Today’s News 20th December 2023

  • Our First Insurrection? The Boston Tea Party
    Our First Insurrection? The Boston Tea Party

    Authored by Richard Samuelson via RealClear Wire,

    On the evening of December 16, 1773, 250 years ago today, New England colonists disguised as Native Americans calmly boarded three ships in Boston Harbor and dumped 90,000 pounds of tea overboard.

    By 1773, the Americans had been pushing back against Parliament’s efforts to tax the colonies for roughly a decade. In 1764, Parliament passed the Sugar Act, and in 1765 the Stamp Act. These laws sparked intense resistance. The Stamp Act, requiring that all papers – legal documents, newspapers, and other publications (in addition to playing cards and dice) – bear the King’s stamp as proof of having paid the tax, sparked intense resistance, often in the form of mobs which gathered to ensure that no colonist was foolhardy enough to be the official stamp agent. 

    According to an old nugget of wisdom, the key to a good tax is to pluck the maximum number of feathers from the goose with a minimum amount of squawking. From that perspective, taxing writers, publishers, and lawyers was particularly ill-conceived. 

    But how to protest an act that faraway British subjects, with no representatives in Parliament, regarded as illegal? The colonists believed they had the right to tax themselves in their legislatures which were, significantly, the only elected legislatures in the Americas at the time.

    In an age before elected legislatures were generally understood to be the heart of the government, mobbing was sometimes recognized across the board as a legitimate, albeit extreme, way of vetoing what the common people regarded as an unconstitutional law, or of blocking an illegal action by the government. Hence, colonists would distinguish between legal and illegal mobs.

    Such mobs generally reflected the opinion of the local majority – they were not part of street fights between factions. Some of the Stamp Act mobs did get out of hand; others were more restrained (perhaps not by the standards of our more civilized age) and the colonists succeeded in blocking the Stamp Act, which was repealed.  

    Parliament saved face by asserting its right to rule the colonies “in all cases whatsoever.”  Parliament soon followed that assertion with the Townshend Acts, named after the Parliamentary leader Charles Townshend. These were revenue-raising duties on lead, paper, paint, glass, and tea. The colonists resisted and boycotted the goods, and in early 1770, these taxes were also repealed, with the exception of the duty on tea, which was retained – like the previous assertion of Parliament’s right to rule – as a marker defending Parliament’s claim of the right to tax the colonists. Repeal broke the boycott, although some colonists tried to sustain the boycott on British tea, preferring smuggled tea instead. Compared to other port cities, Boston’s tea boycott was less solid after 1770.

    In early 1773, with the British East India Company in financial trouble, Parliament tried to help the company, and perhaps force the tax issue, by allowing it to sell directly in the colonies, eliminating the middlemen. They were blind to the reality that this act was, in fact, extremely provocative. In reaction, the boycott movement returned in full force. 

    In most colonies, the patriots succeeded in keeping the tea out, but in Boston, Gov. Thomas Hutchinson sought to force the issue. He refused to give the tea ships clearance to leave port. And it was illegal for a ship to leave without proper papers. The ship owner could lose everything if he failed to comply with the law. Leading colonists repeatedly lobbied the governor to let the ships go, but he was adamant. 

    The first tea ships arrived in Boston Harbor on Nov. 28. By law, a ship had 19 days to unload its goods, or it was forfeited to the government on the 20th day. In other words, at midnight on Dec. 17, the tea would become the government’s property, and the government could unload it forcibly and, presumably, sell it to the minority in Boston who opposed the boycott. That would confirm the legal precedent the colonists wished to prevent – it was an implicit acceptance of the right of Parliament to tax citizens without their consent.

    On the afternoon of Dec. 16, after a failed final appeal to the governor, the town of Boston convened at the Old South Church, the largest meeting house in Boston. The assembly represented the “Body” of the people, not merely a faction. After the speakers concluded that there was nothing to be done, out of the streets came the whoop of the tea partiers, disguised as Native Americans, who marched down to the harbor and systematically and peacefully destroyed the tea – and nothing but the tea.

    Lifting 400-pound chests of tea with 18th-century implements was skilled work. The patriot leaders had done a good job selecting workmen. They unloaded the tea chests methodically, broke them open, and made sure the tea was spoiled in the salty water of Boston Harbor. Meanwhile, the tea partiers kept their focus on the tea, blocking, for example, those who tried to break into the ships’ liquor supply. This was no unruly, out-of-control mob parading randomly about the ships or the harbor. It was focused directly on blocking enforcement of the Tea Act.

    The Tea Party was a sensation. Some colonists, notably George Washington, believed it was excessive – attacking property in the name of property rights was a step too far. But then the British government reacted harshly, replacing the free government of Massachusetts with a military one, and taking other extreme measures. Parliament’s “Intolerable Acts,” as the colonists called them, did not divide the colonies as Parliament had hoped. Instead they rendered Washington’s qualms moot. In response the colonists called the First Continental Congress; several months later, fighting began at Lexington and Concord, and we were on the road to Revolution. 

    At the Second Continental Congress, which met not long after those battles, Massachusetts’ John Adams nominated Virginia’s George Washington to lead the Continental Army. The Union was coming together. On the other side, Gov. Hutchinson, unwilling to bend to overwhelming public opinion, lost the right to rule. British government would suffer the same fate across the colonies.

    Riots, mobs, and the like have historically been the tool of outsiders. The Tea Party was not quite that. It was the act of men who, by 1773, had long been part of their colonial political system.  Yet they were outsiders in British politics. The British wished to fix that by creating a separate class of their kind of gentlemen who ruled over the colonists. The scope of the people’s role in colonial government made them shudder. In other words, they sought to change the norms of colonial government to make them more like the norms of British government. That’s what the taxes would pay for. The colonists had other ideas. And the Revolution came.

    Americans today might consider a couple of lessons from the Tea Party. One has to do with tea itself. Only in the 18th century did tea begin to become a staple in Britain or British America. Enjoying daily tea and other like consumer goods became common and not merely a luxury for gentlemen and aristocrats. Tea drinking grew with the rise of global trade and the British merchant class. It was part of the revolution of rising standards of living that began in that age.  (As we know today, drinking tea has health benefits. It has antioxidant properties and other good things. Globalization has many benefits.)

    Back in the 18th century, the economic turn that produced an expanding middle class enjoying consumer goods, combined British liberties and literacy came the desire of more and more colonists to be respectable – and recognized as solid and responsible members of society. That meant one should not merely drink tea, but one ought to do it properly, in that way becoming a civilized British subject. Drinking tea and other respectable activities were signs that one was worthy of the responsibilities that came with British liberties. Part of the reason the colonists reacted so strongly against the efforts by Parliament to tax them without their consent was that their English cousins were, by implication, treating them as inferiors not truly worthy of the political rights that were their due.

    Another lesson has to do with the mobs. This was one way those outside the political system could make their voice heard. After the Revolution, replacing bullets with ballots and mobs with peaceful mass meetings, protests, and petition campaigns represented a fundamental turn. 

    On the other side, the question of the right to block the government when it violates the law remains a problem, and probably will be as long as governments are staffed with human beings.  In the late 1760s John Adams successfully defended John Hancock when he had his men forcibly block government agents trying to conduct an illegal search below the deck of one of his ships. Their warrant was only for the deck; Hancock kept them to the letter of the law.

    The larger move from mobbing to voting was itself built upon a more robust idea of rights – the rights of men rather the rights of Englishmen. And that points to the looming crisis of slavery. As soon as the colonists transformed the rights of Englishmen into the rights of men, slavery was logically and morally untenable. Yet it was deeply entrenched. In some ways, slavery and racial caste grew deeper in a human and also perverse way to manage the tensions between American slavery and American freedom, and, as the centuries pass, the problems of race and the legacy of slavery threaten to be the dram of evil in the tragedy of American liberty.

    Finally, there is in the Tea Party the eternal political problem of elites and commoners. All societies have them. When an elite grows distant (or is literally distant) and loses touch with the bulk of the people, it always causes trouble. The less connection it has to the local democratic process, the more likely it is to be a problem. On the other side, if the people have rights, they also have responsibilities.

    Two hundred and fifty years after the Boston Tea Party, are our elites once again the snobs who look down on the common citizens, deeming them unworthy of full participation in government? On the other side, does the common citizen still understand that to be a citizen is, in a sense, to be a little bit of an aristocrat, with the duties and responsibilities that necessarily entails? 

    On this anniversary of the Tea Party, as we begin the 250th celebration of the American Revolution, we ought to begin, once again, to think seriously about what it means to live in a democratic republic, and how we might sustain it for another 250 years.

    Richard Samuelson is an American historian and associate professor of government at Hillsdale College, Washington, D.C., campus.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/20/2023 – 00:05

  • The "Post-Degree" Era Is Here: Study Reveals Top 10 Six Figure Careers That Don't Rely On College
    The “Post-Degree” Era Is Here: Study Reveals Top 10 Six Figure Careers That Don’t Rely On College

    During a day and age when the idea of going to college looks less and less like a way to get ahead in the world and more and more like a path for a guaranteed “woke” lobotomy, younger generations are starting to question the importance of higher education.

    We already know that kids out of high school who learn a trade are often on a fast track to starting their own businesses and making six figure incomes with far less debt than college students, in quicker time.

    Now, experts at Velents AI have offered up research to find other modern careers that could earn six-figure salaries without requiring a college degree, what they are calling the “post-degree” era. 

    Their methodology involved analyzing Google data, studying salary ranges from Indeed and ZipRecruiter, and examining job listings on Indeed until December 2023.

    The study found that:

    • Video game streamer is leading the list as the highest-paying job accessible without a degree and offers earnings up to $170,000. 
    • Virtual assistants, with potential earnings of up to $123,180, are the most sought-after on the list, with the most job openings and over 3 million searches on Google.
    • Event planners, despite having the fewest available positions, were still searched on Google over 632K times.

    Freelance writers rank second, earning $60,990 to $156,000, with over 900 job listings on Indeed and significant interest on Google.

    Third, affiliate marketing specialists can earn $72,620 to $142,450, open to individuals regardless of formal education. Content creators, fourth on the list, potentially earn $115,730 to $128,500, with 787 job openings on Indeed, suitable for skilled storytellers and media influencers.

    Virtual assistants, at the midpoint, have potential earnings of $74,660 to $123,180, being the most sought-after role with 3,930 job openings on Indeed. Social media managers, in sixth place, can earn $64,370 to $113,000, with 767 job openings on Indeed, requiring skills in online branding.

    Seventh-ranked influencers have earning potentials of $65,098 to $104,100, building careers on social media platforms through personal branding. Event planners are eighth, with earnings between $60,759 and $101,000, requiring creative planning skills and having 443 jobs listed on Indeed.

    Ninth are graphic designers, earning $58,130 to $97,850, with 1,860 job openings and over 1 million Google searches. Customer support representatives, rounding out the top ten, can earn $52,200 to $71,700, with 446 job openings on Indeed.

    To which we can only reply: video game streamers are making $170,000 a year? Maybe we’ll have to cut out the “sitting at home in mom’s basement” jokes for a little while…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 23:45

  • "He's Starting A Revolution": Does Milei’s Win Signal A Global Anti-Communist Turning Point?
    “He’s Starting A Revolution”: Does Milei’s Win Signal A Global Anti-Communist Turning Point?

    Authored by Marcos Schotgues via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Javier Milei’s landmark election as president of Argentina might prove a turning point in the dominance of leftist governments in Latin America. Some are hoping it goes beyond.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Freepik, Shutterstock)

    He’s starting a revolution that begins here, is going to go through America, all the way to the north and then on to Europe,” Lilia Lemoine, a newly elected congresswoman in Argentina and long-time Milei ally, told The Epoch Times at President Milei’s inauguration on Dec. 10.

    President Milei, a libertarian and self-described “anarcho-capitalist,” has bucked the left-wing grip that, by the beginning of 2023, has held all nations in the Americas except Uruguay, Paraguay, El Salvador, and Ecuador.

    Just like the fall of the Berlin Wall marks the end of a tragic era for this world, this election marks the turning point of our history,” President Milei said in his inaugural address.

    Brazilian lawmaker Cristiano Caporezzo called Milei’s election “absolutely historic.”

    “It marks a very strategic moment for Latin America, a right-wing ‘reconquering’ of the continent,” Mr. Caporezzo told The Epoch Times.

    “Milei’s arrival in Argentina will give the Chilean elections some strength. More countries in Latin-America will start walking towards conservatism.”

    Colombian Senator María Fernanda Cabal also attended President Milei’s inauguration in Buenos Aires on Dec. 10.

    “He today gave us hope, in Latin America, also in the U.S. and worldwide,” she told The Epoch Times.

    “What we see is that Javier Milei has opened the door and all these governments that have been ruling, societies that have been suffering with all these activists that go against the nature of human beings … currently, everything is going to turn right,” Ms. Cabal said.

    “We hope that Trump wins. We hope that Jose Antonio Kast in Chile wins, and we hope that we can save Colombia too.”

    Ernesto Araújo, former minister of foreign relations of Brazil, now a strategic aid for international affairs at Spain-based think tank Fundación Disenso told The Epoch Times he sees a global shift towards conservatism.

    Argentina’s newly sworn-in President Javier Milei addresses supporters from the balcony of the government house in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Dec. 10, 2023. (Matilde Campodonico/AP Photo)

    “This can be a true ‘reconquest’ of freedom worldwide, which might be starting here in Argentina. I like to think big, and I think this might indeed be the case,” Mr. Araújo said.

    If [the Milei administration’s proposals] work out, people might realize that the ideas of freedom work. That they work in a big country.

    In his first week in office, President Milei slashed nine government ministries, took steps towards strengthening trade partnerships, and prepared to crack down on protests that may arise from upcoming drastic economic measures.

    He has promised to reduce government spending, eliminate Argentina’s Central Bank, and potentially adopt the U.S. dollar as an official currency. During his campaign, he pledged to replace the public education system with a voucher-based alternative, and move the public health care model to an insurance-based system.

    “This new social contract [people voted for] offers us a different country, a country in which the State does not direct our lives, but rather safeguards our rights, a country in which people are held accountable for their actions,” President Milei said during his inaugural speech.

    Hermann Tertsch, a Spanish member of the European Parliament, celebrated President Milei’s victory at the latter’s inauguration in Buenos Aires on Dec. 10.

    “I believe this victory—of the truth—in Argentina is a historical victory, and a victory of enormous repercussions,” said Mr. Tertsch told The Epoch Times.

    “It’s so important, and it has implications for all of the Americas, and for all of the West, an extremely important turnaround.”

    The recent win in The Netherlands by conservative Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom, has buoyed conservatives in the region. Mr. Wilders won the election, but must form a majority coalition with other political parties in order to become Prime Minister.

    Dutch politician Geert Wilders delivers a speech at a meeting of European nationalists in Koblenz, Germany, on Jan. 21, 2017. (Michael Probst/AP Photo, File)

    “We can, for the first time in the history of the European Parliament, make right wing politics,” Mr. Terstch said.

    “We can stop the monstrosities of the 2030 Agenda, of the green pact, of all their permanent meddling into the livelihood [of people], the liquidation of subsistence that the current European Commission is pushing. This can change. We can change the Commission. And then we’ll see a difference in Europe.”

    The 2030 Agenda is the United Nations plan to achieve 17 “sustainable development goals” by the year 2030. The goals include “gender equality,” “responsible consumption and production,” and climate action.

    “The green pact” referred to by Mr. Tertsch is the “European Green Deal,” a framework in which European Union countries have committed to achieving “climate neutrality” by 2050.

    “We have yielded so much in 50 years, 60 years, that we can yield no more. Now we can only reconquer. And we are in a full reconquest campaign,” Mr. Terstch said.

    But conservative and libertarian politics are up against some determined and well-coordinated forces.

    “[This] is not just about the economy, this is not just about Argentina’s runaway inflation, it’s not about the fact there’s no growth,” Mr. Araújo said.

    “It is also about the matter of narco-trafficking, of organized crime. It is the problem of Latin-American organized crime being connected with worldwide organized crime. It is the problem of the China-Russia-Iran totalitarian bloc.”

    Socialist administrations across Latin America, particularly the Venezuelan regime, have facilitated or engaged in international drug trafficking and coordinated with Iran, China, and Russia against United States interests and regional security for years.

    In 2020 the U.S. Department of Justice charged Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and 14 other current and former officials in a “narco-terrorism” conspiracy to “flood” the United States with narcotics.

    In February 2023, Irani military ships sanctioned for terrorism docked in Brazil and in June a defense deal between Iran and Bolivia bound the two nations closer together.

    Latin American socialist regimes have enabled Iran-backed terrorist groups to operate broadly in South America for years.

    The Chinese communist regime has been spreading its influence widely in Latin America for years with trade deals, an expanding military presence, and ties to radical leftists groups in the region.

    The São Paulo Forum is the hub for leftist groups and political administrations.

    Attendees shout slogans during the opening of the Sao Paulo Forum, next to a banner with portraits of Latin American leftist presidents, in San Salvador, El Salvador, on Jan. 12, 2007. (Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images)

    Created in 1990 by Brazil’s President Lula da Silva and Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, it united narco-terrorist communist guerrilla groups such as Colombia’s FARC and political parties often in power, including Mexico’s MORENA and Brazil’s Workers Party.

    The group’s stated goal is to move the region further left.

    The São Paulo Forum inherited a framework of cooperation among left-wing parties that have been coalescing for more than a century with organizations such as the Third Communist International.

    The Heritage Foundation’s Mike Gonzales has called the São Paulo Forum “the world’s largest and most impactful Marxist international organization.”

    The group’s leaders often flaunt anti-American rhetoric and either are authoritarian or condone authoritarianism.

    The Chinese Communist Party has cooperated increasingly with São Paulo Forum parties, some of which are now in power.

    In March 2022, ahead of elections in Brazil and in Colombia, the Chinese Communist Party and the São Paulo Forum held a series of conversations. During a talk, CCP official Sun Yanfeng, affiliated to the China Institute of Contemporary International relations and to the China’s Ministry of State Security, said he rooted for leftist victories in both countries.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 23:25

  • MSM Knives Are Out For DeSantis Over Super PAC "Illegal Coordination" Claims
    MSM Knives Are Out For DeSantis Over Super PAC “Illegal Coordination” Claims

    With Former President Donald Trump firmly in the lead of the 2024 GOP primary field (nothing new), the establishment’s only hope appears to be with Nikki Haley.

    To that end, the Washington Post took the opportunity to seize and pounced on DeSantis‘ super PAC, Never Back Down, for allegedly coordinating with the campaign. Hours after the report was published, a top strategist left the operation.

    On Monday, nonprofit watchdog Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint alleging that DeSantis “illegally coordinated” with the super PAC, and that Never Back Down violated an “explicit legal requirement that super PACs must remain ‘independent.'”

    As The Hill describes things, this is the latest in a “string of setbacks and shakeups” for the Florida governor’s campaign, “as he struggles to hold on to second place in the Republican presidential field.”

    “When things go badly in a campaign, the wheels tend to come off. There’s a lot of finger-pointing, there’s a lot of blame, and it inevitably spills out into the public and just compounds the problems,” said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist, adding that the Post‘s story of “a trouble structure” within the campaign and super PAC, “read like a post-mortem.”

    GOP strategist Doug Heye said it’s not clear whether the reports of super PAC tumult signal the wheels coming off DeSantis’s campaign — or if the wheels actually “have never actually been on.”  

    Never Back Down chairman Scott Wagner said in a statement to The Post that senior officials were terminated “following mismanagement and conduct issues, including numerous unauthorized leaks containing false information.”

    But a lawyer for the employees claimed Wagner’s assertions were false, and the statement was revised to refer to “opinions regarding mismanagement and conduct issues” and to say the super PAC and the senior officials “parted ways,” according to the report. -The Hill

    “I cannot in good conscience stay affiliated with Never Back Down (NBD) given the statements in the Washington Post today. They are not true and an unwanted distraction at a critical time for Governor DeSantis,” said Never Back Down adviser Jeff Roe, following his departure from the super PAC.

    Talk to the hand…

    The DeSantis campaign is putting on a good face, saying in a statement: “We have full confidence in the NBD ground game and field operation, which is second to none. There is a stellar team in place and we appreciate their independent efforts to fight for Ron DeSantis.”

    On Monday, DeSantis reportedly said that Roe’s resignation is “not a distraction,” and stressed that he has nothing to do with the “separate entity.”

    Of course… then we have this:

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 23:05

  • Chasing The Rally Now Requires High Conviction
    Chasing The Rally Now Requires High Conviction

    By Michael Msika, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

    With good news on interest rates and the economy priced into stocks at this point, chasing the rally could soon become a lot more difficult.

    Fed officials tried to tone down excitement about rate cuts over the weekend, with markets starting to look seriously stretched. European stocks have jumped 11% since late October, with about two-thirds of Stoxx 600 members now above their 200-day moving average — although the level of bullishness is not yet extreme. And adding risk at the end of December is probably not on the cards for many investors.

    For Societe Generale strategists led by Roland Kaloyan, an upside scenario has been supported by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on rate cuts, strong US jobs data and an unexpected drop in oil prices. But the strategists are warning against buying into the rally from here and recommend caution around a Goldilocks outcome where the job market and consumer demand remain resilient but inflation falls quickly.

    “It is far easier for the market to price in the monetary policy impact — the Fed gave three cuts, the market is pricing in six — rather than the impact of inflation trends on revenues and margin,” Kaloyan says. “The market made a similar mistake last year by pricing in rate hikes but mispricing the impact of inflation on profits. The risk could be the other way around for 2024.”

    Meanwhile, the ECB had a much less dovish stance than the Fed at its last meeting, which could mean a slower pivot in Europe than in the US. Final Eurozone inflation numbers later today will help set the tone this week.

    Still, talk from central bankers won’t change investor positioning that much, according to Pierre Veyret, technical analyst at ActivTrades. “While some may think markets may have gone too high too quickly, investors will probably need more substantial evidence than just plain semantics that they were wrong with their dovish anticipations before bringing significant adjustments to their risk exposure,” he says. 

    With that in mind, traders may seek refuge in technicals and watch how benchmarks behave around key levels. DayByDay technical analyst Valerie Gastaldy says that the next big level for the MSCI World index is an all-time high, which could be reached by the end of the year.

    Still, “overbought conditions are a hanging sword,” she says, while also noting that softness in the market is possible after December’s option expiry.

    Trading volumes also typically come down after the December expiry and as holidays approach, setting the scene for some slightly less predictable market moves and providing another reason for caution into the year-end.

    “Recent developments point to a good year for stocks in 2024, even if the current enthusiasm seems somewhat exaggerated from a shorter-term perspective and a setback is highly likely,” says Unicredit strategist Christian Stocker. “The positives are priced in, sit back and enjoy the holidays,” he says.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 22:45

  • Major Pharmacy Chains Handing Over Patient Records To Law Enforcement Without Warrants
    Major Pharmacy Chains Handing Over Patient Records To Law Enforcement Without Warrants

    A startling revelation has emerged from a recent congressional investigation: several leading pharmacy chains in the United States, including CVS Health, Kroger, and Walgreens Boots Alliance, have been found to provide patients’ medical records to law enforcement agencies without warrants.

    Initiated in June, the congressional review targeted eight prominent pharmacy chains to scrutinize their privacy practices in response to rising public concerns about health privacy and surveillance. This investigation, led by Senator Ron Wyden, Representative Pramila Jayapal, and Representative Sara Jacobs, was propelled into motion following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, which heightened fears about the confidentiality of medical records.

    Key findings from the probe:

    • Lack of Legal Review: CVS Health, Kroger, and Rite Aid, among others, do not require legal review before complying with law enforcement requests for patient records. This practice puts immense pressure on pharmacy staff, who are not legal experts, to immediately respond to such demands.
    • Inconsistent Privacy Protections: The investigation discovered a concerning disparity in how these pharmacies handle government demands for patient data. Many Americans are left vulnerable due to inconsistent privacy protections across different pharmacy chains.
    • Warrantless Sharing: Alarmingly, none of the eight surveyed pharmacies require a warrant before sharing pharmacy records with law enforcement, except where state law mandates otherwise.
    • Transparency and Notification: Only a few companies, like CVS Health, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Kroger, have committed to issuing annual transparency reports regarding law enforcement demands. Amazon Pharmacy stands out as the only entity that proactively notifies patients of law enforcement requests for their records, barring legal prohibitions.

    Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), patients in the U.S. have the right to know who accesses their health information. That said, one has to request this disclosure data, as healthcare providers are not obliged to provide it. This gap in the HIPAA provisions leaves room for unchecked access to sensitive medical information by law enforcement without patients’ knowledge.

    Officials with CVS, Kroger and Rite Aid said they instruct their pharmacy staff members to process law enforcement requests on the spot, saying the staff members face “extreme pressure to immediately respond,” the lawmakers’ letter said.

    The eight pharmacy giants told congressional investigators that they collectively received tens of thousands of legal demands every year, and that most were in connection with civil lawsuits. It’s unclear how many were related to law enforcement demands, or how many requests were fulfilled.

    Only one of the companies, Amazon, said it notified customers when law enforcement demanded its pharmacy records unless there was a legal prohibition, such as a “gag order,” preventing it from doing so, the lawmakers said. -WaPo

    The lawmakers have called on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address these shortcomings and revamp HIPAA standards. Senator Wyden, voicing concerns on social media, warned of a potential ‘witch hunt’ in Republican-led states, where law enforcement could misuse this access to prosecute women for abortion-related procedures or even birth control.

    CVS retorted that its practices are in alignment with industry standards and HIPAA regulations, while Amazon reiterated its commitment to customer privacy.

    According to the lawmakers, “Americans deserve to have their private medical information protected at the pharmacy counter.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 22:25

  • On Abortion, One Size Won’t Fit All
    On Abortion, One Size Won’t Fit All

    Authored by Thomas W. Smith via RealClear Wire,

    The Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision did not outlaw abortion. The decision asserted that there does not exist a constitutional right to abortion and sent the issue back to the states to resolve with a limited role for the federal government (as was the case prior to 1973).

    The Founding Fathers who met in Philadelphia to give life to a venerable Republic had great vision. Having chafed under monarchy, they shared a profound concern that a powerful central government could become increasingly intrusive, and knew that power tends to corrupt. As an antidote, the Constitution they created clearly states that any power not specifically allocated to the federal government remains with the states.

    The problem, and it is not a new one, is that political partisans on each side tend to forget their civics when a political issue of great moment arises for which there is no consensus. On the issue of abortion, which is literally life and death,  the country is deeply divided. For many Americans, it is tantamount to murder. Even more Americans believe it is a matter of personal freedom.

    Compromise between those two sides is not easy to find. It requires some to concede that it might not be murder, and others to concede that there can be limitations on personal freedom. There cannot be “half murder.” So, the two sides fight it out.

    The outlines of a political compromise are not difficult to sketch out, although they seem morally unsatisfying. Does an abortion before 15 weeks not take a life? Does that mean one day before 15 weeks does not take a life? That one day after 15 weeks, it does take a life? Think about what took place in those first 15 weeks. Sperm and an egg come together and create an organism that grows into a human life form in 3 1/2 months. Does not abortion during those 15 weeks, like abortion after 15 weeks, end a potential life?

    The polls show that most Americans are abortion moderates, not binary “pro-life” or “pro-choice” absolutists. In one scientific survey after another, it is clear that relatively few people believe abortion should always or never be legal. Nevertheless, and understandably, the abortion issue is viewed quite differently in different states. Abortion, in spite of those polls, is now banned or severely restricted at all stages of pregnancy in 15 states. Both sides should applaud the Supreme Court decision. It is clearly more “small-d” democratic than the rule of law that preceded Dobbs.

    The abortion issue remains high-pitched. Emotional. Divisive. Counterproductive. It has enhanced disrespect for government. The Democratic Party sees the abortion issue as an opportunity to gain votes. The Democrats’ message is that Republican candidates want to diminish your freedoms, that the Supreme Court decision is flawed, that the abortion issue should remain with the federal government.

    This is at a time when the rule of law is under a multifaceted attack. The rule of law is precious. It is vulnerable. It exists more because of compliance than enforcement. For compliance to be effective, to be as universal as possible requires respect for government. Unfortunately, respect for government today is, at least since it has been measured, at an all-time low.

    Unfortunately, the heated debate over abortion has contributed to that alienation for half a century, and it’s only getting more partisan. Those who care about other issues other than reproductive rights can do something about it. Candidates for federal office, regardless of their political party, could state clearly what an overwhelming majority of Americans know to be true: that the moral dimensions of abortion are complex, and passionate people of good will are on both sides of the issue. Then they can state, as Nikki Haley has done, their own position on the issue, followed by a realistic assessment of the political realities. That means acknowledging that one law, in one jurisdiction, is not the answer.

    Democrats, particularly those who claim to fear that our democracy is hanging by a thread, do their cause no favor by pretending that they have never heard of the doctrine of federalism. Democrats do damage to the country and their own cause when they demonize Republican political candidates with dishonest attack ads over this issue. Or when they claim they want to enshrine all the elements of Roe v. Wade into federal law while deceiving voters about the elements of that jagged jurisprudence they know are unpopular, such as parental consent.

    For their part, Republicans campaigned for five decades to return this issue to the states. When legislative action and statewide referendums don’t go their way – and they haven’t been – it’s hypocritical to start pushing for a federal ban. And unpopular.

    That this issue is now in the hands of the state could eventually help tone down the abortion issue. It should help all voters recognize the issue is complex, that one law does not fit all, that we are fortunate to have a constitutional government. That the issue properly rests with the states.

    No matter what one believes with regard to abortion, one should also be concerned with preserving the rule of law, with preserving the greatest country in the history of humankind.

    Thomas W. Smith is chairman of OpenTheBooks.com.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 22:05

  • Actually Axios, An Unproductive Congress Is A Good Thing 
    Actually Axios, An Unproductive Congress Is A Good Thing 

    New data from analytics firm Quorum shows that the 118th Congress is on the verge of becoming the least productive in decades, possibly even in history. Interestingly, this is being viewed negatively by Axios journalists, who seemingly do not understand that internal conflicts within the House Republican majority have been a blessing in disguise that has only slowed down the federal government’s ability to enact new legislation in a climate of overregulation weighing on economic productivity. 

    “Just 20 bills have been passed by both chambers and signed into law this year, with another four currently awaiting President Biden’s signature,” Axios journalist Andrew Solender wrote. 

    Solender continued, “That’s far below even historically unproductive first years: The 104th, 112th and 113th Congresses, in which Republicans controlled one or both chambers with Democrats Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in the White House, passed between 70 and 73 laws.” 

    Source: Axios

    X users state an unproductive federal government is a blessing: 

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    According to a recent report by the center-right think tank American Action Forum, the Biden administration has increased the regulatory burden by $318 billion in total costs and more than 218 million hours of paperwork in the last two years (as of May of this year). 

    AAF noted, “An increased regulatory burden erects barriers to entry that are negatively associated with firm births, firm deaths, and increased profits among incumbent firms – meaning regulations inhibit new market entrants while cementing the position of existing firms.” 

    Fewer regulations are a start; as one X user pointed out, “Now do the spending.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 21:45

  • Are Smartphones Really Making Kids Dumb?
    Are Smartphones Really Making Kids Dumb?

    Authored by Ross Muscato via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    After decades in the classroom, award-winning teacher Steve Gardiner, of Billings, Montana, became acutely aware of a new problem making it difficult for his high-school students to learn.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

    Ironically, it was the so-called smartphone.

    “The phones were disruptive and distracting—the most disruptive and distracting thing in the classroom in my 38 years of teaching,” Mr. Gardiner, now retired, told The Epoch Times.

    Students could not stop looking at them. And when they weren’t looking at them, they were thinking about looking at them. I called it an addiction.”

    Experts now are calling attention to how smartphone use in the classroom can have negative effects on learning and safety at school. They show evidence that suggests allowing students to keep the devices with them during the school day leads to poorer academic performance, and sometimes even compromised safety and an increased chance of devastating consequences of bullying.

    Mr. Gardiner takes teaching—and impediments to it—seriously. He holds a doctorate in education, served three years on the board of directors of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. He was Montana’s Teacher of the Year in 2008.

    While teaching English at Billings Senior High School, he was so concerned about the impact of phones on learning that he conducted an informal survey. He asked eight business owners in town how they addressed employee use of cellphones on the job.

    “It was amazing,” Mr. Gardiner said. “All but one had a variation of the same policy, and that was that texting on the job was not allowed, and an employee would be given two warnings, if caught texting, and after that, he would be terminated.”

    The only exception was the local newspaper, he said, because staff sending texts “to ask questions, research, and receive information was part of the job.”

    Teens Tethered to Phones

    As the government response to the COVID-19 pandemic caused social isolation and prolonged absences from school, children’s time online increased dramatically.

    In the United States, children and teens aged 10 to 14 more than doubled their daily time online, going from an average of 3.8 hours to 7.7 hours, according to research published in a JAMA Pediatrics research letter on Nov. 1, 2021.

    A group of teens look at a photograph taken on a smartphone in Times Square in New York City on Dec. 1, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

    Even as quarantine restrictions were reversed, the authors wrote, “screen use remains persistently elevated.”

    Almost all students have smartphones now.

    “Getting a smartphone is now a rite of passage for most children and adolescents in the United States,” states Common Sense Media in its 2023 study titled “Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person’s Smartphone Use.”

    The study notes that “about half of U.S. children get their smartphone by age 11.”

    Common Sense Media—citing its own data and research from Peggy Rideout and the Pew Research Center—reported that 88 percent to 95 percent of teens (aged 13 to 18) have their own smartphone.

    Shortly after Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007, almost all schools implemented some sort of ban on phones.

    But the breadth of the ban has fluctuated over the years.

    In 2009, 90 percent of U.S. schools had bans on cell phones in class, according to the National Education Association (NEA).

    By 2015, only 67 percent of schools had cell phone bans.

    In 2020, the number of schools banning smartphones had jumped back up to 77 percent of schools, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

    Teachers have been competing with cell phones for the eyes and ears of students for more than a decade, an insight documented by a 2010 Pew Research Center study. It includes data from 2009, when 90 percent of U.S. schools had cellphone bans.

    Of the teens surveyed, 62 percent said they could have their phones in school but not in class, and 24 percent were not allowed to have phones on school property. Of those who attended a school with a total ban, 65 percent brought their phones to school anyway, and 58 percent texted in class.

    While in class, 64 percent of teens said they had texted, and 25 percent had made or received a call, researchers found.

    High school students sit at a table holding multiple digital devices such as phones and tablets during a class lesson. (LBeddoe/Shutterstock)

    Growing Opposition to Phones in School

    Arnold Glass understands well the lure and attraction of the phone to students.

    Mr. Glass, a professor of cognitive psychology at Rutgers University, led a team that, in 2018, published the first academic study documenting how cell phones in classrooms lower student test scores.

    “The negative effects of cell phones in the classroom were immediately obvious, which led to the initial bans,” Mr. Glass told The Epoch Times.

    “However, there was pushback from parents and school boards, and principals caved in to what they knew was a destructive policy” and allowed students to bring them to school.

    “Now school boards are being sued by parents for outcomes—including bullying—that are consequences of permitting cell phones in schools,” he said. “So, the self-protective bans are being reinstated.”

    While bans in varying forms are common now throughout the nation, only Florida has made it the law. In May, two weeks before announcing his presidential run, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 379, which prohibits student use of phones in class during instructional time in public schools.

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis shows off five bills to ‘let kids be kids’ at a ceremony in Tampa, Fla., on May 17, 2023. (Courtesy of Florida Governor’s Office)

    And in Florida, the school board of Orange County Public Schools (OCPS)—the eighth largest public school district in the country—instituted an even more restrictive cell phone policy than the state law.

    Under the new regulations, approved in August, students are prohibited, except in an emergency, from using their phones at any time during the school day. Students are allowed to have their phones on them, as long as they’re kept in a backpack.

    OCPS now is conducting a survey asking students, parents, and teachers about the policy and how it can be improved. The survey results will be released after winter break.

    Yet already there is positive feedback on the phone restrictions, OCPS media relations manager Michael Ollendorff told The Epoch Times.

    Anecdotally, we are seeing an improvement in grades, and more positive in-person interactions among students,” Mr. Ollendorff said.

    “We are also finding that during lunchtime—when in the past kids were busy on their phones—they’re now playing games, including pickleball and cornhole.”

    Lawmakers in Congress also are considering the topic of cellphones in school.

    In October, U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) introduced the Focus on Learning Act. The bill would appropriate $5 million for the Secretary of Education to “conduct a study regarding the use of mobile devices in elementary schools, and to establish a pilot program of awarding grants to enable certain schools to create a school environment free of mobile devices.”

    China, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and other nations have established variations of bans on phones in class.

    In August, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) called for an international ban on smartphones in classrooms. The United States is a member of UNESCO.

    Proof of the Problem

    “Dividing attention in the classroom reduces exam performance,” Mr. Glass showed in a 2017 study published in the academic journal Educational Psychology. He co-authored the work with Mengxue Kang, a fellow professor of cognitive psychology at Rutgers.

    The study is often referenced by those advocating for bans or curtailed access to phones in school.

    “I’ve studied learning and memory for over 50 years,” Mr. Glass said. One of his main pursuits has been “to create instruction tools to improve performance in the classroom.”

    Research and analysis of the academic performance of his students from 2005 through 2010 showed that the technology and tools he implemented in his teaching and in the classroom environment were producing positive results, he said.

    Instructor Blanca Claudio teaches a history lesson in Spanish in a dual language academy class at Franklin High School in Los Angeles on May 25, 2017. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

    “The students were doing better in their exams every year until 2010, when we hit a ceiling, and then marks started falling, and I needed to see why,” Mr. Glass said.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 21:25

  • October Was The 2nd Biggest Month Of Foreign Selling Of US Stocks Ever, Officials Dump TSYs As Gold Reserves Soar
    October Was The 2nd Biggest Month Of Foreign Selling Of US Stocks Ever, Officials Dump TSYs As Gold Reserves Soar

    For the second month in a row, total foreign net long-term portfolio securities inflows to the US were tiny (just $3.3BN)…

    Source: Bloomberg

    October was an ugly month for US equities (only to be followed by two months of staggering gains)…

    Source: Bloomberg

    …and now we have a good idea who was behind that selling. The latest TIC dats shows October saw the second biggest month of foreign selling of US stocks ever…

    While both private and official entities were sellers of stocks in October, Foreign Official entities were net sellers of US Treasuries…

    Source: Bloomberg

    …but Private entities were buyers of Treasuries…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Belgium and Luxembourg were the biggest sellers of US Treasuries (-$31.6BN and -$28.2BN respectively) and China was also a seller (-$8.5BN)

    Combining China and Belgium’s data (since Beijing is using Euroclear as custodian for many of its TSY holdings), we see that “China” sold over $40BN in TSYs in October – its second biggest-selling month since Nov 2016…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Finally, we continue to broadly see the trend of de-dollarization with gold holdings on the rise as UST holdings slide lower…

    Source: Bloomberg

    It really began gathering pace in 2019…

    Source: Bloomberg

    …and if Powell pivots as promised, we suspect that will continue.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 21:05

  • Investigation Leads To Additional Details Regarding The Mastermind Behind Secret Chinese Biolab In California
    Investigation Leads To Additional Details Regarding The Mastermind Behind Secret Chinese Biolab In California

    Authored by Steve Ispas and Lear Zhou via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    An Epoch Times investigation has revealed further details on Jiabei “Jesse” Zhu, the person behind the black-market biolab discovered in California, as well as his connections with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

    The warehouse interior of a suspected biolab, in Reedley, Calif., on July 31, 2023. (Nathan Su/The Epoch Times)

    The secret biolab operated in a warehouse in Reedley, California, about 25 miles southeast of Fresno. It was discovered on Dec. 19, 2022, by Jesalyn Harper, a code enforcement officer with the City of Reedley Fire Department.

    In the warehouse, Ms. Harper discovered thousands of vials of infectious agents, including coronavirus, chlamydia, E. coli, streptococcus pneumonia, HIV, hepatitis, herpes, rubella, and malaria.

    On Oct. 19, 2023, Mr. Zhu was arrested in California and charged with manufacturing and distributing misbranded medical devices and for making false statements to the FDA.

    Mr. Zhu filed a suit against the city of Reedley for $30 million and against the county for $50 million. The prospect of having a conversation with the city leaders regarding his claims was used to entice him to show up at the warehouse and have him arrested on the spot by FDA agents with automatic machine guns in their hands.

    Mr. Zhu had claimed that he was a consultant named David He hired to help get Universal Meditech and Prestige Biotech out of the trouble they were in. Prestige Biotech is the company that owns the biolab in Reedley.

    However, City of Reedley officials recognized him as Universal Meditech’s president.

    This is not a hired consultant; this is the lab CEO. The picture we have of the lab CEO matches this guy perfectly,” said Nicole Zieba, Reedley city manager, in an interview with The Epoch Times.

    But she still cannot figure out what Mr. Zhu was thinking in suing the city, pretending to be someone else, and bringing attention to himself, which ultimately led to his arrest.

    I’m not sure if it’s stupidity, arrogance, or some long con that we simply haven’t figured out … but it certainly is confounding and baffling to me,” said Ms. Zieba.

    The investigation by The Epoch Times revealed additional connections between Mr. Zhu and the CCP.  Mr. Zhu’s father, Zongxiang Zhu, was born in 1923 and is a famed acupuncture expert and medical educator in China. He also serves as Director Professor of Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, according to 163.com.

    According to a Chinese encyclopedia, until recently Zongxiang Zhu has been involved in various activities and has been a very well recognized figure in China.

    Jiabei Zhu’s mother, Pengdi Zhu, was listed as one of the ultimate beneficial owners at Aide Modern Cattle Industry (China) Company Limited and at least four other Chinese companies controlled by Jiabei Zhu, according to the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party report that was released on Nov. 15, 2023.

    Pengdi Zhu’s name is also listed as the beneficial owner of Qingdao Aide Biotechnology Development Fund (General Partnership), a company that partners with Jiabei Zhu’s company Ai De Biopharmaceutical Industry (Qingdao) Co., Ltd.

    Shanghai Kunpeng Technology Investment and Development Limited, a company that has Pengdi Zhu as its legal representative and that is currently suspended according to the Shanghai Businesses listing website, invested 2,250,000 yuan (approximately $314,879) in Aide Modern Cattle Industry (Qingdao) Company Limited in December 2020.

    According to the House Select Committee’s report, the main company Jiabei Zhu controlled, Aide Modern Cattle Industry (China) Company Limited, was established in 2002 with a registered equity of 181,000,000 yuan ($25,219,092 with today’s exchange rate).

    According to the company’s listing website, the company has gotten into 62 lawsuits, the most recent one a financial loan contract dispute, which triggered a 10 million yuan ($1,393,418 under current rate) equity freeze and ended in an execution that targeted 12,294,755 yuan ($1,713,698 under current rate) on Oct. 27, 2023.

    According to the updated status on the qcc.com website, Aide Modern Cattle Industry (China) Company Limited was listed as “abnormally operating” on Sept. 23, 2021 because people were not able to contact the company via the registered address.

    Though The Epoch Times did not obtain the exact date Mr. Zhu entered the United States as Qiang (David) He, the year 2021 matches the time that his main company in China was listed as “abnormally operating” due to lack of contact.

    Aide Modern Cattle Industry (China) Company Limited is still active, according to the qcc.com website. Xuejun Zhang, board member of the public company Jushri Technologies Inc., was also listed as an active board member of Aide Modern Cattle Industry (China) Company Limited, on page 39 of the Jushri Technologies 2022 annual report issued April 24, 2023.

    Mr. Zhu had a judgment against him in 2016 for $330 million in Canadian dollars from the Canadian Supreme Court as well as another judgment for $8.5 million in Canadian dollars in a Hong Kong court in the same year. However, no lawsuits were filed in China for the same damages incurred, where Aide continues to operate.

    Other connections include Barry Zhang (Bai-Rui Zhang), who is listed as Prestige Biotech’s registered agent by the Nevada Secretary of State; and Michael M. Lin (Meng-Ru Lin) of Lin Law Group in Nevada, who is the leading attorney hired by Universal Meditech. Both have close relationships with the CCP’s United Front.

    Mr. Zhang was listed as one of the community leaders in Hunan Benevolent Association of America, according to its official website, while Mr. Lin was an active sponsor for the Las Vegas Chinese Spring Festival Gala supported by Consulate General of P.R.C. in San Francisco.

    Universal Meditech also seemed to have a close relationship with the Chinese government. Its COO, Candace Liu, attended the 2019 China-California Business Forum as a guest. The forum was mainly organized by the Chinese General Consulate Los Angeles as well as the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, according to a UNE News report.

    Currently, according to LinkedIn, Ms. Liu is the vice president of business development, North America, at jd.com, one of China’s largest online retail companies.

    The California biolab received more than $1.3 million in unexplained payments from banks in China while in operation, according to U.S. lawmakers.

    Possible Ebola in Freezer

    In May 2023, several agencies inspected the lab—the CDC, FDA, County Public Health, and California Department of Public Health. They looked at all the items in the refrigerators and freezers that were labeled and that they could determine what they were. However, there were many other items that were not labeled or were labeled with a code that the city officials had no key to.

    The interior of a biolab, in Reedley, Calif., on July 31, 2023. (Courtesy of City of Reedley)

    The CDC created a report for the 20 items that were labeled. All these items were sprayed down, disinfected, and put in special waste containers to be incinerated.

    In July, a city worker found a freezer that was labeled “Ebola.”

    “It was a white piece of paper that was folded over where you couldn’t read it unless you specifically unfolded it. And that paper read Ebola, and it was handwritten,” Ms. Harper with the city of Reedley told The Epoch Times.

    Nothing inside that freezer was labeled. This gave Ms. Harper some sleepless nights. The CDC would not investigate something unless it had a specific label on it.

    Unless an item is actually labeled Ebola, it doesn’t fall under the CDC purview for their select agents,” said Ms. Harper.

    The bags of potential Ebola virus were shoved in the freezer in a disorderly fashion. They were all in silver sealable bags.

    The city never found out what was actually in the bags, as the CDC never examined them.

    “They didn’t come, they didn’t test, they didn’t even ask us to sample, and I think that’s why the congressional report was so critical to [the] CDC,” said Ms. Harper.

    Nevertheless, the samples were destroyed.

    Some of the other refrigerators were found to have things of unknown nature spilled on the bottom of the trays, and it looked like they were taped and moved around in the warehouse or from another warehouse, Ms. Harper said.

    “Everything seems to have been done very haphazardly,” she said.

    The interior of a suspected biolab, in Reedley, Calif., on July 31, 2023. (Courtesy of City of Reedley)

    Previously, the CDC ended up hanging up on Ms. Harper on a different inquiry. In March 2023 during an inspection warrant, after the inspectors left, Ms. Harper was left alone in the building as she had to determine whether to turn off the power to the building in order to prevent a fire, given the disorderly things in the warehouse.

    With the power off, the freezers’ contents would melt with potentially dangerous consequences due to the pathogens. This is when she called the CDC for advice.

    It was a very short-lived and frustrating phone call that ended with them hanging up,” said Ms. Harper.

    Ms. Harper said under-the-radar entities like the biolab can purchase “a lot of chemicals and a lot of biologicals easily and no one is watching over them to make sure they know what they are doing.” (Courtesy of Jesalyn Harper)

    She ended up not turning off the power in the part of the building where the freezers were after she consulted with Ms. Zieba.

    While Ms. Zieba and Ms. Harper are not aware of any other possible charges against Mr. Zhu, they feel that the Energy and Commerce congressional committees should get involved, since the select committee on the CCP does not have authority over privately funded labs, according to Ms. Zieba.

    There needs to be a single source within the government that is responsible for private labs,” added Ms. Zieba.

    Both Ms. Zieba and Ms. Harper added that the congressional investigation was very non-partisan and involved great cooperation.

    “From the way they talked, you couldn’t tell who was a Democrat and who was a Republican. And I thought, wow, this is phenomenal,” said Ms. Zieba.

    While these viruses could have been used for research, they could also be weaponized.

    It is all in the intention,” said Ms. Harper.

    According to Dr. Limeng Yan, a virologist who worked at the WHO Reference Lab at the University of Hong Kong until 2020, it is extremely difficult to transport these dangerous pathogens internationally and even more difficult to obtain them in the United States.

    “If you need to do international transport, you have to acquire a very strict license from the local government and also the imported government; that means you have to get both approval from the country you ship it from and also [from] the United States. And also, all of these shipments need to be carefully monitored by the couriers, like, we use FedEx or DHL. Without a license, it could only be done illegally,” Mr. Yan told The Epoch Times.

    The exterior of a biolab, in Reedley, Calif., on July 31, 2023. (Nathan Su/The Epoch Times)

    Zhu’s Legal Case

    Mr. Zhu is represented by Tony Capozzi, a well-known defense attorney in the Fresno area. Right after he was announced as Mr. Zhu’s defense attorney, Mr. Capozzi mentioned to another outlet that Mr. Zhu applied for asylum, but the attorney provided no confirmation or evidence when repeatedly asked by The Epoch Times.

    Mr. Capozzi did respond to The Epoch Times stating that he is waiting for the evidence on the criminal charges filed against his client Mr. Zhu.

    I have not received any such discovery. The government indicated that it was not using the select committee report in the criminal case,” Mr. Capozzi stated.

    Mr. Zhu pleaded not guilty to both charges on Nov. 16, and in the detention hearing, he also entered denial of forfeiture to the properties in the warehouse that have been mostly destroyed by the Reedley City under an abatement court order.

    The next court date is set to Jan. 17, 2024 for a status conference. Until then, Mr. Zhu is to stay in custody, according to the court status website.

    A date for the trial to start has not yet been set.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 20:45

  • Mexican President Rages Against New 'Migrant Arrest' Law In Texas, Vows To Challenge
    Mexican President Rages Against New ‘Migrant Arrest’ Law In Texas, Vows To Challenge

    Mexican President  Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) is spitting mad after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a measure into law that allows state law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants who have entered the US without authorization.

    We’re always going to be against these measures, and we want to say to our countrymen and migrants that we’re defending them. The governor of Texas is acting this way because he wants to be a candidate for vice president,” AMLO said during a Tuesday press briefing, adding “He’s not going to gain anything with this measure.”

    The move comes after Texas – fed up with a federal government that continues letting illegal immigrants pour across the Rio Grande and then roam with impunity – took matters into its own hands on Monday, enacting a law that makes it a state crime to illegally enter the Lone Star State from a foreign nation.  

    When that law takes effect in March, illegal border crossings will become a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Repeat offenses will be a second-degree felony subject to prison sentences from two to 20 years. Judges can kill the charges if an arrested immigrant agrees to go back to Mexico. 

    Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott signs three border security bills into law at a border wall construction site in Brownsville (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez)

    “President Biden’s deliberate inaction has left Texas to fend for itself,” said Abbott. “Today, I will sign three laws to better protect Texas—and America—from President Biden’s border neglect.” The other laws provide for an additional $1.54 billion to continue building border barriers, and increase the minimum jail sentence for migrant-smuggling from two years to 10.  

    Some sheriffs are uneasy about their capacity to hold and manage what could be an enormous population of detainees. “In just one section of the 1,254-mile Texas border with Mexico, around the cities of Eagle Pass and Del Rio, federal agents encountered 38,000 migrants in October,” reports the New York Times.

    Abbott’s signing ceremony comes as jaw-dropping hordes of migrants swamped the border in Eagle Pass, and as the Border Patrol has halted freight train activity on two railway bridges connecting Texas and Mexico, as smugglers pack migrants like cattle onto northbound rail cars. 

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    The law authorizing Texas police officers to arrest illegal immigrants is certain to precipitate a legal showdown between Texas and the federal government — one that could ultimately see the US Supreme Court take a new look at their decision in Arizona v United States. In that June 2012 case, the court ruled by a 5-3 majority in favor of the federal government monopolizing immigration policy.  

    However, as law professor Josh Blackman points out at The Volokh Conspiracy, the Arizona majority decision included a sentence that left open the issue of detentions like those enabled by the new Texas law:

    “There is no need in this case to address whether reasonable suspicion of illegal entry or another immigration crime would be a legitimate basis for prolonging a detention, or whether this too would be preempted by federal law.”  

    Democrats are already urging the Justice Department to intervene. In a letter to the DOJ, San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro and 20 other representatives ask Attorney General Merrick Garland to “assert your authority over federal immigration and foreign policy and pursue legal action, as appropriate, to stop this unconstitutional and dangerous legislation from going into effect.” 

    Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), a union representing 18,000 support Border Patrol personnel, has an entirely different view: “As the flagrant disregard of our laws too often is the norm throughout our country, Texans can be proud that their governor will not back down to pervasive and radical woke ideology.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 20:25

  • Many Republicans Find Ally In RFK Over Vaccines, But Remain Loyal To Trump
    Many Republicans Find Ally In RFK Over Vaccines, But Remain Loyal To Trump

    Authored by Jeff Louderback via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Many Republicans still want a reckoning over the government-imposed pandemic lockdowns and mandates, particularly for vaccines. While they support former President Donald Trump, they don’t resonate with his praise of COVID-19 vaccines and Operation Warp Speed.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Shutterstock)

    When it comes to the vaccine issue, many of them align with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who remains one of the most outspoken critics of the shots’ safety.

    Pundits and voters are at odds about whether the issue will play a role in determining if President Trump returns to the White House, or if his stance will shift support to Mr. Kennedy, who is running as an independent candidate.

    In a three-way general election Quinnipiac poll conducted on Nov. 1, Mr. Kennedy pulled more votes from President Trump than from President Joe Biden, flipping what would have been a narrow victory for President Trump to a win for President Biden. The scenario repeated when independent candidate Cornel West was added to the hypothetical ballot.

    President Trump maintains a commanding lead among Republican presidential candidates in every national poll.

    Mr. Kennedy is a favorite among independents and voters under the age of 45. President Biden dominates the Democratic field.

    President Trump’s defense of Operation Warp Speed, the program he rolled out in May 2020 to spur COVID-19 vaccine development and distribution amidst the pandemic, remains a sticking point for some of his supporters, who now say they will vote for Mr. Kennedy in 2024.

    Vice President Mike Pence (L) and President Donald Trump deliver an update on Operation Warp Speed in the Rose Garden of the White House on Nov. 13, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

    The initiative featured a partnership between the government, the military, and the private sector, with the government paying for millions of vaccine doses to be produced.

    MaryJo Perry, a longtime advocate for vaccine choice and a Trump supporter, thinks votes will be at a premium come Election Day, particularly because the independent field is becoming more competitive. Besides Mr. Kennedy and Mr. West, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) has hinted at a possible independent run.

    Ms. Perry, president of Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights, believes advocates for medical freedom could determine who is ultimately president.

    She believes that Mr. Kennedy is “pulling votes from Trump” because of the former president’s stance on the vaccines.

    “People care about medical freedom. It’s an important issue here in Mississippi, and across the country,” Ms. Perry told The Epoch Times.

    Trump should admit he was wrong about Operation Warp Speed and that COVID vaccines have been dangerous. That would make a difference among people he has offended.

    President Trump released a statement in March 2021 saying: “I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 Vaccine, that if I wasn’t President, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful ‘shot’ for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all.

    “I hope everyone remembers!”

    President Trump said in an interview on Fox News that without the vaccine, 100 million people might have died from COVID-19. He added that he is “very proud” of his efforts.

    The former president has on many occasions said that he is not in favor of vaccine mandates.

    “I really believe in somebody’s choice, somebody’s freedom. I’m a big fan of our freedoms, and people have to make that choice for themselves,” he said.

    The Trump campaign didn’t respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.

    Wes Farno, a Republican campaign strategist in Ohio, doesn’t believe a significant number of people will switch their votes from President Trump to Mr. Kennedy over the vaccines.

    President Trump won in Ohio by eight percentage points in both 2016 and 2020. The Ohio Republican Party recently endorsed President Trump for the nomination in 2024.

    Viola, 75, receives a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine from a health care worker located in the Skid Row community in Los Angeles on Feb. 10, 2021. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

    The positives of a Trump presidency far outweigh the negatives,” Mr. Farno said.

    Only 16 percent of adults had received the newest COVID-19 vaccine boosters as of Nov. 25, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

    A Kaiser Family Foundation survey of adults released in September showed that political affiliation is a factor in COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Eight in 10 Democrats said they trust the new shots compared to 1 in 3 Republicans.

    Only 24 percent of Republicans planned to get the new vaccine compared to 70 percent of Democrat respondents.

    Vaccine Safety Critic

    An environmental attorney, Mr. Kennedy founded Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit that aims to end childhood health epidemics by promoting vaccine safeguards, among other initiatives.

    Earlier this year, Mr. Kennedy told podcaster Joe Rogan that ivermectin was suppressed by the FDA so that the COVID-19 vaccines could be granted emergency use authorization.

    He has criticized Big Pharma, vaccine safety, and government mandates for years.

    Since launching his presidential campaign, Mr. Kennedy has made his stances on the COVID-19 vaccines, and vaccines in general, a frequent talking point.

    “I would argue that the science is very clear right now that they [vaccines] caused a lot more problems than they averted,” Mr. Kennedy said on “Piers Morgan Uncensored” in late April.

    “And if you look at the countries that did not vaccinate, they had the lowest death rates, they had the lowest COVID and infection rates.”

    Additional data show a “direct correlation” between excess deaths and high vaccination rates in developed countries, he said.

    Volunteers with Doctors Without Borders dump $17 million in fake money outside of Pfizer’s headquarters to protest high vaccine prices, in New York on Nov. 12, 2015. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

    A vocal opponent of the pharmaceutical industry, Mr. Kennedy has pledged to ban pharmaceutical advertising if elected president.

    Though critics call Mr. Kennedy a “conspiracy theorist” and “anti-vaccine” for speaking out about vaccine safety, multiple studies have shown that the COVID-19 vaccines are linked to a plethora of health conditions, including myocarditis and heart disease.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 20:05

  • Biden's Polling Numbers Tank: Three Reasons He's Losing Support
    Biden’s Polling Numbers Tank: Three Reasons He’s Losing Support

    Authored by Carolyn Phippen via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    This week, President Biden’s approval ratings took another hit, according to a national Monmouth University poll. Sixty-one percent said they disapprove of Biden’s job performance, leaving him with a 34% approval rating. His national polling numbers have lingered under 40%, with continuous new polling showing an all-time low standing with American voters. 

    After leaving his campaign headquarters Sunday, a reporter asked why he was losing to Trump in the polls. Biden responded with, “You’re reading the wrong polls.” But like most topics, Biden would rather ignore reality. There’s a reason polling reflects such a low national approval rating, with one major factor being Biden’s advanced age (81) four years after he was the oldest person ever elected president in U.S. history. Here are three other reasons many Americans will not support President Biden next year.

    Soaring Inflation

    “Bidenomics” has made Americans poorer, not richer. Every day, Americans feel painfully high prices at the grocery store, the gas pump, and on their utility bills. Everything is more expensive today than it used to be. To put this in perspective, when fictional character Kevin McCallister in the movie Home Alone made a trip to his local grocery store in 1990, he picked up items such as milk, orange juice, detergent, toilet paper, and more. With his dollar-off coupon, his grocery bill totaled $19.83. Today, that same grocery bill at my local store would total roughly $83.00. That’s a 300% increase.

    According to Consumer Price Index data, inflation is now double what it was when President Biden took office. Inflation averages 5.8%, which is double under Biden’s presidency than the four presidents before him.

    The Financial Times reported a poll that shows 70% of American voters believe Biden’s policies have harmed the U.S. economy or had no impact, leaving only 14% of voters who believe they’re better off financially than they used to be. For the Biden administration to falsely tout otherwise is delusional.

    Senseless Energy Policies

    Under Biden, electricity prices have soared up to 24.3%. America has been a world leader in reliable, clean, and affordable energy, all while being environmentally savvy about it.

    Recently, at the UN’s Climate Change Conference (COP28 summit), world leaders flew into Dubai on their private jets to lecture the world on their latest comical climate change agenda. They called for eliminating fossil fuels as they burned through fossil fuels (which emit CO2) to get there. It’s fine for them, but not for you or me.

    At the conference, Biden’s Climate Envoy, John Kerry, called for the world to eliminate coal production altogether, which accounts for a quarter of electricity in America. Imagine what that would do to our country if we got rid of 36% of our electricity.

    Good, reliable energy is what powers our livelihoods. Without electricity to heat our homes in the winter, many would die. This is no small matter, so the Biden administration should think twice before making outlandish calls to do away with our coal production. Not to mention the astronomical impact this would have on prices for consumers when a quarter of Americans already struggle to pay their inflated energy bills.

    Open Border

    Biden’s border crisis has gotten out of control. On Dec. 5, there were over 12,000 migrant encounters at the southern border, the highest number ever recorded in a single day. We cannot have a thriving country when our borders are open, welcoming all kinds of people, including drug lords and terrorists. This is why it’s imperative to vet those who we allow to come into America.  

    It’s important to have a tall wall and a wide gate – securing our open border and fighting back against drug and human traffickers while welcoming legal immigrants who love our country.

    My heart breaks for the 11-year-old girl who was raped and killed last summer in Pasadena, Texas, because of Biden’s horrific policies. Guatemalan immigrant Juan Carlos Garcia-Rodriguez is believed to have illegally crossed the border earlier this year and has been charged with capital murder. This young girl will never know what it’s like to go to prom, or graduate from high school, or fall in love and have a family of her own. All of that was taken from her.  

    This is one of the many foolish consequences of open borders, thanks to the Biden administration. How many lives would have been spared if we had responsible border security?

    No matter which way you slice it, Biden’s policies have harmed Americans since he’s taken office. If we want a thriving economy, unleashed American energy, and secured borders, Biden is absolutely not the man to vote for come November 2024, and his abysmal polling numbers show it.

    Carolyn Phippen is a candidate for Utah’s U.S. Senate. She is a wife and a mother of five boys, former staffer to Sen. Mike Lee, and resides in Draper, Utah.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 19:25

  • Colorado Supreme Court Disqualifies Trump From 2024 Ballot, Setting Up Supreme Court Challenge
    Colorado Supreme Court Disqualifies Trump From 2024 Ballot, Setting Up Supreme Court Challenge

    The Colorado Supreme Court has disqualified Donald Trump from Colorado’s 2024 presidential election ballot, and in a 4-3 ruling has effectively blocked Trump from seeking the presidency because of his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, citing the post-Civil War-era 14th Amendment to the US Constitution that bans insurrectionists from holding public office. The Colorado case was the first constitutional challenge to Trump’s 2024 run to go through a full trial.

    Voters, represented by the advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, had argued he should be barred from the ballot for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

    Colorado’s highest court – whose seven-member bench was entirely appointed by Democratic governors – overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the provision was intended to cover the presidency.

    In its ruling, the Democrat-controlled court found that Trump engaged in insurrection by inflaming his supporters with false claims of election fraud and directing them to the Capitol. The state justices determined that the office of the president is covered under the insurrection clause, which specifically lists those who previously took oaths to support the Constitution as “a member of Congress,” “officer of the United States,” “member of any State legislature” or an “executive or judicial officer of any State.” The district court had previously ruled that the office of the president was not covered under the clause. 

    The majority opinion was unsigned but joined by four of the seven justices.

    Those who voted for fascism are the following four Democrat-appointed judges:

    Three justices dissented from Tuesday’s decision: Chief Justice Brian Boatright, Carlos Samour and Justice Maria Berkenkotter. Each wrote separate dissents taking issue with how the plaintiffs brought their 14th Amendment lawsuit using a provision of Colorado election law.

    Berkenkotter wrote that “the majority construes the court’s authority too broadly.”

    “The questions presented here simply reach a magnitude of complexity not contemplated by the Colorado General Assembly for its election code enforcement statute,” wrote Boatright. “The proceedings below ran counter to the letter and spirit of the statutory timeframe because the Electors’ claim overwhelmed the process.”

    Samour similarly wrote that Colorado’s election law provides no “engine” for such a lawsuit, also noting that no federal legislation existed to enforce the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause.

    “Even if we are convinced that a candidate committed horrible acts in the past—dare I say, engaged in insurrection—there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office. Procedural due process is one of the aspects of America’s democracy that sets this country apart,” Samour wrote.

    Ironically, all this ruling will do is further cement Trump’s status as leading presidential candidate as it not only affirms his status as target #1 of the Biden Department of Justice and liberal court system, but will test the Conservative-dominated Supreme Court appeal over its interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which according to many including a Colorado District court,  does not apply to the Presidency.

    Indeed, as Vivek Ramaswami observed, the 14th Amendment was part of the “Reconstruction Amendments” that were ratified following the Civil War. “It was passed to prohibit former Confederate military and political leaders from holding high federal or state office. These men had clearly taken part in a rebellion against the United States: the Civil War. That makes it all the more absurd that a left-wing group in Colorado is asking a federal court to disqualify the 45th President on the same grounds, equating his speech to rebellion against the United States.”

    And there’s another legal problem: Trump is not a former “officer of the United States,” as that term is used in the Constitution, meaning Section 3 does not apply. As the Supreme Court explained in Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (2010), an “officer of the United States” is someone appointed by the President to aid him in his duties under Article II, Section 2. The term does not apply to elected officials, and certainly not to the President himself.

    The Framers of the 14th Amendment would be appalled to see this narrow provision—intended to bar former U.S. officials who switched to the Confederacy from seeking public office—being weaponized by a sitting President and his political allies to prevent a former President from seeking reelection. Our country is becoming unrecognizable to our Founding Fathers.

    The court put its ruling on hold until Jan. 4, so Trump can first seek review from the Supreme Court, which he will. Until then, Trump’s name automatically remains on the ballot until the justices resolve the appeal.

    “We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” wrote the court’s majority. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”

    Naturally, Trump’s campaign immediately denounced the ruling.

    “Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded, left-wing group’s scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump’s name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice,” a campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, said.

    “We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits.”

    Constitutional law scholar Jonathan Turley, who previously said the case has no solid legal basis, also responded to the decision:

    “My first impression remains that same. The court is dead wrong in my view… …It is striking that the court relies on Schenck v. U.S., where the Court upheld the denial of core free speech rights of a socialist opposing a war. The opinion of the Colorado Supreme Court is so sweeping that it would allow for tit-for-tat removals of candidates from ballots.”

    Others was just as harsh in their assessment, with many agreeing that this witch hunt will only boost Trump. Some, such as presidential candidate Vivek Ramswami, pledged to withdraw from the Colorado primary unless Trump is reapproved, and urged all other Republican candidates to do the same.

    Finally, here is Matt Taibbi’s kneejerk reaction:

    By now most readers will have heard that Donald Trump was disqualified from the ballot in the state of Colorado, by the Colorado State Supreme Court, for what amounts to a criminal offense neither proven nor charged. Fifth Amendment, Schmifth Amendment, apparently.

    This is a major escalation of the lawfare phenomenon that’s zoomed from simmer to boil in the seven short years since Trump was first elected in 2016. The glee of #Resistance dolts like Robert Reich and Dean Obeidallah at this decision shows that this was a move dreamed up at the very center of the bubble-within-a-bubble-within-a-bubble that is the blob of the modern Democratic Party. Racket readers, I had a piece planned for later on a quasi-related subject, but I’ll try to get it out in the day or so now.

    What a crazy effing country this is…

    Here is the Colorado Supreme Court Decision in its entirety.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 18:58

  • Bhandari: The Structure – Or Lack Thereof – Of India
    Bhandari: The Structure – Or Lack Thereof – Of India

    Authored by Jayant Bhandari via LewRockwell.com,

    Even in the urban centers in India, you can hire a daily wage worker for as low as US$4 per day. This laborer has no day off, no employment insurance, no vacations, no health benefits, and no pension. If he cannot find work one day, he must sell a utensil or two to buy food. He is always in debt, a slave of loan sharks, and lives in a stinking, feces-ridden slum with pigs wallowing in the cesspool and starved, agitated, rabies-afflicted stray dogs ready to pounce. He must pass on a monthly “rent” to the local goon, who passes on a cut to the police. When a family member falls ill, a common occurrence in his disease-ridden environment, his financial option is not always to take the sick to the hospital.

    Based on the 2011-12 survey, a staggering 65% of Indians find themselves in a shape akin to or worse than that of our daily wage worker. India suppressed the 2017-18 report, for it likely showed a worsening situation.

    In the dog-eat-dog, no-trust society, he is vulnerable to predation, not just from the conventional crooks but more importantly from his own family and friends, the society, and the government, with the only saving grace being that he hasn’t much to lose.

    He endures being spat at and slapped with equanimity. Dignity is an alien concept; he would suffocate if he understood it. Empathy is impossible to find; instead, he encounters schadenfreude from those around him. They are atomized and clueless that institutions should exist for their protection, not to prey on them.

    If his daughter gets raped when she goes out to the bush at night to relieve herself, they are unlikely to go to the police, partly for fear that she will be raped again and even “disappeared” if the rapist bribes right, but mostly because he and she feel no righteous indignation. They are part and parcel of the same society, well-adjusted to its degradations and depravities. Depending on the situation, they are opportunists, oppressors, victims, or, more suitably, jellyfish.Sports Research Triple…Buy New $26.95 ($0.30 / Count)(as of 07:43 UTC – Details)

    It is hard not to sympathize with her. However, without understanding her mindset and moral structure—or lack thereof—one cannot appreciate the complex entanglements that are Indian depravities and how virtually impossible it is to create a civilization. Christian missionaries of the past, deeply rooted in moral sentiments and, hence, unknowingly, in economics, had a sense of these challenges.

    The modern progressive, thinking that all successful people are wrong and the poor are inherently good, is, at best, stuck in a Groundhog Day. Lacking an understanding of the complexity and often driven more by virtue-signaling than wanting to do good, he fights for meme-level actions such as ending the caste system and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.

    Our daily wage worker is submissive and harbors an extreme inferiority complex, addressing you with “sir” in every sentence. However, if you afford him respect and a seat at a table, he transforms into a roaring tyrant. He sees all social relations through an oppressor-subservient lens. Even in moments of submission, you must watch your back, as his show of respect is transactional. Gratitude and honor are foreign concepts to him.

    If, through the magic of diversity quotas—potentially reaching 50% or more—he gets into a position of power, he will likely outdo his thoroughly corrupt predecessors in sadism, venality, and, of course, incompetence. He will be particularly ruthless with people of his kind. This is an essential part of India’s karmic cycle, the never-ending cycle of depravations. And without consciousness, the karmic cycle cannot be broken.

    Unhinged from any moral values, he and his daughter cannot discern right from wrong, perpetually swaying based on expediency, materialistic desires, and survival, fluidly, instinctively, without any thought or emotional reaction, compromising with the milieu.

    As if no emotional stress is involved, they don’t see their adjustments as compromises. When exploited, they willingly capitulate. Their instinct is to go after someone weaker to recoup their losses. When they have an opportunity to prey on someone, they feel no shame but a sense of achievement, openly advertising their exploits.

    In a society without a moral fabric, street-smartness and crookedness are glorified if successful.McCafe Premium Roast, …Buy New $34.93 ($0.42 / Count)(as of 07:43 UTC – Details)

    The happy-go-lucky adjustments to the savage society do not imply a carefree life—quite the contrary. Being both a predator and constantly being preyed on makes them cunning, as they consistently calculate when to attack, dodge, or submit. She, being a woman and physically weaker, makes up for it by being extra-cunning.

    Their minds work on magical thinking and superstitions, rendering them immune to reason. Unanchored to anything objective, they have no toehold. This condition leads to an existential crisis and free-floating chronic anxiety and makes them willing victims of quacks, cult leaders, and psychopaths.

    India is among the world’s most stressed and unhappy nations.

    In the new-age books, the poor people are depicted as happy, smiling, and satisfied with their meager possessions. Haven’t you seen their cute kids? Alas, politically correct and virtue-signaling readers want what is facile and easy on the brain. They want to feel good, not do good. Who will object to their talking about kissing and hugging dark-colored, wretched kids on the other side of the world whom they will never touch? They advocate for positivity as if it were a magical charm capable of altering reality.

    In their wretched existence, poverty-stricken people do find White visitors amusing or even godsends who can pass on some crumbs—and ephemeral catharsis and relief from their everyday drudgery. However, a true development economist—a profession rife with political hacks—instinctively knows that material poverty is often a symptom of inner, spiritual, moral poverty.

    Outsiders ushered in waves of civilizational influences to India. The British brought Victorian morals. Together with Christian missionaries, they bestowed a straightjacket of values, nutrients, institutions, social opprobrium, disinterested justice, equality, and the rule of law.

    This created an ecosystem for the emergence of a minority of Indian leaders. Most of these were petty, self-serving tyrants who used the façade of the fashion of the day, socialism, and the safety umbrella of British liberalism for their power-hungry projects and to undo the emerging liberal order. Many of these had been to universities in England, or the vague idea of self-governance would never have crossed their minds. This is worth mulling over. The concept of an individual being a sovereign of his life is uniquely Western.

    Not being grounded in Western values, they didn’t have the moral and rational faculties. At best, they learned in England the simplistic ideas of socialism, which, given the mental makeup they formed in their early years in India, is all they could see.

    A scarce one who grasped Western values desperately wanted the British to stay on.

    While everyone foresaw the inevitable consequences of British departure, the emerging “freedom fighters,” driven by an amoral psyche, hypocritically failed to factor in the repercussions. Many chose to relocate with the British, and some did so even earlier. The masses, devoid of the option to emigrate, preferred British rule over the arbitrary tyranny and sadism of Indian rulers. This unequivocally explains why Indians were silent bystanders and even aided foreigners when they arrived. There can be no patriotism without common values rooted in universal principles.

    The departure of the British consigned India to perdition.

    India has no core moral values, nothing like the Ten Commandments. Indian temples are dedicated to cathartic rituals involving singing or expecting material rewards from the gods, such as success in examinations that lead to positions that earn the most bribes. “Sins” are dos and don’ts, like how to deal with the cow. Searching for meaning and truth or seeking a higher purpose are concepts alien to the Indian mind. Such a society cannot even create leaders, let alone recognize and elevate them to higher positions.

    This is bewildering to those who were brought up in societies with the Ten Commandments ingrained in them, even if they are themselves atheists. What they think is a part of nature’s law isn’t.

    Actively encouraged by the British, a series of movements swept through the 19th century to eliminate some of the most brutal, inhuman, and superstitious practices. This came to be known as the Bengal Renaissance. The British believed that to have moral values stick, they had to find references to those somewhere in the local scriptures. I call this the Christianization of Brahmanism. With the departure of the British, the movements went off the rails.

    The inertia of amorality was so potent that today, even Christianity has become voodoo.

    A couple of hundred years of European rule wasn’t enough. Indians had and continue to have no capacity to build a civic fabric. They have failed to show a capacity to imbibe complex thinking. In their hands, what the British had left had to fall into disrepair, hallowed out, and eventually fall apart.

    India’s institutions have been worsening and are on their way to their pre-European (and even pre-Islamic) wild existence. Why is this happening? Indians do not have a moral consciousness, and no one has worked out a way to ignite it. Had the British stayed longer, India would have kept improving and done much better. However, there is no evidence that it would have ever become self-sufficient in governance and sustaining civilizational values without the straightjacket provided by the British.

    In the post-Christian world, the assumption is that prosperity and education must automatically lead to enlightenment. The results have, however, been quite the opposite, as these factors have instead provided leverage to the underlying irrational, amoral “system.”

    A foundation of rational, moral fabric must first be laid to have any hope of building a civilization. So-called education sits unconnected in the mind without a rational, moral foundation, at best as a cog in an industrial system. Mostly, they burden the mind and make it, ironically, more superstitious and confused. Not driven by a vision and a passion for learning, education for such people is nothing more than a certificate to get a job. They never assimilate in their minds what they supposedly learn.

    Technology, instead of being used for self-improvement and education, is mostly used for the satisfaction of base desires, spreading rumors and superstitions, and access to pornography. A foundation of discipline and impulse control must have been first laid.

    As Indians have become prosperous, they have become more atomized, materialistic, apathetic, and hedonistic, increasingly erupting into savagery and barbarism, quite in contrast to the conventional belief that prosperity, democracy, female empowerment, and education lead to an improved society.

    My generous, open-minded grandma, whose circle of friends included her tailor and a former chauffeur, used to say that you invite trouble if you pay certain people more than what keeps them at the edge. Those with no bigger vision than subsistence turn to hedonism if money is forced on them. Too much money takes away the only purpose their minds can fathom. They are then well on a path to troublemaking, savagery, barbarism, and self-destruction.

    With increasing education and prosperity and the increasing distance from the British past, the Indian middle class has grown more superstitious.

    Civilization does not exist in nature. You have to fight and work towards it. And the process is messy, as Europe experienced over three millennia. The necessary ingredients—honor, work ethic, integrity, fairness, respect for the individual, gratitude, empathy, and rationality—are conspicuous by their absence in India, even in the middle class, which is supposed to be the moral spine of any society. Alas, without civilizational values, one is left with the base, animalistic values, and might-is-right paradigm of resource acquisition and sensual pleasures. All you can have in this milieu is unbridled envy, hate, and covetousness.

    This “underpins” an Indian’s behavior, social relationships, and India’s economy, and understanding this is the key to connecting what would otherwise be disparate, confusing, bewildering experiences of India.

    Far more important than the institutions are the quality of leadership. Over time, fewer and fewer people trained under the British remained in positions of power. The top leaders today were born after the British departure.

    Today, Indian elections are based on the twin policies of freebies and Hindutava (political Hinduism). There is no conversation about public policy, law and order, and governance. The mafia is now firmly embedded in the government, directly commanding the bureaucracy, while the police function as the uniformed arm of the mafia.

    In the present Indian government, everything is based on bribes and connections. Attempting to address grievances by ascending the bureaucratic hierarchy leads to escalating bribes. Even resorting to the anti-corruption department comes with a price tag. If you go to court, you will pay. The British had created checks and balances. They are all gone. The bureaucrats, judges, police, and the mafia all talk with each other and scheme to extract the maximum bribes. This does not mean that they get along with each other. They look for every opportunity to backstab and undermine the other.

    India is often considered a socialist country. Nothing in the above is socialism. If India became socialist, however unrealistic, mechanical, and simplistic socialism might be, I would see that as a massive improvement.

    India has what I call chaos-ism.

    As one tries to deconstruct India, one realizes it has no structure. The country itself is a British creation. During the British times, the word Hindu, which, during the Persian and Greek invasions, referred to the people of the Indian subcontinent, came to be associated with the agglomeration of innumerable rituals and beliefs of the region for census purposes.

    The British colonizers were systems people. They encountered chaos in India, a madness that had no method. They tried to classify what they encountered. However, giving a theoretical structure to something without structure does not change the reality but confuses understanding of the fundamentals.

    The British, again for the census, created a caste classification. If you ask our daily wage worker what his religion, caste, and nation are, his response will confound you and might be incomprehensible even to other Indians. He associates his “nation” with people of his tribe in his local area with an ingrained hostility towards others there. He might still regurgitate something patriotic to do with India these days based on what he constantly gets propagandized to.

    Here is a better way to understand the Indian caste system. There are as many castes as there are Indians, with each Indian trying to dominate or be subservient to the other.

    I have been to a hundred countries and lived in several. What I say about India is primarily true for today’s Third World, all regressing to their pre-European savagery and barbarism. They represent the vast majority of the human population. Thus far, if they haven’t descended into the kind of chaos witnessed in Rwanda, it isn’t due to their democracies but because of the institutional inertia left by the colonizers and the apprehension of the USA—Pax Americana. Unfortunately, the USA is becoming weaker, and the Third World is poised to become extremely dangerous and chaotic.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 18:45

  • Biden Mulls Relisting Houthis As A Terror Org, Weighs Offensive Strikes
    Biden Mulls Relisting Houthis As A Terror Org, Weighs Offensive Strikes

    The White House has confirmed that it is currently reviewing whether to (re)designate Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist organization, after for the past weeks the militant Islamist group has attacked several commercial ships and launched missile and drone attacks against Israel as retaliation for the Gaza campaign.

    Likely this would allow for more offensive actions against Houthi positions by the US military, and without Congressional approval, when US assets or commercial shipping comes under attack. Asked about a possible new designation in an afternoon press conference, national security council spokesman John Kirby said that “we’re actually conducting a review right now on whether that’s the right course forward.” US officials have raised the possibility of offensive military strikes for the first time, via news wires:

    • POSSIBLE STRIKES ON HOUTHIS IN YEMEN CONSIDERED, PEOPLE SAY
    • US WEIGHS WHETHER TO ATTACK HOUTHIS BEYOND DEFENSIVE TASK FORCE
    • PEOPLE FAMILIAR SAY NO DECISION MADE YET ON STRIKING HOUTHIS

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    But ironically it was the Biden administration that took the Houthis off the terror list in the first place, in 2021.

    Below is what Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in February of that year:

    Effective February 16, I am revoking the designations of Ansarallah, sometimes referred to as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended.

    This decision is a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. We have listened to warnings from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, and bipartisan members of Congress, among others, that the designations could have a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel.

    The Saudi-UAE-US coalition has waged a brutal air war against Yemen and the rebel Houthis going back to 2015, unleashing a dire humanitarian crisis.

    The Houthis have long been seen as proxies of Iran, and have lately declared war against both Israel and any vessel going to Israeli ports. The US on Monday announced a ten-nation coalition to patrol and protect the Red Sea from these attacks. This has included, interestingly enough, the tiny island country of the Seychelles. But the Houthis say their resolve remains undeterred…

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    Amid White House indecision, the number of major shipping and container companies which have temporarily halted all transit through the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea has only grown.

    They are as follows: the Italian-Swiss giant Mediterranean Shipping Company, France’s CMA CGM, Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd, Belgium’s Euronav, oil giant BP, Denmark’s A.P Moller-Maersk, Taiwan shipping firm Evergreen, and Norway-based Frontline. As for the naval coalition, there are reports saying it could take a few weeks to actually materialize. By then, many more vessels are likely to come under attack.

    The Houthis have meanwhile said this is all part of the war against Palestinians. “The international coalition that America announced under the pretext of protecting maritime navigation in the Red Sea is an alliance to protect the Israeli entity and to protect Israeli ships. It is an integral part of the aggression against the Palestinian people, Gaza, and the Arab and Islamic nations,” the group said in a new statement.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 18:25

  • Rufo Exposes Claudine Gay's DEI Empire
    Rufo Exposes Claudine Gay’s DEI Empire

    Authored by Christopher F. Rufo via City Journal,

    Harvard president Claudine Gay has been embroiled in controversy for minimizing Hamas terrorism and plagiarizing material in her academic work on race. Both scandals have discredited her presidency, but neither should come as a surprise. Throughout Gay’s career at Harvard—as professor, dean, and president—racialist ideology has driven her scholarship, administrative priorities, and rise through the institution.

    Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

    Over the course of her career, Gay quietly built a “diversity” empire that influenced every facet of university life. Between 2018 and the summer of 2023, as the dean of the largest faculty on campus, Gay oversaw the university’s racially discriminatory admissions program, which the Supreme Court found unconstitutional. Even after the court issued its ruling earlier this year, Gay said that it was a “hard day” and defended the university’s policies, which were deemed discriminatory against Asian and white applicants. Gay promised to comply with the letter of the law, while remaining “steadfast” in her commitment to producing “diversity”—a not-so-subtle message that Harvard would find a way, as the University of California has done, to evade the law in practice.

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    While affirmative action has been a longstanding practice at Harvard, other programs led by Gay were new. Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, Gay commissioned a Task Force on Visual Culture and Signage, which released a series of recommendations the following year for engaging in the “historical reckoning with racial injustice.” The recommendations included a mandate to change “spaces whose visual culture is dominated by homogenous portraiture of white men.” In particular, the report maintained, administrators should “refresh” the walls of Annenberg Hall, which “prominently display a series of 23 portraits, none of [which] depict women, and all but three of [which] depict white men.” Who were these white men and why were they honored in the first place? The report does not say—their race and sex alone provided sufficient justification for their banishment.

    In 2022, Gay implemented an initiative at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for “denaming” any “space, program, or other entity” deemed racist by the faculty and administration. According to the report, commissioned by then-president Lawrence Bacow, these decisions would be “based on the perception that a namesake’s actions or beliefs were ‘abhorrent’ in the context of current values.” In other words, Harvard would use the standards of present-day social-justice activism to pass judgment on men who lived hundreds of years prior—at best, an ahistorical and deeply ambiguous method. As part of this project, Gay sent an email to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences community soliciting “requests for denaming,” promising to address the situation “through the lens of reckoning.” Since then, the university has grappled with denaming multiple buildings, including Winthrop House, named after John Winthrop, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and his great grandson, also John Winthrop, a Harvard professor and president.

    As president, Gay leads a sprawling DEI bureaucracy—officially, the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging—that seeks to influence how students speak, think, and behave in relation to race. Though the university deleted nearly all DEI materials from its website following President Gay’s disastrous congressional testimony related to the Hamas terror attack, I have recovered some of these documents through an Internet archive. Harvard’s DEI administrators encourage students to internalize the basic narrative of critical race theory: America is a nation defined by “systemic racism,” “police brutality,” “white supremacist violence,” and the “weaponization of whiteness.” In another resource, students were invited to “unpack” their “white privilege” and “male privilege,” and to consider their “white fragility,” which stems from “the privilege that accrues to white people living in a society that protects and insulates them from race-based stress.”

    What is one to make of Gay’s record as a whole? She is hardly a “scholar’s scholar,” as the university magazine tried to portray her, having published, according to her curriculum vitae, just 11 academic papers—nearly half of which include plagiarized material. Nor is she a competent administrator, having botched the response to rampant anti-Semitism on campus and, by one estimate, lost the university more than $1 billion in donations. But she plays one role perfectly: the dutiful racialist, skilled at the manipulation of guilt, shame, and obligation in service of institutional power. For instance, she wrote last year in a message to the campus announcing a report on Harvard’s historical connection to slavery: “We have been excluded and denigrated for centuries from an institution where we now work, study, and lead. Our presence here should not feel so extraordinary. But now we see it was anything but inevitable.”

    The irony: Gay was, in fact, somewhat inevitable. In the long season of racial guilt and animus that followed George Floyd’s death, the university was desperate to recruit a “first,” as Gay put it in her inaugural address, and disrupt the university’s nearly 400 years of whiteness. As Harvard is now learning, however, naming as president someone who sees race and sex not as incidental human attributes but as ideological constructions that must be imposed on the institution comes with a significant downside.  Consequently, Harvard’s trustees find themselves in a bind: they hired Gay in large part for her identity and cannot fire her for the same reason. They seem resigned to muddling through the “racial reckoning,” however long it lasts and whatever further damage it inflicts on America’s oldest university.

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 18:05

  • Trump Tries To Overturn Gag Order As Judge In Different Case Rejects Bid To Dismiss
    Trump Tries To Overturn Gag Order As Judge In Different Case Rejects Bid To Dismiss

    Former President Donald Trump made yet another attempt to overturn a federal gag order at the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit – with his attorneys arguing that the appeals panel was wrong on five counts, and as such, a rehearing is in order in the decision regarding his 2020 election interference case before Judge Tanya Chutkan.

    Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev., on Dec. 17, 2023. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

    “The opinion holds that President Trump must be silenced to protect trial participants from possible threats or ‘harassment’ from unrelated third parties,” reads the petition, after the appeals court panel agreed with the rationale of lower court judges in issuing two separate gag orders on the former president.

    “In doing so, the opinion conflicts with decisions of the Supreme Court and other Circuits, warranting en banc consideration both to secure uniformity of this Court’s decisions and because of the question’s exceptional importance,” they wrote, requesting an en-banc hearing before all of the judges in the court.

    The appeals panel said, first during a hearing and later in the issued opinion, that they sought a balance between First Amendment rights and the need to uphold the integrity of court proceedings.

    The defense attorneys argue that the court ultimately accomplished neither and reinforced the gag order based on “a third standard, for which it cites no authority.” When it comes to restricting speech to prevent harm, there is another set of precedents to inform these decisions, and defense attorneys argue that the appellate court judges did not meet those standards, primarily the “clear and present danger” test set by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. –Epoch Times

    Trump’s attorneys referenced cases in which it was ruled that presidential candidates have “absolute freedom” in their speech, and that the judges didn’t properly consider these cases. They also used the ‘heckler’s veto’ theory, arguing that the appeal’s court is wrongly making assumptions about anticipated reactions to Trump’s speech, and have justified those assumptions “on the basis that the audience is not ‘hostile’ to President Trump, but that justification contradicts the Supreme Court’s incitement doctrine.”

    Judge questions expert witness, denies bid to dismiss

    Meanwhile, in Trump’s New York real estate case, Judge Arthur Engoron rejected the former president’s bid to toss the case, while also questioning the credibility of a key defense witness who was paid nearly $900,000 to appear.

    Justice Arthur Engoron presides over the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump at New York State Supreme Court, in New York City, on Oct. 18, 2023. (Jeenah Moon/Pool/Getty Images)

    According to ENgoron, there were “fatal flaws” in the Trump team’s argument – the “most glaring” being the assumption that the testimony of their witnesses “is true and accurate, or at least that the Court, as the trier of fact, will accept it as true and accurate.”

    One of the experts, NYU Professor of Accounting, Eli Bartov, refuted any suggestion that his payment influenced his opinion, and said he was “shocked” at the judge’s remarks, the Epoch Times reports.

    Bartov is a tenured professor, but all that his testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say,” wrote Engoron in his three-page ruling. “His overarching point was that the subject statements of financial condition were accurate in every respect.”

    Mr. Bartov testified on Dec. 7 that he did not find any evidence of fraud in the Trump family real estate company’s financial statements, which are central to the New York attorney general’s allegations of overstating property values to gain favorable loan and insurance terms.

    However, he pointed out in an email that his testimony included the fact that President Trump’s statement contained errors.

    No expert rebutted my testimony or testified that they found fraud,” Mr. Bartov said. “As to his speculation that my billing rate had anything to do with my opinion, this is my standard billing rate.”

    Mr. Bartov disclosed that he billed more than $870,000 for approximately 650 hours of work, with payments received from both the Trump Organization and Save America, a political action committee supporting Trump’s 2024 election campaign. -Epoch Times

    So, Trump can’t speak his mind, and his expert witness is discarded simply because the judge disagreed. What a world.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/19/2023 – 17:45

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Today’s News 19th December 2023

  • Why The Pentagon Is A Multi-Trillion Dollar Fraud
    Why The Pentagon Is A Multi-Trillion Dollar Fraud

    Authored by Scott Ritter,

    The US Department of Defense has failed its sixth annual audit in a row, but taxpayer money will keep going down that drain..

    Recently, the Pentagon admitted it couldn’t account for trillions of dollars of US taxpayer money, having failed a massive yearly audit for the sixth year running.

    The process consisted of the 29 sub-audits of the DoD’s various services, and only seven passed this year – no improvement over the last. These audits only began taking place in 2017, meaning that the Pentagon has never successfully passed one.

    This year’s failure made some headlines, was commented upon briefly by the mainstream media, and then just as quickly forgotten by an American society accustomed to pouring money down the black hole of defense spending.

    The defense budget of the United States is grotesquely large, its $877 billion dwarfing the $849 billion spent by the next ten nations with the largest defense expenditures. And yet, the Pentagon cannot fully account for the $3.8 trillion in assets and $4 trillion in liabilities it has accrued at US taxpayer expense, ostensibly in defense of the United States and its allies. As the Biden administration seeks $886 billion for next year’s defense budget (and Congress seems prepared to add an additional $80 billion to that amount), the apparent indifference of the American collective – government, media, and public – to how nearly $1 trillion in taxpayer dollars will be spent speaks volumes about the overall bankrupt nature of the American establishment. 

    Audits, however, are an accountant’s trick, a series of numbers on a ledger which, for the average person, do not equate to reality. Americans have grown accustomed to seeing big numbers when it comes to defense spending, and as a result, we likewise expect big things from our military. But the fact is, the US defense establishment increasingly physically resembles the numbers on the ledgers the accountants have been trying to balance – it just doesn’t add up.

    Despite spending some $2.3 trillion on a two-decade military misadventure in Afghanistan, the American people witnessed the ignominious retreat from that nation live on TV in August 2021. Likewise, a $758 billion investment in the 2003 invasion and subsequent decade-long occupation of Iraq went south when the US was compelled to withdraw in 2011– only to return in 2014 for another decade of chasing down ISIS, itself a manifestation of the failures of the original Iraqi venture. Overall, the US has spent more than $1.8 trillion on its 20-year nightmare in Iraq and Syria. 

    These numbers are mind-numbingly large – so large that they become meaningless to the average person. The US defense enterprise is so massive that it is literally a mission impossible to speak of balancing the books. The American people might be willing to shrug off an accounting error or two. But the defense budget equates to American military power and the perceptions of national worth that translate into notions of American exceptionalism.

    The fact of the matter is that our cavalier approach to defense spending has resulted in fraud of a massive scale. The American people were sold a bill of goods – a military capable of projecting power world-wide to sustain the so-called “rules based international order” upon which the notion of American exceptionalism has been premised. As it turns out, the US military is as hollow as the numbers on the Pentagon ledgers. The American people have bought an apparatus that is incapable of fighting and winning a major war against any of the potential opponents arrayed against it. We failed to defeat Al Qaeda, ISIS, and the Taliban. And we are not able to defeat either China or Russia, let alone regional powers like North Korea and Iran. And yet we will simply continue to invest, in seemingly unquestioning fashion, into this enterprise, expecting somehow that a system that cannot pass an audit will somehow magically produce a different result despite the fact that we, the American people, are doing nothing to demand such a result.

    In short, the defense budget is the equivalent of “pay-to-play,” in which the American people pay the US government to produce the results necessary to sustain their overinflated sense of self-worth.

    We Americans have become so accustomed to being the biggest, baddest bully in the global arena that we assume that simply by pouring money into a system that had produced the desired results for more than seventy years that we could keep the good times rolling.

    But when you allocate money to a system that has been allowed to become conditioned to operate without accountability, don’t be surprised when the shiny mansion on the hill you thought you were buying turns out to be little more than a house of cards.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 23:40

  • Applesauce Pouches May Have Been Intentionally Contaminated With Lead: FDA
    Applesauce Pouches May Have Been Intentionally Contaminated With Lead: FDA

    Authored by Lorenz Duchamps via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    U.S. health officials are investigating whether three brands of recalled cinnamon apple puree and applesauce that left dozens of American children sickened may have been intentionally contaminated with lead.

    A WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouch. (FDA via AP)

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first reported adverse events in children as young as 1 year old in October. The agency has since launched an inspection at a plant in Ecuador that produced the cinnamon-flavored applesauce products.

    Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for Human Foods, told Politico in an interview published on Dec. 14 that although the investigation is still ongoing, investigators believe the adulteration may have been “an intentional act.”

    “We’re still in the midst of our investigation. But so far all of the signals we’re getting lead to an intentional act on the part of someone in the supply chain and we’re trying to sort of figure that out,” Mr. Jones said.

    My instinct is they didn’t think this product was going to end up in a country with a robust regulatory process,” he added. “They thought it was going to end up in places that did not have the ability to detect something like this.”

    The affected products were marketed to parents and children under the brands WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree and Schnucks- and Weis-branded cinnamon applesauce pouches. They were sold nationwide by grocery chains such as Dollar Tree, as well as online retailers such as Amazon.

    In its latest update on the lead poisoning outbreak, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it has identified a total of 125 cases from 22 states across the nation.

    Of those cases, 46 are confirmed, 68 are probable cases, and 11 are suspected, according to the CDC. So far, all of the children are aged 6 or younger.

    ‘Economically Motivated Adulteration’

    Meanwhile, the FDA said health officials are looking into several theories as to why or by whom the lead was added to the applesauce pouches, pointing out that the agency currently believes the adulteration was “economically motivated.”

    “The FDA can confirm that one of the theories the agency is exploring is the potential that the cinnamon contamination occurred as a possible result of economically motivated adulteration,” an FDA spokesperson told Consumer Reports, stressing additional investigation is needed before the agency reaches any conclusions.

    According to the FDA, economically motivated adulteration refers to someone intentionally leaving out, taking out, or substituting an ingredient to make the product appear better or of greater value.

    Asked why U.S. food safety laws wouldn’t have prevented the tainted products from entering the country, Mr. Jones said intentional adulteration is “always going to be tricky to absolutely stop.”

    “We have limited authority over foreign ingredient suppliers that do not directly ship product to the U.S. because their food undergoes further manufacturing/processing prior to export,” the FDA spokesperson told Politico, which first reported the story.

    More Details

    According to the CDC, there is “no safe blood lead level” for young children. The agency said it uses a marker of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter to identify children with elevated blood lead levels—higher than most American children aged between 1 and 5 years.

    In a report released on Nov. 13, the CDC said an investigation found 22 children who had consumed the lead-contaminated applesauce pouches had blood lead levels as high as 29 micrograms per deciliter, far above the CDC’s marker of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter.

    Three recalled applesauce products—WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches, Schnucks-brand cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches and variety pack, and Weis-brand cinnamon applesauce pouches. (FDA via AP)

    Three recalled applesauce products—WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches, Schnucks-brand cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches and variety pack, and Weis-brand cinnamon applesauce pouches. (FDA via AP)

    The children experienced signs and symptoms including headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, change in activity level, and anemia, according to the CDC.

    Lead is toxic to humans, and exposure at any age or health status can lead to serious symptoms. In adults, high blood lead levels can increase their risk for high blood pressure, other cardiovascular effects, kidney problems, adverse reproductive outcomes, and gout.

    Although most children with lead exposure have no obvious immediate symptoms, parents and caretakers should consult a health care professional if they suspect a child may have been exposed to lead, according to the FDA.

    Short-term exposure to lead could result in headaches, abdominal pain/colic, vomiting, and anemia, while longer-term exposure could result in irritability, lethargy, fatigue, muscle aches or muscle prickling/burning, constipation, difficulty concentrating/muscular weakness, tremor, and weight loss.

    According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, heavy metals like lead can get into food products from the soil, air, water, or industrial processes.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 23:00

  • 3-Way Gone Wrong? Florida GOP Suspends Chairman Over Rape Allegations By Woman Shared With Wife
    3-Way Gone Wrong? Florida GOP Suspends Chairman Over Rape Allegations By Woman Shared With Wife

    The Florida Republican Party has suspended its chairman, Christian Ziegler, after a a woman who was in a sexual relationship with Ziegler and his wife, Bridget, accused him of raping her after a planned 3-way sexual encounter went off the rails.

    Republican Party of Florida Christian Ziegler and his wife Bridget, an elected Sarasota County School Board member. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack & Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel)

    The Sarasota Police Department is investigating an incident reported on Oct. 4 by the accuser, who says Christian Ziegler showed up for an agreed-upon 3-way with his wife, Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler. Police say that Bridget Ziegler was unable to make it, however Christian Ziegler arrived anyway and assaulted her.

    Bridget told police that she and her husband had been involved with the woman sexually, but only once in the past year. Bridget was the lone vote on the Sarasota County School Board against a resolution asking her to resign from her post on the board – which she has refused to do. She also serves on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ tourism board that oversees the district containing Walt Disney World.

    Christian Ziegler has denied the rape allegation, and says that the encounter with the woman was consensual.

    In response, the Florida Republican Party stripped him of his authority and all but $1 of his $120,000 salary until it can remove him.

    “These are serious issues,” said Jack Brill, GOP chair of Sarasota County, where Ziegler lives, the Orlando Sentinel reports. “[This] is uncharted territory for the great majority of everybody.”

    The unanimous decision by the party’s executive board to censure Ziegler took place at the Rosen Centre, the same Orlando hotel where he was elected chair just 10 months before.

    The man Ziegler had defeated for the job, Evan Power, called Sunday’s special meeting in his role as vice chair and will take over almost all of Ziegler’s powers alongside treasurer Mike Moberley.

    Power said he expects the full committee to officially remove Ziegler at a meeting in Tallahassee on Jan. 8. -Orlando Sentinel

    “Today, we took an appropriate action to bring accountability to one of our members,” Power said, following the meeting. “It was a hard moment for many of us. …  But the charges against him are serious in nature. And we cannot move forward as an organization without a new leader.”

    According to state Rep. Michelle Salzman (R-Pensacola), the situation is “very frustrating,” adding “[Ziegler] needs to resign. It was unanimous, every single motion today was unanimously [approved]. And he’s still there.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 22:40

  • Truth Is The Biggest Threat To Democracy In DC
    Truth Is The Biggest Threat To Democracy In DC

    Authored by James Bovard via The Mises Institute,

    Early this year, Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member, was arrested and charged with transmission of national defense information and other charges.

    Teixeira allegedly leaked classified documents on the Ukraine war and other foreign policy issues to a Discord gaming group. The document propagated from there and appeared in many news articles in the following months.

    The Post article sympathetically portrays the struggles of U.S. government officials fighting to suppress the unapproved eruption of hard facts. In a passage sue to boost sales of Kleenex inside the Beltway, the Post quotes a U.S. government official who was permitted to remain anonymous: “We were blindsided and furious,” 

    The Post, which partnered with PBS for a television program on the Discord leaks, noted that the “top secret… leaks predicted Ukraine’s failure to make substantial gains in its counteroffensive — a multibillion-dollar effort that cost tens of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian lives. The bleak forecast provided a sharp contrast to Washington’s optimistic messaging on the war, and it hurt Ukraine’s relationship with its chief backer, the U.S. government.” The “bleak forecast” was vastly more accurate than anything emitted by the Biden White House. A senior defense official (anonymous, of course) told the Post that the Pentagon raced to determine “what information may have been compromised.”

    But the real challenge was determining which official lies had been debunked.

    The Post bewailed how the leaks discomfited the Ukrainian government.

    The Post noted that the “the leaks included never-before-released casualty estimates for Ukrainian forces, weaknesses in Ukraine’s ability to service damaged armored vehicles and the country’s shrinking supply of air defense munitions, which left population centers vulnerable to Russian cruise missile strikes and drones. Other documents warned that Ukraine was struggling to sustain troops, artillery and equipment, which probably would result in only “modest territorial gains” that fall “well short” of Kyiv’s goals.”

    But the only reason that the “leaks” caused an international uproar is because U.S. government officials and their foreign partners had been brazenly lying about Ukrainian successes and prospects for victory.

    Folks who read foreign news sources or independent American outlets or websites (such as Mises.org) were far more likely to recognize that the war would have no happy ending for either Ukraine or Russia.

    The Post omitted mentioning the role of federal censorship in deluding Americans about the Ukraine war. In July 2023, the House Judiciary Committee revealed that the FBI routinely colluded with Ukraine’s spy agency which sought help to suppress social media accounts that criticized the Ukraine government or “inaccurately reflects events in Ukraine” (including accurate battlefield reports of Ukrainian military defeats). The House report revealed that the FBI “routinely relayed these lists [of accounts] to the relevant social media platforms” and sought their suppression. The House report noted that “authentic accounts of Americans, including a verified U.S. State Department account and those belonging to American journalists, were ensnared in the censorship effort and flagged for social media companies to take down.” The CIA also pressured Twitter, calling for the suppression of “long lists of newspapers, tweets or YouTube videos guilty of ‘anti-Ukraine narratives,” journalist Matt Taibbi reported.

    Washington Post readers are the cream of the intellectual crop, at least according to Washington Post readers. So how did Post devotees respond to the indignation about the leaker?

    The article generated almost 600 comments. Among the most liked was an outburst from “ArtPope”:” Don’t understand why this article was written other than to support the pro-Putin, anti-Ukrainian position of the white nationalist evangelical fascist RepubliQans.” “Thinking4″ replied: They have profound ignorance of democracy and that their very words and actions undermine the standing of the US in the world.” (Thinking4 was probably not an English major.)

    None of the most liked comments showed any outrage about Team Biden’s perennial lies on Ukraine. Instead, raw hatred was popular: “Find these traitors. Put their butts in jail. 10 years minimum. No deals.” “Make it 30,” came a quick reply, and another person piled on: “In solitary.” Said another: “Throughout history, the traditional punishment for treason is hanging. I’m ok with that.” “Mario TRUTH” joined the lynch mob: “What Teixeira did was nothing short of America WORST traitor it has ever seen. He not only aided in murdering 1000’s of innocent people, he intruded in Ukrainian leaders planning of a counteroffensive that would have saved many of the 1000’s Teixeira killed.”

    So, U.S. government officials are entitled to blindfold and deceive the American people to avoid “intruding” on foreign leaders planning a military attack? This theory of democracy gets curiouser and curiouser.

    The Post noted that the Discord leaks “depicted Zelensky in a new light, revealing his apparent interest in occupying Russian border villages and obtaining long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside Russian territory — an assertion that Ukrainians deny and would have deeply angered Washington.” So, America’s favored foreign leader was conniving to pull the United States into World War Three? Maybe Biden should have asked if Americans supported such recklessness? No, he was president, so he was entitled to delude Americans and pretend to rule the world.

    Perhaps the greatest intellectual calisthenics in the long article was the paragraph that exonerated all Biden administration falsehoods on Ukraine. The Post offered a finger-wagging explanation: “Rather than exposing willful deceit by a U.S. government eager to bury bad news, the Discord leaks revealed a sharp divide between the U.S. intelligence analysts who authored the documents and many senior officials at the White House, Pentagon and State Department who were overly sanguine about Ukraine’s prospects for success.”

    Do the Post reporters and editors have no shame? They were not smart (or honest) enough to hark back to one of the clearest lessons from the Pentagon Papers, leaked in 1971. As philosopher Hannah Arendt noted, during the Vietnam War, “the policy of lying was hardly ever aimed at the enemy but chiefly if not exclusively destined for domestic consumption, for propaganda at home and especially for the purpose of deceiving Congress.” CIA analysts did excellent work in the early period of the Vietnam conflict. But “in the contest between public statements, always over-optimistic, and the truthful reports of the intelligence community, persistently bleak and ominous, the public statements were likely to win simply because they were public,” Arendt commented. The Post rationalized the bias of Team Biden: “U.S. officials viewed the airing of pessimistic battle outcomes as detrimental to their endeavor to raise support for the war effort, both in Congress and internationally.” Truth-telling never competed with cheerleading for more bombs and missiles.

    Biden, his appointees, and plenty of former military officials on the gravy train have made endless brazenly false statements about the Ukraine war. The result is that the Ukrainian government is on the verge of conscripting Ukrainian grandfathers to send on daily suicidal Pickett’s Charges so that Ukrainian politicians can keep pocketing billions of dollars in handouts from the U.S. government. Ukraine prohibited any males between the age of 18 to 60 from leaving the country – as if the government had a preemptive right to send them to their death. Ukraine is closing its western border to “military age males” the same way that East Germany closed its border to West Europe decades ago.

    But it remains a “no cost” war inside the Washington Beltway, where Ukrainian flags quickly replaced BLM banners after the start of the war. Nothing has changed for the policy class in the last 60 years. Arendt castigated the lavishly-paid intellectual cheerleaders for the Vietnam War who ignored “the untold misery that their ‘solutions,’ pacification and relocation programs, defoliation, napalm, and anti-personnel bullets, held in store.” In the subsequent decades, intellectuals became more affluent but not more trustworthy.

    Will the Washington Post ever honestly examine the costs of its own kowtowing to officialdom? The Post could do a great in-depth investigation of why its own editorial page and columnists have made so many false, misleading, or deranged statements on the Ukraine war. But don’t expect hell to freeze over any time soon.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 22:20

  • "Worst-Case Scenario" Volcano Erupts In Iceland Near Power Plant
    “Worst-Case Scenario” Volcano Erupts In Iceland Near Power Plant

    A volcano in the southwestern region of Iceland erupted on Monday, sending geysers of hot lava as high as 330 feet. The eruption was located near the Svartsengi geothermal power plant near the town of Grindavík, which was evacuated last month over an increase in seismic activity, the NY Times reports.

    “We are looking at a worst-case scenario,” said Icelanding volcanologist, Thorvaldur Thordarson, adding “The eruption appears big, and only about two kilometers from major infrastructure.

    Over the past two months, thousands of earthquakes have been detected in Iceland, leading to the November evacuations as homes and roads were damaged by the events. The situation deteriorated so rapidly that authorities declared a state of emergency, evacuating Grindavík – home to more than 3,000 people who live near the volcano.

    Recently, the Meteorological office warned of a “significant likelihood of a volcanic eruption in coming days.”

    In just the past two years, there have been three eruptions on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland’s most populated corner and home to its capital. When Grindavik was ordered evacuated on Nov. 11, the authorities said in a statement that the country was “highly prepared for such events.” -NYT

    Iceland has one of the world’s most effective volcanic preparedness measures,” reads the local website.

    Authorities also raised the aviation alert to orange due to dangers posed by the volcano to passing aircraft flying in the North Atlantic in the event ash is spewed in the sky.

    In 2010, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted after being dormant for nearly two centuries. While nobody died, the impact was significant as the resultant ash cloud grounded much of Europe’s air travel for over a week.

    Iceland has around 400,000 residents and 130 or so volcanoes. In fact, since the 19th century, there hasn’t been a single decade without one erupting. According to the tourist website, eruptions are “entirely random.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 22:00

  • Smoking Shrinks The Brain, And Quitting Doesn’t Restore Size: Study
    Smoking Shrinks The Brain, And Quitting Doesn’t Restore Size: Study

    Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Smoking cigarettes shrinks the size of the brain, and stopping doesn’t reverse the damage, a new study shows. The findings help explain why smokers have a higher risk of developing age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.

    (Magic mine/Shutterstock)

    But there is good news: As soon as someone stops smoking, the shrinking stops.

    The study, published in Biological Psychiatry: Global Open Science, looked at data from 32,094 individuals of European descent who smoked daily. The data came from the UK Biobank, a biomedical database available to the public that contains genetic, health, and behavioral information on approximately 500,000 people.

    The research team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that total brain volume, including gray and white matter, decreased when a person smoked daily. Gray brain matter decreased more than white brain matter did, according to the analysis. Gray matter houses neural cell bodies, axon terminals, and dendrites; much of it is found in the cerebellum, cerebrum, and brain stem. It is responsible for the central nervous system, which enables a person to control movement, memory, and emotions. White matter is filled with bundles of axons coated with myelin. Its job is to send signals up and down the spinal cord when the brain receives a stimulus.

    The analysis of the UK Biobank data showed that the more a person smoked, the more brain mass they lost. The realization that smoking affects the brain isn’t entirely new information, the research team admitted. “The adverse effect of smoking extends into the brain, and this is shown by the association between smoking and dementia,” they wrote.

    The research team noted that areas like the hippocampal area, which is affected by Alzheimer’s disease, are particularly impacted by daily smoking. “This finding is consistent with smoking, which has been identified as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, accelerating the development of this illness,” the research team wrote. In fact, the researchers suggested that 14 percent of Alzheimer’s cases across the world could be attributed to smoking.

    Alcohol Also Reduces Brain Volume

    In addition to smoking, the team found that drinking alcohol also has adverse effects on the brain. Like smoking, heavy alcohol use can reduce brain size, specifically subcortical brain volume. The subcortex is involved in overseeing emotions, memory, and hormone production. Subcortical structures also help people maintain their posture, gait, and other movements.

    The risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia occurs even after someone stops smoking or drinking alcohol, researchers noted, because the brain damage is permanent.

    Scientists believe Alzheimer’s disease is caused when proteins build up in and around brain cells, sort of like plaque on teeth. One of these proteins is called amyloid, and another is called tau. Tau tangles can interfere with the way the brain receives signals. Researchers admit they’re uncertain about the mechanisms that kickstart this process but know it can take years. Over time, however, the brain begins to shrink, which can lead to Alzheimer’s.

    The Washington University team noted that some people have a genetic predisposition that leads them to smoke. In other words, part of the population is born with an increased risk of picking up the habit. As such, these people have a higher risk of reduced brain volume and of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

    According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020, 22.3 percent of the world population used tobacco. Tobacco use kills over 8 million each year, including 1.3 million nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 21:40

  • Victor Davis Hanson: We Are Well Beyond Hypocrisy
    Victor Davis Hanson: We Are Well Beyond Hypocrisy

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

    The abject narcissism of the insular Left is startling.

    They apparently believe the American public is amnesiac enough to forget what leftists once did, now that they’re doing the utter opposite.

    And they assume we are to discount their hypocrisy and self-absorption simply because they self-identify as erudite and moral and assume their opponents are irredeemable and deplorable.

    Impeachment

    The Left is saturating the airwaves with outrage over the current House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry. They allege that formally investigating Joe Biden’s role in the family grifting operation is somehow a poor constitutional precedent, if not out-of-bounds entirely.

    So we hear further arguments that it will be unwise to impeach a first-term president when he loses his House majority, that there is no reason to “waste” congressional time and effort when Biden will be automatically acquitted in the Democratically controlled Senate, and that the impeachment is cynically timed to synchronize with president’s reelection efforts.

    All of these are the precise arguments many of us cited when Donald Trump was impeached in December 2019 (as his reelection campaign began, and immediately after being cleared of the 22-month, $40-million-special-counsel Russian-collusion hoax).

    The Democrats tried to remove an elected president over a phone call without a special counsel’s report. So Trump was impeached only after the 2018 election led to a Democratic House majority, which went from eating up nearly two years of his administration in the Russian-collusion hoax straight into the impeachment farce. There was no concern about the cost to the nation of putting an elected government into a continual state of siege.

    There is one difference, though, between the Trump impeachment and the Biden impeachment inquiry. Donald Trump was impeached because he accurately accused the members of the Ukrainian government of paying Hunter Biden, with his zero fossil fuel expertise, an astronomical sum to serve on the Burisma board—as the costly quid that earned the lucrative quo from his dad Vice President Joe Biden.

    No one now denies that Joe Biden got prosecutor Viktor Shokin fired by threatening to cancel legislatively-approved U.S. aid. Shokin knew about the skullduggery through which the Biden family eventually received $6.5 million from Ukraine—and so Biden ensured his firing, and publicly bragged about it in performance-art fashion.

    In sum, Trump had a perfect right as commander in chief to delay (he did not cancel) aid to Ukraine, to ensure that its government was not still paying off the Bidens for their lobbying efforts on its behalf.

    It is also now clear that Biden serially lied about his ignorance of Hunter’s shake-down operation. In fact, he was, as Devon Archer emphasized, “the brand” central to Hunter’s scheme to coerce money from foreign governments. Joe was proverbially, in Hunter’s words “the man sitting next to me” and thus able to either punish or reward foreign interests, depending on the size of the checks they wrote to his various fronting family members.

    Offspring subpoenas

    The left is now furious that Hunter has been subpoenaed by the House to testify in private about how he earned his multimillion-dollar income, whether he fully paid taxes on it, and to whom he distributed his winnings.

    Hunter has refused to testify. He is now being held in contempt of the U.S. Congress—to the silence of the usually self-righteous former senator Joe “pay your fair share” Biden.

    We hear sanctimonious harangues that Joe is guilty of loving “his only son” Hunter too much, or that it is way out of bounds for a Department of Justice prosecutor to hound Joe Biden by going “after his family,” or that Republican congressional subpoenas and contempt findings should be summarily ignored.

    Ask Peter Navarro or Steve Bannon whether one can simply ignore a House subpoena. Ask Ivanka Trump whether she was, or was not, subpoenaed to appear before the January 6 committee. Ask the Trump sons whether they could breezily say “no” to Letitia James’s subpoenas in her farcical real-estate-valuation suit against Trump.

    Whistleblowers

    Do we remember when, not long ago, whistleblowers were noble?

    The alleged whistleblower Eric Ciaramella, an Obama holdover who had burrowed inside the Trump administration, had zero firsthand knowledge of the Trump phone call to Ukrainian president Zelensky. Ukrainian expatriate Lt. Col Alexander Vindman was on the call, as a member of the Trump national security team. He broke the law and apparently disclosed the classified call—in outrage that Trump was apparently too hard on his native Ukraine— to Ciaramella, and then hid the latter’s identity. Both met privately with Rep. Adam Schiff (D—CA) to engineer an impeachment writ. 

    This impeachment gambit was well-known to the media and the Democratic House. Both Vindman and Ciaramella were canonized as invaluable tools in wearing down Trump in a way that the failed Mueller prosecution had never done. 

    And whistleblowers now? 

    IRS Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and 13-year Special IRS Agent Joe Ziegler never violated any statute or disclosed classified information. They did not leak a presidential phone call to a foreign leader.

    Instead, both came forward as whistleblowers to testify before Congress about how the Biden Justice Department deliberately and carefully ensured that the mountain of evidence for the prosecution of Hunter Biden that they had presented had simply been ignored—at least long enough for the statute of limitations to run out on his most egregious crimes.

    When they both made their case that facts proved the Biden family received huge sums for selling access to or action from Joe Biden, they were roundly trashed by Democrats in congress and pilloried as disgruntled politicos by a toady press.

    Dictators

    Never-Trumpers and leftists vie to predict the most nightmarish consequence of a 2024 Trump election win. Supposedly, he will commit every imaginable sin, from ending habeas corpus to jailing his enemies.

    This fearmongering has no basis in fact, especially given that the nation has already experienced a Trump administration for four years. And it saw none of the weaponization of the CIA, FBI, DOJ, and IRS that we have seen under the Biden and earlier Obama administrations. There was no concerted effort to destroy the 2020 Biden campaign in the manner of the 2016 Russian-collusion caper, no FBI suppression of evidence as we saw in the case of the Hunter laptop, no warping of a FISA court, no paying social media corporations FBI money to suppress news unfavorable to Trump. And so on.

    The Burden of Familial Indictments? 

    Suddenly yet another new narrative emerges: Joe Biden is unduly preoccupied, bearing the enormous burden of Hunter’s indictments. Apparently, we have never appreciated the supposedly unnecessary and cruel encumbrance on a president when his son is indicted.

    So, we are told that a son’s legal exposure is an unfair weight on a president.

    Have we again forgotten the subpoenaed Trump children, much less the four weaponized indictments of Trump himself? Does anyone wish to compare the drug-addicted, prostitute-hiring, gun-losing, pornographic-photo-taking, shake-down grifting of Hunter with the conduct of the five Trump children?

    What would Biden think if the next Republican Secretary of State had once tried to ruin him by rounding up “51 intelligence authorities” to blatantly lie that a Trump son’s incriminating laptop was not his own, in order to affect the 2024 election —all in the manner of the Antony Blinken 2020 ruse? Or imagine a future National Security advisor who had once tried, in Jake Sullivan’s 2016 way, to concoct a malicious yarn that Hunter was engineering a computer ping correspondence from Biden headquarters to Moscow. Would those be burdens on Biden? Were they on Trump?

    It may well be unwise to impeach a president in his first term when he loses his House majority. It may certainly set a bad precedent to subpoena the children of presidents. It may be regrettable that whistleblowers are either unduly demonized or sanctified. And it is of course wrong to smear a president as a veritable Hitlerian dictator.

    But the left does not see such absolutes. Instead, once a supposedly morally-superior agenda is enunciated, then any means necessary are justified to obtain it.

    And that alternate reality ensures that impeaching a president, indicting him, subpoenaing his kids, praising or libeling whistleblowers, or smearing a president as a dictator become good or bad things only by determining whether they prove useful to the progressive project.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 21:00

  • Over 80,000 Israelis Near Lebanese Border Are Refugees In Their Own Country
    Over 80,000 Israelis Near Lebanese Border Are Refugees In Their Own Country

    Israeli National Security Advisor Tzachi Hangebi has said that Israel may have to go to war against Hezbollah, as he now fears a potential future attack by the Shia paramilitary group backed by Iran that would be worse than Oct. 7. “We can no longer accept (Hezbollah’s elite) Radwan force sitting on the border,” he said recently.

    Commentary on his words in The New Arab concluded, “The Israelis are anticipating within the next six weeks to two months that if the diplomatic track isn’t working, they’re going to have to opt for some kind of military solution.”

    On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant estimated that over 80,000 Israeli citizens are still displaced from their homes, after border regions had to be evacuated en masse as a result of Hezbollah attacks, which have been daily since Oct.7.

    Via Reuters

    The two sides have been engaged in a running tit-for-tat, but which has yet to spiral into full blown war:

    “Over 80,000 citizens have been displaced, living as refugees in their own country… We will bring back the residents of the north to their homes in the border after full security will be restored,” Gallant told a  news briefing.

    The defense chief further said that literally “hundreds” of Hezbollah attacks had been conducted, resulting in five Israeli civilians killed. Likely many more IDF troops have been killed in these cross-border attacks too. Israel has responded by regularly bombing various locations across south Lebanon, sometimes dropping bombs and mortars on residential areas and civilian homes, resulting in Lebanese killed and wounded.

    Israel has also launched attacks on Hezbollah ally Syria, including several attacks and missiles launched on sites in Damascus and in the south in the last 24 hours. Israel frequently attacks Syria from Lebanese airspace, as Lebanon doesn’t have an air force to speak of.

    Hezbollah remains Israel’s most formidable foe, which has resulted in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issuing severe warnings of late. “If Hezbollah decides to open an all-out war, then with its own hands it will turn Beirut and southern Lebanon, which are not far from here, into Gaza and Khan Younis,” he said earlier this month while addressing IDF troops at base near the Lebanese border. 

    For now, it’s unlikely that Hezbollah will withdraw from the border anytime soon, and tens of thousands of Israelis won’t be able to return to their homes, as the following analysis also suggests:

    Joshua Landis, Director of the Centre of Middle East Studies and the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies at the University of Oklahoma, doubts Hezbollah will withdraw from the border.

    The group, and the broader Iran-backed regional ‘Resistance Front’, also dubbed the ‘Axis of Resistance’, against Israel, has been given “new relevance and popularity” due to the Gaza war.

    “With Syria in pieces, Lebanon facing both political and economic crisis, and Hezbollah’s reputation in the Sunni world badly damaged by its engagement on the side of Assad in the Syrian Civil War, the Resistance Front’s reputation was in below zero,” Landis told The New Arab.

    “Now that the Arab world realizes the Palestinian issue is not going away, resistance is again on everyone’s lips,” he said. “Hezbollah will not want to appear cowed by Israel, nor will Iran.”

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

    The consensus among regional analysts is that Hezbollah is far superior to Hamas’ capability in terms of numbers of fighters, missiles, and weaponry such as laser-guided anti-tank missiles. An all-out war scenario would be severe, but likely Lebanon would be devastated and come under Israeli bombs. For now it seems, neither side wants this.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 20:40

  • Which Cars Depreciate The Fastest?
    Which Cars Depreciate The Fastest?

    It’s a fact of life that vehicles depreciate – some say by almost 50% as soon they’re driven out of the lot. Some depreciate less, but which cars depreciate the fastest?

    In the graphic below, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Pallavi Rao show the top 10 vehicles with the highest depreciation rates over five years, based on data from iSeeCars.

    They analyzed over 1.1 million used cars from model year 2018, sold between November 2022 to October 2023. Models no longer in production as of the 2022 model year were excluded.

    Luxury Cars Struggle to Hold Their Value

    At the top of the list, the Maserati Quattroporte loses nearly two-thirds of its value after five years. First introduced in 1963, the car is Maserati’s flagship, and is on its sixth iteration as a four-door luxury sedan, with a high performance Ferrari–made V6 or V8 engine.

    The 2018 version of the car retailed anywhere between $109,000–$140,000, depending on the model.

    Here’s a look at the full list of fastest depreciating cars in the U.S.

    Rank Model Average 5-Yr
    Depreciation
    Average Difference
    from MSRP
    1 Maserati Quattroporte 65% $90,588
    2 BMW 7 Series 62% $72,444
    3 Maserati Ghibli 61% $58,623
    4 BMW 5 Series
    (Hybrid)
    59% $37,975
    5 Cadillac Escalade ESV 59% $63,885
    6 BMW X5 58% $44,828
    7 INFINITI QX80 58% $47,399
    8 Maserati Levante 58% $55,858
    9 Jaguar XF 58% $39,720
    10 Audi A7 57% $48,917
    11 Audi Q7 57% $41,731
    12 Cadillac Escalade 57% $59,093
    13 Audi A6 56% $38,252
    14 Volvo S90 56% $35,365
    15 Nissan Armada 56% $36,875
    16 Mercedes-Benz
    S-Class
    56% $70,563
    17 Lincoln Navigator L 56% $57,224
    18 Mercedes-Benz
    GLS
    56% $54,523
    19 Tesla Model S 56% $60,145
    20 BMW 5 Series 55% $39,856
    21 BMW X5 55% $39,992
    22 Lincoln Navigator 55% $53,582
    23 BMW X5 M 54% $66,277
    24 Land Rover
    Range Rover
    54% $68,874
    25 Cadillac XT5 54% $31,737
    N/A Overall 39% $17,221

    Note: MSRP stands for Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price, the price recommended by a product’s producer to retailers. Furthermore, MSRPs from 2018 were inflation-adjusted to 2023 dollars.

    BMW’s 7-series and 5-series also lose value quickly (nearly 60% of their retail price), ranking second and fourth respectively.

    Another Maserati car, the Ghibli comes in third (-61%), and the Cadillac Escalade ESV (-59%) rounds out the top five fastest depreciating vehicles.

    From a quick glance through the ranks, the cars that depreciate the fastest are luxury vehicles, specifically luxury sedans. These types of cars are often leased, and supply increases dramatically once the lease period expires. Meanwhile, most owners who can afford a luxury car would prefer to buy a new model, while used-car owners would prefer not to pay a high premium on an already outdated model.

    However, there’s another segment of the market that also drops in value quickly—electric vehicles. Analysis found that EVs lose roughly 49% of their value on the resale market, the worst amongst the categories specified.

    Rank Segment Average 5-Yr
    Depreciation (%)
    1 EVs 49%
    2 SUVs 41%
    3 Hybrids 37%
    4 Trucks 35%
    N/A Overall 39%

    A lack of larger demand appetite, as well as a plethora of government incentives pushing people to buying new electric vehicles could explain their faster than average depreciation rate. Trucks on the other hand are the slowest depreciating segment of all vehicles in the U.S.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 20:20

  • The Multifront Attack On Elon Musk
    The Multifront Attack On Elon Musk

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

    Elon Musk is the world’s richest man but also the number one target of the world’s richest governments and their associated industrialists. The reason traces entirely to his independence of mind and the actions that follow from that. 

    In times of censorship, he bought and now protects a free-speech platform, the only one remaining with any real reach into the public mind. Countless millions of people are deeply grateful, even if the platform is a long way from profitability. 

    Further, he is innovating in a time of stagnation with Tesla, Starlink, and SpaceX. He is outspoken against the many forms of despotism of our time. This is the whole reason he is fending off attacks from every angle. 

    In the latest assault, the European Union’s Digital commissioner Thierry Breton has posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he believes Elon has infringed on the EU’s rules.

    He set out the alleged infringements in a post on the social media platform.

    • Suspected breach of obligations to counter #IllegalContent and #Disinformation 

    • Suspected breach of #Transparency obligations 

    • Suspected #DeceptiveDesign of user interface

    Elon has been very clear that he works to respect the laws of every country, even those with which he strongly disagrees. This pertains to the EU’s aggressive censorship, which was deployed through the Covid era at the expense of scientific freedom and in defense of governments that locked down their citizenry, forced medical treatments on citizens that they did not want or need, and then covered up behind-the-scenes machinations. 

    It’s rich to have Breton go after Elon for a lack of transparency when the whole point of the EU’s regime is to force a lack of transparency. Adding to the irony, Breton knew that Musk would not censor the note on the world’s largest platform for free speech. He is thereby deploying the use of freedom in opposition to its existence. 

    And before we sniff at the censorial Europeans and their intolerance toward free speech, consider that the same thing – or some version of it – is happening to Elon in the US. After March 2020, there was a concerted effort led by deep-state actors to gain full control of social media to squelch any dissent. It affected every platform, including Twitter. Amazon and all app stores even banned Parler because it was becoming too popular. 

    As things died down, Musk bought the Twitter platform and purged 4 out of 5 employees, including the many government agents who had been hired to turn Twitter into a government propaganda machine. Since then he has upheld the First Amendment and innovated a series of tools that allow for internal and crowd-source fact-checking to make his renamed platform the most reliable source of news and opinion in the world. 

    Since he took over, he has faced a barrage of state-generated attacks. 

    The SEC has sued Musk over the purchase of the platform. 

    According to the New York Times, “his takeover has been the subject of several lawsuits and investigations by the federal authorities. The Federal Trade Commission has probed whether X had the resources to protect users’ privacy after he laid off much of its staff and several senior executives responsible for privacy and security resigned. The agency has also sought to depose Mr. Musk. Former Twitter shareholders have also sued Mr. Musk for fraud in a case related to his belated disclosure of his stake in the company.”

    The FTC has demanded internal X documents. 

    Says The Hill: “the FTC has sent more than a dozen letters to Twitter since Musk completed his acquisition in October. It states that the agency has demanded Twitter provide internal communications “relating to Elon Musk” from any Twitter employee, information about the platform’s Twitter Blue verification subscription service and the names of journalists who were granted access to Twitter records.”

    The Biden Department of Justice has sued SpaceX…get this…for not hiring refugees for secret rocket technology.

    CNN says: “The suit claims that ‘from at least September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying and refused to hire or consider them, because of their citizenship status, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),’ according to an August 24 DOJ news release.”

    The Biden Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission have sued Tesla over improper perks. 

    Forbes says: “The widened investigation comes after federal prosecutors and the SEC began probing a secret Tesla project known as Project 42 that employees described as a glass house for Musk in the Austin, Texas, area near Tesla’s factory, the Journal reported in August.”

    The Biden Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation against Tesla over self-driving cars.

    Reuters reports: “The U.S. Department of Justice launched the previously undisclosed probe last year following more than a dozen crashes, some of them fatal, involving Tesla’s driver assistance system Autopilot, which was activated during the accidents, the people said.” The presumption here is preposterous: that Elon doesn’t care if his product is flawed and doesn’t desire improvement. 

    There is a federal investigation of Neuralink.

    Reuters again: “Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a medical device company, is under federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid internal staff complaints that its animal testing is being rushed, causing needless suffering and deaths, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and sources familiar with the investigation and company operations.”

    Then there is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation over harassment at Tesla.

    The EEOC says: “Since at least 2015 to the present, Black employees at Tesla’s Fremont, California manufacturing facilities have routinely endured racial abuse, pervasive stereotyping, and hostility as well as epithets… Slurs were used casually and openly in high-traffic areas and at worker hubs. Black employees regularly encountered graffiti, including variations of the N-word, swastikas, threats, and nooses, on desks and other equipment, in bathroom stalls, within elevators, and even on new vehicles rolling off the production line.”

    Finally, we have the aggressive advertising boycott on the part of major corporations, including Disney, CNBC, Comcast, Warner Bros, IBM, and the Financial Times, among many others. Musk has refused to be intimidated by these people. He has said that he refuses to be blackmailed by money and instead told the companies to “Go f*** yourself.” Which is rather remarkable and really does speak to a major problem in social media today, which is the extent to which so many platforms are willing to do the bidding of the corporatist system in order to serve the bottom line. 

    That is fully nine direct lines of attack, but probably the company and Elon could list another several dozen such cases like this once you consider all levels of government everywhere Musk’s companies are operating.

    And yes, it all sounds like something straight out of a novel by Ayn Rand. The successful and innovative entrepreneur is attacked on all sides by institutions and people who live off the system rather than innovate around and beyond it. 

    We truly do live in a new age of envy, powered by states and their industrial allies more wedded to their own profitability lines and plans rather than what the people want and what great entrepreneurs can create.

    This is very clearly a crony attack.

    What’s striking is that everyone knows that and yet it is tolerated in any case.

    It’s a great recipe for killing off the wealth-generating machine for a generation or two.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 20:20

  • Orange Juice, Cocoa, Coffee Are The Hottest Commodities 
    Orange Juice, Cocoa, Coffee Are The Hottest Commodities 

    Futures for orange juice, cocoa, and coffee have surged well into double-digit territory this year, standing out in contrast to the broader commodity market and the UN’s global food index, which have seen declines over the same period. 

    On November 22, orange juice futures topped more than 100% gains on the year. Supplies are in a severe shortage in Florida as the nation’s top-producing citrus state has been plagued with disease and storms. 

    At the end of November, cocoa futures were up 79% due to El Nino-induced weather disturbances that led to poor harvests in Ivory Coast and Ghana – some of the world’s largest cocoa producers.’

    And in the coffee market, Arabica coffee futures are up 16% on the year due to severe drought conditions in Brazil. Also, supplies are dwindling as ICE-monitored arabica coffee stockpiles dropped to a 24-year low

    Source: Bloomberg

    When the three commodities, some popular with breakfast-lovers, are compared with the Bloomberg Commodity Index and UN’s FAO Food Price Index, food inflation appears sticky, and there is nothing central banks can do with their monetary wonds to tame weather. 

    This is why elevated and prolonged food inflation is dangerous: Last month, Sara Menker, founder and CEO of Gro Intelligence, told Bloomberg that the current food crisis has already surpassed the one in 2007-08, which ultimately sparked the Arab Spring across the Middle East a few years later.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 20:00

  • Media Matters Sues Texas AG in Maryland Over Investigation Of Its Report On Musk's X
    Media Matters Sues Texas AG in Maryland Over Investigation Of Its Report On Musk’s X

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

    Media Matters for America is suing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in federal court, arguing that reporting by its senior investigative reporter on Elon Musk’s X app is being “chilled” by the AG’s announced investigation.

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the launch of an antitrust investigation into large tech companies outside of the Supreme Court in Washington on Sept. 9, 2019. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

    Media Matters, a progressive watchdog group, filed its lawsuit Tuesday. It had reported last month that, according to its analysis, X was a platform hosting bigots and that it had paid far-right extremists, warning advertisers that their content was running beside pro-Hitler and anti-Semitic content.

    The report was then cited by major companies, like Apple, Disney, Sony, and Fox Sports, who announced they were boycotting the platform from their advertising campaigns. This triggered Mr. Paxton to announce on Nov. 21 an investigation into Media Matters “for potential fraudulent activity” in its report, after X responded to the allegations saying that the progressive group had manufactured its results.

    X has sued Media Matters for defamation over the report in a Texas federal court, citing advertising data showing that report author Eric Hananoki was among only two users to see an Apple ad next to the hateful content, while explaining that content follows the search history of users.

    “Attorney General Paxton was extremely troubled by the allegations that Media Matters, a radical anti-free speech organization, fraudulently manipulated data on X.com (formerly known as Twitter),” the Office of the Attorney General in Texas said in announcing its investigation following X’s comments.

    Meanwhile, the state of Missouri has also launched an investigation.

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

    Back to Texas…

    Mr. Paxton argued that his case was to protect the First Amendment rights of Texans. X has come under attack from progressive groups after Mr. Musk’s takeover of Twitter and the release of internal communications that revealed the company censored speech in favor of then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in the run-up to the 2020 election.

    Mr. Paxton’s office explained in its statement that it was pursuing its investigation of Media Matters’s report under the Texas Business Organizations Code and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which allows his office to “vigorously enforce against nonprofits who commit fraudulent acts in or affecting the state of Texas.”

    “We are examining the issue closely to ensure that the public has not been deceived by the schemes of radical left-wing organizations who would like nothing more than to limit freedom by reducing participation in the public square,” Mr. Paxton said of the negative publicity directed at X since Mr. Musk’s takeover and efforts to reform the platform in favor of free speech for all Americans, regardless of political view.

    Founded in 2004, Media Matters calls itself a “progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.”

    Media Matters is asking a judge in a federal court in Maryland to permanently block Mr. Paxton’s investigation, arguing that the AG office’s request to “rifle through their most sensitive journalistic and organizational documents” would be a violation of their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

    Mr. Paxton’s investigation didn’t request Media Matters to stop publishing its findings, although Media Matters said in its court filing, “Draft articles [Mr. Hananoki] intended to publish about violent extremism on X were cut for fear of further retaliation from Paxton.”

    “Hananoki wishes to continue writing and publishing articles about how Musk’s ownership of X has enabled political extremism on the platform but Defendant Paxton’s actions demanding unbounded disclosure of Hananoki’s newsgathering sources and means have chilled his speech,” it claimed.

    Maryland is the home state of Media Matters senior investigative reporter Mr. Hananoki, who authored the report. Media Matters in its filing also argued that Maryland and the District of Columbia, the only regions that the reporter has worked from, have “shield” laws that protect journalists from being compelled to disclose statutorily protected, confidential sources.

    It also alleged that the Texas AG’s efforts were “a baseless and arbitrary government investigation in a state to which they have no relevant connection.”

    Mr. Musk had welcomed Mr. Paxton’s probe, saying on X, “Fraud has both civil & criminal penalties.”

    X is also suing Media Matters for unlawfully interfering in its relationship with advertisers.

    Meanwhile, Missouri AG Andrew Bailey earlier announced his own investigation into Media Matters for “potentially unlawful business practices.”

    Mr. Bailey’s letter accused the progressive organization of doing so “in an attempt to defame the organization and cause advertisers to pull their support from the platform, thus harming free speech.”

    “Radicals are attempting to kill Twitter because they cannot control it, and we are not going to let Missourians get ripped off in the process,” Mr. Bailey said in a release. “I’m fighting to ensure progressive tyrants masquerading as news outlets cannot manipulate the marketplace in order to wipe out free speech.”

    Earlier in the week, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said that he had sent letters to 18 company CEOs about their decision to boycott X while continuing to do business with the China-owned social media platform TikTok.

    “I’m just asking for a little consistency,” he said in a statement reported on by Fox Business. “If these corporations are boycotting X out of concern for their reputation, then I expect them to maintain that standard on all social media platforms.”

    “If these companies are truly interested in safeguarding their brand, they should immediately boycott TikTok, which is controlled by Communist China and overflowing with hateful content.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 19:40

  • "Reality Is At Fault": Tucker Sits Down With Babylon Bee's Seth Dillon
    “Reality Is At Fault”: Tucker Sits Down With Babylon Bee’s Seth Dillon

    Tucker Carlson sat down recently with Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon – whose unfair ban at the hands of woke Twitter censors resulted in Elon Musk’s purchase of the platform and subsequent release of the Twitter Files – internal communications which revealed that the social media giant was essentially a government sock-puppet that controlled the flow of information.

    According to Carlson, Dillon isn’t just a humorist, but as a modern-day prophet based on the sheer number of times that Babylon Bee headlines have come true (we recommend reading the actual articles too – as they’re absolutely hilarious).

    It turns out and we went through quite a few examples of the Babylon Bee’s parody stories that have come true in dozens, scores, nearly 100 cases,” said Carlson, who asked Dillon: “So when you see the news story that confirms what you thought was a pretty out there joke, what’s your reaction?”

    “I mean, we’re getting accustomed to it at this point,” Dillon replied. “It’s reached a level where it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between what’s reported as facts by the news media and what someone with a dark sense of humor has made up.”

    It’s tough to beat reality

    Discussing the challenges of satire, Dillon quipped: “Imagine if your job is to write jokes funnier than what Democrats are doing in real life,” noting the inherent difficulty in satirizing clownworld.”Imagine if your job is to write jokes that are funnier than a Kamala Harris speech. It’s challenging. It’s actually very challenging.

    Predictive Parody: When Satire Precedes Reality

    The pair then discussed the multitude of instances the Bee’s satirical headlines pre-empted actual news, like the electric car mandates during power shortages, or people collapsing after taking the Covid-19 vaccine which carried the headline, “Experts say they don’t know what thing is causing everyone to suddenly collapse, but it’s definitely not that one thing, or “Government Disinformation Board Determines All Criticism Of Government Disinformation Board To Be Disinformation.”

    It’s comical…we’re just reporting the news,” Dillon joked, underlining how satire, in its exaggeration, is often right on the mark.

    Speaking of fact checkers, the two discussed the absurdity of the ‘fact checking’ industrial complex – with Dillon expressing both amusement and frustration with fact-checkers who take Babylon Bee’s satire at face value, indicating a broader issue with idiots in the media and their grasp of satire.

    “You know, so you have these things…we’ll publish a joke that’s clearly a satirical joke, but everybody thinks it’s true,” Dillon said, adding “Reality is at fault for that.”

    Of course, let’s not forget that the MSM loves to ‘play dumb’ for their ‘challenged’ audiences.

    Elon Musk’s Rescue of The Babylon Bee

    Dillon recounted Babylon Bee’s suspension from Twitter, and Elon Musk’s role in their reinstatement.

    “Elon Musk is trying to message us, and we can’t get back to him,” Dillon said – referring to the old Twitter, before Musk stepped in to champion free speech on the platform.

    Rachel Levine: The Controversial Man of the Year

    The conversation got even more hilarious while discussing “Man of the Year” satire featuring Rachel Levine (after he received USA Today’s  “woman of the year” award) – a joke which led to their Twitter suspension.

    “Yeah. Yeah. Woman of the Year. So that headline itself, I think is comical. It’s funny. It’s it’s it seems like a parody, but it’s not. It’s real,” said Dillon – to which Tucker joked, “Ugliest woman in America…”

    Watch below, and subscribe to the Tucker Carlson Network here:

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    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 19:20

  • US Nuclear Sub Arrives In South Korea For 3rd Time This Year
    US Nuclear Sub Arrives In South Korea For 3rd Time This Year

    Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute,

    An American nuclear submarine arrived in South Korea for the third time this year. Shortly after the warship arrived in South Korea, North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile

    On Sunday, Yonhap News reported the Virginia-class submarine USS Missouri arrived at a South Korean port. In July, the Pentagon had an Ohio-class attack submarine – a warship equipped with nuclear weapons – make a port call in South Korea. Last month, a Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine made a stop at the Korean Peninsula.

    Illustrative file image: US Navy/CNN

    Shortly before the Missouri arrived in South Korea, the Biden administration issued a statement reaffirming it would use nuclear weapons to defend Seoul. “The US reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to provide extended deterrence to [South Korea], backed by the full range of US capabilities including nuclear,” the White House stated on Saturday. 

    “Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies is unacceptable and will result in the end of the Kim regime, and the US side reiterated that any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the ROK will be met with a swift, overwhelming, and decisive response.”

    The deployments have drawn Pyongyang’s sharp criticism. In response to the USS Missouri arriving in South Korea, the Ministry of National Defense of North Korea issued a statement, slamming the US and South Korea as “military gangsters.” 

    “The US and the military gangsters of the Republic of Korea, who have aggravated the situation in the Korean peninsula with their reckless military provocations such as deployment of nuclear strike means and large-scale joint military drills throughout this year, are going to finish the end of the year with a preview of a nuclear war,” it said.

    “Clear is the intention of the US which dispatched the nuclear-powered submarine Missouri to the Korean peninsula as soon as it hatched a dangerous plot for a nuclear war in Washington.”

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    Pyongyang additionally conducted a ballistic missile test after the Missouri’s arrival. The short-range missile was fired from near Pyongyang and landed in the ocean. 

    Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have skyrocketed since President Biden took office and relaunched provocative military drills and strategic weapons deployments with Seoul. Pyongyang views the myriad US-led military exercises as preparation for a regime change war in North Korea. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 19:00

  • Arizona's Democratic Gov. Sends National Guard To Border, Citing Feds' Inaction On Migrant Influx
    Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Sends National Guard To Border, Citing Feds’ Inaction On Migrant Influx

    Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed an executive order on Friday to deploy National Guard members to the southern border with Mexico to tackle border issues, citing the lack of action from the federal government.

    “Yet again, the federal government is refusing to do its job to secure our border and keep our communities safe,” Ms. Hobbs, a Democrat, said in a press release on Dec. 15.

    Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs delivers her State of the State address at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on Jan. 9, 2023. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo)

    National Guard members will be stationed at multiple locations along the southern border near the Lukeville Port of Entry and the San Miguel crossing. Ms. Hobbs did not specify how many members will be deployed.

    They will assist the Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement agencies in dealing with fentanyl interdiction, analytical support, and human trafficking enforcement efforts at the border.

    With this Executive Order, I am taking action where the federal government won’t,” the governor stated.

    “But we can’t stand alone, Arizona needs resources and manpower to reopen the Lukeville crossing, manage the flow of migrants, and maintain a secure, orderly, and humane border,” she added.

    Ms. Hobbs said the Biden administration has failed to respond to her request for reimbursement for border security spending.

    “Despite continued requests for assistance, the Biden administration has refused to deliver desperately needed resources to Arizona’s border,” the governor stated.

    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Dec. 4 closed the Lukeville Point of Entry until further notice to redirect resources to increased illegal smuggling of migrants elsewhere on the border.

    CBP said it was “surging all available resources to expeditiously and safely process migrants.”

    Hobbs Requested Over $512 Million Reimbursement

    Ms. Hobbs sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Dec. 8 urging him to reassign National Guard members to assist in reopening the Lukeville Point of Entry.

    Ms. Hobbs said the federal government’s decision to close the border entry has led to “an unmitigated humanitarian crisis” and “put Arizona’s safety and commerce at risk.”

    In her letter, Ms. Hobbs called on the Biden administration to reassign around 243 National Guard members stationed in the Tucson region to help reopen the Lukeville Port of Entry.

    “Further, to the extent it is necessary, I am requesting that additional National Guard members currently on federal active duty orders be reassigned to Arizona to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection to reopen the Lukeville Port of Entry,” she stated.

    Ms. Hobbs also requested the Federal government to reimburse the state for over $512 million in costs incurred as a result of “federal border inaction.”

    “Additionally, due to the federal government’s failure to secure our border, the State of Arizona has spent $512,529,333 on border operations including migrant transportation, drug interdiction, and law enforcement,” she said in the letter.

    “I am requesting the federal government reimburse the state for these expenses,” the governor said.

    Dozens of illegal aliens await instructions near the Lukeville Port of Entry in Lukeville, Ariz., on Dec. 7, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

    Dozens of illegal aliens await instructions near the Lukeville Port of Entry in Lukeville, Ariz., on Dec. 7, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

    Border security has often been a partisan issue, with Republicans seeking more restrictive and aggressive measures while Democrats have placed more emphasis on the humanitarian needs of impoverished migrants and asylum-seekers coming from around the world.

    President Biden has also felt pressure from some Democrats, including the big city mayors of Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York, who have asked his administration for more funding and action to reduce their immigration burden.

    CBP reported 232,972 migrant encounters for August—up nearly 27 percent from July’s total, including unaccompanied children.

    Approximately 50,000 encounters in August were in the active Tucson sector, which includes most of the 372-mile-long southern Arizona border. The agency conducted 3,212 rescues, bringing the year’s total to 29,365.

    Allan Stein and Reuters contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 18:40

  • China's Securities Regulator Warns Companies To Increase Dividends & Buybacks… Or Else
    China’s Securities Regulator Warns Companies To Increase Dividends & Buybacks… Or Else

    Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

    Hoping to boost stock market prices, China mandates more dividends and buybacks…

    Increase Dividends or Else

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    Demanding More Debt

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    Terrible Policy

    Pettis presents a plus side and a minis side. I see it as a foolish mandate and an act of desperation.

    Unlike Pettis, I fail to see how forcing companies to use their cash, increase leverage, or take on unwarranted debt hoping to fuel a stock market rally can possibly be a good thing.

    If the debt is not serviceable by profits, it will weaken the corporations. How can that rebalance anything?

    Technically Speaking

    Technically speaking the Shanghai Index appears poised for a big move one way or another after a lengthy consolidation. There are several lower highs and higher lows.

    Shanghai Composite Index, Bloomberg

    Since the initial move was lower, and triangles are continuation patterns, the expected break is lower, but I don’t know, nor does anyone else.

    I do know bad policy, and the action by Chinese regulators is terribly unsound.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 18:20

  • "America's Dictator" Sweeps To 3rd Term As President Of Egypt With Nearly 90% Of Vote
    “America’s Dictator” Sweeps To 3rd Term As President Of Egypt With Nearly 90% Of Vote

    In the Middle East region, Israel has for decades been the biggest recipient of US foreign aid, but less commonly known is that Egypt has long held the number two spot. 

    This ultimately goes back to the Camp David Accords signed in 1978 which led to the formalizing of a permanent state of peace between Egypt and Israel. Since then, the $1.3 billion given to Egypt annually at American taxpayers’ expense largely goes towards maintaining the military and national security bureaucracy. 

    Pool photo

    Bottom line is that it all goes toward securing the regional order on Washington’s terms, with Israel’s security as the number one priority.

    While Washington might talk about “spreading democracy” – any such talk is largely an illusion in Egypt, which has long been known for violently suppressing protests, horrendous political prisons, and torture. People regularly get “disappeared” in Egypt and the US hardly bats an eye.

    US politicians and media pundits like to mock as “banana republics” nations it doesn’t like (or those targeted for regime change: Libya, Syria, Russia, etc.), but the reality is that America long ago purchased its own banana republic in Egypt, and ever since it’s been a Western media game of pretending there’s a true “Egyptian democracy”. 

    Below, are details of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s having just won nearly 90% of the vote, via The Cradle [emphasis ZH]…

    * * *

    Egypt’s election authority announced on Monday that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has secured a third six-year term leading the North African nation.  

    Sisi won another term with 89.6 percent of the vote, the National Elections Authority said. Over 39 million Egyptians voted for the former army chief, who has ruled the nation for over a decade.  

    This will be Sisi’s final term in office as the Egyptian constitution only allows a president to sit for three terms. He was first sworn into office in 2014 after the overthrow of the country’s first popularly elected president, Mohammed Morsi, and was reelected in 2018, both times winning with over 90 percent of the vote.  

    Via CNN/HowMuch.net

    Egypt’s election took place as the nation is struggling with a slow-burning economic crisis and keeping a long-standing position as a mediator between Palestine and Israel. 

    Furthermore, the Egyptian economy has worsened to the point where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said they’reseriously considering” increasing its loans to Egypt.  

    “The conflict is devastating Gaza’s population and economy and has severe impacts on the West Bank’s economy and is also posing difficulties for neighboring countries Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan through the loss of tourism and higher energy costs,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had previously said. 

    Egypt’s economic struggles can only potentially worsen amid Yemen’s Ansarallah attacks on the Red Sea, forcing ships to take the long route around Africa instead of the Suez Canal – a significant source of income for Egypt. Cairo has also been dealing with Israel’s plan of displacing Palestinians from Gaza into the Sinai desert, with Sisi threatening Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of rupturing diplomatic ties.  

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    Israeli sources told Axios, “The Egyptians expressed anxiety that a crisis on their border with Gaza would result in thousands of Palestinian refugees crossing the border barrier and trying to find shelter in the Sinai.” 

    “Displacing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Sinai means transferring the conflict and the killings from Gaza to Sinai, where Sinai becomes a base for launching operations against Israel, and in this case, Israel will have the right to defend itself, so it directs its strikes against Egyptian territory,” Sisi previously said

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 18:00

  • Not-So-Scary Truth About Climate Change
    Not-So-Scary Truth About Climate Change

    Authored by John Stossel via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry says it will take trillions of dollars to “solve” climate change. Then he says, “There is not enough money in any country in the world to actually solve this problem.”

    John Kerry, U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, speaks during the Energy Session at Al Waha Theater during day two of the high-level segment of the UNFCCC COP28 Climate Conference at Expo City Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 2, 2023. (Stuart Wilson/COP28 via Getty Images)

    Kerry has little understanding of money or how it’s created. He’s a multimillionaire because he married a rich woman. Now he wants to take more of your money to pretend to affect climate change.

    Bjorn Lomborg points out that there are better things society should spend money on.

    Lomborg acknowledges that a warmer climate brings problems. “As temperatures get higher, sea water, like everything else, expands. So we’re going to maybe see three feet of sea level rise. Then they say, ‘So everybody who lives within three feet of sea level, they’ll have to move!’ Well, no. If you actually look at what people do, they built dikes and so they don’t have to move.”

    People in Holland did that years ago. A third of the Netherlands is below sea level. In some areas, it’s 22 feet below. Yet the country thrives. That’s the way to deal with climate change: adjust to it.

    Fewer people are going to get flooded every year, despite the fact that you have much higher sea level rise. The total cost for Holland over the last half-century is about $10 billion,” says Lomborg. “Not nothing, but very little for an advanced economy over 50 years.”

    For saying things like that, Lomborg is labeled “the devil.”

    “The problem here is unmitigated scaremongering,” he replies. “A new survey shows that 60 percent of all people in rich countries now believe it’s likely or very likely that unmitigated climate change will lead to the end of mankind. This is what you get when you have constant fearmongering in the media.”

    Some people now say they will not have children because they’re convinced that climate change will destroy the world. Lomborg points out how counterproductive that would be: “We need your kids to make sure the future is better.”

    He acknowledges that climate warming will kill people.

    “As temperatures go up, we’re likely to see more people die from heat. That’s absolutely true. You hear this all the time. But what is underreported is the fact that nine times as many people die from cold. … As temperatures go up, you’re going to see fewer people die from cold. Over the last 20 years, because of temperature rises, we have seen about 116,000 more people die from heat. But 283,000 fewer people die from cold.”

    That’s rarely reported in the news.

    When the media doesn’t fret over deaths from heat, they grab at other possible threats.

    CNN claims, “Climate Change is Fueling Extremism.”

    The BBC says, “A Shifting Climate is Catalysing Infectious Disease.”

    U.S. News and World Report says, “Climate Change will Harm Children’s Mental Health.”

    Lomborg replies, “It’s very, very easy to make this argument that everything is caused by climate change if you don’t have the full picture.”

    He points out that we rarely hear about positive effects of climate change, like global greening.

    “That’s good! We get more green stuff on the planet. My argument is not that climate change is great or overall positive. It’s simply that, just like every other thing, it has pluses and minuses. … Only reporting on the minuses, and only emphasizing worst-case outcomes, is not a good way to inform people.”

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

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 17:40

  • Watch: Gaza's Terror Tunnels Big Enough To Drive A Truck Through
    Watch: Gaza’s Terror Tunnels Big Enough To Drive A Truck Through

    Gaza’s ‘terror tunnels’ are in some instances literally big enough to drive a truck through, as several social media clips to emerge over the weekend show.

    Israel’s military has been releasing more information on the tunnels, even recently giving Western reporters a tour of a pacified wing of the tunnel network, to show the world what it’s up against. Currently the IDF is still seeking to flood the tunnels, or at least significant sections of them, by pumping in seawater. 

    Reporters with the NY Times have seen some of the tunnels, and write: “The tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip is wide enough for a large car to pass through, reinforced with concrete and fitted with electrical wiring.” 

    “And at least one section of the tunnel — which Israel says is the largest it has discovered in Gaza so far — is within walking distance of an Israeli border crossing.”

    This adds further context to help understand how Hamas terrorists were able to be so successful in rapidly infiltrating Israeli military bases and kibbutz communities during the events of Oct.7.

    Another new to emerge video clip purports to show a senior Hamas commander having a casual drive inside a very wide and tall tunnel.

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    Hamas says top engineers have worked on these tunnels, and that they can sustain anticipated Israeli actions such as flooding with seawater from the Mediterranean.

    The IDF’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, was quoted in the NYT as saying, “This tunnel had been built for years.”

    Millions of dollars have been spent on this tunnel, hundreds of tons of cement, a lot of electricity. Instead of spending all of them — the money, the cement, the electricity — on hospitals, schools, housing and other needs of the Gazans,” he added.

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    Israel has sought to underscore that Hamas steals and diverts international humanitarian aid for the sake of its tunnels, which serve a military and terroristic purpose.

    This is part of Israel’s PR campaign to explain to the world why it has long limited and restricted aid trucks passing through the Rafah crossing from Egypt.

    The Israel Defense Forces have publicized more footage of the tunnels in the following…

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    Given not only the immense size of the tunnels, but the fact that the underground network stretches for miles, Israel will have an extremely tough time fully destroying Hamas, which Netanyahu has vowed to do. Israel has said it will not send ground forces into the tunnels, but will disable them by other means.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/18/2023 – 17:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Today’s News 18th December 2023

  • US Military Faces 'Mutiny' Of Enlisted Gen-Zers As TikTok Virus Spreads
    US Military Faces ‘Mutiny’ Of Enlisted Gen-Zers As TikTok Virus Spreads

    Gen-Zers in the civilian world have already taken to the Chinese social media platform ‘TikTok’ to blast Washington and the military-industrial complex that they will not fight America’s endless wars. Even enlisted Gen-Zers are bashing the military amid a worsening recruitment crisis while neocon warmongers in the White House drag the world closer to World War III. 

    A new report from DailyMail shows a number of enlisted TikTokers, with millions of followers, are bashing the military as a morale crisis spreads like a virus across the ranks. 

    Military influencer Anthony Laster posted a video that emphasized the Army life is now for him: “Privacy, The Pay Sucks, Sh***y Food, Disrespectful Leadership, NO SLEEP!” The video was viewed more than 600,000 times. 

    Laster has more than a million followers on TikTok. His negative press on military life leaves a terrible impression on recruits. 

    “Politicians from both sides have concerns about the platform’s links with China and accuse it of pushing subversive anti-US propaganda,” DailyMail pointed out. 

    Another TikToker told thousands of followers not to join the military. 

    Here’s another TikToker. 

    And another… 

    DailyMail spoke with a defense official who said: 

    “DoD Components are required to review and approve non-official mobile applications for use on government-issued devices.

    “The DoD never authorized the use of TikTok, and several organizations have already banned its download onto its mobile devices. Users are required to sign a user agreement when the device is issued. 

    “The agreement informs them of the proper device use requirements and their responsibilities for the appropriate use and download of unmanaged applications. Additionally, all DoD personnel are required to take the Annual Cyber Awareness Challenge which has modules specific to mobile devices, social media, and geolocation capabilities.” 

    The official added:

    “DoD Mobile Application policy requires DOD Components to review and prohibit the use of applications that pose potential risk. DoD is currently updating its mobile application security policy to establish a process for prohibiting the installation of any application that DoD believes is inappropriate to be downloaded to a government device as well.” 

    In some cases, warfare has shifted from destroying men and military machinery to paralyzing and controlling the mind. 

    According to the military publication Defstrat, the sixth domain of warfare is cognitive warfare. The Chinese understand cognitive warfare exceptionally well with the TikTok virus spreading through America’s military, which comes amid a worsening recruitment crisis. Meanwhile, radical neocons in the White House are gunning for World War III. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 23:55

  • Nobel Prize Winner Seeking to Cure Cancer With mRNA Technology
    Nobel Prize Winner Seeking to Cure Cancer With mRNA Technology

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

    Nobel Prize winner Dr. Drew Weissman talked recently about using mRNA technology to prevent the development of cancers among vulnerable people.

    Japan Prize 2022 Laureates Hungarian-American biochemist Katalin Kariko (L) and American physician-scientist Drew Weissman pose with their trophy during the Japan Prize presentation ceremony in Tokyo on April 13, 2022. (Eugene Hoshiko /Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

    Dr. Weissman suggested using mRNA vaccines to prevent cancers during his Nobel Prize lecture on Dec. 7. “The idea here is that you treat people before they develop cancer,” he said. Dr. Weissman won the Nobel Prize for medicine this year along with Dr. Katalin Karikó for developing a method to prevent the immune system from launching inflammatory attacks when lab-made mRNA is injected into the body, thus enabling the therapeutic use of the medical technology.

    This allowed for the rapid development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Weissman and his team at the University of Pennsylvania are now focusing on using mRNA technology to treat cancer.

    A vaccine under development by the team teaches the body to identify and fight tumor cells. The vaccine is aimed at people who have a genetic mutation which raises their risk of cancer.

    For instance, BRCA is a gene that contributes to breast cancer risk. Out of the more than 18 million cancers identified globally every year, around five to 10 percent stem from genetic mutations.

    The Nobel Prize winner and his team investigated methods to use mRNA to trigger an immune response in the body that would kill cancer cells.

    In experiments with mice, the researchers injected mRNA that taught the body to produce a protein called IL-12. This protein directs the body to produce immune cells called effector T-cells that can remove cancer.

    We know that it’s five or 10 years that cancer cells first start to appear before you’ve got full-fledged large tumors that impair function,” Dr. Weissman said during his lecture.

    “If we treat these people, maybe every 5 years, with a vaccine that only makes effector T-cells, [it] will clean out, clear away, kill all of the transformed cells and maybe completely prevent cancer from ever appearing in these patients.”

    mRNA Treatments

    Many pharma companies are already researching the use of mRNA for cancer therapy. This month, Moderna and Merck & Co. announced that they have begun a late-stage trial of their experimental personalized mRNA treatment for patients with a type of lung cancer.

    The therapy, called v940, will be tailored for each patient individually to trigger T-cells. It will be offered in combination with the drug Keytruda. In July, the two companies kicked off a late-stage study of the combination therapy in patients with melanoma, a skin cancer.

    Earlier this year, BioNTech, the company that partnered with Pfizer to make the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, said that it had signed a deal with the UK government for personalized cancer therapies.

    According to the deal, up to 10,000 patients will be enrolled in clinical trials by the end of 2030. The cancer therapies will use mRNA technology in their treatments.

    In addition to cancer, mRNA technology is being investigated for use in the treatment of allergies, genetic diseases, heart attack, stroke, heart failure, neurodevelopmental disorders, HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis.

    Developing mRNA to vaccinate against other diseases when the existing technology has considerable flaws brings up several safety questions.

    Researchers in a landmark new study have discovered a sequence within the Pfizer mRNA COVID vaccine that produces an “unintended immune response” in the body, which experts are calling a massive “developmental and regulatory failure.”

    Synthetic Messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA), such as that used in Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, enables the body to create a specific spike protein mimicking SARS-CoV-2. The body reacts to the foreign protein and generates protective immunity, which theoretically neutralizes the real virus when it enters the body.

    Researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Toxicology Unit have discovered that the cellular machinery that ‘reads’ mRNAs ‘slips’ when confronted with repeats of a chemical modification commonly found in mRNA therapeutics. In addition to the target protein, these slips lead to the production of ‘off-target’ proteins triggering an unintended immune response,” said a press release for the study published in Nature on Dec. 6.

    Last week, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo demanded that federal health officials provide more info on the discovery of DNA fragments in Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines “hitchhiking into human cells.”

    In a letter to officials at the CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), he pointed out that the presence of Simian Virus 40 (SV40) promoter/enhancer DNA in the vaccines poses a “heightened risk of DNA integration into host cells.”

    DNA integration could theoretically impact a human’s oncogenes—the genes which can transform a healthy cell into a cancerous cell,” he warned.

    There is also research showing that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines can reduce a beneficial gut bacteria called Bifidobacteria, the presence of which is associated with higher immunity against pathogens and cancer.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 23:20

  • Which Cars Have The Best Resale Value?
    Which Cars Have The Best Resale Value?

    For three years now, the used-car market has been booming, after the pandemic disrupted new car supply chains, sending secondhand vehicle prices skyrocketing.

    But which cars have the best resale value?

    In the graphic below, Visual Capitalist’s Marcu Lu and Pallavi Rao show the top 10 vehicles with the lowest depreciation rates over five years, based on data from iSeeCars.

    They analyzed over 1.1 million used cars from model year 2018, sold between November 2022 to October 2023. Models no longer in production as of the 2022 model year were excluded.

    Porsche is Still (Almost) Perfect After Five Years

    Heading the list, Porsche has two models with the best resale value after half a decade.

    After five years, the 911 (Coupe) only loses 9% of its retail value in the used-car market on average. Porsche’s flagship costs anywhere between $90,000–$294,000 based on the horsepower (ranging from 200–700), along with other model specifications.

    At second place, the Porsche 718 Cayman loses about one-fifth of its value. Two other Porsches – the Boxster, and the 911 convertible – also feature in ranks, at 12th and 15th respectively, both losing around 25% of their retail price tag.

    Here’s a look at the full list of slowest depreciating cars in the United States:

    Rank Model Average 5-Yr
    Depreciation
    Average Difference
    from MSRP
    1 Porsche 911
    (Coupe)
    9% $18,094
    2 Porsche 718
    Cayman
    18% $13,372
    3 Toyota Tacoma 20% $8,359
    4 Jeep Wrangler 21% $8,951
    5 Honda Civic 22% $5,817
    6 Subaru BRZ 23% $8,114
    7 Chevrolet Camaro 24% $10,161
    8 Toyota C-HR 24% $6,692
    9 Subaru Crosstrek 25% $7,214
    10 Toyota Corolla 25% $5,800
    11 Ford Mustang 25% $10,035
    12 Porsche 718
    Boxster
    25% $20,216
    13 Toyota Tundra 25% $12,588
    14 Kia Rio 5-Door 26% $5,006
    15 Porsche 911
    (Convertible)
    26% $42,227
    16 Honda HR-V 26% $7,318
    17 Subaru Impreza
    (Wagon)
    26% $6,927
    18 Kia Rio 26% $4,959
    19 Chevrolet Spark 27% $4,784
    20 Toyota RAV4 27% $8,858
    21 Hyundai Accent 27% $5,353
    22 Toyota 4Runner 27% $13,147
    23 Chevrolet Corvette 28% $22,712
    24 Nissan Kicks 28% $6,560
    25 Subaru Impreza
    (Sedan)
    28% $7,158

    Note: MSRP stands for Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price, the price recommended by a product’s producer to retailers. Furthermore, MSRPs from 2018 were inflation-adjusted to 2023 dollars.

    The Toyota Tacoma, America’s fifth best-selling truck, comes in third, losing 20%.

    The Jeep Wrangler (-21%) and the Honda Civic (-22%) round out the top five cars with the best resale value.

    Two more sports cars (the Subaru BRZ and Chevrolet Camaro) feature in the top 10, indicating that these “fun” designer cars are valued for their status as well as functionality.

    Aside from the sports category, Americans seem to rate Japanese automakers highly. Put together, Toyota, Subaru, Honda, and Nissan account for half of the cars with the best resale value.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 22:45

  • Goodbye, Scout Snipers … For Now
    Goodbye, Scout Snipers … For Now

    Authored by John J. Waters via RealClear Wire,

    Scout Snipers have a mantra.

    I learned that mantra years ago when I was assigned to lead a platoon of these Marines. My chief scout in the platoon, a title held by the most experienced Scout Sniper, was Damon.

    When we met in 2012 on Camp Lejeune, Damon was in his late twenties. His guys were at-home in the woods and with a load on their backs; they rarely complained about being dirty, tired or uncomfortable. I learned quickly that Scout Snipers were the best in the battalion, regular infantrymen who had started out carrying an assault rifle or lobbing mortars but aspired to something sleeker, freer and more elite. Before graduating the arduous Scout Sniper Basic Course to earn his new, coveted title, Damon himself had carried a machine gun on a deployment to Anbar province. I remember the front of his uniform was covered in ribbons and medals earned on combat tours. On his back were the words “Scout Sniper.” They were branded into his skin.

    Similar to most competitive people, Damon didn’t like following rules, including the rule that required him to buckle the chinstrap on his Kevlar helmet. Like a kid who refuses to put on a helmet before riding his bicycle, I couldn’t get him to listen. Whenever we went to the field for training, I’d see that nylon strap dangling off his sideburns. “I know, sir,” Damon would say. Until the next time it happened, and the time after that. If only he hadn’t been so good-natured (and good at his job), I might have been more insistent that he fall in line.

    But I wasn’t.

    Recently, the Marine Corps decided its infantry battalions no longer need Scout Snipers. The final class graduates today from the Scout Sniper Basic Course. Soon, Scout Sniper platoons will disband and transform into so-called “scout platoons.” They will observe the enemy, but not shoot him. Some argue the loss of formally-trained precision marksmen will make infantry battalions less lethal. Others, including military brass, say the cuts will help build a lighter, more “commando-style” infantry.

    Either way, they had this coming.

    After two decades of continuous deployments in the War on Terror, Scout Snipers had grown arrogant and independent-minded. They flouted the strict uniform and grooming standards demanded of other Marines. They stubbornly insisted there was a difference between “field Marines” and “garrison Marines,” that their skill in the bush more than compensated for their unwillingness to conform to standards of appearance or behavior when back at headquarters. And, as the rules of engagement in Afghanistan became increasingly convoluted, Scout Snipers confronted risk-averse officers and argued for greater authority to identify targets and fire their weapons—to protect their brothers-in-arms.

    In short, Scout Snipers mistakenly believed they were independent. 

    And so, after today’s graduation ceremony, for the first time in decades, school-trained Scout Snipers will find themselves without platoons to call home. They have at least two options to bide their time, while they wait for our country and Marine Corps to once again call upon young men with the spark and spirit to embark alone on dangerous missions: blend back into regular infantry platoons, or continue their pursuit of new challenges in reconnaissance or special operations units.

    Regardless, and while they wait, Scout Snipers would do well to follow the mantra I first saw printed onto the back of a T-shirt Damon wore underneath his camouflage utilities, which read:

    “Suffer Patiently; Patiently Suffer.”

    John J. Waters is the author of the postwar novel River City One. He lives in Nebraska, where he was born. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 22:10

  • Who Can Afford Kids These Days?
    Who Can Afford Kids These Days?

    Authored by Jeffrey A. Tucker via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The large data sets on the cost of living and the cost of children are instructive. But nothing compares with the anecdotes you hear from people who once thought they were prosperous but now wonder if they can really get by while completely ruling out the idea of having and raising children. It’s a genuine shift and one that is devastating for the future.

    (DavideAngelini/Shutterstock)

    Last week, the Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating piece by a high-end worker in New York City. He has a great job and so does his wife. But during the last year, they discovered that they are truly living paycheck to paycheck, barely able to pay the bills. They have discovered home cooking and have pretty well given up concerts and dinners out with friends. The writer was being deeply honest about a problem that seems to affect most people.

    They thought that they had finally achieved the long-sought goal of prosperity. Instead, they feel a sense of impending doom. The kicker: the writer is in the C-suite of the Wall Street Journal itself! It turns out that this situation is now typical. A majority of Americans live this way!

    And this is a childless couple. How in the world can they afford to have children? The wife cannot quit her job else they would both have to move, if they can find a place. Giving up a full income stream to raise a child is a huge expense in addition to the high costs of everything associated with children from diapers to formula to health care insurance.

    The alternative is to keep working and put the kid in childcare. That is extremely difficult to come by everywhere. A report on childcare by Care.com offers some amazing data of the costs over the last ten years.

    • Weekly nanny cost: $736 (up 56 percent from $472 in 2013). • Weekly daycare cost: $284 (up 53 percent from $186 in 2013). • Weekly family care center cost: $229 (up 80 percent from $127 in 2013). • Weekly babysitter cost: $179 (up 92 percent from $93 in 2013)

    In terms of the most expensive places, the report offers the following. A weekly nanny in D.C. costs $885. In Massachusetts, it’s $865. In Connecticut, it’s $799. A weekly babysitter costs $200 in places like California. Daycare is going to run $250 to $400.

    These are the most expensive cities and also the most regulated states. When there is no competition and the costs of opening child care are astronomical, this is what you get. However, the problem is also nationwide.

    The report comments: “Today, families are spending, on average, 27 percent of their household income on child care expenses. And 59 percent of parents surveyed tell us they are planning to spend more than $18,000 per child on child care in 2023. It’s no surprise that 50 percent of parents are more concerned about the cost of child care than they were at this time last year.”

    Think about this impossible situation that affects millions of young couples. You need two incomes to pay the bills, and that’s if you are lucky. Chances are that one of the two will need an additional part-time job, which is why multiple job holders are higher than ever before. That was the big change that occurred after the last great inflation of the late seventies. After 1985, women with children were more likely to have a remunerative job than not.

    At the time, this was called “women’s liberation” but that was mostly a marketing gimmick to hide the dramatic decline in household income that required a second income to have growing household prosperity. That seemed to work for a while, even a long time. But as health care and childcare have become so expensive, the second income went from being a luxury to being an expected necessity.

    Many people these days are hoping to homeschool children. This is especially true since the school closures forced so many millions into Zoom school that didn’t work and set a whole generation of kids back two years in learning outcomes. Many parents want to avoid that as their children get older. But homeschooling requires foregoing a full income stream. Only the richest can do that now, so that is ever more out of the question.

    Oh and by the way, the Biden administration is considering new regulations on au pairs that would more than double their cost. The government wants to demand that they get paid the minimum wage, which would dramatically reduce demand and thus supply, thus ruining one of the few functioning migration markets we have.

    After the school situation is solved, there is the problem of college, which introduces another set of problems. It’s no longer even thinkable that people can work their way through school and pay the bills. How many people are declining to have kids on those grounds alone? Who can afford to throw down $200K for a college degree in addition to paying the bills for the household?

    For most of human history, having kids was just what you do, the whole reason for pairing up, and a driving force of the purpose of life itself. Today, we have different options and choices, and that’s great. But what happens when bearing children becomes completely unaffordable for any couple that has bills to pay, health care to cover, and would like to think about retirement too? That’s a huge problem and not just for the family but for the whole of society.

    You will notice, too, that this grim situation is completely consistent with the depopulation agenda of elite classes that they have pushed for many decades. Elon Musk is exactly right to call this out and argue that it is a profound danger to society itself when the birthrate falls below its replacement rate. It literally means that humanity is dying out.

    I do think it is about time that everyone admits that we have lost a huge amount in living standards over the decades. The expectation of two and three income streams in every household is a major culprit that is often not considered in the data. And yet in some ways, family income is all that really matters in terms of assessing the quality of life.

    This week, I’ve been thinking back on the world my parents lived in circa 1958. They got married and immediately got in their car and drove to Northern California. Why? My father had finished his undergraduate degree in history and decided to go to seminary where he planned to study music. His ambition then was to become the director of music at a church.

    While he was in school, they had one child, my brother, and then when my father got his first appointment, they had me. My mother did not work. Somehow, and this seems inconceivable to me today, the very idea that a family of four could support itself in California on the salary of a beginning church music director. And yet they were not poor. They were middle class.

    Later they moved again and when it became fashionable for women with children to work, my mother together with her mother both obtained teachers certificates and took jobs. They were enormously proud of what they had achieved. They felt themselves to be upwardly mobile, and the family certainly benefited since by then my brother and I were happy in good schools.

    All of this changed in the later 1970s as inflation kicked in. I can recall how my mother’s job went from being a joy to a chore that she could no longer give up. Things became intense as we needed more cars, more clothing, and mortgage payments were rising and rising. Now of course the situation is enormously worse, as everyone knows.

    My point is that the circumstances under which my own parents decided to have kids back in the early 1960s seem like a completely different world. It was a time that was in many ways massively more prosperous. True, they didn’t have streaming videos and the internet but I can never recall being bored. Life was good.

    I often hear Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reflect on these days with a deep sense of nostalgia and an awareness that the American middle class was large and robust and optimism was everywhere in the air. This awareness more than anything is what drew him into politics to see if there is something he can do to bring back the greatest of the American dream.

    I’m not sure that he or anyone can do it, but let’s not deceive ourselves. Poverty is spreading, the middle class is dying, the birth rate is plummeting, and the dream is fading faster and faster into the recesses of our memories. If you doubt it, speak to any newly married couple today about their plight and the decision to have children. You will get an earful.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 21:00

  • 'Mega Cold Blast' Hits China As Temps Hit Record Lows 
    ‘Mega Cold Blast’ Hits China As Temps Hit Record Lows 

    The strongest cold blast of this winter has gripped large swathes of China as temperatures in Shanxi, Hebei, and Liaoning have plunged to their lowest levels on record on Sunday. 

    Reuters cited a meteorological forecaster from the city of Yichun in Heilongjiang, located in the Northeast part of the country, who said temperatures could reach a record low of minus 47.9 C (minus 54.2 F) early next week. 

    Bloomberg data shows average temperatures across China have plunged well below 30-year, 10-year, and 5-year trends for this time of year to about 27 C. 

    “The weather in China, including Beijing, is the coldest December temperature in more than 50 years. Climate emergency warnings have been declared for extreme cold,” Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and former NOAA chief scientist, wrote on X.

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    China’s cold snap was quick and vicious. 

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

    Meanwhile, Russia benefits from the “ongoing mega-blast of extreme cold,” Maue said. 

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    On Friday, Chinese media Xinhua said President Xi Jinping urged “all-out efforts” in emergency response to the cold weather. 

    While China freezes, weather blog Severe Weather Europe warned last week that cold anomalies across much of the central, southern, and eastern United States” could begin after the new year. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 20:25

  • Yes, Hunter Is Now In Contempt Of Congress
    Yes, Hunter Is Now In Contempt Of Congress

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    Below is my column in The Messenger on the decision of Hunter Biden to defy Congress in a press conference outside of the Capitol Building. Remarkably, this spectacle was coordinated by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D., Cal.) who presumably knew that Biden was going to violate the congressional subpoena. So Swalwell (a former impeachment House manager) helped facilitate a possible criminal act in refusing to share appear in an impeachment inquiry.

    Here is the column:

    Congress is often a theater of the absurd, from Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) pulling a fire alarm before a major vote to former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) being, well, a member of Congress at all. However, none of that compares to what unfolded on Wednesday as Hunter Biden stood outside Congress and defied a subpoena as being “beyond the absurd.” What happens next could be even more bizarre.

    Hunter was under a subpoena from the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability to appear for testimony. As I previously wrote, he had two choices: He could appear and either testify or invoke his right to remain silent. The only thing that he could not do is what he did — just refuse to go into the hearing room. Yet, there he was, with counsel Abbe Lowell by his side, holding forth with a public press conference while refusing to appear in the closed-door deposition being held in the building behind him.

    By staying on the Senate side of the Capitol, Hunter guaranteed that the House sergeant at arms did not pull him into the hearing room. Ironically, that would have been a better option than his blowing a raspberry at the committee and then speeding away.

    Many pundits immediately claimed this was a clever move because the subpoena was not really enforceable until the House voted on the formal impeachment inquiry a few hours later.

    I disagree. As I noted in my testimony in the first impeachment inquiry, there is no requirement for a formal vote to initiate an impeachment inquiry. Indeed, that is precisely what then-majority Democrats did with the impeachment of then-President Donald Trump. While I encouraged the House to hold a formal vote on the inquiry, it is not constitutionally required.

    Moreover, this is an oversight committee which has independent authority to issue subpoenas. The subpoena was issued not only by the Oversight Committee but by the Judiciary Committee. It was issued under three different authorities, including Rule 12(g) of the Oversight Committee which allows for subpoenas “in the conduct of any investigation or activity or series of investigations or activities within the jurisdiction of the Committee.”

    In holding this spectacle, Biden and his legal team committed another unforced error. This one could prove as costly as pushing for an obscenely generous plea agreement and then telling prosecutors to “rip it up” in July.

    Few people expected Hunter to testify in the deposition. The evidence against him is overwhelming, as shown in his second federal indictment on tax charges. He and his uncles were allegedly engaged in one of the largest influence-peddling operations in history involving millions of dollars from various foreign sources. Hunter simply could have done what prior witnesses have done: Go in and take the Fifth. That is what attorney and former IRS official Lois Lerner did — twice — when House Republicans wanted to ask her about the Obama administration targeting conservative groups.

    It was a no-brainer that someone appears to have radically over-thought on the Hunter Biden legal team.

    Hunter can now be held in contempt of Congress. That will force the hand of Attorney General Merrick Garland, who aggressively pursued Trump figures for contempt, including former Trump adviser Steve Bannon. Despite some of us writing to the contrary, Bannon claimed his lawyers told him he did not have to appear before a House committee. He was swiftly charged and convicted by Garland’s prosecutors.

    In this instance, the contempt case would go to the U.S. Attorney in D.C., Matthew Graves, who previously declined to assist in bringing tax charges against the president’s son. Yet by pulling a Bannon, Hunter now faces the expectation in many circles that he will get the full Bannon treatment from Garland.

    There is another possible cost to this move. Fox News quoted White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying that President Biden “was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say,” which suggests that the president spoke with his son before his act of contempt and discussed his statement. If that is true, it was a breathtaking mistake. One of the four most obvious potential articles of impeachment that I laid out in my prior testimony was obstruction. There already are questions over special treatment potentially being given to Hunter in the form of alleged felonies being allowed to expire, warnings about planned federal raids, and sweetheart deals.

    In addition, President Biden has enlisted White House staff to actively push challenged accounts of his conduct and attack the House Republicans’ investigative process. Such acts could legally bootstrap prior misconduct into his presidency under abuse-of-power allegations.

    If this latest allegation is true, the president was speaking with his son about committing a potentially criminal act of contempt. Hunter was refusing to give testimony focused not on his own role but on his father’s potential role in the alleged influence peddling. The House can pursue evidence on that conversation and how the president may have supported his son’s effort.

    With his bizarre public display, Hunter has opened a new potential front for prosecution.

    If the same law is applied the same way as it was to Bannon, Hunter could find himself indicted within a few weeks.

    In Bannon’s case, the subpoena was issued at the end of September. He was held in contempt by the House in October and indicted in November. It took just four days of trial to convict him.

    Indeed, President Biden himself has maintained that defying subpoenas cannot be tolerated. When subpoenas were issued to Republicans during the House’s January 6 investigation, Biden declared: “I hope that the committee goes after them and holds them accountable criminally.”

    That is precisely what Republicans will now expect from Garland in Hunter’s case. In the meantime, the House did not lose anything that it expected to get from Hunter. It will now move to secure the testimony of a circle of associates surrounding both Hunter and his father. At the same time, the National Archives has finally agreed to give House investigators tens of thousands of emails reportedly involving the president.

    As expected, in a floor vote late in the day, not a single House Democrat supported getting answers to these questions through an impeachment inquiry. They unanimously opposed any inquiry even though 40% of Democrats have said in polling that they believe the president has acted illegally or unethically regarding his family’s business deals. (Overall, 70% of those polled held that view.)

    Hunter, however, just tripped another wire that could seriously complicate matters not just for himself but for his father. Perhaps that is why, when dramatist-scholar Martin Julius Esslin devised the term “theater of the absurd,” he described it as “part reality and part nightmare.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 19:50

  • Replacing Kamala Harris
    Replacing Kamala Harris

    Authored by Thomas Neuberger via “God’s Spies” Substack,

    In the exclusive piece below, Democratic Party donor Guy Saperstein argues that Kamala Harris’s presence on the 2024 ticket could be fatal to Joe Biden’s electoral chances.

    I’ve said the same, especially here:

    Trump (if he’s smart) pivots to Kamala Harris, dismisses Biden and makes her his opponent…

    Biden improves his odds if he gets rid of Kamala Harris as a running mate.

    What’s different about Saperstein’s argument is his bill of particulars — reasons why Harris should be dropped. Much of this is in the public domain. But much of it isn’t — the Willie Brown connection, for example, or her sloppiness and massive “chain of custody” problems as DA.

    About the Willie Brown material, you may not want to think ill of Harris for her romantic life or its effect on her career, but progressives avoiding the discussion won’t stop Republicans from making sure everyone in the country is exposed to it daily. Saperstein’s point is the effect of Harris on the ticket. Willie Brown will be made part of that effect.

    The piece deserves your careful consideration. To paraphrase Saperstein, “Imagine how Republicans are going to play this.” They won’t be silent.

    Guy Saperstein is a former member of the Democracy Alliance, a progressive, and a major Democratic Party donor. From his Huff Post bio page:

    [H]e founded a law firm in Oakland which became the largest plaintiffs civil rights law firm in America, in the process successfully prosecuting the largest race, sex and age discrimination class actions in American history. Guy also prosecuted False Claims Act cases against Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. regarding satellite surveillance systems, and against Raytheon, Boeing and TRW regarding the sham National Missile Defense Program.

    In 2006, Guy helped write the “Real Security” plank of the Democratic Party’s New Directions for America, and in 2007, helped found the National Security/Foreign Policy New Ideas Fund, with funding from the Democracy Alliance. He also has been Co-Chair of the Democracy Alliance’s Strategy Group and was active in its National Security/Foreign Policy Group. In 2006, Guy was described by Bill O’Reilly as “a character assassin” and “a member of the nefarious Left-Wing Mafia,” along with four other DA Partners.

    The Twitter insertions below are mine. The rest is Saperstein.

    The Time to Replace Kamala Harris Is Now

    by Guy Saperstein

    2024 is going to consist of an attack on Biden for being too old and frail, combined with an attack on his VP, who would become president if Biden died. The attack on Biden will be simple: endless, repeated videos of him slurring words, misstating facts, stumbling, looking lost, forgetting names — all the classic signs of dementia.

    The Republicans ignored Kamala in 2020, but they won’t in 2024 because of Biden’s age. They will be shouting from the rooftops, “Hey, people, this person could become your President!”

    Remember that the person we are talking about entered the 2020 primaries polling 18% and, after four debates, fell to 6% and dropped out. I can’t remember any presidential aspirant falling so far, so fast, so there should be no argument Kamala is a truly terrible candidate.

    But there is more, much more.

    Harris as District Attorney

    My career was as a trial lawyer in the SF Bay Area. The mayor and later Speaker of the California Assembly, Willie Brown, was a personal friend and political supporter of trial lawyers. I loved Willie. He was smart, politically gifted — he supported everything I ever asked him for — and funny. Willie defined the word “dapper.” We’d go shopping at the same store, Wilkes Bashford, where he was the King. He would always tell the staff, “Now, you take care of my white buddy Guy. Whites are not blessed with my good taste, so help the poor boy.” Willie had more charm than ten white boys.

    Willie was married and estranged from his wife. It was well-known he had a young — 30 years younger — black girlfriend. He didn’t even try to hide it. The girlfriend was Kamala Harris, then a nondescript assistant city attorney. Next thing I knew, Kamala was running for District Attorney, supported by Willie’s powerful political machine against the then DA, Terence Hallinan, a progressive. Willie’s machine won and Kamala became San Francisco DA.

    Next next thing I knew, assistant San Francisco DAs were calling me and asking, “Where is Kamala?” They knew I was a friend of Willie’s. Apparently, she wasn’t showing up for work.

    A few months later, I read that Kamala had been read the riot act by a solid Democratic judge for not maintaining good chain of custody for evidence. “Chain of custody” is a legal term which means that the evidence you submit to the court is that same uncontaminated evidence you seized at the crime scene. Before I became a civil rights class action lawyer, I did 50 criminal jury trials, and chain of custody was never an issue because the DA would do his/her job competently and insure that the correct evidence was presented to the court. But that was before Kamala’s laziness set new standards.

    Kamala was hauled before three liberal judges who were outraged by her sloppiness. In response, Kamala lied under oath to all of them, trying to blame it on the police department crime lab, but that was total bullshit. When an attorney presents evidence to a court, she or he vouches for it. Kamala should have been disbarred as a result, but San Francisco is a liberal “old boys” network, and liberals protect even lying, unethical DAs.

    When the dust cleared, 1,100 FELONIES had to be dismissed — and by Democratic judges. In the history of American jurisprudence, I don’t think this has ever happened. Just think of what it means to have 1,100 felonies dismissed for defective chain-of-custody. Harris was willing to allow 1,100 people to go to prison for years because she wouldn’t admit her errors.

    Pretty low-integrity, in my opinion. Now imagine how the Republican law-and-order zealots are going to play this!

    Harris as National Candidate

    In two Senate campaigns against weak opponents, Harris ran behind Democratic registration. And though Biden picked her for his VP, the first black woman to be so chosen, she is not well-liked in the black community. She is seen as “the black DA who put black men in jail.” Her parents were not inner city blacks; her mother’s heritage is Indian and her father is Jamaican. She didn’t really share the American black experience, having grown up middle class.

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    When she was California Attorney General, I interfaced with her many times, mostly around federal bail-out money for homeowners. She was uniformly terrible. She wouldn’t do a damn thing unless pushed to the wall and embarrassed politically.

    My last direct contact with her was when she ran for her second Senate term. She came to my house and we talked in my living room for 1-1/2 hours. Partway through I said, “We’ve been talking for at least an hour and all I’ve heard are Democratic platitudes. Now I would like to hear one original idea.”

    She couldn’t do it.

    Time for Change

    We may be locked into Joe Biden, but VPs get changed all the time.

    Since Biden played race politics the first time, he may feel compelled to choose another black woman. Fine with me. My first two choices are Stacey Abrams and Karen Bass. Abrams is an accomplished author, incredibly eloquent, very likeable, very smart. And not just attractive to black women. I have heard so many white women comment about how they feel her compassion.

    Bass had at least several terms in the House, some in leadership positions, and now is running an iconic major city, Los Angeles.

    Gretchen Whitmer would also help Biden with women. She is younger, attractive, more robust, and she governed Michigan, a major state.

    Of course, I think Newsom is the strongest candidate and Pritzker in Illinois is doing a great job.

    Let the discussion begin, but let’s not assume Harris is irreplaceable.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 18:40

  • Kremlin May Preemptively Bar Uranium Exports To U.S., Firm Warns
    Kremlin May Preemptively Bar Uranium Exports To U.S., Firm Warns

    Oil isn’t the only commodity at the center of tensions between the U.S. and Russia…

    Now Russian state-owned uranium company Tenex is telling American customers that “the Kremlin may preemptively bar exports” to the U.S. if Washington passes certain legislation that would prohibit imports beginning in 2028, Bloomberg reported on Friday

    Tenex’s US branch has already alerted firms like Constellation Energy, Duke Energy, and Dominion Energy about a potential scenario, the report says, though Russia hasn’t finalized a decision. The individual companies didn’t respond to comments from Bloomberg, while Rosatom, Tenex’s parent company, refuted claims of any warnings issued to US clients.

    Rosatom commented: “Tenex completely refutes as inaccurate the information regarding the alleged ‘warnings’ of a potential ‘pre-emptive’ ban on enriched uranium supplies to the United States.”

    “Neither Tenex itself nor any of its subsidiaries have issued any such notifications to their foreign customers,” they added. 

    Banning Russian uranium exports could disrupt markets and increase fuel prices, affecting smaller utilities, the report says.

    As a reminder, the US Senate halted a fast-track approval of a House bill banning Russian uranium imports, though it remains popular and might resurface.

    If the bill passes it would permit imports until 2028 via waivers, giving utilities time to find other sources.

    Russia, supplying nearly a quarter of America’s enriched uranium last year, is a key provider.

    Jonathan Hinze of UxC LLC told Bloomberg that without these waivers, prices could jump from $152 to a record $180 per separative work unit. SWUs measure uranium’s volume and enrichment.’

    He added: “But if there is an immediate ban it could be even more extreme. There are very limited supplies available.”

    Recall we noted at the end of October that hedge funds were loading up on uranium stocks, many of which have had returns double digit percentages higher than the S&P for 2023, after uranium lagged in previous years. 

    “We’re most focused on uranium miners in public markets,” Arthur Hyde, a portfolio manager at Segra Capital, told Bloomberg two months ago. “For the supply and demand of this market to balance, we need new assets to come online…If you’re going to insulate the US, Europe and Canada from the global fuel cycle, which is heavily dependent on Russia and China, the best way to do that is to build new mines, new conversion capacity, new enrichment capacity.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 18:05

  • Putin Blasts Biden's Claim That Russia Seeks To Attack NATO As "Complete Nonsense"  
    Putin Blasts Biden’s Claim That Russia Seeks To Attack NATO As “Complete Nonsense”  

    “It is complete nonsense – and I think President Biden understands that,” Russia’s President Putin told state television channel Rossiya in a Sunday interview, as a response to claims made earlier this month by President Biden, who claimed that Russia is eyeing an invasion of countries beyond Ukraine.

    “Russia has no reason, no interest – no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political nor military – to fight with NATO countries,” the Russian leader added.

    Via TASS

    He then suggested that Biden’s recent rhetoric is all about stoking fears in the Western public in order to further justify his “erroneous policy” concerning the Ukraine conflict.

    Biden’s words had come in the context of trying to press Republicans in Congress to pass his $106 billion defense aid package – the bulk of which would go to Ukraine. Here’s what the US president had said, as reported in The New York Times

    The president even raised the prospect that an emboldened Mr. Putin would pose a threat to NATO allies, requiring the United States to come to their assistance with troops on the group. “If Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there,” Mr. Biden said. “It’s important to see the long run here. He’s going to keep going. He’s made their pretty clear.”

    “If he keeps going and then he attacks a NATO ally” to which the United States is bound by treaty to help, “then we’ll have something that we don’t seek and that we don’t have today — American troops fighting Russian troops,” Mr. Biden said.

    “Make no mistake,” he added. “Today’s vote is going to be long remembered and history’s going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause. We can’t let Putin win. I’ll say it again, we can’t let Putin win.”

    This is all part of the usual ’emboldening Putin’ narrative, by not approving the White House’s foreign funding package. It’s long been a Democratic and administration talking point to say that blocking Biden’s request is a ‘gift’ to the Kremlin. Of the broader more than hundred billion dollars in funds, the president wants to see $61.4bn of that go to Ukraine support.

    Also on Sunday, Putin said at an event for the ruling United Russia party that the country’s very sovereignty is threatened after years of NATO expansion.

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    “We must remember and never forget, and teach our children: Russia will be either a self-sufficient and sovereign state or will not exist at all. It is a very important thing, which we should keep in our minds and hearts,” he said according to TASS.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 16:55

  • There's Something Happening Here…
    There’s Something Happening Here…

    There’s something happening here
    But what it is ain’t exactly clear

    Buffalo Springfield

    Something is not right, and the drastically divergent messages from Powell and his cronies at the Fed over the last month and a half confirm this suspicion.

    The Burning Platform’s Jim Quinn writes that the current situation does remind me of September 2019 when the repo market revealed the underlying mechanisms within the financial system were malfunctioning and were about to lead to another massive financial crisis.

    Powell restarted QE and “luckily” the COVID scamdemic was rolled out, so Powell and and our corrupt political class could pump trillions into the system and keep it alive.

    Powell and his fellow tough guys at the Fed had increased rates to 5.3% and have talked tough about keeping rates up until inflation got back to their 2% target.

    With GDP supposedly accelerating at 5.2%, unemployment still near all-time lows, and corporate profits still booming, there should be no fear about rates being too high by Powell and his sycophants.

    But suddenly this week Powell and these economic “rocket scientists” now are saying they will be cutting rates soon and more than anyone expected.

    The Fed Since November 1st:

    1. Nov. 1: Getting inflation to 2% “has a long way to go”

    2. Nov. 21: “No indication of rate cuts at last meeting”

    3. Dec. 1: Talks about rate cuts are “premature”

    4. Dec. 1: “We are prepared to tighten policy further” if needed

    5. Dec. 13: Rates have peaked, 3 rate cuts coming in 2024

    6. Dec. 15: Fed “isn’t really talking about rate cuts”

    What is happening here?

    Source: The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) December 15, 2023

    The stock market exploded to all-time highs and interest rates plummeted.

    This seems odd, when more than half the country is struggling to put food on the table.

    It’s almost as if Powell and his pals know something really bad is about to happen and want to front run the event, or, like September 2019, they see something terribly wrong within the financial system and are trying to fix it before it blows up.

    We do know the Too Big To Trust Wall Street banks have close to $700 billion of unrealized losses on their books due to interest rates hitting 16 year highs.

    We also know these banks have been increasingly utilizing the Fed’s emergency facility every day.

    All it would take is some sort of emergency, whether global crisis, natural disaster crisis, or war breaking out between global powers, to start a run on the banks.

    If that were to happen, those unrealized losses would become realized, and the entire financial system would begin to collapse.

    Is that why Powell and the Fed are now desperate to drive interest rates lower, in order to eliminate those unrealized losses before they become realized?

    Whatever the reason, they are trapped.

    Drastically lowering interest rates will just reignite inflation again.

    It looks like Powell has chosen inflation rather than deflation as we spiral into the abyss.

    [ZH: as we warned on Friday, “trouble is brewing” in the banking system]

    …the key warning sign continues to trend ominously lower (Small Banks’ reserve constraint – blue line), supported above the critical level by The Fed’s emergency funds (for now)…

    Source: Bloomberg

    As the red line shows, without The Fed’s help, the crisis is back (and large bank cash needs a home – green line – like picking up a small bank from the FDIC).

    All of which makes us wonder – you know, just thinking out loud – are we setting up for another banking crisis in March as:

    1) BTFP runs out (it was only a 12 month temporary program), and

    2) RRP drains to zero, at which point reserves get yanked which means huge deposits flight.

    Is that why The Fed needed to bring rates down massively and fast, to reduce the bond losses on banks’ books?

    [ZH: Or, as we detailed here, is there another reason for Powell’s big pivot?]

    Enjoy the show and buy more ammo.

    I think it’s time we stop
    Children, what’s that sound?
    Everybody look what’s going down

    Buffalo Springfield

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 16:20

  • Maher: "It's Hard To Negotiate When The Other Side's Position Is – You All Die And Disappear"
    Maher: “It’s Hard To Negotiate When The Other Side’s Position Is – You All Die And Disappear”

    Comedian Bill Maher discussed the Israel-Hamas conflict on Friday, suggesting that Palestinians get used to the fact that Israel isn’t going anywhere, and there’s no way for Israel to negotiate with Palestine in good faith when the other side’s position is “you all die and disappear.”

    “Things change. Countries, boundaries, empires,” said Maher, citing various historical instances where other groups of people accepted regional defeat and moved on. “In 1950, the little town of Bethlehem was 86 percent Christian, now it’s overwhelmingly Muslim.”

    While failing to address international calls for Israel to dial back civilian deaths in dealing with Hamas (out of optics, not genuine concern – we assure you), Maher’s position is essentially – deal with it.

    “After World War II, 12 million ethnic Germans got shoved out of Russia, and Poland, and Czechoslovakia because being German had become kind of unpopular,” Maher continued. “People get moved, and yes, colonized. Nobody was a bigger colonizer than the Muslim army that swept out of the Arabian desert and took over much of the world in a single century.”

    He also noted that there were several missed opportunities for deals with Israel in years past.

    “There were deals on the table to share the land called Palestine… And East Jerusalem could have been the capital of a Palestinian state that today might look more like Dubai than Gaza,” Maher pointed out, noting that “Arafat was offered 95 percent of the West Bank, and said no.”

    Maher then used a map to show how the slogan “from the river to the sea” is a call for either the death of all Jews, or at minimum – to move all of them out.

    “Look at what Mexico used to own… but no Mexican is out there chanting, ‘From the Rio Grande to Portland, Oregon.‘”

    “Get used to it…”

    After laying out historical examples, Maher got to his point – that Israel isn’t going anywhere, noting that it’s “one of the most powerful countries in the world with the 500-billion-dollar economy, the world’s second largest tech sector after Silicon Valley, and nuclear weapons. They’re here, they like their bagel with a shmear, get used to it.

    Watch:

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 15:45

  • It Seems We Have Hit A Point Where A Wall Is In The Way Of "Kicking The Can" Much Further
    It Seems We Have Hit A Point Where A Wall Is In The Way Of “Kicking The Can” Much Further

    By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

    I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about “kicking the can.” Not because “kicking the can” has been effective, but because we seem to have hit the point where a wall is in the way, stopping us from “kicking the can” much further. This is more apparent on the geopolitical front, where the Middle East seems to need serious, long-term solutions. While we aren’t there yet with China and Taiwan, it seems that solutions like “one country, two systems” will be tested sooner rather than later.

    But, since it is the holiday season in the U.S. and much of the world, let’s stick to a more positive message.

    From Stalemate to Victory – the Fed

    As you can tell from the immediate post-FOMC reaction and Thursday’s T-Report – Unthinking the Fed, I’m struggling to process the shift in tone. Much of that came out during Thursday’s Bloomberg TV interview (Academy’s section starts at the 41 minute mark). We did focus on my “pet theory” that the Fed is far less interested in creating a recession during an election year, than they were, say, in 2023. Also, they might not need to.

    Maybe that is the problem, I’ve been arguing that the Fed has done too much already. That they should be on pause and thinking about cutting. Not every analyst has had that view, and until Wednesday, it didn’t seem like the Fed did either. Sure, they had slowed the hiking process rather dramatically, but they were still portraying a Fed that could hike or cut with equal probability. That does not seem to be the case. It is telling that they didn’t trot out multiple speakers to dissuade the market from their exuberance.

    So maybe I’m just too jaded to accept that the Fed might actually be on the same page as we are. Maybe I have some self-destructive tendencies that make me want to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory (I am a contrarian, after all).

    While it is difficult to love a market at or near all-time highs, we can always go higher. Just because August didn’t follow trend and everyone seems to be betting on a rally into year-end, doesn’t mean it can’t happen.

    Maybe it is simply time to accept that the stalemate is over, victory conditions have been achieved, and we can move on? Maybe this applies beyond the battle with the Fed?

    From Stalemate to Victory – Russia/Ukraine

    While there is no sign of the stalemate ending, it seems that most people involved, directly and indirectly, have to face the reality that some form of “absolute” victory is unlikely. If that acceptance occurs, should we be thinking about what a victory looks like?

    What opportunities and risks are there if Russia and Ukraine agree to some sort of serious ceasefire/peace agreement in 2024? Are we (or your company) prepared for the opportunities that rebuilding Ukraine would create? That impact could be immediate and large if the agreement includes the use of some or all of Russia’s frozen dollar reserves.

    One of the things that also prevents “rebuilding” is the availability of funds – it seems plausible that there will be readily available funds for this rebuilding as it is in the interest of not just Ukraine, but Europe too! Europe, more than the U.S., needs to get Ukraine up and running as quickly as possible so it can export commodities again, and more importantly, so that displaced Ukrainians can return home.

    I’m now spending more time thinking about what a peace agreement could mean for markets and the global economy, than I am thinking about how the war can progress.

    From Stalemate to Victory – China Trade

    I’m still looking for some attempt to create better relationships between the two countries.

    • Whether we like it or not, incumbents do best in elections when the economy is doing well. Almost anything done with China will help in that direction, at least in the near-term, which is what may be directing the actions of many incumbents looking to get re-elected. My apologies if this sounds too cynical, but my view is that most politicians view their jobs as being politicians, so to keep their jobs, they need to get re-elected. Cynical or not, that is my working assumption and shapes why I think that we can get something in the headlines in the next month or two (Treasury Secretary Yellen heading back to China seems good on this front).
    • Many economic advisors to the Democratic party were very vocal about how detrimental tariffs were for the economy. There must be some who are still prodding the administration to ease back on tariffs. Whether it is cutting tariffs or just creating a “pathway” to reducing tariffs, the markets would likely respond well. At the very least, there is an argument to be made, depending on how it is done, that easing tariffs should reduce prices, and in turn reduce inflation.
    • Chips. Clearly defining what is mission critical for the U.S. with respect to the military and AI could help the chip sector, as it would reduce uncertainty about which chips may or may not come under scrutiny. Just some clarity could help markets.
    • While nothing to do with the U.S., China itself seems overdue for some more aggressive stimulus.
    • Food. That is one area where (hands down) the U.S. dominates China and could create some good bargaining positions for the U.S. in any negotiations.

    So, rather than being worried about what has gone on, maybe it is time to think about what happens next.

    For clarity, Academy’s Geopolitical Intelligence Group is adamant that China remains the number one concern in D.C. on the National Security front. We will not, as a nation, jeopardize the nation’s future in our dealings with China. Having said that, there is plenty of room to come up with a deal that is (or at least seems to be) more economic in nature – which is what I’m betting on.

    From Stalemate to Stalemate

    It is unclear how we get to “victory” by almost any definition in the next few weeks (or even months) in the Middle East or with respect to the tensions surrounding China and Taiwan, especially with Taiwan heading into a crucial election. Those both seem to fit the “kicking the can into a wall” metaphor, but today, we are erring on the positive side.

    Bottom Line

    Rates. Difficult to like here, so slightly bearish bias. The rising debt, the growing percentage of our budget spent on interest, etc. were (and are) real. It shouldn’t have pushed 10s to 5%, but it makes sub-4% somewhat untenable.

    Equities. Difficult to like here, but slightly bullish bias, favoring the “laggards.” My inclination is to step away from the punch bowl, but am I just snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? I cut positions but am buying dips. So, a timid bullishness, even with the laggards, which I continue to favor.

    While I’m cautious about leaving early, it has been one heck of a party!

    Since November 9th, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 have underperformed the equal weighted indices. They got beat up pretty badly by the Russell 2000 and have been left in the dust by Regional Banks and ARKK. I use ARKK as a proxy for “disruption” and early in the year it was performing more or less in line with the Nasdaq 100, which surprised me. I view it as very high beta and would have expected it to trounce the Nasdaq 100 in such a strong market (it is finally doing that).

    When I look at this chart, it gives me optimism for the IPO market and for M&A coming into 2024 – typically good for stocks!

    Credit. It is tight by recent measures, but I think that it can go tighter. People seem to want to fight the spread tightening. While it is difficult to pound the table for credit, especially since M&A activity could result in an even bigger (and longer duration) calendar than expected, I wouldn’t fade it just yet.

    For once, let’s enjoy the victory and keep on enjoying it for a little longer.

    I’m looking to add more risk on dips, as whatever ranges we thought applied to markets at the start of the week have materially moved with the Fed Put back in play!

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 15:10

  • Watch: Pro-Israel Congressmen Confronted Over Israel's History Of Propping-Up Hamas
    Watch: Pro-Israel Congressmen Confronted Over Israel’s History Of Propping-Up Hamas

    Submitted by Decensored News,

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     “For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it’s blown up in our faces.”

    So read an op-ed headline in The Times of Israel by Israeli journalist and political correspondent Tal Schneider on October 8, one day after Hamas’s deadly incursion.

    The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from,” she said.

    Schneider was far from the only one to draw attention to this sordid history as the Israel government rushed to declare war on Hamas and begin their slaughter in Gaza.

    “Since he took office as prime minister a second time,” wrote Dmitry Shumsky for Israel’s Haaretz on October 11, “Netanyahu developed and advanced a destructive, warped political doctrine that held that strengthening Hamas at the expense of the Palestinian Authority would be good for Israel.

    While statements like these – and the fact that they’re made so matter-of-factly in top Israeli newspapers – may come as a major surprise to many American news consumers who hadn’t followed the Israel-Palestine conflict closely prior to October 7, Israel’s role in propping up Hamas has been reported for years by the likes of UPI (“Israel gave major to aid to Hamas“), The Wall Street Journal (“How Israel Helped to Spawn Hamas“), and others.

    The policy has also been repeatedly elucidated by Israel officials, including Finance Minister Bezelal Smotrich and, reportedly, Netanyahu himself, as documented in depth by writers Scott Horton and Connor Freeman.

    In light of this, journalist Liam Cosgrove ventured to Capitol Hill recently with a couple queries for pro-Israel Congressmen: First and foremost, are they even aware of this basic historical fact? And second, shouldn’t it have a bearing on their decision to send billions of dollars to the very government that helped strengthen Hamas in the first place?

    These should have been pretty straightforward questions (to which one would hope the answers would be “yes” and “yes”). However, as seen in the video above, they were treated as anything but by staunchly “pro-Israel” congressmen Dan Crenshaw, Byron Donalds, August Pfluger, and Juan Ciscomani.

    The evasiveness displayed by Crenshaw (R-TX), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, stands out as particularly noteworthy. Besides telling Fox News that it’s “crazy” to be concerned about Palestinian civilians “caught in the crossfire” of Israel’s bombardment because “they support Hamas!” and “want a terrorist government,” Crenshaw has said of the October 7 attack:

    By the very nature of funding and training this proxy force for decades, it’s clearly Iran’s fault. So whether Iran has direct involvement in this particular operation is another question. But Iran created Hamas. . . . So it’s, it’s— they are one and the same, effectively. Doesn’t mean they always operate exactly in unison, but they are one and the same, because they’ve been funding and training them for decades.

    “Are you aware that Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government were funding and propping up Hamas…?” Cosgrove asked him.

    Despite agreeing to take a question seconds earlier, Crenshaw cut him off before he could finish and refused to answer.

    “Are you familiar with that? That they were propping up Hamas and funding them, prior to October 7th?” Cosgrove repeated as Crenshaw climbed into the passenger side of a pickup truck and shut the door in his face.

    Ciscomani (R-AZ), a member of the House Abraham Accords Caucus, was similarly unwilling to comment. He initially seemed taken aback by the question and asked Cosgrove to repeat.

    “I’m not gonna give you a comment on that,” he replied after hearing it again.

    Donalds and Pfluger were more willing to engage, but pleaded ignorance while reavowing their support for Israel.

    Donalds (R-FL) said during an interview on November 18 that “to argue for ceasefires” or “the plight of the Palestinian people when the political group that they elected and keep in power fomented and executed a heinous terrorist attack” is “ridiculous.”

    “Are you familiar with the reports that Benjamin Netanyahu, over the years, has been actively funding Hamas?” asked Cosgrove.

    No, I’m not aware of the report,” Donalds said.

    Cosgrove explained that the reports (plural) have been published in papers like Haaretz and The Time of Israel, while Donalds said he “doesn’t do hot takes” and needs to “read it” before commenting.

    “Shouldn’t you have read that before sending 14 billion dollars of American taxpayer money over there?” asked Cosgove.

    “To support our greatest ally in the region when they were attacked?” replied Donalds. “We would always do that.”

    Pfluger, too, said that he had “not seen that report.” When Cosgrove noted that Netanyahu is openly being criticized in Israeli papers for the policy, the Republican lawmaker replied that he hadn’t “seen a credible report on that.”

    After some more back and forth, Pfluger said he wasn’t “going to debate” Cosgrove about it. “If you wanna listen to an answer, I’ll give you an answer,” he said, before talking about how the US’s support for Israel is “much more important” than “just defeating Hamas.”

    “This is a statement against Iran,” he said in part. “It’s a statement that will be received by Xi Jinping.”

    For more reporting like this, please follow Decensored News on your favorite social media platforms and bookmark the website. Thank you for your interest and support.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 14:35

  • Federal Judge Permanently Blocks Illinois Law Targeting Pro-Life Pregnancy Counseling
    Federal Judge Permanently Blocks Illinois Law Targeting Pro-Life Pregnancy Counseling

    Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A federal judge permanently blocked an Illinois law on Dec. 14 that he previously called “stupid” that targets maternal health care centers and sidewalk counselors for expressing their pro-life message.

    Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during a news conference in Chicago, Ill., on March 20, 2020. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP Photo)

    The state of Illinois consented to the injunction and the dismissal of the underlying lawsuit filed against it.

    Plaintiffs who sued to stop the law objected to it because it declared that the pro-life speech engaged in by pregnancy help ministries was a “deceptive business practice.”

    They litigated to protect the right of pro-life pregnancy help centers and sidewalk counselors across the state to continue their work reaching out to women across the Land of Lincoln facing unplanned pregnancies.

    Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, appeared on CNN on Aug. 4 to defend the law.

    The statute is constitutional, the governor argued at the time.

    “Well, it’s just like the case against President [Donald] Trump,” he said.

    “You have a right to free speech, but you don’t have a right to lie. You don’t have a right to use those lies to push people into situations in which they, frankly, are breaking the law, or where they are unaware of what their full rights are. So, you know, we need to make sure that people know [what] their rights are.”

    The law barred “so-called ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ from using misinformation, deceptive practices, or misrepresentation in order to interfere with access to abortion services or emergency contraception,” according to the governor’s office.

    Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, a Democrat, previously said the now-enjoined law was needed because he had “witnessed deceptive crisis pregnancy center tactics firsthand on a visit to tour a Planned Parenthood health center in Illinois.”

    There were “people who appeared as though they might work there … outside attempting to divert patients away from the health center,” he said.

    Judge Iain D. Johnston of the Western Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued the document titled “agreed permanent injunction order” (pdf) in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NILFA) v. Raoul. Judge Johnston was appointed in 2020 by President Trump.

    The defendant, Mr. Raoul, was sued in his official capacity.

    Founded in 1993, NILFA “provides pro-life pregnancy centers and medical clinics with legal counsel, education, and training,” according to the group’s website.

    The judge dismissed the lawsuit “with prejudice,” meaning the case cannot be litigated again. The court “shall retain jurisdiction over this action to enforce the final judgment,” the order states. The order also states that NILFA “may file a motion seeking the costs of litigation, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses[.]”

    On Aug. 4, Judge Johnston called SB1909, the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Businesses Practices Act, “both stupid and very likely unconstitutional,” when he signed a preliminary injunction halting its enforcement.

    In that August order, Judge Johnston ridiculed the state law.

    The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia “once said that he wished all federal judges were given a stamp that read ‘stupid but constitutional,’” the judge wrote.

    SB 1909 “is stupid because its own supporter admitted it was unneeded and was unsupported by evidence when challenged.”

    “It is likely unconstitutional because it is a blatant example of government taking the side of whose speech is sanctionable and whose speech is immunized … SB 1909 is likely classic content and viewpoint discrimination prohibited by the First Amendment.”

    The kind of speech regulated by the law “is extremely controversial,” and the law itself  “is not a constitutional regulation of professional speech.”

    Plaintiffs have established by undisputed evidence that they will be irreparably harmed absent a preliminary injunction. Their First Amendment rights will more than likely be violated, which is an irreparable harm,” the judge wrote at the time.

    Peter Breen, executive vice president of the Thomas More Society, which represented NILFA in the lawsuit, weighed in on the permanent injunction in a statement on Dec. 14.

    Mr. Breen hailed the victory as a big win for pro-life ministries and free speech in Illinois that would send a message to those who would enact laws that discriminate against pro-life ministries.

    The federal court was spot on in holding that SB 1909 is ‘both stupid and very likely unconstitutional,’” he said.

    “SB 1909 exempts abortion facilities and their speech, while exclusively regulating pro-life organizations and their speech, in flagrant violation of the First Amendment.

    “This law is just one of a number of illegal new laws enacted across the country that restrict pro-life speech. We hope this permanent injunction, with full attorney’s fees, serves as a warning to other states that would seek to follow Illinois and try to silence pro-life viewpoints.

    “We are honored to represent NIFLA and other life-affirming organizations to protect them from unjust laws like SB 1909 that seek to put a halt to their good work.”

    The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Raoul’s office for comment but had not received a reply as of press time.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 14:00

  • A Record Number Of American 40-Year-Olds Have Never Been Married
    A Record Number Of American 40-Year-Olds Have Never Been Married

    A quarter of 40-year-olds in the United States have never been married, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center.

    As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, this marks the highest figure since the data first started being published back in 1900, and a major leap from the 6 percent low of 1980.

    Infographic: Record-High Number of U.S. 40-Year-Olds Have Never Been Married | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    But interestingly, it isn’t just a case of more people cohabiting without getting married: Analysts found that many of the adults surveyed in 2021 were living alone, with just 22 percent of those who had never married between the ages of 40-44 reporting that they were living with a partner.

    Looking at a breakdown of the 2021 data by different demographic groups, men were more likely to be unmarried by 40 than women, at 28 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

    A slightly higher share of Black U.S. adults (46 percent) reported not having married by that age versus Hispanic (27 percent), white (20 percent) or Asian (17 percent) adults.

    In terms of education, 40-year-olds who didn’t finish a four-year college degree were more likely to have never married than those who completed at least a bachelor’s degree.

    The general increase of people who are still single by 40 suggests that there has been a shift in sentiments on the importance of marriage.

    The trend is likely due to a wide variety and combination of factors, whether that’s a loosening of stigma around being single, or as Belinda Luscombe of Time Magazine explains, due to economic reasons, such as the fact that since women have “gained economic power, they needed to rely less on men to provide”, or conversely, because many men say they feel they need a level of financial stability to be ready for marriage.

    Pew Research Center analysts also highlight how people aged over 40 of course do often get married too, with around one in four 40 year olds who had not married in 2001 having done so by age 60.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 13:25

  • Haley's Top Backers Include Democrat Donors, Silicon Valley Billionaires
    Haley’s Top Backers Include Democrat Donors, Silicon Valley Billionaires

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

    Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is racking up endorsements from key conservative fundraisers ahead of the 2024 primaries. She already has solid backing from wealthy donors in Silicon Valley, including those who typically donate to the Democratic Party, as well as her network of political action committees.

    According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings and her campaign’s spending ahead of the Iowa Caucuses, the former United Nations ambassador’s main political action committee is SFA Fund Inc. However, Ms. Haley is also linked to two other super PACs and a 501(c)(4) organization.

    Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley participates in the NewsNation Republican Presidential Primary Debate at the University of Alabama’s Moody Music Building Concert Hall in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Dec. 6, 2023. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

    PACs and nonprofits

    Collectively, the PACs SFA Fund Inc., Team Stand For America, and Stand For America PAC had a total of about $19.5 million on hand at the end of June, according to FEC records. Most of the money was in SFA Fund, which held about $17 million. Those funds had raised $28 million through June, the last time that the FEC required PACs to disclose their fundraising activities.

    A super PAC can solicit or make unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other political committees, according to the regulatory agency.

    SFA Fund is a hybrid PAC. This, according to the FEC, means that it can solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor unions, and other political committees. It must maintain two bank accounts—one for independent spending on advertisements or voter drives, and another for making direct contributions to federal candidates.

    Stand For America

    Ms. Haley is linked to a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization: Stand For America Inc. According to 2021 Internal Revenue Service records obtained by The Epoch Times, the group’s president at the time was Michael Haley, Ms. Haley’s husband. Stand For America was registered as a nonprofit by the IRS in 2019, shortly after she left her position as the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

    According to the IRS, A 501(c)(4) is a social welfare organization. The earnings of a 501(c)(4) group must not inure—or enrich—any private shareholder or individual. A 501(c)(4) social welfare organization may engage in some political activities, as long as that isn’t its primary activity.

    In 2021, Stand For America Inc. stated that it had collected about $8.6 million, spent about $8.5 million, and ended the year with about $2.3 million. Its 2022 990 filing isn’t yet publicly available.

    Stand For America PAC, a traditional political action committee, was formed in January 2021, well ahead of Ms. Haley’s February 2023 announcement that she was running for president.

    Between January 2021 and December 2022, Stand For America PAC raised about $17.5 million. During that same period, it sent about $1.7 million back to Stand For America Inc. It also spent about $5.4 million with Arlington, Virginia, consultancy Targeted Victory.

    Additionally, during this period, the Stand For America PAC sent money to the election campaigns of numerous Republicans. Most notably, it sent $10,000 to [Iowa Gov.] Kim Reynolds for Iowa in June 2021. Ms. Reynolds, a Republican, has endorsed and is now campaigning with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, also a Republican, in his bid for the GOP’s presidential nomination.

    In 2023, Stand For America PAC raised about $2.3 million through the end of June. It held about $2.2 million. In June 2023, Stand For America PAC sent $1 million to SFA Fund.

    Presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks to supporters at the McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester, N.H., after winning the endorsement of New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. (Photo by Alice Giordano/The Epoch Times)

    Team Stand for America

    Team Stand for America, a joint fundraising committee, was founded in November 2022 and shares an address with Stand For America Inc. It raised about $7 million in the first six months of this year and sent most of the money to Ms. Haley’s principal campaign committee, Nikki Haley for President Inc., or a committee related to her campaign.

    Joint fundraising, according to the FEC, is an election-related fundraising activity conducted jointly by a political committee and one or more other political committees or unregistered organizations.

    Through June, Team Stand for America sent about $2 million to Nikki Haley for President, about $1.3 million to Stand For America PAC, and about $770,000 to SFA Fund. At the end of September, Ms. Haley’s principal campaign committee had raised about $18.7 million and retained about $11.6 million on hand.

    Jan Koum, co-founder and CEO of WhatsApp, speaks at the Digital Life Design conference in Munich, Germany, on Jan. 18, 2016. (Tobias Hase/AFP/Getty Images)

    Jan Koum

    The largest single donor to SFA Fund is Ukranian-American billionaire Jan Koum. He gave $5 million to SFA Fund Inc. between February and June.

    Mr. Koum is a co-founder and former CEO of messaging application WhatsApp. The application was acquired by Facebook Inc. in 2014 for $19.3 billion. Forbes estimates that Mr. Koum is worth $15.3 billion.

    According to data collected by watchdog group Open Secrets, Mr. Koum began donating to Republican Party causes in 2021. Most of his contributions have gone to the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory Fund and the United Democracy Project (UDP). The UDP, according to FEC records, has sent about $2.5 million to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee between January and June.

    Venture capitalist Tim Draper speaks about his plan to partition California into six states at a press conference in San Mateo, Calif., on April 12, 2018. (REUTERS/Stephen Lam/File Photo)

    Tim Draper

    Tim Draper, the founder and managing partner of San Mateo, California-based Draper Associates and a member of the wealthy Draper family, gave $1.25 million to SFA Fund in June. Forbes estimates that Mr. Draper is worth $1.2 billion.

    Mr. Draper, who campaigned in 2018 to split the state of California into six states, is a prolific donor but not one to splurge on political causes. He’s given to both Republican and Democratic candidates, according to Open Secrets records. His SFA gift was his largest political contribution ever.

    The Epoch Times reached out to representatives of Mr. Draper but did not receive a reply by press time.

    Vivek Garipalli

    Vivek Garipalli, co-founder and executive chairperson of Franklin, Tennessee-based Clover Health, gave $1 million to SFA Fund in March. The health care entrepreneur is a consistent political donor who typically gives to Democratic Party causes.

    According to Open Secrets records, Mr. Garipalli gave $250,000 to the Democrat-supporting Senate Majority PAC in June. He’s given $750,000 to that cause since 2019. Additionally, he’s given $265,500 to the DNC Services Corp.—the Democratic National Committee—since 2014.

    The Epoch Times reached out to representatives of Mr. Garipalli but did not receive a reply by press time.

    Laurel Asness

    Laurel Asness is the wife of Clifford “Cliff” Asness, the managing and founding principal of Greenwich, Connecticut-based AQR Capital Management LLC. Ms. Asness gave $1 million to SFA Fund in February. It was her largest-ever political contribution.

    Ms. Asness, who lists herself as a philanthropist and a homemaker on federal filings since 2017, is a consistent supporter of Republican causes like the Republican National Committee (RNC), National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), according to Open Secrets records. Her $1 million gift to SFA Fund is the largest contribution she’s ever made.

    Likewise, Mr. Asness is a major Republican Party donor. He’s repeatedly given gifts of $100,000 or more to causes like the Republican-backing Senate Leadership Fund and Congressional Leadership Fund, according to Open Secrets records. Forbes estimates Mr. Asness is worth $1.6 billion.

    In the 2016 election cycle, Mr. Asness gave $1 million to Our Principals PAC, which opposed former President Donald Trump. He also gave $1 million to Conservative Solutions PAC, which supported Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) in his 2016 presidential run.

    In 2023, Mr. Asness is backing former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican seeking the party’s presidential nomination. He gave $250,000 to the Christie-aligned Tell It Like It Is PAC in June.

    The Epoch Times reached out to representatives of Ms. Asness but did not receive a reply by press time.

    Christopher Redlich Jr.

    Christopher Redlich Jr., a member of the board of the San Francisco-based Gladstone Foundation and the board of overseers at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, gave a total of $1 million to SFA Fund between March and June. Mr. Redlich, formerly chairman of Marine Terminals Corp. of San Francisco, now lives in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

    Mr. Redlich is typically a Republican donor, according to Open Secrets records. The SFA Fund gifts are the largest he’s ever given. However, he made small donations—$2,800—to President Joe Biden in 2020 and gave former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton $2,300 in 2007.

    The Epoch Times reached out to representatives of Mr. Redlich but did not receive a reply by press time.

    Steven Stull

    Steven Stull, the president of New Orleans-based Advantage Capital Partners, gave $1 million to SFA Fund in June. The contribution to SFA Fund was the largest he’s ever made to a political cause.

    According to Open Secrets records, Mr. Stull has supported both Democratic and Republican candidates and made other, smaller contributions to funds connected to Ms. Haley.

    The Epoch Times reached out to representatives of Mr. Stull but did not receive a reply by press time.

    Ronald Simon

    Ronald “Ron” Simon is the founder and chairman of Newport Beach, California-based RSI Equity Partners. He gave $1 million to SFA Fund in June.

    Mr. Simon, according to OpenSecrets records, is a consistent Republican Party donor. His contribution to SFA Fund was his largest ever.

    The Epoch Times reached out to representatives of Mr. Simon but did not receive a reply by press time.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 12:50

  • Large Majority Of Americans Believe Israel "Is Trying To Avoid Civilian Casualties" Despite Recent Killings, But…
    Large Majority Of Americans Believe Israel “Is Trying To Avoid Civilian Casualties” Despite Recent Killings, But…

    Amid ongoing pro-Palestine protests (on and off campuses), antagonistic back-and-forth exchanges on display in Washington press-briefing rooms, and reports of scathing ‘dissent memos’ criticizing White House Israel policy being circulated within the State Department, the Biden White House continues to publicly support Israel (albeit with some placating language on the optics of their actions in Gaza).

    However, despite the MSM adopting decidedly anti-Israel headlines – due to incidents such as the IDF’s most recent example of aggression against what appear to be more civilians (as detailed below) – a new Harvard/Harris poll (of all places) shows the majority of all Americans believe that Hamas wants the genocide of Israelis…

    …and believe Israel’s ultimate goal is to defend itself – and should continue doing so until Hamas is defeated…

    …and see the ‘jews as oppressors’ narrative as a ‘false ideology’…

    …and believe that Israel is trying to avoid civilian casualties – which, ironically, is diametrically opposed to what Harvard students are chanting on campus…

    The poll comes as yet another video has surfaced exposing IDF soldiers’ actions, this time shooting two men to death – one incapacitated and the other seemingly unarmed – in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

    Israeli soldiers fire a third volley of shots at Rami Jundob, who appeared to be incapacitated and holding a hand up in surrender (B’Tselem)

    Security camera video shows soldiers in vehicles chasing Palestinians in the Faraa refugee camp in the northeastern sector of the West Bank. A group of young men flee as the vehicles close in on them. Soldiers open fire, hitting 25-year-old Rami Jundob, who was holding some kind of red canister – possibly an incendiary device.

    After the wounded Jundob collapses to the ground, the lead IDF vehicle stops about 25 to 35 feet from him. Eleven seconds after he’d fallen to the ground and began slowly writhing in pain, soldiers unleash another volley of rifle rounds at him.

    Jundob holds his left hand in the air, and the IDF vehicle pulls forward so the driver door is facing him. The door opens and – another 18 seconds after the previous volley – a soldier fires a high volume of rounds at Jundob, ensuring his death.

    The double-execution comes on the heels of other recent instances appearing to show a reckless disregard for life on the part of Israeli military and police forces, including three escaped or abandoned Israeli hostages who were holding a white flag were shot to death in Gaza, as the IDF apparently mistook them for Hamas militants.

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

    Which, it would appear is weighing far more heavily on America’s youth that any other generation as the hidden secret beneath the poll is there is a growing chasm between young and old when it comes to Hamas/Palestine/Israel/Jews/Whites/Oppressors…

    67% of 18-24-year-olds believe Jews as a class are oppressors:

    A strong majority of 18-34-year-olds believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza:

    76% of 18-24-year-olds believe that Hamas can be negotiated with to create peace:

    More young Americans believe Israel is primarily responsible for triggering the humanitarian crisis than Hamas:

    And over two-thirds of 18-24-year-olds favor an unconditional ceasefire:

    So, to summarize, despite recent headlines of heavy civilian casualties – and a growing call from the Biden admin for Israel to ‘calm down’ – the majority of Americans still believe that Israel is not intentionally trying to kill Palestinian civilians.

    But, and its a big Marxist but, the vast majority of young American adults believe Jews are oppressors, that the 10/7 attack is justified by Jews’ prior actions, and even more broadly speaking ‘white people are oppressors‘.

    Does make one wonder…

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 12:15

  • California Circles The Toilet Bowl
    California Circles The Toilet Bowl

    Authored by MN Gordon via EconomicPrism.com,

    “I go with the word ‘serious.’  A serious budget problem.  I would stop short of calling it a crisis.”

    – Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek, on California’s $68 billion deficit

    What Was It Like?

    California, without question, is a great state to be from. 

    We lived there for nearly 45 years.  We made our California exodus in July 2022.  No regrets.

    In fact, not living in California becomes a greater blessing with each passing day.  Moreover, depending on the time lived there, and the decades encompassed, plenty of insight can be found in the answers to three simple questions.

    What was it like?  What happened?  What is it like now?

    The answer to the first question comes with warm reminiscence.  A fond nostalgia for a California that long ago faded from existence.

    In the early 20th century, before the mania to splatter every square foot of the LA Basin’s surface with concrete took hold of the local spirits, the place was a magnet for eccentrics and madmen.  On any average day, Howard Hughes, a total lunatic, would crash test his latest flying machine into Beverly Hills.

    Italian immigrant Simon Rodia, however, was the real archetypical California oddball.  For reasons unknown, and between swigs of malt liquor, he worked nearly every day from 1921 to 1955 chicken wiring steel pipes and rods together, erecting numerous towering eyesores in his backyard in the Watts district of Los Angeles.

    Then, after 34 years of this madness, Rodia, on a whim, deeded the property to his neighbor and hopped a bus to the East Bay.  No one in Watts ever heard from him again.  But his monstrosities, known as the Watts Towers, are now a National Historic Landmark.  Go figure?

    There was also Griffith J. Griffith, who amassed a fortune in the mining industry.  That was before he shot his wife in the eye while staying in the presidential suite of Santa Monica’s Arcadia Hotel.

    To make good for his transgressions – and to commute his time in San Quentin to just two years – Griffith donated the land for Griffith Park to Los Angeles and funded the City’s observatory.  Without Griffith’s private act of preservation, the city wouldn’t have any remaining land that’s not covered with concrete.

    What Happened?

    These were the sorts of wacky and wild characters that roamed about when state and local governments were small and feeble.  When crime was low, and optimism was high.  And the only direction the economy could go was up.

    This was back when the infrastructure shined.  And Hollywood made descent movies.  It was also the beginning of a long property boom…where, for the next 50-years, property values went up without interruption.

    Even the most harebrained business ventures were almost guaranteed to succeed.  For example, you could buy an old mail service boat – like John Clearman did – tow it from the Long Beach Harbor up to a wide open corner lot on Huntington Drive in the San Gabriel Valley, plop it down, and get rich selling cheese toast and red cabbage salad out of it.

    This was before zoning codes, land use master plans, and city permits spoiled all the fun.  Was the world a better place?  It was certainly freer.

    Private eccentricity in California these days has been regulated away like the free-flowing carburetor.  In its place, there’s now state-sponsored Transgender History Month – the nation’s first of its kind – and countless other acts of public madness.  The cutting edge of public policy, guided by academic retards, slices through the land.

    Over several decades, state and local governments were taken over by control freak sociopaths. 

    Moreover, their socialist policies transformed many of the urban areas into unlivable hellholes.

    Shelling out for all the waste championed in Sacramento and various City Halls made it impossible for the average guy, who just wanted to work hard and pay his way, to get ahead.

    What Is It Like Now?

    Today, California persists as a place of sky-high taxes, crumbling infrastructure, woke idiocy, and mass homeless encampments.  Where grifters and freeloaders hold hands in symbiotic disharmony.  Together, they exercise the malady of a mega homeless industrial complex in return for government lard.

    In the City of Los Angeles, over 46,000 homeless people thrash about on the concrete each night, setting fires and burning down bridges.  If you broaden the envelope to include Los Angeles County, that number jumps to over 75,000.

    Despite hundreds of millions of dollars being spent to fight homelessness these numbers keep going up.  This doesn’t make sense until you understand how it all works.

    The primary objective of the homeless industrial complex has nothing to do with getting people off the streets.  Rather, dollars alone equal victory.  And more money is the ultimate aim.

    Unfortunately for taxpayers, more money isn’t limited to securing private funds.  It involves appropriating public funds and directing them towards the technocratic vision of forced philanthropy.

    According to a 2022 city audit, in the City of Los Angeles it costs $837,000 to build a single housing unit for one homeless person.  In another instance, because of self-imposed regulatory knots, it took 17 years to build 49 affordable housing units in Boyle Heights.

    Yet, this madness extends statewide.  In San Jose, for example, it costs $938,700 to build a single unit of affordable housing.  Certainly, there’s plenty of grift built into California’s homeless industrial complex.  Did you get your cut?

    California Circles the Toilet Bowl

    Alas, countless other examples of government insanity extend up and down the entire state.  Take the California Teachers Association.  Rather than teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, the massive state teachers union hides student gender identities from parents as a matter of legal policy.

    There’s also Ebony Alert – a faux-liberal twist on Amber Alert.  And for reasons unclear, there are state-mandated gender-neutral toy aisles, which include escalating fines for noncompliance.

    So, now, with all these displays of public madness, California is circling the toilet bowl.

    Quite frankly, the golden state has run out of money to finance all the bloat, grift, incompetence, and stoopid diktats. 

    This was the conclusion that was recently provided by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.  From the Executive Summary of California’s 2024-25 Fiscal Outlook:

    California Faces a $68 Billion Deficit.  Largely as a result of a severe revenue decline in 2022?23, the state faces a serious budget deficit.  Specifically, under the state’s current law and policy, we estimate the Legislature will need to solve a budget problem of $68 billion in the upcoming budget process.”

    If you didn’t know, in California the top 1 percent of taxpayers pay 50 percent of state income tax.  The top 0.1 percent pays a third.  Politicians exploit this progressive tax system by making outrageous promises to the non-taxpaying masses.

    As CalMatters notes, Governor Newsom will likely close the record deficit by dipping into $24 billion of emergency funds and by commandeering $10 billion previously allocated for transportation, environmental and education programs.

    By our rough calculation that cuts the $68 billion deficit in half.  Where will the other $34 billion come from?  Will the top 1 percent pay it?

    Come January 1, the top income tax rate spikes to 14.4 percent, up from 13.3 percent.  Moreover, workers making over $61,214 will pay 10.4 percent of their income to the state, which is up from the current 9.3 percent.

    This is in addition to federal income tax, social security tax, medicare tax, sales tax, property tax, and numerous other licensing fees and exactions.

    There’s also the inflation tax.

    This is why in many parts of California a pre-tax income of $61,214 won’t get you very far.

    Indeed, California’s a great state to be from.  Thus as California circles the toilet bowl the state exodus goes on.

    *  *  *

    Today, more than ever, unconventional investing ideas are needed.  Discover how to protect your wealth and financial privacy, using the Financial First Aid Kit.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 11:40

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Today’s News 17th December 2023

  • Long-Term Use Of Statins Linked To Heart Disease: Studies
    Long-Term Use Of Statins Linked To Heart Disease: Studies

    Authored by Vance Voetberg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    For decades, statins have been heralded as the reliable heroes in the battle against heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States and globally. However, this seemingly flawless reputation has been called into question.

    A new expert review suggests that long-term use of statins may be inadvertently aiding the enemy by accelerating coronary artery calcification instead of providing protection.

    (joel bubble ben/Shutterstock)

    Statins Deplete Heart-Protecting Nutrients 

    The review, published in Clinical Pharmacology, suggests statins may act as “mitochondrial toxins,” impairing muscle function in the heart and blood vessels by depleting coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an antioxidant cells use for growth and maintenance. Multiple studies show statins inhibit CoQ10 synthesis, leading many patients to supplement.

    CoQ10 is vital for producing ATP, the cell’s fundamental energy carrier. Insufficient CoQ10 inhibits ATP production, resulting in an energy deficit that the review authors say “could be a major cause for heart muscle and coronary artery damage.

    We believe that many years of statin drug therapy result in the gradual accumulation of mitochondrial DNA damage,” according to the authors.

    A 2022 study published in Biophysical Journal linked reduced ATP to heart failure.

    A 2008 study published in BioFactors reaffirms the statin–CoQ10 link. Researchers evaluated 50 statin patients for side effects like fatigue and muscle pain. All then stopped statins and supplemented CoQ10 for 22 months on average.

    Heart function improved or held steady for the majority of patients. The researchers conclude statin side effects, including statin cardiomyopathy, “are far more common than previously published and are reversible with the combination of statin discontinuation and supplemental CoQ10.”

    Statins Deplete Vitamin K, Raising Heart Calcification Risk

    Statins impair the production of vitamin K, an essential vitamin in managing calcification, according to the review. Optimal vitamin K2 intake helps avoid plaque buildup of atherosclerosis—thickening or hardening of the arteries—and keeps calcification risk low.

    Coronary calcification happens when calcium accumulates in the walls of the coronary arteries that provide oxygen to the heart. This plaque buildup is a sign of early coronary artery disease, which can block blood flow and trigger a heart attack.

    A 2021 study published in the Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences found a connection between statin use, coronary artery calcification, and vitamin K2 deficiency. The results shed light on how statins may spur arterial calcium accumulation by inhibiting vitamin K. The study’s findings were “in agreement with the existing evidence about positive association between statins and vascular calcification,” the authors added.

    Statins also damage selenoproteins, carriers of the mineral selenium essential for heart health.

    Statins were also linked to increased calcification in a 2022 study published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. However, the authors proposed that statins may encourage calcification by heightening inflammation rather than nutrient deficiency.

    Physicians Overlook Statins as Driver of Heart Failure: Experts

    Based on emerging evidence on statins’ potential cardiac downsides, the authors of the new review warn that “physicians in general are not aware that statins can cause heart failure and are clearly not recognizing it.” Though doctors readily diagnose heart failure in statin users, they usually attribute it to factors like age, high blood pressure, or artery disease.

    Doctors prescribing cholesterol drugs “cannot ignore the moral responsibility of ‘informed consent,’” the researchers wrote, noting that patients deserve full disclosure of side effects like cardiovascular disease or heart failure.

    With over a million annual heart failure hospitalizations in the United States, the condition is often referred to as an epidemic—and it may be that “statin drug therapy is a major contributing factor,” according to the review.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/17/2023 – 00:20

  • Americans Are Getting Married Older Than Ever
    Americans Are Getting Married Older Than Ever

    Americans are delaying (or putting off altogether) getting married for longer than before, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

    As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, the median average age for men to first get married has risen to 30.2 years in 2023, while for women the figure is 28.4 years.

    As the following chart shows, there has been a pretty steady upward trajectory to the present day since the 1950s, when the lowest median figures of 22.5 years for men were reached and just 20.1 years for women.

    Infographic: Americans Are Getting Married Older Than Ever | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Data from Pew Research Center highlights how young adults in the U.S. are reaching other key life milestones later than before too.

    For 25 year olds in 2021 versus those of 40 years ago, the gap is particularly apparent for the social milestones of living on their own, being married and having children, while there is less of a difference between the two groups for the financial milestones of having a full-time job and financial independence.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 23:45

  • Is Free Speech A Relic In America?
    Is Free Speech A Relic In America?

    Authored by James Bovard via The Brownstone Institute,

    Is the First Amendment becoming a historic relic? On July 4, 2023, federal judge Terry Doughty condemned the Biden administration for potentially “the most massive attack against free speech in United States history.” That verdict was ratified by a federal appeals court decision in September 2023 that concluded that Biden administration “officials have engaged in a broad pressure campaign designed to coerce social-media companies into suppressing speakers, viewpoints, and content disfavored by the government.”

    In earlier times in America, such policies would have faced sweeping condemnation from across the political spectrum. But major media outlets like the Washington Post have rushed to the barricades to defend the Biden war on “misinformation.” Almost half of Democrats surveyed in September 2023 affirmed that free speech should be legal “only under certain circumstances.” Fifty-five percent of American adults support government suppression of “false information” – even though only 20 percent trust the government.

    Biden’s War on Free Speech

    The broad support for federal censorship is perplexing considering that courts have vividly laid out the government’s First Amendment violations. Doughty delivered 155 pages of damning details of federal browbeating, jawboning, and coercion of social-media companies. Doughty ruled that federal agencies and the White House “engaged in coercion of social media companies” to delete Americans’ comments on Afghanistan, Ukraine, election procedures, and other subjects. He issued an injunction blocking the feds from “encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”

    Censors reigned from the start of the Biden era. Barely two weeks after Biden’s inauguration, White House Digital Director Rob Flaherty demanded that Twitter “immediately” remove a parody account of Biden’s relatives. Twitter officials suspended the account within 45 minutes but complained they were already “bombarded” by White House censorship requests at that point.

    Biden White House officials ordered Facebook to delete humorous memes, including a parody of a future television ad: “Did you or a loved one take the COVID vaccine? You may be entitled….” The White House continually denounced Facebook for failing to suppress more posts and videos that could inspire “vaccine hesitancy” — even if the posts were true. Facebook decided that the word “liberty” was too hazardous in the Biden era; to placate the White House, the company suppressed posts “discussing the choice to vaccinate in terms of personal or civil liberties.”

    Flaherty was still unsatisfied and raged at Facebook officials in a July 15, 2021, email: “Are you guys f–king serious?” The following day, President Biden accused social-media companies of “killing people” by failing to suppress all criticism of COVID vaccines.

    Federal Censorship

    Censorship multiplied thanks to an epic bureaucratic bait-and-switch. After allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Act was created to protect against foreign meddling. Prior to Biden taking office, CISA had a “Countering Foreign Influence Task Force.” In 2021, that was renamed the “Mis-, Dis- and Mal-information Team (‘MDM Team’).”

    But almost all the targets of federal censorship during the Biden era have been Americans. Federal censorship tainted the 2020 and 2022 elections, spurring the suppression of millions of social-media posts (almost all from conservatives). During the 2020 election, CISA targeted for suppression assertions such as “mail-in voting is insecure” — despite the long history of absentee ballot fraud.

    CISA aims to control Americans’ minds: A CISA advisory committee last year issued a report that “broadened” what it targeted to include “the spread of false and misleading information because it poses a significant risk to critical function, like elections, public health, financial services and emergency responses.” Thus, any idea that government officials label as “misleading” is a “significant risk” that can be suppressed.

    Where did CISA find the absolute truths it used to censor American citizens? CISA simply asked government officials and “apparently always assumed the government official was a reliable source,” the court decision noted. Any assertion by officialdom was close enough to a Delphic oracle to use to “debunk postings” by private citizens. Judge Doughty observed that the free-speech clause was enacted to prohibit agencies like CISA from picking “what is true and what is false.”

    Covid-Inspired Censorship

    “Government = truth” is the premise for the Biden censorship regime. In June 2022, Flaherty declared that he “wanted to monitor Facebook’s suppression of COVID-19 misinformation ‘as we start to ramp up [vaccines for children under the age of 5].’” The FDA had almost zero safety data on COVID vaccines for infants and toddlers. But Biden announced the vaccines were safe for those target groups, so any assertion to the contrary automatically became false or misleading.

    Biden policymakers presumed that Americans are idiots who believe whatever they see on Facebook. In an April 5, 2021, phone call with Facebook staffers, White House Strategy Communication chief Courtney Rowe said, “If someone in rural Arkansas sees something on FB [Facebook], it’s the truth.”

    In the same call, a Facebook official mentioned nose bleeds as an example of a feared COVID vaccine side effect. Flaherty wanted Facebook to intervene in purportedly private conversations on vaccines and “Direct them to CDC.” A Facebook employee told Flaherty that “an immediate generated message about nose bleeds might give users ‘the Big Brother feel.’” At least the Biden White House didn’t compel Facebook to send form notices every 90 seconds to any private discussion on COVID: “The Department of Homeland Security wishes to remind you that there is no surveillance. Have a nice day.” Flaherty also called for Facebook to crack down on WhatsApp exchanges (private messages) between individuals.

    Federal agencies responded to legal challenges by portraying themselves as the same “pitiful, helpless giants” that President Richard Nixon invoked to describe the US government when he started bombing Cambodia. Judge Doughty wrote that federal agencies “blame the Russians, COVID-19 and capitalism for any suppression of free speech by social-media companies.” But that defense fails the laugh test.

    Federal agencies pirouetted as a “Ministry of Truth,” according to the court rulings, strong-arming Twitter to arbitrarily suspend 400,000 accounts, including journalists and diplomats.

    The Biden administration rushed to sway the appeals court to postpone enforcement of the injunction and then sought to redefine all its closed-door shenanigans as public service. In its briefs to the court, the Justice Department declared, “There is a categorical, well-settled distinction between persuasion and coercion,” and castigated Judge Doughty for having “equated legitimate efforts at persuasion with illicit efforts to coerce.”

    Biden’s Justice Department denied that federal agencies bullied social-media companies to suppress any information. Instead, there were simply requests for “content moderation,” especially regarding COVID. Actually, there were tens of thousands of “requests” that resulted in the suppression of millions of posts and comments by Americans.

    Team Biden champions a “no corpse, no delicta” definition of censorship. Since federal SWAT teams did not assail the headquarters of social-media firms, the feds are blameless. Or, as Justice Department lawyer Daniel Tenny told the judges, “There was a back and forth. Sometimes it was more friendly, sometimes people got more testy. There were circumstances in which everyone saw eye to eye, there were circumstances in which they disagreed.”

    It’s irrelevant that President Joe Biden publicly accused social-media companies of murder for not censoring far more material and that Biden appointees publicly threatened to destroy the companies via legislation or prosecution. Nope: It was just neighborly discussions between good folks.

    The Courts Strike Back

    At the appeals court hearing, Judge Don Willett, one of the most principled and penetrating judges in the nation, had no problem with federal agencies publicly criticizing what they judged false or dangerous ideas. But that wasn’t how Team Biden compelled submission: “Here you have government in secret, in private, out of the public eye, relying on … subtle strong-arming and veiled or not-so-veiled threats.” Willett vivified how the feds played the game: “That’s a really nice social-media platform you’ve got there, it would be a shame if something happened to it.”

    Judge Jennifer Elrod compared the Biden censorship regime to the Mafia: “We see with the mob … they have these ongoing relationships. They never actually say, ‘Go do this or else you’re going to have this consequence.’ But everybody just knows.”

    Yet the Biden administration was supposedly innocent because the feds never explicitly spelled out “or else,” according to the Justice Department lawyer. This is on par with redefining armed robbery as a consensual activity unless the robber specifically points his gun at the victim’s head. As economist Joseph Schumpeter aptly observed, “Power wins, not by being used, but by being there.”

    In its September decision, the appeals court concluded that the White House, FBI, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the US Surgeon General’s office trampled the First Amendment by coercing social media companies and likely “had the intended result of suppressing millions of protected free speech postings by American citizens.”

    The court unanimously declared that federal officials made express threats…. But, beyond express threats, there was always [italic in original] an “unspoken or else.” The officials made clear that the platforms would [italic in original] suffer adverse consequences if they failed to comply, through express or implied threats, and thus the requests were not optional.

    The appeals court also took a “real-world” view of the nation’s most feared law enforcement agency: “Although the FBI’s communications did not plainly reference adverse consequences, an actor need not express a threat aloud so long as, given the circumstances, the message intimates that some form of punishment will follow noncompliance.” The federal appeals court upheld part of the injunction while excluding some federal agencies from anticensorship restrictions.

    The Biden administration quickly appealed the partial injunction to the Supreme Court, telling the court: “Of course, the government cannot punish people for expressing different views…. But there is a fundamental distinction between persuasion and coercion. And courts must take care to maintain that distinction because of the drastic consequences resulting from a finding of coercion.”

    The Biden brief bewailed that the appeals court found that “officials from the White House, the Surgeon General’s office, and the FBI coerced social-media platforms to remove content despite the absence of even a single instance in which an official paired a request to remove content with a threat of adverse action.” But both the federal district court and the appeals court decisions offered plenty of examples of federal threats.

    The New Civil Liberties Alliance, one of the plaintiffs, scoffed: “The Government argues that the injunction interferes with the government’s ability to speak. The Government has a wide latitude to speak on matters of public concern, but it cannot stifle the protected speech of ordinary Americans.” And the injunction impedes federal officials from secretly coercing private companies to satisfy White House demands.

    As the Biden administration pressured the Supreme Court, the anticensorship lawyers on September 25 secured an en banc rehearing of their case, which consists of a panel of all 17 active Fifth Circuit judges. The plaintiffs were especially concerned that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Act was excluded from the injunction. CISA and its array of federal censorship contractors have sowed far too much mischief in recent years. The appeals court modified the injunction to put a leash on CISA.

    Censorship could cast the deciding vote in the 2024 presidential election. Judge Doughty issued his injunction in part because federal agencies “could use their power over millions of people to suppress alternative views or moderate content they do not agree with in the upcoming 2024 national election.”

    Much of the mainstream media is horrified at the prospect of reduced federal censorship. The Washington Post article on Doughty’s decision fretted, “For more than a decade, the federal government has attempted to work with social media companies to address criminal activity, including child sexual abuse images and terrorism.” The Post did not mention the Biden crusade to banish cynicism from the Internet. Journalist Glenn Greenwald scoffed, “The most surreal fact of U.S. political life is that the leading advocates for unified state/corporate censorship are large media corporations.”

    Fifty years ago, philosopher Hannah Arendt wrote of the “most essential political freedom, the right to unmanipulated factual information without which all freedom of opinion becomes a cruel hoax.” The battle over federal censorship will determine whether Americans can have more than a passing whiff of that political freedom. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost joined the lawsuit against censorship and commented in September: “The federal government doesn’t get to play referee on the field of public discourse. If you let them decide what speech is OK, one day yours might not be.”

    On October 20, the Supreme Court announced that it would rule on this case, with a decision expected within a few months. Stay tuned for plenty of legal fireworks and maybe even good news for freedom.

    *  *  *

    This article was originally published in the December 2023 edition of Future of Freedom.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 23:10

  • Four Major Shipping Firms Halt Red Sea Route After Houthi Attacks  
    Four Major Shipping Firms Halt Red Sea Route After Houthi Attacks  

    Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis have launched a series of attacks on commercial vessels in the highly trafficked Red Sea strait as retaliation for Israel’s Gaza operation and Washington’s support of Israel. In light of these developments, shipping giants A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S – also known as Maersk – and Hapag-Lloyd halted their container ships from sailing in these highly contested waters on Friday. Two other major shipping firms followed suit on Saturday.

    The number of major shipping firms that have suspended sails through the Red Sea due to elevated missile and drone attacks near the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait has jumped to four. 

    AFP News reports that Italian-Swiss-based Mediterranean Shipping Company and French-based CMA CGM halted container ship sails through the Red Sea on Saturday, citing mounting risks due to Iran-backed Houthi rebels. 

    Spillover risks of the Israel-Hamas war are already being recognized, as the Red Sea is responsible for 40% of the world’s international trade. 

    “We are deeply concerned about the highly escalated security situation in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” Maersk said in a statement. 

    Maersk continued, “The recent attacks on commercial vessels in the area are alarming and pose a significant threat to the safety and security of seafarers.”

    Hapag-Lloyd spokesman Nils Haupt said its container ships were drifting outside the strait and waiting for further instructions. This stretch of water is a crucial transit point for vessels traveling through Egypt’s Suez Canal. 

    On Saturday morning, US Central Command wrote in a post on X that the Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS CARNEY shot down 14 Houthi drones in the Red Sea. 

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    Some shipping companies have already rerouted around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid the conflict area. 

    As de-globalization accelerates and the old world order shreds apart, former NY Fed repo guru and former Credit Suisse strategist Zoltan Pozsar warned earlier this year that a multipolar world would usher in the need for increased use of militaries around the world to ensure safe maritime shipping lanes

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 22:35

  • Pumping Seawater Into Gaza Tunnels Proves 'Successful' But Majority Of Hamas Still Intact: Report
    Pumping Seawater Into Gaza Tunnels Proves ‘Successful’ But Majority Of Hamas Still Intact: Report

    Via The Cradle,

    The Israeli daily The Times of Israel reported late in the week that the attempt to pump seawater into the vast network of tunnels built by Hamas in Gaza was proving to be a “success.”

    “The tunnel flooding had indeed begun, albeit in a limited trial capacity …,” and that “it was understood to have been a success,” the newspaper said on Thursday.

    Soldiers connect water pumps as part of the operation against Gaza tunnels, via The Telegraph.

    Days ago, Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the Israeli military had already begun pumping seawater into tunnels used by Hamas. Citing US officials familiar with the Israeli military operation, the WSJ had reported that the move to flood the tunnels with water from the Mediterranean was in its early stages. A spokesperson for the Israeli defense minister had declined to comment, saying tunnel operations were classified. 

    When asked, however, if the tunnel flooding tactic might pose a threat to Israeli prisoners held in Gaza, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a press conference on Thursday that the military operates on “intelligence” regarding where prisoners are being kept, adding that Israel “will not take steps that harm them.”

    In another press conference in Beirut on Thursday, senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said that the tunnels were built to withstand flooding, and that Israel’s plans have been taken into account. 

    “The tunnels were built by well-trained and educated engineers who considered all possible attacks from the occupation, including pumping water,” Hamdan said, adding that the underground network is “an integral part of the resistance, and all consequences and expected attacks have been taken into account.”

    At the start of the war in October, officials were quoted as saying that soldiers should “under no circumstances” attempt to enter the tunnels. 

    The report by The Times of Israel comes as Israel is no closer to its goal of destroying Hamas. “Israel is still far from toppling Hamas. The majority of its fighters are still alive; it still possesses rockets,” said Michael Millstein, a Palestinian studies expert, on 12 December. 

    Clashes continue to rage between Israel and the Palestinian militants in both north and south Gaza, with resistance fighters ambushing Israeli troops on a daily basis. At least 10 Israeli soldiers were killed in the Shujaiya neighborhood of north Gaza and elsewhere on 12 December in coordinated ambushes laid by Hamas and other groups. 

    Israeli media referred to the ambush as “one of the deadliest” since the ground war was launched in late October. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 22:00

  • Which Countries Are Most Interested In Generative AI?
    Which Countries Are Most Interested In Generative AI?

    In the past two years, AI’s ability to produce text, images, audio, and video has become massively widespread.

    With millions of people worldwide now embracing tools like ChatGPT and Midjourney to bring their ideas to life, billions of dollars are being invested to take AI technology to the next level.

    But so far, AI interest by country varies, at least according to search data. This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Freny Fernandes, sheds light on the countries most interested in generative AI tools using data compiled by ElectronicsHub.

    To determine interest in different generative AI technologies, ElectronicsHub first determined the top 10 tools in each category based on their global monthly search volumes.

    They then recorded the monthly Google search volumes for each tool, combined the overall volumes of each country, and scaled the results by population (per 100,000 people) and Google’s search engine market share in each respective market.

    According to the compiled data, the highest search volume for generative AI tools was seen in the Philippines (5,288) followed by Singapore (3,036) and Canada (2,213).

    Let’s take a closer look at the different generative AI tools nations worldwide seem to prefer.

    Generating Text with AI

    The launch of ChatGPT last year turned the world’s attention to the world of generative AI. However, some tools, like QuillBot, have helped users check grammar, edit, and summarize text for over five years.

    Generative AI tools used for tasks ranging from drafting emails to creating job application packages have been most sought after in Asian nations like the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and other parts of the world including Canada, and the UAE.

    Generating Images with AI

    A picture speaks a thousand words. And the launch of generative Image AI tools like DALL-E 2, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion have created a whole new world of storytelling. Once used only by designers, these text-to-image tools are now being used in science and medicine.

    Israel and Singapore, the two nations leading the global interest in generative image AI, seem to prefer using Midjourney, the most-searched tool in 92 nations worldwide.

    Generating Audio with AI

    While the use of generative AI is not as established in audio generation, it has already begun making its mark. From its uses in voice-to-text transcription platforms to the music industry, generative AI in audio is growing worldwide.

    While this may pose challenges in the music industry, tools like FakeYou and VoiceGPT, which allow mimicry of the voices of celebrities and artists, are growing increasingly popular in the South American nations of Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, and Peru in 2023.

    Generating Video with AI

    From movies and TV shows to TikTok reels and YouTube content, videos are often the fastest way of capturing an audience’s attention. Despite this, generative AI’s video generation tools are not as developed as other generative media tools, yet.

    While nations including Singapore and the UAE are searching the most for video-generation tools like InVideo and Synthesia, the world is looking for what emerges next in this field.

    Generative AI is Just Starting Out

    Much like how the printing press changed the way we disseminate information, generative AI is revolutionizing the way we produce and use information.

    As the world of generative AI blurs the line between what’s real and what’s not, and what’s fake and what’s true, an intriguing path unfolds.

    While businesses and users seek to harness the full potential of AI, governments and lawmakers are simultaneously grappling with the challenge of comprehending its regulation to curb potential drawbacks and misuse.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 21:25

  • CDC Issues Health Advisory Over 'Low Vaccination Rates' Across US
    CDC Issues Health Advisory Over ‘Low Vaccination Rates’ Across US

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

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent out a “health advisory” on Dec. 14 regarding “low vaccination rates” for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19.

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

    The agency stated that the relatively low vaccination rates “could lead to more severe disease and increased healthcare capacity strain in the coming weeks” and “reports of increased respiratory disease have been described in multiple countries recently.”

    Healthcare providers should administer influenza, COVID-19, and RSV immunizations now to patients, if recommended,” the CDC stated.

    The CDC is tracking “increased respiratory disease activity in the United States for several respiratory pathogens,” but it made no mention of China or a rise in mysterious pediatric pneumonia cases in the country in recent weeks. The agency mentioned only influenza, RSV, and COVID-19.

    “In the past 4 weeks, hospitalizations among all age groups increased by 200 percent for influenza, 51 percent for COVID-19, and 60 percent for RSV,” it stated.

    Historical data show that the recent increase COVID-19 hospitalizations appear to be relatively low compared with previous increases during the pandemic.

    “Infants, older adults, pregnant people, and people with certain underlying medical conditions remain at increased risk of severe COVID-19 and influenza disease. Infants and older adults remain at highest risk of severe RSV disease; it is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the United States,” the CDC bulletin reads.

    Other than vaccines, health care providers should recommend antiviral medications for influenza and COVID-19 for all eligible patients, especially older adults and people with certain underlying medical conditions, according to the CDC.

    Vaccine Fatigue?

    However, recent surveys have shown that Americans appear to be showing signs of vaccine fatigue. One from the health policy research group KFF found that about three-fourths of respondents said they weren’t concerned about getting COVID-19.

    “With fall and winter holidays coming up, the possibility of a further wave of COVID-19 infections is looming with increased indoor gatherings and time with friends and family. Yet, most of the public is not worried about spreading or catching COVID-19 over the coming months,” the KFF stated.

    It noted that 54 percent are “not too worried” or “not at all worried” about COVID-19 increases or hospitalizations.

    There were 7.4 million fewer influenza vaccine doses administered to adults in pharmacies and physician offices than were administered during the 2022–23 influenza season, according to the CDC.

    Nearly 16 percent of U.S. adults aged 60 and older were reported to have taken an RSV vaccine, and 36 percent of U.S. adults aged 65 and older took a COVID-19 vaccine for the 2023–24 period.

    The CDC also stated in December that COVID-19 booster uptake is lower than it had anticipated for this season, and a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s panel of experts said in September that he won’t take the latest booster shot and wouldn’t advise a healthy American younger than 70 to get it either.

    I think the goal of this vaccine is to keep people out of the hospital, keep them out of the intensive care unit and keep them from dying. That’s the goal. That was always the stated goal. It remains the goal,” Dr. Paul Offit told a media outlet. “So who is it that’s getting hospitalized? Who is it that most benefits? People who are elderly, people who have multiple comorbidities, health problems that put them at high risk, chronic lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc. People who are immunocompromised and pregnant people. I think that those are the ones who most benefit.”

    Recent CDC Study Results

    Earlier this month, a CDC study found that children who reported to pediatric center emergency departments with respiratory illness and were hospitalized were more likely to have taken COVID-19 vaccines.

    The overwhelming majority of the young children in the study never received a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That group of 6,377 far outnumbered the 281 children who received one dose and the 776 children who received at least two doses. Across the United States, most young children are unvaccinated. Of the unvaccinated children in the study, 44 percent were hospitalized. Of the vaccinated, 55 percent were hospitalized.

    The study focused only on COVID-19 vaccines, not vaccines for influenza or RSV.

    A health care worker prepares a COVID-19 vaccine in Hong Kong in a file photograph. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

    Pfizer Stock Drops

    Pfizer has COVID-19 and RSV vaccines that are approved in the United States, while Moderna and Novavax have “bivalent” COVID-19 vaccines that are also approved by federal agencies.

    We are in the middle of the COVID fatigue,” Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said during an investor call on Oct. 16, according to media reports. “Nobody wants to speak about COVID.”

    Notably, Pfizer’s stock recently fell to 10-year lows after reporting this week that its 2024 sales could be as much as $5 billion below Wall Street expectations, in part because of its weakened ability to move COVID-19 products such as vaccines and treatment drugs.

    Zachary Stieber and Reuters contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 20:50

  • Jewish Teacher Charged For Threat To Behead Muslim Girl Who Said Israel Flag Offensive
    Jewish Teacher Charged For Threat To Behead Muslim Girl Who Said Israel Flag Offensive

    A Jewish Georgia teacher has been arrested for threatening to kill a Muslim middle school student who took offense at the Israel flag displayed in his classroom. He’s been charged with cruelty to children and making terroristic threats. 

    According to accounts collected from more than 20 witnesses — including other teachers — 7th-grade social studies teacher Benjamin Reese went into a rage on the afternoon of Dec. 7th at Warner Robins Middle School. Three students say they were walking down the hall after school when one noticed a flag of the State of Israel in Reese’s classroom and asked him why it was on display. 

    Witnesses say Benjamin Reese went into a mad rage when a student said his Israel flag was offensive (Warner Robins Middle School)

    According to the student’s account recorded in a police report reviewed by 13WMAZ, Reese said “he was Jewish and has family members still there.”

    The female Muslim student told Reese the country’s flag was “offensive due to Israelis killing Palestinians” in the Israeli-Hamas war, which caused him to become angry and call her antisemitic.

    They left and Reese followed the three down the hallway, yelling at them along the way.

    The mildest quote: “You don’t make an antisemitic comment like that to a Jew!”

    However, several teachers say the 51-year-old Reese also unleashed vivid threats of violence

    • “You motherfucking piece of shit! I’ll kick your ass! I should cut your motherfucking head off!”

    • “She is a stupid motherfucker, and I will drag her by the back of my car and cut her fucking head off for disrespecting my Jewish flag!”

    • “I’ll slit her fucking throat!”

    One of the teachers told police that, as Reese went ballistic, she feared for her own safety. Security video captured Reese following the students. When the principal and a school security officer tried to question Reese about the incident, he became agitated and aggressively kicked a door-stopper before “invok[ing] his civil rights” and walking away.

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    In the biography that’s still posted on the school’s website, Reese says he’s a Navy veteran and that “over the course of the last 8 years [teaching], I have been challenged far beyond anything 17 years of military service had prepared me for, and I love it.”

    Reese is out of jail, having met the bond requirements set by the judge: $5,000 for the cruelty to children charge and $2,500 for the alleged terroristic threat. In a statement to 13WMAZ, the Houston County School District carefully distanced itself from Reese: 

    While we are not able to discuss specific personnel matters, we can share that Mr. Reese has not been on the campus of Warner Robins Middle School since Dec. 7, 2023. Safety and the well-being of our students and staff is our number one priority.”

    The Georgia middle school incident comes alongside allegations that antisemitism is running rampant on college campuses, with Jewish students claiming they feel unsafe and some filing lawsuits charging school administrations with breach of contract for failing to bar speech about the Israel-Palestine conflict that they interpret as threatening. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 20:15

  • This Bill Of Rights Day Has Come And Gone, Let's Celebrate The Preamble
    This Bill Of Rights Day Has Come And Gone, Let’s Celebrate The Preamble

    Authored by Hans Zeiger via RealClear Wire,

    December 15th marked Bill of Rights Day, which commemorated the 232nd anniversary when the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution were ratified.

    December 15th should be a day all Americans reflect on the unique blessings the Bill of Rights safeguards – the freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and being protected from undue searches and seizures, to name just a few.

    But Bill of Rights Day also offers us the opportunity to reflect upon another unique aspect of our republic: the Preamble to the United States Constitution.

    Originally penned by Gouverneur Morris, the Preamble states, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain this Constitution for the United States of America.”

    And although today we can find little to argue with in such beautiful – and familiar – language, at the time of its framing, and immediately after, the Preamble was the subject of much debate, all intimately tied to the deliberations that resulted in the Bill of Rights.

    Following the ratification of the Constitution, James Madison turned over a package of recommendations for a Bill of Rights to a House Select Committee on Amendments in 1789. In the committee’s initial report, dated July 28, 1789, the very first proposal was an amendment to the Preamble. As the report put it, “In the introductory paragraph before the words, ‘We the people,’ add, ‘Government being intended for the benefit of the people, and the rightful establishment thereof being derived from their authority alone.’”

    Why amend the Preamble? It turns out that members of Congress from New York, Virginia, and North Carolina felt that “We the People” on its own was inadequate. According to these congressmen, some further explanation of the source of “rightful” government was in order, more explicitly connecting the Preamble back to the words of the Declaration of Independence to make clear that the people are the source of all legitimate governments.

    In this proposed amendment, new text was to be incorporated into the body of the Constitution. Madison favored this approach, while Roger Sherman of Connecticut – the only Founding Father to have signed the Articles of Association, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution – opposed it.

    Madison, always the moderate, favored the approach mainly for the sake of compromise and harmony. Sherman, meanwhile, felt that the Preamble was sufficient as is. In fact, its worth had been demonstrated by the practical results of the Constitution’s adoption. Now, Madison and others were asking for new language that would “give [the people] a right to do what they did” and “to let them know that they had a right to exercise a natural and inherent privilege.” After all, the Constitution had been ordained and established on the basis of popular consent. Moreover, the Constitution already contained the language justifying the consent of the people to govern themselves. It was right there at the beginning – three words, full of meaning, and perfectly succinct. “The words ‘We the people,’ in the original Constitution, are as copious and expressive as possible; any addition will only drag out the sentence without illuminating it,” said Sherman. 

    Sherman was not the only Founder who perceived the Preamble’s depth and meaning. As early as the Pennsylvania Ratifying Convention in 1787, James Wilson asserted the Preamble as the basis for his opposition to a Bill of Rights. If rights belonged to the people and the people were sovereign, clearly declaring themselves to be the source of the Constitution in its opening words, there was no need to enumerate a list of rights in the Constitution.

    Wilson lost the argument, but he was correct to note the sufficiency of “We the People” as the Constitution’s philosophical foundation. And Sherman’s point about the sufficiency of the Preamble’s wording seems to have stood the test of time. Indeed, it is hard to imagine an economy of words fuller with meaning than the combination found in the Preamble.

    So as we celebrate the ratification of the Bill of Rights this December 15th, let us remember that these ten great amendments only serve as an additional layer of protection. The Preamble itself, and the entire structure of our Constitution, already protects these rights. They are rights inherent in us as citizens. We have enumerated them only as an extra guard against tyranny – against a power which would seek to destroy the “We the people” of which our Preamble speaks.

    Hans Zeiger is the President of the Jack Miller Center.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 19:40

  • Virtue Un-Signaled: San Francisco Halts Reparations Office Due To Budget Cuts
    Virtue Un-Signaled: San Francisco Halts Reparations Office Due To Budget Cuts

    San Francisco has committed a dastardly act of racism, putting a halt to its virtuous office of reparations amid budget cuts.

    Apparently there are more important things than transferring wealth to black people, despite everything we’ve been told. The office, which was set to launch this year, was eliminated as part of Mayor London Breed’s $75 million cuts to the city’s budget in preparation for a major deficit in 2024.

    SF Mayor London Breed

    The cuts come despite a fight from supervisor Shamann Walton, who called the cuts “disheartening,” in a statement to the SF Examiner.

    “I understand the importance of no cuts to existing programs, but the Black community will continue to pursue justice and equity through reparations here in San Francisco,” said Walton. “My hope is that the city’s deficit is eliminated quickly so that we can fund the Office of Reparations and fulfill the commitment made to address the historical injustices and inequities that have persisted for generations for Black San Franciscans.”

    San Francisco Human Rights Commission Director, Sheryl Davis, told the outlet that despite cuts to the office of reparations, the city will continue to work on several related initiatives spawned from the effort – including locating a satellite campus in one of the nation’s historically black colleges and universities in San Francisco, and collaborating with city officials to utilize vacant storefronts.

    “A lot of the work, it’ll be tight but we’ll leverage some of the funding we had in our budget,” said Davis.

    The Office of Reparations was viewed as a key step in implementing the reparations plan, which was drafted by the African American Reparations Advisory Committee and accepted by the Board of Supervisors earlier this year. The $2 million would be used to hire staff who would begin to form and fund programs enumerated in the plan. -SF Examiner

    In July, San Francisco’s African American Reparations Advisory Committee issued their final report (pdf) with a lengthy list of recommendations, including a $5 million lump sum payment to each eligible person and additional $97,000—adjusted to median income—each per year for the next 250 years; home, renters, and commercial insurance paid by the city; selling condominiums for $1 to eligible residents; and tax abatement on sales tax for the next 250 years.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 19:05

  • Pro-Vaccine Journalist Who Called for Punishment For Refusing Jab Dies Suddenly
    Pro-Vaccine Journalist Who Called for Punishment For Refusing Jab Dies Suddenly

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

    A Canadian journalist who took strong positions in support of COVID-19 vaccines—including calling for vaccine passports and terminating police officers who refused the jab—has died suddenly.

    A nurse prepares a COVID-19 vaccine in Toronto on March 23, 2021. (Cole Burston/Getty Images)

    Ian Vandaelle, a 33-year-old business journalist who worked at the Financial Post and earlier at BNN Bloomberg, was declared brain dead and taken off life support earlier this month, his partner, Stephanie Hughes, said in a post on X.

    “I haven’t been on Twitter for a while because my partner, @IanVandaelle, has been in the hospital since Nov. 18,” Ms. Hughes wrote. “It’s with a heavy heart today that I say he was declared neurologically deceased this week and taken off life support this morning.

    Mr. Vandaelle’s death—the cause of which has not been disclosed—drew an outpouring of condolences among his current and former colleagues, many of whom took to social media to praise him for attributes like being kind and smart.

    Journalism has lost a great reporter, editor, producer, mentor, and all around great guy,” Ms. Hughes wrote in a post on X.

    But Mr. Vandaelle’s death also stirred recollections of his ardent support for the COVID-19 vaccination push.

    ‘Bring the Carrot and the Stick’

    Mr. Vandaelle’s public platform as a journalist led people to take note of his social media posts, especially those related to the controversial matter of COVID-19 vaccines and Canadian government measures that pushed shots in ways that many saw as draconian.

    I, for one, advocate we bring the carrot and the stick,” Mr. Vandaelle stated in a social media post in July 2021. “Incentivize getting the vaccine however we like – ice cream, lotteries, literally whatever, I don’t care – and require vaccination to do non-essential things. Wanna go to a bar to watch the game? Passport.”

    Vaccine passports were introduced in all Canadian provinces in 2021, though some allowed proof of a recent COVID-19 tests instead of a passport to access non-essential services or engage in non-essential activities. They were discontinued by April 2022.

    In another post from August 2021, Mr. Vandaelle urged the Toronto Police to get rid of officers who declined the vaccine: “Take the jab or resign; anything else is moral and ethical cowardice. You take an oath to protect citizens? You get vaxxed. Shameful that we have to say this.”

    In November 2021, over 100 Toronto police employees who refused the jab or did not reveal their vaccination status were placed on unpaid leave. In June 2022, the Toronto Police Service ended its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for all members.

    Dr. William Makis, a Canadian physician who has been critical of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and expressed concern about the safety of mRNA vaccines, wrote on Substack that he saw Mr. Vandaelle’s pro-mandate social media posts as problematic, accusing him of having “supported medical fascism, tyranny and some of the worst abuses of our lifetime.”

    There were a number of other critical reactions on social media to Mr. Vandaelle’s pro-vaccine remarks in the wake of his death, suggesting the wounds of the Canadian government’s heavy-handed pandemic response are still raw.

    ‘Instill Fear’ to Break Down Resistance to Vax

    A recent report from a citizen-led effort to probe Canada’s pandemic response accuses the government of colluding with mainstream media to spread fear about the COVID-19 pandemic while pushing people to get vaccinated under threat of potential reprisals.

    The pandemic was a textbook case of the collaboration of government and industry to subvert the democratic institutions and convince the citizens of the validity and truthfulness of a narrative that was objectively false from the start,” reads the Nov. 28 report from the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI).

    The report accuses the government—along with figures in the mainstream media—of having “embarked on an information campaign designed to instill fear in the hearts of the citizens and ensure that they did not resist any and all draconian measures that were announced.”

    Sweeping lockdowns, business curbs, mask mandates, and other restrictions on rights and freedoms were adopted quickly and with little room for public debate, the group said.

    Many people lost their lives due to fear, loneliness, and depression. Many others had scheduled surgeries cancelled,” the report reads.

    “Many had adverse reactions to an experimental biologic injection that many were forced to take against their will,” the report continues, while accusing the Canadian government or resorting to name-calling and public shaming, and of having altered the social fabric and of tearing communities apart.

    “Society, as it was known, had now become toxic and, in many ways, dangerous. As a result, the incidence of suicide, violence, and despair increased to unprecedented levels.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 18:30

  • Number Of Americans In Upside-Down Auto Loans Continues To Worsen 
    Number Of Americans In Upside-Down Auto Loans Continues To Worsen 

    Consumers face increasing financial difficulties due to elevated inflation, a generational high in interest rates, maxed-out credit cards, lack of personal savings, and two years of negative real wage growth amid the mounting failures of ‘Bidenomics.’ The latest distress is that the number of Americans in upside-down auto loans has reached the highest level since 2020. 

    According to automotive research firm Edmunds.com, the number of Americans with auto loans “underwater” or “negative equity” in November reached an average of $6,054, the highest level since April 2020. 

    Source: Bloomberg 

    “It’s a precarious spot for many Americans, coming after a twin surge in car buying and interest rates has strained finances and fueled an uptick in automobile repossessions,” Bloomberg explained, adding the average rate for a new car loan is 7.4% and 11.6% for a used car. 

    Earlier this year, when discussing the “perfect storm” hitting the US auto market, we showed that according to Fitch, “More Americans Can’t Afford Their Car Payments Than During The Peak Of Financial Crisis“… The average new car loan has reached a record high of $40,000. 

    … which was to be expected: after all, the latest consumer credit report from the Fed revolving credit shows high-interest rates have bogged down student and auto loans; in other words, consumer is stretched. 

    “We’re in this situation where combined with the cost of the vehicles being so high and the interest rates being so historically high, you have a lot of people who are in bad car loans,” Joseph Yoon, consumer insights analyst for Edmunds, told Bloomberg. 

    To Yoon’s point, the percentage of subprime auto borrowers at least 60 days past due in September topped 6.11%, the highest ever. 

    Source: Bloomberg 

    The bear market in used car prices will only accelerate the number of auto loans underwater into 2024. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 17:55

  • DOJ To Charge Blaze Journalist Steve Baker Over Jan. 6
    DOJ To Charge Blaze Journalist Steve Baker Over Jan. 6

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

    Journalist Steve Baker of Blaze Media, who captured some of the most dramatic news footage at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has been ordered to surrender to federal authorities on Dec. 19 on as-yet-unknown charges.

    Paramedics from the D.C. Fire and EMS Department perform CPR on protester Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by police near the Speaker’s Lobby on Jan. 6, 2021. (Courtesy of Steve Baker)

    Mr. Baker, whose Jan. 6 videos and photos have appeared on HBO and the BBC, as well as in The New York Times and The Epoch Times, told his followers on X, formerly known as Twitter, that his North Carolina attorney notified him on Dec. 14 that he would be arrested.

    He said in March that he had been warned that his aggressive Jan. 6 coverage had gotten noticed at the Department of Justice, “and they’re not happy about it at all.”

    At the time, he said he had been questioned by the FBI for two hours.

    “Like many other reporters and photojournalists—both independents and those working directly for established media companies—I followed the story that day where it went,” he wrote in an opinion article in The Blaze on Oct. 2.

    Mr. Baker wrote that he “did no violence or property destruction on January 6” and that he “certainly did not interfere with the election certification.”

    However, his outspokenness that day was on full display. Following reports that someone had been shot outside the Speaker’s Lobby and that the building was on high alert, he challenged two officers who had drawn their service weapons and were shouting at unarmed protesters.

    Are you going to use that on us?” Baker asked one U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer who charged at the group. “None of us have a gun. We’ve got cameras.”

    As the officer explained why the dozen or so law enforcement officials in the lobby had weapons ready, Mr. Baker intoned dryly, “The only shots fired have been fired by you guys.”

    Baker isn’t the only independent journalist to have faced DOJ prosecution; others include J.D. Rivera, Sam Montoya, Stephen Horn, Will Pope, and Shawn Witzemann.

    The most obvious characteristic of that list is that none of those that worked for major media, left-wing sources, have been prosecuted,” Mr. Baker previously told The Epoch Times. “But you can’t say the same on the other side of the ledger.”

    Mr. Baker was on Capitol Hill, meeting with House lawmakers regarding his Jan. 6 investigations, when he received word about the impending charges.

    “This is outrageous retaliation on the part of the federal government against a journalist,” Matthew Peterson, editor-in-chief of The Blaze, wrote on X. “[Mr. Baker] was an independent journalist on J6; he’s now investigating the events of that day for @theblaze. We must all rally and end this totalitarian madness.”

    Attorney Brad Geyer, who will represent Mr. Baker in his criminal case, vowed to “unearth all the buried bodies” as part of “a vigorous defense.”

    A munition detonates at protesters’ feet on the west front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Courtesy of Steve Baker)

    “Steve Baker’s involvement in the OathKeepers 1 trial, his blogging, and subsequent investigation exposed crucial false testimony from key government witnesses,” Mr. Geyer said in a statement to The Epoch Times. “Their false and implausible testimony played a pivotal role in wrongfully convicting the Oath Keepers.”

    Mr. Baker in October published a story at Blaze Media that alleged that Capitol Police CCTV security video shows that USCP Special Agent David Lazarus couldn’t have witnessed an alleged confrontation between a group of the quasi-militia Oath Keepers and USCP officer Harry Dunn because Mr. Lazarus was nowhere near the scene at the time.

    In January 2021, Mr. Lazarus was a member of the dignitary protection detail for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, he said he assisted with the evacuation of senators and staff from the Senate Chamber through the tunnels and subways leading to nearby office buildings.

    The alleged confrontation was key evidence in the trial because it contradicted accounts from Oath Keepers that they stood in front of officer Dunn as a buffer to protect him from an angry crowd of protesters and prevent what they feared could lead to a shooting.

    The Epoch Times has previously reached out to Capitol Police for comment on the testimony by officer Dunn and Special Agent Lazarus but didn’t receive a reply.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 17:20

  • US & UK Warships Down At Least 14 Houthi Drones In Red Sea
    US & UK Warships Down At Least 14 Houthi Drones In Red Sea

    Capping off a week which saw daily attacks and threats on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, US and coalition warships have once again intervened against inbound Houthi projectiles.

    US Central Command announced Saturday that its guided-missile destroyer shot down 14 drones launched by the Houthis in a fresh attack.

    A British warship was also involved in staving off attacks, with UK defence secretary Grant Shapps stating: “Overnight, HMS Diamond shot down a suspected attack drone which was targeting merchant shipping in the Red Sea. One Sea Viper missile was fired and successfully destroyed the target.”

    Illustrative image: Shutterstock

    “The ship recently arrived in the region to bolster international efforts to maintain maritime security,” he added.

    “The recent spate of illegal attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security in the Red Sea. The UK remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade.”

    Friday saw two Liberia-flagged vessels suffer missile and drone damage. Currently, the USS Eisenhower aircraft carrier is getting closer to the Middle East while traversing the Mediterranean, after earlier this month and last being in the Persian Gulf. 

    The latest US statement detailed the following incident: “In the early morning hours of 16 December the US Arliegh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Carney (DDG 64), operating in the Red Sea, successfully engaged 14 unmanned aerial systems launched as a drone wave from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen,” according to CENTCOM.

    “The UAS were assessed to be one-way attack drones and were shot down with no damage to ships in the area or reported injuries. Regional Red Sea partners were alerted to the threat,” it added.

    Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd has joined Denmark’s Maersk liner in halting all its Red Sea container ship traffic until at least Monday, following a Houthi attack on one of its vessels. “Hapag-Lloyd is interrupting all container ship traffic across the Red Sea until Monday,” Hapag-Lloyd confirmed in a statement.

    Via AP

    Iran is meanwhile warning against a Western naval coalition in the Red Sea. But already US and other warships have increased their presence in regional waters, with the US Navy especially directly engaging Houthi projectiles. The incidents are becoming more frequent, even daily. The Western coalition and Houthis are headed for a likely major showdown.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 16:45

  • Supreme Court Declines To Block Illinois 'Assault Weapons' Ban
    Supreme Court Declines To Block Illinois ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban

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

    Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 4, 2021. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday declined to block a Democrat-backed “assault weapon” ban, leaving the restrictions in place—at least for now.

    In a Dec. 14 order, the Supreme Court denied an emergency application for a writ of injunction that would have frozen the Illinois prohibition on certain types of semiautomatic rifles and magazines, with no justices dissenting.

    The decision leaves in place the law—called the Protect Illinois Communities Act—making it illegal for the general public to own weapons like the AR-15 and ammunition magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds.

    The National Association for Gun Rights, along with gun store owner Robert Bevis, filed the emergency petition at the end of November, after a lower court denied their bid for a preliminary injunction against the statewide ban.

    We won’t stop fighting for our members,” the National Association for Gun Rights said in a post on X, reacting to the news.

    An AR-15 rifle at FT3 tactical shooting range in Stanton, Calif., on May 3, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    Reactions

    Hannah Hill, the group’s executive director, said in a post on social media that the high court has taken “serious notice” of this case on two occasions now, and that “we look forward to giving them the opportunity to weigh in on the merits.”

    In May, at an earlier stage of the case, the Supreme Court also rebuffed the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction. At that time, like now, no justice publicly dissented from the decision.

    Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who signed the Protect Illinois Communities Act into law in early 2023, hailed the Supreme Court’s latest decision.

    Taking on the gun lobby and passing an assault weapon ban was never going to be easy, but it was always the right thing to do,” the Illinois governor said in a post on X. “Today is a historic win for Illinois communities and families.”

    Some commenters objected to Mr. Pritzker’s framing of the Supreme Court decision as a “historic win” given that there was no decision on the merits of the case, merely a denial of emergency injunctive relief.

    While there was some praise online for the court decision—and for Mr. Pritzker himself for pushing hard for the ban—others raised objections.

    “Good job Boss—criminals will still have guns but the communities and families won’t,” one objecting commenter wrote on X. “That’s not the right thing to do—that’s backwards.”

    Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker speaks before US President Joe Biden delivers remarks about the economy at the Old Post Office in Chicago, Illinois, on June 28, 2023. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

    Illinois ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban In Focus

    In January 2023, Mr. Pritzker signed into law the Protect Illinois Communities Act, banning the sale and distribution of many types of high-powered semiautomatic firearms that he and other Democrats deemed to be “assault weapons.”

    The ban covers such firearms as the AK-47 and AR-15 rifles, as well as magazines that take more than 10 rounds for long guns and 15 rounds for handguns.

    The only exceptions to the ban are for “trained professionals,” such as law enforcement officers, and people who already owned the guns before the law is set to take effect in January 2024.

    The governor’s signature came months after a man used an AR-15-style rifle to shoot and kill seven people and injure dozens more at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.

    In a statement on Jan. 10, Mr. Pritzker touted it as one of the “strongest assault weapons bans” in the United States and that it “will stop the spread” of such firearms.

    Arguing that the ban covers firearms that are commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful reasons, including self-defense, The National Association for Gun Rights, joined by Mr. Bevis and his store (Law Weapons & Supply), filed suit to block the law.

    An AR-15 rifle at FT3 tactical shooting range in Stanton, Calif., on May 3, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    More Details

    A district court rejected the plaintiffs’ request, and a divided three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit also refused to halt the ban.

    U.S. Circuit Judge Diane Wood, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote for the 2–1 majority in the ruling that the plaintiffs needed to prove that the weapons banned under the Illinois law “are arms that ordinary people would keep at home for purposes of self-defense, not weapons that are exclusively or predominantly useful in military service, or weapons that are not possessed for lawful purposes.”

    Under a Supreme Court decision in 2022, the government is required to justify the imposition of Second Amendment-related regulations by showing that they are “consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

    The appeals court judges then considered whether the firearms that were banned by the Illinois law are covered by the Second Amendment, with Judge Wood pointing to a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision that determined the Second Amendment only applies weapons “typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes.”

    We conclude the answer is no,” Judge Wood said in the ruling, referring to whether the firearms banned by the Illinois law are covered by the Second Amendment.

    “We come to this conclusion because these assault weapons and high-capacity magazines are much more like machine guns and military grade weaponry than they are like the many different types of firearms that are used for individual self-defense (or so the legislature was entitled to conclude),” she wrote.

    Lawyers for the plaintiffs had argued in court that there are important distinctions between AR-15-style rifles and M16s, a similar looking gun used by the military, but Judge Wood said the answers were “unconvincing.”

    Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 16:10

  • Senate Staffer Caught Making Gay Porn Video In Judiciary Hearing Room
    Senate Staffer Caught Making Gay Porn Video In Judiciary Hearing Room

    Update (19:00 ET): According to a statement issued by the office of Maryland Democratic Senator Ben Cardin, “Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed by the U.S. Senate. We will have no further comment on this personnel matter.””

    * * *

    A Democratic Senate staffer shot a gay porn video in a Senate hearing room and posted it to a private group chat for homosexual men working in politics, according to various reports on Friday. The video was first obtained by Daily Caller, and social media pundits including Laura Loomer, say the staffer is Aidan Maese-Czeropski, a legislative aide to Democratic Maryland Senator Ben Cardin.

    Daily Caller via Mediaite

    The video shows a still-unidentified naked man on the receiving end of anal sex. The camera then reveals that he’s positioned on the elevated dais used by senators in one of the largest and most familiar hearing rooms in the Capitol complex. From the reporting so far, it isn’t clear who’s playing which role in the video.  Daily Caller says Maese-Czeropski appears on all fours and gazes into the camera. 

    The Advocate reported that Capitol Police “are investigating reports of two men having sex in public on Capitol grounds.” The LGBT news outlet also asked Cardin’s office for comment. “We have seen media reports emanating from the right-wing media. As this is a personnel matter and under review, we will not be commenting further at this time,” said a spokesperson.  

    Berkeley graduate Aidan Maese-Czeropski (LinkedIn)

    While stopping short of explicitly admitting he’s the one behind the video, Maese-Czeropski took to LinkedIn on Friday evening to say he was going through “a difficult time” as he is “attacked for who I love to pursue a political agenda.” He assures readers that he “would never disrespect [his] workplace,” and vaguely adds that he is exploring “legal options.” 

    According to his LinkedIn profile, Maese-Czeropski attended high school in Palo Alto before studying at Johns Hopkins for two years and then graduating from Cal-Berkeley with a degree in “society and environment” in 2020. He’s worked for the 80-year-old Cardin since 2020. 

    Eagle-eyed political observers say Maese-Czeropski has been featured in campaign videos for President Biden, including one that was tweeted with a message from Biden saying, “From the bottom of my heart: thank you.”  

    The action reportedly took place in Hart 216, a room that’s been used for many memorable hearings, from Supreme Court justice confirmations to the 9/11 Commission and former FBI director James Comey’s testimony on Russiagate. It was most recently used this week by the Judiciary Committee for a hearing titled, “Cleaning Up the C-Suite: Ensuring Accountability Ensuring Accountability for Corporate Criminals.” Speaking of clean-ups, we’re guessing Hart 216 may get a little extra attention this weekend from Capitol Hill janitors.

    The scene of the crime…the corner where Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chris Coons (D-DE) are seated during Judiciary Committee meetings

    Believe it or not, this was the second controversy involving Maese-Czeropski in a single day. Earlier on Friday, Jewish Ohio Rep. Max Miller said Maese-Czeropski approached him and, “visibly shaking,” said “free Palestine.”

    In knee-jerk fashion, some condemned the remark as “antisemitic.” However, Miller is an ardent supporter of Israel and defender of its intensely destructive assault on Gaza, to the extent of saying — oddly using first-person plural — that “we’re gonna turn [Gaza] into a parking lot.” 

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

    Maese-Czeropski denies saying anything to Miller. “As for the accusations regarding Congressman Max Miller, I have never seen the congressman and had no opportunity or cause to yell or confront him,” wrote Maese-Czeropski in his Friday evening LinkedIn post. If that’s true, it’s a shame for Maese-Czeropski that’s it’s one impassioned Capitol Hill encounter that isn’t on video.  

    Naturally, social media is having a field day…

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 15:35

  • Tucker Carlson Sends Trucks Emblazoned With 'Corporate Media Is Dead' Near Media Offices
    Tucker Carlson Sends Trucks Emblazoned With ‘Corporate Media Is Dead’ Near Media Offices

    Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson reportedly parked billboard trucks emblazoned with “corporate media is dead” outside the offices of major media outlets on Thursday after launching his own streaming service.

    Mr. Carlson sent trucks to the offices of MSNBC, CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Times on Dec. 14, the Daily Mail reported.

    The trucks also advertised “a limited time offer” for people to access “exclusive content” through a $72 annual subscription fee and to become the “founding members” of his new website, Tucker Carlson Network.

    During an interview with the Daily Mail on Dec. 14, Mr. Carlson suggested that “the era of dominance by a few big media companies” is over now “because they misused their monopoly.”

    He also emphasized the need for new institutions to fill in the role.

    “And on some level, they know they’re doomed, which is why they’re hysterical. The era of dominance by a few big media companies, the era of total control over all information by, you know, nine people—that’s done.”

    Mr. Carlson said the reason behind him sending those billboard trucks to major media companies was to warn them about the situation.

    It’s important. We’re not doing it out of cruelty and hope we’re not rubbing this in anyone’s face or making the people who still work there feel bad, but they’re doomed,” he remarked.

    This came just days after the launch of his subscription-based streaming video service website on Dec. 11. The platform features interviews and is priced at $9 per month, according to the website.

    Mr. Carlson took to X to announce his new website on Dec. 9, saying that his team would be “launching a brand-new thing very soon.”

    We’ve been out of work for seven or eight months now, hard to know. Time flies when you’re unemployed,” Mr. Carlson said in a video message.

    “But, actually, we have been working in secret and producing an awful lot of material for months now, interviews, et cetera,” he added.

    An illustration photo of Tucker Carlson’s interview of former President Donald Trump that aired on X, on Aug. 23, 2023. (Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images)

    The former top-rated host “parted ways” with Fox News in April, although neither party has released many details about why he left. When reached for comment multiple times this year, multiple Fox spokespeople redirected The Epoch Times to the initial news release announcing his departure.

    Mr. Carlson and his team had explored launching the streaming service through X, but the social media company was not able to move quickly enough to build out the technology needed for the service, The Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 10.

    He will continue to post the service’s free content on X, the report said.

    Other than former President Donald Trump, Mr. Carlson has interviewed influencer Andrew Tate, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Douglas MacGregor, InfoWars host Alex Jones, and many others.

    Mr. Carlson began airing episodes for a new show on X in early June. Fox News sent a cease-and-desist letter to Mr. Carlson shortly after the show first launched, according to Axios, after the network argued Mr. Carlson was violating his contract.

    Meanwhile, Neil Patel will be the new venture’s chief executive officer, according to the statement. Mr. Patel was chief policy adviser to former Vice President Dick Cheney and with Mr. Carlson co-founded the conservative Daily Caller news site, of which he remains publisher.

    Justin Wells, Mr. Carlson’s former executive producer at Fox, will serve as president, overseeing all programming and content.

    Jack Phillips and Reuters contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 15:00

  • CNN Town Hall Host Tries To Disrupt Vivek Ramaswamy As He Reveals Truth Behind J6
    CNN Town Hall Host Tries To Disrupt Vivek Ramaswamy As He Reveals Truth Behind J6

    Whether one supports the presidential candidacy of Vivek Ramaswamy or not, it’s impossible to deny that some of the best red pill moments of the election cycle so far have been his debates with establishment spin doctors.  During a Town Hall discussion in Iowa hosted by CNN, anchor Abby Phillip tried a new tactic to defuse Ramaswamy and disrupt his ability to convey the facts:  She simply kept talking over top of him, contradicting his statements and then refused to give him an opportunity to answer back.  

    The strategy did not work quite as well as she might have hoped, as Vivek trampled her expertly.  

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    The initial exchange started with Ramaswamy’s assertion that the evidence supports the claim of federal agent manipulation of protest crowds at the Capitol Building on January 6th.  The CNN anchor immediately launched into a steady droning tirade, suggesting there is no such evidence.  Despite numerous videos showing capitol police opening the doors and inviting protesters into the building, the narrative that the protest was an “insurrection” continues to be perpetuated by the corporate media.

    In terms of FBI plants and provocateurs within the crowd, FBI officials actually refuse to address their existence while under oath.  In a congressional hearing on J6, senior FBI official Jill Sanborn was asked point blank by Senator Ted Cruz if there were FBI agents mixed with the J6 protestors participating with or directing the crowds.  Her response was to deflect, saying she could not confirm or deny.    

    Furthermore, newly released footage of capitol police firing rubber bullets and tear gas grenades into the peaceful crowds proves that there was in fact no violence until police started it.  The same two dozen clips of protesters fighting law enforcement officers circulated ad nauseum on establishment media platforms were all recorded after the attacks by police.  

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    CNN’s attempt to “fact check” Ramaswamy in real time appeared more like an attempt to silence him and they immediately lost the crowd.  Debate is supposed to be an exchange of ideas and information, not a disruption of information to stop the audience from hearing both sides.  Vivek’s root position is a sound one that no one can reasonably argue against:  The government lies, and it lies often.  Given this fact, it is perfectly logical to question the establishment narrative surrounding J6 and to continue to push for the exposure of government operations during the event.       

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 14:25

  • Watch: Joyless Leftists Kill Santa With COVID To Push Masks & Vaccines
    Watch: Joyless Leftists Kill Santa With COVID To Push Masks & Vaccines

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    A morose leftist ‘activist’ group has produced a festive video in which Santa Claus catches COVID and dies on Christmas Eve.

    Yes, really.

    The piece, produced by The John Snow Project, which describes itself as “Reliable, honest information on COVID-19 from public health, clinical, and research experts,” is filmed in the form of a children’s book.

    It reads “Twas the night before Christmas and Santa took a deep breath,” with the next page showing a large coffin surrounded by sad elves and distraught children.

    The creepy voice over states “Twas the night before Christmas. Santa took a deep breath. If only he’d known it would lead to his death. Santa always listened when the famous doctors spoke. Too bad they didn’t mention that the virus spreads like smoke.”

    The video then pushes pushing “respirators (masks), clean indoor air, the latest vaccines, and regular testing,” and instructs “Don’t let COVID ruin Christmas.”

    Didn’t intend to, but you seem to be doing a fine fucking job of it.

    Watch:

    Comments are turned off on the YouTube video, and on X comments are restricted only to accounts mentioned by the organisation. Wonder why that is?

    This latest miserable modern trend seems to be usurpingattackingdestroying or even killing Christmas in this case.

    They’ve ruined practically everything else, so why not go after what little joy is left in the world.

    *  *  *

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/16/2023 – 13:50

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Today’s News 16th December 2023

  • 10 Key Measures In The Mammoth Defense Policy Bill
    10 Key Measures In The Mammoth Defense Policy Bill

    Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times,

    The $886.3 billion defense budget is headed for President Joe Biden’s desk and Congress is headed home for the holidays, its business concluded—albeit not finished—for the year.

    The House on Dec. 14 approved the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (FY24 NDAA) in a 310–118 vote, ensuring its passage a day after the Senate adopted the massive appropriations measure in an 87–13 tally.

    The NDAA earmarks $841.5 billion for the Department of Defense (DOD)—nearly $32 billion, or 3 percent, more than the FY23 NDAA—$32.26 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administration, and $12.1 billion in defense-related allocations for other federal agencies.

    Both chambers adopted their respective defense budgets in July. The NDAA is one of 12 appropriations bills that constitute the federal government’s yearly budget. Five have now been adopted for FY24, which began Oct. 1. Parts of the federal government are operating under continuing resolutions.

    A Senate–House conference committee reconciled differences in the chamber budgets for two months. On Dec. 6, it produced a 3,093-page draft NDAA, 718-page conference report, and a bucket of parliamentary worms that, ultimately, provided the only intrigue during the must-pass bill’s last unpassed days.

    The NDAA includes a 5.2-percent pay raise for service members, $145 billion for research into artificial intelligence and hypersonics, investments in Space Force and many, many things—$886.3 billion worth.

    Below are 10 takeaways from the slow-walked NDAA’s sudden Dec. 13–14 rocket-docket dash through the Senate and House, three months after the federal fiscal year began, and six months after both chambers passed seminal budgets.

    Crosshairs on China

    The NDAA includes hundreds of allocations to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) growing, aggressive military as the Pentagon’s top “pacing challenge.”

    The budget boosts Taiwan’s and Guam’s defense, requests an analysis of a how a 2030 war with China would unfold, tracks defense contractors’ investments in China and China’s investments in defense contractors, and mandates an adjusted Navy shipbuilding plan that emphasizes platforms geared to thwart China’s projected 500-ship navy.

    The NDAA establishes a $500 million Taiwan Foreign Military Financing fund and earmarks $108 million to authorize “a comprehensive training, advising, and institutional capacity-building program” for Taiwan’s military.

    The budget commits billions to Guam’s defense with deployment of a Marine regiment and Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow 3 missile defense systems.

    The NDAA boosts alliances with Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK with $9.1 billion for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a 40 percent increase.

    FISA Fight

    The NDAA’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702 extension was fiercely, but futilely, contested on both chamber’s floors.

    FISA Section 702 allows intelligence agencies to intercept foreign communications without warrants. It provides a “back door” to ferret through Americans’ conversations with foreign nationals, conservatives say.

    Section 702 expires Dec. 31. House Armed Forces Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said extending it to mid-April provides time to reform FISA while not handcuffing intelligence agencies.

    “By God, let’s reform it,”  Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said, “but do not let it expire. If it expires, Americans and allies will die.”

    Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) maintained the extension should be separately debated, is not related to defense, and would reauthorize it for 16 months, not four.

    “What we’re going to do is pile an extension of FISA on the backs of our men and women in uniform,” Mr. Roy said.

    Yoked to Woke

    When the House adopted its defense budget in July, it included amendments banning the DOD’s paid-leave abortion policy, gender-transition treatments and surgeries for service members and their families, and funding for on-base drag shows.

    None are in the NDAA reported out of conference committee Dec. 6, approved by the Senate Dec. 12, and endorsed by the House Dec. 13.

    Mr. Gaetz said the NDAA was a good bill in July but is now something else. “You almost feel like a parent who sent a child to summer camp and comes back a monster,” he said.

    Win some, lose some, Mr. Rogers said.

    The NDAA bans critical race theory, bases promotions on merit, requires a special inspector general for Ukraine, mandates “the DOD to finally pass an audit,” and provides “a path back for those discharged over COVID-19 vaccine.”

    DOD Inoculated Against Vaccine Reparations

    The NDAA incorporates most of a House-adopted amendment to reinstate 8,600 service members discharged for refusing the DOD-mandated COVID-19 vaccine.

    To qualify, discharged veterans must be within two years of separation and have requested an exemption.

    The NDAA also requires the DOD to conduct a study evaluating the health effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, establish a board to review the discharges, and track down to query those discharged about reenlisting within the next six months.

    The NDAA “provides a path back to service for those discharged over COVID-19 vaccine” without losing rank, Mr. Rogers said.

    But not all the way back, Mr. Gaetz lamented.

    “We were told over and over again there would be back-pay, reparations, and restoration-of-rank for people improperly told they could not express their patriotism through military service because they didn’t want to take an experimental vaccine,” he said, but those provisions are “totally absent” in the “watered-down NDAA.”

    Marines Get Their Amphib

    The NDAA requires the Navy and Air Force to build more ships and aircraft than initially requested, and delays or prohibits planned retirements of several ships and warplane types.

    The Navy’s $255.8 billion budget, a 4.5 percent increase, earmarks $32.9 billion to build eight warships: a Columbia-class ballistic submarine, two Virginia-class submarines—part of a multiyear procurement of 10 attack subs—two guided-missile destroyers, two guided-missile frigates, and an oiler.

    The NDAA includes a statute mandating the Navy maintain 11 aircraft carriers and  31 amphibious warfare ships with at least 10 being LHA/LHD “big deck” ships. The Navy wanted to retire a line of LHA/LHD ships and fall below that 31-amphib fleet requirement. The Marines opposed it.

    Congress not only sided with the Marines, but included $1.9 billion to fully fund construction of a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship that the Marine Corps lobbied for and the Navy didn’t request.

    $600 Million for Ukraine

    While Ukraine must wait until 2024 to secure $61 billion in aid the Biden administration is seeking in its stymied $106 billion supplemental request, Kyiv will receive at least two years of funding for the next two years under the defense bill.

    The NDAA appropriates $300 million in both FY24 and FY25—$600 million—to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) fund.

    Some House conservatives oppose funding Ukraine’s defense, claiming it is embroiling the United States into war with Russia and draining taxpayers already on the hook for the government’s $34 trillion debt.

    Mr. Rogers said Ukraine allocations will be audited by a special inspector general.

    Mr. Roy called it “pretty extraordinary” that the House in July voted to defund USAI “and, yet, we are authorizing it here. For the life of me, I do not understand why this is how Republicans think we should end the year, heading out for Christmas.”

    Partial UAP Disclosure Act

    The NDAA partially incorporates the proposed UAP Disclosure Act, which calls for an independent board to review and release records related to unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) collected by federal agencies and shared with commercial entities.

    The board would resemble the one that sifts through JFK assassination-related records under The Collection Act of 1992.

    “We should do the same with UAPs,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y), who co-sponsored the bill with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).

    The NDAA amendment “for the first time [requires] the national archives to gather records from across the federal government on UAPs [with] a legal mandate to release those records to the public,” he said.

    The amendment falls short of the bill, Mr. Rounds said. To “obtain recovered UAP material or biological remains that may have been provided to private entities—and hidden from Congress and the American people—we’re lacking oversight opportunities,” he said.

    A Major Naval Treaty

    The NDAA ratifies the newly-signed U.S., Australia, and UK (AUKUS) agreement, a trilateral treaty the Pentagon says will foster “game-changing defense advantages in building, deploying, and jointly operating attack submarines.”

    Under the pact, Australia will purchase up to five Virginia-class attack submarines, a future generation of submarines will be built in the UK and Australia with U.S. tech support, and submarines for all three will be built and overhauled in Adelaide, Australia.

    The FY24 budget sells three Virginia-class subs—at least one new—to Australia in the 2030s before Australian-built submarines enter service in the 2040s.

    Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said AUKUS is what the FY24 NDAA “will be remembered for.” Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) called it “crucial in deterring China and strengthening our allies.”

    Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) said such keel-to-combat integration has “never happened before,” praising the “very unique and unprecedented step being taken by the three countries.”

    NATO Notions and Motions

    Through 2023’s first six months, hours were spent in House committee hearings debating, at conservatives’ prodding, the value of United States’ NATO membership, essentially questioning why the 75-year-old alliance exists since without American muscle and American dollars, it wouldn’t exist.

    While the United States dedicates up to 4 percent of its annual GDP to defense, many NATO nations shirk that commitment, they said, noting Germany for decades contributed 1 percent GDP to defense.

    Mr. Roy’s July amendment “that the U.S. should not continue subsidizing NATO-member countries who choose not to invest in their own defense” narrowly failed, 2018–2012.

    Motions to leave NATO, including Rep. Warren Davidson’s (R-Ohio) failed amendment, didn’t get far in Congress, but the FY24 NDAA ensures such motions and notions stay in Congress.

    An amendment, co-filed by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), prohibits a president from withdrawing from NATO by executive order without congressional approval.

    Missile Defense Upgrades

    Since October, U.S. Navy destroyers have knocked down drones and ballistic missiles launched from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, and U.S. Army anti-missile batteries have repelled more than 100 drone and missile attacks on Marines and soldiers in Syria and Iraq.

    The Pentagon’s increasing demands, and Ukraine–Russia and Israel–Hamas wars, have fostered munitions shortfalls and exposed an urgent need for more missile systems, missiles, and missileers to counter proliferating threats “across all realms.”

    The FY24 NDAA earmarks more than $70 billion for theater-range, tactical missile defense, primarily the MIM-104 Patriot missile, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor, and Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system.

    It includes $30 billion for five new 90-man Patriot units; six THAAD units; and seven newly Aegis-equipped warships, bringing the number to 60.

    The Pentagon says the package will send a $50 billion “demand signal” to domestic industry and spur investment in munitions and production lines.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 23:40

  • Tropical-Storm-Like System Will Slam Eastern Seaboard 
    Tropical-Storm-Like System Will Slam Eastern Seaboard 

    Hurricane season ended two weeks ago, but meteorologists on X forecast a strong area of low pressure developing in the Gulf of Mexico this weekend that will roar up the Eastern Seaboard with high winds, flooding rain, and severe thunderstorms. 

    The storm’s path might parallel Interstate 95 this weekend, causing traffic disruptions to millions across major cities on the East Coast – at a time when AAA is calling for a busy Christmas travel season. Most of the disruptions are expected between  Sunday and Monday. 

    Meteorologists expect the storm conditions to arrive late Saturday in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, and even the Mid-Alantic area into Sunday and Monday. 

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    During El Niño conditions, cyclone-like storms from the southern part of the country are not uncommon. 

    More on the El Niño-induced storms. 

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    Looking ahead… 

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    The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast just need a dose of cold air for the next big snowstorm. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 23:20

  • Pfizer mRNA Vaccine Makes 'Aberrant Proteins', Experts Concerned About Autoimmunity Events
    Pfizer mRNA Vaccine Makes ‘Aberrant Proteins’, Experts Concerned About Autoimmunity Events

    Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    There may be around a 1 in 10 chance that Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccines will not generate spike proteins but something else, a new Cambridge study finds, raising concerns about autoimmune response among experts.

    Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine vials are seen in a file photo. (cortex-film/Shutterstock)

    The study authors found that 8 percent of the time, Pfizer mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are mistranslated, leading to the formation of unintended proteins.

    Our work presents both a concern and a solution for this new type of medicine,” said leading author Anne Willis in the study’s press release.

    One can think of mRNA vaccines as a set of instructions used to make spike proteins. Once the vaccine enters the cell, ribosomes interpret the mRNA instructions to make proteins, like spike proteins.

    If the instructions are misinterpreted, errors in the final protein may be produced. Some errors are minor, like misspelling one word in a text, while others are more detrimental.

    This misinterpretation is called a frameshift, which occurs when one or two mRNA bases are skipped. Since mRNA bases are translated in sets of threes, skipping a base would affect all the sequences downstream, leading to new proteins being formed.

    When ribosomes make mistakes in mRNA translation, aberrant proteins are formed. (ART-ur/Shutterstock)

    Frameshifting results in the production multiple, unique and potentially aberrant proteins,” immunologist Jessica Rose wrote in her Substack article discussing the study.

    While most naturally occurring mRNA contains uridine, the Pfizer mRNA vaccines use N1-methylpseudouridine. This makes the mRNA sequence hardier and less prone to breakdown by the immune system. Pfizer’s opting for less commonly occurring mRNA bases is also why some scientists call the mRNA vaccines modified RNA, or modRNA.

    By implementing additional edits to the mRNA sequences, the authors were able to reduce further frameshifted proteins.

    Although “there is no evidence: that the aberrant proteins generated by Pfizer vaccination are associated with adverse outcomes, for future use of mRNA technology, it is important that “mRNA sequence design is modified” to reduce these shifts, the authors concluded.

    Among Tested Vaccines, Only Pfizer Has the Issue

    Apart from frameshift errors, the N1-methylpseudouridine modification can also slow down and interrupt mRNA translation to protein, potentially leading to shorter-than-expected protein sequences.

    Under ideal circumstances, ribosomes translate the vaccine mRNA into the S [spike] protein … If the cellular machine (ribosomes) ‘detect’ the difference [between normal uridine and N1-methylpseudouridine], it can result in stalling or mistranslation,” Dr. Adonis Sfera, assistant clinical professor of medicine at Loma Linda University, wrote to The Epoch Times via email.

    In the study, the researchers first inoculated mice with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. They found that Pfizer vaccines were significantly more likely to produce frameshifted proteins.

    Researchers then compared vaccine inoculations in humans, comparing 21 participants who took the Pfizer vaccine to 20 who took the AstraZeneca vaccine. None of the AstraZeneca vaccinees had an immune reaction to proteins made from mistakes in translation, but around one-third of the Pfizer vaccinees did.

    Misdirected Immunity and Autoimmunity

    The authors wrote that none of the Pfizer vaccinees developed adverse effects, but they were concerned about immunological consequences.

    Mis-directed immunity has huge potential to be harmful,” immunologist Dr. James Thaventhiran, one of the study’s lead authors, said in the press release. “Off-target immune responses should always be avoided.”

    The authors did not further define misdirected immunity, though it generally describes a reaction where the body’s immune system targets the wrong thing.

    In this case, it can mean that rather than training the body to fight spike protein, it is trained to fight unnaturally occurring proteins instead, as highlighted by Norwegian nutritional biologist Marit Kolby in her post on X.

    Additionally, some health experts are concerned that these unique proteins may increase a person’s risk of developing autoimmune disorders.

    Molecular biologist professor Vladimir Uversky, PhD, from the University of South Florida and physician Dr. Alberto Rubio-Casillas concluded that autoimmunity may occur if immune cells start attacking cells producing these aberrant proteins.

    A mistranslated protein can [also] resemble a human protein and trigger antibody formation,” Dr. Sfera added.

    Autoimmunity occurs when the immune system attacks self-tissues. It can occur for many years before symptoms manifest.

    Study findings by immunologist Aristo Vojdani suggest that spike proteins have the potential to cause cross-reactions—meaning the body accidentally targets self-tissue in a fight against other pathogens—with over 20 different human tissues, as they share structural similarities with human proteins.

    The production of these aberrant proteins and peptides may also increase a person’s risks of cancer, Mr. Uversky and Dr. Rubio-Casillas added in an email to The Epoch Times.

    Melanoma cells have been shown to induce frameshifted proteins to escape immune detection.

    “In our opinion, there is a possibility that during the translation of mRNA from COVID-19 vaccines, the aberrant proteins generated during frameshifting could activate survival mechanisms mimicking those developed by cancer cells to escape immune surveillance,” the two added.

    Unknown Proteins in the Body

    Researchers currently do not know the structure or sequence of the new proteins formed.

    The authors identified in the study that one of the proteins detected was a chimeric protein—one formed by joining two or more genes that originally coded for separate proteins. The chimeric protein was structurally similar to human proteins, which might induce autoimmune responses.

    “Of course, nobody knows for sure that the observations are linked to harms, but the fact they theoretically might be, and that regulators seem disinterested in investigating such a possibility, should be of huge concern to all,” Dr. Jonathan Engler, co-chair of the Health Advisory and Recovery Team (HART) told The Epoch Times. HART is a UK group of academic experts sharing concerns about COVID-19-related recommendations.

    “It should be emphasized that the … paper was submitted for publication nearly a year ago, and presumably, the work was carried out some months before then. Moreover, the investigators weren’t some third-rate-university, part-time academics,” he added.

    Flawed Design

    Dr. Engler said that the fact that the mRNA injections can be mistranslated is a design flaw. Other experts disagree.

    “People are determined to make a mountain out of this molehill,” Edward Nirenberg, a medical publisher, criticized the concerns in an X post about the study.

    “Frameshifts are uncommon but naturally occurring events in, for example, viral infections … These give rise to protein products that can also be targeted by the immune system.”

    However, authors of the study have highlighted in the press release that the synthetic mRNA sequence used in the vaccine was “error-prone.”

    Pfizer did not respond to requests for comment.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 23:00

  • Mark Zuckerberg Building Top-Secret Hawaii Doomsday-Bunker With Blast-Resistant Door
    Mark Zuckerberg Building Top-Secret Hawaii Doomsday-Bunker With Blast-Resistant Door

    Wired investigation reveals Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is building a massive underground bunker with a “blast-resistant door” to survive the end times. 

    For years, Zuckerberg has added hundreds of acres to his controversial 1,500-acre ranch in Kauai, Hawaii. Much of that has been known, but now new planning documents reveal a “5,000-square-foot underground shelter” equipped with “own energy and food supplies” is being constructed, according to the tech blog, citing public planning documents obtained through public records requests. 

    Detailed planning documents obtained by WIRED through a series of public record requests show the makings of an opulent techno-Xanadu, complete with underground shelter and what appears to be a blast-resistant door. -Wired

    On the surface, the estate, also called “Koolau Ranch,” will have two central mansions joined by a tunnel connected to the underground bunker. 

    Building documents also showed the compound would be self-sufficient, with its own power generation, food supplies, and a 55-foot-diameter and 18-foot-tall water tank. 

    Wired noted, “Building permits put the price tag for the main construction at around $100 million, in addition to $170 million in land purchases, but this is likely an underestimate.”  

    It was revealed by several former contract workers at the ranch that everyone working there was bound by an NDA.

    “It’s fight club. We don’t talk about fight club,” said one anonymous former contract employee. 

    Another former worker said the “very strict” enforcement of NDAs made anyone on-site unwilling to “take the chance to get caught even taking a picture.”

    Other billionaires, like PayPal and Palantir founder Peter Thiel, have built or been planning doomsday bunkers in remote places worldwide. 

    There are several reasons why billionaires feel worried about the future and are compelled to build doomsday bunkers, some of which include spillover risks of the Russia-Ukraine war, possible regional conflict in the Middle East, imploding Western cities into crime-ridden hellholes, the surge in illegal migrants across West, deteriorating financial conditions in the West, and the list goes on and on

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 22:40

  • Harris Unveils New Gun Control Initiative Urging States To Ban Assault Weapons, High-Capacity Magazines
    Harris Unveils New Gun Control Initiative Urging States To Ban Assault Weapons, High-Capacity Magazines

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

    Vice President Kamala Harris has announced a new gun control initiative, including a state-level ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, which the White House says is aimed at helping curb violence involving guns.

    Vice President Kamala Harris attends a Rose Garden event at the White House in Washington on May 25, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    The White House published the new “Safer States Initiative,” which officials said will “provide states with additional tools and the support they need to reduce gun violence and save lives,” in a Dec. 13 press release.

    As part of the initiative, the White House is calling for states to take a number of “key actions,” including establishing their own state offices for preventing violence involving guns, strengthening support for survivors and victims of violence involving guns, and investing in “evidence-informed solutions” to prevent and respond to such violence.

    That includes rolling out community violence interventions, establishing Crime Gun Intelligence Centers, and implementing extreme risk protection orders, among others.

    President Joe Biden established the first ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which is overseen by Ms. Harris, in September 2023.

    Under the new initiative, the administration is also asking states to reinforce responsible gun ownership, including by requiring safe storage of firearms and that lost and stolen firearms be reported, according to a White House fact sheet.

    The Department of Justice’s newly published model legislation detailing how states can require the safe storage of firearms, including in vehicles, will help aid states in crafting requirements for safe gun storage, the White House said.

    Assault Weapons Ban

    It will also help provide states with a framework for requiring that a person promptly report the loss or theft to law enforcement.

    Additionally, President Biden’s administration is asking states to strengthen gun background checks, including by enacting universal background checks legislation and “removing barriers” to completing enhanced background checks.

    Finally, the president and vice president want states to “hold the gun industry accountable,” including by “banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines” and enacting “firearm-specific liability laws to ensure that victims of gun violence have their day in court.”

    Several studies, including a recent review of five studies by the American nonprofit global policy think tank Rand Corporation, found “inconclusive evidence” that the Federal Assault Weapons Ban passed by Congress in 1994 had an effect on total homicides and firearm homicides.

    Ms. Harris unveiled the new initiative at a convening of state legislators on Wednesday, where she began a speech by paying tribute to Josh Seal, who was among the 18 people killed in the Lewiston, Maine, mass shooting in October.

    The shooter, Robert Card, was treated for mental health problems prior to the shooting, according to police.

    President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden walk with Maine Gov. Janet Mills in Lewiston, Maine, on Nov. 3, 2023 following a mass shooting on Oct. 25. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

    Initiative Underscores ‘Success in Resisting Federal Gun Control’

    Ms. Harris said Mr. Seal, an American Sign Language interpreter, “signed for me all over the world,” adding that his family, including his wife and children, are “very committed to public service.”

    “So, it’s important we speak those names,” she said. The vice president went on to call violence involving guns a “crisis.”

    “I know that many of you have held the hands and have hugged and tried to comfort community members and your constituents and people you know who have suffered because of gun violence,” she said. “And I therefore know that when we have this conversation and address this crisis that, for everyone here, it is personal.”

    “So, I first and foremost, say again: Thank you for not only being here but for choosing to serve—and choosing, on this subject, to have an extraordinary amount of courage to speak openly and with strength about the need for reasonable gun safety laws. And that is what we are doing. We are fighting just for what is reasonable and, of course, what is right,” she said.

    President Biden has taken a number of actions during his time in office focused on violence involving guns, including signing into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act last year.

    However, more expansive legislation has faced resistance from Second Amendment rights advocates and Republican lawmakers.

    Following Wednesday’s announcement, Aidan Johnston, the director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, told The Washington Post the group would fight any legislation imposing stricter rules infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

    This announcement underscores our success in resisting federal gun control,” he said, adding that the “shift to state-level actions indicates a reluctance to push new anti-gun measures through Congress.”

    During her speech unveiling the new initiative Wednesday, Ms. Harris insisted that while she is “absolutely in favor of the Second Amendment” she is “also in favor of an assault weapons ban, universal background checks, red flag laws.”

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 22:20

  • GM's Cruise To Slash 24% Of Its Workforce As Part Of Restructuring
    GM’s Cruise To Slash 24% Of Its Workforce As Part Of Restructuring

    After GM announced it was cutting back its investment in its Cruise subsidiary following a pedestrian accident earlier this year, the division now says it is cutting 24% of its workforce as part of its restructuring. 

    The autonomous driving unit says it will lay off 900 of its 3,800 employees, most of whom are in the commercial operations and related corporate functions, according to Reuters

    “This reflects our new future and a more deliberate go-to-market path, meaning less immediate need for field, commercial operations and corporate staffing,” Cruise said in a statement this week. 

    “GM supports the difficult employment decisions made by Cruise as it reflects their more deliberate path forward, with safety as the north star,” GM said of the division during an earnings call last month. 

    Recall we reported the slashing of investment in the unit about two weeks ago. The division, which had previously operated under the motto “zero crashes, zero emissions, zero congestion,” announced in late November it would be cutting its budget, according to FT.

    FT reported at the time that the division won’t drop its slogan entirely, but will spend less on the segment. GM had previously invested about $700 million per quarter and Cruise operated in several U.S. cities, with San Francisco being the most prominent. 

    Barclays auto analyst Dan Levy, speculating as to whether or not financial conditions could further mire the project, told FT at the time: “The big question is to what extent ‘Zero Zero Zero’ also hinged on zero rates.”

    “This has been a big theme this year in auto; everyone has had to step back from the euphoria,” he added. 

    One GM investor said in late November: “The problem for Cruise as a business is GM is dependent on it for all the software [revenue] targets the company has set. We don’t see a path to profit, but we do see they will burn a lot of cash trying. GM would be better placed winding back its bet, and returning the money to shareholders.”

    Recall, we just in early November that about 11 days after Cruise halted all autonomous vehicle deployment across the US following several collisions and a suspension of its permit to operate robot taxis in California, Forbes revealed that Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt held an all-hands meeting to halt production of its fully autonomous vans temporarily. 

    The fallout continued as Vogt, according to audio obtained by Forbes, told employees that suspending driverless operations nationwide was the primary reason why it must pause “production of the Origin” van. 

    Vogt said Cruise has produced hundreds of Origin vehicles and “more than enough for the near-term when we are ready to ramp things back up.” 

    “During this pause, we’re going to use our time wisely,” he explained.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 22:00

  • Brazil To Mandate COVID-19 Shots For Kids As Young As 6 Months
    Brazil To Mandate COVID-19 Shots For Kids As Young As 6 Months

    Authored by Augusto Zimmermann via The Epoch Times,

    The Brazilian government via its Health Ministry has added the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to the country’s National Immunization Program (PNI) for children six months to five years old. 

    As reported by Agência Brasil, the new policy will take effect in 2024 and will require at least three doses of the vaccine.

    Approved on Nov. 29 by the Senate’s Committee on Social Affairs, law proposal No. 826 is currently being analysed by the Educational Commission.

    With the obligation, not vaccinating children will result in fines and loss of social benefits to their families.

    In addition to mandatory vaccination for young children, the Brazilian government may also introduce a compulsory vaccination program in schools. This will be the result of another bill under present consideration by the Brazilian Senate, establishing vaccine centres in the country’s schools.

    According to the newspaper Estadão, this law proposal states that students who do not participate in the school vaccination program would be reported to Brazilian authorities. 

    “Five days after vaccination in the school unit, education professionals must send to the health unit a list with all students who did not receive the vaccination” along with the address and information of their parents or guardians.

    As reported by CNN Brasil, the mandatory vaccination program also will be prioritised for other groups, including the elderly, immunocompromised, the permanently disabled, pregnant and postpartum women, health workers, those with comorbidities, Indigenous peoples, residents of long-term care facilities, the homeless, the incarcerated, and prison staff.

    The Brazilian government claims the new policy is aligned with WHO recommendations. 

    However, as openly acknowledged by Ethel Maciel, secretary of health surveillance of Brazil’s Health Ministry, “In Brazil, we have slightly expanded the group compared to WHO’s recommendations, which are more limited.”

    “We already have very robust evidence that indicates the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine,” Mr. Maciel also said.

    However, this claim is not accurate. 

    For example, a comprehensive study conducted by King’s College London scientists has concluded that the overall risk of children becoming severely ill or dying of COVID-19 is “extremely low.”

    The conclusions reached by the King’s College scientists encourages governments to be cautious when it comes to making health decisions—especially for vulnerable very young children—which, in the long run, may have adverse consequences for their health and future. 

    For this reason, the United Kingdom government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has refused to endorse compulsory vaccination for children under the age of 18, stating that the benefit to them of receiving this vaccine is “virtually zero,” whereas the already-known risk of serious harms are “not negligible.”

    Therefore, “JCVI is of the view that the health benefits of universal vaccination in children and young people below the age of 18 years do not outweigh the potential risks.”

    Just one known serious potential risk, or adverse effect of these novel vaccines, is that of myocarditis—inflammation of the heart. 

    Speaking on these very vaccines, a member of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations (ATAGI), acknowledges that “the more doses you get, the less benefit you derive from them, and then we start to worry about causing side effects.”

    A considerable number of blind-reviewed academic papers directly link these vaccines with a higher risk of myocarditis, and even Pfizer scientists now acknowledge that there have been increased cases of myocarditis after vaccination.

    (Marco Lazzarini/Shutterstock)

    Charging Ahead

    Despite all these serious concerns, Brazilian Health Minister Nísia Trindade has defended the new policy of mandatory vaccination on children as a matter of “children’s rights.”

    In reality, the very opposite is true and the decision to seek to vaccinate pregnant women and small children as young as six months is wrong and not supported by scientific evidence. 

    Given the already known potential harms of these vaccines, of which myocarditis is just one, and their entirely unknown long-term adverse effects, the decision of the Brazilian government to seek to vaccinate small children is not supported by scientific evidence. 

    According to an article in the British Medical Journal, “From a public health standpoint, it makes poor sense to impose vaccine side-effects on people at minimal risk of severe COVID-19. The argument that it protects others is weak or contrary to evidence.”

    To conclude, this decision is entirely political, not a medical one. Nor is it moral or ethical to impose mandatory vaccination, because there are serious risks attached to mandating such vaccines, particularly on children and pregnant women. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 21:40

  • Earth Blasted With X-Class Flare, Sparking "Largest Solar Radio Event Ever Recorded" 
    Earth Blasted With X-Class Flare, Sparking “Largest Solar Radio Event Ever Recorded” 

    The NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center reported a massive solar flare from the northwest part of the Sun on Thursday evening that caused “one of the largest solar radio events ever recorded” across the Western Hemisphere. 

    “An X2.8 flare (R3) occurred from Region 3514; located over the far NW area of the Sun. This is likely one of the largest solar radio events ever recorded,” SWPC wrote in a post on social media platform X.  

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    SWPC continued, “These impacts were felt from one end of the Nation to the other. Additionally, SWPC is analyzing a possible Earth-directed Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) associated with this flare.”

    This monster solar flare was classified as an X2.8. 

    On a scale of strengths that range from B class (weakest) to C, M, and X (strongest), the powerful bursts of energy can disrupt radio communications, electric power grids, and navigation signals and pose a risk to spacecraft. 

    Powerful X-class solar flares can cause damage, particularly to satellites, communications systems, and power grids on Earth.

    The frequency of solar flares increases as the Sun moves towards the maximum phase of Solar Cycle 25. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 21:20

  • "We're Just Uber Drivers", Border Patrol Agent Says America Is Being Destroyed
    “We’re Just Uber Drivers”, Border Patrol Agent Says America Is Being Destroyed

    Authored by Brad Jones, John Fredricks via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Two older SUVs appear to come out of nowhere, slowly at first, then kicking up clouds of dust as they pick up speed along the southern side of the U.S.–Mexico border. Two white vans tail them to a gap in the border wall.

    With covered faces, smugglers suspected of working for drug cartels exit the vehicles, which bear a mix of Californian and Mexican license plates. The coyotes, as they are known, glare through the slats in the 30-foot-tall border wall, while keeping an eye on their human cargo.

    Within seconds, the doors on each vehicle are flung open and around 25 eager illegal immigrants jump out of each SUV and 50 from each van.

    “Move it! Move it! Move it!” barks one of the coyotes as he turns his back to the wall and waves his arms toward a narrow footpath strewn with shreds of clothing and stray strands of razor wire where the wall ends at the base of a steep hill.

    The illegal immigrants, a few with children, pick up their pace, dashing a few yards up an incline, around the wall, and into the United States.

    The coyotes disappear into the desert as fast and efficiently as they arrive.

    The chatter—mostly Spanish and some Mandarin—tapers off as U.S. Border Patrol agents, waiting on site, approach the illegal aliens along the wall to distribute plastic bracelets to them. The 150 new arrivals, mostly solemn but relieved to be out of the clutches of the cartels, march along the wall toward tents and makeshift shelters.

    A Border Patrol Mobile Response Unit team stands watch over the camp near Jacumba on the southeastern fringe of San Diego County. One of three illegal immigrant encampments within about a 20-mile span along the border, Willow camp is flanked on the west by 177 camp, south of Boulevard, California, and Moon camp in Imperial County on the east.

    Suspected Mexican cartel members drive SUV’s containing dozens of illegal immigrants to an open gap in the U.S. border wall near Jacomba, Calif., on Dec 6, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    Illegal Immigrant Surge

    A small sampling of illegal immigrants at the camps say they came from China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, Mauritania, Colombia, and Brazil.

    Sam Schultz, whose family volunteers for a group called Border Kindness and are affiliated with the legal services organization Al Otro Lado, which means “to the other side” in Spanish, delivers food and water to the camps daily.

    He told The Epoch Times on Dec. 5 he was worried about running out of supplies with so many illegal immigrants crossing that day.

    Mr. Schultz said about 30 percent of the illegal immigrants in the latest wave to the Jacumba camps are from China.

    Manny Bayon, a National Border Patrol Council union spokesman in San Diego, told The Epoch Times the number of illegal immigrants released into San Diego County has doubled in the last two weeks—from 400 to 500 per day to 800 to 1,000.

    Dec. 5 and 6 marked two of the highest days on record for illegal immigrants apprehended at the border in a single day, although exact figures were not available, he said. About 1,000 illegal immigrants occupied the three camps on those days alone.

    On Dec. 6, Senate Republicans blocked aid funding to Ukraine and Israel while asking the Biden administration to do something to halt the flow of illegal aliens across the southern border.

    With detention facilities over capacity and asylum cases backlogged in the immigration courts for the next decade, Congress should force the Biden administration to secure the border, Mr. Bayon said.

    “The Biden administration is not doing anything. They haven’t done anything in the last three years,” he said.

    The union fully supports the move to block the budget until the border crisis is solved, Mr. Bayon said.

    “They should even withhold funding to sanctuary cities.”

    Chicago and New York—both sanctuary cities, which shield illegal immigrants from federal immigration authorities—are now realizing the surge in illegal immigration over nearly three years is a “bigger mess,” than anyone imagined, he said.

    Morale Hits ‘Rock Bottom’

    Another Border Patrol agent in Arizona, who spoke to The Epoch Times on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said most agents don’t believe they have the support of the Biden administration nor Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

    Border Patrol agents feel “100 percent betrayed by Mayorkas and the Biden administration,” he said.

    Every patrol station is so over capacity, much of the manpower is going to process and transport illegal immigrants, which leaves fewer agents left in the field, he said.

    Illegal immigrants wait outside the Roosevelt Hotel in midtown Manhattan, New York City, on July 31, 2023. (Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images)

    Morale among agents, he said, has hit an all-time low.

    “It’s rock bottom, by far the worst I’ve ever seen,” the Border Patrol agent said. “A lot of them are leaving. They’re leaving the patrol. They don’t even have a backup plan—no job. They’re just so sick and tired of having their hands tied. Guys are having a hard time even putting on their uniforms. Right now, we’re just Uber drivers. We’re just watching it all happen. We’re watching the destruction of our country.”

    Although crossing the border by land anywhere but U.S. ports of entry is illegal, and illegal immigrants could be arrested and deported under current law, the Border Patrol has been told to stand down, the source said.

    “We’ve been told we can’t stop anybody,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the “actual bad guys,” who use illegal immigrants as their drug “mules” to smuggle fentanyl and cocaine, are evading capture.

    “There’s no pulse check on that, because everybody is either … driving, processing, or providing medical attention,” the Border Patrol agent said.

    “Agents signed up to defend the border and protect our country, and we’re just not being allowed to do it.”

    Drug and sex trafficking have become worse in America, leaving agents voiceless and struggling with their consciences, because they know they’re not doing enough to push back against the Mexican cartels, he said.

    “This is an absolute cash grab for them. The Biden administration is really helping facilitate it and embolden the cartels, and we have to just stand by, and you’re not allowed to speak about it,” he said. “We took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. We need more people to stand up, and the American people have a right to know what’s going on.”

    Manny Bayon, a Border Patrol agent listens to radio chatter near the border wall of San Diego, Calif., on May 31, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    From the moment President Joe Biden was sworn into office nearly three years ago, the message has essentially been that border is open, and now is the time for migrants to rush the southern border, he said.

    On day one, the Biden administration signed executive orders and issued memos to temporarily suspend deportations of illegal aliens, reversed former President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from terror-prone countries, halted border wall construction, stopped adding people to the “Remain in Mexico” program, fortified the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and released a sweeping immigration package to Congress that included amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants.

    We’ve never had these kinds of numbers before. You literally have people coming in from all over the world, and in such massive numbers that it’s hard to stop,” the Border Patrol agent said.

    National Security Threat

    Alarmed by the number of military-age men coming into the country from all over the world, amid conflicts between Israel and Hamas, as well as Ukraine and Russia, the United States needs to tighten border security and step up its vetting process, said the border agent.

    With Border Patrol arresting 172 illegal immigrants on the terrorist watchlist in fiscal year 2023, he is also worried about fighting-age men from Middle East countries entering the United States without rigorous vetting.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 21:00

  • Boycott Harvard: Early Applications Plunge 17% As Hate Fills The Leftist Campus
    Boycott Harvard: Early Applications Plunge 17% As Hate Fills The Leftist Campus

    Harvard College is led by controversial president Claudine Gay, who has single-handedly done more damage to the school’s reputation than anyone else in its nearly 500 years of existence. 

    Gay’s failure to tackle antisemitism on campus has been a major wake-up call for parents nationwide who aspire to send their children to the elite school. Parents quickly realize the school no longer prioritizes excellence through education but instead pushes toxic woke narratives and political indoctrination that is harmful to Western society. 

    New data from Bloomberg shows that a huge blowback is just beginning: The college received 17% fewer applications for early admission from high school seniors this year. Applications this year for non-binding early admissions were 7,921 versus 9,553 last year. 

    Applications were due Nov. 1, a little more than a month before Gay refused to answer US lawmakers on Capitol Hill if “calling for the genocide of Jews” is bullying and harassment in terms of the school’s code of conduct. 

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    However, from the Oct. 7 attack on Isreal by Hamas through the application deadline date of Nov. 1, parents around the nation were shocked by videos and news headlines of chaotic pro-Palestinian protesters on the college campus. 

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    Hmm.

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    Peak Harvard: Let the boycotts begin:

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    Meanwhile, billionaire investor Bill Ackman has had his crosshairs on Gay, demanding that she “resign in disgrace.” On Sunday, he wrote an open letter to Harvard’s governing boards of directors about Gay’s removal. 

    Shortly after Ackman’s letter, 500 faculty members signed a letter to Harvard, urging them not to fire Gay. 

    Peak Harvard has likely arrived as Republican lawmakers swarm the leftist college and propose new legislation to strip it of billions of dollars in federal payments and tax breaks over its failure to tackle hate on campus. 

    Perfect timing from Elon Musk: He donated $100 million to launch a primary and secondary school, and ultimately a university, in Austin, Texas, this week. 

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    We’re sure the ‘school of Musk’ will focus on proper education to further humanity rather than the hate that is being taught in imploding liberal schools nationwide. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 20:40

  • Russia's Urals Oil Exports Disrupted By Storm And Maintenance
    Russia’s Urals Oil Exports Disrupted By Storm And Maintenance

    By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

    A storm and planned maintenance have forced Russia to suspend on Friday around two-thirds of the shipments of its flagship crude grade Urals from its Baltic and Black Sea ports, Reuters reported, citing traders and vessel tracking data.  

    The port of Primorsk on the Baltic Sea will see no shipments of Urals crude in the period December 13 to December 18, according to LSEG data and traders who spoke to Reuters.  

    In addition, Urals shipments from Novorossiysk, Russia’s primary port of loading Urals in the Black Sea, were also suspended on Friday because of a storm. 

    As of Friday, only one port in Russia, Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea, was loading and shipping the Urals blend.

    Loadings from Ust-Luga, which loads both Russia’s Urals and Kazakhstan’s KEBCO blend, are scheduled at an average of around 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) for December, per estimates reported by Reuters.  

    Overall, all ports in Russia’s western regions, that is, the ports on the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea, are planned to load around 1.9 million bpd this month, down by 6% compared to November. 

    Russia’s crude oil shipments jumped in the four weeks to December 10, after storms in the Black Sea that had disrupted loadings in November subsided, tanker-tracking data monitored by Bloomberg showed earlier this week.

    Russia’s crude oil shipments from all its ports averaged 3.2 million bpd in the four weeks to December 10, up by around 114,000 bpd compared to the four-week average to December 3, according to the data reported by Bloomberg’s Julian Lee.

    Meanwhile, Russia’s oil revenues dropped in November to the lowest level since July as crude export prices dropped and volumes declined, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday. 

    Russia’s export revenues for crude and oil products fell by 17% month-on-month in November to $15.2 billion—the lowest export revenues for Moscow since July this year, the agency said in its Oil Market Report for December.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 20:20

  • Rewarding Obesity, Southwest Giving Free Second Seats To 'Customers of Size'
    Rewarding Obesity, Southwest Giving Free Second Seats To ‘Customers of Size’

    Southwest Airlines is receiving a mix of praise and scorn over a policy giving obese passengers free seats to hold their overabundant girth. Basic economics suggests that it will result in healthy passengers subsidizing the humungous. Worse, some thin passengers will get booted from flights to make room. 

    Southwest didn’t announce its “Customer of Size” policy with fanfare. Rather, it came to wide public attention after fat TikTokkers started educating each other on how to take advantage of it. 

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    The standard for getting a free extra seat strikes us as a little vague. According to the airlines posted FAQ

    “The armrest is the definitive gauge for a Customer of size. It serves as the boundary between seats. If you’re unable to lower both armrests and/or encroach upon any portion of a seat next to you, you need a second seat.”

    As word spreads and more and more heavy people belly up to take advantage of the policy, maybe we’ll see test seats at Southwest gates akin to luggage size-testing boxes. 

    Jae’lynn Cheney enjoying Southwest’s free second seat policy for “customers of size,” which could cost better-proportioned passengers in more ways than one (Jae’lynn Cheney via New York Post)

    While it’s not mandatory, the airline encourages jumbo flyers to buy a second seat in advance and then ask for a refund:

    “The purchase of additional seats serves as a notification of a special seating need and allows us to adequately plan for the number of occupied seats on board. It also helps us ensure we can accommodate all customers on the flight for which they purchased a ticket and avoid asking customers to relinquish their seats for unplanned accommodation.” 

    That last part is particularly worrisome, as it anticipates times when the “customer of size” policy compels Southwest to bump a normally-proportioned passenger to clear a second seat for a huge one.

    According to the New York Post, that hard-to-swallow scenario is exactly what was imposed on a mother and her two teen sons, who were told that their flight home after a vacation was overbooked.

    “Please help me understand why do I have to spend the night without any accommodations in Baltimore because an oversized person didn’t purchase a second ticket,” she wrote in a TikTok video account of her treatment. The video captures a Southwest employee telling her, “Even if there are not enough seats, we have to accommodate that customer of size.”

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    The free seat policy is apparently unique among domestic carriers. “Southwest is the only airline that allows you a second seat at no extra cost even if the flight is fully booked,” wrote self-identified “fat solo traveler” Kimmy in an October video that brought the woke policy to widespread attention. In the video, she boasts of eating up a free second seat more than a dozen times already.

    Just the latest example of declining American society encouraging self-destructive behavior and then distributing the costs to everyone. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 20:00

  • Drug Companies To Face Inflation Penalties For 'Jacked Up' Prices, Says Biden
    Drug Companies To Face Inflation Penalties For ‘Jacked Up’ Prices, Says Biden

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

    The White House announced on Thursday that 48 drugs will be subject to penalties after drugmakers raised prices faster than the rate of inflation.

    U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about lowering prescription drug costs at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., on Dec. 14, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

    Under President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), drug companies that price gouge may be required to pay rebates to Medicare, particularly focusing on those affecting over 750,000 seniors who rely on Medicare Part B drugs.

    The rebates, effective in January, are expected to result in savings for seniors ranging from $1 to $2,786 per dose.

    President Biden’s prescription drug law cracks down on price gouging from Big Pharma, requiring companies to pay back Medicare if they raise prices on seniors at a higher rate than inflation,” the White House said in a statement.

    The 48 drugs identified by the administration fall under Medicare Part B, which covers drugs and vaccines administered in doctors’ offices or hospital outpatient departments.

    This marks the first time that pharmaceutical companies will be required to pay penalties for outpatient drug treatments.

    The legislation’s provision empowers Medicare to directly negotiate lower drug prices, caps insulin costs for beneficiaries at $35, makes recommended adult vaccines free, and requires pharmaceutical companies to pay rebates if they increase drug prices faster than inflation, the White House highlighted.

    President Biden said big pharmaceutical companies “jacked up” prices nearly four times faster than the rise of inflation in the year before his IRA passed.

    “They’re ripping off Medicare. They’re ripping off the American people,” President Biden said in remarks at the National Institutes of Health. “We’re going to save taxpayers money and discourage companies from raising prices in the first place.”

    President Biden expressed his concern over drug companies benefiting from taxpayer-funded research while charging U.S. taxpayers more than citizens in other parts of the world.

    Drug companies will be put on notice if their medicines, developed with taxpayer funds, “are not made available to the public on reasonable terms, including based on price.”

    “It’s a good thing that leads to breakthroughs that save lives,” President Biden said. “But drug companies benefit considerably from that research. They could not make their own drugs without the research done here.”

    The White House said that the prices of 64 drugs increased faster than inflation over the last four quarters.

    Certain medications, such as Signifor, used to treat endocrine disorders, have seen continuous price hikes, and seniors taking Signifor could see savings of $311 per monthly dose starting in January, the White House highlighted.

    Going forward, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) will standardize fair pricing in contract negotiations for medical products developed or purchased, the White House announced.

    Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the rebates are an important tool to “discourage excessive price increases” and protect Medicare beneficiaries.

    The IRA, in addition to prescription drug rebates, also mandates Medicare to negotiate prices for some of the priciest Part D medications.

    Democrats said that legislation aimed to reduce inflation, while critics argued it would make it worse.

    The IRA also aimed to renegotiate Medicare drug prices and encourage “clean energy” consumer choices with tax credits. However, pharmaceutical companies have filed lawsuits to impede the implementation of the new negotiation standards.

    It also aims to save $25 billion annually by 2031, compelling drugmakers to negotiate prices for selected expensive drugs with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees Medicare.

    The IRA additionally sought to increase taxes on the wealthy.

    An August poll revealed that 70 percent of Americans are not well-informed about the IRA, one year after the president signed it. The University of Maryland, in collaboration with The Washington Post, conducted the survey as part of gauging public awareness of the Biden administration’s climate initiatives.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 19:40

  • Death To Pedos: DeSantis Supports Execution For 'Sexual Battery' Against Children Under 12
    Death To Pedos: DeSantis Supports Execution For ‘Sexual Battery’ Against Children Under 12

    While California lawmakers are trying to protect pedophiles, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday threw support behind his state’s decision to seek the death penalty for a man indicted for the sexual battery of a child.

    “Today, @flsao5 announced that they will seek the death penalty in a case of sexual battery against a child under age 12,” DeSantis wronte on X, noting that it’s the first case to challenge Supreme Court decisions regarding rape since he signed legislation that would “make pedophiles eligible for the death penalty.”

    The Supreme Court has held that rape does not merit the death penalty unless the victim is killed.

    The post was made to X just hours after State Attorney William Gladsome filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty in the case of Joseph Andrew Giampa, who has been indicted on six counts of sexual battery on a person under the age of 12, and three counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child.

    Given the severity of the crime and its impact on the community, the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office has filed a notice that it intends to seek the death penalty pursuant to Florida Statutes 794.011(2)(a) and 921.1425.

    The decision to pursue the highest penalty reflects the gravity of the charges and the State Attorney’s Office’s dedication to holding criminals accountable for their actions. The State Attorney’s Office acknowledges the sensitivity of this matter and the impact it has on the community. Our commitment to ensuring justice and protecting the vulnerable remains unwavering.

    The 36-year-old Giampa was arrested in November. According to the affidavit, Giampa led authorities to a camper and showed them video on a laptop of a man sexually abusing a child while recording the act. The man can be seen and heard giving the victim instructions, The Messenger reports, adding that at one point, the man reportedly exposed himself and sat in a chair facing the juvenille victim, who then performed oral sex on him before he performed an act on her.

    According to The Leesburg News, the suspect “told her that he knew she probably did not like [the sex acts] although he liked it more when she did not.”

    The man then puts the camera down and moves in front of it, revealing that it was Giampa.

    “If an individual rapes an 11-year-old, a 10-year-old, a 2-year-old or a 5-year-old, they should be subject to the death penalty,” said state Sen. Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers), who sponsored the bill.

    As The Messenger further notes, the case is highly unique, as it’s likely the first time in modern history that prosecutors will seek the death penalty for such an act that did not involve murder.

    It’ is’s also likely to set off constitutional challenges as current Supreme Court precedent does not allow capital punishment for rape.

    The court ruled in 1977 that applying the penalty in cases of rape violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The court once again ruled in 2008 that the punishment was unconstitutional in cases of child rape that don’t result in the death of the victim.

    Despite this, lawmakers in Florida passed a bill making sexual battery of a child eligible for the death penalty.

    The Florida bill stated that prior high court rulings on the matter were “wrongly decided, and that such cases are an egregious infringement of the states’ power to punish the most heinous of crimes.” -The Messenger

    The bill went into effect Oct. 1.

    Trump and DeSantis on the same page

    In July, former President Trump released a campaign proposal that would hit human traffickers with the death penalty.

    “When I am back in the White House, I will immediately end the Biden border nightmare that traffickers are using to exploit vulnerable women and children,” said Trump in a video released by his campaign. “I will urge Congress to ensure that anyone caught trafficking children across our border receives the death penalty immediately.”

    Works for us!

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 19:20

  • Venezuela And Guyana Pledge Not To Use Force In Territorial Dispute
    Venezuela And Guyana Pledge Not To Use Force In Territorial Dispute

    By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

    Venezuela and Guyana agreed to avoid the use of force as they tried to settle a century-old territorial dispute that recently saw Venezuela threaten Guyana with annexing two-thirds of its territory.

    The presidents of Venezuela and Guyana met for talks at a Caribbean island and declared they “will not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances,” France 24 reported.

    The two failed, however, to reach an agreement on jurisdiction over the dispute. Guyana upholds the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, which ruled in its favor regarding the ownership of the disputed Essequibo area. Venezuela has refused to accept the ruling and does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICJ over the issue.

    The dispute between the two neighbors dates back to the late 19th century when an arbitration court gave control of the territory to Guyana. The dispute flared up as the U.S. lifted oil sanctions on Caracas temporarily in a bid to increase the supply of heavy crude for Gulf Coast refineries.

    Venezuela held a referendum in early December regarding its claim of sovereignty over Essequibo and the majority voted in favor. This sparked worry about a possible invasion and indeed Venezuelan troops were amassed by the border with Guyana. Urgent diplomatic efforts followed, leading to the Thursday talks between the heads of state.

    Meanwhile, however, Venezuela is looking to revive an offshore natural gas field close to the maritime border with Guyana amid an escalating territorial dispute after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro held a referendum to claim two-thirds of Guyana’s territory. Observers have also argued that it is the oil and gas riches of the Essequibo region that the Maduro government is zeroing in on.

    Maduro and Guyana’s Irfaan Ali agreed to meet again in three months, this time in Brazil, to renew their talks on the disputed region.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 19:00

  • Kremlin Shrugs After Putin Critic Alexey Navalny 'Disappeared' In Prison System
    Kremlin Shrugs After Putin Critic Alexey Navalny ‘Disappeared’ In Prison System

    Jailed Putin critic and anti-Kremlin activist Alexei Navalny has been reportedly ‘disappeared’ within Russia’s prison system, as his lawyers say they haven’t known his whereabouts since Dec. 6 – and he’s believed to have been transferred from his prison in central Russia to another unknown location. 

    “We don’t know where he could have been transferred,” Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh was cited in regional media as saying. “We currently have no information.”

    Via EPA

    “Prisoner transfers are dangerous primarily because, during this time, a person is deprived of all protection and assistance,” she had explained shortly after his legal team lost all contact.

    As of Friday, the Kremlin still says it has “no information” on his whereabouts when pressed by his lawyers. The head of his legal team, Vyacheslav Gimadi, said: “We don’t know [where he is] for the 10th day.”

    Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov shrugged it off as but a normal part of the Russian administrative system surrounding prisoners and penal colonies. When peppered by questions from reporters, Peskov responded, “No. I repeat again: we do not have the capacity, or right, or desire, to track the fates of those prisoners who are serving sentences by order of a court.”

    Al Jazeera details of the latest that “Prison officials told a court on Friday that Navalny had left the IK-6 facility in the town of Melekhovo in the Vladimir region, about 230km (140 miles) east of Moscow, according to Vyacheslav Gimadi, the head of the legal department at Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation.” And further:

    His allies had been preparing for his expected transfer to a “special regime” high-security facility, the harshest grade in Russia’s prison system, before he was moved.

    For various countries’ prison systems, including Russia’s, it’s normal that when an inmate is transferred there’s some degree of a lapse in time before family members or lawyers are then later informed where they were moved to.

    However, Navalny’s legal team and supporters have long waged a somewhat successful PR campaign to keep his name in the news. For example, Navalny ally Maria Pevchikh is pressuring the United Nations Human Rights Committee to help find his exact whereabouts. “What is happening with Alexey is, in fact, an enforced disappearance and a flagrant violation of his fundamental rights. Answers must be given,” she said.

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    His supporters also claim Navalny has the potential to disrupt Putin’s 2024 reelection plans, however, it remains that the opposition activist barely has name recognition inside Russia. In August, he was handed an additional 19 years in prison for charges of “extremism” on top of the 11 and a half he was already serving.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 18:40

  • How The Supreme Court Could Reshape Free Speech Online
    How The Supreme Court Could Reshape Free Speech Online

    Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A looming battle at the Supreme Court may determine how social media companies moderate content. The nation’s highest court will hear challenges to laws in Florida and Texas that regulate social media content moderation.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock, Unsplash)

    Observers and activists on the left and right are watching the cases.

    At stake is the right of individual Americans to freely express themselves online and the right of social media platforms to make editorial decisions about the content they host. Both rights are protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

    Republicans and conservatives were outraged when platforms acted in concert to ban President Donald Trump in January 2021, blocked a potentially election-altering New York Post article about Hunter Biden’s laptop on 2020, and silenced dissenting opinions about the origins of the COVID-19 virus, the treatments for the disease it causes, and the vaccines.

    Steven Allen, a distinguished senior fellow at Capital Research Center, a watchdog group, said conservatives have long complained about their treatment on social media platforms.

    Imagine if you had a system analogous to what Facebook does, where if you say something on the telephone to someone that Facebook doesn’t like, or the phone company doesn’t like, and then they interrupt your call to say, ‘you know, experts disagree with that,’ … and then they wouldn’t let you continue to say what you wanted to say,” Mr. Allen said.

    “People would be, of course, outraged.”

    Facebook shouldn’t be allowed “to pick the ones it doesn’t like,” he told The Epoch Times.

    Democrats and liberals, on the other hand, claim the platforms don’t do enough to weed out so-called hate speech and alleged misinformation, which they consider to be pressing social problems.

    Moderators at the social media site Reddit filed a brief saying if the laws were upheld, the site would no longer be able to take down content threatening, for example, Supreme Court justices.

    They provided a screen grab of a news article headline reading “Supreme Court’s John Roberts says judicial system ‘cannot and should not live in fear.’”

    Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Elena Kagan listen as President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 7, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

    A person commented, saying, “We’ve got the guillotine, you’d better run.”

    Responding to another article about the court, a user wrote, “Promoting violence is the only rational response, which is why the authorities don’t want you to do it.”

    Two pro-gun control groups that filed briefs with the Supreme Court argue that social media companies must be allowed to combat hate speech, which they say contributes to “real-world gun violence.”

    Douglas Letter, chief legal officer for the Brady Center for Prevent Gun Violence, said in the press release accompanying the brief that often “the perpetrators of mass shootings were radicalized online.”

    These online experiences are formative in germinating these deadly acts,” Mr. Letter said. “The Supreme Court must understand the deadly relationship between online content and real-world tragedy.”

    Florida, Texas Laws Challenged

    NetChoice, a coalition of trade associations representing social media companies and e-commerce businesses, challenged a Florida law that makes it a violation for a social media platform to deplatform a political candidate, punishable by a $250,000 per day fine.

    The law also establishes restrictions on deplatforming other users and requires consistent application of moderation rules.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit halted part of the law and Florida appealed to the Supreme Court.

    When signing the law in 2021, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said it ensures Floridians “are guaranteed protection against the Silicon Valley elites.”

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to police officers in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Feb. 20, 2023. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

    Many in our state have experienced censorship and other tyrannical behavior firsthand in Cuba and Venezuela,” Mr. DeSantis said. “If Big Tech censors enforce rules inconsistently, to discriminate in favor of the dominant Silicon Valley ideology, they will now be held accountable.”

    President Trump filed a brief with the Supreme Court in October 2022 as a private citizen, urging the court to hear the Florida case.

    Recent experience has fostered a widespread and growing concern that behemoth social media platforms are using their power to suppress political opposition,” his brief stated.

    “This concern is heightened because platforms often shroud decisions to exclude certain users and viewpoints in secrecy, giving no meaningful explanation as to why certain users are excluded while others posting equivalent content are tolerated.”

    A woman holds a ‘Save the Net’ protest sign during a demonstration against the proposed repeal of net neutrality outside the Federal Communications Commission headquarters in Washington on Dec. 13, 2017. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images)

    Ohio, Arizona, Missouri, Texas, and 12 other states argued in a court brief that the internet is the modern-day public square and that social media platforms engaging in censorship “undermine the free exchange of ideas that free speech protections exist to facilitate.”

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 18:20

  • Iranians Claim IRGC Chased US Aircraft Carrier Out Of Persian Gulf
    Iranians Claim IRGC Chased US Aircraft Carrier Out Of Persian Gulf

    Days ago, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani vowed that his forces would soon “force” a US Navy aircraft carrier from waters off Iran’s coast. “It should be said that they have come [to the region] to sow division and meet their own needs… we will soon force them out of the region,” he had said.

    It was confirmed from at least two weeks ago that the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was patrolling the Persona Gulf at a moment of high tensions with Tehran, given the ongoing Gaza War. Additionally, Iran-backed Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea has intensified, become almost a daily occurrence at this point.

    USS Eisenhower in Persian Gulf, via US Navy

    As a result the US Navy is beefing up its response in the Red Sea, also after two more shipping tankers were struck by missiles and drones fired from Yemen’s Houthis on Friday.

    Iranian state media is now reporting that the USS Eisenhower has exited the Persian Gulf and vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz. Based on maritime tracking websites, the carrier has been out of the region already for at least several days and is now moving into the Mediterranean.

    Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, said the carrier had exited the area following over two weeks of being closely monitored by IRGC assets:

    “This flotilla was in the Persian Gulf for less than 20 days and has been under the IRGC naval forces’ intelligence oversight.”

    Tangsiri went on the claim that the US carrier was only there for “propaganda” purposes related to supporting Israel, at a moment Israeli leaders have warned Iran against further support to its proxies such as Lebanese Hezbollah or the Yemeni Houthis.

    The Iranians have been publishing videos which purport to show overhead area surveillance captured by drones…

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

    A US Navy statement on the Eisenhower’s movement has not been immediately forthcoming in response to Iran’s claims. A statement from the ship’s commanders earlier this month said, “Our presence in the region is about deterring malign activities and deescalating tension and uncertainty.”

    The large carrier could now possibly he headed to the Red Sea in support of operations against the Houthis and to help deter ongoing attacks on commercial vessels

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 18:00

  • "I'm With Him": Trump Secures Another GOP Senate Endorsement For 2024 Comeback Bid
    “I’m With Him”: Trump Secures Another GOP Senate Endorsement For 2024 Comeback Bid

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

    Former President Donald Trump has secured another endorsement for his 2024 bid for the White House, with Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) making his long-standing quiet backing for the former president official and full-throated.

    Former President Donald Trump attends the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 287 mixed martial arts event at the Kaseya Center in Miami on April 8, 2023. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

    “President Trump doesn’t need to worry. I’m with him. He’s asked me several times to support him. I said yes,” Mr. Hawley told Politico in an interview on Dec. 12.

    Earlier, Mr. Hawley said he thinks President Trump would surely win the Republican nomination but stopped short of officially declaring his endorsement. That has now changed, with Mr. Hawley’s announcement making him the 18th Republican senator to endorse the former president’s comeback bid for the White House.

    I’ve been saying for a year that I think he’s going to be the nominee,” Mr. Hawley said. “I support him. I’m going to vote for him.”

    The Missouri Republican added: “You can put me down as support, endorsed, stand with.”

    Then-Senate candidate Josh Hawley speaks as President Donald Trump looks on at an event in Kansas City, Mo., on July 24, 2018. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

    In Democrats’ Crosshairs

    The Missouri Republican’s declaration of endorsement comes after President Trump took to Truth Social over the weekend to warn Mr. Hawley and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that Democrats are trying to figure out how to oust the two from their respective Senate seats and extend their razor-thin majority in the upper chamber.

    So interesting that the Democrats are looking hard at the Senate races in both Missouri and Texas,” President Trump wrote. “Josh and Ted must be very careful, stranger things have happened!!!”

    The 2024 election cycle is vital to the Democrat Party as it looks to hold on to—or broaden—its slim Senate majority. This summer, Sarah Guggenheimer, a spokesperson for the Democrat-aligned Senate Majority political action committee (PAC), told Politico that Mr. Cruz and Mr. Hawley were major targets that Democrats want to oust.

    At the time, Mr. Hawley told the outlet that he expects Democrat-aligned donors to spend $100 million to try and flip his Senate seat blue, while Mr. Cruz said that he’s taking the race “intensely seriously.”

    While Mr. Hawley has endorsed President Trump, Mr. Cruz has not officially declared which candidate he is backing. In the 2016 primary, Mr. Cruz was then-candidate Trump’s chief rival for the nomination but ultimately endorsed him and campaigned on his behalf.

    (L-R) Then presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) looks on during the Republican Presidential Debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 15, 2015. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

    Mr. Cruz has, on several occasions, broken with President Trump on endorsements, supporting opponents of Trump-backed candidates ahead of the 2022 mid-term elections.

    Mr. Hawley’s endorsement brings the number of senators officially backing President Trump’s election bid to 18 (out of 49 Republican senators), while just four senators have endorsed other candidates.  The former president has also secured the official backing of nearly 90 House members, with no other candidate coming close in congressional endorsements.

    President Trump is dominating the field for the Republican nomination, with the latest RealClearPolitics polling average showing him with 60.3 percent support, which is over 47 points ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (12.6 percent) and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley (12.1 percent).

    President Trump’s commanding lead in the primary polls is why he declined to participate in any of the GOP presidential debates.

    Meanwhile, the former president has called on the GOP to take urgent action after a poll revealed that one-in-five mail-in voters admitted to committing at least one type of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

    Over 43 percent of 2020 votes were cast by mail, which is the highest percentage in U.S. history.

    ‘Biggest Story of The Year’

    A survey carried out by Heartland/Rasmussen and published on Dec. 12 has bolstered President Trump’s longstanding claim that he was cheated out of a victory in the 2020 presidential election.

    The survey shows that 17 percent of mail-in voters admitted to voting in a state where they are no longer permanent residents; 21 percent filled out ballots for others; 17 percent signed ballots for family members without consent, and 8 percent reported offers of “pay” or “reward” for their vote.

    Further, 10 percent of all respondents to the poll (carried on a representative sample of 1,085 likely voters) said they know a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who admitted to casting a mail-in ballot fraudulently.

    In response to the concerning findings, President Trump took to Truth Social to demand urgent action.

    “This is the biggest story of the year, and Republicans must do something about it,” the former president wrote. Further, he suggested that unless something is done quickly to address the problem of voter fraud, the issue will cast a pall over the 2024 election.

    “Have to make a move now,” President Trump continued. “Get tough, get smart. Our country is being stolen!”

    While Democrats and their allies claim that election fraud is little more than a myth, President Trump has said for years that voter fraud is a pervasive problem in U.S. politics —and insists he was robbed of a win in the 2020 election.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 12/15/2023 – 17:40

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Today’s News 15th December 2023

  • 400,000 Ukrainians Killed In Action Explains A Whole Lot
    400,000 Ukrainians Killed In Action Explains A Whole Lot

    Authored by Mike Fredenburg via The Epoch Times,

    How many casualties has Ukraine suffered?

    How many causalities has Russia suffered?

    Answering these questions is critical to determining the best and most moral path forward for Ukraine and the United States.

    Estimates of Ukrainians killed in action (KIA) range from a low of just over 30,000 to a high of over 400,000.

    Obviously, these two estimates can’t be reconciled. And it really, really matters to the people of Ukraine which one is closer to the truth. While 30,000 deaths is tragic, anything approaching 400,000 KIA and the accompanying hundreds of thousands of causalities is a humanitarian catastrophe that makes talks of continuing offensive operations next year, or even believing in a stalemate, wishful thinking that will result in even more fruitless Ukrainian deaths.

    Unsurprisingly, since the war began, the United States and its allies have unswervingly pushed the narrative that Russia is incurring far more casualties than Ukraine. This casualty narrative was critical to maintaining any plausibility that Ukraine could defeat a country that has four to five times more men of military age and that was recently rated as having the world’s most powerful military. Hence, given the need to maintain the plausibility of a Ukrainian victory, it isn’t surprising that NATO intelligence asserted that the battle of Bakhmut saw Russia losing at least five soldiers KIA for every one of Ukraine’s.

    However, since the fall of Bakhmut to Russia, the failure of the much-hyped Ukrainian counteroffensive, and signs that Ukraine’s military is nearing collapse, we’re no longer hearing about five-to-one casualty rates. Still, the most recent estimates from United States and British officials claim that Russia has suffered 120,000 KIA while Ukraine has suffered “only” 70,000 KIA (more than the United States suffered in over 10 years of the Vietnam War).

    But not everyone agrees with U.S./British casualty estimates for an army that started the war by mobilizing early 1 million men in arms and, over the course of the war, mobilized another estimated 1 million. Among the growing number of those who don’t agree is the former director of the Joint Operations Center at Supreme Headquarters Europe and one of the key leaders in achieving the legendary victory in the mass tank battle of 73 Easting, retired U.S. Army Col. Douglas Macgregor.

    In a recent interview with myself, Col. Macgregor agreed that while estimates putting Russian KIA at as high as 50,000 to 60,000 are defensible, most estimates for Ukrainian KIAs are not.

    In what many will undoubtedly find shocking given the countless stories disparaging Russia’s military skills and capabilities while uncritically fawning over Ukraine’s military prowess, Col. Macgregor puts Ukrainian KIA at over 400,000 out of the 2 million Ukraine has mobilized.

    Col. Macgregor arrived at this shocking number using a wide variety of sources, including contacts within U.S. intelligence and contacts on the ground in Ukraine and Poland who have intimate knowledge of what’s really happening in Ukraine.

    In particular, he noted that his U.S. intelligence contacts have expressed shock as to just how far from reality the narrative being pushed by the Biden administration is from what’s happening in Ukraine and its real war losses.

    Likewise, Col. Macgregor’s Ukraine contacts relayed to him accounts of thousands of wounded Ukrainians being left to die on the battlefield, growing numbers of Ukrainian commanders and troops refusing orders to conduct suicide attacks against heavily fortified Russian positions, Ukrainian soldiers surrendering en masse to Russia, hospitals overflowing with Ukrainian wounded, and many other accounts that testify to horrendous casualty rates that contradict the narrative pushed by Western media.

    Additionally, Col. Macgregor’s contacts have analyzed satellite imagery showing a massive expansion of Ukrainian cemeteries and countless tens of thousands of fresh graves. Other open-source intelligence analysis has also documented in detail Ukraine’s massive expansion of cemeteries that will soon allow Ukraine to reportedly bury 1.5 million more people. And a Russian analyst using death notices and other open-source intelligence has come up with Ukrainian KIA estimates of over 300,000.

    But for Col. Macgregor, it’s the totality of the reports he has seen, his understanding of historical casualty rates, his personal military experience, and information from his sources that has brought him to the conclusion that Ukraine’s KIA is a magnitude greater than what’s commonly being reported.

    These numbers, coupled with the fact the war could have been avoided had President Volodymyr Zelenskyy been knowledgeable and wise enough to understand that U.S./NATO promises of victory were completely unrealistic and couldn’t be relied upon, have led Col. Macgregor, who has fond memories of growing up in a Ukrainian immigrant neighborhood, to believe that the war is an absolute disaster for Ukraine that could have and should have been avoided.

    “In humanitarian terms, this tragedy has resulted in the Ukrainian nation being destroyed in a war that never needed to be fought,” Col. Macgregor said.

    While Col. Macgregor isn’t alone in calling out the war as being a total disaster for Ukraine, he’s one of just a few Western military experts willing to buck a narrative whose zealotry has assumed religious overtones. But is there evidence we can look at that lends support to his assessment? In short, the answer is “Yes!”

    First and foremost, history tells us artillery-centric wars such as World War I and the Ukraine-Russia war produce massive amounts of casualties and KIA. Indeed, during the short period of time America fought the Germans in World War I, it suffered 318,000 casualties, including 53,000 KIA over a period of 120 days, and another 60,000 who died due to disease and accidents. Consequently, given the advances in real-time battlefield intelligence that have been made since World War I, very high casualty rates from artillery should be expected.

    And because Russia not only started the war with up to a 10 to 1 advantage in artillery power, but continues to maintain its artillery advantage while producing up to seven times more artillery shells than all other NATO nations combined, it’s Russia that one would expect to be far ahead in terms of casualty ratios. Russia’s advantage in long-range strike capability, drone warfare, and electronic warfare only add to its ability to inflict disproportionate casualties.

    While the above bespeaks of Russia’s potential to deal out disproportionate casualties, the average age of Ukrainian soldiers increasing over time from roughly 32.5 years to 43 years provides concrete evidence that Ukraine has suffered catastrophic casualties over the course of the war. From a statistical perspective, this huge increase in average age fits better with Col. Macgregor’s KIA numbers than those being commonly reported by Western media. Only with very large numbers of KIA or permanently wounded can you get such a large increase in the average age of active-duty Ukrainian soldiers.

    Another ominous trend highlighting the desperation of President Zelenskyy’s government is the plan to radically increase the number of women serving in the military, despite the fact that women are at a severe disadvantage to men when it comes to close combat.

    Then you have stories and anecdotes describing the life expectancy at the frontlines of Bakhmut being  hours and poorly trained Ukrainian troops being rushed into combat. These kinds of stories are legion, especially in independent or non-Western media. Combined with all the other signs, this makes a strong case that Col. Macgregor’s numbers aren’t only plausible, but also help explain why Ukrainian government actions are looking increasingly desperate.

    Of course, Col. Macgregor recognizes that coming up with accurate casualty numbers in the middle of a war is extremely tough, and that his estimates could be off by many thousands.

    Given the strong evidence that Ukraine is suffering country-destroying casualties, talk of a stalemate, much less of successful offensive territory-gaining operations, is more about face-saving than any realistic chance of Ukraine avoiding losing.

    Hence, the only moral path forward for the United States is to tell President Zelenskyy it’s well past the time to sue for peace and that he must accept neutrality and the loss of the regions that seceded from Ukraine in 2014.

    This is a bitter pill to swallow for Ukrainian nationalists and those in the United States who hoped Ukraine would do far more damage to Russia, but the alternative is accelerating Ukraine’s diminishing chances of remaining a viable nation-state, a whole lot more fruitless Ukrainian deaths, and peace terms substantially worse than those that can be negotiated today.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 23:40

  • Breitbart Exposes Security Gaps: Migrants Board Planes Without IDs At Tucson Airport
    Breitbart Exposes Security Gaps: Migrants Board Planes Without IDs At Tucson Airport

    A recent investigation conducted by Breitbart Texas at Tucson International Airport, Arizona, has brought to light significant concerns regarding border security and migrant processing. While the rest of us have to wait in endless lines – and will definitely miss our flight if we’ve forgotten ID, migrants released by the Border Patrol were observed boarding U.S. flights without the standard identification required for most travelers.

    Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas

    Special TSA Screening for Migrants

    The outlet reported that on a Friday afternoon at Tucson International Airport, migrants, having been released from Border Patrol custody, were seen in a “special” security line set up by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). This line catered exclusively to migrants, many of whom lacked any form of identification, a requirement typically enforced for U.S. citizens and legal international travelers.

    A TSA sign guides “Non-U.S. Citizens without Passports to a special screening line. (Randy Clark/Breitbart Texas)

    These migrants carried manila envelopes containing a Notice to Appear, signifying their release from federal custody. Notably, these documents did not include photo identification, a standard requirement under TSA regulations for air travel.

    According to Breitbart’s findings, while TSA regulations generally mandate government-issued photo ID cards for travel, there is a provision for “acceptable alternate identification for use in special circumstances at the checkpoint,” which appears to be the basis for the special line.

    Increased Migrant Arrivals and Processing Challenges

    The report highlights that the surge of migrants crossing into the United States has led to a flood of illegal migrants being released into the country to pursue asylum claims. The influx has overwhelmed Border Patrol facilities in Tucson, with numbers exceeding their designated holding capacity. The situation has obvious national security implications associated with the rapid processing and release of migrants.

    TSA Acceptable ID Sign

    According to a DHS Office of the Inspector General report cited in Breitbart’s investigation, in one case a migrant on the Terrorist Watch List was mistakenly released by the Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona.

    The source says capacity issues facing the Border Patrol and the need to quickly release the migrants pose a significant risk to national security. According to an investigative report by the DHS Office of the Inspector General, in April 2022, one migrant on the Terrorist Watch List was released by the Border Patrol in Yuma, Arizona. The report noted a series of failures by multiple DHS agencies resulted in the failure to conclusively determine that the migrant was on the Terrorist Watchlist, resulting in the release from custody.

    The migrant and family members were later encountered attempting to board an aircraft by TSA security screening personnel at the Palm Springs International Airport. Despite the second encounter by DHS personnel, the migrant was ultimately able to travel to Tampa, Florida, and was not rearrested by ICE for more than two weeks. -Breitbart

    Approximately 190,000 migrants were apprehended in November trying to enter the United States illegally.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 23:20

  • Turley: What If Jack Smith Held A Trial And No One Came?
    Turley: What If Jack Smith Held A Trial And No One Came?

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    In 1966, Charlotte E. Keyes wrote a famous article for McCall’s magazine titled “Suppose They Gave a War and No One Came.” Special Counsel Jack Smith may be contemplating the same fate.

    Putting the tongue-in-cheek title aside, the odds are that some people will come to any trial of President Donald Trump. After all, a lot of people have to come from the judge to the jurors and counsel. However, Smith has had an ominous week that could severely complicate his plans for convicting Donald Trump before the election. Moreover, a trial after the election could mean no trial at all.

    Before this week, Smith found himself on the losing end of the schedule in Florida in his prosecution of Trump for his retention of classified documents.

    Judge Aileen Cannon has scheduled a trial for May 20, 2024, but that could easily move with additional delays or appeals in the case.

    I have always viewed that case to be the strongest against Trump, but the huge number of classified documents have (as predicted) slowed the prosecution. Despite Smith’s pushing for a pre-election trial, his structuring of the charges undermined that schedule.

    Smith then pushed hard for a pre-election trial in the January 6th case in Washington where he seemed to have a supportive judge in Judge Tanya Chutkan who shoehorned the start just before the Super Tuesday elections.

    Now, however, Judge Chutkan has been forced to stay the case indefinitely pending the appeal of the presidential immunity claim made by Trump. The matter is now before both the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court gave Trump until December 20th to respond to Smith’s request for an expedited review — leapfrogging over the D.C. Circuit.

    Smith’s filing conveys priority, if not a necessity, in trying Trump before the election. The Supreme Court may not share that sense of urgency. Traditionally, the Supreme Court has preferred to wait to allow appellate courts to render decisions. Since a conviction will not make Trump ineligible to run for the presidency, the question is why the March date should short circuit the review process.

    If the Supreme Court ultimately does not rule on the merits, the period for review would easily supplant the trial schedule since an appeal could be taken to the entire D.C. Circuit (en banc) and then to the Supreme Court.

    That did not change the March 4 trial date, but it could well make that date unworkable if the appeals drag on.

    Then to make the week complete, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in United States v. Fischer.  That case turns on the proper interpretation of the obstruction provision under Section 1512(c)(2).

    Fischer was charged with obstructing an official proceeding of Congress and based solely on his trespass in the Capitol.

    A ruling in his favor could effectively cut away half of the case against Donald Trump. Among the four counts brought by Smith, Trump is charged under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(k) (Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding) (Count Two) and  18 U.S.C. §§ 1512(c)(2), 2 (Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding) (Count Three).

    If those two counts fell to the wayside, Smith would be left with a count on conspiracy to defraud the United States (Count One) and conspiracy against rights (Count 4). Those counts contain other challengeable elements which would have to be appealed after any conviction.

    At some point, the mad rush for a March trial will look illogical and gratuitous if key legal issues remain unresolved  and pre-trial motions and discovery remain incomplete in February.

    The problem for Smith is that a trial after the election could mean no trial at all. If Trump is elected, he could give himself a preemptive self-pardon, though some disagree with this view. Moreover, the new Attorney General could scuttle or undermine the prosecution.

    In other words, it is possible that Jack Smith might never see a jury in either case.

    That would still leave the New York and Georgia cases, which are not subject to presidential pardons. However, those cases (particularly the one in New York) have their own challengeable elements.

    None of this means that Trump is out of the woods. He will continue to face a daunting daisy-chain of civil and criminal cases around the country. Moreover, it is not clear how the schedule will shake out with both the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court giving expedited attention to the immunity question. He could still face at least one federal trial before election day.

    However, Smith must be wondering if, assuming the schedule breaks in favor of Trump, he would be holding an empty sack come January 2024.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 23:00

  • Russia Warns If NATO Bases Used For Ukrainian Jets They Could Be Targeted
    Russia Warns If NATO Bases Used For Ukrainian Jets They Could Be Targeted

    With the Russia-Ukraine war now approaching the two year mark (in February), Americans might need reminding that the conflict remains a highly dangerous situation which could at any moment escalate into a WW3 scenario. 

    Zelensky’s visit to Washington this week was lackluster, and he left without securing what Kiev is hoping for – that Congress would quickly pass Biden’s $106 billion war funding request, which also includes defense funds for Israel. Of course, at this point Zelensky has complained publicly that the crisis in Gaza has taken the world’s focus off the need to defend Ukraine from Russia’s onslaught. 

    Though headlines in the West barely took notice, Russia early Wednesday launched a significant ballistic missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, which authorities said injured at least 53 people, including six children, with severe damage to a number of buildings. 

    F-16C Fighting Falcons at Campia Turzii, Romania. Image: USAF

    But with Zelensky in Washington, making the rounds to the Oval office and the halls of Congress, the Kremlin issued a fresh warning saying that if Ukraine’s military is granted access to NATO airbases for sorties using western-made planes, in would respond while deeming Ukraine’s external allies as direct participants in the war.

    The fresh warning was announced by Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation to the military security and arms control talks in Vienna:

    “We already hear comments that, amid the significant destruction of Ukraine’s airstrip infrastructure, the F-16s handed over to Ukraine may carry out their missions from airbases in Poland, Romania and Slovakia,” he said during the OSCE Forum meeting on cooperation in security.

    According to the diplomat, Moscow will view this as these countries’ participation in the conflict and will force Russia to resort to “response measures.”

    Even though certain eastern European allies pledged F-16s long ago, it could still be a lengthy amount of time before Ukrainian pilots are fully trained, enough to be deployed in combat on the US-made warplane. 

    Western officials have in recent months admitted that Russia has the upper hand, and that Ukraine’s summer offensive failed, but everyone is now putting in place their ‘long war’ strategies. The Kremlin’s new warning and threat also seems part of this longer term planning from Moscow’s perspective. 

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

    Russia has been taking notice of the US moving its F-16s to places like Romania, where its entirely possible they could eventually be used by Ukrainian pilots. This is what Russia fears, and it’s putting Washington on notice. 

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 22:40

  • NRA Sounds Alarm On New ATF Rule Targeting Gun Buyers And Sellers
    NRA Sounds Alarm On New ATF Rule Targeting Gun Buyers And Sellers

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

    The National Rifle Association (NRA) sounded the alarm on a gun-control proposal from a federal regulatory agency that could “unjustly criminalize” Americans from selling a firearm.

    A California-legal AR-15 style rifle with Thordsen stock is displayed for sale at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Calif., on June 5, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

    In a statement Tuesday, the largest U.S. guns-rights group flagged that a rule proposed earlier this year by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive (ATF) known as ATF2022R-17, which proposed amending and broadening the definition of when a person is deemed to have been “engaged in the business” of being a firearms dealer other than a gunsmith or pawn-broker.

    It would expand the definition of a firearms “dealer” to anyone who “sells or offers for sale firearms, and also represents to potential buyers or otherwise demonstrates a willingness and ability to purchase and sell additional firearms,” according to the rule proposal. It would also include the definition would be broadened to include people who sell guns for services, property, or anything other than cash.

    The proposal would create a “stand-alone definition of ‘terrorism,'” and would “clarif[y] what it means for a person to be ‘engaged in the business’ of dealing in firearms, and to have the intent to ‘predominantly earn a profit’ from the sale or disposition of firearms,” the rule’s summary stated on the Federal Register. The public comment period on the rule ended last week.

    An NRA official, Randy Kozuch, told Fox News Tuesday that the rule would be “just another attempt to demolish our Second Amendment rights, with the potential to unjustly criminalize everyday Americans for engaging in lawful firearm transactions.”

    “This rule blatantly disregards the recent NRA-backed Bruen ruling on the Second Amendment,” Mr. Kozuch added. “It also creates serious confusion among lawful gun owners who buy and sell firearms legally for various purposes, from collecting to self-defense.”

    The NRA, in an earlier statement, said that the ATF doesn’t have “the resources nor the intent of handling the massive increase in” Federal Firearms Licenses that the proposed rule “would result if its terms were adopted.”

    “Instead, the proposal is a transparent attempt to strong-arm Internet service providers, gun shows, technology platforms, and other facilitators to abandon any involvement in private gun sales with vague threats of ‘administrative action’ for non-compliance,” the statement added. “Meanwhile, the cartels, gang members, firearm smugglers, and violent sociopaths Congress had in mind when passing the law that supposedly enables the proposal will be entirely unaffected.”

    If the Biden administration were truly committed to combating crime, they would focus on enforcing existing laws and reform their soft-on-crime policies, targeting actual criminals instead of law-abiding American gun owners,” Mr. Kozuch continued.

    On Dec. 7, a coalition of Republican attorneys general led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen wrote a letter to the ATF, saying the rule is unconstitutional and violates the Second Amendment.

    “The proposed rule is unconstitutional, violating the Second Amendment by making any individual who sells a firearm without a federal license liable to civil, administrative, or even criminal penalties,” said a news release from Mr. Knudsen’s office.

    The ATF has not publicly commented on the NRA’s recent critical statement. The Epoch Times has contacted the Department of Justice (DOJ), which oversees the ATF, for comment on Tuesday.

    The ATF’s rule was proposed in August and was open to a comment period that lasted from Sept. 9 to Dec. 7. More than 350,000 people posted public comments on the Regulations.gov website.

    Some people claimed that the rule would spark confusion for gun owners, namely those who collect firearms and competitive shooters.

    Notably, a number of comments that supported the proposed ATF rule appeared to be the same text that was copied and pasted, albeit with different names attached. The Epoch Times has reached out to the Regulations.gov website, which is run by the U.S. General Services Administration, for comment on whether the repetitive comments will be accepted.

    In June 2022, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was backed by gun-control groups after a mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, that left about two dozen people dead.

    When he signed it into law, the president said that “while this bill doesn’t do everything I want, it does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives.”

    Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who backed the measure, said that the measure will also “save thousands of lives without violating anyone’s Second Amendment rights.” The NRA and similar groups, however, disputed that statement at the time.

    The law was signed as the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a 6-3 landmark decision, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, that said there is a constitutional right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense purposes. At the same time, they struck down a longstanding New York state law that restricted the concealed carrying of firearms.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 22:20

  • PBOC Injects Record Liquidity As China Retail Sales Disappoint, Investment Slows
    PBOC Injects Record Liquidity As China Retail Sales Disappoint, Investment Slows

    On the back of mixed PMI and trade data, deeper price deflation, and slightly weaker-than-expected credit data, November activity data painted a mixed picture for the Chinese economy, as a rebound from restrictive Zero-COVID policies continues to be weaker than expected (exacerbated by a deepening property crisis).

    Earlier in the month, China’s CPI showed a greater deflation than expected (the largest deflation since the GFC)…

    Then, last night saw November’s new RMB loans and TSF data came in below expectations, and the composition of loans data showed soft credit demand…

    Bill financing continued to grow faster than corporates’ medium to long term loans. Households’ medium to long term loan growth also slowed in November from October on the back of weak property transactions.

    Which brings us to tonight’s macro data smorgesbord of good, bad, and ugly data.

    • China Nov. Industrial Output Rises 6.6% Y/Y; Est. 5.7% – BEAT

    • China Nov. Retail Sales Rise 10.1% Y/Y; Est. 12.5% – MISS

    • China Jan.-Nov. Fixed Investment Rises 2.9% Y/Y; Est. 3% – MISS

    • China Jan.-Nov. Property Dev. Investment -9.4% Y/Y, Down from -9.3% Y/Y

    • China’s surveyed jobless rate ticks along at 5.0% (low/strong – the same as in October) while the country refuses to disclose the youth unemployment rate (which had soared to a record over 20% before the data was banned).

    As Bloomberg notes, there are a lot of questions about how comprehensive and accurate the jobless data is, with alternative data showing the situation is actually getting worse.

    So, industrial output growth was stronger than expected in November, but housing worsened – residential property sales shrank 4.3% for the first 11 months of the year.

    Finally, the NBS also released home price data today, which showed no improvement.

    Second-hand home prices were down 0.79% in November from October, while new home prices in the top 70 cities were down 0.37% – the sixth straight month of falls.

    All of which combined is perhaps why China’s central bank decided to inject the most cash via one-year policy loans on record.

    PBOC offered commercial lenders 1.45 trillion yuan ($204 billion) via its medium-term lending facility (that is a net 800 billion yuan more than the expected maturity this month).

    “MLF injection is much larger than expected, so it suggests continued easy monetary policy,” said Becky Liu, head of China macro strategy at Standard Chartered.

    This likely means China won’t cut the reserve-requirement ratio for banks anytime soon.

    China appears to believe discussing the weakness in its economy is a PsyOp as the Ministry of State Security said, in a post this morning on its official WeChat account ahead of the data:

    “Clichés intended to undermine China’s economy are essentially aimed at constructing a ‘discourse trap’ and ‘cognitive trap’ about the false narrative that China is in decline, so as to attack and negate the socialist system to contain and suppress China.

    In the post, the ministry also went on to criticize some people “with ulterior motives” for fabricating false narratives such as China is “replacing development with security,” “squeezing out foreign investment” and “suppressing private enterprises,” saying their purpose is to disrupt market expectations and order to block good momentum for China’s economic growth.

    You mean like “bidenomics” being awesome except for the collapse in consumer confidence and Biden’s approval rating?

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 22:13

  • Transgender Teachers In Florida Sue Over Pronoun Law
    Transgender Teachers In Florida Sue Over Pronoun Law

    Two teachers in Florida and one former educator filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Education on Wednesday, challenging a new law restricting transgender teachers from using pronouns that match their chosen gender identity.

    The law, which took effect on July 1, “pushed one plaintiff out of their teaching career and threatens to do the same for the other plaintiffs — and for the other transgender and nonbinary teachers like them across Florida,” according to the filing reported by Axios.

    Florida’s goal behind these laws is to stigmatize and demonize transgender and nonbinary people and relegate them from public life altogether,” it continues.

    The suit was filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center in federal court on behalf of Katie Wood, a teacher at Lennard High in Ruskin, around 25 miles south of Tampa, as well as former Florida online school teacher AV Schwandes, and one Lee County teacher who went under Jane Doe. Wood and Doe are transgender, while Schwandes is nonbinary.

    It specifically challenges a section of Florida law that holds that a school employee “may not provide to a student his or her preferred personal title or pronouns if such preferred personal title or pronouns do not correspond to his or her sex.”

    According to the complaint, that section violates Supreme Court precedent as well as other recently adopted laws, and “sends the state-sanctioned, invidious, and false message that transgender and nonbinary people and their identities are inherently dangerous.”

    Teachers who violate the law risk revocation or suspension of their teaching license.

    “Those who support and enforce this law are trying to take my voice away and bury my existence. But they will not,” Wood said in a statement to the outlet.

    More via Axios.

    Before its passage, LGBTQ+ advocates derided the legislation as “Don’t Say They,” playing on the “Don’t Say Gay” nickname given to the 2022 law that restricts classroom instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation.

    • DeSantis signed the bill into law in May, one of several bills that critics dubbed a “slate of hate” laws discriminating against the LGBTQ+ community and denying the existence of transgender people.
    • It rejects a distinction between sex and gender identity, saying that “a person’s sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person’s sex.”

    Since the law went into effect, Wood, a math teacher, was told that he could only go by Mr., Teacher, or Coach. He opted for Teacher, which felt ‘awkward,’ and was reportedly distracting to students, many of whom continued to use “Ms.,” according to the lawsuit. 

    All three plaintiffs have also filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as well.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 22:00

  • After Affirmative Action Win Over Harvard, Group Takes On West Point
    After Affirmative Action Win Over Harvard, Group Takes On West Point

    Authored by Michael Washburn via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The group that triumphed in a landmark Supreme Court case that struck down affirmative action policies at Harvard University earlier this year hopes to build on the victory with a lawsuit targeting similar policies at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Shutterstock)

    Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) filed the lawsuit on Sept. 19 with high hopes, but the organization has strayed into a legal and political minefield as the academy and the Biden administration try to block the lawsuit on the grounds that an institution training military officers isn’t subject to the same rules as private universities and that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies help, rather than hinder, effectiveness in combat.

    Largely as a result of the perceived disparity between those standards that apply to private colleges and universities and those applicable to entities under federal oversight, the SFFA faces one of the most formidable legal challenges, the outcome of which will have implications for every school and academy in the nation.

    Since President Joe Biden took office, a marked cultural shift has been underway in virtually all branches of the military.

    The Biden administration has forced through policies that promote DEI at the expense of the traditional criteria of combat readiness and the minimization of U.S. casualties, experts have told The Epoch Times.

    President Biden has revised rules put in place by the Obama administration to remake the military even more boldly in accordance with DEI principles and has relied on executive orders, often without public discussion, to force through this agenda.

    In December 2022, revisions to the Obama-era Department of Defense (DOD) Instruction 1300.28 altered official DOD vocabulary regarding transgender recruits, made officers more directly liable for perceived offenses against such persons, and gave official approval to cross-dressing on military bases, among other changes.

    President Biden’s general DEI stance makes the SFFA litigation one of the most impactful lawsuits so far undertaken against a military institution in modern history.

    DOD officials and representatives for West Point didn’t respond to a request for comment.

    President Joe Biden (C) flanked by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, meets with defense leaders to discuss national security priorities, in the White House in Washington on Oct. 26, 2022. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

    From Triumph to Trial

    The Supreme Court handed down its ruling on June 29 in the closely watched legal case of Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, finding that affirmative action policies at Harvard violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    The court issued a similar ruling in the matter of Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina (UNC) on the same day.

    In a footnote to its opinion in the Harvard case, the majority explained that its ruling didn’t apply to military institutions such as West Point, stating that no military academies were a party in the case.

    The court acknowledged a U.S. government brief that contended that “race-based admissions programs further compelling interests at our Nation’s military academies.”

    SFFA’s founder, Edward Mr. Blum, now sees an opportunity to redress what he sees as a glaring omission in the Supreme Court’s June rulings.

    Edward Blum, a long-time opponent of affirmative action in higher education and founder of Students for Fair Admissions, leaves the U.S. Supreme Court after oral arguments in cases against Harvard and the University of North Carolina, in Washington on Oct. 31, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

    “The SFFA cases have energized the legal community to challenge longstanding policies that have always been illegal. That is happening especially in the employment arena,” he told The Epoch Times.

    In the case of West Point, the legal issues are fundamentally the same, Mr. Blum believes—as is the opposing argument from those who want to preserve affirmative action.

    It is the same failed argument that the government made about ‘leadership’ and ‘diversity’ in the Harvard and UNC cases,” he told The Epoch Times.

    But West Point and the Biden administration don’t see matters that way.

    In a Nov. 22 memorandum filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams and colleagues set forth a number of defenses of West Point’s admissions policies.

    They charge that the plaintiff, in extending the reasoning from the Harvard and UNC cases to this one, “ignores critical differences between civilian and military universities” and has failed to establish legal standing to weigh in on a matter that falls under federal jurisdiction.

    The government lawyers also argue that the Army’s “operational interests” require the training of officers who can build a “cohesive rapport with subordinates,” and that, in “an increasingly diverse nation,” that goal isn’t achievable without affirmative action.

    But it isn’t clear if arguments in court will even get far enough to consider that last issue.

    West Point graduates stand and sing the Army Song during the 2022 West Point Commencement Ceremony at West Point Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., on May 21, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

    Clearing the Standing Bar

    During hearings set to take place early in 2024, defense lawyers for West Point will attempt to have the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that the plaintiff lacks standing under Article III of the Constitution.

    The article sets the bar high for proving actual or imminent injury as grounds for a party to pursue legal action touching on matters that would normally fall under federal jurisdiction, as military matters generally do.

    The highest court has been moving toward an ever-stricter interpretation of what such standing requires.

    Pursuant to its ruling in the 2021 case of TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, the Supreme Court now requires evidence of “concrete harm” to qualify for Article III standing.

    “That’s an important issue. You’ve got to clear the standing hurdle before you get in the courthouse,” lawyer William Woodruff, former chief of the U.S. Army’s litigation division and former Department of Justice trial attorney, told The Epoch Times.

    The new legal standard has evolved to the point in which establishing Article III standing will be hard for any plaintiff, he said.

    You’ve got to have direct injury. So the question is: What is your injury, and is that direct enough?” Mr. Woodruff said.

    “The government’s main defense is that this is military policy, national security, and the Constitution invests that authority in the government and not in the courts. The courts should stay out of it, we’re the ones responsible for the defense of the nation.”

    He said that, as an Army lawyer defending the service from lawsuits, he made that very argument regularly in courts around the country, with the goal of keeping the courts from meddling in Army policy.

    “And it’s a valid argument, except that now, we’ve got the SFFA and Harvard/UNC cases, which sort of cracked open the door on that and shed some new light,” Mr. Woodruff said.

    “In the unique situation of the military, how does this apply and how much deference should we extend?”

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 21:40

  • Sullivan Tells Netanyahu To Wrap Up 'High Intensity' Gaza Fighting Within Weeks
    Sullivan Tells Netanyahu To Wrap Up ‘High Intensity’ Gaza Fighting Within Weeks

    For the first time this week, the White House has begun putting rare pressure on the Netanyahu government – after Biden earlier offered the criticism that “indiscriminate” bombing in Gaza could turn the world against Israel. National security advisor Jake Sullivan is currently in Tel Aviv meeting with Israel’s war cabinet, and it appears he too is delivering a message of pushback (or at least the appearance).

    Sullivan reportedly conveyed that Israel’s military needs to wrap of the current “high intensity” phase of its offensive “within weeks”. This according to Israeli officials who spoke to the Times of Israel

    Via Israel Government Press Office

    Apparently Sullivan went so far as to express that the US desires for this phase to stop by year’s end, which is only two weeks away. “A second Israeli official says the US has pushed for the current phase to wrap up by the end of 2023,” the TOI report said. 

    The US wants a “major roll back” in fighting within that period, the Israeli source was cited as saying. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby appeared to confirm the report in a press briefing when asked about it, but was light on the details.

    He said that Sullivan “did talk about the possible transitioning from what we would call high intensity operations — which is what we’re seeing them do now — to lower intensity operations sometime in the near future.”

    But I don’t want to put a timestamp on that. The last thing we want to do is telegraph to Hamas what they’re likely to face in the coming weeks and months,” Kirby added. So clearly the administration wasn’t willing to say publicly that a timeline of “weeks” had been supposedly attached to the request. 

    However, going into Sullivan’s meeting with the war cabinet, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant made clear to the US side in public remarks that the war to eradicate Hamas in Gaza will take “more than several months.” He also didn’t specify whether Israel is also approaching this in “phases”.

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    Local Israeli media is also making clear the Israeli officials are still pushing for the establishment of an international peacekeeping force to administer Gaza for the ‘day after’ Hamas.

    The two allies are still publicly at odds over Washington’s desire to see the Palestinian Authority (PA) under Mahmoud Abbas step in and rule Gaza. The Netanyahu has made clear it doesn’t want that scenario, putting it on a collision course with Washington.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 21:20

  • COVID-19 Can Remain Undetected In Lungs For 18 Months: Study
    COVID-19 Can Remain Undetected In Lungs For 18 Months: Study

    Authored by Amie Dahnke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The COVID-19 virus can remain in the lungs for months after an individual has been infected—even though it may be undetected by over-the-counter (OTC) tests, a new study finds.

    (MeshCube/Shutterstock)

    The findings, established by a research team from the Institut Pasteur in France and published in Nature Immunology, indicate that the virus can live in the lungs for up to 18 months after infection in what scientists call “viral reservoirs.”

    The research team discovered these so-called viral reservoirs by analyzing samples from non-human primate models infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19. Preliminary results of the study showed the virus was found in the lungs of some animal models six to 18 months after infection, even though the virus went undetected in the blood or upper respiratory tract, such as the nose, throat, or voice box.

    The researchers believe these viral reservoirs act almost like dormant geysers that could erupt at any time, especially when activated by some type of stimulus. Whether the virus reactivates may also depend on an individual’s innate immunity, the immunity someone is born with.

    To understand how innate immunity works against viral reservoirs, the Institut Pasteur team studied how macrophages and natural killer cells worked against the COVID-19 virus, looking for clues in the formation of viral reservoirs.

    Macrophages and natural killer cells are types of white blood cells. While a natural killer cell is responsible for destroying infected or diseased cells, macrophages are responsible for removing dying or dead cells and cellular debris. When it comes to COVID-19, macrophages are responsible for the majority of the work in the lungs, the research team indicated, as they comprise 7o percent of the white blood cell count in the lungs.

    Also called lymphocytes, natural killer cells are a major building block of a person’s innate immunity system. In some individuals in the study, natural killer cells could adapt and control the viral reservoirs; in essence, the cells worked to dry up the reservoir. Researchers noted as natural killer cells increased in the blood, the viral load declined. The natural killer cells could not adapt in other cases, enabling the reservoir to swell. Therefore, the lower the natural killer cell count, the more likely an individual is to have persistent COVID-19 virus or experience a relapse in symptoms, researchers reasoned.

    A Clue About Long COVID

    Discovery of the viral reservoirs could be a clue as to why some individuals experience long COVID, Michaela Müller-Trutwin, head of the Institut Pasteur’s HIV, Inflammation and Persistence Unit, noted in a press release.

    Before the publication of the Institut Pasteur study, researchers believed that the reactivation of a dormant COVID-19 virus caused long COVID. The concept of viral reservoirs confirms this previous research. Furthermore, the new research confirms previous thought that long COVID could be caused by overactive immune cells releasing high levels of inflammatory substances into the body.

    A January 2023 KFF poll showed that 28 percent of individuals who previously had COVID-19 reported having long COVID. The percentage declined from the first time KFF polled Americans in June 2022, during which 35 percent of Americans with COVID reported having long COVID.

    The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported the risk factors associated with developing long COVID. Individuals who were hospitalized due to the virus, have underlying conditions, are unvaccinated, or have multisystem inflammatory syndrome are likely at a higher risk of developing long COVID, according to the agency.

    While most people diagnosed with COVID-19 recover in a few days to a few weeks after infection, some may experience symptoms for four weeks or longer after the initial infection. Individuals with long COVID experience an array of symptoms, but the most common include tiredness or fatigue that interferes with daily life, symptoms that worsen after physical or mental exertion, and fever. A person may also experience multiple respiratory, heart, neurological, and digestive symptoms. The KFF poll reported that long COVID puts significant limitations on an individual’s day, with 79 percent of people reporting their daily activity as limited.

    There is no cure or specific treatment for long COVID. Treatment plans vary from person to person based on an individual’s symptoms.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 21:00

  • Vista Outdoors Warns "Global Shortage Of Gunpowder" Will Set Ammo Prices On Fire 
    Vista Outdoors Warns “Global Shortage Of Gunpowder” Will Set Ammo Prices On Fire 

    US sporting and outdoor products group Vista Outdoor warned in a letter to customers that ammunition prices are set to surge due to “an anticipated global shortage of gunpowder.”

    Vista Outdoor confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Newsweek days ago. The increase of ammo and gunpowder prices is expected on Jan. 1. 

    “Due to world events our suppliers have notified us of unprecedented demand for and an anticipated global shortage of gunpowder, and thus has increased our prices substantially,” Vice President of Sales, Sporting Products Brett Nelson said in the letter.

    Nelson continued, “We must, therefore, raise our pricing to help offset those increases.”

    Ammo and powder prices at Remington, Alliant Powder, CCI, Federal, SEVI-Shot, and Speer are set to rise in the coming weeks:

    • Shotshell: 1-7 percent

    • Rifle: 1-7 percent

    • Handgun: 1-5 percent

    • 22LR/Shorts: 1-5 percent

    • WMR/HMR: 1-7 percent

    • Primers: 5 percent

    • Alliant Powder: 10 percent (limited availability).

    The rise in demand for ammo and gunpowder comes as the Russia-Ukraine war nears the two-year mark while Israel is 1.5 months into a large-scale ground war with Hamas in Gaza. 

    Here are the current retail prices for ammo scrapped off firearm websites by AmmoPricesNow:

    9mm

    22LR

    .223

    7.62×39

    Is Vista Outdoor’s Nelson hyping up an ammo shortage to drive sales, or does his statement hold some truth?

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 20:40

  • Economic Angst In The Heartland
    Economic Angst In The Heartland

    Authored by Steve Cortes via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Bidenomics is failing America, infecting the land with a persistent and intensifying cynicism, despite attempts by the White House and a partisan press to impose misleading narratives on the electorate.

    For example, the media rushed to heap praise upon last week’s modestly constructive jobs report. The actual numbers reveal a mixed bag – not a terrible report, but certainly not a parade-worthy one, either.

    The 199,000 jobs added in November sits below the average for the year 2023, and far off the prior levels of 2021 and 2022. Regarding jobs added since Biden took office, the easy part is over, meaning the task of regaining the lost jobs resulting from the COVID panic is largely complete – and now net new job creation languishes.

    Moreover, a sector analysis of this latest jobs report shows that 70% of the jobs were in either healthcare or government positions. More productive private sector jobs continue to lag, with manufacturing payrolls still flat in 2023.

    In addition, even modestly positive economic data points cannot compensate for the harm inflicted upon workers for most of Biden’s tenure. Specifically, real wages – incomes adjusted for inflation – declined for a record 24 straight months, and recent small recoveries in real wages cannot come close to making workers whole.

    The reality, as revealed by the data, proves that workers have toiled harder to get poorer under Biden, in real world terms – and they know it.

    My organization, the League of American Workers, has commissioned a series of battleground state polls conducted by North Star Opinion Research. The most recent survey of Wisconsin canvassed an evenly split sampling of Biden and Trump 2020 voters in that Heartland swing state.

    The crisis of confidence pervades the upper Midwest, where only 22% of Wisconsin likely voters think America is on the right track, and the clear main culprit for the despondency is the economy.

    The economy remains the primary concern of battleground voters, regardless of partisan affiliation. For example, approval of Biden on the economy shows the president badly underwater, with only 17% strong approval vs. a whopping 47% strong disapproval. But among the independent Midwest voters we sampled, the results are just about as dismal, with a mere 19% strong approval for Biden on the economy among non-partisans. Even among self-described liberals, 23% disapprove of Biden on the economy.

    Despite this widespread dissatisfaction, the president and his team insist on promoting the term “Bidenomics” to defend their radical agenda. Despite those efforts by the Democrats and a complicit legacy media, 37% of Wisconsin voters have not even heard the term. Among those who have, just 9% of voters in the state have a very favorable view of the phrase.

    Reflecting the stressed budgets of parents grappling to deal with high inflation, only 5% of parents in Wisconsin with school-age children have a very favorable view of Bidenomics, vs. 40% with a very unfavorable view.

    Swing state voters consistently blame the administration for this stifling inflation. On energy, for example, only 5% of Wisconsin citizens believe Biden’s agenda has lowered gasoline prices, while 51% blame his policies for raising prices at the pump.

    These numbers reflect a bracing economic reality in America under Biden: Only the very top end of the economic ladder is doing well. For instance, a JP Morgan research report last week detailed that 80% of Americans have already burned through their increased savings from the lockdowns and government support payments.

    Given current trends, by mid-year 2024, JP Morgan economist Marko Kolanovic projects “it is likely that only the top 1% of consumers by income will be better off than before the pandemic.”

    So, there it is.

    Great news for the top 1%, per usual from the supposed “progressives,” but a slog for everyone else. Americans are stressed, polarized, and losing faith in society’s future, even in the Heartland. A big driver of this pessimism flows from an economy that works only for a crony, credentialed ruling class.

    Accordingly, into 2024, the candidates and activists who address this anxiety and propose workable populist conservative solutions to fix our economic woes will win hearts, minds … and votes.

    This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

    Steve Cortes is former senior advisor to President Trump, former commentator for Fox News and CNN, and president of the League of American Workers, a populist right pro-laborer advocacy group.  

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 20:20

  • Oklahoma Governor Signs Executive Order Effectively Banning DEI In All State Institutions
    Oklahoma Governor Signs Executive Order Effectively Banning DEI In All State Institutions

    Following the meltdown on Capitol Hill by “Ivy League” Presidents from Harvard, MIT and Penn, on Wednesday of this week Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed Executive Order 2023-31, effectively banning diversity, equity and inclusion bureaucracies in state institutions.

    Standing in front of a podium which read “DEFUNDING DISCRIMINATION”, Stitt announced: “In Oklahoma, we’re going to encourage equal opportunity, rather than promising equal outcomes.”

    “Encouraging our workforce, economy, and education systems to flourish means shifting focus away from exclusivity and discrimination, and toward opportunity and merit. We’re taking politics out of education and focusing on preparing students for the workforce,” he said at a press conference.

    According to the Governor’s office, the order says that state agencies and institutions for higher education shall not utilize state funds, property, or resources to:

    1. Grant or support diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, departments, activities, procedures, or programs to the extent they grant preferential treatment based on one person’s particular race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin over another’s;

    2. mandate any person to participate in, listen to, or receive any education, training, activities, procedures, or programming to the extent such education, training, activity, or procedure grants preferences based on one person’s particular race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin over another’s;

    3. mandate any person swear, certify, or agree to any loyalty oath that favors or prefers one particular race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin over another;

    4. mandate any person to certify or declare agreement with, recognition of, or adherence to, any particular political, philosophical, religious, or other ideological viewpoint;

    5. mandate any applicant for employment provide a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement or give any applicant for employment preferential consideration based on the provision of such a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement; or

    6. mandate any person to disclose their pronouns.

    Patrice Onwuka, director of Independent Women’s Forum’s Center for Economic Opportunity, commented: “As a nation, we strive for equality of opportunity to give every young person a chance at achieving their American Dream. Race, ethnicity, gender, and heritage should not be used to discriminate against any person. Yet, discriminatory DEI programming has done damage on college campuses—fomenting division between students, eroding free speech rights, threatening academic freedom, and bloating school bureaucracies, which in turn drives up tuition costs.”

    Onwuka continued: “Furthermore, these efforts do not prepare young women and men for the diverse workforce that values aptitude, grit, and skill, not a sense of entitlement driven by victimhood. We applaud Governor Stitt and the state for taking leadership on removing discriminatory and divisive race-based programming and staffing from Oklahoma colleges and universities. Every student deserves a campus free from discrimination. Thankfully, legal protections already outlaw race-and sex-based discrimination, but this executive order guards against efforts to bypass those protections.”

    David Safavian, general counsel for the American Conservative Union, commented: “For years, universities and government agencies, even those in red states, have become increasingly beholden to a coercive liberal agenda, often framed under the banner of DEI.”

    He continued: “The transformation of these institutions has been exposed following the response by major universities in the aftermath of the October 7th terror attack by Hamas. Especially with that in mind, CPAC applauds Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt for acting through executive order today to take down DEI in all of Oklahoma’s government. Abolishing DEI bureaucracies and ending mandatory ‘diversity’ training and DEI hiring statements will ensure Oklahoma’s institutions can focus on the diversity of ideas, rather than shame-based political activism. Oklahomans can take pride in knowing that the content of their character will matter more than the color of their skin.”

    Following the release, public universities reacted accordingly:

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    Executive Order 2023-31 can be read in full here. To rewatch the press conference, click here

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 20:00

  • Behind The Biggest Nursing Exodus In 40 Years
    Behind The Biggest Nursing Exodus In 40 Years

    Authored by Matt McGregor via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A 40-year record high of 100,000 nurses left their jobs in 2021, according to a study published in Health Affairs Forefront in April 2022.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

    The study noted that the exiting nurses were primarily younger, rather than the expected age group of above 50.

    A sustained reduction in the number of younger age [nurses] would raise ominous implications for the future workforce,” the study stated.

    A report by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing published in October 2022 blames the losses on general trends such as retirement, a lack of education and training for replacements, and the rapid growth of an aging population that requires health care services.

    Several nurses who spoke to The Epoch Times largely blame the exodus on the corporatization of health care and the vaccine mandates imposed on nurses.

    The nursing shortage had long been a problem before COVID-19. When hospitals began operating like corporations instead of as a refuge for the sick, nurses became disillusioned with the occupation, nurse Irene Ricks told The Epoch Times.

    Then, came the pandemic and, with it, a slew of new requirements.

    “Not only were nurses having to take on a huge load of patients, but they were also being told to do things that they didn’t feel right about,” Ms. Ricks said. 

    “Then, they were being told they had to be vaccinated or they would lose their job.”

    The vaccine mandate “was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Ms. Ricks said. 

    “It made nurses quit or retire in droves.”

    A 2023 report by AMN Healthcare, which is the result of a January survey of 18,000 registered nurses nationwide, found that 30 percent of nurses said they’re likely to leave their careers because of the pandemic, up 7 percentage points from 2021. 

    “The movement of nurses away from hospital employment may be the most damaging health care workplace impact of the pandemic,” the report states. 

    A full 94 percent of respondents said there’s a “severe or moderate shortage of nurses” in their area.

    Sutter Health nurses and health care workers hold signs during a one-day strike outside of the California Pacific Medical Center Van Ness Campus in San Francisco on April 18, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

    “Nurses forever have gone into difficult places with deadly diseases, and people were happy and amazed at their sacrificial attitude to help people,” nurse Twila Brase, co-founder of the Minnesota-based Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom and founder of The Wedge of Health Freedom, told The Epoch Times.

    “Yet, suddenly, the entire health care system turned on its head and said, ‘The biggest thing is to not take care of people but to comply. And we are willing to put patients at risk because if you don’t comply, you’re going to be terminated.’”

    The nurses who were celebrated as heroes at the beginning of the pandemic were suddenly considered pariahs if they didn’t take the vaccine.

    Some hospital systems imposed their own vaccine mandates, such as Houston Methodist in Texas, which announced a mandate in March 2021 and gave employees until June of that year to be fully vaccinated. By June 22, 2021, 153 employees either resigned or were fired.

    A total of 1,400 employees at New York-based Northwell Health either resigned or were terminated for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Becker’s Hospital Review, a website tracking the termination of health care workers over the vaccine. The website includes a list of 55 hospitals and facilities that have fired more than 7,000 health care workers since 2021.

    A nurse at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center is injected with the COVID-19 vaccine in Queens, N.Y., on Dec. 14, 2020. (Mark Lennihan – Pool/Getty Images)

    Ms. Brase said the vaccine mandate imposed on health care workers demonstrated the callousness of the corporate system.

    “Nurses were essentially being forced to make life-or-death decisions as patients were reporting to them firsthand unusual symptoms that began after they took the injection,” Ms. Brase said.

    And yet hospitals wanted to get rid of them if they didn’t take this vaccine. It’s unreasonable. It’s unscientific.”

    Noticing the reluctance within the health care industry to take the vaccine, the Biden administration imposed a vaccine mandate on health care workers on Nov. 5, 2021. 

    Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, stated that “in order to receive Medicare and Medicaid funding, participating facilities must ensure that their staff—unless exempt for medical or religious reasons—are vaccinated against COVID-19.”

    The Supreme Court upheld the mandate in a 5–4 decision issued in January 2022. The decision meant that health care workers were given until March 15, 2022, to get fully vaccinated. 

    In 2022, North Carolina nurse practitioner Staci Kay revealed to The Epoch Times what she believed to be vaccine injuries.

    “I saw brain bleeds, seizures out of nowhere, cancer that just spread like wildfire, ischemic strokes, and I saw one person die horrifically from myocarditis,” Ms. Kay said at the time, noting that the issues “went unacknowledged by our physicians.”

    On the outpatient side, she reported conditions such as brain fog, cognitive decline, joint pain, gastrointestinal issues, and neuropathy.

    Ms. Kay started her own telemedicine practice after being fired for not submitting to what she described as illogical testing requirements for those who weren’t vaccinated.

    Ms. Ricks said she suffered an injury after taking the first two doses of the vaccine. She said she didn’t make the connection to the vaccine until she discussed her symptoms with a co-worker, who said he was suffering the same symptoms.

    “That’s when I knew something was going on,” Ms. Ricks told The Epoch Times. She predicts she’ll be suffering the side effects for the rest of my life.

    A nurse at Asante Three Rivers Medical Center waits for her next COVID-19 patient to be brought from the emergency room shortly after a deceased patient was removed from the room in Grants Pass, Ore., on Sept. 9, 2021. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

    In June this year, the Biden administration announced its plan to withdraw the vaccine mandate for health care workers. 

    On Nov. 13, without comment, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a lawsuit filed in 2022 by four New Jersey-based nurses who challenged the constitutionality of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order requiring the vaccines.

    Nurse Sandy Gardner wrote in an article published by the American Bar Association in July 2022 that “it’s difficult to ascertain exactly how much the vaccine mandate has affected the nursing shortage.”

    “Nurses and other staff are also quitting their jobs due to burnout, COVID-19 safety concerns, and other reasons,” she said.

    However, she supports the mandate for health care workers. 

    Vaccine mandates have proven over time that they work, as evidenced by requirements that school-aged children be vaccinated for certain diseases prior to enrolling in school,” Ms. Gardner wrote. 

    “For the most part, the COVID vaccine mandate is working as time goes on. The longer the vaccine is out and is gaining a track record, the more people will get vaccinated.”

    Most media outlets defended the mandates imposed on health care workers by stating that the proportion of nurses being fired or quitting was small in comparison to the nurses who took the vaccine. 

    Business Model

    When the pandemic first began and hospitals were overwhelmed, the requirements for travel nurses were relaxed.

    Formerly, a nurse had to practice for a year before being eligible, but that was reduced to six months, which resulted in nurses with little experience but higher salaries working in community hospitals where local nurses were paid less.

    “There were travel nurses getting paid up to $6,000 to $10,000 a week, which was upsetting the staff, who would themselves quit and go become a travel nurse,” Ms. Ricks said.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 19:40

  • Dem Senator Blocks GOP Bill For 35% Tax On University Endowments
    Dem Senator Blocks GOP Bill For 35% Tax On University Endowments

    In the wake of various recent scandals at ‘elite’ universities, attention has turned to their massive, largely untaxed endowments.

    On Thursday morning Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) introduced a bill which would tax the largest university endowments at 35%.

    “The endowments at Penn, Harvard & MIT have a combined $95B+ in assets – yet only pay a 1.4% tax rate on net investment income,” Vance posted on X. “Then they use these funds to push DEI and woke insanity.”

    My bill would tax the largest endowments at 35% – it’s going to the Senate floor right now.

    Vance then tried to pass the bill by unanimous consent, only to be blocked by Democrat Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, who suggested that lawmakers should instead look at the bill before passing it (oh?), and then slammed billionaire tax loopholes created by Congress in the first place.

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    As journalist Greg Price notes above, “Democrats finally found billions of dollars that they don’t wish to tax.”
     

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 19:20

  • Reports Of White Lung Syndrome Emerge In The US
    Reports Of White Lung Syndrome Emerge In The US

    Authored by George Citroner via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Reports of a mysterious respiratory illness in China are sparking fears of a potential new pandemic.

    Cases of what some are dubbing “white lung syndrome” have already been reported in several U.S. states, evoking chilling memories of the early days of COVID-19.

    Health officials are racing to determine if this is simply the expected winter uptick of seasonal illnesses or if it could be a dangerous new pathogen. If the latter, the implications could be profound. Is history repeating itself? How quickly could this spread? How can you protect yourself?

    (CI Photos/Shutterstock)

    Spike in Pediatric Pneumonia in China Hints at Possible New Contagion

    Chinese media described overwhelmed children’s hospitals in Beijing and Liaoning Province (Northern China) in late November, according to a recent post on the International Society for Infectious Diseases’ online reporting system, ProMed.

    Reported symptoms are high fever without cough, with some children developing lung nodules that can indicate bacterial infections like pneumonia.

    Per the post, the Beijing Children’s Hospital lobby remained crowded with parents seeking treatment for their children’s pneumonia.

    According to the post, the situation in Liaoning Province is “serious,” with the lobby of Dalian Children’s Hospital filled with sick children receiving intravenous drips. A Dalian Central Hospital staff member reportedly said that patients were waiting in line for two hours, and “we are all in the emergency department, and there are no general outpatient clinics.”

    While only recently known, infectious disease website FluTrackers has logged reports of overwhelmed pediatric hospitals and cases of Mycoplasma pneumonia, caused by bacteria that often causes upper respiratory tract infections and pneumonia, in China since August.

    China could be seeing a surge in respiratory infections as other countries did their first winter after COVID-19 lockdowns were lifted, Dr. Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious disease physician with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Health Emergencies Program, said on X. “They have already reported surge of #Mycoplasma pneumonia but this could be anything – let’s gather data,” she wrote.

    Outbreak in Ohio Started in August

    Ohio’s Warren County Health District (WCHD) reported an “extremely high number” of pediatric pneumonia cases this fall. The roughly 145 cases reported since August alone exceed average numbers and meet the state outbreak definition.

    We do not think this is a novel/new respiratory disease but rather a large uptick in the number of pneumonia cases normally seen at one time,” the WCHD said.

    A parent questionnaire identified the most common symptoms as cough, fever, and fatigue. Detected pathogens include Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae (strep), and adenovirus. Some media refer to the condition as “white lung syndrome” due to how infected lungs can appear under X-rays.

    Evidence suggests a mix of the same pathogens causing illness in China, Dr. Christopher Calandrella, chair of emergency medicine at Northwell Long Island Jewish Forest Hills in New York, told The Epoch Times.

    “Additionally, China recently lifted its pandemic restrictions, and as the population begins socializing more, it may contribute to an increase in cases, similar to what was experienced here in the United States last fall,” he said.

    CDC Highlights New Vaccine Options

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently stated on its website that it is “monitoring reports of increased respiratory illness around the world,” including in China and Europe. However, the agency emphasized that pediatric pneumonia and other respiratory diseases typically rise each fall and winter.

    The CDC also pointed out that, for the first time, there are now available “safe and effective immunizations” for three major viral respiratory illnesses: flu, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an infectious virus that affects the lungs and airways and that can cause pneumonia.

    China approved five new COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use amidst its current respiratory disease outbreak.

    Currently, no data suggest these infections have different virulence or infectivity than U.S. pathogens, according to Dr. Calandrella, so there is no reason for alarm, he emphasized.

    COVID-19 provided many critical lessons, including the vital role of hand hygiene, vaccines, and masks, “which can significantly reduce the risk of infections in general,” Dr. Calandrella added.

    COVID-19 Shots Linked to Pneumonia

    A little-discussed factor is whether these respiratory outbreaks may in some way be associated with COVID-19 vaccination.

    A list of adverse events associated with Pfizer’s mRNA shot was released due to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, and according to the document, “atypical pneumonia” is one among hundreds of potential adverse reactions to receiving the gene-therapy-based drug, along with Mycoplasmal bronchitis, cardio-respiratory arrest, cardio-respiratory distress, and cough.

    A 2022 Respirology Case Reports study presented the first organizing pneumonia case, a rare lung condition affecting the airways and air sacs, related to COVID-19 vaccination. A 78-year-old woman developed cough and breathing difficulty 10 days after her Pfizer shot.

    Other research has found that vaccinated individuals’ immune function eight months post-second dose is lower than that of unvaccinated individuals. “As a safety measure, further booster vaccinations should be discontinued,” the study authors wrote.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 19:00

  • Israeli Soldiers Spark Muslim Outrage By Singing Hanukkah Song Over Jenin Mosque Loudspeaker
    Israeli Soldiers Spark Muslim Outrage By Singing Hanukkah Song Over Jenin Mosque Loudspeaker

    West Bank violence has been continuous since Oct.7 and Israel’s major Gaza offensive, but there are fears that clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces and settlers are about to escalate further.

    Ultra-provocative footage is now widely circulating online showing an Israeli soldier singing a Jewish Hanukkah song through a loudspeaker at a mosque in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. A clip was reportedly even shared by Israel’s national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

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    Muslims use loudspeakers attached to mosque minarets for their traditional “call to prayer” several times a day. Thus Israel Defense Forces taking over a mosque to then blare Jewish prayers over a Muslim-dominant town is certainly a big provocation.

    At least one of the widely circulating videos has been verified as authentic by Haaretz which said one of the songs sung by a soldier was the Hanukkah song “We Came to Banish the Darkness.”

    One video reviewed by Haaretz showed an IDF soldier mocking the Islamic call to prayer by saying the words, “In the name of God, the merciful. Here is the spokesperson of the IDF.”

    “For the residents of the camp, the story is over, we will not allow the presence of armed men inside the camp,” the soldier said according to a translation. “The future will be clean, we want you to live with dignity in the camp, there is no power beyond the power of Allah.”

    The Israeli army itself appeared to verify the videos, and that they happened recently, telling local media that the offending soldiers had been removed from day. 

    A statement saidthe soldiers were removed from operational duty immediately, after receiving the videos and an initial inspection of the incident by the commanders.

    “The behavior of the soldiers in the videos is serious and stands in complete opposition to the values of the IDF. The soldiers will be disciplined accordingly,” the spokesperson said.

    The IDF likely doesn’t want to unnecessarily inflame tensions further, after already more than 270 Palestinians have died as a result of clashes in the West Bank. In some cases Israeli troops have been fired upon by small arms during security raids, as Jenin remains under total military-imposed lockdown.

    Another deadly operation has been reported in The New York Times Thursday as follows:

    A three-day Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin appeared to end on Thursday; the Palestinian Health Ministry said that during the raid, Israeli forces killed at least 12 people and wounded 34 others.

    Residents reported seeing Israeli military vehicles leaving the city on Thursday afternoon, signaling an end to the unusually long operation inside Jenin and its refugee camp, a stronghold of Palestinian armed resistance in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Thursday.

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    The IDF has said over 900 Palestinians have been detained from Jenin alone for suspected attacks or terror related activity. Thursday’s raid saw another 100 added to that, as the raids intensify and become more aggressive, according to local eyewitnesses.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 18:40

  • Apple Quietly Changes Policy, Search Warrant Now Required To Send Certain Customer Data To Law Enforcement
    Apple Quietly Changes Policy, Search Warrant Now Required To Send Certain Customer Data To Law Enforcement

    Authored by Stephen Katte via The Epoch Times,

    Apple has quietly changed its legal guidelines to now require U.S. law enforcement agencies to obtain a court order if they want access to specific aspects of the tech giant’s customer data.

    In Apple’s updated guidelines, the tech giant will now only share customer data about push notifications with law enforcement “in response to a search warrant issued upon a showing of probable cause, or customer consent.” In the past, the company accepted a subpoena to hand over customer data.

    The critical difference between the two is that a subpoena compels the company to act in response to a request for information. In contrast, a search warrant is far more aggressive and authorizes a legal authority to take action to retrieve the information.

    Push notification data is considered especially sensitive because the alerts inform the smartphone user about breaking news, weather bulletins, and other everyday content. At the same time, the data can reveal a great deal about users’ online activities.

    For requests about other types of data, such as information related to device registration or customer service, Apple has kept its initial guidelines and will comply with law enforcement if presented with “a subpoena or greater legal process.”

    According to Apple’s guidelines, the company can also decide to share customer data with law enforcement in cases of emergency, when there is no time to go through the proper legal channels if it is believed lives are in danger or national security is at immediate risk. However, Apple says not all requests are granted. Each one is considered by its team of legal experts and can still face rejection.

    A trained team in our legal department reviews and evaluates all requests received, and requests which Apple determines to have no valid legal basis or considers to be unclear, inappropriate, or over-broad are objected, challenged, or rejected,” the guidelines state.

    Cause of Policy Shift Unknown

    The tech giant didn’t formally announce the policy shift, and what sparked the change is unclear. Some competitors in the tech space, such as Google, already require a court order for law enforcement to get push notification-related data.

    Last week, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote to the Department of Justice, warning he received a tip that foreign governments had requested Apple and Google to hand over records of smartphone notifications. He didn’t provide any extra details about which governments had made the request.

    “Apple and Google should be permitted to be transparent about the legal demands they receive, particularly from foreign governments, just as the companies regularly notify users about other types of government demands for data,” Sen. Wyden said in his letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

    “These companies should be permitted to generally reveal whether they have been compelled to facilitate this surveillance practice, to publish aggregate statistics about the number of demands they receive, and unless temporarily gagged by a court, to notify specific customers about demands for their data.”

    It’s not publicly known if the scrutiny sparked by Sen. Wyden’s letter had any bearing on Apple’s policy change or if the shift was already planned and the timing was just a coincidence.

    The Epoch Times has contacted Apple and Sen. Ron Wyden for further comment.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 18:20

  • Washington Lawmaker Wants To Toss People In Jail For Using Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Because They "Contribute To Climate Change"
    Washington Lawmaker Wants To Toss People In Jail For Using Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Because They “Contribute To Climate Change”

    Democrat lawmakers in Washington State want to jail residents for using gas-powered landscaping tools such as leaf blowers and edgers.

    State Rep. Amy Walen (D-Kirkland) has pre-filed legislation which would radically alter the state’s Clean Air Act, according to Jason Rantz of MyNorthwest, who reports that HB 1868 would ban “gasoline-powered and diesel-powered landscaping and other outdoor power equipment” for “contributing to climate change.”

    As Rantz further explains, the bill contains a laundry list of unintended health consequences tied to the tools as well, including a claim that they cause asthma.

    The bill gets to the ban by empowering the Department of Ecology to “adopt rules to prohibit engine exhaust and evaporative emissions from new outdoor power equipment” by either January 1, 2026 or sooner, if the state determines it’s feasible to do so earlier. Washingtonians are expected to upgrade their equipment to zero-emission alternatives. Government work, however, is partly exempt.

    To make the transition more palatable, the zero-emission alternatives would not be subject to a sales tax. But it would still be prohibitively expensive for many small businesses. -MyNorthwest

    If a resident violates the law, they could face up to a year in jail and/or a hefty fine.

    Of course, as Rantz further notes, the new law wouldn’t apply to government agencies or contractors working for the government under emergency circumstances.

    We’ll give the last word to Rantz, who suggests that the legislation will harm minorities the most;

    What happened to equity?

    Though Democrats argue their legislation should be viewed through an equity lens, this ban has a disproportionate impact on Latino and black business owners. Nationwide data stated 22.8% of landscaping companies are owned by Hispanics and 14.7% are owned by blacks.

    The cost to transition to zero-emission alternatives is burdensome, too, even with financial assistance provided in the bill. For some businesses, it could still be prohibitively expensive. This financial burden could disproportionately affect minority-owned businesses, potentially leading to a reduction in diversity within the industry, if Democrat talking points are to be believed.

    This ban is also anti-business, of course. Not only will it take landscapers significantly more time to do the same amount of work, thanks to inefficient battery-powered tools, it can be very expensive. Writing in the Orange County Register, Brooke Staggs notes the strain this can put on small businesses: “Commercial-grade electric-powered gear can cost anywhere from 15% to 300% more upfront, before factoring in the cost of batteries, chargers and potential electrical upgrades needed to keep them running all day.”

    Larger companies can more easily absorb the cost of transitioning to electric equipment, but the smaller businesses, which represent the majority of the industry, will struggle. It’s also worth considering the current limitations of electric landscaping equipment, such as battery life and power, which can’t meet the demands of larger or more intensive landscaping projects. Even with tax credits, will they last long enough to cover the constant need to upgrade to better and more efficient technology?

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 12/14/2023 – 18:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Today’s News 14th December 2023

  • Signatories Of Hunter Biden Laptop Letter Now Demand Greater Domestic Surveillance
    Signatories Of Hunter Biden Laptop Letter Now Demand Greater Domestic Surveillance

    Authored by Eric Lundrum via American Greatness,

    A handful of the 51 signatories of the debunked letter which falsely called Hunter Biden’s laptop “Russian disinformation” are now calling on Congress to expand the scope of domestic surveillance in the United States…

    As reported by the Daily Caller, the letter to House lawmakers on Tuesday was signed by former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Deputy Director for the National Security Agency (NSA) Richard Ledgett, former Deputy CIA Director Michael Morell, former CIA Chief of Staff Jeremy Bash, and former NSA General Counsel Glenn Gerstell. All five men had previously signed the controversial letter in 2020 claiming, without evidence, that information found on the recently-unearthed laptop of Hunter Biden was all “Russian propaganda” meant to influence the 2020 election.

    In their new letter, the former intelligence community officials voiced their opposition to a bill that would reduce the ability of intelligence agencies to spy on Americans without a warrant. At the same time, they offered up praise for a bill that would allow surveillance of any location where internet access is provided.

    “We cannot hamstring the U.S. Intelligence Community either by failing to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or by limiting it in ways that would make it difficult for the government to protect Americans,” the letter reads in part.

    “To be clear, Section 702 saves American lives and helps keep Americans safe from international terrorist attacks, foreign cyberattacks, overseas fentanyl suppliers, and other threats to our national security. There’s no substitute for it.”

    In recent weeks, the House Judiciary Committee has been working on possible reforms to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the controversial provision which ultimately allowed the intelligence agencies to spy on then-candidate Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016, under the false pretenses that he was “colluding” with Russia.

    “Reasonable minds might disagree on the details of the various reforms that might be needed, even as included in the [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence] bill,” they add.

    “But it presents a rigorous approach to the challenges and attempts in a responsible way to balance privacy protections and our nation’s safety.

    Despite the claims in their 2020 letter, numerous mainstream media outlets eventually verified the authenticity of Hunter’s laptop and all of the information contained on it, which included details about Hunter’s numerous foreign business deals, his efforts to sell access to his father while he was Vice President, as well as his frequent drug use and solicitation of prostitutes, among other scandalous revelations.

    It has since been revealed that the letter was orchestrated by the Biden campaign, under the direction of then-campaign advisor Antony Blinken, who now serves as Biden’s Secretary of State.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 23:40

  • Trump Demands Action After 20% Of Mail-in Voters Admit To Fraud In 2020 Election Survey
    Trump Demands Action After 20% Of Mail-in Voters Admit To Fraud In 2020 Election Survey

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

    Former President Donald Trump issued an urgent call for action to his fellow Republicans over what he called “the biggest story of the year,” namely a survey showing that 20 percent of mail-in voters admitted to committing at least one kind of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

    Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in New York City, on Dec. 7, 2023. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez-Pool/Getty Images)

    The Heartland/Rasmussen poll, released on Dec. 12, suggests concerning levels of voter fraud in the 2020 election, bolstering President Trump’s longstanding claim that he was cheated out of a victory amid an explosion in mail-in ballots combined with state-level moves by the courts that made it easier to cheat.

    The new survey shows 17 percent of mail-in voters admitting to voting in a state where they are no longer permanent residents; 21 percent filling out ballots for others; 17 percent signing ballots for family members without consent, and 8 percent reporting offers of “pay” or “reward” for their vote.

    What’s more, 10 percent of all respondents to the survey (carried on a representative sample of 1,085 likely voters) said they know a friend, family member, co-worker, or other acquaintance who admitted to casting a mail-in ballot fraudulently.

    Over 43 percent of 2020 votes were cast by mail, which is the highest percentage in U.S. history.

    “Taken together, the results of these survey questions appear to show that voter fraud was widespread in the 2020 election, especially among those who cast mail-in ballots,” the Heartland Institute, a conservative and libertarian public policy think tank, said in a statement.

    ‘Biggest Story of The Year’

    President Trump, who is the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in the 2024 race for the White House, took to social media to call on Republicans to take action in response to the survey’s shocking results.

    “This is the biggest story of the year, and Republicans must do something about it,” the former president wrote. Further, he suggested that unless something is done quickly to address the problem of voter fraud, the issue will cast a pall over the 2024 election.

    “Have to make a move now,” President Trump continued. “Get tough, get smart. Our country is being stolen!

    While Democrats and their allies claim that election fraud is little more than a myth, President Trump has said for years that voter fraud is a pervasive problem in U.S. politics —and insists he was robbed of a win in the 2020 election.

    In a recent interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the former president spoke about what went into his decision to challenge the results.

    “I was listening to different people. And when I added it all up, the election was rigged,” he said, adding that it was his choice to contest the results because “I won the election.”

    ‘Nothing Short of Stunning’

    While Democrats and their allies, along with some in the scientific community, argue that voter fraud was so small in the 2020 elections as to be negligible, the findings of the Heartland/Rasmussen survey bolster President Trump’s claims that he was robbed of victory.

    Justin Haskins, the director of Heartland’s Socialism Research Center and primary author of the Heartland/Rasmussen survey, said in a statement that the results of the poll are “nothing short of stunning.”

    For the past three years, Americans have repeatedly been told that the 2020 election was the most secure in history. But if this poll’s findings are reflective of reality, the exact opposite is true,” Mr. Haskins said. “This conclusion isn’t based on conspiracy theories or suspect evidence, but rather from the responses made directly by the voters themselves.”

    Some progress has been made on election integrity measures in over a dozen states in the aftermath of the 2020 election, Mr. Haskins acknowledged. He insisted, however, that “much more” work is needed in most parts of the country to bolster the integrity of elections—and voter confidence that the results reflect the actual will of the people.

    “If America’s election laws do not improve soon, voters and politicians will continue to question the truthfulness and fairness of all future elections,” Mr. Haskins said.

    Some states have reformed their laws and procedures amid widespread vote integrity worries prompted by the 2020 presidential election controversy. However, according to conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, more needs to be done.

    The group’s Election Integrity Scorecard shows that not a single state in the country has a perfect score in a checklist of 12 possible problem spots, including voter ID, accuracy of voter registration lists, and absentee ballot management.

    Tennessee has the best election integrity procedures in the country, with a score of 88 (out of a possible 100), followed by Georgia at 84, Alabama at 82, and Missouri at 83.

    Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, recently wrote that “no state in the country has a perfect score of 100, which means everyone has some work to do.”

    In order to make elections more secure and build shore-up public confidence that the declared results are legitimate, states should ensure that election officials maintain current, accurate voter rolls, he argues.

    Further, they should require photo identification to cast a vote, both in person and absentee, according to Mr. Von Spakovsky, who also argues for a ban on partisan funding  of state and local election offices.

    He pointed to the Heritage Foundation’s Election Fraud Database as a constantly updated record of various cases of voter fraud from across the country.

    “In an era of razor-thin elections, guarding against this type of illegal behavior, as well as errors made by election officials, is especially important,” he wrote.

    In 2024, it could prove critical.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 23:00

  • NYC Finance Jobs Hit Twenty-Year High 
    NYC Finance Jobs Hit Twenty-Year High 

    new report from the New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli reveals that the number of securities-industry workers in New York City has hit a twenty-year high – even as layoffs in the banking industry rise and deal activity continues to slide. 

    DiNapoli said the total headcount at securities firms in NYC increased to 195,100 (based on year-to-date data), the highest level in over 20 years. 

    He added, “Whether firms will retain these additional positions as profits return to normal remains to be seen. Lower profits have also resulted in smaller bonuses, with the bonus pool estimated to be down 21% yearly, meaning a decline in related income tax revenue for the City and State.” 

    Revenues from commissions and underwriting activities plunged by 46.8% over the last two years, as the high cost of credit triggered a massive slowdown in equity issuances, debt issuances, and mergers and acquisitions. 

    Global debt offerings fell from $10.3 trillion in 2021 to $8.3 trillion in 2022 to $4.7 trillion in the first half of 2023. 

    Equity insurances have also tumbled. 

    Global M&A activity has crashed. 

    “These are volatile times in America and globally, and Wall Street’s relatively stable profits and employment levels could change quickly,” DiNapoli said in a statement to Bloomberg. 

    A slide in deal flow has softened earnings and revenues for major banks, including Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs, who have all trimmed their respective headcount. 

    He continued, “Further declines could weaken New York’s tax revenue from the securities industry and have repercussions for our state and city budgets.”

    While markets have expected the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates at elevated levels for an extended period, it appears the Fed has signaled a major dovish shift on Wednesday, with rates markets pricing in more than five cuts next year. 

    The current freeze in M&A activity could thaw in 2024. 

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    Will 2025 be another bust year for Wall Street? 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 22:40

  • Biden Scores Win As Supreme Court Throws Out Federal COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Cases
    Biden Scores Win As Supreme Court Throws Out Federal COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Cases

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

    The Supreme Court on Dec. 11 threw out three cases involving federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates, handing a win to President Joe Biden and his administration.

    President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the East Room of the White House in Washington on June 8, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    In unsigned rulings, the justices said that rulings against mandates imposed by President Biden and the U.S. military have been vacated.

    They also remanded the cases back to lower courts with instructions for the courts to vacate preliminary injunctions that had been in place against the administration as moot.

    The decisions mean that the rulings won’t act as precedent in future vaccine mandate cases.

    “We believe the United States Constitution clearly does not permit the federal government to force federal workers—or any law abiding citizen—to inject their bodies with something against their will. In fact, the freedom to control your own body and your own medical information is so basic that, without those liberties, it is impossible to truly be ‘free’ at all,” Marcus Thornton, president of Feds for Freedom, said in a statement. “We are disappointed that the Supreme Court dodged these important Constitutional arguments and instead chose to vacate our case on technicalities.

    One case was brought by Feds for Freedom and involved President Biden’s mandate for federal employees. The mandate was imposed in 2021, with the president claiming that vaccination was the “best way to slow the spread of COVID-19” and that requiring vaccination would “promote the health and safety of the federal workforce and the efficiency of the civil service.”

    An appeals court this year reinforced a preliminary injunction entered by a lower court, ruling that the court system—not a board composed of people appointed by the president—has jurisdiction over the case.

    U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown had ruled previously that the president lacked the authority to impose the vaccine mandate.

    Another case was brought by a federal worker who recovered from COVID-19 and thus enjoyed some protection against the illness but was still being forced to receive a vaccination under President Biden’s mandate because the government refused to formally recognize the post-infection protection. Jason Payne, the worker, said the mandate exceeded President Biden’s authority.

    In the third case, federal judges ruled that the U.S. Air Force’s handling of its mandate was illegal, and prevented the branch from taking disciplinary action against members who had requested religious exemptions.

    Government lawyers urged the Supreme Court to rule the decisions in these cases as moot, given that the vaccine mandates were ended.

    “Consistent with this court’s ordinary practice under such circumstances, the court should grant the petition for a writ of certiorari, vacate the judgment below, and remand with instructions to direct the district court to dismiss its order granting a preliminary injunction as moot,” the lawyers wrote in one petition to the court.

    Mr. Payne’s lawyers also asked for the decisions to be ruled as moot, after two courts ruled against him and following the rescinding of the mandate that affected him.

    Lawyers for the other federal workers and for the military members opposed the request.

    The government was asking the Supreme Court to endorse a “heads we win, tails you get vacated” version of a previous court decision, United States v. Munsingwear, lawyers for the federal workers wrote in one brief. If granted, the government would be able to “litigate to the hilt in both district and circuit court and—only if they lose—then decline to seek substantive review from this court and instead moot the case and ask this court to erase the circuit court loss from the books,” according to the brief.

    Lawyers for the military members noted that Congress forced the military to rescind its mandate, but that the legislation didn’t prevent the Department of Defense from issuing another mandate.

    Government lawyers said the mandates were rescinded because the pandemic situation had changed, not because they were challenged. They also argued that the mandates “cannot be reasonably expected to recur.”

    Lawyers for the military members said that the claim was “in serious tension” with the demand to vacate the rulings under the Munsingwear precedent, given that the purpose of such a move “is to clear the path for future re-litigation without res judicata concerns.”

    None of the Supreme Court justices except for Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was appointed by President Biden, explained their decisions on the cases.

    “Although I would require that the party seeking vacatur establish equitable entitlement to that remedy, I accede to vacatur here based on the court’s established practice when the mootness occurs through the unilateral action of the party that prevailed in the lower court,” she said in regard to Mr. Payne’s case.

    In the two other cases, Justice Jackson said that the government hadn’t “established equitable entitlement” to vacatur, but that she concurred with the overall judgment from her colleagues.

    She cited a Dec. 5 decision in which the court ruled against a civil rights activist who sought a ruling that would force hotels to make information for disabled people publicly available.

    Justice Jackson sided with the majority in that ruling but contested the majority’s decision to vacate a lower court ruling, arguing that vacatur—or the setting aside of the judgment—shouldn’t be granted automatically.

    “Automatic vacatur plainly flouts the requirement of an individualized, circumstance-driven fairness evaluation, which, as I have explained, is the hallmark of an equitable remedy,” she wrote.

    It’s also “flatly inconsistent with our common-law tradition of case-by-case adjudication, which ‘assumes that judicial decisions are valuable and should not be cast aside lightly,'” Justice Jackson said, quoting from yet another ruling.

    “As a general matter, I believe that a party who claims equitable entitlement to vacatur must explain what harm—other than having to accept the law as the lower court stated it—flows from the inability to appeal the lower court decision.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 22:20

  • "Most Of The World Was Against Me": Djokovic Says He's Not Anti-Vaccine, But 'Pro-Freedom To Choose'
    “Most Of The World Was Against Me”: Djokovic Says He’s Not Anti-Vaccine, But ‘Pro-Freedom To Choose’

    The world’s #1 tennis player Novak Djokovic says that he’s not against vaccination – he’s for people’s right to choose for themselves.

    Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a forehand against Daniil Medvedev of Russia (not pictured) in the men’s singles final on day fourteen of the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York, on Sept. 12, 2021. (Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters)

    Djokovic, who faced significant backlash for his vaccination status, especially in Australia, told 60 Minutes about the ordeal, saying he was “basically declared as a villain of the world,” after refusing to take the Covid-19 vaccine in early 2022. While he initially received a vaccine exemption to play in the Australian Open, public outcry led to Australian immigration minister Alex Hawke revoking his visa, barring him from competition, and then deporting the tennis pro on the grounds that he was a “high-profile unvaccinated individual” who could influence public sentiment about vaccination.

    “People tried to, you know, declare me as an anti-vax. I’m not anti-vax. Nor I am pro-vax. I’m pro-freedom to choose,” he said.

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    Most of the world [was] against me. I had that kind of experience on the tennis court with crowds that were not maybe cheering me on. But I never had this particular experience before in my life,” he continued.

    This decision, which led to Djokovic’s exclusion from the Australian Open and subsequent U.S. Open, was met with a mix of criticism and support, while the legal battle that ensued raised questions about the role of public figures in influencing health decisions.

    Djokovic’s lawyers argued that his presence was not a risk to public health and that the visa cancellation could actually fuel anti-vaccination sentiment. However, the court sided with the minister, suggesting Djokovic’s choices could indeed foster anti-vaccination views.

    Greg Barns S.C., spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, described the visa ban as “troubling” in a free society. Yet, the Australian government later overturned the ban, allowing Djokovic to participate in the 2023 Australian Open.

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    Amidst this controversy, a broader conversation emerged about vaccinating athletes. A letter by cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough and structural biologist Panagis Polykretis revealed a startling number of cardiac arrests and major medical issues in vaccinated athletes, raising concerns about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in high-performance sports.

    “Important reminder that Djokovic has NEVER said he was against vaccines. He even confirmed that he had all the vaccines as a child but when it came to the brand new Covid vaccine he was an advocate of freedom of choice and that everyone should be free to make their own decisions,” said Pavvy G, a tennis blogger, in a Dec. 9 post on X, the Epoch Times reports.

    Moderna, a key player in vaccine development, reportedly placed Djokovic on a “vaccine misinformation” watch list. His victory at the Moderna-sponsored U.S. Open was seen by some as a challenge to vaccine mandates, with social media users highlighting the irony of his unvaccinated status in a tournament sponsored by a leading vaccine manufacturer.

    The pharma company claimed that unvaccinated people were celebrating his win, with social media users “mockingly” pointing out that Moderna was the sponsor of the competition. The firm said that the “optics of Djokovic” bolster “anti-vaccine claims that vaccines—and mandates—are unnecessary.” -Epoch Times

    Bravo for standing your ground, Novak.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 22:00

  • Florida High School Fined For Letting Boy Play On Female Sports Team
    Florida High School Fined For Letting Boy Play On Female Sports Team

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

    A Florida high school has been fined for letting a boy who claims he’s a girl play on a female sports team.

    Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Fla., in January 2023. (Google Maps/Screenshot via The Epoch Times)

    Allowing the transgender student to play volleyball with girls was violative of state law and Florida High School Athletic Association policy, the association informed Monarch High School in a Dec. 12 letter.

    The association’s policy states that boys may not participate on female sports teams “if the school’s overall boys’ athletic program equals or exceeds the girls’ overall athletic program.”

    A Florida law passed in 2021 and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, bars males who identify as females from participating in women’s sports. The law was upheld recently by a federal court.

    Broward County officials reported to the athletic association that a male had played on the girls’ volleyball team, prompting an investigation.

    The investigation resulted in the determination that the school violated the law and association policy, and the association levied a $16,500 fine, Justin Harrison, an associate executive director with the association, informed the school and county in the new letter.

    The fine is based on the number of games the volleyball team played in recent years.

    The association is also formally reprimanding the school, which means the school will have an official censure on its record; placing it on administrative probation through November 2024; requiring school representatives to attend a compliance seminar; and requiring the school to host association staff for a compliance workshop.

    Dorian Norton, the boy who says he’s a girl, is also not eligible to participate in sports at any schools that are a member of the association. The boy participated in two seasons of volleyball.

    “Thanks to the leadership of Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida passed legislation to protect girls’ sports and we will not tolerate any school that violates this law,” Manny Diaz Jr., Florida’s education commissioner, told The Epoch Times via email. “We applaud the swift action taken by the Florida High School Athletic Association to ensure there are serious consequences for this illegal behavior.”

    The Florida Department of Education previously said in a statement: “Under Governor DeSantis, boys will never be allowed to play girls’ sports. It’s that simple.

    Mr. DeSantis said when signing the law, “We believe in the state of Florida protecting the fairness and integrity of women’s athletics.”

    The letter was first reported by the Daily Signal.

    Moira Sweeting-Miller, the principal of Monarch High School, and Broward County Superintendent Peter Licata did not respond to requests for comment.

    Broward County Public Schools has a policy that transgender students should play on the sports team that corresponds with their gender identity. But Mr. Licata told reporters in November that, moving forward, the district would make sure students were “eligible for the sport they’re playing … in accordance with state law” and association policy.

    Court Ruling

    Dorian and Dorian’s parents brought a legal case against the law, arguing it illegally discriminated against transgender females in violation of the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

    Title IX says, for instance, that no person in the United States “shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity, receiving Federal financial assistance.”

    Broward County receives federal assistance, as does the athletic association either directly or indirectly, the suit stated.

    Under Title IX, excluding transgender individuals from school programs or athletic opportunities within schools is discrimination on the basis of sex,” it alleged.

    U.S. District Judge Roy Altman disagreed, ruling against the plaintiffs.

    The law “simply provides that, consistent with the inherent biological differences between the sexes, biological boys (of whatever gender identity) cannot play on girls’ sports teams,” said Judge Altman, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

    He noted that under the law, Dorian can still play on boys’ teams or coed teams.

    Dorian and his parents had accused state legislators of animus against trangender people, including state Sen. Kelli Stargel, who said at a press briefing that “men are stronger than women.”

    The judge said the legislators were merely emphasizing “the inherent biological differences between men and women in a way that comports with [the law’s] express interest in giving female athletes an opportunity ‘to demonstrate their strength, skills, and athletic abilities,’—without having to compete with biological men.”

    Dorian’s family says Dorian identified as a girl from a very young age when the boy Dorian was 5 or 6, his parents “realized based on D.N.’s behavior and statements, that their daughter was transgender.”

    Dorian was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at 7 and shortly after began using a girl’s name, the family said.

    At age 11, Dorian took puberty blockers, and recently started taking estrogen and will continue to do so for the rest of his life, the suit stated.

    Making Dorian participate on boys’ teams would open him up to “an invasion of privacy” because he identifies as a girl, he and his parents said. “It is not an option for her to be on the boys’ team, because she is not a boy,” they said.

    Losing the ability to participate on female teams would lead the boy to stop playing sports altogether, the family said.

    Some students spoke out in support of letting the student play.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 21:40

  • Tech Bros Fight Back Against Democrat Socialist Who Blames "Capitalism" For Poop-Covered San Fran Streets 
    Tech Bros Fight Back Against Democrat Socialist Who Blames “Capitalism” For Poop-Covered San Fran Streets 

    The CEO of startup incubator Y Combinator, a registered Democrat, has had enough of radical progressive lawmakers in his own political party who have done nothing more than transform San Francisco into a crime-ridden hellhole with shit-covered streets

    The San Francisco Standard has described Garry Tan as the metro area’s “preeminent political pitbull, an attack dog with a taste for progressives.” This is because Tan, along with other tech bros, have been funding campaigns to rid the city of awful progressives, such as former Soros-backed District Attorney of San Fran Chesa Boudin. 

    Tan’s latest post on X quoted a New York Post article about San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston’s claim the city’s collapse into turmoil is a direct result of “capitalism.” 

    “You understand why I donated $50K this year just to get this guy out of office, right?” Tan wrote. 

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    Elon Musk commented on Tan’s post, “Wow.” 

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    Preston’s District 5 includes the Tenderloin District, a part of the town with shit-covered streets, open-air drug markets, a huge homeless population, and violent crime.

    The Democratic Socialist blamed his district’s woes on capitalism:

    “I think what you’re seeing in the Tenderloin is absolutely the result of capitalism and what happens in capitalism to the people at the bottom rungs.” 

    The socialist continued: 

    “The biggest driver of why folks are on the street is because they lost their jobs, income or were evicted from their homes, usually for not being able to pay the rent. So you have major landlords literally causing folks to lose their homes, and real estate speculation making it impossible for folks to find an affordable place to live.” 

    Preston has been an advocate for disastrous social justice policies and continues to call for defunding the police. He noted:

    “I think we have a very, very bloated police budget. All kinds of waste in the police department. I could cut $100 million out of the department.” 

    Musk has called for Preston to be fired:

    “He is arguably the person most responsible for the destruction of San Francisco.” 

    We must add that capitalism in the metro area worked fine until radical leftists took control of City Hall and implemented one failed public policy after another for more than a decade. 

    X users expressed similar sentiments:

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    At least Mayor London Breed recognized the shifting winds and made a gigantic U-Turn this past summer to refund the police as her 2024 re-election bid remains murky due to a failed crime plan. 

    Oddly enough, Democrats decided to clean up the homeless, open-air drug markets, and shit-covered streets (only temporarily) when Chinese President Xi Jinping came into the town for a major economic conference last month. This leads us to believe that crime-ridden streets, a by-product of failed progressive public policies, are a manufactured crisis with sinister intentions. 

    At least now, Silicon Valley tech bros are fighting back against rogue Democrats to save the city. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 21:20

  • 70% Of Deaths From Pfizer Vaccine In Japan Reported Within 10 Days Of Jab: Study
    70% Of Deaths From Pfizer Vaccine In Japan Reported Within 10 Days Of Jab: Study

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

    Around 70 percent of people who died in Japan after receiving a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine lost their lives in the first 10 days following the jab, according to a recent study.

    Syringes and vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be administered at a drive-up vaccination site in Reno, Nev., on Dec. 17, 2020. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

    The peer-reviewed Japanese study, published in the Cureus journal on Dec. 7, looked at the association between Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination and deaths within 10 days of vaccination.

    The risk period was defined as within 10 days of vaccination, with vaccination day being Day 1, and the control period defined as 11 to 180 days after vaccination.

    The analysis was divided into two groups: Group 1 representing individuals aged 65 and above and Group 2, which included people aged 64 and below.

    The researcher identified 1,311 deaths in Group 1, which included 662 males and 649 females. In Group 2, the team identified 247 deaths—155 males and 92 females.

    The percentage of reported cases that experienced death within 10 days after vaccination was 71 percent in Group 1 and 70 percent in Group 2,” said the study results.

    Over-65s

    In Group 1, more women than men died overall from various medical conditions in the first 10 days of vaccination. Following the 10 days, there were more deaths reported of men.

    Most of the post-vaccine deaths happened on the second day, followed by the third and fourth days.

    Other than “unexplained deaths,” the biggest cause of death in this group was ischemic heart disease (119 deaths), followed by heart failure (92), and aspiration pneumonia/asphyxia (72). Autopsies were performed in eight of the 239 unexplained death cases.

    Group 2

    In Group 2, over two times more men died than women from various medical conditions during the first 10 days of vaccination. Overall deaths after the initial 10 days were only slightly higher among men.

    The highest number of post vaccination deaths were registered on the third day, followed by the fourth, second, and fifth days.

    After “unexplained deaths,” the biggest cause of death in this group was ischemic heart disease (27 deaths), cardiac arrhythmias (24), subarachnoid hemorrhage (20), and myocarditis/pericarditis (17). Autopsies were conducted in nine out of the 51 unexplained deaths.

    There was an outsized difference in male–female deaths owing to myocarditis/pericarditis during the “risk period,” with eight men dying compared to just one woman. Heart failure resulted in the deaths of nine men compared to two women.

    Some myocarditis/pericarditis cases may be included within the unexplained deaths category. Myocarditis is a complication of vaccination, especially in young adults and adolescent males,” said the study.

    One contributing factor for higher deaths of men during the first 10 days is “thought to be the high number of myocarditis/pericarditis deaths including undiagnosed cases.”

    For both groups, the other death causes were: cardiac arrhythmias, aortic aneurysm/dissection, intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, cerebral infarction, respiratory failure, interstitial lung diseases, pulmonary embolism, pneumonia, sepsis, anaphylaxis, thrombocytopenia, and marasmus.

    In short, many more older Japanese women and men below 64 faced a higher risk of death immediately within the first 10 days of Pfizer vaccination.

    Male–Female Differences, Study Limitations

    The author, Yasusi Suzumura, calculated sex ratios for all-cause deaths and each outcome by dividing the number of males by that of females and multiplying by 100. That is, the higher the sex ratio, the greater the number of male deaths.

    The author found notable differences between the number of deaths of men and women in both groups, impacting the study’s sex ratio.

    “If there is no effect on the occurrence of death, there should be no difference in sex ratios by period. Thus, this finding indicates that vaccination may influence the occurrence of death during the risk period and might be associated with death,” the study stated.

    The data on death numbers for the study were sourced from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW).

    Specifically, cases involving only the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA vaccination reported between Feb. 17, 2021, and March 12, 2023, were included.

    The study does not directly link the deaths with the vaccinations. “The results indicate that the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination may influence the occurrence of death during the risk period,” said the study.

    The author pointed to some of the limitations of the study including that the number of days from vaccination to death may vary depending on treatment, and that the study did not consider the effects of the vaccination after 11 days.

    Besides this, the author said the sex-based reporting could have only been performed by a few doctors, and that the mortality rates could not be calculated because the analysis was performed only for deaths after vaccination.

    The study had a limited sample size, and hence should be “carefully” interpreted. “Finally, the analysis results should be carefully interpreted because not all deaths reported to the MHLW were related to vaccination. Incidental deaths may be included in the reported deaths.”

    The study author stressed that since vaccines are administered to mostly healthy individuals, it should have a “higher level of safety than pharmaceuticals used for treatment and should have an exceptionally low vaccination mortality rate.”

    Therefore, even when the vaccination mortality rate is exceptionally low, vaccine safety must be analyzed with statistical methods.

    “On this occasion, it is difficult to determine whether a post-vaccination death is incidental or vaccine-related,” said the study. However, the author concluded that this approach can offer valuable insights into assessing vaccine safety.

    The Epoch Times reached out to Pfizer for comment.

    ‘Similar to Vaccine Deaths in US’

    Commenting on the study, cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough said that the data on “COVID-19 vaccination and death in Japan is very similar to vaccine deaths in US/Domestic cases in VAERS,” according to a Dec. 9 X post. “Strongly supports causality for the nearly 1150 immediate deaths observed.”

    VAERS has reported 18,188 deaths from COVID-19 vaccination through Sept. 29, 2023, with 1,150 deaths occurring on the same day as the vaccination.

    In addition, 2,040 miscarriages, 9,053 heart attacks, 17,433 permanent disabilities, 5,057 myocarditis/pericarditis cases, and 36,184 severe allergic reactions were also reported.

    The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons also shared the Japanese study on X.

    The study author clarified that they have received “no financial support” from any organization for their submitted work.

    Multiple other studies have also linked COVID-19 vaccines with higher mortality rates. A Sept. 17 report by Correlation Research in the Public Interest found that in the 17 nations analyzed, all-cause mortality increased when COVID-19 vaccines were distributed.

    Nine out of these 17 nations had no detectable excess deaths following the March 2020 WHO declaration of the pandemic. Excess deaths only began with the vaccination campaign.

    In 15 of the 17 nations, there were unprecedented peaks in all-cause mortality in January and February 2022, which coincided with or followed the rollout of booster shots.

    The study estimated 1.74 million excess deaths in the 17 nations during the vaccination period, which comes to roughly 1 per 800 injections.

    Meanwhile, Japan has approved the world’s first self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, although the manufacturer has not published safety or efficacy data for the shot.

    The latest iteration of the mRNA vaccine is even more potent than the present version, as it generates more spike proteins in the human body.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 21:00

  • DC Transit Could Become "Unrecognizable" With Drastic Service Cuts, Layoffs Amid Deficit
    DC Transit Could Become “Unrecognizable” With Drastic Service Cuts, Layoffs Amid Deficit

    Millions of metro riders in crime-ridden Washington, DC, could face hellish commutes in the coming months as the district’s public transportation system head warned of potential dramatic service and job cuts to close a $750 million budget gap. 

    It’s “no secret we have massive budget challenges,” Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority general manager and CEO Randy Clarke said during a briefing Monday. 

    WMATA plans to reduce its 12,000-person workforce by nearly 20% or approximately 2,300 people. The reduction will lead to reliability issues across the metro’s network, a decline in safety, and dirtier stations. 

    During the presentation, a slide was shown depicting WMATA’s bleak outlook: “Balancing Budget with Severe Service Cuts Would Make Metro Unrecognizable.”

    Clarke pointed out the level of proposed service cuts “is hard to imagine.” 

    This also includes reducing or eliminating service on 108 of its 135 bus lines. The rail system will have its midnight hours reduced by 2 hours and cease operations at 10 pm. 

    Furthermore, Clarke’s budget calls for increased ticket prices on trains and busses, upwards of 20%. This means a regular Metrorail fare could cost $7.20 per trip. 

    Here’s an overview of the potential changes to WMATA’s services if the budget gap is not filled (list courtesy of NBC Washington): 

    Metrorail

    • All stations would close at 10 pm. Currently, the earliest Metro normally closes is midnight.
    • Ten stations would be shut down completely. WMATA has not decided which stations would close, but the final decision would be based on ridership numbers.
    • Metro frequency would be reduced. Right now, the majority of Metro trains arrive every six minutes or less, but without a funding fix come July of next year, the percentage of trains with six-minute service or better would drop to just 10%.

    Metrobus

    • Metro could eliminate nearly half of its bus lines. Under the proposed budget, 67 of the existing 135 lines would be eliminated. Another 41 lines would see service reductions.
    • A third of bus service would be cut across D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

    Fare increases

    • Metro warned of a 20% increase in fares and parking fees. For example, the max fare on Metrorail right now is $6. Under the proposed budget, a Metrorail fare would be capped at $7.20.

    Job cuts

    • In January 2024, Metro plans to freeze salary and wage increases.
    • In July 2024, 2,286 employees would be laid off.

    The potential service cuts would only hurt the working poor because an increasing number of them have been forced to rely solely on public transportation in an era of failed ‘Bidenomics.’ 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 20:40

  • Peter Schiff: Joe Biden Doesn't Have Anything To Take Credit For
    Peter Schiff: Joe Biden Doesn’t Have Anything To Take Credit For

    Via SchiffGold.com,

    Most mainstream pundits characterized the November jobs report as a “Goldilocks” report. Job growth was strong enough to support the “soft landing” narrative but not so strong it might scare the Fed into raising interest rates again.

    President Joe Biden used the report to boast about his economic achievements. But according to Peter Schiff, Biden doesn’t have anything to boast about. He talked about it during a recent interview on the Capitol Report on NTD News.

    After the jobs report came out, Biden released a statement bragging, “On my watch, we have achieved better growth and lower inflation than any other advanced country. A year ago, forecasters said it couldn’t be done.”

    As far as Biden taking credit for the strong economy, Peter said he doesn’t think there is anything for the president to take credit for.

    First of all, the job numbers – sure, it was better than expected. But we’ll probably end up revising it to ‘worse than expected’ next month. That’s pretty much what they do. They come out with a number and then the following month they revise it lower.”

    Peter pointed out that 24% of the “new jobs” were striking auto workers and motion picture workers going back to jobs they already had.

    That’s not really job creation.”

    And 82% of the remaining jobs created were in the government and healthcare sectors.

    These are not the productive jobs that are producing goods that we need, that we can consume, that we can export. And all these government workers have to be paid for by the private sector. That means the government has to run even bigger deficits. That means they have to create more inflation to pay their salaries. That puts more upward pressure on prices. I don’t think we have a strong labor market.”

    Meanwhile, the economy is creating a lot of part-time, low-wage jobs.

    People are taking second and third jobs because the economy is so weak that you can’t get by on one job anymore. So, most people need multiple jobs.”

    The NTD anchor noted that gold hit a record high prior to the jobs report. What does that say about the state of the economy?

    Peter said he thinks if people understood how bad things really are, and how much worse it will likely get, they would be buying even more gold. For one thing, despite Biden bragging about “lower inflation” Peter said it’s a huge problem that’s going to get worse.

    The talk of the Fed successfully returning inflation to 2% — that’s all talk. It’s not going to happen. The genie is out of the bottle. There’s no putting it back in.”

    Peter said in the meantime, we’re heading toward a severe recession.

    I think we’re going to have a worse financial crisis than the one we had in 2008. In fact, we’d already be in it if it wasn’t for the bailouts of the banks earlier in the year, back in March. But that has a short shelf-life. I think the problems underlying the banking system are building. The entire banking system is insolvent based on more than 10 years of zero percent rates. They’ve loaded up on long-term, low-yielding bonds. They’re underwater in those positions. Meanwhile, I think the real economy is weakening. The deficits are skyrocketing.”

    And as the national debt surges upward, the interest expense on the debt is rising. Interest expense rose by 23% to $879 billion in fiscal 2023.

    This is a fiscal time bomb that’s going to blow, and I think people would be buying more gold if they understood how short this fuse was.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 20:20

  • Ford CEO Says Video Of Stuck Cybertruck Was Not Intentionally Staged For PR Purposes 
    Ford CEO Says Video Of Stuck Cybertruck Was Not Intentionally Staged For PR Purposes 

    Ford CEO Jim Farley made an odd comment on ‘free speech’ social media platform X, stating that the video of a Tesla Cybertruck getting stuck on a snow-covered grassy hill and winched up by a Super Duty truck was “NOT advertising.”

    “Just to be clear… this is a Super Duty and NOT advertising. Glad a @Ford owner was there to help,” Farley wrote on X. 

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    This isn’t the first instance where the rival Cybertruck has been compared with a Ford truck. Last month, the CEO posted a video showing the F-150 Lightning climbing the same off-roading trail where a Cybertruck seemed to have difficulty just a few weeks early. Farley captioned the video with “F-150 Lightning does it all.” 

    Or does it?

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    Meanwhile, demand for F-150 Lightnings has plunged as the legacy automaker plans a 2024 production capacity of 150,000 Lightnings a year, or about 3,200 per week. That means its production target for next year will be halved.

    It’s unclear whether the Cybertruck incident was intentionally staged to portray Tesla negatively and highlight Super Duty’s capabilities.

    What is particularly noteworthy is the unusual comment made by the CEO of Ford.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 20:00

  • Final Batch Of Pfizer Documents Released By FDA
    Final Batch Of Pfizer Documents Released By FDA

    Authored by Megan Redshaw via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    (Marco Lazzarini/Shutterstock)

    The FDA released the final batch of documents it relied upon in licensing Pfizer’s Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine for ages 16 and up—more than 800 days after the agency approved the shot.

    The documents are “finally in the hands of the public, where they belong,” the Informed Consent Action Network said in a press release. “Now, independent scientists and researchers can see everything FDA saw when it made its decision that this vaccine was ‘safe and effective.’”

    The recent documents disclosed as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) show the agency knew its safety monitoring system was “not sufficient” for assessing the risk of heart conditions associated with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine when it licensed the company’s “Comirnaty” vaccine.

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    Documents also reveal numerous manufacturing problems in Pfizer batches released to the public and show the FDA knew about a phenomenon known as vaccine-associated enhanced disease (VAED) in those vaccinated who experience breakthrough COVID-19.

    FDA Knew Safety Monitoring System Was ‘Not Sufficient’

    Federal health agencies claim COVID-19 vaccines are part of the “most intensive vaccine safety monitoring effort in U.S. history,” with “continuous” and “robust” safety monitoring that helps ensure that the vaccine’s benefits outweigh any risks. Yet the final documents released from Pfizer’s biologic product file reveal the agency knew its safety monitoring program was not sufficient to assess the serious risks of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

    An FDA memo in the 51,893 pages of disclosures specifically addressed the agency’s CBER Sentinel Initiative and its ability to evaluate the risk for myocarditis and pericarditis following COVID-19 vaccination. The Sentinel program is the FDA’s national electronic system used to monitor the “safety of its regulated products” and is a “major part” of the agency’s mission to “protect public health.”

    The memo states:

    “The CBER Sentinel Program is NOT sufficient to assess the serious risks of myocarditis and pericarditis, and subclinical myocarditis associated with COMIRNATY (BNT162b2) in lieu of PMR safety studies under FDAAA [Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act].

    “At the time of BLA [Biologics License Application] approval, the data sources in the CBER Sentinel Program are not sufficient to identify the outcomes due to lack of sufficient power to assess the magnitude of risk in patients 12-30 years of age. In addition, CBER Sentinel Program is not sufficient to follow up cases for recovery status and long-term sequelae, or for identification and characterization of subclinical myocarditis cases.”

    Cardiac Disorders Higher in Vaccine Trial Group

    According to an Aug. 23, 2021, BLA Clinical Review Memorandum, there were more cardiac disorders in trial participants who received Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine compared to the placebo group and more instances of tachycardia in the younger vaccinated age group.

    Cardiac conditions were reported as the cause of death in nine participants 25 to 128 days after having received at least one dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, including seven cases of cardiac arrest, one case of cardiovascular disease, and one case of congestive heart failure.

    Five cardiac-related deaths in the placebo group occurred 15 to 81 days after having received a placebo, including two cases of myocardial infarction, one aortic rupture, and two cardiac arrests.

    “Because COVID-19 mRNA and its Spike protein are found in the human heart at autopsy causing inflammation and heart damage, it is incontrovertible that the COVID-19 vaccines are cardiotoxic,” cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough told The Epoch Times in an email.

    “Younger individuals with healthy hearts take up more of the damaging vaccine into the cardiac tissue resulting in symptoms of chest pain, palpitations, fluctuations in blood pressure, dizziness, and sadly, some, end up with cardiac arrest either during exercise or in the early morning waking hours. At both time periods, an internal surge of adrenalin appears to be the trigger for the fatal arrhythmia in those with COVID-19 vaccine myocarditis,” he added.

    Despite nearly double the number of reported cardiac events in vaccine recipients versus placebo recipients, the FDA concluded the deaths were “unlikely to be related to vaccination.”

    As a cardiologist, these serious adverse events are unacceptable,” Dr. McCullough said. “I have called for all COVID-19 vaccines to be removed from the market with an urgent push for research strategies to prevent cardiac death after injection.”

    Vaccines Released Despite Manufacturing Issues

    According to the Pfizer Andover Response to Form FDA 483 included in the released documents, numerous manufacturing issues and inadequacies in quality oversight were also identified. Several batches of COVID-19 vaccines were flagged for deviating from product quality standards, yet the affected batches were released to the public in various lots, the numbers of which were redacted.

    In November 2021, whistleblower Brook Jackson, who worked as a regional director at testing sites by Pfizer contractor Ventavia, told the British Medical Journal that Pfizer’s trial was riddled with issues. Ms. Jackson said the company “falsified data, unblinded patients, employed inadequately trained vaccinators, and was slow to follow up on adverse events reported in Pfizer’s pivotal phase III trial.”

    Ms. Jackson, a trained clinical trial auditor with more than 15 years of experience in clinical research coordination and management, emailed a complaint to the FDA and was fired later that day. She subsequently filed a lawsuit against Ventavia and Pfizer, alleging Pfizer had defrauded the government while developing its COVID-19 vaccine.

    FDA Acknowledges Vaccine-Associated Enhanced Disease

    In its Pharmacovigilance Plan Review Memorandum, the FDA referenced a condition called “vaccine-associated enhanced disease.” According to the journal Vaccine, VAED is the modified presentation of a clinical infection affecting individuals exposed to the wild-type pathogen after having received a vaccine for the same pathogen.

    In its memo, the FDA stated there are reported deaths in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) in patients reported to be fully vaccinated. Although the agency said that passive surveillance and spontaneous adverse event reporting generally cannot be used to conclude vaccine effectiveness because of the lack of a control group, reporter bias, and underreporting, “severe manifestations and death from COVID-19” increase the possibility of developing VAED, which has “overlapping clinical manifestations with natural SARS-CoV-2 infection, making it difficult to differentiate VAED from severe COVID-19 disease in individual VAERS reports.”

    The FDA said Pfizer was assessing the condition in its continuation of Phase 3 clinical studies and active surveillance studies. VAED has been observed in other vaccine trials involving the dengue virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and measles.

    FDA Took Over 800 Days to Release Data

    The Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency, a nonprofit consisting of public health and medical professionals, scientists, and journalists, filed a FOIA lawsuit against the FDA in September 2021 to force the release of hundreds of thousands of documents relied upon by the agency in licensing Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for individuals age 16 and older.

    Even though the FDA said in a news release it was committed to “ensuring full transparency, dialogue and efficiency” regarding COVID-19 vaccines and reiterated its commitment to full transparency when it licensed Pfizer’s Comirnaty vaccine, they wanted 75 years to produce an estimated 451,000 documents at a rate of 500 pages per month. It previously estimated it had 329,000 pages of responsive records and wanted 55 years to release them to the public.

    Attorney Aaron Siri, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the group, said the federal government was shielding Pfizer from liability, gave it billions of dollars, and forced Americans to get vaccinated while preventing the safety and efficacy data supporting the licensure of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine from being released until the year 2076. Yet it only took 108 days from when Pfizer started producing records to the agency for the FDA to license its vaccine.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 19:40

  • Pentagon Seeks EMP Weapon To Eliminate Drone Swarms 
    Pentagon Seeks EMP Weapon To Eliminate Drone Swarms 

    Faced with the reality that drones are reshaping the modern battlefields in Ukraine and Gaza, the Pentagon has been tasked with finding a budget-friendly solution to eliminate these ‘flying IEDs.’ While missiles are too expensive, and laser beams are a distant dream, the next best cost-effective weapon US military officials are eyeing up could be electromagnetic pulse weapons to counter drone swarms.

    According to the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) website, the US Air Force has published a contract opportunity for private industry titled “Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Defense Against Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).” 

    The service outlined the drone-killing features of the new EMP weapon it is seeking:

    “The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RI) is conducting market research to seek information from industry on the landscape of research and development (R&D) for available Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) solutions towards countering multiple Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). EMP solutions could be ground and/or aerial based that provide effective mitigation against Department of Defense (DoD) UAS groups 1, 2, and smaller group 3 aircraft.” 

    As for an aerial-based EMP weapon, the service explained: 

    “Any EMP solutions hosted on air vehicles will have to be determined to be air-worthy by the Government. DoD must comply with the following general restrictions on UAS: 1. The air vehicle must be based on or derived from US components and electronics. 2. The air vehicle must have sufficient flight hours and reliability data.” 

    The proposed EMP weapon would be able to neutralize drones with a directed EMP blast to damage the electronic parts – this is a much cheaper solution than missiles that cost tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands, a piece. 

     

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 19:20

  • How Tax-Exempt Nonprofits Skirt U.S. Law To Turn Out The Democrat Base In Elections
    How Tax-Exempt Nonprofits Skirt U.S. Law To Turn Out The Democrat Base In Elections

    Authored by Steve Miller via RealClear Wire,

    Even as Democrats such as Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse warn of “right-wing dark-money network seeking to undermine the future of democratic elections in the United States,” progressives have far outstripped Republicans in harnessing the power of putatively non-partisan, nonprofit organizations that push the boundaries to win elections.

    More than 150 progressive nonprofits spent $1.35 billion on political activities in 2021 and 2022, according to data compiled by Restoration of America, a conservative political action committee. Although there are no readily available estimates of comparable conservative efforts, observers say they are overmatched.

    “The liberal nonprofit sector is much bigger than the conservative nonprofit in the political arena,” said Bradley Smith, a former commissioner with the Federal Election Commission and founder of the conservative Institute for Free Speech.

    The progressive nonprofits include faith-based groups, ethnic activist operatives, and colleges and universities, which have taken on an outsized part of the Democratic party’s election strategy.

    The groups work around legal restrictions on nonprofits that accept tax-deductible donations by selectively engaging in nonpartisan efforts including boosting voter education and participation.

    But, like the estimated $332 million that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan donated to public elections offices to help run the 2020 elections, much of it winds up in the hands of groups that operate in liberal strongholds and work with reliably Democratic constituencies.

    This is in part how two influential groups, the Voter Participation Center and its partner group, the Center for Voter Information, increase Democratic turnout.

    Both have the stated mission of encouraging people in specified demographics – “young people, people of color and unmarried women” – to vote. All three groups are part of the Democratic Party’s base. Voters in these groups are up to two-and-a-half times more likely to vote when engaged by a nonprofit, according to research from Nonprofit Vote, an advocacy group for tax-exempt activist groups.

    The value of these groups was underscored when the Biden administration prepared to compose his executive order directing federal agencies to “expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote.” In July 2021 officials met with leading progressive operators, including Democracy Fund, Fair Elections Center, FairVote, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and the George Soros-backed Open Society Policy Center, according to an internal administration email obtained by the Foundation for Government Accountability, a conservative nonprofit that is suing the administration to obtain records related to the executive order.

    The Democratic Party’s stance on issues, from climate change to voting procedures, is also echoed by their nonprofit allies. The Fair Elections Center, for example, calls those who questioned the outcome of the 2020 presidential race “election deniers” who oppose the right to vote. Their stance echoes President Biden, who said last year that there were “more than 300 election deniers on the ballot” for the midterms, adding that “It’s damaging, it’s corrosive, and it’s destructive.”

    Significant funding for these and other voting activist operations flows from the same sources that put millions of dollars into Democratic and progressive campaigns.

    Among them:

    • The Tides Foundation, with $1 billion in revenue in 2020, funds the moveon.org PAC while also giving to the Voter Registration Project, League of Women Voters, and Project Vote. The foundation is one of several Tides nonprofits that operate in the charity world of progressive funding, giving to groups that advocate for abortion rights, gun control, and “equity” causes. Tides is also a partner of Black Lives Matter.
    • New Venture Fund, formed in 2006 as Arabella Legacy Fund, lobbies for progressive causes, including election laws, in 41 states, and in 2020, according to a civil rights lawsuit filed by a former employee, “disbursed nearly $500 million to address progressive issues such as racial justice.” The lawsuit contends New Venture engaged in prohibited partisan political activity, which is disputed by New Venture. New Venture is also a key financial supporter of progressive voting groups American Votes, NAACP National Voter Fund, and Fair Elections Center.
    • The Silicon Valley Community Foundation since 2020 has given $106 million in grants to nonprofits for voter education and turnout. It was the primary conduit of Zuckerberg’s millions in grants that went to public elections offices around the U.S. in 2020 and has donated money to Planned Parenthood and Democracy Now, while its employees have donated exclusively to Democratic candidates.

    The number and funding of electorally active progressive nonprofits have increased dramatically during the past decade. Their get-out-the-vote efforts are replacing those of political campaigns, which traditionally relied on their own staffers to engage voters.

    Much of the switch from party and campaign activity to nonprofits stems from a changing political landscape, which de-emphasizes the short-term goals of candidates (winning elections) to a longer-term vision for party dominance, said Sasha Issenberg, author of “The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns.” His 2012 book chronicled this shift through the increasing use of micro-analytics and social science in voter targeting, a strategy first dominated by Republicans, then updated and refined by Democrats. That refinement was carried out by younger individuals who were comfortable with a collectivist mindset, he said.

    A “historical volunteer culture” set the table for a blossoming of the nonprofit base of the left, Issenberg told RealClearInvestigations. “When you had this era of innovation on the left, it set upon a culture that was already in place and wanted to perfect this idea.”

    The progressive voter groups adroitly navigate tax rules that allow 501(c)(3) nonprofits to engage in voter participation and get-out-the -vote drives provided the effort is not aimed to benefit a political party.

    These groups have access to solid voter and other demographic data, along with large teams of experienced community organizers, said Erick Kaardal, a Minneapolis-based attorney who has filed dozens of election-related lawsuits, some in connection with his role as special counsel for the conservative Thomas More Society.

    “These groups are very good at legal compliance,” Kaardal said. When conservative nonprofits violate the rules, their liberal opponents “justly file complaints.” But Republicans, he said, “are novices … and [conservative nonprofits] also lack the resources [progressives] have. It’s not unfair; they have paid big money to have this well-oiled machine and to keep it legal it takes those resources.”

    Today, tax-exempt entities drive the efforts to get out votes and register voters while engaging in advocacy that virtually copies the platforms of leading elected Democratic officials.

    Under the guise of civic engagement or voter advocacy, the advocacy nonprofits pepper email inboxes with fund-raising pitches while alleging that efforts to reform or stem practices that lead to ballot fraud are tantamount to voter suppression. “In a crucial state that decided control of the U.S. Senate in the last two elections, Georgia voters are no stranger to voter suppression schemes,” reads an email sent to constituents by Vote.org, seeking to raise money to combat voter integrity measures passed by Republican lawmakers in 2021.

    Vote.org describes itself as the largest “nonpartisan voting registration and get-out-the-vote (GOTV) technology platform in America,” while its correspondence often echoes statements made by Democrats including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams of Georgia, and President Biden. “Threats to democracy” and voter “suppression” are a common term in Vote.org’s press releases and in social media posts. The organization largely embraces the Democratic party’s position that voter integrity measures backed by Republicans – including voter ID laws and restrictions on mail-in ballots – are almost always aimed at voter suppression. Voter.org also focuses on areas and groups that may be less likely to vote, which tends to include young and minority voters that Democrats count on.

    The overall upshot of how we make the selections is based on where voter turnout isn’t matching the demographics of the area,” said Nick Hutchins, a spokesman for Vote.org. “We want the vote to be accessible to everyone.”

    A Leftward Disparate Impact

    As a result, seemingly neutral efforts have a disparate impact that helps Democrats far more than Republicans.

    “There’s a line of administration and politicking here, and unless you hit every constituent in the same way, it will have disproportionate effects,” said Ryan Williamson, co-author of the book, “Nationalized Politics: Evaluating Electoral Politics Across Time.”

    The charities that fund voter registration have been created by an activist league with roots in community organizing from Barak Obama’s 2008 presidential candidacy.

    The proliferation of these nonprofits has accelerated in the last few years, and it was engineered by the Obama campaign in 2008,” Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told RCI.

    That was the same year the nonprofit Arabella Legacy Fund was founded by former Clinton administration appointee Eric Kessler with a stated mission of “environmental preservation and protection.” Arabella’s application cited Bible verses to support its proposed environmental advocacy. In 2009 the group became the New Venture Fund, which has provided millions of dollars to voting nonprofits. Arabella became the for-profit Arabella Advisors, which handles strategy and management for New Venture and a host of other, similarly partisan nonprofit enterprises.

    Courting, creating, and funding nonprofits by progressives is now a core Democratic Party strategy, one that has proven successful as Democrats have prevailed or outperformed historical expectations in national elections.

    “They are after a new American majority, and that includes people of color, women, students, LGBT, and [progressives] have a strategy for each group,” said Ned Jones, deputy director of the conservative Election Integrity Network. “It’s all about registering voters and getting a ballot in their hands, and they know what they’re doing,”

    Republicans, he said, are far behind. “The opposing team doesn’t have the funding, the structure or the system to do what progressives are doing.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 19:00

  • Could This Supreme Court Case End Government Overreach By Three-Letter Agencies?
    Could This Supreme Court Case End Government Overreach By Three-Letter Agencies?

    Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

    What do fishing, Three Letter Agencies, and gun rights all have in common?

    Well, thanks to a little-known case called Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, commercial fishing and gun rights are intrinsically tied together. The outcome of this case could change the legal landscape of the entire country when it comes to the ability of three-letter agencies such as ATF to make regulations.

    To understand the scope and effect of the Raimondo case, we’ll need to first look at two different things. The first is the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The second is a legal principle called Chevron Deference.

    Let’s start with the Fishery Act, as that’s the basis for this case.

    In 1976, Congress passed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act into law. The law provides for the management of marine fisheries in US waters.

    The MSA was enacted to assert control over foreign fisheries that were operating within 200 miles of the US coast. However, a provision of the law is that the National Marine Fisheries Service may require private fishing boats to carry federal monitors on board to enforce the agency’s regulations.

    This is where the problems start.

    In the years since the passage of the MSA, the budget for the National Marine Fisheries Service started to fall, but the need for monitor coverage was growing. The Fisheries service was put in a bind. They couldn’t afford to pay for the increased coverage needed to maintain their surveys and studies.

    Well, to fix the problem, they did what all Government agencies seem to do these days: administrative rulemaking.

    In doing so, they identified an area in the law that did not explicitly say that the government couldn’t make the private companies pay the salaries of the federal monitors. 

    So, in February 2020, the National Marine Fisheries Service published its final rule establishing a standardized process that would require industry-funded monitoring.

    In response, Loper Bright Enterprises, a family-owned herring fishing company, sued the National Marine Fisheries Service in the United States District Court for the District of Colombia.

    Loper Bright’s argument was that the Magnuson-Stevens Act did not authorize the Fisheries Service to force private companies to pay federal monitors.

    You’d think that the Court would see this and agree with Loper Bright. Well, you’d be wrong. The Court sided with the National Marine Fisheries Service by using a legal doctrine called Chevron Deference.

    So, what’s the Chevron Deference?

    The Chevron in Chevron Deference refers to a landmark 1984 decision in Chevron USA Inc. v. National Resources Defense Council Inc. 

    Chevron is considered to be one of the most important decisions in US administrative law. It has been cited in thousands of cases since the decision.

    But how does it work?

    If a law is ambiguous, Chevron’s doctrine requires the court to evaluate if the agency’s interpretation of the law is reasonable or permissible. If the agency’s interpretation is deemed to be reasonable or permissible, the court must accept the agency’s interpretation of the law.

    In practice, administrative agencies like ATF can essentially govern as lawmakers. They create “rules” and “regulations” based on existing law, then use Chevron to affirm their rule change as “reasonable.”

    Administrative agencies face fewer steps in rulemaking, sometimes only involving those inside the current administration. In the case of bump stocks—which is an attachment for a rifle—the reversal of agency policy was not the result of any new factual findings or thoughtful re-examination of the statute, but instead was ordered by one person—President Trump.

    Even when agencies don’t apply Chevron to their argument, sometimes Judges will do it anyway, because it allows them to defer to an authority instead of making a decision, taking the easy way out of complex cases.

    But it goes deeper. Chevron has seriously distorted how the political branches operate. Thanks to Chevron, Congress does less, and the executive branch does more, as Congress can count on the executive branch to tackle controversial issues via executive orders without the need for compromise.

    This creates a dynamic where the “law” on important and divisive issues radically changes with every presidential administration. 

    For example, the Chevron doctrine is what “allows” the ATF to claim that pistol braces are legal for years, then, on a dime, suddenly change course and change the legal status of 40 million pistols overnight.

    There’s a reason that GOA has submitted an amicus curiae supporting Loper Bright. 

    So, back to the case at hand. By using Chevron, the lower court in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo determined that the Fisheries Service “reasonably interpreted the law” as there was no clear language about the cost of at sea monitoring in the law.

    On Nov. 10, 2022, Loper Bright petitioned the Supreme Court to hear its case. In the petition, Loper Bright asked two questions. The first asked the court to rule on whether the lower court properly applied Chevron when granting the Fisheries Service the power to force private enterprises to pay for monitors.

    Secondly, they asked the court to rule on whether Chevron should be overruled outright or limited in scope.

    The Supreme Court granted the petition but limited it to only the Second question.

    Seems like the Supreme Court may have an issue with Chevron.

    This is evidenced in 2022 when Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote, “Chevron deserves a tombstone no one can miss.”

    Justice Clarance Thomas has said similar things as well. In 2015, Thomas wrote that Chevron “wrestles from courts the ultimate interpretive authority to ‘say what law is’ and hands it over to the executive branch.”

    Interestingly, Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson heard the case at the circuit level right before being nominated to replace Justice Steven Breyer on the Supreme Court. She has recused herself from the case accordingly.

    We’ll have to wait and see what happens with the oral arguments, but it looks like the Supreme Court might actually be ready to put Chevron to bed.

    Watch: What do fishing, Three Letter Agencies, and gun rights all have in common?

    This case is important not just for gun owners but anyone who’s been a victim of federal overreach.

    *   *   *

    We’ll hold the line for you in Washington. We are No Compromise. Join the Fight Now.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 18:40

  • Let The Games Begin: Biden Impeachment Inquiry Authorized By House
    Let The Games Begin: Biden Impeachment Inquiry Authorized By House

    The House on Wednesday approved the launch of a formal impeachment probe into President Biden, just hours after Hunter Biden ditched Congressional testimony on Capitol Hill.

    The 221-212 vote was along party lines, with Republicans formalizing a processes which began weeks ago, and Democrats criticizing the vote as a political stunt for retribution over the impeachments of former President Donald Trump – who was impeached for asking Ukraine about obvious Biden corruption, and his alleged role in the Jan. 6 riot.

    Formalizing the impeachment process will grant Congress additional power by improving the likelihood that a court will authorize access to grand jury materials, as well as boosting the chances that Republicans will be able to overcome objections such as executive privilege, the Wall Street Journal reports.

    The White House several weeks ago challenged House subpoenas and demands for transcribed interviews with Biden family members on the grounds that the existing impeachment probe, launched by GOP leaders in September, wasn’t valid because the House didn’t vote to authorize it.

    The impeachment inquiry is necessary now,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) told reporters this week, “because we’ve come to this impasse where following the facts where they lead is hitting a stone wall because the White House is impeding that investigation.” –WSJ

    The inquiry has so far been two-pronged, with the House Oversight Committee focusing on the Biden family’s financial malarkey, and the House Judiciary Committee focusing on on the weaponization of the Justice Department and FBI.

    “This vote will allow the House Judiciary, Oversight and Ways and Means committees to continue their investigations. The evidence mounting against the president cannot be ignored,” said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer in Wednesday comments to reporters.

    “We know Joe Biden has lied to or misled the American people about his knowledge of his son’s business dealings over and over again, and it is very likely that he was involved in and benefited from his family’s corrupt business dealings as well.”

    Democrats tantrum

    “No amount of evidence could convince Republicans that Joe Biden did nothing wrong because they’re not looking for truth, they’re looking for revenge,” said Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the top Democrat on the House Rules committee, ahead of the vote.

    Earlier Wednesday, Hunter Biden defied a subpoena to appear before the House to testify about his family’s dealings, instead saying in a Capitol Hill speech: “Let me state as clearly as I can: My father was not financially involved in my business.”

    The younger Biden has faced congressional and legal scrutiny regarding his overseas business dealings in Ukraine, China and elsewhere as well as alleged tax evasion, and Republicans have sought to show links between Hunter’s work and his father.

    While Hunter Biden said he was willing to testify publicly, he rebuffed a subpoena from House Republicans to answer questions behind closed doors on alleged links between his foreign business dealings and his father. “I’m here today to make sure that the House committee’s illegitimate investigations of my family do not proceed on distortions, manipulated evidence and lies,” he said.

    The younger Biden had previously said he was only willing to testify publicly so that Republicans couldn’t selectively leak portions of his statements. House leaders said the president’s son couldn’t dictate the terms of his testimony and said they would now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings against Hunter Biden. -WSJ

    He was just across the way at the Capitol, you’d think he could’ve come here and sat for questions,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH).

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 18:20

  • US Blocks Transfer Of Over 20,000 Rifles To Israel Over Settler Violence
    US Blocks Transfer Of Over 20,000 Rifles To Israel Over Settler Violence

    There’s been some serious mixed messaging and contradictory signals coming from the White House of late regarding Israel and the Gaza War. President Biden on Tuesday had for the first time offered criticism of Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza – even while keeping the massive defense aid flowing to Israel’s military on an unconditional basis. He said Israel risks losing the world’s support.

    But even as it hands over 2,000-pound bombs and other heavy munitions, the US administration has ironically enough temporarily blocked a shipment of more than 20,000 rifles on fears the small arms could fuel more Israeli settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Most or all of the rifle shipments appear to be M-16s.

    Illustrative file image

    These military-grade assault rifles had been requested by the Netanyahu government from within the first week of the war, in the wake of Oct.7.

    Axios writes in a fresh report, “The Israeli request was treated with caution by the Biden administration because of concerns Itamar Ben Gvir, the ultra-nationalist minister of national security who oversees the police, would distribute the rifles to extremist settlers in the West Bank, according to U.S. officials.”

    A US official told the publication, “This deal isn’t moving anywhere at the moment. We need more assurances from Israel about the steps it is going to take to curb attacks by violent settlers and to make sure no new U.S. weapons will reach settlers in the West Bank.”

    This week, Turkish media correspondents documented the following incident in the West Bank:

    Israeli settlers on Monday confronted olive pickers in the town of Aqraba, southern Nablus, firing live rounds to intimidate and force them to leave their lands, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported.

    Israeli occupation forces and settlers have carried out a total of 333 attacks against olive pickers since the beginning of the season in October, the agency said, citing the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission.

    Last week, the US administration unveiled rare sanctions on Israeli settlers involved in attacks on Palestinians, which bans them from traveling to the United States.

    The US government has not sanctioned Israeli settlers going all the way back to the Clinton administration, but Washington has consistently condemned settler expansion in the West Bank, at least as far as public policy and rhetoric goes.

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

    The conflict centered on Gaza has received by far most international media attention, but there’s been a parallel war raging in the West Bank. Nablus, for example, has been declared a closed military zone and is under blockade by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). An estimated more than 270 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have died in clashes with police and settlers since Oct.7.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 18:00

  • The Trojan Horse That Would Force Your Barista To Spy On You
    The Trojan Horse That Would Force Your Barista To Spy On You

    Authored by Gene Schaerr via RealClear Wire,

    It was T.S. Eliot who coined the phrase “wilderness of mirrors” in his poem, “Gerontion.” It was the saga of the CIA’s James Jesus Angleton’s betrayal by Soviet double-agent Kim Philby that made the phrase a byword in the shadowy world of intelligence.

    In that world, deception, deceit, and disinformation are just tools of the trade. These are, no doubt, useful tools when dealing with all manner of criminals and agents of despotic powers. But this culture of deception seems to have infected the ability of the intelligence community – and a few of their champions on Capitol Hill – to play it straight with Congress and their constituents, the people intelligence agencies are meant to serve.

    That culture of deception even seems to infect the so-called FISA Reform and Reauthorization Act, proposed this week by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, a bill that represents the wish-list of the intelligence community.

    First, the bill’s marquee “reform” is the prohibition of only a handful of searches or “queries” of information about Americans under Section 702, the authority enacted by Congress to enable foreign surveillance but often used by the government for domestic spying. The type of search the bill would prohibit is “evidence-of-a-crime only” queries. But in 2022, out of over 200,000 queries of Americans’ data, there were only two instances of the FBI accessing Section 702 data under this rubric. And even if that prohibition were in place, the FBI could easily evade it simply by claiming in every instance that agents were looking for some (hypothetical) terror threat in addition to possible crimes. The bill’s non-reform “reform” would thus do nothing to stop the routine snooping on Americans, from 19,000 donors to a congressional campaign, to a House member and a \senator, a judge, and numerous protesters of the left and right. Nor would this “reform” prevent known abuses, such as the NSA agents who used this powerful search program to check out online dating prospects and potential tenants.

    Even more outrageous is a problematic provision tucked away in this “reform” bill but not so much as mentioned in the committee’s report. Section 504 of the House Intelligence bill requires that those who have access to the “equipment that is being or may be used to transmit or store such communications” shall be treated as “electronic communication service providers” and thus subject to Section 702’s general requirement to (secretly) disclose our data to the government.

    Let us unpack this: Under current law, electronic communication service providers include Internet service providers such as Google, Facebook/Meta, and Microsoft. It also includes telecom providers such as AT&T and Verizon. Under the law, these big companies are routinely compelled to hand over billions of foreign communications in addition to vast amounts of Americans’ communications that are “incidentally” caught up in this surveillance net.

    But the House Intelligence bill’s expansion to include “equipment” would cover, for example, any small or medium-sized business that simply provides Wi-Fi or stores data. This means that your business landlord, Airbnb host, hotel manager, or coffee shop barista will have a legal obligation to give the government any of your emails, texts, or phone metadata that ran through their equipment. Larger entities, such as data centers, would also be enlisted in spying on Americans.

    To call the expansion of government-mandated spying to baristas and landlords “reform” shows the contempt the intelligence community has for Congress and the very idea of oversight. It is nothing less than a Trojan horse buried in the House Intelligence bill.

    The good news, to quote the poet again, is that “every moment is a fresh beginning.” Now that these tricks have been spotted in the House Intelligence bill, House members will have a chance to toss out that bill and vote instead for the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act, which passed the House Judiciary Committee with overwhelming support. That bill likewise reauthorizes Section 702, but also imposes real reforms that will better protect Americans’ privacy from our nation’s overgrown and (sometimes) deceptive intelligence apparatus.

    Gene Schaerr, a Washington, D.C.-based attorney and former associate counsel to President George H.W. Bush, serves as general counsel to the non-partisan Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 17:40

  • Boston Boondoggle: Sanctuary City May Grant Voting Rights To Noncitizens For Local Elections
    Boston Boondoggle: Sanctuary City May Grant Voting Rights To Noncitizens For Local Elections

    In a controversy-sparking move, Boston, a self-proclaimed sanctuary city, is weighing a resolution to allow immigrants with “legal status” to vote in local elections. This proposal, which has reportedly gained the backing of the majority of Boston city councilors, was a central topic in a council meeting last week.

    A temporary migrant shelter funding package cleared the Massachusetts State House in Boston this week despite Republicans opposing the measure.  (Tim Graham/Getty Images)

    The resolution, introduced by Councilor Kendra Lara, would allow immigrants who have “worked, sacrificed, and invested in their neighborhoods,” to provide these residents a voice in local governance, despite their lack of citizenship.

    The Boston debate echoes a similar policy shift in Takoma Park, Maryland, where city clerk Jessie Carpenter gave Boston lawmakers insights from her experience. Takoma Park, which has allowed noncitizens to vote for 30 years “regardless of their legal status.”

    In Takoma Park, “nearly one-third of the residents are foreign-born,” according to Fox News, which adds that a significant portion of registered noncitizen voters actively engage in the electoral process.

    Boston, with a population exceeding 650,000, presents a stark contrast to the much smaller town of 17,000, suggesting that the number of potential immigrant voters could be significantly higher. According to Carpenter, immigrant voters are only required to show proof of identity and city residency, without any inquiry into their legal status.

    Elections Commissioner Eneida Tavares said a similar policy change could prove logistically challenging for the much larger city of Boston, telling city councilors Tuesday that the Boston Election Department would need to evaluate whether it had the capabilities to maintain two separate databases “without causing any confusion.” 

    “Our preferred method would be to use the secretary of state’s database because it’s just one place where we can house everything,” Tavares said. “It’s easier to update voting, voter information, give voter history to voters and everything of that nature.”

    Tavares also told councilors that the city would likely not be able to keep an individual’s immigration status private if their public voting information were requested for a court proceeding. –Fox News

    Amidst these discussions, concerns were raised about the possibility of noncitizens mistakenly voting in state or federal elections, which could jeopardize their path to citizenship. City Councilor Liz Breadon underscored the potential risks, stressing the need to avoid any errors that might impact an immigrant’s journey towards citizenship.

    The broader context of this proposal is Massachusetts’ struggle with the recent influx of migrants from the southern border. Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has declared a state of emergency, with the National Guard activated to manage the crisis. FEMA also granted the city $1.9 million over the summer to help migrants with shelter and transportation.

    Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara introduced a bill to allow migrants to vote. (Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

    Meanwhile, House Democrats in the Massachusetts state legislature recently pushed a $2.8 billion spending bill, allocating substantial funds to shelter vulnerable families, including migrants. This bill comes as the state’s emergency shelters face increasing pressure from a surge in migrant and homeless families.

    Republicans in the state have voiced strong opposition, criticizing the lack of formal debate on the bill and challenging the actions of the Democratic majority as a “one-party monopoly.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 12/13/2023 – 17:20

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Today’s News 13th December 2023

  • These Amendments Would Open The Door To A Dangerous Global Health Bureaucracy
    These Amendments Would Open The Door To A Dangerous Global Health Bureaucracy

    Authored by David Thunder via The Brownstone Institute,

    The Covid pandemic gave the World Health Organisation and its partners unprecedented visibility and a tremendous amount of “soft” power to shape public health law and policies across the world. Over the past year or so, the WHO has been pushing hard to consolidate and expand its power to declare and manage public health emergencies on a global scale.

    The primary instruments for this consolidation are a WHO Pandemic Accord and a series of far-reaching amendments to existing International Health Regulations (IHR). The target date for finalising both the IHR Amendments and the new Pandemic Accord is May 2024.

    The net effect of the proposed text for the pandemic accord and the proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations, would be to create a legal and financial basis for the emergence of an elaborate, internationally coordinated bio-surveillance regime and significantly strengthen the authority of the World Health Organisation to direct and coordinate the international response to global and regional public health threats.

    It is not entirely clear why the WHO decided to negotiate a separate pandemic treaty that overlaps in significant ways with the proposed IHR amendments. In any case, most of the far-reaching changes to global health regulations are already contained within the IHR amendments, so that is what we will focus on here.

    Even if the WHO failed to get a new pandemic treaty passed, the proposed amendments to International Health Regulations would be sufficient by themselves to confer unprecedented power on the WHO to direct international health and vaccination policies in circumstances deemed by the WHO to be a “public health emergency of international concern.”

    The WHO wants the IHR amendments to be finalised on time for next year’s World Health Assembly, scheduled for 27 May – 1 June 2024. Assuming the amendments are approved by a simple majority of the delegates, they will be considered fully ratified 12 months after that, unless heads of State formally reject them within the designated opt-out period, which has been reduced from 18 to 10 months.

    If ratified, they will come into effect two years after their announcement at the May 2024 World Health Assembly (i.e., around June 2026), as stipulated in the annex to Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) agreed to on 28th May 2022.

    In other words, revisions to the International Health Regulations will pass by default rather than by formal acceptance by heads of State. The silence of heads of State will be construed as consent. This makes it all the easier for the revised IHR to pass without proper legislative scrutiny and without a public debate in the States that are subject to the new legal framework.

    To get a flavour of how these changes in international law are likely to impact the policies of governments and citizens’ lives more broadly, it is sufficient to review a selection of the proposed amendments. While we do not know which of the amendments will survive the negotiation process, the direction of travel is alarming.

    Taken together, these amendments to International Health Regulations would push us in the direction of a global public health bureaucracy with limited democratic accountability, glaring conflicts of interest, and significant potential for systematic harm to the health and liberties of citizens.

    The amendments discussed below are drawn from a 46-page document hosted on the WHO webpage entitled “Article-by-Article Compilation of Proposed Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) submitted in accordance with decision WHA75(9) (2022).” Because these changes are being negotiated largely outside the frame of national electoral politics, the average citizens is barely aware of them.

    Should these amendments come into force, States will be bound by international law, in the event of a public health emergency (as defined by WHO) to follow the playbook of health policies determined by the WHO and its “emergency committee” of “experts,” leaving far less scope for national parliaments and governments to set policies that diverge from WHO recommendations.

    Insofar as national States formally consent to the IHR amendments, their sovereignty would remain intact, from a legal perspective. But insofar as they are binding themselves to dance to the tune of political actors outside the scope of national politics, they would clearly lose their freedom to set their own policies in this domain, and health policy “gurus,” instead of representing their fellow citizens, would represent a global health regime transcending national politics and operating above national law.

    Under a globally coordinated public health regime, activated by an international public health emergency declared by the WHO, citizens would be vulnerable to errors committed by WHO-nominated “experts” sitting in Geneva or New York, errors which could replicate themselves through a global health system with little resistance from national governments.

    Citizens have a right to know that the amended regulations as they stand would give unprecedented power to a WHO-led global health regime and, by implication, its most influential financial and political stakeholders like the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, all of which are largely beyond the reach of national voters and legislators.

    There are dozens of proposed amendments to the 2005 International Health Regulations. Here, I will highlight eight changes that are of special concern because of their implications for the independence of national health regimes and for the rights of citizens:

    States Bind Themselves to Follow WHO’s Advice as “The Guidance and Coordinating Authority” During an International Public Health Emergency

    One of the amendments to IHR (International Health Regulations) reads, “States Parties recognize WHO as the guidance and coordinating authority of international public health response during public health Emergency of International Concern and undertake to follow WHO’s recommendations in their international public health responses.” Like many other treaty “undertakings,” the means for other parties to IHR to enforce this “undertaking” are limited.

    Nevertheless, States party to the new regulations would be legally binding themselves to adhere to WHO recommendations and may lose credibility or suffer politically for failing to follow through on their international treaty commitments. This may seem “toothless” to some, but the reality is that this sort of “soft power” is what drives a good deal of compliance with international law.

    Removal of “Non-Binding” Language

    In the previous version of Article 1, WHO “recommendations” were defined as “non-binding advice.” In the new version, they are defined simply as “advice.” The only reasonable interpretation of this change is that the author wished to remove the impression that States were at liberty to disregard WHO recommendations. Insofar as signatories do “undertake to follow WHO’s recommendations in their international public health responses,” it would indeed appear that such “advice” becomes legally “binding” under the new regulations, making it legally difficult for States to dissent from WHO recommendations.

    Removal of Reference to “Dignity, Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms”

    One of the most extraordinary and disturbing aspects of the proposed amendments to IHR is the removal of an important clause requiring that the implementation of the regulations be “with full respect for the dignity, human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons.”

    In its place, the new clause reads that the implementation of the regulations shall be “based on the principles of equity, inclusivity, coherence and in accordance with their (the?) common but differentiated responsibilities of the States Parties, taking into consideration their social and economic development.” It is hard to know how any sane and responsible adult could justify removing “dignity, human rights, and fundamental freedoms” from International Health Regulations.

    Expansion of Scope of International Health Regulations

    In the revised version of Article 2, the scope of IHR includes not only public health risks, but “all risks with a potential to impact public health.” Under this amendment, International Health Regulations, and their main coordinating body, the WHO, would be concerned not only with public health risks, but with every conceivable societal risk that might “impact” public health. Workplace stress? Vaccine hesitancy? Disinformation? Misinformation? Availability of pharmaceutical products? Low GDP? The basis for WHO intervention and guidance could be expanded indefinitely.

    Consolidation of a Global Health Bureaucracy

    Each State should nominate a “National IHR Focal Point” for “the implementation of health measures under these regulations.” These “focal points” could avail of WHO “capacity building” and “technical assistance.” IHR Focal Points, presumably manned by unelected bureaucrats and “experts,” would be essentially nodes in a new WHO-led global health bureaucracy.

    Other important aspects of this new global health bureaucracy would be the WHO’s role in developing global “allocation plans for health products” (including vaccines), the WHO’s role as an information hub for expanded disease surveillance and research units across the world, and the WHO’s role as a a lead player in an international network of actors devoted to combatting “false and unreliable information” about public health events and anti-epidemic measures.

    Expansion of WHO Emergency Powers

    Under the revised regulations, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation, “based on the opinion/advice of the Emergency Committee,” may designate an event as “having the potential to develop into a public health emergency of international concern, (and) communicate this and the recommended measures to State parties…” The introduction of the concept of a “potential” public health emergency, along with the idea of an “intermediate” emergency, also to be found among the proposed amendments, gives the WHO much wider leeway to set in motion emergency protocols and recommendations. For who knows what a “potential” or “intermediate” emergency amounts to?

    Entrenchment and Legitimation of an International Bio-Surveillance Regime

    The old Article 23, “Health Measures on arrival and departure,” authorises States to require that travellers produce certain medical credentials prior to travel, including “a non-invasive medical examination which is the least intrusive examination that could achieve the public health objective.” In the new version of Article 23, travellers may be required to produce “documents containing information…on a laboratory test for a pathogen and/or information on vaccination against a disease.”

    These documents may include WHO-validated digital health certificates. Essentially, this reaffirms and legally validates the vaccine passport regime that imposed prohibitive testing costs on unvaccinated citizens in 2021-23, and resulted in thousands and probably tens of thousands of people vaccinating just for the convenience of travelling, rather than based on health considerations.

    Global Initiatives for Combating “False and Unreliable Information”

    Both WHO and States bound by IHR, under the revised draft of IHR, “shall collaborate” in “countering the dissemination of false and unreliable information about public health events, preventive and anti-epidemic measures and activities in the media, social networks, and other ways of disseminating such information.” Clearly the misinformation/disinformation amendments entail a propaganda and censorship regime.

    There is no other plausible way to interpret “countering the dissemination of false and unreliable information,” and this is exactly how anti-disinformation measures have been interpreted since the Covid pandemic was announced in 2020 – measures, it may be added, that suppressed sound scientific contributions concerning vaccine risks, lab origins of the novel coronavirus, and efficacy of community masking.

    The joint effect of these and other proposed changes to International Health Regulations would be to enthrone the WHO and its director-general at the head of an elaborate global health bureaucracy beholden to the special interests of WHO patrons, a bureaucracy that would be operated largely with the cooperation of State officials and agencies implementing “advice” and “recommendations” issued by the WHO, which State parties have legally undertaken to follow.

    While it is true that international treaties cannot be coercively enforced, this does not mean that international law is inconsequential. Under the newly amended regulations, a highly centralised public health bureaucracy would be propped up by lavish funding mechanisms and protected by international law. A bureaucracy of this sort would inevitably become entrenched and intertwined with national bureaucracies, and would become an important element of the policymaking architecture of pandemic planning and responses.

    Though national States could, theoretically, bypass this bureaucracy and renege on their legal undertakings under IHR, taking a different path to that recommended by WHO, this would be rather strange, given that they themselves would have both approved and financed the regime they are boycotting.

    In the face of opposition from one or more signatory States, the WHO and its partners could pressure such a State into complying with its edicts by shaming it into upholding its legal commitments, or else other States may reprimand “renegade” states for putting international health in jeopardy, and apply political, financial and diplomatic pressure to secure compliance. Thus, while IHR would operate upon State officials in a softer way than national, police-backed regulations, it would certainly not be powerless or politically inconsequential.

    The impact of the new global health bureaucracy on the lives of ordinary citizens may be quite dramatic: it would erect a global censorship regime legitimated by international law, making challenges to officially sanctioned information harder than ever; and it would make international public health responses even more slavishly dependent on WHO directives than they were before, discouraging independent, dissenting responses such as that of Sweden during the Covid pandemic.

    Last but not least, the new global health bureaucracy would put the fate of ordinary citizens – our national and international mobility, our right to informed consent to medication, our bodily integrity, and ultimately, our health – in the hands of public health officials acting in lockstep with WHO “recommendations.”

    Apart from the fact that policy diversification and experimentation is essential to a robust healthcare system, and is crushed by a highly centralised response to health emergencies, the WHO is already riddled with internal conflicts of interest and a track record of catastrophically unsound judgments, making them singularly unqualified to reliably identify a global health emergency or coordinate the response to it.

    To start with, the WHO’s income stream depends on individuals like Bill Gates who have significant financial stakes in the pharmaceutical industry. How can we possibly expect the WHO to make impartial, disinterested recommendations about, say, the safety and efficacy of vaccines, when its own donors are financially invested in the success of specific pharmaceutical products, including vaccines?

    Secondly, to allow the WHO to declare an international public health emergency is to create an obvious perverse incentive: given that a large part of the raison d’être of a WHO-led global health bureaucracy is to prevent, monitor, and respond to public health emergencies, and the activation of the WHO’s emergency powers depends on the presence of an actual or potential “public health emergency of international concern,” the WHO’s Director-General has an obvious professional and institutional interest in declaring potential or actual public health emergencies.

    Third, the WHO wasted no time in praising China’s brutal and ultimately unsuccessful lockdownscontinues to support the censorship of their critics, repeatedly recommended community masking in the absence of plausible evidence of efficacy, failed to warn the public in a timely manner about the serious risks of mRNA vaccines, and has entered into a partnership with the European Union to extend the discriminatory and coercive Covid vaccine certificate system globally. These are certainly not people I would trust as custodians of my bodily integrity, health, informed consent, or mobility.

    Republished from the author’s Substack

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 23:25

  • Lack Of New China Stimulus Will Favor Bonds, Drag Stocks
    Lack Of New China Stimulus Will Favor Bonds, Drag Stocks

    By George Lei, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

    Chinese leaders wrapped up a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday with no major surprises in public statements. Given that the the meeting was meant to set next year’s course for the world’s second-largest economy, the lack of emphasis on fixing real estate woes or stimulating domestic demand sent an ominous signal. Chinese stocks will likely extend their underperformance for the rest of 2023 and possibly into next year. Weak economic fundamentals, on the other hand, should keep supporting government bonds.

    While macro policy is likely to continue the accommodative stance observed in 2H 2023, “the probability of bolstered stimulus is low,” JPMorgan analysts led by Chief China Economist Haibin Zhu wrote in a research report on Tuesday after the Central Economic Work Conference. They noted there was little extra news on tackling property-market risks or the potential spillover to local government debt in the readout, only a summary of recent policy announcements.

    President Xi Jinping only attended the first half of the Dec. 11-12 meeting before heading to Hanoi for a visit on Tuesday, which might have explained the dearth of fresh initiatives. Most China observers, including Bloomberg Economics, now expect Beijing to stick with its “around 5%” GDP target set for 2023. There could, however, still be disappointments when the actual growth objective is unveiled in the first quarter.

    The frequency of the phrase “high-quality development” in Tuesday’s readout more than doubled from a year ago, which reflects China’s focus on “hard technologies critical to lifting productivity, climbing the value chain and grabbing global market share,” Neo Wang, Lead China Macro Analyst at Evercore ISI told Bloomberg. “We expect 4.5%, instead of 5%, to be the anchor point of Beijing’s 2024 real GDP growth target,” he added.

    The latest growth messages weren’t received enthusiastically by stock markets. The readout was released after equity trading closed on the mainland and in Hong Kong, and the FTSE China A50 Index futures initially jumped on the headlines before gains petered out. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon Index, which tracks US-traded Chinese companies, rose about 0.4% on Tuesday, lagging advances in the broader Nasdaq gauge.

    The onshore benchmark CSI 300 index closed Tuesday about 2.4% above its 2023 low reached on Monday, and could revisit the bottom in the coming days and weeks as this year’s downtrend in equities appears far from over. Historically, the gauge tended to worsen a week after the release of the readouts, data complied by Bloomberg showed.

    Status quo, however, favors Chinese government bonds. The 10-year yield on CGBs has fallen almost 20 basis points so far this year to around 2.65% and more declines are expected in 2024. The yield could drop toward a low of 2.3%-2.4% next year amid weak economic fundamentals and loose liquidity conditions, analysts at Guosheng Securities wrote in a report on Monday.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 23:05

  • How Venezuelan Invasion Of Guyana Could Impact Tanker Shipping
    How Venezuelan Invasion Of Guyana Could Impact Tanker Shipping

    By Greg Miller of FreightWaves,

    Shipping already faces fallout from two wars: trade shifts due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and vessel attacks off Yemen in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

    Could there be a third simultaneous war — and even more trade complications for shipping?

    Venezuela is threatening to invade Guyana and annex Guyana’s oil-rich Essequibo region, claiming the jungle territory and its offshore areas were stolen from Venezuela in 1899. Essequibo comprises around two-thirds of Guyana.

    Guyana has been a bright spot for crude tankers. Since offshore production began in 2019, crude exports have risen to 400,000 barrels per day (b/d), with projections for volumes to double by the end of 2025 and top 1 million b/d by 2027.

    “In the unlikely event that Venezuela decides to go further than rhetoric and actually moves into Guyana, the oil production and exports from both countries will likely suffer,” said Erik Broekhuizen, manager of marine research and consulting at Poten & Partners, in a report on Saturday.

    “Sanctions [on Venezuela] will be reimposed — and probably tightened — and international oil companies will move their assets out of Guyana, crippling the country’s production.”

    Invasion would reduce Atlantic Basin exports

    The positive spin for tankers on production cuts by OPEC is that these cuts reduce Middle East-to-Asia volume, which is replaced by Atlantic Basin-to-Asia volume. This increases tanker demand measured in ton-miles (volume multiplied by distance).

    “I’m tempted to say it’s flat out positive,” said Lars Barstad, CEO of tanker owner Frontline (NYSE: FRO), on his company’s Nov.  30 conference call, referring to the latest round of OPEC cuts and the positive ton-mile effect.

    “We’re seeing refinery capacity built up and continuing to be built up east of Suez. New oil production is coming from west of Suez. We’ve seen Brazil increasing production and new production coming out of Guyana. We’ve seen Venezuelan exports increasing,” he said, adding that OPEC cuts are also “great news for U.S. fracking and great news for U.S. production.”

    In the Americas region, U.S. exports are averaging 4 million b/d this year, according to Kpler. The International Energy Agency put Brazilian exports at 1.8 million b/d. Colombia is at 400,000 b/d, according to Colombian oil company Ecopetrol. Venezuela is exporting 300,000-400,000 b/d, according to Frontline.

    To the extent Atlantic Basin exports are being touted as a tanker-demand positive in light of OPEC cuts, a Venezuela-Guyana conflict would be a negative, potentially impacting around 11% of regional exports.

    As Venezuela flounders, Guyana rises

    “The oil industries of Venezuela and Guyana are a study in contrasts,” said Broekhuizen. “Venezuela boasts one of the largest oil reserves in the world, but its industry … is in bad shape after decades of mismanagement and corruption and — in recent years — ever-tightening sanctions.” Current Venezuelan production is less than a third of 2009 levels.

    “In contrast to developments in Venezuela, Guyana’s oil industry has been a success story,” said Broekhuizen, adding that “the future for Guyana appears bright.”

    Current output is via two floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, the Liza Destiny and Liza Unity, with a third FPSO, the Prosperity, now ramping up.

    Production is being handled by a consortium led by Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), with a 45% stake, together with partners Hess (NYSE: HES), with 30%, and China’s CNOOC, with 25%. Hess is in the process of being acquired by Chevron (NYSE: CVX). Guyana awarded exploration rights to eight additional offshore blocs in October.

    Data from Vortexa cited by Poten & Partners shows that almost all of Guyana’s current exports are staying within the Atlantic Basin, with very little headed long-haul to Asia, at least so far.

    Top buyers are Panama, the Netherlands and the U.S.

    The destination of Venezuelan exports has changed significantly as a result of the temporary relaxation of U.S. sanctions.

    Previously, most Venezuelan crude was shipped to China using tankers in the so-called “shadow fleet” — vessels outside the Western financial and insurance systems.

    In more recent months, with U.S. sanctions temporarily suspended, the U.S. has replaced China as the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude.

    Double negative for tanker demand

    Frontline’s Barstad predicted that Venezuelan exports would increase to 600,000-700,000 b/d if sanctions are not reinstated. “One would assume that most of this Venezuelan oil will move short-haul on Aframaxes and potentially Suezmaxes to the U.S.” (Aframaxes carry 750,000 barrels, Aframaxes 1 million barrels).

    But there is also an effect on demand for very large crude carriers (VLCCs, tankers with capacity of 2 million barrels).

    “What we’ve seen recently is VLCC cargoes being built up, and some of them are pointing toward India,” said Barstad. He reported four to six VLCC loadings scheduled in Venezuela in late November through December. 

    “These are vessels that are then not available for U.S. exports, so we believe this will actually tighten up the Atlantic market.”

    An invasion of Guyana by Venezuela would be a double negative for mainstream tanker demand. It would derail burgeoning exports from Guyana and inevitably lead to renewed U.S. sanctions, pushing Venezuelan cargoes back to the shadow fleet.

    The caveat is that Venezuelan and Guyanese exports are much less important to crude tanker demand than U.S. and Brazilian exports, so downside would be limited. The potential shipping impact of a third simultaneous war would be much less significant than the consequences of the first two.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 22:45

  • Better Parents Equals Healthier Teens
    Better Parents Equals Healthier Teens

    Authored by Timothy S. Goeglein via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Earlier this year, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued a statement on the alarming state of adolescent mental health—a crisis that was occurring even before the COVID-19 pandemic and has only gotten worse since.

    (VGstockstudio/Shutterstock)

    Citing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the APA wrote, “In the 10 years leading up to the pandemic, feelings of persistent sadness and hopelessness—as well as suicidal thoughts and behaviors—increased by about 40% among young people.”

    There are many factors that have played a part in this increasing depression among America’s youth, but one of the primary ones that is agreed upon across the board is family disruption—particularly through divorce—and the lack of connection with parents. Unfortunately, academic studies often just demand more funding for adolescent mental health services, while never addressing the root cause of the problem: family breakdown and the need for children to have proper boundaries governing their lives.

    Last month, the Institute for Family Studies issued an interesting report that provides further proof of the important role parents play in their child’s mental health. Jonathan Rothwell, who works for Gallup and is the author of the report, writes: “The most important factor in the mental health of adolescent children is the quality of the relationship with their caregivers. This, in turn, is strongly related to parenting practices—with the best results coming from warm, responsive, and rule-bound, disciplined parenting.”

    He concludes, “Even though there are biological and genetic risk-factors for every disease, even mental health conditions, years of research have established that parenting—and the parent-child relationship—is of paramount importance to the well-being and psychological functioning of adolescents.”

    And who are the parents who provide such a healthy environment for their teenage children? Not rich parents with the financial resources to give a teenager everything they want, but instead conservative parents who display affection and care for their children, while administering proper discipline to keep them on track when needed.

    This shouldn’t be a surprise. Even former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, hardly a conservative by any means, recognizes the importance of providing children with proper boundaries, stating: “Our kids need a structure in their lives. And I say this as a father, and I’ve seen it with young men and women that come to my office, and we talk. They need a structure.”

    It’s often conservative parents who provide that structure, along with the institutions to which they belong, which are often churches and other strong civic associations in their communities. This structure provides a safe cocoon for many teenagers away from the pernicious influences of social media (which 51 percent of teenagers report takes up nearly five hours of their day, according to a Gallup survey), negative peer pressure, and a culture that tells them “if it feels good, just do it” or “you do you,” regardless of the consequences.

    The Gallup Familial and Adolescent Survey, 2023, which Mr. Rothwell cites, bears this out. According to the parents surveyed, more than 60 percent or more of very conservative and nearly 60 percent of conservative parents have a higher quality relationship with their adolescent children. Conversely, only 50 percent of liberal parents and approximately 55 percent of very liberal parents do.

    But there’s also another factor at play: Adolescents whose parents have strong, healthy marriages—which provides them with stability and trust—are more likely to be emotionally healthy as well. Nearly 65 percent of married couples who have a strong relationship with their spouse report they have good relationships with their teenagers, compared to a little over 40 percent who don’t have a high-quality relationship with their marital partner.

    So, what’s the takeaway? Despite what the culture says, teenagers want a strong, loving relationship with their parents, and a relationship that provides the guardrails they need to successfully navigate the minefields of adolescence. Secondly, “the kids aren’t alright” when their parents aren’t either. No amount of money or any government program can heal a troubled heart.

    If values are “caught” and not “taught,” as it has been said, so is happiness and security. And it’s conservative homes, with their strong emphasis on the importance of faith and familial ties, that allow adolescents to prosper. That is an important reminder to us all if we want to solve the teenage mental health crisis that our nation presently faces.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 22:05

  • At Grocery Stores, Customer Marketing Data Is Becoming The Product
    At Grocery Stores, Customer Marketing Data Is Becoming The Product

    For years we have been writing about how hedge funds have been buying any type of data they can get their hands on to try and anticipate moves in the American consumer and, by proxy, the market. 

    And now the latest spot they could be buying their data from could wind up being your grocery store. Everybody knows that we are now accustomed to putting our phone numbers or email addresses into a computer almost literally every time we buy something – but few people know why they really do it and even fewer feel they have control over what retail establishments do with such data. 

    Consumers feel powerless about the data-grab. A new study from the University of Pennsylvania showed that “79% of Americans feel they have little control over what marketers can find out about them”, according to CNBC.

    The same survey found that over half of adults in the United States, approximately 56%, are unclear about the meaning of “privacy policy.” A common misconception among these individuals is that such policies assure that a company will not distribute their personal data to third parties unless consent is explicitly given.

    Lead researcher Joseph Turow, Robert Lewis Shayon Professor of Media Systems & Industries at the Annenberg School for Communication said: “People don’t feel that they have the ability to protect their data online — even if they want to.” 

    Among other things, the Penn survey revealed:

    • Only around 1 in 3 Americans knows it is legal for an online store to charge people different prices depending on where they are located. 
    • More than 8 in 10 Americans believe, incorrectly, that the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) stops apps from selling data collected about app users’ health to marketers.
    • Fewer than one in three Americans know that price-comparison travel sites such as Expedia or Orbitz are not obligated to display the lowest airline prices.
    • Fewer than half of Americans know that Facebook’s user privacy settings allow users to limit some of the information about them shared with advertisers.

    R.J. Cross, director of Public Interest Research Group’s Don’t Sell My Data campaign, told CNBC: “Retailers today are doing just about everything they can to get as much information about you as possible, because that’s a whole new revenue stream for them.”

    “Almost every single company that you’re shopping at today is in the business of selling your data, and you and your data are their latest product,” Cross continued. 

    And the market for data on what you buy is growing exponentially. 

    As of 2021, the data brokerage industry was estimated to be worth around $319 billion, with projections suggesting it could exceed $545 billion by 2028, CNBC wrote.

    Traditionally, retailers relied on purchasing information from data brokers to understand consumer behavior. However, in a shift towards greater efficiency, these retailers are now bypassing intermediaries and are gathering consumer data firsthand through various methods, including loyalty schemes, location tracking, mobile app usage, and digital receipt analysis.

    Refive founder and CEO Mitul Jain concluded: “My face is part of the data that’s being captured, my behavior, and all of that gives off many more pieces of information about me, my age, my gender, my ethnicity. And all of these pieces of information can then again be combined together with all these other little tidbits that I’ve been leaving behind from my shopping journey.“

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 21:45

  • Are Hordes Of Military-Age Chinese Men Being Brought Into The US In An Attempt To Destabilize Our Society?
    Are Hordes Of Military-Age Chinese Men Being Brought Into The US In An Attempt To Destabilize Our Society?

    Authored by Michael Snyder via The End of The American Dream blog,

    Over the past couple of years, vast numbers of illegal immigrants from China have been pouring over our southern border.  Most of them are military-age men.  So why has there been such a dramatic spike?  Is some sort of a coordinated effort going on that we don’t know about?  In this article, I am going to try to make some connections.  Taken on their own, some of the stories that I am about to share with you may not seem that significant.  But when you step back and take a look at the bigger picture, it becomes clear that something very unusual is happening.  Could it be possible that hordes of military-age Chinese men are being brought into this country in an attempt to destabilize our nation?

    Let’s start by taking a look at an incident that just happened in Michigan.  A “Chinese national” was arrested after he “spray-painted swastikas on Hanukkah decorations”

    On Thursday, 27-year-old Jaifeng Chen was arrested in Arizona after he allegedly spray-painted swastikas on Hanukkah decorations and the wall outside of the Chabad of Kalamazoo in Michigan.

    The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety said that the FBI worked in coordination with other law enforcement agencies in Arizona to locate and ultimately arrest the Chinese national. He was also booked on an unrelated charge on Nov. 27, according to WTVB. Chen is now in federal custody.

    Needless to say, this is the sort of thing that can greatly inflame racial tensions in our current political environment.

    So why was a Chinese national doing this?

    Was he directed to do so by whoever he is working for?

    In California, a “Chinese national” was just arrested for being involved in a large scale gift card scam

    Buyers of gift cards from retail locations are being warned to pay attention to their purchases.

    Sacramento County Sheriff’s “Operation Bad Elf” has led to over 250 arrests for felonies and misdemeanors involved with big retail locations.

    One of those arrested was a Chinese National Ningning Sun who had in his possession thousands of Target and Apple gift cards. Some of those he had stolen from a Sacramento Target store.

    The investigators involved in Operation Bad Elf saw Sun take the gift cards off the shelf and put them in his coat. Then he put a replacement set of cards back on the racks.

    Was this “Chinese national” acting alone, or was he a part of a larger network?

    If he was part of a larger network, who was directing it?

    Speaking of large networks, it is being reported that hundreds of “illegal Chinese-owned marijuana growing operations” have been popping up all over the state of Maine in recent years…

    Hundreds of illegal Chinese-owned marijuana growing operations have been popping up across Maine over the past three years.

    On Tuesday, Nov. 28, local law enforcement shut down an illegal marijuana grow that was being operated in a building located behind a licensed marijuana cultivation facility in Franklin County.

    Officers from the Wilton Police Department were assisting investigators from the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) during a routine follow-up inspection of a licensed facility in Wilton when they raided the illegal operation, authorities said in a press release posted on social media.

    Is there some common denominator that connects all of these growing operations?

    And where did the funding for all of these “Chinese-owned” growing operations come from?

    I would really love to get answers to those two questions.

    Let me give you another example.  Do you remember that secret bio-lab in the Sacramento area that was shut down by authorities earlier this year?  At that time we were told that it had been run by a Chinese company, and now a Chinese national that has several different identities has been arrested.  The following comes from the official website of the U.S. Justice Department

    Jia Bei Zhu, aka Jesse Zhu, aka Qiang He, aka David He, 62, a citizen of China who formerly resided in Clovis, was arrested today on a criminal complaint for manufacturing and distributing misbranded medical devices in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and for making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

    “As part of his scheme, the defendant changed his name, the names of his companies, and their locations,” U.S. Attorney Talbert said. “The disarray at the Reedley lab led to the glare of publicity he was trying to avoid, and the ensuing investigation unraveled his efforts to circumvent the requirements that are designed to ensure that medical devices are safe and effective.”

    If you don’t remember this particular case, a secret bio-lab in the Sacramento area had been conducting unauthorized experiments involving COVID, HIV, hepatitis, herpes and a whole bunch of other infectious diseases

    “Certain rooms of the warehouse were found to contain several vessels of liquid and various apparatus,” court documents said. “Fresno County Public Health staff also observed blood, tissue and other bodily fluid samples and serums; and thousands of vials of unlabeled fluids and suspected biological material.”

    Hundreds of mice at the warehouse were kept in inhumane conditions, court documents said. The city took possession of the animals in April, euthanizing 773 of them; more than 175 were found dead.

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested the substances and detected at least 20 potentially infectious agents, including coronavirus, HIV, hepatitis and herpes, according to a Health and Human Services letter dated June 6.

    Was this just a single rogue bio-lab?

    Or is there a network of them around the nation?

    And who is ultimately behind these efforts?

    There are so many unanswered questions.

    But what we do know is that large groups of Chinese nationals are regularly intercepted as they attempt to cross into the United States.  One recent video of this phenomenon received quite a bit of attention on social media

    And it also appears that these migration efforts are highly coordinated.

    In fact, a Muckraker reporter recently discovered a hotel in Colombia that functions as a central hub for Chinese migration activity…

    An unbelievable report out of Colombia reveals Chinese military-age men using a hotel as a dedicated migration hub ahead of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border en masse.

    A Muckraker reporter explained that the Cabańas Rio Mayo Hotel in Pasto is brimming with Chinese foreign nationals preparing to journey through the Darién Gap to America as part of a sophisticated “migration network.”

    The reporter dispelled the notion that this is simply a coincidental gathering of Chinese nationals by pointing out the signs posted around the hotel come with a Chinese translation, indicating this is a common meeting hub for the Chinese migrants.

    Additionally, the reporter described that WhatsApp directives by smugglers to the Chinese nationals specifically mention Pasto as a safe staging area ahead of their trek to America’s southern border.

    Muckraker also interviewed one of the Chinese migrants who revealed that the Chinese Communist Party has embedded “plainclothes” secret police throughout the U.S. to facilitate and monitor the Chinese nationals entering the country.

    This is super suspicious.

    At a time when rumors of a coming war with China are reaching a crescendo, efforts are being made to bring military-age Chinese men into this country on an industrial scale.

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

    Ultimately, it is difficult to prove that all of the things that I have discussed in this article are connected.

    Yes, military-age Chinese men are coming into this country in far larger numbers than ever before.

    And yes, military-age Chinese men are being caught committing illegal acts all over the nation.

    Is all of this evidence of some sort of a giant plot to destabilize the United States?

    After reviewing the evidence, many will come to that conclusion, but I can’t prove it 100 percent.

    But without a doubt, conflict with China is coming.

    And when war with China finally erupts, the Chinese will already have thousands upon thousands of military-age men pre-positioned inside the United States ready to cause chaos.

    *  *  *

    Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 21:25

  • "There Is No More Money": Milei Announces 54% Devaluation Of Argentina Peso As "Shock Therapy" Plan Begins
    “There Is No More Money”: Milei Announces 54% Devaluation Of Argentina Peso As “Shock Therapy” Plan Begins

    How does a modern country climb out of an insurmountable debt hole, especially if it is already in debt to the IMF and a technical default is not an option (especially since said country has already defaulted nine times).Well, in the case of Argentina which check all of the above boxes, and it has already tried hyperinflation multiple times (like right now for example), the only other option is currency devaluation. Which is precisely what the country’s new president, Javier Milei, announced as the first step of his shock therapy to rescue the insolvent south American nation.

    As Bloomberg reports, the new administration weakened the official exchange rate to 800 pesos per dollar, a 54% devaluation, Economy Minister Luis Caputo said in a televised address after the close of local markets on Tuesday. That compares with a 366.5-per-dollar level before the address.

     “There is no more money,” Caputo said repeatedly in the recorded video, adding that Argentina needs to solve its “addiction” to fiscal deficits. If only domestic, US addicts to fiscal deficits were watching.

    Other measures announced including halving the number of ministries, cutting transfers to provinces and suspending public works. The government will also reduce subsidies on transport and energy sectors, among others. At the same time, Argentina will boost certain social welfare programs, which in a few years time will surely grow to become the biggest fiscal addiction in the country under whoever is president then.

    The dramatic first steps follow a somber inauguration speech on Sunday, when Milei warned that Argentines will have to endure months of pain while he works to pull the country from the economic crisis inherited from his predecessor.  The devaluation is a necessary step since hyperinflation alone won’t fix the country’s debt problem: inflation is already running at more than 140% annually, and prices are expected to jump between 20% and 40% in the months to come, the president said.

    The government had closed Argentina’s export registry Monday, a technical step that often foreshadows a currency devaluation or major policy change. The central bank also announced Monday the official currency market would operate with limited transactions — a restriction it said it will lift on Wednesday.

    To be sure, nobody was surprised by the announcement, as a devaluation was long seen as inevitable. In the run-up to Milei’s inauguration, markets were signaling a currency drop of about 27% in the first week of the new government, while investment banks like JPMorgan and local private advisory firms suggested it could weaken about 44% . Grocers had already increased prices and banks were offering sharply weaker retail exchange rates hours before the Tuesday announcement. The question now is how many more times the currency will be devalued, and if Venezuela is any indication of what to expect, the answer is “lots.”

    Argentina’s previously administrations had for years slowed the peso’s decline in the official market through  currency controls and import restrictions in an attempt to protect dwindling reserves. That hodgepodge of capital controls has spurred at least a dozen exchange rates, hampering business and restricting investment in South America’s second-largest economy. On the campaign trail, Milei pledged to scrap the currency altogether, replacing it with the US dollar, however it now appears that that will be one of the many campaign promises he renegs on.

    On Dec. 7, the prior administration had let the peso slip by about 5%, while simultaneously limiting the amount of greenbacks banks could hold in order to prevent them from hoarding dollars. The government had been burning reserves to keep the currency largely steady at 350 per dollar since the August primary vote, when Milei’s surprise showing sent markets into a tailspin. In parallel markets, that rate is about 1,000.

    Since being spooked by his emergence in the August primary, investors have changed tack on the firebrand libertarian, cheering on his first steps as president-elect — namely, his decision to pick Wall Street veterans for some of the main cabinet positions while distancing himself from more radical proposals including dollarizing the economy and shuttering the central bank. In many ways, so far Milei is signaling that life under the libertarian will be “more of the same” only this time it will be even more painful (but at least the people have been warned). In any case, as he begins his four-year term, the rally will be put to the test.

    And speaking of regime continuity, economy minister Caputo previously served as finance chief in the administration of Mauricio Macri, when he negotiated a $16.5 billion deal with holdout bondholders, allowing Argentina to return to international capital markets (if only for a very brief period of time). During the currency run in 2018, Macri tapped him to take over at the central bank, but he only served for a few months before unexpectedly stepping down amid tensions with the International Monetary Fund.

    Finally, for those who are wondering who is really calling the shots in Argentina, Caputo has tapped longtime colleague Santiago Bausili, a Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan veteran, to run Argentina’s central bank.

    Like we said, more of the same.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 21:05

  • Last Rights: The Death Of American Liberty
    Last Rights: The Death Of American Liberty

    Authored by James Bovard,

    This is the first chapter of James Bovard’s new book: “Last Rights: The Deeath of American Liberty”

    CHAPTER ONE: TYRANNY COMES TO MAIN STREET

    Americans today have the “freedom” to be fleeced, groped, wiretapped, injected, censored, injected, ticketed, disarmed, beaten, vilified, detained, and maybe shot by government agents. Politicians are hell-bent on protecting citizens against everything except Uncle Sam. Is America becoming a Cage Keeper Democracy where voters merely ratify the latest demolition of their rights and liberties?

    “We live in a world in which everything has been criminalized,” warned Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. There are now more than 5,200 separate federal criminal offenses, a 36% increase since the 1990s, along with tens of thousands of state and local crimes. More laws mean more violators who can be harshly punished on command, resulting in the arrests of more than 10 million Americans each year. Thanks to the Supreme Court, police can lock up anyone accused of “even a very minor criminal offense” such as an unbuckled seatbelt.

    The Founding Fathers saw property rights as “the guardian of every other right.” But today’s politicians never lack a pretext for plundering private citizens. Despite being charged with no crime, half a million Americans have been robbed by government agents on the nation’s sidewalks, highways, and airports in recent decades. Federal law enforcement agencies arbitrarily confiscate more property from Americans each year than all the burglars steal nationwide. The IRS pilfered more cash from private bank accounts because of alleged paperwork errors than the total looted by bank robbers nationwide. Federal bureaucrats blocked landowners from farming or building on a hundred million acres of their own property because of puddles, ditches, or other suspected wet spots.

    Police have killed more than 25,000 citizens since the turn of the century, but the federal government does not even bother compiling a body count. SWAT teams use battering rams and flash-bang grenades to attack 50,000 homes a year, routinely terrorizing people suspected of dastardly crimes like spraying graffiti or running poker games. Cops in many cities have been caught planting guns on hapless targets, while corrupt police labs fabricated tens of thousands of bogus drug convictions. Police unions have more sway over government policy than anyone on the wrong end of a baton or Taser. Despite perpetual promises of reform, most police who brutalize private citizens still automatically receive legal immunity. Federal Judge Don Willett derided the “Constitution-free zone” courts created where “individuals whose constitutional rights are violated at the hands of federal officers are essentially remedy-less.”

    Gun owners are America’s fastest-growing criminal class. One state after another is enacting “Show us the gun and we’ll find the crime” laws. Judges and politicians are justifying mass disarmament in the name of “freedom from fear” — as if no one will be safe until government controls every trigger. Federal agencies consider all 20+ million marijuana users who own firearms to be felons (unless their last name is Biden). Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden both retroactively outlawed widely-owned firearm accessories, creating new legions of potential jailbirds. At the same time many federal agencies are stockpiling automatic weapons, Biden calls for banning semiautomatic pistols and rifles owned by 50 million Americans.

    Politicians and bureaucrats exploited the COVID‑19 pandemic to forbid any activities they chose, from going to church to buying garden seeds. Governors in most states effectively banned hundreds of millions of citizens from leaving their homes. Shutting down entire states was the equivalent of sacrificing virgins to appease angry viral gods. In Los Angeles, citizens were prohibited from going outside for a walk or bike ride. Tens of thousands of small businesses were bankrupted by shutdown orders, while federal “relief” spurred a $600 billion worldwide fraud stampede. Most Americans suffered COVID infections despite government decrees that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito labeled “previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty.” Government officials endlessly invoked “science and data” to sanctify their power. But many pandemic policies were simply Political Science 101, using deceit and demagoguery to domineer humanity.

    Government decrees are blighting more lives than ever before. Vague laws convert bureaucrats into czars who dictate as they please. More than a thousand occupations have been closed to anyone who fails to kowtow to absurd state licensing requirements, from fortune tellers in Massachusetts to anyone rubbing feet in Arizona. Tens of thousands of drivers have been injured and hundreds killed thanks to red light traffic ticket cameras notorious for multiplying collisions. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made it a federal crime to refuse to hire ex-convicts. The Americans with Disabilities Act has spurred half a million “discrimination” lawsuits, including by narcoleptics who fell asleep on the job and by a deaf guy outraged about missing captions on porn videos.

    Schoolchildren are being sacrificed on an altar of social justice. From No Child Left Behind to Common Core, federal dictates have subverted academic standards and squandered billions of hours of kids’ lives. Teacher unions have worked to destroy local control of education, prevent teacher accountability, deny parents any voice in their children’s education, and pointlessly shut down schools during the pandemic. In lieu of literacy, government schools are redefining gender and indoctrinating kids with values that many parents detest. When mothers and fathers raised hell at school board meetings, the Biden administration and the FBI labeled them as terrorist suspects.

    Politicians are increasingly dividing Americans into two classes — those who work for a living and those who vote for a living. Subsidy programs have multiplied even faster than congressional ethics scandals. Federal aid propelled college tuition increases that turned ex-students into a new debtor class endlessly clamoring for relief. Farm subsidies wreak chaos in markets while providing a gravy train for affluent landowners. Federal mortgage policies have been “wrecking ball benevolence,” whipsawing the housing market and spawning the 2007–08 collapse that reduced the net worth of black and Hispanic households by 50%. The number of handout recipients has more than doubled since 1983, and the feds are now feeding more than 100 million Americans. Government grants are eventually followed by government restrictions, and dependence often turns into submission. The ultimate victim of handouts could be democracy itself: politicians cannot undermine self-reliance without subverting self-government.

    While politicians boast of bestowing freebies, taxes have become a financial Grim Reaper. The Internal Revenue Service is Washington’s ultimate sacred cow because it delivers trillions of dollars to allow politicians to work miracles (or at least get re-elected). Americans are forced to pay more in taxes than their total spending on food, clothing, and housing. Tax codes have become inscrutable at the same time the IRS pummels people with ten times more penalties than in earlier decades. The Biden administration is racing to hire 87,000 new IRS agents and employees to squeeze far more money out of both rich and poor taxpayers. Inflation has become the cruelest tax as the dollar’s purchasing power fell 17% since Biden took office, fleecing any citizen with a savings account.

    The federal government is generating so many absurdities nowadays that even cynics cannot keep up. The Transportation Security Administration epitomizes Washington’s boneheaded command-and-control approach to modern perils. TSA’s Whole Body Scanners doused tens of millions of travelers with radiation while taking nude pictures of them. TSA’s groin-grabbing “enhanced pat-downs” spark thousands of sexual assault complaints from women every year. TSA terrorist profiles have warned of travelers who are either staring intently or avoiding eye contact, or who fidget, yawn, or sweat heavily; anyone who is whistling and/or staring at their feet; Boston blacks wearing backward baseball caps; and anyone who “expresses contempt” for TSA Security Theater antics.

    Federal surveillance leaves no refuge for dissent. Government agencies are secretly accumulating mountains of data that could be used for “blackmail, stalking, harassment and public shaming” of American citizens, according to a 2023 federal report. The National Security Agency has stalked Americans via their cellphones, covertly installed spyware onto personal computers, and treated anyone “searching the Web for suspicious stuff” like a terrorist suspect. The Patriot Act spurred the illegal seizure of personal and financial information from tens of millions of Americans. Customs agents can seize and copy the cellphones, laptop drives, and private papers of any American crossing the U.S. border. The Drug Enforcement Administration is building a secret nationwide network of license plate scanners to track every driver. Federally funded “fusion centers” are stockpiling Suspicious Activity Reports on tourists who photograph landmarks, “people who avoid eye contact,” and anyone “reverent of individual liberty.” The FBI’s “terrorist warning signs” include hotel guests using “Do Not Disturb” signs and the Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” flag.

    At the same time spying on citizens skyrocketed, Washington dropped an Iron Curtain around itself. The government is committing more crimes than citizens will ever know. Whistleblowers and journalists are hounded as if exposing official lies is a heresy against democracy. Every year, the federal government slaps a “secret” label on trillions of pages of information — enough to fill 20 million filing cabinets. Any document which is classified is treated like a holy relic that cannot be exposed without damning the nation. Self-government has been defined down to paying, obeying, and wearing a federal blindfold. There are plenty of laws to protect government secrets but no law to protect democracy from federal secrecy.

    The First Amendment is becoming a historic relic. Federal Judge Terry Doughty recently condemned the Biden administration for potentially “the most massive attack against free speech in United States history.” That verdict was ratified in September 2023 by a federal appeals court ruling slamming the White House and federal agencies for actions that resulted in “suppressing millions of protected free speech postings by American citizens.” Federal agencies pirouetted as a “Ministry of Truth,” according to the court rulings. Censorship converts citizens into captives. Federal censorship tainted the 2020 and 2022 elections, suppressing tens of millions of tweets, YouTube videos, and Facebook posts from conservatives and Republicans. White House officials even ordered Facebook to delete humorous memes, including a parody of a future television ad: “Did you or a loved one take the COVID vaccine? You may be entitled…”

    Rather than the Rule of Law, we have a government of threats, intimidation, and browbeating. “Government of the people” defaulted into “government for the people,” which degenerated into perennially punishing people for their own good. Twenty-five years ago, Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg warned against permitting federal agencies “the extraordinary authority… to manufacture crimes.” Entrapment schemes proliferate as G-men fabricate crimes to justify budget increases. The FBI, pretending that rosary beads could be extremist symbols, is targeting traditional Catholics across the nation because of their conservative moral values. The FBI entitles its legions of confidential informants to commit more than 5,000 crimes a year, dragging many unlucky bystanders to their legal doom. The number of inmates in federal prison increased 500% since 1980, and America has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Politicians are more anxious to control citizens than to protect them. More people are busted each year for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes combined, while the futile War on Drugs causes more fatalities than ever before.

    Every recent administration has expanded and exploited the dictatorial potential of the presidency. Former President Richard Nixon shocked Americans in 1977 when he asserted during a television interview: “When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.” But Nixon’s slogan is the Oval Office maxim for the new millennium. Presidents now only need to find a single federal lawyer who says, “Yes, Master!” President George W. Bush’s lawyers secretly decided that neither federal law nor the Constitution could limit the power of the president, who could declare martial law or authorize torture at his whim. President Barack Obama claimed a prerogative to assassinate Americans he labeled terrorist suspects. President Donald Trump boasted of “an absolute right to do what I want to with the Justice Department.” In 2022, President Biden proclaimed that “liberty is under assault.” But he was referring solely to a few court rulings he disapproved, not to the federal supremacy he championed for almost 50 years in the Senate and the White House.

    The authoritarian trendline in American political life is more important than the name or party of any officeholder. “One precedent in favor of power is stronger than a hundred against it,” as Thomas Jefferson warned during the American Revolution. Unfortunately, there are a hundred precedents in favor of government now for each precedent in favor of liberty. There is a “No harm, no foul” attitude towards violating the Constitution, and Washington almost always hides the harm. The sheer power of federal agencies such as the FBI is becoming one of the gravest perils to American democracy.

    Elections are becoming demolition derbies that threaten to wreck the nation. Historian Henry Adams observed a century ago that politics “has always been the systematic organization of hatreds.” Nowadays, politics seems hell-bent on multiplying hatred. Enraged activists are increasingly tarring all their opponents as traitors. Many of the protestors who spent years vehemently denouncing Trump were not opposed to dictators per se; they simply wanted different dictates. More than half of Americans expect a civil war “in the next few years,” according to a recent survey.

    Americans are indoctrinated in public schools to presume that our national DNA guarantees that we will always be free. But few follies are more perilous than presuming that individual rights are safe in perpetuity. None of the arguments on why liberty is inevitable can explain why it is becoming an endangered species. Yet many people believe that liberty will inevitably triumph because of some “law of history” never enacted by God, a convocation of cardinals, or even the Arkansas state legislature. Presuming that freedom is our destiny lulls people against political predators.

    Federal Judge Learned Hand warned in 1944: “Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it.” But Americans are more likely to encounter liberty in history books instead of their own lives. Many young people are unaware of bygone eras when Americans could travel without being groped, buy a beer or smoke a cigar without committing a federal offense, or protest without being quarantined in an Orwellian “free-speech zone.” Is the spirit of liberty dead? Almost a third of young American adults support installing mandatory government surveillance cameras in private homes to “reduce domestic violence, abuse, and other illegal activity.”

    We have an Impunity Democracy in which government officials pay no price for their crimes. Americans today are more likely to believe in witches, ghosts, and astrology than to trust the federal government. Washington’s legitimacy is in tatters thanks to a long train of bipartisan perfidy. If government is lawless, elections merely designate the most dangerous criminals in the land.

    At a time when foreign democracies are collapsing like dominos, can America avoid becoming the “elective despotism” the Founding Fathers dreaded? The first step to reviving liberty is to recognize how far politicians have stretched their power. But nothing can safeguard freedom except the bravery of citizens who refuse to be shackled.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 20:45

  • Chinese Spies Offer Pilot $15 Million To Steal US-Made Chinook Helicopter And Land On PLA Carrier
    Chinese Spies Offer Pilot $15 Million To Steal US-Made Chinook Helicopter And Land On PLA Carrier

    Chinese intelligence officials offered a Taiwanese army pilot millions of dollars to steal a US-made transport helicopter and land on a Chinese aircraft carrier. 

    The South China Morning Post reported Lieutenant Colonel “Hsieh” was offered $15 million by Chinese spies to steal a Boeing CH-47 Chinook and land on a People’s Liberation Army Navy aircraft carrier during a military drill near the self-ruled island.

    The plan to steal the Chinook came to an abrupt end when Taiwanese authorities arrested Hsieh in August for allegedly spying for Beijing. 

    In an indictment revealed by the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors Office on Monday, “Lieutenant Colonel Hsieh was asked to fly the helicopter at low altitude along the coastline to the Chinese Communist carrier which would be staging drills close to the waters 24 nautical miles [44km] off [Taiwan].” 

    According to prosecutors, the lieutenant colonel suggested that the PLA stage war drills near the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung so that he would not have to cross the Median line that separates the island and the mainland in the Taiwan Strait. The idea behind this would minimize any risk of the helicopter being intercepted by Taiwan’s Air Force jets. 

    The indictment also said Hsieh spoke with Chinese spies in July about the defection, including a plan to help his family immigrate to Thailand. 

    SCMP noted that prosecutors arrested Hsieh following a “tip” but did not explain further how he was caught. 

    “I feel pained, too, to have discovered a case like this, and those allegedly involved should be dealt with according to the law,” said Chiu Kuo-cheng, Taiwan’s defense chief, during a session with lawmakers in Taipei’s parliament on Monday.

    The good news is that the US hasn’t stationed fifth-generation F-35 stealth jets on the island, which, presumably, the communist regime would be eager to steal.

     

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 20:25

  • Canadian Medical Schools Asked To Shift From "Medical Expertise" To Anti-Racism & Social Justice Training
    Canadian Medical Schools Asked To Shift From “Medical Expertise” To Anti-Racism & Social Justice Training

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    There is a major controversy brewing in Canada over a proposal in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons that schools shift from emphasizing “medical expertise” in favor of teaching “anti-racism” and social justice values.

    An organization of physicians called Do No Harm is opposing the recommendation of the interim report by the college’s Anti-Racism Expert Working Group.

    The report states that the new emphasis should center around “values such as anti-oppression, anti-racism, and social justice, rather than medical expertise.”

    By “de-centering medical expertise,” the anti-racism experts suggest courses focusing on  “anti-racism,” “anti-oppression,” “social justice and equity,” “inclusive compassion,” and “decolonization.”

    That includes the perils of capitalism and other “power structures”:

    “Anti-racism is deeply rooted in anti-oppression, which analyzes the world through the lens of power, including the historical and ongoing structures of racism, white supremacy, settler colonialism, heteropatriarchy, capitalism, ableism, classism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia and more. Anti-racism and antioppression call for action on the manifestations of oppression based on race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, immigration status and more. “

    In a separate report, the group has also opposed U.S. medical schools filtering out applicants who opposed DEI values.

    The group states that it found that “the admissions process at 50 of the top-ranked medical schools found that 36 asked applicants their views on, or experience in, DEI efforts” to “screen out dissenters.”

    Most U.S. medical schools currently have some DEI and diversity courses incorporated into their curriculums. Some now give an alternative hippocratic oath pledging social justice and anti-racist action.

    It is not clear how much of the traditional curriculum would be displaced under the recommendation in Canada.

    With a kid in his first-year of medical school at Georgetown, I am amazed at the overwhelming burden on these students in taking these medical courses. The first year curriculum seems an all-consuming effort to cover the basic medical jargon, training, and science. I cannot imagine shoe-horning other subjects into that dense coverage or what would be jettisoned to make room for the new emphasis.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 20:05

  • IBM Slapped With Federal Civil Rights Complaint After Racist CEO's "Obviously Illegal" Hiring Practices Leak
    IBM Slapped With Federal Civil Rights Complaint After Racist CEO’s “Obviously Illegal” Hiring Practices Leak

    IBM has been hit with a federal civil rights complaint after James O’Keefe posted video leaked by an insider of CEO and Chairman Arvind Krishna outlining racist business practices.

    “On December 11, 2023, a tape of IBM Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman Arvind Krishna was released on X.4 In the video, Krishna promises to fire, demote, or deny bonuses to corporate executives who either fail to meet the corporation’s racial and national origin hiring quotas or who hire too many Asian individuals,” reads a letter from America First Legal Foundation.

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    The letter references the below video of Krishna admitting to using coercion to fire people and reduce their bonuses if they don’t discriminate in the hiring process.

    “You got to move both forward by a percentage that leads to a plus on your bonus,” Krishna said, referring to hiring hispanics. “and by the way if you lose, you lose part of your bonus.

    He also said that “Asians are not an underrepresented minority in tech in America…I’m not going to finess this, for blacks we should try to get towards 13 percent.”

    Meanwhile IBM subsidiary chairman Paul Cormier of Red Hat says in the recording that they’ve terminated people unwilling to engage in racial discrimination.

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    As an aside, this comes as Krishna, a racist, was Reelected as a Class B Director of the New York Fed.

    X owner Elon Musk said that the release was “Extremely concerning and obviously illegal,” to which O’Keefe replied: “Elon, this was an insider at IBM who came to me with the CEO recording inspired by what you said telling both IBM and Disney to F off.”

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    Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits IBM from discriminating against an employee or an applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; to limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or to discriminate against any individual because of his race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” reads the letter from America First.

    O’Keefe encourages people fired from IBM or Red Hat in connection with this issue to contact him.

    Read the full letter below:

    December 12, 2023

    Timothy Riera, Director (acting)
    Jeffrey Burstein, Regional Attorney
    New York District Office
    U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
    33 Whitehall Street, 5th Floor
    New York, NY 10004

    Investigation Request: International Business Machines Corporation (“IBM”)

    Dear Mr. Riera and Mr. Burstein:

    America First Legal Foundation (“AFL”) is a national nonprofit organization working to protect the rule of law, due process, and equal protection for all Americans. We write pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 1601.6(a) seeking issuance of a Commissioner’s charge for an inquiry into individual or systemic discrimination by International Business Machines Corporation (“IBM”). IBM is a publicly traded corporation headquartered at 1 New Orchard Road, Armonk, NY 10504.

    Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits IBM from discriminating against an employee or an applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; to limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or to discriminate against any individual because of his race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in admission to or employment in any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training. However, the evidence is that IBM is knowingly, intentionally, and systematically engaging in such unlawful employment practices.

    On December 11, 2023, a tape of IBM Chief Executive Officer and Board Chairman Arvind Krishna was released on X. In the video, Krishna promises to fire, demote, or deny bonuses to corporate executives who either fail to meet the corporation’s racial and national origin hiring quotas or who hire too many Asian individuals. Also, Paul Cormier, the chairman of IBM subsidiary Red Hat, admits employees who failed to meet or comply with the corporation’s unlawful racial and national origin quotas were terminated.

    A Commissioner’s charge is particularly appropriate here because there is ample reason to believe that IBM has knowingly and intentionally violated federal law and intends to continue doing so. Krishna, Cormier, and others in management have embedded immoral and unlawful employment practices into the corporation’s culture. For example, IBM’s 2022 ESG report acknowledges that ‘A modifier for diversity results is included in the annual incentive program for our executives globally and is based on improvement in executive representation for women globally and U.S. underrepresented minority (URM) groups (specifically Black and Hispanic) for our executives in the U.S.’

    Discrimination based on immutable characteristics such as race, color, national origin, or sex ‘generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone.’ More broadly, IBM’s employment practices foment contention and resentment–they are ‘odious and destructive.’ It truly ‘is a sordid business, this divvying us up’ by race or sex.

    Thank you in advance for your consideration. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

    Sincerely,

    /s/ Gene P. Hamilton
    Gene P. Hamilton
    America First Legal Foundation”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 19:45

  • Portland Officials Propose To Re-Ban Public Drug Use, Governor To Declare "Fentanyl Emergency"
    Portland Officials Propose To Re-Ban Public Drug Use, Governor To Declare “Fentanyl Emergency”

    Authored by Stephen Katte via The Epoch Times,

    Portland’s Central City Task Force (PCCTF) has proposed to restore a ban on illicit drug use in public areas as part of the city’s long-term plan to solve its “most pressing challenges.”

    The PCCTF was launched in August to address issues like homelessness, public safety, drug use, and crime in Portland after the Oregon Health Authority warned in May that, on average, three residents are dying every day from an unintended drug overdose.

    Task force co-chairs Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek and Dan McMillan, president and CEO of The Standard insurance company, recently released the task force’s action plan of ten priority recommendations for 2024, including banning controlled substances and reducing barriers to prosecuting large drug trades.

    The task force said that state lawmakers should restore law enforcement’s ability to prosecute for attempting to deliver illicit drugs to another party based on the amount.

    More police and increased “law enforcement responses around the Central City” are also suggested.

    Portland passed measure 110, the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act, in November 2020 with 58 percent voter support. After becoming law, illicit drugs such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin were decriminalized, allowing small amounts to be carried for personal use.

    The city has since been grappling with increased homelessness and substance abuse, both of which critics contend have been exacerbated by Measure 110 and the decriminalization of hard drugs. Portland City Council voted unanimously on Sept. 6 to ban substances such as fentanyl and heroin from being used in public amid the ongoing opioid and public health crisis.

    Authorities in Oregon seized tens of thousands of fentanyl pills in Multnomah County back in August, marking the largest illegal drug bust in county history, according to officials. Upon closer inspection of the seized drugs, authorities found 58,000 individual fentanyl pills and 16 pounds of fentanyl powder. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, can prove deadly as it is many times more potent than heroin, elevating overdose risk.

    Other proposals from the PCCTF to combat the spiraling drug issues facing the city include ramping up existing infrastructure for effective and speedy implementation of a drug public use ban, while also declaring a tri-government fentanyl emergency for Oregon, Multnomah County, and the City of Portland. As part of the proposal, these areas would declare a 90-day emergency on fentanyl and establish a command center led by the state to deal with the ongoing fentanyl crisis.

    Gov. Kotek, a Democrat, announced on Dec. 11, after the action plan by the PCCTF was released, that she will declare a statewide fentanyl emergency and expects leaders in both Portland and Multnomah County to do the same, saying that “Times of crisis can lead to a desire for drastic change.”

    Between 2020 to 2021, the number of unintentional fentanyl deaths across the state more than doubled from 226 to 508, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Overdoses in the state continued to increase between November 2021 to November 2022, when deaths surpassed the national average by sevenfold, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    Ms. Kotek said that confronting the challenges facing the city and the broader state will require “the hope and fortitude of an entire community.”

    “We have a set of concrete recommendations, some the first of their kind, others that tap into Portland’s strengths in innovation, collaboration, art, and culture,” she said.

    “The reward for a strong start is more work. I am committed to this effort and excited to see this work unfold,” the governor added.

    Mr. McMillan also believes solving ongoing issues in the region will require a united effort, an idea that he says the task force has been discussing since day one.

    “When the Governor and I convened the task force in late summer, it was under the theory that Portland’s challenges don’t solely rest on the shoulders of government, community, or business and that you need diverse, and sometimes unlikely, partnerships to get big things done,” Mr. McMillan said.

    Among the other recommendations by the PCCTF are increasing homeless shelter capacity and deploying more counseling and direct support services for unhoused people. Cosmetic changes are also on the agenda, such as removing plywood barriers and fences erected around federal buildings to protect them from vandalism during the waves of social justice protests that erupted after the in-custody death of George Floyd. Ms. Kotek and McMillan said the use of barriers “sends the wrong signal to visitors.”

    A moratorium on new taxes and targeted tax relief has been suggested as well. The PCCTF said that “Portland is the second highest taxed city in the nation; we trail New York City by only a fraction.”

    To reduce the tax pressure on residents, the task force is proposing that elected officials agree to a three-year pause, through 2026, on any new taxes and fees.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 19:25

  • McLayoffs Incoming: McDonalds Embracing Google's AI For Online Ordering
    McLayoffs Incoming: McDonalds Embracing Google’s AI For Online Ordering

    The American worker’s plan to phase themselves out of the job market once and for all is almost complete. At least, that’s what the case looks to be like at McDonald’s. The fast food restaurant, which has already adopted self-serve kiosks in store, is now tapping Google’s AI for its online ordering experience.

    In a press release out late last week, McDonald’s said the partnership “is a significant step for McDonald’s in advancing its restaurant technology platform to become the most sophisticated and productive in the industry.”

    Because that’s what you look for when you want a hamburger…

    Brian Rice, McDonald’s Executive Vice President and Global Chief Information Officer, commented: “We see tremendous opportunity for growth in our digital business and our partnership with Google Cloud allows us to capitalize on this by leveraging our size and scale to build capabilities and implement solutions at unmatched speeds.”

    He added: “Connecting our restaurants worldwide to millions of datapoints across our digital ecosystem means tools get sharper, models get smarter, restaurants become easier to operate, and most importantly, the overall experience for our customers and crew gets even better.”

    Yeah, and the less minimum wage-making human meat suits we have littering the floors of our kitchen, the more efficient and cheaper things get. After all, AI doesn’t even have to take bathroom breaks! 

    The chain says the partnership will help it roll out “significant advancements to its restaurant and customer platforms”. 

    ” With a consistent approach, McDonald’s expects to deploy innovations with much greater speed and agility. McDonald’s will use edge computing from Google Cloud to power these new platforms, bringing information storage and high powered computing into individual restaurants,” the press release says.

    Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Through this wide-ranging partnership, Google Cloud will help McDonald’s seize on new opportunities to transform its business and customer experiences, empowering restaurants worldwide with the latest technologies for near-term impact.”

    “Pairing the iconic brand, size and scale of McDonald’s with Google Cloud’s deep history in AI and technology innovation will redefine how this industry works and what people expect when they dine out,” he continued. 

    All of that is nice, but all we’ve been looking for over the last 3 decades is to get no onions on our burger when we specifically ask for no onions. Has AI solved that problem yet?

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 19:05

  • How Did The US Government Become So Big?
    How Did The US Government Become So Big?

    Authored by John Carroll via The Mises Institute,

    How big is the federal government?

    Two measures are the number of civilian employees (nearly two million) and the number of agencies (now exceeding 440).

    These numbers barely hint at their massive meddling into business activities and the personal lives of Americans.

    While government was relatively small and less intrusive during its first hundred years, the Constitution held defects. In part, they resulted from the unavoidable compromises of consensus. The founders knew this, and some had anticipated civil war decades before the first shots were fired. Many other problems emerged during the great expansion of the nineteenth century due to the industrial revolution, the growth of America’s land area, and several political factors, mostly unanticipated. As population grew from about five million in 1800 to more than seventy-six million in 1900, government gained accordingly.

    It was during the early twentieth century that the government acquired many extraconstitutional powers to intervene in our lives. This was accompanied by a great expansion of its jurisdiction and cost: new agencies, more government workers, more taxes. To give you a hint of this growth, here is an excerpt from the Congressional testimony of Doctor Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute in 2005:

    We come, then, to the nub of the matter. Search the Constitution as you will, you will find no authority for Congress to appropriate and spend federal funds on education, agriculture, disaster relief, retirement programs, housing, healthcare, day care, the arts, public broadcasting—the list is endless. That is what I meant at the outset when I said that most of what the federal government is doing today is unconstitutional because it is done without constitutional authority. Reducing that point to its essence, the Constitution says, in effect, that everything that is not authorized—to the government, by the people, through the Constitution—is forbidden. Progressives turned that on its head: Everything that is not forbidden is authorized.

    Almost fourteen years have elapsed since Doctor Pilon’s testimony. Today, the federal government is far larger and more intrusive, having enlisted the support of Big Tech, Big Pharma, academia, the legacy media, and others. But still, how did the government grow so large?

    A Fateful Error

    It actually began during America’s founding, according to Professor Randy Barnett of George Mason University. In his most recent bookOur Republican Constitution, he cites the principal-agent dilemma that arose after the 1787 constitution was ratified: The adoption effectively dissolved the Articles of Confederation and the Continental Congress. In turn, this deprived the states of an active forum to oversee the new government. Furthermore, there was no provision in the Constitution for an independent plenary tribunal to adjudicate disputes concerning federalism. No wonder then that several delegates refused to sign the final draft. In his last workThe Rise and Fall of Society, Frank Chodorov wrote this about the charter’s signers:

    “The ink was hardly dry on the Constitution before its authors, now in position of authority, began to rewrite it by interpretation, to the end that its bonds would loosen . . . to extend the power of the central government.”

    Some readers might respond that the states now had the Senate as their forum for overseeing legislation. Although members of the Senate were to be appointed by their respective state legislatures, and the Senate body held veto power over bills, the small states were outnumbered. Importantly, Senate bills were subject to defeat by the House of Representatives, in which a few densely populated commercial states reigned supreme.

    Exploiting the Stealth Clauses

    Federalist delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention openly stated their desire for a strong central government. In private communications with these colleagues, Alexander Hamilton expressed hope that the new government would eventually consolidate, with the states losing power and importance over time.

    It should not be surprising then that the final draft Constitution held expressions that were capable of more than one interpretation. I shall refer to these as stealth clauses because they have been employed by federal courts to produce outcomes that were clearly unintended using customary meanings at the time of founding. Let us examine a few cases and consider their consequences.

    How the Courts Boost Federal Power

    First of all, courts do not base their decisions exclusively on the text of the Constitution with its amendments. No, instead they refer to the Constitution Annotated, a publication weighing many pounds. The Constitution Annotated is comprised of an amended Constitution annotated with analyses of all federal Court decisions since the federal judiciary opened for business. Constitutional lawyers depend on this publication to employ the rule of stare decisis, which serves to honor judicial precedents of like cases.

    Murray Rothbard discussed the issue at length in his work Anatomy of the State. In the chapter “How the State Transcends Its Limits,” he quotes from The People and the Court by Professor Charles L. Black Jr.:

    The prime and most necessary function of the [Supreme] Court has been that of validation, not that of invalidation. What a government of limited powers needs, at the beginning and forever, is some means of satisfying the people that it has taken all steps humanly possible to stay within its powers. This is the condition of its legitimacy, and its legitimacy, in the long run, is the condition of its life. The court, through its history, has acted as the legitimation of the government.

    It should be noted that the court is biased to favor Congress (the justices call it deference) in these cases. This is common knowledge and is openly conceded by judicial appointees and by justices in their official opinions. Indeed, Chief Justice John Roberts provided the key defense for the Affordable Care Act, even though that law was opposed by twenty-six attorneys general during a court challenge.

    The earliest event that my research uncovered was not a court case but a dispute between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton was promoting his ambitious plan to improve the new nation’s financial condition; it would require Congress to charter a bank modeled after the Bank of England. Jefferson believed this was unconstitutional; the Constitution did not even mention banks.

    But Hamilton convinced President George Washington that the Constitution was not meant to cover everything the nation might need in the future, and to meet this need, Article I, Section 8 ended by granting power to “make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution” (emphasis mine) the enumerated federal powers granted by the Constitution. So, the “bank law” was passed by Congress and signed into law, creating the First Bank of the United States.

    Of all stealth clauses, the commerce clause was almost the last to be exploited. Article I, Section 8 states that “Congress shall have the power to regulate commerce among the several states.”

    In the case Wickard v. Filburn, a poor Ohio farmer was fined $117 for planting more wheat than his allotted 111 acres under a New Deal law. The government claimed his infraction “affected” market prices of wheat, even though he planted it just for family use. The false principal established after the Supreme Court upheld this case had a profound outcome. Almost all federal agencies could be disbanded if the case were overturned.

    In a case under the New Deal’s National Recovery Act, a poor immigrant operated his dry-cleaning shop in New Jersey. He was fined one hundred dollars for charging five cents less than was allowed by the National Recovery Act to dry-clean a garment. He was jailed for a second infraction, while his family struggled to pay the fine.

    In both of these cases, the government claimed that the violations affected interstate commerce, even though that was patently false. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court upheld both cases. Clearly, government inspectors chose to prosecute the innocent citizens to serve as examples and create fear in others.

    The Constitution refers to general welfare in two places, the preamble and the taxing and spending clause. These references have been used as justification for a number of measures that were surely not envisioned by the framers. One example was adoption of the prohibition amendment. Another was the Social Security Act and countless other measures passed for the “general welfare.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 18:45

  • NObamacare? Americans Are Skipping Doctor Visits Due To Costs
    NObamacare? Americans Are Skipping Doctor Visits Due To Costs

    Twenty-eight percent of U.S. adults were forced to skip or delay medical care in 2022 because they could not afford to pay for it, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Board.

    As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, this is an increase from the 24 percent in 2021 and the highest share of U.S. adults since before the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, was introduced back in 2014.

    Infographic: Americans Are Skipping Doctor Visits Due to Costs | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Dental care was the most frequently missed form of healthcare, having been skipped due to costs by 21 percent of respondents in the prior 12 months to the survey. It was followed by seeing a doctor or specialist (16 percent), forgoing prescription medicine (10 percent), follow-up care (10 percent), mental health care or counseling (10 percent). Respondents could select multiple answers to this question.

    According to the FRB, the increase in the share of people delaying or avoiding medical care is likely at least partly due to high inflation in the U.S., as patients tried to find ways to cut back on expenses. This matches up to the data in the report, which shows that those with a higher family income and more of a buffer zone were less likely to have skipped or delayed medical care. For those with a family income of less than $25,000, 38 percent of adults went without some form of medical care because of the costs, versus just 11 percent of adults making $100,000 or more.

    Similarly, family income seems to correlate with reported levels of health. The FRB explains that for those with an income at $25,000 per year or less, 75 percent of respondents said they were in good health. For those earning $100,000 plus, the figure was 91 percent.

    Other surveys tell the same tale. For example, Gallup researchers found that there had been a 12 percentage point increase in the share of Americans reporting that they or a family member had postponed medical treatment between 2022 and the year before, bringing the latest figure to 38 percent – the highest level since 2001. In this study, lower-income adults, younger adults and women in the U.S. were more likely than other respondents to say they or someone in their family have delayed care for a serious medical condition. Meanwhile, a 2023 survey by the Commonwealth Fund found that 46 percent of those with low or average incomes had skipped or delayed needed care because of the cost.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 18:25

  • China's Promise Of Reform Yet To Impress Traders
    China’s Promise Of Reform Yet To Impress Traders

    Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist,

    Stock index futures in the FTSE China A50 are so far up a little (amid some volatility) as the 2023 Central Economic Work Conference takes place in China.

    Like many government announcements – in China or elsewhere – they’re just talk, and not all may work as intended, or even be properly followed through.

    That’s why watching the hard data is key to know for sure that any promulgated reforms are actually working.

    One of the best in China is real M1 growth, a broad measure of money supply.

    It leads the economy, and has caught most of the cyclical ups and downs in China over the last two decades.

    It has yet to show a convincing sign of turning up, but when it does it will be much surer sign reforms in China working.

    Obviously the stock market may bottom before that, which is why looking for signs of capitulation in breadth, collectively a group of indicators that show how broad index gains are distributed, is equally as important for investors as tracking potential reforms and following the money.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 18:05

  • Ready To Rumble: Lawsuits Against Censorship-Industrial Complex Heat Up After Musk Kicks Open The Floodgates
    Ready To Rumble: Lawsuits Against Censorship-Industrial Complex Heat Up After Musk Kicks Open The Floodgates

    It took the richest man in the world to begin dismantling the censorship-industrial complex; a tightly connected network of government agencies, think tanks, private media platforms, and activist organizations whose goal is to censor, control, and bankrupt free speech platforms under the guise of battling ‘hate speech’ and ‘misinformation’ that run counter to prevailing establishment narratives.

    One of these entities, the Center for Countering Digital Hate, is a dark money organization run by an alleged former British intelligence operative.

    We know all this because just over a year ago, X (formerly Twitter) owner Elon Musk disseminated the “Twitter Files” to a small group of independent journalists, from which we learned that the Biden administration collaborated with Twitter to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story, ban Donald Trump, and that the FBI essentially had its entire arm up Twitter’s ass in order to shape and control narratives.

    We also learned about the aforementioned relationships between the censorship-industrial complex.

    Let the games begin!

    In August, Musk kicked off what has become several lawsuits against anti-free speech advocates, filing a lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which X has accused of “actively working to assert false and misleading claims encouraging advertisers to pause investment on the platform.”

    CCDH Director Imran Ahmed

    “X is a free public service funded largely by advertisers,” according to a Twitter blog entry. “Through the CCDH’s scare campaign and its ongoing pressure on brands to prevent the public’s access to free expression, the CCDH is actively working to prevent public dialogue.”

    In October, Consortium News sued NewsGuard – a company which assigns scores to websites alleging to rank their credibility, for “acting jointly or in concert with the United States to coerce news organizations to alter viewpoints” regarding Ukraine, Russia and Syria, and has impsed a form of “censorship and repression of views” that diverge from US policies and those of its allies. The Biden administration was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

    Then in November, X filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, after threatening to file a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against the left-leaning activist group “and all those who colluded” with them in a disinformation campaign and advertiser boycott against the social media platform.

    The lawsuit, just filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas Fort Worth Division, alleges the organization’s tactics were manipulative and deceptive.

    The suit claims:

    Media Matters has opted for new tactics in its campaign to drive advertisers from X. Media Matters has manipulated the algorithms governing the user experience on X to bypass safeguards and create images of X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts adjacent to racist, incendiary content, leaving the false impression that these pairings are anything but what they actually are: manufactured, inorganic, and extraordinarily rare.

    Media Matters executed this plot in multiple steps, as X’s internal investigations have revealed.

    Following the lawsuit, Texas AG Ken Paxton announced an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraudulent activity.

    Last week, the state of Texas, the Daily Wire and The Federalist sued the US State Department for conspiring with Newsguard to censor American media companies, and that the government agency funded censorship technology designed to bankrupt domestic media outlets which have disfavored political opinions. Read the 67-page complaint here.

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    Let’s get ready to Rumble…

    On Nov. 30, streaming video platform Rumble sued two liberal activists who they allege worked in conjunction with Media Matters to lie about their source of ad revenues, thereby causing material damage to their reputation, as well as the destruction of more than $185 million from their market cap – despite the fact that Rumble notified them that they were incorrect.

    Nandini Jammi (@nandoodles), Claire Atkin (@catthekin) – founders of “Check My Ads,” and nine anonymous individuals who work for Media Matters and Dewey Square, a “hyper-partisan public affairs agency.”

    For example, Jammi was salivating over the opportunity to further demonetize X before Musk’s decision to reinstate Alex Jones to the platform.

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    And now, Rumble is suing…

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    Interestingly, Media Matters is accused of similar manipulation as the X lawsuit, namely that they manipulated Rumble’s platform to show Netflix ads next to a user-generated video expressing antisemitic views, which Media Matters staff ‘repeatedly refreshed,’ which caused ‘Rumble’s advertising system to serve different advertisements until Media Matters found one that it could use as fodder for its public pressure campaign.”

    As it turned out, the Media Matters employee engaging in this tactic was the only one to actually view the Netflix ad on the video.”

    And so, as the lawsuits against the censorship complex begin to fly, one can’t help but feel that the tide may actually be turning – or at least, said censors will think twice before spouting defamatory claims about platforms that allow divergent opinions.

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 17:45

  • Trump Predicts He Can Win Deep Blue State
    Trump Predicts He Can Win Deep Blue State

    Authored by Catherine Yang and Eva Fu via Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Former President Donald Trump headlined the New York Young Republican Club’s annual Gala on the evening of Dec. 9, telling the cheering audience that so many people had come out to support him that he had seen the spillover crowd on his drive to the Wall Street location.

    Former President Donald Trump speaks at the New York Young Republican Club’s annual Gala at Cipriani’s Wall Street in New York on Dec. 9, 2023. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

    It is great to be back in New York, and it’s a true honor to address the oldest and largest Young Republican Club in the United States,” he said.

    “I want to express my tremendous gratitude to all of you for being one of the very first organizations in the entire nation to endorse my 2024 [run]. It’s happening, it’s happening. You shouldn’t have had to wait this long. But you know, things like that happen.

    I’m telling you, this is a place that can be won.

    He revealed that his optimism stemmed from the fact that the majority of his supporters are average Americans. According to President Trump, the bulk of his campaign funds hasn’t come from megadonors but from regular people and families who give an average of $61, adding up to “millions and millions of dollars each week.”

    “We’re taking in numbers that nobody’s ever seen before,” President Trump said.

    “And if we win New York … then we win the election very, very easily.

    “If we win New York and we’ll counter all of the cheating that will go on, because we have to catch them.”

    Contrasting Campaigns

    The former president made several references to alleged election fraud during the 2020 general election and then noted that he initially hadn’t planned to make President Joe Biden a major campaign point. But then “once I got indicted, the first time, and then the second, third, fourth … what’s happened is, since they’ve done it, the gloves are off.”

    President Trump ran through his campaign, contrasting it to the Biden administration’s policies.

    He touted his record on foreign policy and said he would end the wars in Ukraine and Israel without sending U.S. soldiers into war. The former president also touted his border plans, which had gotten him elected in 2016, and said he would reinstate travel bans and add ideological screening in the immigration process.

    If you want to abolish Israel, if you want to sympathize with jihadists, then we don’t want you in our country, and you are not getting in,” President Trump said.

    He also criticized President Biden’s economic and energy agendas, which he said have put the country on the brink of a depression.

    “While Biden is devastating opportunities for young Americans, I will fight for young Americans like no president has ever fought before,” the former president said.

    President Trump mocked his political opponent’s speech wherein President Biden said “MAGA extremists” needed to be stopped, using a popular abbreviation for “Make America Great Again,” a campaign slogan of President Trump’s.

    Yeah, I’m extreme about making America great again,” he said.

    President Trump also criticized the establishment media, which he said have taken part in “waging an all-out war on American democracy … with one hoax, witch hunt, and abuse of power after another,” pushing back on recent reports and commentary in several media outlets that have pushed a narrative that President Trump would threaten democracy.

    “No, I’m not a threat; I will save democracy,” he said. “I’m running to liberate America. We want to liberate America, because we’re the country that’s in a lot of pain. … This is a righteous crusade to rescue our nation from a very corrupt political class.”

    Lawsuits

    Speakers also included Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.). President Trump at length thanked his supporters and allies in the audience, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who’s President Trump’s codefendant in a racketeering case that accuses both of them of interfering with the 2020 election in Georgia.

    “He’d go to the different legislatures and talk to legislators, and they all agreed with him,” he said. “But then the courts would hold them back, because judges didn’t have the courage to do what they should have done. But Rudy is a warrior, he’s a brave guy, and he’s a brilliant man.”

    President Trump faces a total of 91 criminal charges in four separate jurisdictions and dozens more civil lawsuits on top of that.

    In New York, he’s currently on trial for fraud. On the afternoon of Dec. 10, he announced that he was no longer planning to testify before the defense rests its case the coming week.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James had brought the civil suit against President Trump and his Trump Organization, claiming that he defrauded the state by artificially inflating his net worth and depriving banks of some $250 million in interest.

    New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, presiding over a bench trial, found President Trump guilty a week ahead of the trial and ordered the dissolution of the president’s holding companies. An appeals court has since paused that order, and the defense is expected to be mounting an appeal as they streamline their case for trial to end it quickly.

    The whole world is watching my trial where I’ve been proven innocent every day,” President Trump said at the gala. “The case going on right now in New York State Supreme Court is a ridiculous, never-brought-before case.”

    He suggested that the several cases against him didn’t present unwinnable odds, noting that his poll numbers rise whenever new legal action against him is announced and that he’s faced greater odds before.

    In October 2016, President Trump said his chances had looked bad, and he called on nearly a dozen advisers to ask what he should do. Every single person—with the exception of Steve Bannon, who told him that he would win “100 percent”—told him to resign, even though he was the party nominee, he said.

    “If we lose, we lose,” President Trump said that he thought. “It’s horrible, but it’s not historic. … I didn’t like the concept of that.

    Advertisement – Story continues below

    “Nobody felt we could win. … and now they’re starting to say that we can.

    “So we’re going to give it a shot. I’ll tell you what, I’ve never seen enthusiasm like I’m seeing right now.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 17:25

  • Zelensky Dubiously Pledges 'Victory' While Biden Says 'Don't Give Up Hope'
    Zelensky Dubiously Pledges ‘Victory’ While Biden Says ‘Don’t Give Up Hope’

    (Update1710ET): Simply judging by the below somewhat chaotic scene of Zelensky at the White House, the Ukrainian leader is no longer the star of the show as he was in the war’s first year. Gone are the days of the press pool fawning over him or being in awe at his presence. Instead the press primarily peppered Biden with questions.

    Even Biden’s words struck a more dour tone than previous meetings with Zelensky: “I don’t want you giving up hope,” the US President told Zelensky. “We’re going to stay at your side.” This after Zelensky dubiously tried to push a message of “Ukraine can win” – a narrative which as the Financial Times noted Ukrainian citizens themselves are in increasing disbelief of. Biden still gave out another $200 million of what’s left before DoD funding runs dry for the year…

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    Perhaps not having much left that’s original to say at this point, as the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on approaching the end of a second full year, Biden said that if Congress fails to approve his defense funding package it would be a “Christmas gift” to Putin. He also said that Russia has failed to subjugate Ukraine. Further, the following statements were issued:

    • BIDEN: WE ARE COMING TO THE END OF OUR ABILITY TO HELP UKRAINE
    • BIDEN: PUTIN IS BANKING ON THE US FAILING TO DELIVER FOR UKRAINE

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    During the Q&A in the post-meeting presser, both Zelensky and Biden rejected the idea of Ukraine ceding territory for the sake of achieving permanent ceasefire and peace. Notably, Zelensky went so far as to call this “insane”.

    More from their meeting in the Oval Office:

    * * *

    Amid ongoing meetings between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and lawmakers and US defense officials on Capitol Hill Tuesday, one thing is becoming clear: no breakthrough is expected in terms of GOP Congressmen being swayed to push through Biden’s $106 billion defense aid package. 

    Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) was among those that are unmoved. He said after senators heard Zelensky’s appeal: “It is striking to me that we’re in this place in this last week here and we’re hearing from the president of Ukraine again but we’ve yet to hear from our own president about the border, our border,” Schmitt said.

    Image source: AP

    “The Democrats are not interested in engaging on this in any meaningful way and the issue’s not going away” – and he emphasized further, “nothing changes. The fact that he’s here, it’s the same old stuff, there’s nothing new that came out of that.”

    “I just think if you listen to the people back home, they’re not interested in a blank check for Ukraine when they see 12,000 people coming across our open southern border,” Schmitt said.

    Zelensky called it “friendly and candid conversation” – which also suggests there was no particular breakthrough. He continued on X, “I informed members of the U.S. Senate about Ukraine’s current military and economic situation, the significance of sustaining vital U.S. support, and answered their questions.”

    Both Senate leaders Chuck Schumer (D) and Mitch McConnell (R) accompanied him in the meeting, as both have been on record as strongly advocating for more urgent Ukraine aid. Additionally, Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut held out hope that a border security deal could be completed by Christmas. “I will stay here as long as it’s necessary to get to get this done,” he said in a statement to The New York Times. “I think we can finish this in the Senate and get a bill to the House before Christmas.”

    He claimed that Democrats have “stretched” themselves toward making legitimate compromises “that are outside of the Democratic comfort zone.”

    Senator J.D. Vance is also among Republican Senators pushing back hard…

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    Zelensky emphasized his recent theme of ‘support us or we lose to Putin and Europe is threatened’ message to senators. He and his officials have been sounding a note of desperation of late. He even reportedly told the US lawmakers that Ukraine is considering conscription of men over 40, according to Bloomberg.

    Schumer, in a post-meeting press conference said that Zelensky “made clear, and we all made clear, that if we lose, Putin wins, and this will be very, very dangerous for the United States.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 12/12/2023 – 17:10

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Today’s News 12th December 2023

  • Niall Ferguson: The Treason Of The Intellectuals
    Niall Ferguson: The Treason Of The Intellectuals

    Authored by Niall Ferguson via The Free Press,

    In 1927 the French philosopher Julien Benda published La trahison des clercs—“The Treason of the Intellectuals”—which condemned the descent of European intellectuals into extreme nationalism and racism. By that point, although Benito Mussolini had been in power in Italy for five years, Adolf Hitler was still six years away from power in Germany and 13 years away from victory over France. But already Benda could see the pernicious role that many European academics were playing in politics. 

    Those who were meant to pursue the life of the mind, he wrote, had ushered in “the age of the intellectual organization of political hatreds.” And those hatreds were already moving from the realm of the ideas into the realm of violence—with results that would be catastrophic for all of Europe.

    A century later, American academia has gone in the opposite political direction—leftward instead of rightward—but has ended up in much the same place. The question is whether we—unlike the Germans—can do something about it.

    Students at a public speaking school in the lecture hall of Berlin’s Humboldt University, c. 1931. (Photo by bpk/Salomon/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    For nearly ten years, rather like Benda, I have marveled at the treason of my fellow intellectuals. I have also witnessed the willingness of trustees, donors, and alumni to tolerate the politicization of American universities by an illiberal coalition of “woke” progressives, adherents of “critical race theory,” and apologists for Islamist extremism. 

    Throughout that period, friends assured me that I was exaggerating. Who could possibly object to more diversity, equity, and inclusion on campus? In any case, weren’t American universities always left-leaning? Were my concerns perhaps just another sign that I was the kind of conservative who had no real future in the academy?

    Such arguments fell apart after October 7, as the response of “radical” students and professors to the Hamas atrocities against Israel revealed the realities of contemporary campus life. That hostility to Israeli policy in Gaza regularly slides into antisemitism is now impossible to deny. 

    I cannot stop thinking of the son of a Jewish friend of mine, who is a graduate student at one of the Ivy League colleges. Just this week, he went to the desk assigned to him to find, carefully placed under his computer keyboard, a note with the words “ZIONIST KIKE!!!” in red and green letters.

    Just as disturbing as such incidents—and there are too many to recount—has been the dismally confused responses of university leaders. 

    Testifying before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce last week, Harvard President Claudine Gay, MIT President Sally Kornbluth, and University of Pennsylvania President Elizabeth Magill showed that they had been well-briefed by the lawyers their universities retain for such occasions.

    They gave technically correct explanations of how First Amendment rules apply on their campuses—if they did apply. Yes, context matters. If all students did was chant “From the river to the sea,” that speech is protected, so long as there was no threat of violence or “discriminatory harassment.” 

    But the reason Claudine Gay’s carefully phrased answers on Tuesday infuriated her critics is not that they were technically incorrect, but that they were so clearly at odds with her record—specifically her record as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in the years 2018–2022, when Harvard was sliding to the very bottom of the rankings for free speech at colleges. 

    The killing of George Floyd happened when Gay was dean. Six days after Floyd’s death, she published a statement on the subject that suggests she felt personally threatened by events in distant Minneapolis. Floyd’s death, she wrote, illustrated “the brutality of racist violence in this country” and gave her an “acute sense of vulnerability.” She was “reminded, again, how even our [i.e., black Americans’] most mundane activities, like running. . . can carry inordinate risk. At a moment when all I want to do is gather my teenage son into my arms, I am painfully aware of how little shelter that provides.” In nothing that Gay said last Tuesday did she seem aware that Jewish students might have felt the same way after October 7.

    In a memorandum to faculty on August 20, 2020, she wrote: “The calls for racial justice heard on our streets also echo on our campus, as we reckon with our individual and institutional shortcomings and with our Faculty’s shared responsibility to bring truth to bear on the pernicious effects of structural inequality.” Gay continued: “This moment offers a profound opportunity for institutional change that should not and cannot be squandered. . . . I write today to share my personal commitment to this transformational project and the first steps the FAS will take to advance this important agenda in the coming year.”

    As the great German sociologist Max Weber rightly argued in his 1917 essay on “Science as a Vocation,” political activism should not be permissible in a lecture hall “because the prophet and the demagogue do not belong on the academic platform.” This was also the argument of the University of Chicago’s 1967 Kalven Report that universities must “maintain an independence from political fashions, passions, and pressures.”

    This separation between scholarship and politics has been entirely disregarded at the major American universities in recent years. Instead, our most elite schools have embraced the kind of “institutional change” that Gay has championed. Look where it has led us.

    *  *  *

    It might be thought extraordinary that the most prestigious universities in the world should have been infected so rapidly with a politics imbued with antisemitism. Yet exactly the same thing has happened before.

    A hundred years ago, in the 1920s, by far the best universities in the world were in Germany. By comparison with Heidelberg and Tübingen, Harvard and Yale were gentlemen’s clubs, where students paid more attention to football than to physics. More than a quarter of all the Nobel prizes awarded in the sciences between 1901 and 1940 were awarded to Germans; only 11 percent went to Americans. Albert Einstein reached the pinnacle of his profession not in 1933, when he moved to Princeton, but from 1914 to 1917, when he was appointed professor at the University of Berlin, director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, and as a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences. Even the finest scientists produced by Cambridge felt obliged to do a tour of duty in Germany.  

    Yet the German professoriat had a fatal weakness. For reasons that may be traced back to the foundation of the Bismarckian Reich or perhaps even further into Prussian history, academically educated Germans were unusually ready to prostrate themselves before a charismatic leader, in the belief that only such a leader could preserve the purity of the German nationalist project. 

    Today’s progressives engage in racism in the name of diversity. The nationalist academics of interwar Germany were at least overt about their desire for homogeneity and exclusion. 

    Marianne Weber recalled how, in the wake of the 1918 Revolution, her husband Max had explained his theory of democracy to the former supreme military commander, General Erich Ludendorff

    Weber: Do you think that I regard the Schweinerei that we now have as democracy?

    Ludendorff: What is your idea of a democracy, then?

    Weber: In a democracy, the people choose a leader whom they trust. Then the chosen man says, “Now shut your mouths and obey me.” The people and the parties are no longer free to interfere in the leader’s business.

    Ludendorff: I should like such a “democracy.”

    Weber: Later, the people can sit in judgment. If the leader has made mistakes—to the gallows with him!

    Rudy Koshar’s study of the university town of Marburg in Hesse illustrates the way this culture led German academia toward the Nazis. The mainly Protestant student fraternities already excluded Jews from membership before World War I. In March 1920, in the turbulent aftermath of the revolution that had overthrown the imperial regime and established the Weimar Republic, a student paramilitary group was involved in a murderous attack on Communist workers. In the national elections held four years later, the Völkisch-Sozialer Bloc—of which the early Nazi Party (the NSDAP) was a key part—won 17.7 percent of the Marburg vote.

    Lawyers and doctors, all credentialed with university degrees, were substantially overrepresented within the NSDAP, as were university students (then a far narrower section of society than today). To middle-aged lawyers, Hitler was the heir to Bismarck. For their sons, he was the Wagnerian hero Rienzi, the demagogue who unites the people of Rome. 

    Even a man who considered himself a liberal, as Max Weber surely did, was susceptible to the allure of charismatic leadership when the fledgling democracy seemed so weak. Three years after Weber’s death in 1920, Germany was plunged into disastrous hyperinflation. For many German academics, Hitler’s appointment as chancellor in January 1933 was a moment of national salvation.

    “Right down to the last, deepest fiber in myself, I belong to the Führer and his wonderful movement,” wrote the Nazi lawyer Hans Frank in his diary after a concert he had attended with Hitler on February 10, 1937. “We are in truth God’s tool for the annihilation of the bad forces of the earth. We fight in God’s name against Jews and their Bolshevism. God protect us!” Such thoughts helped him and many other lawyers to come to terms with the systematic illegality that characterized the regime from the very outset.

    German academics acted as Hitler’s think tank, putting policy flesh on the bones of his racist ideology. As early as 1920, the jurist Karl Binding and the psychiatrist Alfred Hoche published their Permission for the Destruction of Life Unworthy of Life, which sought to extrapolate from the annual cost of maintaining one “idiot” “the massive capital. . . being subtracted from the national product for entirely unproductive purposes.”

    There is a clear line of continuity from this kind of analysis to the document found at the Schloss Hartheim asylum in 1945, which calculated that by 1951 the economic benefit of killing 70,273 mental patients—assuming an average daily outlay of 3.50 Reichsmarks and a life expectancy of ten years—would be 885,439,800 Reichsmarks. Many historians were little better, churning out tendentious historical justifications for German territorial claims in Eastern Europe that implied massive population displacement, if not genocide.

    Students of the University of Berlin arrive at a book burning rally, 1933. (Photo via Getty Images)

    A critical factor in the decline and fall of the German universities was precisely that so many senior academics were Jews. For some, Hitler’s antisemitism was therefore—not unlike woke intersectionality in our own time—a career opportunity.  

    For German academics of Jewish heritage, particularly those who had married gentiles and converted to Christianity, it was disorienting. 

    The case of Victor Klemperer, a convert to Christianity married to a gentile, is illustrative. A veteran of World War I, Klemperer was appointed Professor of Romance Languages and Literature at Dresden University of Technology in 1920. “I am nothing but a German or German European,” Klemperer wrote in his diary, one of the most illuminating testaments of the German Jewish nightmare. Throughout the 1930s, he maintained that it was the Nazis who were “un-German.” “I. . . feel shame for Germany,” he wrote after Hitler had come to power. “I have truly always felt German.”  

    Yet the atmosphere at German universities grew steadily more toxic even for the most assimilated of Jews.

    In April 1933, under the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, all Jewish civil servants, including judges, were removed from office, followed a month later by university lecturers. Klemperer recorded his agonized reaction in his diary:

    March 10, 1933. . . . It is astounding how easily everything collapses. . . wild prohibitions and acts of violence. And with it, on streets and radio, never-ending propaganda. On Saturday. . . I heard a part of Hitler’s speech in Königsberg [the East Prussian university at which Immanuel Kant had spent his life]. . . I understood only a few words. But the tone! The unctuous bawling, truly bawling. . . . How long will I retain my professorship? 

    Klemperer managed to hang on to his chair for another two years. On May 2, 1935, however, the blow fell: 

    On Tuesday morning, without any previous notification—two sheets delivered by post. “On the basis of para 6 of the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service I have. . . recommended your dismissal.”. . . At first, I felt alternately dumb and slightly romantic; now there is only bitterness and wretchedness. 

    Five months later, to add insult to injury, he was barred from the university library reading room “as a non-Aryan.” What followed was a kind of relentless whittling away of his rights as a citizen. 

    The Nazis’ antisemitism led, of course, to one of the greatest brain drains in history. Over 200 of the country’s 800 Jewish professors departed, of whom twenty were Nobel laureates. Albert Einstein had already left in 1933 in disgust at Nazi attacks on his “Jewish physics.” The exodus quickened after the pogrom known as the Night of Broken Glass in November 1938. The principal beneficiaries of the Jewish brain drain were, of course, the universities of the United States.

    Yet for Klemperer, emigration—least of all to Palestine, then a British “mandate” but also the location of the “national home for the Jewish people” promised by the British government in 1917—was out of the question. It would have been an admission that the Nazis were right: that he was in fact a Jew, not a German. As he put it: “If specifically Jewish states are now to be set up. . . that would be letting the Nazis throw us back thousands of years. . . . The solution to the Jewish question can be found only in deliverance from those who have invented it.”

    It was this kind of reasoning that persuaded him and many other Jews to remain in Germany until it was no longer possible to get out. Some chose suicide—for example, the Marburg linguist Hermann Jacobsohn, who threw himself under a train. In the end, Klemperer avoided deportation to the death camps only because of the Royal Air Force bombing raid on Dresden in February 1945, which allowed him to shed his yellow star and lie low until the German surrender. 

    He remained in Dresden after the occupation of eastern Germany. It was not long before he began to notice resemblances between the language of the new Soviet-backed German Democratic Republic and the Third Reich. Like Hannah Arendt and George Orwell, Klemperer understood that the totalitarianism of the right and the totalitarianism of the left had fundamentally similar characteristics. In particular, they loved to impose Newspeak on those they subjugated.

    *  *  *

    Non-Jewish German academia did not just follow Hitler down the path to hell. It led the way. A few examples will suffice. 

    SS Oberführer Konrad Meyer, a professor of agronomy at the University of Berlin, was one of the experts who helped devise Heinrich Himmler’s “General Plan East” (Generalplan Ost) which, in the expectation of victory over the Soviet Union, was supposed to extend German settlement as far as Archangel in the north and Astrakhan in the south. Meyer’s version proposed establishing three vast “marcher settlements” with around five million German settlers. The fate of the peoples currently living there would be either annihilation or ethnic cleansing.

    In 1940 a graduate student named Victor Scholz submitted a PhD thesis at the University of Breslau with the title “On the Possibilities of Recycling Gold from the Mouths of the Dead.”

    He had carried out his research under the supervision of Professor Herman Euler, dean of the Breslau Medical Faculty. 

    At Auschwitz, SS Gruppenführer Carl Clauberg, a professor of gynecology at Königsberg, sought to find the most efficient way to sterilize women.

    Among the techniques he experimented with was the injection, without anesthesia, of caustic substances into the uteruses of prisoners. 

    Anyone who has a naive belief in the power of higher education to instill ethical values has not studied the history of German universities in the Third Reich.

    A university degree, far from inoculating Germans against Nazism, made them more likely to embrace it. The fall from grace of the German universities was personified by the readiness of Martin Heidegger, the greatest German philosopher of his generation, to jump on the Nazi bandwagon, a swastika pin in his lapel. He was a member of the Nazi Party from 1933 until 1945.

    Later, after it was all over, the historian Friedrich Meinecke tried to explain “the German catastrophe” by arguing that excessive technical specialization had caused some educated Germans (not him, needless to say) to lose sight of the humanistic values of Goethe and Schiller. As a result, they had been unable to resist Hitler’s “mass Machiavellianism.” 

    The novelist Thomas Mann—who, unlike Meinecke, chose exile over complicity—was unusual in being able to recognize even at the time that, in “Brother Hitler,” the German educated elite possessed a monstrous younger sibling, whose role was to articulate and authorize their darkest aspirations.

    A student at the University of Marburg, 1935. (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    The lesson of German history for American academia should by now be clear. In Germany, to use the legalistic language of 2023, “speech crossed into conduct.” The “final solution of the Jewish question” began as speech—to be precise, it began as lectures and monographs and scholarly articles. It began in the songs of student fraternities. With extraordinary speed after 1933, however, it crossed into conduct: first, systematic pseudo-legal discrimination and ultimately, a program of technocratic genocide.

    The Holocaust remains an exceptional historical crime—distinct from other acts of organized lethal violence directed against other minorities—precisely because it was perpetrated by a highly sophisticated nation-state that had within its borders the world’s finest universities. That is why American universities cannot regard antisemitism as just another expression of “hate,” no different from, say, Islamophobia—a neologism that should not be mentioned in the same breath. That is why Claudine Gay’s double standards—with their implication that African Americans are somehow more deserving of protection than Jews—are so indefensible. 

    That is why rational minds recoil from her argument that antisemitism on the Harvard campus is tolerable so long as genocide is not being perpetrated.

    *  *  *

    Well, the backlash against our contemporary treason of the intellectuals has finally arrived. 

    Donors such as the chief executive of Apollo, Marc Rowan (a Penn graduate), Pershing Square founder Bill Ackman (Harvard), and Stone Ridge founder Ross Stevens (Penn) have each made clear that their support will no longer be forthcoming for institutions run in this fashion.

    On Saturday, Penn president Liz Magill stepped down, along with the chair of the Penn board of trustees, Scott Bok. Perhaps others will follow. 

    Yet it will take a lot more than a few high-profile resignations to reform the culture of America’s elite universities. It is much too entrenched in multiple departments, all dominated by a tenured faculty, to say nothing of the armies of DEI and Title IX officers who seem, at some colleges, now to outnumber the undergraduates.

    In La trahison des clercs, Julien Benda accused the intellectuals of his time of dabbling in “the racial passions, class passions, and national passions. . . owing to which men rise up against other men.” Today’s academic leaders would never recognize themselves as the heirs of those Benda condemned, insisting that they are on the left, whereas Benda’s targets were on the right. And yet, as Victor Klemperer came to understand after 1945, totalitarianism comes in two flavors, though the ingredients are the same.

    Only if the once-great American universities can reestablish—throughout their fabric—the separation of Wissenschaft from Politik can they be sure of avoiding the fate of Marburg and Königsberg.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 23:20

  • End Of Western Dominance And Rise Of A Polycentric World, Lavrov Declares At Doha Forum
    End Of Western Dominance And Rise Of A Polycentric World, Lavrov Declares At Doha Forum

    Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, outlined a potential scenario in which a “polycentric order” emerges, characterized by multiple centers of power, marking the end of the West’s five-century period of global dominance. 

    Lavrov addressed the Doha Forum through a video feed on Sunday, with RT reporting his remarks as follows:

    “But I assume that you were discussing the multipolar world, which is emerging after 500 years of domination of what we call the ‘collective West.'” 

    He said the West’s hegemonic rule has been “based on a diverse history, including ruthless exploitation of peoples and territories of other countries.” 

    The foreign minister explained that the West continues to use its centuries-old globalization model to maintain its global empire. He pointed out, “However, other countries, using exactly the principles and instruments of the Western globalization, managed to beat the West on its own turf, building the economies on the basis of national sovereignty, on the basis of balance of interests with other countries.” 

    A polycentric order is much different from a “multipolar’ system. It’s a highly competitive environment where major powers possess the freedom to exert dominance over their neighbors. The world is becoming more chaotic, and that is why countries are ramping up military spending and securing energy sources. 

    In August, Lavrov told South Africa’s Ubuntu Magazine that BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) is becoming one of the pillars of a polycentric world order. 

    Back to Doha, where Lavrov said the emergence of a polycentric world order is “not the West’s liking.”

    Lavrov continued: “In order to suppress this kind of development,” the West has pivoted from globalization to a rules-based world order.

    “The rules were never published, were never even announced by anyone to anyone, and they are being applied depending on what exactly the West needs at a particular moment of modern history,” he noted.

    Lavrov added that “in various conflicts, which the West ignites all over the world,” including the one in Ukraine, it’s all about keeping the hegemony going. 

    “Is there a single place where the US intervened with military force, where life has become better? I think you know the answer,” Lavrov told the audience. 

    As the old order falls, the similarities between the late 1980s USSR and present-day USA are uncanny

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 23:00

  • The Purges Are Ongoing
    The Purges Are Ongoing

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Epoch Times,

    It was a rainy Sunday afternoon, peaceful and otherwise uneventful. Out of nowhere, the following people appeared on “Spaces,” an audible show on the app X (formerly Twitter). They are all speaking live with each other: Alex Jones, Elon Musk, Andrew Tate, Vivek Ramaswamy, Gen. Michael Flynn, with Robert Kennedy, Jr. and David Stockman listening in. Other people popped in and out.

    In real time, I saw 120K people listening, and millions total over two hours plus the archive.

    We keep hearing about the death of mainstream media and I’m starting to believe it. These people have all been targeted as enemies of the state and yet here they were, all having a civil conversation we could hear in all its raw authenticity.

    It was also a marvelous conversation. Mostly it revolved around how to defeat the globalist hegemon through free speech. Most of the people in this public room have been shut down, smeared, or otherwise silenced by the system. They are important people with huge followings and major impact but somebody somewhere decided that they cannot play a part in the formation of public life.

    And yet here they were speaking to hundreds of thousands of people in real time, apparently unannounced. They just showed up.

    Herein is the value of Elon’s platform that he purchased, not to make money but to give life to the idea of an open forum in times when the elites want anything but that. It was beautiful.

    I found Alex Jones particularly intriguing. I’ve never been a fan but that might be for cultural and aesthetic reasons more than anything else. In many ways, he has indeed been a prophet of our times. He has been forecasting the arrival of dark times for at least a decade.

    About five years ago when he was first shut down and censored, the comedian and podcaster Dave Rubin told me that we all know where this is headed. First they go after Alex Jones, who seems indefensible, but that is only to warm us all up to tolerating censorship. Next they go after others who we deem inadmissible to the public conversation. Eventually they come for us, and there is no one there to defend us.

    So he predicted and so it was.

    The purge of public life has been systematic and relentless for years now.

    There is always some excuse, some alleged infringement on the civic code of belief and conduct.

    The campaign begins and they are eventually burned at the stake like the witches at Salem. The puritanical impulse to drive the heretics from our lives to clean up the landscape still survives and thrives after all these years, despite every slogan about tolerance and diversity.

    Also over the weekend, I dealt with an unpleasant canceling myself.

    Brownstone Institute has a monthly supper club with speakers from many disciplines and points of view.

    For next month, we had invited Tiffany Justice, one of the founders of Moms for Liberty.

    Moms for Liberty founder Tiffany Justice speaks at the Republican Party of Florida Freedom Summit, in Kissimmee, Fla., on Nov. 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

    This is an organization born of lockdowns that opposes school closures and favors parental rights. For some reason, the organization came to be targeted as bad… or something.

    We use the service called Eventbrite to take our tickets. Over the weekend, the company sent me the following note:

    We have determined that your event is not permitted on the Eventbrite marketplace as it violates our Community Guidelines and Terms of Service, with which all users agree to comply. Specifically, we do not allow content or events that—through on- or off-platform activity—discriminate against, harass, disparage, threaten, incite violence against, or otherwise target individuals or groups based on their actual or perceived race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, veteran status, age, or disability. As a result, your event has been unpublished. Please be aware that severe or repeated violations of our guidelines may result in the suspension or termination of your Eventbrite account. We have refunded all attendees who purchased tickets to your event, if necessary.”

    Wow! Just like that, the service that claims to be for everyone has decided that our group cannot hear what Tiffany Justice has to say. It’s all crazy because ours is a very diverse supper club. I’ve never once polled people on their politics. So far as I know, it’s not even a topic of conversation. We are mostly interested in issues of science, civic life, community health, and so on. I invited Tiffany just to get her perspective. People are free to agree or disagree. That’s how the freedom of association works.

    But to Eventbrite, they seem to think we are all automatons who accept whatever we are told. We were about to listen to forbidden thoughts and so their platform had to intervene to protect us, as if we were children. It’s all so insulting and ridiculous. It’s also not good for their business, one might suppose.

    In any case, we scrambled overnight and implemented our own native system of taking tickets, so that we never have to rely on such third-party services again for this particular service. The meeting will go ahead, of course, without or without Eventbrite, so one wonders what the point of this particular purge really was.

    We have ample proof that most of these platforms are no longer independent actors. They are funded and controlled by third parties that respond to government priorities. I don’t have proof regarding Eventbrite but we’ve seen the same behavior from a dozen or more industry dominant platforms, so we can safely assume the same here.

    Fortunately, there is still something of a competitive marketplace out there, so we can exercise choice. But there’s no question that this too is on the chopping block. A point about industrial concentration is that it reduces the number of competitive options out there, allowing government a greater degree of control over commerce and therefore over individuals. It so happens that industry underwent an enormous consolidation over the last five years, to the point that the major government-connected firms control most of the market. This is true not just in digital commerce but also in groceries, home goods, and pharmaceuticals.

    Make no mistake: the goal is to continue the purge. It’s been ongoing since at least 2016. That was the point of the lockdowns, masks, and forced vaccination: to drive out of professional and media life those who dissent. It has only intensified since then. You are either with team Ruling Class or against it. Those on the team prove it through constant incantations of woke philosophy, while those against it are systematically smeared, canceled, and silenced.

    What can we do but resist? A major way is to use those platforms that tolerate dissent and eschew those that enforce the orthodoxy. This is the right of our times, and it is fundamentally about the right to disagree with the regime.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 22:40

  • Mother Of Doomed Fetus Flees Texas For Abortion As State Supremes Rule Against Her
    Mother Of Doomed Fetus Flees Texas For Abortion As State Supremes Rule Against Her

    A pregnant woman in Texas whose child has a terminal birth defect has fled the state after a week of legal whiplash over whether she qualifies for an exception to the state’s abortion laws.

    Kate Cox. (Kate Cox via AP)

    Last Thursday, Kate Cox was granted permission to have an abortion by a state district court – the first time a pregnant woman has sought a court order for the procedure since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

    Hours later, however, Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) asked the state Supreme Court to immediately block the order. The Court agreed on an interim basis Friday night, followed by a 7-page ruling on Monday permanently denying Cox from having an abortion. Paxton went further following the Thursday ruling from District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, warning hospitals and physicians that the court’s order would not protect them from prosecution if they performed an abortion on Cox – a procedure which could carry up to a life sentence in prison.

    Their reasoning? While the Court acknowledged that Cox, 31, and her husband received “a tragic diagnosis,” Texas law only allows for an exception in the event that the mother “has a life-threatening physical condition,” making abortion necessary to save her life or to save her from “a serious risk of substantial impairment of a major bodily function” – which wasn’t asserted in her request.

    “The exception requires a doctor to decide whether Ms. Cox’s difficulties pose such risks,” the ruling continues. “(A doctor) asked a court to pre-authorize the abortion yet she could not, or at least did not, attest to the court that Ms. Cox’s condition poses the risks the exception requires.”

    The ruling also called on the state’s medical board to provide more guidance regarding the “medical emergency” exception at the heart of Cox’s case.

    Cox’s child, which is around 20 weeks old, was diagnosed with Trisomy 18, an almost always fatal chromosomal anomaly that leads to miscarriage, stillbirth or the death of the infant within hours, days or weeks after birth.

    On Monday, Nancy Northup – president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which has been representing Cox in the case, said that Cox has fled the state.

    “Kate’s case has shown the world that abortion bans are dangerous for pregnant people, and exceptions don’t work,” she said, adding “She desperately wanted to be able to get care where she lives and recover at home surrounded by family. While Kate had the ability to leave the state, most people do not, and a situation like this could be a death sentence.

    “This past week of legal limbo has been hellish for Kate,” Northup continued. “Her health is on the line. She’s been in and out of the emergency room and she couldn’t wait any longer.

    This is why judges and politicians should not be making health care decisions for pregnant people—they are not doctors.”

    The Center for Reproductive Rights is also representing a group of women and physicians before the Texas Supreme Court seeking clarity on the state’s law, while the state argues that it’s clear and adequate.

    Former President Donald Trump has warned that this issue will bite Republicans in the ass come 2024, and the optics of this one are a prime example.

    In September, Trump told an Iowa crowd:

    “In order to win in 2024, Republicans must learn how to properly talk about abortion,” he told an audience of some 2,000 potential voters, packed into a ballroom here.

    “This issue cost us unnecessarily but dearly in the midterms. It cost us dearly, really, and unnecessarily.”

    Trump said he would seek to bring together a bipartisan group to hear all sides of the debate. As Catherine Yang of the Epoch Times noted at the time;

    We will agree to a number of weeks, which will be where both sides will be happy. We have to bring the country together on this issue.”

    15 Weeks?

    He claims the activists pushing for abortion on demand with no restrictions represent only an extreme view that even many pro-life Democrats are against.

    “Nobody wants to see five, six, seven, eight, nine months,” he said, adding that laws that allow mothers to terminate babies even after they have been delivered alive should be done away with.

    Asked whether he would sign a 15-week ban that made it to his desk, he said “no.”

    Let me just tell you what I’d do. I’m going to come together with all groups, and we’re going to have something that’s acceptable,” he said. “What’s going to happen is you’re going to come up with a number of weeks or months. You’re going to come up with a number that’s going to make people happy. Because 92 percent of the Democrats don’t want to see abortion after a certain period of time.”

    He said many people have offered up the “15-week” period for a ban, which is early into the second trimester, but he wouldn’t consider legislation without bringing more people into the room first.

    “I would sit down with both sides and I’d negotiate something, and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years,” he said, declining to say whether he would support a federal ban.

    “I’m not going to say I would or I wouldn’t,” he said, adding that he was proud of the overturning of Roe v. Wade because it gave the power back to the states.

    “For 52 years, people including Democrats wanted it to go back to states so the states could make the right,” he said. “I did something that nobody thought was possible, and Roe v. Wade was terminated, [it] was put back to the states. Now, people, pro-lifers, have the right to negotiate for the first time.”

    He clarified that the consensus he hoped to bring could result in state-level action instead of a federal ban.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 22:00

  • Ford's "Test For EV Adoption" Fails: Carmaker Slashes Production Plans For Electric F-150 In Half
    Ford’s “Test For EV Adoption” Fails: Carmaker Slashes Production Plans For Electric F-150 In Half

    Less than a week after Elon Musk unveiled his apocalypse-surviving, Porsche-out-accelerating, bulletproof CyberTruck, Ford’s EV effort is crashing on the Biden-administration ignited fire of unaffordability and high costs.

    Having signaled in October during its Q3 earnings call plans to “adjust” production of its all-electric vehicles and delay about $12 billion in investments due to softening demand for higher-priced premium electric vehicles; a memo to suppliers – which was viewed and reported first tonight by Automotive News – indicated plans beginning in January to produce an average of about 1,600 Lightning trucks a week at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan.

    Ford had planned for an annual production capacity of 150,000 Lightnings a year, or about 3,200 a week.

    That means its production target for 2024 has been halved.

    “We’ll continue to match production with customer demand,” a Ford spokeswoman said Monday.

    In May 2021, during a flashy introduction, Ford CEO Jim Farley told reporters that the electric F-150 could serve as a proxy for how mainstream buyers will accept battery power.

    “I am looking at this vehicle as a test for adoption for electric vehicles,” Farley said.

    “We should all watch very carefully how this does in the market.”

    It would appear Ford failed that test.

    Obviously, while this could be an idiosyncratic F-150 issue, it does not bode well for overall EV adoption… and along with it, the Biden administration’s plans to save the world.

    It appears Stephen Moore’s grim prediction in early November is coming true.

    The senior economist at FreedomWorks and former senior economic adviser to President Trump told Fox News in an interview.

    “I’m here to tell you, if these trends continue, we’re going to see the EV market become the next big flop because car buyers don’t want them.

    “The obvious lesson for the industry: you can’t bribe Americans to buy cars they don’t want. Given the all-in approach mentality for EVs at Ford and GM, it’s clear that Detroit never got this message,” he wrote.

    President Biden has set a goal of 50% of all new vehicles by 2030 being either EVs or plug-in hybrids.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 21:40

  • It's Not Too Early To Name The Decade
    It’s Not Too Early To Name The Decade

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

    The New Yorker is running a contest. What should we call our era? Some possible candidates: Terrible Twenties, the Age of Emergency, Cold War II, the Omnishambles, the Great Burning, and the Assholocene. 

    Try as I might, I cannot understand the last one. Regardless, it’s absolutely the case that there has been a dramatic turning of events and our lives. It’s not just national. It’s global and devastating. 

    I’m going with the Terrible Twenties. 

    Everyone seems to agree that this moniker applies, regardless of class or political leanings. You can take your pick of the symptoms: ill-health, inflation, political division, censorship, overweening state power, shabby political candidates, war, crime, homelessness, financial strain, dependency, learning loss, suicides, excess deaths, shortened lifespans, lack of trust, demographic upheaval, the purge of dissent, the threat of authoritarianism, mass incompetence, spread of crazy ideologies, lack of civility, fake science, corruption at all levels, middle class disappearance, and on and on ad infinitum

    Put it all together and you have terrible times. 

    We seek out diversions and find them in trips, movies, arts, liquor and other substances, religion, and meditation. No matter what we do, once we come back from the temporary respite, there is no denying the awful reality all around us. And the more the terrible multiplies, cascades, and entrenches itself, the less obvious are solutions. The center stopped holding a few years ago, and is ever less in view. We have to struggle to remember the good old days of 2019. They seem like a dim memory. 

    Memory and nostalgia seems to be all we have anymore. We watch The Gilded Age and Downton Abbey with winsome reflection. OppenheimerBarbieNapoleon, anything historical will do. We smile just to know that Dolly Parton and Cher are still performing because it gives us comfort. There’s always reruns of Seinfeld to bring us delight. Our streaming music services can bring back the golden age of rock or country or classical with the push of a button. We can examine old family photos and marvel at their smiles and the source. We can reflect on the good lives of our parents and grandparents. 

    Regardless, it all seems to be in the past, which seems always to compare favorably with the present. More profoundly, the past compares favorably to any imagined future we can conjure up. The Carousel of Progress at Disney World is like a macabre joke now. Indeed, the prophets of our future seem only to come up with dystopias: owning nothing, eating bugs, doing without, bikes over gas-powered cars, surveillance, cancellation, 15-minute cities, shot after shot for weird infections, Zoom-based communications, and the absence of elegance in dress, food, and travel, except for of course the elites who live like District One in The Hunger Games

    That’s because this hell that has been visited upon us is far worse than anything even the pessimists predicted in March 2020. We looked at the extreme policies of the time and forecasted unemployment, growing population despair, loss of confidence in public health and experts, as well as a long period of economic disruption. But we could not have known then that the two weeks would turn to two months and then to two years and longer. It was like society-wide torture under the thumb of autocratic bureaucracies who were merely making things up as they went along and justifying it all with duplicitous science and smiles made for social media. 

    The fakeness of everything was suddenly revealed to us, and everything we once trusted suddenly seemed to be part of the system. Where were the mayors and judges? They were scared. Where were the pastors, priests, and rabbis? They said the same things as the TV anchors and NPR. Where were the academics? They were too worried about promotion, tenure, and grant money to speak out. Where were the civil libertarians? They vanished, fearing departing too far from the mainstream consensus, however manufactured. 

    Everywhere we go and anything we do now involves something digital, and mostly it is about verifying who we are. We are scanned, QRed, tracked, traced, facially and retinally recognized, monitored, and uploaded to some great database somewhere, which is then deployed for purposes of which we don’t approve. 

    We can’t go anywhere without our monitoring devices once called phones. We cannot travel or even mail packages without a RealID. Every once in a while the government sends a loud squawk to our pockets so that we remember who is in charge. The demarcation between public and private is gone, and that applies to the sectors too: we no longer know for sure what is commerce and what is government. 

    The strangest feature of it all is the lack of honesty about it. Yes, the terrible truth about our times is now widely admitted. But the source of all the problems? Who did this to us and why? That’s all still taboo. There has been no open discussion about the lockdowns, the masking hoax, the failed shots, and the surveillance. Still less has there been open talk about the people and powers behind the entire fiasco that shattered everything we once took for granted about our rights and freedoms. Is it any wonder, really, that civil strife and even war are the result?

    We want to know who or what broke the system, but for answers we have to depend on those least likely to provide them. This is because the people who might otherwise tell us the truth all went along with the lies. They can think of no other solution than to keep telling them until we forget that we are entitled to the truth. This seems to apply to the whole of mainstream media, government, and tech. The experts who were in on it are hardly the ones to get us out of it. 

    We try to find the workaround as best we can. For a while, the boycotts against bad guys worked, until there became too many to remember. Pfizer and Bud Light, sure, plus Target, but now it is WalMart, Amazon, Facebook, Google, CVS, Eventbrite, CNN, and who knows who else. Are we supposed to be against Home Depot and Kroger too? Hard to remember. We can’t boycott everyone. 

    Our victories over this brand or that, this policy or that, a good court decision that loses on appeal, are regarded by the plotters as nothing but temporary setbacks. The terrible is like a great ooze that keeps flowing and filling up the world no matter how much we scrub, clean, and bail. 

    We want to support local restaurants – they were so victimized throughout – but it is too expensive. So we’ve rediscovered home cooking but even that gives us sticker shock at the grocery store. Plus, during the good times, everyone developed some kind of eating eccentricity. No meat, no carbs, no gluten, no fish (mercury), no seed oils, no corn syrup, nothing inorganic, plus every manner of religious restriction, but that doesn’t leave much to eat at all. We would hold a dinner party but there’s no way to get a consensus and our cooking skills have atrophied in any case. Becoming a home-based short-order chef is out of the question. 

    Those with younger kids are at a loss. People under 18 years old have been socialized to believe that the nutty world in which we live – masking up, closed schools, Zoom class, social media addiction, anger all around – is just the way the world is. We struggle to explain otherwise but we cannot do so with confidence because, after all, maybe this is indeed how the world is. And yet we cannot shake the reality that they know next to nothing about anything: history, civics, literature, much less anything truly technical. They never read books. None of their peers care either. Their career aspirations are to become an influencer, which leaves parents in the awkward position of recommending otherwise in times that seem to have changed so dramatically from when we grew up. 

    Study hard, work hard, tell the truth, save money, obey the rules: these were the old principles that made for a successful life. We knew them and practiced them and they worked. But do they even apply anymore? Fairness and merit seem to have gone out the window, having been replaced by privilege, position, identity, and victimization as a pathway toward gaining a voice and a foothold. Decorum and humility are being swamped by brutalism and belligerence. 

    The new generation is being told daily that objective reality is not even a thing. After all, if men can change their gender identity on a whim, and even references to “womens’ sports” are seen as hopelessly binary, what can we really count on as authentic, unchanging, and indisputably true? Is there really such a thing as “civilization” or is that a racist concept? Can we admire any of the Founding Fathers or is the very phrase offensive? Is democracy really better than other systems? What after all do we really mean by free speech? It’s all been thrown wide open. 

    You can add your own observations here but it seems obvious that the collapse has gone far further than anything even the prophets of 2020 foresaw. When governments shut our schools, businesses, churches, and gyms, under the guise of mastering the microbial kingdom, we knew for sure that hard times were ahead. But we had no idea how bad it would get. 

    Such “public health” measures were not even within the range of possibility outside the worst dystopian fiction. And yet it all happened in a flash, all with the assurance that The Science demanded it. None of the institutions on which we relied to stop such crazed experiments worked to stop it. The courts were closed, the traditions of liberty forgotten, the leadership of our institutions lacking in courage, and everyone and everything lost in a fog of disorientation and confusion. 

    The Victorian-era liberals warned us that civilization (there’s that word) is more fragile than we know. We have to believe in it and fight for it; otherwise it can be taken away in an instant. Once gone it is not easily restored. We are discovering this for ourselves today. We cry from the depths but the hole only becomes deeper and the orderly lives we took for granted become defined more by anomie and frightening surprise of the unthinkable. 

    Where is the hope? Where is the way out of this mess? 

    The traditional answer to these questions all revolve around seeking and telling the truth. That is surely not asking too much and yet it is the last thing we are getting today. What prevents us from hearing it? Too many are too invested in the lie to allow it to get a fair hearing. 

    The times are terrible not because of some impersonal forces of history as Hegel might have it, but because a small minority decided to play dangerous games with fundamental rights, liberties, and law. They broke the world and are now pillaging what’s left. It promises to stay broken and looted so long as the same people either gain the courage to admit wrongdoing or, like the decrepit old men who ruled the Soviet empire in its last days, they finally perish from the earth. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 21:20

  • Raytheon's Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle Defeats Ballistic Missile in Test Over Pacific
    Raytheon’s Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle Defeats Ballistic Missile in Test Over Pacific

    Raytheon has successfully tested its “Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle,” designed to defend the US by intercepting and neutralizing long-range ballistic missiles in low-Earth orbit. 

    The kinetic-force weapon successfully destroyed an intermediate-range ballistic missile during a test in the Pacific region by the US Missile Defense Agency and the US Northern Command on Monday. 

    “This test demonstrates that the US ballistic missile defense system is operational, reliable, and ready to protect the country,” said Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon.

    Kremer continued, “Raytheon kill vehicles have now successfully completed nearly 50 space intercepts, which underscores our expertise and ability to design and develop these systems to defeat the evolving threat.”

    Also known as “EKV,” the weapon is an intercept component of the Ground-Based Interceptor and part of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System. It uses multi-color sensors, advanced computers, and rocket motors that help it maneuver in space to neutralize the threat. 

    Raytheon said it is currently developing advanced ballistic missile interceptors and kill vehicles that will protect the US and allies with “more robust missile defense capability against current and future threats.”

    There was no word if EKV could defend the US and its allies from Russian and Chinese hypersonic threats. 

    The US lags behind in the hypersonic race while other superpowers rapidly add these new weapons to the modern battlefield. 

     

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 21:00

  • What In The World Has Happened To Our System Of Education?
    What In The World Has Happened To Our System Of Education?

    Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

    Our kids can’t really read very well. And it turns out that they aren’t very good at math either. 

    But those running our system of education continue to tell us that they are doing a wonderful job.  If they just had more funding, they insist, our test scores would go way up.  Of course that is complete and utter nonsense.  Our system of public eduction was a failure back when I was in school many years ago, and it is much worse now.  At this point, only about one-third of all U.S. students in the fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades are proficient in reading

    In 2022, the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that approximately one-third of students in fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades are proficient in reading. The situation even gets worse for certain groups such as people from a different race, older generations, and those who belong to low-income groups.

    So do you know what this means?

    It means that approximately two-thirds of all students in the fourth, eighth, and twelfth grades are not proficient in reading.

    Wow, that is really terrible.

    And it is also being reported that 40 percent of our students “are essentially nonreaders”

    Biennial testing through NAEP consistently shows that two thirds of U.S. children are unable to read with proficiencyAn astounding 40 percent are essentially nonreaders. Most are taught through phonics—a system of instruction based on sounding out letters that is mandated in at least 32 states and the District of Columbia. The phonics method of converting each letter to a particular sound is totally unsuited to the English language. As but one example, e, the most common letter in print, has 11 different pronunciations (end, eat, vein, eye, etc.), including its role as the much-taught “silent e” (tape, cute, fine, etc.). This failure has been endemic from the early days of the country when Benjamin Franklin fought against phonics. The steady expansion of this mode of instruction will not fix the situation.

    Isn’t that great?

    We are headed for a future where approximately 40 percent of the entire population cannot even function in society.

    In some areas of the country it is even worse.

    In Chicago, only about one-sixth of all third graders are able to read at grade level

    About one-sixth of all third-grade students in Chicago Public Schools can read at grade level. For low-income and minority students, the share of proficient readers is even lower.

    They tax the living daylights out of us to fund these public schools.

    So where is all of that money going?

    One activist that was asked about the current state of affairs openly admitted that “the kids can’t read”

    “The kids can’t read – nobody wants to just say that,” said Kareem Weaver, an activist with the NAACP in Oakland, California, who has framed literacy as a civil rights issue.

    This is a national disgrace.

    Of course our kids are not too good at math either.

    In fact, U.S. students just established another all-time record low on an international exam…

    American students scored an all-time low in math on a major international exam, which provided the first comparison of global achievement since the pandemic radically changed education around the world.

    According to data released Tuesday, American 15-year-olds had a 13 point plunge out of 1000 on the PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) exam, which was given last year to 620,000 students in 81 countries worldwide.

    Yay for our public schools!

    We are hitting levels that our students have never hit before!

    But even though our students can’t read, write or do math very well, they just keep getting moved through the system year after year.

    As long as you show up, you are going to pass.

    We have become a “participation trophy society” where nobody is ever supposed to fail or feel bad about themselves.

    This is true even at a formerly elite institution such as Yale University.  At this point, nearly 80 percent of the grades that are given to undergraduates at Yale fall within “the A-range”

    A new report recently revealed that Yale University is apparently handing about grades in the A-range like they are candy. An estimated 78.97% of all the grades given to undergraduates at the prestigious university fell within the A-range.

    The surprising development has left both students and faculty alarmed that high grades appear to have lost their value, according to the New York Times. Shelly Kagan, a philosophy professor, said: “When we act as though virtually everything that gets turned in is some kind of A — where A is supposedly meaning ‘excellent work’ — we are simply being dishonest to our students.”

    The grade report was put together by economics professor Ray Fair, who noted that the increase in grades started during the COVID-19 pandemic. And it has continued to rise since then, with students averaging a 3.70 GPA, up from 3.60 in 2013-2014. The details of the study were first shared with the Yale Daily News.

    How bad do you have to be in order to get a “B” at Yale?

    I would honestly like to know.

    Of course this isn’t just happening at Yale.

    All over the nation, “good grades” have essentially become meaningless at our major colleges and universities.

    Our kids have come to expect that “success” will just be handed to them, and as a result our system is pumping out millions of young adults that are just like this guy

    On an episode of Caleb Hammer’s YouTube show Financial Audit, 41-year-old Brent of Auston, Texas, reveals he has no steady job, no savings and relies on his parents to pay rent. But he refuses to accept work that’s “beneath” him.

    “You’re being a baby,” Hammer told him after he confessed he turned down a job at a fast food restaurant. “Why will you not accept the jobs that you feel are slightly beneath you?”

    Our system of education is theoretically supposed to be preparing our kids to face the real world, and that just isn’t happening.

    The real world is not pleasant.

    It does not hand out participation trophies.

    In fact, there are times when the real world will pick you up and knock the breath out of you.

    But now we have vast hordes of young people that cannot deal with the real world, and they are completely and utterly unprepared to deal with the extremely uncertain future that our society is now facing.

    We don’t do our kids any favors by coddling them.

    They need to be challenged, and unfortunately our absolutely pathetic system of education is not challenging them at all.

    *  *  *

    Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 20:40

  • Shocking Video Reveals Democrats Stuffed Nearly 3,000 Illegals Into Chicago Warehouse 
    Shocking Video Reveals Democrats Stuffed Nearly 3,000 Illegals Into Chicago Warehouse 

    A new video has surfaced on X showing the location of a warehouse in the Chicago metro area where nearly 3,000 illegal migrants have been packed into. This comes as the US southern border continues to spiral out of control as disastrous open border policies by the Biden administration have flooded major metro areas with hundreds of thousands of illegals, if not more. 

    “I honestly couldn’t believe it when I first heard it. 2700 illegals being housed in a warehouse in south Chicago (2241 S. Halsted St),” Ben Bergquam, a reporter for Real America’s Voice News, said in a post on X. 

    Bergquam continued, “People have no idea how bad this is going to get! The truth about the Democrat’s illegal invasion: drugs, prostitution, child trafficking, and modern-day slavery.” 

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    In late September, local media CBS 2 reported that the 2241 S. Halsted St. warehouse would house upwards of 400 families with children, with plans to expand to 1,000. If Bergquam’s figures are correct, the warehouse is quickly running out of room. 

    Just last week, sources with the Customs and Border Protection confirmed to Fox News that Tuesday was the largest single-day illegal migrant encounter ever on the US-Mexico border. 

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    According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform, since President Biden took office, there have been more than 9 million illegal entries into the US on the southern border. 

    Meanwhile, other failing progressive metro areas, like New York City, are being overrun by illegal migrants. 

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    It’s not hard to recognize why Democrats are welcoming illegals with open arms ahead of the 2024 election cycle:

    And this. 

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    While Democrats lose the black vote… 

    Democrats are focused on a new voting base coming over the southern border. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 20:20

  • Elon Musk Says He Would Rather "Go To Prison" Than Restrict Free Speech On X
    Elon Musk Says He Would Rather “Go To Prison” Than Restrict Free Speech On X

    Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

    X owner Elon Musk declared during a Spaces discussion that he will never restrict free speech on the platform, no matter what entities pressure him to do so, and asserted that he would rather “go to prison” than allow it to happen.

    Musk’s comments came during a Spaces discussion, also featuring Alex Jones who Musk reinstated on the platform Sunday.

    Human Events editor Jack Posobiec asked Musk what would happen if the FBI or DHS “come to X and say ‘these posts need to be censored , this information needs to be censored.”

    Musk responded that the platform will remain “as transparent as possible,” adding “Basically we will see everything that is happening on the system and nothing will be hidden, that is the goal.”

    Musk added that “frankly if I think a government agency is breaking the law in their demands in the platform I would be prepared to go to prison personally if I think they are the ones breaking the law.”

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    Elsewhere during the discussion, Musk explained that he reinstated Alex Jones because as a free speech absolutist he will not censor anyone on X if they have not broken the law.

    Here it is in its entirety:

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    *  *  *

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

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 20:00

  • What Strong Consumer: Hasbro Lays Off 20% Of Company On Plunging Toy Sales
    What Strong Consumer: Hasbro Lays Off 20% Of Company On Plunging Toy Sales

    There is the myth that the US consumer is strong (strip away inflation and you are at pre 2019-levels)…

    … that holiday spending was stellar (online was indeed a record, foot-traffic however which is the bulk of retail sales declined again), and that spending – despite continued economic headwinds and record prices – is strong.

    And then there is the reality that parents can no longer afford to buy presents for what is (or should be) most precious to them: their children. Take the news just out of the WSJ that toymaking giant Hasbro is laying off 1,100 workers, with CEO Chris Cocks citing weak toy sales and games that persisted into the critical holiday shopping period.

    Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks has looked to return the company to its core toy and game business and appeal to consumers of all ages. Photo: Evan Agostini/Associated Press

    The layoffs, which account for nearly 20% of Hasbro’s workforce, were noted in a Monday memo Cocks sent to employees, which was viewed by the Wall Street Journal.  The slump in sales came after sales hit “historic, pandemic-driven highs” melted into holiday season challenges which are expected to continue into next year.

    The market headwinds we anticipated have proven to be stronger and more persistent than planned,” reads the memo. “While we’re confident in the future of Hasbro, the current environment demands that we do more.”

    The cuts will be completed in the next 18-24 months.

    Shares for Hasbro and Mattel fell 4% and 3%, respectively, in after-hours trading. Hasbro shares are down 20% this year, while Mattel stock is up 5.4%.

    The announcement, just two weeks before Christmas, comes as toy companies enter their busiest time of the year. About half of toy companies’ yearly sales come in the weeks leading up to the holiday, according to analysts, making the period a make-or-break stretch for manufacturers. -WSJ

    According to the report, Hasbro warned in October that they expected to see a 15% slump in sales this year, after previously forecasting a 3% to 5% decline. This came on the heels of posting its fourth-consecutive quarterly loss thanks to a 10% drop in Q3 sales. 

    Notable Hasbro brands include; Power Rangers, PJ Masks, GI Joe, Monopoly, Play-Doh, and Transformers.

    Robot Chicken: cut down in his Optimus Prime

    Outlier Barbie

    Mattel, maker of Barbie, had an understandably awesome Q3 thanks to the runaway success of the “Barbie” movie. The California-based toymaker which also owns the Hot Wheels brand and Polly Pocket toys expects 2023 sales to be flat vs. 2022, bucking forecasts for an industry-wide decline which has toymakers scrambling to manage bloated toy inventories and softer demand thanks to inflation.

    Sales of Barbie toys surged in the third quarter after the Barbie movie roped in over $1.4 billion worldwide at cinemas, according to Box Office Mojo. 

    Hasbro unveiled over a year ago that it planned to cut costs across its business to grow its profit. An earlier round of layoffs and the departure of operating chief Eric Nyman followed shortly after. -WSJ

    In August, Hasbro said it would sell its eOne film and entertainment wing to Lions Gate entertainment for around $500 million.

    The layoffs are expected to save around $100 million in annual costs, while the company said it expects to incur $40 million in severance-related expenses. Hasbro also has plans to vacate its Providence, RI office at the end of January 2025 when its lease is up. Employees from that location will be transferred to the company’s nearby Pawtucket RI headquarters.

    * * *

    Finally, going back to the topic of just how healthy is the US consumer, he are sharing the following snapshot from Goldman’s consumer specialist, Scott Feiler laying out what he views as a “slight sentiment change.”

    Quick Take:  Most of my conversations with consumer specialists from the last 6 weeks have been from those more optimistic on the group (top-line in November and strong margins), with that view having been rewarded. However, there were the hints at a slight change this week, with a lot of inbounds asking if the trade will run out of steam, with trends post Black Friday likely to ease again (WOOF hinted trends have resumed to pre-holiday levels after a brief surge), valuations now at more normal levels (after having been cheap) and a view the next couple weeks of data could show more of a temporary lull.

    Feiler notes that the bank’s Prime Brokerage echo this more guarded tone when approaching the market, with 5th straight week of selling. However, consumer discretionary flows do not back up the more guarded tone from my inbounds, with the sector leading the buying at GS for the 2nd straight week.
     
    A few quick points from the Goldman trader:

    Is the consumer still fine? It seems like the answer is yes, as we heard from many corporates at the GS Fins conference this week.  Some highlights about low-income underperformance, but the overall tone was quite strong.

    However, there does seem like there could be interest in taking chips off the table. Mixed commentary as we moved past the peak “optimistic” data points from the start of the holiday season and those who were out of consensus positive are finally beginning to question if the trade slows from here. Trading and PB flows no not reflect that though.

    While cyclicals continue to move to fresh positioning lows, consumer has seen a real uptick in buying (exhibit 1).

    Single stocks were net sold on the GS PB book for a 5th straight week, with single stock short flow increasing for a record 17th week in a row. While this was led by cyclicals, this was Energy and Fins stocks, not consumer discretionary, which saw the largest buying of any sub-sector for a 2nd straight week (Exhibit 2).

    More available to pro subs in the usual place.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 19:40

  • Hunter Biden Files To Dismiss Gun Charges, Arguing "Vindictive Prosecution" In 1 Of 4 Motions
    Hunter Biden Files To Dismiss Gun Charges, Arguing “Vindictive Prosecution” In 1 Of 4 Motions

    Authored by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times,

    Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, filed four separate motions on Monday to dismiss a case charging him with three gun-related crimes.

    Attorneys for Mr. Biden are arguing that the now-defunct plea bargain presented this summer nulled his gun charges in exchange for a guilty plea on tax misdemeanors, that special counsel David Weiss was “unlawfully appointed” to his position, and that the gun charges are unconstitutional. Lastly, he argued to dismiss on the basis of a “selective and vindictive prosecution.”

    The defense also filed a motion for a hearing for discovery, to argue some of these issues.

    In addition to the three gun crimes, Mr. Biden has been charged with nine tax crimes in California.

    Plea Deal

    Earlier on Monday, Abbe David Lowell, legal counsel for Mr. Biden, told MSNBC he believes the prosecution was politically motivated.

    “Are you asking whether he should have accountability for the mistakes he made while he was addicted? Sure he should. And if the U.S. attorney had followed through, and continued on what was supposed to happen in June, there would have been accountability,” Mr. Lowell said.

    He said Mr. Weiss should have accepted the plea deal.

    “Hunter was in court that day to have accountability and to show remorse and to take responsibility for his conduct,” Mr. Lowell said, accusing the prosecutors of backtracking “after seeing the criticism.”

    The plea bargain had been widely panned as a sweetheart deal by House Republicans, including several overseeing investigations into the Biden family’s financial dealings. During Mr. Biden’s initial arraignment in Delaware, the federal judge had questioned both parties about the terms, and the deal fell apart within minutes.

    Mr. Weiss has since pulled the case and deal, which Mr. Lowell argues is a violation.

    “In exchange for Mr. Biden giving up various rights—including his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent by agreeing to the Statement of Facts drafted by the prosecution and numerous restrictions on his liberty—the prosecution agreed to provide him immunity for any offense concerning his purchase of a firearm (among other offenses),” the first motion to dismiss reads.

    Mr. Weiss had argued that the deal was never formally entered into and no longer holds.

    On MSNBC, Mr. Lowell did not refute the tax evasion allegations, nor his client’s drug addiction during the period when he bought and owned a gun.

    Special Counsel Status

    Defense attorneys are also arguing that because Congress has not appropriated funds for Mr. Weiss as special counsel, he was “unlawfully appointed.”

    During U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement of Mr. Weiss’s special counsel status, he said Mr. Weiss would “also continue to serve as U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware.”

    This additionally violates Department of Justice (DOJ) regulations that require special counsels to be selected from outside the U.S. government, Mr. Biden’s attorneys argue, adding that “the Attorney General did not even select a Special Counsel from outside his own agency.”

    “Accordingly, the Indictment should be dismissed as without proper authority to have been sought and brought,” the motion reads.

    Mr. Weiss’s authority in the case has been under scrutiny, as whistleblowers told Congress earlier this year that the DOJ had slow-walked the investigation into Mr. Biden for political reasons, including not granting Mr. Weiss special counsel status.

    In Mr. Weiss’s own testimony before Congress, he confirmed that he did not have the authority needed to bring charges against Mr. Biden in California or Washington, D.C., only Delaware, but not that there had been an incident where he requested special counsel status and was refused.

    “Whatever caused Special Counsel Weiss to renege on the agreement he reached in this case and to then bring charges beyond the agreement, he filed this Indictment as an improperly appointed and funded Special Counsel,” the new motion reads.

    Unconstitutional?

    Mr. Lowell previously stated that he believed the gun case could be won on the merits, because a court has already found similar statutes unconstitutional.

    In the new motion to dismiss, defense attorneys argue the government is using “a rarely used statute,” one that prohibits “an unlawful user of a controlled substance” from owning a firearm, which was struck down earlier this year in the Fifth Circuit.

    Therefore, the charge is “baseless,” and moots another charge against Mr. Biden for saying he was not a drug user on a form he filled out when purchasing the gun.

    “Because persons protected by the Second Amendment can no longer be denied gun ownership due simply to past drug use—a practice inconsistent with this nation’s historical tradition on firearm regulation—any false statement by Mr. Biden concerning his status as having used a controlled substance no longer concerns ‘any fact material to the lawfulness of the sale’ of a firearm,” the motion reads.

    The decision referenced found barring drug users from being able to own a firearm a violation of the Second Amendment.

    Certain behaviors while intoxicated could be prohibited by laws, such as drunk driving and assault, but the framers of the Second Amendment were “well aware of the problems caused by intoxication” and left no historical precedent favoring the prohibition of gun ownership by those with “any history of ingesting intoxication substances,” like alcoholics.

    After the Fifth Circuit’s decision, another federal district court, the Third Circuit, issued a similar ruling, striking down a statute that prohibited anyone with a felony conviction from owning a firearm.

    Defense attorneys argue “there is no reason to believe” and no historical precedent to show that the Supreme Court will find the statute used to charge Mr. Biden “constitutional.”

    ‘Foil’ to Trump Investigation

    In a lengthy filing, defense attorneys accused the prosecution of bias against Mr. Biden.

    “This Indictment reflects a selective and vindictive prosecution of Mr. Biden and a breach of separation of powers,” the motion reads, arguing that the “evidence is on steroids.”

    They argued that Mr. Weiss “waited until after five years of a thorough and what was and must continue to be a very expensive” investigation that resulted in a plea deal reneged on the deal because he “drew a sharp rebuke from former President Trump (who appointed Mr. Weiss), extremist House Republicans, and the far-right media.”

    “They made it clear that they wanted Mr. Weiss to keep this litigation alive through the presidential election (regardless of merit) and for him to bring more serious charges as a foil for the investigations and prosecutions of former President Trump,” the motion reads.

    Attorneys for Mr. Biden have been sticking to the defense that the past plea bargain grants him immunity that still stands, and efforts to dismiss that are politically motivated.

    The facts did not change, they argued, only the political circumstances. Mr. Biden was previously charged with two misdemeanors, and is now facing 12 counts, misdemeanors and felonies both.

    The defense has also called for a hearing during which they plan to present evidence that the prosecution is politically motivated.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 19:20

  • "We're Raising A Generation Of Complete F**king Pu$$ies" – Kid Rock & Carlson Crush Cancel Culture & Corporate America's Political Correctness
    “We’re Raising A Generation Of Complete F**king Pu$$ies” – Kid Rock & Carlson Crush Cancel Culture & Corporate America’s Political Correctness

    Kid Rock has morphed over the past few years from a famous musician to a cultural icon, unapologetically pro-America (‘Fuck yeah!’) and pro-Trump and that makes him a fascinating character to sit down with Tucker Carlson to discuss everything from cancel culture to his friendship with former President Trump and his hopes for a better America.

    Tucker Carlson starts by mentioning Kid Rock’s infamous “fuck Bud Light and fuck Anheuser Busch” video where he executes cases of beer with a Carbine in response to the anti-‘bro’, transgender marketing plan, bringing up the fact this helped to force the beer-maker to effectively apologize, sign a $100 million deal with the UFC and say ‘we’re sorry, we will get better’.

    “That seems like a win to me,” says Carlson. “I think it could be,” replies Kid Rock, “they deserved a black eye, they got one, they made a mistake.”

    “I know who my consumer is… I was doing a little marketing to my folks,” he adds.

    “That was spot on for me, but also a fun excuse to get my machine gun out and have some fun but also to make a statement like hey a lot of us aren’t cool with this.”

    Kid Rock them delves deeper into what went on at Anheuser Busch noting that “this kind of started I think I thought about is they moved part of their Corporate Offices from St Louis to New York City.”

    “… then they start hiring these Ivy League Progressive you know people to work for him who don’t know shitabout working-class people or Middle America in this country.”

    But Kid Rock wants them to be redeemed, suggesting later in the conversation a blue hat: “Make Bud Light Great Again”.

    “I think they got the message like hopefully other companies get it too…

    …but at the end of the day I don’t think the punishment that they’ve been getting at this point fits the crime..

    …”it’s like I would like to see people get us back on board and become bigger because that’s the America I want to live in.”

    The conversation then pivots to Donald Trump with whom Kid Rock says he has a close relationship and mutual understanding. Recounting a story of betting on the outcome of a UFC fight together, Kid Rock says:

    “I’ve never seen anybody wants to win for this country like that guy I don’t think we’ll ever see anything like it in our lifetime to me is the greatest president we’ve had.”

    Carlson asked about Trump’s state of mind amid the constant lawfare and media abuse.

    “Is he pissed off, sure,” Kid Rock says, slamming the cases against him, especially the New York (Mar-a-Lago valuation) case which he calls “a freaking joke… there’s no crime there.. anyone who can’t see they are just fucking with him is just blind.”

    The discussion shifts naturally to broader cultural issues, with Kid Rock lambasting cancel culture and political correctness. He expresses frustration with the current societal climate, advocating for more open and honest communication:

    “Whatever happened to Sticks and Stones… yeah, you know everyone’s like: he teased me, I’m going to cancel you, and sue you, and I’m going to tell on you…” Kid Rock exclaims, pardoning his french with his host, “we’re raising a generation of fucking pussies.”

    But this can’t go on forever, Carlson says inquisitively. Kid Rock replies with some optimism:

    “naah, the pendulum always swings back.”

    The discussion concludes by touching on his upcoming tour and personal life, including his band’s diversity and his approach to various social issues.

    “We have white people, Hillbillies, we have black people, we have gay people, we got it all,” adding that “we all love each other and always have we accept that we’re all different and we’re all just cool.

    Carlson asked Kid Rock for advice he would give young people today:

    “well number one work your ass off; and be good at what you do, be the best at it.. and that takes a lot of time… surround yourself with good people don’t hang out with Knuckleheads.”

    A good lesson for all of us.

    Watch the full interview below:

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    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 19:00

  • Universities Better Get Ahead Of Surging Anti-Woke Backlash…
    Universities Better Get Ahead Of Surging Anti-Woke Backlash…

    Authored by Mark Glennon via Wirepoints.org,

    Universities better get ahead of surging anti-woke backlash. The University of Illinois should go first.

    The dam has finally burst.

    Most Americans of every political stripe gagged last week seeing three leading university presidents’ Congressional testimony on anti-semitism. After years of punishment and censorship of centrist and conservative viewpoints at their schools and others across America, none of the three could say that calls for genocide against Jews violated their schools’ codes of conduct.

    America saw through the hypocrisy — and many saw its root cause as well, which is the diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy dominating most schools. The left’s Fareed Zakaria, writing at CNN, was among them, putting it this way:

    People sense the transformation…. Having coddled so many student groups for so long, university administrators found themselves squirming…. What we saw in the House hearing this week was the inevitable result of decades of the politicization of universities. Out of this culture of diversity has grown the collection of ideas and practices that we have all now heard of — safe spaces, trigger warnings, and micro aggressions…. America’s top colleges are no longer seen as bastions of excellence but as partisan outfits, which means they will keep getting buffeted by these political storms as they emerge. 

    Universities face a reckoning. The University of Pennsylvania’s president already lost her job over it. Others likely will follow. The University of Wisconsin perhaps figured this out. On Friday, it announced a deal with critics that would freeze hiring for diversity positions through the end of 2026 and shift at least 43 diversity positions to focus on “student success.” The system also would eliminate any statements supporting diversity on student applications. However, the Board of Regents rejected the deal on Saturday.

    Perhaps most impactful, donors have revolted, and if anything gets the attention of university bureaucrats it’s money.

    It’s time for universities to do what’s right, which happens also happens to be in their own interest.

    Among Illinois schools, one maintains a policy that most conspicuously enforces the culture of DEI oppression Zakaria described. That’s the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with its mandatory DEI loyalty policy for faculty. It’s called Communication 9 and was finalized earlier this year. It’s summarized here and detailed here. Compliance is “optional” currently but becomes mandatory in two years.

    It’s particularly egregious because it goes further than demanding agreement with DEI principles: It mandates DEI work and requires annual statements demonstrating that work. Going forward evaluations, promotions and tenure decisions must be based in part on the adequacy of the DEI work performed, Communication 9 says. It doesn’t matter what field one is in; all faculty are bound by it.

    “Engage in DEI activism, or else.” That’s how The College Fix put it in their headline when Communication 9 was in draft last year.

    The policy even mandates use of woke language in the required personal DEI statements:

    “Candidates should be sensitive about the use of language that perpetuate prejudices and words that apply external value judgments that minimize the experiences, strengths, and contributions of individuals and/or groups historically marginalized and/or underrepresented in academia.”

    “It is important that candidates avoid statements that overgeneralize or make sweeping claims about a group of people,” says the policy.

    (It’s safe to assume, however, that wouldn’t apply to claims like “Whiteness prevents white people from connecting to humanity,” which we hear from DEI champions like Ingram X. Kendi.)

    Communication 9 begs for litigation as a violation of the First Amendment, as we wrote when it was in draft. It’s a classic example of unconstitutional “forced speech.” Two First Amendment experts we spoke to compared it to unconstitutional loyalty oaths required during the years of McCarthyism.

    Ending Communication 9 would also help cut some of the DEI administrative bloat that plagues U of I, which is among the worst on that count. It ranks seventh highest in the nation with 71 DEI staff, according to a Heritage Foundation study we reported on last year.

    “A review of salary data shows that the universities of Michigan, Maryland, Virginia and Illinois, plus Virginia Tech, boast some of the highest-paid DEI staffers at public universities,” said a Fox News column on that study.

    “These institutions’ top diversity employees earn salaries ranging from $329,000 to $430,000 – vastly eclipsing the average pay for the schools’ full-time tenured professors.” Sean C. Garrick, vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion at the University of Illinois, earned nearly $330,000 annually, salary disclosures showed, according to the Fox column. But the average Illinois full-time professor salary hovers only around $152,000, Fox said.

    Many other universities require DEI statements and have bloated DEI staffs like UIUC on which they, too, should backtrack. But UIUC seems among the worst with its Communication 9, and it should lead.

    UIUC is a superb school in most other ways and an exceptionally valuable research institution. It, along with some of our other universities, are priceless Illinois assets.

    They better act before they face the wrath of unhappy donors and Americans fed up with DEI excess.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 18:40

  • Watch Live: Matt Taibbi Fact-Checks Newsguard, Talks Burisma, Virality Project, And "Trump-Vermin" Switcheroo
    Watch Live: Matt Taibbi Fact-Checks Newsguard, Talks Burisma, Virality Project, And “Trump-Vermin” Switcheroo

    Matt Taibbi of Racket News has a new format he’s experimenting with top “get a lot of news out faster” with a new livestreamed format.

    Tonight, the award-winning journalist will introduce a new feature dubbed “Fact-Checking Newsguard,” and also plans to discuss various goings-on withe the censorious Election Integrity Partnership (EIP) / Virality Project, Burisma, and the “Trump-Vermin switcheroo.”

    Watch below:

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 18:20

  • 1-In-5 Young Americans Say Holocaust Was A Myth, Twice As Many Democrats As Republicans
    1-In-5 Young Americans Say Holocaust Was A Myth, Twice As Many Democrats As Republicans

    A new poll sheds light on why so many college-aged Americans aren’t worried about expressing antisemitism: Twenty percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 believe the Holocaust is a myth.

    Specifically, as The College Fix reports, the YouGov/The Economist poll shows eight percent of that age group “strongly agrees” that the World War II Nazi  Jewish genocide program is bogus, while 12 percent “tend to agree.”

    Thirty percent neither agreed nor disagreed the Holocaust happened, The Hill reports.

    In addition, twenty-three percent said the Holocaust “has been exaggerated,” and 28 percent believe Jews “wield too much power” in the U.S.

    More blacks and Hispanics than whites agreed with the three statements, and the Holocaust “myth” results held steady across all education levels.

    In comparison, no Americans over age 65 said the Holocaust is a myth, only two percent “tend to agree” it’s exaggerated, and six percent believe Jews have too much power.

    “Why do some young Americans embrace such views?” The Economist asks.

    “Social media might play a role.”

    According to a 2022 survey from the Pew Research Centre, Americans under 30 are about as likely to trust information on social media as they are to trust national news organisations.

    More recently Pew found that 32% of those aged 18-29 get their news from TikTok. Social-media sites are rife with conspiracy theories, and research has found strong associations between rates of social-media use and beliefs in such theories. In one recent survey by Generation Lab, a data-intelligence company, young adults who used TikTok were more likely to hold antisemitic beliefs.

    Yesterday, senators introduced a bill to reauthorize federal funding for the Never Again [Holocaust] Education Act. The House put forth its own bill last month.

    Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen (D) said:

    “Failing to educate students about the gravity and scope of the Holocaust is a disservice to the memory of its victims and to our duty to prevent such atrocities in the future.”

    Other results from the poll (18-29 year-olds vs. those age 65+):

    • 36 vs. 13 percent believe “Israel exploits Holocaust victimhood for its own purposes.”

    • 33 vs. six percent say “people should boycott Israeli goods and products.”

    • 32 vs. 13 percent believe “Israel is an apartheid state.”

    • 40 vs. 18 percent say “Israel is deliberately trying to wipe out the Palestinian population.”

    • 51 vs. 88 percent believe “Israel has the right to exist.”

    Democrats are leading the charge when it comes to believing the Holocaust is a myth, a new survey by YouGov showed.

    Of those who answered the YouGov survey, 10% of Democrats believe the Holocaust is a myth. Conversely, 6% of Republicans also believe the Holocaust is a myth. 

    “Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say hate crimes against Black, Muslim, and Arab people in the U.S. are serious problems. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say hate crimes against Christians and white people are serious,” Kathy Frankovic of YouGov wrote.

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    Which may help explains why despite antisemitic attacks having risen dramatically across the US since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, more than 100 House Democrats refused Thursday to vote on a resolution condemning antisemitism.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 18:00

  • David Stockman On Washington's Entrenched War Machine
    David Stockman On Washington’s Entrenched War Machine

    Authored by David Stockman via InternationalMan.com,

    After the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989 and the death of the Soviet Union was confirmed two years later as Boris Yeltsin courageously stood down the Red Army tanks in front of Moscow’s White House, a dark era in human history came to an abrupt end.

    The world had descended into a “77-Years War”. It had incepted with the mobilization of the armies of old Europe in August 1914. If you want to count bodies, 150 million were killed by all the depredations that germinated in the Great War, its foolish aftermath at Versailles, and the march of history into World War II and the Cold War that followed inexorably thereupon.

    Upwards of 8% of the human race was wiped out during that span. The toll encompassed the madness of trench warfare during 1914-1918; the murderous regimes of Soviet and Nazi totalitarianism that rose from the ashes of the Great War and the follies of Versailles; and then the carnage of WWII and all the lesser (unnecessary) wars and invasions of the Cold War including Korea and Vietnam.

    At the end of the Cold War, therefore, the last embers of the fiery madness that had incepted with the guns of August 1914 had finally burned out. Peace was at hand. Yet 32 years later there is still no peace because Imperial Washington confounds it.

    The proof is plain as day. The unnecessary invasions and occupations of Iraq, the Washington-instigated shambles of Syria, the wanton destruction of Yemen, the regime change-cum barbarism that NATO inflicted upon Libya, the brutal sanctions and covert military war on Iran, the current unspeakable catastrophe financed by Washington’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, and countless more lessor depredations, tell you all you need to know.

    All of these misadventures bespeak the fact that the War Party is entrenched in the nation’s capital, where it is dedicated to economic interests and ideological perversions that guarantee perpetual war. These forces ensure endless waste on armaments; they cause the inestimable death and human suffering that stems from 21st-century high-tech warfare; and they inherently generate terrorist blow-back from those upon whom the War Party inflicts its violent hegemony.

    Worse still, Washington’s great war machine and teeming national security industry is its own agent of self-perpetuation. When it is not invading, occupying and regime changing, its vast apparatus of internal policy bureaus and outside contractors, lobbies, think tanks and NGOs is busy generating reasons for new imperial ventures.

    So there was a virulent threat to peace still lurking on the Potomac after the 77-Years War ended. The great general and President, Dwight Eisenhower, had called it the “military-industrial-congressional complex” in the draft of his farewell address. But that memorable phrase had been abbreviated by his speechwriters, who deleted the word “congressional” in a gesture of comity to the legislative branch.

    So restore Ike’s deleted reference to the pork barrels and Sunday-afternoon warriors of Capitol Hill and toss in the legions of Beltway busybodies who constituted the civilian branches of the Cold War Armada (CIA, State, AID, NED and the rest) and the circle would have been complete. It constituted the most awesome machine of warfare and imperial hegemony since the Roman legions bestrode most of the civilized world.

    In a word, the real threat to peace circa 1991 was that the American Imperium would not go away quietly into the good night.

    In fact, during the past 31 years Imperial Washington has lost all memory that peace was ever possible at the end of the Cold War. Today it is as feckless, misguided and bloodthirsty as were Berlin, Paris, St. Petersburg, Vienna and London in August 1914.

    A few months after that horrendous slaughter had been unleashed 109 years ago, however, soldiers along the western front broke into spontaneous truces of Christmas celebration, song and even exchange of gifts. For a brief moment they wondered why they were juxtaposed in lethal combat along the jaws of hell.

    As Will Griggs once described it,

    A sudden cold snap had left the battlefield frozen, which was actually a relief for troops wallowing in sodden mire. Along the Front, troops extracted themselves from their trenches and dugouts, approaching each other warily, and then eagerly, across No Man’s Land. Greetings and handshakes were exchanged, as were gifts scavenged from care packages sent from home. German souvenirs that ordinarily would have been obtained only through bloodshed – such as spiked pickelhaube helmets, or Gott mit u9s belt buckles – were bartered for similar British trinkets. Carols were sung in German, English, and French. A few photographs were taken of British and German officers standing alongside each other, unarmed, in No Man’s Land.

    The truth is, there was no good reason for the Great War. The world had stumbled into war based on false narratives and the institutional imperatives of military mobilization plans, alliances and treaties arrayed into a doomsday machine and petty short-term diplomatic maneuvers and political calculus. Yet it took more than three-quarters of a century for all the consequential impacts and evils to be purged from the life of the planet.

    The peace that was lost last time has not been regained this time, however. And for the same reasons.

    *  *  *

    The amount of money the US government spends on foreign aid, wars, the so-called intelligence community, and other aspects of foreign policy is enormous and ever-growing. It’s an established trend in motion that is accelerating, and now approaching a breaking point. It could cause the most significant disaster since the 1930s. Most people won’t be prepared for what’s coming. That’s precisely why bestselling author Doug Casey and his team just released an urgent video with all the details. Click here to watch it now.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 17:40

  • Tucker Carlson Launches Streaming Subscription Service
    Tucker Carlson Launches Streaming Subscription Service

    Tucker Carlson has launched a new streaming service, the Tucker Carlson Network, which costs $9 per month (with a $6/month introductory price to become a ‘founding member’).

    The former Fox News host’s network features interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, commentary and early access to tickets for future live events.

    “We’ve been working in secret and producing an awful lot of material for months now. We’re launching a brand-new thing very soon,” Carlson said in a Saturday post on X.

    On Monday, Carlson’s network posted a preview of what’s to come:

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

    His social media person is already off to a good start:

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttps://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttps://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsCarlson, who parted ways with Fox in April, has been releasing interviews on X, which have included Donald Trump, Victor Orban, Javier Milei, Ice Cube, Devon Archer, Andrew Tate, Alex Jones, and many more. And we should note, these interviews often pull better numbers than Fox News‘ primetime lineup, while the losers at Fox attempt to badger presidential candidates into shilling for more Ukraine funds.

    Join the Tucker Carlson Network here…

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 17:20

  • It's Dark, But Breadth Says It's Not Quite Dawn For China Stocks
    It’s Dark, But Breadth Says It’s Not Quite Dawn For China Stocks

    Authored by Simon White, Bloomberg macro strategist,

    After another dismal set of China inflation data, sentiment for Chinese stocks feels like it can’t get much worse.

    That can be a sign the market will soon bottom, but breadth is not yet at the extreme capitulatory levels that would give a much higher confidence to this view. Nevertheless, the risk-reward for some exposure to China stocks remains attractive.

    I had thought the bottom in China stock was perhaps in last month, but the economic data has continued to be dreadful. Over the weekend, November’s CPI came in at -0.5% and PPI at -3%, both lower than the previous month.

    Confidence would be higher that a tradeable bottom is near if breadth was more extreme. However, the net number of stocks in the CSI 300 index making new 52-week lows has been more stretched at previous bottoms in the index. Similarly for the number of stocks with an RSI of less than 30 and the percentage of stocks trading below their 200-day moving averages.

    Furthermore, we haven’t yet seen a spike in volume which often occurs at capitulatory junctures.

    China’s decision to have one of the longest and most stringent lockdowns while giving its household sector scant support (unlike many DM countries) has led to the country being the only one to have experienced outright deflation since 2020, when every other main country has experienced inflation, often the highest for decades.

    A weak real-estate sector and the severe dent to confidence from lockdowns has led to a spend-averse household sector.

    The fall in CPI is being driven by a decline in food and consumer goods. Food is estimated to be about a third of the CPI basket, with goods (including food) accounting for just under two thirds of the total.

    Global food prices have started to rise again, so this may soon provide support to China’s CPI.

    With so much bad news already in the price, there is good risk-reward for beginning to accumulate China stocks, but breadth data suggests we are perhaps not quite yet at the point of “revulsion,” forcing the last speculative longs out, and clearing the way for a sustainable rally.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 12/11/2023 – 17:00

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Today’s News 11th December 2023

  • Trauma Nation
    Trauma Nation

    Authored by Todd Hayen via Off-Guardian.org,

    We now are all suffering from acute trauma, in a trauma nation.

    I would venture to say in a trauma world, but I am not certain of conditions in countries such as India, Indonesia, much of the Middle East or the like. I do think the trauma I am speaking of is present in most of Europe, the UK, North America, Israel, Australia and probably in many other places. Anywhere the vaccine rollout occurred, as well as anywhere that experienced lockdowns, social distancing, school closures, etc. That leaves few places trauma-free.

    What is trauma?

    The Oxford Dictionary defines it as a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. If this is accurate then my only response is “duh”—of course we have all been traumatized. There is no doubt that we have all experienced a deeply distressing and disturbing experience. Many experiences, in fact, over many, many years.

    But have we all experienced these traumas?

    And have all of us experienced the same number of traumatic events, and have we all responded the same way to them? No, of course not. We are all individual human beings, and the traumas are also varied, and each has a unique impact. Let me present this idea in rather broad strokes. First, I will divide us all into two groups that each have roughly similar ideas and beliefs. You know where I am going with this, so without further ado, here they are: Sheep and Shrews. (Click here if you are not familiar with my sheep/shrew terminology.)

    I do not think I need to spend time defining these two groups. There are of course outliers in addition to the main group—those who are quasi-sheep, those who are quasi-shrews, and those who really don’t fit into either group. But just for simplicity’s sake let’s say there are only two groups—and you and I belong in one or the other.

    I will start with these two distinctions in order to say that each of these groups experience the trauma that has come to all of us in different ways.

    The Sheep for the most part experience this trauma internally. They don’t really know what is happening. They may say, “oh my, Covid was horrible, the pandemic really affected me.” But they are only describing the fake version of the crises—the ridiculous infection rate, the ubiquitous fear of death, the ventilators, the hospitals, the lockdowns, the fake drugs, the social distancing, the masks. Vaccines coming on the scene were not part of the sheep trauma, they were actually the savior that descended from heaven to save the hoards from sure destruction. Now, for sheep, the trauma is largely over—the external fake one at least. The internal one is really just starting, but they still don’t know it.

    Day after day I see psychotherapy clients who are sheep that describe depression, anxiety, listlessness, lethargy, meaninglessness, purposelessness, sadness, feeling lost, confused, on and on. Now, I have to admit, I cannot be sure if this is terribly unusual. That is typically the common complaints that come into my office, even before the Covid debacle. But it does seem to have a different quality to it. There is more of a glassy-eyed-ness to it all. Is this due to the toxins in the vaccine? Is it due to a collapsing economy, a collapsing culture, or a collapse of humanity? Is it due to the radical shift that has come in the previous three years, like ubiquitous masks, working at home, etc. “There’s something happening here . . . But what it is ain’t exactly clear . . .” (Remember that song? The next line is: There’s a man with a gun over there . . . Telling me I got to beware . . .” Oh my.)

    This is sheep trauma. And sheep trauma will get worse and worse until it works its way to the surface, like a splinter that finally, after much invisible pain, works its way out. But unlike a splinter, when this trauma comes out it isn’t going to be easy to just wipe it away. It will then become conscious, like the Shrew trauma, which is mostly conscious. Is it better for the trauma to be conscious? In some ways it is, but in many ways trauma becoming conscious can be devastating.

    So, on to the next group—the Shrews. We’ve got it bad folks. As if I even have to tell you that. And don’t kid yourself, this is bonafide trauma, with a capital “T”, right here in River City.

    I would add to Oxford’s minimalist definition of trauma, “helplessness.” It is a hallmark of serious trauma—there isn’t much you can do about it as it digs its heels in, deeper and deeper.

    Our world is falling apart. Sure, it has always been tenuous. But now, it is literally falling into the ashes. Up is down, down is up, it is truly Superman’s Bizarro World. Everywhere we turn there is trauma, we’ve lost most of our friends—friends we may have had for decades. Gone. And usually gone in an ugly way. We have lost family. Same deal. Gone. We may even live in a house divided. Sheep and shrew, living together. If this is the case, you may even doubt your own sanity at times—possibly a lot of the time.

    Cognitive dissonance is always a concern and pops up around every corner. People you used to trust, at least maybe a little bit, are suddenly suspicious, or downright frightening. They say one thing, you know another. Nothing seems to match up. Nearly every source of information you used to rely on is now suspect. This at first may seem like a game. It also can seem, at times, to be a relief. Now you don’t have to trust anything. You no longer have the burden of trying to figure out what to trust and what not to trust—now you don’t trust anything at all if it is in the mainstream. This means things as simple as television and magazine advertising, billboards, the labels on cereal boxes, the headlines in newspapers, the smiling woman at Costco giving out free samples. Everything gets a cocked head response from you, like what your dog does when it hears a strange sound.

    I was walking through a local farmer’s market one of these past Saturdays. It was a nice sunny, crisp, fall day. There was a cool breeze, and people seemed to be happy and having a good time. Then I spotted a family of four coming toward me. A mom and dad, and two little girls, about the ages of 5 and 7. All in masks. The whole moment collapsed for me. No longer did I feel like it was a nice day, or that I was strolling along with fellow neighbors, or even fellow human beings. A feeling of threat came over me, and anger began to creep up my spine. I no longer understand these people, I no longer feel safe amongst them. They now actually present a danger to me. I am traumatized.

    OK, fine, so what? Well, this gets under your skin day in and day out. We keep thinking we are going to wake up from this nightmare but like Ground Hog Day, it just goes on and on. Nothing is relieved. When you hear of a won court case then in the same moment you hear of a shrew arrest. When you see a nice commercial about happy smiling people and giggling infants, within the same minute you will see beheaded babies in Gaza. Neither one of these images is trustworthy, nothing is trustworthy. The whole world has gone to hell.

    That is trauma.

    What makes it worse is our isolation.

    Shrews are definitely not the majority group. And even though we hear there are indeed many of us, it doesn’t really seem that way, in reality. Where are all of the shrews? They are around, of course, but we don’t yet have regular, and local, meeting places where we can gather and talk, and argue, and share, and love each other. We need to start creating this for ourselves. We are not only isolated as humans, but we are isolated because we have no connection with anything out there that isn’t pure SHEEP. Everything we see, hear, and read, is SHEEP. The world accommodates sheep, like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers pod world—you can’t tell who or what is ours.

    It all revolves around the vaccinated, the sheep, the followers, the blind. We are left behind. We live in a trauma nation.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 23:30

  • USA Is Not #1! These Are The Top-Performing Countries For Education
    USA Is Not #1! These Are The Top-Performing Countries For Education

    Singapore has topped the latest world education ranking informally known as PISA, the Program for International Student Assessment, run by the OECD. The city-state’s pupils excelled in the core areas of math, science and reading, securing a high score of 560 points with students ahead of their peers on average by almost three to five years. As the following chart shows, several other countries and places in Asia feature high on the list, with Macau, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea rounding off the top 5.

    Students in 81 countries and economies completed a series of tests to gauge and compare national averages in education in 2022.

    Usually carried out every three years, these results have been hotly anticipated, since there was a delay in testing due to the Covid pandemic.

    As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the following chart, Estonia scored the highest of any European nation with a score of 516, showing particular excellency in science (526), while Ireland placed in rank nine, with students doing especially well in the reading exam (516).

    Canada received the highest marks for North America, as the United States trailed behind in rank 18 with an overall score of 489.

    Infographic: The Top Performing Places for Education | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    European nations have lagged behind in this series of tests.

    OECD researchers say that while the shutdowns throughout the pandemic are one factor, this decline is also due to longer-term, systemic issues such as a lack of support from teachers and resources.

    Worldwide, the PISA results showed an average decline of 15 points in math since the 2018 tests.

    This equates to about three-quarters of a school year of learning. At the same time, reading dropped by the equivalent of half a year and science remained around the same.

    The lowest scoring countries and economies were the Philippines (353), Uzbekistan (352), Kosovo (351), Dominican Republic (350) and Cambodia (337).

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 23:00

  • FDA System Unable To Identify Risk Of Heart Inflammation After COVID-19 Vaccination: Agency
    FDA System Unable To Identify Risk Of Heart Inflammation After COVID-19 Vaccination: Agency

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

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could not provide information on a confirmed side effect of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to a newly disclosed document.

    FDA staffers said in the document, from 2021, that one of the agency’s top surveillance systems was unable to provide details on heart inflammation after Pfizer vaccination.

    The FDA’s Sentinel program was described in the document as “NOT sufficient to identify the outcomes of myocarditis and pericarditis due to reasons identified.” Pericarditis is inflammation of the pericardium, or the membrane around the heart.

    There weren’t enough people in the program to assess the risk for 12- to 30-year-olds, the population discovered to be most at-risk from post-vaccination myocarditis, or heart inflammation, FDA staffers said. Assessing whether people who suffered from the condition had recovered, and following them long-term, was also not feasible because the program’s data sources “do not have sufficient longitudinal data on patients,” they said.

    Studying subclinical myocarditis, or heart inflammation without clinical symptoms, was also not able to be done with the data “because of the absence of a definition of subclinical myocarditis and unknown background incidence of troponin abnormalities,” the document stated.

    Months before the document was prepared, U.S. authorities had learned of a large number of myocarditis cases following Pfizer vaccination in Israel, a fact they hid from Americans. The U.S. military also recorded cases just weeks after the vaccines were rolled out in late 2020. And additional cases were reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which is managed by the FDA and another agency.

    It is shameful that the Sentinel Program electronic database that FDA officials use to monitor reported vaccine side effects appears to have failed to adequately assess the magnitude of risk of heart inflammation (myocarditis and pericarditis) in children and adults aged 12 to 30 that occurred after receipt of Pfizer COVID shots. It also looks like heart inflammation cases were not appropriately followed up to find out how many people suffered permanent heart damage,” Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center, told The Epoch Times in an email.

    The FDA declined to comment.

    The document also said that information on post-vaccination myocarditis, pericarditis, and subclinical myocarditis would be coming from studies that Pfizer was conducting, in lieu of FDA surveillance.

    Several of those studies have been completed, but the FDA and Pfizer are refusing to release the results to the public. The FDA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed the Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax vaccines cause myocarditis and pericarditis. Outside research has found myocarditis and pericarditis happen primarily in young males, while a recent study indicated subclinical myocarditis is more prevalent than previously thought.

    The document was sent to the Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency (PHMPT), which sued the FDA after it refused to release documents relating to its authorization of Pfizer’s vaccine. It was part of the final tranche from the FDA, which the agency was required to produce by a federal court.

    Monitoring Systems

    The CDC and the FDA have repeatedly claimed the COVID-19 vaccines are closely monitored. The CDC on its website, for instance, says that the vaccines were subject to “the most intense safety monitoring in U.S. history.”

    But the failure of Sentinel to provide data on a known risk is just one piece of data that undercuts that claim, according to Elizabeth Brehm, a partner at Siri & Glimstad LLP, which represents PHMPT.

    VAERS, for instance, is repeatedly described by officials as being unable to provide vaccines cause any conditions. V-safe, another surveillance system, “doesn’t directly monitor specific adverse events,” Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, a top CDC vaccine safety official, wrote in one email that has been made public. The Vaccine Safety Datalink, run by the CDC, is a closed system, which outside researchers cannot access without approval. A fourth system only has CDC officials and researchers funded by the agency consulting on individual cases. They often encourage patients to receive additional vaccines even if they have experienced an adverse event.

    “Without a diagnosis, these types of consultations can be very unfulfilling for the provider and patient; the assessment of causality is typically ‘indeterminate’ as to whether a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event,” a CDC official wrote in another email about that system.

    When you really look at the ‘system’ collectively and what they say about it themselves, the question remains: what is an adequate safety surveillance system used by our authorities that provides reliable data to FDA and CDC concerning vaccines?” Ms. Brehm told The Epoch Times via email.

    The CDC has said government systems have been useful, including helping detect the problem of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome after Johnson & Johnson vaccination and providing information on myocarditis after Pfizer and Moderna vaccination.

    Additional documents are still forthcoming in a separate legal case brought against the FDA over documents relating to its authorization of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 22:30

  • Hong Kong Slump Sparks Wave Of Brokerage Closures
    Hong Kong Slump Sparks Wave Of Brokerage Closures

    By John Cheng, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

    A historic slump in Hong Kong’s $4.6 trillion stock market is rippling through the city’s financial industry.

    Thirty local brokerages have closed down this year, after a record 49 shut up shop in 2022, according to Hong Kong stock exchange data. That comes as Wall Street banks lay off dealmakers due to a plunge in initial public offerings.

    The Hang Seng Index is heading for a fourth year of declines, the longest losing streak in the gauge’s history, and touched a one-year low last week. Average daily turnover is down 14% compared with the five-year average and the IPO market having its worst year since 2001.

    The prolonged slump and the job losses are adding to questions about the future of the city’s position as Asia’s top international finance center in the wake of Hong Kong’s extreme pandemic curbs and Beijing’s imposition of national security legislation.

    “This wave of shutdowns and layoffs at brokerages is the worst I’ve ever seen,” said Edmond Hui, chief executive officer of Hong Kong-based brokerage Bright Smart Securities. “The key lies in improving the liquidity of the market. Now everyone is struggling. I simply don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel.”

    Small-and medium-sized brokerages, whose revenue mainly comes from trading commissions and margin businesses, are bearing the brunt of the market downturn. According to a survey of local brokers by the Hong Kong Securities Association earlier this year, more than 72% suffered losses last year, with at least a quarter planning to scale down their operations this year.

    Hong Kong stocks have the widest bid-ask spreads — the price difference between offers to buy and sell stocks — in Asia Pacific markets, said Tony Cheung, an execution consulting specialist at Instinet. That’s increased trading costs for institutional investors, he added.

    Despite analyst projections at the start of the year that Chinese shares would see a recovery after the country ended its Covid Zero restrictions, investor sentiment turned persistently downbeat. A struggling economy, weak consumption, strained US-China ties and a property crisis sent foreign funds fleeing.

    The lack of liquidity shows “institutional interest in Hong Kong and China is declining to a new low,” said Qi Wang, UOB Kay Hian chief investment officer in wealth management. “Global investors have divested a big chunk of their Hong Kong holdings in the last two years. Many now consider China ‘irrelevant’ from a global portfolio view.

    A drought in deals is adding to the sense of a market in trouble. This year is poised to be the worst for Hong Kong debuts since 2001, just after the dotcom bubble burst, with $5.1 billion of IPOs. That’s a fraction of the $52 billion raised three years ago, and down 84% from the past 10-year average of $31 billion.

    Just last month, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. shocked investors by terminating plans to spin off and list its $11 billion cloud business. The company, which cited US restrictions on chip sales to China for the reversal, said it’s also suspending a listing for the popular grocery business Freshippo.

    Banks are downsizing as a result. In the past year, Wall Street banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley have conducted multiple rounds of layoffs in Hong Kong. UBS Group AG cut about two dozen investment bankers in Asia, mainly China-focused roles based in Hong Kong and including several managing directors, Bloomberg News reported in October.

    This hiring market in 2023 is probably the toughest hiring market I would say since the global financial crisis,” said John Mullally, a Hong Kong-based managing director at recruiting firm Robert Walters, referring to the local financial services industry in general. “In 2024, I think there will be more cuts.”

    The ongoing slump, particularly in a year when global equity markets have gained, is turning Hong Kong into an also-ran. Japan’s stock market is now $1.5 trillion larger than Hong Kong’s — the biggest gap since 2009. The Topix has surged 23% this year, compared with a 17% retreat by the Hang Seng Index. Hong Kong is also at risk at being displaced by India, which is just $518 billion less, around the smallest discount on record based on data going back two decades.

    Hong Kong’s government has taken steps to arrest the downturn and stimulate trading. This includes reversing a stamp duty hike on stock trades introduced in 2021, as well as plans to ensure markets stay open during severe weather such as a typhoon.

    Yet local officials can do little about the city’s high borrowing costs, which follow US moves due to the local currency’s peg to the greenback, or the weakness in mainland China’s economy.  

    “Cutting stamp duty is only a cosmetic change,” said Chi Lo, investment strategist for Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Asset Management. To revive Hong Kong’s stock market, US monetary policy needs to shift from tightening to loosening and Beijing needs to introduce more aggressive easing, he added.

    Wall Street banks are lowering their expectations on Chinese stocks. Morgan Stanley in August downgraded China to equal-weight, while last month Goldman Sachs cut its recommendation on Chinese stocks listed in Hong Kong due to modest earnings growth.

    “The length and severity of this cyclical downturn of the Hong Kong market could continue to weigh on its status as a global financial center,” said Vivian Lin Thurston, a portfolio manager at William Blair Investment Management. “Only if and when the macro and underlying corporate fundamentals start to improve, could it see improved performance and increased liquidity.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 22:00

  • Japan Approves World's First 'Self-Amplifying' mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Without Published Efficacy Or Safety Data
    Japan Approves World’s First ‘Self-Amplifying’ mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Without Published Efficacy Or Safety Data

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

    Japan has approved the world’s first self-amplifying mRNA (sa-mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine, although the manufacturer has not published safety or efficacy data for the shot.

    Rendering of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins binding to ACE2 receptors. (Shutterstock)

    Tokyo-based Meiji Seika Pharma received approval for manufacturing and marketing its Kostaive sa-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, the company announced in a Nov. 28 press release. The mRNA in the vaccine is designed to self-amplify when delivered into cells, which generates a “strong immune response and the potential for extended duration of protection.” The vaccine is intended for primary immunization (2 doses) as well as booster immunization in adults. Kostaive is the “world’s first approved product applying self-amplifying mRNA technology,” according to the press release.

    Both mRNA and sa-mRNA are RNA vaccines that use a virus’ genetic code against it. When an mRNA vaccine is injected into an individual, the mRNA instructs cells to make a specific protein and thus stimulates immune response. An sa-mRNA vaccine takes this concept further by making multiple mRNA copies, which ends up generating more spike protein.

    Toby Young, general secretary of the Free Speech Union, a public interest group, pointed out in a Nov. 30 X post that the sa-mRNA vaccine was approved in Japan “despite only testing it on 800 people, no control group and only checking antibody levels not infection rates. Medicine regulation died with Covid.”

    A phase 3 study compared the Kostaive ARCT-154 vaccine to Pfizer’s Comirnaty mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. The pre-print study, which has not been peer-reviewed, was posted in July at MedRxiv.

    The study, funded by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, followed a primary phase study that analyzed the safety and efficacy of the Kostaive vaccine. The results of that study have not been published; the manuscript is “in preparation,” according to the phase 3 study report.

    The trial was conducted among 828 people between December 2022 and February 2023. This is a far lower number of participants than Pfizer’s phase 3 study, which involved over 40,000 individuals. The small scale of Kostaive trial has raised questions about its validity.

    According to the pre-print study, Kostaive recipients reported a slightly lower number of localized reactions—such as localized pain or swelling—compared to Comirnaty. However, Kostaive recipients reported higher numbers in specific adverse events such as chills, diarrhea, dizziness, headache, malaise, nausea, and myalgia, or muscle pain.

    According to Meiji Seika Pharma, the phase 3 clinical trials for booster shots showed that Konstaive elicited “higher and longer-lasting neutralizing antibody titers against the original strain” as well as an Omicron subvariant, compared to Comirnaty.

    The vaccine was developed by San Diego-based Arcturus Therapeutics. Meiji Seika Pharma licensed the vaccine for sale in Japan via Melbourne-based CSL Seqirus in April this year.

    The company is collaborating with Arcalis, an mRNA vaccine manufacturing firm, to establish manufacturing capabilities in Japan. Meiji Seika Pharma is working towards commercializing Kostaive in 2024.

    Risks of sa-mRNA

    As sa-mRNA vaccines produce copies of mRNA and thus boost the production of proteins, some experts are worried about the consequences they can have on the human body and concerned that any negative effects from mRNA vaccines could be amplified by injecting sa-mRNA shots.

    During testimony at the European Parliament last month, cardiologist Peter McCullough said that “there’s not a single study showing that the messenger RNA is broken down” in the human body once it is injected. Since the vaccines are “made synthetically, they cannot be broken down.”

    The spike protein from the mRNA vaccines has been found circulating in the body as long as six months from vaccination, he pointed out.

    Dr. McCullough said that the spike protein is “proven” in 3,400 peer-reviewed manuscripts to cause four major domains of disease—cardiovascular, neurological disease, blood clots, and immunological abnormalities.

    In a recent Epoch Times article, molecular biologist Klaus Steger noted that “a small amount of saRNA [sa-mRNA] results in an increased amount of produced antigen.”

    “Due to increased antigen levels, one injection of saRNA—whether linear or circular—may cause adverse events comparable with repeated (booster) injections of modRNA.”

    Mr. Steger had previously pointed out that BioNTech’s “mRNA” vaccines are made not with messenger RNA but with modified RNA (modRNA).

    A study published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology in June this year admitted that the “main challenges involved in the global authorization [of sa-mRNA vaccines] are potential safety concerns regarding the replicative character of these vaccines.”

    “As for all self-amplifying vaccines, concerns have been raised over adverse events in vulnerable individuals. For example, replicon [sa-mRNA] vaccines could persist in immunocompromised individuals as clearance may be less efficient,” it said.

    The use of sa-mRNA vaccines in pregnant women also poses risks, especially if the vectors used in the vaccines come from viruses that cause congenital infections, like the Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus, the study said.

    “Additional preclinical and clinical studies are required to safeguard the implementation of replicon vaccines in vulnerable individuals,” it cautioned.

    Commenting on the Kostaive vaccine, Mike Donio, the founder of science education website Science Defined, said in a Nov. 30 X post, “I’ve been saying for a while that the first generation Covid vaccines were only the start of a coming wave of mRNA therapies.”

    “First, they told us that the mRNA wouldn’t persist in cells for a long time. Now they’ve unleashed self-amplifying mRNA, which means it replicates itself. Wonder how long that will last? Maybe forever? Now tell me how they don’t want to at least try to mess with our genetics.”

    The Epoch Times reached out to Meiji Holdings for comment.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 21:30

  • If You Didn’t Like The First Term, Just Wait For The Second
    If You Didn’t Like The First Term, Just Wait For The Second

    Authored by Ron Faucheux via RealClear Wire,

    Second presidential terms are like half-chewed gum – the zest and flavor are gone. Hence the phrase “second-term curse.” We’ve had 17 presidents who were elected and reelected. History shows us that the second act usually falls short.

    Why is this? For starters, popular mandates tend to dissipate over time, and public familiarity tends to curdle into boredom or contempt. Second terms often lack purpose and are tarnished by missteps, scandals, and hubris. Usually, the best presidential appointments are made in the first term.

    If either Joe Biden or Donald Trump is nominated, no matter which one wins the general election, we’re in for a second term in January 2025. Sharply negative views have already accumulated around both men; neither would have the benefit of a truly fresh start.

    While Trump’s second term would be nonconsecutive, the first since Grover Cleveland’s, it would still fit within the second-term paradigm, especially if he uses it to exact revenge on his enemies, as some pundits predict.

    Either Biden or Trump would start a second term as a lame duck and may have to battle impeachment, probably for things done in the first term. Old cuts and scars will deepen alongside new wounds. Trump will have criminal trials on his docket and may try to pardon himself, which could launch a long, bruising court fight. Biden will likely face investigations into a range of matters, including his son’s business dealings.

    During Thomas Jefferson’s first four years, he doubled the size of our young nation with the Louisiana Purchase, the shrewdest real estate deal in history. The Embargo Act, which devastated a fragile economy, came in his second term.

    Grover Cleveland’s first term ushered in good government reforms. He opposed the spoils system, created the Interstate Commerce Commission, and modernized the Navy. Although he won the popular vote for reelection, he lost the Electoral College vote. Four years later, he won a second, nonconsecutive term, which was overwhelmed by two economic depressions and numerous labor strikes.

    Woodrow Wilson’s first term was marked by the passage of significant economic reforms. His second was dominated by World War I, which he promised to avoid, and the attempted ratification of his beloved League of Nations, which he fumbled. He also suffered a severe stroke, incapacitating him during the last 16 months of his presidency.

    Franklin Roosevelt took on the Great Depression during his first four years. Social Security, immense public works, bank deposit insurance, labor laws, securities regulation, and rural electrification became realities. His second term started with the botched attempt to “pack” the Supreme Court, followed by another economic downturn and a clumsy bid to purge the Democratic Party of New Deal skeptics. Of Roosevelt’s four terms, his mistake-prone second, most historians agree, was least impressive. His third was consumed by World War II, and the fourth lasted less than three months.

    Richard Nixon’s top foreign policy achievements occurred during his first term. His second term was engulfed by Watergate, and that led to an inglorious resignation.

    Ronald Reagan’s course correction for America happened mostly during his first term: renewing national confidence, reducing taxes and spending, fighting inflation, building up the military, and breaking the PATCO strike. While his second term set the stage for the collapse of the Soviet Union, it was distracted by the Iran-Contra affair.

    Bill Clinton’s first term set into motion economic policies that would carry his presidency. This provided second term cushion – although a big chunk was squandered on the Monica Lewinsky scandal and impeachment.

    George W. Bush’s first four years were momentous: responding to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, launching wars in Afghanistan and Iran, and passing big tax cuts. It was in his second term when the bungling of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath wrecked his administration’s reputation for competence, and that, in turn, poisoned perceptions of his war management.

    In his first term, Barack Obama passed Obamacare and major economic stimulus programs. Osama bin Laden was also captured and killed. His second term focused on fixing Obamacare and trying to sell a range of policies, domestic and foreign, that never won much public confidence.

    If either Biden or Trump wins, we’ll have a second-term presidency. As The Old Philosopher, Eddie Lawrence, might have said, “Something else to look forward to, hey Bunkie?”

    Ron Faucheux is a nonpartisan political analyst. He publishes LunchtimePolitics.com, a public opinion newsletter, and is the author of “Running for Office,” a tell-all book for political candidates.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 20:30

  • Watch Live: SpaceX Launches Mysterious X-37B Spaceplane Into Orbit
    Watch Live: SpaceX Launches Mysterious X-37B Spaceplane Into Orbit

    The US Space Force’s Boeing X-37B unmanned, reusable space plane will be launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on Sunday evening. 

    The mysterious spaceplane is built by Boeing and operated by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and the Space Force. Its last mission ended a little over a year ago after spending 2.5 years in low-Earth orbit. 

    “The X-37B continues to equip the United States with the knowledge to enhance current and future space operations,” Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman said in a statement. 

    Saltzman continued: “X-37B Mission 7 demonstrates the USSF’s commitment to innovation and defining the art-of-the-possible in the space domain.” 

    With each successive top-secret mission, the X-37B spends long and longer time in orbit:

    The liftoff window begins at 8:14 p.m. EST (0114 GMT) at Launch Complex-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. 

    Democrats are furious with all of Elon Musk’s space accomplishments. 

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

    Even Jeff Bezos had to hire Musk for rocket launches

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 20:10

  • Biden Wants To Seize Patents Of Pricey Drugs And Use Government To Make Them Cheaper
    Biden Wants To Seize Patents Of Pricey Drugs And Use Government To Make Them Cheaper

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

    The Biden administration has proposed a new rule that would allow federal authorities to seize the patents of costly drugs that were developed using taxpayer dollars and to let third parties use those patents to make the drugs available more cheaply.

    President Joe Biden speaks at a press conference in Ottawa, Canada, on March 24, 2023. (Andrej Ivanov/AFP/Getty Images)

    The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, on Dec. 7 published a set of draft guidelines for government agencies to evaluate when it might be appropriate to invoke what are known as “march-in” rights under the legal framework of the Bayh-Dole Act.

    The Bayh-Dole Act, which is shorthand for the University and Small Business Patent Procedures Act of 1980, grants the government the authority to suspend the patents of products of inventions that were developed with federal funding if those products or inventions are not made available to the public.

    The new proposed guidelines, which were reviewed by The Epoch Times, seek to modify the Bayh-Dole Act in such a way as to make high price alone (of a product or invention developed using taxpayer dollars) a sufficient condition to trigger the government’s exercise of the act’s march-in provisions.

    The march-in provisions—which the government has been asked to invoke in the past but never has—would let authorities seize the patents of drugs deemed too expensive (when offered for sale by the original patent holder) and grant licenses to third parties to produce those drugs to sell more cheaply.

    “We’ll make it clear that when drug companies won’t sell taxpayer funded drugs at reasonable prices, we will be prepared to allow other companies to provide those drugs for less,” White House adviser Lael Brainard said on a call with reporters.

    The draft will be published in the Federal Register on Dec. 8 and is being subjected to a 60-day public comment period.

    President Joe Biden hailed the draft proposal as a way to rein in “Big Pharma price gouging,” while the main pharmaceutical industry trade group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said it would be a loss to American patients by causing government-funded research to sit “on a shelf, not benefiting anyone.”

    Competing Takes

    Under the new draft guidelines, the government would be allowed to consider “reasonableness of the price” when considering whether to invoke the march-in rights.

    It gives federal agencies the power to act “if it appears that the price is extreme, unjustified, and exploitative of a health or safety need.”

    While the initial price of a given drug when it’s first launched is to be considered, another possibility for triggering the use of the march-in provisions would be a “sudden, steep price increase in response to a disaster.”

    President Biden said in a statement that his administration is proposing that if a drug is made using taxpayers funds and it’s “not reasonably available to Americans,” then the government could “march in” and license that drug to a producer who can make it and sell it for less.

    It’s good for competition. It’s good for our economy,” the president said. “And it’s good for the millions of Americans who can’t afford their medications—who know all too well that fine line between dignity and dependence that the price of a prescription drug can draw.”

    The proposal drew a critical reaction from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) trade group.

    “This would be yet another loss for American patients who rely on public-private sector collaboration to advance new treatments and cures. The administration is sending us back to a time when government research sat on a shelf, not benefitting anyone,” PhRMA said in a post on X.

    The trade group argued that the reason America leads the world in medicine development is precisely because the current structure of the law enables the private sector to work with government and academic research centers “for the benefit of patients.”

    “This latest proposal is yet another bad policy from an administration intent on ceding our life science leadership to other countries and robbing Americans of hope that comes from new treatments and cures,” the group added.

    In a blog post, PhRMA said that the Bayh-Dole works well in its current form and that, over the past 25 years that it has been in effect, it has contributed $1.9 trillion to the U.S. economy and created 6.5 million jobs.

    What Do the Authors of the Bayh-Dole Act Say?

    The authors of the Bayh-Dole Act, the late senators Birch Bayh (D-Ind.) and Robert Dole (R-Kan.), have publicly stated that the law they developed did not intend for the government to be able to set prices on products.

    “The law makes no reference to a reasonable price that should be dictated by the government,” the pair wrote in an op-ed in The Washington Post. “This omission was intentional; the primary purpose of the act was to entice the private sector to seek public-private research collaboration rather than focusing on its own proprietary research.”

    The two senators raised the argument that, for every single taxpayer dollar that the government spends on research of a given product or invention, private industry must spend “at least $10” to bring it to market and that the aim of their law was to “spur interaction” between public and private research so that patients could benefit from scientific innovations sooner.

    “Government alone has never developed the new advances in medicines and technology that become commercial products,” the pair wrote, adding that the intention of the law was newer to allow the government to revoke a licence on the basis of the pricing of the product or in some way tied to the profitability of a company that has commercialized it.

    The law we passed is about encouraging a partnership that spurs advances to help Americans,” they wrote.

    Under the Bayh-Dole Act, the government has the power to seize the patents of federally funded medicines but not using price as a criterion.

    The proposal comes as the Democrat Party’s more progressive wing has heaped criticism on drugmakers over high prices of their products and has called on the Biden administration to use march-in power to lower prices.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 19:50

  • A 1934-Style Packard Motor Car Will Soon Be Rolling Off A Production Line In Ohio Again
    A 1934-Style Packard Motor Car Will Soon Be Rolling Off A Production Line In Ohio Again

    The little known Packard Motor Company, previously known for high-quality, luxury automobiles manufactured before World War II, is on the cusp of its revival.

    James Ward Packard and his brother William started Packard Electric Company in 1890 to make carbon arc lamps. In 1893, they teamed up with George L. Weiss, an investor in Winton Motor Carriage Company, to form Packard & Weiss.

    The first Packard car debuted in 1899, and in 1902, the company became known as Packard Motor Car Company.

    Now, the company has opened a new plant in Medina, Ohio several weeks ago and is going to be producing a 1934-style convertible as its flagship product. 

    In record amounts, handcrafted cars were shipped to Europe, where they matched up well with brands like Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz. They were priced nearly 2-3 times more than their American counterparts.

    But how did the little known brand wind up back in business? It started in 2019 when Scott Andrews, an internet consultant, was on his way to work when a car on sale caught his eye. Unfamiliar with its make, he reached out to his dad, an experienced car mechanic, for insights.

    When he asked his father if he had ever heard of a “Packard”, the discussion began and Andrews “fell in love with the Packard history,” he told Cleveland.com

    “What really impressed me was that most of the innovations made in the automobile were patented and brought to the market by Packard,” he said. Now, the Packard revival hinges on Andrews. 

    Andrews, a watchmaker, learned that J.W. Packard was also a watch collector. He noted the coincidence. He then found out that his alma mater, Cleveland State University’s James J. Nance Business College, was named after the last President of Packard Motor Car Company. 

    “Pretty cool I graduated from the business college he helped start,” he said. He has since worked with a friend “12 hours a day” to hand-make a copy of the 1934 convertible for display in a local store. They have since moved on to lobbying local officials to open a Packard manufacturing facility in town. 

    “The iconic Packard will be available with the latest technology in engines, with myriad options to make each vehicle truly unique,” the report says

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 19:15

  • Cigna Ditches Mega-Merger Plans With Humana, Opts for Stock Buybacks, Report Says
    Cigna Ditches Mega-Merger Plans With Humana, Opts for Stock Buybacks, Report Says

    Healthcare and insurance provider Cigna Group has ditched its proposed merger with health insurer Humana, according to sources from the Wall Street Journal. Initially reported on Nov. 29 by WSJ, this merger, valued at around $140 billion, would have resulted in a health insurance giant challenging the market dominance of UnitedHealth Group

    Sources said Cigna and Humana hit roadblocks when the two companies could not agree on price and other financial terms. Cigna will now focus on acquiring smaller companies in the same industry and repurchasing upwards of $10 billion of stock. 

    Cigna maintains its confidence in the benefits of a potential merger with Humana, citing that a possible merger would have improved consumer access to healthcare and reduced expenses, according to sources. 

    The sources said the deal would have been possible on the regulatory side despite the Biden administration’s tough stance on mergers and acquisitions.

    However, an S&P Global Market Intelligence report pointed out the merger would have “likely faced regulatory scrutiny” due to an “overlap between the two companies’ Medicare Advantage businesses.” 

    Hartmut Schneider, vice chair of the antitrust and competition practice at law firm WilmerHale, told S&P Global that any merger between the two companies would have to occur in an antitrust enforcement landscape currently undergoing a “seismic shift.”

    “At least in public communications, [the antitrust agencies] have given up on what used to be a pretty widely held consensus that a lot of mergers are either benign or pro-competitive and only a small number raise problems,” Schneider said, adding, “The tone at the moment seems to be that pretty much every merger is potentially a problem.”

    As of the Friday cash close in US markets, Cigna had a market capitalization of $75.5 billion, and Humana’s was $59.3 billion. 

    Was the potential merger between Cigna and Humana ever likely to succeed?

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 18:40

  • "Sticker Shock": Washington Governor Inslee's $100 Million Gamble To Address Homelessness Crisis
    “Sticker Shock”: Washington Governor Inslee’s $100 Million Gamble To Address Homelessness Crisis

    Washington Governor Jay Inslee is doubling down on the state’s efforts to address its out-of-control homelessness epidemic. Inslee’s latest maneuver involves a staggering $100 million proposal, aimed at bolstering the Rapid Capital Housing Acquisition (RCHA) fund, a critical arm of the state’s program to clear encampments and provide housing for the unhoused along state highways.

    This proposal comes on the heels of $149 million in funds focused primarily on counties west of the Cascade Mountains. Inslee’s announcement during Thursday’s press conference underscored his commitment to this initiative, originally dubbed the Rights of Way Safety Initiative and now rebranded as the Encampment Resolution Program.

    “We know we can succeed when we do this, but we essentially are out of money. So, we need to continue appropriating the dollars necessary to get this job done,” said Inslee.

    The governor’s office touted the success of the program since its launch in spring 2022, citing the dismantling of 30 encampments and the transition of over 1,000 individuals into more secure living arrangements. However, a closer look at the Department of Commerce’s Right-of-Way Initiative dashboard paints a slightly different picture: 816 people in housing and 149 in permanent housing.

    That said, the cost-effectiveness of these efforts has come under fire, particularly given the high price tag per individual successfully placed in permanent housing. Inslee, confronted with questions about the spending ratio, defended the expenditures as necessary investments, brushing off concerns with a reference to the impossibility of expecting such solutions to be cost-free.

    But, according to the latest numbers dated Oct. 31 on the Department of Commerce’s Right-of-Way Initiative dashboard, 816 people are in housing, and 149 have been placed in permanent housing. The initial funding for the program was $149 million.

    When asked if $1 million for every one of the 149 in permanent housing was an acceptable spending ratio, Inslee replied, “No, I wish everything was free. And we all believe in Santa Claus. But Santa can’t take care of this problem; we need to make investments.”

    “So, yes, everybody has sticker shock looking at those numbers. But those are necessary investments. And they’re paying off, and we’re going to keep doing it,” he emphasized. –Mynorthwest.com

    The governor’s new proposal alleges to go beyond a simple expansion of funding, and claims to be a multi-faceted strategy to tackle homelessness from various angles. As My Northwest notes, it includes;

    • Incentivizing landlords to lease properties to rental assistance recipients.

    • Increasing access to civil legal aid for tenants facing eviction threats.

    • Addressing funding deficiencies for local housing organizations statewide.

    • Sustaining the continuity of local emergency shelters and affordable housing programs.

    • Allocating resources for short-term rental assistance.

    • Facilitating housing provisions for victims of human trafficking.

    • Exploring innovative approaches to support homeless youth and preempt individuals at risk of homelessness.

    Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell weighed in as well, emphasizing the city’s ongoing struggles with encampments. Harrell highlighted the considerable strain on emergency services, with alarming statistics from the Seattle Fire and Police Departments regarding incidents and responses near these encampments.

    “Our data shows we still have 28 active encampments on (WSDOT) sites as of Nov. 30,” he said, adding “There were 845 reported crimes either at or adjacent to these sites, averaging 77 per month.”

    Inslee’s proposal, set to be part of a supplementary budget package, will be a focal point of state legislative discussions come January.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 18:05

  • Trump Has Good Shot With Supreme Court To Get DC Case Tossed, Experts Say
    Trump Has Good Shot With Supreme Court To Get DC Case Tossed, Experts Say

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

    Former President Donald Trump has several viable avenues to have the Supreme Court throw out federal charges he’s facing for his efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election, several lawyers and Constitution experts told The Epoch Times.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Shutterstock)

    His best case is that the charges encroach on his First Amendment rights, but he might also successfully assert presidential immunity or argue the law was impermissibly stretched by prosecutors, the experts said.

    President Trump was charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith on Aug. 1 with obstructing electoral vote counting by Congress on Jan. 6 and conspiring to do so in order to stay in power.

    The conspiracy was allegedly carried out by spreading false claims that fraud and illegalities swayed the election outcome and using those false claims in attempts to convince various officials to overturn the results.

    President Trump’s lawyers have launched a barrage of motions to have the charges dismissed on constitutional grounds, statutory grounds, due to presidential immunity, and for malicious prosecution. While some of the claims are weak at best, others appear persuasive, according to the experts.

    In practice, however, President Trump’s arguments will need to convince his judge, the appeals court, or, in the final instance, the Supreme Court.

    The experts predict that the District of Columbia federal judge on the case, Tanya Chutkan, will almost certainly deny all the motions to dismiss. On Dec. 1, she indeed denied about half of them. They also acknowledged that the arguments would likely encounter resistance in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, given its political leanings.

    President Trump’s best chance will be in the Supreme Court, they contend.

    Free Speech Argument

    President Trump’s lawyers have asserted that the indictment runs afoul of the First Amendment by trying to criminalize political speech and advocacy.

    The prosecution seeks to install itself as America’s censor, with roving authority to criminally prosecute all who speak out against its approved narratives,” the lawyers wrote in a Nov. 22 brief.

    “The prosecution has no such mandate. Accordingly, the indictment is unconstitutional on its face and must be dismissed.”

    Former President Donald Trump departs for a break in the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization, at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City on Dec. 7, 2023. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

    If prosecutors can claim that President Trump’s efforts to reverse election certifications amounted to a conspiracy to obstruct the government, then people advocating against other government actions, such as COVID-19 lockdowns or mask mandates could also face such charges, the lawyers argued.

    The prosecutors retorted that such hypotheticals wouldn’t apply “absent additional information about the conduct and mental state of the individuals.”

    But if that’s the case, the defense lawyers responded, it would give the government a license to probe said individuals for such additional information—”inquire into their mental state, knowledge, and associations.”

    “The implication is that to get that information, investigation is necessary. Under the prosecution’s misconceived legal theories, then, every public statement a constituent makes to a member of Congress concerning a hotly debated topic is a license to open a federal criminal investigation into the person who made it—unless it is indisputably true,” the lawyers said.

    “That, of course, contradicts the very nature of hotly debated topics, where the truth is, by definition, in dispute.”

    This argument appears “sound” to Rob Natelson, one of America’s preeminent constitutional scholars who’s written extensively on the original meaning of the Constitution and the First Amendment in particular, including for The Epoch Times.

    Lying is protected by the First Amendment, except in a few cases such as fraud, lying to law enforcement, and defamation,” he said.

    “It has to be so: Otherwise, as Trump’s lawyers claim, every statement would be open to investigation into the speaker’s motives. The effect would be, as the Supreme Court says [in previous cases], a severe ‘chilling effect’ on speech.”

    U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 8, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    The argument that the basis for the charges against President Trump “appear to primarily stem from his political activity” belongs to the “stronger” ones his lawyers put forward, according to Horace Cooper, a senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research who formerly taught constitutional law at George Mason University.

    At least the Supreme Court is reticent to allow a charge based on constitutionally protected behavior,” he said.

    Conspiracy, by law, doesn’t require any crime to actually be committed. At least two people simply need to agree to do something illegal and then at least one of them needs to engage in at least one physical act—however minor or innocuous—in furtherance of the plan.

    In the Trump case, however, it appears to Mr. Cooper and others that the entirety of the alleged conspiracy and even its objective were in fact legal.

    “They have identified no specific behavior in and of itself in terms of the president’s advocacy that constitutes illegal behavior,” Mr. Cooper said.

    The prosecutors argue the activity became illegal as it was done in bad faith.

    But the real-world result seemed to be the same.

    There is no distinction … between a person doing exactly that without a bad motive,” Mr. Cooper said.

    To have the trial hinge on whether President Trump, in the deep recesses of his mind, truly believed his claims about the election, is troubling to Mr. Cooper.

    “I’m really concerned about the idea that we know the mindset of a person,” he said.

    The strength of one’s subjective beliefs is nigh impossible to gauge, he said.

    “The court is not going to give credence to the argument that the perception of Donald Trump and his team, even if you show at some period that it appears to waver, that that covers all of the legally protected behavior,” he said.

    Members of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol hold the last public meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 19, 2022. (Jim Lo Scalzo-Pool/Getty Images)

    Judge Chutkan’s rejection of the First Amendment argument was so blanket that it rendered it “very weak” he said.

    “She would have been better served by saying that there is behavior besides communication [protected by the First Amendment] that would constitute the conspiracy to act here,” he said.

    Instead, the judge argued that “the crimes Defendant is charged with violating may be carried out through speech alone.”

    Regardless of whether President Trump’s election challenges were illegitimate, the legal standard pursued by the prosecutors is dangerous, suggests a career attorney who has gained popularity analyzing the Trump cases through his anonymous X account “KingMakerFT.”

    It is an invitation to turn this country into a banana republic where the losing side, if it speaks out, if it tries to right a wrong, if it tries to argue that there was corruption in the election itself, they could put you in jail—if you lose, you go to jail,” he told The Epoch Times.

    The lawyer, who retired several years ago after a 45-year career, asked for his real name to remain withheld.

    Presidential Immunity Argument

    President Trump’s lawyers have argued that his actions fell within the bounds of his presidential duties and thus can’t form a basis of a criminal prosecution.

    The Supreme Court has ascribed the presidency broad legal immunity, but only from civil suits, not criminal charges.

    “If the argument is that the mere fact that the president undertook this activity immunizes it from any legal scrutiny, the court has not been willing to go that far in a criminal case,” Mr. Cooper said.

    “If, instead, the argument is that the activities were those of a constitutional officer and within the ambit of authority that the Constitution allows and therefore cannot be an element for a crime, I think that’s a much more robust argument.”

    A staff fixes the presidential seal before US President Barack Obama gives a press conference in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, DC, on December 22, 2010. Obama celebrated the Senate ratification of a nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia, saying it “sends a powerful signal to the world.” AFP PHOTO/Jewel Samad (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images)

    Judge Chutkan denied this argument, opining that criminal activity is automatically not within the bounds of presidential duties and presidents, much less former presidents, thus don’t enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution.

    But that sidesteps the issue, according to KingMakerFT.

    If it’s within presidential duties it can’t be criminal … by implication, at least that’s the argument,” he said.

    The issue goes back to the criminal intentions the prosecutors need to prove. Courts have been reluctant to probe motivations of government executives on matters that fall within their duties, he said.

    The motivations of the executive lose relevance in such cases, Mr. Cooper said.

    “If you are an office holder, you do not get struck of your status as an office holder because your actions are intended to effectuate your either continuing to stay in office or your attempt to be reelected,” he said.

    “The Justice Department is creating a distinction that almost is completely without merit.”

    Mr. Cooper provided the example of President Joe Biden’s pronouncement of support for Israel.

    “Did he do that because that’s America’s national security [interest]? Did he do that because he says that when he was a young man, he got a chance to meet with the Prime Minister of Israel? Or did he do it because he sat down with his advisers and realized that this is a chance for him to bolster his support within the Jewish community? Did he do that because he sat down with his wife and she just simply said, ‘I will divorce you if you don’t make this statement?’” he asked.

    “A court is not going to attempt to drill down into that decision-making if in fact the president has the lawful authority to make the kind of pronouncement that Mr. Biden did.”

    Judge Chutkan’s opinion, he says, “fails to give the space for free decision-making that the Constitution does in fact give the executive.”

    TOPSHOT – US President Donald Trump waits to speak during a memorial service at the Pentagon for the 9/11 terrorist attacks September 11, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

    What the judge could have done was to parse through the indictment for actions that could be argued were within presidential purview and then see if what’s left is enough to sustain the charges.

    “She didn’t do that and I think that makes her dismissal decision weaker,” Mr. Cooper said.

    Stretching the Law Argument

    Lawyers for President Trump have argued that the prosecutors are trying to squeeze his actions into criminal statutes that shouldn’t apply.

    The first count falls under Section 371—a conspiracy to defraud the government. But the law primarily deals with fleecing the government for money.

    The prosecutors are using an interpretation of the law that also covers obstructing the government. President Trump’s lawyers, however, provided examples that suggest the Supreme Court has framed such obstruction more narrowly.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 17:30

  • Affiliate ACLU Members Revolt After Left-Wing Group Agrees To Represent NRA
    Affiliate ACLU Members Revolt After Left-Wing Group Agrees To Represent NRA

    Update: 

    Infighting at the American Civil Liberties Union shortly began after the group revealed on X on Saturday that it would represent the National Rifle Association in an upcoming Supreme Court case. 

    Several of the ACLU’s affiliates, such as the ACLU of Montana, the ACLU of North Carolina, and the New York Civil Liberties Union, wrote on X that they disagree with the ACLU’s move to provide legal representation to the NRA. 

    X user 2Aupdates was the first to point this out:

    As clarified yesterday, the ACLU emphasized that their support is not for the NRA’s Second Amendment goals but instead on the First Amendment issue, opposing the federal government’s blacklisting of an advocacy group based solely on its viewpoints.

    *   *   * 

    The American Civil Liberties Union, a left-wing advocacy group, has returned to its roots in defense of an ideological enemy: the National Rifle Association. This move is part of their ongoing effort to remain relevant and defend Americans against First Amendment violations by an overreaching federal government. 

    “We’re representing the NRA at the Supreme Court in their case against New York’s Department of Financial Services for abusing its regulatory power to violate the NRA’s First Amendment rights. The government can’t blacklist an advocacy group because of its viewpoint,” the ACLU announced on ‘free speech’ platform X. 

    ACLU made it very clear that they “don’t support the NRA’s mission or its viewpoints on gun rights, and we don’t agree with their goals, strategies, or tactics. But we both know that government officials can’t punish organizations because they disapprove of their views.” 

    ACLU and NRA have joined forces as the Supreme Court agreed to hear the gun rights advocacy group’s free-speech challenge to what it alleges New York officials encouraged banks and insurance companies to blacklist it after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

    “The NRA might be thought of as the 800-pound gorilla on the Second Amendment,” NRA lawyer William A. Brewer III said, adding, “Clearly, the ACLU is the 800-pound gorilla on the First Amendment.”

    The civil liberties group’s national legal director, David Cole, said, “It’s never easy to defend those with whom you disagree. But the ACLU has long stood for the proposition that we may disagree with what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.”

    The question of when government advocacy violates the First Amendment is before the justices in another case this term. That one concerns the Biden administration’s efforts to persuade social media companies to delete what the government said is misinformation about topics like the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 election.

    In its petition seeking Supreme Court review, the N.R.A., represented by Mr. Brewer’s firm and Eugene Volokh, a prominent First Amendment scholar, said the appeals court’s ruling could have sweeping consequences. -NY Times

    Here’s what X users are saying: 

    ACLU continued on X: “If the Supreme Court doesn’t intervene, it will create a dangerous playbook for state regulatory agencies across the country to blacklist or punish any viewpoint-based organizations — from abortion rights groups to environmental groups or even ACLU affiliates.” 

    Read the NRA’s petition seeking Supreme Court review below:

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 16:55

  • Court Ruling Shakes Up New York's Concealed Carry Law Landscape
    Court Ruling Shakes Up New York’s Concealed Carry Law Landscape

    In a ruling that has both sides claiming victory, a federal appeals court upheld some parts of New York State’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (CCIA), however other aspects were struck down. This ruling, emerging from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit on December 8, marks the latest crescendo in a legal saga that is polarizing the nation.

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announces new concealed carry rules at a press conference in New York City on Aug. 31, 2022. (Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

    The court’s decision, which combined four lower court cases due to overlapping issues, overturned some lower court rulings while sustaining others. Notably, the court invalidated the CCIA’s ban on gun possession on private property without explicit permission and lifted the prohibition of gun possession in places of worship. Additionally, it rejected the mandate for concealed carry permit applicants to disclose their social media accounts to authorities.

    However, the court upheld several CCIA provisions, including the need for applicants to show good moral character and disclose family members on permit applications. It maintained the ban on concealed carry in designated “sensitive places,” with the notable exception of places of worship, and upheld requirements for an interview, character references, and extensive training.

    New York Attorney General Letitia James hailed the ruling as a win, emphasizing in a statement that the court’s decision to enforce key CCIA components. Her statement underlines a commitment to New York’s stringent gun laws and a crusade against gun violence.

    “Today’s decision to permit the state to enforce critical provisions of the Concealed Carry Improvement Act as the court process moves forward will help keep New Yorkers safe,” said James, adding “My office will continue to defend New York’s gun laws and use every tool to protect New Yorkers from senseless gun violence.”

    Meanwhile, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), instrumental in two of the four cases reviewed by the court, celebrated the ruling as a triumph for gun rights. SAF’s involvement in the Christian v. Chiumento and Hardaway v. Chiumento cases, which challenged aspects of the CCIA, underscored their strategic legal approach. SAF’s founder, Alan M. Gottlieb, and Executive Director Adam Kraut, highlighted these cases as victories in their mission to safeguard firearms freedom.

    “These are just two more examples of SAF carrying out its mission to win firearms freedom, one lawsuit at a time,” said Gottlieb.

    Adam Kraut, meanwhile, said the ruling was the result of a focused legal strategy.

    Our challenges were narrowly constructed, allowing us to win a small but significant victory in the Christian case. Because the legislature changed the law after our lawsuit was filed in the Hardaway case, we consider that a victory as well,” he said.

    The ruling is set against the backdrop of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which affirmed a constitutional right to public gun carry for self-defense. Following this landmark ruling, a dichotomy has emerged across the U.S., with 27 states adopting “constitutional carry laws” allowing unlicensed firearm carry, while others, like New York, have tightened restrictions.

    The CCIA, a direct response to the Bruen decision, introduced more rigorous training requirements, expanded no-carry zones, mandated in-person interviews, and shortened license recertification periods. Its aim: to recalibrate New York’s gun laws in line with the new legal landscape.

    Yet, this latest court decision is far from the final word. Advocates for gun rights, such as Erich Pratt of Gun Owners of America, vow to continue their legal crusade, signaling an unyielding resolve to overturn the CCIA in its entirety.

    “Governor Hochul and her cabal in Albany never seem to get the message, and in turn, GOA is proud to have played a major role in rebuking her unconstitutional law. Nevertheless, this was not a total victory, and we will continue the fight until this entire law is sent to the bowels of history where it belongs,” wrote Erich Pratt, senior vice president for Gun Owners of America, on the group’s website.

    As the legal tussle over New York’s gun laws continues, the implications are clear: the debate over the Second Amendment is far from settled. This ruling, a complex blend of victories and setbacks for both sides, underscores the ongoing, intricate, and often contentious negotiation between gun rights and gun control in the United States. As the case potentially heads to the Supreme Court, it remains a pivotal battleground in the enduring struggle to define the contours of the Second Amendment in contemporary America.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 15:45

  • California Facing Record $68 Billion Deficit, Potential 'Fiscal Budget Emergency': Legislative Analyst
    California Facing Record $68 Billion Deficit, Potential ‘Fiscal Budget Emergency’: Legislative Analyst

    Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Because of a “severe revenue decline,” California is facing a $68 billion budget deficit that could accumulate to more than $155 billion over the next five years, according to the most updated projection released Dec. 7 by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.  

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces the May budget revision in Sacramento on May 12, 2023. Newsom said the state’s budget deficit has grown to nearly $32 billion, about $10 billion more than predicted in January when the governor offered his first budget proposal. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via AP)

    A spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested some of the state’s approximately $24 billion held in reserves could be used to address the growing deficit—an idea analysts agree will be necessary. 

    “The Governor has maintained strict fiscal responsibility since taking office, building up the state’s reserves to historic levels reaching the maximum allowed by the state constitution to be put in reserves and paying down debts—putting California in a strong position to deal with budget shortfalls,” Erin Mellon, communications director for Mr. Newsom’s office, told The Epoch Times by email Dec. 7. 

    Budget problems arose after income tax collections dropped 25 percent in the fiscal year 2022–2023—which ended June 30—compared to the year before, according to the report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office.  

    Moreover, tax receipts typically due in April were delayed until October this year due to federal and state exemptions granted after winter storms impacted the state, which made it difficult for state officials to determine the scale of the deficit earlier to define budget priorities accordingly.   

    Federal delays in tax collection forced California to pass a budget based on projections instead of actual tax receipts,” Ms. Mellon said. “Now that we have a clearer picture of the state’s finances, we must now solve what would have been last year’s problem in this year’s budget.” 

    Noting the unusual dilemma presented by the timing and severity of the decline, analysts said the state has only faced such circumstances during the Great Recession and dotcom bust. 

    With a $68 billion shortfall for the fiscal year 2024–2025 projected, in addition to $30 billion operating deficits in following years, lawmakers will need to reduce spending, increase revenues, or both to fill the gap. 

    Cuts will be needed across programs, including education and other core services to resolve the problem. The report identified approximately $8 billion in temporary spending options in 2024–2025 to be considered for funding reductions, according to the report. 

    Lowering spending on employee compensation, higher education, and judicial systems are solutions utilized in the past to manage budgets, the report said. 

    Analysts noted that such dire conditions constitute a “fiscal budget emergency,” though the governor is required to make an official declaration to enact austerity measures. Mr. Newsom has not declared such as of press time. 

    Critics point to a growth in state spending as contributing to the budget issues. 

    “Governor Newsom and Democrat lawmakers turned a $100 billion surplus into a $68 billion deficit in just 2 years,” Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) said in a Dec. 7 press release. “Even more alarming, the five-year deficit forecast is an astounding $155 billion, thanks to the overspending Democrats jammed into the last few budgets.” 

    Financial market uncertainty in 2022 and early 2023—including Silicon Valley Bank’s implosion triggering instability—and higher interest rates are to blame, in part, the report suggests. 

    Higher borrowing costs slowed the housing market, as average monthly mortgage prices for homes purchased in California increased from $3,500 to $5,400 over the last year, according to the report. 

    “Overall, the experience of the last few years suggests California’s economy and revenues are uniquely sensitive to Federal Reserve actions,” analysts wrote. 

    Historically, similar downturns have been followed by years of economic weakness, according to the report. 

    “Whether the recent weakness will continue is difficult to say,” analysts said. “However, the odds do not appear to be in the state’s favor.” 

    The California State Capitol building in Sacramento, Calif., on April 18, 2022. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    Calling the situation unique and challenging, the report suggested urgent action to identify potential solutions—emphasizing fewer options will be available if discussions are delayed. 

    “Given the scale of the budget problem, we suggest the Legislature immediately begin evaluating past spending to find monies that have been committed but not yet distributed,” analysts wrote. “Taking early action on these reductions could increase the choices available to the Legislature.” 

    Such work is currently underway, with proposed solutions to be introduced once the Legislature reconvenes next year, according to the governor’s office. 

    Mr. Newsom is expected to announce his budget proposal for the fiscal year 2024–2025 by the Jan. 10 deadline.

    “In January, the Governor will introduce a balanced budget proposal that addresses our challenges, protects vital services and public safety, and brings increased focus on how the state’s investments are being implemented, while ensuring accountability and judicious use of taxpayer money,” said Ms. Mellon, spokeswoman for the governor’s office. 

    One lawmaker said the budget problems are not surprising, created after years of spending increases.  

    “California’s tax-and-spend majority has joined this governor in budget decisions that are based on unrealistic revenue estimates and budgeting gimmicks,” Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) told The Epoch Times. “Hopefully, the majority will see it is time for a more realistic budget strategy, instead of throwing money at a laundry list of projects that sounds nice on the national television debate stage.” 

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 15:10

  • Trump Warns Of Business Exodus from New York Amid Fraud Case Fallout
    Trump Warns Of Business Exodus from New York Amid Fraud Case Fallout

    Former President Donald Trump has warned that if he loses his real estate fraud case in New York, businesses will flee New York.

    Former President Donald Trump leaves the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 12, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    Businesses are watching this case,” Trump told reporters outside a Manhattan courtroom on Dec. 6, adding “No business will go back into New York, no business will frankly stay in New York, some businesses are talking about leaving New York because of this action, this very serious action.”

    Trump and his organization have been accused of overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth in order to obtain preferential terms from banks, insurers, and other entities. Earlier, the Trump-hating judge presiding over the case issued a summary judgment which found Trump and his company liable for fraud, with the ongoing trial addressing conspiracy, insurance fraud, and falsification of business records.

    Trump, who’s polling in 1st place as the GOP nominee for 2024 by a wide margin, maintains his innocence, denouncing the case as a politically charged effort to derail his presidential campaign. “If you look at the case, we did nothing wrong, there were no victims,” he insisted.

    Trump’s defense gained some support from a Deutsche Bank executive, David Williams, who testified that discrepancies in asset values between a client and the bank are not uncommon. Williams’ testimony shed light on the banking industry’s inner workings, revealing that Deutsche Bank, which loaned hundreds of millions to Trump, often adjusted clients’ stated asset values and viewed these figures as subjective.

    In a twist, Williams pointed out that the bank’s lower valuation of Trump’s wealth compared to his own figures was not alarming but rather a conservative measure. He emphasized that such adjustments were standard practice and part of a financial “stress test.”

    Last week, a Florida real estate agent testified that Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property is worth at least $1 billion.

    It’s something breathtaking. It’s something amazing to see,” he said of Mar-a-Lago, adding that he had valued it at over $1.2 billion in 2021. He also told the court that President Trump’s company had actually undervalued Mar-a-Lago by about half.

    The heart of the attorney general’s argument is that Trump inflated his asset values by up to $2.2 billion for favorable loan terms, a claim Trump counters by highlighting the non-victimization of banks and the profits they earned from interest on loans extended to him.

    As Trump’s legal battle rages on, with him taking the stand and labeling the lawsuit a “witch hunt” and “election interference,” and now – the former president warns that it will set a very bad precedent going forward for businesses operating in New York.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 14:35

  • Al Gore Warns: People Having Access To Non-Mainstream Information "Threatens Democracy"
    Al Gore Warns: People Having Access To Non-Mainstream Information “Threatens Democracy”

    Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

    Al Gore says that people having access to information outside of mainstream media sources is a threat to “democracy” and that social media algorithms “ought to be banned.”

    Yes, really.

    Gore made the comments during an appearance at the Cop28 climate change hysteria conference in Dubai.

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

    Gore whined that social media had “disrupted the balances that used to exist that made representative democracy work much better.”

    The former Vice President said that functioning democracy relied on a “shared base of knowledge that serves as a basis for reasoning together collectively” but that “social media that is dominated by algorithms” upsets this balance.

    According to Gore, people are being pulled down “rabbit holes” by algorithms that are “the digital equivalent of AR-15s – they ought to be banned, they really ought to be banned!”

    Gore claimed, “It’s an abuse of the public forum” and that people were being sucked into echo chambers.

    “If you spend too much time in the echo chamber, what’s weaponized is another form of AI, not artificial intelligence, artificial insanity! I’m serious!” he added.

    Apparently, the only echo chamber that should be allowed to exist is Gore’s own rabbit hole, wherein the earth is constantly on the brink of destruction thanks to people not obeying his technocratic mandates.

    Perhaps Gore is unhappy at his own misinformation being fact checked by individuals who have access to information not produced by corporate media sources that are friendly to him.

    Gore infamously predicted that the north polar ice cap would be “ice free” within 5 to 7 years.

    It never happened.

    As Thomas Cartenacci documents, Gore has a storied history of making climate change predictions that turn out to be spectacularly wrong.

    No wonder he wants to ban dissent.

    *  *  *

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

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 14:00

  • These Are The Richest 'Politicians' In The US
    These Are The Richest ‘Politicians’ In The US

    Entering politics doesn’t require a specific income, yet many politicians are multimillionaires.

    At some of the highest echelons of U.S. politics are federal and state-level politicians worth hundreds of millions of dollars, if not billions. Who is the wealthiest U.S. politician today?

    In the following graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu visualizes the net worth of America’s 12 richest politicians, using consolidated data as of June 2023 from GoBankingRates.

    Which Politician is Richer Than Donald Trump?

    The list of richest politicians in the U.S. includes three billionaires, with the most famous being former U.S. President Donald Trump.

    His wealth is closely tied to The Trump Organization, which has interests in real estate, hotels, casinos, and media. But Trump is not the wealthiest U.S. politician by most estimtates.

    At the top is the Governor of Illinois Jay Robert Pritzker. A longtime financial supporter of the Democratic Party, he is a member of the wealthy Pritzker family, which owns Hyatt Hotels & Resorts.

    Completing the billionaires list is North Dakota’s Governor Doug Burgum. In 2001, Burgum sold the accounting software company Great Plains Software to Microsoft for $1.1 billion and later founded several investment firms.

    The wealthiest serving member of Congress is Republican Rep. Darrell Issa from California. Issa served as the CEO of Directed Electronics, which he co-founded in 1982. It is one of the largest makers of automobile aftermarket security and convenience products in the United States.

    At the bottom of the list is Texas Rep. Michael McCaul. Before being elected to Congress in 2005, the Republican served as Chief of Counter-Terrorism and National Security in the U.S. Attorney’s office, and led the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 13:25

  • "People Have Spoken": Elon Musk Restores X Account Of Alex Jones After User Poll
    “People Have Spoken”: Elon Musk Restores X Account Of Alex Jones After User Poll

    Update (1255ET): 

    At 1 pm EST, a discussion will take place on X Spaces between host Mario Nawfal and Alex Jones. The focus of their conversation will likely be centered on Elon Musk’s decision to reinstate Jones on the free speech social media platform. 

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

    “Big Tech’s de-platforming playbook that got people like @Cobratate banned from all socials, was created for @RealAlexJones back in 2017,” Nawfal said. 

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

    *   *   * 

    “The people have spoken, and so it shall be,” Elon Musk posted on X in reply to a poll on Saturday asking users whether to reinstate Alex Jones’ account. 

    “Reinstate Alex Jones on this platform?” Musk asked. Nearly two million X users voted, with more than 70% voting in favor of Jones’ return. 

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

    Jones’ account was banned under old Twitter in September 2018 for violating the platform’s abusive behavior policy. 

    As of early Sunday morning, Jones’ X account has been reinstated. 

    The self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” billionaire said Jones is welcomed on the platform but added: “He cannot break the law.” 

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

    Restoring Jones’s account came days after the Infowars blog founder sat down with Tucker Carlson for an interview.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 12/10/2023 – 12:55

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