Mar 20

Today’s News 20th March 2024

  • Former Top Polish Army Chief Admits "Ukraine Is Losing The War"
    Former Top Polish Army Chief Admits “Ukraine Is Losing The War”

    Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

    A former top Polish army chief says Ukraine is losing the war and that “more than 10 million people are missing.”

    General Rajmund Andrzejczak, the ex-chief of the Polish General Staff, made the comments during an appearance on Polsat Television.

    “More than 10 million people are missing. According to my estimates, losses should be in the millions, not hundreds of thousands. The country has no resources, no one to fight. Ukrainians are losing this war,” said the general.

    Andrzejczak pointed to Ukraine’s dwindling anti-aircraft missile supplies, which would allow Russia to conduct more effective strikes, casualties, and infrastructure damage.

    “The Ukrainians are losing this war,” he stated emphasized.

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    After German intelligence sources warned that Russia would be in a position to attack another NATO country after 2026, Andrzejczak warned that Poland has a limited time to prepare.

    “We need to prepare… A lot depends on us, whether it will be in two, three, or five years. Our mission is to push the threat further away. There is still time, but much work is needed,” he said.

    As we highlighted back in December, Michael Maloof, a former Pentagon official, that the war in Ukraine is effectively “over” because Kiev’s counter-offensive has failed and there is no appetite in America to continue funding it.

    The average age of a Ukrainian soldier is now 43 and mentally disabled men are being sent to fight on the front lines.

    Back in November Sascha Lehnartz, chief correspondent of German newspaper Die Welt, said the Ukrainian “counteroffensive seems to have failed” and that there was a sense Kiev had “already lost” the war.

    A month before that, CNN reported on a Time article which quoted a top Zelensky aide as saying, “He deludes himself. We’re out of options. We’re not winning.”

    *  *  *

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

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/20/2024 – 02:00

  • New York Times, After Years of Appeasing CCP, Now Plans Attack On Dissidents In US
    New York Times, After Years of Appeasing CCP, Now Plans Attack On Dissidents In US

    Authored by Petr Svab via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The New York Times for nearly six months has been preparing a hit piece against Shen Yun Performing Arts, The Epoch Times has learned.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

    Communications obtained by The Epoch Times suggest the article, which is yet to be published, will play into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its transnational repression campaign against Shen Yun.

    The New York-based Shen Yun, whose mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture and whose slogan is “China Before Communism,” has been a major thorn in Beijing’s side for nearly two decades.

    In its campaign, the CCP has used a plethora of tactics to obstruct Shen Yun—which each year performs for an audience of a million people globally—including attempting to pressure theaters to drop performances, persecuting artists’ family members back in China, and hijacking the U.S. legal system for its purposes.

    The FBI last May arrested two suspected Chinese agents who had tried to bribe an FBI agent posing as an IRS official with tens of thousands of dollars in an attempt to revoke Shen Yun’s nonprofit status.

    The Department of Justice indicated that the two alleged CCP agents had also sought to use an environmental lawsuit targeting the company’s training facilities and schools to “inhibit” their growth.

    The next attack against Shen Yun, however, appears to be coming from America’s largest newspaper, The New York Times.

    Two reporters, Michael Rothfeld and Nicole Hong—the latter of whom began to work on the Shen Yun story after spending six months at The New York Times’ China desk—have specifically sought out former artists who might have left the company years ago with a grudge, records obtained by The Epoch Times suggest.

    Many of Shen Yun’s artists are practitioners of Falun Gong, a meditation practice whose followers are brutally persecuted by the CCP—making the company a prime target of the regime and its proxies. Some of Shen Yun’s dance pieces include artistic depictions of the persecution.

    “We know these reporters are targeting for interviews [with] a tiny group that might have something bad to say about Shen Yun, and seem to be ignoring the overwhelming majority [of artists] who see their time at Shen Yun positively and deeply rewarding,”  Ying Chen, a vice president of Shen Yun, told The Epoch Times.

    “Flowing Sleeves,” from the 2009 Shen Yun Performing Arts program. (2009 Shen Yun Performing Arts)

    “We also know some of these interviewees have freely traveled to China, which raises a huge red flag because normally anyone who works for Shen Yun or is known to practice Falun Gong would be in grave danger going back to China—but these folks do so freely and repeatedly. We also have records of communication that demonstrate some of these interviewees were very happy with their experience at Shen Yun, but now are saying the opposite to The New York Times.

    “All this indicates that The New York Times is laser-focused on attacking us, and are building a story around very questionable interviews.”

    ­­­­Out to Smear

    Internal CCP documents show the Party considers the Shen Yun campus in upstate New York, called Dragon Springs, a “headquarters” of activities by Falun Gong practitioners to counter the persecution.

    “Attack the overseas Falun Gong headquarters and bases systematically and strategically,” reads one CCP directive document obtained by The Epoch Times.

    Another document prescribes specific industries to co-opt in its transnational repression against Falun Gong, calling for mobilization of “China friendly people such as experts, scholars, journalists … who have greater influence in the U.S. and Western countries to speak for us, and strive to make more foreign media to publish more reports favorable to us.”

    The New York Times now appears to be doing just that, commented Larry Liu, a deputy director of the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC), a nonprofit dedicated to monitoring the persecution of Falun Gong.

    The New York Times published a section called “China Rules” in its Nov. 25, 2018, edition. The section included giant Chinese characters on a red background and a glowing report on the CCP, while simultaneously diminishing the United States. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

    “This article will likely be the CCP’s dream come true,” says Mr. Liu.

    Not long after Ms. Hong returned to New York last year after a stint with The New York Times’ China team in Seoul, some former Shen Yun dancers started to receive emails from her and Mr. Rothfeld. The emailed questions were at times disturbingly specific and left the artists with the impression the reporters were trying to dig up information that could be weaponized against the company, Mr. Liu said.

    One former dancer was only asked about one specific incident: a knee injury.

    According to Mr. Liu, the reporters seem to be trying to craft a narrative suggesting that the dancers don’t receive sufficient medical care, a key false narrative pushed by the CCP to malign Falun Gong.

    The Epoch Times spoke to dozens of Shen Yun artists and their family members as well as students and teachers at two schools affiliated with Shen Yun. They described the environment as demanding, but with a healthy culture and supportive community. The suggestion of lacking medical care or treatment prompted visceral responses.

    “It’s absolute rubbish,” said Kay Rubacek whose son and daughter perform with Shen Yun. Ms. Rubacek is a filmmaker whose portfolio includes award-winning documentaries and the program “Life & Times” on NTD.

    “Everyone who watches the show, sees Shen Yun, they can see that these dancers love it. They really love what they do.”

    Her children started attending Fei Tian Academy of the Arts, a grade 5–12 private art school, when they were 13 and 14. She was very particular about first getting familiar with the campus and the teachers, she said.

    “I’m very careful with where I send my kids. I’m very protective of them,” she said. “So for me to feel comfortable for them to go to a boarding school, I have to check everything, and I checked everything.”

    The dance track at the school gives students the possibility of auditioning for Shen Yun while training at the Fei Tian College on the same campus, which is what her children did–with great success, she noted.

    She recalled that shortly after joining the school, her son hit his toe during dance practice. He was taken for an X-ray, which revealed a hairline fracture. His dance teacher insisted he couldn’t join dance class again until the fracture had fully healed.

    He took the hiatus as an opportunity to focus on stretching, becoming one of the most flexible dancers in the troupe, she said.

    “The level of positivity that I see coming from them and their ability to face challenges is pretty remarkable and something that I wish I had as a kid,” Ms. Rubacek said.

    She was appalled to learn that The New York Times would try to smear her children as being part of some opprobrious organization.

    Shen Yun dancers rehearse a classical Chinese dance routine at their facility in Orange County, N.Y., in this file photo. (Courtesy of Shen Yun)

    ‘Real Danger’

    “The false narratives that the Times seems to be pursuing are a grave concern for us because it can create real danger,” said George Xu, vice president of Dragon Springs.

    He said several months ago local and federal authorities mobilized to counter what they believed was a credible threat posed by a Chinese man who posted to social media about wanting to be part of a “death squad.” The man also posted a video of himself loading an AR-15 rifle magazines.

    The man “propagates these same false narratives and had been speaking with some of the same individuals the [New York] Times is interviewing,” Mr. Xu said.

    “At one point, this man was known to be in the area of our campus. … We had state police patrolling our entrances, and everyone was on high alert. This is very serious.”

    The Epoch Times obtained a copy of a September FBI Officer Safety bulleting, stating that the man “has made threats to the Dragon Springs campus,” was seen in the area, and “is potentially armed and dangerous.”

    Aiming for the Top

    Shen Yun prides itself as the leading Chinese classical dance company in the world, growing from one group in 2007 to eight, each with its own orchestra, touring the world and performing for more than a million people every year. The Epoch Times has been a long-time media sponsor of Shen Yun.

    As with any elite artistic endeavor, classical Chinese dance requires enormous effort, said multiple dancers and teachers.

    Alison Chen at the Fei Tian College campus in Middletown, N.Y., on Sept. 19, 2023. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

    “To become an artist of such a high caliber, it definitely takes a lot of grit and a lot of persistence, and you have to sacrifice a lot of time and energy,” said Alison Chen, who retired from Shen Yun in 2015 to become a dance teacher and later co-chair of the dance department at Fei Tian College’s campus in Middletown, New York.

    She was still in her teens when she started training with Shen Yun in 2007, shortly after its inception. Thanks to her aptitude and previous dance experience, she was invited to join the touring company fairly quickly as part of her school practicum. Over the years, however, the company has continued to raise the bar. Fei Tian students are still allowed to audition for tours as part of their coursework, but their dance skills must be exceptional for them to make the cut, she said.

    Compared to ballet, classical Chinese dance training is more aligned with the natural disposition of the human body, leading to less extreme strain, said Jimmy Cha, who was a professional ballet dancer before he joined Shen Yun in 2008.

    Ballet dancers usually retire in their 30s and are often left with chronic pain and other ailments. On average, younger amateur dancers suffer one injury and older professional dancers 1.2 injuries for every 1,000 dance hours, according to a 2015 review of research on the topic.

    According to those estimates, a professional dance company the size of Shen Yun would theoretically have hundreds of injuries occurring every year.

    The dancers and teachers The Epoch Times spoke to didn’t have such statistics ready, but all agreed the injury incidence they observed in Shen Yun was a fraction of that number.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 23:40

  • Piers Morgan Vs Jeffrey Sachs On Putin: "Russia's War With Ukraine Was Completely Avoidable"
    Piers Morgan Vs Jeffrey Sachs On Putin: “Russia’s War With Ukraine Was Completely Avoidable”

    Economist Jeffrey Sachs has appeared this week on Piers Morgan Uncensored where the two discussed Russian leader Vladimir Putin just being elected to a fifth 6th year term as president. Sachs speaks from within the establishment, having long served as a UN advisor, but has at the same time been branded in mainstream media as “a Putin cheerleader” – as Wall Street Journal and others have long described him. Sachs had a wide-ranging discussion with Morgan over the Ukraine crisis and other pressing global topics. The guest has long been controversial for his ‘unorthodox’ views on everything from Syria to Libya to US hegemony and Western regime change efforts in the third world.

    “My point has always been, lets end this war in Ukraine,” Professor Sachs told Morgan, while emphasizing that Washington has been bent on regime change in Moscow which began in earnest in 2014 with the overthrow of the Yanukovych government in Kiev. Sachs said the tragedy of the Ukraine war ultimately began with the US seeking to destabilize Russia and NATO expansion up to its borders. Sachs lashed out at critics saying “It’s not a matter of cheerleading. It’s a matter of common sense. I’ve known the Eastern European region for over 30 years.” He described that Washington thought it could “bleed” Russia and so thwarted attempts at peace talks in the wake of the February 2022 invasion.

    Sachs said, “My view is that this war was completely avoidable, and could have been ended in March 2022. But, it persists because we don’t have a sensible approach.” When asked about his views of Vladimir Putin and the prospect for peace negotiations to finally settle the war, Sachs offered the following: “We’re not in a game. We’re not in name calling. We’re not in a cage brawl,” Sachs said. “We’re trying to actually not have the world spiral into nuclear war. So it’s not that game. The game is sit down and negotiate.” Sachs in the interview pointed out that as far back as 2007 Putin was clear on his red lines regarding violating prior NATO vows of not expanding East. Watch a key section of the interview below:

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    Sachs explained the following on the origins of the Ukraine war:

    “I believe that the big mistake of both sides is we should talk this out. And now let me say a word about talking it out. In 2008, when Bucharest happened, European leaders called me because I’m friends with them. They said, what is your crazy president doing, by the way?

    Some who are in power right now, I won’t name names. What is your president doing? Why is he destabilizing things? He promised he wasn’t going to push Ukraine. That’s what european leaders say in private. They don’t say it in public. We avoided the negotiations. Then 2014 came, sadly, Piers. I saw some of it firsthand. It was ugly. The United States should not be funding overthrows of governments. We did. I know it.

    The two also discussed everything from the war in Gaza to the TikTok ban, with Sachs saying of the China-based platform and current controversy: “I think we are in the middle of a very typical American paranoid phase…“

    On the Gaza war, which began on Oct.7 and the Hamas terror attack on southern Israel, Sachs said controversally:

    “Israel has the most extremist religious nationalist government in its history…there’s no end game here politically other than complete domination or ethnic cleansing or slaughter.”

    Watch the full Piers Morgan and Jeffrey Sachs interview below:

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 23:20

  • Duty, Honor, Nothing
    Duty, Honor, Nothing

    Authored by ‘Citizen Soldier’ via RealClear Wire,

    My father remembers a trip with my grandfather to the U.S. Military Academy in the early 1960s to watch a baseball game. They loved the game, but what struck my grandfather, who served in the Pacific during World War II, was something else.

    “Watch how they sprint on and off the field,” he said. “Every inning. The best player and the worst. Whatever the score.”

    I don’t know whether the boys at West Point still sprint on and off the athletic fields. I bet they do. Their generals and the politicians, however, are running in the wrong direction.

    West Point is dropping “Duty, Honor, Country” from its mission statement, to be replaced with the nebulous phrase, “Army Values.” Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steve Gilland said “Duty, Honor, Country” would remain West Point’s “motto.”

    But “motto” is not mission, which declares what a unit is and does. Troops live and die for the mission. No “motto” could ever mean so much.

    West Point leadership wants us not to be alarmed. Just trust the process, they say. The “process” – apparently of erasure and reinvention – began two years ago with removal of plaques and images of Robert E. Lee in favor of “appropriate language and images,” as Gilland described them.

    So here we are, further stripping away the tradition and rigor that defined West Point.

    In contemporary America, life in power seems dedicated not to responsibility but self-interest. Authority figures and thought leaders specialize in manipulating opinions, bullying us into using certain words, canceling history, placing certain ideas above others. Their eyes are big, their minds addled by attention and praise, their demands absolute.

    Such a culture is contemptuous of and disdains tradition. So-called leaders are energized by tearing down tradition, making more room for monuments to their own era and outsized egos.

    Tweak the colors.

    Change the fonts.

    Replace time-honored words for something new, something soft, something “appropriate.”

    This is not to say I doubt the patriotism of Lt. Gen. Gilland, and others like him. Gilland has given more than 40 years of service to the Army. He and many other soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are the best of us.

    Which is why we urge him to pick his head up and look around, remember that leading is more than just keeping your head down as you navigate the career minefield, hoping to survive, praying that playing along will secure the next rank.

    To those at the top, I say this:

    Words gain their meaning through generations of commitment, sacrifice and faith.

    Duty.

    Honor.

    Country.

    These are the words that define us—throw them away at our own peril.

    Citizen Soldier believes in life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 23:00

  • Sorghum: The Ancient Grain For Modern Health
    Sorghum: The Ancient Grain For Modern Health

    Authored by Emma Suttie via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Although many may not have heard of sorghum, it is an ancient grain that has been a staple in diets throughout Africa and Asia for millennia. According to the Whole Grains Council, ancient grains refer to grains that have been largely unchanged for hundreds of years and, thus, are often healthier options compared to the many refined grains we eat today.

    Sorghum. (Jennifer Princ/Shutterstock)

    Sorghum, or sorghum bicolor, is a cereal grain plant and member of the grass family—along with wheat, corn, and barley. It has a high yield and is resistant to heat and droughts, making it a highly prized crop in hot and arid regions.

    There are many varieties, and the plant produces small, round grains that are often categorized by color, coming in white (the most common), yellow, red, and black varieties. The grains are eaten cooked or ground into flour for bread, baked goods, and other dishes.

    The United States is the largest producer of grain sorghum globally, producing about 454 million bushels in 2021. It is a hearty, versatile crop that, in addition to being a nutritious food for humans, is used for animal feed and biofuel, and a sweet variety is used to make syrup, molasses, whiskey, and rum.

    Sorghum goes by many names around the world. It is known as Guinea corn in West Africa, kafir corn in South Africa, dura in Sudan, mtama in East Africa, bachanta in Ethiopia, cholan, chari, milo, and jowar in India, shallu in Myanmar, and kaoliang in China.

    Nutrition

    Sorghum is a gluten-free grain that has gained popularity in recent years due to an increasing number of people looking for gluten-free options to make bread and other baked goods or those with celiac disease who need to avoid gluten to keep their digestive systems happy.

    Dr. Steven Gundry is a former heart surgeon and present director and founder of the International Heart & Lung Institute and the Center for Restorative Medicine, a bestselling author, and expert in human nutrition. A big fan of sorghum for its health benefits, Dr. Gundry recommends it to patients, telling The Epoch Times via email:

    “Since 100 percent of my leaky gut and autoimmune patients have antibodies to gluten and the other wheat, barley, rye, and oat proteins, it’s the perfect replacement to stop damage to the gut wall, yet still tastes great and has that all-important ‘mouthfeel’ [as] the other grains.”

    Sorghum is also an abundant source of polyphenols—compounds that plants produce that help to protect them from threats. Those protections are passed on to us when we eat these polyphenol-producing plants.

    Research has shown that polyphenols in plants have a significant protective effect against the development of multiple chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer.

    Raw, grain sorghum. (Picture Partners/Shutterstock)

    Dr. Gundry also points to another unique benefit of sorghum, saying:

    “Sorghum is one of the few grains that has no hull, hence it has no lectins—dangerous plant proteins that can cause leaky gut. Moreover, it is a plant that grows well with limited water use, perfect for global climate changes.

    “Plus, because of its texture, it can be a great stand-in for other grains like sorghum risotto or sorghum ‘oatmeal’ or turkey stuffing—I share a recipe for this in my NYT bestselling ‘Plant Paradox Cookbook!’”

    An excellent source of protein and fiber, a one-cup serving of sorghum grain offers 20.4 grams of protein and 12.9 grams of fiber. Abundant in vitamins and minerals, sorghum has ample phosphorous, iron, magnesium, copper, zinc, and potassium, all vital for a healthy body.

    Sorghum is also exceptionally high in antioxidants due to its phenolic compounds. A study published in The Journal of Medicinal Food found that two sorghum varieties—black and sumac—have greater antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties than popular foods like pomegranates and blueberries.

    Studies have shown sorghum is beneficial for a variety of conditions, from helping to lower blood sugar to helping reduce the risk of some cancers.

    Helps Lower Blood Sugar

    Its low glycemic index level means that sorghum digests more slowly than other grains, helping release glucose into the body gradually, which is especially helpful for those with diabetes.

    A small randomized-controlled trial using healthy men set out to evaluate the effect of grain sorghum on blood glucose and insulin levels after eating. The men consumed either whole wheat (used as the control) or grain sorghum muffins, and their glucose and insulin levels were measured “15 minutes before and 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 120, 180 minutes after consumption.”

    Researchers found an average of 35 percent reduced blood glucose in the men eating the sorghum muffins. Insulin responses were also significantly reduced with the sorghum muffins versus the control. The results led the researchers to conclude that grain sorghum can “assist in managing glucose and insulin levels in healthy individuals.”

    Supports Heart Health

    Keeping blood moving freely throughout the circulatory system is vital for a healthy heart, and heart disease remains the No. 1 cause of death in the United States. Aspirin is commonly prescribed for those with heart conditions and for those at risk of developing the disease to thin the blood and prevent dangerous blood clots from forming.

    According to data from the National Institutes of Health, approximately 29 million Americans “who don’t have cardiovascular disease take aspirin daily for prevention.”

    In a study published in Nutrients in 2020, researchers took blood samples from 18 healthy volunteers and treated them with various levels of black sorghum extract to observe their effect on blood clotting. The extract “significantly reduced both collagen-induced platelet aggregation and circulatory PMP [platelet-derived microparticles] release compared to the control,” meaning they reduced blood clotting.

    Based on the results, the study concluded that the black sorghum extract may have cardioprotective effects by “modulating specific signaling pathways involved in platelet activation and PMP release.”

    Sorghum May Help Reduce the Risk of Some Cancers

    Studies suggest that sorghum may also have anticancer effects.

    A study using human breast cancer xenografts in mice (human breast cancer implanted into mice) found that sorghum could suppress tumor growth and inhibit migration and metastasis of human breast cancer cells. The researchers concluded by “strongly recommending” sorghum (Hwanggeumchal sorghum) as an “edible therapeutic agent” for its “tumor suppression, migration inhibition, and anti-metastatic effects on breast cancer.”

    Another study set out to test the anticancer effects of a “high phenolic sorghum bran extract” on human colon cancer cells. The study found that colon cancer cells treated with the extract demonstrated a “significant dose-dependent suppression of cell proliferation.” The extract also induced apoptosis (cell death) and inhibited cell growth, migration, and invasion. Researchers noted that “the present study expands our understanding of the potential use of high phenolic sorghum bran to prevent human colon cancer.”

    In a third study using a mouse model, “high-phenolic sorghum bran extracts” inhibited the spread and induced apoptosis (cell death) in colorectal cancer cell lines. The extract also activated AMPK (a tumor suppressor) and autophagy (a healthy cell’s natural recycling process that removes unwanted or defective parts). Six weeks of treatment with the extract was shown to “significantly suppress tumor formation.”

    More research on human subjects is needed, but the initial research on animal models and in humans is promising.

    How to Use Sorghum and Where to Find it

    Sorghum is highly versatile and available in most health food stores and online as a grain, flour, and, increasingly, in a wide variety of products like popcorn, pasta, cereal, and bread. Dr. Gundry has a section on his website listing recommended products, including some made with sorghum, like spaghetti.

    For anyone looking to introduce a healthier whole grain into their diet or those trying to avoid gluten due to sensitivities—you don’t have to give up grains completely—sorghum is a wonderful, nutrient-packed option, high in protein and fiber, with many health benefits.

    “For those people who cannot give up grains, sorghum is the perfect replacement. Plus, for people who cannot give up popcorn, Popped sorghum tastes like, smells like, looks like popcorn! My wife is addicted to it!” Dr. Gundry says.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 22:20

  • Egypt Saw Gas Trade With Israel Soar In 2023, As Economy Falters 
    Egypt Saw Gas Trade With Israel Soar In 2023, As Economy Falters 

    Via The Cradle

    Israel’s NewMed Energy reported on Tuesday that natural gas exports from the Leviathan field to Egypt increased by 28 percent in 2023. The company reports that the exports jumped from 4.9 billion cubic meters (BCM) in 2022 to 6.3 BCM in 2023. 

    Israel Katz, former energy minister, approved the increase in exports to Egypt last year. For 2026, he projected an annual production increase of six BCM – about 60 percent over the current volume. “3.5 BCM of which will be directed in favor of Egypt,” the report stated. 

    Image source: Albatross

    “The expansion of the total export quota to Egypt was increased by 38.7 BCM over 11 years,” the Israeli Ministry of Energy’s August announcement read. “The export permit was granted under the comprehensive framework approved by government decisions … and in consultation with the Director of the Natural Gas Authority. In addition, an additional increase of 0.5 BCM per year is being considered.”

    The ministry noted that, in addition to enabling production expansion, the new exports are expected to derive billions of dollars in bonus revenues for Israel, increase energy ties with Egypt and other regional players, and strengthen Israel’s geopolitical status.

    Furthermore, the report adds that “on December 14, 2023, the partners in the Tamar reservoir announced that the Ministry of Energy approved them to increase the export permit of the reservoir from 38.7 BCM … to 43 BCM. This amount will make it possible to increase the maximum amount of additional gas allowed for export to Egypt from 3.5 BCM per year to 4 BCM per year. As of the valuation date, no agreement has yet been signed. The export is subject to the aforementioned export permit.”

    NewMed reported that Leviathan’s partners, including Chevron, will invest $568 million to upgrade the field. In the latter half of 2025, annual production will increase from 12 BCM to 14 BCM. The company reported a fourth-quarter profit of $102 million, down significantly from $141 million the previous year.

    Egypt–Israel tensions have been on the rise in recent months over Tel Aviv’s plan to push Gazans into the Sinai Peninsula to continue with their plan of invading Rafah. 

    Cairo has called on Washington, which has previously condemned the plan, to send a clear message to its regional ally not to move forward with the Rafah invasion. It says that “it is not enough to state opposition; it is also important to indicate what if that position is circumvented, what if that position is not respected.”

    However, following multiple investment deals into Egypt by other regional allies of Israel and a boost in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan to be granted to Egypt, the North African nation is constructing an “isolated security zone,” something which local rights groups are calling Cairo’s preparation for an influx of Palestinian refugees.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 22:00

  • Woman Who Worked For Congress After Jan. 6 Charged In Capitol Breach
    Woman Who Worked For Congress After Jan. 6 Charged In Capitol Breach

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

    A woman who worked for multiple members of Congress after the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol has been charged with participating in the breach.

    Isabella DeLuca was arrested in Irvine, California on March 15 on charges of theft of government property, parading in a Capitol building, and disorderly conduct in a restricted building and in the Capitol, according to court documents that were unsealed on Monday.

    Surveillance footage reviewed by the FBI showed a woman matching Ms. DeLuca’s appearances in and around the Capitol on Jan. 6, according to one filing. The video showed her moving from the Capitol’s terrace to the Capitol, entering the building through a broken window, and helping people steal furniture, including a lamp and chair.

    Ms. DeLuca later posted on social media that she was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

    She faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

    Ms. DeLuca became an intern for then-Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) in April 2021, according to archived screenshots of her LinkedIn profile. Ms. DeLuca was employed by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) from 2022 through early 2023, according to congressional salary records.

    Ms. DeLuca later went on to work as a media associate for The Gold Institute for International Strategy.

    A spokesperson for the institute told the Associated Press that the organization learned on Monday that Ms. DeLuca was charged.

    “Following further internal investigation, we felt it necessary to sever our relationship,” the spokesperson said.

    Ms. DeLuca wrote on X after the charges were unsealed, “Thank you everyone for all the kind messages and the support.” She asked for donations to cover her legal defense.

    Mr. Zeldin did not respond to a request for comment.

    “Isabella DeLuca was an intern in Congressman Gosar’s office for three months beginning in the Fall of 2022. We have no knowledge of any alleged participation in activities on January 6, 2021,” Anthony Foti, a spokesperson for Mr. Gosar, told The Epoch Times via email.

    Tip

    The FBI first received a tip on Jan. 9, 2021, about Ms. DeLuca being part of the breach, and interviewed her on Jan. 21, 2021. Ms. DeLuca and her mother, who also spoke to the FBI that day, said Ms. DeLuca was at the Capitol but did not enter the building, according to the FBI.

    Bank records obtained by the FBI showed Ms. DeLuca paid for a train ticket to Washington on Jan. 5 and stayed at a hotel room in Alexandria, Virginia. Her credit card showed purchases in Washington on Jan. 6 within two miles of the Capitol.

    The FBI in 2022 obtained a search warrant for Ms. DeLuca’s Instagram account, which showed her asking for a ride from Baltimore, Maryland after the train broke down and that she got one to Alexandria on early Jan. 6, 2021.

    The FBI in December 2023 interviewed workers at the apartment building where Ms. DeLuca lives and an employee identified Ms. DeLuca in photographs from the Capitol.

    Messages, Posts

    Ms. DeLuca posted on Twitter on Jan. 6, 2021, at 2:55 p.m., “Fight back or let politicians steal and [sic] election? Fight back!”

    She told another Instagram user shortly after that she was heading to the Capitol.

    After the events captured by video, other Instagram messages obtained by the FBI showed Ms. DeLuca wrote in messages that “it’s insanity here” and “I got maced and had a sound bomb go off right next to me.” Early the next day, she wrote in another message that the reason she supported breaching the Capitol was, “According to the Constitution, it’s our house.”

    “I was there on Jan. 6. I have mixed feelings. People went to the Capitol building because that’s Our House and that’s where we go to take our grievances. People feel, as do I that an election was stolen from them and it was allowed,” she added in a Jan. 14, 2021, social media post.

    Ms. DeLuca later deleted many Instagram posts from on and around Jan. 6, 2021, according to the FBI. “Based on my knowledge, training, and experience, people who commit criminal acts will often delete information about those acts from social media accounts in an attempt to thwart any subsequent criminal investigation,” a

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 21:40

  • FBI Has To Face Lawsuit Over 'No-Fly List:' Supreme Court
    FBI Has To Face Lawsuit Over ‘No-Fly List:’ Supreme Court

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

    The FBI must face a lawsuit filed by a Muslim man who has since been removed from the bureau’s “no-fly list,” the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on March 19.

    “The government has failed to demonstrate that this case is moot,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in a unanimous ruling.

    “While the government’s representation that it will not relist Mr. Fikre may mean that his past conduct is not enough to warrant relisting, that does not speak to whether the government might relist him if he engages in the same or similar conduct in the future,” he added later.

    The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Jan. 2, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    Yonas Fikre, a Eritrean national and American citizen, sued the FBI in 2015 after having issues traveling due to being on the no-fly list, which is part of the government’s terrorist screening database. It bars certain people from flying.

    “The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision is a major blow to the lawlessness that has allowed the FBI to amass almost two million people on their secret lists. This is but the latest indication that the FBI’s secret watchlists have no place in our country,” Gadeir Abbas, an attorney with the Council on American-Islamic Relations who is representing Mr. Fikre, told The Epoch Times in an email.

    Government officials did not respond to requests for comment.

    Told He Couldn’t Return

    Mr. Fikre experienced problems flying, including when he traveled to Sudan in 2009 from Oregon, according to court papers.

    While in Sudan at the U.S. embassy there, two FBI agents told Mr. Fikre he could not return to the United States since he was on the no-fly list. The agents also asked him about the mosque he attended and offered to look into having him removed from the list if he became a bureau informant.

    Mr. Fikre refused.

    Mr. Fikre then went to the United Arab Emirates, where he allegedly was detained for months on direction from the FBI. He eventually ended up in Sweden.

    The government in 2015 declined to remove Mr. Fikre from the last, alleging he “is an individual who represents a threat of engaging in or conducting a violent act of terrorism and who is operationally capable of doing so.” The information supporting placing and keeping Mr. Fikre on the last was too sensitive to share, the government said at the time.

    Mr. Fikre then filed the suit.

    Case Dismissed Before

    In 2016, the FBI told Mr. Fikre it removed him from the no-fly list because “he no longer satisfied the criteria for placement on the on-fly list.”

    The bureau then asked a federal court to dismiss the case, claiming the removal meant the suit had become moot.

    The U.S. District Judge Anna Brown, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, ruled for the government. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed the decision because, it said, there was nothing to prevent the government from putting Mr. Fikre back on the list in the future.

    After the government swore it would not do that, U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman, appointed under President George W. Bush entered an order dismissing the case.

    But the appeals court again overturned the lower court decision, finding that the court wrongly dismissed the claims and that the government had not provided enough information on why Mr. Fikre was placed on and then removed from the list. It remanded the case back to the district court.

    The government then appealed the ruling, asking the Supreme Court to step in.

    “The court of appeals erred in holding that respondent’s claims challenging his placement on the No Fly List are not moot even though he was removed from that list seven years ago and the government has submitted a sworn declaration stating that he ‘will not be placed on the No Fly List in the future based on the currently available information,’” government lawyers said. “The court’s holding directly conflicts with decisions of the Fourth and Sixth Circuits that have found similar No Fly List claims moot upon the execution of declarations materially identical to the one in this case.”

    More on SCOTUS Ruling

    The Supreme Court, though, said that the government was wrong.

    “The government contends that because Mr. Fikre has been delisted since 2016 and has presumably interacted freely with his co-religionists during that time, it is unlikely he will face relisting in the future. This too is insufficient to warrant dismissal,” Justice Gorsuch, appointed by President Donald Trump, said.

    “A defendant’s speculation about a plaintiff’s actions cannot make up for a lack of assurance about its own. The burden here is on the defendant to establish that it cannot reasonably be expected to resume its challenged conduct, and nothing the government offers here satisfies that formidable standard,” he added.

    In a concurring opinion, Justice Samuel Alito, appointed by President Bush, said the ruling did not mean the government must disclose classified information to Mr. Fikre, his attorneys, or a court.

    Justice Alito was joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was appointed by President Trump.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 21:00

  • Young People Aren't Nearly Angry Enough About Government Debt
    Young People Aren’t Nearly Angry Enough About Government Debt

    Authored by The American Institute for Economic Research,

    Young people sometimes seem to wake up in the morning in search of something to be outraged about. We are among the wealthiest and most educated humans in history. But we’re increasingly convinced that we’re worse off than our parents were, that the planet is in crisis, and that it’s probably not worth having kids.

    I’ll generalize here about my own cohort (people born after 1981 but before 2010), commonly referred to as Millennials and Gen Z, as that shorthand corresponds to survey and demographic data. Millennials and Gen Z have valid economic complaints, and the conditions of our young adulthood perceptibly weakened traditional bridges to economic independence. We graduated with record amounts of student debt after President Obama nationalized that lending. Housing prices doubled during our household formation years due to zoning impediments and chronic underbuilding. Young Americans say economic issues are important to us, and candidates are courting our votes by promising student debt relief and cheaper housing (which they will never be able to deliver).

    Young people, in our idealism and our rational ignorance of the actual appropriations process, typically support more government intervention, more spending programs, and more of every other burden that has landed us in such untenable economic circumstances to begin with. Perhaps not coincidentally, young people who’ve spent the most years in the increasingly partisan bubble of higher education are also the most likely to favor expanded government programs as a “solution” to those complaints.

    It’s Your Debt, Boomer 

    What most young people don’t yet understand is that we are sacrificing our young adulthood and our financial security to pay for debts run up by Baby Boomers. Part of every Millennial and Gen-Z paycheck is payable to people the same age as the members of Congress currently milking this system and miring us further in debt.

    Our government spends more than it can extract from taxpayers. Social Security, which represents 20 percent of government spending, has run an annual deficit for 15 years. Last year Social Security alone overspent by $22.1 billion. To keep sending out checks to retirees, Social Security goes begging to the Treasury Department, and the Treasury borrows from the public by issuing bonds. Bonds allow investors (who are often also taxpayers) to pay for some retirees’ benefits now, and be paid back later. But investors only volunteer to lend Social Security the money it needs to cover its bills because the (younger) taxpayers will eventually repay the debt — with interest.

    In other words, both Social Security and Medicare, along with various smaller federal entitlement programs, together comprising almost half of the federal budget, have been operating for a decade on the principle of “give us the money now, and stick the next generation with the check.” We saddle future generations with debt for present-day consumption.

    The second largest item in the budget after Social Security is interest on the national debt — largely on Social Security and other entitlements that have already been spent. These mandatory benefits now consume three quarters of the federal budget: even Congress is not answerable for these programs. We never had the chance for our votes to impact that spending (not that older generations were much better represented) and it’s unclear if we ever will.

    Young Americans probably don’t think much about the budget deficit (each year’s overspending) or the national debt (many years’ deficits put together, plus interest) much at all. And why should we? For our entire political memory, the federal government, as well as most of our state governments, have been steadily piling “public” debt upon our individual and collective heads. That’s just how it is. We are the frogs trying to make our way in the watery world as the temperature ticks imperceptibly higher. We have been swimming in debt forever, unaware that we’re being economically boiled alive.

    Millennials have somewhat modest non-mortgage debt of around $27,000 (some self-reports say twice that much), including car notes, student loans, and credit cards. But we each owe more than $100,000 as a share of the national debt. And we don’t even know it.

    When Millennials finally do have babies (and we are!) that infant born in 2024 will enter the world with a newly minted Social Security Number and $78,089 credit card bill for Granddad’s heart surgery and the interest on a benefit check that was mailed when her parents were in middle school. 

    Headlines and comments sections love to sneer at “snowflakes” who’ve just hit the “real world,” and can’t figure out how to make ends meet, but the kids are onto something. A full 15 percent of our earnings are confiscated to pay into retirement and healthcare programs that will be insolvent by the time we’re old enough to enjoy them. The Federal Reserve and government debt are eating the economy. The same interest rates that are pushing mortgages out of reach are driving up the cost of interest to maintain the debt going forward. As we learn to save and invest, our dollars are slowly devalued. We’re right to feel trapped.  

    Sure, if we’re alive and own a smartphone, we’re among the one percent of the wealthiest humans who’ve ever lived. Older generations could argue (persuasively!) that we have no idea what “poverty” is anymore. But with the state of government spending and debt…we are likely to find out. 

    Despite being richer than Rockefeller, Millennials are right to say that the previous ways of building income security have been pushed out of reach. Our earning years are subsidizing not our own economic coming-of-age, but bank bailouts, wars abroad, and retirement and medical benefits for people who navigated a less-challenging wealth-building landscape. 

    Redistribution goes both ways. Boomers are expected to pass on tens of trillions in unprecedented wealth to their children (if it isn’t eaten up by medical costs, despite heavy federal subsidies) and older generations’ financial support of the younger has had palpable lifting effects. Half of college costs are paid by families, and the trope of young people moving back home is only possible if mom and dad have the spare room and groceries to make that feasible.

    Government “help” during COVID-19 resulted in the worst inflation in 40 years, as the federal government spent $42,000 per citizen on “stimulus” efforts, right around a Millennial’s average salary at that time. An absurd amount of fraud was perpetrated in the stimulus to save an economy from the lockdown that nearly ruined it. Trillions in earmarked goodies were rubber stamped, carelessly added to young people’s growing bill. Government lenders deliberately removed fraud controls, fearing they couldn’t hand out $800 billion in young people’s future wages away fast enough. Important lessons were taught by those programs. The importance of self-sufficiency and the dignity of hard work weren’t top of the list.

    Boomer Benefits are Stagnating Hiring, Wages, and Investment for Young People

    Even if our workplace engagement suffered under government distortions, Millennials continue to work more hours than other generations and invest in side hustles and self employment at higher rates. Working hard and winning higher wages almost doesn’t matter, though, when our purchasing power is eaten from the other side. Buying power has dropped 20 percent in just five years. Life is $11,400/year more expensive than it was two years ago and deficit spending is the reason why. 

    We’re having trouble getting hired for what we’re worth, because it costs employers 30 percent more than just our wages to employ us. The federal tax code both requires and incentivizes our employers to transfer a bunch of what we earned directly to insurance companies and those same Boomer-busted federal benefits, via tax-deductible benefits and payroll taxes. And the regulatory compliance costs of ravenous bureaucratic state. The price paid by each employer to keep each employee continues to rise — but Congress says your boss has to give most of the increase to someone other than you. 

    Federal spending programs that many people consider good government, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and health insurance for children (CHIP) aren’t a small amount of the federal budget. Government spends on these programs because people support and demand them, and because cutting those benefits would be a re-election death sentence. That’s why they call cutting Social Security the “third rail of politics.” If you touch those benefits, you die. Congress is held hostage by Baby Boomers who are running up the bill with no sign of slowing down. 

    Young people generally support Social Security and the public health insurance programs, even though a 2021 poll by Nationwide Financial found 47 percent of Millennials agree with the statement “I will not get a dime of the Social Security benefits I have earned.”

    In the same survey, Millennials were the most likely of any generation to believe that Social Security benefits should be enough to live on as a sole income, and guessed the retirement age was 52 (it’s 67 for anyone born after 1959 — and that’s likely to rise). Young people are the most likely to see government guarantees as a valid way to live — even though we seem to understand that those promises aren’t guarantees at all.

    Healthcare costs tied to an aging population and wonderful-but-expensive growth in medical technologies and medications will balloon over the next few years, and so will the deficits in Boomer benefit programs. Newly developed obesity drugs alone are expected to add $13.6 billion to Medicare spending. By 2030, every single Baby Boomer will be 65, eligible for publicly funded healthcare.

    The first Millennial will be eligible to claim Medicare (assuming the program exists and the qualifying age is still 65, both of which are improbable) in 2046. As it happens, that’s also the year that the Boomer benefits programs (which will then be bloated with Gen Xers) and the interest payments we’re incurring to provide those benefits now, are projected to consume 100 percent of federal tax revenue.

    Government spending is being transferred to bureaucrats and then to the beneficiaries of government spending who are, in some sense, your diabetic grandma who needs a Medicare-paid dialysis treatment, but in a much more immediate sense, are the insurance companies, pharma giants, and hospital corporations who wrote the healthcare legislation. Some percentage of every college graduate’s paycheck buys bullets that get fired at nothing and inflating the private investment portfolios of government contractors, with dubious, wasteful outcomes from the prison-industrial complex to the perpetual war machine.

    No bank or nation in the world can lend the kind of money the American government needs to borrow to fulfill its obligations to citizens. Someone will have to bite the bullet. Even some of the co-authors of the current disaster are wrestling with the truth. 

    Forget avocado toast and streaming subscriptions. We’re already sensing it, but we haven’t yet seen it. Young people are not well-informed, and often actively misled, about what’s rotten in this economic system. But we are seeing the consequences on store shelves and mortgage contracts and we can sense disaster is coming. We’re about to get stuck with the bill.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 20:20

  • BlackRock Seeds Ethereum-Backed Digital Liquidity Fund With $100 Million
    BlackRock Seeds Ethereum-Backed Digital Liquidity Fund With $100 Million

    Having surpassed Microstrategy in the size of its holdings amid the furious success of spot bitcoin ETFs…

    …the world’s largest asset manager has taken “the next step forward” toward a single ledger, instantaneous settlement and ending illicit activities, in the view of CEO Larry Fink.

    BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has filed United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form D for the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund. This marks the launch of BlackRock’s first tokenized asset fund.

    CoinTelegraph’s Derek Andersen reports that. according to the filing, BlackRock created the fund in 2023, but has yet to launch it. Form D is used to obtain various exemptions. BlackRock indicated that it is seeking an exemption under the Investment Company Act Section 3(c), which exempts it from certain SEC regulations. The fund was created under the jurisdiction of the British Virgin Islands.

    The fund will have a $100,000 minimum investment and be offered by Securitize, a U.S. digital assets securities firm, which will also conduct the sale of the tokens. The form shows $525,000 in sales commissions, and indicates the size of the fund as “indefinite.” The form was signed on March 14.

    The fund will be tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain with an ERC-20 token called BUIDL, which currently has one holder and a $0 on-chain market cap, according to Etherscan.

    That website also indicated that the fund received a transfer of $100 million on March 4.

    BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund’s SEC filing. Source: SEC

     Securitize is registered as a stock transfer agent and alternative trading system with the SEC.

    Source: @rleshner on X

    It has tokenized assets for asset manager KKR and Spanish real estate investment trust Mancipi, as well as formed a partnership with SBI Digital Markets in Singapore and bought cryptocurrency fund manager Onramp Invest, which had over $40 billion in assets under management.

    BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund was among the first to receive SEC approval in January. Its CEO Larry Fink, who has been generally bullish about BTC, with reservations, told Bloomberg just after the ETF approval:

    “We believe the next step going forward will be the tokenization of financial assets, and that means every stock, every bond […] will be on one general ledger.”

    “Every investor, you and I, will have our own number, our own identification. We could rid ourselves of all issues around illicit activities about bonds and stocks and digital by having a tokenization,” Fink added.

    He went on to praise customization strategies through tokenization and instantaneous settlement.

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

    As we detailed previously, the bottom line is that while Bitcoin was the pioneer in Wall Street’s institutionalization race, having seen the startling success of bitcoin ETF adoption, the financial titans including Goldman, Blackrock – and now – JPM, have set their sights on what comes next, which is something near and dear to the people who manage trillions: the fastest, cheapest and most effective way to tokenize everything, from information, to data, to money itself. And they have picked the token to do it with.

    So keep a close eye on what happens on May 23 when the SEC is reportedly pushing hard against ETF approval for the second biggest digital asset: with all three of the largest US financial institutions pushing hard, any resistance will die a quick and painless death.

    More in the full notes from JPM, Std Chartered and Goldman

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 20:00

  • It’s Time For GOP To Unite Behind Trump
    It’s Time For GOP To Unite Behind Trump

    Authored by Bernie Marcus via RealClear Wire,

    For the first time in my 94 years on earth, I fear for the future of our democracy. I see the federal government using its enormous powers with contempt for the governed instead of with the consent of the governed as our founders envisioned.

    Fundamental change in America is occurring by executive order or the force of the government’s police powers instead of through the legislative process required by the Constitution. From this, I fear that free market capitalism may be replaced by big government socialism. I also fear the erosion of our rights and freedoms, including parental rights, freedom of speech and religion, and due process.   

    In the past, I always had the confidence that a president who was a threat to democracy could be voted out of office in the next election. I am no longer that confident today. My lack of confidence is because the media today is not the watchdog over government that our Founders intended it to be. It is instead the lapdog of government, shielding the public from the entire truth about the policies and actions of the current administration.

    One vivid example of this became a meme: the television reporters declaring while doing their standups that the riots in 2020 were “mainly peaceful” as fires raged in the background. I was not surprised earlier this month by the reprise of “Russia collusion.” Nor will I  be surprised if the media soon characterizes a Trump rally as an “insurrection.” The media may be the biggest threat to our democracy since only well-informed voters guarantee the future of it.

    There is more on the line in this year’s presidential election than ever before. It is a mistake to assume that this election will be a rerun of 2020. The presumptive nominees and the world have changed since then. President Biden can no longer portray himself as “kindly Uncle Joe” or a moderate Democrat. His recent State of the Union Address, which was the most divisive of any I recall, reveals he is a very angry man and not someone Americans would want as their uncle. His policies and the undemocratic means by which he implemented them confirm he has been pulled to the far left by far-left extremists in the Democrat Party. 

    The Biden administration’s policies invited an invasion along our southern border by millions of unvetted people, compromised national security, allowed crime to spin out of control in our streets, forced middle-class Americans to raid their retirement funds to put food on their tables, and divided America more than at any time in our history since the Civil War. Joe Biden has fulfilled Barack Obama’s promise to “transform” America. This is not a welcome transformation, as confirmed by Biden’s dismal job approval ratings.

    When Donald Trump was in office, his Democrats and their media allies portrayed him as a pugnacious New Yorker who “did not act presidential” and somehow craved dictatorial powers. They’re still doing this, although they’ve upped the rhetoric. Over the weekend, Nancy Pelosi invoked Adolf Hitler while attacking the former president.

    His detractors are unwilling to look past Trump’s rough edges and see the results he achieved during his first of what I hope will be two terms. His policies achieved the highest wage rate in 50 years while keeping inflation in check, the lowest unemployment rate for minorities, and energy independence for America, among other stunning results. Moreover, his policies and the projection of his and America’s strength kept the country out of any new foreign conflicts. It is essential to our national security that America’s enemies fear our president.

    This does not mean that President Trump did not have to do better. He did, and he has done so since leaving office. Having become close to him in the last seven years, I have seen a side of him that is not seen by the public. He is truly one of the most misunderstood men in America, and I and other friends of his have urged him to let the public see the real Donald Trump. His recent praise of Nikki Haley was unifying and shows the magnanimous side of him that his friends often see. Expect more of the real Donald Trump to emerge.

    The world has also changed since 2020. It is much less safe, and America’s enemies have become stronger and more emboldened. China, Iran, and Russia have become enriched by changes in America’s energy policy: canceling the Keystone Pipeline, reducing oil drilling leases, and blocking all oil drilling on certain federal lands. America’s cities are less safe because of the illegal entry into the country of millions of unvetted people from China, Russia, Central and South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe. This is compounded by the unwillingness of local Democratic Party prosecutors to prosecute violent criminals. Moreover, the Taliban have reopened terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. The stakes now are even higher than the first Trump-Biden match. 

    The running mate who Donald Trump picks will be more important than in prior elections. Although he proved in his first term that he is the most capable person to solve America’s problems, it will likely take more than four years to solve the mountain of problems America now faces.

    There are several actions conservative donors should take to ensure that Trump-Biden II will have a different outcome than their first match. First, the different factions of the Republican Party must unite behind Trump and participate fully in the presidential election. Put another way, no one should sit out the presidential election or withhold their financial support to our nominee.

    Second, those who have supported constitutionally dubious schemes like invoking the 14th Amendment to try to keep Trump off the ballot should discontinue such efforts.

    Third, conservative donors should fund efforts to fill holes in Republican election strategies. There are, for example, gaps between Democrat and Republican efforts on early voting for low-propensity voters.  Democrats have a tremendous advantage here. There are also gaps in election mechanics, e.g., Zuckbucks are still flowing into some of the battleground states.

    Fourth, Democrats have a consequential advantage in the youth vote – there is a ceiling at 35% of millennial and Gen-Z voters casting votes for the Republican nominee in the last three presidential elections. Glenn Youngkin proved that this gap can be narrowed as he split the youth vote with Terry McAuliffe in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election. The key to reaching and persuading young voters is more influential messengers, more impactful messages, and “clean” message distribution channels.

    America is worth saving!

    Bernie Marcus is the co-founder of Job Creators Network, a philanthropist, and the retired co-founder of The Home Depot.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 19:40

  • Bill Gates-Backed Company Seeks To Deploy Small Modular Nuclear Reactors In U.S.
    Bill Gates-Backed Company Seeks To Deploy Small Modular Nuclear Reactors In U.S.

    A company founded by Bill Gates is planning on being the first to build a new generation of nuclear power plants based on small modular reactors (SMRs) in the United States. These plans usually have a power capacity of 300MW or less, which is about 1/3rd of regular reactors. 

    TerraPower has officially “joined the race” against Russia and China to develop lower-cost nuclear reactors, according to FT this week.

    CEO Chris Levesque said they are seeking US regulatory approval for their innovative liquid sodium-cooled reactor this month. The Natrium reactors could be constructed at nearly half the cost of traditional water-cooled nuclear reactors.

    TerraPower, which has secured nearly $1bn in private investments, has also partnered with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation to explore the deployment of Natrium reactors in the UAE for electricity and hydrogen production.

    With up to $2bn in promised support from the US government, the company is advancing its inaugural project in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Despite pending permits, construction near a former coal power site will start in June, focusing on preliminary, non-nuclear structures. TerraPower aims to activate the plant by 2030, according to the report. 

    Levesque told FT: “When you use liquid sodium as a coolant instead of water it’s a game-changer. Natrium plants will cost half of what light water reactor plants cost . . . and we are moving our project along pretty aggressively.”

    FT reports that American firms are striving to match their counterparts in Russia and China, who have already operationalized two Small Modular Reactor (SMR) plants. These include a floating plant in Pevek, Russia, and another in Shidao Bay, China.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. nuclear sector is hindered by elevated interest rates, surging expenses, and a scarcity of the enriched uranium needed for new reactors – not to mention the far left ‘woke’ crowd who continues to protest due to ‘safety concerns’ about what is really the safest, most efficient and greenest way to generate power…

    FT notes that in November, rising costs led NuScale, an Oregon company, to scrap its plans for America’s inaugural SMR after utilities balked at a proposed 50% price hike.

    TerraPower has yet to quote prices for its Natrium-generated power. Its Kemmerer reactor, initially a demonstration, aims for full-scale commercial operation. In October 2022, TerraPower and PacifiCorp, part of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, announced plans to explore the deployment of five more Natrium reactors by 2035.

    “Sodium-cooled reactors operate at lower pressures, which requires fewer safety systems. That reduces problems that could go wrong with the plant and reduces costs because they can be built with simpler materials while maintaining safety,” concluded Adam Stein, director of nuclear energy innovation at The Breakthrough Institute.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 19:20

  • Trump Sues ABC News, Host George Stephanopoulos For Defamation
    Trump Sues ABC News, Host George Stephanopoulos For Defamation

    Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Monday against the American Broadcasting Companies (ABC) and ABC News host George Stephanopoulos, accusing them of defamation.

    Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump speaks in the library, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on March 4, 2024. (Alon Skuy/Getty Images)

    The complaint alleges that Mr. Stephanopoulos defamed President Trump on March 10, during an episode of “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” when he repeatedly stated during the broadcast that a jury had found President Trump liable for the rape of writer E. Jean Carroll, despite being “aware of the truth.”

    “These statements were and remain false, and were made by Defendant Stephanopoulos with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false,” the complaint reads.

    President Trump’s complaint alleges that Mr. Stephanopoulos was aware that the jury did not find the former president liable for rape, “yet still falsely stated otherwise.”

    Mr. Stephanopoulos made these allegedly defamatory statements “within the scope and course of his employment or contractual relationship” with ABC and “with intent to harm” President Trump.

    The filing outlined two reasons to support the claim that the statements were made “with intent to harm” as being because the ABC host allegedly “was and is aware of the truth regarding the determinations made by the subject juries.”

    The additional reason outlined in the complaint alleges that Mr. Stephanopoulos’ statements “appear to have been prepared in advance and were written on notes that he was reading from while making these defamatory statements.”

    Ms. Carroll claimed that the alleged incident took place at Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan more than two decades ago, but could not remember specifically when, according to the filing.

    President Trump has maintained his denial of the allegations.

    Statements Made During Rep. Mace Interview

    The incident at the heart of President Trump’s complaint happened on March 10, during an interview Mr. Stephanopoulos was conducting with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who was a victim of rape at the age of 16.

    During his preamble to introduce her, the ABC host played a clip of Ms. Mace speaking publicly during her 2019 campaign about the impact rape had on her.

    The program then cut to Mr. Stephanopoulos, who immediately directed statements to Ms. Mace about her support for President Trump despite a jury’s verdict in his civil case involving Ms. Carroll.

    Ms. Mace, who later described feeling blindsided by the questioning, accused Mr. Stephanopoulos during the interview with attempting to shame her as a victim of rape.

    George Stephanopoulos with Arthur C. Brooks and Oprah Winfrey discuss “Build The Life You Want” at The 92nd Street Y, New York in New York City, on Sept. 12, 2023. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)

    “You endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges in two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming a victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?” asked Mr. Stephanopoulos.

    Put immediately offside, Ms. Mace replied: “Well, I will tell you, I was raped at the age of 16, and any rape victim will tell you, I’ve lived for 30 years with an incredible amount of shame over being raped. I didn’t come forward because of that judgment and shame that I felt.

    “And it’s a shame that you will never feel, George, and I’m not going to sit here on your show and be asked a question meant to shame me about another potential rape victim. I’m not going to do that,” she continued.

    “It’s actually not about shaming you. It’s a question about Donald Trump.”

    “No, you are shaming me,” she insisted.

    “You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president,” he said.

    “Right.”

    “Donald Trump has been found liable for rape by a jury,” Mr. Stephanopoulos said. “Donald Trump has been found liable for defaming the victim of that rape by a jury. It’s been affirmed by a judge. He repeated—”

    Ms. Mace, cutting across his statement, said: “It’s not a criminal court case, number one. Number two, I live with shame, and you’re asking me a question about my political choices trying to shame me as a rape victim and find it disgusting.”

    As the heated exchange continued, Mr. Stephanopoulos denied that he was trying to shame Ms. Mace.

    “You’re trying to shame me this morning,” she said.

    “I’m just asking you—” said Mr. Stephanopoulos

    “And I find it offensive. And this is why women won’t come forward,” Ms. Mace said.

    “Women won’t come forward because they’re defamed by those who perpetrate rape. Donald Trump has been—” Mr. Stephanopoulos said.

    “They are judged, and they’re shamed, and you’re trying to shame me this morning. I think it’s disgusting,” Ms. Mace continued, speaking over the host.

    During his exchange, the more that Mr. Stephanopoulos defended himself against Ms. Mace’s accusations of shaming her, the more he repeated statements such as that President Trump was “found liable for rape.”

    “I’m asking you a very simple question, explain what—” the ABC host said.

    “And I answered it. You’re shaming me for my political choices,” Ms. Mace said.

    “No, I’m not—I’m asking you a question about why you endorsed someone who’s been found liable for rape. Just answer the question.”

    “It was not a criminal court. This was—this was a—it was a civil court,” she said.

    “It was a civil court that found him liable for rape,” Mr. Stephanopoulos said.

    The ABC host tried to move the discussion forward by noting that Ms. Mace was repeating the same statement about shaming her.

    “You’re questioning my political choices because I’ve been raped,” the South Carolina congresswoman charged. “I think that’s disgusting.”

    “No,” Mr. Stephanopoulos replied, “I’m questioning your political choices because you’re supporting someone who’s been found liable for rape.”

    The host pushed Ms. Mace to answer his question: “Why are you supporting someone who’s been found liable for rape?”

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    The congresswoman asserted that President Trump was found guilty of sexual abuse. “It wasn’t actually rape, by the way,” she added.

    Following the interview, Ms. Mace said she wouldn’t do an ABC interview again, telling NewsNation that she had come to discuss “Donald Trump versus Joe Biden and the 2024 race.”

    ABC declined to comment to The Epoch Times.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 19:00

  • Colombian Drug Lord Arrested After Operating Out Of Texas Migrant Shelter
    Colombian Drug Lord Arrested After Operating Out Of Texas Migrant Shelter

    If you’ve ever traveled internationally and returned legally to the United States, there is a rigorous vetting process through Customs and Border Protection. But for the millions of migrants that illegally crossed into the US because of open southern border policies enforced by radical leftists in the White House (and secretly pushed by mega-corporations and NGOs), anyone is welcome, including terrorists and drug lords.

    Department of Homeland Security claims that migrants entering flooding into the US undergo “robust security vetting,” but law-abiding citizens, especially folks in Manhattan, know this statement is malarky as neighborhoods transform into third-world countries overnight.

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    Earlier this month, White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez doubled down on the big lie, claiming migrants “pass through a rigorous vetting process.”

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    The lack of vetting, whether at the southern or northern border, is producing tragic consequences nationwide.

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    The chaos is being realized as some illegals embark on rape and/or kill rampages. 

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    One of the most shocking revelations of the Biden administration’s failure to properly vet migrants was in San Antonio, Texas, where authorities recently arrested 29-year-old Aderbis Pirela, one of Interpol’s top 10 Most Wanted, for operating a drug ring within a migrant shelter, according to The National Desk.

    Pirela, the second-in-command of a violent Colombian gang, was wanted for four murders, drug trafficking, and warrants out of Bogota. The fact that the gangster made it into the US is evident in the lack of a “robust security vetting” process. 

    “This just goes to the heart of one of the main issues. The reality is every time Secretary Mayorkas or anybody from this administration tells the American people that we properly vet everyone before we release them is just a lie,” former Head of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan said. 

    Morgan continued: “They’re provided a false sense of security that doesn’t exist. The reality is there are many countries that illegal aliens are coming into our country from that we have zero diplomatic relationships with, and we’re getting nothing with respect to their criminal history.”

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    Some of those migrants entering the US are known terrorists. Nearly two dozen were caught attempting entry at the southern border at the end of last year. Currently, Iranian assassin(s) roam free in the US (read: here). And the surging terror threat is likely the real reason why New York City mobilized National Guard troops with machine guns to patrol subways. 

    The issue facing Biden and his loser party of woke communist radicals is these unvetted illegals are being dumped into once-peaceful neighborhoods across metro areas by the tens of thousands. Every death, every rape, every beating an illegal inflicts on anyone will boil in the veins of Americans as they will never forget the pain and suffering Democrats have caused by open borders. They will take this anger out at the ballot box on Nov. 5. Polling data shows Americans are overwhelmingly fed up with open borders. 

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    By the way, let’s not forget the names of the Americans whose lives were cut short by illegals. Say her name: “Laken Riley.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 18:40

  • Billionaire Investor To Back Donald Trump 2024
    Billionaire Investor To Back Donald Trump 2024

    Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz plans to vote for former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race, citing President Joe Biden’s mental condition and immigration policies.

    Nelson Peltz, founding partner of Trian Fund Management LP., speaks at the WSJD Live conference in Laguna Beach, Calif. on Oct. 25, 2016. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

    “It will probably be Trump and I’m not happy about that,” he told the Financial Times in an interview, adding that Biden’s “mental condition is really scary.” Furthermore, Mr. Peltz expressed his concern regarding the porous U.S. southern border, which has turned into a hot-button issue for both Republicans and Democrats in the election season.

    “We can’t go on letting everyone into this country . . . We have an immigration problem—it’s not a Republican or Democrat problem,” said Mr. Peltz. He expressed opposition to stopping immigration altogether but “I want some boundaries put on it so we know at least who we’re bringing in,” he said, according to the outlet.

    Illegal immigration has been a thorn in the side of Democrats, with the Biden administration’s policies being criticized for the massive amounts of inflows across the southern border. Former President Donald Trump said at a recent rally that one of the first things he would do once elected would be to end every single “open border policy of the Biden administration.”

    “That border was a tiny fraction of what this border is,” President Trump said. “This is the worst border in the history of the world.” Since President Joe Biden took office, there have been an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants who have crossed the border.

    Mr. Peltz is the founder of Trian Fund Management, an investment management firm with offices in New York and Florida. According to Forbes, the firm has $8.5 billion in assets under management, with Mr. Peltz currently worth around $1.7 billion.

    The billionaire is among President Trump’s neighbors in Palm Beach but has not spoken to the former president “in quite a while,” reported FT.

    Regarding President Biden’s mental acuity, “I don’t know what he knows and I don’t know what he doesn’t know.” said Mr. Peltz. “I don’t know who’s speaking for him and that’s troubling.” It is not clear whether he will donate to President Trump’s campaign.

    Mr. Peltz has been involved with activist investments for some time. In 2017, he fought and won a seat on the executive board of consumer goods conglomerate Proctor and Gamble. Currently, his focus is on Disney.

    Peltz Versus Disney

    Mr. Peltz’s investment firm Trian has been involved in a proxy battle with Disney for instituting the investor along with former Disney executive Jay Rasulo as board members. Trian currently holds approximately $3.5 billion of Disney stock. The media behemoth and the billionaire investor have been engaging shareholders for the requisite votes needed for the seats.

    Disney movies have been underperforming at the box office lately. Mr. Peltz says he wants to “restore the magic” in the company and outlined his visions in a detailed 133-page memo released earlier this month.

    Published by Trian to convince shareholders at the company’s annual meeting next month, the memo said that “Disney is the most advantaged consumer entertainment company in the world,” the company “lost its way” with a deterioration in financial performance, and ultimately loss amounting to tens of billions in shareholder value.

    “We believe the root cause of Disney’s underperformance is poor oversight from a Board that lacks focus, alignment and accountability.”

    The memo detailed how Disney competitors like Netflix and Amazon were faring much better with their content, and return on invested capital and margins.

    Trian blamed Disney for showing “no interest in meeting or inviting Nelson Peltz to interview with the Board or Governance and Nominating Committee.”

    Disney responded in a 66-page regulatory filing that Mr. Peltz and Mr. Rasulo were “not what Disney needs right now.” The company said their suggestions “are nothing new” and they did not understand the company’s challenges nor had the skills to promote Disney in its current situation.

    However, Mr. Peltz has been known to be persistent in achieving his objectives, as was revealed in 2006 with Heinz, in 2015 with Dupont, and in 2017 with P&G.

    Biden’s Mental Criticisms

    President Biden’s mental capabilities have been increasingly in the spotlight during the election season. His common gaffes and slurring of speech have raised concerns about his age even among those who supported him in 2020.

    According to a New York Times/Siena College poll, 61 percent of respondents believed President Biden was “just too old” to be an effective commander-in-chief.

    A February special counsel report described the 81-year-old president’s memory as “hazy,” “fuzzy,” “faulty,” “poor” and having “significant limitations.”

    The Robert Hur report noted that President Biden could not recall defining milestones in his own life such as when his son Beau died or when he served as vice president.

    In response to reporters’ questions about his memory, President Biden disputed the report’s statements and said he’s “the most qualified person in this country to be president.”

    The White House also pushed back on the characterizations of President Biden’s memory in a Feb. 5 letter from the president’s lawyers that was published in Hur’s report. The letter argues that the president’s “inability to recall dates or details of events that happened years ago is neither surprising nor unusual,” particularly about when certain documents were packed or moved.

    “We do not believe that the report’s treatment of President Biden’s memory is accurate or appropriate,” the letter said. “The report uses highly prejudicial language to describe a commonplace occurrence among witnesses: a lack of recall of years-old events. Such comments have no place in a Department of Justice report.”

    “If you’re too senile to stand trial, then you’re too senile to be president. Joe Biden is unfit to lead this nation,” said Alex Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Make America Great Again Inc., the main super PAC backing Trump’s candidacy.

    The Associated Press contributed to the report.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 18:20

  • "It's Enraging": NYC Homeowner Arrested For Changing Locks After Squatters Take Over
    “It’s Enraging”: NYC Homeowner Arrested For Changing Locks After Squatters Take Over

    A woman who inherited a home in New York City full of people squatting illegally was arrested and led away in handcuffs after she changed the locks.

    Adele Andaloro, 47, was placed under arrest at her $1 million home in Flushing, Queens, which she inherited from her parents after they died.

    “It’s enraging,” Andaloro told the NY Post. “It’s not fair that I, as the homeowner, have to be going through this.“

    Andaloro claims the ordeal erupted when she started the process of trying to sell the home last month but realized squatters had moved in — and brazenly replaced the entire front door and locks.

    Fed up, she recently went to her family’s home on 160th Street — with the local TV outlet in tow — and called a locksmith to change the locks for her. -NY Post

    The spat with the squatters, which was caught on camera, rapidly erupted into a verbal altercation until the cops showed up and led Andaloro away – charging her with ‘unlawful eviction.’

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    As the Post notes, people can claim “squatter’s rights” if they’ve been squatting for just 30 days at a property. This makes it illegal for homeowners to change the locks, turn off the utilities, or remove the squatters’ belongings.

    “By the time someone does their investigation, their work, and their job, it will be over 30 days and this man will still be in my home,” Andaloro said. “I’m really fearful that these people are going to get away with stealing my home.”

    During the recent encounter at her home, Andaloro — who was armed with the deeds — was filmed entering the property after one of the apparent tenants left the front door open.

    After changing the locks, a man claiming to be on the lease — identified by the local outlet as Brian Rodriguez — returned to the property and barged through the front door.

    “You shouldn’t be trying to steal my house,” a furious Andaloro yelled at him during the caught-on-camera ordeal.

    Following a flurry of 911 calls, responding cops told Andaloro she had to sort the saga out in housing court because it was considered a “landlord-tenant issue.” -NY Post

    Andaloro says she’s now been forced to go through the court system to start an eviction filing to settle the landlord-tenant dispute.

    A man identified as Brian Rodriguez claims to be on the lease. (ABC7)

    As the Post further reports, this is the latest such incident – which comes weeks after a couple’s plan to move into a $2 million home in Douglaston, Queens with their disabled son was derailed by a squatter who claimed to have an agreement with the previous owner.

    In another incident, a squatter turned a Rockaways home into a ‘house of horrors‘ with over a dozen emaciated cats and dogs trapped inside.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 18:00

  • "That's Joe Biden?" Biden Family Associate Confirms Joe & Family Used Email-Aliases During Vice Presidency
    “That’s Joe Biden?” Biden Family Associate Confirms Joe & Family Used Email-Aliases During Vice Presidency

    Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Eric Schwerin, an associate of President Joe Biden and his family, appears to have confirmed allegations that the president and several of his family members relied on aliases and personal email accounts to communicate amongst themselves during his term as vice president.

    On June 6, 2015, Hunter Biden (L) kisses his nephew Hunter, son of Beau Biden, as they stand with Beau’s widow Hallie (3L), then-Vice President Joe Biden and Beau’s daughter Natalie before his funeral, at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

    In a transcribed interview conducted on Jan. 30 and released on Monday, Mr. Schwerin identified President Biden as the person behind at least two email aliases that were active between 2009 and 2017 during his time as vice president during the Obama administration. Mr. Schwerin’s testimony provides an added layer of confirmation to allegations Republican investigators have raised for months, that the president and his family concealed their communications through various assumed names.

    During the Jan. 30 interview, an investigator asked Mr. Schwerin whether an email account owner identified as “Robinware456” had any relation to President Biden. “Yes,” Mr. Schwerin said.

    “That’s Joe Biden?” the investigator asked, to which Mr. Schwerin replied, “Correct.”

    The same investigator then asked about another suspected alias name, “Hurricane5155.” Mr. Schwerin replied that he believed that account was operated by President Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden.

    Mr. Schwerin identified the alias “261penn” as the account of President Biden’s eldest son, Beau Biden.

    The investigator then asked about another account name, “Robert.L.Peters.” Mr. Schwerin replied that it was his understanding this account also belonged to then-Vice President Biden.

    “I never used that email, so I don’t know, but that’s my understanding from later on,” Mr. Schwerin said, when asked about the “RobertL.Peters” persona.

    Mr. Schwerin said he primarily communicated with President Biden through the “Robinware” persona.

    House investigators have previously uncovered more than 260 email communications in which “Robinware456” was either the sender or a recipient. “RobertL.Peters” was a recipient of at least 26 additional email communications uncovered by House investigators. The “Hurricane5155” and “261penn” personas appeared in hundreds of additional email chains involving White House staff accounts.

    These covert communications have been a point of focus for Republicans leading an ongoing impeachment inquiry into whether President Biden engaged in influence peddling with his family members throughout his political career.

    NTD News reached out to the White House for comment about these email aliases but did not receive a response by press time.

    Schwerin Denies Knowledge of Influence Peddling

    Mr. Schwerin testified that he became acquainted with the Biden family while working at the U.S. Commerce Department during the Clinton administration, during which time he met with then-Senator Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. After leaving this government position, Mr. Schwerin said he joined Hunter Biden at a law and lobbying firm and later co-founded the firm Rosemont Seneca Partners with Hunter Biden.

    Between 2009 and 2017, Mr. Schwerin testified that he performed “a number of administrative and bookkeeping tasks” for then-Vice President Biden, pertaining to his household finances.

    “In the course of performing these duties, I had the ability to view transactions both into and out of Vice President Biden’s bank accounts while he was Vice President,” Mr. Schwerin said in his opening statement during the Jan. 30 interview. “Based on that insight, I am not aware of any financial transactions or compensation that Vice President Biden received related to business conducted by any of his family members or their associates, nor any involvement by him in their businesses.”

    In his opening statement, Mr. Schwerin further denied any knowledge of President Biden taking any official action to benefit his family members.

    “I cannot recall any requests for Vice President Biden to take any official action on behalf of any of Hunter’s clients or his business deals, foreign or domestic,” Mr. Schwerin said.

    He said that throughout his interactions with then-Vice President Biden, the elder Biden was “always crystal-clear that he wanted to take the most transparent and ethical approach.”

    Mr. Schwerin testified that this bookkeeping work he did for then-Vice President Biden was free. He testified that he also expected no favors from the elder Biden for this bookkeeping work, nor did he elicit any favor or witness Hunter Biden elicit any favors.

    While performing these free bookkeeping services, Mr. Schwerin was appointed to the U.S. Commission on the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad in 2015. He said he believed the role came about following a 2009 conversation with a member of then-Vice President Biden’s staff.

    “My assumption was that it was something that, you know, the Vice President had signed off on, but I would think it was someone from the staff who said, we can put your name forward to Presidential Personnel, and they would, you know, give you a call about this,” Mr. Schwerin said.

    During the interview, Mr. Schwerin also described working with Devon Archer, a business partner of Hunter Biden, helping connect Mr. Archer with Blue Star Strategies. Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian gas company on whose board Hunter Biden and Mr. Archer sat, retained Blue Star Strategies for lobbying services at a time when the company was dealing with investigations of its owner, Mykola Zlochevsky.

    Mr. Schwerin testified that he had access to Joe Biden’s bank accounts until some point “towards the end of 2017.” He testified that he could not recall having seen records for loans Joe Biden purportedly gave his brother, James Biden, which were purported to have been repaid in September 2017 and March 2018.

    From NTD News

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 17:40

  • Boycott Slams Planet Fitness Shares As Americans Fight Back Against Wokeism
    Boycott Slams Planet Fitness Shares As Americans Fight Back Against Wokeism

    Approaching the one-year mark since Bud Light’s controversial partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney on TikTok, a nationwide boycott of the light beer – criticized for tasting like ‘piss water’ – has been relentless as blue-collar and white-collar conservative Americans stand up in unison, bounded by memes and the power of X, to protest their distaste for woke propaganda pushed by mega-corporations. 

    To this day, conservatives are on a warpath against the woke mind virus as it infects high-level executives of mega-corporations who have learned absolutely nothing from Bud Light nuking itself with Mulvaney. 

    The power of the people. Folks are beginning to understand this. 

    Last week, Americans began to boycott Tyson Foods for planning to fire at least a thousand hard-working Americans in which the company even said it was planning to hire tens of thousands of illegals through a shadowy non-government organization. 

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    Fast forward to this week, Americans are boycotting Planet Fitness for its move to defend its decision to ban the membership of a customer in Alaska who spoke out about a “man in women’s locker room shaving.”

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    Since the Libs of TikTok’s X post went viral, shares of Planet Fitness have plunged 14%. 

    This comes as Planet Fitness boycott calls increase by the day. 

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    When will these woke executives learn that catering to a fringe minority rather than the majority will only result in a blowback with customers? 

    Which index firm is going to create the ‘woke index’? 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 17:20

  • RNC Files Election Integrity Lawsuit Against Nevada Secretary Of State
    RNC Files Election Integrity Lawsuit Against Nevada Secretary Of State

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the Nevada GOP have sued the Nevada Secretary of State, accusing the state’s top elections official of undermining voter confidence by failing to follow federal law on the proper maintenance of voter rolls.

    A voter returns a voter card after casting their ballot on the first day of in-person early voting inside a tent at a shopping center in Las Vegas on Oct. 22, 2022. (David Becker/Getty Images)

    The RNC filed its complaint on March 19 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, accusing Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar of failing to keep voter rolls accurate, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

    “Election integrity starts with clean voter rolls, and that’s why the National Voter Registration Act requires state officials to keep their rolls accurate and up-to-date,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement.

    ‘Easier to Vote and Harder to Cheat’

    The NVRA requires that states maintain accurate and current voter registration rolls for federal elections. But the RNC said in its complaint that a half dozen Nevada counties have implausible voter registration rates.

    “At least three Nevada counties have more registered voters than they have adult citizens who are over the age of 18,” the complaint reads. “That number of voters is impossibly high.”

    The three Nevada counties in question are Douglas (104 percent), Lyon (105 percent), and Storey (113 percent).

    Another two Nevada counties have voter registration rates in excess of 90 percent of adult citizens over the age of 18: Carson City (92 percent) and Clark (91 percent).

    “That figure far eclipses the national and statewide voter registration rate in recent elections,” the plaintiffs wrote in the complaint.

    U.S. Census data released in May 2023 shows that the national voter registration rate for the 2022 Congressional election was 69.1 percent—the highest for a midterm election since 2000.

    Nevada’s statewide voter registration rates for the 2022 and the 2020 elections were 65.1 percent and 66.2 percent of the voting-age citizen population, per the complaint.

    Additionally, several Nevada counties have unusually high rates of inactive registrants: Elko (31 percent), Eureka (23 percent), Humboldt (26 percent), Lincoln (25 percent,), Mineral (30 percent), Nye (31 percent), Washoe (17 percent), and White Pine (23 percent).

    Some other counties have unusually low rates of removals from voter rolls, per the complaint.

    “Securing clean voter rolls in Nevada is a critical step towards ensuring that it will be easy to vote and hard to cheat,” Mr. Whatley said in a statement.

    The Nevada Secretary of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    ‘Protecting the Vote’

    The Nevada lawsuit comes after a recent leadership shakeup at the RNC saw Mr. Whatley become the chair and former President Donald Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, take the post of co-chair.

    Both Mr. Whatley and Ms. Trump have said publicly that a key focus of theirs will be election integrity.

    The latest lawsuit marks the 81st case of election integrity litigation that the RNC has engaged in during the current election cycle.

    The RNC recently filed a similar lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, accusing her of undermining public confidence in elections by failing to properly maintain voter rolls.

    An analysis by the RNC showed that 76 of Michigan’s 83 counties have inflated voter rolls, in violation of the NVRA. Among them, 53 counties have more active registered voters than voting-age U.S. citizens.

    “Jocelyn Benson has failed to follow the NVRA, leaving Michigan with inflated and inaccurate voter rolls ahead of the 2024 election,” Mr. Whatley said in an earlier statement.

    In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Ms. Benson denounced the lawsuit as “meritless.”

    Ms. Benson added that more than 700,000 voter registrations have been canceled since she took office and another 520,000 have been slated for cancellation in 2025.

    “Federal data shows Michigan is the fifth most active state in the nation in removing the registrations of voters who have died,” she wrote.

    “Let’s call this what it is: a PR campaign masquerading as a meritless lawsuit filled with baseless accusations that seek to diminish people’s faith in the security of our elections,” Ms. Benson added.

    Focus on Election Integrity

    Ronna McDaniel left her post as RNC chair on March 8.

    In her final speech as the head of the organization, she said she believes Mr. Whatley will be “phenomenal” in the role and, in particular, on an issue that President Trump “cares deeply about, which is election integrity.”

    For his part, the former president said in mid-February that he’s convinced that Mr. Whatley, who served as general counsel for the North Carolina GOP in addition to being its chairman, will be “committed to election integrity, which we must have to keep fraud out of our election so it can’t be stolen.”

    Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks in the library at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., on March 4, 2024. (Alon Skuy/Getty Images)

    The former president maintains that he was cheated out of victory in the 2020 presidential election in part because of outright fraud and in part because of last-minute changes to election rules that sharply expanded opportunities to cast mail-in ballots, while softening voter verification requirements.

    Mr. Whatley said recently that the Republican party would use all available tools to help President Trump to win the 2024 election, while also ramping up its focus on election integrity.

    He said in a recent memo that the RNC would bolster programs that focus on both in-person and absentee early voting, as well as ballot harvesting where legal.

    Mr. Whatley said that the various initiatives aimed at voter outreach and early voting will be paired with strong election integrity efforts, including mounting legal challenges to voter identification and

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 17:00

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Mar 19

Today’s News 19th March 2024

  • Anti-Semitism As The Harbinger Of Global Chaos
    Anti-Semitism As The Harbinger Of Global Chaos

    Authored by Stephen Soukup via American Greatness,

    On the off chance you hadn’t noticed, the world appears to be at an especially precarious moment presently. Obviously, war continues to rage in Ukraine and Gaza, with no end in sight to either conflict. Great Britain and Japan are currently in recession. Canada’s economy is an absolute disaster, with almost no hope of near-term recovery. Much of continental Europe and China are struggling economically, if not officially contracting. Some experts believe that the global economy more generally is sliding, slowly but surely, into recession. The only economic bright spot in the world is the United States, and even here we have our problems with consumer spending and sentiment, massive credit concerns, and inarguably sticky inflation.

    Meanwhile, China is investing in and winning friends, and influencing people in the Global South. U.S.-backed Kurdish leaders are warning that ISIS is resurgent in Syria and Iraq. The Marine general in charge of U.S. Africa Command is warning of Russia’s increasing influence on that continent. Sudan remains mired in civil war. Nigeria is plagued by Islamist terrorism and mass kidnappings. Mexico is in the midst of a full-blown war with the drug cartels, who continue to grow bolder and more militarily sophisticated.

    Everywhere one looks, chaos reigns—or, at the very least, bubbles just below the surface.

    Perhaps most telling among the signs of disarray is the unnerving rise of antisemitism in the United States, Europe, and throughout the world. Antisemitism, in general, has been intensifying, slowly but surely, over the last decade or so. Over the last few months, however, it has emerged fully into the open, undaunted and unembarrassed. What was once considered shameful and disconcerting is now warmly welcomed as a “rational” response to American foreign policy, Israeli war practices, “colonialism,” and “white privilege.”

    All of this is troubling, to put it mildly, both in and of itself and as a harbinger of greater and more deadly global unrest.

    Hatred of and anger toward Jews is not the same as other forms of bigotry.  

    In many ways, the history of Western anti-Jewish hatred mirrors the history of Western political chaos and collapse.  Or, to put it another way, historically, Jews are not only the perennial scapegoats during periods of social upheaval and displacement, but resurgent anti-Semitism serves as the proverbial canary in the coal mine for the rise of revolutionary movements.

    In his classic, The Pursuit of the Millennium, the British historian Norman Cohn argues that the Jewish diaspora generally fit comfortably, if tentatively into European society for most of the first thousand years or so A.D., and only became a hated and perpetually persecuted minority with the rise of utopian Millenarianism that accompanied and then outlived the Crusades.  Beginning then and continuing for the next nearly a thousand years, Europeans came to associate Jews with the antichrist and thus to associate hatred and persecution of Jews with preparing the battlespace for the Second Coming.  Many historians, including Hannah Arendt, believed that the anti-Semitism that was such an integral part of the West’s 20th-century collapse into totalitarianism was relatively new and, in any case, distinct from medieval anti-Semitism.  Cohn’s history suggests otherwise, connecting the religious eschatology of medieval Europe to the quasi-religious eschatology of post-Enlightenment Europe, thereby connecting the persistence of Western anti-Semitism as well.

    Cohn tells us that millenarian moments and the millenarian movements that capitalize on those moments all share a common group of characteristics. They all appear under certain social and economic conditions. They all appeal to a certain segment of the population at large, who then present themselves as economic, spiritual, and political leaders. They all utilize scapegoats, meaning that they all identify a different, usually much smaller segment of the population on whom they can blame all the world’s ills and then set about to cure those ills through the elimination of the scapegoat. And more often than not, that scapegoat tends to be Jewish.

    In the conclusion to the second edition of Pursuit of the Millennium, Cohn notes that the millenarian fervor of the middle ages may have changed, but it never really died, and it maintained its common characteristics even as it became secular or “quasi-religious.” He wrote:

    The story told in Pursuit of the Millennium ended some four centuries ago but is not without relevance to our own times. [I have] shown in another work [Warrant for Genocide: The Myth of the Jewish World Conspiracy and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion] how closely the Nazi phantasy of a world-wide Jewish conspiracy of destruction is related to the phantasies that inspired Emico of Leningrad and the Master of Hungary; and how mass disorientation and insecurity have fostered the demonization of the Jew in this as in much earlier centuries. The parallels and indeed the continuity are incontestable.

    The parallels between the rise of Nazism and the current global unrest and demonization of the Jewish people are also largely incontestable. The election that brought Hitler to power didn’t happen in a vacuum, after all. It happened in the midst of global chaos, namely the Great Depression. It also followed the decadence and distortion of the Weimer Era. As the New York Fed has shown, even a global pandemic—the 1919 Spanish Flu outbreak—contributed to the sense of discomfort and disconnect among the German population, prompting increased support for Hitler and his Nazis.

    The present global chaos doesn’t have to end the same way the chaos of a century ago did. It doesn’t have to result in the ascension of millenarian ideologies and their totalitarian defenders. History has shown that extremism can be short-circuited and radical ideologies undone. The first step in doing so, however, must be to bring an end to the rationalization of the persecution of the world’s Jews. The second step is to end the persecution itself.

    Antisemitism is ugly and shameful, and it must be treated as such. For their sake and ours.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 02:00

  • Cereal For The Peasants? How The Elites Use "Skimpflation" To Control Our Eating Habits
    Cereal For The Peasants? How The Elites Use “Skimpflation” To Control Our Eating Habits

    Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us

    People who have been reading my analysis for a long time are well aware of my expectations on the eventual outcome of the US economic debacle: A stagflationary crisis followed by a massive crash similar to the Great Depression (or worse). I based this prediction on a number of circumstances, but primarily I went back to the history of currency devaluations and central bank policy. These kinds of things have happened before and they tend to follow a pattern that is visible today.

    Specifically, I studied the 1971-1981 stagflation crisis for reference and I found some startling similarities. It was one of the worst economic declines in American history next to the depression, and it’s an event that almost no one talks about. A lot of people (specifically Gen Z) believe that our current era is the worst financial era of all time and that their generation has been shafted by previous generations.

    This is inaccurate; the stagflation disaster of the 1970s was far worse. That said, it shows us where our country is eventually headed and it’s not looking good. What is a manageable economic crunch today has the potential to become a calamity tomorrow.

    One issue that I’m fascinated by that usually isn’t mentioned in mainstream economic discussion is quality degradation – The way in which products, services, construction, manufacturing, style and availability tend to break down when inflation suddenly spikes. This process is known as “skimpflation” and it was rampant in the 1970s and early 1980s. Most Americans today think of the 70s as a happy-go-lucky era of disco, bell bottoms and psychedelics, but in reality it was economically dismal.

    Examining real life images and footage from the decade compared to the 1960s, there was a stark shift in the quality of life. From the quality of cars, to the quality of clothes, to the quality of housing. Some US cities (like New York or Philadelphia) looked like warzones complete with rubble strewn slums. After sky-high inflation for several years causes a doubling and tripling of retail prices along with growing unemployment rates, the environment starts to feel real ugly.

    Skimpflation And The Food Pyramid Agenda

    Another aspect of life that takes a hit is the quality of diet and the ability of families to feed themselves. Most people are familiar with the concept of “shrinkflation” – The habit of companies to shrink portion sizes while keeping their packaging and prices the same in order to offset inflation in production costs without consumers noticing. However, skimpflation is another way in which companies will attempt to avoid raising prices on the shelf, and that’s by lowering the quality of ingredients, along with encouraging the public to eat less nutritious (and less expensive to produce) foods.

    The 1970s was the decade that gave birth to the processed food market and the microwave cuisine, at least on a wider scale. This was the decade when American food truly took a nose dive. The ease of processed foods was offset by the poor nutritional content. They were cheaper, but the quality sucked and we are still living with the repercussions of that trend today.

    There were, of course, counter-culture movements working against the adoption of processed foods, including “know your farmer” type organizations and organic movements. But as we are all well aware, the cheap processed foods eventually won. Society embraced the market because they had to. Prices were so high that it was the only way they could feed their families everyday.

    Interestingly, the Food Pyramid that we were all taught about as children in public schools was introduced to the western world in 1972. The pyramid was actually first used by the Swedish government in direct response to inflation and was designed to encourage the populace to eat cheaper food-stuffs (primarily cereals, dairy products, pastas and carbs). Governments have been using subsidies to promote the consumption of low cost and low quality foods ever since.

    I’m recounting these trends from the 1970s because we are seeing a very similar agenda today, though it is far more insidious in nature. Economic decline is a favorite tool for the establishment to control the behavior of populations, including dietary habits.

    Dollar Losing Buying Power? Switch To Lab Grown Meat And Bugs…

    It’s no coincidence, for example, that there has been a massive push by government agencies and corporations to acclimate the public to the idea of fake lab-grown meat products. For now, fake meats are more expensive than real meats so there’s no incentive for the public to consume them, but if inflation continues to drive prices higher eventually real steak will cost far more than artificial steak and people may be convinced that the fake stuff is a viable alternative.

    Then there’s the notion of western consumers eating bugs for protein instead of beef or chicken or pork. Beyond the claims that this will somehow “save the climate” from global warming (which is a complete falsehood backed by zero concrete evidence), the powers-that-be also suggest that bugs will be far more affordable than hamburgers in the near future.

    Bugs are traditionally a starvation food. They are only a staple in countries where famine is common or where governments aggressively restrict normal agriculture. Bug protein also has a habit of giving people parasites. The only way westerners could be convinced to eat bugs as a part of their regular diet is if inflation crushes the regular meat market.

    Let The Peasants Eat Cereal…

    Another form of skimpflation is the shift even further to the bottom of the food pyramid. Recently, Kellogg’s CEO Gary Pilnick suggested in an interview with CNBC that Americans will eventually start ‘eating cereal for dinner’ because the cost is so much cheaper per portion. In other words, cheap processed carbs will become a mainstay of the American diet because a lot of people won’t be able to afford anything else. Pilnick brags that Kellogg’s is well placed for this coming change in the food market…

    The marketing for this idea is already well underway. Various companies are promoting an end to traditional healthy homemade dinner habits and a switch to unconventional and cheaper processed foods. The thrust of the Kellogg’s campaign relies on poverty. Meaning, they are banking on the expectation that Americans will be poorer in the near term and that this condition will continue for years to come.

    Just as we saw during the 1970s stagflation crisis, there is a rush to cut quality in all goods and services, but food is a major target. Today, it’s about convincing the market to consume more carbs and processed foods and less protein.  Tomorrow, it will be about abandoning established agriculture altogether and having all our food manufactured in labs.   The elites seem to be planning for a significant financial crisis beyond what we have already dealt with and this is evident in their efforts to sell the reconstruction of our dietary habits based on poverty rather than prosperity.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/19/2024 – 00:00

  • Bank Of Japan (Finally) Kills The World's Last Negative Interest Rate, Yen Weakens
    Bank Of Japan (Finally) Kills The World’s Last Negative Interest Rate, Yen Weakens

    As has been thoroughly warned, straw-manned, leaked, and hinted at over the past few weeks (here, here, and here for example), The Bank of Japan hiked interest rates tonight for the first time since 2007. This move ends the world’s last negative interest rate policy.

    The vote, at 7-2 to scrap the negative interest rate (setting the policy rate in range between 0% to 0.1%), was closer than many expected with policy board members Nakamura and Noguchi dissented.

    Source: Bloomberg

    Additionally, the bank has abandoned its yield curve control policy.

    The BOJ will continue to purchase JGBs with “broadly the same amount as before,” but buying of ETFs and J-REITs has apparently been scrapped (while laying out a plan to scrap corporate debt and commercial paper buying).

    Source: BoJ

    In terms of forward guidance, Bloomberg notes that the bank isn’t offering much. It says it will continue to pay attention to developments in financial and FX markets, and their impact on Japan’s economic activity and prices.

    But the previous pledge to “not hesitate to take additional easing measures if necessary” has been removed.

    This was all in line with what had leaked out in domestic media reports over the past week but USDJPY still rose on the news (yen weakness)…

    The BOJ actually downgraded its assessment of consumer spending and production, so there’s still a sense of caution.

    The BoJ’s move comes as inflation has gradually returned to the nation with the most immediate catalyst being last week, when Japan’s largest union announced its biggest annual wage hike in three decades.

    Despite the runway having been heavily foamed ahead of tonight’s decision, Veteran market commentator John Authers warns of significant implications for the rest of the world:

    “Waiting over the years for Japan to beat deflation and raise rates has been rather like hoping for Lucy to let Charlie Brown kick the football, but if the BOJ is briefing the press like this, it must be a very real possibility,” he writes.

    “There are implications for carry traders, and for Japan’s giant neighbor, China.”

    Finally, even with the decision to pull the trigger, we note that the debate over whether the BOJ has met the supposedly main condition for raising rates – stable 2% inflation – is hardly over.

    As Bloomberg reports, inflation may slow as the impact of imports-driven price gains wears off, meaning that if officials go ahead and change policy, they could end up facing criticism in the future that they’ve passed a premature judgement on prices, former BOJ board member Takahide Kiuchi recently wrote. “And that in turn could become an obstacle to smooth policy normalization,” he said.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 23:45

  • Trump Tells Ramaswamy 'No' For VP, But Leaves Cabinet Door Open
    Trump Tells Ramaswamy ‘No’ For VP, But Leaves Cabinet Door Open

    Donald Trump ‘personally told’ Vivek Ramaswamy that he’s been ruled out as a running mate, however the former president is eyeing a Cabinet job including the Homeland Security secretary, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.

    According to the report, “Some Trump allies see Ramaswamy as ideal for the job because they say he excels at public speaking and, as an Indian-American son of an immigrant, could neutralize criticism of sweeping immigration restrictions.“

    Their conversation is just one of many Trump has had recently with allies about administration positions as he seized hold of the Republican nomination. Loyalty, ideological compatibility and perceived electoral power are the metrics by which Trump is evaluating possible picks, according to people familiar with the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

    Those who have impressed Trump and his team for possible Cabinet roles include another former GOP primary foe, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, as well as Representative Elise Stefanik and former US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. -Bloomberg

    Trump is apparently looking for a running mate who isn’t “motivated by the limelight,” but who will give the former president a significant edge. According to the report, none of the VP picks circulating have impressed Trump much, and his list of options has only grown longer, instead of shorter.

    Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is rumored to be a top candidate to serve as Trump’s deep state handler chief of staff.

    That said, after Steve Bannon and Mike Flynn were promptly squeezed out by dark forces the first time around, Trump is looking for a series of top-level aides and Cabinet members who can enable his agenda.

    Jared’s back

    Oh boy! Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law whose bed Bibi Netanyahu slept in one time, “has recently increased his presence in the campaign,” and has been “calling and texting to offer suggestions.”

    Trump Jr., meanwhile, has also expressed interest in a key transition role – in part because he can act as a gatekeeper to block people who are opposed by the MAGA movement.

    Don’t believe the hype?

    In response to an inquiry by Bloomberg, senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller said it’s way too early to start speculating about Cabinet or senior roles.

    “Apparently somebody has decided to list out everyone who has ever met President Trump and is now speculating as to their potential participation in a second Trump administration. The truth is that unless you hear it directly from President Trump or his campaign, this is all b.s.,” he said.

    Those who have participated in the discussions describe a quintessentially Trump experience, in which the former president peppers the conversation with political observations and media critiques as a steady stream of food is served, while he keeps an eye on cable news or chooses his favorite musical selections over dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club.

    The former president has repeatedly expressed admiration for Burgum, a billionaire who mounted a short-lived presidential bid. He has been discussed as a good fit to lead a transition – and possibly the Energy Department. Burgum, like Trump, is a supporter of fossil fuels. -Bloomberg

    If we’re still believing the hype, one person who’s been cast out of the Trump tent is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), following his failed primary challenge. Trump “regularly vents” about DeSantis in private conversations, however the pair did reportedly have a phone conversation shortly after DeSantis dropped out.

    DOJ?

    One of Trump’s top priorities will be to staff the nation’s top law enforcement agency with an attorney general who isn’t a deep state pawn.

    Senate Republicans Ted Cruz (TX) and Mike Lee (UT) are on the short list, per the report, as “it would likely be easy to secure their confirmation.”

    Former Chuck Grassley lawyer Mike Davis, meanwhile, could potentially serve as acting AG or White House counsel. Another attorney, Mike Purpura – who represented Trump during his first impeachment, is also a ‘strong contender’ for White House counsel.

    If Trump is reelected, FBI Director Christopher Wray’s days will also be numbered.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 23:20

  • Report Criticizes 'Catastrophic Errors' Of COVID Lockdowns, Warns Of Repeat
    Report Criticizes ‘Catastrophic Errors’ Of COVID Lockdowns, Warns Of Repeat

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

    It was four years ago, in March 2020, that health officials declared COVID-19 a pandemic and America began shutting down schools, closing small businesses, restricting gatherings and travel, and other lockdown measures to “slow the spread” of the virus.

    UNICEF unveiled its “Pandemic Classroom,” a model made up of 168 empty desks, each seat representing one million children living in countries where schools were almost entirely closed during the COVID pandemic lockdowns, at the U.N. Headquarters in New York City on March 2, 2021. (Chris Farber/UNICEF via Getty Images)

    To mark that grim anniversary, a group of medical and policy experts released a report, called “COVID Lessons Learned,” which assesses the government’s response to the pandemic. According to the report, that response included a few notable successes, along with a litany of failures that have taken a severe toll on the population.

    During the pandemic, many governments across the globe acted in lockstep to pursue authoritative policies in response to the disease, locking down populations, closing schools, shutting businesses, sealing borders, banning gatherings, and enforcing various mask and vaccine mandates. What were initially imposed as short-term mandates and emergency powers given to presidents, ministers, governors, and health officials soon became extended into a longer-term expansion of official power.

    “Even though the initial point of temporary lockdowns was to ’slow the spread,’ which meant to allow hospitals to function without being overwhelmed, instead it rapidly turned into stopping COVID cases at all costs,” Dr. Scott Atlas, a physician, former White House Coronavirus Task Force member, and one of the authors of the report, stated at a March 15 press conference.

    Published by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity (CTUP), the report was co-authored by Steve Hanke, economics professor and director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics; Casey Mulligan, former chief economist of the White House Council of Economic Advisors; and CTUP President Philip Kerpen. 

    According to the report, one of the first errors was the unprecedented authority that public officials took upon themselves to enforce health mandates on Americans. 

    “Granting public health agencies extraordinary powers was a major error,” Mr. Hanke told The Epoch Times. “It, in effect, granted these agencies a license to deceive the public.”

    The authors argue that authoritative measures were largely ineffective in fighting the virus, but often proved highly detrimental to public health. 

    The report quantifies the cost of lockdowns, both in terms of economic costs and the number of non-COVID excess deaths that occurred and continue to occur after the pandemic. It estimates that the number of non-COVID excess deaths, defined as deaths in excess of normal rates, at about 100,000 per year in the United States.

    ‘They Will Try to Do This Again’

    “Lockdowns, schools closures, and mandates were catastrophic errors, pushed with remarkable fervor by public health authorities at all levels,” the report states. The authors are skeptical, however, that health authorities will learn from the experience.

    “My worry is that if we have another pandemic or another virus, I think that Washington is still going to try to do these failed policies,” said Steve Moore, a CTUP economist. “We’re not here to say ‘this guy got it wrong’ or ’that guy or got it wrong,’ but we should learn the lessons from these very, very severe mistakes that will have costs for not just years, but decades to come. 

    “I guarantee you, they will try to do this again,” Mr. Moore said. “And what’s really troubling me is the people who made these mistakes still have not really conceded that they were wrong.”

    Mr. Hanke was equally pessimistic.

    “Unfortunately, the public health establishment is in the authoritarian model of the state,” he said. “Their entire edifice is one in which the state, not the individual, should reign supreme.”

    The authors are also critical of what they say was a multifaceted campaign in which public officials, the news media, and social media companies cooperated to frighten the population into compliance with COVID mandates.

    “During COVID, the public health establishment … intentionally stoked and amplified fear, which overlaid enormous economic, social, educational and health harms on top of the harms of the virus itself,” the report states. 

    The authors contrasted the authoritative response of many U.S. states to policies in Sweden, which they say relied more on providing advice and information to the public rather than attempting to force behaviors.

    Sweden’s constitution, called the “Regeringsform,” guarantees the liberty of Swedes to move freely within the realm and prohibits severe lockdowns, Mr. Hanke stated.

    “By following the Regeringsform during COVID, the Swedes ended up with one of the lowest excess death rates in the world,” he said.  

    Because the Swedish government avoided strict mandates and was more forthright in sharing information with its people, many citizens altered their behavior voluntarily to protect themselves.

    “A much wiser strategy than issuing lockdown orders would have been to tell the American people the truth, stick to the facts, educate citizens about the balance of risks, and let individuals make their own decisions about whether to keep their businesses open, whether to socially isolate, attend church, send their children to school, and so on,” the report states.

    ‘A Pretext to Enhance Their Power’

    The CTUP report cites a 2021 study on government power and emergencies by economists Christian Bjornskov and Stefan Voigt, which found that the more emergency power a government accumulates during times of crisis, “the higher the number of people killed as a consequence of a natural disaster, controlling for its severity.

    “As this is an unexpected result, we discuss a number of potential explanations, the most plausible being that governments use natural disasters as a pretext to enhance their power,” the study’s authors state. “Furthermore, the easier it is to call a state of emergency, the larger the negative effects on basic human rights.”

    “All the things that people do in their lives … they have purposes,” Mr. Mulligan said. “And for somebody in Washington D.C. to tell them to stop doing all those things, they can’t even begin to comprehend the disruption and the losses.

    “We see in the death certificates a big elevation in people dying from heart conditions, diabetes conditions, obesity conditions,” he said, while deaths from alcoholism and drug overdoses “skyrocketed and have not come down.”

    The report also challenged the narrative that most hospitals were overrun by the surge of COVID cases.

    “Almost any measure of hospital utilization was very low, historically, throughout the pandemic period, even though we had all these headlines that our hospitals were overwhelmed,” Mr. Kerpen stated. “The truth was actually the opposite, and this was likely the result of public health messaging and political orders, canceling medical procedures and intentionally stoking fear, causing people to cancel their appointments.”

    The effect of this, the authors argue, was a sharp increase in non-COVID deaths because people were avoiding necessary treatments and screenings. 

    “There were actually mass layoffs in this sector at one point,” Mr. Kerpen said, “and even now, total discharges are well below pre-pandemic levels.”

    In addition, as health mandates became more draconian, many people became concerned at the expansion of government power and the loss of civil liberties, particularly when government directives—such as banning outdoor church services but allowing mass social-justice protests—often seemed unreasonable or politicized. 

    The report also criticized the single-minded focus on vaccines and the failure by the NIH and the FDA to do clinical trials on existing drugs that were known to be safe and could have been effective in treating those infected with COVID-19.

    Because so much of the process of approving the vaccines, the risks and benefits, and the reporting of possible side-effects was kept from the public, people were unable to give informed consent to their own health care, Mr. Kerpen said. 

    “And when the Biden administration came in and started mandating them, now you had something that was inherently experimental with some questionable data, and instead of saying, ‘Now you have a choice whether you want it or not,’ in the context of a pandemic they tried to mandate them,” he said.

    Pandemic Censorship

    Tech oligopolies and the corporate media also receive criticism for their collaboration with government to control public messaging and censor dissenting voices. According to the authors, many government and health officials collaborated with tech oligarchs, news media corporations, and even scientific journals to censor critical views on the pandemic.

    The Biden administration is currently defending itself before the Supreme Court against charges brought by Louisiana and Missouri attorneys general, who charged that administration officials pressured tech companies to censor information that contradicted official narratives on COVID-19’s origins, related mandates and treatment, as well as censoring political speech that was critical of President Biden during his 2020 campaign. The case is Murthy v. Missouri.

    Mr. Hanke stated that a previous report he co-authored, titled “Did Lockdowns Work?,” which was critical of lockdowns, was refused by medical journals, even when they published op-eds that criticized it and published numerous pro-lockdown reports. 

    Dr. Vinay Prasad—a physician, epidemiologist, professor at the University of California at San Francisco’s medical school and author of over 350 academic articles and letters—has made similar allegations of censorship by medical journals.

    “Specifically, MedRxiv and SSRN have been reluctant to post articles critical of the CDC, mask and vaccine mandates, and the Biden administration’s health care policies,” Dr. Prasad stated.

    Heightening concerns about medical censorship is the “zero-draft” World Health Organization (WHO) pandemic treaty currently being circulated for approval by member states, including the United States. It commits members to jointly seek out and “tackle” what the WHO deems as “misinformation and disinformation.”

    One of the enduring consequences of the COVID years is a general loss of public trust in public officials, health experts, and official narratives. 

    “Operation Warp Speed was a terrific success with highly unexpected rapidity of development [of vaccines],” Dr. Atlas said. “But the serious flaws centered around not being open with the public about the uncertainties, particularly of the vaccines’ efficacy and safety.” 

    “One result of the government’s error-ridden COVID response was that Americans have justifiably lost faith in public health institutions,” the report states. According to the authors, if health officials want to regain the public’s trust, they should begin with an accurate assessment of their actions during the pandemic.

    “The best way to restore trust is to admit you were wrong,” Dr. Atlas said. “I think we all know that in our personal lives, but here it’s very important because there has been a massive lack of trust now in institutions, in experts, in data, in science itself.

    “I think it’s going to be very difficult to restore that without admission of error,” he said.

    Recommendations for a Future Pandemic

    The CTUP report recommends that Congress and state legislatures set strict limitations on powers conferred to the executive branch, including health officials, and set time limits that would require legislation to be extended. This would give the public a voice in health emergency measures through their elected representatives.

    It further recommends that research grants should be independent of policy positions and that NIH funding should be decentralized or block-granted to states to distribute.

    Congress should mandate public disclosure of all FDA, CDC, and NIH discussions and decisions, including statements of any persons who provide advice to these agencies. Congress should also make explicit that CDC guidance is advisory and does not constitute laws or mandates. 

    The report also recommends that the United States immediately halt negotiations of agreements with the WHO “until satisfactory transparency and accountability is achieved.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 23:00

  • Yen's Whiplash Day Only Begins With A Rate Hike
    Yen’s Whiplash Day Only Begins With A Rate Hike

    By Mark Cranfield, Bloomberg markets live reporter and strategist

    USD/JPY may be priced for the Bank of Japan to exit negative rates – something which thanks to the non-stop media leaks we know for a fact will happen – but a knee-jerk selloff is still likely when the first headline drops as traders react to the news. And that will only be the start of what could be a series of back-and-forth swings for the yen until Governor Ueda ends his press conference a few hours after the BOJ statement lands.

    While tightening policy is ostensibly a hawkish move, investors won’t be surprised if there are plenty of dovish caveats within the BOJ statement, with at least five things they will be focusing on for a sense of direction:

    • *BOJ MAINTAINS POLICY RATE AT -0.1%

    This is the big one. Will the BOJ finally end negative rates? Although the preamble to next week suggests the decision is too close to call, a move to zero interest rates would still shock the yen into a move higher.

    • *BOJ MAINTAINS 10-YEAR JGB YIELD TARGET AT ABOUT 0%

    In many ways this target is redundant as 10-year yields have been above zero for more than three years. That said, the symbolism of dropping the language would be negative for bonds.

    • *BOJ KEEPS UPPER BOUND REFERENCE ON LONG-TERM YIELDS AT 1%

    In October the BOJ fumbled the message by introducing flexible yield curve control and JGBs skidded lower. Clear communication on ending YCC will be important to avoid a disorderly reaction in debt markets.

    • *BOJ VOTES 9-0 ON RATE DECISION

    Whatever the BOJ decides, investors will want to know how split decision makers remain as a gauge for the pace of interest rate hikes to come.

    • *BOJ WILL ADD TO EASING WITHOUT HESITATION IF NEEDED

    Arguably the most symbolic statement of all, dropping it from the text would be a bearish medium-term signal for JGBs.

    * * *

    And then the fun will really begin when Ueda starts taking questions at the press conference. It’s likely that Ueda will provide dovish forward guidance, but communication in the past hasn’t always run as smoothly as the central bank would like, opening up the risk of more USD/JPY volatility.

    It sets up Tuesday for a head-spinning session…  and there is still the Federal Reserve to come!

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 22:46

  • The 4th Bitcoin Halving Explained
    The 4th Bitcoin Halving Explained

    Sometime in April 2024, the reward that cryptocurrency miners receive for mining bitcoin (BTC) will go from ₿6.25 to ₿3.125, with significant consequences for the world’s most valuable digital currency.

    To help understand this quadrennial event, Visual Capitalist’s Chris Dickert teamed up with HIVE Digital to take a deep dive on historical bitcoin data from Coinmetrics to see what the three previous halvings might tell us about the fourth.


    Bitcoin Explained

    But to understand halvings, we first need to take a step back to talk a bit about how the Bitcoin network works.

    Unlike fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar or the Chinese yuan that are backed by central banks, cryptocurrencies are supported by an underlying blockchain, which contains a record of every single bitcoin transaction in a public decentralized, distributed ledger. 

    When you spend a bitcoin, a digital record of that transaction needs to be validated and added to the blockchain. And this is where miners come in. They legitimize and audit bitcoin transactions, and as a reward, receive bitcoin in payment.

    Halvings Explained

    Now, quantitative easing notwithstanding, you normally can’t keep printing money forever without running into hyperinflation (think 1920s Germany or 1990s Argentina).

    To get around this problem, the Bitcoin network has a pre-programmed upper limit of 21 million, with the reward that miners receive decreasing by half (hence, halving) roughly every four years. 

    When the Bitcoin network first launched, the reward was initially set to ₿50, an amount that was high enough to quickly increase the money supply and incentivize miners to participate in the validation process. On November 28, 2012, that reward decreased by half to ₿25, then to ₿12.5 on July 9, 2016, and on May 11, 2020, to ₿6.25.

    The last halving will happen sometime in 2136, with the reward decreasing to ₿0.00000001 or one satoshi, the smallest denomination of bitcoin possible. The last bitcoin will enter circulation four years later, in 2140.

    Halvings and Miner Revenue

    With the fourth halving just around the corner, some have wondered whether mining will still be sustainable. Modern mining operations today are costly endeavors, often with razor-thin margins, and losing half of one’s revenue overnight would be a nightmare for any business. 

    And if you look at historical miner revenue in bitcoin, you can see quite clearly, the steep drop in revenue after each halving. But what’s interesting, is that if you compare that against the miner revenue in USD, there is a drop there as well, but it recovers soon thereafter as the cryptocurrency appreciates. In other words, a miner may receive less bitcoin, but that bitcoin is worth more.

    Halvings Compared

    So we know that the network will continue to function after the fourth halving, but what else can we learn from previous halvings? 

    If we look at the percent change in market capitalization post-halvings, we can see a bit of a pattern. After both the second and third halvings, market capitalization peaked at around the year-and-half mark. The second-halving peak occurred on day 526 at around $328 billion, an increase of 3,000%, while the third-halving peak came three weeks later on day 547 at over $1.2 trillion, or an increase of just under 700%. 

    The post-first-halving peak happened a bit earlier, at the 372-day mark, but because the peak was so high (over 10,000%!) it is considered an outlier, and omitted to better illustrate the trend.

    The 4th Bitcoin Halving Projected?

    Because we know that halvings occur every 210,000 blocks and that each block takes around 10 minutes to mine, we have a good idea of when the fourth halving should happen: April 21, 2024. If the next halving follows the same pattern as the previous two, then there could be a market-capitalization peak some time during the third week of October 2025.

    And with the price of bitcoin setting new records at time of writing, a lot of people will be watching very closely, indeed.  

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 22:40

  • Another Shutdown Averted As Deal Reached
    Another Shutdown Averted As Deal Reached

    Congress has reached a deal to avert yet another shutdown following an agreement to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the remainder of FY 2024, according to Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman.

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    The U.S. Capitol building at night in Washington on March 3, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    In a race against time, Congress passed a package of six appropriations bills earlier this month, narrowly avoiding a partial shutdown. The deal revealed by Sherman avoids a Friday, March 22 drop-dead date.

    The text of a minibus combining those bills was widely expected to be released by Sunday, though no such deal emerged.

    As Samantha Flom via The Epoch Times reported earlier, House rules require that members be given at least 72 hours to review legislation before it comes up for a vote. This meant that if a deal was not released on Monday, it could mean another last-minute scramble to get something on President Joe Biden’s desk.

    The delay came amid fierce Republican opposition to the president’s handling of the crisis at the southern border, which more than 7 million illegal immigrants have crossed since he took office.

    Appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are included among the mix of remaining spending bills. Those negotiations reportedly derailed over the weekend amid talks of a potential year-long continuing resolution.

    “Republicans want to underfund DHS, which makes the border less secure and the country less safe,” a White House official told Politico on Sunday, asserting that Republicans were trying to “sow chaos on the border ahead of November.”

    But Republicans purportedly pushed back on those claims, holding that the issue was not the amount of funds requested but how they would be used.

    Nonetheless, talks were said to be back on track on Monday. Commenting on the negotiations at a press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration’s position was that DHS needs more funding to adequately address the border crisis.

    The deal is likely to face pushback from the GOP’s right flank, which continues to push for stronger border reforms.

    “Congress: we are FUNDING a DHS that is MASS RELEASING illegal aliens into our communities, some of whom commit horrific crimes,” wrote Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus, in an X post.

    “Republicans MUST NOT vote to keep funding Mayorkas’ DHS at the same level with zero policy changes next week. We have the power to stop this,” he added.

    Thanks to the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was forced to ally with Democrats to pass the first appropriations minibus on March 6. A similar partnership may well be in the cards for the second.

    Other remaining bills include funding for the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and State, as well as the legislative branch, financial services, and general government.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 22:20

  • One Bank Sees Bitcoin At $200,000, While Ether Hits $14,000 As It Becomes JPMorgan's Favorite Crypto
    One Bank Sees Bitcoin At $200,000, While Ether Hits $14,000 As It Becomes JPMorgan’s Favorite Crypto

    Many crypto skeptics laughed over a month ago when, back on February 5, Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick predicted that Ether (which was then trading in the low $2000s) would hit $4,000 by May, around the time the Ethereum ETF was to be approved.

    They weren’t laughing when we got there just one month later, and more than two months ahead of schedule.

    They also laughed when back in January, Kendrick laid out his “high” case for bitcoin ETF accumulation – one which would justify a 2024 year-end price of $100,000 – as hitting 400,000 in early April, on their way to 1.32 million “coins” at year-end (or just 437,000 in the low case).

    Fast forward to today – it’s not even April yet – and already the nine new ETFs have accumulated a whopping 458,000 bitcoin, after net buying virtually every single day since the SEC authorized bitcoin ETFs.

    Bottom line: of all sellside analysts, Kendrick has proven time and again to be one of the most accurate, which is why latest research notes – one on bitcoin, and on ether – published earlier today, should be required reading for anyone following the crypto sector.

    In his first note, available to pro subs in the usual place, the Standard Chartered analyst writes that his latest forecast is for the price of bitcoin – now beyond the upcoming halving – to end 2024 around USD150k (up from a long held USD100k view). Then, “in 2025 bitcoin will overshoot to a cycle high of $250k before ultimately settling around $200k which will then be the new midpoint of a higher trading range. At that time vol will fall, and so will the rate of ascent of bitcoin.”

    How/why will we get there?

    Taking a deserved victory lap, Kendrick writes that “ETF inflows have been almost exactly as I had predicted, huge, but much greater than others had expected.” Indeed, the ytd inflows are bang in the middle of his previous high/low forecast range discussed here, and so suggest we end up somewhere around $75BN of inflows. At that point, the gold ETF story suggests we will be around $200k and that we then trade sideways in a higher trading rage (ie. The ETF inflows are a one-off re-rating higher).

    Kendrick also notes that “a gold v BTC portfolio optimization suggests we should be around 80%/20% rather than the current 91%/9% spilt. Again that points to the USD200k level as being ‘correct’.”  He explains why below:

    The total market cap of all above-ground gold is currently around USD 14.8tn (212,582 tonnes based on World Gold Council data, at the 15 March price of USD 2,160 per ounce). For BTC, the current price gives a market cap of USD 1.4tn – a split of 91% for gold to 9% for BTC. Assuming the gold price stays unchanged, the BTC price would need to increase to USD 190,000 in order for BTC’s share to rise to the 20% indicated by our portfolio optimisation. Again, this is close to our estimated BTC price level of USD 200,000 based on ETF inflows.

    The analysis focuses some more on comps to the gold market, before turning to another potential source of bitcoin price upside: FX reserves, i.e., “another large sticky (potential) cash pool, which could follow in the footsteps of new US pension money.” Specifically, Kendrick says that US and EU sanctions on Russia’s reserves “have structurally increased the appeal of non-standard reserve assets for FX reserve managers. The most obvious beneficiaries of this are gold and the CNY, but digital assets could also benefit” (as they already have in El Salvador where Nayib Bukele has previously purchased over 5,600 bitcoin). If they do, expect the largest and most liquid assets – such as Bitcoin – to receive most of the inflows. Which is why, the Standard Chartered analysts sees “a rising likelihood that large reserve managers (Figure 7) may announce BTC buying in 2024.”

    That pretty much covers the bullish bitcoin case; now what about Ethereum?

    Well, a couple points here. First of all, recall that in recent years, Wall Street has traditionally held ethereum, due to its smart contract nature and flexible architecture in much higher regard than bitcoin. None other than Goldman Sachs said, three years ago when it initiated coverage on the crypto sector, that bitcoin is a good asset, and “ironically” will be used as the “scarce resource” to make PoS systems work “instead of natural resources”, but while bitcoin may end up being a one-trick pony (if quite valuable) it is the new blockchain platforms – like Ethereum – that will serve as the basis for a “large market of trusted information“, as Goldman puts it “like Amazon is for consumer goods today” (Pro subscribers can find the full Goldman report can be found in the usual place).

    But it’s not just Goldman: none other than the most important man in the world of finance (sorry Jamie Dimon), the head of Blackrock – which buys and sells ETFs, bonds, and any other asset class at the Fed’s bidding – Larry Fink, said he is backing an ether ETF just after the SEC gave approval to Bitcoin. Specifically, the king of Wall Street, said “I see value in having an Ethereum ETF. These are just stepping stones towards tokenization and I really do believe this is where we’re going to be going.”  And whatever Larry sees, and wants, Larry gets.

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    That said, with just 2 months left until the SEC is expected to greenlight Ethereum ETFs, some are skeptical that the regulator will be as “forthcoming” this time as back in January with bitcoin, most notably Bloomberg’s ETF guru Eric Balchunas who gives just 35% odds of an Ethereum ETF being approved in May, as “we’re 73 days from the final deadline, and there’s been no contact or comments from the SEC to the issuers. That’s not a good sign… The SEC has to give comments and the issuers have to work on correcting them. They may have to refile and they might even want to have a couple of meetings — it’s kind of a long process.”

    Needless to say, Standard Chartered’s analyst Geoffrey Kendrick does not agree, and just as he sees much more upside to bitcoin, he sees even more potential gains for ether, which last week quietly and successfully implemented its long-awaited Dencun upgrade, thanks to which ETH is now as competitive as Solana in terms of transaction costs, via layer 2s.

    But that is hardly a value proposition (just don’t tell it to all those who are currently blowing Solana NFT memecoin bubbles which will burst spectacularly in a few days, assuming the centralized database that is Solana doesn’t collapse – as it tends to do every other month – first). What is of potential value, is that ether ETF approval is coming one way or another, and according to Kendrick, the SEC will do so on May 23, the final deadline for the first batch under consideration, and consistent with the timeline for the SEC’s January 2024 approval of Bitcoin ETFs: “Albeit I note this is now a non-consensus view. I think the process should be the same as it was for the BTC ETFs and I don’t see why the SEC would not approve” especially since in the UK, the LSE announced on 11 March that it would accept applications for ETH and BTC ETFs, which Kendrick’s think increases the chances of US approval.

    What happens then? Well, if the ETH ETFs are approved, Doug estimates $15-45BN – or 2.39-9.15 million ETH – in the first 12 months after approval, using the same logic as he applied to the BTC ETF inflows; importantly, he now sees more price upside than he previously did, and believes that ETH would keep pace with BTC, with the current 5.4% price ratio holding for the rest of 2024: “Given that we now see BTC reaching the USD 150,000 level by end-2024, this would imply a level of USD 8,000 for ETH” or just more than double from here.

    But the real value of ETH will shine in 2025 when Kendrick expects the ETH-BTC cross to track higher, back to 7%, as real world use cases on ETH – the same ones laid out by Goldman – start to take shape. This, he believes, “will see ETH to USD14k by year-end 2025.” There could be more gains: the report goes on to note borrow heavily from the Goldman ETH initiation report above, and states that…

    “If real-world use cases start to take practical shape before the end of 2025 (we see gaming as the most likely), then we think markets will start to see ETH as the digital assets version of a big tech stock. Indeed, we see several crossovers between tech and ETH, but because tech (most recently via AI) is already visible to end-users, it has taken most of the limelight so far. We expect that to change over time in favour of ETH, which is effectively a behind-the-scenes technology solution. This is because ETH’s smart contract platform enables future applications in much the same that Apple’s iOS system enables the building of apps.

    In that scenario, we see the ETH-BTC price ratio rising back to the 7% level that was in place for 18 months from mid-2021 to end-2022. This would present further upside to our estimated USD 14,000 price level by end-2025.”

    Impossible, you say, no way ETH rises 4x from its current price of $3,500. Perhaps, but consider the potential rise in use cases in the aftermath of the Dencun upgrade which has sent the cost of layer 2 transactions as cheap as Solanas. As a result, Kendrick believes that ETH’s use cases will “evolve towards gaming and tokenization, adding significant demand via the existing NFT and DeFi channels, respectively. Importantly, this should provide ‘proof of concept’ examples in which real-world industries come on-chain to exploit the benefits of Ethereum over their existing setups. We expect significant developments on these fronts by 2025-26.”

    Tokenization of real-world assets has begun, but it is small so far. The largest is stUSDT (staked USDT, Figure 4) on the Tron network. Returns for stUSDT are driven by US Treasury yields. The others, which are primarily built on Ethereum, are shown in Figure 5. These offer investors a mix of exposure ranging from front-end Treasuries (Ondo) to real estate (RealT);

    Note, the Standard Chartered analyst is not the first to say the true value of ETH is in tokenization: initially it was Goldman, and most recently it was the king of Wall Street, Blackrock’s Larry Fink, who as we noted above, said “I see value in having an Ethereum ETF. These are just stepping stones towards tokenization and I really do believe this is where we’re going to be going.”

    But while Goldman and Blackrock betting on ETH would be effectively a home run, what would guarantee a trifecta would be the last major holdout joining the bandwagon, and that’s precisely what happened last week when the bank – whose boss has been the most vocally skeptical of bitcoin in recent years – put its chips on ETH.

    In a March 14 note on Coinbase (which hiked the price target from $95 to $150; full note available to pro subs in the usual place) from JPM’s Ken Worthington, the crypto analyst echoed Goldman, Standard Chartered and Blackrock, and said that while “the focus of the cryptocurrency marketplace has been the net new money going into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs and the positive impact on Bitcoin token prices” it is “ethereum and its native token Ether as a substantial contributor to the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and developer of blockchain technology.”

    Specifically, JPM writes that “it sees see the progression along the Ethereum roadmap, including the Dancun upgrade, which occurred this week on March 13, as driving crypto development, which is a longer-term positive and discuss this further in this research.”

    Compare and contrast that with, well, anything that Jamie Dimon has said about Bitcoin.

    There is much more in the full report, including a full fawning section on ETH (that appears to have been taken almost verbatim from the Goldman initiating coverage report)…

    … but the bottom line is that while Bitcoin was the pioneer in Wall Street’s institutionalization race, having seen the startling success of bitcoin ETF adoption, the financial titans including Goldman, Blackrock – and now – JPM, have set their sights on what comes next, which is something near and dear to the people who manage trillions: the fastest, cheapest and most effective way to tokenize everything, from information, to data, to money itself. And they have picked the token to do it with.

    So keep a close eye on what happens on May 23 when the SEC is reportedly pushing hard against ETF approval for the second biggest digital asset: with all three of the largest US financial institutions pushing hard, any resistance will die a quick and painless death.

    More in the full notes from JPM, Std Chartered and Goldman

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 22:00

  • Illegal Immigrant Can Carry Guns: Federal Judge
    Illegal Immigrant Can Carry Guns: Federal Judge

    Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

    An illegal immigrant was wrongly banned from possessing guns, according to a recent ruling.

    A federal law, Section 922 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, bars illegal immigrants from carrying guns or ammunition. Prosecutors charged Heriberto Carbajal-Flores, the illegal alien, in 2020 after he was found in Chicago carrying a semi-automatic pistol despite “knowing he was an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States.”

    U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman rejected two motions to dismiss, but the third motion, based on a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, triggered the dismissal of the case on March 8.

    “The noncitizen possession statute, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5), violates the Second Amendment as applied to Carbajal-Flores,” Judge Coleman, appointed under President Barack Obama, wrote in her 8-page ruling.

    “Thus, the court grants Carbajal-Flores’ motion to dismiss.”

    Lawyers for Mr. Carbajal-Flores had argued in the most recent motion to dismiss that the government could not show that the law in question was “part of the historical tradition that delimits the outer bounds of the right to keep and bear arms.”

    In 2022, the Supreme Court determined that the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment “presumptively protects” conduct that is covered by the amendment’s “plain text.”

    To justify regulations, governments must show that each regulation “is consistent with this nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” the high court said at the time. “Only if a firearm regulation is consistent with this nation’s historical tradition may a court conclude that the individual’s conduct falls outside the Second Amendment’s ‘unqualified command,’” it said.

    “Lifetime disarmament of an individual based on alienage or nationality alone does not have roots in the history and tradition of the United States,” Mr. Carbajal-Flores’s lawyers argued.

    They pointed to several rulings interpreting the Supreme Court’s decision, including an appeals court ruling that declared stripping a man convicted of a nonviolent crime of his gun rights was unconstitutional.

    The government opposed the motion, noting that neither of the cited decisions applied to illegal immigrants and that the defendant ignored other rulings that did, including a 2023 ruling that found that Second Amendment rights aren’t afforded to illegal immigrants. The government also offered examples of laws that prohibited certain categories of people from carrying guns, including “individuals who threatened the social order through their untrustworthy adherence to the rule of law.”

    But Judge Coleman ruled for the defendant, finding that the laws against untrustworthy people contained exceptions for people who signed loyalty oaths and were deemed nonviolent.

    “The government argues that Carbajal-Flores is a noncitizen who is unlawfully present in this country. The court notes, however, that Carbajal-Flores has never been convicted of a felony, a violent crime, or a crime involving the use of a weapon. Even in the present case, Carbajal-Flores contends that he received and used the handgun solely for self-protection and protection of property during a time of documented civil unrest in the Spring of 2020,” she wrote.

    “Additionally, Pretrial Service has confirmed that Carbajal-Flores has consistently adhered to and fulfilled all the stipulated conditions of his release, is gainfully employed, and has no new arrests or outstanding warrants. The court finds that Carbajal-Flores’ criminal record, containing no improper use of a weapon, as well as the non-violent circumstances of his arrest do not support a finding that he poses a risk to public safety such that he cannot be trusted to use a weapon responsibly and should be deprived of his Second Amendment right to bear arms in self-defense.”

    An attorney representing Mr. Carbajal-Flores declined to comment. Federal prosecutors didn’t respond to a request for comment.

    Reactions

    The ruling drew a range of reactions from people in the legal community.

    “Supreme Court has said the ‘people’ are members of the political community,” Larry Keane, a lawyer for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, wrote on X.

    “Illegal aliens in US are not part of the political community and thus do not have 2A rights.”

    Kostas Moros, a lawyer who represents the California Rifle and Pistol Association, said that he also saw the issue that way.

    “Bruen asks for a historical tradition of modern regulation that justifies the modern law, and one plainly exists here,” he wrote, noting that groups that have been disarmed in the past, including loyalists, have the common thread of being “outside of the political community.”

    Matthew Larosiere, another lawyer, disagreed, writing in an analysis that all immigrants, even ones in the country illegally, are part of “the people” in the Second Amendment. His argument rested in part on the 14th Amendment, which applies to “any person within” the country.

    “To find that illegal immigrants are outside of ’the people‘ protected by the Second Amendment, you must believe that the Framers were talking about a different ’people’ in the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments,” he wrote, adding later that he sided with the court in finding differences between historical laws such as the one that barred loyalists from owning guns and the law that applies to illegal immigrants.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 21:40

  • Trust In Flying Still High, But Passengers Take More Precautions
    Trust In Flying Still High, But Passengers Take More Precautions

    The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the panel blow out of a Boeing 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines in January, according to the Wall Street Journal. The incident was the first in a chain of events reported this year, which have led to increased scrutiny of the company and heightened media attention over such incidents.

    Despite the string of faults that have been publicized, the chances of being killed on a flight are extremely low.

    This knowledge is well ingrained in many, as Statista’s Anna Fleck notes one study, carried out by The Harris Poll on behalf of Fast Company, shows: 69 percent of respondents agreed that flying is safer than other means of long-distance transportation.

    At the same time, 86 percent of adults agreed that they would trust flight teams (such as air hostesses and pilots) to keep passengers safe during flights, while 73 percent said that they trust passenger planes are thoroughly inspected before flying.

    Yet, it appears that the high-profile safety incidents documented of late are having at least some impact on flyers’ behaviors: 48 percent of respondents said that they would now be more likely to pay attention to safety materials on an upcoming flight, 47 percent said that they would now be more likely to wear a seatbelt when not required and 45 percent said that they would now be more likely pay attention to pre-takeoff activities. At the same time, between 30-40 percent said that they would be more likely to consider the row their seat is located on the plane, the airline they book with and the type of plane they will be flying on.

    Infographic: Trust in Flying High But Passengers Take More Precautions | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Against a backdrop of questions over what’s going on with Boeing, Morning Consult carried out a survey on how public trust in the aircraft giant has changed with the new developments.

    It found that between Q4 of last year and January 1-February 28 of 2024, net trust had dipped among respondents by 14 percentage points. Net trust is defined as the share of respondents who trust a brand minus the share who distrust a brand.

    As the following chart shows, the biggest change was among business travelers, with a 26 percentage point difference between the two survey waves. According to the online polling company, this is partly due to business flyers having historically had more trust in Boeing than other groups, which means there was more room to fall.

    Infographic: Trust in Boeing Plummets After Safety Incidents | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Nicki Zink, an analyst at Morning Consult, adds that while Boeing’s reputation has dipped, this has not spread to the wider airline industry and that net trust in airlines has even seen an uptick as the spring break season approaches.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 21:20

  • Queenpin Of Guatemalan Drug Cartel Sentenced Over International Trafficking Conspiracy
    Queenpin Of Guatemalan Drug Cartel Sentenced Over International Trafficking Conspiracy

    Authored by Stephen Katte via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A Queenpin of the Lorenzana drug trafficking network has been sentenced to 33 years in prison and forced to forfeit $27 million for charges related to international drug trafficking.

    The U.S. Department of Justice building in Washington on June 28, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    According to the Department of Justice, Queenpin Marta Julia Lorenzana-Cordon from Zacapa, Guatemala, was a leader in one of the largest and most influential drug cartels in Guatemala. Guatemala is a Central American country south of Mexico, with a population of over 17 million people.

    During their reign, the Lorenzana criminal group was described by authorities as one of the most brutal and destructive drug trafficking organizations in the world.

    Julia Lorenzana-Cordon was extradited to the United States in December of 2021, after Guatemalan authorities took her into custody at the behest of the U.S. government in May 2021. She subsequently pleaded guilty in May of 2023 to conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and knowing and intending for the drug to be unlawfully imported to America.

    According to the Department of Justice, Julia Lorenzana-Cordon, also known as Yulie, began operating within the criminal enterprise around 2008 and continued until at least 2019. The organization itself began operating in 1996. The patriarchal criminal group comprised primarily of family members and had the goal of distributing multi-ton quantities of cocaine from Colombia to Central America and Mexico for eventual distribution into the United States.

    The investigation into Julia Lorenzana-Cordon was part of Operation Slipknot and conducted by the DEA’s Bilateral Investigations Unit, with assistance from the DEA Guatemala City Country Office and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces. Investigators found the Lorenzana drug trafficking organization transported tonnage quantities of cocaine from Colombia into Guatemala, where the cocaine was stored on properties owned by the crime organization.

    After the cocaine was processed, the drug was transported by the Sinaloa Cartel, among other organizations, into Mexico, through Central America, and eventually, into the United States.

    Along with Julia Lorenzana-Cordon, her siblings, Eliu Elixander Lorenzana-Cordon and Waldemar Lorenzana-Cordon have also been hit with lengthy prison sentences. Both were convicted in 2019 on international narcotics trafficking charges in the District of Columbia and sentenced to life in prison.

    At the same time, the father of the siblings, Waldemar Lorenzana-Lima Sr., pleaded guilty in August 2014 to international narcotics trafficking charges in the District of Columbia, receiving 23 years in prison. He has since passed away.

    According to authorities, the family was deeply dysfunctional, and Julia Lorenzana-Cordon had separate drug trafficking networks different to those of her brothers and father, which allowed her to continue operating for a few years after the rest of her family was convicted.

    Julia Lorenzana-Cordon was also reportedly married to Jairo Estuardo Orellana Morales, a Guatemalan narcotics trafficker and accused murderer who was arrested in May 2014. His status since being detained is unknown.

    Drug trafficker Waldemar Lorenzana Lima, related to the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel, is taken under custody on April 28, 2011, upon his arrival in Guatemala City. He faces an extradition warrant from the United States. (JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

    The Department of the Treasury designated the couple as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers (SDNT) under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Under the act, U.S. persons and entities are prohibited from conducting financial or commercial transactions with anyone designated as a SDNT. The act also freezes any assets a SDNT may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 21:00

  • More & More Americans Turn To TikTok For News
    More & More Americans Turn To TikTok For News

    The House of Representatives passed a bill last week that could lead to a nationwide ban of the social media platform TikTok in the United States, unless its Chinese owner Byte Dance sells its stake in the company within 165 days.

    U.S. lawmakers had raised concerns over the question of data and national security risks of the app, fearing potential links to China’s government. TikTok, which is headquartered outside of China, says it has never been asked by the Chinese government to provide them with U.S. data and has been actively trying to distance itself from Beijing.

    The short form video app is particularly beloved by teenagers and young people around the world.

    Now, as Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, nearly one in three (32 percent) young adults aged 18-29 even say that they turn to TikTok regularly for news. This is up from just nine percent who said the same in 2020.

    While still low, the overall share of adults in the United States who say they regularly get news on TikTok has more than quadrupled between 2020 and 2024.

    Infographic: More Americans Turn to TikTok for News | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    According to a survey by Pew Research Center of over 8,800 adults, where only 3 percent said they regularly get their news from the social media platform four years ago, this had climbed to 14 percent between September 25 and October 1, 2023, when the survey was last fielded.

    In order for the bill to come into action, it first needs to see through the legislative process and would then need to pass the Senate.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 20:40

  • Trump Reveals Plan To Impose 100 Percent Tariffs On Chinese Cars Made In Mexico
    Trump Reveals Plan To Impose 100 Percent Tariffs On Chinese Cars Made In Mexico

    Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Former President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Chinese cars made in Mexico once reelected, double the 50 percent he stated earlier.

    Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald J. Trump speaks at a rally in Manchester, N.H., on Jan. 20, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    “Mexico has taken, over a period of thirty years, 34 percent of the automobile manufacturing business in our country,” President Trump said during a rally in Ohio on Saturday. China is building massive plants in Mexico where they plan on building the cars and selling them in the United States, paying no tax at the border, he said, adding that the plan will not work under his presidency.

    “Let me tell you something to China, if you’re listening President Xi … those big monster car manufacturing plants that you’re building in Mexico right now, and you think you’re going to get that, you’re going to not hire Americans, and you’re going to sell the cars to us, no, we’re going to put a 100 percent tariff on every single car that comes across the line, and you’re not going to be able to sell those cars if I get elected,” he said.

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    In an interview with CNBC on March 11, President Trump said he would put a 50 percent tariff on all cars China builds in Mexico and sells in the United States. Such a move will force them to stop building the plants, he claimed. “But we don’t do that. We have stupid people running our government, to be honest,” he said.

    Chinese Threat

    A Feb. 20 report by the Alliance for American Manufacturing warned that China posed an “existential threat” to the American auto industry if it uses the Mexico route to sell vehicles. Manufacturing in Mexico will grant Chinese automakers “more favorable tariffs” under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

    This essentially hands over Chinese auto companies “backdoor access” to American consumers, allowing them to circumvent current U.S. policies that are keeping them away from the American market. “This is an auto industry backed by the Chinese state. It has invested heavily in foreign markets in order to access more of them,” the report stated.

    “And there is cause for alarm that Chinese vehicles and parts will only increase their access to the U.S. market, overcoming existing tariffs and evading existing trade enforcement measures, to directly challenge domestic automakers and threaten the jobs of millions of American manufacturing workers.”

    The report called on the United States to adopt a more “proactive and evolving” strategy to counter the Chinese agenda. It recommended that Washington raise tariffs on any Made in China vehicle and tighten USMCA regulations.

    In January last year, a dispute panel of the USMCA ruled in favor of Canada and Mexico against the United States in their interpretation of rules for the production of automobiles.

    The dispute was regarding the United States allegedly having a stricter interpretation of rules that a minimum of 75 percent regional parts is necessary for a car to be considered as made in North America. The rule is crucial to qualify for duty-free treatment under USMCA.

    Canada and Mexico argued that if the core part of the vehicle, like the transmission or engine, has 75 percent regional content, then the number can be rounded up to 100 percent for calculating the overall regional content of the product. The United States disagreed against rounding up the numbers.

    The panel sided with Canada and Mexico. The United States Trade Representative called the ruling “disappointing.” The panel’s interpretation “could result in less North American content in automobiles, less investment across the region, and fewer American jobs.”

    Michael Stumo, from the Coalition for a Prosperous America, said that the judgment “is another reason to not outsource our trade policy, or any part of our sovereignty, to global tribunals. The USMCA was approved in large part because of strong regional auto content. Free traders on an international tribunal just changed that deal.”

    Back in September, President Trump warned in a Truth Social post that the Biden administration’s EV program will end up benefiting China and the “Auto Industry in America will cease to exist!”

    “Vote for TRUMP, and I will stop this Madness, IMMEDIATELY! Mexico & Canada LOVE Biden’s idiotic policy,” he said.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 20:20

  • US Confirms Israel Killed Hamas No. 3, But Biden Calls Rafah Ground Op 'A Mistake'
    US Confirms Israel Killed Hamas No. 3, But Biden Calls Rafah Ground Op ‘A Mistake’

    On Monday the White House confirmed that Israel killed Hamas number three Marwan Issa in an operation on March 11. Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari had initially announced the likelihood of his death, but said the military is still awaiting confirmation. Some international reports have described Issa as the number two most important leader.

    But what is clear is that Issa’s death marks the highest-ranking official of Hamas to be taken out during Israel’s war with Hamas began on Oct. 7. White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan confirmed the news in a Monday afternoon press briefing.

    Marwan Issa, the deputy head of Hamas’s military wing, Last known photograph.

    YNet wrote that “Marwan Issa holds powerful position in the terror group as coordinator between military wing and the political leadership; reports of his death come after massive airstrikes on Nuseirat camp in central Gaza where he is believed to be hiding.”

    Sullivan during the White House press briefing also answered questions over President Biden having held his first phone call in a month with his Israeli counterpart, PM Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

    Sullivan said that Biden told Netanyahu that Israel has the “right to go after Hamas” – but still stressed that the impending ground operation on refugee-packed Rafah is a “mistake”. 

    A call readout indicted the two leaders focused on discussing “the latest developments in Israel and Gaza, including the situation in Rafah and efforts to surge humanitarian assistance to Gaza.” The readout from the Israeli side stressed “Israel’s commitment to achieving all the goals” of its operation, including “making sure Gaza is not a threat” alongside ensuring the continued supply of humanitarian aid.

    But the division between Washington and Tel Aviv policy visions for Gaza continues to play out publicly. Sullivan said that Israel still doesn’t have an adequate plan for the safe evacuation of Rafah’s over one million civilians. But Israel has stressed repeatedly in the last several days that it does have a plan in place.

    Watch the respective contrary positions in the below statements…

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

    Israeli media took notice too:

    The White House on Monday sharply rejected the “straw man” argument adopted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that opposing a major Israeli military operation in Rafah is akin to opposing the total defeat of Hamas.

    Netanyahu also on Monday told a gathering of AIPAC representatives (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) in Jerusalem that accusations coming out of Washington that he’s beholden to extremists in his government are “deliberate lies”. He was responding to the scathing criticisms issued last week Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who also called for new elections in Israel and accused Netanyahu of looking out for his own political future first.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 20:00

  • High-Schoolers Are Losing Confidence In The Benefits Of A College Degree
    High-Schoolers Are Losing Confidence In The Benefits Of A College Degree

    Via Campus Reform,

    A recently released study that involved focus groups and a national study explores how high school students and non-enrolled adults ages 18-30 view the prospects of a college degree.

    New data suggests that prospective college students are finding fewer and fewer reasons to obtain a degree.

    Inside Higher Ed recently highlighted a new report by the Gates Foundation-funded HCM Strategists and Edge Research revealing that high school students and young adults have a declining view of the benefits of a college degree.

    The study, ”Continuing to Explore the Exodus from Higher Education,”compares the results of focus groups and a national survey conducted in 2023 to findings from a 2022 Gates Foundation report titled, “Where are the students?.”

    Researchers found that high schoolers and non-enrolled adults ages 18-30 still associate some benefits with attending college, but those perceived benefits were in decline compared to findings from 2022.

    The percentage of non-enrolled adults surveyed who consider reasons to go to college, such as to gain more money or get a better job, as important or very important has also dropped from the year before.

    At the same time, however, non-enrolled adults continue to perceive an increasing benefit to other options such as licenses, certificates, and trade schools.

    In conclusion, the study’s researchers write that, “Despite our understanding of the value of higher education, perceptions among these high school students and non-enrolled audiences make it clear that institutions need to prove their value to them.”

    ”In particular, why does the value of a 2-year or 4-year degree outweigh the value of credentials and job training programs?,” the researchers write.

    “Both High Schoolers and Non-Enrollees see and select other paths that are shorter, cheaper, and/or more directly linked to specific job opportunities.”

    “At the end of the day, higher education has a lot of work to do to convince these audiences of its value,” HCM consultant Terrell Dunn told Inside Higher Ed. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 19:40

  • Google Denies Election Interference After Report Cites Dozens Of Instances Helping Dems, Censoring Republicans
    Google Denies Election Interference After Report Cites Dozens Of Instances Helping Dems, Censoring Republicans

    Google has denied a new report by the right-leaning Media Research Center (MRC) alleging 41 instances of “election interference” since 2008.

    According to the report, Google has “utilized its power to help push to electoral victory the most liberal candidates…while targeting their opponents for censorship.”

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

    MRC also claims that Google “targeted support for Hillary Clinton for censorship” by “suspending the accounts of writers who wrote blogs critical of Obama during his primary race against Clinton.”

    In 2008, MRC alleged that Google threw its support behind then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as he faced off against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. –NY Post

    Four years later, Google – which “once again favored Obama over Mitt Romney,” refused to correct a “Google bomb” that smeared GOP primary candidate Rick Santorum, the report reads.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsAccording to Dr. Robert Epstein, who is cited in MRC’s report and has conducted “dozens of controlled experiments” to uncover bias, Google’s search algorithm “shifted at least 2.5 million votes” to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US election.

    In 2018, President Donald Trump accused the search giant of rigging search results to display only left-wing and negative stories about him.

    “Google search results for ‘Trump News’ shows only the viewing/reporting of Fake New Media. In other words, they have it RIGGED, for me & others, so that almost all stories & news is BAD, Fake CNN is prominent. Republican/Conservative & Fair Media is shut out. Illegal,” Trump said in a now-deleted post on X.

    In response, Google claimed “Search is not used to set a political agenda and we don’t bias our results toward any political ideology.”

    Google denies

    A company source told the NY Post that Epstein’s claims have been “widely debunked.” In one instance cited by the MRC report, Google is alleged to have “targeted” then-Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (HI), by “disabling Gabbard’s Ads account just as she became the most searched candidate following the first Democratic Party primary debate.”

    Google’s source told the Post that the company’s automated systems flagged ‘unusual activity’ due to large spending changes in an effort to prevent fraud – and the issue was resolved within six hours, per the source, who noted that Gabbard’s subsequent lawsuit against the company was dismissed.

    The MRC also alleged that Google’s left-leaning bias impacted the 2022 Georgia Senate race between former football great and Republican Herschel Walker and the eventual winner, the Democrat Raphael Warnock.

    According to the report, Google’s search results “favored [the] incumbent” Warnock “in the swing precinct where greater proportions of undecided voters likely reside.”

    A source close to Google told The Post that third parties who have looked at our results and “found no evidence to support claims of political bias.” -NY Post

    “There is absolutely nothing new here — just a recycled list of baseless, inaccurate complaints that have been debunked by third parties and many that failed in the courts,” a Google spokesperson told the outlet.

    Of course, one can’t help but be skeptical considering that just before the 2016 presidential election, among the many leaks published by Wikileaks as part of its Podesta email leak was Google’s “strategic plan” to help democrats win the election and track voters.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 19:20

  • Biden Wants To Hike Taxes By $7 Trillion Dollars
    Biden Wants To Hike Taxes By $7 Trillion Dollars

    Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

    If Democrats win the trifecta with a clean sweep of the Senate, House, and White House in November, taxes would rise by $7 trillion over 10 years.

    The House Ways and Means Committee reports The Biden Tax Hike Will Likely Exceed $7 Trillion.

    I believe they mean would not will.

    Tax Details

    • President Biden Quietly Pledges to Let Trump Tax Cuts Expire

    • Sending Jobs and Companies Overseas with Higher Business Taxes than China

    • Global Tax Surrender Allows Foreign Governments to Take American Tax Dollars

    • President Biden’s proposal to raise the top rate to 39.6 percent goes after small business owners who pay their business taxes via their individual tax return – despite his pledge not to raise taxes on small businesses.

    • A Tax on Wealth You Haven’t Even Earned Yet.

    • Higher Prices for Energy Bills and an Energy Insecure America.

    • An IRS That Would Terrify Godzilla

    A friend of mine asked when will the tax hikes cause a recession. I replied never. I suspect my friend was confused over the title that said “will” it should say “would”.

    I did not total up all of those details because I don’t believe it’s going to happen. However, It is a warning shot as to what would happen if Democrats did win the trifecta.

    Biden’s Populist Budget

    The Hill comments Biden’s populist budget marks the overdue end of trickle-down economics

    Trickle-down refers to the idea that tax cuts for the wealthiest “trickle down” to the rest of us. It’s long been a popular idea in Washington, but it’s just not true. A few years ago, the London School of Economics studied 50 years of such “trickle-down” policies in 18 industrialized nations, including the U.S., and found that their only result was increasing the wealth of the already wealthy.

    So how do we get prosperity for the rest of us? By taxing extreme wealth and investing those revenues in social goods like education, housing, food and health care. President Biden’s recently released federal budget plan follows that blueprint, putting the value of investing in American families and communities ahead of slashing taxes for the rich.

    The budget for the fiscal year 2025 would generate about $5.3 trillion in revenues over the next decade. That’s a $388 billion boost compared to last year’s budget — and it all comes from fairer tax policies targeting wealthy individuals and large corporations. Households earning less than $400,000 would see no tax increases, with many seeing reductions.

    The proposed budget invests $2.3 trillion towards essential public services for hard-working families while reducing the national debt by almost $3 trillion. That’s a great start toward filling critical investment gaps for families and communities.

    Take housing. The National Low Income Housing Coalition reports a shortfall of more than 7 million affordable housing units for poor and low-income Americans. Biden is requesting $33 billion for the Housing Choice Voucher program, which currently helps over 2 million households afford housing and would expand access to homeownership for first-time homebuyers. His request will help to support the existing vouchers and add about 20,000 more.

    Though much more is needed, this effort to reduce homelessness by providing access to safe affordable housing in a tight housing market — with high rent prices and often insufficient wages — is a step in the right direction.

    Normally writers for The Hill are not nutzoid liberal like the above article.

    But it’s not going to happen unless you think Democrats can pull off a trifecta.

    Nonetheless, the budget is instructive as are CBO and Fed projections. I will have some comments on those projections Sunday or Monday.

    Optimism reins supreme, and it won’t happen.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 19:00

  • Russia Mulls Security Buffer Zone As Ukraine Drones Shut Down 600,000 Barrels Of Daily Refining
    Russia Mulls Security Buffer Zone As Ukraine Drones Shut Down 600,000 Barrels Of Daily Refining

    After Russian President Vladimir Putin’s post-election victory speech and Q&A with the press wherein he first unveiled the possibility of creating a buffer zone between Ukrainian land and Russian border regions, the Kremlin has issued more details of the plan being mulled. 

    Putin had initially described Sunday, “I do not exclude that, bearing in mind the tragic events taking place today, we will be forced at some point, when we deem it appropriate, to create a certain ‘sanitary zone’ in the territories today under the Kyiv regime.” He referenced the “tragic events” of cross-border attacks in regions bordering Ukraine which have left scores of civilians dead and wounded over the past several months.

    Putin described without elaborating further that the security zone “would be quite difficult for the adversary to overcome with its weapons, primarily of foreign origin.”

    Refinery ablaze last week in Ryazan, Ryazan Region. via Reuters

    On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that as part of the plan Russia “would take measures to safeguard [its] territories” from Ukrainian drone and artillery attacks on critical infrastructure and civilian areas and residences. These areas can be made safe, he explained in follow-up to Putin’s words, “some kind of corridor, some kind of… buffer zone that [would put] out of reach any means that the enemy might use to launch strikes.”

    From Moscow’s perspective, this is laying the foundation and likely even ‘legal framework’ for seizing and solidifying hold over border territories inside Ukraine for the purpose of creating this proposed buffer. In many cases thus far throughout the war, Ukraine forces have been able to send drones hundreds of kilometers inside Russia, reaching even Moscow and St. Petersburg in rare instances.

    Oil refineries have been especially targeted, with a dozen or more instances in merely the last few months alone. Crimea too has come under increased drone swarm attack.

    The attacks on energy are clearly beginning to have significant impact on a chief source of revenue, part of which no doubt goes to fund the Russian war machine in Ukraine.

    “Gunvor Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Torbjörn Törnqvist estimates about 600,000 barrels of Russia’s daily oil-refining capacity has been knocked out by Ukrainian drone strikes,” Bloomberg reports based on a Monday report. According to some key quotes:

    “It is significant because obviously this is gonna hit the distillate exports straight away,” Törnqvist said during an interview at the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston on Monday. “So that will probably take down exports by a couple of hundred thousand barrels, so to me it’s a distillate problem.”

    …Broadly writ, crude oil markets are mostly in balance and fairly valued, Törnqvist said, adding that US supplies are likely to grow this year by about half the rate of 2023’s 700,000-to-800,000 barrel-a-day pace. Still, non-OPEC supply growth overall is likely to be flat this year, he said. 

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

    The past week has seen consecutive days of drone strikes on oil facilities inside Russia, with a noticeable uptick in attacks confirmed over the weekend, as Russians went to the polls to vote in the presidential election. Just before the three-day election period began, there was an attack on Rosneft’s largest refinery:

    Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery, controlled by Rosneft, was set ablaze after a drone attack, a regional governor said on Wednesday.

    The plant, with installed capacity of around 350,000 barrels per day, refines about 12.7 million metric tons of Russian crude a year (around 317,000 barrels per day), or 5.8% of total refined crude, according to industry sources.

    On Sunday alone, 35 drones were launched on Russia, disrupting electricity in a number of border regions, including resulting at another fire at an oil refinery. One drone made to Moscow, and was shot down as it flew near Domodedovo airport.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 18:40

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Mar 18

Today’s News 18th March 2024

  • Which Countries Have A Legal Cannabis Market?
    Which Countries Have A Legal Cannabis Market?

    Non-medical cannabis sales are forecast to surge by around 74 percent in the United States between 2024 and 2028, increasing from $20.2 billion to $35.1 billion.

    This is according to estimates calculated on July 2023 by analysts at Statista Market Insights and is based on the 11 countries in which cannabis was fully or partially legalized in around the world.

    As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, the U.S. is already the biggest market for non-medical legal cannabis worldwide.

    It is forecast to expand to become almost seven times bigger than the next largest market, neighboring Canada.

    Canada has a sizeable market considering that the drug’s use for recreational purposes only became legal across the country on October 17, 2018.

    Infographic: Which Countries Have a Legal Cannabis Market? | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    As the chart above shows, Cannabis will soon be legally available in Germany too, with possession and cultivation of the plant for personal consumption legal for adults as of April 1, 2024.

    It will not be the sole market in Europe either, with the Netherlands and Spain both projected to see growth in the next four years.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 02:45

  • "Reduce Poverty Migration To Zero" – German Politicians Propose Crackdown On Migrants Sending Billions To Their Home Countries
    “Reduce Poverty Migration To Zero” – German Politicians Propose Crackdown On Migrants Sending Billions To Their Home Countries

    By John Cody of Remix News

    Every year, migrants and refugees transfer billions of euros from Germany to family members in their home countries, with the Bundesbank estimating this to be at least €6.8 billion per year.

    Now, some German political parties want to crack down on this development, with the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) seeking to “reduce poverty migration to zero” with restrictions on cash payments and social benefits.

    Some of the money sent abroad is earned from work, but a substantial amount is likely from social welfare payments transferred to migrants, who then send it out of the country to support their families across the world. Since many of these social welfare benefits are distributed as cash, there is little oversight in how this money is used and transferred by migrants.

    These foreigners have a substantial incentive to send this money overseas, where due to exchange rates and different standards of living, the euro can go far further than it can in Germany. However, these social welfare payments were never designed to be sent overseas, and are meant to provide the necessary support for migrants within Germany.

    The debate on these remittances is only growing, with pro-migration parties working to stop efforts to disburse social welfare through electronic cards rather than cash. There is an awareness that if migrants stop receiving this money in cash, it may even serve as an incentive to leave the country. Not only would cash remittances become far more difficult, but prostitutes, drugs, and alcohol could also face restrictions.

    However, so-called vices such as alcohol and cigarettes may still be freely available with the new bank cards for migrants, with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) working to enact restrictions on certain products.

    “Established politics is once again misleading the German public. The goal of all reforms of asylum seeker benefits must be to reduce poverty migration to Germany to zero. To achieve this, all false incentives must be eliminated immediately. This is not feasible with a payment card for asylum seekers that continues to provide cash benefits and does not even exclude things like alcohol or cigarettes,” said AfD parliamentary group spokesperson, René Springer.

    “We need a strict principle of benefits in kind for asylum seekers — bread, bed, and soap. There should be nothing more. Only then can we really assume that people who ask for asylum here are actually seeking protection. Asylum is only intended for this purpose and not as an access portal to German social benefits,” he continued.

    It is not just the AfD working to abolish cash benefits. Free Democrats (FDP) parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr said these cash benefits have been a “real pull factor. A lot of money was then sent home. We don’t want that.”

    However, other pro-migrant politicians such as the Green Party’s Erik Marquardt claim that migrants sending this tax money home is actually a good thing, saying that it is an “important part of development cooperation.” The argument is that these migrants are helping their families out of poverty.

    Continue reading at rmx.news

     

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/18/2024 – 02:00

  • Escobar: Will BRICS Launch A New World Order In 2024?
    Escobar: Will BRICS Launch A New World Order In 2024?

    Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Cradle,

    BRICS doubled its membership at the start of 2024, and faces huge tasks ahead: integrating its newest members, developing future admission criteria, deepening the institution’s groundings, and most importantly, launching the mechanisms for bypassing the US dollar in international finance.

    Across the Global South, countries are lining up to join the multipolar BRICS and the Hegemon-free future it promises. The onslaught of interest has become an unavoidable theme of discussion during this crucial year of the Russian presidency of what, for the moment, is BRICS-10.  

    Indonesia and Nigeria are among the top tiers of candidates likely to join. The same applies to Pakistan and Vietnam. Mexico is in a very complex bind: how to join without summoning the ire of the Hegemon.  

    And then there’s the new candidacy on a roll: Yemen, which enjoys plenty of support from Russia, China, and Iran. 

    It’s been up to Russia’s top BRICS sherpa, the immensely capable Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, to clarify what’s ahead. He tells TASS: 

    We must provide a platform for the countries interested in rapprochement with the BRICS, where they will be able to work practically without feeling left behind and joining this cooperation rhythm. And as to how the further expansion will be decided upon – this should be postponed at least until the leaders convene in Kazan to decide.

    The key decision on BRICS+ expansion will only come out of the Kazan summit next October. Ryabkov stresses that the order of the day is first “to integrate those who have just joined.” This means that “as a ‘ten,’ we work at least as efficiently, or, rather, more efficiently than we did within the initial ‘five.'”

    Only then will the BRICS-10 “develop the category of partner states,” which, in fact, means creating a consensus-based list out of the dozens of nations that are literally itching to join the club. 

    Ryabkov always makes a point to note, in public and in private, that the twofold increase of BRICS members starting on 1 January 2024 is “an unprecedented event for any international structure.”

    It isn’t an easy task, Ryabkov says: 

    Last year, it took an entire year to develop the admission, expansion criteria at the level of top officials. Many reasonable things were developed. And many of the things that were formulated back then got reflected in the list of countries that joined. But it would probably be improper to formalize the requirements. At the end of the day, an admission to the association is a subject of political decision.

    What happens after Russia’s presidential elections 

    In a private meeting with a few select individuals on the sidelines of the recent multipolar conference in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke effusively of BRICS, with particular emphasis on his counterparts Wang Yi of China and S. Jaishankar of India. 

    Lavrov holds great expectations for BRICS-10 this year – at the same time, reminding everyone that this is still a club; it must eventually go deeper in institutional terms, for instance, by appointing a secretariat-general, just like its cousin-style organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

    The Russian presidency will have its hands full for the next few months, not only navigating the geopolitical spectrum of current crises but, most of all, geoeconomics. A crucial ministerial meeting in June – only three months away – will have to define a detailed road map all the way to the Kazan summit four months later. 

    What happens after this week’s Russian presidential elections will also condition BRICS policy. A new Russian government will be sworn in only by early May. It is widely expected that there will be no substantial changes within the Russian Finance Ministry, Central Bank, Foreign Ministry, and among top Kremlin advisers. 

    Continuity will be the norm. 

    And that brings us to the key geoeconomics dossier: the BRICS at the forefront of bypassing the US dollar in international finance. 

    Last week, top Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov announced that BRICS will work towards setting up an independent payment system based on digital currencies and blockchain. 

    Ushakov specifically emphasized “state-of-the-art tools such as digital technologies and blockchain. The main thing is to make sure it is convenient for governments, common people, and businesses, as well as cost-effective and free of politics.”

    Ushakov did not mention it explicitly, but a new alternative system already exists. For the moment, it is a closely, carefully guarded project in the form of a detailed white paper that has already been validated academically and also incorporates answers to possible frequently asked questions. 

    The Cradle was briefed on the system via several meetings since last year with a small group of world-class fintech experts. The system has already been presented to Ushakov himself. As it stands, it is on the verge of receiving a final green light from the Russian government. After clearing a series of tests, the system in thesis would be ready to be presented to all BRICS-10 members before the Kazan summit. 

    This all ties in with Ushakov publicly declaring that a specific task for 2024 is to increase the role of BRICS in the international monetary/ financial system. 

    Ushakov recalls how, in the 2023 Johannesburg Declaration, the BRICS heads of state focused on increasing settlements in national currencies and strengthening correspondent banking networks. The target was to “continue to develop the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, primarily regarding the use of currencies different from the US dollar.” 

    No single currency for the foreseeable future 

    All of the above frames the absolute key issue being currently discussed in Moscow, within the Russia–China partnership, and soon, deeper among the BRICS-10: alternative settlement payments to the US dollar, increased trade among “friendly nations,” and controls on capital flight.  

    Ryabkov added more crucial elements to the debate, saying this week that the BRICS are not debating the implementation of a single currency: 

    As for a single currency, similar to what was created by the European Union, this is hardly possible in the foreseeable future. If we are talking about clearing forms of mutual settlements such as the ECU [European Currency Unit] at an early stage of development of the European Union, in the absence of a real means of payment, but the opportunity to more effectively use the available resources of the countries in mutual settlements to avoid losses due to differences in exchange rates, and so on, then this is precisely the path along which, in my opinion, BRICS should move. This is under consideration.

    The key takeaway, per Ryabkov, is that the BRICS should not create a financial and monetary alliance; they should create payment and settlement systems that do not depend upon the shifty “rules-based international order.” 

    That’s exactly the emphasis of the ideas and experiments already developed by Minister of Integration and Macroeconomy at the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) Sergei Glazyev, as he explained in an exclusive interview, as well as the new groundbreaking project on the verge of being greenlighted by the Russian government.  

    Ryabkov confirmed that “a group of experts, led by the Ministries of Finance and representatives of the Central Banks of the respective [BRICS] countries,” is working nonstop on the dossier. Moreover, there are “consultations in other formats, including with the participation of representatives of the ‘historical west.'”

    Ryabkov’s own takeaway mirrors what the BRICS as a whole are aiming at: 

    Collectively, we must come up with a product that would be, on the one hand, quite ambitious (because it is impossible to continue to tolerate the dictates of the west in this area), but at the same time realistic, not out of touch with the ground. That is, a product that would be efficient. And all this should be presented in Kazan for consideration by the leaders.

    In a nutshell: the big breakthrough may be literally knocking at the BRICS door. It just depends on a simple green light by the Russian government. 

    Now compare the BRICS devising the contours of a new geoeconomics paradigm with the collective west mulling the actual theft of Russia’s seized assets to the benefit of the black hole that is Ukraine.

    Apart from being a de facto declaration by the US and EU against Russia, this is something that carries the potential, in itself, of totally smashing the current global financial system. 

    A theft of Russian assets, would it ever happen, will render livid, to put it mildly, at least two key BRICS members, China and Saudi Arabia, who bring to the table considerable economic heft. Such a move by the west would completely destroy the concept of the rule of law, which theoretically underpins the global financial system. 

    The Russian response will be fierce. The Russian Central Bank could, in a flash, sue and confiscate the assets of Belgian Euroclear, one of the world’s largest settlement and clearing systems, on whose accounts Russian reserves were frozen. 

    And that on top of seizing Euroclear’s assets in Russia – which amount to roughly 33 billion euros. With Euroclear running out of capital, the Belgian Central Bank will have to revoke its license, causing a massive financial crisis.

    Talk about a clash of paradigms: western robbery versus a Global South-based equitable trade and finance settlement system. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 23:20

  • From Pioneer To Fallen Giant: How Hewlett Packard's Long List Of Failed Acquisitions Cost Its Reputation, Part 3
    From Pioneer To Fallen Giant: How Hewlett Packard’s Long List Of Failed Acquisitions Cost Its Reputation, Part 3

    Part 3 in the series “From pioneer to fallen giant: How Hewlett Packard’s long list of failed acquisitions cost its reputation.” 

    Read Part 1 “Billion dollar bungles” here;

    and Part 2 “The Autonomy Deal – Part 1: Leo Apotheker’s Downfall“ here.

    The Autonomy deal – part 2: Corporate conspiracy and cover-up

    In the first article in this series, we looked at how in the first decade of the 21st century, Hewlett Packard lurched from one disastrous acquisition to another. We then zoomed in on one of the most controversial of HP’s acquisitions – the Autonomy deal – which quickly fell to pieces.

    In this article, we’ll pick up the story in summer 2012. Meg Whitman, HP’s CEO, had signaled she had given up on any attempt to properly integrate the newly purchased Autonomy by firing its founder, Dr Mike Lynch.

    This could have been the end of it. Like so many of HP’s previous failed acquisitions, the Autonomy story might be now remembered as an embarrassing footnote in HP’s long history.

    Instead, more than a decade on, the HP-Autonomy saga is still playing out in the headlines and in courtrooms in the UK and US. The origins of this battle are the day in November 2012 when HP launched a calculated attack on Autonomy’s leadership, claiming with extraordinary bluster it had been defrauded when acquiring the company. The latest season in this long-running drama will start in a few days in a California court, where Dr Lynch is being tried as a criminal.

    Backing up a few months to July 2012, it was plain that HP was in serious trouble. Since the start of 2011, its share price had fallen from $20.5 to barely over $6.

    By this point, it was obvious that HP would have to conduct a write-down of its assets to bring its book value back in-line with its market value. This accounting exercise was the responsibility of CFO Cathie Lesjak. As explained in the previous article in the series, Lesjak was firmly against the Autonomy acquisition and fought tooth-and-nail to kill the deal. She asked her team to conduct an analysis of Autonomy’s value to see if an impairment should be recognized.

    Her team concluded that the fair value of Autonomy approximated the carrying value. In other words, no impairment was necessary. Indeed, as documents uncovered in the various court cases that followed show, HP’s accountants still saw potential in Autonomy. They suggested its poor performance was due to “execution issues caused by challenges with operating Autonomy in the HP environment and loss of the legacy Autonomy management team.” In their opinion, Autonomy was still worth what HP paid for it.

    This was an unhelpful view insofar as HP still needed to find ways to bring its book and market cap in-line with one another. Logic would dictate other HP assets and business lines would have to be written down.

    But CEO Meg Whitman was desperate to avoid that outcome. Let’s consider her position. Whitman had recently lost a bruising gubernatorial race, where she came under personal attack for hiring an illegal immigrant as a housemaid, and managed to blow $140m of her own money.

    It is reasonable to assume that if she took the job at HP, she would recoup some of those losses, both financial and reputational. Whitman would be forgiven if she was utterly dismayed when she walked into the dumpster fire that was HP. Presiding over the rapid decline of what was once a Silicon Valley giant would not do much for her resume.

    HP’s eyes turned to Autonomy once gain – as detailed in the previous article, it was a deeply annoying leftover from the Apotheker regime. Cathie Lesjak, still CFO, didn’t want to HP to acquire it in the first place.

    HP began to create a negative narrative about the Autonomy business. They were going to ruthlessly target it so it would become the scapegoat for the failings of HP’s declining empire.

    To reach the end goal of publicly pointing the finger at Autonomy, HP embarked on a series of financial manipulations.

    First, they fiddled with growth rates. Documents show that HP dramatically cut the projected revenue growth for Autonomy on the basis that its revenues had declined while under HP’s management.

    Then, in October, HP’s accountants took out the expected synergies. That allowed them to reach a valuation of $1.6bn.

    But of course, under that analysis, HP would effectively be admitting to the market that it had made a mess of the integration, and wouldn’t gain a cent of revenue growth it said it would when it acquired Autonomy. Such a narrative would make it appear that Meg Whitman and her allies had failed to make anything of the Autonomy deal. Whitman realised this. Internal HP communications show how she had the figures changed to put $2.3bn worth of synergies put back in.

    The third move was to play with discount rates. A higher rate was applied to Autonomy to make its value smaller. While HP had applied a discount rate of 9.5% to Autonomy in August 2012, by October, it artificially increased that rate to 15% to come up with the impairment it wanted. As with the synergies, Whitman intervened at the 11th hour, the night before the board was due to meet to discuss the impairment, asking that this was increased again to 16%.

    HP’s finance team were, understandably, getting worried about these entirely arbitrary calculations that they were being asked to make. One HP accountant described the results as “nonsensical”.

    By October 2012, HP had formulated a valuation for Autonomy of $2.2 billion – a write down of $8.8 billion – through a combination of lower growth rates, lower margins, lower projected synergies, and the “nonsensical” discount rate. This wasn’t the result of methodical review based on detailed accounting or a report from external advisors.

    But all this begs a huge question: where does fraud come into this?

    After all, Dr Mike Lynch is about to be tried for wire and securities fraud as a result of HP’s claim. However, as seen in court documents, in October 2012 after weeks of work by HP’s finance team, there was nothing to suggest a suspected fraud orchestrated by Autonomy’s people was the reason behind their write-down of the company. 

    That’s what made HP’s next move all the more incomprehensible.

    On November 20, 2012, it told the market it had been the victim of “serious accounting improprieties, misrepresentations and disclosure failures” during the course of the Autonomy acquisition. HP said this was the reason for $5.2bn of the $8.8bn write-down announced that day. In a press release, HP said that it had run an “intense internal investigation” into these “improprieties”, which included a “forensic review by PwC” of Autonomy’s financial records.

    This was a flat-out lie. No investigation took place, let alone a “forensic” review. The conclusion HP came to – that Autonomy and its leadership was somehow crooked – was pre-determined to fit HP’s narrative. The $5.2 billion figure was cooked up in the weeks preceding, it was not the result of extensive evidence gathering.

    HP peddled this myth all in a bid to save face and direct the market away from its own steep decline. On the same day, HP released its latest set of disappointing results: reporting revenue was down 7% and net losses reached $6.9 billion. It was a “tough quarter across the board” as CNN put it.

    After the initial shock of HP’s bombshell write-down announcement, investors and the media began poking around more deliberately.

    HP’s Head of Investor Relations was clearly uncomfortable, stating in internal communications that he thought it “disingenuous” that HP were not being up front about the fact that the expected synergies had not been achieved post-acquisition.

    And it wasn’t just HP staffers who were unhappy. As a New York Times piece points out, HP’s external accounts, Ernst & Young, did not believe there were accounting irregularities involved.

    An email exchange involving Lesjak and HP’s Chief Communications Officer highlighted that the media couldn’t understand how HP had reached the $5.2 billion figure. The CCO asked if the finance team could prepare an infographic to help show HP’s working.

    But of course, there was no detailed working. So when Lesjak asked for more details, she received an email on 30 November from a member of her team stating, “we’ve never formally prepared anything to attribute the irregularities to the amount of the write down”.

    In another email trail between Lesjak and the HP communications team she argued it would be better not to “go down this path” with the media, since she herself could not explain how the $5.2 billion figure had been arrived at.

    The fact that a major corporation’s CFO could not explain the basis of a market-critical announcement speaks volumes. Lesjak’s haziness on the matter was exposed when she was cross-examined in a British court years later.

    HP could not justify its claims then, nor can it justify them now. The company’s track record on acquisitions was so poor, and its overall performance so abysmal, that its leadership made a calculated decision to concoct a claim of fraud rather than admit the Autonomy integration was yet another HP management disaster. And when difficult questions arose about the write-down, HP’s leadership closed ranks and doubled down on their claim, despite the doubts of colleagues and external consultants.  

    To this day, HP continues to demand its pound of flesh, somehow convincing itself it has been a victim.  It has spent millions of dollars on lawyers and PR in the process. This is shareholder’s money, all to protect the reputation of Meg Whitman and her CFO.

    All too predictably, the Silicon Valley company and its army of lawyers has got its way. The US Government orchestrated the extradition of Autonomy’s founder, Dr Mike Lynch, and he will face trial in California this month.

    It is a stark and shocking reminder of two things: one, the once great Hewlett Packard lost its way long ago, and has burnt through cash trying to acquire its way out of trouble, and two, the lengths corporate America will go to avoid facing up to difficult truths.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 22:45

  • Supreme Court Rules Public Officials May Block Their Constituents On Social Media
    Supreme Court Rules Public Officials May Block Their Constituents On Social Media

    Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Public officials may block people on social media in certain situations, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on March 15.

    People leave the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Feb. 21, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

    At the same time, the court held that public officials who post about topics pertaining to their work on their personal social media accounts are acting on behalf of the government. But such officials can be found liable for violating the First Amendment only when they have been properly authorized by the government to communicate on its behalf.

    The case is important because nowadays public officials routinely reach out to voters through social media on the same pages where they discuss personal matters unrelated to government business.

    “When a government official posts about job-related topics on social media, it can be difficult to tell whether the speech is official or private,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for the nation’s highest court.

    The case is separate from but brings to mind a lawsuit that several individuals previously filed against former President Donald Trump after he blocked them from accessing his social media account on Twitter, which was later renamed X. The Supreme Court dismissed that case, Biden v. Knight First Amendment Institute, in April 2021 as moot because President Trump had already left office.

    At the time of the ruling, the then-Twitter had banned President Trump. When Elon Musk took over the company he reversed that policy.

    The new decision in Lindke v. Freed was written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

    Respondent James Freed, the city manager of Port Huron, Michigan, used a public Facebook account to communicate with his constituents. Petitioner Kevin Lindke, a resident of Port Huron, criticized the municipality’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including accusations of hypocrisy by local officials.

    Mr. Freed blocked Mr. Lindke and others and removed their comments, according to Mr. Lindke’s petition.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled for Mr. Freed, finding that he was acting only in a personal capacity and that his activities did not constitute governmental action.

    Mr. Freed’s attorney, Victoria Ferres, said during oral arguments before the Supreme Court on Oct. 31, 2023, that her client didn’t give up his rights when using social media.

    “This country’s 21 million government employees should have the right to talk publicly about their jobs on personal social media accounts like their private-sector counterparts.”

    The position advocated by the other side would unfairly punish government officials, and “will result in uncertainty and self-censorship for this country’s government employees despite this Court repeatedly finding that government employees do not lose their rights merely by virtue of public employment,” she said.

    In Lindke v. Freed, the Supreme Court found that a public official who prevents a person from comments on the official’s social media pages engages in governmental action under Section 1983 only if the official had “actual authority” to speak on the government’s behalf on a specific matter and if the official claimed to exercise that authority when speaking in the relevant social media posts.

    Section 1983 refers to Title 42, U.S. Code, Section 1983, which allows people to sue government actors for deprivation of civil rights.

    Justice Barrett wrote that according to the so-called state action doctrine, the test for “actual authority” must be “rooted in written law or longstanding custom to speak for the State.”

    “That authority must extend to speech of the sort that caused the alleged rights deprivation. If the plaintiff cannot make this threshold showing of authority, he cannot establish state action.”

    “For social-media activity to constitute state action, an official must not only have state authority—he must also purport to use it,” the justice continued.

    “State officials have a choice about the capacity in which they choose to speak.”

    Citing previous precedent, Justice Barrett wrote that generally a public employee claiming to speak on behalf of the government acts with state authority when he speaks “in his official capacity or” when he uses his speech to carry out “his responsibilities pursuant to state law.”

    “If the public employee does not use his speech in furtherance of his official responsibilities, he is speaking in his own voice.”

    The Supreme Court remanded the case to the 6th Circuit with instructions to vacate its judgment and ordered it to conduct “further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”

    Also on March 15, the Supreme Court ruled on O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier, a related case. The court’s sparse, unanimous opinion was unsigned.

    Petitioners Michelle O’Connor-Ratcliff and T.J. Zane were two elected members of the Poway Unified School District Board of Trustees in California who used their personal Facebook and Twitter accounts to communicate with the public.

    Respondents Christopher Garnier and Kimberly Garnier, parents of local students, “spammed Petitioners’ posts and tweets with repetitive comments and replies” so the school board members blocked the respondents from the accounts, according to the petition filed by Ms. O’Connor-Ratcliff and Mr. Zane.

    But the Garniers said they were acting in good faith.

    “The Garniers left comments exposing financial mismanagement by the former superintendent as well as incidents of racism,” the couple said in a brief.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit found in favor of the Garniers, holding that elected officials using social media accounts were participating in a public forum.

    The Supreme Court ruled in a three-page opinion that because the 9th Circuit deviated from the standard the high court articulated in Lindke v. Freed, the 9th Circuit’s decision must be vacated.

    The case was remanded to the 9th Circuit “for further proceedings consistent with our opinion” in the Lindke case, the Supreme Court stated.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 22:10

  • Planet Fitness Cancels Membership Of Woman Who Exposed Biological Male Using Women's Locker Room
    Planet Fitness Cancels Membership Of Woman Who Exposed Biological Male Using Women’s Locker Room

    Planet Fitness is defending its decision to ban the membership of a customer in Alaska who spoke out about a “man in women’s locker room shaving.”

    Patricia Silva left the gym in Fairbanks, Alaska and shared a video on Facebook where she said: “I just came out of Planet Fitness. There is a man shaving in the women’s bathroom.”

    She also said the man “woman” was in the locker room at the same time as a 12 year old girl. 

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    She added: “I love him in Christ. He is a spiritual being having a human experience. He doesn’t like his gender so he wants to be a woman, but I’m not comfortable with him shaving in my bathroom.”

    Planet Fitness didn’t take kindly to the interaction and cancelled Silva’s membership, telling ABC affiliate WDPE: “As the home of the Judgement Free Zone, Planet Fitness is committed to creating an inclusive environment.”

    The gym said: “Our gender identity non-discrimination policy states that members and guests may use the gym facilities that best align with their sincere, self-reported gender identity. The member who posted on social media violated our mobile device policy that prohibits taking photos of individuals in the locker room, which resulted in their membership being terminated.”

    Planet Fitness’ website currently states: “At Planet Fitness, we celebrate and champion diversity and provide an environment where everyone feels accepted, respected and like they belong. Planet Fitness prohibits discrimination and harassment that is based on gender identity or gender expression in the workplace and in our clubs. The following is our corporate policy regarding the accommodation of our members and team members in terms of their gender identity.”

    “Planet Fitness prohibits discrimination and harassment that is based on gender identity or gender expression in the workplace and in our clubs.”

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 20:25

  • Pro-Israel Congressmen Pressed On 'River To The Sea' Hypocrisy
    Pro-Israel Congressmen Pressed On ‘River To The Sea’ Hypocrisy

    Submitted by Decensored News

    Decensored News joined forces with independent news outlet The Grayzone this week, producing/editing a video based around footage of Grayzone contributor Liam Cosgrove confronting several pro-Israel congressmen over their hypocritical condemnation of the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” (see above).

    They suddenly didn’t find it inherently “genocidal” anymore when Cosgrove quoted from the 1977 original Israeli Likud party platform for them, which contains a similar phrase (bold added):

    The right of the Jewish people to the land of Israel is eternal and indisputable and is linked with the right to security and peace; therefore, Judea and Samaria will not be handed to any foreign administration; between the Sea and the Jordan there will only be Israeli sovereignty.

    Much more recently, Benjamin Netanyahu said during a January 2024 news conference that “in any future arrangement… Israel needs security control over all territory west of the Jordan River.”

    “This is a necessary condition, and it collides with the idea of sovereignty,” he added. “What can you do?”

    “Rep. Rashida Tlaib was censured by her colleagues for calling for Palestinians to be liberated from apartheid ‘from the river to the sea,’ ” said Grayzone editor-in-chief Max Blumenthal while sharing the video above on X.

    “Rep. Brian Mast declares, ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will never be,’ knowing nothing will happen except more AIPAC donations.”

    Democratic congressmen Dan Goldman and Jared Moskotwitz also appear in the video, engaging in what The Grayzone called “obscene levels of hypocrisy.”

    This is Decensored News’ second collaboration with Cosgrove, having previously worked with him on a video based around interviews he conducted with congressmen Dan Crenshaw, Byron Donalds, August Pfluger, and Juan Ciscomani a few months ago.

    See from November: “Pro-Israel Congressmen pressed on Israel’s long history of deliberately propping up Hamas“

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    For more reporting like this, please follow Decensored News on your favorite social media platforms and bookmark the website. Liam Cosgrove can be found on X (@cosgrove_iv).

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 19:50

  • Housing Affordability Crisis Solved: Sedona To Let Homeless Workers Sleep In Cars
    Housing Affordability Crisis Solved: Sedona To Let Homeless Workers Sleep In Cars

    In a move that’s raising eyebrows and rankling residents, the swanky city of Sedona, Arizona is addressing its outrageous housing costs by creating a parking area so homeless workers have a place to sleep in their cars legally. 

    After an acrimonious debate that spanned almost seven hours, the city council approved the Safe Place to Park program by a 6-1 vote. Under the scheme, 40 parking spaces will be made available in a 6-acre parking lot at the town’s Cultural Park, a 41-acre property that used to be a performance venue. The lot will be outfitted with temporary bathrooms and showers. 

    A homeless coalition will be charged with overseeing the facility from 10pm to 8am, and all cars have to leave the lot during the day — so much for night-shift workers. To secure a spot in the lot, individuals must be full-time workers in the city. Proponents say the lot will help prevent homeless workers from sleeping in cars parked on Sedona streets or on the national forest land that is one of Sedona’s major tourist draws. 

    They’ll also have to engage with social workers who will help them strive to find permanent homes. Good luck. With the average house in the isolated town going for $930,000, and rental homes oriented toward big-spending vacationers, the desert paradise is unaffordable for many blue-collar workers. 

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    City officials reassured residents that the lot will not be visible from any of their homes — so they won’t have to worry about inadvertently casting their gaze on the homeless workers who make their lux lives in Sedona possible. 

    Residents worry the lot will become a hub of criminality and drug use. One resident who fled homeless-plagued Portland for sanctuary in Sedona is already working on an end-around to kill the program. “If the city does pass this misbegotten zoning ordinance, I’ve already prepared and tomorrow I will file for a ballot referendum so the people of Sedona can correct that mistake,” said Dr. Bill Noonan on the day of the vote. 

    Sedona Arizona is one pricey paradise

    “I don’t think there’s anybody up here or staff that are extremely proud of this. This is a last-ditch effort,” Mayor Scott Jablow told AZCentral. “No one’s really proud because this isn’t really the answer. It’s one of many answers.”

    We’re guessing his other “answers” don’t include ending the Fed. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 19:15

  • Default: San Francisco Four Seasons Hotel Investors $3 Million Late On Loan As Foreclosure Looms
    Default: San Francisco Four Seasons Hotel Investors $3 Million Late On Loan As Foreclosure Looms

    Westbrook Partners, which acquired the San Francisco Four Seasons luxury hotel building, has been served a notice of default, as the developer has failed to make its monthly loan payment since December, and is currently behind by more than $3 million, the San Francisco Business Times reports.

    Westbrook, which acquired the property at 345 California Center in 2019, has 90 days to bring their account current with its lender or face foreclosure.

    Related

    As SF Gate notes, downtown San Francisco hotel investors have had a terrible few years – with interest rates higher than their pre-pandemic levels, and local tourism continuing to suffer thanks to the city’s legendary mismanagement that has resulted in overlapping drug, crime, and homelessness crises (which SF Gate characterizes as “a negative media narrative).

    Last summer, the owner of San Francisco’s Hilton Union Square and Parc 55 hotels abandoned its loan in the first major default. Industry insiders speculate that loan defaults like this may become more common given the difficult period for investors.

    At a visitor impact summit in August, a senior director of hospitality analytics for the CoStar Group reported that there are 22 active commercial mortgage-backed securities loans for hotels in San Francisco maturing in the next two years. Of these hotel loans, 17 are on CoStar’s “watchlist,” as they are at a higher risk of default, the analyst said. -SF Gate

    The 155-room Four Seasons San Francisco at Embarcadero currenly occupies the top 11 floors of the iconic skyscrper. After slow renovations, the hotel officially reopened in the summer of 2021.

    “Regarding the landscape of the hotel community in San Francisco, the short term is a challenging situation due to high interest rates, fewer guests compared to pre-pandemic and the relatively high costs attached with doing business here,” Alex Bastian, President and CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, told SFGATE.

    Heightened Risks

    In January, the owner of the Hilton Financial District at 750 Kearny St. – Portsmouth Square’s affiliate Justice Operating Company – defaulted on the property, which had a $97 million loan on the 544-room hotel taken out in 2013. The company says it proposed a loan modification agreement which was under review by the servicer, LNR Partners.

    Meanwhile last year Park Hotels & Resorts gave up ownership of two properties, Parc 55 and Hilton Union Square – which were transferred to a receiver that assumed management.

    In the third quarter of 2023, the most recent data available, the Hilton Financial District reported $11.1 million in revenue, down from $12.3 million from the third quarter of 2022. The hotel had a net operating loss of $1.56 million in the most recent third quarter.

    Occupancy fell to 88% with an average daily rate of $218 in the third quarter compared with 94% and $230 in the same period of 2022. –SF Chronicle

    According to the Chronicle, San Francisco’s 2024 convention calendar is lighter than it was last year – in part due to key events leaving the city for cheaper, less crime-ridden places like Las Vegas. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 18:05

  • New York City Reaches Deal To Limit Shelter Stays For Adult Migrants
    New York City Reaches Deal To Limit Shelter Stays For Adult Migrants

    Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    New York City has reached an agreement with the Legal Aid Society that will enable the city to limit the duration of stay for adult migrants in shelters amid an ongoing surge in new arrivals, according to the mayor.

    Hundreds of illegal immigrants line up outside of the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in New York City on June 6, 2023. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

    The agreement essentially ends the blanket right to shelter for adult migrants after 30 days, allowing only those who meet “extenuating circumstances” to reapply on a case-by-case basis.

    “Today’s stipulation acknowledges that reality and grants us additional flexibility during times of crisis, like the national humanitarian crisis we are currently experiencing,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a press release.

    Mr. Adams said the city’s shelter system had fewer than 2,500 people in its care when “the Right to Shelter” law was enacted over 40 years ago, compared to the 120,000 people today, 65,000 of which are migrants.

    “New York City has led the nation in responding to a national humanitarian crisis, providing shelter and care to approximately 183,000 new arrivals since the spring of 2022, but we have been clear, from day one, that the ‘Right to Shelter’ was never intended to apply to a population larger than most U.S. cities descending on the five boroughs in less than two years,” he added.

    The settlement applies only to adults seeking shelter and does not impact families with children. Young adults, under the age of 23, will be granted 60 days of shelter.

    Additional time can be granted if there is evidence of “significant efforts to resettle,” which can include making an appointment with an immigration lawyer, applying for a resettlement program, or providing proof that they’re searching for housing.

    The agreement also requires that the city eliminates the backlog of new arrivals who have been forced to wait many days for another bed when reapplying for placement.

    The city also agreed to eliminate the use of waiting rooms as shelters and provide consistent access to bathrooms, showers, and food, according to a statement by the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless.

    “We will very closely monitor the City’s compliance with this settlement and we won’t hesitate to seek judicial intervention should there be noncompliance,” said Legal Aid Society attorney Adriene Holder.

    The right to shelter has been in place for more than four decades in New York, after a court in 1981 required the city to provide temporary housing for every homeless person who asks for it. Other big U.S. cities don’t have such a rule.

    Dozens of recently arrived migrants to New York City camp outside of the Roosevelt Hotel, which has been made into a reception center, as they try to secure temporary housing in New York City on Aug. 1, 2023. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

    New York’s shelter system is now filled to record levels. The city says it is currently providing housing for 93,000 people. In recent months it has rented out entire hotels to house the influx of migrants, at great cost. It has also put cots in schools, and temporarily housed people in tents, a cruise ship terminal, and a former police academy building.

    Mr. Adams has sought financial help from the state and federal government and has been critical of President Joe Biden’s administration for not providing funding to care for migrants.

    “Like impacted cities across the country, we cannot bear the brunt of this crisis alone and continue to seek significant support from our federal partners, including expedited work authorizations, more funding, and a national resettlement strategy,” he said.

    The Democrat mayor previously estimated it will cost the city roughly $12 billion over the next three years to handle the ongoing influx of immigrants.

    He also issued an executive order to clamp down on charter bus companies transporting illegal immigrants from Texas, stating that such firms must notify the city’s Emergency Management Office at least 32 hours before arriving in the city.

    Katabella Roberts and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 17:30

  • SpaceX Reportedly Building Spy Satellite Constellation In Low Earth Orbit
    SpaceX Reportedly Building Spy Satellite Constellation In Low Earth Orbit

    SpaceX’s Starshield program has been building a constellation of spy satellites under a classified contract with the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) since 2021, Reuters reported, citing five people familiar with the program.  

    The spy satellite network will consist of hundreds of low-Earth orbiting satellites with Earth-imaging capabilities that can operate as a sat-swarm. SpaceX’s contract with the NRO, signed in 2021, totals $1.8 billion. 

    According to Reuters, if Starshield is successful, it would “significantly advance the ability of the US government and military to quickly spot potential targets almost anywhere on the globe.” 

    The contract signals a strengthening relationship between Musk and national security agencies despite radical progressives in the White House who have weaponized federal agencies against SpaceX and other Musk-owned companies. 

    Reuters noted it “was unable to determine when the new network of satellites would come online and could not establish what other companies are part of the program with their own contracts.” 

    SpaceX describes Starshield as for “government use” only, while “Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use.” It also explains that Starshield is a “secured satellite network for government entities” that “supports national security efforts.”

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    Last fall, SpaceX received a contract for the Starshield network from the US Space Force. 

    The planned Starshield network is entirely separate from Starlink, which has an expanding commercial broadband constellation of 5,500 satellites in low earth orbit that provides internet to consumers, companies, and government agencies worldwide. 

    Biden officials must be absolutely furious about Musk’s expanding relationship with the Pentagon to strengthen the nation’s defenses. 

    Musk is uncancellable – no matter how many federal agencies the Biden administration directs at the billionaire.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 16:55

  • Real Wealth Vs Claims On Wealth: Bitcoin 2020s Vs USDollar 1800s
    Real Wealth Vs Claims On Wealth: Bitcoin 2020s Vs USDollar 1800s

    Authored by Kane McGukin via BombThrower.com,

    The following excerpts are from Tragedy and Hope. They detail the monetary environment from 1914 to the 1930s. When looked at independently the context helps explain the confusion we find across today’s monetary landscape.

    These passages help us better understand money and the lack of order that takes hold when international players desire a change to the system. The greatest challenge then and now was the battle between real wealth and claims on wealth.

    With the creation of the FED, the intent was to have a system of central control of the money supply, to provide a backstop in times of crisis, and to have a gold-based monetary system.

    However, the outcome led to a handful of powerful global bankers rather than a few powerful centralized institutions.

    While the mandate of the FED is said to be price stability and maximum employment, its actions arguably have been the opposite. Making it hard to resist the temptation to assume the goal was actually to empower and enrich the pockets of a few global investment bankers.

    Shedding light on the inner workings of the FED and BIS exposes a few harsh truths. It reveals a century’s worth of bankers who have chosen personal gain and growth of personal net worth over mandates of stability. These means have filtered down to the everyday politician who trades by day and passes bills to benefit those trades by night.

    Unfettered access to the cookie jar gives one the ability to control flows of credit across the globe.

    This power is hard to ignore and easily takes precedence over the intent of price stability and employment. Especially, when “no one’s looking”.

    In a post-2007 world, we find ourselves sitting with a very similar backdrop to the early 1900s.

    • Global strife due to inflation and a currency system imbalance.

    • Unsustainable global debt in the primary global reserve currency.

    • Increasingly levered institutions and individuals.

    • An upstart money/currency promising to reinstill a gold standard and promises to balance budgets while restoring exchange rates.

    This is Bitcoin in 2024. It Was the U.S. Dollar in 1914.

    What Bitcoin does that the dollar or any other fiat can’t do at this point is increase real wealth in the community.

    An economist or central banker will tell you this is bad because it leads to deflation.

    Yes, in an inflationary system like the one we currently have, that is true. However, in reality rather than in economics, deflation is not a bad thing. It is not bad that your cost of living should decline rather than increase over time. Unfortunately, it takes from the banker and gives to the individual. Therein lies the problem.

    Deflation in this sense is good, as it allows prices to fall for those who make sound financial decisions, save, and hold money; sound money. While taking from those who choose to lever up or hold a debt-laden money. Money that pre-spends its future by pulling it forward into today.

    This is the flaw of fiat currencies like the dollar.

    They are debt based. They pre-spend our future without any intention of thinking about how the piper must be paid.

    Gold, and now Bitcoin, play this deflationary role. Gold has for centuries and Bitcoin will in the digital century.

     

    In the early years of the dollar, 1800s and early 1900s, it played a similar role. A rising asset that allowed for more purchasing power (real wealth); until it was commandeered by international bankers in 1913.

    That was the moment when devaluation became the method chosen, as there were only three options to solve the economic issues at hand.

    (a)to increase the production of real wealth; (b) to decrease the quantity of money; or (c) to devaluate, or make each unit of money equal to a smaller amount of wealth (specifically gold).

    … The third method (devaluation) was essentially a recognition and acceptance of the existing situation, and would have left prices at the higher postwar level permanently. This would have involved a permanent reduction in the value of money, and also would have given different parities in foreign exchanges (unless there was international agreement that countries devaluate by the same ratio). But it would have made possible prosperity and a rising standard of living and would have accepted as permanent the redistribution of wealth from creditors to debtors brought about by the wartime.

    Today, we battle the problems left by the choice of devaluation.

    Sure, it led to a hundred years of the appearance of wealth and the appearance of rising standards of living. However, it shrank the pool of wealth and in a post-2007 world, the piper is here to be paid.

    Prices have remained permanently high, forever. The value of money has been reduced forever; by 92-99%. The parity difference between foreign exchange markets was broken by negligence, incompetence, and caused immigration to be the tool of destruction.

    These challenges could have been avoided but one must make a tough choice by choosing sound money. Money that builds real wealth and destroys claims on wealth. That is the choice today’s central banker seeks to avoid, again.

    Why? Because it requires erasing the appearance of rising living standards. It brings forward truth, and bankers would rather crank up the music instead. They’d rather continue on, pulling chairs away while everyone dances. Because they know most won’t notice, and there isn’t a reliable system of accountability to hold them responsible.

    *  *  *

    Get on the Bombthrower mailing list here and receive a free copy of The Crypto Capitalist Manifesto, which outlined all this. However, by the time you read this it may already be too late to sign up for The Bitcoin Capitalist Letter: new subscriptions will be closed once Bitcoin hits a new all-time high.
    Subscribe to Kane McGukin’s Substack here.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 16:20

  • RFK Jr To Name Sergey Brin's Ex-Wife As Running Mate: Report
    RFK Jr To Name Sergey Brin’s Ex-Wife As Running Mate: Report

    After previously thinking NY Jets quarterback Aaron Rogers might be the right person to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr is now planning to select 38-year-old Nicole Shanahan, the wealthy ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, as his running mate. This according to a Saturday Mediaite report that cited “a source close to the campaign.”

    Shanahan is a Bay Area lawyer and tech entrepreneur who’s been a Democratic Party benefactor and donated to Biden’s 2020 campaign. In a February Times profile, she described herself as a “progressive through and through.” Aside from opening her wallet, she has no political profile whatsoever, seemingly not even having spoken out or written about issues of the day.  

    Nicole Shanahan and her then-husband Sergey Brin (Ian Tuttle/Getty via Vanity Fair)

    Last week, the New York Times reported that, in addition to the NFL’s Rogers, Kennedy was considering former Minnesota Gov and Predator co-star Jesse Ventura, among others. Mediaite’s source said RFK Jr and Shanahan “align on numerous issues,” including wariness about vaccines.

    The source also candidly spotlighted what is likely the principal attraction: “The campaign is also looking for a candidate who can help finance the ballot access initiative.” The campaign says that effort comes with a $15 million price tag. With under eight months to the election, he’s only on four ballots: Hawaii, Nevada, New Hampshire and Utah. Multiple states require the naming of a running mate before giving approval, which is why his decision is coming soon. 

    This leak doesn’t exactly sound like a coordinated trial balloon, as a source close to the campaign proceeded to throw Shanahan under the bus: 

    “She might be infusing millions of dollars into the campaign to help fund the ballot initiative, which makes her attractive financially; however, she lacks the qualifications to actually do the job.”

    Shanahan helped bankroll Kennedy’s Super Bowl ad, giving $4 million to the American Values 2024 PAC that’s supporting him. That represented a major change of heart: When Kennedy announced last fall that he was bailing on the rigged Democratic nomination process, Shanahan was “incredibly disappointed” and, at the time, decided not to back him, despite having given him a $6,000 maximum contribution in May, while he was trying to dislodge Biden.  

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    Mediaite was also first to report Kennedy’s decision to go independent. On Wednesday, the outlet found that Kennedy advisor Link Lipsitz registered the kennedyshanahan.com web domain, and observed that the page was ready to facilitate donations. When ZeroHedge tried accessing it, however, we received a “connection not private” warning for the site.

    A Kennedy campaign spokesperson declined to confirm the report, merely telling the New York Post, “There has been a lot of speculation in the media about Mr. Kennedy’s pick of vice presidential running mate. The official announcement will be on March 26 in Oakland.”

    Last summer, the Wall Street Journal reported that Shanahan’s 2023 divorce from Brin was sparked by a brief affair she had with Elon Musk. In addition to ending the five-year marriage, the Journal said the episode also terminated a long friendship between Musk and Brin. Musk called the report “total bs”: 

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 15:45

  • Gold Star Dad Who Interrupted State Of The Union Explains Why He Did It
    Gold Star Dad Who Interrupted State Of The Union Explains Why He Did It

    Authored by Alice Giordano via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    President Joe Biden had been talking for about an hour when Steven Nikoui began feeling like he was sitting in the Colosseum in the movie “Gladiator” rather than at a State of the Union address.

    “They’re all sitting in the stands and they’re looking at the beast down there and they’re getting amused. And I felt that. I rationalized it like that and I was a little sickened,” Mr. Nikoui said.

    “These people … they wouldn’t even have any of this if it wasn’t for someone like my kid or … any of the others.”

    Steven Nikoui shouts as President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024. (Shawn Thew/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

    He had hoped this would be the day that President Biden would say his son’s name, Kareem.

    But when the president said “America is safer today than when I took office,” the Gold Star father reached a breaking point.

    Mr. Nikoui likens the moment as “having an out of the body experience.”

    The anger and grief that had been stewing inside him for three years let loose.

    “Remember Abbey Gate! United States Marines! Kareem Mae’Lee Nikoui!”

    He shouted his son’s name, U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui, and the name of the airport gate in Kabul where a suicide bomber killed his son and 12 other U.S. Marines on Aug 26, 2021, during the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    Then, he was arrested.

    (Left) President Joe Biden delivers the annual State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress in Washington on March 7, 2024. (Right) Steven Nikoui holds a photo of his son, fallen U.S. Marine Kareem Nikoui, in Norco, Calif., on March 14, 2024. (Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images, John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    Mr. Nikoui, who had been invited to the State of the Union by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), a veteran, was escorted out of the House Gallery.

    “I did have remorse,” he told The Epoch Times. “I felt ashamed.”

    Mr. Nikoui said he was placed in handcuffs and escorted to a police substation at the Capitol. There, his mugshot was taken and he was fingerprinted. He said he waived his Miranda Rights.

    The officers who arrested him “were pretty good,” he said, but they gave him an ultimatum: “If you talk to us, you‘ll be out in an hour. If you don’t talk to us, you’ll go to the DC jail and see the judge in the morning.”

    He said he was scared to go to jail. He’d never been arrested before.

    ‘He Would Have Been Proud’

    Mr. Nikoui said Kareem, meaning “generous and honorable” in Arabic, is a fitting name for his son.

    It’s exactly how his son, a proud American patriot, lived and died, he said. Something, he added, that President Biden has never once acknowledged.

    He said Kareem made the ultimate sacrifice for the country he had longed to serve since he was four years old.

    As a little boy, Kareem had a collection of “little army guys” he constantly played with, Mr. Nikoui recalled. His son joined Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps as soon as he was old enough and he loved military movies. His favorite was “Band of Brothers,” a TV mini series.

    Kareem’s commitment to serve was not a rite of passage as it so often is between father and son, Mr Nikoui said.

    “I was against it,” he said. “I knew this would happen. I buried my head in the sand. I didn’t know anything about the military. I told him I don’t want to know anything about this. Just get out. But he didn’t want to get out. He said ‘I’m going all the way.’”

    People attend the funeral of U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui at the Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., on Sept. 18, 2021.

    Mr. Nikoui, a born-again Christian, talked to The Epoch Times about his son and his March 7 arrest at the State of the Union.

    He also reflected on his relentless blame on President Biden for not following the Doha Agreement established under the Trump Administration. And his ardent belief that his son, who was only 20 when he was killed, would still be alive if former President Donald Trump had been commander-in-chief when his son was deployed in Afghanistan.

    “The only reason why I was even all right with my kid joining the military—because, like I told you I was against it—was because Donald Trump was the president,” he said.

    The memories flooded back as President Biden touted his tenure.

    From the Democrats dressed all in white to signify pro-abortion, to President Biden mispronouncing Laken Riley’s name in response to Rep. Marjorie Greene’s (R-Ga.) demand he say the name of the Georgia student brutally slain by an illegal immigrant, Mr. Nikoui described the many reasons that made him think “harder than ever” about the sacrifice of his son and the other fallen soldiers.

    He thought back to the horrifying videos Kareem had sent him during his deployment—of young Afghani children begging the soldiers to take them to America.

    “I saw this little girl just screaming, pushing herself up against the fence—screaming, ’they’ll kill me, take me with you, the bad guys are coming,” he recalled. And mothers, “throwing their babies at razor wire. And women running into the razor wire because they don’t want to be raped and killed by the Taliban.”

    Members of the Taliban gather outside the airport in Kabul after the U.S. withdrawal in Afghanistan, on Aug. 31, 2021. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images)

    He said Kareem, also a Christian, often spoke emotionally of how deeply pained he was by what he witnessed.

    Mr. Nikoui believes President Biden and his followers lack any understanding of that kind of pain. He said he finds it appalling that anytime someone dies or loses a loved one, the president interminably turns it into his own grief about the loss of his son Beau to cancer.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 15:10

  • Putin Wins Fifth Term As Russian President With 87% Of The Vote
    Putin Wins Fifth Term As Russian President With 87% Of The Vote

    Update: It will surprise no one that Vladimir Putin secured another six years as Russia’s president – effectively ensuring that he will surpass Joseph Stalin as Russia’s longest-serving ruler should he successfully complete his latest term when he will be 77-year-old – in a bid to step up his war in Ukraine and challenge the West, with the Kremlin claiming record public support for him in a vote whose outcome was largely pre-determined even without mystery sacks of mail-in ballots arriving at 3am.

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    Putin won 87%, according to an exit poll broadcast on state television late Sunday, shortly after the end of three days of voting. That exceeded the previous high of 77% support that the incumbent president received in 2018 elections, according to Bloomberg.

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    Three other candidates, all from parties loyal to the Kremlin, received no more than 5% support. Nearly 4.5 million people voted online in a system used in 29 of Russia’s regions for the first time in a presidential election, the Interfax news service reported, citing government data.

    Preliminary turnout was 74.22% – the largest in over 3 decades – according to Central Election Commission data shown on state TV. That turnout was the highest since Boris Yeltsin became president in 1991 after the Soviet Union’s collapse, and well above the 67.5% turnout recorded in 2018. At least six Russian regions claimed turnout was above 90%.

    Of note, according to the CEC, Putin received 94.12% of the votes after processing 100% of the protocols in the presidential elections of the Russian Federation in the Lugansk People’s Republic, which is located in the contest Donetsk region.

    Putin is extending his nearly quarter-century rule into a fifth term at a time when his troops are on the offensive in Ukraine. Russia’s pressing its advantage in the third year of the invasion that’s become Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, as Ukraine struggles to supply its forces with munitions amid delays in military aid from its US and European allies.

    The election outcome “gives Putin every chance to implement any, even the toughest, scenarios in Ukraine,” said Pavel Danilin, head of the Moscow-based Center for Political Analysis, which advises the Kremlin. The “historically high result is a guarantee that the majority of the population supports Putin,” he said.

    Putin’s victory comes as Russia’s economy has fully weathered the shock of international sanctions since it began the February 2022 invasion, thanks to a continuing flow of energy revenue – which the west has been terrified to halt as it would mean a surge in global energy prices and a rout for Biden in the November 2024 elections – and a massive injection of government spending to support the defense industry and shield domestic businesses. Meanwhile, trade with China is booming as Russia reorients its economy away from markets in Europe.

    As noted above, Russia organized voting in occupied areas of Ukraine and that claimed turnout far exceeded 80%, even as millions of people have fled the regions since the invasion. The foreign ministry in Kyiv said the “pseudo-elections” were illegal, by which they probably mean they were not predetermined by neocon demi-god Victoria Nuland, or whoever it is that will replace her in the Deep State.

     

    * * *

    Earlier:

    The first round of the presidential election in Russia is taking place from Friday to Sunday this weekend.

    It will be the country’s eighth presidential election and more than 112 million voters will be called to the polls.

    While four candidates are in the running, Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports that there is almost no doubt among observers that Vladimir Putin will be re-elected for a fifth term in the first round.

    The only real unknown is the share of votes he will receive.

    During the last presidential election in 2018, this number stood at around 77 percent.

    Infographic: Putin Forever? | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    In power for around a quarter of a century – spanning four presidential terms and two terms as prime minister between 1999 and 2000 and between 2008 and 2012 – Putin has spent a total of almost 9,000 days at the helm of the country. If he is re-elected this weekend, the ensuing six-year term of approximately 2,190 days will likely make him Russia’s longest serving leader since the start of the twentieth century. This record is currently held by Joseph Stalin, who led the country between 1924 and 1953 for a total of 10,636 days. Putin became Russia’s second longest-serving leader overtaking Brezhnev in 2017 late into his third term as president.

    During Dmitry Medvedev’s presidency from 2008 to 2012, Russian law was amended to extend presidential terms from two terms of four years to two terms of six years.

    This change was also designed to reset terms served and therefore enabled Putin to win another two terms.

    A decade later, in 2021, Putin signed another law setting the limit at two presidential mandates per person in a lifetime, again paradoxically resetting terms already served and thereby exempting him for a second time.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 15:05

  • Molotov Cocktail Attack On Russian Embassy In Moldova On Last Day Of Election
    Molotov Cocktail Attack On Russian Embassy In Moldova On Last Day Of Election

    Sunday is the final day of three days of presidential elections in Russia. Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of deceased opposition activist Alexei Navalny, is urging mass protests against President Putin as he stands of the verge of winning another six year term as president, an outcome quite obvious to all observers. She’s calling on Russians to disrupt the final day of voting in what’s been dubbed “noon against Putin”. 

    While some sporadic minor incidents at polling stations have been reported, there has been a major incident in the small country of Moldova which borders Ukraine. Moldovan police have detained a man who attacked the Russian embassy with two Molotov cocktails as voting was underway there.

    Illustrative file image, via the Atlantic Council

    “A man threw two containers of flammable substances over the fence of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau,” police said in a statement. A 54-year-old Moldovan who described himself as also having Russian citizenship was immediately detained after after hurling the Molotov cocktails.

    There were no reports of injuries or damage to the embassy, and police said an investigation is ongoing. “He justified his action by some dissatisfaction he has with the actions of the Russian authorities,” authorities said.

    Moldova has been scene of controversy and friction especially after Russia allowed the opening of several polling stations in breakaway Transnistria, which the Moldovan government has fiercely protested.

    Reuters noted days ago that “A senior official in ex-Soviet Moldova said on Wednesday Moscow was breaking laws by printing ballot papers in the separatist region of Transnistria ahead of this week’s Russian presidential election.”

    “Moldova’s pro-European authorities have already summoned the Russian ambassador to complain about a decision to open six polling stations in the pro-Russian enclave,” the report continued. “The central government said the move broke an agreement to allow voting only at a single polling station at the Russian embassy in Chisinau.”

    Russian embassy in Moldova, via TASS

    The United States recently become more vocal in defending Moldova’s territorial integrity, and has condemned what the Biden administration has called Moscow’s ‘interference’ in the Eastern European nation’s sovereignty.

    Last summer, Moldova expelled 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff members from the country “over numerous unfriendly actions” as tensions reached near breaking point over the war in neighboring Ukraine and the Transnistria issue. As for Russia’s election, Kremlin authorities have said Ukraine is engaged in cross-border attacks on polling stations and in annexed regions of Ukraine.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 14:35

  • The Stain Of Fani: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Signs Law To Discipline 'Rogue' Prosecutors Amid DA Willis Controversy
    The Stain Of Fani: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Signs Law To Discipline ‘Rogue’ Prosecutors Amid DA Willis Controversy

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a bill into law that revives an oversight panel with powers to discipline and remove wayward county prosecutors, and which could potentially target alleged misconduct by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in her case against former President Donald Trump.

    Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building in Atlanta on Aug. 14, 2023. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

    Mr. Kemp signed SB 332 into law on March 13, saying at a signing ceremony that the community suffers and property is put at risk when “out-of-touch” public prosecutors put politics ahead of public safety.

    “This legislation will help us ensure rogue or incompetent prosecutors are held accountable if they refuse to uphold the law,” Mr. Kemp said.

    “As we know all too well, crime has been on the rise across the country, and is especially prevalent in cities where prosecutors are giving criminals a free pass or failing to put them behind bars due to lack of professional conduct,” he added.

    Mr. Kemp initially signed related legislation in May 2023, which established the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PACQ), with the governor saying at the time that the panel would discipline “far-left” prosecutors who make communities less safe by being soft on crime.

    However, the panel was unable to start operating after the state Supreme Court in November 2023 declined to approve rules for its governance, with justices saying in their ruling that they had “grave doubts” whether adopting the standards and rules was within their constitutional powers.

    So the Georgia General Assembly passed HB 881 in January 2024, which revived the oversight panel while removing the requirement for Supreme Court approval. The bill then was referred to the state Senate, where it became SB 332.

    Focus on Willis

    While the bill mirrored efforts in other states to hold “rogue” prosecutors accountable for refusing to prosecute certain crimes, Democrats opposed to its passage said it could be used to target prosecutors involved in the case against President Trump, including Ms. Willis.

    “The commission will be able to unilaterally proceed and have the ability to interfere and undermine an ongoing investigation against Donald J. Trump,” state House Minority Whip Sam Park, a Democrat, told The Associated Press when the House version of the measure passed.

    “You are taking action to protect former President Trump from an ongoing criminal prosecution,” he alleged.

    Ms. Willis has been accused of an “improper” relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor in the election interference case against the former president and over a dozen co-defendants. She also faced conflict-of-interest allegations that she benefited from the relationship financially.

    While defendants in the case moved to have both prosecutors disqualified, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled on Friday that either Mr. Wade or Ms. Willis must remove themselves from the case.

    Mr. Wade said Friday that he would resign, leaving Ms. Willis—who faces a separate campaign finance ethics probe and possible contempt of Congress proceedings—at the helm of the case, which President Trump has denounced as a politically-driven “witch hunt.”

    The prosecutor oversight panel that Mr. Kemp’s signature has established provides an additional tool that could target Ms. Willis as she faces continued scrutiny.

    Ms. Willis’ office did not respond to a request for comment on the bill.

    Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns, a Republican, told The Associated Press that the measure isn’t directly focused on Ms. Willis or any one individual.

    “For us in the House our focus is not on any one person, not on any one situation,” Mr. Burns told reporters after Mr. Kemp signed the bill into law. “It’s about asking the folks that are elected, just like me, to do their jobs and protect the citizens of this state.”

    Fight Against ‘Rogue’ Prosecutors

    Georgia law mandates that a prosecutor must consider every case for which probable cause exists and can’t exclude categories of cases—such as marijuana possession or abortion-related offenses—from prosecution.

    HB 881 and its Senate version SB 332 lay out grounds for discipline, removal, or “involuntary retirement” of wayward prosecutors, including for engaging in “willful misconduct” or for being convicted of a “crime involving moral turpitude” or persistently failing to carry out their duties.

    Besides removing the need for Supreme Court oversight, the law adjusts the standard for mental or physical incapacity, allows appeals to a local superior court judge, and permits appeals to any county where the prosecutor has worked.

    The establishment of the new commission comes as Republicans fight against what they describe as leftist “rogue” district attorneys who refuse to prosecute certain crimes.

    “The inability to ensure public safety and protect communities is occurring at every level of state government,” U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Scott Fitzgerald (R-Wis.) wrote in an op-ed in 2022.

    “By cracking down on rogue prosecutors who favor criminals over victims, we can ensure that no one else is put in harm’s way as a result of Democrats’ negligence,” they wrote. 

    In much the same vein, President Trump has vowed to target prosecutors who are lax on crime if he wins the 2024 presidential race.

    “Soros prosecutors appear to be engaging in selective enforcement based on illegal racial discrimination” in places such as Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, President Trump said in a video posted to his YouTube channel in April 2023.

    He was referring to left-wing billionaire financier George Soros, who has provided millions of dollars in campaign contributions to progressives Democrat district attorneys.

    “They are Marxist in many cases,” President Trump said, while pledging to appoint about 100 U.S. attorneys who are the “polar opposite” of the “Soros district attorneys and others being appointed around the United States.”

    President Trump said that those officials will be the “most ferocious legal warriors” who will target the worst “communist corruption” the country has ever seen.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 14:00

  • Rare Drone Attack On Military Base In Breakaway Pro-Russian Republic Of Transnistria
    Rare Drone Attack On Military Base In Breakaway Pro-Russian Republic Of Transnistria

    An unprecedented or at least extremely rare attack has just targeted a military base in the pro-Russian breakaway Moldovan republic of Transnistria on Sunday.

    A kamikaze drone hit a military base in Tiraspol, the capital of unrecognized Transnistria, local officials have told RIA Novosti. The attack reportedly resulted in fire and damage to military assets at the airfield, but there were no casualties.

    Russian state media said a helicopter stationed at the airfield was destroyed in the UAV attack. Presumably the helicopter belonged to either Transnistria separatists or to the Russian military.

    “Today a fire occurred on the territory of a military base in Tiraspol as a result of an explosion,” local authorities were cited in AFP as saying.

    “It was preliminarily established that the explosion was caused by a kamikaze drone attack,” they added, and alleged the drone launched from the Odesa region. They are blaming Ukraine forces for the rare cross-border attack.

    The incident was not immediately confirmed either by the Russian or Ukraine governments. “Grainy footage distributed by separatist authorities showed a projectile slamming into a military helicopter standing at an airbase surrounded by fields,” AFP noted.

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    Regardless of the AFP headline which says Breakaway Moldova Region Blames Military Site Blast On Drone From Ukraine… there remain conflicting reports on the origin point of the drone launch.

    Russia’s RT writes, “Transnistria’s state security ministry alleged that the drone arrived from the so-called “Clover Bridge” area – a major multi-level highway junction located north of the city of Tiraspol and close to the Ukrainian border.” Further the report notes that “The unrecognized republic’s authorities have not named any suspects behind the incident so far.”

    As we previously wrote in a backgrounder here, in 2006, a Transnistrian double referendum was held gauging popular support for the separatist state’s appetite to either renounce its independence and join the Republic Of Moldova or to maintain it and seek to join the Russian Federation. The referendum to become part of Moldova was rejected by 96% of voters while 98% approved of becoming part of Russia.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 13:25

  • This Week Seemed Like A Crazy Market, On Steroids
    This Week Seemed Like A Crazy Market, On Steroids

    By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

    What’s the Record for Shortest Time from All-Time Highs to Bear Market?

    That seems like such a strange question. If all you did was read the headlines, you would think that things were great (if not spectacular) in markets. If you say you are bearish, people will look at you with sympathy, wondering if you are going to be able to feed your family with such a disastrous call.

    Yet, the reality of the situation is quite different from what the headlines seem to be trying to spoon feed us on a daily basis.

    The Nasdaq 100, which was down on the week, is down 1% since February 9th. Yes, it had its closing high on March 1st, and its intraday high of 18,417 on March 8th. But 5 weeks, with a lot of hype and cheerleading, has amounted to a loss of 1%. Since the highs, we are down 3%, which is one of many things that have me wondering how quickly we’ve fallen from “all-time highs” to bear market? While 20% is a tad more bearish than I am, it sounded better than using a “correction” of 10% in the title.

    The S&P 500 has performed more steadily than the Nasdaq 100, but at the other end of the spectrum, despite begging people to Stop Using the Magnificent 7 Moniker, we still hear that term quite frequently. Yes, some people have started talking about the Fab 4 or some other catchy phrase, but that makes sense when at least a couple of the so-called Mag 7 are back to levels from October, before the big bull market started (a time when we were quite bullish, possibly fighting consensus back then too).

    Where We’ve Been Recently

    We’ve been bearish, but with an emphasis that we felt the risk of a 5% to 10% rapid move to the downside was far more likely than a sharp rally. We’ve discussed aspects of this in:

    • Trillion Dollar Mistakes. Highlighting some big mistakes made in the overall market, while questioning if Wall Street, for all its foibles, was really likely to have been that wrong?

    • The Time to Retire report, referenced earlier, highlighted a series of market behaviors and charts that were making us increasingly nervous about the risk/reward of the market and forcing us to lean to the “cautious and need to hedge” side of things.

    • It’s Friday, I’m in Love examined the week ending March 1st, highlighting some of the things that helped propel stocks higher that Friday. As I re-read that, many of the positives have dissipated, been priced in, or in the case of AI “deputization,” are starting to be questioned. If it hadn’t been for the SOX Index (semiconductors) we wouldn’t have achieved these all-time highs, and that index has started to roll over. In a market with limited leadership, that could be problematic.

    • While more of a “longer-term” trade, everything about Made By China is likely to be negative for our markets and economy.

    While those have helped articulate and explain our bearish view, they are all relatively recent (the oldest was published on February 27th). We should go back to one more article to express why the view has changed from a DEFCON 3 or 4 sort of bearishness, to a more dangerous and urgent DEFCON 2 level of bearishness.

    Back on February 9th we published A Market Only a Mother or AI Could Love. That chart showed the “crazy” trading pattern of the week. So many wild swings. Gyrations, some of which could be attributed to news, but some of which seemed inexplicable.

    This week seemed like that, on steroids! I think I actually physically poked my screen once to make sure it was working. I swear, the market was up almost 1%, I glanced away, it was down 1%, and then a few minutes later it was back to flat. I’m not sure what tapping my screen would do, but I could remember doing that when a thermometer didn’t seem to be working, so it seemed appropriate.

    But no, my screen was working just fine – it was the markets that weren’t functioning “normally” in my opinion.

    It seemed that every “big” order just caused the market to gap higher or lower while the order was being filled. It did work in both directions, but I’m increasingly convinced the risk is that the market will need to find some serious bidside liquidity, when it may be non-existent.

    Where We’ve Been In the Past

    All of this is forcing me to think about some things we’ve discussed in the past, which are rapidly rising to the forefront of my thoughts again.

    While aging myself, yet again, I cannot help but think about the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. A fun “movie” many of us got to watch in school. This was back when someone had to bring in a projector and seeing a video in class was a “cool” thing (though not as cool as getting the whole school to watch the Canada Cup in the gym). But anyways, that video shows a bridge oscillating. That oscillation increases until, ultimately, it collapses! The movie was all about resonance frequency, but all I remember is seeing a structure, so seemingly sturdy, start to bend and twist before collapsing. The first time that hit me was back in 2007 and it is the main image I have in my mind right now.

    It also made me think about pendulums. In Dredging Up Pendulums, we focused primarily on the complexity of a simple pendulum versus a double pendulum, and how important even tiny changes in starting conditions could be.

    We also discussed Machine Learning Triple Pendulums. This YouTube video shows how a computer is able to manipulate a “cart” to get a triple pendulum to stand upright for a period of time. For about a decade, I’ve been using that when discussing market mechanics. It is difficult to tell what exactly happens day by day, or even minute by minute, when so much of the trading is driven by algorithms. The algorithms link not just “vehicles” (like stocks, ETFs, and futures), but also asset classes as correlations are traded rapidly. The reason thinking about market structure in terms of a machine learning triple pendulum cart is so important (if it is a correct interpretation) is that “functioning” or holding it upright is very unstable and takes more computing power and skill than a human possesses. Yet, it can be accomplished. The problem is that when it fails, it tends to result in an “epic” failure where the “natural” position of the pendulums (all pulled by gravity) is to be facing down rather than standing upright. Sure, maybe a bit alarmist, but we’ve seen it in the past. A VIX related ETF Went Poof.

    What Changed This Week

    One thing that changed is the “randomness” of trading seemed to accelerate, forcing me to think about bridges and pendulums. I also cannot stop thinking about some of the charts we included in A Retrospective of All-Time Highs. While many of the bears (and doomers) want to talk about “tech bubbles,” I’m more fixated on 2007. To me, the 2007 “all-time high” was one of the strangest ones.

    All the problems were known. None had been fixed, but we hit an all-time high, based largely on the Fed. We bounced hard again after JPM bought Bear, only to sink to new lows a week or so after Lehman. Those “lows” seemed tame compared to where the market finally bottomed in 2009, but it was the almost “hubris” of all-time highs in the autumn of 2007 that I think about more than the tech bubble, as I don’t think that is the right metric. Though as a bear, who is increasingly worried about a 10% pullback, I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

    But here are things that have made me increasingly nervous:

    • Bond yields.

      • I’ll start with longer dated bond yields as they are more fun. The 10-year Treasury yield got back to 4.31% on Friday. Treasuries rallied, much to my chagrin, last time we got here, but they seem susceptible to moving higher again. China will NOT be buying Treasuries as they are raising their own debt to figure out how to spend their way out of their economic problems. FXI, a China ETF, did finish higher on the week, in a story that remains poorly covered, and is why I continue to like – for a trade – long FXI, short QQQ. I’ve been expecting to see another march to higher yields like we saw last fall. The 10-year yield moved higher each and every day last week – a sign of things to come?

      • The Fed is getting pushed out of the picture. The first cut is expected in June, with a chance of it getting pushed to July. The market is still pricing in cuts at the September and November meetings (which I think is insane given how every issue, including monetary policy, is fodder for campaigns that seem as much about generating anger as hope). We are still at 3 cuts for the year, but I think there is a chance that the Fed changes the dots just a smidge (given all the inflation data) to show fewer than 3 cuts. That, or a change in next year’s expected end rate, could be punishing.

      • The move in yields, at the longer end, has not reflected increased term premium. Minimal (if any) concerns about the never-ending growth of federal debt, as the spread between 2s and 10s closed at -42 bps. I see no reason why this doesn’t get back to recent “best” levels of -20 or so, with my target for the summer being flat yield curves as risk premium returns and we see an end to the era of inversion everywhere you look.

    • Inflation and oil. It is clear that inflation, by a variety of measures, is “sticky.” A couple of things, actually a few things, bother me most.

      • Lots of “apologizing” about Owners Equivalent Rent. If you’ve read the T-Report for long, you know how much I hate how we calculated shelter. So yes, right now, it is overstating the current rise in shelter – BUT IT IS DOING THAT BECAUSE THE RISE WAS NEVER FULLY PRICED IN! Sorry for the “all caps” but yes, today’s inflation is likely overstated, but only because officially we under-reported it. Yes, this is a rant, but it probably goes beyond those dismissing rent.

      • Beyond dismissing rent. Most consumers think in terms of dollars. We live in a “nominal world.” So something that rose 10% a few years ago went from say $100 to $110. Now it “only” rose 3%, but it is 3% on a much larger starting point, creating a much higher dollar increase than it would have a few years ago. Add to that all the people who have been arguing that the prices they see in stores don’t seem to get used in official calculations and all the “substitutions” incorporated into the calculations artificially kept inflation lower. Basically, the real-world level of current inflation may never have been captured by the official data, leaving more room to catch up.

      • Oil. Energy prices contributed to recent rises in inflation. Apparently, many seem confident they will go back down. With no end in sight to the war in Ukraine and the Middle East edging closer and closer to direct involvement with Iran, that does not seem like a bet I’d be comfortable with. I do like the energy sector, so I’m biased, but I think it is too early to dismiss the geopolitical risks associated with oil.

    • The U.S. consumer has been like a zombie for anyone betting against the U.S. economy. They just keep coming back to life. No matter what you think you’ve done, they seem to come back! Well, I think the consumer is rolling over. Debt is mounting. The job market is far from robust and has lost all of the momentum it had. It is at best “normal” like the years before COVID, and that might be a stretch.

    While I don’t see “stagflation as a risk,” I think we are entering a period where we could see:

    • Higher yields coupled with a weakening economy and a Fed that is handcuffed by persistent inflation. Not a good mix.

    • In addition to a market positioned too aggressively that cannot expect much help from short covering.

    While I don’t want to get into detail today, I think people staring at the VIX are looking in the wrong direction. This is a world of daily and weekly option flows that don’t show up in the VIX calculation. Unlike other strategies that have been difficult to understand (meme stocks for example), the 0DTE options market seems perfectly capable of trading from the call side of the market to the put side of the market. Many other strategies, like blindly selling vol, have tended to work in one direction and could really only be traded consistently from that direction. The 0DTE can work both ways and that could be the “shock” we need that disrupts this market.

    For credit, look for CDX IG to go back above 60, maybe to 65. Not because of any serious problems in credit, but because spreads will be forced wider if I’m right on stocks.

    So, instead of thinking about a 5% to 10% pullback in stocks, I’m much more concerned about a 10% or higher pullback along with 10-year yields breaking through 4.5%.

    We didn’t answer the question posed at the start of the title, but I’m increasingly worried that we might be forced to find out what the competition is if markets start rolling over and lose the support of bonds, the Fed, and the few sectors that have done the heavy lifting.

    On that note, I do promise to write “Up in Smoke” as a title of a T-Report (I couldn’t end this report without at least trying to get you to smile!)

    Finally, Happy St. Patrick’s Day to those who celebrate!

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/17/2024 – 12:50

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Mar 17

Today’s News 17th March 2024

  • Mistakes Were Made
    Mistakes Were Made

    Authored by C.J.Hopkins via The Consent Factory,

    Make fun of the Germans all you want, and I’ve certainly done that a bit during these past few years, but, if there’s one thing they’re exceptionally good at, it’s taking responsibility for their mistakes. Seriously, when it comes to acknowledging one’s mistakes, and not rationalizing, or minimizing, or attempting to deny them, and any discomfort they may have allegedly caused, no one does it quite like the Germans.

    Take this Covid mess, for example. Just last week, the German authorities confessed that they made a few minor mistakes during their management of the “Covid pandemic.” According to Karl Lauterbach, the Minister of Health, “we were sometimes too strict with the children and probably started easing the restrictions a little too late.” Horst Seehofer, the former Interior Minister, admitted that he would no longer agree to some of the Covid restrictions today, for example, nationwide nighttime curfews. “One must be very careful with calls for compulsory vaccination,” he added. Helge Braun, Head of the Chancellery and Minister for Special Affairs under Merkel, agreed that there had been “misjudgments,” for example, “overestimating the effectiveness of the vaccines.”

    This display of the German authorities’ unwavering commitment to transparency and honesty, and the principle of personal honor that guides the German authorities in all their affairs, and that is deeply ingrained in the German character, was published in a piece called “The Divisive Virus” in Der Spiegel, and immediately widely disseminated by the rest of the German state and corporate media in a totally organic manner which did not in any way resemble one enormous Goebbelsian keyboard instrument pumping out official propaganda in perfect synchronization, or anything creepy and fascistic like that.

    Germany, after all, is “an extremely democratic state,” with freedom of speech and the press and all that, not some kind of totalitarian country where the masses are inundated with official propaganda and critics of the government are dragged into criminal court and prosecuted on trumped-up “hate crime” charges.

    OK, sure, in a non-democratic totalitarian system, such public “admissions of mistakes” — and the synchronized dissemination thereof by the media — would just be a part of the process of whitewashing the authorities’ fascistic behavior during some particularly totalitarian phase of transforming society into whatever totalitarian dystopia they were trying to transform it into (for example, a three-year-long “state of emergency,” which they declared to keep the masses terrorized and cooperative while they stripped them of their democratic rights, i.e., the ones they hadn’t already stripped them of, and conditioned them to mindlessly follow orders, and robotically repeat nonsensical official slogans, and vent their impotent hatred and fear at the new “Untermenschen” or “counter-revolutionaries”), but that is obviously not the case here.

    No, this is definitely not the German authorities staging a public “accountability” spectacle in order to memory-hole what happened during 2020-2023 and enshrine the official narrative in history. There’s going to be a formal “Inquiry Commission” — conducted by the same German authorities that managed the “crisis” — which will get to the bottom of all the regrettable but completely understandable “mistakes” that were made in the heat of the heroic battle against The Divisive Virus!

    OK, calm down, all you “conspiracy theorists,” “Covid deniers,” and “anti-vaxxers.” This isn’t going to be like the Nuremberg Trials. No one is going to get taken out and hanged. It’s about identifying and acknowledging mistakes, and learning from them, so that the authorities can manage everything better during the next “pandemic,” or “climate emergency,” or “terrorist attack,” or “insurrection,” or whatever.

    For example, the Inquiry Commission will want to look into how the government accidentally declared a Nationwide State of Pandemic Emergency and revised the Infection Protection Act, suspending the German constitution and granting the government the power to rule by decree, on account of a respiratory virus that clearly posed no threat to society at large, and then unleashed police goon squads on the thousands of people who gathered outside the Reichstag to protest the revocation of their constitutional rights.

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    Once they do, I’m sure they’ll find that that “mistake” bears absolutely no resemblance to the Enabling Act of 1933, which suspended the German constitution and granted the government the power to rule by decree, after the Nazis declared a nationwide “state of emergency.”

    Another thing the Commission will probably want to look into is how the German authorities accidentally banned any further demonstrations against their arbitrary decrees, and ordered the police to brutalize anyone participating in such “illegal demonstrations.”

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    And, while the Commission is inquiring into the possibly slightly inappropriate behavior of their law enforcement officials, they might want to also take a look at the behavior of their unofficial goon squads, like Antifa, which they accidentally encouraged to attack the “anti-vaxxers,” the “Covid deniers,” and anyone brandishing a copy of the German constitution.

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    Come to think of it, the Inquiry Commission might also want to look into how the German authorities, and the overwhelming majority of the state and corporate media, accidentally systematically fomented mass hatred of anyone who dared to question the government’s arbitrary and nonsensical decrees or who refused to submit to “vaccination,” and publicly demonized us as “Corona deniers,” “conspiracy theorists,” “anti-vaxxers,” “far-right anti-Semites,” etc., to the point where mainstream German celebrities like Sarah Bosetti were literally describing us as the inessential “appendix” in the body of the nation, quoting an infamous Nazi almost verbatim.

    And then there’s the whole “vaccination” business. The Commission will certainly want to inquire into that. They will probably want to start their inquiry with Karl Lauterbach, and determine exactly how he accidentally lied to the public, over and over, and over again …

    And whipped people up into a mass hysteria over “KILLER VARIANTS” …

    And “LONG COVID BRAIN ATTACKS” …

    And how “THE UNVACCINATED ARE HOLDING THE WHOLE COUNTRY HOSTAGE, SO WE NEED TO FORCIBLY VACCINATE EVERYONE!”

    And so on. I could go on with this all day, but it will be much easier to just refer you, and the Commission, to this documentary film by Aya Velázquez. Non-German readers may want to skip to the second half, unless they’re interested in the German “Corona Expert Council” …

    Look, the point is, everybody makes “mistakes,” especially during a “state of emergency,” or a war, or some other type of global “crisis.” At least we can always count on the Germans to step up and take responsibility for theirs, and not claim that they didn’t know what was happening, or that they were “just following orders,” or that “the science changed.”

    Plus, all this Covid stuff is ancient history, and, as Olaf, an editor at Der Spiegel, reminds us, it’s time to put the “The Divisive Pandemic” behind us …

    … and click heels, and heil the New Normal Democracy!

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 23:20

  • These Are The Top 15 Global Tank Fleets
    These Are The Top 15 Global Tank Fleets

    Heavily armed and armored, the modern tank is a versatile and mobile weapons platform, and a critical piece of contemporary warfare.

    This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Chris Dickert, shows the top 15 global tank fleets, using data from the 2024 Military Balance report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).

    Let’s take an in-depth look at the top three fleets:

    1. United States

    As the world’s pre-eminent military power, it’s perhaps no surprise that the United States also has the largest tank fleet, by a wide margin.

    In total, they have just over 45,000 armored fighting vehicles in operation, along with 2,640 main battle tanks (MBTs), and 12,800 vehicles in storage, of which 2,000 are main battle tanks.

    The U.S. is internalizing the lessons from the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, where Western-supplied anti-tank weapons and massed Ukrainian artillery have been cutting Russian tanks to pieces. As a result, the U.S. recently canceled an upgrade of the M1 Abrams in favor of a more ambitious upgrade.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. is nervously eyeing a more confident China and a potential clash over Taiwan, where air and naval forces will be critical. However, a recent war game showed that Taiwanese mechanized ground forces, kitted out with American-made tanks and armored fighting vehicles, were critical in keeping the island autonomous.

    2. Russia

    According to Oryx, a Dutch open-source intelligence defense website, at time of writing, Russia has lost almost 2,800 main battle tanks since invading Ukraine. Considering that in the 2022 edition of the Military Balance, Russia was estimated to have 2,927 MBTs in operation, those are some hefty losses.

    Russia has been able to maintain about 2,000 MBTs in the field, in part, by increasing domestic production. Many defense plants have been taken over by state-owned Rostec and now operate around the clock. Russia is also now spending a full third of their budget on defense, equivalent to about 7.5% of GDP.

    At the same time, they’ve also been drawing down their Soviet-era stockpiles, which are modernized before being sent to the front. Just how long they can keep this up is an open question; their stockpiles are large, but not limitless. Here is what their storage levels look like:

    3. China

    China holds the third overall spot and top place globally for the number of main battle tanks in operation. Untypically, the People’s Liberation Army has no armored vehicles in storage, which perhaps isn’t surprising when you consider that China has been rapidly modernizing its military and that stockpiles usually contain older models.

    China also has one of the world’s largest fleets of armored fighting vehicles, second only to the United States. Breaking down that headline number, we can also see that they have the largest number of light tanks, wheeled guns, and infantry fighting vehicles.

    This is equipment that would be integral if China were to make an attempt to reunify Taiwan with the mainland by force, where lightly armored mechanized units need to move with speed to occupy the island before Western allies can enter the fray. It’s worth noting that China also has one of the world’s largest fleets of amphibious assault vehicles.

    End of the Tank?

    Many commentators at the outset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, were quick to predict the end of the tank, however, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the tank’s demise are greatly exaggerated.

    With the U.S. and China both developing remote and autonomous armored vehicles, tanks could be quite different in the future, but there is nothing else that matches them for firepower, mobility, and survivability on the modern battlefield today.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 22:45

  • Taiwan Confirms Presence Of US Green Berets On Islands Very Close To China's Coast
    Taiwan Confirms Presence Of US Green Berets On Islands Very Close To China’s Coast

    Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

    Taiwanese Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng confirmed on Thursday the presence of US Army Special Forces soldiers in Kinmen, a group of islands that are controlled by Taiwan but located just off the coast of mainland China.

    Some parts of the Kinmen islands are just 2.5 miles away from the mainland Chinese city of Xiamen. The presence of US troops on the islands was first reported by Taiwanese media last month.

    Chiu confirmed the highly provocative deployment when asked about a new report from the US outlet SOFREP that said US Green Berets have taken up “permanent positions” as military advisors in Kinmen. The US soldiers are also deployed in Penghu, a Taiwanese-controlled archipelago about 30 miles west of the main island of Taiwan and 70 miles east of mainland China.

    The SOFREP report said the US Green Berets were stationed at the Taiwanese Army’s amphibious command centers. The deployment was carried out under provisions in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which called for the US to create a comprehensive training program for the Taiwanese military.

    The new collaboration includes the US troops training Taiwanese forces on the Black Hornet Nano, a compact military drone. Chiu said the presence of the US Green Berets was a “learning opportunity” for Taiwan’s military.

    The US has significantly increased its military and diplomatic support for Taiwan in recent years, ratcheting up tensions with China. Last year, the US deployed around 200 troops to Taiwan, marking the largest known US military presence on the island since the US pulled its troops out after Washington severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in 1979.

    The US also recently began providing Taiwan with unprecedented military aid. Since 1979, the US has always sold weapons to Taiwan but never financed the purchases or provided arms free of charge until last year.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 22:10

  • Biden Embraces Schumer’s "Good Speech" Which Blasted Netanyahu 
    Biden Embraces Schumer’s “Good Speech” Which Blasted Netanyahu 

    President Biden has endorsed Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer’s blistering Thursday speech that targeted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wherein he said Israel under Netanyahu could become a “pariah”.

    Biden said Friday that Schumer had made a “good speech”. The president was asked about the Senate floor remarks during an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office. It was the first time Biden weighed in: “He expressed serious concerns, shared not only by him but by many Americans,” Biden continued.

    Via AP

    Biden also noted that his staff had been notified ahead of time of the content of the speech, meaning the White House had time to pressure Schumer out of it if it wanted to, or at least get him to tone down the criticisms.

    As the AP noted, “The Democratic president did not repeat Schumer’s appeal for Israel to hold elections, a step that would likely end Netanyahu’s tenure because of mounting discontent with his leadership.”

    But at the same time Secretary of State Antony Blinken while in Europe tried to calm fears that the US-Israeli relationship is collapsing. “That’s actually the strength of the relationship, to be able to speak clearly, candidly and directly,” he told reporters in reaction to Schumer’s address.

    The full Schumer speech, a transcript of which can be viewed here, included the below fierce condemnations aimed directly at Netanyahu: 

    “However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.

    He has put himself in coalition with far-right extremists like Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir, and as a result, he has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.

    Prime Minister Netanyahu has also weakened Israel’s political and moral fabric through his attempts to co-opt the judiciary. And he has shown zero interest in doing the courageous and visionary work required to pave the way for peace, even before this present conflict.

    As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me:

    The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”

    Again, this was a key part of the very speech which Biden on Friday hailed as “good”. It also comes a week after Biden was caught on a hot mic saying he would have a “come to Jesus” meeting with Netanyahu.

    Kirby was later asked to elaborate on Biden calling Schumer’s speech “good” – but the NSC spokesman didn’t say much…

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    According to Axios, Schumer’s words were felt as a political earthquake inside Israel. The speech “landed like an earthquake Thursday, delivering a huge shock to the already tense U.S.-Israel relationship” as well as created “more political space for other Democratic members of Congress to publicly voice their criticism of the Israeli government amid the ongoing war in Gaza,” Axios wrote.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 21:35

  • Harvard Medical School Professor Was Fired Over Not Getting COVID Vaccine
    Harvard Medical School Professor Was Fired Over Not Getting COVID Vaccine

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

    A Harvard Medical School professor who refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine has been terminated, according to documents reviewed by The Epoch Times.

    Martin Kulldorff, epidemiologist and statistician, at his home in Ashford, Conn., on Feb. 11, 2022. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

    Martin Kulldorff, an epidemiologist, was fired by Mass General Brigham in November 2021 over noncompliance with the hospital’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate after his requests for exemptions from the mandate were denied, according to one document. Mr. Kulldorff was also placed on leave by Harvard Medical School (HMS) because his appointment as professor of medicine there “depends upon” holding a position at the hospital, another document stated.

    Mr. Kulldorff asked HMS in late 2023 how he could return to his position and was told he was being fired.

    “You would need to hold an eligible appointment with a Harvard-affiliated institution for your HMS academic appointment to continue,” Dr. Grace Huang, dean for faculty affairs, told the epidemiologist and biostatistician.

    She said the lack of an appointment, combined with college rules that cap leaves of absence at two years, meant he was being terminated.

    Mr. Kulldorff disclosed the firing for the first time this month.

    “While I can’t comment on the specifics due to employment confidentiality protections that preclude us from doing so, I can confirm that his employment agreement was terminated November 10, 2021,” a spokesperson for Brigham and Women’s Hospital told The Epoch Times via email.

    Mass General Brigham granted just 234 exemption requests out of 2,402 received, according to court filings in an ongoing case that alleges discrimination.

    The hospital said previously, “We received a number of exemption requests, and each request was carefully considered by a knowledgeable team of reviewers.”

    “A lot of other people received exemptions, but I did not,” Mr. Kulldorff told The Epoch Times.

    Mr. Kulldorff was originally hired by HMS but switched departments in 2015 to work at the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which is part of Mass General Brigham and affiliated with HMS.

    “Harvard Medical School has affiliation agreements with several Boston hospitals which it neither owns nor operationally controls,” an HMS spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. “Hospital-based faculty, such as Mr. Kulldorff, are employed by one of the affiliates, not by HMS, and require an active hospital appointment to maintain an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School.”

    HMS confirmed that some faculty, who are tenured or on the tenure track, do not require hospital appointments.

    Natural Immunity

    Before the COVID-19 vaccines became available, Mr. Kulldorff contracted COVID-19. He was hospitalized but eventually recovered.

    That gave him a form of protection known as natural immunity. According to a number of studies, including papers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, natural immunity is better than the protection bestowed by vaccines.

    Other studies have found that people with natural immunity face a higher risk of problems after vaccination.

    Mr. Kulldorff expressed his concerns about receiving a vaccine in his request for a medical exemption, pointing out a lack of data for vaccinating people who suffer from the same issue he does.

    “I already had superior infection-acquired immunity; and it was risky to vaccinate me without proper efficacy and safety studies on patients with my type of immune deficiency,” Mr. Kulldorff wrote in an essay.

    In his request for a religious exemption, he highlighted an Israel study that was among the first to compare protection after infection to protection after vaccination. Researchers found that the vaccinated had less protection than the naturally immune.

    “Having had COVID disease, I have stronger longer lasting immunity than those vaccinated (Gazit et al). Lacking scientific rationale, vaccine mandates are religious dogma, and I request a religious exemption from COVID vaccination,” he wrote.

    Both requests were denied.

    Mr. Kulldorff is still unvaccinated.

    “I had COVID. I had it badly. So I have infection-acquired immunity. So I don’t need the vaccine,” he told The Epoch Times.

    Dissenting Voice

    Mr. Kulldorff has been a prominent dissenting voice during the COVID-19 pandemic, countering messaging from the government and many doctors that the COVID-19 vaccines were needed, regardless of prior infection.

    He spoke out in an op-ed in April 2021, for instance, against requiring people to provide proof of vaccination to attend shows, go to school, and visit restaurants.

    “The idea that everybody needs to be vaccinated is as scientifically baseless as the idea that nobody does. Covid vaccines are essential for older, high-risk people and their caretakers and advisable for many others. But those who’ve been infected are already immune,” he wrote at the time.

    Mr. Kulldorff later co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, which called for focused protection of people at high risk while removing restrictions for younger, healthy people.

    Harsh restrictions such as school closures “will cause irreparable damage” if not lifted, the declaration stated.

    The declaration drew criticism from Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who became the head of the CDC, among others.

    In a competing document, Dr. Walensky and others said that “relying upon immunity from natural infections for COVID-19 is flawed” and that “uncontrolled transmission in younger people risks significant morbidity(3) and mortality across the whole population.”

    “Those who are pushing these vaccine mandates and vaccine passports—vaccine fanatics, I would call them—to me they have done much more damage during this one year than the anti-vaxxers have done in two decades,” Mr. Kulldorff later said in an EpochTV interview. “I would even say that these vaccine fanatics, they are the biggest anti-vaxxers that we have right now. They’re doing so much more damage to vaccine confidence than anybody else.”

    Surveys indicate that people have less trust now in the CDC and other health institutions than before the pandemic, and data from the CDC and elsewhere show that fewer people are receiving the new COVID-19 vaccines and other shots.

    Support

    The disclosure that Mr. Kulldorff was fired drew criticism of Harvard and support for Mr. Kulldorff.

    The termination “is a massive and incomprehensible injustice,” Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, an ethics expert who was fired from the University of California–Irvine School of Medicine for not getting a COVID-19 vaccine because he had natural immunity, said on X.

    “The academy is full of people who declined vaccines—mostly with dubious exemptions—and yet Harvard fires the one professor who happens to speak out against government policies.” Dr. Vinay Prasad, an epidemiologist at the University of California–San Francisco, wrote in a blog post. “It looks like Harvard has weaponized its policies and selectively enforces them.”

    A petition to reinstate Mr. Kulldorff has garnered more than 1,800 signatures.

    Some other doctors said the decision to let Mr. Kulldorff go was correct.

    “Actions have consequence,” Dr. Alastair McAlpine, a Canadian doctor, wrote on X. He said Mr. Kulldorff had “publicly undermine[d] public health.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 21:00

  • Visualizing The Explosive Growth Of AI-Powered Fraud
    Visualizing The Explosive Growth Of AI-Powered Fraud

    Former U.S. president Donald Trump posing with Black voters, President Joe Biden discouraging people from voting via telephone or the Pope in a puffy white jacket: Deepfakes of videos, photos and audio recordings have become widespread on various internet platforms, aided by the technological advances of large language models like Midjourney, Google’s Gemini or OpenAI‘s ChatGPT.

    As Statista’s Florian Zandt details below, with the right prompt fine-tuning, everyone can create seemingly real images or make the voices of prominent political or economic figures and entertainers say anything they want. While creating a deepfake is not a criminal offense on its own, many governments are nevertheless moving towards stronger regulation when using artificial intelligence to prevent harm to the parties involved.

    Apart from the main avenue of deepfakes, creating non-consensual pornographic content involving mostly female celebrities, this technology can also be used to commit identity fraud by manufacturing fake IDs or impersonating others over the phone. As Statista’s chart based on the most recent annual report of identity verification provider Sumsub shows, deepfake-related identity fraud cases have skyrocketed between 2022 and 2023 in many countries around the world.

    Infographic: How Dangerous are Deepfakes and Other AI-Powered Fraud? | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    For example, the number of fraud attempts in the Philippines rose by 4,500 percent year over year, followed by nations like Vietnam, the United States and Belgium. With the capabilities of so-called artificial intelligence potentially increasing even further, as is evidenced by products like AI video generator Sora, deepfake fraud attempts could also spill over into other areas.

    “We’ve seen deepfakes become more and more convincing in recent years and this will only continue and branch out into new types of fraud, as seen with voice deepfakes”, says Pavel Goldman-Kalaydin, Sumsub’s Head of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, in the aforementioned report.

    “Both consumers and companies need to remain hyper-vigilant to synthetic fraud and look to multi-layered anti-fraud solutions, not only deepfake detection.”

    These assessments are shared by many cybersecurity experts. For example, a survey among 199 cybersecurity leaders attending the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on Cybersecurity in 2023 showed 46 percent of respondents being most concerned about the “advance of adversarial capabilities – phishing, malware development, deepfakes” in terms of the risks artificial intelligence poses for cybersecurity in the future.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 20:25

  • Andre Gordon, Suspect In 3 Falls Township Murders, Captured After Trenton Barricade, Showdown With Police
    Andre Gordon, Suspect In 3 Falls Township Murders, Captured After Trenton Barricade, Showdown With Police

    The man accused of killing three people during a violent rampage in Falls Township, Pennsylvania Saturday morning before barricading himself inside a Trenton home has finally been captured, Fox29 reports citing officials.

    It all began on Viewpoint Lane in Falls Township just before 9 a.m. when Falls Township police responded to reports of a shooting. There, police say Andre Gordon Jr., 26, forced his way into the home and fatally shot two people and fled in a stolen vehicle that was carjacked in Trenton earlier in the morning.

    The victims have been identified as his 52-year-old stepmother, Karen Gordon, and 13-year-old sister, Kera Gordon. Three other people, including a minor, were inside the home and able to hide, according to Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer Schorn.

    He then drove to a home on Edgewood Lane around 9 a.m. where authorities say he forced his way inside and shot and killed 25-year-old Taylor Daniel – the mother of his two children. Authorities say four other people were inside that home and one person was injured after they were struck by Gordon with a rifle.

    After fleeing that scene, around 9:15 a.m. police say he carjacked a 44-year-old male driver at gunpoint outside a Dollar General on Bristol Pike in Morrisville. He fled that scene in the driver’s dark gray Honda CRV.

    A short time later, authorities confirmed that Honda was found unoccupied in Trenton and that SWAT teams were converging on a nearby home to search for Gordon.

    Police had believed Gordon barricaded himself inside a home near the 100 block of Miller Street in Trenton where the carjacked vehicle was found. Authorities say they received information that Gordon may have taken multiple people hostage inside.

    Police later confirmed the home’s residents had been taken to safety with no injuries. Gordon was taken into custody around 5 p.m.

    By mid-afternoon, officers surrounded the house on a taped-off block, calling to Gordon through a loudspeaker and trying to persuade him to come out.

    “Andre, get away from the windows. If you would like to surrender, dial 911 now,” one message went.

    Police determined later that Gordon was not in the house on Phillips Avenue.

    According to police, it is believed that Gordon knew all of the victims who were fatally shot. He is also believed to currently be homeless and has ties to Trenton, New Jersey. Authorities believe he has ties to the home police had surrounded.

    Officials said they couldn’t yet speak to a motive for the attacks. While Gordon had had some minor brushes with the law, they were “nothing that would indicate that anything like this would happen,” Falls Township Police Chief Nelson Whitney said at a news conference.

    A shelter-in-place order was sent to residents in Falls Township by phone and by mobile alert around 9:30 a.m. and was lifted by 12:30 p.m.

    The Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade was canceled as a result of the shelter-in-place, and several local businesses in the area also closed temporarily.

    Governor Josh Shapiro noted he was informed of the shooting and said on X that he directed Pennsylvania State Police to work with local law enforcement, and to provide whatever support they might need.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 20:15

  • Vitamin D: Deficiency Symptoms, Health Benefits, Optimal Sources, And Side Effects
    Vitamin D: Deficiency Symptoms, Health Benefits, Optimal Sources, And Side Effects

    Authored by Mecura Wang and medically reviewed by Dr. Beverly Timerding via The Epoch Times,

    Vitamin D, or the “sunshine vitamin,” is considered both a fat-soluble vitamin and a hormone because it can be obtained nutritionally, and our skin can synthesize it through sunlight exposure. It is integral to various bodily functions.

    Primarily recognized for enhancing calcium absorption, vitamin D plays a role in maintaining bone and dental health, supporting the immune system, regulating cell growth, influencing mood, and preventing conditions such as multiple sclerosis.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times)

    What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency?

    Vitamin D deficiency is the most prevalent nutritional deficiency, affecting people of all ages globally. In the United States, nearly one-quarter of individuals have insufficient or deficient vitamin D blood levels, which can impact bone and overall health. Approximately 50 percent of children between ages 1 and 5 and 70 percent aged 6 to 11 experience vitamin D deficiency.

    Vitamin D deficiency often arises due to insufficient sunlight exposure, inadequate dietary intake, and the skin’s inability to produce it. Also, natural foods typically do not provide enough vitamin D to prevent deficiency, making sunlight exposure a crucial factor.

    Most people with vitamin D deficiency experience no symptoms. For others, common symptoms may include:

    • Fatigue: Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to fatigue in uncontrolled trials, and treatment with the vitamin has been shown to improve the condition in blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trials. Individuals with persistent and severe vitamin D deficiency may encounter symptoms linked to secondary hyperparathyroidism, including fatigue. Secondary hyperparathyroidism is when the parathyroid excretes too much hormone due to low calcium levels.
    • Bone and muscle pain: A mild but prolonged vitamin D deficiency can result in chronic hypocalcemia (low calcium) and hyperparathyroidism, with symptoms such as bone pain and muscle aches.
    • Muscle weakness and cramps (spasms): Increased levels of vitamin D in the bloodstream have been linked to enhanced muscle strength, physical activity, and the capability to ascend stairs, while lower concentrations are associated with a higher risk of falls among older people. Muscle spasms, particularly in infants, can be an early indication of rickets due to low blood calcium levels resulting from severe vitamin D deficiency.
    • Mood changes: According to a systematic review, about a third of the studies indicated inadequate vitamin D levels were associated with depression. Others suggested supplementing with it was helpful if combined with exercise or along with other nutritional supplements.
    • Bone loss: Vitamin D deficiency can cause bone loss as it impairs calcium absorption, leading to decreased calcium levels in the blood. Specifically, insufficient vitamin D limits the body’s ability to absorb only 10 percent to 15 percent of dietary calcium, whereas with normal vitamin reserves, absorption typically ranges from 30 percent to 40 percent.

    Other symptoms and signs of deficiency may include:

    • Heightened pain sensitivity
    • A tingling sensation in the hands or feet
    • A waddling gait from weakened hip or leg muscles
    • Bone fractures
    • Bowed legs (severe deficiency)
    • Knock-knees
    • Poor sleep
    • Hair loss
    • Increased susceptibility to illness

     Complications

    The complications of vitamin D deficiency are:

    • Rickets: Rickets affects children’s bones, causing them to become soft and weak, potentially leading to deformities. Symptoms and signs include bone pain, reluctance to walk, skeletal deformities such as bowed legs, thickening of joints, dental issues, delayed growth, and fragile bones prone to fractures in severe cases.
    • Osteoporosis: Vitamin D deficiency can result in secondary hyperparathyroidism, leading to bone loss, osteoporosis, fractures, mineralization defects, and long-term risks of osteomalacia. Osteoporosis may cause intense back discomfort, diminished stature, or deformities in the spine, such as a bent or hunched posture.
    • Osteomalacia: This is similar to rickets but can happen at any age. Characterized by bone softening, osteomalacia is primarily linked to vitamin D issues negatively affecting calcium absorption. Its symptoms and signs include bone fractures, muscle weakness, and widespread bone pain, particularly in the hips.

    What Are the Health Benefits of Vitamin D?

    When you eat food or supplements containing vitamin D, your body undergoes two processes to activate it. First, in the liver, vitamin D is converted to calcidiol (25-hydroxyvitamin D). After that, the kidneys further transform it into calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D).

    Calcitriol encourages the absorption of calcium and phosphorus in the small intestine. It also works with parathyroid hormone to enhance calcium transport, which is essential for maintaining proper calcium and phosphorus levels.

    Vitamin D plays a crucial role in calcium absorption, essential for strong bones and teeth. It also supports muscle and nerve function, facilitating movement and communication within the body. In addition, vitamin D is vital for the immune system, as it helps defend against infections.

    • Bone health: Vitamin D helps with the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, promoting bone mineralization and bone mineral density. A meta-analysis of 12 studies involving over 42,000 individuals aged 65 and above discovered that the prevention of nonvertebral fractures with vitamin D is dependent on the dosage. A higher dose of about 500 to 800 international units (IU) resulted in a reduction of hip fractures by 18 percent and nonvertebral fractures by 20 percent for people aged 65 years or older. However, in another study involving over 25,000 generally healthy midlife and older adults, supplementing with vitamin D3 did not lead to a significantly lower risk of fractures compared to a placebo. Of note, though, patients in this study had no controlled calcium supplementation.
    • Muscle and nerve function: Vitamin D may contribute to increased muscle strength by preserving muscle fibers, potentially reducing the risk of falls, a prevalent issue associated with significant disability and mortality in older individuals. Research also suggests that vitamin D plays a vital role in essential neurological functions such as cell growth, development, nerve support, protection, signal transmission, and adaptability.
    • Immune system support: Vitamin D contributes to a healthy immune system. The vitamin D receptor is present in immune cells, allowing vitamin D to act locally in the immune system. The vitamin can influence both the innate and adaptive immune responses and its deficiency is linked to higher autoimmunity risk and increased vulnerability to infections. Moreover, vitamin D exhibits strong anti-inflammatory effects.

    Other health benefits of vitamin D include:

    • Pregnancy support: Vitamin D supplementation during pregnancy has also been associated with a reduction in the risks of small-for-gestational-age babies, preeclampsia, preterm birth, and gestational diabetes.
    • Mood regulation
    • Insulin level regulation: Vitamin D has been shown to lower blood glucose levels and enhance insulin sensitivity in people with diabetes.
    • Weight loss: Vitamin D plays a role in preventing the formation of fat cells by influencing specific molecules, such as vitamin D receptors.
    • Dental health: Research highlights a link between alveolar bone density, osteoporosis, tooth loss, and periodontal disease risk. Several reports suggest a significant connection between periodontal health and vitamin D intake.

    Vitamin D Prevents Certain Conditions

    In addition to the aforementioned bone-related and mental medical conditions, an adequate level of vitamin D can potentially prevent or lower the risk of certain diseases, including:

    • Certain types of cancer: Animal and lab studies suggest that vitamin D may inhibit tumor development and slow the growth of existing tumors in various organs, including the breast, ovary, colon, prostate, and brain. Human epidemiological studies demonstrate that higher serum levels of vitamin D are linked to significantly slower progression of certain cancers, particularly colorectal cancer. The anti-cancer effects of vitamin D may also extend indirectly through its anti-inflammatory properties.
    • Heart disease: Maintaining optimal vitamin D levels may have potential cardiovascular health benefits, according to one recent study. Both deficiency and insufficiency of vitamin D were linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including stroke, heart disease, heart attack, and heart failure. However, excess vitamin D was not associated with increased CVD risk.
    • Immune-related diseases: Sufficient vitamin D levels may help prevent or treat immune-related diseases.
    • Asthma: A meta-analysis discovered that taking vitamin D supplements helped adults with mild-to-moderate asthma who were also deficient in vitamin D to reduce their asthma exacerbations by 30 percent. However, this benefit was not observed in individuals with higher baseline vitamin D levels.
    • Atherosclerosis: Vitamin D’s anti-inflammatory properties appear promising in lessening atherosclerosis, as insufficient levels lead to increased production of pro-inflammatory markers, disrupting the balance in the inflammatory response. In atherosclerosis, vitamin D suppresses the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which play a significant role in the development of the disease.
    • Type 2 diabetes: One study suggested a higher prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with Type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance decreases with the supplementation of vitamin D.
    • Autoimmune diseases: Extensive research indicates a potential connection between vitamin D deficiency and the development of autoimmune diseases. Vitamin D deficiency has been noted in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, with an inverse relationship to disease activity, suggesting a role in the disease’s pathogenesis. Similar observations exist for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren’s syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Research also indicates there is a lower risk of developing multiple sclerosis in individuals with higher levels of vitamin D.
    • Cognitive decline: Research has consistently established a connection between cognitive impairment, dementia, and a lack of vitamin D.
    • Mortality: As per a meta-analysis of 18 studies involving 57,311 subjects, daily intake of vitamin D supplements was associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality rates.

    What Are the Types of Vitamin D?

    Vitamin D is not a single chemical but a group of compounds. The two major types of vitamin D are D2 and D3. Vitamin D2 and D3, collectively known as vitamin D, share nearly identical functions, yet neither becomes active until the body performs its transformative process.

    1. Vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol)

    Vitamin D2 comes from plants and fungi and is created when ergosterol is exposed to radiation. It is found in some plant-based foods and used in vitamin D supplements.

    2. Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol)

    The body naturally produces a form of vitamin D from a widespread cholesterol variant called 7-dehydrocholesterol, mainly through exposure to sunlight. UVB energy from sunlight plays a crucial role in converting this precursor into vitamin D3. It is also found in some animal-based foods, such as fatty fish, egg yolks, and liver.

    Vitamin D3 is commonly available in animal-based supplements. It is often considered more effective than D2, possibly due to its stronger connection with the vitamin D binding protein. This increased affinity may result in slower clearance of vitamin D3, leading to longer-lasting concentrations of 25(OH)D in the blood compared to D2.

    What Is the Recommended Amount of Vitamin D?

    The required daily amount of vitamin D varies based on an individual’s age. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin D is designed to meet the daily requirements for maintaining healthy bones and normal calcium metabolism in individuals with minimal sun exposure.

    The recommended daily intake of vitamin D can vary among different organizations, such as the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (formerly known as the Institute of Medicine, or IOM), which is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation (BHOF) (formerly known as National Osteoporosis Foundation, or NOF), and the Endocrine Society.

    The NAM RDA guideline below is also recommended by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NAM considers these intake amounts adequate to achieve a vitamin D blood level of 50 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L), which they believe is sufficient for most people. In addition, according to the Endocrine Society, ensuring a consistent elevation of the blood level of 25(OH)D above 75 nmol/L may necessitate a daily intake of at least 1,000 IU of vitamin D.

    The following table compares the recommended daily vitamin D amounts by the NAM and NIH, BHOF, and the Endocrine Society.

    What Types of Vitamin D Supplements Are Available?

    Vitamin D supplements are available in three types: vitamin D2, vitamin D3, and calcidiol. However, calcidiol is considered a medication, and it may be prescribed for individuals with health conditions causing malabsorption, such as cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, or liver disease, which impairs the synthesis of calcidiol from typical vitamin D supplements.

    Vitamin D2 vs. D3 Supplements

    Vitamin D2 supplements are created by subjecting a plant sterol to ultraviolet energy, resulting in the production of vitamin D2. Vitamin D3 is usually generated through the irradiation of 7-dehydrocholesterol derived from lanolin obtained from sheep’s wool. Individuals who abstain from all animal-derived products can ask manufacturers about supplement sourcing and processing methods.

    Ongoing debate surrounds the preference for vitamin D3 over D2 to increase blood levels. A meta-analysis suggests that D3 supplements tend to raise and maintain vitamin D levels more effectively than D2. Many experts favor vitamin D3 due to its natural production in the body and its presence in foods containing the vitamin.

    One study involving 15,716 participants compared four treatment options for vitamin D deficiency, including vitamin D2 injection, vitamin D3 injection, a combination of vitamin D2 injection with a D2 tablet, and a combination of vitamin D3 injection with a D2 tablet. All treatments led to a significant increase in serum vitamin D within 12 weeks, with the vitamin D3 injection alone showing the highest increase. The findings suggest that using vitamin D3 in injectable form is the most effective option for restoring severe vitamin D deficiency, outperforming the injectable form of vitamin D2 and D2 tablets. However, the study did not address the effects of a vitamin D3 tablet/capsule, which is still generally better absorbed than oral vitamin D2.

    Different Forms of Vitamin D Supplements 

    Vitamin D2 and D3 supplements can be obtained over the counter or by prescription in the United States. They come in various strengths, including 400, 800, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 50,000 IU, with the latter requiring a prescription.

    For adults, the general recommendation is a daily supplement containing 800 IU. Older individuals may still experience vitamin D deficiency at this intake level, so they might need to increase the dosage per their doctor’s instructions. In addition, all infants and children are advised to take a vitamin D supplement containing 400 IU starting shortly after birth.

    As vitamin D is fat-soluble, it is most effectively absorbed when consumed with a meal or snack containing some fat.

    Vitamin D supplements are also available in various forms, including:

    • Capsules/softgels
    • Tablets
    • Liquid drops
    • Gummies
    • Sprays
    • Injections

    What Are the Dietary Sources of Vitamin D?

    Vitamin D is found naturally in a few foods, and most dietary intake in the United States comes from fortified foods supplemented with vitamin D.

    Vitamin D2

    • Many plant-based milks (e.g., soy, almond, and oat) and plant-based yogurts are fortified with vitamin D2. One cup of various soy, almond, and oat milk brands is fortified with 100 to 144 IU of vitamin D.
    • Some mushrooms naturally contain vitamin D2, and certain commercially sold ones have higher levels of D2 because they are intentionally exposed to high amounts of ultraviolet light. Half a cup of raw, sliced white mushrooms exposed to UV light contains 366 IU of vitamin D.
    • Vitamin D (both D2 and D3) is supplemented in various breakfast cereals. One serving of ready-to-eat cereal is fortified with 10 percent of the daily value (DV) for vitamin D (80 IU).
    • Some orange juice brands, margarine, and other food items are fortified with vitamin D2.

    Vitamin D3

    Vitamin D3 is obtained from animal products, with oily fish, fish oils, eggs, and dairy serving as the best dietary sources. The amount of vitamin D in an animal’s tissues is influenced by its diet.

    Most of the U.S. cow’s milk supply is fortified with approximately 120 IU of vitamin D3 per cup, and infant formula is fortified. However, foods derived from milk, such as cheese and ice cream, are typically not fortified. Rich sources of vitamin D3 include fatty fish such as trout, salmon, tuna, and mackerel, as well as fish liver oils. In addition to vitamin D3, animal-based foods often contain calcidiol, also known as 25(OH)D. Research suggests that calcidiol is around five times more effective than the parent vitamin in increasing serum 25(OH)D concentrations.

    Examples of foods containing vitamin D3 include:

    • Fish oil: 1 tablespoon of cod liver oil (1,360 IU per serving)
    • Trout: 3 ounces of cooked farmed rainbow trout (645 IU per serving)
    • Salmon: 3 ounces of cooked sockeye salmon (570 IU per serving)
    • Sardines: Two drained sardines, canned in oil  (46 IU per serving)
    • Cow’s milk: 1 cup of 2 percent milk fortified with vitamin D (120 IU per serving)

    What Are the Other Sources of Vitamin D?

    Unfortunately, we can obtain vitamin D from only diet, sun exposure, and supplementation. The belief that tanning beds can provide sufficient vitamin D is just a myth because tanning bed bulbs mainly emit UVA light, while vitamin D synthesis requires UVB light. Hypervitaminosis D (excessive vitamin D levels in the body) is a potential risk in a small proportion of tanning beds with UVB light. It’s not known if this is due to less heating of the skin in some facilities. Also, catching sunlight in a sunny office or while driving in a car won’t contribute to obtaining vitamin D, either, because window glass completely blocks UVB ultraviolet light.

    Sunlight consists of two types of ultraviolet radiation: UVA and UVB. Although UVB is essential for the skin’s vitamin D synthesis, it can cause sunburn and contribute to cell damage linked to cancer. UVA also damages the skin and accelerates aging. To safeguard against sun damage and skin cancer, limit exposure during peak hours (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), wear protective clothing such as a wide-brimmed hat and long-sleeved garments, and use sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher when too much exposure is unavoidable, ensuring it’s broad-spectrum for UVA and UVB protection.

    Given the appropriate conditions, exposing the arms and legs to sunlight for 10 to 15 minutes a few times weekly can produce almost all the necessary vitamin D.

    In addition to the aforementioned factors, elements affecting how much vitamin D your body makes include smog and other types of air pollution, season, and cloud cover. For instance, people living north of the 37-degree-latitude line, the imaginary line connecting Richmond, Virginia, and San Francisco, cannot obtain sufficient UVB exposure during winter to produce adequate vitamin D.

    What Is the Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency?

    Blood 25(OH)D levels (combined vitamin D2 and D3) are a good indicator of vitamin D stores in the body and show a strong connection with symptoms and signs of deficiency. Blood tests measuring vitamin D, calcium, and phosphate levels can confirm a deficiency.

    High-Risk Populations

    Certain disorders, hereditary conditions, and medications may impact vitamin D absorption or conversion of vitamin D to its active form, thus contributing to deficiency.

    The following risk factors put someone at higher risk of deficiency:

    • Limited outdoor activity: Older adults and those residing in institutions may not have easy access to the outdoors.
    • Inflammatory bowel diseases
    • Celiac disease
    • Cystic fibrosis
    • Surgery: People who undergo bariatric or gastric bypass surgery for weight loss and those with sections of the small intestine removed (resection) are at higher risk.
    • Darker skin: Less vitamin D is produced during sun exposure in darker skin compared to lighter skin, as the melanin in darker skin blocks and absorbs sunlight before it can initiate vitamin D production.
    • Excessive sunscreen use
    • Malabsorption disorders
    • Age: As people age, their skin’s 7-dehydrocholesterol levels (which play a crucial role in the synthesis of vitamin D) decrease, accompanied by changes in the skin. Older people are also more prone to spending extended periods indoors.
    • Certain medical conditions: Some conditions can hinder the body’s ability to synthesize or absorb sufficient vitamin D.
    • Lactose intolerance: Milk is usually fortified with vitamin D.
    • Vegan or vegetarian diets

    To address vitamin D deficiency, increasing consumption of vitamin D-rich foods is often insufficient, prompting doctors to recommend supplements. The available forms of vitamin D supplements include vitamins D2 and D3 and calcidiol. The prescribed dosage varies based on factors such as severity, age, weight, and pregnancy status. The following table contains the suggested average daily dosages. The levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D, in the blood are used to measure vitamin D status.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 19:50

  • Tide Shift: Philadelphia Officer Says Criminals Will Be Prosecuted Once Again 
    Tide Shift: Philadelphia Officer Says Criminals Will Be Prosecuted Once Again 

    The tide is turning in lawless progressive cities after leftist radicals in city halls have pushed disastrous social justice reforms and defunded the police that have sparked crime wave after crime wave. 

    According to one Philadelphia Police Department officer, the mayor, the commissioner, and the governor are no longer tolerating the soaring thefts and out-of-control crime that have transformed some parts of the metro area into third-world-like conditions. 

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    If we had to guess, maybe the shift in policing is because progressive policies have been one of the biggest failed social experiments this nation has ever seen. Law-abiding Americans across cities demand a return to law and order after half a decade of crime chaos. And these leftist politicians are getting the message as some are up for re-election. 

    In a video interview posted by X user Wall Street Apes, a Philadelphia police officer explains that law and order is returning but will be an uphill battle. 

    “The mayor, the commissioner and the governor said we gonna do something about the theft. They passed new legislation that they’re going after people.” 

    “That’s not gonna happen anymore. Not the city of Philadelphia. You’re gonna get prosecuted, and it’s gonna be a felony. It ain’t gonna be on misdemeanor.” 

    Interviewer: “Can you say something to the youth, please, about all this morning?” 

    Officer “Well, all I have to say to the youth is put down the gun because if you come here with a gun, the chances are you’re not gonna make it home. I hate to say it like that, but we have to keep it real. This is killing us. I’ve never seen it like this before, where young people shoot up a bus depot station, 40 rounds, and shoot innocent people. Something must be done. 

    I say this to the parents. Go in your children’s room, tear it apart and find that gun. Because when they kill somebody, that’s on you. You can’t say, well, my child ain’t you know what your children are doing. It is your job. 

    That’s your house. You own it. You are the commander in that chief in that house. Go to your children’s house your room and look for these weapons. Stop it before it’s too late. 

    Either you’re burying your child, or you’re going up to prison every month, visiting your child. It takes a community to stop this. It’s not just on the police department.

     That’s why we are out there. But it’s not all about locking people up. You have to educate these people. You have to educate these young people. Guns is not the way. 

    But there’s a group of them that believe in robbing and stealing and killing. And those are the ones we have to capture and put away. “

    Watch the full interview here: 

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 19:15

  • Electric Transmission Buildout Could Cost Americans Trillions Of Dollars
    Electric Transmission Buildout Could Cost Americans Trillions Of Dollars

    Authored by Bernard L. McNamee via RealClear Wire,

    Though windmills and solar panels get the headlines, the big energy topic in Washington is electric transmission. Whether it is Congress’s newfound interest in permitting reform, the U.S. Department of Energy’s new Grid Deployment Office, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) upcoming final rule on transmission planning and cost allocation, how to build and pay for long-range transmission to connect generators to customers is considered the final piece in the quest to meet net-zero goals.   

    Like so many issues in Washington, the need for more transmission lines is accepted without question and the costs are not considered. But for American consumers, especially low-income and elderly, as well as small businesses and energy intense manufacturers, building new transmission lines could result in much higher monthly bills and leave them on the hook for stranded assets.

    Traditionally, high-voltage transmission lines, consisting of 150-foot lattice towers crossing the landscape for hundreds of miles, were planned for by local utilities to meet their customers’ energy needs and subject to approval by state public utility commissions. But public policy goals to promote renewables are changing how the grid is being developed.

    Over the past few years, States established renewable energy mandates; Congress enacted over $1 trillion in taxpayer subsidies for renewable energy; and President Biden issued an executive order setting net-zero goals for electricity generation by 2035. To fulfill these policies, the grid needs new high-voltage transmission lines—lots of them—and they will be expensive.

    According to the “Net-Zero America” analysis published by Princeton researchers, achieving net zero goals with 100% wind and solar by 2050 will require an additional $3.5 trillion in capital spending for new transmission lines. If net-zero goals are pursued with a mix of renewables, nuclear, and natural gas generation (which may include carbon capture), then a significant portion of this transmission investment would be unnecessary. Furthermore, a balanced resource mix of dispatchable and renewable resources would enhance grid reliability without overbuilding renewables or transmission.

    Contributing to the cost is that renewable projects are often built far away from where the electricity will be consumed. For example, the Midwest is a great place to build windmills, but long-distance transmission lines are needed to deliver their electricity to big population centers on coasts. Not only are these lines capital intensive, but they also require purchasing or condemning private property to site them. Adding insult to injury, many of these transmission lines will not serve the people whose land is used.       

    Renewable power developers see the potential for selling their electricity in higher priced power systems near urban centers, while also being able to harvest generous taxpayer subsidies. But having to pay for transmission cuts into profits. Furthermore, property owners impacted by the transmission lines are objecting. The solution: a wave of lobbyists and special interests pressing policy makers to eliminate permitting barriers and to socialize the $3.5 trillion cost of building new transmission lines to more Americans.   

    In response, FERC is engaged in a rulemaking to change transmission planning and cost allocation. Among the proposals is requiring grid planners to consider factors like “geographic zones”, such as wind potential in the Midwest; state and federal “public policy goals”; and “trends” in technology. If adopted, these factors would provide more subjective ways to justify building big, expensive, long-range transmission projects that would be paid for by a broader number of Americans.  

    With public concerns about costs, transmission advocates now argue that more transmission is needed for grid reliability. Yet, the threat of blackouts is the result of the very net-zero policies that now require more transmission. For example, Maryland’s recent decision to shut down the Brandon Shores coal plant will cause customers across 12 states and the District of Columbia to pay $796 million for new transmission projects to support reliability.  

    Customers may also be left paying for transmission projects that are no longer needed. New technology, such as small modular nuclear reactors that can be built at existing power plants that already have transmission access, may negate the need for new transmission lines to serve renewable generators. The current push for transmission reform may be another expensive example of Washington trying to solve yesterday’s problem. This is not mere speculation, since 2008 customers have paid $250 million for the PATH transmission line that crossed three states, even though it was never built and never served customers.  

    It is time for policy makers to reaffirm that the electric grid exists to serve customers, not developers and investors. Transmission planning and cost allocation should be driven by the needs of customers and overseen by the state regulators who are best suited to protect their citizens. At a time when inflation is making its tougher from families and businesses to thrive, imposing additional costs for transmission buildouts for special interests makes little sense. 

    Bernard L. McNamee was a Commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from 2018-2020. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 18:40

  • Hertz CEO Out As Firm Seeks Traction After Big EV Bet Goes Bust
    Hertz CEO Out As Firm Seeks Traction After Big EV Bet Goes Bust

    CEO Stephen Scherr’s barely two-year ride with Hertz came to a screeching halt on Friday. In his wake, he leaves a company still working to recover from a big bet on electric vehicles gone bad. It will do so under new CEO Gil West, whose previous posts include executive roles at Delta Air Lines and the Cruise unit of General Motors.    

    Scherr, who came on board in February 2022 after 30 years at Goldman Sachs, ushered the company through its emergence from bankruptcy. Hertz’s EV push began in the previous year, with a splashy move to order 100,000 Tesla Model 3 vehicles. After taking the reins of the Estero, Florida-headquartered company, Scherr doubled down on the green vision, committing to purchased another 65,000 EVs from Polestar, a Swedish company. 

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    In December 2023, Hertz emphatically demonstrated that its massive EV push just wasn’t working out, throwing 20,000 EVs into the used-car market to start a systematic liquidation planned to extend through 2024. “The company expects to reinvest a portion of the proceeds from the sale of EVs into the purchase of internal combustion engine vehicles to meet customer demand,” Hertz said at the time, adding, “The company expects this action to better balance supply against expected demand of EVs.”

    The resale of fleet cars is a key driver of rental car companies’ profitability. On that front, Tesla threw a wrench in Hertz’s financials by aggressively slashing prices across its product line, crushing the resale values of not only Teslas, but the entire EV market. Top-selling EV’s saw their secondary-market prices plunge by almost a third in 2023. 

    Poor resale value isn’t the only EV liability biting Hertz — the company also pointed to the high cost of collision repairs. “For context, collision and damage repairs on an EV can often run about twice that associated with a comparable combustion engine vehicle,” Scherr noted in an October third-quarter conference call. 

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    Then there’s the issue of consumer demand. It’s fair to assume that most rental car customers don’t want their first EV experiment to come on a business or vacation trip, where they may be in an unfamiliar area and unenthused about spending 20 minutes at a recharging station on the way to the airport, to say nothing of the hassle of figuring out how the whole EV-thing works.

    There are many horror stories about consumers unpleasantly surprised to be issued an EV when they didn’t ask for one. Others say they picked up a car that was only half-charged and missing the charging cable. Earlier this month, Sen. Tom Cotton — one of the most sinister foreign-policy interventionists to ever walk Capitol Hill — decided to intervene in the rental car market, by introducing a bill that would make it illegal to force EVs on customers. 

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    In a statement issued Friday, Hertz vice chair Tom Wagner said, “We are appreciative of Stephen’s contribution over the last two years, including on a number of key strategic initiatives.” 

    …but definitely not that EV one. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 18:05

  • Four-Star Sellouts
    Four-Star Sellouts

    Authored by Citizen Soldier via RealClear Wire,

    “The jungle is dark but full of diamonds, Willy. One must go in to fetch a diamond out.”

    I’ve been thinking about that line from Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, Death of a Salesman, as I watch prominent men risk prison or disgrace to enrich themselves.

    Look at the news.

    Sen. Bob Menendez, former Chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is indicted for acting as a foreign agent to benefit Egypt.

    Manuel Rocha, a former Ambassador to Cuba, will plead guilty to charges he conspired to act as an agent of Cuba.

    Two years ago, former Marine Corps General John Allen resigned from his post as president of Brookings Institution amid a DOJ investigation into whether he illegally lobbied on behalf of the nation of Qatar.

    DOJ dropped the charges but, in 2023, Congress released findings that 77 general officers and admirals had taken high-paying gigs with foreign countries. The list included former Defense Secretary James Mattis (UAE), former NSA chief Keith Alexander (Singapore, Saudi Arabia) and former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster (Japan).

    Go back to 2015 and you’ll be reminded that then-Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas allegedly pressured DHS officials to approve visa requests on behalf of powerful friends in business, entertainment and politics.

    I get it; there’s an edge in this game, too.

    Mayorkas and the generals played close to the edge. Menendez played too close to the edge (at minimum). Rocha obviously went over the edge.

    The bigger question is … why?

    At an age when most Americans re-discover the soapy drama of daytime television, the politicians and generals venture deeper into the jungle.

    Taking one more free trip.

    Looking for one more big payday.

    Something short of the law should restrain their greed. Call it shame, stigma, patriotism, or even self-discipline. Call it common morality.

    The generals and military bigshots are most troubling. They made their names in an institution that demanded fidelity to the military ethos. Duck your duty to stand post, and you betray your comrades. Lie to your commanding officer, and you perhaps put an operation at risk. Sit back at the command post while your troops walk patrol, and be labeled a coward by yourself and others.

    When Allen, Mattis, McMaster and the rest served as officers, much of what they could have done, they didn’t do. Their restraint enhanced their character. Their high moral standards made them leaders, and formed the basis for their credibility to ask young Americans to kill or be killed in combat.

    But as generals transition to civilian life, apparently, they discover what can be gained by switching sides and corrupting into your opposite. The opportunity to become sandwich-board twirlers for foreign governments is turning once-virtuous leaders into human directionals for money, attention and other regime goodies.

    Because the generals sold out, they’re not special anymore.

    No more duty, honor, country.

    No more honor, courage, commitment.

    The generals are hunting diamonds now, and we should treat them accordingly. 

    Citizen Soldier believes in life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 17:30

  • "Extreme Events": US Cancer Deaths Spiked In 2021 And 2022 In "Large Excess Over Trend"
    “Extreme Events”: US Cancer Deaths Spiked In 2021 And 2022 In “Large Excess Over Trend”

    Cancer deaths in the United States spiked in 2021 and 2022 among 15-44 year-olds “in large excess over trend,” marking jumps of 5.6% and 7.9% respectively vs. a rise of 1.7% in 2020, according to a new preprint study from deep-dive research firm, Phinance Technologies.

    Algeria, Carlos et. al “US -Death Trends for Neoplasms ICD codes: C00-D48, Ages 15-44”, ResearchGate, March. 2024 P. 7

    Extreme Events

    The report, which relies on data from the CDC, paints a troubling picture.

    “We show a rise in excess mortality from neoplasms reported as underlying cause of death, which started in 2020 (1.7%) and accelerated substantially in 2021 (5.6%) and 2022 (7.9%). The increase in excess mortality in both 2021 (Z-score of 11.8) and 2022 (Z-score of 16.5) are highly statistically significant (extreme events),” according to the authors.

    That said, co-author, David Wiseman, PhD (who has 86 publications to his name), leaves the cause an open question – suggesting it could either be a “novel phenomenon,” Covid-19, or the Covid-19 vaccine.

    “The results indicate that from 2021 a novel phenomenon leading to increased neoplasm deaths appears to be present in individuals aged 15 to 44 in the US,” reads the report.

    The authors suggest that the cause may be the result of “an unexpected rise in the incidence of rapidly growing fatal cancers,” and/or “a reduction in survival in existing cancer cases.”

    They also address the possibility that “access to utilization of cancer screening and treatment” may be a factor – the notion that pandemic-era lockdowns resulted in fewer visits to the doctor. Also noted is that “Cancers tend to be slowly-developing diseases with remarkably stable death rates and only small variations over time,” which makes “any temporal association between a possible explanatory factor (such as COVID-19, the novel COVID-19 vaccines, or other factor(s)) difficult to establish.”

    That said, a ZeroHedge review of the CDC data reveals that it does not provide information on duration of illness prior to death – so while it’s not mentioned in the preprint, it can’t rule out so-called ‘turbo cancers’ – reportedly rapidly developing cancers, the existence of which has been largely anecdotal (and widely refuted by the usual suspects).

    While the Phinance report is extremely careful not to draw conclusions, researcher “Ethical Skeptic” kicked the barn door open in a Thursday post on X – showing a strong correlation between “cancer incidence & mortality” coinciding with the rollout of the Covid mRNA vaccine.

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    Phinance principal Ed Dowd commented on the post, noting that “Cancer is suddenly an accelerating growth industry!”

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    Continued:

    Bottom line – hard data is showing alarming trends, which the CDC and other agencies have a requirement to explore and answer truthfully – and people are asking #WhereIsTheCDC.

    We aren’t holding our breath.

    Wiseman, meanwhile, points out that Pfizer and several other companies are making “significant investments in cancer drugs, post COVID.”

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    Phinance

    We’ve featured several of Phinance’s self-funded deep dives into pandemic data that nobody else is doing. If you’d like to support them, click here.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 16:55

  • Pentagon Commander Reveals 'Alarming' Number Of Drone Incursions At US-Mexico Border
    Pentagon Commander Reveals ‘Alarming’ Number Of Drone Incursions At US-Mexico Border

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

    A large number of drone incursions are happening at the U.S.-Mexico border, a U.S. Department of Defense official said on March 14.

    “It’s my understanding, there’s been a lot of drone incursions along our southern border. How many drone incursions have we had and what are they doing?” Sen. Ted Budd (R-N.C.) asked Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot during a Senate hearing.

    “I don’t know the actual number—I don’t think anybody does—but it’s in the thousands,” Gen. Guillot said.

    Air Force Gen. Gregory M. Guillot testifies to the U.S. Senate in Washington on March 14, 2024. (Senate via The Epoch Times)

    He later added that there are likely more than 1,000 incursions happening at the border per month.

    The general, who became commander of U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in February, said he recently spoke with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Department of Justice officials learned about the surprising number of incursions. He described becoming alarmed.

    Are the incursions a defense threat to the homeland?

    “They alarm me from being the person responsible for homeland defense,” Gen. Guillot said. “I haven’t seen any of them manifest in a threat to the level of national defense but I see the potential only growing.”

    NORAD is a United States and Canadian organization whose work includes “the detection, validation, and warning of attack against North America whether by aircraft, missiles, or space vehicles, through mutual support arrangements with other commands.” NORTHCOM leads the military’s homeland defense efforts.

    The hearing was held by the Senate Armed Services Committee. The subject of Mexican military incursions at the border did not come up.

    Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), chairman of the committee, inquired as to whether military base commanders were equipped with standard operating procedures in dealing with unmanned aircraft.

    “The services do have authorities, but work remains to be done to ensure that … we have standardized operating procedures to address those threats,” Gen. Guillot said. “And also work remains to be done to be able to use especially the non-kinetic capabilities that can bring down those systems safely, without interfering with our airspace structure.”

    He said he was planning to recommend to the Pentagon and Congress ways NORAD can help develop those procedures after a 90-day assessment of NORAD and NORTHCOM is finished.

    Other Comments From New Commander

    Gen. Guillot also touched on a number of additional subjects during the hearing, his first since taking command.

    At one point, he said he was concerned about how many Chinese nationals are crossing into the United States.

    “The number of Chinese that are coming across the border is a big concern of mine,” he said. “In fact, in the short period of time that I’ve been in command, I’ve gone down to the southern border to talk to the agents and leadership about that. And then I’ve also spoken with the acting commissioner of the CBP on this subject.”

    He added: “What concerns me most about specifically the Chinese migrants is—one, that they’re so centralized in one location on the border. And two, is while many may be political refugees, other explanations, the ability for counterintelligence to hide in plain sight in those numbers.”

    Gen. Guillot also disclosed that Russia flew bombers near U.S. and Canadian airspace earlier in March but turned back before reaching the Air Defense Identification Zone, and said Chinese planes could follow.

    Gen. Guillot also told lawmakers that NORAD has improved its radars since officials allowed a Chinese balloon into American airspace in 2023.

    “That has allowed us to have better domain awareness in that,” he said. Gaps in the system, he added, are slated to be address by a new radar being introduced.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 16:20

  • Who Is "Mr. 100"? Mysterious Bitcoin Whale Becomes 14th Biggest BTC Holder
    Who Is “Mr. 100”? Mysterious Bitcoin Whale Becomes 14th Biggest BTC Holder

    Authored by Zoltan Vardai via CoinTelegraph.com,

    A mysterious Bitcoin whale, nicknamed “Mr. 100,” has sparked curiosity in the cryptocurrency space after amassing over 52,996 Bitcoin, worth over $3.5 billion, on-chain data shows.

    Who is Bitcoin’s “Mr. 100”?

    The Mr. 100 whale wallet bought at least 1,000 Bitcoin on March 15, which is 52% of the total 1,907 BTC bought by the 10 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to an X post by HODL15Capital.

    Bitcoin accumulation sheet. Source: HODL15Capital on X

    This address has been continually receiving BTC since November 2022, when the FTX exchange collapsed. The wallet has been adding at least 100 BTC nearly every day since Feb. 14.

    The wallet received some larger Bitcoin transfers from a secondary wallet address, which has also been adding tranches of 100 BTC since 2019. This suggests that the mysterious whale has been stacking sats since at least 2019, according to HODL15Capital, who also noted in a March 15 X post:

    “What I do know is that this is NOT one of the U.S. ETFs. I have all those mapped.” 

    Based on the size of the acquisitions, there’s speculation that the whale could be either a Hong Kong financial institution pre-seeding for ETFs, the Qatar Investment Authority, other Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, a cold wallet associated with South Korean Upbit exchange, or an unidentified address of a tech billionaire.

    Mr. 100 continues accumulating regardless of Bitcoin price at near all-time highs, adding 400 BTC on March 12, when Bitcoin traded above the $72,000 mark.

    Following the accumulation spree, the Mr. 100 wallet is currently the 14th-largest BTC holder, according to Bitinfocharts data.

    Mr. 100 wallet data. Source: Bitinfocharts

    Wallet linked to Upbit: Crystal Intelligence

    The Mr. 100 wallet has been tagged as a cold wallet belonging to the Upbit cryptocurrency exchange, by blockchain intelligence firm Arkham Intelligence.

    Based on blockchain data analyzed by Crystal Intelligence, the mysterious wallet belongs to Upbit, the firm told Cointelegraph:

    “We have found that the number and value of transactions associated with this wallet are indicative of a VASP-type service. Additionally, we can confirm with high accuracy that the incoming transactions originate from Upbit, and these have maintained a consistent value since the collapse of FTX.”

    Looking at the wallet’s outflows, Mr. 100 has only been sending Bitcoin transactions to a wallet tagged as an Upbit hot wallet by Arkahm’s platform. Most of the transactions were in tranches of at least 500 BTC, with two of the biggest transactions transferring as much as 3,000 BTC.

    Upbit: Cold Wallet Outflows. Source: Arkham Intelligence

    The analytics team behind Crystal Intelligence confirmed that the secondary wallets also belong to Upbit:

    “Bitcoin is moved into three major clusters on the outgoing transaction side, and those clusters appear to be connected in subsequent transactions. We also found some evidence that the clusters that received funds from 1Ay8v belong to Upbit.”

    Thus, the “Mr. 100” wallet likely belongs to Upbit, argued pseudonymous on-chain analyst Defioasis, who wrote in a March 12 X response:

    “The regular movements of 100 BTC are not purchases but could be Upbit’s unique way of managing cold and hot wallet assets.”

    HODL15Capital also noted that a South Korean entity is stacking large amounts of Bitcoin, in a March 15 X post, referencing the heatmap from below.

    BTC global transfers heatmap. Source: HODL15Capital

    All the 14 secondary wallet addresses associated with the main wallet of Mr. 100 have passed Know Your Customer  verification on Upbit exchange, wrote pseudonymous on-chain sleuth Mai in a March 15 X response:

    “Mr.100 uses a small wallet address to buy $BTC. I find it very similar to what Upbit usually does with altcoins (ETH network). If we follow Upbit’s cash flow, we will see the coincidence.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 15:10

  • Chinese Scientists Implant First Pig Liver Into Brain-Dead Human
    Chinese Scientists Implant First Pig Liver Into Brain-Dead Human

    Who says nothing interesting ever happens in the world anymore? This week, in a “first of its kind” operation, a brain-dead human subject was implanted with the world’s first gene-edited pig liver transplant, according to SCMP. 

    In what could be a pioneering move, Chinese scientists have transplanted a gene-edited pig liver into a human, aiming to potentially mark a solution to organ shortages, the report says.

    The liver was modified to reduce rejection risks and was implanted into a brain-dead recipient, showing no rejection signs four days post-operation, as per the Air Force Medical University. SCMP writes that this procedure could significantly aid those with end-stage liver disease, possibly revolutionizing liver transplants. 

    Gene editing advancements in China also promise to enhance efficiency and accessibility in plant modification, reflecting broader strides in medical innovation, the report continues.

    SCMP notes that liver diseases annually claim 2 million lives globally, with China alone witnessing up to 500,000 new cases of liver failure yearly. Xenotransplantation, the process of transplanting organs across species, could be a hopeful strategy, especially for liver ailments, given the complexity and scarcity of human livers for transplantation.

    While pig organs have been previously used in research, the liver’s complexity means there needs to be innovative surgical approaches, such as auxiliary transplants, to ensure effective integration and function within the body, according to SCMP. 

    This development signals a critical step toward more sustainable organ transplant solutions, addressing both the technical challenges and the dire need for viable organs.

    The Air Force Medical University commented: “From this perspective, xenogenic liver transplantation has great clinical application value.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 14:35

  • GAO: 'Unclear' If Pentagon Tracking Reports Of Misused Aid In Ukraine
    GAO: ‘Unclear’ If Pentagon Tracking Reports Of Misused Aid In Ukraine

    Authored by Philip Wegmann via RealClear Wire,

    While the Pentagon has assured Congress that no U.S. military equipment sent to Ukraine has been diverted, stolen, or otherwise misappropriated, a new report from the Government Accountability Office could not determine if the Department of Defense was tracking allegations of misuse two years into the conflict.

    “If you never look, you will never find it,” a source familiar with how the report was compiled said of the worst-case possibility that aid was being misappropriated.

    The report comes as President Biden struggles to keep the supply lines open to Ukraine. Although a majority of Congress supports sending further aid to help hold back the Russian onslaught, and the Senate passed a bipartisan aid package late last month, House Republicans have yet to approve the latest round of now-stalled military assistance.

    The United States remains the leading supplier of munitions and other aid to Ukraine, providing more than $42 billion in assistance since Russia’s invasion. Much of it has come through the Presidential Drawdown Authority, which allows the president to transfer equipment from American stores directly to allies. The annual amount was limited by law to $100 million a year until Congress lifted the cap to $14.5 billion.

    The sheer tonnage of supplies and the speed of its shipment, according to the GAO report, has left the Pentagon without “quality data” to assess its delivery. Ensuring munitions and materiel arrive in the right hands has led to unprecedented challenges on top of the existing chaos of war. Most officials were evacuated from Ukraine long ago, for instance, and those who remain are restricted from leaving Kyiv to ensure delivery of shipments before it is used or destroyed on the battlefield.

    Department of Defense officials, however, maintain that they and their Ukrainian allies are up to the challenge. “We think the Ukrainians are using properly what they’ve been given,” Colin Kahl, formerly the Pentagon’s top policy official, told Congress over a year ago, assuring lawmakers that the DoD conducts regular audits and “we are laser-focused on this issue.”

    Though a nascent democracy, Ukraine has a history of corruption. Mismanagement or graft could threaten future aid, a message that has been relayed from the White House to President Volodymyr Zelensky directly.

    “Still no indication that there’s been any kind of widespread corruption or inappropriate use of U.S. capabilities,” John Kirby, a national security communications adviser to President Biden, told RealClearPolitics last October. As America reprises its role as an arsenal of democracy, the spokesman described a “hand-to-mouth” scenario where munitions are used as soon as they arrive.

    “It’s a matter of days before some stuff gets there,” Kirby continued, “and then a matter of days more before it is being used on the battlefield.”

    That kind of haste could very well make waste, or what the GAO report described as “end-use violations involving defense articles provided to the country.” It is precisely because so much has been provided so quickly that the nonpartisan government watchdog sees risk.

    According to the report, the Pentagon “is generally not tracking” the status of vehicles and armaments that make up the majority of supplies. More sensitive items, such as night vision capabilities and certain advanced missiles, are being monitored through updated procedures to account for their delivery into hostile environments. DoD officials often cooperate with their Ukrainian counterparts, the report found, via video calls, email, and text messages to ensure the receipt and status of those supplies.

    Complicating matters further, there is no shared definition of “delivered” among the branches of the U.S. military. Army officials told GAO they considered materiel delivered once they left an “Army point of origin,” though they could be days or weeks in transit before arriving in the hands of Ukrainians. The Marine Corps, by contrast, only marked items delivered once they received email confirmation from DoD officials or their Ukrainian counterparts.

    “The U.S. has provided a large volume of equipment in a very short period of time, and it is unclear whether DOD guidance and processes have been adjusted to accurately account for all of these items,” warned Chelsa Kenney, the director of international affairs at GAO.

    More than just shipping delays and a logistical nightmare, the greater risk is the worst-case scenario: American hardware falling into the hands of an adversary.

    The Pentagon tracked one allegation that U.S. supplies had been transferred to Russian forces, a story which, according to the report, DoD officials on the ground in nearby Poland deemed not credible and “consistent with Russian disinformation.”

    And yet, the GAO found that the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the DoD office responsible for such shipments, had “not consistently tracked” allegations of that possibility.

    “While DOD officials said there had been no credible evidence of diversion of U.S.-provided advanced conventional weapons from Ukraine,” the report states, “it is unclear whether all allegations are being tracked.” The report also warned that without tracking those allegations, “DOD may face an increased risk of real or perceived defense article losses that can undermine Ukraine’s war efforts.”

    For its part, per the GAO report, the DSCA stated the agency was “only responsible for tracking the allegations that it receives and is not required to proactively identify allegations. Further, officials from the Office of the Secretary of Defense said DSCA was not responsible for tracking unverifiable claims meant to discredit Ukraine’s weapons accountability efforts.”

    The GAO included in their report eight separate recommended reforms, which the DoD consented to partly or entirely. In a letter from Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense, that was included in the report, the DoD declined a recommendation to require which allegations of misuse should be recorded and tracked. According to Cooper, the DoD already has sufficient regulations in place.

    This will do little to pacify Republicans eager to rein in the war funding.

    “The Biden administration has spent two years deceiving the American people, claiming they’ve closely tracked the military material we’ve sent to Ukraine. The GAO’s report not only proves them wrong, it references allegations that U.S. military equipment ended up in the hands of Russian military forces,” Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican and former U.S. Marine, told RCP.

    “This is a major problem. I plan to immediately introduce legislation to hold the Biden administration accountable for these errors,” Vance added.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 14:00

  • Weaponization Of Crude: Russian Oil Refiners Under Drone Attack 
    Weaponization Of Crude: Russian Oil Refiners Under Drone Attack 

    Brent crude prices climbed to their highest level in four and a half months last week following attacks on multiple Russian oil refineries by Ukrainian drones. Additionally, this morning, drone strikes on two more oil refining facilities were reported deep within Russia. 

    Bloomberg reports drone strikes targeted two oil refining facilities in Russia’s Samara region, more than 620 miles from the Ukrainian border. 

    A petroleum product processing unit caught fire on the territory of the Rosneft PJSC oil refinery in Syzran, RIA Novosti reported, citing Dmitry Azarov, the region’s governor. The plant’s design capacity is 8.5 million barrels per year or about 170,000 barrels per day.

    … other drones attacked the Novokuybyshevsk refinery, according to Russian media. -Bloomberg

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    Ukraine has been ramping up drone attacks on crude processing facilities across Russia.

    On Wednesday, Rosneft PJSC’s Ryazan plant near Moscow was hit by a drone attack. This refinery is one of the largest in the country. A day earlier, Lukoil refinery in western Russia was hit by a drone attack. 

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    The wave of drone strikes on Russian crude-processing facilities started in January, with full intentions by Ukraine to cripple the fuel supply that funds Moscow’s war machine. 

    Here are the major Russian refineries that drones have targeted:

    Last month, Ukraine’s “drone czar,” Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, explained to Reuters that its manufacturing base can produce thousands of drones capable of hitting targets at “300, 500, 700, and 1,000 kilometers.”

    The full extent of the damage caused by strikes this year isn’t clear, but the attacks caused Msocow to place a six-month ban on gasoline exports starting on Mach 1. 

    This week, the Brent crude market wasted no time pricing increasing war risks by sending prices above $85 a barrel, the highest level since early November. 

    Despite two years of war and relentless attacks on Russian refineries, Moscow’s energy industry has proved resilient, and flows have shifted from Europe to China and India at heavily discounted prices. 

    While Ukrainians target Russian refineries, David Asher, a senior fellow at Hudson Institute, recently penned a note that discusses the weaponization of crude could be the next big financial shock to the global economy. 

    Given the mounting risks in the Middle East, Asher said on slide nine, “Global oil shock could trigger a crisis like 2007-2008.” 

    He also noted, “Iran is Preparing For Oil War: Markets Ignore Growing Risk.” 

    Asher warned: It’s only a matter of time before Iran-backed Yemen’s Houthi rebels start targeting key oil facilities in Saudi Arabia. 

    A perfect storm of higher crude prices continues to brew as the world’s refineries have become major targets. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 13:25

  • America The Snackable
    America The Snackable

    Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

    There is only one pathway to health and sanity: stop consuming snackables of any kind.

    Everything in America has become snackable: devoid of value, easily consumed, intentionally addictive, and ultimately destructive to all that is healthy for individuals, communities and society at large.

    The core features of edible snackables are self-evident yet worthy of a closer look due to the severity of the consequences:

    1. The snack is made of highly processed ingredients.

    2. The snack has high concentrations of sugar, salt and unhealthy oils/fats.

    3. The snack has low nutritional value (empty calories) and is not beneficial to health.

    4. The snack is packaged in small quantities so the price appears cheap but is revealed as expensive when converted to price per pound.

    5. The snack’s “serving size” may be deceptively presented: a 4-ounce package may have a calorie count based on a “serving size” of 2 ounces, as if the package contains two servings when everyone knows a single individual will consume the entire snack.

    6. The snack is a legal addictive product as the snack has been designed to hijack humans’ innate receptors for sugar, salt and fat and satisfying mouthfeel. (Bet ya can’t have just one.)

    Highly processed, highly addictive, low nutritional value foods are a key driver of America’s declining health. All these foods share the same characteristics of the manufactured snackables: they are heavily marketed, highly profitable and contribute to obesity and metabolic disorders.

    When only one-quarter of the adult populace is normal weight, this leads to a host of chronic health disorders including higher risks of heart disease and many cancers, as well as the spectrum of metabolic disorders such as diabetes and prediabetes. Here are the facts: over 73% of adult Americans are overweight or obese.

    Given that almost 3/4 of adult Americans are overweight or obese, it shouldn’t surprise us that 52% of adult Americans are diabetic or prediabetic. This is a sobering trend, one that won’t be reversed by $1,000 a month weight-loss medications which cease to be effective once they’re no longer consumed. These medications don’t change the patients’ diets from highly processed foods to only unprocessed real food, and so the benefits are inherently narrower than advertised.

    The snack and beverage aisles take up an astounding amount of space in America’s specialty-groceries and supermarkets. These are the profit-generators, and so the processed-food manufacturers and grocery retailers are constantly seeking to entice more addicts with new novelties. For example: Trader Joe’s Has Been Releasing A Ton Of New Products Lately.

    Consuming this kind of high-fat, empty-calorie snack isn’t going to generate a healthy lifestyle.

    The marketing of novelty is as refined and devoid of value as the snacks being manufactured and sold:

    As those with any knowledge and experience of fitness know, the notion that it’s possible to burn off the empty calories of snacks with a bit more exercise is a fantasy–hence America’s bulging waistlines and declining health.

    The enormous profitability of edible snacks is mirrored in all the other manifestations of America the Snackable: our daily lives are now composed of one bite-sized addictive snack of social media, novelty memes, political opinion, financial data-snacks and pundits’ opinions and snackable videos after another.

    Attention spans and the ability to grasp complex issues have withered to snack-size, and whatever is being marketed as “ideas” are as devoid of value as an empty-calorie snack.

    All share the same characteristics: they are addictive, bite-sized, packaged deceptively, marketed as novelty, devoid of value, destructive to human health and most importantly, astoundingly profitable. So the edible snacks generate chronic illnesses which then provide fodder for highly profitable medications, while the inherently deranging snackables of social media, videos, entertainment, political opinions and memes-du-jour fuel mental disorders which provide fodder for a vast spectrum of highly profitable medications.

    There is only one pathway to health and sanity: stop consuming snackables of any kind. Yes, the only solution is cold turkey, baby, and like all addictions, it’s painful at first, and then it becomes a great relief to be freed of the addictions.

    *  *  *

    Become a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

    Subscribe to my Substack for free

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 03/16/2024 – 12:50

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Mar 16

Today’s News 16th March 2024

  • 'Belt And Road' Western Hemisphere Investments Has China Firmly Rooted In America's Backyard
    ‘Belt And Road’ Western Hemisphere Investments Has China Firmly Rooted In America’s Backyard

    Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times,

    The United States has been so focused on global security concerns that it has overlooked investing in its own backyard’s economic and military needs for decades.

    But China hasn’t. With its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, also known as “One Belt, One Road”), China has become South America’s largest source of infrastructure investment and second-largest trading partner, increasing trade from $18 billion in 2002 to $450 billion in 2022.

    Twenty-five of 31 Central and South American countries have negotiated infrastructure investments from China, and 22 of those nations, most recently Honduras, have formally signed onto the BRI program.

    Chinese companies, either owned or subsidized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), operate mines in Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Venezuela, electrical grids in Peru and Chile, 5G wireless systems in Costa Rica, Bolivia, Brazil, and Mexico—80 percent of Mexico’s telecommunications equipment is provided by Chinese companies—space launch and satellite tracking facilities in Argentina, and the world’s largest embassy in the Bahamas.

    The U.S. State Department estimates China’s trade with Latin American nations and investments in sea, space, telecommunication, critical minerals, and energy will match the United States by 2035 in the region. China’s military ties with Venezuela, Cuba, Peru, and Chile—which now include port visits by Chinese warships and technical advisers—will mature into base agreements within a decade.

    China has, or plans to build or improve, 40 ports across 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries without restrictions on military use, including on both ends of the Panama Canal, where CCP-sponsored companies are bidding with Panama to work on the U.S.-built canal.

    Next fall, Chinese leader Xi Jinping will be in Peru to commemorate the completion of “a $3.6 billion ‘mega port’ that was financed by China, built by Chinese workers, and it will be owned and operated by a CCP-backed company,” House Armed Services Committee Chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said.

    “It will be used to ship South American copper, lithium, and other critical materials to China to further their military modernization,” he said during a House Armed Services Committee March 12 hearing on Western Hemisphere national security challenges.

    Mr. Rogers called it “the latest effort of China’s efforts to displace American influence and build a strategic footprint in our backyard.”

    ‘Debt Traps’ and CCP Espionage

    However, U.S. Southern Command Commander Army Gen. Laura Richardson said China’s increasing presence is a double-edged sword for countries that accept financing and other assistance from the CCP.

    “The world is at an inflection point,” she said at the committee hearing.

    “Our partners in the Western Hemisphere, with whom we are bonded by trade, shared values, democratic traditions, and family ties, are increasingly impacted by interference and coercion from [China.]

    “The People’s Republic of China [PRC] has exploited the trust of democracies in this hemisphere, using that trust to steal national secrets, intellectual property, and research related to academia, agriculture, and health care,” she continued.

    “The scope and scale of this espionage is unprecedented. Through the Belt and Road initiative, the PRC aims to amass power and influence at the expense of the world’s democracies,” she added.

    Ms. Richardson said that while it’s true that Central and South America have not received the economic and national security attention other areas have, that is changing.

    “I’ve learned that our presence absolutely matters,” she said, noting after nearly 20 years of “receiving less than 50 percent” of its Western Hemisphere security cooperation needs, the U.S. Southern Command was fully funded and received additional supplemental funding in the fiscal year 2024 defense budget.

    Ms. Richardson said while the boost “was very, very helpful, we can’t just get one year of additional funding to meet the requirement, and I would say that our presence absolutely matters” and needs to be fully funded again in the fiscal year 2025 defense budget.

    With the additional funding, she said, the United States has stepped up joint military and emergency response exercises with Chile, Argentina, and Paraguay with “more engagement other than just a visit once a year.”

    “This has really made a huge difference in terms of the partnering, but we have to be there. We have to have good security cooperation programs; we have to have flexible authorities that [respond to] opportunities [as they] open because they’re only open for a short period of time,” she added.

    (L-R) Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles, U.S. President Joe Biden, Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, and other leaders attend the plenary session of the inaugural Americas Partnership For Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Nov. 3, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

    ‘Put Our Money Where Our Mouth Is’

    That money will be there, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs Rebecca Zimmerman said at the committee hearing.

    “We’re putting homeland defense and other interests across the hemisphere front and center,” she said.

    “The department’s top priority is defense of the homeland [and countering] the growing multi-domain threat posed by the People’s Republic of China.”

    Ms. Zimmerman said the United States is “deepening partnerships with Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and Chile while reinforcing democratic institutions civilian control of the military and respect for human rights and the rule of law” across the hemisphere.

    In February, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin participated in the North American Defense Ministerial with his counterparts from Mexico, Canada, and Latin American countries.

    In November 2023, President Joe Biden welcomed leaders from the Western Hemisphere to the White House for the inaugural Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit to discuss migration, supply chains, and infrastructure investment.

    Prime ministers, presidents, and foreign ministers from Canada, Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico, and Panama attended.

    The United States is developing a program with the Inter-American Development Bank to expand financing for infrastructure with the launch of an investment platform through the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. to invest billions in improving critical supply chains, modern ports, clean energy grids, and digital infrastructure.

    The “Americas Partnership Accelerator” will assist entrepreneurs in developing and funding their business ideas and mobilize venture capital from around the world for startups in the region, the Biden administration maintains.

    Rep. Jan Kiggins (R-Va.) said while “the defense budget is always inadequate” in addressing all needs, it is good “that we are again prioritizing that funding because it is so important that we can put our money where our mouth is.”

    “The good news,” Ms. Richardson said, “is working with our very willing partners leads to the best defense.”

    “We must use all available levers to strengthen our partnerships with the 28 like-minded democracies in this hemisphere who understand the power of working together to counter these shared threats,” she continued.

    “The United States remains the preferred and most trusted security partner in the region.

    “We build trust through investment and security cooperation programs that train and equip our partner militaries and security forces, a robust joint exercise program to build interoperability, and the development and employment of emerging technologies,” she added.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 23:40

  • How Much Does The US Depend On Russian Uranium?
    How Much Does The US Depend On Russian Uranium?

    The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a ban on imports of Russian uranium. The bill must pass the Senate before becoming law.

    In this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti visualizes how much the U.S. relies on Russian uranium, based on data from the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA).

    U.S. Suppliers of Enriched Uranium

    After Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian-produced oil and gas—yet Russian-enriched uranium is still being imported.

    Currently, Russia is the largest foreign supplier of nuclear power fuel to the United States. In 2022, Russia supplied almost a quarter of the enriched uranium used to fuel America’s fleet of more than 90 commercial reactors.

    SWU stands for “Separative Work Unit” in the uranium industry. It is a measure of the amount of work required to separate isotopes of uranium during the enrichment process. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

    Most of the remaining uranium is imported from European countries, while another portion is produced by a British-Dutch-German consortium operating in the United States called Urenco.

    Similarly, nearly a dozen countries around the world depend on Russia for more than half of their enriched uranium—and many of them are NATO-allied members and allies of Ukraine.

    In 2023 alone, the U.S. nuclear industry paid over $800 million to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation, Rosatom, and its fuel subsidiaries.

    It is important to note that 19% of electricity in the U.S. is powered by nuclear plants.

    The dependency on Russian fuels dates back to the 1990s when the United States turned away from its own enrichment capabilities in favor of using down-blended stocks of Soviet-era weapons-grade uranium.

    As part of the new uranium-ban bill, the Biden administration plans to allocate $2.2 billion for the expansion of uranium enrichment facilities in the United States.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 23:20

  • The War Between Knowledge And Stupidity
    The War Between Knowledge And Stupidity

    Authored by Bert Olivier via The Brownstone Institute,

    Bernard Stiegler was, until his premature death, probably the most important philosopher of technology of the present. His work on technology has shown us that, far from being exclusively a danger to human existence, it is a pharmakon – a poison as well as a cure – and that, as long as we approach technology as a means to ‘critical intensification,’ it could assist us in promoting the causes of enlightenment and freedom.

    It is no exaggeration to say that making believable information and credible analysis available to citizens at present is probably indispensable for resisting the behemoth of lies and betrayal confronting us. This has never been more necessary than it is today, given that we face what is probably the greatest crisis in the history of humanity, with nothing less than our freedom, let alone our lives, at stake. 

    To be able to secure this freedom against the inhuman forces threatening to shackle it today, one could do no better than to take heed of what Stiegler argues in States of Shock: Stupidity and Knowledge in the 21st Century (2015). Considering what he writes here it is hard to believe that it was not written today (p. 15): 

    The impression that humanity has fallen under the domination of unreason or madness [déraison] overwhelms our spirit, confronted as we are with systemic collapses, major technological accidents, medical or pharmaceutical scandals, shocking revelations, the unleashing of the drives, and acts of madness of every kind and in every social milieu – not to mention the extreme misery and poverty that now afflict citizens and neighbours both near and far.

    While these words are certainly as applicable to our current situation as it was almost 10 years ago, Stiegler was in fact engaged in an interpretive analysis of the role of banks and other institutions – aided and abetted by certain academics – in the establishment of what he terms a ‘literally suicidal financial system’ (p. 1). (Anyone who doubts this can merely view the award-winning documentary film of 2010, Inside Job, by Charles Ferguson, which Stiegler also mentions on p.1.) He explains further as follows (p. 2): 

    Western universities are in the grip of a deep malaise, and a number of them have found themselves, through some of their faculty, giving consent to – and sometimes considerably compromised by – the implementation of a financial system that, with the establishment of hyper-consumerist, drive-based and ‘addictogenic’ society, leads to economic and political ruin on a global scale. If this has occurred, it is because their goals, their organizations and their means have been put entirely at the service of the destruction of sovereignty. That is, they have been placed in the service of the destruction of sovereignty as conceived by the philosophers of what we call the Enlightenment…

    In short, Stiegler was writing about the way in which the world was being prepared, across the board – including the highest levels of education – for what has become far more conspicuous since the advent of the so-called ‘pandemic’ in 2020, namely an all-out attempt to cause the collapse of civilisation as we knew it, at all levels, with the thinly disguised goal in mind of installing a neo-fascist, technocratic, global regime which would exercise power through AI-controlled regimes of obedience. The latter would centre on ubiquitous facial recognition technology, digital identification, and CBDCs (which would replace money in the usual sense). 

    Given the fact that all of this is happening around us, albeit in a disguised fashion, it is astonishing that relatively few people are conscious of the unfolding catastrophe, let alone being critically engaged in disclosing it to others who still inhabit the land where ignorance is bliss. Not that this is easy. Some of my relatives are still resistant to the idea that the ‘democratic carpet’ is about to be pulled from under their feet. Is this merely a matter of ‘stupidity?’ Stiegler writes about stupidity (p.33):

    …knowledge cannot be separated from stupidity. But in my view: (1) this is a pharmacological situation; (2) stupidity is the law of the pharmakon; and (3) the pharmakon is the law of knowledge, and hence a pharmacology for our age must think the pharmakon that I am also calling, today, the shadow. 

    In my previous post I wrote about the media as pharmaka (plural of pharmakon), showing how, on the one hand, there are (mainstream) media which function as ‘poison,’ while on the other there are (alternative) media that play the role of ‘cure.’ Here, by linking the pharmakon with stupidity, Stiegler alerts one to the (metaphorically speaking) ‘pharmacological’ situation, that knowledge is inseparable from stupidity: where there is knowledge, the possibility of stupidity always asserts itself, and vice versa. Or in terms of what he calls ‘the shadow,’ knowledge always casts a shadow, that of stupidity. 

    Anyone who doubts this may only cast their glance at those ‘stupid’ people who still believe that the Covid ‘vaccines’ are ‘safe and effective,’ or that wearing a mask would protect them against infection by ‘the virus.’ Or, more currently, think of those – the vast majority in America – who routinely fall for the Biden administration’s (lack of an) explanation of its reasons for allowing thousands of people to cross the southern – and more recently also the northern – border. Several alternative sources of news and analysis have lifted the veil on this, revealing that the influx is not only a way of destabilising the fabric of society, but possibly a preparation for civil war in the United States. 

    There is a different way of explaining this widespread ‘stupidity,’ of course – one that I have used before to explain why most philosophers have failed humanity miserably, by failing to notice the unfolding attempt at a global coup d’etat, or at least, assuming that they did notice it, to speak up against it. These ‘philosophers’ include all the other members of the philosophy department where I work, with the honourable exception of the departmental assistant, who is, to her credit, wide awake to what has been occurring in the world. They also include someone who used to be among my philosophical heroes, to wit, Slavoj Žižek, who fell for the hoax hook, line, and sinker.

    In brief, this explanation of philosophers’ stupidity – and by extension that of other people – is twofold. First there is ‘repression’ in the psychoanalytic sense of the term (explained at length in both the papers linked in the previous paragraph), and secondly there is something I did not elaborate on in those papers, namely what is known as ‘cognitive dissonance.’ The latter phenomenon manifests itself in the unease that people exhibit when they are confronted by information and arguments that are not commensurate, or conflict, with what they believe, or which explicitly challenge those beliefs. The usual response is to find standard, or mainstream-approved responses to this disruptive information, brush it under the carpet, and life goes on as usual.

    ‘Cognitive dissonance’ is actually related to something more fundamental, which is not mentioned in the usual psychological accounts of this unsettling experience. Not many psychologists deign to adduce repression in their explanation of disruptive psychological conditions or problems encountered by their clients these days, and yet it is as relevant as when Freud first employed the concept to account for phenomena such as hysteria or neurosis, recognising, however, that it plays a role in normal psychology too. What is repression? 

    In The Language of Psychoanalysis (p. 390), Jean Laplanche and Jean-Bertrand Pontalis describe ‘repression’ as follows: 

    Strictly speaking, an operation whereby the subject attempts to repel, or to confine to the unconscious, representations (thoughts, images, memories) which are bound to an instinct. Repression occurs when to satisfy an instinct – though likely to be pleasurable in itself – would incur the risk of provoking unpleasure because of other requirements. 

     …It may be looked upon as a universal mental process to so far as it lies at the root of the constitution of the unconscious as a domain separate from the rest of the psyche. 

    In the case of the majority of philosophers, referred to earlier, who have studiously avoided engaging critically with others on the subject of the (non-)‘pandemic’ and related matters, it is more than likely that repression occurred to satisfy the instinct of self-preservation, regarded by Freud as being equally fundamental as the sexual instinct. Here, the representations (linked to self-preservation) that are confined to the unconscious through repression are those of death and suffering associated with the coronavirus that supposedly causes Covid-19, which are repressed because of being intolerable. The repression of (the satisfaction of) an instinct, mentioned in the second sentence of the first quoted paragraph, above, obviously applies to the sexual instinct, which is subject to certain societal prohibitions. Cognitive dissonance is therefore symptomatic of repression, which is primary. 

    Returning to Stiegler’s thesis concerning stupidity, it is noteworthy that the manifestations of such inanity are not merely noticeable among the upper echelons of society; worse – there seems to be, by and large, a correlation between those in the upper classes, with college degrees, and stupidity.

    In other words, it is not related to intelligence per se. This is apparent, not only in light of the initially surprising phenomenon pertaining to philosophers’ failure to speak up in the face of the evidence, that humanity is under attack, discussed above in terms of repression. 

    Dr Reiner Fuellmich, one of the first individuals to realise that this was the case, and subsequently brought together a large group of international lawyers and scientists to testify in the ‘court of public opinion’ (see 29 min. 30 sec. into the video) on various aspects of the currently perpetrated ‘crime against humanity,’ has drawn attention to the difference between the taxi drivers he talks to about the globalists’ brazen attempt to enslave humanity, and his learned legal colleagues as far as awareness of this ongoing attempt is concerned. In contrast with the former, who are wide awake in this respect, the latter – ostensibly more intellectually qualified and ‘informed’ – individuals are blissfully unaware that their freedom is slipping away by the day, probably because of cognitive dissonance, and behind that, repression of this scarcely digestible truth.

    This is stupidity, or the ‘shadow’ of knowledge, which is recognisable in the sustained effort by those afflicted with it, when confronted with the shocking truth of what is occurring worldwide, to ‘rationalise’ their denial by repeating spurious assurances issued by agencies such as the CDC, that the Covid ‘vaccines’ are ‘safe and effective,’ and that this is backed up by ‘the science.’ 

    Here a lesson from discourse theory is called for. Whether one refers to natural science or to social science in the context of some particular scientific claim – for example, Einstein’s familiar theory of special relativity (e=mc2) under the umbrella of the former, or David Riesman’s sociological theory of ‘inner-’ as opposed to ‘other-directedness’ in social science – one never talks about ‘the science,’ and for good reason. Science is science. The moment one appeals to ‘the science,’ a discourse theorist would smell the proverbial rat.

    Why? Because the definite article, ‘the,’ singles out a specific, probably dubious, version of science compared to science as such, which does not need being elevated to special status. In fact, when this is done through the use of ‘the,’ you can bet your bottom dollar it is no longer science in the humble, hard-working, ‘belonging-to-every-person’ sense. If one’s sceptical antennae do not immediately start buzzing when one of the commissars of the CDC starts pontificating about ‘the science,’ one is probably similarly smitten by the stupidity that’s in the air. 

    Earlier I mentioned the sociologist David Riesman and his distinction between ‘inner-directed’ and ‘other-directed’ people. It takes no genius to realise that, to navigate one’s course through life relatively unscathed by peddlers of corruption, it is preferable to take one’s bearings from ‘inner direction’ by a set of values which promotes honesty and eschews mendacity, than from the ‘direction by others.’ Under present circumstances such other-directedness applies to the maze of lies and misinformation emanating from various government agencies as well as from certain peer groups, which today mostly comprise the vociferously self-righteous purveyors of the mainstream version of events. Inner-directness in the above sense, when constantly renewed, could be an effective guardian against stupidity. 

    Recall that Stiegler warned against the ‘deep malaise’ at contemporary universities in the context of what he called an ‘addictogenic’ society – that is, a society that engenders addictions of various kinds. Judging by the popularity of the video platform TikTok at schools and colleges, its use had already reached addiction levels by 2019, which raises the question, whether it should be appropriated by teachers as a ‘teaching tool,’ or whether it should, as some people think, be outlawed completely in the classroom.

    Recall that, as an instance of video technology, TikTok is an exemplary embodiment of the pharmakon, and that, as Stiegler has emphasised, stupidity is the law of the pharmakon, which is, in turn, the law of knowledge. This is a somewhat confusing way of saying that knowledge and stupidity cannot be separated; where knowledge is encountered, its other, stupidity, lurks in the shadows. 

    Reflecting on the last sentence, above, it is not difficult to realise that, parallel to Freud’s insight concerning Eros and Thanatos, it is humanly impossible for knowledge to overcome stupidity once and for all. At certain times the one will appear to be dominant, while on different occasions the reverse will apply. Judging by the fight between knowledge and stupidity today, the latter ostensibly still has the upper hand, but as more people are awakening to the titanic struggle between the two, knowledge is in the ascendant. It is up to us to tip the scales in its favour – as long as we realise that it is a never-ending battle. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 23:00

  • Anti-Trump Neocons Raising $50 Million To Keep Open-Border Democrats In Power
    Anti-Trump Neocons Raising $50 Million To Keep Open-Border Democrats In Power

    An anti-Trump neoconservative cabal is raising $50 million in a campaign to keep open-border, spendthrift Democrats in power this November.

    Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT), headed by Bill Kristol ally and GOP strategist Sarah Longwell, will use the money to deploy a series of anti-Trump ads on streaming platforms, billboards, radio and digital media, The Hill reports.

    The ads will run in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

    Longwell believes the anti-Trump coalition built up in 2020 was one of the determining factors in that contest, and that expanding the demographic in 2024 could be a determining factor in whether Trump returns to the White House.

    “Former Republicans and Republican-leaning voters hold the key to 2024, and reaching them with credible, relatable messengers is essential to re-creating the anti-Trump coalition that made the difference in 2020,” Longwell, the president of the group’s Republican Accountability PAC, said in a Tuesday statement. -The Hill

    “It establishes a permission structure that says that — whatever their complaints about Joe Biden — Donald Trump is too dangerous and too unhinged to ever be president again. Who better to make this case than the voters who used to support him?” Longwell continued.

    The rubenesque Longwell and Kristol are behind “Republicans for Ukraine,” which was launched last August and exists to convince congressional Republicans to protect Ukraine’s borders, as opposed to America’s.

    In order to sell the Ukraine support, the group planned to similarly launch ads online, on billboards, and on nationwide television.

    “It was alarming in the focus groups to see so many Republican voters talk about Ukraine or [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky in disparaging terms,” said Longwell. “But we also knew, running focus groups, that there were plenty of people who still kind of had the belief that we should be supporting Ukraine, that it was important to stand up against invading forces.“

    Important to stand up against invading forces? On which border?

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 22:40

  • US Supreme Court Denies Request By Group To Host Drag Show At Texas University
    US Supreme Court Denies Request By Group To Host Drag Show At Texas University

    Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday denied a request by a student group that asked to host a drag show at West Texas A&M University and sought to lift a school ban on the performance.

    In a one-sentence order, the high court wrote that Justice Samuel Alito denied the emergency request from the LGBT group, Spectrum WT, and two student leaders. There were no dissenting votes issued, and the court did not explain the decision—the usual practice with cases on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket.

    The Supreme Court’s decision doesn’t finally decide the issue but means Spectrum WT won’t be able to schedule its performance until the matter is resolved in the courts. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case in April.

    Spectrum WT called on the court to stop the school’s president, Walter Wendler, from prohibiting the show that he deemed disparaging of women. The student group has argued that the school violated the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.

    Spectrum WT in March 2023 sued officials at the university, located in Canyon, Texas, after Mr. Wendler barred the drag show planned for that month, which typically feature men dressed as women.

    The group later held the charity event off campus, but it continued to seek an injunction barring Mr. Wendler from prohibiting future events including a planned drag show on March 22. The group is represented by the non-profit free-speech advocacy group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

    U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in an interim ruling last September denied the group’s request for a preliminary injunction, casting doubt on their First Amendment claims because “it is not clearly established that all drag shows are inherently expressive.”

    The group appealed to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to fast-track the case, scheduling arguments for late April. Spectrum WT responded by asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block the drag show ban while the case plays out.

    Some states including Texas have pursued Republican-backed measures targeting drag shows, with lawmakers arguing that the shows can expose children to deviant sexual imagery and behavior.

    In November, the Supreme Court declined to revive a Republican-backed Florida law banning the performance of certain drag shows in the presence of children after the measure was blocked by lower courts.

    In their petition to the high court, lawyers for the student group argued that the ban is merely the “president of one small public university in the Texas Panhandle defy what he knows to be the First Amendment’s command” but stressed the issue goes much further.

    “Public university and college officials nationwide from across the political spectrum are appointing themselves censors-in-chief, separating what they consider ‘good’ from ‘bad’ expression on their campuses,” they claimed.

    In an opinion penned in March 2023, Mr. Wendler argued that a ban is necessary because he believes drag shows are demeaning and beneath human dignity.

    “I believe every human being is created in the image of God and, therefore, a person of dignity,” he wrote, adding that “James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, prisoners of the culture of their time as are we, declared the Creator’s origin as the foundational fiber in the fabric of our nation as they breathed life into it.”

    Conservative Texans protest a drag queen event held at a church in Katy, Texas, on Sept. 24, 2022. (Darlene McCormick Sanchez/The Epoch Times)

    “Does a drag show preserve a single thread of human dignity? I think not,” he added, arguing that such performances “stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others and discriminate against” women. “Drag shows are derisive, divisive, and demoralizing,” the school president continued, adding that “such conduct runs counter to the purpose of WT.”

    He also disagreed with largely left-wing notions that drag shows are “harmless,” adding: “Not possible. I will not appear to condone the diminishment of any group at the expense of impertinent gestures toward another group for any reason, even when the law of the land appears to require it.”

    A university campus, charged by the state of Texas to treat each individual fairly, should elevate students based on achievement and capability, performance in a word, without regard to group membership—an implacable and exacting standard based on educational mission and service to all, sanctioned by the legislature, the governor and numerous elected and appointed officials,” Mr. Wendler added.

    And Texas officials including state Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, told the nine justices the order doesn’t prevent the group from holding a show off the university’s campus.

    “They simply may not use the university’s resources to put on a ‘drag show’ that the president has determined could be demeaning to others who must live, work, and learn on the same campus,” the state officials had argued.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 22:20

  • Boeing 737 With 139 Passengers Loses External Panel Mid-Air
    Boeing 737 With 139 Passengers Loses External Panel Mid-Air

    Literally, not a day goes by without Boeing suffering some major incident, whether it is doors and tires falling off, runway excursions, engine fires, hydraulic leaks, pilot seats flailing around the cockpit and slamming the yoke and, OH YEAH, a “suicided” whistleblower who told a close friend if anything happened to him, it most certainly wasn’t suicide. Well, we can now add one more: a United Airlines flight – because it’s never American or Delta… always United – that took off from San Francisco International Airport Friday morning landed in Oregon with a missing external panel, abc7 reported citing to officials.

    As the NY Post notes, United Airlines Flight 433 departed from San Francisco around 10:20 a.m. local time and landed safely at its intended destination, Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport, about 70 minutes later, according to airport officials and flight data.

    Once the plane reached the gate, an external panel was found to be missing, halting operations at the airport while a runway safety check was conducted, airport director Amber Judd told The NY Post.

    Amazingly, there was no indication of a problem and no emergency was ever declared during the flight, which had 139 passengers and 6 crew members on board, according to United.

    Airport staff searched for the missing panel on the airport premises, but were unable to locate it.

    “After finding no debris on the airfield, normal operations at MFR resumed a few minutes later,” she said.

    United Airlines said it plans a “thorough examination” of the 25-year-old plane and will “perform all the needed repairs before it returns to service.” Who knows, maybe another whistleblower will “commit suicide” too.

    “We’ll also conduct an investigation to better understand how this damage occurred,” the airline added.

    The Federal Aviation Administration will also investigate the incident, a spokesperson said.

    Incidents have plagued Boeing airplane in the past few weeks: on Monday, a United Airlines Flight heading from Sydney to San Francisco, was forced to turn around mid-flight due to a hydraulic leak. The Boeing 777-300 plane, which was carrying 167 passengers and 16 crew member, landed safely back in Sydney.

    Hours earlier, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner en route Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand experienced a technical issue that resulted in injuries to 50 passengers. Then, a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Japan diverted to Los Angeles International Airport on March 7 after a tire on the Boeing 777-20 fell off after takeoff, damaging cars in a parking lot on the ground.

    Boeing told its employees in a memo Tuesday that the company is implementing weekly compliance checks for every 737 work area and additional equipment audits to reduce quality problems.

    It isn’t quite clear what is behind the recent surge in incidents which are just too many to keep track of at this point…

    … but one thing is certain: more are coming, which one can only hope won’t be fatal.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 21:59

  • Doha Hunts For Whistleblowers Who Revealed Qatar's Funding Of ISIS
    Doha Hunts For Whistleblowers Who Revealed Qatar’s Funding Of ISIS

    Via The Cradle

    Qatar National Bank (QNB) and Qatar Charity (QC) are attempting to uncover the identities of confidential sources that supplied documents to lawyers representing the family of murdered US journalist Steven Sotloff, which allege the financial institutions – acting at the behest of Qatar’s royal family – wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to the ISIS judge who ordered Sotloff’s execution.

    QNB and QC filed an application on March 12 in the US to obtain “limited discovery” of the law firm representing Sotloff’s family, specifically regarding the names of those who provided the bank records linking Doha to the murder. In an email to Bloomberg, the general counsel for QNB confirmed the filing and said the bank “is the victim of an effort to tarnish its reputation” and plans to hold the individuals “to account to the fullest extent of the law.” Sotloff and another US journalist, James Foley, were beheaded in 2014 by ISIS in Syria. The terrorist group published videos of its executions online directed at US government officials. 

    In a May 2022 lawsuit filed in Florida, Sotloff’s family accused the Qatari institutions of wiring $800,000 to ISIS judge Fadhel al-Salim before he ordered Sotloff’s execution. The family also says Qatar “knowingly funded extremist insurgents” to destabilize the Syrian government and named both QNB and QC as co-conspirators in the murder.

    “The amount of assistance – $800,000 – was substantial as evidenced by Salim’s ability to cross over into Syria the very next day to begin raising his ISIS brigade,” Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks from the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida said in May 2023 when he ruled against dismissing the case. 

    “The allegations plausibly show that Defendants, in participating in a terrorism financing conspiracy, held a culpable state of mind in relation to the transaction and the foreseeable acts of terror to follow,” the US judge highlighted.

    “Perhaps the most outstanding allegation in support of a conspiracy is that [former Qatari Prime Minister] Hammad bin Jassim funded several terrorist organizations at a September 2011 meeting attended by the apparent ‘who’s who’ of terrorism financing,” Middlebrooks added. “Simultaneously, Hammad bin Jassim was a member of the Royal Family who served as prime minister, foreign minister, and head of the Qatar Investment Authority, which held a 50 percent stake in QNB.”

    Following years of improved relations between Doha and Damascus in the early 2000s, the 2011 outbreak of unrest in Syria quickly showed signs of a Qatari campaign to destabilize the country, starting with Al-Jazeera – Doha’s most prominent media outlet – and its biased, often inciteful coverage of events in the Levantine nation.

    Qatar became one of the first foreign entrants into the Syrian conflict, bank-rolling armed factions in coordination with the CIA, including the precursor to Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Jabhat al-Nusra. Doha’s role was even acknowledged by the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which stated in 2016 that the Nusra Front “probably received logistical, financial and material assistance from the elements of the Turkish and Qatari governments.”

    “It turned out that all the steps of Qatari and Turkish rapprochement before the war were part of a US plan to contain Syria and pass the Qatari gas pipeline through its territory to Turkiye and then Europe, which is what President Assad was aware of. After the US discovered the difficulty of containing Syria, the decision was taken to overthrow the regime and divide the country, and this is one of the reasons for the war. Unfortunately, Qatar, with its money, media, and support for terrorist groups, spearheaded this conspiracy, and still is,” Bassam Abu Abdallah, former cultural attache at Syria’s embassy in Ankara and current Al-Watan columnist, told The Cradle in October 2022.

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    At the height of the Syrian war in October 2014, then-US vice president Joe Biden candidly spoke about how Washington’s Sunni Muslim allies have been responsible for funding and arming Al-Qaeda-type extremist militants in Syria.

    “Our allies in the region were our largest problem in Syria. The Turks were great friends – and I have the greatest relationship with Erdogan, which I just spent a lot of time with – the Saudis, the Emiratis, etc. What were they doing? They were so determined to take down Assad and essentially have a proxy Sunni–Shia war; what did they do? They poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens, thousands of tons of weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad, except that the people who were being supplied were Al-Nusra and Al-Qaeda and the extremist elements of jihadis coming from other parts of the world” the current US president said during a discussion at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics.

    “Now you think I’m exaggerating – take a look. Where did all of this go? So now what’s happening? All of a sudden, everybody’s awakened because this outfit called ISIL [ISIS], which was Al-Qaeda in Iraq, which, when they were essentially thrown out of Iraq, found open space in territory in eastern Syria, working with Al-Nusra, who we declared a terrorist group early on and we could not convince our colleagues to stop supplying them,” Biden added.

    In 2016, WikiLeaks released an email from former US State Secretary Hillary Clinton about Saudi and Qatari funding for ISIS. “We need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL [ISIS] and other radical Sunni groups in the region,” Clinton’s email reads.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 21:40

  • McDonald's Stores Hit By Multi-Nation "Technology Outage"
    McDonald’s Stores Hit By Multi-Nation “Technology Outage”

    A major technology outage forced McDonald’s stores in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and the United Kingdom to either shutter operations or suspend online ordering on Friday, CNN reported.

    “Many stores across the country have temporarily suspended operations,” McDonald’s Japan wrote in an X post, adding, “There is currently a system failure.” 

    “We are aware of a technology outage currently impacting our restaurants nationwide and are working to resolve this issue as soon as possible,” a McDonald’s Australia spokesperson told CNN.

    McDonald’s Hong Kong wrote on Facebook: “Due to a computer system failure, the mobile ordering and self-ordering kiosks are not functioning. Please order directly at the restaurant counter.”

    McDonald’s told BBC News the issue is unrelated to cyber-security but wouldn’t provide further details. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 21:20

  • Bitcoin Has No Top Because Fiat Has No Bottom: Understanding Monetary Debasement
    Bitcoin Has No Top Because Fiat Has No Bottom: Understanding Monetary Debasement

    Via Bitcoin Magazine,

    Bitcoin has been touted as the solution to monetary debasement, but what is debasement really, and where does it come from?

    MONETARY DEBASEMENT

    Debasement refers to the action or process of reducing the quality or value of something. When talking about fiat currencies, debasement traditionally refers to the practice of reducing the precious metal content in coins while keeping their nominal value the same, thereby diluting the coin’s intrinsic worth. In a modern context, debasement has evolved to mean the reduction in the value or purchasing power of a currency — such as when central banks increase the supply of money, in the process lowering the nominal value of each unit.

    UNDERSTANDING DEBASEMENT

    Before paper money and coins made of cheap metals like nickel, currency consisted of coins made of precious metals like gold and silver. These were the most sought after metals of the time, giving them value beyond government decree. Debasement was a common practice to save on precious metals and use them in a mix of lower-value metals instead.

    This practice of mixing the precious metals with a lower-quality metal means authorities could create additional coins with the same face value, expanding the money supply for a fraction of the cost compared to coins with more gold and silver content.

    Today, coins and notes don’t have inherent worth, they are simply tokens that represent value. This means debasement relies on supply: i.e. how many coins or notes the issuing body allows to circulate. Debasement went through different processes and methods over time; therefore, we can define old and new methods.

    TRADITIONAL METHOD

    Coin clipping, sweating, and plugging were the most common debasement processes used until the introduction of paper money. Such methods were employed both by malicious actors that counterfeited coins and by authorities that increased the number of coins in circulation.

    Clipping involves “shaving” the coins’ edges to remove some of the metal. As with sweating, the resulting clipped bits would be collected and used to make new counterfeit coins.

    Sweating involves shaking coins vigorously in a bag until the edges of the coins come off and lay at the bottom. The pieces are then collected and used to create new coins.

    Plugging was a way of punching a hole out of the coin’s middle area with the rest of the coin hammered together to close the gap. It could also be sawn in half with a plug of metal extracted from the interior. After filling the hole with a cheaper metal, the two halves would be fused again.

    MODERN-DAY METHODS

    Money supply increase is the modern method used by governments to debase the currency. By printing more money, governments get more funds to spend but it results in inflation for its citizens. Currency can be debased by increasing the money supply, lowering interest rates, or implementing other measures that encourage inflation; they’re all “good” ways of reducing the value of a currency.

    WHY IS MONEY DEBASED?

    Governments debase their currency so that they can spend without raising further taxes. Debasing money to fund wars was an effective way of increasing the money supply to engage in expensive conflicts without affecting people’s finances — or so it is believed.

    Whether by traditional debasement or modern money printing, money supply increases have short-sighted benefits in boosting the economy. But in the long term, it leads to inflation and financial crises. The effects of this are felt most acutely by those in society who do not own hard assets that might counter the loss in the currency’s value.

    Currency debasement could also occur by malicious actors who introduce counterfeit coins to an economy, but the consequence of being caught can in some countries lead to a death sentence.

    “Inflation is legal counterfeiting, Counterfeiting is illegal inflation.” – Robert Breedlove

    Governments can take some measures to mitigate risks associated with money debasement and prevent unstable and weak economies, for example by controlling the money supply and interest rates within a specific range, managing spending, and avoiding excessive borrowing.

    Any economic reform that promotes productivity and attracts foreign investments helps maintain confidence in the currency and prevent money debasement.

    REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES

    THE ROMAN EMPIRE

    The first example of currency debasement dates back to the Roman Empire under emperor Nero around 60 A.D. Nero reduced the silver content in the denarius coins from 100% to 90% during his tenure.

    Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus had enormous expenditures via post-civil war reconstruction projects like the building of the Colosseum, compensation to the victims of the Vesuvius eruption, and the Great Fire of Rome in 64 A.D. The chosen means to survive the financial crisis was to reduce the silver content of the “denarius” from 94% to 90%.

    Titus’ brother and successor, Domitian, saw enough value in “hard money” and the stability of a credible money supply that he increased the silver content of the denarius back to 98% — a decision he had to revert when another war broke out, and inflation was looming again across the empire.

    This process gradually continued until the silver content measured just 5% in the following centuries. The Empire began to experience severe financial crises and inflation as the money continued to be devalued — particularly during the 3rd century A.D., sometimes referred to as the “Crisis of the Third Century.” During this period, spanning from about A.D. 235 to A.D. 284, Romans demanded higher wages and an increase in the price of the goods they were selling to face currency depreciation. The era was marked by political instability, external pressures from barbarian invasions, and internal issues such as economic decline and plague.

    It was only when Emperor Diocletian and later Constantine took various measures, including introducing new coinage and implementing price controls, that the Roman economy began to stabilize. However, these events highlighted the vulnerabilities of the once-mighty Roman economic system.

    Read More >> Hard To Soft Money: The Hyperinflation Of The Roman Empire

    OTTOMAN EMPIRE

    During the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman official monetary unit, the akçe, was a silver coin that went through consistent debasement from 0.85 grams contained in a coin in the 15th century down to 0.048 grams in the 19th century. The measure to lower the intrinsic value of the coinage was taken to make more coins and increase the money supply. New currencies, the kuruş in 1688 and then the lira in 1844, gradually replaced the original official akçe due to its continuous debasement.

    HENRY VIII

    Under Henry VIII, England needed more money, so his chancellor started to debase the coins using cheaper metals like copper in the mix to make more coins for a more affordable cost. At the end of his reign, the silver content of the coins went down from 92.5% to only 25% as a way to make more money and fund the heavy military expenses the current European war was demanding.

    WEIMAR REPUBLIC

    During the Weimar Republic of the 1920s, the German government met its war and post-war financial obligations by printing more money. The measure reduced the mark’s value from around eight marks per dollar to 184. By 1922, the mark had depreciated to 7,350, eventually collapsing in a painful hyperinflation when it reached 4.2 trillion marks per USD.

    History offers us poignant reminders of the perils of monetary expansion. These once-powerful empires all serve as cautionary tales for the modern fiat system. As these empires expanded their money supply, devaluing their currencies, they were, in many ways, like the proverbial lobster in boiling water. The temperature — or in this case, the rate of monetary debasement — increased so gradually that they failed to recognize the impending danger until it was too late. Just as a lobster doesn’t appear to realize it’s being boiled alive if the water’s temperature rises slowly, these empires didn’t grasp the full extent of their economic vulnerabilities until their systems became untenable.

    The gradual erosion of their monetary value was not just an economic issue; it was a symptom of deeper systemic problems, signaling the waning strength of once-mighty empires.

    DEBASEMENT IN THE MODERN ERA

    The dissolution of the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s marked a pivotal moment in global economic history. Established in the mid-20th century, the Bretton Woods system had loosely tethered major world currencies to the U.S. dollar, which itself was backed by gold, ensuring a degree of economic stability and predictability.

    However, its dissolution effectively untethered money from its golden roots. This shift granted central bankers and politicians greater flexibility and discretion in monetary policy, allowing for more aggressive interventions in economies. While this newfound freedom offered tools to address short-term economic challenges, it also opened the door to misuse and a gradual weakening of the economy.

    In the wake of this monumental change, the US has experienced significant alterations in its monetary policy and money supply. By 2023, the monetary base had surged to 5.6 trillion dollars, representing an approximate 69-fold growth from its level of 81.2 billion dollars in 1971.

    As we reflect on the modern era and the significant changes in U.S. monetary policy, it’s crucial to heed these historical lessons. Continuous debasement and unchecked monetary expansion can only go on for so long before the system reaches a breaking point.

    EFFECTS OF DEBASEMENT

    Currency debasement can have several significant effects on an economy, varying in magnitude depending on the extent of debasement and the underlying economic conditions.

    Here are some of the most impactful consequences that currency debasement can generate over the long term.

    HIGHER INFLATION RATES

    Higher inflation rates are the most immediate and impactful effects of currency debasement. As the currency’s value decreases, it takes more units to purchase the same goods and services, eroding the purchasing power of money.

    INCREASING INTEREST RATES

    Central banks may respond to currency debasement and rising inflation by increasing interest rates, which can impact borrowing costs, business investments, and consumer spending patterns.

    DETERIORATING THE VALUE OF SAVINGS

    Currency debasement can deteriorate the value of savings held in the domestic currency. This is particularly detrimental to individuals with fixed-income assets, such as retirees who rely on pensions or interest income.

    MORE EXPENSIVE IMPORTS

    A debased currency can make imports more expensive, potentially leading to higher costs for businesses and consumers reliant on foreign goods. However, it may also make exports more competitive internationally, as foreign buyers can purchase domestic goods at a lower price.

    UNDERMINING PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN THE ECONOMY

    Continuous currency debasement can undermine public confidence in the domestic currency and the government’s ability to manage the economy effectively. This loss of trust may further exacerbate economic instability and even hyperinflation.

    SOLUTION TO DEBASEMENT

    The solution to debasement lies in the reintroduction of sound money — money whose supply cannot be easily manipulated. While many nostalgically yearn for a return to the gold standard, which was arguably superior to contemporary systems, it is not the ultimate solution. The reason lies in the centralization of gold by central banks. Should we revert to a gold standard, history would likely repeat itself, leading to confiscation and the debasement of currencies once again. Put simply, if a currency can be debased, it will be.

    HOW BITCOIN AVOIDS DEBASEMENT

    Bitcoin offers a permanent solution to this issue. Its supply is capped at 21 million, a number that is hard-coded and safeguarded by proof-of-work mining and a decentralized network of nodes. Thanks to its decentralized nature, no single entity or government can control Bitcoin’s issuance or governance. Furthermore, its inherent scarcity makes it resilient to the inflationary pressures that are typically seen with traditional fiat currencies.

    As a distributed system, Bitcoin users can ensure that the supply never deviates from the predetermined supply cap by running the software that downloads and validates the entire transactional ledger. By verifying every transaction in Bitcoin’s history, where every coin came from and where it went, users can be absolutely sure that the supply has not been debased and no coins were created that should not have been.

    Full node software like this for Bitcoin is essentially a counterfeiting detection machine that anyone can run. It guarantees the supply is intact, that coins being spent were properly authorized, and no funny business is happening. Any Bitcoin wallet software can also ensure that no one can restrict your access to your own money.

    In times of economic uncertainty, or when central banks engage in extensive money printing, investors often turn to assets like gold and bitcoin for their store-of-value properties. As time progresses, there’s potential for people to recognize Bitcoin not just as a store of value, but as the next evolution of money.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 21:00

  • Realtor Group Settles Lawsuits By Slashing Commissions, Risks Mass Exodus Of Agents 
    Realtor Group Settles Lawsuits By Slashing Commissions, Risks Mass Exodus Of Agents 

    For those bartenders who became realtors over the past decade, attracted to the fast and easy money during multiple real estate booms fueled by historically low mortgage rates, there’s concerning news out on Friday: Commissions are expected to drop following the National Association of Realtors’ decision to settle a lawsuit regarding its commission rules. 

    On Friday, the National Association of Realtors announced an agreement to end litigation of claims brought on behalf of home sellers related to broker commissions. This means the group would pay $418 million in damages and amend the rules that housing experts say will drive down the cost of homeownership. In other words, the standard 6 percent sales commission is gone.

    “The settlement, which is subject to court approval, makes clear that NAR continues to deny any wrongdoing in connection with the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) cooperative compensation model rule (MLS Model Rule) that was introduced in the 1990s in response to calls from consumer protection advocates for buyer representation. Under the terms of the agreement, NAR would pay $418 million over approximately four years,” NAR wrote in a press release. 

    “NAR has worked hard for years to resolve this litigation in a manner that benefits our members and American consumers. It has always been our goal to preserve consumer choice and protect our members to the greatest extent possible. This settlement achieves both of those goals,” said Nykia Wright, Interim CEO of NAR.

    NAR, the trade group that represents real estate agents and has more than 1.5 million members, agreed to introduce a new MLS rule that will prohibit offers of broker compensation on MLS. Another new rule would require MLS users to enter into written agreements with their buyers. 

    “We believe the potential changes would likely accelerate commission pressure on buyer agents and could support overall commission rates around a home transaction trending lower in the near term,” William Blair analyst Stephen Sheldon wrote in a note. 

    Recently, analysts at Keefe Bruyette & Woods said the change to the compensation structure could result in a 30% reduction in the annual commission pool. Analysts further said this would result in a 60% to 80% reduction in the number of real estate agents. 

    Here are other analyst commentaries on NAR’s deal to resolve litigation: 

    JPMorgan, Anthony Paolone

    • “This is incrementally negative in terms of the potential impact on the residential brokerage names like HOUS and RMAX as it potentially puts top-line pressure on the names, on top of the already muted level of housing activity right now”

    William Blair, Stephen Sheldon

    • Sees the potential changes raising questions about the role of the MLS system, which primarily serves to broadly distribute listings of homes for sale
    • “If agents are no longer required to subscribe to the MLS to distribute listings or accept commissions, then we could see some agents bypassing the system, more brokerages using pocket listings (i.e., listings that are not broadly distributed) to attract consumers, and the need arising over time for a national home listing service”
    • This could be an opportunity for CoStar and Zillow, though he notes CoStar has the advantage after its success building out the leading listing distribution in both multifamily and broader commercial real estate
    • Overall, he calls the settlement a “modest negative” for the brokerage models he covers, and a positive for CoStar since its Homes.com business caters more to seller agents, “which could become even more important in the home transaction with these changes”

    Stephens, John Campbell

    • Views CoStar as the biggest beneficiary of the potential changes, though he also sees Zillow as likely to benefit eventually

    RBC, Brad Erickson

    • “The key debate from here will be can agents navigate this change with only modest changes to buyer commissions or will they be more meaningful”

    The news triggered panic dumps in Zillow Group, plunging 14%, and Redfin, down 6%. 

    For all the unseasoned realtors, you’d better start looking for another job. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 20:40

  • Democrat-Darling Rachael Rollins Disbarred After Justice Refuses To Prosecute One Of Its Own
    Democrat-Darling Rachael Rollins Disbarred After Justice Refuses To Prosecute One Of Its Own

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    We previously discussed the controversy surrounding Rachael Rollins, the former U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts nominated by President Biden who was implicated in alleged criminal and unethical conduct. The case presented a glaring contrast to how the Justice Department treats its own officials accused of crimes in comparison to less favored individuals. Now, Rollins has been stripped of her bar license based on the same conduct.

    Rollins was a figure lionized by the media and many Democrats in Congress. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) heralded Rollins as the ideal U.S. Attorney. Despite her position in Massachusetts, Los Angeles Times’ editorial board dedicated a long editorial to proclaiming Rollins as

    “among President Biden’s smartest appointments, and if her nomination is finally approved in the Senate she would become the top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts, handling cases involving national security, white-collar crime, public corruption, cybercrime, gang violence and civil rights violations. Biden’s nomination of Rollins, while hardly radical, represents a threat to the Republican narrative about Democrats and crime, as do Boston’s enviable crime stats … The point is that when GOP senators claim that Rollins’ policies increase crime, they’re just making things up to justify blocking one of the nation’s most successful criminal justice leaders.”

    Rollins later resigned from office after investigators uncovered evidence that she had lied to them, a federal crime commonly charged against others.

    The OIG released detailed findings against Rollins for allegedly seeking to influence a Suffolk County, Mass., district attorney election last year. She also was accused by the OIG of lying under oath during an investigation into the matter. The report states that “on December 16, 2022, pursuant to the Inspector General Act, 5 U.S.C. § 404(d), the OIG referred the false statements allegation to the Department for a prosecutive decision. On January 6, 2023, the Department informed the OIG that it declined prosecution.”

    According to the OIG, Rollins sought to help Boston City Councilman Ricardo Arroyo in the Democratic primary for Suffolk’s district attorney by providing derogatory information to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald regarding his opponent, then-interim D.A. Kevin Hayden. The OIG said the information included “non-public, sensitive” DOJ material that Rollins acquired as a result of her federal position. The material suggested that Hayden was being investigated for public corruption.

    The OIG further found that Rollins leaked more material after Arroyo lost to Hayden.

    The OIG accused Rollins of violating a host of Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, including Section 2635.702 (the use “of public office for private gain”) and Section 2635.703 (the use “of nonpublic information”).

    The most serious charge was that Rollins “falsely testified under oath … when she denied” providing the non-public information to the Herald reporter.

    The investigation also found an array of other violations, including disregarding ethical warnings on political activities and soliciting expensive sports tickets.

    What is most striking about the OIG report is that Rollins took some of these steps after barely being confirmed by the U.S. Senate because questions were raised over her judgment and partisanship.

    Rollins was confirmed in 2021 after Vice President Kamala Harris cast a tie-breaking vote due to all 50 Republican senators opposing her nomination. 

    Every Democratic senator voted for her despite the concerns, including a video from January 2021 in which she threatened the arrest of reporters.

    The DOJ’s declination of charges follows a similar pattern that suggests a higher threshold standard applied by prosecutors in charging one of their own.

    Conversely, this is the same department that pursued figures like Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn for false or misleading comments made to agents about a meeting with Russian diplomats. The media heralded that case, and legal experts clamored for prosecution.

    With Rollins, after an investigation found that she lied to investigators, the DOJ refused to file any charges at all. It is unclear what the DOJ felt was lacking in those findings or the underlying evidence. However, as shown by prior declinations — in cases like the contempt referral against former Attorney General Eric Holder, or the determination that former FBI Director James Comey removed FBI material and, through a friend, leaked it to the media — the Justice Department often seems to find insurmountable problems when asked to charge a fellow prosecutor or investigator

    The Rollins case showed a sense of total license to ignore criminal and ethical rules. She even was accused of giving Arroyo advice on how to handle the sexual assault allegations brought against him during his campaign and also provided media outlets with “negative information” about his challenger, Kevin Hayden.  She was overtly political and used her office to advance favored candidates.

    If the past is any indication, most of the media would not delve too deeply into such contradictions if Trump is charged. And selective prosecution complaints are notoriously difficult to litigate. Even if the Justice Department did not secure a favorable judge for such a case, most judges are leery of adjudicating claims of motivation and bias.

    With the recent pass given President Joe Biden on his serial violation of mishandling classified material, the Rollins case reinforces the view of many that the Justice Department continues to apply our laws in strikingly different ways for similarly situated defendants. Ironically, the sense of license displayed by Rollins proved correct. When it comes to favored individuals, the blindfolds appear off at Justice.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 20:20

  • "Time To Bud Light Them": Tyson Foods Firing Blue-Collar Workers & Replacing Them With Illegals
    “Time To Bud Light Them”: Tyson Foods Firing Blue-Collar Workers & Replacing Them With Illegals

    Calls for a boycott are intensifying on X following Tyson Foods’ announcement earlier this week to shutter a pork processing facility in Perry, Iowa. This move will eliminate 1,276 blue-collar jobs. At the same time, the mega food processor has expressed interest in hiring tens of thousands of illegals. 

    “While this decision was not easy, it emphasizes our focus to optimize the efficiency of our operations to best serve our customers,” a Tyson spokesperson said in a statement to Food Dive. 

    Perhaps the optimization part of the supply chain is better explained by Garrett Dolan, who leads Tyson’s efforts to eliminate employment barriers such as immigration status, told Bloomberg, “We would like to employ another 42,000 [migrants] if we could find them.” 

    Or explained by Charlie Kirk… 

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

    The idea that Tyson is firing hardworking Americans while attempting to exploit cheap labor from illegals enraged X users. Many of them called for a boycott of all Tyson’s brands. 

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

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

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

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

    And it begins. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 20:00

  • Japan To Restart World's Largest Nuclear Power Plant
    Japan To Restart World’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant

    By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

    Japan is stepping up efforts to have local authorities approve the restart of the world’s biggest nuclear power plant, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility north of Tokyo, Japanese newspaper Niigata Nippo reported on Friday.

    Next week, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ken Saito, is expected to ask the local governor of the Niigata prefecture to approve the restart of the power plant, according to the newspaper report.

    In the wake of the Fukushima disaster in 2011, Japan closed all its nuclear power plants that underwent rigorous safety checks and inspections.

    Kashiwazaki-Kariwa has been offline since 2012, while the Nuclear Regulation Authority in 2021 barred the plant’s operator, utility Tepco, from operating the facility due to safety breaches.

    The regulator lifted the operational ban on Kashiwazaki-Kariwa in December 2023, paving the way for the restart, which needs the approvals of the Niigata prefecture, the city of Kashiwazaki, and the village of Kariwa to resume operations.

    Tepco’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa facility north of Tokyo

    Japan is bringing back nuclear power as a key energy source, looking to protect its energy security in the wake of the energy crisis that led to surging fossil fuel prices. The resource-poor country which needs to import about 90% of its energy requirements, made a U-turn in its nuclear energy policy at the end of 2022, as its energy import bill soared amid the energy crisis and surging costs to import LNG at record-high prices.

    The Japanese government confirmed in December 2022 a new policy for nuclear energy, which the country had mostly abandoned since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. A panel of experts under the Japanese Ministry of Industry has also decided that Japan would allow the development of new nuclear reactors and allow available reactors to operate after the current limit of 60 years.

    Restarts of nuclear reactors, high natural gas inventories, and increased renewable power generation have dragged Japan’s LNG imports to multi-year lows in recent months.  

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 19:40

  • Riley Gaines, 15 Other Female Athletes Sue NCAA Over Transgender Madness
    Riley Gaines, 15 Other Female Athletes Sue NCAA Over Transgender Madness

    In the latest attack on transgender madness in women’s sports, former University of Kentucky Wildcats swimmer Riley Gaines and 15 other female athletes have filed suit against the NCAA alleging violations of federal Title IX law arising from its insertion of man-to-woman transgender athletes into women’s competition. 

    “The NCAA’s most basic job is to protect the fairness and safety of competition, but instead the NCAA…continues to openly discriminate against women,” Gaines told The Free Press.   

    Eight of the 16 plaintiffs who are trying to put an end to male intrusion into women’s athletics (via The Free Press)

    Much of the complaint centers on what women experienced at the 2022 national swimming championships. Infamously, man-to-woman transgender Penn Quaker Lia Thomas was not only allowed to compete against women, but was also given use of the women’s locker room — as described in this excerpt from the 156-page complaint: 

    The first time most of the Plaintiffs became aware of Thomas’ access to the women’s locker rooms and restrooms…was: (1) when Thomas walked in on them while they were fully naked or in a state of substantial undress….(2) when they unwittingly walked in on Thomas and observed Thomas undressed with male genitalia exposed…or (3) when Thomas undressed in front of them

    NC State Wolfpack swimmer Kylee Alons chose to change in a “dimly lit storage and utility closet” behind a set of bleachers, rather than risk being caught naked by Thomas or having to see him stand around naked, displaying his manhood. “I was literally racing U.S. and Olympic gold medalists and I was changing in a storage closet at this elite-level meet. I just felt that my privacy and safety were being violated in the locker room,” Alons told the Free Press. 

    Women’s racing suits are so tight they “require 15 to 20 minutes to put on,” notes the complaint. “While you’re doing this, you’re exposed,” said Kaitlynn Wheeler, another Kentucky swimmer, to the Free Press. “You can’t stand there and hold a towel around you while putting the suit on at the same time.” 

    Thomas, who wasn’t a noteworthy athlete when competing against fellow men, won the women’s national championship in the 500m freestyle by a huge margin, beating three female Olympic medalists in the spectacle. 

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    Among the plaintiffs is Tylor Mathieu of the University of Florida Gators, who didn’t make it to the final of the 500 free because Thomas took the slot. The inclusion of Thomas also cost Mathieu first-team All-American honors. 

    Gaines noted that the NCAA swimming championship environment was even more Orwellian due to Title IX fanfare that accompanied it: 

    “The NCAA was passing around shirts that said ‘50 years of Title IX’ and ‘50 years of creating opportunities for women,’ but these were the same people who were actively taking our opportunities away and telling us we weren’t worthy to be called champions, and instead this man, who merely says he is a woman, is.” 

    Hammering home the irrationality of the NCAA’s approach, the plaintiffs says the NCAA allows “men to compete on women’s teams with a testosterone level that is five times higher than the highest recorded testosterone level for elite female athletes.” It asserts that, regardless of having taken hormone suppressing drugs, post-pubescent men have a biological edge “which no woman can achieve without doping.”   

    The plaintiffs want to force the NCAA to retract Lia Thomas’s 2022 championship title and give it to then-Virginia Cavalier Emma Weyant

    The lawsuit was organized by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, a group that exists to “promote and protect women’s sports.” The plaintiffs, who also include track, tennis and volleyball athletes, are demanding that the NCAA make rule changes to bar biological males from women’s competition, revoke awards previously given to men who beat women, and also pay “damages for pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, suffering and anxiety, expense costs and other damages due to defendants’ wrongful conduct.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 19:20

  • Bankruptcy Laws Plus Inflation Equals Scam
    Bankruptcy Laws Plus Inflation Equals Scam

    Via SchiffGold.com,

    At the end of 2022, investors all around the world who had bet big on cryptocurrency and had their cryptocurrency stored by the crypto exchange, FTX, received bad news. Sam Bankman-Fried and other leaders of the exchange had been using cryptocurrency that was supposedly stored by the exchange to make bets on financial markets. And the FTX leadership was bad at trading and racked up huge losses. FTX declared bankruptcy and many of FTX leaders were convicted of financial crimes. For the investors of FTX, it was a painful experience that came from betting on cryptocurrency and the viability of crypto institutions that managed such assets. Expected losses were claimed to be in the billions.

    But as of 2024, FTX’s bankruptcy lawyers began claiming that FTX creditors would be repaid in full. This claim is based on a technicality of bankruptcy law and is a feature that screws over investors and hides the reality of inflation.

    When FTX went bankrupt, the debts it owed the people who deposited their cryptocurrency with FTX were recorded based on the US dollar value at the time. Of course, cryptocurrency is a wildly volatile asset, primarily used for speculation rather than as a store of value or for actual transactions. This volatility contributed to the FTX bankruptcy as the value of assets it held at any time, changed over time.

    Currently, crypto prices are generally higher than at the time FTX went bankrupt, but it’s unclear how long this will last given crypto’s volatility. The US dollar is worth less than ever given two more years of the high inflation experienced during the Biden administration. This means that the cryptocurrency held by FTX can be exchanged for a relatively large amount of 2024 US dollars to repay debts that were measured in 2022 dollars. This is what FTX means by claiming it can now repay its creditors.

    Imagine if a similar thing happened with a gold storage company. A company promises to store gold bars for its customers, secretly loses many of them in bad bets, and declares bankruptcy. The company records how much it owes its customers- not in the amount of gold lost- but in what bankruptcy lawyers claim it was worth in US dollars. Then years later, as the dollar continues to inflate away its value relative to gold, the gold investors are repaid in devalued dollars. This is how bankruptcy and inflation combine to hurt investors.

    This is not the only area where ordinary people face a dynamic like this.

    When an employer withholds taxes from your paycheck, and you have to wait for your tax return to get it back, you are giving an interest-free loan to the government. This would be true no matter the currency that the United States used. But the United States uses a fiat currency that’s losing value over time.

    Not only does tax withholding mean that taxpayers are losing out on the interest they could have earned, they’re paid back in their refund in a currency that loses value month by month. Taxpayers pay into Social Security, pay for unemployment insurance, and all kinds of government programs. But even if we get our money back, each dollar in benefits is less than each dollar of tax that was paid.

    Bankruptcy law makes this scheme obvious, but it affects every American taxpayer.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 19:00

  • Putin Vows Ukraine Will Pay For Election Day Attacks On Civilians
    Putin Vows Ukraine Will Pay For Election Day Attacks On Civilians

    Today is election day in Russia, and it is quite obvious who will emerge victorious as the country’s next president. However, Ukraine has chosen the eve of election day and into Friday to send a ‘message’ – while apparently losing a lot of men in the process.

    There have been repeat significant cross-border ground and shelling attacks from Ukraine in the past 48 hours. Russia’s defense ministry (MoD) announced Friday morning that it “repelled” the latest major attempted incursion in the Belgorod region on the border.

    AFP/Getty Images

    The MoD claimed its forces, including border security services, took out some 50 invaders in the assault. Russian media summarized of the military’s statements: “The team was then targeted by Russian artillery and military aviation. The territory through which other Ukrainian troops could reach Kozinka to prop up the advance force was remotely mined.”

    The statement continued, “The Ukrainians were then forced out of the village, with survivors running into the freshly placed minefield and getting killed, according to the statement. An attempted evacuation was stopped by rocket artillery.”

    Russian media has further published videos and images which purport to confirm that attempted major cross-border incursion. The same groups from a similar Tuesday raid appear to have been behind the newest attack – mostly made up what have been described as anti-Putin Russian nationals collaborating with Kiev.

    President Putin on Friday addressed the string of cross-border attacks, describing there had been “four attacks on the Belgorod region and one attack on the Kursk region by armed Ukrainian proxies numbering about 2,500.”

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    Putin additionally said the invading militants had 35 tanks and 40 armored vehicles, as cited in Reuters. He estimated that about 60% of the invading force was killed.

    But it was fresh drone attack and shelling on Belgorod city Friday that resulted in Russian civilian casualties. Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that during the attack air defenses shot down ten inbound “aerial targets”.

    “According to preliminary information, one civilian was killed. At the moment of the shelling attack, the man was working at a store,” Gladkov stated on Telegram. “Paramedics did their best to save his life, but he died from his injuries at the scene,” the governor added.

    Somewhat unexpectedly, or perhaps due to the security situation, President Putin is widely reported to have cast his vote online…

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    Putin spoke of the civilian death on election day, saying, “I am sure that our people, the people of Russia, will respond to this with even greater solidarity. Who did they decide to intimidate? The Russian people?“

    Russia unleashed its own large-scale strikes on the southern Ukraine city of Odesa on Friday. The NY Times describes, “A Russian missile attack on Odesa killed at least 17 people and injured 73 others, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday, the latest in a series of deadly air assaults on the southern Ukrainian port city.”

    “Ukraine’s state emergency services said a first missile hit several houses late in the morning, prompting rescuers to rush to the scene,” the report continues. “A second missile then landed on the same site, causing many fatalities, including at least one paramedic and a rescue worker. The reports could not be independently verified.”

    Meanwhile, there were various other reports of local election disruptions on Friday…

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    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 18:40

  • US To Back Nevada Lithium Project With $2.26 Billion Loan
    US To Back Nevada Lithium Project With $2.26 Billion Loan

    By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

    Lithium Americas Corp has received a conditional commitment for a $2.26-billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to help it build lithium processing facilities in Nevada, as the Biden Administration looks to support America-produced lithium and reduce dependence on Chinese supply.  

    Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass project in Humboldt County, Nevada, is located next to a mine site that contains the largest-proven lithium reserves in North America, DOE said.

    The U.S. Administration plans to extend the $2.26 billion loan under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program. The government funding is intended to help finance the construction of Thacker Pass, targeted to produce an initial 40,000 tonnes per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate, Vancouver-based Lithium Americas Corp said in a statement.

    Lithium Americas targets mechanical completion of Thacker Pass Phase 1 for 2027. Major construction is expected to start in the second half of this year, following the anticipated closing of the DOE Loan and issuance of full notice to proceed (FNTP), which is expected in the second half of 2024.  

    “The United States has an incredible opportunity to lead the next chapter of global electrification in a way that both strengthens our battery supply chains and ensures that the economic benefits are directed toward American workers, companies and communities,” Lithium Americas’ president and CEO Jonathan Evans said.

    The lithium price crash over the past year is holding back reinvestment in new supply, the world’s top lithium producer Albemarle has said recently.  

    While major lithium suppliers continue to see a surge in long-term demand as the energy transition gathers momentum, the current low price environment is “unstainable,” Kent Masters, Albemarle’s chairman, president, and CEO, said on the company’s earnings call last month.

    The current lithium prices are not in a range allowing projects, especially in the West, to get off the ground, Masters added.

     The deferral of new supply developments amid the low prices is setting the stage for the next lithium supply crunch later this decade, executives and analysts say.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 18:20

  • "I Can't Even Save": Americans Are Getting Absolutely Crushed Under Enormous Debt Load
    “I Can’t Even Save”: Americans Are Getting Absolutely Crushed Under Enormous Debt Load

    While Joe Biden insists that Americans are doing great – suggesting in his State of the Union Address last week that “our economy is the envy of the world,” Americans are being absolutely crushed by inflation (which the Biden admin blames on ‘shrinkflation’ and ‘corporate greed’), and of course – crippling debt.

    The signs are obvious. Last week we noted that banks’ charge-offs are accelerating, and are now above pre-pandemic levels.

    …and leading this increase are credit card loans – with delinquencies that haven’t been this high since Q3 2011.

    On top of that, while credit cards and nonfarm, nonresidential commercial real estate loans drove the quarterly increase in the noncurrent rate, residential mortgages drove the quarterly increase in the share of loans 30-89 days past due.

    And while Biden and crew can spin all they want, an average of polls from RealClear Politics shows that just 40% of people approve of Biden’s handling of the economy.

    Crushed

    On Friday, Bloomberg dug deeper into the effects of Biden’s “envious” economy on Americans – specifically, how massive debt loads (credit cards and auto loans especially) are absolutely crushing people.

    Two years after the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates to tame prices, delinquency rates on credit cards and auto loans are the highest in more than a decade. For the first time on record, interest payments on those and other non-mortgage debts are as big a financial burden for US households as mortgage interest payments.

    According to the report, this presents a difficult reality for millions of consumers who drive the US economy – “The era of high borrowing costs — however necessary to slow price increases — has a sting of its own that many families may feel for years to come, especially the ones that haven’t locked in cheap home loans.”

    The Fed, meanwhile, doesn’t appear poised to cut rates until later this year.

    According to a February paper from IMF and Harvard, the recent high cost of borrowing – something which isn’t reflected in inflation figures, is at the heart of lackluster consumer sentiment despite inflation having moderated and a job market which has recovered (thanks to job gains almost entirely enjoyed by immigrants).

    In short, the debt burden has made life under President Biden a constant struggle throughout America.

    “I’m making the most money I’ve ever made, and I’m still living paycheck to paycheck,” 40-year-old Denver resident Nikki Cimino told Bloomberg. Cimino is carrying a monthly mortgage of $1,650, and has $4,000 in credit card debt following a 2020 divorce.

    Nikki CiminoPhotographer: Rachel Woolf/Bloomberg

    “There’s this wild disconnect between what people are experiencing and what economists are experiencing.“

    What’s more, according to Wells Fargo, families have taken on debt at a comparatively fast rate – no doubt to sustain the same lifestyle as low rates and pandemic-era stimmies provided. In fact, it only took four years for households to set a record new debt level after paying down borrowings in 2021 when interest rates were near zero. 

    Meanwhile, that increased debt load is exacerbated by credit card interest rates that have climbed to a record 22%, according to the Fed.

    [P]art of the reason some Americans were able to take on a substantial load of non-mortgage debt is because they’d locked in home loans at ultra-low rates, leaving room on their balance sheets for other types of borrowing. The effective rate of interest on US mortgage debt was just 3.8% at the end of last year.

    Yet the loans and interest payments can be a significant strain that shapes families’ spending choices. -Bloomberg

    And of course, the highest-interest debt (credit cards) is hurting lower-income households the most, as tends to be the case.

    The lowest earners also understandably had the biggest increase in credit card delinquencies.

    “Many consumers are levered to the hilt — maxed out on debt and barely keeping their heads above water,” Allan Schweitzer, a portfolio manager at credit-focused investment firm Beach Point Capital Management told Bloomberg. “They can dog paddle, if you will, but any uptick in unemployment or worsening of the economy could drive a pretty significant spike in defaults.“

    “We had more money when Trump was president,” said Denise Nierzwicki, 69. She and her 72-year-old husband Paul have around $20,000 in debt spread across multiple cards – all of which have interest rates above 20%.

    Denise and Paul Nierzwicki blame Biden for what they see as a gloomy economy and plan to vote for the Republican candidate in November.
    Photographer: Jon Cherry/Bloomberg

    During the pandemic, Denise lost her job and a business deal for a bar they owned in their hometown of Lexington, Kentucky. While they applied for Social Security to ease the pain, Denise is now working 50 hours a week at a restaurant. Despite this, they’re barely scraping enough money together to service their debt.

    The couple blames Biden for what they see as a gloomy economy and plans to vote for the Republican candidate in November. Denise routinely voted for Democrats up until about 2010, when she grew dissatisfied with Barack Obama’s economic stances, she said. Now, she supports Donald Trump because he lowered taxes and because of his policies on immigration. -Bloomberg

    Meanwhile there’s student loans – which are not able to be discharged in bankruptcy.

    “I can’t even save, I don’t have a savings account,” said 29-year-old in Columbus, Ohio resident Brittany Walling – who has around $80,000 in federal student loans, $20,000 in private debt from her undergraduate and graduate degrees, and $6,000 in credit card debt she accumulated over a six-month stretch in 2022 while she was unemployed.

    “I just know that a lot of people are struggling, and things need to change,” she told the outlet.

    The only silver lining of note, according to Bloomberg, is that broad wage gains resulting in large paychecks has made it easier for people to throw money at credit card bills.

    Yet, according to Wells Fargo economist Shannon Grein, “As rates rose in 2023, we avoided a slowdown due to spending that was very much tied to easy access to credit … Now, credit has become harder to come by and more expensive.”

    According to Grein, the change has posed “a significant headwind to consumption.”

    Then there’s the election

    “Maybe the Fed is done hiking, but as long as rates stay on hold, you still have a passive tightening effect flowing down to the consumer and being exerted on the economy,” she continued. “Those household dynamics are going to be a factor in the election this year.”

    Meanwhile, swing-state voters in a February Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll said they trust Trump more than Biden on interest rates and personal debt.

    Reverberations

    These ‘headwinds’ have M3 Partners’ Moshin Meghji concerned.

    “Any tightening there immediately hits the top line of companies,” he said, noting that for heavily indebted companies that took on debt during years of easy borrowing, “there’s no easy fix.“

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    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 18:00

  • The 10 Senate Seats Most Likely To Flip
    The 10 Senate Seats Most Likely To Flip

    Authored by Sean Trende via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The 2024 presidential election has grabbed most of the headlines recently, but the Senate races are taking shape under the radar. Here is a preview of the 10 most likely to flip.

    1. West Virginia – Open (D): It’s not that often that every elections analyst in the country concurs on something, but I suspect you will get unanimous agreement that this seat is far and away the most likely Senate seat to flip. Joe Manchin is a Democrat who has basically been swimming against a Republican tide since he won the seat in a 2010 special election. Two years prior, John McCain carried the state by 12 points over Barack Obama. Donald Trump won it by almost 40 points in 2020. It’s unlikely that even the popular Manchin, who won narrowly in the good Democratic year of 2018, could emerge victorious, but with his retirement, the seat is just gone.

    2. Montana – Jon Tester (D): Reasonable minds can disagree about whether Montana or Ohio is the more vulnerable seat. Tester is probably a better ideological match for his state than Sen. Sherrod Brown is for Ohio, but Montana will probably go for Donald Trump by 20 points rather than the 10 or so points by which he seems likely to carry Ohio. Tester’s preferred opponent, Matt Rosendale, dropped out of the race, giving Tester a more mainstream opponent. Even Rosendale had made a race out of it in the bad GOP year of 2018, but this time, Tester will likely have to convince one out of every six Trump voters to cross over for him. That’s no easy task.

    3. Ohio – Sherrod Brown (D): Brown is probably too liberal for the modern Buckeye State, and he’ll have to convince around one in 10 Trump voters to split their tickets. This is within tolerance – Susan Collins pulled this off in reverse in 2020 – but it is still rare. Brown only won by seven points against an underfunded opponent in 2018, but whoever the GOP candidate is will probably not have to worry about money. Trump endorsed businessman Bernie Moreno, much to the state GOP’s dismay, but this is a state that voted for a similarly untested, controversial candidate in 2022 over Brown’s political heir. Brown can win, but he’s in trouble.

    4. Michigan – Open (D): I have to make at least one controversial call, so why not here? To be clear, all of the remaining races at least lean toward the party that currently holds them. Why put this above more popular picks like Nevada, Arizona, or Wisconsin? The reason has less to do with this race than with the dynamics of the other races (discussed below). The Democratic Party has coalesced around Rep. Elissa Slotkin, which is good for the party. But there is a bit of schism within the Democratic Party right now over the Biden administration’s support of Israel in its war in Gaza. Trump has also been polling well in the state. A lot will depend on who emerges from the state’s crowded GOP primary, but remember, Trump nearly pulled now-Rep. John James across the finish line in 2020.

    5. Texas – Ted Cruz (R): Another controversial call, I suspect. I’ve gone into this in greater detail elsewhere, but this is a state that is swinging leftward, and it wouldn’t take a particularly bad showing by Donald Trump nationally for it to flip. Not only that, but Cruz is, well, Cruz, and is not particularly well-liked. He almost lost in 2018, and while the environment is better for him this year, the state is worse. Again, this isn’t a tossup, but his edge is less pronounced than the remaining Democrats on this list.

    6. Arizona – Open (D): Given Kari Lake’s post-election behavior and the presence of an abortion-rights referendum on the ballot, I’m skeptical that she is well-positioned to make this race competitive. It’s also why I’m somewhat skeptical about Donald Trump’s current polling lead against President Biden.

    7. Nevada – Jacky Rosen (D): It’s not that the incumbent is particularly weak. Nor is the GOP field particularly strong. And the presence of an abortion-rights referendum will probably help Rosen. We’re starting to get into genuine long-shot territory here, but this is a state Donald Trump really might carry handily. We’ll see what comes out of the GOP primary.

    8. Wisconsin – Baldwin (D): I don’t really think Tammy Baldwin is likely to lose. The danger to her comes if Donald Trump breaks out in the state and turns out to have coattails. But I promised 10 seats, and I aim to deliver 10.

    9. Pennsylvania – Bob Casey (D): The GOP has its preferred candidate here, Dave McCormick (which it didn’t in 2022 when Oz Mehmet edged McCormick out in the primary), and Casey has never really had a tough challenge before. But he’s got a famous last name, and I think Trump has less chance of winning here than in Wisconsin. If Trump does pull ahead strongly, however, he probably has a better chance of bringing McCormick with him than he does in Wisconsin – whomever Republicans nominate in the Badger State.

    10. Maryland – Open (D): I had to pick a race here. It was either this or New Jersey or Florida. I chose this one because GOP candidate Larry Hogan was a popular governor, is still well regarded in the state, and is probably the strongest challenger in the bunch. But Maryland is exceedingly blue and is really, really unlikely to flip.

    Sean Trende is senior elections analyst for RealClearPolitics. He is a co-author of the 2014 Almanac of American Politics and author of The Lost Majority. He can be reached at strende@realclearpolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter @SeanTrende.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 17:40

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Mar 15

Today’s News 15th March 2024

  • NATO's 'Welfare' States: Treating The US As 'Room Service'
    NATO’s ‘Welfare’ States: Treating The US As ‘Room Service’

    Authored by Pete Hoekstra via The Gatestone Institute,

    Last month, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg conceded what former US President Donald Trump has been warning about for nearly a decade: America’s allies are not paying their fair share — as they had agreed — for national defense. After four years in which Trump held our NATO allies accountable for funding their share of NATO’s collective defense, US President Joe Biden has once again allowed many of them to pass significant burdens of NATO spending on to American taxpayers – threatening the security of the NATO alliance in the process.

    The very nature of alliances is that they are a two-way street. Americans should rightly expect to realize benefits from U.S. participation in NATO, just as the citizens of other NATO nations can expect to benefit from their country’s relationship with the United States.

    Indeed, that was the original idea behind the North Atlantic Treaty Organization when it was founded in 1949. In the wake of WWII, 12 nations agreed to band together to guard against the threat of the Soviet Union, a number that has now grown to 32 with the recent addition of Sweden.

    The NATO alliance today, however, more closely resembles an international welfare program than a true alliance, with most countries failing to meet their defense commitments and instead relying on the generosity of the United States.

    As the eminent journalist Amir Taheri put it: “others… treat the US as a ‘room service’ reachable by pressing a button…”

    In 2014, every NATO member agreed to allocate just 2% of their nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) to defense spending. This minimum baseline target is crucial to ensuring military readiness in the face of growing threats from hostile nations such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.

    A decade later, 19 out of 32 NATO member nations have failed to meet this goal. Moreover, most of those countries that have reached the 2% target, such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Greece, are smaller nations with smaller GDPs.

    The United States, meanwhile, accounts for a staggering 70% of all NATO defense spending — even though the combined GDP of the other 31 member nations is roughly equal to that of the United States. Germany, by far the richest NATO member behind the United States, allocates just 1.57% of its GDP to defense spending.

    The combined population of these 31 NATO member states, at more than 620 million, also now dwarfs that of the United States, at 333 million. In other words, each American citizen is now effectively responsible for funding the national defense of two people in another NATO nation.

    The situation in Europe today is far different than at the founding of NATO, when many nations were still relying on the Marshall Plan funding to be rebuilt. Our NATO allies have highly advanced economies and immensely capable citizens. American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize their national defense.

    If NATO is to function as an effective deterrent to military aggression from Russia and other adversaries, there seriously needs to be a new commitment by every NATO member state to invest in a strong national defense. Yet, the failure of our European allies to meet their spending commitments means they are woefully unprepared from a military standpoint to defend their countries – thus endangering the United States as well as themselves by threatening to draw America into war unnecessarily because of European weakness.

    President Trump wisely recognized this threat and accordingly made holding our NATO allies accountable a top priority of his foreign policy. Under his leadership, NATO member countries increased their defense spending by $350 billion.

    President Biden has failed to continue the momentum Trump created. After our NATO allies’ defense spending increased 4.6% in 2020, it dropped to only a 2% increase by 2022.

    As U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, in a meeting with Dutch business professionals, I would be asked about the emphasis the Trump administration was putting on the 2% number. People would remark that the Dutch had other priorities, such as healthcare, infrastructure and education. They said they considered the military threat to Europe as miniscule.

    Other Dutch citizens asked at various times if Russia would really roll across the borders of Europe with tanks. They had a hard time believing that the Netherlands could ever be in danger. They seemed convinced Trump, and Americans in general, were being unreasonable, distraught and completely out of touch with the security situation in Europe.

    A couple of years later, the world discovered the truth. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in fact appears extremely willing to roll his tanks into battle in Europe. After Trump was ridiculed by our NATO allies for demanding European countries do more to protect themselves, unfortunately history has proven him correct.

    The United States and the world need an American president who is committed to ensuring our NATO allies share the burden of deterring conflict and attacks upon members of the alliance.

    The magnificent Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten, in the Netherlands, is the final resting place for 8,288 American servicemen and where another 1,722, whose names are engraved on the Tablets of the Missing, are remembered.

    The Dutch have a unique relationship with the cemetery. Every American grave since 1945 has been adopted by a Dutch family. It is a beautiful recognition of the personal sacrifices made for the sake of freedom and liberty – but also a stark reminder of the horrific cost of war and of the failure to deter it.

    The strengthening of the NATO alliance by insisting on burden-sharing by all the member states was a hallmark policy of Trump’s first term, and it most probably will be again if voters return him to the White House this November. All of America’s leaders also need to embrace the reality that if our allies are unwilling to do more to keep the world safe and secure, we may need to reassess the relationship we have with them, and cease being “room service.” Alliances are only alliances when the costs and benefits run both ways. Anything less, especially from the richest countries in Europe, is not only disrespectful, but an unacceptable breach of contract.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 03/15/2024 – 02:00

  • The Statistical Proof That Gaza Casualty Numbers Are Fake
    The Statistical Proof That Gaza Casualty Numbers Are Fake

    Authored by Abraham Wyner via DailySceptic.org,

    The number of civilian casualties in Gaza has been at the centre of international attention since the start of the war. The main source for the data has been the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, which now claims more than 30,000 dead, the majority of which it says are children and women. Recently, the Biden administration lent legitimacy to Hamas’s figure. When asked at a House Armed Services Committee hearing last week how many Palestinian women and children have been killed since October 7th, Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said the number was “over 25,000”. The Pentagon quickly clarified that the Secretary “was citing an estimate from the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry”. President Biden himself had earlier cited this figure, asserting that “too many, too many of the over 27,000 Palestinians killed in this conflict have been innocent civilians and children, including thousands of children”. The White House also explained that the President “was referring to publicly available data about the total number of casualties”.

    Here’s the problem with these data: the numbers are not real. That much is obvious to anyone who understands how naturally occurring numbers work. The casualties are not overwhelmingly women and children, and the majority may be Hamas fighters.

    If Hamas’s numbers are faked or fraudulent in some way, there may be evidence in the numbers themselves that can demonstrate it. While there is not much data available, there is a little, and it is enough: from October 26th until November 10th 2023, the Gaza Health Ministry released daily casualty figures that include both a total number and a specific number of women and children.

    The first place to look is the reported ‘total’ number of deaths. The graph of total deaths by date is increasing with almost metronomical linearity, as the graph in Figure 1 reveals.

    The graph reveals an extremely regular increase in casualties over the period. Data aggregated by the author and provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), based on Gaza MoH figures.

    This regularity is almost surely not real. One would expect quite a bit of variation day to day. In fact, the daily reported casualty count over this period averages 270 plus or minus about 15%. This is strikingly little variation. There should be days with twice the average or more and others with half or less. Perhaps what is happening is the Gaza ministry is releasing fake daily numbers that vary too little because they do not have a clear understanding of the behaviour of naturally occurring numbers. Unfortunately, verified control data are not available to formally test this conclusion, but the details of the daily counts render the numbers suspicious.

    Similarly, we should see variation in the number of child casualties that tracks the variation in the number of women. This is because the daily variation in death counts is caused by the variation in the number of strikes on residential buildings and tunnels which should result in considerable variability in the totals but less variation in the percentage of deaths across groups. This is a basic statistical fact about chance variability. Consequently, on the days with many women casualties there should be large numbers of children casualties, and on the days when just a few women are reported to have been killed, just a few children should be reported. This relationship can be measured and quantified by the R-square (R2) statistic that measures how correlated the daily casualty count for women is with the daily casualty count for children. If the numbers were real, we would expect R2 to be substantively larger than zero, tending closer to 1.0. But R2 is .017 which is statistically and substantively not different from zero.

    The daily number of children reported to have been killed is totally unrelated to the number of women reported. The R2 is .017 and the relationship is statistically and substantively insignificant.

    This lack of correlation is the second circumstantial piece of evidence suggesting the numbers are not real.

    But there is more.

    The daily number of women casualties should be highly correlated with the number of non-women and non-children (i.e., men) reported. Again, this is expected because of the nature of battle. The ebbs and flows of the bombings and attacks by Israel should cause the daily count to move together. But that is not what the data show. Not only is there not a positive correlation, there is a strong negative correlation, which makes no sense at all and establishes the third piece of evidence that the numbers are not real.

    The correlation between the daily men and daily women death count is absurdly strong and negative (p-value < .0001).

    Consider some further anomalies in the data: first, the death count reported on October 29th contradicts the numbers reported on the 28th, insofar as they imply that 26 men came back to life. This can happen because of misattribution or just reporting error. There are a few other days where the numbers of men are reported to be near zero. If these were just reporting errors, then on those days where the death count for men appears to be in error, the women’s count should be typical, at least on average. But it turns out that on the three days when the men’s count is near zero, suggesting an error, the women’s count is high. In fact, the three highest daily women casualty count occurs on those three days.

    There are three days where the male casualty count is close to zero. These three days correspond to the three highest daily women’s casualty count.

    Taken together, what does this all imply?

    While the evidence is not dispositive, it is highly suggestive that a process unconnected or loosely connected to reality was used to report the numbers.

    Most likely, the Hamas ministry settled on a daily total arbitrarily.

    We know this because the daily totals increase too consistently to be real. Then they assigned about 70% of the total to be women and children, splitting that amount randomly from day to day.

    Then they in-filled the number of men as set by the predetermined total.

    This explains all the data observed.

    There are other obvious red flags. The Gaza Health Ministry has consistently claimed that about 70% of the casualties are women or children. This total is far higher than the numbers reported in earlier conflicts with Israel. Another red flag, raised by Salo Aizenberg and written about extensively, is that if 70% of the casualties are women and children and 25% of the population is adult male, then either Israel is not successfully eliminating Hamas fighters or adult male casualty counts are extremely low. This by itself strongly suggests that the numbers are at a minimum grossly inaccurate and quite probably outright faked.

    Finally, on February 15th, Hamas admitted to losing 6,000 of its fighters, which represents more than 20% of the total number of casualties reported. Taken together, Hamas is reporting not only that 70% of casualties are women and children but also that 20% are fighters. This is not possible unless Israel is somehow not killing noncombatant men, or else Hamas is claiming that almost all the men in Gaza are Hamas fighters.

    Are there better numbers?

    Some objective commentators have acknowledged Hamas’s numbers in previous battles with Israel to be roughly accurate. Nevertheless, this war is wholly unlike its predecessors in scale or scope; international observers who were able to monitor previous wars are now completely absent, so the past can’t be assumed to be a reliable guide. The fog of war is especially thick in Gaza, making it impossible to quickly determine civilian death totals with any accuracy. Not only do official Palestinian death counts fail to differentiate soldiers from children, but Hamas also blames all deaths on Israel even if caused by Hamas’s own misfired rockets, accidental explosions, deliberate killings or internal battles. One group of researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health compared Hamas reports to data on UNRWA workers. The researchers argued that because the death rates were approximately similar, Hamas’s numbers must not be inflated. But their argument relied on a crucial and unverified assumption: that UNRWA workers are not disproportionately more likely to be killed than the general population. That premise exploded when it was uncovered that a sizable fraction of UNRWA workers are affiliated with Hamas. Some were even exposed as having participated in the October 7th massacre itself.

    The truth can’t yet be known and probably never will be. The total civilian casualty count is likely to be extremely overstated. Israel estimates that at least 12,000 fighters have been killed. If that number proves to be even reasonably accurate, then the ratio of noncombatant casualties to combatants is remarkably low: at most 1.4 to 1 and perhaps as low as 1 to 1.

    By historical standards of urban warfare, where combatants are embedded in and below civilian population centres, this is a remarkable and successful effort to prevent unnecessary loss of life while fighting an implacable enemy that protects itself with civilians.

    The data used in the article can be found here, with thanks to Salo Aizenberg who helped check and correct these numbers.

    Abraham Wyner is Professor of Statistics and Data Science at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Faculty Co-Director of the Wharton Sports Analytics and Business Initiative.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 23:40

  • Kim Jong Un Drives Tank In Live-Fire 'Preparations For War' Drill
    Kim Jong Un Drives Tank In Live-Fire ‘Preparations For War’ Drill

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has staged some interesting military theatrics ahead of next week’s expected visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to South Korea for the third Summit for Democracy.

    The recent renewal of ongoing major US live-fire exercises on the peninsula has also triggered sharp denunciations from Pyongyang. On Thursday Kim oversaw his own live-fire exercises, while riding in the north’s newest battle tank.

    Via KCNA

    The North Korean leader wore a black leather jacket and mounted a new tank, supposedly driving it himself, according to state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

    State media ominously described the exercise as part of “preparations for war”:

    Kim expressed “great satisfaction” that the tank – first unveiled during a 2020 military parade – demonstrated its striking power in its inaugural performance display and told his troops to bolster their “fighting spirits” and complete “preparations for war”, KCNA said.

    Kim hailed the newly deployed North Korean-made battle tank as “the world’s most powerful” – and state media published a photograph that featured his head sticking out of the tank while in operation.

    Notably the exercises were said to have involved military units stationed close to the border wand within striking distance of the “enemy’s capital” – according to KCNA.

    Kim has meanwhile denounced the latest joint Washington-Seoul war exercises, which recently even included strategic assets, as a “rehearsal” for invasion of the north.

    The past month had already seen Kim reportedly oversee two prior drills, but this new live-fire “training march” appears the most impressive given the number of tanks and maneuvers, and Kim’s apparent direct participation.

    The New York Times recently wrote that the Kim Jong-un government has plans for escalation, saying that it will soon launch some kind of lethal military action against the south, but will still seek to avoid a full-scale war. 

    US officials indicated the recent spate of more aggressive statements from Kim should be taken seriously. “While the officials added that they did not see an imminent risk of a full-scale war on the Korean Peninsula, Mr. Kim could carry out strikes in a way that he thinks would avoid rapid escalation,” the report predicted.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 23:20

  • California Activist Group Paying Teens $1,400 In Taxpayer Money To Undergo "Social Justice" Training
    California Activist Group Paying Teens $1,400 In Taxpayer Money To Undergo “Social Justice” Training

    By Ava Grace of Campus Insanity

    An activist group in California is reportedly paying $1,400 each in taxpayer money to teenagers who undergo “social justice” training.

    According to the Free Press, the group Californians for Justice (CFJ) inked contracts with the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) between 2019 and 2023 for this endeavor. These contracts, which the outlet obtained, showed that the LBUSD used taxpayer funds to pay CFJ almost $2 million to facilitate equity and leadership development training for students and teachers. Aside from this, the contracts also allotted a total of $20,200 to 13 parents for their participation in the group’s programs.

    The outlet added that from December 2019 until the present, the LBUSD has paid at least 78 students a total of nearly $100,000 for participating in CFJ’s programs. The programs are led by the group’s staff instead of officials from the school district. The most recent contract runs until June. (Related: Not just public schools: Ohio PRIVATE school reports mothers to FBI for questioning leftist curriculum.)

    “You get paid good,” one student answered when asked why others should join CFJ. While it’s unclear which students are eligible for the stipends, CFJ’s website states that its “leadership development” programs operate with a focus on youths from low-income, minority, LGBT, foster home and immigrant backgrounds.

    But four teachers who talked to the Free Press consider the payments to students and their families a “horrible propaganda strategy.” One teacher said she was “shocked and horrified” at such a fact.

    Another teacher who asked not to be named for fear of losing her job said the CFJ’s leadership trainings have transformed into a space for kids to air their grievances about school. She recalled one student saying that “they would come to class on time if we built relationships with them.”

    “It’s helpful to hear their voice and know what they think would help them learn better, but I feel like you can do that with a focus group. Plus, they’re obviously reading scripts that have words that they don’t know how to say,” the teacher remarked.

    “The way that [CFJ is] handing scripts to students, even the words coming out of the students’ mouths, it just feels like indoctrination and not information.”

    CFJ giving students “a scripted voice that isn’t their own”

    LBUSD high school history teacher Jay Goldfisher agreed with the anonymous educator. “One of the reasons that [CFJ was] hired is to help our students find their voice and be able to express it,” he said.

    “But in reality, CFJ is not helping students find their own voices. It’s giving them a scripted voice that’s not their own. They’re teaching them parroting, which is the exact opposite of how you empower children.”

    The Free Press gave one example of this parroting. Back in 2021, CFJ implemented three “student-led professional development” training sessions in LBUSD high schools. According to the contracts, this cost the school district $25,000. Students were encouraged to educate their teachers on topics like implicit bias, “student voice” and anti-Black racism during these trainings, instead of the other way around.

    CFJ, which was founded back in 1996, began as a policy advocacy organization before pivoting into working in schools in the mid-2000s. The registered nonprofit has nearly $16 million in total assets, according to its most recent tax filing.

    “Our agenda is not hidden and is simple: We want the LBUSD to be a place where every student is represented honestly in classrooms and curricula, and where they are safe to be in critical dialogue supportive of democratic participation across differences,” said a CFJ spokesman.

    But a Jewish high school teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed worry that their concern “is becoming a reality.” The teacher noted that the partnership between the activist group and the school district is solidifying misinformation in young kids. “That’s something that they’re going to hold on to forever, because they learned it at school,” the teacher said.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 23:00

  • "Urgent Action Needed" As Manhattan Rents Inch Towards Record Highs
    “Urgent Action Needed” As Manhattan Rents Inch Towards Record Highs

    Housing affordability is at a crisis level in crime-ridden New York City. Mayor Eric Adams and progressives have no real immediate solution as rent prices near record highs ahead of spring. 

    A new Bloomberg report, citing appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate data, shows the median rent in Manhattan on new leases reached $4,320, up 3.3% from the same month last year. This figure is about $170 off the record high reached last summer. 

    Source: Bloomberg

    Rents in Brooklyn rose 2.9% to $3,499, and in northwest Queens, the median was up by $1 to $3,239. Manhattan is the hotspot that could see new highs in the coming months. 

    According to Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, rents typically subside in the winter months, yet this year, prices declined less than expected. A combination of a strong job market and low unemployment, coupled with high mortgage rates and low housing stock are some of the drivers in the rental market. 

    “The economy has been too strong, for the time being at least,” Miller said.

    In February, about 4,350 leases were signed in Manhattan, up 7.7% from the same month last year. Leases in Brooklyn soared 62% to 2,498, while in northwest Queens, it jumped to a record of 591. 

    The report did not cover if the more than 175,000 illegals that have flooded the metro area are pressuring rent prices higher. 

    New York State Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar recently warned, “Housing affordability is at a crisis level in New York City. More than half of renters are rent-burdened. New housing construction is not keeping pace with population growth.” 

    “Urgent action is further needed to build more affordable housing in my district and across New York City,” New York State Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia said. 

    According to a Goldman report, one major problem deterring new affordable housing in metro areas is that office tower prices are still too high for conversions. 

    Finding a home in NYC has become a nightmare. The mayor has yet to provide an immediate solution, as rents in Manhattan are expected to reach new record highs this summer. 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 22:40

  • Republican Impeachment Investigators Subpoena 13 Years Of Hunter Biden’s Phone Records
    Republican Impeachment Investigators Subpoena 13 Years Of Hunter Biden’s Phone Records

    Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The Republican-led House Oversight Committee has subpoenaed telecommunications company AT&T for 13 years of phone records for President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.

    Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, departs from a closed-door deposition before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, and House Judiciary Committee in the O’Neill House Office Building in Washington on Feb. 28, 2024. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

    The committee’s Democrat minority first revealed the subpoena in a memo between the minority members on Tuesday. Republican majority staff confirmed the AT&T subpoena in an email to NTD News on Wednesday.

    The subpoena comes as Republican House investigators continue an impeachment inquiry into allegations President Biden facilitated influence peddling through his family’s various business dealings throughout his political career. Witnesses in their impeachment inquiry have alleged the elder Biden ended up on the phone during multiple business meetings involving his son.

    Devon Archer, a businessman who worked with Hunter Biden on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings, has also claimed company executives urged Mr. Biden to “call D.C.” at a time when the company was facing pressure from Ukrainian government investigations. Mr. Archer testified that Mr. Biden may have “called D.C.”—potentially alluding to then-Vice President Joe Biden—during a business trip to Dubai on or around Dec. 4, 2015. According to a Republican timeline, then-Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Ukraine just days after the Dec. 4 call and communicated a request that Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin be removed from office.

    Mr. Comer noted Mr. Archer’s testimony in his March 6 subpoena cover letter to AT&T.

    Mr. Comer’s records request may also cover a personal phone line that President Biden used during his time as the Vice President.

    “The Oversight Committee has identified payments made by Hunter Biden for what appear to be bills associated with his own use, and a cellphone line for his father’s use,” Mr. Comer’s May 6 letter reads. “Based on records reviewed by the Committees, the total amount paid by Hunter Biden for his father’s use appears to be over $15,000, which was for a personal line Joe Biden utilized while Vice President.”

    Mr. Comer said Eric Schwerin—whom he described as a “close confidant” of the president and his son—testified to cutting a check from President Biden to Mr. Biden to repay his son for the phone bill.

    The subpoena calls on AT&T to turn over records since Jan. 1, 2011, of customer accounts in Hunter Biden’s name and in the names of three of his known business entities: Owasco P.C., Rosemont Seneca Paitners, LLC, and Rosemont Seneca Advisors, LLC. The subpoena gives the telecommunications company until March 20 to produce these records.

    Democrats Say Subpoena ‘Outrageously Broad and Invasive’

    Committee Democrats have routinely insisted their Republican counterparts have little to no evidence to support the ongoing investigation into the Biden family. The minority side reiterated those conclusions in their latest memo addressing the AT&T subpoena.

    “Rather than acknowledging the collapse of their allegations and failure of this investigation, Chairman Comer has instead decided to issue a subpoena, in secret, to compel AT&T to produce over 15 years’ worth of “account information, communications, and payment history of all AT&T accounts affiliated with Robert Hunter Biden,” the March 12 minority memo states.

    Committee Democrats continued to cast these latest Republican investigative steps as unduly intrusive and faulted the majority for citing Mr. Schwerin’s testimony in their subpoena despite not releasing the full transcript from Mr. Schwerin’s Jan. 30 congressional testimony.

    “Chairman Comer’s justification for this outrageously broad and invasive subpoena is flimsy at best. In the cover letter accompanying his subpoena to AT&T, Chairman Comer points to testimony from Eric Schwerin,” the minority memo reads. “. . .Mr. Schwerin’s statements during his transcribed interview—a transcript that Chairman Comer has refused to release publicly—makes clear that this payment was pedestrian and innocuous.”

    Democrats provided an excerpt of Mr. Schwerin’s transcribed interview in which he described the AT&T account Mr. Biden paid for as a multi-line “friends and family account” for which “Hunter would pay the full bill and his dad would reimburse him for his line.”

    According to the testimony excerpt, Mr. Schwerin said the monthly phone bill was about $100 to $120, and President Biden reimbursed his son for a period of about six months. The apparent reimbursements Mr. Schwerin describes in this testimony excerpt do not add up to the “over $15,000” figure Mr. Comer alleged Mr. Biden paid in total over the years to cover his father’s phone bill. NTD News reached out to Republican staff for clarification on the apparent discrepancy in the phone payments but did not receive a response by press time.

    Committee Republicans are pressing on with their investigation into the Biden family, despite the pushback coming from Democrats.

    Last week, the Republican majority extended an invitation for Mr. Biden to testify again, this time in a public setting along with other past witnesses in the investigation. Mr. Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has since formally rejected the invitation.

    Mr. Lowell said his client has a court hearing in California the following day, but also said the scheduling conflict is the “least of the issues“ with the invite. Hunter Biden’s attorney went on to describe the Republican hearing invitation as an “obvious attempt to throw a Hail Mary pass after the game has ended.”

    From NTD News

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 22:20

  • Startup Says This Massive Plane Could Make Wind Energy Viable
    Startup Says This Massive Plane Could Make Wind Energy Viable

    Meet the WindRunner. At a jaw-dropping 365 feet long and 79 feet tall, it’s a cargo plane unlike anything the world has seen before — stretching 80 feet longer than the current champ, the Russian Antonov An-124. Also unlike other massive planes, this one is built to carry just one specific kind of cargo: The world’s largest wind turbine blades, which could be longer than a football field in coming years. 

    With the colossal Windrunner, Colorado startup Radia hopes to change the economics of wind energy (Radia)

    Don’t look for the WindRunner in the sky just yet. For now, it’s merely a design, albeit one that’s already seven years in the making.

    As first reported Wednesday by the Wall Street Journal, the plane is the brainchild of MIT-educated aerospace engineer Mark Lundstrom, whose Boulder-headquartered startup, Radia, will need a few more years of design work and certification. If the plane comes to life, it could fundamentally change the economics of wind energy. 

    Bigger blades are far more efficient than smaller ones, as they can capture more wind and are positioned higher, where winds blow more constantly. However, the size of onshore wind turbines are currently limited by the transportation limits imposed by ground infrastructure. Specifically, to turn corners and fit under highway overpasses, blades for onshore turbines can’t exceed 230 feet, according to Radia.

    That means that, today, the largest blades can only be employed in offshore wind farms. There, however, the high cost of building towers in the ocean is prompting many utilities to sour on the concept. The bad financials on sea and land have contributed to a wave of both offshore and onshore project cancellations, slashing a planned 8.5 gigawatts of wind power. 

    “Radia estimates the larger turbines could reduce the cost of energy by up to 35% and increase the consistency of power generation by 20% compared with today’s onshore turbines.” — WSJ

    Avoiding public highways and roads altogether will require that each onshore project is outfitted with a custom-made, 6,000-foot, packed-dirt runway for WindRunner to land on.  

    The larger blades will render far more of United States viable for potential wind projects, as depicted in these Radia graphics that compare standard onshore wind energy to “Gigawind” employing the much longer blades and far larger turbines: 

    However, the scale of the envisioned giant turbines is certain to cause an uproar among people who live near proposed wind farms: The Journal describes them as “roughly as tall as the U.S. Capitol with the Washington Monument stacked on top.” 

    You can read the Wall Street Journal’s full report here. 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 22:00

  • Rudy Giuliani May Be Forced To Sell His Homes To Pay $148 Million Election Case Judgment
    Rudy Giuliani May Be Forced To Sell His Homes To Pay $148 Million Election Case Judgment

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani may be forced to sell his homes in New York and Florida to raise cash for a massive defamation judgment against him as he works his way through bankruptcy proceedings, according to court statements by attorneys.

    Rudy Giuliani, a former lawyer of former president Donald J. Trump, leaves the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. District Courthouse after jury deliberation in Washington on Dec. 15, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    Mr. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2023, a day after being ordered to pay $148 million to two former Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation while he was a lawyer for former President Donald Trump.

    Mr. Giuliani listed liabilities of $100 million to $500 million and assets of as much as $10 million, according to a bankruptcy form that was filed on Dec. 21 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

    Attorneys said during a March 13 status conference at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York that several of Mr. Giulani’s properties may be put up for sale to raise cash to pay off his nearly $153 million debt, the bulk of which is the $148 million defamation judgment, according to Bloomberg Law.

    Heath Berger, of Berger Fischoff Shumer Wexler & Goodman LLP, who represents Mr. Giuliani, said in court on Wednesday that a draft listing agreement for Mr. Giuliani’s New York condo is being finalized, while Philip Dublin, of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, said that a committee representing Mr. Giuliani’s unsecured creditors is working on putting his Palm Beach, Florida, property up for sale, per the report.

    Mr. Giuliani’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the development.

    Defamation Judgment

    While the values of some of Mr. Giuliani’s debts were listed as “unknown” in his bankruptcy filing, the biggest specified liability was the $148 million a federal jury ordered him to pay to Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss, the two former Georgia election workers.

    Other creditors listed in Mr. Giuliani’s bankruptcy filing include the New York State Department of Taxation and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), with Mr. Giuliani’s total liabilities owed to the government totaling nearly $1 million.

    In October 2023, the IRS put a federal tax lien of nearly $500,000 on Mr. Giuliani’s Palm Beach condo, which at the time was appraised at around $3 million.

    At the time, the IRS said Mr. Giuliani owes them nearly $550,000 in unpaid income taxes for 2021, with his political advisor, Ted Goodman, telling media outlets that Mr. Giuliani had entered into a formal agreement with the IRS to pay off the liability.

    The $148 million payout demanded by the judge stems from a lawsuit in which Mr. Giuliani was accused of defaming the two former election workers with false accusations that they committed voter fraud while counting ballots in Georgia’s Fulton County in the 2020 presidential election.

    The two election workers claimed they were subjected to relentless abuse after they were identified in a video clip that became widely circulated after the 2020 general election. In the video, the election workers are seen allegedly mishandling ballots.

    However, an investigation by the Georgia Elections Board cleared Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss of any wrongdoing.

    ‘Equivalent of a Death Penalty’

    Mr. Giuliani’s attorney, Joseph Sibley, told the court after the $148 million judgment was issued that the multimillion-dollar payout would spell “the end” for his client and that it would be “the civil equivalent of a death penalty.”

    The former New York mayor opted not to contest allegations that he made false statements in the defamation lawsuit brought by the two election workers, though his adviser said it was a legal tactic to allow the case to move forward.

    Mr. Giuliani has defended his claims about the former election workers and told reporters on Dec. 11—the day the defamation damages trial began—that “everything I said about them is true.”

    Mr. Giuliani, who served as former President Trump’s legal adviser in 2020, has faced other financial troubles.

    In September 2023, Mr. Giuliani’s former lawyers sued him over allegations that he failed to pay roughly $1.36 million in legal fees. Mr. Giuliani has said he believes the amount being sought is too much.

    Besides financial woes, Mr. Giuliani is also facing disbarment over a lawsuit he filed challenging the 2020 election results.

    In July 2023, a District of Columbia disciplinary panel recommended that Mr. Giuliani be disbarred because he allegedly violated two legal ethics rules in what the panel described as a “frivolous” lawsuit.

    In particular, the disciplinary panel found that Mr. Giuliani made sweeping claims of voter fraud that failed to adequately support with evidence.

    In November 2023, Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers urged the disciplinary board to reject the panel’s recommendation that would strip him of his law license.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 21:40

  • Criminals And Cannibals: Is The US About To Repeat The Caribbean Migrant Crisis Of The 1980s?
    Criminals And Cannibals: Is The US About To Repeat The Caribbean Migrant Crisis Of The 1980s?

    Why has the United States become the default retreat for migrants whenever a national crisis arises somewhere in the world? There are almost 200 countries on the planet yet only America is consistently called upon to take on the burden of other nation’s problems. The socialist argument for this is a typical one – America is “rich” and should pay a price for the wealth they enjoy. Yet, whenever America intervenes in a foreign problem the same people cry foul and make accusations of “colonialism.” The answer, it would seem, is to stay out of such matters completely and that includes cutting off mass migrations.

    However, those who understand the bigger picture know that there is an agenda underway, not to help desperate migrants and refugees with the wealth of western civilization, but to use those people as a weapon to deconstruct western civilization.  

    We are all aware of the continuing saga of the US southern border and the Biden Administration’s clear intent to leave it wide open for millions of illegal immigrants every year (the Democrat border legislation recently on the table was rejected widely by Republicans exactly because it allowed for the continuing tide of migrants at the rate of millions per year).  But, there are also more quiet attempts to ship in refugees from conflicts around the world, including the war in Ukraine, the war in Gaza and the civil breakdown in Haiti.

    Haiti in particular is being suggested as a potential hot spot that will lead to mass relocation to the US, specifically Florida.  Federal agencies and Biden officials are, of course, reticent to answer questions about the possibility of a migrant crisis from Haiti and refuse to make a definitive public statement on stopping such an event from unfolding.  

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

    The majority of the people from these places would have ideologies that are completely incompatible with western values, and maybe that’s the point.  Maybe the goal is to drop these groups right into the middle of American communities as a way to wreak havoc?  It’s happened before; consider the Caribbean migrant crisis that started in 1980 under the Carter Administration.

    Featuring a combination of hundreds of thousands of Cuban and Haitian migrants, the Mariel Boatlift was an incident that changed US crime trends for decades and left an indelible mark on popular culture. In 1978, Carter sought to reduce restrictions on Cuban travel to the US and lift the embargo on trade.  Haitian immigrants began to slip into the US using makeshift boats at this time and this triggered a Cuban movement to relocate as well.  Carter’s lax policy of accepting Cuban and Haitian refugees in the same manner had opened the gateway to a Caribbean migration explosion.  

    Famously depicted in the 1983 film Scarface and the 1984 drama television series Miami Vice, the crime wave that erupted in the face of the migrant surge in Florida was not fictional, it was very real and it made a long lasting impression on American society.  Carter initially instituted migrant camps as a way to process refugees and determine if they were legitimate, but these efforts were half-hearted and eventually broke down.  

    Fidel Castro had played his strategy beautifully, using America as a steam valve to get rid of thousands of hardened criminals and malcontents from Cuba.  The communists could no longer afford to keep such people in prison, so they simply let them out and sent them to the US.  Castro had plenty of help from the other side, though, as US bureaucrats accepted the majority of them without question.  

    Mixed into the hordes of violent criminals were also communist agitators and spies, along with people who would quickly and efficiently establish organized syndicates and drug cartels.  Florida’s crime rate skyrocketed from 1980 through the 1990s as migrants poured into the state.  

    To be sure, there were good people among the refugees.  Some of the most staunch anti-communists are Cubans who came to America in the 1980s.  Also, a percentage of the rise in crime could be attributed to the stagflationary crisis which was in full swing in the early 1980s, but data from the era shows a distinctly higher criminal arrest rate for migrants arriving in the US through Mariel.  It was a fact: Migrants were causing a considerable spike in violence and murders in Florida.

    Keep in mind that the caliber of criminals coming from Haiti today would probably be even more dangerous than in the 1980s.  With eyewitness reports of mass murder and cannibalism ongoing in the region (which the corporate media and State Department have tried to dismiss), one wonders how many of these people would slip through the cracks and get into the US under Joe Biden?  It’s highly unlikely that Biden would even go as far as Jimmy Carter in establishing migrant camps and a rudimentary vetting process.  That would be considered by the political left to be “racially insensitive” or “fascist” and calls for unfiltered immigration would be constant.

    It was Carter’s reckless handling of immigration and stagflation (sound familiar?) that led to his eventual election loss to Ronald Reagan, but the damage had already been done.   

    The majority of countries in the world have strict migrant policies, seeking out only successful and productive people that add value to the national economy.  The US, on the other hand, is expected to do the opposite.  Why?  The only rational answer is that it serves the interests of the establishment to see American society undermined.  One can debate the end game of this plan, but the process in motion is obvious.           

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 21:20

  • Harvard Fellow Charged With Attempting To Smuggle $4 Million In Weapons For Coup In South Sudan
    Harvard Fellow Charged With Attempting To Smuggle $4 Million In Weapons For Coup In South Sudan

    By Lisa Schiffren of The College Fix

    A Harvard University fellow has been charged with attempting to buy and smuggle millions of dollars in arms to South Sudan to aid in a coup.

    Peter Biar Ajak, 40, fled South Sudan with the help of the American government four years ago after claiming that he was a target of the country’s president, the Daily Mail reported. He was granted refugee status, and has been working as a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

    Peter Ajak, a Harvard fellow and ‘peace activist’, has been charged with conspiring to smuggle weapons back to his home country of South Sudan to support a military coup

    But Ajak, and his confederate Abraham Chol Keech, a naturalized U.S. citizen who lives and works in Utah, are now alleged to have been on a buying spree to send $4 million worth of Stinger missile systems, grenade launchers, sniper rifles, automatic rifles, and ammunition back home to support a violent uprising, according to a federal criminal complaint unsealed March 4.

    “Keech and Ajak knew that smuggling the weapons and ammunition out of the country without a license from the U.S. government was illegal and would violate U.S. laws. Nevertheless, in or around February 2024, they caused funds to be transferred to undercover agents through U.S. Company-1 to purchase approximately $4 million worth of munitions and other goods for illegal export to South Sudan,” the complaint reads.

    Ajak, a former World Bank economist who lives in Maryland, had been in talks to buy arms with what turned out to be undercover federal agents since at least Feb. 20, 2023. The complaint alleges Ajak and Keech attempted to purchase arms from undercover law enforcement agents “to effect a nondemocratic regime change in South Sudan,” according to the Harvard Crimson.

    Ajak, who has a master’s in public administration from the Kennedy School in 2009, was put on administrative leave last Wednesday following the DOJ charges, the student newspaper reported. Ajak and Harvard declined to comment to the Crimson.

    “Ajak, a former child soldier, is well-known among the African community in Washington D.C. as an exiled South Sudanese opposition leader and purported peace activist,” the Daily Mail noted.

    South Sudan, which became a country in 2011, is subject to a U.N. arms embargo due to the extreme levels of violence between armed factions, as well as the displacement of thousands of people, the Department of Justice said in a March 5 news release:

    As alleged in court documents, between at least February 2023 and February 2024, Keech and Ajak sought to illegally purchase weapons and related export-controlled items from undercover law enforcement agents and smuggle those weapons and items from the United States to South Sudan through a third country. The defendants knew that South Sudan was subject to an arms embargo and that exporting weapons and ammunition from the United States to South Sudan without a license from the U.S. government was illegal and would violate U.S. law. For example, the defendants openly discussed the illegality of the transaction, expressed the need to be discreet, and agreed to pay a risk fee for the weapons because of the illegal nature of the arms sale. In addition, to facilitate the smuggling scheme, the defendants discussed disguising the weapons as humanitarian aid and paying bribes.

    If convicted, the department added, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to violate the Arms Export Control Act, up to 20 years for conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act, and up to 10 years for smuggling arms from the United States.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 21:00

  • US Imposes 2nd Sanctions Round On Israeli Settlers, Same Day Schumer Attacks "Pariah" Netanyahu
    US Imposes 2nd Sanctions Round On Israeli Settlers, Same Day Schumer Attacks “Pariah” Netanyahu

    The United States slapped a second round of sanctions targeting Israeli settlers and ‘illegal outposts’ in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. The sanctions mark somewhat of an unprecedented escalation of tensions between Washington and Tel Aviv, given this newest round focuses not just on individual settlers, but entire settlements too.

    The Dept. of Treasury’s new action sanctions Moshe’s farm and Zvi’s farm, both described as being used as outposts from which settlers routinely launch attacks on Palestinian civilians.

    The two leaders of the settlements – Moshe Sharvit and Zvi Bar Yosef – are also targeted in the new Treasury action. Axios writes that “The sanctions freeze assets the three settlers and two outposts might have in the U.S., ban them from getting a visa to enter the U.S. and block them from using the U.S. financial system.”

    Likely the Biden administration took into consideration a recent report by the UN humanitarian office (OCHA), which documented nearly 500 Israeli settler attacks against Palestinians between Oct. 7 and Jan. 31 of this year.

    A prior initial round of rare sanctions targeting Israelis only dealt with individuals accused of committing acts of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, and not whole communities.

    Israel settler Zvi Bar Yosef, who has this week come under US Treasury sanctions, via Haaretz.

    Some of the same settlers were already under sanctions by the United Kingdom, as The Associated Press details:

    Moshe Sharvit, a settler also already sanctioned in the U.K., allegedly attacked Palestinians and Israeli human rights activists in the vicinity of his outpost, which is also now sanctioned by the U.S.

    British officials in February stated that Sharvit and another settler threatened Palestinian families at gunpoint and destroyed property as part of a “ targeted and calculated effort to displace Palestinian communities.”

    Additionally, sanctions were imposed on Neriya Ben Pazi, who attacked and expelled Palestinian shepherds from hundreds of acres of land as recently as August 2023.

    Israeli government officials have been angered by these US sanctions, which are small and targeted enough to perhaps be merely symbolic. Yet it adds to the growing distance between the Biden and Netanyahu governments over Gaza and West Bank policy. 

    And Thursday’s scathing attack on Prime Minister Netanyahu ratchets tensions further, at a moment President Biden has still refused to attach any conditions to Israel’s use of American weaponry:

    Schumer delivered what he deemed a “major address” on the escalating situation in the region, headlined by his comments directed at Netanyahu, the polarizing Israeli leader. He pressed that Netanyahu has “lost his way,” pointing to the political and legal battles he has faced recently while also allowing that the off-and-on prime minister’s “highest priority is the security of Israel.”

    The Senate majority leader further blasted Netanyahu’s “far-right extremists” and has been “too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows.”

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    “As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me: The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7,” Schumer underscored. “The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”

    Schumer went so far as to call Netanyahu a “pariah”–but still critics have pointed out that even those US politicians leading the charge against Bibi are by and large unwilling to cut off the arms supplies and billions in funding to Israel…

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    A big question that remains is whether Israel will launch a full ground invasion of Rafah, despite Biden warnings not to. Israel is pledging to facilitate the safe exit of civilians before the operation, but there’s been little sign of this happening on a large scale.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 20:40

  • Secret Service Agent Blocked Trump From Going To Capitol On Jan. 6: Driver
    Secret Service Agent Blocked Trump From Going To Capitol On Jan. 6: Driver

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

    When then-President Donald Trump finished his speech on Jan. 6, 2021, he wanted to go to the U.S. Capitol.

    Surrounded by campaign staff and members of the U.S. Secret Service, former U.S. President Donald Trump (C) waves to supporters as he visits the Iowa Pork Producers Tent at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 12, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

    But a Secret Service agent blocked him from going, according to a newly disclosed account.

    “The president wanted to go to the Capitol,” the Secret Service agent who was driving the vehicle, told a U.S. House of Representatives panel.

    President Trump and Robert Engel, his lead Secret Service agent, entered the SUV around 1:10 p.m. after President Trump concluded his speech, which was delivered on the Ellipse.

    “He asked Bob Engel if we could go to the Capitol and why couldn’t we go to the Capitol and was insistent on going to the Capitol,” the driver testified, adding later that the president “was pushing pretty hard to go.”

    “Mr. Engel’s response was essentially to tell him that we didn’t have any people at the Capitol, we didn’t have a plan in place, and that we needed to essentially go back to the White House and assess what our options were and wait till we can get a plan in place before we went down there,” the driver added.

    President Trump responded by saying he felt it would be fine because he was not concerned about the people at the Capitol, describing them as being his supporters, according to the driver, although the driver could not recall specifically what words the president used.

    “Mr. Engel consistently had the same response, that we didn’t have a plan in place, we didn’t have people at the Capitol, and that we needed to go back to the White House and reassess,” the driver said, adding later that whether the crowd at the Capitol was comprised of supporters of President Trump “was immaterial.”

    President Trump did not say anything like, “I’m the president, I’ll decide where I get to go or where I’m going,” the driver said, responding to a question from the panel.

    The driver took President Trump and Mr. Engel to the White House, which is 1.2 miles from the Ellipse. By 1:25 p.m., President Trump was told about violence at the Capitol, according to a White House employee.

    After arriving at the White House, the driver communicated what transpired to other agents and said they should stand by as a decision was made as to whether the president would at some point be taken to the Capitol.

    The agents remained with the presidential vehicles until they were told they would not be going to the Capitol, according to the driver. The communication came within 15 minutes after Mr. Engel met with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows or Meadows’s deputy, the driver said. “My understanding was that … a decision came out of that meeting,” he said.

    The driver was speaking on Nov. 7, 2022, to a House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6, 2021. The transcript was obtained and reviewed by The Epoch Times. The transcript was not released by the committee when it published online a final report and accompanying materials, including many transcripts, as it disbanded in late 2022.

    The select committee also interviewed Mr. Engel, who could not be reached, but did not release a transcript of that interview. Portions of the interview, which have still not been disclosed, were quoted in the panel’s report.

    The report says that President Trump entered the SUV after the Ellipse speech ended and “forcefully expressed his intention that Bobby Engel, the head of his Secret Service detail, direct the motorcade to the Capitol.” It does not mention who made the decision not to adhere to the request.

    “I said … ‘let’s go down to the Capitol and the Secret Service very nicely said, ’Sir, really better for you to go back to the White House, it really is, you know, we’re not prepared to go down there,’” President Trump said on a Just the News podcast this week. “And I understood that and it was no big argument.”

    Former White House official Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified in public to the select committee, has claimed that President Trump grew irate after not being taken to the Capitol and lunged at the wheel of the vehicle. Both Mr. Engel, according to the select committee, and the driver, according to the transcript, refuted that claim.

    Ms. Hutchinson, whose lawyer has not returned an inquiry, changed her testimony dramatically after testifying to the panel three times, according to a new House Republican report. She did not mention the alleged grabbing incident until her fourth interview. Mr. Engel and Mr. Meadows could not be reached. The Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment.

    Word of Possible Trip

    President Trump was not scheduled to go to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but some officials received word that he might go there, according to testimony.

    Anthony Ornato, a Secret Service agent not on the scene, said in a recently released transcript that he was asked by officials if President Trump could walk to the Capitol after the speech on the Ellipse. He thought the idea was “ridiculous” and referred the officials to Mr. Engel.

    An email from an agent to the driver and others on Jan. 5 said that President Trump planned to go to the Ellipse the following day. “There are also unconfirmed rumors of a move to the Capitol following the event on the Ellipse, but that will be an OTR if it happens,” the email stated, according to the select committee.

    OTR stands for off-the-record movement, meaning the move would not be placed on the presidential schedule, according to the driver.

    He said his superior did not inform him on Jan. 6 of any plans to take President Trump to the Capitol.

    According to summaries released by House Republicans of testimony given by four White House employees to the select committee, several White House employees became aware of President Trump possibly going to the Capitol, although one said that both the Secret Service and Mr. Meadows told him such a trip was not happening. The White House employee transcripts were not released by the select committee and have not otherwise been disclosed.

    “The committee’s principal concern was that the President actually intended to participate personally in the January 6th efforts at the Capitol, leading the attempt to overturn the election either from inside the House Chamber, from a stage outside the Capitol, or otherwise. The committee regarded those facts as important because they are relevant to President Trump’s intent on January 6th. There is no question from all the evidence assembled that President Trump did have that intent,” according to the summary.

    After President Trump arrived back at the White House, the president said “he wanted to physically walk and be a part of the march” to the Capitol, former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told the select committee. Mr. Meadows, according to Ms. Hutchinson, said President Trump was upset Mr. Engel did not arrange a Capitol trip, and that Mr. Meadows did not make plans for a trip official.

    President Trump remained at the White House, where he watched events at the Capitol unfold on television. He later released a video showing him standing outside the White House and telling people to “go home.”

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 20:20

  • Foxconn Reports 33% Profit Surge On Booming Demand For AI Servers
    Foxconn Reports 33% Profit Surge On Booming Demand For AI Servers

    Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn – also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry – reported the second consecutive quarter of profit growth driven by a surge in demand for artificial intelligence servers. 

    For the quarter ending December, Foxconn reported a 33% jump in net profit to NT$53.2 billion ($1.7 billion). That beat the average analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, who expected around NT$43.8 billion. 

    Here’s a snapshot of the fourth quarter earnings (courtesy of Bloomberg):

    • Net income NT$53.15 billion, +33% y/y, estimate NT$43.81 billion (Bloomberg Consensus)

    • Operating profit NT$48.93 billion, +11% y/y, estimate NT$51.74 billion

    • EPS NT$3.83 vs. NT$2.88 y/y, estimate NT$3.18

    • Revenue NT$1.85 trillion, -5.5% y/y, estimate NT$1.83 trillion

    2023 fiscal year results:

    • Net income NT$142.10 billion, estimate NT$132.63 billion

    • Operating profit NT$166.53 billion, estimate NT$168 billion

    • EPS NT$10.25, estimate NT$9.51

    • Revenue NT$6.16 trillion, estimate NT$6.14 trillion

    “We see very strong demand for AI servers from our clients,” Foxconn Chairman Young Liu told investors during an earnings call earlier today. Thanks to the AI frenzy, he expects revenue growth of more than 40% this year. 

    Liu added that AI server market growth could average around 30% between 2023-25, with Foxconn’s growth projected to match or exceed this rate.  

    According to the tech blog DIGITIMES Asia, Foxconn was rumored to have secured a major deal from longtime US partner Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co, which would further boost its AI server business. 

    For the current quarter, Foxconn forecasts that sales will decline again as the Covid mania normalizes. AI sales are helping the company improve profit while experiencing a downturn in global iPhone demand (read: here and here). The company is the largest manufacturer of Apple devices. 

    “The business saw a good sequential rebound into Q4 partly driven by the AI-focused side, but if you take a step back and look at 2023 as a whole, it was a relatively weak year,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Robert Lea said, adding, “The company should have a much better year as their main customers start to rebuild inventory.”

    Foxconn shares trading in Taiwan have jumped in recent sessions towards record highs on optimism about AI orders.

    How long will the AI boom last?

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 20:00

  • Poll Reveals Aspirin Overuse Despite New Guidelines Warning Of Bleeding Dangers
    Poll Reveals Aspirin Overuse Despite New Guidelines Warning Of Bleeding Dangers

    Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Millions of seniors pop aspirin every day, hoping to stave off heart attacks, but mounting evidence suggests many are needlessly putting themselves at risk of potentially life-threatening bleeding.

    A new poll reveals that over half of older Americans taking aspirin have no history of cardiovascular disease, taking the over-the-counter drug based on antiquated advice that the benefits outweigh the dangers for most older adults.

    (Hurst Photo/Shutterstock)

    Rethinking Aspirin Use and Recommendations

    The University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging found that 57 percent of people aged 50 to 80 who take aspirin have no history of cardiovascular disease, which includes several heart and blood vessel problems. Only 11 percent of those taking aspirin as a preventative measure had such a history.

    For decades, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent panel of medical experts, recommended low-dose aspirin for people at considerable risk of heart attack. Over time, research has demonstrated that aspirin benefited high-risk patients who were older, had diabetes, or additional cardiovascular conditions.

    Moreover, across multiple studies, the findings showed aspirin provided minimal clinical benefit for most people, as the modest potential advantages were outweighed by an increased risk of bleeding complications.

    Recommendations on aspirin use have recently changed. In 2022, the USPSTF advised against routine aspirin use for heart attack prevention in adults aged 60 and older. Furthermore, the independent group stated that even for those aged 40 to 59, the “ net benefit of aspirin use in this group is small.”

    Randomized Trials Sound Alarm on Aspirin’s Bleeding Hazards

    The USPSTF’s revised recommendations stem from new data highlighting the bleeding risks associated with aspirin use in clinical trials and studies.

    An analysis of a randomized clinical trial involving over 19,000 older adults revealed a statistically significant 38 percent higher risk of intracranial bleeding, including hemorrhagic stroke and other causes of intracerebral hemorrhage, among participants randomized to take aspirin.

    Notably, in a separate analysis of 10 studies, aspirin use was linked to a 58 percent increased risk of major gastrointestinal bleeding.

    The USPSTF found that the risk of bleeding occurred regardless of age, sex, race, ethnicity, level of cardiovascular disease, or presence of diabetes. However, the organization noted that “although the increase in relative risk does not appear to differ based on age, the absolute incidence of bleeding, and thus the magnitude of bleeding harm, increases with age, and more so in adults 60 years or older.”

    Currently, the USPSTF, along with the American College of Cardiology, recommends daily low-dose aspirin for people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease but not at increased risk of bleeding.

    Risk of Bleeding Relatively Unknown

    According to the University of Michigan poll, 42 percent of adults aged 75 to 80 are taking aspirin. However, 31 percent of those taking aspirin are unaware of the associated bleeding risks.

    “Aspirin is no longer a one-size-fits-all preventive tool for older adults, which for decades it was touted as,” Jordan Schaefer, a hematologist at Michigan Medicine who was part of the poll team, said in a press release. “ This poll shows we have a long way to go to make sure aspirin use is consistent with current knowledge.”

    Older individuals taking aspirin should consult their health care providers about the medication’s benefits and risks. About 71 percent of older adults who take aspirin have been doing so for four years or more, indicating they may be following outdated advice, the authors noted.

    With aspirin guidelines changing, adults over 40 consulting their doctors about their personalized cardiovascular risk profile is important, according to Geoffrey Barnes, a Michigan Medicine cardiologist who also worked on the poll.

    This evaluation should comprehensively consider family medical history, previous health conditions, current medications, recent clinical markers like blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood sugar readings, as well as modifiable risk factors such as smoking status, exercise habits, and dietary patterns, he said in a statement. Any decision on preventive aspirin therapy, must be based on the individual’s age in conjunction with this constellation of risk factors, Dr. Barnes noted.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 19:40

  • Toronto Police Gives Advice On Auto-Theft: Just 'Leave Your Keys Out'
    Toronto Police Gives Advice On Auto-Theft: Just ‘Leave Your Keys Out’

    Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

    Toronto Police have given advice to residents worried about the city’s spiraling auto theft problem – just let thieves steal your car by leaving them the keys.

    Yes, really.

    Authorities are literally telling people that to stop criminals attacking them inside their home, they should just leave the key fob for the car at the front door.

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    Toronto Police Service Constable Marco Ricciardi said, “To prevent the possibility of being attacked in your home, leave your [key] fobs at your front door because they’re breaking into your home to steal your car. They don’t want anything else.”

    And believe it or not, some people are actually taking the advice.

    “Spoken or not, though, some Torontonians have evidently taken the advice to heart,” reports the Drive.

    “Like one person who—after having their vehicle broken into three times—opted to leave their car unlocked (along with a big, handwritten note indicating this) so that would-be thieves don’t break the window again.”

    Respondents on X expressed their anger at the idiocy.

    “This is what an unarmed society looks like,” remarked one.

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    “Where guns are illegal. Except criminals have them, and you don’t,” commented lawyer Viva Frei.

    “And the police are imploring you to leave your keys at the front door so armed criminals can steal your cars, and hopefully spare your life. It’s been a while since I’ve said it, but FUCK YOU Justin Trudeau!”

    One car is stolen in Canada every six seconds.

    Toronto has experienced such a massive epidemic of car thefts that people are having to go to extraordinary lengths to try to combat it given the police seem completely disinterested.

    “One Toronto resident, Dennis Wilson, told the Times that he has to set aside an extra 15 minutes in his commutes to account for his many security measures, which include two car alarms, a tracking device, four Apple AirTags, motion-sensitive floodlights and a key fob kept in a hack-proof Faraday bag,” reports blogTo.

    *  *  *

    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
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 19:00

  • Yemen's Houthis Claim 1st Hypersonic Missile Test, Likely Sourced From IRGC
    Yemen’s Houthis Claim 1st Hypersonic Missile Test, Likely Sourced From IRGC

    The Houthis on Thursday claimed to have successfully tested a hypersonic missile for the first time while touting that it could eventually be used against Israel, and would easily be able to reach the Jewish state. Missiles are dubbed hypersonic that can travel at a speed of Mach 5 or higher.

    The Yemeni rebel group backed by Iran says the missile it tested can travel at eight times the speed of sound. “Missile forces of the movement have successfully tested a missile that can reach speeds of up to Mach 8 [6,200 miles per hour] and is powered by solid fuel,” a Houthis spokesman told Sputnik. Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency also initially reported the claim.

    AFP via Getty Images

    “Yemen plans to begin manufacturing it for use in attacks in the Red and Arabian Seas and the Gulf of Aden, as well as against targets in Israel,” the statement threatened. At those speeds, inbound missiles become much harder for conventional anti-air systems to defend against.

    The Associated Press has speculated that the Houthis adding hypersonic missiles to their arsenal is the ‘surprise’ which was previewed by a spokesman last month:

    In Yemen, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the Houthi rebels’ secretive supreme leader, boasted about the rebels’ weapons efforts at the end of February, saying: “We have surprises that the enemies do not expect at all.”

    A week ago, he similarly warned: “What is coming is greater.”

    “The enemy … will see the level of achievements of strategic importance that place our country in its capabilities among the limited and numbered countries in this world,” al-Houthi said, without elaborating.

    Already many dozens of vessels have come under attack, including attempted drone and missile attacks against US warships. The Western coalition’s sporadic offensive counterattacks have so far done nothing to blunt Houthi resolve.

    As for whether the Houthis actually possess a hypersonic missile or not – it true then there’s a high likelihood they received it from Iran. Just last year, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – widely believed to be on the ground in Yemen currently – unveiled its hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile called the Fattah II. However, later in the afternoon Thursday the Pentagon rejected the claims:

    PENTAGON SAYS REPORTS THAT THE HOUTHIS HAVE HYPERSONIC MISSILES ARE INACCURATE

    Meanwhile, the US government is seeking to apprehend the “IRGC’s Man In Sanaa”…

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    Clearly the Houthi arsenal is expanding, and Washington has long accused Tehran of being behind it, a charge which stretches back years. Their drone arsenal is also growing more sophisticated. 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 18:40

  • Far More Complex Than Fat: What Is Causing Heart Disease?
    Far More Complex Than Fat: What Is Causing Heart Disease?

    Authored by Vance Voetberg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    For over half a century, Americans have been taught a simple explanation for the nation’s No. 1 killer: that saturated fat clogs our arteries, leading to heart failure.

    This diet-heart hypothesis, first put forth in the 1960s by physiologist Ancel Keys, remains firmly lodged in popular consciousness. But unbeknownst to most, modern medical research now understands heart disease to be far more complex than a matter of meat and butter consumption alone.

    (Yurchanka Siarhei/Shutterstock)

    Inflammatory Link Between Immune System and Heart Disease

    Inflammation is a leading theory for explaining the root of heart disease, according to Dr. Barbara Roberts, director of the Women’s Cardiac Center at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.

    In a 2023 report published in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, researchers made a scientific case for why inflammation may underlie heart disease, especially atherosclerotic heart disease—hardening of the arteries due to plaque buildup—which accounts for most cardiovascular events.

    Just as the body mounts an immune response to infection or injury, a similar inflammatory reaction occurs in heart disease. The adaptive immune system has been shown to have an association with heart disease risk due to sustained chronic inflammation, according to the study.

    “Although immune cells are integral key players of cardiac healing, an unbalanced or unresolved immune reaction after [myocardial infarction] aggravates tissue damage that triggers maladaptive remodeling and heart failure,” according to a 2021 European Heart Journal review.

    In a 2022 Journal of Molecular Science report, researchers noted that atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease in which balancing inflammatory immune system agents determines disease progression or resolution.

    LDL Quality–Not Just Quantity–Matters

    Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) act as cholesterol transporters in the body, carrying it where needed to synthesize hormones. LDL also plays a supporting immune role, defending against pathogens and oxidative stress, according to research. However, poor lifestyle factors like diet, smoking, and inactivity can overwhelm the immune system, resulting in LDL oxidation.

    Emerging evidence indicates oxidized LDL—not total LDL—is key in heart disease. When oxidized, LDL carriers break down into smaller particles unable to attach to liver receptors. These particles then float freely in the blood, damaging arterial walls.

    Contrary to logic, smaller oxidized particles present a higher risk than larger LDL. “Even if you have low LDL cholesterol with high LDL particle count, you can have a greater chance of heart disease than someone with cholesterol that is through the roof but has a low LDL particle count,” Jonny Bowden, who holds a doctorate in holistic nutrition and is a board-certified nutritionist and author, told The Epoch Times.

    A 2020 study spanning eight years published in the Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis showed that individuals with the highest levels of small-dense LDL particles had over a five times greater risk of developing heart disease than those with the lowest levels.

    High LDL particle count doubled the risk of peripheral arterial disease—where narrowed blood vessels reduce blood flow to the limbs—while LDL level had no association, according to a 2018 study of almost 28,000 women 45 years old or older published in Circulation.

    “A higher amount of omega-6 in the LDL makes it more susceptible to oxidation,” James DiNicolantonio, a cardiovascular research scientist and doctor of pharmacy at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri, told The Epoch Times. On the other hand, when LDL lacks antioxidants such as Coenzyme Q10 and carotenoids, and there is more inflammation in the body, LDL can also undergo oxidation, he added.

    Insulin Resistance Emerges as Key Driver

    Insulin facilitates glucose transportation and storage. Insulin resistance occurs when cells don’t respond to insulin and cannot easily store circulating glucose. While known as a Type 2 diabetes precursor, insulin resistance may also contribute to heart disease progression, indicates research.

    A 2022 study of 110,000 adults published in Diabetes Care linked insulin resistance and heart disease risk. In prediabetic adults, only those with insulin resistance and obesity had higher cardiovascular risk versus those with normal glucose tolerance. In diabetic adults, cardiovascular risk persisted regardless of obesity.

    A 2023 study in the Journal of International Medical Research explained that while the mechanisms connecting insulin resistance and heart disease remain unclear, the link has been established. Altered insulin responses result in cardiometabolic disorders like obesity, low-grade inflammation, and hypertension—all atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease precursors. Lifestyle changes like proper dieting and avoiding sedentary behavior are essential to manage insulin resistance and minimize cardiovascular risk, the authors noted.

    A 2019 review in Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews also argued that insulin resistance is potentially the single most important cause of coronary artery disease.

    Nutrient Deficiency

    The introduction of processed foods such as refined sugar and seed oils is closely linked to worsened heart health. A lack of nutrients is also to blame for increased cardiovascular disease, according to Mr. DiNicolantonio. “A lack of any essential nutrient will speed/lead to the production of atherosclerosis,” he told The Epoch Times.

    Key deficiencies closely tied to heart disease include magnesium and copper. Vitamin D deficiency is also associated with cardiovascular disease and hypertension. Antioxidant vitamins A, C, E, B6, and folate also support heart health.

    Despite his certainty that nutrient deficiency contributes to heart disease, Mr. DiNicolantonio said no single cause explains heart disease. “There are too many mechanisms to try and guess what is the primary cause of heart disease,” he noted.

    It starts with violations of his mantra, “Eat Well, Live Well, Think Well,” according to Dr. Jack Wolfson, a board-certified cardiologist. These violations prompt immune activation, inflammation, oxidative stress, nervous system dysfunction, and cell energy issues. “Ultimately, disease is the final outcome,” he added.

    Triglycerides as an Independent Risk Factor

    Triglycerides, the most abundant blood fat, have a well-documented role in heart disease. Elevated triglyceride levels from poor diet and inactivity disrupt lipid metabolism, increasing the risk of heart disease. High levels of circulating free fatty acids independently contribute to atherosclerosis.

    A 2021 Journal of Lipid and Atherosclerosis study of over 1.8 million Korean adults reconfirmed triglycerides as an independent heart disease risk factor, reaffirming findings from studies beginning in the late 1980s showing triglycerides and associated lifestyle factors significantly contribute to heart disease development.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 18:20

  • UnitedHealth CEO Meets White House Officials After 'Biggest Cyber Attack On US Health Care System'
    UnitedHealth CEO Meets White House Officials After ‘Biggest Cyber Attack On US Health Care System’

    Following a devastating cyberattack on the nation’s largest health insurers that sparked chaos across the entire healthcare payments system, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group and other industry leaders met with White House officials on Tuesday. Simultaneously, the Department of Health and Human Services has opened up an investigation into the incident. 

    The cyberattack against UnitedHealth and its subsidiary Change Healthcare was first detected on Feb. 21. According to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, this forced UnitedHealth to sever some of Change Healthcare’s digital payment networks from its clients. Another filing said the company is working to restore payment systems this week. 

    Bloomberg said that “halting the normal flow of billions of dollars in payments between doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and insurers” triggered a “paralysis” across the industry as some healthcare clinics were thrown into “financial peril” in recent weeks. 

    “I can’t believe we’re in this mess,” said Kathy Oubre, chief executive officer of Pontchartrain Cancer Center in southeast Louisiana, adding, “It’s going to take us months to dig out.”

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

    The extent of the cyberattack is still unknown. However, UnitedHealth told Forbes it’s working with local and federal officials to figure that out. UnitedHealth has named BlackCat, also known as ALPHV and Noberus, as the ransomware group behind the attack. The group reportedly posted on the dark web, claiming it had accessed “more than 6 TB of highly selective data, ” including medical and dental records and payment information.

    On Tuesday, UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty and other industry leaders met with White House officials to discuss the ransomware attack. The magnitude of the attack is realized when understanding that Change Healthcare processes 33% of medical payments in the US, hence why the federal government is extremely worried. 

    The US Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that it has launched an investigation into the attack:

    “Given the unprecedented magnitude of this cyberattack, and in the best interest of patients and health care providers, OCR is initiating an investigation into this incident.” 

    The statement continued:

    “Ransomware and hacking are the primary cyber-threats in health care. Over the past five years, there has been a 256% increase in large breaches reported to OCR involving hacking and a 264% increase in ransomware… The large breaches reported in 2023 affected over 134 million individuals, a 141% increase from 2022.”

    Dr. Celine Gounder, an editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News, called the incident “the biggest ever cybersecurity attack on the American health care system ever.” 

    “This is a system, Change Healthcare, that processes medical payments and touches one out of every three patients in this country. So the magnitude of the scope of this attack is really quite large,” Gounder said. 

    UnitedHealth’s market capitalization has lost about 39 billion dollars since the attack was first reported late last month. Its current market cap stands at around 449 billion dollars. 

    “We are committed to providing relief for people affected by this malicious attack on the US health system,” UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty said in the update.

    Witty continued, “All of us at UnitedHealth Group feel a deep sense of responsibility for recovery and are working tirelessly to ensure that providers can care for their patients and run their practices, and that patients can get their medications. We’re determined to make this right as fast as possible.”

    And according to Axios, cybersecurity experts say UnitedHealth’s merger and acquisition spree is the reason to blame for the security breach. 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 18:00

  • Cellphone Radiation Research Was Halted After Worrisome Findings, Expert Questions Why
    Cellphone Radiation Research Was Halted After Worrisome Findings, Expert Questions Why

    Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Decades of animal research point to serious health risks from cellphone radiation exposure, but examining a possible link stops now.

    (DimaBerlin/Shutterstock)

    The National Toxicology Program (NTP), tasked with studying potential toxins, recently announced it would no longer investigate evidence that cellphone radiation can harm animals or people. The move stunned scientists like Devra Davis, a former senior adviser to the assistant secretary for Health in the Department of Health and Human Services, who called the abrupt reversal scientifically unjustified.

    There’s “no scientific explanation or justification for this sudden reversal,” Ms. Davis told The Epoch Times.

    Unpublished NTP Research Undermines Decision to Halt Cellphone Radiation Studies

    The NTP recently claimed that additional radiofrequency radiation (RFR) studies are not planned, stating the research was “technically challenging and more resource-intensive than expected.”

    Ms. Davis criticized this decision, noting that technical challenges are not a reason to avoid studying something that appears to cause cancer in animals. “Everything that we know for sure causes cancer in people will produce it in animals when adequately studied,” she added.

    Despite admitting to developing a novel small-scale RFR exposure system in 2019 to clarify earlier findings, the NTP canceled further investigations. This system only studied older 2G and 3G devices, not newer 4G or 5G technologies.

    Ms. Davis, a former NTP advisor, said she helped recommend smaller test chambers. The agency takes years to plan studies, so scrapping this project is “beyond my comprehension at this point,” given millions of children’s daily exposure, she noted.

    In an emailed statement, the NTP confirmed that although work on the small-scale exposure system and accompanying research has been completed, the results will be publicly available and posted on the agency’s webpage only “when internal reviews are finished.” As of this writing, the 2019 research remains unpublished.

    Court Finds FCC Illegally Ignored 5G Health Risks

    The NTP published results in 2018 from two-year toxicology studies showing “clear evidence” of associations between 2G/3G cellphone radiation and tumors in male rats. Follow-up research in 2019 revealed DNA damage in the brains, livers, and blood cells of exposed rats and mice.

    Despite originally requesting and overseeing these studies, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has since dismissed the NTP’s findings, Ms. Davis said.

    In 2019, the Federal Communications Commission affirmed outdated 1996 radiation exposure standards for new 5G technologies, which did not even exist then. To justify this, the FDA anonymously produced an unreviewed document in 2020. The Environmental Health Trust (EHT) sued the FCC.

    In 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled against the FCC. The court said the FCC acted improperly and illegally by keeping its 1996 wireless radiation exposure limits. The court found the FCC ignored evidence that radiation below its current limits can cause adverse health effects besides cancer, noting that the FCC also failed to respond to comments about the environmental harm caused by radiation.

    The court ordered revised standards accounting for EHT’s records on risks to children and the environment.

    FCC Let Carriers Abandon Landlines

    Since 2019, France has mandated cellphones include warnings to keep such devices away from teens and pregnant women’s lower abdomens because of radiation risks. The European Union also funds extensive research on RFR hazards.

    “So why are we ignoring animal study results showing harm?” Ms. Davis said. “There’s only one reason: because there’s so much money involved.”

    Landlines offered an alternative to cellphones, but the FCC’s 2019 order let carriers abandon copper lines. Companies like Verizon have begun retiring landlines, leaving consumers with only wireless options.

    People can still reduce RFR exposure by:

    • Not carrying phones in pockets or bras
    • Using speakerphone and holding phones away from the head/body
    • Keeping devices away from reproductive organs
    • Using wired over WiFi internet
    • Not sleeping near phones

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 17:40

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Mar 14

Today’s News 14th March 2024

  • Net Zero, The Digital Panopticon, & The Future Of Food
    Net Zero, The Digital Panopticon, & The Future Of Food

    Authored by Colin Todhunter via Off-Guardian.org,

    The food transition, the energy transition, net-zero ideology, programmable central bank digital currencies, the censorship of free speech and clampdowns on protest. What’s it all about? To understand these processes, we need to first locate what is essentially a social and economic reset within the context of a collapsing financial system.

    Writer Ted Reece notes that the general rate of profit has trended downwards from an estimated 43% in the 1870s to 17% in the 2000s. By late 2019, many companies could not generate enough profit. Falling turnover, squeezed margins, limited cashflows and highly leveraged balance sheets were prevalent.

    Professor Fabio Vighi of Cardiff University has described how closing down the global economy in early 2020 under the guise of fighting a supposedly new and novel pathogen allowed the US Federal Reserve to flood collapsing financial markets (COVID relief) with freshly printed money without causing hyperinflation. Lockdowns curtailed economic activity, thereby removing demand for the newly printed money (credit) in the physical economy and preventing ‘contagion’.

    According to investigative journalist Michael Byrant, €1.5 trillion was needed to deal with the crisis in Europe alone. The financial collapse staring European central bankers in the face came to a head in 2019. The appearance of a ‘novel virus’ provided a convenient cover story.

    The European Central Bank agreed to a €1.31 trillion bailout of banks followed by the EU agreeing to a €750 billion recovery fund for European states and corporations. This package of long-term, ultra-cheap credit to hundreds of banks was sold to the public as a necessary programme to cushion the impact of the pandemic on businesses and workers.

    In response to a collapsing neoliberalism, we are now seeing the rollout of an authoritarian great reset — an agenda that intends to reshape the economy and change how we live.

    SHIFT TO AUTHORITARIANISM

    The new economy is to be dominated by a handful of tech giants, global conglomerates and e-commerce platforms, and new markets will also be created through the financialisation of nature, which is to be colonised, commodified and traded under the notion of protecting the environment.

    In recent years, we have witnessed an overaccumulation of capital, and the creation of such markets will provide fresh investment opportunities (including dodgy carbon offsetting Ponzi schemes)  for the super-rich to park their wealth and prosper.

    This great reset envisages a transformation of Western societies, resulting in permanent restrictions on fundamental liberties and mass surveillance. Being rolled out under the benign term of a ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’, the World Economic Forum (WEF) says the public will eventually ‘rent’ everything they require (remember the WEF video ‘you will own nothing and be happy’?): stripping the right of ownership under the guise of a ‘green economy’ and underpinned by the rhetoric of ‘sustainable consumption’ and ‘climate emergency’.

    Climate alarmism and the mantra of sustainability are about promoting money-making schemes. But they also serve another purpose: social control.

    Neoliberalism has run its course, resulting in the impoverishment of large sections of the population. But to dampen dissent and lower expectations, the levels of personal freedom we have been used to will not be tolerated. This means that the wider population will be subjected to the discipline of an emerging surveillance state.

    To push back against any dissent, ordinary people are being told that they must sacrifice personal liberty in order to protect public health, societal security (those terrible Russians, Islamic extremists or that Sunak-designated bogeyman George Galloway) or the climate. Unlike in the old normal of neoliberalism, an ideological shift is occurring whereby personal freedoms are increasingly depicted as being dangerous because they run counter to the collective good.

    The real reason for this ideological shift is to ensure that the masses get used to lower living standards and accept them. Consider, for instance, the Bank of England’s chief economist Huw Pill saying that people should ‘accept’ being poorer. And then there is Rob Kapito of the world’s biggest asset management firm BlackRock, who says that a “very entitled” generation must deal with scarcity for the first time in their lives.

    At the same time, to muddy the waters, the message is that lower living standards are the result of the conflict in Ukraine and supply shocks that both the war and ‘the virus’ have caused.

    The net-zero carbon emissions agenda will help legitimise lower living standards (reducing your carbon footprint) while reinforcing the notion that our rights must be sacrificed for the greater good. You will own nothing, not because the rich and their neoliberal agenda made you poor but because you will be instructed to stop being irresponsible and must act to protect the planet.

    NET-ZERO AGENDA

    But what of this shift towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and the plan to slash our carbon footprints? Is it even feasible or necessary?

    Gordon Hughes, a former World Bank economist and current professor of economics at the University of Edinburgh, says in a new report that current UK and European net-zero policies will likely lead to further economic ruin.

    Apparently, the only viable way to raise the cash for sufficient new capital expenditure (on wind and solar infrastructure) would be a two decades-long reduction in private consumption of up to 10 per cent. Such a shock has never occurred in the last century outside war; even then, never for more than a decade.

    But this agenda will also cause serious environmental degradation. So says Andrew Nikiforuk in the article The Rising Chorus of Renewable Energy Skeptics, which outlines how the green techno-dream is vastly destructive.

    He lists the devastating environmental impacts of an even more mineral-intensive system based on renewables and warns:

    “The whole process of replacing a declining system with a more complex mining-based enterprise is now supposed to take place with a fragile banking system, dysfunctional democracies, broken supply chains, critical mineral shortages and hostile geopolitics.”

    All of this assumes that global warming is real and anthropogenic. Not everyone agrees. In the article Global warming and the confrontation between the West and the rest of the world, journalist Thierry Meyssan argues that net zero is based on political ideology rather than science. But to state such things has become heresy in the Western countries and shouted down with accusations of ‘climate science denial’.

    Regardless of such concerns, the march towards net zero continues, and key to this is the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development Goals.

    Today, almost every business or corporate report, website or brochure includes a multitude of references to ‘carbon footprints’, ‘sustainability’, ‘net zero’ or ‘climate neutrality’ and how a company or organisation intends to achieve its sustainability targets. Green profiling, green bonds and green investments go hand in hand with displaying ‘green’ credentials and ambitions wherever and whenever possible.

    It seems anyone and everyone in business is planting their corporate flag on the summit of sustainability. Take Sainsbury’s, for instance. It is one of the ‘big six’ food retail supermarkets in the UK and has a vision for the future of food that it published in 2019.

    Here’s a quote from it:

    “Personalised Optimisation is a trend that could see people chipped and connected like never before. A significant step on from wearable tech used today, the advent of personal microchips and neural laces has the potential to see all of our genetic, health and situational data recorded, stored and analysed by algorithms which could work out exactly what we need to support us at a particular time in our life. Retailers, such as Sainsbury’s could play a critical role to support this, arranging delivery of the needed food within thirty minutes — perhaps by drone.”

    Tracked, traced and chipped — for your own benefit. Corporations accessing all of our personal data, right down to our DNA. The report is littered with references to sustainability and the climate or environment, and it is difficult not to get the impression that it is written so as to leave the reader awestruck by the technological possibilities.

    However, the promotion of a brave new world of technological innovation that has nothing to say about power — who determines policies that have led to massive inequalities, poverty, malnutrition, food insecurity and hunger and who is responsible for the degradation of the environment in the first place — is nothing new.

    The essence of power is conveniently glossed over, not least because those behind the prevailing food regime are also shaping the techno-utopian fairytale where everyone lives happily ever after eating bugs and synthetic food while living in a digital panopticon.

    FAKE GREEN

    The type of ‘green’ agenda being pushed is a multi-trillion market opportunity for lining the pockets of rich investors and subsidy-sucking green infrastructure firms and also part of a strategy required to secure compliance required for the ‘new normal’.

    It is, furthermore, a type of green that plans to cover much of the countryside with wind farms and solar panels with most farmers no longer farming. A recipe for food insecurity.

    Those investing in the ‘green’ agenda care first and foremost about profit. The supremely influential BlackRock invests in the current food system that is responsible for polluted waterways, degraded soils, the displacement of smallholder farmers, a spiralling public health crisis, malnutrition and much more.

    It also invests in healthcare — an industry that thrives on the illnesses and conditions created by eating the substandard food that the current system produces. Did Larry Fink, the top man at BlackRock, suddenly develop a conscience and become an environmentalist who cares about the planet and ordinary people? Of course not.

    Any serious deliberations on the future of food would surely consider issues like food sovereignty, the role of agroecology and the strengthening of family farms — the backbone of current global food production.

    The aforementioned article by Andrew Nikiforuk concludes that, if we are really serious about our impacts on the environment, we must scale back our needs and simplify society.

    In terms of food, the solution rests on a low-input approach that strengthens rural communities and local markets and prioritises smallholder farms and small independent enterprises and retailers, localised democratic food systems and a concept of food sovereignty based on self-sufficiency, agroecological principles and regenerative agriculture.

    It would involve facilitating the right to culturally appropriate food that is nutritionally dense due to diverse cropping patterns and free from toxic chemicals while ensuring local ownership and stewardship of common resources like land, water, soil and seeds.

    That’s where genuine environmentalism and the future of food begins.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 03/14/2024 – 02:00

  • Escobar: Confident Dragon Lays Out Modernization Roadmap
    Escobar: Confident Dragon Lays Out Modernization Roadmap

    Authored by Pepe Escobar,

    This is the Year of the Wooden Dragon, according to China’s classic wuxing (“five elements”) culture. The dragon, one of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac, is a symbol of power, nobility and intelligence. Wood adds growth, development and prosperity.

    Call it a summary of where China is heading in 2024.

    The second session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was finalized on Sunday in Beijing.

    The wider world should know that within the framework of grassroots democracy with Chinese characteristics, an extremely complex – and fascinating – phenomenon, the importance of the CPPCC is paramount.

    The CPPCC channels wide-ranging expectations of the average Chinese to the decision level, and actually advises the central government on a vast range of issues – from everyday living to high-quality development strategies.

    This year, most of the discussion focused on how to drive China’s modernization even faster. This being China, concepts – like flowers – were blooming all around the spectrum, such as “new quality productive forces, “deepening reform,” “high-standard opening-up,” and a fabulous new one, “major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.”

    As the Global Times emphasized, “2024 is not only a critical year for achieving the goals of the ‘14th Five-Year Plan’ but also a key year for achieving the transition to high-quality development of the economy.”

    Betting on strategic investment

    So let’s start with Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s first “work report” delivered a week ago, which opened the annual session of the National People’s Congress. The key takeaway: Beijing will be pursuing the same economic targets as in 2023. That translates as 5% annual growth.

    Of course deflationary risks, a downturn in the real estate market and somewhat shaky business confidence simply won’t vanish. Li was quite realistic, emphasizing Beijing is “keenly aware” of the challenges ahead: “Achieving this year’s targets will not be easy.” And he added: “Global economic growth lacks steam and the regional hotspot issues keep erupting. This has made China’s external environment more complex, severe and uncertain.”

    Beijing’s strategy remains focused on a “proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy”. In a nutshell: the song remains the same. There won’t be a “stimulus” of any kind.

    Deeper answers should be found in the work report/budget released by the National Development and Reform Commission: the focus will be on structural change, via extra funds to science, technology, education, national defense, agriculture. Translation: China bets on strategic investment, the key for a high-quality economic transition.

    In practice, Beijing will be heavily invested in modernizing industry and developing “new quality productive forces” such as new-energy vehicles, biomanufacturing and commercial space flight.

    Science Minister Yin Hejun made it clear: there was an 8.1% increase in national investment in research and development in 2023. He wants more – and he will get it: R&D spending will grow by 10% to a total of 370.8 billion yuan.

    The mantra is “self-reliance”. On all fronts – from chipmaking to AI. A no holds barred tech war is on – and China is totally focused to counter “tech containment” from the Hegemon as much as its ultimate goal is to wrest tech supremacy from its prime competitor. Beijing simply cannot allow itself to be vulnerable to U.S.-imposed tech choke points and supply chain disruptions.

    So short-term economic problems will not be causing sleepless nights. The Beijing leadership is always looking ahead – focusing on long-term challenges.

    Learning lessons from the Donbass battlefield

    Beijing will continue to steer the economic development of Hong Kong and Macau, and invest even more in the crucial Greater Bay Area, which is the premier southern China high tech, services and finance hub.

    Taiwan of course was central to the work report; Beijing fiercely opposes “external interference” – code for Hegemon tactics. That will become even trickier in May, when William Lai Ching-te, who flirts with independence, becomes president.

    On defense, there will be only a 7.2% increase in 2024, which is peanuts compared to the Hegemon’s defense budget now approaching $900 billion: China’s stands as $238 billion, even as China’s nominal GDP is approaching the U.S.

    A great deal of China’s defense budget will go for emerging tech – considering the immensely valuables lessons the PLA is learning out of the Donbass battlefield, as well as the deep interactions part of the Russia-China strategic partnership.

    And that brings us to diplomacy. China will continue to be firmly positioned as a champion of the Global South. That was made explicit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi in a press conference on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress.

    Wang Yi’s priorities: to “maintain stable relations with major powers; join hands with its neighbouring countries for progress; and strive for revitalisation with the Global South”.

    Wang Yi once again stressed that Beijing favors an “equal and orderly” multipolar world and “inclusive economic globalization”.

    And of course he could not allow U.S. Secretary of State Little Blinken – always out of his depth – to get away with his latest “recipe”: “It is impermissible that those with the bigger fist have the final say, and it is definitely unacceptable that certain countries must be at the table while others can only be on the menu.”

    BRI as a global accelerator

    Crucially, Wang Yi re-emphasized the drive for “high-quality” cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework. He defined BRI as “an engine for the common development of all countries and an accelerator for the modernisation of the whole world”. Wang Yi actually said he’s hopeful about the emergence of a “Global South moment in global governance” – in which China and BRI play an essential part.

    Li Qiang’s work report, incidentally, had only one paragraph on BRI. But then we find this nugget as Li refers to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor – which links China’s landlocked southwest with the eastern seaboard, via Guangxi province.

    Translation: BRI will be focusing on opening new economic roads for China’s less developed regions, diversifying from the previous emphasis on Xinjiang.

    Dr Wei Yuansong is a member of the CPPCC and also the Chinese Peasants’ and Workers’ Democratic Party – which happens to be one of the eight non-CCP parties in Chinese politics (very few outside of China know about this).

    He offered some fascinating comments on BRI to Fengmian News and also stressed the need to “tell China’s story well” to avoid “conflict and incidents” along the BRI road. For that, Wei suggests the need to use an “international language” in telling these stories; that implies using English.

    As for what Wang Yi said in his press conference, in fact that was discussed in detail at the closed-door Central Conference on Foreign Affairs Work in late 2023, where it was established that China faced “strategic opportunities” to raise its “international influence, appeal and power” despite “high winds and choppy waters”.

    The key takeaway: the narrative war between China and the Hegemon will be pitiless. Beijing is confident it’s capable of offering stability, investment, connectivity and sound diplomacy to the whole Global South, instead of Forever Wars.

    That is reflected, for instance, by Ma Xinmin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s legal advisor, telling the International Court of Justice that the Palestinians have the right to armed resistance  when it comes to fighting the colonialist, racist, apartheid state of Israel. Therefore, Hamas cannot be defined as a terrorist organization.

    This is the overwhelming position across the lands of Islam and across the majority of the Global South – linking Beijing with fellow BRICS member Brazil and President Lula, who compared the genocide in Gaza to the Nazi genocide in WWII.

    How to resist collective West sanctions

    The Two Sessions did reflect Beijing’s full understanding that Hegemon containment and destabilization tactics remain the biggest challenge to China’s peaceful rise. But simultaneously it reflected Chinese confidence on its global diplomatic clout as a force for peace, stability and economic development. It’s an extremely sensitive balance that only the Middle Kingdom seems capable of pulling off.

    Then there’s the Trump factor.

    Economist Ding Yifan, a former deputy director of the World Development Institute, part of the State Council’s Development Research Centre, is one among those who’s aware China is learning key lessons from Russia on how to resist collective West sanctions – which will be inevitable against China especially if Trump is back at the White House.

    And that brings us to the absolute key issue being currently discussed in Moscow, within the Russia-China partnership, and soon among the BRICS: alternative settlement payments to the U.S. dollar, increasing trade among “friendly nations”, and controls on capital flight.

    Nearly all Russia-China trade is now in yuan and rubles. As much as Russian trade with the EU fell by 68% in 2023, trade with Asia rose by 5.6% – with new landmarks reached with China ($240 billion) and India ($65 billion) – and 84% of

    Russia’s total energy exports going to “friendly countries”.

    The Two Sessions did not get into detail on some extremely thorny geopolitical issues. For instance, India’s version of multipolarity – considering New Delhi’s unresolved love affair with Washington – is quite different from China’s. Everyone knows – and no one more than the Russians – that within BRICS 10 the biggest strategic issue is how to accommodate the perpetual tension between India and China.

    What’s clear even behind the fog of goodwill enveloping the Two Sessions is that Beijing is fully aware of how the Hegemon is – deliberately – already crossing a key Chinese red line, officially stationing “permanent troops” in Taiwan.

    Since last year U.S. Special Forces have been training Taiwanese in operating Black Hornet nano microdrones. In 2024 U.S. military advisers are deployed full time at army bases on Kinmen and Penghu islands.

    Those actually driving U.S. foreign policy behind the Crash Test Dummy at the White House believe that even as they are powerless to handle the Houthi Ansarallah in the Red Sea, they are capable of poking the Dragon.

    No posturing will alter the Dragon’s roadmap. The CPPCC’s political resolution on Taiwan calls for uniting “all patriotic forces”, “deepen integration and development in various fields across the Taiwan Straits”, and go all out on “peaceful reunification”. That will translate in practice into increased economic/trade cooperation, more direct flights, more cargo ports and logistics bases.

    As Project Ukraine goes down the drain of history, Project Taiwan will go on overdrive. Forever Wars never die. Bring it on. The Dragon is ready.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 23:40

  • The World's Most Valuable Sports Teams In 2024
    The World’s Most Valuable Sports Teams In 2024

    Worth more than $5 billion, the world’s most valuable sports teams in 2024 can be found in baseball, basketball, and soccer leagues, but American football’s NFL reigns supreme.

    This chart, via Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu, highlights the 15 sports teams with the highest value in the world, according to Forbes data published late last year.

    Ranked: Top 15 Sports Teams by Value

    The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable team in the world with a $9.0 billion valuation.

    The team was purchased in 1989 for $150M by Jerry Jones. Its growth in value was slower at first, but over the past five years, the Cowboys’ valuation appreciated by 80%.

    Here are the 15 most valuable sports teams around the world:

    Other NFL teams including the New England Patriots at $7.0 billion and the Los Angeles Rams at $6.9 billion are amongst the world’s top five most valuable sports teams.

    Indeed, NFL teams account for nine out of the top 15 most valuable sports teams today.

    The MLB’s New York Yankees are the second-most valuable sports team with a valuation of $7.1 billion, but is the only representative from Major League Baseball on the ranking. Meanwhile, the NBA has three teams in the top 15, with the Golden State Warriors ranking the highest with a $7.0 billion valuation.

    Only two teams from outside of America feature in the top 15 sports teams by value, and both are internationally-renowned soccer teams: Real Madrid of Spain’s La Liga at $6.1 billion, and Manchester United of England’s Premier League at $6.0 billion.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 23:20

  • Republican Warns Of Biden Order Allowing Illegal Immigrants, Felons To Vote
    Republican Warns Of Biden Order Allowing Illegal Immigrants, Felons To Vote

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

    A Republican secretary of state sent a letter this week to the Department of Justice (DOJ) alerting it to an executive order signed in 2021 that he says will allow felons and illegal aliens to register to vote in elections.

    An election worker opens envelopes containing vote-by-mail ballots in a file photo. (Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images)

    In the letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Republican Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson wrote that a Biden-signed executive order has led to agencies under Mr. Garland’s charge “attempting to register people to vote, including potentially ineligible felons and to co-opt state and local officials into accomplishing this goal.”

    The order, which the White House described as an effort to promote “access to voting,” suggested that it was designed to eliminate racial discrimination at the polls. It told federal agencies, including the DOJ, to “consider ways to expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process.”

    Mr. Watson took issue with one provision that directed the DOJ to ensure that the U.S. Marshals Service change jail and “intergovernmental agreements” to mandate that the facilities “provide educational materials related to voter registration and voting,” and “facilitate voting by mail, to the extent practicable and appropriate.”

    The problem, according to Mr. Watson, is that those materials may be given to people who can’t vote such as felons and illegal aliens. State officials are also essentially being forced to comply with the rules, he said.

    “Our understanding is that everyone in the Marshals’ custody is given a form advising them of their right to register and vote,” his letter said, according to Fox News. “Providing ineligible non-citizens with information on how to register to vote undoubtedly encourages them to illegally register to vote, exposing them to legal jeopardy beyond their immigration status.”

    The letter said that the secretary of state’s office believes that providing a form to illegal immigrants who are jailed to advise them of their right to vote “undoubtedly encourages them to illegally” do so and exposes them to “legal jeopardy.”

    It also noted that some individuals in jail custody “only have fleeting ties to Mississippi and do not meet the residency requirements necessary to be a Mississippi voter.”

    “Many outside groups performing voter registration and vote harvesting services are partisan entities with a history of being unreliable. There have been documented instances of these groups providing incorrect directions to voters,” the Republican official warned. “It is not proper for the Federal government to push partisan groups into the voting process in Mississippi or any other state.”

    The Epoch Times contacted the DOJ for comment but didn’t receive a reply by press time.

    Speaking to Fox News, Mr. Watson said the issue should be immediately considered because the 2024 election is just months away. Citing the significant number of illegal border crossings in recent years, the secretary said they could try to register to vote and cast ballots in the coming months, while other Republican officials in recent years have warned that illegal immigrants could register to vote and cast ballots in favor of Democratic candidates.

    “If you look at what’s going on at the border when you’ve got so many illegal aliens pouring into our country, imagine the efforts used to get them to register to vote and that’s what this is all about,” he told the outlet on March 11. “It’s about control, it’s about continuing their power, and unfortunately that puts our country in a terrible position, so it’s immediate and it’s something where we hope they will respect our request to stop the program.”

    A group of more than 1,000 illegal aliens walk toward a U.S. Border Patrol field processing center after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 18, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

    With just eight months to go before the November election, illegal immigration has increasingly become a focus among American voters, according to recent opinion polls. A poll released in late February showed that about six in 10 Americans believe illegal immigration is now a serious problem and a majority now back the construction of a border wall, which former President Donald Trump has championed.

    During President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech to Congress, he made reference to an illegal immigrant who allegedly murdered a college student, using the term “illegal” to describe the individual.

    But he later retracted his comments over the weekend, telling MSNBC that he “shouldn’t have used the term illegal.” Instead, the president said he would use the term “undocumented” immigrant—a term that has risen to prominence among Democratic politicians and legacy news outlets in recent years.

    When asked the same question last week, the president replied, “Technically, he’s not supposed to be” in the United States.

    The president also said on March 9 that “they built the country,” referring to illegal immigrants. “The reason our economy is growing. We have to control the border and more orderly flow,” he said.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 23:00

  • Under Armour Puts Scandal-Plagued Founder Kevin Plank Back In Charge, Mohamed El-Erian To Become Chairman
    Under Armour Puts Scandal-Plagued Founder Kevin Plank Back In Charge, Mohamed El-Erian To Become Chairman

    Just 13 months into her tenure at Under Armour, Linnartz is already out as CEO. The Marriott veteran took over in 2023 less than a year after former CEO Patrik Frisk was ousted (Frisk himself had only run the business for two years). Disgraced founder Kevin Plank – who used then Bloomberg’s Stephanie Ruhle as both a private PR adviser and alleged love interest – will take the reins from her on April 1, according to a company press release.

    Stephanie Ruhle, then with Bloomberg, conducted a 2014 interview with Kevin Plank

    Plank, currently executive chair of the board, will return to the CEO job April 1, Under Armour said Wednesday. Linnartz will remain an adviser to the company through April 30, while a familiar name on Wall Street, lead director Mohamed El-Erian, will succeed Plank as non-executive chairman.

    Plank thanked Linnartz for her efforts and said in a statement that he looks forward to “seizing the opportunities ahead” for Under Armour.

    “During her tenure, [Linnartz] strengthened the leadership team with executive hires in critical areas, including product, design, supply chain, consumer connectivity, and regional management,” Plank said in a statement. “Her prior experience leading major brands was instrumental in focusing our consumer strategy, including the launch of the U.S. loyalty program, UA Rewards. Her efforts have helped set us on the right path, and we wish her success in her future endeavors.”

    Indeed, Linnartz was in the midst of overhauling Under Armour’s C-suite, which recently saw the exit of Browne, Chief Product Officer Lisa Collier and other roles. During her last earnings call, Linnartz highlighted that in addition to a new chief of product and head of the Americas, named in January, Under Armour over the months had also brought on a new: chief consumer officer, chief communications officer, chief design officer, chief supply chain officer, leader for the EMEA region and senior vice president of DTC in the Americas. The business is also in the middle of a pivot to a more athleisure-focused offering.

    Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Poonam Goyal said the CEO change was a surprise because there were early signs that Linnartz’s turnaround plan was taking hold. Plank’s return “might raise eyebrows, given his resignation amid workplace controversies,” Goyal wrote in a note, eyeing former co-worker Stephanie Ruhle.

    Plank stepped down as CEO of Under Armour in 2020 after a series of scandals, including a Wall Street Journal story that reported the company had a culture of inappropriate behavior toward women. Not only that, but details emerged that the billionaire had developed close ties with MSNBC anchor Stephanie Ruhle, who had traveled with Plank and Under Armour staff on his private jet, while “advising” the CEO her input on a range of business matters.

    Ruhle’s involvement at the Baltimore company was unusual and problematic, the WSJ reported, and left employees unsure how to handle her feedback because “many people believed she was romantically involved with Plank.” Both Mr. Plank and Ms. Ruhle are married.

    Linnartz outlined a three-year plan in 2023 to grow the brand through womenswear, footwear and “sports style” by pushing into more design collaborations and bolstering its presence in sneaker culture. She called her first year a “building year” for Under Armour as she moved to reset inventory levels and realign the business around the new strategic priorities.

    A former executive at Marriott International Inc., Linnartz is a polished leader who oversaw the hotel chain’s rewards program and forged partnerships with entities like the National Football League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association before taking the top job at Under Armour.

    During her tenure at Baltimore-based Under Armour, Linnartz started the athletic-wear company’s own rewards program and brought in many new senior managers across divisions, including heads of product and branding, to help execute the turnaround plan.

    “Her efforts have helped set us on the right path,” Plank, who founded Under Armour in 1996, said in the company’s statement Wednesday.

    Under Armour raised its outlook for full-year earnings in February, with cost-cutting efforts overcoming a continued decline in revenue, particularly in its home market. Still, North American revenue was down 12% in the most recent quarter and the stock is a mere fraction of where it traded over the past decade.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 22:49

  • Mapping Credit Card Delinquency Rates In The US By State
    Mapping Credit Card Delinquency Rates In The US By State

    Credit card debt carries a hefty bill in America, and falling behind on payments can be extremely costly for cardholders.

    This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu, shows credit card delinquency rates across 50 U.S. states, as of Q3 2023. This data comes from a WalletHub study published in January 2024.

    Which States Have the Lowest and Highest Delinquency Rates?

    Credit card delinquency is when a cardholder falls behind on required monthly payments. Credit agencies are often notified after two months of delinquent payments.

    WalletHub examined proprietary user data on the average number of delinquent credit card tradelines—also known as credit accounts—across states. Here they are from lowest to highest:

    Rank State Share of Credit Card
    Tradelines Delinquent (%)
    1 Iowa 12.9
    2 Massachusetts 13.9
    3 Hawaii 13.9
    4 Rhode Island 14.7
    5 Washington 14.7
    6 Florida 14.8
    7 New York 14.9
    8 California 15.1
    9 New Hampshire 15.5
    10 Alaska 15.6
    11 New Jersey 15.6
    12 Colorado 15.7
    13 Utah 15.8
    14 Vermont 16.1
    15 Montana 16.1
    16 Illinois 16.5
    17 Oregon 16.6
    18 Idaho 17.0
    19 Ohio 17.5
    20 Connecticut 17.8
    21 Maine 18.0
    22 Nebraska 18.1
    23 Wyoming 18.1
    24 Maryland 18.4
    25 Kansas 18.4
    26 Wisconsin 18.5
    27 Virginia 18.7
    28 Nevada 19.1
    29 South Dakota 19.3
    30 Arizona 19.8
    31 Minnesota 19.8
    32 Pennsylvania 20.2
    33 Michigan 20.9
    34 North Dakota 21.3
    35 Delaware 21.4
    36 Missouri 22.4
    37 New Mexico 22.6
    38 Georgia 23.1
    39 North Carolina 24.0
    40 Indiana 24.3
    41 Texas 24.7
    42 West Virginia 25.2
    43 Tennessee 26.2
    44 South Carolina 26.9
    45 Kentucky 27.6
    46 Oklahoma 28.2
    47 Arkansas 30.1
    48 Alabama 30.5
    49 Louisiana 31.7
    50 Mississippi 39.1

    No state had credit delinquency rates of less than 10%, with Iowa coming the closest at 12.9%.

    That puts Iowa ahead of wealthier states like Massachusetts (13.9%), Washington (14.7%), and New Hampshire (15.5%).

    At the bottom end was Mississippi, which had 39% credit delinquency rates to end 2023. That’s well ahead of the next-lowest states Louisiana (31.7%) and Alabama (30.5%).

    It’s notable that the American South had higher rates of delinquency almost across the board. The five states with the highest rates of credit card delinquency are all located in the southeastern region of the country, and Texas had a higher delinquency rate (25%) than other majorly populated states like Florida (14.8%) and New York (14.9%).

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 22:40

  • "Burn It All Down": Radical Maryland 'Equity' Official Promotes Racial Revolution
    “Burn It All Down”: Radical Maryland ‘Equity’ Official Promotes Racial Revolution

    In a crime-ridden metro area just north of the Washington, DC swap, dominated by radical progressives, it comes as no surprise that the mayor recently appointed a “racial equity” leader who openly supports violence and advocates for a revolution. 

    Fox News reports that “Kayla Aliese Carter,” the head of College Park, Maryland’s racial equity department, which aims to eliminate systemic racism in its local government, supports “Black liberation” through revolutionary means and praises a plan “how we will eat and live and grow after we burn it all down.”

    The banner image on Carter’s X account reads: “I can’t wait for society to collapse so MY ideology can rise from the ashes!”

    Following the killing of George Floyd, Carter wrote on X: 

    “Do you all understand why the oppressed are constantly shamed out of using violence??? BECAUSE THE OPPRESSOR WANTS TO BE THE SOLE PROFITEER OF VIOLENCE. THEY DONT WANT TO DEAL WITH BACK TALK. ‘DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO’ FACE ASS. No.”

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    In 2022, Mayor Fazlul Kabir hired Carter via Resolution 20-R-16, “which renounced systemic racism, declared support of Black lives, and called for the ongoing explicit and conscious confrontation of racism.” This was in direct response to the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. The law mandated that Carter perform examinations of “all current policies and programs” for radical bias. 

    “Remember we are at war against colonialism,” a 2021 Instagram post read. 

    She has repeatedly expressed frustration online: “I hate when White children stare at me … Its literally terrifying so I just stare back until they stop.” 

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    The social justice warrior also hates the police. 

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     Responding to Carter’s ridiculousness is Del. Nino Mangione, R-Baltimore County, who said: 

    “The blatant racism from Kayla Aliese Carter is on full display for the entire world to see. She is an embarrassment to Maryland and the city of College Park. She should be immediately terminated from the position in city government and apologize for her offensive, vile, vulgar statements. Leaders of goodwill across Maryland should forcefully condemn Ms. Carter’s words and actions immediately. There is no room for this inexcusable hatred and intolerance in Maryland.

    “People with attitudes like this should not be in public service, and their thoughtless behavior should not be excused.  Shame!”

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    What are X users saying about this? 

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    Yet this is another progressive radical the FBI will ignore as they’re more concerned with Catholics and elderly MAGA folks in rural America. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 22:00

  • Health Officials: Man Dies From Bubonic Plague In New Mexico
    Health Officials: Man Dies From Bubonic Plague In New Mexico

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

    Officials in New Mexico confirmed that a resident died from the plague in the United States’ first fatal case in several years.

    A bubonic plague smear, prepared from a lymph removed from an adenopathic lymph node, or bubo, of a plague patient, demonstrates the presence of the Yersinia pestis bacteria that causes the plague in this undated photo. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Getty Images)

    The New Mexico Department of Health, in a statement, said that a man in Lincoln County “succumbed to the plague.” The man, who was not identified, was hospitalized before his death, officials said.

    They further noted that it is the first human case of plague in New Mexico since 2021 and also the first death since 2020, according to the statement. No other details were provided, including how the disease spread to the man.

    The agency is now doing outreach in Lincoln County, while “an environmental assessment will also be conducted in the community to look for ongoing risk,” the statement continued.

    “This tragic incident serves as a clear reminder of the threat posed by this ancient disease and emphasizes the need for heightened community awareness and proactive measures to prevent its spread,” the agency said.

    A bacterial disease that spreads via rodents, it is generally spread to people through the bites of infected fleas. The plague, known as the black death or the bubonic plague, can spread by contact with infected animals such as rodents, pets, or wildlife.

    The New Mexico Health Department statement said that pets such as dogs and cats that roam and hunt can bring infected fleas back into homes and put residents at risk.

    Officials warned people in the area to “avoid sick or dead rodents and rabbits, and their nests and burrows” and to “prevent pets from roaming and hunting.”

    “Talk to your veterinarian about using an appropriate flea control product on your pets as not all products are safe for cats, dogs or your children” and “have sick pets examined promptly by a veterinarian,” it added.

    “See your doctor about any unexplained illness involving a sudden and severe fever, the statement continued, adding that locals should clean areas around their home that could house rodents like wood piles, junk piles, old vehicles, and brush piles.

    The plague, which is spread by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, famously caused the deaths of an estimated hundreds of millions of Europeans in the 14th and 15th centuries following the Mongol invasions. In that pandemic, the bacteria spread via fleas on black rats, which historians say was not known by the people at the time.

    Other outbreaks of the plague, such as the Plague of Justinian in the 6th century, are also believed to have killed about one-fifth of the population of the Byzantine Empire, according to historical records and accounts. In 2013, researchers said the Justinian plague was also caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria.

    But in the United States, it is considered a rare disease and usually occurs only in several countries worldwide. Generally, according to the Mayo Clinic, the bacteria affects only a few people in U.S. rural areas in Western states.

    Recent cases have occurred mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Countries with frequent plague cases include Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Peru, the clinic says. There were multiple cases of plague reported in Inner Mongolia, China, in recent years, too.

    Symptoms

    Symptoms of a bubonic plague infection include headache, chills, fever, and weakness. Health officials say it can usually cause a painful swelling of lymph nodes in the groin, armpit, or neck areas. The swelling usually occurs within about two to eight days.

    The disease can generally be treated with antibiotics, but it is usually deadly when not treated, the Mayo Clinic website says.

    “Plague is considered a potential bioweapon. The U.S. government has plans and treatments in place if the disease is used as a weapon,” the website also says.

    According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the last time that plague deaths were reported in the United States was in 2020 when two people died.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 21:40

  • India Joins Small Group Of Nations Able To Fire Multiple Nuclear Warheads Using Single ICBM
    India Joins Small Group Of Nations Able To Fire Multiple Nuclear Warheads Using Single ICBM

    India this week unveiled the maidan flight test of a new ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, with an eye on its nuclear-armed neighbors China and India.

    Only a handful of countries in the world possess this technology, which features MIRV technology, or “multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles” for the deployment of nuclear warheads. This makes the missile capable of of multiple attacks across different locations based on a single missile launch.

    Getty Images

    Named the Agni-5, which is Sanskrit for “fire”, the intercontinental ballistic missile being touted as being able to reach targets more than 3,100 miles (or 5,000km) away.

    The Wall Street Journal has observed of the significance that “this puts Beijing and its neighborhood within the direct target range of India’s Strategic Forces Command, the dedicated tri-services nuclear force under the direct control of the prime minister, said New Delhi-based defense analyst N.C. Bipindra.”

    But this also enables India to strike anywhere in its archrival Pakistan’s territory, which New Delhi has fought no less than three wars with in the last century.

    The nuclear watchdog Federation of American Scientists (FAS) has issued the following further details…

    Reports have circulated for two decades about the Indian defense industry working on MIRV technology. Some have suggested that a MIRV capability might exist for the Agni-3 medium-range missile, which is currently being fielded with the Indian army, but this has not yet been confirmed. Unconfirmed press reports also said that an Agni-P medium-range missile test in December 2021 carried two reentry vehicles to simulate MIRV capability.

    The Indian government says that the latest Agni-5 test––named Mission Divyastra––was the first time that this missile had successfully demonstrated MIRV technology. If so, it will likely take several additional flight tests to complete the development of an operational MIRV capability for the Agni-5. Yet the test-launch demonstration of MIRV capability on the Agni-5 with a significantly modified payload section marks a significant development for India’s nuclear posture, and faster than we anticipated just a few years ago.

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    This first successful test flight has come after many years of rumors that India was on the cusp of achieving MIRV technology, which so far is only possessed by the US, Russia, China and France. According to more from FAS:

    Reports have circulated for two decades about the Indian defense industry working on MIRV technology. Some have suggested that a MIRV capability might exist for the Agni-3 medium-range missile, which is currently being fielded with the Indian army, but this has not yet been confirmed. Unconfirmed press reports also said that an Agni-P medium-range missile test in December 2021 carried two reentry vehicles to simulate MIRV capability.

    The Indian government says that the latest Agni-5 test––named Mission Divyastra––was the first time that this missile had successfully demonstrated MIRV technology. If so, it will likely take several additional flight tests to complete the development of an operational MIRV capability for the Agni-5. Yet the test-launch demonstration of MIRV capability on the Agni-5 with a significantly modified payload section marks a significant development for India’s nuclear posture, and faster than we anticipated just a few years ago.

    India of course has long had intense border and territorial disputes with both China and Pakistan, and also regularly enters into religiously inspired verbal altercations with Pakistan officials (Hindus vs. Muslims), with latter being concerned over India’s treatment of its sizeable Muslim population.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 21:20

  • Justice Arthur Engoron 'Shot' New York With 'Absurd Decision'
    Justice Arthur Engoron ‘Shot’ New York With ‘Absurd Decision’

    Authored by Roger L. Simon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    It remains to be seen to what extent New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron put a stake in the heart of the once-great, now-beleaguered, city of New York, but he certainly didn’t help when he issued his draconian judgment against Donald J. Trump, ruling that the former president and his family must pay a staggering $350 million-plus in penalties and forbidding them from doing business in the state for several years.

    Judge Arthur Engoron presides over former President Donald Trump’s fraud trial in N.Y. Supreme Court, in New York, on Oct. 3, 2023. (Dave Sanders/Pool Photo via AP)

    Ari Fleischer, who served as press secretary for President George W. Bush, was the first I heard to acknowledge the disastrous protentional economic repercussions on cable news, but I imagine that businessmen across the city and state had anticipated this and have been making plans to exit New York for some time.

    That state already has the biggest population outflow, outnumbering even California’s.

    The mind-blowing size of Justice Engoron’s decision was just rancid icing on an already unpalatable cake.

    But it was enough to inspire the ire of truckers across the United States who, like their peers in Canada and farmers in Europe, had had enough nonsense from the Engorons of the world.

    We can only wish them well because they are the allies of freedom.

    Meanwhile, what businessperson—high or low—wants to incorporate in a state where a wanton judge can suddenly decree his or her estimates of their real estate valuations to obtain a loan to be inflated, impose ridiculous fines, and then shut them down—possibly forever?

    In President Trump’s case, as those same businesspersons surely noted, not a soul had been damaged by the former president’s estimates, inflated or not. All the loans had been repaid and the banks involved, of course, made money. There were no victims.

    As the late Los Angeles Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn would say, “No harm. No foul.”

    Except to the likes of Justice Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James, for whom Trump Derangement Syndrome is an illness more irreversible than pancreatic cancer.

    Whether President Trump succeeds in overturning the absurd decision is in some senses irrelevant because the damage is already done.

    Welcome to Florida, Texas, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and so forth, Mr. and Mrs. New York.

    I should be grateful to Justice Engoron and Ms. James for selling copies of my new book on the exodus to red states from blue states, “American Refugees,” as a guide for where to move, but I’m not.

    I would prefer such people go away because I love New York, the city I grew up in, and they are destroying it in the most reactionary manner, although they think of themselves as “progressives.” Go figure.

    The onslaught on the business community means fewer jobs for the working class, including minorities, all classes actually, not that that has ever deterred the new Democratic Party that seems to care little for working men and women.

    Although many remain oblivious, this has tremendous ramifications for what is nauseatingly termed “elitist” liberal and progressive Democrats who love, as I do, the magnificent cultural benefits that New York has always offered.

    But with the economic base fleeing, with manufacturing nearly a thing of the past, who will pay for all the monumental museums, the Lincoln Center, the theater on and off Broadway, the many parks, the Bronx Zoo, and so forth, not to mention the plethora of world-class restaurants in any cuisine imaginable that depend on a well-to-do clientele?

    The state?

    As former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put it so succinctly years ago, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

    Not that that would mean much to Justice Engoron or Ms. James, so lost in their lust to destroy Donald Trump that the fate of any of the classes in the city of New York, even the outside world itself, is of little consequence to them.

    This is par for the course for much of the Democratic Party these days, with the exception of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose intelligence and good sense they can no longer countenance.

    They have switched roles with the MAGA wing of the Republican Party, composed of actual everyday, hardworking Americans, whom they disdain.

    In a sense, the two parties are in the midst of what could be termed a political sex change operation. They are having a form of gender reassignment surgery.

    This particular episode led me to consider, not for the first time, of course, why people such as Justice Engoron think the way they do.

    That they have replaced religious faith with unquestioning leftist politics has become a cliché, but like many clichés, there’s some, in this case considerable, truth to it.

    But other things are at work.

    I have been rereading Tom Wolfe’s 1987 novel “The Bonfire of the Vanities.” It’s all about race, greed, and the justice system in New York in those days.

    One thing that struck me is how pathetic the justice system was, as portrayed by Wolfe, and how its denizens were rife with jealousy of characters such as the book’s principal protagonist, Wall Street bond trader Sherman McCoy, even though McCoy gets his comeuppance in the story.

    This made me think of the way that Justice Engoron must regard President Trump. Justice Engoron, though he is a Manhattan Supreme Court justice, is basically a lowly civil servant and inhabits what was in essence the lower ranks of the Manhattan hierarchy, especially as compared to real estate magnates, hedge fund managers, CEOs, media giants, successful entertainers, and even doctors and lawyers.

    No wonder he despises President Trump, who is a genuine “Master of the Universe,” as Wolfe characterized it, albeit a truly successful one, unlike Wolfe’s protagonist.

    No wonder Justice Engoron wants nothing more than to bring President Trump down and is highly offended, or claims he is, when President Trump talks back to him.

    As we all know, older—way older than the Democratic or Republican parties—is that document, chiseled in stone from on high, known as the Ten Commandments.

    Number 10 is, of course, “Thou shalt not covet.” More completely: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house: you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17).

    How much coveting has been going on in our culture, do you think, lately—not just in obvious places such as Justice Engoron’s courtroom? I would say an incomprehensible amount.

    On top of all that, Justice Engoron as well as Ms. James are both tried-and-true members of the judicial division within the government.

    If Mr. Trump succeeds in November’s election, it’s their jobs—not those of the working class and the populace in general—that will be in jeopardy.

    One of the benefits of believing in leftist politics, despite its notoriously failed efficacy and historical danger to human life in several continents, is that, by atheistically replacing religious faith with political ideology, you are free to covet anything you want and destroy anybody in the process.

    I think, however, to President Trump, Justice Engoron’s covetous decision, in the end, will be no more than a glancing blow.

    To the city of New York, however, one of the monuments of Western civilization, it could prove yet one more step, and perhaps a fatal one, in a rapid decline that we have been witnessing for several years now—or, thanks to the truckers and other freedom lovers, an actual, long-awaited wake-up call.

    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
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 21:00

  • Boeing "Overwrote" Camera Footage Of Work On MAX Jet Door That Blew Out, Can Not Identify Employee Who Worked On It
    Boeing “Overwrote” Camera Footage Of Work On MAX Jet Door That Blew Out, Can Not Identify Employee Who Worked On It

    Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more bizarre or surreal, the Boeing story did just that.

    As previously reported, the aerospace giant has been under regulatory scrutiny following a string of safety-related incidents since the beginning of the year (really, since 2019 when two of its 737 MAXes fell out of the sky like overpriced deadly paperweight, but let’s just skip to the latest snafu), starting with a door blowing off a flight and continuing with multiple other incidents, including a cracked cockpit window, bolts missing on a wing, various wheels falling off during takeoff in at least two incidents and several engine fires/failures.  

    And as the pressure ratchets up on Boeing, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that management is running the same type of interference it did during the infamous MCAS scandal and ensuing cover-up attempt which cost former CEO Muilenburg his job. Sure enough, on Wednesday we learned that Boeing – in a pure coincidence that Jeffrey Epstein would approve of – “overwrote”, i.e. deleted, security camera footage showing work being done on a door that blew out on the Alaska Airlines MAX jet in January.

    It’s not just the footage however: NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said it is unclear “who performed the work to open, reinstall, and close the door plug on the accident aircraft,” as Boeing is “unable to find the records documenting this work.” In Homendy’s letter, she writes that despite requests to Boeing and interviews at the Renton, Washington factory where the panel was removed, the identity of the crew member that worked on the panel remains unknown and has would be unable to “provide a statement or interview to NTSB due to medical issues.“

    It gets crazier: in her letter, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said she directly appealed to Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun for information on who worked on the faulty door plug, expressing frustration over Boeing’s claim of missing records and security footage. Even then, Boeing merely stonewalled and said it was “unable to provide that information and maintained that Boeing has no records of the work being performed.”

    Finally, the epic culmination – at least so far – of the shitstorm that has engulfed Boeing, we noted yesterday that a key whistleblower, a former quality control manager at the company who raised concerns about the firm’s production standards, was found dead from an apparent suicide. 

    John Barnett, a former veteran Boeing employee of 32 years, passed away from a self-inflicted wound on March 9, the BBC reported on Monday evening. Barnett was involved in a whistleblower lawsuit against Boeing, alleging serious safety concerns at the North Charleston plant, where he managed quality for the 787 Dreamliner production. Boeing was in Charleston for legal interviews related to the lawsuit when he was found dead. 

    He claimed the push for speed compromised safety, with sub-standard parts being used and a significant failure rate in emergency oxygen systems. Despite raising these issues, he felt his concerns were disregarded, leading to legal action against Boeing, alleging career damage due to his whistleblowing.

    Meanwhile, what would a catastrophe in a company near and dear to the government – and of course, the deep state – be without questionable trading surrounding the incident in Congress? In filings reported on Wednesday, it was revealed that Congressman William R. Keating sold somewhere between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of Boeing shares on February 28.

    He’s the latest Congress critter to have “excellent timing” when it comes to stock trades: while it isn’t Fed Governor Raphael Bostic selling massive S&P futures lots ahead of Fed minutes dropping, the sale took place the day before it was announced that the DOJ was investigating Boeing.  Recall, on February 29, Bloomberg wrote that the DOJ was “looking into” the Boeing door plug blowout that took place earlier that month. Since his sale, Boeing’s stock value has tumbled by about 11%. 

    In any case, between Barnett who “suicided” himself, and now the video footage which also also apparently was “accidentally” snuffed out, we wonder just who is next on the Epstein escalator of “not suiciding themselves” at Boeing?

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 20:25

  • From 'Hungry Looters Looking For Bread' To 'Million Dollar Organized Retail Crime' In Record Time
    From ‘Hungry Looters Looking For Bread’ To ‘Million Dollar Organized Retail Crime’ In Record Time

    My, my my…how quickly we go from a couple kids just looting to feed their families to “organized crime rings plaguing retailers”. Seems like we made the transition in just a couple of years and no Soro-appointed DA even noticed!

    But alas these crime rings were the topic of a new CNBC report which spent 8 months investigating organized retail crime rings. 

    Organized retail theft has emerged as a significant concern for both large and small retailers, contributing to reduced profits, staffing challenges, and a diminished shopping experience. This issue has also garnered bipartisan public frustration over increased security measures, such as locking products behind glass, the report notes. 

    The rise of such crime is debated, with retailers like Target, Foot Locker, Walgreens, and Ulta reporting escalating theft issues, though specifics on frequency and financial impact are often not disclosed. This has led to suspicions that retailers might be attributing operational shortcomings to crime, as we have alluded to numerous times here on Zero Hedge and on our X account. 

    According to the National Retail Federation, $40.5 billion was lost to external theft in 2022, accounting for 36% of inventory losses, a slight decrease from the previous year. Despite debates on its direct impact on profits, the perceived threat to employee and customer safety is clear.

    Adam Parks, an assistant special agent in charge at HSI, which is the main federal agency investigating retail crime, told CNBC: “We’re talking about operations that have fleets of trucks, 18-wheelers that have palletized loads of stolen goods, that have cleaning crews that actually clean the goods to make them look brand new.”

    “Just like any business, they’ve invested their capital into business assets like shrink wrap machines, forklifts. That is what organized theft looks like, and it actually is indistinguishable from other e-commerce distribution centers,” he continued. 

    In response, both local and federal law enforcement efforts against organized retail crime have intensified. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) significantly increased its actions, with cases and arrests rising sharply between 2021 and 2023. The California Highway Patrol reported a 170% increase in arrests for organized theft in 2023 compared to 2022, though it remains uncertain if this reflects a genuine spike in theft or enhanced enforcement efforts driven by increased public and industry pressure.

    Ulta CEO Dave Kimbell said: “The financial impact is real, but way more important is the human impact, the impact it has to our associates, the impact it has to our guests.”

    “It also impacts the communities in which we live. If people don’t feel safe going in to shop in certain areas of a community, it really has an impact and can change neighborhoods and change communities over time,” he continued. 

    In New Orleans, the investigation unearthed security video that captured a man walking into a Walgreens, going straight to the cosmetics section, and filling a plastic bag hidden in his pants with 17 nail polish jars, worth about $200. He then proceeded to the main branch of the New Orleans Public Library, about half a mile away, and sold the stolen items to a security guard, according to police.

    In San Jose, the California Highway Patrol discovered a vast array of new merchandise, including detergents like Gain, Tide, and Downy, Gillette razors, Olay moisturizer, Allegra allergy pills, and sparkly silver boots with T.J. Maxx tags, in a home and storage unit linked to a suspected organized retail theft ring.

    In total, nearly 20,000 items, worth over $550,000 and believed to be stolen from T.J. Maxx and various drugstores and grocery stores in the Bay Area, were found at five locations associated with the group.

    In San Diego, police uncovered “a multimillion-dollar criminal scheme” involving shoplifting and then selling the items on Amazon. One scheme participant texted back in January 2023: “I’m not stealing regular I’m going to start filling up my bag quick. So I want to know stuff I can grab in bulks too.”

    After that, the suspect committed at least 10 thefts at Ulta stores across California. But don’t worry – AOC says these shoplifters are just ‘hungry’ people seeking bread to feed their family with. 

    You can read CNBC’s full investigation, including details of thefts in individual cities, here.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 20:00

  • Mexican Military Incursions On US Soil Worry Border Agents
    Mexican Military Incursions On US Soil Worry Border Agents

    Authored by Brad Jones via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    As daylight begins to fade at an abandoned illegal immigrant camp at the border wall near Jacumba, in California’s San Diego County, a couple of Mexican soldiers armed with assault rifles patrol the rocky terrain in the hills above.

    (The Epoch Times)

    Below them, white tents along the Mexican side of the border wall signal the army presence as Mexican national guard (Guardia Nacional) troops pull up in a truck. They set up camp here in early February.

    On Feb. 29, a Mexican soldier hides behind a rock as he realizes reporters have seen him on the U.S. side of the border. Several moments later, he ducks back under the barbed wire fence into Mexico.

    Manny Bayon, a National Border Patrol Council spokesman in San Diego, said usually any incursion by the Mexican military is directly reported to headquarters and the White House is notified.

    After watching an Epoch Times video of the Mexican soldier in the hills above the San Judas break, Mr. Bayon said it’s obvious that the soldier was on U.S. soil.

    “They should know better,” he told The Epoch Times. “There’s a boundary marker on top of that hill. I’ve been up there. I’ve seen it.”

    Any incursion presents a risk to the safety of Border Patrol agents, Mr. Bayon said.

    “When you have somebody with an automatic weapon coming into the U.S., it’s concerning. I mean, they’re not coming here with flowers or to make things better,” he said. “It’s concerning because they do counter surveillance on us.”

    And, just because someone wearing a uniform appears to be Mexican military, doesn’t necessarily mean they are, Mr. Bayon said.

    “The cartels have also used military uniforms to make it look like they are military—but they’re actually cartel,” he said.

    Illegal immigrants walk through a gap in the U.S. border wall to await processing by Border Patrol agents in Jacumba, Calif., on Dec. 7, 2023.

    A Border Patrol agent in Arizona, who asked not to be named for fear of retaliation, told The Epoch Times that no incursions go unanswered.

    “Any time Mexican military comes on our side, we’re always notified. It’s a big deal,” he said. “We have guys that are liaisons with the south side, so they’re going to be notified, and there is definitely going to be phone calls made immediately.”

    Sometimes, he said, it’s Mexican soldiers not knowing where the boundary is or they get lost, especially in remote areas where it’s not as cut and dry, he said.

    “But then there are certain areas where it’s very clear,” he said. “We try to play nice with them, because for the most part they’re the same with us.”

    “We don’t come in like guns blazing. Typically, we try to defuse the situation and their chain of command is notified. It’s not something that we just allow to happen. There’s definitely people notified immediately. It’s always a big deal if they come over onto the U.S. side and vice-versa.”

    Less than three months ago, the gap at the end of this border wall where the military tents now sit, was a pedestrian highway for thousands of foreign nationals entering the U.S. illegally from Mexico.

    Mexican smugglers routinely dropped off their human cargo at a footpath leading to the narrow gap, called the San Judas break, where the 30-foot border wall ends at the steep hillside.

    In February, Kate Monroe, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Republican congressional candidate in District 49 who lost in the March 5 primary election, bought a 400-foot coil of razor wire off Amazon and blocked the gap. The razor wire is still there.

    A few hundred yards away on the American side at a site known as Willow camp to the U.S. Border Patrol agents, little remains of the dozens of firepits and makeshift shelters where hundreds of illegal immigrants waited to be transported and processed after surrendering to agents in December 2023.

    Two other sites—known as Moon and 177 camps—close to known illegal crossing sites near the small towns of Jacumba and Boulevard on the southeastern fringe of the county, are also now patrolled by the Mexican military, according to the Border Patrol.

    For all the military presence, illegal crossings haven’t substantially dipped in the area. On March 6, 1,132 illegal immigrants were apprehended in the San Diego sector, which is within the average daily range over the last several weeks, according to Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council.

    “We have not seen a drop in total arrests,” he told The Epoch Times.

    An illustration with red markings highlighting the border wall and fencing that separates the United States (L) and Mexico (R), near Jacoumba, Calif. , on Feb. 29, 2024.

    A Deal with Mexico?

    Todd Bensman, a senior national security fellow at the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies and former counterterrorism intelligence officer, told The Epoch Times that according to Mexican soldiers he interviewed, they’re rounding up migrants near the U.S. border and moving them south.

    “They said their orders are to hunt down all immigrants and give them to Mexican immigration for deportation to their southern provinces. They also told me their deployments are open ended,” Mr. Bensman said.

    The increased Mexican military presence along the border coincides with a flurry of bilateral talks.

    President Biden hosted bilateral meetings with his Mexican counterpart on Nov. 17, 2023, and spoke with him over the phone on Dec. 22, 2023, which led to a Dec.. 27, 2023, meeting between the Mexican president and a U.S. delegation, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, preceding President Biden’s trip to Mexico City on Jan. 9.

    “Secretary Blinken will discuss unprecedented irregular migration in the Western Hemisphere and identify ways Mexico and the United States will address border security challenges,” said a State Department spokesman prior to the meeting.

    The spokesman also said Mr. Blinken would reaffirm U.S. commitment to the Los Angeles Declaration for Migration and Protection, and “underscore the urgent need for lawful pathways and additional enforcement actions by partners throughout the region.”

    After their return, Mexico “mounted one of the most epic domestic anti-illegal-immigration operations in recent memory,” Mr. Bensman wrote.

    He surmised the Biden administration may have “cut a deal” with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to crackdown on illegal immigrants headed northward. Both presidents have elections this year.

    “The Mexican army is all over the northern border now doing different kinds of interdiction across from Texas, they’re hunting down immigrants aggressively. And when they find them, they force them onto buses and ship them south,” Mr. Bensman said.

    “They are interdicting the traffic on top of the freight trains, blocking access to the rail yards, and pulling immigrants off the trains,” he said. “This is all part of a Biden-inspired and directed Mexican crackdown that is nationwide for Mexico.”

    In January, Border Patrol agents apprehended 124,220 illegal immigrants along the southern border, CBP data show. It’s a 50-percent decrease from the record surge of 249,735 in December 2023.

    American news outlets have essentially ignored Mexico’s actions while “the Mexican media has been all over this,” Mr. Bensman said.

    One Mexican newspaper reported the Mexican government is “under U.S. pressure” to step up its military operations in Tijuana, Juarez, and Matamoros—cities across from San Diego, El Paso, and Brownsville, respectively. In Matamoros, the military recently bulldozed a massive migrant camp and dug anti-pedestrian trenches.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 19:40

  • Ethereum's Dencun Upgrade Goes Live: Industry Veterans Share Praise, Skepticism
    Ethereum’s Dencun Upgrade Goes Live: Industry Veterans Share Praise, Skepticism

    Ethereum’s much-anticipated Dencun upgrade (portmanteau of two upgrades, ‘Deneb’ and ‘Cancun’), which allows for the reduction of gas fees on layer-2 solutions through proto-danksharding, went live earlier today, March 13, drawing both applause and doubts from speculators. 

    The Dencun upgrade brings enhancements that boost Ethereum’s efficiency and scalability, among other improvements to the network. The most noticeable benefit of Dencun will be the reduced costs for L2s to post data on Ethereum. This will result in significantly lower gas fees on L2s, potentially up to 90% cheaper based on current activity levels.

    To illustrate the impact, let’s look at a comparison of projected gas costs for a DEX swap on major L2s before and after the Dencun upgrade:

    Source: Dencun Upgrade

    For those unfamiliar, the Dencun upgrade is centered around EIP-4844, known as “proto-danksharding.” As Bankless explains, this proposal is named after Ethereum researchers Protolambda and Dankrad Feist, and its main aim is to support the rollup-centric roadmap of Ethereum. It fundamentally changes the structure of Ethereum as a modular blockchain and makes it a more efficient data availability layer for its L2s. 

    EIP-4844 introduces a new transaction type that carries “blobs,” which are large packets of raw data that L2s post on Ethereum. With the Dencun Upgrade, Ethereum now processes two main types of transactions:

    • Regular transactions — these are the standard transactions we’re familiar with, covering actions like ETH transfers and interactions with smart contracts on the mainnet. These transactions are processed and executed by the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and are stored permanently on the Ethereum blockchain, consuming significant amounts of blockspace. They currently account for about 90% of Ethereum’s gas usage and storage, with the remainder being transaction data posted by L2s.
    • Blob-carrying ‘data transactions’ — introduced by EIP-4844, these transactions provide L2s with a more efficient way to post large amounts of their data on Ethereum by storing them in blobs. Unlike regular transactions, they don’t need to be executed by the EVM and are stored on Ethereum temporarily, around 18 days (or 4096 epochs), rather than permanently.

    Traditionally, L2s post batches of regular transactions on the mainnet. These transactions are more expensive because they include call data. Call data provides granular details about each transaction – for instance, when transferring tokens, it includes the transfer function’s arguments and other transaction parameters. This level of detail enlarges the transaction size and, consequently, the gas required, as the EVM must read and execute it. While this is necessary for transactions directly on the mainnet, it’s superfluous for L2s that only need Ethereum for data availability.

    With EIP-4844 and blob-carrying transactions, the data posted by L2s only includes important details of L2 transactions required for the data availability needs of the chain. These include raw data of the transactions in the form of blobs as well as references or pointers to the blobs within the transaction.

    Ultimately, blob-carrying transactions make it drastically cheaper for L2s to post data on Ethereum mainnet. Since blob data doesn’t require re-execution on Ethereum, it’s cheaper to post. This cost-effectiveness is their key advantage when compared to regular transactions. 

    To summarize, EIP-4844 and blob-carrying transactions introduce several key enhancements:

    • Enhanced scalability for Ethereum —  Given the constraints on the number of transactions Ethereum can process per block, EIP-4844 and blob-carrying transactions enable a more efficient use of blockspace compared to existing methods.
    • Lower fees on L2s via more efficient data availability — With blobs, L2s now have a cheaper way to post data on Ethereum Mainnet. This reduction in costs can be passed on to users, making transactions on L2s much cheaper. Moreover, since blobs are a different type of transaction altogether, they have their own fee market and remain unaffected by any increased activity of regular transactions on Ethereum Mainnet. Lower gas fees are a big part of every L2’s roadmap and vision for onchain adoption, and we are seeing proactive initiatives from all L2 teams to integrate these fee reductions into their ecosystems promptly following the Dencun Upgrade.
    • Foundation for harding —  Proto-danksharding is an incremental step that introduces some of the concepts of sharding without fully implementing it. For instance, EIP-4844’s blobs will be a crucial part of full sharding. The Dencun Upgrade’s activation of blob transactions allows the community to test Ethereum network’s capacity to handle increased data loads live in production and prepare for the full sharding upgrade.

    So what do industry insiders and veterans think of today’s long-awaited upgrade?

    Speaking to CoinTelegraph, Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at crypto wallet provider YouHodler, said “I don’t think this upgrade will significantly impact ETH’s price in the short term,” “But we may notice an increase in activity on the blockchain. At the same time, I expect ETH’s price to grow in the long term because the upgrade will make ETH much more valuable in the growing competition of new innovative layer 1 blockchain projects.”

    But for Mara Schmiedt, CEO of liquid staking development firm Alluvial, the implications of the Dencun upgrade are bullish, even in the short term. “In light of Bitcoin’s recent institutional surge enabled by recent ETF spot market approvals and total value locked in Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem close to scratching the $100 billion mark, this scalability-focused upgrade is much anticipated,” Schmiedt told Cointelegraph, adding: “Ethereum has faced scalability issues that have acted as a blocker to mainstream adoption and accommodating the growing number of users and transactions.”

    For Onno Sterk, chief operating officer of crypto exchange OSL, the Duncun upgrade is nothing short of significant, as it allows Ethereum to fix critical issues that have hindered the network’s development for years. “The digital asset space, while revolutionary, has been marred by issues of high transaction fees and limited scalability,” Sterk told Cointelegraph. “These challenges have not only stifled innovation but also restricted the wider adoption of blockchain technology across various sectors.” He further stated:

    “At its core, the Dencun upgrade is centered around proto-danksharding, an innovative approach aimed at drastically reducing transaction fees while simultaneously increasing the network’s processing speed. This development is monumental, as it enables Ethereum to serve as an effective database for other blockchains, thereby facilitating a more interconnected and efficient digital asset ecosystem.”

    Over the past year, Ether has seen a 141% return due to a combination of Dencun upgrade optimism, speculation on the approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and a broader crypto market recovery, although the asset has somewhat underperformed Bitcoin’s 198% return during the same period. Although crypto enthusiasts are anticipating a favorable decision on Ether ETFs by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in May, not all share the sentiment.

    “From my viewpoint, the SEC will use any excuse to postpone the decision,” said Lienkha, “which is why I am not expecting approvals this spring. However, I think the probability of a final positive decision is quite high.”

    Recently, Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, also warned that the odds of an Ether ETF approval in May are not as rosy as one may expect.

    Meanwhile, Alluvial’s Schmiedt emphasized that in order for Ethereum to reach meaningful adoption, “institutional adoption, widespread accessibility, and clear regulatory frameworks” are all necessary factors. “The success of Ethereum relies on the active participation of its community members, and I‘d encourage everyone — whether you are a developer, user or investor — to continue contributing your expertise and perspective to help shape the future of Ethereum,” she stated.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 19:20

  • Lemon's Party Over: Musk Cancels Don Lemon After "CNN, But On Social Media" Interview
    Lemon’s Party Over: Musk Cancels Don Lemon After “CNN, But On Social Media” Interview

    Fired CNN propagandist Don Lemon says that Elon Musk “has canceled the partnership I had with X … he informed me of his decision hours after an interview I conducted with him on Friday.”

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

    The interview with Musk is slated to be the debut episode of The Don Lemon Show. According to Lemon, the interview will now run as planned on YouTube, where future episodes will be released.

    Both Musk and X responded to Lemon’s post

    “X is a platform that champions free speech, and we’re proud to provide an open environment for diverse voices and perspectives,” the company’s @XBusiness account said, adding that Lemon is “welcome to publish its content on X, without censorship,” but that “like any enterprise, we reserve the right to make decisions about our business partnerships, and after careful consideration, X decided not to enter into a commercial partnership with the show.“

    When asked to elaborate, Musk said that Lemon’s approach was “basically just “CNN, but on social media”, which doesn’t work, as evidenced by the fact that CNN is dying.

    “Instead of it being the real Don Lemon, it was really just Jeff Zucker talking through Don, so lacked authenticity,” Musk added.

    Looks like this lemonparty has been officially pooped. 

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

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 19:11

  • Know Your Enemy
    Know Your Enemy

    Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

    One of my favorite investors that I love reading and following, Harris Kupperman, has offered up his latest thoughts on the market this week.

    Harris is the founder of Praetorian Capital, a hedge fund focused on using macro trends to guide stock selection.

    Harris is one of my favorite follows and I find his opinions – especially on macro and commodities – to be extremely resourceful. I’m certain my readers will find the same. I was excited when he offered up his latest thoughts, published below (slightly edited for grammar, bold emphasis is QTR’s).

    Whenever someone takes the other side of my trade, I want to put myself in their shoes. Is this a worthwhile opponent with a differentiated view? Am I stepping into a trap? Or are they doing something for totally uneconomic reasons? I need to know my enemy.

    “Yes, I know my enemies
    They’re the teachers who taught me to fight me
    Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission
    Ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite
    All of which are American dreams…”
    – Rage Against the Machine

    Naturally, I prefer the situations where my opponents are being absolute complete fuckwits—totally disengaged from valuation-based decision-making. Those are the opportunities where I want to wave it in with both hands.

    Think back to peak ESG idiocy; I’m a hired mercenary, my only mission is to make my investors as much money as possible. Meanwhile, a surprisingly large number of institutional firms are run by their marketing departments—incredulously, those guys decided that their ESG score was far more important than performance. Suddenly, the guys with the big capital didn’t even seem to care if they lost money. I was still playing chess and they were playing dominos. Many allocators simply hit the sell button on non-ESG positions—smashing equity prices to obscene levels. Millions of retirees were looted by their fiduciaries, while being told that their sacrifice would improve the weather. Meanwhile, I was there buying as much as my balance sheet could bear. It was one of the silliest wealth transfers of my career. I still look back at that moment and giggle like a little kid. It’s not supposed to be that easy in finance. Your opponents aren’t supposed to be hateful of performance. Disdain, sure, that happens, but hateful was a whole new experience for me. Ever since, I’ve spent my free time trying to find the next moment when investors fixate on the wrong thing.

    Of course, it’s rarely that easy. Often, I see the opportunities, but also wonder what I’m missing. Equities are usually approximately fairly-valued. If something is sort of mispriced, I assume there’s a divergence of views around an accepted framework, and when something is a few standard deviations off the mark, I genuinely wonder if I’m the one who’s lost the narrative. However, I frequently find that there are occasions where investors trade with different rulebooks than my own. These are the situations where opportunities are rife for structural reasons, often for extended periods of time. Let’s look at two prior occurrences so that you’ll understand the opportunity at play here.

    Think back over the last decade and look at value stocks. At first, it was a slow drip, then an undertow, followed by a complete torrent of selling—that selling has never really subsided. As value-based funds have underperformed, they’ve gotten redemptions, forcing more selling and more underperformance. This underperformance then leads to market cap weighted index funds selling additional shares, leading to more underperformance and more redemptions. The vicious cycle has continued for a decade now, and still seems to be ongoing in many ways. Amazing opportunities have been created in its wake.

    As a side note, my brain literally hurts to think about how many shares have been bought back in the various value sectors like coal companies, often at less than three times cash flow. Who could still be selling these shares this cheaply? Yet, the Venn Diagram of value investor outflows has a strong intersection of ESG idiocy and performance chasing. At some point, this will resolve itself, likely in a positive way for value names, but I’m amazed that it continues even today.

    Trust me, value investors don’t want to sell things at 3 times cash flow. I know these guys, they are my friends, and it hurts them deeply in their souls when they’re forced to make sales. However, they show up in the morning, look at their redemptions, and are required to sell something. It’s been ongoing for a decade now. Despite tens of billions in buybacks amongst value names, the buybacks cannot seem to overcome the forced selling by value investors. While we may be nearing the end of this process, it’s only because the companies involved have retired so many shares that they’re starting to run out of free-float to buy. Honestly, I think there’s substantial opportunity here.

    Let’s look at another instance when valuation-irrational investors created opportunity. Remember when an army of meme bros showed up in 2020 and 2021? These guys also didn’t care about valuations, except instead of selling cheap assets, they bought the most insanely expensive ones. They gravitated to frauds and Ponzi Schemes, lifting whole sectors to insane prices, often by chasing call options at already silly implied volatilities. This wave of valuation agnostic investors caught many formerly staid investors unaware, particularly as short selling had previously been a core component of most strategies. Look, the individual retail meme investor is undercapitalized and positively braindead, but millions of them are sentient in the way that a cloud of locusts is sentient. They probed at vulnerable situations and stampeded the shorts. This created innumerable opportunities, as the rules had once again changed.

    At my fund, I bought highly liquid Ponzi Schemes like Bitcoin, while joining into almost every short squeeze I could find. In particular I realized that if the locusts were chasing call options, the corollary was that deeply OTM put option premiums would also inflate to crazy IV levels, and I sold those, even if they were on a well-diversified basket of Ponzi Schemes and outright frauds. Unfortunately, that wave of mispricing was short-lived, but for over a year, it really was too easy to take money out of the markets, whole sectors went wonky with mispriced opportunity.

    Finance is rarely static. If something has worked for a few years, it usually stops working for the next few years. With all the meme bros forced to get jobs again, I’ve once again wondered who’s the sucker at the table. Who’s in the arena trying stuff, yet totally valuation agnostic? Who literally doesn’t care what price he buys or sells securities at? These are the guys that I want to fade. They’re my enemy.

    I’m going to generalize a bit and probably offend a bunch of you; but I’ve never been scared of that around here. Simply put, I think we’ve hit peak pod-shop. The idea that you can run a highly levered, yet fully hedged portfolio, with negligible volatility seems illogical. Pod-shops have grown massive and have completely distorted the market—often as multiple pod bros tend to have the same trades on, bullying a stock in the direction that they favor, stampeding everyone in their way. These guys live and die on rate of change. They use almost real-time data, data that I mostly ignore as a longer-term investor. If this week’s credit card runs are inflecting up, they buy more, if they’re inflecting down, they short more of it. They frequently play quarters, often playing intra-quarter. Pods seek momentum and trend; they don’t seek fair value. Maybe that works in an aggregate sense, and maybe it doesn’t. However, I feel confident in saying that many of these guys are valuation agnostic. Instead, they use pair trades, explicitly so that they can ignore valuation, and focus their books on rate of change. Meanwhile, given their size, and the cohesive group-think amongst supposedly competing funds, they tend to overwhelm markets and have optimized their strategies to take advantage of the self-fulfilling nature of the momentum that they generate. Of course, strategies like this work, unless someone takes the other side.

    🔥 50% OFF SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR LIFE: If you are not yet a subscriber, you can take 50% off for life by using this link: GET 50% OFF

    In my realm of value investing, I’m genuinely amazed at how these pods will short high-quality, rapidly growing businesses at under five times cash flow—just because the next quarter will be weak. I don’t understand how that strategy makes money, except during highly truncated bear-raids, yet the pods keep playing at it as they fixate on short-term rates of change. Then right after the negative print, they often accelerate their short selling, pressuring the stock in the pre-market and further spooking the longs. They want to take a bad quarter and stampede things, so that they can cover. Even then, sometimes they don’t cover until the data stops inflecting negatively. Then they cover en masse.

    I see this group as the newest and greatest source of Alpha in the markets. While I figure that most of these pod-shops will eventually liquidate in a cataclysm of margin calls, I intend to harness them for as long as possible before then. They’re the new meme bros, and they’re the new ESG mandates. They’re the idiots in the room, the pinata that we’re all supposed to swing the bat at. They’ve had it too easy, as too many traders focus on price action, and then get bullied by the pods as they paint the tape. Too many long-side traders still believe that mainstream media is actually reporting, as opposed to reading a script that’s paid for by pods. Not enough guys are willing to trust their research and stand in there, absorbing cheap stock from the pod bros who are shorting it.

    NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 12: Tim Commerford, Brad Wilk, and Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine perform at Madison Square Garden on August 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)

    These pods came of age during a time when value investors were getting liquidated—all the pods had to do was push a bit and the liquidations would intensify. No one had fresh capital to buy and defend their names. I now think that the tide is finally turning. I’ve seen the pods get stuffed over and over during the past few quarters as the buybacks are intensifying, the free-floats are consolidating, and the redemptions are slowing. I think this is finally the pivot. As for me, I’m willing to stand my ground, hold my levels and absorb incredibly cheap paper, knowing that I may need to suffer through a bad quarter or two. That’s the very essence of value investing. These pods aren’t used to that, they’re used to using violence to shake someone’s convictions.  I feel that as other traders realize that these pods are inch-deep aggression, they’ll also be more willing to stand and fight. If they cannot penetrate your levels, they’ll abandon the mission. Their strict risk-control, with tight stop losses, is their undoing. It really is an idiotic model. They’re my new enemy.

    “’Cause I’ll rip the mic, rip the stage, rip the system
    I was born to rage against ’em
    Now action must be taken
    We don’t need the key, we’ll break in”
    – Rage Against the Machine

    If someone is laying into your company at less than five times earnings, then it’s probably a pod. They’re going to bully you, that’s what they do. I’m not scared, as I know the trick now. I’ll let them short into me. I trust my research. I don’t live on rate of change; I live on valuation. I can suffer through a bad quarter or two and use their vigorous sales to buy more. Like all great surges in valuation-agnostic investing, this one too will wane. Until then, I believe that this is the clearest opportunity out there—though, I fear that it will be fleeting. Until then, I intend to rack up skins.

    Happy hunting friends…

    Please read QTR and Harris’ full disclaimers here. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 19:00

  • Bezos Funds Fake Meat Tech As Elites Push To Reset Global Food Supply Chain
    Bezos Funds Fake Meat Tech As Elites Push To Reset Global Food Supply Chain

    Bezos Earth Fund Vice Chair Lauren Sánchez announced this week at the multi-day Aspen Ideas: Climate event at the Miami Beach Convention Center that the fund will invest tens of millions of dollars in advancing the science and technology surrounding “alternative proteins.” 

    Sánchez said a $60 million investment will establish Bezos Centers for Sustainable Protein as part of the Bezos Earth Fund’s $1 billion initiative to transform the food supply chain. 

    Bezos Earth Fund stated in a press release, “The Centers will target major technological barriers to reducing cost, increasing quality, and boosting nutritional benefit of alternative proteins by advancing science and technology.” 

    Sánchez said, “We need to feed 10 billion people with healthy, sustainable food throughout this century while protecting our planet. We can do it, and it will require a ton of innovation.” 

    “Our world is poised for transformation, for a future not constrained by compromise. Solutions to our greatest challenges often come from the quiet persistence of those willing to question, reimagine, and innovate,” she added. 

    Under the guise of climate change, the World Economic Forum and some billionaire members have been obsessed with resetting the global food supply chain. They attempt to transition the world’s population from a meat-based diet to insects, fake meat, and plant-based foods. 

    Also… 

    Corporate media has been trying to convince the masses… 

    Pay attention to Europe’s farmers. They’re rising up by the tens of thousands against the climate cult in Brussels, which is trying to kill small farms through disastrous ‘greenhouse gas pollution’ measures. The move by the government and elites to crush farmers is an attempt to seize control over the food supply. 

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    Say no to fake meat and insects. Buy local. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 18:40

  • Vitamin D Could Help Treat Young People With Type 1 Diabetes, Improve Insulin Production
    Vitamin D Could Help Treat Young People With Type 1 Diabetes, Improve Insulin Production

    Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A high dose of vitamin D could improve the function of insulin-producing beta cells in children and young adults recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

    The discovery, published in JAMA Network Open, could mean that a more cost-effective way of managing the disease affecting 1.45 million Americans has been on pharmacy shelves all along.

    “Type 1 diabetes affects millions of people and treatment options can often be costly,” Dr. Benjamin Nwosu, chief of endocrinology and director of the diabetes center at Cohen Children’s Medical Center and the principal author of the research paper, said in a press release. “It is exciting to know that vitamin D could protect the beta cells of the pancreas and increase the natural production of good and functional insulin in these patients.”

    People with Type 1 diabetes do not make enough insulin, the hormone responsible for producing and moving blood sugar into the body’s cells for energy. Without enough insulin, blood sugar can’t get into the cells and stays trapped in the bloodstream, which causes diabetes symptoms. Complications of Type 1 diabetes include heart disease, stroke, circulatory problems, eye issues, nerve damage, kidney disease, and gum disease.

    How Vitamin D Helps Manage Type 1 Diabetes

    Dr. Nwosu and his team uncovered vitamin D’s effects on diabetes by conducting a 12-month trial with 36 youths between the ages of 10 and 21. The average age of the participants was 13. Most of the participants were boys (24).

    During the trial, Dr. Nwosu and his team randomly provided the participants with either a dose of ergocalciferol—a form of vitamin D, also known as vitamin D2—or a placebo. The research team found that taking the vitamin D supplement helped the body reduce the proinsulin to C-peptide ratio and delayed the loss of C-peptide more than the placebo. When C-peptide is present, the body is still producing insulin; in other words, the young people’s bodies made insulin that worked the way it was supposed to work.

    Dr. Nwosu said slowing down C-peptide loss and improving the function of insulin-producing cells could extend the “honeymoon phase” of Type 1 diabetes.

    The “honeymoon phase” is the critical time of Type 1 diabetes when treatment options determine the long-term outlook of the disease, especially for a young person. Typically, after the honeymoon phase, beta cells, which are located in the pancreas, retain between 3o percent and 50 percent of their function, according to Dr. Nwosu’s research. The beta cells can continue to produce insulin for years after the initial diagnosis, which is why prolonging the partial remission phase can help reduce long-term complications of the disease.

    Vitamin D Could Benefit Type 1 Diabetics, but More Treatment Needed

    The discovery builds upon Dr. Nwosu’s previous work, which showed that high doses of vitamin D are safe and effective in improving glucose control. Dr. Nwosu’s research has also shown that vitamin D prolongs the remission phase of Type 1 diabetes in children and adolescents.

    Dr. Nwosu and his team noted that while vitamin D supplementation could elongate the honeymoon phase, more treatment options are likely necessary for those managing Type 1 diabetes.

    “Repurposing commonly used supplements such as vitamin D, which is known to be safe and effective for other ailments, presents an opportunity to continue developing other therapies needed to treat type 1 diabetes,” Dr. Charles Shleien, senior vice president and chair of pediatric services at Northwell Health, said in the press release.

    Vitamin D is a readily available supplement that comes in several forms. Ergocalciferol, or vitamin D2, is particularly common and has little to no side effects. Too much vitamin D could cause high calcium levels, which can lead to nausea, vomiting, constipation, unusual tiredness, and potential mental or mood changes, but this only happens with extremely high levels of vitamin D of about 10,000 international units (IUs) per day for an extended period.

    Individuals with Type 1 diabetes or prediabetes need to connect with their physician or health care provider before beginning any new type of medication or supplement.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 18:20

  • Time For A Backyard Chicken Coop? Supermarket Egg Prices Soaring Once-Again
    Time For A Backyard Chicken Coop? Supermarket Egg Prices Soaring Once-Again

    As of Wednesday, there are just 18 days left until Easter celebrations begin. For those who have recently visited the supermarket, egg prices are trending in the wrong direction, although well off the highs recorded in December 2022.

    Data from the United States Department of Agriculture shows that Grade A egg prices per dozen jumped 40% from $2.13 to $3 between November and February. 

    Customer review and consumer news platform “ConsumerAffairs” reports that egg prices have “zoomed higher by a significant percentage in certain parts of the country,” indicating the largest surges have been at supermarkets in Minneapolis and Buffalo/Rochester, adding “Orlando’s egg prices went up as well.” 

    ConsumerAffairs noted that the price surges were mainly seen in “large central metro areas, but in non-core rural areas, there was a fairly noticeable decrease.” 

    “You can try and pin this on grocer greed, but that’s a wasted accusation. The higher prices of eggs in the US are actually due to several factors. There has been a significant reduction in the supply of eggs as a result of the avian influenza outbreak, which has resulted in the euthanasia of millions of chickens and ducks,” ConsumerAffairs said. 

    What intrigues us is the price gap in egg prices that ConsumerAffairs finds in cities versus rural areas. This means anyone who lives in big cities and wants to escape the inflation horror show under Bidenomics should at least consider rural communities where food can be sourced locally and sometimes a lot cheaper.

    It probably wouldn’t hurt to homeschool the kids while living out in rural America. 

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    Alternatively, starting a farm and taking control of one’s food supply is a powerful step towards independence from the overreaching state and mega-corporations.

    For those who can’t move because the Federal Reserve has paralyzed the housing market with high-interest rates, consider a backyard garden and chicken coop. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 18:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Mar 13

Today’s News 13th March 2024

  • Russia Producing 3 Times More Shells Than US, Europe Combined: NATO Report
    Russia Producing 3 Times More Shells Than US, Europe Combined: NATO Report

    Authored by Will Porter via The Libertarian Institute,

    Russia’s defense industry is turning out nearly three times more artillery shells than its American and European counterparts, according to a NATO intelligence report obtained by CNN. Western powers have scrambled to ramp up production as Ukrainian troops face dire ammunition shortages.

    While the US and Europe have the capacity to produce a combined 1.2 million shells annually, Russia’s output has now reached 3 million, the NATO estimate said. Though Washington aims to boost production to 100,000 155mm shells each month by 2025 – up from just 28,000 last September – that target can only be met with a resumption of American aid to Kiev, and would still put US output at less than half of Moscow’s.

    Russian Defense Ministry/AP

    According to US officials, Russia is burning through around 10,000 shells per day, vastly outgunning Ukraine’s daily average of just 2,000. The Estonian Defense Ministry has estimated that Kiev would need 200,000 rounds every month to match Russia’s firepower.

    The European Union has also raced to step up shell production to help close the gap, pledging last year to provide 1 million shells by March. However, the bloc later acknowledged it would fall short of that goal by half, estimating it would supply a little over 500,000 by the deadline.

    Though Europe’s production capacity has lagged to meet Ukraine’s needs, a group of Western states has reportedly agreed to purchase 800,000 artillery shells that could be “delivered within weeks,” according to Bloomberg. The Czech Republic would act as a middleman in the deal, while Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and the Netherlands are expected to foot the bill.

    Persistent ammo shortages likely help to explain recent battlefield setbacks for Ukrainian forces, including a withdrawal from the key Donbass city of Avdeevka, as well as a lackluster summer counteroffensive which failed to make significant gains.

    Though the United States has supplied Kiev with more than 2 million 155mm rounds and a vast array of other munitions since 2022, American military assistance has largely dried up thanks to congressional gridlock over the latest aid bill. Part of a larger spending package that would supply arms to Israel and other US partners, $60 billion for Ukraine remains blocked by House Republicans, who have demanded reforms to US border policy before approving additional aid. 

    The Pentagon announced that it had run out of money for Ukraine last December, while a senior defense official recently told Politico that Washington is already $10 billion in the hole, unable to backfill US stocks unless the new aid bill is passed.

    With the Russo-Ukrainian war now in its third year, Kiev’s prospects appear increasingly bleak as its troops beat fighting retreats across a vast front line, incurring heavy losses in the process. Almost entirely reliant on foreign largesse, the country’s fate is likely to be decided in Western capitals, where public support for continued aid has declined significantly since the start of the conflict.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 02:00

  • Trump vs. Biden Rematch Virtually Assured After Former President Becomes Presumptive GOP Nominee
    Trump vs. Biden Rematch Virtually Assured After Former President Becomes Presumptive GOP Nominee

    To no one’s surprise, former President Donald Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee after making a clean sweet of three more Republican presidential primaries – Georgia, Mississippi and Washington.

    While it’s not technically a done deal just yet – between the three states there are 142 delegates, of which Trump needed 137 to secure a majority within his party, and an overall count of 1,215, and positioning him to become the Republican party’s presidential nominee once a vote is held at the convention in Milwaukee.

    President Biden, meanwhile, cleared his party’s 1,968-delegate threshold earlier in the evening after AP projected him to win Georgia.

    Nikki Haley, the longest-lasting Trump challenger for the GOP nomination, secured 94 delegates, while Ron DeSantis scored 9 and Vivek Ramaswamy had 3.

    As the Epoch Times notes, things may get exciting in a few months.

    On the streets of Chicago, Illinois, which will host the Democratic National Convention Aug. 19–22, stickers labeling President Biden a “terrorist” are a foreshadowing of protests that could rock that event, barring a ceasefire brokered by the Biden administration or similar policy moves.

    Yet, the forces arrayed against President Biden do not amount to a serious challenge within his own party, at least not when it comes to racking up delegates.

    In Mississippi’s Democratic primary, 35 delegates were at stake, while contests in Georgia and Washington had 108 and 92 up for grabs, respectively.

    Going into March 12, President Biden had a total of 1,872 delegates, 96 short of the 1,968 required to have a majority of delegates to the DNC.

    That meant he needed less than half the 235 delegates in play in the Democratic races taking place across the country on March 12.

    On both the left and right, speculation has persisted that President Biden will be replaced by another candidate.

    “Gavin Newsom is doing everything he can to position himself as the Democratic Party’s presidential heir-apparent should Biden, in the face of daunting poll numbers, step aside later in the election season—or, alternatively, come the 2028 electoral cycle,” wrote The Nation, a left-leaning periodical, in a March 9 post on X.

    On March 7, Roger Stone posted his prediction on X:  “Joe Biden will be replaced as the Democratic nominee. In fact, he will withdraw shortly before the convention.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 03/13/2024 – 00:00

  • The State Of Our Nation No One's Talking About: Tyranny Is Rising As Freedom Falls
    The State Of Our Nation No One’s Talking About: Tyranny Is Rising As Freedom Falls

    Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

    “Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest—forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries.”

    – Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism

    Day by day, tyranny is rising as freedom falls.

    The U.S. military is being used to patrol subway stations and police the U.S.-Mexico border, supposedly in the name of national security.

    The financial sector is being used to carry out broad surveillance of Americans’ private financial data, while the entertainment sector is being tapped to inform on video game enthusiasts with a penchant for violent, potentially extremist content, all in an alleged effort to uncover individuals subscribing to anti-government sentiments

    Public and private venues are being equipped with sophisticated surveillance technologies, including biometric and facial recognition software, to track Americans wherever they go and whatever they do. Space satellites with powerful overhead surveillance cameras will render privacy null and void.

    This is the state of our nation that no is talking about—not the politicians, not the courts, and not Congress: the government’s power grabs are growing bolder, while the rights of the citizenry continue to be trampled underfoot.

    Hitler is hiding in the shadows, while the citizenry—the only ones powerful enough to stem the authoritarian tide that threatens to lay siege to our constitutional republic—remain easily distracted and conveniently diverted by political theatrics and news cycles that change every few days.

    This sorry truth has persisted no matter which party has controlled Congress or the White House.  

    These are dangerous times.

    Yet while the presidential candidates talk at length about the dangers posed by the opposition party, the U.S. government still poses the gravest threat to our freedoms and way of life.

    Police shootings of unarmed individuals, invasive surveillance, roadside blood draws, roadside strip searches, SWAT team raids gone awry, the military industrial complex’s costly wars, pork barrel spending, pre-crime laws, civil asset forfeiture, fusion centers, militarization, armed drones, smart policing carried out by AI robots, courts that march in lockstep with the police state, schools that function as indoctrination centers, bureaucrats that keep the Deep State in power: these are just a few of the ways in which the police state continues to flex its muscles in a show of force intended to intimidate anyone still clinging to the antiquated notion that the government answers to “we the people.”

    Consider for yourself the state of our nation:

    • Americans have little protection against police abuse. The police and other government agents have been generally empowered to probe, poke, pinch, taser, search, seize, strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance, all with the general blessing of the courts. It is no longer unusual to hear about incidents in which police shoot unarmed individuals first and ask questions later. What is increasingly common, however, is the news that the officers involved in these incidents get off with little more than a slap on the hands.

    • Americans are little more than pocketbooks to fund the police state. If there is any absolute maxim by which the federal government seems to operate, it is that the American taxpayer always gets ripped off. This is true, whether you’re talking about taxpayers being forced to fund high-priced weaponry that will be used against us, endless wars that do little for our safety or our freedoms, or bloated government agencies with their secret budgets, covert agendas and clandestine activities.

    • Americans are no longer innocent until proven guilty. We once operated under the assumption that you were innocent until proven guilty. Due in large part to rapid advances in technology and a heightened surveillance culture, the burden of proof has been shifted so that the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty has been usurped by a new norm in which all citizens are suspects. Indeed, the government—in cahoots with the corporate state—has erected the ultimate suspect society. In such an environment, we are all potentially guilty of some wrongdoing or other.

    • Americans no longer have a right to self-defense. While the courts continue to disagree over the exact nature of the rights protected by the Second Amendment, the government itself has made its position extremely clear. When it comes to gun rights in particular, and the rights of the citizenry overall, the U.S. government has adopted a “do what I say, not what I do” mindset. Nowhere is this double standard more evident than in the government’s attempts to arm itself to the teeth, all the while viewing as suspect anyone who dares to legally own a gun, let alone use one in self-defense. Indeed, while it still technically remains legal to own a firearm in America, possessing one can now get you pulled over, searched, arrested, subjected to all manner of surveillance, treated as a suspect without ever having committed a crime, shot at, and killed.

    • Americans no longer have a right to private property. If government agents can invade your home, break down your doors, kill your dog, damage your furnishings and terrorize your family, your property is no longer private and secure—it belongs to the government. Likewise, if government officials can fine and arrest you for growing vegetables in your front yard, praying with friends in your living room, installing solar panels on your roof, and raising chickens in your backyard, you’re no longer the owner of your property.

    • Americans no longer have a say about what their children are exposed to in school. Incredibly, the government continues to insist that parents essentially forfeit their rights when they send their children to a public school. This growing tension over whether young people, especially those in the public schools, are essentially wards of the state, to do with as government officials deem appropriate, in defiance of the children’s constitutional rights and those of their parents, is at the heart of almost every debate over educational programming, school discipline, and the extent to which parents have any say over their children’s wellbeing in and out of school.

    • Americans are powerless in the face of militarized police forces. With local police agencies acquiring military-grade weaponry, training and equipment better suited for the battlefield, Americans are finding their once-peaceful communities transformed into military outposts patrolled by a standing military army.

    • Americans no longer have a right to bodily integrity. The debate over bodily integrity covers broad territory, ranging from abortion and euthanasia to forced blood draws, biometric surveillance and basic healthcare. Forced vaccinations, forced cavity searches, forced colonoscopies, forced blood draws, forced breath-alcohol tests, forced DNA extractions, forced eye scans, forced inclusion in biometric databases: these are just a few ways in which Americans continue to be reminded that we have no control over what happens to our bodies during an encounter with government officials.

    • Americans no longer have a right to the expectation of privacy. Despite the staggering number of revelations about government spying on Americans’ phone calls, Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, Google searches, emails, bookstore and grocery purchases, bank statements, commuter toll records, etc., Congress, the president and the courts have done little to nothing to counteract these abuses. Instead, they seem determined to accustom us to life in this electronic concentration camp.

    • Americans no longer have a representative government. We have moved beyond the era of representative government and entered the age of authoritarianism, where all citizens are suspects, security trumps freedom, and so-called elected officials represent the interests of the corporate power elite. This topsy-turvy travesty of law and government has become America’s new normal.

    • Americans can no longer rely on the courts to mete out justice. The U.S. Supreme Court was intended to be an institution established to intervene and protect the people against the government and its agents when they overstep their bounds. Yet through their deference to police power, preference for security over freedom, and evisceration of our most basic rights for the sake of order and expediency, the justices of the Supreme Court have become the architects of the American police state in which we now live, while the lower courts have appointed themselves courts of order, concerned primarily with advancing the government’s agenda, no matter how unjust or illegal.

    I haven’t even touched on the corporate state, the military industrial complex, SWAT team raids, invasive surveillance technology, zero tolerance policies in the schools, overcriminalization, or privatized prisons, to name just a few, but what I have touched on should be enough to show that the landscape of our freedoms has already changed dramatically from what it once was and will no doubt continue to deteriorate unless Americans can find a way to wrest back control of their government and reclaim their freedoms.

    This steady slide towards tyranny, meted out by militarized local and federal police and legalistic bureaucrats, has been carried forward by each successive president over the past seventy-plus years regardless of their political affiliation.

    The more things change, the more they stay the same.

    We are walking a dangerous path right now.

    Having allowed the government to expand and exceed our reach, we find ourselves on the losing end of a tug-of-war over control of our country and our lives. And for as long as we let them, government officials will continue to trample on our rights, always justifying their actions as being for the good of the people.

    Yet the government can only go as far as “we the people” allow. Therein lies the problem.

    The pickle we find ourselves in speaks volumes about the nature of the government beast we have been saddled with and how it views the rights and sovereignty of “we the people.”

    Now you don’t hear a lot about sovereignty anymore. Sovereignty is a dusty, antiquated term that harkens back to an age when kings and emperors ruled with absolute power over a populace that had no rights. Americans turned the idea of sovereignty on its head when they declared their independence from Great Britain and rejected the absolute authority of King George III. In doing so, Americans claimed for themselves the right to self-government and established themselves as the ultimate authority and power.

    In other words, in America, “we the people”— sovereign citizens—call the shots.

    So when the government acts, it is supposed to do so at our bidding and on our behalf, because we are the rulers.

    That’s not exactly how it turned out, though, is it?

    In the 200-plus years since we boldly embarked on this experiment in self-government, we have been steadily losing ground to the government’s brazen power grabs, foisted upon us in the so-called name of national security.

    We have relinquished control over the most intimate aspects of our lives to government officials who, while they may occupy seats of authority, are neither wiser, smarter, more in tune with our needs, more knowledgeable about our problems, nor more aware of what is really in our best interests.

    The government has knocked us off our rightful throne. It has usurped our rightful authority. It has staged the ultimate coup. Its agents no longer even pretend that they answer to “we the people.”

    Worst of all, “we the people” have become desensitized to this constant undermining of our freedoms.

    How do we reconcile the Founders’ vision of the government as an entity whose only purpose is to serve the people with the police state’s insistence that the government is the supreme authority, that its power trumps that of the people themselves, and that it may exercise that power in any way it sees fit (that includes government agents crashing through doors, mass arrests, ethnic cleansing, racial profiling, indefinite detentions without due process, and internment camps)?

    They cannot be reconciled. They are polar opposites.

    We are fast approaching a moment of reckoning where we will be forced to choose between the vision of what America was intended to be (a model for self-governance where power is vested in the people) and the reality of what it has become (a police state where power is vested in the government).

    We are repeating the mistakes of history—namely, allowing a totalitarian state to reign over us.

    Former concentration camp inmate Hannah Arendt warned against this when she wrote:

    “No matter what the specifically national tradition or the particular spiritual source of its ideology, totalitarian government always transformed classes into masses, supplanted the party system, not by one-party dictatorships, but by mass movement, shifted the center of power from the army to the police, and established a foreign policy openly directed toward world domination.”

    So where does that leave us?

    Aldous Huxley predicted that eventually the government would find a way of “making people love their servitude, and producing dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods. And this seems to be the final revolution.”

    The answer? Get un-brainwashed, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries,

    Stop allowing yourself to be distracted and diverted.

    Learn your rights.

    Stand up for the founding principles.

    Make your voice and your vote count for more than just political posturing.

    Never cease to vociferously protest the erosion of your freedoms at the local and national level.

    Most of all, do these things today.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 23:40

  • Spring Break Chaos Is Back
    Spring Break Chaos Is Back

    It’s that time of year when spring breakers invade Miami Beach, marking the first high-impact weekend of this month. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are increasing their security presence across South Florida as the parties are expected to continue for several weeks. 

    X user “Joel Franco” posted a video of the traffic coming into South Breach on Friday evening. He said license plate readers were placed along the highway, and traffic lanes were condensed into one. 

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    Franco said “significant delays” were seen on the highway heading into Miami Beach Saturday night. 

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    Franco said several police agencies, from Miami Beach Police to the Florida Highway Patrol to the FBI, are patrolling the streets. 

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    Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he was increasing the number of troopers throughout the Sunshine State ahead of Spring Break. 

    “Florida is a very welcoming state. We welcome people to come and have a good time. What we don’t welcome is criminal activity. What we don’t welcome is mayhem and people that want to wreak havoc on our communities,” DeSantis told reporters Tuesday. 

    He said, “Make no mistake about it: If you’re coming here in order to enjoy Florida and have a good time, fine. If you’re coming for these other reasons, if you’re committing crimes, causing havoc, you are going to pay the price and we will hold you accountable.”

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    On the city level, Miami Beach has increased fines, extended curfews, restricted beach access, set up DUI checkpoints, and conducted bag checks. 

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    And the chaos begins. 

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    Locals are fed up. 

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    Are the spring breakers causing mayhem really college kids? 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 23:20

  • Shilajit: The Ancient Remedy Making Modern Health Waves
    Shilajit: The Ancient Remedy Making Modern Health Waves

    Authored by Sheramy Tsai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    With a history as rich as its mineral content, shilajit offers a glimpse into nature’s pharmacy, offering benefits from enhanced fertility to increased energy. As science begins to unravel the mysteries of this ancient elixir, questions arise about its efficacy and potential as a natural health solution.

    (StockImageFactory.com/Shutterstock)

    Nature’s Ancient Elixir

    High in the Himalayas, shilajit seeps from the rocks, a tar-like byproduct of centuries-old decomposed plant matter. With a composition rich in minerals, fulvic acid, and humic acids, it occupies a revered spot in Ayurvedic medicine as a “Rasayana,” aimed at promoting longevity and revitalizing the body and mind.

    Ayurvedic doctor Sruthi Bhat praised shilajit for its broad spectrum of health benefits, telling The Epoch Times, “The unique composition of shilajit provides a plethora of health benefits.” According to Ms. Bhat, shilajit supports cardiovascular health, aids digestion, and balances hormones, among other benefits. “Shilajit serves as a versatile tonic for overall health and well-being, targeting multiple systems of the body to promote vitality and resilience,” she shared.

    Scientific scrutiny supports these claims, revealing shilajit’s composition to be incredibly diverse, with over 85 minerals, vitamins, and phytonutrients. Fulvic acid, a key component of shilajit, is noted for its ability to improve nutrient absorption, elevate energy levels, and facilitate the body’s detoxification. Fulvic acid is critical in transporting nutrients into the cells and expelling toxins, significantly enhancing energy and overall health.

    Shilajit, also called salajit, shilajatu, mumie, mineral pitch, and mummiyo, is sourced from diverse locations such as India, Nepal, Russia, and Chile. Research suggests that its health benefits differ based on the geographical origin of the substance.

    Dubbed the “destroyer of weakness,” shilajit is prominent in many cultures. According to an ancient Ayurvedic text, the Cha raka Samhita, “There is no curable disease in the universe that is not effectively curable by shilajit, when administered at the appropriate time, adopting the prescribed method.”

    Ayurveda’s Golden Elixir for Modern Wellness

    In Ayurvedic tradition, shilajit is classified into four types: svarna (gold), rajat (silver), tamra (copper), and loh (iron), each valued for specific therapeutic benefits. Gold shilajit, known for its rejuvenating effects, is especially esteemed. “This form of shilajit is believed to promote vitality, longevity, and overall well-being by balancing the doshas and stimulating cellular regeneration,” Ms. Bhat notes.

    According to Ayurvedic principles, the various forms of shilajit target distinct health issues. Silver shilajit is used for its cooling effects, while copper shilajit is favored for its warming properties that boost vitality and metabolism. Iron shilajit is credited with grounding and is often recommended for fighting fatigue and improving endurance.

    Ancient Ayurvedic methodologies emphasize the critical role of purifying shilajit. It undergoes extensive purification to remove contaminants, such as heavy metals, and to enhance its therapeutic effects. Dr. Bhat points out, “Purification of shilajit stands as a pivotal step before its medicinal use.” A common purification process for shilajit includes heating it in an herbal decoction called triphala or in cow’s urine, then filtering and drying the mixture.

    “Shilajit can be administered with various anupanas (carriers) to enhance its therapeutic effects,” explains Ms. Bhat. These carriers may include milk, ghee, and or honey.

    Six Potential Benefits of Shilajit

    Although shilajit has been a staple in traditional medicine for centuries, modern science is just beginning to explore its reported health advantages. Beyond its potential to address cancer, cardiovascular disease, and insomnia, shilajit is also making strides in these six key areas:

    1. Enhances Energy and Athletic Performance

    Shilajit is making waves for its ability to bolster physical and mental energy. The secret lies in its capacity to enhance mitochondrial efficiency, essentially turbocharging the body’s cellular engines.

    Shilajit’s active components optimize mitochondrial function, enabling a more effective conversion of nutrients into energy. When combined with CoQ10, an antioxidant found naturally in the body, shilajit may significantly enhance stamina and endurance.

    Sidney Stohs, who holds a doctorate in biochemistry, highlights in his research, “Animal and human data support its use as a ‘revitalizer,’ enhancing physical performance and relieving fatigue with enhanced production of ATP.”

    Athletes and individuals enduring fatigue have noticed as evidence mounts in favor of shilajit’s role in enhancing physical performance and tackling conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome.

    A study with 63 participants demonstrated that consuming 500 mg of shilajit daily for eight weeks can significantly help maintain muscle strength after exertion and minimize tissue damage, highlighting its importance as a supplement for energy enhancement and recovery.

    2. Improves Brain Health

    Research suggests shilajit could play a role in supporting brain health. Studies indicate that fulvic acid in shilajit may help prevent the buildup of tau protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s that leads to brain cell degeneration.

    Additional research supports the broader cognitive advantages of shilajit, particularly when used alongside other nutritional supplements or dietary measures. Notably, a study showed that when paired with a vitamin B complex, shilajit might benefit individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

    3. Reduces Bone Loss

    Shilajit is being explored for its potential benefits in bone health, particularly among postmenopausal women. Recent scientific research suggests that shilajit extract could play a significant role in maintaining bone mineral density, offering hope for those at risk of osteoporosis.

    In a detailed study involving sixty women aged 45 to 65, findings indicated that daily doses of 250 milligrams (mg) and 500 mg of shilajit extract significantly preserved bone mineral density over 48 weeks. The study’s authors attribute this effect to shilajit’s rich antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and collagen-enhancing properties, which may help offset increased bone turnover and oxidative stress associated with estrogen deficiency.

    4. Boosts Fertility

    Shilajit has the potential to influence hormonal balance and enhance fertility. In a comprehensive study, men aged 45 to 55 who took 250 mg of purified shilajit twice daily for three months saw a remarkable increase in both total and free testosterone, along with dehydroepiandrosterone levels, outperforming those on a placebo.

    Further research has underscored shilajit’s effectiveness in improving sperm quality, particularly for those with low sperm counts. Taking 100 mg of shilajit twice a day led to significant enhancements in sperm movement and a 61.4 percent rise in overall sperm count, with a notable 18.9 percent increase in healthy sperm. Moreover, this treatment reduced oxidative stress in semen and boosted blood testosterone levels by about 25 percent.

    Shilajit’s fertility-enhancing properties are not limited to men. Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman has noted shilajit’s ability to increase follicle-stimulating hormone, which is essential for egg development, suggesting its broad applicability in fertility treatments. Shilajit is “pro-fertile,” Mr. Huberman stated in a YouTube video titled “Ashwagandha & Shilajit Benefits, Huberman Lab Podcast.”

    Beyond aiding in egg growth, shilajit also boosts libido and supports reproductive health, making it a promising natural supplement for those looking to increase their chances of conception.

    5. Irons Out Anemia

    Thanks to its rich mineral content, shilajit may combat anemia. Animal studies have revealed its capability to raise hemoglobin levels and augment red blood cell counts—essential indicators of blood health. These outcomes are notably relevant given widespread iron deficiency anemia and the quest for natural remedies.

    The fulvic acid in shilajit has been found in a study on rats to enhance the body’s ability to absorb and utilize iron, addressing the root cause of anemia by ensuring that iron intake translates into tangible improvements in blood health. Shilajit shows promise as an effective supplement in managing anemia by increasing iron levels and its uptake. Yet, further research is necessary to fully establish its benefits for human anemia treatment.

    6. High-Altitude Ally

    Known in Sanskrit as the “conqueror of mountains,” Shilajit lives up to its name by aiding those navigating the challenges of high altitudes. This natural substance is celebrated for its ability to address a range of health issues common to mountain explorers.

    Research points to shilajit’s effectiveness in fighting altitude sickness, with symptoms such as hypoxia, fatigue, and insomnia being alleviated by its rich fulvic acid and mineral content. These components enhance the transport of nutrients and energy production while bolstering the immune system. Its adaptogenic qualities enable faster acclimatization to high altitudes.

    Integrating Shilajit Into Your Health Regimen

    In the crowded wellness market, finding authentic shilajit is like searching for a gem among stones. Its promise of natural health benefits makes it a sought-after remedy, yet the risk of counterfeit products means buyers must navigate with caution.

    “Authenticity and quality are vital factors to consider,” asserts Ms. Bhat, underscoring the importance of selecting genuine shilajit. Unlike its liquid or pill counterparts, true shilajit is a resin, representing the most potent form of its health-enhancing properties. This natural resin transforms in warmth, becoming pliable and sticky, and dissolves into a golden or reddish hue in warm liquids.

    Yet, acquiring shilajit is just the beginning. Integrating it into a daily health regimen requires knowledge and care, especially since it lacks U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and established dosing guidelines. “Start with small dosages and gradually increase intake,” Ms. Bhat recommends, to allow the body to adjust without adverse reactions. Clinical trials often suggest a daily intake of 200 to 500 mg, divided into two doses, though individual preferences may vary due to its distinctive taste.

    Mindfulness in its use is key, particularly for those with pre-existing conditions or those taking other medications. “Consulting a health care professional before commencing any new supplement regimen is paramount,” Ms. Bhat advises, highlighting the need for personalized guidance—especially for pregnant women or individuals with specific health concerns.

    As research into shilajit’s efficacy and safety progresses, its potential for improving well-being gains recognition. However, fully integrating this age-old remedy into modern health practices remains a work in progress, calling for further investigation.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 23:00

  • "Major Measles Outbreak" Reported In US As Migrant Shelters Become Infectious Disease Breeding Grounds
    “Major Measles Outbreak” Reported In US As Migrant Shelters Become Infectious Disease Breeding Grounds

    The radical progressives in the Biden administration are responsible for the greatest migrant invasion this nation has ever seen but also an emerging public health crisis, as millions of unvaccinated and undocumented illegals (some with infectious diseases) are being piled into migrant shelters nationwide like cattle. 

    Daily Mail reports the US is on the verge of a “major measles outbreak,” with cases in the first two months of the year nearly eclipsing those in the previous year. 

    ” … as doctors warn many young physicians have never even seen a patient infected with the virus. Hundreds of people are already feared to be infected in California and Arizona after cases were confirmed in people in the states who visited local hospitals,” the media outlet said. 

    It’s important to recognize that migrant shelters are becoming breeding grounds for the spread of infectious diseases. Notably, it’s the Democrats, often referred to as the ‘party of science,’ who are enabling this public health crisis to materialize while the pharma-industrial complex secretly cheers as the next crisis will need more vaccines. 

    Earlier on Tuesday, Elon Musk responded to Fox News’ Bill Melugin’s post on X. The billionaire said “!” in response to a CNN report that a measles outbreak in a Chicago migrant shelter is quickly worsening. 

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    New data from the CDC shows 45 measles cases were recorded in the first two months across 17 states, nearly surpassing the 58 cases recorded in the full year of 2023. 

    Source: Daily Mail 

    Besides corporate media blaming a low vaccination rate, maybe – just maybe – overcrowded shelters with migrants from third-world countries are the most likely root cause of the public health crisis. None of these migrants were screened at the border for contagious diseases – and were able to walk right over – some were even flown in on airplanes, and others were bussed into sanctuary cities by a shadowy network of taxpayer-funded governmental organizations. Besides future Democrat voters, you’ll never guess the reason why migrants were shipped in by the millions (that answer is found here: “Shadowy Network Of NGOs Supplies …”). 

    The open southern border is a major national security crisis that is quite literally a ticking time bomb about to go off. It’s also quickly morphing into a public health crisis.  

    Just wait until Democrats start pushing measles vaccines. 

    Or Stephen Colbert gets another advertising deal from big pharma. 

    Sigh. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 22:40

  • Japanese Stocks Would Collapse If Yen Gains More Than 5%
    Japanese Stocks Would Collapse If Yen Gains More Than 5%

    By Ven Ram, Bloomberg markets live reporter and strategist

    Japanese stocks can withstand a quick bounce in the yen, but will start to feel the pinch if the currency’s advance goes deeper and becomes more entrenched.

    Gains in the Nikkei 225 Index will start slowing if the yen begins to advance sustainably against its major trading partners and in particular the dollar. That could turn into losses should the currency strengthen more than 5% this year.

    The following chart shows how a strengthening of the yen against the dollar may affect the Nikkei’s fortunes, based on data going back almost a quarter of a century. The results are similar when the dollar is substituted with a trade-weighted basket of Japan’s major trading partners.

    The Nikkei almost doubled in value over the past five years as Deutsche Bank’s trade-weighted yen slumped more than 20% over that period. A weaker yen is a tailwind for Japanese exporters, in particular automobile makers, whose overseas earnings morph into bigger gains after the currency translation.

    The yen and the Nikkei have generally moved in inverse directions, with the correlation significantly negative.

    The analysis suggests that a short-lived gain in the yen would be less punitive for stocks than a currency that stays stronger — meaning a one-off bounce that is quickly reversed will have less of an overall impact.

    A key reason for that is that major exporters typically assume a stronger yen level than we have been accustomed to in the past couple of years, shielding them from reporting poorer earnings stemming from fleeting gains in the currency.

    The potential for a sustained appreciation in the yen can’t be overstated. Japan’s real effective exchange rate is more than two standard deviations below its historical average, a circumstance so rare as to occur less than 2% of the time.

    That suggests the yen has considerable scope to appreciate in the months to come, especially if the Bank of Japan continues to raise interest rates beyond the zero-bound, and inflation in the US mellows sufficiently to allow the US to loosen policy as priced by the markets.

    As of Monday, traders were pricing some 25 basis points of tightening from the BOJ this year and about 90 basis points of rate cuts from the Fed.

    The median street forecast is for the yen to end the year at 139 per dollar, implying an appreciation of about 6% from current levels.

    The Nikkei’s valuations also make the index vulnerable to a correction, independent of the yen. Japanese stocks rank among the worst in global markets given a low return on equity and demanding price-to-cash-flow metrics.

    All told, the Nikkei’s stellar run-up over the past two years faces an acid test should the BOJ exit negative rates and spur gains in the yen.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 22:20

  • Hannibal Run: Biden Admin Warns Florida May Get Swamped By "Mass Migration" Wave From Haiti
    Hannibal Run: Biden Admin Warns Florida May Get Swamped By “Mass Migration” Wave From Haiti

    If only someone had given the Clintons a few more billion to vaporize as they “fixed” Haiti using a criminal combo of toxic  construction, failed investments and the promotion of deadend macroeconomic policies before its president was assassinated in broad daylight, and before the whole island turned into a anarchic, warlord ridden, Mad Max wasteland of cannibals, maybe things could have turned out different. Or maybe not.

    With the world still shocked at the whirlwind events taking place in the formerly quaint Caribbean island, on Tuesday Department of Defense officials testifying in Congress discussed the possibility of a “mass migration” into Florida as conditions in Haiti continue to deteriorate. Call it a… Hannibal Run?

    Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz said during the House Armed Services Committee hearing that he was “deeply concerned” about the possibility of a large number of Haitian migrants amid the chaos in the Caribbean, coming to the Sunshine State “as a Florida man.”

    At Tuesday’s hearing, Gaetz asked what President Joe Biden’s administration was doing to prepare for a “wave” of migrants fleeing Haiti, prompting DoD official Rebecca Zimmerman to say that preparations were being made for a potential increase in refugees.

    “Congressman, we’re doing a number of things to ensure that we’re keeping track of the situation and we’re prepared,” said Zimmerman. “At the moment, we have not yet seen large numbers—what we would characterize as a maritime mass migration.”

    Gaetz then interjected: “Do you anticipate a mass migration, though?”

    “We are alert to that possibility,” Zimmerman responded. “I think you’re right that the driving conditions in Haiti could very well press more people. So, we’ve recently approved some additional assistance that we can provide to the Coast Guard.”

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    Gaetz then asked Army General Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command, whether the government should “activate the authorities, anticipating a mass migration.”

    “I think that we need to be postured appropriately for that,” Richardson said. “I have put in a request for increase capability to do exactly that. And we are ready if we need to deal with a mass migration.”

    Conditions in Haiti have been becoming increasingly dire in recent months due to widespread gang violence and civil unrest. Armed gangs now reportedly control around 80% of Port-au-Prince, with Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announcing his resignation on Tuesday.

    While the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince remains open, some personnel have recently been evacuated from the facility due to the ongoing violence in the Haitian capital.

    The embassy said in a release on Monday that “the U.S. military conducted an operation” to bolster security, allow “operations to continue,” and help “non-essential personnel to depart.”

    Last week, the embassy warned U.S. citizens to “depart Haiti as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options, in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges.”

    While the resignation of Henry had been demanded by the gangs occupying Port-au-Prince, it is unclear whether the situation will soon improve in Haiti as a result of the resignation being announced.

    Henry said that he would leave office following the formation of a transitional council, although concerns remain that the gang leaders may reject a new interim leader chosen by the council and demand they control the government instead.

    As for anyone expecting the Biden admin to actually do something – for once – about the next migration flood of cannibals undocumented carnivores, don’t hold your breath for the following simple reason…

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 22:00

  • Medicinal Mushrooms: Cordyceps, Reishi, And Lion’s Mane
    Medicinal Mushrooms: Cordyceps, Reishi, And Lion’s Mane

    Authored by Allison DeMajistre via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Medicinal mushrooms have captured the attention of researchers, health enthusiasts, and medical practitioners because of their taste and remarkable therapeutic potential.

    Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) growing on a farm. (apiguide/Shutterstock)

    As consumer demand grows, so do the variety of products incorporating medicinal mushrooms. You can now find teas, coffee replacements, supplements, and other food products featuring three of the most popular medicinal mushrooms: cordyceps, reishi, and lion’s mane.

    Each mushroom has a unique list of bioactive compounds, many with anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, antioxidant, immunomodulatory properties, and other potential health benefits.

    When choosing a mushroom-based product as a supplement for a specific health benefit—whether to relieve stress, boost immunity, or improve energy—it’s important to consider what part of the mushroom to use, its bioactive compounds, and their therapeutic properties.

    Therapeutic Properties

    Mushrooms are a part of the fungal kingdom, which includes simple single-celled yeasts, complex fruiting bodies, and mold—all of which play crucial roles in our ecosystem. Fungi are a source of several major drugs, including antibiotics and statins. A mushroom has several parts, including the fruiting body, mycelium, and spores—each with different properties.

    The fruiting body is the top of the mushroom, or what most people call the mushroom cap, and is typically above ground.

    Mushroom mycelium is the underground colony of branching structures similar to a plant’s roots. It consists of microscopic formations called hyphae that absorb nutrients from the soil and transport them to other parts of the mushroom. Mycelium enables the mushrooms to connect, send, and receive nutrients from one another to enhance environmental survival. Some fungi species have extensive mycelium, such as the Armillaria species, which has hyphae that can cover more than 1,000 acres in the right conditions.

    The spores are the equivalent of seeds and are the mushroom’s reproductive organs. A single mushroom can generate microscopic spores in the billions. These initiate the mushroom life cycle.

    The therapeutic properties vary for different mushroom parts, so checking whether the fruiting body, mycelium, or both are listed on the label is important.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

    In a College of Naturopathic Medicine podcast, Hania Opienski, a naturopathic nutritionist, acupuncturist, and energy medicine specialist, was asked which part of the mushroom is the most therapeutic. “Ideally, you would use a fruiting body product, and that’s the thing that takes the longest to grow; it’s going to have the highest concentration of active compounds,” she said.

    According to Ms. Opienski, although the fruiting body typically contains higher levels of therapeutic bioactive compounds, many commercial mushroom products are made from mycelium because it is quicker to get to an end product rather than waiting for the fruiting body to reach maturity and harvest to make a supplement.

    The structural complexity and bioactive compounds packed inside each type of mushroom play an integral role in its mechanisms of action within the body to produce its therapeutic benefits.

    Mechanisms of Action

    According to Martin Powell’s “Medicinal Mushrooms: A Clinical Guide,” there are about 14,000 species of mushrooms. About 5 percent are known to produce compounds with widespread physiological activity and therapeutic benefits.

    The medicinal properties and mechanisms of action come from these bioactive compounds that vary in content from one mushroom to another.

    Beta-Glucans

    The most significant bioactive compounds in mushrooms are beta-glucans, polysaccharides characterized by their ability to modulate the immune system. Beta-glucans have anti-inflammatory, metabolic, and gastrointestinal effects.

    The molecular structure of beta-glucans can vary widely in shape and size, depending on the species and what part of the mushroom they come from. Different beta-glucans found across the fungal kingdom can have a variety of effects on the human body.

    Triterpenes

    Triterpenes are a class of compounds that are alcohol soluble and responsible for mushrooms’ antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and even hypnotic properties.

    There are unique triterpenes, most notably the ganoderic acids in reishi mushrooms and the betulinic acid in chaga mushrooms. Research has uncovered more than 300 triterpenoids in reishi alone, many of which are not found in other mushroom species.

    Sterols

    Mushrooms also produce sterols—principally ergosterol—that have been shown to act against several different types of tumors in animal studies. Sterols work and act like cholesterol, but can lower cholesterol levels in the body. Additionally, ergosterol derivatives are reported to have anti-aging activity similar to resveratrol.

    Ergosterol is also a precursor to vitamin D, so when a mushroom is exposed to the sun for long periods, it increases the vitamin D content, which is why some vitamin D supplements are made from mushrooms.

    Statins

    Researchers have discovered that some mushrooms can lower cholesterol because they possess statins such as lovastatin, which is used in cholesterol-reducing drugs. However, it’s important to note that high amounts of mushroom powder would be necessary to affect an impact.

    3 Remarkable Medicinal Mushrooms 

    Three mushrooms are in high demand because of their remarkable medicinal properties: cordyceps, reishi, and lion’s mane. These mushrooms have medicinal effects and possible side effects for people on various medications. You should discuss any supplements, including medicinal herbs and mushrooms, with your health care provider.

    1. Cordyceps

    Cordyceps may be the most famous type of mushroom of all. It’s the fungus responsible for infecting civilization in the HBO series “The Last of Us” and was also the subject of discussion on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he claimed to take cordyceps before workout sessions.

    “It gives you an extra gear,” Mr. Rogan said in the podcast.

    About 750 species of cordyceps originate from China’s high-altitude regions.

    Cordyceps are unique because they begins as a spore, infecting and growing inside various insects, depending on the specific type of cordycep. Eventually, these mushrooms kill their hosts and start sprouting through the remains.

    Cordyceps Sinensis

    Cordyceps sinensis (C. sinensis), also known as caterpillar fungus, parasitizes the ground-dwelling ghost moth larva to begin its life cycle, technically making it a parasitic fungus rather than a mushroom.

    Historically, C. sinensis has been used to treat several ailments, including lung, kidney, liver, and cardiovascular diseases. It was also a known treatment for male sexual dysfunction and has been used to boost the immune system. Interestingly, in 1993, the Chinese market for C. sinensis exploded when China’s female track team had a series of world-record-breaking times attributed to a tonic made from caterpillar fungus.

    The cost of C. sinensis has also exploded, and a 2020 study reported a cost of $20,000 per kilogram, making it “the most expensive mushroom in the world.”

    Genuine C. sinensis, cultivated by parasitizing ghost moth larvae, is found exclusively on the Tibetan Plateau. It isn’t found in supplements but can be purchased in its whole form in some Asian countries.

    Cordyceps Militaris

    Cordyceps militaris can be cultivated with or without insects. The non-insect, grain-based cultivation leads to improved quality control and affordability, and the chemical profiles of C. sinensis and C. militaris are clinically interchangeable, as they have several of the same bioactive compounds. However, studies show that C. militaris has a much higher content of cordycepin and adenosine than C. sinensis, possibly making C. militaris the better choice.

    Wild Cordyceps militaris fungus. (Edwin Butter/Shutterstock)

    Cordyceps Health Benefits

    Because C. sinensis is not readily available, the following references to Cordyceps pertain to Cordyceps militaris.

    Cordyceps have been gaining attention in the scientific community because of their cordycepin content. Cordycepin is a potent bioactive metabolite created in Cordyceps. Research indicates that cordycepin has anti-cancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. It also has potential pharmacological actions in the liver, kidneys, and cardiovascular systems.

    Researchers believe that cordyceps and cordycepin may eventually be used commercially in the pharmaceutical industry.

    Cordyceps are probably best known for their energy-producing qualities and ability to increase the body’s ability to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy source at the cellular level. Cordycepin is chemically similar to adenosine.

    A study of 28 adults who consumed a mushroom blend containing cordyceps while participating in high-intensity exercise over three weeks showed a significant improvement in VO2 max, the oxygen that the body absorbs during vigorous exercise, which indicates cardiovascular fitness.

    If you’re healthy and want to take something that will increase your cellular energy and oxygenation, cordyceps are great for people who wish to improve athletic performance, Ms. Opienski said.

    Cordyceps Risks and Side Effects

    Cordyceps are well-tolerated by most people but can cause gastrointestinal upset, such as nausea, diarrhea, and dry mouth. This fungus has hypoglycemic and antiviral effects, so it’s essential to use caution when taking antiviral or anti-diabetic medications.

    2. Reishi

    Global annual sales of reishi were about $4.3 billion in 2023, and the market is expected to grow to about $6.4 billion by 2028, making it one of the most popular medicinal mushrooms in the world today. Reishi is known as the “mushroom of immortality” in Japanese culture. In China, it goes by the name lingzhi instead of reishi and is known as the “herb of spiritual potency.” For thousands of years, people have used it to increase vitality, support immune function, promote cardiovascular health, and improve longevity.

    Reishi’s scientific name, Ganoderma lucidum, describes its shiny, fruiting body—“gano,” meaning shiny, and “derma,” referring to skin.

    It usually grows on the side of dead or decaying trees in a shelf-like manner. Reishi produced for supplementation is cultiva

    Reishi Health Benefits

    Reishi’s health benefits result from the high beta-glucans, triterpenes, and sterols packed into its cell walls. Extracting these three compounds from the mushroom isn’t easy, and eating them isn’t beneficial because they are locked inside the cell walls and must be extracted with either hot water or alcohol.

    The reported health benefits of reishi are impressive, making it one of the world’s most commonly used medicinal mushrooms. Scientists continue to research the actual mechanisms of action that make it so powerful. Although it has many potential benefits, such as lowering cholesterol, blood glucose, and high blood pressure, reishi is best known for its other properties.

    According to Ms. Opienski, reishi is one of the most potent immunomodulating mushrooms. It’s also known as a nervous system balancer and has been used for millennia in traditional medicine for sleep, stress, anxiety, and depression. “It’s one that is kind of known for calming the nervous system and helping to slow down or reduce the stress response,” she explained on the podcast.

    Ms. Opienski also said that reishi is considered the mushroom of eternal youth because of its potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

    “Oxidation and inflammation are two of the things that cause cellular aging,” she said, noting that reishi could help to prevent these.

    Although all mushrooms possess adaptogenic effects, reishi is one of the best-known adaptogens that can help the body adapt to stress. An adaptogen helps to calm the body and lets it adapt to stress. If someone is anxious or overstimulated, taking reishi may help to calm down their nervous system.

    Reishi’s fruiting bodies have high levels of triterpenes that contribute to their anti-cancer properties, reducing the expression of matrix metalloproteinase, an enzyme that facilitates the spread of cancer cells. Reishi mushrooms also limit the attachment of cancer cells to the lining of blood vessels to stop their spread throughout the bloodstream.

    The anti-tumor effects of reishi can help to treat lung, soft tissue, liver, white blood cell, breast, ovarian, colon, and bladder cancers.

    Ms. Opienski said that because of its anti-inflammatory effect, reishi can be used in treating either benign prostatic hyperplasia or prostate cancer.

    A systematic review found that patients on anti-cancer regimens containing reishi were 1.27 times more likely to respond to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. One study found that 65 percent of patients with advanced lung cancer reported an increased quality of life after taking reishi.

    Reishi Risks and Side Effects

    Mild side effects of reishi include nausea and insomnia. More severe side effects, while rare, include liver toxicity, chronic diarrhea, pseudo-parasitosis (the delusion that one is infested with parasites), and increased eosinophils, a type of white blood cell.

    People taking anticoagulants should use caution when using reishi mushroom products because of the increased risk of bleeding. Reishi can also increase the immune response and is contraindicated for people taking immunosuppressants.

    Because reishi can lower blood pressure, taking it with medication for hypertension may cause blood pressure to go too low.

    Taking reishi with anti-diabetic medications may also cause blood glucose levels to go too low.

    3. Lion’s Mane

    Lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus) isn’t the typical mushroom with a cap and stem. Instead, it has “teeth” instead of gills, where it releases its spores. It is a saprophytic mushroom, which grows on dead trees or fallen logs and is relatively common to find when walking around in the woods during the late summer and fall.

    Research shows that lion’s mane has unique bioactive compounds with several health benefits.

    The edible lion’s mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) grows on a tree. (Kirsanov Valeriy Vladimirovich/Shutterstock)

    Lion’s Mane Health Benefits 

    Two bioactive compounds exclusive to lion’s mane, hericenones and erinacines, help to support brain health, the immune system, and the digestive tract. Traditionally, lion’s mane was known for improving digestive health by preventing the bacteria that cause gastric ulcers, but recently, it has become better known for its potential benefits to support brain health.

    1. Potential Brain Benefits

    Bioactive components hericenones and erinacines set lion’s mane apart from all other mushrooms because they can easily cross the blood-brain barrier and stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF) production. NGF has a critical role in developing neurons and can protect parts of the brain from damaging inflammation responsible for neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

    Lion’s mane may also help to improve symptoms of dementia. One study showed that adults ages 50 to 80 who took 250 milligrams of lion’s mane three times daily for 16 weeks scored higher on cognitive tests than the placebo group and had overall better cognitive ability during supplementation. However, their test scores decreased four weeks after the study group discontinued lion’s mane.

    There is also evidence that lion’s mane may help to relieve the symptoms of depression and help to reduce anxiety and stress. In a 2010 study, participants who ate cookies with 0.5 gram of a lion’s mane fruiting body supplement for four weeks reported less anxiety than those who consumed the placebo cookies. Researchers believed that the increase in NGF contributed to the anti-anxiety effects.

    2. NGF and the Gut–Brain Axis

    NGF isn’t limited to neurological health. It plays a significant role in regulating several actions within the body, and when it’s lacking, it can be associated with heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and other inflammatory diseases.

    Lion’s mane was traditionally used to treat gastrointestinal problems such as gastric ulcers and chronic gastritis. New evidence suggests that lion’s mane’s association with NGF is critical in rebalancing and improving the gut microbiota. Stimulating NGF can balance gut bacteria, which helps to heal the gut lining. Increased NGF can also heal the enteric (intestinal) and nervous systems, promoting the “gut–brain axis,” the two-way communication between the central nervous system (brain) and the gastrointestinal tract’s enteric nervous system (gut). When the gut–brain axis is disrupted, it can result in physical and mental health conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and anxiety.

    Lion’s Mane Risks and Side Effects

    Lion’s mane has a few side effects, including stomach upset and skin rash in higher doses. It can also slow clotting times and should be taken with caution by anyone taking a blood thinner. Lion’s mane may also lower blood sugar and shouldn’t be taken with hypoglycemic medications.

    The Bottom Line

    There are many types of medicinal mushrooms growing in the fungal kingdom. Cordyceps, reishi, and lion’s mane are among the most popular but are definitely not the only ones with potential therapeutic benefits.

    Mushrooms are unique. Neither plant nor animal, they produce unique compounds and metabolites that will continue to spark consumer enthusiasm and interest in the scientific community. As more studies emerge, we’ll learn even more about how to use these medicinal mushrooms as potent allies in our quest for well-being and vitality.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 21:40

  • China Steps Up Military Spending
    China Steps Up Military Spending

    According to SIPRI data, China has increased its military expenditure by almost 900 percent since 1992.

    As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz notes, at around $300 billion in 2022, the Chinese spent significantly more than the Russians (around $72 billion), but their spending was still well below that of the U.S. (around $812 billion).

    China is the second-biggest spender in total military budget after the United States.

    Infographic: China Steps Up Military Spending | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Still, the Chinese spending spree has raised eyebrows worldwide.

    It came back into the spotlight last week when the reference to a “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan was dropped from a government report presented at the Chinese National People’s Congress. At the same event, it was announced that the Chinese defense budget was to grow another 7.2 percent in 2024. 

    The South China Morning Post out of Hong Kong reports that the Chinese military budget has pivoted towards combat readiness and preparation for war.

    Part of the increased Chinese military investment is going towards more “advanced technology, science, logistics and key weaponry and equipment”, the newspaper reports.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 21:20

  • South Carolina Becomes 29th State To Allow Carrying Firearms Without A License
    South Carolina Becomes 29th State To Allow Carrying Firearms Without A License

    Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    South Carolina is now the 29th state to allow any resident who is legally able to carry a firearm to do so without a permit—so-called constitutional carry.

    South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster holds up a copy of the Constitution while speaking at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner hosted by the South Carolina Republican Party in in Columbia, S.C., on Aug. 5, 2023. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

    On March 7, Gov. Henry McMaster signed H 3594 into law, which eliminates the requirement for a concealed weapons permit, sets the minimum age to receive a license to 18, and sets a comprehensive list of “sensitive areas” where guns are prohibited.

    The list includes schools, government buildings, health care facilities, places of worship, law enforcement centers, and any place where guns are prohibited by federal law.

    It leaves the current permitting process in place for those who wish to get a permit to carry in states that recognize South Carolina’s license. South Carolina’s concealed carry permit requires eight hours of training.

    The new law also sets steeper penalties for those convicted of carrying a gun in a sensitive area without a permit as an incentive to get licensed.

    Mr. McMaster released a statement celebrating the new law.

    “This bill expands the Second Amendment rights of our law-abiding citizens and will keep violent criminals behind bars with increased penalties for illegal gun use and possession,” Mr. McMaster’s statement reads.

    Supporters of the measure say the proposed law enables South Carolinians to finally exercise their Second Amendment right.

    Gun rights advocates hailed the new law as another step toward fully restoring Americans’ Constitutional rights.

    “We’re excited that South Carolina Finally did the right thing. We’re grateful to see the expansion of Second Amendment rights,” Chris Stone, state and local affairs director for Gun Owners of America, told The Epoch Times.

    The National Rifle Association also weighed in on the development.

    “The NRA celebrates another significant milestone as South Carolina becomes the 29th state to enact the landmark NRA-backed Constitutional Carry legislation. This pivotal move ensures South Carolinians are no longer required to obtain permission to defend themselves and their families, reinforcing the fundamental right to self-defense,” Randy Kozuch, the executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, said in an email to The Epoch Times.

    Everytown for Gun Safety, which the South Carolina Chapter of Moms Demand Action is affiliated with, didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The group has opposed this and similar legislation in the past.

    Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) (3rd R) with supporters from Moms Demand Action, a grassroots gun control advocacy group, in Woodbridge, Va., on Oct. 22, 2022. (Terri Wu/The Epoch Times)

    Dan Roberts, outreach director and media liaison for South Carolina Carry, said he has been working with other South Carolinians to institute constitutional carry in the state for 10 years.

    “It’s been quite a slog,” he told The Epoch Times.

    Mr. Roberts said that while he’s pleased with the bill overall, there are some parts he would change if he could. He said he doesn’t see why a person who carries a gun into a sensitive area without a license should face a stiffer penalty than someone who has a permit.

    Although the law does away with the training requirement, the permitting process still mandates eight hours of training. Mr. Roberts said that both provisions should be changed to provide incentives for training. He said it would be more effective to offer tax breaks for the purchase of gun safes or to allow carry in certain sensitive areas for those who receive training.

    “If you incentivize it, that’s the way you motivate people to get the training,” Mr. Roberts said.

    Focus On the Good

    Still, he said that in his political career, he has learned one valuable lesson.

    “Never let the perfect be the enemy of the good,” he said.

    Republican state Sen. Rex Rice was an early proponent of the legislation. He said he also favors the training element of the law. He strongly encourages even those who choose not to get a license to get some training if they are going to carry a gun.

    “You need to be proficient with the weapon you’re carrying, and you need to know what the law says,” Mr. Rice said.

    Mr. Rice said that many of his constituents supported constitutional carry because they don’t trust the government. He said they are concerned their personal information would be used to compile a registry of gun owners.

    “People don’t want to give the government their information,” he told The Epoch Times.

    Mr. Roberts said the new law is more than just an expansion of gun rights. He pointed out that a majority of states have expanded gun rights. He said that in an election year, it would do federal incumbents well to pay attention to the message he said is being sent by state legislatures: Gun control as crime prevention is not working.

    “People are tired of being demonized, villainized, and scapegoated for the criminal acts of people that they had nothing to do with.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 21:00

  • One Career Economist Exposes The Lies Of Modern Economics
    One Career Economist Exposes The Lies Of Modern Economics

    By Michael Every of Rabobank

    Damascene Conversion

    Today is all about US CPI. I’m not sure why given markets, and President Biden(!), believe G7 central banks –except Japan– are going to cut rates soon, despite: sticky services inflation; the Red Sea crisis not being ‘In Deep Blip’; other brewing geopolitical crises, from fears of Iranian nukes to Armenia asking to join the EU(!); our base case of a Trump election victory, with inflationary higher tariffs forcing the Fed to stop cuts; and what’s trying to play out in the global financial architecture, which gold and Bitcoin point to.

    Nonetheless, when you get messages like this:

    • *ECB’S KAZIMIR: UPSIDE RISKS TO INFLATION ARE “ALIVE AND KICKING.”

    • *ECB’S KAZIMIR: DISCUSSIONS ON EASING SHOULD ALREADY START, THE ECB WILL USE THE WEEKS AHEAD FOR THAT.

    … it’s clear what the direction of travel is, regardless of how logical that is.

    Pre-CPI, there are things to think about. Like the Boeing whistleblower who apparently decided to shoot himself dead in-between damaging testimony underlining why their planes keep falling apart. Or former US Attorney General Lynch allegedly lobbying the Pentagon on behalf of a Chinese drone maker. Or former senior Trump aide Conway lobbying Congress on behalf of TikTok. Or Peter Turchin, of Cliodynamics fame, telling the Financial Times that the US is in a much more “perilous state” than Russia.

    Bridging the thrust of those stories and CPI itself, allow me to share news of a Damascene conversion from Angus Deaton, Emeritus Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton. Writing on the IMF website, he argues ‘Questioning one’s views as circumstances evolve can be a good thing.’ As Keynes put it, by contrast, “what do you do?” (‘Become a lobbyist’ appears one answer.)

    Specifically, Deaton notes, “The [economics] profession knows and understands many things. Yet today we are in some disarray. We did not collectively predict the financial crisis and, worse still, we may have contributed to it… Recent macroeconomic events… have seen quarrelling experts whose main point of agreement is the incorrectness of others. Economics Nobel Prize winners have been known to denounce each other’s work at the ceremonies in Stockholm.” Yes, and some of us laugh at the Stockholm Syndrome process. As a result, he adds, “I have recently found myself changing my mind, a discomfiting process for someone who has been a practicing economist for more than half a century.”

    Notably, he does not include “the corruption allegations that have become common… Even so, economists, who have prospered mightily over the past half century, might fairly be accused of having a vested interest in capitalism as it currently operates.” Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely: who knew?

    Yet Deaton notes economics is clearly wrong on:

    • Power: “Our emphasis on the virtues of free, competitive markets and exogenous technical change can distract us from the importance of power in setting prices and wages, in choosing the direction of technical change, and in influencing politics to change the rules of the game. Without an analysis of power, it is hard to understand inequality or much else in modern capitalism.” 100% true. 100% ignored.

    • Philosophy and ethics: “In contrast to economists from Smith and Marx through Keynes, Hayek, and even Friedman, we have largely stopped thinking about ethics and about what constitutes human well-being. We are technocrats who focus on efficiency. We get little training about the ends of economics…. When pressed, we usually fall back on an income-based utilitarianism. We often equate well-being with money or consumption, missing much of what matters to people… when efficiency comes with upward redistribution…our recommendations become little more than a license for plunder.” I’m shocked there is gambling in Casablanca!

    • Empirical methods: “Historians, who understand about contingency and about multiple and multidirectional causality, often do a better job than economists of identifying important mechanisms that are plausible, interesting, and worth thinking about, even if they do not meet the inferential standards of contemporary applied economics.” It depends on the historian, but absolutely.

    • Humility: “We are often too sure that we are right. Economics has powerful tools that can provide clear-cut answers, but that require assumptions that are not valid under all circumstances. It would be good to recognize that there are almost always competing accounts and learn how to choose between them.” Wouldn’t it!

    So, Deaton is having second thoughts.

    He’s now pro-, not anti-union, and notes they “need to be at the table for decisions about AI. Economists’ enthusiasm for technical change as the instrument of universal enrichment is no longer tenable (if it ever was).”

    He’s sceptical of the benefits of free trade to US workers and “the claim… that globalization was responsible for the vast reduction in global poverty over the past 30 years. I also no longer defend the idea that the harm done to working Americans by globalization was a reasonable price to pay for global poverty reduction because workers in America are so much better off than the global poor. I believe that the reduction in poverty in India had little to do with world trade. And poverty reduction in China could have happened with less damage to workers in rich countries if Chinese policies caused it to save less of its national income… I had also seriously underthought my ethical judgments about trade-offs between domestic and foreign workers. We certainly have a duty to aid those in distress, but we have additional obligations to our fellow citizens that we do not have to others.”

    Deaton is also rethinking immigration. “I used to subscribe to the near consensus among economists that immigration to the US was a good thing, with great benefits to the migrants and little or no cost to domestic low-skilled workers. I no longer think so. Economists’ beliefs… are shaped by econometric designs that may be credible but often rest on short-term outcomes. Longer-term analysis over the past century and a half tells a different story. Inequality was high when America was open, was much lower when the borders were closed, and rose again post…1965 as the fraction of foreign-born people rose back to its levels in the Gilded Age.”

    He then concludes that “Economists could benefit by greater engagement with the ideas of philosophers, historians, and sociologists, just as Smith once did.” Except Smith was a moral philosopher we paint as an economist. There’s a big difference. Deaton adds, “The philosophers, historians, and sociologists would likely benefit too.” But only if economists think in the broader terms the authors of the Classical period did – or like Turchin does today.

    As an example of how this isn’t the case –on top of the downsizing > outsourcing > “Oops, no national security!”, or “Oops, my products fall apart!” news around us– a leading UK university just shut down an associate professor for asking questions with an internal email rejecting her appeal to freedom of speech that read: “Note that I am an economist and modeller and have no idea who John Stuart Mill is”(!) Indeed, how many working economists today know Mill, Marx, Smith, or any of the classical economists?

    Keeping it neoclassical instead, could we draw a correlation between those who don’t read the classics and how inaccurate their long-run economic forecasts keep proving to be? I know what the R2 there is. But no time to do it, of course. We have CPI to wait for.

    That’s as Portugal shifts to the right, with one in five voting for the far right; The Economist runs an op-ed from Trump’s former USTR Lighthizer arguing in favour of US tariffs, pointing out the faulty mainstream economic assumptions saying they don’t work; China ups the ante on its own mercantilism further, to G7 pushback and Global South applause; and Australians are spending half their income on their mortgages, yet rate cuts will likely see house prices rise to offset (someone needs to read Henry George).

    Yes, ‘Questioning one’s views as circumstances evolve can be a good thing‘. And what do you do?

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 20:44

  • Mapping Population Growth By Region (1900-2050F)
    Mapping Population Growth By Region (1900-2050F)

    In fewer than 50 years, the world population has doubled in size, jumping from 4 to 8 billion.

    In this visualization, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu maps the populations of major regions at three different points in time: 1900, 2000, and 2050 (forecasted). Figures come from Our World in Data as of March 2023, using the United Nations medium-fertility scenario.

    Population by Continent (1900-2050F)

    Asia was the biggest driver of global population growth over the course of the 20th century. In fact, the continent’s population grew by 2.8 billion people from 1900 to 2000, compared to just 680 million from the second on our list, Africa.

    China was the main source of Asia’s population expansion, though its population growth has slowed in recent years. That’s why in 2023, India surpassed China to become the world’s most populous country.

    Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines and Indonesia have also been big drivers of Asia’s population boom to this point.

    The Future: Africa to Hit 2.5 Billion by 2050

    Under the UN’s medium-fertility scenario (all countries converge at a birthrate of 1.85 children per woman by 2050), Africa will solidify its place as the world’s second most populous region.

    Three countries—Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt—will account for roughly 30% of that 2.5 billion population figure.

    Meanwhile, both North America and South America are expected to see a slowdown in population growth, while Europe is the only region that will shrink by 2050.

    A century ago, Europe’s population was close to 30% of the world total. Today, that figure stands at less than 10%.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 20:40

  • If Biden Is Serious About Border Security, He Must Start With Venezuela
    If Biden Is Serious About Border Security, He Must Start With Venezuela

    Authored by Douglas Schoen via RealClear Wire,

    The tragic killing of 22-year-old Laken Riley in Georgia two weeks ago by Jose Ibarra, a Venezuelan migrant in the country illegally and with a criminal record, is the latest example of a much larger problem: Criminal gangs are brazenly taking advantage of America’s broken immigration policies to invade our country. 

    Quite simply, the stream of criminals pouring over the nation’s Southern border is now a tsunami with potentially disastrous implications, not only for America’s national security but also for President Biden’s reelection chances. Unless the president takes bold action to seriously strengthen the border, voters are likely to punish him in November. 

    That being said, any attempt to address the border issue is doomed if the president does not confront the problem at its source. 

    Venezuela, the largest source of illegal immigrants, is rapidly becoming a failed state, and its strongman leader, Nicolás Maduro – who has deepened economic and military ties between his oil-rich nation and other hostile regimes such as Russia, China, and Iran – is reportedly emptying the country’s jails, pushing criminals and gang members north, right over our porous border.  

    According to a former Venezuelan official, Maduro “is releasing convicted criminals on the condition that they would emigrate from the country to the United States.” Unsurprisingly, these criminals are establishing local cells of the same criminal gangs, particularly Tren de Aragua, which is notorious for drug trafficking, human smuggling, and kidnappings for ransom. 

    Law enforcement is sounding the alarm, with a senior FBI agent recently warning that Tren de Aragua is “rapidly expanding its criminal empire,” particularly in New York and Miami, where the FBI says gang members are behind a series of robberies and at least one murder. 

    Given the 340,000 Venezuelans encountered at the Southern border last year alone, the FBI is seriously concerned that these gangs will have little problem finding new recruits to further their expansion.  

    A South American dictator opening his jails and dumping criminals in American cities sounds more like a movie than real life, but the data is clear. Coinciding with a surge in Venezuelan migration to the U.S. is a drop in violent crime in Venezuela to levels not seen in nearly a quarter-century. 

    Notably, violent deaths in Venezuela declined from 35.3 for every 100,000 people in 2022 to 26.8 per 100,000 in 2023 – the lowest since 2001, according to a Bloomberg report. Meanwhile, the same report quotes the director of the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, who points out that “gangs have emigrated due to the lack of opportunities to commit crimes.”  

    For his part, last year President Biden struck a deal with Maduro, offering sanctions relief in exchange for increased political liberalization – specifically, holding free and fair elections – and consenting to deportation flights of migrants from the U.S. to Venezuela. The deal was supposed to be a victory for Biden, who could claim to be taking a tougher approach. 

    Early last month, however, those flights abruptly stopped after deporting just 1,300 migrants. Some speculated that the move owed to Biden’s reimposition of sanctions after Maduro reneged on his promise to hold free and fair elections. 

    While the attempt to stop the uncontrolled flow of migrants may have been admirable, the president should have known better. Never close to anything resembling an ally, Venezuela under Maduro has solidly aligned itself with the new “axis of evil” alongside Russia, China, and Iran. 

    The relationship between these countries should deeply worry the White House, particularly in light of intelligence reports indicating that Iran is looking to build a naval base in Venezuela, China’s increasing investment in the country, a massive influx of Russian weapons into Caracas, and Maduro’s strong support for Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – critical for helping both countries skirt U.S.-led sanctions. 

    Additionally, Venezuela’s role in hosting Russian troops and advanced air defense systems, not to mention the deep connections between Maduro and Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, which has a heavy presence in the South American country, cannot be overstated, particularly in light of Hezbollah’s daily attacks on Israel since its war with Hamas began on Oct. 7.  

    Viewed in this light, it is clear that Venezuela represents more than just an immigration problem, but an extreme foreign policy and national security challenge. The Venezuelan threat extends far beyond the typical debate over immigration – and solving it lies squarely within the president’s remit. 

    It also constitutes a rapidly expanding political vulnerability for Biden, one that he has so far failed to address. 

    Indeed, last month, Americans ranked immigration as the most important issue facing the country, the first time since 2019 that it has topped the list. Nearly 3 in 10 (28%) Americans chose immigration, 8 points ahead of the second-place issue, the “government,” and more than double the portion identifying the economy (12%) and inflation (11%), per Gallup polling. 

    Worse still for Biden is that while the president’s general approval rating is a substandard 40%, his approval on immigration is a dismal 31%, according to the RealClearPolitics Average.

    Voters do not trust Biden to address the issue. A majority (52%) of swing state voters say that they trust Donald Trump – rather than Biden – to handle immigration, while just 30% trust the president, per Morning Consult polling. 

    To be sure, while Biden does not bear full responsibility for the recent collapse of a border security deal in Congress, he is not powerless to deal with the issue, even if through executive order. 

    Even passing a border security bill would do little to stem the problem, anyway. Many solidly blue states and cities define themselves as “sanctuary cities,” barring them from cooperating with immigration officials – even when illegal migrants commit felonies, as Mr. Ibarra did in New York prior to killing Ms. Riley. 

    To be clear, unless President Biden takes concrete steps to strengthen the border and deal with Venezuela, his reelection would – justifiably – be in serious jeopardy.  

    Ultimately, Biden must close our Southern border and make it unmistakably clear to Maduro that dumping criminals on American shores will not go unpunished. Nor will Maduro’s deepening ties with hostile nations, which include hosting an Iranian naval base in the Americas.  

    Next, Biden should put America’s full economic, political, and diplomatic weight behind free and fair elections in Venezuela. The carrot and stick: the promise of much-needed sanction relief, or the threat of increasingly tough sanctions.   

    If Biden doesn’t do so, he will have to explain to the nation why he could not bring a South American dictator to heel and therefore endangered the safety of all Americans. That’s hardly a winning campaign strategy. 

    Douglas Schoen, a Democratic consultant, is the co-author of “The Threat Closer to Home: Hugo Chavez and the War Against America” (Free Press, January 2009)

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 20:20

  • Obama's Attorney General Secretly Lobbied On Behalf Of China Over US Drone Blacklist
    Obama’s Attorney General Secretly Lobbied On Behalf Of China Over US Drone Blacklist

    Former US Attorney General Loretta Lynch tried to quietly push the Department of Defense to remove Chinese drone maker SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd from a list of Chinese military companies, a damning Reuters report has revealed.

    The Obama-era official lobbied the DoD on behalf of the firm when it came under US government scrutiny over ties to China’s People’s Liberation Army. The Shenzhen-based company turned to Lynch as well as former Assistant United States Attorney Michael Gertzman and Associate White House Counsel in the Obama administration Roberto Gonzalez.

    Via Reuters

    The Pentagon starting in 2021 named DJI as constituting a potential threat to US national security for its military ties. A DoD statement at the time made clear that “The Department of Defense (DOD) position is that systems produced by Da Jiang Innovations (DJI) pose potential threats to national security.” 

    And further, “Existing DOD policy and practices associated with the use of these systems by U.S. government entities and forces working with US military services remain unchanged contrary to any written reports not approved for release by the DOD.” Of big concern was that some of Chinese company’s products were making their way into highly sensitive military programs, including used by special forces. 

    Lynch’s efforts have been described as technically legal, as they fall within a “loophole” inherent in The Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA. The decades-old law requires that current and former US officials publicly disclose work, especially lobbying efforts, done on behalf of foreign entities and governments. But there’s also a not insignificant list of exemptions which is increasingly coming under scrutiny.

    Congressional leaders are outraged, and some have vowed to end the type of loopholes which allow former officials like Lynch to secretly work on behalf of China:

    Almost a dozen critics of FARA told Reuters the law’s loopholes have allowed less transparency for other companies with alleged ties to China’s military, including surveillance technology firm Hikvision and biotech firm WuXi AppTec.

    Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says reforms to the law are needed, given the blurry lines between many Chinese companies and the Chinese government, and to keep former members of the U.S. government from effectively lobbying on their behalf.

    Risch said: “It is appalling that former senior U.S. officials use their connections to serve the interests of U.S. adversaries.”

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    While it might be easy to dismiss this as the usual D.C. beltway revolving door of foreign interests and willing US politicians and K Street operatives lining their pockets… that a US Attorney General has been engaged in these kinds of top level and hidden dealings with China is a massive scandal in and of itself.

    Lynch has previously simply claimed that because the Chinese drones in question were already in “wide use” in the US, the company’s “threat to national security” designation should be dropped.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 20:00

  • Wyoming Poised To Do Away With Gun-Free Zones
    Wyoming Poised To Do Away With Gun-Free Zones

    Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Whether the state of Wyoming gets rid of its gun-free zones is in Gov. Mark Gordon’s hands.

    A sign reads “Gun Free Zone” at the entrance to the Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque, in Falls Church, Va., on Dec. 4, 2015. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

    On March 8, the Legislature passed and sent to Mr. Gordon HB 125. The bill’s primary sponsor, state Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, a Republican, said he is cautiously optimistic that Mr. Gordon will sign the bill but that he knows there are no guarantees.

    The bill repeals the designation for most places currently listed as gun-free zones, including public schools, colleges, and public buildings. This includes the state capitol, legislature, and other government buildings. It also makes it a crime to prevent a legal gun owner from carrying a concealed weapon anyplace but in areas that remain off-limits.

    Those off-limits areas include hospitals, mental health facilities, and jails.

    The law allows private property owners to prohibit weapons on their property and prohibits students of elementary and secondary schools from carrying weapons in their schools.

    School administrators can set policies for employees to carry on school property. This includes required training, certification, and annual recertification.

    The law also vests all authority for regulating firearms in the state, taking that authority away from county and municipal governments.

    An email from Mr. Gordon’s communications director, Michael Pearlman, confirmed on March 8 that the governor had received the bill. But Mr. Pearlman did not indicate the law’s future.

    “HB 125 was received by the Governor today,“ Mr. Pearlman told The Epoch Times. ”As our legislative session is scheduled to conclude today, he will have 15 days to act on this bill. He will give this bill careful consideration, as he does all legislation that reaches his desk.”

    Under Wyoming law, if the Legislature had remained in session, Mr. Gordon would have had three days to either sign or veto the bill. Since the Legislature completed its work on the state budget and ended the session, Mr. Gordon has 15 days. If he does nothing, the bill becomes law without his signature.

    Mr. Haroldson said the bill has been vehemently opposed by teachers unions and the state’s colleges and universities.

    The Epoch Times was unable to contact a representative of the Wyoming Educators Association by press time, but the group posted a guide on its Facebook page on how to ask state senators to vote against the legislation.

    The guide states that guns on school grounds would undermine students’ confidence in teachers, create a dangerous environment, and create liability for districts, educators, and students. The guide also claims that a majority of law enforcement agencies oppose such laws.

    “Arming teachers places a life-and-death liability on educators, who typically lack the proper training to use a firearm in defense of students at school effectively,” the information reads.

    Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon delivers his State of the State address to the Wyoming Legislature in Cheyenne, Wyo., on Feb. 14, 2022. (Rhianna Gelhart/The Wyoming Tribune Eagle via AP)

    According to Mr. Haroldson, the bill will enable Wyoming gun owners to protect themselves in places where they are currently disarmed. He said this is why a majority of Wyoming residents support the bill.

    He would not speculate on what Mr. Gordon might do.

    “It’s a dangerous place to be to veto a bill of this nature,” Mr. Haroldson told The Epoch Times.

    Chris Stone, state and local affairs director for Gun Owners of America, expresses optimism that the bill will become law because it has broad public support.

    “Public perception is behind us. We believe Gov. Gordon will do the right thing and sign that into law,” he told The Epoch Times.

    Mr. Stone said people support the measure because research indicates that most mass shootings happen in gun-free zones.

    On its website, the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) shows data indicating that between 1998 and October 2023, 82 percent of mass shootings occurred in gun-free zones.

    The CPRC also posted a report indicating that many mass shooters wrote in their manifestos that they selected gun-free zones so they could maximize the number of victims.

    Sailed Through the House

    According to the Wyoming Legislature’s website, the legislation entered the Senate after leaving the House on a 54–7 vote on Feb. 27, 2024.

    Mr. Haroldson said the bill got a cooler reception in the Senate.

    Wyoming has short legislative sessions, only 20 days in even-numbered years, when the Legislature is writing the budget, so the bill was on a tight deadline. He said the bill was sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where it died under the weight of amendments that would have neutralized the bill.

    But on March 7, the bill’s supporters were able to use parliamentary procedure to revive the bill and vote it out of committee and onto the Senate floor with no amendments. The bill passed the Senate by a 22–8 vote.

    Mr. Haroldson credited public support for the bill with encouraging senators to give it a second chance. He said his constituents are fully aware of what’s at stake.

    “The Second Amendment is the one amendment that protects all others. I think people know that,” he said.

    “I just think that’s something that red state people understand.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 19:40

  • China Dumping US Wheat Shipments At Record Pace
    China Dumping US Wheat Shipments At Record Pace

    China, the world’s top agricultural importer, has canceled half a million tons of wheat from the US over the past week, adding to the record number of cancellations that have weighed on Chicago futures, according to Bloomberg. 

    On Monday, private exporters exited purchases of 264,000 metric tons of US soft red winter wheat to China. This is the third consecutive day with such an announcement, and cancellations total 504,000 metric tons—the most in USDA history dating back to 1999. 

    Early last week, speculation about China canceling US wheat orders pushed wheat futures in Chicago lower. There have been mounting concerns that Brazil and the Black Sea markets will have increased wheat production. 

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    Wheat futures dropped 6% from last Tuesday to Monday morning. However, futures quickly erased losses and surged 4% by early afternoon. 

    Farm Journal’s Michelle Rook spoke with ag trader Kevin Duling about the cancellations. He said China “could still have more to go, and they can have another half million tons to go.” 

    Rook asked: “Are they going to cancel the rest of what they bought from the United States, and why are they doing this – is it just because prices have gotten much cheaper?” 

    Duling runs through several possible factors, including China might have “overshopped” last fall. 

    Is China just manipulating ag markets, or have they found a buyer elsewhere? 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 19:20

  • Trump Vows To Free Jan. 6 'Hostages' In First Act As President
    Trump Vows To Free Jan. 6 ‘Hostages’ In First Act As President

    Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times,

    Former President Donald Trump has vowed to release individuals imprisoned over the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol if he wins the 2024 election in November.

    President Trump made the comments in a statement on Truth Social on March 11, noting that it would be among one of his first acts upon taking office in the White House.

    The Republican said shutting down the U.S.-Mexico border and increasing oil drilling as part of efforts to make America more energy independent would also be among his first actions as president.

    “My first acts as your next President will be to Close the Border, DRILL, BABY, DRILL, and Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!” President Trump said.

    President Trump said during a rally in Texas in 2022 that he would consider pardoning those convicted of their involvement in the Jan. 6 breach, noting that his administration would treat them “fairly.”

    “If it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly,” he said at the time.

    Last year, President Trump told a town hall hosted by CNN at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire that he was inclined to pardon a “large portion” of those charged with crimes relating to the breach.

    However, the Republican stressed he would not pardon all of those imprisoned, telling the audience that “a couple of them, probably they got out of control.”

    Jan. 6 ‘Hostages’

    At a rally in Iowa on the third anniversary of the breach at the start of this year, President Trump referred to the individuals arrested in the wake of the Jan. 6 breach as “hostages” who had suffered enough.” He then urged President Joe Biden to release them adding: “You can do it real easy, Joe.”

    President Trump’s latest comments mark the first time he has suggested that releasing those imprisoned over the Jan. 6 breach would be a top priority and that he will take immediate action to do so if he wins the November election.

    According to the most recent statement from the Department of Justice (DOJ), more than 1,358 individuals from nearly all 50 states have been charged with crimes linked to the breach of the U.S. Capitol.

    This includes more than 486 individuals who were handed felony charges for assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

    Most recently, a 43-year-old Maryland man was arrested on felony and misdemeanor charges—including offenses of civil disorder and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers—in relation to the events of Jan. 6.

    President Trump himself has been indicted over allegations related to his actions on Jan. 6 and alleged attempts to challenge the results of the 2020 election, including conspiring to defraud the country and obstructing an official proceeding.

    He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    Demonstrators entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election. (Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

    Trump Claim ‘False’

    President Trump’s comments came on the same day that a Republican-led House committee released a report on its investigation into work done by a Democrat-dominated select committee that probed Jan. 6.

    According to the GOP committee report, four individuals who served in the Trump administration did not corroborate testimony made by former aide Cassidy Hutchinson before the Jan. 6 committee in 2022.

    Ms. Hutchinson, a former White House official, testified that she was told by Secret Service agent Anthony Ornato that he was informed by a fellow agent that, on the day the U.S. Capitol was breached, President Trump tried to grab the steering wheel of the SUV he was in after being told he could not go to the Capitol.

    However, according to the Republican-led House committee, the Secret Service agent who was driving President Trump at the time of the breach denied the claim. However, this testimony was allegedly concealed by the Democrat-led committee.

    “Despite the driver of the president’s SUV testifying under oath that the Hutchinson story was false, the select committee chose to validate and promote Hutchinson’s version of the story as fact,” House Republicans said in the new report.

    “The select committee hid the driver’s full testimony and only favorably mentioned his testimony in its final report, it did not release the full transcript,” the report added.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 19:00

  • US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes
    US Spent More Than Double What It Collected In February, As 2024 Deficit Is Second Highest Ever… And Debt Explodes

    Earlier today, CNBC’s Brian Sullivan took a horse dose of Red Pills when, about six months after our readers, he learned that the US is issuing $1 trillion in debt every 100 days, which prompted him to rage tweet, (or rageX, not sure what the proper term is here) the following:

    We’ve added 60% to national debt since 2018. Germany – a country with major economic woes – added ‘just’ 32%.   

    Maybe it will never matter.   Maybe MMT is real.   Maybe we just cancel or inflate it out. Maybe career real estate borrowers or career politicians aren’t the answer.

    I have no idea.  Only time will tell.   But it’s going to be fascinating to watch it play out.

    He is right: it will be fascinating, and the latest budget deficit data simply confirmed that the day of reckoning will come very soon, certainly sooner than the two years that One River’s Eric Peters predicted this weekend for the coming “US debt sustainability crisis.”

    According to the US Treasury, in February, the US collected $271 billion in various tax receipts, and spent $567 billion, more than double what it collected.

    The two charts below show the divergence in US tax receipts which have flatlined (on a trailing 6M basis) since the covid pandemic in 2020 (with occasional stimmy-driven surges)…

    … and spending which is about 50% higher compared to where it was in 2020.

    The end result is that in February, the budget deficit rose to $296.3 billion, up 12.9% from a year prior, and the second highest February deficit on record.

    And the punchline: on a cumulative basis, the budget deficit in fiscal 2024 which began on October 1, 2023 is now $828 billion, the second largest cumulative deficit through February on record, surpassed only by the peak covid year of 2021.

    But wait there’s more: because in a world where the US is spending more than twice what it is collecting, the endgame is clear: debt collapse, and while it won’t be tomorrow, or the week after, it is coming… and it’s also why the US is now selling $1 trillion in debt every 100 days just to keep operating (and absorbing all those millions of illegal immigrants who will keep voting democrat to preserve the socialist system of the US, so beloved by the Soros clan).

    And it gets even worse, because we are now in the ponzi finance stage of the Minsky cycle, with total interest on the debt annualizing well above $1 trillion, and rising every day

    … having already surpassed total US defense spending and soon to surpass total health spending and, finally all social security spending, the largest spending category of all, which means that US debt will now rise exponentially higher until the inevitable moment when the US dollar loses its reserve status and it all comes crashing down.

    We conclude with another observation by CNBC’s Brian Sullivan, who quotes an email by a DC strategist…

    .. which lays out the proposed Biden budget as follows:

    The budget deficit will growth another $16 TRILLION over next 10 years. Thats *with* the proposed massive tax hikes.

    Without them the deficit will grow $19 trillion.

    That’s why you will hear the “deficit is being reduced by $3 trillion” over the decade.

    No family budget or business could exist with this kind of math.

    Of course, in the long run, neither can the US… and since neither party will ever cut the spending which everyone by now is so addicted to, the best anyone can do is start planning for the endgame.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 03/12/2024 – 18:40

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Mar 12

Today’s News 12th March 2024

  • Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched
    Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

    “Beware the Ides of March,” Shakespeare quotes the soothsayer’s warning Julius Caesar about what turned out to be an impending assassination on March 15. The death of American liberty happened around the same time four years ago, when the orders went out from all levels of government to close all indoor and outdoor venues where people gather. 

    It was not quite a law and it was never voted on by anyone. Seemingly out of nowhere, people who the public had largely ignored, the public health bureaucrats, all united to tell the executives in charge – mayors, governors, and the president – that the only way to deal with a respiratory virus was to scrap freedom and the Bill of Rights. 

    And they did, not only in the US but all over the world. 

    The forced closures in the US began on March 6 when the mayor of Austin, Texas, announced the shutdown of the technology and arts festival South by Southwest. Hundreds of thousands of contracts, of attendees and vendors, were instantly scrapped. The mayor said he was acting on the advice of his health experts and they in turn pointed to the CDC, which in turn pointed to the World Health Organization, which in turn pointed to member states and so on. 

    There was no record of Covid in Austin, Texas, that day but they were sure they were doing their part to stop the spread. It was the first deployment of the “Zero Covid” strategy that became, for a time, official US policy, just as in China. 

    It was never clear precisely who to blame or who would take responsibility, legal or otherwise. 

    This Friday evening press conference in Austin was just the beginning. By the next Thursday evening, the lockdown mania reached a full crescendo. Donald Trump went on nationwide television to announce that everything was under control but that he was stopping all travel in and out of US borders, from Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. American citizens would need to return by Monday or be stuck. 

    Americans abroad panicked while spending on tickets home and crowded into international airports with waits up to 8 hours standing shoulder to shoulder. It was the first clear sign: there would be no consistency in the deployment of these edicts. 

    There is no historical record of any American president ever issuing global travel restrictions like this without a declaration of war. Until then, and since the age of travel began, every American had taken it for granted that he could buy a ticket and board a plane. That was no longer possible. Very quickly it became even difficult to travel state to state, as most states eventually implemented a two-week quarantine rule. 

    The next day, Friday March 13, Broadway closed and New York City began to empty out as any residents who could went to summer homes or out of state. 

    On that day, the Trump administration declared the national emergency by invoking the Stafford Act which triggers new powers and resources to the Federal Emergency Management Administration. 

    In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a classified document, only to be released to the public months later. The document initiated the lockdowns. It still does not exist on any government website.

    The White House Coronavirus Response Task Force, led by the Vice President, will coordinate a whole-of-government approach, including governors, state and local officials, and members of Congress, to develop the best options for the safety, well-being, and health of the American people. HHS is the LFA [Lead Federal Agency] for coordinating the federal response to COVID-19.

    Closures were guaranteed:

    Recommend significantly limiting public gatherings and cancellation of almost all sporting events, performances, and public and private meetings that cannot be convened by phone. Consider school closures. Issue widespread ‘stay at home’ directives for public and private organizations, with nearly 100% telework for some, although critical public services and infrastructure may need to retain skeleton crews. Law enforcement could shift to focus more on crime prevention, as routine monitoring of storefronts could be important.

    In this vision of turnkey totalitarian control of society, the vaccine was pre-approved: “Partner with pharmaceutical industry to produce anti-virals and vaccine.”

    The National Security Council was put in charge of policy making. The CDC was just the marketing operation. That’s why it felt like martial law. Without using those words, that’s what was being declared. It even urged information management, with censorship strongly implied.

    The timing here is fascinating. This document came out on a Friday. But according to every autobiographical account – from Mike Pence and Scott Gottlieb to Deborah Birx and Jared Kushner – the gathered team did not meet with Trump himself until the weekend of the 14th and 15th, Saturday and Sunday. 

    According to their account, this was his first real encounter with the urge that he lock down the whole country. He reluctantly agreed to 15 days to flatten the curve. He announced this on Monday the 16th with the famous line: “All public and private venues where people gather should be closed.”

    This makes no sense. The decision had already been made and all enabling documents were already in circulation. 

    There are only two possibilities. 

    One: the Department of Homeland Security issued this March 13 HHS document without Trump’s knowledge or authority. That seems unlikely. 

    Two: Kushner, Birx, Pence, and Gottlieb are lying. They decided on a story and they are sticking to it. 

    Trump himself has never explained the timeline or precisely when he decided to greenlight the lockdowns. To this day, he avoids the issue beyond his constant claim that he doesn’t get enough credit for his handling of the pandemic.

    With Nixon, the famous question was always what did he know and when did he know it? When it comes to Trump and insofar as concerns Covid lockdowns – unlike the fake allegations of collusion with Russia – we have no investigations. To this day, no one in the corporate media seems even slightly interested in why, how, or when human rights got abolished by bureaucratic edict. 

    As part of the lockdowns, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which was and is part of the Department of Homeland Security, as set up in 2018, broke the entire American labor force into essential and nonessential.

    They also set up and enforced censorship protocols, which is why it seemed like so few objected. In addition, CISA was tasked with overseeing mail-in ballots. 

    Only 8 days into the 15, Trump announced that he wanted to open the country by Easter, which was on April 12. His announcement on March 24 was treated as outrageous and irresponsible by the national press but keep in mind: Easter would already take us beyond the initial two-week lockdown. What seemed to be an opening was an extension of closing. 

    This announcement by Trump encouraged Birx and Fauci to ask for an additional 30 days of lockdown, which Trump granted. Even on April 23, Trump told Georgia and Florida, which had made noises about reopening, that “It’s too soon.” He publicly fought with the governor of Georgia, who was first to open his state. 

    Before the 15 days was over, Congress passed and the president signed the 880-page CARES Act, which authorized the distribution of $2 trillion to states, businesses, and individuals, thus guaranteeing that lockdowns would continue for the duration. 

    There was never a stated exit plan beyond Birx’s public statements that she wanted zero cases of Covid in the country. That was never going to happen. It is very likely that the virus had already been circulating in the US and Canada from October 2019. A famous seroprevalence study by Jay Bhattacharya came out in May 2020 discerning that infections and immunity were already widespread in the California county they examined. 

    What that implied was two crucial points: there was zero hope for the Zero Covid mission and this pandemic would end as they all did, through endemicity via exposure, not from a vaccine as such. That was certainly not the message that was being broadcast from Washington. The growing sense at the time was that we all had to sit tight and just wait for the inoculation on which pharmaceutical companies were working. 

    By summer 2020, you recall what happened. A restless generation of kids fed up with this stay-at-home nonsense seized on the opportunity to protest racial injustice in the killing of George Floyd. Public health officials approved of these gatherings – unlike protests against lockdowns – on grounds that racism was a virus even more serious than Covid. Some of these protests got out of hand and became violent and destructive. 

    Meanwhile, substance abuse rage – the liquor and weed stores never closed – and immune systems were being degraded by lack of normal exposure, exactly as the Bakersfield doctors had predicted. Millions of small businesses had closed. The learning losses from school closures were mounting, as it turned out that Zoom school was near worthless. 

    It was about this time that Trump seemed to figure out – thanks to the wise council of Dr. Scott Atlas – that he had been played and started urging states to reopen. But it was strange: he seemed to be less in the position of being a president in charge and more of a public pundit, Tweeting out his wishes until his account was banned. He was unable to put the worms back in the can that he had approved opening. 

    By that time, and by all accounts, Trump was convinced that the whole effort was a mistake, that he had been trolled into wrecking the country he promised to make great. It was too late. Mail-in ballots had been widely approved, the country was in shambles, the media and public health bureaucrats were ruling the airwaves, and his final months of the campaign failed even to come to grips with the reality on the ground. 

    At the time, many people had predicted that once Biden took office and the vaccine was released, Covid would be declared to have been beaten. But that didn’t happen and mainly for one reason: resistance to the vaccine was more intense than anyone had predicted. The Biden administration attempted to impose mandates on the entire US workforce. Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling, that effort was thwarted but not before HR departments around the country had already implemented them. 

    As the months rolled on – and four major cities closed all public accommodations to the unvaccinated, who were being demonized for prolonging the pandemic – it became clear that the vaccine could not and would not stop infection or transmission, which means that this shot could not be classified as a public health benefit. Even as a private benefit, the evidence was mixed. Any protection it provided was short-lived and reports of vaccine injury began to mount. Even now, we cannot gain full clarity on the scale of the problem because essential data and documentation remains classified. 

    After four years, we find ourselves in a strange position. We still do not know precisely what unfolded in mid-March 2020: who made what decisions, when, and why. There has been no serious attempt at any high level to provide a clear accounting much less assign blame. 

    Not even Tucker Carlson, who reportedly played a crucial role in getting Trump to panic over the virus, will tell us the source of his own information or what his source told him. There have been a series of valuable hearings in the House and Senate but they have received little to no press attention, and none have focus on the lockdown orders themselves. 

    The prevailing attitude in public life is just to forget the whole thing. And yet we live now in a country very different from the one we inhabited five years ago. Our media is captured. Social media is widely censored in violation of the First Amendment, a problem being taken up by the Supreme Court this month with no certainty of the outcome. The administrative state that seized control has not given up power. Crime has been normalized. Art and music institutions are on the rocks. Public trust in all official institutions is at rock bottom. We don’t even know if we can trust the elections anymore. 

    In the early days of lockdown, Henry Kissinger warned that if the mitigation plan does not go well, the world will find itself set “on fire.” He died in 2023. Meanwhile, the world is indeed on fire. The essential struggle in every country on earth today concerns the battle between the authority and power of permanent administration apparatus of the state – the very one that took total control in lockdowns – and the enlightenment ideal of a government that is responsible to the will of the people and the moral demand for freedom and rights. 

    How this struggle turns out is the essential story of our times. 

    CODA: I’m embedding a copy of PanCAP Adapted, as annotated by Debbie Lerman. You might need to download the whole thing to see the annotations. If you can help with research, please do.

    *  *  *

    Jeffrey Tucker is the author of the excellent new book ‘Life After Lock-Down’

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 23:40

  • X Users Blast Establishment Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson For Owning Condo In Climate Change Flood Zone
    X Users Blast Establishment Scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson For Owning Condo In Climate Change Flood Zone

    X users blasted establishment ‘scientist’ Neil deGrasse Tyson for owning a multi-million condominium in an area that is projected to be underwater in a climate change model. 

    “In Florida, at 345-feet, Britton Hill is the highest elevation — the lowest highest elevation in United States. This makes Florida supremely susceptible to sea-level rise during Climate Change. An objective truth even if you don’t believe in Climate Change. Just Sayin’,” Tyson wrote on X on Sunday morning. 

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

    X users quickly pointed out that Tyson owns a $2.1 million second-floor condo in Manhattan—an area that will be underwater in the scientist’s own climate change model. 

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

    Another X user showed the climate change scam: Nantucket, “Where elite Democrats buy oceanfront mansions,” such as the Obamas, who recently dropped nearly $12 million on an oceanfront beach house. 

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

    The same people who push global warming also believe… 

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

    And by the way, these global warming libtards have been pushing misinformation and disinformation to scare the general public for decades. 

    h/t DickPrickly

    Cough, cough, Tyson. 

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    Where’s the melting ice caps?

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

    Has it occurred to these elites who peddle climate misinformation that they’re being laughed at?

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 23:20

  • Jamie Dimon Sees "Little Bit Of A Bubble In Stock Markets Right Now", But BofA Says Buy Because This Time It's Different
    Jamie Dimon Sees “Little Bit Of A Bubble In Stock Markets Right Now”, But BofA Says Buy Because This Time It’s Different

    “One fact of financial life should never be forgotten. Wall Street – to use the term in its figurative sense – would like its customers to make money, but what truly causes its denizens’ juices to flow is feverish activity. At such times, whatever foolishness can be marketed will be vigorously marketed – not by everyone but always by someone.”

             – Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway 2023 investor letter

    One week ago, a polite feud broke out among some of Wall Street’s top strategists, when – nearly a year and a half after turning bearish when the S&P hit 3,500 and remaining steadfastly so every since – JPM’s equity strategist Marko Kolanovic goalseeked the usual selection of bearish reasons including “froth” and “complacency” to “explain” why the market melt up can not be sustained (instead of actually correctly predicting that the market will continue to melt up) and warned that the bubble is bursting. At the same time his colleague at Goldman, head of US equity strategy David Kostin, who has been far more constructive on stocks and has even raised his 2024 S&P price target not two but three times in the past few months, literally said that this bubble is different…

    … and that 1999 and 2021 were worse, as “the prevalence of extreme valuations today looks far less widespread than in 2021 after adjusting for market concentration“, in other words, it is a bubble but only in the handful of stocks that really matter for the market… so there’s nothing to worry about this time or something. Here is the punchline:

    The recent rally has driven the share of market cap in stocks with extremely high valuations to levels similar to those reached during the euphoria of 2021.

    However, the prevalence of extreme valuations today looks far less widespread than in 2021 after adjusting for market concentration. The number of stocks with elevated EV/sales ratios has declined sharply from the peak in 2021. Unlike the broad-based “growth at any cost” in 2021, investors are mostly paying high valuations for the largest growth stocks in the index. This dynamic more closely resembles the Tech Bubble than 2021. However, in contrast with the late ’90s, we believe the valuation of the Magnificent 7 is currently supported by their fundamentals.

    Another key difference between the market today and in 2021 is that the cost of capital is much higher today than it was then. In 2021, the implied weighted average cost of capital (WACC) of the S&P 500 fell to 3.8%, its lowest level in decades. The low cost of financing meant growth plans could be funded relatively cheaply at the same time as a low discount rate benefited the valuations of growth stocks with cash flows in the distant future. As inflation surged and the Fed hiked sharply, the cost of capital spiked. The WACC now equals 5.7%.

    Translation: the bubble of Fabulous Four or so stocks that have done all the heavy in the past year may be poised to pop, but it’s not really a bubble as “this time is different”, plus it not like all those ridiculous EPS forecasts that see earnings growing exponential in perpetuity for AI/mega tech names, can all be wrong… can they?

    Well, maybe they can… according to the world’s most powerful banker, Jamie Dimon, who was speaking at an Australian Financial Review business summit event, “little bit of a bubble in equity markets right now.“

    The troubling admission, which framed Dimon’s far less optimistic admission about the US economy, in which he said that the “chance of a soft landing in the next year or two is half” of what the world is pricing in, “probably 70%-80%”,  came just hours after JPM’s Marko Kolanovic issued his weekly fire and brimstone sermon hoping that this week, this is the week, when he will finally be right and stocks will finally crash back to the mid-3000s.

    In his latest JPMOrgan View note, Kolanovic once again tried to come up with any reason whatsoever that scare the bank’s clients and keep them out of what has so far been a 40% rally from the October 2022 lows (which is when Marko turned bearish), and said that the recent rush into momentum stocks like the Mag 7 has typically been followed by a correction whenever it has occurred in the past: as a result “while it is unclear whether the recent deceleration is simply a pause in the rally or the start of a pullback, in our view the risk-reward is negatively skewed.”

    Kolanovic went on to caution – yet again – the bubble in Mag 7 stocks, writing that it’s only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down, to wit:

    “a combination of High for Longer and the Halo Effect of LLM stocks has created market dislocations across global equities over the past year. Extreme crowding into Momentum has steadily risen along with equity investor positioning. Momentum is a dynamic stock factor that changes its exposure depending on macroeconomic and fundamental conditions. As such, it often becomes crowded, followed by an inevitable and often sharp correction (i.e. momentum crash)… NVDA has a causal relationship to S&P 500; given this relationship coupled with very bullish investor sentiment and positioning, we caution investors that this relationship is likely to work in reverse when the AI euphoria peaks.

    …

    As such, we keep a defensive allocation in our model portfolio, unchanged vs. last month, with an UW in equities and credit vs. OW in cash and commodities.”

    Fundamentally, Marko is not wrong of course (and those interested can read more in his full note available to pro subs in the usual place), the problem – as anyone who listened to him and shorted stocks in September 2022 when we said his bearish pivot actually marked the market bottom, which we humbly suggest has been the best market-timing call this decade…

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

    … is that when it comes to timing market inflection points, the Croat strategist is an epic disaster, about as accurate as Cramer or Gartman. Which is why, sadly for the skeptics, as long as Marko remains bearish the market will rise.

    Which, incidentally, is something that another Wall Street strategist would complete agree with: in her latest note published just one week after she hiked  her year-end S&P price target from 5,000 to 5,400 in keeping with all the other lemmings who chase price and then goalseek reasons to justify their groupthink, BofA’s Savita Subramanian said that she has “had a full week of feedback and pushback” since raising her year-end price target to 5,400, and notes that she hears “that sentiment is now “full bull”, the market is trading in bubble-like territory, and it is time for something else to break from the Fed’s aggressive monetary policy.“

    She goes on to address several of the FAQs, essentially derivatives of one very direct question on a recent call: “Savita, are you forecasting a bubble?”

    Q: What defines a bubble, and is the S&P 500 one?

    A: Prior market bubble conditions include (1) a gap between price and intrinsic value, (2) democratization of the asset class, and (3) rampant speculation, often amplified by the use of leverage. Housing in 2007, Tech in 2000, tulips in 1637 are examples that tick these boxes. But the S&P 500 today does not: passive/index ownership (most of which is a proxy for the S&P 500) makes up just over half of US equity float, but Japan passive equity reached 80%. Moreover, CFTC data show net short positions by speculators. The gap between price and intrinsic value is high based on snapshot PE multiples, but the ex-Magnificent 7 trades closer to long-term average multiples, and, more importantly, today’s index lacks comparability to prior decades’, in our view.

    * * *

    Q: So historical valuation doesn’t matter?

    A: Valuation matters. But comparing a trailing PE today to a trailing PE of prior decades makes little sense given the index’s mix shift (ZH: right, because it’s different this time… never heard that one before). Furthermore, companies have been forced to abandon low quality EPS growth (levered buybacks, global cost/tax arbitrage) to focus on efficiency, yielding more predictable margins and warranting a higher multiple. Finally, valuation is a poor predictor in the short-term (r-sq of 10% for 1yr returns) but is all that matters in the long-term. Today it indicates lower price returns over the next decade with a higher proportion of total return from dividends (ZH: so… don’t buy then? We are confused…)

    Q: Is it 1995 or 1999?

    A: More 1995. US equity sentiment is at almost precisely the same level as in 1995 based on our Sell Side Indicator – neutral, not wildly bullish like 1999. The S&P 500 ERP is at almost the same level as in the mid-90s, and actually went negative by 1999. The efficiency/productivity themes of today (AI, automation) are nascent like the PC revolution was in the mid-90s. In 1999, Tech was valued on price to eyeballs, today, the earnings contribution and capital discipline of TMT is similar to that of 1995’s Nifty 50.

    Q: Where is equity sentiment today, really?

    A: The net message of investor sentiment frameworks is neutral on US equities. Bull markets end with euphoria, and today euphoria has been ring-fenced to themes (AI, GLP-1 etc.) Sentiment has warmed up on equities since mid-2023, driving our slightly lower level of conviction in an up market, but is nowhere near bullish levels of prior market peaks. In our view, this bull market has legs.

    In retrospect that is not even the worst, most goalseeked defense of the current tech bubble; And FWIW, we won’t even bother to debunk all the points brought up here. Instead we will leave it to the capable hands of Savita’s own co-worker Michael Hartnett who has done a phenomenal job of countering the bullshit of the “it is only a small bubble, plus this time it’s different” argument over, and over and over, and over again.

    More in the full BofA report available to pro subs in the usual place.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 23:00

  • Doctors, Dictators, And The Medical Autocracy
    Doctors, Dictators, And The Medical Autocracy

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

    Jean Wendrick acknowledges that she’s been mostly unhealthy her whole life—suffering from diabetes since she was in her 20s and overcoming breast cancer more recently.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

    At a doctor’s appointment last year, Ms. Wendrick learned she has osteopenia, a condition in which her body isn’t making new bone cells quickly enough, which often leads to osteoporosis. Her doctor suggested medication—the same type her mother has been taking.

    “It was devastating to me,” she said. “My mom is hunched over with osteoporosis and can only look at the floor. She’s in so much pain, and she took all the meds. It was all for nothing.”

    While Ms. Wendrick can see her potential future when looking at her 86-year-old mother, she also finds reasons, when thinking of her 18-year-old daughter, Victoria, whom she had at age 47, to make the changes that can restore her health.

    Thus, Ms. Wendrick became determined six months ago that she would live out her years in the best possible health. She knew it would demand real change and a true return to a healthy lifestyle—something her doctor’s prescriptions could never give her.

    The Doctor’s Dilemma

    Ms. Wendrick’s experience is common. Facing devastating illness, patients are offered drugs that have little effect and create problems that patients may never be told about.

    It is common for doctors to suggest only two types of treatment options: drugs or surgery. (Daria Serdtseva/Shutterstock)

    While some doctors will do little beyond suggesting surgery or a new prescription, many others do recommend their patients make lifestyle changes to fundamentally resolve the cause of chronic conditions.

    However, all too often, these recommendations come as brief commands to “lose weight,” “exercise more,” or “eat better” and are often served with a sprinkle of judgment.

    Health care providers may then blame patients for their inability to follow such orders.

    A study in Finland echoes findings in other settings where physicians and nurses say patients with obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and who smoke, just won’t do what they are told.

    “A majority [of both physicians and nurses] agreed that a major barrier to the treatment of lifestyle-related conditions is patients’ unwillingness to change their habits,” the study states.

    And all too often this is true. However, research also suggests doctors and nurses dispense such advice in ineffective ways. Giving orders in brief and hurried appointments is not an effective way to get patients to address long-standing habits, like eating certain foods, advised Dr. Ann Lindsay, a physician and clinical professor in medicine at Stanford, in an article in Stanford Medicine’s Scope magazine.

    “Everybody basically wants to lead a healthy life,” Dr. Lindsay told Scope, “but there are different beliefs and obstacles that contribute to ambivalence.”

    Helping patients overcome those beliefs and navigate those obstacles simply isn’t in the job description for many health care practitioners.

    Many doctors have hundreds of patients and spend too little time building a genuine connection with or an understanding of them. (peterfactors/Shutterstock)

    One part of the issue is a lack of time. Another part of the issue is that physicians simply don’t know how to help patients or communicate these issues well. Many doctors have no meaningful relationship with the people whose lives depend on them.

    Physicians who learn how to communicate well are more than twice as effective in getting patients to make lifestyle changes, said Dr. Lindsay.

    One of the reasons for the rise of functional medicine is a desire from both patients and physicians to focus on the systemic lifestyle factors behind disease.

    A Different Approach to Medicine

    Making changes requires patients to take responsibility—and health care practitioners to effectively support that change, say experts.

    “Before I had excuses. I ate what I wanted when I wanted, and I was eating for emotions. I always had symptoms. I didn’t do any exercise. It was awful,” Ms. Wendrick recalled. “Now, there is a reason for me to get up in the morning and finally take care of me. I know it takes discipline and determination to get results.”

    Ms. Wendrick is on a mission to get her diabetes under control, lose weight, and strengthen her bones. She hired a new doctor to help her succeed, Dr. Scott Doughty, a family doctor at U.P. Holistic Medicine in Michigan. Ms. Wendrick calls him “the boss.” She’s lost 30 pounds so far and said she feels like she’s in her 20s.

    For the first time in her health care experience, Ms. Wendrick felt listened to and that she had suitable options and a support system that would allow her to avoid the poor prognosis she was facing. It became easier for her to comply because she felt in control and supported by Dr. Doughty, she said.

    Ms. Wendrick isn’t an exception. Patient engagement, motivation, and support are vital ingredients for healing disease from the standpoint of functional medicine and research studies.

    The American Medical Association (AMA) says doctors need to help patients find their motivation and give them small but meaningful targets for improvement—like a 5 percent weight reduction.

    The AMA also raises the need for an engaging coach, someone capable of getting patients to participate in lifestyle programs.

    People often need the support of a health coach, nutritionist, or personal trainer to make meaningful changes in their daily habits. (The Good Brigade/Getty Images)

    Unfortunately, these programs are still hard to come by in many areas and physicians may not even be aware they exist. All too often, doctors simply tell patients they need to take a new drug or have surgery, with little in the way of discussion.

    Medicinal Commands

    A 2019 study revealed that a shared power balance between patients and health care providers was critical to active patient participation and adherence to treatment in chronic illnesses.

    “Patients cannot be forced to follow a lifestyle dictated by others,” notes the study published in the International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery. “The finding suggests that adherence is facilitated by empowerment that includes competence in self-care, adaptability, and persistence in treatment.”

    Telling people they need to “stop this or stop that” almost universally fails, Dr. Joel Evans, founder and director of the Center for Functional Medicine, told The Epoch Times. It’s more effective, he said, to find beneficial things to add to behavior such as eating more fruits and vegetables.

    “By talking to patients this way, they feel more cared for, and they’re more likely to participate in the creation of a plan … and they’re more likely to follow the plan,” Dr. Evans said. “The doctor dictator doesn’t work.”

    While it can be frustrating to encounter doctors who don’t offer options or support, patients can voice concerns, ask for more resources, or find help elsewhere as Ms. Wendrick did.

    Doctors As Dictators

    Physicians find themselves in an impossible bind. They often believe they must convey a sense of certainty and authority to give their patients confidence in prescribed treatments—and yet there is little certainty in medicine. This can lead to issuing orders rather than engaging patients in more meaningful conversations.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 22:20

  • Deluge Of Violent Crime Sees Philly Transit Boss Call For National Guard, Following NYC's Lead
    Deluge Of Violent Crime Sees Philly Transit Boss Call For National Guard, Following NYC’s Lead

    Transit Workers Union Local 234 President Brian Pollitt is demanding accountability from Gov. Josh Shapiro, Mayor Cherelle Parker, and SEPTA officials after a string of violent crimes on and around Philadelphia mass transit over the last few weeks. 

    In fact, he says he has been calling for National Guard deployment on SEPTA – similar to how New York City has deployed the National Guard on MTA – for four years, according to WKYW.

    “I think that governor needs a round of applause because they’re going through the very same thing that we’re going through,” Pollitt said of New York City. 

    He says many drivers are seeking retirement because of how dangerous the job has gotten and that it is tough recruiting new drivers. “And I got young people coming in the door and once they come in here and see how things are, they’re going out there looking for other opportunities,” he said. 

    Recall last Thursday we wrote about 8 teens who were shot near a SEPTA bus in Northeast Philadelphia. The incident came just hours after the last shooting injuring four and killing one involving mass transit in Philadelphia.

    The incident occurred at around 3 p.m. near Northeast High School at Cottman and Rising Sun avenues, where students were waiting for a bus. Three assailants opened fire, shooting over 30 rounds from across the street, wounding eight teenagers.

    Surveillance captured them exiting a blue Hyundai Sonata and attacking as a bus arrived, then fleeing. The victims, aged between 15 and 17, included seven boys and a girl; two are critically injured.

    Descriptions of the gunmen have been released. The shooting prompted a lockdown at a nearby elementary school and hit two SEPTA buses without injuring passengers.

    Police have impounded a car believed to be involved in the shooting, seizing a blue Hyundai Sonata found parked on Roselyn Street in the Olney area of the city on Wednesday night. The vehicle, now at a local impound lot, is said to match the description of the dark blue 2019 Hyundai Sonata identified as the getaway car in surveillance footage.

    Mayor Cherelle Parker commented last week: “The purpose of our being here today is to inform you all that enough is enough. That every law enforcement partner that we have here in the city of Philadelphia is actively engaged in working together to ensure that every resource that is needed is readily available so that the work can be done to solve crimes.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 22:00

  • CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid
    CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid

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

    A U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) paper released Thursday found that thousands of young children have been taken to the emergency room over the past several years after taking the very common sleep-aid supplement melatonin.

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

    The agency said that melatonin, which can come in gummies that are meant for adults, was implicated in about 7 percent of all emergency room visits for young children and infants “for unsupervised medication ingestions,” adding that many incidents were linked to the ingestion of gummy formulations that were flavored. Those incidents occurred between the years 2019 and 2022.

    Melatonin is a hormone produced by the human body to regulate its sleep cycle. Supplements, which are sold in a number of different formulas, are generally taken before falling asleep and are popular among people suffering from insomnia, jet lag, chronic pain, or other problems.

    The supplement isn’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and does not require child-resistant packaging. However, a number of supplement companies include caps or lids that are difficult for children to open.

    The CDC report said that a significant number of melatonin-ingestion cases among young children were due to the children opening bottles that had not been properly closed or were within their reach. Thursday’s report, the agency said, “highlights the importance of educating parents and other caregivers about keeping all medications and supplements (including gummies) out of children’s reach and sight,” including melatonin.

    The approximately 11,000 emergency department visits for unsupervised melatonin ingestions by infants and young children during 2019–2022 highlight the importance of educating parents and other caregivers about keeping all medications and supplements (including gummies) out of children’s reach and sight.

    The CDC notes that melatonin use among Americans has increased five-fold over the past 25 years or so. That has coincided with a 530 percent increase in poison center calls for melatonin exposures to children between 2012 and 2021, it said, as well as a 420 percent increase in emergency visits for unsupervised melatonin ingestion by young children or infants between 2009 and 2020.

    Some health officials advise that children under the age of 3 should avoid taking melatonin unless a doctor says otherwise. Side effects include drowsiness, headaches, agitation, dizziness, and bed wetting.

    Other symptoms of too much melatonin include nausea, diarrhea, joint pain, anxiety, and irritability. The supplement can also impact blood pressure.

    However, there is no established threshold for a melatonin overdose, officials have said. Most adult melatonin supplements contain a maximum of 10 milligrams of melatonin per serving, and some contain less.

    Many people can tolerate even relatively large doses of melatonin without significant harm, officials say. But there is no antidote for an overdose. In cases of a child accidentally ingesting melatonin, doctors often ask a reliable adult to monitor them at home.

    Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, with the Seattle Children’s Hospital at the University of Washington, told CNN that parents should speak with a doctor before giving their children the supplement.

    “I also tell families, this is not something your child should take forever. Nobody knows what the long-term effects of taking this is on your child’s growth and development,” she told the outlet. “Taking away blue-light-emitting smartphones, tablets, laptops, and television at least two hours before bed will keep melatonin production humming along, as will reading or listening to bedtime stories in a softly lit room, taking a warm bath, or doing light stretches.”

    In 2022, researchers found that in 2021, U.S. poison control centers received more than 52,000 calls about children consuming worrisome amounts of the dietary supplement. That’s a six-fold increase from about a decade earlier. Most such calls are about young children who accidentally got into bottles of melatonin, some of which come in the form of gummies for kids, the report said.

    Dr. Karima Lelak, an emergency physician at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and the lead author of the study published in 2022 by the CDC, found that in about 83 percent of those calls, the children did not show any symptoms.

    However, other children had vomiting, altered breathing, or other symptoms. Over the 10 years studied, more than 4,000 children were hospitalized, five were put on machines to help them breathe, and two children under the age of two died. Most of the hospitalized children were teenagers, and many of those ingestions were thought to be suicide attempts.

    Those researchers also suggested that COVID-19 lockdowns and virtual learning forced more children to be at home all day, meaning there were more opportunities for kids to access melatonin. Also, those restrictions may have caused sleep-disrupting stress and anxiety, leading more families to consider melatonin, they suggested.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 21:40

  • Leftist Consulting Firms Exposed As Hidden Hand Behind The Wokification Of Video Games
    Leftist Consulting Firms Exposed As Hidden Hand Behind The Wokification Of Video Games

    How the tables have turned in the past decade.  If you were involved at the inception of the culture war around a decade ago then you probably remember an abrupt and distinct change in popular media from 2015 to 2016.  There was a surge of far-left and feminist propaganda in movies, television, commercials and even video games that was highly aggressive, perhaps even militant.  Some people spoke out at the time and questioned the motives behind the trend, only to be smacked down by angry mobs of activists and corporate journalists with accusations of “conspiracy theory” and “bigotry.”

    In other words, their claim was that you were not seeing what you thought you were seeing.  There was no feminist agenda.  There was no gay or trans agenda.  There was no socialist messaging.  It was only in your head.

    If there is one rule that encompasses all political endeavors, it is this:  If you have to hide your intentions and lie about your goals when trying to spread your ideology, then something is probably very wrong with your ideology.  This is exactly the problem inherent in the attempt to spread woke doctrine – Activists and provocateurs never ask anyone if they want to hear about woke ideas; they seek to force everyone to see and hear woke ideas, to the point that people cannot escape the messaging.

    Even more insulting is the fact that even though most of these activists claim to be fans of the media they target, they are usually discovered to be frauds.  Woke ideologues have little sincere interest in nostalgia, movie making, video games, comic books, etc.  They only care about these properties because they see them as a vehicle to be co-opted, infected and dominated.  Leftists know well that if they control pop culture they can control the thinking of the next generation.

    The explosion of this cultism was evident by 2016, which led to a rising counter-movement among independents and conservatives within pop-media communities including video games.  Gamergate was born, driven by the desire to call out the thought police taking over the games industry.

    The movement would spark a firestorm among mainstream news platforms who sought to discredit them as monstrous misogynists and racists that were merely upset because they didn’t like “diversity in gaming.”  But there had always been diversity in games, so this accusation didn’t hold much water.  The real reason why leftists were furious over Gamergate was because they knew what it represented – organized push-back.  If this continued, the propaganda machine would eventually be exposed.  

    Skip ahead to 2024, long after the frenzy over Gamergate has faded.  The truth has finally and officially been revealed after disclosures of a little-known company called Sweet Baby Inc.

    Founded in 2018, Sweet Baby Inc is a media consulting firm based out of Montreal, Canada.  Many of the founding members of the company have direct ties to the same leftist propagandists that were outed by Gamergate years ago.  The group is also undeniably linked to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programming.  The Spread of DEI and the reason why such consulting firms have any market whatsoever is due exclusively to the global ESG loan scheme.

    At the height of ESG, companies like Blackrock and Vanguard were throwing billions in low cost loans at any corporations willing to show their fealty to the woke cause.  The agenda is openly admitted now; the point is to use easy money to “force behaviors” (and narratives) onto the public consciousness.

    Recent investigations by a host of independent outlets have discovered that Sweet Baby Inc. has been involved in some of the most blatant woke games of the past decade.  Anyone paying attention to trends might have noticed the exponential rise of a shrill and oppressive voice within the games world.  As it turns out, the progressive stranglehold on video games was not an unorganized affair perpetrated by random unrelated activists; it has been highly centralized and deliberate, using the “terror” of the mob as leverage to convince game developers to insert woke messaging into their products.

    Beyond the lure of ESG subsidies, the consulting strategy works like this:  Woke “consultants” accuse developers of producing bigoted content and instigate leftist mobs of hundreds or thousands of people to harass them.  Then, the consultants offer their services to the developers that are under attack, telling them that all they need to do is hire the consulting firm and the mob will leave them alone.  In other words, it’s a protection racket.  

    Once they are in the door, they sow fear in the minds of marketing teams with images of cancel culture hordes marching out to destroy their company.  The marketing team convinces the game makers to implant incessant woke narratives despite the fact that none of their customers want this.  In the end, the video game market is saturated with leftist-inspired propaganda.  All it takes is a handful of these consulting organizations to change the course of an entire industry.  Companies that used to be concerned with making great products and making their customers happy suddenly become nothing more than bullhorns for the progressive cause.

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    Sweet Baby Inc. has been using similar strong arm tactics for quite some time, but their most recent attempt to shut down a Steam page dedicated to compiling a list of games the consultants had a hand in was the straw the broke the camel’s back.  Instead of silencing dissent, the group triggered a hurricane that led to their exploits being discussed on every part of the internet.

    This is very similar to the efforts by leftists to shut down the Libs of TikTok Twitter account, which was only ever guilty of reposting videos made by woke activists describing their crazed motives in their own words.  Sweet Baby Inc tried to shut down a page which only listed the video games they were involved in.  Why?  One can only guess, but it seems as if they didn’t want consumers to know they even existed.  

    Luckily, the Streisand Effect went into effect and now the whole world is aware that these groups exist and what they are involved in.  Most importantly, however, is the vindication of those people (like Gamergate) that fought for years to prove that there was in fact a concerted leftist conspiracy within the video games industry.  They weren’t bigoted or “crazy,” they were right, and now everyone knows it.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 21:20

  • Nightmare Scenario: How A Trump Trial Could Now Run Up To (Or Through) The 2024 Election
    Nightmare Scenario: How A Trump Trial Could Now Run Up To (Or Through) The 2024 Election

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    “This trial will not yield to the election cycle.” Those words of U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan last year made clear that she will not consider that Donald Trump will likely be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee in setting the schedule for his federal trial in Washington, D.C.

     

    Most recently, in the federal prosecution in Florida, Special Counsel Jack Smith declared that he will not consider himself bound by the Justice Department’s longstanding policy of not bringing charges or holding trials of candidates close to an election.

    With the Supreme Court reviewing the immunity question (and a decision not expected until June), a nightmare scenario is unfolding in which Trump could be tried not just before the general election, but actually through November’s election.

    Chutkan has insisted that her refusal to consider Trump’s candidacy is simply denying special treatment to the former president. But there is nothing typical about how she and others have handled the case. The fact that Chutkan was pushing for a March trial date shows just how extraordinary her handling has been.

    In the D.C. courts, with thousands of stacked up cases, that would be a rocket docket for a complex case of this kind. There are roughly 770,000 pending cases in roughly 100 district courts around the country. The backlog of pending criminal cases in the federal court system increased by more than a quarter in the last five years. Even when defendants plead guilty, criminal cases average 10 months. If a trial is needed, it runs on average to two years, absent serious complications over classified or privileged material. Smith indicted Trump less than a year ago.

    At every juncture, Smith has tried to expedite and spur the case along. This has included an attempt to cut off standard appellate options for Trump.

    It seems as if the entire point is to try Trump before the election.

    Smith has offered no reason, other than that he wants voters to consider the outcome of the trial.

    It is a rare acknowledgement of a desire for a trial to become a factor in an election.

    Judge Chutkan has shown the same determination. The judge was criticized for comments she made before any charges were brought that strongly suggested she thought Trump should be criminally charged. Chutkan told one defendant that he showed “blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.” In another case, Chutkan told the defendant that it was unfair that he might go to prison but “the architects of that horrific event will likely never be charged.”

    When asked to recuse herself, Chutkan denied the clear implication of her own words. She insisted that she has not expressly stated that “’President Trump should be prosecuted’ and imprisoned… And the defense does not cite any instance of the court ever uttering those words or anything similar.”

    Of course, neither the court nor the prosecutors seem willing to apply a similarly deferential view of the meaning of Trump’s words within the context of the case. There, the implications are sufficient for that “one person” described earlier by the court.

    Chutkan is now reportedly telling parties in other cases that she will be out of the country in August, and that defendants will have to delay any proceedings in light of her plans…unless she can try Trump. She told lawyers that she will stick with her schedule unless “I’m in trial in another matter that has not yet returned to my calendar.”

    Given the apparent motivation of the trial court to try Trump before the election, the only other source of restraint would be the Justice Department itself. Smith, however, has insisted that he will show no such restraint, even if he tries Trump through the election.

    In his filings in Florida, Smith insisted that the oft-cited Justice Department policy to avoid such proceedings within 60 days of an election would not be applied in Trump’s case. He insisted that, since everyone knows about the allegations, there would be no harm or foul in holding him for trial for the weeks before the election as his opponent, President Biden, is free to traverse the country campaigning.

    Smith’s position was applauded by commentators who had previously invoked the rule to oppose charges that might have helped Trump before prior elections. Take Andrew Weissmann, who served as the controversial top aide to Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Now an MSNBC legal analyst, Weissmann assured viewers that there was no problem trying Trump just before the election because this is just “an internal rule. It is not a law.”

    He then added “Second, the rule does not apply! For anyone who has been at the Justice Department, this is such a red herring.” He insisted this is only meant to avoid some “covert cases” being tried “because you don’t want to influence the election when that person — the candidate — doesn’t have an opportunity to get to trial.”

    However, when the issue was the possibility of Special Counsel John Durham charging figures in the Russia investigation before the 2020 election, Weissmann and Professor Ryan Goodman wrote a column not only invoking the rule but encouraging prosecutors to refuse to assist Durham.

    I have previously written about the ambiguity of this rule and the selectivity of its applications. However, Weissmann and Goodman were adamant that such prosecutions would be dangerous. Even though no actual election candidate would have been charged, they invoked this Justice Department “norm” and declared, “The Justice Department should not take action that could distort an election and influence the electorate. If someone is charged immediately before an election, for instance, that person has no time to offer a defense to counter the charges. The closer the election, the greater the risk that the department is impermissibly acting based on political considerations, which is always prohibited.”

    It is certainly true that these charges have been known for a while, but Trump may not have an ability to present a complete defense before the election. It is also clear that he will have to choose between campaigning for office and defending his liberty.

    Moreover, this is the leading candidate for the presidency, and the opponent to the current incumbent. A 2023 poll found that a 47 percent plurality of Americans already believe the charges are politically motivated. That appearance will only worsen as the election approaches, a recognition that should force a modicum of restraint upon both the court and the prosecution. Finally, Smith is referencing the election as the reason to expedite the trial precisely because it may have an influence on voters.

    The Trump trials are troubling precisely because they are being handled differently because of who the defendant is.

    No one can seriously suggest that Judge Chutkan would be moving other cases or canceling trips in order to shoehorn them into the calendar this year, if it were not for the election and the name of the defendant. Such cases are, after all, notorious for taking years to work out complicated pre-trial matters.

    Most citizens already see that reality. State prosecutors in New York and Georgia waited for years to charge Trump, then pushed for expedited schedules in order to try him before the election.

    That brings us back to Judge Chutkan’s pledge to “not yield to the election cycle.” Yet the expedited effort of the court seems clearly motivated by the election cycle. She and Smith are depending on the election cycle as they struggle to pull Trump into court at the height of a presidential campaign.

    It is a schedule conceived for the “one person” described by Chutkan in the earlier cases. As the calendar continues to shrink, claims of blind justice increasingly look like the blind pursuit of a specific person.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 21:00

  • Israel Making Preparations To Launch Invasion Of Southern Lebanon
    Israel Making Preparations To Launch Invasion Of Southern Lebanon

    Israel has continued signaling that it is preparing to launch a major new operation against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon following months of tit-for-tat escalation. Some 80,000 Israeli residents whose homes are near the border have remained evacuated since October and November, and are essentially internally displaced. Because of this, pressure has mounted on Israeli leaders to do something that would allow their return, and ensure the security of Israel’s north.

    Israeli media, particularly YNet News reported on Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is preparing “contingency plans” for a wide-scale attack on Lebanon. Israeli Army Northern Command head Major General Ori Gordin in a meeting with settler leaders from northern Israel stated, “We are preparing contingency plans to launch an attack in Lebanon. Our commitment, mine, is to change the security situation so that the residents can be returned home.”

    Via AFP

    YNet further unveiled plans to initiate the army’s “Operation Steady Anchor” which aims to protect civilians during the expected escalation in fighting. Hezbollah is widely estimated to possess over 150,000 rockets – some of which can likely reach Haifa and Tel Aviv.

    The operation involves setting up dozens of mass shelters utilizing fortified abandoned buildings and underground parking garages. This is to protect civilians in the instance of a mass Hezbollah rocket barrage. The shelters will be equipped to allow families to take refuge anywhere from a few hours to up to several days.

    In another key sign of Tel Aviv’s war preparations, the IDF has been conducing a logistics supply drill focused on its northern bases and positions, and in preparation for a Lebanon offensive This has included practice runs delivering ammo, equipment, water, and fuel to simulated “maneuvering forces” operating in southern Lebanon.

    Meanwhile, Army Chief Herzi Halevi has reportedly ordered Brig. Gen. Chico Tamir, the former deputy commander of the northern corps, to draw up “several possible plans for a ground operation in Lebanon.”

    Veteran Middle East war correspondent Elijah Magnier reports Monday from the Lebanese side that “Hezbollah (and allies) is training and preparing for a possible war with Israel above and below ground.”

    Attacks by Hezbollah have continued to be daily, also amid Israeli return fire. On Sunday a major Israeli airstrike hit a home in south Lebanon’s Khirbet Selm, killing a family of five, including three Hezbollah members.

    Last month, an op-ed in Foreign Policy predicted that a broader Israel-Hezbollah war is inevitable. “It is likely that there is going to be a war between Hezbollah and Israel within the next six to eight months,” wrote Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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    Cook said, “Still, it is not hard to imagine a moment at which the Iranians loosen the reins on their primary proxy. As Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah made clear in an early January speech remembering the life and work of Maj. Gen. Qassem Suleimani—the IRGC Quds Force commander who the United States killed in a drone strike in early 2020—the Iranians have put significant time, energy, and resources into the development of so-called axis of resistance.”

    A bigger war in Lebanon would very likely also spill over into Syria and Iraq as well, where US occupying forces have already come under frequent drone and rocket attack, though these instances have been less frequently in the last few weeks.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 20:40

  • Only The US Can Destroy The US Dollar
    Only The US Can Destroy The US Dollar

    Authored by Russell Clark of the Capital Flows and Asset Markets substack

    Being the reserve currency has enormous benefits. And in the entirety of financial history, the US is the first and only fiat reserve currency. Sterling, and any other reserve currencies derived their value from the ability to maintain their value to gold. With the two World Wars, the US came to be seen as the government most able to honour its commitments, and saw huge inflows of gold, but in the 1960s, gold started to flow back to Europe and elsewhere, and in essence, Nixon decided that higher interest rates needed to maintain the link to gold price was not worth the effort, and cut the link to gold price.

    Moving from a gold based currency to a fiat currency has had enormous benefits for the US. First of all is that it no longer needs to ever run a current account surplus. That is it never needs to reduce consumption or imports, which is a huge political benefit. The norm since 1980 is for the US to have a current account deficit.

    The US also does not need to balance the budget. The budget was balanced in 2000, but this was probably now seen as a tactical error on the part of the Democrats.

    What I find most interesting about the transition from gold to US treasury backed financial system is how Asian nations, despite a long history of using gold, accepted this system. China and Japan have some of the largest foreign reserves in the world, but their holdings of gold are limited. Even India holds a relatively small amount of gold as foreign reserves.

    Japan is the most interesting, where almost all of its foreign reserves are held as US treasuries. Unfortunately US treasury data on foreign holders only begins in 2000, but I have no reason not to believe the Japanese were big buyers in 1990s as well.

    Why do the Japanese only buy treasuries? Well for most of the time since 1980, treasuries have been much better investments than gold. They offer an income stream, they are very liquid, and they have a natural pull to par, which means that there is never a need to book a loss – which will have powerful appeal to bureaucrats. From 1980 to 2000 long dated treasuries consistently outperformed gold, while from 2000 its has been far more of mixed bag.

    Typically when people talk about reserve currency status, they talk about the size of the US economy or its military might, and basically imply that this can never end, so US dollar reserve status is forever. I think about the US dollar as a reserve currency I think it is something more akin to Microsoft, or Google. The product is not that good, the management is of debatable quality, but because everyone else uses it, its just too hard to switch. Given the infrastructure, and ease of using the US dollar for almost all financial transactions, why would anyone bother to use a different system? And even as US trade deficits exploded this just left more money for Asian exporters to recycle back into treasuries. The flywheel worked for all parties.

    As pointed out in the last post, the US itself has started the process of creating a parallel financial system, by basically trying and failing to cut off Russian energy exports from the US financial system. For years the Russian wanted to price their oil in non-US dollar form, and made little headway, but the US basically did the job for them.

    What would be the next step in the US dismantling the US centric financial system? For years I have wondered why the Hong Kong dollar has remained pegged to the US dollar. Why not just repeg to Chinese Yuan? Hong Kong could then sell large chunks of its foreign holdings, and reducing the scope of the US to influence trade in HK.

    Of course changing from USD to peg to a CNY peg would be hassle for all the existing contracts and present financial and legal problems, which no doubt would fan more resentment of Beijing in Hong Kong. A far better solution for Beijing would be for the US government to begin sanctioning HK businesses, and changing the legal status of HK, a process that has begun under the Trump administration. All this involves doing is China integrating Hong Kong into its political system, and the US will predictably react. It is hard to see how this process could be reversed.

    The problem for the US is that Russia has been cut off from the US financial system, and not imploded. That makes the fear of sanctions more tolerable. The Euro/Ruble exchange rate, which is as a good of as a measure for Russian economic health shows that the sanctions have had an effect, but not as dramatic as hoped. That is there is life after sanctions.

    The political calculation for US attitude towards China is now very difficult. The more financial sanctions that it applies to China, the more it weakens the case for the US treasury as a reserve asset, but without applying sanctions, China has a chance to continue to grow to be the largest economy in the world. We can already see a change in behaviour in Asian governments. Vietnam has been a huge beneficiary of the move away from China. It now runs a huge trade surplus with the US. This is larger than Japan.

    But we do not see Vietnam accumulating treasuries likes South Korea, Japan or China.

    There is no guarantee that all this money will end up in gold. But whenever I see GLD/TLT trade well, I feel that the US is losing ground.

    As mentioned previously, the US politically and culturally probably feels compelled to defend its position at the largest economy in the world. Can it do this without losing its special status as the reserve currency of the world? Without a political collapse in China, I doubt it.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 20:20

  • Boeing Whistleblower Found Dead In A Truck From "Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound"
    Boeing Whistleblower Found Dead In A Truck From “Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound”

    The latest twist in what can only be described as an onslaught of horrific news surrounding Boeing – or perhaps the sequel to the Hudsucker Proxy where a mysterious cabal is trying to spark a stock panic so they can buy the company for pennies on the dollar – came this afternoon when we learned that a key whistleblower employee, a former quality control manager who raised concerns about the firm’s production standards, was found dead after an apparent suicide.

    John Barnett, a former veteran Boeing employee of 32 years, passed away from a self-inflicted wound on March 9, as confirmed by the Charleston County coroner, according to BBC which broke the news on Monday evening.

    Bartnett’s lawyer said that he was found dead in a truck near a hotel parking lot in South Carolina from an alleged “self-inflicted’ wound”, with  Breaking 911 calling it a ‘gunshot’ wound and BBC, the Gateway Pundit and numerous other sources referring to it as a ‘self-inflicted’ wound. 

    Barnett was involved in a whistleblower lawsuit against Boeing, alleging serious safety concerns at the North Charleston plant, where he managed quality for the 787 Dreamliner production. Boeing was in Charleston for legal interviews related to the lawsuit when he was found dead. 

    He claimed the push for speed compromised safety, with sub-standard parts being used and a significant failure rate in emergency oxygen systems. Despite raising these issues, he felt his concerns were disregarded, leading to legal action against Boeing, alleging career damage due to his whistleblowing.

    BBC wrote:

    He said in some cases, sub-standard parts had even been removed from scrap bins and fitted to planes that were being built to prevent delays on the production line.

    He also claimed that tests on emergency oxygen systems due to be fitted to the 787 showed a failure rate of 25%, meaning that one in four could fail to deploy in a real-life emergency.

    Boeing has denied his allegations, but the Federal Aviation Administration upheld some of Barnett’s safety concerns in 2017. At the time of his passing, Barnett was engaged in legal proceedings related to his claims.

    The FAA said last week it found “multiple instances where the company allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements”.

    “This is not a 737 problem, this is a Boeing problem,” he said during a recent interview he took with TMZ, speaking out about his concerns with Boeing airplanes. “Back in 2012, Boeing started removing inspection operations off their jobs,” he continued:

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    “My concern is with the 737 and the 787,” he said. “Because those programs have really embraced the theory that quality if overhead and non value added.”

    In recent year the public’s attention had been focused primarily on the company’s 737 MAX airplane which was grounded briefly after two deadly crashes in 2019 revealed a deadly corporate culture of cutting costs and corners, which led to a collapse in the stock price and cost former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenberg his job.

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    However it now appears that concerns about airplane safety at Boeing should focus on the entire production line. Or rather, some have already speculated that Bartnett “killed himself” to contain the damage.

    The news comes the same day Al Jazeera posted a video showing a walkthrough of the Boeing plant in South Carolina. There, when asking the employees if they would fly in the jets they are assembling, numerous employees said they would not. 

    “Many employees are addicted to drugs and no one cares,” the reporter wrote. That video is here. 

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    Over the weekend, we learned that the DOJ had opening a criminal investigation into the company: according to the Wall Street Journal, the DOJ has initiated a criminal probe into the incident involving the infamous “Convertible” Alaska Air flight, during which a door plug ripped off a brand new 737 Max mid-flight. 

    Then, on Sunday, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Fox News and explained that the Federal Aviation Administration would ‘rigorously’ probe Boeing. He said that maintaining airline safety requires “an enormous amount of rigor in dealing with Boeing and any regulatory issue.” 

    Meanwhile, Boeing and federal regulators have their hands full after several aircraft incidents last week. 

    As James Lavish pointed out on Twitter, the company has been awash with controversy since the beginning of the year, including the following separate incidents:

    • Passenger door blown out, mid-air
    • cockpit window cracked, take-off
    • oxygen leak, pre-flight (Blinken incident)
    • passenger notices bolts missing on wing, pre-flight
    • lost wheel during take-off, wobbled off
    • lost wheel after take-off, mid-air
    • plane arrived with cargo door open
    • landing gear malfunction
    • engine failure mid-flight
    • engine fire, mid-flight

    As Lavish astutely notes at the end of his Tweet: “the stock still trades at 61 P/E.” Once any of these multiple serious incidents escalate into something deadly, which is a matter of when not if, it won’t be trading there for long.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 20:12

  • Zelensky Says 'Build The Wall': Ukraine Erecting 2,000km Of Fortifications On Front Lines
    Zelensky Says ‘Build The Wall’: Ukraine Erecting 2,000km Of Fortifications On Front Lines

    Ukraine’s President Zelensky has more or less indicated he’s ready to build the wall—to borrow the old Trump phrase…

    He announced on Telegram Monday that he has ordered the construction of some 2,000 kilometers of fortifications in order to solidify the front lines with Russian forces. He touted the good “pace of construction of new defense lines.” 

    Image: Wiki Commons

    He reviewed the status of the fortification in a meeting with military commanders and ministers following approval of a “record amount” of funds allocated for the fortification efforts, at between $500 and $800 million.

    According to Ukrainian media reports, “In the fall of 2023, the authorities received criticism for slow progress on fortifying defensive lines. A working group was established in November to coordinate fortification efforts.”

    Zelensky is busying trying to paint an optimistic picture of how his forces are fairing on the battlefield, after months of Western media reports that the Ukrainians have steadily lost ground, especially after abandoning Avdiivka in the east to the better-armed and more numerous Russian army.

    The Wall Street Journal has detailed that “West of Avdiivka, excavators more common to a construction site than a battlefield are carving up the earth to create antitank ditches and trenches. The Ukrainians are attempting to replicate the physical obstacles that Russia created on its side of the front more than a year ago, with deadly effectiveness in stymying Ukraine’s offensive last summer.”

    Zelensky has been urging private donors to fund the ambitious undertaking: “On all the main fronts, we need to dig in, speed up the pace of construction,” he has underscored. “The priority is obvious.”

    It became evident starting last summer that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had failed, but now it’s becoming more clear by the day that Kiev forces are being steadily pushed back. The WSJ acknowledged this in an investigative report days ago…

    “But Western officials and Ukrainian soldiers say that the campaign hasn’t yielded significant results, and the absence of progress is proving a liability for Ukraine as Russia steps up its assaults,” WSJ wrote. “In recent days it has pushed Ukrainian forces out of a string of villages west of Avdiivka, although hills and bodies of water a little further west can serve as natural obstacles for Kyiv that are easier to defend.”

    With not enough troops to hold and advance positions, front line areas resemble large construction sites…

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    So this means the half-billion dollar plus “wall” or military fortifications could prove too little, too late in terms of preparing the battlefield space. Ukraine is bracing for another major Russian ground assault at some point this spring.

    On the Russian side, the Kremlin’s aim has been to solidify gains, particularly over the four annexed territories in the east, while sending sporadic major air assaults in retaliation for Ukrainian cross-border attacks on Russian cities and energy infrastructure. These operations have stepped up particularly in Crimea and the Black Sea, where Russia has reportedly lost a couple of small warships.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 20:00

  • Over 80% Of Tattoo Inks Contain Unlisted Substances That Can Cause Organ Damages, Allergies: Study
    Over 80% Of Tattoo Inks Contain Unlisted Substances That Can Cause Organ Damages, Allergies: Study

    Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The vast majority of tattoo inks sold in the United States are contaminated with unlisted ingredients that can cause serious health issues, including organ damages, according to a recent study.

    A tattoo shop in Costa Mesa, Calif., on May 26, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    The study, published in the Analytical Chemistry journal on Feb. 22, investigated nine different brands of tattoo ink common in the United States, from minor to major brands.

    Out of the 54 inks of the nine brands analyzed by researchers, 45 (83 percent) were found to contain “unlisted additives and/or pigments,” the study stated.

    “Major, unlisted adulterants include polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, and higher alkanes. Many of the adulterants pose possible allergic or other health risks.”

    Over half of the inks contained unlisted polyethylene glycol, which causes organ damages following repeated exposure. Fifteen inks contained propylene glycol, a potential allergen. Some contained a compound called 2-phenoxyethanol that posed health risks to nursing infants while other inks were contaminated with an antibiotic used to treat urinary tract infections.

    “Taken together, the results from this study highlight the potential for a significant issue around inaccurate tattoo ink labeling in the United States,” the study stated.

    The research was unable to identify whether unlisted ingredients were added unintentionally or whether the manufacturer was provided with contaminated materials. It is also unknown whether the manufacturer incorrectly labeled the inks.

    Risks associated with tattooing usually focus on skin cancer and reaction to the pigments. However, ink additives can be dangerous as well, including having negative impacts beyond the skin. If a person with a tattoo starts experiencing reactions, unlisted ingredients can make it challenging to ascertain what reaction is happening and why it is occurring.

    “We’re hoping the manufacturers take this as an opportunity to reevaluate their processes, and that artists and clients take this as an opportunity to push for better labeling and manufacturing,” said John Swierk, an assistant professor of chemistry at Binghamton University who is also an author of the study.

    Tatto Ink Regulation

    It was only recently that regulation on tattoo ink was introduced in the United States. In late 2022, Congress passed the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA), allowing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate tattoo inks for the first time, including regulating labeling practices.

    Before the Act was passed, tattoo inks were considered to be cosmetic and not subject to regulations. “The FDA is still figuring out what that is going to look like and we think this study will influence the discussions around MoCRA,” Mr. Swierk stated.

    “This is also the first study to explicitly look at inks sold in the United States and is probably the most comprehensive because it looks at the pigments, which nominally stay in the skin, and the carrier package, which is what the pigment is suspended in.”

    The study only focused on substances present in quantities of 2,000 parts per million (ppm) or more, which are usually considered to be high concentrations.

    However, in Europe, even substances in the range of just two ppm are considered by authorities when assessing risks. As such, the tattoo inks could contain even more potentially toxic substances than what the study has found.

    Tattoo Ink Risks

    A 2021 study on tattoo inks conducted in the European Union arrived at similar conclusions. It analyzed 73 tattoo inks in the market, investigating labels as well as ingredients.

    The study found that “ninety-three percent of the bought tattoo inks violated European, legal requirements on labeling.”

    “Fifty percent of the tattoo inks declared at least one pigment ingredient incorrectly,” authors wrote. “Sixty-one percent of the inks contained pigments of concern, especially red inks.”

    Main metals detected in the inks included iron, aluminum, titanium, and copper, most of which were in green or blue inks. “The levels of iron, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, zinc, lead, and arsenic were found to covary significantly.”

    Researchers of the study called on tattoo ink manufacturers to follow regulations and minimize the presence of nickel and chromium impurities to prevent allergy and toxic reactions among users.

    A December 2016 retrospective study looked at 493 health complications resulting from tattooing among 405 individuals. They identified 184 cases of allergic reactions, 53 instances of bacterial infections, and 46 psycho-social complications.

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked people to “think before you ink.” Multiple research studies have “reported that some inks contain pigments used in printer toner or in car paint,“ the agency stated, adding that it ”has not approved any pigments for injection into the skin for cosmetic purposes.”

    After receiving a tattoo, the person may see some redness, swelling, or warmth on the skin. If the tattooed area does not heal or if there is a rash forming in the region, the FDA advises people to contact their healthcare professional. This is especially true if they develop a fever.

    “More aggressive infections may cause high fever, shaking, chills, and sweats. Treating such infections might require a variety of antibiotics—possibly for months—or even hospitalization and/or surgery. A rash may also mean you’re having an allergic reaction. And because the inks are permanent, the reaction may persist,” the FDA warned.

    “Scar tissue may form when you get a tattoo, or you could develop ‘granulomas,’ small knots or bumps that may form around material that the body perceives as foreign. If you tend to get keloids—scars that grow beyond normal boundaries—you may develop the same kind of reaction to the tattoo.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 19:40

  • Deadspin Fires All Employees As Part Of Liquidation Sale, Just Weeks After 'Blackface' Lawsuit
    Deadspin Fires All Employees As Part Of Liquidation Sale, Just Weeks After ‘Blackface’ Lawsuit

    Four weeks after the family of a 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan sued Deadspin after ‘journalist’ Carron Phillips falsely accused him of wearing blackface at a game, the outlet’s parent company, G/O Media (previously Gizmodo Media Group), announced that it had fired everyone and sold the sports blogging site to a European company, Lineup Publishing. Lineup seeks to “build a new team more in line with their editorial vision for the brand,” CEO Jim Spanfeller announced Monday.

    Kansas City Chiefs fan Holden Armenta (L), race-baiting now-former Deadspin journalist, Carron Phillips.

    We don’t imagine the sale is likely to impact the lawsuit, which was filed against G/O Media.

    Phillips, meanwhile, has gone private on X, and may find himself in the unemployment line for a while.

    Barstool Sports owner Dave Portnoy, who Deadspin has talked massive shit about in the past, celebrated – as one does when an enemy self-vanquishes.

    “How many times can I pop a bottle for the same goddamn company? How many times can I kill Deadspin? How many times can Julie DiCaro lose her goddamn job?” Portnoy said, adding “Those motherfuckers just don’t get it. Being miserable, hating life, never laughing. It’s never going to pay the bills. See you motherfuckers on the employment line. Again! Victory!”

    More on the sale, via Axios:

    •     Impacted staffers were notified Monday that they were being let go from G/O Media, marking the third round of cuts at the firm in less than a year.
    •     Spanfeller said Lineup Publishing approached him about the sale and that the company was not “actively shopping Deadspin.”
    •     “The rationale behind the decision to sell included a variety of important factors that include the buyer’s editorial plans for the brand, tough competition in the sports journalism sector, and a valuation that reflected a sizable premium from our original purchase price for the site,” Spanfeller wrote in the memo.
    •     “While the new owners plan to be reverential to Deadpin’s unique voice, they plan to take a different content approach regarding the site’s overall sports coverage,” he added.

    Catch up quick: G/O Media has been offloading sites and cutting staff gradually over the past year as it streamlines its focus to become more efficient.

        The company shuttered its female-focused brand Jezebel and laid off 23 editorial staffers as part of a broader restructuring last November. It later sold Jezebel to Paste Magazine.

        It sold its lifestyle website Lifehacker to Ziff Davis last March and laid off 13 staffers last June.

     Another one bites the dust.

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    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 19:20

  • How Shadowy Network Of NGOs Supplies Mega-Corporations With Migrants To Exploit Cheap Labor
    How Shadowy Network Of NGOs Supplies Mega-Corporations With Migrants To Exploit Cheap Labor

    One week ago, we wrote a note describing how illegals are obtaining jobs through a federal government loophole enabled by the Biden administration as they await deportation proceedings. This caught the attention of Elon Musk, who said, “Wow, learn something new every day.” 

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    Now, we’re revealing how corporate interests have become deeply interconnected with immigration through a non-governmental organization called Tent Partnership for Refugees. This NGO comprises more than 400 major multinational companies committed to hiring “refugees.” 

    Several NGO partnerships with mega corporations include RedRoof Inn, Royal Farms, Shopify, CSX, Delta Airlines, DoorDash, Etsy, and even Bloomberg. 

    The NGO’s relationships run deeper than mega-corporations, in fact, all the way up to the Biden administration. 

    In December of 2022, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a memorandum of understanding with Tent Partnership to “expand economic opportunity for refugees” in the private sector. 

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    Since the Biden administration opened the floodgates, 10 million illegal immigrants invaded the nation. The NGO serves as an extension for mega-corporations to exploit cheap labor.

    Since the summer of 2018, there has been zero job creation for native-born workers… 

    … and that since Joe Biden was sworn into office, most of the post-pandemic job gains the administration continuously brags about have gone foreign-born (read immigrants, mostly illegal ones) workers.

    This leads us to a Bloomberg report showing how meatpacker Tyson Foods Inc. is set to hire tens of thousands of migrants via Tent Partnership. Tyson already employs 42,000 migrants among its 120,000 US workforce. 

    “We would like to employ another 42,000 if we could find them,” said Garrett Dolan, who leads Tyson’s efforts to eliminate employment barriers such as immigration status. 

    “We’re recognizing there’s not a lot of people that are going to be working labor-manufacturing jobs that are American,” Dolan said, adding a large portion of new hires “are going to come from refugees and immigrants, so we’re now in the business of strategically thinking that through.”

    In addition to efforts to influence elections and the Census through the influx of illegals, Democrats and their shadowy network of NGOs are pumping migrants to mega corporations, enabling the billionaires to exploit cheap labor. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 19:11

  • Red Candle In The Wind
    Red Candle In The Wind

    By Benjamin PIcton of Rabobank

    February non-farm payrolls superficially exceeded market expectations on Friday by printing at 275,000 against a consensus call of 200,000. We say superficially, because the downward revisions to prior months totalled 167,000 for December and January, taking the total change in employed persons well below the implied forecast, and helping the unemployment rate to pop two-ticks to 3.9%. The U6 underemployment rate also rose from 7.2% to 7.3%, while average hourly earnings growth fell to 0.2% m-o-m and average weekly hours worked languished at 34.3, equalling pre-pandemic lows.

    Undeterred by the devil in the detail, the algos sprang into action once exchanges opened. Market darling NVIDIA hit a new intraday high of $974 before (presumably) the humans took over and sold the stock down more than 10% to close at $875.28. If our suspicions are correct that it was the AIs buying before the humans started selling (no doubt triggering trailing stops on the way down), the irony is not lost on us.

    The 1-day chart for NVIDIA now makes for interesting viewing, because the red candle posted on Friday presents quite a strong bearish engulfing signal. Volume traded on the day was almost double the 15-day simple moving average, and similar price action is observable on the 1-day charts for both Intel and AMD. Regular readers will be aware that we have expressed incredulity in the past about the durability the AI thematic melt-up, so it will be interesting to see whether Friday’s sell off is just a profit-taking blip, or a genuine trend reversal.

    AI equities aside, this week ought to be important for markets because the BTFP program expires today. That means that the Fed will no longer be loaning cash to the banking system in exchange for collateral pledged at-par. The KBW Regional Banking index has so far taken this in its stride and is trading 30% above the lows established during the mini banking crisis of this time last year, but the Fed’s liquidity facility was effectively an exercise in can-kicking that makes regional banks a sector of the market worth paying attention to in the weeks ahead. Even here in Sydney, regulators are warning of external risks posed to the banking sector from scheduled refinancing of commercial real estate loans following sharp falls in valuations.

    Markets are sending signals in other sectors, too. Gold closed at a new record-high of $2178/oz on Friday after trading above $2200/oz briefly. Gold has been going ballistic since the Friday before last, posting gains even on days where 2-year Treasury yields have risen. Gold bugs are buying as real yields fall from the October highs and inflation breakevens creep higher. This is particularly interesting as gold ETFs have been recording net outflows; suggesting that price gains aren’t being driven by a retail pile-in. Are gold buyers now betting on a stagflationary outcome where the Fed cuts without inflation being anchored at the 2% target? The price action around the US CPI release tomorrow ought to be illuminating.

    Leaving the day-to-day movements to one side, we are also seeing further signs of structural change at the macro level. The UK budget last week included a provision for the creation of a British ISA. That is, an Individual Savings Account that provides tax breaks to savers who invest their money in the stock of British companies. This follows moves last year to encourage pension funds to head up the risk curve by allocating 5% of their capital to unlisted investments.

    As a Hail Mary option for a government cruising toward an electoral drubbing it’s a curious choice, but it’s worth highlighting as cash-strapped governments increasingly see private savings pools as a funding solution for their spending priorities.

    Of course, the UK is not alone in making creeping moves towards financial repression. In contrast to announcements today of increased trade liberalisation, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has in the recent past flagged his interest in tapping private pension savings to fund state spending priorities, including defence, public housing and renewable energy projects. Both the UK and Australia appear intent on finding ways to open up the lungs of their economies, but government wants more say in directing private capital flows for state goals.

    So, how far is the blurring of the lines between free markets and state planning likely to go? Given the immense and varied budgetary (and security) pressures that governments are facing, could we see a re-up of WWII-era Victory bonds, where private investors are encouraged to do their patriotic duty by directly financing government at negative real rates?

    That would really light a fire under the gold market.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 19:00

  • Here's What's In Biden's 'Reckless' $7.3 Trillion Budget, And Here's How He'll 'Pay' For It
    Here’s What’s In Biden’s ‘Reckless’ $7.3 Trillion Budget, And Here’s How He’ll ‘Pay’ For It

    The Biden administration has released a proposed budget that would boost federal spending to $7.3 trillion next fiscal year. To pay for it, they plan to raise taxes on the wealthy and large corporations.

    And while there’s virtually no chance of it passing given the current makeup of Congress (WSJ calls it ‘largely symbolic’), it will give Biden a steady supply of talking points to read off teleprompters across the land during his re-election campaign.

    According to the White House, the 2025 budget would cut the deficit by $3 trillion over the next decade, and raise taxes by a net of $4.9 trillion – a boost of roughly 7% in collections without any policy changes, the Wall Street Journal reports.

    Other features of the proposed budget include:

    • A boost in defense spending to $895 billion, up from $886 billion.
    • Congressional approval for roughly $1.6 trillion in discretionary spending – slightly lower than the current year’s budget.
    • This will be offset by $1.6 trillion in spending caps which were agreed to last year by House Republicans and the Biden administration, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
    • Medicare taxes and drug pricing are also included, with tax increases on people earning more than $400,000 per year (which we all know is total bullshit). The plan will also significantly expand the number of drugs subject to government price negotiation, to 50 per year, up from 20, and it would extend a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket prescription drugs under Medicare.
    • Immigration and international aid: The Department of Homeland Security would receive an additional $8.7 billion under the proposal – much of which would plug a budget hole created by the ‘unexpected’ surge in migrants last year. $2.9 billion of it would fund longer term investments, including hiring more Border Patrol agents and asylum officers.
    • Ukraine: Of course, the budget proposal also reiterates Biden’s supplemental request for $60 billion in emergency aid for his favorite country.

    Other items of note: the budget calls for shoring up Social Security but does not specify a plan. It also calls for extending Trump-era tax cuts for most households after they expire in 2025, but does not detail how they should be paid for. It also calls on restoring the expanded child tax credit on a temporary basis.

    Under his plan, families making less than $200,000 a year would be guaranteed subsidized child care, with the lowest income families paying nothing. The president proposed building or preserving more than two million housing units, and a series of tax credits to ease the high cost of purchasing a home. He calls for spending $12 billion to come up with strategies to reduce the cost of college, while expanding Pell Grants and offering tuition-free community college. And he again outlined a federal paid family and medical leave program. -WSJ

    According to White House spox Olivia Dalton, the budget “invests in all of America to make sure everyone has a fair shot, we leave no one behind,” adding that congressional Republicans “have made their values clear in the meantime; they have repeatedly fought to slash critical programs that the American people rely on.”

    House Republican leaders, meanwhile, said in a statement that “the price tag of President Biden’s proposed budget is yet another glaring reminder of this administration’s insatiable appetite for reckless spending and the Democrats’ disregard for fiscal responsibility.”

    The budget proposal comes less than eight months before Election Day and amid polls that show Trump with a narrow lead over Biden. As he shifts his focus to the general election, the president is expected to increasingly seek to draw a contrast with his presumed opponent, casting Trump as out of touch with voters’ priorities and a danger to democracy. Trump, in turn, has railed against the president, targeting his spending on issues such as clean energy.  -WSJ

    According to Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget, Americans are “going to have a robust tax debate at the end of 2025.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 18:40

  • China Planted Mystery Devices On Cranes Used In US Ports, Could Seize Control Remotely: Congressional Letter
    China Planted Mystery Devices On Cranes Used In US Ports, Could Seize Control Remotely: Congressional Letter

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

    Top Republicans from multiple House committees are sounding the alarm on a series of mysterious devices that appear to have been implanted into container cranes used throughout the U.S. port system by China.

    A large ship-to-shore crane is used to unload cargo containers from a ship at the international cargo terminal in the Port of Tokyo on Nov. 16, 2023. (Kazuhiro Nogi/ AFP via Getty Images)

    The lawmakers say that numerous modems with no known function were uncovered from ship-to-shore (STS) cranes, which are used to unload cargo at the nation’s largest ports.

    All of the cranes in question were manufactured by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a subsidiary of the state-owned China Communications Construction Co.

    Relatedly, the lawmakers noted that ZPMC’s manufacturing facility is located adjacent to China’s most advanced ship-making facility, where the regime builds its aircraft carriers and houses advanced intelligence capabilities.

    In a letter (pdf) addressed to the president and chairman of ZPMC, the lawmakers demand to know the purpose of the cellular modems discovered on crane components and in a U.S. seaport’s server room that houses firewall and networking equipment.

    “These components do not contribute to the operation of the STS cranes or maritime infrastructure and are not part of any existing contract between ZPMC and the receiving U.S. maritime port,” the letter said.

    “The Committees have serious concerns that this proximity to the [Chinese military’s] main shipyard provides malicious CCP [Chinese Communist Party] entities, including its intelligence agencies and security services, with ample opportunity to modify U.S.-bound maritime equipment, exploit it to malfunction, or otherwise facilitate cyber espionage thereby compromising U.S. maritime critical infrastructure.”

    U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. John Vann, who leads the Coast Guard’s Cyber Command, told reporters last month that there were over 200 China-manufactured cranes operating across U.S. ports and regulated facilities.

    At that time, Coast Guard cyber protection teams had assessed the cybersecurity or hunted for threats on 92 of those cranes, he said.

    The discovery comes amid an ongoing congressional investigation into the operation of cranes manufactured in China and operating at U.S. ports.

    Though the investigation is still ongoing, the committees identified serious concerns regarding ZPMC’s relationship with the CCP, particularly given the recent discovery of Chinese malware on vital infrastructure related to the port system.

    As part of another cybersecurity investigation, some of the modems in question were also found to have active connections to the operational components of the STS cranes, suggesting they could be remotely controlled by a device no one previously knew was there.

    Speaking to reporters last month, White House Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger said the cranes were designed to be serviceable from a remote location, which leaves them open to such exploitation.

    “By design, these cranes may be controlled, serviced, and programmed from remote locations,” Ms. Neuberger said. “These features potentially leave [China]-manufactured cranes vulnerable to exploitation.

    As such, the letter suggests that every U.S. seaport with ZPMC cranes could already be, or is at risk of being, compromised by the CCP.

    Retired Army Col. John Mills told The Epoch Times that the cranes were effectively an extension of the CCP’s global cybercrime operation, which could be used during an invasion of Taiwan to sow chaos in the United States.

    “Those container cranes are not cranes,” Mr. Mills said. “They’re IP endpoints on a worldwide intelligence collection system.”

    To that end, he said that the cranes’ operational and safety features could likely be overridden remotely. This would allow the CCP to potentially trick one of the giant cranes into shifting its counterbalance in such a way that would cause it to crash into ships or containers in the nation’s busiest ports.

    Complicating the issue all the more, he said, was the fact that the niche nature of the cargo cranes and their programming means it is unlikely a tailored cyber response to secure the systems will be created anytime soon.

    To counter the threat in the long term, he added, the United States would need to ensure that it manufactured such vital equipment in its own territory.

    “As things play out, they’re [the CCP] going to start initiating the hitting of target sets in cyber. The port cranes are a perfect example,” Mr. Mills said.

    “This is the importance of making things here. If you want to reduce the Chinese threat, start making things here.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 18:20

  • Transgender Golfer Booted After Woman's Pro Tour Adopts 'Biological At Birth' Rules
    Transgender Golfer Booted After Woman’s Pro Tour Adopts ‘Biological At Birth’ Rules

    “Effective immediately, I have been removed (banned) from the next 3 NXXT tournaments that I already signed up for and been approved to play,” wrote transgender golfer Hailey Davidson last week.

    The message came after he/she was removed from the NXXT Women’s Pro Tour, who has now announced that participants must be “a biological female at birth” to participate in its events, according to Fox News and the NY Post. 

    Davidson expressed his/her discontent because he/she was already crushing the woman’s field: “They changed their policy mid season, after me signing up already and being 2nd in Player of the Year race.” 

    The tour faced massive backlash after Davidson won a tournament earlier this year that attracted significant media attention. 

    NXXT GOLF CEO Stuart McKinnon said: “As we navigate through the evolving landscape of sports, it is crucial to uphold the competitive integrity that is the cornerstone of women’s sports.”

    “Our revised policy is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to celebrating and protecting the achievements and opportunities of female athletes. Protected categories are a fundamental aspect of sports at all levels, and it is essential for our Tour to uphold these categories for biological females, ensuring a level playing field.”

    Recall, we reported back in January that Davidson had stepped in to win a women’s tournament in Florida, bringing with him her “dreams of making it to the LPGA tour”.

    30 year old Davidson, born a man, won the NXXT Women’s Classic at the Mission Inn Resort and Club near Orlando earlier this year. 

    Davidson shot one over 73 and finished the three round tournament +4, which was enough to take the trophy. Davidson was three shots behind an actual woman the next best golfer before forcing a playoff and winning. 

    NXXT said at the time: “The Tour’s mission is to prepare the world’s best young women professional golfers for a successful career on the LPGA Tour” and that the tour is focused on “elevating women’s golf”. 

    The Post wrote that Davidson’s recent victory placed her first on the NXXT tour leaderboard with a leading score of 1320, 150 points ahead of her closest competitor. Since November, she has secured two top-2 finishes in the league’s five tournaments, along with seventh and ninth place results.

    And it isn’t just bragging rights that Davidson won: he/she was entitled to $1,576.51 in prize money, which adds to her career total which currently stands at $5,801.89 over the course of eight events. 

    To qualify for two exemptions to the Epson Tour, Davidson, transitioning from male to female, needed LPGA approval. Discussions began in 2016, but eligibility was granted in 2021 after undergoing Hormone Replacement Therapy for over five years and completing gender reassignment surgery, as indicated in an October 2022 social media post.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 18:00

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Mar 11

Today’s News 11th March 2024

  • Are France & The UK Plotting A Ukrainian Power Play Right Under Germany's Nose?
    Are France & The UK Plotting A Ukrainian Power Play Right Under Germany’s Nose?

    Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

    There are indeed plans for a conventional Western intervention in Ukraine despite their leaders’ denials over the past two weeks, but they’ve yet to fully form and their execution can’t be taken for granted, but they also can’t be ruled out either.

    The debate that French President Macron provoked over whether NATO should conventionally intervene in Ukraine exposed the existence of two distinct schools of thought on this issue inside of Europe. France, the Baltic States, and Poland appear to be in favor of “non-combat deployments” there for demining and training missions, which could be carried out through a “coalition of the willing”, while the rest of the bloc supports Germany’s stance that this shouldn’t happen under any circumstances.

    “Scholz’s Slip Of The Tongue Spilled The Beans On Ukraine’s Worst-Kept Secret”, however, since he inadvertently revealed that there are already British and French troops there helping Ukraine with “target control”. The subsequently leaked Bundeswehr recording about bombing the Crimean Bridge confirmed that the Americans are there too. Nevertheless, what’s being proposed by Paris is a formalization of these deployments along with their gradual expansion in a “non-combat” capacity.

    Nobody should be fooled into thinking that France and the other four that appear to be in favor of this scenario are solely interested in demining and training missions. Rather, their intent seems to be to prepare these on-the-ground forces for surging eastward in the event that the worst-case scenario from Kiev’s perspective materializes whereby the frontline collapses and Russia starts steamrolling westward. These NATO members would then try to draw a red line in the sand as far as possible to save Ukraine.

    Germany’s approach is altogether different in that it prefers to formally stay out of the fray in order to focus on building “Fortress Europe”. This refers to Berlin’s policy of resuming its long-lost superpower trajectory through “defensive” military means with US support in order to lead Russia’s containment in Europe at Washington’s behest while America “Pivots (back) to Asia” to contain China. A major component of this plan is the “military Schengen” between Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland.

    The Baltic States and Poland are unlikely to participate in a conventional intervention in Ukraine without the official participation of a nuclear power because they fear being hung out to dry in the scenario that they clash with Russia inside of that crumbling former Soviet Republic. Therein lies the strategic importance of France’s involvement since it could assuage their concerns due to the possibility of Paris resorting to nuclear brinksmanship with Moscow if its own troops take part in the aforesaid clashes.

    The UK wouldn’t sit on the sidelines in that event since it’s already playing a leading role in NATO’s proxy war on Russia through Ukraine and previously signed a trilateral security pact with Kiev and Warsaw in the week before the latest phase of this decade-long conflict started in mid-February 2022. Like France, the UK also doesn’t want to see Germany resuming its superpower trajectory, and both might wager that they can either get the US’ approval for their intervention or do it unilaterally to make it a fait accompli.

    France isn’t yet part of the “military Schengen”, which could impede its ability to move large amounts of troops and equipment into Ukraine, so it can either soon join this pact or negotiate its own version with Poland and/or Greece-Bulgaria-Romania to complement its new deal with Moldova. Romania’s “Moldovan Highway” that’s being built in “emergency” mode is creating a new military corridor in the Balkans from which France can counter Germany’s growing military influence across the continent.  

    This emerging Greek-Ukrainian corridor is already one of the West’s most important logistical routes for perpetuating the proxy war after the traditional Polish one became unreliable following the farmers’ protests. It therefore makes perfect sense not only to invest in it for that sake alone, but also for countries like France and the UK to entrench their influence along the route in order to create their own “sphere of influence” there for decelerating Germany’s superpower trajectory.

    That’s precisely what France is doing via its new security deal with Moldova, which will lead to closer security ties of the “military Schengen” sort with Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece in order to facilitate the dispatch of “trainers” to that landlocked country. The UK can either follow suit in some way or redouble its influence in the Baltic States and especially Poland, possibly culminating in its troops conventionally intervening in Ukraine through the last-mentioned while France’s enter from Romania-Moldova.

    The possibility of France and the UK either receiving the US’ approval for this intervention or doing it unilaterally as a “coalition of the willing” in order to make it a fait accompli could pressure Germany to participate in order to not be left out and made to “look weak”. Its Air Force officers already claimed in the earlier cited leaked recording that the missiles that those two sent to Ukraine pressures them to do the same with the Taurus so the precedent is established for why they might think the same in that case.

    While it initially seems counterintuitive that France and the UK might want Germany to participate in this intervention when one of the reasons why they’re arguably plotting it is to decelerate its newly resumed superpower trajectory, there’s actually a clear logic to these calculations. Deeper German involvement in this conflict could further reduce the already dismal chances of it entering into a rapprochement with Russia after everything ends like many hawks still fear is possible and desperately want to prevent.

    It could also become overextended in some sense and thus lose the military-strategic grip that it’s recently obtained, thus creating openings for France and the UK to chip away at Germany’s influence in the Balkans and Baltics respectively in order to keep their historical rival’s rise somewhat in check. Berlin might not bite the bait though since Scholz has yet to even approve sending Taurus missiles there with the clandestine troop deployment that they require so there’s a chance that he’ll stick to his guns.

    If Germany formally stays out of the fray while France and the UK embroil themselves in it with disastrous or at least unimpressive results, including those that see their Baltic and Polish “junior partners” exploited as cannon fodder, then Germany might actually benefit a lot. Those two’s approach would be discredited, the possibility of which might be why the US thus far appears reluctant to approve their “coalition of the willing”, and by contrast lend credence to Germany’s approach.

    “Fortress Europe” might then be built at an even faster pace in the aftermath of this conflict as the only two possibly countervailing forces to keep its influence in check would have discredited themselves. On the other hand, a partially “successful” conventional Franco-British intervention in Ukraine could discredit Germany if it literally ends up saving Ukraine from collapse and stopping the Russian steamroller. In that event, “Fortress Europe” might be built a lot differently than Germany planned.

    Instead of the EU as a whole functioning as a pro-US German-led proxy bloc in the New Cold War, Berlin would have to accept London’s “sphere of influence” in the Baltics and a condominium with it in Poland while Paris would have its own “sphere” in the Balkans. Rather than relying on one country to rule the EU by proxy, the US would depend on three, with the advantage being that there’d be less of a chance that Germany would ever “go rogue” but at the detriment of this being more complex to manage.

    It remains to be seen whether France and the UK will go through with this Ukrainian power play right under Germany’s nose, but there’s little doubt that this is what they’re planning. The US could possibly disapprove, however, and they might then lack the confidence to conventionally intervene through their own “coalition of the willing”. There’s also the chance that the US takes the lead in this respect if Russia achieves a breakthrough before NATO’s largest drills in three decades end in June.

    It would be easier for the US to do this on its own with everyone else following it than to depend on others, but this could risk World War III by miscalculation much more than if France and the UK conventionally intervene while the US “Leads From Behind”, hence the latter scenario’s appeal. In any case, the top takeaway from this analysis is that there are indeed plans for a conventional Western intervention in Ukraine, but they’ve yet to fully form and their execution can’t be taken for granted.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 03/11/2024 – 02:00

  • Societal Self-Regulation
    Societal Self-Regulation

    Authored by Todd Hayen via Off-Guardian.org,

    Any group of human beings who are supposedly in a free society and who have a leader (or a council of people who lead), assigned by that group to make decisions for the common interests of the group, must rely on their own “self-regulation,” above and beyond the leaders’ government, in order to survive.

    This is imperative as a “check and balance” criterion for a healthy society.

    In most democratic societies this is done through the elective process. People are put into power, and taken out of power if need be, through elections, i.e., the popular vote. The people have to keep a keen eye on what is happening in their communities, at the local level, and in their nations, at a national level. And of course, they must exercise due diligence concerning global happenings as well. Only then will they know who to vote for that best serves their community.

    This is how we have control, albeit sometimes not enough, of our government. We have little control over non-government organizations (NGOs) through the elective process. But we do have control, again to some degree, on social norms, moralities, values, and other things that may grate against our own “community standards” as a mass, through protest and other demands for accountability. In this regard, our society is somewhat kept in check through a nation’s constitutional requirements, as well as our personal assertion as to what is “right” and what is “wrong.”

    Human beings have traditionally been on the same page with some of these very basic tenets. For example, there are very few cultures, if any, that advocate, as a foundational tenet, murder. Very few, if any, that advocate child sexual abuse, or physical abuse (of course, what determines either one of these things can be rather subjective.)

    Regardless of the outliers always present when making sweeping statements (which certainly there are, and a discussion of these outliers would take enormous time and attention), human beings share many fundamental tenets of “good humanness.”

    Unless, of course, they are pushed away from these fundamental tenets by some external force—corrupt government, con men, evil…Satan. Some will say we have a natural tendency to turn to amoral ways (think Moses stepping out for a moment to collect the Ten Commandments and what then ensued).

    That being said, what happens when a culture at large experiences, within that culture, something that deviates sharply from these tenets? The occurrence of such a deviation could come directly from the government, or come from the collective (or, in our current situation, appear to come from the collective, but in fact is an intentional deviation created by the agenda.)

    The answer to the first question, in ideal times, is this: The culture doesn’t stand for it. They make their dissatisfaction clear, and they revolt, or at the very least, do not comply with the agenda. They say, “I’m mad as hell, and I am not going to take this anymore!”

    Unfortunately, that time when our society would demonstrate such self-regulation is long past. We saw the last remnants of it during the Vietnam era in the United States—and only from a certain demographic of society—and certainly not that successfully.

    Since then, the government, or whoever it is behind this march to oblivion, has made certain that such a “dissatisfaction with the policies” of the ruling faction was not questioned, and if it is, the person or group questioning is severely punished. One very smart move toward this gripping mind control was getting everyone glued to a cell phone screen. How “they” did that, and it not being just a natural evolution of technology, would take a book to address.

    Despite the underlying reasons why we do not regulate as a society, the simple fact is we no longer do. There was a time, in a galaxy far, far, away, when the culture set these boundaries (if it were free to do so), and although the ruling class would attempt to cross them, they often failed. Today it is far more likely that boundaries can be crossed without even a glance from the masses. Today, they’ve got us eating out of their hands.

    I will cite a few examples:

    • Where is the societal outrage when people are forced to inject into their bodies a relatively unknown substance? Although the agenda gave “good reason” for such a thing, where was the evidence behind that reason? If any evidence came up contrary to the notion of a deadly virus killing the world and a vaccine being developed in eight months being “safe and effective,” it was quickly quelled by the powers that be and ruled to be “misinformation” and “dangerous.”

    • Where is the societal outrage when thousands of young people are suddenly seeking surgery and drugs to support the myth they have “misidentified” themselves based on what they are told is a lie about their biological identity? Where is the “I’m mad as hell” when “authority” determines that they are the final arbiters of truth over children, and their parents can just go to hell?

    • Where is the societal outrage when we are suddenly told that we will no longer be allowed to use cash, or that we have to carry a digital ID which will fundamentally wipe out any claim to personal autonomy, not to mention a complete destruction of personal privacy?

    • Where is the societal outrage when a government spends billions of dollars to support the killing of human beings in a “war” halfway across the world for no reason other than to fuel whatever nefarious, and unilateral, goals that government has?

    • Where is the societal outrage when large factions of unelected “people” decide to take over the governance of the world from lofty, and well-financed, institutions such as the UN, WHO, WEF, NATO, and locally, the FDA, and CDC?

    • Where is the societal outrage when a country’s government allows the illegal immigration of hundreds of thousands of people without any vetting whatsoever?

    This is to name only a few examples. This article would be a hundred pages long if I named even half of these “outrages.”

    What is the reason there is no shouting from the windows, “We are mad as hell!!”? There are many reasons, one comes from the concerted effort of those who have the power to implement such an effort. It is to brainwash the society into compliance.

    Read this article to gain a little bit of insight into this effort, or at least one possibility, Ghost Words from the Past. It is like we are all hypnotized, and whenever the agenda activates a part of its plan, the silver pendulum comes out and is swung in front of our eyes, accompanied by a soothing voice that says, “All is well, this is good for you.”

    Needless to say, that voice could also be murmuring, “The unvaccinated are evil, hate anyone who spreads misinformation, Putin is the devil incarnate, hate him with all of your heart.”

    Due to this sort of conditioning, among many other techniques, we as a society have lost nearly all critical thinking—and as a result, can no longer self-regulate as a culture.

    No matter how illogical an action is, if we are told it is fine, or if it is framed in some particular way (such as framing a 10-year-old’s desire to change his or her biological sex as an inalienable “right”), we jump right to the agenda’s plan—typically without a second thought. “2+2=5, 2+2=5,” again and again this is drummed into us, and eventually we believe it, and then it only needs to be said once.

    Soon it will be, “2+2=6,” and again, most of us will comply, and never give it another thought.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 23:20

  • Survey Shows Declining Concerns Among Americans About COVID-19
    Survey Shows Declining Concerns Among Americans About COVID-19

    A new survey reveals that only 20% of Americans view covid-19 as “a major threat” to the health of the US population – a sharp decline from a high of 67% in July 2020.

    (SARMDY/Shutterstock)

    What’s more, the Pew Research Center survey conducted from Feb. 7 to Feb. 11 showed that just 10% of Americans are concerned that they will  catch the disease and require hospitalization.

    “This data represents a low ebb of public concern about the virus that reached its height in the summer and fall of 2020, when as many as two-thirds of Americans viewed COVID-19 as a major threat to public health,” reads the report, which was published March 7.

    According to the survey, half of the participants understand the significance of researchers and healthcare providers in understanding and treating long COVID – however 27% of participants consider this issue less important, while 22% of Americans are unaware of long COVID.

    What’s more, while Democrats were far more worried than Republicans in the past, that gap has narrowed significantly.

    “In the pandemic’s first year, Democrats were routinely about 40 points more likely than Republicans to view the coronavirus as a major threat to the health of the U.S. population. This gap has waned as overall levels of concern have fallen,” reads the report.

    More via the Epoch Times;

    The survey found that three in ten Democrats under 50 have received an updated COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 66 percent of Democrats ages 65 and older.

    Moreover, 66 percent of Democrats ages 65 and older have received the updated COVID-19 vaccine, while only 24 percent of Republicans ages 65 and older have done so.

    “This 42-point partisan gap is much wider now than at other points since the start of the outbreak. For instance, in August 2021, 93 percent of older Democrats and 78 percent of older Republicans said they had received all the shots needed to be fully vaccinated (a 15-point gap),” it noted.

    COVID-19 No Longer an Emergency

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued its updated recommendations for the virus, which no longer require people to stay home for five days after testing positive for COVID-19.

    The updated guidance recommends that people who contracted a respiratory virus stay home, and they can resume normal activities when their symptoms improve overall and their fever subsides for 24 hours without medication.

    “We still must use the commonsense solutions we know work to protect ourselves and others from serious illness from respiratory viruses, this includes vaccination, treatment, and staying home when we get sick,” CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement.

    The CDC said that while the virus remains a threat, it is now less likely to cause severe illness because of widespread immunity and improved tools to prevent and treat the disease.

    “Importantly, states and countries that have already adjusted recommended isolation times have not seen increased hospitalizations or deaths related to COVID-19,” it stated.

    The federal government suspended its free at-home COVID-19 test program on March 8, according to a website set up by the government, following a decrease in COVID-19-related hospitalizations.

    According to the CDC, hospitalization rates for COVID-19 and influenza diseases remain “elevated” but are decreasing in some parts of the United States.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 22:45

  • Hedge Fund Icon: "We're Just Two Years Away From A US Debt Sustainability Crisis, Sparking A Major Global Market Event"
    Hedge Fund Icon: “We’re Just Two Years Away From A US Debt Sustainability Crisis, Sparking A Major Global Market Event”

    By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management

    “The last time the debt as a share of GDP was this large was in 1945-1946, at the end of World War II,” wrote Daniel Wilson and Brigid Meisenbacherat from the Economic Research Department at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. I was grinding through my stack, piled high with white papers.  “Over the following three decades, the debt-to-GDP ratio steadily fell, reaching roughly 25% by 1975,” continued the San Fran Fed report [see here].

    I have growing conviction that in the coming 2-5 years we’re going to face a US debt sustainability crisis, sparking a major global market event. I’ve observed that when people from within our institutions raise an alarm, knowing it would be far easier for them to remain quiet, we’re getting closer.

    “That 30-year decline contrasts sharply with the projected 30-year increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio, reaching 172%, over 2024 to 2054, according to the latest current Congressional Budget Office projections.” Wilson and Meisenbacherat point out that the Fed projects a longer-term real Fed Funds rate of 0.50%.

    And their median projection for long-run real GDP growth is 1.8%. They highlight that the CBO, however, forecasts a lower 1.5% real GDP growth rate, and a longer-term real interest rate on US debt of 2.0%.

    “In this case, slow economic growth relative to interest rates would exert modest upward pressure on the debt ratio, primarily from higher interest payments,” they wrote.

    “The main source of the long-run upward pressure on the primary deficit is spending on mandatory programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Current legislated formulas used to determine spending per recipient for Social Security benefits and government health-care programs, especially Medicare, combined with the projected aging of the population, point to large increases in spending for these programs as a share of GDP. This pressure was absent after WWII because the overall US population was younger and because Medicare was not enacted until 1965.”

    And with no political party willing adjust these programs, it is increasingly likely the market will force change.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 22:10

  • The Big Con In The California Housing Mandate
    The Big Con In The California Housing Mandate

    Authored by Tony Hall via The Epoch Times,

    Anybody who has ever observed and studied the homeless situation in California will readily see how the nonprofit homeless service providers that have been enabled by our political leaders have not only helped create the crisis, but have institutionalized homelessness as a way of life.

    Now, a new conduit for corruption in the state of California is rearing its ugly head, and a word to the wise is to recognize this demon for what it really is. In brief, it is the role that nonprofits are playing in the California State Housing Mandate that the governor’s office and our legislature are promoting.

    I am not talking here about the role that traditional nonprofits are providing in our state’s economy, like those that provide services and benefits in the private sector in a variety of charitable and educational endeavors, and for the most part are self-funded and operate within the confines and purposes as dictated by IRS codes.

    No, I am talking about those nonprofit organizations that have been specifically set up and certified by elected politicians to receive awards and spend your hard-earned tax dollars and public funds to engage in the development, construction, ownership, master leasing, and/or management of housing that the state defines as necessary, whether needed or not.

    Bear with me while I set the scenario that is unfolding under our very eyes.

    An Ambitious Power Grab

    It is indeed one of the most draconian and deceptive ploys that I have witnessed in my lifetime that legally allows the state to take over ownership of private property. If it goes unchecked and unchallenged, you, the voter, will have been fooled again, and all because of your good nature that would like to see roofs over the heads of those who might be disadvantaged or fiscally challenged. No one wants to see anybody suffer because of lack of funds to adequately purchase shelter. But there is a right way and a wrong way to solve the problem.

    If we are to believe the narrative being spun by our “ever so concerned” leaders, the private sector can no longer be counted on to deliver the number of housing units that the state tells us we must build within the next eight years. The number of units that they say we need is highly speculative and biased toward a very low income demographic. They subscribe to the “build it and they will come” theory. If they cannot get enough low-income tenants, they always have the homeless to fill the gaps.

    Tilting the Playing Field

    According to the state housing gurus, private for-profit developers are only concerned with building luxury units in the million-dollar range. This simply isn’t true. Any private for-profit developer will tell you they could build for much less per unit if they were not subject to the onerous red tape, regulations, and planning approval delays that the nonprofits are not subject to. This systematic rigging of the playing field against the private sector developers is exactly what has contributed to the affordable housing deficit.

    State Monopoly of Housing Development

    The for-profit housing developers are being shut out of the housing market because “profit,” “free enterprise,” and “private property” are considered bad words among the politically correct today. The real greed mongers are the politicians who are capitalizing on these sentiments. They much prefer the power, control, and influence that the utilization of nonprofits provides.

    Profit has always been a strong motivator for progress, especially because it can produce the most material gain for the masses when properly utilized. However, the lure that power and control provides through specially created nonprofits is much stronger, especially in the public arena. Anyone who questions the basic tenets of profit, free enterprise, and private property in an economic system should study Economics 101 and comparative economics theories.

    Because most of today’s “housing gurus” and our governor push the theory that one of the basic functions of government is to provide housing for all who need it, the state has issued a Housing Element that mandates the participation of all counties and municipalities. This mandate is no longer voluntary, and financial incentives are severely withheld from those counties and communities that do not go along with the program.

    The governor and his misguided housing gurus have called for 2.5 million new units of housing to be built by 2030, of which about 50 percent shall be defined as “affordable.”

    Redefining Affordable

    The definition of affordable has been continually evolving, but at the moment it means units that would not cost more than 30 percent of annual gross household income to rent, or units that are subsidized by local, state, or federal funds. The whole “affordable” concept will soon be abandoned in favor of whatever the state decides it to be.

    Just today, March 4, 2024, one of our California legislators proposed free loans to non-documented immigrants help them in their “affordability crisis.” Of course, all such loans would have to be administered via one of the chosen nonprofits!

    The Housing Mandate

    To accomplish this, all communities must comply with the state mandate and build new housing whether it is needed or not, regardless of infrastructure needs or what it might do to the character of a neighborhood, town, village, county, etc.

    To sweeten the pot, at least $30 billion in taxpayer money has been invested in housing-related funding since our present governor took office. In San Francisco alone, approximately $1.2 billion has been put forth as housing-related bonds since 2015. These funds, along with multiple new bond monies, eliminate the need for private developers and their private sources of funding, as all the costs of financing and building are covered by the state. The state is acting as “the bank” in its use of nonprofits to do the building.

    Also, to add a little insurance that their chosen nonprofits will always be in the mix, communities like San Francisco have passed laws that give nonprofits the first right of refusal and first right of acceptance on the sale of all properties with three units or more. With their one-size-fits-all approach, these planning amateurs are not the least bit concerned with what true housing needs may or may not be, but only with how they can best control people in a fashion that furthers their political agenda, as you will soon see.

    Approximately two decades ago, there was concern that there was a growing shortage of “affordable” housing stock available or being built by private developers to accommodate those of lower income levels. If one was spending more than a third of his or her income on housing, such housing was not considered acceptable or affordable. Thus, legislation was eventually passed that required private for-profit developers to set aside 20 percent of whatever number of units they build as “affordable.”

    Perpetuating Political Control

    Instead of incentivizing the private for-profit builders with a multitude of intelligent approaches that would produce more than enough low-income housing, the politicians and planners decided to go against competitive market forces and penalize those in the construction business by limiting their ability to compete.

    In the years since, the “20 percent” formula has only served to restrict more development. But now that the state has realized how much money, power, and control is attainable through the use of nonprofits to supply the housing, there is a whole different demographic that we must cater to, and a different litmus test must apply to those who are classified in the “affordable” category, which will even include some homeless people if necessary.

    If you are foolish enough to buy into this scheme and want a little bit of the action, don’t worry about qualifying, because if you wait long enough, eventually everybody will be able to afford a house. This is thanks to the state’s desire to use public funds to have chosen nonprofits build units that the state owns and controls, and fund those who will occupy, but not own, the units! Mind you, this is a gigantic shift away from the whole principle, purpose, and concept of private property, home ownership, and how these relate to freedom in our American way of life.

    The Money-Go-Round

    The use of nonprofits in housing development is a big, big money game that makes the use of nonprofits in the homeless game look petty.

    For example, it is estimated that in San Francisco alone, one third of the rental housing stock, or approximately 100,000 units, are controlled, managed, or owned by nonprofits that have been publicly funded and are off the property tax rolls. With an average rent in the city of approximately $3,000 per month, that amounts to $300 million per month or $3.6 billion per year in income.

    Another way to look at it is this: 100,000 units at a value of just $250,000 per unit would be worth around $25 billion. If this were subject to the ongoing property tax rate of 1.25 percent, the city government would be gaining over $300 million per year in taxes alone if these were privately held properties and not owned by the city or nonprofits (which, for the most part, are exempt from paying taxes).

    Now, let’s throw into the discussion how and why these specialty nonprofits are so desirable by our elected leaders. Could it possibly be that it is because these nonprofits are so thankful to their benefactors that they are more than willing to help out during election time with copious donations and street campaigners from their members to ensure their survival?

    Knowing the political game as I do, I can unequivocally state that this is precisely one method that has been used very effectively by politicians to perpetuate themselves in office.

    In closing, and FYI, check out on the internet just how many nonprofits operate in state business in California, and you will understand why we are controlled by one political party. So much for diversity, equality, and inclusion for all, except when it comes to control and power over taxpayer money!

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 21:00

  • Rand Paul Teases Senate GOP Leader Run – Musk Says "I Would Support"
    Rand Paul Teases Senate GOP Leader Run – Musk Says “I Would Support”

    Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul on Friday hinted that he may jump into the race to become the next Senate GOP leader, and Elon Musk was quick to support the idea. Republicans must find a successor for periodically malfunctioning Mitch McConnell, who recently announced he’ll step down in November, though intending to keep his Senate seat until his term ends in January 2027, when he’d be within weeks of turning 86. 

    So far, the announced field consists of two quintessential establishment types: John Cornyn of Texas and John Thune of South Dakota. While John Barrasso’s name had been thrown around as one of “The Three Johns” considered top contenders, the Wyoming senator on Tuesday said he’ll instead seek the number two slot as party whip. 

    Paul used X to tease his potential bid for the position which — if the GOP takes back the upper chamber in November — could graduate from Minority Leader to Majority Leader. He started by telling his 5.1 million followers he’d had lots of people asking him about his interest in running…

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    …then followed up with a poll in which he predictably annihilated Cornyn and Thune, taking a 96% share as of Friday night, with the other two below 2% each. 

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    Elon Musk was quick to back the idea of Paul as GOP leader, while daring Cornyn and Thune to follow Paul’s lead by throwing their names out for consideration by the Twitter-verse X-verse. 

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    Paul has been a stalwart opponent of security-state mass surveillance, foreign interventionism — to include shoveling billions of dollars into the proxy war in Ukraine — and out-of-control spending in general. He demonstrated the latter passion on the Senate floor this week as he ridiculed the latest kick-the-can spending package:   

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    In February, Paul used Senate rules to force his colleagues into a grueling Super Bowl weekend of votes, as he worked to derail a $95 billion foreign aid bill. “I think we should stay here as long as it takes,” said Paul. “If it takes a week or a month, I’ll force them to stay here to discuss why they think the border of Ukraine is more important than the US border.”

    Don’t expect a Majority Leader Paul to ditch the filibuster — he’s been a hardy user of the legislative delay tactic. In 2013, he spoke for 13 hours to fight the nomination of John Brennan as CIA director. In 2015, he orated for 10-and-a-half-hours to oppose extension of the Patriot Act. 

    Rand Paul amid his 10 1/2 hour filibuster in 2015

    Among the general public, Paul is probably best known as Capitol Hill’s chief tormentor of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease during the Covid-19 pandemic. Paul says the evidence indicates the virus emerged from China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. He’s accused Fauci and other members of the US government public health apparatus of evading questions about their funding of the Chinese lab’s “gain of function” research, which takes natural viruses and morphs them into something more dangerous. Paul has pointedly said that Fauci committed perjury in congressional hearings and that he belongs in jail “without question.”   

    Musk is neither the only nor the first noteworthy figure to back Paul for party leader. Just hours after McConnell announced his upcoming step-down from leadership, independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr voiced his support: 

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    In a testament to the extent to which the establishment recoils at the libertarian-minded Paul, mainstream media outlets — which have been quick to report on other developments in the majority leader race — pretended not to notice that Paul had signaled his interest in the job. More than 24 hours after Paul’s test-the-waters tweet-fest began, not a single major outlet had brought it to the attention of their audience. 

    That may be his strongest endorsement yet. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 20:25

  • No Borders? No America
    No Borders? No America

    Authored by Justin Smith via The Burning Platform blog,

    Americans had better act soon, with or without Congress and with or without the Border Patrol to stop the current flood of illegal invaders across our Southern Border, because the Biden regime has no intention of ever stopping the invasion. To wait and ponder the crisis in the hopes that Donald Trump can stop it, if he wins the presidency, only ensures that millions more will cross, in addition to the twenty-seven million that have already entered the country, during Biden’s presidency — those which were detained at the border and the got-aways; and, intentionally or not, it makes America unsafe and sets in motion the Great Replacement, the replacement of white people and the virtues and principles of freedom and liberty with people of color who are already prone and predisposed to accepting big government controls, e.g. Marxism and Maoism, and the idea that all things come from government rather than individual initiative and independence. To do nothing and remain apathetic or complacent ensures the destruction of traditional America.

    One should recall that a 2018 study by both Yale and MIT suggested 22 million to possibly 40 million illegal aliens were already residing in America. It’s to Trump’s discredit that he didn’t pursue the border security issue forcefully in 2017, when the Republicans held a majority in both houses of Congress, rather than listen to the turncoat RINO Speaker Paul Ryan.

    In his last year in office, Trump had brought illegal alien entries down to approximately 1100 a day, or less.

    Under Joe Biden, the U.S. borders simply no longer exist. His regime’s minions have been ordered to process and parole illegal aliens into America as fast as possibly, virtually waving them on across with little to no scrutiny. And, as a result, we know for a fact that 330 illegals who are on terrorist watch lists have been released into the country, along with the unknown number of potential or actual terrorists within the ranks of the gotaways.

    Going all the way back to 1996, Augustin Cebada, radical spokesman for the Brown Berets, militant para-military foot-soldiers of Aztlan [Reconquista] shouted the following declaration, at Americans at an Independence Day rally outside the Federal Building in Westwood, California:

    “If anyone’s going to be deported, it’s going to be you! … Get out! We are the future. You’re old and tired. Go on. We have beaten you — leave like beaten rats. You old white people, it is your duty to die. Right now, we’re already controlling those elections, whether it’s by violence or nonviolence. Through love of having children, we’re going to take over.”

    Some may actually be coming here to become American citizens and try to live the American Dream, a dream that is crumbling and rapidly disappearing for natural born Americans, thanks to a multitude of bad Biden policies; but the cast majority are not. They simply want to abscond with as much American wealth as they can possibly accumulate while also riding the massive government expenditures of recent programs created to address their invading numbers.

    These illegals don’t want to be citizens; they don’t assimilate any more, as they did in days past; they set up shop just as they did in the Old Country and bring the same flawed mindsets that destroyed the nations they have fled.

    Through Joe Biden’s Open Borders Policy that don’t have to wait to for the illegal invaders to have children. They are simply flying them over, entire families and all, at the taxpayers’ expense.

    That’s part of what makes this all so maddening. Joe knows without a doubt, or at least his handlers know, that he absolutely is charged by the U.S. Constitution and given the authority as President and Commander-in-Chief to protect and defend our borders and sovereign domain. And yet, on March 7th 2024, Biden had the temerity to suggest in his State of the Union Address, that he needed a new immigration bill and more money, before he could do his job, none of which is true.

    Along with this, please note that Congress could pass ten great immigration / border security laws, or even 100, and it wouldn’t make a damned bit of difference. Joe Biden and the Democratic Party violate the Constitution and U.S. law — yes, even our existing laws on immigration and border security — with impunity, no qualms or pangs of conscience whatsoever. Biden absolutely would violate any new law, if it served his agenda and that of the radical Marxists and Maoists within the Democratic Party.

    Even this last so-called “bipartisan bill” had a loophole in it, actually allowing for 1.8 million illegals to be allowed to cross every year, before it’s safeguards were employed.

    That is unless Biden decided to suspend its mechanisms for a “national emergency” as the bill provided. The bill was a farce, a massive joke, and that’s why it was rejected.

    That’s the reason so many truly conservative Americans were so angered to hear Biden mock Republicans after some jeered his remarks on his “comprehensive bill to fix our immigration system” — understanding his underlying lie , as he said:

    “Oh, you don’t like that bill — huh? — that conservatives got together and said was a good bill? I’ll be darned. That’s amazing.” [transcript at Associated Press]

    President Woodrow Wilson sent Brigadier General John “Black Jack” Pershing out of Fort Bliss, Texas on March 15th 1916 to patrol the border between the U.S. and Mexico, in order to stop Pancho Villa’s cross-border raids and capture or kill him. Pershing went a few steps further and pursued Villa into 350 miles into Mexico proper, leading 10,000 soldiers behind him. All of this was done under the premise set forth in the Article IV Section 4 of our Constitution which states the federal government “shall protect each of [the states] against invasion” and Article I Section 10 which expressly guarantees states the sovereign power to repel an invasion and defend U.S. citizens from overwhelming and “imminent danger”. And there isn’t one damned thing preventing Joe Biden from exercising this same exact authority now other than the Democratic Party Communists’ intent to grant millions of illegal foreign invaders amnesty and the right to vote, in order to grow their base and hold power and control over all America for the rest of the century.

    For over three years, Joe Biden and Homeland Security [what an oxymoron] Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have assured all America that the border is secure and the illegal alien invasion is being handled properly, when in fact, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol are being used to speed up the process of receiving illegal aliens into the country, rather than immediately detaining and returning them back across the border, should be the case. And all the while, through his lies, Mayorkas smugly and arrogantly smiles like a fat-headed Cheshire Cat, in his belief that he is untouchable, which has been the case so far.

    Biden’s Open Border Policy has been a massive success towards ultimately achieving the Democratic Party’s goals of changing the face of America and fundamentally transforming Her away from Her founding, and it has been an abject and complete catastrophe for Fly Over Country and the everyday average American who loves his country, God and family better than himself. The rising of this anti-American regime has been a sad and disgusting time to be marked as such in the annals of history, should honest historians ever reappear.

    And his policies have been a boon to the numerous drug cartels which have expanded their operations by tenfold in every major city in the U.S. and even the smaller cities and towns that once barely had a hint of drug and crime problems,

    At some point, anyone having a hand in the most massive betrayal of America in U.S. history must be made to face a day of reckoning, regardless of what form it may take.

    In the meantime, our daughters are continuously being assaulted, brutalized, kidnapped, raped and murdered in the most heinous of manners, unimaginable to most good and decent people, by these foreign, illegal alien invaders. Decent Americans of all walks of life, men, women and children, are being murdered by these monsters, the MS-13 drug cartel members and prisoners released from Venezuela’s prisons, much like young Kate Steinle in 2015, a 32 year old sales rep, and now Laken Riley, a 22 year old nursing student, who was bludgeoned to death and disfigured by an illegal alien monster, who entered the country in 2022.

    Adding insult to injury, Traitor Joe just apologized for calling Laken Riley’s murderer an “illegal”, during his State of the Union address. The apology came today, March 9th 2024, during an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart. But that’s exactly what he is — a goddamned foreign, illegal, criminal piece of murderous shit from Venezuela who was also charged and released in New York City after endangering a five year old child [per Olivia Land/New York Post]

    On July 13th 2023, the Judiciary Committe’s Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement [The Consequences of Criminal Aliens on U.S. Communities] reported that 33,000 Americans had been killed by murder and manslaughter at the hands of illegal aliens between 2010 and 2015, which begs the question, just how many are now dying at the hands of millions of the anonymous, unvetted illegal aliens Biden has welcomed, even ferried, into America. As reported by this committee, just two weeks prior to its meeting, an illegal alien was sentenced to life in prison for raping and impregnating a nine year old Ohio girl, who later went to Indiana to get an abortion.

    I have two adult daughters, and if any illegal alien were to do them harm in any way, they had better hope law enforcement officers get to them before I do, especially now that we are actually seeing stone-cold murderers released without bail by anti-American, anti-law enforcement District Attorneys, bought and paid for by George Soros.

    From the Judiciary Committee’s report:

    “According to a report covering thirteen years of data from the Executive Office of Immigration Review, over forty-seven percent [of illegals] never even pursue an asylum claim once released into the country. More than eighty-five percent will be denied asylum and receive a deportation order, yet less than five percent ever leave the country. Anyone requesting asylum must be detained or made to remain in Mexico until their hearing is adjudicated. These numbers prove they can’t be trusted to be released.”

    These illegal aliens are also overwhelming the capabilities of America’s schools, hospitals, law enforcement and other general services provided at various levels of government. I see that as an extremely serious matter that is certainly facilitating the destruction of our economy, since the taxpayer dollars supporting this invasion means Americans everywhere are being deprived of the benefit of their own labor to support the dregs of the world; but it is much less important to me than knowing that foreign illegal aliens are snuffing out our countrymen’s lives, like they are nothing.

    These are real people with real lives and families, not just a data base of statistics, and for every victim of a criminal illegal alien, there is a devastated family. And still, Biden and Company drive on towards the abyss creating a dystopian nightmare along the way for law abiding citizens, watching the end of their country racing toward them like an out-of-control freight train and no Casey Jones at the controls.

    Former President Donald Trump has promised to start the largest mass deportation of illegal aliens in U.S. history, if he wins the upcoming election, and he plans to use the military to implement it, rightfully so. As reported in the Washington Post [February 21st 2024], Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for the Trump campaign, stated:

    “Americans can expect that immediately upon President Trump’s return to the Oval Office, he will restore all his prior policies, implement brand new crackdowns that will send shock waves to all the world’s criminal smugglers, and marshal every federal and state power necessary to institute the largest deportation operation in American history” as she also added that illegal aliens “should not get comfortable because very soon they will be going home.”

    We have the absolute right and a duty as sovereign citizens, living in sovereign states, to defend ourselves and our families, in the wake of a lawless federal government, this lawless Biden regime. The authority rests within the Constitution which has always allowed for the use of the States’ militias or the military to be mobilized for just such circumstances, and although we can be certain that Biden and some state governors will keep refusing to utilize the mechanisms at their disposal to fast-track the removal of these invaders, we have the right to gather ourselves armed with pistols and rifles — those of us able with the time and backbone to do so — to go to the border and tell the Border Patrol to do join us and do their Constitutional duty to stop the millions more who will try to cross between now and January 2025.

    I oft suggested in years past, half-jokingly, not so much anymore, that we should put them on a plane, parachutes optional, and shove them out over Mexico. This comment has become so much more full of meaning, now that we know the Biden regime has actively been seeking out these illegal caravans and flying their members into America.

    No matter how they arrive, by a fast jet, a slow boat or a reliable bus or train, we must send them back on a super-charged bus or jet just as quickly. Set about to deport every last one of them, and then effectively and totally seal the border and place a ten year moratorium on all immigration, legal and illegal, or until we have our nation and our population straightened out in a fashion that puts us back on a path to the same level of exceptionalism that used to be the rule in America and removes or eradicates, with extreme prejudice, those radicals who seek to fundamentally transform America and end our republic.

    Don’t let the enemies-from-within end America in so despicable a manner. Don’t let this be how America ends. Fight back like hell, and when the time is right, make the bastards who have committed this treason against America pay with their own lives.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 19:50

  • "Sleazy" Liz Cheney Loses It After Bombshell Report Claims She "Suppressed Exonerating Evidence" With J6 Committee
    “Sleazy” Liz Cheney Loses It After Bombshell Report Claims She “Suppressed Exonerating Evidence” With J6 Committee

    Former Rep. Liz Cheney (of the revolving door Haliburton –> White House –> war profiteer dynasty) came unglued this weekend following a report by The Federalist‘s Mollie Hemingway, which accuses Cheney and the January 6 committee of suppressing exonerating evidence of then-President Trump’s push for 10,000 national guard troops to protect the nation’s capital on the day of the Capitol riot.

    To summarize The Federalist;

    • Cheney and the J6 committee “falsely claimed they had “no evidence” to support Trump officials’ claims the White House had communicated its desire for 10,000 National Guard troops.”
    • In truth, an early transcribed interview conducted by the committee “included precisely that evidence from a key source.”
    • That key source, Deputy Chief of Staff Anthony Ornato, said he overheard White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows push DC Mayor Muriel Bowser to request as many National Guard troops as needed to protect DC on Jan. 6.
    • Ornato also testified that Trump suggested 10,000 troops to keep the peace at public rallies and protests scheduled for Jan. 6, 2021 – and that the White House was frustrated with Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller’s slow deployment of assistance on the day of the riot.
    • Ornato’s testimony was corroborated by Kash Patel, the former chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense.
    • According to The Federalist, this information was suppressed.

    Hemingway writes that the committee not only mischaracterized the interview, they also suppressed the transcript from public review. 

    On top of that, committee allies began publishing critical stories and even conspiracy theories about Ornato ahead of follow-up interviews with him. Ornato was a career Secret Service official who had been detailed to the security position in the White House.

    Cheney frequently points skeptics of her investigation to the Government Publishing Office website that posted, she said, “transcripts, documents, exhibits & our meticulously sourced 800+ page final report.” That website provides “supporting documents” to the claims made by Cheney and fellow anti-Trump enthusiasts.

    However, transcripts of fewer than half of the 1,000 interviews the committee claims it conducted are posted on that site. It is unclear how many of the hidden transcripts include exonerating information suppressed by the committee. -The Federalist

    Click here to read the entire report, which includes Ornato’s full answers to the committee.

    “The former J6 Select Committee apparently withheld Mr. Ornato’s critical witness testimony from the American people because it contradicted their pre-determined narrative. Mr. Ornato’s testimony proves what Mr. Meadows has said all along: President Trump did in fact offer 10,000 National Guard troops to secure the U.S. Capitol, which was turned down,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA). Loudermilk’s subcommittee is reviewing the work of the Jan. 6 committee following accusations of unethical behavior at the expense of accuracy, along with collusion with other Democrat efforts at political persecution.

    Liz Loses it

    On Saturday, conservative commentator Mark Levin called Cheney out, posting on X: “Sleazy Liz Cheney needs to receive some of the Stalinist medicine she introduced into the body politick against scores of patriotic Americans — that is, she needs to be compelled to testify under oath about, among other things, what knowledge she may have about: possible witness tampering, censorship of exculpatory information and testimony, the destruction of committee evidence and data, etc.”

    Cheney responded, calling Mollie Hemingway a “bozo” – and directing people to various sections of the Jan. 6 report in which Secretary of Defense Miller (the guy who was ‘slow to deploy’ assistance) said Trump never ordered 10,000 troops, and that Kash Patel is “not a credible witness” (as determined by a judge with a conflict noted below).

    Note that Cheney never addresses the suppression of information.

    Cheney was dismantled in the replies:

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 19:25

  • The Great Replacement Loophole: Illegal Immigrants Score 5-Year Work Benefit While "Waiting" For Deporation, Asylum
    The Great Replacement Loophole: Illegal Immigrants Score 5-Year Work Benefit While “Waiting” For Deporation, Asylum

    Over the past several months we’ve pointed out that there has  been zero job creation for native-born workers since the summer of 2018…

    … and that since Joe Biden was sworn into office, most of the post-pandemic job gains the administration continuously brags about have gone foreign-born (read immigrants, mostly illegal ones) workers.

    And while the left might find this data almost as verboten as FBI crime statistics – as it directly supports the so-called “great replacement theory” we’re not supposed to discuss – it also coincides with record numbers of illegal crossings into the United States under Biden.

    In short, the Biden administration opened the floodgates, 10 million illegal immigrants poured into the country, and most of the post-pandemic “jobs recovery” went to foreign-born workers, of which illegal immigrants represent the largest chunk.

    Asylum seekers from Venezuela await work permits on June 28, 2023 (via the Chicago Tribune)

    ‘But Tyler, illegal immigrants can’t possibly work in the United States whilst awaiting their asylum hearings,’ one might hear from the peanut gallery. On the contrary: ever since Biden reversed a key aspect of Trump’s labor policies, all illegal immigrants – even those awaiting deportation proceedings – have been given carte blanche to work while awaiting said proceedings for up to five years…

    … something which even Elon Musk was shocked to learn.

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    Which leads us to another question: recall that the primary concern for the Biden admin for much of 2022 and 2023 was soaring prices, i.e., relentless inflation in general, and rising wages in particular, which in turn prompted even Goldman to admit two years ago that the diabolical wage-price spiral had been unleashed in the US (diabolical, because nothing absent a major economic shock, read recession or depression, can short-circuit it once it is in place).

    Well, there is one other thing that can break the wage-price spiral loop: a flood of ultra-cheap illegal immigrant workers. But don’t take our word for it: here is Fed Chair Jerome Powell himself during his February 60 Minutes interview:

    PELLEY: Why was immigration important?

    POWELL: Because, you know, immigrants come in, and they tend to work at a rate that is at or above that for non-immigrants. Immigrants who come to the country tend to be in the workforce at a slightly higher level than native Americans do. But that’s largely because of the age difference. They tend to skew younger.

    PELLEY: Why is immigration so important to the economy?

    POWELL: Well, first of all, immigration policy is not the Fed’s job. The immigration policy of the United States is really important and really much under discussion right now, and that’s none of our business. We don’t set immigration policy. We don’t comment on it.

    I will say, over time, though, the U.S. economy has benefited from immigration. And, frankly, just in the last, year a big part of the story of the labor market coming back into better balance is immigration returning to levels that were more typical of the pre-pandemic era.

    PELLEY: The country needed the workers.

    POWELL: It did. And so, that’s what’s been happening.

    Translation: Immigrants work hard, and Americans are lazy. But much more importantly, since illegal immigrants will work for any pay, and since Biden’s Department of Homeland Security, via its Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency, has made it so illegal immigrants can work in the US perfectly legally for up to 5 years (if not more), one can argue that the flood of illegals through the southern border has been the primary reason why inflation – or rather mostly wage inflation, that all too critical component of the wage-price spiral  – has moderated in in the past year, when the US labor market suddenly found itself flooded with millions of perfectly eligible workers, who just also happen to be illegal immigrants and thus have zero wage bargaining options.

    None of this is to suggest that the relentless flood of immigrants into the US is not also driven by voting and census concerns – something Elon Musk has been pounding the table on in recent weeks, and has gone so far to call it “the biggest corruption of American democracy in the 21st century“, but in retrospect, one can also argue that the only modest success the Biden admin has had in the past year – namely bringing inflation down from a torrid 9% annual rate to “only” 3% – has also been due to the millions of illegals he’s imported into the country.

    We would be remiss if we didn’t also note that this so often carries catastrophic short-term consequences for the social fabric of the country (the Laken Riley fiasco being only the latest example), not to mention the far more dire long-term consequences for the future of the US – chief among them the trillions of dollars in debt the US will need to incur to pay for all those new illegal immigrants Democrat voters and low-paid workers. This is on top of the labor revolution that will kick in once AI leads to mass layoffs among high-paying, white-collar jobs, after which all those newly laid off native-born workers hoping to trade down to lower paying (if available) jobs will discover that hardened criminals from Honduras or Guatemala have already taken them, all thanks to Joe Biden.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 19:15

  • "Made By China" Is Possibly The Biggest Risk To The Economy, And It Is Staring Us Right In The Face
    “Made By China” Is Possibly The Biggest Risk To The Economy, And It Is Staring Us Right In The Face

    By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

    The Threat of “Made by China 2025”

    I cannot remember the first time that we discussed the transition from “Made in China” to “Made by China.” I do know that back in April 2023 we Locked in Some Themes, one of which was the Made by China theme. We also framed the discussion around the dollar, the yuan, and “reserve currency” status using the “Dark Web” as a useful way to think about it. Some reports age better than others, and that report seems to have aged particularly well.

    “Made by China” has been a theme that we have been using more and more. We are also starting to see it referenced more frequently. Not usually in those exact words (which we are trying to coin for ourselves) but the concept is the same – stiffer competition from Chinese goods makers.

    While in Chicago this week, we were able to discuss this in more detail on the Schwab Network in a segment they titled “Potential China Strategic Shifts.” It also came up in a Yahoo Finance interview that focused more on my bearish outlook for U.S. equities, but it did get incorporated. It may also have come up during a discussion with Rick Santelli at CNBC on Friday afternoon, but there isn’t a link available, and the interview and prep was such a blur that I cannot remember what was said on versus off-air. Well, I know a few things that were definitely not said on air, but that’s another story! In any case, I should have brought more than one tie to Chicago.

    Marching in Plain Sight

    General (ret.) Spider Marks, who spent much of his career in Asia as a senior intelligence officer, often discusses how China does things “in plain sight.” They tell us what they are going to do, and then they do it, and somehow we often seem surprised. I won’t harp on this theme, but it will permeate the report.

    I’m seeing references to China’s “Minsky Moment” on social media. The concept that China is somehow going to lay down and die, give up decades of growth, and succumb to an aging population and a falling real estate market seems almost ludicrous. Yet, that view seems to be far closer to the consensus than Made by China, despite lots of evidence that communist leaders rarely go down without leaving it all on the field.

    To ensure that I wasn’t completely off base, I spent a couple of minutes searching for China 2025. All sorts of references to Made in China 2025 popped up. Article after article, all done back in 2015! General (ret.) Walsh and I discussed this Thursday in preparation for today’s report. General Walsh played a key role in the national defense policies elevating China to a “Strategic Competitor.” He was also instrumental in our 2019 report – A D.I.M.E Framework for China, Trade & Strategic Competition.

    The main gist of our conversation was that China never stopped with the China 2025 initiative. They just publicized it less because it was attracting “the wrong sort of attention” in D.C. (at least from the perspective of China). They backed off discussing it because it made people concerned that China was going to change their relationship with us to a more competitive one on the goods side of things. That concern may have led to policies to thwart their efforts, so they backed off (at least publicly). Maybe this section should have been titled “out of sight, out of mind?”

    Back in 2015, China told us what they wanted to look like by 2025. Yet, here we are, in 2024 with lots of evidence pointing in the direction that they are continuing down that path with at least a modicum of success. I would argue more than a modicum, but let’s not go overboard, at least not yet.

    Fighting the Last War

    Another topic that comes up at Academy as we discuss geopolitical threats and the military is the risk that generals are “fighting the last war.” While I have no military experience, I know regulators are often viewed as fighting the last crisis, and I’d have to agree that there seems to be some truth to that assessment.

    We’ve often discussed that many of the views expressed by politicians seem to be based on China circa 2005, i.e., cheap manufacturing with limited IP. The reality is that just isn’t at all correct. Chinese manufacturing has grown increasingly sophisticated (as the U.S. and Europe largely ceded manufacturing to China). For some reason solar panels jump to the top of my list here, but the point is that China has developed very good (and not just cheap) manufacturing capabilities.

    On the IP side, maybe it was like a seesaw (or a teeter totter) with an adult on one side and a toddler on the other (i.e. very unbalanced). But as the adult has aged and the toddler has grown up, it is much more balanced. There are some areas where China has developed much of its own IP. Think back to the China 2025 initiative and their focus on machine learning, cryptography, etc. Again – marching in plain sight.

    So, I am worried that we shape policy based on an outdated view of China’s capabilities.

    Which brings me to TikTok. We did include it in We Didn’t Start the Fire and it has come up periodically as an issue due to all the information that is being collected.

    In theory, I should be paying more attention to the Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. But I struggle to get too excited about it. First, talk about “shutting the gate after the horse has left the barn!” Yes, I’m full of colloquialisms and folksy sayings today.

    TikTok in some ways seems all pervasive! It seems to be everywhere. I believe that even while D.C. has some restrictions already for certain government employees regarding their ability to have TikTok on their devices, many politicians are turning to TikTok as a part of their campaign efforts. Color me “cynical,” but I’m not optimistic that much will be done or accomplished in this day and age and who knows how much damage has already been done. Maybe not quite fighting the last war (as this war is still raging), but we certainly got off to a late start.

    Made By China 2025

    Please keep in the back of your mind the concepts that:

    • China “marches in plain sight” and has outlined what they want to accomplish.
    • We have to think about where China is going (not where they’ve been) if we are going to get this right (possibly the closest I’ve come to quoting Wayne Gretzky).

    We tried to detail our thoughts in the piece titled Chess, Checkers, or Go – What is China’s Next Move? The simple version of this report is:

    • Yes, the Chinese economy faces many problems. We completely agree with consensus here.
    • No, China won’t just curl up and fizzle out, they will do something. As we saw during COVID, to maintain the power of the Chinese Communist Party, they will do things to appease the middle class (a few protests caused a complete reversal in their COVID policy). So, assuming Xi wants to stay in power (no indication that he/the party wants to relinquish power), he needs a strategy.
      • Increased domestic consumption isn’t a great option. The Chinese consumer has not demonstrated a willingness to spend like the U.S. consumer, and with real estate down and the stock market weak, there isn’t the money to spend, even if they had a propensity to spend it.
      • Increasing manufacturing for U.S. and European companies isn’t an option. More companies are extricating themselves from being reliant on China as their main production hub. Costs have been hidden, but COVID (amongst other things) exposed a lot of “hidden” costs, or costs not thought of – like complete shutdowns and the inability to access your facilities. Add in some IP protection risks and setting up new business in China isn’t top of mind. Finally, after years (and maybe even decades) of hoping to be able to compete openly and fairly in China with domestic companies, many doubt that we will. So, there is a long list of reasons why China is unlikely to think that they can increase their manufacturing of foreign products.
    • So, if two obvious things don’t work, what do you do? Remember the concept of “mirroring” that we discussed in The Game of Chicken in Today’s World? Don’t think about China and brands as we see them, think about China and brands as they see them.

    China has an economic problem, but there is one path that might work and it is a path that they have told us they intend to pursue (and have been pursuing).

    Let’s just pause for a moment. Re-read the last sentence/rant. Maybe it sounds too simple? Maybe we don’t think of it that way, but that might be the biggest mistake that we are making.

    I hear a lot of talk about “black swan” events or “grey swan” risks. Both in our geopolitical and macro conversations. I’m increasingly concerned that we are so busy looking for swans of different colors, we are ignoring the hammer hitting us in the head over and over! Is our thought process to think, “Yeah, that hammering kind of hurts, but I should ignore it and look for where the ‘real’ problems lurk?”

    How it Works – Domestic Consumption

    If you noticed, earlier in the piece I said that “increased” domestic consumption isn’t likely to work!

    So, like any practical businessperson, if you cannot increase the size of the pie, your best bet is to increase your share of the pie. When corporate strategists sit down at the table trying to figure out how to grow market share, they can only wish they had some of the tools that China has available.

    • Taxes, tariffs, content rules, etc. Companies have to lobby for these, but the Chinese government creates them. They have created them and will likely continue to use them to make “foreign” products (even those manufactured in China) less competitive.
    • Outright bans. Who can use what app or what hardware? Again, corporations can put their best foot forward, but China can do (to a large degree) as they please. If you were trying to suppress domestic demand, say, for a certain type of phone, maybe you would ban government employees from using it? And over time, extend that ban to more and more agencies and levels of government.

    China can make it so that foreign brands are less competitive domestically. I think there is clear evidence that is happening.

    By suppressing demand for “foreign” brands to benefit Chinese brands, they can improve the “domestic” economy even if the “pie” is stagnant (or shrinking) by taking greater market share.

    Let’s not forget that at the moment, certainly for the chip industry, the U.S. is doing a lot to enhance the ability to develop foundries domestically and manufacture more/higher quality chips. All countries can do things to help their domestic brands, especially domestically, but I just suspect that China will be more aggressive about it.

    I’m also worried that as we restrict things for China, it will just make them better at it. I think that we’ve asked before how China is making so many phones with 7 nanometer chips, when there have been restrictions in place on chips thinner than 10 nanometers. Underestimating China can be a real risk.

    Yes, some of the Geopolitical Intelligence Group members discuss the risk of “making your enemies 10 feet tall” and overestimating their capabilities, which can also lead to flawed policy. In hindsight, any assessment of Russia’s military was far too generous, which affected our behavior before and in the immediate aftermath of the invasion (the first offers were to evacuate Zelensky as Kiev was theoretically going to be overrun in a matter of days).

    China has flaws and may not be able to execute on their strategies, but I suspect that we are stuck underestimating their capabilities rather than overestimating them. I must admit that I’m curious to check out what a BYD EV is like in person – at the very least to better understand the “competition”.

    How it Works – Foreign Consumption

    The domestic advantages seem easy enough to implement. In some industries this has been going on for years, but I would expect more rather than less of it.

    The trickier issue will be how to grow foreign consumption of your brands. As with any strategy session, you look to your strengths and try to use those to leverage your position. Again, just like with their domestic efforts, the government has options not available to corporate strategists.

    • Compete on price. That seems like the obvious starting point. Offer a price to quality that can compete with foreign brands.
      • If you are competing on price, go to where price might be most important. I would target countries with large populations of people with some, but not a lot of money to spend. Where price will be paramount. Countries whose citizens are looking for the best quality or the cachet of owning a certain brand would not be my first choice. This leads me towards some emerging market countries – especially those that are resource rich.
    • Offer trade incentives. Corporations can hope to get governments to support them in trade (export-import banks still exist across the globe, etc.), but China is the government. Interestingly, I think China has trade deficits with some countries who might have the sort of consumer China is looking for. Countries that China is buying a lot of commodities from would seem like ideal potential customers, where China can offset some of their trade deficit by getting them to buy their brands.
    • Shipping. First, China has spent a lot of time, effort, and money to have access to (and in some cases control of) ports. Can they use that to their advantage? Why the heck not? The network of ports that China has built up could be used to their advantage. Could they prioritize their shipments into ports that they control? Again, maybe “we” wouldn’t even if we could (though we probably would when push comes to shove), but China operates under a different set of rules (or guidelines) than we do. So, it would not surprise me to see them leverage this network to improve distribution of their brands, potentially at the expense of others (which reminds me, I need to reach out to my shipping contacts to see if any of this is already occurring). Finally, and this might be weird, but if I’m a pirate or someone targeting shipping, attacking a Chinese ship would be low on my list, purely out of fear of retribution. Immediate, direct, and harsh retribution. Not proportionate to what was done, and they will send a message to never, ever, do it again.
    • Never underestimate the willingness of the American consumer to buy anything. While the American consumer wouldn’t be my first choice, why not try? I had never heard of Temu before the Super Bowl. I just hadn’t. To be honest, I’m a little nervous even going on the site (I assume that they, like TikTok, will use my information). I did a search for golf range finders (if China needs Temu to figure out that I’m a golf addict, their AI is way worse than I thought). I couldn’t find one listed for more than $100, which seems pretty cheap. On Golf Galaxy, there was one for $150, a couple for $200, and several that were much more costly. Though I recognized most of the brands at Golf Galaxy, I cannot say that I recognized any of the brands on Temu (and I was nervous to click on more than one – maybe I’m just paranoid). But if Temu isn’t an attempt to sell Chinese brands into America based on price, then what is it? Super Bowl commercials have ranged from iconic (Apple’s 1984 is still one of my favorites), to a staple (Budweiser horses), to things that have fizzled (too many to count), and to things that surprised some with their staying power (E-Trade babies are back!). When I mention Temu, I mostly get sideways glances, if not outright smirks, but why? Why dismiss something so easily that fits with what I would do if I was a strategist for China Inc.?

    Selling brands to different countries will be more difficult than increasing their domestic market share. But, as the CEO of Mercedes reminded viewers on Bloomberg TV a few months ago, at one time, Mercedes too was a “domestic” brand.

    The development of brands, first domestically and then in foreign markets, is a standard practice – why wouldn’t it be for China?

    Implications for Investors and Companies

    There are a few things that seem obvious and may already be playing out on a limited scale. Some might be further down the road if I’m correct, but that just means there is time to develop effective strategies to combat the risk.

    • Relying on sales into China. I would expect it to get more difficult to sell into China than easier. Forecasts for sales into China need to be checked and double checked. One also needs to play “devil’s advocate” for what potentially could be done to either thwart your sales, or to enhance the sales of domestic brands.
    • Selling into the most price-sensitive economies. Where price is extremely high on the purchase decision-making tree, what risk is there of competition from a Chinese brand? The initial reaction might be to be “dismissive.” Their brand can’t do what ours does. Probably true. Our brand has IP, and we would sue them (possibly true, but is it winnable especially if the Chinese government is supporting sales of the brand into that country?). Maybe after a thorough analysis, there is no risk, but I would think long and hard about that. Assume an uneven playing field. Assume you are up against a leadership that does not want to lose control and has tools at their disposal beyond what leaders in the Western world have. If the assessment is still good even after thinking of “worst case” possibilities as the “base case,” then all is fine. But I think it is too easy to be dismissive, and that is a risk for investors and corporations.
    • Chinese suppliers and shipping. This is probably “next level” stuff, but if there was an effort to thwart brands and products, shipping and suppliers might be used in that battle. It is probably next level but cannot be dismissed out of hand. One obvious risk already is in the chip industry. There is agreement here that the “highest level technology” needs to be protected but defining that in a way that works could prove tricky over time.
    • Bad inflation. As supply chains shift and shipping gets more complicated, we could see inflation rise. The cost of goods for domestic companies could increase, passing inflation to buyers in many regions.
    • Bad deflation. If China competes on price, then its competitors will likely have to compete on price, which will be a direct hit to profit margins.

    Bottom Line

    I can think of no greater or more obvious risk to our economy and stock market valuations than the rise of Chinese brands globally. Not tomorrow’s risk or even next year’s risk, but it is the sort of risk where in 5 years, we will look back and wonder how we got it so wrong – especially since it has been in plain sight!

    The good news is that there is time to plan, prepare, and win.

    • Without a doubt, many companies are already ahead in this battle and doing what it takes to be successful under a variety of competitive circumstances.
    • China, assuming they are pursuing this strategy, has to get a lot of things right. They need a lot of things to work in their favor. They may not get what they need or may not execute, but I wouldn’t rely on that as being my strategy.

    We can get back to living in markets that rise and fall 1% in a day (sometimes more), but I really wanted to make sure this message on “Made by China” is heard loud and clear as I think it is vital to understand and prepare for.

    And yes, currently I’m long FXI (I think that Chinese stocks are un-investible, but are tradeable) and short QQQ (lots of things pointing me to the risk/reward being skewed to more downside risk than upside risk in the near-term). For the “normal” macro stuff see:

    Good luck today, tomorrow, and beyond. I’m actually optimistic on the “beyond” front, but I’d be more comfortable if I felt more people, at all levels, were taking the Made by China theory more seriously.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 17:30

  • Watch: Col. Douglas Macgregor (Ret) Provides Nation With Alternative View Of The State Of The Union
    Watch: Col. Douglas Macgregor (Ret) Provides Nation With Alternative View Of The State Of The Union

    “I want to respectfully present an alternative view of the State of The Union,” retired US Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor said in a video posted on X. 

    Macgregor begins by explaining how the Constitution mandates that the government promote the general welfare. This obligates Washington to secure the basic necessities of life, such as energy, food, and shelter. 

    “Regrettably, the current administration is failing to perform these tasks,” Macgregor said. 

    The combat war veteran and former senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense under the Trump administration, who is now the CEO of the media company “Our Country, Our Choice,” said Biden claims the economy is booming but noted that “much of it comes from government spending and employment,” adding that the government share of GDP is 42%—including federal, state, and local spending. 

    “This outrageous share is similar to what it was in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s—before the collapse. Rampant inflation stemming from this government share of the economy makes it difficult for families to buy nutritious food,” Macgregor said. 

    He touched on runaway inflation, which has decimated households in recent years, indicating that families are struggling to survive in the era of failed Bidenomics. 

    Macgregor segways into an ominous warning that ZeroHedge readers have understood for years: “Our national security is compromised.” 

    He warned about broken supply chains, power plants, and manufacturing facilities lacking critical spare parts. He blasted “ill-conceived domestic policies” that have sparked widespread job loss and homelessness. 

    Macgregor then focused on how decades of empire-building have drained America’s resources. 

    He pivoted back to the bloated government, explaining that there are between 12 and 25 million government workers and contractors. He added that this is all happening as national sovereign debt skyrockets to $34 trillion—or $1 trillion every three months. 

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    “It’s impossible to drain the swamp with unsound money and colossal debt that we cannot sustain,” Macgregor said. 

    He continued: “Tragically, DC beltway politicians are controlled by the so-called donor class. This form of corruption is enabled by a cancerous central banking system … this ruling class orchestrates endless wars, enriching themselves and their cronies while sending our soldiers to serve in foreign lands of marginal strategic interest to the United States.” 

    Macgregor then warned about the invasion on the open southern border, indicating, “This uncontrolled influx is straining our resources, overwhelming our communities, and destroying our prosperity.” 

    “Reckless calls to defund and punish the police have crippled law enforcement. Officers are underfunded, undermanned, and unable to protect our citizens, making our cities unsafe for all, especially women, children, and the elderly,” he said. 

    Listen to Macgregor’s alternative State of The Union speech compared with Biden’s ridiculous speech, which focused on funding Ukraine and anti-Trump talk. 

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    Perhaps Macgregor is the kind of leader this nation needs to save it from globalists and radical leftists who attempt a controlled demolition. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 17:25

  • David Sacks: "Biden's Big Backfire" Is Ukraine, Warns Of "Woke War III"
    David Sacks: “Biden’s Big Backfire” Is Ukraine, Warns Of “Woke War III”

    Venture capitalist David Sacks, who also hosts the All-In Podcast, sat down with Saagar Enjeti, a political commentator and podcaster from Breaking Points, to explore President Biden’s failures in Ukraine and Gaza. 

    Sacks has been a vocal critic of Western propaganda on Ukraine, advocating for a more nuanced understanding of the conflict and opposing NATO expansion to prevent further escalation. 

    “I was a little bit familiar with the conflict and with the idea that NATO expansion was something that the Russians really didn’t like. And so I started advocating on the All-In Podcast that we should take NATO expansion off the table; it’s clearly a huge irritant here in the situation,” Sacks told Enjeti. 

    Sacks continued, “I realized that this was the result of a deliberate US policy, kind of a neocon policy that either wanted this war or certainly wasn’t willing to avoid it. They weren’t willing to take NATO expansion off the table to avoid the war, so um, so yeah, I just started speaking out about it, I guess, using my channels.” 

    Enjeti asked Sacks what sources he reads to gather intel on the Ukraine situation. He blasted corporate media for “shading the truth or not telling us what was really happening in the war,” adding that independent media outlets and certain X users were giving the most accurate information about the conflict. 

    Sacks then criticized US foreign policy and neoconservatives for making “horrible policy decisions” on Ukraine in what could be the biggest blunder since the Iraq War. 

    Cough, cough, Victoria Nuland… 

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    “The whole mainstream media stampeding us into this policy – and um the sort of the taboo they’re trying to create around it – where you know, it’s a lot like the Iraq War where anyone who opposed it was considered unpatriotic or sort of treasonous.” 

    Sacks pointed out, “I guess I wouldn’t speak out as much about it if I thought that the issue was being covered accurately – and it is such an important issue. This could lead to World War III or what I call Woke War III if we’re not careful.” 

    He also spoke about the “fusion of the woke left and the neocon right” in supporting the war in Ukraine, expressing concern over their views of not finding a peaceful resolution and only escalating the war closer to World War III. 

    Jumping to the halfway point of the interview, Sacks said:

    “I call this Biden’s big backfire. If you look at all of his claims at the beginning of the war, they’ve all come true in reverse. He said that we would weaken Russia in order to prevent them from waging uh this type of War again. In fact, we’ve made the Russian military stronger – it’s larger than it was before. It’s produced, uh, far more weapons the industrial base is ramped up, plus it’s now a battle-tested battle-harden, especially against Western weapons. It’s a much more formidable military Biden has created on the part of the Russians than when we started.

    “Meanwhile, it’s the United States that has seen its stockpiles depleted and hollowed out. Then you look at the economic claims that Biden made, he said that sanctions would crush the Russian economy. In fact, the Russian economy is growing faster than any of the G7 economies.” 

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    Enjeti then asked Sacks: “How would you rate President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict so far?”

    Sacks responded: 

    “In the wake of October 7th, the first thing I said this was a little bit of reminiscent of 9/11. And the purpose of an outrageous terrorist attack is usually provoking overreaction, yes, and I hope that the Israelis would react wisely and not in the 911 manner as the United States did. It’s safe to say now that the Israeli reaction is exactly what Hamas wanted. 

    “They’ve created this humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and it’s basically turned the whole Middle East and most of the world against Israel. I’m shocked by some of the arguments I’m seeing now that this sort of decolonization narrative that used to really be in academic circles has now kind of gone mainstream. 

    “I think Biden made a huge mistake of basically going to the Middle East initially and hugging Netanyahu and giving him carte blanch … Israeli indiscriminately bombing a civilian population in Gaza is going to backfire horribly.” 

    Watch Sacks’ full interview below:

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 16:55

  • Trump Eviscerates Biden Over 'Apology Tour' After Calling Illegal Alien Murderer An "Illegal"
    Trump Eviscerates Biden Over ‘Apology Tour’ After Calling Illegal Alien Murderer An “Illegal”

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    Joe Biden is now seemingly on an apology tour after accurately describing the illegal immigrant who killed Laken Riley as an “illegal” in his State of the Union speech.

    The 22-year-old nursing student at Augusta University was kidnapped and killed by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela when she was jogging at the University of Georgia last month.

    Biden accurately described her murderer as an “illegal” during his address to the nation, but only after being pressured into doing so by Marjorie Taylor Greene.

    Leftists who didn’t care at all about the murder are still mad at Biden for using the word “illegal,” and he’s now on an apology tour to try to make up for it.

    During your response to her heckling you, you used the word ‘illegal’, when talking about the man who allegedly killed Laken Riley,” an MSNBC host chastised Biden.

    “An undocumented person,” he responded, “I shouldn’t have used illegal, it’s undocumented,” before Biden attacked Trump for the way he talks about illegal immigrants.

    “I’m not gonna treat any of these people with disrespect. Look, they built the country,” the president added.

    Apparently, illegal alien murderers built America.

    Respondents on X slammed Biden and the leftist media.

    As we previously highlighted, both Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Chuy García were also incensed that Biden used the word “illegal”.

    Respondents on X pointed out that Garcia had never even previously expressed any outrage about the murder itself.

    Meanwhile, Donald Trump spent time with Laken Riley’s family prior to a rally in Georgia, and then slammed Joe Biden for apologising over calling the girl’s killer an “illegal” immigrant.

    During the Rally that followed, Trump spoke at length about Riley, noting “She was the brightest light in every room,” and vowed to her family to pursue “Justice for Laken.”

    He added “Laken Riley would be alive today if Joe Biden had not willfully and maliciously eviscerated the borders of the United States and set loose thousands and thousands of dangerous criminals into our country.”

    Trump also blasted Biden, saying the president “went on television and apologised for calling Laken’s murderer an illegal he didn’t want to call him an illegal. He said he should have called him an undocumented not an illegal and he wanted to apologise.”

    Trump referred to the alleged killer, Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang member Jose Ibarra, urging “He was an illegal alien, he was an illegal immigrant,” adding “he shouldn’t have been in our country and he never would have been under the Trump policy.”

    “Biden should be apologising for apologising to this killer,” Trump boomed as thousands in attendance roared their approval.

    Powerful stuff.

    As we also highlighted yesterday, the left is still pushing a narrative that conservatives are using the murder of Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant as a political point scoring stunt, despite the fact that the girl’s own family has slammed Joe Biden as “pathetic”.

    *  *  *

    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, 03/10/2024 – 16:20

  • US Reinforces Haiti Embassy, Evacuates Some Staff In Overnight Airlift Mission
    US Reinforces Haiti Embassy, Evacuates Some Staff In Overnight Airlift Mission

    America could be on the verge of losing another embassy on President Biden’s watch.

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    Haiti is quickly accelerating into greater chaos and violence by the day. The US military was forced this weekend to fly in reinforcements to the US embassy in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, where the area outside the embassy has been transformed into a warzone. 

    The late-night operation also included emergency evacuations for non-essential embassy personnel:

    “The airlift of personnel into and out of the embassy is consistent with our standard practice for embassy security augmentation worldwide, and no Haitians were on board the military aircraft,” US Southern Command wrote in a statement, as quoted by the newspaper Miami Herald. 

    Earlier this month, more than 4,500 inmates escaped from the Caribbean nation’s two largest prisons. Armed gangs who orchestrated the twin jailbreaks have demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. 

    “In the past week, the political crisis in Haiti, combined with escalating violence and civil unrest, has created an untenable situation which threatens the country’s citizens and security,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told Newsweek on Friday.  

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    Haitian authorities began a state of emergency last Sunday and extended it on Thursday as fierce battles continue across Port-au-Prince. 

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    The US embassy wrote on X that it will “remain open” despite “heightened gang violence in the neighborhood near US embassy compounds and near the airport.” 

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    Haiti is “on the cusp of even greater chaos and violence,” campaign group Human Rights Watch said last week, adding the political and economic crisis is driving a major humanitarian emergency. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 15:45

  • What is 'The Halving'? Explaining The Most Important Event In Bitcoin's History
    What is ‘The Halving’? Explaining The Most Important Event In Bitcoin’s History

    Authored by Brian Nibley via Finance Magnates.com,

    • The April 2024 halving, deemed the most significant to date, will reduce the block reward from 6.25 bitcoins to 3.125.

    • The emergence of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the enhancement in regulatory clarity are distinctive features unique to the current event.

    With spot Bitcoin ETFs having been approved the same year that the halving is set to take place, many newcomers to the space may be wondering: what is the Bitcoin halving? This is a common question among those wanting to learn more about the Bitcoin protocol. Expected to be the most important event in Bitcoin’s history, the 2024 halving is expected to occur sometime on or around April 13.

    Here we will cover the basics of how the Bitcoin halving works, what the Bitcoin halving is, why it happens, and what it may mean for markets this year and beyond.

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    Understanding the Bitcoin Halving

    Before looking at the potential impacts of the 2024 halving, let’s discuss how the Bitcoin halving works.

    Bitcoin operates on a deflationary model, where the reward for mining new blocks is halved every 210,000 blocks, or approximately every four years, a process known as the “halving.” This event is significant because it reduces the rate at which new bitcoin are generated, thereby limiting supply. Bitcoin is the only asset in human history to have a fixed supply that never increases, making it the hardest currency ever known.

    This aspect of the protocol cannot be changed due to the decentralized distribution of nodes. For the supply limit of Bitcoin to be increased, the majority of nodes would have to agree to such a change. While this might be possibly in theory, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where it becomes reality. Thousands of independent node operators around the world would have to agree to making themselves poorer and reducing the value of Bitcoin as a whole.

    The 2024 halving will slash the block reward from 6.25 bitcoin to 3.125 bitcoin. Historically, each halving event has been followed by a notable increase in bitcoin’s price, although past performance is no guarantee of future results. However, the anticipation alone can lead to increased trading volume and price volatility, as we’ve seen in recent weeks.

    Contrary to what some market commentators may say, the halving can never be truly priced in before it happens. That’s because much of the selling pressure in the market comes from miners, who must sell coins to cover their operating expenses. After the halving, this selling pressure gets reduced by 50%, as the miner revenue declines by the same amount.

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    What Happens to Miners after the Bitcoin Halving?

    Miners can struggle after the halving, as they see a significant reduction in revenue. Larger, public mining companies can have a lifeline by accessing capital markets for further investment. In the absence of a swift increase in the Bitcoin price, some smaller miners may be forced to shut down.

    As a result, the network’s hash rate tends to come down for a time after the halving. This then leads to a difficulty adjustment downwards, which can eventually make it possible for more miners to come back online.

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    The Impact of the Bitcoin Halving

    This year’s halving may be the most important halving event in Bitcoin’s history. There are several converging factors that haven’t been present during previous halving cycles. Some of these include:

    • The emergence of spot Bitcoin ETFs;

    • increased regulatory clarity surrounding Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, and exchanges;

    • a washout of many bad actors from the previous cycle (think FTX, Celsius, Voyager, etc.);

    • potential nation-state adoption of bitcoin (El Salvador and rumors of other, larger countries);

    • and, corporate adoption of bitcoin (Microstrategy, other public Bitcoin companies).

    In the past, the halving has been a significant event for both Bitcoin’s price and the industry as a whole, even in the absence of the above variables. It stands to reason that this time around could be astronomical given the compounding effect of these new developments.

    In addition, because retail investors can now gain exposure to bitcoin through ETFs, there could be ripple effects throughout the entire financial system. How this might take shape is anyone’s guess.

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    A few of the more certain impacts of the halving and associated bull market include:

    • an increase in crypto transactions. Merchants who accept cryptocurrency as payment tend to see a rise in purchases, as holders look for ways to take profits;

    • increased trading volume. This can be so extreme that exchanges encounter difficulties. For example, Coinbase suffered an outage on February 28 that led to users seeing a “0” balance in their accounts for a time, as the Bitcoin price rapidly shot up to $64,000;

    • renewed investment and hiring in the crypto space. Bitcoin and blockchain-related companies tend to do a lot of hiring during this time, and investors look to fund more startups;

    • and, speculation and market sentiment. Not surprisingly, market sentiment tends to get euphoric, and speculation in Bitcoin and altcoins can reach extreme levels. The legendary volatility of the asset class shows its full potential during this time.

    And most entertaining of all, the creation of new Bitcoin-related memes tends to skyrocket during this period.

    Stay tuned to social media for more on the subject.

    Bitcoin Halving Conclusion

    The Bitcoin halving is a pivotal event, occurring approximately every four years and reducing the rate at which new bitcoin comes online. As we approach the 2024 halving, there’s a lot of anticipation for its potential impact on Bitcoin’s price and the broader industry.

    With the emergence of spot Bitcoin ETFs, increased regulatory clarity, and growing adoption by both nations and corporations, this halving could be more significant than ever before. While the exact outcomes remain uncertain, past halving events have historically led to increased trading volume, market volatility, and renewed investment in the crypto space. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 15:10

  • Britt Busted For Misleading Sex-Trafficking Story In Bizarre SOTU Response
    Britt Busted For Misleading Sex-Trafficking Story In Bizarre SOTU Response

    Already the subject of bipartisan ridicule for the jaw-droppingly strange persona she displayed in her Republican response to the State of the Union address, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt is now taking more serious fire — for having deceptively framed a 16-year-old anecdote about sex trafficking to mislead the audience about when and where the crime happened and how she learned about it. 

    Observers of all political stripes winced as soon as first-termer Britt started speaking, sounding every bit like she was delivering an absurdly melodramatic audition for a B-movie part. This video nicely captures the difference between Normal Britt and Thursday night’s godawful Middle-School-Theater Britt: 

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    As she proceeded through her bizarre delivery, Britt eventually came to the subject of border security. Within that passage, she shared an anecdote about a victim of sex trafficking, and did so in a way that misled the audience in three dimensions, making it sound like: 

    • Britt happened to encounter a woman who shared her story in a one-on-one conversation 
    • The sex trafficking happened recently — and during Biden’s term
    • The sex trafficking occurred in the United States

    None of that is true. 

    Here’s what Britt said: 

    When I took office [in 2023], I took a different approach. I traveled to the Del Rio sector of Texas. That’s where I spoke to a woman who shared her story with me. She had been sex trafficked by the cartels starting at the age of 12. She told me not just that she was raped every day, but how many times a day she was raped.The cartels put her on a mattress in a shoebox of a room, and they sent men through that door over and over again for hours and hours on end.

    We wouldn’t be ok with this happening in a third world country. This is the United States of America, and it is past time, in my opinion, that we start acting like it. President Biden’s border policies are a disgrace.

    On Friday, independent journalist Jonathan Katz posted a video in which he revealed that the unnamed woman Britt described is a Mexican citizen and prominent public advocate against human trafficking named Karla Jacinto Romero who testified before Congress in 2015.

    Britt’s framing — “I spoke to a woman” in the Del Rio sector “who shared her story with me” — made it sound like she came across a little-known person, living in America, who decided to open up to Britt in an intimate conversation. In fact, Britt heard Romero’s account when Britt, Romero, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn participated in a public, roundtable discussion.

    Britt (second from left) heard Romero’s account of being abused inside Mexico from 2004 to 2008 during this round-table discussion (Sen. Marsha Blackburn/Twitter)

    At the event, 31-year-old Romero gave her frequently-shared and reported account of having been sex-trafficked between the ages of 12 and 16 — in other words, way back during the George W. Bush administration. 

    Beyond serving as an indicator of how long ago Romero’s abuse occurred, the question of who was US president at the time is utterly irrelevant, because Romero wasn’t even trafficked in the United States or anywhere near it. It all took place inside Mexico and, from reporting on her story, it appears most or all of her forced-prostitution happened in the vicinity of Mexico City — nearly 1,000 miles from the American border.

    In her speech, Britt melodramatically proclaimed, “We wouldn’t be ok with this happening in a Third World country. This is the United States of America.” And now we find the whole thing did happen in a Third World country. 

    Romero doesn’t even live in the United States, making Britt’s emphasis on having spoken with her near Del Rio, Texas all the more misleading. Interviewed from Mexico by the New York Times, Romero said when she learned about Britt using her story in the speech, “I thought it was very strange.”

    There are enough real horror stories associated with America’s open border to make the case for better security. Britt’s decision to mislead her audience with an anecdote about sex trafficking that happened some 16 years ago far outside America is as baffling as her choice of persona for her first big moment in the spotlight. 

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 14:35

  • SpaceX-Backed Flying Car Startup Gets FAA Nod
    SpaceX-Backed Flying Car Startup Gets FAA Nod

    Authored by Felicity Bradstock via OilPrice.com,

    • Alef Aeronautics, based in San Mateo, California, has seen an impressive number of pre-orders for its two-seater eVTOL vehicle, Model A, with plans to develop a four-seater sedan, Model Z, by 2035.

    • The company has received a Special Airworthiness Certificate from the FAA for its Model A, highlighting its innovative design and potential for commercial viability in personal and urban mobility.

    • Competitors like Joby Aviation and Lilium are also advancing in the eVTOL market, focusing on flying taxis and partnerships to facilitate urban air mobility, indicating a growing industry trend towards airborne personal transport.

    Pre-orders for a “flying car” have soared in recent months leading industry experts to question how close we are to small passenger vehicle flight. Alef Aeronautics, a company backed by Space-X, specialising in the production of flying cars, has achieved 2,850 pre-orders for its electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle. The firm is backed by Tesla investor and venture capitalist Tim Draper, which has helped draw attention. Based in San Mateo, California, Alef Aeronautics is allowing customers to pre-order its two-seater flying car, the Alef Model A, online with a $150 deposit. Customers are allowed to withdraw the deposit at any time to cancel the pre-order. 

    The car is expected to be priced at around $300,000 when it becomes commercially available, which gives the company an order value of over $850 million to date. Jim Dukhovny, Alef’s CEO, stated: “As of today we have a little bit more than 2,850 pre-orders with deposits down, which makes it the bestselling aircraft in history, more than Boeing, Airbus, Joby Aviation and most of the eVTOLs combined.”

    Alef is also developing a four-passenger sedan called the Model Z. It is expected to become commercially available for the much lower price of $35,000, by 2035. It is just one of many start-ups developing flying car technology, but, over the last year, it has been recognised for the significant progress it has made. Alef’s Model A looks like a futuristic car. They use a mesh shell to cover rotors, allowing air to flow through the car. 

    The company first unveiled a half-size model of the vehicle at the Mobile World Congress, catching the attention of consumers and automakers worldwide. Dukhovny believes the Model A will be the world’s first flying car, as most other vehicles under development resemble something similar to a jet or a drone, fitted with wings or rotors. The CEO explained, “I know that people have claimed the first flying car… But we always had the idea that it has to be a car, a physical car, a regular car, as you can see it’s an eVTOL, an electric car. a regular car, drive, park, look, everything as a car, and a vertical take-off.” 

    The aim is for the car to be capable of being driven on the road, similarly to an electric vehicle (EV), at speeds of between 25 and 35 mph, as well as used to fly in any direction using its eight propellers, where it will reach speeds of up to 110 mph. As it is expected to weigh just 850 pounds, it can be classed as a small EV, making it more likely that the regulatory bodies will approve the car for flight by as early as 2025. 

    While Alef gained greater fame following the Mobile World Congress, this is not the first we are hearing of the company. Alef initially started working on its concept car in 2015, producing the first prototype of the Model A in 2019. In July 2023, it was issued with a Special Airworthiness Certificate by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which allowed the company to fly its Model A in limited locations for exhibition, research and development. The vehicle falls under the categorisation of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), which is used for technology such as air taxis and VTOL aircraft. 

    However, several companies are hot on Alef’s tail, hoping to rapidly develop their own flying car technology for commercial release.

    The eVTOL producer Joby Aviation is constructing a manufacturing plant at Dayton International Airport in Ohio. The company hopes to begin producing up to 500 aircraft a year at Dayton, starting in 2025. Joby is focused on the flying taxi market, designing the tiltrotor eVTOL to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of 200 mph. The company has already announced a partnership with Delta Airlines and expects to launch in cities such as New York and Los Angeles by as early as 2025. 

    The German start-up Lilium is developing an eVTOL to serve as an air taxi for up to five people, with a range of around 300 km and a top speed of 300 Kmh. In December, Lilium signed a memorandum of understanding with the air carrier Lufthansa to explore a strategic partnership on eVTOL aircraft operation in Europe. The two companies plan to explore ground and flight operations, future aircraft maintenance, as well as crewing and flight training. 

    Klaus Roewe, the CEO of Lilium, stated, “We are delighted that the Lufthansa Group has decided to cooperate with us to jointly advance in the future of flying. The Lufthansa Group has been at the forefront of some of Europe’s most important aviation initiatives, especially in the area of environmental sustainability. We are thrilled to explore opportunities on bringing eVTOL flights to Lufthansa Group customers.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 14:00

  • Pope Francis Urges Ukraine To Have 'Courage Of The White Flag' & Negotiate End To War
    Pope Francis Urges Ukraine To Have ‘Courage Of The White Flag’ & Negotiate End To War

    Pope Francis has sparked fresh controversy after he said in a new interview published Saturday that Ukraine should have the “courage” to sit at the negotiating table with Russia and end the war through a peace agreement.

    In particular his referencing the “white flag” is drawing outrage from European and Ukraine officials. “I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates,” Francis told Swiss broadcaster RSI. He said this would happen with the help of outside mediating powers.

    Francis continued by explaining that “the word negotiate is a courageous word.” He emphasized, “When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate,” and spelled out, “Negotiations are never a surrender.” However, the words surely sting for the Zelensky government given how the Pope highlighted (albeit indirectly) that Ukraine forces are losing on the battlefield.

    In April 2022, Pope Francis kissed a Ukrainian flag brought from Bucha. via AP

    Francis additionally said that either side should “not be ashamed of negotiating before things get worse,” and he offered that he himself would willingly mediate peace talks, or else several European countries could.

    “Today, for example, in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to mediate,” he said. “Turkey has offered itself for this. And others. Do not be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse.” President Zelensky just returned from a trip where he met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

    Almost immediately in the wake of the interview being released, the pope was widely accused of siding with Russia. For example, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski posted on X, “How about, for balance, encouraging Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine? Peace would immediately ensue without the need for negotiations.”

    As The Associated Press noted on Sunday, Ukrainian officials agreed with statements comparing to the Pope’s comments to being willing to compromise with Hitler:

    In a separate post, Sikorski drew parallels between those calling for negotiations while “denying (Ukraine) the means to defend itself” and European leaders’ “appeasement” of Adolf Hitler just before World War II.

    Andrii Yurash, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Holy See, said that it was “necessary to learn lessons” from that conflict. His post on X appeared to compare the pope’s comments to calls for “talking with Hitler” while raising “a white flag to satisfy him.”

    Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni has sought to clarify Francis’ remarks but did not back down or retract the pontiff’s ‘controversial’ statement. He said it was the interviewer that introduced the white flag reference to “indicate a cessation of hostilities, a truce reached with the courage of negotiation.”

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    Bruni emphasized that Francis has “deep affection” for Ukraine and he’s ultimately calling for “conditions for a diplomatic solution in search of a just and lasting peace.”

    Francis has been no stranger to controversy throughout the over two-year long war. After the opening few months of the war, in May 2022 he suggested that NATO expansion was a prime catalyst for the tragic conflict, describing that NATO had long been “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward expansion. That too elicited angry reaction from Ukraine officials and some of the Western allies. But NATO itself seemed to later acknowledge that this is accurate.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 03/10/2024 – 13:25

  • Watch: Crowd Roars As Trump Enters Packed UFC Arena
    Watch: Crowd Roars As Trump Enters Packed UFC Arena

    Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

    A huge crowd at a packed UFC arena in Miami roared with delight as Donald Trump made his way into the stadium before later chanting “fuck Joe Biden!”

    A video clip shows Trump walking to ringside with CEO Dana White as the audience greets him like a rock star.

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    Many members of the crowd reached out to high five Trump as he was given a welcome that would rival any of the top performers.

    Trump was also seen shaking hands with Dave Portnoy and Dan Bongino before he took his seat.

    “Never seen anything like it,” commented Mike Cernovich.

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    “Biden could never get this kind of introduction or energy from a crowd, absolutely unbelievable!” gushed another respondent to the video.

    After Trump made his appearance and the event got underway, the audience also erupted with a huge chant of “fuck Joe Biden!”

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    Trump made his appearance two days after Biden delivered an angry, shouty State of the Union speech which many hope will be his last.

    *  *  *

    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, 03/10/2024 – 12:52

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