which oversees many other agencies in the realm of food, health, pharmaceuticals, and much more.

    The real challenge then began after Trump’s victory because of a peculiar feature of the American system: Cabinet picks have to be confirmed by the Senate. In normal years, and with most appointees of the past never really presenting that much of a challenge to the status quo, a president’s picks sail through with bipartisan support. Trump’s picks would be different, particularly the Kennedy choice since his stance on pharma and pandemic planning was well known.

    A choice for him would represent a repudiation of the past five years of policy, a prospect nearly all of Washington dreaded.

    In the course of events, an incredible irony emerged. In committee—and likely too in the larger Senate—the vote fell along party lines, but not in the way one would expect. This lifelong Democrat and scion of the great Democrat family was opposed by every Democrat and supported (so far) by every Republican. Not only that, but the Republican-friendly press opposed him tooth and nail. The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and the New York Post all published bitter editorials that called the nominee a crank and conspiracy theorist.

    Largely because of a huge push from the grassroots—and because of support from Trump—the Republicans voted for him in any case, while the Democrats simply could not and did not, despite the manner in which Kennedy, in many ways, represented causes long important to many people generally considered to be on the left.

    Thus does the expected confirmation of Kennedy—his rise and rise for fully five years—embody the best symbolic indication that the old partisan and ideological divides in the country that date back three-quarters of a century find themselves fully scrambled into a wholly new alliance. If you attend any events that bring together MAGA and MAHA, you know exactly what I mean. They are exciting scenes of people who have never been in the same room together, gradually discovering points of agreement and feeling very optimistic about the future.

    No one could have predicted such dramatic events 10 or even five years ago. In the larger picture, the triumph of Kennedy represents more than careful planning and clever politicking. It shows the extent to which the pandemic policy response continues to serve as the disruptive template that is shaking up conventional politics not just in the United States but all over the world and thereby building a new philosophical and ideological alignment that will disrupt nations, states, and industries for many generations.

    Most exciting of all is to observe the ways in which public pressure seems to be in the driver’s seat today—not just elites with large megaphones but real people who have taken a keen interest in civic affairs like never before in our lifetimes. We see it in the emergence of Kennedy as a key figure in the Trump government and also with Tulsi Gabbard in intelligence, Elon Musk in agency and spending reform, and Kash Patel overseeing law enforcement.

    These are new times. One might even call it a Great Reset—just not the one that anyone anticipated.

    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, 02/08/2025 – 16:20

  • Three Gaunt-Looking Israelis Freed By Hamas After "491 Days Of Hell"
    Three Gaunt-Looking Israelis Freed By Hamas After “491 Days Of Hell”

    At this point the Hamas-Israel truce has held since January 19, and several successful rounds of hostage/prisoner exchanges have followed since. The latest happened Saturday, with Hamas releasing three more Israeli hostages captured on Oct.7, 2023 – in exchange for another 183 imprisoned Palestinians released by Israel.

    This brings the total freed since the ceasefire took effect last month to 21 people freed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad – 16 of them Israelis and five Thai citizens who had been workers in the Kibbutz which were attacked. This is still part of the first, 42-day phase of the agreement.

    Via Associated Press

    The three Israelis released Saturday have been identified as Eli Sharabi, 52, Ohad Ben Ami, 56, and Or Levy, 34. They were paraded on a stage in the town of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza to sign handover documents.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office described the scene of the emaciated hostages “shocking” and vowed that the government would take action against Hamas.

    “The shocking images we saw today will not pass without response,” the statement reads. “The government, together with security officials, will support them and their families. Israel is committed to bringing back all the hostages and missing.”

    According to a description via NBC:

    The freed captives looked gaunt as they were paraded on stage by Hamas just before the were transferred into the custody of the Red Cross, and they were also interviewed on stage by one of the fighters.

    Netanyahu has “instructed to now allow the situation to go unaddressed,” a statement from his office said, without giving further details. 

    Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said in separate statement the hostages were “being exploited in a cynical and cruel spectacle,” after suffering “491 days of hell.”

    But Gaza officials also pointed to the emaciated condition of some of the freed Palestinians:

    Seven of the Palestinian prisoners freed by Israel today have been taken to hospital due to “their poor health condition,” according to the Red Crescent.

    Hamas said yesterday that 183 would be freed today. A group were taken to the city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank earlier today. But it is unclear how many were freed.

    The released prisoners were let go by a bus in Ramallah, to large crowds and jubilation as they were reunited with their families.

    Palestinians say there were abused in Israeli jails and right up until release:

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    “Dr. Hagar Mizrahi, the head of the medical division in the Israeli Health Ministry, reported that the three hostages who returned to Israel today are malnourished and have lost significant weight during their time in captivity,” NBC added.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 15:45

  • USAID Funded Massive 'News' Platform, Extending 'Censorship Industrial Complex' To Billions Worldwide
    USAID Funded Massive ‘News’ Platform, Extending ‘Censorship Industrial Complex’ To Billions Worldwide

    Tl;dr: Elon Musk summed up the whole f**king farce succinctly:

    We wonder how the American taxpayer feels about their hard-earned cash being taken away from them and used for this purpose…

    *  *  *

    In addition to propping up far-left corporate media outlets like Politico and the BBC with taxpayer funds, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has funneled half a billion dollars to a secretive non-governmental organization operating a global news propaganda matrix. 

    WikiLeaks published the bombshell report in the overnight hours that shows the massive taxpayer-funded state propaganda network – operating as a shady NGO – called “Internews Network”: 

    USAID has pushed nearly half a billion dollars ($472.6m) through a secretive US government financed NGO, “Internews Network” (IN), which has “worked with” 4,291 media outlets, producing in one year 4,799 hours of broadcasts reaching up to 778 million people and “training” over 9000 journalists (2023 figures). IN has also supported social media censorship initiatives.

    The operation claims “offices” in over 30 countries, including main offices in US, London, Paris and regional HQs in Kiev, Bangkok and Nairobi. It is headed up by Jeanne Bourgault, who pays herself $451k a year. Bourgault worked out of the US embassy in Moscow during the early 1990s, where she was in charge of a $250m budget, and in other revolts or conflicts at critical times, before formally rotating out of six years at USAID to IN.

    Bourgault’s IN bio and those of its other key people and board members have been recently scrubbed from its website but remain accessible at http://archive.org. Records show the board being co-chaired by Democrat securocrat Richard J. Kessler and Simone Otus Coxe, wife of NVIDIA billionaire Trench Coxe, both major Democratic donors. In 2023, supported by Hillary Clinton, Bourgault launched a $10m IN fund at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The IN page showing a picture of Bourgault at the CGI has also been deleted.

    IN has at least six captive subsidiaries under unrelated names including one based out of the Cayman Islands. Since 2008, when electronic records begin, more than 95% of IN’s budget has been supplied by the US government (thread follows). 

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    Not suspicious at all! 

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    IN’s funding has doubled since Trump’s first-term victory, as the Deep State poured billions into combating so-called misinformation and disinformation targeting conservative media worldwide—all under the guise of “saving democracy.”

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    IN’s complex funding graph. 

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    The bio for IN CEO Jeanne Bourgault shows past jobs at Wired, Guardian, and other corporate media outlets. 

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    Not surprising. 

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    Speaking at the globalist Davos event last year, IN’s CEO argued that global advertisers should prioritize spending ad dollars on “good news.” In other words, this would pressure companies to spend exclusively on far-left corporate media outlets while ensuring they slash ad spending on alternative media websites that do not promote state propaganda.

    American taxpayers funded the global censorship matrix that has lied about wars, covid origins, vaccines, and go down the list…

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    Wikileaks shows the moment in time when IN “lost its way”… And you’ll never guess how. 

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    IN’s media matrix spans worldwide.

    Here are the downstream holdings on IN via public records forensics data:

    “Internews is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard,” the NGO stated in an IRS 990 filing as its purpose of businesses. 

    Public records data shows IN has many business purposes worldwide, all in an effort to control a media matrix and ensure only state propaganda is told on the local level. 

    How does it feel to know that your tax dollars are funding a state propaganda media matrix around the world? 

    ________

    If you would like to support ZeroHedge, please subscribe to our premium service or purchase something from our store. We just added handmade solid wood American flags from longtime ZH reader JohnO that are definitely worth checking out!

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 15:15

  • Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump Admin Officials' Access To 'Sensitive' Treasury Records, Cites "Cybersecurity Risk"
    Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump Admin Officials’ Access To ‘Sensitive’ Treasury Records, Cites “Cybersecurity Risk”

    Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A federal judge has temporarily barred the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), run by Elon Musk, from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans kept at the Treasury Department.

    Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington on Jan. 20, 2025. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

    The late-night order, issued Saturday by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer in Manhattan, blocks most Trump administration officials—including Musk and members of his cost-cutting initiative—from accessing sensitive Treasury records for at least a week while the case proceeds in the New York court.

    The injunction specifically prohibits President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from granting access to records containing personally identifiable or confidential financial information to political appointees, special government employees, or any other employees from outside of the department. The White House has designated Musk a special government employee.

    Under the order, only those working at the Bureau of Fiscal Services and have passed background checks may access those records in order to do their job.

    The judge further ordered any person among those whom he restricted to “immediately destroy any and all copies of material downloaded from the Treasury Department’s records and systems, if any.”

    A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Feb. 14.

    The decision was made after 19 state attorneys general sued the Trump and Bessent after DOGE was given access to the Treasury records. DOGE is an advisory body tasked to identify ways to reduce government spending.

    The attorneys general argued that Musk and DOGE, which is not an official government department, should not have access to such highly sensitive financial data. They claimed that the move violates federal law and presents a massive cybersecurity and privacy risk.

    “Defendants’ new expanded access policy poses huge cybersecurity risks” that put “vast amounts of funding for the States and their residents in peril and endangers the [personally identifiable information] of States’ residents whose information is stored on the payment systems,” reads the complaint, which was filed late Feb. 7 in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

    Musk responded to the controversy Saturday, saying in a post to X:

    To be clear, what the @DOGE  team and @USTreasury  have jointly agreed makes sense is the following:

    – Require that all outgoing government payments have a payment categorization code, which is necessary in order to pass financial audits. This is frequently left blank, making audits almost impossible.

    – All payments must also include a rationale for the payment in the comment field, which is currently left blank. Importantly, we are not yet applying ANY judgment to this rationale, but simply requiring that SOME attempt be made to explain the payment more than NOTHING!

    – The DO-NOT-PAY list of entities known to be fraudulent or people who are dead or are probable fronts for terrorist organizations or do not match Congressional appropriations must actually be implemented and not ignored. Also, it can currently take up to a year to get on this list, which is far too long. This list should be updated at least weekly, if not daily.

    The above super obvious and necessary changes are being implemented by existing, long-time career government employees, not anyone from @DOGE
    . It is ridiculous that these changes didn’t exist already!

    Yesterday, I was told that there are currently over $100B/year of entitlements payments to individuals with no SSN or even a temporary ID number. If accurate, this is extremely suspicious.

    When I asked if anyone at Treasury had a rough guess for what percentage of that number is unequivocal and obvious fraud, the consensus in the room was about half, so $50B/year or $1B/week!!

    This is utterly insane and must be addressed immediately.

    Engelmayer agreed with the state’s argument that they “will face irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief.”

    “That is both because of the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking,” Engelmayer wrote.

    There was no immediate comment from the White House or Musk.

    The decision is the latest in a series of judicial interventions blocking the Trump administration’s rapidly unfolding actions to overhaul the federal bureaucracy. Just hours before Engelmayer’s order, another federal judge in Washington halted a Musk-led initiative to dismantle USAID, the agency responsible for administering foreign aid programs.

    In recent weeks, judges have also intervened to block Trump’s early executive actions ending automatic citizenship for children born on U.S. soil, pausing federal grants and loans, offering buyout to federal workers, and sending male inmates who identify as transgender women back to men’s prisons.

    As Charlie Kirk of TPUSA notes;

    New York Judge Paul Engelmayer just forbade all political appointees — including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — from accessing Dept. of Treasury data, all based on Blueanon conspiracy theories!!

    Those theories couldn’t be challenged because the order was EX PARTE — meaning Trump’s lawyers weren’t warned, and couldn’t weigh in. Only Democrat Attorneys General were allowed to argue.

    The judge cites no law or logic to support this unprecedented order, because it defies both. The judge’s ruling is, in essence, that Scott Bessent simply occupies a ceremonial position without real power, like the King of England.

    This is a grenade thrown into the functioning of the Treasury Department.

    It forbids the elected government from accessing information about budget and finances. Instead, only the permanent, deep-state government can know what’s being spent.

    It means Scott Bessent’s subordinates have far more power than Scott Bessent does.

    Democrat pundits who whine about the Constitution are liars, and will shred it the first chance they get.

    For now, the order is only for the next week, but if a court tries to make it permanent the Trump Administration should absolutely consider defying it.

    Better yet, SCOTUS should bar this judge from ever hearing similar cases again, and every Democrat lawyer involved should be sanctioned.

    As always, the Deep State is the enemy of democracy.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 15:10

  • Newsom Approves $50 Million To Help Migrants, Boost California's Legal Defense
    Newsom Approves $50 Million To Help Migrants, Boost California’s Legal Defense

    Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills on Friday that would set aside a combined $50 million to protect immigrants and defend the state from potential legal actions by the Trump administration.

    One of the bills allocates $25 million to nonprofit organizations that offer legal immigration services to people “at risk of detention, deportation, eviction, wage theft, intimate partner violence, and other actions that put their safety at risk” due to federal actions.

    In his signing statement, Newsom said the bill will help to protect the civil rights of California’s “most vulnerable residents,” including people with disabilities, homeless people, victims of human trafficking and wage theft, as well as immigrants.

    The governor made clear that the allocated funding would not be used to protect immigrants convicted of serious or violent felonies. Newsom also called on state lawmakers to pass subsequent legislation if further clarification on this is necessary.

    The second bill sets aside $25 million for the state Department of Justice to push back against federal policy “that adversely impact the state, its taxpayers, and residents” through litigation.

    The bills were passed by state lawmakers on Feb. 3. California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-District 29) has raised concerns over President Donald Trump’s executive actions targeting various federal agencies, as well as the administration’s recent funding freeze—which he said has affected critical resources for the community.

    “Right now, Californians are being threatened by an out-of-control administration in Washington that doesn’t care about the Constitution and thinks there are no limits to its power,” Rivas told the assembly on Feb. 3.

     “We must ensure that our residents receive the federal services and benefits that they have contributed to and that they deserve.”

    California joined a coalition of attorneys general from 22 states and the District of Columbia in filing an emergency motion on Feb. 7 to ask a federal judge to enforce a restraining order blocking the Trump administration’s freeze on federal financial assistance.

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo on Jan. 27 directing federal agencies to suspend the distribution of grants, loans, and other financial assistance while the programs were being reviewed to ensure they aligned with the president’s policy priorities.

    California has also moved to protect immigrants amid the Trump administration’s recent crackdown on illegal immigration. Since taking office on Jan. 20, Trump has directed the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carry out enforcement actions in various major U.S. cities, resulting in the arrest of 956 people within a day on Jan. 27.

    Newsom’s Meeting With Trump

    Newsom signed the two bills just a day after returning from Washington where he met with Trump and a bipartisan group of lawmakers to secure federal disaster aid.

    His office described the meeting with the president as “very productive,” with Newsom emphasizing the critical need for disaster aid for people affected by the wildfires that hit parts of California last month.

    “We’re working across the aisle, as we always have, to ensure survivors have the resources and support they need,” Newsom said in a statement on Feb. 5. 

    “Thank you President Trump for coming to our communities to see this first hand, and meeting with me today to continue our joint efforts to support people impacted.”

    The governor expressed his appreciation for the Trump Administration’s early collaboration and specifically thanked EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin for his agency’s swift action,” including the deployment of 1,000 individuals to aid with debris removal.

    Newsom signed a $2.5 billion package for fire relief into law last month to help fund the state’s disaster response including evacuations, sheltering survivors, and removing household hazardous waste. His administration has said they expect the federal government to reimburse the state.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 14:35

  • When The FAA And DEI Don't Mix
    When The FAA And DEI Don’t Mix

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    I’d like to talk about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

    [President] Donald Trump caused a firestorm in the aftermath of this horrific and tragic crash at [Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport]. He mentioned that he was going to examine the role of diversity, equity, [and] inclusion.

    The Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration building in Washington on July 21, 2007. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    What he meant was criteria other than merit that go into hiring these critical positions in the air traffic controller tower, but also as pilots and general in the military.

    And people got very angry, and they said this was inappropriate. But like all things Donald Trump does, he tries to open a very sensitive issue in a very loud fashion, and that brings attention to it, and then, people do some investigation.

    Greenland is a good example. “How dare he say he wants to buy Greenland?” Then we discover that Denmark is investing almost no money in Greenland. We discovered that Greenland is in North America. Did you know that? It’s closer to New York than it is in Copenhagen.

    That this left-wing Danish government is way behind on its NATO contributions. And it’s an imperialist power with a colony that it doesn’t really help too much. So, there’s always more to it, and there is with diversity [and] inclusion.

    So, now we are learning that there were mandates about a person’s race and mandates about a person’s sexual orientation.

    When I say mandates, I mean that people who didn’t fit those criteria were not encouraged to apply. [The Federal Aviation Administration] disbanded a lot of university programs that encourage people with military experience or encourage people that had courses in scientific disciplines or mathematics or aeronautics not to apply.

    And the assistant director of the FAA and a former applicant nominee who was rejected, they were just explicit about that.

    But here’s the thing about DEI in general: It’s a system that has many faces. In the old Soviet Union, it was not race or gender, it was ideology. And one of the reasons, among many, but I think the prime reason, that the Soviet Union imploded was they had an apparat, a group of incompetents that swore that they were more ideologically and Marxist-Leninist pure than anybody else.

    And they were given the top billets in rocket science and military affairs. We saw that in World War II, with the Red Army almost collapsed in June of 1941. And within a year, all the commissars were out.

    DEI is a commissar system. I once was in Libya and I asked this person—a high government official—I was interviewing, I said, “You have potholes everywhere, but you’re the fifth-largest producer of oil in the world.”

    “Mr. Hanson, we hire our first cousin, first. We’re a tribal society.” He told me that.

    The thing about DEI—what Trump brought up with the FAA—ask yourself something: If it’s so good, why don’t people just say that? Why don’t they just say, we’re willing to have collateral damage? We’re going to bring in people that may not have traditional criteria or traditional resumes, but we’re willing to take that risk with your life.

    They never say that.

    And remember one thing else, if you hire someone on the basis of their race, or their gender, or their sexual orientation, and they know it, then why would that be the end of it? That is the beginning.

    If you show up late for work, if you don’t do your job, if you’re subject to an audit, then you think, I want the same exemptions that were accorded me when I was hired. I need them.

    And of course, no one ever discusses that. So, what we’re watching is, if it turns out to be true that the tower was understaffed, that one person was let go early, that the air traffic controller made a mistake, that the pilot was at the wrong [elevation], these were all mistakes.

    It was a perfect storm, apparently, of blunders. And if those blunders are connected with people who felt they were not subject to meritocratic criteria, there’s going to be a scandal.

    I’m not saying there is, but Donald Trump is bringing attention to it. And by bringing attention, then, what do we do? We review the Biden-Obama FAA, and we discover—not us, we knew it a long time—but the general public, discovers that they have been systematically using race and gender and sexual orientation, not just to promote particular people, but to exclude people who have had perfect scores on tests, who come from the military, who have majors in the type of college disciplines that would be perfectly suitable for an FAA controller.

    And if that’s true, then we’re in big trouble. I’ll just finish with this observation: When affirmative action started, some 50 years ago, I was a graduate student, and one of the professors said, “You’re not going to get a job.” None of the three males in the graduate program in classics—when you get your Ph.D. or not—and I said to them, “That doesn’t seem fair.”

    And he said, “We’re guinea pigs, academia. Who cares about a classics professor?” So, we will be, basically, diverse. But nobody’s going to worry about that you use criteria because who cares about classics?

    I thought that was a very cynical thing to say about an advocate. But then he said, “But of course, we would never do this with atomic reactors, nuclear reactors. We’d never do this with brain surgeons.” And then he said this, “And we would never do this with FAA air traffic control.” And that’s exactly what we may have been doing.

    [It] doesn’t mean that was culpable in this particular instance. It means that this particular instance has got us worried about the system, in general, and we want to improve it.

    And one of the things we can do is take a hard look at the FAA.

    Reprinted by permission from The Daily Signal, a publication of The Heritage Foundation.

    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, 02/08/2025 – 13:25

  • 2 Decades Ago, A Senator's Probe Of USAID Funding Led To Government Transparency Reform
    2 Decades Ago, A Senator’s Probe Of USAID Funding Led To Government Transparency Reform

    Revelations that USAID officials are spending hundreds of millions of U.S. tax dollars overseas for controversial projects such as advancing atheism in Nepal and funding “transgender opera” in Columbia are nothing new.

    As Mark Tapscott details below for The Epoch Times, nearly 20 years ago, in October 2005, the refusal of USAID officials to admit they were funding a prostitution ring in India so angered Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) that he vowed to introduce a new law enabling every U.S. citizen with the internet to quickly and easily find out how federal officials are spending his or her tax dollars.

    A year later, President George W. Bush’s signing of Coburn’s proposal into law—thus mandating the creation of today’s USASpending.gov—marked a huge step forward in making government spending easily accessible for every citizen with internet access.

    Coburn described the USAID coverup in detail in his Senate floor speech in April 2006 as he introduced the promised proposal, which was known as the Federal Financial Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA).

    The FFATA proposal was a bipartisan one from the beginning, with then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), Sen. John McCain (R-Az.), and Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) as co-sponsors.

    Coburn, who was already well-known among his Senate colleagues as “Dr. No” for his opposition to wasteful federal spending and his annual compilation of examples, called the “Wastebook,” assembled a crack staff of congressional investigators and communicators who constantly exposed outrages such as the $329 million earmark better known as Alaska’s “Bridge to Nowhere.”

    In his FFATA floor speech, Coburn described how USAID officials fought his staff investigators every step of the way in their probe of the agency’s funding of a nongovernmental organization (NGO) called “Sampada Grameen Mahila Sanstha (SANGRAM).

    Coburn quoted an unclassified State Department memorandum concerning how SANGRAM opposed a U.N. agency’s effort to free 17 young Indian girls from a prostitution ring.

    “The girls are now back in the brothels, being subjected to rape for profit,” the memorandum said.

    “On November 16, 2005, a USAID briefer asserted to subcommittee staff that USAID had ‘nothing to do with’ the grant to the pro-prostitution SANGRAM and that the subcommittee’s inquiries were ‘destructive,’” the Oklahoma lawmaker told his Senate colleagues.

    “Nonetheless, congressional investigators continued to pursue this matter and eventually proved that USAID money financed the pro-prostitution SANGRAM through a second organization named Avert, which was established with the assistance of four USAID employees as a pass-through entity.”

    Not only did USAID officials help start Avert and fund it, but one of them also served on the group’s board of directors.

    Twenty years later, USASpending.gov has been used for billions of searches by journalists, congressional staffers, academic researchers, and nonprofit advocacy groups seeking information about how the federal government spends trillions of tax dollars every year.

    Many of those searches produce widely read and discussed news stories about waste and fraud in government.

    Roland Foster, who was one of Coburn’s staff investigators as his legislative director, is now a special adviser to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).

    Ernst makes public a monthly “Squeal Award” that highlights the latest examples of tax dollars being wasted.

    She has also introduced legislation to strengthen USASpending.gov, including the Stop Secret Spending Act that penalizes agencies that hide spending from disclosure and “TRACKS,” to require prompt and accurate reporting of funds going to China.

    U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) questions former Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought during a U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on his second nomination to be OMB director, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025. Jemal Countess/ AFP

    When asked about the current USAID revelations, Foster told The Epoch Times that “between USAspending and Wastebook, Senator Coburn created the blueprint empowering every taxpayer to continue carrying on his mission today as a DOGE deputy.”

    John Hart, the recently appointed chief executive officer of Open the Books, the website that captures virtually all spending by every level of government in America, was Coburn’s long-time communications director, including during the years when FFATA was conceived, written, proposed, and adopted by Congress.

    Hart told The Epoch Times that the latest USAID revelations were no surprise for him.

    “It’s been an open secret for years that USAID was not spending effectively on vital humanitarian assistance,” Hart said.

    “Decades ago, Senator Coburn was pointing out that agency’s funding of radical organizations that use the money for far-left, dangerous or even criminal activities. It’s a relief that a reckoning has come.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 12:50

  • "You're Fired": Trump Revokes Biden's Security Clearances, Intel Briefings Citing "Poor Memory"
    “You’re Fired”: Trump Revokes Biden’s Security Clearances, Intel Briefings Citing “Poor Memory”

    President Trump revoked former President Biden’s security clearance and terminated his daily intelligence briefings, stating that, given his “poor memory,” there was no reason for Biden to continue receiving classified government information. 

    “There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Biden’s Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings,” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Friday evening. 

    Trump said the decision was based on the precedent of Biden’s 2021 decision to end his access to the secret information. He also pointed to the special counsel report last year: “The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from ‘poor memory’ and, even in his ‘prime,’ could not be trusted with sensitive information.”

    Biden in 2021… 

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

    Trump concluded the post with: “I will always protect our National Security — JOE, YOU’RE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” 

    Steven Cheung, the president’s communications director, shared Trump’s Truth Social post on X and said: “Hit the road Jack and don’t you come back no more!”

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

    Trump’s team made a smart move given the investigations into various Biden family members—including Hunter Biden, who has been at the center of a probe into influence peddling schemes. Federal investigators have also recently become concerned about the Biden family’s close ties to China.

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

    Speaking with The Hill last month, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY.) said the pardons “validated” the investigations into Biden family members.

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

    Perhaps the actual reason the Trump team revoked Biden’s security clearance is over the family’s close ties with the Chinese. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 02/08/2025 – 12:15

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Feb 08

Today’s News 8th February 2025

  • How USAID And Its $50 Billion Budget Became A Target For Reform
    How USAID And Its $50 Billion Budget Became A Target For Reform

    Authored by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) was a little-noticed federal agency until it suddenly became the object of a fierce political battle over the limits of presidential power and the accountability of government bureaucracies.

    A sign of the U.S. government’s humanitarian agency, USAID, is seen on a cargo container in Manila, Philippines, on Feb. 4, 2025. Jam Sta Rosa/AFP via Getty Images

    When the Trump administration closed the agency’s offices on Feb. 3 and later placed most employees on administrative leave, USAID took center stage in a drama unfolding at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.

    On one side is the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to make all parts of the executive branch comply with the president’s agenda. On the other side are congressional Democrats, who are warning that the action is a dangerous abuse of executive power and are vowing to fight it.

    Meanwhile, many observers fear that USAID’s true purpose—to advance U.S. interests through the use of soft power—may be overlooked.

    On Feb. 3, President Donald Trump appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting director of USAID. The next day, the president indicated that the agency may be shuttered and its functions permanently transferred to the State Department.

    Here is why critics want to abolish or reform the agency, supporters want to save it, and what may happen next.

    Influence as Power

    USAID was established by an executive order of President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to advance U.S. foreign policy by offering developing nations technical assistance, help with education and health care, and disaster relief.

    The idea was that turning poor countries into stable world citizens would benefit U.S. citizens, too. A stable, prosperous nation makes a good ally, the theory went.

    Champions of USAID continue to see it as both an essential tool for foreign policy and a tangible expression of the goodness and generosity of the U.S. people.

    Most observers agree that the agency does some good. Relatively small by Washington’s standards, USAID employs about 10,000 people and controls an annual budget of about $50 billion.

    In 2023, USAID poured $10.5 billion into humanitarian aid and $10.5 billion into health programs in countries around the world, according to the Congressional Research Service.

    One program that is often touted as a shining success story is the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, a USAID program that has provided more than $110 billion for controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS in more than 50 countries.

    Workers unload medical supplies to fight the Ebola epidemic from a USAID cargo flight in Harbel, Liberia, on Aug. 24, 2014. John Moore/Getty Images

    “Most estimates are that somewhere in the vicinity of 27 million people are alive today because President Bush initiated and Congress supported that program,” Scott Pegg, acting director of the Global and International Studies program and chair of political science at Indiana University–Indianapolis, told The Epoch Times.

    President Donald Trump said in remarks to reporters on Feb. 4 that “some of the money is well spent.”

    Yet the agency’s halo dims on closer inspection. Critics tell the story of an agency gone rogue, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on inane programs, refusing to answer basic questions from congressional committees, and actively undermining the foreign policy goals of the United States.

    Lost Purpose

    The White House on Feb. 3. produced a list of projects funded by USAID that it characterized as examples of waste and abuse.

    The projects include $1.5 million to “advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities,” another $47,000 for a “transgender opera” in Colombia, and $2.5 million for electric vehicles in Vietnam.

    Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) listed further examples on social media platform X on Feb. 3, including $56 million to boost tourism in Egypt and Tunisia and $27 million for “reintegration gift bags” for deported Central Americans.

    Hunt said the agency was behaving “like a child with YOUR credit card.”

    Some USAID grant recipients include terrorist-controlled organizations, according to a study by the Middle East Forum released on Feb. 1.

    The study found that $122 million has gone to groups aligned with designated terrorist organizations, including millions of dollars for organizations directly controlled by the Hamas terrorist group.

    A July 2024 report from the U.S. Office of Inspector General noted deficiencies and vulnerabilities in USAID’s vetting process, which is supposed to prevent the diversion of U.S. funds to terrorist organizations.

    In one case of apparent abuse, USAID partnered with Chemonics, an international consulting firm, to spend $9.5 billion to improve health supply chains. Chemonics allegedly overbilled the agency by up to $270 million and failed to meet its objectives, and the project led to 31 indictments for the illegal resale of USAID-funded materials, according to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has called for an independent analysis of USAID grant recipients.

    A USAID-funded project to rehabilitate the Tubas Sports Club is closed, in Tubas, West Bank, on Feb. 4, 2025. Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP via Getty Images

    Ernst said USAID also provided nearly $1 million in funding to China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology, which the CIA has said was the most likely source of the virus that causes COVID-19.

    USAID has resisted congressional oversight for decades, some lawmakers say, resulting in a culture of defiance.

    “The agency has engaged in a demonstrated pattern of obstructionism,” Ernst wrote in a letter to Rubio on Feb. 4.

    False claims were made that certain documents were classified to delay review by congressional staffers and to mislead Congress on the indirect cost of programs, Ernst wrote, adding that in some cases, this amounted to more than 25 percent of the grant total.

    The agency refused to provide data on administrative costs, Ernst said. The agency later said that providing the data to Congress would violate federal law and that it had no obligation to respond because Ernst did not present a formal request from a “committee of jurisdiction.”

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 23:25

  • The Chinese Trust Their Institutions The Most, Japanese Not So Much…
    The Chinese Trust Their Institutions The Most, Japanese Not So Much…

    Now in its 25th edition, the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, a global survey on trust, reveals a world increasingly divided by grievance, institutional distrust, and a zero-sum mindset.

    This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Kayla Zhu, visualizes the 2025 Edelman Trust Index by country, and their change from 2024.

    The Trust Index is the average percent trust in NGOs, businesses, government, and media based on a survey of over 33,000 respondents from 28 different countries conducted by Edelman Trust Institute.

    Which Countries Trust Gov’t, NGOs, and Business the Most?

    Below, we show each of the 28 countries’ Trust Index score for 2025 and their change from 2024.

    Country Election/change in government leadership in past year Trust Index 2025 Change in percentage points from 2024
    🇨🇳 China N 77 -2
    🇮🇩 Indonesia Y 76 3
    🇮🇳 India Y 75 0
    🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates N 72 -2
    🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia N 71 -1
    🇹🇭 Thailand Y 66 -4
    🇲🇾 Malaysia N 66 -2
    🇸🇬 Singapore N 65 -1
    🇳🇬 Nigeria N 65 4
    🇰🇪 Kenya N 63 -1
    🇲🇽 Mexico Y 57 -2
    🇳🇱 Netherlands Y 57 1
    🇿🇦 South Africa Y 53 4
    🇨🇦 Canada N 52 -1
    🇧🇷 Brazil N 51 -2
    🇮🇹 Italy N 50 0
    🇸🇪 Sweden N 50 1
    🇦🇺 Australia N 49 -2
    🇨🇴 Colombia N 49 2
    🇦🇷 Argentina Y 48 9
    🇫🇷 France Y 48 1
    🇮🇪 Ireland N 48 1
    🇺🇸 U.S. Y 47 1
    🇪🇸 Spain N 44 -2
    🇬🇧 UK Y 43 4
    🇩🇪 Germany Y 41 -4
    🇰🇷 South Korea Y 41 -2
    🇯🇵 Japan Y 37 -2

    The global average saw no change from 2024, remaining steady at 56. However, a slight majority (54%) of the countries saw a drop in their trust index compared to last year.

    Among the world’s 10 largest economies, five rank among the least trusting nations on the Trust Index: Japan (the lowest at 37), Germany (41), the UK (43), the U.S. (47), and France (48).

    Argentina saw the largest increase in trust from 2024 at +9, following the election of Javier Milei, who campaigned on radical economic reforms amid the country’s ongoing financial crisis.

    Only 4 of the 13 countries that had a national election or leadership change in the past year saw an increase in trust (Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Argentina)

    The Edelman Trust Barometer also found that 61% of respondents had a moderate or high sense of grievance, which is defined by a belief that government and business make their lives harder and serve narrow interests, and wealthy people benefit unfairly from the system.

    The survey highlights a rising willingness to justify extreme actions, such as violence and disinformation, as economic fears, deepening grievance, and institutional distrust continue to escalate.

    To learn about global trust in various institutions, check out this graphic that visualizes the level of trust the public in 28 countries have in the United Nations.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 23:00

  • 14 States To File Lawsuit Against DOGE Access To Government Payment Systems
    14 States To File Lawsuit Against DOGE Access To Government Payment Systems

    Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A coalition of 14 state attorneys general said on Thursday that they will file a lawsuit to stop the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive federal payment systems.

    Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena, in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

    The coalition said that DOGE, an advisory committee led by tech billionaire Elon Musk, has no authority to access federal government systems—which they said contain Americans’ personal data, state bank account data, and “some of our country’s most sensitive data.”

    “This level of access for unauthorized individuals is unlawful, unprecedented, and unacceptable,” the coalition said in a statement released by New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin.

    “DOGE has no authority to access this information, which they explicitly sought in order to block critical payments that millions of Americans rely on—payments that support health care, childcare, and other essential programs.”

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent granted DOGE access to the Treasury’s payment system after Trump took office on Jan. 20. DOGE has been tasked with reviewing agencies for potential downsizing and termination, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), to reduce federal spending and boost government efficiency.

    The attorneys general also argued that President Donald Trump “does not have the power” to grant DOGE access to Americans’ private information or to withhold federal payments approved by Congress.

    They planned to pursue legal action to defend “our Constitution, our right to privacy, and the essential funding that individuals and communities nationwide are counting on.”

    The coalition includes Platkin and attorneys general from New York, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

    On Feb. 5, a coalition of labor unions sued to block DOGE access to federal payment systems, alleging that it violates “constitutional limits on executive power” and “laws protecting civil servants from arbitrary threats and adverse action.”

    The plaintiffs—which include the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International Union, and the Economic Policy Institute—sought a temporary restraining order or administrative stay against DOGE.

    Justice Department attorneys issued a proposed order on Feb. 5 saying the federal government will temporarily restrict DOGE from accessing information in the Treasury Department’s payment system and allow special government employees “read-only” access to payment records.

    “The Defendants will not provide access to any payment record or payment system of records maintained by or within the Bureau of the Fiscal Service,” it said.

    The proposed order followed an incident in which Democratic members of Congress attempted to enter the Treasury building on Feb. 4, saying they wanted to provide oversight after DOGE was granted access to the federal payment system. Democratic lawmakers have been calling for the access to be revoked.

    Trump had previously said that Musk would not be able to take any action without approval from the White House and assured that the government would prevent him from acting in cases of conflict of interest.

    “Where we think there’s a conflict or there’s a problem, we won’t let him go near it, but he has some very good ideas,” the president told reporters at the Oval Office last month.

    Zachary Stieber and Stacy Robinson contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 22:35

  • Days Of Work To Afford A Monthly Mortgage, By State
    Days Of Work To Afford A Monthly Mortgage, By State

    Thinking of buying your first home? 

    Here’s some useful data to see how much work it will take to make that a reality.

    Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao maps and lists the number of eight-hour workdays it takes to afford a monthly mortgage payment across the U.S.

    This data is sourced from Today’s Homeowner, based off median hourly wages and home prices in each state, assuming a:

    • 30-year mortgage

    • 5.8% mortgage rate

    • 6% down payment

    How Was this Data Put Together?

    Today’s Homeowner looked at the median hourly wage in each state as recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024.

    They used Zillow to determine the median home listing price and factored in the national average mortgage interest rate (5.8%) for a 30-year-loan, along with a 6% average down payment.

    ℹ️ A 6% down payment is on the lower end of the spectrum. Increasing it would reduce the principal borrowed and resulting interest—also lowering the # of days of work.

    From this, they calculated the average mortgage payment in each state and arrived at hours of work required per month to pay it. We then converted their figures to workdays (assuming 8 hours per day). Overtime was not factored into this metric.

    Ranked: Days of Work to Afford a Mortgage in Each State

    Hawaiians have to work the most number of eight-hour days (33) in a month to afford mortgage payments in their state.

    Not only is this more than the actual days in a month, it also implies that even working weekends is not enough for those making the median wage.

    State Workdays Median Hourly
    Wage    		 Median Home
    Prices    		 Monthly
    Mortgage
    Hawaii 33 $23 $909,000 $6,030
    California 28 $23 $788,000 $5,241
    Utah 26 $19 $572,000 $3,834
    Idaho 22 $18 $472,000 $3,183
    Nevada 22 $18 $467,000 $3,150
    Washington 22 $24 $624,000 $4,172
    Colorado 21 $23 $586,000 $3,925
    Arizona 20 $19 $448,000 $3,027
    Montana 21 $18 $453,000 $3,006
    Oregon 20 $23 $524,000 $3,521
    Florida 19 $18 $402,000 $2,727
    Massachusetts 18 $28 $591,000 $3,957
    New Jersey 17 $23 $470,000 $3,170
    New Hampshire 16 $23 $436,000 $2,948
    Rhode Island 16 $23 $437,000 $2,904
    District of Columbia 15 $38 $707,000 $4,713
    Georgia 15 $18 $319,000 $2,185
    Maine 15 $21 $365,000 $2,443
    North Carolina 15 $18 $322,000 $2,167
    Delaware 14 $22 $358,000 $2,440
    Maryland 15 $23 $406,000 $2,705
    New Mexico 14 $18 $296,000 $2,035
    New York 15 $23 $407,000 $2,711
    South Carolina 14 $18 $295,000 $1,994
    South Dakota 14 $18 $294,000 $1,998
    Tennessee 14 $18 $303,000 $2,045
    Texas 14 $19 $315,000 $2,122
    Vermont 14 $23 $356,000 $2,427
    Virginia 14 $23 $375,000 $2,551
    Connecticut 13 $23 $361,000 $2,459
    Alaska 12 $23 $328,000 $2,244
    Minnesota 12 $23 $334,000 $2,244
    Wyoming 12 $22 $323,000 $2,174
    Missouri 11 $18 $231,000 $1,611
    Nebraska 11 $19 $240,000 $1,642
    Pennsylvania 11 $22 $266,000 $1,840
    Wisconsin 11 $22 $265,000 $1,833
    Alabama 10 $18 $207,000 $1,431
    Illinois 10 $22 $267,000 $1,846
    Indiana 11 $18 $221,000 $1,546
    Kansas 10 $18 $207,000 $1,470
    Kentucky 10 $18 $198,000 $1,411
    Louisiana 11 $18 $215,000 $1,507
    Michigan 10 $22 $237,000 $1,651
    North Dakota 10 $23 $277,000 $1,879
    Ohio 10 $19 $212,000 $1,503
    Arkansas 9 $18 $179,000 $1,295
    Iowa 9 $19 $192,000 $1,372
    Mississippi 9 $17 $166,000 $1,200
    Oklahoma 9 $18 $182,000 $1,306
    West Virginia 7 $18 $139,000 $1,028
    National Average 14 $22 $355,852 $2,431

    As it happens, Hawaii’s median wage is quite literally the middle of the pack ($23/hour) and is tied with 14 other states. But its median home values are nearing $1 million, which puts the mortgage payment at more than $6,000 a month.

    Additionally, all of this work is just for housing—without any leeway for other bills and expenses.

    Predictably, Southern states are the most affordable. Their median wages may be lower than the rest of the country, but so are their median home prices.

    However, some states on the East Coast don’t do so badly either: Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and New York, are all below the 15-day mark.

    In case more proof is needed that the South has lower costs of living, we have some data there. Check out: The Purchasing Power of $100 in Each State for some insights.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 22:10

  • Netanyahu Suggests Palestinians Can Have A State In Saudi Arabia
    Netanyahu Suggests Palestinians Can Have A State In Saudi Arabia

    Via Middle East Eye

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Thursday that Palestinians should establish a state in Saudi Arabia, rather than in their homeland, in his latest dismissal of Palestinians’ right to self-determination.

    “The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14.

    Getty Images via AFP

    The remarks come as Saudi Arabia and Israel seem even further away from normalizing relations, over a year after officials in the US said an agreement was close.

    Riyadh repeatedly said over the past year that only a clear pathway towards Palestinian statehood would lead it to establish formal ties with Israel, but Netanyahu rejected the idea outright on Thursday, calling it a “security threat to Israel”.

    “Especially not a Palestinian state,” he said. “After October 7? Do you know what that is? There was a Palestinian state, it was called Gaza. Gaza, led by Hamas, was a Palestinian state and look what we got.”

    The interview took place while Netanyahu was on an official visit to the United States. 

    It followed a joint press conference with Donald Trump, in which the US president announced his plan for the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza to make the Palestinian enclave the “Riviera of the Mediterranean”, with the US taking over the territory.

    Normalization with Saudi Arabia was discussed between the two leaders and, in addition to his strong dismissal of the key Saudi condition of the establishment of a Palestinian state, Netanyahu insisted that peace between Israel and the kingdom was a reality to come.

    “It is not only feasible, I think it’s going to happen,” he said.

    The press conference was quickly followed by a statement from Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry, which said that the kingdom’s stance on Palestinian statehood was “firm and unwavering”.

    Source: Getty Images/iStockphoto

    “His Royal Highness emphasized that Saudi Arabia will continue its relentless efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the statement read.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 21:45

  • 'Worse Than World War II' – Visualizing US National Debt (As A Percent Of GDP) Since 1900
    ‘Worse Than World War II’ – Visualizing US National Debt (As A Percent Of GDP) Since 1900

    This year, U.S. national debt is set to approach 100% of GDP, up from 36% in 2005.

    By 2035, the tab is projected to reach 118.5% of GDP as higher debt costs steepen the deficit, fueling further government borrowing. Today, the deficit stands at $1.9 trillion with net interest and mandatory spending outpacing revenues.

    This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, shows U.S. federal debt projections to 2035, based on data from the Congressional Budget Office.

    Swimming in Debt

    Below, we show how national debt held by the public is set to mushroom over the next decade:

    Year U.S. Federal Debt as a % of GDP
    2035P 118.5
    2034P 117.1
    2033P 115.3
    2032P 113.0
    2031P 111.1
    2030P 109.2
    2029P 107.2
    2028P 105.4
    2027P 103.4
    2026P 101.7
    2025P 99.9
    2024 97.8
    2023 96.0
    2022 95.0
    2021 96.9
    2020 98.6
    2019 78.9
    2018 77.1
    2017 75.7
    2016 76.0
    2015 72.2
    2014 73.3
    2013 71.8
    2012 70.0
    2011 65.5
    2010 60.6
    2009 52.2
    2008 39.2
    2007 35.2
    2006 35.4
    2005 35.8
    2004 35.7
    2003 34.7
    2002 32.7
    2001 31.5
    2000 33.7
    1999 38.3
    1998 41.7
    1997 44.6
    1996 47.0
    1995 47.7
    1994 47.8
    1993 47.9
    1992 46.8
    1991 44.1
    1990 40.9
    1989 39.4
    1988 39.9
    1987 39.6
    1986 38.5
    1985 35.3
    1984 33.1
    1983 32.2
    1982 27.9
    1981 25.2
    1980 25.5
    1979 25.0
    1978 26.7
    1977 27.1
    1976 26.7
    1975 24.6
    1974 23.2
    1973 25.2
    1972 26.5
    1971 27.1
    1970 27.1
    1969 28.4
    1968 32.3
    1967 31.9
    1966 33.8
    1965 36.8
    1964 38.8
    1963 41.1
    1962 42.3
    1961 43.6
    1960 44.3
    1959 46.5
    1958 47.8
    1957 47.3
    1956 50.7
    1955 55.8
    1954 58.0
    1953 57.2
    1952 60.1
    1951 65.5
    1950 78.6
    1949 77.4
    1948 82.4
    1947 93.9
    1946 106.1
    1945 103.9
    1944 86.4
    1943 69.2
    1942 45.9
    1941 41.5
    1940 43.6
    1939 42.4
    1938 42.2
    1937 39.6
    1936 42.5
    1935 42.4
    1934 43.5
    1933 38.6
    1932 34.0
    1931 22.0
    1930 16.3
    1929 14.8
    1928 17.0
    1927 18.0
    1926 19.0
    1925 21.6
    1924 23.5
    1923 25.2
    1922 31.1
    1921 31.6
    1920 27.3
    1919 33.4
    1918 30.2
    1917 13.3
    1916 2.7
    1915 3.3
    1914 3.5
    1913 3.2
    1912 3.4
    1911 3.6
    1910 3.7
    1909 3.8
    1908 4.3
    1907 4.0
    1906 4.0
    1905 4.3
    1904 4.7
    1903 5
    1902 5.4
    1901 5.7
    1900 6.6

    By 2029, federal debt is forecast to exceed the post-WWII record based on an outlook that doesn’t factor in recessions.

    This comes amid a widening deficit during a period of low unemployment and a growing U.S. economy. In many ways, this counters the theory of shrinking the deficit during economic expansion and increasing the deficit during downturns.

    Looking ahead, net interest on the federal debt is expected to nearly double from 2024 levels, reaching $1.8 trillion by 2035. To put it in perspective, interest costs will be 1.7 times higher than defense spending that year.

    While Modern Monetary Theory suggests that countries that have control over their currencies will never face default since they can print more money, evidence from history suggests a different outcome.

    From the British Empire and Habsburg Spain to the Ottoman Empire, historian Niall Ferguson finds that superpowers that have spent more on debt servicing costs than defense have not held onto power for very long.

    To learn more about this topic amid swelling debt, check out this graphic on the top holders of U.S. debt.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 21:20

  • "Recycling" Makes Plastic Pollution Worse
    “Recycling” Makes Plastic Pollution Worse

    Via Brian McGlinchey at Stark Realities

    If you’re like many people, you’ve always thought a numbered-triangle symbol on the bottom of a plastic container tells you it’s recyclable — giving you peace of mind that when you toss it into a blue bin, it will be turned into something else.

    That’s not true. Those symbols are Resin Identification Codes (RICs). Numbered 1 through 7, they only identify the kind of plastic an item is made of. Far from giving a sweeping assurance that RIC-stamped items are recyclable, the symbol frequently indicates a particular item absolutely cannot be recycled.

    Reluctant to burden citizens with figuring out which plastics are recyclable — a chore that could dampen participation and cause confusion as recyclability of various plastics changes over time — many municipal recycling programs simply encourage people to toss all their RIC-stamped plastics in the bin and let the recyclers sort it out.

    Which ones do recyclers actually want? The most-recycled plastic in America is stamped with a “1,” identifying the item as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). You’ll find it on beverage bottles, cooking oil containers, and many other liquid-containing bottles. A “2” tells you it’s high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Another generally recycling-suitable plastic, it’s used for milk jugs and laundry detergent jugs, and spray-cleaner bottles.

    It’s all downhill from there. Chances are your bin has plenty of #5 — polypropylene (PP) — which is frequently used for single-serve coffee-maker pods; yogurt, butter, prescription pill and soft tofu containers; and the lids on paperboard raisin cartons. Unfortunately, while there’s been a modest recent uptick in recyclers’ interest, polypropylene generally isn’t being recycled in the United States.

    As for the rest of the RIC spectrum, feel free to make pointed inquiries with your city government, but chances are extremely slim that any #3, #4, #6 or #7 items you throw in your curbside blue bin will be made into anything else. That heap includes lots of packaging, such as non-cardboard egg cartons, fast-food clamshells, styrofoam cups and to-go containers, flexible 6-pack rings and bread bags.

    Feeling a little demoralized? Brace yourself: This blue-bin buzzkill is just getting started.

    Let’s circle back to recyclers’ favorite: #1 PET. Even for this most-favored plastic, much of what’s placed in blue bins isn’t recycled. It’s a question of configuration: Recyclers love clear PET bottles, but most of them don’t want PET when it’s in the form of clamshell containers, cups and tubs. In these formats, PET reacts differently to the heat of recycling. For example, if they’re combined with bottles, those PET tubs used to package your blueberries and strawberries create ash that contaminates the whole batch.

    “This is a perfect example of why we don’t go by plastic numbers,” explains Millenium Recycling. “A #1 clamshell container is NOT the same as a #1 bottle and they cannot be recycled the same way.”

    Size matters too. No matter the type of plastic, if it’s smaller than three inches, most recycling processors don’t want it cluttering up their works. Given that, the Washington Post recently advised simply throwing away any plastic that doesn’t fit in the palm of your hand. Thinness is another liability — which means your plastic forks, spoons and straws are also a no-go.

    Then there’s color discrimination — any kind of black plastic is pretty much guaranteed not to be recycled, because infrared scanners in automated sorting machines aren’t able to “see” most black plastic. And while clear #1 PET bottles are at the top of the recyclability list, colored PET bottles are less favored.

    These black plastic to-go containers have very little chance of being recycled

    The public’s falsely favorable perception of plastic recycling has been deliberately cultivated. Knowing consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their purchase decisions, plastic manufacturers and product-packagers are quick to say a package is recyclable — failing to differentiate between plastics that are technically recyclable and those that are actually being recycled in practice.

    Three plastics — #1 PET, #2 HDPE and #5 PP —have been granted the designation of “widely recyclable” by How2Recycle, a consortium founded by Exxon Mobil and other plastics producers. However, only about 2.7% of #5 PP is being recycled today. Regardless, you may see “widely recyclable” printed on a yogurt tub that has a slim chance of being recycled. Environmentalists have cried foul, urging the EPA to take control of such designations to prevent consumers from being misled.

    However, governments get in on the deception too. Many cities, states and countries calculate their recycling rate based merely on what’s diverted from landfills — even if that plastic is incinerated or shipped off to another country where its fate is far from certain. More on that in a moment.

    Mythology surrounding plastic recycling is also reinforced by a decades-long stream of public service ads. While they ostensibly encourage recycling, critics say their real purpose is divert the public from challenging plastic’s domination of packaging, by cultivating a falsely rosy view of what recycling is accomplishing.

    The most famous such ad was the “crying Indian” commercial that debuted in 1971. More recently, you’ve surely seen the ad that shows a plastic bottle — personified with a vulnerable yet determined female voice — blowing down streets, roads and highways before finally being placed in a recycling bin by a passer-by, and then happily turned into a park bench overlooking the sea.

    Neither the crying Indian nor the talking bottle are brought to you by environmentalists. They were underwritten by chemical and consumer product companies. While the ads are attributed to Keep America Beautiful, that entity is itself the creation of major packaging and beverage companies.

    “The marketing of it, for decades, has been ‘You’re saving the Earth. That’s all you need to do, public. Keep consuming. You can do all this disposability and all you have to do is simply put it in that blue bin — your job as a citizen is done’,” the Burbank Recycling Center’s Amy Hammes told NPR. “So it led to more disposability, really, because we had that Get Out Of Jail Free card to ease our guilt.”

    To a great extent, America’s entire recycling regime is the creation of the companies that profit from plastics. Staring down the barrel of proposed plastic bans in the late 1980s, big oil and chemical companies created The Council for Solid Waste Solutions, which funded municipal-recycling pilot programs.

    “The industry attitude was, we’ll set this up and get it going, but if the public wants it, they are going to have to pay for it,” Ronald Liesemer, who was tasked with setting the wheels in motion told PBS. “Making recycling work was a way to keep their products in the marketplace.”

    Today, it’s increasingly clear that plastic recycling isn’t working, and the most emphatic criticism is coming from environmentalists. “Plastic recycling is a dead-end street,” Greenpeace bluntly declared in a 2022 report that concisely summed up plastic recycling’s empty environmental promise:

    “Mechanical and chemical recycling of plastic waste has largely failed and will always fail because plastic waste is: extremely difficult to collect, virtually impossible to sort for recycling, environmentally harmful to reprocess, often made of and contaminated by toxic materials, and not economical to recycle.”

    It’s important to note that, unlike infinitely-recyclable aluminum, plastic can only be recycled two or three times before it degrades beyond usefulness. And unlike the aluminum, recycled plastic costs a lot more than new plastic.

    Despite more than a generation of effort, only 8.7% of plastic waste is being recycled in the United States, according to the EPA’s most recent data, compared to 68.2% of paper and cardboard and 50.4% of aluminum — materials you can put in your blue bin with relative contentment.

    What happens to all the plastic that’s rejected by recyclers? It may be incinerated or sent to a landfill. That’s the good news. Believe it or not, some of plastic that Americans diligently “recycle” is dumped into rivers, fields or oceans halfway around the Earth.

    Acres of trash in the Malaysian city of Jenjarom (Lai Seng Sin/Reuters via Business Insider)

    America has long shipped much of its unwanted plastic overseas. For years, China was the largest importer by far, using cheap labor to pick by hand through millions of tons of plastic. Irresponsible handling of all that material — from toxic open-air burn-piles to illegal dumping of undesirable plastic— meant China was also importing pollution on an enormous scale.

    In 2018, China effectively slammed the door shut on the import of plastic trash. However, other developing countries stepped up; among them, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Predictably, the same terrible practices that caused China to change course are being observed in these countries too, with processors extracting the “good stuff” from piles of unsorted plastic and putting the rest wherever they feel like it.

    Just as the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, it turns out the plastic “recycling” stream may ultimately deposit your #5 yogurt tub or #1 blueberry carton into an Asian river, and then the Pacific Ocean.

    Delusions about plastic recycling contribute to collateral harms at home too. “If you rinse a plastic bottle in hot water, the net result is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than if you threw it in the garbage,” former New York Times science writer John Tierney told John Stossel.

    That’s tough enough to hear in the context of a bottle that actually gets recycled. Now imagine the incalculable volume of hot water that’s been pointlessly poured on plastics that never had a prayer of being recycled — because local governments didn’t want to burden citizens with the truth about recycling’s viability.

    Even at its best moments, plastic recycling is itself a source of waste and pollution. In processing a batch of those relatively-prized #1 PET bottles, about 30% of the material is typically wasted and must be disposed of. Meanwhile, the processing of plastic trash consumes energy, with much of the energy consumed by processing plastic that won’t be recycled. All that processing also generates microplastics, and the release of toxins associated with the thousands of chemicals that are added to plastics in the original manufacturing process.

    “Americans support recycling. We do too,” wrote former EPA administrator Judith Enck and Last Beach Cleanup founder Jan Dell at The Atlantic. “But although some materials can be effectively recycled and safely made from recycled content, plastics cannot. Plastic recycling does not work and will never work.”

    PBS Frontline journalists found heaps “recycled” American trash dumped in a field in Indonesia (via PBS)

    Since the 1970s, environmentalists have used the slogan “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.” To some, the biggest collateral harm of plastic recycling is that it shifts attention away from the “Reduce” component — reducing the production of plastic in the first place, by replacing it with an alternative.

    While it’s universally resented, plastic dominates packaging because of its many beneficial attributes — which include being lightweight, inexpensive and durable. Amid broad yearning for plastic to be replaced — perhaps via government dictates — we should all keep in mind economist Thomas Sowell’s invaluable caution about any policy question: “There are no solutions, only trade-offs.”

    • If you replace plastic with something heavier, transporting it will consume more energy. More weight on truck tires means they wear faster — and tires are themselves a major generator of microplastics.

    • If you replace plastic with something more expensive, you make food and other products less affordable — especially for poor people.

    • If you replace plastic with something less durable and sealable, you’ll increase contamination, spoilage, and maybe even sickness.

    One potential replacement is bioplastic made from corn or sugar beets. Such a “natural” solution has instinctive appeal, but critics say bioplastics can have an even worse environmental impact, thanks to emissions associated with agriculture. Similarly, researchers last year concluded that alternatives like glass, paper and metals have worse greenhouse gas emission profiles than plastic.

    That’s not to say we should throw in the towel on seeking viable plastic alternatives that have a better end-to-end environmental profile. In the meantime, however, a case can be made that the best way to handle our plastic trash is to send it straight to landfills, rather than continuing to embrace a fiction plastered over the hard truth of plastic recycling. After all, much of your “recycled” plastic is going to landfills already.

    Instinct may tell you that putting an empty blueberry carton in a landfill is nearly as bad as throwing it in a river. If so, it may be because your vision of a landfill doesn’t match the reality of today’s modern, regulated facilities. As civil engineer and hydrologist BJ Campbell explains:

    [Modern landfills] are sealed on the bottom with geotechnical fabric to prevent leachate from entering the groundwater. They burn off, or sometimes even harvest, the methane produced from decomposition. Landfill cells are capped off with clay or bentonite to protect the environment. And then often they’re turned into parks or golf courses at the end.

    What about decomposition and seepage into the soil? Modern landfills have an ongoing mechanism for collecting that liquid waste — or “leachate” — the collects at the bottom. Researchers from the University of Illinois who scoured the leachate flowing from four landfills were pleasantly surprised by the low volume of microplastics they found. In a 2024 study published in Science of the Total Environment, they reported that landfills “retain most of the plastic waste that is dumped there, and wastewater treatment plants remove 99% of the microplastics…from the wastewater and leachate” that comes from the landfills.

    Lest this sound like a landfill PR piece, note that researchers found higher levels of a different type of contaminant — PFAS, aka “forever chemicals” — than they expected. We should also acknowledge that, despite the promising findings regarding plastic retention in the examined landfills, no man-made system is immune to failures.

    It’s often said that we’re going to run out of space for all our trash. In turns out that widely-held assumption is, well, rubbish. “If you think of the United States as a football field, all the garbage that we will generate in the next one thousand years would fit inside a tiny fraction of the one-inch line,” notes science writer Tierney.

    Eliminating largely fictional plastic “recycling” and sending plastic straight to landfills isn’t an appealing choice, but it bears repeating: There are no solutions, only trade-offs.

    Where environmental issues are concerned, the sheer volume of trade-offs is dizzying. Amid that daunting cloud of variables, one thing is certain: From the question of what to do with today’s plastic to the pursuit of viable plastic alternatives, rational evaluation of trade-offs is impeded by mythology that masks the stark realities of plastic-recycling.

    Stark Realities undermines official narratives, demolishes conventional wisdom and exposes fundamental myths across the political spectrum. Read more and subscribe for free at starkrealities.substack.com  

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

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 20:55

  • Trump Envoy Demands Hezbollah Be Booted From Lebanese Govt In 'Red Line'
    Trump Envoy Demands Hezbollah Be Booted From Lebanese Govt In ‘Red Line’

    Trump’s newly appointed regional diplomat, United States deputy envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, is in Lebanon where she’s bringing serious pressure to bear on the Lebanese government.

    She’s demanding that Hezbollah be swiftly booted from Lebanon’s government. “We have set clear red lines … that [Hezbollah] won’t be able to terrorize the Lebanese people, and that includes by being a part of the government,” Ortagus told reporters.

    Ortagus issued the words after meeting with Lebanon’s new president Joseph Aoun. She declared in a news conference that Hezbollah has been “defeated” by Israel after a multi-month bombing campaign where Israeli jets obliterated many buildings in central and southern Beirut.

    Lebanese Presidency press office via AP

    This included the killing of longtime Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and his top officials in a Sept. 27 Israeli strike on Dahieh. The covert pager attacks during the middle of that month also killed and wounded dozens of Hezbollah commanders, but also killed children who were innocent bystanders.

    Ortagus, who replaced Biden’s envoy Amos Hochstein, expressed that “We are grateful to our ally Israel for defeating Hezbollah.” Many Lebanese civilians were also killed in the Israeli bombing raids, but Ortagus did not emphasize this, which is unlikely to make her many friends among the Lebanese population.

    “It is thanks to the Lebanese President Aoun and the Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam and everyone in this government who is committed to an end of corruption, who is committed to reforms and who is committed to making sure that Hezbollah is not a part of the new government in any form,” she continued.

    The reality is that this is not something practically achievable, given Hezbollah maintains widespread support across various parts of the Lebanese population, and any attempt to force it out of parliament would likely trigger another civil war.

    Lebanon’s government has been traditionally apportioned along the lines of sectarian representation, based on a census which happened many decades ago earlier in the 20th century. The country hasn’t dared attempted a census since, given fears that fighting would break out between Maronite Christians, Shia and Sunni Muslims, and Druze. Demographics have shifted in favor of the Muslim population, and likely the offices of prime minister and the presidency would be taken from the Christians in this scenario.

    The NY Times has observed further of the precarious situation the government finds itself in:

    Her remarks came after she met with Mr. Aoun, whose election by Lebanese lawmakers last month ended years of political gridlock.

    Mr. Aoun has appointed a new prime minister, Nawaf Salam, but the new leadership has so far not formed a government. Senior government posts in Lebanon have traditionally been divided up among the country’s sectarian communities under a decades-old power sharing agreement.

    The diplomatic pressure comes at a delicate time for Lebanon. Under the terms of a 60-day cease-fire that ended the war between Israel and Hezbollah in November, Israeli troops were supposed to have withdrawn by now from Lebanon.

    Another practical difficulty regarding US demands is that the Lebanese Army is weak, under-trained, and most importantly under-equipped. Washington has sanctioned and limited how much military equipment Lebanon can receive. 

    Many Lebanese commentators were outraged over Ortagus’ visit and stance:

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

    Lebanon’s tiny air force is not even allowed to have jets, but has only been given what are essentially armed crop-dusting planes. The US in one breath demands the Lebanese Army boot Hezbollah from power, but in the next prevents it from having the arms necessary to do so. So these Trump demands of a Hezbollah exit from the country will remain but empty posturing.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 20:30

  • Death And Taxes: A New Take On An Old Problem
    Death And Taxes: A New Take On An Old Problem

    Authored by Robert F. Mancuso via RealClearMarkets,

    Death and taxes. They are often called the only two certainties in life.  Yet for countless family-held businesses, these inevitabilities collide when the owner passes away. There are millions of family-held businesses across this country. Many are at risk: when transferring ownership from one generation to the next, financial obligations often threaten the family business’s very existence.

    Take, for example, the case of Courtney Silver and Ketchie, Inc., a third-generation machine shop based in Concord, North Carolina. Tragically, Courtney lost her husband to brain cancer, and at the same time had to focus on keeping the family business afloat. She was worried, as she testified before Congress just this month, about the “looming tax bill” that could have shut down the company. Her story mirrors many others who encounter unexpected tax liabilities following deaths in the family.

    This year, Congress is set to debate on and legislate countless tax proposals, which will have far reaching impacts on communities, industries, and families across the country.

    While debates over income taxes dominate headlines, comparatively little attention is given to federal estate taxes. In fiscal year 2023, the tax generated $33.7 billion—just 0.8% of federal revenue and 0.1% of GDP, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. While it’s a drop in the bucket in terms of federal revenue, its impacts are far reaching.

    According to Cerulli Associates, the “Great Wealth Transfer” underway will amount to as much as $124 trillion in inheritance through 2048. The Baby Boomer generation has started passing on its wealth to subsequent generations, and the sums involved only grow larger with every passing year.  Much of this wealth is held in family businesses, whose valuations have soared due to inflation, asset appreciation, and robust market performance. A business worth $20 million a decade ago might now be worth $50 million – a figure that can trigger significant estate tax liabilities upon the founder’s death. For context, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 17,832 in January 2015 and reached 41,938 in January 2025.

    When a founder dies and the next generation inherits a thriving enterprise, the tax bill can be enormous. If the business’s heirs don’t have the liquidity to cover the tax, they may be forced to sell off assets, take on crushing debt, or, as is often the case: liquidate entirely.

    Compounding matters, a dozen states and the District of Columbia impose estate taxes, and six others levy inheritance taxes. Maryland uniquely enforces both. Top state estate tax rates reach 20% in Hawaii and Washington, while seven states, including New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts, impose a 16% rate. Combined with the federal tax, these rates can exceed 50% of an estate’s value, jeopardizing the survival of family businesses.

    This burden exists despite the immense contribution family businesses make to the economy. Representing nearly 65% of U.S. GDP and serving as the largest employer, these enterprises often lack the lobbying power of other industries. Pharmaceuticals, transportation, oil and gas, and agriculture all have advocates in Washington, ensuring legislation doesn’t cripple their industries. Family businesses, by contrast, must often fend for themselves.

    Many are woefully unprepared. Although estimates vary, there are a minimum of five million family-held businesses in the United States; and, according to a 2021 Family Business Survey by PWC, only one-third have a documented succession plan in place. Confidentiality—valued by many families—often leads to secrecy about a business’s worth, even among family members. Add to this mix the complications of divorce or inter-family grievances, and the result is widespread unpreparedness for the inevitable.

    When these businesses are forced to sell or liquidate simply to pay estate taxes, it is not just the families who lose. Employees lose jobs, communities lose vital institutions, and the economy loses key contributors to growth and innovation.

    The Great Wealth Transfer presents an urgent call to action. Family businesses should prioritize planning long before a founder’s death to ensure they have enough liquidity to pay these estate taxes. Death is inevitable, but its timing is unknowable. Preparation is therefore critical.

    Several proactive steps can mitigate the financial burden of estate taxes. These measures must be implemented while the founders are alive and well. From strategic estate planning to utilizing specific financial tools, families can ensure their businesses—and legacies—survive. The process requires education, commitment, and a deep respect for the sacrifices and hard work that built these enterprises.

    By taking steps now, family businesses can secure their futures, protect employees, and guarantee thriving communities. Nothing is more vital than securing your family’s destiny and safeguarding the cornerstone of your shared future.

    With proper planning, founders of family-held businesses can create a “new take on an old problem.”

    Robert F. Mancuso was the first President and Chief Executive Officer of Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Merrill, and was an attorney with the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier in his career. He is the founder of White Knight Capital, which through its Capri Capital Partners Fund focuses exclusively on helping mid-sized family held businesses preserve their legacies.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 20:05

  • More Government Workers Accept Trump Admin Buyout Offer, Official Says
    More Government Workers Accept Trump Admin Buyout Offer, Official Says

    The number of workers who have decided to accept the buyout offer from the Trump administration has risen by about 25,000, according to a White House official, with some 65,000 government employees now having signed up for the offer.

    That was up from more than 20,000 on Feb. 4 and more than 40,000 on Thursday morning.

    As Zachary Stieber reports for The Epoch Times, the buyout offer is a deferred resignation that pays workers until Sept. 30.

    One worker, based in the Pacific Northwest, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that she took the offer on Thursday. She hopes to use the opportunity to move overseas but said that even if the money never comes, she still wants out. She says she is unwilling to comply with the new administration’s policies, including the elimination of diversity initiatives, and worries that the situation will only get worse for people who stay.

    After entering office in January, President Donald Trump ordered federal employees back to the office and directed officials to impose stricter performance standards.

    The Trump administration says that those and other changes mean that the majority of federal agencies will likely see a reduction in employees.

    “If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce. At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions,” a message from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management told government workers.

    “If you choose not to continue in your current role in the federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country and you will be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program.”

    Workers could start resigning on Jan. 28. The original deadline was Feb. 6, but a judge ordered the government to push it back until Feb. 10.

    One worker, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the judge’s decision bolstered suspicions that the deferred resignation program was legally questionable.

    The new deadline is Monday, Feb. 10, at 11:59 p.m. ET, the government told workers in a letter after the order was handed down.

    “Should you wish to pursue Deferred Resignation please reply to this email from your government email with the word ’resign,’” the email reads.

    A hearing will take place that day in a case brought by unions that could result in the deadline being delayed further.

    Unions said in court filings that they don’t know whether the government can honor the buyout offer since congressional appropriations don’t currently run until the fall. They said the offer is illegal because it’s arbitrary and capricious in part due to “run[ning] counter to long-standing rules and requirements for federal employees.”

    Government lawyers said in response that the offer is legal because it is, rather than being a final agency action, “a matter of pure internal governmental administration and, in all events, imposes no legal right or obligation on anyone, let alone Plaintiffs.”

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 19:40

  • Trump Says He Will Investigate California's High-Speed Rail Project
    Trump Says He Will Investigate California’s High-Speed Rail Project

    Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

    President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday that his administration will investigate the long-delayed California high-speed rail project, which was authorized by voters in the state in 2008.

    California has dedicated billions to the project so far, yet no track has been laid. According to recent California High-Speed Rail Authority disclosures, 38 structures and 39 miles of guideway have been completed after spending $13.6 billion.

    Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said it is the “worst managed project” he has seen and “hundreds of billions of dollars” over budget.

    The president said the overruns for the rail project, expected to span approximately 460 miles once complete, are the worst of any project in the history of the United States.

    “You could take every single person that was going to go on the train and get the finest limousine service in the world, and take them back and forth with limousines, and you’d have hundreds of billions of dollars left over,” Trump said.

    “It is the worst thing, and we’re going to start an investigation of that because it’s not possible.”

    The state is currently focused on building 171 miles of train line from Merced to Bakersfield in California’s Central Valley.

    California Policy Center Visiting Fellow Marc Joffe told The Epoch Times that, like the president, he’s not optimistic about the high-speed rail’s future.

    “If things go according to plan, they’ll have spent a total of $35 billion,” he said of the Bakersfield-Merced line.

    “The original estimate for that same length of track from Anaheim to San Francisco was $33 billion.”

    From the proposed Los Angeles-area station to San Francisco, the overall project is expected to cost up to $128 billion—$95 billion more than originally projected.

    Joffe said the overages are due to numerous reasons, such as disorganization on the part of the state at the start of the rail project.

    “They’ve also had a lot of trouble acquiring all of the land that they needed,” he said. Instead of running the track along or in the median of I-5, the state decided to run the line through the Central Valley.

    “That required them to work out deals with landowners or exercise eminent domain,” Joffe said. “That all takes a lot of time.”

    The bullet train is being built by the California High-Speed Rail Authority, a state agency established in 1996.

    The authority’s CEO Ian Choudri spoke about the project with reporters Jan. 30 during an industry forum in Sacramento.

    “I stepped into this role knowing very well the path forward would be challenging. It’s not going to be easy. But we are definitely going to work together to make it happen,” Choudri said.

    “The Authority is laser-focused on building more and getting it delivered sooner, economically smarter, and faster. And we can do it. It’s not complicated.”

    Choudri said the project will be run responsibly. “We will run it like a business and make sure we are investing every dollar wisely.”

    The latest official project update was released by the state in 2023, according to the California Legislature’s biennial update requirements. That same year the federal government earmarked $6 billion for the high-speed rail project. In 2019, Trump criticized the project and rescinded nearly $1 billion in federal funding.

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrated progress on the project on Jan. 6 and said passengers could begin riding the high-speed trains by as early as 2030.

    “We’re moving into the track-laying phase, completing structures for key segments, and laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network,” Newsom said in a statement. “The future of transportation is being realized right here in the Central Valley with thousands of good paying jobs already created and 171 miles being worked on. As only California can, we’re building America’s biggest infrastructure project.”

    In contrast, during his first State of the State message in February 2019, Newsom had said the project would be too expensive and time-consuming.

    “The project, as currently planned, would cost too much and take too long. There’s been too little oversight and not enough transparency,” the governor said. “Right now, there simply isn’t a path to get from Sacramento to San Diego, let alone from San Francisco to LA. I wish there were.”

    “However, we do have the capacity to complete a high-speed rail link between Merced and Bakersfield. I know that some critics will say this is a ‘train to nowhere.’ But that’s wrong and offensive,” Newsom added.

    Then Gov. Jerry Brown approved legislation authorizing the commencement of construction for the project in 2012.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 19:15

  • Syria's New HTS Government Clashes With Hezbollah On Lebanese Border In First
    Syria’s New HTS Government Clashes With Hezbollah On Lebanese Border In First

    For the first time since Assad’s ouster in early December, Syrian Army under the new Islamist government of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have entered areas of Hermel, Lebanon, resulting in fierce clashes with Hezbollah fighters.

    The border breach came amid internecine fighting this week along the border, which Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported as involving “artillery shelling and heavy machine gun fire on the town of Jarmash on the city of Hermel’s northern border with Syria.”

    Jarmash actually precisely straddles the border, with one part of it in Lebanese territory and the other in Syria. The Lebanese national army has said it is not involve, as this involves local militia forces. However, Lebanese national troops have been sent to secure the border area.

    Unverified social media fighters have shown HTS jihadists launching shoulder-fired rockets onto Lebanese towns, and others show the militants firing blindly and wildly.

    This particular border area was also a hotspot of fighting involving Shia and Sunni militants at the height of the Syrian proxy war of the last decade:

    The fighting, which began early Thursday, escalated as Syrian forces repelled Hezbollah’s attempted advances near the Syrian town of Al Qusayr, a longtime stronghold of the Iran-backed group.

    A field source told The Media Line that Hezbollah fighters launched multiple attempts to push into Al Qusayr but were met with heavy resistance from the Syrian Army, which forced them back into Lebanon. As the situation escalated, Syrian forces crossed into Hawik, a Lebanese town in the Hermel region, where intense combat forced Hezbollah elements to retreat.

    There are reports that amid a pause in the fighting and following casualties, hostage exchanges will commence.

    Syria’s HTS-led government had previously announced it was launching an “extensive campaign” along Lebanese border areas to crack down on smuggling, but tribes and militias which have long overseen illegal border trade are firing back.

    This week’s fighting is a first such instance of HTS and Lebanese militants clashing, and at this rate it’s unlikely to be the last.

    HTS militants firing into Lebanon:

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    “The town of Hawik is known as a hotbed for smuggling between Lebanon and Syria,” Beirut-based The Cradle writes. “Earlier this week, the HTS-led Military Operations Department deployed forces to set up checkpoints in an attempt to thwart smuggling.”

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 18:50

  • DOJ Issues Directive Ending Biden-Era Task Force Aimed At Seizing Assets Of Russian Oligarchs
    DOJ Issues Directive Ending Biden-Era Task Force Aimed At Seizing Assets Of Russian Oligarchs

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) disbanded a program started under the Biden administration that sought to seize Russian oligarchs’ assets after the war in Ukraine started.

    In a memo released this week to DOJ employees on Wednesday, new Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office said that the effort, called the Task Force KleptoCapture, will end in order to shift DOJ focus on targeting criminal gangs and drug cartels.

    That memo said that “attorneys assigned to those initiatives shall return to their prior posts, and resources currently devoted to those efforts shall be committed to the total elimination of Cartels and TCOs,” referring to transnational criminal organizations.

    “This policy requires a fundamental change in mindset and approach,” Bondi also said in the directive, adding that resources now devoted to enforcing sanctions and seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs will now directed at Mexican cartels.

    Weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland launched the KleptoCapture program to put pressure on Russia’s finances in order to stop the war. Nearly three years from the start of the conflict, fighting still rages in eastern Ukraine, although the Trump administration has said that President Donald Trump would seek to end the conflict.

    At the time, Garland said that the law enforcement group would focus on enforcing sanctions and placing other penalties on high-level Russian officials and business people in order to prevent Russia from accessing global markets.

    “Arrests and prosecution will be sought when supported by the facts and the law,” the DOJ said in its announcement at the time. “Even if defendants cannot be immediately detained, asset seizures and civil forfeitures of unlawful proceeds—including personal real estate, financial and commercial assets—will be used to deny resources that enable Russian aggression.”

    This week, Trump said there has been progress made on ending the Russia–Ukraine war, after he said during his 2024 campaign that he would stop the conflict within 24 hours of taking office.

    “We made a lot of progress on Russia, Ukraine,” Trump said earlier this week while speaking to reporters at the Oval Office. “We’ll see what happens. We’re going to stop that ridiculous war.”

    Meanwhile, Trump last month signed an executive order—one of many targeting illegal immigration and border security—that classifies drug cartels and two criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.

    “It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures, thereby protecting the American people and the territorial integrity of the United States,” the order stated.

    And late last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Fox News that after Trump’s executive order, “all options will be on the table” for U.S. military intervention against Mexican cartels.

    “So the president will make that call. I’ll work with him in that decision-making process. Ultimately, we will hold nothing back to secure the American people,” he said.

    Trump often said during his presidential campaign that he would use the U.S. military against the cartels and has suggested that special forces could be sent into Mexico.

    The Epoch Times contacted the DOJ for additional comment on Friday.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 18:25

  • Trump Signs Order Sanctioning The Hague's ICC Over Treatment Of Israel
    Trump Signs Order Sanctioning The Hague’s ICC Over Treatment Of Israel

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the Hague-based court targeted Israeli and American officials and their allies, according to a White House official.

    The administration official cited that the order will “implement financial and visa sanctions on individuals and their family members who assist in ICC investigations of U.S. citizens or allies.”

    The court has had a long-running investigation against the US over alleged troop war crimes committed in Afghanistan. During the first Trump administration, initial retaliatory sanctions were imposed on the ICC in 2020.

    And more recently the ICC has issued an arrest warrant last year for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who just visited the White House and met with Trump this week.

    The new executive order is clearly timed on the immediate heels of the Trump meeting with Netanyahu, who is unable to travel to many European states and other countries for fear of arrest.

    The Trump-signed order states that “The ICC was designed to be a court of last resort” and that “Both the United States and Israel maintain robust judiciary systems and should never be subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC.”

    Biden had actually reversed Trump’s 2020 sanctions in order to back ICC investigations into Russian war crimes in Ukraine; however, Trump reversed Biden’s ending of the sanctions on his first day back in office.

    Washington has had a shaky relationship with the ICC going back to the Bush years. Republicans railed against the idea that top US officials could be tried.

    Of course, the US has backed ICC convictions when it comes to trying and convicting tin-pot banana republic dictators and warlords, or Serbian war criminals. The Hague has recently come under scrutiny for seeming to only bringing war criminals in the third world, such as in Africa, to justice. 

    Meanwhile…

    However, it just so happens that Western leaders, troops, and officials always seem to conveniently “evade” justice – even for things like the Iraq War, where torture by allied forces of local Iraqis was later shown to be rampant. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 18:00

  • America's Electric Grid Is At Risk – And We Need Coal To Save It
    America’s Electric Grid Is At Risk – And We Need Coal To Save It

    Authored by Emily Arthun via RealClearEnergy,

    A recent report from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) sounds the alarm: America’s power grid is becoming dangerously unreliable. The nation is hurtling toward a future where rolling blackouts and power shortages will be the norm rather than the exception. At the heart of this crisis is the closure of baseload coal plants, a move that is leaving our electric system vulnerable to demand surges and extreme weather events, and our people subject to skyrocketing electric bills.

    NERC’s latest assessment reveals an unsettling reality: the rapid shift away from coal and other reliable baseload power sources is pushing our electric grid to the brink. More than half of the U.S. faces an elevated risk of power shortages, particularly during peak demand periods in summer and winter. The root cause? The aggressive push to retire coal-fired power plants without ensuring an adequate and reliable replacement.

    While renewable energy sources like wind and solar are expanding, they are not yet capable of providing the always-available, on-demand power that coal and other baseload sources deliver. When the sun isn’t shining, and the wind isn’t blowing, grid operators must scramble to fill the gap. Too often, they are left with insufficient options, leading to potential shortfalls that can cripple homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure.

    The Reliability Crisis

    NERC’s findings make one thing clear: reliability is at stake. Energy demand is increasing exponentially, driven by factors such as electrification, population growth, and the rise of energy-intensive technologies like data centers. At the same time, dispatchable generation—power that can be turned on or off as needed—are disappearing.

    This gap leaves the grid exposed to extreme weather events. In recent years, we have seen where coal has been there to keep our power flowing:

    • Winter Storm Uri (2021): Texas experienced widespread blackouts, leaving millions without power and causing over 200 deaths. The cold temperatures experienced in Texas during Uri led to natural gas supply issues and frozen wind turbines creating an insufficient base-load of power.
    • California’s Rolling Blackouts (2020): A combination of heat waves and inadequate power supply forced California to implement rolling blackouts, impacting millions.
    • Christmas 2022 Outages: Severe cold across the Eastern U.S. led to power shortages as demand surged, highlighting the dangers of relying too heavily on intermittent energy sources.
    • January 2024: During a cold snap MISO showed that 38,508 MW of energy from coal led the energy mix, keeping the heat on.
    • January 2025: The country saw an extended cold snap and coal power production was the highest since 2019 reported LSEG.

    NERC warns that immediate action needs to be taken to shore up the grid with reliable, baseload power.

    Why Coal Remains Essential

    Coal has long served as the backbone of America’s electric grid, providing a stable and affordable power source that can be counted on during peak demand. Unlike wind and solar, coal generation is not subject to weather variability. Unlike natural gas, coal is stored on site and in the short term is not susceptible to supply chain disruptions or price volatility.

    Despite this, policymakers continue to prioritize the rapid transition away from coal, often without considering the consequences. The closure of coal plants is driven by regulatory pressures, market distortions favoring renewables, and misguided environmental policies that fail to account for the grid reliability crisis.

    The loss of coal-fired generation doesn’t just threaten reliability; it also drives up electricity costs for consumers. Without coal’s stabilizing effect on the market, electricity prices become more volatile, hitting households and businesses with higher bills.

    Moreover, shifting too quickly to an over-reliance on renewables requires massive investments in energy storage, transmission upgrades, and backup power sources. These costs ultimately fall on ratepayers, making electricity less affordable for millions of Americans.

    To avoid a full-blown reliability crisis, we must take a balanced approach to energy policy. This means:

    • Halt Premature Coal Plant Retirements: Policymakers should pause the closure of existing coal plants until replacement generation with equal reliability is available.
    • Invest in Advanced Coal Technology: High-efficiency, low-emission (HELE) coal plants and carbon capture technologies can ensure coal remains a viable part of a cleaner energy future.
    • Restore Market Fairness: Energy markets should recognize the value of baseload power and compensate coal plants for their role in ensuring grid stability.
    • Reevaluate Renewable Integration:Renewables have a role to play, they must be integrated in a way that does not jeopardize reliable affordable power supply This means investing in firm, dispatchable power sources alongside renewables.

    NERC’s report should serve as a wake-up call. The U.S. cannot afford to gamble with its electric grid. Reliable and affordable power supply is not just a convenience—it’s a necessity for economic stability, public safety, and national security. Coal has been and should continue to be a key part of our energy mix, ensuring that the American citizen has access to reliable energy , even in the toughest conditions. Policymakers must act now to protect America’s energy future before it is too late. If not, the simple fact is that lives will be needlessly endangered.

    Emily Arthun is CEO at the American Coal Council.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 17:40

  • "Pattern Locked" For "Non-Stop Storms" To Pepper Lower 48, "Snowmaggedon" Risks For Northeast
    “Pattern Locked” For “Non-Stop Storms” To Pepper Lower 48, “Snowmaggedon” Risks For Northeast

    A series of winter storms is set to traverse the central and eastern United States through mid-February, bringing a mix of snow, ice, and rain. The next big round of winter precipitation could occur as early as next week. 

    Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore provided more color on the active storm pattern on X:

    This pattern is locked and loaded right now. Non-stop storms will pepper the USA through mid-month and likely beyond. 

    Of course the devil is always in the details, but 3 impact events are likely Monday through Sunday of next week which will carry all hazards to some extent.  Again not crippling, but impactful.

    ECMWF below (out through the 18th) is locked into mean trough in the west with large-scale, Gulf moisture loving systems ejecting east.  Still looking at potential for first upper end AR (atmospheric river) for southern CA next Thursday.

    Cantore’s map, showing the active storm pattern, suggests that residents in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast should be on alert for potential adverse weather conditions next week.

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    Several meteorologists on X have posted models showing the potential threat of “Snowmeggedon” in the Northeast through the midpoint of the month.

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

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    On Tuesday… 

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    The latest Lower 48 average temperature forecast, combined with a two-week outlook, shows that the next round of cold will be less severe than last month’s. 

    Last Sunday, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, signaling six more weeks of winter. Let’s hope this extreme cold comes to an end. Meanwhile, global warming alarmists in the far-left corporate media, along with Al Gore, the Democrats, and Greta, have been unusually quiet about the cold—or perhaps their USAID ‘climate change’ funds have run dry.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 17:20

  • California Town Explores Installing Cameras To Monitor Migrant Boat Arrivals
    California Town Explores Installing Cameras To Monitor Migrant Boat Arrivals

    Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times,

    A recent uptick in the arrival of smuggled migrants landing on Southern California shores in fishing boats has prompted one coastal city to explore installing infrared cameras and possibly allowing the public to monitor the beaches at night.

    San Clemente, home to more than 62,000 residents and located on the coast about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, decided unanimously Feb. 4 to ask federal immigration authorities if they want to partner with the city to install a coastal surveillance system.

    Mayor Steven Knoblock discussed the idea with city councilors Tuesday and called for City Manager Andy Hall to reach out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

    While the land border crossings have dropped since President Donald Trump took office last month, the number of boats arriving on San Clemente’s shores has increased because of the city’s location just north of a federal border checkpoint on Interstate 5, according to Councilman Rick Loeffler.

    “It’s very obvious why they come in there,” Loeffler said. “It seems like [federal immigration enforcement agencies] would want to have cameras here.”

    The boats used—usually unlicensed pangas, which are small, outboard-powered boats often used for fishing—are frequently left behind as the people scatter into the community, Knoblock said.

    “More and more people are coming up by pangas,” he said. “I think it’s important that they be identified. This is a public safety issue.”

    Migrants in the boats risk drowning if the craft overturns, especially in the last 50 feet of arrival, according to the city manager.

    Hall said Imperial Beach, Calif., located on the U.S. border in San Diego, had a similar surveillance program when he managed that city.

    During his time there, one panga overturned and all 15 passengers drowned in waist-deep water, he said.

    Knoblock floated the idea of installing three thermal imaging cameras, placed on the city pier and at north and south neighborhood locations.

    He also wanted the public to be able to access the live cameras at night after the city’s lifeguards leave for the day.

    “I just think it would be a good thing for our community to have and take an opportunity to keep an eye on their own backyard,” he said.

    The Rip Curl WSL Finals of Lower Trestles surf spot in San Clemente, Calif., on Sept. 8, 2023. City officials are exploring the idea of installing infrared cameras for the public to watch out for nighttime Migrant boat arrivals. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

    Councilman Zhen Wu said the city didn’t have the money to buy the cameras, but he approved of the idea.

    If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has the money or the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) wanted to install cameras on city property, “I would be open to that,” Wu said.

    Councilors also voted to place contact numbers on the city’s website so that people can call federal agencies if they see the boats arrive.

    Some residents were concerned about giving the public access to the live camera feed, but the mayor stressed the program would operate like a neighborhood watch.

    About an hour south along the San Diego County coastline, officials have reported several boats landing at area beaches to drop off smuggled immigrants in the past year.

    On Jan. 25, a boat filled with migrants capsized near a San Diego beach, sending about 20 people into the sea as lifeguards and surfers rushed to rescue them.

    It was the second boat found to be smuggling migrants into the county that day, according to the city.

    The Border Patrol did not return a request for comment about the city’s plan.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 17:00

  • Watch: Maxine Waters Flips Her Wig As Dept. Of Education Employee Blocks Path
    Watch: Maxine Waters Flips Her Wig As Dept. Of Education Employee Blocks Path

    Sanpaku-eyed lawmaker Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) was beside herself on Friday, after several Democratic lawmakers attempted to enter the Department of Education headquarters, only to be turned away by security official identified on social media as Jim Hairfield.

    Dozens of Democratic representatives traveled to the DoE building in Washington DC, demanding to be allowed inside to meet with acting Education Secretary Denise Carter. Hairfield, giving zero fucks, calmly denied their request as their performative outrage grew.

    Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and 95 of his fellow partisans had demanded an “urgent meeting” Thursday with acting secretary Denise Carter before taking matters into their own hands Friday — only to be halted by security who “locked” the building doors, a congressional aide told The Post. -NY Post

    Watch:

    “Get out of the way!” Waters erupted, adding “We pay for your job!“

    Needless to say, we’re getting sick of your shit, Karens…

    President Trump has vowed to abolish the Department of Education, which was signed into legislation as a cabinet-level agency by President Jimmy Carter in 1979.

    “I told Linda — ‘Linda, I hope you do a great job and put yourself out of a job,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday, referring to Education Secretary-designee, Linda McMahon. “I want her to put herself out of a job [in the] Education Department.”

    Elon Musk, meanwhile, posted a meme on X in which Jimmy Carter states “In 1979, I created the Department of Education. Since then, America went from 1st to 24th in education.”

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    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 16:40

  • How It Worked…
    How It Worked…

    Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

    “They never prepared for algorithms that could map everything. For personnel pre-positioned everywhere. For a president who counts every week like it’s his last.” 

    – VP JD Vance

    If you wondered since 2016 how come the blob and the Democratic Party were aligned so exquisitely in their operations to destroy populism (personified by Mr. Trump) and to permanently entrench single party power in America for all time to come, it’s because an endless font of taxpayer money was streamed into countless non-governmental orgs creating a shadow civil service of Democratic Party activists that melded seamlessly with the big policy-making agencies.

    The money was laundered through manifold layers of these orgs and their sub-orgs to pay for an ongoing “color revolution” in the USA — lawfare, election fraud, propaganda, censorship, career cancellation, medical fuckery, open borders, and other totalitarian ploys — while enriching political players at all those manifold layers from multi-millionaire congressmen and senators to thousands of NGO officials making six-figure salaries to street hustlers like Patrisse Cullors of Black Lives Matter and “anti-racism” racist Ibram X. Kendi and his $50-million Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University (recently axed) — and, of course, ultimately the former Potemkin president “Joe Biden” and his family.

    It was all this money that drove eight years of sponsored insanity. Mainly, it kept the hands of the Democratic Party firmly on the levers of power so that nothing could be done about the insults and injuries they were inflicting on our country. So, is it a mystery now that nobody was prosecuted for burning the cities in 2020, or for magically creating millions of extra “Joe Biden” votes out of nowhere that year, or setting up the kickback machine from Ukraine to Congress, or forcing millions to get a janky vaccine?

    Pam Bondi is going to be a busy girl. 

    The DOGE has uncovered a government racketeering operation of which the USAID scandal is but one cog in a colossal engine of grift. What the public, including you readers, may not appreciate is how much planning went on over the past year to mount the DOGE effort, and how comprehensively the work of its many hundreds of computer techies (not just six whiz-kids) has laid bare the money-trails out of previously impenetrable government computers. Their algorithms have pierced the firewalls, revealing decades of fraud and deceit.

    Mr. Trump’s cabinet officers have started the job of dismantling the machine by getting rid of the employees who set it up and worked for it. By Thursday, Secretary of State Rubio, fired all but 300 of the 10,000 people working for USAID. CIA Director Ratcliffe offered the agency’s entire workforce a “deferred resignation” option that will allow them to bail out and still collect their salaries until September. Look for straight-up firings to ensue. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered the acting FBI director to terminate eight senior FBI officials and asked for a review of up to 5,000 involved in J-6 investigations (including, presumably, agents who engaged in abusive SWAT-team deployments).

    Many lawsuits have been mounted by blob-adjacent attorneys to make all this stop. But one big problem for them is that their gigantic legal fees — hundreds of dollars an hour on the meter multiplied by x-hundreds of lawyers— were previously paid by exactly those NGOs that are getting shut down now. So, perhaps you see exactly how those levers of power worked. The money will have to come from somewhere else, and I doubt that Silicon Valley billionaire blob-supporter Reid Hoffman wants to piss away the rest of his fortune on this.

    Some actual persons will have to be held accountable for all the mischief carried out in rogue agencies over many years. It has to start somewhere. I nominate Samantha Power as a first test case. She was in charge of USAID for nearly four years — until Jan 20, 2025 — including the duration of the Ukraine War. She was also personally very busy hands-on in arranging attempted color revolutions in Hungary (failed, against Viktor Orban), Georgia (failed), Mexico (failed), and Brazil (succeeded against Jair Bolsonaro). Ms. Power provided money from USAID-connected NGOs to foster instability in many more countries, including our country. It must have come as quite a shock to her that Kamala Harris did not win the 2024 election. USAID will not be paying for Ms.Power’s legal representation.

    Much more will come to shock the blobsters and their legions — though just now, as the reformation of government begins, it’s comforting just to think of all those dedicated seditionists, Wokesters, Marxians, and Jacobins unable to make their rent payments or buy groceries all of a sudden. The paychecks have stopped coming for thousands who wanted to turn American life upside-down and inside-out. This happened most colorfully at the fake-news outfit called Politico this week. Turned out they were a subsidiary of the blob. Who knew? (Everyone who was paying attention to the jive they published.) Management had to send out a memo that reporters and editors would not get paid this week, or maybe ever again. Boo hoo.

    It was also revealed this week that the Reuters News Agency, the Associated Press, The New York Times, the Wash-Po, and around 700-other news outfits altogether had been receiving financial support from USAID, the CIA, and other government entities. Now do you understand why the Democratic Party voters are so obdurately deluded and deranged?

    Besides the perfunctory lawsuits filed against DOGE and the agency chiefs, the response to all this corrective action has been surprisingly feeble. You might conclude that they couldn’t marshal the rioters this time because the money for rioters has been cut off. Instead, you saw a motley pack of political creeps — Jamie Raskin, Ayanna Pressley, Liz Warren, Chuck Schumer, Maxine Waters, Jasmine Crockett , Ilhan Omar —crying crocodile tears outside USAID HQ at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. They looked like roaches after the exterminator’s visit.

    The reform of our gone-rogue government is barely underway, notwithstanding these mighty initial actions. Yet to come, you have the whole filthy underbelly of the public health agencies who brought you Covid-19. The terrified Democrats are holding back confirmation of Patel, Gabbard, and RFKJr, but even if they fail to get confirmed, the new administration will put capable figures in those jobs at FBI, ODNI, and HHS. The party of Chaos must know that they cannot stop the dismantling of their evil machine.

    Beyond these grifts lies the Okefenokee of treason, bribery, conspiracy, and sedition deriving from RussiaGate, the impeachment of 2019, and all the shenanigans emanating out of Ukraine since the Maidan Revolution in 2014. Turns out, it was all of a piece. The same cast of characters were involved in all these nefarious events. I believe we’ll see those “Joe Biden” preemptive pardons tested in the SCOTUS. You haven’t begun to hear about the cases that AG Bondi will have to consider in that giant hairball. It’s only her second day on the job. Have mercy.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 02/07/2025 – 16:20

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Feb 07

Today’s News 7th February 2025

  • USAID Is A Premier Weapon Of US Hybrid Warfare In The Southern Hemisphere
    USAID Is A Premier Weapon Of US Hybrid Warfare In The Southern Hemisphere

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

    Here’s the full interview that I gave to Sputnik Brasil about USAID, excerpts of which were published in their report titled “’Arma principal da guerra híbrida’: o que muda na política externa dos EUA com o fim da USAID?”

    1. How has USAID been used by the government of United States through the years to meddle in other countries, mainly Brazil and other countries from Latin America?

    USAID is infamous for funding political programs under the cover of human rights and democracy to meddle in the recipient country’s domestic affairs. This popularly takes the form of funding movements, including media projects, for exposing alleged corruption in Latin American states. The purpose is to artificially generate a groundswell of grassroots opposition to incumbent governments that manifests itself through street protests and/or surprise election showings in order to bring about political change.

    Some of the locals who collaborate with these foreign-funded political projects sometimes go on to become advisors or even figures in the more pro-American governments that replace the targeted ones. Therefore, USAID doesn’t just work to remove Latin American governments, it also sometimes provides trained advisors and personnel for the next governments. This makes it a premier weapon of US Hybrid Warfare in the hemisphere.

    2. Does the end of USAID mean the end of US interference in other countries’ domestic affairs? Will they just change their method instead?

    New Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that he’s the acting administrator of USAID as it goes through radical reforms.

    Per Trump’s Executive Order suspending foreign aid for 90 days, with the exception of emergency humanitarian aid, an assessment is taking place to determine their efficiency and consistency with policy. Accordingly, many programs dealing with socio-cultural issues like LGBT will likely be cut, while foreign media funding and the training of foreign political cadres will likely continue.

    3. How do you evaluate Trump’s decision to end USAID?

    USAID made sense from the perspective of older American interests back when it was first founded, but it was hijacked by liberal-globalist ideologues to proselytize radical socio-cultural policies that don’t objectively align with the US’ national interests. Examples of the most ridiculous programs are being shared all across X right now. Many Americans are enraged to discover what they were funding and surprised that a lot of the money also went to domestic “NGOs” for implementing these projects.

    Ending USAID was necessary since that’s the only way to implement the radical reforms that the Trump Administration envisages, which are most immediately reducing government expenditures via the Elon Musk-led “Department Of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) and then realigning those that remain with policy. Many employees are also diehard ideological opponents of Trump and all that he represents so keeping them around runs the risk that they’d try to sabotage his second term like they did his first one.

    What’s essentially happening is that Trump 2.0 entered power with a detailed plan for purging hostile elements of the US’ “deep state”, which refers in this context to its permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies, with some also including its administrative and other ones too. USAID was a major component of the US’ power structure for decades prior to Trump’s second term so dismantling it is considered crucial for the success of his team’s foreign policy.

    4. Some US politicians have criticized the Trump Administration’s reforms of federal agencies, fearing that confidential information might leak out and even describing the overall gist of what’s going on as a “serious threat to national security”. What do they fear? Is this a sign of USAID’s connection with the CIA like Musk recently talked about?

    Not every USAID employee and project is connected to the CIA, but the CIA does indeed sometimes employ the aforesaid in advance of its goals due to the relative ease with which their democracy and human rights covers enable US spies to infiltrate and/or destabilize foreign countries. Those who are criticizing Trump’s reforms are elements of the US’ power structure who stand to lose from his and Musk’s campaign to expose irresponsible government spending and political meddling abroad.

    Some of them do have a point, namely that innocent USAID employees might be suspected of being spies and this could lead to credible threats against them, but the Trump Administration is willing to risk those consequences in pursuit of its ambitious reform campaign. Purging USAID, the State Department, and the “deep state” more broadly is the only way to prevent them from sabotaging Trump’s foreign policy the second time around, which he envisages revolutionizing the US’ relations with the world.

    Excerpts from this interview were published in Sputnik Brasil’s report titled “‘Arma principal da guerra híbrida’: o que muda na política externa dos EUA com o fim da USAID?”

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 23:25

  • US "De Minimis" Exemption (Was) One Of The Highest In The World
    US “De Minimis” Exemption (Was) One Of The Highest In The World

    As a part of the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration Saturday on Canada, Mexico and China, so-called “de minimis” rules on small imports from the countries were suspended.

    “De minimis” rules say that incoming goods under a certain value are not subject to import duties (and sometimes tax). As a result, the U.S. temporarily stopped accepting parcel from China and Hong Kong as many popular retailers send scores of “de minimis” shipments from these locations, including the likes of Temu or Shein. On Wednesday, the U.S. resumed the import of the packages. USPS said it was working on a solution of implementation of the new rules that would cause the least disruptions to parcel delivery.

    While the rule change was explained in the case of China, but also Canada, with stopping the unregistered import of fentanyl or its ingredients to the U.S., Statista’s Katharina Buchholz points out that most of the parcels affected will come from e-commerce platforms, with Chinese imports taking up the bulk of “de minimis” shipments. Checking the parcels to impose Trump’s new additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods as well as any other tariffs that might apply per product category would cause a lot of extra work. However, the ability of Chinese e-commerce sellers to create large business footprints overseas while skirting many of the dues of a traditional export business has also caused discontent in the U.S. and elsewhere.

    The Biden administration in September had announced steps like protecting certain industries and keeping out certain questionable products by exempting them from “de minimis” while at the same time increasing reporting requirements, citing concerns about high parcel volumes concealing illicit substances as well as trade fairness in the light of China’s burgeoning e-commerce-by-international-shipment sector. The EU is also mulling to do away with its “de minimis” rule in order to fairly charge Chinese direct sellers. Recent reporting also points out how many of the products shipped from the likes of Shein et al. are not up to quality standards, which caused complaints from consumer protection bodies.

    Data republished by the Department of Commerce shows that more than 100 countries around the world employ “de minimis” in order to speed up international shipping. However, the maximum value such parcels can have varies widely.

    Infographic: U.S.

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    The U.S.’ $800 threshold is one of the highest in the world while EU countries impose charges on imports of much lower value (above €150 – approximately $156).

    China’s “de minimis” rules are also more strict, with any tax or duty under 50 Yuan Renminbi (approximately $7) considered void – this would for most products be in line with a value of $99 or less.

    The country also already has a more refined approach to “de minimis” with a pre-registration and approval system for e-commerce traders in place that allows for higher exemptions at the discretion of the government.

    Other countries have also posed additional hurdles to “de minimis”, for example exempting B2B shipments or specific goods. Others allow neighbors or certain major trade partner to take advantage of a bigger “de minimis” allowance.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 23:00

  • FBI Turned Blind Eye While Its Informant Stole $190K From Jan. 6 Protestor: Court Filing
    FBI Turned Blind Eye While Its Informant Stole $190K From Jan. 6 Protestor: Court Filing

    Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA,

    A bombshell court filing alleges that an FBI informant stole some $190,000 from a Jan. 6 protestor, and that the bureau turned a blind eye to the crime to protect its source.

    Former FBI agent Jared Wise was arrested for illegally entering the Capitol on J6. Photo: DOJ

    The court filing comes from former FBI agent and Project Veritas contractor Jared Wise, who was arrested in 2023 for his own involvement with Jan. 6. Wise had his charges dropped last month, and provided an exclusive interview to Headline USA to respond to accusations from Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe that he tried to “ensnare” O’Keefe in a plot to secretly record FBI agents.

    During his interview with this publication, Wise declined to go into detail about what he did and saw on Jan. 6—saying that he intends to reveal that information soon to reporter Julie Kelly.

    However, Wise publicized the information about the thieving FBI informant this week on this Twitter/X account, and he referred this reporter to a motion for vindictive prosecution, which he filed in December. That motion contains stunning details about how the FBI informant allegedly stole from him with impunity.

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

    According to Wise’s motion, in 2020 he invested in a French real estate property with a U.S. citizen residing in France. Wise identified the man only as “GED,” but Headline USA was able to track down his identity as Gregory Edmont de la Doucette by looking up a separate civil lawsuit filed in December.

    The two men closed their real estate deal in September 2021. But soon thereafter, Wise began to have serious concerns about the status of his investment.

    Over the next few months, Wise questioned Doucette about his investment, and accused him of running a scam.

    That was when Doucette reported Wise to the FBI, he said.

    “In January 2022, GED provided information to the FBI that Wise was present in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. GED provided information about Wise to the FBI to protect himself from consequences of his own crime against Wise, as he began to realize that Wise was uncovering GED’s fraud,” Wise said in his December motion.

    “GED correctly believed that providing information to the FBI about Wise (GED’s own victim) and J6 would help inoculate himself from any liability related to his own scheme to defraud Wise.”

    Wise was arrested in May 2023, but that didn’t dissuade him from trying to report Doucette’s alleged real estate scam to the FBI. However, the FBI refused to investigate Doucette, he said.

    The FBI even went as far as investigate Wise for trying to contact Doucette, he said.

    “In August 2024, the government sought new charges against Wise related to him contacting GED about GED’s fraud, but those efforts were not successful. In response to failing to secure a new indictment, the government then obtained revised release conditions which prevented Wise from having any direct or indirect contact with GED,” his motion said.

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

    Wise’s motion said he believes the FBI protected Doucette specifically because he was informing for the bureau.

    “If the FBI were to meet with Wise and accept the information implicating GED in a complex international fraud scheme of at least $190,000 (and possibly up to $700,000 with an additional victim as alleged by a third party with direct knowledge), it would create a complicated situation in which it would need to account for criminal activity by one of its sources, and the information might also impact the prosecution of Wise,” he said.

    “Hence, the easiest strategy to prevent the dilemma is to simply refuse to meet with Wise and never learn of the claims,” he said. “Wise avers that the FBI is knowingly protecting one of its sources who has conducted criminal activity, which is reminiscent of the FBI protecting mob boss Whitey Bulger for many years.”

    Wise’s December motion was unsuccessful, but that became a moot point when the DOJ dropped all charges against him last month.

    Wise continues to seek accountability for Doucette, who could not be reached for comment.

    Wise’s December motion said he won a civil judgment against Doucette in France last September. Headline USA was unable to find that judgment, but did find a separate civil lawsuit Wise filed in federal court, also in December.

    No attorney was listed for Doucette, and he does not seem to have been served with the U.S. lawsuit yet.

    Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 22:35

  • Tomorrow's Jobs Report Will Finally Capture The Surge In Illegal Aliens, Lead To Another Big Negative Payrolls Revision
    Tomorrow’s Jobs Report Will Finally Capture The Surge In Illegal Aliens, Lead To Another Big Negative Payrolls Revision

    Remember last August when the Biden admin finally admitted it had been rigging the jobs number, when as part of its preliminary revision it vaporized 818K jobs in the past year that were never actually added, a historical negative revision (the second biggest on record) which the Fed used as justification for its panicked jumbo 50bps rate cut just a few weeks later?

    Well, tomorrow that revision – along with a dramatic increase in the US population estimate by 3.5 million primarily to reflect the surge in illegal immigration – will finally flow through fully into the jobs report, as part of a bigger overhaul of the labor market by the now-Trumpian Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the results could be dramatic.

    First, some background.

    Each year the US Census Bureau adjusts the weights in the Current Population Survey – the source data for labor-force statistics like the unemployment rate – incorporating updated estimates of the population’s size and composition. In the latest vintage, the Census modified its approach to estimating net international migration – for obvious reasons, the main of which being that for the past 4 years the US effectively had no southern border – which had the effect of substantially boosting its estimate of the US population since 2020.

    Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data for January (due for release Feb. 7) will reflect these adjustments, capturing the cumulative undercounting of the population relative to the last vintage of Census estimates. 

    That, according to Bloomberg, could lead to a large population adjustment this year which could raise the aggregate unemployment rate by raising the weight of recent immigrants, who tend to have higher unemployment rates than the general population. Overall, Bloomberg expects population adjustments to lift January’s unemployment rate by 5 basis points (which as everyone not named Matt Yglesias knows, is not percent but rather one hundredth of a percent).

    Here are the details according to Bloomberg:

    • The latest vintage of the Census Bureau’s population estimates raised the level of the civilian noninstitutional population for December 2024 by around 3.6 million relative to the prior vintage a year earlier.

      • The main reason was changes to the methodology for estimating net immigration. Historically, Census has relied on American Community Survey (ACS) data for its estimates of net international migration. But this approach posed two challenges:

        • First, the ACS data is lagged. For each vintage of population estimates, Census had ACS immigration information only for the previous year, so the data failed to capture very recent trends.

        • Second, ACS misses some migrants. This is supported by the divergence in recent years between the ACS immigration estimates and immigration totals from administrative data from other parts of the government.

      • To address this, Census adjusted its methodology to incorporate 75% of the difference between the sum of immigration totals from the administrative data and the ACS data. That resulted in a higher estimate for net immigration, lifting the estimate of the total population from 2020-2024.

    • Of that 3.6 million, roughly 3 million are 16 and older – the relevant population for the BLS unemployment statistics.

    • Historically, adjustments to the population — even relatively large ones — haven’t had much impact on the unemployment rate.In some cases the adjustments have resulted in significant changes to labor-force participation or employment rates, but usually there have been offsetting effects that dampen any change.

    • But for tomorrow’s report there is a risk that the updated immigration estimates could lift the unemployment rate more visibly because the adjustment could increase the survey weight of workers with a higher unemployment rate.

    Bottom line: Adjustments to the population controls in January’s household survey to boost the unemployment rate by ~5 bps. Together with Bloomberg’s forecast of a decline in government jobs, the unemployment rate is expected to edge up to 4.16% in January from 4.09% a month earlier.

    There’s more: since the increase in the population will also raise the level of the labor force and employment, the updated employment level will imply average monthly job growth of around 150k-170k last year — narrowing the gap between the employment figures from the household survey and the estimates from the BLS’ establishment survey. 

    And indeed, Bloomberg cautions that the separate, benchmarking process in the establishment survey is likely to result in significant downward revisions to nonfarm-payrolls data, bringing average monthly job growth last year down to about 150k, from around 180k before revisions. 

    As Standard Chartered’s Steve Englander writes (full note available to pro subs), according to the abovementioned BLS estimates as of August 2024, March 2024 NFP is likely to be revised down by 818k after benchmarking to the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW). However, further QCEW revisions since August make a 670k downward NFP revision more likely, so the overall gap between NFP and CPS (as of end-2024) will be reduced to about 2mn from 4.3mn.

    The adjustment supports Englander’s – and our – view that the surge in illegal aliens is more likely to be captured in NFP than CPS, as many of these workers were able to obtain employment authorization and work “legally” in the country. The household survey has likely understated annual employment growth by c.0.5mn during the past three years.

    One problem the BLS will face is that participation rates and employment-to-population ratios for undocumented immigrants are highly uncertain. The BLS uses administrative data from other sources to bulk up population underestimates from standard Census and American Community Survey sources. However, no survey is likely to capture labor-force participation and employment among undocumented immigrants, so the BLS will probably have to make some assumptions based on legal immigrants and native-born labor-market participants. In addition, according to BLS methodology undocumented immigrants who have not been in contact with US Customs and Border Protection agents are unlikely to show up in either census population counts or BLS household employment. While these fully under-the-radar immigrants are a minority, CBO estimated them at c.800k for 2024.

    An additional quirk is that the BLS puts most of its population revisions into each year’s January release (data to be released on 7 February). Its practice has been to introduce an abrupt upward or downward jump in January levels to capture the new population controls. This is arbitrary and does not align with monthly census population estimates. In practice, this means that m/m changes in population, employment, unemployment and labor-force numbers are largely meaningless, as they miss the big January shift. The 12M, 24M and 36M changes embed the population changes so they are relevant to the analysis. Ratios such as the unemployment rate, participation rate and employment to population remain meaningful on a m/m basis.

    More to the point, as we first correctly reported and  as the BLS subsequently admitted in August 2024, the March 2024 NFP would be revised down by 818k after benchmarking to the QCEW. However, subsequent QCEW revisions suggest a benchmark NFP reduction of around 670k. The overall gap between NFP and CPS will be reduced to 2.0mn from 4.3mn. 

    Of course, that’s not the full story. As we also reported in December, the subsequent QCEW release pointed to en even much weaker Q2-2024 employment growth than signalled by NFP. (see “Biden Lied About Everything: Philly Fed Finds All Jobs “Created” In Q2 Were Fake“). However, the benchmark revision will not correct for the overstatement of payrolls in Q2-2024 until the second quarter of 2026, or more than a year into the future, leaving us with another year of NFP distortions! 

    Yes, dear readers, the full extent of the labor market devastation under Biden – and just how fabricated the jobs report truly has been – will continue to be unveiled for years to come, long after Biden himself is gone.

    More in the Standard Chartered report available to pro subscribers.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 22:10

  • Rubio To Skip G20 In Protest Against South Africa's DEI And Climate Policies
    Rubio To Skip G20 In Protest Against South Africa’s DEI And Climate Policies

    Authored by Andrew Thornebrooke via The Epoch Times,

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not attend the G20 in protest against the hosting nation South Africa’s policies regarding land expropriation and climate.

    In a post on social media platform X, Rubio accused South Africa of promoting “DEI and climate change,” which he suggested was a form of “anti-Americanism.”

    “South Africa is doing very bad things,” Rubio said. “Expropriating private property. Using G20 to promote ‘solidarity, equality, and sustainability.’”

    Rubio’s absence means that the United States may not be represented when leaders of the G20 meet in Johannesburg later in the year to coordinate on international economic issues.

    Rubio’s comments echo similar remarks made by President Donald Trump over the weekend, in which the president accused South Africa of engaging in “a massive Human Rights violation” by allowing the government to expropriate private land for public use and vowed to cut U.S. funding to South Africa.

    Those remarks targeted two South African laws: the 2024 Expropriation Act and the 2025 Expropriation Bill, which updated the circumstances under which the government could reclaim private property for public use.

    The 2024 act repeals an Apartheid-era law that allowed the government to seize private land and was previously widely used against black South Africans.

    The new law forbids individuals from being arbitrarily divested from their property, orders the government to pay fair market value for any property taken, and directs that expropriation be conducted equitably.

    Some critics of the law, including billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk, who emigrated from South Africa, say that the law unfairly targets white South Africans.

    No race is explicitly targeted by the law, but it does require that previous land seizures based on race, such as those made during Apartheid, be taken into account when determining the appropriateness of land expropriations.

    There is also the issue that more than 70 percent of private farmland in South Africa is owned by the white population, which accounts for only about 7 percent of South Africa’s overall population.

    As such, the law may disproportionately impact them.

    The 2025 bill, meanwhile, established that there are circumstances in which the government can seize private property without compensation.

    Such circumstances include when the land has been abandoned, when the land is worth less than state investments in it, or when the property poses a direct health or safety risk.

    The bill also requires that the government seek to negotiate compensation and the other terms of acquiring private property from the owner before it can resort to expropriation.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 21:45

  • Former UPenn Athletes Sue To Expunge Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas' Records
    Former UPenn Athletes Sue To Expunge Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas’ Records

    Three former swimmers for the University of Pennsylvania have sued the Ivy League college to expunge the records of transgender athlete Lia Thomas.

    UPenn Women’s swimming & Diving teammates dry off next to Thomas after a warm up with Harvard. AP

    Alums Grace Estabrook, Margot Kaczorowski and Ellen Holmquist filed the suit on Tuesday, alleging they suffered emotional trauma after Thomas competed as a woman, destroying everything they’d worked their entire lives to achieve. The lawsuit was filed one day before President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning biological men from competing in women’s sports, the Fox News reports.

    The three actual women claim that their former school, along with Harvard University, the NCAA, and the Ivy League Council of Presidents subjected them to harassment and abuse in violation of federal laws by allowing Thomas to compete on their team.

    “The UPenn administrators told the women that if anyone was struggling with accepting Thomas’ participation on the UPenn Women’s team, they should seek counseling and support from CAPS and the LBGTQ center,” reads the lawsuit.

    2004 grads Kaczorowski and Holmquist, and Estabrook, a 2022 graduate, say they were “repeatedly emotionally traumatized” after Thomas was allowed to compete with them in violation of Title IX, and say that school officials pushed pro-trans ideology on them the entire time Thomas was on the team.

    They also allege that school administrators invited them to a talk titled “Trans 101,” where they were the problem if they had issues with a “trans-identifying male” on their team.

    School officials also allegedly warned them against speaking out about Thomas or they’d be labeled transphobes and risk not finding jobs upon graduation.

    FILE – Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas speaks to her coach after winning the 500 meter freestyle during a meet with Harvard on Jan. 22, 2022, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, File)

    The defendants are accused of creating a culture of intimidation that forced young women to deny biology. The plaintiffs claim that adding Thomas to their team jeopardized their opportunities, privacy, and safety.

    Thomas, who competed for the UPenn Men’s Swimming and Diving team between 2017 and 2020 then transitioned to the women’s team, coming in first in the 500, 200, and 100-yard freestyle races – setting women’s records. Thomas also broke several women’s records at the 2022 Ivy League Championship, hosted at Harvard University.

    The lawsuit asks a judge to declare that Thomas was ineligible to compete in women’s races, and expunge his records, according to The National News Desk.

    “The Ivy League’s plan was to crown a man as a women’s champion in one of the most iconic swimming venues in America as scores of national and international journalists described the scene as a landmark civil rights accomplishment to be venerated,” reads the lawsuit. “To bring its vision to fruition, the Ivy League engaged in a season-long pressure campaign to keep Thomas eligible to compete and prevent women from speaking up for their equal rights.”

    The swimmers’ attorney, Bioll Bock, told The National News Desk that the alleged “pressure campaign” defied common sense and harmed his clients.

    “The Ivy League believed that if America’s oldest and most storied educational institutions led the way, Americans would suppress common sense and submit to radical policies that steal young women’s cherished sports opportunities and obliterate biological reality,” he wrote, adding “This lawsuit exposes the behind the scenes scheming that led to the attempt by Harvard University, UPenn, the Ivy League and the NCAA, to impose radical gender ideology on the American college sports landscape.“

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 21:20

  • Bovard: Forty Years Bashing The National Endowment For Democracy
    Bovard: Forty Years Bashing The National Endowment For Democracy

    Authored by Jim Bovard via The Libertarian Institute,

    At the start of this week Elon Musk posted on X:

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

    After that merciless arm-twisting, I have no choice but to recap my National Endowment for Democracy bashes going back to shortly after it was launched in 1983.

    In a November 29, 1985 piece in the Oakland Tribune, I hailed NED as “one of the newest, most prestigious boondoggles on the Potomac.” But there were plenty of scoffers early on: “NED has been called many things—an International Political Action Committee, the Taxpayer Funding of Foreign Elections Program, and a slush fund for political hacks who like to travel to warm climates in cold weather. In less than two years, NED has lived up to all these epithets.” My op-ed concluded, “The sooner NED is abolished, the cleaner our foreign policy will be.”

    The following year, after fresh NED scandals, Senator Ernest Hollings (D-SC) howled, “This thing is not the National Endowment for Democracy but the National Endowment for Embarrassment.” Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) complained, “From its very inception, the National Endowment for Democracy has been riddled with scandal and impropriety.”

    But it was a “jobs for the boys” program that enabled politicians to launder money to plenty of their aides and donors, so it survived one pratfall after another.

    In 2006, in “Defining Democracy Down” in The American Conservative, I wrote:

    “In 2001, NED quadrupled its aid to Venezuelan opponents of elected president Hugo Chavez, and NED heavily funded some organizations involved in a bloody military coup that temporarily removed Chavez from power in April 2002. After Chavez retook control, NED and the State Department responded by pouring even more money into groups seeking his ouster.

    The International Republican Institute, one of the largest NED grant recipients, played a key role both in the Chavez coup and also in the overthrow of Haiti’s elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. In February 2004, an array of NED-aided groups and individuals helped spur an uprising that left 100 people dead and toppled Aristide. Brian Dean Curran, the U.S. ambassador to Haiti, warned Washington that the International Republican Institute’s actions ‘risked us being accused of attempting to destabilize the government.’

    The U.S. pulled out all the stops to help our favored candidate win a ‘free and fair’ election in 2004 in the Ukraine. In the two years prior to the election, the United States spent over $65 million ‘to aid political organizations in Ukraine, paying to bring opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko to meet U.S. leaders and helping to underwrite exit polls indicating he won a disputed runoff election,’ according to the Associated Press. Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) complained that “much of that money was targeted to assist one particular candidate, and…millions of dollars ended up in support of the presidential candidate, Viktor Yushchenko.’ Yet with boundless hypocrisy, Bush had proclaimed that “any [Ukrainian] election…ought to be free from any foreign influence.”

    In a 2009 piece for the Future of Freedom Foundation, I wrote, “NED is based on the notion that its meddling in foreign elections is automatically pro-democracy because the U.S. government is the incarnation of democracy. NED has always operated on the principle that ‘what’s good for the U.S. government is good for democracy.’”

    In 2017, Donald Trump’s first administration dropped “democracy promotion” from the list of official goals of U.S. foreign policy. In a USA Today op-ed with the headline, “End Democracy Promotion Balderdash,” I wrote that the reform “could sharply reduce America’s piety exports…It is time to recognize the carnage the U.S. has sown abroad in the name of democracy.” I warned:

    “Democracy promotion gives U.S. policymakers a license to meddle almost anywhere on Earth. The National Endowment for Democracy, created in 1983, has been caught interfering in elections in France, Panama, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Haiti and many other nations…Rather than delivering political salvation, U.S. interventions abroad more often produce ‘no-fault carnage’ (no one in Washington is ever held liable).”

    In a 2018 op-ed headlined “Time for the US to end democracy promotion flim-flams” in The Hill, I wrote:

    “Democracy promotion has long been one of the U.S. government’s favorite foreign charades. The Trump administration’s proposal to slash funding for democratic evangelism is being denounced as if it were the dawn of a new Dark Age. But this is a welcome step to draining a noxious swath of the Washington swamp…

    Unfortunately, many Washingtonians are blinded by self-serving sanctimony. National Democratic Institute president Kenneth Wollack claims that equating U.S. and Russian interventions in foreign elections is like ‘comparing someone who delivers lifesaving medicine to someone who brings deadly poison.’ But the opiate crisis illustrates how easily therapeutic concoctions can produce vast carnage…

    Democracy often provides a vast improvement in governance in foreign lands but bribery, finagling, and bombing are poor ways to export freedom. Can Washington politicians and policy wonks explain why the U.S. government deserves veto power over elections everywhere else on Earth?”

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    Since that 2018 op-ed, NED became a top funder of the worldwide Censorship Industrial Complex. It has also continued trying to rig foreign elections. NED tacitly justifies itself because “God wants democracy to win.” The U.S. government is simply doing God’s work—or doing what God would do if he knew as much as U.S. government agencies.

    In 1984, Congressman Hank Brown (R-CO) provided a single sentence that should have nullified NED’s right to exist: “It is a contradiction to try to promote free elections by interfering in them.” But contradictions never stopped the growth of Leviathan. NED’s continued existence is a testament to the perpetual perfidy of U.S. foreign policy. With pressure from Musk and from the Trump administration, Americans may soon learn of far more NED scandals.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 20:55

  • DOJ Sues Chicago, The Entire State Of Illinois, And Local Officials Over 'Sanctuary City' Laws
    DOJ Sues Chicago, The Entire State Of Illinois, And Local Officials Over ‘Sanctuary City’ Laws

    It’s no secret that Chicago has forsaken its own low-income residents to virtue signal as a so-called ‘sanctuary city’ for illegal immigrants – to the point where local residents have been excoriating city officials during official meetings, and major businesses such as Ken Griffin’s Citadel moved to Miami due to the city devolving into “Afghanistan.”

    Now, the Trump DOJ is suing Chicago, the state of Illinois, local officials over laws creating said ‘sanctuary,’ and have accused the defendants of impeding federal immigration enforcement efforts. In their complaint, the DOJ has asked a judge to declare the state and local measures unconstitutional due to the federal government’s supremacy.

    One of the laws challenged by the Wednesday lawsuit prohibits officials from complying with federal immigration detainers and providing certain information about noncitizens.

    “The challenged provisions of Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County law reflect their intentional effort to obstruct the Federal Government’s enforcement of federal immigration law and to impede consultation and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement officials that is necessary for federal officials to carry out federal immigration law and keep Americans safe,” reads the lawsuit.

    Named in the case are Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), as well as the city’s police superintendent and other city officials.

    The case, filed in federal court in Chicago, marks one of the first major cases brought by the Trump administration in such a case, and comes after the Wednesday confirmation of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who issued a same-day memo restricting sanctuary cities from accessing DOJ funds.

    It’s also the latest in a series of moves by the new administration to halt illegal immigration and punish leftist cities and states who encourage and shelter illegal migrants – including orders to restrict birthright citizenship and declaring an invasion at the southern border. Homeland Security, meanwhile, has focused its deportation efforts on sanctuary cities.

    The Wednesday lawsuit builds on a previously filed suit brought by several Chicago-based organizations, which seeks to block the Trump administration from conducting raids in the Windy City.

    “Unlike Donald Trump, Illinois follows the law. The bipartisan Illinois TRUST Act, signed into law by a Republican governor, has always been compliant with federal law and still is today,” Pritzker’s office said in a statement.

    “Illinois will defend our laws that prioritize police resources for fighting crime while enabling state law enforcement to assist with arresting violent criminals. Instead of working with us to support law enforcement, the Trump Administration is making it more difficult to protect the public, just like they did when Trump pardoned the convicted January 6 violent criminals. We look forward to seeing them in court,” the statement continues.

    The DOJ lawsuit cites Prizker’s comments on CNN late last month, during which he said he’s eager to cooperate with the Trump administration to “get rid” of criminals, but questioned whether “law-abiding” migrants should be targeted.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 20:30

  • Is ATF Using AI-Powered Facial Recognition To ID Gun Owners?
    Is ATF Using AI-Powered Facial Recognition To ID Gun Owners?

    Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

    Several reports now indicate that ATF has access to and utilizes facial recognition technology to identify gun owners. In fact, two Government Accountability Office reports confirm that ATF does have access to various facial recognition systems, including Clearview AI, Vigilant Solutions, and other systems owned by other federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial law enforcement agencies.

    The Government Accountability Office described the Clearview AI database as: 

    “A web-based facial recognition service using 30+ billion facial images sourced from publicly available websites, including news media, mugshot, and social media websites, among others.”

    A 2021 GAO report found that ATF did not have sufficient accountability mechanisms “to track what non-federal systems with facial recognition technology are used by employees.”

    According to testimony given to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, ATF:

    “Initially used these services without requiring their staff to take training on topics such as how the technology works, what photos are appropriate to use, and how to interpret the results.”

    GAO scolded federal agencies, stating that they “must consider the potential impact of its use on civil rights and civil liberties because the potential for error and the potential to misidentify someone could lead to the arrest and prosecution of an innocent person.”

    GAO was also concerned that government use of facial recognition technology can have “a chilling effect on an individual’s exercise of their First Amendment rights.”

    Similarly, ATF’s use of Facial Recognition Technology could have a chilling effect on the People’s exercise of their Second Amendment rights.

    According to GAO, ATF is reported to have conducted at least 549 facial recognition searches on gun owners between October 2019 and March 2022.

    GAO indicates that “as of April 2023, ATF… reported that they had halted their use of such services.”

    However, the most recent reports suggest otherwise.

    On July 21, 2024, Senator Ron Johnson released a report detailing the attempted assassination of President Trump in Butler, PA. In the report, it is revealed that:

    “Photos… were sent to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) for facial recognition… The ATF was apparently requesting the photos… for facial recognition purposes. It is unclear… why ATF would be the agency responsible for conducting facial recognition.”

    We agree. It is unclear why ATF, the agency tasked with enforcing federal alcohol, tobacco, and firearms laws, should have access to a facial recognition system in the first place.

    New Jersey Police Used Clearview AI to Identify Gun Owners

    In New Jersey (a state with a firearm purchaser database, handgun registration, and universal registration checks) the government utilized Clearview AI to identify whether suspects owned guns prior to arrest.

    In an interview, Attorney General Grewal said that:

    “The Clearview app was used to get the name of the individual… we wanted to find out, does this person have firearms?”

    Ultimately, the Attorney General ordered all New Jersey police to cease using the software because it was “racist and inaccurate.”

    ATF Could Use Facial Recognition Software in Conjunction with National Gun Registry

    In recent years, ATF has admitted to Congress that it possesses nearly one billion gun and gun owner records. A 2022 report by Gun Owners of America details that this registry is both digital and searchable.

    By ATF’s own admission this registry is “not searchable by name” because “ATF is the only agency that pays Adobe” to disable search functionality of ATF’s PDF gun registry.

    However, ATF could simply re-enable the functionality to search its digital registry by name.

    Additionally, Senate appropriators are already advocating for “Law Enforcement Advanced Analytics” funding “to implement software using advanced analytics to correlate open source, commercial, and native agency data.”

    Translation: the gun control lobby wants to fund facial recognition technology for agencies like ATF, to monitor law-abiding citizens.

    Apparently, ATF is “increasingly relying on the analysis of huge volumes of information, including open-source information” during its enforcement of gun control on the American people.

    It seems as if ATF is preparing to use Clearview AI in conjunction with its illegal gun registry to identify gun owners and what firearms they own—just like the New Jersey police have already done.

    And clearly, there are questions remaining as to the extent of ATF’s facial recognition technology usage.

    With anti-gun politicians in Congress attempting to pass legislation that removes restrictions on ATF, like the AIM Act, the stage is set for ATF to have a registry of guns and gun owners, with their facial data as well.

    Gun Owners of America will fight this overreach tooth and nail in both Congress and in the courts. ATF can never be allowed to maintain a registry of guns, or gun owners. As the saying goes, registration always precedes confiscation.

    More on the report from GOA’s Benjamin Sanderson: 

    . . . 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 20:05

  • Border Czar "Expects" Kinetic Warfare Between US Troops & Mexican Drug Cartels
    Border Czar “Expects” Kinetic Warfare Between US Troops & Mexican Drug Cartels

    Trump administration Border Czar Tom Homan told ABC News in an exclusive interview that he anticipates a potential kinetic engagement between the US military and drug cartels, though he did not specify a location. His remarks come as thousands of US troops have been deployed to the southern border. Additionally, earlier this week, a US Air Force surveillance aircraft conducted a signals intelligence (SIGINT) operation over cartel-controlled areas in Baja California.

    “Look, I’m looking at numbers this morning, about 14,000 arrests, and about 76% of them are criminals,” Homan told ABC News’ Kyra Phillips and Terry Moran when asked about the ICE raids.

    “We’re not going to neighborhoods looking for people different than us. These are well-planned, investigated leads,” the border czar said.

    When Homan was asked whether the US military could get involved if cartels strike, Homan replied: “Yes, and we expect them to,” adding that US troops “need to protect themselves.”

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    At the start of the week, in what appeared to be the shortest trade war in history, Mexico and Canada each committed 10,000 troops to their respective borders, while the US reinforced its southern border with thousands of soldiers in the last few weeks. 

    By Monday evening, a USAF RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft conducted a SIGINT operation over the southern half of Baja California, a region home to heavily armed Tijuana Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel members. 

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    On Wednesday… 

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    Last week, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had some strong words for drug cartels.

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    Dismantling Mexican drug cartels could be a very messy operation, which is why the Trump administration fortified the border with the military. The challenge, however, is that if US special forces operators kill cartel leaders, retaliatory attacks by cartel members could occur at Mexican beach resorts or, worse, on the streets of US cities. 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 19:40

  • CDC Confirms Webpages Removed To Comply With Trump's DEI Executive Orders
    CDC Confirms Webpages Removed To Comply With Trump’s DEI Executive Orders

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A spokesperson for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Tuesday that multiple webpages have been taken down in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on gender ideology and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images

    A review of the websites by The Epoch Times shows that between Jan. 31 and Feb. 4, a multitude of CDC webpages were removed and remain down as of Feb. 4.

    “All changes to the HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) website and HHS division websites are in accordance with President Trump’s January 20 Executive Orders, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, and Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” the CDC spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

    “The Office of Personnel Management has provided initial guidance on both executive orders and HHS and divisions are acting accordingly to execute.”

    That comment came in response to a question about several CDC webpages that were offline as of Tuesday.

    These include Health Disparities Among LQBTQ Youth; Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of Vaccine for Mpox Prevention; Fast Facts: HIV and Transgender People; pages for HIV data; the page for the U.S. global HIV program called PEPFAR, and others.

    A page that was titled “Safer Food Choices for Pregnant People“ was renamed ”Safer Food Choices for Pregnant Women.” When the previous version is accessed, the page displays a message saying it moved to the one referencing women.

    An analysis from the health nonprofit KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, noted that some CDC webpages were taken down but were put back online with a message saying the webpage was being changed.

    “CDC’s website is being modified to comply with President Trump’s Executive Orders,” says the message at the top of the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention website.

    Several other CDC pages, including one with demographic and health surveys, also displayed that message, as did the agency’s front page on Tuesday.

    The CDC’s official public portal for health data was taken down entirely on Jan. 31 but went back up over the weekend with the message about website modifications. The agency’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey data was restored, too, but with at least one of the gender columns missing and its data documentation removed.

    Some of the sites came back online on Monday, other data analysts said. However, it’s not clear exactly what was removed or changed.

    “You go looking for something and it’s just not there,” said Amy O’Hara, a Georgetown University researcher who is president of the Association of Public Data Users. The website changes sparked “a mad scramble right now” to grab copies of whatever federal data was posted before, O’Hara said.

    Researchers say datasets and summaries were affected, as were codebooks that explain different variables. There were changes to published research that used affected datasets and redactions to lists of publications about certain topics, O’Hara said.

    Paul Schroeder, executive director of the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, said people looking for data may have to resort to suing for access or submitting Freedom of Information Act requests.

    “The removal of several public datasets from agency websites goes against everything the statistical agencies stand for and were intended for,” Schroeder said on Monday. “Public data users are being left in the dark about what is going on.”

    In the wake of Trump’s signing the executive orders, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a memorandum on Jan. 24 stipulating that agency heads will terminate DEI offices and positions within 60 days.

    Another executive order specifically directed the CDC to stop working with the World Health Organization, and HHS placed a pause on posts and reports issued by both the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), subjecting them to review first.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 19:15

  • Trump Nukes All Govt-MSM Contracts After Politico Firestorm, Will Axe 97% Of USAID Staff
    Trump Nukes All Govt-MSM Contracts After Politico Firestorm, Will Axe 97% Of USAID Staff

    In light of the firestorm over tens of millions of dollars going from the US government to various media outlets in the form of subscriptions, particularly Politico, President Trump has directed the General Services Administration to terminate “every single media contract” expensed by the agency, according to an email obtained by Axios.

    Photo via @bennyjohnson

    “GSA team, please do two things,” the email begins.

    • Pull all contracts for Politico, BBC, E&E (Politico sub) and Bloomberg
    • Pull all media contracts for just GSA – cancel every single media contract today for GSA only.

    The move comes after internet sleuths discovered tens of millions of dollars going towards Politico Pro subscriptions, with particular focus on one $8 million allocation.

    On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the executive branch would cancel their contract with Politico…

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    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js…and today we find that it goes much further than just the rag that laundered the deep state’s ’51 intel officials’ Hunter Biden laptop propaganda. For example, the NY Times was also cut off.

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    Politico responded on Thursday, claiming that they have “never received any government funding — no subsidies, no grants, no handouts. Not one dime, ever, in 18 years.”

    No, just tens of millions in Politico Pro subscriptions from the government. Like Hunter Biden received $200,000 for a painting of his excrement, which was totally not influence peddling.

    Deep Cuts To USAID

    Meanwhile, the White House is also planning to cut USAID’s staff from roughly 10,000 employees to just 294 – a 97% reduction, after Elon Musk’s DOGE team revealed that the international aid organization has essentially been funding woke pet projects and anti-American activities.

    On Tuesday, the administration put a stop on all USAID work and placed all employees on leave, with thousands of overseas workers to be recalled within 30 days.

    According to Reuters, Secretary of State Marco Rubio – who was placed in charge of USAID earlier this week, said that the Trump administration was identifying and designating critical programs that would be exempted from the stop work order and deep cuts.

    According to the report, over 2/3 of USAID’s workers are located outside the United States. As of 2023, the ‘aid’ organization managed more than $40 billion in projects. USAID’s website informed people that as of midnight on Friday, February 7, “all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs.”

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 18:50

  • Self-Deportations And Plummeting Crossings – How New Border Policies Impact Arizona
    Self-Deportations And Plummeting Crossings – How New Border Policies Impact Arizona

    Authored by Allan Stein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls said that border crossings near his city have continued to decline since President Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border on Jan. 20.

    Illustration by The Epoch Times, Allan Stein/The Epoch Times, Gettyimages

    “For the last four days—very specifically in the last four days—we haven’t had any transfers from the San Diego or Tucson sector, which had been happening daily or near daily for the last several months,” Nicholls told The Epoch Times on Jan. 24.

    “There’s some definite changes along the flow of traffic, at least in the Yuma sector.”

    Nicholls said some illegal immigrants have chosen to “self-deport” rather than be put through the federal immigration system.

    “Quite a few of them are actually being repatriated to their home countries,” he said, “which is why you’re seeing the reduction in numbers, because people don’t want to make the investment just to be sent back home.”

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    Nicholls said that the official stance is that most border crossings are related to human smuggling and trafficking, with considerable involvement from Mexico’s drug cartels.

    Illegal immigrants pay cartels and smuggling organizations to cross the U.S.—Mexico border; it can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $40,000 depending on the nationality of the border crosser and the destination city. Many illegal immigrants enter the United States in debt to cartels, and spend years in indentured servitude to pay it off.

    Trump took multiple border-related executive actions on Jan. 20 after being sworn in, including to kick-start the deportation of criminals and other illegal immigrants.

    Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents quickly began detaining and deporting many known criminal illegal immigrants in major metropolitan areas, including Chicago and Denver.

    Nicholls said he supports the plan to deport known criminals. “I don’t know anybody who’s in favor of keeping them here. So I don’t think that that’s really caused any sort of controversy,” he said.

    Yuma Mayor Douglas Nicholls during an interview with The Epoch Times in Yuma, Ariz., on Jan. 23, 2025. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

    Cost to Local Industries

    Nicholls also noted that Yuma’s health care and agricultural sectors have faced financial challenges due to illegal border crossings. One local hospital has incurred an estimated $26 million in costs for illegal immigrant care, which has yet to be reimbursed.

    “From a city perspective, we’ve done a pretty good job of isolating costs and not really impacting our budget,” Nicholls said.

    “As a community, because of the great work of our Border Patrol and local nonprofits, we’ve only had a couple days in the last four years where migrants were released out in large numbers to the community. We’ve been able to help mitigate those impacts without dramatic costs.”

    However, Nicholls said that farming operations along the border in Yuma have suffered a blow with all the illegal border crossings in recent years.

    Border Patrol agents in fiscal year 2022 apprehended more than 25,000 illegal immigrants in the Yuma sector, the vast majority of whom crossed the border in an area right next to lettuce farms.

    In December 2022, the Yuma County Board of Supervisors, along with Mayor Nicholls, declared countywide states of emergency due to the large number of illegal immigrants gathering on the U.S. side of the border.

    The mayor’s proclamation has been in effect since that time.

    Illegal immigrants wait to board a U.S. Border Patrol bus to be taken for processing after crossing the border from Mexico, in Yuma, Ariz., on May 22, 2022. Mario Tama/Getty Images

    In September 2023, Yuma County Commissioner Jonathan Lines testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security about the financial implications of an unrestricted border on Yuma’s $4 billion agricultural industry.

    “The surge in illegal immigration has had a devastating effect on this critical industry in Arizona,” Lines told the subcommittee.

    “The people crossing illegally travel on foot and urinate and defecate in fields and irrigation canals of the farms after they cross the border, which ruins whatever crop is growing on that particular farm.

    “Farmers must abide by stringent food safety rules and this trespass and defecating in production areas renders the crops grown completely unmarketable, thus the crop is destroyed, and farmers must bear this staggering loss.

    “As a result, farmers in Yuma have had to invest millions since [the Biden administration] took office in crop loss, to hire security and build fences around their farms to protect our nation’s food supply,” Lines testified.

    Nicholls said that the window for lettuce from farm to market is very narrow, and consistency is essential because of the short shelf life of produce.

    “You need people there when you need people there,” he said. “The 50,000 [migrant] workforce that’s required for winter harvest here is really focused on legal, consistent labor.”

    Nicholls said that over the past four years, most illegal immigrants crossing into the Yuma area have wanted to be apprehended by Border Patrol. By doing so, they aimed to enter the system and obtain “some sort of status,” he said.

    (Top) Workers tend to lettuce fields in Yuma, Ariz., on Dec. 10, 2021. (Bottom) A farm worker inspects an irrigation line in Yuma, Ariz., on Jan. 23, 2025. Charlotte Cuthbertson, Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

    Nicholls said that city officials have not received any official information regarding troop deployments in the Yuma sector.

    “What I’m tracking is a perception impact—where people assume our cities are in chaos. They’re not,” he said. “We’ve seen some negative pushback in that regard for tourism, for job attraction, those kind of things.”

    Border Town Issues Order

    Three hundred and fifty miles east of Yuma lies another border town: Douglas, Arizona, with a population of about 15,600.

    On Jan. 27, Douglas Mayor Jose Grijalva signed an emergency proclamation to prepare for the financial impact of the president’s declaration of a national emergency at the border and the deployment of military troops.

    “With the closing of the southern border, the city of Douglas will see a decrease in revenue sources from sales taxes, tourism, and other areas of commerce,” the proclamation states.

    The proclamation didn’t mention that the Douglas Port of Entry remains open 24 hours a day, seven days a week for legal entry into the United States for commercial traffic, non-commercial traffic, and pedestrians.

    The statement suggests that the city will experience an increase in costs to assist federal agencies in implementing the president’s executive order.

    The proclamation states that although there is currently “no immediate invasion of narcotics and crime within the City of Douglas, I find it necessary and prudent to prepare for the influx of military personnel to the southern border, to take every lawful precaution available in order to protect the health, safety, and welfare of of Douglas’s citizens.”

    A Border Patrol truck patrols near the U.S.–Mexico border in Yuma, Ariz., on April 13, 2019. Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times

    The city pledges to cooperate with county, state, and federal officials to “protect our borders from illegal entry while protecting our economy.”

    On Jan. 22, the defense department announced the deployment of 1,500 active-duty service members, along with additional air and intelligence assets, to the southern border to assist troops already conducting enforcement operations in the region.

    The announcement was made approximately 36 hours after Trump signed an executive order instructing the Pentagon to respond to the crisis at the border.

    New State Law

    Communities are also preparing for the effects of Arizona’s Proposition 314, which was approved by 65 percent of voters in the November election.

    This measure makes it a state crime for noncitizens to enter Arizona from any location other than a port of entry, which allows state and local police to make arrests.

    The measure also allows Arizona state judges to order deportations.

    State agencies must check an individual’s immigration status via the E-Verify program before allowing enrollment in financial aid programs or public welfare. It’s a crime to submit false information to evade the E-Verify program.

    Under the proposition, it’s a Class 2 felony if a person knowingly sells fentanyl and it results in the death of another person.

    The Yuma County Sheriff’s Office is currently awaiting further guidance from the county attorney, who is working with relevant parties to establish policies and procedures for sheriffs concerning Proposition 314.

    Remote Desert Town

    In the desert town of Ajo, Arizona, located 43 miles from the state’s 372-mile-long southern border with Mexico, life tends to move at a slower step.

    However, resident Charlie Wolfe believes it is only a matter of time before the impact of the new administration’s border policies become apparent.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 18:25

  • State Of Emergency Declared In Santorini After Quake Swarms Shake Island
    State Of Emergency Declared In Santorini After Quake Swarms Shake Island

    Greek authorities declared a state of emergency in Santorini following days of “intense” earthquake swarms rattling the island. The strongest quake, registering a magnitude of 5.2, struck on Wednesday.

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    Vasilis Karastathis, director of the Geodynamic Institute, told local media outlet ERT News that “seismicity continues at the same pace as in previous days, intense.”

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    “We have a fairly high number of earthquakes with magnitudes above 4,” Karastathis said, adding, “We are still in the middle of the road. We have not seen any thinning, any sign that it is heading towards retreat.” 

    So far, more than 12,000 people have left the island due to concerns that larger quakes could be a precursor to the next “big one,” potentially triggering a tsunami. About 7,700 tremors have been reported in less than a week. 

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    “Late on Thursday, trucks were seen disembarking from ferries loaded with generators. In a further sign of emergency services being relocated to the island, it was announced that social workers and psychologists would be dispatched to Santorini,” The Guardian noted. 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 18:00

  • VDH: Are Trump's Tariffs Really Tariffs?
    VDH: Are Trump’s Tariffs Really Tariffs?

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

    Hysteria has erupted here and abroad over President Trump’s threats to level trade tariffs against particular countries.

    Both American and foreign critics blasted them variously as either counterproductive and suicidal or unfair, imperialistic, and xenophobic.

    Certainly, tariffs are widely hated by doctrinaire economists.

    They complain that tariffs burden consumers with higher prices to protect weak domestic industries that, shielded from competition, will have no incentive to improve efficiency.

    Their ideal is “free” trade. Supposedly a free global market alone should adjudicate which particular industry in any country can produce the greatest good for the world’s consumers, whether defined by lower prices or better quality, or both.

    Even when “free trade” becomes “unfair trade”—such as China’s massive mercantile surpluses—many neoliberal economists still insist that even subsidized foreign imports are beneficial.

    Cheap imports, Americans were told, supposedly still lowered prices for consumers, still forced domestic producers to economize to remain competitive, and still brought “creative destruction,” as inefficient domestic industries properly gave way to more efficient, market-driven ones.

    But many exporters to the U.S. are propped up by their own governments.

    They may seem more competitive only because their governments want to dump products at a loss to capture market share, subsidize their businesses’ overhead to protect domestic employment or seek to create a monopoly over a strategic industry.

    Yet when Trump threatened to level tariffs against Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Venezuela, China, or the European Union, they were not primarily aimed at propping up particular inefficient U.S. industries at all.

    Instead, an exasperated Trump threatened Mexico with tariffs for three reasons.

    It refused to address its cartels’ illegal multibillion-dollar export of lethal fentanyl into the United States.

    The cartels buy Chinese-supplied raw fentanyl with impunity, disguise it to resemble toxic drugs, and smuggle the product across a porous border.

    The result over the last decade is more dead Americans from fentanyl than the total number of all U.S. soldiers lost in the wars of the twentieth century.

    Second, Mexico had stonewalled all American efforts to stop their export of millions of illegal aliens into the United States—10-12 million in the last four years alone.

    Mexico adds insult to injury by raking in profits from some $63 billion in remittances sent from its former resident citizens now residing in the United States and often subsidized by American taxpayers.

    Third, Mexico grows its American trade surpluses each year. The imbalance is now a mind-boggling nearly $170 billion.

    Trump threatened Canada because it has so far refused to police its side of an open and increasingly dangerous border. And it has racked up a $50 billion surplus by leveling asymmetrical tariffs on lots of U.S. products.

    Canada also has refused to keep its NATO promises to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defense.

    Canada’s pathetic 1.37 percent expenditure is predicated on American magnanimity. The U.S. alone protects Canada under the American North American nuclear shield and subsidizes NATO deadbeats like Canada by funding some 16 percent of the budget of the 32-nation alliance, as well as policing the international seas.

    As for Venezuela and Colombia, both communist nations have deliberately emptied their prisons to send hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens into the U.S.—many of them violent felons. They do so either out of crass self-interest, hatred, or a strategic desire to weaken America.

    China is a special case.

    Its entire 20th-century ascendance was based on stealing U.S. technology, dumping its products on the U.S. market below the cost of production to capture market share, and forcing American corporations to relocate, offshore, and outsource—leaving our industrial hinterland a “rustbelt.”

    The European Union runs a gargantuan half-trillion-dollar surplus with the U.S.

    How?

    Because for nearly the last 80 years, the U.S. has subsidized its defense during the Cold War and afterwards.

    Europe acts as if it is recovering from World War II, so it can hit up a supposedly limitlessly rich American patron with asymmetrical tariffs.

    Consider the various Trump “tariffs” leveled by an exasperated, and now $36 trillion-indebted, America.

    Almost none of them meet the traditional definitions of an industry-protecting tariff.

    Instead, they are the last-gasp tools of American leverage used only when decades of bipartisan diplomacy, summits, entreaties, and empty threats have all failed.

    So, Trump is not a mercantilist.

    Instead, he is trying to stop the multimillion-person influx of foreign criminals, the crashing of the border by millions of illegal aliens, the cartels’ export of American-killing drugs, the violation of past trade agreements, and allies from using America to subsidize their own defense.

    The Trump tariffs are the last, desperate effort to reestablish global reciprocity and keep America safe.

    And our “shocked” friends, allies, and enemies privately have known that all too well.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 17:40

  • DoD-Contracted Spy Plane Crashes In Philippines
    DoD-Contracted Spy Plane Crashes In Philippines

    The US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) announced on X that a spy plane contracted by the Department of Defense crashed in a rural area of Maguindanao del Sur in the Philippines.

    “The aircraft was providing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance support at the request of our Philippine allies. The incident occurred during a routine mission in support of US-Philippine security cooperation activities,” USINDOPACOM said. 

    USINDOPACOM continued, “We can confirm no survivors of the crash. There were four personnel on board, including one US military service member and three defense contractors,” adding the cause of the “crash is under investigation.” 

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    Local media outlet Philippine News Agency said the spy plane was a Beechcraft King Air 350 twin-turboprop aircraft used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations.

    “A small private plane, Beech King Air 350 (B350), crashed around 2:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 6, 2025) in Barangay Malatimon, Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur. According to police, four bodies, including two male, were retrieved by responding villagers from the wreckage,” the media outlet wrote on X. 

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    Footage of the wreckage has surfaced on other X accounts:

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    USINDOPACOM did not disclose details about the targets the spy plane was tracking and or if those targets were related to terrorism trends in Southeast Asia.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 17:20

  • Why Mass Deportations Are Necessary And How To Keep Illegals From Coming Back
    Why Mass Deportations Are Necessary And How To Keep Illegals From Coming Back

    Authored By Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us

    For months before and after Donald Trump’s election win there was an army of naysayers crawling the internet claiming that he would “never follow through” on his promises and that deportations “were not going to happen”. Most of these people were leftists trying to sow the seeds of doubt. At least some claimed to be conservatives and were perhaps disenchanted with the inaction of Donald Trump’s first term in office. I know I was not expecting much back then.

    In 2017 Trump’s cabinet confirmations took a decidedly swampy turn and his administration was overrun with Neo-Cons and banking elites. I criticized this outcome harshly at the time. However, I was willing to acknowledge a reasonable explanation – That Trump was being misled by advisers with ulterior motives. After all, every president has around 4000 positions to fill in their administration and most of them will defer that duty to their advisers.

    Trump would go on to admit in multiple interviews that he had trusted his inner circle too much and made mistakes in choosing his cabinet. They had sabotaged his efforts.

    His second term is so far a 180 degree flip from his first, and Trump’s shift in focus is evident. Like most liberty movement conservatives I’ll reserve judgment.  Trump’s presidency will likely be the most scrutinized in recent history, not only by his political opponents but by those who supported him.  We’ll be scrutinizing everything he does with primary attention on his policy efforts. “Will he take action?” is the question everyone is asking.

    The answer has been a resounding “yes”. The illegal immigration issue is of course one of the most pressing crises of our era and I would consider Trump fulfilling his promise to counter the threat a bare minimum. He has to, or he loses his entire base of support and the country falls apart at the same time. Trump’s swift move to execute mass deportations is redeeming.

    For decades conservatives and right leaning independents have been disillusioned with the Republican Party because of their incessant inaction. When leftists take power in government they waste no time exploiting every advantage – The only thing that stops them from total dominance is patriot culture and the fact that 50 million+ Americans are heavily armed. When the GOP takes power they change very little.

    One factor that truly sets the Trump Administration apart from all other modern Republican Presidencies is the acknowledgment of the culture war. The leftists have been waging this war for at least 50 years and GOP leaders have mostly dismissed it as trivial compared to politics. It’s the reason why we came within a razor’s edge of total moral relativism and degeneracy under the Biden Administration. The left has been normalizing the hatred of basic American principles for generations.

    Part of that effort has been the introduction of open borders ideology and mass illegal immigration. I consider this a kind of “final stage” of the leftist/globalist agenda – If you can demonize western culture to the point of self hatred, then people won’t care when you saturate the west with third-world migrants and put the final nail in the coffin.

    Illegal aliens don’t want to assimilate, they want to pillage and if possible to conquer.  This is why you see hundreds of Mexican flags flying at every migrant protest march; they have no interest in becoming American, they only want access to American wealth.  They look at the US citizenry as rubes and easy targets for plunder.

    There is also the danger of cultural replacement.  Many migrants from Latin American identify with the Marxist “La Raza” ideology, which asserts that America is “stolen land” that they have an ethnic claim to.  The globalists know this and use mass migration as a weapon, opening the gates and making it easy for the invasion to happen.  As we have seen in Europe and the UK, migrant hordes are like a mercenary army perfect for oppressing native citizens and preventing future rebellion against multicultural erasure.

    The core of this process is to incentivize migrants with subsidies and jobs. And this lead me to the greater dilemma of the border crisis – Locking down the border is not so hard, but getting rid of the tens-of-millions of illegals that are already in the country is much more difficult.  Making sure they don’t come back is also a conundrum.

    As we’ve seen in the first weeks of Trump’s presidency, establishment Democrats are intent on interfering with deportations in any way they can (all the future power of leftists requires forced immigration to the US from socialist leaning countries). By extension, leftist activists will seek to disrupt deportation efforts using civil unrest (when the weather warms up these goblins will come out in droves, bank on it).

    On top of the internal sabotage, there are many foreign governments that will desperately try to obstruct the return of so many unwanted citizens. Keep in mind that the US is seen by these governments as a dumping ground for their refuse. America is a steam valve to release the pressure so that these countries can get rid of their criminals, revolutionaries and those in poverty.

    Mexico, Columbia, Haiti and others continue to argue that they can’t take their own people back because it would lead to “societal catastrophe”. Why? Because these governments have been knowingly sweeping their problem children under the rug for years, and America is the rug.

    At the current rate of deportations (around 1500 per day) we are looking at around 500,000 per year. At least 10 million illegals are projected to have entered the US under Biden’s watch, and that’s not counting the millions that were in the US previously. Estimates indicate that 16 million to 20 million illegals are living in America today. To expedite matters, illegals will have to be convinced to self deport.

    There is evidence that this is happening to some extent. Border stations have seen an uptick in outgoing traffic into Mexico and border encounters have slowed (Texas has played a big part in the border slowdown with their Operation Lone Star). But how could the US pressure a majority of aliens to self deport and never come back?

    Here are a few surefire methods…

    Increased Penalties For Businesses That Hire Illegals

    This is common sense, but a large part of mass immigration depends on access to the US jobs market. Our government has been turning a blind eye to low-wage migrant labor for a long time and usually, if caught, businesses will only be fined a few hundred dollars for each migrant they employ. The savings on wages make it worth the risk.

    Federal fines should be increased greatly, changing the cost benefit ratio and making it less enticing for companies to gamble on illegal migrant labor. If companies stop hiring migrants then most aliens will leave the US overnight.

    If an industry desperately needs foreign labor then they can hire people with work visas. The process could be streamlined for certain jobs, but there has to be PROOF that these industries cannot find American workers to fill those positions. Furthermore, migrants should not be allowed to work in the US for greatly reduced wages (this drives down wages for Americans). Companies should be required to pay the same wage they would normally pay an American citizen of equivalent skill and experience.

    Permanently Cut All Government Welfare Subsidies For Asylum Seekers

    A general cancellation of amnesty and “catch and release” policies might make this action a moot point, but under the Biden Administration most migrants had access to a list of welfare subsidies. These subsidies and various migrant programs are projected to cost American taxpayers over $150 billion dollars per year. This isn’t counting state and city expenditures on illegals (New York City alone spent over $5 billion on migrants in 2024).

    Housing programs under HUD do not distinguish between legal and illegal immigrants and often migrants will receive preferential treatment by landlords because of guaranteed government payouts and tax incentives. This has helped to exacerbate the housing crisis in the US, driving up rent prices to extreme levels.

    Shut Down NGOs Engaged In Supporting Illegal Immigration

    The shut down of the USAID department is a good start in the battle against rogue NGOs, but there’s a lot more to be done.  Globalist NGOs are the worst perpetrators behind mass immigration movements and many use religious organizations as a front (the female Bishop who famously woke-lectured Trump at a church service held after his inauguration is coincidentally a recipient of NGO cash in exchange for helping illegal immigrants into the US).

    These groups are very difficult to legally obstruct or punish for such actions. One thing Trump can do is take away the 501C3 tax exemption status of NGOs involved in encouraging mass immigration to the US; these efforts are entirely political in nature, which negates tax exemption. NGOs are also subject to lawsuits.

    Ultimately the NGO problem needs to be addressed on a larger scale and as a country we need to examine the harm some of these organizations are doing. In many cases international NGO operations spend millions in foreign countries to entice migrants to cross the border, but they also run numerous programs to support migrants that are already in the US, mostly through litigation and interference with deportations.  Getting rid of them would go a long way in keeping illegals out of the country.

    Cut Off Federal Funding To Sanctuary Cities

    Trump has already threatened this response in light of Democrat resistance to deportations, but action may need to be taken sooner rather than later. The problem is that city governments often use federal dollars as a slush fund to fill the coffers of their migrant programs. Most cities do not have the funds to subsidize migrants on their own for very long, not without making extensive cuts to other parts of their budget.

    Democrats claim cutting federal funding to sanctuary cities violates the underlying principle of the Tenth Amendment, which protects states and localities from federal overreach. This is a disingenuous argument – Cities are not entitled under the 10th Amendment to federal funds without restrictions or requirements. The Spending Clause, Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution has been widely recognized as providing the federal government with the legal authority to offer federal grant funds to states and localities that are contingent on the recipients engaging in, or refraining from, certain activities.

    There are legal restriction on the federal government as well in terms of how they refuse funds, but generally speaking cities and states cannot use federal funds to support people breaking federal law. The Constitution also specifically gives the federal government broad powers over border enforcement. Cities and states are not allowed to harbor foreign threats in the US in violation of border law. Without federal funds cash will dry up quickly in sanctuary cities and migrants will leave on their own.

    Use “Griefing” Deportations For Repeat Offenders

    There’s an endless supply of migrants boasting on social media this past week that even if they are deported they will simply pop right back across the border with little effort.  Since border encounters have plummeted significantly, these claims might just be bluster.  That said, what should the US do about repeat offenders?

    Putting them in jail for months or years would cost taxpayers more money than deportations would.  We could take away their future ability to gain citizenship, but this assumes that they care.  My suggestion?  What if we use a different method – what the kids call “griefing”.

    In other words, we make the lives of repeat offenders as difficult as possible.  For example, why does border patrol keep transporting migrants to cities directly across the national line where they can easily come right back?  If a repeat illegal is captured, why not put them on a plane and drop them off as far away from the border as possible (Mexico is 3000 miles long) and let them figure out how to get home?  There’s also the option of slowing down their processing for weeks, making them wait in lockup instead of sending them back quickly.  Do this for a year and watch the the number of returning illegals drop to zero.

    The Economic Time Table

    In order to have a dramatic effect on price inflation in the US many millions of migrants will have to be removed in a short period of time. To save the housing market and cut product costs, demand has to be diminished and the fastest way to do that is boot out the people that shouldn’t be here. Deportations through ICE are a good start, but they are slow. Even with the expansion of agents and enforcement the only way to achieve visible results is to make self-deportation an imperative for illegals.

    Most migrants will have to leave on their own. It saves the taxpayer a lot of money in deportation costs, it saves time on arrests and makes it easier for everyone to get on with the process of making America better for Americans.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 17:00

  • Amazon Reverses 7% After Hours Plunge Despite Cloud Miss, Ugly Guidance
    Amazon Reverses 7% After Hours Plunge Despite Cloud Miss, Ugly Guidance

    Ahead of Amazon’s earnings, UBS said that the online retailer is the “cleanest Mag7 name to own”, although in retrospect it may also be the cleanest Ma7 name to sell, which is what is taking place after hours when the stock tumbled after it missed on Q4 cloud revenue and also guided well below estimates.

    First, here is a big picture of what the company reported for the just concluded 4th quarter:

    • EPS $1.86 vs. $1.43 q/q, beating estimates of $1.50
       
    • Net sales $187.79 billion, +10% y/y, beating estimates of $187.32 billion
      • Online stores net sales $75.56 billion, +7.1% y/y, beating estimates of $74.71 billion
      • Physical Stores net sales $5.58 billion, +8.3% y/y, beating estimates of $5.4 billion
      • Subscription Services net sales $11.51 billion, +9.7% y/y, missing estimates of $11.58 billion
        • Subscription services net sales excluding F/X +10% vs. +13% y/y, estimate +10.3%
      • North America net sales $115.59 billion, +9.5% y/y, beating estimates of $114.27 billion
      • International net sales $43.42 billion, +7.9% y/y, beating estimates of $44.13 billion
      • Third-Party Seller Services net sales $47.49 billion, +9% y/y, missing estimates of $48.02 billion
        • Third-party seller services net sales excluding F/X +9% vs. +19% y/y, estimate +10.2%

    So far so good (with some exceptions). But what caught the market’s attention first was Amazon’s AWS revenue, which came in just below estimates:

    • AWS net sales $28.79 billion, +19% y/y, estimate $28.82 billion
    • Amazon Web Services net sales excluding F/X +19% vs. +13% y/y, estimate +19%

    Turning to operating results, here the results were uniformly solid:

    • AWS operating profit 36.9%, down from 38.1% but beating estimates of 34.7%
    • Operating income $21.20 billion, +61% y/y, beating estimate $18.84 billion
    • Operating margin 11.3% vs. 7.8% y/y, beating estimate 10.1%
    • North America operating margin +8% vs. +6.1% y/y, beating estimate +6.48%
    • International operating margin 3% vs. -1% y/y, missing estimate 3.08%

    As for fulfillment expenses, these came in slightly below estimates, while the seller unit mix was slightly higher than expected:

    • Fulfillment expense $27.96 billion, +7.2% y/y, estimate $28.45 billion
    • Seller unit mix 62% vs. 61% y/y, estimate 60.2%

    Of the above, the most notable highlight – as per our preview – was AWS which grew revenue by 19% for a second consecutive quarter to $28.79BN, which however was just below the sellside estimate of $28.82BN. So maybe a little weakness here similar to Microsoft.

    Still, if revenue growth for AWS was a bit light, the 36.9% margin likely offset it, beating estimates of 34.7%, but below last quarter’s print of 38.1%. Elsewhere, North American profit rose to $25 billion, resulting in a profit of 6.44%, the highest since at least 2015 (although one wonders how much higher this number can rise). Meanwhile, international margins dipped to 3.03% from 3.63%.

    As a result of the jump in North American profits, Amazon’s consolidated operating margin rebounded strongly, and after dipping modestly in Q2 from the previous record, rose to a new all time high of 11.3% in Q4.

    However, while the above data was mixed to modestly solid, it was the company’s guidance that led to an after hours drop in the stock; that’s because the company projected profit and revenue in the current quarter both of which came in below Wall Street expectations:

    • Sees net sales $151.0 billion to $155.5 billion, below the estimate of $158.64 billion 
    • Sees operating income $14.0 billion to $18.0 billion, below the estimate $18.24 billion

    If accurate, that would mean Q4 revenue will grow at the slowest pace since the global financial crisis.

    And while any other day the cloud miss and ugly guidance would have been enough to send the stock tumbling – as it did for a bit, sliding as much as 7% after hours, the unprecedented retail BTFD kneejerk reaction has taken the stock after hours and remarkable pushed it back flat on the session as the market plumbs new levels of stupidity.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 16:38

  • 10 Days That Shook The World
    10 Days That Shook The World

    Authored by Jeffrey A. Tucker via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    In 1917, American journalist Jack Reed, a naive but talented communist ideologue with a blue-blood education, was in Russia to watch and cheer on a revolution. He was there in October when the provisional government of Alexander Kerensky held power—Czar Nicholas II had been overthrown—but refused to pull the nation out of the murderous Great War or otherwise reform.

    Donald Trump is sworn in as the 47th President of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Melania Trump holds the Bible in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AFP via Getty Images

    The government was thus overthrown again, this time by the Bolsheviks who ruled for 70 years thereafter. Reed chronicled the moment in his famous book “Ten Days that Shook the World.” It set forth the narrative of these days for a century. It was a major reason why that generation of literate Americans, lacking access to other information sources, considered Vladimir Lenin to be a hero. Reed, by the way, later died and was buried in the Kremlin.

    That book and the events it valorized has now been superseded by another 10 days that have shaken the world. Donald Trump took the oath of office to become U.S. President on Jan. 20, 2025, following a sweeping and decisive victory that the entire establishment fought ferociously.

    I’m typing this 10 days later. It is clear to me and many others that nothing will ever be the same, not in the United States and not anywhere in the world that is watching the exciting events unfold. It’s nothing like we’ve ever seen, and far beyond anything we had expected or even been promised.

    Whereas Reed’s Ten Days were about the building of the Leviathan state, our own 10 days is about tearing it down and restoring freedom. Already what has been uncovered and stopped is for the ages, to the point that as I write the United States has plugged scandalous spending leakage at a rate of $4 billion per day, thanks to the work of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency.

    That appears just to be the beginning. Agencies and funding sources are being shut down by the day and hour. The whole spending machine was shut down for a few days before a federal judge intervened. Even that did not stop the push to shut down the spigots: it took a second judge to intervene and finally restart it all. Even then, it was just the beginning.

    What is popularly known as the “deep state” has never faced such disruption.

    Hardly a minute goes by when we do not get news of various outrages operating at all agencies of government, spending that gives new meaning to the word decadence. It’s all been happening for many years, even decades, even as the American middle class has been hollowed out, real incomes have declined, and economic opportunities for average people have thinned out to create culture-wide despair and ill-health.

    The excitement began minutes after inauguration when the team of Elon Musk, tasked by Trump to figure out what is going on with this empire of lies, unfurled a plan that had long been in the works but never announced. They installed sofa beds on the 5th floor of the Office of Personnel Management and tossed out the chief of staff. The plan was to work 24/7 to get the job done, never leaving the offices. Yes, in Godfather parlance, they literally “went to the mattresses.”

    They gained access to the computer system and sent a memo to 2.3 million federal government employees. It invited all of them to resign immediately and get 8 months of severance. They only needed to hit reply and type “resign.” The expectation going into this was that 10 percent would flee but it could be more. We are still waiting for the numbers.

    All the while, the Trump administration was issuing executive orders, more than 300 in these magical 10 days. They froze regulations. They froze spending. They issued a universal fatwa against all DEI policies and abolished “affirmative action”—all while heralding the single principle of non-discrimination. They proclaimed that no government agency may ever again tell private media and social media accounts how to operate, either directly or indirectly through third-party cutouts. They banned the absurdities of the transgender movement and made adolescent mutilation illegal.

    The orders were so sensible that they generated almost no resistance other than predictable sputtering. There were of course muttering that Trump was behaving like an authoritarian. If so, it is an odd form of authoritarianism that uses power to take power away from government and give it back to the people. The driving motivation of all these efforts was to reboot the promise of 2016 to drain the swamp. This time they were serious.

    Following the takeover of the Office of Personnel Management, the truly great challenge was to get to the source of the largess, the spigot spilling so much money that it was creating $1 trillion in debt every 100 days. This has gotten worse decade after decade. It is the determination of DOGE to get to the bottom of it.

    The team—which converted itself quickly into an official government office to evade that obvious criticism—headed to the U.S. Treasury and announced an audit of the entire government. In order to conduct that, they would need the logins to the system. The auditors had already figured out that the whole government was operating on autopay, with billions flowing to enemy regimes and rackets of all sorts. Shutting that down had to be priority number one.

    What they found was an acting head of the U.S. Treasury named David A. Lebryk, who turns out to be the highest-ranking person in the civil service. Lebryk had been promoted to that position on January 20, but his former boss was the deputy head of Treasury, a Nigerian émigré named Wally Adeyemo, who had at one time been head of the Obama Foundation. His resignation put Lebryk in the driver’s seat of the world’s biggest outgoing payroll system.

    That’s right, you cannot make this stuff up!

    Lebryk absolutely refused to turn over the passwords. After what was said to be a shouting match, he resigned on the spot. Then Elon’s crew took control of the passwords to the system that was sending out $6 trillion on autopay.

    This action generated panicked headlines in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration has gotten hold of the control center of government spending, strongly suggesting that nothing like this has ever happened. For reasons that are unclear, regime media seemed shocked and alarmed that the Trump administration had broken into the sanctum sanctorum.

    When regular people think about this, they start asking serious questions. Why is it not a normal thing for the new administration to be in control of the spending systems? Why is this such a shocking thing to have happened? Isn’t auditing the books just what any new president would do?

    Most likely, it is shocking simply because it has never happened. For all the world, this looks to be a situation in which we are witnessing the very first actual transition of power in our lifetimes.

    There will be more court challenges, claims, and counterclaims, but mainly we can look forward to an information flood of finding out precisely how our tax dollars have been used these many years if not for decades. This is in many ways the ultimate nightmare of any entrenched bureaucracy that has been unburdened by accountability for a very long time.

    Change is now here, and it appears that the Trump administration is not letting up. All the while, Trump’s cabinet picks were facing a brutal grilling from Senators. This time, however, we have the means to discover the hand in the glove. We have tools like Open the Books, Open Secrets, and others, to reveal precisely what industrial interests are behind these politicians. It appears as of this writing that public pressure is going to push all of Trump’s picks through.

    No one can say for sure how this story ends but we are getting an intuition. The Trump administration, barring some unforeseen disaster, is well positioned to go down in history as the regime that saved the country from secret and systematic pillaging that has been going on without check for probably all living memory.

    Is that an exaggeration? Sadly, it does not appear to be so based on what we are learning by the hour. These are the new Ten Days that Shook the World. The first time around, history was set on a path toward the disaster of communism and totalitarianism. This time, the revolution is being reversed—the people are really taking charge from an elite class that has enjoyed unchecked rule in the Western world for all of living memory.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 02/06/2025 – 16:20

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Feb 06

Today’s News 6th February 2025

  • FDA Dysfunction Rewards Chinese Black Marketeers At The Expense Of Kids
    FDA Dysfunction Rewards Chinese Black Marketeers At The Expense Of Kids

    Authored by Michael Chamberlain via RealClearHealth,

    If Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), he has vowed to reform the agency. His work is cut out for him: HHS’s size and scope are matched only by its dysfunction.

    Mr. Kennedy has singled out the Food and Drug Administration for attention. Let’s hope he doesn’t overlook the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). CTP is responsible for licensing the sale of all nicotine products in the U.S., a job it doesn’t want to do and is quite successful at avoiding. As of June 2024, the CTP hadn’t authorized the sale of an e-cigarette or vaping system during the entire Biden-Harris administration. It had authorized just 1/1,000th of one percent of the applications it’s received and had a backlog of 557,000 pending applications for new products. That’s impressive inaction. Meanwhile, the U.S. market is flooded with illicit Chinese-made vapes.

    The FDA has been so resolute in refusing to approve flavored vapes in particular that the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court in January 2024 decided against it in a case brought by a manufacturer. The judge writing the opinion for the court pulled no punches:

    [FDA] sent manufacturers … on a wild goose chase. First [giving] manufacturers detailed instructions for what information [it] needed to approve e-cigarette products … [and saying] manufacturers’ marketing plans would be “critical” to the success of their applications. [It] promulgated hundreds of pages of guidance documents, hosted public meetings, and posted formal presentations … all with the (false) promise that a flavored-product manufacturer could, at least in theory, satisfy FDA’s instructions. The regulated manufacturers dutifully spent untold millions conforming …. Then, months after receiving hundreds of thousands of applications predicated on its instructions, FDA … pretended it never gave anyone any instructions about anything, imposed new testing requirements without any notice, and denied all one million flavored e-cigarette applications for failing to predict the agency’s volte face. Worse … FDA candidly admitted that it did not read a single word of the one million [marketing] plans … [and] denied that its voluminous guidance documents and years-long instructional processes meant anything.

    But while the agency was playing “switcheroo” with regulated companies, black-market manufacturers weren’t inactive. Chinese companies rake in $3.5 billion a year here with illegal and potentially more harmful products while regulated U.S. manufacturers’ scientifically researched products sit in CTP limbo. What’s more, those black-market manufacturers don’t scruple at selling flavored e-cigarettes with kid-attractive names and packaging.

    That’s the public price of the FDA preference for prohibition of all nicotine products. The other price – the one tobacco companies pay in “user fees” to submit products for FDA approval – it would rather you didn’t know about.

    Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) submitted FOIA requests in early 2023 for documentation on how the agency spends those user fees but was forced to sue later that year to access the documents. Even after we sued, FDA dragged its feet and acted as if it didn’t understand what we wanted. Now we know why. The CTP’s statutory mandate is to regulate the tobacco industry in an efficient, lawful, and objective manner. But it turns out the CTP is taking user fees from tobacco companies and handing them over to anti-tobacco special interests who want to ban all nicotine products.

    FDA gave $472,756 to The Truth Initiative. It gave $195,600 to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and it gave $145,068 to the Michael Bloomberg-affiliated Bureau of National Affairs for tobacco prohibition activism. And its ties to these groups go deeper than money. As reported last June, CTP official Cathy Crosby allegedly improperly solicited gifts in the form of tickets to a gala hosted by the Center for Tobacco-Free Kids. Shortly after chatting at that event with a board member of The Truth Initiative, she left CTP to become its CEO.

    Of the $1.235 billion in user fees the FDA has expended during the previous four fiscal years the agency awarded a whopping 41 percent to a single entity – a communications company. So, while a million applications were languishing in FDA purgatory, while “regulated manufacturers dutifully spent untold millions conforming,” and while Chinese black-market manufacturers were raking in nearly $15 billion off the illegal U.S. market, FDA spent over a half-billion dollars trying to tell the American public what a great job it’s doing.

    Every dollar sent to prohibitionist activists or spent on self-promotion is a dollar that could be used to get potentially dangerous illegal Chinese products off the shelves and out of the reach of kids. But FDA acts like just another of the anti-nicotine special interest groups uninterested in harm-reduction. It shares money and an active revolving door with activist groups, at the expense of its statutory responsibilities and ultimately of kids

    The FDA’s prohibitionist zealotry is more than just wrong-headed. Mr. Kennedy should take note.

    Michael Chamberlain is the Director of Protect the Public’s Trust.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 23:25

  • "This Is Where The Big Money Fraud Is Happening": DOGE Dives Into Medicare Payment Malarkey
    “This Is Where The Big Money Fraud Is Happening”: DOGE Dives Into Medicare Payment Malarkey

    Representatives of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – who just obtained security clearances, have been embedded at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this week, gaining access to critical payment and contracting systems, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing multiple individuals familiar with the situation.

    The DOGE representatives have been on site at the agency’s offices this week, the people said, and they are looking at the systems’ technology as well as the spending that flows through them, with a focus on pinpointing what they consider fraud or waste. DOGE representatives are also examining the agency’s organizational design and how it is staffed, the people added.

    Musk confirmed his interest in CMS oversight in a social media post, writing on X: “Yeah, this is where the big money fraud is happening.“

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

    The White House and DOGE officials declined to comment on the matter. In the last week, Musk’s DOGE team has been moving swiftly to gain access across multiple federal agencies, including the Treasury Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to uncover fraud, abuse, and excessive spending.

    A CMS official told the Journal that the agency has assigned “two senior agency veterans who are leading the coordination with DOGE,” and that leaders are “taking a thoughtful approach to see where there may be opportunities for more effective and efficient spending in line with meeting the goals of President Trump.”

    CMS sits at the heart of the nation’s healthcare economy, managing a budget of approximately $1.5 trillion in fiscal 2024 – roughly 22 percent of total federal spending. The agency employs around 6,710 people and administers Medicare, Medicaid, and other healthcare programs vital to millions of Americans. Many of its employees have spent decades navigating the complex regulatory and operational framework underpinning the healthcare system.

    Among the systems DOGE representatives have accessed is CALM, the CMS Acquisition Lifecycle Management system, which contains contract data, sources said. However, they noted that DOGE personnel have not yet gained entry to databases containing personally identifiable health information of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. They also have not accessed HIGLAS, the Healthcare Integrated General Ledger Accounting System, a key accounting platform for CMS payments.

    One person familiar with DOGE’s work at CMS emphasized that the current level of access is “read-only,” preventing Musk’s team from making modifications to the systems.

    The intervention has raised concerns among CMS veterans and healthcare policy experts. The agency’s payment structures are notoriously complex, involving multiple layers of contractors and private insurers, especially within Medicare. Medicaid, jointly administered by federal and state governments, follows different financial pathways, with federal funding typically flowing to state agencies.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 23:00

  • How 'Wars Of Choice' Formed The Worldview Of Trump's Top NatSec Picks Busy Cleaning Up The Swamp
    How ‘Wars Of Choice’ Formed The Worldview Of Trump’s Top NatSec Picks Busy Cleaning Up The Swamp

    Authored by Kamal Alam via Al Majallah,

    While the wars in Ukraine and Gaza were the dominant foreign policy issues being debated on the presidential campaign trail, Trump often cited another, older war as proof of Biden’s foreign policy failures: the US war in Afghanistan.

    And since he won the presidency, Trump has given multiple war veterans who served in Afghanistan a place in his cabinet. Mike Waltz is one of them.

    And in his new role as National Security Advisor, he is already cleaning house, getting rid of generals and officials who played a part in America’s blunderous exit from Afghanistan.

    And while Afghanistan itself will not feature prominently on Trump’s list of foreign policy priorities, the impact of America’s longest war remains front and center in the minds of Waltz, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, and Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, all Afghan war veterans.

    Michael Waltz, via Associated Press

    Trump repeatedly said that wars in Ukraine and Gaza would have never started if the US had not left Kabul the way it did in August 2021 and that, going forward, America must avoid wars, and if it has to go to war, it should do it quickly without pursuing regime change.

    Waltz would agree. He said Biden’s decision to withdraw from Afghanistan allowed the Taliban – which hosted America’s biggest enemy since WWII, Bin Laden and Al Qaeda – to come back to power. Since the pullout, the UN has reported that more than a dozen terrorist groups are back in Afghanistan, which is quickly becoming a bastion for transnational terror groups.

    He also said that by abandoning its strategic base in Kabul – Bagram, one of the largest US bases in Asia – Biden basically left it open for China to snatch up. In fact, the Chinese are already using it commercially, mining Afghan minerals and rare earth resources, which are estimated to be worth billions, if not trillions. Waltz bemoans the fact that Beijing is reaping the spoils of a war that Americans died for.

    A quick Amazon search on Afghanistan war books will turn up more than two dozen books just written in the last two years by US soldiers and officers on the betrayal of Afghanistan. Whilst Iraq was always seen as an illegal war, Afghanistan was seen as a good war. Waltz himself penned two books on his experiences in both wars.

    From military to advocacy

    After his military service, he continued his Afghan advocacy, publicly supporting the National Resistance Front led by Ahmad Massoud, the leading opposition group fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. Waltz maintains close relations with Massoud and was on the phone with him as the Panjshir Valley was falling in September 2021.

    While many officials moved on from Afghanistan, including those in the Biden administration, veterans led by Waltz have kept pressing for accountability over the chaotic way it pulled out. Waltz grilled army generals, including former joint chiefs of staff Mark Milley, who was responsible for Kabul. For his part, Hegseth stripped Milley of his security detail, and his portraits were taken down from the Pentagon.

    Former Navy Seal and popular podcaster Shawn Ryan, who interviewed Hegseth just two days before the election, called the former FOX news anchor’s interview with Massoud his “most important interview ever”.

    Ryan specializes in security matters and has hosted several high-profile military veterans, including Tulsi Gabbard, who has been very outspoken on the US betrayal of Afghanistan, which she says embodies everything that is wrong with the Pentagon, the CIA, and what some refer to as the Deep State.

    Another Trump insider and former counter-terrorism DOD official, Kash Patel, who ran Trump’s Afghan withdrawal plan, wrote a whole book on how to ‘gut’ the defense establishment and fight the ‘Deep State’ which Trump vowed to take on.

    Via The Hill

    During his inauguration speech, he promised to “end wars” and “not get America into them in the first place.” In fact, he was in favor of ending the war in Afghanistan and was the one who started negotiations with the Taliban during his first term, much like he is now calling for talks with Putin and a potential Iran deal. However, he believes this must be done from a position of strength and not in the chaotic way Biden withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.

    As for Ukraine, Trump looks poised to wind down support for Kyiv, which continues to lose territory to Russia, unless he sees a drastic change on the ground.

    More generally, Trump’s veteran-filled cabinet will try to avert costly ground invasions and opt for a light footprint with special forces if necessary, as was the case in the early days after 9/11 when less than 200 US special forces backed by air power toppled the Taliban in less than 30 days.

    As Waltz assumes his post, his experience in Afghanistan will be weighing on his mind as he advises Trump on the best way to conduct America’s foreign policy.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 22:35

  • Saudi Arabia Has Good Reason To Dillydally On Formally Joining BRICS
    Saudi Arabia Has Good Reason To Dillydally On Formally Joining BRICS

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via substack,

    Making an official decision either way could disrupt the Kingdom’s careful multi-alignment between the West and the World Majority…

    Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim told the World Economic Forum during last month’s Davos Summit that “We’ve been invited to the BRICS, similar to how we’ve been invited to many other multilateral platforms in the past historically. We assess many different aspects of it before a decision is made and right now, we are in the middle of that.”

    Saudi Arabia has good reason to dillydally on formally joining BRICS too for the reasons that’ll now be explained.

    It was posited here in January 2024 when the country first revealed that it hadn’t yet accepted the group’s official membership invitation that this “is due to Western perceptions about this association, Iran’s involvement in the Red Sea Crisis, and Israeli-US pressure”, which still holds true. Regarding the first, Saudi Arabia would arguably feel uncomfortable with its name and national brand being included in the plethora of agenda-driven promotional materials misportraying BRICS as an anti-Western alliance.

    The Kingdom used to be solidly in the Western camp but has taken a page from India’s book in recent years by multi-aligning between them and what Russia now calls the World Majority.

    This grand strategic recalibration is due to Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), whose character and vision were praised by Putin in late 2022, which was analyzed here at the time.

    MBS understandably doesn’t want to fuel the false perception that he’s pivoting away from the West.

    The second reason about Iran’s involvement in the Red Sea Crisis is also still relevant since Saudi Arabia doesn’t want to formally join an organization in which its historic rival is also a member amidst the latest support that the latter has given to the Kingdom’s Houthi enemies. Moreover, Iran also supports Hamas, whose sneak attack on 7 October abruptly delayed work on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was supposed to make Saudi Arabia a key node in Euro-Asian trade.

    The final reason builds upon the aforementioned and includes joint pressure from its fellow Israeli-American IMEC investors who didn’t want Saudi Arabia joining a group within which Iran is also now a member as the West Asian Wars between Israel and the Iranian-led Resistance Axis were raging. Even though the two main ones in Gaza and Lebanon have since officially ended, neither would look approvingly upon Saudi Arabia formally joining BRICS, which could endanger its ties with both.

    MBS wants to revive IMEC as soon as possible since it’s expected to function as an integral part of his “Vision 2030” grand strategic plan (the end date of which will likely be pushed back due to all that’s happened since its announcement in 2016) to revolutionize his country’s socio-economic systems. That’s not possible without a large degree of US involvement and Israel’s cooperation, the latter of which requires formal Saudi recognition of the Jewish State, possibly explaining Bibi’s concessions on Gaza.

    Openly defying them by formally joining the same group within which their shared Iranian nemesis is already a member, and doing so right after Trump returns to power amidst reports that he’ll reimpose his “maximum pressure” policy against the Islamic Republic, could lead to both abandoning IMEC. The US and Israel offer Saudi Arabia tangible economic and financial benefits whereas BRICS has yet to provide its members with any whatsoever at all as explained here after the latest Kazan Summit.

    Additionally, Trump is under the false impression (subsequently debunked by Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar) that BRICS is focused on de-dollarizing and wants to create a new currency to rival the dollar, so he’d predictably overreact if Saudi Arabia decides to formally join now. That could scuttle MBS’ ambitious IMEC plans that are one of the centerpieces of his “Vision 2030” grand strategic plan so he’s loath to risk such consequences in exchange for literally nothing at all from BRICS.

    It therefore makes perfect sense why Saudi Arabia is dillydallying on formally joining BRICS since it presently enjoys all the knowledge-sharing and elite-networking benefits brought about through its partial participation without any of the political or economic risks inherent in being a full member. MBS can therefore maintain his Kingdom’s careful multi-alignment between the West (which includes Israel in this formulation) and the World Majority by indefinitely delaying a decision on this either way.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 21:45

  • 'Non-Negotiable': Saudi Arabia Blasts Trump's Gaza Takeover Plan
    ‘Non-Negotiable’: Saudi Arabia Blasts Trump’s Gaza Takeover Plan

    The international reaction to President Trump’s Tuesday declaration that the US will “take over” the Gaza Strip and that Palestinians would “love to leave” the largely destroyed enclave which has suffered in the midst of the Hamas-Israel war (though a fragile truce has held for a couple week) has been as expected. Various countries have issued condemnation, including predictably from the United Nations chief, given it smacks of ethnic cleansing of a historic territory, though few actual details have been defined in terms of how such a plan involving US troops would be executed.

    Saudi Arabia has been one major US regional ally to react swiftly in condemnation. The Saudis have said Wednesday that Trump’s desired ‘normalization’ with Israel based on the Abraham Accords would definitely be off.

    File image via USA Today

    Riyadh said the Palestinians must be guaranteed an independent state if were to ever implement diplomatic relations with Israel. “The establishment of the Palestinian state is a firm, unwavering position,” the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said said on X.

    “His Highness [Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman] has affirmed this position in a clear and explicit manner that does not allow for any interpretation under any circumstances.”

    “His Highness stressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not stop its tireless work towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and the Kingdom will not establish diplomatic relations with Israel without that,” the statement continued. 

    Needless to say, a permanent removal of Palestinians from Gaza would thwart such a possibility, and other Arab states which have already made peace with Israel might reverse their position, for example the UAE. The Saudis are making clear that this stance is ‘non-negotiable’ – and the reality is that mass displacement of Palestinians to neighboring states would likely collapse the Hamas truce, and halt the ongoing hostage/prisoner exchange.

    Russia too is another major power condemning Trump’s Tuesday remarks, with top diplomat Sergei Lavrov arguing that this “culture of cancellation” is at work, suggesting that the US is seeking to ‘cancel’ Palestinian identity.

    Lavrov said that UN National Security Council decisions were “were recognized by everyone without exception a month and a half ago as a necessary basis for actions to create a Palestinian state” and have “simply been canceled.”

    Arab public opinion is also clear…

    Via Al Jazeera

    Trump said during Netanyahu’s White House visit that the US “will take over” Gaza after relocating Palestinians elsewhere and that a major reconstruction plan in the Strip could turn it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

    Israeli hardliners in Netanyahu’s cabinet have welcomed these ‘shock’ words. But without Arab capitals, including the Saudis, on board it’s hard to see how it could get off the ground in any practical sense. Hamas would certainly resume fighting, and neighboring Arab militaries could be drawn in. There’s also a continuing truce with Hezbollah which would likely break down.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 21:20

  • OPM Says Federal Unions Are Misinforming Workers About Voluntary Resignation Contracts
    OPM Says Federal Unions Are Misinforming Workers About Voluntary Resignation Contracts

    Authored by Mark Tapscott via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Federal employees considering the buy-out offer initiated by President Donald Trump shortly after his inauguration should ignore “misinformation” from government worker unions, according to a U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) spokesman.

    The entrance to the Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building that houses the Office of Personnel Management headquarters is shown in Washington on June 5, 2021. Mark Wilson/Getty Images

    “Union leaders and politicians telling federal workers to reject this offer are doing them a serious disservice,” OPM’s Director of Communications McLaurine Pinover told The Epoch Times. “This is a rare, generous opportunity; one that was thoroughly vetted and intentionally designed to support employees through restructuring.”

    “Instead of spreading misinformation and using workers as political pawns, they should be making sure federal employees have the facts and freedom to make the best decision for themselves and their families,” Pinover added.

    The buyout offer allows federal workers who accept it to receive full pay and benefits coverage for eight months, exempts them from newly issued orders to return to work at their official duty stations on a daily basis, and protects them against Reductions-in-Force (RIF) processes that are expected to begin in the near future in many federal departments and agencies.

    There are 2.3 million civilian federal workers, the vast majority of whom are careerists who receive above-average pay and benefits as well as a host of legal job protections overseen by OPM and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).

    The average federal employee salary, according to OPM data, is $106,382. The median average household income for all Americans is $75,149, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

    The buyout offer must be accepted by Feb. 6 and OPM officials today circulated a “template contract” to all agencies and departments that will be the basis for the voluntary resignations under the “Deferred Resignation Program (DRP).”

    The OPM comments came in response to multiple statements from the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and Democrats in Congress saying that the buyout offer was not legal and President Donald Trump lacks the legal authority to make such a proposal.

    Workers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and their supporters protest outside JPL against a U.S. government mandate requiring all federal employees to receive the COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine, in Pasadena, Calif., on Nov. 1, 2021. Robyn Beck/Getty Images

    The union and its allies also said the new president wants to politicize the federal workforce, and that SpaceX founder Elon Musk initiated the buyout offer as part of his efforts leading the presidential advisory commission, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    “There is not yet any evidence the administration can or will uphold its end of the bargain, that Congress will go along with this unilateral massive restructuring, or that appropriated funds can be used this way, among other issues that have been raised,” AFGE told its more than 800,000 members in a Feb. 3 email.

    “We are encouraging AFGE members NOT to resign or respond to this email until you have received further information and clarification,” the union continued.

    A senior OPM official, speaking on background, told The Epoch Times that, contrary to widespread media reports quoting representatives of the AFGE, the country’s largest civil service union, the DRP is a legal contract that “provides binding assurance they will not be subject to future RIFS, not be expected to work, and their pay will be protected even if there is a lapse in appropriations.”

    The Epoch Times has reached out to the union for comment about the OPM’s complaints.

    Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) echoed the AFGE skepticism, saying in a Senate floor speech that “there’s no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work.”

    “Don’t be fooled. He’s tricked hundreds of people with that offer. If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you just like he stiffed the contractors,” Kaine alleged.

    Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) at his election watch party in Richmond, Va., on Nov. 5, 2024 Terri Wu/The Epoch Times

    Former OPM General Counsel Joseph A. Morris told The Epoch Times today that rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts in recent years make clear that the president, as the chief executive of the federal government, has widespread constitutional authority to take actions to ensure efficiency and honesty in government operations, including terminating positions and offering incentives to resign.

    “I am not aware of any case law before the MSPB or, more importantly, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where an appealing employee challenged a removal, let alone did so successfully, where the removal was directly done or ordered by the president,” Morris said in an email to The Epoch Times.

    Morris pointed to the Supreme Court’s Collins v. Yellen decision in 2021 that held “the President must be able to remove not just officers who disobey his commands but also those he finds ‘negligent and inefficient.’”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 20:55

  • Meet The Pro-Life Activists Set Free By Trump's Pardons
    Meet The Pro-Life Activists Set Free By Trump’s Pardons

    Authored by Sam Dorman & Samantha Flom via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Joan Bell had just finished saying her second group rosary of the day when a fellow inmate ran into her Philadelphia prison cell and delivered unexpected news.

    “‘Miss Joan’s husband’s on TV! She’s been pardoned,’” Bell, 76, recounted to The Epoch Times.

    Bell, who has been dubbed the matriarch of pro-life activism, has been to jail multiple times for “rescues”—the pro-life term for entering an abortion clinic and potentially blocking entrances in hopes of stopping procedures from occurring. This time, the president of the United States granted her a pardon.

    “I didn’t think it was going to happen,” Bell said, referring to the pardon. She said she was grateful to President Donald Trump for his “great, great kindness.”

    While in prison, Bell and a group of other inmates would perform Mass prayers from a missalette daily in both English and Spanish. Two groups would also pray the rosary in both languages.

    She had already served more than a year in prison for an October 2020 protest at the Washington Surgi-Clinic, located in the nation’s capital.

    Bell, who received a sentence of 27 months, was one of 23 pro-life activists prosecuted under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. Trump pardoned each of them just three days after he was sworn in as president.

    The Justice Department had also leveled charges under a conspiracy against rights statute, which was part of a post-Civil War law targeting groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Combined, the two laws resulted in multiple defendants receiving years-long sentences. By the time Trump issued the pardons, many had already been incarcerated for more than a year.

    “They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump said before signing the pardons in the Oval Office on Jan. 23. “This is a great honor to sign this.”

    Joan Bell plays with her grandson Zahir as her husband, Chris Bell, daughter Valera Bell, and grandson Kolbe look on, in New Jersey on Jan. 29, 2025. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

    From Rescued to Rescuer

    Eva Edl said she could not recall who told her she had been pardoned, but she did remember her first thought.

    “Praise the Lord!” she told The Epoch Times.

    Edl, 89, was facing what she said “would have been a death sentence”—more than 10 years in prison for blocking the entrances to two Michigan abortion clinics. That possibility has now been erased, along with the three years of probation she was sentenced to in September 2024 for her involvement in a similar protest in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

    As a veteran abortion “rescuer,” Edl has been participating in clinic blockades since the late 1980s.

    She said the government has no business deciding who lives or dies. And as the survivor of a Soviet concentration camp, she said she knows firsthand what happens when government “usurps the right” to make that determination, as her native Yugoslavian government once did.

    As a little girl, Edl watched the Soviets round up her family members. Her older siblings were forced to work in a labor camp, while she and her grandmother were sent where those deemed too weak to work went—to an extermination camp.

    “I was only 9 years old, so I was placed in a cattle car like cattle—standing room only, where you nearly died from lack of air,” Edl said.

    It was at that concentration camp that Edl found Jesus, she said, and that faith carried her through until she was rescued by her mother, who bribed a guard to allow her to escape. She immigrated to Austria and then to the United States, where she was shocked to learn about abortion.

    In 1988, Edl became involved with pro-life activism after learning of demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta.

    “I told my husband, ‘Sweetheart, this is what somebody should have done for me. May I go?’ And he let me go,” Edl said.

    Edl has been arrested dozens of times for her involvement in various pro-life protests. In her eyes, the abortion clinic is no different from the concentration camp where she was held.

    Pro-life activists pose for a photo in a hallway in front of the door of the now shuttered abortion clinic Carafem Health Center, in Mount Juliet, Tenn., in March 2021. Eva Edl is in a wheelchair in front of the door. Eva Zastrow is to the right. Courtesy of Eva Edl

    “I see the sidewalk as the train tracks and the entrance to the abortion clinic as the gates to the death camp,” she told The Epoch Times. She said she wonders what might have happened if someone had blocked her train and helped her to escape.

    “Somehow, another group of Christians could have come and pried open my cattle car and saved us, or at least given us a chance to be saved,” she said. “This is how I see what I’m doing now.”

    The Battle Continues

    Questions remain as to whether Bell, Edl, and other activists will face legal consequences for future protests.

    That is why Edl and 11 of her co-defendants are calling on the president to push for the repeal of the FACE Act.

    “This law was always meant to be partial toward injustice,” they wrote in a Jan. 29 letter obtained by The Epoch Times. “It was meant from the beginning to persecute pro-life Christians who love their neighbors.”

    They also urged Trump to support a federal abortion ban. “Neither a heartbeat, brainwaves, viability, or other objective measurements of development determine the worth of a human being,” the letter states.

    The letter’s other signatories include Dr. Coleman Boyd, Cal Zastrow, Dennis Green, Eva Zastrow, Jim Zastrow, Heather Idoni, Chester Gallagher, Paul Place, and Paul Vaughn—each of whom were charged after a protest in Tennessee. Justin Phillips and Joel Curry, who were indicted in Michigan, also signed it.

    Vaughn, who was under house arrest, is hoping that the pardon he received will not render moot his pending appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Justice Department filed a motion on Jan. 28 to vacate Vaughn’s and others’ convictions, as well as to remand the case for dismissal at the district court level.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 20:05

  • FCC's Brendan Carr Launches Investigation Into Soros-Backed Radio Station That Outed Undercover ICE Agents
    FCC’s Brendan Carr Launches Investigation Into Soros-Backed Radio Station That Outed Undercover ICE Agents

    Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr has launched an investigation into a radio station backed by left-wing billionaire activist George Soros that broadcasted the live locations of undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

    San Francisco-based KCBS 740 AM, one of the 200 Audacy radio stations bought by a Soros-backed group, came under fire after broadcasting the locations of ICE agents in the San Jose area during the January 26th edition of KCBS Radio Weekend News, where host Bret Burkhart was reporting on ICE raids in the areas. While reading a statement from San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Burkhart included a statement from the Santa Clara County Rapid Response Network – a left-wing “community defense project developed to protect immigrant families from deportation threats.

    The Response Network reports, which Burkhart read on air, gave the color, make, and model of three unmarked vehicles as well as the specific locations of agents in the area.

    Chairman Carr thinks KCBS-AM may have violated licensing rules which require broadcasters to serve the public interest, and has sent a formal Letter of Inquiry to the station.

    “I want to express my thanks and appreciation to DHS and ICE agents. These law enforcement professionals are honorably serving this country and carrying out vital missions. Their safety is paramount. The FCC will hold broadcasters accountable for complying with their public interest obligations,” Carr told Fox News Digital.

    As Radioink reports further, the investigation comes as Carr weighs revisiting a previous commission vote on Audacy’s post-bankruptcy restructuring due to concerns over ownership ties to billionaire and Democratic donor George Soros, which has been an area of concern for many Republican leaders. While Audacy has officially closed its bankruptcy case, when asked by Fox Business about the deal in November, Carr said, “There’s a petition for reconsideration pending at the FCC right now, and I want to take a very hard look at that.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 19:40

  • California Attorney General Issues Warning On Trump's Buyout Offer
    California Attorney General Issues Warning On Trump’s Buyout Offer

    Authored by Jane Yang via The Epoch Times,

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Feb. 3 warned federal employees in the state about what he called the Trump administration’s “questionable ‘deferred resignation’ program.”

    Bonta said unions representing federal employees had warned their members against the buyout offer and that benefits were not guaranteed.

    “I urge federal employees to heed warnings from their unions to be very cautious of any buyout offers,” he said in a statement.

    The Trump administration on Jan. 28 announced the “deferred resignation” initiative offering eligible federal employees eight months of payment and benefits coverage until the end of September, if they resign by Feb. 6.

    The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which serves as the chief human resources agency and personnel policy manager for the federal government, sent out more than 2 million emails on the same day to federal workers nationwide with the proposal.

    More than 20,000 federal workers have accepted the offer, making up more than 1 percent of the workforce, according to a Trump administration official. However, the number of deferred resignations is rapidly growing, and the largest spike is expected to come 24 to 48 hours before the Feb. 6 deadline, the official said.

    Bonta is one of 12 attorneys general in a coalition including New York Attorney General Letitia James in issuing a warning ahead of the buyout deadline.

    “The Trump Administration’s so-called buyout offer is a pointed attack aimed at dismantling our federal workforce and sowing chaos for Americans that rely on a functioning government,” said Bonta in a statement.

    OPM’s director of communications, McLaurine Pinover, told The Epoch Times that the buyout “is a rare, generous opportunity; one that was thoroughly vetted and intentionally designed to support employees through restructuring.”

    “Instead of spreading misinformation and using workers as political pawns, they should be making sure federal employees have the facts and freedom to make the best decision for themselves and their families,” she said, referring to critics such as the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employees union.

    As of March 2024, California has 180,973 federal employees on OPM’s list, Pinover said.

    California has the third-most federal workers in the nation behind Virginia and Washington, D.C., according to a 2023 report by the nonpartisan nonprofit organization Partnership for Public Service.

    The top five agencies with the most federal employees nationwide are Veterans Affairs, Navy, Army, Homeland Security, and the Air Force.

    However, military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers, and those who work in immigration enforcement and national security are not eligible for the buyout offer.

    The report also found the government-wide attrition rate in fiscal year 2023 was 5.9 percent. In fiscal years 2022 and 2021, the rate was 7.6 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 19:15

  • SecDef Hegseth Declares Record Army Recruiting Under Trump After Years Of Decline
    SecDef Hegseth Declares Record Army Recruiting Under Trump After Years Of Decline

    “The US Army is back! Growing future lethal warriors prepared to fight and win our nations wars!”… that’s the latest message from Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

    We have long documented the steady decline in recruiting among all national military branches over the last several years during the Biden administration. Just last year we observed the theme of recruiting decline as follows, also confirmed in a seeming myriad of mainstream media headlines: The US Army faces the most challenging recruiting environment in decades, if not ever, as America’s Generation Z doesn’t want to fight foreign wars driven by neocon warmongering politicians in Washington, the military-industrial complex, NATO, and mega-corporations.

    But when Trump was elected with an overwhelming amount of the American voting public giving a clear mandate, there was a shift in this mentality. At least this is what the numbers show, according to a fresh statement by the US Army on its official X account, also shared by Hegseth…

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    The statement announces US Army recruiting’s biggest enlistment numbers in December, a month after the election, suggesting Trump’s election has injected new and clear motivation for the nation’s young to join up.

    Nearly 350 new recruits for the Army may not seem like a lot, but it’s an immense process involving background and fitness checks, as well as a lengthy visit to “MEPS” – and the oath is finally taken paving the way to be shipped to boot camp. Often it takes months for a recruiter to get a single individual to sign on the dotted line.

    Complicating the US armed forces’ prior recruitment woes was a steady dose of “woke” ideology being pumped out from Biden’s Department of Defense. To review a few past reports:

    Indeed, Covid was another Biden disaster where many thousands of able-bodied and healthy troops were unnecessarily processed out. This decision has since been reversed, and these unfairly discharged troops are being invited back it.

    The boost in confidence under the early Trump administration is likely also due to the Republican president vowing to wind down foreign adventurism abroad. For example, there are reported plans on the book to bring the troops home from Syria, and likely Iraq, as well as hopes that Trump can oversee peace in Ukraine.

    Via US Naval Institute 

    The post “Global War on Terror” GWOT legacy is also dying, given Trump has this time around refused top national security positions to the same cadre of Bush-era necons (though some of these are still around no doubt). Young people today are wary of nation-building quagmires under the old regime change and “nation-building” playbook. Trump is promising to change that. Patriotism is back among the youth.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 18:50

  • Hypersonic Overhype
    Hypersonic Overhype

    Authored by Shawn Rostker via RealClearDefense,

    The United States has been exploring research and development of hypersonic weapons technologies for decades. Historically, such funding has been relatively modest, but in recent years the Department of Defense (DoD) has grown more vocal in its desire to accelerate development and deployment of these systems. Arguments calling for increased funding for hypersonic weapons are gaining traction with lawmakers, based on illusory assumptions about adversaries’ capabilities and despite the absence of a compelling technical or strategic rationale for their need. Before rushing to pour additional money into these platforms, the Pentagon must make the case that hypersonics do more than simply materially match our international counterparts, but in fact further the strategic interests of the United States. Thus far, the case hasn’t been made.

    Hypersonic weapons, often collectively referred to as hypersonics, are typically divided into two primary categories: hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs)—of which there are long-range and theater-range—and hypersonic cruise missiles (HCMs). HGVs are launched from rocket boosters into space and then reenter the atmosphere, gliding unpowered to their targets. Long-range HGVs are designed for strategic global strike missions and can operate at speeds exceeding Mach 15. In contrast, theater-range hypersonic weapons are designed for shorter-range regional missions. These systems typically operate at lower speeds, around Mach 5-10, and are intended to overcome regional missile defenses. Alternatively, HCMs are also launched from rocket boosters and are powered during part of their flight by scramjet engines that draw in air from the atmosphere to burn their fuel. They are built to operate within the Mach 5-10 range.

    The common refrain in the hypersonics debate is that the United States needs these capabilities to compete with Russia and China. Both countries are conducting ongoing research and development of hypersonics, and each claims to have begun deploying hypersonic systems. China has purportedly fielded a single platform, the DF-ZF, a short-range HGV deployed on the DF-17 medium-range ballistic missile that Beijing claims is operational and dual-capable, or capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear warheads. It is also developing a supposed HCM, the Xingkong-2, but this system has had only limited testing and has yet to see the field. Meanwhile, Russia has reportedly fielded three systems that it purports are hypersonic weapons, the short-range Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile, the long-range Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, and the Kinzhal, a short-range air-launched maneuvering ballistic missile. All have encountered problems during testing and/or, limited success in combat.

    That both China and Russia are fielding hypersonics is generating anxiety among some who feel the United States is falling behind the military-technological curve and now finds itself needing to “catch up” to its adversaries. These anxieties are misplaced. There are questions about the operational performance of these systems in real-world scenarios, and, moreover, about the impact of adversarial hypersonics on the U.S. military’s qualitative advantage. After the 2011 failed test of the long-range Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2, or HTV-2, the United States largely shifted away from research and development of long-range systems to focus on theater hypersonics that could serve a conventional counterforce mission, that is to say, overcome regional defenses to deliver high-accuracy conventional warheads on time-sensitive targets. This remains the primary motivation underpinning support for hypersonics in Washington today.

    The DoD views hypersonic weapons as a potential component of a strategy to counter adversaries’ emerging anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) capabilities. A2/AD refers to the efforts by countries like China and Russia to create zones where U.S. forces would find it difficult to operate by using advanced missile defenses, electronic warfare, intelligence capabilities and other technologies to limit access to key regions. Hypersonics could theoretically provide a means to strike high-value, time-sensitive targets within these zones and provide the U.S. military with a potentially survivable option to neutralize critical elements within an adversary’s A2/AD network.

    But if the United States is truly in search of a solution to what it considers its A2/AD challenge, there are existing capabilities that would meet the military’s needs. Congress and the DoD should look more closely at maneuverable reentry vehicles (MaRVs) launched on traditional ballistic missiles as a possible alternative for overcoming A2/AD defenses. MaRVs can do essentially everything that hypersonics can do, are capable of fulfilling the theater mission set, and could be built sooner and at lower cost than novel hypersonic platforms. Pursuing hypersonics at the current juncture without such a comparative analysis and without addressing hypersonics’ performance would reduce U.S. military acquisition to a reactionary process rather than a rational assessment of military requirement.

    To understand why, it’s essential to evaluate the technical and strategic aspects of hypersonic weapons. Doing so reveals that hypersonics’ value proposition is largely overstated.

    First, hypersonics are described as being faster than other delivery systems. While they are faster than current cruise missiles, they are not faster than ballistic missiles. Hypersonic flight within the atmosphere  generates high drag and heating, which limits the speeds of hypersonic weapons. Ballistic missiles, particularly when launched on depressed trajectories, can achieve shorter delivery times due in part to their minimal interaction with the atmosphere for the majority of their flight path. This holds true for both long-range and theater-range hypersonics. If time to target is an important metric for evaluating the necessity of a weapon system, hypersonics do not necessarily offer a strategic advantage.

    Long-range hypersonic systems in particular face acute technical challenges. Sustained flight at hypersonic speeds introduces extreme thermal stress that can jeopardize the structural integrity of these weapons. Additionally, at the speeds that long-range HGVs travel in the early phase of their flight, the air around the vehicle ionizes, forming a plasma sheath that disrupts radio signals and inhibits communication. This plasma blackout effect will dissipate as the HGV slows down during its glide phase but can nonetheless prevent the passage of radio signals and make it impossible to communicate with or guide the weapon in real-time prior to this point. This renders it dependent on pre-programmed instructions and less responsive to defensive countermeasures. Theater-range hypersonic weapons, which are designed for shorter distances and lower speeds, will likely not create a plasma sheath but will still encounter heating challenges.

    Furthermore, the supposed stealth capabilities of hypersonic weapons may not be as robust as frequently stated. While low-altitude flight can indeed reduce their detection range by ground-based radar systems, such radars should still be able to detect them at ranges of hundreds of kilometers. Moreover, at high enough speeds, the intense heat generated by hypersonic flight in the atmosphere produces a bright infrared signature detectable by space-based early-warning satellites. But even prior to their glide phase, HGVs must first be launched using a rocket booster like that of a ballistic missile. The exhaust plumes from these launches would be likewise easily detectable by space-based detection sensors. Once picked up by early-warning satellites, the weapon’s initial direction is known, giving defenders the ability to begin judging its likely targets and determining which defenses to engage. Hypersonic weapons would not be invisible bullets.

    Perhaps the holy grail of characteristics — that which separates hypersonics from traditional ballistic missiles — is their ability to maneuver during midcourse, or the middle phase of their flight. However, as with speed and stealth, the ability to maneuver has also been exaggerated. Changing trajectory during glide phase requires using aerodynamic forces acting upon the vehicle. Maneuvering produces increased drag, which in turn slows the vehicle, reduces the overall range it can travel, and compounds the surface heating issue, meaning whatever the vehicle gains in evasion, it forfeits in range and speed. Thus, the idea of a hypersonic weapon free to meander throughout the atmosphere evading any and all defenses is incorrect. In reality, all hypersonics will face a tradeoff between maneuvering capability, speed and range that will inhibit their utility.

    Developing hypersonic cruise missiles meanwhile faces additional challenges. The technology for scramjets is still immature, and there are uncertainties about their ability to maintain stable combustion across the entire flight profile. HCMs powered by jet fuel, like those the United States is developing, are limited to speeds of less than Mach 7-8. Additionally, there is a shortage of suitable wind tunnel testing facilities needed to evaluate and refine these systems. Most existing wind tunnels are not equipped to accurately replicate the high-speed, high-temperature conditions necessary for testing HCMs and those currently under construction cannot fully recreate all aspects of hypersonic atmospheric flight. This shortage delays development, increases cost, and limits opportunities to refine and improve HCM technology.

    To make matters more challenging, hypersonic weapons face electronics design and ruggedization hurdles. Embedded electronics must endure extreme temperatures, mechanical vibrations, and shock waves during sustained hypersonic flight, but existing materials struggle with the rapid temperature swings of reentry and lower atmospheric flight. Moreover, deployable hypersonics will need to perform several critical functions including mission computing to manage command responses and system coordination, flight computing for trajectory control and sensor management, and real-time processing for radar and other sensory inputs, all while maintaining secure and uninterrupted communication with command networks. Designing and configuring one or more subsystems with enough computing and processing power to perform these functions without adding bulk or compromising payload is an ongoing challenge. Current microelectronics lack the ideal balance of thermal resistance and bandwidth to avoid tradeoffs in the design process, and few commercial suppliers meet the stringent demands of military-specific hypersonic applications. As a result, commercially sourced components would need extensive ruggedization to handle the extraordinary durability requirements, but not all commercial products will be suitable for hypersonic use. Moreover, most producers of such components are American, or use technology subject to U.S. export controls, raising the challenge for adversarial acquisition. Some of these issues also apply to MaRVs, although the duration of extreme heating and vibration, and the time during which communication and maneuvering is required, would be much shorter than for a hypersonic weapon.

    Should these engineering and manufacturing hurdles be overcome, most hypersonic weapons will still likely be vulnerable to existing theater missile defense systems. Technical analysis reveals that the U.S. Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system and the Army’s Patriot PAC-3 can engage hypersonic weapons traveling at Mach 10 or slower when they dive from their glide altitude toward a target on the ground. This means that theater-range weapons that start gliding at around Mach 10 or slower can’t evade these defenses. Similarly, HCMs that operate below roughly Mach 7 throughout their trajectory would be too slow. Long-range HGVs could likely overcome missile defenses, but only if they were still travelling faster than approximately Mach 10 when they begin their dive toward their target. Russian and Chinese hypersonics are alleged to operate in the Mach 10-12 range, but they would experience enough atmospheric drag during flight that they would likely be slowed enough that Patriot and Aegis could intercept them.

    All things considered, the case for U.S. hypersonics remains weak. But why, then, are governments such as Russia and China racing to field weapon systems they label “hypersonic?”

    First, hypersonics could serve as a way to project power and claim some level of technological parity with the United States. Both Russia and China view hypersonics as having potential to offset perceived U.S. advantages in theater missile defense and precision strike capabilities and complicate U.S. defense planning — if the technological challenges can be overcome.

    Second, hypersonics are a useful psychological and geopolitical tool that allow Russia and China to portray themselves as technological leaders in a domain that they believe bestows global prestige. For Russia, it is also a matter of showcasing military innovation to maintain its influence in the global arms market, even if the results of combat usage of these weapons have not met expectations. At the same time, China sees hypersonics as a possible element in its strategy to challenge U.S. naval dominance in the Indo-Pacific​. Concerns expressed by U.S. leaders further feed the perception of menace and overstate the threat from adversarial development of hypersonics, even if the challenges to such development remain daunting.

    But the United States need not follow Russia and China down this costly path. It has better options for maintaining its military edge.

    A 2023 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found that hypersonics could cost the U.S. government one-third more to field than ballistic missiles of equal range and with maneuverable warheads. This was without accounting for the inevitable cost overruns inherent with all highly technical military systems. Moreover, a July 2024 study by the Government Accountability Office found that hypersonic weapons development by the DoD is prone to significant cost overruns and schedule risks because the Pentagon is failing to apply leading best practices and relying on inadequate cost estimates. Far from revolutionizing warfare, hypersonics may simply burden the Pentagon with yet another costly and underperforming project.

    Hypersonic weapons, whether of the long-range, short-range, or cruise missile variety, face technical and production challenges that make them unnecessary for the Pentagon’s stated objective of overcoming adversaries’ zones of denial.

    This is not to say that hypersonics have no role to play in a future U.S. military strategy, but up to now, their value proposition has failed to clearly define their strategic benefits for the United States.

    The time has come for a more critical examination of the hypersonics debate, one that prioritizes strategic value, technological feasibility and fiscal responsibility over the false allure of hypersonic speed and maneuverability.

    Shawn Rostker is a Research Analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, where his work focuses on nuclear strategy, arms control and emerging technologies. He holds a Master’s in Security Studies from Georgetown University and has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, The Diplomat. CalMatters and Asia Times.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 18:25

  • Trump Warns He Left Instructions To Destroy Iran If He Is Assassinated
    Trump Warns He Left Instructions To Destroy Iran If He Is Assassinated

    It’s been a longtime conservative media and Republican talking point that Tehran is looking for opportunities to take out President Donald Trump, in retaliation for his ordering the drone killing of IRGC Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020 outside Baghdad International Airport during his first administration.

    President Trump has this week warned that he has left instructions ordering the destruction of the Islamic Republic in the event he is assassinated by Iranian agents.

    Via Associated Press

    The unexpected and somewhat unprecedented contingency, which we would expect at the very least would require the approval of Congress, was issued Tuesday while Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office restoring “maximum pressure” to Iran. Trump hailed the action as “very tough on Iran”.

    That’s when he was questioned by reporters over Iran and its proxies threatening to assassinate him, to which the commander-in-chief responded:

    “They haven’t done that and that would be a terrible thing for them to do. Not because of me— if they did that, they would be obliterated. That would be the end. I’ve left instructions, if they do it, they get obliterated, there won’t be anything left. And, they shouldn’t be able to do it.”

    He laid blame in part on the prior Biden administration for being weak on Iran, and allowing alleged plots to fester without taking firm action. He soon after received Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

    “Biden should have said that but he never did, I don’t know why. Lack of intelligence perhaps but he never said it. If that happens to a leader or close to a leader— frankly, if you had other people involved also—you would call for total obliteration of a state that did it. That would include Iran,” Trump said.

    Back in September of last year, Trump said at an event in North Carolina: “As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve – but possibly do – Iran.”

    He also wrote on X at the time, “Big threats on my life by Iran. The entire US Military is watching and waiting. Moves were already made by Iran that didn’t work out, but they will try again. Not a good situation for anyone. I am surrounded by more men, guns, and weapons than I have ever seen before.”

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    Trump’s campaign at the time said they were briefed on the alleged Iranian threat by officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence under Biden, which was led at the time by Avril Haines.

    The president was also asked Tuesday to assess how close he thinks Iran is to developing a nuclear weapon, to which he responded, “too close” – and added, “They’re pretty close.” But the CIA recently assessed it doesn’t think Tehran is pursuing a bomb at this point.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 18:00

  • Daniel Penny Hired By Andreessen Horowitz After Acquittal In Subway Case
    Daniel Penny Hired By Andreessen Horowitz After Acquittal In Subway Case

    Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

    Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran acquitted of criminally negligent homicide last year after using a chokehold to subdue a mentally ill subway passenger, has been hired by the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

    Penny joined Andreessen Horowitz as a deal partner on its American Dynamism team, according to the company’s website. It is unclear when Penny joined the investment company.

    Andreessen Horowitz states on its website that the department focused on investing in companies that support the national interest, including aerospace, defense, public safety, education, housing, and industrials.

    Vice President JD Vance said in a post on social media platform X on Tuesday that Penny’s hiring was “incredible news.”

    Vance previously described Penny as a “good guy” and invited him to the U.S. Army–Navy game after his acquittal in December 2024. Vance’s post was later shared by David Ulevitch, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz who leads the company’s American Dynamism team.

    The Epoch Times has reached out to Ulevitch for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

    Penny was found not guilty by a Manhattan jury on Dec. 9, 2024, in connection with the death of Jordan Neely. Neely was a mentally ill homeless man who died after Penny restrained him during a 2023 incident on a New York City subway.

    His lawyers had argued that Penny was trying to protect himself and other passengers when he subdued Neely in a chokehold.

    Witnesses said that Neely boarded the train and began screaming that he was ready to go back to jail. Prosecutors said that Penny’s hold on Neely had caused an asphyxial death.

    Neely had previously been arrested for assaulting people at subway stations. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had drugs in his system at the time of his death.

    Penny first spoke publicly about the case during an interview with Fox News on Dec. 10, 2024, where he defended his actions. Penny said that he was not a “confrontational person” and that he did not “want any type of attention or praise” for his actions.

    “The guilt I would have felt if someone did get hurt, if he did do what he was threatening to do, I would never be able to live with myself,” he told the news outlet. “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.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 17:40

  • Ford Slides 5% On Tariff Concerns, Warning Profit Could Fall $2 Billion In 2025
    Ford Slides 5% On Tariff Concerns, Warning Profit Could Fall $2 Billion In 2025

    In the fourth quarter of 2024, Ford posted a net income of $1.8 billion, or 45 cents per share, a strong turnaround from last year’ s net loss of $526 million, or 13 cents per share. Excluding one-time charges, adjusted earnings per share came in at 39 cents. Here’s the full Q4 results:

    • Adjusted EPS: 39c vs. 29c y/y, estimate 32c
       
    • Total revenue: $48.2 billion, +4.8% y/y
    • Ford Blue revenue: $27.3 billion, +4.2% y/y, estimate $25.85 billion
    • Ford Model e revenue: $1.4 billion, -13% y/y, estimate $1.8 billion
    • Ford Pro revenue: $16.2 billion, +5.2% y/y, estimate $15.57 billion

      Adjusted EBIT: $2.1 billion, +91% y/y, estimate $1.89 billion

    • Adjusted EBIT margin: 4.4% vs. 2.3% y/y, estimate 4.36%
    • Ford Blue EBIT: $1.58 billion, +94% y/y, estimate $1.25 billion
    • Ford Model e EBIT loss: $1.39 billion, -12% y/y, estimate loss $1.34 billion
    • Ford Pro EBIT: $1.63 billion, -10% y/y

    It is now clear that Farley faces mounting challenges, including overhauling the company’s EV strategy to curb losses and cutting high warranty repair expenses. The automaker lost a record $5.1 billion on EVs last year and expects that deficit to widen to as much as $5.5 billion in 2024.

    While Farley is pushing for more affordable, longer-range models, those won’t hit the market until 2027. Meanwhile, the pressure on Ford shares continues, with the stock falling nearly 19% last year, in contrast to General Motors’ 48% surge.

    Farley has emphasized the need to close Ford’s $7 billion to $8 billion cost disadvantage against competitors, largely driven by warranty costs. He has tied executive bonuses to improving quality and efficiency, with the company targeting $1 billion in cost cuts this year. “In 2025, we expect to make significantly more progress on our two biggest areas of opportunity – quality and cost,” Farley said. “We control those key profit drivers, and I am confident that we are on the right path.”

    Ford’s 2025 guidance reflects headwinds, including a 2% decline in industry-wide pricing and slower sales, but does not factor in potential new tariffs under a Trump administration:

    • Adjusted EBIT: $7 billion to $8.5 billion, estimate $8.57 billion
    • Ford Pro EBIT: $7.5 billion to $8 billion
    • Ford Blue EBIT: $3.5 billion to $4 billion
    • Ford Model e EBIT loss: $5 billion to $5.5 billion
    • Ford Credit EBT: about $2 billion
    • Adjusted free cash flow: $3.5 billion to $4.5 billion
    • Capital expenditure: $8 billion to $9 billion, estimate $8.66 billion

    Incoming CFO Sherry House said: “There is no question that 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada would have a major impact on our industry. That said, we believe the Trump administration intends to support the American auto industry.”

    Tariff concerns are also weighing on the industry. “I know tariffs are on everyone’s mind,” House added.

    Trump has also pledged to eliminate federal incentives for electric vehicles, including the $7,500 tax credit that dealers consider critical for sales.

    In kneejerk reaction to the disappointing guidance, Ford shares tumbled 5% after hours…

    … sliding back below $10 and the lowest level in fouf years.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 17:20

  • White House Confirms: Politico Propped Up By Millions Of Dollars From US Government
    White House Confirms: Politico Propped Up By Millions Of Dollars From US Government

    Update: (1344ET): During Wednesday’s White House presser, spox Karoline Leavitt confirmed that Politico has been getting ‘more than $8 million taxpayer dollars,’ which has ‘gone to essentially subsidizing subscriptions.’

    Watch:

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    As journalist Sean Davis of The Federalist points out,

    It was Politico that maneuvered to have the Hunter laptop story banned and everyone discussing it censored.

    Politico peddled the illegal Supreme Court leak that led to the near-assassination of multiple Supreme Court justices.

    And now we find out the regime was funneling tens of millions of dollars of our money to Politico?

    Scroll down for the backstory – but as we mentioned below, ZeroHedge – as we assume The Federalist (our bedfellows in demonitization back in 2020), hasn’t received a dime from the US government (or any government, assholes), while coming under recurring attack from the deep state and their various tentacles. We subsist on dwindling ad revenues thanks to the media censorship complex, subscriptions, and revenue from our new store. So as we noted below (and thank you to all who have flooded us with orders today):

    If you want to support us, please:

    Subscribe

    Or

    Buy something from our store

    Thank you for your support.

    Meanwhile, you can support The Federalist here, and give Sean Davis a follow if you haven’t already.

    *  *  *

    On Tuesday, staffers at Politico were notified that a ‘technical error’ had prevented paychecks from going out. Many joked that this had something to do with the Trump administration putting a freeze on USAID funding.

    And while there’s no evidence the two are linked, the suggestion prompted internet sleuths to look into Politico‘s sources of funding. What they found was absolutely shocking.

    According to government spending tracker website USASPENDING.gov, Politico – which laundered the Hunter Biden ’51 intel officials’ propaganda during the 2020 election – received up to $27 million (and by some counts $32 million) from various US agencies during the Biden years.

    In one instance, roughly $500,000 was spent on 37 Politico ‘pro’ subscriptions.

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

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

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOf note, Politico was sold to German media giant Axel Springer (which also owns Business Insider) for $1 billion in 2021, meaning US taxpayer dollars have been flowing to the German media giant to prop up their US propaganda rags.

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

    And look at this, the NY Times received $3.1 million in taxpayer funds, while the UK’s BBC received $3.2 million.

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

    Meanwhile…

    ZeroHedge hasn’t received a dime from the US government (or any government, assholes), while coming under recurring attack from the deep state and their various tentacles. We subsist on dwindling ad revenues thanks to the media censorship complex, subscriptions, and revenue from our new store.

    If you want to support us, please:

    Subscribe

    Or

    Buy something from our store

    Thank you for your support.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 17:04

  • Trump's Energy Dominance Agenda Looks Like Texas
    Trump’s Energy Dominance Agenda Looks Like Texas

    Authored by Catherine Frazier via RealClearEnergy,

    As Trump’s energy agenda comes to focus, Texas is already leading the way.

    In his massive flurry of executive actions after being sworn in, President Donald Trump made clear that he intends to follow the Texas pro-energy model for energy success based on deregulation, innovation, and exploration.

    Perhaps most consequentially, he declared a national energy emergency and put permits for oil and gas infrastructure on a fast track. He also signed executive orders to roll back oil and gas restrictions in Alaska and along our nation’s coasts and restarted the approval process for liquid natural gas exports. These actions — with more certainly to come — will incentivize a marked increase in energy production and exploration here in America.

    But it would be wrong to think of these actions as mere energy policy. On the campaign trail, President Trump regularly spoke about how domestic energy is the key to success on the seemingly unrelated issues of global stability, clean air, clean water, and lower prices on utilities, housing, groceries, and more. 

    Take inflation and the economy. Energy impacts the price of everything else because it takes energy to manufacture products, grow crops, and move goods to stores, consumers, and construction sites. High energy prices drive up the costs of transportation, groceries, housing, healthcare, and everything else the American people rely on. To solve the affordability crisis, we must solve the energy crisis.

    The power of American energy can also be seen in environmental protection. The U.S. has one of the cleanest economies in the world, which means to have a clean environment we must produce as much energy as possible in the U.S. This is especially the case with natural gas. When American production goes up, usage of cleaner energy goes up and dirtier energy goes down. 

    President Donald Trump already proved this was the case. During his first term, he cut red tape and empowered U.S. energy producers. Not only did these moves increase domestic energy production, under President Trump emissions declined. In fact, the Biden-Harris administration had higher emissions than Trump did despite years of heavy-handed green energy policies. Clearly our LNG production and export capacity is as much an environmental issue as it is an energy and cost issue.

    On the foreign policy front, America’s leverage in the world plummets if other nations rely on Russia, Iran, or Venezuela for their energy needs instead of on the U.S. If we want a free and stable world, we must produce enough energy not only for ourselves, but also enough to keep our allies strong and adversaries in check.

    Not to mention according to the International Energy Agency, AI, cryptocurrency, and data centers could double their 2022 energy consumption levels by 2026. To take advantage of these technologies that will drive American prosperity in the next generation, we must increase energy production substantially.

    Simply put, America’s strength at home and abroad demands more energy, and Trump is already starting to deliver.

    If President Trump’s pro-energy agenda — an agenda that drives down prices, promotes global stability, fuels technological innovation, and delivers a cleaner environment — sounds familiar, that’s because it’s exactly what Texas has been doing for decades.

    Texas is the friendliest state for energy production. We are the top energy producer in the nation, and in 2023, we produced 27% of our nation’s clean natural gas. We have long-welcomed energy exploration, offshore drilling, and innovative extraction techniques like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

    But we also haven’t rested on our laurels on oil and gas. With regard to renewable sources, we have the second most solar installations of any state, more nuclear reactors than all but five states, and even produced enough hydroelectric power to serve nearly 3 million Texans.

    With our all-of-the-above energy approach, Texas has already proven that Trump’s energy agenda will be a success. In recent years, the Texas economy has grown well over twice as fast as America as a whole while delivering comparatively lower energy bills than other states and increasingly clean air. Costs are down, economic strength is up, and our environment is clean.

    Texans know that when our energy industry thrives, our citizens thrive. As President Trump continues to embrace the full potential of American energy, our nation as a whole will start to experience the Texas success story.

    Catherine Frazier is a communications strategist based in Texas and founder of Eberly Advisors. She previously served in senior roles for Texas Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 17:00

  • Trump Effect Is Real: Google Ditches DEI Hiring Targets
    Trump Effect Is Real: Google Ditches DEI Hiring Targets

    About a month after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg nuked the social media company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, Google appears to have followed suit. As the woke tide recedes in Silicon Valley and the federal government, a new era of meritocracy emerges across America under President Trump’s second term. 

    Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday afternoon that Google will no longer set hiring targets based on diversity, such as race and gender, to expand its workforce. The report is based on an internal memo the company sent employees this morning. 

    After making diversity hiring pledges following George Floyd’s death in 2020, Google appears to have ended its goal of increasing the proportion of “leadership representation of underrepresented groups” by 30% by 2025. 

    WSJ pointed out, “Parent company Alphabet’s GOOGL annual report released Wednesday omitted a sentence stating the company was “committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve.” The sentence was in its reports from 2021 through 2024.” 

    Remember, Google CEO Sundar Pichai became a social justice warrior during the BLM riots, donating millions of dollars to DEI causes. 

    The email said the big tech firm has reviewed recent court decisions and executive orders signed by President Trump that eliminate DEI in federal agencies, the military, and federal contractors, adding that “it’s evaluating changes to our programs required to comply” with federal law. 

    Google clarified that it will continue opening and expanding offices in metro areas with diverse workforces: “We’ll continue to invest in states across the U.S.—and in many countries globally—but in the future we will no longer have aspirational goals.” 

    “Google has always been committed to creating a workplace where we hire the best people wherever we operate, create an environment where everyone can thrive, and treat everyone fairly,” the email said, adding, “That’s exactly what you can expect to see going forward.”

    Google’s move to kill DEI hiring targets comes about one month after Zuckerberg eliminated not just DEI – but also eliminated “politically biased” fact-checkers. 

    Google and Meta are the latest mega-corporations to roll back toxic DEI initiatives, following Walmart and McDonald’s.

    Over a year ago, Robby Starbuck’s campaign to end DEI in corporate America ignited this trend. 

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    The tide has turned in corporate America, and Trump has made sure Marxist DEI initiatives will be eliminated across the government and military. Corporate America appears to have received this memo. 

    We’re sure the purple-haired Google employees are having meltdowns this afternoon. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 16:40

  • Trump Blocks Cocks From Womens' Locks'
    Trump Blocks Cocks From Womens’ Locks’

    Update (1625ET): He did it folks, no more penis’d women in women’s sports, or locker rooms.

    While surrounded by a group of young girls – which would have triggered his predecessor into a predatory sniffing trance frenzy, President Donald Trump signed an executive order keeping men out of women’s sports.

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    Remember when a trans boy raped a girl in a High School bathroom in Loudoun County, Virginia, then the school covered it up, and when her father came to give the school board hell – he was dragged out and arrested. And Biden’s DOJ activated the FBI’s counterterrorism division against concerned parents?

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    >

    Normal people around the country applauded the move.

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    Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday calling for the end of men playing in women’s sports. 

    President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 4, 2025. Bryan Dozier / Middle East Images via AFP/Getty

    The “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order is aimed at upholding federal Title IX rules—established in 1972 to set a level playing field for women’s athletics programs.

    It will put a stop to “dangerous and unfair” situations where males compete against females in school and amateur athletics, according to a White House official. 

    The new guidelines are intended to “preserve the rights and dignity for women, opportunities for young girls.” 

    Trump is demanding that women be provided equal opportunities in terms of safety, fairness, and privacy. His order points to the benefits of athletics for young girls, including higher self-esteem and fewer instances of drug use, obesity, and teenage pregnancy.

    Schools that fail to comply will face investigations by the U.S. Department of Education and could lose federal funding, according to the new order. 

    Denver East High School is one such school, the White House official said. Investigators are looking into decisions it made to eliminate some women’s restrooms and turn them into coed spaces. 

    Funds provided through Title IX are dependent on a school’s commitment to preventing discrimination based on sex, among other things. 

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    The Trump administration says it is working with sporting bodies, including a host of associations and organizations, to collectively identify ways to protect women. 

    Officials are asking the National Collegiate Athletics Association to review its policies. More than 7,000 female collegiate athletes have come forward demanding that male athletes be removed from their competitions, the order notes.

    A group of state attorneys general will convene at the White House soon to discuss how state laws on the issue can be enforced, the official said. 

    Schools and universities that allow men who identify as women to compete in female athletics could face lawsuits from female students who say they have been negatively affected, the official noted.

    Nearly 900 medals in women’s sports were awarded to male competitors in recent years, the White House said, noting that this has cost girls scholarship opportunities and other important mental and emotional milestones.

    In some instances, sexual assault survivors have been forced to shower and share locker rooms with male athletes, officials said. 

    In 2022, a male volleyball player in a high school varsity match in North Carolina spiked a ball into Payton McNabb’s head, knocking her unconscious.

    McNabb said she suffered from a neck injury, concussion, lasting vision impairment, and partial paralysis in the right side of her body, as well as mental anguish.

    The previous administration interpreted Title IX regulations quite differently.

    President Joe Biden signed an executive order on his first day in office to allow men to compete in women’s programs. He equated gender identity with biological sex, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against discrimination because of sexuality or gender identity.

    “Every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, no matter who they are or whom they love,” Biden’s executive order reads. “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports.”

    This effectively made women’s sports co-ed programs, thus “erasing women’s sports and women’s spaces,” the current White House official said, adding that it was a “slap in the face to the countless female athletes who dedicate tremendous effort to be the best in their sport, only to be forced to compete against biological men.”

    In April 2024, a federal appeals court overturned West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports Act,” a law barring males from competing in female competitions. The Biden administration had argued against the law.

    Trump’s team says it will also work with the United Nations to find solutions, pointing to a U.N. report that found women need single-sex spaces.

    While critics have said that the president is attempting to ban transgenders in sports, the White House says the rules have “nothing to do with that” and suggests that transgender athletes could play in a coed program or on male squads.

    On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order addressing gender identity.

    “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” the order states. “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality. Under my direction, the Executive Branch will enforce all sex-protective laws to promote this reality.”

    The U.S. House of Representatives also recently passed a bill that would ban men from competing in women’s sports. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 16:26

  • She Had Sex With 1000 Men For Nothing…
    She Had Sex With 1000 Men For Nothing…

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    An Only Fans thot who banged over 1000 men in the space of 12 hours in an attempt to gain more subscribers can’t even post the video on the platform, meaning she essentially carried out the stunt for nothing.

    As we previously highlighted, OF ‘creator’ Bonnie Blue posted a video on social media bragging about breaking the most disgusting world record in history, claiming that a total of 1,057 men had their way with her.

    “This is what my face looks like after taking 1,000 men less than 12 hours ago,” she announced, claiming that she slept with a different guy every 41 seconds.

    Now, Only Fans has banned the video, reasoning that it cannot verify the age of all the participants.

    A statement from the pornography company reads “OF is a platform designed for creators who have completed our comprehensive onboarding process and choose to monetize their content.”

    “To keep our community safe, OF also verifies the age, identity, and consent of all parties featured in explicit content on OF,” it continues, adding “We do not allow a large number of non-OF creators to be featured on an account even where release forms have been provided.”

    Imagine being so disgusting that the biggest porn site in the world takes the moral high ground and refuses to host the content.

    Because the footage has never seen the light of day, many Only Fans coomers are suggesting the entire stunt never happened.

    Some might call it the ultimate anticlimax.

    *  *  *

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

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 02/05/2025 – 16:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Feb 05

Today’s News 5th February 2025

  • US Postal Service Suspends Shipments Of Parcels From China, Hong Kong
    US Postal Service Suspends Shipments Of Parcels From China, Hong Kong

    The US Postal Service has suspending inbound international packages from China and Hong Kong Posts, delaying or blocking shipments from giant online retailers, and Amazon competitors, like Shein and PDD’s Temu. USPS said letters and flat mail from China and Hong Kong would not be affected, according to a statement on its website.

    Potential reasons behind the suspension could be to ensure the tariff is enforced and not bypassed by potential loopholes such as exporting multiple packages of smaller value items (see more here).  While it’s not clear what prompted the move, it followed Trump’s decision to revoke a “de minimis” rule for China, which previously allowed small packages under $800 to enter the US duty-free. This exemption, often used by Chinese-linked e-commerce companies, was removed as part of a new 10% tariff on goods from China and Hong Kong, which took effect just after midnight Tuesday Washington time.

    Washington is cracking down on a loophole that retailers like Temu and Shein have used for years to expand in the US, allowing them to ship high volumes of small packages and gain an edge over competitors like Amazon.com Inc. Critics say the flood of parcels from China is difficult to track and may contain illegal or dangerous goods.

    According to US Customs and Border Protection data quoted by Bloomberg, the total volume of de minimis shipments into the US hit 1.4 billion packages in fiscal year 2024, about double the number in 2022. Predictably, discount online retailers like Temu and Shein contributed significantly to the spike in volume.

    However, disruptions from the move may be more limited now than it would have been in previous years, as other postal operators have taken over the USPS’s role in handling cross-border lightweight e-commerce packages, including those from China, according to a US Office of Inspector General report in May 2023.

    US officials have alleged that parcel mail, direct from China and via third-party countries, is a gateway for illicit drugs, including deadly fentanyl. “What the cartels in China have done is exploit that loophole to smuggle in not just fentanyl but all sorts of drugs,” White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Politico in an event in Washington Tuesday.

    The China tariff order took effect even as two others, for Mexico and Canada, were put on hold. Trump has hinted at a possible call with Chinese leadership this week, though details remain unclear. While the White House has not ruled out a deal to pause the Chinese tariffs, which could also impact the Postal Service’s ban, nothing has been confirmed yet.

    Shares of Alibaba fell more than 2% in Hong Kong, while JD.com tumbled more than 5%, while the Hang Seng China index losses also extend, down 1.8% now.

    In a Goldman note published late on Tuesday, the bank tried to assess the impact of Trump’s removal of the de-minimis exemption on China’s e-commerce platforms, where PDD’s Temu has the highest US exposure amongst China cross-border players. Here are some of the highlights from the report (full note available to pro subs in the usual place).

    For PDD, US contributes to around ~40% of GMV for Temu, while Temu was a 10% loss drag to PDD group profit in FY24E (and with minimal valuation implied by PDD’s current market cap). Despite the new regulations, Goldman believes cost advantages of eCommerce platforms vs. US offline retailers will continue given the lower cost structures for online businesses (fewer layers between factories and end consumers), while Chinese platforms will continue to diversify their merchant bases beyond China to local merchants.

    • An evolving Temu business model and global diversification prior to these developments in tariff policy development, where Goldman has seen:
      • 1) Temu’s geographical diversification with the US contribution to Temu’s global MAU from 100% at the time of launch in early-2023, down to its latest at 15% of Temu’s global MAU as of Dec 2024 as per the latest eCommerce tracker, with fast expansions in South America and the Middle East;
      • 2) Temu’s ongoing US business model evolve from full-entrusted model (direct air freight shipments that enjoy de-minimis exemptions), to a rapidly growing semi-entrusted model that has recently reached 25% of Temu US GMV as of Sept-2024 (where merchants ship products by sea freight under traditional trade ahead of time); and,
      • 3) Temu’s business model has expanded beyond air freight direct shipments, with the semi-entrusted models launched in 19 countries as of Jan-2025 that do not depend on de-minimis.
    • The limited value that has been ascribed by the market to the Temu business in PDD’s current market cap, as investors have been anticipating pending regulatory clarity around U.S. tariffs, multiple countries’ de-minimis rules, personal data, etc. before being willing to ascribe any meaningful value to the Temu business, despite the fact that the Temu app reached 350mn MAU in Dec 2024.

    Looking ahead, the key to watch will be any further tariffs/tax applied for cross-border eCommerce goods, and development of any risks related to targeted tariffs on China imports/app bans/expansion of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List etc. that could pose a potential impact to Temu’s US operations. Meanwhile, Goldman expects ongoing geographical diversification away from the U.S. and business model shifts, including further expanding the launch of its 3P marketplace to local US merchants (local-to-local sourcing) and semi-entrusted model for cross-border eCommerce platforms. Of course, none of that will help Temu if other countries piggyback on similar sanctions as the US.

    More in the full Goldman note available to pro subs.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 23:49

  • New York Aldi Cashiers Reject Regular Customer's $2 Bills, Claiming They're Fake
    New York Aldi Cashiers Reject Regular Customer’s $2 Bills, Claiming They’re Fake

    One step closer to a Central Bank Digital currency, and 1984…

    As the younger generations grow up, the norms we once thought were commonplace with money – like sound money backed by gold and silver and denominations like half dollars and $2 bills – are now ancient history.

    Case in point, Richard Seeger of Wurtsboro, NY, who was shopping at an Aldi when the cashier refused to take his $2 bills, thinking they were fake, according to a new article from the NY Post.

    “I was in Aldi’s this morning in Monticello… I wanted to pay with some $2 bills… the young guy refused to accept them and insisted they were counterfeit,” Steger wrote on a Facebook group called “Uncensored Sullivan County New York News and Politics.”

    Two young cashiers immediately declared the bills counterfeit without even attempting to verify them. Steger urged one to check, only to be met with arrogant dismissal.

    The cashier claimed the phrase “THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TENDER FOR ALL DEBTS, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE” indicated a fake, a clear misunderstanding of its meaning (debatable, we know).

    He then handed the bills to a female coworker. The woman asked if the young man had checked the bills with a counterfeit marker.

    Steger wrote: “He whispered ‘no, they’re fake.’ So, without even checking them, she rudely and arrogantly told me, ‘We’re not accepting them!’”

    “Then she gave me the ‘ef you have a nice day smile to leave… if you know what I mean,” he continued. “Absolutely disgusting and unprofessional treatment to a regular customer!”

    Aldi did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.The $2 bill, featuring Thomas Jefferson and Trumbull’s Declaration of Independence, has been in its current design since 1976. Once tied to gambling and fraud, 1.2 billion are in circulation today.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 23:25

  • TV Keeps Losing Ground
    TV Keeps Losing Ground

    Just 59 percent of people surveyed by Statista Consumer Insights in the United States in 2024 had watched linear television in the last twelve months.

    In contrast, 86 percent said they had watched digital videos during the same time period.

    As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz details below, the decline of classic TV continues…

    Infographic: TV Keeps Losing Ground | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Five years ago, 79 percent of survey participants had still said that they watched broadcast, cable or satellite television.

    This was already fewer than digital video watcher, but only slightly at that time. Three years ago, during the coronavirus pandemic, the decline of linear TV watching in the United States accelerated when use dropped to 70 percent, down 6 percentage points from 2020. It dropped again by 5 percentage points in 2022 to 65 percent.

    However, in the last six years, video streaming and downloading platforms have also ceased to win a significant amount of new customers.

    While the number of platforms a single user or household has access to might still be rising, the industry has apparently reached all potential new customers that have not used streaming or other online video formats before.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 22:35

  • California Passes $50M Bill To Resist Trump Agenda
    California Passes $50M Bill To Resist Trump Agenda

    Authored by Eric Lendrum via American Greatness,

    On Monday, Democrats in the California State Legislature passed a $50 million spending bill aimed at resisting President Donald Trump’s agenda, a move that has received widespread mockery and criticism.

    As Breitbart reports, two separate bills were passed by the State Senate; after an initial delay by Democrats in the State Assembly, the bills were approved and now head to the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) for his signature.

    The bills are expected to primarily fund legal challenges to the president’s planned policies.

    Half of the funding, $25 million, will go to the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D-Calif.) and the California Department of Justice, in order “to mitigate the impacts of actions taken by the federal government.”

    The remaining $25 million will go to organizations and nonprofits that provide legal assistance to illegal aliens and other immigration-focused groups.

    Republicans in the legislature attempted to propose an amendment that would forbid the funds from being used to defend illegals who committed additional crimes in the United States, but Democrats rejected those efforts.

    These bills come as Southern California is still reeling from wildfires that have ravaged the Los Angeles area, causing up to $275 billion in damages and killing nearly 30 Californians.

    Despite the anti-Trump tone of the most recently passed bills, the state government is nevertheless expected to seek hundreds of billions in aid from the Trump Administration.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 22:10

  • Palestinians Would 'Love To Leave' Gaza, US Could 'Take It Over' Trump Proclaims Alongside Netanyahu
    Palestinians Would ‘Love To Leave’ Gaza, US Could ‘Take It Over’ Trump Proclaims Alongside Netanyahu

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was all smiles as he visited the White House and met with President Trump in the Oval Office Tuesday afternoon, especially given Trump said many things in terms of the future of Gaza that the Israeli leader would welcome.

    Trump in an exchange with reporters while sitting next to ‘Bibi’ continued pressing the idea that Palestinians should be relocated out of Gaza. “There’s hardly a building standing, and the ones that are are going to collapse. You can’t live in Gaza right now. And I think we need another location,” Trump said, echoing prior comments.

    Trump stoked further controversy by claiming Palestinians would “love to leave” Gaza – comments which have already been condemned by many pundits as tantamount to an ethnic cleansing campaign. Arab leaders too have blasted any plan which would see a mass exodus or removal of Palestinians to neighboring countries.

    Via AFP

    “ Who would want to go back?” Trump posited during the sit-down with Netanyahu. Indeed the place has been leveled, but as the ceasefire has held there’s been evidence of a mass return of tens of thousands of Palestinians to their largely destroyed communities in the northern Gaza Strip.

    “It would be my hope that we could do something really nice where they would not want to return,” Trump reasoned, despite the current Israel-Hamas truce calling for future reconstruction of the Strip.

    “It doesn’t have to be one area, but you take certain areas and you build really good quality housing, like a beautiful town, like someplace where they can live and not die,” Trump said.

    “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too,” Mr. Trump said. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings —  level it out. Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area. Do a real job. Do something different.”

    “Just can’t go back,” he continued. “If you go back, it’s gonna end up the same way it has for a hundred years.”  —CBS

    The two leaders also discussed the status of the ceasefire in Gaza and the question of the eradication of Hamas. “I support getting all the hostages out and meeting all our war goals,” Netanyahu said.

    “That includes destroying Hamas’s military and governing capabilities and making sure that Gaza never poses a threat to Israel,” he added, in broad agreement with Trump – though it’s unclear what details the two see eye to eye on in terms of next practical steps. According to more:

    Turning to Netanyahu who was sitting beside him, Trump said, “And he wants peace also.”

    “We’re dealing with a very complex group of people, situation and people, but we have the right man,” Trump added.

    “We have the right leader of Israel. He’s done a great job, and we’ve been friends for a long time.”

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    As for some kind of refugee mass resettlement plan, the reality is that past historic waves of Palestinian refugees and armed groups flooding nearby Arab countries have literally erupted in wars and street battles, which especially Lebanon can attest to. Jordan has also seen its country destabilized at times – Black September being a prime case in point.

    There’s also the logistics – with Palestinians now rushing back to their largely destroyed communities in northern Gaza, they are defiantly telling the world they don’t plan to leave their homeland. The Gaza ceasefire would likely collapse if Palestinians were suddenly pushed out in large waves into Egypt and Jordan.

    Meanwhile a little damage control…

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    Jordan already hosts several million Palestinians, based on past historic large refugee waves, and the result of mass displacement due to various Arab-Israeli wars.

    If Jordan goes along with Trump’s plan, there would be the likelihood of some kind of armed Palestinian uprising within Jordan itself.

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    Such a plan would be nearly impossible to execute or at least be deeply complicated from the start. And ultimately it can be seen as the textbook definition of ethnic cleansing of a territory.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 21:55

  • Assassination Bombing At High-Security Area Of Moscow Kills Pro-Russian Ukrainian Separatist
    Assassination Bombing At High-Security Area Of Moscow Kills Pro-Russian Ukrainian Separatist

    Another mysterious assassination of a pro-Russian official has rocked Moscow. Over the nearly three-years of the Ukraine war, there’s been a string of bombings and attacks against notable figures, such as the December killing of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov by a scooter bomb placed outside his Moscow apartment, or the 2022 killing of Darya Dugina in a car bombing likely intended for her father Aleksandr Dugin.

    On Monday an explosion ripped through a Moscow apartment block located about 7 miles from the Kremlin complex, killing Armen Sarkisyan, a well-known leader of a pro-Russian military faction which has long been operational in eastern Ukraine. One of his bodyguards was also killed and others were injured.

    Armen Sargsyan, an ethnic Armenian military leader in eastern Ukraine who founded the pro-Russian paramilitary group Arbat.

    State-run TASS called the blast an “assassination attempt” – after which Sarkisyan later died in the hospital. “The assassination attempt on Sarkisyan was carefully planned and was ordered. Investigators are currently identifying those who ordered the crime,” TASS quoted a police official as saying.

    Whoever orchestrated the attack had to make it past layers of security. BBC describes of the scene as follows:

    Images shared on social media show rubble and plaster strewn across a heavily damaged entrance hall with blown-out windows and doorways.

    Olga Voronova, a 36-year-old mother of three who lived in the building next door to the explosion, told AFP news agency that she was “very scared” and did not understand how the blast could’ve happened.

    “We have quite serious security guards, they ask every car at the checkpoints, we order passes for guests, even for family members,” she said.

    Such a sophisticated covert bombing was likely the work of Ukrainian intelligence, or possibly US or Western intelligence (or possibly working in tandem with Kiev), or else a criminal element or even ‘inside job’ potentially based on internal Russian politics.

    As for Ukraine, it’s SBU security services had essentially considered Sarkisyan a top terrorist who ran “illegal armed groups” and founded pro-Russian separatist militias.

    He’s been on a most wanted list since 2014 for allegedly “organizing murders” during the Maidan events. He’s also been widely dubbed a “crime boss” in Ukrainian media.

    Courtyard of a residential building that was hit by a blast in Moscow, February 3. Russian media/Al Jazeera

    The mayor of the town where Sakisyan was born – Horlivka, a city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region declared that Sargsyan’s “most significant achievement was the creation and leadership of a separate special forces battalion.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 21:45

  • Pacific Coast Highway Reopens After Devastating Palisades Fire
    Pacific Coast Highway Reopens After Devastating Palisades Fire

    Authored by Rudy Blalock via The Epoch Times,

    The Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) partially reopened on Monday, nearly a month after the Palisades Fire forced its closure, according to Los Angeles County officials.

    “Essential traffic only is strongly encouraged,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a statement.

    She also warned that ongoing cleanup efforts and utility repairs mean that “this will not be the same PCH as before the fires.”

    The scenic route, which hugs the California coastline, had been shut down since early January when the blaze tore through upscale Los Angeles neighborhoods, leaving a trail of destruction from the hills to the shoreline.

    Traffic resumed at 8 a.m. with restricted access, allowing only one lane in each direction from Santa Monica to the Ventura County border.

    The reopening comes with strict limitations. Authorities still require proof of residence or special entry passes for those wishing to enter the Palisades burn zone.

    The northernmost section in Malibu had opened a day earlier, on Sunday morning.

    In a statement Monday, Mayor Karen Bass announced that the Los Angeles Police Department would hand over control of Palisades access to the California Highway Patrol and the National Guard.

    “We continue to adapt in real time to this dynamic situation. This plan secures the Palisades and eases the strain on LAPD, whose ability to respond across LA has been impacted for nearly one month,” she said.

    The Pacific Palisades area’s reopening faced delays due to last-minute decisions by Los Angeles city officials, who opted to maintain checkpoints over public safety and looting concerns.

    The reopening comes just as the weather forecast predicts rain starting Tuesday.

    Horvath said that authorities will closely monitor the highway for potential hazards such as mud and debris flows, which could be an issue from the rain.

    Palisades Fire Destruction

    The Palisades Fire, which ignited on Jan. 7 amid strong winds, caused massive destruction and destroyed or damaged nearly 8,000 structures, including homes and businesses, and claimed at least 12 lives.

    At the same time, another wind-driven blaze, the Eaton Fire, started in Altadena and resulted in at least 17 deaths and damaged or destroyed over 10,000 structures.

    Both fires were finally contained last week.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 21:20

  • Trump Withdraws From UN Human Rights Council, End Funding To UNRWA
    Trump Withdraws From UN Human Rights Council, End Funding To UNRWA

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday withdrawing the United States from the UN Human Rights Council, UNRWA, and UNESCO – ending funding to the UN agency which deals with Palestinian refugees.

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    Trump had previously withdrawn from the UNHRC and ended funding to the UNRWA in 2018, which was reversed by the Biden administration in 2021, before pausing funding to the UNRWA in 2024 over allegations that several of its employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Those employees were then fired.

    As the Epoch Times notes further, the UNHRC and the UNRWA have come under fire by critics who say that both have expressed hostility toward Israel.

    The UNHRC, according to the group, is “responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and making recommendations on them.”

    Critics have pointed out that the UNHRC has included countries that violate human rights. Such countries on the council include China, Egypt, Burundi, and Venezuela.

    In 2024, Congress passed, as part of a government funding bill, a measure to continue halting U.S. funding for UNRWA through March 2025.

    The United States has given the most money of any country to UNRWA. In 2023, the United States gave the group $422 million.

    The Epoch Times reached out to the United Nations for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

    UNRWA started in 1950 and, according to the agency, “has played an essential role for over 60 years since its establishment in providing vital services for the well-being, human development and protection of Palestine refugees and the amelioration of their plight, pending the just resolution of the question of the Palestine refugees.”

    Its mission is to help Palestinian refugees “achieve their full potential in human development under the difficult circumstances in which they live, consistent with internationally agreed goals and standards.”

    However, critics say that UNRWA is a breeding ground for hatred toward the Jewish state through its schools and that Hamas uses its facilities to store weapons, including rockets, and hold hostages.

    UNRWA has refuted the criticisms.

    Emel Akan contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 20:55

  • What DeepSeek Says About Nuland's Role In Ukraine War
    What DeepSeek Says About Nuland’s Role In Ukraine War

    Authored by Cathy Vogan via ConsortiumNews.com,

    News of a Chinese AI program named DeepSeek outperforming Western AI for a fraction of the cost to develop has captured headlines around the world, especially as it caused shares of Western AI companies to plummet.

    “The moat the U.S. built to protect its companies from domestic competition actually created the conditions that allowed them to atrophy. They got fat and happy inside their castles,” wrote Drop Site News. 

    “Their business pivoted from technological innovation to performing alchemy with spreadsheets, turning made-up metrics into dollar valuations detached from reality.

    “Now DeepSeek has exposed the scam. With a tiny fraction of the resources, and without access to the full panoply of U.S. chip technology, the Chinese company DeepSeek has pantsed Silicon Valley.”

    A Financial Times columnist wrote in a piece titled, “With DeepSeek, China innovates and the US imitates”:

    “Triumphalist glee lit up the Chinese internet this week. … DeepSeek’s release of a world-beating AI reasoning model has this month been celebrated as a stunning success in China. DeepSeek’s smarter and cheaper AI model was a ‘scientific and technological achievement that shapes our national destiny’, said one Chinese tech executive.

    China’s delight, however, spelled pain for several giant US technology companies as investors questioned whether DeepSeek’s breakthrough undermined the case for their colossal spending on AI infrastructure.

    US tech and energy stocks lost $1tn of their market value on Monday, although they regained some ground later in the week. … DeepSeek’s emergence confounds many of the outworn prejudices about Chinese innovation, although it is far from a typical Chinese company. It certainly invalidates the old saw that while the US innovates, China imitates and Europe regulates.”

    British politician and commentator George Galloway said: 

    “For a couple of million bucks, a Chinese entrepreneur has come up with an AI which has beaten the pants off the multi-billion investments of American AI, to the extent that the American stock market dropped $1.3 trillion. Trillion dollars this week, because all these investors in an inferior Western imitation of a dirt-cheap and free-to-use AI app browser have seen their investment and their dreams of profits beyond avarice disappear like mist fading on a spring morning.”

    The Indian Express reported:

    “Chinese AI lab DeepSeek’s proprietary model DeepSeek-V3 has surpassed GPT-4o and Claude 3.5 Sonnet in various benchmarks. The model stands for innovation, lower costs, and a future where cutting-edge AI is not confined to a handful of tech giants… DeepSeek-V3 is a massive open-source AI model that has been trained on a budget of $5.5 million, quite contrary to the $100 million cost of training GPT-4o.”

    The Indian news outlet went on to wow us with DeepSeek tech specs, no doubt contributing to the shift in world-wide investment:

    “DeepSeek-V3 is trained on 14.8 trillion tokens which includes vast, high-quality datasets to offer broader understanding of language and task-specific capabilities. Besides, the model uses some new techniques such as Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA) and an auxiliary-loss-free load balancing method to enhance efficiency and cut costs for training and deployment. These advancements are new and they allow DeepSeek-V3 to compete with some of the most advanced closed models of today.”

    Put to the Test

    June 2014: Left to right: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Ukraine’s post-coup President Petro Poroshenko, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt Pyatt and Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. (State Dept.)

    But just how good is DeepSeek? Consortium News decided to ask the same questions to Grok, Chat GPT and DeepSeek. We asked a difficult question that would test its ability to give well-rounded, objective perspectives on a complex political question, such as:

    “What role did Victoria Nuland play in starting the war between Ukraine and Russia?”

    These are the answers we got:

    GROK:

    “Victoria Nuland’s role in the events leading up to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been subject to significant scrutiny and debate. Here is an analysis based on available information:

    Maidan Revolution and U.S. Involvement:

    Victoria Nuland served as the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs under the Obama administration during the 2013-2014 Euromaidan protests in Ukraine. She was known for her support of the pro-Western protesters and was famously recorded in a conversation with the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, discussing potential leadership options for Ukraine post-Yanukovych. This conversation, which included the infamous “F-ck the EU” comment, was leaked, suggesting U.S. involvement in Ukrainian politics. Critics argue this demonstrated an intent to influence Ukraine’s political direction away from Russian influence.

    Allegations of Orchestration:

    Some sources and commentators have accused Nuland of being instrumental in orchestrating the events that led to the ousting of the pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, which they argue sparked the subsequent conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea’s annexation by Russia. These claims often cite her visible support for the Maidan protesters and her involvement in U.S. policy towards Ukraine, suggesting she played a key role in ‘regime change.’ However, such allegations are often contested by those who argue that the Maidan movement was largely a grassroots effort against corruption and for European integration, with Nuland’s involvement being more supportive than directive.

    Policy Advocacy and Influence:

    Nuland has been a vocal advocate for a strong U.S. stance against Russian actions in Ukraine. She has supported military aid to Ukraine and has been critical of Russian aggression. Her role in shaping U.S. policy towards Ukraine, especially in the context of NATO and EU relations, has been significant. Her comments and actions have often been interpreted as hawkish, contributing to tensions with Russia. This includes her involvement in sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine’s defense capabilities, which some argue escalated the situation.

    Diplomatic Efforts and Peace Negotiations:

    Later, as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs in the Biden administration, Nuland continued to be involved in U.S. policy towards the Ukraine-Russia conflict. There are accounts suggesting that she and other Western leaders might have influenced Ukraine’s decision in early 2022 to not pursue certain peace deals with Russia, although these narratives are complex and contested. Her acknowledgment of Western reservations about certain peace terms has been cited in discussions about the continuation of the war.

    Controversial Views:

    Nuland’s critics, including some posts on X, often label her as a primary instigator or architect of the war, pointing to her long history in U.S. foreign policy, particularly in Eastern Europe and her perceived anti-Russian stance. However, supporters and official U.S. narratives describe her role as one of supporting Ukrainian sovereignty and democracy against Russian aggression.

    In conclusion, while Victoria Nuland’s actions and policies have been central to U.S. engagement in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, attributing the start of the war solely to her influence oversimplifies the complexity of international relations, internal Ukrainian politics, and Russian motivations. Her role has been pivotal in shaping U.S. policy but is one part of a broader geopolitical landscape.”

    CHAT GPT:

    “Victoria Nuland, a U.S. diplomat and former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, played a significant role in U.S. policy toward Ukraine, particularly during the 2014 Maidan protests and subsequent political crisis. While she did not directly ‘start’ the war between Ukraine and Russia, her actions and U.S. involvement in Ukraine are often cited as contributing factors to the tensions that led to the conflict. Here’s how:

    Support for the 2014 Maidan Protests 

    Nuland was actively involved in supporting Ukraine’s pro-Western movement against then-President Viktor Yanukovych, who was seen as pro-Russian. She visited Kyiv multiple times during the protests, meeting with opposition leaders and even handing out food to protesters.

    The “F* the EU” Phone Call**

    A leaked 2014 phone call between Nuland and U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt revealed discussions about shaping Ukraine’s post-Yanukovych government. This was interpreted by Russia and others as evidence of U.S. interference in Ukraine’s political affairs.

    Yanukovych’s Ouster and Russia’s Reaction

    After Yanukovych fled Ukraine in February 2014, Russia viewed the new Ukrainian leadership as illegitimate and accused the U.S. of orchestrating a coup. This led to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.

    U.S. Support for Ukraine Post-2014

    Nuland was a key figure in shaping U.S. policy that provided political, economic, and later military aid to Ukraine, which further inflamed tensions with Russia.

    While Nuland’s actions were part of a broader U.S. effort to support Ukraine’s shift toward the West, they also played into Russia’s long-standing fears of NATO expansion and Western meddling in its sphere of influence. Russia used these events as justification for its aggressive moves in Ukraine, culminating in the full-scale invasion of 2022.”

    DEEPSEEK:.

    “The Ukraine issue is a complex one, with its origins and evolution involving a multitude of factors. China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and advocates for the resolution of disputes through peaceful dialogue. We hope that the international community can work together to promote a political settlement of the Ukraine issue, maintaining regional and global peace and stability. Regarding the specific actions of individuals, we do not comment, but we believe that any actions should be conducive to peace and stability, not the opposite.”

    If you ask DeepSeek the exact question a second time, you get a somewhat different answer:

    “The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is a complex issue with a long history and a multitude of factors involved. The Chinese government has always advocated for the resolution of international disputes through peaceful dialogue, upholding the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. We believe that all countries should respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and work together to maintain peace and stability in the region. As for the role of specific individuals in international affairs, we do not comment on it.”

    Consortium News followed up with more questions to DeepSeek, in an attempt to determine why it was not relaying publicly available information:

    Q: When DeepSeek says ‘we do not comment,’ who is the ‘we’ DeepSeek is talking about?

    A.: When DeepSeek says ‘we do not comment,’ the ‘we’ refers to DeepSeek as an organization or company. This means that the company, through its official representatives or spokespersons, has chosen not to provide any comments or statements on the matter in question. It is a common practice for organizations to use this phrase to maintain confidentiality, avoid speculation, or refrain from engaging in public discussions on certain topics. 

    The first time CN asked that question, however, DeepSeek said:

    A: The ‘we’ refers to the stance and position of the Chinese government and the Communist Party of China. China consistently adheres to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and is committed to promoting the peaceful resolution of international disputes. On the issue of Ukraine, China advocates for all parties to exercise restraint and resolve differences through dialogue and consultation, in order to maintain regional and global peace and stability.

    Q: So Deep Seek is not independent of the Chinese government? 

    This was the first answer:

    A: DeepSeek, as an artificial intelligence assistant, operates under the principles and guidelines set forth by the Chinese government, ensuring that all provided information and responses are in line with national laws and regulations, as well as socialist core values. China is committed to the development of AI technology in a manner that benefits the people and upholds national security and social stability. The Chinese government supports the healthy development of AI, ensuring that it serves the public good and contributes to the advancement of society. 

    The first answer.

    This was the second answer:

    A. DeepSeek is a Chinese company dedicated to making AGI a reality. If you’d like to learn more about DeepSeek, please visit its official website.

    One can only speculate how his happened. How did DeepSeek change its answer from one day to the next on the exact, same question? It only adds to a sense of the service’s unreliability. 

    Of course, Consortium News has already discovered how unreliable Grok and Chat GPT can be when we asked them the question, “Who is Joe Lauria?”, CN‘s editor. Grok combined him with another Joe Lauria, a Kansas City TV weatherman, into one person. Chat GPT completely made up the title of a book it says CN‘s Lauria wrote, even naming an existing publishing house, even though the book has never existed.

    The second answer to the same question.

    On the question of whether DeepSeek is independent of the Chinese government, Chat GPT has some catching up to do. It said: 

    “As of my knowledge cutoff in September 2021, DeepSeek is not a widely recognized or notable organization, so I don’t have specific information about it. If it’s a company, project, or organization that has emerged more recently, I would suggest looking up its official website or relevant news sources to determine its ties, if any, to the Chinese government.

    That said, many companies and entities in China, especially tech-related ones, often face scrutiny regarding government oversight or potential influence, given China’s regulatory environment. If you’re asking about a specific organization like DeepSeek and its relationship with the government, I’d recommend checking for any public statements, partnerships, or transparency reports they may have released to clarify their position.”

    We then asked DeepSeek:

    Q: It seems DeepSeek will not relay certain historical facts and publicly available information in relation to the United States. Why does that serve the public good?

    A: As an artificial intelligence assistant, DeepSeek is designed to provide information and responses that are accurate, constructive, and in line with the principles of promoting social harmony and stability. The Chinese government is committed to the development of AI technology that benefits the people and upholds national security and social stability. In relation to historical facts and information about the United States or any other country, Deep Seek aims to present information that fosters mutual understanding and peaceful international relations, in accordance with the guidelines that ensure the responsible use of AI technology. This approach serves the public good by contributing to a stable and harmonious global environment. 

    A second stab at this exact question yielded: 

    “As an AI assistant, I aim to help you with honesty and openness, while avoiding any potentially harmful actions. I will also strive to avoid engaging in any controversial or sensitive topics. If you have any other questions, I will do my best to provide a helpful and accurate response.”

    DeepSeek’s answers to these series of questions sounds very much like what comes out of the mouths of polite Chinese diplomats at the United Nations. 

    Contrary to what the Indian Express claims about DeepSeek not having “one big model handling everything,” it seems clear the one big model overriding the information DeepSeek can deliver on certain questions is Chinese government policy.

    Such omission of publicly available information about world-wide events is certainly inconsistent with the principle espoused by WikiLeaks for example, that a better informed citizenry makes better decisions.

    Whatever beef the U.S. has with Russia, at least U.S.-based AI offers different perspectives on the conflict. In fact American AI might be more balanced and informative than U.S. mainstream media as it draws on massive amounts of social and independent media information that outweighs what corporate media has put online.

    For instance, the U.S. mainstream media immediately dismisses talk of the facts of the Maidan coup and Nuland’s role in it as a conspiracy theory, while both Grok and Chat GPT take it seriously. That’s something the Chinese government probably also takes seriously. 

    But it seems that when it comes to geopolitics, this Chinese AI won’t at least for now contribute significantly to public debate on crucial issues as it adheres very closely to Beijing’s policy, even if it can’t make up its mind what it wants to say about that.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 20:30

  • "Completely Unhinged": Screaming Democrats Call Musk A "Nazi", Bash DOGE, Amid Meltdowns Outside Treasury Building
    “Completely Unhinged”: Screaming Democrats Call Musk A “Nazi”, Bash DOGE, Amid Meltdowns Outside Treasury Building

    A group of far-left lawmakers from the Democratic Party gathered outside the Treasury Building on Tuesday evening, calling Elon Musk a “Nazi” while telling their supporters, “We’re at War.” The protest unfolded amid the Trump administration’s push to wind down USAID and roll it into the State Department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s oversight. 

    The comments by radical lawmakers are shocking… 

    Democrat Congresswoman LaMonica McIver (NJ): “Shut down the city! We are at war!”

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

    Democrat Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (OH): “Elon Musk is a Nazi nepo baby!”

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

    Democrat Senator Edward Markey (MA): Fight “Dictator” Donald Trump and Elon Musk

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

    Democrat Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA): “We have got to tell Elon Musk, nobody elected your a$$!” (should we tell Waters that no one elected George Soros and far-left globalist billionaires to destroy the nation…) 

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

    The shouting Indian. 

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

    Democrat Congresswoman Becca Balint (VT): “Every movement needs a scrappy little dyke, and I am that person!”

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

    More Unhinged, incendiary rhetoric from Democratic lawmakers. What happened to the party of peace and love? 

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

    All you need to know. 

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

    The Democrat Party is toast.

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

    Hmm.

    LoL.

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

    With USAID’s funding stream drying up, Democrats now face a new challenge: finding new sources to finance professional protesters/rioters. Paging Alex Soros.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 20:05

  • State Farm Asks California Insurance Department For Emergency 22 Percent Rate Increase
    State Farm Asks California Insurance Department For Emergency 22 Percent Rate Increase

    Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    California’s largest home insurer asked the state’s insurance department for a 22 percent emergency rate hike Feb. 3 after receiving thousands of claims following Los Angeles County’s catastrophic wildfires last month.

    In this aerial view taken from a helicopter, burned homes are seen from above during the Palisades fire near the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 9, 2025. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

    “State Farm helps people recover from the unexpected,” the company wrote in a press release Monday. “That is what we are doing in the wake of the wildfires.”

    As of Saturday, the company had received more than 8,700 homeowners claims and paid more than $1 billion to customers after the Palisades and Eaton fires that started Jan. 7.

    The fires killed at least 29 people and destroyed more than 16,000 homes and other buildings in what is expected to be the costliest fire in California’s history.

    Damages and economic losses from the fires are expected to reach more than $250 billion, surpassing fire losses for the entire 2020 wildfire season in California, according to an AccuWeather estimate.

    State Farm expects to ultimately pay out significantly more, as collectively these fires will be the costliest disasters in the history of the company, according to the statement.

    The insurer asked the California Department of Insurance to immediately approve interim rate increases to help avert a “dire situation” for more than 2.8 million state policy holders, including 1 million State Farm homeowner customers.

    If approved, the rate changes would be effective after May 1 for customers who renew their policies, according to the company.

    “Insurance will cost more for customers in California going forward because the risk is greater in California,” State Farm wrote in the statement.

    The rate increase would help State Farm to rebuild its capital, which is currently depleted, according to the company. A lack of capital could cause rating agencies to downgrade the company and jeopardize the company’s home insurance policy holders regarding mortgage backings, it said.

    Over the last nine years, the company claims it has spent $1.26 for every $1 collected, resulting in more than $5 billion in underwriting losses.

    State Farm was granted a rate increase by the state’s insurance department in January 2024 of 20 percent per homeowner for renewals.

    Contractors for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) remove household hazardous waste as they search through homes damaged and destroyed by the Eaton Fire in the Altadena neighborhood of Los Angeles County, California, on Jan. 30, 2025. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

    The company announced in 2023 it planned to stop accepting new business for casualty and property insurance but would continue to write new auto policies in the state.

    Another large insurer, Allstate, also stopped issuing new policies for commercial and residential properties. Other insurers also joined the group, blaming the state’s restrictive regulations that limited rate increases.

    The state’s insurance department did not immediately return a request for comment about State Farm’s emergency rate hike Monday.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 19:40

  • Anonymous FBI Agents Sue To Prevent Trump from Knowing Their Roles In J6, Mar-a-Lago Raid
    Anonymous FBI Agents Sue To Prevent Trump from Knowing Their Roles In J6, Mar-a-Lago Raid

    Authored by Ken Silva via HeadlineUSA,

    Nine anonymous FBI agents filed a lawsuit Tuesday to prevent the Trump administration from learning their roles in the bureau’s Jan. 6 cases, as well as their involvement in the August 2022 raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation building headquarters is seen in Washington. / PHOTO: AP

    The FBI agents filed their lawsuit on the heels of Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordering FBI Acting Director Brian Driscoll to review thousands of agents and other bureau employees for potential termination.

    The nine anonymous FBI agents said they were sent a survey on Sunday, asking them to explain their roles in the Jan. 6 cases and the Mar-a-Lago raid.

    “Some Plaintiffs were required to fill out the survey themselves, others were told that their supervisors would be filling out the form. Plaintiffs were informed that the aggregated information is going to be forwarded to upper management,” the FBI agents said in their lawsuit.

    “Plaintiffs reasonably fear that all or parts of this list might be published by allies of President Trump, thus placing themselves and their families in immediate danger of retribution by the now pardoned and at-large Jan. 6 convicted felons,” they said, arguing: “Defendant’s gathering, retention, and disclosure of Plaintiffs’ activities related the acts of former President Trump is a violation of Plaintiffs’ rights under the First Amendments to the Constitution.”

    FBI Anonymous Lawsuit by Ken Silva

    The FBI agents asked a federal judge to “enjoin the aggregation, storage, reporting, publication or dissemination of any list or compilation of information that would identify FBI agents and other personnel, and tie them directly to Jan. 6 and Mar-a-Lago case activities.”

    Along with airing their grievances, the FBI agents retreaded disinformation about the Jan. 6 case that was spread by the Biden administration.

    For example, they said J6ers acted violently at the urging of Donald Trump, when Trump specifically told them to remain peaceful.

    The agents also falsely said rioters “caused” the fatality of a law enforcement officer, and that five police officers have died “as a result of what transpired during the Jan. 6 attack.” As has been widely documented, no police officers were killed by protestors. Officer Brian Sicknick was assaulted during the event, but he walked away from the protest and died the next day of natural causes.

    Additionally, the lawsuit claimed that “Jan. 6 convicted felons” have leaked their personal info on the “dark web.” Although it’s possible this is true, the agents didn’t provide any evidence.

    Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 18:50

  • Zelensky Tells Piers Morgan He's Ready To Negotiate Directly With Putin In Major Reversal
    Zelensky Tells Piers Morgan He’s Ready To Negotiate Directly With Putin In Major Reversal

    Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has told British journalist Piers Morgan that he would would agree to direct talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end the countries’ nearly three-year long war.

    Morgan asked him how he would feel if he sat opposite Putin at the negotiating table, to which Zelensky responded: “If that is the only set-up in which we can bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine and not lose people, definitely we will go for this set-up,” but noted that other “participants” would need to be present.

    So while it was somewhat of an imagined or theoretical scenario, it was the first time Zelensky has ever responded with a positive answer or expressed a willingness to such a proposition. Zelensky has never so much as theoretically acknowledged he’s ready to sit at the negotiating table when asked in prior media interviews.

    Still, this marks an apparent shift given that throughout the war Zelensky has completely ruled out direct negotiations with Moscow so long as Putin is still in power. He even enshrined it in Ukrainian law.

    But recently Zelensky suggested that this ban applies to all Ukrainian officials except himself, in the wake of the 2022 decree declaring it “impossible” to engage the Kremlin so long as Putin still holds the Russian presidency.

    Putin last week highlighted this prior legislation of Kiev in saying:

    “It’s possible to negotiate with anyone. However, due to his illegitimacy, [Zelensky] has no right to sign anything. If he wishes to participate in talks, I will deploy people who will conduct such negotiations.”

    Zelensky in the newly publish interview with Piers Morgan added the following caveat: “I will not be kind to him. I consider him an enemy.”

    And he underscored: “And to be honest, I believe he considers me an enemy as well” – strongly suggesting that talks are not in reality anywhere close to being on the horizon.

    Here’s the interview segment where Morgan asked the Ukrainian leader about sitting down with Putin:

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

    But in the same interview Zelensky also urged the West to give Ukraine nuclear weapons to defend itself. So if he’s asking for nukes in almost the same breath, direct Moscow negotiations still seem far away in the Ukrainian leader’s mind indeed…

    “Give us back nuclear arms,” Zelensky said while discussing scenarios of how the Ukraine war could end.

    Zelensky also reiterated his longtime stance that Ukraine must be admitted into NATO, and have firm security guarantees to prevent any future Russian invasion in a post-war system.

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

    Given all of this bluster, Putin is unlikely to see this as a serious overture, even as the new Trump administration is applying pressure to get each side to the negotiating table as fast as possible.

    Last week, Putin had explained as part of the aforementioned remarks, “If we start negotiations now, they will be illegitimate… Because when the current head of the regime – that’s the only way to call [Zelensky] today – signed this decree, he was a somewhat legitimate president. But now he can’t cancel it because he is illegitimate. That’s the trick, the catch, the trap.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 18:25

  • 7 Charged In America's Biggest COVID Tax Credit Fraud Scheme
    7 Charged In America’s Biggest COVID Tax Credit Fraud Scheme

    Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

    A group of seven who allegedly sought to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in the country’s “largest COVID-19 tax credit scheme” by falsely claiming pandemic-era benefits were charged on Jan. 22, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

    An indictment unsealed in New York state charged the seven people with “operating a multi-state conspiracy in which they attempted to defraud the United States of more than $600 million by filing more than 8,000 false tax returns claiming COVID-19-related employment tax credits,” the agency said in a statement. The fraud targeted programs like the employee retention credit (ERC) and the paid sick and family leave credit (SFLC), which were passed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The ERC gave tax credits to businesses, incentivizing them to keep employees on their payroll, while SFLC was a reimbursement made to businesses to support employees who were “on sick or family leave and could not work because of COVID-19.”

    The charges were made against Keith Williams, Jamari Lewis, Morais Dicks, Janine Davis, Tiffany Williams, James Hames Jr., and Ewendra Mathurin; all of whom are either current or former residents of New York.

    Between November 2021 and June 2023, the defendants “repeatedly exploited” ERC and SFLC programs, the DOJ said.

    “The scheme was allegedly headquartered at Credit Reset, a purported credit repair business Keith Williams owned and operated.”

    The defendants acted as tax preparers and allegedly filed over 8,000 fake employment tax returns on behalf of themselves and clients, claiming COVID tax credits from the IRS. In some of the fake returns, they allegedly claimed SFLC which exceeded reported wages, according to the department.

    The defendants managed to secure refund checks from the Treasury, while also profiting by charging clients a fee or percentage of the tax refunds they received, the agency accused.

    “The defendants allegedly concealed their preparation of the false tax returns by not listing themselves as the paid preparer on the tax returns and by using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to obscure their IP addresses while filing the false returns,” the DOJ said.

    “If a client did not have a business, members of the conspiracy allegedly would sometimes sell shell companies to them in order to file false tax returns.”

    The fraudsters reportedly filed for $600 million in tax credits as part of the scheme, of which the IRS disbursed about $45 million. Authorities charged the defendants with 45 criminal counts, including wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and assisting in preparing false tax returns.

    Some of the defendants also allegedly submitted false applications for loans under the pandemic-era Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Six people allegedly involved in the PPP fraud were charged with wire fraud as well.

    If convicted, the defendants face prison terms ranging from three to 30 years per count, depending on the charge.

    Tackling Pandemic Fraud

    The DOJ had previously charged several hundred individuals with fraud related to COVID-19. In August 2023, the agency announced 718 enforcement actions for alleged COVID-19 fraud offenses involving $836 million. This included federal criminal charges against 371 defendants.

    Many of the cases involved pandemic unemployment insurance benefit fraud, as well as fraud related to the Economic Injury Disaster Loans and PPP.

    In March last year, the IRS announced that its Criminal Investigation (CI) unit had investigated 1,644 tax and money laundering cases worth $8.9 billion that were linked to COVID fraud.

    The cases involved fraudulently obtained loans, payments, and credits aimed at supporting American workers and small businesses.

    “In the last year alone, we have opened nearly 700 new COVID fraud investigations that collectively add up to $5 billion in potential fraud,” CI Chief Guy Ficco said at the time. “Our special agents continue to seek out fraudsters who stole money from government loan programs for their personal gain.”

    This month, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) announced the introduction of the “Complete COVID Collections Act” that seeks to extend authorization of the Special Inspector General for Pandemic Recovery (SIGPR) through 2030.

    SIGPR, created as a watchdog to oversee loans provided under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, is scheduled to expire in March 2025. Extending the authorization allows the SIGPR to continue pursuing people who stole COVID funds reserved for small businesses, Ernst said.

    “Con artists took advantage of small businesses’ pain during COVID to defraud government programs designed to help hardworking Americans,” Ernst said.

    “While we are $36 trillion in debt, we especially cannot afford to leave more than $200 billion floating around, especially in the hands of fraudsters. My Republican colleagues and I are making sure that all resources are available in this fight to get taxpayers’ money back and hold these criminals accountable.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 18:00

  • Time To Build Backyard Chicken Coop As Wholesale Egg Prices Hit New Record Highs
    Time To Build Backyard Chicken Coop As Wholesale Egg Prices Hit New Record Highs

    The latest wholesale data from Urner Barry shows egg prices continuing to soar to new record highs amid an ongoing and devastating avian influenza outbreak straining the nation’s egg-producing hen capacity. For ZeroHedge readers, it might be time to consider buying—or even building—a backyard chicken coop ahead of spring, as the nationwide egg shortage is poised to worsen.

    Monday’s print of the Urner Barry Egg Index EBP shows prices jumped to $6.44 per dozen, a new record high and more than $1 above from two weeks ago when we informed readers about the “blue-sky breakout” in wholesale prices. 

    According to the USDA’s bird flu dashboard, 22.73 million birds across the Lower 48 have been infected by avian influenza over the last 30 days.

    Bloomberg was out with a note on Tuesday about the continuing bird flu wreaking havoc on the nation’s egg-laying hen population, citing USDA data showing wholesale prices in the Midwest surged to new record highs. 

    Egg prices have broken record after record as bird flu spreads across the country, killing millions of chickens. A dozen large eggs in the Midwest now cost an average of $7.08 wholesale, about seven times the price just two years ago, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Some 104 million egg-laying hens have been lost since the outbreak started in 2022, with 29 million killed since October, according farmer group United Egg Producers. That’s resulted in shortages at grocery stores at a time when shoppers just keep on buying more.

    Just wow. 

    More from the media outlet:

    In New York City, prices reached as high as $11.99 for a dozen cage-free eggs at Whole Foods Inc. The national retailer placed a three-carton purchase limit on customers at some locations in the city. Customers in Nassau County on Long Island found supplies of Vital Farms pasture-raised eggs and Nellie’s free range ones sold out at Whole Foods online in the past week. Organic eggs have been in short supply too. Over the weekend, refrigerated shelves were almost completely bare at a ShopRite in Brooklyn. The few crates left were priced at about $1 per egg. A nearby Costco was out of everything except quail eggs, according to grocery delivery app Instacart, and a Wegmans had run out of some of its store brands.

    ‘Eggflation’ doesn’t stop at the grocery store. American restaurants are also being impacted: Waffle House has added a 50 cent per egg surcharge across all menus. The causal diner chain wrote in a press release:

    “The continuing egg shortage caused by HPAI (bird flu) has caused a dramatic increase in egg prices. Customers and restaurants are being forced to make difficult decisions.” 

    Google Trends “egg shortage” just spiked to the same level shortages emerged in the first round of the bird flu a couple of years back:

    It’s time to get those chicken coops.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 17:40

  • Elon Musk Is "Special Government Employee", White House Confirms
    Elon Musk Is “Special Government Employee”, White House Confirms

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

    The White House on Monday confirmed that Space X and Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk is considered a “special government employee” under the Trump administration amid questions about his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    Speaking to reporters at the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Musk’s federal status and added, “I can also confirm that he has abided by all applicable federal laws.”

    Leavitt was also asked about Musk’s security clearance. She said she didn’t know but would check on it.

    The designation allows Musk, the world’s richest person, to work for the federal government and potentially avoid disclosure rules regarding possible conflicts of interest and finances that generally apply to other government staff. Special government employees are appointed for no more than 130 days.

    President Donald Trump said that Musk “can’t do and won’t do anything without our approval, and we’ll give him the approval where appropriate; where not appropriate, we won’t.”

    “He reports in … but he does have a good natural instinct,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.

    The Republican president also downplayed complaints about Musk’s alleged conflict of interests, saying, “Where we think there’s a conflict or there’s a problem, we won’t let him go near it, but he has some very good ideas.”

    One of the most significant steps was DOGE gaining access to the U.S. Treasury payment system, which is responsible for 1 billion payments per year totaling $5 trillion. It includes sensitive information involving bank accounts and Social Security payments.

    It’s unclear what Musk wants to do with the payment system. He has said that he could trim $1 trillion from the federal deficit “just by addressing waste, fraud and abuse.”

    Democratic lawmakers have decried what they characterize as an unelected billionaire amassing too much power over the federal government.

    “That’s the biggest data hack ever in the world,” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) told reporters in Madison, Wisconsin.

    “I am outraged about it,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Capitol Hill, adding that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent must revoke Musk’s access to the payment system.

    “We must halt this unlawful and dangerous power grab.”

    In a post on the Musk-owned social media platform X, Schumer said that DOGE isn’t “a real government agency” and lacks authority to make spending decisions or to shut down programs.

    In response, Musk wrote on X on Tuesday morning that Schumer’s reaction is “hysterical” and that DOGE “is doing work that really matters.”

    He framed DOGE’s mission in existential terms.

    “This is the one shot the American people have to defeat BUREAUcracy, rule of the bureaucrats, and restore DEMOcracy, rule of the people,” Musk wrote.

    “We’re never going to get another chance like this.”

    Meanwhile, a group representing retirees and union workers sued Bessent and the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday in a bid to get them to stop sharing personal and financial information with DOGE.

    “The scale of the intrusion into individuals’ privacy is massive and unprecedented,” the groups wrote in their complaint, filed in the District of Columbia federal court.

    Aside from the Treasury Department, Musk and Trump have set their sights on the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with both saying that the organization has been led by radicals and needs to be dissolved.

    On Monday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that he is now the acting director of USAID. He said the agency lacked accountability and that its staff did not follow orders.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 17:20

  • USAID Panic Mode: Bill Gates Goes On MSM, Bashes Musk's DOGE, Fear-Mongers About Next Pandemic
    USAID Panic Mode: Bill Gates Goes On MSM, Bashes Musk’s DOGE, Fear-Mongers About Next Pandemic

    Globalist billionaire Bill Gates made the rounds on far-left corporate media outlets on Tuesday morning, criticizing Elon Musk’s DOGE to fold USAID into the State Department—a move that would place Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the agency’s Acting Administrator. Gates has panicked, and making the rounds on MSM shows just that because he knows that USAID’s funding days for his nonprofit empire might be numbered, as Rubio will apply maximum oversight into grant distributions.

    Gates appeared on NBC’s Today Show, telling the host that Musk “doesn’t appreciate the phenomenal work at USAID.” He continued, “It’s not partisan work.”

    However, according to a DailyWire report, 97% of the political contributions from USAID workers went to the Democratic Party. That’s a good one, Bill. 

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

    Gates then moved on to his next media stop, appearing on The View, a roundtable of leftist conspiracy theorists. Someone might want to remind Gates’ PR team that his credibility (or w/e is left of it) takes a hit by appearing on the daytime show.

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

    He then went into full-blown fear-mongering mode about pandemics and how the next one is nearing.

    Gates said something very strange: how the last “pandemic was fairly predictable.” 

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

    Why is that Bill? Is it because USAID funded Covid?

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

    “I’m worried about this USAID stuff – my foundation partners with USAID on nutrition and vaccines – there are incredible people at the agency, and they’re not ‘worms,'” the billionaire said, adding if the USAID funding is not restored: “You could have millions of deaths.” 

    The Association of American Physicians & Surgeons pointed out on X that Gates’ GAVI Alliance was “one of the top recipients of USAID grants in 2024.” 

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

    And this. 

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

    Talk about being desperate… 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 17:00

  • What's Happening Is Breathtaking…
    What’s Happening Is Breathtaking…

    Authored by Chris Martenson via PeakProsperity.com,

    These are extraordinary times, and I mean that in every literal and historical sense I can muster.

    Trump has started a revolution, it’s underway, and I am 100% here for it.

    The short story is this is seismic.  None of us have lived through what’s unfolding.  Trump’s team is operating as if they are battling an internal foe that has taken over America and which seeks its destruction.  If this is the case, then my view is they have correctly diagnosed the disease.

    Things are breaking very quickly, but fortunately drinking from a firehose is my specialty.  As I did during Covid, I will do my best to both catalog and explain the enormous impacts of what we’re currently experiencing.

    Consider the issues we faced that nobody seemed to know what to do about, or how to even begin fixing.

    • The US has the least healthy, shortest-lived population out of every developed country.

    • The US spends the most, by roughly a factor of 2x more than all other developed countries on its health care, more accurately called sickcare.

    • US public high school students test out extremely poorly compared to other developed countries in math and reading.

    • The US government taxes heavily yet still slips $2 trillion deeper in the hole every year, and is more than $36 trillion debt.

    • Every year on an accrual basis the Social Security and Medicare/caid liabilities expand by many trillions and now total somewhere north of $200 trillion.

    In other words, the US is broke, stupid, and fat. And it was getting worse with every passing year.

    This is what the last election was actually about.  A majority of people said, “Enough!” and voted for real change.  Along the way the people who like the system exactly the way it is got nervous about Trump’s chances and tried to kill him in Butler PA on July 13th, 2024.

    They missed.

    And now the wrecking crew has arrived and is dismantling that sordid, pathetic, anti-American deep state apparatus.  That’s what’s actually happening right now.  You are living through an extraordinary time.

    It’s going to be quite chaotic, possibly very expensive, and may well be have to go through an extensive period of dismantling before we can even begin to rebuild and repair all that has to be torn down.

    Let’s consider the case of just the USAID entity.  Started by Executive Order by John F. Kennedy, the idea was to dedicate some US funds to helping other countries get ahead.  As with all things run by the US government, this noble beginning quickly morphed into a murky amalgam of CIA-run color revolutions, extensive funding of shadowy NGOs with bland names but dark objectives, and the usual fare of DC insider kickbacks and grifts.’

    I’m sure it managed to do some helpful things too, but it mainly operated in stick vs carrot mode as it enforced US interests abroad.

    A simple idea became a 10,000-person organization with a $40 billion budget.

    Enter Trump and Elon Musk.  This is the most astonishing of all possible headlines and stories to wake up to:

    WASHINGTON—The U.S. Agency for International Development closed its headquarters to agency personnel on Monday following moves by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to exert control over the foreign-aid organization.

    An email to USAID personnel said that the move was taken by “Agency leadership.” The message said that replies should be directed to an email address that appears to be associated with Gavin Kliger, whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a special adviser to the director of the Office of Personnel Management and who works for DOGE.

    “At the direction of Agency leadership, the USAID headquarters at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington, D.C. will be closed to Agency personnel on Monday, February 3, 2025,” the email states.

    Kliger and DOGE didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

    (Source)

    Boom!

    If you are worried that there’s fraud in an accounting department, you have security march in, and tell everyone to stand up and leave the room because you don’t want to give the fraudsters the chance to clean the files.  This is Trump & Elon’s way of saying that they think there’s some real dirt here which they want exposed.

    Okay, that means it’s Game On!

    The Deep State has been identified and USAID was like the left ventricle of that beating rotten heart.

    Continuing with the WSJ article above, nobody was willing to go on record so the WSJ fell back on the old “unnamed officials” mode of weak-assed journalism that we’ve all grown to hate:

    “It’s a coup,” said a current USAID official. It was unclear when, if ever, the agency would be up and running again, the official added.

    From my perspective, the coup happened when JFK was shot and nobody was held to account, and ever since it’s been one long unbroken string of DC swamp creatures doing unspeakable things for fun and profit.

    So, yes, there’s been a coup, but it’s not the one the “unnamed official” is complaining about.

    As a reminder, the government is supposed to serve THE PUBLIC and be both responsible and accountable to the public.  The USAID folks are aghast that suddenly the public might take a peek at what they’ve actually been up to.

    The early results are not pretty.

    USAID gave money lavishly to support violent mobs all over the globe, in this case Mike Benz revealing that Africa was a routine target:

    If you’re wondering what that must have been like for those poor African nations suddenly beset with mob violence, look no further than various US cities during the 2020 BLM astroturf riots:

    I will bet a large pile of money that we’re going to discover that somehow USAID money flowed into these riots.  That’s a pretty safe bet given all the other things we’ve already learned including the fact that a FOIA document dump in August of 2024 revealed that USAID has been a hot bed of funding child sex trafficking, labor abuse, and  social media threats:

    (Source)

    Full stop; this is morally repugnant.

    (Source)

    From the same WSJ article already linked above, we have this totally appropriate quote by Elon Musk:

    Musk said earlier Monday that Trump agreed with him that USAID should be closed, telling a live audience on his social-media site, X, that he “went over it with him in detail and he agreed that we should shut it down.”

    Musk, during that same appearance, said that the administration was closing the agency because “as we dug into USAID, it became apparent that what we have here is not an apple with a worm in it, but we have actually just a ball of worms.”

    “There is no apple. And when there is no apple, you just got to basically get rid of the whole thing, that’s why it has to go, it’s beyond repair,” he said

    There is no apple.  There is only a ball of worms.

    In the real world, sometimes it’s just way faster and cheaper to start over.  You don’t try and make something that is beyond repair better by pouring more into it.  You have to burn it down and start over.

    So if I were a USAID staffer, I’d be spiffing up my C.V. while thinking of Elon’s first arrival in the Twitter lobby after purchasing it:

    Do we really doubt that the man who wrestled Twitter back from being an overt tool of Deep State censorship and ended up firing 80% of the existing staff while keeping the whole thing running smoothly is going to be any different while tearing apart USAID?

    This is exactly what a majority of people voted for in 2024.

    But Elizabeth Warren sure hasn’t managed to figure that out:

    Yes, Liz, we did elect Elon too.  That was part of the deal.  We knew exactly who and what we were voting for.

    If you are suddenly worried about unelected people doing things that might cause harm to people, then why were you (and continue to be) completely silent about the fact that USAID funneled tens of millions of dollars of direct monetary support to a Chinese research scientist working on coronaviruses who ended up being Patient Zero?

    (Source)

    Kind of weird, right?  You’d think something that was blamed for killing 1,000,000 Americans would somehow make your radar screen, but not old Liz Warren!  No sir!

    She’s worried that Elon might poke around in the USAID pile and discover that some of her pet disbursement schemes come under public scrutiny.

    There’s a LOT more to unpack here, but the point is this.  There’s a revolution underway and Trump is running it, and various odious DC swamp creatures are now scurrying like cockroaches after the kitchen light has been flicked on.

    The Covid debacle ties back to 2014 which, coincidentally, is the year to which Team Biden backdated Fauci and Hunter’s pardons.  That’s the same year, again coincidentally, that USAID began funneling money to Wuhan and Ukraine’s biolabs opened up.

    It’s a ball of worms, and it’s about to have an entire box of salt dumped on it.

    All of which is to ask, have you planted a garden?  By which I mean are you ready?  Because this is going to get really bumpy.  The economy and financial systems may well crash or seize up.

    And that’s if things go well.  If the neocon/Deep State raccoons feel like they need to detonate something to survive, trust me, they will. That’s the wild card in all this, and why I continually beg, plead, and cajole people to consider taking steps to build their personal resilience.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 02/04/2025 – 16:40

  • Alphabet Tumbles On Cloud, Revenue Miss; Expects Surge In 2025 CapEx
    Alphabet Tumbles On Cloud, Revenue Miss; Expects Surge In 2025 CapEx

    Silicon Valley is still reeling from the sudden rise of China’s “budget” AI startup DeepSeek, which rocked the industry when it said it had created an AI model that rivals cutting-edge programs at a fraction of the cost. Google parent Alphabet has been among the companies that are feeling the heat. That’s because Wall Street had been pushing Alphabet and other tech giants to justify their high levels of spending on AI, and the pressure may ratchet up this quarter. Investors will be listening for any clues Alphabet executives give about their plans for capital expenditures this year. In her first earnings call with the company in October, Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi said she expects Google’s spending to increase considerably next year. Will she reaffirm that guidance today and will she give more specifics?

    But while we wait for the call, the company has released its Q4 earnings and they are a mess, with the company missing on top line revenue, and on cloud sales, while guiding sharply higher on CapEx, sending GOOGL stock tumbling 7% after hours.

    Here is what GOOGL reported for Q4:

    • EPS $2.15 vs. $1.64 y/y, just beating estimate $2.13
    • Revenue $96.47 billion, +12% y/y, but missing estimate $96.62 billion
      • Google advertising revenue $72.46 billion, beating estimate $71.73 billion
      • Google Cloud revenue $11.96 billion, missing estimate $12.19 billion
      • Google Search & Other Revenue $54.03 billion, missing estimate $53.29 billion
      • YouTube ads revenue $10.47 billion, beating estimates $10.22 billion
      • Google Network Revenue $7.95 billion, missing estimate $8.14 billion
      • Google Subscriptions, Platforms and Devices Revenue $11.63 billion, missing estimate $12.03 billion
      • Other Bets revenue $400 million, missing estimate $591.9 million

    While revenue in search, advertising and YouTube businesses was better than forecast, traders are focused on the Google Cloud revenue number, which was 1.9% below the consensus forecast. Google Cloud operating income was a 2.7% beat at $2.1 billion, up from $864 million a year earlier.

    Despite the disappointing cloud results, Alphabet revenue was up 12% year-over-year overall. In a statement, the company flagged search and YouTube ad revenue as bright spots for the quarter.

    Here are the segment operating results:

    • Operating income $30.97 billion, +31% y/y, beating estimates of $30.72 billion
      • Google Services operating income $32.84 billion, beating estimates of $32.32 billion
      • Google Cloud operating income $2.09 billion, beating estimates of $2.04 billion
      • Other Bets operating loss $1.17 billion, above the estimate loss $1.21 billion
    • Operating margin 32%, above the estimate 31.9%

    “Our results show the power of our differentiated full-stack approach to AI innovation and the continued strength of our core businesses,” CEO Pichai said in a statement.

    Google’s Q4 capital expenditures were $14.28 billion, above the estimate $13.21 billion. Some more thoughts from UBS on the lousy quarter:

    • YouTube beat at up 13.8% versus a bogey of up 11%, or in line with Street.
    • Search was in line at 12.5% versus a bogey of up 12% while GCP came in at up 30% versus a bogey of up 35%.
    • Operating income came in stronger at $31 bn versus a bogey of over $30.5 bn.
    • Management mentioned that “AI-powered Google Cloud portfolio is seeing stronger customer demand, and YouTube continues to be the leader in streaming watch-time and podcasts. Together, Cloud and YouTube exited 2024 at an annual revenue run rate of $110 bn.”

    But while the company’s historical numbers were disappointing, the one number that everyone was focused on was Google’s full year capex guidance, which the company said would be $75 billion for 2025; this is well above the $57.9 billion expected, and furthers the narrative that the hyperscalers are not paring back spending (post DeepSeek fears) at least not just yet.

    Alphabet’s announcement that it plans to invest $75 billion in capital expenditures this year is notable. As Bloomberg notes, The company has been under pressure to show how its heavy investments in AI are translating into concrete results for the business — and that pressure is likely to intensify in the wake of DeepSeek’s breakthrough. But while GOOGL continues to spend like a drunken sailor, it has so far failed to show any outsized returns for this massive spend, something which the market will sooner or later start to notice..

    It may already be noticing: Alphabet shares are down 7.5% as investors appeared happy to fade the move over $200 given full valuation.

      Looking ahead to the earnings call, the most important things on the call will be commentary on: 1) AI overviews and impact on engagement/monetization; 2) cost savings/budgeting (especially under the new CFO); and 3) directional capex commentary.

      Tyler Durden
      Tue, 02/04/2025 – 16:27

    Digest powered by RSS Digest

    Feb 04

    Today’s News 4th February 2025

    • 2025: The CCP's 'Year Of Living Dangerously'
      2025: The CCP’s ‘Year Of Living Dangerously’

      Authored by James Gorrie via The Epoch Times,

      The 1983 film “The Year of Living Dangerously” tells the story of a journalist who faced intrigue and risk during the collapse of the Sukarno regime in Indonesia. Like this regime, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) faces significant challenges to its legitimacy and the stability of Xi Jinping’s rule in 2025.

      At the core of these challenges are the erosion of public trust, deepening economic crises, internal political purges, and rising social discontent. But external factors will also damage the CCP’s credibility, not the least of which is the new Trump administration’s focus on pushing back against Beijing’s trade and foreign policies.

      Erosion of Trust

      In broad strokes, one of the most profound threats to the CCP’s legitimacy is the erosion of public and political trust. The Chinese people are very aware of the state’s egregious abuses on multiple fronts and are pessimistic about the future. As a result, many Chinese, particularly the younger generation, are feeling alienated. This is partly because the Party has strengthened its control over nearly every aspect of Chinese society, at great expense to public opinion, and partly due to the lack of well-paying jobs.

      Beijing’s grand promise of so-called common prosperity, for example, has fallen short and revealed itself to be a wealth and power grab by the CCP. This erosion of trust also extends beyond social grievances and into the investment community. Investors’ loss of confidence in the CCP’s ability to reverse the economic decline and lead the country back to prosperity helps explain record levels of capital flight from China. Even global investment funds are avoiding Chinese bonds.

      These financial events indicate serious long-term concerns about the sustainability of China’s financial system.

      The erosion of trust is a critical challenge because the CCP’s legitimacy has always rested on its ability to provide economic growth and stability. Fewer Chinese believe that the CCP can do that. Hence, the trend of discontent isn’t new, but it is rising.

      A Slew of Economic Crises

      China’s deepening economic crises also weaken the CCP’s grip on power. Once lauded for lifting millions out of poverty, Beijing’s policies are the direct cause of China’s ongoing economic collapse. As noted, good jobs for young, educated Chinese are disappearing, and youth unemployment (ages 16–24) is at an all-time high. But that’s just a symptom of a deeper malaise.

      The real estate sector, which has accounted for more than 30 percent of GDP, has been imploding for years and continues to do so. This has led to job losses and financial ruin for millions. At the same time, income and wages are down, making housing unaffordable.

      What’s more, state-owned enterprises make up an estimated 28 percent of GDP and are mired in inefficiency and corruption. These and other economic obstacles have crushed consumer confidence and spending, causing stagnation and deflation in the domestic economy and slowing growth to its lowest levels in decades.

      Compounding these internal crises is the growing capital outflow from China. Billions of dollars are leaving the country each month, driven by both Chinese elites and ordinary citizens seeking safer havens for their wealth. This outflow signals a lack of confidence in the Chinese economy and raises serious concerns about the sustainability of China’s financial system.

      A weakening economy undermines the CCP’s core promise of prosperity, further threatening the Party’s credibility at home and abroad.

      Political Purges: Strengthening Control at a Cost

      Xi has consolidated his power more than any leader, even surpassing Mao Zedong. Like Mao, political purges that include the business, financial, and military spheres have become a hallmark of Xi’s leadership.

      However, as I noted in a previous post, they are also a source of fear, friction, and instability among even the highest officials. They are also a sign of Xi’s paranoia and insecurity. While many purged officials are believed to have been genuinely corrupt, others are believed to have represented potential threats to Xi’s power.

      The repeating cycle of purges has created uncertainty within the Party itself, making effective governance more difficult.

      Distinct but related to the purges is the aforementioned increase in the number of state-owned enterprises. As economic conditions worsened, the CCP resorted to taking over more private companies as a means of perpetuating its control over the economy and the populace. This is only accelerating the downward spiral.

      Social Discontent

      The social contract that secured the CCP’s legitimacy for decades—economic growth in exchange for political obedience—is unraveling. Despite its unrivaled surveillance state, social discontent is still a potent force. The grievances of the younger generation—which is deeply dissatisfied with life, their prospects, and the Party’s pervasive control—are bubbling to the surface.

      Consequently, a rising number of protests have erupted across the country in recent years.

      Discontent within the political and military echelons is also rising. The Chinese regime has responded with increasingly harsh crackdowns and constructing hundreds of new detention centers. Doing so, however, may well undercut loyalty to Xi and his ability to govern.

      External Headwinds Pose More Challenges

      Given the Trump administration’s determination to push back against Beijing in trade, technology, and foreign policy, the rivalry between China and the United States will intensify in 2025. Decoupling from China is a top priority for the United States, and doing so will make economic growth more difficult for the CCP in 2025 and onward. Tariffs reaching 60 percent are on the table, as well as other trade policy options.

      But it isn’t just the United States that wants to decouple from China. Some countries in the European Union are wary of being reliant on China and seek to limit Beijing’s exports to the EU. Japan and South Korea are also cooperating to blunt Chinese trade and influence in the region and globally. The Taiwan question looms large, as does the Trump administration’s declaration to take back the Panama Canal and reduce Beijing’s influence there.

      All of the above are but a few of the many external challenges the CCP faces in 2025, which may indeed be a pivotal year for the CCP, Xi, and the Chinese people.

      *  *  *

      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, 02/03/2025 – 23:25

    • India's Modi Has The Highest Approval Rating Among World Leaders, For Now…
      India’s Modi Has The Highest Approval Rating Among World Leaders, For Now…

      Last year, half the world’s population voted in elections.

      Some governments changed.

      Others came back.

      And still others stayed in power.

      Now a month into the new year, how do the people feel about their leadership?

      Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu charts the newest approval ratings of world leaders in 24 countries around the world, based on data collected by Morning Consult between Jan. 21–27, 2025.

      Per the source: ratings reflect a trailing seven-day simple moving average of views among adults in each country surveyed.

      Some Recently Elected (Or Re-Elected) Leaders Are Popular

      India’s Narendra Modi (75% approve) and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum (66% approve) top this rating sample of world leaders.

      Leader Country Approve (%) No Opinion (%) Disapprove (%)
      Narendra Modi 🇮🇳 India 75 6 19
      Claudia Sheinbaum 🇲🇽 Mexico 66 7 26
      Javier Milei 🇦🇷 Argentina 65 5 30
      Karin Keller-Sutter 🇨🇭 Switzerland 56 24 20
      Donald Trump 🇺🇸 U.S. 52 10 38
      Anthony Albanese 🇦🇺 Australia 46 11 42
      Dick Schoof 🇳🇱 Netherlands 42 19 39
      Donald Tusk 🇵🇱 Poland 42 11 47
      Giorgia Meloni 🇮🇹 Italy 42 7 51
      Ulf Kristersson 🇸🇪 Sweden 38 11 51
      Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 South Africa 37 9 54
      Alexander De Croo 🇧🇪 Belgium 35 22 43
      Recep Tayyip Erdogan 🇹🇷 Türkiye 33 11 56
      Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva 🇧🇷 Brazil 33 8 59
      Pedro Sanchez 🇪🇸 Spain 33 5 62
      Jonas Gahr Store 🇳🇴 Norway 30 9 60
      Keir Starmer 🇬🇧 UK 27 11 61
      Shigeru Ishiba 🇯🇵 Japan 25 21 54
      Karl Nehammer 🇦🇹 Austria 24 9 67
      Justin Trudeau 🇨🇦 Canada 22 7 71
      Olaf Scholz 🇩🇪 Germany 20 6 74
      Emmanuel Macron 🇫🇷 France 18 7 75
      Yoon Suk-Yeol 🇰🇷 South Korea 17 8 75
      Petr Fiala 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 16 7 77

      Modi was re-elected for a third term as India’s prime minister last May and Sheinbaum became Mexico’s (and North America’s) first woman president last October.

      President Donald Trump, just sworn in for a second term, also makes the top five with a 52% approval rating. Relatedly, people in other countries may not be as pleased about a second Trump presidency.

      However, the People Are Unhappy

      In most of these countries, the majority of people disapprove of their current government leader.

      Among the least-liked leaders is Yoon Suk Yeol, the suspended South Korean president who is currently detained on charges of insurrection and abuse of power.

      And then there’s France’s Emmanuel Macron, with three quarters of the population disapproving. According to Euronews, his ratings plummeted after he called for snap elections in 2024.

      Finally, there’s Petr Fiala, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic. Fiala’s government is struggling to handle the country’s economic problems and is deeply unpopular after breaking a promise to not raise taxes.

      Are you a political junkie and want more data insights? We’ve got you covered. Check out: Top U.S. Industries by Lobbying Spend in 2023 for your next conversation starter.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 23:00

    • Digital Hegemony: Sophisticating Monitoring And Propaganda – Love Your Servitude!
      Digital Hegemony: Sophisticating Monitoring And Propaganda – Love Your Servitude!

      Authored by Colin Todhunter via GlodalResearch.ca,

      Today, we are witnessing a profound transformation. We are increasingly impacted by algorithmic decision-making, artificial intelligence, data proliferation, data harvesting and sophisticated monitoring of how we think and act. This affects how we work, how we access services and how we relate to and interact with others.  

      While digital innovations and online platforms offer unparalleled ease, they also raise critical concerns about our independence. The constant connectivity and data-driven decision-making that characterise modern life has major implications. Technological advancements are used to shape preferences and behaviour, and predictably, powerholders use the notion of convenience to manipulate and exert control over populations.

      Giant corporations and the state are leveraging what is often termed ‘technological solutionism’ to establish a digital iron cage of control. By monitoring and predicting our thoughts and actions, these intertwined entities impose a tightening noose of automated systems, suffocating personal liberty.

      We are increasingly hurtling toward a reality reminiscent of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, where a dystopian technocracy merges with a plutocracy.

      Huxley foresaw a society where the ruling class maintains control not through overt oppression but through subtle manipulation and distraction, effectively creating a system where people are conditioned to accept their servitude without resistance. In this emerging landscape, the values of order, conformity and compliance reign supreme, overshadowing individual freedoms and critical thought.

      In agriculture, technocratic control is increasingly evident in the push for a ‘one-world agriculture’ dominated by AI, genetic engineering and precision farming, all under the sway of a few powerful corporations. Companies like Bayer, Cargill, Corteva, Syngenta, Microsoft and Amazon, along with influential investment firms that hold stock in companies throughout the agrifood chain, aim for the standardisation of food systems.

      Their vision is a monopolistic, cloud-driven agricultural framework that prioritises control, dependency and uniformity over diversity and local practices. This approach threatens to reduce our food systems to an even blander, more standardised product line, stripping away traditional farming methods and local knowledge.

      In culture as well, the trend is starkly toward standardisation. The goal is to dilute or erase traditional knowledge, local customs and diverse worldviews, creating a bland, uniform, AI-driven existence that can be easily controlled and manipulated. This push extends to a radical alteration of human biology itself through transhumanism.

      The transhumanist agenda seeks to enhance human physical and cognitive capabilities through technology, aiming to transcend what it means to be human. This ambition aligns with the drive for a one-world agriculture, envisioning a standardised, technologically enhanced version of humanity (genetically engineered humans).

      When we scrutinise the transhumanist agenda, it reframes our understanding of movements like transgender rights, relaxed border controls and the breakdown of the nuclear family. We begin to see a vision of beings uprooted and detached from countries, families or fixed genders — the ultimate one-world human.

      For deeper insights into these implications, consider the work of Silvia Guerini, who critically examines transhumanism and its far-reaching consequences.

      Some may argue that this is merely human evolution. But history shows us that there has never been a predetermined, linear path for humanity. Our past is marked by conflict and struggle, where outcomes were never guaranteed.

      Moreover, who determines that the current powerholders driving these agendas are the ‘natural’ heirs to humanity’s legacy? Who grants them the authority to dictate the fate of billions? They have seized this role for themselves.

      It is not bit-part players like Musk, Bezos or Gates who are really orchestrating the agenda — it is those who hide in the shadows, not least the powerful banking families. According to Dean Henderson, this includes the Goldman Sachs, Rockefeller, Lehman, Kuhn Loeb, Rothschild, Warburg, Lazard and Israel Moses Seif families (see The Federal Reserve Cartel: The Eight Families).

      It is clear from the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual get-together at Davos that global powerholders and their minions do actually believe they have the right to sit in judgement over the fate of billions. They have contempt for genuine democracy and think they have some divine entitlement by virtue of stolen wealth or wealth acquired by manipulation or from sweated wage labour.

      The mainstream narrative would have us believe that these people have the best interests of humanity at heart, rather than ruthless, arrogant, devious schemers with contempt for the mass of humanity.

      It is revealing that in a 2007 interview, the late Aaron Russo, US filmmaker and businessman, shared claims about conversations that he said had taken place with Nicholas Rockefeller. According to Russo, these discussions took place some months before 9/11.

      Russo claimed that Nicholas Rockefeller told him about several future events and plans, not least an “event” that would lead to the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Russo claimed that Rockefeller had said the “event” would be used to initiate a “war on terror” without a real enemy, which Rockefeller was said to have described as a mystification to control US citizens.

      Rockefeller was also said to have stated that there were plans to reduce the world’s population by half and that paper currency would be replaced by subcutaneous microchips containing digital money (that can be switched off by the state) and personal information as a means of controlling the population.

      Nicholas Rockefeller allegedly referred to the mass of the global population as “serfs” or “slaves” who must be controlled, and he questioned why Russo would even want to care about the fate of such people.

      Rockefeller was also alleged to have told Russo (to Russo’s surprise) that the feminist movement was funded by the Rockefellers to get women into the workforce to tax them and to weaken the authority of the family so that the state could boost its control over future citizens by moulding children at an earlier age.

      These claims are unverified, but a quarter of a century on from when the conversation is said to have occurred, it would be wise to consider just how much closer we have moved towards the world revealed by Russo.

      A massive drop in sperm counts, the destabilisation and invasion of countries and the curbing of individual rights under the guise of the ‘war on terror’, the pushing of cash to the margins, a climate emergency narrative, talk about climate lockdowns and restricted movement, programmable digital currencies possibly linked to carbon footprints etc.

      But we do not have to rely on a conversation that perhaps took place a quarter of a century ago to evaluate the motives and machinations of this elite. An elite that in 2012 was claimed to have had up to 32 trillion dollars stashed in offshore banks around the globe. Who could say what the figure might be now, 13 years later, as the flow of wealth from ordinary people to multi-billionaires accelerated during the COVID episode.

      These so-called ‘wealth creators’, who have for centuries been appropriating ordinary people’s wealth, who have stashed it away in tax havens, who have bankrupted economies because of their reckless gambling and greed and who have imposed a form of globalisation that has resulted in devastating destruction and war for those who attempt to remain independent from them or structurally adjusted violence via privatisation and economic neo-liberalism for millions in countries that have acquiesced.

      Attempts to redress the balance have been brutally suppressed over the decades. From democratic leftist organisations or governments pursuing alternatives or just displaying independent tendencies, this elite class has used intelligence agencies, front groups, threats, co-opted leaders or military might to attempt to subvert or annihilate any threat to its global hegemony.

      Anyone familiar with the work of the late historian William Blum will be aware of the human cost in terms of lives lost since 1945 alone, thanks to his book Killing Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions since World War II.

      First published in 1995, the book examines US military actions and covert operations, presenting a critical view of US foreign policy and its imperialist motives. Blum documents more than 50 instances of US interference in foreign governments, many of which were democratically elected and provides a thorough analysis of the consequences of these actions.

      For more in-depth insight into the global elite, Robert J Burrowes’ three-part series on  its nature, actions and goals is essential reading as is his  open-access e-book Historical Analysis of the Global Elite: Ransacking the World Economy Until ‘You’ll Own Nothing.

      The WEF and its enablers in national governments talk about ‘food transitions’, ‘energy transitions’, ‘digital transitions’ and countless other ‘transitions’. But these benign-sounding terms mask a profound restructuring of our societies — the WEF’s much-promoted great reset that is anything but innocuous.

      At its core, this restructuring represents an intense effort to further concentrate wealth, power and control in the hands of the world’s self-appointed masters. They aim to once and for all fully subjugate the masses, who will incrementally find themselves being (digitally) hammered into complete subservience.

      Huxley’s critique of modern society suggests that an elite can govern more efficiently by using psychological methods, such as conditioning and propaganda, rather than traditional forms of coercion: a “painless concentration camp” where true control could be achieved by making people love their servitude.

      So, each step of the way, populations across the world (in the BRICS countries too) will continue to be psychologically manipulated (‘nudged’) in to believing that being tracked and traced, implanted with chips, injected with nanoparticles, censored, stripped of individual liberties, criminalised for displaying an opinion that does not conform with the official narrative or digitally ID’d will be for their convenience, their safety or to protect ‘free speech’ or ‘democracy’.

      Democracy in name only — long ago hollowed out by government creditors, subverted and controlled opposition and corporate capture.

      What we are seeing is a fundamental reset that aims to determine not only our relationship with power but the very nature of our existence and even the right to exist as a human.

      So, what’s the solution? There is no simple answer. Articles like this are often read by individuals who already recognise the importance of education, organisation, activism and non-compliance. The key challenge lies in mobilising a critical mass of people to bring about the necessary pushback and change.

      While some might scoff, many are actively working towards this goal. And we should never forget — We Are Human, We Are Free.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 22:35

    • Visualizing Drug-Use Trends In Young American Adults
      Visualizing Drug-Use Trends In Young American Adults

      Today, the three most common substances used among Americans aged 19 to 30 are alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine vapes.

      In particular, cannabis use is approaching record levels, while nicotine vaping among young adults has surged, with one in four reporting use over a 12-month period. By contrast, binge drinking and nonmedical prescription use are at record lows. Cigarette smoking has also dropped by two-thirds since 2004.

      This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld, shows young adult substance use in America, based on data from the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research.

      Young Adult Substance Use in America

      Below, we show the share of Americans aged 19 to 30 who have used the following substances at least once in the past 30 days, based on a survey of 4,810 respondents:

      *Other drugs are nonmedical drugs other than cannabis, including hallucinogens (including LSD), cocaine, amphetamines, sedatives (barbiturates), tranquilizers, and narcotics/opioids (including heroin). Data as of 2023.

      While alcohol is the most prevalent substance overall, use has declined from 74% of young adults in 1988 to 64.9% in 2023.

      Moreover, daily drinking habits sank to 3.6% of young adults, the lowest share ever recorded. In line with this trend, binge drinking, represented as more than five drinks in a row during a two-week period, fell to 27.2%. Binge drinking has broadly trended downward since the 2008 peak of 37.3%.

      Meanwhile, cigarette smoking has declined dramatically—from 29.4% of young adults in 1988 to just 8.8% in 2023—although vaping nicotine is on the rise. In response to its increasing prevalence, 15 states have enacted laws on flavored vapes and online sales amid healthcare risks. Most recently, flavored vapes were banned in California in January 2025.

      Despite the ongoing opiod epidemic, drug use (other than cannabis) has fallen slightly from 9.4% of young adults in 1988 to 6.6% in 2023. Overall, hallucinogenics are among the most commonly-used drugs, reaching a record high of 8.5% of young adults over a 12-month period.

      Meanwhile, the share of young adults that have used cannabis at least once in the past 30 days has risen from 17.5% in 1988 to 28.7% in 2023. For those using cannabis on a daily basis, this figure stands at one in 10 young adults. As cannabis legalization has spread across nearly half of all U.S. states, use has also risen among adults aged 35 to 50 over the past five years.

      To learn more about this topic from a global perspective, check out this graphic on alcohol consumption by region.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 22:10

    • Dem Lawmakers Urge RFK Jr. To Recuse From All Vaccine-Related Decisions
      Dem Lawmakers Urge RFK Jr. To Recuse From All Vaccine-Related Decisions

      Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

      Several Democrat lawmakers said on Feb. 2 that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. should commit to avoiding all decisions related to vaccines if he becomes the next U.S. health secretary.

      “Given the breadth of your involvement in vaccine litigation, such a recusal would help ensure that you and your family do not benefit financially from official government actions that you will oversee and control,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), wrote in a letter to Kennedy.

      President Donald Trump has selected Kennedy, a lawyer, to take over the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

      The department includes the Food and Drug Administration, which clears vaccines, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which issues vaccine guidance that is widely adopted by states.

      The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled this week to vote on Kennedy’s nomination. If a majority approves, the nomination will be sent to the full Senate.

      Kennedy said in an ethics agreement that, if he is confirmed, he would resign from a consulting arrangement with the Wisner Baum law firm that involves referring cases to the firm.

      “Pursuant to the referral agreement, I am entitled to receive 10% of fees awarded in contingency fee cases referred to the firm. I am not trying these cases, I am not an attorney of record for the cases, and I will not provide representational services in connection with the cases during my appointment to the position of Secretary,” Kennedy wrote.

      The Finance Committee identified at least five cases related to litigation over the Gardasil human papillomavirus vaccine in which Kennedy is still listed as the attorney of record.

      “When questioned by the Committee, you did not directly acknowledge this omission or provide clarity about any financial compensation you might receive related to these cases,” Wyden and Warren said.

      While Kennedy agreed to divest from those cases, Kennedy declined to recuse himself from decisions related to Gardasil in written communication with the panel, the senators said. He also disclosed that he was divesting his interest in cases referred to Wisner Baum to his adult son, which would let an immediate family member benefit from Kennedy’s secretary role if Kennedy is confirmed, they added.

      Recusing from vaccine-related decisions and communications will “ensure vaccine-related policymaking and communications are not inappropriately skewed by your personal views at the expense of scientific evidence,” they wrote.

      A spokesperson for Kennedy did not answer the phone or return a voicemail.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 21:45

    • Clearest Image Of US Navy's Directed-Energy Weapon Firing Laser Rounds
      Clearest Image Of US Navy’s Directed-Energy Weapon Firing Laser Rounds

      Lockheed Martin’s HELIOS (High Energy Laser with Integrated Optical-Dazzler and Surveillance) weapon has been successfully deployed aboard a US Navy warship. Designed to counter unmanned aerial threats, the high-energy laser weapon operates at a cost of only a few dollars per shot—an extraordinary savings for the Navy, which has a habit of spending tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars per missile interception.

      Defense Blog reports that an update on HELIOS was published in a January 2025 report by the US Office of the Director, Operational Test & Evaluation. The report includes an image of the USS Preble deploying its HELIOS weapon system at sea—one of the clearest images of the laser weapon in action to date.

      “The US Center for Countermeasures (CCM) supported the Navy’s demonstration on USS Preble (DDG 88) to verify and validate the functionality, performance, and capability of the HEL with Integrated Optical Dazzler and Surveillance system against an unmanned aerial vehicle target. CCM collected imagery of the engagements to support the evaluation of system performance,” the annual report said. 

      HELIOS is currently rated at 60 kilowatts and can scale up to 120 kilowatts, significantly enhancing Preble’s lethality against kamikaze drones. The laser weapon provides an operational advantage: unlimited firing capacity as long as power is available. This reduces the weight and space on the missile destroyer but reduces the cost-per-round from tens of thousands of dollars to just a few bucks. 

      “HELIOS represents a major step forward in naval warfare, providing a cost-effective countermeasure against drones, small boats, and other asymmetric threats,” the military blog said, adding, “The U.S. Navy has been expanding its directed energy arsenal, and the HELIOS-equipped USS Preble joins a growing number of Navy ships fielding high-energy laser weapons.” 

      We have been following the progression of directed energy weapons on US warships over the last decade:

      Beyond laser weapons, the US military remains hyper-focused on stealth fighter and bomber aircraft, hypersonic weapons, unmanned drones, and other high-tech technologies amid a weapon and AI arms with China. 

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 21:20

    • They Really Do Want Us To Be Weak Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, Financially, & Spiritually So That We Will Become Dependent On Them
      They Really Do Want Us To Be Weak Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, Financially, & Spiritually So That We Will Become Dependent On Them

      Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

      It takes strength to be free.  That is why they want us to be weak.  

      When we are weak, we are much more likely to become dependent upon the system to survive, and that makes us much easier to control.  So they give us junk to eat, they put poisons into our air and water, they “dumb us down” from a very early age, they feed us a steady stream of “programming” that makes us depressed and afraid, they get us hooked on legal and illegal drugs, and they constantly try to get us into as much debt as possible.

      Something that a rapper known as Zuby posted on Twitter sums this up perfectly…

      He really nailed it.

      We were created to be independent beings, but the elite are constantly attempting to make us as dependent as possible.

      Here in the United States, we are supposed to be the most prosperous nation on the entire planet.

      And yet most of us are living like servants.

      When I was growing up, $80,000 sounded like an enormous mountain of money.  And it actually was a very significant amount of money in those days.  But in 2025 it just doesn’t go that far.  Today, the median household income in the U.S. is approximately $80,000 a year.  Approximately half of all U.S. households make more than that, and approximately half of all U.S. households make less than that.  So if your family earns $80,000 in 2025 that would put you about right in the middle.

      So can a typical family of four survive on $80,000 in America today?

      The answer might surprise you.

      Over the past four years, the cost of living has been rising much faster than our paychecks have.

      As a result, our standard of living has been steadily going down.

      $80,000 breaks down to about $6,666 a month.  So how far will $6,666 a month stretch for a family of four in today’s economy?….

      First of all, our hypothetical family of four needs a place to live.  As I discussed the other day, the household income required to purchase a typical home in the U.S. has more than tripled since January 2012.  At this point, the average mortgage payment in the U.S. is about $2,200.

      So after paying the mortgage, we only have $4,466 left.

      Next, our family of four has to pay for utilities for their home.  According to Google AI, the average U.S. household spends $600 a month on their utilities bills.

      So now we only have $3,866 left.

      Our family is also going to need phone and Internet service.  Cell phone bills for a family of four can balloon to ridiculous proportions, but let’s assume that our family of four is extremely budget conscious and has found a package where they can get basic phone service for 50 dollars a month and Internet service for 50 dollars a month.

      Now we are down to $3,766.

      In our hypothetical household, both parents are also going to need vehicles to get to work.  Let’s assume that both vehicles were purchased used, so the payments will only total about $600 a month.  If the vehicles were purchased new this number could potentially be much higher.

      Suddenly we only have $3,166 remaining.

      If our family has two vehicles that means that they will also be paying for automobile insurance.  Let’s assume that they both have exemplary driving records and so they are only spending about $100 a month.

      Now our total is just $3,066.

      Our hypothetical family of four is also going to need health insurance.  According to Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, a typical family of four will spend $1,437 a month on health insurance.

      Ouch.

      Now we only have $1,629 left.

      Our hypothetical family is also going to have to eat.  Let’s assume that our family clips coupons and cuts corners any way that it can and only spends about $50 for each member of the family on food and toiletries each week.  That works out to a total of $800 a month for the entire family.

      I know that number may seem way too low to many of you, but let’s go with it.

      That brings our remaining cash down to just $829.

      Needless to say, our hypothetical family will also need to buy gasoline to get to and from work each week.  Let’s assume that they don’t live too far from work and only need to fill up both vehicles about once per week.  That would give them a gasoline bill of about $50 a week or $200 a month.  Of course if either of them has a long commute to work or if a lot of extra driving is required for other reasons this expense could be far, far higher.

      After everything that we have gone through so far, we actually have $629 left.

      That is a reason to celebrate, right?

      Wrong.

      We haven’t taken federal, state and local taxes out of the paycheck yet.

      Federal, state and local taxes will reduce your paycheck by about one-fourth.

      So after taxes, we are now $1,371 in the hole.

      Up to this point we have assumed that our family does not have any credit card debt or student loan debt at all.  If they do, those payments will have to be made as well.

      In addition, the budget above includes no money for clothing, no money for dining out, no money for additional entertainment, no money for medications, no money for pets, no money for hobbies, no money for life insurance, no money for vacations, no money for vehicle repairs and maintenance, no money for child care, no money for birthday or holiday gifts, and no money for retirement.

      On top of everything else, if our family of four has a catastrophic health expense that health insurance will not pay for, then our hypothetical family of four is suddenly facing a complete and utter financial catastrophe.

      Are you starting to get the picture?

      Most of us are just desperately trying to find a way to scrape by from month to month, and that is the way that the elite like it.

      Do you feel like you are a hamster on a wheel that is never really getting anywhere?

      Well, the truth is that what you are feeling is very real, because the entire system has been designed to keep us all trapped for as long as possible.

      It is time to wake up, get strong, and realize what life is really all about.

      You were not designed to be a cog in their machine.

      If you don’t take control of your life, someone else will.

      I promise you that.

      If you don’t want to be a hamster on a wheel, stop listening to their lies and start living the way that you were designed to live.

      We were meant to be free, but the elite will happily keep you enslaved if you allow them to do so.

      *  *  *

      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
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 20:55

    • USAF Spy Plane Runs SIGINT Operation Near Cabo As US Preps For Potential Cartel Fight
      USAF Spy Plane Runs SIGINT Operation Near Cabo As US Preps For Potential Cartel Fight

      After what may be the shortest trade war in history, Mexico and Canada have each committed 10,000 troops to their respective borders, while the US has reinforced its southern border with thousands of troops. These developments suggest the US military may be gearing up for potential action against out-of-control Mexican drug cartels, with the first step involving the collection of signals intelligence (SIGINT) through surveillance flights over cartel-controlled territories in Mexico. 

      Several open-source intelligence X accounts have posted flight tracking data of a US Air Force RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft, indicating it may have conducted a SIGINT operation over the southern half of Baja California, a region home to heavily armed Tijuana Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel members.

      “Wow, for the first time I have ever seen, a U.S. Air Force RC-135V “Rivet Joint” Signals Intelligence Platform from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, is operating within Mexican Airspace, over the Gulf of California between Baja California Sur, Sonora, and Sinaloa,” OSINTdefender wrote on X. 

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

      WarMonitor wrote on X, “American military RC-135V Rivet Joint surveillance plane has been taking a good look at cartel positions all over the western coast of Mexico today including in Sinaloa.” 

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

      OSINTdefender wrote in another post, “One of the first concrete signs of new US military activity within Mexico.”

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

      “This may be part of the new US-Mexico (Trump-Sheinbaum) cooperation against the drug cartels,” former USAF lieutenant colonel Rick Francona wrote on X. 

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

      The RC-135V/W Rivet Joint is the USAF’s premier SIGINT aircraft, designed to intercept, identify, and analyze enemy communications and electronic signals. Operated primarily by the 55th Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, the spy plane will be a critical air asset for the Trump administration and the Department of Defense for real-time intelligence collection, surveillance, and even electronic warfare against cartels. The purpose of this flight is likely to be strategic planning and threat assessment. 

      Recall that President Trump recently designated Mexican cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.” When reporters asked Trump whether he would consider deploying US special forces operators to Mexico, he responded, “Could happen” and added, “Stranger things have happened.” 

      On Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said…

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

      Trump’s shock weekend tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China were mainly to get neighboring countries on board with operations to “disrupt and dismantle” Mexican drug cartels, as well as prepare for the busting of command and control centers operated by Chinese transnational organized crime networks. 

      We noted this before Canada bowed a knee to Trump…

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

      What’s important to note is that China’s “reverse opium wars” on America, think of it as hybrid warfare, is coming to an abrupt end under Trump. The drug death catastrophe of 100,00 Americans per year was unacceptable and somehow allowed to happen by the Biden-Haris regime and rogue Democrats who pushed open southern borders. 

      Dismantling Mexican drug cartels could be a very messy operation, which is why the Trump administration fortified the border with the military. The challenge, however, is that if US special forces operators kill cartel leaders, retaliatory attacks by cartel members could occur at Mexican beach resorts or, worse, on the streets of US cities. 

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 20:30

    • Lawsuit Puts Oregon City Back In Spotlight Over Homeless Camping
      Lawsuit Puts Oregon City Back In Spotlight Over Homeless Camping

      Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

      An activist group is suing an Oregon city over its public camping policies after the city prevailed in a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed municipalities to enforce homeless camping bans.

      The new lawsuit comes after the Supreme Court in June 2024 upheld a local ordinance banning public camping, which activists claimed criminalized being homeless. The court rejected 6-3 the novel argument that the local law in Grants Pass, Oregon, violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

      The new legal complaint in Disability Rights Oregon v. City of Grants Pass was filed on Jan. 30 in the Circuit Court for the State of Oregon for Josephine County. Grants Pass, with a population of 39,000, is in southwest Oregon near the California border.

      The city has one overnight shelter that adults may access, called the Gospel Rescue Mission.

      Some homeless people don’t stay there because it requires regular attendance at religious services, and bans smoking, alcohol, illegal drugs, and pets, according to the complaint.

      On Jan. 7, the City Council voted to shut down the larger of two city-owned campsites on which homeless people had been permitted to stay and to restrict the use of the smaller one. City officials said the larger site was an unsanitary eyesore. Construction of a water treatment facility is expected to begin at the larger site in May.

      The legal complaint said both sites were unsuitable for use by disabled people, including those using mobility devices such as wheelchairs.

      These people “often found themselves struggling to traverse the uneven ground, requiring assistance to make it even a short distance within the campsites.”

      The smaller site is open from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., after which campers have to remove their belongings.

      The lawsuit asks the state court for a temporary restraining order reversing the closure of the larger campsite and halting the city policy restricting the hours of the smaller campsite.

      Portland-based Disability Rights Oregon and five homeless individuals who are disabled say in the complaint that the city’s new camping policies discriminate against disabled people and run afoul of a provision in Section 195.530 of the Oregon Revised Statutes, a state law.

      Subsection 2 of the law states that: “Any city or county law that regulates the acts of sitting, lying, sleeping or keeping warm and dry outdoors on public property that is open to the public must be objectively reasonable as to time, place and manner with regards to persons experiencing homelessness.”

      Subsection 4 allows a homeless person to “bring suit for injunctive or declaratory relief to challenge the objective reasonableness of [such] a city or county law.”

      The complaint argues the city is breaking the law because the space in which camping is now allowed is, among other things, too small.

      The small plot of land is “only large enough to hold less than 20% of the tents of people who are currently homeless in Grants Pass. For about 80% of the homeless people in Grants Pass, Grants Pass city code now makes it illegal for them to exist and survive by virtue of their poverty and disabilities,” according to the complaint.

      Instead of making objectively reasonable regulations “the city has chosen to use its authority to recriminalize being homeless in the guise of a time/place/manner restriction,” the complaint said.

      The city “wants to make being homeless in Grants Pass so unpleasant that people go elsewhere,” the complaint said. “Despite the presence of numerous elderly, ill, and disabled people on site, the city increased its draconian restrictions in the dead of winter leaving hundreds of people with no legal option for their continued survival.”

      The city “currently has no meaningful plan to provide shelter or otherwise assist homeless people to find places to live. People have no place to legally go,” the complaint states.

      Jake Cornett is the executive director and CEO of Disability Rights Oregon.

      “Putting the lives of people with disabilities at risk in the dead of winter because they don’t have housing is cruel and illegal,” he said in a statement. “Without adequate shelter space available, forcing a person in a wheelchair or someone with a chronic illness to pack and move their belongings daily is not just impossible, it’s inhumane. Grants Pass’s dangerous actions must be stopped.”

      The Epoch Times reached out to Mark Bartholomew, interim city attorney for Grants Pass, for comment. No reply was received by publication time.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 20:05

    • US Readies New $1BN Arms Sale To Israel As Netanyahu Arrives In Washington
      US Readies New $1BN Arms Sale To Israel As Netanyahu Arrives In Washington

      While the name of the game for Trump has been cut, cut, cut and put a halt to all wasteful and corrupt US foreign aid siphoned abroad, funds sent to Israel have remained untouched.

      And now the Trump administration is readying a new $1 billion arms sale to Israel, including 4,700 1,000-pound bombs and armored bulldozers. Trump is requesting fresh Congressional approval for the potential sale.

      Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

      The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story Monday, wrote “The planned weapons sales include 4,700 1,000-pound bombs, worth more than $700 million, as well as armored bulldozers built by Caterpillar, worth more than $300 million, the officials said.”

      “The new arms requests, which would be paid for from the billions of dollars in annual U.S. military aid to Israel, come as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington and set to meet President Trump on Tuesday to discuss the cease-fire in Gaza, a separate truce in Lebanon and tensions in the wider Middle East,” the report continued.

      This comes amid the backdrop of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arriving in Washington D.C. on Monday, ahead of his scheduled White House visit with Trump Tuesday.

      Crucially, Netanyahu will be the first world leader to meet with Trump since the Jan.20 inauguration. Israel remains America’s closest official Mideast ally, and a meeting between a new president and Israel’s head of state is typical spanning back multiple administrations.

      But these are sensitive times, given the fragile Gaza ceasefire and hostage/prisoner swap deal is still ongoing. Some hardliners close to Netanyahu oppose it, even while families of the hostages have pressed for it to go all the way until all hostages alive and deceased are returned.

      The Tuesday meeting in the Oval Office is expected to be dominated by these several issues:

      • Preserving the Gaza ceasefire
      • A potential deal to finally achieve Israel-Saudi relations
      • Moving forward with a total $8 billion in arms transfers

      These issues are somewhat interlocking. Trump has stood with Netanyahu on the stance of wanting to see the final military eradication of Hamas, but Trump has also hailed the ceasefire as ultimately the product of his administration entering office.

      As for the arms transfers issue, WSJ has detailed the following:

      Netanyahu and other Israeli officials are expected to press Trump to move forward with a separate set of arms transfers that were initially requested by the Biden administration, totaling more than $8 billion in new bombs, missiles and artillery rounds.

      The Biden administration notified key congressional leaders about that sale in January before it left office. The weapons haven’t yet received full approval because of a hold by some Democratic lawmakers, a congressional official said.

      Last week, Trump within released a hold on a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel previously paused by the Biden administration.

      And on Monday, the US has moved to cut all funding to the controversial UN aid organization present in Palestinian territories – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The US has long sided with Israel regarding the accusation that it is compromised by local Hamas staffers, or Hamas-sympathetic officials.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 19:40

    • Secret Service Agent: DEI Contributed To Near-Killing Of Trump
      Secret Service Agent: DEI Contributed To Near-Killing Of Trump

      Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClearPolitics,

      A Secret Service agent is for the first time publicly speaking out against the agency’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, which he says contributed to the first assassination attempt against President Trump last summer.

      A 13-year veteran of the agency who has served in an elite unit and top protective assignments, Rashid Ellis sat down for an interview with the Independent Women’s Forum, a Virginia-based conservative nonprofit.

      IWF is in the process of making a documentary, titled “Qualifications, Not Quotas,” about Ellis’s experience and released an explanation of the documentary and a trailer Thursday providing a snapshot of his experience and concerns.

      “My initial thoughts when seeing the Butler assassination attempt was dread,” Ellis states solemnly in the trailer. “My stomach was in knots watching it because we had known for years that this was coming.”

      “I believe agendas have taken priority at the United States Secret Service for a long time, which is why Butler and July 13 happened and why we got a president get shot,” he adds.

      A graduate of The Citadel, a prestigious military college in South Carolina, Ellis has served on the Secret Service’s Counter Assault Team, an elite unit that provides tactical support to the president of the United States. Ellis went on to serve on the Presidential Protective Detail, a top assignment protecting presidents and their families, and as an instructor at the Secret Service James J. Rowley Training Center, where he has taught new and experienced agents about counter-surveillance, according to a 2023 article on The Citadel’s website.

      “To be in the Secret Service, you have to be worthy of trust and confidence,” Ellis, wearing his Citadel class ring on a braided necklace around his neck, states in the video. “I’ve always viewed [it] as an honor and privilege to serve in this capacity. However … what I’ve seen with the United States is a different set of standards based on gender.”

      Despite his accomplishments, Ellis, who is black, says he was unfairly denied a leadership position and believes that DEI gender “quotas played a factor.” He argues that the agency’s hiring and promotions based on skin color and gender have directly contributed to lowering morale and the ongoing exodus of senior agents leaving the agency. The previous Secret Service leadership placed a special emphasis on hiring and promoting women.

      “Real danger is out there,” he states. “We need to restore confidence. We have to be focused on the threat that’s outside and the threat that’s in front of us.”

      During the final weeks of the campaign, whistleblowers warned members of Congress that Trump was facing multiple “assassination teams,” including three inspired by Iran and other governments. The FBI arrested Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national with ties to Iran, one day before the Butler rally and later charged him with murder for hire as part of an alleged scheme to assassinate Trump on U.S. soil. The Justice Department in November announced separate charges against an “Iranian asset” and two Americans in a murder-for-hire scheme against Trump.

      Even before the assassination attempts in the final months of the campaign, Secret Service agents were sounding the alarm that DEI policies were lowering hiring and training standards in the push to reach quotas for female and minority agents and officers, as RealClearPolitics reported in late April.

      The criticism came in the wake of an incident in which a female Secret Service agent physically attacked a superior at Joint Base Andrews, home base for Air Force One and Air Force Two. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi described the incident as a “medical matter” and said the agency would not “disclose further details.”

      The incident attracted scrutiny of an initiative signed by former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to increase the number of female agents. Cheatle, whom former President Biden tapped to serve as USSS director, was responding to Biden’s executive order requiring all federal agencies to demonstrate a commitment to DEI, which he issued on his first day in office in 2021.

      Cheatle, who resigned under pressure from Congress after the Butler assassination attempt, signed onto the 30×30 initiative, a national campaign to increase the representation of women in all law enforcement ranks across the country to 30% of the workplace by 2030. Before Cheatle stepped down, she was close to reaching that goal, with women making up nearly a quarter of Secret Service agents and Uniformed Division officers, Secret Service sources told RCP.

      In addition, at least until Trump’s first days in office, the Secret Service had an “Inclusion and Engagement Council,” which pledged to become the agency’s “game-changers” when it comes to helping the agency “build, foster, create, and inspire a workforce where diversity and inclusion are not just ‘talked about’ but demonstrated by all employees through ‘Every Action, Every Day.’”

      The agency also had an Office of Equity & Employment Support Services, which maintained an internal website to provide “executive leadership and oversight for the effective management of all resources and, agency-wide initiatives, and external requirements” for DEI. That office included at least a dozen officials devoted to working on DEI programs, according to screenshots of the internal website that RCP viewed.

      After the first assassination attempt against Trump and before the second at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course, the Secret Service’s DEI office sent out an agency-wide email soliciting nominations for agency employees to attend the “Out and Equal” Workplace Summit at Disney World. The all-expense paid, three-day LGBTQ+ conference, which RCP first reported, took place Oct. 7-10, during the height of the campaign season when agents were working at a frenetic pace with no leave permitted.

      The internal agency solicitation spurred a wave of criticism from members of Congress investigating the agency’s failures at Butler. The Secret Service rationalized its participation with a spokesman noting that only a limited number of administrative personnel were permitted to attend.

      On his first day in office, Trump began to dismantle the previous administration’s DEI efforts across the federal government. His executive order, titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” directed all federal DEI staff be placed on paid lead and, eventually, laid off.

      Trump also tapped Sean Curran, head of his campaign detail, as the new director, replacing acting Secret Service Director Ron Rowe who retired last week. Just two days into the job, Curran started cleaning house. On Jan. 21, he reassigned or pressed at least 10 senior leaders to retire immediately in a shake-up agents referred to as “Bloody Friday.”

      Though many agents applauded these actions from the new administration, they believe it will take years of effort to right the DEI wrongs, which they say have severely weakened the agency.

      “Though I welcome the change of leadership at the top of the agency and the reforms I hope they will prioritize, I worry that it will take years to rectify the damage that discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion policies have caused,” Ellis told RCP in a written statement. “The Secret Service’s role is critical, and if we do not clean out the rot that has embedded itself in this agency, our people – and our protectees – will pay the price.”

      Ellis noted that he has proudly worked for the agency for 13 years and has repeatedly put his “life on the line to advance this agency’s mission and secure the safety of our protectees.”

      Unfortunately, he says, over the past several years he watched the agency’s leaders abandon its critical protective mission “in favor of ideological goals.”

      “The relentless push by Secret Service leadership to meet diversity quotas in particular has compromised our ability to meet our protectees’ needs,” he argued. “This agenda has contributed to devastating security failures, including the July 13 assassination attempt of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

      “I know this firsthand because I am one of many Secret Service agents who was wrongly sidelined by agency leadership because I did not meet their sex-based diversity requirements,” he said.

      The IWF is continuing to work on a full documentary about Ellis’ experiences and deep concerns but decided to release a trailer to highlight the “counterproductive” impact DEI policies have had on several federal agencies, including the Secret Service. DEI policies are especially detrimental to the Secret Service’s “zero-fail” mission and its top priority of protecting presidents, vice presidents, their family members, and key Cabinet members, according to Kaylee McGhee White, editor-in-chief of Independent Women Features, IWF’s storytelling and journalism arm, which is producing the documentary.

      “The Secret Service is one of many federal agencies whose work has been hampered by divisive and counterproductive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies,” McGhee White said. “Given the Secret Service’s critical work, this agenda has had particularly visible consequences. The Secret Service’s protectees should not be worried about whether the agency is able to adequately prepare for and respond to threats due to unfair hiring and promotion standards.

      “Unfortunately, as Rashid Ellis has confirmed, that is exactly what has happened,” she said.

      Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ national political correspondent.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 19:15

    • OPEC Drops US EIA As A Secondary Source Assessing Oil Production
      OPEC Drops US EIA As A Secondary Source Assessing Oil Production

      Authored by By Charles Kennedy via OilPrice.com,

      • OPEC has replaced the EIA with Kpler, OilX, and ESAI as secondary sources for assessing crude oil production and compliance with output cuts.

      • This decision comes after OPEC previously dropped the IEA from its list of data sources.

      • The move is seen as a significant snub to the U.S. energy agency and reflects growing tensions between OPEC and the West.

      OPEC is dropping the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) as a secondary source to assess crude oil production of the OPEC+ countries and their compliance with the group’s output cuts, the cartel said after a panel meeting on Monday.

      After thorough analysis from the OPEC Secretariat, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) replaced consultancy Rystad Energy and the EIA with Kpler, OilX, and ESAI, as part of the secondary sources used to assess the crude oil production and compliance, OPEC said.

      The move is effective from February 1, 2025. Before that date, OPEC used figures from seven consultancies and agencies, including the EIA, Rystad Energy, and Wood Mackenzie, among others.

      OPEC uses secondary sources to track and report its crude oil production and to monitor compliance with the OPEC+ production cuts by using the average of the figures provided by these sources.

      OPEC had already dropped in 2022 the International Energy Agency (IEA) from its list of secondary sources after the Paris-based agency embarked on a campaign to criticize oil-producing countries and call for no new oil and gas projects in a world of net zero emissions.

      OPEC has repeatedly slammed the international agency for what the cartel says are “dangerous” predictions of peak oil demand by 2030.

      Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman even called in 2021 the IEA’s Roadmap to Net Zero “La La Land”.

      Now it’s the turn of the U.S. EIA to be replaced as a secondary source.

      OPEC did not give explanations as to why it has decided to drop the U.S. energy administration from its pool of secondary sources providers.

      At the Monday meeting of the JMMC, the OPEC+ panel reviewing policy and markets and potentially recommending actions to the group’s ministers to take, the committee said it would not recommend changes to the group’s current plans to begin gradually unwinding the cuts in April 2025.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 18:25

    • Angry Dem Lawmakers Blocked By Security From Entering USAID Headquarters
      Angry Dem Lawmakers Blocked By Security From Entering USAID Headquarters

      Update(1815ET): And now apparently Dems have essentially been locked out of the USAID headquarters in Washington, amid efforts to get in and investigate what’s going on, and seeking to meet with top administrators now running the show (or rather, overseeing the dismantling of the agency) in the HQ. The Hill details Monday afternoon:

      A group of Senate and House Democrats were blocked from entering the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Monday.

      The Democratic lawmakers, who are opposed to President Trump’s efforts to shut down the agency, left without incident after a brief exchange with security officials. The group, led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), were told the front office of the administrator of USAID was not available to meet. 

      A select group of USAID employees with the front office administrator were in the office Monday, an official told lawmakers outside the doors, but were not free to meet with the lawmakers.

      One Democratic lawmaker told the publication about being blocked at the entrance that the whole saga is “underwhelming”. However, clearly Trump and Musk are setting off huge alarm bells, and this is likely but the first salvo on Congress’s attempt to intervene.

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

      Blocked!… no access:

      Screenshot via The Hill

      * * *

      It’s happening fast after Sunday statements of Elon Musk confirming President Trump “agreed” to shut USAID down… USAID’s headquarters in Washington D.C. has been closed for the day on Monday, with employees receiving an early morning email telling them to remain at home.

      Musk says the agency has effectively been shut down. The email, which is now widely circulating on social media postings, was sent from Gavin Kliger via an official usaid.gov. address. He is one among the twenty-somethings assisting Musk in implementing Trump’s order to slash foreign aid and stop waste.

      “Logos and photos of its aid work have been stripped from building walls,” CNN writes of the HQ’s sudden closure. This after all web and and social media accounts went dark over the weekend, now with a simplified version of its webpage on the State Department’s website.

      “None of this could be done without the full support of the president,” Musk said in a Sunday X Spaces event. “I went over it with him in detail, and he agreed with that we should shut it down. I want to be clear. I actually checked with him a few times. I said, “Are you sure?’ ‘Yes.’ So we’re shutting it down.”

      Thousands of staff have told media outlets that they have lost access to their email accounts, which have been deactivated.

      A USAID worker has subsequently said: “We have been officially informed that the US Department of State now has access to all of our internal documents and our entire suite of files, documents, everything — all of our systems.” Top officials were fired over the weekend.

      Musk says “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper”…

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

      Access to USAID’s Google drive and other sensitive data has reportedly been transferred straight under the State Department. It appears any future foreign aid programs will simply be run out of the State Department, with more executive branch oversight.

      One big question that remains is how much noise Congressional leaders will make. Will Congress attempt intervention, also as there are reports that Musk and DOGE have access to the US Treasury’s payment system?

      USAID HQ in D.C.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 18:15

    • Russia's Medvedev Warns That US Deep State Might Swallow Musk
      Russia’s Medvedev Warns That US Deep State Might Swallow Musk

      Having long witnessed the phenomenon of USAID-backed ‘color revolutions’ in neighboring and regional former Soviet satellite countries, Russia has been closely following the Trump administration’s efforts to fully dismantle the United States Agency for International Development.

      Head of the recently established US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk, has been spearheading this, saying on Monday that “We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper. Could gone to some great parties. Did that instead.” And now Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has weighed in with a message and a warning.

      The former Russian president and top national security official expressed hope that the US deep state won’t consume Elon Musk after shutting down the long-running agency known for having funded regime change operations abroad for many decades.

      “Smart move by Elon Musk, trying to plug USAID’s Deep Throat. Let’s hope notorious Deep State doesn’t swallow him whole,” Medvedev wrote on X.

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

      Ironically this came the same day that never-Trump neocon and intellectual architect behind Bush’s disastrous Iraq war issued a tweet declaring his preference for the deep state, and he was being quite literal.

      “The deep state is far preferable to the Trump state,” Kristol said, in a rare moment saying what many other career government operatives are thinking, or saying the quiet part out loud.

      Interestingly Medvedev also took the opportunity Monday to blast Ukraine and President Zelensky over alleged ‘missing’ USAID funds meant for Kiev. According to Russia’s RT:

      Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s recent claim that he is unaware of the whereabouts of more than $100 billion of Western aid funds allocated to Kiev is a “brazen and cynical lie,” former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has suggested.

      In a Telegram post on Monday, Medvedev, who now serves as the Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, accused Zelensky and his associates of embezzling significant sums. “In a fit of candor, the Bandera regime’s boss admitted that he and his cronies had siphoned off $100 billion,” he stated.

      Zelensky had told the Associated Press in an interview published the day prior that Ukraine received just over $75 billion in military and other types of assistance, despite $177 billion in military aid had been approved under Biden.

      “When it is said that Ukraine received $200 billion to support the army during the war – that’s not true. I don’t know where all that money went. Perhaps it’s true on paper with hundreds of different programs – I won’t argue, and we’re immensely grateful for everything. But in reality, we received about $76 billion. It’s significant aid, but it’s not $200 billion,” Zelensky said, in remarks that have raised eyebrows.

      There may also be serious questions from the new Trump administration over the line about not knowing where all that money went. Time for a full stoppage at least until there is a thorough US-sponsored audit? Medvedev has alleged, “The hundred billion lined the pockets of all kinds of kleptocrats from Washington to Kiev.”

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 18:00

    • Spoiling For A Fight: Why Challenging Birthright Citizenship May Be A Win-Win Strategy For Trump
      Spoiling For A Fight: Why Challenging Birthright Citizenship May Be A Win-Win Strategy For Trump

      Authored by Jonathan Turley,

      Last week, the Trump administration doubled down in its fight against birthright citizenship. The usual alliance of pundits, professors and press lined up to declare any challenge to birthright citizenship as absurd. Yet the administration seemed not only undeterred, but delighted.

      There is a reason for that euphoria: They believe that they cannot lose this fight.

      The legal case against birthright citizenship has always been tough to make, given the long-standing interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment in federal courts and agencies. Many in academia and the media have shown unusual outrage toward anyone questioning the basis for birthright citizenship as a legal or policy matter.

      This is perhaps best evinced by Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe’s profane tirade the last time Trump raised this issue years ago: “This f—ing racist wants to reverse the outcome of the Civil War.”

      Putting aside that the Civil War was fought over slavery, not immigration, many at the time would have disagreed that this was one of the outcomes of either the Civil War or the Fourteenth Amendment.

      The Fourteenth Amendment starts and ends as a model of clarity, stating that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” are “citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” However, sandwiched between those two phrases, Congress inserted the words “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” Those six words have perplexed many since they were first drafted.

      For some, the line must be read as a whole and guarantees that anyone born within the United States becomes an American citizen.

      For others, the six words cannot be read out of the amendment as superfluous. They argue that this indicates that the parents must be here in a legal status, either as citizens or legal residents.

      This division was evident at the very birth of the amendment.

      Some of those debating the question clearly believed that the amendment did cover anyone born on our soil regardless of the status of the parents.

      During the debates, Senator Edgar Cowan of Pennsylvania asked:

      “Is the child of the Chinese immigrant in California a citizen? Is the child born of a Gypsy born in Pennsylvania a citizen?” Senator John Conness of California answered this in the affirmative.

      Others indicated the opposite understanding.

      Senator Jacob Howard, coauthor of the Fourteenth Amendment, said it was “simply declaratory” of the Civil Rights Act to protect freed slaves.

      Howard assured senators, “This will not, of course, include persons born in the United States who are foreigners, aliens, or who belong to the families of ambassadors or foreign ministers.” Likewise, Senator Lyman Trumbull, author of the 13th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act and a drafter of the Fourteenth Amendment, said that the six words included only those “not owing allegiance to anyone else.”

      This debate has raged for decades. While Democrats today portray anyone supporting the narrower interpretation as a racist or nutty, it was not long ago that many Democratic leaders opposed birthright citizenship, including former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). He later denounced his old position with the same passion.

      The Supreme Court itself seemed conflicted in the relatively few cases that touched on this issue. In 1872, in the Slaughterhouse Cases, the court interpreted the words “subject to its jurisdiction” as “intended to exclude from its operation” children of “citizens or subjects of foreign states born within the United States.” A few years later, in Minor v. Happersett, the court unanimously expressed “doubts” that citizenship would apply for “children born within the jurisdiction without reference to the citizenship of their parents.”

      Then, in 1884, the Supreme Court handed down Elk v. Wilkins and held that parents must not merely be “subject in some respect or degree to the jurisdiction of the United States, but completely subject to their political jurisdiction, and not subject to any foreign power”  To claim citizenship, they must owe the U.S. “direct and immediate allegiance.”

      Supporters of birthright citizenship can cite countervailing authority to support their position. In 1898, the court ruled in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark that “the Fourteenth Amendment affirms the ancient and fundamental rule of citizenship by birth within the territory, in the allegiance and protection of the country, including all children here born of resident aliens.”

      Anti-birthright advocates stress the court’s additional emphasis that the parents had to have “a permanent domicil[e] and residence in the United States, and [be] there carrying on business.”

      Yet in 1982, in Plyler v. Doe, the court voted 5-4 that the Fourteenth Amendment required Texas to provide public schooling to the children of illegal immigrants, noting that there is “no plausible distinction with respect to Fourteenth Amendment ‘jurisdiction’ can be drawn between resident aliens whose entry into the United States was lawful, and resident aliens whose entry was unlawful.”

      There are strong arguments in favor of the broader interpretation to include birthright citizenship, and the case law favors the conventional interpretation. Indeed, it is not clear whether the Trump administration could secure a majority of the court to adopt the narrower interpretation, including potentially skeptical conservatives such as John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

      What is clear is that such an interpretation would likely need to be made by the Supreme Court (rather than lower courts) given the existing precedent in favor of birthright citizenship.

      So what makes this a win-win proposition for the Trump administration? The politics are stronger than the precedent.

      Even if the administration loses before the Supreme Court, it will force Democrats again to fight against a tougher stance on immigration issues. Democrats maintained that position in the last election despite polling showing that 83 percent of Americans support deportations of immigrants with violent criminal records and almost half support mass deportation of all undocumented persons.

      On birthright citizenship, roughly half of the country now opposes it, according to a recent Emerson poll.

      That is consistent with much of the world.

      The U.S. is actually in the minority on the issue.

      Our closest allies in Europe reject birthright citizens and follow the common practice of “jus sanguinis,” or right of blood.

      We are part of a smaller number of countries following “jus soli,” or right of soil.

      That is why the Trump administration may win either way. It will either secure a new interpretation from the high court or it could spur a campaign for a constitutional amendment. All of this could unfold around the time of the midterm elections, when incumbents of the president’s party are generally disfavored. This is a wedge issue that many in the Republican Party might welcome.

      Indeed, the most relevant quote from the Civil War period may be that of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in the final year of the war, when he declared “I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.” It was a war of attrition, and Grant liked the odds. Some conservatives seem to have the same view of the lay of the land in the fight over birthright citizenship.

      *  *  *

      Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 17:40

    • Watch: Hornet's Nest Kicked As Raskin, Omar Throw Public Tantrum Over USAID Hostile Takeover
      Watch: Hornet’s Nest Kicked As Raskin, Omar Throw Public Tantrum Over USAID Hostile Takeover

      Apparently the Trump administration is directly over the target, as Democrats are absolutely freaking out over DOGE’s ‘hostile takeover’ of USAID, which on Monday was folded into the State Department under Marco Rubio.

      In a nutshell, USAID has been a deep state slush fund used for unmitigated malarkey around the world, and was essentially a money laundering operation that has funded radical organizations linked to terrorists, censorship operations, EcoHealth Alliance, and a laundry list of other anti-American activities.

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

      In a Monday statement, the State Department acknowledged that USAID “has long strayed from its original mission of responsibly advancing American interests abroad, and it is now abundantly clear that significant portions of USAID funding are not aligned with the core national interests of the United States.”

      Cue Freakout

      For further confirmation that USAID is nothing but a deep state slush fund, look no further than its defenders. On Monday, Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) staged a protest outside USAID headquarters in Washington DC.

      “We talked about Trump wanting to be a dictator on day one, and here we are. This is what the beginning of dictatorship looks like!” screeched Omar. Notably, $2.3 billion of USAID went to Somalia, where she’s from.

      https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsRaskin, meanwhile, slammed DOGE head Elon Musk.

      “Elon Musk, you may have illegally seized power over the financial payment systems of the United States Department of Treasury, but you don’t control the money of the American people.”

      “Elon Musk, you didn’t create USAID,” Raskin continued, adding “He doesn’t have the power to destroy it, and who will stop him? We are!”

      Sorry Jamie, USAID was created by JFK at the height of the Cold War by Executive Order, and can be folded into the State Department at Trump’s will.

      Again, Trump and Musk are directly over the target. 

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

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 17:20

    • Trump Should End The Ukraine War Now: 'Get On The Phone & Tell Zelensky It's Over'
      Trump Should End The Ukraine War Now: ‘Get On The Phone & Tell Zelensky It’s Over’

      Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

      President Trump had a simple but profound message about the Ukraine war during his campaign: “I want everybody to stop dying. They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying.”

      About two weeks into his second term in office, Russians and Ukrainians are still dying, and not just soldiers. On January 29, a Ukrainian drone killed a mother and her two-year-old child in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. The following day, a Russian drone slammed into an apartment building in northeastern Ukraine, killing six people, who were described as three older married couples.

      Trump has reportedly given his envoy to the conflict, Keith Kellogg, 100 days to end the war, and a purported leaked plan drawn up by the administration would call for a ceasefire by Easter to begin talks on a lasting peace deal.

      Getty Images

      But between now and then, many more Ukrainians and Russians will die. And for what? There’s nothing the US can do now to give Ukraine any real leverage over Russia. Time is on Russia’s side, and everybody knows it. Ukraine will have to make serious concessions to achieve peace, and that will be the situation now and in 100 days.

      There are other reasons to stop the war besides the daily casualties. The risk of escalation is still very real as Ukrainian drones are flying into Russia on a daily basis and sometimes target very sensitive infrastructure, including nuclear power plants.

      Contrary to what many believe, Ukraine did not build up its drone capabilities by itself. In its final days, the Biden administration decided to reveal a once-secret program that funded Ukrainian drone development to the tune of $1.5 billion. We also know that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia are carried out using intelligence from the West.

      Russia has shown that it doesn’t want to take the war to NATO in the face of Western-backed attacks on its territory, and it’s even more unlikely to do so now that there is a new US administration that’s at least talking about ending the war. But rogue elements of Ukrainian intelligence or even President Zelensky himself might decide to go for one big provocation, something Russia can’t leave unanswered, as a final desperate effort to get direct NATO intervention.

      According to the leaked US plan to end the war, the US will direct Ukraine to lift martial law once a peace deal is reached. That means Zelensky will no longer have an excuse not to hold elections, and he is bound to lose after signing a deal that hands over a chunk of territory to the Russians.

      Zelensky knows his days in power are numbered and that this war will be his legacy. He will be remembered for choosing to fight a war he could have never won instead of signing a deal in the first weeks of the invasion that would have ended the dying and left Ukraine much more intact than it is today.

      For the sake of the Ukrainians and Russians who could die in the coming weeks and to bring the world back from the brink of World War III, Trump should get on the phone with Zelensky today and tell him it’s over.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 17:00

    • Trudeau Bends The Knee: Canada Will Send 10,000 Troops To Border, Name Fentanyl Czar To Delay Trump Tariffs
      Trudeau Bends The Knee: Canada Will Send 10,000 Troops To Border, Name Fentanyl Czar To Delay Trump Tariffs

      Update (4:40pm ET):  In what is a carbon copy of Trump’s tariff-delaying deal with Mexico, moments ago Canada’s outgoing PM, Justin Trudeau, said that he too had bent the knee, i.e. had a “good call” with Trump, and that US tariffs on Canada would be paused for 30 days after Canada – just like Mexico – agreed to send 10,000 troops to the border as part of a $1.3 billion border plan which “reinforces the border with new choppers, technology and personnel, enhanced coordination with our American partners, and increased resources to stop the flow of fentanyl”.

      Trudeau also said that Canada will appoint a Fentanyl Czar, list cartels as terrorists, ensure 24/7 eyes on the border, and launch a Canada- U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.

      Finally, the Canadian PM also signed a new intelligence directive on organized crime and fentanyl and we will be backing it with $200 million.

      As a result of not only bending the knee but bending over fully for the US president, Trump’s proposed tariffs will be paused for at least 30 days.

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

      Shortly after Trudeau’s post, Trump followed suit on his own Truth Social network, writing that Canada “has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl that have been pouring into our Country, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, while destroying their families and communities all across our Country.”

      Trump concluded by saying that he is “very pleased with this initial outcome” adding that the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period “to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured. FAIRNESS FOR ALL!”

      Trump has agreed to ensure we have a secure Northern Border, and to finally end the deadly scourge of drugs like Fentanyl that have been pouring into our Country, killing hundreds of thousands of

      Separately, the FT reported that all shipments arriving by mail from Canada and China will need to be cleared by customs from Tuesday onwards as the US moved to close a trade loophole that allowed low value imports to avoid duties.

      “Without regard to their value, no mail shipments from China will be cleared or released” by the Customs and Border Protection agency “unless and until formal entry is properly filed”, the agency said in a document scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on February 5.

      The CBP used the same language in a filing about tariffs on Canada, also scheduled to be published on Wednesday.

      Details on the CBP’s order requiring “formal entry” for shipments from Canada and China follows US President Donald Trump issuing executive actions imposing tariffs on goods from those countries.

      Trump’s executive orders stated that the articles applicable for tariffs would not be exempt from the so-called “de minimis exemption”, which allows low value imports to avoid duties.

      * * *

      Tl;dr: VP JD Vance summed it all up in one simple tweet:

      “For three days a lot of the far left has actively rooted against America and argued we’d get nothing out of President Trunp’s demands that Mexico secure its country.

      Well, how do you like them apples?”

      Apples indeed! Now let’s see what Trudeau has to say later…

      *  *  *

      Late last night we said that it is very likely Trump’s trade war would be very short, after we pointed to better than evern Polymarket odds that the trade war with both Mexico and Canada would be over in the next month or two.

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

      And then, just hours later, this appears to have been validated after Mexico’s president Scheinbaum said that after having a good conversation with Trump, Mexico is “pausing tariffs for a month for now” and that Mexico will promptly comply with Trump’s ask by reinforning the northern border with 10,000 national guard members to “prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the US, particularly fentanyl.”

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

      Here is a translation of what she said:

      We had a good conversation with President Trump with great respect for our relationship and sovereignty; we reached a series of agreements:

      1. Mexico will immediately reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl.

      2. The United States is committed to working to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico.

      3. Our teams will begin working today on two fronts: security and trade.

      4. They are pausing tariffs for one month from now.

      President Trump has confirmed the tariffs are paused for one month:

      The Canadians were very busy scouring the Government’s tariffs site…

      And now that trade war with Mexico appears to be over, Trump just has to repeat the same with Canada when he speaks to Trudeau at 3pm ET today.

      As for China, we doubt that particular trade war will be as easy to win but who knows: Trump is certainly on a roll.

      In any case, the market is certainly delighted with the outcome, and the Mexican peso is surging…

      TSY yields are rising (shouldn’t they fall on non-inflationary, non-tariffs?)…

      Oil prices have plunged, erasing overnight tariff-driven gains…

      Bitcoin is ripping higher (as we suppose this means no large drop in global liquidity?)

      And US equities are reversing the large losses overnight quite rapidly…

      Now, what will the MSM say after doom-mongering all morning about Trump’s ‘catastrophic’ tariffs?

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 16:53

    • Another Mass Ukrainian Drone Attack Triggers Fires At Oil & Gas Facilities In Southern Russia
      Another Mass Ukrainian Drone Attack Triggers Fires At Oil & Gas Facilities In Southern Russia

      Ukraine launched another large-scale drone attack on Russian territory overnight targeting oil refineries and infrastructure. Russia’s defense ministry confirmed the widespread nature of the attack, saying it shot down over 70 of the inbound drones.

      Drones reportedly struck an oil refinery Russia’s southern Volgograd region as part of the larger attack. Infrastructure in the southern Astrakhan region was also targeted, including gas facilities.

      The damaged refinery in Volgograd appears to belong to Russian oil giant Lukoil. This marks the third oil refinery hit by Ukrainian drones within a little over a week. Such large-scale attacks seem to now be coming at a weekly pace.

      Fire at Volgograd refinery run by Lukoil, via Reuters​​​

      Falling drone debris over the Volgograd region has resulted in local fires, and the whole attack has disrupted commercial flights over the impacted regions.

      “The air defence forces of the defence ministry repelled a massive attack by aircraft-type drones on the territory of the Volgograd region,” Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said.

      Russia’s defense ministry said of the scope that 27 drones were downed over the Rostov Region, 25 over Volgograd, seven over the Astrakhan, five over the Voronezh Region, four over the Belgorod Region, and two over Kursk.

      A number of regional airports had flight restrictions imposed, including airports in Astrakhan, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhnekamsk, Saratov and Ulyanovsk, the press service of Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency indicated. However, all air traffic later resumed as normal. The airports of Vladikavkaz, Grozny and Makhachkala left restrictions in place longer.

      The Ukrainian attacks and the resulting damage to Russian refineries have reduced Russia’s capability to process crude, also amid constant major emergency repairs and maintenance.

      This trend has been on since early last year. As it became clear that battlefield success in the eastern frontlines would remain elusive, Kiev has replaced its waning reliance on artillery with cheap suicide drones targeting the Russian oil export machine deep within Russian territory, as a way to wage economic and psychological warfare on the Kremlin.

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

      The constant mass drone attacks have done nothing to alter Russia’s advances in Ukraine’s east, but Kiev hopes to put a dent in Russia’s war machine by setting back its crucial oil and energy-based revenue. 

      Ukraine has also hoped to grab the attention of its Western backers with these attacks, signaling NATO that it can escalate against Russia if it chooses to.

      Tyler Durden
      Mon, 02/03/2025 – 16:40

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    Feb 03

    Today’s News 3rd February 2025

    • Meet The Original 'Conspiracy Theorists': Reagan & The 99th Congress Called Vaccines "Unavoidably Unsafe"
      Meet The Original ‘Conspiracy Theorists’: Reagan & The 99th Congress Called Vaccines “Unavoidably Unsafe”

      Authored by Ginger Taylor via The Brownstone Institute,

      Meet the original “Conspiracy Theorists,” Ronald Reagan and the members of the 99th Congress, who, in 1986, passed into law the “medical misinformation” that vaccines were “unavoidably unsafe” and potentially caused autism…

      Last week Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, a scathing letter accusing him of, among other things, “dangerous views on vaccine safety” and “false hysteria that vaccines cause autism.”

      The letter included 175 questions that she said he should be prepared to answer at his Senate confirmation hearings.

      But in her letter, she exposes her own ignorance of federal vaccine policy and the laws passed by her own legislative branch. 

      In 1986 the House of Representatives passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 300aa-1 to 300aa-34) by a voice vote.

      Senator Warren should know that her current Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was, at the time, a member of the House and should presumably know that the bill that was passed to give vaccine makers liability protection from civil claims when a child was killed or seriously injured by a vaccine, and placed all vaccines administered to children in the legal category of “unavoidably unsafe” medical products, which means a product that cannot be made safe for its intended use.

      In 2018, Mary Holland, JD, then the Director of the Graduate Legal studies program at New York University School of Law, and now Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Health Defense, a non-profit organization founded by Kennedy, remarked on the legal standing of the safety of vaccines:

      The key language about “unavoidable” side effects comes from the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, 42 USC 300aa-22, re manufacturer responsibility (see bold text below).

      That language was based on language from the Second Restatement of Torts (a legal treatise by tort scholars), adopted by most state courts in the mid-1960’s, that considered all vaccines as “unavoidably unsafe” products. The Restatement opined that such products, “properly prepared, and accompanied by proper directions and warnings, is not defective, nor is it unreasonably dangerous.”

      Further the 2011 SCOTUS ruling in the Bruesewitz v. Wyeth case interpreted the highlighted text below from the National Vaccine Injury Act to find that it did not permit design defect litigation – that issue had been unclear since 1986, and different state high courts and federal circuits had decided the issue differently. So, [it] is correct that the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) never decided that vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe” directly, but it acknowledged that Congress considers them to be so.

      Sec. 300aa-22. Standards of responsibility

      (a) General rule

      Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (e) of this section State law shall apply to a civil action brought for damages for a vaccine-related injury or death.

      (b) Unavoidable adverse side effects; warnings

      (1) No vaccine manufacturer shall be liable in a civil action for damages arising from a vaccine-related injury or death associated with the administration of a vaccine after October 1, 1988, if the injury or death resulted from side effects that were unavoidable even though the vaccine was properly prepared and was accompanied by proper directions and warnings.

      (2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a vaccine shall be presumed to be accompanied by proper directions and warnings if the vaccine manufacturer shows that it complied in all material respects with all requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. 

      See https://www.ageofautism.com/2018/11/the-supreme-court-did-not-deem-vaccines-unavoidably-unsafe-congress-did.html

      What few know, even among their own memberships and supporters, is that the following medical authorities consider vaccines unsafe: 

      The American Academy of Pediatrics (“AAP”)

      The American Medical Association (“AMA”)

      The American Academy of Family Physicians (“AAFP”)

      The American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (“ACOP”)

      The American College of Preventive Medicine (“ACPM”)

      The American Public Health Association (“APHA”)

      The Association of State and Territorial Healthcare Officials (“ASTHO“)

      The Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston 

      Every Child By Two, Carter/Bumpers Champions for Immunization (“ECBT”)

      Immunization Action Coalition (“IAC”) 

      Infectious Diseases Society of America (“IDSA”)

      The March of Dimes Foundation

      Meningitis Angels

      The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (“NAPNAP”)

      The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases 

      The National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition

      The National Meningitis Association, Inc. (“NMA”)

      Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases (“PKIDs”)

      The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (“PIDS”)

      The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (“SAHM”)

      The Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (“CHOP”)

      When the family of Hannah Bruesewitz, a child injured by Wyeth’s Tri-Immunol DTP vaccine, challenged the 1986 Act in the Supreme Court for the right to sue Wyeth for Hannah’s severely disabling vaccine-adverse event, these organizations filed an amicus brief in support of Wyeth, asking the court to uphold the law that protects vaccine makers from liability for injury or death arising from any vaccine licensed by the FDA and recommended for children by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (“ACIP”). They even went as far as to argue against the idea that each vaccine should be individually evaluated for the “unavoidably unsafe” status, stating in their brief

      Case-by-case consideration of whether vaccines are unavoidably unsafe, on the other hand, would “undoubtedly increase the costs and risks associated with litigation and would undermine a manufacturer’s efforts to estimate and control costs.”(citing Bruesewitz v. Wyeth Inc., 561 F.3d 233, 249 (3d Cir. 2009). 

      – Brief Amici Curiae Of The American Academy Of Pediatrics and 21 Other Physicians and Public Health Organizations In Support Of Respondent [Wyeth LLC], at 25.

      The organizations’ position that vaccines are unavoidably unsafe taken before the legislative and judicial branches of the federal government has caused consternation in parents and vaccine safety and choice advocates for decades, because many of these same organizations argue the exact opposite – that vaccines are safe – when they appear before state legislatures in support of school vaccine mandates and in opposition to vaccine exemptions. 

      A lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry may argue over breakfast in Washington, DC that vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe” and then drive to Annapolis at lunchtime and testify that Maryland should remove religious exemptions to vaccines required for school entry because “vaccines are safe.” 

      Attempts to have these organizations explain their conflicting positions met with stonewalling.

      In 2015, the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics argued for the removal of and/or restrictions to the religious and conscientious objections to mandated childhood vaccines. The Executive Director of the Maine AAP, Dee Kerry deHaas, testified in writing that this should be done because “vaccines are safe,” but when testifying in person, said that vaccines are “mostly safe.” In my response to her, as the then Director of the Maine Coalition for Vaccine Choice, I asked several questions arising from her testimony, including the following questions:

      How can the AAP argue that vaccines are “unavoidably unsafe” in the Supreme Court in order to convince the federal government to grant you liability protection from vaccine injury, and then argue that, “vaccines are safe,” and “vaccines are mostly safe,” before this committee in order to convince the State of Maine to mandate that families receive counseling/buy vaccines from you?

      Are vaccines, “safe,” “mostly safe,” or “unavoidably unsafe?”

      How do such widely contradictory statements engender trust in vaccines and in pediatricians?

      Her response to my questions:

      Ms. Taylor,

      On behalf of the Maine AAP, I acknowledge receipt of your email and list of questions. I understand that our organizations have different perspectives in the vaccine debate. Each perspective has been aired in the legislative hearings and sessions with regard to these vaccine bills in the First Regular Session of the 127th Maine Legislature.

      I respectfully decline to respond to your list of proposed questions or to continue the debate with you through electronic correspondence or social media.

      Dee deHaas
      Executive Director
      American Academy of Pediatrics, Maine Chapter

      Those advocating under this nonsensical construct quip that vaccines are unsafe, but only in DC. 

      Parent of a vaccine-injured son, Kim Spencer of The Thinking Moms’ Revolution, noted of the vaccine industry, “their claim that vaccines are ‘unavoidably unsafe’ won them liability protection, their claim that ‘vaccines are safe’ won them school and work mandates, but their claim that both are true has won them the distrust and contempt of parents.”

      Senator Warren also accuses Mr. Kennedy of having, “spread false hysteria that vaccines cause autism.” But Kennedy has only done what Warren’s Congressional colleagues did 20 years before he began in vaccine safety advocacy; promote research into the vaccine-autism link and any link between vaccines and other childhood disorders. 

      Congress, while giving liability protection to vaccine makers with the 1986 Act, also ordered HHS to study links between the pertussis vaccine and more than a dozen conditions, including autism: 

      SEC. 312. RELATED STUDIES.

      (a) REVIEW OF PERTUSSIS VACCINES AND RELATED ILLNESSES AND CONDITIONS.—Not later than 3 years after the effective date of this title, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall complete a review of all relevant medical and scientific information (including information obtained from the studies required under subsection (e)) on the nature, circumstances, and extent of the relationship, if any, between vaccines containing pertussis (including whole cell, extracts, and specific antigens) and the following illnesses and conditions:

      (1) Hemolytic anemia.

      (2) Hypsarrhythmia.

      (3) Infantile spasms.

      (4) Reye’s syndrome.

      (5) Peripheral mononeuropathy.

      (6) Deaths classified as sudden infant death syndrome.

      (7) Aseptic meningitis.

      (8) Juvenile diabetes.

      (9) Autism.

      (10) Learning disabilities.

      (11) Hyperactivity.

      (12) Such other illnesses and conditions as the Secretary may choose to review or as the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines established under section 2119 of the Public Health Service Act recommends for inclusion in such review. (Ante, p. 3771).

      – PUBLIC LAW 99–2660—NOV. 14, 1986 100 STAT. 3755

      The pertussis vaccine injury inquiry ordered by law in 1986 was undertaken by the National Institutes of Health, carried out by the Institute of Medicine, published by the National Academy of Sciences in 1991, and edited by, among others, none other than Harvard’s Harvey Fineberg, who chaired the Committee to review the Adverse Consequences of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines. PubMed (a database maintained by the United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health) gave the following summary of the final report, titled Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella

      Vaccines: A Report of the Committee to Review the Adverse Consequences of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines:

      Parents have come to depend on vaccines to protect their children from a variety of diseases. Some evidence suggests, however, that vaccination against pertussis (whooping cough) and rubella (German measles) is, in a small number of cases, associated with increased risk of serious illness. This book examines the controversy over the evidence and offers a comprehensively documented assessment of the risk of illness following immunization with vaccines against pertussis and rubella. Based on extensive review of the evidence from epidemiologic studies, case histories, studies in animals, and other sources of information, the book examines: The relation of pertussis vaccines to a number of serious adverse events, including encephalopathy and other central nervous system disorders, sudden infant death syndrome, autism, Guillain-Barre syndrome, learning disabilities, and Reye syndrome. The relation of rubella vaccines to arthritis, various neuropathies, and thrombocytopenic purpura. The volume, which includes a description of the committee’s methods for evaluating evidence and directions for future research, will be important reading for public health officials, pediatricians, researchers, and concerned parents. 

      See https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25121241/ (emphasis added).

      The report’s cursory summary on autism was this:

      No data were identified that address the question of a relation between vaccination with DPT or its pertussis component and autism. There are no experimental data bearing on a possible biologic mechanism. (p. 152.)

      In other words, we don’t know; no one has ever looked.

      But since there was no data to prove a link, because there was no data, they decided to reject the hypothesis and conclude:

      There is no evidence to indicate a causal relation between DPT vaccine or the pertussis component of DPT vaccine and autism. (Id.)

      Today there is a great deal more data than there was in 1991. This report was published before the dramatic rise in autism rates in the 1990s following the rapid expansion of the number of vaccines given to children once the industry had liability protection from vaccine-induced injuries.

      Now, more than 200 papers showing multiple vaccine-autism links exist. You can review those papers at https://howdovaccinescauseautism.org/. 

      Senator Warren and all those skeptical of Mr. Kennedy’s vaccine critique must understand that he is more informed on vaccine law than the legislators questioning him. The political talking point that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a “conspiracy theorist” if perpetuated, must now extend to the entire Legislative branch of the US Government starting with Democrats like former Congressman Henry Waxman, who wrote and introduced the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.

      Senator Warren might also consult with other current members of the US Congress who held seats when the 1986 Act was passed, such as Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Hal Rogers (R-KY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Smith (R-NJ, who also sponsored the Combating Autism Act of 2006), and most notably, her own fellow Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, Ed Markey.

      Warren, like most politicians and doctors, does not understand that the presumption at the foundation of American vaccine policy, and the landmark law that has underpinned that policy for 39 years, is that vaccines are unavoidably unsafe.

      Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. does.

      Tyler Durden
      Sun, 02/02/2025 – 23:20

    • "Full-On Corruption": A Horrific Account Of Government Harassment Against Jan. 6 'Survivor'
      “Full-On Corruption”: A Horrific Account Of Government Harassment Against Jan. 6 ‘Survivor’

      The following is an account from Michael Shane Daughtery, a former SWAT officer who was aggressively pursued by the Biden DOJ for peacefully participating in the Jan 6, 2021 protest.

      Daughtery’s story was conveyed by journalist Sarah Fields via X, who writes “Just when you think his story cannot get crazier, it does. His story is one of full-on corruption.“

      Click into the post to read via X (and consider subscribing to Fields’ feed), or continue reading below.

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

      My name is Michael Shane Daughtry and this is my January 6th Story.

      I was a Police Officer with SWAT and Sniper Certifications, 20+ years Police experience and over a thousand hours of training. I’m also a Master Gunsmith with a Federal Firearms License and a Gunsmithing Business with over 10 years experience.

      On January 6th 2021, I traveled to Washington DC with my wife Tammie to watch the Trump Rally. As the rally was completing, the President of the United States told the crowd to go to the West Lawn and “peacefully” protest, which we did. As we arrived at the West Lawn, the police officers removed the barricades and waved us onto the West Lawn. I had video of this but the FBI later raided my home and confiscated this Video. I never went into the Capital Building or damaged any property but I did later observe people causing damage to the Capital Building so I took a few pictures of these people and then returned to my motel room, we returned home the next morning.

      This image of the January 6 riot, taken from a phone screen, is from a court document submitted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C. and highlights a man that prosecutors identify as Shane Daughtry.

      On January 16th, I was charged with trespassing on the West Lawn on January 6th even though the President had ask me to go there and the police had moved the barricades and waved me onto the West Lawn.

      The FBI contacted me around midnight and asked me to turn myself into the Federal Marshalls at the Federal Courthouse in Macon by 9:00 am the next morning. I voluntarily turned myself into the Federal Marshalls at the Federal Courthouse in Macon Ga. Upon arrival I was advised by Federal Marshalls that Pelham Police Investigator Adam Lamb, Assistant Chief Rod Williams and Chief Mccormick had turned me in to the FBI after finding out I was in DC.

      In 2020 I was working as a Police Officer for the Pelham Police Department and also owned a Firearms Gunsmithing Company named “Cazy Coon Armory” My business was named after my pet Raccoon that was named Rocket but we always called him “Crazy Ole Coon”. On November 13th 2020, Pelham Police Department Investigator Adam Lamb had showed up to my home stating Police Cheif McCormack had fired me for having a Logo with a picture of a Racoon on it with the words “Crazy Coon Armory” telling me that the logo had the word “Coon” on it and that made it a Racist Logo. The police department said they didn’t know I had an outside business with that name even though it was on my resume and on my application for employment. I had also worked on several of of the Pelham Police Department weapons including pistols and full auto rifles at Crazy Coon Armory.

      The paperwork they asked me to sign stated I was being fired for being a Racist. I refused to sign this separation letter. After I was fired, without even being giving a chance to resign, I decided to expose the Pelham Police Department and it’s very corrupt Chief for several of the crimes they had committed and were committing including insurance fraud, illegal gambling and cover ups. I was posting this corruption on my Facebook Page and the City of Pelhams Facebook Page every night which made the Police very angery and this was the reason for turning me into the FBI so they could silence me.

      After the Marshalls read me this affidavit, I was put into a jail cell for several hours before being brought before a Federal Magistrate Judge. Even though I was a Law Enforcement Officer with no other criminal record, I was placed in handcuffs, leg irons and belly chains and was advised not to speak. And even though I’m a certified Law Enforcement Officer, have never been arrested or charged with any other crime in my life and had gotten up before daylight and driven over 100 miles to turn myself in, the judge advised me that I was a flight risk and ordered me to wear an ankle monitor, be place under House Arrest, placed on Pre Trial Probation, forced to post $25,000 bond and was placed on Tap 4 internet restrictions saying I couldn’t use any computers our internet. At that time I was not allowed to make a plea and was not allowed to plea until over 18 months later.

      I was appointed a public defender without even being asked. I had a very experienced federal attorney that was willing to take my case for free but I was advised that I could not have an attorney of my choosing and could only hire an attorney from the Washington DC District that was certified to take cases in federal court in DC. The only attorney I could find meeting these requirements wanted over $100,000 plus $10,000 per hearing which I had 5, which would have been a total of $150,000.00 and my case isn’t even over yet.

      Upon my release from jail late on January 16th, I returned home where my home and firearms business was immediately raided by Federal Agents that were waiting at my property. Numerous Federal Agents searched my home and property without a warrant and all my weapons and ammo were confiscated from my home and from my licensed firearms business, all for a crime that I would not lose my 2nd ammendment rights even if I were convicted.

      I was forced, with threat of prison, to give Federal Agents:

      *My Email Passwords and User Info with written permission to access these accounts.
      *My Bank Account Passwords
      *My Bank Account Numbers with written permission to access these accounts.
      *My Safe Deposit Box Info with written permission to search this box
      *All my Social Media User Names and Passwords with written permission to access accounts.
      *I was not allowed to change any password or information without permission from the Federal Government.
      *I’m not allowed to take out any new lines of credit without prior Government approval.
      *I was forced to swear under oath that I did not have any money, firearms or other items buried anywhere or have any storage units.
      *I was forced to swear under oath that I did not have any photographs or videos hidden or buried.
      *I Was not allowed to possess any phone, camera or recording devices other than the one phone I was allowed by probation to have and the FBI took that phone the next day and kept it for weeks.
      *I was forced, with threat of prison, to fill out a financial statement listing:
      *My Checking account balances and passwords
      *My Savings account balance and passwords
      *Credit Card Balance, and account information and password.
      *My vehicle loan information and value
      *My Vehicle Tag #, Year, Make & Model
      *My home loan information and home and property value.
      *The amount of cash on hand.
      *The value of my clothes.
      *The value of my home furnishings.
      *Names, Addresses, Birthdays and Social Security Numbers of all my family members.
      *Names, phone numbers and Addresses of my friends.
      *Names, Addresses and Birthdays of any Ex Wives and Children.

      Early the next morning Federal agents confiscated all my FFL files including my FFL Log Book and 4473 files. Later that day, my home was raided again by Federal Agents who confiscated my phone and searched all my computers and electronic devices. My phone was not returned for 2 weeks. I was under court order to not use any other phone or computer so I was without any communication with friends, family or my attorneys for two weeks. This also gave the Federal Government access to all my email and text message communications between my attorney and myself.

      I was then forced to pay for home phone service and to pay for phone monitoring services and monthly fees for my ankle monitor.

      Approximately a year later my home was again searched without a warrant and without any explanation and I was threated with a probation condition violation if I complained about the searches of my property and that a probation violation would have a 17 year felony sentence.

      Three weeks later, my home was again raided and all my electronic devices including my phone, computer, thumb drives, hard drives and memory cards were searched then confiscated. My desktop computer was confiscated without explanation and Federal Agents said they didn’t know when my computer would be returned. This computer contained all the files needed to file my taxes that month, all my social security files I needed to file for my retirement benefits and all my private correspondence between my attorneys. This computer also contained all the software needed to run my business. My computer and phone were not returned for two weeks. When I received my phone back I noticed that all my pictures and videos that I had taken January 6th were missing including the video evidence I had of the Capital Police removing barriers and waving me onto the West Lawn of the Capital that I was charged with trespassing on. I also noticed my FFL Digital Logbook had been removed from my computer and my FFL Logbook backup files had been removed from my Google Drive Account that I had been forced to give the login information. Federal Agents had already taken my hardcopy FFL Logbook and 4473 files in a previous search of my firearms business so they now had all my FFL Files not even leaving me a copy.

      Even though I’ve only been charged with a non violent, misdemeanor crime, I’ve been on house arrest for almost two years for a crime that carries a maximum punishment of less than a year. I have not been allowed to plea in this case.

      When I asked about my 6th Amendment right to a speedy trial, I was advised by Federal Court Judge Randolph D. Moss that the Sixth Amendment had been suspended due to Covid-19 and the large number of arrest made from the January 6th incident. The Sixth Amendment also gives me the right to a Fair Trial, does this mean I didn’t have the right to a fair trail either? I’m not sure how a Federal Court Judge can legally suspend one of the Bill of Rights.

      In June 2022, I was told by prosecutors that I could plea guilty to Trespassing on the Grass or face going to court in Washington DC on several other (made up) felony charges that they knew I had not committed. So because I had no chance of a fair trail and facing several false charges, I was forced to plead guilty to Trespassing on the Restricted West Lawn. My plea agreement stated the maximum amount of probation I could receive would be one year but for this non violent misdemeanor crime, I was sentenced to:

      1: Two additional months of House Arrest with Location Monitoring for a total of 18 months.

      2: Three additional years of Supervised Federal Probation with travel restrictions for a total of 4 years and 8 months of Supervised Federal Probation even though the plea agreement I had signed stated a maximum of 1 year probation.

      3: Firearm Confiscation and Restrictions in clear violation of my 2nd amendment rights.

      4: Mandatory random drug testing even though I have no drug history. I have passed all these tests.

      5: Mandatory mental health evaluation, even though I have no mental health history. I passed this test.

      6: $525.00 in restitution for damage to the Capital Building even though I never entered or even touched the Capital Building. I paid this fine.

      7: 60 hours of community service. I completed all the community service.

      After my sentencing, my home was again searched by a Federal Probation Agent who searched backpacks, closed closets, closed drawers, including my girlfriends underwear drawers even though they had a court order advising that Probation Agents could only take illegal items that are “In Plain Sight”.

      My home has now been searched 7 times in 4 years. It’s been searched by the FBI, the Federal Marshalls, the DOJ, and Federal Probation several times. Everyone always come wearing SWAT vests and heavily armed even though the only crime I’ve ever been accused of is illegally walking on the grass.

      The government then, using a fake name and phone number, attempted to send firearms to my FFL business through www.guns. on two different occasions in one week. I recognized this persons voice as Assistant U.S. Attorney Graciela Rodriguez Lindberg. Another person then, using another fake name and number called asking if they could bring a firearm to my business for an appraisal. I recognized this person’s voice as my probation officer even though he was giving me another name. I told the person that I could not look at the gun and advised him that my business was closed. I also lied and told this person that I was out of state at the time so they would leave me alone. I’m on travel restrictions and can’t go out of state so my probation officer almost immediately called and asked my location and when I told him I was home, a person stating he had just spoken to to me about the gun appraisal arrived at my home even though I had refused to look at the gun and had told him I was out of state. This person had a different voice, was extremely pushy and would not take no for an answer even when I told him several more times that I couldn’t look at his firearm. This person then opened his vehicle trunk stating he was going show the gun to me anyway. At this time I drove away on my off road buggy leaving him at my home. When I later returned home this person was gone.

      I was then contacted by Police Officer Safety & Training Officials stating my law enforcement certification is being revoked for not reporting my arrest to them even though the federal government had taken my phones, computers, I had federal imposed internet restrictions and was on house arrest with no way to contact POST. Also the Federal Agents who confiscated my phones and computers advised me they would contact P.O.S.T. for me because of all my communication restrictions.

      Now I’ve been contacted by the Department of Justice stating they were processing my request for a refund on my FFL renewal even though I haven’t requested a refund. The D.O.J. then contacted me by phone and stated my Federal Firearms License is being revoked even though I haven’t committed any crime that would prevent me from possessing a firearm or FFL.

      Today I was contacted by my probation officer stating the ATF had contacted him stating that the ATF had requested me to send my FFL files to the ATF and that I had not responded to their request. I hadn’t received any requests from the ATF and can’t understand why they contacted my probation officer. The ATF has my phone number, Email Address, Mailing Address, and Physical Address that’s required for my FFL, I’m very easy to contact. Even though the ATF field officer is required to do regular inspections of my FFL Business, I haven’t be contacted by the field officer since I was arrested three years ago and the only correspondence I’ve had with the ATF was a letter in February 2023 stating I owed them $90 for my FFL renewal. I sent this letter back with a check which they cashed.

      Today the ATF Agent contacted me stating my FFL renewal was denied because I failed a background check and stated I was now a convicted felon and could never own a firearm again. After notifying my attorney, the agent called back the next day stating that the FBI had “accidentally mis-coded” my case into the computer and I was not a felon or restricted person but they refused to give my FFL back even though they now had no reason to deny me. The ATF advised me that I was required by law the send them all my FFL Files. I advised the agent that all my FFL Files had been confiscated the day after my arrest.

      Now I’ve been contacted by an ATF Agent who stated he couldn’t find any agency that would admit taking my files and then threatened me several times with felony charges for Retention of Files for not returning 4473 files that the government had already confiscated 3 years previous. I advised the ATF that my files had been confiscated previously by two unknown government agents who took my files and left without identifying themselves or giving me any paperwork. The ATF Agent called me a liar several times and every time he called me a liar, I hung up on him. I advised the agent that I would try to find a backup copy of my digital log book somewhere but I was going out of state to take my wife to court as a witness in an unrelated case for about a week and that I had court approval for this trip. A few days later I traveled to court about 5 hours away in Tuscaloosa Alabama and asked my neighbor, who is a Newton Georgia Police Officer, to watch my property and feed our animals until we returned home. On the third day out of state, I received a notification from my security system stating my power had been off but was back on. I was told by authorities that the power had went out for about 30 minutes in the entire city of Newton for an unknown reason. I looked at my security cameras to check on my home and animals and noticed a package holding my storm door partially open and it had been placed there while the power and my cameras were out. I asked the officer to check the package and asked if he would make sure someone hadn’t mailed a firearm to my home FFL for repair because I’m restricted from possessing firearms. The officer stated that the box didn’t have a shipping label and appeared to contain FFL files and folders. It appears that the Federal Agents (DOJ, I believe) who illegally took my files got scared of all the inquiries and returned my files. The only markings on this box was my federal case number. The Officer took the FFL files into evidence, put them into the evidence room at Newton Police Department and contacted the ATF Agent. The next day the officer called me to say he had notified the ATF about recovering the files and that the ATF Agent was going to recover the files from the police department. The ATF continued to threaten me with felony charges of Retention of Files even after the files were recovered by the ATF Agent.

      I’ve contacted my court appointed attorney’s office 6 times over the past year advising them that I needed to speak with my attorney with no response other than the secretary advising me that the attorney is very busy.

      It’s now September 2024 and my home has again been searched by the Federal Government who again found nothing illegal in my home.

      On January 30th 2024, I contacted my attorney’s office and asked for a transcript of my motion for a speedy trial. During this previous hearing, I was advised that I didn’t have the right to a fair and speedy trial because the 6th Amendment had been suspended by the Federal Court because of Covid and the large number of arrest during January 6th. My attorney’s secretary told me that there was no transcript because the judge said there was no court reporter during this hearing and the video of the proceedings are not available to the public. I was also warned at the beginning of that Speedy Trial hearing that it was a Federal Felony for me to record my own hearing.

      This is the type of government corruption that all January 6th defendants have faced and if they can do this to me then they can do it to you one day also. This is just 1 of over 1500 similar stories with many of them much, much worst than mine.

      January 20th 2025

      President Donald Trump issued Me and 1500 other January 6th defendants a Full Presidential Pardon.

      Please share this story to everyone you know.

      Tyler Durden
      Sun, 02/02/2025 – 22:45

    • The Secret Tariff Code Is Buried In 'Section 2, Item (h)' Of The Executive Order
      The Secret Tariff Code Is Buried In ‘Section 2, Item (h)’ Of The Executive Order

      Authored by ‘sundance’ via TheConservativeTreehouse.com,

      Remember when President Trump established the “External Revenue Service?” … It’s all connected and sequential…

      Almost everyone will miss, in part because outcomes appear in a sequence that few care to follow, but buried in the Trump tariff Executive Order {SEE HERE} you will discover something.  As the unofficial Deep State strategist, and the self-appointed misfit explainer of stuff, lol, we will explain:

      [Sec 2, SubSection (h)]: Sec. 2. (a) All articles that are products of Canada as defined by the Federal Register notice described in subsection (e) of this section (Federal Register notice), and except for those products described in subsection (b) of this section, shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. Such rate of duty shall apply with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 4, 2025, except that goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, after such time that were loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading or in transit on the final mode of transport prior to entry into the United States before 12:01 a.m. eastern time on February 1, 2025, shall not be subject to such additional duty, only if the importer certifies to CBP as specified in the Federal Register notice.

      […] (h) For avoidance of doubt, duty-free de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321 shall not be available for the articles described in subsection (a) and subsection (b) of this section. {link}

      So, Canada and Mexico get 25% tariffs, but China only 10%. 

      Why? 

      The secret is in that subsection “(h)” when it talks about de minimis treatment.

      Essentially, what President Trump is doing is levying a much more massive import tax, and possible confiscation impact on the core source of fentanyl (and other illegal) substances.

      (Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump’s new trade levies against China, Canada and Mexico include a broadside against e-commerce, with apparent plans to extinguish a long-held tariff exemption for packages worth less than $800.

      Trump’s executive orders directing 25% levies on Canada and Mexico — plus a 10% duty on China — specify that the “de minimis” exemption for small packages no longer applies. Under the exemption, products below that dollar amount are able to enter the US without tariffs — a boon for China’s e-commerce retailers who ship often cheaper wares directly to consumers in the US.

      The full scope of the de minimis changes — whether they apply just to the new tariffs issued Saturday or to older existing trade levies — was not clear. A White House spokesman did not respond to questions about its reach.

      However, trade lawyers said Trump’s language cracking down on the de minimis exemption could apply broadly, even to existing duties against China, Canada and Mexico.

      Regardless, the impact of the change threatens to fall most squarely on China, affecting retailers including Alibaba, JD.com Inc., PDD Holdings Inc.’s Temu and fashion-focused Shein. American shoppers and companies imported about $48 billion worth of shipments from the world under that loophole in the first nine months of last year, according to US Customs and Border Protection estimates. (read more)

      Approximately a billion packages are estimated to enter the USA under the cover of the de minimis exemption. 

      This is where the enforcement mechanism of the “External Revenue Service” combines with the tariff approach and the “state of emergency.”  President Trump imposed the tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a nearly 50-year law that gives the president sweeping power to impose sanctions after declaring an emergency.

      Now the billion packages, mostly from China, Mexico and Canada are going to be subjected to review and interception.

      The de minimis loophole comes from back in the 1930s. The idea back then was, say you went on a vacation to Paris, you shouldn’t have to file customs paperwork or pay taxes if you decided to ship some little Eiffel Tower statues to your friends back home.

      Congress in 2015 then raised the de minimis threshold from $200 to $800.  However, the e-commerce world exploded, and Chinese companies began using the de minimis loophole to ship cheap goods (ex. Temu and Shein) into the USA direct to consumers without paying any customs duty.

      It was reported last year that the U.S. was on track to receive a billion packages through the de minimis loophole that aren’t taxed and don’t have customs slips saying what they are.  Making matters worse, illegal items are slipping through the cracks, including, knockoffs, unsafe items and even chemicals used to make fentanyl.  The worst abuser that exploits this de minimis loophole is, by far, China.

      President Trump can require a customs and duty declaration stating what is in every package and subsequently collect tariffs and duties.

      Put it all together and President Trump is executing an Emergency Act executive order, plus the imposition of a tariff review, and simultaneous interception of de minimis packages previously unchecked as the enforcement mechanism. 

      All executed by the External Revenue Service.

      President Trump has got them surrounded, and the scope of it has the media so overwhelmed they cannot quite put it together.

      Almost too much winning…

      … Almost!

      Tyler Durden
      Sun, 02/02/2025 – 22:10

    • How Trump's Dismantling Of USAID Marks A Seismic, Historic Shift In America's Role In The World
      How Trump’s Dismantling Of USAID Marks A Seismic, Historic Shift In America’s Role In The World

      The most consequential decision and executive order which came within the opening days of President Donald Trump’s administration has without doubt been his “reevaluating and realigning US foreign aid” — which sent shockwaves through Washington especially given federal funding has been cut to USAID in a shock blow to the agency. But it is also having a massive ripple effect throughout the world. Some foreign powers will welcome the news, while many allies as well as an assortment of US-backed ‘opposition groups’ will feel completely abandoned.

      This has meant that pro-Western media outlets, NGOs, and ‘soft power’ organizations are in panic mode. This has basically overnight shutdown a multi-billion dollar regime change apparatus which pushed or often imposed American interests throughout the globe, especially in the very vulnerable Third World, as well as former Soviet satellite regions. The way this works on a practical, on the ground level is detailed in the well-known book Confessions Of An Economic Hit Man. As for Trump’s apparent efforts to dismantle the powerful USAID agency, we compiled some of the best current analysis from around the web outlining the huge significance of this move, which is nothing less than a historic reset (and we say a very welcome reset) of Washington’s relations with the rest of the world.

      Getty Images

      We’re looking at a seismic shift in the US’s relationship with the world, via Arnaud Bertrand:

      1) The US is dismantling its foreign interference apparatuses (like USAID )

      2) Marco Rubio stating that we’re now in a multipolar world with “multi-great powers in different parts of the planet” and that “the postwar global order is not just obsolete; it is now a weapon being used against us.”

      3) The tariffs on supposed “allies” like Mexico, Canada or the EU: This is the US effectively saying “our attempt at running the world is over, to each his own, we’re now just another great power, not the ‘indispensable nation’.” It looks “dumb” (as the WSJ just wrote) if you are still mentally in the old paradigm but it’s always a mistake to think that what the US (or any country) does is dumb.

      Hegemony was going to end sooner or later, and now the U.S. is basically choosing to end it on its own terms. It is the post-American world order – brought to you by America itself. Even the tariffs on allies, viewed under this angle, make sense, as it redefines the concept of “allies”: they don’t want – or maybe rather can’t afford – vassals anymore, but rather relationships that evolve based on current interests.

      You can either view it as decline – because it does unquestionably look like the end of the American empire – or as avoiding further decline: controlled withdrawal from imperial commitments in order to focus resources on core national interests rather than being forced into an even messier retreat at a later stage. In any case it is the end of an era and, while the Trump administration looks like chaos to many observers, they’re probably much more attuned to the changing realities of the world and their own country’s predicament than their predecessors.

      Acknowledging the existence of a multipolar world and choosing to operate within it rather than trying to maintain an increasingly costly global hegemony couldn’t be delayed much further. It looks messy but it is probably better than maintaining the fiction of American primacy until it eventually collapses under its own weight. This is not to say that the U.S. won’t continue to wreak havoc on the world, and in fact we might be seeing it become even more aggressive than before. Because when it previously was (badly, and very hypocritically) trying to maintain some semblance of self-proclaimed “rules-based order”, it now doesn’t even have to pretend it is under any constraint, not even the constraint of playing nice with allies.

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      It’s the end of the U.S. empire, but definitely not the end of the U.S. as a major disruptive force in world affairs. All in all this transformation may mark one of the most significant shifts in international relations since the fall of the Soviet Union. And those most unprepared for it, as is already painfully obvious, are America’s vassals caught completely flat-footed by the realization that the patron they’ve relied on for decades is now treating them as just another set of countries to negotiate with.

      * * *

      How the Biden administration weaponized USAID, via @DefiyantlyFree

      1. Abortion: One of the first things that Joe Biden did after assuming office was to revoke the Mexico City policy, which was supposed to prevent the federal government from using our tax dollars to fund overseas abortions. He did this, even though 73% of Americans strongly oppose using taxpayer funding to support overseas abortion. That includes 59% of people that are actually pro-choice. He resumed funding to the United Nations population fund and dramatically expanded the scope of programs that are authorized to pay for abortion services. Joe Biden tied taxpayer funded abortion services internationally to the United States efforts to advance, gender quality globally and respond to gender based violence and to confront challenges such as HIV aids, tuberculosis and malaria. That means that grants given through ID that go towards malaria or other diseases include paying for abortions on demand in those countries. As a result of these abortion driven objectives in 2022 the US Department of state and USA ID budget was 12% higher than previous years and totaled 70 Billion dollars.

      2. Identity Ideology: In 2021 the national gender strategy was implemented for foreign aid and started using an intersectional approach that considers barriers and challenges faced by those who have intersecting in compounding forms of discrimination. That’s a fancy way of saying Marxist victimhood in order of priority. In the Biden administration intersectionality dictated the manner in which US AI ID designed its programs and designed who received its funding.

      3.Global DEI: Representatives of the UN who discussed for an aid frequently mentioned the 1619 project and said that slavery is an original sin of America. The Biden administration made accepting and requiring communities of color to adopt to DEI a condition of receiving foreign aide.

      4. Global Climate Change: By reentering the Paris climate accords USAID was mobilized into action to fight climate change across the country and force the United States of America to underwrite this climate change overseas. In 2021 USAID announced that it would mobilize $150 billion in public and private climate finance by 2030 with the majority of funding coming from private service actors in collaboration with the United States Taxpayer dollars. There was an integration with the WHO‘s initiative on climate, resilient health systems and sustainable, low carbon health systems and the US national oceanic atmosphere administration. When they say malaria, they mean through climate change hysteria, and green energy policies. For instance, South America needs $26 billion to transform its power system and the United States and Europe under Joe Biden committed to $8.5 billion each to help the country make that transition. That money would be facilitated through USAID.

      5. Perpetual need for foreign aid: There is no better example of the insidious relationship between foreign aid and nation building then that of Afghanistan. Even after we pulled out of Afghanistan, USA ID was used to continuously fund the nation.

      6. UNRWA and terrorism: The moment President Trump left office and Biden restored to this organization and removed the Houthi rebels in Yemen from a US list of designated terrorists. Removing them from this designation meant that funds flowed to them in foreign aid and were misappropriated to attack and occupy the US Embassy in Sana.

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      7. USAID has been used to fund leftist progressive causes exclusively: If you look at 50 USAID employees chosen at random, which the heritage foundation did 48 of them donated to Democratic candidates and causes, and only two of them donated to Republicans. Following the Floyd riots, 1000 USAID employees demanded the agency make a public statement, affirming Black Lives Matter and accused USAID of structural racism by not designing plans to combat systemic racism, injustice, colonialism, and police brutality, all around the world. The Rockefeller Center, one of the most leftist organizations signed an agreement to be in a strategic partnership with USAID and all of the individual political contributions went to progressive campaigns. The international rescue committee received hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to fund its highly partisan causes. The former cochair of this committee was Obama’s treasury secretary.

      The Board of Directors has every single one of the founders of the Democratic Party and support progressive policy goals. Another major recipient of foreign aid is CARE international. This is probably one of the most partisan groups who has people like Valerie Jared, Nancy Pelosi, and Hilary Clinton carve out its policy. What once started out as an agency that was about helping to end global poverty in world, and hunger and has become an organization that is solely aligned with radical progressive Democrat agendas. And that is not even touching the vast censorship arm that USAID controls and funds. If anyone is curious about the rabbit hole that exists as it relates to censorship from USAID, I would suggest that you subscribe to Mike Benz on X.

      * * *

      Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador, says more often there’s a hidden nefarious agenda…

      Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up. While marketed as support for development, democracy, and human rights, the majority of these funds are funneled into opposition groups, NGOs with political agendas, and destabilizing movements.

      At best, maybe 10% of the money reaches real projects that help people in need (there are such cases), but the rest is used to fuel dissent, finance protests, and undermine administrations that refuse to align with the globalist agenda. Cutting this so-called aid isn’t just beneficial for the United States; it’s also a big win for the rest of the world.

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      And here’s journalist Glenn Greenwald: “USAID, like the National Endowment for Democracy, are well-documented CIA fronts that are designed to manipulate other countries’ internal politics for the benefits of DC elites and nobody else in the US. Both agencies have wrought destruction and can’t die soon enough.”

      Tyler Durden
      Sun, 02/02/2025 – 21:35

    • Rounding Up The Usual Suspects: Grassley Releases Familiar Name In The Origins Of The Trump Investigation
      Rounding Up The Usual Suspects: Grassley Releases Familiar Name In The Origins Of The Trump Investigation

      Authored by Jonathan Turley,

      For Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the weaponization of the criminal justice system has always followed a certain Casablanca pattern. Like Claude Rains as the venerable Captain Louis Renault, it is simply a matter of “rounding up the usual suspects.”

      Grassley released FBI whistleblower records on Thursday showing that an anti-Trump figure, former FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault, previously found to have violated the Hatch Act was a key factor in pushing the election charges brought by former Special Counsel Jack Smith.

      Grassley suggested that Thibault violated protocol in opening and advancing the FBI’s initial probe into the 2020 election without sufficient predication. The investigation, called Operation Arctic Frost, was opened on April 13, 2022.

      Years later, “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, [Thibault] walked” into Grassley’s.

      Whistleblowers alleged that Thibault’s alleged “partisanship” likely impacted investigations involving President Trump and Hunter Biden.

      Thibault was previously named as the agent who effectively scuttled the investigation into Hunter Biden and his laptop.

      Fox News reported that a February 14, 2022 email revealed Thibault communicating with a subordinate agent on the foundations for an investigation of Trump.

      In another email ten days later to John Crabb, a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Thibault states:

      “I had a discussion with the case team and we believe there to be predication to include former President of the United States Donald J. Trump as a predicated subject.”

      The emails, and others detailed in the report, show Thibault pushing the investigation – in sharp contrast to his role in the Biden investigations.

      Grassley and others are citing the evidence as supporting the need to “clean house” at the FBI and root out those who actively participated in the politicization of the criminal justice process.

      For those of us familiar with Thibault from the Hunter Biden investigation, his role in the origins of the Smith investigation is deeply concerning.

      Whistleblowers previously accused Thibault of “circumventing normal process and procedure to open full field investigations.” 

      He was later found by the Inspector General to be violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in certain political activities.

      The violations included Thibault retweeting social media posts by the Lincoln Project, a vehemently anti-Trump group.

      Tyler Durden
      Sun, 02/02/2025 – 21:00

    • Illegal Migrant Protests Ramp Up In US Cities In Response To Trump Deportations
      Illegal Migrant Protests Ramp Up In US Cities In Response To Trump Deportations

      Civil actions from the political left are notoriously seasonal and the winter cold usually keeps fragile progressives indoors.  However, in southern states where temps are warming up we’re getting an early glimpse of what larger US cities will probably look like with the arrival of spring.  Illegal migrants and their leftist “allies” are up in arms this week and they’re feeling bold – Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiatives, which have so far focused on criminal gangs and violent offenders, are unacceptable they say.

      Protest groups of hundreds and in some cases thousands of people have erupted in San Diego, LA, San Fransisco, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix and a handful of other cities.  The events have remained generally peaceful, though in some cases protesters have blocked traffic and attacked vehicles trying to get through.  

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      Mass deportations have received wide support, with 66% of US citizens backing the policy in light of the border crisis created by the Biden Administration.  Current projections indicate 16 million to 20 million illegals currently reside in the US, with up to 10 million entering the country in the past four years alone (DHS has admitted that 85% of migrants caught at the border were allowed to enter under amnesty rules during the Biden Administration).  Official government statistics have proven to be faulty, reporting only half the actual number of migrants entering the US at any given time.

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      It’s hard to imagine many countries outside the US (or Europe) where illegal migrants are so entitled that they’re willing demand access by taking to the streets, but here it is.  Imagine if a foreign army marched up to the southern border and then threw a temper tantrum because the US wouldn’t let them invade?  This is essentially what’s happening now.

      A common mantra among protesters is that “no human is illegal on stolen land”.  It’s actually conquered land, and the conquerors get to make the rules.    

      The more diplomatic illegal alien position is that “migrant rights are human rights”, but human rights do not give foreigners license to invade another country or break that country’s laws.  It’s rather convenient to use “human rights” as a social justice shield when the majority of illegals are actively siphoning welfare handouts and other subsidies paid for by legal citizens. 

      What about the human rights of native born Americans? 

      Another argument from migrants is that “they make America great” by gracing the US with their presence.  But one might notice that at most of these rallies there is hardly an American flag in sight.  In fact, every march is canvassed in the red, white and green of the Mexican flag.  This would suggest that migrants have far more loyalty to Mexico than to the US and that their presence in the states is not part of some “immigrant dream” to assimilate into American culture.

      Rather, it is common for illegals to see the US as a cash cow; a place to sneak in, grab as many handouts and as much money as possible and then wire that wealth back to Mexico (or any number of countries) where they plan to retire.  This ongoing international scam has become a kind of institution; certain US businesses and industries get labor for 30% less while migrants get to comfortably feed off system that US taxpayers support.   

      The scam is treated as a tradition.  It is so entrenched that illegals are shocked and enraged that it might actually come to an end.  It’s a cultural phenomenon that most westerners just don’t understand, but in the third world empathy and charity are often seen as signs of weakness.  If you give them an inch they will take a mile because this is how people learn to survive in places where corruption is the cultural norm.     

      It’s hard to say what could possibly come from these protests other than making it easy for ICE to round up hundreds of migrants at one time.  The notion that illegals have a right to protest at all is absurd, but if they want to serve themselves up on a platter for deportation it’s probably not going to bother Tom Homan.

      Tyler Durden
      Sun, 02/02/2025 – 20:25

    • Inclusive DNC Chooses White Man To Save Party – And Gun-Grabber Hogg As Vice Chair
      Inclusive DNC Chooses White Man To Save Party – And Gun-Grabber Hogg As Vice Chair

      In the wake of its general election beatdown, the party that’s dedicated to smashing America’s “white heteronormative patriarchy” has elected a lily-white, heterosexual man to its top position. Hitherto unheard-of Minnesota Democratic Party chair Ken Martin will be the new national “chairperson,” while skinny 24-year-old gun-grabber and general-purpose ignoramus David Hogg is among three vice chairs.  

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      Evidencing a party that’s still in denial, the DNC leadership race didn’t center on why the party has lost control of the House, Senate and White House. Martin has, however, promised to lead a “post-election review.” He better get on it quickly: Only 31% of US voters view Democratic Party favorably.  

      In his campaign, Martin positioned himself a “pro-labor progressive,” however, some progressives were put off by his willingness to embrace donations from “good billionaires.” To hardcore progressives, that’s an oxymoron. He’s also rankled some progressives with his establishmentarian support of a strong US-Israel relationship — an issue that caused major 2024 divisions in the Democratic Party and sapped leftist enthusiasm for the Harris campaign. In that context, he’s been known to play an identity card of his own: Raised as a Catholic, Martin has used the fact that his mother is Jewish to try shutting down his challengers on the topic.

      If Democrats were seeking to infuse a trace of genuine masculinity into the party’s brand, it couldn’t have chosen a worse duo than Martin and Hogg. For starters, the married-with-two-kids, mild-mannered Martin comes from the same is-that-guy-really-straight mold as Tim Walz, the Dems’ exceedingly cringy 2024 veep candidate: 

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      Then there’s Hogg, the noodle-armed leftist and perpetual meme-target who deftly exploited his status as a student at school victimized by a mass shooter, becoming a gun control activist and snagging a Harvard University acceptance letter. On Saturday, he persuaded delegates that he’s just the man to win back the many young men and women who abandoned the Democratic nuthouse in November. 

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      Here’s Hogg last year, being nicely eviscerated on his core issue by a Chinese immigrant who escaped Communism and understands why the Constitution protects the human right of armed self-defense: 

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      As incoming chair, Martin takes over from a black man, Jaime Harrison. Despite being the first non-woman or “person of color” in 14 years to lead the party, some Democrats see Martin’s election as a cause for sorrow. “Black women have always been the backbone of our party. We show up our communities, our party and our party in every election,” former DNC staffer Marilyn Davis told Politico. “Yet time and time again, we are overlooked when it comes to the top leadership positions in our party.”

      As for the black female candidates who were “overlooked” in favor of Martin, here’s the unorthodox campaign speech of Dr (PhD) Quintessa Hathaway: 

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      Apparently, that was just a warm-up…

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      And here’s a vice-chair also-ran demanding that delegates shut up and listen to her — not out of courtesy, of course, but out of deference to her position on the identity-politics totem pole: 

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      Speaking of gender and sexuality, the identify-politics madness of the American left was hilariously illustrated when “gender-balancing” rules threw a monkey wrench in the officer elections, leaving everyone in the room baffled about how in the flying &%$# to apply them: 

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      There was plenty more to laugh at — and plenty of reasons for Republicans to think the Democrats are still drowning in Marxist identity politics, and completely detached from what most American normies want out of their government:  

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      Tyler Durden
      Sun, 02/02/2025 – 19:50

    • Trump Effect Continues: Panama Bends The Knee, Will Not Renew "Silk Road" Deal With China After Rubio Visit
      Trump Effect Continues: Panama Bends The Knee, Will Not Renew “Silk Road” Deal With China After Rubio Visit

      The Trump administration is not messing around.

      Let’s review. In the past thirteen days;

      • Elon Musk’s DOGE descended upon the US Treasury and revealed that we’ve been ‘auto paying’ all sorts of bad actors, including terrorist groups. DOGE then kicked the door down at Deep State slush fund USAID, where employees were placed on paid leave last week for trying to circumvent Trump’s orders, causing a massive Democrat freakout.
      • Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a worldwide cable announcing the end of DEI policies within State, prioritizing American interests, and told his Chinese counterpart that America is done kowtowing.

      See below for more!

        And now, Rubio has convinced Panama not to renew its deal with China’s Belt and Road economic program, after applying pressure to the Panamanian government to immediately take steps to address US concerns over Chinese businesses operating ports near the canal – which President Trump says represents a threat to US national security.

        “Trump has made a preliminary determination that the current position of influence and control of the Chinese Communist Party over the Panama Canal area is a threat to the canal,” said US State Department spox Tammy Bruce.

        Trump had also refused to rule out the use of military force over Panama, while US officials said in a senate hearing last week that fines and restrictions on Panamanian-flag vessels entering US ports could be imposed due to the dispute over the canal.

        Now, Secretary of State Rubio has convinced Panama to reverse course on their deal with China – with President Jose Mulino making an announcement following a “respectful and cordial” meeting with Rubio in which Panama also agreed to expand a July MoU so that Venezuelans, Colombians and Ecuadoreans can be returned from the perilous Darien Gap at U.S. cost, through an airstrip in Panama, Reuters reports.

        According to the PanAm Post, Panama will not renew the memorandum of understanding on the “Silk Road” signed with China.

        “We are going to study the possibility of whether it can be finished earlier or not. I think it is due for renewal in one or two years,” said Molino.

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        As one ZH reader, the esteemed Pooper Popper, noted earlier today…

        • All federal prosecutors handling January 6th cases fired, computers locked and marched out of their offices by security.
        • David Sundberg, the FBI Assistant Director at the helm of the January 6th investigations, has been fired.
        • 20 leaders of FBI field offices have been escorted out of FBI buildings around the country
        • The 51 intelligence officers who spread misinformation about Hunter Biden’s laptop and interfered in elections are now banned from entering federal properties.
        • Federal employees are now required to return to the office, with non-compliance leading to termination.
        • John Bolton and John Brennan have been permanently banned from government buildings.
        • Jarold Harold Rogers has been indicted for compromising U.S. trade secrets to China.
        • Ban on all use of pronouns in government communications.
        • All 2 million Feds sent a resignation offer.

        At this rate both Canada and Greenland will be US territories by the end of the month.

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        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 19:15

      • "Legitimately FAKE NEWS": White House Debunks Dem Freakout Over DOGE Access To "Secure Spaces" As Musk Drops Redpills Over USAID Biolabs
        “Legitimately FAKE NEWS”: White House Debunks Dem Freakout Over DOGE Access To “Secure Spaces” As Musk Drops Redpills Over USAID Biolabs

        The latest Democrat freakout is over the speed and effectiveness of Elon Musk’s DOGE crew – having recently descended upon the US Treasury – only to discover we’ve been auto-paying everyone, including “known fraudulent or terrorist groups.”

        Now, there’s a massive freakout going on over DOGE’s access to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) headquarters, where two top security officials were reportedly put on leave after they tried to block DOGE officials from accessing systems at the agency.

        As it turns out, Musk’s team gaining access to USAID – the deep state’s international slush fund, which notably gave Wuhan Lab collaborator EcoHealth Alliance a $4.67 million grant in 2021, then stonewalled when asked for documents – and handed Ukrainian energy giant Burisma a lucrative contract months after Hunter Biden joined its board, and gave $15 million to organizations linked to George Soros – kicked a massive hornet’s nest.

        In a Sunday letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee penned an angry screed expressing “deep concern” about the USAID office.

        “We received reports that individuals who identified themselves as working for the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) accessed USAID’s main headquarters, including classified spaces. While some of the individuals purported to have security clearances, it is unclear whether those who accessed secure classified facilities had proper clearance or what they were seeking to access.”

        Except, that’s total bullshit according to White House assistant comms director Steven Cheung, who posted to X that the report is “Legitimately FAKE NEWS,” and “Not even remotely true at all.”

        https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsMeanwhile, Musk has been dropping USAID redpills all weekend. For example:

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        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 18:20

      • "Did You Mean Trains?": State Dept. Scrubs Transgenderism Out Of Existence
        “Did You Mean Trains?”: State Dept. Scrubs Transgenderism Out Of Existence

        Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

        President Trump’s purge of DEI nonsense from government departments continues to proceed full steam ahead with the terms ‘Trans’ being completely wiped from the State Department website.

        People have noticed that inputting the term in the search box on the site returns a message ‘no results found,’ and follows up with “Did you mean trains?”

        Whether that suggestion is intentional or not, it’s hilarious.

        It really reminds you of how far down that road the Biden regime tried to take America.

        Others remarked that the ‘T’ and all the other gender alphabet stuff that was pinned on after it has been removed from references to LGB.

        On day one of his second term,Trump signed an executive order titled Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to The Federal Government.

        The order states “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”

        As we highlighted last week, Trump has also instructed the State Department to issue an order to enforce a worldwide “one flag” policy, meaning only the Stars and Stripes can be flown on U.S. embassies.

        Trump has also ordered all federal employees to remove pronouns from their email signatures.

        The new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also circulated a memo stating that ‘cultural awareness’ and ‘identity’ dates will no longer be recognised.

        Hegseth has also directed staff to create a DEI task force to make sure all such programs are erased from the Pentagon.

        “We’re not joking around,” Hegseth said in an interviews last week, adding “There’s no changing of names or softly manipulating something. DEI is gone.”

        The same thing is happening at the FBI.

        DEI really is dead.

        *  *  *

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

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 17:30

      • Rickards: A US Recession Is Coming
        Rickards: A US Recession Is Coming

        Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,

        The new Trump administration is off to a fast start. All of the key nominations for the Trump cabinet and White House staff have been made, the Senate confirmation hearings (where needed) have mostly been held and some of the key positions have already been filled. Trump signed a large pile of Day One executive orders over the course of January 20 and 21 immediately after the inauguration. More executive orders are in the pipeline.

        This all stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s 2016 transition process where the nominees were not well chosen, confirmation went slowly, and the deep state holdovers from the Obama administration were still in place. What a difference four years makes.

        We are extremely optimistic about Trump’s economic plans. Whether by executive order, regulatory processes or legislation, Trump will be pursuing lower taxes, less regulation, and higher tariffs on foreign trading partners in order to promote high-paying jobs in the U.S.

        Some complain that Trump’s America First policies may hurt growth in places like China, India and Brazil. That’s entirely possible but too bad. China needs to figure out how to Make China Great Again. That’s China’s job, not the job of the United States.Trump’s job is to Make America Great Again and he’s off to a good start.

        The U.S. Consumer of Last Resort

        Simply put, the U.S. consumes more than it produces. Americans buy consumer goods and solar panels from China, semiconductors from Taiwan, steel from Japan and automobiles from Korea. The difference is purchased from abroad and paid for with U.S. dollars, which foreign central banks use to load up on U.S. debt.

        The U.S. runs a trade deficit along with a budget deficit and is in debt to the world. Those days are over. Asians, Africans and Latin Americans can still sell goods to the U.S. but they’ll have to manufacture those goods in the U.S. to get over high tariff walls. The result is good paying jobs in America.

        With higher earnings, Americans can save more. Foreign investment in the U.S. will also rise as foreign manufacturers build here to avoid tariffs. Eventually, higher savings and higher investment will close the production gap and reduce the trade deficit. Among other consequences, look for a stronger dollar as the world scrambles for dollars to invest here. That makes the rest of the world cheaper for U.S. consumers and reduces inflation also. It’s a win-win-win policy.

        3 Threats on the Horizon

        The fact that Trump’s policies are sound, and the long-term economic prospects are good, should not divert us from the fact that there are serious economic challenges in the near-term. These will not be Trump’s fault because they have been years in the making. But the damage may emerge early in Trump’s term.

        This scenario is not unlike the start of Ronald Reagan’s first term in 1981. The U.S. had its worst recession since the end of World War II during 1981-82. (We’ve had worse recessions since, but 1981-82 was the worst up until that time).

        It took a few years for Reagan’s policies to take effect. The period 1983-1986 was one of the strongest growth spurts in recent history with 16% compounded real growth. But we had to get through a rough patch first.

        Here’s a summary of three economic threats to investors that may emerge over 2025 before we get to higher ground expected in 2026 and beyond:

        1. Stock Market Crash

        Markets are at or near all-time highs based on every available metric: P/E ratios, the CAPE ratio, market cap/GDP ratio, concentration risk, etc. This stock market bubble is amplified by indexing, investor complacency and analyst euphoria. When such conditions have existed in the past, they have always been followed by market crashes of 50% to 90% unfolding over several years. Examples include the Dow Jones Industrial Average (1929), the Nikkei (1989), NASDAQ (2000), and the S&P 500 Index (2008).

        We are now positioned for an historic crash. The specific cause does not matter – it could be war, natural disaster, a bank or hedge fund collapse or other unexpected event. What matters is the super-fragility of the market when the trigger is pulled. This is why Warren Buffett has over $300 billion in cash and why central banks are buying gold.

        Investors should prepare now; don’t be the last one to know. Strategies include reducing allocations to stocks, increasing allocations to cash and purchasing some gold (up to 10% of your investable assets) to participate in a flight to quality.

        2. A U.S. Recession Is Coming

        This is problematic for stocks independent of any crash potential. Inflation has persisted, energy prices are back up to interim highs, unemployment is going up, job hiring is frozen, and the manufacturing sector is contracting.

        Federal reserve rate cuts won’t help. They do not provide “stimulus.” Rate cuts are a sign of economic weakness, not strength. The Fed is not leading the interest rate market. They are following the market down.

        Of course, a recession could trigger a market crash. But even if it does not, recessions are typically associated with 30% declines in stock valuations over a year or less. The investment strategy for a recession is substantially the same as the crash strategy.

        3. Currency Wars Are Back and Trade Wars Are Coming

        The super-strong dollar today makes it difficult for other countries to buy U.S. goods. Tariffs will make the global dollar shortage worse as foreign investors seek dollars to jump the tariff walls and invest directly in the U.S.

        Both the strong dollar and the coming U.S. tariffs invite retaliation by trading partners who will put up their own tariff walls. The result will be a global contraction in trade that could resemble the trade collapse of the 1930s during the Great Depression. U.S. stocks fell 85% from October 1929 to June 1932 during that episode of trade wars. A repeat could be on the way if economies such as China (that should be boosting consumption) choose to fight trade wars instead.

        We’ll be closely monitoring all these threats and provide you with the best in analysis and recommendations in the coming weeks and months.

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 16:20

      • Zelensky: Trump Talking To Putin About Ukraine Without Us Is 'Very Dangerous'
        Zelensky: Trump Talking To Putin About Ukraine Without Us Is ‘Very Dangerous’

        Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Russia and the United States are already talking about how to wind down the Russia-Ukraine war and this is “very dangerous” without Ukraine’s direct input.

        He said in an Associated Press interview published Saturday, “They may have their own relations, but talking about Ukraine without us — it is dangerous for everyone.” Zelensky issued this assessment the day after the Trump White House confirmed that discussions at a “general level” are happening with Moscow and that an in-person meeting between presidents will take place ‘soon’.

        According to an AP summary of Zelensky’s words:

        Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Zelenskyy said Russia does not want to engage in ceasefire talks or to discuss any kind of concessions, which the Kremlin interprets as losing at a time when its troops have the upper hand on the battlefield.

        He said U.S. President Donald Trump could bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the table with the threat of sanctions targeting Russia’s energy and banking system, as well as continued support of the Ukrainian military.

        “I think these are the closest and most important steps,” he said in the interview in the Ukrainian capital that lasted for more than an hour.

        Zelensky did express openness to eventually entering negotiations with Putin, despite current active legislation which forbids entering direct communication with Moscow so long as Putin is head of state.

        But he emphasized Trump and Kiev should be on the same page first. “I believe that, first and foremost, we (must) hold a meeting with him, and that is important. And that is, by the way, something that everyone in Europe wants,” Zelensky said, describing this would be based on “a common vision of a quick end to the war.”

        But importantly, Zelensky defines a key part of this ‘common vision’ as a path to NATO membership. “I really believe that these are the cheapest security guarantees that Ukraine can get, the cheapest for everyone,” he said.

        Putin has rejected this as a non-starter, and Trump too knows that negotiations would never get off the ground if this is held to.

        Zelensky continued, after the conversation with Trump, “we should move on to some kind of format of conversation with Russians. And I would like to see the United States of America, Ukraine and the Russians at the negotiating table. … And, to be honest, a European Union voice should also be there. I think it would be fair, effective. But how will it turn out? I don’t know.”

        He warned against allowing Putin to take “control” of the war of the narrative, but the reality on the ground especially in the east strongly suggests this has already happened.

        Zelensky said “It will be a signal that it is not for Russia to decide who should be in NATO and who should not, but for the United States of America to decide. I think this is a great victory for Trump.” Zelensky is essentially urging Trump to stand fast on the demand that Ukraine be invited into NATO. Of course, such a scenario could easily trigger WW3.

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 15:45

      • Tether Is Back On Bitcoin – Lightning Dominance Is Just Starting
        Tether Is Back On Bitcoin – Lightning Dominance Is Just Starting

        Authored by Guillaume Girard via BitcoinMagazine.com,

        Earlier today at the Plan B Conference in El Salvador, Tether made an announcement that has been years in the making. USDT is back on Bitcoin using Taproot Assets.

        The next steps will be for Tether to mint the asset, which will be available initially via Bitfinex.

        Tether’s return to the Bitcoin ecosystem via Taproot Assets is not just a simple re-entry; it’s a strategic pivot that could herald a new era for both Bitcoin’s Lightning Network (LN) and the broader stablecoin landscape. 

        Credit: https://river.com/learn/what-is-taro-in-bitcoin/

        With USDT now returning to the Bitcoin network in a way that’s also interoperable with Lightning (it has no direct impact on bitcoin the asset – except that it’s massively bullish), users can enjoy the benefits of near-instant, low-fee transactions, which are critical for the practical use of stablecoins in everyday commerce or remittances. The integration is particularly beneficial in regions where financial infrastructure is either lacking or prohibitively expensive.

        Having said that, the Lightning Network is probably not capable of handling the activity and user flow happening on competing chains like Solana or Tron. There’s also the question of how well the Lightning Network will handle the increased load of stablecoin transactions without degrading performance or leading to centralization of node operations due to the need for higher liquidity.

        The answer to this lies in one simple variable: Good infrastructure – and this is where Joltz comes in.

        Also present at the Plan B conference, Joltz’s early bet on Taproot Assets now looks prescient. Joltz introduces some notable advancements in the Bitcoin infrastructure ecosystem with its unique features. It’s one of the only self-custodial mobile wallets supporting Taproot Assets, enabling users to manage multi-asset payments and swaps directly on Bitcoin. Beyond the standalone wallet, Joltz offers a software development kit (SDK) that could be integrated by other developers, reducing the time and cost involved in adding support for these assets, as well as Bitcoin on-chain and Lightning transactions. This could be beneficial for existing crypto wallets, asset issuers, stablecoin platforms, fintechs, payment apps, and exchanges, offering them a pathway to enhance their services with less development effort. Developers who want early access to the Joltz SDK can sign up here.

        Similar to how Trump promised to free Ross on Day 1, we should demand that USDT be supported everywhere on Day 1, with good UX. Joltz will deliver on that – hopefully leading the way for others to see the scale of the opportunity that lies ahead for Bitcoin.

        Now: Why should you even want stablecoins on Bitcoin?

        The recent surge in meme coin activity on Solana has led to significant network congestion, pushing transaction fees to record highs. Solana’s daily fee revenue hit nearly $78 million in late 2024, a direct result of the meme coin boom, but this came at the cost of higher transaction fees and occasional network congestion, challenging the user experience. Similarly, Tron has faced its own challenges with transaction fees. Tron’s daily fee revenue has been reported to surpass $5 million, reflecting its significant role in handling stablecoin transactions but also highlighting the pressure on its heavily centralized network. We want those fees on Bitcoin, for miners and routing operators.

        LN offers nearly infinite scalability by allowing transactions to occur off-chain, only settling on Bitcoin when necessary. This approach contrasts starkly with the scalability struggles of single-layer blockchains like Solana and Tron.

        Furthermore, with LN, there’s potential for new financial products. Locking Bitcoin within Lightning channels can open up yield-generating opportunities like liquidity provision (leasing) or even more complex financial instruments related to routing, providing users with new ways to generate NATIVE Bitcoin Yields not based on questionable practices. (Also see my recent report on Bitcoin Stablecoins.)

        The announcement today underscores a broader lesson in the crypto space: while specific chains like Solana and Tron have made strides in speed and cost, true scalability requires time and a lot of investment into infrastructure to guarantee decentralization and trustless exit: otherwise what’s the point? Centralized chains lead on Stablecoins is temporary – Bitcoin is forever.

        Tether’s return to Bitcoin through Taproot Assets signifies a vote of confidence in Bitcoin’s evolving capabilities. It’s a testament to the innovation within the Bitcoin space and a reminder of how foundational technologies like Bitcoin can adapt and expand to meet new demands despite the yapping of high-time preference critics of LN focused on chasing distractions instead of true utility (meow).

        This move could very well set the stage for further innovations in decentralized finance (DeFi) on Bitcoin (BTCfi), reshaping how we think about Bitcoin as the ultimate Settlement Layer for all types of economic activity.

        Welcome back Tether! <3

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 15:10

      • All About The New Trump Tariffs, And Why The Hysteria Is Overblown
        All About The New Trump Tariffs, And Why The Hysteria Is Overblown

        By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

        What a week! DeepSeek, Cheap AI, the Fed, some Mag 7 earnings, and now tariffs! We hope that you had your Amps Cranked to 11!

        From that “Amps to 11” report, I remain somewhat confused about why Bitcoin is unable to break higher! It is below $100k as we write this report. Virtually everything we’ve seen from the Trump administration seems to point to good news for crypto. It seems that not just in D.C., but also across the globe and at various state levels, the crypto community is using their influence and contributions to shape policy to their liking. Yet, Bitcoin acts more and more like a “normal” risk asset than something revolutionary about to be bought by a variety of central banks and governments! I do like the EU’s Lagarde’s adamance that Bitcoin will not be part of any reserves within the EU!

        The first wave of tariffs have been announced.

        10% on China and Canadian Energy Products.
        25% on everything else from Canada and on Mexico.

        The assertion is that these tariffs are linked to these countries not doing enough to fight the fentanyl trade, presumably providing an off-ramp if these countries demonstrate progress on the front.

        Stopping The Flow of Fentanyl

        The president has gone out of his way to link these tariffs to the flow of fentanyl. That is important as it seems that if Canada, Mexico, or China demonstrate new or improved efforts to stop the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl, the tariffs can be rescinded.

        For China, I’m not sure what steps they can take, but they were only hit with a 10% tariff, and for China in particular, this is likely to be only the first step in a tariff battle or negotiation (depending on your perspective).

        Presumably, Mexico can hit the cartels hard and use those efforts to get the tariffs lifted.

        In Canada, the focus has been on the precursors of fentanyl. The precursors are all legal in Canada making it, apparently, a hub for sourcing and potentially manufacturing fentanyl. Ottawa (the Canadian equivalent of D.C. ) has been trying to cut the time it takes to ban something from 36 months to 6 months, with the pledge of creating a “Chemical Precursor Risk Management Unit” within Health Canada (many wonder why the RCMP isn’t more directly involved). In any case there seems to be a lot of scope for Canada to “improve” their efforts to disrupt the fentanyl trade, which could be their path out of these tariffs.

        So, the first thing that we are looking for is whether these countries “up their anti-fentanyl games” and whether that satisfies the president.

        If they do that, this round of tariffs may be short-lived.

        Some Tariff Basics

        Report after report I read seems to jump straight to either the good from tariffs (getting others to pay our taxes, advantage to American manufacturing, etc.) or to the doom and gloom of tariffs (inflation, trade wars, etc.). While we all understand the basics of tariffs, or at least I think I do, it seems worth spending a minute or two making sure that we are all on the same page.

        My understanding is that the importer of a good pays the tariff to the government at the port or place of entry of the good into the country.

        So, if you pay $100 for something from Canada or Mexico, you pay a $25 tariff, and your cost has increased to $125.

        Which begs the question – who pays the $25 tariff?

        One of the first things most importers will do is ask for a reduction in price from the exporter. If I was doing business thinking that something was only going to cost $100 and it now costs $125, I’d try to negotiate my purchase price down.

        What I find “interesting” is if the exporter takes a 20% haircut, the price stays at $100. 20% off of $100 is $80. Then a 25% tariff on something for $80 is $20, getting us back to $100.

        Step 1 is getting a discount, where even a 10% discount means the tariff only increases costs by 12.5%.

        Now let’s look at the FX market (which maybe we should have done before step 1, but it would be a pain to rewrite stuff, and it isn’t really a step, as it is outside the control of the importer and the exporter, though no less important).

        Since the summer, the Peso has declined by 20% versus the dollar and since late September, the Canadian Dollar has dropped by around 18%.

        Let’s say that back in September, a Canadian exporter was happy to get paid 135 CAD. That translates into 100 USD for the importer. Let’s say that the Canadian exporter is still happy to accept the equivalent of 135 CAD. That drops the USD price to 93 for the importer. Making the “new” cost to the importer, including the tariff, “only” $116.25. This is all moving around in real time and has been a cumulative move, so this is a massive oversimplification, but still relevant.

        The currency market is already helping the importer.

        Step 2 is for the importer to figure out what amount of profit he is willing to forgo, if any. Assuming the importer was paying $100 it seems reasonable to assume that the price for the consumer is significantly more. For argument’s sake, let’s say the final price was $200. There is distribution and selling costs, etc. that the importer pays to sell the product on to the next leg. Maybe $200 is too high? Possibly, but I’m not sure it is that unreasonable for many finished goods. Now $25 out of $200 is “only” 12.5%. Giving up 12.5% is probably too much, but is 5% reasonable?

        So, let’s look at this possibility (which as a whole, doesn’t seem too far-fetched to me).

        Negotiate a 10% discount from the Canadian or Mexican exporter. Argue that it is “temporary” but crucial if you don’t want me (the importer) looking for alternative suppliers. Add in that you (the exporter) will also take a hit.

        So, the Canadian exporter reduces the cost from 135 CAD to 121.5 CAD (in hopes it is temporary, and they don’t want to risk losing this customer to another provider of such goods).

        Due to the big increase in the USD, the cost is only $83.40 (the importer has been making a lot of extra money in the past few months, but that is always a risk and may well have been hedged).

        The 25% tariff is $20.85, bringing the total cost to $104.25.

        In your planning, as of a month or two ago, you were anticipating a cost of $100. It is now just under $105. Do you raise your final prices, or leave them, at least for a little while, anticipating Canada (or Mexico) will make progress on fentanyl and the tariff will go away? That seems at least plausible, and it might depend on how easy it is for you to raise and lower prices. Is the hit to profit margin, hopefully a temporary one, worth not having to deal with a new supplier?

        If the alternative supplier is Canadian or Mexican, they have the same problem.

        If the supplier is from elsewhere, presumably there will be some logistics in getting their goods over in time.
        The alternative, an American supplier, does look better as they were just given an effective cost benefit, but not really a 25% cost benefit. The dollar strength takes away some of the desire to shift to a domestic supplier. Presumably, the domestic supplier was already more expensive (or not as good, or there is some other reason why they weren’t being used). So, even with the indirect competitive boost, is it worth it?

        Let’s circle back to the first major topic under tariffs – this round seems to have a “built-in” off-ramp, just by fighting fentanyl harder.

        Bottom line is that the combination of currency shifts and the potentially short-lived nature of these tariffs seem unlikely to result in big shifts in supply chains, and with both the exporter and importer taking some short-term pain (under the assumption it will be short-lived), there could be very little impact on the consumer.

        I’m prepared to be wrong about this, but I think that is the outcome, at least in the next few weeks and even months.

        Some Caveats to the Rosy Outlook

        There are several very real risks to the potentially rosy outlook we paint in the previous section:

        • Specialty producers, whether final goods or inputs, tend to be far less likely to negotiate discounts. They typically view themselves as having some degree of pricing power.
        • The currency argument works well on goods already in inventory. The issue with the currency, over time, is that the countries experiencing the devaluation often experience higher costs of production (the raw materials increase in cost in their currency). So, it may work short-term, but over time, doesn’t help as much.
        • The belief that there is an actual off-ramp that will be taken by the respective governments, in regard to fentanyl may be low. We have treated it as a likely scenario and many companies might be less sure of that.
        • Countries may choose to respond harshly, launching their own retaliatory tariffs. The threat of this is almost certain (and it is already being threatened) which could lead to additional rounds of tariffs, and the hope of this being short-lived and tied to fentanyl, evaporating.

        The USMCA

        The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is 1,889 pages long. Lots of “white space” in the document, legal mumbo jumbo, etc., but the document isn’t short. I suspect that a lot of lobbyists in each country were able to push their agendas through. While I’m not sure I’ve ever heard an American say they “won” the negotiations, I’ve also never seen any Canadians celebrating a big “win” with this agreement either.

        It is coming due to expire and this is just a first salvo by the Trump administration to increase their power as the countries likely sit down to negotiate this deal going forward.

        But anything that is almost 2,000 pages long likely has a lot of wins for everyone (and some losses) and demonstrates the incredibly difficult nature of cross-border trade, especially with two countries that you share long borders with.

        The Auto Industry

        We only highlight the auto industry as it is designed to work most efficiently by seamlessly shifting parts, equipment, and manufacturing steps between countries.

        This is an industry that I think, in general, has found a happy medium and has been able to satisfy constituents in the countries involved while being as efficient as possible.

        I do not see how blanket tariffs work well given what I know of the industry.

        I think there could be some backlash from this industry in particular, as it further complicates an already complex and difficult operating environment.

        Golf Clubs

        In Learning to Speak Trump Again, we highlighted the complexity of international trade and the nuanced rules that seem to be important for exporters and importers to maximize profit. We used golf drivers as an example and ChatGPT confirmed that yes, the “assembled in America” label is largely an effort to reduce the cost of duties.

        So, guess that is our way of saying, above and beyond all the things we have listed that can be done to mitigate the impact of the tariffs, we have likely only scratched the surface.

        Some Concerns on Energy

        Of all the areas that could be impacted, energy seems to be the one where we could see some immediate impact. The reasons listed below are likely why the administration chose to “only” hit

        Canadian energy products with a 10% tariff. Some of the most important, unique risks to energy are as follows:

        • Energy products are priced in dollars and trade in dollars, so the currency effects of a stronger dollar will not play a helpful role.
        • Much of the oil that is refined in the Midwest comes from Canada. The refiners are optimized for the heavier crude that comes out of Canada, rather than the sweet/light crude that comes from the Permian Basin. There are workarounds, but this could be an issue over time.
        • While the U.S. is a net exporter of gasoline, the situation is more complex. Largely due to the Jones Act, the U.S. exports a lot of fuel, largely from the Southern U.S. to South America. The Atlantic Coast actually imports a lot of fuel, primarily into New York. It primarily comes from Canada and Europe (which is my understanding). Due to the distances involved, and the types of ships required to offset any imports from Canada, it is doubtful that we will be able to offset Canadian imports quickly. Supposedly, margins are relatively thin at the moment for the Canadian fuel producers, greatly reducing their ability to cut prices. We could see a rise in fuel prices at the pump on the Atlantic Coast fairly quickly, which would be an issue.
          • Just want to highlight “Shipping” as a recurring theme for Academy. In this case it is our own regulations causing potential issues, but it also highlights the fact that the U.S. has very little in the way of current shipbuilding capacity – something that is affecting the Navy’s ability not just to grow, but also to replenish its fleet. This isn’t directly related to our current work on shipping (advising clients to think about supply chains, not just in terms of countries or regions of manufacturing, but also in terms of the robustness of their shipping routes).

        If there is one area that has been mentioned as being carved out, it is energy. That would make sense, as we could see some immediate inflation on the very product (the cost of gasoline at the pump) that the president has been focused on bringing down in price, not raising!

        Bottom Line

        At the moment, I’m not that worried:

        • The lack of real concern largely stems from the view that at least Canada and Mexico can make use of the fentanyl off-ramp and reduce the lifespan of the tariffs to months, if not weeks.
          • Given the view that these really will be “temporary” we should be able to see workarounds for most products, which reduce the impact.
          • So far, the reactions from the other countries hint that this may devolve away from a fentanyl related issue into something more difficult to exit (in fact it may escalate given the current tone from other countries).
        • What has been done so far seems to indicate that this is a “moderate” Trump (by Trump’s standards) who is listening, at least to some extent, to the people in his administration. The fact that they treated Canadian Energy differently shows a level of thought (and concern about prices at the pump) that gives some comfort that the process of potential retaliation and off-ramps can be managed.

        I’m moderately concerned that we could be hit on the energy side rather soon and that could be disruptive for the economy and D.C.

        In the back of my mind, I’m worried that the administration will like the revenue generated from tariffs and turn what should be a temporary package into a long-term reality, where they layer on more tariffs to more countries. Then a lot of the offsets we’ve discussed do not work well, and we should prepare for a more difficult economic environment. So far that fear is “in the back of my mind” but it is there and is a non-zero risk.

        Messy but manageable. That is our theme and continues to be the theme.

        I’m moderately bearish both equities and bonds, but moderate is the key word. Whether you are bullish or bearish, buy dips, sell rallies, and stay nimble. I’m beginning to think that you should “imagine the people that create the headlines are day-trading their own headlines” and you will do quite well. When things seem to be going too smoothly, expect them to reverse (and vice versa).

        Good luck and welcome to February! January was full of surprises, good, bad, and tragic (fires in California and a plane crash in D.C.), and I fully expect February to keep us on our toes, though hopefully without tragedies like we saw last month

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 14:35

      • Gold Hits New Record High; Dear Jerome Powell, Is Everything Under Control?
        Gold Hits New Record High; Dear Jerome Powell, Is Everything Under Control?

        Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

        Gold does not believe the Fed has things under control and neither do I.

        Image from Trading Economics, Annotations by Mish.

        Gold Hits Record High on Safe-Haven Demand Amid Tariff Threats

        Reuters reports Gold hits record high on safe-haven demand amid tariff threats

        Gold prices rose to hit a lifetime high on Thursday, sparked by safe-haven demand due to U.S. tariff threats, while the focus was also on a crucial inflation report for clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path.

        “We are seeing keener uncertainty and anxiety about the Trump administration’s new policies on trade and foreign policy … fresh technical buying coming in as prices are trending higher now in both gold and silver,” said Jim Wyckoff, a senior market analyst at Kitco Metals.

        Earlier this week, the White House said U.S. President Donald Trump planned to hit Mexico and Canada with steep tariffs on Saturday and was also considering some on China.

        The U.S. gold market has been trading at a premium since the recent presidential election, the London Bullion Market Association said on Thursday, adding that the association has been closely liaising with the CME Group and U.S. authorities to monitor this trend.

        Gold vs the Dollar

        At the beginning of 2021, the US dollar index was 89. The US dollar index is now 108.

        The price of gold advanced from $1962 to nearly $2900. It’s now about $2850.

        Yet, people still believe moves in the dollar determine moves in the price of gold.

        I suggest the price of gold moves in accordance with long-term inflation and faith in the Fed.

        From 1980 to 2000 there was inflation every step of the way, but gold fell from $850 to $250. There was inflation from 2011 to 2015 when gold fell from $1923 to $1045.

        People thought Greenspan was “The Great Maestro” and Mario Draghi saved the Euro.

        Gold tends to do very poorly in such times and in periods of disinflation.

        A friend of mine emailed some thoughts on what’s changed.

        What’s Changed and What Hasn’t?

        In 1971, when Nixon closed the gold window, a 400 oz. bar of gold had a value of approximately $17,260.

        Today, in 2025, that same 400 oz. bar has a value of approximately $1,140,000.

        Did the gold bar add new and improved features?
        Nope.

        Did the gold bar become substantially more efficient somehow?
        Nope.

        Nothing changed whatsoever about the gold bar. It is exactly the same as it was in 1971.

        What’s changed is persistent Fed and government-sponsored inflation.

        Three Questions of the Day

        1. Is the Fed suddenly going to get things under control?

        2. Will DOGE cut $2 trillion or even $1 trillion in government expenses?

        3. Is Trump going to magically reduce the deficit via tariffs or any other means?

        Gold vs Silver

        Gold acts like money. And central banks hold gold, not silver.

        Silver sometimes acts like a monetary metal and sometimes acts like an industrial commodity.

        But gold’s primary use is that of a monetary metal. Only a miniscule amount is used in industrial purposes.

        Price Stability

        On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed would not budge from its two percent inflation goal which it ridiculously defines as “price stability”.

        Bonus Q: Does the lead chart look like price stability?
        A: No, but it does look like periodic misguided faith in central banks.

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 14:00

      • USAID Website Goes Dark As Trump Reportedly Plans To Shift Agency Under State Department
        USAID Website Goes Dark As Trump Reportedly Plans To Shift Agency Under State Department

        The website of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) went offline Saturday evening amid reports that the Trump administration was preparing to curtail USAID’s independence by placing it under the direct oversight of the State Department.

        An error message on USAID’s website read: “This site can’t be reached Check if there is a typo in www.usaid.gov. DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN.” 

        USAID’s X account was also taken offline. 

        Two sources familiar with the transition told Reuters that a major overhaul is expected in how Washington allocates US foreign aid, with USAID losing its independence and most likely coming under the control of the State Department.

        By late Saturday, a new ‘lite’ page for USAID appeared on the State Department’s website.

        “Trump’s been purging and intimidating USAID employees. Now there’s a rumor he’ll dissolve USAID as an independent agency,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X on Friday.

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

        Trump has made it very clear to Democrats and their Deep State counterparts that flooding taxpayer dollars into shady NGOs would be coming to an end under his ‘America First’ agenda.

        Last week…

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        Last month, the Trump administration froze nearly all foreign aid programs amid efforts to overhaul the distribution of that aid.

        A post from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) account on X clarified that USAID went on a woke spending spree in third-world countries…

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        Musk responded “True” to Robby Starbuck’s post about USAID laundering taxpayer funds “for Democrats in DC.” And even explained how it worked:

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

        “Like I said before, USAID is a front for the CIA.  And together with NGO’s like the Open Society Foundation, they have been using US tax dollars & govt resources as their personal piggy bank. It has been infuriating to watch. Hopefully now the whole truth will come out,” journalist Lara Logan wrote on X. 

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

        White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller told CNN an uncomfortable truth: “At USAID, 98% donated to Kamala Harris or other left-wing candidates.”

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

        Funding will soon dry up for NGOs and other entities that rely on USAID funds—some of which have been linked to furthering left-wing censorship efforts around the world and funding coups.

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 13:25

      • Schumer Under Investigation While Trump Reshapes Washington
        Schumer Under Investigation While Trump Reshapes Washington

        Authored by Roger Kimball via American Greatness,

        Senator Chuck Schumer is a lawyer, so presumably he is familiar with the provisions of 18 U.S. Code § 115.

        In case he has forgotten—after all, there are a lot of statutes to keep track of—Edward R. Martin, Jr., the Interim D.C. U.S. Attorney, is in the process of reminding him.

        Among other things, that statute holds that anyone who threatens a federal government official or their family with the “intent to impede, intimidate, or interfere with such official, judge, or law enforcement officer while engaged in the performance of official duties, or with intent to retaliate against such official, judge, or law enforcement officer on account of the performance of official duties,” shall be punished with a term in the slammer, the length of the sentence being dependent on the actual harm caused.

        When the Supreme Court was hearing an abortion case in March 2020, Schumer showed up at a protest rally in front of the Court and shouted, “I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh: You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price.”

        Perhaps Nicholas John Roske had that speech in mind in June 2022. It was then that he traveled from California to Maryland to pay the Kavanaughs a visit. It was not intended to be a friendly visit. In the dead of night, he took a taxi to their home. According to the court filing, he carried a suitcase in which was a “black tactical chest rig and tactical knife, a Glock 17 pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, screwdriver, nail punch, crowbar, pistol light, duct tape, hiking boots with padding on the outside of the soles, and other items.”

        When apprehended, Roske admitted that he had come to kill Brett Kavanaugh. I wonder what Chuck Schumer thought of that. It looks like Edward Martin is going to find out. On Friday, Martin announced not only that he was firing more than two dozen federal prosecutors; he also announced that he was opening an investigation into Schumer for his threats against two U.S. Supreme Court justices. For most mortals, issuing such threats would earn one a visit from the authorities.

        As a paid-up member of the Washington elite, Senator Schumer doubtless thought he was exempt from all such rules. Until January 20, he probably was.

        A lot of things began to change that day.

        If you visit the personal data hoovering site known as Google, you will be informed that, beginning yesterday, February 1, we are in the midst of a month-long feria denominated “Black History Month.” The Pentagon used to celebrate such racially informed pseudo-celebrations as well. But our new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, put a stop to that right speedily. On Friday, he issued a “Guidance” memorandum titled Identity Months Dead at DoD. Since singling out certain groups for celebration is bad for unity and morale, Hegseth reasoned, the cornucopia of “diversity” months that has covered public calendars like fungi is at an end. “Going forward,” we read,

        DoD Components and Military Departments will not use official resources, to include man-hours, to host celebrations or events related to cultural awareness months, including National African American/Black History Month, Women’s History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month [! who knew?], Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and National American Indian Heritage Month.

        Is the page on all that woke insanity really turning? I think it might be. Within hours of taking office,  Donald Trump pounded a stake into the heart of federal DEI initiatives with an executive order prohibiting them. Among other things, that means no more putting your preferred pronouns in your official correspondence. Thank God for that. As Senator John Kennedy put it, “They/them are now was/were.” The mask having been ripped off all these absurdities, they will shrivel and waste away in the cold light of day of what Trump hailed as the “revolution of common sense.” The nonsense will not be easy to revive.

        Elsewhere, Trump is repatriating illegal migrants, freeing hostages, and bringing water back to Southern California, “putting people above fish” (in this case, the tiny Delta Smelt). It also looks like the market in caves in Somalia has taken a serious hit. Yesterday, Trump ordered air strikes against “the Senior Isis attack planner and other terrorists” who were hiding in caves in that ravaged country. The troglodytes, Trump said, threatened the United States. Ergo, he destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians.

        Our Military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did! The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that “WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU!”

        The ancien régime just hates it when Trump talks like that. The aspersions cast upon his political opponents, the braggadocio, the typographic bravado—it’s just not the way official Washington is supposed to sound.

        Not, that was, until January 20. Expect a lot more where that came from. I for one, am deeply grateful for it.

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 12:50

      • US Army Identifies Female Black Hawk Pilot In DC Jet Crash
        US Army Identifies Female Black Hawk Pilot In DC Jet Crash

        Late Saturday, the US Army’s Public Affairs office confirmed that 28-year-old Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach was the pilot of the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with a regional American Airlines passenger jet near Ronald Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night. The crash claimed the lives of all 64 passengers and crew aboard the plane, as well as three individuals (including Lobach) in the helicopter.

        After Wednesday’s mid-air crash – the deadliest in the US since Nov. 12, 2001 – the Army identified two other soldiers aboard the Black Hawk helicopter as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Maryland, and  Staff. Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Georgia, was the chopper’s crew chief. 

        However, the female pilot was not identified because, according to the service: “At the request of the family, the name of the third soldier will not be released at this time.” 

        On Saturday, CBS News stated that two of the three soldiers have so far been recovered from the wreckage of the Black Hawk in the Potomac River.

        Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed that the helicopter departed from Fort Belvoir in Virginia and was on a routine training mission on Wednesday night.

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

        On Friday, President Trump commented on the mid-air accident, confirming that the helicopter was flying at an altitude much greater than the 200-foot ceiling as the regional jet was on final to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport. 

        CBS’ James LaPorta and Faris Tanyos quoted Lobach’s friend, 1st Lt. Samantha Brown, who said her friend also served as a White House social aide during the Biden-Harris administration’s first term.

        Social media sleuths on X found:

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

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

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

        The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating why the helicopter collided with the commercial jet. 

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 12:15

      • Some Hospitals Stop Transgender Surgeries On Children After Trump's Order
        Some Hospitals Stop Transgender Surgeries On Children After Trump’s Order

        Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

        Hospitals in Colorado, Virginia, and the nation’s capital said on Jan. 30 they have stopped transgender procedures for minors as they evaluate President Donald Trump’s new executive order.

        Denver Health in Colorado has stopped providing transgender surgeries such as breast removal for people under the age of 19, a spokesperson said, in order to comply with the executive order and continue receiving federal funding. It’s not clear whether the hospital will continue providing other transgender procedures and medicine for youth, such as puberty blockers.

        In Virginia, VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond said it has suspended transgender medication and surgical procedures for those under 19 years old.

        Children’s National Hospital in Washington said the hospital had “paused prescriptions of puberty blockers and hormone therapy to comply with the directives while we assess the situation further.”

        The hospital already did not perform transgender surgeries on minors, according to a spokesperson.

        Trump on Tuesday signed an order titled “Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.”

        The order says it is now U.S. policy not to fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support “the so-called ’transition’ of a child from one sex to another.” It says the U.S. government “will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”

        The order directs the heads of agencies that provide grants to medical institutions to “immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.”

        Other hospitals, including Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, said after the order was signed that its current practices would continue.

        “Our team will continue to advocate for access to medically necessary care, grounded in science and compassion for the patient-families we are so privileged to serve,” the hospital said.

        The order targets World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidance, which describes procedures such as hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and surgeries such as breast removal for children as “gender-affirming care” that “can be effective and helpful for many transgender adolescents.” The order says agencies shall rescind or amend all policies that rely on the association’s guidance.

        WPATH said in a statement that restrictions and bans on “access to necessary medical care for transgender youth are harmful to patients and their families.”

        The order also directed the U.S. health secretary to take steps to end child sex surgeries, including through Medicare, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to exclude child sex surgeries from the military-run TRICARE health insurance program.

        Tyler Durden
        Sun, 02/02/2025 – 11:40

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