• New "Guide" Teaches UK MPs To Spot "Conspiracy Theories"
  New “Guide” Teaches UK MPs To Spot “Conspiracy Theories”

  Authored by Kit Knightly via Off-Guardian.org,

  The British government has issued a new guidebook to all sitting MPs to help them spot “conspiracy theories”.

  

  Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt  MP, who commissioned the guide, has warned that:

  The proliferation of conspiracy theories across the UK is deeply disturbing. They are deliberate campaigns to spread disinformation and fear

  […]

  If they go unchallenged we risk the public being conned and their wellbeing potentially damaged. These campaigns are also a threat to the health of our democracy.

  It is essential that we give the public and their representatives the tools they need to combat this phenomenon.”

  And claimed the aim of the new guide was to:

  protect the public from the damaging effects of misinformation and safeguard the integrity of our democratic process,”

  Which sounds just lovely, doesn’t it?

  Oh, and just in case any of you are still caught up in the party politics illusion, the guide has full cross-party support, the Shadow Leader of the House called it “a must-read”.

  The report was co-written by “experts” representing several non-governmental organisations, and fact-checkers including:

  • FullFact – funded by (among others) Google, Facebook and the Open Society Foundation.

  • The Institute for Strategic Dialogue  – funded by (among others) the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, Facebook, over a dozen national governments and the UN.

  • Global Network on Extremism and Technology  – The academic research arm of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a thinktank “designed to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms”…and which is funded by (among others) Facebook, Amazon, Youtube and Microsoft.

  In short, it’s all a rather incestuous funding pool of the same handful of tech giants and billionaires paying “experts” to tell them what they want to hear.

  But we probably shouldn’t judge until we’ve read the “guide” itself, which is tricky because it doesn’t seem to be publicly available (seriously I looked everywhere, if you’re aware of a copy online post it in the comments and we’ll add it the link here).

  Fortunately, our old friends at the Guardian have given us a little taste, here’s three things they’re warning about.

  The Great Reset, which the Graun describes as…

  …a vague set of proposals from the World Economic Forum to encourage governments to move to adopt more equitable policies, the concept has been hijacked by conspiracy theorists claiming it is a bid by a small group to exert control.

  …which is wonderful, because it’s essentially admitting it’s true and then pretending it’s not.

  The Great Reset is, indeed, a WEF initiative. It was launched in June 2020 with the backing of world leaders and captains of industry, it aims to totally and completely rebuild the way our society works, including how we travel, what we eat and where we live.

  You can read about it in Klaus Schwab’s own words here, or see their handy diagram:

  

  How is that NOT “exerting control”?

  How does one go about transforming the farming, travel, taxation and employment policies of every nation on Earth without “exerting control”?

  Eating Insects is another “conspiracy theory”, apparently.

  With the Guardian warning that:

   [conspiracy theories] have included claims – fuelled by attempts to reduce meat consumption – that the WEF wants to make people eat insects.

  The only problem being that the WEF really does want people to eat insects:

  

  Like, a lot:

  

  You know what? The Guardian wants people to eat insects too. So does the BBC. And Time. The list is endless.

  This is – to use an overused word – gaslighting of the highest degree.

  They are at once saying “hey, we all need to eat insects to save the world”, and then claiming anyone who repeats it back at them is a conspiracy theorist.

  To encompass how mad this is you have to picture it being done on an interpersonal level.

  Imagine a double-glazing salesman comes to your door, wearing a double-glazing company logo and holding a double-glazing sales catalogue and says “I think you should buy some double-glazing”.

  To which you reply, “No thanks I don’t need any double glazing.”

  At this point the man screams “Double glazing? Who said anything about double glazing!? You lunatic!” storms off down the path, gets in his double-glazing van and drives away.

  It’s just that insane.

  Climate Lockdowns are the third “conspiracy theory” the Guardian warns us about, claiming:

  The ISD identified “climate lockdown” as the catchphrase for the conspiracy that the climate crisis will be used as a pretext for depriving citizens of liberty.

  But climate lockdowns are not a conspiracy theory either, they were first posited in a report in October 2020 published by Project Syndicate and the World Council for Sustainable Development. The proposed lockdown included banning private vehicles, the consumption of red meat and “extreme energy-saving measures”.

  Since then we have been inundated with peer-review studies, claiming lockdown is good for the environment.

  The Guardian itself headlined, in March 2021:

  Global lockdown every two years needed to meet Paris CO2 goals – study

  It was such an unpopular story that they sneakily changed the headline.

  It’s fairly clear that “climate lockdowns” are far from a conspiracy theory, that they were planned and then abandoned (or delayed) due to public anger at the first lockdown.

  *  *  *

  So, it looks like at least three of these “conspiracy theories” MPs are being “warned against” are actually…true. At least partially.

  Oh well.

  Still, it’s reassuring to know that unnamed experts from billionaire-funded NGOs are writing “guides” teaching our elected officials about the dangers of wrongthink.

  What a great way to “safeguard the integrity of our democratic process”.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/10/2024 – 02:00

• The TikTok Ban Is The Next Patriot Act
  The TikTok Ban Is The Next Patriot Act

  Authored by Aaron Sobczak via The Mises Institute,

  HR 7521, called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, is a recent development in American politics. TikTok has been in the news for the past few years, after the public became aware of its connections to China. The popular social media mobile app is currently owned by ByteDance Ltd, a Chinese company. China and the United States currently have a rocky relationship, leading to fears that the Chinese government could potentially use this app to spy on American citizens. Several states and counties voted to restrict the usage of the app in some ways, mostly disallowing government employees from using it on government-owned phones. Earlier this month, the United States Congress passed a piece of legislation that would restrict the app’s availability if certain requirements are not met by ByteDance.

  

  Putting aside the idea that politicians rarely have pure motives, this act has the potential to be just as dangerous as the Patriot Act. With a supposed goal of protecting American national security, the Patriot Act granted sweeping permissions to the federal government and the National Security Agency to spy on American citizens, with far less due process. In addition to having the potential to violate privacy rights and the Fourth Amendment, this new act is a blatant attack on property rights. Mobile device manufacturers and owners have every right to install whatever software they would like, as it is their property. Any illusion of a right to national security is immediately contradicted as collective rights are positive in nature and thus not rights at all.

  When looking through this act, several parts stick out.

  It begins by restricting any entity from distributing, maintaining, or updating any application that is controlled by a foreign adversary. As skeptics of the state would point out, this is already problematic. It should be obvious that one cannot adequately trust the American national security regime to determine which countries or entities are adversarial. A recent egregious example would be when the United States was determined to paint Iraq, and Saddam Hussein, as a uniquely evil power that assisted with the events of 9/11. Additionally, one can point to how the Trump and Biden administrations supported covid lockdowns, thus making Americans who understood the Constitution and property rights look like enemies in the eyes of many. The state has proven itself to be incapable of telling Americans who or what they should fear.

  The act then goes on to even ban the hosting of internet services that enable the use of these apps, furthering the state’s control over the internet. In addition to these fears of further government censorship, Senator Rand Paul has pointed out that many Americans own a stake in ByteDance; this restriction would mean that the government is taking away American property without suspicion of a crime. The act does not just restrict companies that are directly controlled by a foreign government but even companies that are owned by private citizens of an adversarial state. When it comes to government censorship, the Chinese government is the gold standard. The American government is following in the steps of the Chinese Communist Party. The Constitution and the natural-law-based rights that the United States was founded upon conflict greatly with this level of state censorship.

  Setting aside any pretense of national security, this act will restrict competition in the American marketplace, if not incidentally. Companies such as Alphabet and Meta will benefit greatly from a huge decrease of competition in the social media marketplace. Additionally, foreign cooperation in the global marketplace serves to spread the values of capitalism and free expression. It is understood that free trade greatly reduces the risk of traditional warfare between states, resulting in greater global competition.

  Further alienating states that are considered adversarial is shown to diminish peace.

  This is seen in how Iran reacted to the end of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, how North Korea positively reacted to President Donald Trump’s brief attempts to normalize diplomatic relations, and how Russia reacted to the expansion and aggression of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

  While not quite as wide-ranging as the Patriot Act, this recent act is dangerous in multiple ways.

  The natural rights to free expression, property, and privacy are at further risk with legislation such as this.

  One can point to how this will greatly support very large companies such as Alphabet and Meta in the American marketplace, companies that have spied on American citizens on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

  Additionally, already-estranged nations are less likely to come to any sort of reasonable agreement as they are continually backed into a corner by the global community.

  Skeptical Americans who are knowledgeable of history should not trust the American national security regime to properly determine who their enemies are, or the best way to keep Americans safe.

  This legislation will only give increased power to the expansive state, power that the state has proven itself unable to use judiciously.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 23:40

• Visualizing The Tax Burden Of Every US State
  Visualizing The Tax Burden Of Every US State

  This map graphic visualizes the total tax burden in each U.S. state as of March 2024, based on figures compiled by WalletHub.

  It’s important to understand that under this methodology, the tax burden measures the percent of an average person’s income that is paid towards state and local taxes. It considers property taxes, income taxes, and sales & excise tax.

  

  Data and Methodology

  The figures we used to create this graphic are listed in the table below.

  State	Total Tax Burden
  New York	12.0%
  Hawaii	11.8%
  Vermont	11.1%
  Maine	10.7%
  California	10.4%
  Connecticut	10.1%
  Minnesota	10.0%
  Illinois	9.7%
  New Jersey	9.5%
  Rhode Island	9.4%
  Utah	9.4%
  Kansas	9.3%
  Maryland	9.3%
  Iowa	9.2%
  Nebraska	9.2%
  Ohio	8.9%
  Indiana	8.9%
  Arkansas	8.8%
  Mississippi	8.8%
  Massachusetts	8.6%
  Virginia	8.5%
  West Virginia	8.5%
  Oregon	8.4%
  Colorado	8.4%
  Pennsylvania	8.4%
  Wisconsin	8.3%
  Louisiana	8.3%
  Kentucky	8.3%
  Washington	8.0%
  New Mexico	8.0%
  Michigan	8.0%
  North Carolina	7.9%
  Idaho	7.9%
  Arizona	7.8%
  Missouri	7.8%
  Georgia	7.7%
  Texas	7.6%
  Alabama	7.5%
  Montana	7.5%
  South Carolina	7.5%
  Nevada	7.4%
  Oklahoma	7.0%
  North Dakota	6.8%
  South Dakota	6.4%
  Delaware	6.4%
  Tennessee	6.1%
  Florida	6.1%
  Wyoming	5.7%
  New Hampshire	5.6%
  Alaska	4.9%

  From this data we can see that New York has the highest total tax burden. Residents in this state will pay, on average, 12% of their income to state and local governments.

  Breaking this down into its three components, the average New Yorker pays 4.6% of their income on income taxes, 4.4% on property taxes, and 3% in sales & excise taxes.

  At the other end of the spectrum, Alaska has the lowest tax burden of any state, equaling 4.9% of income. This is partly due to the fact that Alaskans do not pay state income tax.

  Hate Paying Taxes?

  In addition to Alaska, there are several other U.S. states that don’t charge income taxes. These are: Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.

  It’s also worth noting that New Hampshire does not have a regular income tax, but does charge a flat 4% on interest and dividend income according to the Tax Foundation.

  If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic which ranks the countries with the lowest corporate tax rates, from 1980 to today.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 23:20

• Thursday Humor: What Is The Optimal Temperature For Global GDP Growth?
  Thursday Humor: What Is The Optimal Temperature For Global GDP Growth?

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  A group of climate alarmists have concluded that global GDP will be 23 percent lower on the current path.

  

  I was aware of the ridiculous article when it came out.

  I stopped reading when I noted that all countries were all given equal weighting. For example, Nigeria has the same weight as the US.

  The authors tried to mitigate this in various ways but it was obvious that the authors would bend the data and the report to match their goals.

  Today, I am pleased to present a complete and thorough trashing of the Nature article.

  Please consider Global Non-Linear Effect of Temperature on Economic Production: Comment on Burke, Hsiang, and Miguel by David Barker, emphasis mine.

  The journal Nature published an influential article in 2015 by Marshall Burke, Solomon M. Hsiang, and Edward Miguel (hereafter BHM) purporting to show that higher temperatures will lower economic growth in warm countries.

  The Web of Science reports that the paper is in the top six one hundredths of one percent of economics and business publications by citations, and Google Scholar shows 2,269 citations. BHM (2015) also received significant attention in the popular press. Hsiang further developed this work and cowrote a chapter of the National Climate Assessment (Hsiang et al. 2023) claiming that higher temperatures would reduce the rate of economic growth.

  BHM’s analysis is shallow and misleading. The authors use data with characteristics that are known to create spurious regression results without making proper adjustments or even acknowledging these characteristics. They estimate parameters of a quadratic curve relating temperature to growth, and then cherrypick countries to include in a chart that appears to confirm the shape of this curve. The curve is then used to project growth rates into the distant future using temperature scenarios that a more recent comment in Nature described as either “extremely unlikely” or “unlikely”.

  Description of BHM (2015)

  BHM (2015) use annual data representing 166 countries from 1961 to 2010 on temperature and economic growth. All countries are equally weighted, and every country is assigned a single average temperature for each year. Because some data are missing, there is a total of 6,584 country/year observations instead of the 8,300 that could be used if data from all years in all countries were available.

  The headline result of a 23 percent reduction in GDP comes from taking each country’s projected GDP per capita with and without climate change, then taking the weighted average by population, and then taking the percentage difference between the weighted sum with and without climate change.

  The headline result, that warming will reduce global GDP per capita by 23 percent, is more than double the mean estimate of BHM’s bootstrap estimation, which they do not report. BHM claim that their result is “globally representative”, but it does not hold without Greenland and the regions of the Sahara and Central Africa, and it does not hold in large regions of the world. Simulations support the hypothesis that spatial autocorrelation may be the cause of BHM’s results, and robustness checks also suggest that their results may be spurious. BHM has been the subject of methodological criticism (Newell et al. 2021; Tol 2019; Rosen 2019), but my paper is the first to precisely document its deceptive practices.

  Thesis Falls Apart

  Barker notes that if you remove Greenland and regions of the Sahara and Central Africa from the analysis, the entire BHM thesis falls apart.

  He also comments on dummy variables and notes that if the analysis started one year earlier, the BHM thesis also falls apart.

  On the geek side, Barker notes “Any data, no matter how noisy, will generate a smooth quadratic curve if one variable is regressed on another and its square and the predicted values of the dependent variable are plotted against possible values of the independent variable.”

  Thus, the nice smooth graphs of BHM are automatic by design.

  Regarding the lead chart, Barker says “Five countries are cherry-picked to make the relationship appear to be significant. While the figure is not a crucial part of BHM’s analysis, it is indicative of the misleading approach of the paper, and suggests alternative methods of measuring the relationship between growth and temperature.“

  Much of his rebuttal is complex and not light reading. I picked some highlights that I thought would be generally understandable.

  Optimal Temperature

  I am confident there is no such a thing as an optimal global temperature. Such a belief precludes technology advances that can mitigate climate impacts.

  At best, an optimal temperature is unknowable and changing. And it’s ridiculous to believe we could or should try to hit the optimal temperature even if it exists.

  It’s clear BHM had an agenda and manipulated the dates, the countries, the years included, and the dummy variables to produce the desired result.

  Forcing the Data to Meet the Non-Science

  BHM forced the data not to meet the science, but to meet a belief in non-science. I fail to see what they gain by this.

  At best, they now look like a pack of incompetent scientists, and at worst a pack of complete liars.

  Cheers From the Cult

  The people BHM address are in the same cult and need no convincing. OK, BHM got cheers from the cult. If that was the goal, congrats.

  But if the goal was to convince the skeptics, they failed miserably.

  Some of us saw through the nonsense right from the beginning. And now we have a stellar rebuttal from David Barker to back us up.

  March to Madness Continues

  The lie of the day is from the EPA: Carbon capture will pay for itself (thanks to IRA subsidies). No, it won’t even with subsidies. Expect blackouts and a higher price for electricity.

  

  In case you missed it, please see Biden’s New Carbon Capture Mandates Will Cause Blackouts, Increases Prices

  The march to energy madness continues.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 23:00

• Chris Cuomo Admits Taking "Regular" Doses Of Ivermectin After Previously Saying Those Who Took It Should Be "Shamed"
  Chris Cuomo Admits Taking “Regular” Doses Of Ivermectin After Previously Saying Those Who Took It Should Be “Shamed”

  After once claiming on air that people taking ivermectin should be “shamed”, Chris Cuomo has done an about face on the drug, admitting on the PBD Podcast this week that he is taking a regular dose of it to deal with long Covid. 

  In January, Cuomo revealed he’s dealing with “long COVID,” the lasting effects of a previous infection. On the PBD Podcast hosted by Patrick Bet-David, the NewsNation host said he’s using antiviral medication to combat inflammation and “brain fog.”

  Trust the science… pic.twitter.com/uKe7o631Gt

  — Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) May 8, 2024

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

  He said: “I’ll tell you something else that’s gonna get you a lot of hits. I am taking … a regular dose of Ivermectin. Ivermectin was a boogeyman during COVID. That was wrong. We were given bad information about Ivermectin. The real question is, why?”

  Why, Chris? Perhaps its because you and Don Lemon were on-air daily providing a constant stream of misinformation about the drug?

  He continued: “Everyone’s going to say ‘Joe Rogan was right. No, Joe Rogan was saying – yeah, he was right – that’s not what matters. What matters is, the entire medical community knew that Ivermectin couldn’t hurt you. They knew it … I know they knew it.”

  “How do I know? Because now I’m doing nothing but talking to these clinicians, who at the time were overwhelmed by COVID, and they weren’t saying anything!”

  But back during the pandemic, Cuomo took to the air to widely discredit ivermectin, despite it appears on the WHO’s List of Essential Medicines and having been dosed for humans millions of times. 

  Cuomo said during the pandemic:  “What person – you know you talk about cancel culture and who to shame – Ivermectin? A de-wormer? Really? … they need to be shamed. They need to be called out and shamed, brother.”

  

  Like all ridiculous liberal talking points, the truth tends to emerge only when involves the well-being of those espousing lessons on how others should live their lives. Cuomo now says about ivermectin: “It’s cheap, it’s not owned by anybody, and it’s used as an anti-microbial, antiviral and has been for all these different ways, and has been for a long time.”

   “My doctor was using it during COVID on her family and on her patients, and it was working for them. So. They were wrong to play scared on that. Didn’t know that at the time. Know it now, admit it now, reporting on it now.”

  Back in August 2023, when we published “The Unforgiveable Ivermectin Swindle“, we noted…the truth finds a way to make its way out eventually.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 22:40

• Chinese Stock Rally Likely To Stall Without Robust Earnings
  Chinese Stock Rally Likely To Stall Without Robust Earnings

  By Henry Ren, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

  Earnings for China Inc. are looking somewhat better, though likely not enough to keep fueling the recent stock market rally.

  Strategists say the bounce spurred by low valuations needs a full-blown earnings recovery to continue. Remember the lesson from China’s Covid reopening trade, which began favorably in late 2022 and lasted only three months.

  During that period when the MSCI China Index rallied 59% from trough to peak, analysts raised forward earnings expectations by about 10%. However, earnings revisions turned negative starting in February 2023, and Chinese stocks never managed to regain their strength.

  

  This year, after a 25% rebound from the bottom in January, Chinese stocks are once again at a tipping point, with investors turning to earnings for potential catalysts. First-quarter reports so far are decidedly mixed.

  Firms listed on the mainland have recorded a 4% decline in earnings as their gross profit margins lingered at low levels, according to UBS strategists. It’s a similar picture for MSCI China components.

  Companies making up a third of the benchmark index posted a 5% drop in sales, JPMorgan cautioned in a May 1 note.

  

  Next week’s reports from big-cap internet companies probably will determine how this earnings season registers on the index level. Weak retail sales growth in March and a decline in per-capita tourist spending during the May 1-5 national holiday are bad omens for the sector, which is highly affected by consumer sentiment.

  Better earnings are critically important, especially at a time when tailwinds that lifted Chinese stock gauges into bull territory are tapering off. The MSCI China Index is now technically overbought for the first time since January 2023.

  Meanwhile, Japanese equities have stabilized and US markets have digested the idea that fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts are coming, reducing the urgency for global funds to diversify away from developed markets.

  

  But it’s not all doom and gloom. The number of mainland-listed firms missing estimates declined this reporting season, and large-cap stocks are undergoing more upward earnings revisions, according to Morgan Stanley strategists led by Laura Wang.

  Some select industries still show signs of improvement, despite macro data being “weak and mixed,” said Vivian Lin Thurston, a fund manager at William Blair Investment Management in Chicago. Export-driven companies and appliance makers have stood out, she noted.

  Still, more patience is required if the recovery is to broaden. “What we do have is some better news on some specific sectors because the expectations are very low,” said Societe Generale strategist Frank Benzimra. “But it’s just too early to say that this is a sustainable upturn.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 22:20

• How People Get Around In America, Europe, And Asia
  How People Get Around In America, Europe, And Asia

  This chart, via Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao, highlights the popularity of different transportation types in the Americas, Europe, and Asia, calculated by modal share.

  Data for this article and visualization is sourced from ‘The ABC of Mobility’, a research paper by Rafael Prieto-Curiel (Complexity Science Hub) and Juan P. Ospina (EAFIT University), accessed through ScienceDirect.

  The authors gathered their modal share data through travel surveys, which focused on the primary mode of transportation a person employs for each weekday trip. Information from 800 cities across 61 countries was collected for this study.

  

  North American Car Culture Contrasts with the Rest of the World

  In the U.S. and Canada, people heavily rely on cars to get around, no matter the size of the city. There are a few exceptions of course, such as New York, Toronto, and smaller college towns across the United States.

  

  Note: *Excluding Mexico. Percentages are rounded.

  As a result, North America’s share of public transport and active mobility (walking and biking) is the lowest amongst all surveyed regions by a significant amount.

  On the other hand, public transport reigns supreme in South and Central America as well as Southern and Eastern Asia. It ties with cars in Southeastern Asia, and is eclipsed by cars in Western Asia.

  As outlined in the paper, Europe sees more city-level differences in transport popularity.

  For example, Utrecht, Netherlands prefers walking and biking. People in Paris and London like using their extensive transit systems. And in Manchester and Rome, roughly two out of three journeys are by car.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 22:00

• Democrats Attack Judge For Delaying Trump Florida Trial
  Democrats Attack Judge For Delaying Trump Florida Trial

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  While pundits, politicians and the press have long expressed outrage over attacks on judges by former President Donald Trump, many are now attacking any judge who delays any trial of Trump before the election. Democrats have accused Judge Aileen Cannon of being politically compromised, if not conspiratorial, in her delay of the Florida trial over the mishandling of classified documents. Yet, there is ample reason for the delay that many of us anticipated in this type of case when it was filed.

  

  For months, many of us have said that we doubt that this type of trial could be held on the rapid schedule demanded by Special Counsel Jake Smith. Smith has repeatedly sought to curtail trial review and even appellate rights of Trump to advance his schedule.

  His office has made convicting Trump before the election the overriding objective of its motion — a sharp departure from past Justice Department efforts to avoid trials to influence elections.

  As a criminal defense counsel, I have handled classified material cases and they are notoriously slow. Smith could have prosecuted this case in the shorter time frame if he simply charge obstruction. That would have also eliminated the glaring contrast with the handling of the Biden investigation into the current president’s retention and mishandling of classified material.

  Smith decided to charge an array of document charges related to classified material. The defense must have access, review, and can appeal issue related to the classified procedures. Yet, Smith wanted both the array of document charges and a fast track to trial. The Supreme Court has agreed with Cannon that Smith desire to secure a conviction before the election is not the overriding consideration.

  Judge Cannon is faced with recent admissions that the government mixed up files in the boxes and staged the famous photos of document strewn over a floor with classified jackets.

  Most importantly, disputes over the relevant documents continues as expected in the case.

  Nevertheless, leading democrats are denouncing Cannon as a partisan hack.

  Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on federal courts and oversight subcommittee, said accused Cannon of “deliberately slow-walking the case.” Ignoring the fact that similar cases have taken much longer to go to trial, Whitehouse simply declared “it is hard for me not to reach the conclusion that this [judge] is deliberately slow-walking the case to put it into a position where should [Trump] be elected, he can order that the investigation and prosecution be terminated.”

  His colleague Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) insisted that Cannon was “managing this case in a way that is making it highly unlikely that it will be resolved in a timely fashion.”

  Coons added “Justice deferred is often justice denied.” It is a bizarre statement. Classified documents cases routinely take longer to go to trial. The alternative is to cut off the ability of the defense to fully review the documents and review objections for resolution before trial. Yet, because the defendant is Trump and these Democrats want the trial to influence the election, such defense protections are now evidence of judicial bias.

  They, of course, ignore that Cannon has ruled repeatedly against major Trump motions in the case.

  Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said Cannon’s “at it again, doing everything she can to delay.”

  Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), offered the most telling line. He said “I question whether this judge understands the magnitude or the legal import of this trial.”

  Indeed, it is the timing as much as the charges that makes this so important to the Justice Department and the Democrats. Smith has crafted this case to impact the election and the failure of the court to support that effort is apparently grounds for recusal.

  Blumenthal called for such a motion before the window is lost before the election: “It’s a classic dilemma for justice that a particular judicial officer may be conducting a trial that could be better done by somebody else.”

  Despite the statement of his colleague Coons, this is a case where justice delayed is justice.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 21:40

• Manhattan Apartment Rents Gain Momentum, Signal Potential Record Highs This Summer
  Manhattan Apartment Rents Gain Momentum, Signal Potential Record Highs This Summer

  While the rent component of the consumer price index has shown a strong disinflationary trend since peaking in the summer of 2023, high-frequency data reveals rent prices in key metro areas are moving higher. 

  Several high-frequency rental data points show that the cost of signing a new lease on a house or apartment is rising again despite decelerating rent component print in the March Consumer Price Index. 

  

  Let’s begin with Manhattan apartment rents, hitting a new record for April, Bloomberg reported, citing a new report from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

  

  New leases signed in April topped an average of $4,250, up $9 from last April. Overall, prices peaked at $4,440 last August, sliding marginally in the fall months, and have since moved higher at the start of the year. 

  

  “The question is whether we’re going to beat last summer’s all-time highs,” said Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel. 

  Miller pointed out that rents are likely to “beat last summer’s all-time highs” given their current trajectory and momentum.  

  Looking at CoreLogic data, its latest Single-Family Rent Index, which examines single-family rent price changes nationally and across major cities, “regained strength in February, posting the highest annual appreciation since April 2023,” according to Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. 

  

  CPI rents will be deflationary as they catch up to lagged real-time indicators. However, if high-frequency data continues moving upward, there’s a risk CPI rents could turn back up later this year. 

  If this is the case, then potentially more bad news for Bidenomics and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who is enabling this fiscal trainwreck as inflation continues to crush working poor households. 

  Recall, earlier this week, Stan Druckenmiller told CNBC’s Joe Kernen that he rates Bidenomics an “F.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 21:20

• Virtual Home Invasions: We're Not Safe From Government Peeping Toms
  Virtual Home Invasions: We’re Not Safe From Government Peeping Toms

  Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

  “The privacy and dignity of our citizens is being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps. Taken individually, each step may be of little consequence. But when viewed as a whole, there begins to emerge a society quite unlike any we have seen—a society in which government may intrude into the secret regions of man’s life at will.”

  – Justice William O. Douglas

  The spirit of the Constitution, drafted by men who chafed against the heavy-handed tyranny of an imperial ruler, would suggest that one’s home is a fortress, safe from almost every kind of intrusion.

  

  Unfortunately, a collective assault by the government’s cabal of legislators, litigators, judges and militarized police has all but succeeded in reducing that fortress—and the Fourth Amendment alongside it—to a crumbling pile of rubble.

  We are no longer safe in our homes, not from the menace of a government and its army of Peeping Toms who are waging war on the last stronghold of privacy left to us as a free people.

  The weapons of this particular war on the privacy and sanctity of our homes are being wielded by the government and its army of bureaucratized, corporatized, militarized mercenaries.

  Government agents—with or without a warrant, with or without probable cause that criminal activity is afoot, and with or without the consent of the homeowner—are now justified in mounting virtual home invasions using surveillance technology—with or without the blessing of the courts—to invade one’s home with wiretaps, thermal imaging, surveillance cameras, aerial drones, and other monitoring devices.

  Just recently, in fact, the Michigan Supreme Court gave the government the green light to use warrantless aerial drone surveillance to snoop on citizens at home and spy on their private property.

  While the courts have given police significant leeway at times when it comes to physical intrusions into the privacy of one’s home (the toehold entry, the battering ram, the SWAT raid, the knock-and-talk conversation, etc.), the menace of such virtual intrusions on our Fourth Amendment rights has barely begun to be litigated, legislated and debated.

  Consequently, we now find ourselves in the unenviable position of being monitored, managed, corralled and controlled by technologies that answer to government and corporate rulers.

  Indeed, almost anything goes when it comes to all the ways in which the government can now invade your home and lay siege to your property.

  Consider that on any given day, the average American going about his daily business will be monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways, by both government and corporate eyes and ears.

  A byproduct of this surveillance age in which we live, whether you’re walking through a store, driving your car, checking email, or talking to friends and family on the phone, you can be sure that some government agency is listening in and tracking your behavior.

  This doesn’t even begin to touch on the corporate trackers that monitor your purchases, web browsing, Facebook posts and other activities taking place in the cyber sphere.

  Stingray devices mounted on police cars to warrantlessly track cell phones, Doppler radar devices that can detect human breathing and movement within in a home, license plate readers that can record up to 1800 license plates per minute, sidewalk and “public space” cameras coupled with facial recognition and behavior-sensing technology that lay the groundwork for police “pre-crime” programs, police body cameras that turn police officers into roving surveillance cameras, the internet of things: all of these technologies (and more) add up to a society in which there’s little room for indiscretions, imperfections, or acts of independence—especially not when the government can listen in on your phone calls, read your emails, monitor your driving habits, track your movements, scrutinize your purchases and peer through the walls of your home.

  Without our realizing it, the American Police State passed the baton off to a fully-fledged Surveillance State that gives the illusion of freedom while functioning all the while like an electronic prison: controlled, watchful, inflexible, punitive, deadly and inescapable.

  Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide: this is the mantra of the architects of the Surveillance State and their corporate collaborators.

  Government eyes see your every move: what you read, how much you spend, where you go, with whom you interact, when you wake up in the morning, what you’re watching on television and reading on the internet.

  Every move you make is being monitored, mined for data, crunched, and tabulated in order to amass a profile of who you are, what makes you tick, and how best to control you when and if it becomes necessary to bring you in line.

  Cue the dawning of the Age of the Internet of Things (IoT), in which internet-connected “things” monitor your home, your health and your habits in order to keep your pantry stocked, your utilities regulated and your life under control and relatively worry-free.

  The key word here, however, is control.

  In the not-too-distant future, “just about every device you have—and even products like chairs, that you don’t normally expect to see technology in—will be connected and talking to each other.”

  By the end of 2018, “there were an estimated 22 billion internet of things connected devices in use around the world… Forecasts suggest that by 2030 around 50 billion of these IoT devices will be in use around the world, creating a massive web of interconnected devices spanning everything from smartphones to kitchen appliances.”

  As the technologies powering these devices have become increasingly sophisticated, they have also become increasingly widespread, encompassing everything from toothbrushes and lightbulbs to cars, smart meters and medical equipment.

  It is estimated that 127 new IoT devices are connected to the web every second.

  These Internet-connected techno gadgets include smart light bulbs that discourage burglars by making your house look occupied, smart thermostats that regulate the temperature of your home based on your activities, and smart doorbells that let you see who is at your front door without leaving the comfort of your couch.

  Nest, Google’s suite of smart home products, has been at the forefront of the “connected” industry, with such technologically savvy conveniences as a smart lock that tells your thermostat who is home, what temperatures they like, and when your home is unoccupied; a home phone service system that interacts with your connected devices to “learn when you come and go” and alert you if your kids don’t come home; and a sleep system that will monitor when you fall asleep, when you wake up, and keep the house noises and temperature in a sleep-conducive state.

  The aim of these internet-connected devices, as Nest proclaims, is to make “your house a more thoughtful and conscious home.” For example, your car can signal ahead that you’re on your way home, while Hue lights can flash on and off to get your attention if Nest Protect senses something’s wrong. Your coffeemaker, relying on data from fitness and sleep sensors, will brew a stronger pot of coffee for you if you’ve had a restless night.

  Yet given the speed and trajectory at which these technologies are developing, it won’t be long before these devices become government informants, reporting independently on anything you might do that runs afoul of the Nanny State.

  Moreover, it’s not just our homes and personal devices that are being reordered and reimagined in this connected age: it’s our workplaces, our health systems, our government, our bodies and our innermost thoughts that are being plugged into a matrix over which we have no real control.

  It is expected that by 2030, we will all experience The Internet of Senses (IoS), enabled by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), 5G, and automation. The Internet of Senses relies on connected technology interacting with our senses of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch by way of the brain as the user interface. As journalist Susan Fourtane explains:

  Many predict that by 2030, the lines between thinking and doing will blur. Fifty-nine percent of consumers believe that we will be able to see map routes on VR glasses by simply thinking of a destination… By 2030, technology is set to respond to our thoughts, and even share them with others… Using the brain as an interface could mean the end of keyboards, mice, game controllers, and ultimately user interfaces for any digital device. The user needs to only think about the commands, and they will just happen. Smartphones could even function without touch screens.

  Once technology is able to access and act on your thoughts, not even your innermost thoughts will be safe from the Thought Police.

  Thus far, the public response to concerns about government surveillance has amounted to a collective shrug. Yet when the government sees all and knows all and has an abundance of laws to render even the most seemingly upstanding citizen a criminal and lawbreaker, then the old adage that you’ve got nothing to worry about if you’ve got nothing to hide no longer applies.

  To our detriment, we are fast approaching a world without the Fourth Amendment, where the lines between private and public property are so blurred that private property is reduced to little more than something the government can use to control, manipulate and harass you to suit its own purposes, and you the homeowner and citizen have been reduced to little more than a tenant or serf in bondage to an inflexible landlord.

  When people talk about privacy, they mistakenly assume it protects only that which is hidden behind a wall or under one’s clothing. The courts have fostered this misunderstanding with their constantly shifting delineation of what constitutes an “expectation of privacy.” And technology has furthered muddied the waters.

  However, privacy is so much more than what you do or say behind locked doors. It is a way of living one’s life firm in the belief that you are the master of your life, and barring any immediate danger to another person (which is far different from the carefully crafted threats to national security the government uses to justify its actions), it’s no one’s business what you read, what you say, where you go, whom you spend your time with, and how you spend your money.

  As Glenn Greenwald notes:

  “The way things are supposed to work is that we’re supposed to know virtually everything about what [government officials] do: that’s why they’re called public servants. They’re supposed to know virtually nothing about what we do: that’s why we’re called private individuals. This dynamic—the hallmark of a healthy and free society—has been radically reversed. Now, they know everything about what we do, and are constantly building systems to know more. Meanwhile, we know less and less about what they do, as they build walls of secrecy behind which they function. That’s the imbalance that needs to come to an end. No democracy can be healthy and functional if the most consequential acts of those who wield political power are completely unknown to those to whom they are supposed to be accountable.”

  As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, none of this will change, no matter which party controls Congress or the White House, because despite all of the work being done to help us buy into the fantasy that things will change if we just elect the right candidate, we’ll still be prisoners of the electronic concentration camp.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 21:00

• Visualizing The Copper Investment Opportunity In One Chart
  Visualizing The Copper Investment Opportunity In One Chart

  Copper is essential for clean energy applications such as solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles (EVs), as well as for expanding electrical grids.

  The surge in demand for the metal, driven by the growing adoption of these technologies, presents a unique investment opportunity for early investors in copper mining companies.

  Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti introduces this chart by Sprott exploring the growing gap between copper supply and demand until 2050, based on projections from BloombergNEF’s Transition Metals Outlook 2023.

  

  Projected Copper Supply vs. Demand

  Copper is naturally abundant on Earth, but extracting the metal at the pace necessary for an electrified economy could be a challenge. The timeline for bringing a copper mine from discovery to production is lengthy, averaging over 16 years.

  Top producers like Chile and Peru are facing strikes and protests, along with declining ore grades. Russia, ranked seventh in copper production, faces an expected decline in production due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

  Meanwhile, the increasing adoption of carbon-free technology only highlights copper’s significance. 

  High Demand for Transport and Electricity Grid

  The demand for copper in the transport sector is projected to increase by 11.1 times by 2050, from 2022. EVs, for example, can contain more than a mile of copper wiring.

  Additionally, the demand for copper needed to expand the global electricity grid is projected to increase by 4.8 times by 2050, from 2022.

  By 2030, the copper supply gap is projected to approach 10 million metric tons, with both copper prices and copper mining stocks potentially set to benefit.

  As the world embraces clean technologies, the search for and expansion of copper mines will be essential. Early investors who gain exposure to copper miners may benefit from the rapidly increasing demand.

  Sprott offers convenient exchange-traded alternatives for investors seeking exposure to copper miners. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 20:40

• Republican Introduces Bill Requiring Proof Of Citizenship To Vote
  Republican Introduces Bill Requiring Proof Of Citizenship To Vote

  Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) has introduced a bill in the lower chamber of Congress that would ensure that illegal immigrants do not vote in federal elections.

  

  The Epoch Times first obtained a copy of the bill, dubbed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.

  The bill is being introduced with the support of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who vowed to bring up such a bill during an appearance with former President Donald Trump weeks ago.

  Although noncitizen voting in federal elections is already unlawful, past Supreme Court decisions limit states’ power to ensure that voters are citizens.

  Mr. Roy’s bill seeks to strengthen safeguards around voter registration to ensure compliance with existing law against noncitizens voting.

  To this end, it demands that a state “shall not accept and process an application to register to vote in an election for Federal office unless the applicant presents documentary proof of United States citizenship with the application.”

  Speaking at a May 8 press conference in support of the legislation, Mr. Johnson tied it to ongoing protests at campuses across the United States.

  “In recent days, we’ve seen a growing number of folks on student visas show their willingness to break the law and utterly disrupt our way of life and threaten law-abiding students who are actually American citizens,” Mr. Johnson said. “If they’re willing to take over buildings and physically terrorize their fellow students, why would they not be willing to lie on a voter registration form?”

  Stephen Miller, a former senior adviser to President Trump, also commented during the press conference.

  “If Hakeem Jeffries and his Democrat members try to kill this bill, they will be declaring to the whole country that they want Joe Biden’s illegals to vote in this election,” Mr. Miller said.

  ‘Sacred Right and Responsibility’

  The bill lists several acceptable documents to verify the citizenship of a would-be voter, including a REAL ID compliant identification, a U.S. passport, a military ID card, or any valid state, federal or tribal identification, such as a birth certificate, hospital record, or adoption certificate, showing that the individual was born in, or is a naturalized citizen of, the United States.

  The bill also provides for accommodations for mail-in voting registration or those unable to produce documentary proof of citizenship, who can undergo a separate process to have their citizenship verified.

  States would also be required to “take affirmative steps on an ongoing basis to ensure that only United States citizens are registered to vote,” including clearing the voter rolls of those who are ineligible to vote due to their status as noncitizens. To that end, the bill also clarifies the conditions under which a state may seek to remove an individual from voter rolls.

  Additionally, the bill would require the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to investigate noncitizens who are illegally registered to vote, up to and including the possibility of removal proceedings.

  The same bill will be introduced to the Democrat-controlled Senate by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who encouraged that it be taken up and passed in a statement to The Epoch Times.

  “Thousands of illegal immigrants are being given voter registration forms and driver’s licenses, allowing them to cast illegitimate ballots on election day,” Mr. Lee said. “At a time when trust in voting is more important than ever, we must stop foreign election interference and pass the SAVE Act.

  “Voting is both a sacred right and responsibility of American citizenship, and allowing the people of other nations access to our elections is a grave blow to our security and self-governance. I’m proud to stand with Chip Roy to save our democratic process and representative government.”

  Mr. Lee also spoke during the press conference.

  “There is not a good, legitimate reason to oppose this bill,” he said. “In fact, there are all kinds of things that would be wrong with this institution if it failed immediately to pass this bill and send it to the President for his signature.”

  Speaking with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Johnson explained why the conference is pursuing this legislation now.

  During his remarks, he noted that as many as 16 million new illegal immigrants could have entered the country under President Joe Biden’s term in office. Estimates of the exact number vary widely.

  “Among the problems that flows from this open border catastrophe is directly related to this threat to election integrity,” Mr. Johnson said.

  Current Law

  Mr. Johnson tied his concerns primarily to the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), otherwise dubbed the “Motor Voter” law, which allows people to register to vote at the same time that they pick up a driver’s license from their state’s Department of Motor Vehicles or other state agencies.

  However, the law does not allow states to seek documentary proof of citizenship, instead requiring that they take an individual’s word that they are a citizen unless the individual’s eligibility is called into question.

  A 2013 Supreme Court decision in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona expanded on the law, finding that the federal law supersedes existing state laws requiring documentary proof to vote—effectively banning states from imposing such requirements for federal voter registration.

  Speaking about this law, Mr. Johnson said, “we think that’s a serious problem”—one that he said Republicans will seek to amend.

  As so many illegal immigrants are already in the country, current law raises red flags that could potentially affect the outcome of the election, Mr. Johnson said.

  “There’s so many millions of illegals in the country, that if only one out of one hundred voted, they would cast potentially hundreds of thousands of votes,” Mr. Johnson said. “That could turn an election.”

  Critics of the bill have retorted that federal law already prohibits illegal immigrants from voting—a fact which they say makes the bill redundant.

  However, due to the Supreme Court’s expansion of the NVRA in 2013, existing laws include no solid mechanism for states to ensure that their voters are citizens.

  It’s unclear when the bill will be taken up in the lower chamber. But with Mr. Johnson’s blessing, it’s all but certain to come to the floor—forcing Democrats onto the record on the issue as immigration becomes a top concern for voters.

  With Republicans’ slim majority, the bill has good odds of passing the lower chamber; it faces longer odds in the Democrat-controlled Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) decides what comes to the floor.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 20:20

• Meet The Company Helping Restart The Nuclear Revolution In The U.S.
  Meet The Company Helping Restart The Nuclear Revolution In The U.S.

  A company called Holtec has become the voice for restarting the nuclear power revolution in the U.S.

  As it becomes clear that the nation’s needs for power are far underserved, and will certainly be in the future with the adoption of AI, one company, currently the “top US manufacturer of storage equipment for nuclear waste”, is advocating for restarting cold reactors across the country. 

  Lately, the company’s ambitions have soared. Since 2019, it’s acquired four retired nuclear plants originally intending to decommission them: Indian Point (NY), Oyster Creek (NJ), Pilgrim (MA), and Palisades (MI), according to Bloomberg.

  Tearing down old reactors promised good returns due to the hefty trust funds tied to cleanup costs. Holtec quickly became the nation’s leading nuclear decommissioner.

  And, as the report notes, despite initially purchasing Palisades to dismantle it, Holtec is now planning to restart the reactor with a $1.5 billion loan from the DOE, marking the first time a cold reactor would be revived in the U.S. However, Holtec lacks experience in running nuclear plants.

  While concerns have been raised due to Holtec’s safety violations in the past four years of decommissioning, others consider such infractions normal in this tightly regulated industry. Nevertheless, nuclear power is increasingly seen as key to curbing greenhouse gas emissions, and Holtec aims to have Palisades online again soon and launch its own small modular reactors (SMRs) by the end of the decade. 

  

  SMRs, factory-built reactors that can be assembled onsite, represent a highly complex and largely unproven endeavor for Holtec and the industry – yet one we have written about extensively as the obvious next step for the industry. Just yesterday we highlighted Sam Altman’s now-greenlighted nuclear SPAC, trading under ALCC before switching to OKLO at the end of this week. 

  Holtec, meanwhile, is headquartered in Jupiter, Florida, but its business hub is the Camden, New Jersey campus and factory. Founder and CEO Krishna Singh’s office overlooks the Delaware River, facing Philadelphia, where he earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 after emigrating from India.

  He specialized in heat-exchange systems, crucial training for reactor design, which involves managing the high temperatures generated by fission reactions to produce power.

  Bloomberg writes that Holtec made its mark with a storage system for spent uranium fuel rods, addressing the mid-1980s problem of overcrowded indoor cooling pools. Singh’s innovation was a durable rack that minimized fuel rod movement during earthquakes, allowing plants to store more rods in the pools. With this patented design, he founded Holtec, and within a few years, his racks dominated the market.

  

  Traditionally, decommissioning involved shutting down reactors and letting them sit for decades. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) gives operators up to 60 years to complete the process, funded by a trust built from utility ratepayer contributions. For instance, Palisades had $552 million in its trust fund when it closed. The long timeline allows funds to grow and radioactivity to decay.

  However, Holtec, NorthStar Group Services Inc., and EnergySolutions Inc. have adopted a different approach, starting decommissioning much earlier. Leveraging their expertise with radioactive materials, they complete the job in years instead of decades, keeping a share of any leftover trust fund money.

  “Not only does Holtec intend to bring Palisades back online, it also plans by the end of the decade to have its own small modular reactors up and running,” Bloomberg writes.

  Back in April we had previously written that a lot of the U.S.’s reactors could wind up coming back online. “There are a couple of nuclear power plants that we probably should, and can, turn back on,” Jigar Shah, director of the US Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, told Bloomberg in an interview.

  In March, Shah’s office approved a loan to Holtec International Corp. to reopen the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. This was a historical shift, and it was the first nuclear power plant to be reopened in the US, setting a precedent for atomic energy to make a triumphal comeback. The plant could begin producing power as early as the second half of 2025.

  Nuclear power is the largest single source of carbon-free electricity. Given onshoring trends, electrification of transportation and buildings, and, of course, as we’ve noted in “The Next AI Trade,” the proliferation of AI data centers will overload power grids nationwide unless a significant upgrade is seen.

  We again highlighted the enormous investment opportunity last month titled “Everyone Is Piling Into The “Next AI Trade””, which lists companies powering up America for the digital age.

  

  Nearly 3.5 years ago, we provided readers with a straightforward investment thesis: “Buy Uranium: Is This The Beginning Of The Next ESG Craze” Back then, it became apparent to us that the resurrection of the nuclear power industry was imminent. 

  And the trend is only gaining steam as the revival of nuclear power plants will continue benefiting some of the largest uranium producers, such as Cameco. We told readers to buy uranium stocks, such as Cameco around the $10 handle – now it’s at $50 a share. 

  You can read Bloomberg’s full feature on Holtec here. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 20:00

• Decline Of Senior Officer Integrity And Civilian Control Of The Military
  Decline Of Senior Officer Integrity And Civilian Control Of The Military

  Authored by Keith T. Holcomb via RealClearDefense,

  

  Public confidence in the military has slipped. One major reason is the politicization of senior military officers, who show an increasing propensity to compromise their integrity to gain influence and achieve both budgetary and policy goals. Their willingness to spin carefully parsed and knowingly misleading testimony and advice compromises civilian control of the military. Simply stated, these generals and admirals are not providing full and complete representations of plans, concepts, and assessments to senior civilians in the executive and legislative branches, thereby depriving them of the unbiased information they require to make decisions required by the Constitution.

  In an era of increasing complexity, cleverly constructed narratives that present simplified, politicized positions to the general population have taken on out-sized importance. Senior officers increasingly are attempting to manipulate policy making by intentionally reducing complex reality to simple narratives designed to appeal to partisan audiences. 

  Integrity has two meanings pertinent to this issue: the common understanding of integrity as honesty and the less common and more formal understanding of integrity as the quality of being whole and complete. 

  Preparation for and experience in combat develops strong wills. Senior officers motivated by the desire to get the biggest possible piece of the pie for their services are tempted to dissemble to win the internecine budget and policy fights that are the lifeblood of official Washington. When these wills are not properly constrained by higher commitments to integrity and respect for the decision-making province of civilian authorities, generals and admirals can succumb to the temptation to deceive. 

  These deceptions can take many forms. A senior officer can choose to highlight some information. Conversely, they can obfuscate, discredit, or ignore other information. They can allude to expert knowledge or classified information to undercut or deflect questions that challenge their assertions. They can use the age-old technique of making strawmen of opposing views. Worse, they can engage in or encourage subordinates or cultivated commentators to engage in ad hominem attacks on the messengers of alternate views. 

  While the hyper-political environment sees daily evidence of such behaviors, some senior officers have exercised considerable self-discipline and have not let advocacy for a position override respect for the prerogatives of senior civilians. In short, just because they have the leadership persona, verbal skills, and communication staffs to construct one-sided positions and perhaps even succeed in the manipulation of some people, they have worked to develop full and balanced representations of the issues at hand. Theirs has been a triumph of professional ethics over the abuse of information to achieve their ends.

  Regrettably, that admirable conduct is in decline and that decline is a contributing factor for decreasing public trust in the military. The American public may not know the specific capabilities of various weapons or the operational implications of various policies. But constant exposure to spun narratives has trained them to recognize manipulation when they see and hear it. Many resent being manipulated, and their sense that such techniques are being used by the Nation’s most senior officers undermines their trust and confidence in the military. The military was once recognized as a profession culturally apart from the rest of society, but no longer. America’s military, and its senior officers especially, are increasingly viewed as no less cynically self-interested than the rest of the elite class.

  The decline of senior officer integrity increasingly impacts civilian decision makers. Not long ago, overbooked national leaders could confidently “repose special trust and confidence” in the senior officers providing assessments and recommendations to them. The disciplined and honorable behaviors of past generations of generals and admirals certainly validated this special trust and confidence. But, with a rise in manipulative narratives, civilian leaders and their staffs are more likely to feel compelled to dig into the details of complex military matters to gain the full and complete picture they need to discharge their responsibilities.

  In short, it is past time for senior officers to forego their increasing addiction to the power opiate of clever narratives and work to present full and balanced representations of the issues at hand.

  Absent immediate internal reform by the Department of Defense, civilian leaders will increasingly have to turn, just as they have with other federal agencies, to independent investigations to gain a more complete understanding of national security issues.

  Brigadier General Keith T. Holcomb, (U.S. Marine Corps, ret.), is a former USMC Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. His last assignment was as Director of the Training and Education Division, U.S. Marine Corps Combat Development Command.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 19:40

• Huawei's New 'Made-In-China' Smartphone Sources More Chips Locally Amid US Tech War 
  Huawei’s New ‘Made-In-China’ Smartphone Sources More Chips Locally Amid US Tech War 

  With draconian export controls and blacklisting by Washington elites, Chinese tech giant Huawei is still operating and, in fact, producing new high-tech smartphones with components increasingly sourced from domestic suppliers. 

  A new teardown analysis by tech repair company iFixit and consultancy TechSearch International, first reported by Reuters, shows Huawei’s Pura 70 Pro has a NAND memory chip sourced domestically from the Chinese telecom equipment maker’s in-house chip unit, HiSilicon. 

  iFixit and TechSearch found the Pura 70 handset was operating on a Huawei-made advanced processing chipset called the Kirin 9010. They said the new chip is likely an “improved version” of the advanced chip used by Huawei’s Mate 60 series, which was launched last year to compete with Apple’s iPhone 15 lineup. 

  “While we cannot provide an exact percentage, we’d say the domestic component usage is high, and definitely higher than in the Mate 60,” Shahram Mokhtari, iFixit’s lead teardown technician, said. 

  Mokhtari continued, “This is about self-sufficiency, all of this, everything you see when you open up a smartphone and see whatever are made by Chinese manufacturers, this is all about self-sufficiency,” Mokhtari said.

  The central theme is that a worsening tech war between Beijing and Washington pushes Huawei to source more handset components in domestic markets. This is an alarming development for Washington politicians, who have spent several years sanctioning China to prevent them from acquiring high-tech Western chips and chip-making tools, as well as the hope of imploding China’s tech-creating abilities. However, the restrictions are backfiring, as Huawei now manufactures smartphones with more domestically sourced chips than ever.  

  Just wait for the day when Chinese state media, such as the Global Times, boasts that Huawei’s phones are made entirely with domestic parts. Given the current trajectory, we believe that day is approaching.

  Reuters cited analysts who believe Huawei’s phones are denting iPhone market share in the world’s largest handset market. 

  

  However, since the Pura 70’s components are not entirely sourced domestically, IFixit and TechSearch’s analysis shows South Korean company SK Hynix makes the DRAM chip. 

  Given the chip restrictions, SK Hynix told Reuters it had been “strictly complying with the relevant policies since the restrictions against Huawei were announced and has also suspended any transactions with the company since then.”

  The analysis showed that the processor used by the Pura 70 Pro was 7 nanometers (nm), similar to the chip used to power the Mate 60. 

  “This is significant because news of the 9000S on a 7nm node caused a bit of a panic last year when US lawmakers were confronted with the possibility that the sanctions imposed on Chinese chipmakers might not slow their technological progress after all,” iFixit said.

  iFixit continued, “The fact that the 9010 is still a 7nm process chip, and that it’s so close to the 9000S, might seem to suggest that Chinese chip manufacturing has indeed been slowed.”

  The re-emergence of Huawei, taking on Apple, has infuriated Washington. There was a report from Bloomberg earlier this week that the US revoked licenses that allowed Huawei to buy semiconductors from Qualcomm and Intel. 

  The biggest takeaway: Huawei is on a mission to entirely source components from local suppliers as the tech war between China and the US heats up. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 19:20

• The (Anti) Social Cost Of Carbon
  The (Anti) Social Cost Of Carbon

  Authored by Jonathan Lesser via RealClearEnergy,

  Forty-two was the mystical number that explained “life, the universe, and everything” in Douglas Adams’ comic novel, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  Today, another mystical number, the so-called social cost of carbon (SSC), is providing the excuse for the Environmental Protection Agency and green-energy-enamored state regulators to enact crippling energy policies.

  

  The SCC is the thumb on the scale that can justify virtually any policy aimed at eliminating fossil fuels. When the EPA first proposed its rule to reduce mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, the agency’s cost-benefit analysis determined the benefits would be minuscule. Any putative benefits, it turns out, would come instead from reductions in carbon emissions and, here’s the key, based on a calculated value for the SCC.  The same was true for the EPA’s earlier attempt at carbon regulation via a “Clean Power Plan,” which was shut down by the Supreme Court. But here we are again with the agency’s newest rules trying to force coal plants to further reduce mercury emissions and to force both coal and natural gas-fired power plants to capture 90% of their carbon emissions. The technology to accomplish this doesn’t exist and EPA Administrator Michael Regan admitted the rule will force the closure of fossil-fuel power plants.

  The SCC values used by the EPA are derived from calculations in integrated planning models (IPMs). Those models assume a simplistic linear relationship between carbon emissions and world temperature (never mind that the validity of that linear assumptions is a subject of deep debate in scientific circles). The models then assume that the resulting temperature increases cause all forms of environmental doom – rising sea levels, more disease, and declining agricultural production – for which yet more estimates are made to assign future cost consequences. Here’s the key: the IPMs project these costs out for the next 300 years (not a typo). Then, those far future costs are “discounted” to estimate a value in today’s dollars by using truly absurd assumptions about such things as inflation and economic growth.

  A tongue-in-cheek forecaster’s creed is “Give them a number or give them a date. Don’t give them both.” Attempting to predict the future three centuries hence may be standard fare for science fiction writers, but basing energy policies on such predictions is insane.

  Imagine someone in the year 1724 predicting life – and technology – today. Benjamin Franklin was 18 years old and working in his father’s print shop. George Washington would not be born for another eight years. The French scientist Antoine Lavoisier, who first identified carbon as an element in 1789, would not be born until 1743. The first patent on a flush toilet would not happen for another half-century. Thomas Edison would not invent the light bulb and the telephone for another 150 years. Could anyone in 1724 have imagined automobiles, mobile phones, and MRI machines? How about integrated circuits, nuclear power, and B-2 bombers?

  To presume we can accurately predict, or even imagine, what the world will look like 300 years from now is just as preposterous. Yet, simplistic models and arbitrary assumptions are being used to drive energy policy decisions today. Using the SCC estimates, and assuming that new technologies will magically appear, the EPA can justify virtually any pollution control regulation, including those that effectively mandate electric vehicles. Similarly, even though offshore wind generation costs five times more than natural gas and coal, the SCC can “prove” the benefits of offshore wind exceed its costs. New York State, for example, assumes that, by 2040, thousands of megawatts of “dispatchable emissions-free generators” (the equivalent of a natural gas generator burning pure hydrogen) will provide the necessary backup for unreliable offshore wind, even though no such generators exist.

  Contrary to the economic fantasies peddled by green energy advocates, policies to eliminate fossil fuels based on the supposed benefits captured by the SCC will cripple the U.S. economy. Electricity prices, coupled with ill-considered plans to electrify virtually everything, will soar. Supplies will dwindle, requiring rationing, either explicitly or through rolling blackouts, such as those experienced every day in South Africa. Rather than creating some green energy nirvana, the lack of adequate and affordable electricity will cause societal decay.

  All of this based on a made-up number.

  Jonathan Lesser is a senior fellow with the National Center for Energy Analytics and president of Continental Economics.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 19:00

• Security Scandal: Chinese Drone Hovers Over US Nuclear-Powered Supercarrier In Japan 
  Security Scandal: Chinese Drone Hovers Over US Nuclear-Powered Supercarrier In Japan 

  A major security scandal is developing at Japan’s Yokosuka Naval Base, where drone footage was recently filmed above an American nuclear-powered supercarrier without any activated anti-drone systems to intercept hostile unmanned aerial vehicles. This comes as loitering munitions, also known as kamikaze drones, are the hottest weapon on the modern battlefield in Eastern Europe and the Middle East.

  X account “这是我小号4”, translated in English from Chinese as “This is my trumpet number 4,” uploaded aerial videos and images of Yokosuka Naval Base. Some of the footage was directly over the USS Ronald Reagan. 

  

  The X account wrote in English, “For anyone who thinks it’s fake….” They attached a screenshot of the drone’s flight path of the naval yard on a map to the post. 

  For anyone who thinks it’s fake pic.twitter.com/PdfwHAnwqj

  — 这是我小号4 (@Xiao_Hao_4) April 2, 2024

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  The latest data from intel research firm Strategic Forecasting shows USS Ronald Reagan was recently moored at Yokosuka Naval Base. Footage from the drone was taken in early April. 

  

  The account posted additional images of the naval yard and US warships. 

  pic.twitter.com/JOCfTFMI68

  — 这是我小号4 (@Xiao_Hao_4) May 8, 2024

  Where are the anti-drone systems to guard against this type of aerial security breach? 

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  pic.twitter.com/5Qx1CLQbIn

  — 这是我小号4 (@Xiao_Hao_4) April 4, 2024

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  In English again, the account said, “It took a month for the Japanese army to just realize…” The person was referring to a news story by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation, also known as NHK, covering his activity on social media about posting drone videos of US and Japanese warships. 

  It took a month for the Japanese army to just realize… https://t.co/TH6mWxQZV8

  — 这是我小号4 (@Xiao_Hao_4) May 8, 2024

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  NHK cited Ministry of Defense officials who said drone videos were “likely genuine.” Other sources we spoke with confirmed the videos are likely real and noted the possibility that this could’ve been a Chinese-made DJI drone. 

  Why didn’t the US and or Japan activate electromagnetic counter-measures against the drone?

  The next question: Did a Chinese spy – pilot this drone?

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 18:40

• Is China's Oil Demand Set For A Major Bounce Back?
  Is China’s Oil Demand Set For A Major Bounce Back?

  By Simon Watkins of OilPrice.com

  Since the mid-1990s, China’s extraordinary economic expansion almost singlehandedly drove a supercycle in key commodities prices it required to power such growth, including oil and gas. In 2013, it became the world’s largest net importer of total petroleum and other liquid fuels and, as late as 2017, its still high rate of economic growth allowed it to overtake the U.S. as the largest annual gross crude oil importer in the world. Late 2019 saw much of this activity grind to a halt as Covid hit the country, and the economic slowdown was exacerbated by its Draconian ‘zero-Covid’ policy that saw complete shutdowns of major economic centres at the slightest hint of infection. However, 2023 saw it achieve its official gross domestic product (GDP) growth target of “around 5 percent” – posting 5.2 percent in the end. The same official target is in place this year, with the key questions for oil markets being whether this will be achieved and if so, how easily?

  

  16 April saw China’s National Bureau of Statistics release the country’s Q1 GDP figure, which showed a 5.3 percent year-on-year increase. This was way above consensus analyst expectations of 4.6 percent and was also a rise from the Q4 2023’s 5.2 percent. “Aside from the continued decline in the property sector, policy support is filtering through investment,” Eugenia Victorino, head of Asia strategy for SEB in Singapore exclusively told OilPrice.com. “With property sales now 60 percent lower than their mid-2021 peak, transaction volumes are now comparable to levels last seen in 2012,” she added. “Investments in other sectors are also picking up, particularly in manufacturing and energy production and supply, and in the coming months, infrastructure investment will also start to accelerate on the back of fiscal stimulus,” she said. “The strong performance in the first two months of the year suggests that an economic recovery is underway,” she underlined. March’s key Caixin/S&P Global China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) also came in very bullish. At 51.1 in the month, up from 50.9 in February (above 50.0 indicates expansion), it was the strongest since February 2023. “Overall, China’s manufacturing sector continued to improve in March, with expansion in supply and demand accelerating, and overseas demand picking up,” said Caixin Insight Group senior economist, Wang Zhe. April’s Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI also increased – to 51.4, beating estimates of 51 – and recording the sixth straight month of growth in factory activity. New orders rose the most in over a year and foreign sales increased at the fastest pace for nearly three-and-a-half years.

  This robust performance across several major sectors in China’s economy – including, crucially manufacturing – is in sharp contrast to the growth drivers seen last year. In the immediate aftermath of Covid, the country’s growth became reliant on just reopening the economy and removing negative policies – property, consumer, and geopolitics – rather than on aggressive stimulus, to drive activity, Rory Green, chief China economist for GlobalData.TSLombard exclusively told OilPrice.com at the time. “For the first time, a cyclical recovery in China [was] being led by household consumption, mainly services, as there [was] a great deal of pent-up demand and savings – about four percent of GDP – following three years of intermittent mobility restrictions,” he said. In terms of the effect that this had on oil prices at the time, it is apposite to note that transportation accounts for just 54 percent of China’s oil consumption, compared to 72 percent in the U.S. and 68 percent in the European Union. In 2022 and early 2023, net oil and refined petroleum imports were eight percent lower by volume than the pre-Covid peak, with infrastructure and export-oriented manufacturing partly offsetting lower mobility and less property construction. At that phase of China’s economic rebound, then, oil demand did increase, but the scale of this was far from sufficient to drive oil prices significantly higher on its own. This was even more the case, as China continued where possible to buy oil from Russia at a substantial discount.  

  Before this ‘Covid Phase’, China had already undergone several transitions in its core economic growth model, the effects of which continue to be felt to this day. From 1992 to 1998, its annual economic growth rate was basically between 10 to 15 percent; from 1998 to 2004 between 8 to 10 percent; from 2004 to 2010 between 10 to 15 percent again; from 2010 to 2016 between 6 to 10 percent, and from 2016 to the 2019 between 5 to 7 percent. For much of the period from 1992 to the middle 2010s, much of China’s massive economic growth was founded on a huge energy-intensive expansion of its manufacturing capabilities. This also involved the mass migration of new workers from the countryside and into the cities, which required a huge energy-intensive infrastructure build-out. Even after some of China’s growth began to switch into the less energy-intensive service sectors, its investment in energy-intensive infrastructure build-out remained very high. This pattern continued for many years, alongside the third phase of China’s economic growth, which was the rise of a middle class that powered domestic consumption-led demand for goods and services. All these phases had the net result of markedly increasing China’s demand for oil and gas. 

  Although this ‘Post-Covid Phase’ of growth currently looks like one that will see powerful drivers from several sectors of China’s economy – including manufacturing – it does not necessarily mean that oil prices will feel the full effects of this. The key reason here is that China continues to buy oil at greatly reduced prices not just from Russia, but also from Iran and Iraq too, through various mechanisms analysed in full in my new book on the new global oil market order. Despite sanctions in place on the first two of these countries, the U.S. is happy to look the other way for the most part, as oil demand being satisfied ‘off the official books’ ultimately feeds through into lower demand elsewhere in the global energy markets, so reducing bullish price pressure. Additionally, China does not want to encourage higher oil prices from any of those multitude of Middle Eastern countries over which it has developed an influence because the U.S. and several of its key allies remain China’s major export customers. The U.S. alone still accounts for over 16 percent of its export revenues. Rising energy prices in these countries could again fuel inflation and cause interest rates to rise, bringing the prospect of economic slowdown with them, as was seen in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to a senior source in the European Union’s (E.U.) energy security complex spoken to exclusively by OilPrice.com recently, the economic damage to China – directly through its own energy imports and indirectly through damage to the economies of its key export markets in the West – would dangerously increase if the Brent oil price remained over US$90-95 pb for more than one quarter of a year. 

  Rising energy prices also have direct ramifications in U.S. presidential elections, in which China does not want to be seen playing a part, at least overtly. Longstanding estimates are that every US$10 pb change in the price of crude oil results in a 25-30 cent change in the price of a gallon of gasoline, and for every 1 cent that the average price per gallon of gasoline rises, more than US$1 billion per year in consumer spending is lost, adversely affecting the U.S. economy. Historically, around 70 percent of the price of gasoline is derived from the global oil price. This feeds through into the second part of this equation, as also analysed in full in my new book, which is that since the end of World War I in 2018, the sitting U.S. president has won re-election 11 times out of 11 if the economy was not in recession within two years of an upcoming election. If it was in recession in this timeframe, then only 1 sitting president has won out of 7 times (although even the 1 is debatable).

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 18:20

• West Fueling Global Conflicts, Trying To Topple Moscow, Putin Says On WW2 Victory Day
  West Fueling Global Conflicts, Trying To Topple Moscow, Putin Says On WW2 Victory Day

  As fully expected, Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a defiant tone in his speech at Moscow’s Red Square for the annual events commemorating Russia’s WW2 victory. Addressing thousands of soldiers in ceremonial attire, Putin accused the “arrogant” West of stoking conflict around the world. 

  “We know what the exorbitance of such ambitions leads to. Russia will do everything to prevent a global clash,” he said. “But at the same time, we will not allow anyone to threaten us. Our strategic forces are always in a state of combat readiness,” he stressed in reference to the country’s nuclear forces.

  

  The 71-year-old leader hailed that “Victory Day unites all generations,” and vowed: “We are going forward relying on our centuries-old traditions and feel confident that together we will ensure a free and secure future of Russia.”

  He called Victory Day “very emotional and poignant” as “Every family is honoring its heroes, looking at pictures with dear faces and remembering their relatives and how they fought.”

  He contrasted the “heroes” – Russian troops fighting in Ukraine, with the West – which is “fueling regional conflicts, inter-ethnic and inter-religious strife and trying to contain sovereign and independent centers of global development.”

  Present for the ceremony was nearly 10,000 Russian troops, including 1,000 who have fought inside Ukraine. According to AP correspondents, Putin underscored his ‘nuclear deterrent’ messaging by having nuke-capable missiles present: 

  Nuclear-capable Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles were pulled across Red Square, underscoring his message.

  The Soviet Union lost about 27 million people in World War II, an estimate that many historians consider conservative, scarring virtually every family.

  One theme which emerged from Putin’s speech is that the West has ignored and forgotten the immense sacrifice that Russians made in defeating the Nazis in WW2.

  Russian🇷🇺 President Vladimir Putin presides over the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow

  Did you know? It would take approximately 51.3 years to hold a minute of silence for each of the 27 million Soviets that died in World War 2

  More coverage: https://t.co/H1LZRQsy0p pic.twitter.com/Rx67mkTUs0

  — Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) May 9, 2024

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  Putin’s family too was personally impacted by the war and defense of the homeland:

  As Putin tells it, his father, also named Vladimir, came home from a military hospital during the war to see workers trying to take away his wife, Maria, who had been declared dead of starvation. But the elder Putin did not believe she had died — saying she had only lost consciousness, weak with hunger. Their first child, Viktor, died during the siege when he was 3, one of more than 1 million Leningrad residents who died in the 872-day blockade, most of them from starvation.

  For several years, Putin carried a photo of his father in Victory Day marches — as did others honoring relatives who were war veterans — in what was called the “Immortal Regiment.”

  Putin in the speech emphasized, “Today we see how the truth about the Second World War is being distorted. It hinders those who are used to building their essentially colonial policy on hypocrisy and lies.”

  The man sitting next to Putin on the podium is war veteran Yevgeny Kuropatkov, who will turn 101 this year.#VictoryDay #Moscow #Russia
  pic.twitter.com/gYCvMVmhTf

  — StellaMoscow (@SgforgoodStella) May 9, 2024

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  He also addressed the Ukraine conflict specifically, pointing out that the entire West is working tirelessly to defeat Moscow.

  “We know, and you know this better than anyone else, the enemy has enough modern tools, since the entire Western community is working for our enemy, dreaming about Russia ceasing to exist in its current form,” Putin described.

  Putin concluded his speech with the words, “Glory to the valiant armed forces! For Russia! For victory! Hurray!”

  🗣 Putin concluded his speech at the parade with the words, “Glory to the valiant armed forces! For Russia! For victory! Hurray!” pic.twitter.com/hJKpzZQCNG

  — Sputnik (@SputnikInt) May 9, 2024

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  He called what’s going on a “system of confrontation” by the collective West, which views Russia as “weak”. “I am sure they are now convinced that this was far from the reality, and rather the opposite is true,” he emphasized.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 18:00

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• The Machinery Of Fascism Revisited
  The Machinery Of Fascism Revisited

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

  Fascism became a swear word in the US and UK during the Second World War. It has been ever since, to the point that the content of the term has been drained away completely. It is not a system of political economy but an insult. 

  

  If we go back a decade before the war, you find a completely different situation. Read any writings from polite society from 1932 to 1940 or so, and you find a consensus that freedom and democracy, along with Enlightenment-style liberalism of the 18th century, were completely doomed. They should be replaced by some version of what was called the planned society, of which fascism was one option. 

  A book by that name appeared in 1937 as published by the prestigious Prentice-Hall, and it included contributions by top academics and high-profile influencers. It was highly praised by all respectable outlets at the time. 

  

  Everyone in the book was explaining how the future would be constructed by the finest minds who would manage whole economies and societies, the best and the brightest with full power. All housing should be provided by government, for example, and food too, but with the cooperation of private corporations. That seems to be the consensus in the book. Fascism was treated as a legitimate path. Even the word totalitarianism was invoked without opprobrium but rather with respect. 

  The book has been memory-holed of course. 

  You will notice that the section on economics includes contributions by Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin. Yes, their ideas and political rule were part of the prevailing conversation. It is in this essay, likely ghostwritten by Professor Giovanni Gentile, Minister of Public Education, in which Mussolini offered this concise statement: “Fascism is more appropriately called corporatism, for it is the perfect merge of State and corporate power.”

  

  All of this became rather embarrassing after the war so it was largely forgotten. But the affection on the part of many sectors of the US ruling class had for fascism was still in place. It merely took on new names. 

  As a result, the lesson of the war, that the US should stand for freedom above all else while wholly rejecting fascism as a system, was largely buried. And generations have been taught to regard fascism as nothing but a quirky and failed system of the past, leaving the word as an insult to fling at in any way deemed reactionary or old-fashioned, which makes no sense. 

  There is valuable literature on the topic and it bears reading. One book that is particularly insightful is The Vampire Economy by Günter Reimann, a financier in Germany who chronicled the dramatic changes to industrial structures under the Nazis. In a few short years, from 1933 to 1939, a nation of enterprise and small shopkeepers was converted to a corporate-dominated machine that gutted the middle class and cartelized industry in preparation for war. 

  The book was published in 1939 before the invasion of Poland and the onset of Europe-wide war, and manages to convey the grim reality just before hell broke loose. On a personal note, I spoke to the author (real name: Hans Steinicke) briefly before he died, in order to gain permission to post the book, and he was astonished that anyone cared about it.

  “The corruption in fascist countries arises inevitably from the reversal of the roles of the capitalist and the State as wielders of economic power,” wrote Reimann. 

  The Nazis were not hostile to business as a whole but only opposed traditional, independent, family-owned, small businesses that offered nothing for purposes of nation-building and war planning. The crucial tool to make this happen was establishing the Nazi Party as the central regulator of all enterprises. The large businesses had the resources to comply and the wherewithal to develop good relations with political masters whereas the undercapitalized small businesses were squeezed to the point of extinction. You could make bank under Nazi rules provided you put first things first: regime before customers. 

  “Most businessmen in a totalitarian economy feel safer if they have a protector in the State or Party bureaucracy,” Reimann writes.

  “They pay for their protection as did the helpless peasants of feudal days. It is inherent in the present lineup of forces, however, that the official is often sufficiently independent to take the money but fails to provide the protection.” 

  He wrote of “the decline and ruin of the genuinely independent businessman, who was the master of his enterprise, and exercised his property rights. This type of capitalist is disappearing but another type is prospering. He enriches himself through his Party ties; he himself is a Party member devoted to the Fuehrer, favored by the bureaucracy, entrenched because of family connections and political affiliations. In a number of cases, the wealth of these Party capitalists has been created through the Party’s exercise of naked power. It is to the advantage of these capitalists to strengthen the Party which has strengthened them. Incidentally, it sometimes happens that they become so strong that they constitute a danger to the system, upon which they are liquidated or purged.”

  This was particularly true for independent publishers and distributors. Their gradual bankruptcy served to effectively nationalize all surviving media outlets who knew that it was in their interests to echo Nazi Party priorities. 

  Reimann wrote:

  “The logical outcome of a fascist system is that all newspapers, news services, and magazines become more or less direct organs of the fascist party and State. They are governmental institutions over which individual capitalists have no control and very little influence except as they are loyal supporters or members of the all-powerful party.”

  “Under fascism or any totalitarian regime an editor no longer can act independently,” wrote Reimann.

  “Opinions are dangerous. He must be willing to print any ‘news’ issued by State propaganda agencies, even when he knows it to be completely at variance with the facts, and he must suppress real news which reflects upon the wisdom of the leader. His editorials can differ from another newspaper’s only in so far as he expresses the same idea in different language. He has no choice between truth and falsehood, for he is merely a State official for whom ‘truth’ and ‘honesty’ do not exist as a moral problem but are identical with the interests of the Party.”

  A feature of the policy included aggressive price controls. They did not work to suppress inflation but they were politically useful in other ways.

  “Under such circumstances nearly every businessman necessarily becomes a potential criminal in the eyes of the Government,” wrote Reimann.

  “There is scarcely a manufacturer or shopkeeper who, intentionally or unintentionally, has not violated one of the price decrees. This has the effect of lowering the authority of the State; on the other hand, it also makes the State authorities more feared, for no businessman knows when he may be severely penalized.” 

  From there, Reimann tells many wonderful if chilling stories about, for example, the pig farmer who faced price ceilings on his product and got around them by selling a high-priced dog alongside a low-priced pig, after which the dog was returned. This kind of maneuvering became common. 

  I can only highly recommend this book as a brilliant inside look at how enterprise functions under a fascist-style regime. The German case was fascism with a racialist and anti-Jewish twist for purposes of political purges. In 1939, it was not entirely obvious how this would end in mass and targeted extermination on a gargantuan scale. The German system in those days bore much resemblance to the Italian case, which was fascism without the ambition of full ethnic cleansing. In that case, it bears examination as a model for how fascism can reveal itself in other contexts. 

  The best book I’ve seen on the Italian case is John T. Flynn’s 1944 classic As We Go Marching. Flynn was a widely respected journalist, historian, and scholar in the 1930s who was largely forgotten after the war due to his political activities. But his outstanding scholarship stands the test of time. His book deconstructs the history of fascist ideology in Italy from a half-century prior and explains the centralizing ethos of the system, both in politics and economics. 

  Following an erudite examination of the main theorists, along with Flynn provides a beautiful summary. 

  Fascism, Flynn writes, is a form of social organization: 

  1. In which the government acknowledges no restraint upon its powers—totalitarianism.

  2. In which this unrestrained government is managed by a dictator—the leadership principle.

  3. In which the government is organized to operate the capitalist system and enable it to function under an immense bureaucracy.

  4. In which the economic society is organized on the syndicalist model; that is, by producing groups formed into craft and professional categories under supervision of the state.

  5. In which the government and the syndicalist organizations operate the capitalist society on the planned, autarchical principle.

  6. In which the government holds itself responsible for providing the nation with adequate purchasing power by public spending and borrowing.

  7. In which militarism is used as a conscious mechanism of government spending.

  8. In which imperialism is included as a policy inevitably flowing from militarism as well as other elements of fascism.

  Each point bears longer commentary but let’s focus on number 5 in particular, with its focus on syndicalist organizations. In those days, they were large corporations run with an emphasis on union organization of the workforce. In our own times, these have been replaced by a managerial overclass in tech and pharma that have the ear of government and have developed close ties with the public sector, each depending on the other. Here is where we get the essential bones and meat of why this system is called corporatist. 

  In today’s polarized political environment, the left continues to worry about unbridled capitalism while the right is forever on the lookout for the enemy of full-blown socialism. Each side has reduced fascistic corporatism to a historical problem on the level of witch burning, fully conquered but useful as a historical reference to form a contemporary insult against the other side. 

  As a result, and armed with partisan bête noires that bear no resemblance to any really existing threat, hardly anyone who is politically engaged and active is fully aware that there is nothing particularly new about what is called the Great Reset. It is a corporatist model – a combination of the worst of capitalism and socialism without limits – of privileging the elite at the expense of the many, which is why these historical works by Reimann and Flynn seem so familiar to us today. 

  And yet, for some strange reason, the tactile reality of fascism in practice – not the insult but the historical system – is hardly known either in popular or academic culture. That makes it all the easier to reimplement such a system in our time. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/09/2024 – 02:00

• Strengthening Our Beleaguered Military Starts With A Maritime Overhaul
  Strengthening Our Beleaguered Military Starts With A Maritime Overhaul

  Authored by Brent D. Sadler via RealClear Wire,

  America’s security and prosperity is at high risk today, largely because of bad policies backed up by too weak armed forces. Consider our U.S. maritime complex. Decades of neglect and inadequate investment have left our shipping, shipbuilding, Navy, merchant marines, ports, and Coast Guard woefully behind the times. The Secretary of the Navy and a growing group in Congress are sounding the alarm, drawing attention to the plight of our weakened maritime sector.

  

  Recent headlines help tell the story. Since October 2023, the Navy has been engaged in a ‘whack-a-mole’ standoff with the Houthis, an Iranian proxy that has been attacking vessels in the Red Sea and damaging global trade. This confrontation expanded to include missile defense of Israel, culminating on April 13 with the shoot-down of several Iranian ballistic missiles targeting Israel by destroyers Arleigh Burke and Carney.

  This defensive effort is depleting expensive munitions that are in short supply. The Secretary of the Navy stated before Congress on April 15 that the Navy has responded to 130 attacks at a cost of $1 billion in munitions. At current procurement rates, it could take years to recover unless production capacity is greatly expanded in short order.

  Closer to home, on March 26 a container ship (the Dali) lost power and collided with, and collapsed the Key Bridge in Baltimore, killing six. The investigation is ongoing, but already it is clear our port infrastructure is not resilient enough to withstand errant modern shipping. Neither the Army Corps of Engineers nor Naval salvage capacity is adequate. Both have been unable to ensure the nation’s ports can be rapidly reopened if closed due to deliberate acts, accidents or acts of God.

  A month later, the port of Baltimore remains closed. For comparison, when the ultra-large containership Ever Given grounded and closed the Suez Canal, it was reopened in eight days. Effectively, the Dali has stranded four Navy logistics ships inside the harbor unable to meet national tasking – ships verified still stuck in port on April 29th.

  Finally, in a string of embarrassing events, the large amphibious warship Boxer had to return home, further delaying its deployment due to numerous and repeated mechanical problems. This means other warships must remain at-sea longer or forgo missions, further endangering U.S. interests. As this was playing out, ships directed by the President to assist in the delivery of aid to Gaza, had to turn back due to onboard fires (the venerable 39-year old Military Sealift Command ship 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo), too short endurance (Army’s Frank Besson Jr. refueling stop in the Azores), or weather avoidance (the likely reason USAV Wilson Wharf diverted to Tenerife). These disruptions are a symptom of a too small and aged fleet that has been over-used and under-maintained by over-worked crews.

  The root cause of these problems? Sea blindness – unawareness and underinvestment in the maritime and naval forces that keep the economy functioning and our people safe.

  But there are signs this may be changing. More Americans are demanding action, and members of Congress like Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) and Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) are spearheading a bipartisan and bicameral maritime agenda. The opening declaration of this was contained in a recent letter to the President demanding action signed by 19 Congressional leaders from both parties.

  The challenge is huge. Today only 0.4 percent of commercial shipping is American flagged, making the nation too often reliant on less than friendly nations to conduct its trade and move supplies sustaining military operations. But these tentative first steps are just a downpayment on a larger endeavor: regaining the nation’s maritime strength.

  The most urgent task is keeping the peace, and that means deterring China in Asia while safeguarding Americans and our interests abroad. The clock has run out for modest, long-term actions. The threat today demands a combination of actions: retaining useful warships, expanding maritime industrial capacity, and accelerating naval shipbuilding.

  This will be an expansive task, to be sure, but it is not revolutionary, nor is it impossible. Three past naval revivals can help point the way ahead.

  One dates back a little over 100 years ago. Britain’s First Sea Lord Admiral Sir John “Jackie” Fisher’s fleet modernization is what some today call “divest to invest” – the culling of outdated ships to redirect manpower and resources to delivering modern warships. At the time, the British Royal Navy had a still modest naval rival in the Imperial German Navy that was a decade or more away from achieving parity with the British fleet.

  Fisher’s efforts delivered the Dreadnaught – a warship that ushered in the modern battleship and revolutionized naval warfare, as demonstrated at the 1916 Battle of Jutland. Fisher had the time and commitment of resources by a nation with a long, proud, and politically dominant naval tradition behind him. He also had the luxury of a foe years from matching or exceeding his own fleet. China’s navy, by contrast, already exceeds ours and continues a breakneck modernization and readiness program that makes any U.S. divestment of naval capacity a strategic risk.

  The second revival was America’s rearming ahead of the war in the Pacific, made possible by several Naval Acts of the 1930s. Animating this revival was the still fresh memories of a near catastrophe during World War I.

  As that war raged in Europe, the nation’s economy was nearly collapsed without foreign shipping to carry its cargo to market, nor ships to move troops to Europe and back. One intent of the 1930s Naval Acts was to avoid the mismanagement and waste of the Shipping Act of 1916 and the U.S. Shipping Board. With that wisdom, the Acts of the 1930s funded a naval building campaign that invigorated the maritime industrial sector. Thanks to the Naval Act of 1938, the carrier Hornet was delivered in time to play an instrumental role in the victory in the Battle of Midway. The ships these naval acts authorized quadruple the number of shipyards and delivered in the first years of World War II the warships that turned the tide against the Axis. Had it not been done, the war in the Pacific would have had a very different outcome.

  A modern Naval Act is needed, but it cannot be limited to just considerations of naval shipbuilding. It must embrace efforts to rebuild the nation’s merchant fleet that today couldn’t sustain protracted military operations nor a wartime economy.

  Finally, President Ronald Reagan’s 600-ship naval build-up of the 1980s significantly contributed to bankrupting the Soviets and winning the Cold War. The shipbuilding goal was never achieved, but a massive rebuilding effort was accomplished by increasing defense budgets disproportionately directed to naval shipbuilding and the return to service of ships in the inactive fleet. In total, the combination of new shipbuilding and reactivation grew the Navy from a low of 521 ships in 1981 to 594 in six years.

  Today there isn’t really much in the inactive fleet to recall to service. Leading to circumstances that today dictate retaining ships on the Navy’s list for deactivation with more than three years of life, thereby adding 13 warships to the fleet. Furthermore, the fleet could grow a little more with the addition of 21 deployable unmanned (LUSV, MUSV, XLUUV) vessels. This would deliver a fleet of 331 warships by 2027, still short of the 355-fleet goal. To address that gap, conventional approaches to get the Navy and merchant marine needed will not suffice.

  The reality today is that the nation faces multiple threats and at least one existential foe taking increasing risks to reorder the world to its benefit: China. Pacing these challenges has proven inadequate. It is time to seriously enter the race to secure American security and prosperity, which begins with a national effort to rejuvenate our maritime power. Recovering and meeting the threats before the nation requires a multifaceted but coherent plan of attack – a National Maritime Initiative.

  This is critical as the Navy’s ships suffer from years of over work, sailors beaten down under unrelenting prolonged deployments, and an inconsequential U.S. flagged merchant marine. We are in effect living in an “AND” world where spending is needed to grow the maritime industrial base through orders for new warships learned during the Naval Acts era, AND modernizing but without divesting, AND retaining warships with life, AND dramatically increasing naval shipbuilding as done during the Reagan era.

  Anything less is unserious and ignores the world as it is today.

  Brent D. Sadler is a senior research fellow in naval warfare and advanced technologies at The Heritage Foundation.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 23:55

• Hedge Fund Boss Loses Legal Fight Over 2,364 Silver Bars Found In WWII Shipwreck
  Hedge Fund Boss Loses Legal Fight Over 2,364 Silver Bars Found In WWII Shipwreck

  An undersea exploration company backed by a top hedge fund boss in the United Kingdom lost a major legal fight over the salvage of $40 million worth of silver bars from the wreck of a ship lost to a Japanese submarine in World War II. 

  On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the UK’s Supreme Court ruled that the South African government could declare state immunity in a suit by hedge fund chief Paul Marshall’s Argentum Exploration Ltd. 

  

  Argentum Exploration argued in court that it was owed a ‘substantial salvage fee’ and wanted a court to ‘fix an award.’ However, the judges were informed that the two sides had agreed to a settlement. 

  Here’s more from Bloomberg: 

  The South African government had argued that that it not only still owns the silver, but insisted that it shouldn’t have to submit to the lawsuit at all.

  The Supreme Court judges agreed, saying that the silver was a non-commercial cargo and the government was entitled to immunity.

  The ruling overturned two prior court decisions, with a judge previously saying that the government had probably “forgotten” about the bullion. UK Companies House filings record that Marshall controls Argentum.

  In 1942, the SS Tilawa was sailing from Mumbai on its way to Durban, South Africa, when two torpedoes from an Imperial Japanese Navy submarine sunk the passenger-cargo ship. On board were 2,364 bars of silver destined for the South African Mint. For seven decades, the ship resided more than two and a half kilometers below the surface of the Indian Ocean until Marshall’s exploration company discovered it. 

  In markets, the Bloomberg Precious Metal Subindex shows a multi-decade ‘cup and handle’ bullish formation. 

  

  We wonder if the settlement involved physical silver bars… Some analysts expect a “powerful silver bull market” ahead. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 23:35

• A Deep Dive Into The Opioid Crisis
  A Deep Dive Into The Opioid Crisis

  Authored by Matt Bivens, M.D. via Racket News,

  Editor’s note: the following is the first essay in a series, written by former Moscow Times co-worker and current E.R. doctor Matt Bivens. The remaining features will be published serially on his Substack site, The 100 Days. None of the articles in the series will be paywalled. In a normal presidential election year, the opiate addiction crisis would be a front-and-center domestic issue, but for a variety of mostly illegitimate reasons, it flies somewhat under the radar. Matt’s series chronicles the surprising and little-understood reasons contributing to this man-made, rapidly worsening disaster.

  Yes, we in the medical profession got millions of Americans addicted to heroin and fentanyl. But that was all just a big misunderstanding. Why get into it?

  

  And sure, nearly one in ten adults has had a family member die from a drug overdose. Ordinary people are furious about it, too. Their under-appreciated rage drove skepticism of official COVID-19 narratives, and that same rage might sway the outcome of the Presidential election — heck, might even land us in a war with Mexico! (Wouldn’t that be the ultimate “Wag the Dog”-level distraction from those sociopaths upstairs in our House of Medicine!)

  So, yes, agreed. All good points. 

  We medical people who see the patients and do all of the work — we, the house staff — we’re downstairs people. We can’t do anything about what goes on above. Agreed, it’s shameful how easily the upstairs sociopaths conned us, and it’s annoying to see them now so fabulously rich. But doctors being intentionally manipulated into destroying the lives of millions — that could have happened to anyone. Why stay angry about it? Ancient history! It’s not like it’s still happening, right? (Right?)

  Surely you don’t want to burn down the entire house? We work here. And the pay is not bad. Let’s just focus on the patients before us, and try to stay positive. Right?

  Heroin™ — brought to you by Bayer!

  As a medical student, I was once told by my attending physician that people treated with morphine for pain don’t get addicted.

  Surprised, I asked, “But what about all the Civil War veterans?”

  When the U.S. Civil War ended in 1865, both sides demobilized a weary horde of chronically ill and wounded. Some soldiers had contracted tuberculosis, or a lingering pneumonia (in the days before antibiotics). Others had suffered field amputations with handheld saws. But whether the question was chronic coughing or terrible pain, the answer was morphine. The newly invented hypodermic needle allowed for fast-acting injections. Veterans everywhere got hooked, to the point where addiction was called “the Soldier’s Disease.” Soon morphine moved beyond the battlefield and was in use for everything from menstrual cramps to teething.

  

  Things got so bad that when heroin (diacetylmorphine) arrived, it was welcomed as an improvement. Chemists had discovered it decades earlier, but in 1898 the pharmaceutical company Bayer started selling it as Heroisch, German for “heroic.” 

  Heroin was a trade name. It was Heroin™ — brought to you by Bayer! 

  Doctors desperate for something safer than morphine often convinced themselves this new drug wasn’t addictive.

  “Heroin… possesses many advantages over morphine,” wrote a physician in 1900, in the precursor to the New England Journal of Medicine. “It is not a hypnotic… [and there is no] danger of acquiring the habit.” The philanthropic St. James Society even mounted a campaign to mail free heroin samples to morphine addicts (!), to help them break the habit.

  

  Other doctors saw the public swilling down heroin and berated their fellow physicians for not sounding the alarm.

  “The patient comes to look on heroin as a harmless sedative for his cough,” wrote one such physician in 1912, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, because too many doctors think it’s safe: 

  “A patient who came under my observation told a physician, who was called to treat him for an attack of laryngitis, not to give him anything that contained opium, because he had formerly been a slave to this drug. The physician replied: ‘I will give you some heroin; there is no danger of habit from that’.”

  Ordinary Americans weren’t buying it, and by 1906 we had established the federal Food & Drug Administration, because moms want to know if it’s got heroin. Cure-alls like the morphine-and-alcohol-based Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup definitely did quiet fussy babies, but it’s believed thousands never woke up again. 

  President Teddy Roosevelt appointed an “Opium Commissioner,” who looked around and saw track marks on the arms of everyone from aging Army of the Potomac vets to high society ladies, and declared, “Americans have become the greatest drug fiends in the world.” It was our first Opioid Crisis. It had been driven by genuine ignorance and a lack of good alternatives — but tellingly, also by the inappropriate use of heavily marketed and physician-endorsed treatments. In response, the nation went on a scorched-earth campaign against all addictive substances, starting with new anti-narcotics agencies staffed by G-men in trench coats, and culminating in the U.S. Constitutional amendment to ban alcohol. Again: We rewrote the Constitution to outlaw alcohol. That we once went so far suggests how bad things had gotten.

  This all seems like a glaringly obvious cautionary tale for the House of Medicine. Yet somehow, not 70 years after the nation had walked away from the Prohibition experiment, medical schools — medical schools! — were abruptly teaching that opioids weren’t necessarily addictive.

  When my attending said a patient wouldn’t get addicted if a doctor gave morphine for pain, he was simply channeling what all the best people were saying. For example, in 2000, the Joint Commission — an independent non-profit that sets accreditation standards for hospitals — published a book for physician education that claimed: 

  There is no evidence that addiction is a significant issue when persons are given opioids for pain control.

  No evidence. And if the medical students ask about morphine-enslaved Civil War veterans? The Joint Commission’s book dismisses such concerns as “inaccurate and exaggerated.” 

  It was the same over at the Federation of State Medical Boards — a trade organization for the bodies in each state that license, investigate and discipline doctors. A set of FSMB guidelines from this era sternly stated that opioids are “essential” for treating various kinds of pain, and only mentioned addiction to warn that “inadequate understandings” of that could lead to “inadequate pain control.”

  I was literally told by my attending — who was just echoing those who accredit the hospitals and license the doctors — to “do more reading.” That’s a common directive to a medical student: Stop with the skeptical questions and go study.

  From 20,000 deaths a year, to 50,000, to now 80,000

  At the turn of the century, about 20,000 people each year would take an opioid — as a pill, or as a snorted or injected powder — and then stop breathing and die. Those of us working on ambulances or in emergency departments could not save them.

  But for every death, there are about 20 non-fatal overdoses. So, with bag mask ventilation and opioid reversal agents, we have dragged millions of people back to life. How many suffered anoxic brain injuries, and today are mentally a half-step slower? Unknown.

  Overdoses at this scale were a new development, and they were occurring hand-in-hand with the aggressive new marketing and prescribing of opioids. This is the era chronicled so well by popular miniseries — “Dopesick” on Hulu, “Painkiller” on Netflix. In the midst of it, the Sackler family-owned Purdue Pharma pled guilty to a deception campaign meticulously designed to bring about recklessly liberal opioid prescribing. As punishment, the company had to shell out $600 million, and three top executives got multi-million-dollar fines and 400 hours of community service.

  That should have been peak “Opioid Crisis.” But it was only 2007. Heck, George W. Bush was still president. The Sacklers were never contrite. They’d been raking in about $1 billion a year for more than a decade. The $600 million fine sounded impressive — but the Sacklers shrugged, cut the government in to the tune of less than 5% of the cash rolling in, and got right back to slinging opioids. And in the 17 years since, everything has gotten terribly worse.

  Did it feel like a catastrophe back in 2007, when 20,000 people a year would die, and people were enraged at Purdue?

  Or a decade later, in 2017, when President Donald Trump declared it a national emergency, and 50,000 people a year would die?

  That’s nothing. For the past three years, we’ve reliably seen 80,000 people each year take an opioid, stop breathing and die. 

  

  Opioid overdoses accelerated amidst the despair of COVID-19 lockdowns. These days, it’s completely routine for a private car to brake with screeching tires at our emergency department entrance, with the driver screaming about someone in the back seat who is floppy, gray, not breathing. The overhead announcement of “trigger to triage!” used to get nurses and techs running excitedly to the front door. Now, they respond at a walk — a briskly respectful walk, but it’s clear no one’s particularly excited. The novelty wore off long ago. 

  The Olympics of Sociopathy

  Back when Purdue Pharma had to pay $600 million, that was big news. Today, judgments are handed down left and right for billions, without much comment or public excitement, against everyone involved in making, distributing or selling opioids: $17.3 billion from CVS, Walmart and Walgreens, $5 billion from Johnson & Johnson, $21 billion from opioid distribution companies McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen, $4.25 billion from Teva Pharmaceuticals, $2 billion from Allergan.

  Meanwhile, an agreement to let the Sackler family skate while Purdue surrenders $6 billion and goes bankrupt is before the U.S. Supreme Court. (For context, Purdue has earned far more than $30 billion from opioids by now. Forbes estimates the Sacklers as individuals are worth more than $10 billion; attorneys general argue the family has hidden billions more abroad. The Sacklers have for years sold more opioids via Rhodes Pharmaceuticals, a Rhode Island-based company they quietly control, than via Purdue).

  Pondering these massive new settlements, I remember thinking, “Walmart? Johnson & Johnson? Surely some innocents have been caught up in an indiscriminate dragnet?”

  Wrong. Don’t look into this if you don’t want to know. Like competitive bicyclists, many had lined up to slipstream behind Purdue Pharma and its deranged, anti-social marketing of OxyContin®. Perhaps none of those other corporations would have dared try to convince physicians and nurse practitioners to hand out opioids like candy. But the Sacklers dared and met with success — instant success, shocking success, in perhaps the most shameful episode in the history of medicine. 

  The other companies might have been surprised, but they all fell eagerly in line behind. Each of them drafted in the turbulent wake of Purdue opioid marketing — some just coasting and enjoying the free money, others so excited they would at times sprint out ahead to briefly take the lead in this Olympics of Sociopathy.

  For example, it may have been the Sacklers who first decided to target returning veterans (who have good health insurance) as an opioid growth market — veterans, by the way, are three times more likely to overdose and die than other Americans.

  

  But it took a Johnson & Johnson-backed organization, the “Imagine the Possibilities Pain Coalition”, to spitball in 2011 about targeting elementary school students. After all, third graders have pain, too! A PowerPoint presentation from this group noted we could start marketing opioids to kids “via respected channels, e.g., coaches.”

  

  Johnson & Johnson also quietly funded the 2013 launch of “Growing Pains”, “a new social networking site for young people with pain”. This effort to market opioids to teenagers aged 13 and up was shut down only as of 2021.

  From Oxy to Heroin to Fentanyl to … Buprenorphine?

  Today nearly every 10th adult has lost a family member to an opioid. All major candidates for president have tapped into the anger — which, however, they have chosen to direct at Chinese and Mexican cartels. 

  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vowed if elected president to send U.S. special forces into Mexico (!) to take out fentanyl labs. Trump as president reportedly talked about shooting missiles into Mexico to destroy said labs. President Joe Biden has pledged to “stop [fentanyl] pills and powder at the border.”

  So, the newly agreed-upon villains are foreigners. 

  Did something change? 

  Yes and no. It turns out the Opioid Crisis — that catchall term for this 25-year-long blizzard of addiction, overdose and death — has gone through different stages, much like how COVID-19 would cycle through variants, from Delta to Omicron. But while COVID quickly mellowed, the Opioid Crisis has just gotten nastier. 

  The CDC identifies three waves: First came the prescription wave of the late 1990s and early 2000s, which launched the entire enterprise. Next came the heroin wave, which per the CDC roughly started in 2010, when the prescription-addicted turned to the streets. From about 2013 to today, we have been awash in synthetic opioids like fentanyl (heroin requires farming poppies, but fentanyl is cheaply made in labs).

  

  But wait long enough, and Big Pharma always wins. Amoral, soulless corporations — often the same ones paying out massive settlements — have maneuvered skillfully to reassert control over the addiction market they’ve created. The goal now is to create a fourth and final wave of the Opioid Crisis: the buprenorphine wave. We will start as many people as possible on this ingenious opioid.

  Buprenorphine, the main ingredient in brand names such as Suboxone® and Subutex®, is a so-called partial opioid agonist: It latches tightly onto opioid receptors but stimulates them only slightly — just enough for a person with physical addiction to not experience withdrawal. A person on appropriately dosed buprenorphine is not sedated or high, they just “feel normal.” (What’s more, even if they were to inject fentanyl, the opioid receptors are already locked down by the buprenorphine, which blocks other opioids from getting through.)

  I can’t argue against expanded use of buprenorphine. The data clearly shows that it prevents death and disability. People really do get control of their lives again. Of course, it is also addictive. So, the plan we confidently propose is to treat opioid addiction with this admittedly ingenious and excellent medication, for a monthly price tag, depending on the formulation, ranging from $196 to $1,136… forever. 

  What’s not to like? 

  Big Pharma, Finally Unmasked

  Medicine has wrought amazing breakthroughs, and we have professed high moral standards. But some of us aren’t above indulging in the same “Braindead Megaphone”-style pronouncements plaguing the rest of society: sternly shouting down even the meekest questions about pediatric gender reassignment therapies or vaccine mandates, for example. When it comes to the Opioid Crisis — this massive, deadly pandemic of addiction we’ve unleashed — we stroll past whistling and look guiltily away, then whirl back around, whip out the Braindead Megaphone, and loudly announce that we expect to be paid handsomely to provide additional addictive opioids to treat this same pandemic. We declare this with wide-eyed innocence, and get indignant if anyone questions this plan — even as internal corporate communications now available show Big Pharma corporations rubbing their hands gleefully at the thought of all of that buprenorphine cash.

  That’s right: internal corporate communications — millions of pages — are now available. They can be searched online at the Opioid Industry Documents Archive, hosted by University of California San Francisco (UCSF).

  I thought I knew a lot about the Opioid Crisis. After all, I’d been a reluctant front-line participant in it for 20 years, as a paramedic, a medical student and a physician.

  Then the lawsuits arrived, and the Archive opened.

  Next: A conspiracy to taint the medical literature

  Matt Bivens, M.D.: Full-time ER doctor. Board-certified in emergency and addiction medicine. EMS medical director for 911 services. Former Russia-based foreign correspondent, newspaper editor and Chechnya war correspondent. Reluctant student of nuclear weapons.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 23:15

• These Are The Countries With The Highest Rates Of Crypto Ownership
  These Are The Countries With The Highest Rates Of Crypto Ownership

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu, ranks the top 10 countries by their rate of cryptocurrency ownership, which is the percentage of the population that owns crypto.

  

  These figures come from crypto payment gateway, Triple-A, and are as of 2023.

  Data and Highlights

  The table below lists the rates of crypto ownership in the top 10 countries, as well as the number of people this amounts to.

  

  Note that if we were to rank countries based on their actual number of crypto owners, India would rank first at 93 million people, China would rank second at 59 million people, and the U.S. would rank third at 52 million people.

  The UAE Takes the Top Spot

  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) boasts the highest rates of crypto ownership globally. The country’s government is considered to be very crypto friendly, as described in Henley & Partners’ Crypto Wealth Report 2023:

  In the UAE, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA-ADGM) was the first to provide rules and regulations regarding cryptocurrency purchasing and selling.

  The Emirates are generally very open to new technologies and have proposed zero taxes for crypto owners and businesses.

  Vietnam leads Southeast Asia

  According to the Crypto Council for Innovation, cryptocurrency holdings in Vietnam are also untaxed, making them an attractive asset.

  Another reason for Vietnam’s high rates of ownership could be its large unbanked population (people without access to financial services).

  Cryptocurrencies may provide an alternative means of accessing these services without relying on traditional banks.

  If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out The World’s Largest Corporate Holders of Bitcoin, which ranks the top 12 publicly traded companies by their Bitcoin holdings.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 22:55

• Lawmakers Urge U.S. Action To Halt China's Organ Trade
  Lawmakers Urge U.S. Action To Halt China’s Organ Trade

  Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClearPolitics,

  A group of leading China critics in Congress is urging the State Department to step up its efforts to curb Beijing’s gruesome $1 billion forced organ harvesting trade, which targets ethnic and religious minorities, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims, Christians, and Falun Gong practitioners. 

  

  Six members of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, or CECC, sent a letter last week to Secretary of State Antony Blinken asking him to utilize existing agency reward programs to provide monetary incentives for information that will “deter and disrupt the market for illegally procured organs” in China. Rep. Chris Smith, who chairs the CECC, and Sen. Marco Rubio, the commission’s ranking member, joined Democrat Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia and GOP Reps. Michelle Steel of California, Zach Nunn of Iowa, and Ryan Zinke of Montana in signing the letter. 

  The State Department manages two programs that offer awards of up to $25 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of members of significant transnational criminal organizations. One focuses on violators of U.S. narcotics law, and another targets other crimes that threaten U.S. national interests, including human trafficking, wildlife trafficking, cybercrime, money laundering, and trafficking in arms and other illicit goods. 

  “We strongly support the Department of State’s efforts to issue rewards for wildlife and narcotics trafficking in the [People’s Republic of China],” the lawmakers wrote. “However, given the global demand for organ transplants and the evidence of the illegal trafficking of organs in the PRC, there is a pressing need to uncover first-hand information from those who witnessed or engaged in the practice.” 

  The State Department didn’t respond to a request for comment. 

  Communist China has long harvested prisoners’ organs, even though the government in Beijing initially asserted that all their organ extractions were from voluntary donors. But as far back as 2005, the top transplant doctor in China, then serving as the nation’s vice minister of health, admitted that roughly 95% of all organ transplants came from prisoners.

  In recent years, leading researchers have documented a reprehensible aspect of these life-ending extractions: Prisoners of conscience – religious minorities and political dissidents are the main victims. There’s now extensive evidence that Chinese surgeons first honed their murderous organ harvesting practices on practitioners of Falun Gong, a meditation and exercise movement. In recent years, the regime expanded its pool of victims to China’s imprisoned Uyghur population as part of its systematic oppression of the Muslim minority group. 

  China has vehemently denied these claims, but in 2019, the China Tribunal, a non-governmental, independent commission in the U.K., concluded otherwise. The Tribunal investigated accusations of organ harvesting in China and found that some of the more than 1.5 million detainees in Chinese prison camps are being killed for their organs to serve a booming transplant trade worth an estimated $1 billion a year. The Tribunal also found that the Chinese organ trafficking industry is harvesting organs from executed prisoners and political prisoners at an industrial scale, actions that constitute crimes against humanity.

  In response to the Tribunal’s findings, more than a dozen United Nations human rights experts said they were extremely alarmed by reports that organ harvesting was targeting “specific ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Muslims, and Christians” detained in China. The experts, who operate under United Nations mandates but do not speak on the international organization’s behalf, called on China to respond to the allegations of illegal organ harvesting promptly and to allow international human rights monitors into hospitals and other areas to monitor the country’s organ extraction practices. China has ignored those requests.

  In 2022, the American Journal of Transplantation, the leading medical transplant publication in the world, published a peer-reviewed article that uncovered compelling evidence that Chinese surgeons are systematically removing organs from prisoners while they are still alive, providing on-demand supplies for China’s organ export industry. 

  The practice violates the internationally accepted “dead-donor” rule that holds that organ procurement “must not commence until the donor is both dead and formally pronounced so.” 

  “Forced organ harvesting is an atrocity, and the disruption and deterrence of this practice should be a priority of the State Department,” the group of lawmakers wrote. 

  “Getting the PRC to account and fully address evidence of forced organ harvesting will be critical in ending this horrific practice and promoting, long term, the establishment of a truly voluntary organ donation system,” they continued. “With effective enforcement mechanisms, we can work towards ensuring organs are procured safely and ethically.”

  Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ national political correspondent.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 22:35

• The Missing Piece Of The Puzzle: Behind The Inexplicable "Strength" Of US Consumers Is $700 Billion In "Phanton Debt"
  The Missing Piece Of The Puzzle: Behind The Inexplicable “Strength” Of US Consumers Is $700 Billion In “Phanton Debt”

  Yesterday we discussed the latest consumer credit data, which revealed that the amount of credit card debt across the US has hit a new record high of $1.337 trillion (even though it appears to have finally hit a brick wall, barely rising in April by the smallest amount since the covid crash), even as the savings rate has tumbled to an all time low.

  

  To be sure, credit card debt is just a small portion (~6%) of the total household debt stack: as the next chart from the latest NY Fed consumer credit report shows, the bulk, or 70%, of US household debt is in the form of mortgages, followed by student loans, auto loans, credit card debt, home equity credit and various other forms. Altogether, the total is a massive $17.5 trillion in total household debt.

  

  But staggering as the mountain of household debt may be, at least we know how huge the problem is; after all the data is public. What is far more dangerous – because we have no clue about its size – is what Bloomberg calls “Phantom Debt“, and we have repeatedly called Buy Now, Pay Later debt. How much of that kind of debt is out there is largely a guess.

  Let’s back up: the topic of Buy Now, Pay Later, or installment debt, is hardly new: we have covered it extensively in the past year, as this selection of articles reveals:

  • “Buy Now, Pay Later” Mania Sends Americans Deeper Into ‘Black Hole’ Of Debt: April 2023
  • Consumers Use ‘Buy-Now, Pay-Later’ Option To Fund Record Black Friday Purchases: Nov, 2023
  • BIS Reveals ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Use Is Soaring Among Working Poor Youngsters: Dec 2023
  • Self-Checkout Kiosks At 4,500 Walmarts Now Offer ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Loans For Basic Items: Dec 2023
  • Many Are Addicted To “Buy Now, Pay Later” Plans, It’s A Big Trap: Feb 2024

  But while it is easy to ensnare young, incomeless Americans into the net of installment debt where they will rot as the next generation of debt slaves for the rest of their lives, there is an even more sinister side to this extremely popular form of debt which allows consumers to split purchases into smaller installments: as Bloomberg reports in a lengthy expose on installment debt, the major companies that provide these so called “pay in four” products, such as Affirm Holdings, Klarna Bank and Block’s Afterpay, don’t report those loans to credit agencies. That’s why Buy Now/Pay Later credit has earned a far more ominous nickname:

  It’s hard enough for central bankers and Wall Street traders to make sense of the post-pandemic economy with the data available to them. At Wells Fargo & Co., senior economist Tim Quinlan is particularly spooked by the “phantom debt” that he can’t see.

  Which is not to say that we have no idea how much “phantom debt” is out there: according to the report, it is projected to reach almost $700 billion globally by 2028, and yet, time and again, the companies that issue it have resisted calls for greater disclosure, even as the market has grown each year since at least 2020. That, as Bloomberg accurately warns, is masking a complete picture of the financial health of American households, which is crucial for everyone from global central banks to US regional lenders and multinational businesses.

  In fact, the recent explosion in installment debt may explain why the US consumer remains so resilient even when most conventional economic metrics suggest consumers should be struggling: “Consumer spending in the world’s largest economy has been so resilient in the face of stubbornly high inflation that economists and traders have had to repeatedly rip up their forecasts for slowing growth and interest-rate cuts.”

  Still, cracks are starting to form. First it was Americans falling behind on auto loans. Then credit-card delinquency rates reached the highest since at least 2012, with the share of debts 30, 60 and 90 days late all on the upswing.

  

  And now, there are also signs that consumers are struggling to afford their BNPL debt, too. A recent survey conducted for Bloomberg News by Harris Poll found that 43% of those who owe money to BNPL services said they were behind on payments, while 28% said they were delinquent on other debt because of spending on the platforms.

  For Quinlan, a major concern is that economic experts are being “lulled into complacency about where consumers are.”

  “People need to be more awake to the risk of BNPL,” he said in an interview.

  Well, those who care, are awake – we have written dozens of articles on the danger it poses; the problem is that those who are enabled by this latest mountain of debt – such as the Biden administration which can claim a victory for Bidenomics because the economy is so “strong”, phantom debt be damned – are actively motivated to ignore it.

  So why is this latest debt bubble called a “phantom”?

  Well, BNPL is a black box largely because of a longstanding blame game among BNPL providers and the three major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. The BNPL companies don’t provide data on their installment loans that are split into four payments, which were used by online shoppers to spend an estimated $19.2 billion in the first quarter, according to Adobe Analytics, up 12.3% compared with the same period last year.

  The BNPL giants say credit agencies can’t handle their information — and that releasing it could harm customers’ credit scores, which are key to securing mortgages and other loans. The big three bureaus say they’re ready, while two of the major credit scoring firms, VantageScore Solutions and Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO), say they’re equipped to test how the products will affect their figures. Meanwhile, regulation is looming over the industry, but this stalemate has left the status quo mostly in place.

  In other words, not only do we not know just how big the BNPL problem is, it is actively masked by credit agencies which can’t accurately calculate the FICO score of tens of millions of Americans, and as a result their credit capacity is artificially boosted with far more debt than they can handle… and that’s why the US consumer has been so “strong” in recent years, defying all conventional credit metrics.

  The good news is that despite the tacit pushback of the administration, there has been some signs of progress. Apple earlier this year became the first major BNPL provider to furnish transaction and payment data to Experian. As of now, it provides a snapshot of consumers’ overall debt load from Apple Pay Later transactions, but the information won’t be used for consumer credit scores. In separate statements to Bloomberg, Klarna, Affirm and Block said they want assurance that consumers’ credit scores and their data would be protected before reporting customer information. Representatives for TransUnion, Experian and Equifax said they’ve updated their structures and the data would be secure.

  Still, the lack of transparency has researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which publishes a comprehensive quarterly report on the $17.5 trillion in US household debt, convinced they’re missing some of what’s happening in the economy.

  “They’ve reached a certain scale that they could impact economists’ assumptions about their economic outlooks,” said Simon Khalaf, Chief Executive Officer of Marqeta Inc., a firm that helps BNPL providers process their payments.

  Meanwhile, the pernicious effects of BNPL credit are piling up: the Harris Poll survey conducted last month, provides some crucial clues about how Americans use BNPL. For one, splitting payments into smaller chunks encourages more spending, obviously.

  More than half of respondents who use BNPL said it allowed them to purchase more than they could afford, while nearly a quarter agreed with the statement that their BNPL spending was “out of control.” Harris also found that 23% of users said they couldn’t afford the majority of what they bought without splitting payments, while more than a third turned to the services after maxing out credit cards.

  

  The findings also show that the spending, which for more than a third of users has exceeded $1,000, isn’t entirely on big-ticket items. Almost half of those using BNPL say they’ve started, or have considered, using it to pay bills or buy essential items, including groceries.

  Translation: Americans are no longer even charging everyday purchases they traditionally used cash and savings to pay for; now they are using installment plans to pay for bread!

  It’s not just the lower classes that are abusing BNPL credit: while whatever small pockets of consumer distress have emerged so far in the US, have been chalked up to a bifurcated economy where working class Americans struggle to make ends meet, the survey found that middle-class households are relying on BNPL, too. The shocking punchline: about 42% of those with household income of more than $100,000 report being behind or delinquent on BNPL payments!

  “BNPL essentially lets people dig a deeper and deeper hole of credit, which will be harder and harder to climb out of,” said Ed deHaan, a professor of accounting at Stanford Graduate School of Business, adding that it happens “more easily when there’s no transparency.”

  Of course, installment debt is nothing new: the option to pay in installments using short-term loans has been around for a ong time, but it exploded in popularity during the pandemic, especially with younger, digitally savvy consumers who gravitated to the services as an alternative to credit cards. The pioneering BNPL companies, including Afterpay, Klarna and Affirm, launched with trendy retailers, partnered with social media influencers and became a common option on apps and online checkouts.

  BNPL offers quick credit approvals and lets consumers pay in installments. The first is usually due right away, and the others are often collected once every two weeks for the popular “pay in four” loans. There’s typically no interest or fees, as long as payments are made on time. Like credit card companies, BNPL firms make money on fees from merchants — and some have steep penalties for missed payments.

  While normally larger banks would avoid this kind of “new and much more dangerous subprime”, this time is different: the rapid adoption of the products has enticed major financial institutions to offer the option to split payments, even as regulators warn them of the risks. That includes PayPal, U.S. Bancorp and Citizens Financial. Even big banks like Citigroup and JPMorgan have similar capabilities on their credit cards.

  The industry has branded itself a financial equalizer. They argue that “soft-credit checks” — when a lender runs a consumer’s credit history without affecting their score — expand credit access to those underserved by traditional lenders, while zero-interest provides a better deal than many cards.

  Affirm said its customers have an average outstanding balance of $641, while Afterpay and Klarna put the figure at $250 and $150, respectively. Unfortunately, there is no way to check these numbers. And while the average credit card balance was $6,501 in the third quarter of 2023, according to Experian data, the BNPL balances mean that most Americans can’t even afford a weekly outing to their grocery store without putting it on an installment plan, a truly terrifying scenario.

  Critics naturally argue that BNPL is particularly attractive to the financially vulnerable. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has flagged risks to consumers, including surprise late fees and “hidden interest” — or when BNPL purchases are made with credit cards charging high interest rates. The CFPB has also expressed concern about “loan stacking,” when individuals take out several BNPL loans at once with different providers, which is most of them.

  Some BNPL services, including Afterpay and Klarna, require borrowers to agree to “mandatory autopayment,” meaning the companies can automatically charge the credit card or bank account on file when a payment is due. Those who link the latter are potentially vulnerable to overdraft fees.

  Meanwhile, as rates remains sky high, even Wall Street’s perpetually cheerful analysts are wondering where is all the consumption coming from?

  Robust consumer spending and low unemployment rates have many economists convinced the US consumer remains strong, making Wall Street bullish on the economy. But lately, stubbornly persistent inflation has dialed back expectations for imminent interest-rate relief.

  That’s set to ramp up pressure on households that are already stretched thin by higher prices for everything from gas and food to rent and apparel. As of the end of December, almost 3.5% of credit-card balances were at least 30 days past due, according to the Philadelphia Fed, the most since the data began in 2012. Nominal card balances also set a new high.

  

  For those who are falling behind, BNPL offers what appears to be a no-brainer decision: space out payments… at least until this last credit buffer fills up and bankruptcy is the only possible outcome.

  That was the thinking of Hayden Waschak, a 23-year-old in Pittsburgh. Even though he said it felt “dystopian” to use  BNPL to pay for food, he began using Klarna in February to spread out payments on a grocery delivery app. It helped his finances — at first. After he lost his job as a documents processing specialist at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in March, he relied more heavily on the service. And without any income, he became delinquent on payments and started racking up late charges. He eventually paid off the nearly $200 balance, but he said his credit score dropped.

  “Unexpected life events caused me to lose income,” Waschak said. “I ended up paying more than if I had paid for it all at once.”

  Meanwhile, the fact that BNPL balances do not count against your credit rating, means users get little upside when it comes to their credit — paying on time won’t help them build up their score. On the other hand, the downside is still there for falling behind: not only can they get charged late fees, but delinquent BNPL loans can be turned over to debt collectors.

  The latter is what Fabrizio Lopez said happened to him. He used Affirm to split up a $500 online payment for used-car parts in 2019. The Long Island-based mechanic, who doesn’t have a traditional credit card, said that while he received the items a week later, he never got a bill. That is, until debt collection letters started pouring in from across the US.

  Lopez said he primarily relied on cash before that purchase, so the unpaid loan stands out on his credit profile. Now 30, he worries that a the BNPL purchase has created “invisible barriers” to the financial system.

  “They hook you with the idea of no interest rates,” he said. “I thought that I would be able to build my credit if I paid it back — I was so wrong.”

  He is not the only one who is “so wrong”: just as wrong are all those Panglossian economists at the Fed and Wall Street who believe that the US economy is growing at what the Atlanta Fed today laughably “calculated” was a 4.2% GDP, even as the DOE found that the most accurate indicator of overall economic strength, diesel demand, was the lowest since covid, an glaring paradox… yet glaring to all except those who refuse to see just how rotten the core of the US economy has become, and will be “absolutely shocked” when the next credit crisis destroys tens of millions of Americans drowning in what is now best known as “phantom debt.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 22:15

• Argentina To Mine Bitcoin With Stranded Gas
  Argentina To Mine Bitcoin With Stranded Gas

  Authored by Vivek Sun via BitcoinMagazine.com,

  Argentina’s energy sector is increasingly turning to Bitcoin, this time with a state-owned facility using stranded natural gas from oil fields that would otherwise be wasted.

  JUST IN: 🇦🇷 Argentina state-owned company’s subsidiary will mine $BTC with Stranded Gas: Forbes

  Eventually, every country will be mining #Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/bu6sCXEUJ1

  — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) May 8, 2024

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

  State-owned energy firm YPF’s subsidiary, YPF Luz, recently partnered with Genesis Digital Assets (GDA) to launch a gas flare-powered mining facility. It will harness 1,200 machines to monetize gas currently being flared into the atmosphere.

  This comes as Argentina embraces Bitcoin with the election of Bitcoin-friendly President Javier Milei in late 2023.

  By repurposing stranded gas that is currently burned as waste, GDA estimates its mining operation could reduce up to 63% of the carbon emissions, which shows how Bitcoin mining can transform energy byproducts into productive use.

  GDA founder Abdumalik Mirakhmedov said:

  “This will be yet another opportunity to show the world that Bitcoin mining can have a positive effect on the environment and can be fully integrated into local communities.”

  For YPF Luz, monetizing stranded gas offsets costs and drives sustainability. 

  For GDA, this means competitive energy pricing and reduced carbon output. For Argentina, it signals leadership in leveraging Bitcoin mining to enhance energy infrastructure.

  

  The news mirrors how other countries are utilizing Bitcoin mining to “clean up” energy grids. Bhutan mines Bitcoin with renewable hydropower to consume its seasonal excess, while El Salvador uses geothermal energy to power mining with no carbon footprint.

  Mirakhmedov cited Argentina’s energy resources and friendly regulations as ideal conditions for the facility.

  As Bitcoin mining expands worldwide, projects like GDA and YPF’s showcase a template for reducing stranded gas flaring through productive Bitcoin mining.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 21:55

• "Is Consumer Travel Spending Easing?" – BofA Identifies New Trend As Travel Companies Miss Earnings 
  “Is Consumer Travel Spending Easing?” – BofA Identifies New Trend As Travel Companies Miss Earnings 

  One theme we’ve spotted this earnings season has been an increasing number of companies warning about low-income consumers. 

  From McDonald’s to Starbucks to Tyson Foods, executives on earnings calls have warned about mounting headwinds hitting the working poor. 

  Last Tuesday, Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan told investors on a call, “Our performance this quarter was disappointing and did not meet our expectations,” adding that significant headwinds originate from a “cautious consumer.” 

  A similar message was shared by McDonald’s last week when execs reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales growth. 

  On Monday, Melanie Boulden, who oversees Tyson’s Prepared Foods business, warned, “The consumer is under pressure, especially the lower-income households.” 

  Then, on Wednesday, credit card data from the Federal Reserve showed households finally hit a brick wall. Credit card debt growth in March plunged to the smallest monthly increase since the Covid crash. 

  This morning, Bank of America’s trading desk also spotted some weakness in consumer-sensitive stocks, this time in the travel industry. 

  “Theme Alert? Consumer Travel Spending easing?” BofA’s analysts asked. 

  They pointed out a list of disappointing earnings across the travel industry: 

  • $EXPE miss/guide

  • $TRIP miss

  • $CMCSA parks commentary

  • $DIS parks’ moderation’ or normalization

  • $UBER slight bookings miss

  Tripadvisor experienced its worst intraday decline ever, with its stock plunging by as much as 38%. This was due to the online travel firm’s announcement that it had called off a deal to sell the company.

  

  Did the lack of ‘deal premium’ suddenly expose investors to the the reality that Gen-Z and millennials can no longer afford their stimmy-funded “experiences” as the economy slows.

  Taking a deeper dive into markets, the Dow Jones US Travel & Leisure Index peaked in late March and fell 7.5%. The index is up against heavy resistance. 

  

  Interestingly, the Transportation Security Administration’s airport checkpoint data still shows robust travel demand. 

  

  Bank of America’s trading desk may be onto something here, a trend that other companies are also starting to notice: low-income consumers are cracking in the era of failed Bidenomics. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 21:35

• House Votes To Nullify SEC's Anti-Crypto Policy, Biden Vows To Veto
  House Votes To Nullify SEC’s Anti-Crypto Policy, Biden Vows To Veto

  Authored by Tom Mitchelhill via CoinTelegraoph.com,

  The United States House of Representatives has voted to pass a bill that overturns controversial Securities and Exchange Commission guidance preventing banks from owning crypto. 

  

  On May 8, the House voted to pass a bipartisan bill dubbed H.J. Res 109 which overturns the SEC’s Special Accounting Bulletin (SAB 121) that requires banks to hold their customers’ crypto assets on their balance sheets – which is not the case for traditional assets such as securities. 

  Republican Congressman Mike Flood – the lawmaker who introduced the resolution – said SAB 121 was unfair for banks looking to custody crypto, as custodial assets are “always considered off-balance sheet.”

  “Gary Gensler, in his jihad against digital assets, used what is supposed to be mundane staff accounting guidance to essentially freeze out large publicly traded banks from taking custody of digital assets,” said Rep. Flood (R-Neb.) in a Wednesday interview with CoinDesk.

  And the SEC didn’t consult with the banking regulators about it, Flood pointed out, arguing that Gensler “doesn’t have any business in the banking world.”

  Notably, 21 Democrats voted in favor of the bill – which combined with the unanimous 207 votes from Republicans – saw the bill pass 228 votes to 182. 

  

  Source: Caitlin Long/X

  “By overturning SAB 121, the bipartisan resolution ensures consumers are protected by removing roadblocks that prevent highly regulated financial institutions and firms from acting as custodians of digital assets,” wrote the House Financial Services Committee (HSFC) in a May 8 statement. 

  “Staff Accounting Bulletin 121 is one of the most glaring examples of the regulatory overreach that has defined Gary Gensler’s tenure at the SEC,” said HSFC Chairman Patrick McHenry.

  Introduced by the SEC in March 2022, SAB 121 outlines the regulator’s accounting guidelines for institutions looking to custody crypto assets. Notably, SAB 121 virtually prevents banks from custodying crypto assets on behalf of clients.

  U.S. lawmakers including SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce have argued SAB 121 jeopardizes the willingness of regulated banks to act as crypto custodians and treats crypto holdings differently than other assets.

  Despite the bill being passed through the House of Representatives, President Joe Biden stated he will veto the new bill.

  “SAB 121 was issued in response to demonstrated technological, legal, and regulatory risks that have caused substantial losses to consumers,” Biden said in a Wednesday statement, saying he “strongly opposes” disrupting the SEC’s work on this.

  In a May 8 statement, the White House said it “strongly opposes” members of the House of Representatives looking to overturn SAB 121, claiming it would disrupt the SEC’s efforts “to protect investors in crypto-asset markets and to safeguard the broader financial system.”

  “Limiting the SEC’s ability to maintain a comprehensive and effective financial regulatory framework for crypto-assets would introduce substantial financial instability and market uncertainty.”

  

  Source: White House

  No lesser mortal than key House Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters thought Flood’s resolution went too far.

  “This bill takes a sledgehammer to fix an issue that may merely need a scalpel, and it does so because my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are not only interested in doing the bidding of special interest groups, they are also interested in attacking and undermining the SEC in every possible way,” said Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on McHenry’s committee.

  As CoinDesk reports, when an agency rule is reversed under the Congressional Review Act, it’s not only erased, but anything similar is forever blocked from future implementation.

  Waters argued that SAB 121 – apart from the controversial custody component – also provided guidance on crypto disclosures that are necessary and would be threatened if Congress overturns the policy, and Biden echoed the concern about policies that would be blocked.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 21:15

• China Blasts US For Talking Gaza "Ceasefire While Pouring In Weapons"
  China Blasts US For Talking Gaza “Ceasefire While Pouring In Weapons”

  First the Ukraine war and now the Gaza conflict… China increasingly finds itself the leader of the group of nations at odds with the West over how to handle these crises. 

  Beijing has criticized the United States’ role in stoking both conflicts, given Washington is the main supplier of weapons and funds for both Israel and Ukraine.

  Most Global South countries are quite obviously more sympathetic to the Palestinian side when it comes to the Gaza crisis (evidenced by recent votes at the UN), and they have shown themselves open to trade with Russia despite sanctions over the Ukraine war, and most have tended to avoid full-throated condemnations of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

  

  In a new Wednesday report, Bloomberg has underscored that Gaza is the new ‘wedge issue’ which China hopes to use to further distance the Global South from US and Western policy: 

  Last week, a top Chinese diplomat took to the microphones at the United Nations to harangue the US for blocking a resolution that would have backed Palestinians’ bid for membership, saying it had “shattered the decades-long dream of the Palestinian people.”

  The broadside by Ambassador Fu Cong may have just looked like more anti-US rhetoric. But US officials and experts say it fits into a pattern with greater significance — an increasingly active Chinese effort to turn opinion in developing countries against the US since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, using the Gaza war as a wedge.

  At the start of this week President Xi Jinping was in France where he issued a rare joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron. The statement urged Israel against going through with a ground offensive in Rafah.

  Macron and Xi further reiterated their call for “a decisive and irreversible relaunch of a political process” to implement “the two-state solution with Jerusalem as their capital, and the creation of a viable, independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 lines,” according to the joint statement.

  The Chinese foreign ministry also issued its own separate statement, saying “China… strongly calls on Israel to heed the overwhelming demands of the international community, stop attacking Rafah, and do everything it can to avoid a more serious humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip.”

  Beijing has also really stepped up its denunciations of Washington ‘hypocrisy’ given the Biden administration is at once arming Israel to the teeth while publicly condemning the soaring Palestinian civilian death toll which has been the end result of deploying those very arms over population-dense urban areas. Bloomberg has further featured the following Chinese Embassy statement: 

  Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, criticized the US for talking about “a ceasefire while pouring weapons” into the “biggest humanitarian tragedy in the 21st century,” in an emailed statement.

  China has lately launched its own efforts at mediating the conflict, given it hosted Hamas and Fatah officials in Beijing last week for rare talks aimed at achieving Palestinian political unity.

  Bloomberg has cited the UK-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue to say that “Chinese and Russian actors are capitalizing on the perceived unpopularity of Western policy towards Gaza.” And ultimately the aim, the think tank says, is “to push the idea of an alternate global power structure with themselves at the helm.”

  But of course, this doesn’t seem to take into account that it might more simply be US and Israeli actions and policies are actually deeply unpopular among large segments of the population. 

  US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield recently echoed this outlook which sees nefarious Russian and Chinese influence behind every corner. “Let’s be honest — for all the fiery rhetoric, we all know that Russia and China are not doing anything diplomatically to advance a lasting peace,” she told the UN General Assembly in March.

  The disoriented strategy that got us into a new Cold War with Russia, is driving us towards a war with China as well.

  — John Robb (@johnrobb) May 6, 2024

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

  But the reality is that it was China which recently achieved the historic Iran-Saudi rapprochement, thus it at least has a positive track record of mediation in the Mideast region of late. Compare this to the US role of the last ten to twenty years, and there are names like: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 20:55

• Jan. 6 Arrests Running At Nearly Double The Rate Of 2023 And 2022: Report
  Jan. 6 Arrests Running At Nearly Double The Rate Of 2023 And 2022: Report

  Authored by Joseph M. Hanneman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Nearly 1,425 people have been arrested on Jan. 6 charges, with 2024 arrests running at almost double the rate from 2023 and 2022, a U.S. Department of Justice report shows.

  

  Through close of business on May 3, the FBI has arrested 1,424 suspects in the 40 months since the breach and violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the DOJ reported in its monthly update.

  That includes 159 people who were arrested during the first four months of 2024, nearly double the 83 arrested during the same period in 2023 and the 85 arrested in the same period in 2022, DOJ records show.

  The FBI has made 391 Jan. 6 arrests since May 2023 and 614 arrests since May 2022, according to DOJ data.

  Jan. 6 is the largest, most sweeping investigation in FBI history—one that DOJ leaders have pledged will continue unabated. The DOJ has until Jan. 6, 2026, to charge individuals before the statute of limitations expires.

  Some 1,334 people have been charged with entering and remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds, the most common Jan. 6 misdemeanor. Of those, 127 people were charged with entering and remaining while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

  Only two defendants were arrested over the past month for corruptly obstructing an official proceeding—the most commonly charged Jan. 6 felony that now affects 355 people—a controversial charge currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.

  Thirty-six percent of defendants—510—have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees. More than a quarter of those involved use of a deadly or dangerous weapon, the report said.

  About 820 defendants have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal crimes. Sixty-nine percent were misdemeanor charges, and 31 percent were felonies.

  Nearly 885 defendants have had their cases adjudicated, with 61 percent sentenced to prison time, 19 percent given home detention, and 3.5 percent given some combination of the two, the report said.

  About 160 defendants have been found guilty at contested trials, the report said, including three tried in the District of Columbia Superior Court. Another three dozen defendants were found guilty based on an agreed-upon set of facts.

  Of the 199 defendants who have gone to trial, 82 were found guilty of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers and/or obstructing officers during civil disorder—both felony charges.

  Every defendant who opted for a jury trial has been found guilty of at least some of the charges lodged against them. Only three defendants have been acquitted of all charges. Those cases involved bench trials.

  The rate of arrests picked up during the last quarter of 2023 and has continued through four months of 2024.

  

  On April 16, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on a challenge to the DOJ’s novel use of a corporate fraud statute to prosecute Jan. 6 protesters with a 20-year felony.

  The Supreme Court said on Dec. 13, 2023, that it would take up Jan. 6 defendant Joseph W. Fischer’s challenge to the use of 18 U.S. Code Section 1512(c)(2) to prosecute Jan. 6 defendants for obstructing Congress’s tallying of Electoral College votes.

  If the High Court strikes down the use of the law for Jan. 6 applications, it could upend the aforementioned 355 cases and land a blow to the DOJ’s prosecution effort.

  However, prosecutors have indicated they could seek sentencing enhancements on other charges or request that prison sentences be served consecutively as ways to ensure that defendants still serve the same time behind bars.

  A small number of defendants have been released from prison pending the Supreme Court decision. Others have had sentencing hearings postponed in anticipation of High Court action in the case by June 30.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 20:35

• Biden Says He'll Halt Offensive Weapons To Israel If It Invades Gaza
  Biden Says He’ll Halt Offensive Weapons To Israel If It Invades Gaza

  Update(2025ET): President Biden spoke to CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday, and in the interview he issued some of the most significant warnings to America’s closest Middle East ally to date, telling Israel that he’s ready to halt offensive weapons transfers if its military launches a full invasion of Rafah.

  “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden said. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah — they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem.”

  This is being widely interpreted to include all offensive weapons like bombs and artillery shells. He spelled it out in the following:

  “We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently,” Biden told CNN. “But it’s, it’s just wrong. We’re not going to — we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”

  As The Hill underscores these comments constitute “the first time he has explicitly threatened to cut off the shipment of offensive weapons to the U.S. ally.”

  FLAG: @POTUS Biden says for the first time that U.S. bombs provided to Israel have been used to kill civilians in Gaza.

  “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs,” he tells @ErinBurnett in a @CNN interview. pic.twitter.com/SBR6lKO7mM

  — Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) May 8, 2024

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  Earlier in the day the State Department had previewed the new ‘warning’ to Israel over Rafah, saying that it is a decision the White House is still mulling (namely, whether to expand the pause on arms shipments beyond the initial one already paused). 

  So far, Israel has spoken about the Rafah op as ‘limited’ in scope, likely as a way to assuage Washington’s fears about scenes of a humanitarian nightmare and catastrophe unfolding. Pressure is growing on Biden ahead of the November election given Progressives and some of his base are peeling off in droves, and the persistent campus protests.

  Meanwhile there appears to have already been at least a partial invasion of the eastern part of Rafah city:

  Israel releases footage showing its forces entering Rafah, Gaza. pic.twitter.com/KBshNzkRmG

  — Clash Report (@clashreport) May 8, 2024

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  * * *

  US defense secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed while testifying before a congressional subcommittee on Wednesday that the Biden administration has paused an arms shipment to Israel, which reportedly includes large bombs and other ammunition being put on hold for transfer.

  “We’ve been very clear … from the very beginning that Israel shouldn’t launch a major attack into Rafah without accounting for and protecting the civilians that are in that battlespace,” Austin told US lawmakers. “We’ve not made a final determination on how to proceed with that shipment [of weapons],” the Pentagon chief said.

  

  He added the caveat that the paused transfer in question remains separate from the supplemental aid package for Israel that was passed last month.

  Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan has called the move “very disappointing”. President Biden “can’t say he is our partner in the goal to destroy Hamas, while on the other hand delay the means meant to destroy Hamas,” Erdan said the same day as Austin’s testimony.

  Austin did still emphasize, “My final comment is that we are absolutely committed to continuing to support Israel in its right to defend itself.”

  Separately on Wednesday the State Department hinted that following the initial paused shipment, the US could extend the temporary ban to include more arms and ammo shipments.

  Spokesman Matthew Miller says cited concerns over how Israel conducts itself in the Rafah operation. The White House has said it does not back an Israel ground offensive into the refugee-packed southern city.

  “When you see the results of the campaign to date, you see too many Palestinians die. We have been clear for some time the results are unacceptable,” Miller told a press briefing. “We’ve paused one shipment.… We are reviewing other potential weapons systems. I’m not going to get into the underlying details here.”

  Watching CQ Brown trying desperately not to get tricked into saying into a mic that he is pro the bombing of Hiroshima was not something I expected to see this morning https://t.co/Yj3ehHukyp

  — Aaron Mehta (@AaronMehta) May 8, 2024

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  Meanwhile, the outspoken Iran hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham had this bizarre and highly theoretical exchange with Defense Secretary Austin as well as Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Charles Q. Brown Jr.:

  GRAHAM: Would you have supported dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? General Brown, to end World War II?

  BROWN JR: Well Senator, I think it is based on the situation —

  GRAHAM: Well, we know I mean, it happened, we know. I’m not asking, they did it. Do you think that was disproportionate?

  BROWN JR: It was —

  GRAHAM: Do you, in hindsight, do you think that was the right decision for America to drop two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities in question?

  BROWN JR: Well, I’ll tell you, it stopped the world war.

  GRAHAM: Okay. Well, so. Do you agree, General Austin? If you’d been around, would you say drop them?

  AUSTIN: I agree with the chairman here.

  GRAHAM: I mean, if you were if we go back in time says, hey, we got two atomic bombs, should we drop them? What would you say?

  AUSTIN: Well, you know, I think the leadership was interested in curtailing —

  GRAHAM: What’s Israel interested in? Do you believe Iran really wants to kill all the Jews if they could? The Iranian regime. Do you believe Hamas is serious when they say we’ll keep doing it over and over again? Do you agree that they will if they can?

  AUSTIN: I do.

  GRAHAM: Okay. Alright. Do you believe that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization also bent on the destruction of the Jewish state?

  AUSTIN: Hezbollah is a terrorist organization.

  GRAHAM: Okay, so Israel’s been hit in the last few weeks by Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas dedicated to their destruction. And you’re telling me you’re going to tell them how to fight the war? And what they can and can’t use when everybody around them wants to kill all the Jews. And you’re telling me that if we withhold weapons in this fight — the existential fight for the life of the Jewish state — it won’t send the wrong signal? Do you still think it was a good idea, General Austin, to get out of Afghanistan?

  AUSTIN: I support the president’s decision.

  GRAHAM: Yeah, I think you do. I think it was a disastrous decision. If we stop weapons necessary to destroy the enemies of the State of Israel at a time of great peril, we will pay a price. This is obscene. It is absurd. Give Israel what they need to fight the war. They can’t afford to lose. This is Hiroshima and Nagasaki on steroids.

  Is the Senator from South Carolina actually suggesting Israel might need to nuke the Gaza Strip? 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 20:25

• Philadelphia Mayor Starts Long-Awaited Process Of Cleaning Out City's Open Air Drug Markets
  Philadelphia Mayor Starts Long-Awaited Process Of Cleaning Out City’s Open Air Drug Markets

  Philadelphia’s new mayor Cherelle Parker may be succeeding with what seems like a relatively simple task that her predecessors were wholly incapable of performing: cleaning out the city’s open air drug markets in its Kensington section.

  Pay attention, Democrats. There’s a chance it actually can be done.

  During Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, City Council members pressed Managing Director Adam Thiel and other officials for details on the planned “encampment resolution” in Kensington and budget concerns at the Office of Homeless Services.

  The city announced it would clear homeless encampments on Wednesday along the 3000 and 3100 blocks of Kensington Avenue, according to the Philadelphia Tribune. 

  City workers have been reaching out to the homeless, informing them of their removal from the sidewalks and offering beds in treatment facilities. This initiative aligns with a significant policy shift in Mayor Cherelle Parker’s 100 Day Plan to address drug use and violence in Kensington.

  Thiel emphasized a medically focused approach to treating those affected and addressing their needs. While police will be present during Wednesday’s actions, Thiel aims to provide support to those seeking help.

  

  The Philadelphia Tribune reported that, to address neighborhood concerns, the city will eventually displace hundreds of unhoused individuals to clear encampments in Kensington. At-Large Councilmember Kendra Brooks asked if there are enough beds for all those displaced and managing Director Adam Thiel assured that there are sufficient beds citywide.

  “We are building this ecosystem of facilities so we can get folks to the right place for the right care, for the right time, until they get back on their feet and can have access to economic opportunity,” he said.

  Thiel noted that the “specific approach established by the Parker administration is the first time it will be attempted in the country.”

  Council President Kenyatta Johnson suggested sending those needing 60+ days of treatment to facilities outside Philadelphia and partnering with Treatment Court, which mandates treatment instead of incarceration for substance abuse issues.

  But it looks as though the city is holding the Office of Homeless Services accountable, which is likely a great start to at least getting better results than in years past. Councilmembers questioned Thiel and Office of Homeless Services Executive Director David Holloman about the office’s capacity to address Philadelphia’s growing homeless population, which has increased by 12% since last year.

  The office had asked for an additional $15 million last year, which Gilmore Richardson pressed back on: “We held back $5.1 million … because you all at the time could not provide the invoices to help us understand why you needed those dollars.”

  The encampment clearout is underway on Kensington Avenue. @KYWNewsradio pic.twitter.com/CkqAOaoSX9

  — Tim Jimenez (@TimJRadio) May 8, 2024

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  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 20:15

• Putin Doesn't Bluff
  Putin Doesn’t Bluff

  Authored by James Rickards via DailyReckoning.com,

  Two weeks ago, the Congress passed (and President Biden signed) four key pieces of legislation related to national security.

  Three of the bills provided assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. They received the most attention. The one that got the least attention was a mixed bag of provisions, such as a forced divestiture of TikTok.

  Included in that bill was something called the REPO Act that authorizes the president to steal any Russian assets, including U.S. Treasury securities, that come under U.S. jurisdiction.

  The impact of the REPO Act is limited by the fact that only about $10 billion of Russian sovereign assets are actually under U.S. jurisdiction. Yet the act contemplates that this theft will be a down payment on a much larger theft to be conducted by NATO allies in Europe.

  $290 billion of Russian sovereign assets are being held in Europe. The act says that the assets stolen by the U.S. will be contributed to the Common Ukraine Fund.

  No doubt, the U.S. will be the most powerful voice in the administration of the $290 billion common fund. The U.S. goal is to use the G7 summit in Apulia, Italy on June 13–15 as a platform for getting the other G7 members to go along with the Common Ukraine Fund and to steal any Russian assets under their jurisdiction.

  So these people think that Russia will simply accept this act of theft without retaliating?

  

  “Mirror Imaging”

  One of the persistent problems in intelligence analysis is what experts call “mirror imaging.” This is jargon for an analytic flaw in which the analyst assumes that his beliefs and preferences are shared by an adversary. Instead of looking at the adversary as he actually is, the analyst is looking in a mirror while assuming he is looking at the adversary.

  This is an extremely dangerous flaw.

  You may be rational, but the mullahs who rule Iran are not. You may believe that leaders want economic growth, but Communist Chinese leaders elevate the party over all other considerations including the well-being of their people.

  You may assume that Houthi rebels in Yemen want to avoid attacks by the U.S., but they don’t care — they live in caves anyway, so you can’t bomb them into the Stone Age because they’re already there.

  Nowhere is this flaw more apparent today than in the U.S. intelligence analysis of Vladimir Putin. In 2008, President Bush said that Ukraine and Georgia should join NATO. A few months later, Putin invaded Georgia, annexed part of its territory and destroyed Georgia’s chances of joining NATO.

  Putin Doesn’t Bluff

  In 2014, the U.S. backed a coup d’état in Ukraine that deposed a duly elected leader. Three months later, Putin annexed Crimea from Ukraine and made it part of the Russian Federation. In 2021, NATO began formal processes to admit Ukraine as a member.

  In February 2022, Russia began a special military operation that’s resulted in 500,000 dead Ukrainian soldiers. Some estimates are even higher. Ukraine’s chances of joining NATO are now zero.

  In every case, U.S. analysts did not believe Putin would take the steps he did because they thought it might somehow weaken Putin or Russia. That’s mirror imaging at its worst. The truth is Putin doesn’t bluff. When he says he will do something, he does. When he says he will react to some Western act, the reaction takes place.

  Putin said if the West steals Russian assets, Russia will retaliate by seizing billions of dollars of direct foreign investment in Russia owned by major European companies such as Siemens, Total, BP and others.

  And sure enough, just days after Biden signed legislation to authorize the theft of Russian assets, a Russian court ordered $440 million be seized from JPMorgan.

  The escalation in the asset seizure war has begun. Putin will win in the end. Unfortunately, escalation is also increasing on the geopolitical front. The U.S. and some of its European allies are becoming increasingly desperate about Ukraine’s ability to hold off Russia on the battlefield.

  Short on Weapons, Short on Men

  The recent $61 billion aid package for Ukraine (about two-thirds of which will go to U.S. defense companies) won’t be nearly enough to reverse the tide. The U.S. and its NATO allies have already given just about all they can afford to give Ukraine without jeopardizing their own security.

  The problem isn’t a lack of money but a lack of weapons and ammunition. Before the aid package was approved, critics complained that Ukraine was losing because the U.S. was withholding desperately needed materiel. But that’s not really true.

  The Europeans could have simply bought the weapons from the U.S. and delivered them to Ukraine. They didn’t. Why? Because the weapons simply weren’t there. Yes, there will always be a supply of weapons flowing to Ukraine — they’re not going to run out completely.

  But Ukraine won’t have nearly enough weapons and ammunition to undertake meaningful offensive operations against the Russians. They’ll just have enough to keep them in the fight, which is the goal of NATO.

  Unfortunately for Ukraine, the problems run much deeper than a lack of equipment. They’re also running out of trained manpower. Former commander Valeriy Zaluzhny has suggested Ukraine needs an extra 500,000 troops. But they’re having trouble finding new volunteers. An estimated 650,000 fighting age men have fled Ukraine.

  Meanwhile, the Russian army is even larger than it was before the invasion, and Russian industry is churning out weapons and ammunition at astonishing rates.

  Will France Cross the (Dnieper) Rubicon?

  When you add up Ukraine’s lack of equipment and manpower shortages, you understand why the West is becoming increasingly desperate.

  France’s Emmanuel Macron is continuing to say he might send French troops to Ukraine. Just days ago, he reaffirmed that he wouldn’t rule out sending troops if Russia broke through Ukrainian front lines and Ukraine requested it.

  Well, it’s only a matter of time until Russia breaks through Ukraine’s remaining primary defenses east of the Dnieper River. Of course Ukraine is going to request French troops since Macron himself made the offer.

  Would they be sent to western Ukraine in order to free up Ukrainian soldiers stationed there to go to the front?

  Or would they send French troops to the front, thinking that Russia wouldn’t fire on them out of fears of starting a war with France? France is a nuclear power. It has a limited nuclear arsenal (mostly consisting of four ballistic missile submarines).

  So France might believe it can deter Russia from advancing.

  But Russia has already targeted French “mercenaries” in a missile strike some months back (they were likely Ukrainian and Russian members of the French Foreign Legion). And Russia has warned France that it will attack French soldiers if it sends them to Ukraine.

  Remember, Putin doesn’t bluff. But it’s not just France suggesting a willingness to send troops to Ukraine.

  Countdown to Nuclear War

  I’ve been warning about the dangers of escalation since the U.S. committed itself to Ukraine’s defense. Unfortunately, it’s playing out exactly as I predicted.

  On 60 Minutes last night, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, “We can’t let Ukraine fall because if it does, then there’s a significant likelihood that America will have to get into the conflict — not simply with our money, but with our servicewomen and our servicemen.”

  Ukraine’s going to fall, one way or the other. It might not be this year or even next year, although those are possibilities. But it will happen.

  If Jeffries is correct that the U.S. will commit its military to confront Russia directly, then we’re signing ourselves up for a nuclear war because that’s where military confrontation will ultimately lead.

  Every major simulated war game between the U.S. and Russia ends up going nuclear in the end.

  Are we really prepared for that?

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 19:55

• RFK Jr Challenges Trump To Debate At Libertarian Convention
  RFK Jr Challenges Trump To Debate At Libertarian Convention

  Hoping to exploit their overlapping appearance commitments, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr on Tuesday challenged Donald Trump to a debate at the Libertarian Party’s national convention this month, saying it represents “perfect neutral territory.” 

  Playing to Trump’s ego, Kennedy’s invitation started off with an expression of gratitude to the former president for spotlighting major media’s “rigged polling” against Trump.  “We have this concern too,” said Kennedy in a lengthy post on X, saying Democrat-aligned pollsters use deceptive methods that result in them “pretending” Kennedy is languishing in the single digits. 

  

  Kennedy then shared the results of his campaign’s own taking of America’s electoral pulse: 

  This is why we did our own poll with Zogby — the largest and most accurate poll of this election cycle. We had Zogby ask about head-to-head matchups. (1) You versus President Biden. (2) Me versus President Biden. (3) Me versus you. The results? You beat President Biden handily. I crush him as well, by even more. And against each other, I beat you in a nail-biter.

  In a three-way, you are ahead but I’m coming up strong. Two new polls (CNN and Quinnipiac) have me above the 15% debate threshold. Another (Activote) has me at 26% among young voters. And you and I are tied among America’s 70 million Independents.

  It wasn’t all flattery: Kennedy also slid in a shot at Trump’s policies, saying many of the former president’s supporters are backing Kennedy this time, saying they’re “upset that you blew up the deficit, shut down their businesses during Covid, and filled your administration with swamp creatures.”

  Dear President Trump,

  I’m grateful to you for calling attention to the rigged polling methodologies that biased DNC-influenced media have used against you. We have this concern too, and I’m happy to show you the deceptive methodologies used by DNC-allied pollsters who pretend…

  — Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 7, 2024

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  Citing a previous Trump statement that he’d be open to sparring with Kennedy if his poll numbers were decent, Kennedy said he meets that threshold, saying “I’m the only presidential candidate in history who has polled ahead of both major party candidates in head-to-head races.” 

  While the Libertarian Party has not yet issued a statement, Kennedy said he checked with party leadership and said “they are game” for a showdown. For now, Kennedy is scheduled to speak on Friday, May 24; Trump, on Saturday, May 25. 

  Meanwhile, Libertarian Party activist, podcaster and comedian Dave Smith — who’d been regarded by many as an ideal 2024 flag-bearer before he opted against running — offered to dive in on the action: 

  If the LP nominee isn’t decided yet, I’ll gladly jump in this debate and represent the @LPNational I’m also happy to debate RFK 1 vs 1 if Trump doesn’t accept. https://t.co/7N3reNusXy

  — Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith) May 7, 2024 

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  The party’s announcement last week that Trump would appear at the convention spawned a debate among party faithful that’s still simmering on social media. Some think his appearance will bring welcome publicity to the Libertarian Party, and demonstrate the party’s eagerness to engage in discourse with those they aren’t aligned with. Some of the more conspiracy-minded opponents say the move manifests a scheme to throw the election to Trump. 

  Earlier this year, Kennedy had considered pursuing the Libertarian Party nomination — and tapping its turnkey, 50-state ballot access — before announcing he’d remain an independent. He’s been gradually announcing his qualification on various state ballots; recently, the list has grown to include California, and the battleground state of Michigan. 

  The fact that RFK and Trump feel the need to win over Libertarian voters is historic and will drive significantly more attention to the party than it has ever received.

  And none of it would have happened without the @LPMisesCaucus takeover.

  — Liam McCollum (@MLiamMcCollum) May 7, 2024

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  Wary of his wild card role in what’s shaping up as a tight race, both the Republican and Democratic parties have been taking shots at Kennedy in recent weeks, and Democrats have assembled a lawfare machine to thwart his ballot access.  

  Speaking to the press last week, Kennedy challenged Biden to take a “No Spoiler Pledge.” The far-fetched yet entertaining idea: Biden and Kennedy would sponsor a mid-October poll, and Biden would drop out if he did worse than RFK Jr in a head-to-head scenario. He said that, unlike Biden, Trump “is not a spoiler because he actually can win.” 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 19:35

• Democrats Join Republicans To Block Greene's Bid To Oust Speaker Johnson
  Democrats Join Republicans To Block Greene’s Bid To Oust Speaker Johnson

  By Joseph Lord of Epoch Times

  

  The House of Representatives on May 8 overwhelmingly voted to block a measure to strip House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) of the gavel advanced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.).

  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) forced a vote on a motion to vacate after meeting with the speaker twice this week to discuss her grievances and demands.

  House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) then offered a measure to table Ms. Greene’s motion to vacate. Democrats joined Republicans to approve its shelving in a 359 to 43 vote. 11 Republicans voted to move forward with the ouster attempt.

  BREAKING — THE HOUSE has resoundingly tabled a motion to oust @SpeakerJohnson

  359-43

  R
  196Y
  11N

  D
  163Y
  32N

  — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 8, 2024

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  House Democrat leaders had earlier pledged to help protect Mr. Johnson in the event of Ms. Greene’s ouster vote, citing his help in passing $95 billion foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific.

  Speaking on the House floor during what was intended to be the final vote of the week, Ms. Greene unleashed a litany of complaints against Mr. Johnson.

  She received a loud “boo” from members present when she brought the resolution to the floor.

  The Georgia lawmaker was accompanied by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of two Republicans who openly expressed support for the measure.

  Mr. Johnson has previously denounced Ms. Greene’s attempt to oust him, calling it a “dangerous gambit.”

  “I think it’s wrong for the Republican Party. I think it’s wrong for the institution,” he said last week.

  Ms. Greene, on the House floor, cited a series of alleged conservative failures by Mr. Johnson, alleging that he had “aided and abetted the Biden administration in destroying our country.”

  The other wild thing about this statement is that Trump floats that he may support ousting @SpeakerJohnson but not now!

  “We’re not in a position on voting on a motion to vacate. At some point, we may very well be, but this is not the time.” https://t.co/wxbG79xBsL

  — Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 8, 2024

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  These included his move to allow a vote on a motion to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) from the lower chamber, marking the first time in U.S. history that a member has been expelled before a conviction for a crime.

  Ms. Greene also cited his move to pass a 1,000-page, $1.2 trillion government funding package after giving lawmakers less than 48 hours to consider it, as required by internal rules.

  The Georgia Republican also noted that Mr. Johnson’s move to pass billions in foreign aid for Ukraine came without any demands on border security, effectively yielding any leverage Republicans had over the issue.

  Additionally, she noted Mr. Johnson’s crucial vote to kill a warrant requirement for the reauthorization of a controversial surveillance power.

  More in the full developing report at Epoch Times

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 19:20

• Office Tower Turmoil In NYC Worsens Ahead Of Trillion Dollar Maturity Wall 
  Office Tower Turmoil In NYC Worsens Ahead Of Trillion Dollar Maturity Wall 

  A combination of factors, including remote work, an exodus of progressive cities, higher interest rates for longer, and diminished credit availability, continues to pressure the office tower market nationwide. The latest example of challenges facing the $20 trillion commercial real estate market comes from New York City.

  Bloomberg reports that the $400 million loan backing 1440 Broadway, a 25-story tower at the corner of Broadway and 40th Street in Midtown Manhattan, has fallen into delinquent status.

  

  The loan was bundled into commercial mortgage-backed security called JPMCC 2021-1440. 

  

  “One of the loans responsible for this meaningful month-over-month increase was the $399 million 1440 Broadway loan securitized in JPMCC 2021-1440,” JPMorgan analysts led by Chong Sin, Terrell Bobb and John Sim wrote in a note to clients. 

  The analysts said the deal sponsors “failed to pay the loan’s balloon payment last month, and now the loan is considered non-performing matured.”

  According to JPM data, the serious delinquency rate for office loans hit 7% in April, the highest level since the first half of 2017. 

  

  1440 Broadway has been plagued with a drop in office space demand. One of its largest tenants, WeWork, downsized after declaring bankruptcy in late 2023. Another top tenant, Macy’s, has struggled with sliding foot traffic because of fewer office workers in the city. On top of this, the high-interest rate environment has pushed up the cost of financing. 

  Here’s additional color of the property from JPM: 

  “… The property’s two largest tenants at securitization, WeWork and Macy’s, have presented significant challenges to the continued performance of this loan. At securitization, these two tenants accounted for 70% of the property’s rental income. However, Macy’s vacated the property at the end of its lease term in January 2024. WeWork declared bankruptcy earlier this year but has worked with the property’s sponsors to amend the terms of its lease. WeWork negotiated a 40% decrease in rent as it is now expected to pay just $44 psf for its space in the building as opposed to the $73.26 it was originally paying. WeWork will gradually pay more for its space as the amended lease terms do include steps up in rent. Additionally, WeWork was able to shorten the length of its lease. WeWork’s lease was originally intended to end in 2035 but is now expected to end in 2028. We estimate that the property’s occupancy rate is now at 58% and a 52% decline in gross rental income from the prior year.”

  

  Looking at citywide office occupancy trends, card-swipe data from Katle Systems shows below 50%, an ominous sign office workers aren’t returning in droves. 

  

  The CRE mess is far from over. In fact, it is a rolling disaster, with the real fireworks coming later this year if interest rates remain elevated. 

  In a recent note, we cited Mortgage Bankers Association data showing that $929 billion—20% of the $4.7 trillion total—in commercial mortgages held by lenders and investors are due later this year. The figure is up 28% from 2023 and inflated by amendments and extensions from prior years. Nevertheless, borrowers must now bite the bullet and pay up or default.

  

  Remember that surging CRE defaults risk triggering hundreds of small regional bank failures. We warned about this in a March note titled “$1 Trillion In 2024 CRE Maturities Could Lead To Hundreds Of Bank Failures.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 18:55

• 500 Individuals Recount Discrimination, Sexual Harassment At FDIC In New 200-Page Report
  500 Individuals Recount Discrimination, Sexual Harassment At FDIC In New 200-Page Report

  Authored by Andrew Moran via The Epoch Times,

  The Federal Deposit Insurance (FDIC) failed to provide its employees a safe workplace free from “sexual harassment, discrimination, and other interpersonal misconduct,” a new report released on Tuesday concluded.

  

  Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), testifies before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington on Nov. 15, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

  The more than 200-page report, produced by law firm Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, was ordered by the bank regulator. The independent review was overseen by the Special Committee of the FDIC Board of Directors after The Wall Street Journal published scathing reports identifying an objectionable work climate and misogynistic culture described as a “sexualized boys’ club environment.”

  More than 500 individuals recounted their experiences of discrimination, sexual harassment, and “other interpersonal misconduct” they endured at the FDIC.

  Heads of field and regional offices managed their offices like “fiefdoms” while commissioned bank examiners “controlled the destinies of junior examiners,” the report explained.

  “Those who reported expressed fear, sadness, and anger at what they had to endure,” the report stated.

  “Many had never reported their experiences to anyone before, while others who had reported internally were left disappointed by the FDIC’s response.”

  In one example, a female examiner received a photo of a senior FDIC examiner’s private parts and was recommended by others to “stay away from him because he had a ’reputation.’”

  One employee feared for her safety after a co-worker stalked her and repeatedly shared “unwelcome sexualized text messages that feature partially naked women engaging in sexual acts.”

  Women in a field office explained that their supervisor regularly talked about their breasts, legs, and sex life.

  Others noted that colleagues and supervisors would mock personnel with disabilities, calling one “Pirate McNasty,” and demoralize workers from underrepresented groups by telling them they were “token” employees hired to fill quotas.

  “These incidents, and many others like them, did not occur in a vacuum,” the report stated. “They arose within a workplace culture that is ’misogynistic,‘ ’patriarchal,‘ ’insular,‘ and ’outdated‘—a ’good ol’ boys’ club where favoritism is common, wagons are circled around managers, and senior executives with well-known reputations for pursuing romantic relations with subordinates enjoy long careers without any apparent consequence.”

  The investigation also uncovered prevalent retaliation against workers who complained about the misconduct, which helped foster a toxic work environment.

  “Employees are not encouraged to provide feedback and suggestions up the line, in particular if it is bad news,” one witness said.

  “In fact, employees, such as myself, have been retaliated against for providing suggestions for improvement after having been requested for such feedback.”

  Others, according to the report, were unsure or did not know how to report complaints.

  ‘Very Sorry’

  Mr. Gruenberg told agency staff that the report presented “a sobering look inside our workplace” and expressed that he was “very sorry” for overseeing a hostile environment.

  “I want to also thank everyone who shared their experiences throughout this process. I know that doing so was difficult,” the FDIC chief said. “To anyone who experienced sexual harassment or other misconduct at the FDIC, I again want to express how very sorry I am. I also want to apologize for any shortcomings on my part.”

  “As Chairman, I am ultimately responsible for everything that happens at our agency, including our workplace culture,” he added.

  Implementing “meaningful and sustained change” will not be easy, Mr. Gruenberg said to employees.

  

  The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) seal is shown outside its headquarters in Washington on March 14, 2023. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo)

  The recommendations outlined in the report will be incorporated into the FDIC’s ongoing 13-page action plan. Additionally, the FDIC is still actively finding a transformation monitor and independent third-party expert to help adopt the Special Review Committee’s recommendations.

  Special committee co-chair Jonathan McKernan called the report “an important first step” toward ushering in change at the FDIC.

  “Today’s report establishes the urgent imperative of a cultural transformation at the FDIC led by those with the leadership capacity to effectuate that change,” Mr. McKernan said in a statement. “Fostering an environment that promotes a safe, respectful, and inclusive workplace is fundamental to achieving the agency’s mission.”

  An apology is not enough for Patrick McHenry, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, who demanded Mr. Gruenberg’s resignation.

  “It’s time for Chair Gruenberg to step aside. The independent report released today details his inexcusable behavior and makes clear new leadership is needed at the FDIC,” Mr. McHenry said in a statement.

  He added that committee Republicans will ensure the FDIC head and other senior leaders are “held accountable” for their actions.

  

   

  Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) speaks to the press after meeting President Joe Biden to discuss the debt limit at the White House in Washington on May 22, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

   

  Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton was not asked, nor did it determine, if Mr. Gruenberg and other individuals at the federal agency should be removed or disciplined.

  ‘Toxic Atmosphere’ at FDIC

  Late last year, The Wall Street Journal published two in-depth reports. The first was“Strip Clubs, Lewd Photos and a Boozy Hotel: The Toxic Atmosphere at Bank Regulator FDIC,” and the second was “FDIC Chair, Known for Temper, Ignored Bad Behavior in Workplace.”

  The article listed claims by employees, past and present, that bullying, discrimination, and sexual misconduct were pervasive at the FDIC.

  Many cases of inappropriate conduct listed in the article were met with little or no disciplinary action.

  Following the newspaper’s published investigation, Mr. Gruenberg said he had been unaware of the allegations and rejected calls from Republicans to step down.

  Later, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FDIC chief maintained “a reputation for bullying and for having an explosive temper.” At least one probe was initiated against Mr. Gruenberg after berating a female employee while serving as the vice chairman.

  Mr. Gruenberg told lawmakers at a Senate Banking Committee hearing that he was “personally disturbed and deeply troubled” by the article’s findings, adding that the agency launched a “comprehensive review” of the situation.

  Following the report, several Republican senators demanded his resignation over workplace misconduct allegations.

  Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) urged Mr. Gruenberg to step down so that “a new chair can restore the professional culture at the FDIC that the American people expect from its institutions.”

  In a Dec. 7 letter, Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) called the accusations “deeply disturbing and unacceptable at any workplace.”

  “According to these reports, both you and your top deputies ‘have been involved in decisions over high-level examples of alleged sexism, harassment, and racial discrimination in which the agency didn’t take a hard line with individuals accused of misconduct,’ allowing the culture of harassment and discrimination to persist and flourish,” the letter added.

  The bombshell Wall Street Journal reports came three years after the FDIC’s inspector general discovered multiple sexual harassment complaints and issued more than a dozen recommendations to change the workplace culture.

  Mr. Gruenberg joined the FDIC Board of Directors in August 2005. In 2011, then-President Barack Obama nominated him to a full five-year term as chairman. In 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Mr. Gruenberg to another term.

  Should Mr. Gruenberg step down or be removed from his position, FDIC Vice Chair Travis Hill would take over, and the board would be split between Republicans and Democrats.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/08/2024 – 18:35

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Yes, The Constitution Does Matter… A Lot
  Yes, The Constitution Does Matter… A Lot

  Authored by Rob Natelson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Most of my columns for this newspaper relate to the Constitution. A common reaction among some readers—both in the online “comments” section and in direct correspondence—is that I’m wasting my time because the Constitution doesn’t matter any more. It’s irrelevant.

  I have spent most of the past 30 years working in constitutional law. I think I know something about the subject. And I can report to you that the Constitution, while wounded in a few places, is mostly alive and well. This column will explain why the Constitution still matters—and matters very much.

  

  Confusing Exceptions for the Rule

  Let’s begin with a stock market analogy:

  Over time, the price of a publicly traded company tends to follow (among other factors) the company’s earnings and projected earnings. Similarly, the valuation of the market as a whole tends to follow corporate earnings and projected earnings.

  If earnings and projected earnings drop in a way unlikely to be remedied soon, then the price of stock generally falls. If they rise in a way that does not appear to be a fluke, the price of stock generally rises.

  But this is not always so; sometimes there are exceptions. In other words, sometimes stock prices rise or fall without regard to earnings or projected earnings.

  When deviations persist for any amount of time, self-promoting pundits claim that “the rules have changed” and “earnings don’t matter any more.” People who believe them irrationally buy stock (causing a bubble) or irrationally dump it (panic selling). And when the market corrects—as it always does—those people get nailed.

  Their mistake is in thinking that an exception to the rule (a one-time bump or slump) is the rule itself.

  Most of us get our image of constitutional law from mainstream media reports of rare and controversial cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  But as in the stock market analogy, reliance on these reports leads people to mistake (purported) exceptions for the rule.

  The media reports about the highly publicized cases are often wrong or distorted.

  More importantly, the highly publicized cases represent only a small fraction of the controversies the Supreme Court resolves (often unanimously) upon accepted constitutional principles … and all of the Supreme Court’s cases together are only a small fraction of the disputes resolved by lower appeals courts—also upon accepted constitutional principles … and the cases resolved by lower appeals courts represent only a small fraction of those decided by the trial courts … and the cases decided by the trial courts are only a small fraction of those settled by the parties out of court … and the settled disputes are only a small fraction of the questions answered daily by constitutional lawyers in the normal course of business.

  So the public’s perception of the Constitution and constitutional law is being formed by (1) often-erroneous media reports on (2) a small fraction of (3) a small fraction of (4) a small fraction of (5) a small fraction of (6) a small fraction of constitutional decisions!

  You simply cannot reach conclusions about the Constitution’s viability based on such a tiny and mis-reported sample.

  Another Reason Some Think the Constitution Doesn’t Matter

  Another common mistake is expecting the Constitution to do too much. People angry that the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, for example, seem to believe that because they favor legal abortion, the Constitution must require it. There is an opposing group who believe that because abortion is evil, the Constitution must prohibit it. In fact, as the late great Justice Antonin Scalia remarked, the Constitution says nothing at all about abortion. It is an issue left to be resolved by other means.

  The Constitution was not designed to solve all human problems, nor could any man-made document ever do so. Even if every clause in the instrument were enforced quickly and perfectly, life still would be marred by foolish laws, unfair conditions, political and economic mistakes, and other human failings.

  Mistakes in Interpretation

  Sometimes an official mistake in applying the Constitution leads people to think the document doesn’t matter. But this also is wrong.

  For one thing, misinterpretations can be corrected over time. During the mid-20th century, the Supreme Court misinterpreted the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment by giving insufficient protection to freedom of religion. Since the 1980s, however, the court has been correcting its mistakes, and its freedom-of-religion law is now much closer to that envisioned by the Founders.

  Additionally, some mistakes result in the Constitution mattering even more than originally intended. One of my recent columns discussed the Supreme Court’s latest case on the Fifth Amendment “Takings Clause.” I wrote that the justices probably erred in applying the Takings Clause against a local government.

  But does that mean the Constitution is irrelevant? Of course not. Without the Constitution, there would be no Takings Clause at all. It is far better that the clause be too broad than non-existent.

  Here’s a more controversial illustration: When Sen. Barack Obama campaigned for the presidency, many people claimed he was not constitutionally qualified because he is not a natural born citizen.

  My own view, after examining the factual and legal evidence, is that President Obama is natural born. But whether or not that is true, think of why we had that discussion. We had that discussion because the Constitution requires the president to be natural born. If the Constitution didn’t matter, there would be no reason to debate the issue.

  And there would have been no reason for President Obama to produce a birth certificate (however disputed) showing that he was born in Hawaii.

  What If the Constitution Really Didn’t Matter?

  Let’s look at it another way. Suppose it were true that the Constitution didn’t matter—that the only important thing was what our masters in the “woke” establishment decided. In that event:

  • The Supreme Court would not be enforcing the First Amendment, so religious people would be under severe constraints and this newspaper would not exist.

  • If the government took your land, you would be paid nothing.

  • You could not own a gun.

  • The presidential term could be any length set by whoever was in power. Same for congressional terms.

  • President Obama could have run for a third term in 2016. And a fourth in 2020. And a fifth in 2024. (Assuming he remains influential in the Biden administration, that’s not the same as being president.)

  • Donald Trump would not have been elected president in 2016. But because the Constitution features an institution known as the Electoral College—and because the Constitution matters—he became president.

  • In fact, he probably would be in jail. But because the Constitution requires due process and because the Constitution matters, he is free and running for president again.

  • Greta Thunberg, environmental enfant terrible, could be president even though (1) she is not a native-born American (she is Swedish), and (2) she is only 21 years old.

  • And if the Constitution didn’t matter, we probably would not have elections at all—even imperfect ones. Yet we continue to do so, year after year, because the Constitution requires it. And in the overwhelming majority of cases, the certified results reflect the election’s actual results.

  I could go on. Suffice to say that without the Constitution, America would be an entirely different place.

  Why the Inaccuracy Is Dangerous

  The inaccurate view that the Constitution doesn’t matter can have dangerous consequences. If we accept that view, then no one is bound to anything in the document. We have no legal basis for protest when an election has been corrupted or even canceled.

  If we believe “the Constitution doesn’t matter,” then we have no positive law basis for complaining about loss of rights to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, keeping and bearing arms, property—or any of the other hundreds of rights and rules we take for granted in daily life.

  Ideally, we should not take those rights and rules for granted. But on a day-to-day basis we are able to do so precisely because the Constitution matters so much.

  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
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 23:40

• These Are The Countries With The Most Students Studying Abroad
  These Are The Countries With The Most Students Studying Abroad

  The world’s two most populous nations, China and India, have the highest numbers of students studying overseas.

  Statista’s Anna Fleck reports that, according to data published by UNESCO, more than one million Chinese students were studying abroad in 2021. India’s total was close to half of this, with around 508,000 students living in other countries.

  Following some way behind come Vietnam, Germany and Uzbekistan.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The United States was the largest destination country for students studying abroad with over 833,000 there in 2021. It was followed by the United Kingdom (nearly 601,000), Australia (around 378,000), Germany (over 376,000) and Canada (nearly 318,000).

  This data was published as part of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) 2024 World Migration Report, which provides an overview of the global state of migration using the latest available data, published Tuesday. This ranges from data on asylum seekers fleeing war to economic migrants seeking labor opportunities, and as this chart shows, to students living abroad.

  According to the report, the total number of internationally mobile students has been on the rise over the last two decades. UNESCO data reveals that where 2.2 million students were studying abroad in 2001, that figure had climbed to 6.39 million students in 2021.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 23:20

• Wisconsin Voter Roll Transparency Challenged By Public Interest Legal Foundation
  Wisconsin Voter Roll Transparency Challenged By Public Interest Legal Foundation

  Authored by Steven Kovac via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Public access to Wisconsin’s state voter roll is too restricted and too expensive, according to the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), a national election integrity watchdog organization.

  

  To remedy the situation, PILF is suing the Badger State’s chief election official, Meagan Wolfe, to reduce the $12,500 price for a digital copy of the state voter roll and to force her to provide the year of birth of the registrants on purchased data.

  Wisconsinite Peter Bernegger, a computer analyst from the election integrity organization Election Watch, told The Epoch Times that the $12,500 fee is a hardship and a deterrent for every grassroots watchdog group trying to keep regular tabs on Wisconsin’s “bloated and often inaccurate state voter roll.”

  A Federal Election Assistance Commission report found that, of the 622,370 address confirmation notices mailed to Wisconsin registrants between Jan. 1, 2021, and Dec. 31, 2022, 299,490 were returned as undeliverable.

  Like Election Watch, PILF uses state election roll data to analyze the activities and programs of state and local election officials to ensure the rolls are kept current and accurate according to law.

  In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court Western District of Wisconsin on April 30, 2024, PILF attorneys produced evidence in which the Wisconsin Election Commission (WEC) acknowledged on its website that effective and accurate public evaluation of its voter list maintenance activities is impossible because the public does not have access to date of birth information.

  Year of birth information is a key tool in confirming duplicate names on the voter list and eliminating ineligible registrations.

  Despite its acknowledgment, WEC is still refusing to provide PILF with the requested year of birth information in alleged violation of the National Voting Rights Act of 1993 (NVRA).

  The act requires states to “make available for public inspection and, where available photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.”

  WEC has repeatedly claimed that Wisconsin has been exempt from NVRA since it became law in 1993 because, before the statutory cut-off date of Aug. 1, 1994, the state had a same-day voter registration program in place that allowed all voters to register on Election Day.

  At the time, Wisconsin and six other states received NVRA exemptions for either having no voter registration at all or having same-day registration.

  North Dakota still has no voter registration for state and federal elections.

  According to the complaint, the year of birth data on the roll is a record subject to the NVRA’s public disclosure provision because, as noted above, the act says “all” election records must be made available for public inspection.

  PILF contends that, even though the privacy of the year of birth information is protected by Wisconsin statute, state law must give way to federal law because of the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

  Prohibitive Fee An Obstacle

  Ms. Wolfe’s refusal to turn over the year of birth data and a digital copy of the state voter roll at a reasonable price is seen by PILF as an obstacle to Congress’ objectives outlined in the NVRA.

  

  Congress declared that one of the purposes of NVRA is to protect the integrity of the electoral process and to ensure that accurate and current voter registration rolls are maintained.

  Because it is purportedly exempted from the NVRA, Wisconsin is not required to make all voter list maintenance records public, nor is it required to limit records production fees to the cost of photocopying.

  PILF attorneys assert that Wisconsin’s NVRA exemption “is invalid with respect to the law’s public disclosure provision.”

  They cite the principle of equal state sovereignty, as affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder (2013), as a precedent to support their argument.

  “Because the NVRA’s Public Disclosure Provision exists to further the NVRA’s purposes and aid in its enforcement” it is as equally relevant to Wisconsin as it is to other states.

  “Congress designed the NVRA to protect the fundamental right to vote, remove unfair registration laws, protect the integrity of the electoral process, and maintain accurate voter rolls,” the complaint said.

  Wisconsin Should Not Be Exempt

  PILF argued that the injuries Congress sought to remedy by passing the NVRA are “equally prevalent” in Wisconsin as in other states.

  According to PILF, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Shelby County decision reaffirmed that all states enjoy equal sovereignty and that if Congress treats states differently, the differential treatment must be “sufficiently related to the problem [the statute] targets” and must “make sense in light of current conditions.”

  PILF is asking the Federal District Court to order, the defendant, Meagan Wolfe, to produce the Official Registration List to the foundation in electronic format without the payment of “unlawful costs.”

  In a written statement, PILF President J. Christian Adams said: “No state should be exempt from transparency. All states should be treated equally under the law and no exemption should allow certain election officials to hide documents relating to voter list maintenance activities.

  “This lawsuit is the first step to bringing the National Voter Registration Act’s transparency requirements to all 50 states.”

  Ms. Wolfe did not respond to a request for comment, but WEC spokesman Riley Vetterkind referred The Epoch Times to Wisconsin statutes that Ms. Wolfe is relying on as justification for her denial.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 23:00

• India Leads Global Inbound Remittances
  India Leads Global Inbound Remittances

  India received by far the highest international remittances of any country worldwide in 2022, according to World Bank data published in the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) 2024 World Migration Report on Tuesday. International remittances are defined as money sent from workers living abroad to their home countries. 

  Additionally, as Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, it is also the first country ever to have passed the $100 billion mark for inbound remittances. India was trailed some way behind by Mexico ($61.1 billion), which had toppled China ($51 billion) from the second position in 2021.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The majority of the inflows for France and Germany, which appear in rank 5 and 10, respectively, are not household transfers but “relate to salaries of cross-border workers who work in Switzerland while residing in France or Germany”, according to the report.

  In terms of the top sources of international remittances, the United States ($79.15 billion in 2022), Saudi Arabia ($39.35 billion), Switzerland ($31.91 billion), Germany ($25.60 billion) and China ($18.26 billion) are the biggest senders.

  The UAE’s data was not published this year by the World Bank but would usually also appear in the top 10 list.

  According to the IOM, 2022 marks the first year that remittances have overtaken foreign direct investment in low- and middle-earning countries. International remittances have risen by 650 percent from $128 billion in 2000 to $831 billion in 2022. As with previous years, much of this ($647 billion) was received by low- and middle-income countries. Since the mid-1990s, remittance has also greatly surpassed Official Development Assistance, i.e. government aid designed to “promote the economic development and welfare of developing countries” .

  The writers of the report highlight that the World Bank’s global data on international remittances does not take into account unrecorded flows through formal or informal channels. This means the data provided is likely below the actual figures.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 22:40

• China Remains World's Biggest Jailer Of Journalists: World Press Freedom Index 2024
  China Remains World’s Biggest Jailer Of Journalists: World Press Freedom Index 2024

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

  

  As May 3 marked World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released its 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

  China ranked near the bottom—172nd among 180 countries and regions—while maintaining its title from the previous year as the world’s biggest jailer of journalists.

  RSF, the Paris-based international non-governmental organization dedicated to safeguarding freedom of information, said in the report that “in addition to detaining more journalists than any other country in the world,” the Chinese communist regime “continues to exercise strict control over information channels, implementing censorship and surveillance policies to regulate online content and restrict the spread of information deemed to be sensitive or contrary to the party line.”

  RSF also pointed out in the report that “China is the world’s largest jailer of journalists, with more than 100 currently detained.”

  Compared with last year’s ranking of 179th—second last place—China’s ranking this year has increased. However, the report indicated that the only reason for this slight upward movement in the rankings is the deterioration of situations in other countries and regions, such as in the Taliban controlled Afghanistan, rather than any improvement in China.

  The press freedom ranking of Hong Kong—which is controlled by the Chinese regime—this year has also increased slightly, to 135th place, which is higher than its 140th position in 2023. However, its freedom score dropped 1.8 points from last year’s 44.86 “due to an increase in the persecution of journalists under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020,” says the report. RSF explained, “Some countries’ rises in the Index are misleading inasmuch as their scores fell and the Index rises were the result of falls by countries previously above them.”

  Over 100 Chinese Writers Jailed

  Meanwhile, New York’s PEN America released its Freedom to Write Index 2023.

  The report, released on May 1, pointed out that China also remains the world’s leading jailer of writers and public intellectuals. “In 2023, China jumped above 100 cases, jailing 6 writers during the year for a total of 107. Of the total number of writers, 9 are female.”

  Among the 107 writers imprisoned, 50 were online commentators who post their opinions on a range of social, political, and economic topics on social media platforms. The report said that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) uses the vague charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” to arrest and imprison them.

  

  Canada-based journalist and writer Sheng Xue told The Epoch Times on May 4 that the numbers published by these international organizations are just the few leaked out to the outside world under the CCP’s tight control of information.

  “No one knows how many journalists in China have been persecuted to death, how many have been secretly arrested, sentenced, persecuted, and tortured,“ Ms. Sheng said. ”The entire system of the CCP is a state-terrorist regime, which means not only the central committee of the CCP is an autocratic and authoritarian system, [but] all levels of its power operate the same as a dictatorial and tyrannical regime. Therefore, it is impossible for the outside world to know many incidents. It is difficult to collect statistics. To be honest, even [CCP leader] Xi Jinping does not know.”

  “I believe China is definitely the country where press freedom and freedom of speech are most severely persecuted in the world,” Ms. Sheng added. “Its political system enables it to reach such an extent.”

  Lai Jianping, a Chinese human rights lawyer who currently resides in the United States, told The Epoch Times on May 4 that press freedom and freedom of speech in China, including Hong Kong, are actually declining and deteriorating.

  “The reason why the CCP continues to tighten its control over speech is mainly because it is facing increasingly profound and unprecedented political, social, and economic crises. Its ruling status is threatened, and it wants to maintain one-party dictatorship and one-man dictatorship. Therefore, it continues to strengthen its control over all aspects of social life. So [suppressing] freedom of speech and freedom of the press are top priorities for the CCP and are the most important aspects of social life that it needs to control.”

  Chinese Citizen Journalists

  Chinese citizen journalists have also been targets of the Chinese regime’s suppression and persecution.

  Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan was sentenced to four years in prison for reporting the truth about the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan in 2020. Her sentence will be completed on May 13. RSF urges the international community to pay attention and put pressure on Beijing so that she can fully regain her freedom in a press release last month. Ms. Zhang was the winner of the RSF’s 2021 Prize for Courage.

  

  Wuhan citizen journalist Fang Bin has been released from prison for a year but continues to face harassment by CCP authorities. Currently, he faces eviction while his electricity and water have been cut off at his residence, as Wuhan police pressure his landlord. He may soon be forced to live on the streets.

  During the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan in February 2020, Mr. Fang posted his video reports on social media revealing the massive number of deaths at that time, which attracted widespread international attention. Later, he was arrested by the local police and sentenced to three years’ prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.”

  

  Mr. Lai said, “Citizen journalists are a basic link in the entire freedom of press [ecosystem]. Not only the [Chinese] official media and official journalists’ freedom of speech and press freedom are suppressed, but private citizen journalists are also suppressed, and even more seriously.”

  He added, “There are fewer and fewer areas in which they can report and intervene, and there is almost no space for them. Because the CCP wants to monopolize the entire discourse system and right to discourse, there is basically no room for citizen journalists to survive.”

  Ms. Sheng said that at this point, “there are no citizen journalists in China any more. When we talk about freedom of press, freedom of speech, media freedom, etc. in China, the Communist Party has given us the best answer—it has already declared that the media is the CCP’s mouthpiece.”

  Luo Ya and Fang Xiao contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 22:20

• MQ-9 Reaper Drone, At $30 Million A Pop, Top's Zelensky's Wish List
  MQ-9 Reaper Drone, At $30 Million A Pop, Top’s Zelensky’s Wish List

  Because it’s never enough… Ukraine is now eyeing the US-made MQ-9 Reaper even while Kiev awaits F-16 deliveries from the West.

  It is the latest long-range weapon system being sought by the Zelensky government. Politico has reported that the $30 million drone has moved to the top of Kiev’s arms shopping ‘wish list’.

  

  “Ukraine is increasingly interested in obtaining the MQ-9 Reaper spy drone from the U.S., bumping it up to the top of its wish list in recent months as it plans operations for the summer and seeks new ways to help identify Russian targets deep behind the front lines,” the report indicates.

  “Since the early days of the war, the Reaper has been a priority for Kyiv as it sought to use them for strike and surveillance missions,” Politico continues. “But recently, Ukraine has dialed back that request and is mainly interested in using Reapers only for reconnaissance, according to four people familiar with the issue who were granted anonymity to discuss the new strategy.”

  Ukrainian officials who now claim the Reaper would be used “only for reconnaissance” appear to in reality to be creating political cover for the Biden administration. US officials might otherwise be fearful of the risks.

  At $30 million a piece, the MQ-9 would be a prime target for the Russians to shoot down. In 2023 the Pentagon lost a Reaper over the Black Sea after an encounter with Russian fighter jets. A jet dumbed its fuel on the drone, after which the drone crashed, and later the Russian navy recovered the wreckage.

  The Pentagon has also lost three MQ-9 drones over Yemen and the Red Sea of late. A deep reluctance to see them shot down over Ukraine is likely a main reason the US is still holding back. The drone is typically equipped with expensive Hellfire missiles and other advanced defense tech.

  But, the Biden administration has more recently seemed to back off its prior insistence that Ukraine not strike inside Russian territory…

  Kirby says “if Russia is worried to be hit by western weapons they should just leave.”
  pic.twitter.com/ioLbfrw3Ae

  — The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) May 7, 2024

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

  Already Ukraine forces are newly receiving the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has the longest range of anything supplied from Washington thus far.

  Meanwhile, UK leadership is positively encouraging strikes deep inside Russian territory. This has elicited a strong response from Moscow who has also stepped up its aerial attack especially on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and military command and control centers, including in Odessa of late.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 22:00

• Trudeau Government Offers Free Access To National Parks For Migrants Only
  Trudeau Government Offers Free Access To National Parks For Migrants Only

  Via The Post Millennial,

  Parks Canada has decided to offer a real break in 2024 for people looking to enjoy some of Canada’s glorious outdoors and backwoods.

  

  But only people who are newcomers and new Canadian citizens. In a Parks Canada post, the federal government agency announced that there will be “Free admission for newcomers to Canada and new Canadian citizens” in 2024. That applies to any park in Canada, from B.C. to Newfound and Labrador and there is no indication that free access is limited.

  Other Canadians will continue to pay $151.25 for a season’s pass for up to seven family members or $75.25 for an individual season’s pass that is good for any federally owned park. A day pass for what is perhaps the best-known national park in Canada – in Banff, AB – is $11 a day.

  Parks Canada lauds the deal on its site under the heading of “Explore spectacular Parks Canada places.”

  “Using the Institute for Canadian Citizenship’s Canoo mobile app, enjoy free admission to all places administered by Parks Canada across the country for one full year.

  “Visit one of Canada’s national historic sites, each telling a unique story to piece together the defining moments in the story of Canada.

  “Get back to nature and unwind amidst the spectacular scenery in Canada’s national parks and marine conservation areas.

  “Celebrate your arrival in Canada or your citizenship with great Canadian experiences. Check out some of the most awesome places in Canada. We look forward to welcoming you!”

  However, Parks Canada does not define its terminology for those getting free access.

  How “new” does a “new Canadian” need to be to be entitled to the deal? By definition, a new Canadian is a “recent immigrant” to Canada. But that is hardly specific.

  And a newcomer to Canada can mean a “permanent resident” who is expecting someday to be a citizen; a refugee, who has been granted that status by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or a “temporary resident,” who can include foreign students or temporary foreign workers.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 21:40

• Romney Cites Anti-Israel Posts As Latest Reason To Ban TikTok
  Romney Cites Anti-Israel Posts As Latest Reason To Ban TikTok

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  In a conversation with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) acknowledged that banning TikTok has such strong support in Congress because the social media platform has hurt Israel’s public relations battle.

  “Some wonder why there was such overwhelming support for us to shut down, potentially, TikTok or other entities of that nature,” Romney said at the McCain Institute this past Friday. “If you look at the postings on TikTok and the number of mentions of Palestinians relative to other social media sites, it’s overwhelmingly so among TikTok broadcasts.”

  Blinken admits that the TikTok ban was motivated by the Israeli PR failure pic.twitter.com/EbPkPtSPP1

  — What the media hides. (@narrative_hole) May 5, 2024

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

  The official justification for targeting TikTok is the thus far unfounded allegation that it’s a Chinese spy tool because its parent company, ByteDance, is based in China.

  But Romney’s comments suggest the real purpose of the renewed push to ban the app after a similar effort failed years ago was to censor news coming out of Gaza and pro-Palestinian content.

  Blinken blamed social media in general when asked by Romney why Israel was losing the global PR war. Palestinian journalists have been able to broadcast to the whole world the atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza using social media, including graphic videos of dead or wounded children being dug out of rubble following an Israeli airstrike.

  “Now, of course, we’re on an intravenous feed of information with new impulses, inputs every millisecond,” Blinken said.

  “And, of course, the way this has played out on social media has dominated the narrative. You have a social media ecosystem, environment in which context, history, facts get lost and the emotion, the impact of images dominate. We can’t discount that, but I think it also has a very very challenging effect on the narrative.”

  A bill to ban TikTok was included in the $95 billion foreign military spending package President Biden signed into law last month. The legislation gives ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, or else it will get banned. But ByteDance has vowed to fight the ban in court and said it would rather shutdown TikTok than sell.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 21:20

• Bad-Loans Hit Record-High As Used-Car Prices Suffer Worst Bear-Market Ever
  Bad-Loans Hit Record-High As Used-Car Prices Suffer Worst Bear-Market Ever

  A bear market in the used car market was confirmed in November and has since worsened through April. At the same time, negative equity values are hitting new record highs while auto insurance rates have soared the most since the mid-1970s. While gas prices at the pump are elevated, the environment to operate a vehicle is probably one of the worst ever. Just listen to Gen-Z and millennial users on X bitch and moan about $1,000 monthly car payments and other absurd costs associated with driving.

  The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index fell to 198.4 in April, a 14% drop from one year ago. This is the index’s lowest print since the first quarter of 2021. As for the bear market, the index is down 23% from the high and quickly falling – there could be air pockets given the rapid upward moves three years ago – and that demand has been suppressed given a high-interest rate environment. 

  

  All vehicle segments of the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index experienced seasonally adjusted prices that were down double digits year over year in April. Luxury was the only segment that was not hit the hardest, down just 12.9%. The worst-performing segment was compact cars, down 17.6% compared with last year, followed by midsize cars, down 16.8%, and pickups, down 15.2%. EVs were down 17.5%.

  

  This is a significant worry for millions of Americans who bought cars during the pandemic mania, which basically involved spending free money provided by the Federal Reserve, only now discovering that their loans are plunging into underwater territory. 

  According to a recent Edmunds note, 20% of new vehicle sales involving a trade-in had negative equity during the October-through-December period—the highest level since 2021. 

  Negative equity values soared to a new record high of $6,064 during the period, a massive 46% increase from late 2021. 

  We warned readers in 2023 about the worsening negative equity situation for heavily indebted drivers: 

  • Negative Equity Surges: More Consumers Find Themselves In Underwater Auto Loans
  • Number Of Americans In Upside-Down Auto Loans Continues To Worsen

  Adding to the financial stress for drivers, there’s also the concern that Joe Biden’s sticky inflation continues to send auto insurance rates to the highest levels since the inflation shitstorm in the mid-1970s. 

  

  We’ve pointed out that ridiculous repair bills for newer vehicles (cough, cough, EVs) are likely the main reason rates are higher. 

  • Rivian Owner Shocked By $41,000 Repair Bill For Minor Damage
  • “Shocking Number”: Rivian Owner Sees $42,000 Repair Bill For Minor Accident

  Right now, drivers are paralyzed as the average used car auto loans tracked by Bankrate surged again – now exceeding 8.5%.

  

  The average new car loan has reached a record high of $40,000. 

  

  In recent months, Joseph Yoon, consumer insights analyst for Edmunds, told Bloomberg: 

  “We’re in this situation where combined with the cost of the vehicles being so high and the interest rates being so historically high, you have a lot of people who are in bad car loans.” 

  To Yoon’s point, the percentage of subprime auto borrowers at least 60 days past due in September topped 6.11%, the highest ever. 

  

  Out of all this gloom and doom for drivers. There’s good news on the inflation front: falling Manheim used car prices will only result in a lower future print for the US CPI Used Car index. 

  

  So the big question is when will the bear market in used car prices bottom? 

  Car owners should certaily not be looking for any bailouts from The Fed anytime soon (or Biden, who is too busy paying off student loans). Higher rates and longer is the theme, no matter the jawboning, with less than two cuts now priced in for the whole of 2024 (down from over seven at the start of the year).

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 20:40

• China's 2022 Military Spending Reaches $710 Billion, Over Triple What Beijing Announced
  China’s 2022 Military Spending Reaches $710 Billion, Over Triple What Beijing Announced

  By Frank Fang of Epoch Times

  China’s communist regime spent $710.6 billion on its military in 2022, more than three times Beijing’s publicly stated totals, according to a report from the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

  “Considering that the Pentagon has labeled China the ‘pacing challenge,’ this revelation should cause concern,” the April 29 report reads.

  “When compared globally, China’s estimated $711 billion military budget illustrates that China is more of a ‘pacing threat’ than a ‘pacing challenge.’”

  Mackenzie Eaglen, a senior fellow at the AEI and the author of the report, explained that she came up with the figure based on her calculation after accounting for economic adjustments, including cheaper labor costs in China, and estimating “reasonable but uncounted expenditures.”

  

  In 2022, the Chinese regime announced that its defense spending for the year would be $229 billion.

  Beijing’s self-reported military spending should also include the money that it spent on its paramilitary organizations, Ms. Eaglen wrote, since these groups “are increasingly used in tandem with” the regime’s military, which is officially called the People’s Liberation Army.

  She estimated that Beijing spent $45.2 billion on its People’s Armed Police Force and $2.1 billion on its China Coast Guard in 2022.

  China doesn’t include other relevant expenditures related to its space forces, military satellites, or counter-space capabilities in its defense budget, according to the report.

  “Given many satellites’ inherent dual-use capability and Beijing’s general adherence to a strategy of military-civil fusion in space policy, AEI’s model counted this entire budget as a military expenditure,” the report reads.

  Ms. Eaglen estimated that China’s space budget in 2022 could have been $21 billion.

  Other hidden expenditures included spending on military demobilization, retirement, and pensions, which the author estimated to total $46.1 billion. China likely spent more than $1.8 billion on continued construction of military facilities in the South China Sea and arms imports, according to the report.

  A portion of the $711 billion spending also included military research and development expenditures, which Ms. Eaglen estimated to be $45.8 billion. However, she noted that the estimated military research and development spending could be much higher, considering the regime’s military-civil fusion (MCF) strategy, cyberespionage operations, and reliance on state-owned companies.

  “If fully evaluated, Beijing’s expenditures via military-civil fusion and dual-use technology investments prove even the much larger $711 billion figure underestimates China’s military investments,” the report reads.

  “Pacing Challenge”

  The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is using the MCF strategy to acquire cutting-edge technologies, such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

  According to the State Department, the regime is implementing the strategy through “licit and illicit means,” such as theft, to achieve military dominance. Private companies, joint research institutes, and academia are “being exploited” to help the CCP’s military advance, often “without their knowledge or consent,” the department warned.

  “In just the past decade, however, China has managed to rapidly build sophisticated missile forces, surpass the United States by building the largest navy in the world, and catch up to and even exceed the United States in many other key national security areas,” the report reads.

  “By calculating the true buying power behind the Chinese military budget, it’s easy to understand how Beijing can continue this unprecedented military buildup while, on paper, appearing to spend much less.”

  In comparison, the United States spent $742.2 billion on its military in 2022, excluding supplemental spending, according to the report.

  However, Ms. Eaglen noted that the approximately equal spending level between the two countries “plays to Beijing’s benefit.”

  Continue reading at the Epoch Times

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 20:20

• Russian Fuel Cargos Pile Up at Sea as South Korean Buyers Grow Cautious
  Russian Fuel Cargos Pile Up at Sea as South Korean Buyers Grow Cautious

  By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

  Russian oil product cargos are piling up at sea as their South Korean buyers grow reluctant to go through with their deals amid a government crackdown on sanction evasion, Bloomberg has reported, citing unnamed sources.

  

  According to Kpler data, there are over 2 million barrels of Russian naphtha sitting off the coast of Oman, which is significantly higher than the weekly average for January and February, which came in at some 790,000 barrels.

  The Bloomberg sources said that the buildup was caused by the South Korean government’s closer scrutiny of incoming fuel cargos, which has made local refiners and petrochemical producers wary of buying Russian naphtha.

  The tightening sanctions on Russia’s oil exports are raising freight costs for moving Russian crude. The estimated direct cost to deliver Russian cargoes now is around 6-8% of the price of a barrel of crude leaving the western ports in Russia for Asia, according to data from commodity price reporting agency Argus crunched by Bloomberg.

  Argus estimated in March that shipping a barrel of Russian crude from a port in the Baltic Sea to China has cost around $14.50 since December, with more than half of this per-barrel cost attributable to the Western sanctions.

  The likely directly related-to-sanction cost to hire tankers to transport Russian oil is estimated at about $773 million since the end of December 2023, based on shipments tracked by Bloomberg.

  Before the war in the Ukraine Russia was the top supplier of naphtha for South Korean petrochemicals makers but the war has changed this, per the Bloomberg report. Now South Korean plastics producers are importing more naphtha from places such as the UAE, Malaysia, Singapore, and Tunisia. South Korean processors are also importing more naphtha from Kuwait and Oman.

  Russia, for its part, is shipping more naphtha to China, according to Kpler, as well as Taiwan. Last month, Russian imports accounted for more than half of the total naphtha shipments that Taiwan took in.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 20:00

• The Marine Corps That Should Have Been
  The Marine Corps That Should Have Been

  Authored by Gary Anderson via RealClearPolitics,

  Say what one wants about the Israeli incursion into Gaza, but not a single rocket or missile has been fired from what is left of it since the start of fighting. Compare this with the relative ineffectiveness of American efforts stop Yemen’s Houthis from slinging missiles at shipping in the Red Sea. The difference is simply geography. The Israelis simply have to cross fencing and concrete barriers to directly confront their attackers, the Palestinians of Hamas.

  

  If U.S. wanted to launch such a large scale punitive operation against the Houthis, it would have to be done from the sea with a large scale amphibious assault. An amphibious assault of this scale, requiring sea borne tanks, assault engineers and bridging capabilities that have been divested by the U.S. Marine Corps. Instead, the Marine Corps is building a defensive force built around anti-ship missiles designed primarily to contain the Chinese Navy.

  This defensive force is a stark departure from former Marine Corps Commandant Al Gray’s vision to modernize the Marine Corps for future wars.

  Back in the 1980s, General Gray had a vision for what he called Over the Horizon (OTH) operations using tilt rotor aircraft, long range helicopters, more capable long-range amphibious vehicles, and air cushioned landing craft. Gray realized that advanced defensive weapons would make traditional linear amphibious operations launched just offshore problematical, but OTH would enable landing in column in places that the enemy did not expect. Gray had the Marine Corps experiment with these capabilities. Throughout the nineties, numerous war games and field experiments took place to explore the physical and intellectual challenges. OTH gradually evolved into Operational Maneuver from the Sea (OMFTS) and a whole new philosophy of littoral campaigning.

  In traditional amphibious operations a relatively small portion of potential landing sites in the world’s littorals were open to the kind of linear landings done at Normandy and Iwo Jima. It was relatively easy for a defender to determine which beaches were vulnerable to amphibious landings. OMFTS were designed to open over seventy percent of littorals by landing in column across remote locations such as boat ramps and small coves with access to paths inland. This made the defense against OMTFS far more difficult.

  To achieve OMFTS, we planned to use a grid of small micro-robotic ground scouts located at key road intersections, choke points, and bridges. The robotic sensors would give the landing force a map to exploit the gaps in enemy defenses as well as be able to designate targets at enemy strong points and call-in accurate fire on them. We called this advanced reconnaissance and scouting system the Reconnaissance-Surveillance-Target Acquisition (RSTA) Grid. Platforms such as the V-22 Osprey and heavy lift helicopters such as the CH-53E could give a vertical over-the-horizon dimension to this “expanding torrent” of operational capability with the RSTA Grid identifying safe landing zones.

  OMFTS and RSTA would only require small assault force initially that would not need an “iron mountain” of logistical supplies on the beach before moving inland. Just-in-time logistics would keep the initial landing force moving until more traditional beaches and ports could be opened by attacking them from the rear. During the initial operation, fire support would come from precision strike until more conventional artillery could come ashore.

  One key element that made OMFTS different from traditional amphibious operations and more compatible with the existing Marine Corps’ maneuver warfare approaches, was flexibility. Once the line of departure was crossed in traditional operations, the force was committed; it was “do or die for old Semper Fi.” We saw OMFTS as giving us the ability to launch several probes. The most promising would become the main effort. The rest could be withdrawn or remain for a while as deception to confuse opposing forces. Worst case, the operation could be scrapped enabling us to choose a more promising set of operational targets without causing a Gallipoli-like debacle. 

  This amphibious blitzkrieg would be led by relatively small, fast moving task-organizations comprised of elements from infantry and armored battalions. However, more traditional infantry, armored, and artillery units would be needed to defend the eventual force beachhead, assist army follow-on forces in sustained operations ashore, and potential counterinsurgency operations.

  All these years of planning never led to the radically reduced Marine Corps that we have today. By 2020, there should have been newer and better tanks, artillery, and amphibious vehicles as part of ongoing Marine Corps modernization, but I came to believe that OMFTS could initially be accomplished with existing Navy LCACs, Ospreys, and CH-53Es. The Advanced Armored Amphibious Vehicle (AAAV) was a failure, but I think most of us came to believe that its absence would not be an operational “showstopper”.

  The real technological challenges were in the robotic sensors needed for the RSTA grid, sufficient over-the-horizon communications, some advanced naval mine clearing capabilities (with unmanned underwater systems), and some enhanced just-in-time logistics assets. None of these things were science fiction, and the technologists assured us were doable by 2020 and have been used during the current Russo-Ukrainian war.

  We needed to use surrogates for war games and field experiments to simulate OMFTS.

  In 1998, a small Special Purpose Marine Corps Marine Air Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) conducted an over-the-horizon landing in column from the USS Germantown across a boat ramp in Okinawa using Landing Craft Air Cushioned (LCACs) and long range CH 53 helicopters. Later that year, a MAGTF staff from III MEF used LAVs in a force-on-force operation against a Red Team led by students from the Expeditionary Warfare School -also employing LAVs- on the peninsulas of the Virginia Capes. The surrogate RSTA Grid allowed the Blue force to land in an unexpected location and maneuver quickly to defeat the Red Force. Other war games conducted during the period caused us to believe that OMFTS would provide wicked problems to future opponents. By the turn of the century, many of us in the developmental and experimental community believed that OMFTS could be fully implemented within two decades. Indeed, the technologies needed all exist today. What we did not envision was 9/11 and General Berger.

  The root of the problem really goes back to 2001 and the 9/11 attacks. At that point, the George W. Bush administration undertook the war in Afghanistan and in 2003 invaded Iraq. The Marine Corps was forced put aside its work on the next Marine Corps to support the war effort, which lasted until 2019 when virtually all conventional units had left Afghanistan. Many serving and former marines hoped to finally get back to work on OMFTS, but the new commandant at the time, General David Berger, had another vision that the dubbed Force Design 2030. OMFTS might have evolved differently if General Berger had chosen that path; the name might even have changed, but OMFTS remains the Marine Corps that could have been, particularly for operations other than island hoping in China’s first island chain.

  If it had been allowed to evolve, OMFTs would have been the perfect tool to suppress threats such as the Houthis at the source. A group of retired general officers calling themselves Chowder II have put together an alternate approach to Force Design for the Corps that they call Vision 2035; much of it is based on work done before 2001. Commandants come and go, but the Marine Corps continues to look forward. Under new leadership, Vision 2035 may again include OMFTS or something like it.

  Gary Anderson was heavily involved in OMFTS design and experimentation as the Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 19:40

• FBI File On Jeff Bezos' Grandfather, A DARPA Co-Founder, Has Been Destroyed
  FBI File On Jeff Bezos’ Grandfather, A DARPA Co-Founder, Has Been Destroyed

  What’s not widely known is that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ grandfather, Lawrence Preston Gise, helped form the Pentagon’s supersecret Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA—renamed DARPA) in 1958. Years later, DARPA developed the internet and spurred breakthroughs in high-speed networking, voice recognition, and internet search. 

  

  One year before Gise died in 1995, Bezos founded Amazon in the garage of his Bellevue, Washington home.

  

  Or so we’re told… 

  

  John Greenewald Jr., who operates The Black Vault, a website dedicated to revealing declassified government documents through obtaining Freedom of Information Act requests, posted on X that he went after Gise’s “FBI file, but found out if there was one, it has been destroyed.” 

  

  🚨L.P. Gise was Jeff Bezos’ grandfather. In the late ’50s, he helped found what would become DARPA. In the early-mid ’60s, he headed the AEC’s 7 state, 26,000 employee operation.

  I went after his FBI file, but found out if there was one, it has been destroyed.#FOIA pic.twitter.com/RdIlpsx3XB

  — John Greenewald, Jr. (@blackvaultcom) May 6, 2024

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

  News website Leading Report’s Patrick Webb commented on Greenewald’s findings, saying, “There has long been speculation that DARPA has been involved in the creation of many popular big tech companies, using “frontmen” for the allusion of a startup led by outsiders.” 

  There has long been speculation that DARPA has been involved in the creation of many popular big tech companies, using “frontmen” for the allusion of a startup led by outsiders.

  — Patrick Webb (@RealPatrickWebb) May 6, 2024

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

  With the contents of Gise’s FBI file unlikely to ever be unearthed and likely never destroyed, just inaccessible to FOIA requests or the public, other X users commented on Webb’s and Greenewald’s posts, pointing out how DARPA possibly created other big tech firms: 

  DARPA created FB too.

  — Jessica Rojas 🇺🇸💪 (@catsscareme2021) May 7, 2024

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

  We know Facebook is a “cancelled program” out of the DOD… if you look at bill gates family you find similar stuff.

  This “theory” is more confirmed every day

  — Scott (@Scott89947486) May 7, 2024

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

  LifeLog——>Facebook

  — Human Clay (@prayerw62758802) May 7, 2024

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

  Questions swirl about DARPA’s involvement in creating Amazon, given Bezos’ grandfather’s connection to the secret agency. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 19:20

• Rural Western North Carolina Community Protests 'Covert' Plans For EV Battery Plant
  Rural Western North Carolina Community Protests ‘Covert’ Plans For EV Battery Plant

  Authored by Matt McGregor via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A group of residents in western North Carolina are protesting their county board’s lack of transparency over furtive moves to welcome an electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing the residents believe would pollute their waters and ruin their scenic countryside.

  

  In October 2023, the North Carolina state legislature allocated $35.8 million to Burke Development Inc. for the purchase of a 1,400-acre property on which to build an industrial megasite in Burke and McDowell counties.

  Though the all-Republican board of Burke County Commissioners has made no official decision on approving an EV battery plant to be built within the megasite, Alan Wood, the CEO of Burke Development, alluded to the site’s potential for such a project, according to a local media report.

  Mr. Wood listed several EV manufacturing plants sprouting up in the Southeast because of their proximity to a lithium mine in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, which a Charlotte-based chemical manufacturing Albemarle Corporation is set to reopen by 2026 with the help of a $90 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defence.

  Since reports surfaced of the development, an organization called the Stop Burke-Lake James Megasite (Stop BLJM) was formed.

  A petition with 2,859 signatures is circulating while Stop BLJM members speak out in county commissioner meetings.

  In February, Burke County Manager Brian Epley held a Fireside Chat in response to the criticism in which he argued that there’s misinformation surrounding the project and that it’s a more minimal design than what’s been broadcast by those in opposition.

  He pointed to country trends that highlight a need for economic development while addressing the dimensions of the project itself.

  Economic development within the megasite will create jobs and increase the tax base in a county that will see challenges in the future with maintaining its workforce and population while facing current issues with “pockets of poverty,” he said.

  Great Meadows, LLC., owns 1,400 acres of land comprising 14 parcels zoned for industrial, residential, and commercial use.

  He said the largest parcel of land is 550 acres, 440 of which is zoned industrial, and the remaining 110 general business.

  Out of the 550 acres, the commissioners decided that 165 acres could be developed for manufacturing, he said.

  “From an economic development lens, that provides more than enough area to put the needed square footage there to make this a transformational economic development project to create the jobs that would be meaningful to Burke County and to create the tax base that would be meaningful to Burke County,” he said.

  This future development would comprise 30 percent of the property, while 70 percent would remain undeveloped.

  This undeveloped land would be used for the buffering of noise and light pollution, with room for setbacks for stream remediation and “innovative stormwater retention” that would keep the water source clean while maintaining a natural environment and wildlife habitat, he said.

  ‘Nature’s Playground’

  However, Stop BLJM members aren’t convinced.

  Lake James is where tourists come to recreate and residents live for a reason: its quiet rolling hills, panoramic clear skies, clean water, fresh mountain air, and rural community—unlike the more populated cities of Asheville and Charlotte. 

  An EV battery plant would “devastate the area,” according to Stop BLJM members who spoke with The Epoch Times.

  And the commissioners are making their decisions without any input from the residents, they said.

  “It’s clear to me that it’s a boondoggle for personal gain of all of these local politicians, not for the benefit of those in the county or living nearby,” said Daniel Oberer, who owns a home in the area.

  According to a report from the Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, the Lake James Environmental Association, and the Catawba Riverkeepers, Lake James is already “a major economic driver” for the region and home to Lake James State Park in the city of Morganton, which takes in “over half a million visitors annually.”

  Lake James is a 10.2 square mile reservoir with over 150 miles of shoreline that makes contact with the Pisgah National Forest.

  It was engineered by Duke Power in the early 20th century to serve as a hydroelectric project and named for Duke University benefactor James Duke.

  “The lake is also fed by and drains into the Catawba River, classified by the State as ‘trout waters,’ and is a popular paddling and fishing destination,” the report stated. “The Catawba River and surrounding subwatershed areas are classified as a ‘water supply watershed for the City of Morganton.”

  A tributary of the Catawba River near Lake James called the Muddy Creek borders some of the parcels of the Great Meadows property, the report said.

  Having an EV battery plant on the watershed that could drain chemicals into a water supply for 26 counties downstream is just too risky, Stop BLJM members said.

  “We’re doing everything we can to stop it because once it goes in, the area will never be the same,” said Mr. Oberer.

  From Lake James tourists can see the tallest peak of the Appalachian Mountains called Mount Mitchell, which reaches 6,684 feet above sea level and is ranked as the highest mountain east of the Mississippi River.

  The area has come to be known as “Nature’s Playground” to locals and tourists alike.

  The people fighting the development range from locals who fear their way of life will be irreparably destroyed to those who aren’t from the area but own properties there, Mr. Oberer said.

  “We all have this common love for the area and common desire to protect God’s natural beauty, and to keep it for future generations to enjoy,” he said.

  ‘It’s Just a Bad Idea’

  Bill Connell, who started the Stop BLJM petition on Change.org, said the commissioners have been “extremely covert.”

  “They started this process well over two years ago and we knew nothing about it until last October, so we’re just defending ourselves at this point,” Mr. Connell said. “Now we’re looking into legal counsel and trying to get the public educated.”

  Burke County residents have been kept in the dark, Roxanne Reep Fleetwood said.

  “We go to meetings, we speak, and then the meetings are dismissed,” Ms. Fleetwood said, adding that the only ones who will benefit from the project are a few people in government and the landowner.

  “The glaring problem with this is its location in the Catawba River basin for the Catawba River,” she said. “It’s what feeds our wells. It’s water that everyone drinks from. It goes 26 counties downstream. They can have every intention of keeping people safe but there’s no guarantee.”

  In April, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a report finding the South Korean SK Battery Commerce plant in Commerce, Georgia—initially celebrated for its advancement in the Biden administration’s green energy initiative—had exposed employees to toxic chemical fumes even after they had suffered “potentially permanent respiratory damage” in an October 2023 fire.

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited SK Battery for five violations.

  Those violations included exposing workers to hydrofluoric acid, failing to train them on hazardous chemicals with respiratory hazards, and failing to train them on extinguishing lithium battery fires.

  Ignited by the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, a battery belt is beginning to loop itself throughout the Southeast despite a lack of enthusiasm for EV cars.

  According to the Pew Research Center, about half of consumers report they are unlikely to buy an EV vehicle, citing little confidence in the country’s infrastructure to support them.

  Reports of charging issues in extreme weather, long waits at charging stations, and car malfunctions have slowed the EV industry’s progress since the Biden administration’s war on carbon emissions that scholars who question the narrative argue is erroneously blamed for what others believe to be climate change.

  In addition to an EV battery plant, a Norfolk Southern rail line would need to be constructed to the plant that would pass near residents’ homes and wetlands, presumably carrying lithium and other chemical elements, Ms. Fleetwood said.

  The railroad company has a poor safety record, which includes its 2022 derailment leading to a chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, Ms. Fleetwood said.

  According to a 2023 report, Norfolk Southern has seen an average of 163.6 derailments and 2.9 hazardous material releases annually.

  “You can’t keep your water clean with a rail line that has a poor safety record that may be transporting lithium,” Ms. Fleetwood said. “And you can’t have tourism if the factory is at your gateway to this massive amount of unspoiled beautiful land which acts as a filter cleaning the water running into the Catawba River. It’s just a bad idea.”

  Then there are the chemical elements—cadmium, lithium, magnesium, and cobalt—that must be expelled through the vent systems into the air and back into the ground, she said, which will ultimately find itself in the groundwater.

  There are better ways for the commissioners to invest the taxpayers’ money, she said, such as spreading it throughout the county to facilitate the tourism industry that rivals what the EV plant would make without harming the environment or changing the character of the region.

  “We are known for tourism and if this site is developed, all of that will go away,” Ms. Fleetwood said. 

  ‘Why All of This Deception?’

  Joanna Kentch, another Stop BLJM member, has several questions related to the ethics of how the project has been handled, like who approved the funding for the megasite, where the money came from, why Commissioner Chairman Jeff Brittain and County Manager Brian Epley are on the Burke Development board that took the $35.6 million from the state, and why it seems the commissioners aren’t listening to the residents.

  “Why all of this deception, not telling us exactly what they plan to build on that site?” she asked. “They are using public funds and the taxpayers have every right to know what their money is being used for.”

  Ms. Kentch said that since the October 2023 article alluding to the county’s ambitions for EV battery plant, the commissioners have been back-peddling and that the $35.6 million is just the beginning of what will cost taxpayers millions more to make the site “shovel-ready.”

  “They’ve been trying to take back these damning statements which was the primary reason the residents of Burke County got so upset,” Ms. Kentch said.

  Ms. Kentch said the Fireside Chat was a mere “dog and pony show” in an attempt to frame the narrative around economic development.

  “There are a lot of other ways to create jobs, and not at the expense of environmental disaster,” Ms. Kentch said.

  In April, the commissioners rezoned the county to “conditional,” a proposal not recommended by the county planning board because “the language was too subjective,” according to Ms. Kentch.

  The document states that a conditional zoning district “may be more or less restrictive” than general zoning.

  “This means they can approve whatever they want, from residential to industrial, as with the case of the megasite,” Ms. Kentch said. “Now they can turn the remaining parcels to industrial without going through the steps of getting public comment before approving a rezoning application.”

  According to Mr. Epley in his Fireside Chat, conditional rezoning means that the commissioners can regulate development standards such as uses, buffers, setbacks, and road access.

  “However, Epley doesn’t mention that they can also approve dangerous access options such as railroad spurs, heavy industrial manufacturing uses, and other developments which would be considered hazardous and subject to public scrutiny under general zoning guidelines,” Ms. Kentch said.

  For Ms. Kentch and other members of Stop BLJM, the rezoning was just another move by the county to pave the way for an EV battery factory while ignoring the opposition of Burke County residents.

  Ms. Kentch said the issue over the megasite has led to two longtime commissioners getting voted out of office.

  Stop BLJM-backed Republican candidates Brian Barrier and Mike Stroud won the primary election in March and now await the general election in November when the state will also choose between Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democrat state Attorney General Josh Stein for governor, bringing Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper’s two terms to a close.

  ‘They Think They Just Know Better’

  Mr. Barrier was born and raised in Burke County. He served in the U.S. Army before later becoming the owner and publisher of Blue Ridge Christian News.

  He told The Epoch Times that, as a conservative, he was fed up with big spending in government.

  He ran a survey on social media to gauge residents’ view of the megasite project and found that out of 300 to 400 responses, “an overwhelming majority” were against it, he said.

  He said a government board’s function is to provide essential services, adding that beyond that, government officials risk transgressing their roles as employees who work for the citizens who hired them.

  “The commissioners have continued to build buildings, buy property, and overspend,” Mr. Barrier said. “I’m not saying everything they’ve done is terrible, but it’s not been fiscally conservative in providing essential services to the county.”

  And like many local government projects, it’s done with “little transparency,” Mr. Barrier said.

  He referenced South Carolina state Rep. Adam Morgan’s speech in the legislature highlighting what’s become a great divide between politicians and their constituents, who “want their tax money spent on core government functions” such as roads and schools instead of billion-dollar big corporation projects.

  “They don’t want us in here trying to play this government planning thing where we in our bureaus can figure out where the jobs should be, who should be employed, how much money should be allocated where in the private sector,” he said. “It never works. It’s socialism. It’s never worked anywhere before, so what are we doing trying to do it here?”

  Mr. Barrier said he couldn’t have said it better himself.

  “These people get elected and then they think they just know better what’s best for the citizens regardless of what the citizens want,” Mr. Barrier said.  

  If he had found that a majority of residents wanted an EV battery plant, he would have—despite his personal opinions—campaigned in favor of the development, he said.

  But this isn’t the case, he added, and Stop BLJM may be putting the commissioners in a position where they will “be forced to listen.”

  “I think they’ve brought up enough awareness and they may keep enough pressure on them that things will have to change,” Mr. Barrier said.

  The Epoch Times contacted Burke County Manager Epley for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 19:00

• Stan Druckenmiller Gives Bidenomics An "F"  
  Stan Druckenmiller Gives Bidenomics An “F”  

  Billionaire investor and Duquesne Family Office Chairman & CEO Stan Druckenmiller slammed Bidenomics and warned the Federal Reserve and federal government “misdiagnosed Covid and thought it was — we were going into a depression.”

  Druckenmiller has been irritated by the massive fiscal spending by the federal government, which we outlined last year as a “stealth stimulus” propelling Bidenomics. Meanwhile, Fed chair Jerome Powell has enabled the Bidenomics disaster as the government spends $1 trillion every 100 days. Now, with stagflationary threats emerging, the US economic situation is quickly deteriorating. 

  CNBC Joe Kernen asked Druckenmiller: 

  Let me ask you how this plays into to — it’s another I think issue of being, you know, things are going, well, and then we totally overspent in terms of fiscally as well in Bidenomics.

  Druckenmiller responded:

  If I was a professor, I’d give them an F. Basically, they misdiagnosed COVID and thought it was — we were going into a depression. The Fed did, too. I worried about it, too, in early days. The Fed eventually pivoted, better late than never. Treasury — Treasury is still acting like we’re in a depression. It’s interesting because I’ve studied the Great Depression and you had a private sector crippled with debt, with basically no new ideas. So interventionist policies were called for and were effective.

  The private sector could not be more different today than it was in the Great Depression. Their balance sheets are fine. They’re healthy. And have you ever seen more innovative ideas that the private sector could take advantage of? Now, you got Blockchain, you got AI, you’ve got the whole thing.

  All government needed to do was get out of their way and let them innovate. Instead, they’ve spent and spent and spent, and my new fear now is that spending and the — and the resulting interest rates on the — on the debt that’s been created are going to crowd out some of the innovation that otherwise would have — would have taken place. 

  We’ve got a 7 percent budget deficit at full employment. It’s just — it’s unheard of…

  Here’s the clip of Druckenmiller speaking with Kernen about Bidenomics failures:

  Investor Stanley Druckenmiller on Bidenomics: “If I were a professor, I’d give them an ‘F’.” pic.twitter.com/WfsU4ecO6y

  — Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) May 7, 2024

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

  In macro, the consumer data just continues to worsen.

  The latest consumer credit data published by the Federal Reserve shows credit growth just imploded as credit card APRs hit an all-time high. 

  

  Meanwhile, total credit card debt jumped to a record high while the personal savings rate slid to a record low. 

  

  Last week, one of the loudest stagflationary warnings printed when US GDP unexpectedly collapsed to just 1.6% in 1Q, down more than 50% from the Q4 print of 3.4%, the lowest print since Q2 2022. However, all-important core PCE for Q1 soared from 2.0% to 3.7%, suggesting the US was nearing a stagflationary recession.

  

  The Biden team has understood this failure and dialed back “Bidenomics” propaganda in corporate media headlines. 

  

  We suspect the Gen-Zers who voted for Biden in the first go around won’t make that mistake again: “Bidenomics Failure Shows Up At Polls As Gen-Z Revolts Against Democrats.” 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 18:40

• Trojan Tomato: A New GMO Is Designed To Infiltrate America's Gardens
  Trojan Tomato: A New GMO Is Designed To Infiltrate America’s Gardens

  Authored by Sina McCullough via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  As spring gardening approaches, a new contender has entered the fray—the genetically modified (GM) Purple Tomato. Unlike its GM predecessors, the GM Purple Tomato is not destined solely for the fields of commercial agriculture—it has made its debut in the backyards of home gardeners across the United States.

  

  With claims of heightened antioxidant levels and potential health benefits, this novel creation has stirred both excitement and controversy among consumers and scientists alike. Biotech investors hope it can usher in a new era of public trust in genetically engineered foods while skeptics worry the tomatoes’ near-total lack of regulation or review may hide dangers to human health and/or the environment.

  Development 

  The GM Purple Tomato was engineered by scientists at Norfolk Plant Sciences in the UK. Led by biochemist Cathie Martin and her team, the project aimed to harness the natural properties of anthocyanins, compounds found in blueberries and blackberries, to enhance the nutritional profile of tomatoes.

  

  Using genetic engineering techniques, Martin and her colleagues inserted two genes responsible for purple coloration in edible snapdragon flowers into tomato plants. This process enabled the tomatoes to express the genes from the snapdragon and, subsequently, produce high levels of anthocyanins, thereby imbuing the tomatoes with a distinct purple hue and potentially enhanced health benefits.

  According to Norfolk Healthy Produce, the U.S. subsidiary of Norfolk Plant Sciences, the Purple Tomatoes are a “rich source of antioxidants” due to the increased content of anthocyanins. Unlike domesticated tomatoes which contain anthocyanins in the skin, the Purple Tomato contains anthocyanins throughout the whole tomato.

  The genesis of the GM Purple Tomato marks a significant milestone in agricultural biotechnology. Unlike previous GM crops primarily targeted at commercial producers, this tomato is the first GM food crop directly marketed to home gardeners in the United States, offering an opportunity for individuals to engage with biotechnology in their own backyard.

  According to Norfolk Healthy Produce, more than 13,000 Purple Tomato seed orders have already shipped.

  Regulatory Approval 

  The GM Purple Tomato was deregulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2022. According to a statement from the USDA, the GM Purple Tomato is not subject to regulation by the USDA because it does not pose a plant pest risk:

  “With respect to Norfolk Plant Sciences’ purple tomato, we did not identify any plausible pathways to increased plant pest risk compared to other cultivated tomatoes and issued a response letter indicating the plant is not subject to regulation.”

  In 2023, the Purple Tomato received a “no questions” letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which means the Purple Tomato is considered “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) and, therefore, does not require premarket review or approval by the FDA.

  To qualify for GRAS status, Norfolk Plant Sciences submitted data from tests conducted internally.

  

  The lack of safety testing by the USDA and FDA, as well as reliance on data generated by the company that will profit from approval of its own product, has led to some experts calling for a more comprehensive safety assessment.

  Safety Concerns and Health Claims 

  Data provided to the FDA by Norfolk Plant Sciences demonstrates the company conducted various safety tests. However, critics argue the tests are insufficient to guarantee the safety of the Purple Tomato for human consumption.

  According to an FDA memo dated June 13, 2023, tests conducted by Norfolk Plant Sciences mainly focused on six areas.  Of those, four were relatively straightforward while two have raised safety concerns among experts, according to GM Watch.

  1. PCR and Southern blot analysis were conducted by Norfolk Plant Sciences to determine if the snapdragon foreign DNA was inserted into the tomato DNA.

  • The company (Norfolk Plant Sciences) stated that insertion of the foreign DNA was confirmed.

  2. PCR and sequence comparison of DNA samples were conducted to confirm the stability of the inheritability of the insertion across generations. Plants were bred to determine if the purple phenotype was inherited in a Mendelian segregation fashion.

  • The company stated the purple phenotype was inheritable.

  3. Compositional analysis was conducted to determine if the Purple Tomato contained similar nutrients at similar levels compared with non-GMO tomatoes, including protein, fat, carbohydrate, fiber, minerals, carotenoids, vitamins, and alpha-tomatine.

  • The company determined the levels of most of the nutritional components to be similar or with “minor differences.”

  

  4. Norfolk Plant Sciences assessed dietary exposure levels assuming the complete replacement of red tomatoes in the human diet with the Purple Tomato for two days.

  • The company concluded the level of dietary exposure to anthocyanins is the same as consuming high-anthocyanin foods.  For example, 8 ounces of Purple Tomato juice is equivalent to consuming 1 cup of blueberries.

  The Controversial Tests

  1. Bioinformatic analyses were utilized to determine if any open reading frames were generated or disrupted by inserting the foreign DNA. Norfolk Plant Sciences searched the DNA sequences flanking the insertion sequence in the tomatoes.

  • The company reported no open reading frames flanking the insertion location.

  Since Norfolk Plant Sciences did not assess possible damage to the entire genome using advanced laboratory techniques, geneticist Michael Antoniou expressed concern in a statement published by GM Watch.

  “There’s no evidence that the developers of the GM purple tomato have carried out the kind of molecular analyses (proteomics and metabolomics) that could help establish whether they only got the change they want, with no unintended changes. As a result, we don’t know if these tomatoes are safe to eat,” said Mr. Antoniou.

  “We must also bear in mind that the GM transformation process (plant tissue culture and plant cells transformation) will inevitably give rise to hundreds if not thousands of sites of unintended DNA damage (mutations). These wide scale mutations can change patterns of gene function and alter biochemistry and composition, with unknown downstream health consequences,” he said.

  2. Assessment of new peptides of equal or greater than 30 amino acids at the insertion site of the foreign DNA was conducted to rule out toxicity or allergenicity concerns.

  • The company identified one “putative” peptide, however, they stated, “this peptide has no homology to any known allergen or protein and there was no evidence this sequence is transcribed in tomato.” They concluded the results “do not raise food safety concerns.”

  Allergenicity is an ongoing concern regarding the genetic modification of food. For example, a study published in Nature in 1999 reported that bean plants were genetically modified to produce higher levels of methionine and cysteine but were discarded because the expressed protein of the transgene was highly allergenic.

  While Norfolk Plant Sciences did not identify a match with any known allergens, that does not guarantee the peptide formed through the process of gene modification is not an allergen. Given that nearly 11 percent of adults and 5.6 million children in the United States have food allergies, it may be prudent to apply the precautionary principle when modifying our food’s genetic makeup.

  The Test That Everyone Talked About

  Although not included in the 2023 FDA memo, Norfolk Plant Sciences, in conjunction with Cathie Martin, published a pilot feeding study in 2008 in Nature Biotechnology that examined the effects of Purple Tomato supplementation on the life span of cancer-susceptible mice.

  According to the study, mice fed the GM tomato lived longer—by an average of 40 days than those fed non-GM red tomatoes.

  Publication of the pilot study prompted the John Innes Centre to publish a press release titled, “Purple tomatoes may keep cancer at bay.” (Norfolk Plant Sciences is a spinoff company from the John Innes Centre.)

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 18:20

• F-22 Stealth Fighter Suffers "Mishap" At Savannah Airport 
  F-22 Stealth Fighter Suffers “Mishap” At Savannah Airport 

  Isn’t it remarkable that while the military-industrial complex, neoconservative warmongers, and radical leftists in the White House seem to push for further conflict in Eastern Europe without even a hint of suggesting peace negotiations with Russia, some of America’s most advanced military jets are unfit for combat?

  The latest example comes from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport on Monday morning when a Lockheed Martin F-22 stealth fighter jet assigned to the 71st Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Wing at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, suffered what the US military is calling a “mishap.” 

  

  It was not immediately clear what happened, as the military would not elaborate on the “mishap” involving an in-flight emergency. However, one X user posted audio, allegedly from air traffic controllers at Savannah, that reveals the stealth fighter had a “brake failure.” 

  “BURNER34 (F-22) advising SAVANAH TOWER that they have a brake failure and requests another aircraft for a visual inspection which DEMON73 (F-16) performed. BURNER34 came in and successfully hooked the runways arresting gear wire,” X user Thenewarea51 wrote in a post. 

  BURNER34 (F-22) advising SAVANAH TOWER that they have a brake failure and requests another aircraft for a visual inspection which DEMON73 (F-16) performed. BURNER34 came in and successfully hooked the runways arresting gear wire.

  Audio via @liveatc and thanks to Bill B. for… https://t.co/6Fu2Eo556a pic.twitter.com/ZkozSN8Pl0

  — Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) May 7, 2024

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

  The F-22 was conducting training exercises at Sentry Savannah, the Air National Guard’s largest fourth and fifth-generation counter-air, large-force exercise, held annually at the Air Dominance Center, Savannah Air National Guard Base, Georgia. 

  Don’t even get us started with the latest figures from the Government Accountability Office, which show that only 15% to 30% of Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters are ‘capable of combat.’ 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 18:00

• Trump Is A Rorschach Test For The Body Politic
  Trump Is A Rorschach Test For The Body Politic

  Authored by Frank Miele via RealClearPolitics,

  It is no secret that Donald Trump is a hot wire that either fires up the imagination of voters or fries the brain.

  

  For those of us who experience Trump as a Promethean bringer of enlightening fire to the dark barren fields of modern politics, it is hard to fathom the reaction of those who are terrified of him. We just say they have Trump Derangement Syndrome.

  But for those Trump haters, of course, it is the rest of us who are deranged. We are cult members or Christian nationalists or foot soldiers of the new Hitler.

  You cannot imagine more diametrically opposed views of one man. On one hand, he is the embodiment of hope for those who want to restore America to the pinnacle of greatness. On the other, he is the manifestation of the worst fears of those who believe the country’s ascendant leftist ideology could still be thwarted at the ballot box.

  Call Trump the random ink blot of a national Rorschach test that forces each of us to identify with the better angels or the worst devils of our nature. Or think of him as the equivalent of the optical illusion that forces the mind to choose whether it sees an old hag or a beautiful young woman. You can’t see both at once. Although both exist simultaneously in a drawing, you can only focus on one at a time.

  As regards Trump, the media – serving as the surrogate eye of the public – can only see the equivalent of the old hag, and reports truthfully to the audience that it envisions Trump as a dark and dangerous presence who is a threat to democracy. But when the rest of us look at the same picture – or the same interview or speech – we can see Trump as the shining spirit of American greatness.

  Case in point: The now infamous interview of Trump by Eric Cortellessa that recently appeared in Time magazine. The corporate media and Trump’s political opponents have seized on this interview to declare conclusively that Trump is a clear and present danger to the nation if he were elected to a second term. The headlines are downright hysterical:

  • “Trump doesn’t rule out political violence if he loses, and other takeaways from his Time interview” (CNN)
  • “Trump threatens to prosecute Bidens if he’s re-elected unless he gets immunity” (The Guardian)
  • “Trump reveals terrifying plan for potential second term in Time magazine interview” (MSNBC)
  • “Trump Hints Another January 6 Could Happen If He Loses the Election” (The New Republic)
  • “Trump says it’s up to states whether to punish, monitor women for abortions” (Washington Post)

  If those headlines were accurate, you could certainly make the case that all Americans should vote against Donald Trump, no matter how much they despise Joe Biden. And, truth be told, if you were to read just the interpretation of Trump’s words by Cortellessa in his Time magazine news story, you would be inclined to agree with that assessment. But what if Cortellessa is looking at Trump through a prism that automatically distorts his words to fit a confirmation bias that anything Trump says must be dangerous?

  Fortunately, we don’t have to guess whether that happened. Time magazine very generously provided the evidence of the distortion by publishing not just Cortellessa’s very damaging news story, but also the raw transcript of his two interviews with Trump where we can see what the former president actually said.

  Side by side, the story and the transcripts are raw material for a master class on media manipulation and how a reporter with a point of view can manufacture damaging fake news out of even the most benign responses of an overly trusting interviewee.

  What is clear from the transcripts is that Cortellessa is an expert interviewer, someone who can make his subject comfortable and who stubbornly pursues answers to his questions until he gets the response he wants. But when you read the story he created out of the interview responses, you realize that Cortellessa’s real talent is magic: He can pull a dangerous autocrat out of Trump’s benign responses that show he intends to apply the power of the presidency in a thoughtful and well-reasoned manner to achieve the policy objectives he has outlined in his campaign.

  A few examples will have to suffice in this format, but surely a conscientious journalism student could form an entire thesis around such a comparison. Early in his story, Cortellessa goes through a long laundry list of offenses that he categorizes as “the outlines of an imperial presidency.” The first thing you notice when reading the list is that it is in large measure the exact same list of policy goals that Trump recites proudly at every rally. It is therefore not only “the terrifying plan” that has MSNBC worried about a second term; it is also the platform that has convinced voters to favor Trump over Biden by 1.5 points in the RealClearPolitics Average of polls. In fact, despite Trump’s legal woes, as of last week he was ahead of or tied with Biden in nine of the last 10 polls.

  The second and more important thing you notice about Cortellessa’s laundry list of Trump’s offending statements is that they are the least sympathetic interpretation by the author of well-reasoned positions taken by the former president in lengthy responses.

  Consider Cortellessa’s dismissal of Trump’s rejection of FBI crime statistics:

  “On the campaign trail, Trump uses crime as a cudgel, painting urban America as a savage hell-scape even though violent crime has declined in recent years, with homicides sinking 6% in 2022 and 13% in 2023, according to the FBI. When I point this out, Trump tells me he thinks the data, which is collected by state and local police departments, is rigged. ‘It’s a lie,’ he says.”

  Well, Trump is right and Cortellessa is wrong. In an Oct. 27, 2023, report at Stateline.org, Amanda Hernández reported that “Across the country, law enforcement agencies’ inability — or refusal — to send their annual crime data to the FBI has resulted in a distorted picture of the United States’ crime trends, according to a new Stateline analysis of the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program participation data. … Prior to 2021, 23% of U.S. law enforcement agencies on average did not report any crime data to the FBI. In 2020, 24% of agencies did not report, and in 2021, it surged to 40%.”

  Call it a lie, or call it a damned statistic, but Trump is closer to the truth than the author.

  On another topic – abortion – Cortellessa tells his readers that Trump is contemplating invasive monitoring of pregnancies.

  “More than 20 states now have full or partial abortion bans,” Cortellessa declares, “and Trump says those policies should be left to the states to do what they want, including monitoring women’s pregnancies.”

  Not quite. When you read the transcript, you discover that it was the reporter who brought up the concept of states “monitoring women’s pregnancies so they can know if they’ve gotten an abortion after the ban.” It is a nonsensical concept because there is nothing preventing a woman from traveling to a state where abortion is legal and receiving the procedure there.

  But Trump never took the bait. When asked if he thought states should do it, he answered that they might do it, but he made it very clear that those decisions would be made at the state level and he would have no input on them. This is consistent with his policy on post-Roe legislation.

  Cortellessa does give credit to Trump for saying that he would not consider challenging the 22nd Amendment’s limitation of two terms for each president. But he did everything he could in the interview to twist Trump into saying he would like to serve a third term. Although Trump said repeatedly that he would abide by the amendment’s restrictions, the reporter asked him three times if he would consider challenging the amendment.

  “I don’t know anything about it,” an exasperated Trump says. “I mean, you’re telling me now that somebody’s looking to terminate. I wouldn’t be in favor of it. I wouldn’t be in favor of a challenge. Not for me. I wouldn’t be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job.”

  As for the threat of violence if Trump should lose the 2024 election, it is a gossamer-thin threat that exists mostly in the author’s subconscious.

  “Trump does not dismiss  the possibility of political violence around the election,” says Cortellessa. ‘If we don’t win, you know, it depends,’ he tells TIME. ‘It always depends on the fairness of the election.’”

  But Cortellessa once again had to stretch Trump’s words to make it seem like he was contemplating violence if he lost the election. Here is the relevant passage from the first transcript.

  Are you worried about political violence in connection with this November’s election?

  Trump: No. I don’t think you’ll have political violence.

  You don’t expect anything?

  Trump: I think we’re gonna have a big victory. And I think there will be no violence.

  That is as clear as you can get, but it didn’t fit the narrative that Cortellessa was intent on providing to his readers, so he returned to the topic in a follow-up interview:

  [I]n our last conversation you said you weren’t worried about political violence in connection with the November election. You said, “I think we’re going to win and there won’t be violence.” What if you don’t win, sir?

  Trump once again insisted that he would win, and suggested that because of heightened scrutiny he didn’t think the Democrats would be able to get away with any illegitimate schemes to steal the election in 2024. He then gave the quote that Cortellessa seized upon: “I think we’re going to win. And if we don’t win, you know, it depends. It always depends on the fairness of an election.”

  Absolutely no reference to political violence, or any other kind of violence. Rather, Trump seems to be distinguishing between the possibility of a legitimate loss and being the victim of cheating. His reaction to losing would depend on whether the election was fair or not, but there is no evidence he is promoting violence. That is just a Democratic fantasy.

  Ultimately, I recommend that everyone read the transcript of the interview and avoid Cortellessa’s interpretive fantasy. What you will discover is a former president who is fully in charge of his faculties, capable of arguing with nuance and gusto, and who has a vision for making America great again – the absolute opposite of the incumbent.

  Indeed, if every voter were to read the transcript prior to voting, I have no doubt that Trump would win in a landslide. And there is evidence that Trump knew he had delivered a knockout with his wide-ranging responses. Toward the end of his first interview with Cortellessa, he tells the reporter, “I thought it was a good interview, actually,” and then he qualifies it based on his years of experience of having his words twisted by unscrupulous reporters:

  “I mean, if it’s written fairly, it’s a good interview.”

  More evidence that Trump is at the top of his game.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 17:40

• Trump Classified Document Trial Postponed Indefinitely Days After 'Mishandled Evidence' Bombshell
  Trump Classified Document Trial Postponed Indefinitely Days After ‘Mishandled Evidence’ Bombshell

  One day after postponing a filing deadline in Donald Trump’s classified documents case, Judge Aileen M. Cannon has postponed the whole thing indefinitely.

  

  In a Tuesday decision, Cannon vacated (canceled) Trump’s May 20 trial date, and wrote that setting a new date given the enormous stack of pre-trial matters would be “imprudent.”

  NEW: Judge Cannon officially vacates May 20 trial date, says setting a new date with so many outstanding matters would be “imprudent.” pic.twitter.com/A8QwNmuQ6o

  — Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) May 7, 2024

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOn Monday, Cannon postponed a filing deadline for Trump’s team to provide a list of classified documents they want to present at trial – which was supposed to be filed by this Thursday. Cannon did not announce a new deadline, perhaps the first clue into today’s decision.

  The move also comes after special counsel Jack Smith’s team admitted that the classified files at the heart of the case had been tampered with, and they needed more time to assess that revelation.

  Smith also misled the court, after originally telling U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that the boxes remained “in their original, intact form as seized,” when in a footnote they conceded that they removed classified documents and left placeholder sheets, which prosecutors acknowledged has created an “inconsistent” record – in which some of the documents are no longer in the same order as they appear in digital scans made in the fall of 2022.

  “The Government acknowledges that this is inconsistent with what Government counsel previously understood and represented to the Court,” the footnote reads, according to Just the News.

  The finding comes after Cannon ordered a review into whether the FBI may have seized legally privileged records in response to a request from Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 17:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• These Were The Deadliest Countries For Journalists In 2023
  These Were The Deadliest Countries For Journalists In 2023

  50 media professionals were killed due to their journalistic activities in 2023, according to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) database.

  As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, by far the deadliest place for journalists last year was in the Palestinian territories, where 16 deaths were counted in just the last three months of the year.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Following some way behind were Mexico with four deaths reported there in 2023, three in Afghanistan, three in Bangladesh, three in Lebanon, and two deaths in Cameroon, Ukraine and the Philippines, respectively.

  A single journalist was also killed in each of the following countries: Albania, China, Colombia, Honduras, India, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Paraguay, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and the United States. Meanwhile, 109 people were listed as having “disappeared” last year, with the highest numbers recorded in Mexico (34), Syria (9), Russia (6), Pakistan (6), the Democratic Republic of Congo (5) and Kosovo (5).

  It is important to note here that media professionals’ deaths are only listed here if confirmed by the RSF as being linked to their journalistic work. This explains why these figures seem low and that they are subject to change as fact-checking is carried out.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 02:45

• Majority Of Germans Reject Muslim Immigration, Express Fear Of Becoming A "Minority In Germany"
  Majority Of Germans Reject Muslim Immigration, Express Fear Of Becoming A “Minority In Germany”

  Authored by John Cody via ReMix News,

  Rejection of immigrants from Islamic countries has increased in Germany, according to the latest Insa poll commissioned by the Nius media group.

  

  The most recent survey shows an absolute majority of 52 percent rather agree with the statement that “Germany should generally no longer accept refugees from Islamic countries”. Only 34 percent say “disagree” or “tend to disagree” with this statement.

  There is even greater agreement with the statement that “in certain areas of my town or village, I have the feeling that I am no longer in Germany.” According to the poll, 57 percent agree with the statement, while 36 percent do not share this feeling.

  The poll further shows that 54 percent of respondents said they were “afraid that Germans will become a minority in Germany.” On the other hand, 37 percent said they were not concerned.

  A relative majority supports the theory behind the Great Replacement, which the domestic intelligence agency the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) classifies as a “right-wing extremist” viewpoint.

  According to the poll, 45 percent of respondents agree with the statement: “I believe that Europeans are gradually being replaced by immigrants from Africa and the Middle East.”

  A smaller number of people, 41 percent, reject this statement.

  WATCH: “I don’t have to become a minority in my own country.” @EvaVlaar says Whites are being replaced in their native countries. Here is the actual data behind her claims, which shows rapid demographic change in the West’s biggest cities. pic.twitter.com/rot877Xe8Z

  — Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) April 29, 2024

  Racism against Whites

  Two-thirds of Germans (65 percent) agree with the statement that there is “racism against Whites” in Germany, while only a small minority of 22 percent think this is not true.

  A strong majority also believe integration has not worked, with 58 percent saying “no” to the question of whether “migrants have largely integrated well in Germany.” Only 29 percent of respondents say migrants have integrated well.

  Immigrants burden the German school system

  An overwhelming majority of Germans agree with the statement that “the current migration is overburdening the German school system.” The results show that 75 percent, or three-quarters, agree with this statement, while 22 percent say they do not see a problem.

  Remix News has previously reported on the problems facing the country’s school system, which is increasingly made up of an immigrant population, and in some cities, even constitutes the majority of students. Teachers and principals face assault, classroom overcrowding, language difficulties, and aggressive clashes between minority groups.

  The survey follows a series of polls that show Germans are rapidly souring on mass immigration. Currently, the most popular party among German youth is the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party while the AfD is now the second most popular party in the country, even if the party’s overall support has seen a slight drop of between 3 to 4 points over the last three to four months.

  Just this week, approximately 1,000 Muslims belonging to a radical pro-Sharia group marched in Hamburg to call for a caliphate in Germany, sparking national headlines and a sharp debate about the country’s growing Muslim population. Last month, it was reported that the share of foreigners committing crimes in the country had hit a record high of 41 percent.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/07/2024 – 02:00

• San Diego Sues CNC Milling Technologists, Alleging They're Flouting California ‘Ghost Gun’ Laws
  San Diego Sues CNC Milling Technologists, Alleging They’re Flouting California ‘Ghost Gun’ Laws

  Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times,

  The San Diego County government is suing the manufacturer of a computer numerical control (CNC) machine, alleging that it is being used to manufacture unserialized firearms parts.

  

  The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the county by the gun-control legal advocacy group Giffords Law Center, alleges the “Coast Runner” CNC machine, marketed by Coast Runner Industries, Inc., is simply a rebrand of the “Ghost Gunner” CNC machine previously developed and marketed by Defense Distributed and Ghost Gunner Inc.

  Gun rights activist and technologist Cody Wilson has been working for years against gun control efforts by expanding access to the tools necessary to produce firearms at home. He has used his non-profit, Defense Distributed, as a platform to pioneer technological advancements in the manufacture of firearms using both 3D-printing and CNC technology.

  Individuals are not prohibited under federal rules and regulations from producing firearms for their personal use, but gun control proponents in several states have sought to prevent the proliferation of unserialized privately-made firearms, which they’ve referred to as “ghost guns.”

  While gun control advocates have attempted to stop the spread of “ghost guns,” Mr. Wilson and Defense Distributed have worked to ensure home manufacturing of firearms remains accessible with the development of its “Ghost Gunner” line of CNC machines.

  California Law and CNC Machines

  In 2022, the Democrat-supermajority California legislature passed legislation that makes it unlawful to sell or transfer any “CNC milling machine that has the sole or primary function of manufacturing firearms to any person in this state, other than a federally licensed firearms manufacturer or importer.”

  Following the passage of the 2022 law, the Ghost Gunner sales website states, “Ghost Gunner CNC machines are not currently available to non-FFL California customers.” But after Defense Distributed and Ghost Gunner restricted sales of its machines in California, a new company called Coast Runner emerged, marketing a similar CNC machine.

  The new lawsuit names Coast Runner Industries Inc., Ghost Runner Inc., and Defense Distributed as defendants.

  “The ‘Coast Runner’ and the ‘Ghost Gunner’ share more than just similar rhyming names. The ‘Coast Runner’ is in fact the Ghost Gunner with a new coat of paint,” the San Diego County lawsuit states.

  “It has the same internal designs, the same features, and is being marketed for the same purpose: the illegal production of untraceable ghost guns. Moreover, it is being sold and marketed by the same company, as public records show that Coast Runner Industries, Inc. is merely an alter ego of Ghost Gunner Inc. and Defense Distributed.”

  A marketing video for the latest iteration of the “Ghost Gunner” CNC machine shows it being used for what appear to be firearm frames and receivers, and the sales website for the machine makes clear that it is “optimized for machining AR-15 and AK-47 receivers.” By contrast, marketing videos and materials for the “Coast Runner” emphasize its cutting power and precision.

  San Diego County’s legal complaint notes that the “Coast Runner” made an appearance earlier this year at the Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) show, a trade show hosted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).

  The lawsuit also notes that individuals who previously worked with Ghost Gunner and Defense Distributed have gone on to work with Coast Runner Inc.

  “Defendants flout California law with too-cute-by-half sales and marketing tactics. The Coast Runner is not a joke-it is an illegal device designed, marketed, and sold to enable its users to make firearms and to violate California’s gun violence prevention laws,” the complaint states.

  “Plaintiff brings this suit to put an end to Defendants’ flagrant violations of California law and to seek remedy for the harm Defendants have caused and are continuing to cause in California.”

  California ‘Doesn’t Have the Nerve to Ban CNC’: Wilson

  The legal complaint seeks a judgment finding all defendants to be in violation of California law and seeks a civil penalty of as much as $25,000 per alleged violation of the California law prohibiting sales of CNC machines for firearms manufacturing, along with an award of “reasonable damages” to the state.

  Mr. Wilson insisted Defense Distributed remains in compliance with California law.

  “Defense Distributed follows California law with great effort,” he told NTD News in an emailed statement.

  “The state doesn’t have the nerve to ban CNC, so they ban speech about the technology.”

  Mr. Wilson declined to offer further comment on the lawsuit as he and his legal team prepare to respond.

  NTD News also contacted Coast Runner for comment, but did not receive a response by press time.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 23:40

• These Are The 20 Countries Most Indebted To China
  These Are The 20 Countries Most Indebted To China

  In this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu ranked the top 20 countries by their amount of debt to China. These figures are as of 2022, and come from the World Bank (accessed via Yahoo Finance).

  

  This dataset highlights Pakistan and Angola as having the largest debts to China by a wide margin. Both countries have taken billions in loans from China for various infrastructure and energy projects.

  Critically, both countries have also struggled to manage their debt burdens. In February 2024, China extended the maturity of a $2 billion loan to Pakistan.

  Soon after in March 2024, Angola negotiated a lower monthly debt payment with its biggest Chinese creditor, China Development Bank (CDB).

  Could China be in Trouble?

  China has provided developing countries with over $1 trillion in committed funding through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive economic development project aimed at enhancing trade between China and countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe.

  Many believe that this lending spree could be an issue in the near future.

  According to a 2023 report by AidData, 80% of these loans involve countries in financial distress, raising concerns about whether participating nations will ever be able to repay their debts.

  While China claims the BRI is a driver of global development, critics in the West have long warned that the BRI employs debt-trap diplomacy, a tactic where one country uses loans to gain influence over another.

  Editor’s note: The debt shown in this visualization focuses only on direct external debt, and does not include publicly-traded, liquid, debt securities like bonds. Furthermore, it’s worth noting the World Bank data excludes some countries with data accuracy or reporting issues, such as Venezuela.

  If you enjoyed this post, check out our breakdown of $97 trillion in global government debt.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 23:20

• McMaken: The FBI And CIA Are Enemies Of The American People
  McMaken: The FBI And CIA Are Enemies Of The American People

  Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,

  Joe Rogan and Tucker Carlson sat down for a three-hour-plus discussion on the Joe Rogan Show last week, covering everything from UFOs, to religion and artificial intelligence. But perhaps the most important topic they covered was the insidious and dangerous role played by the US regime’s intelligence agencies in America. 

  Specifically, Carlson suggested the CIA continues to lobby for keeping the JFK files secret, possibly because the CIA had a role in the assassination. Tucker also brought up how the FBI’s second-in-command was responsible for taking down Richard Nixon. Carlson described how intelligence agencies hold immense power within Congress because members of Congress—who are generally disreputable people with many secrets—are terrified of being blackmailed. After all, in a post-Patriot Act world of nearly unrestrained spying by the US regime, there is no privacy in America. 

  I’ll let you, dear readers, listen to the full interview and make up your mind for yourselves as to the details of the discussion. 

  What I want to highlight here, however, is how remarkable it is that two major media figures—Rogan and Carlson—are announcing to their millions of listeners and readers that organizations like the CIA and the FBI are despicable agencies committed to undermining the legal and constitutional institutions of the United States. 

  This is long overdue. 

  

  Deep-state agencies like the CIA and the FBI have for far too long been considered reputable organizations just trying to “keep us safe” or somehow defend the United States from alleged foreign threats. Conservatives have long been among the worst offenders. Libertarians know this well, and have observed for decades the breed of “small-government” conservatives who one minute claim “the government can’t do anything right” and then the next minute simp for “heroic” CIA and FBI agents. People such as these have long checked their critical thinking skills at the door as soon as the discussion turns to the regime’s spy agencies—or the Pentagon, for that matter. This is not to say that Leftists are guiltless on this. While historically it was the Left that actually made some efforts to expose intelligence agencies and their crimes in the 1970s, that is now ancient history. The Left in 2024 has rarely met a regime spook it didn’t like. This was made explicit last month when Adam Westbrook and Lindsey Crouse declared in The New York Times that “the Deep State is actually kind of awesome.” 

  The job of opposing these contemptible enemies of freedom at America’s intelligence agencies—especially the FBI and CIA and NSA—falls to the minority of Americans who actually care about law and human rights enough to seek true restraints on regime power. Those of us in this minority must never miss an opportunity to disparage, doubt, question, and generally express loathing for these organizations and for every single agent and employee at these agencies who collects a taxpayer-funded salary. 

  A Danger for Many Decades 

  Since at least the early 1960s, many have understood that the post-war intelligence agencies have posed an especially dangerous threat to the people of the United States. For example, exactly one month after Kennedy’s assassination—surely, just a coincidence!—former president Harry Truman expressed alarm about the CIA’s meddling in domestic affairs. He wrote in The Washington Post: “For some time I have been disturbed by the way CIA has been diverted from its original assignment. It has become an operational and at times a policy-making arm of the Government. This has led to trouble and may have compounded our difficulties in several explosive areas. …I never had any thought that when I set up the CIA that it would be injected into peacetime cloak and dagger operations.”

  Then as now, however, The Washington Post was an arm of the deep state and the editor buried Truman’s op-ed on Page A11. The CIA was outraged enough by the column, however, that CIA director Allen Dulles lied and claimed that Truman had been “quite astounded“ when he saw his own article and that the whole thing was really the work of a Truman aide.

  This bizarre attempt by CIA operative to “retract” Truman’s article was nonetheless contradicted by Truman himself who reiterated in a 1964 letter that Truman had only intended the CIA to be an informational service for the president, and that “[I]t was not intended to operate as an international agency engaged in strange activities.” Truman would later tell an interviewer that “[I]f I’d known what was going to happen, I never would have [created the CIA.]”1 

  Of course, Truman may have known about many of the CIA’s “strange activities” by the late 1950s, such as MKULTRA, and related “mind control” experiments with LSD and other drugs. The CIA was known to drug the agency’s victims against their will, such as seven black inmates in Kentucky who were were fed “’double, triple and quadruple’ doses of LSD for 77 straight days.” One might also mention the very suspicious case of Frank Olson, a bioweapons expert who was given LSD by CIA agents without his knowledge. Olson later “fell” to his death from a hotel window in 1953. The agency lied about drugging Olson for 22 years. 

  The CIA faced some scrutiny in the wake of the Vietnam war as the Left began to rein in the deep state which had spent years attempting to destroy American opponents of the war through a variety of dirty tricks. Yet, the agency had hardly been “reformed” by the time the US’s “war on terror” was launched in late 2001. The CIA returned to its illegal medical torture—assuming it had ever stopped—with new medical experiments on regime prisoners. Documents uncovered by the ACLU have shown that CIA doctors are still used to provide a veneer of scientific legitimacy to CIA torture programs. In the age of vaccine passports, this alliance between doctors and the CIA should alarm any defender of human rights. 

  In spite of all this, the CIA continues to fail spectacularly at its original mission of collecting useful information. The CIA failed to see the Iranian Revolution coming. The CIA was clueless about Soviet Missiles shipped to Cuba in 1962. The CIA believed the Soviet Union was an economic powerhouse in the 1980s. And, of course, the CIA let 9/11 happen right under its nose. 

  Given all this, even conservative stalwarts have seen the light on the CIA in recent years. The late Angelo Codevilla, for example, penned a 2020 article calling for “breaking up” the CIA. The CIA, Codevilla notes, is now so “ideologically partisan,” so “obsolete,” and its record of failure so undeniable, that the agency is now “inherently dangerous and low-value.” 

  End the FBI

  The CIA isn’t alone in its war on American freedom and decency, however. The FBI is almost equally dangerous, which is why Codevilla also calls for the FBI to be “restricted to law enforcement.” 

  Unknown to many Americans, the FBI doesn’t even consider itself to be a law enforcement agency anymore. The FBI is now a “national security” agency, and that means the FBI is an arm of the American spy regime. This, of course, is why the Department of Justice can now be used for blatantly political purposes such as when the FBI spied on candidate Donald Trump in 2016. 

  Here at mises.org, we’ve already reported on the mixture of abuse and incompetence that characterizes the FBI. The FBI expends countless hours tracking down harmless “enemies” of the regime—such as little old ladies prosecuted for the January 6 riot—while ignoring real criminals like Larry Nassar. Nor surprisingly, local police will tell you it’s the state and local police who do the real work of tracking down real criminals, and then the FBI swoops in to take the credit. 

  Moreover, the history of the FBI lends substantial plausibility to Tucker Carlson’s claim that intelligence agencies are in the business of blackmailing members of Congress. This is a known tactic employed by J. Edgar Hoover during this 48-year reign at the FBI. Hoover, of course, was lauded for decades as a hero, but in reality, he was, in the words of historian Beverly Gage, a “one-dimensional tyrant and backroom schemer who strong-armed the rest of the country into submission…the most influential federal appointee of the twentieth century.” Hoover and his army of compliant FBI agents spied on anyone and everyone—especially elected officials and other public figures—who might be useful as a target for blackmail.

  So, what to do with these agencies? 

  There is nothing that these agencies do that could justify their continued existence. Both agencies—neither of which in their present forms are authorized among the enumerated powers of the US constitution—were sold to the taxpayers as agencies to be used only against hardened criminals and foreign dictators. Today, these organizations spend their time exploiting the taxpayers for ever larger budgets, for ever more power to spy on Americans, and new ways to trick those same Americans into supporting the regime’s latest wars. 

  They are, simply put, the regime’s secret police, devoted to building the regime’s power. One answer is to eviscerate their budgets, repeal their enabling legislation, and encourage aggressive lawfare against the regime in retribution for these agencies’ many crimes. That’s probably a best-case scenario. Other scenarios likely require the bankruptcy of the regime, or perhaps its dissolution. That is likely to come with substantial and negative economic effects in the short term. Unfortunately, many Americans are still enthralled to these organizations thanks to relentless state propaganda that tells us this American version of the KGB exists for our own good.  Abolition will clearly take time. Now is a good time to start.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 23:00

• Amidst Staffing Shortage, Merced County's Sheriff Is Often Sole Officer To Respond To Calls
  Amidst Staffing Shortage, Merced County’s Sheriff Is Often Sole Officer To Respond To Calls

  Merced County California’s Sheriff is officially sounding the warning bells.

  Sheriff Vern Warnke, who has worked in the county’s office for 45 years, is officially declaring a public safety crisis, according to a new report from Yahoo and the LA Times. Why? Because he’s often finding himself the only person available to respond to calls.

  In a recent incident, a woman reported a domestic dispute involving her armed husband. With no deputies nearby, Warnke, identifiable by his cowboy hat and badge, intervened and successfully defused the situation.

  “We had nobody to send, and I, as the sheriff, I’m still a cop, I still love what I do. But we’re at that point when the sheriff and administration are having to take calls.”

  Warnke has recently expressed deep concern over the rising number of deputy vacancies. In a recent video message, he lamented the staffing shortage, fearing it could jeopardize public safety, urging residents to recognize the severity of the situation.

  He said in the message: “I’m fighting for the sheriff’s office’s life right now. That means I’m fighting for your public safety. So folks, it’s bad.”

  He continued: “Our correctional bureaus are understaffed and overworked. Our patrol deputies are understaffed and overworked. Our communication center with the dispatchers — it could be to the point when you dial 911, we have nobody who can answer it. And that’s not a joke. It’s not a threat. It’s a fact.”

  

  The report notes that the Merced sheriff’s office, usually staffed with 100 deputies for patrols, currently has 20 vacancies, while 23 custodial deputy positions out of 108 remain unfilled. The investigative unit, intended for 18 members, now operates with only eight, and the dispatch team has four vacancies out of 13 staff.

  Despite recent pleas to the county Board of Supervisors for increased budget and control over fund allocation, Warnke’s requests have been ignored.

  With just four deputies patrolling nearly 2,000 square miles during the day, and dispatch shifts covered by a lieutenant and two sergeants, the office faces severe understaffing. Colleagues are often asked to work overtime beyond their 12-hour shifts, with one dispatcher clocking over 700 hours of overtime in a year.

  California’s law enforcement struggle is widespread, with patrol officer numbers per 100,000 residents at their lowest since 1991, according to a January report. Many cities, including Alameda and San Francisco, have resorted to hefty enlistment bonuses and pay raises to attract and retain officers. Even Los Angeles, with increased officer pay and bonuses, still grapples with vacancies.

  Smaller municipalities offer incentives like gym memberships and dry-cleaning services, but rural counties lack the resources for such incentives. Tehama County suspended daytime patrols in 2022 due to staff shortages.

  Despite its relatively larger budget, Merced County struggles to retain deputies, losing them to neighboring counties with higher pay. Despite offering $10,000 signing bonuses, Merced’s top deputies earn less than those in neighboring counties, creating a cycle of turnover. Warnke expressed frustration with the county’s short-term fixes and lack of long-term planning, highlighting persistent staffing issues despite past raises.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 22:40

• China Bulls Beware: Credit Markets Flash A Warning
  China Bulls Beware: Credit Markets Flash A Warning

  By Ye Xie, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

  Chinese stocks have been on a stealth bull run, but the renewed market optimism may be built a shaky foundation — especially when it comes to credit.

  The MSCI China Index has climbed 24% from its lows in January. The Hang Seng Index has also recovered, so much so that its 9% gain this year is on par with the Nasdaq Composite Index.

  A number of factors have helped. The economic data in the first quarter beat expectations, with stimulus starting to gain traction. Valuations were cheap and investors who were bearish in China needed to close some of their underweighted positions to catch up. In addition, the Politburo meeting last week offered some positive surprises, hinting that the government may find ways to deal with unsold properties.

  But in the big scheme of things, a lot of structural headwinds haven’t disappeared. The housing market, for instance, remains in deep trouble, with new home sales in big cities down 39% in April.

  

  An even bigger risk lies in the broader credit market. Beijing’s strategy has been to shift resources from the speculative housing market to more productive industrial sectors such as electronic vehicles and renewable energy. As a result, bank loans to the housing sector have collapsed, while lending to industries soared.

  

  But there’s a limit to how far such a strategy can go. Some industries are now plagued by overcapacity concerns, while there’s a rising threat of protectionism from foreign countries that have seen a flood of Chinese imports. And in recent months, industrial loan growth has slowed after the epic surge.

  As a result, strategists at Clocktower note that China may be in the potentially treacherous position where credit demand from both households and corporations is falling at the same time.

  

  Why that is important? The strategists explained:

  A credit collapse will be a death knell for a highly leveraged economy like China. If the public sector does not come to support credit growth in a timely manner, a sharp growth deceleration is likely to occur going forward as economic agents will be forced to cut consumption and investment to meet their debt obligations.

  That’s the warning Chinese stock bulls may have to heed.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 22:20

• PA Man Who "Didn't Even Make Over $100,000" Gets $34.6 Billion Tax Bill
  PA Man Who “Didn’t Even Make Over $100,000” Gets $34.6 Billion Tax Bill

  Barry Tangert, of Mount Joy, Lancaster County got the shock of his life after filing his taxes this year, when the PA Department of Revenue sent him a tax bill for more than $34 billion.

  The number was so huge that it didn’t even fit on the bottom line of the bill he was sent. To be exact, the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue that said he owed the state $34,576,826,561.47, according to WGAL. 

  Tangert told WGAL: “I knew it was an obvious blunder. I don’t even make over $100,000 a year, so there’s no way I could owe anywhere near that.”

  

  “I don’t know if it was a computer glitch in the transmission or if it was an input error from my tax preparer,” he added. 

  Tangert said he reached out to the Department of Revenue: “The first thing he said was, ‘You had a good year.’ And I said, ‘I wish’.”

  Neither Tangert of WGAL, both of whom reached out to the Department of Revenue at first, got a clarification about how the error happened. 

  Later, WGAL was told it “was an isolated incident that stemmed from the wrong numbers being inputted into the system”. 

  Barry Tangert’s jaw dropped when he got his latest tax bill. He was charged more than $34 billion in overdue taxes, penalties and interest. https://t.co/smKwkKfwBp

  — Dillon Fuhrman (@DFuhrmanKYMA) April 27, 2024

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  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 22:00

• Ex-CNN Host Chris Cuomo Reveals COVID Vaccine Injury: "I'm Sick Myself"
  Ex-CNN Host Chris Cuomo Reveals COVID Vaccine Injury: “I’m Sick Myself”

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

  Former CNN host Chris Cuomo said in a recent news segment that he is suffering from a health condition after he received a COVID-19 vaccine.

  

  Mr. Cuomo made the revelation during his NewsNation program when he was interviewing a nurse practitioner, Shaun Barcavage, a nurse practitioner who said he suffered vaccine injuries and has received little help or recognition.

  “We know that vaccines can have unintended consequences, AKA side effects, but nobody’s really talking about it because they’re too afraid of blame, and they just want it to go away,” Mr. Cuomo said. “But the problem is people like Shaun—and me—and millions of others who still have weird stuff with their bloodwork and their lives and their feelings—you know, physically—are not going away,” he added.

  Mr. Cuomo, 53, did not go into the details about his symptoms or the brand of COVID-19 vaccine he received. But during the interview, Mr. Cuomo offered to share his doctor’s information with Mr. Barcavage.

  “I’m sick myself, but I’m working with people who are working with this,” Mr. Cuomo said.

  The Epoch Times contacted Mr. Cuomo for comment Sunday.

  Mr. Barcavage told the program that he has received little support from federal health agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

  “I thought there would be people ready to help me after my injury,” he said in the NewsNation segment with Mr. Cuomo, which aired last week. “I reached out to political representatives, the NIH, the CDC, the FDA, but I received no answers. No one wanted to touch it.”

  Other Famous Claims

  Other than Mr. Cuomo, relatively few celebrities have spoken about vaccine-related injuries they may have suffered. However, one of the world’s richest people, Elon Musk, said that he was almost hospitalized after taking the shot.

  Mr. Musk revealed last year he got COVID-19 and experienced “mild cold symptoms,” but took multiple vaccine doses in order travel. However, he revealed that the “third shot almost sent me to hospital,” according to a social media post.

  “How many other people out there have symptoms that are actually from the vaccine or COVID treatment, rather than COVID itself?” he asked.

  “It’s not like I don’t believe in vaccines—I do. However, the cure cannot be potentially worse than the disease,” he said. “Public debate over efficacy should not be shut down,” Mr. Musk continued.

  Around the same time, former Fox News host and current podcaster Megyn Kelly said that she, too, suffered vaccine-related health issues and stated she wishes she never took the jab.

  “I regret getting the vaccine, even though I’m a 52-year-old woman, because I don’t think I needed it,” Ms. Kelly said on a Sept. 6 episode of her podcast. “I think I would have been fine. I had got COVID many times, and it was well past when the vaccine was doing what it was supposed to be doing,” she added.

  “For the first time, I tested positive for an autoimmune issue at my annual physical. And I went to the best rheumatologist in New York, and I asked her, do you think this could have to do with the fact that I got the … booster and then got COVID within three weeks? And she said yes. Yes. I wasn’t the only one she’d seen that with,” Ms. Kelly continued.

  On social media, Ms. Kelly had written that she received the Johnson & Johnson shot. It’s not clear what vaccine Mr. Musk had taken.

  There’s a growing body of data suggesting that COVID-19 vaccine side effects are more serious than previously claimed.

  There have been papers linking spike-protein-based COVID-19 vaccines to skin problems, a dull ringing in the ears known as tinnitus, visual impairments, blood clotting, and even death.

  The CDC still recommends that people of all ages receive a COVID-19 vaccine, saying that the potential side effects do not outweigh COVID-19. In a notice published in late April, the agency again called for adults aged 65 and older to get the latest version of the vaccines.

  Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 21:40

• Boeing's Day Just Got Worse: First Crewed Launch Of Starliner Spacecraft Scrubbed
  Boeing’s Day Just Got Worse: First Crewed Launch Of Starliner Spacecraft Scrubbed

  Update (2120ET): Its not been a great day for Boeing.

  After a wave of whistleblowers and a new FAA probe, the planemaker has abandoned its plans for its first crewed launch of the Starliner spacecraft “out of an abundance of caution,” just two hours before planned takeoff.

  ULA Launch Director Tom Heter III has made the decision to the launch team that launch operations will not continue tonight for #AtlasV and #Starliner.https://t.co/yCCjHu9R5K

  — ULA (@ulalaunch) May 7, 2024

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  The United Launch Alliance (ULA) cites an issue with the oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V rocket for scrubbing the launch.

  Officials involved in the planned launch had said repeatedly that they wouldn’t hesitate to postpone the flight if any risks to safety emerged. Bill Nelson, the administrator for NASA and a former astronaut himself, reiterated that point Monday evening, saying the agency’s first priority is safety.

  “We go when we’re ready,” he said in a post on X.

  *  *  *

  Seven years behind schedule and more than a billion-dollar cost overrun, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is finally atop an Atlas V rocket at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. If all goes according to plan, the launch will occur tonight at 2234 ET. 

  Who’s ready for a rocket launch? #Starliner pic.twitter.com/EU3Z9iNUci

  — Bill Nelson (@SenBillNelson) May 6, 2024

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  Boeing’s Starliner aims to be big defense’s answer to Elon Musk’s SpaceX Crew Dragon, a spacecraft that has already achieved orbit 13 times. Fifty astronauts, cosmonauts, and civilians have flown into orbit via a Crew Dragon, with 12 flights to the International Space Station. 

  At a preflight briefing last week, astronaut Barry “Butch” Wilmore told reporters safety is essential on the crewed test flight:

  “Why do we think it’s as safe as possible? We wouldn’t be standing here if we didn’t.” 

  Wilmore continued:

  “Do we expect it to go perfectly? This is the first human flight of the spacecraft. I’m sure we’ll find things out. That’s why we do this. This is a test flight.”

  Meanwhile, Musk chimed in on X about Starliner being seven years behind schedule:

  Although Boeing got $4.2 billion to develop an astronaut capsule and SpaceX only got $2.6 billion, SpaceX finished 4 years sooner.

  Note, the crew capsule design of Dragon 2 has almost nothing in common with Dragon 1.

  Too many non-technical managers at Boeing.

  Although Boeing got $4.2 billion to develop an astronaut capsule and SpaceX only got $2.6 billion, SpaceX finished 4 years sooner.

  Note, the crew capsule design of Dragon 2 has almost nothing in common with Dragon 1.

  Too many non-technical managers at Boeing. https://t.co/bTXWAfxfrh

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2024

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  SpaceX has proved that the bloated military-industrial complex cannot deliver next-generation technology to the market quickly enough and under budget.

  Watch the launch event live here:

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 21:20

• Illegal Immigrant Crisis Stings Border Town In Unexpected Way
  Illegal Immigrant Crisis Stings Border Town In Unexpected Way

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

  Benny Rodriguez, an 80-year-old grandfather of seven, beams as he points to faded photographs on the wall and proudly narrates the story of Eagle Grocery, a family-run business since 1939.

  

  It withstood a fire in 1948. It emerged from a flood in 1954. And since 2002, the 11,000-square-foot store has persevered in the shadow of a 218,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter two miles away.

  “We’ve been through a lot, but we’re still here, and we love it; we love our community, and that’s what keeps us going,” Mr. Rodriguez told The Epoch Times inside the grocery at Main and Adams Streets.

  But there are new worries about a recurrent threat that Eagle Grocery, the Rodriguez family, and the local economy have faced over the years.

  In attempting to halt illegal crossings, federal officials have sometimes blocked the flow of law-abiding Eagle Grocery shoppers by blocking the legal ports of entry across the border bridges from Mexico.

  That has hurt this shop’s bottom line, but the problem isn’t local. American businesses in border towns from California to Texas suffer when legal ports of entry are blocked, often as a political show of force in response to a surge in illegal crossings.

  Business owners like Mr. Rodriguez and officials in towns like Eagle Pass worry that government leaders might resort to this tactic more often to save face, even though its effectiveness is debatable, while illegal immigration remains the top concern for voters in the 2024 presidential race.

  The last time the legal port of entry was blocked, the economy of Eagle Pass suffered a half-million-dollar loss in just a few weeks, its fire chief, Manuel Mello III, said.

  “If this continues, we will have to place a freeze on hiring personnel, purchasing equipment, and completing projects for our citizens,” he testified to Congress during a January hearing on illegal immigration.

  Similar unintended consequences are playing out in many U.S. border towns. And the collateral damage is rippling across America in ways that most people don’t realize, draining tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in revenue.

  Many Texans, including the Rodriguez clan, say this scenario provides more proof that many decision-makers are out of touch with the realities of life along the border. They hope for a fresh, commonsense antidote.

  

  Beneficial Relationships

  Mexico, the United States’ No. 1 trade partner, helped generate nearly $1 trillion in gross domestic product and at least 8 million jobs across America in 2023, according to a February report from The Perryman Group, a Texas-based firm that has analyzed U.S.–Mexico “Bordernomics” for many years.

  “Trade, business relationships, workforce flows, and family ties link the 10 states along both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border,” benefiting both nations, a Perryman report points out.

  The fate of Eagle Pass, Texas, is intertwined with its Mexican sister city, Piedras Negras—typifying such relationships all along both sides of the border.

  “They depend on us; we depend on them,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “If they don’t come over here, and we don’t go over there, everything stops.”

  In 2016, he served as Eagle Pass’s “Mr. Amigo,” an honor bestowed upon one resident of each city for the annual International Friendship Festival. But in March, the illegal immigration crisis displaced the joint celebration from its usual home in Shelby Park.

  That 47-acre Eagle Pass park sits alongside the Rio Grande, the river separating the United States and Mexico. For months, it has remained closed amid a standoff between federal and state authorities who disagree over how to enforce immigration laws and control the U.S. border.

  Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is among the many Republicans who accuse President Joe Biden of promoting open-border policies; Mr. Abbott emphasizes stringent enforcement of immigration laws and construction of border barriers. The White House has advocated “a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system” while calling on Congress to “make long overdue reforms to U.S. immigration laws.”

  That clash—and unprecedented numbers of illegal immigrants—thrust Eagle Pass, a city of about 30,000 people, into the national spotlight late last year.

  Often called “La Puerta de México,” Mexico’s Door, Eagle Pass serves as the fastest route from Mexico to major Texas cities.

  A pair of international bridges, simply called Bridge One and Bridge Two, connect Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras.

  In a typical month, some 300,000 vehicles and 40,000 pedestrians traverse those bridges legally, city data show.

  But below those bridges, illegal crossings along the Rio Grande reached a record high last December. In that month Border Patrol agents in the Eagle Pass region apprehended more than 71,000 illegal immigrants; border-wide, arrests totaled 251,000, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data.

  

  ‘It Makes No Sense’

  These illegal immigrant surges are unpredictable. CBP has sometimes responded by shutting down bridges leading from Mexico to the United States.

  As soon as the feds stopped passenger cars from crossing Bridge One in Eagle Pass on Nov. 27, 2023, “60 percent of our customer base was gone,” said Mr. Rodriguez’s wife, Angie.

  Many Mexican nationals possess U.S.-issued cards permitting them to travel back and forth. They come into the United States to visit friends and family; they attend school, eat at restaurants, enjoy entertainment, and go shopping. Then they return to their homes in and near Piedras Negras.

  These are the people whom the recent U.S. government border restrictions affected the most, the Rodriguez family’s eldest son, Jaime, 50, told The Epoch Times.

  “So, you close the bridge to legal shoppers … to open the way for illegal people coming across under the bridge; it makes no sense,” Mr. Jaime Rodriguez said.

  But that’s what happens “when you’re making decisions from Washington, D.C., without knowing the repercussions you’re having.”

  The effects reverberate from Brownsville at Texas’s southernmost tip to the border’s end point in California, almost 2,000 miles away, he said.

  Data supports his assertion. Last year’s border “inefficiencies” clogged the commerce pipeline, causing economic losses of $1.6 billion in the Texas border region, the Perryman Group calculated. Nearly 17,000 jobs were lost, about half of them in retail trade.

  Cargo Chaos

  Three weeks into the bridge shutdown, The Texas Border Coalition, which pushes for “secure, efficient borders that facilitate legitimate trade and travel,” appealed to the Biden administration for relief.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 21:00

• 41% Of Americans Think Civil War Likely By 2029, Some Say Sooner Amid Chaos 
  41% Of Americans Think Civil War Likely By 2029, Some Say Sooner Amid Chaos 

  Americans have been stunned by the Democratic megadonors funneling money into Marxist groups, sparking mass chaos across colleges and universities nationwide as risks are mounting that ‘BLM-style’ riots could spill over into city streets this summer.

  Law-abiding Americans have taken notice of radical left-wing policies pushing this nation further into chaos, from failed progressive cities ignoring law and order to open borders igniting the greatest illegal alien invasion this nation has ever seen. There is a growing sense among the population that possibly a controlled demolition of the country is underway by the radical left. 

  The spark that could ignite the next round of social unrest is possibly Marxist ‘useful idiots’ (some of which are professional and paid protesters) on school campuses who quite literally have said they want a revolution to usher in a “socialist reconstruction of America.” 

  An extremist on the mic says: “There’s only one solution, intifada revolution. We must have a revolution so we can have a socialist reconstruction of the USA.”

  This isn’t just about Israel/Palestine. It’s an attempt of the Marxist takeover of America. Our colleges have become… pic.twitter.com/2IEqRyuorB

  — A Man Of Memes (@RickyDoggin) April 30, 2024

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  Americans are closely watching these developments on their smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs and have taken note of the possibility of summer riots, pushing the nation closer and closer to what some voters believe is a civil war on the horizon. 

  A new survey by Rasmussen Reports found that 41% of Americans are concerned a civil war could erupt sometime over the next five years, including 16% who say civil war is “very likely” in that same timeframe. 

  Meanwhile, 49% of respondents do not believe another civil war is likely in the next five years, with 20% expressing that it is “Not At All Likely.” An additional 10% are uncertain about the future. 

  “The possibility that America could face another civil war soon is not too far-fetched for a lot of voters,” the pollsters said about their survey. 

  Given these events last week:

  “Nothing Wrong With Being Hamas”: Radical Leftist Groups Trained Students Before Nationwide Campus Chaos https://t.co/R9n7ZIeY7v

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 5, 2024

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  NYPD Raids Columbia, Protesters Arrested https://t.co/hyGlix0OuC

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 1, 2024

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  As Americans brace for more chaos, radical leftist non-governmental organizations are artificially driving the nation into turmoil. The FBI’s silence on this matter raises questions, with some suggesting their priorities may lie elsewhere, such as targeting President Biden’s political adversaries ahead of the presidential elections in November. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 20:40

• Death Of Self-Checkout, Walmart Charges For It In Some Locations
  Death Of Self-Checkout, Walmart Charges For It In Some Locations

  By Mish Shedlock of MishTalk

  Theft and complaints are taking a toll on self-checkout. Now, Walmart wants you to pay $98 a year for Walmart⁺ for the self-checkout privilege at some stores.

  

  Retailers Scale Back Self-Checkouts

  The Wall Street Journal reports Retailers Scale Back Self-Checkouts to Curb Irritation and Theft

  Attention, shoppers: Retailers are rethinking your cashier job.

  Store operators are modifying how they use self-checkout stations in a bid to boost their bottom lines and improve the shopping experience for customers.

  Some retailers are pulling kiosks out of stores as a way to keep a lid on theft. Others, including Target (TGT), Dollar General (DG) and the regional grocery chain Schnucks, have limited how many items customers can bring to self-checkouts to avoid bottlenecks and alleviate headaches for staff.

  Schnucks now limits its self-checkout lanes to 10 items or fewer. While the primary intention is to improve customer service and checkout efficiency, Simon said the company expects some reduction of theft as well. “This item limit will help us maintain our costs while keeping the prices lower for our customers,” he said.

  About a fifth of people who used self-checkouts said they accidentally took an item without paying for it, according to a survey of 2,000 shoppers last year by LendingTree. Some 15% of self-checkout users admitted to stealing an item on purpose.

  Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, said it removed self-checkout lanes and replaced them with cashier-staffed lanes at locations including stores in Cleveland and Shrewsbury, Mo. When checkout access is limited, some stores are designating self-checkout lanes for Walmart+ customers, who pay a membership fee of $98 a year.

  In 2022, Dollar General said self-checkout was so successful and popular with customers that it tried making some stores entirely self-checkout. A year later, CEO Todd Vasos pulled back on those plans.

  “We had relied and started to rely too much this year on self-checkout in our stores,” Vasos said on a December earnings call. “We should be using self-checkout as a secondary checkout vehicle, not a primary.”

  In March, the company said it would remove self-checkout for stores with the highest levels of shrink. For remaining stores with self-checkout, it would limit customers to scanning five items or fewer.

  Do You Like Self-Checkout?

  I cannot stand it. My wife prefers it. Something always seems to go wrong for me. You cannot scan beer or wine, the bar code won’t read, and Costco has a limit on the cost amount.

  The latter hit me at Costco this week when I tried to scan a whole beef tenderloin. I had to call an attendant a second time for beer. Loose produce is generally an issue.

  Besides, trained clerks are faster, assuming you can find one. But it’s theft issue that will kill self-checkout at grocery stores. Double up a package of T-bone steaks and poof, the store just lost over $30.

  RFIDs can take care of general merchandise, but RFIDs in hamburger?

  Now Walmart wants you to pay for the agony of self-checkout. No thanks.

  A Rise in the Incentive to Steal

  

  On April 27, I noted Growth in Spending Exceeds Growth in Income for Most of the Last 10 Months

  A deeper dive into personal income and outlays for March shows significant signs of consumer stress to maintain standards of living.

  Only twice in the last 10 months has growth in real income been greater than growth in real spending.

  Count dishonest folks struggling with food or rent among those who like self-checkout. The number is sure to rise as the economy slows.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 20:20

• Mapping The Number Of AI Startups By Country
  Mapping The Number Of AI Startups By Country

  Amidst the recent expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu visualized data from Quid (accessed via Stanford’s 2024 AI Index Report) to highlight the top 15 countries which have seen the most AI startup activity over the past decade.

  The figures in this graphic represent the number of newly funded AI startups within that country, in the time period of 2013 to 2023. Only companies that received over $1.5 million in private investment were considered.

  

  Data and Highlights

  The following table lists all of the numbers featured in the above graphic.

  

  From this data, we can see that the U.S., China, and UK have established themselves as major hotbeds for AI innovation.

  In terms of funding, the U.S. is massively ahead, with private AI investment totaling $335 billion between 2013 to 2023. AI startups in China raised $104 billion over the same timeframe, while those in the UK raised $22 billion.

  Further analysis reveals that the U.S. is widening this gap even more. In 2023, for example, private investment in the U.S. grew by 22% from 2022 levels. Meanwhile, investment fell in China (-44%) and the UK (-14.1%) over the same time span.

  Where is All This Money Flowing To?

  Quid also breaks down total private AI investment by focus area, providing insight into which sectors are receiving the most funding.

  

  Attracting the most money is AI infrastructure, research, and governance, which refers to startups that are building AI applications (like OpenAI’s ChatGPT).

  The second biggest focus area is natural language processing (NLP), which is a type of AI that enables computers to understand and interpret human language. This technology has numerous use cases for businesses, particularly in financial services, where NLP can power customer support chatbots and automated wealth advisors.

  With $8 billion invested into NLP-focused startups during 2023, investors appear keenly aware of this technology’s transformative potential.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 20:00

• Mass Arrests In NYC As More Than 1,000 Pro-Palestine Protesters March To Met Gala
  Mass Arrests In NYC As More Than 1,000 Pro-Palestine Protesters March To Met Gala

  The NYPD has begun arresting people after more than 1,000 pro-Palestine demonstrators marched through upper Manhattan towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is hosting the star-studded Met Gala.

  

  As protesters marched down 5th Avenue towards the event, blocking traffic, cops stepped in at the East 79th Street Transverse at Central Park and started the arrests, the NY Post reports.

  NOW: Pro-Palestine protesters sprint towards Park Avenue to rejoin the march, which has been circling around the Met

  Earlier tonight the march became separated into 3 segments but the 3 segments have now rejoined pic.twitter.com/0OzDCiza9N

  — katie smith (@probablyreadit) May 6, 2024

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   “This is an exercise in futility at this point. There’s nowhere for them to go,” one cop attempting to control the crowd was heard telling his partner, according to the report.

  The protesters then filed out of the park and were within sight of the Met, but dozens of police formed a blockade — standing two cops deep — preventing them from heading north.

  “Is that the Met?” one protester asked a friend. “Oh no, we were so close.”

  The group tried to reach the museum again by turning down East 81st Street but was again stopped by more police barricades at the intersection with Madison Avenue. -NY Post

  

  Multiple arrests of pro-Palestine protesters near the Met Gala, where protests at NYU and Hunter College converged.

  SRG is now marching down the street threatening arrest of anyone in the roadway. pic.twitter.com/VOdd52odeQ

  — Isabelle (@isabelle_leyva) May 6, 2024

  “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” the group chanted while waving Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyeh face coverings. 

  

  

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

  #BREAKING MASS ARRESTS outside #MetGala during Pro-palestine protest ‘DAY OF RAGE’ as they marched from Hunter College for Rafah

  Video by @yyeeaahhhboiii2Desk@freedomnews.tv to license pic.twitter.com/neJQcf8TnY

  — Oliya Scootercaster 🛴 (@ScooterCasterNY) May 6, 2024

  “Who do you serve? Who do you protect?” the crowd barked at the cops. 

  🚨#BREAKING: New York Police have just Declare Level 3 Mobilization as Pro-Palestine Clashing Outside Met Gala Forcefully Tearing Through Barricades

  📌#Manhattan | #NewYork

  Currently hundreds of pro-Palestine protesters and other activists are clashing with New York police… pic.twitter.com/B4vF0aUaUE

  — R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) May 6, 2024

  

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

  🚨#BREAKING: Hundreds protest near the Met Gala in solidarity with Palestine and calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Awqi7PfC29

  — Suppressed News. (@SuppressedNws) May 6, 2024

  Things are getting a little chaotic. 

  🚨 JUST IN: HUNDREDS of Palestine “protestors” are SMASHING through police barricades and running towards Met Gala

  Things are getting UGLY in NYCpic.twitter.com/9CqqWSBs9R

  — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 6, 2024

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  Only days ago, we asked, “Will Campus Chaos Across America’s Woke Universities Spread To The Streets?” 

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  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 19:40

• Panama Elects New President Who Vows To Shut Migrant Trail, Restore Economy
  Panama Elects New President Who Vows To Shut Migrant Trail, Restore Economy

  Voters in the Republic of Panama on Sunday elected a new president who has vowed to sever a key segment of the Latina American migrant trail that leads to the United States while restoring the country’s reputation as an investment destination.   

  

  Former security minister Jose Raul Mulino won via an approximate 34% plurality of the vote. He was a late entrant to the race — subbing in for former President Ricardo Martinelli, who was banned from running after being convicted for money laundering and sentenced to nearly 11 years in prison.

  The conviction arose from the use of public money to buy a media firm, which then gave Martinelli a majority ownership position. Martinelli is currently living in the Nicaraguan embassy in Panama City, where he’s been granted asylum. That didn’t stop him from being an active voice in the campaign, urging voters to choose Mulino via messages from his makeshift home in an embassy storeroom. On Sunday, Mulino acknowledged the boost, visiting Martinelli at the Nicaraguan compound after he’d cast his own vote: 

  Gracias JR Mulino por tu visita hoy pic.twitter.com/nyWmBPhkF9

  — Ricardo Martinelli (@rmartinelli) May 5, 2024

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  Mulino, whose five-year term will begin on July 1, has vowed to stem the massive flow of illegal migration that transits Panama en route from South America to the United States. In 2023, more than 500,000 migrants traveled through Panama; most of them were Venezuelan, reports Bloomberg. 

  “I will not permit thousands of illegals to pass through our territory like nothing, without control,” said 64-year-old Mulino as he campaigned for office. Making good on that promise will require major attention to Panama’s notorious Darien Gap, a roadless, 60-mile stretch of of swamps, mountains and rain forest that is the only terrestrial connection between South and Central America.

  

  Passage through the gap is filled with perils, not least of which are assault, robbery and rape at the hands of criminal gangs. Aid groups say the criminals in the zone are extraordinarily evil, and are known to steal food — including baby formula — and abandoning beaten, hungry victims in the jungle. 

  Mulino has also promised to confront the country’s many economic challenges — which have prompted credit downgrades. Fitch lowered Panamanian debt to junk status in March. For now, S&P and Moody’s score Panamanian bonds one slot above junk.

  

  The shuttering of a single enterprise has hit Panama’s economic and fiscal prospects hard. It’s the $10 billion Cobre copper mine run by First Quantum Materials, which accounted for 5% of Panama’s GDP and 1.5% of the global copper supply. In December, the Supreme Court said the company’s contract — which it took over through a hostile takeover — was unconstitutional.

  The terms of that contract were perceived by Panamanians as leaving too much on the table, and the mine has been the subject of major protests. Some of the opposition springs from ecological concerns. Mulino’s challenge: Strike a new deal and get the mine working again, bringing money into the economy and taxes into government coffers.

  

  The country has also suffering an economic hit from a drought that has lowered water levels in Gatun Lake. The lake an important component of the Panama Canal route, and the lower water level forced restrictions that slashed canal transits and total tonnage. “The run rate for fiscal year 2024 of vessels through the canal is 9,700, 23% lower than the 2023 fiscal year throughput,” FreightWaves reported in February. 

  Nudging the canal back toward normal operations will require identifying a new water source. One proposal calls for the construction of a $900 million water reservoir, something the US Army Corp of Engineers explored in the late 1990s. If it gets the green light, construction is expected to span five years. 

  

  In 2022, the country was rocked the largest civil unrest since the end of dictator Manuel Noriega’s reign in 1989. The action included strikes by teachers and construction workers — and demonstrators using fiery roadblocks — as citizens lashed out against rising prices, as well as government corruption in the form of legislators’ families and cronies being granted bloated contracts and salaries. Members of the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party threw fuel on the fire when photos captured them drinking $340 bottles of Macallan whisky while celebrating the start of a new legislative session.  

  Order was restored after President Cortizo ordered 10% government payroll cuts and imposted price controls. Of course, government market interventions are never a path to lasting prosperity and stability. That’s a fact President-Elect Mulino may not fully grasp: One of his promised economic remedies is a boost in the country’s minimum wage.  

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 19:20

• Confidence In Biden Economic Stewardship Historically Low
  Confidence In Biden Economic Stewardship Historically Low

  By Megan Brenan of Gallup

  With Americans less optimistic about the state of the U.S. economy than they have been in recent months and concern about inflation persisting, their confidence in President Joe Biden to recommend or do the right thing for the economy is among the lowest Gallup has measured for any president since 2001. But Biden is not alone in facing a skeptical public, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress, and presumptive presidential nominee Republican Donald Trump garner confidence ratings below 50%.

  

  Forty-six percent of U.S. adults say they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in Trump to do or recommend the right thing for the economy, while fewer say the same of Biden (38%), Powell (39%), and Democratic (38%) and Republican (36%) leaders in Congress.

  To a large degree, this reflects partisanship; Democrats are confident in Biden, Powell and Democratic congressional leaders, while Republicans are confident in Trump and Republican congressional leaders. Partisans have little to no confidence in the opposing party’s leaders. While political independents are not overly confident in any of the leaders, they have the most confidence in Trump.

  These findings are from Gallup’s Economy and Personal Finance poll, conducted April 1-22. During the poll’s field period, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest Consumer Price Index data showing that inflation remains stubbornly elevated, though nowhere near the 40-year highs seen in 2022. After the poll was completed, Powell announced that interest rates would remain steady due to the current inflation rate.

  Confidence in Biden’s Management of Economy Low Compared With Predecessors

  Gallup has tracked confidence in presidents’ ability to do the right thing for the economy annually since George W. Bush took office in 2001. Bush, Barack Obama and Biden (to a lesser extent) enjoyed majority-level economic confidence ratings at the start of their presidencies, while the public’s confidence in Trump never rose above his initial 48% reading. Trump’s current rating is essentially tied with that of his last year in office.

  Obama’s confidence ratings were at least 50% each year except for one (42% in 2014). Biden has fared much worse as confidence in his economic management dropped precipitously in 2022 from 57% to 40% amid sharply higher inflation, and it has been below 40% since then. Only Bush earned lower confidence from Americans than Biden has since last year — by the end of his second term, amid the Great Recession, when just 34% of Americans expressed confidence in his economic abilities.

  

  Confidence in Powell Remains Low Historically

  Powell’s latest economic confidence reading of 39% is statistically similar to last year’s 36%. Alan Greenspan, who served five terms in the position, inspired majority-level confidence for each of Gallup’s five readings between 2001 and 2005. In contrast, the two chairs of the Federal Reserve who followed Greenspan — Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen — failed to register confidence ratings above 50%.

  

  One reason Fed chairs typically engender less confidence than presidents is that the public is not overly familiar with them, and thus more likely to not offer an opinion on their leadership. This year, 16% do not offer an opinion on Powell. Historically, the average percentage not expressing a view on the Fed chair’s leadership has been 17%.

  Below-Average Confidence in Democratic, Republican Congressional Leaders

  The current economic confidence readings for both parties’ congressional leaders are statistically similar to last year’s readings but well below the historical average for each. Democratic leadership’s latest 38% confidence rating is near the all-time low of 34% recorded in 2023 and below the average of 46% since 2001. Republican leadership’s latest 36% rating is well above the 24% low for that group, in 2014, but significantly below the historical average of 43%.

  Confidence ratings were last at the majority level in 2009 for Democratic congressional leaders and in 2003 for Republican congressional leaders.

  

  Confidence in Economic Leaders Driven by Partisanship

  Americans’ confidence in these key leaders is driven by partisans’ differing views. Broad majorities of Republicans express confidence in the economic competence of Trump (86%), their party’s presumptive presidential nominee, and 82% of Democrats do the same of Biden.

  Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say they are confident in their own party’s congressional leaders (80% vs. 67%, respectively). Democrats (56%) are also more confident than Republicans (30%) in Powell’s handling of the economy. Few in either party are confident in the opposing party’s presidential candidate or congressional leaders.

  Roughly one-third of independents say they are confident in Biden, Powell and both parties’ congressional leaders. Trump earns higher confidence from independents (45%).

  

  Bottom Line

  Americans’ assessments of the national economy are bleak, and they lack confidence in U.S. leaders’ ability to manage it properly. Democrats trust Biden and Powell on the economy, while Republicans trust Trump — but relatively few independents trust any of the current leaders who have a hand in managing the economy. The net result is that, unlike as recently as 2021, none of the key national figures who can influence the economy earns the trust of a majority of Americans.

  Biden’s subpar rating could have significant electoral implications as not only does he have the lowest economic rating of any president seeking reelection since Gallup began tracking this in 2001, but independents trust his opponent more than him.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 19:00

• Five Simple Policies To Reset America's "Rigged" Health System  
  Five Simple Policies To Reset America’s “Rigged” Health System  

  Calley Means, a one-time consultant for big food and pharmaceutical companies in the Washington, DC, swap and now the founder of TrueMed, a company that enables tax-free spending on food and exercise, has outlined on X five simple policies the federal government can implement to correct the “rigged system” that has contributed to the nation’s obesity crisis. 

  Means first compares childhood obesity rates in the US, over 20%, with those in Japan, which are only 4%. He said 50% of US teens are overweight or obese. As we’ve noted before, this is a national security threat, given morbidly obese men aged 18-25 are no good for the modern battlefield if World War III breaks out in Eastern Europe and or the Middle East. 

  Even more shocking is that the federal government nor politicians on Capitol Hill offer any simple lifestyle changes that could begin to correct this crisis. Instead, the solution is to bankrupt America’s Medicare program through Big Pharma’s blockbuster weight loss drugs, such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic.

  

  Means calls the health system “rigged” and offers five simple policies that are getting attention from America’s billionaires:

  1. Ban TV Pharma Ads

  • The US and New Zealand are the only countries in the world that allow pharma ads.

  • Pharma money is 55% of TV news spending. The reason pharma spends is not to influence consumers – it is to influence the news itself.

  • The President can instruct the FDA Office of Prescription Drug Promotion to ban pharma ads tomorrow.

  2. No soda on SNAP (food stamps)

  • It is criminal that 10% of all SNAP funding goes to sugary drinks – which are leading to one-third of teens to have pre-diabetes.

  • Using existing drug policy, the President can issue an executive order tomorrow that government money should not subsidize an addictive, toxic substance for kids.

  3. Fire the Corrupt USDA Nutrition Panel

  • 95% of the USDA panel that makes nutrition policy is paid for by food companies.

  • This panel recommends 10% of a 2-year-old’s diet can be added sugar.

  • The President can fire this panel tomorrow and insist on unbiased guidelines.

  4. No conflicts of interest among NIH researchers

  • This sounds like a no-brainer, but it is a radical suggestion.

  • Currently, there are no conflict-of-interest bans at the NIH and 8,000 researchers have “major” conflicts. 

  • This Is why 40x more money is spent on ways to “manage” cancer than to prevent it — prevention doesn’t make money for pharma.

  • This can be changed tomorrow.

  5. Reform Insane Ag Subsidies

  • Today, the federal government subsidizes tobacco more than vegetables.

  • 90% of agriculture subsidies go the components of ultra-processed food (corn, soy, wheat) – distorting incentives for farmers

  • These subsidies are Implemented by the Ag Department.

  In Japan, the childhood obesity rate is 4%.

  In the US, it is over 20%.

  50% of American teens are overweight or obese.

  This moral stain on our country isn’t “free choice.” US parents don’t hate their kids more.

  We have a rigged system + can change it with 5 simple policies:…

  — Calley Means (@calleymeans) May 5, 2024

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  Bill Ackman and Elon Musk took notice of the proposed policies… 

  Ozempic ftw 🤷‍♂️

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 5, 2024

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  Means added, “Japan has a 5x lower childhood obesity rate BECAUSE they address the root cause.” 

  Japan has a 5x lower childhood obesity rate BECAUSE they address the root cause.

  Diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity, autism, and autoimmune conditions are all significantly higher in the US because we trust pharma too much – not because we don’t have enough drugs.

  — Calley Means (@calleymeans) May 5, 2024

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  In a separate post in March, Means wrote, “If our kids are being poisoned by our food, the solution is not to let that happen + inject them w government-funded Ozempic for life.” 

  .@elonmusk is the most important living American, but he’s dead wrong on Ozempic.

  If our kids are being poisoned by our food, the solution is not to let that happen + inject them w government-funded Ozempic for life.

  It’s to stop poisoning them.

  This is a first order issue. pic.twitter.com/zs6nI3PToj

  — Calley Means (@calleymeans) February 4, 2024

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  Meanwhile… 

  

  More than ever, Americans must break free of the food-industrial complex and big pharma or risk early death. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 18:40

• DHS Shuts Down Expert Group That Denied Hunter Biden Laptop Story
  DHS Shuts Down Expert Group That Denied Hunter Biden Laptop Story

  Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

  The Biden administration has agreed to shut down a national security experts’ group as part of settling a lawsuit accusing the group of being politically biased in favor of Democrats.

  On Sept. 19, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group to provide advice on intelligence and national security efforts. In November, America First Legal (AFL) and former Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell sued the DHS, the group, and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing that the experts group violated provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

  

  Section 5 of FACA requires that an advisory committee be “fairly balanced in terms of the points of view.” It also mandates there be provisions to ensure that “the advice and recommendations of the advisory committee will not be inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority or by any special interest.”

  The lawsuit noted that “the Experts Group’s members are political allies of the Biden Administration. Most members have applauded the Administration’s decisions and fervidly condemned former President Trump’s America First approach to foreign policy.”

  “They have overwhelmingly donated to President Biden or other Democrats. Defendant Mayorkas selected members that are agreeable, not balanced,” it stated.

  Some of the members were also signatories of a letter that dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story as Russian disinformation.

  On May 2, plaintiffs and the defendants in the case agreed to settle the matter, with the DHS agreeing to wind up the experts group in 30 days.

  The group “will not hold any future meetings, and the Department will not reconstitute the Experts Group inconsistent with the FACA or the Homeland Security Act of 2002,” the joint notice of the agreement stated.

  The DHS agreed to provide AFL with the group’s meeting agendas and minutes, which have to be submitted within 15 days. “Based on these representations, Plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss their lawsuit with prejudice.”

  The department did not admit any wrongdoing and maintained its position that the group did not violate FACA.

  “Thanks to the courage of Ric Grenell in standing up to the Deep State, we have just achieved an unqualified legal victory over Mayorkas and Biden. As a result of our lawsuit in federal court, DHS is surrendering in total to our demands,” said Stephen Miller, president of America First Legal.

  The “partisan” experts group “would have been used to promote censored, unethical spying, and gross civil rights invasions of political enemies,” he added.

  Mr. Grenell said that DHS “surrendered” on the issue because they knew AFL was in the right and that “Biden’s team broke the law.”

  This is the second time that the Biden administration has agreed to disband an advisory group due to violating FACA provisions. In December 2022, the Department of Education disbanded its National Parents and Families Engagement Council after legal action brought by AFL and its clients.

  Partisan Committee

  When the DHS experts group was first announced, the panel comprised seventeen members. In its lawsuit, AFL stated that these members “do not represent a fair balance of viewpoints.”

  Two of the panel members were John Brennan, a former director of the CIA, and James Clapper, former director of national intelligence. Both of them were signatories of the “Letter of 51,” using their intelligence credentials to outrightly dismiss the Hunter Biden laptop story ahead of the 2020 election.

  Despite the FBI having validated the authenticity of the laptop, the letter claimed that the story had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

  Another panel member, Tashina Gauhar, a former associate deputy attorney general and deputy assistant attorney general, is linked to the 2016 Trump–Russia collusion probe.

  She was “extensively involved in the FBI’s corrupt, partisan probe into the baseless allegations that former President Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia before the 2016 election, including drafting the FISA applications that were used to spy on the Trump campaign,” the lawsuit noted.

  Out of the 17 panel members, 13 have a history of political contributions, collectively making 945 contributions to candidates for political office that are reportable to the Federal Election Commission.

  “Of those 945 contributions, 932 (98.62 percent) were made to Democrat candidates for office, while only 12 (1.27 percent) were made to Republican candidates for office,” the lawsuit stated.

  “Of the 13 contributors, 9 contributed only to Democrats, whereas 1 contributed only to a Republican (with a single donation of $250). Three contributed to members of both parties, but of those, 2 were heavily lopsided in favor of Democrat candidates. The other contributor gave 8 contributions to Democrat candidates and 7 to Republican candidates.”

  In total, the political contributions made by the panel members came to over $168,000 since January 2012, out of which more than $156,000 went to Democrat candidates.

  On Sept. 29 after the DHS announced the experts group, GOP lawmakers had written a letter to Mr. Mayorkas, asking him to rescind appointments of people like Mr. Clapper and Mr. Brennan as they were “individuals known to spread lies and disinformation.”

  A few days earlier on Sept. 26, Rep. August Pfluger (R-Tex.) introduced HR 5729 which sought to “prohibit the use of Federal funds to establish a Homeland Intelligence Experts Group and for other purposes.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 18:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Biden's New Carbon Capture Mandates Will Cause Blackouts, Increases Prices
  Biden’s New Carbon Capture Mandates Will Cause Blackouts, Increases Prices

  By Mish Shedlock of MishTalk

  The lie of the day is from the EPA: Carbon capture will pay for itself (thanks to IRA subsidies). No, it won’t even with subsidies. Expect blackouts and a higher price for electricity.

  

  Suite of Standards to Raise Costs, Reduce Output

  Let’s take a dive into the EPA news release Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Suite of Standards to Reduce Pollution from Fossil Fuel-Fired Power Plants

  “Today, EPA is proud to make good on the Biden-Harris Administration’s vision to tackle climate change and to protect all communities from pollution in our air, water, and in our neighborhoods,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “By developing these standards in a clear, transparent, inclusive manner, EPA is cutting pollution while ensuring that power companies can make smart investments and continue to deliver reliable electricity for all Americans.”

  A final rule for existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants that would ensure that all coal-fired plants that plan to run in the long-term and all new baseload gas-fired plants control 90 percent of their carbon pollution.

  The final emission standards and guidelines will achieve substantial reductions in carbon pollution at reasonable cost. The best system of emission reduction for the longest-running existing coal units and most heavily utilized new gas turbines is based on carbon capture and sequestration/storage (CCS) – an available and cost-reasonable emission control technology that can be applied directly to power plants and can reduce 90 percent of carbon dioxide emissions from the plants.

  Lower costs and continued improvements in CCS technology, alongside tax incentives from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that allow companies to largely offset the cost of CCS, represent recent developments in emissions controls that informed EPA’s determination of what is technically feasible and cost-reasonable. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law also includes billions of dollars to advance and deploy CCS technology and infrastructure. EPA projects that the sector can comply with the standards with negligible impact on electricity prices, thanks to cost declines in CCS and other emissions-reducing technologies. EPA analysis also finds that power companies can comply with the standards while meeting grid reliability, even when considering increased load growth.

  Final EPA Rule

  The EPA’s Final Rule is only 1,020 pages long. There were 953 references to carbon capture and sequestration/storage (CCS).

  I went through some of those 953 references and found these tidbits.

  CCS is an adequately demonstrated technology that achieves significant emissions reduction and is cost-reasonable, taking into account the declining costs of the technology and a substantial tax credit available to sources.

  The first component of the BSER [Best System of Emission Reduction] for base load combustion turbines is highly efficient generation (based on the emission rates that the best performing units are achieving) and the second component for base load combustion turbines is utilization of CCS with 90 percent capture.

  One of the key GHG [Greenhouse Gasses] reduction technologies upon which the BSER determinations are founded in these final rules is CCS—a technology that can capture and permanently store CO2 from fossil fuel-fired EGUs.

  I confess. I did not read all 1020 pages and don’t intend to. I have seen enough by reading through a dozen or so of the 953 references to CCS.

  Returning to the Biden-Harris document I note references to “reasonable cost” and “largely offset the cost of CCS.” Thus CCS is admittedly not cost effective even with subsidies.

  IISD Sustainable Development

  For a rebuttal to the above Biden claims, please consider the International Institution for Sustainable Development article Why Carbon Capture and Storage Is Not a Net-Zero Solution for Canada’s Oil and Gas Sector

  The poor track record of CCS in Canada is part of a broader trend. According to the Global CCS Institute (2022), the global growth of carbon captured by commercially operating CCS facilities has been much slower than anticipated. As of September 2022, only 30 commercial CCS projects are operating across all sectors around the world, capturing 42.5 Mtpa. This falls far short of the IEA’s (2009) previous target of 300 Mtpa by 2020. Most proposed projects have been withdrawn: of the 149 CCS projects anticipated to be storing carbon by 2020, over 100 were cancelled or placed on indefinite hold (Abdulla et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2021). In the United States, despite significant industry and government investment in the technology, more than 80% of proposed CCS projects have failed to become operational due to high costs, low technological readiness, the lack of a credible financial return, and dependence on government incentives that are withdrawn. Of those projects that are operating globally, 73% of the carbon captured is used for EOR.

  Put simply, proponents of CCS have repeatedly over-promised on the technology’s ability to reduce emissions, and CCS projects have under-delivered.

  CCS is both energy and capital intensive. The greatest amount of energy is required for the capture and compression of carbon, with additional amounts needed for transportation and storage. Capture and compression alone require 330–420 kWh per tonne of CO2 captured. CCS projects increase the energy demand of the facility they capture carbon from by 15%–25% on average, which stands to increase emissions given that the energy used to capture CO2 is often natural gas-powered electricity. In general, the technology is highly energy inefficient and generates its own emissions.

  The above doc largely pertains to carbon capture in Canada’s Oil and Gas Sector, not electricity production, bit it is instructive on the difficulty of and inefficacy of carbon capture.

  The lead CCS image is from that post.

  Biden EPA’s Plan to Ration Electricity

  The Wall Street Journal calls the CCS mandate Biden EPA’s Plan to Ration Electricity

  Section 111 of the Clean Air Act says the EPA can regulate pollutants from stationary sources through the “best system of emission reduction” that is “adequately demonstrated.” Carbon capture is neither the best nor adequately demonstrated. As of last year, only one commercial-scale coal plant in the world used carbon capture, and no gas-fired plants did.

  EPA says Inflation Reduction Act tax credits and funding in the 2021 infrastructure bill will “incentivize and facilitate the deployment” of carbon capture. But subsidies would have to be two to three times larger to make the technology cost-effective at a coal plant. Carbon capture reduces a plant’s efficiency, which also raises costs.

  Because carbon capture uses 20% to 25% of the electricity generated by a power plant, less will be available to the grid. That means more generators will be needed to provide the same amount of power. But new gas-fired plants won’t be built because the technology will make them uneconomic. Talk about a catch-22.

  Another problem: CO2 must be stored underground in certain geologic formations, largely in the upper Midwest and Gulf Coast. Permitting new wells for CO2 injections can take six years. Pipelines to transport CO2 can take even longer. Green groups oppose pipelines for CO2 as they do for oil and natural gas.

  All of this will hit while demand for power is surging amid new manufacturing needs and an artificial intelligence boom. Texas’s grid operator this week raised its forecast for demand growth for 2030 by 40,000 megawatts compared to last year’s forecast. That’s about seven times the power that New York City uses at any given time.

  Texas power demand will nearly double over the next six years owing to data centers, manufacturing plants, crypto mining and the electrification of oil and gas equipment. When temperatures in Texas recently climbed into the 80s, the grid operator told power plants not to shut down for maintenance. Americans around the country are increasingly being told to raise their thermostats during the summer and avoid running appliances to prevent blackouts.

  Even some Democrats are noticing the pinch on their voters’ pocketbooks. Reps. Marcy Kaptur, Henry Cuellar, Mary Sattler Peltola, Vicente Gonzalez and Jared Golden last weekend urged President Biden to defer finalizing EPA’s power-plant rules because they could “inadvertently exacerbate existing problems related to the unaffordability of electricity” and cause “increased risks to electric reliability.”

  Mr. Biden’s new rules will surely draw a legal challenge. But as litigation plays out, the tremendous uncertainty will delay investment in much-needed new gas plants. Americans didn’t face energy rationing in Mr. Biden’s first term, but they might in a second.

  The Inflation Reduction Act Keeps Biting in Predictable Ways

  Biden plans to reduce inflation by raising costs, producing less electricity when more is needed, force people into EVs without a capable grid, pipeline captured carbon when the pipelines don’t exist and allegedly increase reliability.

  It’s so stupid even some Democrats are concerned. Well not to worry, this can all be done at a “reasonable cost” with costs “largely offset” thanks to the IRA.

  Expect blackouts and a much higher price for electricity as a key component of “reasonable cost”.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 02:00

• Yen's First Intervention Rally Owed Very Little to Short Squeeze
  Yen’s First Intervention Rally Owed Very Little to Short Squeeze

  By Garfield Reynolds, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

  The first of Japan’s apparent twin interventions last week may have capped USD/JPY for some time to keep the pair under 160. But that had very little to do with flushing out yen short positioning at least with the initial move. Large speculators as covered by CFTC data through last Tuesday were still very strongly positioned for yen declines, highlighting both why Japan was so willing to apparently step in again on Thursday morning Tokyo time, and why it may need to do so several more times in the coming weeks.

  The latest CFTC reading shows yen bears trimmed positions for the first time in seven weeks, but they only cut back by 11,531 contracts — less than the shorts added in the prior week to April 23!

  So the newest, weakest hands look to be the only ones who got forced out when Japan sold an estimated $35b to buy yen. That did at least stop the CFTC shorts exceeding the record 188,000 contracts touched in 2007, though it left them at extreme levels.

  

  Perhaps the second time Japan stepped in — after the Federal Reserve’s Wednesday decision — caused more of a positioning shift, coming as it did in the US session rather than during Tokyo hours. But we won’t find out how much of an impact until this coming Friday’s release from the CFTC.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/06/2024 – 00:36

• Marine Vet With PTSD Given More Than 5 Years In Prison, Fined $200,000 Over Jan. 6
  Marine Vet With PTSD Given More Than 5 Years In Prison, Fined $200,000 Over Jan. 6

  Authored by Joseph M. Hanneman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Ryan Taylor Nichols, a Marine Corps veteran and disaster-rescue specialist who argued that post-traumatic stress drove his behavior at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, was sentenced on May 2 to more than five years in prison and fined $200,000 for assaulting police and obstruction of an official proceeding.

  

  Mr. Nichols, 33, of Longview, Texas, was ordered by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth to serve 63 months behind bars and fined $200,000—the lion’s share of the $237,708 raised on a GiveSendGo page set up for his legal and household expenses.

  It was the largest fine issued in a Jan. 6 criminal case.

  Judge Lamberth also ordered Mr. Nichols to serve 36 months of supervised release and pay $2,000 in restitution.

  Prosecutors sought an upward departure from federal sentencing guidelines in asking for an 83-month prison sentence. The Department of Justice stressed Mr. Nichols’s use of pepper spray on police and his incendiary rhetoric before, during, and after Jan. 6.

  Mr. Nichols argued for time served after 28 months in custody, citing his severe PTSD and “horrific prison conditions” at the District of Columbia jail as major mitigating factors.

  “Ryan Nichols is a good guy who made a bad decision on January 6. He’s paid his debt in the most cruel and unusual way possible,” defense attorney Joseph D. McBride told The Epoch Times. “The fact that he’s got to go back to jail for any period of time sickens me to my stomach.”

  Mr. McBride said despite not objecting to the sentencing calculation made by the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Services System, the DOJ complained to Judge Lamberth on May 2 that an error needed correcting that would bump up Mr. Nichols’s sentencing range.

  The judge allowed the last-minute change, Mr. McBride said.

  “I’m disappointed. I respect his [Judge Lamberth’s] service, but I don’t respect his decision today.”

  ‘Expletive-Laden Tirade’

  Federal prosecutors stressed Mr. Nichols’s use of potent pepper spray on the police line near the Lower West Terrace tunnel and his participation in a heave-ho maneuver against police as evidence of his propensity for violence.

  Mr. Nichols’s speech and his belief that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from President Donald J. Trump drew extensive commentary and attention from prosecutors in their 36-page sentencing memorandum.

  On his walk from the Ellipse to the Capitol after President Trump’s speech on Jan. 6, Mr. Nichols let loose with an “eighteen-minute, expletive-laden, threatening tirade,” prosecutors wrote.

  

  “I’m hearing reports that [Vice President Mike] Pence caved. I’m telling you if Pence caved, we’re gonna drag [expletive] through the streets,“ Mr. Nichols said on a social media broadcast. ”You [expletive] politicians are going to get [expletive] drug through the streets. Because we’re not going to have our [expletive] stolen. We’re not going to have our election or our country stolen.”

  After hearing that protesters had breached the Capitol, Mr. Nichols urged them to “get up in there.”

  “Cut their heads off,“ he said. ”Hey, Republican protestors are trying to enter the House right now at the Capitol is the word that I’m getting. So, if that’s true, then get up in there. If you voted for treason, we’re going to drag your [expletive] through the streets.”

  Mr. Nichols also chanted, “Lock and load, lock and load, lock and load,” the DOJ memo said.

  Late on Jan. 6, Mr. Nichols took to social media again to proclaim himself leader of a revolution, the DOJ said.

  “So, yes, I’m calling for violence! And I will be violent!“ Mr. Nichols said. ”Because I’ve been peaceful and my voice hasn’t been heard! I’ve been peaceful and my vote doesn’t count! I’ve been peaceful and the courts won’t hear me. So you’re [expletive] right, I’m going to be violent now!”

  PTSD Drove Behavior

  Mr. McBride cited Mr. Nichols’s PTSD that grew out of his Marine Corps service and his work rescuing stranded residents and pets after countless hurricanes to cast his Jan. 6 behavior in context.

  Because Mr. Nichols had stopped taking his psychiatric medications during the summer of 2020, he believed the country was at war when he traveled to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, Mr. McBride wrote in his 28-page sentencing memo.

  Jan. 6 was a “PTSD-related aberration in Ryan’s law-abiding life,” Mr. McBride wrote.

  “Ryan’s earnest desire to legally participate in political protest was hijacked by his PTSD, which told him that America was under attack,” Mr. McBride said. “By the time Ryan walked over to the Capitol from the Ellipse on January 6, his PTSD had reached category-5 five hurricane status. His pupils were dilated. His heart was pounding.”

  The man who recorded the video late on Jan. 6 “was so detached from reality that neither Ryan nor anyone from his family recognized him,” Mr. McBride wrote. “That is a man who lost impulse control because PTSD hit the override button in his brain.”

  Mr. Nichols founded a nonprofit organization called Rescue the Universe that has saved the lives of more than 150 people in the aftermath of hurricanes, tropical storms, and tornadoes.

  During Hurricane Michael in 2018, Mr. Nichols drove from Texas to Florida to assist the Coast Guard with rescues. He saved a woman who was eight months pregnant after she was trapped under the rubble of her home, Mr. McBride wrote.

  

  “On another occasion, he was called upon to evacuate several nursing homes. The staff evacuated and left the elderly residents to die,” Mr. McBride wrote. “Ryan tried to save as many lives as possible but could not save everyone.”

  Although Mr. Nichols informed the U.S. Marshals and jail staff that he suffered from PTSD when he was arrested in January 2021, solitary confinement was used against him, and he suffered from other “horrible” conditions during pretrial detainment, Mr. McBride said.

  ‘Driven to Suicide Watch’

  In one instance, “he was thrown into solitary confinement for three weeks,” Mr. McBride wrote. “His drinking water was regularly cut off for 20-hour periods. He was harassed and prodded to the point where he was driven to suicide watch.

  “Suicide watch involved Ryan being stripped naked and forced to wear a plastic Tyvek suit in a brightly lit room where the guards continued to harm and encourage him to kill himself,” Mr. McBride said.

  The mistreatment of Mr. Nichols was the subject of an Aug. 22, 2022, habeas corpus petition and numerous follow-up petitions seeking his release from custody. On Nov. 22, 2022, U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan ordered Mr. Nichols released to the custody of his wife, Bonnie Nichols.

  

  Mr. Nichols spent 350 days on home detention before being ordered back behind bars in November 2023 when he pleaded guilty to two criminal counts under a deal with the DOJ.

  In his sentencing memo, Mr. McBride argued that pretrial services erred in its calculation of possible prison time under federal guidelines. The correct range should have been 24–30 months, he said. Given Mr. Nichols’s 28 months in pretrial detention, he would be eligible for a sentence of time served.

  Mr. McBride filed 57 character letters with Mr. Nichols’s sentencing memo and video statements from his client’s wife, father, and sons.

  “I don’t think my Dad is a criminal and he’s been locked away for a long time,“ Blake Nichols, 8, said in one video. ”I’ve known him for seven years and I think he’s a hero and he did a lot of good things in life and all of that added up to one bad thing.

  “I was just wondering if you could make him come home,” the boy said. “It’s been very bad for him not to be here and I’ve been thinking about him all night.”

  Mr. Nichols has great remorse over Jan. 6, Mr. McBride wrote, and he has suffered greatly in prison for it.

  “Ryan is mortified by the videos and images depicting his outlandish January 6 behavior,” Mr. McBride wrote. “He apologizes sincerely for his words and actions on January 6, 2021, which harmed his family, country, and himself.

  “January 6 is a severe and unfortunate aberration in his law-abiding life.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 23:20

• Texas AG Threatens "Every Possible Response" After Defiant Austin Allows "Gender Affirming" Care For Minors
  Texas AG Threatens “Every Possible Response” After Defiant Austin Allows “Gender Affirming” Care For Minors

  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has responded to a defiant decision by the Austin City Council (ACC), which voted on Thursday to ignore a state law which prohibits “gender transitioning or gender reassignment procedure or treatment” for minors under the age of 18.

  

  In a 10-1 vote, the ACC passed the resolution which directs city resources away from SB 14.

  Paxton Responds

  “On May 2, 2024, the Austin City Council passed a resolution that purportedly directs the city manager and city employees not to comply with Texas’s prohibition of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and invasive surgeries for children who believe their gender is different than their biological sex,” Paxton said in response.

  “Riddled with problems, the resolution starts with the falsehood that such prohibited treatments have ‘proven to be evidence-based, medically necessary, and lifesaving.’ In addition to a growing body of medical research rejecting such claims, Texas concluded that the proposed treatments for minors are dangerous, and banned the practices by passing SB 14,” he said.

  Paxton says his office stands ready to ensure Austin follows state law.

  “If the City of Austin refuses to follow the law and protect children, my office will consider every possible response to ensure compliance,” he said. “Texas municipalities do not have the authority to pick and choose which state laws they will or will not abide by. The people of Texas have spoken, and the Austin City Council must listen.”

  As the Epoch Times notes further, the resolution was introduced by Council Member Chito Vela, who represents District 4. It was co-sponsored by four other council members—Ryan Alter, Zo Qadri, José Velásquez, and Vanessa Fuentes.

  The one no vote was Council Member Mackenzie Kelly of District 6.

  “Except to the extent required by law, it is the policy of the City that no City personnel, funds, or resources shall be used to investigate, criminally prosecute, or impose administrative penalties upon: (1) a transgender or nonbinary individual for seeking healthcare, or (2) an individual or organization for providing or assisting with the provision of healthcare to a transgender or nonbinary individual,” the resolution states.

  It also directs Austin police to make enforcement of SB 14 their lowest priority.

  According to Mr. Paxton, the resolution is nothing more than an “empty political statement” citing that each clause in the resolution directs the city manager to defy SB 14 with the qualifying statement “except to the extent required by law.” He said the ACC would order the city manager and employees to follow the law while pretending to say the opposite.

  “The vote by the Austin City Council today to support sex change operations for kids is infuriating but comes at no surprise. Repeatedly, Austin City Council has cared more about virtue signaling than the health and safety of its citizens,” Mary Elizabeth Castle, director of Government Relations for Texas Values, told The Epoch Times via email.

  

  Ms. Castle said: “the resolution by its nature does not address the specific enforcement of law and instead directs entities like the local police department and the district attorney, who were not given enforcement power by SB 14, to ignore the law. The resolution is mostly a shell game to make it seem like Austin City Council will not comply with the law.”

  In previous years, Ms. Castle said the ACC’s measures with pro-life laws and defunding the police have directed law enforcement to “either ignore complaints regarding laws on social issues they do not agree with or push them to the bottom of the stack.

  “Today’s action signals to the larger Austin community that sex change operations for kids are no big deal, when in fact transitioning a child can be deadly and dangerous,” said Ms. Castle.

  A new long-term study out of the Netherlands found many adolescents who have doubts about their identity and gender identity grow out of it. The study also found it is normal to have doubts about one’s identity and it is actually relatively common.

  In 2023, Mr. Abbott signed SB 14 into law. The law prohibits any physician or health care provider from “transitioning a child’s biological sex as determined by the sex organs, chromosomes, and endogenous profiles of the child or affirming the child ’s perception of the child ’s sex if that perception is inconsistent with the child ’s biological sex.”

  The law prohibits doctors from performing numerous procedures on minors as part of gender transitioning including castration, hysterectomy, metoidioplasty, orchiectomy, among others.

  Prescription drugs associated with transitioning such as puberty blockers and supraphysiologic doses of testosterone to females or estrogen to males were also prohibited in Texas.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 22:45

• Appeals Court Hammers Prosecution About FBI Conduct In Whitmer Kidnap Plot
  Appeals Court Hammers Prosecution About FBI Conduct In Whitmer Kidnap Plot

  Authored by Ken Silva via Headline USA,

  The much-anticipated appeal hearing was held Thursday for Barry Croft and Adam Fox, the alleged “ringleaders” of the 2020 militia conspiracy to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

  

  Croft and Fox were convicted of plotting to kidnap Whitmer after their second trial in late 2022. At their first trial earlier that year, a jury acquitted two other men while failing to reach a verdict for Croft and Fox.

  The two men appealed their convictions on multiple grounds. Thursday’s hearing focused largely on the conduct of FBI informants and their handling agents.

  Oral arguments in appeal of conviction of Adam Fox and Barry Croft–two men entrapped by FBI in Whitmer fednapping hoax–about to begin.

  Basis of appeal in Fox case. Will cover live: pic.twitter.com/8DbxqFQ0fw

  — Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) May 2, 2024

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

  Croft’s attorney, Timothy Sweeney, argued that his client should get a retrial because he wasn’t allowed to introduce numerous text messages that showed improper conduct by the FBI.

  Those text messages showed how FBI informants were pressuring Fox and Croft to formulate a plan against Whitmer. A list of the texts can be found in this document.

  Representing the government, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler argued that the FBI text messages were irrelevant because Fox and Croft were already predisposed to committing an act of terrorism.

  “All the [FBI] statements identified by defense go to inducement. If jury found they were predisposed [to kidnapping Whitmer], none of that matters,” Kessler said. “This court has held that entrapment can only happen if the government plants an idea in an innocent persons’ head.”

  The appeals justices expressed skepticism about Kessler’s argument. One justice disagreed with the prosecutor’s reading of the law.

  “They’re saying the jury didn’t see all the pressure, all the government informants pounding on them. Surely that’s relevant?” the justice asked Kessler, to which he responded: “Theoretically, yes, but they don’t identify any statements where an informant actually put that kind of pressure to go kidnap the governor.”

  The justices then identified several statements where informants pressured the defendants to move forward with a plot against Whitmer. For example, FBI informant Steve Robeson said in August 2020: “If we don’t talk about actually doing what the fuck we need to be doing, I’m done with meetings.”

  Kessler argued that Robeson was only pressuring the defendants to disclose their plan, but the appeals justice seemed to disagree. “I’m reading this as, ‘We need to make a plan,’” she said.

  The appeals justices presiding over the case were Judge Joan Larsen, Judge Chad Readler, and Judge Stephanie Davis. Audio, but not video, of the hearing was streamed, making it difficult to identify which justices were speaking.

  A recap of the hearing can be found here:

  Oral Arguments on Appeal: Adam Fox & Barry Croft, Whitmer “Kidnap Plot” Case https://t.co/CcBkLJFMOb

  — Radix Verum (@NotRadix) May 2, 2024

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

  The court reserved its decision for a later date.

  Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 22:10

• There Is Nothing Exceptional About US "Exceptionalism"
  There Is Nothing Exceptional About US “Exceptionalism”

  By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

  On Friday, after the jobs report, we heard a lot of chatter about “Goldilocks.” While we wrote NFP – Great for Markets, we caveated that with – for now. Normally we would agree that there is a “transition” period from “everything is great,” to “everything is bad.” While I’m not saying that everything is bad, I do wonder if we can have more of a “gap” than a transition, largely due to the influence that “American Exceptionalism” has had on people’s perceptions. According to Google Trends, the term peaked on searches this year the week of February 4th and is declining again

  Yes, there are some things that have been exceptional. AI has certainly been exceptional on many fronts. The U.S. efforts to help stop Iran’s missile barrage was also exceptional. Away from that, I’m seeing less and less “exceptionalism.” Normally that wouldn’t matter, but I can’t help but wonder if the use of that term has made us interpret data too positively? That we ignore negatives and dwell on positives that support that theory? I’m concerned that we are, which means that we might have less of a transition than a gap, as investors start looking beyond earnings (indicatively, as BofA’s Michael Hartnett just wrote, “US exceptionalism is driven by ‘exceptionally’ easy fiscal policy.”).

  Market Exceptionalism

  It would be easy to understand if the proverbial “person in the street” thought that big tech was by far the best investment possible. On any given day, American Exceptionalism battles with “You Need to Own Big Tech” for airtime. Heck, the term “Magnificent 7” is still bandied about, though it hasn’t been a particularly useful way of expressing market moves for many months. Yet, since January 31st, other major markets have outperformed the Nasdaq 100, a good benchmark for “big tech.” Some (like China) by significant amounts. I did use the Hang Seng Index rather than Shanghai in the below because Shanghai was closed for a few days so won’t show the full performance until next week, though that performance was picked up by FXI and KWEB – the two ETFs I look at for China.

  

  When, as a strategist, I tell people that I’ve been recommending trading the Nasdaq 100 from the short side (selling rips, as opposed to buying dips, though the behavior is similar), people look at me almost with sympathy. When I add in that I have liked China “for a trade” (I still don’t think it is investible for the longer-term), the sympathy turns to outright pity. Yet the data doesn’t warrant that perception.

  What happens if more and more people start focusing on the divergence between the messaging and the actual performance?

  While earnings have helped, I’ve seen a couple of things that caught my eye. I did not verify them, but they sounded reasonable:

  • Sales, in particular, have been mediocre relative to inflation, and the average has been propped up by a minority of large companies that are crushing it.
  • Earnings, while doing well, are heavily skewed by about 20% of the S&P 500 that is doing extremely well!

  Both of these items, which seem reasonable (though I haven’t verified the data myself), would indicate that many companies are living in a world that is far from exceptional. That reality hasn’t hit more broadly, but will it, as we’ve now made it through most of the highest profile earnings reports.

  “Exceptional” Economic Data

  I could fill this section with so many charts, that it would test my patience with Bloomberg’s charting function. We will only go with two charts (and a separate section on jobs).

  

  The Citi Economic Surprise Index went negative. This index is always interesting because it combines shifting expectations with changes in data. It tends to oscillate because as data comes in strong, many economists increase their expectations for future data, making it more and more difficult for the data to exceed expectations. The opposite also tends to happen. As data underperforms expectations, economists can retain their apparently lofty expectations, hoping that the data will change direction, or (and I believe far more likely) they can reduce their expectations.

  Just like for earnings estimates, this process of downgrading the economic outlook could help bonds and make many question growth.

  There are all sorts of reasons why we can say that the importance of the Chicago PMI as an indicator has declined (shifts in manufacturing, relative importance of the region versus other regions, etc.). Having said that, this chart caught my eye.

  

  We’ve reached levels only seen during what could be described as “crises.” The good news is that often the bottom of PMI marked a great investment opportunity. That could be the case here, except that we are still near all-time highs, rather than having endured dramatic selloffs (like in previous bottoms). Again, I understand that this particular measure might not be as emblematic of the nation’s prospects as it once was, but this was pretty darn stark!

  ISM manufacturing PMI came in below 50 (yeah, I know that we are not a manufacturing-based economy), while it had prices paid spiking and employment shrinking. ISM Services, on Friday morning amidst all the Goldilocks chatter, came in at 49.4 (yes, a service index came in below 50). That index also showed higher prices paid (59.2) with weaker employment (45.9). I’m not sure why that got so little attention, because it doesn’t seem very Goldilocks to me! Okay, the S&P Global U.S. Services Index came in at 51.3, so maybe that offset ISM services, but that isn’t a particularly strong number either.

  We could explore revolving credit debt (increasing rather substantially), delinquencies (rising, but still manageable), etc., but we are running out of time and space today.

  “Exceptional” Jobs Data

  Non-Farm Payroll finally went from exceptional to good. But as I scour the data for confirmation of how strong jobs (as reported by the Establishment Survey) have been, I struggle to find it.

  Employment seems weak in many of the surveys, as cited above.

  The JOLTS data has shown a steady decline in jobs available. First, I question whether the methodology has truly captured the use of online job searches correctly. How many “stale” or even “fishing expedition” postings are out there (postings where there is no real job opportunity, but if an “exceptional” and I do mean exceptional candidate applies they would make an effort to find a job for that person).

  

  It makes sense (regardless of how accurate the data is) that in an economy that is growing, there is a general pattern of increases in jobs available. That trendline has potentially been broken. We have about 900k more jobs available than we did in November 2018. Yes, actual jobs are more important than jobs available, but I think that we’ve moved back to a “normal” number of jobs available.

  But I digress since I care more about the QUIT and HIRE rates from JOLTS. I think they tell us as much or more about the true state of the jobs market than almost any other data we get.

  

  The QUIT rate, an indicator of how comfortable employees are with quitting (presumably because they believe they can find another similar or better job quite easily), has dopped to a level that is lower than in 2018 and 2019 and back to a 2015 to 2016 average.

  The HIRE rate is even worse. This indicates hiring on a relative basis, and we are now back to levels seen in 2014.

  We are hiring less, there are fewer jobs available, and people are seemingly afraid to quit, so let’s focus on one part. The Establishment Survey, that has a notorious track record of being revised downward by large amounts, has lower and lower initial response rates, and does “its best” to estimate business creation. The Birth/Death model (what a horrible name) provided 363,000 of the (wait, checks notes) 193,000 jobs created in the private sector.

  I like my “exceptionalism” to be exceptional, and I also like my data not to be dwarfed by “plugged” numbers. My understanding of the Birth/Death model is that it relies heavily on EIN applications to determine new businesses, which I think has been overstated as anyone from rideshare drivers to people trying to make a buck on social media have applied for EINs to treat themselves as businesses.

  I cannot help but wonder if even on the jobs front, which has been close to exceptional, we are exposed to some sort of gap in perception, and we might wind up finding out that Goldilocks met the wrong group of bears and the story doesn’t end so well.

  Bottom Line

  Lower yields. On Friday, I reiterated our range of 4.4% to 4.6% on 10s. I suggested fading the move at 4.45%. While I still think “deficits” and “supply” will push us higher, I think we have some protection here as the economic data surprises to the downside and as economists ratchet down their forecasts. And simply assuming noise around the true rate of inflation, we could see a pleasant inflation print or two. I think we can own yields here, and will bring back the range to 4.3% to 4.5% on 10s. I’m still in the 2-cut camp, which seems more likely, though I’m leaning towards June/July which seems a bit aggressive.

  What do lower yields mean for stocks? That is just such a tricky question as the relationship between yields and stocks has been all over the place. I think that we will see outperformance of small caps, banks, and value here. We’ve seen the S&P 500 moderately outperform the Nasdaq 100 in the past three months and I think that we will see more sectors and industries shift into outperformance mode. We may (probably will) see stocks respond positively to lower yields. But, I am concerned that we won’t see a smooth and gradual transition from “no landing” to “soft landing” to “bumpy landing” and we will jump from “all good” to “all is not-so good” rapidly because we have been ignoring data pointing us to this transition for the past few weeks (or months). So, I remain a better seller of risk here, though won’t fight a rally at the start of the week too much (if one materializes).

  Credit. Reduce exposure to the weakest credits and those most tied to the economy. We could see a period where economic conditions warrant a rate cut, but inflation fears keep the Fed on the “higher for longer” mantra. That should hurt some of the weaker credits, but I don’t see a material threat to overall risk, unless we see stocks respond more negatively than they have.

  Good luck and May 5th is my favorite day of the year!

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 21:00

• "People Will Be Teleporting Between Planets" Before California Finishes High-Speed Rail Project
  “People Will Be Teleporting Between Planets” Before California Finishes High-Speed Rail Project

  X users mocked the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s post on the social media platform, which celebrated building a bridge that goes nowhere. 

  “The Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County is one of the first completed high-speed rail structures. At nearly 1,600 feet long, high-speed trains will travel over the riverbed and will run parallel with the BNSF Railroad,” CAHSR wrote on X. 

  The Fresno River Viaduct in Madera County is one of the first completed high-speed rail structures. At nearly 1,600 feet long, high-speed trains will travel over the riverbed and will run parallel with the BNSF Railroad. #BuildHSR pic.twitter.com/zWqusPbOB9

  — CA High-Speed Rail 🚄💨 (@CaHSRA) May 1, 2024

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

  Billy Markus, the co-founder of Dogecoin, joked, “This is the most remarkable human achievement ever, 1600 feet of high-speed rail after 9 years and 11 billion dollars.” 

  this is the most remarkable human achievement ever, 1600 feet of high speed rail after 9 years and 11 billion dollars

  it takes about 5 minutes to walk 1600 feet so a high speed rail for that is a really big deal

  california is so competent https://t.co/Uff4LT57tZ

  — Shibetoshi Nakamoto (@BillyM2k) May 3, 2024

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

  Venture capitalist David Sacks said, “Building products on time and on budget requires a monomaniacal leader who kicks asses to make things run right. Government, which is based on lobbying, backscratching and committee-based decision-making, is uniquely unsuited for this.” 

  Building products on time and on budget requires a monomaniacal leader who kicks asses to make things run right. Government, which is based on lobbying, backscratching and committee-based decision-making, is uniquely unsuited for this. https://t.co/y6ymY96nFF

  — David Sacks (@DavidSacks) May 4, 2024

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

  “People will be teleporting between planets by the time California achieves high speed rail service from Merced to Bakersfield,” one X user quipped. 

  People will be teleporting between planets by the time California achieves high speed rail service from Merced to Bakersfield.

  — Jonofarcadia 🦬 (@jonofarcadia) May 2, 2024

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

  Another user said the partially built Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed rail project could accommodate the homeless and migrants. 

  It will be home to thousands of homeless

  Long before a single train travels it pic.twitter.com/t2m3D9zaxq

  — Marc Escens (@Marc_Escens) May 4, 2024

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

  Perhaps California officials should stop gaslighting taxpayers about a decade of work and billions spent – only to come up with a bridge to quite literally nowhere. Big government is inefficient and wasteful. The state controlled by radical progressives is a trainwreck. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 20:25

• "Economics Works In Mysterious Ways": Is China's Wealth Effect Being Substituted?
  “Economics Works In Mysterious Ways”: Is China’s Wealth Effect Being Substituted?

  By Teeuwe Mevissen, Senior Macro Strategist at Rabobank

  Is the wealth effect being substituted?

  Summary

  • China’s real estate market suffered heavy losses early this year while stock market investors continue to face huge uncertainty.
  • This will add to the deterioration of household balances and as such could influence private domestic (consumer) demand.
  • While the wealth effect predicts a deterioration of consumption, the substitution effect would predict the exact opposite.
  • This paper concludes that the substitution effect is more likely in the case of real estate.
  • This could be explained by the fact that housing is still expensive despite declining housing prices while at the same time wages are suppressed and youth unemployment is high.
  • But more explanations (like prepayment risks) could be given for the positive correlation between housing prices and the savings ratio.

  Introduction

  The new year in China kicked off with turmoil on China’s stock markets. Amongst others, the decision of the court in Hong Kong to liquidate real estate giant Evergrande further undermined investors’ confidence in China’s stock market. A market that already had been battered during the last three years due to ongoing worries about China’s economic prospects, regulatory crackdowns, a changing geopolitical landscape and a real estate sector in crisis. While China’s stock markets have pared some of the most recent losses due to (expectations of) increased government support, investor sentiment will likely remain fragile for some time to come. Moreover, many of the recently imposed government regulations, such as short selling curbs, are likely to be temporary assuming China is really serious about attracting more foreign investments. This follows from the fact that a full functioning market environment includes the possibility to sell stocks short and let market forces determine market outcomes.

  Given that stock markets tend to be a leading indicator for the economy’s travails, this special zooms in on the question what the recent market turmoil could mean for China’s economic prospects in the coming year(s). The relation between the stock market’s performance and economic prospects is, amongst others, reflected by the expected future cash flows that companies are expected to make. But there may also be a wealth effect which predicts a positive relationship between stock market performance and consumption. Since the value of real estate also affects the willingness to consume, we also take a closer look at this particular topic in this research note. But before we do so, we will start with a general overview of China’s stock markets, its performance over the last 5 years and the measures that China’s government has implemented so far in order to prevent a further slump, which already evaporated a stunning amount of $7 tn during the recent lows in February. For more information regarding the real estate sector we refer to an earlier publication that covered this topic.

  China’s stock markets experiencing a rout.

  After a sharp recovery of China’s stock markets in 2021 – which was part of a global relief rally that followed the panic sell-off in March 2020 – 2022 saw investor sentiment souring and China was no exception. However, whilst Western indices recovered sharply thereafter, China’s stock markets struggled to keep up during the first half of 2023 and showed a very poor performance in the second half of 2023. The start to this year can only be characterized as a true stock rout. As a result, the benchmark MSCI China stock index is down 60% from its peak in 2021. All in all the total decline in value of China’s stock markets is approximately 7 tn renminbi (close to $1 tn) since the peak in 2021. The majority of these losses are borne by domestic holders of Chinese equities and retail investors in particular.

  

  Some background on China’s stock markets

  China’s restrictions related to foreign investments, geopolitical tensions and regulatory crack downs have soured foreign investors’ appetite for Chinese stocks and in October 2023 it was estimated that foreigners only hold $600 billion in Chinese stocks listed on mainland China or Hong Kong. This is indeed a small share of a total market capitalization that is estimated to be a little less than $9.7 tn in January 2024. While institutional investors’ share in Chinese stock holdings has significantly increased over the past two decades, China’s stock markets are still more influenced by retail investors than is the case in, for example, the United States. The box below explains some of the most common features of its stock market.

  

  The structure of China’s stock market is important because it gives an idea of who has ownership and to what share classes. But for this it is clearly also relevant to have an idea about the total market capitalization of China’s main stock markets. This is why we show a table below that provides an overview of China’s stock exchanges ranked by market capitalization and which also includes the stock market returns YTD and for longer periods; It also provides an estimated breakdown between the share of private owned enterprises and state owned enterprises where available.

  

  Connecting the stock market with consumption

  While stock markets are less connected to the economic process and performance in China than is the case in most advanced economies (for instance, equity financing plays a relatively small role for China’s corporates who generally rely more on retained earnings and bank loans), the recent stock market rout adds to the wealth loss Chinese households already had suffered from China’s real estate crisis.

  As can be seen from figure 4 below, surveyed consumers continue to signal weak confidence regarding developments related to employment and, related to it, income. Furthermore, consumer confidence is near record low levels. Moreover, close to 60% of respondents expect to increase savings in the next quarter while less than 25% of respondents indicate that they are expecting to consume more in the next quarter. We do note, though, that the most recent data is from Q2 2023.

  

  Measures to support China’s stock markets

  While most recently Beijing fired the head of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) Yi Huiman and replaced him with Wu Qing, it is questionable whether this will result in the much needed restoration of investors’ confidence. However, as a previous head of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and in various roles within the CSRC, where he earned the nickname ‘the broker butcher’, it seems that a further crackdown on illicit trading practices is on the cards.

  Several other measures have been announced, although the majority lacks details as is often the case when new policies and/or guidelines are announced. Below is a broad selection of measures that have been decided upon in recent months:

  • More liquidity support for developers
  • The CSRC announced it would look to support listed companies to find possibilities to merge and or restructure businesses in order to create value
  • Sales of stocks were also restricted for some domestic institutional investors as well as some offshore units of those investors
  • A lowering of 0.5% of the reserve ratio requirement for banks
  • Monetary authorities provided 1 tn yuan extra liquidity into the markets in order to provide ample liquidity
  • Promises to deal with margin call risks
  • More active involvement of the CSRC in addressing concerns from listed companies
  • Placing restrictions on security lending

  More recently announced measures are:

  • Cease displaying real-time data for flows into the world’s second-largest stock market through Hong Kong
  • China’s ‘national team’ buying for $50 billion of stocks
  • Clarification of new delisting rules which are aimed at zombie firms
  • Tighten stock listing criteria
  • Crack down on illegal share sales
  • Strengthening the supervision of dividend payouts

  While the PBOC has added additional stimulus since the end of last year, this stimulus still seems not to have fully fed into China’s economy and the real estate sector. Earlier this year, the PBOC offered 1 tn renminbi in loans to the banking sector and lowered the reserve requirement ratio by 0.5% bringing the average RRR for financial institutions to ‘about 7.0% after the cut’. A move that is expected to free up about 1 tn yuan according to the central bank chief who held a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday the 24th of January.

  The last and perhaps most draconic measure announced this year is a ban on net stock selling during the first and last 30 minutes of a trading session. This measure came into effect on the 21st of February. This makes it harder for entities affected by this measure (mainly hedge funds and institutional investors) to apply certain trading strategies. At the same time it makes it easier for government-backed funds to influence the stock market during those crucial trading windows.

  These measures clearly influence the extent to which stock valuations are determined by market mechanisms but they won’t increase the profitability of any company traded at any of China’s stock exchanges. It also remains to be seen how offshore investors will react on measures that increase the risk of not being able to sell your stocks anymore because of decreasing liquidity on the sellers’ market. Moreover, the restrictions on security lending are likely to have more effect on stocks listed on the Hong Kong exchanges than those listed in Shanghai. Mostly because stocks listed on the Shanghai stock exchange are held for more than 80% by individual investors vs 15% of stocks traded at the Hong Kong stock exchanges.

  While Chinese stock markets initially showed a sharp recovery since their February lows, the stock rally seems to have stalled again since the midst of March. Taking all of the above into account, it remains to be seen whether the recent recovery of stock prices can be continued, especially when the current stock market trading curbs would be lifted again.

  How the loss of wealth could lower consumption

  Wealth effect

  We will now look at a few behavioral phenomena when it comes to the relationship between wealth and consumption. This so-called wealth effect is a behavioral economic theory which postulates that peoples’ willingness to spend increases when the wealth of their homes or asset portfolio increases because they feel more financially secure. Since (for now) we want to exclude the extreme swings of consumption and stock market prices arising from the Covid-19 pandemic (which is even more relevant given China’s strict lock down measures and its obvious effect on consumption), we first use the results of an academic paper from 2010 which studies the importance of the wealth effect on China’s consumer spending.

  This paper estimates a long run consumption elasticity of total assets to be around 0.51 or roughly one half. This would imply that a 20% drop in share prices would result in a drop of about 10% in consumption. Compared to Western elasticities, which are often found to be closer to 0.05, this is extremely high. Based on such a positive relationship between wealth and consumption, one would expect a significant negative impact on consumption from the recent decline in house and equity prices. The elasticity on income is estimated at 0.76, which seems plausible in our view.

  Based on the elasticity from the paper above and given the price developments of the separate asset classes we can make a rough estimate of the impact of declining asset prices on consumption. We take 2021 as the starting point because the real estate crisis started in the summer of 2021 and we want to omit the results during the pandemic because of reasons discussed above. These estimates are shown in table 2 below. We abstain from the impact of increased saving via (bank) deposits.

  

  This is based on a total value of real estate in China of $55tn in 2021. So, if we assume the elasticities from this paper to be realistic, this suggests that the decline in asset values has depressed consumption by some 3.4% since August 2021. This would amount to a drop of consumption of more than $2 tn! Given a level of nationwide per capita consumption expenditure of 26.796, a total population of 1.425.000.000 people and the current USD/CNH exchange rate of around 7.25, this would boil down to a total amount of consumption of $5.3 tn. Our estimates above are generally inline with other research indicating that ‘a 5% decline in home prices will wipe out 19 trillion yuan ($2.7 trillion) in housing wealth’.

  We should also add, though, that rising incomes have overshadowed its impact so that a positive gain in consumption (in nominal terms) results after all.

  The (opposite) substitution effect

  Having said this, there could also be reasons to assume an increase in consumption. So how would that work? Young people in China have been faced with a prolonged episode of rising housing prices while at the same time facing high levels of youth unemployment and an economy slowing down. As such, young people have increasingly felt discouraged. This has even led to the so-called lying flat movement, where young people deliberately choose to not join the tough rat race that recent graduates face when entering the labour market. Additionally, despite the gradual decline of house prices (both newly built and existing homes), suppressed wages have not made housing that more affordable especially in China’s tier-1 cities. This may have led many young people in China to delay or even give up on buying a house entirely.

  Another reason why some young people are delaying or have given up on purchasing a house is the huge impact it has on the ‘quality of life’. Young people that have been able to purchase a house face relatively high monthly mortgage payments despite significant down payments. This has led a large amount of young Chinese citizens increasingly willing to spend their money on
  consumption like traveling. This effect is called the substitution effect. Many economists have indeed claimed that the effect on consumption of declining stock and housing prices in China is different. Let’s say a wealth effect with Chinese characteristics, i.e. an inverse wealth effect.

  For about two decades, consumption in China has been partially suppressed since households had to channel an unusual large share of their income to savings in order to make the necessary down-payment for purchasing a house. Back then, this often boiled down to about 30% of the value of the house. In other words, consumption was substituted for expenditures on housing. Indeed last year we saw signs of the substitution effect when the savings rate for households dropped while real estate prices dropped as well. This effect is in sharp contrast with the findings of the wealth effect discussed in the academic paper mentioned earlier.

  Our data shows yet another picture

  Since we lack data about the net savings rate for households in China we have derived the savings ratio by subtracting household expenditures from disposable income. We plot this estimated saving ratio against both real estate prices as well as the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index. This results in the two graphs below:

  

  While positive correlation between (inflation-adjusted) real estate prices and savings (i.e. a negative correlation with consumption) is evident from the first graph, stock prices don’t seem to have an impact on private domestic savings or consumption at all. Both results are at odds with the results from the academic paper discussed above whilst the first chart suggests that there is – if anything – a substitution rather than wealth effect.

  However, we should be aware of the fact that in China, the major component of household wealth is invested in real estate and not the stock market. As such, declining stock prices could reduce consumption of the holders of these stocks; but if only a relatively small percentage of China’s citizens hold stocks or if many Chinese citizens only hold very small portions of their wealth in stocks, the impact on an aggregate level would still be negligible.

  It is therefore important to take into account that approximately 70% of household wealth is in real estate while it was estimated in an article published by Atlantic press that household financial assets only accounted for about 13%. The rest is allocated towards other financial assets like saving accounts, deposits, gold etc. etc. The important conclusion we can draw from these figures is that much of the wealth of China’s households is either being held in illiquid assets, such as real estate or in low return deposits. From this angle it becomes easier to understand why in China the wealth effect arising from declining stock market prices is less likely to have a significant influence on consumption patterns.

  Moreover, as we argue, the wealth effect arising from the developments in the real estate sector, may not apply in the case of China. We therefore conclude this special by discussing a number of explanations for the observed effect from real estate prices on consumption.

  What about other factors? (prepayment risk)

  Above we have shown conflicting findings on the existence of a wealth effect in China arising from price developments in both the real estate- and stock market. While older research seems to conclude that the wealth effect is indeed present, most recent data seems to indicate the absence of it. Indeed, in the case of real estate we actually observe an opposite effect, i.e. lower housing prices lead to lower saving rates. Does this mean that we observe a substitution effect in China? We would, albeit hesitantly, answer this question with a yes. But there could be more at play.

  Aside from the substitution effect which has been outlined above, lower interest rates could also play a role. This is via the so called prepayment risk. It is well known that when interest rates and/or housing prices decline, house owners tend to increase their mortgage payments in order to reduce their outstanding amount of mortgage debt. Most mortgage prepayment models indeed predict increasing prepayments when the contract rate and the current market rate diverge, i.e. a situation where the contract rate is significantly higher than the current market rate.

  One way to look at this phenomenon is the following: house owners have an incentive to refund themselves against lower rates and pay off the outstanding amount of mortgage debt if the terms and conditions of the mortgage allow for this. However, prepayment risks can also work in the opposite direction. When home owners expect rising interest rates the home owner also has an incentive to repay the mortgage more quickly to avoid higher interest rate payments in the future. Since interest rates have gradually and steadily declined in China, the former prepayment risk is more likely.

  Additionally, the relationship between real estate prices and consumption is not necessarily static. Its effect could very well change over time. A prime analogy is the famous Phillips curve that tries to explain the inverse relationship between (wage) inflation on levels of unemployment. If other factors occasionally flip the relationship between wealth and consumption this would make it very hard to predict the impact of real estate prices on consumption at any point in time. Finally, developments in the labor market, such as adverse job conditions, could also impact the savings rate where higher unemployment levels lead to decreasing levels of savings and consumption, if households are forced to dip into their savings to maintain consumption levels.

  Finally – as our analysis shows – the consumption effect arising from the rise in disposable income (which according to the paper has an elasticity of 0.76) has offset the wealth effect arising from the decline in assets. This could be another reason why the predicted decline in consumption cannot be observed.

  Conclusion

  Altogether it is extremely hard – and with a lack of relevant data – impossible to draw strong conclusions about a permanent presence or absence of a wealth effect arising from price developments in the real estate sector in China. Unfortunately we cannot present a solid relationship between real estate price developments and consumption. At his point in time we can only conclude that we observe a negative relationship between consumption and house prices and offer some reasons that are likely to have influenced this relationship, with prepayment flows and possibly a weak labor market situation as relevant factors. The only firm conclusion we can draw is that economics continue to work in mysterious ways.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 19:50

• The Ideological Roots Of The Open Borders Push
  The Ideological Roots Of The Open Borders Push

  Authored by Simon Hankinson via The Epoch Times,

  Why does the Biden administration want open borders? As a researcher and writer on immigration, that’s the question I often get asked.

  

  Here are the three reasons I think are behind President Joe Biden’s deliberate border chaos:

  1. electoral politics,

  2. extortion, and,

  3. most insidiously, ideology.

  I’ll start with ideology and come back to the other two reasons in my next columns.

  The most dangerous driver behind Biden’s open borders is ideological. Policy differences can be negotiated, but as we’re seeing on college campuses, people fanatically committed to an idea can prove intransigent, regardless of the facts.

  When you see the word “abolition” used in connection with criminal justice and immigration, you might be confused. Americans rightly associate the term with ending slavery and abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison who were active before the Civil War.

  Why are academics, politicians, and race professionals using it in 2024?

  Those saying “abolitionist” today have appropriated it for the positive historical connotation it possesses, but they mean something else entirely. To see the roots of their ideology, you have to go back to the dawn of the New Left, as described by Chris Rufo in his book “America’s Cultural Revolution.”

  Under their intellectual godfather, German academic Herbert Marcuse, Marxist-Leninists, Black Panthers, the Weather Underground terrorist group, and Students for a Democratic Society gathered.

  This leftist alliance believed—as the Students for a Democratic Society magazine Prairie Fire explained—that the United States was founded on genocide, slavery, and racism. Its goal was to abolish the existing capitalist America and build a new society. One element of this was destroying the justice system. The Black Panthers’ manifesto thus called for the release of all black men who were incarcerated, no matter for what crime.

  As Rufo writes, “[Communist Angela] Davis and her comrades began to call not for the release of individual criminals, but for the abolition of the entire system.” Davis said that “a society without racism … has to be a society without prisons.”

  The Black Lives Matter organization adopted the same agenda of “abolition.” The mobs that destroyed a police station and looted Minneapolis in 2020 shouted, “Abolish the police, then the prisons.” The “abolitionist” activists in the Seattle CHAZ commune wanted to abolish the police, prisons, and courts.

  BLM founder Patrisse Cullors was crystal clear in this Harvard Law Review essay from 2019: “Abolition means no borders. Abolition means no Border Patrol. Abolition means no Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” America is the source of world evil, in her view, and thus has no right to exist as a nation state nor keep anyone in the world from entering its borders.

  Some Biden administration officials seem to share this core belief. Avideh Moussavian, a senior appointee at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, tweeted “#abolishICE” in 2018 and “cut ICE and [Customs and Border Protection] funding” in 2019.

  Another Biden appointee, Claire Trickler-McNulty, undermined ICE from within before leaving for a nongovernmental organization partly funded by the Vera Institute for Justice. The Vera Institute says, “The U.S. immigration system is an arrest-to-deportation pipeline rooted in racism,” wants no detention of people in the United States illegally, and grants millions to nongovernmental organizations defending illegal immigrants.

  “Abolition” ideology also has clear links with today’s campus support of Hamas. Take a look at this course taught at Columbia University this Spring by professor Mohamed Abdou, titled “Decolonial-Queerness and Abolition in SWAN.” SWANA likely stands for South West Asian and North African people. A sentence from the course description sums it up:

  “Using intersectional/assemblage-based theories, what decolonial, gender-based readings and formulations of feminisms/queerness exist that evade the apparent tidiness of European feminist and narrow LGBTQIA categories that characterizes most (non)Euro-American political queer-feminist scholarship beyond the depiction of queer BIPOC as co-opted and duped, colonized pawns of ‘Gay Empire’ towards elucidating critical discussions on identity, agency, subjectivity, and dissidence?”

  Parents are paying $90,000 a year for their kids to learn that kind of balderdash. But even if you can’t make any sense of that sentence, you can be sure of what Abdou means by “abolition.”

  Columbia University now resembles Gaza as designed by outdoor equipment retailer Eastern Mountain Sports. Meanwhile at Princeton University, students briefly set up a camp last week “in solidarity with Gaza to protest Princeton’s role in funding the ongoing genocide,” according to organizers Princeton Israeli Apartheid Divest.

  Dan-el Padilla Peralta was among faculty who signed a letter supporting the Princeton students and boycotting Columbia University. He is a “classics” professor who calls his field “equal parts vampire and cannibal” and the foundation of white supremacy, and argues that it should be abolished.

  Peralta came from the Dominican Republic as a child, and his family overstayed their visas and became illegal immigrants. Leftist academics such as Peralta do not like nations or borders any more than they do classical antiquity. In his book “Undocumented,” Peralta wrote, “Demography is a [expletive]. Holla at me if you want me to break it down for you.” By this, Peralta implies that without immigration enforcement, the “global majority”—defined here as everyone but white Europeans—will be able to dominate every country.

  What we’re seeing at the southern border and on college campuses comes from the same ideological roots and ends the same way: anarchy.

  *  *  *

  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, 05/05/2024 – 18:40

• The World's Fastest Growing Emerging Markets (2024-2029 Forecast)
  The World’s Fastest Growing Emerging Markets (2024-2029 Forecast)

  Large emerging markets are forecast to play a greater role in powering global economic growth in the future, driven by demographic shifts and a growing consumer class.

  At the same time, many smaller nations are projected to see their economies grow at double the global average over the next five years due to rich natural resource deposits among other factors. That said, elevated debt levels do present risks to future economic activity.

  This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte, shows the emerging markets with the fastest projected growth through to 2029, based on data from the International Monetary Fund’s 2024 World Economic Outlook.

  

  Top 10 Emerging Markets

  Here are the fastest-growing emerging economies, based on real GDP compound annual growth rate (CAGR) forecasts over the period of 2024-2029:

  

  As South America’s third-smallest nation by land area, Guyana is projected to be the world’s fastest growing economy from now to 2029.

  This is thanks to a significant discovery of oil deposits in 2015 by ExxonMobil, which has propelled the country’s economy to grow by fourfold over the last five years alone. By 2028, the nation of just 800,000 people is projected to have the highest crude oil production per capita, outpacing Kuwait for the first time.

  Bangladesh, where 85% of exports are driven by the textiles industry, is forecast to see the strongest growth in Asia. In fact, over the last 30 years, the country of 170 million people has not had a single year of negative growth.

  In eighth place overall is India, projected to achieve a 6.5% CAGR in real GDP through to 2029. This growth is forecast to be fueled by population trends, public investment, and strong consumer demand.

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

• Pritzker Doubles-Down With $827 Million Taxpayer Handout To Troubled EV-Maker Rivian
  Pritzker Doubles-Down With $827 Million Taxpayer Handout To Troubled EV-Maker Rivian

  Authored by Mark Glennon via Wirepoints.org,

  At $1.5 million per job, this new incentive package from the state is at least 15 times the norm. For this much money, the state could have just handed out a million bucks to 827 people, instead of creating 550 jobs.

  

  Gov. JB Pritzker announced Thursday that the State of Illinois will provide an $827 million incentive package for Rivian to invest $1.5 billion to expand its electric vehicle factory in Normal, Illinois. The expansion is expected to create at least 550 full-time jobs within the next five years, and will build Rivian’s next model EV, the R2. Rivian initially got $49.5 million under Gov. Bruce Rauner in 2017 to create 1,000 jobs at the same location.

  The new deal gives $1.5 million per job created, which is astronomical in the world of location incentives. Estimated average location incentives paid by state and local governments around the nation range from $13,000 to $84,000 per job, though sometimes go as high as $100,000 per job for capital intensive projects. Even using that high end, Rivian’s package will be 15 times what’s typical.

  Moreover, Rivian is on shaky wheels, along with the rest of the U.S. EV industry. Rivian loses over $43,000 for every vehicle it sells and has had two rounds of layoffs this year. The decision to move its R2 production to Illinois is a further reflection of the company’s need to preserve cash. R2 production was initially planned for a new $5 billion plant in Georgia, heavily subsidized by the state. But Rivian concluded that moving production to the existing Illinois facility would save cash.

  Its stock price has consequently been hammered. It reached a high of $172 per share in 2021 but now trades at less than $10 per share.

  

  Rivian is not alone. As a CNBC headline recently declared, “EV euphoria is dead. Automakers are scaling back or delaying their electric vehicle plans.” Since then, the news is no better. Ford announced last week that it is losing a stunning $132,000 per vehicle. Hertz announced last week a second round of sales of its EV fleet due to heavy maintenance and depreciation costs. For the first quarter of this year, EV sales continued to slow and the share of EV sales for all autos actually decreased. While total EV sales are still up a bit from last year, the growth rate is not nearly enough to put EV makers on a path to profitability.

  EV makers pin their hopes on less expensive models that they promise soon, and on more public charging stations, into which Illinois last month announced it would invest an additional $50 million. Rivian hopes its new R2 will be among the new, lower priced models. However, its starting price is expected to be about $45,000 and it won’t come out until the first half of 2026.

  Regarding the astronomical incentive package to be paid by Illinois, in fairness, it should be noted that most of it is in the form of tax credits to be granted over the next 30 years. They are available on condition that the company retain 6,000 already existing jobs. However, the fact remains that just 550 new jobs are to be created, and incentive packages like this are not supposed to be payoffs for merely standing still. And a less charitable way to look at it would be that future taxpayers will be on the hook for the high cost of the incentive package — if it works.

  Aside from thinking that the incentive package is too low, my first instinct was to ask, “Where’s the warrant coverage.” That is, I know from working as a lawyer and then as an investor, often with troubled companies, that it’s not unusual to make risky bets. However, it’s routine for the investor to get part of the upside if the venture succeeds, usually in the form of stock or warrants (basically, options) on stock that pay off nicely if things turn around. The federal government, for example, got stock and warrants as part of the deal for its 2010 bailout of the auto industry.

  This new Rivian deal has nothing like that. Since the job creation per dollar is minimal, it’s just not worth the price.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 17:30

• Man vs Bear Debate: The Dumbest Feminist Argument Yet?
  Man vs Bear Debate: The Dumbest Feminist Argument Yet?

  When it comes to identifiable differences in female vs male psychology as well as differences in brain biology, as a general rule and as most studies show women focus far more on feelings than men do.  Specifically, women tend to be more sensitive to negative emotions and negative imagery.  Obviously, men and women are not the same, never have been the same and never will be the same, and this includes how they process information and come to conclusions.

  This is the reason why many of women’s perceptions on life tend to bewilder men; most women operate from a place of emotion and assumption (which they call “intuition”) and come to conclusions based on feelings rather than facts.  Intuition can be a powerful tool for identifying threats before they occur, and when women get it right they might appear to be clairvoyant. However, when they get it wrong they get it really wrong and the result is foolishness and disaster.

  How one feels is not necessarily what is true. 

  Enter feminism, a movement which claims to be fighting for women’s “equality” but is actually fighting for women’s privilege.  Legal equality for the sexes was achieved long ago and one would think that feminism would have faded away with its mission accomplished.  This has not been the case.  Instead, feminists move the goalposts and the notion of equality has given way to desires for power.  But unlike most political movements feminism does not chase power by applying direct force (in most cases).  Rather, feminists chase power by magnifying and exaggerating their own weaknesses and victimhood. 

  In other words, they gain power by demanding reparations for perceived injustices.  The more they feel oppressed or afraid or abused the more power society supposedly owes them.  Feminism exploits the natural tendency of women to hyperfocus on negative emotions and promotes feelings over logic.  If women feel like victims, that means they are victims.

  This is where the “Man vs. Bear” narrative comes from.  A bizarre thought experiment in which random women are asked if they were lost in the woods, would they rather run into a man or a bear?  The question has created considerable controversy across social media, with a majority of women apparently choosing a bear over a man.

  On the surface we can dismiss the thought experiment with the simple reality that women encounter men daily while most have never dealt with or seen a real bear in the wild in their entire lives.  If they did run into a bear all of them would be screaming for help from the nearest man available to protect them.

  It’s perhaps the dumbest feminist mind-game so far in this respect.  Life is not a Disney movie with friendly talking animals and there’s a reason why men make up the vast majority of solo hunters – Female hunters don’t want to go into the woods by themselves because they know predators like bears represent great potential injury or death.  

  To be fair, plenty of women have laughed off the question as ridiculous and pointed out the reality that with a man there’s a good chance they will be helped out of the woods.  With a bear there’s no chance.  But this hasn’t stopped feminists from pretending as if the pro-bear response represents some kind of revelation about men and masculinity. 

  

  The issue has also revealed once again that math is the kryptonite of woke activists and critical thinking is their enemy.  

  Citing the predominance of men in crime stats, feminists argue that it’s far more likely for a man to harm a woman than a bear to harm a woman.  In fact, bear encounters are far more rare than encounters with men, and the percentage of men that commit violent crimes is tiny compared to the total male population in western countries.

  By feminist logic, men are also actually safer with bears than with women.  In 2021, 1,078 men were killed by women in the U.S. There have only been 180 fatal human/bear conflicts in North America since 1784.  Again, this is about proximity.

  In 2019, there were 283,467 violent crimes committed by men in the US, out of 161 million men.  That’s around 0.1% of the male population.  The chances of a woman running into a violent man in the woods in this fantasy scenario is negligible.  Feelings are being elevated over facts. 

  Most feminist narratives lean heavily on the fear dynamic.  If women feel afraid of men then men and society must take them seriously and assuage those fears; the fears fabricated in women’s minds are suddenly everyone’s problem.  In the past society used to laugh off female melodrama as an unfortunate bi-product of their nature; how can society fix a problem that doesn’t exist in the tangible world?  But as the male commentator in the first video argues, it doesn’t matter if women are actually in danger from men, it only matters that they believe they are in danger.

  But who created that fear in women?  Was it men?  Or, was it feminist propaganda?  The numbers suggest feminism has rotted women’s minds with fear.   

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 16:55

• Open The Overton Window
  Open The Overton Window

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via DailyReckoning.com,

  You may have heard of the “Overton window.”

  

  The concept of the Overton window caught on in professional culture, particularly those seeking to nudge public opinion, because it taps into a certain sense that we all know is there.

  There are things you can say and things you cannot say, not because there are speech controls (though there are) but because holding certain views makes you anathema and dismissable. This leads to less influence and effectiveness.

  The Overton window is a way of mapping sayable opinions.

  The goal of advocacy is to stay within the window while moving it just ever so much. For example, if you’re writing about monetary policy, you should say that the Fed should not immediately reduce rates for fear of igniting inflation.

  You can really think that the Fed should be abolished but saying that is inconsistent with the demands of polite society. That’s only one example of a million.

  To notice and comply with the Overton window is not the same as merely favoring incremental change over dramatic reform. There is not and should never be an issue with marginal change.

  That’s not what’s at stake.

  To be aware of the Overton window, and fit within it, means to curate your own advocacy. You should do so in a way that’s designed to comply with a structure of opinion that’s pre-existing as a kind of template we’re all given.

  It means to craft a strategy specifically designed to game the system, which is said to operate according to acceptable and unacceptable opinionizing.

  In every area of social, economic and political life, we find a form of compliance with strategic considerations seemingly dictated by this window. There’s no sense in spouting off opinions that offend or trigger people because they’ll just dismiss you as not credible.

  But if you keep your eye on the window — as if you can know it, see it, manage it — you might succeed in expanding it a bit here and there and thereby achieve your goals eventually.

  The mission here is always to let considerations of strategy run alongside — perhaps even ultimately prevail in the short run — over issues of principle and truth, all in the interest of being not merely right but also effective.

  Everyone in the business of affecting public opinion does this, all in compliance with the perception of the existence of this window.

  It’s how ideas move from unthinkable to radical to acceptable to sensible to popular to become policy.

  The concept was named for Joseph Overton, who worked at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan. He found that it was useless in his work to advocate for positions that he could not recruit politicians to say from the legislative floor or on the campaign trail.

  By crafting policy ideas that fit within the prevailing media and political culture, however, he saw some successes about which he and his team could brag to the donor base. A wise intellectual shepherd will manage this transition carefully from one stage to the next until victory and then take on a new issue.

  The core intuition here is rather obvious. It probably achieves little in life to go around screaming some radical slogan about what all politicians should do if there is no practical means to achieve it and zero chance of it happening.

  But writing well-thought-out position papers with citations backed by large books by Ivy League authors and pushing for changes on the margin that keep politicians out of trouble with the media might move the window slightly and eventually enough to make a difference.

  Beyond that example, which surely does tap into some evidence in this or that case, how true is this analysis?

  Read on for the answer.

  Is the Overton Window Real?

  First, the theory of the Overton window presumes a smooth connection between public opinion and political outcomes. During most of my life, that seemed to be the case or, at least, we imagined it to be the case. Today this is gravely in question.

  Politicians do things daily and hourly that are opposed by their constituents — fund foreign aid and wars for example — but they do it anyway due to well-organized pressure groups that operate outside public awareness. That’s true many times over with the administrative and deep layers of the state.

  In most countries, states and elites that run them operate without the consent of the governed. No one likes the surveillance and censorial state but they are growing regardless, and nothing about shifts in public opinion seem to make any difference.

  It’s surely true that there comes a point when state managers pull back on their schemes for fear of public backlash but when that happens or where, or when and how, wholly depends on the circumstances of time and place.

  Second, the Overton window presumes there’s something organic about the way the window is shaped and moves. That is probably not entirely true either. Revelations of our own time show just how involved are major state actors in media and tech, even to the point of dictating the structure and parameters of opinions held in the public, all in the interest of controlling the culture of belief in the population.

  I had read Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman when it came out in 1988 and found it compelling. It was entirely believable that deep ruling-class interests were more involved than we know about what we are supposed to think about foreign-policy matters and national emergencies, and, further, entirely plausible that major media outlets would reflect these views as a matter of seeking to fit in and ride the wave of change.

  What I had not understood was just how far-reaching this effort to manufacture consent is in real life.

  What illustrates this perfectly has been media and censorship over the pandemic years in which nearly all official channels of opinion have very strictly reflected and enforced the cranky views of a tiny elite. Honestly, how many actual people in the U.S. were behind the lockdowns policy in terms of theory and action? Probably fewer than 1,000. Probably closer to 100.

  But thanks to the work of the Censorship Industrial Complex, an industry built of dozens of agencies and thousands of third-party cutouts including universities, we were led to believe that lockdowns and closures were just the way things are done. Vast amounts of the propaganda we endured was top down and wholly manufactured.

  Third, the lockdown experience demonstrates that there is nothing necessarily slow and evolutionary about the movement of the window. In February 2020, mainstream public health was warning against travel restrictions, quarantines, business closures and the stigmatization of the sick. A mere 30 days later, all these policies became acceptable and even mandatory belief.

  Not even Orwell imagined such a dramatic and sudden shift was possible!

  The window didn’t just move. It dramatically shifted from one side of the room to the other, with all the top players against saying the right thing at the right time, and then finding themselves in the awkward position of having to publicly contradict what they had said only weeks earlier.

  The excuse was that “the science changed” but that is completely untrue and an obvious cover for what was really just a craven attempt to chase what the powerful were saying and doing.

  It was the same with the vaccine, which major media voices opposed so long as Trump was president and then favored once the election was declared for Biden. Are we really supposed to believe that this massive switch came about because of some mystical window shift or does the change have a more direct explanation?

  Fourth, the entire model is wildly presumptuous. It is built by intuition, not data, of course. And it presumes that we can know the parameters of its existence and manage how it is gradually manipulated over time.

  None of this is true. In the end, an agenda based on acting on this supposed window involves deferring to the intuitions of some manager who decides that this or that statement or agenda is “good optics” or “bad optics,” to deploy the fashionable language of our time.

  The right response to all such claims is: You don’t know that. You are only pretending to know but you don’t actually know. What your seemingly perfect discernment of strategy is really about concerns your own personal taste for the fight, for controversy, for argument, and your willingness to stand up publicly for a principle you believe will very likely run counter to elite priorities. That’s perfectly fine, but don’t mask your taste for public engagement in the garb of fake management theory.

  It’s precisely for this reason that so many intellectuals and institutions stayed completely silent during lockdowns when everyone was being treated so brutally by public health. Many people knew the truth — that everyone would get this bug, most would shake it off just fine and then it would become endemic — but were simply afraid to say it. Cite the Overton window all you want but what is really at issue is one’s willingness to exercise moral courage.

  The relationship between public opinion, cultural feeling and state policy has always been complex, opaque and beyond the capacity of empirical methods to model. It’s for this reason that there is such a vast literature on social change.

  We live in times in which most of what we thought we knew about the strategies for social and political change have been blown up. That’s simply because the normal world we knew only five years ago — or thought we knew — no longer exists. Everything is broken, including whatever imaginings we had about the existence of this Overton window.

  What to do about it? I would suggest a simple answer.

  Forget the model, which might be completely misconstrued in any case. Just say what is true, with sincerity, without malice, without convoluted hopes of manipulating others. It’s a time for truth, which earns trust.

  Only that will blow the window wide open and finally demolish it forever.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 16:20

• Cognitive Decline: Biden Campaign Says They Will Shorten His Speeches
  Cognitive Decline: Biden Campaign Says They Will Shorten His Speeches

  Who is actually running the country?

  The Biden campaign team has admitted that they are seeking to shorten his speeches, claiming that they are seeking “quality over quantity,” but leading many to presume it is because he can barely talk.

  

  Modernity.news’ Steve Watson reports that Biden Deputy Campaign manager Quentin Fulks told MSBNC:

  “Our campaign believes in quality over quantity. We believe that these touches, these smaller things that are getting to the point about what is going on in the stakes of this election are gonna be easier for the voters to tap into.”

  NBC reports Biden’s handlers are “looking to shorten his speeches” to limit his public displays of cognitive decline.

  A Biden campaign spokesman insists it’s about “quality over quantity.” pic.twitter.com/GreyaVbgN6

  — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 4, 2024

  The announcement led many to ask, how much shorter can his speeches get?

  Is that..possible?

  I suppose they can just have him show up, smile, crap his pants and leave.

  — JD Sharp (@imjdsharp) May 4, 2024

  Prediction: biden’s speeches will be two words within the next month….. Hi. Bye.

  — I put my faith in God, not the government (@DontBidenMe) May 4, 2024

  At the moment he can barely manage three minutes without slurring and losing a battle with the teleprompter.

  I guess they can’t shorten his responses in press conferences since he hardly gives any.

  — Kelkat (@Tweetytweeter63) May 4, 2024

  Who’s actually running the country?

  👀 👀 👀

  — iNeo_G 🚀 💫 ✨ (@iNeo_G) May 4, 2024

  The campaign like to air pre recorded speeches, that have scores of edits and cuts in them, blatantly because he struggles to speak more than one sentence at a time.

  And when Biden goes off script, he does something idiotic like calling Japan a Xenophobic country:

  They are already hiding him from the press after failing to disguise that he can barely walk.

  Probably because when he does encounter the press, he freezes and looks like he’s crapping himself:

  Joe Biden is falling apart in front of our very eyes! They can hide him all they want but the people know he’s more than unfit to serve! https://t.co/RVjzPJoTma

  — Tex-Mex Trumpian (@TexicanTrumpian) May 4, 2024

  Is it any wonder he is less popular than any other president in modern history:

  *  * *

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 15:45

• US Covert Missile Launcher Touted As Game Changer In Future Taiwan War
  US Covert Missile Launcher Touted As Game Changer In Future Taiwan War

  Authored by Kyle Anzalone via AntiWar.com,

  After the US withdrew from a major nuclear arms treaty with Russia in 2019, the Pentagon began to develop weapons that would have violated that agreement. Such a covert missile has now been deployed to the Philippines as part of the US military buildup surrounding China. The New York Times reports this system to be a covert missile launcher that Washington believes could jeopardize Xi Jinping’s position as president of China.

  Capable of firing Tomahawks and other munitions, the Typhon launcher is concealed in a 40-foot shipping container and can hold up to four missiles. The Defense Department first deployed the launchers to the Philippines during war games late last month, after which China accused the US of “stoking military confrontation.”

  

  According to the Times, Washington hopes to use the Typhon launchers to protect Taiwan from a Chinese attack. Sources who spoke with the outlet believe that Typhon’s strike power is enough to thwart an invasion of Taiwan and even force Xi from power in Beijing if an invasion fails.

  Below is a section of the NYT report which sets a dramatic scene:

  Setting squadrons of Chinese amphibious ships packed with troops ablaze in the Taiwan Strait, Pentagon officials believed, would not only protect the de facto independent island but may also make Mr. Xi’s own grip on power within the Communist Party untenable.

  Without the legal restrictions of the I.N.F. Treaty, the Pentagon began experimenting with existing assets.

  The Typhon launcher would have been banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). Signed near the end of the Cold War, the treaty outlawed land-based missiles and launchers with a range between 500 and 5,500 kilometers.

  Tomahawks have carried nuclear payloads in the past, although the US retired that variant of the missile in compliance with the INF Treaty.

  The Times’ Pentagon reporter also notes that the Typhon system could be deployed to the southwestern Philippines for a potential conflict in the South China Sea. Tensions between Beijing and Manila have been rising for several months over dueling claims about sovereignty over reefs in the sea.

  The White House has reaffirmed its mutual defense pact with the Philippines, suggesting the Biden administration is ready to go to war with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea.

  Washington and Manila are additionally working on an intelligence-sharing agreement that is expected to be finalized this year. This pact, and a raft of other partnerships Washington has formed in the Indo-Pacific, are aimed at fighting a future war with Beijing.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 15:10

• Biden Boosts Student Dem Leader Warning Of "Dictator Trump" On PBS
  Biden Boosts Student Dem Leader Warning Of “Dictator Trump” On PBS

  Days after OnlyFans & TikTok star Farha Khalidi revealed the Biden administration paid her to push “full-on political propaganda” while asking her not to disclose that she was part of a covert propaganda strategy, the Biden-Harris campaign reposted on X a video of Gen-Zers regurgitating Democrat talking points, such as ‘Trump is a threat to Democracy.’ 

  The PBS News Hour roundtable discussion with Michigan students appeared loaded and staged. The left-wing media outlet tried to create the vibe that Gen-Zers are voting for President Biden in November because they’re afraid of losing Democracy if former President Trump is reelected.

  This is yet another example of Democrats brainwashing the youth into believing the biggest threat to America right now is the reelection of Trump. Under Biden, in just a few short years, the administration facilitated the greatest illegal alien invasion this nation has ever seen, now risking a major national security threat as unvetted migrants roam the nation, causing crime and chaos. Then there’s horrendous foreign policy in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, which risks pushing the world closer to World War III. Yet these kids, infected with the woke mind virus, are having trouble seeing reality. 

  Biden-Harris campaign reposted the video on X, saying, “Gen Z voter: The biggest issue for me is Democracy. We saw January 6. Now Trump is admitting he’ll be a dictator on day one. That’s not just rhetoric, that’s an admission.” 

  Gen Z voter: The biggest issue for me is democracy. We saw January 6. Now Trump is admitting he’ll be a dictator on day one. That’s not just rhetoric, that’s an admission pic.twitter.com/JxkQbLgcNa

  — Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) May 3, 2024

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  However, as X users pointed out, how can there be a fair and balanced discussion when the Gen-Zer speaking in the video is the co-chair of College Democrats at the University of Michigan? 

  

  Here’s what others said: 

  Lol staged with paid actors

  — Shawn spelled the right way (@ShawnsBrain) May 3, 2024

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

  Right, because a bunch of teenagers who struggle with gender identity are exactly the type of people we should be listening to lmfao

  — Heywood Jablome (@SeanSeneca30103) May 3, 2024

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  Not sure how 4 students represent all Gen Z voters but go on.

  — This too shall pass (@coolname77) May 4, 2024

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  I hope the boys are ready to be drafted for world war 3

  — Tammy (@Tammy8156) May 5, 2024

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  So why would the Biden-Harris campaign be focused on attempting to deceive youngsters into believing the cool thing in November is to vote for someone who could honestly be their elderly grandpa in a retirement home? 

  

  The reason is straightforward. A recent Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll found that Trump leads Biden 47% to 40% among voters 18-34 in swing states. This is a significant shift from the last presidential cycle when Biden won 61% of voters under 30. 

  The Biden administration understands they desperately need Gen-Z and millennial support to win in November, hence why they were paying at least one OnlyFans creator to spew propaganda. And why they pushed for an illegal alien invasion. 

  Meanwhile, youngsters are coming to age in one of the worst economic periods this nation has seen in a generation. Elevated inflation is crushing household finances. Thanks to Fed chair Powell & out-of-control fiscal spending by Democrats. 

  Youngsters are pissed about disastrous Bidenomics. 

  The struggle is real for the new generation, which is just now learning that working a 9-5 isn’t as easy as college. pic.twitter.com/FvAeYkTddt

  — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 25, 2023

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  A lot of people seem to think this mindset is unique to Gen Z. It’s not.

  Every generation goes through this. Watch Reality Bites, where a group of 20-somethings in the early 90s deal with the exact same struggles and emotions as described in this video.

  pic.twitter.com/7h1gAN3c7R

  — Matthew Kobach 🍕 (@mkobach) October 20, 2023

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  The Gen-Z girl who complained about the 9-5 work schedule has a comment for Business Insider (which tried to find out where she works) about the stress of finding a job as a post-grad. She’s got a point. pic.twitter.com/4ExfWrELLF

  — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) October 27, 2023

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  Plus, on campus – there’s been a surge in Gen-Zers stepping up to protect the flag and the nation against Marxist radicals. 

  The average 20-year-old boy on a big state college campus is a lot closer to the picture on the right than the picture on the left. https://t.co/6wI7LSl31Y pic.twitter.com/yx52F01kNY

  — Nate Hochman (@njhochman) May 4, 2024

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  We’ll leave you with this. 

  Here are some more Gen Z voters.

  How about you post these ones 🤨 pic.twitter.com/HgBN490Evm

  — Rob Coates 🇺🇸 (@LuckyHippie926) May 3, 2024

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  Biden camp is in trouble. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 14:35

• Change Of S&P Leadership Suggests Bottom Is Near
  Change Of S&P Leadership Suggests Bottom Is Near

  Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist,

  A change in sector leadership in US stocks suggests the correction might soon be over and a bottom is not too far away.

  The tech sector has led the recent advance in the US stock-market (i.e. the sector with the highest three-month return on a three-month smoothed basis), but in the last two weeks it lost that mantle to the communication services sector.

  (Tech stocks are leading today after the payrolls miss, but on a three-month return on a three-month smoothed basis communication services are still ahead.)

  

  As the chart shows, the two previous market corrections were accompanied by a change of leadership. But that change came near the bottom and ahead of the next advance.

  The tech sector is lagging as its main constituents, Microsoft, Apple and Nvidia, have been lagging, while the communication services sector, predominately Meta and Google, went into the lead, driven the latter’s positive earnings surprise last week.

  Further confidence that the current fall in prices is just a correction is given by buoyant excess liquidity that continues to be supportive for stocks and relatively low near-term recession risk (although that is always subject to changes based on the data).

  

  Also the primary bull trend in the stock market remains intact. The 13 versus 26-week moving average crossover signal for the S&P was one of the earliest signs that the market’s nascent advance in early 2023 was durable. The positive stock-market regime that began late last year remains in place.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 14:00

• "Nothing Wrong With Being Hamas": Radical Leftist Groups Trained Students Before Nationwide Campus Chaos 
  “Nothing Wrong With Being Hamas”: Radical Leftist Groups Trained Students Before Nationwide Campus Chaos 

  It’s very puzzling that the purple-haired communist revolutionaries sitting in tents across woke colleges and universities nationwide would advocate for Palestinians to break free from the support of freedom-loving Israel only to adopt the authoritarian control of Sharia law by Hamas. But perhaps, as we’ve explained before, the uprisings at colleges have very little to do with helping poor Palestinians and everything to do with abolishing capitalism and the socialist reconstruction of America. 

  In the last several weeks, social unrest has been spreading like stage 4 cancer across college campuses nationwide. These uprisings have likely been influenced by Marxist groups grooming kids, infecting them with the woke mind virus (in this case, oppressor vs. oppressed). Really, how can these kids be oppressed if they’re attending elite schools, living the dream on taxpayer-funded student loans while getting worthless gender studies degrees? Meanwhile, the vast majority of Americans are struggling to pay bills and put food on the table in the era of failed Bidenomics as inflation runs rampant.  

  Like many law-abiding Americans watching the protests, we spotted similarities with demonstrators at multiple colleges and universities, including the same-style tent and white construction worker helmets being utilized by demonstrators.

  

  Also, professional protesters showed up… 

  

  This began the questioning of just how organized and funded these protests were. 

  Professional agitators arrested at Columbia College campus.

  Unveiling a Pattern of Disruption

  Recent arrests at Columbia College campus in NYC have brought to light the activities of anarchists, revealing a concerning pattern of unlawful protest actions. These arrests,… pic.twitter.com/xqjoHp96Jx

  — Viral News NYC (@ViralNewsNYC) May 5, 2024

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  To answer that question, the Wall Street Journal, published a new report that reveals the social unrest at colleges and universities was the result of a multi-month “training and planning” campaign by “activists and left-wing groups.”

  At Columbia University, student organizers consulted heavily with radical leftwing groups, such as National Students for Justice in Palestine, veterans of campus protests, and former Black Panthers, many months before the protests. 

  These campus riots have been spontaneous eruptions of support for Hamas terrorists. Luckily 500 professionally printed protest signs showed up unannounced out of nowhere! 😂 pic.twitter.com/caHr9dar1b

  — James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) May 1, 2024

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  “We took notes from our elders, engaged in dialogue with them and analyzed how the university responded to previous protests,” Sueda Polat, a graduate student and organizer in the pro-Palestinian encampment, told WSJ. She said they met with former Black Panthers about how to organizer the movement. 

  Meanwhile, the National Students for Justice in Palestine, or NSJP, with over 300 chapters across the US, was heavily involved in organizing college encampments and building takeovers. 

  These building takeovers left the nation stunned… 

  She participated in a hostile takeover of campus and subjected her classmates to “Zionist” purity checkpoints that determined whether or not they got to access their classes.

  Her group vandalized and barricaded historic buildings and treated anyone not w/them as enemies.

  They… pic.twitter.com/R71cXZvfFZ

  — Mark Schipper (@TheMarkSchipper) May 3, 2024

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  🇺🇸🇵🇸 MORE FOOTAGE OF THE PRO-PALESTINIAN TAKEOVER OF CAL-POLY

  Riot police are attempting to regain control of the campus after protesters barricaded themselves within the campus of California’s Polytechnic University.

  Decisive action is called for as more universities around… https://t.co/d8VIvhuY2C pic.twitter.com/dLxXLIY2ci

  — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 23, 2024

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  Royce Hall is the most iconic building on the UCLA campus. I spent a lot of time there in college.

  Look at what these supporters of Hamas terrorists did to my school, and tell me again how peaceful this protest is. pic.twitter.com/Ci7YEDvAwF

  — Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) May 2, 2024

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  Protesters that were Arrested last week at Columbia University in New York City had, for several Weeks and Months prior to the Establishment of the Campus Encampment as well as the Storming and Barricading of the Hamilton Hall Building, held discussions with Outside Extremists… pic.twitter.com/oBTvUOI55B

  — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 5, 2024

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  As early as November, we pointed out how NSJP was beginning to cause chaos across school campuses:

  • Brandeis University Bans Students For Justice In Palestine, Alleges Hamas Support

  And…

  • Virulent Antisemitism And The Rot At Our Universities
  • Berkeley Instructor Offers Extra Credit For Attending Pro-Palestine Protest

  WSJ pointed out, “NSJP have been received and administered by the Wespac Foundation.” 

  According to Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, in a recent Washington Examiner op-ed, Wespac’s website has a photo of activists holding up a sign that reads “Another World is Possible.” He said this slogan is well-known and used by organizations that “despise capitalism but feel they must cloak their communism.” 

  “WESPAC funds various revolutionary far-left/anti-Western groups,” Ryan Mauro of Capital Research Center, who tracks these activists groups, told Gonzalez. 

  Mauro told Gonzalez that WESPAC donations include monies from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and George Soros’s Open Society. 

  

  Back to WSJ’s report, weeks before the college protests erupted, students at Colombia University were given “Resistance 101” training with activists from Samidoun. 

  “There is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas,” Samidoun coordinator Charlotte Kates told university students. 

  Meanwhile, the Israeli government declared Samidoun a terrorist organization in 2021.

  “They support terrorism, and they want to gain public opinion — support — for terrorism,” Yossi Kuperwasser, the former chief of the research division in the Israel Defense Forces’ military intelligence unit, recently said. 

  ActiveFence Research sheds more color on Samidoun: 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  What’s taking shape here is yet another Marxist movement, or perhaps ‘BLM-style 2.0’ emerging ahead of the summer months. These Marxists, like parasites, are hijacking the pro-Palestinian movement with their intent to destroy capitalism and America. 

  Robert Pape, a political scientist at the University of Chicago who studies political violence, warned that protests are expected to continue through summer and fall.  

  Just remember, Marxists at these colleges said the quiet part out loud last week. 

  An extremist on the mic says: “There’s only one solution, intifada revolution. We must have a revolution so we can have a socialist reconstruction of the USA.”

  This isn’t just about Israel/Palestine. It’s an attempt of the Marxist takeover of America. Our colleges have become… pic.twitter.com/2IEqRyuorB

  — A Man Of Memes (@RickyDoggin) April 30, 2024

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  In April, Samidoun and other groups unleashed protests that attempted to shutter airport terminals, bridges, and highways nationwide. These protests masqueraded as pro-Palestinian demonstrations, but their dark intentions by Marxists were to disrupt the economy.  

  We asked in April: “Who Is Funding This Chaos? Pro-Palestinian Protesters Attempt To Paralyze Chicago O’Hare, Golden Gate Bridge.”

  So where are the FBI, Congress, and the Biden administration? Why aren’t they investigating these left-wing artificial protests before they spark out of control and cause more chaos across the nation?

  Caption this 👇 pic.twitter.com/HxDdS0Zpny

  — wilder😎🇺🇸 (@wilderpatriot) May 4, 2024

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  However, this time around, unlike the BLM riots several years ago, there are more than ten million unvetted illegal aliens from around the world, some of whom do not like the US. The nation is on the brink of chaos if this continues. Yet, Democrats are mostly silent. 

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

• Watch: Senator Eviscerates Biden Official Over "Dark Money Meetings"
  Watch: Senator Eviscerates Biden Official Over “Dark Money Meetings”

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  During a Senate Energy and National Resources Committee hearing this week, Republican Senator Josh Hawley exposed a Biden official as having no clue what is going on in her own department.

  

  Hawley grilled Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland regarding alleged shady meetings with foreign “dark-money groups” that actively fund radical left-wing environmental initiatives. 

  “Is it common practice at your department to meet with dark money groups off the books and conceal it from the public?” Hawley probed.

  Talk about corruption: Biden’s Interior department has *off the books* meeting with liberal dark money group funded by foreign billionaire, conceals it from the public, then does everything they want. In this case, canceling critical mining in the US. To benefit China. pic.twitter.com/tfQeEXq1f3

  — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 2, 2024

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  Haaland Replied “Senator, thank you for the question, and of course, I can’t answer to, uh, if you’re referring to our former deputy secretary. He’s no longer at the department.”

  “Who worked for you,” Hawley fired back.

  “He worked for the president. He was appointed by the president,” Haaland said, attempting to to deflect responsibility.

  “He’s your deputy secretary,” Hawley said, adding “Are you the secretary of the Department of the Interior? I thought that’s why you were here.”

  Hawley then asked “Are you the secretary?” Scolding Haarland for attempting to look to colleagues for assistance. 

  “Don’t look at her, look at me. Are you the secretary?” he repeated.

  “I am,” Haaland responded.

  Hawley further asked “Do these people who are sitting here today answering most of your questions, do they work for you? Do they report for you? You’re not in charge?”

  “They work with me,” Haaland answered.

  “They work with you. So you’re not in charge of the department?” An exasperated Hawley asserted, adding “Oh my gosh, I thought you were in charge! I thought that was why you were here!”

  “We work as a team,” Haaland responded, 

  “Oh, okay. So who’s in charge then?” Hawley demanded.

  Secretary Haaland apparently doesn’t know who’s in charge of the Interior Department. Hint: it’s supposed to be her 👇 pic.twitter.com/c1BSXtiViW

  — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 2, 2024

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  “Uh, I, I provide the vision, I provide the overall direction and —” Haaland stuttered. 

  “But you’re not in charge,” Hawley proclaimed, asking “Do you take responsibility for what happens at the Department of the Interior?”

  “I take responsibility,” Haaland said.

  “Good, then why are your leadership meeting with dark money groups and concealing it from the public? Why are they doing it off the books? How many times did this happen?” Hawley asked, returning to the original question. 

  “Senator, this is the first I’m hearing of this,” Haaland claimed, adding “I don’t, I didn’t … my deputy secretary is no longer there, and, um, I can’t answer to what he did when he was there.”

  Hawley again accused Haaland of refusing to take responsibility again, and charging that Haaland’s Department has “a corruption problem.”

  “We have foreign billionaires, who are funding dark-money groups, coming to meet with your leadership, concealing it from the public, while they are filing lawsuits adverse to the department,” Hawley urged, concluding “The American people should be charge—not the foreign billionaires.”

  The full exchange is below:

  *  *  *

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/05/2024 – 12:50

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• The Interlocking Of Strategic Paradigms
  The Interlocking Of Strategic Paradigms

  Authored by Alastair Crooke via the Ron Paul Institute,

  Theodore Postol, Professor of Science, Technology and National Security Policy at MIT, has provided a forensic analysis of the videos and evidence emerging from Iran’s 13th April swarm drone and missile ‘demonstration’ attack into Israel: A ‘message’, rather than an ‘assault’.

  The leading Israeli daily, Yediot Ahoronot, has estimated the cost of attempting to down this Iranian flotilla at between $2-3 billion dollars. The implications of this single number are substantial.

  Professor Postol writes:

  “This indicates that the cost of defending against waves of attacks of this type is very likely to be unsustainable against an adequately armed and determined adversary”.

  “The videos show an extremely important fact: All of the targets, whether drones or not, are shot down by air-to-air missiles”, [fired from mostly U.S. aircraft. Some 154 aircraft reportedly were aloft at the time] likely firing AIM-9x Sidewinder air to air missiles. The cost of a single Sidewinder air-to-air missile is about $500,000”.

  Furthermore:

  “The fact that a very large number of unengaged ballistic missiles could be seen glowing as they reenter the atmosphere to lower altitudes [an indication of hyper-speed], indicates that whatever the effects of [Israel’s] David’s Sling and the Arrow missile defenses, they were not especially effective. Thus, the evidence at this point shows that essentially all or most of the arriving long-range ballistic missiles were not intercepted by any of the Israeli air and missile-defense systems”.

  

  Postel adds, “I have analyzed the situation, and have concluded that commercially available optical and computational technology is more than capable of being adapted to a cruise missile guidance system to give it very high precision homing capability … it is my conclusion that the Iranians have already developed precision guided cruise missiles and drones”.

  “The implications of this are clear. The cost of shooting down cruise missiles and drones will be very high and might well be unsustainable unless extremely inexpensive and effective anti-air systems can be implemented. At this time, no one has demonstrated a cost-effective defense system that can intercept ballistic missiles with any reliability”.

  Just to be clear, Postol is saying that neither the U.S. nor Israel has more than a partial defense to a potential attack of this nature – especially as Iran has dispersed and buried its ballistic missile silos across the entire terrain of Iran under the control of autonomous units which are capable of continuing a war, even were central command and communications to be completely lost.

  This amounts to paradigm change – clearly for Israel, for one. The huge physical expenditure on air defense ordinance – 2-3 billion dollars worth – will not be repeated willy-nilly by the U.S. Netanyahu will not easily persuade the U.S. to engage with Israel in any joint venture against Iran, given these unsustainable air-defence costs.

  But also, as a second important implication, these Air Defense assets are not just expensive in dollar terms, they simply are not there: i.e. the store cupboard is near empty! And the U.S. lacks the manufacturing capacity to replace these not particularly effective, high cost platforms speedily.

  ‘Yes, Ukraine’ … the Middle East paradigm interlinks directly with the Ukraine paradigm where Russia has succeeded in destroying so much of the western supplied, air-defence capabilities in Ukraine, giving Russia near complete air dominance over the skies.

  Positioning scarce air defense ‘to save Israel’ therefore, exposes Ukraine (and slows the U.S. pivot to China, too). And given the recent passage of the funding Bill for Ukraine in Congress, clearly air defence assets are a priority for sending to Kiev – where the West looks increasingly trapped and rummaging for a way out that does not lead to humiliation.

  But before leaving the Middle East paradigm shift, the implications for Netanyahu are already evident: He must therefore focus back to the ‘near enemy’ – the Palestinian sphere or to Lebanon – to provide Israel with the ‘Great Victory’ that his government craves.

  In short, the ‘cost’ for Biden of saving Israel from the Iranian flotilla which had been pre-announced by Iran to be demonstrative and not destructive nor lethal is that the White House must put-up with the corollary – an attack on Rafah. But this implies a different form of cost – an electoral erosion through exacerbating domestic tensions arising from the on-going blatant slaughter of Palestinians.

  It is not just Israel that bears the weight of the Iranian paradigm shift. Consider the Sunni Arab States that have been working in various forms of collaboration (normalissation) with Israel.

  In the event of wider conflict embracing Iran, clearly Israel cannot protect them – as Professor Postol so clearly shows. And can they count on the U.S.? The U.S. faces competing demands for its scarce Air Defenses and (for now) Ukraine, and the pivot to China, are higher on the White House priority ladder.

  In September 2019, the Saudi Abqaiq oil facility was hit by cruise missiles, which Postol notes, “had an effective accuracy of perhaps a few feet, much more precise than could be achieved with GPS guidance (suggesting an optical and computational guidance system, giving a very precise homing capability)”.

  So, after the Iranian active deterrence paradigm shift, and the subsequent Air Defence depletion paradigm shock, the putative coming western paradigm shift (the Third Paradigm) is similarly interlinked with Ukraine.

  For the western proxy war with Russia centered on Ukraine has made one thing abundantly clear: this is that the West’s off-shoring of its manufacturing base has left it uncompetitive, both in simple trade terms, and secondly, in limiting western defense manufacturing capacity. It finds (post-13 April) that it does not have the Air Defence assets to go round: ‘saving Israel’; ‘saving Ukraine’ and preparing for war with China.

  The western maximalization of shareholder returns model has not adapted readily to the logistical needs of the present ‘limited’ Ukraine/Russia war, let alone provided positioning for future wars – with Iran and China.

  Put plainly, this ‘late stage’ global imperialism has been living a ‘false dawn’: With the economy shifting from manufacturing ‘things’, to the more lucrative sphere of imagining new financial products (such as derivatives) that make a lot of money quickly, but which destabilize society (through increasing disparities of wealth); and which ultimately, de-stabilise the global system itself (as the World Majority states recoil from the loss of sovereignty and autonomy that financialism entails).

  More broadly, the global system is close to massive structural change. As the Financial Times warns,

  “the U.S. and EU cannot embrace national-security “infant industry” arguments, seize key value chains to narrow inequality, and break the fiscal and monetary ‘rules’, while also using the IMF and World Bank – and the economics profession– to preach free-market best practice to EM ex-China. And China can’t expect others not to copy what it does”. As the FT concludes, “the shift to a new economic paradigm has begun. Where it will end is very much up for grabs.”

  ‘Up for grabs’: Well, for the FT the answer may be opaque, but for the Global Majority is plain enough – “We’re going back to basics”: A simpler, largely national economy, protected from foreign competition by customs barriers. Call it ‘old- fashioned’ (the concepts have been written about for the last 200 years); yet it is nothing extreme. The notions simply reflect the flip side of the coin to Adam Smith’s doctrines, and that which Friedrich List advanced in his critique of the laissez-faire individualist approach of the Anglo-Americans.

  ‘European leaders’, however, see the economic paradigm solution differently:

  “The ECB’s Panetta gave a speech echoing Mario Draghi’s call for “radical change”: He stated for the EU to thrive it needs a de facto national-security focused POLITICAL economy centered around: reducing dependence on foreign demand; enhancing energy security (green protectionism); advancing production of technology (industrial policy); rethinking participation in global value chains (tariffs/subsidies); governing migration flows (so higher labour costs); enhancing external security (huge funds for defence); and joint investments in European public goods (via Eurobonds … to be bought by ECB QE)”.

  The ‘false dawn’ boom in U.S. financial services began as its industrial base was rotting away, and as new wars began to be promoted. It is easy to see that the U.S. economy now needs structural change. Its real economy has become globally uncompetitive – hence Yellen’s call on China to curb its over-capacity which is hurting western economies.

  But is it realistic to think that Europe can manage a relaunch as a ‘defense and national security-led political economy’, as Draghi and Panetta advocate as a continuation of war with Russia? Launched from near ground zero?

  Is it realistic to think that the American Security State will allow Europe to do this, having deliberately reduced Europe to economic vassalage through causing it to abandon its prior business model based on cheap energy and selling high-end engineering products to China?

  This Draghi-ECB plan represents a huge structural change; one that would take a decade or two to implement and would cost trillions. It would occur too, at a time of inevitable European fiscal austerity. Is there evidence that ordinary Europeans support such radical structural change?

  Why then is Europe pursuing a path that embraces huge risks – one that potentially could drag Europe into a whirlpool of tensions ending in war with Russia?

  For one main reason: The EU leadership held hubristic ambitions to turn the EU into a ‘geo-political’ empire – a global actor with the heft to join the U.S. at Top Table. To this end, the EU unreservedly offered itself as the auxiliary of the White House Team for their Ukraine project, and acquiesced to the entry price of emptying their armories and sanctioning the cheap energy on which the economy depended.

  It was this decision that has been de-industrializing Europe; that has made what remains of a real economy uncompetitive and triggered the inflation that is undermining living standards. Falling into line with Washington’s failing Ukraine project has released a cascade of disastrous decisions by the EU.

  Were this policy line to change, Europe could revert to what it was: a trading association formed of diverse sovereign states. Many Europeans would settle for that: Placing the focus on making Europe competitive again; making Europe a diplomatic actor, rather than as a military actor.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 23:20

• CIA Engaged In "Infinite Race" With China For AI, Other Tech
  CIA Engaged In “Infinite Race” With China For AI, Other Tech

  The CIA is engaged in an “infinite race” with China when it comes to AI and other top technologies, according to the agency’s Chief Technology Officer, Nand Mulchandani, who outlined a strategy that prioritizes technological prowess as crucial to national security.

  

  Speaking at the Hill & Valley Forum’s gathering of top technology and government officials in Washington this week, Mulchandani’s made it clear that the agency is aggressively pursuing advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) to bolster both offensive and defensive capabilities, the Washington Times reports.

  “We’re looking at transforming every single part of what the agency does,” he stated, underscoring the depth of the CIA’s commitment to integrating AI into its core operations. The agency’s push includes the development of large language models, sophisticated algorithms that are the backbone of generative AI tools, aiming to enhance everything from field operations to analytical and support functions.

  This strategic pivot comes as geopolitical rivalry with China is intensifying. The CCP has repeatedly expressed its ambition to dominate the AI sphere, which would present profound challenges and implications for global power dynamics. Mulchandani emphasized the need to rethink the concept of this competition as a “race,” suggesting that viewing it as having a definitive end is a misstep. “This is an infinite race. This is not going to stop. It’s going to keep on going,” he explained, framing the scenario as a continuous struggle for technological superiority.

  The implications of this shift are profound. If the deployment of these new tools escalates to warfare, it will test America’s position in the technology stakes, a scenario Mulchandani hopes will never materialize. He predicts the next major conflict will be “primarily a software war,” driven by AI, changing the nature of warfare from hardware-dependent to software-driven.

  The concerns are not just theoretical. At Stanford’s Hoover Institution, Herbert Lin of the Stanford Emerging Technology Review highlighted the shift in global tech leadership, with the U.S. losing its primacy in certain key areas like AI. Lin pointed out the critical need for a robust talent pipeline and a strategic vision, especially in fields like biotechnology, to maintain competitiveness.

  Moreover, the CIA is particularly wary of AI-driven Ubiquitous Technical Surveillance (UTS), which threatens the secrecy of U.S. intelligence operations. In response, the agency is engaged in foundational infrastructure work, which Mulchandani described as the “sewer and plumbing work” necessary to navigate the AI revolution. This involves constant adaptation to rapid technological changes, ensuring that the CIA remains agile in its tech tactics.

  “We talk about UTS, which is basically something that’s really, really killing us out in the field in terms of competitively, you know, biometrics, video cameras,” he said. “Well, how do we turn it around [and continue] those operations in the face of this much AI being thrown at us is another big area that they’re looking at. So directorate by directorate, we’re rethinking, reshaping every part of what CIA needs to do in the face of using it and deploying it.“

  The urgency of these initiatives is echoed in the broader governmental plea for collaboration from Silicon Valley. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s call to technologists and venture capitalists at the forum to guide and assist the government underscores the critical role of public-private partnerships in navigating the technological labyrinth.

  As the U.S. and China continue their relentless pursuit of technological dominance, the narrative is clear: this is not a sprint with a finish line but a marathon without end, defining the future of global power, security, and technological innovation.

  Big Mike Begs

  No, not that Big Mike… House Speaker Mike Johnson (R?-LA), who implored the technologists and venture capitalists at the forum to help the government wherever they can.

  

  “There are not many industries, not many leaders and experts, who we just openly plead for your counsel, but I am doing that here today,” said Johnson. “Because a lot of the people who are of goodwill here, who want to do the right thing, could use some of your guidance along the way to make sure that we don’t step on any land mines that we don’t see. You have a much better vision, I think, on a lot of that than we do.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 22:45

• Russia Stepping Up 'Decapitation Strikes' – Belatedly Adds Zelensky to Criminal 'Wanted' List
  Russia Stepping Up ‘Decapitation Strikes’ – Belatedly Adds Zelensky to Criminal ‘Wanted’ List

  Days ago, for the first time Russian forces mounted a major air attack on the Ukrainian command’s southern headquarters in the port city of Odessa. This suggests Moscow is increasingly targeting Ukraine’s top command and control centers.

  There’s been another key development late in the week suggesting Russia is escalating in response to more and more weapons and billions pouring into Kiev from the West: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just been added to a Russian government most-wanted list of criminals.

  

  It was revealed Saturday that Zelensky’s name is now on the Russian Interior Ministry’s “wanted” list, which is an important online database. 

  The database lists Zelensky as wanted “under an article of the criminal code” but provides no other specifics or details. This designation comes after well over two years of war, so the question is: why now?

  It seems the Kremlin is signaling a new escalation which could focus on ‘decapitation strikes’ targeting Ukraine’s top leadership. Or else, is Russia establishing a legal ground for arresting him in some future scenario?

  While command and intelligence HQ’s have been hit by Russian airpower in the past, strikes have yet to directly target top-ranking civilian and military leadership. But it seems this is about to change.

  President Putin has for years demonstrated that he is very law-oriented and ‘by the book’ – that is, he must have a legal basis or rationale for acting. So Zelensky now personally being designated as ‘wanted’ perhaps provides the ‘rationale’ in a sense, from the Kremlin’s perspective.

  The anti-Kremlin independent news outlet Moscow Times suggests this sets the stage for new plots to try and assassinate Zelensky: 

  The Ukrainian President said last year he was aware that at least “five or six” assassination attempts against him had been foiled.

  The day after sending troops into Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave an address to the nation in which he called on the Ukrainian army to overthrow Zelensky.

  Russia has placed several foreign politicians and public figures on its wanted list, which has tens of thousands of entries.

  As for Russia’s unrelenting and recently stepped-up aerial campaign, it has continued to pummel and degrade Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. This appears a tit-for-tat retaliation for Ukraine’s own devastating cross-border attacks on Russian oil depots and refineries. 

  A fresh Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) statement has outlined that “In the past 7 days, the Russian Armed Forces carried out 25 group strikes via precision weapons and drones, hitting Ukrainian energy and transportation infrastructure facilities and Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises.”

  Zelensky is now officially WANTED by Russia!

  At least that’s what the database for Russia’s MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs–basically, police) states: Zelensky is wanted under an undisclosed article of the Russian criminal code.

  An interesting development to say the least.… pic.twitter.com/FS8tdWAJxt

  — Nina 🐙 Byzantina (@NinaByzantina) May 4, 2024

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  “Between April 28 and May 4, in response to the Kiev regime’s attempts to inflict damage to Russian energy and industrial facilities, the Russian Armed Forces carried out 25 group strikes via precision weapons and drones, hitting Ukrainian energy and transportation infrastructure facilities, military-industrial complex enterprises, missile and ammunition storage areas, as well as unmanned speedboats and drone manufacturing workshops,” the ministry said.

  The MoD has also warned that any “mercenary” positions and also foreign military equipment will be specifically targeted. There are reports that Ukraine has had to pull back it US-supplied M1 Abrams tanks precisely because they make for such an attractive target.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 21:35

• Almost Half Of Health Care Workers Hesitant To Take COVID-19 Boosters: Study
  Almost Half Of Health Care Workers Hesitant To Take COVID-19 Boosters: Study

  Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Approximately half of the health care workers in a Polish study were found to be averse to taking COVID-19 booster shots, with one of the reasons for this hesitancy being their negative experiences with previous vaccinations.

  

  The peer-reviewed study, published in the Vaccines journal on April 29, examined factors underlying “hesitancy to receive COVID-19 booster vaccine doses” among health care workers (HCW) in Poland. Almost 50 percent of the participants were identified as being wary of the boosters. “Our study found that 42 percent of the HCWs were hesitant about the second booster dose, while 7 percent reported no intent to get vaccinated with any additional doses.”

  “As reasons for not vaccinating, participants most frequently highlighted lack of time, negative experiences with previous vaccinations, and immunity conferred by past infections.”

  The study involved 69 healthcare workers composed of nurses, midwives, physicians, other health associate professionals, and administrative staff.

  At the time of enrollment, 47 had a history of lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection and 31 had at least one comorbidity, a situation where a person suffers from more than one disease or medical condition at the same time.

  Over 92 percent of study participants received at least one vaccine booster, with 50.73 percent getting two doses. Five out of the 69 HCWs did not take any boosters.

  “Booster hesitancy among health professionals (physicians, nurses, and midwives) was lower than among administrative staff and others. Almost 79 percent of the physicians had received two COVID-19 vaccine booster doses. However, apart from physicians, about half of the HCWs from each occupation group were hesitant about the second booster dose.”

  “The highest number of HCWs without any vaccine boosters was observed among administration personnel.”

  HCWs in the age groups of 31-40 and 41-50 were found to be the most skeptical about taking the second booster shot. Thirty-four out of the 69 HCWs provided reasons for their COVID-19 booster vaccine hesitancy.

  Two of the health care workers who did not take booster shots said their decision was based on their personal experience with the vaccines.

  “They reported negative experiences with past COVID-19 vaccination and stated that the natural immunity developed after SARS-CoV-2 infection could protect them against COVID-19, which, overall, does not pose serious health risks,” the study said.

  “Responses from HCWs who received only one COVID-19 booster dose can be categorized into two themes: (i) influences arising from personal perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine and disease prevention and (ii) issues directly related to vaccination and its safety.”

  Six health care workers reported suffering negative adverse effects after previously taking COVID shots. Four had safety concerns about the vaccines.

  In an earlier study conducted by the researchers, COVID-19 antibody levels among HCWs after receiving the mandatory primary vaccine series were found to have decreased by around 90 to 95 percent within seven months of vaccination. However, “none of the HCWs contracted COVID-19,” it said.

  The current study was funded by the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences. The authors of the study reported no conflicts of interest.

  Vaccine Concerns, Harms

  Other studies have also explored vaccine hesitancy among health care workers. A March 2023 study that looked at HCWs from Cameroon and Nigeria found that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was “high and broadly determined by the perceived risk of COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines on personal health, mistrust in COVID-19 vaccines, and uncertainty about colleagues’ vaccine acceptability.”

  An April 2022 study found that “a concern for vaccine side effects” and “the belief that the vaccines are inadequately studied” were some of the key reasons for vaccine hesitancy among health care workers.

  A May 2022 analysis at BMJ Global Health warned that indulging in policies like mandatory vaccination “may cause more harm than good.”

  “Current mandatory vaccine policies are scientifically questionable and are likely to cause more societal harm than good,” it said.

  “Current policies may lead to a widening of health and economic inequalities, detrimental long-term impacts on trust in government and scientific institutions, and reduce the uptake of future public health measures, including COVID-19 vaccines as well as routine immunizations.”

  The analysis recommended that vaccines should only be mandated “sparingly and carefully to uphold ethical norms and trust in institutions.”

  During Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) roundtable discussion on COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 26, researcher Raphael Lataster, associate lecturer at the University of Sydney, claimed that data from Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials exaggerated the efficacy of the shots.

  The data exaggeration could make an ineffective vaccine have a perceived effectiveness of up to 48 percent, he stated.

  Meanwhile, a Jan. 27 narrative review found that repeated COVID-19 vaccination may end up boosting the likelihood of experiencing COVID-19 infections and other pathologies. Taking multiple vaccine doses could trigger higher levels of IgG4 antibodies and impair activating white blood cells that protect a person from infections and cancers.

  “While booster doses have been recommended to enhance and extend immunity, especially in the face of emerging variants, this recommendation is not based on proven efficacy, and the side effects have been neglected,” the paper said.

  In an interview with EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” program last year, clinical pathologist Dr. Ryan Cole said that DNA contamination in some of the COVID-19 vaccines could be behind an increase in cancers. He pointed to “turbo cancers,” referring to the phenomenon of cancer symptoms arising faster.

  “Now I’m seeing the solid tissue cancers at rates I’ve never seen … Patients that were stable, or cancer-free for one, two, five, ten years and their cancer’s back, it’s back with a vengeance and it’s not responding to the traditional therapies,” he said.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 21:00

• Bitcoin Vs. Gold: Who Won The ZeroHedge Debate?
  Bitcoin Vs. Gold: Who Won The ZeroHedge Debate?

  Friday night’s ZeroHedge Debate explored which is the superior asset: Gold or Bitcoin.

  

  Arguing in favor of Gold were investor Peter Schiff and NYU economist Nouriel Roubini, who went toe-to-toe with crypto proponents Erik Voorhees, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur and wealth manager Anthony Scaramucci.

  Schiff made the case that Bitcoin cannot be a viable currency because “money needs to be a commodity” and that Bitcoin has no inherent value.

  “It’s not just a unit of account and a medium of exchange. It needs to be a store of value,” he added.

  “[Bitcoin] is no more ‘digital gold’ than if I create an image of a hamburger on a computer screen. That’s not digital food.”

  Does Bitcoin’s transferability give it value?

  Voorhees argued that Bitcoin’s ability to seamlessly cross borders is an example of inherent value.

  “I can send $1 million to Europe in five minutes from my phone.”

  As things heated up, Roubini echoed Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), suggesting that crypto could be exchanged between a “criminal and a terrorist” and that Bitcoin’s transferability allows for the subversion of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) laws.

  He blasted Voorhees for being too idealistic.

  “Live in your Libertarian cave! That’s not the world we live in.”

  Voorhees then gave his best impression of Socrates, attempting to dissect Roubini’s argument that Bitcoin is not “decentralized.”

  Roubini, meanwhile, made the case that Bitcoin mining is controlled by an oligopoly, and that “The Gini coefficient of Bitcoin is worse than North Korea,” – a point he’s made in the past, suggesting that Bitcoin contributes to income inequality, rather than reducing it.

  One topic the panelists agreed on: inflation is crushing the work class.

  According to Schiff, “there’s only one source of inflation and that’s government.”

  So, who do you think won?

  If you would like to protect yourself from rising inflation, consider checking out this debate’s sponsors: Preserve Gold and Bitlayer Labs. ZeroHedge would like to offer a special thank you to each of them for helping to facilitate free speech and open debate.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 20:33

• Northern Gaza In Grip Of Full-Blown Famine, UN Food Agency Chief Says
  Northern Gaza In Grip Of Full-Blown Famine, UN Food Agency Chief Says

  Starting early last month the director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power informed US lawmakers in Congress for the first time that the population in parts of northern Gaza have begun facing famine. This testimony served to hasten international efforts to more efficiently get aid into the Strip, such as the Pentagon’s Gaza pier project, though it didn’t put a halt of the Western weapons flowing to Tel Aviv.

  Now, a top UN official has warned the crisis is worse than previously assessed. The head of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Cindy McCain is now warning that northern Gaza is in the midst of a “full-blown famine”.

  

  She further said that famine is “moving its way south” in a new NBC News interview set to air Sunday. She described that this is base on the humanitarian office’s assessment on the ground.

  “It’s horror. It’s so hard to look at and it’s so hard to hear,” McCain told Meet the Press. “What we are asking for and what we continually ask for is a ceasefire and the ability to have unfettered access, to get in safe through the various ports and gate crossings.”

  But a ceasefire is unlikely to come for at least a week, given that is how long Israel has just given Hamas to respond in a a fresh ultimatum. “Israel has informed Egyptian mediators that Hamas has one week to agree to a hostage deal or Tel Aviv will begin the invasion of Rafah,” AntiWar.com writes. “The Israeli proposal does not offer a permanent ceasefire, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared the attack on the city will occur with or without the release of hostages.”

  Conditions for the civilian population are expected to compound in the south if Israel’s military goes through with its planned ground offensive against Rafah.

  “The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu told representatives of hostage families this past Tuesday. “We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there – with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory.”

  The southern city is packed with some 1.5 million people at this point – with most of these being internally displaced refugees. But Israel says that some final key Hamas battalions and commanders are hiding out in the city, embedded within the civilian population, and that there will be no way to root them out except to send in the IDF infantry.

  In her early April testimony, USAID’s Power warned that “Food has not flowed in sufficient quantities to avoid this imminent famine in the south, and these conditions that are giving rise already to child deaths in the north.”

  “There’s been significant damage during the war; bullet holes, walls missing, roofs not intact” @UNWateridge

  Critical @UNRWA & @WFP mission to expand food distribution in north #Gaza. Agencies working closely to avert famine through meaningful supply despite massive destruction. pic.twitter.com/khMHxOU7qH

  — UNRWA (@UNRWA) May 2, 2024

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  Aid officials have warned that in addition to the likelihood of mass deaths, famine would grow in the south of the Strip as well in the wake of a major Rafah assault. The population is so concentrated there that people would have few or no safe places to which to flee for safety. The US has been leaning on Israel to establish a credible civilian evacuation plan, but it’s unclear the degree to which this is being realized.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 20:25

• California Bill Would Give Black Applicants An Edge In Getting Occupational Licenses
  California Bill Would Give Black Applicants An Edge In Getting Occupational Licenses

  Authored by Sophie Li via The Epoch Times,

  California lawmakers are considering a bill that would give preference to African American applicants seeking occupational licenses, for such professions as teaching, nursing, counseling, electrical work and others, especially those who are descendants of slaves.

  

  Assemblyman Mike Gipson, author of AB 2862, said the state’s licensing process poses barriers for African Americans seeking employment, particularly in terms of wage disparities and access to leadership or managerial positions.

  “There has been historical longstanding deficiencies and internal barriers … [for] African Americans seeking professional work, and by prioritizing their applications, we are bridging the gap of professional inequities of under representation and under compensation,” Mr. Gipson said in a bill analysis.

  Under current law, only veterans are eligible for such prioritization.

  Mr. Gipson argued in the analysis that if such priority can be granted to veterans, similar standards should be applicable to African-American applicants.

  “If expediting licensure for veterans does not discriminate, then perhaps prioritizing African American applicants also is not discriminatory,” his statement reads.

  “Nor would a preference for African American applicants violate the equal protection clause of the California Constitution any more than the existing preference for veterans.”

  Supporters of the bill, including the Greater Sacramento Urban League and the California African American Chamber of Commerce, said the legislation addresses historical injustices and “promotes equity and provides opportunities for economic advancement within our community.”

  However, opponents say it is “unconstitutional” and lacks legal backing.

  The Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law firm, argues in a statement that both the U.S. and California Constitutions guarantee citizens equal protection under the law, prohibiting the government from treating citizens differently based on race, ancestry, or other protected categories.

  The law firm suggested if the bill were to become law, it would probably not hold up against legal challenges, referencing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard last summer. The court deemed the consideration of an applicant’s race as a factor in admissions decisions unconstitutional.

  They argued that while the constitution allows the government to use race to remedy instances of past discrimination, the bill doesn’t cite any specific California laws that exclude African Americans or that were drafted with the intention of excluding workers needing redress.

  Additionally, they said that introducing race as a factor in the licensing process would exacerbate barriers for many Californians seeking to enter the workforce, particularly low-income workers, who already face numerous challenges.

  The law firm also pointed out that the representation of minority groups within industries often varies, suggesting that prioritizing one group over others would fail to address the root of the problem.

  They argued that if the state were to do so, it should reduce barriers to licensure for all Californians.

  The bill, which will now be heard in the Assembly’s Appropriations Committee, passed the Assembly’s Business and Professions Committee on a 13–2 vote last week.

  If ultimately passed, it would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2029.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 19:50

• Cargill Recalls 8 Tons Of Ground Beef At Walmart Stores Nationwide Over Possible E. Coli
  Cargill Recalls 8 Tons Of Ground Beef At Walmart Stores Nationwide Over Possible E. Coli

  Eight tons of ground beef, processed at a Cargill Meat Solutions plant in Pennsylvania and distributed to Walmart stores nationwide, have been recalled due to potential E. coli contamination. 

  On Wednesday, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that 16,243 pounds of raw ground beef products may be contaminated with E. 

  In recent days, Cargill shipped the raw ground beef to Walmart stores in a wide range of states, including Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, DC, and West Virginia. 

  

  The recalled beef from Cargill includes:

  • All Natural Lean Ground Beef with lot code 117 (2.25 pounds)

  • Prime Rib Beef Steak Burgers Patties with lot code 118 (1.33 pounds)

  • Fat All Natural Angus Premium Ground Beef with lot code 117 (2.25 pounds)

  • Fat All Natural Ground Beef Chuck with lot code 118 (2.25 pounds)

  • Fat All Natural Ground Beef Chuck Patties with lot code 118 (1.33 pounds)

  • Fat All Natural Good Beef Sirloin Patties with lot code 118 (1.33 pounds)

  This comes about one month after walnuts sold at Whole Foods were recalled for potential  E. coli contamination. 

  Last month, Trader Joe’s recalled fresh basil sold in 29 states and Washington, DC, due to dozens of cases of salmonella. 

  The recent spate of food recalls, including the current ground beef recall, highlights the need for Americans to understand better the sourcing of their food. 

  Here’s what X users said about the recall: 

  It was eggs last week, peanut butter the week before that, granola bars before that, who tf is letting this all threw.

  — Godhasreturned (@Godhasreturned_) May 2, 2024

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  I wouldn’t eat any meat sold at Walmart regardless

  — Mang (@Manglonian) May 2, 2024

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  I can’t believe that many people buy meat there.

  — Mrs.America (@NeoAndTrinity_) May 2, 2024

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  That’s what you get for buying meat at Walmart

  — Bobby (@0gbobbyEth) May 2, 2024

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  This calls for reevaluating food sources, moving away from big companies, and shifting towards more localized and transparent farming practices. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 19:15

• David Stockman On The $1.3 Trillion Elephant In The Room
  David Stockman On The $1.3 Trillion Elephant In The Room

  Authored by David Stockman via InternationalMan.com,

  These people have to be stopped!

  

  We are talking about the nation’s unhinged monetary politburo domiciled in the Eccles Building, of course. It is bad enough that their relentless inflation of financial assets has showered the 1% with untold trillions of windfall gains, but their ultimate crime is that they lured the nation’s elected politician into a veritable fiscal trance. Consequently, future generations will be lugging the service costs on insuperable public debts for years to come.

  For more than two decades these foolish PhDs and monetary apparatchiks drove the entire Treasury yield curve to rock bottom, even as public debt erupted skyward. In this context, the single biggest chunk of the Treasury debt lies in the 90-day T-bill sector, but between December 2007 and June 2023 the inflation-adjusted yield on this workhorse debt security was negative 95% of the time.

  That’s right. During that 187-month span, the interest rate exceeded the running (LTM) inflation rate during only nine months, as depicted by the purple area picking above the zero bound in the chart, and even then by just a tad. All the rest of the time, Uncle Sam was happily taxing the inflationary rise in nominal incomes, even as his debt service payments were dramatically lagging the 78% rise of CPI during that period.

  Inflation-Adjusted Yield On 90-Day T-bills, 2007 to 2022

  

  The above was the fiscal equivalent of Novocain. It enabled the elected politicians to merrily jig up and down Pennsylvania Avenue and stroll the K-Street corridors dispensing bountiful goodies left and right, while experiencing nary a moment of pain from the massive debt burden they were piling on the main street economy.

  Accordingly, during the quarter-century between Q4 1997 and Q1 2022 the public debt soared from $5.5 trillion to $30.4 trillion or by 453%. In any rational world a commensurate rise in Federal interest expense would have surely awakened at least some of the revilers.

  But not in Fed World. As it happened, Uncle Sam’s interest expense only increased by 73%, rising from $368 billion to $635 billion per year during the same period.  By contrast, had interest rates remained at the not unreasonable levels posted in late 1997, the interest expense level by Q1 2022, when the Fed finally awakened to the inflationary monster it had fostered, would have been $2.03 trillion per annum.

  In short, the Fed reckless and relentless repression of interest rates during that quarter century fostered an elephant in the room that was one for the ages. Annualized Federal interest expense was fully $1.3 trillion lower than would have been the case at the yield curve in place in Q4 1997.

  Alas, the missing interest expense amounted to the equivalent of the entire social security budget!

  So, we’d guess the politicians might have been aroused from their slumber had interest expense reflected market rates. Instead, they were actually getting dreadfully wrong price signals and the present fiscal catastrophe is the consequence.

  Index Of Public Debt Versus Federal Interest Expense, Q4 1997-Q1 2022

  

  Needless to say, the US economy was not wallowing in failure or under-performance at the rates which prevailed in 1997. In fact, during that year real GDP growth was +4.5%, inflation posted at just 1.7%, real median family income rose by 3.2%, job growth was 2.8% and the real interest rates on the 10-year UST was +4.0%.

  In short, 1997 generated one of the strongest macroeconomic performances in recent decades—even with inflation-adjusted yields on the 10-year UST of +4.0%. So there was no compelling reason for a massive compression of interest rates, but that is exactly what the Fed engineered over the next two decades. As shown in the graph below, rates were systematically pushed lower by 300 to 500 basis points across the curve by the bottom in 2020-2021.

  Current yields are higher by 300 to 400 basis points from this recent bottom, but here’s the thing: They are only back to nominal levels prevalent at the beginning of the period in 1997, even as inflation is running at 3-4% Y/Y increases, or double the levels of 1997.

  US Treasury Yields, 1997 to 2024

  

  Unfortunately, even as the Fed has tepidly moved toward normalization of yields as shown in the graph above, Wall Street is bringing unrelenting pressure for a new round of rates cuts, which would result in yet another spree of the deep interest rate repression and distortion that has fueled Washington’s fiscal binge since the turn of the century.

  As it is, the public debt is already growing at an accelerating clip, even before the US economy succumbs to the recession that is now gathering force. And we do mean accelerating. The public debt has recently been increasing by $1 trillion every 100 days. That’s $10 billion per day, $416 million per hour.

  In fact, Uncle Sam’s debt has risen by $470 billion in the first two months of this year to $34.5 trillion and is on pace to surpass $35 trillion in a little over a month, $37 trillion well before year’s end, and $40 trillion some time in 2025. That’s about two years ahead of the current CBO (Congressional Budget Office) forecast.

  

  On the current path, moreover, the public debt will reach $60 trillion by the end of the 10-year budget window. But even that depends upon the CBO’s latest iteration of Rosy Scenario, which envisions no recession ever again, just 2% inflation as far as the eye can see and real interest rates of barely 1%. And that’s to say nothing of the trillions in phony spending cuts and out-year tax increases that are built into the CBO baseline but which Congress will never actually allow to materialize.

  What is worse, even with partial normalization of rates, a veritable tsunami of Federal interest expense is now gathering steam. That is because the ultra-low yields of 2007 to 2022 are now rolling over into the current market rates shown above—at the same time that the amount of public debt outstanding is heading skyward. As a result, the annualized run rate of Federal interest expense hit $1.1 trillion in February and is heading for $1.6 trillion by the end of the current fiscal year in September.

  

  Finally, even as the run-rate of interest expense has been soaring, the bureaucrats at the US Treasury have been drastically shortening the maturity of the outstanding debt, as it rolls over. Accordingly, more than $21 trillion of Treasury paper has been refinanced in the under one-year T-bill market, thereby lowering the weighted-average maturity of the public debt to less than five- years.

  The apparent bet is that the Fed will be cutting rates soon. As is becoming more apparent by the day, however, that’s just not in the cards: No matter how you slice it, the running level of inflation has remained exceedingly sticky and shows no signs of dropping below its current 3-4% range any time soon.

  

  What is also becoming more apparent by the day is that the money-printers at the Fed have led Washington into a massive fiscal calamity. It is only a matter of time, therefore, until the brown stuff hits the fan like never before.

  *  *  *

  The truth is, we’re on the cusp of an economic crisis that could eclipse anything we’ve seen before. And most people won’t be prepared for what’s coming. That’s exactly why bestselling author Doug Casey and his team just released a free report with all the details on how to survive an economic collapse. Click here to download the PDF now.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 18:40

• Data Centers Hiding In 'Spy Country' Northern Virginia Will Need Reactor's Worth Of Power
  Data Centers Hiding In ‘Spy Country’ Northern Virginia Will Need Reactor’s Worth Of Power

  Since the beginning of the digital age, most of the world’s internet data has flowed through massive data centers in Northern Virginia. The area is known as “Data Center Alley” because it’s home to the world’s largest concentration of data centers. Some call the area ‘spy country’ because of the number of data centers used by the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies. 

  Given the exponential proliferation of smartphones, streaming services, smart devices, and now generative artificial intelligence, the power demanded by data centers in Northern Virginia will need nuclear reactors worth of power, if not much more, according to utility Dominion Energy.

  On Thursday, Chief Executive Officer Bob Blue told investors on a company earnings call that “economic growth, electrification, and accelerating data center expansion” is boosting power demand across the area. 

  

  Blue said, “The data center industry has grown substantially in northern Virginia in recent years,” noting, “We’ve connected 94 data centers with over 4 gigawatts of capacity over the last approximately five years.” 

  Blue expects his utility company to connect another 15 data centers to the local power grid this year. 

  He said, “This growth has accelerated in orders of magnitude, driven by one, the number of data centers requesting to be connected to our system, two, the size of each facility, and three, the acceleration of each facility’s ramp scheduled to reach full capacity.” 

  He provided some context about rising power demand, pointing out:

  “A single data center typically had a demand of 30 megawatts or greater. However, we’re now receiving individual requests for demand of 60 to 90 megawatts or greater, and it hasn’t stopped there. We get regular requests to support larger data center campuses that include multiple buildings and require total capacity ranging from 300 megawatts to as many as several gigawatts.” 

  Blue told analysts that Loudoun County is home to the “largest data center market in the world, and we have had an opportunity to work with our data center customers for 15 or more years.”

  He said the electrification of the economy, in combination with data centers, will only mean “substantial load growth driven by electrification in data centers for the foreseeable future.” 

  With substantial load growth coming down the pipe, the local media outlet The Frederick News-Post reported earlier this year that billions of dollars in “regional power grid upgrades” are being proposed to “increase data center power demands in Northern Virginia.” 

  

  Recently, media outlet LoudounNow reported that “hunger for energy continues to grow, especially in the data center industry with new large-scale projects adding hundreds of megawatts of demand.” The paper said that this has led government officials to propose “small modular reactors.”

  

  Putting this all together plays into our latest investing theme, ‘powering up America’ and the upgrade of the nation’s grid for AI data centers, electrification of the economy, and reshoring of manufacturing. We titled the notes “The Next AI Trade” and “Everyone Is Piling Into The Next AI Trade.” Nuclear will be a big part of power generation as it’s the only clean and reliable source for data centers, as Blackrock’s Larry Fink pointed out last week. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 18:05

• US Demands Qatar Expel Hamas If Group Rejects Israeli Truce Deal
  US Demands Qatar Expel Hamas If Group Rejects Israeli Truce Deal

  Via The Cradle

  US officials have told Qatar to expel Hamas’ political leadership if the Palestinian militant group rejects the latest proposal for a ceasefire with Israel, The Washington Post reports Saturday. A US official speaking on the condition of anonymity with The Post said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered the message to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in April.

  Three diplomats familiar with the matter said Qatari officials have expected the request for months, as ceasefire talks mediated by Qatari and Egyptian officials have repeatedly failed. Qatari officials have advised Hamas officials to prepare to depart for another country should they be forced to leave, one of the diplomats told The Post. Some have speculated that Turkiye may be a possible future host of the group.

  

  Doha has hosted Hamas’ political leadership, including Ismail Haniyeh, at the US’ request since 2012 and provided billions in cash to the Hamas authorities governing Gaza in recent years with the approval of the US and Israel. 

  However, Qatar has come under criticism from US and Israeli officials since Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on 7 October. During the operation, Hamas attacked Israeli military bases and settlements to break the 17-year siege on Gaza. Some 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers were killed, including some by Hamas and others by Israeli forces, which used attack helicopters, tanks, and drones in their own settlements (kibbutzim) to respond to the operation.

  Hamas also took some 240 Israelis captive, of which roughly 100 remain alive in Gaza, to exchange for some of the thousands of Palestinians held captive in Israeli jails. 

  The White House has sought to use the threat of expelling Hamas from Qatar as leverage in ceasefire negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants the return of the Israeli captives without offering a permanent end to the war in return. 

  Netanyahu has long insisted that Israel only agree to a temporary ceasefire in exchange for the return of the Israeli captives, after which the army would be allowed to resume the war on Gaza, which he claims is meant to eliminate Hamas. Hamas has rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire in hopes of ending the war permanently and winning the return of displaced Palestinians from northern Gaza to their homes, though many have been destroyed by Israeli bombing.

  After seven months of war, the Israeli army has succeeded in killing a reported over 34,000 Palestinians, including over 14,000 children according to Gaza Health Ministry casualties, and has laid waste to large swathes of Gaza’s cities and farmland. However, the army has not defeated Hamas, whose fighters continue to carry out operations against occupying Israeli troops. 

  Netanyahu has also used the threat of an all-out invasion of Rafah, the city on the Egypt border where over 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, as leverage to force Hamas to agree to a ceasefire and prisoner exchange on Israel’s terms. 

  Blinken returned to Israel this week in hopes of pressuring Hamas to agree to the latest Israeli proposal. “We are determined to get a ceasefire that brings the hostages home and to get it now, and the only reason that wouldn’t be achieved is because of Hamas,” Blinken said Wednesday in Tel Aviv. “There is a proposal on the table, and as we’ve said: no delays, no excuses. The time is now.” A Hamas delegation is expected to visit Cairo this weekend, potentially to respond in writing to Israel’s latest proposal, Reuters reported Friday.

  Major Israeli strike have continued to rock Gaza this week:

  BREAKING: MAJOR ISRAELI AIRSTRIKES ON NORTHERN GAZA RIGHT NOW pic.twitter.com/pxoc2eFhqb

  — Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) May 3, 2024

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

  As negotiations have dragged on, US officials and lawmakers have blamed Qatar for its failure to force Hamas to agree to a deal. Some US lawmakers have called on the White House to force Qatar to not only expel the Hamas leadership but to cut ties with the group entirely.

  However, some analysts say expelling Hamas from Qatar will not assist Israel. “Applying pressure to Hamas in Doha is ineffective pressure,” an official briefed on the talks said. “The problem is the guys making the decisions are in Gaza, and they don’t care where the political office is located,” this person said.

  Patrick Theros, a former US ambassador to Qatar, told The Post that kicking Hamas out of Qatar would simply sabotage the current talks further. “We’d be cutting off our nose to spite our face,” he said.

  Qatari officials have expressed frustration for the criticism they are receiving, simply for doing what the US had requested of them. “We did not enter into a relationship with Hamas because we wanted to. We were asked by the U.S.,” Majed al-Ansari, adviser to the Qatari prime minister and spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, stated last week to Israeli media.

  “Qatar is being used as a political punching bag for those who are looking either to safeguard their political futures or to find more votes in the next elections,” he said in response to US and Israeli criticism.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 17:30

• Bitcoin ETFs See Buying Resurgence; 'Mr.100' BTFD As Grayscale Sees First Inflow Since Jan
  Bitcoin ETFs See Buying Resurgence; ‘Mr.100’ BTFD As Grayscale Sees First Inflow Since Jan

  For the first time since spot bitcoin ETFs were launched, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) saw a daily net inflow on Friday (of $63 million)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  GBTC has dominated the outflows since inception (adding up to around $17.5 billion) since the 11 spot ETFs were launched on Jan 11. The inflow coincided with a sudden surge in aggregate net inflows to ETFs overall of $378 million on Friday (which came two days after a record net outflow of $563 million)…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  CoinTelegraph’s Ciaran Lyons reports that pseudonymous crypto investor DivXman told his followers that the GBTC was the “primary source” of sell pressure across all spot Bitcoin ETFs, but “the tides” could be turning.

  “That effectively means a significant decrease in sell pressure and additional increase in demand while ETFs collectively are buying more BTC than miners can create,” he explained to his 20,800 X followers in a May 3 post.

  Crypto trader Jelle predicted to his 80,300 X followers on the same day that Bitcoin’s new all-time high is on the horizon.

  “60 million dollars worth of inflows for Grayscale’s ETF. The halving chop will come to an end, and 6-figure Bitcoin will follow shortly after.”

  Bitcoin’s price responded to this sudden inflow surprise and rallied back above $64,000, erasing the outflow-driven plunge from last week…

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  This price rise corresponded to a big short liquidation in the past 24 hours…

  

  Source: CoinGlass

  Additionally, CoinTelegraph reports that bitcoin whale entity nicknamed “Mr. 100” has bought the Bitcoin dip for the first time since the Bitcoin halving.

  Meanwhile, multiple market analysts suggest that the local Bitcoin bottom may be in as the price bounces from $56,000 lows.

  The Mr. 100 whale wallet has added over 4,100 BTC worth over $242 million, around the $58,000 mark, according to on-chain data from Bitinfocharts, as noticed by X user HODL15Capital.

  This represents the wallet’s first Bitcoin purchases since April 19, the day before the 2024 Bitcoin halving.

  The wallet has been adding at least 100 BTC nearly every day since Feb. 14, except for the post-halving period.

  

  Mr. 100 is currently the 12th-largest Bitcoin holder, with over 65,155 BTC, according to Bitinfocharts data.

  Finally, another even-larger ‘whale’ is Michael Saylor at MicroStrategy, delivered a masterclass on corporate finance and the power of bitcoin to supercharge corporate balance sheets. Saylor made a point to emphasize Bitcoin as the single solution for capital appreciation in an inflationary environment.

  The MicroStrategy Executive Chairman noted key differences between Bitcoin and alternative cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, expressing the importance and necessity of proof-of-work-based consensus in creating a digital commodity.

  “You could see the writing on the wall when the spot ETF of Bitcoin was approved in January. By the end of May, you’ll know that Ethereum is not going to be approved. And when Ethereum is not going to be approved, sometime this summer it’ll be very clear to everyone that Ethereum is deemed a crypto asset security, not a commodity. After that, you’re going to see that [for] Ethereum, BNB, Solana, Ripple, Cardano – everything down the stack.”

  Saylor’s conviction and use of physics-based metaphors were present as ever as he spoke on Bitcoin’s price appreciation and continued monetization.

  “It’s never declining. The chart’s not ever decreasing. It only goes one way. Bitcoin is a capital ratchet. It’s a one-way ratchet. Archimedes said, give me a lever long enough and a place to stand and I can move the world. Bitcoin is the place to stand.”

  “There’s no more powerful idea than the digital transformation of capital… No force on earth can stop an idea whose time has come. This is an idea. Its time has come. It’s unstoppable. And so I’m going to end with the observation that Bitcoin is the best. The best what? The best.”

  Saylor is an outspoken proponent of BTC and a leading force behind MicroStrategy acquiring the cryptocurrency as a reserve asset. As of April 30, the firm held 214,400 BTC – worth more than $13 billion at the time of publication.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 16:55

• Governments Cause Inflation And Hurt Bond Investors
  Governments Cause Inflation And Hurt Bond Investors

  Authored by Daniel Lacalle,

  The Fed’s preferred inflation measure rose 2.8% in March from a year ago. This is the core personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding food and energy, which should be less volatile than the consumer price index and a better indicator of the real process of disinflation.

  

  This figure is not only concerning, considering the propaganda that repeats that the fight against inflation is nearing its conclusion, but it becomes even more so when we observe the upward trend over the last three and six months. Inflation has accelerated on a quarterly and half-year basis.

  As E.J. Anthony, PhD economist, points out, “there was never any indication we were heading to the 2.0% inflation target, let alone the pre-pandemic 1.8% average; we’ve arrived at 3%+ with no indication we’re going significantly lower anytime soon, not with the current levels of Treasury borrowing and Fed allowing money supply growth.”

  We need to understand why inflation is not falling as promised and announced.

  There is no such thing as cost-push inflation

  Fiscal policy has been reckless, and enormous deficit spending is fueling inflationary pressures through unnecessary government consumption of newly created currency.

  Government spending is printing new units of currency and inflation is caused by issuing more than what the private sector demands, thus making the purchasing power of money decline.

  There is no such thing as cost-push inflation, greedflation, or commodity inflation.

  None of those factors can make aggregate prices rise, consolidate, and continue increasing on an annualized level.

  Furthermore, if cost-push or supply chain disruptions were the cause of inflation, we would have deflation today, not rising aggregate prices every month.

  Governments created the inflation burst of 2021 and have not only ignored fiscal responsibility but, in the case of the United States, maintained a completely unhealthy and unrequired budget deficit

  Governments are destroying the purchasing power of money and perpetuating inflation. They created the inflation burst of 2021 and have not only ignored fiscal responsibility but, in the case of the United States, maintained a completely unhealthy and unrequired budget deficit.

  “An upsurge in money growth preceded the inflation flare-up, and countries with stronger money growth saw markedly higher inflation,” concluded Claudio Borio in a scholar paper in 2023 (“Does money growth help explain the recent inflation surge?”, BIS Bulletin No. 67, January 26, 2023).

  Doctors Juan Castañeda and Tim Congdon already warned as early as June 2020 that “the policy reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic will increase budget deficits massively in the world’s leading countries. The deficits will largely be monetized, with heavy state borrowing from both national central banks and commercial banks. The monetization of budget deficits, combined with official support for emergency bank lending to cash-strained corporates, is leading to extremely high growth rates of the quantity of money,” and these “will instigate an inflationary boom” (Inflation: The Next Threat? Institute of Economic Affairs, Briefing 7, June 2020).

  Inflation is a policy

  Inflation is not a coincidence or a fatality; it is a policy. Governments tend to announce large-scale spending programs to combat inflation.

  These policies accelerate money velocity in a recovery, particularly after a shutdown like the one of 2020, as well as the quantity of money in the system.

  Thus, inflation rises rapidly. The only way to contain the inflation burst is to cut spending and reduce the quantity and growth of money. However, although central banks have announced so-called restrictive policies, reality has shown the opposite.

  The quantity of money in the system has not been reduced. Money supply measured as M2 has declined, and the balance sheet of the Federal Reserve has diminished, but these forces have been entirely offset by net liquidity and money market funds.

  As government spending and deficit have not fallen at all, but rather the opposite, the economy has been flooded with the post-waves of the first money growth impact (2020), its market and net liquidity effect, and rising public expenditure with annual deficits close to $2 trillion.

  The quantity of money has not been reduced

  The Federal Reserve has increased rates, but that only helps moderate the growth of money, not eliminate inflationary pressures.

  Furthermore, as markets immediately discounted large rate cuts in 2024, the real effect on money growth has been just to postpone the inevitable future monetization of such enormous deficits. It has become a Call option on a forthcoming new quantitative easing program.

  We cannot forget that the quantity of money has not been reduced due to another relevant factor.

  The Federal Reserve has multiplied its support for the troubled banking sector via the discount window, which offsets the modest reduction in the Fed balance sheet.

  Instead of attacking inflation, the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” has perpetuated the destruction of the value of the currency issued

  By purchasing the sovereign bonds in the banks’ balance sheets at par despite the collapse in price, the Fed was inadvertently printing new money and sabotaging its own restrictive measures.

  The misguided Keynesian policies implemented by the US government have cancelled out the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet reduction and rate hike efforts.

  The Treasury injected more than $2 trillion per annum in liquidity, creating new money, counteracting the net $1.6 trillion that the Fed retired in three years from its balance sheet.

  Therefore, the impact on the purchasing power of the currency through inflation has been negative. Instead of attacking inflation, the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” has perpetuated the destruction of the value of the currency issued.

  The impact on markets

  The impact on markets has been phenomenal. The yen, once a stable currency perceived as a haven for investors, has fallen to a 35-year low versus the US dollar.

  The Bloomberg index of globally expanded major currencies and the emerging markets indicator have both fallen.

  The result of the 2020–2024 “free money” wave was a very expensive destruction of real wages and deposit savings.

  Furthermore, bonds have been obliterated and the latest data shows that the aggregate US and euro area bond indices have not recovered from the past years’ slump, and even going back to 2020, the indices are showing negative returns.

  Only the high yield index has shown a positive performance in the past four years, albeit a meager 4.5%.

  Governments are destroying the currency that they issue in all possible ways. Through persistent inflation, making wage earners and middle-class deposit savers poorer, with rising taxes to try to reduce a budget deficit that was bloated by unnecessary spending in a recovery, and through the destruction of the safest asset, bonds, that have become a bad investment for the most conservative investors, pension funds.

  The only way in which inflation will be reduced will be if the Federal Reserve abandons its decision to cut rates and starts to take measures that drain net liquidity.

  Without the support of the Treasury, this is impossible because it floods the market with new money even if monetary policy is restrictive and investors simply discounts that all those newly issued currency units will be monetized somehow in the future.

  It does not matter if Powell promises restraint when Yellen pushes excess. The most conservative bondholders will only start to see positive returns when the Treasury stops destroying the currency’s value. It does not seem likely anytime soon.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 16:20

• Gaza Pier Delayed Over Rough Seas, Pentagon Calls Project "Extremely Challenging"
  Gaza Pier Delayed Over Rough Seas, Pentagon Calls Project “Extremely Challenging”

  This week has seen statements and reports indicating the US military constructed humanitarian pier on Gaza’s coast is expected to be complete by some point this weekend. 

  But the $320 million project has hit another snag, as the Pentagon has said its soldiers and engineers were forced to “temporarily pause” the offshore assembly of the floating pier due to bad sea conditions in the eastern Mediterranean. So a finish date by this weekend appears unrealistic at this point, based on the Friday announcement.

  

  “The partially built pier and military vessels involved in its construction have moved to the Port of Ashdod, where assembly will continue, and will be completed prior to the emplacement of the pier in its intended location when sea states subside,” CENTCOM said in a statement. 

  So now the US personnel constructing it have moved to Israel. Presumably once the floating pier is completed it will be moved by sea back to the northern Gaza coast in preparation for maritime aid deliveries. 

  The pier is expected to allow “the delivery of large quantities of humanitarian aid from ship to shore by truck, with vehicles driving directly off ships and across the temporary pier to a marshaling yard ashore,” per the US military statement.

  According to more details of what could prove to be cause of more continued pauses and delays:

  Defense officials previously hoped that the JLOTS system would be fully built by Friday. But officials told CNN that sea state conditions have been extremely challenging off the coast of Gaza over the last week, impeding the work of the personnel involved in building the pier. One of the key tasks, for example, involves military divers working underneath the pier to ensure all the parts are secured and stable — a difficult and dangerous task when the seas are rough.

  The operation of the pier and causeway, which will also require US military personnel to be stationed at sea, will also depend on weather conditions, officials say. 

  Meanwhile famine has hit parts of the Gaza Strip, USAID said starting last month. There are also still lingering fears that once complete the pier and personnel working it could come under attack by Palestinian militants.

  On Tuesday Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made a surprise admission for the first time. It came during a hearing of the House Armed Services committee, and specifically when Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida grilled him on whether US servicemen will be placed in harm’s way during the construction of the project in Gaza.

  Update on the Construction of the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability in Mediterranean Sea

  Yesterday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) temporarily paused offshore assembly of the floating pier in the vicinity of Gaza due to sea state considerations. Forecasted high winds and… pic.twitter.com/cIY2TUn7NX

  — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) May 3, 2024

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

  Austin answered in the affirmative, and further said that troops erecting the pier will be armed and that they will be authorized to fire back if fired upon. It must be recalled that just last week a visiting delegation of UN officials came under mortar fire from Palestinian militants. Hamas has further warned that any foreign military presence on Gaza soil will come under attack. 

  * * *

  Below is more from the tense Congressional exchange: 

  Gaetz: This is a very telling moment, Mr. Secretary, because you’ve said something that’s quite possible, that could happen, right? Shots from Gaza on our service members, and then the response our armed service members shooting live fire into Gaza. That is a possible outcome here so that we can become the Port Authority and run this pier. Right?

  Austin: That’s correct. And I expect that we will always have the ability to protect themselves.

  Gaetz: Don’t you think that counts as boots on the ground? President Biden told the country that we weren’t going to have boots on the ground in Gaza.

  Austin: And we won’t

  Gaetz: Okay, but you guys parse the distinction between… Like when Americans think boots on the ground, they think Americans in harm’s way or engaged actively in a conflict. You guys seem to be sort of saying that boots on a pier, connected to the ground, connected to service members shooting into Gaza doesn’t count as boots on the ground?

  Austin: It does not.

  Gaetz: I think you’re gonna find the the American people have a different perspective on that. And if we’re gonna have people shooting into Gaza, we probably should have a vote on that, pursuant to our war powers.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 15:45

• Biden Spends All Afternoon Awarding Medals To Other Democrats
  Biden Spends All Afternoon Awarding Medals To Other Democrats

  Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

  Despite the fact that the world is teetering on the edge of global conflict, US college campuses being trashed by radical occupiers, and criminal illegals are still overwhelming the border, Joe Biden spent Friday afternoon awarding other Democrats medals.

  

  Biden, who was incapable of saying ‘Presidential Medal of Freedom,’ awarded one each to Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Al Gore, Michael Bloomberg, and Rep. Jim Clyburn.

  Crooked Joe’s brain is friedhttps://t.co/8TGrYdQFd0

  — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 3, 2024

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

  It was just a big back-patting session for Democrats.

  Old Joe Biden is so confused he thought he was supposed to nominate the most financially successful politicians. Or something. Hard to believe some of these folks deserve a medal of any kind. Al Gore, Climate Grifter, John Kerry, Climate Grifter, Nancy Pelosi, Stock Market… https://t.co/mhz8CAIA81

  — Brother Eric (@01IOTA) May 3, 2024

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

  Al Gore and John Kerry were seemingly given medals for losing elections, with Biden stating that Gore “accepted the outcome of a disputed presidential election for the sake of our unity.”

  These Democrats like standing behind each other.

  — Jungle Ball (@JungleBall_) May 3, 2024

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

  While Pelosi was given a medal for her actions on January 6th, which amounted to locking herself in a room, threatening to punch Donald Trump, and calling it an insurrection.

  Freedom to make over $150,000,000.00 in insider trading while in congress.

  — Nick Koutrakos (@NickKoutrakos) May 3, 2024

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

  Is that Medal for facilitating the setup for January 6th or assisting the in Committee in disposing of evidence? pic.twitter.com/5EsUUci2Pb

  — Bennetta Elliott (@belliott123) May 4, 2024

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

  Bloomberg and Clyburn got medals for…something or other, but being pivotal in Biden’s election campaign was just pure coincidence.

  BOUGHT AND PAID FOR. pic.twitter.com/uA1LUPuy0d

  — The Pink Elephant in the Room (@PEITRblog) May 4, 2024

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

  I want to congratulate one of our own, Mike Bloomberg, on receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom!

  Although he wasn’t as great a mayor as DeBlasio and Adams, he was fiercely opposed to guns and sugary drinks.

  Thank you President Biden. We in New York are celebrating today. pic.twitter.com/BXstjq4NkK

  — Kathy Hochul Press Release (Parody) (@NY_Gov_PR) May 3, 2024

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

  Hahaha of course you woke joke snowflakes think only democrats should get participation trophies 🏆 😆

  — Doug Osborne (@DougOsb70438101) May 4, 2024

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

  *  *  *

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 15:10

• Long Beach Hotel Housing 'Homeless' Sparks Tuberculosis Outbreak As Health Emergency Declared
  Long Beach Hotel Housing ‘Homeless’ Sparks Tuberculosis Outbreak As Health Emergency Declared

  A health crisis has emerged for Democrat officials in Long Beach, California, following a tuberculosis outbreak linked to a hotel housing ‘homeless’ people, according to Fox News. 

  On Thursday, health officials declared a public health emergency after an alarming tuberculosis outbreak was reported at an unnamed hotel housing. 

  The city has so far confirmed 14 cases of tuberculosis in people “associated with a single room occupancy hotel.” Nine of them were hospitalized with one fatal case. Another 170 people were “likely exposed” to the deadly bacteria. 

  

  “The outbreak is currently isolated to a distinct population and the risk to the general public is low,” the city said, adding, “The population at risk in this outbreak has significant barriers to care, including homelessness and housing insecurity, mental illness, substance use and serious medical comorbidities.”

  The reason health officials declined to name the hotel or its location is to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations. 

  One X user said, “I believe the name of the hotel SHOULD BE DISCLOSED in the interest of traveler safety. OR does this mean the hotel is used to house illegal aliens invading our border? Long Beach declares public health emergency after deadly tuberculosis outbreak.” 

  I believe the name of the hotel SHOULD BE DISCLOSED in the interest of traveler safety. OR does this mean the hotel is used to house illegal aliens invading our border? Long Beach declares public health emergency after deadly tuberculosis outbreak https://t.co/jTe7fpuR2R

  — Judy Holiday (@msjudyholiday) May 3, 2024

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

  The question now becomes if Long Beach officials were housing illegal migrants in the hotel… 

  If so, this isn’t the first time unvaccinated and undocumented illegal aliens have sparked infectious disease outbreaks in hotels and shelters nationwide. 

   

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 14:35

• Hamas-Israel Truce To Free Hostages Said To Be Closer Than Ever
  Hamas-Israel Truce To Free Hostages Said To Be Closer Than Ever

  Rumors are flying Saturday that Hamas and Israel are closer than ever to finally reaching a truce deal that would center of the release of more Israeli hostages, and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

  “Negotiations for a potential hostage deal and truce in Gaza appeared to reach a critical moment Saturday, with Hamas set to offer its response to the latest proposal, and Israel indicating an offensive in the city of Rafah could be imminent if no agreement is reached,” Times of Israel reports.

  Separately Haaretz is reporting based on regional Arab sources that Hamas has in essence already accepted a deal. The last hours of Egyptian and Qatari mediated talks have reportedly seen significant progress.

  However, this key caveat could make all of the current Saturday headlines premature: 

  An Israeli official told Haaretz that ‘Israel will, under no circumstances, agree to end the war as part of a deal’ and is determined to enter Rafah.

  But Haaretz is also saying that “Hamas was guaranteed by the U.S. for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and that Israeli forces will not continue fighting once the hostages are released.”

  

  The problem with this is that given PM Netanyahu’s latest and consistent rhetoric vowing to not halt the operation until Palestinian terrorists in the Strip are eradicated, a full IDF withdrawal still seems unrealistic.

  Starting Friday Israeli leaders said they were giving Hamas one week to agree to the deal on the table or else a full-scale assault of Rafah will begin. 

  Less than 40 hostages are expected to be freed as part of the deal – it would focus on the remaining children, elderly, and the sick.

  One Israeli official told Haaretz that the government is “waiting anxiously to see Hamas’ final position.”

  But the source cautioned, “The information has not yet arrived, but in light of past experience, even if Hamas says it’s following the suggested framework, the small details and reservations it’ll eventually present may dissolve the whole deal.”

  This is precisely what has happened to prior rounds of negotiations which were believed to be at the finish line. They blew up at the last moment over specific details, typically involving wrangling over the names on the hostage release list.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 14:00

• Ukraine Struggles To Build New Defensive Lines As Its Forces Retreat
  Ukraine Struggles To Build New Defensive Lines As Its Forces Retreat

  Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute,

  Russian forces are advancing in several places across the 600-mile frontline in Ukraine, straining Kiev’s ability to build rear fortifications. Some in the Ukrainian military fault the country’s leadership for not building stronger second and third-line defenses last year while Russian troops were stalled. 

  According to a dozen Ukrainian soldiers, government officials, and construction company directors who spoke with the Associated Press, Kiev is struggling to set up new defensive lines as its forces retreat. The officials cited several issues including decision-making last year, bureaucracy in doling out military contracts, and ammunition shortages. 

  

  A deputy infantry commander fighting near Avdiivka explained that the defensive line needed to be built last year during Ukraine’s offensive. “There was an absence of responsibility. … People didn’t understand that fortifications can save your life if you do it in advance,” he stated. “Many people thought we … wouldn’t need to prepare such lines. They didn’t expect a new Russian offensive.”

  Last summer, at Washington’s insistence, Kiev launched a counteroffensive that failed to retake much territory due to deeply entrenched Russian defensive lines. Ukraine lost a significant number of troops and military equipment during the failed assault. 

  The AP notes that “Ukraine’s lack of adequate defensive lines has helped Russia make significant military gains, and constant enemy fire hinders building.”

  In a Telegram post on Sunday, Kiev’s Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said the situation at the front had “escalated,” adding, “Trying to seize the strategic initiative and break through the front line, the enemy has concentrated its main efforts in several directions, creating a significant advantage in forces and in means.”

  In the battle for Chasiv Yar, a city in Donetsk, a Ukrainian soldier said the lack of fortified positions allowed Russian forces to prevail, with over 100 men killed or missing after a major withdrawal from the area.

  “We lost department commanders, platoon commanders, company commanders, and sergeants. That is, we lost the entire skeleton of the brigade,” the soldier explained to the AP. 

  2/ Ukrainian intelligence officials also identified three Russian efforts to destabilize Ukraine and achieve victory.

  Details in the Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment for May 2, 2024: https://t.co/p2XVK93bUy pic.twitter.com/OEvKmsYaoH

  — Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) May 3, 2024

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

  Rather than use military engineers to complete the projects, Kiev elected to pay construction companies to build third-line defenses. Ukraine awarded the contracts without following the typical bidding process, raising fears of corruption. Additionally, one contractor said the reported progress on the fortifications has been exaggerated to satisfy the government’s demands.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 12:50

• "Stunning On Multiple Levels": DOJ Admits To Evidence Tampering In Trump Classified Docs Case
  “Stunning On Multiple Levels”: DOJ Admits To Evidence Tampering In Trump Classified Docs Case

  Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team admitted on Friday that key evidence in Trump’s classified documents case was altered or manipulated – leaving two different chronologies; one that was digitally scanned vs. what’s in the actual boxes.

  

  Smith also misled the court, after originally telling U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that the boxes remained “in their original, intact form as seized,” when in a footnote they conceded that they removed classified documents and left placeholder sheets, which prosecutors acknowledged has created an “inconsistent” record – in which some of the documents are no longer in the same order as they appear in digital scans made in the fall of 2022.

  “The Government acknowledges that this is inconsistent with what Government counsel previously understood and represented to the Court,” the footnote reads, according to Just the News.

  The finding comes after Cannon ordered a review into whether the FBI may have seized legally privileged records in response to a request from Trump co-defendant Walt Nauta.

  

  “Since the boxes were seized and stored, appropriate personnel have had access to the boxes for several reasons, including to comply with orders issued by this Court in the civil proceedings noted above, for investigative purposes, and to facilitate the defendants’ review of the boxes,” wrote Smith’s team in the Friday filing.

  “There are some boxes where the order of items within that box is not the same as in the associated scans,” the filing continues.

  The organization of the documents in storage boxes at Mar-a-Lago is likely to be an important part of Trump‘s defense. His team is expected to argue the documents were stored in the White House in chronological order on the days that Trump received them, and that staff simply boxed them up and sent them to his home without him accessing them or knowing they contained classified information.

  Smith’s team tried to downplay the problem and argued it’s not a reason for a delay in Trump’s case.

  But several legal experts told Just the News the court filing essentially is an admission of evidence tampering, and could be problematic. -Just the News

  “Prosecutors and investigators should never tamper with or alter evidence in their possession, including the order of documents in a box because one never knows what may become relevant or crucial to a court or jury later in a case,” Alan Dershowitz told Just the News.

  Jack Smith confessed as much in yesterday’s filing. He would not have but for Nauta’s attorney busting DOJ for tampering with evidence.

  Defense building evidence to support motion to dismiss on prosecutorial misconduct–which is pending before Cannon. pic.twitter.com/Igjh0VBmBj

  — Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) May 4, 2024

  “This admission is stunning on multiple levels,” said defense attorney Tim Parlatore, who worked on Trump’s team earlier in the classified documents case but no longer is involved, adding that the revelation “reinforces the incompetence” of prosecutors “in conducting basic criminal investigations and prosecutions that I observed when I was on the team.

  “But at a deeper level, the loss of specific document locations is a destruction of exculpatory evidence,” Parlatore added. “I went through all of the boxes at NARA and the document order was important because it was clear to us that the boxes had been untouched since leaving the White House.

  

  “For prosecutors who are trying to prove that the defendants knowingly possessed these documents to then destroy the evidence that would undermine that claim is a very serious violation,” he said.

  In response to the filing, Trump said on Truth Social that “Deranged Jack has admitted in a filing in front of Judge Cannon to what I have been saying happened since the Illegal RAID on my home … that he and his team committed blatant Evidence Tampering by mishandling the very Boxes they used as a pretext to bring this Fake Case.“

  

  Smith’s Excuses

  The prosecution offered several explanations for the manipulated evidence.

  “There are several possible explanations, including the above-described instances in which the boxes were accessed, as well as the size and shape of certain items in the boxes possibly leading to movement of items,” reads the filing. “For example, the boxes contain items smaller than standard paper such as index cards, books, and stationary, which shift easily when the boxes are carried, especially because many of the boxes are not full.”

  This is an answer to defense accusations that incriminating files do not correspond with FBI index of evidence.

  And look at that FBI slip sheet–what a shoddy operation conducted by sloppy investigators bc they have zero accountability. pic.twitter.com/IjDwmfMXO1

  — Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) May 4, 2024

  That said, Just the News also notes that altered evidence has featured prominently in previous political scandals.

  Erasure of an 18 1/2 minute segment of Richard Nixon’s White House tapes became a very important aspect of the Watergate scandal.

  The Iran-Contra scandal exploded during the Reagan years with the revelation that documents were shredded before they could be obtained by investigators.

  The Hillary Clinton classified email scandal became more complicated in 2015 with the revelation that her team used a “Bleach Bit” program to erase emails on her secret computer server, and had email devices destroyed. 

  As Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton suggests, this is “Yet more reason to throw out this sham prosecution.”

  EVIDENCE TAMPERING? Biden DOJ/Jack Smith just admitted they messed with boxes supposedly containing “classified” documents they seized from Trump and can’t be sure the order or placement of the documents as originally found has been maintained — which is contrary to what they…

  — Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) May 3, 2024

  And as the Epoch Times notes, the case was brought against President Trump and others over their alleged violation of federal law in handling documents marked classified. Defendants have pleaded not guilty.

  Neither Mr. Nauta nor other defendants in the case have responded yet to the new filing.

  Mr. Nauta’s request for an extension is one of many documents that are under seal, or unavailable for perusal.

  In another recent filing, President Trump’s team said that the case should be dismissed because prosecutors are motivated by “improper political animus,” pointing in part to how White House lawyers worked with the National Archives and Records Administration on its referral to the Department of Justice and how President Joe Biden has said that he was “making sure” President Trump “does not become the next president again.”

  Prosecutors opposed the dismissal request but their opposition was filed under seal.

  Read the filing below (via Just the News): 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/04/2024 – 12:15

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Scientists Backtrack, Admit Proposed Virus Experiments Could Have Been Done In China
  Scientists Backtrack, Admit Proposed Virus Experiments Could Have Been Done In China

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

  Scientists with close ties to China and the U.S. government is now saying that risky experiments he proposed—which some experts believe could have led to the creation of SARS-CoV-2—may have been done, deviating from earlier statements.

  

  Another scientist involved in the proposal also says he doesn’t know if the work was done.

  “To the very best of my knowledge … the work hasn’t been done,” Peter Daszak, president of the EcoHealth Alliance, told a congressional panel this week.

  Mr. Daszak, however, admitted that he doesn’t know whether scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) in China have done the proposed experiments.

  “Do you know if the WIV started this work?” he was asked during a U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing in Washington.

  “No,” Mr. Daszak replied.

  “Then you can’t say that the work was not done,” Mitch Benzine, the staff director for the panel, said.

  “There is no evidence of the work being done. There is no evidence that WIV started it,” Mr. Daszak said.

  Has he ever asked Shi Zhengli, a top scientist at the WIV, whether she carried out the proposal?

  “No,” Mr. Daszak acknowledged.

  The proposal in question, dubbed Project DEFUSE, was submitted in 2018 to the U.S. government as EcoHealth and its partners, including WIV, sought to take viruses from bats, reverse engineer them, and add features. Some outside scientists say the proposed work could have led to the creation of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

  The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) declined to fund the proposal, expressing concerns that adding features to coronaviruses could create a dangerous virus.

  After the proposal was leaked to the public in 2021, Mr. Daszak and EcoHealth have said definitively that the proposed experiments never took place.

  “The DARPA proposal was not funded. Therefore, the work was not done. Simple,” Mr. Daszak told The Intercept in 2022.

  “The proposed research was never done,” EcoHealth added in a recent statement.

  Ralph Baric, a University of North Carolina virologist who was also listed in the DEFUSE proposal, also said in newly disclosed testimony that he did not know whether the proposed experiments were conducted.

  “Certainly not by my group,” Mr. Baric told the subcommittee. “I don’t know what China did.”

  Mr. Baric and Ms. Shi have created chimeras, or combination viruses, among other work together.

  “There was no evidence that they were doing this kind of work,” Mr. Baric said. “Well, there was evidence that they were building chimeras using WIV1 as a backbone, so they were doing some discovery work about the functions of spike genes of zoonotic strains that they discovered later on, but I don’t know if they did any of the engineering or anything.”

  WIV1 is a bat coronavirus that was found in China.

  Mr. Baric also claimed he had forgotten about DEFUSE so he didn’t discuss it while meeting with Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top U.S. government official, on Feb. 12, 2020.

  Mr. Daszak said Wednesday that DARPA later returned to EcoHealth “to try and fund portions” of DEFUSE, but no lawmakers pressed him on that disclosure.

  ‘They’ve Always Been Truthful’

  EcoHealth separately for years funneled grant money from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Wuhan researchers, including money that funded experiments that increased the virulence of a bat coronavirus.

  Asked how his group verified information about those experiments, Mr. Daszak acknowledged it relied on statements from the WIV. “I have no other way to verify,” he said.

  The scientists in Wuhan “have always been honest with us,” he added later. “They’ve always been truthful. There’s never any untoward, underhand things going on. I have no reason to think that they were under pressure to lie. There’s no indication of that.”

  After the pandemic started, WIV researchers refused to hand over laboratory notebooks and other files to EcoHealth after the U.S. government asked for the records, resulting in the government debarring WIV from receiving U.S. grant money.

  “Nearly two years have passed since the NIH first requested that WIV provide the requested information and materials, and yet WIV has still failed to do so,” a debarment official wrote to Ms. Shi.

  In comments on a draft of the DEFUSE proposal, Mr. Daszak said that some of the work would be done at the Wuhan lab.

  “If we win this contract, I do not propose that all of this work will necessarily be conducted by Ralph, but I do want to stress the US side of this proposal so that DARPA are comfortable with our team,” Mr. Daszak wrote in one comment. “Once we get the funds, we can then allocate who does what exact work, and I believe that a lot of these assays can be done in Wuhan as well.”

  Mr. Daszak told Mr. Baric in a May 27, 2021, email released by the subcommittee that Ms. Zhengli said culturing of animal viruses was being done under biosafety level two conditions, or one level below that applied in many other countries.

  “We checked with Zhengli, who let us know that she used ‘BSL-2 with negative pressure and appropriate PPE.’ I also know that they are stricter now on SADS-CoV… ever since you showed it was able to infect human airway epithelial cells,” he wrote.

  Mr. Baric responded by saying Mr. Daszak was “being told a bunch of [expletive].”

  “BSL-2 w[ith] negative pressure, give me a break,” he wrote, adding later, “You believe this was appropriate containment, if you want but don’t expect me to believe it. Moreover, don’t insult my intelligence by trying to feed me this load of [expletive].”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 23:40

• The State Of World Press Freedom
  The State Of World Press Freedom

  The 2024 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), was released today. This year, the agency highlights a “worrying decline in support and respect for media autonomy and an increase in pressure from the state or other political actors.” This is based on the fact that, of the five indicators used to compile the ranking, it is the political indicator that has fallen most, with a global average decline of 7.6 points.

  Out of the 180 countries and territories analyzed, some 138 places had a majority of their respondents say that political actors in their countries were involved in disinformation or propaganda campaigns. This involvement was described as “systematic” in 31 countries.

  The report writers also highlight the lack of political will on an international level to enforce protection of journalists, with particular reference to the war in Gaza, which has been marked by a record number of violations against journalists and the media since October 2023. According to the report, more than 100 Palestinian reporters have now been killed by the Israel Defence Forces, including at least 22 in the course of carrying out their journalistic activities.

  Taking a look at wider trends, this chart, via Statista’s Anna Fleck, shows that 36 countries were listed in the worst category in the index – where there exists a “very serious” situation of the press.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  49 countries fall under the “difficult” category and 50 in the “problematic” group, while 45 have either a “satisfactory” or “good” situation. Norway is once more at the top of the list, ranking in first place for the eighth year running, followed by Denmark and Sweden.

  The final trio, considered the most repressive countries for the press, are Afghanistan (position 178), Syria (179) and Eritrea (180). The report states: “The last two countries have become lawless zones for the media, with a record number of journalists detained, missing or held hostage.”

  The United States ranked 55th in 2024, having dropped ten positions. RSF notes that the country is experiencing growing distrust in the media, partly driven by antagonism from political officials, while there have also been cases of local law enforcement having raided newsrooms.

  Reporters Without Borders have compiled the index annually since 2002. The agency devised a new methodology in 2021 with the help of a panel of experts from the media and academic world. This year, 180 countries and territories were analyzed based on five indicators covering political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 23:20

• Coffee Compound May Help Counteract Age-Related Muscle Loss
  Coffee Compound May Help Counteract Age-Related Muscle Loss

  Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times,

  One of the world’s favorite brews may hold the key to keeping muscles strong and healthy as we age.

  According to recent research, a natural compound found in coffee could be the secret weapon against age-related muscle loss.

  

  The Muscle-Preserving Molecule

  Mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells, play a crucial role in muscle health. An issue linked to sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength, is that these cellular components generate less energy as we get older. Compounding this problem, levels of the crucial substance NAD+ (which stands for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide), a coenzyme that helps cells regenerate and protects them from damage, also decline with age.

  Researchers already know that NAD+ levels can be boosted using various dietary precursors, including the essential amino acid L-tryptophan and different forms of vitamin B3, such as nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, nicotinamide riboside, and nicotinamide mononucleotide.

  In a recent study published in Nature Metabolism, scientists investigated whether an alkaline compound called trigonelline could help reverse these age-related changes in muscle health.

  The researchers analyzed trigonelline levels in the blood of mice and worms and found that high levels of the substance were positively associated with muscle strength and function.

  Conversely, low trigonelline levels were linked to sarcopenia, the typical loss of muscle size and strength that occurs with aging.

  Trigonelline Promoted Healthy Longevity

  Trigonelline is structurally related to vitamin B3 and is produced naturally in the body, in addition to being found in certain foods.

  “We discovered that older people with low endogenous levels of trigonelline in their blood lose more muscle mass and strength during aging,” Katharina Fischer, research and development and scientific communications manager at Nestle Research in Switzerland, where the study was conducted, told The Epoch Times. “We also discovered that trigonelline is a precursor to NAD.”

  Providing trigonelline promoted longevity in test animals by activating cellular energy production in mitochondria and increasing muscle strength and function during aging, according to Ms. Fischer.

  These findings open new opportunities to test the clinical efficacy of increasing trigonelline consumption through food products or supplements to improve muscle health, she noted.

  Foods That Contain Trigonelline

  Trigonelline is an alkaloid compound found in various plant sources. While it may not be as well-known as some other beneficial plant compounds, trigonelline is present in a variety of dietary sources. About 5 percent of the niacin we consume is converted into trigonelline.

  Coffee Beans

  Trigonelline is more abundant in coffee beans than in any other food source, and it contributes to coffee’s characteristic bitterness. However, during the roasting process, trigonelline partly breaks down to form nicotinic acid (niacin or vitamin B3), another nutrient with significant health benefits.

  Fenugreek Seeds

  Fenugreek, a plant commonly used in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines, contains about 35 percent alkaloids, with trigonelline being the primary one in the seeds.

  Other Foods

  Trigonelline can be found in a variety of other foods, including barley, cantaloupe, corn, onions, peas, soybeans, and tomatoes.

  You can also obtain trigonelline by eating fish, mussels, and crustaceans.

  Never Too Late to Address Age-Related Muscle Loss: Expert

  It’s natural to lose muscle mass as we age.

  “Sarcopenia can occur due to a myriad of factors, such as immobility, lack of proper nutrition, obesity, and lack of physical activity,” Macie Smith, a licensed gerontology social worker, told The Epoch Times. “Since the senior population tends to be more sedentary, you’ll see it show up more prevalently in persons over the age of 65, but the process can begin as early as 30–40 years of age.”

  However, while we cannot prevent aging, we can reduce muscle mass loss caused by it.

  This can be done through proper exercise; a balanced, nutritional diet; and managing any underlying health conditions.

  “It’s never too late to build and strengthen muscle to counter the effects of sarcopenia,” Ms. Smith said. “You can always develop a new exercise regimen that will allow you to become active and to maintain the active lifestyle.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 23:00

• The US Is The Only G-7 Nation To See Trust In Government Plummet
  The US Is The Only G-7 Nation To See Trust In Government Plummet

  How much do you trust the government, and its various institutions?

  It’s likely that your level of confidence probably depends on a wide range of factors, such as perceived competency, historical context, economic performance, accountability, social cohesion, and transparency.

  And for these same reasons, trust levels in government institutions also change all the time, even in the world’s most developed countries: the G7.

  Confidence in Government by G7 Countries (2006-2023)

  This chart, via Visual Capitaist’s Nick Routley, looks at the changes in trust in government institutions between the years 2006 and 2023, based on data from a multi-country Gallup poll.

  

  Specifically, this dataset aggregates confidence in multiple national institutions, including the military, the judicial system, the national government, and the integrity of the electoral system.

  What’s interesting here is that in the G7, a group of the world’s most developed economies, there is only one country bucking the general trend: the United States.

  Across most G7 countries, confidence in institutions has either improved or stayed the same between 2006 and 2023. The largest percentage point (p.p.) increases occur in Italy and Japan, which saw +13 p.p. and +11 p.p. increases in trust over the time period.

  In the U.S., however, confidence in government institutions has fallen by 13 p.p. over the years. What happened?

  Key Figures on U.S. Trust in Institutions

  In 2006, the U.S. was tied with the UK as having the highest confidence in government institutions, at 63%.

  But here’s where the scores stand in 2023, across various institutions:

  

  Based on this data, it’s clear that the U.S. lags behind in three key indicators: confidence in the national government, confidence in the justice system, and confidence in fair elections. It ranked in last place for each indicator in the G7.

  One other data point that stands out: despite leading the world in military spending, the U.S. is only the third most confident in its military in the G7. It lags behind France (86%) and the United Kingdom (83%).

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 22:40

• People With More COVID-19 Vaccine Doses More Likely To Contract COVID-19: Study
  People With More COVID-19 Vaccine Doses More Likely To Contract COVID-19: Study

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

  People who received more than one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine were more likely to contract COVID-19, according to a new study.

  

  An analysis of data from Cleveland Clinic employees found that people who received two or more doses were at higher risk of COVID-19, Dr. Nabin Shrestha and his co-authors reported.

  The risk of contracting COVID-19 was 1.5 times higher for those who received two doses, 1.95 times higher for those who received three doses, and 2.5 times higher for those who received three or more doses, the researchers found. The higher risk was compared to people who received zero or one dose of a vaccine.

  Even after adjusting for variables, the elevated risk remained.

  “The exact reason for this finding is not clear. It is possible that this may be related to the fact that vaccine-induced immunity is weaker and less durable than natural immunity. So, although somewhat protective in the short term, vaccination may increase risk of future infection,” the researchers said in the paper, which was released as a preprint.

  Dr. Robert Malone, a vaccine researcher who was not involved in the paper, told The Epoch Times that the paper served as “another acknowledgment that the products are not effective or are at very low effectiveness and are contributing to negative effectiveness [down the line].”

  He noted that the researchers did not study vaccine safety among the employee population. The COVID-19 vaccines can cause a number of side effects, including fatal heart inflammation, according to the literature and death records.

  Earlier studies and data have also suggested that people with more vaccine doses are more susceptible to COVID-19 infection, including previous papers from the Cleveland Clinic scientists and a study from Iceland.

  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has repeatedly declined requests to comment on outside research, recommends virtually all people aged 6 months and older receive one of the currently available COVID-19 vaccines, regardless of how many shots they’ve received, although a meeting later in May is set to discuss whether to update the vaccine formulations to improve protection.

  CDC scientists said in a paper published in February in the agency’s weekly report that the latest version of the vaccines, a monovalent targeting the XBB.1.5 subvariant, provided 49 percent effectiveness between 60 and 119 days later when the JN.1 virus strain was dominant. Supplementary data, however, showed that people aged 50 and older who received the previous bivalent version were more susceptible to symptomatic infection.

  Authors disclosed no conflicts of interest and acknowledged at least five limitations, including how they used a proxy for infection with JN.1.

  Another study, released ahead of peer review in April, estimated the effectiveness of Pfizer’s updated vaccine as 32 percent against hospitalization from late 2023 through early 2024. The research was conducted by scientists from multiple institutions, including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Pfizer, many authors reported conflicts of interest, and some of the funding came from Pfizer.

  People’s immune systems being trained to react to older virus strains at the expense of protection against newer variants is one theory for why the vaccinated might be more prone to infection.

  “Multiple vaccine doses may have the effect of antibody-dependent enhancement or ‘original antigenic sin,’ which increase the infection response disproportionally to antibodies generated from the first vaccine dose, rather than from the current vaccine or the current infection, making the antibody response less effective,” Dr. Harvey Risch, professor emeritus of epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, told The Epoch Times in an email after reviewing the paper.

  Dr. Shrestha, who did not respond to a request for comment, and the Cleveland Clinic researchers aimed to analyze the effectiveness of the XBB.1.5 shots against JN.1, which displaced XBB.1.5 before the end of 2023.

  To do so, they analyzed the incidence of COVID-19 among Cleveland Clinic employees from Dec. 31, 2023, to April 22, 2024.

  Among approximately 47,500 employees included in the study, 838 tested positive for COVID-19 during that period.

  Unadjusted data showed no difference between people who received one of the updated shots and people who didn’t, but after adjusting for age and other factors, the researchers estimated the shots provided 23 percent effectiveness against infection.

  Federal and global guidelines consider vaccines ineffective if they provide under 50 percent shielding.

  The number of severe illnesses among the study population was too small to estimate effectiveness against severe illness, the researchers said.

  Listed limitations included the inability to separate symptomatic and asymptomatic infections. No conflicts of interest were reported and authors said they received no funding.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 22:20

• "I've Been Totally Ghosted": After Install, Solar Panels Become Maintenance Nightmare
  “I’ve Been Totally Ghosted”: After Install, Solar Panels Become Maintenance Nightmare

  The green new deal and switch to “alternative’ energy looks like it’s going exactly as planned: costing the taxpayer trillions of dollars and generally pissing everybody off.

  That was the case with a number of solar panel owners who are now finding it difficult to get their panels serviced, according to WBAL TV.

  Solar panel installation is touted as offering benefits like reduced energy costs, environmental friendliness, and significant rebates. However, many homeowners have discovered a concerning issue within the industry: addressing technical problems can be exceedingly challenging — if not outright impossible. 

  Those interviewed shared experiences with various solar providers, each facing prolonged unresolved issues. 

  Tom Lucas, who installed solar panels in 2018, initially saw higher electricity production. Yet, by 2022, 20% of his system failed, leading to considerable losses. Despite having a 25-year warranty from Invaleon Solar Technologies, the issue remains unaddressed.

  Lucas commented: “I’ve been totally ghosted. All I want is a working system. To me, even though I’m generating some electricity, it’s not right.”

  

  Lucas added: “They’re a sales-oriented company. All solar companies are. They want to sell the next job. They want to get that installed and move on to the next sale. They’re not service-oriented.”

  Steve Pilotte, an early solar adopter, has experienced ongoing problems since 2009. His current provider, Sunrun, has been unresponsive in fixing an inverter issue that started in 2020, despite multiple technician visits.

  “Once again, in 2022, I followed up with them. And then 2023. And January 2024. I’m totally lost. I’ve never experienced a situation like this in my life.”

  Mike Rice, who leases from Spruce Power, saw his electricity costs drop significantly until 2023 when his meter malfunctioned. Despite the fault, Spruce has not compensated him for the energy lost during peak production times.

  “No one called me to tell me my system is out. Not even credits. I’d just take credits so I can offset my future bills, but they won’t do that,” Rice said.

  “I think they’re more interested in putting solar up than repairing it,” he concluded. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 22:00

• 26 States File Lawsuits In Federal Courts Over ATF Redefinition Of Gun Dealers
  26 States File Lawsuits In Federal Courts Over ATF Redefinition Of Gun Dealers

  Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Attorneys general representing half of the country on May 1 sued President Joe Biden’s administration over a new rule requiring criminal background checks for all gun sales, including private sales.

  

  Lawsuits in Florida, Texas, and Arkansas are asking the courts to block a rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that redefines “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms.

  Under the new rule, almost every transfer of firearm ownership would require at least one party to have a Federal Firearms License and perform a criminal background check, including private sales.

  U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland signed the new rule on April 10, and it goes into effect on May 10.

  According to the 466-page rule, the only requirement for determining whether a person is engaged in the business of selling guns is whether the person is trading to “predominately earn a profit.” Previously, the defining characteristic was whether the dealer worked to earn a “livelihood.”

  The new definition is in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), signed into law on June 25, 2022.

  In the Florida case, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

  According to the lawsuit Ms. Moody filed on May 1, the act was passed to balance gun owners’ rights against public safety concerns.

  In the filing, Ms. Moody wrote that the BSCA’s sponsors assured voters that the law clarified that dealers were only those who earned their livelihood from selling guns. Ms. Moody claims that President Biden is stretching the language of the act to fit his political agenda.

  “Sensing an opportunity, the Biden Administration now seeks to exploit the minor changes to federal law enacted in the BSCA to implement President Biden’s preferred policies by executive fiat,” Ms. Moody wrote.

  The other two lawsuits—filed in the Northern District of Texas and Eastern District of Arkansas—also decry the change as an unconstitutional infringement on Americans’ Second Amendment rights and an illegal attempt to circumvent the U.S. Congress and enact “universal background checks.”

  President Biden has called for expanding the criminal background check requirement since his election in 2020.

  Each suit asks its respective court to block the rule’s enforcement and find that it violates the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedures Act.

  ATF spokesperson Kristina Mastropasqua said the agency had no comment on the lawsuits.

  The White House did not respond to requests from The Epoch Times for comment on this story.

  

  The attorneys general say they are defending their constituents’ rights.

  “This lawsuit is just the latest instance of me and my colleagues in other states having to remind the President that he must follow the law,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin wrote in a press release on May 1.

  Mr. Griffin joined Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach in the largest suit, representing 21 states. They say the new rule completely reverses decades of legal precedence that protected the right of private parties to buy, sell, or trade firearms without government intrusion.

  “Defendants’ claim of authority to implement this scheme dramatically upends both our constitutional traditions and the federal firearms licensing regime Congress designed,” the lawsuit states.

  In addition to Kansas and Arkansas, the plaintiffs in the Arkansas lawsuit include Iowa, Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

  Private citizens Phillip Journey, Allen Black, Donald Maxey, and the Chisholm Trail Antique Gun Association joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs.

  They are suing Mr. Garland, ATF Director Steven Dettelbach, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the ATF.

  

  “This rule is blatantly unconstitutional. We are suing to defend the Second Amendment rights of all Americans,” Mr. Kobach wrote in a press release on his state website.

  In Texas, four states, four Second Amendment Advocacy groups, and one individual are challenging the rule in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Amarillo.

  That lawsuit was filed on May 1 by the states of Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Utah, along with Gun Owners of America Inc., the Gun Owners’ Foundation, the Tennessee Firearms Association, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, and Jefferey W. Tormey.

  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a press release calling the new rule an affront to the Constitution.

  “Yet again, Joe Biden is weaponizing the federal bureaucracy to rip up the Constitution and destroy our citizens’ Second Amendment rights,” Mr. Paxton’s statement reads.

  Gun Owners of America Eric Pratt said allowing the rule to stand would send a dangerous message to other government agencies. In the press release, Mr. Pratt wrote that the rule must be struck down entirely.

  “Anything less would further encourage this tyrannical administration to continue weaponizing vague statutes into policies that are meant to further harass and intimidate gun owners and dealers at every turn.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 21:40

• "An Unlawful Sleight Of Hand": Biden Parole Program Has Flown Illegals To More Than 45 US Cities
  “An Unlawful Sleight Of Hand”: Biden Parole Program Has Flown Illegals To More Than 45 US Cities

  In a recent development, a House Committee subpoena has forced the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reveal details of its parole program designed to allow entry for thousands of individuals from several nations.

  

  The program, established in October 2022, was initially tailored to facilitate entry for Venezuelans who had American sponsors and passed a vetting process. However, the scope of the program rapidly expanded, encompassing individuals from Cuba, Haiti, and Nicaragua as well – eventually flying illegal aliens to more than 45 cities across the United States.

  According to the DHS documents, between January and August 2023, the parole program allowed over 200,000 individuals to enter the United States. While the program did not cover the cost of flights for these individuals, it permitted them to enter the country and make travel arrangements independently. Among the program’s participants, Florida emerged as a leading destination, with around 80% of the 200,000 choosing to settle in cities such as Miami, Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale. Other prominent destinations included New York, California, Texas, Nevada, and Georgia.

  

  DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended the program, stating that it provided “a safe and orderly way to reach the United States” and asserting, though without presenting specific evidence, that the program “resulted in a reduction in numbers of those nationalities.” Mayorkas also highlighted its global relevance, noting its role in addressing “the unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere” and suggesting that other countries might see it as a model to manage irregular migration.

  That said, the documents revealed that at least 1.6 million applications were still pending as of October 2023. The program currently admits approximately 30,000 individuals per month, granting them work permits and authorizing them to live in the country for two years.

  Congressman Mark Green (R-Tenn.), Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, expressed strong criticism of the program, stating, “These documents expose the egregious lengths Secretary Mayorkas will go to ensure inadmissible aliens reach every corner of the country, from Orlando and Atlanta to Las Vegas and San Francisco.” Green labeled the parole program “an unlawful sleight of hand” aimed at concealing the worsening border crisis from the American public.

  In response to perceived poor handling of the border crisis, Mayorkas faced impeachment by the House of Representatives in February. This marked the second impeachment of a Cabinet secretary in U.S. history, and the first in nearly 150 years. However, the Senate’s Democratic majority ultimately voted to end the trial without proceeding to a vote on conviction or acquittal, following repeated delays.

  The disclosure of the DHS parole program documents has reignited debate over U.S. immigration policy and the handling of migration at the southern border, reflecting persistent tensions on these issues at both the national and international levels.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 21:20

• Trump Urges Dismissal Of Mar-a-Lago Case, Claims 'Selective And Vindictive Prosecution'
  Trump Urges Dismissal Of Mar-a-Lago Case, Claims ‘Selective And Vindictive Prosecution’

  Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Former President Donald Trump docketed a brief to support his motion to dismiss the classified documents indictment against him in Florida, citing “selective and vindictive prosecution” on Thursday.

  

  The 43-page filing contends that special counsel Jack Smith’s case against the former president “has been motivated by improper political animus.”

  It cites “targeted leaks and public statements” by President Joe Biden, “urging others to prosecute President Trump.” This refers to a New York Times report from April 2, 2022, reporting that President Biden told his “inner circle that he believed former President Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted.”

  President Trump’s lawyers contend that the article amounted to presidential pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland to “act … more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action.”

  The motion details a series of events to support the former president’s arguments of a concerted effort by the Biden administration and federal agencies to target him.

  It points to statements from officials at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which is responsible for the preservation of presidential records, that the Biden administration’s “current business” was investigating the 45th president. Among other events, it cites a text message from a NARA official dated Feb. 9, 2022, stating that the classified documents have “consumed all of our discussions” with the Biden White House.

  “There is evidence of vindictive political animosity focused on election interference in these proceedings, which is part of the reason why the Special Counsel’s Office is wrong in the claim that President Trump ‘does not contend that the Special Counsel himself was motivated by improper considerations,’” President Trump’s lawyers argue.

  Smith Refutes Trump’s Claims

  In a March 7 filing, Mr. Smith argues against President Trump’s claims that the prosecution team, influenced by political bias, is selectively targeting him for prosecution.

  Prosecutors from the special counsel’s office argue that the former president hadn’t identified anyone in his motion who was engaging in similar conduct without being prosecuted and failed to provide evidence that his indictment was solely retaliatory.

  “Trump contends … that he has been subject to selective and vindictive prosecution,” the prosecution wrote. “But he has not identified anyone who has engaged in a remotely similar battery of criminal conduct and not been prosecuted as a result.

  “He has likewise failed to provide any evidence that his indictment was brought solely to retaliate against him for exercising his legal rights, rather than because he flagrantly and repeatedly broke the law,” the prosecution continued.

  Meanwhile, President Trump’s legal team has given Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, a list of other former government officials who they say engaged in similar alleged misconduct, including the mishandling of classified information.

  Among them are President Biden, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton, and the FBI’s former director James Comey.

  However, with respect to the alleged misconduct of these officials, President Trump’s team asserted in a February motion that “no one in the government lifted a finger” to prosecute them.

  “Collectively, this history of non-prosecution and leniency for similarly situated individuals and others strongly supports President Trump’s motion based on intolerable and unconstitutional selective and vindictive prosecution,” the motion reads.

  President Trump’s lawyers argued again on Thursday that, on its face, these specific comparators are enough to establish a case of selective and vindictive prosecution.

  The former president’s legal team asked the judge for further investigation through discovery and a hearing to examine the allegations of selective prosecution.

  Trump ‘The Exception’

  Special counsel Robert Hurr declined to press charges against President Biden in February, despite finding evidence that he retained and disclosed highly classified materials when he was a private citizen.

  According to Mr. Hur’s report from February, there is no precedent for prosecuting former presidents or vice presidents for mishandling classified documents from their own administrations, with one exception.

  “The exception is President Trump,” the February motion reads.

  “The basis is his politics and status as President Biden’s chief political rival,” the motion continues. “Thus, this case reflects the type of selective and vindictive prosecution that cannot be tolerated. Accordingly, further discovery and a hearing are necessary, and the Superseding Indictment must be dismissed.”

  President Trump’s legal team cited Mr. Hur’s report in a bid to exonerate him from charges. On the other hand, the prosecution claims that the former president was the only one who participated in a “multifaceted scheme of deception and obstruction” to prevent the safe return of those documents.

  The former president argues that the special counsel’s office is trying to influence the general election by pursuing “two lawless prosecutions,” which have been initiated at the urging of the Biden administration.

  “[T]he Special Counsel’s Office seeks to ‘become a de facto campaign voice for the Democrats in the general election,’ and Jack Smith is ‘probably less concerned now with whether a Trump conviction will survive appeal than with whether Trump can be convicted ahead of the November 2024 election,’” the February motions reads.

  “No sitting President has ever successfully pressed for the prosecution of a former President, and his chief political rival, the way that President Biden did—proudly and publicly—in 2022,” President Trump’s lawyers contend. “NARA has never targeted a former President in the way that the agency targeted President Trump. No law enforcement body has ever raided a former President’s home. DOJ has never even used civil remedies against a former President.”

  President Trump’s defense had previously sought to have the case thrown out based on the Presidential Records Act (PRA), but Judge Cannon rejected this argument on April 4.

  Mr. Smith had indicted President Trump and aide Walt Nauta in June 2023, alleging mishandling of over 300 classified documents. The charges against the former president include 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act, along with various other counts related to obstruction of justice, withholding documents, and making false statements.

  The Epoch Times contacted Mr. Smith’s office for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 21:00

• Stormy Daniels Lawyer Says Payment Wasn't 'Hush Money' – Avenatti Calls "A Shakedown"
  Stormy Daniels Lawyer Says Payment Wasn’t ‘Hush Money’ – Avenatti Calls “A Shakedown”

  A lawyer who was involved in negotiations between former President Donald Trump and two women denied that payments made to them constituted “hush-money,” and instead used the word “consideration.”

  

  Keith Davidson, who negotiated deals with both Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels) and model Karen McDougal, disputed Manhattan prosecutor Joshua Steinglass’s language during a May 2 court appearance.

  “It wasn’t a ‘payout’ and it wasn’t ‘hush money.’ It was consideration in a civil settlement,” said Davidson.

  “Would you use the phrase hush money to describe the money that was paid to your client by Donald Trump?” Steinglass shot back.

  “I would never use that word,” Davidson replied.

  When asked what he would call it, he said it was a “Consideration,” comparing it to a contract in which one pays to have one’s lawn mowed.

  Trump attorney Emil Bove pressed Mr. Davidson on his understanding of extortion law, grilling him about previous instances in which he solicited money to suppress embarrassing stories, including one involving wrestler Hulk Hogan.

  Mr. Bove suggested to the witness that by the time he negotiated the payments for Ms. McDougal and Ms. Clifford, he would have been “pretty well versed in coming right up to the line without committing extortion.”

  “I had familiarized myself with the law,” Mr. Davison replied. –Epoch Times

  Davidson also told Steinglass that he worked out the “consideration” deal with former Trump attorney Michael Cohen just days before the 2016 election, but that Trump never signed it.

  Avenatti pipes up from prison

  

  Trying to reclaim his 15 minutes of fame from prison, former Trump foe and Stormy Daniels’ ex-attorney Michael Avenatti posted on X that Davidson is a liar – and had in fact tried to extort Trump.

  “Keith Davidson is lying,” claimed Avenatti. “After I confronted her w/ her own text msgs, Daniels admitted to me in early 2019 that she & Davidson had extorted Trump in Oct. 2016 – it was a shakedown.”

  Keith Davidson is lying. After I confronted her w/ her own text msgs, Daniels admitted to me in early 2019 that she & Davidson had extorted Trump in Oct. 2016 – it was a shakedown. This was one of the many reasons I fired her as a client in Feb. 2019

  — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) May 2, 2024

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

  Last month, Trump publicly thanked Avenatti “for revealing the truth about two sleaze bags who have, with their lies and misrepresentations, cost our Country dearly!,” referring to the gag orders placed on Trump in his Manhattan trial.
   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 20:40

• Money Is A Monopoly Government Will Never Surrender
  Money Is A Monopoly Government Will Never Surrender

  Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

  A major intellectual revelation from my youth came from reading Murray Rothbard’s “What Has Government Done to Our Money?” (1963). He includes a passing opinion that private markets are perfectly capable of producing money with no help from government. Under a sweeping monetary reform, private mints could compete in offering this good with full associated services. There is no need for any government intervention here.

  

  It was the kind of claim that, at some point in one’s life, causes the jaw to hit the floor. Investigating this assertion more, I came to see that there was a large literature on the topic. Historically, money originated in the market economy itself, a naturally evolving institution that met the needs of trade. Whatever good was generally valued by everyone, and was as capable of being divided into consistent units with a stable value, could be deployed as money, with no need for government to do anything but watch.

  But of course history has not panned out that way. Every government has a strong incentive to monopolize the good called money because this is how they can tax their citizens, reward the most compliant industries, cultivate close relationships with bankers, and inflate the currency at will through a variety of methods depending on the technology of the time.

  We can of course imagine primitive tribes or pre-colonial native populations using rocks and shells, but is there a modern case where private coinage became normalized? In a major but often overlooked work of historical scholarship, economist George Selgin has written the most extensive treatment of the private coinage industry in the UK at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.

  His book “Good Money” is beautifully produced with color photographs of some of the most alluring coins you will ever see. The historical narrative is endlessly fascinating. At the dawn of the factory system, the Royal Mint didn’t care in the slightest bit about small denomination coins of silver and copper to enable small businessmen to pay their workers. The Royal Mint only produced large denominations in gold for big business doing big trade deals.

  Frustrated with the inability to pay workers, the entire period from 1700 through 1813 saw the evolution of a sophisticated industry focused on coinage. Old button factories were converted to producing coins of various weights and sizes based on copper and silver. They were used to pay workers and accepted widely by merchants.

  The system worked just fine and it could have continued forever. The new industry alleviated the coin shortage and yielded healthy competition among many producers of new money. It was all made to be inflation resistant and verifiable according to standard weights and measures. This was a full industry of private coinage, in operation in one of the most advanced and industrious societies in the world at the time.

  Sadly, the Royal Mint eventually became upset about this. Driven by the eternal need of government to control the money in its realm, Parliament passed a series of acts in 1812–1813 to cartelize the function of the mint and make the Royal Mint the only legal producer. The entire industry was destroyed very quickly. So from this one case, we can see that the monopolization of money is not an outgrowth of market forces but imposed by government. It has always been this way.

  The digital age birthed new attempts to privatize money, stemming from a very real problem of financial verification (revealed in the 2008 financial crisis) and using money without the need for intermediaries. The result was Bitcoin, which was born in January 2010. It grew in sophistication and value over the course of the year. In the following seven years, adoption exploded and incentivized the creation of new private methods of settling transactions and accepting credit cards. It was a solid competitor to nationalized money.

  As in 1813, governments did not much like it. The code of Bitcoin itself was deliberately throttled to prevent the new private money from scaling, prompting a fork in the transaction chain and the birth of general chaos in the industry, even as Bitcoin itself kept growing in value. Government responded by taking control of the on-ramps, the off-ramps, all exchanges, and then put heavy taxation and reporting requirements on all dealings. Right now, the crackdown is full-on, with websites and wallets being shut down and top investors investigated and even subject to criminal trials.

  As in 19th century Britain, we see here another tragic case of government intervention strangling a wonderful new industry in the interest of maintaining a monopoly on power, the first condition of which is always to control the money of the realm.

  I think back to my own shock at the discovery that free enterprise was fully capable of managing money as a good. It had never occurred to me because it had always been otherwise. And yet, if you think about it, there are all sorts of conditions in which market forces invent money as a method of moving beyond primitive barter arrangements.

  Every prison has its own form of money. It used to be cigarettes but now is more commonly canned fish or some other valued good. The only reason this is not common in society at large is that governments do not want it this way.

  A feature of government management in modern times has been periodic reforms that always end in making the system worse. We had a government-backed gold standard in the late 19th century that was compromised by a fixed price relationship between gold and silver that was unsustainable. Then we got the Federal Reserve in 1913, with the promise that it would control inflation even as it took off soon after the Fed accommodated the need for war funding.

  In 1933, we got another reform that devalued the currency from the center, changing the definition of a dollar from 1/20 an ounce of gold to 1/35 an ounce. That massive devaluation was accompanied by a nationwide gold confiscation that included criminal penalties and jail time for noncompliance. At the close of World War II, a new system called Bretton Woods forbid domestic conversion and only allowed gold for international exchange. This was completely unsustainable because every nation has different fiscal and monetary policies so of course the value of money could not be frozen in place. This led to the end of the gold standard completely in 1971–73, resulting in a disastrous inflation bout.

  No question that the next great monetary reform will be to globalize a central bank digital currency with track-and-trace capability and the power to turn money on and off on political whim. In order to make this possible, government now needs to eliminate all the competition, just as they did in 1813.

  None of this mucking around with the money is in the public interest. It is in the government’s interest and also its industrial partners in banking and finance. A full denationalization of money is the fix for the whole problem but getting there from here will require dislodging the government of its penchant for controlling the economic forces of the whole realm. It’s an age-old problem and perhaps the greatest challenge of all ages.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 20:20

• California's Single-Family Zoning Exemplifies The Market-Intervention Problem
  California’s Single-Family Zoning Exemplifies The Market-Intervention Problem

  Via SchiffGold.com,

  California’s government bet that they knew better than the free market. And now millions are paying the price…

  

  The story begins in 1919, when the city of Berkley, California instituted legislation setting aside districts that would only allow the construction of single-family housing. The idea spread, and soon much of California’s urban areas had adopted the zoning policy. Today, approximately 40% of the total land in Los Angeles is set aside for single-family homes, while only 11% is reserved for multi-family residences. 

  In 2021, a bill was signed which was intended to end single-family zoning in California. But politics is rarely that simple. The decision was met with widespread protests and an LA County Court recently declared the law unconstitutional, preventing its passing in 5 Southern California cities. While many celebrated the ruling, the decision has perpetuated California’s housing crisis.

  The logic behind the original legislation was to preserve the “charm” of California’s neighborhoods. In the eyes of policymakers, multi-family residences such as apartment complexes or duplexes would sully the white-picket fence aesthetic which they saw as a staple of Californian life. While this may appear like a harmless notion, this idealism came with devastating consequences.

  The problem with this policy is apparent to those with an understanding of supply and demand. By preventing high-capacity residences from being built, the supply of housing has been artificially constrained by the legislation. Even as demand rises for increased housing, companies cannot produce the necessary residences to meet the desire. When demand rises while supply remains fixed, prices will surge. And that’s exactly what happened.

  California has the second highest home prices of any state, behind only Hawaii. Housing costs have increased by 10.1% in the past year, while the number of homes sold has decreased by 6.9%. As of March 2024, the average price of a house in LA is a staggering $974,000. In San Francisco, that figure is 1.29 million.

  These soaring rates have heavily affected the citizenry. California has the 4th highest homelessness per capita rate among U.S. states. Over 180,000 Californians are homeless, which is almost a third of the nation’s entire homeless population.

  While the cause of some homelessness is self-inflicted, studies have found a direct correlation between the cost of housing and rates of homelessness. With the second-highest housing costs of any state, it’s safe to say daunting housing prices are at least partially to blame for a vast number of California’s displaced citizens.

  Another consequence of the legislation is an increase in class inequality. California has the fourth-most unequal income distribution of any state. The zoning law contributes to this problem by acting as a gatekeeper that excludes low-income families from better neighborhoods, sacrificing equality for community “quality.” Accompanied by the state’s stringent school choice laws, many citizens are left attending lower-caliber schools in worse neighborhoods. This harms future career opportunities and feeds the vicious generational cycle of poverty.

  These issues are all either caused or exacerbated by the single-family zoning legislation which has constrained the state’s housing market for decades. The directive prevents the construction of apartment complexes, or other housing structures which would cater to a larger constituency, keeping prices too high for many to afford. From 1919 to the present, politicians have continued to turn a blind eye to single-family zoning’s detrimental effects in the pursuit of the perceived good of protecting neighborhoods.

  The Fundamental Problem with Government Intervention

  Government intervention always leads to unintended consequences. It’s a tale as old as government. But why does it so often result in disaster?

  There’s a fatal flaw at the root of all bureaucratic intervention: a lack of information. In any centralized decision, there is an incalculable amount of pertinent decentralized information that is not available to governmental bodies.

  In the absence of intervention, this information is communicated through prices. Even though all of the information will never be understood by the same person at once, we’re still able to coordinate our plans to reach a productive end. That’s the beauty of the price system. You may have no idea that a cocoa farm in Ghana had a poor yield, but you will buy less cocoa when it costs more than usual. A series of complex events can all be boiled down to a simple price hike.

  Government intervention is the wrench in the works. No centralized body can know all of the variables in a given situation. While protecting Californian neighborhoods sounds good, it is a gross simplification of the actual issues at play. Restricting the supply of housing leads to a bevy of consequences, including skyrocketing prices, rampant homelessness, and pervasive inequality. The pursuit of a solution in the absence of information usually ends up hurting more people than it helps.

  Economics is often regarded as a dismal science reserved for bookworms and professors. But for the homeless who are struggling to survive because of market-hampering governmental policies, economics is about life and death. When the government intervenes in the market system because it “knows best,” it far too often doesn’t, and innocent people pay the price. It’s up to us to hold our leaders accountable for the consequences of their actions and to help those harmed by their political arrogance.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 20:00

• Major Australian Pension Fund To Restrict Coal Investments
  Major Australian Pension Fund To Restrict Coal Investments

  By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

  Australian Retirement Trust, which manages $183 billion (AUS$280 billion) of retirement savings, is placing thermal coal on its exclusion list as of July 1, as it looks to have a net-zero emissions portfolio by 2050.

  

  Thermal coal includes the mining of lignite, bituminous, anthracite, and steam coal and its sale to external parties, the second-largest Australian pension fund said in updates to its product offering.

  The fund will be screening its investments and exclude direct investments in coal companies that have 10% of revenue from coal (estimated or reported) in the most recent year of financial reporting.

  “As a global investor, Australian Retirement Trust is committed to achieving a net zero greenhouse gas emissions investment portfolio by 2050,” the fund said in a statement carried by Reuters.

  However, it applies exclusions in limited circumstances “in accordance with members’ best financial interest.”

  For coal investments, exclusions will apply for pooled derivative products, which may have indirect exposure to companies involved in the mining of thermal coal. Exclusions will also be made for companies deriving revenue from metallurgical coal used in the production of steel, coal mined for internal power generation, intra-company sales of mined thermal coal, revenue from coal trading, and royalty income for companies not involved in thermal coal extraction operations.

  Climate change is the single largest motivation of investment institutions to decide to exclude companies from their portfolios, a so-called ‘exclusion tracker’ showed last year.

  Investors have become increasingly wary of investing in ‘sin industries’, which for many now include fossil fuel companies alongside the weapons and tobacco sectors.

  Pension funds and other institutional investors in Europe have already excluded some major oil and gas companies from their portfolios, while some European banks have scaled back financing for fossil fuel projects.

  Not all investors are dumping fossil fuels—some believe that owning stocks could help them influence decisions at oil and gas firms regarding emissions reductions.   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 19:40

• The Great Gold Vs Bitcoin Debate
  The Great Gold Vs Bitcoin Debate

   

  https://t.co/z5tfJThm9J

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 3, 2024

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

  Watch Live on X, YouTube and Rumble. 

  ZeroHedge is partnering with Crypto Banter to bring together four top minds to debate one of the most combustible topics of the day: gold or bitcoin?

  In the anti-crypto corner is the man whose name is synonymous with “gold”, infamous crypto bear Peter Schiff. Alongside Schiff will be “Dr. Doom”, renowned economist Nouriel Roubini.

  Arguing in favor of crypto will be Anthony Scaramucci – wealth manager with over $10 billion in AUM – as well as day-one crypto veteran Erik Voorhees, founder of ShapeShift and torch-bearer for the asset class’s libertarian roots.

  The debate will be moderated by Ran Neuner, founder and host of Crypto Banter, one of the largest digital asset news channels on YouTube.

  ZeroHedge would also like to thank our sponsors for this debate: Preserve Gold and BITLAYER — “Layer 2. The future of Bitcoin.” Whether you’re a fan of gold or Bitcoin, you probably see the wisdom in diversifying away from U.S. dollars. Do so by visiting their websites and checking out their products. ZeroHedge Goldbugs can access a special offer from Preserve Gold by texting “ZERO” to 50505.

  And so, without further ado, let’s get ready to rumble. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 19:25

• Biden Admin Covertly Pursued Gender Affirming Care For Kids In States Where The Practice Is Banned
  Biden Admin Covertly Pursued Gender Affirming Care For Kids In States Where The Practice Is Banned

  America First Legal revealed documents on Thursday from its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), showcasing emails from Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine and indicating that the Biden Administration has engaged privately with “gender affirming care providers” from states that have outlawed these practices, pledging federal support to counteract such state laws.

  In particular, Levine expressed significant concern for the LGBTI+ community in Idaho, emphasizing ongoing efforts to challenge these state measures nationally, the site pointed out. The documents were acquired through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request concerning Levine’s correspondence about pediatric transgender clinics.

  Previously, in March 2023, Levine stated that the federal backing for transitioning children was comprehensive, even at presidential levels, and framed any opposition as politically motivated. The newly revealed records elaborate on the administration’s covert operations with advocates to push this agenda.

  THERE IT IS.

  America First Legal (@America1stLegal) has uncovered documents proving the Biden administration coordinated with radical activists to find ways around state laws to g*oom children to become “transgend*r.”

  “New internal docs obtained through our lawsuit against HHS… pic.twitter.com/UOfhiskOsE

  — Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) May 2, 2024

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

  One notable communication from June 2022 involves HHS Regional Director Ingrid Ulrey discussing an Idaho meeting about impending legislation aimed at prohibiting certain medical treatments for minors. Ulrey’s message to Levine highlighted her empathy for Idaho’s LGBTQ community, particularly in light of legislative efforts she described as harmful.

  Among other things, the report noted that in her memo, Ulrey highlighted concerns about the impact of Idaho’s proposed law on “Gender Affirming Care” (GAC), including a doctor shortage and the high costs of such treatments without insurance subsidies.

  

  She noted that only one provider was offering GAC to a significant state prison population, with a few others too intimidated to attend a meeting or preferring to stay under the radar. Ulrey also relayed that the care providers had specific definitions of GAC, controversially suggesting the removal of parental consent requirements, which could include requiring consent from just one parent or both if divorced. This approach appears to be advocated by a high-ranking HHS official following discussions with these providers.

  

  Ulrey’s discussions with “gender-affirming care providers” led to a disturbing proposal to simplify legal barriers, including reducing parental consent requirements for such treatments, according to America First Legal. 

  Following these meetings, a high-ranking HHS official advocated for the removal of parental consent as part of the definition of “gender-affirming care.”

  

  The meeting’s summary called for federal intervention to override state laws restricting such care, with suggestions for using Medicaid to mandate coverage across all states and queries about providing such care in prisons, indicating a push to extend “gender-affirming care” despite local restrictions.

  The summary also reflected provider concerns about parental rights obstructing children’s access to these treatments. On June 5, 2022, Assistant Secretary Levine expressed ongoing support for the LGBTI+ community in Idaho, promising to continue advocacy efforts nationally.

  

  Further details emerged from a June 2022 roundtable in Anchorage, Alaska, where discussions focused on integrating mental health counselors in schools amidst concerns about parental opposition. A local clinic, Identity, Inc., was noted for providing non-surgical gender-affirming care, with surgical treatments sought outside Alaska. The report also mentioned potential local legislation in Anchorage impacting transgender individuals’ participation in school sports, signaling continued legislative challenges for the transgender community.

  America First Legal Senior Advisor Ian Prior commented: “The Biden Administration is leveraging the full power of the federal government to engage in an anti-science war on reality, with America’s children as the collateral damage. While European nations are drastically pulling back on these dangerous experiments and a number of states are legislating against them, the Biden Administration is plowing full steam ahead in its goal of redefining the foundations of biology, from the doctors’ offices to the athletic fields. This comes even as the United States Supreme Court has held that states have a right to enact such legislation. The Biden Administration is supporting crimes against humanity, and America First Legal will continue to fight back until these dangerous practices end.”

  You can read the full trove of emails here.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 19:20

• Almost Half Of Health Care Workers Hesitant To Take COVID-19 Boosters: Study
  Almost Half Of Health Care Workers Hesitant To Take COVID-19 Boosters: Study

  Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Approximately half of the health care workers in a Polish study were found to be averse to taking COVID-19 booster shots, with one of the reasons for this hesitancy being their negative experiences with previous vaccinations.

  

  The peer-reviewed study, published in the Vaccines journal on April 29, examined factors underlying “hesitancy to receive COVID-19 booster vaccine doses” among health care workers (HCW) in Poland. Almost 50 percent of the participants were identified as being wary of the boosters. “Our study found that 42 percent of the HCWs were hesitant about the second booster dose, while 7 percent reported no intent to get vaccinated with any additional doses.”

  “As reasons for not vaccinating, participants most frequently highlighted lack of time, negative experiences with previous vaccinations, and immunity conferred by past infections.”

  The study involved 69 healthcare workers composed of nurses, midwives, physicians, other health associate professionals, and administrative staff.

  At the time of enrollment, 47 had a history of lab-confirmed COVID-19 infection and 31 had at least one comorbidity, a situation where a person suffers from more than one disease or medical condition at the same time.

  Over 92 percent of study participants received at least one vaccine booster, with 50.73 percent getting two doses. Five out of the 69 HCWs did not take any boosters.

  “Booster hesitancy among health professionals (physicians, nurses, and midwives) was lower than among administrative staff and others. Almost 79 percent of the physicians had received two COVID-19 vaccine booster doses. However, apart from physicians, about half of the HCWs from each occupation group were hesitant about the second booster dose.”

  “The highest number of HCWs without any vaccine boosters was observed among administration personnel.”

  HCWs in the age groups of 31-40 and 41-50 were found to be the most skeptical about taking the second booster shot. Thirty-four out of the 69 HCWs provided reasons for their COVID-19 booster vaccine hesitancy.

  Two of the health care workers who did not take booster shots said their decision was based on their personal experience with the vaccines.

  “They reported negative experiences with past COVID-19 vaccination and stated that the natural immunity developed after SARS-CoV-2 infection could protect them against COVID-19, which, overall, does not pose serious health risks,” the study said.

  “Responses from HCWs who received only one COVID-19 booster dose can be categorized into two themes: (i) influences arising from personal perceptions of the COVID-19 vaccine and disease prevention and (ii) issues directly related to vaccination and its safety.”

  Six health care workers reported suffering negative adverse effects after previously taking COVID shots. Four had safety concerns about the vaccines.

  In an earlier study conducted by the researchers, COVID-19 antibody levels among HCWs after receiving the mandatory primary vaccine series were found to have decreased by around 90 to 95 percent within seven months of vaccination. However, “none of the HCWs contracted COVID-19,” it said.

  The current study was funded by the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry Polish Academy of Sciences. The authors of the study reported no conflicts of interest.

  Vaccine Concerns, Harms

  Other studies have also explored vaccine hesitancy among health care workers. A March 2023 study that looked at HCWs from Cameroon and Nigeria found that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was “high and broadly determined by the perceived risk of COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines on personal health, mistrust in COVID-19 vaccines, and uncertainty about colleagues’ vaccine acceptability.”

  An April 2022 study found that “a concern for vaccine side effects” and “the belief that the vaccines are inadequately studied” were some of the key reasons for vaccine hesitancy among health care workers.

  A May 2022 analysis at BMJ Global Health warned that indulging in policies like mandatory vaccination “may cause more harm than good.”

  “Current mandatory vaccine policies are scientifically questionable and are likely to cause more societal harm than good,” it said.

  “Current policies may lead to a widening of health and economic inequalities, detrimental long-term impacts on trust in government and scientific institutions, and reduce the uptake of future public health measures, including COVID-19 vaccines as well as routine immunizations.”

  The analysis recommended that vaccines should only be mandated “sparingly and carefully to uphold ethical norms and trust in institutions.”

  During Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) roundtable discussion on COVID-19 vaccines on Feb. 26, researcher Raphael Lataster, associate lecturer at the University of Sydney, claimed that data from Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials exaggerated the efficacy of the shots.

  The data exaggeration could make an ineffective vaccine have a perceived effectiveness of up to 48 percent, he stated.

  Meanwhile, a Jan. 27 narrative review found that repeated COVID-19 vaccination may end up boosting the likelihood of experiencing COVID-19 infections and other pathologies. Taking multiple vaccine doses could trigger higher levels of IgG4 antibodies and impair activating white blood cells that protect a person from infections and cancers.

  “While booster doses have been recommended to enhance and extend immunity, especially in the face of emerging variants, this recommendation is not based on proven efficacy, and the side effects have been neglected,” the paper said.

  In an interview with EpochTV’s “American Thought Leaders” program last year, clinical pathologist Dr. Ryan Cole said that DNA contamination in some of the COVID-19 vaccines could be behind an increase in cancers. He pointed to “turbo cancers,” referring to the phenomenon of cancer symptoms arising faster.

  “Now I’m seeing the solid tissue cancers at rates I’ve never seen … Patients that were stable, or cancer-free for one, two, five, ten years and their cancer’s back, it’s back with a vengeance and it’s not responding to the traditional therapies,” he said.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 19:00

• Ford's $120,000 Loss Per Vehicle Shows California EV Goals Are Impossible
  Ford’s $120,000 Loss Per Vehicle Shows California EV Goals Are Impossible

  Authored by John Seiler via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  So much for California’s mandate that “all new passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs sold in California will be zero-emission vehicles by 2035,” according to the California Air Resources Board. It imposed the mandate at the request of Gov. Gavin Newsom.

  

  On April 24, Ford reported it lost $132,000 for each of its 10,000 electric vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2024, according to CNN. The sales were down 20 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and would “drag down earnings for the company overall.”

  The losses include “hundreds of millions being spent on research and development of the next generation of EVs for Ford. Those investments are years away from paying off.” Ford is the only major carmaker breaking out EV numbers by themselves. But other marques likely suffer similar losses.

  Californians bought 1.78 million new vehicles in 2023, reported the California New Car Dealers Association. Multiply that number by $132,000 and you get $235 billion. That would bankrupt every car manufacturer, meaning they just would pull out of selling anything in the state.

  The California government would have to set up socialist, government-owned companies to make the cars, like the infamous Yugo. Dubbed “the worst car in history,” it was sold in America in the 1980s and was made by the communist Yugoslav government just before the country itself broke up in 1991.

  

  Battery Problems

  The Epoch Times also reported that same day, April 24, “Ford Recalling More Than 55,000 SUVs and Trucks in Canada Over Battery Issues.” The Transport Canada notice read, “A sudden loss of power to the wheels or a vehicle that doesn’t restart after a start-stop event could increase the risk of a crash. Additionally, hazard lamps that don’t work could make the vehicle less visible and increase the risk of a crash.”

  Also, most of Canada gets really cold in the winter. “The effects of cold weather on car batteries start to become pronounced when the temperature drops below freezing for an extended period,” explained United Tire & Service. “At a temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, your battery will lose about 30 percent of its power. Your battery will continue to get weaker as the temperatures get colder. In fact, your battery will lose about 60 percent of its power at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.”

  In Montreal, the average low temperature in January is 10 degrees Fahrenheit. In Edmonton it’s 8 degrees.

  Most of California enjoys the balmiest weather on earth. But in January 2023, the temperature around Bridgeport, near Yosemite National Park, dropped to minus 27 degrees. In such areas, EVs are almost completely useless except for rich people in the summer.

  Cheap Electric Cars?

  But isn’t Tesla working on cheaper models, not just the expensive ones? Aren’t they figuring out what Ford couldn’t? “Exclusive: Tesla scraps low-cost car plans amid fierce Chinese EV competition,” headlined Reuters on April 5.

  However, on April 24 Yahoo Finance headlined, “Tesla stock surges as EV maker will ‘accelerate’ the launch of cheaper cars. Tesla had previously said it would focus on its robotaxi product after paring back plans for a lower-cost car.”

  Who knows what’s going on with mercurial Tesla CEO Elon Musk? But I would never count him out.

  So what about those cheap cars financed by communist China? In February, the Biden administration announced it would investigate Chinese “smart” cars, which like your cell phone—probably also made in China—scoop up increasing amounts of data about your life.

  “China is determined to dominate the future of the auto market, including by using unfair practices,’’ President Joe Biden said. “China’s policies could flood our market with its vehicles, posing risks to our national security. I’m not going to let that happen on my watch.’’

  On April 11, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) called for banning Chinese EVs as “an existential threat to the American auto industry. Ohio knows all too well how China illegally subsidizes its companies, putting our workers out of jobs and undermining entire industries, from steel to solar manufacturing. We cannot allow China to bring its government-backed cheating to the American auto industry.”

  So far no action has been taken. But presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump in March promised he would impose a 100 percent tariff on Chinese cars, EV or otherwise, built in Mexico.

  No CO2 Threat

  Meanwhile, the carbon monoxide emitted by gas and diesel engines is being shown not to cause global warming. Reported No Tricks Zone, “Three Polish physicists have focused their attention on this saturation principle as it applies to CO2 in three recently published papers (Kubicki et al., 2024, 2022, and 2020). Their latest (Kubicki et al., 2024), published in Applications in Engineering Science, summarizes the experimental evidence from their 2020 and 2022 publications substantiating the conclusion that ‘as a result of saturation processes, emitted CO2 does not directly cause an increase in global temperature.’

  “The authors are concerned about the recent push to rely on modeling and assumptions about CO2’s capacity to drive changes in global temperature rather than observational evidence. They point out the current CO2-is-the-climate-control-knob zeitgeist is no more than a hypothesis.”

  The scientists themselves wrote: “This unequivocally suggests that the officially presented impact of anthropogenic CO2 increase on Earth’s climate is merely a hypothesis rather than a substantiated fact.”

  As I have written several times in The Epoch Times, the CO2 from California vehicles is minuscule compared to the massive spewing from coal plants still being built in massive numbers in communist China. See from March 25, “‘Green Innovation’ Study Shows California CO2 Policies Mainly Help China.”

  Conclusion: EV Mandates Are a Delusion

  California’s 100 percent zero-emission vehicle mandate by 2035 is a tailpipe dream. It’s pushed by ambitious politicians like Mr. Newsom and financed by billionaire environmentalists like Bill Gates. It has no basis in reality.

  At some point in a couple of years, a coalition will form to get rid of these mandates, as well as President Biden’s national goal of more than half of all vehicles sold being EVs by 2030. Auto dealers, especially in California, will work with automakers and the Democratic-aligned United Auto Workers union to push the mandates further into the future, say 2045. Later, the date will be pushed to 2055, and so on.

  Mr. Newsom’s term as governor ends in January 2027. President Biden, if reelected, must leave in January 2029. California’s term limits also mandate a maximum of 12 years in the Legislature.

  Today’s politicians will be gone soon enough, their green battery dreams wafted away like the thick exhaust from a classic 1957 Chevy.

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

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 18:20

• College Fraternities Rise Up Against Marxist Protesters Chanting For 'Socialist Takeover Of America' 
  College Fraternities Rise Up Against Marxist Protesters Chanting For ‘Socialist Takeover Of America’ 

  Colleges and universities are witnessing a coordinated push to spark a new movement resembling Black Lives Matter ahead of the summer months. This time, it’s under the guise of defending Palestine while embedding Marxist ideologies, such as quite literally calling for a ‘revolution’ to usher in ‘a socialist reconstruction of the USA.’ 

  An extremist on the mic says: “There’s only one solution, intifada revolution. We must have a revolution so we can have a socialist reconstruction of the USA.”

  This isn’t just about Israel/Palestine. It’s an attempt of the Marxist takeover of America. Our colleges have become… pic.twitter.com/2IEqRyuorB

  — A Man Of Memes (@RickyDoggin) April 30, 2024

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  Once again, George Soros and his Open Society Foundation are funding Marxist chaos across campuses, with Soros-funded Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) having organized them. These professional agitators are trained to rise up for revolution. 

  Biden has sparked a wildfire. pic.twitter.com/YXbHCKONcm

  — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 25, 2024

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  So, not enough college students? These radical groups had to import ‘outsiders’. 

  

  Recall that the son of pro-chaos billionaire Soros, Alex, visited the White House over a dozen times for meetings since 2021. 

  

  Meanwhile, Axios reports Democrats are in full-blown ‘panic mode’ behind the scenes as campus takeovers by extremists of their own party produce terrible optics ahead of the presidential election in November. 

  “The longer they continue, and the worse that they get, the worse it’s going to be for the election overall,” one House Democrat said.

  The House Democrat warned that school chaos will only “bring out [the public’s] most conservative side.” 

  What’s clear is that campus protesters are becoming a political liability for Biden and Democrats. That’s because Americans aren’t falling this time for the fake BLM-style protests. Many folks are realizing just how artificial these protests have become. 

  One X user asked: “Is it  about Free Palestine? or Attack on Capitalism?” 

  They outlined the four main goals of Marxists stoking campus chaos: 

  1.  Gain Power
  2. Destabilize the System
  3. ATTACK CAPITALISM!
  4. Usher in their Marxist Utopia

  Is it really about Free Palestine? or Attack on Capitalism?
  The FOUR goals of the Socialist are…
  1. Gain Power
  2. Destabilize the System
  3. ATTACK CAPITALISM!
  4. Usher in their Marxist Utopia pic.twitter.com/VhD8xhlg9w

  — gala gauthier (@Eclipsiay) April 27, 2024

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  X user Western Lensman might want to update his list… 

  A Warning to America: 25 Ways the US is Being Destroyed | Explained in Under 2 Minutes pic.twitter.com/qwmBO8DmMt

  — Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) April 22, 2024

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  Let’s remind readers that right before the campus uprisings, there was a surge in Maxists, masquerading as pro-Palestinian protesters, attempting to shut down the nation’s critical infrastructure, including bridges, highways, and airport terminals. We asked at the time, “Who are these pro-Palestinian protesters? And who are they being funded by?” 

  Shutting down critical infrastructure and causing chaos on campuses has nothing to do with helping poor Palestinians, just like burning down businesses and police stations during the Black Lives Matter riots had nothing to do with helping working poor blacks. These movements are hijacked by Marxists, with one intention only: crash the US economy and abolish capitalism.

  Besides Soros, could it also be the Saudis, Qataris, and dark Middle Eastern monies that plowed money into Ivy League schools to prop up radical leftists with one common goal? That goal could be to destroy America from within. 

  After all, America’s enemies don’t even need to fire a shot when woke Harvard University staff can allow the film screening of “How to Blow Up A Pipeline” to students. 

  Harvard is promoting domestic ecoterrorism.

  This is disgraceful. https://t.co/1bB8fpbuzn

  — Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 25, 2024

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   The Marxist takeover of America is happening through colleges that have become indoctrination camps for the youth. 

  Yet the FBI, CIA, and other intelligence agencies are turning a blind eye to this chaos. They’re more focused on going after President Biden’s political opponents. 

  However, out of all this chaos this week, there was a glimmer of hope as fraternities at universities stood up to protect Old Glory. 

  

  The most notable were the boys at Pi Kappa Phi at UNC – who protected Old Glory from protesters. The boys turned around and raised $500,000 on GoFundMe to throw an epic rager for their heroic patriotic duties. 

  

  Frats across the nation got the memo…

  

  They, too, must defend against Marxism.

  A small group of Palestine protestors just showed up at University of Mississippi.

  Frat boys came out and drowned out the protesting with Star Spangled Banner. pic.twitter.com/ADYMAxQb8t

  — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 2, 2024

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  University of Mississippi frat boys faced off with Free Palestine protestors today.

  The images speak for themselves. pic.twitter.com/4mPsR9MUiu

  — End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) May 2, 2024

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  ASU FRAT BOYS

  ROLLED UP LAST NIGHT

  SPOONKED SOME FREE PALESTINE CAMPS

  LIBERATED THE CAMPUS IN 10 MINUTES

  SALUTE

  WE WANT TO BUY ALL FRAT MALES WHO LIBERATE CAMPUSES BEER

  TO BATTLE!!!

  TAKE YOUR SCHOOLS BACK! pic.twitter.com/EjafWn7YMs

  — 👑 🇺🇸 0HOUR 🇺🇸👑 (@0HOUR) April 27, 2024

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

  🔴 Frat Brother Shares Patriotic Message After Protecting American Flag From Pro-Palestine Protestorshttps://t.co/krgR1RMihR

  — Resist the Mainstream (@ResisttheMS) May 2, 2024

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  Frat boys are more patriotic than the president of the United States

  I stand with anyone who hoists the American flag over the flag of “Palestine” or the pride flag https://t.co/Lqil68kTvJ

  — YachtMoney (@yat023) May 3, 2024

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  NOW- ‘Taking Back America’- Patriotic frat boys with Trump flags turn up to rally at Ole Miss, overshadowing the far-left Palestine protest on the university’s campus pic.twitter.com/LHpHO2y0Os

  — Overton (@OvertonLive) May 2, 2024

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  Let’s see what the frat boys can do at the southern border.

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  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 18:00

• The Golden Age Of Disinformation Has Only Just Begun
  The Golden Age Of Disinformation Has Only Just Begun

  Authored by Boyan Radoykov via The Epoch Times,

  Disinformation is all about power, and because of the harmful and far-reaching influence that disinformation exerts, it cannot achieve much without power.

  As a tool for shaping public perceptions, disinformation can be used by authoritarian regimes and democracies alike. The dissemination of false information is not a new practice in human history. However, over the last few decades, it has become professionalized and has taken on exorbitant proportions at both national and international levels.

  

  The Origins of Disinformation

  Disinformation can be understood as misleading information, intentionally produced and deliberately disseminated, to mislead public opinion, harm a target group, or advance political or ideological objectives.

  The term disinformation is a translation of the Russian дезинформация (dezinformatsiya). On Jan. 11, 1923, the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union decided to create a Department of Disinformation. Its mission was “to mislead real or potential adversaries about the true intentions” of the USSR. From then on, disinformation became a tactic of Soviet political warfare known as “active measures,” a crucial element of Soviet intelligence strategy involving falsification, subversion, and media manipulation.

  During the Cold War, from 1945 to 1989, this tactic was used by numerous intelligence agencies. The expression “disinformation of the masses” came into increasing use in the 1960s and became widespread in the 1980s. Former Soviet bloc intelligence officer Ladislav Bittman, the first disinformation professional to defect to the West, observed in this regard that ”The interpretation [of the term] is slightly distorted because public opinion is only one of the potential targets. Many disinformation games are designed only to manipulate the decision-making elite, and receive no publicity.”

  With its creation in July 1947, the CIA was given two main missions: to prevent surprise foreign attacks against the United States and to hinder the advance of Soviet communism in Europe and Third World countries. During the four decades of the Cold War, the CIA was also at the forefront of U.S. counter-propaganda and disinformation.

  The Soviet Union’s successful test of a nuclear weapon in 1949 caught the United States off guard and led to the advent of the two nuclear powers clashing on the world stage in an international atmosphere of extreme tension, fear, and uncertainty. In 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower received a top-secret report from a commission chaired by retired Gen. James H. Doolittle, which concluded: “If the United States is to survive, long-standing American concepts of ‘fair play’ must be reconsidered. We must develop effective espionage and counterespionage services and must learn to subvert, sabotage and destroy our enemies by more clever, more sophisticated and more effective methods than those used against us. It may become necessary that the American people be acquainted with, understand and support this fundamentally repugnant philosophy.” Of course, “repugnant” philosophy includes subversion through disinformation.

  Although the United States had high expertise in this field, it did not react much to the disinformation that was sent its way until 1980, when a false document claimed that Washington supported apartheid in South Africa. Later on, they also took offense at Operation Denver, a Soviet disinformation campaign aimed at having the world believe that the United States had intentionally created HIV/AIDS.

  In the United States, the intellectual influence of Edward Bernays is at the root of institutional political propaganda and opinion manipulation. A double nephew of Sigmund Freud, he worked as a press agent for Italian tenor Enrico Caruso and for the Ballets Russes. He took part, alongside President Woodrow Wilson, in the Creel Commission (1917), which helped turn American public opinion in favor of going to war. His wife and business partner, Doris Fleischman, advised him to avoid using the overused term “propaganda.” Instead, she coined the term “public relations” to replace it, a term still in use today.

  China and Its Digital Authoritarianism

  In China, deception, lies, and the rewriting of history are disinformation techniques used by the Chinese Communist Party, according to tactics learned in the Soviet Union in the 1950s. Today, the CCP has a sophisticated arsenal of disinformation on all fronts. Its main objectives are to turn public opinion upside down, interfere in foreign political circles, influence elections, discredit its opponents, and hide its own intentions and priorities.

  In September 2021, the French Institute for Strategic Research at the École Militaire published a report on China’s influence operations, which warned: “For a long time, it could be said that China, unlike Russia, sought to be loved rather than feared; that it wanted to seduce, to project a positive image of itself in the world, to arouse admiration. Beijing has not given up on seduction … but, at the same time, Beijing is increasingly taking on the role of infiltrator and coercer: its influence operations have become considerably tougher in recent years, and its methods increasingly resemble those employed by Moscow.”

  On Sept. 28, 2023, the U.S. government published a report in which it accused China of seeking to “reshape the global information landscape” through a vast network specialized in disinformation. “[China’s] global information manipulation is not simply a matter of public diplomacy—but a challenge to the integrity of the global information space.” This “manipulation” encompasses “propaganda, disinformation, and censorship.”

  “Unchecked, [China’s] efforts will reshape the global information landscape, creating biases and gaps that could even lead nations to make decisions that subordinate their economic and security interests to Beijing’s,” according to the report.

  According to the U.S. State Department, China spends billions of dollars every year on these “foreign information manipulation” operations. At the same time, Beijing suppresses critical information that runs counter to its rhetoric on politically sensitive subjects. The report goes on to state that China manipulates information by resorting to “digital authoritarianism,” exploiting international and UN organizations and controlling Chinese-language media abroad.

  When Disinformation Becomes Military Doctrine

  In some countries, policymakers may turn to their national history to justify the implementation of certain regulations on information. German politicians, for example, frequently refer to the Nazi past or that of the communist Stasi to justify the regulations they want to put in place. Yet these historical comparisons don’t always hold water. The Nazis, for example, did not come to power because they controlled the then-new technology of radio. Rather, once in power, they used the state control on radio stations that the previous Weimar governments had put in place—in the hope of saving democracy—to their own benefit. This decision by the Weimar governments had the perverse effect of enabling the Nazis to control radio much more quickly than with newspapers.

  Disinformation is mainly orchestrated by government agencies. In the post-Soviet era, and with the advent of the information society, when the media and social networks became a central relay for the dissemination of fake news, disinformation evolved to become a fundamental tactic in the military doctrine of powerful countries. In the early 2000s, the European Union and NATO realized that the problem of Russian disinformation was such that they had to set up special units to process and debunk mass-produced false information.

  The Methods and Processes of Disinformation

  There are four main methods of spreading disinformation: selective censorship, manipulation of search indexes, hacking and dissemination of fraudulently obtained data, and amplification of disinformation through excessive sharing.

  By way of example, disinformation activities involve the following processes:

  • The creation of fabricated characters or websites with networks of fake experts who disseminate supposedly reliable references.

  • The creation of “deep-fakes” and synthetic media through photos, videos, and audio clips that have been digitally manipulated or entirely fabricated to deceive the public. Today’s artificial intelligence (AI) tools can make synthetic content almost impossible to detect or distinguish from reality.

  • The development or amplification of conspiracy theories, which attempt to explain important events through the secret actions of powerful actors acting in the shadows. Conspiracy theories aim not only to influence people’s understanding of events, but also their behavior and worldview.

  • Astroturfing and inundation of information environments. At the root of disinformation campaigns are huge quantities of similar content, published from fabricated sources or accounts. This practice, called astroturfing, creates the impression of widespread support or opposition to a message while concealing its true origin. A similar tactic, inundation, involves spamming social media posts and comment sections with the aim of shaping a narrative or stifling opposing viewpoints. In recent years, the use of troll factories to spread misleading information on social networks has gained momentum.

  • Exploiting alternative social media platforms to reinforce beliefs in a disinformation narrative. Disinformation actors take advantage of platforms offering fewer protections for users and fewer options for detecting and removing inauthentic content and accounts.

  • Amplification of information gaps, when there isn’t enough credible information to answer a specific search. Misinformation leaders can exploit these gaps by generating their own content and feeding the search.

  • Manipulating unsuspecting protagonists. Disinformation facilitators target high-profile individuals and organizations to corroborate their stories. Targets are often not even aware that they are repeating a disinformation actor’s narrative, or that this narrative is intended to influence or manipulate public opinion.

  • Dissemination of targeted content: The instigators of disinformation produce customized influential content likely to resonate with a specific audience, based on its worldview, beliefs, and interests. It’s a long-term tactic that involves disseminating targeted content over time to build trust and credibility with the target audience, making it easier to manipulate them.

  A Race Against Time to Protect the Younger Generation

  In the early 2000s, most publications about the internet hailed its unprecedented potential for development. Only a few years later, commentators, analysts, and policymakers began to worry that the internet, and social media platforms in particular, posed new threats to democracy, global governance, and the integrity of information.

  Since then, the world has become increasingly interconnected and interdependent, and the opportunities for misinformation have become almost limitless. With more than 5.5 billion internet users and more than 8.58 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide by 2022, compared to a global population of 7.95 billion at mid-year, the great paradox is that the rise of information technology has created a much more conducive, even thriving, environment for misinformation, and that the development of AI is leading to even worse and more rampant misinformation.

  Some experts agree that while online misinformation and propaganda are widespread, it is difficult to determine the extent to which this misinformation has an impact on the public’s political attitudes and, consequently, on political outcomes. Other data have shown that disinformation campaigns rarely succeed in changing the policies of targeted states, but it would be irresponsible to believe that misinformation has little impact. If that were the case, major countries would have abandoned the practice long ago. The opposite is true. With the gradual increase in the foolishness of ruling elites and the rise of new technologies, the policy of destabilization through disinformation has a bright future ahead of it. The risks and stakes remain enormous, and the erosion of public trust in institutions and the media is deeply significant in this regard.

  The fight against disinformation must go beyond simplistic solutions such as shutting down Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) accounts, publicly denouncing the actions of one’s adversary, or containing false information through technical means. And it is certainly not enough to focus on measures such as fact-checking or media education to help individuals master and consume information; the average person carries little weight in the face of government disinformation machines.

  It would therefore be preferable to address the political and economic operating conditions of the structures that facilitate the spread of disinformation, such as large technology companies, the state actors involved, the media, and other information systems.

  Of course, the human factor must remain at the center of leaders’ concerns in the face of growing state and media disinformation. The price of educating young people will always be less than the price of their ignorance.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/03/2024 – 17:40