Today’s News 23rd November 2023

  • Ordinary Americans Are The Nation's Unshakeable Greatness
    Ordinary Americans Are The Nation’s Unshakeable Greatness

    Authored by Armstrong Williams via The Epoch Times,

    Thanksgiving is a time for both festivities and reflection.

    The United States has had the best of times and the worst of times, prosperity and depressions, the joys of peace and the privations and cruelties of war. But throughout these vicissitudes, there has been one bright constant: the decency of ordinary Americans unhesitating in risking that last full measure of devotion under the banner of liberty and justice for all.

    That has been our inspiration and our deliverance from despair over our chronically flawed leaders earmarked by avarice, narcissism, megalomania, and duplicity.

    The history of America is largely a history of the courage, industry, ambition, thriftiness, and selflessness of ordinary Americans.

    The roots trace back to immigrants fleeing Europe at great risk in the quest for religious liberty and economic opportunity. They didn’t confront death for money. They sought to create a “city on a hill” as a beacon to all peoples seeking government by the consent of the governed.

    Who started the American Revolution?

    Ordinary farmers!

    Remember the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Concord Hymn:

    “By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flags to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world.”

    Ordinary soldiers suffered most at Valley Forge.

    The American Declaration of Independence underscored the equal dignity of everyone from the highest to the lowest:

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

    The U.S. Constitution was established and ordained by “We the people of the United States.” Among other things, it expressly prohibits titles of nobility.

    In other words, every man or woman is a king or queen, but no one wears a crown.

    Alexis de Tocqueville in “Democracy in America” underscored that voluntary associations established by ordinary Americans were the nation’s most distinctive and vital sources of strength.

    President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address celebrated the sacrifices of ordinary soldiers who died that this nation might live, who risked that last full measure of devotion so that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

    Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan preached, “[I]n view of the constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens. There is no caste here. Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved.”

    The Statue of Liberty blazes forth with, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”

    Stand in awe at the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery and Memorial in France where lie the remains of more than 14,200 Americans who died in a war to end war.

    Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner gave their lives to secure civil rights for black people in Mississippi. Detroit housewife Viola Liuzzo was assassinated by the Klan in retaliation for advocating universal civil rights on the last night of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March.

    Not enough can be said about Jackie Robinson’s courage in confronting racism and shortstop Pee Wee Reese’s conspicuous friendship amid a howling assembly of bigots in the grandstands.

    And who can forget 9/11 hero Todd Beamer on United Airlines flight 93 over Pennsylvania shouting “Let’s roll” on a suicide mission to prevent Al Qaeda terrorists from reaching their target?

    The fundamental decency of the American people is demonstrated daily by the flood of immigrants seeking refuge and opportunity here. In contrast, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Burma, and sister tyrannies have few takers, a vote of no confidence.

    America is an idea, not a race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or nationality. President Lincoln, in a message to Congress on July 4, 1861, taught that the leading object of government was “to elevate the condition of men—to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life.”

    But complacency we can’t afford. We must resist the temptation to strike Faustian bargains exchanging decency for self-aggrandizement or selfishness.

    Never miss an opportunity for kindness, benevolence, or expressions of gratitude. It costs nothing. And you will make the world a better place.

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 23:20

  • 9 Problems With Generative AI, In One Chart
    9 Problems With Generative AI, In One Chart

    In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, generative AI tools are demonstrating incredible potential. However, their potential for harm is also becoming more and more apparent.

    Together with their partner VERSES, Visual Capitalist’s Katie Jones and Sabrina Fortin have visualized some concerns regarding generative AI tools using data from a variety of different sources. Many of them fall into one of the following categories: quality control & data accuracy, ethical considerations, or technical challenges—with, of course, a certain degree of overlap.

    Let’s dive into it.

    PROBLEM 1:

    Bias In, Bias Out

    Theme: Quality Control & Accuracy

    One of the critical issues with generative AI lies in its tendency to reproduce biases present in the data it has been trained on. Rather than mitigating biases, these tools often magnify or perpetuate them, raising questions about the accuracy of their applications—which could lead to much bigger problems around ethics.

    PROBLEM 2:

    The Black Box Problem

    Theme: Ethical & Legal Considerations

    Another significant hurdle in embracing generative AI is the lack of transparency in its decision-making processes. With thought processes that are often uninterpretable, these AI systems face challenges in explaining their decisions, especially when errors occur on critical matters.

    It’s worth noting that this is a broader problem with AI systems and not just generative tools.

    PROBLEM 3:

    High Cost to Train and Maintain

    Theme: Complexity & Technical Challenges

    Training generative AI models like large language model (LLM) ChatGPT is extremely expensive, with costs often reaching millions of dollars due to the computational power and infrastructure required. For instance, now Ex-CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman confirmed that ChatGPT-4 cost a whopping $100 million to train.

    PROBLEM 4:

    Mindless Parroting

    Theme: Quality Control & Accuracy

    Despite their advanced capabilities, generative AIs are constrained by the data and patterns they were trained on. This limitation results in outputs that may not encompass the breadth of human knowledge or address diverse scenarios.

    PROBLEM 5:

    Alignment with Human Values

    Theme: Ethical & Legal Considerations

    Unlike humans, generative AIs lack the capacity to consider the consequences of their actions in alignment with human values.

    While instances like the AI-generated “Balenciaga Pope” may appear to be harmless, it’s important to recognize that deepfakes could be employed for more harmful purposes, such as spreading false information in the face of a public health crises.

    This highlights the need for more frameworks that ensure these systems operate within ethical boundaries.

    PROBLEM 6:

    Power Hungry

    Theme: Complexity & Technical Challenges

    The environmental impact of generative AI cannot be overlooked. With processing units consuming substantial power, models like ChatGPT cost as much as powering 33,000 U.S. households, with just one inquiry being 10 to 100 times more power hungry than one email.

    PROBLEM 7:

    Hallucinations

    Theme: Quality Control & Accuracy

    Generative AI models have been known to create fabricated statements or images when faced with data gaps, raising concerns about the reliability of their output and potential consequences.

    For example, in a Google Bard promotional video, the chatbot incorrectly asserted that the James Webb Space Telescope captured the first images of a planet beyond Earth’s solar system.

    PROBLEM 8:

    Copyright & IP infringement

    Theme: Ethical & Legal Considerations

    The ethical use of data becomes paramount when considering that several generative AI tools appropriate copyrighted work without consent, credit, or compensation, infringing upon the rights of artists and creators.

    OpenAI recently introduced a compensation program called Copyright Shield that covers legal costs for copyright infringement suits for certain customer tiers, rather than removing copyrighted material from ChatGPT’s training dataset.

    PROBLEM 9:

    Static Information

    Theme: Complexity & Technical Challenges

    Keeping generative AI models up to date requires substantial computational resources and time, presenting a formidable technical challenge. Some models, however, are designed for incremental updates, offering a potential solution to this complex issue.

    Meet VERSES

    In the pursuit of harnessing the power of AI, a careful balance must be struck to ensure ethical, transparent, and impactful advancements in this transformative field.

    VERSES is committed to creating intelligent software that wields transparent decision-making.

    Learn more about how VERSES is building a smarter world.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 22:45

  • Corporate Media Publishes Graphic Images Of Mass Shootings In Campaign For Gun Control 
    Corporate Media Publishes Graphic Images Of Mass Shootings In Campaign For Gun Control 

    Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

    The Billionaire-owned Washington Post and New York Times continue to push for gun control by any means necessary.

    On November 16, The Washington Post published “Terror on Repeat.” The report contains graphic images of the aftermath of highly publicized mass shootings in the United States.

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    In a note linked in the article, The Post’s executive editor wrote that they decided to publish the story to “enhance the public’s understanding of mass killers’ use of the readily available weapon, which was originally designed for war.”

    But really, the Post’s use of the most graphic images they could get ahold of is the lowest form of attack. The Washington Post is dancing on the graves of victims whose lives were savagely cut short by the actions of murderers.

    We should blame the actions of evil people on evil people. How would The Washington Post be judged if they did the same to Ford, GM, or Toyota every time a drunk driver killed someone? Their actions are the moral equivalent of not blaming the drunk driver for being a drunk driver and instead blaming the car.

    Why isn’t The Washington Post going after Ford for the 2021 Waukesha Christmas parade attack or the 2017 New York City truck attack?

    The Waukesha killer used a Ford Escape SUV to murder six people and injure another 62.

    In New York City, the killer used a Ford Super-Duty pickup truck to kill eight people and injure 11.

    Or how about going after Dodge when a murderer killed one person and injured 35 others in Charlottesville, VA, in 2017?

    The AR-15 is in common use and is owned by millions of law-abiding Americans, just like millions of cars are in use. But you don’t see the mainstream media blaming manufacturers for traffic deaths.

    Instead of articles about beefing up school security or allowing teachers who demonstrate proficiency with firearms to carry for protection, The Washington Post is targeting the rifles used in the shootings instead.

    By showing graphic images of the aftermath of shootings, this article is bound only to inspire copycat shooters in the future through media contagion.

    Meanwhile, the New York Times published an article attempting to tie the Lake City Ammo plant to mass shootings. For those unaware, the government owns the Lake City Ammunition plant and can sell its excess ammunition to the civilian market.

    The New York Times claims that, somehow, this ammo is responsible for mass shootings.

    In reality, it’s very likely that had Lake City not sold ammo, the shooters would have bought a different brand and still committed their evil acts. What anti-gun corporate media outlets like the New York Times realize, though, is that a massive amount of civilian ammunition is subsidized by Lake City, making prices cheaper for the civilian market.

    Similarly, when Biden banned all Russian ammunition imports in 2021, this was another attack on gun owners’ ability to have affordable ammo.

    Because gun control has been (and continues to be) such a massive failure, and the prospect of passing new laws is slim, gun control groups must resort to pushing their unpopular ideology through underhanded means.

    Regardless of the avenue of attack, Gun Owners of America stands ready to defend your Second Amendment rights.

    *   *   * 

    We’ll hold the line for you in Washington. We are No Compromise. Join the Fight Now.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 22:10

  • These Are The World's Largest Semiconductor Foundry Companies By Revenue
    These Are The World’s Largest Semiconductor Foundry Companies By Revenue

    They’re in our phones, cars, planes, and even fridges.

    Semiconductor chips have become critical for the modern way of life, and the biggest semiconductor foundry companies rake in billions of dollars from widespread demand.

    Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Pallavi Rao show in the following chart, the largest semiconductor foundry companies by their percentage of global revenues in Q1 2023, using data sourced from Trendforce.

    ℹ️ We highlight data for companies that only operate foundries (fabrication plants) that manufacture chips for clients, also known as a “pure-play” foundries, as well as companies that design and manufacture their own chips, known as integrated device manufacturers. “Fabless” manufacturers that only design and don’t manufacture their own chips are not included.

    Semiconductor Foundry Companies by Revenue

    At the top of the list and dwarfing every other company by revenue share is TSMC which earned 60% (or nearly $17 billion) of the entire industry’s revenue in Q1 2023.

    Founded in 1987, TSMC is a pure-play foundry that has become Taiwan’s largest company and manufactures products for a host of clients including Apple, NVIDIA, and AMD.

    Note: Revenue based on the following conversion rates: USD 1 = WON 1,276; USD 1 = NTD 30.4.

    Well behind TSMC in foundry revenues is integrated device manufacturer Samsung, the biggest company in South Korea, which made $3.4 billion (12.4% of the industry’s revenue) from its semiconductor manufacturing business.

    GlobalFoundries from the U.S., UMC from Taiwan and SMIC from China round out the top five, with each taking home around 6% of industry’s revenue share in Q1 2023. The former spun out from AMD’s manufacturing arm when the company went fabless in 2009.

    Industry concentration is apparent in semiconductors. For example, the top 10 semiconductor foundry companies account for 98% of the entire industry’s revenue. Furthermore, 90% of the market is dominated by companies in just three Asian countries: Taiwan, South Korea, and China.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 21:35

  • Consumer Watchdog Lists 5 'Woke' Companies To Avoid During Holiday Buying
    Consumer Watchdog Lists 5 ‘Woke’ Companies To Avoid During Holiday Buying

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

    Consumers’ Research issued a “Woke Alert” on Tuesday warning Americans not to buy from five prominent businesses in the country this holiday season.

    A looter robs a Target store in Oakland, Calif., on May 30, 2020. (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)

    The consumer watchdog listed Best Buy, Activision, Target, Nordstrom, and Home Depot as the firms to avoid while shopping. “These five companies went Woke, and now they’re vying for your business on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Keep these companies’ woke antics in mind when you’re shopping for deals,” Consumers’ Research said. It advised people to “tell these companies to stop their woke ways.”

    Best Buy

    Electronics retailer Best Buy committed to fill one out of three new non-hourly corporate positions with black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) employees by 2025. The company also intends to fill one out of three new, non-hourly field roles with women by this time and provide $44 million in college preparation and career opportunities to BIPOC students.

    In August, O’Keefe Media Group revealed that one of Best Buy’s management training programs was discriminating against white applicants. A qualification criteria for joining the program was that the candidate should identify as black, Latino, Hispanic, Asian, or Pacific Islander.

    The revelation was met with calls to boycott the company. “It’s time to Bud Light Best Buy,” Kingsley Wilson, of Washington, D.C. Young Republicans, said in an Aug. 9 X post. The public backlash prompted Best Buy to temporarily move its profile on X to “private,” per Consumers’ Research.

    Activision

    Video game publisher Activision faced a federal civil rights complaint from America First Legal (AFL) for its “illegal, racist, sexist, and discriminatory hiring practices,” according to an Aug. 15 post by the advocacy group.

    In 2021, Activision mandated that the company raise the number of women and “non-binary” employees in the firm by 50 percent in five years, said the watchdog. To achieve this, Activision created scholarships only for women, non-binary, and “gender fluid” individuals.

    The company’s network groups aimed at helping employees advance in their careers are only open to “Asian and Pacific Islanders, Black, ‘Latinx,’ LGBT+, ‘SWANA’ (Southwest Asian and North African), and women,” AFL stated. “Those who are white, straight, or men are not given the same opportunities as their peers to network and advance their careers at Activision.”

    The company embedded “DE&I (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) leaders” within their business and also into their games, according to AFL. Activision developed a tool called “Diversity Space Tool” which measured video game characters based on their culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, body type, ability, age, and ethnicity.

    “It’s unbelievable that in 2023—some sixty or so years after the civil rights movement—major corporations would obsess over the race and sex of the employees in their workforces,” Gene Hamilton, AFL vice president, said at the time.

    Target

    Target faced backlash after promoting LGBT Pride products in May—some of them targeting children. Consumers immediately called for a brand boycott, prompting the company to withdraw the LGBT-themed children’s products from all U.S. stores and websites or in some instances, to reposition the products in its retail outlets.

    A video of a Target customer in a store’s kids’ section showed LGBT clothing and books for sale. A tag on a kids’ dress read—“Thoughtfully fit on multiple body types and gender expressions.’ Another clothing tag said—“pride toddler legging.” One piece of clothing had a tag saying “tuck-friendly construction.”

    Two books being sold in the kids section were titled “Glad You Came Out!” and “I’m So Happy That You’re Queer!”

    Some of the items in Target’s Pride collection were designed by UK-based designer Abprallen, who identifies as a transgender gay man and is a proclaimed Satanist.

    “To make matters worse, when recently confronted on national TV about these products, Target CEO Brian Cornell tried to sweep the controversy under the rug by flat-out lying, stating ‘Well, I think you and I both know those weren’t true,’ Consumers’ Research stated.

    Nordstrom

    Luxury store chain Nordstrom is affiliated with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), which runs the “Welcoming School Program.”

    The program aims to “create LGBTQ+ and gender inclusive schools, prevent bias-based bullying, and support transgender and non-binary students.” HRC gives Nordstrom a 100/100 score for its promotion of LGBT policies at the workplace.

    Over the past years, Nordstrom has donated almost $1 million to support LGBT activities. It has taken part in over 35 Pride festivals and parades across the nation.

    Home Depot

    Home Depot has also teamed up with HRC for the Welcoming Schools Program, which Consumers’ Research says is “specifically geared towards indoctrinating schools on how to promote LGBT ideology among vulnerable students under the guise of ‘inclusivity.’”

    The Epoch Times reached out to the five companies for comment.

    Corporate Discrimination

    Many states are taking action against companies engaging in discriminatory employment policies.

    In a July 13 letter to CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, attorneys general from 13 states pointed out that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against race-based admissions in colleges “should place every employer and contractor on notice of the illegality of racial quotas and race-based preferences in employment and contracting practices.”

    “If your company previously resorted to racial preferences or naked quotas to offset its bigotry, that discriminatory path is now definitively closed,” the letter said. “Your company must overcome its underlying bias and treat all employees, all applicants, and all contractors equally, without regard for race.”

    In June, a jury in New Jersey directed Starbucks to pay over $25 million in compensation to a white former employee who accused the company of firing her because of her race.

    Speaking to The Epoch Times, Dan Morenoff, executive director of the American Civil Rights Project, suggested that more such cases could soon come to court. “When the plaintiffs’ bar sees that these are real sources of recovery, I would be surprised if you didn’t see a lot more of these cases being brought.”

    States like New Jersey, New York, and California have laws against discrimination, with most of these statutes having “provisions for uncapped punitive damages,” he said.

    “When you’re talking about uncapped punitive damages and entities that are among the largest in the world, it’s difficult to even put into words the scale of that Pandora’s box of liability that corporate directors have chosen to open.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 21:00

  • Visualizing EV Market Share In The US
    Visualizing EV Market Share In The US

    Electric vehicles are a fast growing segment in the U.S., but how much market share have they taken from traditional gasoline cars?

    According to recent data from the U.S. Department of Energy, not much.

    In this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Sabrina Lam visualize light-duty vehicle registrations in 2022, broken out by fuel type. It shows that out of the 281 million cars registered nationally, electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles represented only 1.2%.

    Breaking Down the Data

    An important distinction to make is that registrations are not the same as sales.

    While sales represent the number of new cars sold within a timeframe, registrations reflect the number of cars that are registered with a state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

    As a result, registrations include both new cars and used cars that have changed ownership. This provides a more comprehensive measure of what cars are on the road.

    The following table shows the data we used to create this graphic.

    It’s worth noting that the gasoline category also includes diesel, E85 flex fuel, and traditional hybrid vehicles, while alternative fuels includes biodiesel, natural gas, propane, and hydrogen.

    Vehicles that the Department of Energy categorized as “unknown fuel type” were excluded.

    EV Market Share on the Rise

    EV adoption in the U.S. has been relatively sluggish compared to the EU and China, though this is beginning to change as automakers roll out more electric SUVs and trucks.

    According to Cox Automotive, U.S. EV sales (full battery electric) in Q2 2023 set a new record of 300,000 units, marking a 48% increase from Q2 2022.

    For additional context, a total of 800,000 EVs were sold in the U.S. throughout the entire year of 2022, in addition to 190,000 PHEVs.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 20:30

  • 9 Things The Australian Government Can Do To Reduce Living Costs
    9 Things The Australian Government Can Do To Reduce Living Costs

    Authored by Graham Young via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The federal government is belatedly recognising that some of its economic policies are contributing to the inflation that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is trying to stamp out by raising interest rates.

    People shop at a market in Sydney, Australia, on April 27, 2022. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images)

    Since April 2022 when rates first started to increase, it’s as though we’ve been in a car with two drivers—one with its foot on the brake, the other with its foot on the accelerator.

    Now, at last, the driver with his foot on the accelerator is showing signs of understanding that they’re going to damage the engine of growth if they keep pulling it in two directions.

    So they’ve determined to cut spending on road and rail projects after a blowout in costs on the $120 billion (US$78 billion) portfolio of current and proposed projects of $38 billion—more than 25 percent.

    Cutting road and rail projects is not where I would necessarily start. Good road and rail projects actually add to the productivity of the country.

    Think of all the trucks that go between Brisbane and Sydney. The upgrades of the Pacific Highway have so far cut the time to travel between the two major east coast cities by 2.5 hours, or somewhere around 20 percent.

    That’s a huge lift in productivity, and as logistics are a significant proportion of retail prices, a huge decrease in prices. It is therefore anti-inflationary, as well as helping truckies maintain their real earnings.

    Not that all transport projects are that productive.

    Former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrew’s Melbourne Suburban Rail Loop and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Cross River Rail are both products that provide negative benefits. They therefore increase costs and are pro-inflationary.

    The federal government should step away from funding projects like these.

    What else should it do?

    Here’s a short list.

    1. Reduce Immigration Immediately

    Australia has apparently taken in 630,000 new immigrants this year—that’s eight regional Toowoombas.

    In a population of 26 million, this puts too much pressure on infrastructure and is substantially responsible for the current housing crisis.

    While immigration could help with various skills shortages, there is no evidence that is what the current surge in migration is actually doing.

    And anyway, a skill shortage is a signal that either the education and training system needs to adapt, or the economy is exhausting its ability to fulfil all wishes with current resources.

    A baggage handler can be seen loading a suitcase onto a plane at Perth Airport, Australia, on Oct. 26, 2023. (Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times)

    2. Produce Budget Surpluses Going Forward, Not Just This Year

    The government is less efficient at spending money than the private sector, partly because large bureaucracies, whether public or private, are inefficient, and partly because when it’s not your money, you tend to be less careful.

    Producing surpluses, without increasing taxation, means a decrease in the size of government and an increase in productivity.

    Surpluses would mean they would need to control rapidly increasing costs in health, aged care, and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). That should be relatively simple.

    The NDIS should have always been means-tested, and restricted in what it was available for.

    Aged care is a centrally micro-managed mess where most of the problems could be fixed by the government stepping away, and also requiring better-off retirees to meet more of their own costs.

    In health, we spend proportionately around 50 percent more than countries with similar health outcomes like Israel and Singapore. We’ve got a generally good health system, but it could be better and cheaper.

    Taking these steps would also increase productivity, and therefore reduce upward price pressure.

    3. Reform Taxation

    Delivering the Stage 3 tax cuts should absolutely happen. This is part of downsizing the government and putting resources in the hands of those who will use them most efficiently.

    There is also a list of more radical reforms that should be implemented to raise the productivity of business.

    Australia’s productivity has been dropping partly because business has not been investing in productive capacity, and most investment in the economy actually comes from companies.

    One easy way to boost investment is to allow businesses to accelerate the rate at which they write off assets.

    Fast-growing companies are always chronically short of capital, and we exacerbate this by taxing them even when they are not cashflow positive.

    Accelerated depreciation helps with this, and while it temporarily decreases government tax revenue, over the long run it should increase it as greater wealth is generated.

    Shoppers walk through the Royal Arcade in central Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 27, 2023. (Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times)

    They could also look at abolishing company tax altogether and taxing profits entirely in the hands of shareholders.

    They should also look at abolishing Capital Gains Tax (a tax that only came into being in 1985).

    It is part of the reason there is a shortage of rental properties at the moment, which is increasing living costs for the 31 percent of Australians who rent. Once a homeowner doesn’t pay capital gains tax, they have a big advantage over investors when it comes to purchasing a house.

    4. Withdraw the ‘Closing the Loopholes’ Bill

    This is a brutally misnamed bill that will make casual and self-employed work marginal.

    It strikes at the heart of ambitious Australians who want to do things for themselves and will make our workforce significantly less flexible, increasing costs all around.

    In fact, this bill ought to be known as the “Enabling Greater Union Power and Screwing the Small Business Sector” Bill.

    The “loopholes” that it claims to close are in fact, not bugs, but features in what has been a remarkably flexible and productive workforce.

    The Uber logo is seen at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, California, on May 8, 2018. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

    5. Reform Environmental Protection Laws

    The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is strangling the growth of projects in Australia and urgently needs review.

    It gives too much power to objectors, who in many cases are environmental groups (not conservation groups) set on sabotaging wealth creation rather than protecting the environment.

    There is enough sovereign risk in Australia these days without amplifying it.

    6. Stop Capping Prices

    When prices go up the government’s first impulse appears to be to control the price.

    They’ve certainly done this with gas which, in the long-term, actually sends prices up.

    High prices are a signal to businesses of where to invest, and price caps are a signal of where not to invest.

    7. Moderate the Energy Transition

    The inflation in rail and road infrastructure projects is nothing compared to what is about to happen in the area of power generation.

    It is already diverting labour and resources from everyday necessities like housing, but there is a looming shortage of the components that make up renewable energy and power networks.

    In addition, proceeding without adequate storage is going to increase the need for gas-fired power generation, which is only going to get more expensive because of government policies making it difficult to start new gas projects.

    Wind turbines can be seen on the skyline in Albany, Western Australia, on Aug. 8, 2023. (Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times)

    8. Reform Federal-State Relations

    Not all the fault for inflation lies with the federal government, a lot of it lies with the states who have borrowed profligately.

    The Commonwealth either needs to reintroduce borrowing limits, as used to be the case under the Loans Council, or make it clear to lenders (and voters and governments) that they will not bail out state governments that can’t repay their borrowings.

    9. Nominate a Minimum Range for Interest Rates

    A large slab of our problem is that the RBA pushed interest rates too low—to a historically unparalleled rate.

    It should be clear to the RBA, and to voters, that official interest rates should never fall below, say 3.5 percent.

    The record-low rate of 0.1 percent was absurd for a number of reasons.

    Risk-averse investors, such as pensioners, need to have an asset class that gives them a reasonable return, and which is liquid. That is cash or bonds.

    While an asset could wear a return of 0.1 percent if there was a reasonable chance of capital gains, at that rate there is a more than reasonable chance of a capital loss.

    In fact, the RBA is apparently sitting on around $45 billion of unrealised losses because it invested in its own paper at this absurdly low rate.

    A pedestrian walks past the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) head office in Sydney, Australia, on March 1, 2022. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi)

    The rate is also important because the government bond rate tends to be priced off it, and the return on government bonds is used as a hurdle rate by investors to gauge the return they need from an investment to make it viable.

    When the official cash rate is too low people, businesses and governments invest in too many marginal projects which add nothing to national productivity and income, and often freeze out riskier, but ultimately more profitable, ones.

    I wish I could say it is likely the government will pick up even one of these ideas, but it isn’t.

    Just a few days ago Treasurer Jim Chalmers boasted, “We’ve seen the highest quarterly wages growth in 26 years under an Australian Labor government. Real wages started falling under the Coalition due to a decade of deliberate wage stagnation and high inflation. We’re turning it around.”

    Except they’re not turning it around at all.

    He’s quoting nominal wages against real wages, and ignoring the fact that labour productivity has just suffered a record fall.

    Those wage hikes aren’t good for the economy, they are inflation in action.

    If you can’t see it when you stub your toe on it, in the end, you’re unlikely to be able to do anything about it.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 20:00

  • In "Significant Shift" To Bailing Out Its Sinking Property Sector, China Puts Largest Developer On Rescue "White List"
    In “Significant Shift” To Bailing Out Its Sinking Property Sector, China Puts Largest Developer On Rescue “White List”

    In a move which analysts say marks a “significant shift” in Beijing’s strategy to assist distressed builders and boost confidence in China’s sinking housing sector amid the deepening property crisis, overnight Beijing included property giants Country Garden Holdings (whose collapse would be orders of magnitude worse than that of Evergrande) and Sino-Ocean Group to China’s draft list of 50 developers eligible for a range of financing support which we profiled earlier this week

    As Bloomberg anchor Sofia Horta e Costa notes, “Country Garden was previously the leading developer by sales with numerous ongoing construction projects. If China aims to bolster confidence among homeowners and buyers, ensuring that projects will be completed and delivered seamlessly even in the event of a developer default, then this is the way to go.”

    CIFI Holdings Group, another builder that has missed debt payments, was also included on the white list according to Bloomberg, which adds that regulators are set to finalize the roster and distribute it to banks and other financial institutions within days.

    The inclusion of distressed builders such as Country Garden, which missed payments on a dollar bond for the first time last month, underscores regulators’ shifting stance toward some of the nation’s biggest private developers as the refusal of the relentless property crisis to ease. Chinese President Xi Jinping has also stepped up support for the broader economy, issuing more sovereign debt for infrastructure spending, raising the budget deficit ratio and even making an unprecedented visit to the central bank.

    Then again, not a day goes by this year when we are not inundated with the latest Chinese “news” and “plans” of a moderate stimulus, one which never actually materializes, however, and which is just recycled into the next newscycle where readers completely forget that they are just reading recycled news over and over.

    And this time was no different because a Bloomberg index of Chinese developer stocks rallied this week on expectations that the financing help may alleviate fears of further contagion in China’s property sector. Still, some investors were concerned the list would mainly comprise state-owned firms and leave out distressed builders most in need of the support. Gemdale, which hasn’t missed any debt payments, is also on the draft list along with China Vanke, Seazen and Longfor Group.

    Even if Beijing has finally decided to step in and bail out its long-suffering housing sector, there is no guarantee that the aid isn’t a case of too little, too late. Country Garden, which is bigger than Evergrande was at its peak, has property developments in almost every province in China, and in October posted its biggest sales drop in at least six years. Growing concerns among potential buyers of its ability to complete projects threaten to exacerbate a cash crunch.

    Speculation over Country Garden’s fate flared anew earlier this month after Reuters reported that China’s State Council instructed the government of Guangdong province to ask Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. to take a controlling stake. Ping An said it doesn’t hold any shares in Country Garden and has no plans to acquire it.

    China’s property crisis has engulfed almost all of the largest developers, which have been struggling to repay debts and complete projects since the credit crunch emerged three years ago. Vanke, one of the country’s few remaining investment-grade builders, saw its dollar bonds plunge in recent weeks on the heels of Country Garden’s default. Vanke later received an unusually strong show of support from the local government.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 19:30

  • "You've Tarnished The Face Of Human Civilization" – Head Of Bombed Gaza Hospital Blasts Biden
    “You’ve Tarnished The Face Of Human Civilization” – Head Of Bombed Gaza Hospital Blasts Biden

    Authored by Brett Wilkins via Common Dreams,

    The director of the aid group that runs the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza – where Israeli attacks killed at least a dozen people on Monday – appealed directly to US President Joe Biden, imploring him to push Israel to accept permanent ceasefire in a war that’s killed or maimed more than 40,000 Palestinians [a four-day truce is set to begin Thurs].

    “Gazans are facing death every day. Every five minutes, a Palestinian child is killed,” Sarbini Abdul Murad, head of Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) Indonesia, wrote in a letter to Biden.

    Noting that Israeli forces have attacked “babies, children, women, the elderly, the disabled, hospitals, ambulances, medics, schools, teachers, residential complexes, worship places, and much more,” Murad asserted that “this is completely genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

    “It is very unfortunate that your siding with Israel by facilitating weapons of mass destruction has actually made the conflict even wider,” Murad continued.

    “Your action clearly contradicts various international treaties and agreements that apply to the existence of Palestine. You have destroyed the international rules of the game, insulted the authority of the [United Nations], torn apart the sense of justice, hurt human values, and tarnished the face of human civilization.”

    Via Reuters

    “Mr. President, we believe you still have a conscience,” Murad wrote. “Your great country certainly wants to be seen as honorable for its humanitarian defenses. Moreover, your administration has determined to make the principles of multilateralism, justice, and human rights the foundation of United States foreign policy. So, actually, this is the right to prove it.”

    Urging Biden to “avoid double standards in dealing with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” Murad added: “For the sake of peace and humanity, we demand that you immediately do [a] cease-fire. Restore the dignity of the United States as a country that upholds human rights. The cease-fire must be implemented now, so as not to increase the loss of life on both sides.”

    Murad’s letter came as Israel Defense Forces tanks surrounded the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza after IDF artillery shelling killed 12 people in the facility’s compound, including patients and their companions, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry also said many people were wounded in the attack, including patients in critical condition.

    “The attack is a clear violation of international humanitarian laws. All countries, especially those that have close relations with Israel, must use all their influence and capabilities to urge Israel to stop its atrocities,” Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Monday.

    According to Gaza officials, there are about 700 patients, staff, and other Palestinians trapped in the Indonesian Hospital. People trying to flee the compound have reportedly come under Israeli fire. Marwan Abdallah, a medical worker at hospital, told Al Jazeera that Israeli tanks could be seen maneuvering around the compound.

    “You can see them moving around and firing,” Abdallah said. “Women and children are terrified. There are constant sounds of explosions and gunfire.” The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is “appalled” by the attacks on Indonesian Hospital.

    “Health workers and civilians should never have to be exposed to such horror, and especially while inside a hospital,” the agency said in a statement. “There have been multiple and ongoing attacks on health facilities in the last six weeks, that have resulted in forced mass evacuations from hospitals, and multiple fatalities and casualties among patients, their companions, and those who had sought refuge in hospitals,” WHO continued.

    “The Indonesian Hospital had already reportedly sustained damages due to at least five attacks since October 7,” the organization added, referring to the date when Israel began bombarding Gaza by air, land, and sea following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people, with another 240 or so taken hostage.

    “WHO has recorded 335 attacks on healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territory since October 7, including 164 attacks in the Gaza Strip and 171 attacks in the West Bank,” WHO noted. “There were also 33 attacks on healthcare in Israel during the violent events of October 7.”

    “The world cannot stand silent while these hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair,” the agency added.

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    On Tuesday, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, said two of its physicians—Drs. Mahmoud Abu Nujaila and Ahmad Al Sahar—were killed along with another doctor, Ziad Al-Tatari, in a strike on al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza.

    “We condemn this strike in the strongest terms, and call yet again for the respect and protection of medical facilities, staff, and patients,” MSF said in a statement.

    Israeli officials claim Hamas and other Palestinian militants are using hospitals as headquarters. However, Israel has provided no proof to support its allegations, which Palestinian and international medical professionals working in the facilities resoundingly refuteAccording to Palestine’s WAFANews Agency, at least 205 Palestinian medical workers have been killed by Israeli bombs and bullets during the war.

    The WHO said Tuesday that one of its employees, Dima Alhaj, was killed in an Israeli attack on Gaza alongside her husband, their 6-month-old baby, and two of the woman’s brothers.

    Gaza officials said Tuesday that the death toll from Israel’s 46-day onslaught rose to at least 14,128, including over 3,900 women and 5,800 children. Tens of thousands more Palestinians have been wounded, nearly 1.7 million others have been forcibly displaced, and around half of all homes in the embattled strip have been damaged or destroyed.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 19:00

  • It's Official: Geert Wilders And Conservative Freedom Party Win Dutch Election
    It’s Official: Geert Wilders And Conservative Freedom Party Win Dutch Election

    Update (1841ET): It’s official – Geert Wilders has won the Dutch elections and says he will lead the country’s next government.

    “The hope of the Dutch people is that they will get their country back,” Wilders said following an exit poll published by state broadcaster NOS.

    In his post-election speech, Wilders called for a coalition which would include the liberal VVD, which was until recently led by outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

    Meanwhile, liberals are in fits over Wilders’ win – and in general, the shift towards populism across Europe. Here’s how Bloomberg framed it:

    A surge in the number of refugees since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as the spiraling cost of food and energy, has fueled support for far-right groups across the European continent. Germany’s Alternative for Deutschland now has more support than any of the parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition, while Giorgia Meloni came from nowhere to take power last year in Italy.

    The Dutch election campaign highlighted how immigration has polarized voter opinion and driven support toward Wilders, for whom the topic has been a core issue for decades. The 60-year-old is known for his anti-Islamic views and has lived under police protection since 2004 on account of death threats.

    Of course, the outlet also notes that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban was “quick to congratulate him on his victory.”

    Just remember folks, it’s not the will of the people reflected at the ballot box, it’s the “far right” winning a “shock victory.”

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    *  *  *

    The polls were right! Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders’ and his Freedom Party scored a marked victory in today’s Dutch elections, in which they are projected to win 35 seats, making them the largest group in parliament, Bloomberg reports (only with the ‘FaR RiGhT HiTleRy EviLdOeRz’ branding the MSM ascribes to anyone right of Mao).

     

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    And assuming the exit-polls hold up, Wilders’ prospects for forging a coalition government will hinge on his ability to reach across the aisle to parties which have already signaled maximum virtue and vowed never to work with him.

    Wilders and his team hugged and cheered as the result was announced and sang along to the Rocky theme tune ‘Eye of the Tiger.’ Reporters who watched his campaign team celebrate at a crowded bar in Scheveningen near The Hague did so from behind glass.

    The controversial politician benefited from the vacuum created by outgoing premier Mark Rutte’s decision to quit politics after 13 years in office — and from the refusal of Rutte’s successor as party leader, Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius, to rule out working with his party. Anti-migration sentiment of the kind Wilders has long-championed was a prominent issue on the campaign trail. -Bloomberg

    In second place was the Left Alliance, headed by Franz Timmermans, who will likely score 26 seats, followed by VVC, which will likely receive 23 seats.

    Wilders has served in parliament for 25 years.

    *  *  *

    Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

    A shock new poll saw Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) enjoy a dramatic rise in support to put it on equal footing with the governing VVD…

    Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom (PVV) has experienced a dramatic rise in popularity among Dutch voters in a matter of days, rising from fourth place to now polling joint top with the governing VVD after an impressive performance in the latest television debate.

    In the most recent survey conducted by pollster MDH, the right-wing populist party strengthened its electoral position by five percentage points to reach 26 percent, on par with the party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, now led by Turkish-born Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.

    The increase in support appears to be at the expense of Pieter Omtzigt’s New Social Contract, the centrist party fighting its first national election, whose party’s popularity dropped by the same margin.

    “The past week has seen the biggest changes in polling of this campaign. This directly relates to the fact that Geert Wilders was only involved in a debate on television for the first time on Nov. 12,” pollster Maurice de Hond explained.

    The Dutch mainstream media has been accused of bias concerning the exposure it gives the more establishment parties in the country in comparison to those advocating a conservative, nationalist approach, particularly regarding immigration.

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    Earlier this week, data published by a diversity watchdog revealed that no politician from Wilders’ PVV or Thierry Baudet’s Forum for Democracy (FvD) has featured on the leading late-night talk show, Op1, since the fall of the Dutch government back in July, while mainstream parties seemingly deemed to be more palatable by producers, have been invited on dozens of times during the election period.

    The SBS debate this week, of which de Hond says “Wilders clearly appeared to be the winner,” seems to have drastically shifted the odds in favor of Wilders’ party being a part of the next Dutch government, or at the very least having a considerable influence on the composition of any coalition government.

    “In the penultimate poll, conducted five days before the elections among almost 7,000 respondents, we see this drastic shift: PVV increases by five seats and NSC decreases by five seats. That is a reinforcement of last week’s trend,” the pollster added.

    In the last two weeks, the PVV has increased its estimated vote share by seven percentage points, while NSC has seen its support plummet by the same figure to its lowest recorded level since its recent formation. Support for the governing VVD has remained broadly consistent.

    Dutch voters head to the polls on Nov. 22 to elect a new government after Mark Rutte’s coalition government collapsed primarily over disagreements relating to asylum and immigration policy.

    The election falls under a backdrop of an asylum crisis that is rapidly getting out of control, evidenced by new figures from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) this week which revealed that over 42,000 asylum seekers resident in the Netherlands are awaiting a decision on their asylum application, and the average waiting time for applications to be processed has exceeded a year.

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 18:43

  • Beijing's Coal Boom Is Here To Stay
    Beijing’s Coal Boom Is Here To Stay

    Authored by Vijay Jayaraj via RealClear Wire,

    News of record installations of so-called renewable energy electric generation in China may have kindled the hopes of those supporting the “green” agenda and hostile to fossil fuels. However, China is in no position to give up hydrocarbons, particularly coal.

    During the first half of 2023, China approved 52 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power, which was more than all the approvals issued in 2021. These new approvals are in addition to the 136 GW of coal capacity that are already under construction. Together, these new plants represent more than 67% of all new approvals in the world. 

    Why is China doing this despite climate pledges? And what does the future hold?

    Turning Away from Paris One-Step at a Time

    Nearly all countries signed the historic Paris Agreement in 2015, which set aggressive goals to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. The assumption was that reducing carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels would halt future warming deemed as catastrophic.

    As part of this accord, China, the largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world, agreed to reach carbon neutrality by 2060 and peak its emissions of carbon dioxide by 2030. Many praised these promises, celebrating China’s apparent acceptance of its supposed responsibility to address the climate issue.

    But these promises are at odds with reality. China’s economy is mostly based on fossil fuels, which are the most affordable, abundant and dependable energy source. At 159 exajoules, China’s primary energy consumption in 2022 was the highest in the world and 40% more than that consumed the U.S. — the second largest user. 

    Last year, 82% of the total energy consumed by China came from coal, oil and natural gas. Wind and solar, despite significant investments by Beijing, represented just 7% of all energy consumed in 2022.

    Coal remains the linchpin of China’s energy infrastructure and economic vitality. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, coal consumption increased by more than 4% in 2022. Coal imports in August 2023 were the highest since 2015. China is ramping up its import from Russia and Australia and continues to increase imports from Indonesia, which is its main supplier. 

    Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com writes, “China is mining record amounts of coal and also importing record volumes of coal as it looks to boost its energy security.” This growing appetite for coal is inevitable given the huge demand from the power sector and industry in general. 

    Demand from Industries to Increase Coal Demand

    Over 1 billion tons of crude steel are produced in China each year, accounting for over half of global steel output. The Chinese steel industries—over 90% of them—use coal-based processes. 

    Despite introducing in 2021 a policy to curb emissions of carbon dioxide, Beijing has yet to announce any cap for steel production. S&P Global believes that there will “be no mandatory steel output cuts this year.” The crude steel output in 2023 is to exceed 2022 levels.

    According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, “Chinese steel firms are making significant investments in new, coal-based steelmaking capacity.” To put this in context, China’s approval of new steel capacity per year is twice that of the entire capacity of the German steel industry.

    Like steelmaking, the manufacturing of cement is energy intensive, with coal accounting for up to 85% of the energy used in the process. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of cement. 

    According to analysts, “China consumes as much cement every two years as the U.S. did over the entire 20th century.” Cement production is projected to increase further in coming years, and high demand will possibly last for decades.

    In short, China’s security and economic growth depend on satiating the country’s colossal appetite for fossil fuels. Western politics around a non-existent climate crisis won’t change that.  

    Vijay Jayaraj is a Research Associate at the CO2 Coalition, Arlington, Virginia. He holds a master’s degree in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia, U.K.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 18:05

  • Spoiler Alert? Cornel West Plans Major 2024 Push In Swing State Michigan
    Spoiler Alert? Cornel West Plans Major 2024 Push In Swing State Michigan

    While he has little chance of winning the 2024 election, independent presidential candidate Cornel West has the potential to affect the outcome of what’s expected to be a close contest between President Biden and former President Donald Trump.

    That reality is underscored by a new report indicating West plans to make a major push in the state of Michigan, which played a pivotal role in 2016 and 2020. Trump officially lost Michigan by 154,000 votes in 2020, after winning it by 10,700 votes in 2016.

    West plans to target key Michigan constituencies that are growing increasingly dissatisfied with Biden, including blacks, Arab-Americans, college students, according to plans shared with Politico

    Despite a shoestring budget, the firebrand West is polling at 3.8% nationally (Photo: Princeton University Department of Religion)

    An NBC News poll released over the weekend found that support for support for Biden among 18- to 34-year-old voters cratered by 15% just since September, as that cohort seethes over the administration’s unwavering support for Israel in its war on Gaza. Seeing an opening, West will visit colleges including the University of Michigan and Michigan State as part of a swing through the state early next year. 

    Biden’s Israel policy is even more toxic for Arab-Americans and Muslims, a major minority in Michigan. Dearborn, for example, has America’s largest Muslim population per capita. A 2020 exit poll sponsored by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) found Muslims turned out at a remarkable 84% clip, with 69% voting for Biden against just 17% for Trump.

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    Expect something different in 2024: 

    President Joe Biden’s support among Arab Americans, who are crucial voters in battleground election states, has plunged from a comfortable majority in 2020 to just 17%, a new poll shows, amid growing anger over the Democratic president’s support for Israel’s attacks on Gaza” – Reuters

    West has already joined several pro-Palestinian protests and plans to visit Dearborn early next year in coordination with Jewish Voice for Peace. West is well-positioned to be an attractive “protest vote” option for those who are angry with Biden but not persuaded to vote for Trump. 

    Electoral college results in 2020. (via 270towin.com)

    There will be plenty of voters receptive to West’s anti-war, pro-Palestinian message. “Joe Biden has single-handedly alienated almost every Arab-American and Muslim American voter in Michigan,” Democratic state Rep. Alabas Farhat said last month. “I think there’s going to be a lot of people that remember when you won Michigan years ago by a razor-thin margin, when you won Georgia with a razor-thin margin, when you won Arizona by a razor-thin margin — do not be surprised if there are consequences for your actions.

    Blacks are another group turning against Biden: The national NBC poll found 20% percent of blacks now support Trump, compared to 69% for Biden. That a big shift: A Pew Research survey found Biden won the 2020 black vote by an overwhelming 92-to-8 margin.    

    West isn’t the only wild card in the 2024 race. Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr‘s impact is uncertain, while Jill Stein’s November announcement of a Green Party bid caused flashbacks among Democrats who blame her for supposedly diverting enough 2016 votes from Hillary Clinton to allow Trump to win the presidency.  

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 17:40

  • What Is Anarcho-Capitalism?
    What Is Anarcho-Capitalism?

    Commentary by Jeffrey A. Tucker via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The presidential victory of Javier Milei in Argentina puts at the head of state the first self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist” in modern history—or probably the first person ever to win an election at this level to identify with that term.

    Newly elected President of Argentina Javier Milei of La Libertad Avanza looks on after the polls closed in the presidential runoff in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 19, 2023. (Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images)

    In the meantime, I’ve had many people ask me precisely what this is. So here is the explanation as I understand it.

    Central to the idea is that society does not require an entrenched entity of legalized compulsion and coercion called the state in order to enjoy the enforcement of property rights, contracts, defense, and commercial society generally. The fusing of the terms anarchism and capitalism is not a plan for the social order but rather a prediction of what would happen in a civilized community in the absence of the state.

    Myth one: it is not “right-wing,” contrary to the New York Times, the Guardian, and a thousand other venues. The “right” in Prussia was for the unity of church, state, and business. The “right” in France was for the divine right of the monarchy to rule. The “right” in America is all over the place in U.S. history but hardly consistent for liberty as a first principle of socio-political life. The notion of “anarcho-capitalism” is outside the left-right binary.

    Myth two: the “anarcho” part has nothing to do with Antifa or chaos. The use of the term anarchism here means only the abolition of the state and its replacement with property relationships, voluntary action, private law, and contract enforcement as provided by free enterprise. It does not mean lawless; it means law as an extension of human volition and social evolution rather than imposition from above. Order is the daughter of liberty, not the mother, said Proudhon, and anarcho-capitalists would agree.

    Myth three: not everyone who proclaims himself to be an “anarcho-capitalist” speaks for the school of thought, not by a long shot. The designation represents a broad ideal with thousands of iterative applications and a huge diversity of views within, same as any other ideological camp. I’m aware of some who favored COVID lockdowns and shot mandates, and others who keep finding ways to justify war and mass redistribution schemes, for example. Thus should Milei not be held responsible for every cockamamie thing ever said or written by a self-described adherent.

    The term originates in the work of American economist (and my beloved mentor) Murray Rothbard, who was strongly influenced in his libertarianism by novelist Ayn Rand in the 1950s. (One of Milei’s dogs is named Murray.) But as Rothbard examined Rand’s work closely, he began to develop doubts about the institution Rand insisted was necessary and essential, namely the state itself. If we are to have property rights, why is the state alone permitted to violate them? If we are to have self-ownership, why is the state the only institution allowed to trample on people via conscription, segregation, and otherwise? If we seek peace, why do we want a state to wage war? And so on.

    In Rothbard’s view, a consistent rule in society prohibiting aggression against person and property would have to apply also to the state itself, which has been historically the most socially damaging violator of human rights that there is. We tolerate states to defend our rights only to find out that the state is the main threat to our rights. This way of thinking also observes that no one has ever come up with a technology or system that has successfully restrained the state once it is created. (Highly recommended for deeper understanding: Rothbard’s “Anatomy of the State,” a free download.)

    Many anarchists of the socialist left have made similar observations but Rothbard’s spin was one of an analytical prediction concerning what would take the place of the state in its absence. Rothbard said that a society without a state would not be a community governed by perfect sharing of resources and egalitarian sameness, much less some magical elevation beyond human nature, as the left-utopians said. Rather, it would be one of ownership, commerce, the division of labor, investment, private courts, stock markets, private ownership of capital, and all the rest. In other words, a free economy would thrive more than ever without the state, and we would see an ordered liberty brought to its highest possible level of realization.

    Keep in mind that pushing forward this idea put Rothbard at odds with practically everyone from the Marxists to the Trotskyites to the Randians to the conservatives and old-style classical liberals who believed that states are necessary for courts, law, and security. It even put him at odds with another one of his mentors, Ludwig von Mises himself, whose only conception of anarchism came from European intellectual circles: they were surely among the least responsible minds on the Continent.

    Rothbard’s anarchism was American to the core: more influenced by Colonial times than the Spanish Civil War. He believed that communities could manage themselves without an overlord with the power to tax, inflate the currency, conscript, and murder. He believed that markets and the creativity of peaceful human cooperation would always produce better results than institutions cobbled together by elites and enforced by compulsion. That applies even to courts, security, and law, all of which he believed to be better provided via market forces within the framework of universal norms governing ownership and human action.

    In this Rothbard was revisiting a debate from 19th-century France. Frédéric Bastiat (1801–1850) was a great economist and classical liberal who wrote some of the most compelling writings for freedom of his generation or even ever. But he always held out in his mind the belief in the necessity of some state to keep the system functioning lest society descend into chaos. Opposing him in this was the lesser-known intellectual Gustav de Molinari (1819–1912) who wrote that all functions necessary for social operations under freedom can be provided via market forces. In many ways, Molinari was the actual first “anarcho-capitalist,” though he never used that term.

    To be sure, high-level theory originating in Paris salons during the Belle Epoque or New York City intellectual circles in the 1950s are one thing. But putting all this into practice is another. Here is where the test for Milei really is. At this point, his theory is just that, perhaps an inspiration to give courage of conviction but it is hardly a blueprint. He faces a massive administrative state that is deeply entrenched, a collapsed currency, a corrupted court system, a hostile legislature, an enemy media, and 100 years of egregious pension liabilities.

    How does one man take all this on? We don’t really know the answer to this question. No leader of a Western democratic developed nation has ever attempted a full-scale routing of a corrupted establishment on this level. Neither Reagan nor Thatcher, as far-reaching as their reforms were, ever cut the budget overall much less really abolished whole agencies. They were reformers within the framework. Milei is being called to do something never done before, in the midst of a grave crisis for the nation.

    You don’t have to accept anarcho-capitalism fully to appreciate the drive and hope here. Who would you trust most to beat back the state, someone who strongly believes in some features of it or someone who opposes the whole structure root and branch? This much is clear: this ideological orientation is going to infuse any statesman with a fiery opposition to every corruption, every compulsion, every racket, every scam pushed by the administrative elite. The anarcho-capitalist orientation at least provides a guiding light that could end in more liberty for everyone.

    The internal and external forces allied against his success are unthinkably vast. And he is racing against the clock. In a year, the whole of elite media is going to be yelling that “anarcho-capitalism” in Argentina has failed. Promise. That’s how absurd things have become.

    Let’s say that Milei gets diverted by neoliberal globalists and pursues reforms that only follow the neo-liberal playbook of the late 20th century and following 2008. Can that be blamed on anarcho-capitalism? Absolutely not.

    Anarcho-capitalism is not granting freedom to the largest corporations under oligarchic control to pillage and profit at the people’s expense. It is not “privatizing” functions of the state that should not exist in the first place. It is not selling off state resources to cronies and bandits. It is not contracting out lame public services to the highest bidder. It doesn’t mean allowing tech companies to become state partners in citizen surveillance and control. These are all corruptions of a more pure idea of capitalism. And it certainly is not complying with the dictates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Word Economic Forum (WEF), much less the U.S. State Department.

    There is every reason to be encouraged by Milei’s victory if only because it shows there is a populist demand out there for radical reform and this can in fact win elections. We should hope that GOP candidates in the United States are watching and listening. They seem to have defaulted back to canned speeches and scripted answers, which only bore a public that is fed up with the status quo and ready for someone with the vision and energy of a Milei to get serious.

    This might only be round one of many more to come. He might fail. But the desperate need for fundamental and far-reaching reform and revolution in all industrialized democracies to put the people back in charge can hardly be doubted anymore. And if he fails, after a valiant effort, at least we will have had, as Rothbard once said, a temporary but “glorious holiday” from the political and administrative status quo we live with every day.

    There is every reason to believe that Milei is just the beginning of a new trend that could spread all over the world. People are fed up and are ready for a radical new direction. Something has to be done to stop the relentless march of the forces of tyranny in Western nations.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 17:15

  • "Dangerous & Misguided Decision": Maryland Democrats Angered By Federal Court Overturning Handgun Licensing Law
    “Dangerous & Misguided Decision”: Maryland Democrats Angered By Federal Court Overturning Handgun Licensing Law

    Democratic lawmakers in Maryland expressed discontent following a decision by a federal appeals court to overturn a firearm regulation in the progressive state, which mandated that residents must acquire a license before purchasing a handgun.

    In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Maryland lawmakers can no longer pile on additional regulations for purchasing handguns. The court said the law was unenforceable following the pro-2A ruling in the Supreme Court last year. 

    Circuit Judge Julius N. Richardson wrote in an opinion with Judge G. Steven Agee, “The challenged law restricts the ability of law-abiding adult citizens to possess handguns, and the state has not presented a historical analogue that justifies its restriction; indeed, it has seemingly admitted that it couldn’t find one.” 

    The judges continued, “Under the Supreme Court’s new burden-shifting test for these claims, Maryland’s law thus fails, and we must enjoin its enforcement.”

    They said the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen has led to a “sea change in Second Amendment law.”

    Firearms blog website Bearing Arms provided a summary of just how complex Maryland Democrats have made it for law-abiding taxpayers to purchase a pistol for self-defense: 

    A decade ago, Maryland lawmakers imposed a new burden on residents hoping to exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear a handgun by creating a “Handgun Qualification License.” Before any would-be gun owner can take possession of a pistol, they must first jump through several state-mandated hoops, from submitting fingerprints as part of a background check investigation to taking a four-hour-long “firearms safety training course” that includes the firing of at least one live round of ammunition. After waiting 30 days or more for approval, the would-be gun owner then has to go through another background check and an arbitrary seven-day waiting period before they can take possession of their pistol, though they must run another bureaucratic gauntlet before they’re actually allowed to carry the sidearm in self-defense.

    How absurd? Democrats have imposed some of the strictest gun restrictions in the country while failing to enforce ‘common sense’ law and order in metro areas like Baltimore City as violent crime spreads to surrounding counties. 

    Meanwhile, local media outlet The Baltimore Banner received a statement from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, who was truly disappointed in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision: 

    “This law is not about stripping away rights from responsible gun owners — it’s about every Marylander having the right to live free from fear.”

    Moore said his team would “continue to fight for this law.” The state could appeal the case to the Supreme Court. 

    The media outlet, of course, reached out for comment to anti-gunner Everytown for Gun Safety, who called the ruling a “dangerous and misguided decision.” 

    “Requiring handgun purchasers to pass a background check and undergo gun safety training prior to purchasing a gun is not only common sense, it is entirely consistent with the Second Amendment and the new test established by the Bruen decision,” William Taylor, a deputy director with Everytown Law, said in a statement.

    It should also be noted that billionaire Michael Bloomberg funds Everytown with the goal of disarming America. 

    “Today’s decision is crazy,” Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, said in a statement.

    Crazy, how? Throwing up barriers to deter law-abiding folks from owning guns while Democrats fail to enforce law and order is crazy. People want to defend themselves from the chaos in Democrat cities. 

    “Even the liberal Fourth Circuit must recognize the broad popularity of the Bruen decision to maintain its legitimacy,” Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed stated. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 16:50

  • JFK Assassination Doctors Break Silence, Dispute Key Government Claim
    JFK Assassination Doctors Break Silence, Dispute Key Government Claim

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

    Several doctors who were in the emergency room when former President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 raised serious doubts about the official narrative that says a lone gunman was responsible, according to a new documentary featuring interviews conducted in 2013.

    President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy, and Texas Gov. John Connally ride in a limousine moments before Kennedy was assassinated, in Dallas, Texas, on Nov. 22, 1963. (Walt Cisco/Dallas Morning News/Handout via Reuters)

    The federal Warren Commission established that two shots fired by lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald, who was located in the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, struck President Kennedy from behind as he was traveling in a motorcade in Dallas. One of the bullets entered his upper back and exited near his larynx, while the second bullet entered the right side of his head and exited via his forehead.

    The former president was breathing when he entered Parkland Hospital before he was pronounced dead about a half an hour later. However, what seven doctors said in the recent footage disputes the commission’s claims about the event.

    Jacquelynn Lueth, executive producer of “JFK: What the Doctors Saw,” interviewed the seven Parkland doctors for the documentary. She wrote for CBS News last week that the doctors’ “recollections were precise and clear, as if the intervening decades had melted away.

    Each of them reacted strongly when the autopsy pictures were projected on a screen,” Ms. Lueth wrote. “They didn’t agree on everything, but it became obvious that the way the president looked at Parkland did not match the autopsy photos taken at Bethesda even before the official autopsy began.”

    She added that the Parkland doctors “had no agenda other than trying to save the president’s life” but stipulated that those who witnessed the wound to the president’s neck “believed it was an entrance wound,” which would dispute the Warren Commission’s findings. “Several of them saw a gaping hole in the back of JFK’s head,” she said.

    Warning to Keep Silent

    In one of the clips from the documentary, several of the doctors recalled what was said by Dr. Malcolm Perry, the surgeon who attended to President Kennedy. He also attended to Mr. Oswald.

    “So, at the press conference, Dr. Perry, in describing the [throat] wound here, said that he thought it looked like an entrance wound,” said Dr. Robert McClelland in the video taken from the documentary, released this month.

    So, we were thinking there were two wounds. Had to be an entrance wound and an exit wound. That was the only way we could put it together. And so, I thought it was an entrance wound,” said Dr. Ronald Jones, another Parkland doctor.

    Later, Dr. McClelland recalled that he noticed something unusual after the press conference with Dr. Perry about the JFK assassination.

    “When [Dr. Perry] left the room, someone came up to him who Dr. Perry thought maybe was a Secret Service man, and he told Dr. Perry, ‘You must never, ever say that was an entrance wound again if you know what’s good for you,’” he said.

    Dr. McClelland, who died aged 89 in 2019, said that he believed that “in all probability there was a conspiracy, i.e. there was more than one shooter,” according to footage of the documentary released by the Daily Mail.

    And Dr. Jones said that “in retrospect,” if Mr. Oswald “was in the sixth floor depository, how could he have been shot from the front then? And so was there more than one assailant?”

    Another doctor, Joe Goldstrich, who was a medical student at the time of the assassination, asked: “How could a gunshot from the rear peel the scalp from the front back?

    Other than the Warren Commission, established by former President Lyndon B. Johnson, the CIA also has long maintained that Mr. Oswald, who was shot and killed just days later, was the sole perpetrator.

    Other Claims

    The revelations come as a former U.S. Secret Service agent went public for the first time in 60 years and appeared to refute the “magic bullet” theory.

    Paul Landis, an 88-year-old former agent, was only a few feet away from President Kennedy when he was shot and killed. He had been assigned to protect Jackie Kennedy, the former first lady.

    In an interview with The New York Times, published on Sept. 9, Mr. Landis recalled hearing multiple gunshots at Dealy Plaza in Dallas as he went behind President Kennedy’s limousine, seeing the president moving forward after being shot in the head. After the assassination, Mr. Landis recalled picking up what he called a near-perfect-condition bullet from the back seat of President Kennedy’s limousine, near where the president had been sitting.

    The former agent then transported the bullet to the hospital where President Kennedy was taken and put on a stretcher to be examined. He said he believed someone might pocket the bullet—which he did not describe in detail—as a keepsake.

    Mr. Landis suggested that the reason investigators suspected that a “magic bullet” struck the former president is because the bullet that Mr. Landis discovered was later found on a stretcher belonging to President Kennedy. It wasn’t until the New York Times interview that Mr. Landis confirmed that it was he who found the bullet and placed it there.

    It wasn’t until 2014 that he realized that the location of the bullet’s recovery that was cited by him was different than what was mentioned in the Warren Commission, he told the outlet. He then checked with several U.S. officials but was met with skepticism.

    That same year, a former Secret Service colleague, Clint Hill, warned Mr. Landis that he shouldn’t speak out about what he saw on that day. If he did, there might be “many ramifications” for Mr. Landis, he recalled Mr. Hill as saying.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 16:25

  • Bond Yields & Bitcoin Jump As Black Gold Dumps'n'Pumps
    Bond Yields & Bitcoin Jump As Black Gold Dumps’n’Pumps

    Jobless claims surged on an un-adjusted basis, durable goods orders dumped, consumer sentiment slumped, and inflation expectations jumped… US macro data is not signaling a ‘soft landing…

    Source: Bloomberg

    …but apart from that “the consumer is resilient and look over there at NVDA’s earnings”. But, despite smashing it on earnings, NVDA actually traded lower (as anxiety over Biden’s China crackdown weigh a smidge)…

    Stocks took a spill around 1200ET, with some suggesting it was due to the explosion on the US, but managed to maintain some gains ahead of Turkey day. Small Caps outperformed modestly but all the majors traded pretty much in sync amid low liquidity…

    Energy stocks are the only sector red on the week, despite the big rebound today as Healthcare and Tech (an unusual pair) lead on the week…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Apple topped the $3 trillion market cap level intraday …

    Source: Bloomberg

    VIX tumbled to a 12 handle close (the lowest for the day before Thanksgiving since 2019)…

    Treasury yields were up across the curve today with the short-end underperforming (2Y +3bps, 10Y +1bp)…

    Source: Bloomberg

    The dollar rallied into the green for the week briefly and then faded back…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Bitcoin was bid back above $37,000…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Spot Gold prices fell back below $2,000…

    Source: Bloomberg

    Oil prices dumped on headlines that OPEC+ was delaying its meeting, then pumped back as analysts suggested that the meeting delay is “counter-intuitively reassuring” as it will help create “cohesion around collective cuts”…

    Finally, stocks are playing catch-up to seasonals…

    …to the moon!

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 16:00

  • Quinn: The Crash Will Be Spectacular
    Quinn: The Crash Will Be Spectacular

    Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog,

    “Interest on the federal debt is now so immense that it’s consuming 40% of all personal income taxes… If federal finances continue on their current path, we are only a few years from the entirety of income taxes being needed to finance the debt…”

    The government collects $2.6 trillion of individual taxes at the point of a gun and threat of prison. Meanwhile they still operate at an annual deficit of $2 trillion. And this is before interest on the national debt starts to really skyrocket. Our Troll Secretary of the Treasury Yellen had the opportunity to lock in trillions of our national debt for 30 years at 2% rates, but purposely kept rolling it on a short-term basis.

    Interest on the debt will surpass $1 trillion annually within the next year, and, as you can see, will be approaching $2 trillion per year in a few more years.

    The government already spends every dime of the taxes they collect. That means they are already printing more fiat and borrowing from the rest of the world in order to pay the interest on the debt they already have.

    Foreign countries, in particular China and India, are not only not buying any new US Treasuries, but unloading the Treasuries they already have.

    With the BRICS purposefully moving away from the USD for their trade, it’s only a matter of time until our mountain of debt crashes down in an epic avalanche upon the unsuspecting American public.

    The writing is on the wall, and if you refuse to read it, you will be shocked and devastated when you see your supposed paper wealth evaporate.

    Now you know why Biden and his handlers are attempting to provoke wars across the globe against those countries who they realize are engineering the demise of the USD as the basis for world domination and control.

    We have evil men ruling our nation and they would rather burn it all to the ground than lose their wealth, power and control.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 15:45

  • "Japs, Jewry And Trannies": Media Matters President's Bigoted Blogs Resurface Amid Spat With Musk
    “Japs, Jewry And Trannies”: Media Matters President’s Bigoted Blogs Resurface Amid Spat With Musk

    On Monday, Elon Musk’s X sued Media Matters, claiming that the David Brock-founded leftist ‘watchdog’ group manipulated the platform to show major ads next to Nazi imagery, causing a flood of advertisers to leave the platform.

    “The end result was a feed precision-designed by Media Matters for a single purpose: to produce side-by-side ad/content placements that it could screenshot in an effort to alienate advertisers,” causing “all but one of the companies featured in the Media Matters piece withdrawing all ads from X, including Apple, Comcast, NBCUniversal, and IBM—some of X’s largest advertisers.”

    The move by Media Matters was a successful attempt to brand Elon Musk and his platform as antisemitic, after Musk took fire for agreeing with a post suggesting that liberal Jews – who “have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them,” are now on the receiving end of things.

    Japs, Jewry And Trannies

    What happened next couldn’t have been better scripted in pre-woke Hollywood. It turns out that Media Matters President Angelo Carusone wrote super antisemitic blog posts in the early 2000s, which were uncovered by the Daily Caller‘s Peter Hasson in 2019, and have been making the rounds of late given the Musk controversy.

    Angelo Carusone (MSNBC via YouTube)

    In one blog post titled “Tranny Paradise,” the future Media Matters president went on a lengthy diatribe against a ‘tranny-loving author.’

    In another post that same month, Carusone suggested in response to a male basketball coach’s alleged sexual and physical abuse of female players; “lighten up Japs.”

    In an October 2005 post, Carusone said of his boyfriend, “despite his jewry, you KNOW he’s adorable.”

    In another post, he suggested that his Jewish boyfriend only leaned conservative “as a result of his possession of several bags of Jewish gold.”

    We know, we know – who cares, right?

    The point is that Carusone is a massive, virtue-signaling hypocrite for suggesting that Musk was antisemitic for agreeing with a defensible observation, while he himself broke several ‘cardinal rules’ of being a liberal wokescold.

    As even the Washington Post noted at the time of the Caller article, “Carusone’s postings are indeed offensive, and if he’s going to serve as president of an organization renowned for unearthing overlooked and objectionable comments from people’s past, he deserves to be called out on his own transgressions.”

    Carusone said in reply, “It’s true: I wrote some gross things on my blog while I was in college. A few posts parodying living my life as if I were a self-loathing, bigoted Limbaugh right-winger.”

    Ah yes, just parody.

    But wait, there’s more!

    Apparently a bunch of Media Matters employees hate Israel. The thing Media Matters is accusing Musk of. And hey, it’s a free country – but the hypocrisy is just too thick to ignore.

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

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

    Amazing!

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

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

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 15:45

  • For The First Time Since The Covid Crisis, There Are More Global Rate Cuts Than Hikes
    For The First Time Since The Covid Crisis, There Are More Global Rate Cuts Than Hikes

    Two weeks ago, after Powell essentially admitted the Fed would not hike any more and that the July rate hike was the last one, we reminded readers that it takes on average 8 months between the last Fed hike and the first rate cut, suggesting that the Fed would begin cutting rates in March, something the market quickly started pricing in and to which it currently assigns about a 30% probability (and, as recently as a few days ago, 87% odds of a May rate cut).

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

    To be sure, this wouldn’t be the first time the market has gotten ahead of itself in pricing in Fed rate cuts, and as DB’s Jim Reid calculated last week, this would be at least the 7th time in this cycle that markets have seen a clear reaction to a potential dovish pivot.

    On the previous 6 occasions, those hopes were dashed since inflation remained too high for the Fed to be comfortable cutting rates (assuming, of course, that the Fed hasn’t quietly agreed to raise its inflation target to 3% or more). Indeed, core CPI has been above their 2% target since early 2021, and the Fed’s dot plot is still pointing to a more hawkish stance for policy relative to market pricing. Moreover, a consistent story of this cycle so far has been that markets have pushed out the timing of future rate cuts.

    Clearly all that could change quickly if unemployment spiked or inflation fell further. But in light of this repeated pattern, DB ran through the 7 times that speculation has previously risen about a dovish pivot from the Fed. Here is the snapshot (full report available to pro subscribers in the usual place):

    7 times this cycle that markets have priced in a more dovish path for the Fed

    • 1. November 2023: Weak data releases and a downside surprise in the CPI lead markets to bring forward the pricing of Fed cuts.

    Reaction: The S&P 500 has seen a sustained rally, including its best 2-week performance of 2023.
    November so far has seen a succession of news that’s led investors to price in a growing likelihood of rate cuts. At the start of the month, the ISM manufacturing release came in beneath expectations at 46.7, and Fed Chair Powell said after the FOMC meeting that the Committee was “proceeding carefully”. Then on November 3, the jobs report showed that the unemployment rate had risen to 3.9%, the highest since January 2022. And only yesterday on November 14, the CPI release surprised to the downside, with year-on-year core CPI falling to a two-year low of 4.0%. In light of this, investors have brought forward their expectations of the first cut. For instance, the chances of a 25bp cut from current levels by the May meeting have gone up from 8% at the start of the month to 87% now.

    • 2. March 2023: The banking turmoil following SVB’s collapse led to growing anticipation that central banks had finished hiking rates altogether.

    Reaction: Yields on 2yr Treasuries fell back significantly from a peak of 5.07% on March 8 to 3.77% by March 24.
    At the height of the banking turmoil in March, there was a strong sense after the Fed’s March hike that this could well be the last move. In fact, right after the March meeting, futures were pricing in that the Fed would have cut rates by 49bps by the November meeting. But in reality, they actually hiked by 50bps by November, with further hikes in both May and July.

    • 3. Late September/Early October 2022: Major market turmoil centred on the UK leads markets to price in more rate cuts for 2023.

    Reaction: S&P 500 up +5.7% in 2 days over October 3rd and 4th, marking the biggest 2-day rally since April 2020.
    The significant cross-asset selloff in September 2022 led to growing chatter that something might be about to break in financial markets, particularly given the turmoil centred on the UK after the mini-budget. In turn, these fears led markets to price in more rate cuts for 2023, thus supporting a brief equity surge. By October 3rd 2022, markets were pricing in that the Fed would only pursue 137bps more rate hikes. But that swiftly unwound, and by October 20th, they were pricing in 194bps of further rate hikes. In reality, they have since delivered 225bps of rate hikes to date.

    • 4. July 2022: Global recession fears and a weak inflation print sees talk of slower rate hikes resurface.

    Reaction: S&P 500 advances +9.1% over July 2022, its largest monthly advance since vaccine news in November 2020
    As Summer 2022 began, there was increased chatter about an imminent global recession. Oil prices had fallen noticeably, and the tailwind from falling gasoline prices meant the July CPI reading showed an outright fall in prices for the first time since May 2020. All this led to speculation about a dovish pivot, which was fuelled by comments from Chair Powell himself, who said that as “monetary policy tightens further, it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases”. As a result, the S&P 500 rallied over +13% between mid-July and mid-August. However, Chair Powell then delivered a very hawkish speech at Jackson Hole, which put to bed any remaining hopes that they might be about to shift their policy stance.

    • 5.May 2022: Rising risks to global growth see investors take out expected tightening.

    Reaction: S&P 500 experienced its strongest weekly performance of 2022, gaining +6.6% in the week ending May 27. To date, that is still the best weekly performance since 2020.
    Back in spring 2022, there was another shift in the market narrative. Investors were becoming concerned about multiple growth risks, including the rate hikes that had started, China’s continued zero-Covid strategy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, futures began to price in less Fed tightening, and May marked the first time in 10 months that futures lowered the expected amount of tightening by end-2022. But ultimately, the May CPI release in early June surpassed all estimates, paving the way for the Fed to start hiking by 75bps for the first time since the 1990s.

    • 6. Late February/Early March 2022: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sees the Fed commence hikes with 25bps rather than 50bps.

    Reaction: 10yr bund yields move back into negative territory, 10yr Treasury yields also fall back to 2-month low, S&P 500 advances +3.6% over March
    After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the initial concern from a market perspective was more focused on the growth risks rather than the inflation risks. At one point there were even questions about whether the ECB would be able to hike at all, sending yields on 10yr bunds back into negative territory. For a sense of what was being said at the time, Olli Rehn of Finland’s central bank said that “given the new situation, we need to take a moment of reflection as regards the speed and way of a gradual normalization of monetary policy”. And at the Fed, the invasion meant that they started off their hiking cycle with just a 25bps move, rather than the 50bps hike that had been widely anticipated beforehand. In the end however, as the worst fears about a broader escalation involving more countries didn’t materialise and the spike in commodities boosted inflation, central banks grew more concerned about inflation persistence and second-round effects, putting any slow-down in rate hikes off the agenda.

    • 7. November 2021: Investors doubt how fast central banks can hike after the Omicron variant appears.

    Reaction: After an initial selloff after Omicron was discovered, the S&P 500 rebounds to hit all-time highs again by late-December 2021.
    When the Omicron variant first appeared, there were serious concerns that it could overwhelm health services again or even evade vaccines, bringing into prospect that the pandemic could still be a substantial issue for policymakers in 2022. In the end, it proved to have a lower mortality rate than previous variants, but the initial reaction in markets was swift. Although the major central banks hadn’t started tightening yet, futures immediately reacted and the subsequent trading sessions saw them push back the timing of when the first Fed rate hike was fully priced from June 2022 to September 2022.

    * * *

    And yet, as Reid expands in his latest chart of the day, even though the other six attempts to price in a dovish central bank eventually reversed, it doesn’t mean this one will, especially since now something has clearly changed: according to Deutsche Bank, there are more global cuts coming through than hikes, which is the first time that’s been the case since January 2021.

    As shown above, at the moment the number of hikes are a fraction of where they were at their peak in summer 2022 as the global economy has slowed to a crawl (and even Biden’s massive deficit-spending, stimulus-funded fake growth is fading fast). At the same time, cuts have very slowly been building up, but the general theme has been a much lower level of global central bank activity. Of course, that will change as the global slowdown gets even worse and as we enter the election-heavy 2024.

    The second chart looks at it on a rolling 12 month basis but goes back further, albeit with less country data available in the early stages.

    So, for Jim Reid, the big question is “whether we’re “higher for longer” now or whether we will soon see a big global easing cycle.” Reid’s view is that unless the US sees a recession, it will be tough to see a big imminent global easing cycle. After all, inflation is still above target levels across the major economies. However, if we do get the recession that the inverted yield curve has been pricing for almost two years, then expect a huge flip in the first graph and many more cuts than the market is pricing.

    One final interesting point from Reis is that at the moment is that cuts are priced in on a soft landing scenario, “so I think they might be right for the wrong reasons, and eventually you’ll see more cuts than are priced in due to a harder landing than is priced.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/22/2023 – 15:25

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Today’s News 22nd November 2023

  • A New Era In US-Sino Relations?
    A New Era In US-Sino Relations?

    By Teeuwe Mevissen, Senior Macro Strategist at Rabobank (pdf version available for pro subs in the usual place)

    Summary

    • US president Biden and president of China Xi Jinping met each other this week, for the first time since November 2022

    • The US-Sino relationship has deteriorated since the Trump administration

    • Areas of tensions between both nations include security, trade investments and territorial issues amongst others

    • While the meeting did deliver some concrete results it is unlikely that we will see a significant improvement of US-Sino relations for the foreseeable future.

    Introduction

    To underscore its uniqueness, we have to go back to November 2022 for the last personal meeting between the leaders of the two most powerful countries at the moment, the US and China. Back then, Biden and Xi met each other on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia. This meeting in Bali was preceded by a significant period of increased tensions between the US and China following Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Pelosi’s trip was regarded by China as a provocation and a departure from the one China policy. As such, Pelosi’s visit resulted in the end of direct communication between the military of both countries. A potentially dangerous situation since it could lead to incidents developing into something much worse. This and other challenges that currently define US-Sino relations clearly illustrate a need to create a floor under US-Sino relations. But, before we look at this week’s meeting achievements, let’s first briefly go back to the last official meeting between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden in Bali and the topics that were discussed back then.

    Bali 2022

    First, it will not come to anyone’s surprise that Taiwan was one of the more thorny issues that was discussed between both countries during the G20 top in Bali. Xi Jinping called Taiwan the “first red line” that must not be crossed in U.S.-China relations. Biden on his turn, seemingly tried to calm things down, stating that the one China policy – which supports both Beijing’s one China stance as well as Taiwan’s military – was unchanged. This is a policy that has often been described as strategic ambiguity, which emphasizes the mixed signal that this policy sends out. But there was definitely a lot more to discuss. North-Korea, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, investment and trade policies and artificial intelligence (AI) were also discussed amongst many other topics. Since many (if not all) of these issues remain unsolved, they were high on the list of topics that both countries needed to discuss.

    San Francisco 2023

    So, fast forward to 15 November, a scheduled meeting between Biden and Xi took place in San Francisco. Below we provide an overview of the most important topics that were discussed and those that are key in defining the US-Sino relationship. We make a distinction between US’s interests, China’s interests and mutual interests. However it must be said that some interests also overlap. The distinction therefore is not always clear. Security, for instance, is of mutual interest, but within the realm of security both China and the US also have their own specific interests. We will conclude this report with our take on the results of the bilateral meeting between both world leaders and see to what extent progress has been made on these issues and more generally the bilateral relationship between the US and China.

    US’s main interests

    Trade and investments

    Starting with the Trump era, the US has sought to establish a more equitable trading and investment relationship with China. For long the US has been having a huge trade deficit with both China as well as the rest of the world. In 2022 the total US trade deficit reached a record high with a reported trade deficit of almost $950 billion. According to the US department of Commerce the trade deficit with China reached a level of $382.9 billion in 2022.

    Moreover, trade in 2022 between the US and China grew for a third year in a row. It is therefore hard to claim that the trade relationship between the US and China has become more balanced, despite tariffs and other measures that have been implemented since 2018 to achieve such. However, just ahead of the meeting between Biden and Xi this week, China did buy an amount worth more than $3 billion of soybeans, which should be regarded as a sign of good will and a desire by China to move to a more equitable trade relationship. However, in the past China has already made promises regarding trade and opening up its economy that still need to be fulfilled. For instance by continuing to subsidize certain strategic sectors in order to undercut Western competitors as seems to be the case in the sector for electric vehicles.

    Furthermore, the US federal government pension fund now excludes investments in Hong Kong in addition to investments in mainland China. Additionally, the US has curbed investments flows to China in some sectors that it identifies as strategic and other sectors deemed critical to US national security. This is yet another sign that the US will continue to ‘de-risk’ its relationship with China and to contain China’s economic and technological rise.

    Fentanyl

    Another important issue concerns fentanyl. The synthetic opioid has caused havoc in many US cities and fentanyl addiction is an important death cause for US citizens between the age of 35-45. However, it is expected that China will be moving on this issue to accommodate the US in tackling the current fentanyl crisis. As such and already before the meeting took place, Biden and Xi were expected to announce an agreement which would see a crackdown form Beijing on this specific sector. Needless to say that it is in the interest of the US to reverse the current rise in fentanyl addicts. Aside from a public health perspective this topic also touches social, legal, and labour force related issues.

    Human rights

    The US has often decried China’s stance on human rights, most notably with regard to its practices in the Xinjiang province. The US has sanctioned companies that produce goods with the help of Uyghurs. Moreover, the US will also discuss so-called exit bans. These measures ban non Chinese citizens from leaving the country in case of suspicion of criminal offenses. Moreover the US will seek to solve cases of imprisoned US citizens of which the US claims are wrongfully detained. Finally it is in the interest of the US to project its soft power to the rest of the world in order to become a more appealing strategic partner compared to its rivals.

    China’s interests

    Trade and investments

    China continues to seek to turn the current tide of declining exports and reduced flows of foreign direct investments (FDI). Indeed as recently as November 2023, China reported the first contraction in (net) FDI since data has been published in 1998 with a deficit of 11.8 bn during the third quarter of this year. While the current levels of trade between the US and China are still sizable, the process of de-risking (which includes reindustrialisation) will most likely sooner rather than later result in reduced US imports from China.

    Territorial issues

    China has continued to press the US on maintaining its one-China policy and insists that the US does not interfere with its internal affairs. Furthermore, China criticizes the US for its freedom of navigation patrols in the South China sea. Additionally, China decries the US for trying to contain China within the region by setting up alliances with regional players like the Philippines and Australia.

    Technology

    China’s “Made in 2025” state-led industrial policy aims for technological independence and the ability to compete with high tech products on global markets. More specifically they aim for an increase in domestically added content of materials from 40% to 70%. The US has restricted access to certain advanced technologies to China. This also includes US allies that have been pressured by the US to restrict Chinese access to certain technologies. So as long as China is not able to produce its own cutting edge technology, it will remain dependent on what the US is willing to export. As such it is clearly in China’s interest to regain access to some of the most advanced technologies.

    Mutual interests

    Security

    As mentioned above, Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan back in August 2022 led China to cutting direct communication lines between both armies. Moreover, the previous minister of defence of China, general Li Shangfu, was put on the US sanction list for being involved in the purchase of SU-35 combat aircraft and Russian S-400 air defence systems. US secretary of defence Loyd Austin tried to re-establish communication lines with the now missing Li Shangfu but was unsuccessful. While Li Shangfu has been expelled from the state council, his name still can be found on the website of China’s ministry of defence and until now, no new minister of defence has been appointed yet.

    Re-establishing direct communication lines between both militaries remains a goal for the Biden administration and with General Li Shangfu being dismissed, new possibilities arise to re-establish these lines of communication with the clear aim to nip any chance of escalation in the bud. These (almost) incidents have increased since China has become more assertive in the region while the US continues its freedom of navigation patrols in the South China sea.

    But there is much more. The US seeks to convince Beijing once and for all that it should not deliver military equipment to Russia. Also the EU has sent this message to China signalling that it would have a strong negative effect on relations between the West and China. Needless to say that both trade and investments would be affected when China would actively support Russia’s military.

    Finally, the US will seek to pressure China to play a more important role in dealing with the nuclear threat arising from North-Korea. It is however questionable to what extent China has real leverage over North Korea in order to persuade it to change its posture in the region. Moreover it is also questionable whether this would be in the interest of China itself.

    But Xi has also expressed himself clearly when he said that China is not seeking to fight a cold or a hot war with anyone. While it is important to realize that this statement is at odds with China’s territorial claims (even when China’s claim on Taiwan is excluded) it should still be clear that China – like the US – realizes that a hot war between both superpowers would have devastating consequences and would go against the interest of both. Xi Jinping has eluded to this by repeatedly saying that nuclear wars can never be won and therefore should never be fought. But also here we see a contradiction, since China has embarked on a path to expand and modernize its nuclear weapon capabilities.

    China also addressed the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea and claims that the freedom of navigation patrols that the US and allies are performing are a violation of Chinese sovereignty. It will also address US weapon deliveries towards Taiwan and will seek for a US statement which would clearly denounce any attempts from Taiwan to separate itself from mainland China.

    Climate

    The most obvious mutual interest both countries share is climate change. Both countries increasingly deal with extreme weather circumstances, climate warming and pollution. Before the meeting there were already positive signs regarding this topic. This also offers hope for the next UN climate talks which will be held in Dubai this month. The US State Department and China’s Ministry of Ecology even made identical statements regarding mutual cooperation in limiting emissions of nitrous oxide and methane. Both nations will also support global initiatives to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030.

    AI

    Recent warnings from scientists and companies that are involved in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) have put the issue high on the list of security issues. Moreover, there seems to be common ground to exclude AI command and control (NC2) systems for nuclear weapons. Furthermore China has also signalled that it is interested in joining talks about norms and rules for AI. Finally, the South China morning post reported that Biden and Xi were expected to pledge for a ban on AI in autonomous weapon systems like drones. This amongst others with the aim to prevent the risk of weapon systems ‘going their own way’ and all the potential consequences that could arise from this. Unfortunately, in the case of AI there will always remain an incentive to create a weapon that could tip the balance in a direct conflict with an adversary.

    What to expect after the Biden Xi meeting?

    While expectations before the meeting where modest at best, the meeting still has delivered some results. First, a floor seems to have been established regarding the US-Sino relationship. Both leaders expressed clearly that a conflict between both superpowers should be avoided. However, developments within international relations are not static or linear. As such it is likely that tensions between both powers will continue to be an important feature describing US-Sino relations. Second, both superpowers have committed to step up efforts to reduce global warming and fight climate change. Third, China has pledged to curb exports of precursors for fentanyl. Furthermore Biden announced that experts from both China and the US will meet to discuss and determine: “what’s useful and what’s not useful, but dangerous and what’s acceptable” regarding AI. Xi and Biden also agreed to reopen direct communication between both militaries in order to prevent incidents that could lead to an escalation between both countries. While it is absolutely positive that both the US and China are engaging with each other via the highest diplomatic levels, it is important to realize that the current situation of strategic competition/systemic rivalry that has characterized US-Sino relations since Trump became president in 2016, won’t change. As such the relationship has not materially improved. This might be illustrated best by Bidens remark at the end of the press conference where he mentioned that he still sees Xi Jinping as a dictator. Therefore we can only conclude that there is still a long way to go before we can talk about normalizing relations between China and the US.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 23:45

  • "Japs, Jewry And Trannies": Media Matters President's Bigoted Blogs Resurface Amid Spat With Musk
    “Japs, Jewry And Trannies”: Media Matters President’s Bigoted Blogs Resurface Amid Spat With Musk

    On Monday, Elon Musk’s X sued Media Matters, claiming that the David Brock-founded leftist ‘watchdog’ group manipulated the platform to show major ads next to Nazi imagery, causing a flood of advertisers to leave the platform.

    “The end result was a feed precision-designed by Media Matters for a single purpose: to produce side-by-side ad/content placements that it could screenshot in an effort to alienate advertisers,” causing “all but one of the companies featured in the Media Matters piece withdrawing all ads from X, including Apple, Comcast, NBCUniversal, and IBM—some of X’s largest advertisers.”

    The move by Media Matters was a successful attempt to brand Elon Musk and his platform as antisemitic, after Musk took fire for agreeing with a post suggesting that liberal Jews – who “have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them,” are now on the receiving end of things.

    Japs, Jewry And Trannies

    What happened next couldn’t have been better scripted in pre-woke Hollywood. It turns out that Media Matters President Angelo Carusone wrote super antisemitic blog posts in the early 2000s, which were uncovered by the Daily Caller‘s Peter Hasson in 2019, and have been making the rounds of late given the Musk controversy.

    Angelo Carusone (MSNBC via YouTube)

    In one blog post titled “Tranny Paradise,” the future Media Matters president went on a lengthy diatribe against a ‘tranny-loving author.’

    In another post that same month, Carusone suggested in response to a male basketball coach’s alleged sexual and physical abuse of female players; “lighten up Japs.”

    In an October 2005 post, Carusone said of his boyfriend, “despite his jewry, you KNOW he’s adorable.”

    In another post, he suggested that his Jewish boyfriend only leaned conservative “as a result of his possession of several bags of Jewish gold.”

    We know, we know – who cares, right?

    The point is that Carusone is a massive, virtue-signaling hypocrite for suggesting that Musk was antisemitic for agreeing with a defensible observation, while he himself broke several ‘cardinal rules’ of being a liberal wokescold.

    As even the Washington Post noted at the time of the Caller article, “Carusone’s postings are indeed offensive, and if he’s going to serve as president of an organization renowned for unearthing overlooked and objectionable comments from people’s past, he deserves to be called out on his own transgressions.”

    Carusone said in reply, “It’s true: I wrote some gross things on my blog while I was in college. A few posts parodying living my life as if I were a self-loathing, bigoted Limbaugh right-winger.”

    Ah yes, just parody.

    But wait, there’s more!

    Apparently a bunch of Media Matters employees hate Israel. The thing Media Matters is accusing Musk of. And hey, it’s a free country – but the hypocrisy is just too thick to ignore.

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    Amazing!

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 23:25

  • "There's No Comparison": Why Classic Car Enthusiasts Won't Touch Modern Cars
    “There’s No Comparison”: Why Classic Car Enthusiasts Won’t Touch Modern Cars

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

    Given the choice between a sporty new Chevy Corvette and his 1963 Dodge 330, Bob Hughes will take the 60-year-old classic any day.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Unsplash)

    The simplicity of automotive design from yesteryear has its virtues, Mr. Hughes said, relaxing in a lawn chair next to his former “daily driver” at the Thunderfest Car and Bike Show in Casa Grande, Arizona, on Nov. 4.

    You can change the plugs—you can see the plugs—which is something you can’t do on most new cars,” he said.

    “I built this thing from nothing. It was a $75 body when I bought it.” That was in 1970.

    All around the big parking lot were classic hot rods and muscle cars—tricked-out mechanical masterpieces from when vehicles were easy to work on if you had the tools and the skill.

    It isn’t the same with newer automated vehicles, vintage and classic car enthusiasts say.

    Bob Hughes sits beside his 1963 Dodge 330 during a car show in Casa Grande, Ariz., on Nov. 4, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

    “For one thing, the electronics can screw you up,” Mr. Hughes, 76, told The Epoch Times.

    You mess up the electronics by arcing the battery. I’ll walk before I buy an electric vehicle. And I can’t hardly walk at all.

    Mr. Hughes of Casa Grande isn’t alone in criticizing the new car technology.

    Mary Jo McDonald, a senior from Glendale, California, held similar views as she sat under an umbrella watching over her husband’s 1959 Pontiac Bonneville convertible with the hood open.

    She said comparing vintage cars and newer models is like comparing cats and dogs.

    “My husband is an electrical engineer. But the new stuff? It’s like Star Wars,” Ms. McDonald said.

    Though her husband, Donald, has tried working on the newer cars, he’s been having trouble “getting all the bells and whistles to work,” she said.

    A 1952 Bonneville owned by Donald and Mary Jo McDonald of Glendale, Calif., was among many classic car show entries in Casa Grande, Ariz., on Nov. 4, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

    “It’s complicated. You can figure out how the older vehicles come together and come apart. This car, he completely tore down and redid the whole thing.”

    There’s no comparison,” Ms. McDonald told The Epoch Times. “There are definite advantages to the new technology. But being in my 80s, I would rather have it the old way.”

    According to national insurance company Progressive, the main differences between old and new vehicles are in their design, components, handling, and safety.

    Modern engines are much smarter, smaller, more powerful, and more efficient than older ones,” Progressive’s website states.

    “Since they lack automated features, classic cars have a more hands-on driving experience, and they can be easier to work on yourself. And while newer cars will depreciate with age, classic car values tend to appreciate due to supply and demand, especially for well-maintained cars.”

    The merger of automation and vehicle technology has taken decades since German carmaker Volkswagen introduced the first vehicle using a transistorized, electronically controlled fuel injection system in 1968, according to Chipsets.com.

    The following year, Ford introduced the company’s first computer-controlled anti-skid braking system. Chrysler vehicles now feature Electronic Engine Control (EEC) technology introduced in 1973.

    (Left) A man works on the engine of a classic vintage car. (Right) A mechanic uses his computer to diagnose a breakdown on a car at a Peugeot dealership, in Illiers-Combray, central France, on May 4, 2020, (Oliver Rossi/Getty Images, JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP via Getty Images)

    Have you noticed a change in the picture you see under the hood of your car?” the Drivin’ & Vibin’ Team wrote in a May 27, 2022, online article.

    Vehicle repairs are certainly a lot more complicated than they used to be a couple of decades ago, and for a good reason.

    Compared with vehicles manufactured before 1990, newer cars and trucks have fewer moving parts, and they have onboard computers that control most engine functions, making things more complicated.

    “It takes a lot more schooling to educate a professional mechanic properly,” the Drivin’ & Vibin’ Team wrote. “When designers came up with new car concepts back in the day, they focused more on making the vehicles easy for the typical owner to repair.

    “Engineers designed vehicles to have more open space under the hood, and they had fewer electrical components to manage.”

    Travis Rees-Fleming, 38, of Snowflake, Arizona, said he prefers simpler auto technology to the newer vehicles.

    His 1962 Ford Ranchero was his favorite car.

    A classic car show contestant in Casa Grande, Ariz., on Nov. 4, 2023 driving his muscle car after the show. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times)

    “I’ve owned more cars than I have fingers,” Mr. Rees-Fleming said. “Other than oil changes, I don’t do any maintenance on the newer cars due to the increased amount of electronics they put into them.”

    He said having in-laws who own an automotive repair shop makes repairs more convenient. But even they’re finding it more challenging to hire technicians with the skill set to fix newer vehicles.

    “On top of that, you have the updated computer programming. You have to lease from the companies to be able to service their vehicles,” Mr. Rees-Fleming told The Epoch Times.

    It makes them harder to keep on the road if they have electronic issues. It can leave people stranded—dead in the water.

    “Up here, with the rats, if they chew through even one wire, your vehicle is down. You’ve got to get a tow to a dealership. The local service shops need technicians to work on those cars.”

    Supply chain issues mean repairs take longer to complete. The average turnaround for body shops is 30 days, Mr. Rees-Fleming said.

    He said it can take even longer with electric vehicles using complex lithium-ion batteries because of a lack of infrastructure to support them.

    “We also run into battery shortages, mineral shortages, and charging stations,” he said. “Even with self-driving technology, there will be issues with vehicles not sensing certain roads,” he said.

    Read the rest here…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 23:05

  • Israeli Cabinet Approves Major Hostage Deal, Multi-Day Ceasefire With Hamas
    Israeli Cabinet Approves Major Hostage Deal, Multi-Day Ceasefire With Hamas

    Update(2100ET): In a rare moment of positive news, Netanyahu’s cabinet has approved the hostage release and ceasefire deal which has been long in development in the early hours of Wednesday morning (local). Below are the developing details of the deal (in an official govt. statement), which will see a multi-day ceasefire take effect – the first of the more than one-month long war which has claimed over 13,000 Palestinian lives and over 1,200 Israeli lives:

    “The Israeli government is committed to bringing all the abductees home. Tonight, the government approved the outline for the first stage of achieving this goal, under which at least 50 abductees – women and childrenwill be released over a span of four days, during which there will be a lull in the fighting,” the statement said.

    “The release of every ten additional abductees will result in an additional day of respite,” it added.

    “The Israeli government, the IDF and the security forces will continue the war to return all the abductees, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that Gaza does not renew any threat to the State of Israel.”

    A prisoner swap is a key feature of the deal. According to Israeli media, “Israel also agreed to release Palestinian women and minors from prison and let them return to their homes, mostly in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”

    “Israel has avoided offering a specific number, but Hebrew media has placed the figure at 150,” writes Times of Israel. “A Palestinian Authority minister told Al Arabiya on Tuesday that 350 jailed Palestinian minors and 82 jailed Palestinian women would be freed in the swap.”

    So clearly the deal has been structured (with Qatari mediation) to be extended based on how the initial phase of the captive/prisoner releases goes.

    * * *

    Update(1417ET): Further details as reported in Israeli media, and as Netanyahu cabinet votes on approving the Qatar-mediated deal:

    • Government meets on proposed deal to release some 50 Israeli hostages over 4 days of ceasefire
    • Deal provides for more releases later
    • Palestinian prisoners to be freed, but not murderers

    However, even if the deal does get approved, and it is expected to, Israel’s military is vowing this won’t hinder its goal of eradicating Hamas.

    IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday, “The goal of returning the hostages is significant. Even if it results in the reduction of some of the other things, we will know how to restore our operational achievements.” He said this means the IDF will still focus on eliminating Hamas.

    Israeli children kidnapped on October 7 and held hostage (Israel’s official Twitter account)

    The White House this week issued rare, albeit somewhat tame, criticism of Israel’s bombing campaign…

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    * * *

    For the first time of the Gaza conflict, both Israeli and Hamas sources agree that a major deal for the mass release of hostages is “closer than it has ever been” and is in the “final stages” – according to a US official cited in Reuters Tuesday.

    Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has agreed that they are “close to reaching a truce agreement” with Israel, and an official with PM Netanyahu’s office said “An announcement of a deal may be imminent.” CNBC is citing the Israeli prime minister’s office as saying a deal has been reached.

    The IDF has released CCTV which appears to show Hamas bringing hostages to al-Shifa hospital on Oct.7

    Sources in Reuters indicated the pending deal is to include a multi-day pause in fighting, with a prisoner exchange potentially seeing Hamas release some 50 Israeli civilian hostages. The Israelis, for their part, are expected to free female and minor-ages Palestinians in its custody.

    Since Oct.7, Hamas has demanded the release of several thousand Palestinians who have long been in Israeli custody, some of them without having ever been charged.

    Netanyahu on Tuesday issued his most optimistic statements yet regarding a deal: “We are making progress on the release of the hostages. I hope we will have good news soon,” he told a group of military reservists.

    He’s reportedly holding a series of urgent Cabinet meetings to mull the details of the pending deal

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    Details reported by Axios based on diplomatic sources privy to the Qatar-mediated talks have been revealed:

    • In the first phase of the two-phase deal, Hamas is expected to release 50 Israeli women and children held in Gaza, while Israel is expected to release around 150 Palestinian prisoners, mostly women and minors. Some of the Israeli hostages are dual citizens.
    • The release of hostages and prisoners in the first phase of the deal would take place over four days of ceasefire in Gaza, one of the sources told Axios.
    • As part of the deal, Israel would allow around 300 aid trucks per day to enter Gaza from Egypt.

    A potential second phase of the deal could see 50 more released, and the ceasefire would be extended for multiple more days, per Axios:

    • Israel would also release Palestinian prisoners at the same 3:1 ratio to the number of hostages freed.

    While Tuesday has witnessed very optimistic international headlines and reporting, there have been several false starts concerning prior deals that proved premature, as the instance of a Washington Post story correction highlighted Monday.

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    developing…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 23:00

  • US To Deploy Previously Banned Missiles To Aim Them At China
    US To Deploy Previously Banned Missiles To Aim Them At China

    Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

    The US military will deploy new medium-range missile systems to the Pacific region next year for the purpose of “deterring” China from invading Taiwan, the commander of US Army Pacific Forces said on Saturday.

    According to Defense One, Gen. Charles Flynn said the deployment will include a land-based version of the Tomahawk missile, which was previously banned under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a treaty with Russia the US withdrew from in 2019.

    Via Defense News/Kongsberg 

    “We have tested them and we have a battery or two of them today,” Flynn said. “In 2024. We intend to deploy that system in your region. I’m not going to say where and when. But I will just say that we will deploy them.”

    The INF Treaty previously banned the development of land-based missiles with a range between 310 to 3,400 miles. The US’s new land-based batteries that use Tomahawk missiles can hit targets of up to 1,000 miles. The US Marines Corps activated its first Tomahawk battery over the summer at a base in California.

    The US withdrew from the INF over allegations that a new missile Russia was developing violated the treaty, which Moscow denied.

    Russia also accused the US of potentially running afoul of the treaty by installing Aegis Ashore missile defense systems in Romania and Poland. The systems use Mk-41 vertical launchers, which can fit Tomahawk missiles.

    The new battery activated by the Marines uses an Mk-41 launch system cell, demonstrating that the Russian concerns about the Aegis Systems are not unfounded. The US formally exited the INF treaty on August 2, 2019, and began testing INF-range missiles with ground-based Mk-41 launchers just a few weeks later.

    While Flynn would not say where the Tomahawk missiles would be deployed, there are indications they could end up in Japan. The US is also expanding its military presence in the Philippines as part of its buildup against China, which US military officials say is meant to deter war.

    Google Maps

    But the US buildup, which Beijing views as a containment strategy, has only escalated tensions with China and appears to be making war more likely.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 22:25

  • China Picks 50 Developers For $138 Billion Gambit To Stem Real Estate Crisis
    China Picks 50 Developers For $138 Billion Gambit To Stem Real Estate Crisis

    On Sunday we noted that Beijing would be employing several schemes to try and put a floor under its spiraling property crisis – chief among them, providing at least 1 trillion yuan (US$137 billion) in low-cost financing to renovate urban villages and build new, affordable housing (which, according to Bloomberg‘s Ye Xie, George Lei and Henry Ren, might not be enough).

    Photo: Bloomberg

    Beijing announced the two-pronged approach over the past few weeks, which have top-level political backing for financing equivalent to approximately 10% of annual new home sales in what Bloomberg described as the “Singapore” model.

    Singapore, while a mecca of private-sector business and financial activity, is renowned for a residential market that’s dominated by public housing. If China’s new plan works, officials might be able to both end a nearly three-year slump in property construction and meet President Xi Jinping’s aims to promote “common prosperity.”

    The plan is more of a longer-term structural adjustment in the property sector toward a Singaporean model,” said Betty Wang, senior economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group in Hong Kong. “I don’t think it’s just a short-term effort to boost property investment — instead, it’s about China’s 2035 common prosperity goals.”

    50 developers

    Now, Bloomberg reports that Chinese regulators are quickly moving forward with the two projects – and have drafted a list of 50 developers eligible for a range of financing, according to people familiar with the matter. The list comprises both private and state-owned developers, who will vie for support from financial institutions loans, debt, and equity financing.

    The yet-to-be-finalized list would expand on previous rosters created by banks that only focused on some “systemically important” state-backed firms. It underscores Beijing’s growing concerns about the sector following record defaults, a swathe of unfinished apartments and a deep contraction in real estate investment that threatens to derail growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

    Some Chinese builders’ dollar bonds rallied after the report. Vanke’s 3.5% note due 2029 climbed 3.9 cents on the dollar, set for the biggest jump in two weeks, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Longfor’s 3.85% note due 2032 rose 3.2 cents, while Seazen’s 4.8% bond due 2024 climbed 2.2 cents. -Bloomberg

    According to a recent statement from Beijing, China’s largest banks, brokerages and distressed asset managers were told during a Friday gathering to meet all “reasonable” funding needs from property developers, and to “treat private and state-owned developers the same” when it comes to lending. Regulators were also asked at the event to ensure that loan issuance to private builders doesn’t outpace the industry average rate, given that China’s outstanding property loans fell for the first time on an annual bases in Q3.

    China has attempted several previous schemes to mitigate its housing crisis, which is putting a serious drag on the economy despite other indicators such as industrial production marking improvement in recent months. The real estate industry, on the other hand, contracted 2.7% in Q3, the largest drop this year.

    The results so far are disappointing, because these measures mainly focus on boosting demand but overlook the supply side, namely, the financing needs of developers,” according to Macquarie Group Ltd. economists led by Larry Hu wrote in a Nov. 17 note. “A key thing to watch is whether and when policymakers would take bolder actions.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 22:05

  • What If the Constitution No Longer Applied? Freedom's Greatest Hour Of Danger Is Now
    What If the Constitution No Longer Applied? Freedom’s Greatest Hour Of Danger Is Now

    Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

    “What if the rights and principles guaranteed in the Constitution have been so distorted in the past 200 years as to be unrecognizable by the Founders? What if the government was the reason we don’t have a Constitution anymore? What if freedom’s greatest hour of danger is now?

    – Andrew P. Napolitano

    We are approaching critical mass, the point at which all hell breaks loose.

    The government is pushing us ever closer to a constitutional crisis.

    What makes the outlook so much bleaker is the utter ignorance of the American people – and those who represent them – about their freedoms, history, and how the government is supposed to operate.

    As Morris Berman points out in his book Dark Ages America, “70 percent of American adults cannot name their senators or congressmen; more than half don’t know the actual number of senators, and nearly a quarter cannot name a single right guaranteed by the First Amendment. Sixty-three percent cannot name the three branches of government. Other studies reveal that uninformed or undecided voters often vote for the candidate whose name and packaging (e.g., logo) are the most powerful; color is apparently a major factor in their decision.”

    More than government corruption and ineptitude, police brutality, terrorism, gun violence, drugs, illegal immigration or any other so-called “danger” that threatens our nation, civic illiteracy may be what finally pushes us over the edge.

    As Thomas Jefferson warned, no nation can be both ignorant and free.

    Unfortunately, the American people have existed in a technology-laden, entertainment-fueled, perpetual state of cluelessness for so long that civic illiteracy has become the new normal for the citizenry.

    It’s telling that Americans were more able to identify Michael Jackson as the composer of a number of songs than to know that the Bill of Rights was the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

    In fact, most immigrants who aspire to become citizens know more about national civics than native-born Americans. Surveys indicate that a majority in every state but Vermont would fail a test of U.S. citizenship questions.

    Not even the government bureaucrats who are supposed to represent us know much about civics, American history and geography, or the Constitution although they take an oath to uphold, support and defend the Constitution against “enemies foreign and domestic.”

    For instance, a few year ago, a couple attempting to get a marriage license was forced to prove to a government official that New Mexico is, in fact, one of the 50 states and not a foreign country.

    You can’t make this stuff up.

    Here’s a classic example of how surreal the landscape has become.

    Every year, the White House issues a proclamation affirming the importance of the Bill of Rights.

    These proclamations pay lip service to the government’s commitment to upholding the Constitution and guarding against government abuses of power.

    Don’t believe it for a second.

    The government doesn’t want its abuses checked and its powers restricted.

    For that matter, this is not a government that holds the Constitution in high esteem.

    Indeed, we wouldn’t be in this sorry state if it weren’t for the damage inflicted in recent years on the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights, which historically served as the bulwark from government abuse.

    In the so-called named of national security, the Constitution has been steadily chipped away at, undermined, eroded, whittled down, and generally discarded to such an extent that what we are left with is but a shadow of the robust document adopted more than two centuries ago.

    The Bill of Rights—462 words that represent the most potent and powerful rights ever guaranteed to a group of people officially—became part of the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791, because early Americans such as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson understood the need to guard against the government’s inclination to abuse its power.

    Yet the reality we must come to terms with is that in the America we live in today, the government does whatever it wants.

    Make no mistake: if our individual freedoms have been restricted, it is only so that the government’s powers could be expanded at our expense.

    The USA Patriot Act, passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, drove a stake through the heart of the Bill of Rights, violating at least six of the ten original amendments—the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Amendments—and possibly the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, as well. The Patriot Act also redefined terrorism so broadly that many non-terrorist political activities such as protest marches, demonstrations and civil disobedience were considered potential terrorist acts, thereby rendering anyone desiring to engage in protected First Amendment expressive activities as suspects of the surveillance state.

    Since 9/11, we’ve been spied on by surveillance cameras, eavesdropped on by government agents, had our belongings searched, our phones tapped, our mail opened, our email monitored, our opinions questioned, our purchases scrutinized (under the USA Patriot Act, banks are required to analyze your transactions for any patterns that raise suspicion and to see if you are connected to any objectionable people), and our activities watched.

    We’ve also been subjected to invasive patdowns and whole-body scans of our persons and seizures of our electronic devices in the nation’s airports and at border crossings.

    We can’t even purchase certain cold medicine at the pharmacy anymore without it being reported to the government and our names being placed on a watch list.

    Government surveillance, militarized police, SWAT team raids, asset forfeiture, eminent domain, overcriminalization, armed surveillance drones, whole body scanners, stop and frisk searches (all sanctioned by Congress, the White House, the courts and the like), etc.: these are merely the weapons of the police state.

    The power of the police state is dependent on a populace that meekly obeys without question.

    Remember: when it comes to the staggering loss of civil liberties, the Constitution hasn’t changed. Rather, it is the American people who have changed.

    Those who gave us the Constitution and the Bill of Rights believed that the government exists at the behest of its citizens. The government’s purpose is to protect, defend and even enhance our freedoms, not violate them.

    It was no idle happenstance that the Constitution opens with these three powerful words: “We the people.” Those who founded this country knew quite well that every citizen must remain vigilant or freedom would be lost. As Thomas Paine recognized, “It is the responsibility of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”

    You have no rights unless you exercise them.

    Still, you can’t exercise your rights unless you know what those rights are.

    “If Americans do not understand the Constitution and the institutions and processes through which we are governed, we cannot rationally evaluate important legislation and the efforts of our elected officials, nor can we preserve the national unity necessary to meaningfully confront the multiple problems we face today,” warns the Brennan Center in its Civic Literacy Report Card. “Rather, every act of government will be measured only by its individual value or cost, without concern for its larger impact. More and more we will ‘want what we want, and [will be] convinced that the system that is stopping us is wrong, flawed, broken or outmoded.’”

    Education precedes action.

    As the Brennan Center concludes “America, unlike most of the world’s nations, is not a country defined by blood or belief. America is an idea, or a set of ideas, about freedom and opportunity. It is these ideas that bind us together as Americans and have kept us free, strong, and prosperous. But these ideas do not perpetuate themselves. They must be taught and learned anew with each generation.”

    If there is to be any hope for restoring our freedoms and reclaiming our runaway government, we will have to start by breathing life into those three powerful words that set the tone for everything that follows in the Constitution: “we the people.”

    People get the government they deserve.

    It’s up to us.

    We have the power to make and break the government.

    We the American people—the citizenry—are the arbiters and ultimate guardians of America’s welfare, defense, liberty, laws and prosperity.

    It’s time to stop waiting patiently for change to happen.

    We must act—and act responsibly.

    Get outraged, get off your duff and get out of your house, get in the streets, get in people’s faces, get down to your local city council, get over to your local school board, get your thoughts down on paper, get your objections plastered on protest signs, get your neighbors, friends and family to join their voices to yours, get your representatives to pay attention to your grievances, get your kids to know their rights, get your local police to march in lockstep with the Constitution, get your media to act as watchdogs for the people and not lapdogs for the corporate state, get your act together, and get your house in order.

    In other words, get moving. 

    A healthy, representative government is hard work. It takes a citizenry that is informed about the issues, educated about how the government operates, and willing to make the sacrifices necessary to stay involved, whether that means forgoing Monday night football in order to attend a city council meeting or risking arrest by picketing in front of a politician’s office.

    Whatever you do, please don’t hinge your freedoms on politics.

    The Constitution is neutral when it comes to politics. What the Constitution is not neutral about, however, is the government’s duty to safeguard the rights of the citizenry.

    “We the people” also have a duty that goes far beyond the act of voting: as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, it’s our job to keep freedom alive using every nonviolent means available to us.

    Know your rights. Exercise your rights. Defend your rights. If not, you will lose them.

    Freedom’s greatest hour of danger is now.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 21:45

  • Fear Of Failure Is Vital To The Success Of A Free Market Economy
    Fear Of Failure Is Vital To The Success Of A Free Market Economy

    Authored by Artis Shepherd via The Mises Institute,

    It has become popular, especially in certain fields and among certain crowds, to glorify failure. So-called entrepreneurs and social influencers often brag about their failures. Multinational corporations publish poems encouraging failure. Vapid mottos rejecting the fear of failure are ubiquitous on motivational posters and T-shirts.

    These efforts are apparently meant to convey an enterprising spirit and a fearlessness about trying new things in an effort to push the boundaries of a particular field.

    While there’s tremendous value in attempting to achieve something worthwhile despite the risk of failure, failure itself is never the goal. And “learning from our failures” is part of the process of success, not an end in itself. Rejecting the fear of failure is not only impossible but harmful to human achievement.

    They’re from the Government, and They’re Here to Help

    What lies behind the attempt to bypass fear of failure is the perceived lack of any substantial cost to failure. And this lack is precisely why those who spout these trite mottos continue to fail. Rationalizing backward, it’s only natural for them to glorify the result they achieved.

    The reason for this perception of the low cost of failure is that government involvement in every aspect of life has underscored the idea that someone will always be there to provide a safety net.

    Can’t hold a job? Apply for welfare.

    Gained three hundred pounds or twisted your ankle? Get on disability.

    Your industry is falling behind cheaper and more efficient foreign suppliers? No worries, there are tariffs for that.

    Can’t run a profitable company? Lobby the government for subsidies. Still not profitable? Encourage your colleagues in government to print money and create a financial bubble that allows you to use your inflated stock price to pay expenses. Still not profitable? Sell some of that inflated stock and cash in.

    Picked a worthless field of study in school and nobody wants to hire you? Your student loan debt is cancelled.

    And so on.

    Lest the investment community get left out, this concept has carried over into capital markets as well, beginning with the Greenspan put of (mostly) the 1990s—an easing of monetary conditions anytime the stock market declined more than a trivial amount, most notably after the 1987 crash and the bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000. Incidentally, this behavior was mimicked by all of Alan Greenspan’s successors and has had implications for asset prices across the board.

    Burn Your Boats

    Hundreds of years BC, the Macedonian army arrived in Persia to conquer their enemies. Questioning the feasibility of conquering the mighty Persians, the less weighty Macedonian army began to doubt their mission. Under the leadership of Alexander the Great, the decision was made to burn their own boats after landing on the Persian shore, leaving no possible escape. Hernan Cortez reportedly made the same maneuver when conquering the Aztecs nearly two thousand years later.

    What these men knew is that a backup option would only diminish their sense of urgency. Cutting all cords and facing the decision to succeed or die instilled that sense of urgency, and glory followed.

    With time, reliance on government, as opposed to a desire for freedom, has become more commonplace in America. If the trend continues, that reliance will be the source of severe disappointment.

    It’s already the source of a gelded populace that no longer values self-reliance and productive ability.

    The state is incapable of helping anyone or anything but itself, and as Canadian American psychotherapist and writer Nathaniel Branden often has said, “No one is coming to save you.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 21:05

  • Streaming Accounts For Nearly 40% Of US TV Consumption
    Streaming Accounts For Nearly 40% Of US TV Consumption

    Beginning with the success of Netflix‘s all-you-can stream model, there has been a dramatic shift in TV consumption over the past decade.

    Consumers quickly came to appreciate the flexibility, ease-of-use and affordability of Netflix and other streaming services that inevitably followed, making life increasingly hard for broadcast TV networks, cable TV providers and traditional pay-TV channels such as HBO.

    As more and more media companies jumped on the streaming bandwagon, consumers now have a plethora of choices, no matter if they prefer movies and series (Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, etc.), documentaries (Discovery+ and others) or sports (ESPN+, DAZN). With the exception of live sports, which is one of the last strongholds of linear TV, streaming services have taken over a large chunk of TV consumption in the U.S. and around the world.

    As Statista’s Felix Richter reports, according to Nielsen’s The Gauge, a monthly report on TV viewing behavior in the United States, streaming services surpassed cable TV for the first time in July 2022, when it accounted for 34.8 percent of daily TV consumption, versus 34.4 percent for cable and 21.6 percent for broadcast.

    Since then, streaming’s share of TV viewing increased further, peaking at 38.7 percent in July 2023 before declining slightly to 37.5 percent in September.

    Infographic: Streaming Accounts for Nearly 40% of U.S. TV Consumption | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    The decline wasn’t caused by streaming’s weakness, however, but by the start of the college football and NFL season, which provided a big boost to broadcast viewing, which increased its share from 20 percent in July to 23 percent in September.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 20:45

  • America The Obese: How Taxpayers Are Forced To Ruin Their Health
    America The Obese: How Taxpayers Are Forced To Ruin Their Health

    Authored by Stephen Manuszak via The Mises Institute,

    The first piece of legislation passed by the new Congress of the United States of America after the ratification of the Constitution included a tariff on the import of foreign sugar. Although this tariff was passed as a means to raise the funds needed to pay the debts accrued during the Revolutionary War, coincidentally it also provided elaborate protections to the nation’s wealthiest farmers of sugarcane and sugar beets.

    The indirect subsidies afforded to the sugar producers by the Tariff Act of 1789 have been reapproved and signed, now via the Farm Bill, every five years by every available president up to and including Donald J. Trump. For more than two hundred years, these sugar producers in America have been able to sell their product at prices higher than what the market would normally allow. Later this year, President Joe Biden will get the opportunity to put his signature on the bill as well.

    In the late 1960s, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan discovered an enzyme that effectively and easily converted cornstarch into fructose. This technology was ultimately sold to American companies, and in 1983, the Food and Drug Administration approved high fructose corn syrup as safe for consumption. In short order, the food industry took advantage of this cheap, new form of sweetener in extraordinary amounts. Supply of this ersatz sugar became abundant. The market, as you would expect, used this opportunity to undercut the historically high prices of sugar generated by the aforementioned tariff.

    Due to this market opportunity, a new agricultural policy was pushed at the highest levels of the federal government. From 1971 to 1976—under the auspices of Richard Nixon—the secretary of agriculture, a loud, boisterous man named Earl Butz, became famous for conjuring up a new “fencerow to fencerow” policy: maximum production for corn and soy, as the demand for these crops were now high. He pushed farmers to take on debt to buy more land and machines to drive production. Henceforth, lavish government subsidies (by way of the same Farm Bill mentioned earlier) were doled out to corn farmers. Production of these crops skyrocketed, and given the increased supply of corn, sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup became cheaper on the open market.

    To fully understand how governmental policies lead to adverse health effects, it is important to understand how the human body metabolizes different types of sugar. The most abundant sugar on earth is glucose, a six-carbon hexagonal sugar, which has been what our bodies have mainly adapted to and utilized for energy production. Fructose, a five-carbon pentagon, is another sugar found in nature, natural to many foods and another source of energy for the body. Similarly, both glucose and fructose are broken down in the body during metabolism by a biochemical pathway called glycolysis.

    However, due to its shape, fructose happens to bypass a key early enzyme in the biochemical pathway that can serve as a check on energy production. Therefore, a fructose molecule entering glycolysis becomes metabolized and stored faster and easier than glucose. Overall, excess fructose ingestion leads to excess fat in the body.

    That is precisely what we have seen scaled up from the molecular level all the way to the population level: soaring rates of obesity driven primarily by excessive sugar consumption. Today, Americans consume an average of 130 pounds of added sugar per year, much of that coming by way of fructose. This is a sharp uptick from the 1970s, when average yearly consumption was closer to eighty pounds.

    Likewise, obesity has skyrocketed since the 1970s. The obesity epidemic continues to worsen, quickly approaching a 50 percent prevalence in the country.

    Obesity can increase one’s chances of developing diabetes, heart disease, peripheral vascular disease, renal failure, serious infections (e.g., worse covid outcomes), osteoarthritis, stroke, blindness, different forms of cancer, and depression, and the list continues on. Obesity not only shortens life expectancy but also decreases quality of life, especially by putting financial strain on the individual. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the annual medical costs for adults with obesity were $1,861 higher than medical costs for people with healthy weight.

    Obesity is also putting financial strain on the society writ large. The CDC reported the annual medical cost of obesity was nearly $173 billion in 2019 dollars; in all likelihood, this is an underestimate. Looking at the US fiscal year budget as a pie chart, one of the largest slices of the budget goes to Medicare and Medicaid. It is no surprise to find the national debt increasing to unfathomable heights.

    Policies put forth by the national government have real-world consequences, sometimes taking decades or even centuries – if you care to draw cause and effect back to the Tariff Act of 1789 – to fully manifest. It is both sad and almost comical to have the American taxpayer subsidizing the sugarcane and sugar beet industries—which puts upward pressure on the price of sugar—to then subsidizing the corn industry in order to undercut these high sugar prices, only later for the taxpayer to be taxed again to fund Medicare and Medicaid in the government’s attempt to curb the health fallout from obesity.

    Many will cheer the president, from both the high-spending Left and profarmer Right, as he places his John Hancock on the Farm Bill that is due for renewal this year. Understand, however, that subsidizing farmers to mass produce corn is one of the largest drivers of health and economic decline in our nation.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 20:25

  • Mysterious Military Flights Between Israel, Lebanon Observed: Report
    Mysterious Military Flights Between Israel, Lebanon Observed: Report

    Via The Cradle,

    Mysterious foreign military cargo flights, potentially carrying equipment for use against Hezbollah, continue to land at the Beirut and Hamat airports, Al-Akhbar reported on Tuesday.

    Between the 14th and 20th of November, nine planes from various NATO countries were recorded landing at Beirut and Hamat airports, including several flying from Tel Aviv, according to IntelSky, a website monitoring aircraft movement in the region.

    Sources speaking with Al-Akhbar said the cargo included devices used for jamming, which raises questions about the reason for their transport to Lebanon and whether they will be used to disrupt the communications network of Hezbollah in the event of an escalation of the fighting with Israel in Lebanon’s south.

    A US Air Force plane carrying weapons and equipment for the Lebanese army, arrives at a Lebanese air force base, in Beirut airport, Lebanon, February 13, 2019. Image: American Embassy in Lebanon via AP

    Since the October 7 Hamas attack on settlements surrounding Gaza, in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 more taken captive, Israel and Hezbollah have engaged in deadly tit-for-tat clashes on the Lebanese-Israel border area.

    Hezbollah’s communication network played a key role during the July 2006 war against Israel, which later led to US pressure on the government of then-Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora to call for dismantling the resistance group’s communications network in 2008.

    The same sources speaking with Al-Akhbar confirmed that the security authorities at Beirut and Hamat airports do not seriously inspect the cargo of the planes that land, with Hamat Air Base lacking even a scanning device. The final destination of the cargo in Lebanon is also unknown.

    IntelSky reported that the movement of foreign military aircraft is proceeding at a level that Lebanon had not witnessed in years. Between October 8 and November 10, 32 planes landed, nine of which belonged to the US, Dutch, and British Air Forces and landed at the Hamat base, and 23 planes belonging to the US, French, Dutch, Spanish, Canadian, Italian, and Saudi armies landed at the base designated for military and diplomatic aircraft on the west side of Beirut Airport.

    Although Lebanese law prohibits direct flights between Lebanon and Israel, Intelsky monitored three planes landing at Beirut Airport originating in Tel Aviv.

    A British Royal Air Force Airbus A400M Atlas landed in Beirut on 14 November, coming from Tel Aviv. The plane carried out a “touch and go” operation (touching the runway and taking off directly without stopping) at a British military base in Cyprus to technically comply with Lebanese law banning direct flights from Israel.

    After taking off from Beirut, the plane returned to Tel Aviv after carrying out another touch-and-go operation at the British base in Akrotiri, Cyprus.

    On November 16, a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III also flew from Tel Aviv to Beirut. The Intelsky website recorded that the plane allegedly landed in Cyprus as well but disappeared from radars before landing and reappeared after the supposed take-off. The plane was absent from radars over Larnaca for 4 minutes at an altitude of 1,264 meters, suggesting it did not land in Cyprus.

    On November 21, a British Royal Air Force (Airbus A400M Atlas landed in Beirut after making only a camouflaged landing in Akrotiri, at an altitude of only 375 meters above the base, which means that the flight violated Lebanese law and was in effect a direct flight from Tel Aviv to Beirut.

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

    It should be noted that daily flights between the Akrotiri base and Tel Aviv have been recorded since the outbreak of the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation on October 7.

    Al-Akhbar notes these flights raise suspicions about whether these trips are part of a broader strategy related to the conflict with Israel and may be intended to enhance the military capabilities of some parties in the region working on behalf of Israel and NATO, or to provide them with logistical support that includes transporting necessary equipment and supplies.

    The Israeli army has not commented on the flight, except for a statement issued on November 10 confirming that “part of the air traffic at the airport is a routine movement to transfer military aid to the Lebanese army.”

    The statement was issued after the Intelsky website monitored the movement of foreign military aircraft at a level that Lebanon had not witnessed in years. Between the 8th of last October and the 10th of this month, 32 planes landed, 9 of which belonged to the American, Dutch, and British Air Forces and landed at the Hamat base, and 23 planes belonging to the American, French, Dutch, Spanish, Canadian, Italian, and Saudi armies landed at the base designated for military and diplomatic aircraft on the west side of Beirut Airport.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 20:05

  • Why You Should Read 1984 (Again)
    Why You Should Read 1984 (Again)

    Authored by Nesrine Assani via BitcoinMagazine.com,

    If you care at all about privacy, sovereignty, and freedom, the lessons of George Orwell’s 1984 are more relevant than they ever have been…

    Despite being published in 1949 at the tail end of World War II, I think George Orwell’s fictional novel, 1984, is still as relevant today as it was back then.

    The book is set in the fictional state of Oceania, where a dystopian future has taken over the reins of society. The leader of the nation, Big Brother, keeps a constant eye on citizens, making sure that they think, act, and speak precisely how they should further the aims of the rulers.

    Governed by the Party, the people of Oceania have no form of freedom, not in the way they think, the way they speak, or in what they do.

    I believe (and I am not the only one) in the current state of our society, with data collection and the monitoring of all online activities, we’re not too far off from the problems facing those in the work of fiction. However, there may be hope in the power of Bitcoin as a means to create our version of freedom.

    THE POWER OF TOTALITARIANISM

    Totalitarianism is a political regime governed entirely by the state, with no input from citizens other than to be quiet and obey. According to the Party, the governing system in place in the novel, individuals need to be controlled and constantly monitored in order to make sure they are fulfilling their roles at the hands of the Party.

    In other words, every decision, no matter how small or inconsequential, by those in the working class is to be made by what the Party wishes to achieve. In the novel, one of these ideals is to create a world where individualism does not have a role, and anyone who transgresses or disobeys this ideal is subject to elimination – quite literally.

    The main character, Winston Smith, fulfills his duty at the Ministry of Truth by erasing defiant individuals from the history books and rendering them nonexistent in the past, present, and future.

    Another feature of Oceania’s totalitarian government is its omnipresent surveillance of everyone’s lives, through the obtrusive Telescreen, which monitors the every move of individuals, the brains behind the governing system can control and manipulate how citizens are meant to behave.

    I think it’s apparent that this constant monitoring and loss of privacy depicted in the novel resonates with current concerns about data collection by governments and corporations.

    Anything that we do online, whether we give consent or not, is tracked and analyzed under the guise of data collection. Our personal information is also collected for market research and seemingly used to help us by providing more targeted advertising.

    But just how helpful is all of this data collection to the average person? Some might say it is not beneficial, like Edward Snowden, who publicly raised concerns about protecting our privacy.

    INFORMATION MANIPULATION AND DEFORMATION

    In 1984, the Ministry of Truth used information manipulation as a powerful weapon of control. History is rewritten on a daily basis, and propaganda is spewed in a bid to influence the decisions of citizens.

    Smith, as an employee of the Ministry of Truth, is at the forefront of this information deformation at the beginning of the book.

    As the novel progresses, we see the damaging effects of big data manipulation. Not only in his work but also in his personal life, when he questions his life and work seriously.

    Does this manipulation of information remind you of something? It should be because the spread of fake news and disinformation on social media is a cause for significant concern in political, economic, and social spaces.

    Social media platforms, which are accessed by 60.49% of people in the world, are being used to disseminate conspiracy theories and misleading information through the use of various techniques, including deep fakes.

    In turn, this influences public opinion and contributes to the creation of an alternative reality that is often distorted.

    REPRESSION OF DISSIDENT THOUGHT

    Dissident thought is a fundamental feature of the totalitarian regime in Orwell’s 1984. It points to the repression of independent thinking and mindless information consumption without questioning its validity.

    An example of this repression is found in doublethink, a process whereby the Party controls the ideas and thoughts of individuals.

    Doublethink, as portrayed by Orwell, presents two opposing ideas as the truth. For example, the Party’s slogan is War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.

    In modern debates about freedom of expression, we see the repression of opposing thought patterns more and more. Hate speech and extremist ideas are disregarded and even censored in some countries.

    This is in direct opposition to what freedom of speech means. See how two different things are being sold as one?

    To avoid this doublethink mentality, we need to preserve freedom of thought and maintain a safe space for ideas to be expressed and debated, regardless of whether they fit in with the narratives of government or not.

    THE POWER OF RESISTANCE

    As Smith goes through his internal struggles around the freedom to think and do as he pleases, we see a more concerted effort from his side to deny the Party what they want: obedience to the rule of law.

    While he never quite gets to reach the freedom that he desires due to the suppression of his rebellion, there is a lesson to be learned from his actions. It demonstrates the power of individual resistance and the knock-on effects it can have on your immediate community.

    In the present day, it’s worth reminding ourselves that every individual has the power to make a difference – in their own lives and the lives of those around them.

    Social movements and widespread protests, which gain even more traction through social media platforms, are examples of how citizens can come together to defend their rights and fight against injustices. As Orwell said: “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

    For Julian Assange and Wikileaks, they realized the power that they had to change the status quo. Furthermore, they recognized the role that independent thinkers have when it comes to funding the distribution of materials that encourage dissident thought.

    It was during this time that the community supporting Assange used Bitcoin to raise the necessary money to keep Wikileaks going, as institution after institution censored Wikileaks and all of those associated with it.

    WHAT ABOUT BITCOIN?

    When I got to the end of 1984, there was a lingering thought that Orwell could not have written this fiction if Bitcoin had been around in the late 1940s.

    People who are able to exchange money and do transactions without the need for a central bank have no obligation to obey or be totally submissive to whichever Party is controlling the money.

    This results in the government losing much of its power as the need to print or create more money falls away.

    The themes and warnings in Orwell’s 1984 are still relevant today – maybe even more so. From the dangers of totalitarianism and information distortion to the repression of freedom of speech and thought, the novel still has many lessons to teach us in today’s society.

    The government does not want us to know we have a right to fight for financial freedom. The proof of this is in the ongoing social and legal persecution of Assange, Snowden, and Ross Ulbricht, who are all committed to the ideals of freedom in movement and speech.

    Orwell’s novel reminds us of the importance of freedom, privacy, and resistance in the face of oppression. It also helps us to understand the challenges our society faces and how we can work together to co-create a fairer and more enlightened future.

    And maybe, just maybe, Bitcoin can help us to achieve the free and fair world that we all deserve.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 19:45

  • In First, US Deployed AC-130 Gunship To Attack Pro-Iran Militants In Iraq
    In First, US Deployed AC-130 Gunship To Attack Pro-Iran Militants In Iraq

    The US deployed an AC-130 gunship over Iraqi territory in response to fresh attacks by Iranian-backed militia fighters who attacked an air base west of Baghdad housing US troops. The incident happened Monday night but was revealed in a Tuesday Pentagon briefing.

    “Ain al-Asad air base was attacked by a close-range ballistic missile that resulted in eight injuries and minor damage to infrastructure, two U.S. officials said,” as cited in international reports. 

    AC-130 military file image

    Already the Pentagon had said at least 60 personnel had suffered minor injuries or in some cases ‘traumatic brain injury’ in dozens of attacks going back to mid-October. 

    Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh confirmed in a Tuesday press briefing, “The United States responded using an AC-130 aircraft already in the air and it hit an Iranian-backed militia vehicle and a number of personnel involved in the attack.”

    She described that the AC-130 was able to track the point of origin for the attack in real-time, resulting in firing back on the militants’ positions.

    Singh said that this is the first publicly revealed US military retaliation on Iraqi soil in response to the recent spate of attacks. She indicated there have been other instances which haven’t been disclosed.

    The Pentagon has responded in three major instances against militant groups in Eastern Syria, after a series of attacks on small US bases there. 

    Currently the US has an estimated 900 troops in Syria and 2,500 in Iraq. However, there are likely thousands more private military contractors and intelligence and State Dept personnel in both countries as well.

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    Both the Syrian and Iranian governments, as well as Russia, have condemned the US troops presence in Syria as an illegal occupation and resource theft, considering also the US has control of Syria’s oil and gas regions. The US has meanwhile sought to justify it by framing it as a ‘counter ISIS’ mission or else to ‘counter Iranian influence’.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 19:25

  • The Great (Freedom) Reset Has Begun
    The Great (Freedom) Reset Has Begun

    Submitted by QTR’s Fringe Finance

    The global economy, and more importantly, the entire world as we know it, is about to undergo a seismic shift toward freedom. In this article, I wanted to lay out why I believe this to be, how it will happen, and why I think this week may have marked step one of a long journey in the right direction.

    That journey eventually ends in the dethroning of the likes of globalists, with the head of that snake represented by the likes of Klaus Schwab, central banks, and the lobotomized far left maniacs that have lobbied for “Great Reset” that eventually results in the loss of one or more (read: all) of our civil liberties and our current quality of life.

    By now you probably know that Javier Milei, an outspoken and eccentric libertarian, has won Argentina’s presidency after promising to aggressively tackle inflation, shutter the country’s central bank, end woke culture and significantly reduce government.

    Garnering 55.69% of the vote he crushed the center-left candidate Sergio Massa. Milei’s victory signals a bold new direction for South America’s second-largest economy that Milei has called Argentina’s “reconstruction”.

    Most important and least mentioned this week is that under the wild exterior, Milei has it where it counts: he has two masters degrees and has “been a professor of macroeconomics, economics of growth, microeconomics, and mathematics for economists” with specializations in economic growth. He has held prominent roles in various financial and government sectors, too. He was the chief economist at Máxima AFJP, a private pension firm, and at Estudio Broda, a financial advisory. He also consulted for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and was a senior economist at HSBC Argentina.

    In other words, the “bold” financial ideas aren’t just bluster. They just seem like that to the rest of the world because Milei knows the actual solution to his nation’s problem just happens to be starkly different from the path it (and many other nations) have gone down.

    The event was covered heavily in the news because of Milei’s outspoken demeanor and explosive personality, but something far more meaningful is taking place under the surface. In my opinion, Argentina is the first of many dominoes that will fall, leading the world toward a new “Great Reset”—one that prioritizes liberty and freedom instead of big governments and collectivism.

    Some people I have spoken with this week believe that Argentina is too small of a country to make a global difference. They believe that the country’s government will gridlock with Milei in office, and that even if the country finds success from smaller government, pro-liberty policies, and a focus on Austrian economics, it won’t be meaningful enough to move the needle on a global scale.

    While these people are probably right regarding the dollar amount that Argentina contributes to global GDP, they are wrong from a philosophical perspective. Argentina isn’t going to drive global change via monetary brute force. Instead, it’s going to be an ideological example that the rest of the world can watch unfold successfully, in turn becoming a beacon of the prosperous path for the rest of the world to follow.


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    Argentina is in a unique position because it is essentially having a great reset of its own. The country is in the midst of overhauling its entire financial system and adopting the US dollar, and it is considering stripping its government down to the studs. Furthermore, its new president is one of the very few Austrian economists in recent history to take the reins of a major country in the world’s purview.

    In other words, Argentina is literally going to put libertarian principles—small government, sound money, economic fundamentals, and personal freedom—into practice. It’s the world libertarian petri dish for the next few years and the rest of us can, and will, watch very closely. We’re all about to get some real-world, tangible clinical study results about the right versus left debate we’ve been having for decades. If Argentina fails spectacularly, it will be a warning to the rest of the world about these policies. But if Argentina becomes a raging success, it should serve as a lesson on which policies function best in practice.

    All I can say is I hope 2024 voters in the U.S. are watching closely. The Argentina stock market soared on Monday after Milei was elected, already lending optimism to the notion that libertarian principles stoke a vibrant, free market economy.

    In the United States, less regulation and less taxation would likely stoke the same type of response. In fact, we saw it with the Trump tax cuts years ago: the market rallied what felt like every single day of the beginning of Trump’s presidency, due to the expectation of the economic benefit of these policies. Now, at a time when most Americans are struggling financially, this lesson needs to be paid attention to more now than ever.

    In short, if you want the stock market to go up, vote for less regulation and less taxation. While the Republican party has played along with the central banks’ charade just as much as the Democrats, it is certainly the better of the two parties when it comes to eliminating red tape and unleashing the nation’s economy.

    The timing of Argentina’s election is tough to ignore. In some respects, it feels like they are just several more years down the road than the US is. If you look at what I believe to be the biggest problems with the United States economy—namely, that it is bloated, spending is beyond repair, and we are abusing our privileges as the world’s reserve currency and overclocking the fiat currency machine —it seems pretty simple to draw a straight line to a financial disaster similar to the inflationary one that Argentina has suffered. Everybody knows what the fixes for the problem are—less spending and conservative monetary and fiscal policy—but nobody has the balls to implement it.

    Argentina is about to give us a lesson on what libertarian courage can do for an economy.


    And it isn’t just the economy in the United States that feels like it’s on the verge of breaking. Society feels more precarious now than it has ever been. The divide between parties, and the polarization in the United States, feels like it is at all-time highs.

    I had poignant conversation with a gentleman in his 60s at a bar I went to over the weekend. After exchanging pleasantries, our conversation turned to a breezy chat about the state of our nation. The man immediately stopped and looked at me, his tone and demeanor changing starkly just seconds after the topic came up. He looked me in the eye and said that he feels as though, in our lifetime, we are going to see another major terrorist attack on our nation. But, he said, the only difference between such attacks in the past and today is that he was certain there would be an entire faction of Americans that would actually celebrate an attack on their own home country.

    In other words, a large portion of the nation has simply lost its love and its reverence for what the United States stands for.

    And it isn’t just the economy in the United States that feels like it’s on the verge of breaking. Society feels more precarious now than it has ever been— the divide between parties, and the polarization in the United States, feels like it is at all-time highs.

    I had an appointment conversation with a gentleman in his 60s at a bar I went to over the weekend. After exchanging pleasantries, our conversation turned to a breezy chat about the state of our nation. The man stopped and looked at me, his tone changing and demeanor changing starkly just seconds later. He looked me in the eye and said that he feels as though in our lifetime, we are still going to see a major terrorist attack on our nation. He said the only difference between attacks that happened years ago and today is that he was certain there would be an entire faction of Americans that would actually celebrate an attack on their own home country. In other words, a large portion of the nation has simply lost its love, and its reverence for what the United States stands for.

    Sadly, I almost instantly agreed with him. After watching the bizarre left-wing reaction to the October 7 attacks in Israel, I can’t help but believe that he’s right. The left has gone so far left, they don’t even know what they are fighting for anymore.

    Like a dog chasing its tail, they have wound themselves up and become so dizzy and drunk on the narcissism of virtue signaling and “social activism”, they have completely lost their compass. All they know is that they will protest the country and capitalism during the day, and then go out and enjoy the spoils of both by night. It is an unrelenting, crystal clear exercise in hypocrisy that we see every day just by turning on social media or the news.

    In any relationship, there has to be a baseline level of respect and courtesy.

    Friendships and intimate relationships are constantly tested but the ones that last survive because they have a baseline level of respect that allows for the space to work through complex problems using critical thinking and dialogue. The far left has lost that baseline of basic respect and gratitude for what the nation has provided them. They are disgusted by the flag, they don’t stand for the national anthem, and they are actively working to unwind the basic functions our founders built the nation on that made it such a success story to begin with.

    That type of wanton disrespect elicits a response in kind not just from Republicans, but also from people that are left-leaning centrists.

    Milei got the votes of his country’s centrists running on that basic level of courtesy and respect for moral laws, the laws of his nation, human rights, and freedom. When the center-left pushes against the far left, the result is libertarianism or conservatives getting elected.

    And our center-left in the United States is already pushing against our far left. Many lifetime Jewish Democrats are rethinking their relationship with the party after many of its members chose to back Palestine and tacitly stick up for Hamas after October 7. Even Senator John Fetterman, who is one of my least favorite politicians and is hardly a centrist in my opinion, has pushed back against his own party for their radical views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Mike Johnson were part of a bipartisan committee that came together in a show of support for Israel. The house officially censured Representative Rashida Tlaib for her remarks about Palestine. And finally, the proof is in the pudding: new polling shows Donald Trump pulling ahead of Joe Biden in the race for office in 2024.

    Argentina feels like it is a country that has hit the same inflection points, both socially and economically, that the United States is heading for. Their solution was to elect a man that would, as I mentioned above, “strip the country back down to the studs”. That expression is important because it doesn’t mean demolish the whole house, which is what the far left wants to do. It is instead analogous to stripping down a house to the bare foundation that can still hold it up structurally.

    Our nation’s structure is our constitution, which ensures our freedom and liberty. Libertarians and conservatives are the two parties that generally want to do away with any gratuitous and unnecessary additions to our nation’s founding principles. Ergo, it is easy to make a case for why our nation may elect a conservative president in 2024. If they don’t, it just means our nation hasn’t learned its lesson yet, and it may take four more years and more social and economic austerity to get that point across. But at some point in time, our nation will have a “straw that breaks the camel’s back” moment and we will wind up with a political reset the likes of which Argentina just put into place.


    If Argentina thrives in coming years, it’ll be easier to make the case that it has arrived at the right decision, the best practices for a nation are the ones that we put into place in 1776 and that mostly everything else has been counterintuitive, inefficient, wasteful, or pointless.

    The important thing is that with the bifurcation of the world and many individual nations at the widest it’s ever been, if Argentina winds up a success, it will serve to be an example for everyone else looking to change the path their respective nation is heading down.

    And in a world that left-wing lunatics would happily turn over to a globalist government, the IMF, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the World Economic Forum, Milei’s forthcoming marks as president of Argentina may wind up going down in history as the proverbial silver bullet that frees the world from the tyrannical grasp of collectivism.

    Thank you for reading QTR’s Fringe Finance. This post is public so feel free to share it: Share

    QTR’s Disclaimer: I am an idiot and often get things wrong and lose money. I may own or transact in any names mentioned in this piece at any time without warning. Contributor posts and aggregated posts have not been fact checked and are the opinions of their authors. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stocks or securities, just my opinions. I often lose money on positions I trade/invest in. I may add any name mentioned in this article and sell any name mentioned in this piece at any time, without further warning. None of this is a solicitation to buy or sell securities. These positions can change immediately as soon as I publish this, with or without notice. You are on your own. Do not make decisions based on my blog. I exist on the fringe. The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. These are not the opinions of any of my employers, partners, or associates. I did my best to be honest about my disclosures but can’t guarantee I am right; I write these posts after a couple beers sometimes. Also, I just straight up get shit wrong a lot. I mention it twice because it’s that important.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 19:05

  • New York State AG Suing Pepsi For "Excessive Pollution"
    New York State AG Suing Pepsi For “Excessive Pollution”

    Having solved crime, homelessness, high inflation and taxes in the New York City, the state is moving on to the issues that voters really care about. The New York State AG last week announced it was suing Pepsi for “endangering public health with its single-use plastic products” and “excessive pollution”.

    Fox News reported last week that the lawsuit, filed in Erie County and publicly announced last Wednesday, stands as one of the first of its kind in the United States, specifically targeting a significant plastic manufacturer. The litigation aims to compel PepsiCo to contribute to the cleanup of pollution and compensate for the damages incurred, particularly around the Buffalo River.

    Additionally, the lawsuit seeks a court order to restrict the sale of single-use plastics by PepsiCo, unless these products are sold with clear warnings about their potential environmental and health risks. The state hopes that not only will your cigarettes come with warnings about your health and cancer risks, but your bottle of Pepsi sitting at the dinner table will also come with warnings about “environmental” risks. 

    This information was disclosed by the office of State Attorney General Letitia James in a statement released on Wednesday.

    Attorney General Letitia James’ office commented: “No company is too big to ensure that their products do not damage our environment and public health. All New Yorkers have a basic right to clean water, yet PepsiCo’s irresponsible packaging and marketing endanger Buffalo’s water supply, environment, and public health.”

    The statement continued: “Once ingested, microplastics permeate deep into our bodies, blood and organs, and can even be transferred from the placenta into unborn children. Exposure to microplastics and the chemicals they carry can cause a wide range of adverse health effects, from reproductive dysfunction to inflammation of the intestine and neurotoxic effects.” 

    “When you spill toxic waste on land or in the water, we have laws that require that the polluter pay for the cleanup. This is no different,” added Judith Enck, the president of the advocacy group Beyond Plastics.

    From 2013 to 2022, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper (BNW) discovered that approximately 78% of the waste they encountered was plastic, with a significant portion identifiable as PepsiCo products, according to a recent statement.

    In 2022 alone, BNW found 1,916 pieces of plastic litter, with 17% purportedly originating from PepsiCo brands. The lawsuit also cites claims by the organization Break Free From Plastic, which names PepsiCo as a leading source of these plastics nationwide from 2018 to 2022.

    Based in Westchester County, New York, PepsiCo produces over 85 beverage and 25 snack food brands, with the majority of these products packaged in single-use plastic, as reported by the office.

    BNW Executive Director Jill Jedlicka commented that Buffalo has “fought for over 50 years to secure hundreds of millions of dollars to clean up toxic pollution, improve habitat and restore communities around the Buffalo River.” 

    She added: “We will not sit idly by as our waterways become polluted again, this time from ever-growing single-use plastic pollution. We applaud [the New York State Attorney General’s Office] for holding producers accountable for this relentless assault on the environment and local waterways.” 

    A Pepsi spokesperson told Fox the company is “serious about plastic reduction and effective recycling” and has been “transparent on [its] journey to reduce use of plastic and accelerate new packaging innovation.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 18:45

  • Media Matters And The Fake News Era Go To Court: Taibbi
    Media Matters And The Fake News Era Go To Court: Taibbi

    Authored by Matt Taibbi via Racket News,

    On Tuesday, X/Twitter filed a lawsuit against Media Matters for America (MMfA), the media arm of political smear artist David Brock.

    Brock made his living in the nineties attacking Democrats, pushing the Paula Jones story and writing The Seduction of Hillary Rodham, until announcing a religious conversion via his 1997 Esquire piece “Confessions of a Right-Wing Hitman” and moving to team blue to head up orgs like Media Matters and Correct the Record. Brock is a unique figure in our history, as perhaps no American has ever turned his face so completely inside out in public.

    I can’t indulge in homilies to Elon Musk’s X as a haven for free speech while he also continues to suppress disfavored accounts (including all Substack contributors), but the X suit at least has a chance of becoming a referendum on serious forms of media manipulation. The X allegations, which obviously need proving out, detail in microcosm a phenomenon that’s been unpleasantly familiar to Americans since about 2016. We’ve grown used to a Twilight Zone existence in which nearly every news story of consequence, from Nord Stream to Bountygate to sonic weapons in Cuba, the Dancing Syringe Panic to “Russia Trying to Help Bernie Sanders” to the pee tape have the feel of invented stories. Later, they’re often proved to be, and worse, we’ve been conditioned to forgive the institutions caught routing such fakes our way, and salute the next narratives sent up the flagpole. The method is never put on trial.

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    In this case, it might be. MMfA is accused of creating a news story, reporting on it, then propagandizing it to willing partners in the mainstream press. Again, the X allegations need to hold up in an adversarial process, but the company claims to have fully captured a dollhouse version of a generation’s larger media frauds, making this a fascinating case to watch. From the suit:

    Media Matters… exclusively followed a small subset of users consisting entirely of accounts in one of two categories: those known to produce extreme, fringe content, and accounts owned by X’s big-name advertisers. The end result was a feed precision-designed by Media Matters for a single purpose: to produce side-by-side ad/content placements that it could screenshot in an effort to alienate advertisers…

    Media Matters therefore resorted to endlessly scrolling and refreshing its unrepresentative, hand-selected feed … until it finally received pages containing the result it wanted: controversial content next to X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts.

    The described activity allegedly preceded the November 16 Media Matters article, “As Musk endorses antisemitic conspiracy theory, X has been placing ads for Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity next to pro-Nazi content.” The piece, which now brandishes gloating editor’s notes pointing out that Apple and IBM have since paused ads on X, included a key screenshot seemingly designed to freak out advertisers:

    This whole thing would be merely a petty spat between political antagonists, except Media Matters has been a major driver of this general type of story, in which an offense is first invented, then made the focus of ginned-up outrage, then massively propagandized via unscrupulous press partners. The technique has been used to suppress interest in damaging revelations but more often to destroy or defame political figures on the right (Donald Trump), left (Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Sanders) and in between (Tulsi Gabbard, for instance).

    As our own Matt Orfalea pointed out yesterday, Media Matters had a key part in one larger known con, being a primary trafficker in stories sourced to Hamilton 68, the phony “dashboard” purporting to track Russian bots created by the Alliance for Securing Democracy and New Knowledge. MMfA also pushed info from the Steele reports, hyped Steele-generated details like the “Michael Cohen in Prague” story, bashed figures who dared question the “collusion” narrative, and even went after reporter Jeff Gerth for writing a Columbia Journalism Review opus about Russiagate reporting snafus via headlines highlighting how much “Trump and right-wing media amplified” the “questionable” CJR story.

    * * *

    The defining paradox of the fake news/“anti-disinformation” era is that the people deemed authorities on what is and is not fake news consistently prove to be, themselves, purveyors of the product. Their episodes have mostly involved media tales too far-reaching to litigate. This case is small and contained enough to fit in an ordinary courtroom. Irrespective of one’s feelings about X/Twitter, this Media Matters suit could be a long-overdue chance to put the venomous and generationally influential David Brock media machine on trial. For once, MMfA does matter.

    Subscribers to Racket News can read the entire post here.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 18:25

  • Rival Anthropic Rejects OpenAI Board's Merger Offer, Report Says 
    Rival Anthropic Rejects OpenAI Board’s Merger Offer, Report Says 

    After the unexpected firing of former OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday, OpenAI’s board of directors approached Dario Amodei, the co-founder and CEO of rival large-language model developer Anthropic, about a merger of the two companies, according to a report by The Information, which cited a “person with direct knowledge.”

    The person said OpenAI’s board approached Amodei after they fired Altman on Friday. They noted the deal was sweetened to allow Amodei to replace Altman as CEO. 

    The Information reported Amodei declined the offer, adding, “It’s not clear whether the merger proposal led to any serious discussion.” 

    Reuters also reported Amodei declined the offer, citing two people briefed on the matter. 

    OpenAI’s board of directors replaced Altman on Sunday with ex-Twitch CEO Emmett Shear. Then, on Monday, Altman joined a new advanced AI research team at Microsoft, as well as other OpenAI staff, ‘to continue the mission’: 

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    Later on Monday, 700 OpenAI employees threatened to resign if the board that ousted Altman did not change. The employees represent about 90% of OpenAI’s workforce, and if a mass exodus occurs, it would cripple the startup. They noted in a letter to the board: 

    Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI. We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees. We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary run by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join. We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.

    As for Altman’s return, the crypto-powered Polymarket betting website shows a 52% chance. 

    Only 5% odds Altman will sue OpenAI. 

    About 2% odds Altman was fired due to a data leak/privacy issue. 

    Altman’s sister? 

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    Let’s not forget Anthropic is FTX-backed. 

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    Why is OpenAI’s board scrambling? 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 18:05

  • Courts Pave Way For New York Quarantine Camps: Plaintiffs' Attorney
    Courts Pave Way For New York Quarantine Camps: Plaintiffs’ Attorney

    Authored by Bobbie Anne Flower Cox, who represented the plaintiffs in this case, via the Brownstone Institute,

    I hope you are sitting down when you read this article.

    There is absolutely no way I can possibly sugar coat this, so I’ll just be frank… The NYS Supreme Court Appellate Division’s Fourth Judicial Department has issued their ruling in our quarantine lawsuit against Governor Hochul and her Department of Health, and they have ruled against the will of the people!

    If you feel like you just got sucker-punched in the gut, join the club, my friends.

    The court has dismissed our lawsuit, not because we are wrong in our arguments… no, no, indeed we are dead-right. In fact, the court did not even touch the merits of the case. How could they? Instead, the court unbelievably ruled that my plaintiffs somehow do not have standing to sue! If your brain is racing a hundred miles an hour right now trying to figure this out, don’t worry, you are definitely not alone.

    Every single person I have told about this court ruling, from my plaintiffs, to fellow attorneys, to family members, and so on, has been downright flabbergasted. Rightfully so. One of my family members told me I needed to break it down for her, like she was a Kindergartener. I’ll do the same for you now, because this issue is so crucial for you to understand, and then for you to explain to others.

    What the Appellate Division court is saying by reversing the lower court and then dismissing our case for lack of standing is that they believe that Senator George Borrello, Assemblyman Chris Tague, Congressman Mike Lawler, and the citizens’ group Uniting NYS did not have the right to bring this lawsuit last year against the Governor and her DOH for their heinous “Isolation and Quarantine Procedures” regulation.

    Why not? Because according to this court, my plaintiffs were not injured by the regulation. Why not? Because the court seems to insinuate that the only person with the right to sue is someone who has been forcibly locked in their home against their will, or ripped from their home, taken from their loved ones, and thrown into a quarantine detention center, facility, institution, camp, etc. (pick your noun, doesn’t matter).

    The court insinuates that apparently only that person would be injured. Not my plaintiffs. The reason their “logic” is flawed is because we sued pursuant to the separation of powers doctrine, arguing that the Governor and her DOH lacked the constitutional authority to make that horrendous regulation in the first place.

    In other words, in short, my legislator-plaintiffs were injured because Hochul and her DOH (Executive Branch) stole the legislators’ power to make law (Legislative Branch) when they created the quarantine reg which was a law (despite the fact that the DOH called it a regulation). The trial court correctly ruled in our favor last summer, and struck the reg down for that exact reason, amongst others.

    If you are still scratching your head wondering how on earth is it possible that the Executive Branch stealing a power from the Legislative Branch does not constitute an injury to the members of the legislature, then join the club! Of note, it was so obvious to the trial court judge last year that my plaintiffs had standing, that he didn’t even discuss it in his decision. You can read that decision here if you’re interested.

    Congressman Lawler, Assemblyman Tague, Bobbie Anne Cox, Esq, Senator Borrello

    Q&A…

    I’m sure you have a thousand questions, so I’ll try to predict and answer some here:

    • Which court issued this decision?
      • It is the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, in the Fourth Judicial Department. It is the middle court in the three levels of NYS courts, meaning, we began last year at the trial court level (NYS Supreme Court in Cattaraugas County). We won there. Then the Governor appealed to the next court which is the Appellate Division, and that is who reversed the trial court, and dismissed our lawsuit.
    • Who were the judges?
      • It was a panel of 5 judges that decided the appeal. They are all appointed by a governor. On my panel I had 2 Hochul appointees, 2 Cuomo appointees, and 1 Pataki appointee. You can watch the oral arguments from September here. The Attorney General’s office argued first and starts at 48:00 minute mark. Then I was next, and that starts at 1:02:35 mark.
    • Is there another court above this one that I can appeal to now?
      • Yes. The final and highest court in New York State is the Court of Appeals. It sits in Albany, and is presided over by a panel of 7 judges. They, too, are all appointed by a governor. They do not hear all cases that apply to the court (similar to the US Supreme Court), so I would have to draft a motion to try to convince the high Court to hear our case!
    • Now that this court overturned the lower court’s decision, will Rule 2.13 (the quarantine regulation) be reinstated?
      • Unfortunately, this court has opened the door and paved the way for Hochul and her DOH to reissue this anti-freedom, anti-American regulation. Fire at will, is what the court has proverbially told them. There is nothing stopping the tyranny of the Executive Branch now.
    • Does Rule 2.13 allow Hochul and her DOH to set up actual quarantine camps?
      • The reason the public has dubbed this regulation the “quarantine camp regulation” is because the language in the reg makes it crystal clear that the DOH can pull you from your home (and your life) and, with the force of police, hold you anywhere they deem appropriate, including “other residential or temporary housing”… Remember, the reg says they don’t have to prove you are sick, they can hold you for however long they want, and there is no way for you to get out of lock up or lock down (unless you get a lawyer and sue them)!!! You can read articles I’ve written and interviews I have done about the reg and the lawsuit on my Substack here, or on my website: www.CoxLawyers.com
      • By the way, I fact-checked the Associated Press’ phony “fact check” article they ran shortly after my oral arguments in September, and I determined their article to be FALSE. It’s particularly surprising because that AP reporter contacted us (my plaintiffs and me) for clarification prior to publishing her false article. Clearly she ignored what we said! Anyway, this dystopian regulation absolutely allows Hochul and her DOH to institute quarantine locations, whether you call them facilities, institutions, halls, or camps, it matters not. It’s still unconstitutional!
    • What do my plaintiffs think?
      • Obviously, they are very upset by this decision. An official press release will go out shortly.

    Hope is not Lost!

    There is no denying that I have had to dig very deep these past 48 hours since I received the ruling. My family and close friends who I have shared the horrible news with have all asked me the same question, “What are you going to do now? Stay and fight? Or let it go?”

    This has been a true David v. Goliath battle for the ages, as described in a recent Brownstone Institute article on this epic legal battle, and my family and close friends know the immense sacrifices I’ve endured to bring and fight this case these past almost 2 years now. As you may imagine, I have had to do some significant soul searching the past couple of days. Here is what I have come to…

    I can tell you this with certainty, I will never stop fighting for you, New York! I believe that we can take back this state, and as we do, we will liberate the rest of this country which has fallen into very dark times, as our Constitution, and thus our freedoms, are tossed aside by the ruling class elites without a second thought. And then, once our nation is back to being that shining beacon on a hill, then the rest of the world can follow. New York is the key. And I have hope and faith. I will share it with you now…

    I am going to appeal this case to the Court of Appeals, our highest court in New York. The Court of Appeals is a court of constitutional integrity. The Court will understand the magnitude of this lawsuit and the Appellate Division’s erroneous decision. I believe the high Court will not fall prey to the tyranny and corruption that goes on in the halls of our capitol in Albany.

    The Constitution is on our side. The case law is on our side. Truth is on our side. And most importantly, the will of the people is on our side. Remember Thunderstruck? Remember Reverberating? Remember the hundreds upon hundreds of you who showed up to oral arguments in Rochester back in September? Remember the thousands of you who have come to hear me speak in-person at events across the state, and in states outside our New York borders? Remember the tens of thousands of you who have shown me your support in emails, social media posts, letters, cards, phone messages etc.?

    Indeed, I have faith.

    Republished from the author’s Substack

    Bobbie Anne, a 2023 Brownstone Fellow, is an attorney with 25 years experience in the private sector, who continues to practice law but also lectures in her field of expertise – government over-reach and improper regulation and assessments.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 17:45

  • "This Is Going To Expose Everything": Mike Lindell Says Georgia Voting Machine Ruling "Opened The Door That No Man Can Shut"
    “This Is Going To Expose Everything”: Mike Lindell Says Georgia Voting Machine Ruling “Opened The Door That No Man Can Shut”

    MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell has vowed to ‘expose everything’ following last week’s massive ruling by an Obama-appointed judge in Georgia, Amy Totenberg, who agreed with Lindell’s legal team that electronic voting machines used by the state of Georgia have substantial flaws.

    MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell talks to reporters at the Republican National Committee winter meeting in Dana Point, Calif., Friday, Jan. 27, 2023

    According to Totenberg, there is sufficient cause to believe that there may be “cybersecurity deficiencies that unconstitutionally burden Plaintiffs’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and capacity to case effective votes that are accurately counted.”

    What’s more, in a footnote within her 135-page ruling, Totenberg said the evidence in the case “does not suggest that the Plaintiffs are conspiracy theorists of any variety.”

    “Indeed, some of the nation’s leading cybersecurity experts and computer scientists have provided testimony and affidavits on behalf of Plaintiffs’ case in the long course of this litigation,” she wrote.

    “This is going to expose everything,” Lindell said during a Monday appearance on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, where he ripped off a tinfoil hat.

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    The public’s going to demand that this amazing trial is going to go forward,” he added.

    He also appeared on Real America’s Voice with Human Events’ Jack Posobiec to celebrate:

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    Lindell, appearing on the Lindell Report, also discussed the recent election in Argentina.

    Lindell’s trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 9, 2024. 

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    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/21/2023 – 17:25

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Today’s News 21st November 2023

  • FBI Arrests Miami Police Officer Accused Of Stealing Cash, Drugs During Traffic Stops
    FBI Arrests Miami Police Officer Accused Of Stealing Cash, Drugs During Traffic Stops

    A Miami cop was arrested by the FBI after being accused of stealing drugs and money from suspects during traffic stops – some of whom turned out to be undercover agents, according to NBC Miami.

    Frenel Cenat, 40, was arrested on Thursday on charges which include attempted Hobbs Act extortion, theft of government funds, and attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine, according to the report, citing jail and court records.

    Frenel Cenat (via the Broward Sheriff’s Office)

    Cenat, a Miami Police officer since September 2008, had worked for the property and evidence unit since 2020. After a confidential source tipped off the FBI to Cenat’s behavior – conducting traffic stops of people known to have just engaged in drug transactions, and then stealing the money or drugs they were transporting, they launched an investigation.

    Cenat would use his official police vehicle to conduct the traffic stops and would be in his police uniform, the affidavit said.

    Cenat was recorded on video and audio “coordinating schemes and conducting traffic stops of two individuals who he was told had just engaged in drug transactions, with the intention of stealing the money and/or drugs involved in those illegal transactions,” the affidavit said. –NBC Miami

     According to the affidavit, Cenat admitted that he would pull the schemes while off duty and outside his jurisdiction.

    “On duty they (MPD) got computers on and can track you and s— like that…you know what I mean…ping your phone… what you are doing in this area,” he said, according to the affidavit. “You don’t wanna do that s— bro while you are on duty…If I work down there I will never f— down there bro.”

    Cenat also described several prior incidents involving drug transactions in which he coerced individuals to give up their stash, money, or both in order to avoid going to jail.

    In October, he discussed stopping a person who had just done a drug deal, from whom he stole $50,000 – saying “I just need bread now.”

    Undercover agents

    On Nov. 3, two undercover FBI agents bought 3 kg of cocaine for $52,000 in Miami Gardens, after Cenat arranged to steal from one of them, according to the affidavit.

    As one left, Cenat followed and stopped them, identified himself as “Officer Martez” with “Miami PD – Dade County Narcotics Unit” and told them he’d witnessed the drug transaction, the affidavit said.

    Cenat gave the undercover agent the choice of giving him a backpack containing the cash or going to jail, and the agent gave him the bag, the affidavit said.

    After that incident, the informant and Cenat discussed another theft scheduled for Nov. 16 in which someone would be stopped with 6 or 7 kilos of cocaine and at least $30,000 in cash in Deerfield Beach, the affidavit said. -NBC Miami

    According to the affidavit, Cenat said he would give the cocaine to the informant and his associate to sell, and they would split the money. 

    On Nov. 16, the FBI staged another fake drug transaction. Cenat took the bait, following an undercover agent and pulling them over. He introduced himself to the agent as “Officer Martez” with the “Broward County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Unit,” then took a duffel bag containing $80,000 in cash and approximately 7 kilos of DEA prop drugs.

    “You want to go home tonight or spend 30 years in …federal prison?” Cenat asked the officer, before demanding his phone number.

    “You now work for me,” he continued. “When I call…you better answer.”

    “If I call you and you don’t answer…I’m coming for you,” he continued.

    Cenat later met wit the informant in Coral Springs to split the bounty, when the FBI appeared and arrested him.

    “The Miami Police Department is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure the integrity of our agency is beyond reproach. The arrest of Officer Cenat is the result of a joint operation focused on identifying corrupt cops, and it’s an example of the repercussions when one of our own betrays their oath of office and tarnishes their badge,” according to Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales.

    “I stand firmly committed to transparency and ensuring the community’s trust is upheld throughout this investigation.”

     

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 23:15

  • China's Share Of The Global Economy Is Shrinking At The Fastest Pace Since The Mao Era
    China’s Share Of The Global Economy Is Shrinking At The Fastest Pace Since The Mao Era

    By Ruchir Sharma, chair of Rockefeller International

    In a historic turn, China’s rise as an economic superpower is reversing. The biggest global story of the past half century may be over.    

    After stagnating under Mao Zedong in the 1960s and 70s, China opened to the world in the 1980s — and took off in subsequent decades. Its share of the global economy rose nearly tenfold from below 2 per cent in 1990 to 18.4 per cent in 2021. No nation had ever risen so far, so fast.   

    Then the reversal began. In 2022, China’s share of the world economy shrank a bit. This year it will shrink more significantly, to 17 per cent. That two-year drop of 1.4 per cent is the largest since the 1960s.

    These numbers are in “nominal” dollar terms — unadjusted for inflation — the measure that most accurately captures a nation’s relative economic strength. China aims to reclaim the imperial status it held from the 16th to early 19th centuries, when its share of world economic output peaked at one-third, but that goal may be slipping out of reach.    

    China’s decline could reorder the world. Since the 1990s, the country’s share of global GDP grew mainly at the expense of Europe and Japan, which have seen their shares hold more or less steady over the past two years. The gap left by China has been filled mainly by the US and by other emerging nations.    

    To put this in perspective, the world economy is expected to grow by $8tn in 2022 and 2023 to $105tn. China will account for none of that gain, the US will account for 45 per cent, and other emerging nations for 50 per cent. Half the gain for emerging nations will come from just five of these countries: India, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil and Poland. That is a striking sign of possible power shifts to come.   

    Moreover, China’s slipping share of world GDP in nominal terms is not based on independent or foreign sources. The nominal figures are published as part of their official GDP data. So China’s rise is reversing by Beijing’s own account.

    One reason this has gone largely unnoticed is that most analysts focus on real GDP growth, which is inflation-adjusted. And by adjusting creatively for inflation, Beijing has long managed to report that real growth is steadily hitting its official target, now around 5 per cent. This in turn appears to confirm, every quarter, the official story that “the east is rising.” But China’s real long-term potential growth rate — the sum of new workers entering the labour force and output per worker — is now more like 2.5 per cent.

    The ongoing baby bust in China has already lowered its share of the world working age population from a peak of 24 per cent to 19 per cent, and it is expected to fall to 10 per cent over the next 35 years. With a shrinking share of the world’s workers, a smaller share of growth is almost certain.

    Further, over the past decade, China’s government has grown more meddlesome, and its debts are historically high for a developing country. These forces are slowing growth in productivity, measured as output per worker. This combination — fewer workers, and anaemic growth in output per worker — will make it difficult in the extreme for China to start winning back share in the global economy.

    In nominal dollar terms, China’s GDP is on track to decline in 2023, for the first time since a large devaluation of the renminbi in 1994. Given the constraints to real GDP growth, in the coming years Beijing can only regain global share with a spike in inflation or in the value of the renminbi — but neither is likely. China is one of the few economies suffering from deflation, and it also faces a debt-fuelled property bust, which typically leads to a devaluation of the local currency.   

    Investors are pulling money out of China at a record pace, adding to pressure on the renminbi. Foreigners cut investment in Chinese factories and other projects by $12bn in the third quarter — the first such drop since records began. Locals, who often flee a troubled market before foreigners do, are leaving too. Chinese investors are making outward investments at an unusually rapid pace and prowling the world for real estate deals.    

    China’s President Xi Jinping has in the past expressed supreme confidence that history is shifting in his country’s favour, and nothing can stop its rise. His meetings with Joe Biden and US chief executives at last week’s summit in San Francisco did hint at moderation, or at least a recognition that China still needs foreign business partners. But almost no matter what Xi does, his nation’s share in the global economy is likely to decline for the foreseeable future.

    It’s a post-China world now.  

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 22:55

  • Americans More Polarized Than Ever Over Ivermectin
    Americans More Polarized Than Ever Over Ivermectin

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

    A growing number of Americans think that ivermectin is an effective COVID-19 treatment, according to a recent survey from a university.

    About 26 percent of respondents believe that the drug—long used to treat parasites—can treat the virus, according to the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center. That’s up from 10 percent who thought the same in September 2021.

    The percentage of people who called that statement “false” also rose to 37 percent in November 2023, up from 27 percent in September 2021, the survey found. The overall number of people who aren’t sure declined, from 63 percent to 38 percent in the same time period.

    Without elaborating, the survey’s authors said that the 26 percent “incorrectly” said that ivermectin is effective, while it has pointed to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) statements saying the agency has not authorized or approved the drug for preventing or treating COVID-19, and it has claimed that data shows it isn’t effective against the virus. It has been approved to treat a variety of other illnesses, namely ones caused by parasites, while the World Health Organization (WHO) has regarded it as an essential medicine to treat a number of different ailments.

    However, WHO issued a warning last week saying that it strongly recommends against giving ivermectin to patients with “non-severe” COVID-19 and advises against giving the drug to those with severe or critical COVID-19.

    Notably, about half of the studies that the FDA has referenced in saying that it isn’t safe or effective support using ivermectin against COVID-19, according to a 2022 Epoch Times review.

    In social media posts and in statements, the FDA has often said that ivermectin shouldn’t be used to treat the virus. Several of those comments triggered a lawsuit from doctors, who argued that the FDA shouldn’t be making recommendations and that its role is to approve drugs. Some individuals have also filed lawsuits against hospitals to force medical officials to allow its use for treating COVID-19.

    Dr. Pierre Kory, who said he frequently prescribes ivermectin for COVID-19, told The Epoch Times that the FDA’s position on ivermectin “is one of the most glaring examples of the corruption of modern evidence-based medicine.”

    There’s one message they want everyone to understand, and that message is that ivermectin doesn’t work,” Dr. Kory said. “That’s not a scientific conclusion, that’s theirs. That’s their perverted and distorted interpretation of the data.”

    The Annenberg Public Policy Center survey, which was conducted last month and polled 1,500 Americans, also found that fewer Americans believe that getting the COVID-19 vaccine is safer than contracting the virus itself. It showed that in April 2021, 75 percent shared that viewpoint, but by last month, only 63 percent believe that to be the case.

    The survey also found that respondents increasingly believe that the COVID-19 shot isn’t safe, increasing to 24 percent last month from 18 percent in August 2022.

    The public policy center argued that the rise in Americans’ wariness in COVID-19 vaccines and other vaccines is due to a “belief in health misinformation.”

    Meanwhile, recent data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that about 14 percent of American adults and 5 percent of children have received one of the updated COVID-19 booster shots, coming about two months after they were authorized by the FDA. It means approximately 36 million adults and 3.5 million children have received the shot.

    The prior updated COVID-19 vaccines that were available from the fall of 2022 were given to about 56.5 million people, or around 17 percent of the entire U.S. population.

    In a poll released in September, about 23 percent of American adults said they would definitely get one of the new vaccines, while another 23 percent said they would likely receive one. About half of respondents, however, said they wouldn’t or probably wouldn’t get the shot.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 22:35

  • IRS Says Some People Can Still Get COVID Stimulus Cash… Here's How
    IRS Says Some People Can Still Get COVID Stimulus Cash… Here’s How

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

    The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has revealed that some Americans who were eligible to receive pandemic-era stimulus checks didn’t apply for them—and that there’s a way they can still claim the money.

    Internal Revenue Service (IRS) building in Washington, on Oct. 16, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    The IRS said in a Nov. 17 announcement that, according to its records, some eligible individuals and families didn’t end up collecting economic impact payments—also known as stimulus payments or stimulus checks—that were issued in 2020 and 2021.

    Those who missed out can still collect the money. The way to do so is through the “recovery rebate credit.”

    This is a refundable credit that either reduces the amount of taxes owed, is included in a tax refund, or is simply paid out by the IRS to eligible taxpayers if—after claiming the credit—it turns out they overpaid on their taxes.

    The deadline to claim the 2020 credit is May 17, 2024, while the one for claiming the 2021 credit is April 15, 2025.

    In 2020 and 2021, the federal government issued $931 billion in stimulus payments to Americans in order to help ease the financial stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Some people never received those payments, even though they were eligible.

    Who Is Eligible?

    While the vast majority of those eligible for COVID-19-related relief have already received or claimed it, some people haven’t—even though they’re entitled to it.

    Others may have received less than the full stimulus payment they were entitled to, and in their case, claiming a recovery rebate credit would top-up to the full stimulus payment amount they’re entitled to.

    In order to claim the 2020 and 2021 recovery rebate credits, a taxpayer must meet several criteria.

    For the 2020 credit, they must have been a citizen of the United States or a U.S. resident alien in 2020. Also, they must not have been a dependent of another taxpayer for 2020 and possess a valid Social Security number issued before the due date of the tax return that is valid for employment in the United States.

    For the 2021 recovery rebate credit, eligibility criteria include being a U.S. citizen or U.S. resident alien in 2021, not being a dependent of another taxpayer for 2021, and having a Social Security number issued by the due date of the tax return.

    Alternatively, for the 2021 credit, a person can claim a dependent with a Social Security number issued by the due date of the tax return or claim a dependent with an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number.

    Also, it’s noteworthy that the 2020 recovery rebate credit can be claimed for someone who passed away in 2020, while both the 2020 and 2021 credits can be claimed for someone who passed away in 2021 or later.

    How to Apply?

    In order to claim the recovery rebate credit, taxpayers must first file a tax return—even if they didn’t have any income from a job, business or other source.

    To claim the 2020 recovery rebate credit, individuals must file a tax return (or amend one already filed) for the 2020 tax year. The deadline to do so is May 17, 2024.

    For the 2021 recovery rebate credit, the deadline for filing (or amending) a tax return is April 15, 2025.

    In order to figure the amount of the recovery rebate credit on a tax return, it’s necessary to know the amount of any stimulus payments received (if any), including plus-up payments.

    People can use their IRS Online Account to see if they received any stimulus payments and, if they did, how much they received.

    Some people received partial stimulus payments for the 2020 and 2021 tax years, and this will reduce the amount they’re now eligible to collect as part of the recovery rebate credit.

    More details about how to calculate the credit for a 2020 tax return can be found here, while further information about calculating the credit for a 2021 tax return is here.

    One thing to note is that money received as part of the recovery rebate credit can’t be counted as income when determining the ability of someone to be eligible for federal benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that people who don’t normally file tax returns, first-time filers, mixed immigrant status families, and those experiencing homelessness were among the most likely to have missed getting stimulus payments.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 22:15

  • "Choiceful" Usage By CEOs Hits Record In Earnings Calls To Describe Consumer Slowdown 
    “Choiceful” Usage By CEOs Hits Record In Earnings Calls To Describe Consumer Slowdown 

    Corporate executives in the US, including those from Walmart to McDonald’s, have found a new favorite word to characterize the slowdown in consumer spending: “choiceful.”

    Data from the Bloomberg Document Search function shows the number of times “choiceful” was mentioned in third-quarter earnings calls hit a record high of 22, nearly double from 12 in the second quarter.

    CNBC first reported the word choice by corporate execs, pointing out how Walmart CEO Doug McMillon described consumers as “choiceful” when referring to their reduction in spending.  

    McMillon also spooked investors by warning, “In the US, we may be managing through a period of deflation in the months to come.” 

    Meanwhile, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski used the word to describe the pricing of menu items in these uncertain times:

    “I think certainly, given the inflation that the market has experienced, that we’ve experienced over the last year, really more than a year, we’ve tried to be very choiceful and disciplined on how we have executed those price increases. And the good news is, we continue to lead on affordability. We continue to lead on value for money. We’ve seen no deterioration in our advantages there. We are holding those up.”

    Meanwhile, Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet told investors earlier this month, “I think that’s what consumers are looking for right now as they are more choiceful.” 

    Corporate execs are concerned that the all-mighty consumer, whose spending drives the economy, is reaching a breaking point. 

    In September, Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson was very blunt when he warned, ‘the consumer is falling off a cliff.’ 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 21:55

  • Shellenberger: Why Democrats Became The Totalitarians They Warned Us About
    Shellenberger: Why Democrats Became The Totalitarians They Warned Us About

    Authored by Alex Gutentag and Michael Shellenberger via Public Substack,

    How did the Left go from defending the free speech rights of neo-Nazis to demanding censorship, falsely accusing their opponents of being fascists, and seeking their incarceration?

    When Donald Trump became president, Democrats predicted the worst.

    “Trump’s shocking victory, his ascension to the Presidency, is a sickening event in the history of the United States and liberal democracy,” David Remnick wrote in the New Yorker the day after the election.

    Trump, Remnick said, was an authoritarian who disdained civil liberties and whose election was “surely the way fascism can begin.”

    Liberal commentators have compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler over and over again.

    Wrote legal scholar Laurence Tribe on Twitter in 2019, “I’m not saying Trump is becoming Hitler, so don’t bother tweeting the distinctions. But the physical and behavioral resemblances aren’t altogether irrelevant. No prior president even suggests the comparison.”

    Last month, Crown published a new book by Rachel Maddow that compares Trump-supporting Republicans to fascists.

    Trump had little respect for the First Amendment, Democrats claimed.

    He attacked freedom of speech and of the press, striking at our fundamental rights.

    On top of this, liberal media outlets alleged Trump used his office for personal gain and weaponized the justice system for his own benefit.

    After January 6, 2021, the liberals who had been skeptical about anti-Trump hysteria became convinced that the hysterics had been right all along.

    In 2018, legal scholar Cass Sunstein suggested that Trump would not bring authoritarianism to the United States. Then, after the Capitol riot, he changed his mind, saying that American democracy was indeed under threat from Trump and his supporters. “The events of January 6, 2021, made me think I was actually quite wrong on that,” he said.

    But Friday’s release of the first tranche of January 6 tapes confirms that Trump’s actions paled in comparison to the steps Democrats have taken to defeat him and his supporters.

    The tapes corroborate Public’s previous reporting and show that the Democrat-driven narrative of an insurrection was highly misleading. Democrats used this narrative to demonize tens of millions of voters, to justify their censorship efforts, and to weaponize the justice system against their political enemies.

    It’s true that the tapes show rioters forcefully entering the Capitol, and some scenes on the tapes are not peaceful. It’s also true that Trump’s rhetoric has, at times, been inflammatory and illiberal.

    But what the tapes do not show is a coup attempt. Rather, they show many scenes that contradict this narrative, like January Sixers walking calmly down the hallway, Capitol police appearing completely unphased by these supposed insurrectionists, and Capitol police giving the trespassers handshakes.

    Despite the evidence that law enforcement at best permitted this “coup” to take place and at worst facilitated it, January 6 judges have handed down extremely harsh sentences

    What’s more, the January 6 tapes show scenes that are far less violent than Black Lives Matter riots, which were investigated and prosecuted with much greater lenience, even in cases of arson and assault.

    Above all, the newly released tapes demonstrate that the Democratic party’s claims to be fighting for democracy and staving off authoritarianism are a sham and that it is the Democrats who have, in their persecution of Trump and his followers, done more to undermine democracy than Trump ever threatened to do.

    Elites in the Democratic party and in the mainstream media, through their efforts to subdue a populist backlash, have eroded First Amendment rights and have politicized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

    Democrats became everything they once said they feared in Trump: censorial, totalitarian, and corrupt. Their years-long clampdown on dissent and criminalization of political opposition was a systematic attack on liberal democracy. Worse, they became everything that liberals during the 20th Century warned Americans about.

    The Democratic party and the Biden administration have become precisely what liberals said Trump would be, and they have attacked the foundational principles of our democracy in the name of protecting them.

    There is a reckoning to come and it should be bipartisan and championed by liberals on the Left and Right alike.

    Over time, the share of Democrats who want to expand censorship must decline.

    Whatever the case, the last 20 years make clear that the most sickening moment for the US commitment to liberal democracy came not in the election of Trump but in the Left’s betrayal of fundamental liberal principles.

    Subscribers can read the full substack here…

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 21:35

  • Up In Smoke: California's Largest Pot Distributor Collapses Amid $17 Million In Unpaid Taxes
    Up In Smoke: California’s Largest Pot Distributor Collapses Amid $17 Million In Unpaid Taxes

    HERBL, California’s largest pot distributor, has completely imploded in a turn of events that’s expected to have ripple effects throughout the industry.

    In mid-May, as rumors of the company’s dire situation swirled, CEO Mike Beaudry insisted “these rumors are categorically not true.”

    HERBL completely collapsed less than a month later, following in the footsteps of other California cannabis startups like Flow Kana and MedMen.

    The company leaves behind $17 million in unpaid taxes, while several smaller pot companies which have been left in the lurch, SFGate reports.

    “Mike [Beaudry, HERBL’s CEO] and his team did a really good job of hiding that fact from their own brands… that’s how they kept getting our products,” said Ali Jamalian, owner of San Francisco cannabis company Sunset Connect, who claims that HERBL owes him $180,000.

    Another CEO, Tyler Kearns of Sacramento-based cannabis company Seven Leaves, said HERBL owes his company $880,000. He says he knew the collapsed distributor was in trouble when he found out in June that they were laying off delivery drivers, and that it was going to be near impossible to get that money back.

    “I knew this was going to be the biggest failure in U.S. cannabis history,” he told the outlet.

    HERBL’s role in the California cannabis ecosystem was crucial, acting as a middleman between pot producers and retailers. Its downfall isn’t just a bad trip for the company; it’s a red flag for the industry, indicating that even the mightiest can fall due to systemic issues.

    “I do feel like we’re going to see a significant and material number of closures, up and down the supply chain,” said Wesley Hein, president of the Cannabis Distribution Association, who attributes HERBL’s failure in part to poor business decisions – particularly its continued reliance on traditional distribution models while pot retailers struggled to pay their bills. He says the collapse also exposes systemic issues in the state’s pot industry that will doom other industries – such as overtaxation, competition from unlicensed businesses, and “very excessive and overly burdensome regulations.”

    He compared the collapse of HERBL to Lehman.

    “Lehman Brothers was a century-old firm with 99 profitable years, you would think somebody in all of that would go, ‘Let’s bail them out, let’s put money in.’ But when they looked like they were too risky to invest in, that really signaled something,” said Hein.

    This is a story about HERBL, but it’s also a story about every distributor, so there’s still time to fix the system,” Hein said, adding “There’s always time to start trying to improve and correct things.”

    According to Adam Cavanaugh, president of Cannabiz Credit Association, a group that tracks debt and provides credit ratings for cannabis companies, a lack of bankruptcy protections in the industry make it harder for pot companies to get paid if another collapses.

    “This lack of access to traditional bankruptcy protections indeed presents more risk for companies doing business with cannabis-related entities, as they may find it more challenging to recover their outstanding debts,” he told SFGate in an email, adding that his group has already tracked over $20 million in debt within the California cannabis industry, a “remarkable” 27% increase from 2022.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 21:15

  • Longer COVID School Closures Linked To Youth Suicide Rates
    Longer COVID School Closures Linked To Youth Suicide Rates

    Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

    Longer COVID school closures were associated with more emergency department youth suicidality visits, a research letter found.

    The report, published on JAMA Network Open on Nov. 10, was led by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School.

    This cohort study found an association between longer school closures in the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and increases in youth suicidality,” the authors wrote, adding that further investigation is needed so that “policy regarding school closures may better align with the mental health needs of youth.”

    Comparing Texas Against Massachusetts

    The authors compared emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts in 12- to 17-year-olds in Texas and Massachusetts.

    Texas, which had more in-person education from 2020 to 2022, had lower rates of emergency department youth suicidality visits than Massachusetts, a state that had more prolonged school closures, the authors found.

    In 2020, Texas was ranked 8th out of 50 states for giving the most in-person education, while Massachusetts was ranked 39th, according to reports by Burbio, a media company that tracks school openings, enrollment, and budget.

    Between March and August 2020, schools were universally closed. During this time, the authors observed a rise in emergency department cases for suspected suicide attempts in both states. Massachusetts reported 115 suicidality ED visits per month prior to school closures; this increased to 176 in 2020–21. Texas reported 505 cases of youth suicidality visits prior to the lockdowns, and this number increased to 756 in 2020–2021.

    However, beginning in September 2020, both states started to reopen schools, though Texas was faster on the school reopening.

    By September 2020, 40 to 60 percent of Texas public schools had returned to in-person education, while only 20 to 40 percent of schools in Massachusetts followed suit.

    In January 2021, 80 to 100 percent of Texas schools were in-person while 20 to 40 percent of Massachusetts schools were in-person, according to Burbio.

    The authors observed significant differences in emergency department youth suicidality rates in the two states in the 2021–22 academic year, with higher rates reported in Massachusetts.

    School Closures and Mental Health Risks

    Studies on school closures and mental health have rendered conflicting findings. A study that followed youths during the pandemic found that youth suicides tend to occur during school terms with a decline in the holidays.

    Another study found a sudden decrease in teenage suicides during early lockdowns.

    Nevertheless, most studies suggest a worsening of adolescent mental health and an increase in suicidality, Dr. Yael Dvir, the lead author and associate professor of psychiatry at the UMass Chan Medical School wrote to The Epoch Times.

    However, it is very possible that subgroups of teens responded differently to the pandemic and to school closures, so that some showed improvement,” she added. 

    Pediatricians not involved in the study reported similar observations of school closures being linked with rising mental illness.

    We definitely dealt with a significant rise in mental health concerns as a result of pandemic and school closures,” Dr. Derek Husmann, a Texas pediatrician, told The Epoch Times.

    Dr. Renata Moon, previously an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington during the pandemic, echoed Dr. Husmann’s observations.

    “We saw a tremendous increase in teenagers and even pre-teens seeking help for anxiety, depression and thoughts of self harm during pandemic related school closures,” she wrote.

    “I was seeing 6-7 kids in my office each day with these complaints. Mental health counseling services were completely overwhelmed and couldn’t keep up with the volume of referrals.”

    “Most of the time it was anxiety, with seemingly anxiety as a distant second, though they so often go hand in hand. My estimation is that the baseline stress level for almost all of us has gone up significantly since the pandemic, and for a whole host of reasons,” Dr. Husmann added.

    Dr. Husmann said that none of his patients reported suicidality to him, though he was aware of a case where a child committed suicide after continuing schooling at home once lockdowns and school closures were over.

    Reconsidering the School Closure Policy

    The authors suggested that more investigation is needed to ensure that future policy on school closures would be in the interests of students’ mental health.

    Dr. Moon, who believed the loss of her contract with the University of Washington was due to publicly voicing her concerns on the safety of the COVID vaccines, agreed.

    We needed to have discussions to consider focused protection for our vulnerable ‘at-risk’ members of society. Our children were essentially at zero risk of a fatality from Covid-19 infection. We had plenty of data to discuss yet public health authorities continued to push unnecessary and harmful lockdown measures and came after any physician who voiced concern.” Dr. Moon wrote.

    Teenagers rely on school not just for education but also socialization,” Dr. Dvir added. “Not having the opportunity for in-person social contact with peers created loneliness and disconnect for teenagers, an age group that, for developmental reasons, puts great importance on peer relationships.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 20:55

  • Lobbyists Steamrolling Biden Effort To Nix Billions In 'Junk Fees'
    Lobbyists Steamrolling Biden Effort To Nix Billions In ‘Junk Fees’

    Last fall, the Biden administration – scant on accomplishments, embarked on a campaign to pressure airlines to ditch billions in so-called “junk fees” charged to travelers who want to check bags or change flights.

    “You should know the full cost of your ticket right when you’re comparison shopping to begin with,” said Biden last September, adding that the move would help families “pick the ticket that actually is the best deal for you.”

    While travelers were over the moon, flooding the DOT with letters urging it to adopt the policy, the airlines predictably pushed back, suggesting the move was both illegal and impossible.

    Doug Mullen of Airlines for America, which represents giants like American, Delta, and United, cautioned against such transparency, arguing that it “would only cause customers confusion and frustration.”

    The department should not regulate in this area,” said Mullen.

    This stance, however, contrasts starkly with how much coin the airlines are banking on said fees – as airlines raked in over $6.7 billion in baggage fees alone last year, the Washington Post reports in a rare act of journalism (perhaps written to explain why yet another Biden initiative is failing).

    Fees, fees everywhere…

    The federal push to reduce fees extends far beyond airlines – with auto dealers, ticket merchants, cable giants, banks and other industries sapping money from consumers via sneaky, unnecessary charges.

    [T]he Biden administration has broadened its efforts to expose or eliminate “junk fees” throughout the economy, touching off a groundswell of opposition from airlines, auto dealers, banks, credit card companies, cable giants, property owners and ticket sellers that hope to preserve their profits.

    Behind the scenes, these corporations have fought vigorously to thwart even the most basic rules that would require them to be more transparent about hidden charges, according to a Washington Post review of federal lobbying records and hundreds of filings submitted to government agencies. The fees together may cost Americans at least $64 billion annually, according to a rough White House estimate, underscoring its efforts to deliver financial relief to families grappling with high prices.

    In the banking sector, the administration’s attempts to limit credit card late fees have been met with staunch opposition. The industry, having profited over $14.5 billion from these fees, forewarns a legal battle, indicative of the broader corporate pushback.

    Opponents include Citrigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Visa, whose various lobbying groups have been working to brute-force Washington DC to oppose the efforts. In May, the American Bankers Association joined two others in telling the CFPB that capping late fees would force them to reduce rewards offered to new and existing customers. The lobbyists also questioned whether the bureau even has the legal standing to act in the first place.

    The late fees are imposed because they work to deter late payment,” the ABA and its allies told the agency.

    Cable giants, including Charter and Comcast, have similarly responded via lobbying groups – resisting federal efforts to provide consumers with accurate data on service charges. Casinos, insurers, owners of large apartment complexes, and ticket sellers have also fought new federal regulations that would punish them if they conceal their true prices.

    Some ticket sellers have called for new rules that would require them to display the full, total price of a performance up front, including any service fees. But some companies still do not fully adhere to the practice: Ticketmaster, for example, only does so for some shows, though its parent company, LiveNation, promised the White House to be more transparent earlier this year.

    The Biden administration, meanwhile, continues to push. Lael Brainard, the director of the White House National Economic Council, emphasized the administration’s commitment: “We know that junk fees resonate with American consumers. They don’t like being taken for suckers.” This sentiment underscores the administration’s strategy to align with consumer interests, perhaps with an eye on the upcoming elections.

    Amid a torrent of legal threats, Biden has repeatedly called on Congress to pass a comprehensive bill that sets the rules for when and how companies can charge extra fees. But even some of the more popular, bipartisan efforts to promote price transparency have faltered in an ever-divided, heavily lobbied Capitol.

    A proposal from two unlikely allies, Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas), would mandate that ticket sellers show their full prices upfront. The duo released the Ticket Act this summer, after a public outcry about major outages and steep fees on Ticketmaster sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.But the bill remains stuck in the upper chamber after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked a vote out of a belief that such regulation is unnecessary, according to two legislative aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe his stance.

    The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are at the forefront of enforcing these changes. Samuel Levine, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the FTC, highlighted the misleading nature of hidden fees: “If a consumer is led to believe something costs $10, and it costs $20, they’ve been misled.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 20:35

  • Victor Davis Hanson: Can We Save Our Universities?
    Victor Davis Hanson: Can We Save Our Universities?

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

    It took the widely reported, repellent, and exempt wave of anti-Semitism and violent pro-Hamas protestors harassing Jews, finally to convince Americans that their own hallmark universities are illiberal centers of mediocrity and intolerance—and increasingly unsafe…

    Of course, Americans had long known that something had gone wrong at their colleges. They had increasingly encountered college graduates who were poorly educated in basic skills and lacked general knowledge—and yet highly politicized, and intolerant of different views and opinions. Ignorant but arrogant is a sad way to start an adult life.

    College, the public knew, has certainly eroded from our cherished idea of a four-year idealized respite from adult employment. It once was intended to be a place where youth learned to be open-minded, tolerant, skilled, and eager to learn the nature and traditions of Western civilization, art, literature, languages, philosophy, and history.

    Instead, all too often “college” has now descended into a six-to-seven-year misadventure that nationwide often results in only half those enrolled ever receiving degrees. Nearly all sink deeply in student debt. And yet for all the borrowed tuition money, few prove capable of writing analytically, speaking articulately, or knowing the general referents, past and present, of their very civilization.

    Students, especially at the elite campuses, learn to mouth monotonously accusations of “genocide.” “apartheid,” “colonialism,” or “imperialism.”

    But they lack the ability to define these nouns.

    As a result, they so often name drop empty slogans in the context of supposed Western sins.

    Again, October 7 brought these sorry facts to national attention. Adolescent screamers on video showed no awareness that dropping leaflets and sending texts to avoid collateral deaths is not “genocide.” Most chant the “river to the sea” with no clue that it resonates the very ethos of mass murdering, mutilation, and dehumanization of Jewish elderly, women, children, and infants in the most savage fashion on October 7.

    Accusatory students who scream “apartheid” seemed to have no clue that a fifth of Israel’s population is Arab, with citizenship rights that vastly exceed those in all other Middle East nations.

    They have no notion of the ancient and long connections of the Jewish people to the land of Israel, or how in the world the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque found itself atop the far more ancient Herod’s Jewish Second Temple sanctuary.

    As far as “colonialism” and “occupation” goes, they are clueless that the longest, non-Arab colonial rule of Palestine was the more than 300-years of often brutal Ottoman/Turkish imperialistic control.

    Nor do they have much knowledge of the repeated and combined efforts of far larger and richer Arab nations to wipe tiny Israel out, especially during the full-scale wars of 1947-48, 1967, and 1973.

    Instead, politically correct orthodoxies, not the knowledge or logic, of a student, became the hallmark of an “educated” American graduate. Students and faculty were considered “moral” for proclaiming their devotion to diversity, equity, and inclusion, without a clue that historically unity, equality, and fairness were the better aspirations. Without formal study in civics and ethics, students learned that any means were justified to advance political aims merely asserted as morally superior to others.

    After October 7, it proved a small campus step from years of institutionalized racially separated graduations, dorms, and campus centers to singling out and often segregating Jewish students from campus spaces.

    At Arizona State, Jewish students had to be escorted by police from a campus debate event. Even 20 years ago administrators would likely have expelled those threatening violence—or been forced to resign themselves. Today, they are terrified of mostly foreign students who abuse their visas and seem to despise the host they dare not leave to return home.

    Administrators at prestigious MIT admit that some of their foreign students are openly harassing Jews. But the university will not expel such anti-Semites in fear they might lose their student visas and thus have to return to their Middle-East homes and stew about their own miscreant behavior and ingratitude to their hosts. Instead, for college administrators, entitled, and full-tuition paying children of Middle East’s elites are seen as cash cows whose money masks their bigotry.

    As a result, cynical MIT grandees now simply warn Jewish students where and where not it is safe to walk on their own campuses. And thus, they confirm the embarrassing reality that the university is either unable or does not wish to stop the systematic anti-Jewish hatred on their own turf.

    Yet since when did such student guests in the United States feel empowered to shut down bridges during commute hours, tear down American flags on Veterans Day, and scout out and hunt-down Jewish-Americans on campus?

    If universities canonize critical race theorist Ibram Kendi, who insists that “anti-racism” requires good racism to combat bad racism, then is it any wonder that professors of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and various studies courses at UC Davis or Stanford prominently harassed and threatened Jewish students, or at Cornell cheered on news of Hamas’s murder spree?

    If campuses drop the SAT requirement, and no longer rank comparative high-school grade point averages, but instead rely on racial and ethnic quotas and “diversity statements” for university admissions, is it any surprise that insecure and passive-aggressive students feel entitled and exempt from any ramifications for their venom?

    And if campuses are fixated on race and superficial appearances, and reward those who are supposedly not guilty of “white privilege,” it is easy to understand why anti-Semites believe they can justify their hatred by assuming Jews are guilty for being white, and they themselves exempt for being nonwhite bigots.

    If the endowments of our top universities have reached record-setting multibillion-dollar levels, and if the billion-dollar annual income on those massive sums are non-taxable on the pretense campuses are apolitical and teach inductively rather than indoctrinate, then is it such a shock that exempted huge budgets lead to more staffers than students?

    At Stanford, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that there were 16,938 graduate and undergraduate students, but they were out-numbered by the combined total of 15,750 administrators and their staffers, and 2,288 faculty. Would it not be easier and perhaps even cheaper just to hire one tutor for each student and forgo the administrators?

    If anti-Semitic and racist professors enjoy life-long tenure, and if such guaranteed lifetime employment has de facto eliminated conservative voices among the faculty, why would any bigot mouthing genocidal chants ever worry about his job security?

    So again, ignorant and arrogant describes what the public has concluded of campuses in the last few weeks.

    In contrast, there is little such anti-Semitic violence at community colleges or trade schools, where the majority of students attends, and must work to pay for their education, and learn skills in a world apart from therapeutic gut courses.

    In truth, a multiple-choice American history test at a junior college now demands more knowledge from a student than the weaponized essay requirement of an Ivy-League -studies class.

    Taxpayers soon will no longer wish to subsidize elite education, especially when campuses no longer can guarantee their graduates are broadly educated and their professional and graduate programs can no longer turn out top-flight experts and specialists.

    So, what happened to America’s once monopoly on global excellence in higher education?

    In a word, there was too much money—and too little accountability. Tuition soared faster than the rate of annual inflation. The federal government subsidizes almost $2 trillion in student loans, regardless of the quality of education the student receives, and often with the expectation there will be few if any consequences when indebted but poorly educated students’ default on their repayment obligations.

    The professors who harass students, and rant endlessly off topic about current politics, are often not audited or reviewed on the quality of their scholarship and teaching as much as their political views, and their racial, gender, and ethnic status. Most have little knowledge of the reality outside the academic world—having spent their entire lives as students and then faculty confined to campus. Tenure is seen as a birthright rather than an ossified privilege only accorded to a tiny fraction of the workforce on the pretense that faculty should be heterodox, independent thinkers, without ideological blinders.

    So, to save us from the monsters we created, Americans must get the government out of the student loan business. We must demand that universities’ endowments back their own student loans.

    The government should tax endowment income and end lifelong tenure. Universities must expel and deport foreign students who violate campus laws as they violently act out their various hatreds.

    Reinstate the SAT for admissions, and end racial quotas. And require a national SAT-like exit exam to reassure the public that graduates at least know more when they leave college than when they enrolled—an increasingly dubious assumption.

    But most important of all: the public should stop giving money to elite institutions. To continue such philanthropy is akin to supplying heroin to an addict, gas to a fire, or fireworks to children.

    Do not consider our prestigious schools any longer necessarily prestigious. Many are not. Do not hire a graduate simply because she graduated from Yale, or he attended Stanford—unless one prefers to risk dealing with an employee poorly schooled but likely to act out a pampered victim status and to disrupt a workplace.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 20:15

  • "Don't Be Manipulated, Stand With X" – As Elon Promised, X Files Suit Against Media Matters
    “Don’t Be Manipulated, Stand With X” – As Elon Promised, X Files Suit Against Media Matters

    Update (2015ET): Texas AG Ken Paxton has officially opened an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraudulent activity

    The Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”) is opening an investigation into Media Matters for potential fraudulent activity.

    Under the Texas Business Organizations Code and the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the OAG will vigorously enforce against nonprofits who commit fraudulent acts in or affecting the state of Texas.

    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).

    “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,” said Attorney General Paxton.

    *  *  *

    Early Saturday morning, Elon Musk posted that his social media platform X will be “filing a thermonuclear lawsuit” against left-leaning non-profit Media Matters and “all those who colluded” for “completely misrepresenting” the real user experience on X.

    Musk added that X would file the lawsuit on Monday (today), which prompted even more malarkey on X as the day wore on with so many pro-censorship leftists clinging to the hope that Musk was not going to follow-through, with one CNBC reporter going so far as claiming “Musk may have been lying, like he has done before.”

    Well, he wasn’t lying, and time’s up for the Media Matters manipulators…

    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.

    First, Media Matters  accessed accounts that had been active for at least 30 days, bypassing X’s ad filter for new users. Media Matters then exclusively followed a small subset of users consisting entirely of accounts in one of two categories: those known to produce extreme, fringe content, and accounts owned by X’s big-name advertisers. The end result was a feed precision-designed by Media Matters for a single purpose: to produce side-by-side ad/content placements that it could screenshot in an effort to alienate advertisers.

    But this activity still was not enough to create the pairings of advertisements and content that Media Matters aimed to produce.

    Media Matters therefore resorted to endlessly scrolling and refreshing its unrepresentative, hand-selected feed, generating between 13 and 15 times more advertisements per hour than viewed by the average X user repeating this inauthentic activity until it finally received pages containing the result it wanted: controversial content next to X’s largest advertisers’ paid posts.

    Media Matters omitted mentioning any of this in a report published on November 16, 2023 that displayed instances Media Matters “found” on X of advertisers’ paid posts featured next to Neo-Nazi and white-nationalist content. Nor did Media Matters otherwise provide any context regarding the forced, inauthentic nature and extraordinary rarity of these pairings.

    However, relying on the specious narrative propagated by Media Matters, the advertisers targeted took these pairings to be anything but rare and inorganic, with all but one of the companies featured in the Media Matters piece withdrawing all ads from X, including Apple, Comcast, NBCUniversal, and IBM—some of X’s largest advertisers. Indeed, in pulling all advertising from X in response to this intentionally deceptive report, IBM called the pairings an “entirely unacceptable situation.” Only Oracle did not withdraw its ads.

    The truth bore no resemblance to Media Matters’ narrative. In fact, IBM’s, Comcast’s, and Oracle’s paid posts appeared alongside the fringe content cited by Media Matters for only one viewer (out of more than 500 million) on all of X: Media Matters. Not a single authentic user of the X platform saw IBM ’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to that content, which Media Matters achieved only through its manipulation of X’s algorithms as described above. And in Apple’s case, only two out of more than 500  million active users saw its ad appear alongside the fringe content cited in the article—at least one of which was Media Matters.

    Media Matters could have produced a fair, accurate account of users’ interactions with advertisements on X via basic reporting: following real users, documenting the actual, organic production of content and advertisement pairings. Had it done so, however, it would not have produced the outcome Media Matters so desperately desired, which was to tarnish X’s reputation by associating it with racist content. So instead, Media Matters chose to maliciously misrepresent the X experience with the intention of harming X and its business.

    Further, X CEO Linda Yaccarino – who has reportedly been under pressure all day by various ad companies to resign – defended the company in a statement on Monday.

    “If you know me, you know I’m committed to truth and fairness,” she posted.

    Here’s the truth. Not a single authentic user on X saw IBM’s, Comcast’s, or Oracle’s ads next to the content in Media Matters’ article. Only 2 users saw Apple’s ad next to the content, at least one of which was Media Matters. Data wins over manipulation or allegations. Don’t be manipulated. Stand with X.

    Public’s Michael Shellenberger noted that:

    “Despite the lack of verified evidence behind Media Matters’ claims, its tactics are highly effective.”

    Sllenberger concluded, by asking on X:

    Why is Media Matters leading a disinformation campaign and advertiser boycott against Elon Musk’s X?

    Who is Media Matters, exactly?

    And what’s its real agenda?

    …before going into detail on Substack about why Media Matters is a Democratic Party front-Group:

    The attacks on X make clear that the real concern of Democratic Party elites is their lack of control over the public conversation.

    From 1996 to 2016, Democrats felt they controlled the elite policy and political conversation through the news media. After that appeared to fall apart in 2016, and as Democrats, including Podesta, blamed social media for Clinton’s loss, they stepped up their effort to take control over Twitter and Facebook, which they did, demanding and winning the censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop, and deplatforming Trump.

    The strategy of Democratic Party leaders, including Clinton, Podesta, and Obama, has been, since 2016, to label Trump-supporting Republicans as racists, Nazis, and antisemites. The attacks on Elon Musk’s X must be taken in this context.

    The real agenda behind the Media Matters attack on X is the same as the one behind the Democrats’ attack on Trump and the Republicans. Democrats want to control the conversation.

    Without censorship, voters can see that the border is a disaster, the Ukraine war was a tragic failure, and that Democrats have been censoring them.

    …we must have greater control over the content we receive through social media platforms.

    And we must no longer trust the news media, a trend which is already well underway, including, increasingly, among Democrats.

    Is this the beginning of the end of the Censorship Industrial Complex?

    One thing is for sure, we are glad not to be the head of Media Matters, Angelo Carusone, who tonight faces his own company’s existential threat from a man with the deepest pockets in the world.

    Media Matters President Angelo Carusone (left), Elon Musk (right)

    Read the full lawsuit below:

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 19:55

  • "New Years' Nightmare": IRS Targets Gig Workers, Sends 30 Million New Tax Forms
    “New Years’ Nightmare”: IRS Targets Gig Workers, Sends 30 Million New Tax Forms

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

    A new IRS tax on gig workers would result in additional documentation that will create confusion among individual taxpayers as the agency does not have “centralized leadership” to deal with the expansion, according to a watchdog.

    A sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen in Washington on May 4, 2021. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

    Starting this year, a new IRS rule required that third-party payment networks like PayPal, Venmo, Amazon, and Square issue Form 1099-K when a user receives more than $600 in gross sales from goods and services transactions in a single year. Earlier, the threshold of gross sales was over $20,000.

    As a result, many taxpayers who never received Form 1099-Ks in the past will receive them this year, according to a Nov. 15 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). This could “exacerbate confusion among some taxpayers, such as gig workers, who may not understand the taxability of their payments and taxes owed.”

    “For example, some of these taxpayers may not know how to calculate profit or loss and may not understand the information reported on the form. This puts them at risk of inaccurately reporting their incomes to IRS or not meeting their tax obligations.”

    The IRS calculated that the new rule would result in 44 million Form 1099-Ks being filed in 2024, which is an increase of roughly 30 million. The tax agency “does not have a plan” to analyze these data to support its enforcement and outreach activities. “This limits its understanding of changes in taxpayer burden,” GAO said.

    GAO also pointed to challenges facing the IRS with regard to its handling of “information returns.”

    Information returns are filed by third parties like employers, businesses, banks and include Form W-2 for employee wages and Form 1099-K filed by payment networks. IRS compliance programs use these information returns to identify potential fraud and noncompliance among taxpayers.

    However, “IRS lacks centralized leadership to make strategic decisions related to the use of information returns across the agency,” the GAO report stated.

    “For example, IRS has not analyzed information returns comprehensively to determine if the returns’ characteristics (e.g., deadlines) meet IRS’s needs. While information returns support multiple IRS compliance programs, no office is responsible for coordinating these efforts.”

    Burdensome for Americans

    Commenting on the GAO report, the House Ways and Means Committee criticized Democrats for burdening everyday Americans with the new tax rule.

    “Thanks to Democrats, more Americans who mow lawns or sell concert tickets and used couches through Venmo or PayPal will have those transactions scrutinized by the IRS starting in January 2024 thanks to a lower reporting threshold for IRS form 1099-K,” said a Nov. 16 press release from the committee.

    The GAO report “shows that the IRS will send at least 30 million new 1099-K tax forms to Americans’ mailboxes come January, even though the agency has no plan on what to do with the new information—and it is unlikely most Americans will understand how to fill them out.”

    Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) called the additional tax forms “a new years’ nightmare for millions of Americans and a mess for the IRS.”

    The 1099-K form applies to people who are engaged in activities like gig work and casual sales who make side or extra income via selling their services or goods. 1099-K is an “information return” form submitted by third parties like PayPal. Individual taxpayers can use these returns to complete their tax filings. The IRS uses 1099-K to verify income and taxes reported by taxpayers.

    The policy to reduce the gross sales threshold from $20,000 to just $600 was included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The rule was initially supposed to come into effect during tax year 2022. However, the IRS postponed it to the 2023 tax year.

    “The Biden Administration itself had to deploy a legally dubious delay of this policy for a year precisely because it is unworkable. The whole plan is just another effort by Washington Democrats to use the IRS to target working families,” Mr. Smith said.

    “According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, over 90 percent of this new tax burden will fall on middle-class families and gig workers who will be caught in the crosshairs of the Democrats’ tax scheme.”

    In the report, GAO recommended that the IRS develop a plan to systematically evaluate information returns to improve compliance and minimize fraud and reporting burden.

    It also asked the tax agency to determine the “most appropriate thresholds for payment information reporting” like Form 1099-K.

    The report “shows the IRS is ill-equipped to handle the implementation of this new policy while at the same time it does not even know if it will help the agency carry out its responsibilities,” Mr. Smith said.

    Like with so much of the Democrats’ tax policies, this is a solution in search of a problem—one that will confuse Americans and put them in danger of inaccurately assessing their own tax liabilities.”

    Taxing Americans’ Side Incomes

    The Coalition for 1099-K Fairness, whose members include the likes of PayPal, Airbnb, Etsy, and eBay, said that millions of Americans and micro-businesses will receive 1099-Ks “often in instances where there is no tax liability whatsoever, causing fear, confusion, frustration, and overreporting of taxable income.”

    The PayPal app logo seen on a mobile phone in this illustration photo on Oct. 16, 2017. (Thomas White/Illustration/Reuters)

    A February 2022 survey by the coalition found that most casual sellers are only conducting small amounts worth of sales transactions online. It pointed out that 86 percent of them made less than $5,000 in gross revenues from items sold online in 2021.

    For 89 percent of survey respondents, selling was not their primary source of income. And 47 percent of people were unaware of the new IRS reporting requirements.

    People who engage in such side income activities have to provide personal information, including Social Security number or employer identification number (EIN) to the third-party app through which they conduct transactions.

    Once the transactions hit the $600 threshold limit, the third party will send a 1099-K to the individual. In case the person did not provide their personal information and the transaction hit the $600 limit, the third party will withhold 24 percent of the payments collected via the app.

    This amount will be sent to the IRS and will not be returned to the individual. However, the amount can be reported on the person’s tax returns.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 19:40

  • 3 Conservative Justices Dissent As Supreme Court Refuses To Reinstate Florida Drag Show Law
    3 Conservative Justices Dissent As Supreme Court Refuses To Reinstate Florida Drag Show Law

    Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    The Supreme Court turned away Florida’s request to reinstate its law regulating drag shows, which has been blocked by the lower courts.

    Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Nev., on Oct. 28, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    The new order came at the end of the business day on Nov. 16.

    Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented, indicating they would have lifted the lower court’s stay. They did not explain their reasoning.

    Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett voted to maintain the stay. Justice Kavanaugh attached a statement (pdf) explaining his reasoning, which Justice Barrett joined except for a footnote discussing the applicability of the federal Administrative Procedure Act to the case.

    The Court’s denial of the stay indicates nothing about our view on whether Florida’s new law violates the First Amendment,” the justices stated.

    This is not necessarily the end of the matter at the Supreme Court. It could return to the court at a later date.

    The emergency application in Griffin v. HM Florida-ORC LLC (court file 23A366) was docketed by the Supreme Court on Oct. 24. The petitioner, Melanie Griffin, is secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. The respondent, HM Florida-ORC LLC, operates a Hamburger Mary’s restaurant and bar.

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, signed the law in May.

    The law was preliminarily enjoined in June by Judge Gregory Presnell of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Judge Presnell was appointed in 2000 by President Bill Clinton.

    The district court acted after finding it “likely” that the statute “could not survive strict scrutiny because it did not employ sufficient narrowly tailored means to further the state’s compelling interest in protecting minors from obscene performances,” the judge wrote in an order.

    That court also found it “likely that the language of the Act, which included terms like ‘lewd conduct’ and ‘lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts,’ was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad on its face.”

    The court acted to prevent Floridians from being “exposed to the chilling effect of this facially unconstitutional statute.”

    On Oct. 11, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit voted 2–1 not to lift the injunction.

    Circuit Judge Andrew Brasher, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, dissented from that ruling.

    “We have a single plaintiff that operates a single brick-and-mortar restaurant in a single city,” Judge Brasher wrote.

    “An injunction addressed to everyone in Miami, Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Tampa, and everywhere else in Florida provides no benefit to that plaintiff and solves no administrability concern, but it nonetheless imposes significant burdens” on state officials.

    Justice Kavanaugh said in his statement that for the Supreme Court to grant a stay pending appeal, there must be “a reasonable probability” that the court “would eventually grant certiorari [i.e. review] on the question presented in the stay application if the district court’s judgment were affirmed on appeal.”

    “The State has not made that showing here,” he added.

    Drag shows have become a political issue across the country as the transgender movement presses for public and legal acceptance.

    Politicians in various states have responded to parents’ concerns by passing laws that restrict sometimes explicit drag show performances in front of children and banning the use of women’s restrooms by men who identify as women.

    Drag show advocates protest that laws restricting the performances violate constitutionally protected free speech.

    Florida officials had asked the Supreme Court to narrow the lower court’s order blocking the Protection of Children Act, which prohibits “adult live performances” in front of children.

    The dining establishment that obtained the injunction against the law had offered “family-friendly” drag performances on Sundays, which children were encouraged to attend.

    The lower court injunction “inflicts irreparable harm on Florida and its children by purporting to erase from Florida’s statute books a law designed to prevent the exposure of children to sexually explicit live performances,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican, said in the emergency application.

    As long as the district court’s preliminary injunction remains in place, Florida is powerless to enforce a law its elected representatives have enacted for the protection of its children.”

    The statute allows the state to suspend or revoke the licenses of a business and imposes financial penalties for knowingly allowing children to attend such events.

    The law’s text does not mention drag shows specifically, but targets “any show, exhibition, or other presentation in front of a live audience which, in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or specific sexual activities.”

    The lead attorney for the restaurant, Brice M. Timmons of Donati Law in Memphis, Tennessee, welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling.

    “We are pleased with the result at this stage and will continue to fight for the free speech rights of all Floridians,” Mr. Timmons said by email.

    “This case can now proceed to trial,” he added.

    The Epoch Times reached out to Ms. Moody’s office for comment but had not received a reply as of press time.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 19:20

  • "On The Road To Ruin": The Crime Crisis Destroying America’s Cities
    “On The Road To Ruin”: The Crime Crisis Destroying America’s Cities

    Authored by Jessica Anderson via RealClearPolitics.com,

    American cities are becoming emblematic of our national decline…

    High taxes, homelessness, and violent crime drive thousands of business owners and residents from urban centers annually.

    Once amazing cities, powerhouses of the American Dream and engines of our world’s leading economy – replete with beautiful buildings, pristine roads, and iconic bridges – are deteriorating at an unfathomable rate.

    Perhaps even more troubling, Metropolitan America has become a hotbed for the mentally ill and drug-addicted population.

    Violent criminals are now emboldened by soft-on-crime policies that tell a new generation of offenders there are no consequences for their actions.

    Our cities are on the road to ruin, but the Democrat politicians who run them refuse to address the obvious problems. When these leaders aren’t too busy defending Hamas, parroting open borders talking points, or weaponizing the government against their own political opponents, they spend their time in elected office doubling down on their failures and making ridiculous excuses for the challenges citizens face on a daily basis. Just look at Gov. Newsom’s comments after cleaning the streets of San Francisco for Chinese President Xi Jinping to arrive – it’s not that elected leaders can’t keep our cities safe, it’s that they won’t.

    Through my work serving grassroots Americans, I spend a lot of time in Washington, D.C. – a destination for American families and students all across the country looking to see firsthand how their government works and take in the historical grandeur of century-old buildings. Unfortunately, our nation’s capital has seen decades of mismanagement, but any resident will tell you that the city has suffered massively over the last few years.

    Union Station, a long-time city landmark and travel hub, has instead become a hub for crime and homelessness, only to be cleaned up when President Biden wants a speaking venue. Our businesses have suffered so many losses due to theft that some drug stores have begun putting pictures of their products on the shelves instead of the products themselves. Other small businesses have closed their doors altogether.

    Most notable here in D.C. is the worsening juvenile crime crisis. Politicians like Mayor Muriel Bowser and Attorney General Brian Schwalb have worked alongside the liberal city council to push a radical “ignore crime” agenda that undercuts law enforcement agencies and continues the mantra of “defund the police.” As a result, carjackings alone in D.C. have jumped 250% since 2018. Very few have been arrested for these crimes thanks to the city’s policies, but of those arrested, 64% are juveniles.

    D.C. residents deserve to feel safe in their city, but the juvenile crime crisis suggests a deeper problem that will become harder to solve the longer our leaders let it go on. Last month, a 12-year-old was charged in a failed carjacking attempt in Northwest D.C. In 2021, two teenage girls attempted to carjack a food delivery driver in a popular D.C. neighborhood, killing the driver in the process. And the problem is only getting worse.

    Despite the skyrocketing crime statistics, many Democratic politicians still refuse to take responsibility for carjackings, robberies, and homicides made worse by their own policies. In fact, some even refuse to acknowledge there is a problem. D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson has said there “is not a crime crisis” in Washington, D.C., but merely a widespread ‘perception’ of unsafety in the city. Others, while acknowledging the rising crime, have offered weak solutions like enforcing curfews for teens in certain neighborhoods or offering AirTags for citizens to help recover vehicles when they are stolen.

    The tragic uptick in brutality stems in large part from Democratic prosecutors who refuse to do their jobs and prosecute crime. Rogue prosecutors, including the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, send a dangerous message to anyone with criminal intentions: There is no punishment for breaking the law. Attorney General Schwalb, who is the person responsible for getting juvenile crime under control, spends his time pursuing politically driven investigations instead of addressing surging crime. As a result, there is little stopping offenders from committing heinous acts.

    Washington, D.C., is not just another city – it is our nation’s capital. It should be a city for all Americans, safe and free just like America, but, unfortunately, it currently only showcases a disturbing new trend for American cities.

    A recent report shows that those living in mid-sized cities such as Henderson, Nev., and Pittsburgh, Pa., are not safe from Democrat-caused chaos threatening their quality of life. Henderson saw a spike in violent crime reports between 2019 and 2021, during which homicides reached the highest number in the past ten years. The number of robberies, meanwhile, increased 91% during the first seven months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Pittsburgh likewise experienced 71 homicides in 2022, the largest number in a decade. The Major Cities Police Chiefs Association reports that the Steel City is experiencing a year-over-year increase in rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults as of mid-2023.

    Americans aren’t clueless.

    Not only in Washington, D.C., or in San Francisco – but from coast to coast Americans are watching our cities decay right before our eyes, and they are watching their leaders do nothing about it.

    The majority of Americans believe our justice system isn’t tough enough on crime, and the situation in Washington, D.C., is a pretty strong indicator they’re right.

    From the local city council to the attorney general or mayor, city residents need to hold their elected officials accountable and demand they save our cities and protect our citizens.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 19:00

  • Russian Airlines To Launch Regular Flights To Pyongyang For First Time
    Russian Airlines To Launch Regular Flights To Pyongyang For First Time

    North Korea has for decades been notorious for being among the most isolated countries in the world, and is for this reason for this reason often called the “hermit kingdom”. 

    A mere two airlines regularly fly in and out of Pyongyang Airport: North Korea’s own national carrier Air Koryo and the much larger Air China out of Beijing. At a moment Russia is trying to deepen economic and military ties with nations willing to ignore US-led sanctions, Moscow and Pyongyang are working to also make Russian carriers a regular presence at North Korea’s international airport. 

    The Kommersant business daily reports Monday that Russia has been issued an invitation to begin launching regular flights to North Korea, after Putin and Kim Jong Un held a summit in Russia’s far east in September. 

    Russia’s state civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia said it notified airlines Aeroflot and Aurora that they should evaluate readiness for routine flights to Pyongyang. 

    Any and all flights had been on hold for years during the pandemic, and only resumed in August of this year. Currently an Air Koryo flighting travels between Vladivostok and Pyongyang twice a week. 

    Russia’s Aurora had this to say on the potential for flights linking Moscow and North Korea

    “In the new foreign policy realities, Russia is forming new partnerships, the construction and development of which without direct flights from Moscow is not very comfortable,” Oleg Panteleyev, head of the AviaPort aviation think tank, told Kommersant. “The main interest in such flights, from business and political circles, is in Moscow.”

    It’s long been clear that Russia and North Korea are seeking to take their cooperation beyond just on the military front – which has included alleged major weapons and artillery shell transfers for Russia to execute its war in Ukraine

    For the first time last month Russia’s foreign ministry publicly encouraged tourism in the DPRK:

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he would recommend Russian tourists to vacation in North Korea.

    The top Russian diplomat visited North Korea, where he held a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui and then spoke to reporters.

    Over the past year it seems the trend has been the more Washington sanctions Russia, the more it turns to other so-called ‘pariah’ nations like North Korea and Iran. Very similar to improved defense and economic ties with Pyongyang, Moscow’s relations with Tehran have deepened as well.

    All of this has of course been denounced by the Biden administration, and yet it has very little leverage left when it comes to all three nations. It should be noted that all three have had their aviation industries under significant sanctions, making commercial flights more dangerous as safety slowly erodes for lack of easily available replacement parts.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 18:40

  • Supplying 65% Of Our Energy, America Must Lead On Oil and Gas
    Supplying 65% Of Our Energy, America Must Lead On Oil and Gas

    Authored by Rick Whitbeck via RealClear Wire,

    Fifty years ago this week, legislation authorizing construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. 

    The whole process took all of five days.

    Not only was the timeline unprecedented, but so was the fact that the act specifically halted all legal challenges against the planned pipeline. Furthermore, it prohibited federal and state agencies from regulating the construction of the project.

    The legislation led to a flurry of construction, and since the first oil flowed through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in June, 1977, more than 18 billion barrels have been delivered to its Valdez terminus from Alaska’s North Slope. The benefits to our state are clear: more than one-sixth of all Alaskan private-sector jobs are tied to oil and gas development throughout the state, and Alaska’s economy is driven by oil revenues and investment decisions made via Alaska’s Permanent Fund, which increases each via oil and gas royalties.

    Half a century ago, a bipartisan congressional coalition and President Nixon knew then what President Joe Biden seems to be oblivious to now: national oil and gas production – and the infrastructure and projects that create energy independence – drives America’s superpower status. Without it, we’re susceptible to geopolitical events and foreign countries’ attempts to undermine the free market, a hard lesson the Europeans have learned since Russia launched its war against Ukraine.

    Today, we’re seeing continuous attacks on resource development projects that would create American jobs, help Americans live better lives, and enhance American energy independence. Veiled in the cause to save the planet from the ‘existential threat’ of a ‘climate crisis’, the activists leading the opposition are weakening America’s global standing; making us dependent on others for raw materials and finished goods we are more than capable of creating domestically.

    The Keystone XL pipeline’s demise is well-known. With a stroke of Biden’s pen, hundreds of union jobs vanished from payrolls across the Midwest, and the potential of 510,000 barrels of oil a day hitting refineries did as well.  The Mountain Valley Pipeline only exists today because Congress stepped in and approved its completion as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, but unlike the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the underlying act didn’t prohibit legal challenges from continuing. And make no mistake, there are challenges across the country.

    In New York, eco-driven politicians have cancelled four natural gas pipeline projects in the last five years. Governor Kathy Hochul is taking her fight against fossil fuels one step further, banning natural gas stoves by 2026, cancelling permits for natural gas-fired power plants and embracing other climate edicts that experts predict will harm the Empire State’s economy.

    On the other side of the country, California Governor Gavin Newsom is taking an even more aggressive stance against traditional energy. He’s banned combustion-engine vehicles from being sold in the state beginning in 2035 and prohibited fracking in the state beginning in 2024. Even more frightening to Golden State residents should be his chumminess with Chinese President Xi Jinping. With the two leaders collaborating on climate impacts and increasing government-to-government partnerships, one must wonder what CCP-inspired ideas will be released on Californians next?

    Returning to my home state of Alaska, and faced with expected shortages of natural gas by the end of this decade, a proposed LNG pipeline that would nearly mirror the route of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline has been in the works for decades. It has the backing of the federal government in the way of loan guarantees, and – aside from providing Alaska’s Railbelt with decades of capacity – exporting some of Alaska’s gas reserves would help provide other Pacific Rim nations with cleaner alternatives to energy than coal-fired power plants. 

    Yet, the eco-zealots pushing back against every possible traditional energy project denigrate the proposed pipeline a ‘carbon bomb’ and have used every tactic available to stymie its progress. They ignore the lack of reliability and high costs of from alternative sources of energy. With Alaska’s weather and cold, dark winters, having reliable power is not only a creature comfort, but a matter of life-and-death.

    Fifty years ago, an overwhelming number of legislative and executive-branch leaders came together and did what was right for our nation. The Trans-Alaska pipeline helped the U.S. hold off OPEC aggression in the 1970s, and lead the way in ushering in American energy security. Today, extremism holds many of America’s energy projects hostage, denying the country a chance to build domestic supply chains, enhance our way of life, provide generational jobs and secure our energy and national security in the process.  

    Without bold leadership and facts-over-fear action, the future of many of these projects dim daily. It doesn’t have to be that way. For the sake of future generations, let’s change course while we still can.

    Rick Whitbeck is Alaska state director for Power The Future, a national nonprofit organization that advocates American energy jobs. Email him at rick@powerthefuture.com, and follow him on X @PTFAlaska

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 18:20

  • Only Libya Has Had More 'Recessions' Than Argentina In The Last 70 Years
    Only Libya Has Had More ‘Recessions’ Than Argentina In The Last 70 Years

    Javier Milei was elected president of Argentina this Sunday after the ultra-libertarian candidate beat left-wing opponent Sergio Massa in a runoff election … and maybe a sign of things to come…

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    Milei’s views and his campaigning style can be described as extreme, as he announced his intention to abolish Argentina’s central bank and posed with chainsaws on stage while vowing to “cut down” public spending.

    But, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz notes, Milei’s messaging and the fact that it reverberated with the Argentine public can only been seen in context of the nation’s desolate economic situation and many citizens’ lack of hope for improvement through moderate political channels.

    An analysis of data by the Conference Board shows that Argentina, together with “failed states” Libya and Syria, is the country which posted the most years of negative GDP growth since 1951.

    Infographic: The Countries Which Suffered Through Most Recession Years | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Other than these “failed states”, Argentina has not experienced a protracted civil war in recent years, even though the country suffered its fair share of insurgency in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s in connection with the dictatorship led by Juan Domingo Perón.

    Still, the country has been battling economic woes in the current age with on-and-off-again recessions.

    While Argentina might be more developed than others on the list, it has been caught up in a cycle of overspending, inflation, debt-making, unsustainable cuts to government programs and bad fiscal policy.

    Other countries which have struggled with recessions include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the least developed countries in Africa, followed by Chad, a landlocked African country where 85 percent of the population depend on agriculture for their livelihoods.

    For former Soviet and Yugoslav Republics, data is only available starting in 1971.

    Nevertheless, Ukraine and Moldova appear in ranks 7 and 8 out of 133 countries and territories, showcasing the severe impact the fall of Communism has had. Between 1990 and 1999 Ukraine experienced ten consecutive recession years, while Moldova posted nine.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 18:00

  • Iran Wants Russia To Be More Active In Seeking Gaza Peace: Foreign Minister
    Iran Wants Russia To Be More Active In Seeking Gaza Peace: Foreign Minister

    Via The Cradle,

    Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on Sunday to discuss regional developments and attempts to end the war in Gaza.  

    Amir-Abdollahian stressed that significant efforts are needed to stop the violent displacement and killing of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and voiced his wish for Moscow to play a more active role in trying to bring an end to what he described as Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign.

    Via AFP

    “Resistance will determine the final outcome,” Amir-Abollahian noted. The two foreign ministers also spoke about the US role in the war, saying that Washington was planning on extending the violence rather than taking action to bring it to an end.  

    “The [US] claims to be seeking an end to the war, but in practice, it escalates the intensity and spreads the sphere of the [US]-Zionist war,” Amir-Abdollahian said.  

    For his part, Lavrov expressed that he was disappointed with Israel’s refusal to stop the attacks on Gaza and made note of the need to continue discussions set to put an end to the war and free captives.  

    “The schedule of upcoming contacts and a number of other topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda of mutual interest were also touched upon,” the Russian foreign ministry media brief said, noting that the Iranian side that initiated the call.  

    The two nations have been prominent in their attempts to bring the war between Palestinian factions and Israel to an end. Amir-Abdollahian previously revealed that Iran has been holding back-channel communications with the US to bring peace to the region.  

    Tehran has voiced that it doesn’t want a regional conflict to break out:

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    “We said that Iran does not want the war to spread,” Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview with the Financial Times on 16 November. “But due to the approach adopted by the US and Israel in the region, if the crimes against the people of Gaza and the West Bank are not stopped, any possibility could be considered, and a wider conflict could prove inevitable.”

    On November 15, Lavrov said Russia told Israel: “You cannot buy security, which we are convinced you need, by delaying the creation [of a] Palestinian state, and by [criminally] reducing the territory which was designed for the Palestinian state by the United Nations.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 17:40

  • Ron Paul: We Must Demand Justice For The January 6th Protesters!
    Ron Paul: We Must Demand Justice For The January 6th Protesters!

    Authored by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity,

    New US House Speaker Mike Johnson struck a blow for liberty and justice last week when he finally authorized the release of all the tapes from the January 6, 2021 “insurrection.”

    We were told by no less than President Biden himself that this was the “worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”

    The FBI was unleashed by the Biden Administration to hunt down hundreds of participants in this “insurrection” and lock them up in the gulag where they awaited trial in torturous conditions – many in solitary confinement.

    A Congressional Committee was set up under then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi to “get to the bottom” of the “Trump-led insurrection.” It did not include a single Representative nominated by the opposition Republican Party, but rather two “Republicans” – Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – who could be relied on by Pelosi and the Democrats to toe the line.

    In short, the whole thing was an old-fashioned Soviet show trial, where the evidence was kept secret and the pre-determined verdict – guilty – was to be used to tighten the grip of the ruling regime and intimidate any further dissenters into silence.

    The message was clear: “speak out against the ‘perfection’ of the 2020 election and you may find yourself in the gulag along with the insurrectionists.”

    It was terrifying and profoundly anti-American.

    And, as we finally can see for ourselves thanks to Speaker Johnson, it was a huge lie. The new video shows demonstrators shaking hands with police officers once they entered the Capitol Building. They were welcomed into the building by officers who even held the doors for them to enter! They had no way of knowing that they would soon be rounded up and locked away.

    Does that mean no crimes were committed on January 6th? Not at all.

    The tapes already released were carefully chosen to single out examples of violence and other possible criminality.

    But the full release of the tapes demonstrates beyond a doubt that the endless propaganda that this was a coordinated attempt to overthrow the government was false.

    And as for that violence and mayhem on January 6th?

    How much of it was instigated by undercover FBI agents?

    New footage clearly shows officers outside the building firing on protestors with no warning.

    That must be why, in hearing after hearing, Biden Administration officials like Attorney General Merrick Garland have refused to tell Congress the number of federal agents present and their roles in instigating violence.

    The release of this evidence should immediately result in the release of all non-violent protestors awaiting trial or serving their sentences.

    Those in power responsible for promoting this lie should take their places in the jail cells.

    This delayed justice will not help protesters like Matthew Perna, however.

    Though the new video release clearly shows him calmly walking inside the Capitol in the presence of unconcerned police officers, when Merrick Garland’s Department of “Justice” announced they would seek terrorism charges against him, Perna, in despair, decided to hang himself in his garage.

    Yes, there was an insurrection of sorts.

    Those in power hated Donald Trump so much that they were willing to torture and even murder their fellow Americans to keep him from the presidency.

    Unless these people are brought to justice, we will have no Republic left to defend.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/20/2023 – 17:20

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Today’s News 20th November 2023

  • US Has Highest-Ever Childhood Vaccine Exemption Rate In History
    US Has Highest-Ever Childhood Vaccine Exemption Rate In History

    Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

    The United States now faces its highest-ever childhood vaccine exemption rate in history, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report published on Nov. 10.

    A vial of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine at the International Community Health Services clinic in Seattle on March 20, 2019. (Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)

    Before the pandemic, the United States had maintained nearly 95 percent nationwide vaccination coverage for 10 years.

    Yet between 2020 and 2021, vaccine coverage in kindergarten-aged children fell to 94 percent; between 2021 and 2022, it dropped to 93 percent.

    It is not clear whether this reflects a true increase in opposition to vaccination, or if parents are opting for nonmedical [vaccine] exemptions because of barriers to vaccination or out of convenience,” the report authors concluded.

    “Whether because of an increase in hesitancy or barriers to vaccination, the COVID-19 pandemic affected childhood routine vaccination,” they continued.

    Post-COVID Skepticism Spilling Into Vaccine Skepticism

    Dr. Cody Meissner, a professor of pediatrics at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, was concerned that people’s skepticism toward the current COVID-19 vaccines may have also affected their attitude toward conventional vaccines, leading to the decline in CDC-recommended and state-required vaccinations, as recently reported by the CDC.

    He suggested that the CDC’s initial delayed recognition of myocarditis as a COVID vaccine side effect in adolescents and young adults, coupled with the agency’s encouragement to vaccinate, as one example of what may be contributing to people’s distrust.

    I think those [vaccination] recommendations were well-intentioned,” he said, but the slow acknowledgment of side effects may have left some people with a perception that the CDC was “not completely forthcoming.

    Pediatrician Dr. Mark Barrett said that the current trend is likely caused by people distrusting recommendations from the CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and even their doctors.

    “I feel parents are doing their own research,” he wrote to The Epoch Times via email.

    Pediatrician Dr. Derek Husmann said that children having the lowest risk of severe COVID-19 gave parents and pediatricians a unique perspective, making them question the broad need for vaccines.

    “The pediatricians’ perspective is pretty significantly different—in reference to the COVID pandemic—than a physician who takes care of adults,” Dr. Husmann said, “because the pediatric population was at essentially zero risk of death or serious complications from COVID infection.

    According to the CDC website dashboard, deaths from COVID-19 make up about 3 percent of all deaths, but the percentage is even smaller in children.

    “There was a perceived conflict between the information that COVID was less serious in children, yet the vaccine was recommended for them. This was never satisfactorily explained or resolved,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and health policy in the Infectious Disease Division at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, wrote to The Epoch Times.

    California pediatrician Dr. Samara Cardenas said that the public slowly came to realize the COVID-19 vaccines were not safe nor effective as initially promised, and this may have also prompted parents to question the need for routine vaccinations.

    “[In California], if you’re not vaccinated, they won’t even take a medical exemption. So I have quite a few patients asking about homeschooling rather than vaccinating their children,” she said.

    “There has been this incredible increase in homeschooling since the COVID pandemic, and so that may have falsely inflated the vaccine rates in the [report],” added Dr. Husmann, who is based in rural Texas.

    Conventional Vaccines vs. COVID-19 Vaccines

    Some doctors are now troubled by the risks posed by declining rates of conventional vaccinations and the potential for increased outbreaks due to vaccine-preventable diseases like polio.

    Dr. Meissner said, “At this time, it is important for parents to consider a distinction between the benefits versus risks of the pediatric COVID vaccines and other childhood vaccines that have successfully controlled many infectious diseases.”

    Dr. Schaffner agreed, adding that children are encouraged to get immunized against COVID-19 and that more public health work is needed to encourage conventional vaccine takeup.

    “Measles, polio, diphtheria, for example, are vague concepts to [parents]. And so, these diseases are not known, therefore not respected or even feared, leading to questions about the vaccine,” Dr. Schaffner said.

    “I tell current medical students that before we had measles vaccine available in the United States, back in the 1960s, there were 400 to 500 children that died annually in the United States, secondary to measles and its complications,” he explained. “Their jaws drop. They have no idea.”

    However, some doctors have become more cautionary about childhood vaccine recommendations, fearing denial and the potential coverup of side effects.

    “There is a potential public health concern when children remain fully unvaccinated for all traditional childhood vaccines,” pediatrician Dr. Renata Moon, who previously worked as a professor of medicine at the University of Washington, wrote to The Epoch Times. “[But] the question on everyone’s mind is, ‘what safety data do we have for each childhood vaccine?’

    “Many parents who used to follow the traditional childhood vaccination schedule have stepped back from vaccinating their children altogether. They have lost trust in recommendations from public health agencies and are taking a ‘safer to wait’ approach,” she added.

    Dr. Cardenas echoed Dr. Moon with a similar statement. “I used to be 100 percent vaccinated,” she said, adding that the COVID era has made her realize she needs to do more research, and has similarly taken the safer-to-wait approach for now.

    Dr. Husmann added that immunization does not guarantee a complete elimination of outbreaks, explaining that there have been measles outbreaks among both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

    In 2003, a measles outbreak occurred in a highly vaccinated boarding school in Pennsylvania. The school had a vaccination rate of 95 percent. Out of nine laboratory-confirmed cases of measles, only two were unvaccinated.

    Other cases demonstrate the opposing scenario. In December 2022, a measles outbreak occurred in central Ohio. The jurisdiction estimated an immunization rate of 80 percent to 90 percent, yet of the 73 children infected, most (67) were unvaccinated.

    The centuries-long recommendation to vaccinate stems from the notion that there is no trade-off for immunity against infectious disease. However, Drs. Husmann and Cardenas argue that childhood vaccines may also present long-term risks that are not well-known and rarely discussed.

    Safety of Childhood Vaccines Scrutinized

    Recently, childhood vaccines have faced renewed scrutiny. These include the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) and diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DTaP) vaccines for their links to autism and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for its links to encephalitis.

    Yet long-term vaccine safety data and vaccine studies are lacking, and this applies to all vaccines on the market.

    For instance, the Haemophilus influenzae B vaccine (Hib), a four-dose series approved for infants and children aged 2 months to 5 years, had safety monitoring for only 30 days post-vaccination. The package insert for Infanrix, a DTaP vaccine, states that adverse reactions were monitored for only four days after vaccination.

    In 2013, the National Vaccine Program Office commissioned the former Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee, now the National Academy of Medicine, to reexamine the evidence supporting safety claims for the CDC’s childhood vaccine schedule.

    The committee found that “few studies have comprehensively assessed the association between the entire immunization schedule or variation in the overall schedule” and health outcomes, and “no study has directly examined health outcomes” the way the committee was charged to address.

    The committee further stated that no studies have been conducted “to determine the long-term effects of the cumulative number of vaccines or other aspects of the immunization schedule.”

    While no long-term randomized, controlled trials exist for any vaccines, extensive research has compared vaccinated populations to unvaccinated. Randomized placebo-controlled trials are considered the gold standard in testing treatments.

    A 2017 pilot study led by professor Anthony Mawson at Jackson State University compared vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated children aged between 6 and 12.

    The researchers found that while fully and partially vaccinated children had significantly fewer cases of chickenpox and pertussis, they had 30 times greater odds of being diagnosed with allergic rhinitis and around four times greater odds of having allergies, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism. They also had about five times the odds of having a learning disability and almost four times the odds of having a neurodevelopmental disorder.

    Mr. Mawson’s second study compared children who were unvaccinated, vaccinated, and vaccinated with preterm birth, which is a risk factor for neurodevelopmental deficits. The vaccinated children had almost thrice the odds of neurodevelopmental disorders, while preterm and vaccinated children had 14.5 greater odds of neurodevelopmental disorders than unvaccinated.

    A 2020 study led by Brian Hooker, professor emeritus of biology at Simpson University, compared data of vaccinated and unvaccinated children collected from three different medical practices. The authors found that vaccinated children had nearly 4.5 greater odds of asthma and over twice the odds of developmental delays and ear infections.

    Since these studies are not randomized and controlled, they do not indicate a causal relationship but suggest potential health concerns.

    The study findings suggest that children may be trading long-term health for infectious disease immunity, Dr. Husmann said.

    “We think that we’re making a choice between immunization and maybe some short-term adverse reactions like pain, swelling, fever, fussiness, or not feeling well for a few days,” Dr. Husman said, “but we are also giving your child a significantly increased risk of a whole host of chronic health conditions, including, autism, seizures, and asthma.

    “You really don’t know if it’s worth it to try to prevent an incredibly rare infectious disease and put your child or yourself at risk of a chronic illness.”

    An Opportunity for Safer Vaccines

    While Dr. Husmann questions the safety of vaccines, he is keeping an open mind about adequately tested and safe vaccines in the future.

    “I do not [want my patients to be] necessarily anti-vaccine; what I want them to be is vaccine freedom-friendly … I want my patients to be open and accepting of any vaccine that is truly safe and effective.”

    Similarly, Dr. Cardenas agreed that it is a good thing that parents are proactively learning about these medications.

    “Everybody should get instructed and educated on what is happening when you are being injected or even when you’re getting medicines. You should ask your doctor, what is this for? What are the side effects? I think the public is beginning to do that, and I think it is very good.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 23:55

  • Apple Is America's Worst Major Company For Employee Retention
    Apple Is America’s Worst Major Company For Employee Retention

    Employees consider various factors when committing to a company long term, including a positive work environment, fair compensation, job security, opportunities for professional growth, and resilience against disruptive changes in the economy or technology.

    So, which companies have the worst employee retention?

    Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti remarks that to create this graphic, Resume.io analyzed LinkedIn data to identify large companies where employees have the shortest tenures in the U.S..

    Tech Giants on Top of the List

    Resume.io ranked the top 100 companies by market cap in the U.S. based on their average employee tenure through an analysis of their LinkedIn pages.

    With a turnover rate of 13.2%, the tech industry is the economy’s most turbulent.

    Tech giants comprise three of the five shortest average tenures among company workforces.

    On average, staff at companies like Apple, Amazon, and Meta quit their jobs before the second year.


    Over the years, Apple and Meta have been seen as top companies to work with, with employees enthusiastically praising their cultures, values, benefits, and perks.

    However, recent shifts, such as the return-to-office policies and lack of stability, have taken a toll on these companies.

    Following the Covid-19 pandemic, Apple instituted a three-day-a-week in-office schedule in 2022. According to Tech.co, 67% of employees expressed dissatisfaction with the policy at that time.

    Last year, Meta grabbed headlines by announcing the most significant tech layoff of the year, involving a 13% reduction in staff.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 23:20

  • Outside APEC, Complaints Of Intimidation & Assaults
    Outside APEC, Complaints Of Intimidation & Assaults

    Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClear Wire,

    The United States sent Chinese President Xi Jinping a dissonant message on human rights this week when the Biden administration and California officials rolled out the red carpet for the brutal dictator.

    Xi’s 10 years as president are marked by a genocide against China’s Muslim minority, attempts to wipe out Tibetan culture, and persecution of Christians and followers of Falun Gong – not to mention a crackdown on democracy, religious freedom, and civil rights in Hong Kong. 

    Yet, during official and unofficial meetings this week, there was no mention of the long list of atrocities. Instead, Xi received an unusually warm reception. 

    On Wednesday night in the confines of San Francisco’s Hyatt Regency ballroom, America’s corporate chieftains gathered to fete Xi as a “guest of honor” at a banquet drawing nearly 400 attendees. The gala took place on the sidelines of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, a gathering of 21 member countries to support free trade and business ties. 

    The executives were so excited to share the room with the Chinese president that they gave him two standing ovations before Xi uttered a word. American titans of business, including Apple’s Tim Cook and Blackstone’s Steve Schwarzman, Black Rock’s Larry Fink, Boeing’s Stanley Deal, and Pfizer’s Albert Bourla, joined Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to rub shoulders with Xi and a cohort of Chinese officials. 

    Tickets for the banquet started at $2,000 each, with several companies shelling out $40,000 to buy eight seats at a table in the ballroom and one at Xi’s table. After Xi’s remarks, attendees provided yet another standing ovation, according to Reuters

    Some executives made no attempt to hide their gushing. On the way into the Hyatt, Bridgewater Associates hedge fund founder Ray Dalio told the Financial Times that he was “excited to have this relationship [with Xi].”

    If Dalio entered the hotel from the main lobby, he couldn’t have avoided the polar opposite scene and messaging. A Tibetan student activist named Tsela had strapped herself to a flagpole and was waving the Tibetan flag when Xi and his entourage arrived. Other activists from Students for a Free Tibet chanted “Murderer” at the Chinese leader, “Down with the CCP,” and “Human Rights in Tibet.” 

    At one point, a pro-Chinese protester carrying an American and Chinese flag in one hand and a bullhorn in the other drowned out the Tibetan activists’ voices. 

    An activist promoting democracy in Hong Kong displayed a bleeding wound in one tweet, along with a photo of menacing-looking men in surgical masks carrying long metal pipes. The activist complained that pro-Beijing forces were attacking her group outside the Hyatt Regency.

    “Harassment and assault happening at the protest zone,” tweeted Anna Kwok, the executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, Wednesday night. 

    Kwok has a HK$1 million bounty on her head from the Hong Kong government for helping organize the 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. While her Twitter accounts did not provide footage of the alleged attacks, she shared several messages threatening her life from pro-China social media accounts. One from an account that goes by @Chinaloverguy threatened to kidnap her, tie her up, and send her back to China. 

    I do want the million dollar reward as i will first to tie you up with ropes then send you to a black market or simply send you back to HK myself,” the account warned. 

    Late Thursday afternoon, Kwok shared photos of her and several other Chinese pro-democracy activists meeting with Mark Lambert, the State Department’s China coordinator and deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs. The meeting took place “just blocks” from the APEC summit. 

    We’ll keep speaking up for our people and pushing for concrete action despite the transnational repression,” she tweeted. 

    Earlier Wednesday, Students for a Free Tibet complained on Twitter that it was “attacked” by 20 pro-Chinese counter-protesters in medical masks, whom the activists described as paid Chinese operatives. The alleged assaults occurred after the activists displayed an anti-Xi banner with the words, “Dictator Xi Jinping, Your Time is Up!” through openings in a garage structure. The activists said the group of pro-Chinese men in surgical masks grabbed the flag through openings on a lower level, pulling the banner and stealing it while nearly dragging the student activists over the ledge where they were holding onto and displaying the banner. Students for a Free Tibet also tweeted footage of a confrontation and scuffle when both groups converged in an elevator trying to leave the scene. 

    “This is the CCP. This is China. This is who APEC nations and the world are doing business with,” the group stated in the tweet. 

    In another episode of pro-China intimidation, several demonstrators in blue surgical masks carrying Chinese flags harassed a Uyghur woman toting a light-blue Turkmenistan flag now outlawed in China. Members of the pro-China contingent followed her closely, eventually enveloping her flag in a sea of larger Chinese flags. 

    Tibetan activist accounts identified the woman as Tursunay Ziyawudun, a Uyghur refugee now living in the United States who testified to Congress in 2022 that she had been raped and tortured by Chinese police in a “re-education” concentration camp. In her testimony, she detailed what she described as just one horrific episode in the CCP’s systematic targeting of young women for sexual abuse. 

    “Even in America, this is the reality of the CCP,” Students for a Free Tibet said in its tweet, referring to attempts by pro-Chinese counter-protesters to intimidate Ziyawudun. 

    Inside the summit’s lecture halls and ballrooms, there was a complete disconnect with the multiple anti-China protests taking place outside – and, at times, with reality. There was no mention of genocide or human rights abuses during Xi’s and Biden’s public remarks. Instead, Xi told the crowd he is ready to partner with America, and the world needs the two superpowers to work together. 

    Whatever stage of development it may reach, China will never pursue hegemony or expansion and will never impose its will on others,” Xi said in remarks at the Wednesday night dinner. “China does not seek spheres of influence and will not fight a cold war or a hot war with anyone.” 

    At a press conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, Biden made waves by saying that he still considers Xi a dictator despite progress in reducing tensions in their relationship. On Thursday, however, Biden focused mainly on the positive, pledging not to “decouple” from China, explaining that the U.S. is instead “de-risking and diversifying our economic relations” with Beijing. 

    “Stable relations between the world’s two largest economies is not merely good for the two economies, it’s good for the world – a stable relationship is good for everyone,” Biden said, without acknowledging that his own State Department has officially deemed Xi’s persecution of the Uyghurs as genocide and has repeatedly placed China on official human rights and religious freedom blacklists. 

    Business and trade analysts argue that Xi’s speech is unlikely to dramatically shift his approach to bilateral business and trade relations. As the economic and geopolitical rivalry has intensified over the last few years, China has grown more suspicious of U.S. companies, cracking down on American consultancy firms and damaging investor confidence. 

    The Biden administration’s decision not to use the opportunity to send a firm human rights message, along with Xi’s open embrace from top American business executives, has dimmed hopes among human rights groups that Xi will curb his brutal persecutions and arbitrary arrests. 

    Rep. Mike Gallagher, the Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on China, railed against Xi’s dinner with U.S. business executives. 

    Gallagher sent a letter on Monday to the dinner’s hosts, the U.S. China Business Council and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, demanding a complete list of companies who paid to attend the gala. 

    The U.S. business community needs to remove its golden blindfolds and realize that doing business with the CCP risks the safety of their employees, their shareholders, and the savings of millions of Americans,” Gallagher told Fox News Wednesday. “$40,000 may buy you a meal with Xi, but it can’t buy you a conscience.” 

    Other human rights leaders on Capitol Hill were also disappointed with the absence of any reference to China’s egregious human rights record during the summit’s official proceedings. Several members of Congress and advocacy organizations had pressed Biden to demand the release of three American citizens who have been held hostage in China for years before the two leaders met. At the very least, they wanted Biden to present to Xi a list of individuals the CCP has arbitrarily detained on false charges. 

    The timing of Biden’s meeting with Xi also coincided with several threats in Hong Kong against a group of U.S. lawmakers. Rep. John Curtis, a Utah Republican, was one of four members of Congress included in a Monday petition to Hong Kong’s High Court that would enable the territory’s law enforcement to arrest them if they travel to and are found in the city. 

    The others are Sen. Dan Sullivan, an Alaska Republican, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, as well as Reps. Young Kim, a California Republican, and James McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat. 

    Curtis has introduced several Hong Kong-focused bills, including one that would implement sanctions on several top Hong Kong officials if international commissions determine they have violated international human rights laws. 

    The Utah congressman, who spent three years in Taiwan in the late 1970s, said he’s particularly distressed that San Francisco city officials didn’t provide greater free-speech protections for human rights protesters outside APEC. 

    “It’s an obvious attempt to intimidate, not just their own residents, but those of us who enjoy the freedoms we do here in the United States,” he told RealClearPolitics Thursday. 

    While Curtis agrees with Biden’s efforts to help thaw relations with China, he bristled at reports that American business executives gave Xi a standing ovation. 

    I thought, they don’t know this man – they don’t know what he’s doing and all the atrocities that are happening in China.

    Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ White House/na

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 22:45

  • China's Quasi-QE Isn't Enough To End Real Estate Crisis
    China’s Quasi-QE Isn’t Enough To End Real Estate Crisis

    By Ye Xie, George Lei and Henry Ren, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategists

    Three things we learned in the past week:

    1. Beijing’s stepped-up support for the property market might not be enough to spur a turnaround. In a meeting Friday, regulators told banks to meet all “reasonable” funding needs from property developers. The call came after a report showed new home prices in major cities dropped the most in eight years in October.

    Bloomberg also reported that Beijing plans to provide at least $137 billion of low-cost financing to the nation’s urban village renovation and affordable housing programs, potentially funded through the Pledged Supplemental Lending. The PSL, a controversial tool sometimes dubbed as China’s version of QE, helped end a housing downturn in 2015. But it’s also been criticized for inflating the property bubble in smaller cities further.

    This time, its impact is likely to be more limited. Apart from a smaller size, a key difference now is that the renovation program targets bigger cities, which Nomura estimates only accounts for 20% of the nation’s new home sales.

    “Most of the excess housing stock is really in smaller cities,” said Adam Wolfe, an economist at Absolute Strategy Research. “So this might not do as much to soak up developers’ excess inventories as the previous program due to its smaller size and narrower scope.” He added the growth outlook for next year is likely to worsen as consumers and local governments are tapped out.

    2. China’s geopolitical predicaments saw improvement. The Biden-Xi summit turned out to be, by and large, a success. Meanwhile, Taiwan’s main opposition parties joined hands, raising hopes of a 2024 presidential victory that could ease tensions with Beijing. Political events could now “bolster sentiment more significantly” even as “investor concerns over Chinese growth loom large,” Singapore-based DBS Group said in a research report.

    DBS sees scope for a return of US investments to Chinese assets, as the “geopolitical risk premium” declined. October data showed capital outflows waned, and global investors bought government bonds by the most in four months. The offshore yuan rallied 1.2% over the past week, posting the best returns in more than eight months.

    3. Reports from China’s biggest internet companies gave investors little reason to cheer. Alibaba cut short an ill-fated plan to separate its cloud business, sending its US-listed shares to lowest levels in almost a year. The stunning reversal came just six months after the firm announced plans to distribute the cloud unit to shareholders as a stock dividend.

    Alibaba’s core business of domestic e-commerce fell short of revenue expectations, and its peer JD.com’s retail arm saw no growth during the third quarter, underscoring the challenges that both companies face in an increasingly competitive industry. Tencent showed progress in new initiatives such as short-form videos, but underwhelming sales of games at home and abroad remain a concern.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 22:10

  • Israel Admits It Killed Some Of Its Own At Nova Music Festival
    Israel Admits It Killed Some Of Its Own At Nova Music Festival

    Via The Cradle

    An Israeli police investigation into the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival near the Gaza border on October 7 revealed that an Israeli attack helicopter killed some of the attendees, Haaretz reported on Saturday. 

    According to a police source, an investigation into the incident showed that an Israeli combat helicopter that arrived at the scene from the Ramat David base fired at Hamas fighters and other Palestinians who crossed through the border fence from Gaza into Israel, but also fired on some of the Israelis attending the music festival. According to the police, 364 people in total were killed there.

    Burnt cars are abandoned in a carpark near where a music festival was held, via Reuters.

    The Israeli military and rescue services previously claimed that 260 Israelis were killed at the festival, all by Hamas and Palestinians in a deliberate massacre. But this is the first acknowledgement that Israeli forces killed some of their own.

    Previous reports in Israeli media revealed that Israeli forces killed Israeli civilians in Be’eri, a settlement also near the Gaza border. In that case, Hamas fighters were holding Israelis captive in homes. When the Israeli military arrived, it opened fire, including by firing tank shells, killing both Israeli captives and Hamas fighters.

    Three of those killed in Be’eri by Israeli tank fire were 12-year-old Liel Hezroni, her brother Yanai, and their aunt Ayla. Israeli broadcaster Kan reported that Liel’s relatives held a farewell ceremony for her, rather than a burial ceremony, because her body could not be recovered from the house that collapsed on her and other Hamas captives after an Israeli tank fired two shells into it. 

    A similar instance occurred in Sderot, where Hamas fighters had taken over the local police station, and were holding Israeli police captive inside. Both the Hamas fighters and Israeli police were killed when the Israeli army fired tank shells at the police station, killing everyone. Israeli forces then bulldozed the station.

    It is therefore unclear how many of the Israelis who died on 7 October were killed by Hamas, whose fighters were seeking to take as many Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, captive back to Gaza as possible, and how many were killed by Israeli forces refusing to negotiate for the captives’ release.

    Israel initially claimed Hamas and Palestinians killed 1,400 Israelis on October 7, including soldiers, police, and civilians, but later revised the count to 1,200. Israeli spokesperson Mark Regev acknowledged that 200 of the alleged victims were Hamas fighters or Palestinians whose bodies were burned so badly that Israeli authorities could not initially identify them and assumed them to be Israelis.

    In an interview with MSNBC on Friday, he stated, “We originally said, in the atrocious Hamas attack upon our people on October 7th, we had the number at 1,400 casualties and now we’ve revised that down to 1,200 because we understood that we’d overestimated, we made a mistake. There were actually bodies that were so badly burnt we thought they were ours, in the end apparently they were Hamas terrorists.”

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    Regarding the Nova festival, Haaretz reported as well that, “There is a growing assessment in the security establishment that the terrorists who carried out the massacre on October 7 did not know in advance about the Nova festival held near Kibbutz Re’im, and decided to come to the place after discovering that a mass event was taking place there.” The Hamas fighters had initially intended to attack nearby settlements in what is known as the Gaza envelope.

    According to Haaretz, senior security officials estimate that Hamas found out about the existence of the party using drones, and directed its fighters to the location using their communication system. In a video from a body camera of one Hamas fighter, “he is heard asking a captured Israeli for directions to reach the bad guys, even though he was in a different area.” One of the findings that strengthens the assessment, according to the police and other security officials, is that the first Hamas fighters arrived at the Nova festival from the direction of road 232 and not from the direction of the Gaza border fence.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 21:35

  • Conservative Think Tank Reveals Best, Worst States For Freedom In Education
    Conservative Think Tank Reveals Best, Worst States For Freedom In Education

    Authored by Jackson Elliott via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Citing the need for equity, lawmakers in several Democrat-controlled states have passed measures recently that make it harder to discipline students who act up in the classroom.

    Children in a classroom hold their hands up to be called on during class at Carter Traditional Elementary School in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 24, 2022. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

    Schools in California, Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, and other states have adopted student discipline systems based on “restorative justice” instead of suspending students for bad behavior.

    That means, instead of giving students penalties for misbehavior, schools use “empathetic communication” to explain to students why their misbehavior is harmful.

    But at least one state has struck out in a different direction in the hopes of improving student success.

    In Oklahoma, Ryan Walters, the state superintendent of public instruction, has proposed reforms that will encourage more disciplining of students. He believes that’s the best way to improve learning, he told The Epoch Times.

    Decisions like this helped land his state in 10th place on the 2023 Education Freedom Report Card, compiled by The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank focused on public policy research.

    The Heritage Foundation report ranks school systems in all states and the District of Columbia by their degree of education choice, transparency, teacher freedom, and return on investment in education.

    Education choice refers to what degree of choice parents get over where their children attend school.

    Teacher freedom means the degree to which teachers control instruction within the classroom.

    The transparency rating refers to the degree to which parents know what’s happening in local schools.

    Return on investment compares how much each state spends on education in relation to student success on the National Assessment of Education Progress exams.

    Florida earned the top spot in the report. Rounding out the top 10, in order of ranking, were Arizona, Utah, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Iowa, and Oklahoma.

    The bottom 10 on the report were New Jersey, Washington, Delaware, Minnesota, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and, in last place, Oregon. All of these states lean left politically and had a majority of votes in 2020 for President Joe Biden.

    And left-leaning policies lead to poor outcomes at schools, Oklahoma superintendent Mr. Walters said.

    “As with many subjects, the [political] left is completely dead wrong on this. It’s not that society is causing students to misbehave—it’s that students are not being responsible for their own behavior.”

    Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters reads to children. (Courtesy of Ryan Walters)

    But education officials in Minnesota, ranked near the bottom of the Heritage Foundation report, believe “restorative practices” are an example of a winning educational policy.

    Restorative practices (RP) are drawn from the traditions of Indigenous people and communities of color around the world,” the Minnesota Department of Education’s website reads. “They are grounded in a belief that people are profoundly relational, interconnected and inherently good.”

    “Inherently good” children misbehave because the systems they are in fail them and push them into misbehavior, Minnesota’s guide to implementing restorative justice theorizes.

    “It is the system (not the children) that needs to be made whole,” the guide reads.

    Conservative policies prevail in nine states in the top 10. Arizona was the only state in the top 10 with a majority of votes for President Biden in the 2020 election that toppled incumbent President Donald Trump.

    Conservative Approach

    Oklahoma has taken an approach that’s the opposite of the policies in states that seek to make it more difficult to remove unruly youngsters from classrooms.

    Mr. Walters has focused on implementing educational policies that hold students accountable for their actions, he said.

    These policies, he said, help students succeed by creating environments where students can learn.

    And that makes teachers happier, he said.

    Veteran teachers have complained that student behavior is worse than ever, he said. They’ve told him: “We’ve got to get discipline back on track,” he said.

    So, “they’re very excited that we’re taking this seriously.”

    Under his proposed Comprehensive Classroom Discipline Reform for Oklahoma, teachers will have the rights to enforce school district policies, inform law enforcement, refuse to teach violent students, and not be held liable, he said.

    He’s especially proud of the state’s fifth-place ranking on education choice because school choice ensures “every parent has access to as many options as possible,” he said. And he’s working on boosting rankings in other areas.

    “We are bringing transparency to the state. We are working to ensure that districts are showing their policies, their curriculum, their budgets.”

    Red States vs Blue States

    State choices on how to fix education make a real difference in children’s lives, Mr. Walters said.

    It’s a temptation for state officials to “fix education” by creating policies that change metrics rather than fixing underlying issues, he said.

    Schools can help more students succeed, he said. Or they can lower standards until whatever students do counts as success.

    Officials in some states, he said, approach the problem by saying, “We want graduation rates to go up. So what do we do? Well, let’s lower the standards by which we’re holding people to graduate.”

    You can graduate more people that way,” Mr. Walters said. “But what are you graduating them with?”

    He prefers to push schools to improve education so that students graduate by reaching higher standards.

    Oklahoma has invested $2.9 million in a “Back to Basics” plan designed to teach children reading and math literacy, Mr. Walters said. The plan pays teachers for tutoring and provides bonuses of up to $4,000 for students’ improved learning.

    He takes the same approach to discipline.

    If schools set clear expectations, he said, students will learn to meet them.

    Thomas Paine Elementary School in Garden Grove, Calif., on Sept. 21, 2023. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

    “What you’re trying to instill in young people is self-discipline and work ethic,” Mr. Walters said. “These are the type of things that equate to being successful, not only academically but in life.”

    If school systems can create good citizens, life, overall, will get better for students, he said.

    And that means happier teachers, too, he said.

    We had over 900 teachers apply for our incentive bonus to come teach in the State of Oklahoma.

    Republican-controlled Florida ranked top overall on the Education Freedom report card, and earned the rankings of second in educational choice, first in transparency, second in teacher freedom, and fifth in return on investment.

    “By providing universal school choice, parental rights in education and curriculum transparency, we have ensured that parents are able to fully direct the upbringing of their children,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news release.

    New Standards

    Oklahoma’s policies starkly contrast with several educational reforms favored by the political left, emphasizing leniency toward students.

    In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the state’s Senate Bill 274 on Oct. 8. This bill ended school suspensions for bad behavior, including talking back to teachers, using phones in class, breaking dress code, being late, and more.

    Supporters say measures like these ensure that African American and minority students won’t receive suspension.

    “Willful defiance suspensions have disproportionately impacted students of color, LGBTQ students, students who are homeless or in foster care, and those with disabilities,” California state Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat,  announced on her website.

    By not suspending students who misbehave in these ways, California will give them more time in school, which will result in education, Ms. Skinner said.

    “Suspending youth for low-level behavior issues leads to significant harm, including learning loss and a higher likelihood that affected students will drop out of school completely,” she said.

    Currently, California ranks 26th overall on the list by The Heritage Foundation. The state ranked 40th on educational choice, fifth on transparency, 43rd on teacher freedom, and 22nd on return on investment.

    Governor of California Gavin Newsom attends a press conference on Oct. 25, 2023. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images)

    In 2021, Oregon lawmakers passed Senate Bill 744, a measure that said students wouldn’t be required to show proficiency in “essential learning skills” to get a diploma during the school years of 2021-2022, 2022-2023, and 2023-2024.

    This bill cites “an emergency” as the reason to end standardized tests that show how the state’s students rank compared to youngsters throughout the country.

    It’s unclear from the bill’s wording whether the emergency was related to the COVID-19 pandemic or some other academic emergency.

    However, the bill doesn’t suspend all educational requirements.

    Oregon high-school students still have to earn a minimum number of class credits.

    Since the bill’s passage, student graduation rates have remained relatively consistent at nearly 81 percent, state statistics show.

    While the state ranks last, overall, it ranks 46th on education choice, 25th on transparency, 51st on teacher freedom, and 29th on return on investment.

    Education Battles

    Left-wing groups have fought against his policies, Mr. Walters said.

    “I will never back down,” he said.

    Mr. Walters has referred to teachers’ unions as “terrorist organizations.”

    In response, the Oklahoma branch of the National Education Association (NEA) published an official statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying Mr. Walters was “unprofessional.”

    Public school educators are not getting rich off of this job,” the statement said. “They keep their hearts and classrooms open to every single child across Oklahoma because they love their students. Comparing them to people who blow up buildings is disgusting, especially when every educator puts their life on the line to protect students as school shootings continue to rise.”

    Monica Royer, media relations specialist for the Oklahoma Education Association, said she had no comment about Mr. Walters.

    Teachers’ unions often take sides with the political left. The NEA’s LGBT teacher caucus provided badges to teachers with scannable codes that referred students to websites with LGBT sex guides.

    Radical activists interested in peddling left-wing ideology like that to children are the biggest danger in education today, Mr. Walters said.

    “The left has been trying to force this woke ideology into our schools, and they’ve tried it through many different mechanisms,” he said. “We’re going to continue to push parent rights, parent choice, and also weaken the power of the teachers union every step of the way.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 20:25

  • Dictator Xi's American Cleanup Tour
    Dictator Xi’s American Cleanup Tour

    By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management

    “I know folks say – Oh, they’re just cleaning up this place because all these fancy leaders are coming into town,” said Gavin Newsom, licking the still-damp pressure-washed sidewalks of San Fran’s Tenderloin, the press snapping away. “And that’s true…because it’s true,” continued California’s governor, praying that Xi Jinping’s visit would position him as a serious leader should President Biden stumble a few more times between now and next November.

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    “But it’s also true for months and months and months prior to APEC we’ve been having different conversations, and we’ve raised the bar of expectation between the city, the county, the state, and our federal partners,” said Gavin, America’s fever perhaps finally breaking, a California politician appearing to condemn, however gently, the senseless forfeit of a great city to tents, rampant crime, drug abuse, squalor.

    Portland’s mayor saw Newsom’s press conference and immediately called the Chinese embassy in DC, to beg for a state visit from Xi. He was put on hold. Seattle’s governor was ahead of him in the queue. Naturally Baltimore’s war-torn mayor had been first to call, but Chicago’s mayor had front run the order by piggybacking Citadel’s high-speed connection.

    “Could Mr. Jinping please come visit our South Side? Just a quick drive by? High-speed, anything, please?” the mayor pleaded.

    Yellen considered asking Xi to swing by Treasury to clean up our chronic deficit but felt it better to leave this historic challenge for her successor. New York City’s Mayor Adams, not one to defund the police unless forced to by budget cuts, was too busy explaining to his constituents that the migrant crisis would cost the city $11bln over the coming two years (next year’s $110bln NYC budget will contain a $7bln deficit).

    Governor Abbott was tempted to have Xi come clean up the mess on his border, but communists are obviously not welcome in Texas.

    Regardless, on this issue too, America’s fever was breaking. And with New York’s Governor Hochul seeking a more sensible approach to immigration, the creation of a sovereign border of some practical significance was finally on the horizon.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 19:50

  • The Rise Of Socialists In Latin America Is Giving Terror Groups A Home
    The Rise Of Socialists In Latin America Is Giving Terror Groups A Home

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

    The new wave of leftist governments in Latin America, along with an increasingly brazen posture from Tehran has given Iran and its proxy terrorist groups a favorable environment to mingle with organized crime, cross borders with impunity, and engage in more direct state-to-state exchanges, analysts say.

    (Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock)

    “There’s always been a certain level of, not only networks, but also influence by both Hezbollah and behind Hezbollah, Iran, in the region,” said Evan Ellis, a former State Department official and research professor of Latin American studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute.

    “That increased with respect to the state-to-state Iranian engagement largely through populist actors in the mid-2000s, with a new crop of leftist populist leaders: Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales in Bolivia, and certainly Rafael Correa in Ecuador, among others.”

    A map depicts the political leanings of governments in Latin America. (The Epoch Times)

    This movement includes the recent reported entry of Iran and Hezbollah agents into the region through Venezuela, as evidenced by a 2022 incident in which a plane was grounded and seized in Argentina upon request of the United States. The state-owned aircraft had five Iranian nationals on board. Paraguay officials and others claimed they were linked to the Quds Force, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States. Argentina denied reports that crew members were linked to Quds.

    The seizure coincided with the return to the region of many of the same populist actors. “Essentially, you’re taking Quds Forces operatives and Hezbollah-affiliated personnel around the region,” Mr. Ellis said.

    “In recent months what you’ve seen also is a broadening of that Iranian engagement with a trip to Nicaragua to talk about oil deals. And more recently, a three nation trip by President [Ebrahim] Raisi, accompanied by several ministers, including his defense minister, to Venezuela, as well as to Nicaragua and to Cuba, where several deals were signed in each place.”

    The Iranian links in the region have become more apparent amid the Israel–Hamas war. On. Nov. 8, two alleged Hezbollah operatives were arrested in Brazil for planning attacks in the country. And warnings of a terror threat to the United States have increased, particularly in relation to its porous southern border.

    Chile and Colombia, both with newly-elected leftist administrations, recalled their ambassadors to Israel on Oct. 31 and criticized the Jewish country’s offensive against Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists.

    Bolivia severed diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv on the same day—the country had signed an agreement with Iran in July to strengthen “defense and security cooperation.” At the time, Iran’s Defense Minister said Latin American nations occupied a “special place in Iran’s strategic outlook,” and that the cooperation with Bolivia could be modeled by more countries in the region.

    Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi disembarks after landing at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Venezuela, on June 12, 2023. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

    Carlos Berzaín, Bolivia’s former minister of defense and now head of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy, said every Latin American country being ruled under ‘21st century socialism’ is “publicly converted into an enemy of the United States—adopting the rhetoric Cuba has had for almost 65 years—with very grave political and security consequences.”

    The term “21st century socialism” is commonly used by Venezuela’s socialist dictatorship and others to characterize their ideology.

    Mr. Berzaín said his homeland is an example of one of the countries reclaimed by socialists (in late 2020) after a brief stint with the opposition in power.

    Today, Bolivia, as a dictatorship, is dependent upon the leadership of Cuba’s dictatorship, and its foreign policy shows it,” he told the Epoch Times.

    “It is at the service of other dictatorial regimes like Iran, Russia, and China with which there is no traditional or legitimate interest in the type of relations they maintain. Those are founded on corruption … on Bolivia’s condition as a narco-state, and on favoring crimes such as terrorism with an ‘anti-imperialist’ rhetoric.”

    Leading Iran analyst Emanuele Ottolenghi, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Foundation for the Defence of Democracy, said terrorist networks have grown.

    “In Brazil, the sympathetic government of Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva has allowed Hezbollah and Iranian fronts to quietly expand with little risk of scrutiny from authorities,” Mr. Ottolenghi wrote in an Oct. 28 article.

    Supporters of Hezbollah watch a televised speech by its leader Hassan Nasrallah (not pictured) in Beirut, Lebanon, on Nov. 3, 2023. (PAHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

    “In Chile, with a strong and radicalized Palestinian diaspora, Iranian agents and Hezbollah networks have infiltrated government, media, and academia, in addition to running illicit financial networks.”

    Iran and its proxies’ long and widespread activity in Latin America further increases concerns about a welcoming political environment.

    Terrorist group Hezbollah has played a prominent role in the region. U.S. officials estimate Iran gives the group hundreds of millions of dollars annually, weapons, and more.

    For decades, Hezbollah has patiently built a global web of networks, engaged in illicit financial activities, and supported terrorist plots,“ Mr. Ottolenghi wrote.

    He said most countries in the region don’t consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization, making it harder to monitor and curb its activities.

    “Because of its decades-long involvement with organized crime—a critical component of Hezbollah’s funding strategy—the group has extensive connections with local crime syndicates,” Mr. Ottolenghi said.

    “These connections provide access to weapons, explosives, counterfeiting, and most critically, corrupt public officials in key positions at migrations, customs, and ports of entry.”

    In recent years, several Hezbollah-connected arrests have been made in Latin America.

    “In 2017, U.S. authorities arrested Samer el Debek, another Hezbollah agent, who, court documents reveal, had scouted potential targets that included the Israeli and U.S. embassies in Panama, as well as the Panama Canal,” Mr. Ottolenghi said.

    “In 2021, Hezbollah operatives attempted to assassinate U.S. and Israeli nationals in Colombia.”

    Despite the handful of arrests, Iran and proxy Hezbollah’s activity is ongoing in the region and remains largely “undisturbed,” Mr. Ottolenghi said.

    Complicity and Close Ties

    The enabling of illegal activity by Latin American leftist governments and their direct criminal engagement with Iran have been extensively reported.

    Key state actors have facilitated transnational terrorist activity by providing criminals, who are wanted by Interpol, transport on state-run airlines as well as real passports with fake names.

    “The speed and ease with which Hezbollah operatives are able to secure false documentation in Latin America should not come as a surprise,” stated Matthew Levitt in a 2013 House Homeland Security hearing. At the time, Mr. Levitt was the counterterrorism and intelligence director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

    “According to Israeli intelligence, the use of such passports by Hezbollah operatives is widespread, and the documents are used by the organization’s activists in their travels all over the world.”

    Read more here…

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 19:15

  • Anti-Woke Central Bank Nemesis Javier Milei Wins Argentina's Presidential Election
    Anti-Woke Central Bank Nemesis Javier Milei Wins Argentina’s Presidential Election

    Javier Milei, the outsider libertarian candidate with radical solutions to Argentina’s economic crisis, has just won Sunday’s presidential runoff against Economy Minister Sergio Massa.

    In a surprise outcome, Massa conceded in a speech to supporters in Buenos Aires on Sunday even before the official results were released, saying he called Milei to congratulate him on his victory.

    Javier Milei, a 53-year-old far-right economist and former television pundit with no governing experience, claimed nearly 56 percent of the vote, with more than 80 percent of votes tallied. It was a stunning upset over Sergio Massa, the center-left economy minister who has struggled to resolve the country’s worst economic crisis in two decades.

    Voters in this nation of 46 million demanded a drastic change from a government that has sent the peso tumbling, inflation skyrocketing and more than 40 percent of the population into poverty. And with Milei, Argentina takes a leap into the unknown — with a leader promising to shatter the entire system, which the locals now correctly realize, is broken.

    Milei, who two months ago was interviewed by Tucker Carlson, has promised to fix Argentina’s perennial economic problems by making drastic budget cuts, replacing the battered peso with the US dollar and shutting down the central bank.  He will take office on Dec. 10.

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    Massa, from the ruling Peronist coalition, placed first in October’s first round, a remarkable comeback after losing a primary election two months previously. But the dire state of Argentina’s economy, plagued by 143% hyperinflation and a looming recession, posed a challenge too far to his presidential bid.

    “Argentines chose another path,” Massa said in a speech to supporters. Polls before the vote showed Milei with a slight edge over his rival.

    For those unfamiliar with Milei’s unique style, the following clip should be rather informative:

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    Commenting on Milei’s victory, Elon Musk predicted that “Prosperity is ahead for Argentina.”

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    A Milei presidency will have profound implications for not only the third-largest economy in Latin America, but also the region and the world. In a continent dominated by leftist leaders, Milei could create tensions with governments he has attacked, including crucial trading partner and neighbor Brazil. In an era of growing Chinese influence in Latin America, Milei could become the region’s most vocal antagonist to a country he once called “an assassin.”

    Milei made a name for himself as a television pundit who insulted other guests, and has shown a tendency to fight with the news media. In presidential debates, he has cast doubt on the widely accepted tally of murders during the country’s Dirty War from 1976 to 1983.

    He has branded Argentine Pope Francis an “evil” leftist, called climate change a “socialist lie” and said he would hold a referendum to undo the three-year-old law that legalized abortion.

    Wielding chain saws on the campaign trail, the wild-haired Milei vowed to slash public spending in a country heavily dependent on government subsidies. He pledged to dollarize the economy, shut down the central bank and cut the number of government ministries from 18 to eight. His rallying campaign cry was a takedown of the country’s political “caste” — an Argentine version of Trump’s “drain the swamp.”

    Massa was emblematic of that ruling elite — “the king of the caste,” said political analyst Pablo Touzón. The career politician attempted to distance himself from the leftist government of Alberto Fernández and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the heirs to the populist dynasty first launched by Juan and Eva “Evita” Peron in the 1940s. Along with a grassroots campaign of activists, Massa sought to stoke fear over a Milei presidency they argued could threaten Argentina’s democracy and way of life.

    But ultimately, anger won over fear. For many Argentines, the bigger risk was more of the same.

    “We don’t have anything to lose,” Tomás Limodio, a 36-year-old business owner who voted for Milei in Buenos Aires on Sunday. “We’ve had this type of government for so many years, and things are only getting worse.”

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    * * *

    Earlier:

    Argentinians return to the polls on Sunday, November 19 to elect the next president in a consequential runoff election. Voters will choose between incumbent Finance Minister Sergio Massa and right-wing libertarian Javier Milei. The election results will shape Argentina’s social and macroeconomic outlook in coming years.

    As Goldman writes in its election preview note, polls point to a tightly contested race, with a majority showing Milei having a slight edge in voter preferences. A significant fraction (around one third of polls), however, suggests that Massa is in the lead. In general, polls in Argentina have a poor track record and in this electoral process they have systematically failed to capture shifts in voters’ sentiment. To add to the uncertainty, Massa was seen as outperforming Milei in the final presidential debate last week.

    In the August primary elections (PASO), Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party surprised by taking the lead, followed by the center-right coalition Juntos por el Cambio whose presidential ticket would be led by Patricia Bullrich. Massa’s left-leaning Peronist coalition, Unión por la Patria, finished third. In the October first round election, in turn, Massa topped most expectations with an improved performance and finished first. Milei came in second place without a significant change in support, and Bullrich disappointed and finished a distant third.

    After the first-round election, part of the Juntos por el Cambio coalition, the faction led by Ms. Bullrich and former President Mauricio Macri, announced their support for Mr. Milei. While the bloc represented by the Radical Party decided not to formally endorse any of the candidates, some members have publicly sided with Mr. Massa.

    Following Sunday´s results, investors will turn their attention to economic policy announcements. In the short term, the highly managed exchange rate will be a critical variable to follow. After the August primary elections, the government weakened the exchange rate by about 22% to 350 ARS per Dollar. Subsequently, the exchange rate was kept frozen at this level until this week, when a crawl resumed (1.0% so far this week). Nevertheless, pass-through was high and inflation accelerated considerably after the post-PASO devaluation and as a result, the real exchange rate is now even more overvalued than before the August devaluation.

    Parallel exchange rates, for their part, continue to trade at a significant spread over the official rate (162% for the informal market exchange rate and around 145% for the bond (MEP) and equity (CCL) implied rates) and the futures market anticipates a meaningful depreciation in the months ahead. Pressures in both markets, however, eased after the first-round election showed Massa first, having increased significantly following Milei’s outperformance in the August PASO.

    Likewise important, in the coming months there are significant payments scheduled to the IMF (around US$0.9bn in December and US$1.9bn in January) and foreign currency bond holders (approximately US$1.5bn due in interest payments in January). In the meantime, the EFF program with the IMF remains off track, and in our view its realignment will take time.

    Regardless of the election winner, Goldman writes that a swift change in economic policies is imperative. The accumulated imbalances in the economy have grown too large and must be addressed promptly. The bank expects the economy to contract for the second year in a row in 2024, annual inflation is tracking at close to 150% and is expected to continue to rise in the coming months, the exchange rate is overvalued, international reserves are at critical levels, net reserves are significantly negative (around -US11bn), the fiscal imbalance persists, sovereign bonds trade at distressed levels, and the government lacks access to international financial markets. All in, if policymakers do not steer macro policy in a more orthodox direction, the macro adjustment could impose itself sooner or later, bringing a loss of control of the process and even higher social and economic costs.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 18:30

  • Family Businesses Can’t Afford To Lose Access To Reliable Electricity
    Family Businesses Can’t Afford To Lose Access To Reliable Electricity

    Authored by Palmer Schoening via RealClear Wire,

    Dependable, low-cost electricity is essential to keeping the lights on for millions of American family-owned businesses.

    It is the type of essential item that touches nearly every aspect of our lives; the bakery relies on ovens, the repair shop on power tools, and the local grocer on refrigeration, and on and on. A consistent and affordable power source ensures that they can operate without interruption and keep prices competitive for their customers despite low margins and a fragile economy. Unfortunately, misguided federal policies now threaten to further disrupt our electric grid and could cause these business to shutter.

    In the last several years, the U.S. has rapidly pivoted from a common sense, ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy to one motivated by the singular desire to eliminate fossil fuel-generated electricity. That goal of a energy change could even be somewhat defendable if not for the fact that our economy and power grid are clearly not ready for the rushed and reckless transition that federal regulators are rushing.

    Like all other areas of the economy, energy markets adhere to the basic laws of supply and demand. Regulators have distorted the sector to force conventional power plants into early retirement, reducing total power generation and increasing prices. The Biden Administration has backed these actions based on the dubious claim that positive incentives for solar and wind projects will allow new arrays and wind farms to fully replace conventional power plants. 

    But reality eventually catches up, and while regulators been successful at pushing the margins to the point where many traditional power plants are struggling to compete financially, they have failed to create the conditions necessary for the rapid deployment of new technologies to replace these important resources. For reasons ranging from permitting to logistics to expense, thousands of renewable energy projects have been delayed for years, in some cases past the planned retirement dates of the existing plants they are meant to replace. All of this comes at a high cost to family businesses like manufactures which rely on affordable energy to keep their doors open and their workers employed. 

    Family businesses shouldn’t be made to – and can’t afford – to foot the bill for a haphazard and artificial shift to new and unproven technologies before our grid is ready for it. And while an eventual energy transition is inevitable, recent blackouts in Texas, California, and other parts of the country reveal just how far we are way from that occurring organically. Despite the best efforts of a small group of activist regulators, thermal power generation – coal, natural gas, and nuclear included – remain a critical part of our energy mix.

    Small businesses all over the country are hoping that keeping energy prices from further inflation could still be a rare point of bipartisan consensus in Washington. Before the situation worsens, and irreversible harm is done to the backbone of America’s economy, policymakers must realize that abandoning the “all of the above” approach before the country is prepared will result in more business closures and therefore less jobs in our communities. 

    Palmer Schoening serves as Chairman of the Family Business Coalition

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 18:05

  • Is This Why The OpenAI Board Fired CEO/Co-Founder Altman?
    Is This Why The OpenAI Board Fired CEO/Co-Founder Altman?

    Update (1320ET): As (completely unfounded) rumors swirl over the OpenAI board’s sudden shock firing of CEO and co-founder Sam Altman, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter, that in recent weeks, Altman was actively working to raise billions from some of the world’s largest investors for a new chip venture to reportedly rival NVDA’s.

    The project – code-named Tigris – saw Altman traveling extensively to the Middle East, seeking tens of billions of dollars from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Mubadala Investment Company, SoftBank Group, and others for an AI-focused hardware device that he’s been developing in tandem with former Apple design chief Jony Ive.

    Altman’s pitch was for a startup that would aim to build Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs – semiconductors that are designed to handle high volume specialized AI workloads. The goal is to provide lower-cost competition to market incumbent Nvidia and, according to people familiar, aid OpenAI by lowering the ongoing costs of running its own services like ChatGPT and Dall-E.

    Custom-designed chips like TPUs are seen as one day having the potential to outperform the AI accelerators made by Nvidia – which are coveted by artificial intelligence companies – but the timeline for development is long and complex.

    Bloomberg reports that Altman’s chip venture is not yet formed and the talks with investors are in the early stages, said the people, who asked not to be named as the discussions were private.

    So, was Altman raising this money behind the board’s back?

    Their carefully-worded statement says Altman was not “consistently candid in his communications with the board.”

    Additionally, as we detailed below, in a memo to staff, Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s chief operating officer, said:

    “We can say definitively that the board’s decision was not made in response to malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices.

    This was a breakdown in communication between Sam and the board.”

    So, did the ‘ethics-police’ on the board dislike the investors (Saudi PIF)?

    Did the board get its nose bent out of shape over their lack of input on Altman’s strategy (because who wouldn’t want ot hear what a deep-state censorhsip tsar-ess thought)

    Was Microsoft’s Nadella furious at the board’s decision because he (quietly) liked the idea of challenging NVDA’s dominance in the AI chip space, since Bloomberg reports, once again, according to people familiar, Microsoft was also interested in backing Altman’s chips venture.

    We are certain of one thing – by the time the ‘truth’ is outed from this temper-tantrum-turd, it will have been well-polished.

    *  *  *

    Less than a day after JPMorgan came up with this pearl of a headline after the shocking news that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had unexpectedly been ousted by his own (incompetent) board for being “not consistently candid” (whatever that means, details of what actually happened have yet to be revealed)…

    … the drama surrounding Altman’s departure just took a turn for the even more dramatic, because according to reports in the WSJ and Verge, OpenAI’s investors are “pressing the board” to reinstate Sam Altman back as CEO, and none more so than Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella who was “furious” by the ouster, Bloomberg reported, and has been in touch with Altman pledging to support him whatever steps he takes next.

    Sam Altman

    The WSJ adds that while Altman is considering returning, he has told investors that he wants a new board, which inexplicably includes such woke luminaries as Helen Toner (whose tweets are protected of course), the director of strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (which means she does nothing at all), and who is perhaps best known for her support of the malignant fraud espoused by SBF that is “effective altruism” better known as virtue signaling covering up flagrant crime and fraud.

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    Besides Toner, OpenAI’s current board consists of chief scientist Ilya Sutskever (who also co-founded OpenAI and leads its researchers, was instrumental in the ousting of Altman this week, according to sources), Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, and former GeoSim Systems CEO Tasha McCauley, wife of actor Joseph Godron-Levitt. Unlike traditional companies, the board isn’t tasked with maximizing shareholder value, and none of them hold equity in OpenAI. Instead, their stated mission is to ensure the creation of “broadly beneficial” artificial general intelligence, or AGI.

    The now former (and soon-to-be again current) CEO also discussed starting a company that would bring on former OpenAI employees, and is deciding between the two options. Altman is expected to decide between the two options soon, the WSJ said, although the Verge notes that the former CEO is “ambivalent” about coming back and would want significant governance changes.

    Altman holding talks with the company just a day after he was ousted indicates that OpenAI is in a state of free-fall without him. Hours after he was axed, Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and former board chairman, resigned, and the two have been talking to friends and investors about starting another company. A string of senior researchers also resigned on Friday, and people close to OpenAI say more departures are in the works.

    The OpenAI board has been subjected to intense criticism over its decision, made public late Friday afternoon in a blog. post  Several people, including co-founder Greg Brockman and three senior researchers have departed from the company in protest.

    Besides Microsoft, which is the leading shareholder in OpenAI, venture capital firm Thrive Capital is also working to orchestrate efforts to reinstate Altman. The motive is clear: Microsoft invested $13 billion into OpenAI and is its primary financial backer. Thrive Capital is the second-largest shareholder in the company. Other investors in the company are supportive of these efforts, the people said.

    Then again, Microsoft is probably not all that angry: according to the Sam Bankman-Fried funded Semafor, “only a fraction of Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in OpenAI has been wired to the startup, while a significant portion of the funding, divided into tranches, is in the form of cloud compute purchases instead of cash” which gives the software giant whose stock last week hit an all time high and is about to surpass Apple as the world’s most valuable company, leverage as it sorts through the fallout from the ouster of Altman.

    The report goes on to note that “Nadella believes OpenAI’s directors mishandled Altman’s firing and the action has destabilized a key partner for the company.” It is also unclear if OpenAI, which has been racking up expenses as it goes on a hiring spree and pours resources into technological developments, violated its contract with Microsoft by suddenly ousting Altman. At the same time, Microsoft has rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property so if their relationship were to break down, Microsoft would still be able to run OpenAI’s current models on its servers. This is critical because Microsoft has made OpenAI’s products such a key part of its offerings, from Windows to Microsoft Office to GitHub, that anything involving that underlying technology would have an instant and adverse material impact on the $2.75 trillion company’s bottom line.

    That’s why since Friday, Silicon Valley has been buzzing about what could happen to this key partnership, including whether Microsoft and other OpenAI investors might attempt to reinstate Altman as CEO (which, as we now learn, is in process).

    On Saturday in a note to employees, OpenAI Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap said the company’s leaders “still share your concerns about how the process has been handled, and are working to resolve the situation,” according to an internal memo reviewed by Semafor. Lightcap shared new insight into the board’s decision, clarifying that there was no “malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices.”

    That struck a different tone than the board’s statement on Friday that said Altman was “not consistently candid” with directors. Instead, Lightcap characterized it as a “breakdown in communication” between Altman and the board and added that the leadership has full faith in interim CEO Mira Murati.

    The exact reason for Altman’s firing remains unclear. But for weeks, tensions had boiled around the rapid expansion of OpenAI’s commercial offerings, which some board members felt violated the company’s initial charter to develop safe AI, according to people familiar with the matter.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 17:58

  • How Important Is The Holiday Season For US Retailers?
    How Important Is The Holiday Season For US Retailers?

    Conventional wisdom says that the weeks leading up to Christmas are the most important time of the year for retailers in the United States. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans are going to spend between $957 and $967 billion during November and December this year, with average spending for gifts and other holiday-related items expected to amount to $875 per consumer.

    But, as Statista’s Felix Richter asks, how reliant are retailers on a successful holiday season? Can two to three months really make or break an entire year?

    Well, it depends.

    According to retail sales figures published by the U.S. Census Bureau, some types of retailers are more reliant on holiday season sales than others.

    Infographic: How Important is the Holiday Season for U.S. Retailers? | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    If retail sales were distributed evenly throughout the year, the holiday quarter, i.e. the period from October through December, should account for 25 percent of the year’s total sales.

    As our chart illustrates, most retailers’ holiday sales clock in way above that benchmark though. Hobby, toy and game stores for example generated 34.5 percent of their annual sales in the last three month of last year, which is not surprising considering that toys, games and hobby supplies are popular Christmas gifts.

    Across all categories, the holiday season is not as important as one might think though. Last year, the fourth quarter accounted for 26.8 percent of total retail sales in the United States. There are even some retailers that don’t look forward to the holiday quarter as it delivers subpar results. Those include car dealerships, gas stations and building material and supplies dealers.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 17:30

  • Turley: Don't Count On A Trump Conviction – None Of These Cases Are Slam-Dunks
    Turley: Don’t Count On A Trump Conviction – None Of These Cases Are Slam-Dunks

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    Below is a longer version of my column in the New York Post on the leaking of the interviews of former counsel to Donald Trump.

    The interviews could magnify the difficulties for both Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Special Counsel Jack Smith in their respective prosecutions.  These cases still represent a serious threat to Trump, but these prosecutors must first overcome a glaring potential contradiction. That does not mean that Christie and the other candidates will not get a “Spring Break” with a conviction, but it could prove more challenging even with highly favorable jury pools.

    Here is the column:

    This week, Chris Christie declared that “it’s over” for Donald Trump and predicted  that the former president would be a convicted felon “by the Spring.” He was specifically referring to the prosecutions linked to the 2020 election denial in Atlanta and D.C.

    However, Yogi Berra would likely caution that, in baseball and litigation, “it ain’t over till it’s over.”

    Trump’s greatest threat of conviction remains in Florida, where he is facing federal charges related to his retention of classified documents.

    But the judge in that case seems inclined to delay it, perhaps even until after the election.

    And with reports that Biden will not face charges in his own handling of classified documents, Trump has a political rallying cry that – correctly or not – he’s being treated differently.

    So that leaves the two cases surrounding the 2020 election.

    In Georgia, a slew of former lawyers are taking pleas with promises to testify if called. Some of their depositions have been leaked, much to the dismay of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. She has reason to be alarmed because some of the leaked interviews hit hard at the weakest link in her conspiracy case.

    For instance, Sidney Powell stated that Trump clearly believed that he had won the election when he was challenging the results in the courts and Congress.

    Powell pleaded to misdemeanors for a deal that avoids jail time and preserves her ability to resume the practice of law. She notably did not plead guilty to the sweeping racketeering charges brought by Willis to link Trump in an effort to subvert the election.

    I previously wrote that the Achilles heel of the criminal complaint was Trump’s state of mind: “As a threshold matter, one problem is immediately evident. If Trump actually did (or does) believe that he did not lose the election, the indictment collapses.”

    That’s exactly what Powell argues. Trump had “general instincts that something wasn’t right here.” She added “I didn’t think he had lost. I saw an avenue pursuant to which, if I was right, he would remain president.”

    That supplies a key defense for Trump: That he believed assurances from counsel that he had a case to make in challenging the election.

    Powell’s statement will also present challenges to Special Counsel Jack Smith who has a parallel case in Washington, D.C. While both prosecutors benefit from heavily favorable jury pools in staunchly Democratic strongholds, it requires only one holdout juror to result in a hung jury.

    Smith has admitted that Trump’s election claims were protected under the First Amendment, but claims that, at some point, they became criminal lies. But Smith fails to explain when that line was clearly crossed —  a dangerous ambiguity for free speech, particularly in the context of an election.

    Smith ignores past election challenges by Democrats that were made without factual or legal support, including the challenge in Congress to certifying Trump’s victory in 2016 by figures like Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md). The statement of Powell only magnifies those concerns over the lack of a clear line between political advocacy and criminal conduct in future cases.

    As part of his own agreement, former counsel Kenneth Chesebro pleaded guilty  to conspiracy to commit filing false documents. Again, the deal avoided jail time and allowed him to keep his law license.

    His attorney, Scott Grubman, said that Chesebro “never believed in ‘the Big Lie’ ” and that he knows Joe Biden won the election. However, the question is what he told Trump about avenues for challenging the election. Grubman was quoted in the Messenger as stating that  he “do[esn’t] think” Trump should be concerned about Chesebro’s plea and Chesebro “didn’t snitch against anyone.”

    Previously, Chesebro’s lawyers stated that nothing about his “conduct falls outside the bounds of what lawyers do on a daily basis; researching the law in order to find solutions that address their clients’ particularized needs.”

    Both the prosecutors and media have maintained a conflicted narrative of a man who could not accept defeat and a man who knew he was defeated.

    Trump has long been portrayed as a megalomaniac in the media who never apologizes nor accepts failure. It is perfectly consistent that a man long described as having an inflated self-image would not accept that he is a loser.

    That long-held journalistic view is now a viable criminal defense.

    The Georgia case has strong individual claims for crimes like unauthorized access to voting machines or areas. But that clarity is lost in the effort to establish a massive racketeering conspiracy to ensnare Trump.

    While polls increasingly show Trump winning a general election against Biden, pundits point to these criminal trials as proof it’s all over.

    However, none of these cases are truly slam dunks, particularly with the danger of hung juries.

    In the end, both Willis and Smith are saying that a client can be criminally liable for taking the advice of counsel.  Yet, his former counsel still maintain that “I didn’t think he had lost. I saw an avenue pursuant to which, if I was right, he would remain president.” Willis will argue that not only the lawyers should be punished for these claims but so should the client in following their advice. Moreover, she will seek to use the lawyers themselves to convict their client for listening to them.

    Former counsel Jenna Ellis quotes another Trump aide in saying that the court losses did not matter because “we don’t care, and we’re not going to leave.’” However, the man she now calls a “narcissist” did indeed leave. He left with counsel publicly maintaining their ongoing claims of fraud, including Ellis. The question is whether such bad lawyering can make a good case for the prosecution.

    For candidates like Christie, it is understandable to hope that the courts will finally dislodge the hold of Trump on this primary. He, like others, look at this election, to paraphrase Richard III, as “the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of [New] York.” However, spring could just as easily bring more discontent rather than convictions.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 16:55

  • "He's Going To Lose": Bill Maher And Donna Brazile Slam Biden As Democrats Recoil Over Age, Handling Of Israel War
    “He’s Going To Lose”: Bill Maher And Donna Brazile Slam Biden As Democrats Recoil Over Age, Handling Of Israel War

    Gavin Newsom’s oft joked about 2024 shadow campaign is going swimmingly, as Democratic darlings such as former DNC Chair Donna Brazile have joined the ongoing media campaign to destroy Joe Biden ahead of the next election.

    Brazile joins the ranks of David Axelrod and Bill Kristol, the former of whom suggested Biden ‘get out or get going,’ and Kristol – a NeverTrump™ neocon’s neocon, said “it’s time for Biden to announce he won’t run in 2024.” The two were reacting to an early Nov. NY Times poll which showed Trump wiping the floor with Biden in 5 of 6 battleground states that Biden carried in 2020.

    Of course, Brazile, appearing Friday on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, took the easy way out – attacking Biden’s age vs. say, his rapidly eroding support among pro-Palestinian Democrats with newfound libertarian leanings when it comes to sending money to Israel.

    “What do you think of prominent Democrats like David Axelrod calling for Biden to ‘get out or get going,’ – did he say that?”

    To which Brazile replied: “Look, people think that Joe Biden is perhaps too old. They’re right!”

    “Perhaps,” Maher replied.

    “Everyone ages differently,” she continued. “And, you know, so – so, Betty White lived to be 99. Mick Jagger is still twistin’ his ass.”

    Maher said moments later; “Do I think Joe Biden can do the job? Absolutely.” [fealty pledged]. “I don’t think he can win the job. And that’s what I care about. He’s going to lose.”

    Watch:

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    Maher also opined on why Trump is doing so well in the polls.

    “Trump is killing it—not just within the party, but he’s beating Biden heavily too,” he said – using this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference held in San Francisco as an example of public debacles harming Democrats.

    “Put aside the fact that you only clean up when you have company coming over,” he said. “So they cleaned it up, they get vagrants off the street, the homeless. God forbid the guy who sends us the fentanyl sees somebody on fentanyl.”

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    Biden’s age is Democrats ‘biggest liability’ for 2024

    On Sunday, Bloomberg pointed out that Biden, who turns 81 on Monday, is ancient.

    While the White House insists that Biden remains healthy enough to serve as commander in chief, recent polls show him trailing Trump across key swing states, with voters citing deep concerns about his health and acuity.

    A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult survey this month found voters in seven swing states more likely to associate old age with Biden than any other topic. In an open-ended question asking what they had heard about the candidates lately, hundreds of respondents cited Biden’s age. Fewer than a dozen did the same for Trump.

    Those perceptions have been fueled by high-profile moments including his fall at an Air Force Academy graduation, staircase stumbles boarding Air Force One, the revelation he was using a medical device to aid his breathing during sleep, and a series of verbal gaffes. Taken together, they have fanned uneasiness among Democrats that the man who has cast himself as the bulwark against Trump’s return is just one illness or injury from plunging his campaign – and the nation – into calamity.

    And then there’s Israel

    According to a new NBC News poll, Biden’s standing has hit new lows amid the Israel-Hamas war, with many Democrats opposing the US government’s support of Israel.

    Where does Gavin stand on that whole kerfuffle since recently returning from Israel and China?

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    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 16:20

  • Elon Musk's X Intervenes For Student In Trouble With College Over Social Media Posts
    Elon Musk’s X Intervenes For Student In Trouble With College Over Social Media Posts

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

    Elon Musk’s company is intervening for a college student in trouble for posts he made on Twitter, in what is believed to be the first time Mr. Musk has made good on his promise to support people being punished over their speech.

    X CEO Elon Musk leaves a U.S. Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Insight Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Sept. 13, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

    X Corp. is supporting a University of Illinois student after the school launched disciplinary proceedings against him over statements he made on Twitter, now known as X, according to letters reviewed by The Epoch Times.

    Juan David Campolargo, the student, was preliminarily found in violation of the university’s student code of conduct, which bars “inciting, aiding, or encouraging others to engage in a behavior which violates the student code,” according to the student’s lawyers.

    Mr. Campolargo also violated the part of the code that prohibits theft of services or possession of stolen property, the school determined.

    Mr. Campolargo was charged over posts he made with an X account that provided students with information on events that offered free food, lawyers with Schaerr Jaffe wrote in the letters. In several posts, Mr. Campolargo advertised a closed conference, but he was not aware the event was closed, the lawyers said.

    It was not until nearly a month after Mr. Campolargo’s posts that he learned the dinner was apparently part of a closed conference. There was no evidence of any disturbance of the event or the dinner. Mr. Campolargo also went to the room where the dinner was offered, but arriving at 8:30 p.m., the conference had concluded and all attendees had already left. While the university catering staff was in the process of throwing away the remaining food, without any objection from the catering staff, Mr. Campolargo took some of the food for later,” the lawyers wrote to Robert Jones, the university’s chancellor.

    “Two additional students showed up a few minutes later and were provided food with the staff’s consent. After that, the staff completed their take down and cleaned up by 9:00 p.m. In short, there was no ‘theft’ of food or other university property.”

    They added: “Mr. Campolargo also did not incite any student to violate the student code of conduct. Rather his ‘offenses’ were exercising his First Amendment right to publicize opportunities for students to find food on campus, and openly taking some food that was being thrown in the trash.”

    Should the university uphold the preliminary finding and punish Mr. Campolargo, the student would have a legal claim for a violation of his First Amendment rights, the lawyers warned the school.

    They cited in part a federal ruling in 2013 that said a government actor “may not deny a benefit to a person on a basis that infringes his constitutionally protected … freedom of speech even if he has no entitlement to that benefit.”

    Previous rulings have found that placing messages on T-shirts and passing out Valentine’s cards are protected by the First Amendment.

    Mr. Campolargo being mistaken about whether the event was open does not undermine the position that his speech was protected, given the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that there is “no general exception to the First Amendment for false statements,” the student’s lawyers said.

    If the sanctions pressed against Mr. Campolargo are upheld, he will lose his position as resident adviser and lose his allowance for housing and meals, the university has informed the student. To be a resident assistant, a student must “maintain a clear judicial history.” Because of Mr. Campolargo’s financial situation, the loss of the housing and food benefits “may also cost him his ability to complete his degree,” his lawyers told the university’s Office for Student Conflict Resolution in another letter.

    The missives were sent in November.

    They were first reported by the Financial Times on Nov. 16.

    A newly-constructed X sign on the roof of the headquarters of the social media platform previously known as Twitter, in San Francisco, on July 29, 2023. (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images)

    Support Confirmed

    Mr. Campolargo, who did not return an inquiry, is an engineering student at the university.

    Schaerr Jaffe’s lawyers declined to comment on the letters, referring The Epoch Times to X.

    A query sent to X returned an automated message that said, “Busy now, please check back later.”

    Mr. Musk confirmed his support for the college student in a brief X post.

    “We will do whatever it takes to support your right to free speech!” he said.

    Mr. Jones, the University of Illinois, and the university’s Office for Student Conflict Resolution did not respond to requests for comment.

    Mr. Musk said earlier this year that he would support people in trouble for posts made on X.

    Advertisement – Story continues below

    “If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill,” Mr. Musk wrote.

    “No limit. Please let us know,” he added at the time.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 15:45

  • Recycling Eco-Myths Is The Existential Threat
    Recycling Eco-Myths Is The Existential Threat

    Authored by J. Peder Zane via RealClear Wire,

    The recycling myth – Save the planet by separating paper and plastic! – is a foundational falsity of the green movement.

    By promising a relatively simple solution to an alleged problem, it has enabled the left to control behavior through a made-up morality that stigmatized dissent – Only bad people refuse to recycle.

    Like most progressive interventions – from welfare policies that destroyed families while increasing dependency, to drug use reforms that have filled city streets with desperate addicts – recycling plans that sound good on paper (and plastic) have continuously collided with reality so that even liberal outlets such as the New York Times (“Your Recycling Gets Recycled, Right? Maybe, or Maybe Not”), NPR (“Recycling plastic is practically impossible — and the problem is getting worse”) and the Atlantic magazine (“Plastic Recycling Doesn’t Work and Will Never Work”) have finally admitted its failures.

    The same dynamic is now at work regrading a far more significant green fantasy: the left’s push to decarbonize the U.S. and other Western industrial economies during the next few decades and attain an eco-purity calculus known as Net Zero. While brandishing the moral cudgel with full force – President Biden describes climate change as “an existential crisis,” i.e., every person and puppy will die if we don’t submit to his agenda – the left also suggests the transition will be easy-peasy: Just build some windmills, install some solar panels, and swap out your car, stove, and lightbulbs for cleaner and cheaper alternatives.

    Though much of the cheerleading media downplays this fact, it is already clear that Biden’s enormously expensive, massively disruptive goal is a pipe dream. In a recent series of articles, my colleagues at RealClearInvestigations have reported on several of the seemingly intractable problems that the administration and its eco-allies are trying to wish away.

    The dishonesty begins with the engine of the green economy – the vast array of wind and solar farms that must be constructed to replace the coal and gas facilities that power our economy. James Varney reported for RCI that the Department of Energy’s official line is that the installations required to meet Biden’s goal of “100% clean electricity” by 2035 will require “less than one-half of one percent of the contiguous U.S. land area” – or roughly 15,000 of the lower 48’s roughly 3 million square miles. However, Varney noted, “the government report that furnished those estimates also notes that the wind farm footprint alone could require an expanse nine times as large: 134,000 square miles. That is equivalent to the land mass of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky combined – plus all of New England.

    Echoing the 19th century adage that figures don’t lie, but liars figure, the discrepancy mostly involves estimates of what can be built around the windmills. Each turbine’s footprint is relatively small, but they have to be spaced far apart. The DOE’s smaller number is based on the fanciful assumption that all the surrounding land can be used for agriculture and other purposes, while the larger figure assumes none of it will. The truth probably is somewhere in between. That the government is trumpeting the impossibly small number – while ignoring the additional land needed to build transmission lines which will carry the current to end users – is telling and troubling.

    Given Biden’s aggressive timeframes for the build-out – 2035 is a mere dozen years from now – one might expect that the administration has a master plan detailing where and when these green farms will be constructed. It does not. And, as Steve Miller reported for RCI, this challenge already seems insurmountable given the “grassroots resistance … coalescing in varied new state laws and local ordinances that threaten to bog down solar and wind development in a multi-front legal and regulatory war on a scale not seen before.”

    In a stinging irony, opponents are routinely invoking arguments regarding endangered species and wetlands that environmentalists have long deployed to kneecap pipelines, gas fields, and other fossil fuel projects.

    Another largely ignored problem area is charging stations for electric vehicles. John Murawski reported for RCI that California’s first-in-the-nation move to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars after 2035 is highlighting an array of challenges and dislocations. To keep electric cars rolling, the state “may need to install at least 20 electric chargers for every gas pump now in service to create a reliable, seamless network” – or more than 2 million new stations during the next decade, which is about 10 times as many EV ports as gas station nozzles.

    It might be hard to convince private businesses to house the chargers, because, as a 2022 report from the California Energy Commission noted, “Revenue from electricity sales alone is often not enough today for chargers to be profitable, especially for stations with lower utilization.” That’s why California is investing at least $14 billion to subsidize this fantasy.

    Even if the EV infrastructure gets built, it will require a massive change in behavior. The days of fill ’er up once or twice a week will likely become a distant memory. Most public stations will only be able to provide between five and 60 miles of range for an hour hook-up. Private citizens will need to pony up for their own charging infrastructure at home, while renters and low-income drivers will have to rely on employer and municipal largesse to supply chargers.

    The green dream also involves knotty geo-politico issues. Ben Weingarten reported for RCI that America’s transition to renewables is empowering its most formidable economic adversary. “China currently holds a commanding position in the clean energy industry, controlling the natural resources and manufacturing the components essential to the Biden administration’s desired alternative energy transition,” Weingarten wrote. “Energy experts believe that its dominance will become more entrenched in the years ahead because of domestic environmentalist opposition to perceived ‘dirty’ mining and refining operations, and the Biden administration’s ‘clean energy’ spending blitz – which could provide Chinese companies and subsidiaries billions in subsidies.”

    What’s more, if the U.S. slows its production of oil and gas in the coming years, hostile or problematic nations that continue to drill – including Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Venezuela – will reap the benefits should renewables fail to become a reliable source of power.

    Finally, the systematic erasure of these and other consequential questions is part of a broad effort to quell dissenting views. While climate action advocates in the government, media, and academia argue that the science is settled, Murawski reported for RCI that a growing number of experts are courageously challenging this orthodoxy. In August, for example, “more than 1,600 scientists, including two Nobel physics laureates, signed a declaration stating that there is no climate emergency, and that climate advocacy has devolved into mass hysteria,” Murawski wrote. “The skeptics say the radical transformation of entire societies is marching forth without a full debate, based on dubious scientific claims amplified by knee-jerk journalism.”

    In detailing the central arguments of these skeptics, Murawski reported that few fall into the camp of “climate deniers” – itself a shameful label used to equate climate change with the Holocaust. They acknowledge the Earth is warming. Some, however, question whether human activity is to blame and, if it is, whether the massive human interventions being demanded can make much difference. Others say that the money spent retooling the economy would be better spent spurring economic growth that will allow people to adapt to a changing world.

    Murawski reported that many dissenters believe that “[S]logans such as ‘follow the science’ and scientific consensus’ are misleading and disingenuous. There is no consensus on many key questions, such as the urgency to cease and desist burning fossil fuels, or the accuracy of computer modeling predictions of future global temperatures. The apparent consensus of imminent disaster is manufactured through peer pressure, intimidation, and research funding priorities, based on the conviction that ‘noble lies,’ ‘consensus entrepreneurship,’ and ‘stealth advocacy’ are necessary to save humanity from itself.”

    A lie is rarely noble. It is almost always evidence of a weak argument and contempt for those it seeks to influence. Those who see climate change as an urgent danger and believe they know how to counter the threat should make their case forthrightly instead of recycling tired myths. Our democracy faces an existential threat when the will of the people gives way to the coercion of the masses.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 14:35

  • Yet Another Leftist Journalist Arrested On Child Pornography Charges
    Yet Another Leftist Journalist Arrested On Child Pornography Charges

    In the last 12 months alone, two senior producers for ABC and CNN were sentenced to prison for child porn.

    We’re starting to sense a trend.

    On Monday, Slade Sohmer, 44, the former managing editor of CNN’s now defunct BEME video sharing app and, until a month ago, editor-in-chief of the left-leaning video-driven news site The Recount, was freed on $100,000 bail after he was charged in a Massachusetts court with possessing and disseminating “hundreds of child pornography images and videos.”  He has pled not guilty to two counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of dissemination of child pornography.

    Descriptions of the materials in question are indeed horrific, and prosecutors have hinted that Sohmer may have been involved in the production of some videos as well as the abuse of children. Court documents cited by the Berkshire Eagle earlier this week allege that Sohmer’s phone contained disturbing video clips showing boys believed to be as young as 3 years of age being raped and forced to perform sex acts by adults. Assistant District Attorney Marianne Shelvey said this was one of the most “egregious” cases of its kind she has come across.

    According to the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force’s Affidavit in Support of Probable Cause, Sohmer allegedly bragged about tricking a 14-year-old boy into sending nude pictures. He also allegedly fantasized about tricking a boy into rape, in which Sohmer and an unnamed accomplice would “Spitroast him for hours.”

    Sohmer’s career history is replete with yellow journalism and attacks on conservatives. The Recount’s bread and butter content for at least a couple years included a steady stream of hatchet job videos targeting “conspiracy theorists,” primarily people who stood against covid mandates and forced vaccination.  

    The arrest of the former editor comes not long after the arrest of CNN producer John Griffin for child sexual abuse, as well as the arrest of ABC producer James Gordon Meek on child pornography charges. Some critics argue that the growing list of leftist journalists caught in child pornography scandals helps to explain some of the strange behavior of media outlets where child abuse “networking” is concerned.

    Their extreme hostility to stories like Pizzagate, their defense of movies like Cuties, as well as their attacks on the film The Sound Of Freedom make more sense if there is a trend of pedophilia hidden within media circles.          

    Sohmer, whose X handle is @Slade, was once praised by John Podesta for ‘sleuthing out the origin of the sinkhole,’ replying to a joke from Slade implying that a sinkhole around Mar a Lago was due to Trump’s ‘glowing orb’ meeting.

    Sohmer made waves in 2018 when he addressed a class of fourth graders (taught by his mother) where he discussed his homosexuality with the children.  Buzzfeed covered and applauded the story in an article ironically titled “People Are Touched By This Writer’s Conversation With A Bunch of Fourth Graders,” but that piece has now been removed from Buzzfeed’s website. 

    Another unfortunate factor playing into the case is Sohmer’s longtime involvement in a non-profit called Camp Power, a summer camp for underprivileged children which Sohmer co-directed.  Funding for Camp Power is mainly provided by an organization called Country Roads Foundation, of which there is almost no online information. 

    In a podcast from 2019, Sohmer described his 10 years co-running Camp Power as well as his involvement as a camp councilor through his college years, working with children from grades 5 to 11.  He states that the event was the “best week of his year every year.”

    Sohmer also mentions that the organization provided scholarship vacations in which kids from Camp Power could win a place in their college program and visit various schools.  He noted that he “always drives the van” for the kids on such trips.     

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 14:00

  • Rally On, Wayne! Rally On, Garth!
    Rally On, Wayne! Rally On, Garth!

    By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

    Betting that the “everything rally” will continue seems about as mature and responsible as two high schoolers hanging out in their parent’s basement and idolizing heavy metal bands, but that’s where I am right now.

    Major Headwinds

    There are two major headwinds that I see (there are probably many more out there, including a resurgence of inflation, but I either don’t see them as realistic or am dismissing them for now).

    Geopolitical Risks

    • Support for supplying weapons to Ukraine is waning. The fighting is clearly at a stalemate. In all likelihood, the next phase of the war will feature a renewed Russian offensive later on this winter once the ground freezes. It will also be interesting to see if North Korean arms play a meaningful role.

    • Israel and Hamas. Israel is making progress towards eliminating Hamas as a military threat, but not without civilian casualties and difficulties maintaining support from its allies (more accurately, the citizens of allied countries). This effort is far more likely to be measured in months (not days), and the difficulties and risks of escalation remain. I continue to hear more concerns about supply chains, both due to the loss of production in Israel and also concerns for the safety of shipping in the region.

    • China and the U.S. The highly anticipated meeting between Xi and Biden (More Than a Photo Op) seemed to go well, although Biden’s use of the word “dictator” dampened the fireworks in the immediate aftermath. Nevertheless, the “easy” next step is to relieve tensions, either by reducing tariffs or by shifting the rules regarding various high-tech sanctions. The easy and short-term “fix” is both easiest for politicians and what I’m betting on (especially given all of the other high-level meetings that occurred between the two countries leading up to the Xi/Biden summit). I expect that we get news that is good for markets from here, and I would own some Chinese stocks here for a trade.

    • My view is that maybe geopolitical headwinds are more than priced in at the moment.

    Recession Risks

    • Maybe we are already in a recession?

      • The unemployment rate shot up from 3.4% as recently as April to 3.9% in October. That 0.5% move in a 6-month period seems concerning. While the Sahm Rule is focused on 3-month moving averages, it is worth noticing.

      • I don’t need AI (though it would probably help) to tell me that something weird is going on with consumers and retailers. Even my inbox is flooded with “storewide” discount offers. We saw a similar trend in autos when mailings went from “we want your used car” to “have we got a deal for you with your trade-in” to “winter sales events.” That was a very useful indicator for the Manheim Used Vehicle Index, which continues to decline. Sure, with AI scanning emails, looking at social media advertising, and parsing through earnings calls, we’d probably have “better” information than my subjective view, but I’m running with the view that sales are slowing more abruptly than expected.

      • For the first time in years, I feel that if I wait, I will get a lower price. That’s just me, but I suspect that far more readers will agree with this statement than disagree with it. As unscientific as that is, I’m running with it – schwing!

    • The Economist Who Cried Recession.

    • It is difficult (and dangerous) to be wrong twice. As we wrote in the piece linked above, there is a danger in continually calling for a recession and being wrong! Actually, there are two dangers:

      • Someone (or me the strategist), who calls the recession, loses credibility.

      • People are surprised by the recession when it actually hits.

    • The only “logical” view is that if you called for a recession, you are very careful about making another recession call. “Everyone” got it wrong the first time, so you get a bit of a “free pass” on that mistake. Much like the Fed reporting “transitory” inflation, you don’t want to be wrong again, because getting a second “free pass” is difficult.

      • I suspect that there is a massive amount of good (even great) bearish analysis on the economy that is being held back, restrained, or otherwise not making the circuits because it would be too embarrassing to be wrong again!

      • It was easy to be bearish on Treasuries and point to supply and D.C. because “everyone” was talking about it, the media loved it, and it was working.

      • It’s been difficult to be bearish on the economy, because it hasn’t been working, the media hasn’t had the time for it, and being wrong would waste a good “free” pass.

    • So, I think that the economy is slowing rapidly and we may be in a recession by year-end (while all these various agencies finish their revisions sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2024). That risk is dangerous for risk assets! But the bulls have some time before those stories dominate the headlines for all the reasons above, and markets won’t get fearful until then.

    Since I’m bearish on the consumer, jobs, and the economy, you can understand why I don’t feel the need to argue why inflation fears (at least for the next few months) aren’t high on my list of market worries.

    The Tailwinds

    There are many potential tailwinds:

    Seasonality. There is a reason why this report is sponsored by Wayne’s World. It is juvenile, simplistic, and entertaining (if not useful). We’ve made it to Thanksgiving, and sentiment has been and remains too bearish. There are plenty of reasons to talk about M&A (sellers have had enough time to lower their overly lofty expectations, and there is enough stability for buyers to step in, especially as financing costs got much more manageable in a very short time). All the year-end/Santa Claus rally stuff will get a lot of attention (more than usual) as the market’s recent strength will fuel the supply of such analysis. I don’t love seasonality, but who am I to fight it? Especially when it will help my market views

    Rates.

    The 10-year Treasury yield closed Friday at 4.43% (a level which it has bounced from recently). If yields go lower (I suspect that the data will help with this), then the next stop is around 4.3%. I see no reason for stocks not to respond well to yields as they head towards 4.3%. That is a number still “consistent” with a “reasonable” landing. Yes, we will start getting more and more recession calls in the coming days, but they will remain “background” noise and be easily dismissed. As we go below 4.3% that is when all those bears (who have been circumspect) will come out of the woodwork. So, lower yields (which is my main call) will help stocks until around 4.3% where the narrative will become more difficult (especially when the media and analysts will “unleash the hounds” of bearishness). It will take some negative news to reach 4.3% (given all the other issues). Lower inflation due to a better relationship with China can help initially, but we won’t be at 4.3% without some serious doubts about the state of the economy.

    Return chasing. I am not worthy! Okay, I had to work that line into today’s report somehow, and this seemed to be the best place.

    • We all know how much of this year’s return has been driven by just a handful of stocks. The QQQ (a Nasdaq 100 ETF) is up 46% versus 22% for QQE (an equal weighted version). SPY (S&P 500) is up 19% vs 4% for RSP (an equal weighted version). IWM (Russell 2000) has eked out a 3.4% gain and was negative on the year as recently as last week!

    • Look at what is starting to happen as of late: the laggards have been driving the show, especially to the upside! On Friday, the “major” indices barely moved, but the equal weighted versions did well, with the Russell 2000 increasing more than 1% to gain over 5% on the week!

    • If there is one “pain” trade left for funds, it is being long the “magnificent” stocks versus being short everything else. If I was a massive hedge fund, one area that I’d try to squeeze higher into year-end would be the laggards (like the Russell 2000), partly because people are underweight or short, and partly because the market caps of companies in this index are smaller and they are easier to push around. I’m looking for a massive catch-up into year-end on the equal weights and Russell 2000!

    The tailwinds might range from whimsical (seasonality) to technical (the laggards turning the corner) and rely on equities “misinterpreting” or “translating” lower yields “incorrectly” for a period of time.

    Bottom Line

    It may seem like some of my headwinds are tailwinds, but that is deliberate. Geopolitical risk is being priced in overly negatively at the moment, and I expect that news on the China/U.S. front will help mitigate risk.

    It may seem like some of my tailwinds are headwinds, but that is on purpose. The move to lower yields will, at least initially, be more important than the reasons for those moves to lower yields.

    I like rates and more inversion in the curves. Still using 4.3% on 10s as a near-term target.

    I like credit. While we didn’t discuss credit directly in this report, I remain very bullish. Yes, supply will be higher than normal in December as issuers take advantage of the “unexpected” reprieve in rates, but there should be plenty of money available. That is especially true for BB issuers who can fill the void left in the BB space by Ford’s upgrade (Ford entities were upgraded by S&P to BBB- recently, making their bonds eligible for Investment Grade Index inclusion). I continue to believe that investors will rethink “credit” risk in terms of the U.S. government, and get more overweight credit products (please see last weekend’s Safety Dance where we try to explain this in greater detail).

    Equities. I love the laggards and like the rest (for now). Use 4,600 on the S&P 500 as a target to watch (which seems like it could coincide with 4.3% on 10s), but be heavily skewed to the under-owned names, indices, and subindices as I think that the combination of positioning along with everything else will drive extreme outperformance!

    Rally on! Schwing!

    Just because something is juvenile and immature, doesn’t mean that it’s bad! Kind of like this “everything rally.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 13:25

  • France Dispatching Warship With Medical Aid To Gaza
    France Dispatching Warship With Medical Aid To Gaza

    Already the United States has a significant naval build-up in the Mediterranean and Mideast region, but over the weekend France has newly announced it is also sending a warship related to the Israel-Gaza conflict.

    “France is preparing to send its Dixmude helicopter carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to offer medical assistance in Gaza,” the office of the French president announced

    French Navy/Marine Nationale – Amphibious Assault Ship L 9015 FS Dixmude

    The warship is set to deploy “at the start of the week and arrive in Egypt in the coming days,” according to President Emmanuel Macron’s office. The statement underscored a purely humanitarian aid mission.

    “France will also contribute to the European effort with medical equipment on board European flights on November 23 and 30,” the statement continued.

    It added, “France is mobilizing all its available means to contribute to the evacuation of wounded and sick children requiring emergency care from the Gaza Strip to its hospitals.”

    In recent days Macron has been involved in talks with his Qatari and Egyptian counterparts. He spoke about the ongoing hostage crisis in Gaza with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi. 

    The Saturday meetings resulted in the three countries agreeing on “the need to increase the number of trucks entering Gaza and to strengthen coordination for the delivery of humanitarian aid and the treatment of the wounded,” in a statement.

    Israel has reportedly already agreed days ago to allow more fuel into the Gaza Strip. This has riled hardliners in Israeli Knesset as they argue that supplying fuel will only benefit Hamas. The Netanyahu government has continued feeling pressure from the international community, and from Washington, given the soaring death toll among Palestinians and the severe humanitarian crisis unfolding.

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

    There have been weekend reports that a major hostage breakthrough deal has been reached, but has yet to materialize on the ground. A Qatar government statement said, “The challenges that remain in the negotiations are very minor… They are more logistical, they are more practical.”

    Negotiations have been “up and down over the last few weeks. I think I’m more confident now that we are close enough to reach an agreement that will allow these people (the hostages) to return home safely” a Qatari spokesman said.

    Tyler Durden
    Sun, 11/19/2023 – 12:50

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Today’s News 19th November 2023

  • How It Felt To Carry A Gun In Combat
    How It Felt To Carry A Gun In Combat

    Authored by John Waters via RealClear Wire,

    The following is an excerpt from River City One: A Novel. 

    The safety was flicked off, the hammer cocked.

    The gun was one inch above the seam of my pants pocket. A sudden move and the thing might go off. I closed both eyes and held my breath to slow everything down, breathing only to catch my breath. It was a couple of pounds, maybe three, and I felt it hanging, the weight of bullets pressed inside the hollow grip and tugging down on the waistband of my khakis.

    The gun had been an accessory, a set of car keys slipped into my pocket on the way out of the house; I had taken for granted that it would follow me everywhere. Metal grooves and small notches of the grip filled with rust when shamal winds whipped sand into the air, the heavy rotations of a dust-off grinding blue skies into dust. Oiling and scrubbing. Oiling and scrubbing, cleaning each nook with a toothbrush to make sure the bolt didn’t jam up with grit, just to make sure the thing fired when I needed it to. I carried it inside dust-filled trucks rumbling over potholes and every cut and groove in the road. I carried it standing in line for a plate of hot food, holding a plastic tray in my hands, letting my elbow rest at my hip, in the small space between the hammer and sight posts. I took the gun off my hip only to clip the holster into the nylon straps of the flak jacket that covered my chest, so high up I could rest my chin across the long steel grip and fall asleep.

    But there was risk in taking it off, so I took the gun with me into the green plastic porta-shitters, the dense sound of metal striking the soiled plastic floor when I unfastened my belt, pants sagging to my knees. When I slept, when I ate, it stayed clipped into my pants, welded to my side through so many places I forgot it was on me until I saw somebody else’s pistol lodged in a leather-strapped shoulder holster—dangling under his armpit like he was a police detective in an old movie—reminded me. The calm returned only when my palm grabbed onto a fistful of black grip stock.

    That was years ago.

    Today it was new again.

    “Wait for the natural pause in breath,” a voice said.

    The words sounded strange coming from the blonde with a pistol tucked into the top of her white pants. She was hanging close enough that I could see the brown of her irises and the freckles splashed across the bridge of her nose.

    I pressed the soft flesh between my thumb and forefinger into the smooth notch and let my right hand fold around the outside of the three-inch handle, forefinger resting straight along the barrel, just above the trigger well. The rough surface of the gun’s handle grated like sandpaper against the insides of my fingers. I drew in a long breath and held it. One, two, three counts.

    My heartbeat thudded through the insides of my ears, each beat deepening the longer I held the breath. The air exited as my right index finger touched the holster’s release button. I swept the pistol forward in one smooth motion until my arm reached full extension. My left hand molded onto the opposite side of the pistol, cradling the gun in both hands, index fingers pointed to the target.

    She was smiling.

    “Slow and steady pressure—let the weapon surprise you,” the voice said.

    I pulled my fingertip back gently and waited for the sound.

    Crack.

    The hammer dropped into a bright spark of flame and the barrel jerked upward, my shoulders rocking me backward onto my heels.

    I exhaled then waited.

    Crack.

    Inhaled.

    Crack.

    The firing became automatic, shell casings leaping from the barrel and falling soundlessly to the ground. The empty magazine dropped from the handle and I took one long breath, relieved, noticing for the first time the smell of charcoal smoke and sulfur. I set the pistol down on the metal tray and stepped back, eyes panning left and right. The room was small, only a few shooters standing within arm’s reach of one another. A hand reached beside me and turned the switch, making the sheet of paper come flying toward me, stopping so close to my head I felt the brush of air on my cheeks.

    The report was good. Five holes clustered like a honeycomb inside the target’s chest.

    John J. Waters graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy. He served in the Marine Corps on deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. He lives with his family in Nebraska, where he was born.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 23:55

  • New J6 Footage Shows Capitol Police May Have Incited Riot By Firing Munitions Into Peaceful Crowd
    New J6 Footage Shows Capitol Police May Have Incited Riot By Firing Munitions Into Peaceful Crowd

    House Speaker Mike Johnson has released over 40,000 hours of J6 footage including capitol police body cam footage to the public in the interests of transparency, an action which should have been taken years ago.  Each new piece of footage only confirms what many Americans already understood – That the few scant minutes of available video recycled by the media paint a false picture of what really happened.  Many would argue that J6 was nothing more than a protest that was turned into a riot by police incitement and establishment spin. 

    Even worse, there are many people now languishing in prison because of that spin.

    The latest footage shows capitol police inviting protesters into the building as they peacefully assembled in the corridors (the same people who would later be prosecuted and labeled “insurrectionists”). 

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    However, what about what happened before the “riots” started? 

    Did they happen spontaneously, or were they incited? 

    New video clips seem to show capitol police firing rubber bullets, tear gas grenades and stun grenades into crowds of peaceful protesters on J6 before anyone tried to enter the capitol building, possibly triggering the violence that would follow (and creating the footage that was played ad nauseum on major news networks as proof of insurrection).

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    Keep in mind that if such tactics had been used to incite BLM or pro-Palestinian riots there would undoubtedly be 24/7 news coverage of it.

    These revelations further confirm why J6 footage was withheld from the country for so long.

    It’s easy to control the narrative when you have all the evidence under lock and key.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 23:20

  • David DePape Found Guilty In Federal Trial Over Paul Pelosi Attack
    David DePape Found Guilty In Federal Trial Over Paul Pelosi Attack

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

    A federal jury on Nov. 16 convicted David DePape, the man who was accused of attacking Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), with a hammer last year at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home.

    Mr. DePape, 43, could face decades in prison.

    During a several-day-long trial this week, Mr. DePape said that he was “sorry that he got hurt,” referring to the 83-year-old Mr. Pelosi. “I reacted because my plan was basically ruined.”

    Mr. Pelosi suffered a skull fracture after he was hit in the head with a hammer during the Oct. 28, 2022, incident, which occurred at his San Francisco home just days before last year’s midterm elections. Ms. Pelosi, who was the speaker of the House at the time, was in Washington.

    According to police body camera footage that was taken during the night of the attack, officers opened the door to see Mr. DePape and Mr. Pelosi both holding what appeared to be a hammer. As police told Mr. DePape to drop the tool, he responded that he wouldn’t and appeared to strike Mr. Pelosi while off-camera.

    Other footage that was released by police this year appears to show Mr. DePape breaking into the Pelosi home.

    He was charged with attempted kidnapping and assault on account of a federal official’s performance of official duties. He pleaded not guilty. The jury convicted him on both charges.

    During testimony this week, Mr. Pelosi said that he was awakened that night when Mr. DePape entered his bedroom while holding zip ties and a hammer. The suspect repeatedly said, “Where’s Nancy,” referring to his wife, according to Mr. Pelosi.

    I recognized I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” he testified.

    Defense attorney Jodi Linker argued during the trial that Mr. DePape didn’t commit a federal crime because he wasn’t driven by Mrs. Pelosi’s official duties as speaker. Instead, she argued, his firm belief in what she described as “conspiracy theories” motivated him to bring down the ruling class in the United States.

    Ms. Linker did not contest some of the facts in the case as the hammer strike was recorded by police body cameras. Mr. DePape also admitted to his actions while testifying in his own defense.

    The suspect told the jury he wanted to kidnap Nancy Pelosi, interrogate her, and break her kneecaps if he found her to be lying. But after breaking into the home he instead found her husband, then age 82, asleep in his bed. Mr. DePape said the attack was a reaction to his original plan going awry.

    Police recovered zip ties in the bedroom and in the hallway near the front door, plus a roll of tape, rope, a second hammer, a pair of gloves, and a journal in Mr. DePape’s backpack, according to court records.

    Reactions

    After the guilty verdict was handed down on Nov. 16, the Pelosi family released a statement saying they are thankful for the “outpouring of prayers and warm wishes for Mr. Pelosi from so many across the country during this difficult time.”

    “The Pelosi family is very proud of their Pop, who demonstrated extraordinary composure and courage on the night of the attack a year ago and in the courtroom this week,” the spokesperson said. “Thankfully, Mr. Pelosi continues to make progress in his recovery.”

    Mr. DePape’s former girlfriend, also the mother of his children, recently told the New York Post that Mr. DePape appeared to be under duress during the trial, and she claimed that he was pressured by officials.

    “His testimony lasted about 15 to 20 minutes, but he broke down and cried three or four times,” Gypsy Taub, a nudist activist, told the paper. “It was as if he wasn’t even present in the room and sat there, frozen.”

    Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her husband Paul Pelosi at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican in a file image. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP via Getty Images)

    She said, “[I] already had doubts that his confession to police was false because it was only on audio, but I am glad the jury was able to see him testify and will be able to decide on the authenticity of that confession.”

    Previously, Ms. Taub also said that her former partner had progressive viewpoints but noted that he had significant mental problems. Several years ago, she claimed to local media he disappeared for months before returning and claimed to be Jesus Christ.

    Days after he was arrested, U.S. immigration officials confirmed that Mr. DePape is a Canadian national who was in the United States illegally, having overstayed his visa years ago.

    Mr. DePape still faces state charges, including attempted murder, in connection to the attack. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges.

    Lear Zhou and Reuters contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 22:45

  • A Preview Of Argentina's Consequential Election On Sunday
    A Preview Of Argentina’s Consequential Election On Sunday

    Argentinians return to the polls on Sunday, November 19 to elect the next president in a consequential runoff election. Voters will choose between incumbent Finance Minister Sergio Massa and right-wing libertarian Javier Milei. The election results will shape Argentina’s social and macroeconomic outlook in coming years.

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    As Goldman writes in its election preview note, polls point to a tightly contested race, with a majority showing Milei having a slight edge in voter preferences. A significant fraction (around one third of polls), however, suggests that Massa is in the lead. In general, polls in Argentina have a poor track record and in this electoral process they have systematically failed to capture shifts in voters’ sentiment. To add to the uncertainty, Massa was seen as outperforming Milei in the final presidential debate last week.

    In the August primary elections (PASO), Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party surprised by taking the lead, followed by the center-right coalition Juntos por el Cambio whose presidential ticket would be led by Patricia Bullrich. Massa’s left-leaning Peronist coalition, Unión por la Patria, finished third. In the October first round election, in turn, Massa topped most expectations with an improved performance and finished first. Milei came in second place without a significant change in support, and Bullrich disappointed and finished a distant third.

    After the first-round election, part of the Juntos por el Cambio coalition, the faction led by Ms. Bullrich and former President Mauricio Macri, announced their support for Mr. Milei. While the bloc represented by the Radical Party decided not to formally endorse any of the candidates, some members have publicly sided with Mr. Massa.

    Following Sunday´s results, investors will turn their attention to economic policy announcements. In the short term, the highly managed exchange rate will be a critical variable to follow. After the August primary elections, the government weakened the exchange rate by about 22% to 350 ARS per Dollar. Subsequently, the exchange rate was kept frozen at this level until this week, when a crawl resumed (1.0% so far this week). Nevertheless, pass-through was high and inflation accelerated considerably after the post-PASO devaluation and as a result, the real exchange rate is now even more overvalued than before the August devaluation.

    Parallel exchange rates, for their part, continue to trade at a significant spread over the official rate (162% for the informal market exchange rate and around 145% for the bond (MEP) and equity (CCL) implied rates) and the futures market anticipates a meaningful depreciation in the months ahead. Pressures in both markets, however, eased after the first-round election showed Massa first, having increased significantly following Milei’s outperformance in the August PASO.

    Likewise important, in the coming months there are significant payments scheduled to the IMF (around US$0.9bn in December and US$1.9bn in January) and foreign currency bond holders (approximately US$1.5bn due in interest payments in January). In the meantime, the EFF program with the IMF remains off track, and in our view its realignment will take time.

    Regardless of the election winner, Goldman writes that a swift change in economic policies is imperative. The accumulated imbalances in the economy have grown too large and must be addressed promptly. The bank expects the economy to contract for the second year in a row in 2024, annual inflation is tracking at close to 150% and is expected to continue to rise in the coming months, the exchange rate is overvalued, international reserves are at critical levels, net reserves are significantly negative (around -US11bn), the fiscal imbalance persists, sovereign bonds trade at distressed levels, and the government lacks access to international financial markets. All in, if policymakers do not steer macro policy in a more orthodox direction, the macro adjustment could impose itself sooner or later, bringing a loss of control of the process and even higher social and economic costs.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 22:10

  • You're Paying For The Israel War. You'll Also Pay For The Refugees.
    You’re Paying For The Israel War. You’ll Also Pay For The Refugees.

    Authored by Ryan McMaken via the Mises Institute,

    The United States regime has picked sides in the Israel-Hamas war and has committed to funding Israel’s ongoing bombing of non-combatant men, women, and children in the Gaza strip. Northern Gaza’s infrastructure is now all but destroyed, with millions of Gazans displaced and homeless. Nearly ten times more Gazans than Israelis have now died in the conflict. Many Gazans have fled to the southern portion of Gaza, but homelessness and abject poverty awaits them there. 

    By employing what is essentially the carpet-bombing approach, Tel Aviv has made the choice of adopting a policy that is sure to produce hundreds of thousands of refugees—or perhaps even more than a million. Indeed, many in the Israeli regime are motivated to maximize refugees, and push Gazans out of the country altogether using the Orwellian phrase “voluntary migration.” 

    On a military, tactical level, the Israeli state will have no problem accomplishing this. Tel Aviv has an air force, a deep reservoir of American-funded weapons, and a nuclear arsenal. The Israeli military can easily reduce all of Gaza to rubble. But what is sure to result from this is a humanitarian disaster accompanied by a global debate over which foreign country will host the refugees. 

    Israeli mouthpieces are already at work pushing the cost onto foreign taxpayers, including American ones. This week, two Israeli politicians—one from the militarist Likud party, and one from the center-left Yesh Atid party—took to the pages of The Wall Street Journal to demand that “countries around the world should offer a haven for Gaza residents who seek relocation.” According to these politicians, “[t]he international community”—i.e., not Israel—”has a moral imperative” to resettle Gazans somewhere outside Israel at not-Israel’s expense. 

    It is significant these claims appeared in an American publication. Tel Aviv is the latest welfare-queen regime—in the tradition of Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky—repeatedly haranguing the American public with demands for free money. It’s no coincidence that Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu is now seemingly ubiquitous on American prime-time news programs. His primary job right now is to demand money and favors from Washington and from other Western regimes. 

    It will probably work. Americans should get ready for plane-loads of Gaza refugees arriving in their cities, funded by the American taxpayers who can now barely afford to keep up with the price of groceries. This will be sold as a “humanitarian” effort, but anyone who sees through the propaganda will see that it’s really all a cynical effort to please pro-Israel interest groups and Israeli politicians. 

    A Pattern of War and Refugees 

    This was all predictable from the minute the war started last month. 

    The US and its allies have settled into a predictable pattern in foreign policy over the past thirty years: force the taxpayers to pay for the regime’s wars which involve bombing various poor foreign countries “back into the stone age.” Then, once the refugees start pouring out—and the Americans have lost the war, of course—Western regimes then tell the taxpayers back home to cough up even more money to pay for resettlement of all those refugees whose countries were needlessly destroyed by the bombs dropped by Washington and its allies. 

    This is no small phenomenon. A 2020 report from Brown University estimated that 37 million people have been made refugees by the US-led “War on Terrorism.” By 2016, 5.2 million of them reached Europe. In 2022 alone, more than 159,000 refugees arrived by sea in Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Malta. Thousands more arrive at the land borders of the EU every year.

    Thanks to the distance from western Asia and North Africa, refugees totals have been smaller in the United States. Nonetheless, the total number of refugees has ranged from 50,000 to 90,000 per year in most years since the US began its war in Afghanistan. This has transformed a number of communities in the United States, however, since refugees often tend to concentrate in specific places along ethnic or religious lines. In the decades of the US’s endless on-again, off-again military meddling in Somalia, tens of thousands of Somali refugees have been relocated to Minnesota at taxpayers’ expense. Since 2018, Minnesota has hosted more than 40,000 Somalia-born migrants (many classified as refugees). Most of the refugees, of course, are concentrated within Minneapolis’ metro population of only 3.5 million. In democracies, this has political consequences. 

    It is also important to remember that migrants who enjoy the legal status of refugees are not normal immigrants. Ordinary immigrants arrive at the United States at their own expense. The vast majority must find work on their own if they wish to have an income. They are eligible for few social benefits. Those seeking legal residency, of course, must go through a lengthy administrative process. For example, Mexicans who obtain a work visa in the United States have to work. They don’t show up and receive “free” help from government-funded refugee agencies in finding jobs, apartments, and other government freebies. 

    In contrast, all of that is fast-tracked for people labeled “refugee” by the federal government, and most of these refugees are immediately eligible for a wide array of taxpayer funded benefits. In total, this all costs the taxpayers nearly two billion dollars per year, or $80,000 per refugee per year in the form of federal and state programs including food stamps, child care, and public housing.

    It’s not enough that you pay for the bombs that create the refugees, dear American taxpayer. You’ll also have to pay to resettle those refugees in your town. 

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 21:35

  • Israel And Hamas Reach Tentative 5-Day Pause To Free Hostages
    Israel And Hamas Reach Tentative 5-Day Pause To Free Hostages

    Israel, Hamas and the United States are reportedly close to announcing an agreement to pause ongoing hostilities in order to free dozens of women and children being held hostage in Gaza.

    A plume of smoke rises above northern Gaza after an Israeli strike. (Photo: AFP/Menahem Kahana)

    According to the Washington Post, the release could begin within the next several days – and would mark the first sustained pause in the conflict.

    Under the terms of a six-page agreement;

    • All parties would freeze combat operations for at least five days.
    • During this period, an initial 50 or more hostages would be released in batches every 24 hours. 
    • It is unknown how many of what is believed to be 239 hostages will be released.
    • The halt is also intended to allow humanitarian assistance to flood in, including fuel, which would arrive from Egypt.

    According to the report, an outline of the deal was created during several weeks of talks in Doha, Quatar – where Israel, the USA and Hamas – indirectly represented by Qatari mediators, hashed out the logistics. Until now, it was unclear if Israel would agree to it.

    “We are not going to comment,” said a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Washington late Saturday.

    Concern about the captives — two of whom Israel said were found dead — along with the rising number of Palestinian civilian casualties have steadily increased pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. More than 100 countries — but, notably, not the United States — have called for a full and immediate cease-fire.

    The decision to accept the deal is difficult for Israel, said one person familiar with the situation who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. While there is strong domestic pressure on Netanyahu to bring the hostages home, there are also loud voices in Israel demanding that the government not barter for their release. -WaPo

    On Friday, Israeli National Security Council head Tzachi Haegbi told the press that a decision had been made by the war cabinet to agree to a limited ceasefire only after “a massive release of our hostages … and it will be limited and short, because after that we will continue to work towards achieving our war goals.”

    REUTERS/Ammar Awad

    Netanyahu, meanwhile, insisted on Saturday that the offensive would continue despite a decision last week to allow the first consistent flow of fuel back into Gaza since the start of the war. Israel has notably cut off all but a minimal amount of food, water, fuel and medicine.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 21:00

  • Investigators 'Have Not Ruled Out A Hate Crime' In Jewish Man’s Death In California
    Investigators ‘Have Not Ruled Out A Hate Crime’ In Jewish Man’s Death In California

    Authored by Jill McLaughlin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours)

    Attorney Ron Bamieh (L) talks to his client Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, a professor of computer science at Moorpark College, during an appearance in Ventura County Superior Court in connection with the death of Paul Kessler in Ventura, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2023. (Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo)

    Authorities are continuing to investigate whether the man arrested for the death of Paul Kessler at a dual protest between Israel and Palestine supporters earlier this month will be charged with a hate crime, Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko announced Nov. 17.

    “We have not ruled out a hate crime,” Mr. Nasarenko said during a press conference Friday. “The investigation into an alleged hate crime is ongoing. There are still four search warrants that remain outstanding, the returns of which we are awaiting. But at this moment in time, we do not have the elements of a hate crime satisfied.”

    The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office arrested Loay Alnaji, 50, a computer science professor at Moorpark College, Wednesday morning at his home in Moorpark.

    He pleaded not guilty Friday in Ventura County Superior Court. His bail was reduced from $1 million to $50,000, and his attorney Ron Bamieh said he expected Mr. Alnaji to be out of jail within hours, according to the Ventura County Star.

    Mr. Alnaji was charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of felony battery causing serious bodily injury. The District Attorney also added a special allegation of personally inflicted great bodily injury to each charge, which would add to his penalty or prison time if convicted.

    We did not file murder [charges] because there was no intent on the defendant’s part to commit one,” Mr. Nasarenko said Friday.

    Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident and asking for the public’s help to establish what happened during the altercation.

    Law enforcement and the district attorney’s office were able to piece together video and digital footage of the event to establish a clear sequence of events leading up to the confrontation. The new pieces of evidence and the technology used allowed the district attorney to file criminal charges.

    Although the county has not charged Mr. Alnaji with a hate crime, authorities haven’t ruled it out.

    “What we are looking for in particular is whether or not the acts, the impact, the force, was accompanied by specific hate speech, specific statements or words, that demonstrate an antipathy, a hatred toward a specific group,” Mr. Nasarenko said. “We don’t have that at this point.”

    Detectives and the district attorney’s office inspected more than 600 pieces of evidence and talked with more than 60 witnesses in the past two weeks. The investigation started hours after Mr. Kessler died in the early morning hours of Nov. 6 following an altercation at a protest in Thousand Oaks the day before.

    Paramedics assist Paul Kessler, 69, after he sustained a head injury during an altercation with a pro-Palestinian protester in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Nov. 5, 2023. (Courtesy of Rabbi Mark Blazer)

    According to witness accounts from Nov. 5, Mr. Kessler was standing on the corner of Westlake and Thousand Oaks boulevards—a popular spot for protests—where about 75 to 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators were rallying.

    It was the third time the group had protested in the area since Oct. 7, when Israel was invaded by the terrorist group Hamas, which resulted in the killing of about 1,400 and the kidnapping of more than 200. Israel subsequently began bombing Gaza in retaliation.

    Mr. Kessler, 69, of Thousand Oaks, was allegedly struck in the face during the altercation at the rally and fell on the ground, hitting his head on the pavement. He died early the next morning of a traumatic brain injury, according to the county’s medical examiner.

    We want to continue to remember and honor Paul Kessler and the tragic loss of life that has occurred,” Mr. Nasarendo said Friday.

    The district attorney and Sheriff Jim Fryhoff met virtually with the Kessler family briefly on Wednesday, Mr. Nasarenko said.

    (L–R) Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff, and Thousand Oaks Chief of Police Jeremy Paris answer questions during a news conference in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2023, concerning the death of Paul Kessler. (Juan Carlo/The Ventura County Star via AP)

    They are mourning,” he said. “They are grieving, and they are asking for privacy during this very difficult period.”

    Mr. Kessler worked in medical sales for many decades and taught sales and marketing at many satellite college campuses, according to Mr. Nasarenko. He leaves behind a wife of 43 years and a son, he added.

    “We want to continue to remember and honor Paul Kessler and the tragic loss of life that has occurred,” Mr. Nasarenko said Friday.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 20:25

  • In Stunning Reversal, OpenAI Board In Talks With Sam Altman To Return As CEO After Satya Nadella "Furious" At Ouster
    In Stunning Reversal, OpenAI Board In Talks With Sam Altman To Return As CEO After Satya Nadella “Furious” At Ouster

    Less than a day after JPMorgan came up with this pearl of a headline after the shocking news that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had unexpectedly been ousted by his own (incompetent) board for being “not consistently candid” (whatever that means, details of what actually happened have yet to be revealed)…

    … the drama surrounding Altman’s departure just took a turn for the even more dramatic, because according to reports in the WSJ and Verge, OpenAI’s investors are “pressing the board” to reinstate Sam Altman back as CEO, and none more so than Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella who was “furious” by the ouster, Bloomberg reported, and has been in touch with Altman pledging to support him whatever steps he takes next.

    Sam Altman

    The WSJ adds that while Altman is considering returning, he has told investors that he wants a new board, which inexplicably includes such woke luminaries as Helen Toner (whose tweets are protected of course), the director of strategy at Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (which means she does nothing at all), and who is perhaps best known for her support of the malignant fraud espoused by SBF that is “effective altruism” better known as virtue signaling covering up flagrant crime and fraud.

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    Besides Toner, OpenAI’s current board consists of chief scientist Ilya Sutskever (who also co-founded OpenAI and leads its researchers, was instrumental in the ousting of Altman this week, according to sources), Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, and former GeoSim Systems CEO Tasha McCauley, wife of actor Joseph Godron-Levitt. Unlike traditional companies, the board isn’t tasked with maximizing shareholder value, and none of them hold equity in OpenAI. Instead, their stated mission is to ensure the creation of “broadly beneficial” artificial general intelligence, or AGI.

    The now former (and soon-to-be again current) CEO also discussed starting a company that would bring on former OpenAI employees, and is deciding between the two options. Altman is expected to decide between the two options soon, the WSJ said, although the Verge notes that the former CEO is “ambivalent” about coming back and would want significant governance changes.

    Altman holding talks with the company just a day after he was ousted indicates that OpenAI is in a state of free-fall without him. Hours after he was axed, Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and former board chairman, resigned, and the two have been talking to friends and investors about starting another company. A string of senior researchers also resigned on Friday, and people close to OpenAI say more departures are in the works.

    The OpenAI board has been subjected to intense criticism over its decision, made public late Friday afternoon in a blog. post  Several people, including co-founder Greg Brockman and three senior researchers have departed from the company in protest.

    Besides Microsoft, which is the leading shareholder in OpenAI, venture capital firm Thrive Capital is also working to orchestrate efforts to reinstate Altman. The motive is clear: Microsoft invested $13 billion into OpenAI and is its primary financial backer. Thrive Capital is the second-largest shareholder in the company. Other investors in the company are supportive of these efforts, the people said.

    Then again, Microsoft is probably not all that angry: according to the Sam Bankman-Fried funded Semafor, “only a fraction of Microsoft’s $10 billion investment in OpenAI has been wired to the startup, while a significant portion of the funding, divided into tranches, is in the form of cloud compute purchases instead of cash” which gives the software giant whose stock last week hit an all time high and is about to surpass Apple as the world’s most valuable company, leverage as it sorts through the fallout from the ouster of Altman.

    The report goes on to note that “Nadella believes OpenAI’s directors mishandled Altman’s firing and the action has destabilized a key partner for the company.” It is also unclear if OpenAI, which has been racking up expenses as it goes on a hiring spree and pours resources into technological developments, violated its contract with Microsoft by suddenly ousting Altman. At the same time, Microsoft has rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property so if their relationship were to break down, Microsoft would still be able to run OpenAI’s current models on its servers. This is critical because Microsoft has made OpenAI’s products such a key part of its offerings, from Windows to Microsoft Office to GitHub, that anything involving that underlying technology would have an instant and adverse material impact on the $2.75 trillion company’s bottom line.

    That’s why since Friday, Silicon Valley has been buzzing about what could happen to this key partnership, including whether Microsoft and other OpenAI investors might attempt to reinstate Altman as CEO (which, as we now learn, is in process).

    On Saturday in a note to employees, OpenAI Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap said the company’s leaders “still share your concerns about how the process has been handled, and are working to resolve the situation,” according to an internal memo reviewed by Semafor. Lightcap shared new insight into the board’s decision, clarifying that there was no “malfeasance or anything related to our financial, business, safety, or security/privacy practices.”

    That struck a different tone than the board’s statement on Friday that said Altman was “not consistently candid” with directors. Instead, Lightcap characterized it as a “breakdown in communication” between Altman and the board and added that the leadership has full faith in interim CEO Mira Murati.

    The exact reason for Altman’s firing remains unclear. But for weeks, tensions had boiled around the rapid expansion of OpenAI’s commercial offerings, which some board members felt violated the company’s initial charter to develop safe AI, according to people familiar with the matter.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 19:54

  • ASU Pulls Plug On Tlaib's Speech In Wake Of House Censure
    ASU Pulls Plug On Tlaib’s Speech In Wake Of House Censure

    In the wake of her bipartisan censure by the U.S. House of Representatives for saying that the Biden administration ‘supports genocide’ in Gaza, a planned speech by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) was canceled by Arizona State University (ASU).

    The censure, introduced by Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), accused Tlaib of promoting false narratives about Hamas’ attacks on Israel and calling for the destruction of the state of Israel​​. Notably, 22 Democrats joined the majority of Republicans, while four Republicans voted against it on free speech grounds.

    While ASU didn’t point to the censure, the timing couldn’t be more obvious. Instead, the university on Friday told The Center Square (via Just the News) that her speech wouldn’t happen on school grounds because the group organizing the event failed to adhere to proper protocols.

    “Organizers of events using ASU facilities must be properly registered with ASU and must meet all university requirements for crowd management, parking, security, and insurance,” said a spokesperson. “In addition, the events must be produced in a way which minimizes disruption to academic and other activities on campus. The event featuring Congresswoman Tlaib was planned and produced by groups not affiliated with ASU and was organized outside of ASU policies and procedures.

    Tlaib, the first Palestinian American woman in Congress, has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government. The clip which got her in hot water shows pro-Palestine protesters chanting “from the river to the sea” – a refrain which Tlaib described as “an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.”

    Tlaib defended her position on the House floor, stating that her criticism was solely directed at the Israeli government and arguing that labeling such criticism as antisemitic sets a dangerous precedent​​.

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    The canceled ASU event was planned by groups opposing Israel’s military actions against Hamas and was expected to address issues pertinent to the Palestinian perspective.

    In response to the university’s decision, Students for Justice in Palestine at ASU, one of the event’s sponsors, criticized the university for stifling free speech and Palestinian voices on campus. The cancellation and the surrounding events highlight the ongoing and complex debate surrounding free speech, academic freedom, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the United States.

    “Rashida Tlaib must be heard on campus as the only Palestinian member of Congress who plans to speak on an American issue at this event,” the group stated. “ASU cannot claim to hold free speech as a principle while denying Palestinians their voices on campus.”

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    A post shared by SJP at ASU (@sjpasu)

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    Amazing how quickly the left starts eating its own when one of them attempts free speech contradicting establishment orthodoxy, eh?

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 19:15

  • Millions Of Americans Are Walking Into A Chinese-Made Trap
    Millions Of Americans Are Walking Into A Chinese-Made Trap

    Authored by John Mac Ghlionn via The Epoch Times,

    According to a new Pew report, a growing number of U.S. adults admit to regularly getting their news on TikTok. “This,” notes the report, “is in contrast with many other social media sites, where news consumption has either declined or stayed about the same in recent years.”

    This should concern all readers who care about the United States. As this piece clearly demonstrates, TikTok is an incredibly dangerous app that is most likely being weaponized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). More specifically, it’s being used by the CCP to further divide a country that is already dangerously divided.

    The Pew report states that, since 2020, the percentage of U.S. adults who regularly get their news from TikTok “has more than quadrupled,” from 3 percent three years ago to 14 percent in 2023. Today, add the authors of the sobering report, “43% of TikTok users say they regularly get news on the site, up from 33% who said the same in 2022.”

    It’s not often that journalists on both sides of the political aisle agree on a particular issue. However, with TikTok—from the New York Post to The New York TimesThe Washington Post to the Washington Examiner—everyone seems to agree that TikTok is a destructive app.

    This explains why Nepal recently chose to ban TikTok, saying the platform spreads content that negatively affects “social harmony.” Nepal’s neighbor, India, has also banned TikTok—for good reason.

    Earlier this year, The Guardian published a piece meticulously outlining how TikTok appears to be part of the CCP’s “cognitive warfare campaign.”

    TikTok is the latest addition to the CCP’s cognitive domain of military operations. In short, the human mind is the new battlefield, and what better way to conquer it than by weaponizing an app currently used by 150 million Americans?

    James Giordano, an expert in the weaponization of technology, agrees. Co-director of the O’Neill Institute-Pellegrino Center Program in Brain Science and Global Health Law and Policy at Georgetown University, Mr. Giordano told me that the CCP considers TikTok a key cog in the evolution of psychological operations (PSYOPs).

    Mr. Giordano—whose research revolves around the misuse of neuroscientific techniques and technologies in medicine, public life, and military applications—believes that “both TikTok and more sophisticated forms of collective psychological intelligence/assessment and engagement will increasingly be used to leverage influence in narratives, image meanings, and contextual interpretations.”

    The app’s effects on “a variety of public and personal media,” he suggests, will likely increase, especially with the presidential election—arguably America’s most significant one of the 21st century—only a year away.

    Psyops, according to the expert, “constitute a defined domain of China’s ‘three [non-kinetic] warfares.’” The first domain involves the psychological evaluation of rivals’ collective cognitive patterns and beliefs. This is one of the reasons why TikTok is so dangerous. The app can be used to gauge the “temperature” of the United States’ political climate. After gauging the temperature, the second stage involves controlling various media outlets via specific psychological messaging. The final step involves the injection of pro-CCP narratives or modifications to narratives that benefit Beijing. The main aim here, Mr. Giordano says, involves the creation of “disruptive messaging and influence programs that access and affect key variables of US and Western cognition, emotions, and behaviors.”

    When someone as qualified as Mr. Giordano speaks, we should listen.

    After all, this is communist China we are talking about, a country that has stolen the personal data of 80 percent of American adults. It’s quite likely that TikTok is being used not just to influence Americans’ minds but also to steal their personal data.

    In February this year, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) called on Apple and Google to immediately remove TikTok from their respective stores, citing national security concerns. A Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mr. Bennet wrote a strongly worded letter, asking why “Chinese Communist Party dictates should have the power to accumulate such extensive data on the American people or curate content to nearly a third of our population.” Not only did the question go unanswered, TikTok is still available on Apple’s App Store and via Google Play.

    This is not okay.

    In September, a Microsoft threat analysis report clearly outlined how CCP-aligned influence and disinformation campaigns are targeting both American voters and political candidates on both sides of the aisle.

    The headquarters of ByteDance, the parent company of video sharing app TikTok, is seen in Beijing on Sept. 16, 2020. (Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images)

    According to the report, Beijing-affiliated “covert influence operations have now begun to successfully engage with target audiences on social media to a greater extent than previously observed.”

    Considering that Chinese-owned TikTok is the most used social media app in the United States, it’s safe to assume that the CCP is focused on influencing this platform more than the likes of Instagram and Facebook.

    The writing is on the wall. For some reason, too many of us refuse to read it. This has been the case for years.

    In 2013, an expert on China named Dean Cheng, then affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, warned readers that the “Information Age provides unparalleled ability to influence both a nation’s leaders and its population.”

    Like Mr. Giordano, Mr. Cheng insisted that “the core of the Chinese concept of psychological warfare is to manipulate those audiences by affecting their thought processes and cognitive frameworks. In doing so, Beijing hopes to be able to win future conflicts without firing a shot—victory realized through a combination of undermining opponents’ wills and inducing maximum confusion.”

    Bear in mind that this warning came many years before the creation of TikTok, an app that is, cut by cut, gradually destroying the fabric of American society.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 18:40

  • The TSA Is Still Crazy After All These Years
    The TSA Is Still Crazy After All These Years

    Authored by James Bovard via The Mises Institute,

    The TSA has been promising to end its boneheaded ways for more than 20 years. Flying out of Dallas International Airport last week, I ruefully recognized that all TSA reform promises are malarkey.

    As I neared the end of a TSA checkpoint line, I saw two women loitering behind a roped off section for CLEAR, a new biometric surveillance program that works with 35 airports and coordinates with TSA. CLEAR involves travelers standing in photo kiosks that compare their faces with a federal database of photos from passport applications, driver’s licenses, and other sources. The Washington Post warned that airport facial recognition systems are “America’s biggest step yet to normalize treating our faces as data that can be stored, tracked and, inevitably, stolen.”

    Though the CLEAR program is purportedly voluntary, TSA agents at Washington National Airport recently threatened long delays for any passenger who refused to be photographed by CLEAR, including U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). Merkley said that TSA falsely claimed there were signs notifying people that the facial scans are optional. But the clock is ticking down on seeking voluntary cooperation. TSA chief David Pekoske announced in March that “eventually… we will require biometrics across the board.”

    “Idle hands are the tool of the devil,” as the old saying goes, and the same is true of cell phones. I raised my phone camera, snapped a few shots of the women, and the howling commenced.

    “What are you doing?” screamed a young woman wearing a CLEAR jacket.

    “You can’t take my photo!”

    “But you’re scanning people’s eyeballs,” I replied. What could be more intrusive?

    “That doesn’t matter because you can’t take our photo – it’s not allowed!”

    She sounded as if I had desecrated a federal temple.

    I gave her a Chesire cat smile. With her three-inch artificial fingernails, I wondered if she planned to audition for a Dracula movie. Her colleague speedily exited, perhaps to summon police to end my assault. But if airport officials had sought to seize those photos, they would have faced a legal ruckus.

    The queue finally reached the stern middle-aged TSA dude sitting behind plexiglass who checked identification and boarding passes. He stared at my driver’s license and then gave me an intense look. TSA considers a “cold, penetrating stare” a terrorist warning sign, but I assumed this guy was above suspicion. I was tempted to ask how many TSA Watch Lists included my name thanks to TSA bashes I wrote for New York Times, USA Today, New York Post, Washington Times, and other publications. Was this TSA dude reading about how the TSA chief denounced me in 2014 for “maligning” TSA agents?

    TSA protocols make flying vexing without making travelers safe. As I approached the luggage scanner, I removed my wallet and stuffed it in the bottom of my carry-on bag. More than 500 TSA agents have been fired for robbing passengers. In July, three TSA agents at Miami International Airport were arrested because they pilfered property “while the passengers were distracted with their own screenings and not paying attention to their items,” the New York Post reported. A TSA agent admitted to partnering with another TSA employee to steal a thousand dollars a day, including grabbing cash from wallets sent through TSA x-ray systems.

    TSA decrees are wildly inconsistent, but every command is presumed sacrosanct. Flying out of Washington Dulles Airport the prior week, I was told to keep my laptop in my courier bag. Fine by me. In Dallas, a TSA drill sergeant wannabe barked orders for everyone to remove their laptops and lay them out before sending through the x-ray machines. TSA agents have been caught selling stolen laptops on eBay, so I tried to keep an eye on my computer.

    TSA lunacy also obliged me to modify my attire. Instead of good ol’ blue jeans, I was , wearing Dockers. Prior to entering TSA’s Whole Body Scanner at Washington National Airport for a recent flight, I did everything right – emptied my pockets, removed my belt and boots, and sported a friendly smile (ok, not that friendly). But as I exited the scanner, a TSA supervisor grimly announced, “We have to do a supplemental patdown.”

    “What the heck are you talking about?” I groused. 

    He pointed to the large screen next to the scanner that showed the problem: an illuminated thin line directly in front of my groin.

    “That’s the zipper on my pants,” I exclaimed.

    “Sir, we have to do a supplemental patdown. If you want it conducted in a private room, we can do that,” came the rote TSA reply.

    “Hell no. Let’s do it where the TSA surveillance cameras record the search.”

    Never, ever go into a private room with TSA agents.

    A tall, heavyset TSA agent with his hair tied in a bun atop his head came up and began vigorously grappling my ankles. Did TSA agents have a daily quote for groping or what? As I left the checkpoint, I muttered about TSA standing for “Too Stupid for Arby’s.”

     Dockers were slightly less likely to trigger this boneheaded alert than blue jeans. But it wasn’t my fault that TSA screeners failed to detect 95 percent of the test bombs and weapons during covert tests by federal inspectors.

    I had no trouble in the Whole-Body Scanner in Dallas last week, but my carry-on bag failed the TSA inspection.

    A beefy young female agent hoisted my bag and carted it to the end of the checkpoint area. She was the final participant in the gauntlet of village idiocy that I had to pass before reaching my plane. She summoned me to explain its contents and my depravity. “Is there anything sharp in this bag?”

    “No,” I replied. Geez, how much did TSA pay for x-ray gizmos that were more obtuse than a presidential speechwriter?

    She unzipped my bag and began pawing through it. In lieu of a machete, she found a small half-full jar of peanut butter.

    “You can’t take liquids on a flight,” she announced solemnly.

    “It’s peanut butter. It’s not liquid.”

    “It’s liquid and it’s prohibited,” was her decree. Did TSA covertly classify peanut butter as a bioweapon, or what?

    “Ya, whatever,” I said as I abandoned the jar to federal custody.

    Chatting with another jaded traveler as I put my boots back after clearing the checkpoint, he asked if I was upset about losing my peanut butter.

    I smiled: “I’ll settle accounts with TSA later.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 17:30

  • Rogan Sends The Rock Backpedaling Over Claim He Has 'Friends Who Support Biden'
    Rogan Sends The Rock Backpedaling Over Claim He Has ‘Friends Who Support Biden’

    Joe Rogan forced The Rock to backpedal on his claim that he has ‘friends who support Biden.’

    After Rogan made the point that political discourse has become extremely polarized, The Rock chimed in:

    “I have friends who support Trump. I have friends who support Biden,” to which Rogan jumped in and asked “Do you really have friends who support Biden?”

    “No, no, no, no, no… Thank you. That’s a good check because that’s important. This is important context. They support the Democratic Party.”

    The Rock also took heat for not knowing what the Cybertruck is.

    https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsAccording to a recent poll from ABC News/Ipsos, just 23% of Americans think the country is headed in the right direction under President Biden. Republicans, as expected, were overwhelmingly negative – with 95% saying things are headed in the wrong direction, followed by 76% of independents and 54% of Democrats.

    And following a recent NY Times-Siena College survey which showed Donald Trump smoking Biden in five out of six key swing states, the Washington Post penned a worried screed suggesting that Democrats need another candidate next year

    It would seem Democrats are leaving plenty of potential voters on the table — and possibly victory — with Biden. And some are spotlighting this as a reason to nominate someone else.

    Former Barack Obama strategist David Axelrod floated that possibility, and Bill Kristol explicitly endorsed it while citing the “generic” ballot. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), who has launched a primary bid against Biden, also cited that finding, saying, “I could offer no statement more powerful than the one made by suffering Americans in today’s NY Times poll.” -WaPo

    All the way back in April, nearly 2/3 of Democrats said in a Rasmussen poll that they want to see challengers run against Biden in 2024.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 16:55

  • "Attacks On US Forces Essential To Stop Bloodbath In Gaza": Hezbollah Leader
    “Attacks On US Forces Essential To Stop Bloodbath In Gaza”: Hezbollah Leader

    Via The Cradle,

    The second-in-command of the Lebanese resistance says Israel would have ‘collapsed within days’ of 7 October were it not for the support of the US…

    In an extensive interview with Spanish daily El Mundo, the Deputy Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Naim Qassem, said that attacking US positions in West Asia is “essential” to stop the mass murder of Palestinians in Gaza due to the unfettered support given by Washington to Tel Aviv.

    It is the [western] axis that supports the occupation, legitimizes the murder of children and women, the destruction of hospitals, and grants immunity to Israel to continue its massacres. The US is supporting these massacres, and that is why attacking the US is essential to stop the aggression against Gaza,” Qassem said in the interview published on 14 November.

    “US military intervention is part of the violent Israeli reaction and serves to protect this monstrosity,” the Hezbollah deputy chief stressed.

    US bases in Iraq and Syria have come under daily bombardment since 17 October by local resistance factions, prompting the Pentagon to deploy nearly a dozen warships, thousands of troops, and heavy weapons to the region.

    The Hezbollah official also stressed that Israel “still stands [today] because of the support of the US.”

    “You heard Nasrallah say in 2006 that Israel was more fragile than a spider’s web. Israel is weak. Their society is not motivated to defend their country. This is what happened on [7 October]. The amount of time it took for politicians and the army to react was unreal. If Israel still stands, it is because of the support of the United States. Otherwise, it would have collapsed within a few days. Israel is under intensive care by the west and we do not know how much longer it will last.”

    When asked about the fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli army at the Lebanese border – which has been ongoing since 8 October – Qassem said Hezbollah has a plan to “force Israel to restrain itself.”

    Nonetheless, he added that any decision “will be made on the battlefield,” as the possibility of the fighting spreading beyond the Lebanese border region depends on “the evolution of the Gaza war and on Israel’s (hypothetical) decision to start a broader war.”

    “If they attack us, we will have to defend ourselves, and we will use all of our power,” he told El Mundo.

    When pressed on whether the “broader war” would be precipitated by a defeat of the resistance in Gaza, Qassem told the interviewer: “We will decide when the time comes. Now is not the time to talk about red lines.”

    The Hezbollah leader also illustrated that the main difference between the Lebanese resistance and the Israeli army goes far beyond each other’s arsenal, saying: “A confrontation cannot be measured only in terms of military capacity. The motivation and desire of the resistance to defend its people and land exerts great influence. We do not take into account the balance of power. We only seek to ensure that the enemy does not achieve its objectives; that is the real victory.”

    Qassem added that Hezbollah today is “in a much better position” than in 2006 when Israel was handed a humbling defeat at the hands of the resistance. “We don’t need weapons. Our warehouses are full. In fact, we need more warehouses,” he stressed.

    “If Israel uses nuclear weapons, it will kill the Israelis before it kills us. This is a very small territory. In any case, we are not afraid of nuclear weapons. [The statements by the member of the Israeli cabinet] are an example of their arrogance. The west should tell us what it thinks about an Israeli minister suggesting the use of nuclear weapons.”

    “If Israel decides to extend the aggression [against Lebanon], it will be digging its own grave and giving us a good opportunity to eliminate it once and for all,” Qassem asserted.

    He also took aim at the posture taken by western media outlets, saying they act “as if Israel has a right to [the occupied territories] and is the victim.”

    “The reality is that Palestinians are the occupied ones, and Israel is the occupier. We have to confront the problem of the occupation and not that of resistance to the occupation. For Hezbollah, Israel has no right to exist, and Palestinians are the real owners of that land. But it is up to the Palestinians, including Palestinian Jews, to decide their future. Those who have come from all over the world have no right to steal that land.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 16:20

  • In Incredibly Awkward Joint Presser, Erdogan Says Germany's Scholz Can't Criticize Israel Because Of The Holocaust
    In Incredibly Awkward Joint Presser, Erdogan Says Germany’s Scholz Can’t Criticize Israel Because Of The Holocaust

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has continued to be a thorn in Israel’s side, as well as the NATO alliance, given that on Friday he was in Germany and aggressively denounced Israel’s military operation against Hamas and Gaza.

    Erdogan made things awkward for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz while the two hosted a joint press conference in Berlin. The Turkish leader not only reiterated his calls for an immediate ceasefire, but went so far as to say that what Israel is doing is against the Jewish religion.

    He denounced attacks on children and civilians in hospitals as being contrary to the Jewish holy book. “Shooting hospitals or killing children does not exist in the Torah, you can’t do it,” Erdogan said. He then highlighted the large and growing casualties among Palestinian women, children and elderly, and even mentioned attacks on churches.

    Via AP: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz talk to the media at a press conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.

    “Does Israel target hospitals, houses of worship and churches? Yes, it does. I, as a Muslim, am disturbed by this,” he said, as translated by Turkish media. He then called out Western leaders for failing to condemn such brazen human rights abuses, again with Scholz standing uncomfortably right beside him. 

    Erdogan further made things awkward by referencing an ultra-sensitive subject for Germans

    Erdogan suggested that Germany was unable to criticize Israel because of the Holocaust.

    I speak freely because we do not owe Israel anything. If we were indebted, we could not talk so freely,” he said. “Those who are indebted cannot talk freely. We did not go through the Holocaust, and we are not in such a situation.”

    He also claimed Israel’s actions were against Judaism.

    He further held out the possibility that Turkey could mediate peace – which remains highly unlikely given the current soaring tensions in Israel-Turkey relations which recently witnessed the mutual withdrawal of ambassadors and tit-for-tat verbal denunciations.

    “As Türkiye, our goal is to facilitate an atmosphere in which Palestinians and Israel peacefully coexist,” he said.

    Erdogan has also been harping on Israel’s secretive nuclear arsenal, saying the world must demand that it be officially disclosed, while also vowing to send Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. 

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

    Scholz, however, in the same press conference was unmoved: 

    In response to a journalist’s question about whether Germany would support legal action against Israel’s ongoing war crimes against Palestinians in Gaza, Scholz said Israel’s “right to self-defense must not be called into question.”

    Scholz traveled to Israel to offer Germany’s unconditional and unwavering support after the Oct. 7 attacks.

    Erdogan’s commentary sparked immediate controversy among German leaders:

    Those and similar comments have appalled politicians across the spectrum in Germany. Scholz has described Erdogan’s accusations against Israel as “absurd.”

    “It’s no secret that we have, in parts, very different views on the current conflict,” Scholz said at a brief news conference alongside Erdogan before their talks. But “particularly at difficult moments, we need to speak directly to each other.”

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

    Germany is also among European countries which have a large Muslim and especially Turkish population. Major pro-Palestinian protests have erupted there. One point of rare agreement between Turkey and Germany during Erdogan’s visit was the need for a two state solution.

    In the meantime, Erdogan’s Turkey will continue to be a foreign policy outlier in the NATO alliance – and the Turkish president certainly won’t be receiving a state invitation to visit Washington or London anytime soon. And yet, there are reports that the White House has actually been mulling such a visit.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 15:45

  • Trump Did 'Incite Violent Insurrection' But Can Still Run For President, Colorado Judge Rules
    Trump Did ‘Incite Violent Insurrection’ But Can Still Run For President, Colorado Judge Rules

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace has become the latest jurist to reject the effort to bar former president Donald Trump from the ballot under the novel 14th Amendment theory.

    I have long been a vocal critic of the theory, which I view as historically and legally unfounded. I also view it as arguably the most dangerous theory to arise in decades.

    While Wallace reached the right conclusion, she committed, in my view, fundamental errors in her analysis on the free speech elements of the case.

    The case involves a chilling effort of Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold to use her office to prevent voters from being able to cast their ballots for Trump, one of the leading candidates for the presidency. Like other challengers, she claimed to be protecting democracy by denying voters the ability to vote for their preferred candidate on the basis of this dubious theory. Polls show Trump and Biden in a statistical dead heat at 42% (Biden) to 38% (Trump) which is within the margin of error.

    Judge Wallace rejected the use of the amendment to prevent voters from voting for Trump in the 2024 election, declaring that “[t]he Court holds there is scant direct evidence regarding whether the presidency is one of the positions subject to disqualification.”

    In her 102-page ruling, Wallace declared that “[a]fter considering the arguments on both sides, the Court is persuaded that ‘officers of the United States’ did not include the President of the United States. It appears to the Court that for whatever reason the drafters of Section 3 did not intend to include a person who had only taken the Presidential Oath.”

    Accordingly, “[t]he Court orders the Secretary of State to place Donald J. Trump on the presidential primary ballot when it certifies the ballot on January 5, 2024,”

    The scope of the provision is one of the inherent questions presented by this theory. There is also the problem with the limitation of Section 3 to those “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.” It then adds that that disqualification can extend to those who have “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” These challengers argue that Jan. 6 was an “insurrection” and Trump gave “aid and comfort” to those who engaged in it by spreading election fraud claims and not immediately denouncing the violence.

    Most of the public do not agree with that assessment. In polling, most view Jan. 6 for what it was: a protest that became a riot. One year after the riot, a CBS News poll showed that 76 percent viewed it for what it was, as a “protest gone too far.” The view that it was an actual “insurrection” was far less settled, with almost half rejecting the claim, a division breaking along partisan lines.

    On Jan. 6, I was contributing to the coverage and denounced Trump’s speech while he was still giving it. But as the protest increased in size, some of us noted that we had never seen such a comparatively light level of security precautions, given the weeks of coverage anticipating the protest. We then watched as thinly deployed police barriers were overrun and a riot ensued. It was appalling, and most of us denounced it as it was unfolding. However, it was not a rebellion or insurrection in my view.

    Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — the “disqualification clause” — was written after the 39th Congress convened in December 1865 and many members were shocked to see Alexander Stephens, the Confederate vice president, waiting to take a seat with an array of other former Confederate senators and military officers. That was a real rebellion in which hundreds of thousands died.

    While Judge Wallace reached the right result, I have major qualms with her analysis.

    She states as a fact that Trump was guilty of incitement, a charge that no prosecutor has ever brought against him. That includes the D.C. Attorney General who announced his intention to pursue such charges. It also includes Special Counsel Jack Smith who threw every other possible criminal charge against Trump.

    Nevertheless, Judge Wallace concludes that Trump “incited imminent lawless violence.”

    She further found that:

    “[i]n addition to his consistent endorsement of political violence, Trump undertook efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election well in advance of the election, making accusations of widespread corruption, voter fraud, and election rigging.”

    As such, she finds that his speech was not protected by the First Amendment. While I am a critic of Trump’s speech and actions on that day, I still believe that the the court is completely wrong on the First Amendment.

    In Brandenburg v. Ohio, the Supreme Court ruled in 1969 that even calling for violence is protected under the First Amendment unless there is a threat of “imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.”

    It is common for political leaders to call for protests at the federal or state capitols when controversial legislation or actions are being taken. Indeed, in past elections, Democratic members also protested elections and challenged electoral votes in Congress.

    The fact is that Trump never actually called for violence or a riot. Rather, he urged his supporters to march on the Capitol to express opposition to the certification of electoral votes and to support the challenges being made by some members of Congress.

    He expressly told his followers “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”

    Trump also stated:

    “Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy…And after this, we’re going to walk down – and I’ll be there with you – we’re going to walk down … to the Capitol and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.”

    He ended his speech by saying a protest at the Capitol was meant to “try and give our Republicans, the weak ones … the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country. So let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.” Such marches are common — on both federal and state capitols — to protest or to support actions occurring inside.

    As I have discussed previously, the Ku Klux Klan leader Clarence Brandenburg referred to a planned march on Congress after declaring that “revengeance” could be taken for the betrayal of the president and Congress. The Supreme Court nevertheless overturned his conviction. Likewise, in Hess v. Indiana, the court rejected the prosecution of a protester declaring an intention to take over the streets, holding that “at worst, (the words) amounted to nothing more than advocacy of illegal action at some indefinite future time.” In NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co., the court overturned a judgment against the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People after one official declared, “If we catch any of you going in any of them racist stores, we’re gonna break your damn neck.” That was ruled as the hyperbolic language of advocacy.

    Judge Wallace dismissed such arguments and holds that “while Trump’s Ellipse speech did mention “peaceful” conduct in his command to march to the Capitol, the overall tenor was that to save the democracy and the country the attendees needed to fight.”

    The decision comes just days after another defeat in Michigan for advocates of this theory.

    Had Wallace used this analysis to find in favor of disqualification, I believe that she would have been eventually reversed. As it stands, we will have to wait to see if Griswald has the confidence of her convictions to appeal. I hope that she does. We need to put this insidious legal theory to rest with the finality and clarity of a Supreme Court decision.

    Here is the opinion: Anderson v. Griswald

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 15:10

  • Stacey Abrams' Brother-In-Law Arrested, Accused Of Human Trafficking, Choking Underage Girl
    Stacey Abrams’ Brother-In-Law Arrested, Accused Of Human Trafficking, Choking Underage Girl

    Stacey Abrams’ brother-in-law was arrested in Tampa on human trafficking charges involving a minor.

    Jimmie Gardner, a well-known Georgia-based youth motivational speaker, is accused of human trafficking, lewd or lascivious touching, and battery. This development adds a dark chapter to Gardner’s already tumultuous life story, marked by a wrongful conviction and later exoneration.

    Gardner was arrested following a disturbing incident at a Hillsborough County hotel. According to the Tampa Police Department, Gardner invited a 16-year-old girl to his hotel room in the early hours of Friday, offering to pay her for sexual acts. The situation rapidly deteriorated when the girl, after initially agreeing, decided against it and informed Gardner of her change of heart.

    What transpired next, as per the police report, was an altercation that escalated to physical violence. Gardner is alleged to have choked the girl during the argument, a serious charge that underscores the severity of the situation.

    Police say Gardner invited the girl to his hotel room around 1:43 a.m. Friday. Once there, he offered to pay her in “exchange for sexual acts,” according to a Friday news release from the Tampa Police Department. The girl agreed, but later told Gardner that she had changed her mind.

    Police say Gardner became angry and told her to leave.

    The two had started arguing when Gardner put his hands around the girl’s neck and choked her, according to the release. Gardner then left the hotel room and the girl called 911. –Tampa Bay Times

    Following the incident, Gardner reportedly turned himself in at the Tampa police headquarters, leading to his arrest and subsequent booking into Orient Road Jail, where he is being held without bond.

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    Gardner, once a promising baseball player drafted by the Chicago Cubs and playing in the minor leagues was wrongfully convicted of sexual assault in 1987, leading to 27 years of imprisonment before his exoneration in 2016.

    Following his release, Gardner has enjoyed success as a motivational speaker – however this arrest raises numerous questions, not just about Gardner’s personal conduct, but also about the broader issues of human trafficking and exploitation. It casts a shadow on his past efforts to empower youth and advocate for positivity, highlighting a complex and tragic juxtaposition between his public persona and the allegations he now faces.

    h/t Colin Rugg

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 14:35

  • What's It Take To Be Middle Class Now?
    What’s It Take To Be Middle Class Now?

    Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

    Can an economy in which 10% of the households qualify as middle class claim to offer widespread opportunities for secure prosperity? No, it cannot.

    Defining the middle class is a perpetually popular parlor game because it’s well-known that the foundation of widespread prosperity is a broad-based middle class and a sturdy ladder of social mobility that enables those below the middle class to work their way up to middle class security.

    Here’s an example of a typical trope on the subject: What Does It Take To Be Middle Class?

    The topic is also a perennial favorite because the middle class is losing ground. By basic measures of income, it’s slipped from 60% of the populace to 50%.

    A strong case can be made that assessed by characteristics of middle class security and prosperity rather than income, the middle class has effectively shrunk to 10% of households as only the top 30% of households earn enough to afford what was within reach of the top 60% in decades past.

    By definition, the top 20% cannot be “middle class.” The top 20% is comprised of the upper-middle class, the wealthy and the super-wealthy (the 80% to 95% bracket, top 5% and the top 1%).

    Attempting to define the middle class by income alone is futile due to regional differences in costs and purchasing power. $100,000 annual household income that will barely pay rent and necessities in a major metro city can stretch considerably further in smaller cities far from high-cost zones.

    Regardless of income, households that are living paycheck to paycheck don’t qualify as middle class if we qualify “middle class” by these characteristics:

    In Why the Middle Class Is Doomed (April 2012) I listed five “threshold” characteristics of membership in the middle class:

    1. Meaningful healthcare insurance (i.e. not phantom coverage that only kicks in after thousands of dollars are paid in cash).

    2. Significant equity (25%-50%) in a home or other real estate.

    3. Income/expenses that enable the household to save at least 6% of its net income.

    4. Significant retirement funds: 401Ks, IRAs, etc.

    5. The ability to service all debt and expenses over the medium-term if one of the primary household wage-earners lose their job.

    I then added a taken-for-granted sixth:

    6. Reliable vehicles for each wage-earner that are fully covered by insurance.

    Author Chris Sullins suggested adding these additional thresholds:

    7. If a household requires government assistance (SNAP, Medicaid, rent subsidies, etc.) to maintain the family lifestyle, their middle class status is in doubt.

    8. A percentage of non-financial hard assets such as family heirlooms, precious metals, business equity, rental income property, land, etc. that can be transferred to the next generation, i.e. generational wealth.

    9. Ability to invest in offspring (education, extracurricular clubs/training, etc.).

    10. Leisure time devoted to the maintenance of physical/spiritual/mental fitness.

    Correspondent Mark G. suggested two more:

    11. Continual accumulation of human and social capital (adding new skills, expanding social networks and markets for one’s services, etc.)

    And the money shot:

    12. Family ownership of income-producing assets such as rental properties, bonds, etc.

    The key point of these thresholds is that propping up a precarious illusion of consumption and status signifiers does not qualify as middle class. To qualify as middle class (that is, what was considered middle class a generation or two ago), the household must actually own/control wealth that won’t vanish if the investment bubble du jour pops, and won’t be wiped out by a medical emergency.

    In Chris’s phrase, “They should be focusing resources on the next generation and passing on Generational Wealth” as opposed to “keeping up appearances” via aspirational consumption financed with debt.

    So how much does it cost to meet these qualifying standards? Two generations ago, public school teachers, healthcare workers, skilled craft workers and others with median-level incomes could meet all of these qualifications, for the purchasing power of their earnings was extremely high compared to now. A median wage bought a lot of shelter, vehicle, healthcare, college education, etc.

    According to the US Census Bureau, Real median household income was $74,580 in 2022. (Source: Income in the United States: 2022) This is the “middle income” that presumably qualifies as “middle class,” but it would take extreme frugality and sacrifices to stretch $75,000 to cover the qualifications listed above, even in low-cost regions.

    As a general guideline, $75,000 would only stretch to meet these qualifications if 1) the family home was owned free and clear, i.e. no mortgage, either via inheritance or extreme efforts such as building your own home with cash savings, 2) no student loan debt, either by gaining desirable skills outside college or completing college on scholarships, with family financial aid, etc., and no vehicle loan, i.e. a reliable used car/truck that is owned free and clear.

    These may strike younger readers as impossible fantasies, but as I’ve often noted here, forty years ago I worked my way through a four-year university program with part-time jobs and built a house from scratch with only savings, income from temp construction jobs and a $5,000 bank loan ($17,000 in today’s dollars) which we paid off in two years.

    Even with extreme frugality, this debt-free lifestyle is no longer within reach of the non-wealthy, as costs for college, land, permits and building materials have skyrocketed, along with the costs of healthcare, insurance, vehicles, childcare, etc.

    I submit that for most households in higher-cost regions, these qualifications can only be met with an annual household income of $150,000 or more, which according to the Census Bureau, is the cutoff level for the top 20% (top quintile) of American households.

    According to the Census Bureau, the top 20% earn 52% of all income, and the top 5% earn 23.5% of all income. The top 10% of households have an income of $216,000 or higher, and the top 5% have incomes of $295,000 or higher. The top 1% bracket is $867,000 and up. (TableA-4a, Income in the United States: 2022).

    In lower-cost regions, it may be possible for frugal households in the 70% to 80% income bracket to qualify. According to the Census Bureau, this bracket earns between $118,700 and $153,000. This 10% might qualify as middle class. Households earning less would likely qualify only if they inherited significant wealth from their families or received substantial financial aid from their families, such as college paid for in full, a down payment for a home purchase, etc.

    In summary: if we set minimum standards for qualifying as middle class by what was within reach of typical American households two generations ago, relatively few households qualify as middle class. Middle class means more than being able to charge a lavish cruise or foreign vacation on a credit card or buying a new truck with a huge loan. It once meant owning assets, not owing debt on assets.

    Consider a few charts. Here we see the percentage of wealth owned by the 50% to 90% bracket–what we might consider middle class–has declined sharply as wealth has concentrated in the top 10%.

    By way of example, the top 10% own 90% of stocks.

    Wages are the bedrock of middle class income and wealth accumulation, and here we see wages share of the national income has been in a freefall for 45 years. It has recently ticked up, but it is not yet clear if this is just another temporary blip or an overdue clawback of income that has predominantly flowed to capital.

    Can an economy in which 10% of the households qualify as middle class claim to offer widespread opportunities for secure prosperity? No, it cannot. “Middle class” isn’t just income or consumption; it demands a toehold of ownership of real assets that offer security, not a lifetime of debt servitude.

    As security becomes increasingly precarious and unaffordable, Self-Reliance offers an alternative to a lifetime of debt servitude.

    *  *  *

    My new book is now available at a 10% discount ($8.95 ebook, $18 print): Self-Reliance in the 21st Century. Read the first chapter for free (PDF)

    Become a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

    Subscribe to my Substack for free

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 14:00

  • Comer: White House 'Obstructing' Biden Inquiries
    Comer: White House ‘Obstructing’ Biden Inquiries

    Tensions are simmering in Washington as House Republicans intensify their probes into President Joe Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and the family’s business dealings, sparking a fiery standoff with the White House.

    The White House, meanwhile, has made clear to House Republicans that they won’t play ball – leading to accusations that the Biden White House is “obstructing” their investigative efforts.

    Spearheaded by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the Republicans are aggressively pursuing over 20 subpoenas issued to Biden staffers and family members.

    “We just received a letter from the Special Counsel to the president making it clear the White House intends to continue obstructing our investigation,” reads a post on X from House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer (R-KY)

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

    We also need to know if these classified materials aided the Bidens’ global influence-peddling enterprise that brought in tens of millions for the Bidens and their associates,” Comer said on Friday. “This obstruction does not deter us, and we will continue to follow the facts and hold President Biden accountable to the American people.”

    In a scathing four-page letter pushing back against the inquiry, a senior White House attorney, Richard Sauber, hit back, accusing the GOP of twisting facts and pushing a narrative loaded with “distortions and falsehoods.” Sauber’s letter lambasts the Republicans’ efforts as “congressional harassment” and a mere play to “score political points.”

    Adding to the complexity, the White House accuses the Republicans of withholding critical information and shifting goalposts when their allegations are countered or debunked. This claim points to a deeper narrative battle, where each side accuses the other of misinformation and evasion.

    Meanwhile, Hunter Biden’s representatives have dismissed the subpoenas as a political charade but have signaled a willingness for a public address at an appropriate time. Similarly, James Biden’s attorney has highlighted the committee’s review of private bank records, suggesting that the necessary transparency is already in play.

    Remember when Democrats just up and impeached Trump twice with way less evidence?

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 13:25

  • Speaker Johnson Releases Jan. 6 Videos To The Public
    Speaker Johnson Releases Jan. 6 Videos To The Public

    By Joseph M. Hanneman of Epoch Times

    More than 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 Capitol Police security video will be made public on a dedicated website starting immediately and ramping up in the coming months, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) announced on Nov. 17.

    However, individual video clips released to media or other requesters will have the faces of identifiable individuals blurred, a senior congressional aide told The Epoch Times. That restriction drew immediate fire from some Jan. 6 criminal case defendants.

    “So while we are significantly expanding the amount of clips that will be available and who can request them, we will be blurring faces with respect to individuals who are identifiable,” the source said.

    “To restore America’s trust and faith in their government we must have transparency,” Johnson wrote on X.com. “This is another step towards keeping the promises I made when I was elected to be your Speaker.”

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

    The Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight, chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), has already posted 90 hours of Capitol security video in the online viewing room. The initial release includes footage previously provided to various media outlets.

    “The goal of our investigation has been to provide the American people with transparency on what happened at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and this includes all official video from that day,” Mr. Loudermilk said in a statement. “We will continue loading video footage as we conduct our investigation and continue to review footage.”

    More videos will be added to the public site on “a rolling basis,” the source said.

    “By current estimates, there are roughly 40,000 hours that we will be making public over the next few months as quickly as we can,” the congressional aide said.

    Some video will be withheld if it is deemed “security sensitive” or if it could “potentially provide a roadmap for doxxing and harassing private individuals,” the aide said.

    Beginning on Nov. 20, members of the public will also be able to view footage on terminals in the committee’s offices on Capitol Hill, the source said.

    Those wishing to view the video at committee offices will have to request a time slot by emailing charep.oversightrequests@mail.house.gov.

    In-person viewing on the congressional video terminals offers advantages over the online viewing room. In-person viewers can select individual cameras from an interactive Capitol map and narrow the footage by timeframe.

    The in-person system has maps for each level of the Capitol. The Capitol grounds are separated into zones, with the camera locations indicated by small icons. Viewers can access the entire database, whereas the online viewing room will be stocked with tranches of footage on a rolling basis.

    The announcement came amid mounting pressure from the public and Jan. 6 defendants to get access to the security video. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this year said he would release Jan. 6 video footage, but that commitment never resulted in the public getting direct access.

    The viewing room setup and the plans to blur faces on video clips given to media or the public drew some fire on social media.

    “Releasing batches of J6 CCTV is merely a way for Congress to pretend they are making the tapes public while holding back important footage they will ‘someday’ get to us in a ‘future’ batch,” Will Pope, a Jan. 6 defendant, wrote on X. “They gave it ALL to the FBI in January 2021! Americans deserve it ALL in one batch, too!”

    Mr. Pope said blurring the faces of those shown in the downloadable videos will erode public trust. He called the Nov. 17 announcement a “publicity stunt.”

    “Americans will never trust blurred and edited J6 footage,” he wrote.

    Some commenters on social media asked how they can be sure the files posted online have not been altered.

    During a Spaces online meeting on X, several of the more than 800 participants said they expect Google and YouTube to censor not only news about the Jan. 6 video releases but also any video clips people try to upload to social media. Others said they do not understand why the online viewing room does not have a download function.

    Congressional sources said the public can request downloadable videos based on their research, but all clips are subject to committee approval and will be processed to blur the faces of identifiable persons.

    Earlier this year The Epoch Times gained access to the Capitol Police database of nearly 1,700 cameras for Jan. 5 and 6. Based on research done on video terminals on Capitol Hill, the newspaper requested and was given dozens of individual clips that were used in the special report The Jan. 6 Tapes.

    https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1725713948547133881

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 11/18/2023 – 13:12

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Today’s News 18th November 2023

  • Escobar: Xi Outmaneuvers Biden In San Francisco
    Escobar: Xi Outmaneuvers Biden In San Francisco

    Authored by Pepe Escobar,

    On one side of the table, a Global South leader at the top of his game. On the other side, a mummy selling the illusion he’s the “leader of the free world.”

    That was bound for a cliffhanger – before, during or after the crucial bilateral involving the world’s top two powers. Already during the introductory remarks, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken, sitting on the right side of the mummy, was as terrified as James Stewart afraid of heights in Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” – sensing doom would dawn at any second.

    Then it did – at the final presser. Joe Biden, the actor playing The Mummy, following a proverbial smirk, said Chinese President Xi Jinping is “a dictator”. Because he is the leader of a communist country.

    All those previous elaborate plans unraveled, in a flash. A tentatively rosy scenario turned into a film noir. The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s response was as sharp as a Dashiell Hammett one-liner – and contextualized: this was not only “extremely wrong” but “an irresponsible political manipulation”.

    All of the above of course assumed The Mummy knew where he was and what he was talking about, “off the cuff”, and not dictated by his ubiquitous earpiece.

    The White House gives away the plot

    The Xi-Biden drama, lasting a little over two hours, was not exactly a remake of “Vertigo”. Washington and Beijing seemed quite cozy jointly promising the proverbial promotion and strengthening of “dialogue and cooperation in various fields”; an intergovernmental dialogue on AI; drug control cooperation; back to high-level military-to-military talking; a “maritime security consultation mechanism”; significantly increasing flights by early 2024; and “expanding exchanges” in education, international students, culture, sports, and business circles.

    The Hegemon was far from having a priceless Maltese Falcon (“the stuff dreams are made of”) to offer Beijing. China is already solidified as the world’s top trading economy by PPP. China is advancing at breakneck speed on the tech race even under nasty US sanctions. China’s soft power across the Global South/Global Majority increases by the day. China is co-organizing with Russia the concerted drive towards multipolarity.

    The White House readout , as bland as it might seem, actually gives away the key part of the plot.

    Biden – actually his earpiece – underscored “support for a free and open Indo-Pacific”; the defense of “our Indo-Pacific allies”; the “commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight”; “adherence to international law”; “maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea and East China Sea”; “support to “Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression”; and “support for Israel’s right to defend itself against terrorism”.

    Beijing understands in detail the context and the geopolitical overtones of each of these pledges.

    What the readout does not say is that Biden’s handlers also tried to convince the Chinese to stop buying oil from their strategic partner Iran.

    That’s not gonna happen. China imported an average of 1.05 million barrels of oil a day from Iran over the first 10 months of 2023 – and rising.

    US Think Tankland, always excelling in misinformation and disinformation, believed in their own childish projection of Xi playing tough guy against the US in Asia, knowing that Washington can’t afford a third love affair, sorry, war front on top of Ukraine and Israel/Palestine.

    The fact is Xi knows all there is to know about imperial, rotating Hybrid War fronts, plus others that can be powered on at the flick of a switch. The Hegemon continues to provoke disturbance not only in Taiwan but in the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, India, and continues to flirt with possible color revolutions in Central Asia.

    There has been no direct US-China confrontation yet thanks to millenary Chinese diplomatic expertise and long term vision. Beijing knows in detail how Washington is simultaneously in Full Hybrid War mode against BRI (the Belt and Road Initiative) and BRICS – soon to become BRICS 11.

    Only two options for China and the US

    A Sino-American reporter, after the introductory remarks, asked Xi, in Mandarin, if he trusted Biden. The Chinese President perfectly understood the question, looked at her, and did not answer.

    That’s a key plot twist. After all, Xi knew from the beginning he was talking to the handlers controlling an earpiece. Moreover, he was fully aware of Biden, actually his handlers, qualifying Beijing as a threat to the “rules based international order,” not to mention relentless accusations of “Xinjiang genocide” plus the containment tsunami.

    Not by accident, last March, in a speech to Communist Party notables, Xi explicitly stated that the US is engaged in “comprehensive containment, encirclement and suppression against us.”

    Shanghai-based scholar Chen Dongxiao suggests that China and US should engage in “ambitious pragmatism”. That happened to be exactly the tone of Xi’s key takeaway  in San Francisco:

    “There are two options for China and the US in the era of global transformations unseen in a century: One is to enhance solidarity and cooperation and join hands to meet global challenges and promote global security and prosperity; and the other is to cling to the zero-sum mentality, provoke rivalry and confrontation, and drive the world towards turmoil and division. The two choices point to two different directions that will decide the future of humanity and Planet Earth.”

    That is as serious as it gets. Xi added context. China is not engaged in colonial plunder; is not interested in ideological confrontation; it does not export ideology; and it has no plans to surpass or replace the US. So the US should not attempt to suppress or contain China.

    Biden’s handlers may have told Xi that Washington still follows the One China policy – even as it continues to weaponize Taiwan under the twisted logic that Beijing might “invade”. Xi, once again, provided the concise clincher: “China will eventually, inevitably be reunified” with Taiwan.

    $40,000 for dinner with Xi

    Amid all the barely concealed tension, relief in San Francisco came in the form of business. Everyone and his corporate neighbor – Microsoft, Citigroup, ExxonMobil, Apple – was dying to meet with leaders from several APEC nations. And especially from China.

    APEC after all accounts for nearly 40% of the global population and nearly 50% of global trade. This is all about Asia-Pacific – not “Indo-Pacific”, an empty “rules-based international order” gambit that no one knows anything about, much less uses anywhere across Asia. Asia-Pacific will account for at least two-thirds of global growth in 2023 – and counting.

    Hence the sterling success of a business dinner at the Hyatt Regency, with tickets costing between $2,000 and $40,000, hosted by the National Committee on United States-China Relations (NCUSCR) and the US-China Business Council (USCBC). Xi, inevitably, was the star of the show.

    Corporate honchos well knew in advance that the US opted out of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); and that the new trade gambit, the so-called Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is basically D.O.A. IPEF may deal with supply chain issues but it does not hit the heart of the matter: lower tariffs and wide market access.

    So Xi was there to “sell” to investors not only China but a great deal of Asia-Pacific as well.

    One day after San Francisco, the heart of the action moved to Shanghai and a high-level Russia-China conference; that’s the kind of meeting where the strategic partnership formulates paths ahead in the Long March to Multipolarity.

    In San Francisco, Xi made a point to stress that China respects the “historical, cultural and geographical position” of the US, while hoping that the US would respect the “path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

    And here’s where the film noir plot approaches the final shootout. What Xi hopes will never happen with Straussian neocon psychos running US foreign policy. And that was starkly confirmed by The Mummy, a.k.a. Joe “Dictator” Biden.

    So much for realpolitik practitioner Joseph “soft power” Nye, one of the few realists that believe China and the US, like James Stewart and Kim Novak in “Vertigo”, need each other, and should not be separated.

    Well, unfortunately, in “Vertigo” the heroine plunges into the void and dies.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 23:40

  • Who Has Type 1 Diabetes?
    Who Has Type 1 Diabetes?

    With Wednesday being World Diabetes Day, it’s worth looking at which countries have the highest number of people with the disease.

    Wilford Brimley

    According to Anna Fleck of Statista, citing data from the NHS, there are two main types of diabetes: Diabetes type 1 is described as a “lifelong condition where the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin”, whiule type 2 occurs when “the body does not produce enough insulin, or the body’s cells do not react to insulin properly.” Unlike type 2 diabetes, there are no lifestyle changes that you can make to lower your risk of developing type 1.

    According to data from the International Diabetes Foundation, more than 1.4 million people are currently living with type 1 diabetes in the United States.

    Considering the comparatively smaller population sizes, the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada have particularly high numbers of cases.

    Type 1 diabetes can occur at any age, but it usually occurs in childhood or adolescence. According to the International Diabetes Foundation, around 61 percent of people currently living with type 1 diabetes in the U.S. are between 20 and 59 years old, 28 percent are over 60 and around 12 percent are 20 or younger.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 23:20

  • Contraceptives May Slow Brain Development And Increase Risk-Taking Behavior In Teens, Study Suggests
    Contraceptives May Slow Brain Development And Increase Risk-Taking Behavior In Teens, Study Suggests

    Authored by Megan Redshaw via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Synthetic hormones used for birth control may slow brain maturation and disrupt the development of an area of the brain responsible for impulsivity, according to new research.  

    (Andrus Ciprian/Shutterstock)

    Adolescents commonly use hormonal contraceptives despite the unknown effects on brain and behavioral maturation, prompting scientists at Ohio State University to explore how common synthetic hormones used for birth control affect the prefrontal cortex—an area of the brain essential to regulating emotional behaviors and executive function.

    In the study, presented during a Nov. 12, 2023, poster session at an annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, researchers gave a combination of synthetic estrogen and progesterone in hormone-based contraceptives to female rats from early to late adolescence and compared their behavior and brain tissue to untreated rats. 

    Because synthetic hormones found in contraceptives decrease the ovaries’ production of natural progesterone and estrogen to prevent ovulation, researchers looked at how the brain is affected by these hormonal differences when it is still developing.

    The study concentrated on myelination and microgliaimmune cells that ​​regulate brain development, maintenance of neuronal networks, and injury repair—because both play essential roles in prefrontal cortex development. Myelination plays a role in the development of the prefrontal cortex and involves the formation of a protective coating called the myelin sheath around nerves to improve conduction.

    Myelination in the human central nervous system begins one to two months before birth and persists into the third decade of life—consistent with the time it takes for cognitive function in children and adolescents to develop. According to the study, myelination is mediated by the same hormones that hormonal contraceptives target. 

    Since synaptic development and myelination during the adolescent window are sensitive to the onset of hormones during puberty, the authors theorized that disrupting hormonal activity during puberty could “potentially shift the trajectory of some of those developmental processes,” co-senior author Kathryn Lenz, associate professor of psychology at Ohio State, said in a news release. 

    “When it comes to nervous system communication, keeping it steady is key—too much or too little can lead to dysfunction that affects the mood and behavior,” she said. 

    The study found myelination increased and microglia decreased when the rats were given hormonal contraception, indicative of disrupted communication. In behavioral threat appraisal tests, rats given hormonal contraceptives were found to be more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors, such as remaining in elevated wide-open spaces and sampling treats in unfamiliar settings. 

    Lab tests confirmed that the synthetic ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel given to the treated rats were present in brain tissue. However, researchers were unable to determine if the effects were due to how synthetic hormones shut down natural hormone production or if they were directly impacting the brain.

    The study provides some of the first evidence showing that hormonal contraceptives given during the vulnerable developmental period of adolescence may influence the development of the prefrontal cortex, contributing to altered risk-assessment behavior.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 23:00

  • Restoring 'Doomsday' Plane Ensures US Response To Adversary’s Nuclear Attack Is Annihilation: Congressman
    Restoring ‘Doomsday’ Plane Ensures US Response To Adversary’s Nuclear Attack Is Annihilation: Congressman

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

    As the lone U.S. Air Force flag officer on “doomsday” flights, Brig. Gen. Don Bacon knew the loneliness of having Armageddon at his fingertips.

    Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), a retired U.S. Air Force general, is calling on the Pentagon to restore the Cold War Era “Looking Glass” program where command-and-control aircraft, such as the RC-135 Stratolifter above, could augment surveillance by being on-station 24/7 to ensure no adversary can launch a surprise nuclear strike. (Master Sgt. Patrick Nugent via Wikimedia Commons)

    Years later, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) again knows the sentinel’s loneliness, his repeated calls to restore the Air Force’s Cold War Era “Looking Glass” program unheeded.

    But that may be changing.

    During a Nov. 15 House Armed Services Committee review of a congressional commission’s report assessing the nation’s nuclear forces, fears surfaced that potential adversaries—namely Russia and China—are developing capacities from space, from cyber, from under the sea, from everywhere all at once, to elude U.S. early warning systems and launch a surprise strike.

    Chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) both cited such a scenario as not merely speculative, but as an urgent threat that must be addressed.

    “In terms of resiliency and survivability, regardless how many nuclear weapons or what platforms we have, our command-and-control structures and the ability to make them less vulnerable” is vital, Mr. Smith said.

    Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States Chair Madelyn Creedon, a former National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) deputy administrator and Assistant Defense Secretary, agreed.

    “That is an important area. It’s also an area that doesn’t get talked about much because so much is classified,” she said.

    The report recommends that “attention be placed on the modernization of the nuclear command-and-control system,” Ms. Creedon said. “This also includes how various systems must be more resilient. So, you know, maybe it’s multiple systems” with moving pieces “so that we don’t lose our eyes, if you will.”

    Gosh, Mr. Bacon said, that sounds like “Looking Glass.”

    “We need to go back to where we used to have 24/7 airborne backup capabilities for our command, control, and communications,” he said. “We need to restore an emergency 24/7 backup capability that can’t be taken out by surprise.”

    “Looking Glass” was the operational name for the National Emergency Airborne Command Post program, the rotating but ever-present sky sentinels with beyond-horizon eyes and ears, airborne 24 hours a day, every day, for 37 years between 1961 and 1998.

    The program was created to “mirror” the Department of Defense’s (DOD) ground-based command, control, and communications capacities so, in the event they were rendered inoperable in a nuclear strike, airborne teams could transmit launch commands to intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), Air Force strategic bombers, and submarines at sea.

    “Looking Glass” ensured there would be no surprises, that any nuclear strike against America would induce a response that made such an attack unthinkable.

    It was the guarantee that mutually assured destruction was, indeed, assured.

    Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill, in Washington, on Jan. 10, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

    ‘You’re Exactly Right’

    “Looking Glass” was disbanded, its mission transferred to Navy E-6Bs and satellites, with Air Force airborne strategic “NightWatch” surveillance assets incorporated into the DOD’s World Wide Airborne Command Post network.

    Mr. Bacon has maintained for at least five years that the current airborne surveillance system is inadequate.

    And he should know.

    “I used to fly on the ‘Looking Glass,’” he said, accumulating more than 1,700 hours as command, control, and communications analyst flying out of Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Nebraska, in the late 1980s and again as a “one star,” a brigadier general, in 2011-12 on “NightWatch”—the one with his finger on the button.

    During a July hearing, Mr. Bacon told Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense Programs Deborah Rosenblum and Air Force Global Strike Commander Gen. Thomas Bussiere that the Navy doesn’t have enough E-6Bs and that emerging technologies—hypersonics, space lasers—won’t give U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM) much time, if any, to thwart a nuclear strike.

    “With hypersonics, you may have a 15-minute warning time. That’s not enough time to get a jet off reliably, in my view,” he said. “So you’re better off having a 24/7 capacity. Why? Because you want the Russians and the Chinese to know that no matter what they do, we can strike back. And so I think it’s important for deterrence.”

    Mr. Bacon’s back-to-the-future suggestion to restore “Looking Glass” drew polite acknowledgment but little else.

    During the Nov. 15 hearing, he asked Ms. Creedon and commission Vice Chair Jon Kyl, who represented Arizona as a Republican U.S. Senator from 1995-2013, what their year-long study said about the nation’s airborne surveillance capacities.

    With current technologies, [there is a] 15-minute warning time,” he said, adding DOD assures him that a 15-minute warning is enough time “and I’m not convinced,” especially “with 15-minute warning times going to zero in the future.”

    Anticipating advances in technologies, there will be “no warning times. The White House, the Pentagon, STRATCOM could be hooked, and then you’re headless,” Mr. Bacon said. “We need to go back to the where we used to have 24/7 airborne backup capabilities for our command-and-control.”

    “You’re exactly right,” Mr. Kyl said.

    The former senator said among the commission’s 12 members is former STRATCOM commander, retired Air Force Gen. John Hyten.

    Mr. Hyten was “a large part of our conversation that dealt with how we could make sure that our command-and-control kept up with the developments that are occurring, just as you point out. There are specific recommendations in the report that go directly to that.”

    Restoring “Looking Glass” would not only be relatively inexpensive compared with other options, but could serve as the steady sentinel in any “deterrence gap” that could occur in transitions to new systems and technologies, the report suggests.

    For Mr. Bacon, what once worked to make nuclear war unthinkable will work again because the most important aspect of deterrence is being there, being the watcher adversaries know is there but can’t be found, the one with Armageddon at its fingertips.

    “How else do we ensure that, even with your warning time, we have command authorities not at the positions that are targeted? We got to find a way to do that,”  he said. “And I’m going to be pushing this until we get resolution within the DOD.”

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 22:40

  • A New Type Of Dementia Plagues America
    A New Type Of Dementia Plagues America

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

    In the United States, it’s estimated that at least 7 million people over the age of 65 have dementia. If current trends continue, by the end of the decade, more than 9 million Americans are expected to suffer from this loss of cognitive functioning—that’s equivalent to the population of New York City.

    (fizkes/Shutterstock)

    Memory impairment isn’t just affecting the elderly. By 2050, the number of U.S. adults over the age of 40 living with dementia is expected to more than double, from 5.2 million to 10.5 million. To compound matters, there’s a new type of dementia plaguing Americans, one that’s affecting people much younger than 40. It’s called digital dementia, and millions of unsuspecting, young Americans are at risk.

    A major health epidemic, digital dementia occurs when one part of the brain is overstimulated and another part of the brain is understimulated. When we mindlessly use digital devices, the frontal lobe, which is responsible for higher-level executive functions, gets little, if any, use. Meanwhile, the occipital lobe, the visual processor located at the back of the brain, gets bombarded with sensory input. Slouched over and spaced out, people, both young and old, are abusing their brains, day in and day out. Preteens and teens are particularly at risk for two reasons:

    • An American 8 to 12-year-old spends an average of 4.7 hours a day scrolling their lives away. That’s around 70 days in a given year.
    • The prefrontal cortex (PFC), the brain region responsible for planning and decision-making, doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25.

    Digital dementia impedes both short-term and long-term memory. Moreover, as research shows, excessive screen time during brain development increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, in adulthood. Not surprisingly, excessive screen time is intimately associated with digital addiction. This, in turn, fuels digital dementia, which results in the shrinking of the brain’s gray matter. White matter facilitates communication between gray matter areas. But without gray matter, which plays a critical role in emotions, memories, and movements, there’s really nothing to communicate. White matter helps the traffic get from A to B. Grey matter, on the other hand, is the traffic.

    It gets worse. As Gurwinder Bhogal, an excellent British-Indian writer, recently noted, not only is “gray matter shrinkage in smartphone-addicted individuals” a growing problem, the Western average IQ is declining—rapidly, he added.

    This has been the case for decades. The decline of brain power has been particularly notable in America. Lead exposure, and, more recently, the effects of draconian lockdowns, have had deleterious effects on Americans’ IQs. As technology continues to rise, IQ continues to decline. Is there an association? The answer appears to be yes.

    What we’re witnessing is the Flynn effect in reverse. Named after James R. Flynn, the renowned intelligence researcher who passed away in 2020, the Flynn effect refers to a steady upward shift in IQ test scores across generations. In recent times, however, that steady upward shift has transformed into a spiraling nosedive. This isn’t surprising. In fact, as our lives become more intertwined with technology, and as we outsource more of our thinking and doing to search engines and ChatGPT-like systems, we should expect this nosedive to increase in velocity.

    As Mr. Bhogal noted, common sense suggests that the decline in IQ is “at least partly the result of technology making the attainment of satisfaction increasingly effortless, so that we spend ever more of our time in a passive, vegetative state.”

    “If you don’t use it,” he added, “you lose it.” Indeed. By “it,” of course, he means your brain. But brain function isn’t the only thing being lost.

    The rise of digital dementia, digital addiction, and lower IQ scores is a reflection of a much broader problem. The United States isn’t just struggling with demographic decline; it’s also wrestling with the unholy trinity of spiritual, psychological, and intellectual decline. The country is becoming fatter, sicker, older, and dumber. The movie “Idiocracy” wasn’t a parody; it was a prophecy.

    As intelligence levels continue to plummet and test scores continue to fall in the likes of math and reading, the United States risks becoming a society of brainless, aimless individuals, a nation consisting of millions of obese zombies. Contrary to popular belief, societal collapse doesn’t occur overnight; it occurs in increments, a death by a thousand cuts. The biggest threat to the United States isn’t necessarily external; it’s posed by the numerous digital devices in our hands and homes. Technology has consumed both our minds and our souls; are we going to get either of them back?

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

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 22:20

  • Speaker Johnson Releases Jan. 6 Videos To The Public
    Speaker Johnson Releases Jan. 6 Videos To The Public

    By Joseph M. Hanneman of Epoch Times

    More than 40,000 hours of Jan. 6 Capitol Police security video will be made public on a dedicated website starting immediately and ramping up in the coming months, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) announced on Nov. 17.

    However, individual video clips released to media or other requesters will have the faces of identifiable individuals blurred, a senior congressional aide told The Epoch Times. That restriction drew immediate fire from some Jan. 6 criminal case defendants.

    “So while we are significantly expanding the amount of clips that will be available and who can request them, we will be blurring faces with respect to individuals who are identifiable,” the source said.

    “To restore America’s trust and faith in their government we must have transparency,” Johnson wrote on X.com. “This is another step towards keeping the promises I made when I was elected to be your Speaker.”

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    The Committee on House Administration’s Subcommittee on Oversight, chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), has already posted 90 hours of Capitol security video in the online viewing room. The initial release includes footage previously provided to various media outlets.

    “The goal of our investigation has been to provide the American people with transparency on what happened at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and this includes all official video from that day,” Mr. Loudermilk said in a statement. “We will continue loading video footage as we conduct our investigation and continue to review footage.”

    More videos will be added to the public site on “a rolling basis,” the source said.

    “By current estimates, there are roughly 40,000 hours that we will be making public over the next few months as quickly as we can,” the congressional aide said.

    Some video will be withheld if it is deemed “security sensitive” or if it could “potentially provide a roadmap for doxxing and harassing private individuals,” the aide said.

    Beginning on Nov. 20, members of the public will also be able to view footage on terminals in the committee’s offices on Capitol Hill, the source said.

    Those wishing to view the video at committee offices will have to request a time slot by emailing charep.oversightrequests@mail.house.gov.

    In-person viewing on the congressional video terminals offers advantages over the online viewing room. In-person viewers can select individual cameras from an interactive Capitol map and narrow the footage by timeframe.

    The in-person system has maps for each level of the Capitol. The Capitol grounds are separated into zones, with the camera locations indicated by small icons. Viewers can access the entire database, whereas the online viewing room will be stocked with tranches of footage on a rolling basis.

    The announcement came amid mounting pressure from the public and Jan. 6 defendants to get access to the security video. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this year said he would release Jan. 6 video footage, but that commitment never resulted in the public getting direct access.

    The viewing room setup and the plans to blur faces on video clips given to media or the public drew some fire on social media.

    “Releasing batches of J6 CCTV is merely a way for Congress to pretend they are making the tapes public while holding back important footage they will ‘someday’ get to us in a ‘future’ batch,” Will Pope, a Jan. 6 defendant, wrote on X. “They gave it ALL to the FBI in January 2021! Americans deserve it ALL in one batch, too!”

    Mr. Pope said blurring the faces of those shown in the downloadable videos will erode public trust. He called the Nov. 17 announcement a “publicity stunt.”

    “Americans will never trust blurred and edited J6 footage,” he wrote.

    Some commenters on social media asked how they can be sure the files posted online have not been altered.

    During a Spaces online meeting on X, several of the more than 800 participants said they expect Google and YouTube to censor not only news about the Jan. 6 video releases but also any video clips people try to upload to social media. Others said they do not understand why the online viewing room does not have a download function.

    Congressional sources said the public can request downloadable videos based on their research, but all clips are subject to committee approval and will be processed to blur the faces of identifiable persons.

    Earlier this year The Epoch Times gained access to the Capitol Police database of nearly 1,700 cameras for Jan. 5 and 6. Based on research done on video terminals on Capitol Hill, the newspaper requested and was given dozens of individual clips that were used in the special report The Jan. 6 Tapes.

    https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1725713948547133881

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 21:59

  • Israel Ignores UN Res. To Pause Gaza Fighting, Calls It "Disconnected From Reality"
    Israel Ignores UN Res. To Pause Gaza Fighting, Calls It “Disconnected From Reality”

    Authored by Kyle Anzalone via AntiWar.com,

    The UN Security Council passed a resolution earlier this week (Wed) that called for a temporary pause to the fighting in Gaza. Tel Aviv said the call for a short peace was a decision “disconnected from reality and holds no significance.”

    The resolution passed the UN’s most powerful body in a vote of 12-0. The US and UK did not vote for the motion because it did not condemn Hamas. Russia abstained over concerns that the resolution did not make a strong enough call for peace. Moscow’s representative said Washington is responsible for removing the word “ceasefire” from the text.

    AFP via Getty Images

    The resolution called for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses” in Gaza to allow aid to reach Palestinian civilians and for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups, especially children, as well as ensuring immediate humanitarian access.” The AP reports the language in the resolution was watered down.

    In response to the Security Council passing its first resolution on the war in Gaza, Tel Aviv said it would ignore the call for a humanitarian pause. “The decision is disconnected from reality and holds no significance,” Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said. “Israel already operates in Gaza according to international law, while Hamas terrorists will ignore the decision and certainly not act in accordance with it. Israel will continue its actions until the destruction of Hamas and the return of the kidnapped.”

    Tel Aviv has resisted all calls or agreements even to pause its onslaught against Gaza. VICE News reports Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a hostage agreement because he wanted to free the captives using the Israeli military.

    “It’s clear the Israelis wanted a ground offensive underway before considering this proposal, which has been on the table since the first days of the conflict,” a regional diplomat said.

    A NATO official told the outlet, “Netanyahu can now look at the Israeli public and tell them his firm action with the ground offensive is what freed some hostages.” The source added, “[Netanyahu] sees a short-term political gain to arguing the offensive forced Hamas into concessions but he doesn’t seem to fear explaining how hostages might have died in air strikes while the same deal was available.”

    But there was this “compromise” announced Friday…

    Israel consented Friday to regular daily fuel deliveries into the Gaza Strip for the first time since the war against Hamas began last month, marking a significant policy shift and drawing furious reactions from within the government over a move Jerusalem refused to make for many weeks over concerns that the crucial resource will fall into the hands of the terror group. — Times of Israel

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    The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Tel Aviv raided the al-Shifa Hospital, the largest and most modern medical facility in Gaza, to pressure Hamas into accepting an agreement on Israeli terms. Tel Aviv has been pushing for a hostage release that includes as short a pause to fighting as possible.

    Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz says even if Tel Aviv agrees to a short pause to military operations in Gaza, it plans to settle the war with its military. “Even if we are required to pause fighting in order to return our hostages, there will be no stopping the combat and the war until we achieve our goals,” he said.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 21:40

  • The Dominican Republic Is The World's Deadliest Place To Drive
    The Dominican Republic Is The World’s Deadliest Place To Drive

    According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an estimated 1.35 million people die in road accidents around the world each year. The United Nations General Assembly has set the target of halving this number by 2030.

    As Statista’s Anna Fleck details below, car crashes have become the leading cause of death for people aged between 5 and 29 years old. According to the WHO, more than half of all road traffic deaths are of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

    As this chart shows, road safety (or lack of) is a global issue. But in some places, road deaths are more likely than others, with as many as nine in ten road traffic deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. According to the WHO this is partly a result of “rising incomes in many developing countries having led to rapid motorization, while road safety management and regulations have not kept pace.”

    Of 183 countries and territories analyzed in the WHO database, the Caribbean island nation of the Dominican Republic had by far the most deaths per capita in 2019, when the most recent data was analyzed, at 64.6 per 100,000 inhabitants. It is followed by Zimbabwe (41 deaths per 100,000) and Venezuela (39 deaths per 100,000).

    Infographic: The Dominican Republic is the World's Deadliest Place to Drive | Statista

    You will find more infographics at Statista

    Although not fully illustrated here, Africa is the world region with the highest death rates, with 15 out of the top 20 countries listed as the most fatal countries worldwide for road deaths.

    The United States comes in rank 110 with approximately 13 people killed from road accidents per 100,000 population in 2019. Compared to several other countries, the U.S. has a fairly high rate of road accident fatalities through alcohol – at 31 percent in 2016, versus only 9 percent in Germany. This is significantly worse than many countries in Europe, the world region with the lowest death rates.

    The WHO’s Road Safety Week runs from November 19-25, 2023.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 21:20

  • CDC Claims On Vaccination And Natural Immunity Made Without Seeing Underlying Data: FOIA Document
    CDC Claims On Vaccination And Natural Immunity Made Without Seeing Underlying Data: FOIA Document

    Authored by Hans Mahncke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    In a new Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now admits that it recommended COVID-19 vaccines for people who had recovered from COVID-19 despite the fact that CDC subject matter experts didn’t have access to the underlying data.

    The Emergency Operations Center at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on March 19, 2021. (Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images)

    The stunning disclosure came in reply to a FOIA request for information on the CDC’s claim, first made on Oct. 29, 2021, that unvaccinated people with previous infection were five times more likely to get COVID-19 than vaccinated people.

    The CDC’s claim was based on a CDC study published in the Nov. 9, 2021, edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The conflicts-of-interest section of the study had noted that a number of the study’s authors were being sponsored by pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Merck, Sanofi, and GlaxoSmithKline. At least four of the listed pharmaceutical companies were involved in the manufacturing and sale of COVID-19 vaccines.

    Given that the conflict-of-interest disclosures were made at the time the study was first published, the CDC would have been aware of the heightened need to scrutinize its findings. However, this appears not to have happened. Notably, the CDC’s public pronouncement about unvaccinated COVID-19 survivors being five times more likely to get reinfected was made on the same day that the study was released as a preprint. This would have left no time for any review.

    A lawyer who specializes in FOIA cases subsequently made a formal request for the data underlying the study. Last week, the CDC replied by admitting that the CDC didn’t have this data. According to the CDC, the data was held by an “external partner organization and was maintained by a contractor.” Notably, the CDC also acknowledged that “CDC subject matter experts didn’t receive copies of the raw data prior to the contract termination.”

    Put another way, the CDC made its vaccination recommendation for people who already had COVID-19 without ever seeing or having had access to the underlying data. Furthermore, that data is now no longer available, meaning that neither the CDC, nor the general public, may ever know what it said.

    Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) had previously pointed out problems with the CDC’s study. He further highlighted the fact that the study’s authors had conflicts of interest. Mr. Massie’s concerns have now not only been confirmed but have also been aggravated by the fact that the CDC never reviewed or audited the study. 

    The CDC’s failure to scrutinize the study before making sweeping recommendations to the public is exacerbated by the fact that the emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines specifically excepted people who had previously been infected with COVID-19. 

    Pfizer’s emergency use authorization specifically stated that the “available data are insufficient to determine whether such individuals could benefit from vaccination.” Moderna’s emergency use authorization acknowledged that its vaccine study “was not designed to assess the benefit in individuals with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.” Johnson and Johnson’s emergency use authorization used similar wording. 

    When it was pointed out in 2021 that the emergency use authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines didn’t account for people who had already had the disease, Twitter (now known as X) promptly marked this fact as misinformation. 

    The existence of natural immunity, meaning that the human body remembers how to fight off diseases that it has previously been afflicted with, has been known since ancient Greek times. When the plague tore through ancient Athens in 430 B.C., Thucydides noted that those who had been previously afflicted weren’t getting sick. He stated that “the same man was never attacked twice–never at least fatally.” However, when COVID-19 broke out, the CDC appears to have cast aside 2,500 years’ worth of medical wisdom. As we now know, the CDC did this without accessing or analyzing the underlying data.

    The latest revelations about the CDC are the topic of an upcoming episode of “Truth Over News” to be aired on EpochTV on Nov. 15.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 21:00

  • Netanyahu's Surprise Admission: Israel "Not Successful" At Minimizing Civilian Casualties
    Netanyahu’s Surprise Admission: Israel “Not Successful” At Minimizing Civilian Casualties

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in recent days gone on a US media blitz, at a moment American public opinion has become increasingly divided on Israel’s military action in Gaza and the soaring civilian death toll.

    But in a new interview with CBS, he made a surprising admission – surprising especially given the current scrutiny on him after international institutions, including a panel of UN experts – have accused Israel of conducting “genocide” and “war crimes”. Netanyahu acknowledged to CBS that Israel has not been successful in minimizing civilian casualties among civilians.

    He ultimately blamed Hamas for this while vowing the Israeli military would “try to finish the job” of eradicating the Islamist terror group.

    But he emphasized in surprisingly blunt words: “That’s what we’re trying to do: minimal civilian casualties. But unfortunately, we’re not successful.”

    He presented the context as one where Hamas was preventing civilians from leaving northern Gaza “at gun point”. He claimed that Hamas “fired at the safe corridors that we provided for the Palestinians.”

    Israel has dropped hundreds of thousands of leaflets over Gaza in the past weeks, warning civilians to exit northern Gaza, which includes the highly populated Gaza City, and move to the south. But just this week Israel has also told areas in the south to evacuate too. Palestinians have said they have nowhere to go, also as the Rafah crossing to Egypt remains closed to all but foreign passport holders.

    “Any civilian death is a tragedy. And we shouldn’t have any because we’re doing everything we can to get the civilians out of harm’s way, while Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way,” Netanyahu explained.

    Palestinian officials have sought to refute the Israeli/US narrative framing of the Gaza crisis at the UN:

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    The White House has very belatedly begun to warn Israel it must exercise restraint when it comes to “targets” like Al-Shifa hospital. Israel now has military control of it, but many Palestinians have remained inside.

    According to Al Jazeera, at least 22 mostly ICU patients have died overnight. A Friday report cites Al-Shifa Director Muhammed Abu Salmiya who says that “7000 people — patients, medics and other civilians seeking shelter — are trapped in the hospital, and the complex remains cut of from water, electricity and communications.”

    * * *

    Given Netanyahu just admitted very clearly that his forces have slaughtered civilians, and that they are “not successful” in preventing the soaring death toll of innocent bystanders… will he get the Assad treatment among Western human rights institutions and media? We won’t hold our breath…

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    Watch Netanyahu’s CBS interview below:

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    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 20:55

  • Trudeau's Tumble: From Canada's Golden Boy To Political Punchline
    Trudeau’s Tumble: From Canada’s Golden Boy To Political Punchline

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s career appears to be fading to blackface – as his approval ratings, which now suck, have plummeted thanks in no small part to housing and inflation woes fueling a firestorm of disapproval. Despite a safety net agreement with a left-leaning opposition that defers his political reckoning until 2025, the rumblings within his own party suggest Trudeau’s leadership is skating on increasingly thin ice.

    Hoping to capitalize on Trudeau’s tumble is Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Party leader, who’s turned public grumbling over “Justinflation” — a catchphrase linking the economic downturn to Trudeau’s governance — into a national rallying cry, Bloomberg reports.

    Social media, that modern-day gladiator arena, has become Poilievre’s coliseum after a viral video of him munching an apple while parrying a journalist’s queries went viral – earning clicks and cheers from the online crowd, including notable figures like Elon Musk.

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

    As Trudeau’s fellow Liberals seem to be floundering for a response, their political adversaries are surging ahead with a clear message and a digital savvy that’s capturing the Canadian imagination. The Liberal caucus, a band of 158 MPs, is getting antsy as the Canadian electorate’s thirst for change is growing more parched by the day. The political barometer suggests a storm is brewing, and if current trends continue, Trudeau’s tenure could end not with a heartfelt farewell but with the blunt force of a political reckoning.

    Poilievre, meanwhile, has tapped into the vein of economic dissatisfaction coursing through the country. The Conservative leader’s mantra that life has become more expensive under Trudeau has struck a chord with voters who are feeling the pinch in their wallets. Meanwhile, the Liberal camp’s attempts to retaliate are too little, too late, as they scramble to portray Poilievre as a northern Trump. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are running a charm offensive, pumping their campaign funds into feel-good ads featuring Poilievre’s family and wholesome hockey-playing past.

    Getting desperate?

    In a policy pivot that smacks of political desperation, Trudeau’s landmark carbon tax on home-heating oil has been suspended, in a nod to Poilievre’s “Axe the Tax” battle cry. This backtrack has ruffled feathers among environmentalists and provincial leaders alike, showing Trudeau’s struggle to balance policy principles with political survival.

    Beneath the surface of these tactical maneuvers lies a deep-seated frustration among voters, who’ve watched their cost of living soar under Trudeau’s watch. The Prime Minister’s efforts to address the housing crisis and food price inflation have so far failed to deliver the relief many Canadians seek.

    As the Trudeau administration grapples with a litany of challenges, both domestic and international, and as the Conservative shadow looms large, the central question remains: Can Trudeau regain the trust of Canadians after eight years of political wear and tear?

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 20:40

  • Victor Davis Hanson: When Has War Even Been "Proportional"?
    Victor Davis Hanson: When Has War Even Been “Proportional”?

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

     

    Proportionality in war is a synonym for lethal stalemate, if not defeat.

    When two sides go at it with roughly equal forces, weapons, and strategies, the result is often a horrific deadlock—like the four years of toxic trench warfare on the Western Front of World War I that resulted in 12 million fatalities.

    The purpose of war is to defeat the enemy as quickly as possible with the least number of causalities—and thereby achieve political ends.

    So, every side aims to find superior strategies, tactics, weapons, and manpower to ensure as great a disproportionate advantage as possible.

    Hamas is no exception.

    Its savage precivilizational strategy to defeat Israel hinged on doing disproportionate things Israel either cannot or will not do.

    First, Hamas spent a year planning a preemptive butchery spree inside Israel. Its ruthless murdering focused on “soft targets” like unarmed elderly, women, children, and infants, mostly asleep at a time of peace and holiday.

    Second, it sought to collectively shock Israel into paralysis by the sheer horror of decapitating civilians, burning babies, mass raping, and mutilating bodies.

    Another apparent aim of such premodern barbarity was to blame Israel’s “occupation” for turning Gazans into veritable monsters, with hopes of derailing the renewed Abraham Accords.

    Third, the gunmen took more than 240 hostages back with them to Gaza.

    Again, that was a disproportionate tactic designed to meter out the release of captives in exchange for “pauses” and “cease-fires” to save Hamas.

    Additionally, Hamas made implicit threats of gruesome executions of captives unless Israel ceased their retaliation for October 7.

    Fourth, all the while Hamas shot rockets into Israel, more than 7,000 in total, and all aimed at civilians.

    Not one launch was preceded by dropping leaflets or sending text messages to Israeli civilians to vacate the intended target areas—a protocol often used by the Israel Defense Forces.

    The unapologetic aim was to kill thousands of Israelis at random and disproportionately.

    In fact, in just the last few four weeks, Hamas has launched more than twice as many rockets into Israel as Nazi Germany managed to launch V-2s into Britain in five months.

    Fifth, Hamas sought to create a multibillion-dollar tunnel city beneath Gaza. The labyrinth’s sole purposes were to stockpile weapons and ensure safe havens for terrorists to shoot rockets and regroup after their terrorist missions.

    Sixth, the subterranean headquarters of Hamas elites, along with weapons depots, were strategically placed under hospitals, mosques, and schools to “shield” them from Israeli attacks.

    The expectation was that the IDF would be hesitant to target such “civilian” and “humanitarian” areas in a way Hamas never would.

    Seventh, Hamas forced the civilians of Gaza to remain among the street fighting. They often shot those who resisted.

    They also killed Gazans who fled the city. Hamas sought to increase civilian fodder as collateral damage from Israeli attacks. Such deaths were to be broadcast worldwide to win sympathy for Hamas terrorists and force a cease-fire.

    Eighth, Hamas bragged that it could repeat strategies 1-7 endlessly on the supposition Israel would tire, the world would turn against it, and it at last could murder enough Jews to end Israel altogether.

    Israel in turn seeks its own disproportionate response to defeat Hamas.

    First, it seeks to single out and kill the actual Hamas terrorists, and especially the 2,000 or so killers of October 7.

    Second, it tries to warn civilians to flee anywhere that Hamas masses. Just as Hamas wants its own civilians killed for propaganda purposes, so Israel seeks to avoid killing them.

    Third, by targeting Hamas and warning civilians to keep their distance, Israel does not deny that there will be collateral damage.

    But it hopes to convince the world that any civilian deaths are mostly the fault of Hamas and not the IDF.

    And to the degree that Gaza City is left in rubble, Israel wishes to remind its enemies that the wages of murdering Jewish infants unfortunately will be a disproportionate response, whose full effects will deter any future attack.

    Fourth, Israel understands that a country of 9-10 million is facing a virulently hostile 500 million-person Arab Middle East. The United Nations is on the side of Hamas. A now anti-Semitic Europe has been hijacked by immigrants from the Middle East. Israel’s sole patron the United States is buffeted by a hard-left new Democratic Party that is not a reliable partner.

    The result is that Israel still cannot conduct a fully disproportionate war without endangering its source of military resupply in the United States, and a wider conflict with the Islamic world.

    And so, the war continues.

    Hamas strives for a more disproportionate terrorist agenda to prolong the war. And Israel strives for a more disproportionate retaliation to end it.

    The anger arises at Israel mostly because it is Jewish, and thus far its conventional disproportionality is proving more effective than the terrorist disproportionality of Hamas.

    ZeroHedge strives to present opinions which represent all sides of geopolitical conflicts. The views of this author do not necessarily represent those of ZeroHedge.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 20:20

  • The COVID Caper Gradually Unravels
    The COVID Caper Gradually Unravels

    Authored by Jeffrey A. Tucker via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Think back to those grim days of mid-March 2020. Many things didn’t make sense. There were screams about a new virus but no tests available for anyone to find out if we had the dreaded disease or not. The main question in everyone’s mind was, “How can I find out if I have this strange new bug?”

    The seal of the Department of Homeland Security at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Washington on June 28, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    Hold on just a moment there. If there were no tests, how do we know that there was a reason to panic? If there were only a handful of positive tests, how do we know for sure that the virus wasn’t here and spreading months earlier? Maybe what they were calling COVID-19 was here for a year or more.

    Was there really any way to know? Sure, we could have done seroprevalence tests on the population, but there were none underway. The one that came out earliest, in May 2020, showed that exposure had already happened by March, a fact which completely undermines the entire cockamamie policy response. The study was brutally attacked.

    Why precisely was it mid-March 2020 when all official institutions, including media, not just in the United States but all over the world, decided suddenly to freak out? Why not in January 2020? Why at all?

    Indeed, it wasn’t even clear what the point of the lockdowns was. Were we trying to make the virus go away through brute force? Early on, then-Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci even told The Washington Post that the virus would be defeated by social distancing alone.

    What precisely would be the point of delaying infection and spread by two weeks, then another two weeks, and so on? There are endless questions. How did we know how many ventilators were going to be needed and where? And ventilation itself is a strange approach in any case, since it’s so deeply damaging and even deadly.

    There was zero evidence in mid-March that this virus was potentially fatal for working-age people, and even among healthy elderly people, the survival rate was extremely high.

    Another strange fact of those days was that they kept screaming that there was no treatment. Well, are we sure of that? No one in official channels was looking for treatments. How do we find treatments? By talking to experienced doctors who treat patients. But every time one of them spoke out, they were quickly and brutally shouted down and denounced.

    As it turns out, many clinical physicians did, in fact, discover very effective treatments, from Vitamin D to hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. Huge and well-connected private sources of wealth funded deeply flawed studies that were trying to debunk them.

    There was a ton of prattle about a vaccine, but this never made sense of any history of such products. A coronavirus is fast-mutating. Never before had there been a vaccine for the same virus that fuels half the common colds. There was no reason to expect that such a product would ever arrive. Even if it did, it would take five to 10 years to pass safety and efficacy tests. Plus, there’s always a grave danger of vaccinating your way out of a pandemic: It can drive mutations and wreck immune systems.

    Again, all of this was known, not even controversial a year earlier. Still, in the chaos of those lockdown days, vaccine producers were given billions in tax dollars for development, all the privileges that come with “emergency use,” and wide indemnification against injury. Why is this not, and very obviously, an extremely bad idea?

    Knowing that all of this was happening, alongside the locking down of the country, was enough reason for any discerning individual to cry foul. But there was another problem: We were by and large forbidden from gathering in groups. There could be no meetings. The few that took place were denounced by the media. Most were simply illegal.

    The world was in chaos, and the professional class that could have put the pieces together was forced into a kind of digital isolation and paid the big bucks to sit around at home. Everyone was told that doing so was saving lives, even though there wasn’t a shred of evidence that this was true. But the media was howling in absolute union as if any of this made sense.

    As the months went on, there were other crazy things happening, such as the gradual discovery that the PCR tests were good only for discovering the presence of the virus but nearly useless for delineating sick from not sick. Everything positive was declared a case, even though in the past the word “case” was reserved for people who were actually sick and in need of some treatment.

    We were told to test, test, test, but there was never an action item of what to do with a positive case. Isolate, fine. That was for somehow “controlling the spread,” but for how long were we going to attempt to do that? If everyone was going to get this thing and develop immunity, what precisely could have been the point in all of the disruption and destruction?

    Coincident with all this insanity, Congress was authorizing trillions and trillions of dollars in spending bills, generating debt that the Federal Reserve would buy with new money that was sure to generate inflation at a later date. Had all fiscal sanity just been thrown out the window?

    Also in the midst of all of this, we had an extreme relaxation of ballot rules over voting. This happened right away and prepared a path for an explosion of the mail-in ballots that would decide the election against President Donald Trump.

    Then you had the emergence of intense censorship from all main social media accounts. Before Joe Biden was inaugurated, President Trump was removed by Twitter entirely. Over the following week, the social media site Parler was shut down by Amazon, which was hosting its website, just before the app was removed from Apple.

    At this point, it should have been obvious what was happening here: Media was being nationalized, bit by bit; all important sectors of it, in any case—that which reaches the 99 percent.

    Now, at this point in the narrative, we were invited to believe that all of these weird things were discreet incidents, perhaps various interest groups piling on to take advantage of the chaos.

    Some people, at the time, said there was no way that this was all the unfolding of a giant conspiracy. Governments aren’t that smart. Consider all that had to come together: media-generated panic with no serious outliers, bad PCR testing, neglect of therapeutics, mass intubation, indemnification of vaccine makers, global lockdowns, media censorship, social media takedowns, cancellation of dissent, relaxation of voting rules, worst inflation and spending in 40 years, and I’m probably missing a few things.

    Surely all of this couldn’t have been planned from the top.

    Maybe. And yet this week, we’ve been presented with incredible evidence of how the government worked very closely with social media companies through third-party institutions that were themselves funded by the government. They flagged accounts for takedowns. This so-called switchboarding was deployed to hide censorship.

    I knew all of this, but the evidence is now all before us. It’s an avalanche of confirmation of our worst suppositions.

    Here’s what stands out to me. We now have emails from April 2020 showing that Twitter officials knew for sure that the Election Integrity Partnership of the Stanford Internet Observatory was being established by the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency of the Department of Homeland Security precisely to monitor and control social media.

    One can presume that these efforts began a few weeks earlier, roughly fitting the timeline of the censorship efforts together with lockdowns.

    In other words, it all happened at once. From what we can see, the turning point was March 13, 2020. That was the date of the coup. It was never announced. It just happened. The lockdowns and public panic were the dry ice deployed by magicians to hide their tricks.

    President Trump was mostly not in charge of anything after that date, which is why he was so anxious to change the subject as the summer months of 2020 approached. At that point, he couldn’t restrain the immense bureaucracy that had taken charge of the country.

    How the rest of the disaster fits in, we still need to know. There’s so much more to discover. But this one bit of information—that censorship and lockdowns went together—is highly suggestive of an integrated plan.

    After all, if you were plotting a coup, with some of the world’s smartest and most powerful people, would you not plan it out in great detail? Indeed you would.

    There’s so much more to learn about this disaster, or scandal, for the ages.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 19:40

  • Here's How Much Bud Light Allegedly Spent On Trans-TikTok-Star Mulvaney
    Here’s How Much Bud Light Allegedly Spent On Trans-TikTok-Star Mulvaney

    One Day after the resignation of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s US chief marketing officer, attributed to plummeting US sales amid an ongoing boycott of Bud Light following the controversial ad campaign featuring transgender TikTok personality Dylan Mulvaney in April, a new report has surfaced indicating just how much the brewer spent on Mulvaney. 

    On Thursday, Steven Crowder posted a video on social media platform X revealing a “never before seen financial statement” that shows Bud Light allegedly paid Mulvaney $185,000 for the early April campaign. 

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    “This is an exclusive that was sent to us, and we verified,” Crowder said. He said, “The figure is much higher – Mulvaney was paid – there was one deposit there of $185,000 paid by Bud Light.” 

    Crowder continued: “Yes, another man is being paid more than WNBA players.” 

    He said, “You don’t pay $185,000 to an influencer if you don’t continue some type of campaign – they were testing the waters – this would’ve become a national campaign if they thought it was going to work.” 

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    However, readers know the story: Americans are fed up with the man pretending to be a woman and boycotted the brewer. The woke company reported a 13.5% drop in third-quarter US revenue per 100 liters, a key metric of beer sales. 

    AB executives risked $185,000 to wipe out 21% of the company’s market cap, or nearly $29 billion. In recent weeks, shares have risen, and the current market cap is around $123.4 billion, which is still a $11 billion decline. 

    Bud Light has lost its long-held nation’s most popular beer title to rival Modelo over the summer. The brewer recently ‘bribed’ distributors to keep the beer on shelves. 

    The best form of revolt against this woke brewer is to shop at your local brewer. Americans woke up to the fact AB was selling them ‘piss water’:

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    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 19:20

  • Former Israeli PM Calls To Oust Netanyahu, 'Extremist' Allies
    Former Israeli PM Calls To Oust Netanyahu, ‘Extremist’ Allies

    Via The Cradle,

    Yair Lapid, former Israeli prime minister of the Yesh Atid opposition party, this week called for Benjamin Netanyahu to be replaced as premier.

    In an interview with Hebrew news outlet Channel 12, Lapid said: “The public has lost faith in Netanyahu… we can’t run an extended [military] operation with a prime minister we do not have faith in.”

    Yair Lapid, source: Flash90

    Lapid called for the prime minister to be replaced by another member of his Likud party without carrying out an election. “What we need is a national rehabilitation government. We need to begin the repairing and healing process,” the former prime minister said. 

    Lapid said his party would be fully willing to join a new government still led by the Likud, but it is not the right time for elections in Israel. The opposition leader did not name any Likud figure he sees fit for the premiership. 

    “I think at the end of the day, I’m worried about the real issue, and the real issue now is for us to have a functioning government.” In a social media post the following day (Thurs.), Lapid explained his interview with Channel 12: 

    “Yesterday on Channel 12, I explained that the time has come – we need to establish a national reconstruction government. Likud will lead it, Netanyahu and the extremists will be replaced, and over 90 MKs will be partners in a coalition of healing and reconnection.”

    In a long thread on the X platform, Lapid praised the army and its operation in Gaza and reiterated that the war would be a “long and complex” one

    “The Israeli public is showing resilience, and civil society has mobilized in the thousands … The weak link is the government, and especially the prime minister … Netanyahu has lost the trust of his citizens, the trust of the international community, and most seriously – the trust of the Israeli security system,” he said. 

    Lapid’s words come as recent polling has indicated a significant increase in mistrust and bitterness toward Netanyahu. According to a Maariv poll from last week, only 26 percent of Israelis believe Netanyahu is suitable to be prime minister. 

    Pressure on Netanyahu has grown especially from families of the hostages, angry at the failure to secure their release:

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    Another recent poll shows that 76 percent of Israelis want him out of office and that 44 percent hold Netanyahu responsible for what happened on 7 October. Israel’s former prime minister Ehud Olmert said last week that Netanyahu is “a danger to Israel.”

    Benny Gantz, former defense minister and member of the war cabinet, said on Monday that now was not the time to replace the prime minister. However, he said that a time would come when Israel will adequately determine who is responsible for the failure of 7 October. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 19:00

  • Bear Market Confirmed In Used Vehicle Prices 
    Bear Market Confirmed In Used Vehicle Prices 

    Auto research firm Cox Automotive – the owner of the closely followed Manheim price index – published new data this week for the first 15 days of November that shows wholesale used-vehicle prices continue to slide and have stumbled into a bear market.

    The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index fell to 206.1, marking a 5.3% decrease from November 2022. There was a 2.3% decline in prices in the first half of November compared to October. After reaching its peak at 257.7 in December 2021, the index has officially entered a bear market with a 20% decline. Last month, the index experienced its most significant drawdown in its history, a trend continuing to gain momentum. 

    All vehicles, including pickups, SUVs, and vans recorded declines of 5.3%, at 4.2%, 4.8%, and 5%, respectively. Compact cars dropped the most, down 10.7%, midsize cars slid by 8%, and luxury fell 6.1% year-over-year. 

    Falling auto prices come as Bankrate data shows the average borrowing rates for used vehicles have surged from around 3.85% in Feb. 2022 to 7.3% this week. A rate shock has curbed demand, making used vehicle affordability the worst in years. 

    It is only a matter of time before the Biden administration’s social media team of clueless GenZ-ers and millennials start touting all the used car price declines…

    Even with these savings, used vehicle prices are still well above pre-Covid levels while financing costs are at generational highs.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 18:40

  • The Army Is Begging Unvaccinated Soldiers To Return
    The Army Is Begging Unvaccinated Soldiers To Return

    Authored by Igor Chudov via Igor-Chudov.com,

    Oh, how much the times have changed!

    The United States Army is now begging COVID unvaccinated soldiers, who underwent involuntary discharge for their refusal to take the vaccine, to return to service and also permits them to correct their military records!

    Just two years ago, in a shameful campaign, the Pentagon was gleefully discharging soldiers who refused to take Covid vaccines:

    https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2021/12/14/air-force-…

    We were assured that these discharges would “not affect military readiness.”

    “I can tell you there are no operational impacts across the force for readiness,” Marine Corps Lt. Gen. David Ottignon told lawmakers. “There’s no one community that has signaled an instance where a [leader], an NCO or another enlisted Marine is not present because of that.”

    The Marine Corps has, by far, kicked out the most service members: 1,968 total, 20% of whom received an honorable discharge. That amounts to just under 1% of the total force, which stands at about 215,000.

    However, the readiness suffered: thousands of service members were dismissed, and potential recruits declined to enlist in the Armed Services, because, guess what, young healthy men loath COVID vaccines.

    More than 17,000 service members balked at taking the shots, citing safety fears linked to the vaccine’s speedy development and spurred by misinformation about messenger ribonucleic acid technology, as well as concern over fetal cell lines used in formulation and testing. The more the controversy raged in the news, the more troops asked to skip the shots, Military Times reporting found.

    The COVID vaccine mandate removed three times as many servicemembers (8,339, see above) compared to the 2,402 soldiers tragically killed in Afghanistan. The involuntarily terminated soldiers were, of course, the best, the brightest, the healthiest, and most conscientious, who cared the most about their health.

    Thousands were given career-destroying reprimands:

    Lt. Col. Terry Kelley, a spokesman for the Army, said that 2,767 soldiers have received “general officer written reprimands” — killing their opportunities for promotions or transfers within the military — and that two battalion commanders as well as four other officers have been relieved of their duties but remain enlisted in the military.

    The leadership, sadly, stayed silent. (pictured here is Lloyd Austin)

    As a result, the military is missing its recruitment goals by 25%:

    COVID vaccinations and other reasons “caused [the army’s] end strength to fall from an original level of 485,000 in late 2021 to around 452,000 active duty soldiers today”.

    Now, COVID vaccinations are all but forgotten, but the bitterness, nastiness, and senselessness of the mandates should be remembered. Remember how those dismissals were cheered by the media, such as the LA Times:

    I am sorry about the destroyed careers of the best servicemembers. They kept their health — they will get military discharge papers corrected — but they will always remember the unfairness, the trauma, and the helplessness they felt as their commanders dismissed them for not taking experimental and non-working COVID vaccines.

    Life is not fair; the soldiers have not been compensated, but they at least remained healthy and true to their principles.

    Please appreciate how hard it was for those brave souls to stick to their principles: their entire lives and careers were being wrecked by the illegal COVID orders. These are courageous people – and the military needs stoic and strong heroes, of which 8,331 were dismissed due to insane orders of the Biden administration.

    Was that an intentional campaign to rid the military of critical thinkers? Let us know what you think!

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 18:20

  • Trans Activist Owner Of Miss Universe Pageant Goes Bankrupt One Year After Purchase
    Trans Activist Owner Of Miss Universe Pageant Goes Bankrupt One Year After Purchase

    Get woke, go broke strikes again? 

    A year ago the Miss Universe Pageant made headlines after a Thai business tycoon, transgender activist and biological male named Jakapong Jakrajutatip purchased the organization for $20 million.  The CEO is the biggest shareholder of JKN Global Group and was made popular after appearing on Thai versions of television shows such as Shark Tank and Project Runway.  

    Now known as “Anne” Jakrajutatip, the new pageant owner raised eyebrows when he declared himself the “first female owner” of Miss Universe, and gave a speech at the event about “female empowerment.”  Critics noted that Jakrajutatip is actually not a woman and knows nothing of female empowerment, but in the midst of the woke movement’s war on biological reality the first casualties are words and their meanings.  

    The acquisition of Miss Universe was widely applauded by the political left, but it is just one of many attempts by activists to supplant natural beauty standards and undermine pageants, which they view as “sexist” organizations catering to men.  Ironically, these pageants are now stacking their competitions with men posing as women and giving them awards.   For example, the Miss Netherlands competition recently gave the crown to a biological man over a long list of female contestants.  It would seem you don’t need to be attractive to win a beauty contest anymore, you just need to be at the top of the woke totem pole.

    And let’s not forget Victoria Secret’s suspension of its famous “Angels” runway show three years ago.  The event, known for its revealing lingerie on some of the most beautiful models in the world, tried to deconstruct its own brand by creating a new show that included a lumbering brigade of plus-size women and trans models.  Ratings and revenues plummeted and the company now says it plans to “bring back sexy” in the next year, essentially admitting that woke is not sexy and does not sell.

    Jakapong Jakrajutatip is making a similar discovery as JKN Global Group filed for bankruptcy protection in Thailand after missing a payment on a debenture tranche on Sept. 1, triggering cross-defaults on six others.  JKN’s business model relied heavily on content programming, which was boosted by covid lockdowns and captive audiences throughout Asia.  With the lockdowns gone, the company is now in the hole for almost $200 million.  

    For Miss Universe, however, the problems go deeper, with an insider judge for the pageant revealing that outrage over the trans controversy has damaged the brand Ratings for the 2023 show which includes two trans contestants are expected to decline substantially.

    Trans involvement in women’s venues is meeting increasing resistance as real women finally begin to realize that they are being replaced by men within their own competitions in a virtue signaling free-for-all.  While one should never underestimate the average progressive woman’s propensity for self sabotage, it would seem that resistance to the trans ideology is expanding well beyond conservative spheres. 

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 18:00

  • Future Headline: Harvard Launches "Jihad Immersion" Study-Abroad Program
    Future Headline: Harvard Launches “Jihad Immersion” Study-Abroad Program

    Authored by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,

    In a world full of unimaginable absurdity, we spend a lot of time thinking about the future… and to where all of this insanity leads.

    “Future Headline Friday” is our satirical take of where the world is going if it remains on its current path. While our satire may be humorous and exaggerated, rest assured that everything we write is based on actual events, news stories, personalities, and pending legislation.

    November 17, 2024: Harvard launches “Jihad Immersion” study abroad program

    Harvard University, long known for its progressive academic offerings, has stirred controversy with its latest array of courses. In response to growing student interest in Palestinian causes, the university has introduced a series of provocative new classes.

    One of the most contentious courses, “Intro to Explosive Expression: Bomb Making 101,” purports to explore the “art and science” behind explosive devices, framed as a study in “political and revolutionary engineering.”

    Critics have lambasted the course as being in poor taste and potentially dangerous, while supporters argue it provides critical insight into the struggles faced by oppressed groups.

    In a similar vein, a course titled “Decapitation as Discourse,” examines the history and technique of beheading as a form of political statement.

    Special guest lecturer Mohammed Deif, the Supreme Military Commander of Hamas, will guide students through the study and practice of the most effective means of separating a head from a body— using cadavers, of course.

    Students in this course will also learn how to use proper lighting and filming techniques to livestream a beheading on YouTube. However Harvard administrators were quick to point out that they do not condone violence, and the course is merely about political and emotional expression.

    There’s also a new course entitled “A Survey of Jewish Anatomy”, which resurrects the old pseudo-science of phrenology. Students will study updated methods of taking cranial measurements to determine skull size, forehead slope, and distance between eye sockets, so that they can correctly determine whether they are in the presence of Jews.

    A number of Palestine-focused study abroad programs have also been added, including the “Jihad Immersion” option; according to university officials, this program was so popular with Harvard students that it filled up within 3 minutes of being released.

    Intifada Immersion also satisfies multiple physical education credits, as students will spend a semester at a Hamas training camp. According to the program’s brochure, they will learn vital skills, such as how to swing across monkey bars wearing a balaclava with an AK-47 slung across their backs.

    University officials state the purpose of the program is to encourage physical activity while enhancing empathy and understanding of guerrilla movements.

    In addition, Harvard will also fund the “Pride March in Gaza” field trip for the Queers for Palestine student organization. The group aims to highlight the intersectionality of LGBTQ+ rights and the Palestinian cause.

    All trip participants, however, are required to sign a waiver that holds the university harmless in the event of a brutal lynching.

    Another controversial addition is Harvard Law School’s new concentration on Sharia Law. This course includes a unique project where students compete to shout down visiting conservative legal scholars by screaming “Allahu Akbar” the loudest and most times in a row.

    Harvard also hired a new professor, former Rep. Rashida Tlaib, to teach a capstone course entitled “Women’s Rights in Palestine.”

    Palestine currently requires women to seek court approved permission from a husband or other male head of household in order to go about in public without a male chaperone.

    The course— which will now be a graduation requirement for all students— seeks to frame what may appear to be oppression of women as a liberating force which actually promotes feminist power.

    For example, the course asserts that full body and face coverings in the Islamic world actually help free women from toxic masculinity and patriarchal standards of beauty.

    Despite the backlash, Harvard maintains that these courses are meant to push the boundaries of traditional academia and encourage critical thinking on complex global issues.

    Harvard officials have also stated that these offerings reflect the university’s commitment to academic freedom and the exploration of diverse perspectives.

    That said, Pro-Israel students who protested the new courses have been expelled.

    *  *  *

    PS: If you can see what is happening, and where this is all going, you understand why it is so important to have a Plan B. That’s why we published our 31-page, fully updated Perfect Plan B Guide, which you can download here.

    Tyler Durden
    Fri, 11/17/2023 – 17:40

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Today’s News 17th November 2023

  • 'We, The Exploited': The US Government Buys & Sells Its Citizens For Profit And Power
    ‘We, The Exploited’: The US Government Buys & Sells Its Citizens For Profit And Power

    Authored by John and Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

    Americans have become easy prey for hackers, scammers, snitches, spies, and con artists…

    But don’t be fooled into thinking the government is protecting you.

    To the contrary, the U.S. government is selling us (or rather, our data) to the highest bidders.

    By the way, those highest bidders also include America’s political class and the politicians aspiring to get elected or re-elected. As the Los Angeles Times reports, “If you have been to a political rally, a town hall, or just fit a demographic a campaign is after, chances are good your movements are being tracked with unnerving accuracy by data vendors on the payroll of campaigns.”

    Your phones, televisions and digital devices are selling you out to politicians who want your vote.

    Welcome to the new frontier of campaign tech — a loosely regulated world in which simply downloading a weather app or game, connecting to Wi-Fi at a coffee shop or powering up a home router can allow a data broker to monitor your movements with ease, then compile the location information and sell it to a political candidate who can use it to surround you with messages,” writes journalist Evan Halper.

    In this way, “we the people” have been reduced to economic units to be bought, bartered and sold by all and sundry.

    On a daily basis, Americans have been made to relinquish the most intimate details of who we are—our biological makeup, our genetic blueprints, and our biometrics (facial characteristics and structure, fingerprints, iris scans, etc.)—in order to navigate an increasingly technologically-enabled world.

    Those intimate details, in turn, have become the building blocks of massive databases accessed by the government and its corporate partners in crime, vulnerable to data breaches by hackers, cyberattacks and espionage.

    For years now, and with little real oversight or restrictions, the government has been compiling massive databases comprised of all manner of sensitive information on the citizenry.

    Biographical information. Biometric information. Criminal backgrounds. Travel records.

    There is not a single person in the U.S. who is not in some government database or another, and these databases are increasingly being shared between agencies, fusion centers, and the police.

    The government has also, with little oversight and few guidelines, been adding to its massive trove of data on Americans by buying commercially available information (CAI) from third-party sources. As a report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence revealed:

    “[Commercially purchased data] can reveal sensitive and intimate information about the personal attributes, private behavior, social connections, and speech of U.S. persons and non-U.S. persons. It can be misused to pry into private lives, ruin reputations, and cause emotional distress and threaten the safety of individuals. Even subject to appropriate controls, CAI can increase the power of the government’s ability to peer into private lives to levels that may exceed our constitutional traditions or other social expectations.”

    In other words, this is the diabolically sneaky way in which the government is attempting to sidestep the Fourth Amendment, which requires that government agents have probable cause and a warrant before spying on Americans or searching and seizing their private property.

    It’s bad enough that the government is building massive databases comprised of our personal information without our knowledge or consent, but then they get hacked and we suffer for it.

    Earlier this year, for instance, several federal agencies, state governments and universities were targeted in a global cyberattack that compromised the sensitive data of millions of Americans.

    Did that stop the government’s quest to keep building these databases which compromise our privacy and security? Of course not.

    In fact, the government has also been selling our private information. According to Vice, Departments of Motor Vehicles in states around the country have been selling drivers’ personal information “to thousands of businesses, including private investigators who spy on people for a profit.”

    Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the government has become a master at finding loopholes that allow it to exploit the citizenry.

    Thus, although Congress passed the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) in 1994 to prevent the disclosure of personal information, it hasn’t stopped state DMVs from raking in millions by selling driver data (names, dates of birth, addresses, and the cars they own) to third parties.

    This is just a small part of how the government buys and sells its citizens to the highest bidders.

    The why is always the same: for profit and power, of course.

    Welcome to the age of surveillance capitalism.

    Have you shopped at Whole Foods? Tested out target practice at a gun range? Sipped coffee at Starbucks while surfing the web? Visited an abortion clinic? Watched FOX News or MSNBC? Played Candy Crush on your phone? Walked through a mall? Walked past a government building?

    That’s all it takes for your data to be hoovered up, sold and used to target you.

    Incredibly, once you’ve been identified and tracked, data brokers can travel back in time, digitally speaking, to discover where you’ve been, who you’ve been with, what you’ve been doing, and what you’ve been reading, viewing, buying, etc.

    Once you’ve been identified in this way, you can be tracked endlessly.

    No one is spared.

    In this regard, we are all equals: equally suffering the indignity of having every shred of privacy stripped away and the most intimate details of one’s life turned into fodder for marketers and data profiteers.

    This creepy new era of for-profit surveillance capitalism—in which we’re being listened to, watched, tracked, followed, mapped, bought, sold and targeted—is made possible with our cooperation.

    All those disclaimers you scroll though without reading them, the ones written in minute font, only to quickly click on the “Agree” button at the end so you can get to the next step—downloading software, opening up a social media account, adding a new app to your phone or computer—those signify your written consent to having your activities monitored, recorded and shared.

    Think about it.

    Every move you make is being monitored, mined for data, crunched, and tabulated in order to form a picture of who you are, what makes you tick, and how best to influence and/or control you.

    With every smartphone we buy, every GPS device we install, every Twitter, Facebook, and Google account we open, every frequent buyer card we use for purchases—whether at the grocer’s, the yogurt shop, the airlines or the department store—and every credit and debit card we use to pay for our transactions, we’re helping Corporate America build a dossier for its government counterparts on who we know, what we think, how we spend our money, and how we spend our time.

    The technology has advanced so far that marketers (political campaigns are among the worst offenders) can actually build “digital fences” around your homes, workplaces, friends and family’s homes and other places you visit in order to bombard you with specially crafted messages aimed at achieving a particular outcome.

    If anyone else stalked us in this way—tailing us wherever we go, tapping into our calls, reading our correspondence, ferreting out our secrets, profiling and targeting us based on our interests and activities—we’d call the cops.

    Unfortunately, the cops (equipped with Stingray devices and other Peeping Tom technologies) are also in on this particular scam.

    It’s not just the surveillance and the buying and selling of your data that is worrisome.

    The ramifications of a government—any government—having this much unregulated, unaccountable power to target, track, round up and detain its citizens is beyond chilling.

    Imagine what a totalitarian regime such as Nazi Germany could have done with this kind of unadulterated power.

    Imagine what the next police state to follow in Germany’s footsteps will do with this kind of power. Society is definitely rapidly moving in that direction.

    We’ve made it so easy for the government to stalk us.

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

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

    Chances are, as the Washington Post has reported, you have already been assigned a color-coded threat assessment score—green, yellow or red—so police are forewarned about your potential inclination to be a troublemaker depending on whether you’ve had a career in the military, posted a comment perceived as threatening on Facebook, suffer from a particular medical condition, or know someone who knows someone who might have committed a crime.

    In other words, you might already be flagged as potentially anti-government in a government database somewhere—Main Core, for example—that identifies and tracks individuals (so they can be rounded up and detained in times of distress) who aren’t inclined to march in lockstep to the police state’s dictates.

    The government has the know-how.

    As The Intercept reported, the FBI, CIA, NSA and other government agencies are increasingly investing in and relying on corporate surveillance technologies that can mine constitutionally protected speech on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in order to identify potential extremists and predict who might engage in future acts of anti-government behavior.

    Surveillance, digital stalking and the data mining of the American people—weapons of compliance and control in the government’s hands, especially when the government can listen in on your phone calls, monitor your driving habits, track your movements, scrutinize your purchases and peer through the walls of your home—add up to a society in which there’s little room for indiscretions, imperfections, or acts of independence.

    This is the creepy, calculating yet diabolical genius of the American police state: the very technology we hailed as revolutionary and liberating has become our prison, jailer, probation officer, stalker, Big Brother and Father Knows Best all rolled into one.

    It turns out that we are Soylent Green.

    The 1973 film of the same name, starring Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson, is set in 2022 in an overpopulated, polluted, starving New York City whose inhabitants depend on synthetic foods manufactured by the Soylent Corporation for survival.

    Heston plays a policeman investigating a murder, who discovers the grisly truth about the primary ingredient in the wafer, soylent green, which is the principal source of nourishment for a starved population. “It’s people. Soylent Green is made out of people,” declares Heston’s character. “They’re making our food out of people. Next thing they’ll be breeding us like cattle for food.”

    Oh, how right he was.

    Soylent Green is indeed people or, in our case, Soylent Green is our own personal data, repossessed, repackaged and used by corporations and the government to entrap us.

    We, too, are being bred like cattle but not for food.

    Rather, as I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, we’re being bred, branded, bought and sold for our data.

    As the insidious partnership between the U.S. government and Corporate America grows more invasive and more subtle with every passing day, there’s virtually no way to opt out of these assaults on your digital privacy short of being a modern-day Luddite, completely disconnected from all technology.

    What we desperately lack and urgently need is an Electronic Bill of Rights that protects “we the people” from predatory surveillance and data-mining business practices.

    Without constitutional protections in place to guard against encroachments on our rights in the electronic realm, it won’t be long before we find ourselves, much like Edward G. Robinson’s character in Soylent Green, looking back on the past with longing, back to an age where we could speak to whom we wanted, buy what we wanted, think what we wanted without those thoughts, words and activities being tracked, processed and stored by corporate giants such as Google, sold to government agencies such as the NSA and CIA, and used against us by militarized police with their army of futuristic technologies.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 23:40

  • Visualizing Food Unaffordability Across The World
    Visualizing Food Unaffordability Across The World

    Food is the palate’s poetry, the body’s fuel, and a shared language transcending cultures… when people can afford it.

    As Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao details below, the World Health Organization found that the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine pushed 122 million more people into food insecurity between 2019 and 2022. Higher food prices, combined with increasing poverty, have resulted in rising food unaffordability, especially in certain regions of the world.

    ℹ️ A person is food insecure when they lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life.

    Our World in Data uses statistics gathered by the World Bank to map the share of the population that cannot afford a healthy diet in every country it has data for.

    Ranked: Food Unaffordability as a Share of Population

    A healthy diet—in this case, one that meets government dietary guidelines—is considered unaffordable in a country when its cost exceeds 52% of per capita income per day.

    Immediate trends in food unaffordability are discoverable from a glance at the map. The wash of red in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia indicates the regions where the majority of the population cannot afford a healthy diet.

    Ranking the countries by pure percentages in the table below allows us to get a closer look at country-level issues.

    Rank Country Can’t Afford Healthy Diet
    1 🇲🇬 Madagascar 97.8%
    2 🇧🇮 Burundi 95.9%
    3 🇲🇼 Malawi 95.9%
    4 🇨🇫 Central African Republic 94.6%
    5 🇳🇬 Nigeria 93.5%
    6 🇱🇷 Liberia 92.8%
    7 🇭🇹 Haiti 92.6%
    8 🇲🇿 Mozambique 92.5%
    9 🇳🇪 Niger 92.0%
    10 🇨🇬 Congo 91.5%
    11 🇿🇲 Zambia 90.0%
    12 🇬🇳 Guinea 89.1%
    13 🇦🇴 Angola 88.0%
    14 🇱🇸 Lesotho 87.9%
    15 🇨🇩 DRC 85.5%
    16 🇸🇩 Sudan 85.4%
    17 🇹🇿 Tanzania 85.0%
    18 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau 84.6%
    19 🇪🇹 Ethiopia 83.8%
    20 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 83.5%
    21 🇹🇩 Chad 83.1%
    22 🇵🇰 Pakistan 82.8%
    23 🇧🇯 Benin 82.6%
    24 🇷🇼 Rwanda 82.0%
    25 🇺🇬 Uganda 81.7%
    26 🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe 78.2%
    27 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 77.6%
    28 🇬🇭 Ghana 77.4%
    29 🇳🇵 Nepal 76.4%
    30 🇮🇳 India 74.1%
    31 🇰🇪 Kenya 74.0%
    32 🇱🇦 Laos 74.0%
    33 🇵🇭 Philippines 74.0%
    34 🇸🇿 Eswatini 73.8%
    35 🇲🇲 Myanmar 73.8%
    36 🇨🇮 Cote d’Ivoire 72.9%
    37 🇬🇲 Gambia 72.2%
    38 🇲🇱 Mali 72.0%
    39 🇮🇩 Indonesia 70.8%
    40 🇿🇦 South Africa 66.7%
    41 🇧🇩 Bangladesh 66.1%
    42 🇩🇯 Djibouti 65.3%
    43 🇲🇳 Mongolia 64.1%
    44 🇫🇯 Fiji 63.7%
    45 🇯🇲 Jamaica 62.6%
    46 🇲🇷 Mauritania 62.4%
    47 🇪🇬 Egypt 61.6%
    48 🇨🇲 Cameroon 60.5%
    49 🇧🇼 Botswana 60.3%
    50 🇳🇦 Namibia 59.5%
    51 🇸🇷 Suriname 58.6%
    52 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan 58.2%
    53 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 55.5%
    54 🇧🇿 Belize 53.0%
    55 🇧🇹 Bhutan 45.2%
    56 🇸🇳 Senegal 45.0%
    57 🇭🇳 Honduras 44.8%
    58 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 44.3%
    59 🇦🇲 Armenia 41.4%
    60 🇨🇻 Cape Verde 41.2%
    61 🇳🇮 Nicaragua 34.2%
    62 🇩🇿 Algeria 32.4%
    63 🇨🇴 Colombia 31.3%
    64 🇮🇷 Iran 30.0%
    65 🇬🇦 Gabon 29.9%
    66 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia 27.2%
    67 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 25.8%
    68 🇵🇪 Peru 25.7%
    69 🇧🇷 Brazil 22.4%
    70 🇻🇳 Vietnam 21.0%
    71 🇵🇾 Paraguay 20.4%
    72 🇲🇽 Mexico 20.2%
    73 🇪🇨 Ecuador 19.7%
    74 🇬🇾 Guyana 18.5%
    75 🇮🇶 Iraq 18.4%
    76 🇹🇭 Thailand 18.0%
    77 🇹🇳 Tunisia 17.1%
    78 🇵🇦 Panama 17.0%
    79 🇦🇱 Albania 15.9%
    80 🇲🇦 Morocco 15.5%
    81 🇲🇰 North Macedonia 15.5%
    82 🇵🇸 Palestine 15.4%
    83 🇧🇴 Bolivia 15.1%
    84 🇲🇪 Montenegro 14.9%
    85 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 14.2%
    86 🇲🇺 Mauritius 14.0%
    87 🇨🇳 China 10.9%
    88 🇷🇸 Serbia 10.9%
    89 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago 9.9%
    90 🇸🇨 Seychelles 7.3%
    91 🇷🇴 Romania 7.2%
    92 🇯🇴 Jordan 7.1%
    93 🇹🇷 Turkey 6.0%
    94 🇺🇾 Uruguay 5.2%
    95 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 4.2%
    96 🇲🇩 Moldova 3.8%
    97 🇨🇱 Chile 3.5%
    98 🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina 3.0%
    99 🇷🇺 Russia 2.6%
    100 🇲🇾 Malaysia 2.5%
    101 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 2.3%
    102 🇸🇰 Slovakia 2.3%
    103 🇬🇷 Greece 2.2%
    104 🇯🇵 Japan 2.0%
    105 🇭🇷 Croatia 1.8%
    106 🇪🇸 Spain 1.8%
    107 🇭🇺 Hungary 1.5%
    108 🇮🇹 Italy 1.5%
    109 🇱🇻 Latvia 1.5%
    110 🇰🇷 South Korea 1.5%
    111 🇮🇱 Israel 1.2%
    112 🇲🇻 Maldives 1.2%
    113 🇵🇹 Portugal 1.2%
    114 🇺🇸 U.S. 1.2%
    115 🇦🇹 Austria 0.9%
    116 🇪🇪 Estonia 0.8%
    117 🇲🇹 Malta 0.8%
    118 🇦🇺 Australia 0.7%
    119 🇱🇹 Lithuania 0.7%
    120 🇸🇪 Sweden 0.6%
    121 🇧🇾 Belarus 0.5%
    122 🇵🇱 Poland 0.5%
    123 🇨🇦 Canada 0.4%
    124 🇬🇧 UK 0.4%
    125 🇳🇴 Norway 0.3%
    126 🇩🇰 Denmark 0.2%
    127 🇫🇷 France 0.2%
    128 🇩🇪 Germany 0.2%
    129 🇧🇪 Belgium 0.1%
    130 🇨🇿 Czechia 0.1%
    131 🇮🇸 Iceland 0.1%
    132 🇮🇪 Ireland 0.1%
    133 🇳🇱 Netherlands 0.1%
    134 🇦🇪 UAE 0.1%
    135 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 0.0%
    136 🇨🇾 Cyprus 0.0%
    137 🇫🇮 Finland 0.0%
    138 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 0.0%
    139 🇸🇮 Slovenia 0.0%
    140 🇨🇭 Switzerland 0.0%

    At the top of the list, nearly 98% of Madagascar’s population cannot afford a healthy diet. The country is facing a prolonged drought in the southern region since 2019, affecting agriculture. A series of cyclones in 2021–2022 destroyed rice fields and damaged critical infrastructure, like road networks, putting further pressure on food prices. Finally, the rising price of oil due to the Russian invasion has pushed up transport costs. All these factors have resulted in food prices jumping nearly 20% in three years.

    As a result, food insecurity in Madagascar has risen dramatically—by nearly one million people every year since 2019, of which 250,000 are classified under a “famine situation.”

    A mix of similar factors affect the next five countries with the highest share of population unable to afford food—Burundi, Malawi, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and Liberia.

    In Haiti, ranked 7th, a reliance on food imports makes the country vulnerable to inflation and price volatility, which has been markedly worse in the last two years.

    On the other hand, predictably, the top five countries with the least food unaffordability—Cyprus, Finland, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Switzerland—are all from Europe with 0% of the population unable to afford a healthy diet.

    Geographically, eight out of 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa and seven out of 10 people in South Asia cannot afford a healthy diet versus three out of 10 in Europe and one out of 10 in North America.

    Healthy Diet vs. Nutrient and Calorie Sufficiency

    When reducing the quality of diet, food becomes a little more affordable.

    For example, in Indonesia, nearly 71% of the population cannot afford a healthy diet. However this drops to 64% for a nutrient-sufficient diet, and only 3% for a calorie-sufficient diet.

    Country Can’t Afford a
    Healthy Diet
    Can’t Afford a
    Nutrient-Sufficient
    Diet
    Can’t afford a
    Calorie-Sufficient Diet
    🇦🇱 Albania 15.9% 8.9% 0.0%
    🇩🇿 Algeria 32.4% 6.2% 0.1%
    🇦🇴 Angola 88.0% 71.1% 36.0%
    🇦🇷 Argentina N/A 4.0% 0.2%
    🇦🇲 Armenia 41.4% 14.3% 0.5%
    🇦🇺 Australia 0.7% 0.5% 0.2%
    🇦🇹 Austria 0.9% 0.5% 0.2%
    🇦🇿 Azerbaijan 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
    🇧🇩 Bangladesh 66.1% 48.6% 0.6%
    🇧🇾 Belarus 0.5% 0.2% 0.0%
    🇧🇪 Belgium 0.1% 0.3% 0.1%
    🇧🇿 Belize 53.0% 57.0% 19.6%
    🇧🇯 Benin 82.6% 81.9% 13.7%
    🇧🇹 Bhutan 45.2% 26.2% 0.7%
    🇧🇴 Bolivia 15.1% 19.1% 6.8%
    🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina 3.0% 2.4% 0.0%
    🇧🇼 Botswana 60.3% 44.3% 1.3%
    🇧🇷 Brazil 22.4% 18.1% 3.5%
    🇧🇬 Bulgaria 4.2% 6.3% 0.3%
    🇧🇫 Burkina Faso 77.6% 76.2% 5.4%
    🇧🇮 Burundi 95.9% 84.1% 41.5%
    🇨🇲 Cameroon 60.5% 48.6% 15.7%
    🇨🇦 Canada 0.4% 0.5% 0.0%
    🇨🇻 Cape Verde 41.2% 29.7% 0.3%
    🇨🇫 Central African Republic 94.6% 83.3% 67.0%
    🇹🇩 Chad 83.1% 60.6% 11.3%
    🇨🇱 Chile 3.5% 1.6% 0.2%
    🇨🇳 China 10.9% 9.7% 0.2%
    🇨🇴 Colombia 31.3% 20.3% 3.5%
    🇨🇬 Congo 91.5% 80.8% 39.9%
    🇨🇷 Costa Rica 14.2% 7.8% 0.7%
    🇨🇮 Cote d’Ivoire 72.9% 39.6% 8.4%
    🇭🇷 Croatia 1.8% 3.3% 0.3%
    🇨🇾 Cyprus 0.0% 0.1% 0.0%
    🇨🇿 Czechia 0.1% 0.1% 0.0%
    🇨🇩 DRC 85.5% 86.9% 27.9%
    🇩🇰 Denmark 0.2% 0.2% 0.1%
    🇩🇯 Djibouti 65.3% 59.0% 5.6%
    🇩🇴 Dominican
    Republic
    25.8% 15.8% 1.3%
    🇪🇨 Ecuador 19.7% 14.8% 4.4%
    🇪🇬 Egypt 61.6% 33.5% 1.0%
    🇪🇪 Estonia 0.8% 0.8% 0.2%
    🇸🇿 Eswatini 73.8% 64.4% 26.6%
    🇪🇹 Ethiopia 83.8% 62.7% 7.7%
    🇫🇯 Fiji 63.7% 21.3% 0.2%
    🇫🇮 Finland 0.0% 0.1% 0.1%
    🇫🇷 France 0.2% 0.0% 0.0%
    🇬🇦 Gabon 29.9% 16.3% 1.3%
    🇬🇲 Gambia 72.2% 63.9% 10.6%
    🇩🇪 Germany 0.2% 0.7% 0.2%
    🇬🇭 Ghana 77.4% 62.9% 14.9%
    🇬🇷 Greece 2.2% 2.5% 0.5%
    🇬🇳 Guinea 89.1% 61.6% 8.6%
    🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau 84.6% 59.7% 18.3%
    🇬🇾 Guyana 18.5% 31.7% 4.4%
    🇭🇹 Haiti 92.6% 73.8% 23.5%
    🇭🇳 Honduras 44.8% 49.9% 14.3%
    🇭🇺 Hungary 1.5% 1.9% 0.3%
    🇮🇸 Iceland 0.1% 0.0% 0.0%
    🇮🇳 India 74.1% 64.0% 3.2%
    🇮🇩 Indonesia 70.8% 7.0% 4.3%
    🇮🇷 Iran 30.0% 5.0% 0.2%
    🇮🇶 Iraq 18.4% 5.8% 0.1%
    🇮🇪 Ireland 0.1% 0.3% 0.2%
    🇮🇱 Israel 1.2% 1.2% 0.2%
    🇮🇹 Italy 1.5% 2.1% 1.0%
    🇯🇲 Jamaica 62.6% 36.6% 0.9%
    🇯🇵 Japan 2.0% 1.4% 1.2%
    🇯🇴 Jordan 7.1% 0.1% 0.0%
    🇰🇿 Kazakhstan 2.3% 0.5% 0.0%
    🇰🇪 Kenya 74.0% 57.0% 11.6%
    🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan 58.2% 38.9% 0.7%
    🇱🇦 Laos 74.0% 61.1% 0.8%
    🇱🇻 Latvia 1.5% 1.7% 0.2%
    🇱🇸 Lesotho 87.9% 63.3% 10.7%
    🇱🇷 Liberia 92.8% 82.7% 20.2%
    🇱🇹 Lithuania 0.7% 1.6% 0.8%
    🇱🇺 Luxembourg 0.0% 0.4% 0.1%
    🇲🇬 Madagascar 97.8% 96.0% 78.3%
    🇲🇼 Malawi 95.9% 83.2% 2.4%
    🇲🇾 Malaysia 2.5% 0.9% 0.0%
    🇲🇻 Maldives 1.2% 0.6% 0.0%
    🇲🇱 Mali 72.0% 57.5% 1.9%
    🇲🇹 Malta 0.8% 0.3% 0.1%
    🇲🇷 Mauritania 62.4% 48.3% 2.7%
    🇲🇺 Mauritius 14.0% 4.4% 0.0%
    🇲🇽 Mexico 20.2% 17.2% 0.7%
    🇲🇩 Moldova 3.8% 0.3% 0.0%
    🇲🇳 Mongolia 64.1% 14.4% 0.1%
    🇲🇪 Montenegro 14.9% 9.1% 1.6%
    🇲🇦 Morocco 15.5% 6.5% 0.0%
    🇲🇿 Mozambique 92.5% 83.3% 13.2%
    🇲🇲 Myanmar 73.8% 42.7% 0.7%
    🇳🇦 Namibia 59.5% 33.6% 13.9%
    🇳🇵 Nepal 76.4% 51.0% 2.6%
    🇳🇱 Netherlands 0.1% 0.3% 0.0%
    🇳🇮 Nicaragua 34.2% 21.2% 5.7%
    🇳🇪 Niger 92.0% 77.1% 13.6%
    🇳🇬 Nigeria 93.5% 69.4% 44.4%
    🇲🇰 North Macedonia 15.5% 16.8% 2.6%
    🇳🇴 Norway 0.3% 0.5% 0.3%
    🇵🇰 Pakistan 82.8% 40.9% 0.3%
    🇵🇸 Palestine 15.4% 2.4% 0.6%
    🇵🇦 Panama 17.0% 12.1% 2.2%
    🇵🇾 Paraguay 20.4% 24.4% 0.5%
    🇵🇪 Peru 25.7% 16.5% 2.7%
    🇵🇭 Philippines 74.0% 53.1% 6.9%
    🇵🇱 Poland 0.5% 0.1% 0.0%
    🇵🇹 Portugal 1.2% 0.7% 0.1%
    🇷🇴 Romania 7.2% 8.0% 0.9%
    🇷🇺 Russia 2.6% 0.8% 0.0%
    🇷🇼 Rwanda 82.0% 61.3% 28.1%
    🇱🇨 Saint Lucia 27.2% 16.7% 4.6%
    🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe 78.2% 63.4% 8.0%
    🇸🇳 Senegal 45.0% 43.2% 3.3%
    🇷🇸 Serbia 10.9% 14.3% 3.2%
    🇸🇨 Seychelles 7.3% 2.5% 0.1%
    🇸🇱 Sierra Leone 83.5% 73.3% 34.9%
    🇸🇰 Slovakia 2.3% 1.4% 0.1%
    🇸🇮 Slovenia 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
    🇿🇦 South Africa 66.7% 60.3% 24.2%
    🇰🇷 South Korea 1.5% 1.5% 0.0%
    🇪🇸 Spain 1.8% 1.0% 0.5%
    🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 55.5% 22.8% 0.6%
    🇸🇩 Sudan 85.4% 58.7% 15.3%
    🇸🇷 Suriname 58.6% 34.2% 15.8%
    🇸🇪 Sweden 0.6% 0.4% 0.2%
    🇨🇭 Switzerland 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
    🇹🇼 Taiwan N/A 0.2% 0.0%
    🇹🇯 Tajikistan 44.3% 33.3% 2.3%
    🇹🇿 Tanzania 85.0% 75.6% 36.8%
    🇹🇭 Thailand 18.0% 7.0% 0.0%
    🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago 9.9% 3.4% 0.2%
    🇹🇳 Tunisia 17.1% 1.9% 0.0%
    🇹🇷 Turkey 6.0% 3.1% 0.0%
    🇺🇬 Uganda 81.7% 68.9% 13.9%
    🇦🇪 UAE 0.1% 0.0% 0.0%
    🇬🇧 UK 0.4% 0.5% 0.2%
    🇺🇸 U.S. 1.2% 1.5% 1.2%
    🇺🇾 Uruguay 5.2% 0.8% 0.0%
    🇻🇳 Vietnam 21.0% 11.7% 0.7%
    🇿🇲 Zambia 90.0% 82.5% 65.1%
    🇿🇼 Zimbabwe N/A 10.6% 0.0%
    🌐 World 42.20% 31.90% 4.90%

    While the aim is to have every single person able to afford a healthy diet, it is useful to track progress across diets to see which countries are making strides in food affordability, whether it comes from growing incomes or improved supply.

    At a regional level, these nuances reveal geographic differences in food unaffordability.

    While sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have comparable shares of population unable to afford healthy and nutrient sufficient diets, the gap widens immensely when looking at just calorie-sufficient diets, nearly 25% versus 2.6%.

    For countries in South Asia, this could help target efforts to improve affordability for more than the most basic of diets.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 23:20

  • Plasmid DNA Contamination In COVID-19 Vaccines Is 'Clear Breach Of Informed Consent' By FDA: Dr. Malone
    Plasmid DNA Contamination In COVID-19 Vaccines Is ‘Clear Breach Of Informed Consent’ By FDA: Dr. Malone

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

    Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of mRNA and DNA vaccines, slammed health regulatory agencies for not informing people about potential plasmid DNA contamination in mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

    A health care worker prepares a dose of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a file image. (Ezra Acayan/Getty Images)

    An Oct. 19 preprint study found billions of residual DNA fragments in mRNA COVID-19 vaccine vials. While billions of copies of spike, ori, and SV40 enhancer DNA were discovered in the Pfizer vaccine vials, Moderna vials were found to contain copies of ori and spike DNA. The SV40 virus is a DNA virus known to cause cancer in lab animals.

    Talking about the study in a Nov. 11 Substack post, Dr. Malone said that plasmid DNA contamination in the vaccines is a “proven fact” that has been “acknowledged by the US FDA, Health Canada, and the European Medicines Agency.”

    “In yet another clear breach of informed consent and labeling requirements, this was not previously disclosed to physicians, public health officials, or patients,” he wrote.

    For instance, the FDA’s labeling guidelines require that vaccine labels must contain a description of “serious adverse reactions, potential safety hazards, steps that should be taken in the occurrence of a serious adverse reaction and potential safety hazard, and limitations in use imposed by them.”

    Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines “are contaminated with plasmid DNA fragments which have not been removed during the current manufacturing processes,” the doctor wrote. A plasmid is a strand of circular DNA that is common to bacteria and specific parasites.

    Dr. Malone said that prior FDA guidance on DNA vaccine technology pointed to the presence of “highly active regulatory sequences as being of particular concern due to potential insertional mutagenesis (integration).”

    The FDA’s 2009 “Guidance on Prophylactic DNA Vaccines: Analysis and Recommendations” states that concerns about plasmid DNA potentially integrating into the genome of the vaccine recipient and increasing the likelihood of issues like “malignant transformation, genomic instability, or cell growth dysregulation” were raised when DNA vaccines were initially introduced for clinical use.

    It stated that a “tiny fraction” of the plasmids are expected to “integrate into the host genome, regardless of the method of delivery.”

    Dr. Malone noted that the FDA has issued a “categorical denial of adulteration and risk” of DNA vaccines.

    A spokeswoman from the FDA told The Epoch Times that “no safety concerns related to the sequence of, or amount of, residual DNA have been identified” in the COVID-19 shots.

    “With regard to the FDA-approved mRNA vaccines, available scientific evidence supports the conclusion that they are safe and effective.”

    This denial is contrary to both federal law on adulterated drugs and devices and FDA guidance on adulteration of drugs, Dr. Malone stated.

    The U.S. Code on adulterated drugs and devices makes it clear that a drug shall be deemed to be adulterated if its manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding do not meet the requirements of “quality and purity characteristics.”

    Meanwhile, the FDA’s law on adulteration of drugs under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act says that a drug would be deemed to be adulterated “if it fails to conform to compendial standards of quality, strength or purity.”

    “Compendial standards” refer to the pharmaceutical standards as outlined in the U.S. Pharmacopeia-National Formulary (USP-NF), which is the official quality standards applicable to all drugs sold in the United States.

    Regulators, Moderna Admit Risks

    As claimed by Dr. Malone, multiple health agencies have admitted to DNA contamination in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.In an email to The Epoch Times last month, Health Canada confirmed the presence of the SV40 DNA sequence in the Pfizer vaccine, which the company failed to disclose previously.

    In another email to The Epoch Times, the European Medicines Agency also confirmed that the Pfizer vaccine contains the SV40 sequence, which the company’s partner BioNTech did not highlight in its application.

    It isn’t clear whether the presence of the SV40 sequence in the plasmid DNA of mRNA vaccines was identified by Pfizer when the company applied for approval from the FDA.

    Dr. Malone pointed out that Moderna “clearly acknowledges” the risks of genotoxicity associated with the DNA delivered via its vaccines.

    Dr. Robert Malone, author of “Lies My Gov’t Told Me”, in Washington on Dec. 19, 2022. (Jack Wang/The Epoch Times)

    In an Aug. 8, 2019, patent filed by Moderna regarding RNA vaccines, the company states that the direct injection of naked plasmid DNA into a living host comes with “potential problems, including the possibility of insertional mutagenesis, which could lead to the activation of oncogenes or the inhibition of tumor suppressor genes.”

    The doctor noted that Moderna considers “even ‘naked’ plasmid DNA” as a potential risk. Naked plasmid DNA does not contain any highly active lipid nanoparticle formulation agents.

    Moderna did not disclose in the patent that it has not been able to manufacture such modified mRNA vaccines “without contaminating DNA,” he said.

    In conclusion, it is also clear at this point, unless proven otherwise, that none of these regulatory authorities have obtained data from one or more rigorous, well-controlled studies designed to address the genotoxicity and insertional mutagenesis risks” presented by the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

    Until such data is provided, the FDA’s claim that there are “no safety concerns” related to the residual DNA do not “accurately reflect current knowledge,” Dr. Malone said.

    “The only objective conclusion to be made concerning such statements is that they functionally represent propaganda rather than proven scientific and regulatory fact.”

    FDA’s ‘Willful Blindness’

    In his Substack post, Dr. Malone called the FDA’s assertion of “no safety concerns” about the inclusion of residual DNA in mRNA vaccines “willful blindness.” He then highlighted the risks posed by residual DNA in vaccines.

    “The most well-documented risks associated with such potential insertional mutagenesis are cancer (in the case of stem and somatic cells, particularly hematopoietic lineage cells) and birth defects,” he wrote.

    “As these highly active modified mRNA (plus DNA fragment) lipid nanoparticles are known to cross the placenta and to localize to ovarian tissue, the potential for birth defects would seem to be of particular regulatory interest and concern.”

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in White Oak, Md., on June 5, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

    Despite reports of “aggressive cancers” in people who were administered the mRNA vaccines, the FDA remains “willfully ignorant and in denial of these risks.” Moreover, the agency does not define the term “safe” even though it insists that the vaccines are “safe and effective,” Dr. Malone wrote.

    He pointed out that FDA and CDC assertions of earlier versions of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines reducing risks of severe disease are now “irrelevant” as these products are not available anymore, and the strains have now become extinct.

    “Furthermore, many researchers have demonstrated that, even in those historic cases, after some period of time those so dosed with these products become MORE likely to develop severe disease or death relative to unvaccinated patients (most of whom have acquired natural infection with resulting potent and diversified immunity,” Dr. Malone said.

    A September 2022 study found that incidences of COVID-19 infection were “significantly higher in vaccine recipients (6.7 percent) than the previously infected (2.9 percent)” individuals six months after the index date.

    For the vaccinated, the index date was defined 30 days after their first COVID-19 shot. For the infected, the index date was taken 30 days after the initial infection.

    On the positive side, “all-cause mortality in the vaccinated, however, was 37 percent lower than that of the previously infected. The rates of all-cause ED visits and hospitalizations were 24 percent and 37 percent lower in the vaccinated than in the previously infected.”

    Presence of SV40 Sequences

    Dr. Malone said that “the presence of highly active promoter/enhancer DNA sequences (and fragments) derived from the SV40 virus, present in the Pfizer/BioNTech product, was not disclosed and discussed with either the public or to the regulatory agencies.”

    In order to produce mRNA vaccines, the SV40 enhancer gene from the SV40 virus is used. Using bacteria in the production of genes and proteins for the manufacture of pharmaceuticals is a standard practice.

    In the case of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the SV40 enhancer gene and other genetic sequences were introduced in the plasmid DNA. Once the mRNA and DNA are harvested from the bacteria, the DNA is supposed to be removed.

    Dr. Malone wrote in his Substack post that “such short DNA fragments are associated with a high risk of integration, otherwise known as insertional mutagenesis, which is a well-characterized form of genotoxicity.” The term genotoxicity refers to the ability of harmful substances to damage the genetic information present in cells.

    If these mRNA COVID-18 vaccines were reviewed by the FDA as gene therapy products, they would have required “rigorous genotoxicity studies” before allowed for use among human beings, he said. The same would be true in case the mRNA vaccines were reviewed as “DNA vaccines.”

    “But apparently there is something magical about inclusion of modified-mRNA together with DNA fragments in these highly active lipid nanoparticle nucleic acid delivery formulations which leads the FDA to conclude that there is no genotoxicity risk.”

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 23:00

  • What's Behind The Sudden Plunge In Oil Prices? Goldman's Trading Desk Explains
    What’s Behind The Sudden Plunge In Oil Prices? Goldman’s Trading Desk Explains

    From Goldman floor trader Michael Nocerino

    Tons of questions on the weakness in Crude – Thoughts from our trading desk: believe the move is more of a “catch-up” to weaker physical markets as we moved past WTI options expiration yesterday & as Middle East risk premium has now come out of the market in our view.
     
    Bigger picture:

    • Margins have remained weak for a while
    • OPEC continues to export
    • Spreads & DFLs have been signaling weaker fundamentals for several days now

    Brent breaking through the 200dma…approaching oversold levels (RSI 32.7)…

    • On the vol front, it’s interesting to note that front-end gamma is well bid on this selloff which is a re-engagement of the negative spot/vol correlation we saw from late September until the early October Israeli attacks flipped that abruptly. We’re also seeing put skew rally sharply here with front-end 25d RR’s rapidly approaching the September wides of ~5v for puts.) Options desk think there is some gamma around $75 from sov hedging/other prod strikes and worth noting PMI moved their OSP lower yesterday which brings strikes closer to the money.
    • We haven’t seen too much fresh on the fundamental side. There are some thoughts that an Iraq flows resolution is imminent, but nothing confirmed and that doesn’t warrant a sell off of this magnitude.
    • Our models have CTA selling continuing and timing of the move was around the time that their flow normally ramps up.
    • Fitting that GIR Published their 2024 Outlook today: “We believe that OPEC will ensure Brent in a $80-$100 range by leveraging its pricing power, with a $80 floor from the OPEC put, and a $100 ceiling from spare capacity.” (link)

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 22:40

  • The WEF And The Dangers Of A Circular Economy
    The WEF And The Dangers Of A Circular Economy

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

    As the British politician David Cameron famously asserted, “The economy is the start and end of everything.”

    To control the economy is, in many ways, to control the world.

    Although no one government or organization controls the world’s economy, a few major players help shape it.

    A sign of the World Economic Forum in the alpine resort of Davos, Switzerland, on the opening day of the annual meeting on Jan. 16, 2023. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

    One of the major players, as many readers know, is the World Economic Forum (WEF). In recent times, the Davos elites have been pushing the idea of a new economy, one that’s circular in nature. Should we be concerned?

    Some could say that the circular economy is an “agenda.” According to a recent report published by the WEF and Accenture, it is. The authors of the report said this is an “agenda” and that the directions must “come from the top.” A circular economy is the antithesis of today’s economy—or, as the authors of the report call it, the “linear economy.”

    “The transition to circular business models is,” we’re told, “a critical lever for organizations to achieve climate commitments and reach net-zero emissions.”

    To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the WEF and Accenture suggested “changing how goods are produced and consumed.” Circularity, they said, “plays a critical role in this.”

    The report goes on to state that the existing “take-make-waste” model, which is “extractive and resource-intensive,” must be replaced. The key to replacing the existing model involves embedding “circularity in decision-making throughout the value chain.” In other words, a top-down approach, overseen, in part, by unelected globalists. If real democracy is predicated on a bottom-up approach, then, one wonders, what are we to make of this recent report?

    “This systemic transition,” the authors noted, “requires companies to embed circularity at all levels and functions throughout the organization. Starting from the top, there should be clear governance, leadership and accountability.”

    What’s the goal here? The circular economy appears to be associated with the idea that all products become services, with those at the very top of the mountain maintaining ownership of the products that normal, everyday people can only rent. Remember, not that long ago, the WEF stated: “You’ll Own Nothing. And You’ll Be Happy.”

    In August, the WEF’s Sean Mowbray discussed how the circular economy could address “rampant overconsumption,” “climate change, biodiversity loss, and the pollution of land, air and oceans.”

    This crisis, he suggested, requires “sustainable production cycles” that will “reduce resource use, waste, and ecological harm.”

    At its core, according to Mr. Mowbray, the circular economy revolves around the three R’s: reducing, reusing, and recycling materials. The circular economy model, he said, “aims to eliminate waste and pollution, recirculate products and materials, and regenerate nature.”

    Although nature should be protected, and the idea of wasting resources isn’t something to be championed, one can’t help but feel a sense of dread when reading Mr. Mowbray’s words. The constant references to “climate change” and “decarbonization” and the calls to drastically alter agricultural practices carry an impersonal, somewhat chiding tone.

    Keeping waste to an absolute minimum, we’re informed, is a must. But, one wonders, who dictates how much waste is too much waste? And who gets to decide what constitutes waste and what constitutes harm?

    Take meat, for example. For many readers, I’m sure, the consumption of chicken, pork, and beef has an important place in their lives. However, in a circular economy, meat may no longer have any place whatsoever. After all, it’s wasteful and bad for the environment, experts say. Lab-grown meat, which is estimated to have a considerably larger carbon footprint than typically butchered beef, is a viable alternative, they suggest. If the WEF has its way, we’ll all be eating lab-grown grub not long from now.

    It has become increasingly common to correctly identify problems but offer wholly unreasonable solutions. Capitalism, in its current form, is destructive. So socialism is the answer. Traditional farming methods are harmful, so lab-grown meat is the solution. The United States was once extremely racist, so financial reparations must be made. And so forth.

    Nevertheless, the WEF insists that the circular economy, closely aligned with the nefarious idea of social justice, is a viable alternative to the current model. According to the decision-makers in Davos, Switzerland, the circular economy represents “a seismic shift in the way we conceptualize the entire life cycle of a product, designed to benefit businesses, society and the environment.”

    This “seismic shift” could involve closer monitoring of our actions and behaviors, and the introduction of carbon passports, for example. A new report by Intrepid Travel discusses the concept of “personal carbon allowances” being introduced by 2040.

    The White House appears to be fully committed to the circular economy transition. Earlier this year, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy hosted a roundtable designed to discuss the ways in which various circular economy innovations can contribute to, e.g., “decarbonization and net-zero goals.”

    Again, although the environment should be protected, and waste should never be encouraged, one wonders how much say normal, everyday people will have in the circular economy. Considering the “agenda” is a top-down one, very little, I imagine.

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

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 22:20

  • "Extremely Painful" NYC Budget Cuts Will Lead To Fewer New Police Hires, Reduced Trash Pickups
    “Extremely Painful” NYC Budget Cuts Will Lead To Fewer New Police Hires, Reduced Trash Pickups

    The Biden administration’s disastrous open southern border policy has flooded the nation with millions of illegals. More than 100,000 have been bussed into New York City this year. Facing a cold and snowy winter in the Northern Hemisphere, progressive leaders in City Hall are now tasked with feeding and sheltering migrants at the expense of the taxpayers. Mayor Eric Adams has decided to implement a 5% across-the-board budget reduction to manage city expenses. 

    On Tuesday, Mayor Adams said he is set to release a long list of “extremely painful” spending cuts that will impact all New Yorkers and even pressure city agencies, including the NYPD. He said the budget cuts will offset the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on migrants. 

    “In all my time in government, this is probably one of the most painful exercises I’ve gone through,” Adams said, adding his team continues to work on additional spending cuts. 

    Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget Director Jacques Jiha will brief Council Speaker Adrienne Adams about the new budget cuts on Thursday afternoon. 

    Bloomberg said Adams plans to reduce the city’s $107 billion budget by 5%. Sources told the media outlet that all new police hires would be halted, trash services would be reduced citywide, and there would even be reductions in migrant spending to reign in government spending. 

    In September, Mayor Adams warned that a 15% reduction in the city’s budget would be needed between this month and April 2024. He stated these cuts will allow the city to shelter over 140,000 migrants who have arrived in the last 18 months. 

    Adams has also warned that the migrant crisis will ‘destroy New York City’ and slammed the Biden administration for doing nothing about the problem they created.

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

    The problem with slamming the Biden administration is that they will weaponize their federal agencies against you. Adams found that out last week when the FBI seized his phones and an iPad in a campaign financing investigation.  

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 22:00

  • Support For Israel Drops As 68% Of Americans Want Ceasefire, Negotiations
    Support For Israel Drops As 68% Of Americans Want Ceasefire, Negotiations

    A new Reuters/Ipsos poll reveals that 68% of Americans believe Israel “should call a ceasefire and try to negotiate” with Hamas, indicating widespread opposition to continued military operations in Gaza. This viewpoint was shared by approximately three-quarters of Democrats and half of Republicans, demonstrating broad public support for de-escalation.

    This image taken from the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on October 29, 2023, shows black smoke ascending within the Palestinian territory amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas. © Fadel Senna, AFP

    When asked what role the United States should play in the conflict, just 32% of respondents believed that “the U.S. should support Israel.” This figure represents a substantial drop from the 41% who expressed support for Israel in a previous Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted just a month earlier in mid-October.

    Another noteworthy shift in sentiment is the growing number of Americans who favor neutrality in the conflict. The poll shows that 39% of respondents now believe that “the U.S. should be a neutral mediator.” This marks a significant increase from the 27% who held this view in the earlier poll, signaling a clear trend toward a more balanced approach.

    What’s more, the poll – which asked 1,006 US adults, also sheds light on how involved the United States should be – with just 4% of respondents advocating for U.S. support for Palestinians, and 15% who say the U.S. should not be involved in the conflict at all. These figures have remained relatively consistent with the earlier poll’s findings.

    Roots of the Conflict

    The backdrop to this changing dynamic follows weeks of intense Israeli military operations against Hamas in Gaza in response to an October 7 attack by Hamas militants in southern Israel. The resulting violence has led to significant casualties on both sides and drawn international attention to the crisis.

    The poll’s findings run counter to President Joe Biden’s stance on the issue (granted, ‘stance’ is generous, given that Biden doesn’t know where he is half the time). The president has refrained from endorsing calls by Arab leaders, including Palestinians, to pressure Israel into a ceasefire. Instead, his administration has emphasized the importance of minimizing civilian casualties.

    Meanwhile, just 31% of respondents support the idea of sending weapons to Israel, while 43% oppose it. Support for sending weapons was particularly strong among Republicans, while roughly half of Democrats were against it.

    Comparing with Ukraine

    Comparing these sentiments to the situation in Ukraine, the poll revealed that 41% of respondents supported sending weapons to Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia, while 32% opposed the idea. Notably, Democrats exhibited stronger support for sending weapons to Ukraine compared to Israel.

    Congressional Debate

    As Reuters further notes, the changing public opinion also reflects an ongoing debate within Congress. While most moderate Democrats have historically supported military assistance to Israel, some progressive members of the party are now raising questions about the need for increased scrutiny and conditional aid.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 21:20

  • Should Joe Biden Be Banned?
    Should Joe Biden Be Banned?

    Authored by Jonathan Turley,

    Below is my column in The Messenger on the view of diplomats in the Biden Administration that the President is spreading “misinformation.”

    My interest in the story is less the merits than the allegation.

    The President is facing the same allegation of ignoring fact and spreading disinformation that has resulted in thousands being banned or blacklisted on social media. The Biden Administration has pushed for such censorship in areas where doctors and pundits held opposing views on subjects ranging from Covid-19 to climate control.

    The question is whether Joe Biden himself should be banned under the standards promulgated by his own Administration.

    Here is the column:

    An internal State Department dissent memo was leaked this past week, opposing the Biden administration’s position on the war between Israel and Hamas. What was most notable about the memo is that some administration staffers accused President Joe Biden of “spreading misinformation.”

    It was a moment of crushing irony for some of us who have written and testified against the Biden administration’s censorship efforts. The question is whether, under the administration’s own standards, President Biden should now be banned or blacklisted to protect what his administration has called our “cognitive infrastructure.”

    For years, the administration and many Democrats in Congress have resisted every effort to expose the sprawling government censorship program that one federal judge described as an “Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’” As I have written previously, it included grants to academic and third-party organizations to create a global system of blacklists and to pressure advertisers to withdraw support from conservative sites.

    Most recently, a House Judiciary Committee report revealed another layer of this system, described as a “switchboarding” role for the censorship system by channeling demands for removal or bans from state and local officials. This switchboarding process was confirmed by Brian Scully of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), during prior court testimony. CISA’s director, Jen Easterly, previously declared the administration’s intent to extend its role over maintaining critical infrastructure to include “our cognitive infrastructure” and combating not just mis- and disinformation but also “malinformation,” which CISA describes as “based on fact, but used out of context to mislead, harm, or manipulate.”

    As a result, over the last four years, researchers, politicians, and even satirical sites have been banned or blacklisted for offering dissenting views of COVID measures, climate change, gender identity or social justice, according to the House Judiciary report. No level of censorship seemed to be sufficient for President Biden, who once claimed that social media companies were “killing people” by not silencing more dissenting voices.

    Now, though, President Biden himself is accused — by some in his own administration — of spreading misinformation and supporting war criminals.

    The five-page State Department memo was signed by 100 State and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employees and was accompanied by a social media post by a junior foreign affairs staffer, accusing Biden of being “complicit in genocide” in Gaza. The memo accuses Biden of “spreading misinformation,” citing his Oct. 10 speech supporting Israel, and accuses Israel of committing “war crimes and/or crimes against humanity under international law.” It also accuses Biden of ignoring facts — a classic justification for past administration demands to censor figures — on the number of Palestinian casualties.

    Democrats face a nightmare of allegations of disinformation on both sides of the war and other issues. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and numerous media outlets have been accused of spreading disinformation about Israel killing hundreds with an airstrike on a Gaza hospitalFormer CIA director Leon Panetta, in an interview on Fox News, stood by disproven claims about Russia faking Hunter Biden’s laptop.

    There is, of course, not even a whisper (let alone a loud demand) for censorship or suspension of any of these figures or outlets, because that is not how the administration’s policies over “misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation” — what it terms “MDM” — work. The administration at one point insisted that it would police this “MDM space” to target views on a sweeping range of subjects, including racial justice and the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.

    So what will the Biden MDM space-rangers do with President Biden?

    The obvious answer is, “Nothing.”

    The administration can note that the memo’s view of war crimes is a minority position and a matter of opinion — although that hasn’t stopped others from being censored, particularly scientists involved in the COVID controversies, according to the House Judiciary report.

    Indeed, under its own standards, CISA and other agencies may be confused who to censor. It has created standards so ill-defined that it is surrounded by actionable disinformation. For example, if the administration does not believe Israel is committing war crimes, should it push to censor its own dissenting diplomats?

    The censors in the administration and at social media companies have always adopted vague standards that allowed them to pick and choose who should be heard or silenced. Former Twitter executive Anika Collier Navaroli called it a “nuanced” approach in determining how much free speech to allow; former CEO Parag Agrawal said that the “focus [is] less on thinking about free speech” because it is not on who should speak but “who can be heard.”

    That leaves any potential censorship based on the ridiculous standard which Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart advanced for pornography in the case of Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184 (1964): “I shall not today attempt further to define [it] … But I know it when I see it.”

    Thus, President Biden has no fear about his views being censored: His administration has always exhibited distinct myopia when it claims to know disinformation when it sees it.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 21:00

  • 'Put Ourselves In Their Shoes': Highlights From Inaugural ZeroHedge Debate
    ‘Put Ourselves In Their Shoes’: Highlights From Inaugural ZeroHedge Debate

    We hope you enjoyed the first ZeroHedge live debate on the Israel-Palestine conflict, featuring libertarian comedian Dave Smith and conservative journalist Laura Loomer. By spending two hours on a singular topic, allowing each side to scrutinize the other’s arguments, we hoped you found last night’s debate informative and productive.

    For those who could not watch it live, here were some notable exchanges with the FULL discussion posted at the end:

    Smith began his opening remarks by attacking the war-time “binary” thinking that “you’re either with us or against us,” adding that he does not support Hamas – and that “what’s happening in Gaza is horrific.

    Loomer brought attention to the religious feuds that have driven this conflict by reading from Article 8 of the Hamas charter that calls for Islam to “obliterate” Israel:

    Smith pressed Loomer by arguing that: if radical Islam is such a dangerous threat, how much blame should we place upon the western governments and intel agencies that have propped it up, including Israel for its support of Hamas?

    On the issue of whether supporters of Hamas are “innocent,” Loomer posed the question: “Don’t people in all societies have a responsibility to challenge or overthrow governments if their governments are not serving the people?

    Smith gave the audience a couple thought experiments to illustrate how extremism takes hold and to question the morality of Israel’s current military strategy:

    Watch the FULL debate here:

    Let us know who you thought was the winner.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 20:44

  • Citadel CEO Ken Griffin Bashes Bidenomics
    Citadel CEO Ken Griffin Bashes Bidenomics

    Citadel founder Ken Griffin sharply criticized the Biden administration’s efforts to persuade Americans of a strong economy through the promotional campaign called ‘Bidenomics.’ The billionaire said the strategists who told the administration to run on Bidenomics before the 2024 presidential election have “no idea how to read an economics textbook.” 

    “The American public knows things aren’t working in this economy for them,” Griffin told Bloomberg at the Global Macro Conference in Miami Tuesday. 

    He said, “Whoever told him [the president] to run on Bidenomics has no idea how to read an economics textbook.” 

    Griffin’s Bidenomics critique comes days after Politico reported members of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee met with the Biden administration in September and October to brief them about the Bidenomics’ branding failure. They presented numerous polling data that showed Americans aren’t convinced about economic policy accomplishments under the president.

    “Democrats can’t just hammer people over the head with an insistence that the economy is great,” Adam Green, co-founder of the PCCC, told Politico.

    As we noted, the Bidenomics campaign in corporate media started around late June, as shown in the surge in headlines for the term “Bidenomics.” 

    Even with the corporate press cheerleading Biden’s alleged economic successes, the president’s approval polling data via Real Clear Politics went down. 

    The reason is straightforward why the Bidenomics campaign failed: US real average wages were negative for two years in the worst inflation storm in a generation. Consumers understand shelter, food, and gas prices are still high, forcing many working poor to drain personal savings and rack up insurmountable credit card debt just to survive. No matter how much Biden officials tout Bidenomics, people are angered because of their empty wallets. 

    Griffin also said during the conference that Miami will become the new ‘Wall Street,’ displacing New York City: “We’re on Brickell Bay, and maybe in 50 years it will be Brickell Bay North how we refer to New York in finance.”

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 20:40

  • New Report Raises Concerns That CDC Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System Is Broken
    New Report Raises Concerns That CDC Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System Is Broken

    Authored by Megan Redshaw via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    (II.studio/Shutterstock)

    The nation’s primary early warning system used to detect possible safety problems with vaccines is “overwhelmed,” raising concerns the system may be broken and isn’t being adequately managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), according to a new investigation.

    The report published on Nov. 10 by The BMJ found the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has received an unprecedented number of reports attributed to COVID-19 vaccines, and there aren’t enough staff to meet the requirements for reviewing and following up with serious reports, including deaths. Additionally, the investigation revealed that VAERS is neither transparent, user-friendly, nor responsive, and suggests the government essentially maintains two VAERS systems—only one of which the public can access.

    Co-managed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC, VAERS collects reports of symptoms, diagnoses, hospital admissions, and deaths after vaccination to capture post-marketing safety signals and determine if there are any unusual or unexpected reporting patterns for adverse events.

    According to the CDC, healthcare providers are “strongly encouraged” to report any adverse event following vaccination to VAERS, even if they’re unclear whether the vaccine caused the adverse event. In contrast, vaccine manufacturers are required by law to report all adverse events that “come to their attention.”

    Although VAERS accepts reports from anyone, knowingly filing a false VAERS report violates federal law and is punishable by fine and imprisonment. This allows VAERS to serve as an “early warning system to detect rare adverse events” and deters false reporting. Even so, VAERS has been shown to reflect only 1 percent of actual vaccine adverse events, according to a Harvard Pilgrim Health Care study.

    CDC Isn’t Investigating Serious Adverse Events for COVID-19 Vaccines

    According to the CDC,  in 2019—prior to the pandemic—VAERS received more than 48,000 reports of vaccine adverse events, 85 to 90 percent of which were mild. After the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, The BMJ found an “unprecedented” 1.7 million adverse events were reported to VAERS, with 1 million reported in 2021 and an additional 660,000 received thereafter. Nearly 1 in 5 cases met the criteria for a “serious” adverse event, and most reports were attributed to COVID-19 vaccines.

    According to the VAERS Standard Operating Procedures for COVID-19, serious adverse events include reports of death, hospitalization, life-threatening illness, permanent disability and/or prolonged hospitalization, and congenital anomalies. Medical records are routinely requested for all serious reports, including deaths, and adverse events of special interest may undergo a more in-depth clinical review by the CDC.

    If there is a significant increase in VAERS reports warranting clinical review, the standard operating procedures require additional CDC Immunization Safety Office staff to process cases. For events classified as “serious,” people who report to VAERS are supposed to receive email correspondence prompting them to provide updates, but The BMJ’s investigation shows these standards aren’t being followed.

    The BMJ interviewed more than a dozen people, including physicians and a state medical examiner who filed VAERS reports for serious adverse events on behalf of themselves or patients and were either never contacted by the CDC or were contacted months later. Many never received confirmation emails when their reports were filed. Likewise, if a condition was successfully treated or was found to be unrelated to a vaccine, this was not reflected in the database.

    Dr. Patrick Whelan, a rheumatologist and researcher at the University of California–Los Angeles, filed a report in 2022 on behalf of his 7-year-old patient after he experienced cardiac arrest and was intubated following COVID-19 vaccination. To Whelan’s knowledge, “nobody called or requested medical records.” The FDA said it followed up “soon after” receiving the report and made several requests for medical records. It also added that staff “might not reach out to medical providers unless they have specific questions about a case or VAERS report.”

    Dr. James Gill, chief medical examiner for the state of Connecticut and forensic pathologist, filed a VAERS report after a 15-year-old boy died suddenly in 2021 from stress cardiomyopathy following his second dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Although he completed a report online and received a temporary e-report number, the CDC never followed up. It wasn’t until Dr. Gill published the boy’s case report in February 2022 in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine in February 2022 that the CDC responded—with a letter to the editor challenging Gill’s findings.

    React19, a science-based non-profit comprised of 30,000 people injured by COVID-19 vaccines, reviewed 126 VAERS reports and found 22 percent were never given a permanent VAERS ID, and 1 of 3 reports filed disappeared from the system entirely, according to The BMJ.

    An intensive care and emergency physician filed several reports on behalf of patients, including six deaths. According to The BMJ, she only received a request for medical records regarding one death and for only two patients admitted to the hospital.

    When it comes to reports of death following COVID-19 vaccination, other countries have acknowledged that deaths were “likely” or “probably” related to mRNA vaccination, but the CDC has reviewed more than 20,000 preliminary death reports, which is significantly more than other countries, yet has not attributed a single death to mRNA vaccines, The BMJ stated.

    “A BMJ investigation has raised concerns that the VAERS system isn’t operating as intended and that signals are being missed. As someone who has been studying and scrutinizing VAERS data for three years, I can confirm this observation,” researcher Jessica Rose told The Epoch Times in an email. Ms. Rose, a VAERS expert with a doctorate in computational biology, says these stories and experiences reflect the VAERS system’s deficiencies.

    There Are 2 VAERS Databases–Only One Is Public

    In contrast to how the U.S. government handles adverse reaction reports related to drugs and devices, the author of The BMJ report, Jennifer Block, discovered the FDA and CDC are essentially maintaining two separate VAERS databases—one the public has access to containing initial reports and a private system on the backend with updates, outcomes, and corrections.

    Dr. Narayan Nair is the FDA division director who oversees VAERS. According to the BMJ, during a December 2022 meeting, Dr. Nair stated there are two parts to VAERS: “the front-end system and the back end.” In a meeting with advocates, Dr. Nair admitted initial reports are never updated, so the public never sees an updated report on the front end.

    Yet the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System for drugs does maintain a publicly accessible database that gets updated, as does the Medical Device Reporting System. It’s only the VAERS system that doesn’t publicly display updates. If someone wants a full copy of their record or report, they must submit a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act, an FDA spokesperson told The BMJ.

    Although regulatory officials told The BMJ this was to protect patient confidentiality, this means that patients, doctors, and other public users of the database do not have access to updated or complete records.

    In an email to The Epoch Times, VAERS expert and data analyst Albert Benavides said he knew there were two VAERS databases, but of even greater concern is that the CDC isn’t publishing all legitimate reports it receives.

    “What supersedes even two VAERS databases (internal and external) is the fact that VAERS does not publish all legitimate reports received,” Mr. Benavides said. “The BMJ and the public are just now becoming aware that only initial reports are published, even though VAERS continues to collect follow-up data, hence the two databases. [The fact that] only initial reports are made public begs the question, how many people are now since dead in VAERS?” he added.

    Mr. Benevides noted the CDC stopped including follow-up data in 2011 after the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care study was published.

    Regulators Are Missing Safety Signals in VAERS

    Because clinical trials involve studying products in a small number of selected individuals for a short period, some side effects may only occur when a larger and diverse population has used the products over a longer duration. Pharmacovigilance is the practice of monitoring the effects of medical drugs and vaccines after they have been licensed to identify, prevent, and evaluate previously unreported adverse reactions.

    “Good pharmacovigilance requires prompt data collection, review by people with clinical expertise, and adequate follow-up,” Marie Lindquist, former director of the Uppsala Monitoring Centre in Sweden, told The BMJ. “We know that even the best clinical trials won’t detect [rare adverse events].”

    For example, the risk of a rare blood clotting disorder associated with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by Janssen, did not manifest until it was authorized. With only six cases reported, regulators in 2021 paused its use to investigate the reports and ultimately linked the rare blood clotting disorder to the shot.

    Ralph Edwards, former editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Risk & Safety in Medicine and author or co-author of more than 400 scientific papers, told The BMJ that VAERS is great for detecting adverse events that occur “very soon after vaccination” and those associated with other vaccines. However, it is not good at detecting new or latent effects because regulators may rely too heavily on epidemiological evidence to acknowledge a VAERS signal.

    In other words, if an adverse event hasn’t been recognized before, it’s ignored by regulators. If regulators do not acknowledge a signal, it’s not acknowledged by doctors. Doctors also have to be educated to look for a condition so they know how to test for it and treat it. If physicians don’t acknowledge a medical condition could be potentially connected to a vaccine, they won’t report it—so a passive surveillance system like VAERS won’t display the signal.

    It is easy to understand why VAERS is underreported and also why it needs to be used as the pharmacovigilance tool that it is,” Ms. Rose told The Epoch Times in an email. “How can doctors file a VAERS report if they do not even know what to look for as per an adverse event occurrence? Furthermore, if a safe and effective doctrine continues to be pushed, the doctors and nurse practitioners will not feel compelled to report suspected adverse events in the first place,” she added.

    In Rose’s opinion, VAERS is a functioning pharmacovigilance tool. “The problem is, the owners of the data are not using it as such, and this is why the safety signals are being not so much ‘missed,’ as they are hidden,” she said.

    The BMJ’s investigation suggests the VAERS is understaffed, so there aren’t enough people to ensure the CDC’s standards are met. Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and reviewed by the BMJ show that Pfizer had about 1,000 more full-time employees devoted to vaccine surveillance than the CDC. The company brought in an additional 600 people to process adverse event reports attributed to its COVID-19 vaccine with the intent to employ a total of 1,800 people. The CDC only has 70 to 80 full-time equivalent workers, despite the agency’s “responsibility for handling adverse event reports on all products.”

    The Epoch Times contacted the CDC for comment but has not received a response.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 20:20

  • Outrage Ensues After No Charges Likely In Biden Classified Document Scandal
    Outrage Ensues After No Charges Likely In Biden Classified Document Scandal

    Of course…

    Following a ‘thorough investigation,’ special counsel Robert Hur is unlikely to charge anyone in connection to President Joe Biden’s classified document scandal, according to multiple reports citing sources familiar with the matter.

    Hur’s report is expected to sharply criticize Biden and his aides for their handling of classified documents – the standard treatment for the protected establishment class whose name doesn’t end in Trump.

    This outcome raises obvious questions DOJ sham investigations – for if a Special Counsel’s probe into potential mishandling of sensitive national documents results only in criticism and no legal repercussions, what message does it send about accountability at the highest levels of government?

    Hur’s investigation, which began in January following his appointment by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has spanned nearly a year. It has involved interviews with around 100 Biden aides, including the President’s embattled son, Hunter Biden, who himself faces unrelated legal troubles following an indictment on federal gun charges. Biden himself was interviewed last month.

    “The president has been interviewed as part of the investigation being led by Special Counsel Robert Hur,” reads the statement from the White House Counsel’s Office spokesperson Ian Sams (the guy who lied and had a meltdown over Hunter Biden’s $260K in Chinese wires).

    Of note, Hunter Biden listed Joe’s Wilmington, Delaware home – where a bunch of classified documents were found, as his address when he received above mentioned Chinese wires, due to the Biden family’s dealings with CCP-linked businessmen.

    As Jonathan Turley noted last month;

    The most glaring problem is that, after they were removed at the end of his term as vice president, the documents were repeatedly moved and divided up. Some were found in the Penn Center office used by Biden in Washington, D.C. Others were found in his garage and reportedly in his library. 

    Biden made clear from the beginning that he expected the investigation to be perfunctory and brief. He publicly declared that he has “no regrets” over his own conduct and told the public that the documents investigation would soon peter out when it determined that “there is no ‘there’ there.”

    Now, however, it appears that a critical claim by the White House in the scandal may not only be false, but was knowingly false at the time it was made. The White House and Biden’s counsel have long maintained that, as soon as documents were discovered in the D.C. office, they notified the national archives. Many asked why they did not call the FBI, but the White House has at least maintained that, unlike Trump, they took immediate action to notify authorities.

    However, it now appears that this was not true.

    One of the closest aides to Biden and a close friend to Hunter Biden is Annie Tomasini. She referred to Hunter as her “brother” and signed off messages with “LY” or “love you.”

    Hur was appointed in January by AG Merrick Garland to lead the classified documents probe. Prior that, he was a Trump-appointed federal prosecutor who has litigation experience involving classified materials.

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    Notably, the investigation has also involved discussions with Secretary of State Tony Blinken, former White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, as reported by WSJ. These high-level interviews underscore the gravity of the investigation and the potential ramifications it could have had.

    The House Oversight Committee wrote a letter to Hur in October requesting information on whether President Biden possessed classified documents related to his son’s foreign business dealings. The classified documents discovered at the Penn Biden Center and Joe Biden’s Delaware residence date back to his vice presidency and decades-long senate tenure.

    Kathy Chung, a Defense Department aide and former Vice President Biden aide recommended by Hunter Biden, was one of the individuals who handled classified documents, according to the Oversight Committee. –Daily Caller

    As the DOJ investigation winds down, the House Oversight Committee has vowed to continue its quest for clarity and accountability. Former White House Counsel Dana Remus was subpoenaed to appear for a deposition to answer questions about the handling of the classified documents. This move indicates that, while Hur’s investigation may not lead to criminal charges, the political and public scrutiny over the matter is far from over.

    So yes, corrupt administration investigates itself – finds no wrongdoing worth pursuing. End of story.

    And also of course…

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    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 20:01

  • Why We Are Sleepwalking Into Tyranny
    Why We Are Sleepwalking Into Tyranny

    Authored by Bryce Buchanan via American Thinker,

    The world is heading quite rapidly toward tyranny.  We are in a revolutionary period that will dramatically change civilization.  Few people understand the gravity of our situation.  Here are some of the reasons why the majority of people seem oblivious to the danger.  These psychological shortcomings explain why we are sleepwalking into tyranny.

    Image: DeltaWorks via Pixabay, Pixabay License.

    The Normalcy Bias “is a cognitive bias that occurs in times of crisis, leading us to disregard any signs or warnings that we are in danger. … Normalcy bias is a defense mechanism that lulls us into thinking life will just continue as it always has.”  It is a reassuring presumption that things will get better, or, at least things will not take a dramatic change for the worse.

    But steady progress is not the way the world works.  History is a story of the rise and fall of civilizations.  Tyranny, poverty, and servitude are the normal state of mankind, and it would not be difficult at all to return to that state.  The pattern of history is that humans make some progress, and then evil men do evil things and stupid men do stupid things, and the civilization crumbles.  The normalcy bias can stop people from seeing this.

    You may have confidence in constant improvement because the people you know are good, productive people who are kind to others.  You assume that most people are like that.  But you need to notice that there are also evil people who have decided that their role is to manage your life.  They are self-appointed shepherds, and they see you as their sheep.  This is the essence of tyranny.  If these evil people are also foolish, they may think that they can manage the world economy and force all the “little” people to act in a way that creates utopia…. a great leap forward. 

    Centrally managed economies have been tried many times.  They always fail, often spectacularly.

    Masses of people can also be detached from reality by the Conformity Bias, which also goes by several other names.  Ayn Rand called it Social Metaphysics.  People with this cognitive defect look to their social group to tell them what is true.  There is no independent critical thinking.  This is the lazy person’s way of acquiring his view of reality. 

    It is the dream of any tyrant to have a population that acquires its beliefs this way.  If a political faction can be lied to with impunity, and if blind acceptance of the lies is required to maintain membership in the group, that is a powerful means of control.  A group like that could be expected to believe, for example, that a man could choose to be a woman and even have a baby.  They could be told that “the border is secure” at a time when millions and millions of people are streaming in.  They could be told that Trump said white supremacists are fine people.  Etc.

    There are no limits to the lies when the target audience is essentially detached from reality.  In the book 1984, George Orwell symbolized this by showing that the model citizens readily accepted the government decree that 2+2=5.  Many of the lies of the left are equally absurd.  They are direct contradictions of what we know to be true. 

    Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Václav Havel, two brilliant antagonists of tyranny, said that simply and steadfastly telling the truth was a fundamental weapon that citizens should use against tyrants.  Solzhenitsyn said, “The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie.  One word of truth outweighs the world.”

    The third unfortunate human trait that favors tyrants was explained by Aldous Huxley.  Huxley and Orwell each wrote novels predicting a dystopian future.  Orwell’s prediction involved a substantial amount of fear and coercion, but Huxley predicted a relatively smooth and easy transition to tyranny.  Huxley said the population would be distracted with trivial pleasures and would hardly notice the prison being built around them.  He brilliantly foresaw how a society could sleepwalk into tyranny.  These Huxley quotes demonstrate his prescience.

    Huxley said, “There will be [a] dictatorship without tears, so to speak, producing a kind of painless concentration camp for entire societies, so that people will in fact have their liberties taken away from them, but will rather enjoy it, because they will be distracted from any desire to rebel by propaganda or brainwashing, or brainwashing enhanced by pharmacological methods.  And this seems to be the final revolution.”

    He said, “By means of ever more effective methods of mind-manip­ulation, the democracies will change their nature; the quaint old forms … will remain.  The underlying substance will be a new kind of non-violent totalitari­anism. … [T]he ruling oligarchy and its highly trained elite of sol­diers, policemen, thought-manufacturers and mind-manipulators will quietly run the show as they see fit.”

    Huxley imagined “a prison without walls in which the prisoners would not even dream of escaping.  It would essentially be a system of slavery where, through consumption and entertainment, the slaves would love their servitude.”  He believed that “[t]he greater part of the population is not very intelligent, dreads responsibility, and … is perfectly happy to let itself be ruled.”

    Huxley correctly predicted, “a vast mass communications industry, concerned in the main neither with the true nor the false, but with the unreal, the more or less totally irrelevant.  [The media will cater to] man’s almost infinite appetite for distraction.”

    He knew that both poor education and perpetual crisis would enable tyranny, writing, “Children are nowhere taught, in any systematic way, to distinguish true from false, or meaningful from meaningless, statements.”  And “[l]iberty, as we all know, cannot flourish in a country that is permanently on a war footing, or even a near war footing.  Permanent crisis justifies permanent control of everybody and everything by the agencies of central government.”

    While most people are not paying attention, most of the key elements protecting freedom and prosperity are now under attack by people who wish to control our country and the world.  Globalist leaders wish to put an end to national sovereignty, enforce a “New World Order,” control information, put an end to free speech, give the WHO worldwide dictatorial power on major health choices, ban our only reliable sources of energy, and impose a digital currency that will allow complete monitoring and control of every single citizen with a Chinese-style social credit system.  At home, the U.S. is in the “looting the treasury phase” of empire collapse.  Our military is weak, woke, and overextended.  The dominant media function as a branch of the Democrat party.  The upper levels of the Justice Department also function as a branch of the Democrat party.  Anti-white racism is widely taught and supported by the government.

    These are not conspiracy theories.  The evidence is mostly out in the open.  The people who are planning to be your future masters are not worried about stating their plans because the vast majority of people are distracted with their trivial amusements.  They are busy watching ball games and movies and smartphone screens.  The mental weaknesses discussed above have created a culture ripe for the taking, oblivious and unconcerned about the things that really matter. 

    People can ignore important things…but they cannot escape the consequences of ignoring important things.

    The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.  That price has not been paid.  Not at all.  So here we are, at the brink.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 19:40

  • China Home Prices Plunge The Most In Eight Years
    China Home Prices Plunge The Most In Eight Years

    While China keeps regurgitating the same tired and trite line about an “imminent” fiscal and housing stimulus, which reportedly is in the “trillions” of yuan, yet which to date is entirely imaginary and never actually materalizes, its housing market continues to crater and will soon reach a point where a depression is unavoidable… at which point the all too real stimulus to reboot the economy will be in the tens of trillions.

    Overnight, China’s National Bureau of Statistics reported that last month, China’s home prices fell the most in eight years  signaling the property slump is worsening even after the government ramped up efforts to revive demand. In fact, one can argue that central planning is merely doing what it always does: makes the situation even worse.

    New-home prices in 70 cities, excluding state-subsidized housing, declined 0.38% last month from September, when they dropped 0.3%, official figures showed Thursday. The decrease was the steepest since February 2015.

    The drop adds to further evidence of a relentless and persistent housing downturn after official figures this week showed a contraction in sales and property investment deepened. Fresh stimulus measures rolled out at major cities since August, and which have been derided as much too small to make an impact, have done little to turn around the sector, which is dragging on China’s economic recovery and which has traditionally served as the primary source of wealth for China’s middle class.

    While prices in the largest, tier-1 cities, slid 0.35%, sharply deteriorating from a 0.05% decrease a month earlier, tier-2 cities, mostly provincial capitals, fared better with a narrower price decline amid an easing in homebuying restrictions.

    The second-hand market didn’t fare any better, with prices tumbling 0.58%, the most since October 2014. A Bloomberg Intelligence gauge of Chinese property developers fell as much as 1.4% on Thursday morning, extending this year’s decline to 43%.

    Here are some more details:

    • After seasonal adjustments, weighted average house prices in the primary market declined by 0.9% mom annualized in October, despite ongoing easing policies.

    • The proportion of cities that experienced sequential house price gains declined in both the primary market and secondary market in October from September. New home prices dropped in 56 of 70 cities in October. Second-hand home prices fell in 67 cities, with just Xi’an in Shaanxi province and Hangzhou in Zhejiang showing growth.

    Most property-related activity remained sluggish in year-on-year terms in October. 30-city new home transaction volume declined by 27.1% yoy month-to-date in November. Major cities’ inventory months (sellable gross floor area divided by 12-month rolling gross floor area sold) rose to 23.8 in October from 22.7 in September, with the increase mostly led by Tier-3 cities.

    A brief housing market rebound earlier this year after China’s post-Covid reopening “turned out to be short-lived,” said Chen Wenjing, associate research director at China Index Holdings. “Homebuyers are deterred by squeezed incomes and the uncertain property market outlook.” The record high youth unemployment, which forced Beijing to suspend the data series once it crossed above 21%, is not helping.

    Meanwhile, the latest October money and credit data suggested growth of household medium-to-long term loans, which are mostly mortgages, decelerated in sequential terms in October from September.

    In the latest (insufficient) move to prop up the real estate sector, Bloomberg reported that Beijing is planning to provide at least 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) of low-cost financing to urban village renovation and affordable housing programs. While details of the new plan remain unclear, some economists say it will be even less effective than earlier efforts. The new programs would mostly take place in some of the largest metropolitan areas, outside the low-tier cities where the slump is most severe.

    Following the slew of easing announcements on property policy, Goldman economists expect more housing easing measures in coming months, including more relaxation of home purchase restrictions in large cities, among others. However, considering persistent property weakness related to lower-tier cities and private developers, such easing measures may only lead to an “L-shaped” recovery in the sector in coming years. In other words, no recovery.

    As is widely known by now, China’s property crisis has engulfed almost all of the largest developers, which have been struggling to repay debts and complete projects since a credit crunch emerged three years ago. China Vanke, one of the country’s few remaining investment-grade builders, saw its dollar bonds plunge in recent weeks on the heels of industry giant Country Garden’s default. Vanke later received an unusually strong show of support from the local government.

    “Property remains the biggest drag amid the rising credit risk among developers,” Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquarie Group Ltd., wrote in a note this week.

    As a reminder, two years ago, Goldman calculated that China’s housing market is the world’s single biggest asset class…

    … however, after the spectacular implosion of the past two years, it is unclear where it ranks today.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 19:20

  • Bitcoin: A Beacon Of Financial Liberation In A Dollar-Driven World
    Bitcoin: A Beacon Of Financial Liberation In A Dollar-Driven World

    Authored by Shane Neagle via Bitcoin Magazine,

    It has become commonplace to normalize the extremity of fiat. The last such instance was in September when the federal government broke another record by crossing the $33 trillion national debt threshold. A decade ago, the USG’s outstanding borrowings have already outpaced the US’ annual GDP.

    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) now projects a 2% federal debt increase per year. The established dynamic is one of increased borrowing because there is simply no way to patch up budget deficits with tax revenue alone. This year alone, the USG had to pay $711 billion on net interest payments.

    Ultimately, the Federal Reserve, as the purveyor of money, has to keep increasing its balance sheet so the USG can keep up with its debt obligations. Inevitably, the ex nihilo creation of new money leads to devaluation of the dollar, the world’s dominant measurement of value.

    And as previous monetary cycles taught us, when value measurement is warped, extremities can balloon to cartoonish levels.

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    Destabilized Legacy of Modern Money

    As the Weimar Republic led to World War II, and as the war concluded, the new binding framework was put in place in 1944. Known as the Bretton Woods Agreement, it established the dollar as the world reserve currency. Although it technically collapsed in the early 1970s, it left behind the IMF, the World Bank and the legacy of debt-fueled growth.

    More precisely, Bretton Woods positioned the dollar as having the largest Net International Investment Position (NIIP). The USG maximally extracted this advantage, as evidenced by the NIIP turning negative decades ago, making the US owe more to foreigners than they owe to the US.

    The US’ NIIP as of Q2 2023. Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)

    Where does this leave the world?

    Simply put, in a state of unsound money. Last year, borrowings for OECD nations increased 43% above the 2011-2019 average. Simultaneously, borrowing costs more than doubled since 2021, creating a situation wherein much of economic output goes to debt service.

    And as governments borrow more money to pay off debt, this leads to elevated debt expenditures. In turn, money printing becomes the go-to remedy to pay off debt, instigating inflation. But as high interest rates are introduced to clamp down on inflation, higher debt levels need to be served.

    This is the spiral of currency devaluation. The destabilized macro landscape places a pressure to seek other venues to preserve wealth and outpace the money erosion. Some seek bond yields, some stock dividends, but others turn to a reimagined monetary system outside of central banking.

    Bitcoin’s Decentralized Promise

    For money to become sound, a core prerequisite has to be followed. Because the creation of new money depends on the government’s hunger to spend outside its means, the money itself has to be detached from the government.

    This way, the moral hazard can be cut at the root. At a glance, this task seems impossible:

    • On a given territory, a hierarchy always emerges to rule it.
    • In one way or another, the top echelon has to maintain legitimacy in order to rule.
    • Legitimacy comes down to money issuance and management.

    In turn, it is that money they issue that is perceived as legitimate, becoming legal tender to price goods and services. Yet, even if that tender itself is physically sound, by virtue of counterfeiting such as gold, it can be seized and manipulated.

    Bitcoin broke through that impossibility barrier, forever changing the perception of money. Bound by math, cryptography and computing power, Bitcoin removes the need for central authority.

    Bitcoin’s record of account – the blockchain – is maintained in a decentralized manner, and everyone with internet access can participate in its verification. In addition to having permissionless access to public ledger, Bitcoin is both government and nation-agnostic.

    For the first time in monetary history, it became possible to send and receive borderless payments, without entangling any bank or foreign exchange bureau. Although this can be performed anonymously, Bitcoin’s public ledger is at all times auditable.

    Removing Moral Hazards: Path to Sound Money

    When it comes down to it, incentives govern behavior. With fiat money in place, the government always has an incentive to extravagantly spend. It then prints money to make up for balance sheet holes, while leaving the taxpayer with another form of tax – inflation.

    Inflation is the immediate manifestation of central banking, but there are many others. During the Great Recession of 2007 -2009, central banks bailed out financial institutions that took too much risk to the tune of $498 billion. These banks had to be bailed out in order to keep the entire financial system stable, but if this is baked into the cake, then risk-taking becomes the norm.

    It is from this great moral hazard that pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto took the plunge with Bitcoin. Moreover, as central banks shift monetary policies, they tend to generate financial bubbles. Low interest rates caused major bubbles to pop, the tech bubble in the late 1990s and the housing bubble in the early 2000s.

    The Great Recession itself was partly caused by low interest rates, as they made it easier for borrowers to get mortgages, leading to the subprime mortgage crisis.

    In turn, as bubbles pop, central banking leaves recession in its wake. At the bottom, it becomes difficult for people to orient themselves towards the future. Then, as bubbles, taxes, government spending and inflation continue to pile up, what was previously the norm becomes a far-flung dream for many.

    Home Price Affordability in the United States, source: DQYDJ

    On the international stage, vying for monetary supremacy can further lead to destabilization to the point of financial exclusion. The Russia-Ukraine conflict clarified this point acutely, as the USG weaponized the dollar to inflict pain on its geopolitical rival.

    In the middle, Europe suffered the most as sanctions against Russia, abundant in natural resources, boomeranged against Germany, the EU’s economic engine. For individuals and nations both, Bitcoin becomes a potential self-sustained wealth machine outside the moral hazards of central banking and politicking.

    In the distant alternative future, one has to wonder if large-scale conflicts, alongside infrastructural/economic devastation, would even be possible with fiat money out of the picture.

    The Path Forward: Institutional Adoption, Speed, Efficiency and AI

    After many market busts and custodial learning opportunities, cryptocurrency at large is on the verge of a legitimacy breakout. This is best exemplified by BlackRock’s application to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Larry Fink, the head of the world’s largest asset manager, at $9 trillion AuM, made a complete pivot from his previous Bitcoin hostility.

    In contrast to 2017 statements framing Bitcoin as “ shows you how much demand for money laundering there is in the world,”, Fink is hyping up Bitcoin to an unprecedented level:

    “We do believe that if we can create more tokenization of assets and securities – that’s what bitcoin is – it could revolutionize finance”

    Yet, Fink also said that “it costs a lot of money right now to transact Bitcoin”. Although he inferred it in the context of general cryptocurrency investing, it is a fact that Bitcoin mainnet is not suitable for daily currency usage.

    For global mass adoption, the Bitcoin blockchain’s 7 transactions-per-second capacity would have to increase drastically to offer near-instant payments for either online shopping or in-store merchants. This is where Bitcoin scaling comes into play, the most popular example being the Lightning Network.

    At an average base fee of 865 mSats ($0.000243), the Lightning payment highway has also proven near-instant as more nodes are added.

    Source: mempool.space

    Taking advantage of smart contract programmability, Lightning Labs have also integrated artificial intelligence (AI). Thanks to LangChainBitcoin and Aperture, AI agents can directly interface with Bitcoin via LN, allowing for exchange of funds both on-chain and on the Lightning Network.

    This opens up a whole new arena of applications, without even having to resort to credit cards or fiat for payment rails. In the near future, we can expect to see real-time cost settlements, pay-per-use AI models, content micropayments, lending, and equitable resource sharing as LN’s smart contracts automate subscriptions, rent or even salaries.

    We could even see AI-powered underwriting, risk assessment and financial advisors, all using Lightning Network’s smart contracts to execute investment strategies.

    Although Bitcoin’s core code is conservative, Ordinals have showcased that functions could be attached without any forking, soft or hard. During just the first two months of Ordinal hype, as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) creation grew, over 350k were inscribed to Bitcoin’s mainnet.

    Most recently, Bitcoin developer Robin Linus released the “BitVM: Computing Anything on Bitcoin” whitepaper. Again without any forking, it showcases that Bitcoin’s smart contract logic can be executed off-chain but verified on-chain.

    Linus forecasts greatly expanded use for Bitcoin if BitVM is implemented in writing/debugging Bitcoin contracts.

    “Potential applications include games like Chess, Go, or Poker, and particularly, verification of validity proofs in Bitcoin contracts.”

    Yet, all that potential remains in the “putting the cart before the horse” stage. Bitcoin’s primary job should be to push for financial emancipation from the vagaries of the central banking system. With the Lightning Network in the game, even the Federal Reserve admitted that the necessary ingredients are there.

    This is a guest post by Shane Neagle. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 19:00

  • Watch: Blinken Dies Inside While Biden Blunders Through Major Geopolitical Moment
    Watch: Blinken Dies Inside While Biden Blunders Through Major Geopolitical Moment

    With President Biden’s 81st birthday right around the corner, his ancient brain – barely clinging to reality, is no longer responding to whatever cocktail of drugs and blood transfusions (we can only assume) have been keeping him marginally functional since his inauguration.

    Joe Biden bizarrely bites wife Jill’s finger, Dec. 30, 2019 (Photo: Joshua Lott)

    Four weeks ago Biden staggered out to speak with the press on Air Force One, when he grabbed his face, looked at the floor, and then spat a word-salad of gibberish about mass shootings in between long, geriatric pauses.

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    Despite finally getting the president to stop sniffing children on camera, his handlers, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House spox John Kirby, shot each other ‘we’re seriously screwed, he’s meeting with Xi in 4 weeks’ looks.

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    Fast forward to Wednesday’s geopolitically delicate meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who he accidentally called a dictator during a post-meeting press conference. 

    “After today, would you still refer to President Xi as a dictator?” a reporter asked Biden.

    Look, he is. He’s a dictator in the sense that he’s a guy who runs a country that is a communist country that’s based on a form of government totally different than ours,” Biden replied.

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    To which Blinken could be seen internally screaming in his chair…

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    After which Biden’s handlers start aggressively herding the press out of the room.

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    Blinken was visibly agitated during the Biden-Xi meeting.

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    The “dictator” incident resulted in a furious response from China, who called Biden’s comment “extremely wrong.”

    As comic and ZH inaugural debate participant Dave Smith sums up best:

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 19:00

  • White House In "Intense Negotiations" To Free Hostages As Dead Israeli Woman Found Near Gaza Hospital
    White House In “Intense Negotiations” To Free Hostages As Dead Israeli Woman Found Near Gaza Hospital

    The White House has said it is still involved in “intense negotiations” toward securing the release of hostages held by Hamas, however no deal has yet to materialize. 

    US national security spokesman John Kirby issued an update on Thursday, confirming the US has a “team of the ground” which is working “by the hour” on a potential deal. These back-channel talks have reportedly centered on Qatar, which has served as a mediator with Hamas.

    “We are in some intense negotiations; hopefully they’ll come out the right way and we’ll have good news to talk about with multiple hostages getting free,” Kirby told CNN. “But we don’t have a deal right now, and until we do, the less said the better.”

    IDF via AP

    The day prior, on Wednesday, there were widespread – albeit premature – reports that a deal was on the table which would see the release of 50 hostages in exchange for a three-day stoppage in fighting, or temporary truce.

    “The deal, under discussion and coordinated with the U.S., would also see Israel release some Palestinian women and children from Israeli jails and increase the amount of humanitarian aid allowed into Gaza,” an official privy to the negotiations said.

    But Israel’s defense ministry has said Thursday it is continuing to “mop up” northern Gaza, and there are signs it intends to expand anti-Hamas operations to the south too, where the bulk of the Strip’s civilians have fled.

    Qatar has thus far secured the release of a few prisoners, but still Israel has denied there are any plans for a major, multi-day halt in fighting. The IDF has only in the last half-day fully secured Al-Shifa hospital, which it claims was used as a Hamas command center.

    But more bad news has emerged concerning the over 230 Israeli and foreign hostages still in captivity. The IDF on Wednesday said that during operations near Al-Shifa, the body of a deceased 65-year old Israeli woman was found in a nearby building.

    “The body of the abductee, the late Yehudit Weiss, was recovered by IDF forces from the 603rd Battalion of the 7th Brigade Combat Team from a building near the Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip to the territory of the State of Israel,” the IDF said in a statement posted to X.

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    “In the building where the late Judith was found, military equipment and weapons of the Kalashnikov type and an RPG missile were also found.” The statement detailed further: 

    “After an identification procedure carried out by medical officials and military rabbis, together with the Institute of Forensic Medicine and the Israel Police, today (Thursday), representatives of the IDF and the police informed the family of the late Judith Weiss, who was kidnapped on Saturday 10/7/23 from her home in Bari. We share in the family’s grief.”

    The IDF added that it won’t cease in urgent hostage recovery efforts: “The national mission before our eyes is to locate the missing and return the abducted home.”

    Currently, the messaging out of Israeli officials and national media is that Hamas is against the ropes and on the verge of total defeat. But the IDF has suffered over 50 confirmed troop deaths since launching the ground assault – and the real figure could be significantly higher. The vast network of Hamas tunnels under the Strip also presents a monumental military challenge.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 18:40

  • IOC Faces Pressure To Cancel Swimming Event In Doha
    IOC Faces Pressure To Cancel Swimming Event In Doha

    Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClear Wire,

    More than a half-century ago, the world awakened to the threat of terrorism at major sporting events when eight men in jumpsuits hopped the fence at Munich’s Olympic Village and carried out an attack that would ultimately leave 11 of Israel’s athletes dead, along with a West German policeman and five of the eight assailants.

    The attackers were members of the group Black September – an affiliate of the Palestine Liberation Organization. They had wanted to hold Israeli athletes hostage and force the release of 236 prisoners held in Israel and two leaders of the West German Baader-Meinhof terrorist group. But their mission failed, and 20 hours after it began, a botched rescue attempt by German law enforcement led to the shocking carnage, with some of the night’s events playing out on live television.

    The Munich massacre that took place in the wee hours of Sept. 5-6, 1972, was a wake-up call for Western governments to the threat of terrorism and the dire need for tight security at international athletic events and greater scrutiny when selecting venues.

    After the death of his Olympic teammates, legendary Israeli swimmer Mark Spitz, who won seven gold medals and set seven world records at the 1972 Munich games, was forced to flee Germany in haste, hidden under a blanket and fearing for his life.

    For Israeli and Jewish athletes, the ever-present threat is once again blinking red in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel by Hamas that left 1,200 people dead, including women and children, and 239 people held hostageIn February, the World Aquatic Federation is set to host an international swimming competition in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The event would normally determine qualifiers for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. But the International Olympic Committee is now facing pressure to either move the event or change the qualifying regulations so Israeli and Jewish athletes will not be forced to attend or be penalized for skipping.

    For the last decade, Qatar has served as an asylum for Hamas’ political leadership, and it has long provided the terrorist organization with financial assistance estimated at roughly $1.8 billion in 2021. Though Qatar is a tiny nation – about twice the size of Delaware – its influence is outsized. It’s home to the state-owned Al Jazeera news network, which often airs anti-Israeli and American angles, as well as a large U.S. airbase that played a crucial role in evacuating U.S. citizens and Afghanistan refugees after the fall of Kabul in 2022.

    While Qatar has tried to burnish its image in recent years, hosting the World Cup in 2022 despite an avalanche of criticism from human rights groups, the country has drawn intense criticism in the wake of the attacks on Israel. The outrage stemmed from the Qatari minister of foreign affairs’ statement blaming Israel for the Oct. 7 Hamas assault. That position put Qatar on the same side of the war as Iran and contrasted with the reaction from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar’s rival and Israel’s closest partner in the Arab world. The UAE declared the Hamas attack “a serious and grave escalation” and said it was appalled by reports that “Israeli civilians have been abducted as hostages in their homes.”

    Several international officials are now appealing to the World Aquatic Federation to move its world swimming championships from Qatar to a safer venue or change Olympic qualifying regulations to allow Israeli and Jewish athletes to skip the event. Officials from the United Kingdom, Germany, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Azerbaijan, and several Scandinavian countries have pressed the World Aquatic Federation to relocate the swimming event.

    Eric Spitz, a Jewish tech and sports businessman whose daughter is a dual citizen of Israel and the United States and a member of the Israeli women’s swim team, is spearheading a coalition demanding a change of venue. The coalition launched a website, www.notodoha.com, and Spitz, who is not related to Mark Spitz, sent a letter, dated Wednesday, to the International Olympics Committee, pressing for a solution that would not force Israeli and Jewish swimmers to jeopardize their safety in Doha.

    The letter notes that IOC President Thomas Back, during an event in Tel Aviv last year, apologized for waiting 50 years to commemorate the Israel victims of the Munich Massacre “in a dignified way” and called the event one of “the darkest days in Olympic history.”

    Since no Jews could justifiably feel safe while competing in Doha, we implore you to uphold your core tenant and heed your own words of regret,” the unsigned letter states. “This is your chance to bend the arc of history toward justice. The Olympic movement must be a force for peace, unity, and goodwill, as it was intended to be.”

    The “No to Doha” letter notes that the IOC this week, from Nov. 15-17, is scheduled to hold commissions meetings. The commissions, a set of working groups on different topics impacting the games, include an IOC Advisory Committee on Human Rights. The commissions advise the IOC president and executive board on pressing matters on their topic of expertise.

    Earlier this week, Bach underscored the need for unity in the sporting world amid increasing global tensions. “The current geopolitical tensions are extremely complex. In such times, the unifying power of sport is more important than ever before,” he told an audience in an opening address at the 2023 International Federation Forum in Switzerland.

    “Today, millions of people around the globe are longing for such a unifying force that brings us all together in our so confrontational world,” he continued. “Our role is clear: to unite – and not to deepen divisions. Therefore, we carry an important responsibility – to stand together for the power of sport and to live up to our shared mission to make the world a better place through sport.”

    Eric Spitz is now imploring Bach to live up to that promise and ensure that Israeli and Jewish swimmers can continue pursuing their sport without risking their safety or antisemitic harassment by requiring their travel to Doha to qualify for the Olympics. 

    “For many, athletics serve as a sanctuary from the chaos and turmoil of life,” Spitz wrote in his letter to the IOC. “The Olympic movement, which represents the pinnacle of non-violent competition, fosters a global fellowship bound by an unwavering passion for the sport. At this moment, Jewish and Israeli athletes are navigating some of the most arduous trials of their lives … inaction on the part of the IOC would unfairly remove a source of joy these athletes cling to.” 

    The IOC did not immediately return RCP’s request for comment. 

    Qatar and Iran have a long history of discrimination and antisemitic demonstrations against Israeli athletes. In 2013, organizers of a Swimming World Cup in Doha failed to show the Israeli flag in their computer graphics, substituting a white flag and failing to display the name Israel, instead using “IRS” in several of the cup’s races. The international snubbing earned Qatar a formal warning from Federation Internationale de Natation, the world’s governing body for swimming. 

    David May, research manager for the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, has written extensively about Qatar’s ties to terrorism, as well as its, Iran’s, and other Arab countries’ mistreatment of Israeli and Jewish athletes. 

    “The Qataris pride themselves on being the middlemen for a lot of these engagements [with the U.S.], but one common threat is that they are very often in close contact with terrorist groups – not just Hamas or the Taliban,” he told RCP. “They host a variety of terrorist groups, many of whom the Qatari government doesn’t recognize as terrorists, so they’re more than happy to work with them.”

    In the 1950s, Israel was a competitive force in the Asian soccer league, but several Asian and Middle Eastern teams refused to play against Israel. Rather than punishing those countries for violating the international sports code of ethics, the league kicked Israel out, May recalled. 

    During the World Cup, international pressure forced Qatar to allow Israeli visitors and athletes, and in recent years, international bodies have tried to crack down on Doha’s and Tehran’s discrimination against Israeli athletes, May said. 

    The International Judo Federation in 2021 suspended Iran for forcing athletes to forfeit or lose intentionally to avoid facing Israeli opponents. In February 2018, the United World Wrestling Disciplinary Chamber banned an Iranian wrestler for six months and two years, respectively, for intentionally throwing a match to avoid facing an Israeli opponent. Tunisia’s tennis team was banned from the 2014 David Cup for ordering its players not to compete against an Israeli athlete. 

    Tunisia has no official diplomatic relations with Israel, and its government is currently debating a bill that would criminalize any normalization of ties with Israel. In 2018, the International Olympic Committee banned Tunisia from hosting the 2022 Youth Olympics after the country banned Israelis from a taekwondo event. 

    “There’s been several instances of Arab or Muslim athletes who have refused to play against Israeli athletes or refuse to uphold sportsmanship, such as shaking the hands of their opponents or bowing before their opponents depending on the sport,” May said. “To varying degrees, international sporting bodies have punished those athletes violating those codes, but it definitely hasn’t been uniform.”

    There’s been times where Qatar has been a little more forward-leaning regarding Israel,” he added. “But all that is kind of null and void now when you consider the fact that Qatar is funding one of Israel’s biggest enemies and supplying the funds that allow for Israelis to be massacred.”

    Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ White House/national political correspondent.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 18:20

  • Appeals Court Lifts Trump Gag Order In NY Fraud Case While Case Under Review
    Appeals Court Lifts Trump Gag Order In NY Fraud Case While Case Under Review

    A New York appeals court judge on Thursday temporarily lifted a gag order preventing former President Donald Trump from commenting on court staffers in his civil fraud trial.

    Trump was gagged last month by judge Arthur Engoron, and later fined $15,000 for violations after he talked trash on social media about the Judge’s top law clerk.

    On Wednesday, Trump’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against the trial judge – arguing that the Engoron had abused his power. In response to the request, Judge David Friedman of the state’s intermediate appeals court scheduled an emergency hearing Thursday afternoon around a conference table in a state appellate courthouse just a few miles from Engoron’s courtroom, where he granted their request. 

    Ruling at an emergency hearing Thursday, Friedman questioned Engoron’s authority to police Trump’s speech outside the courtroom — such as his frequent gripes about the case on social media and in comments to TV cameras in the courthouse hallway.

    Friedman said that while it’s true that judges often issue gag orders, they’re mostly used in criminal cases where there’s a fear that comments about the case could influence the jury. Trump’s civil trial doesn’t have a jury.

    Trump lawyer Christopher Kise said after Friedman ruled that the appellate judge “made the right decision and allowed President Trump to take full advantage of his constitutional First Amendment rights to talk about bias in his own trial, what he’s seeing and witnessing in his own trial — which, frankly, everyone needs to see.” –AP

    “I don’t see a reason for restrictions because Ms. James is continuing to disparage my client,” said Trump attorney Alina Habba, referring to NY Attorney General Letitia James, who is prosecuting the case.

    In staying the order, Trump can now freely comment about the court and its staff while the appeals process plays out.

    Separately on Wednesday, Trump’s legal team urged Engoron to stop the case immediately, arguing that his appearance of bias “threatens both Defendants’ rights and the integrity of the judiciary as an institution.”

    “This constitutional protection is at its apogee where the speech in question is core political speech, made by the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, regarding perceived partisanship and bias at a trial where he is subject to hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties and the threatened prohibition of his lawful business activities in the state,” the filing continues.

    In short, the entertainment factor with Trump’s NY trial just went up immeasurably.

    Tyler Durden
    Thu, 11/16/2023 – 18:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest

Today’s News 16th November 2023

  • US Will Not Restrain Israel In Gaza: Lavrov
    US Will Not Restrain Israel In Gaza: Lavrov

    Via The Cradle,

    The US does not want to restrain Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview to RT on Wednesday. Russia has proposed several UN Security Council resolutions seeking a ceasefire to the all out conflict that erupted between the Israeli military and Hamas on October. 

    When asked to comment on why he believed the US vetoed the resolutions, Lavrov suggested that Washington “is highly ideologized.” He said: “Anything coming from Russia is taken as a hostile act… But on substance, and on practical terms Washington does not want to tie Israel’s hands.”

    After Israel had killed 7,028 Palestinians were killed, including 2,913 children, after just three weeks of fighting, Washington still insisted it was not trying to dictate limits to Tel Avis in its execution of the war. At the same time, the US continued to accelerate badly needed military aid to Israel. “We’re not drawing red lines for Israel,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said at the time.

    Last week, as the death toll had reached over 10,000 Palestinians, Axios reported that under pressure from Washington, Israel agreed to begin “tactical, localized humanitarian pauses” but the US made it clear that the request was not intended to force the Israelis into a ceasefire.

    During his interview with RT, Lavrov explained as well that Moscow does not believe that Hamas allies Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon want the war in Gaza to escalate into a broader regional conflict.

    Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has threatened to bomb Lebanese capital Beirut in a similar way to their campaign in Gaza, while some US hawks have called for an attack on Iran.

    Moscow, however, believes there is “no appetite” for a major conflict in Lebanon or Iran, Lavrov stated, adding that neither country wants “any involvement in this crisis.” Lavrov claimed that recent televised remarks by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah show that it has “no appetite for a big war.”

    Lavrov also argued that the Western allies “wanted and still want to ‘Ukrainize’ each and every agenda of each and every international forum.” But, he explained

    “This was never going to fly… The countries of the global majority, of the Global South, don’t want to allow the West to continue to decide each and every issue on the planet on its own, in its own interests.”

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    Meanwhile, Hezbollah has exchange fire with Israel on the southern border since Oct. 8, losing some 60 fighters and inflicting damage on Israeli military bases and settlements. However, Hezbollah has not used its vast rocket and missile stocks, thought to number over 130,000, to launch a full scale war against Israel. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 23:40

  • Where Are The Landmines?
    Where Are The Landmines?

    Since 1997, anti-personnel landmines have been prohibited by the United Nations via a treaty that was signed by more than 150 countries. Unfortunately there are a ton of them still active all over the world.

    As Martin Armstrong of Statista reveals, Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor classifies large swathes of the world as being contaminated to some degree with land mines. The negative effects of their presence can not be understated: “Both landmines and explosive remnants of war pose a serious and ongoing threat to civilians. These weapons can be found on roads, footpaths, farmers’ fields, forests, deserts, along borders, in and surrounding houses and schools, and in other places where people are carrying out their daily activities. They deny access to food, water, and other basic needs, and inhibit freedom of movement. They endanger the initial flight and prevent the repatriation of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), and hamper the delivery of humanitarian aid.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 23:20

  • CDC Announces Expansion Of Airport Surveillance: What It Means For You
    CDC Announces Expansion Of Airport Surveillance: What It Means For You

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

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will increase its airport surveillance for respiratory infections, said statements from the federal agency and a private partner on Monday.

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

    What It Entails

    The private firm, Ginkgo Bioworks, said that it is expanding its work with the CDC’s Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program “to test for more than 30 additional priority pathogens, in addition to SARS-CoV-2,” the virus that causes COVID-19.

    It then described the program as a “flexible, multimodal platform that consists of three complementary approaches of sample collection from arriving international travelers at U.S. airports, including voluntary nasal swabbing, aircraft wastewater, and airport wastewater sampling to enhance early detection of new SARS-CoV-2 variants and other pathogens, and fills gaps in global surveillance.”

    What It Will Test

    The other pathogens the company said it will test for include multiple influenza strains as well as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Neither it nor the CDC listed listed the others.

    The expansion of the Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance program to flu, RSV, and other pathogens is essential as we head into fall respiratory season. The TGS program, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic, acted as an early warning system to detect new and rare variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and will do the same for other respiratory viruses going forward,” said Dr. Cindy Friedman, chief of the CDC’s Travelers’ Health Branch, in the statement.

    The travelers program was introduced in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to detect COVID-19 variants and other pathogens via a nasal swab and wastewater collection sampling.

    It allowed for the “early detection of the SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.2.86 entering the United States within days of its global identification,” the CDC said, referring to a COVID-19 variant that was found over the summer of 2023. “As the infected traveler had originated travel in Japan, this finding also informed the public health community that the new variant had also spread to Asia.”

    ‘Voluntary’ Program

    The CDC’s program has “enrolled” more than 360,000 air travelers since it was implemented in late 2021, the agency said, adding that it is both “voluntary and anonymous.” It covers flights from more than 135 countries around the world, officials said.

    It doesn’t only just rely on travelers volunteering. The agency also collects wastewater samples to evaluate pathogens.

    Other than Gingko Bioworks, XpresCheck—a company that runs spa operations at airports—will also partake in the program, according to the CDC.

    We have known that travelers are a very important population to consider for tracking new and emerging infections,” Dr. Friedman, with the CDC’s program, told CNN. “One sample from an aircraft coming from a geographic destination afar can give us information potentially about 200 to 300 people that were on that plane,” she added.

    A CDC map shows the travelers program is being run at major airports in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Washington D.C., New York City, Boston, and Newark in New Jersey.

    Passengers line up at John F. Kennedy International Airport after airlines announced numerous flights were canceled during the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant in Queens, New York, on Dec. 24, 2021, Christmas Eve. (Dieu-Nalio Chery/Reuters)

    Where?

    Officials say the latest expansion will launch at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Boston Logan International Airport, and Washington Dulles International Airport.

    Hospitalizations Down

    According to data provided by the CDC, the rate of hospitalizations have declined in recent weeks since late summer. For the week ending Oct. 28, the hospitalization, death, and COVID-19 positivity rate have essentially remained steady, although emergency room visits have declined, the data shows.

    In September, the agency said that for the fall and winter season, hospitalizations would rise for COVID-19, RSV, and influenza.

    Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC signed off on three new updated COVID-19 booster vaccines, although federal data suggests that uptake is relatively slow. So far, only 7 percent of Americans have received the shot, according to the data, while polls suggest that more and more Americans are increasingly wary of the shots.

    A poll from the the Annenberg Public Policy Center with the University of Pennsylvania found that about 63 percent of Americans think that getting the COVID-19 vaccine is safer than getting the virus itself—signaling a drop of 12 percentage points from April 2021 when 75 percent held that view.

    That survey also found that Americans who view the shot as unsafe increased from 18 percent in August 2022 to 24 percent during last month’s poll.

    Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans who back using ivermectin—a drug that was often demonized by media outlets and even some federal health officials—to treat COVID-19 has risen from 10 percent in September 2021 to 26 percent last month, the survey found.

    Earlier this year, as the federal government lifted its three-year-long public health emergency over COVID-19, the CDC also lifted its rule that required non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Before, any visitor to the United States had to receive the vaccine before getting on a flight to the United States and would have to be also tested for the virus beforehand.

    Reuters contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 23:00

  • SpaceX Prepares For Starlink IPO In 2024, Report Says
    SpaceX Prepares For Starlink IPO In 2024, Report Says

    Starlink, the satellite internet technology made possible by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, is preparing for an initial public offering as soon as the second half of 2024, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the situation. 

    SpaceX has been shifting Starlink’s assets to a wholly-owned subsidiary that would make it ripe for a spin-off ahead of the IPO, one person said, adding there is yet to be a concrete decision about going public. They said the upcoming listing could be postponed to 2025. 

    News of a Starlink IPO follows Musk’s comment on social media platform X earlier this month: “Excited to announce that @SpaceX @Starlink has achieved breakeven cash flow!” 

    He continued, “Excellent work by a great team. Starlink is also now a majority of all active satellites and will have launched a majority of all satellites cumulatively from Earth by next year.” 

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    Musk has commented on the prospect of a Starlink IPO for several years, but the timing remains unclear. However, in 2021, the billionaire said that once the company can “reasonably” forecast cash flow, that would be a sign that a listing to the public markets would be nearing. 

    Last Friday, Billionaire investor Ron Baron told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin that he expects SpaceX to IPO its Starlink in 2027. 

    Baron said, “We think that by the time they go public with SpaceX, with Starlink … in 2027 or so, four years, the company will be worth $250 billion to $300 billion.”

    Tesla blogger Sawyer Merritt recently posted on X a graph that shows Starlink’s onboarding of new customers has been parabolic since June 2022. The service now has more than 2 million users worldwide

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    SpaceX currently has a $150 billion valuation. It has delivered 80% of all Earth’s payload mass to orbit this year. 

    As we continue to point out, Musk is becoming the ‘uncancellable‘ billionaire while radical Democrats in Washington weaponize government agencies against his companies. 

    In other news, SpaceX’s Starship launch could be as soon as this Friday. 

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 22:40

  • Campus Antisemitism Is Fueled By Woke Takeover Of Higher Education
    Campus Antisemitism Is Fueled By Woke Takeover Of Higher Education

    Authored by Jonathan Pidluzny via American Greatness,

    “[T]here are moments in this life… when… pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world.” That is how President Biden first described Hamas’s gruesome premeditated attack on Israeli civilians.

    Compare the reaction on college campuses. In a “Day of Resistance” toolkit, National Students for Justice in Palestine, an organization with hundreds of campus chapters, called the slaughter of Israeli Jews “a historic win for the Palestinian resistance.” The toolkit went on to describe the “heightened stage of the Palestinian struggle” as a “resistance” that will “bring dignity and honor to the Palestinian people.”

    In the weeks since, student groups on U.S. campuses have celebrated the atrocity — both in public statements and boisterous campus rallies. A statement endorsed by more than 30 student groups at Harvard University professing to hold “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” is only the highest profile among many examples. Two weeks ago, 57 people — many of them calling for Israel’s destruction — were arrested for trespassing at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

    Faculty, too, are on record cheering Hamas. A Cornell professor called the slaughter “exhilarating,” while a professor of climate science at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago called Israelis “pigs” and “savages.” An American Studies professor at the University of California–Davis encouraged violence targeting “Zionist journalists” (and their families) in a public Tweet.

    And yet, few university presidents have condemned expressions of hatred on their campuses with the moral clarity the moment demands. Many could not even muster the fortitude to condemn Hamas’s massacre without equivocating. Emboldened, pro-Hamas students are now crossing the line from protected (hateful) speech to harassment and violence. With menacing mobs chanting eliminationist slogans, how could a Jewish student feel truly safe on an elite campus?

    All this against a backdrop that will sear October 7 into our historical memory for generations: more than 1,400 confirmed dead; thousands injured; more than 200 hostages taken by terrorists who fantasize about wiping Israel from the face of the Earth; ISIS-level displays of cruelty and barbarism; and dead children discovered in pieces.

    What is going on? Why are privileged students on elite campuses, tomorrow’s public leaders, cheering evil and blaming the victims of a heinous terrorist attack? Why such cowardice from academic administrators?

    Three aspects of the contemporary campus environment, trends that have been building for decades, help to explain a reaction that ordinary Americans rightly find appalling and incomprehensible.

    First, today’s “social justice” movements crudely sort individuals into groups based on whether they can be viewed as oppressors or the oppressed. Jews are labeled oppressors by virtue of their political and economic success — even though their suffering, as a people, is unparalleled in modern history.

    This lazy way of understanding the world — common to postcolonial studies, critical race theory, intersectionality, campus DEI, and a host of far-left intellectual frameworks — has rotted the academy. It teaches adherents to embrace primitive tribalism, one that sees the world exclusively in terms of virtuous victims and evil oppressors. And it teaches students to make simple, uncompromising judgments: Jews are oppressors in Israel. White interests systematically discriminate against minorities in this country.

    As a result, students leave campus primed to judge others based on group identity or skin color, not individual character or merit. Thus, critical deliberation is sacrificed to a feverous, anti-intellectual imperative: cheer for the group the Left says is marginalized—and against Western Civilization, which is alleged to be inherently oppressive. This is how the new campus ideologies obliterate students’ capacity for moral judgment.

    It also explains why campus activists can fly into an indignant rage over “microaggressions” — literally, an alleged harm that is microscopic — if the “victim” claims a favored group identity while at the same time, blaming Israel when barbaric Hamas terrorists burn Jewish babies to death. The mindset forged on campus migrates with graduates into our schools, the media, and the halls of Congress.

    Second, it is possible to hold such a simplistic, fanatical worldview in part because students lack the historical understanding that would help them appreciate the magnitude and moral significance of October 7. It should be the role of universities to instill this.

    Unfortunately, general education (the course of study common to all students at a university) has deteriorated beyond recognition. Instead of taking courses designed to acquaint students with their civilizational inheritance — courses in politics, history, foreign languages, philosophy, religion, etc. — students today choose from menus of disjointed electives, many of them designed to advance a social justice ideology.

    As a result, few students learn much about the Middle East and its complicated history — or even their own country. It is easier to cling to a propagandistic distortion when you lack the perspective that would call it into question, for example, the reasons Israel’s borders changed after its 20th-century wars, the fact Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, awareness that eradicating Israel is written into Hamas’s very charter, etc., etc., etc.

    Third, elite university campuses are the one place in American society where making the intellectual case for antisemitism is fashionable. Faculty in radical “Studies” disciplines, some of them funded by federal tax dollars under Title VI of the Higher Education Act (others, by foreign gifts from Gulf states), run biased and imbalanced programs. Some even advocate for the abolition of Israel and platform the professors who have been cheering Hamas’s massacre. No university would hire faculty whose “academic research” made similar claims about any other people.

    Antisemitic professors and student groups, even in small numbers, warp the campus conversation. Their presence conveys to students that this one hatred is respectable. Indeed, researchers have established that the presence on campus of faculty who express anti-Zionist views “is associated with a significant increase in…. incidents that target Jewish students for harm, including assault, harassment, destruction of property and suppression of speech.”

    The result is a campus environment broadly hostile to Jewish students and is quickly getting worse. We knew this before Hamas’s killing spree. A 2022 survey found that 55% of Jewish students said that they have personally experienced antisemitism on their campus. Only 28% said they think that school administrators take antisemitism seriously.

    The specter of students cheering an evil massacre at elite universities while cowardly administrators convey indifference reveals a profound sickness in the places that are supposed to preserve (and perpetuate) our civilizational inheritance.

    Campus pathologies spread. Academic ideologies reshape society as they ripple beyond the university’s walls. That is what they are designed to do. Combating campus antisemitism is, therefore, not just a moral imperative. It is an urgent priority in the battle to save higher education, which will profoundly shape the society in which our children and grandchildren grow up.

    Jonathan Pidluzny, Ph.D., is the Director of the Higher Education Reform Initiative at the America First Policy Institute.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 22:20

  • Owner Of Chinese Biolab Busted In California Linked To CCP Military Program: House Report
    Owner Of Chinese Biolab Busted In California Linked To CCP Military Program: House Report

    The Chinese owner of a makeshift biolab discovered in a remote California city has ties to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and a Chinese military program, according to a report by the House Select Subcommittee on the CCP.

    [Image created by the DCNF using pics from Fresno County and DOJ complaints]

    Jia Bei Zhu, 62, was arrested in October for distributing misbranded medical devices and lying to the FDA.

    The lab, located near Fresno, California (less than 200 miles from where Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Joe Biden on Wednesday), was discovered serendipitously when a local code enforcement officer noticed a garden hose attached to the facility. This led to the discovery of thousands of vials, some labeled in Mandarin, others in an undeciphered code. However, the inaction by the FBI and CDC in this matter, as reported by the committee, is perplexing and concerning.

    Zhu, a PRC citizen, was reportedly a key figure in China’s “military-civil fusion organizations – entities that blur the lines between civilian research and military applications. This strategy, according to the State Department, is part of the CCP’s grand vision to transform its People’s Liberation Army into a formidable global power by 2049.

    While the committee’s investigations unearthed Zhu’s extensive involvement in several PRC government-controlled companies, his activities in the U.S. under the alias “David He” and the discovery of dangerous materials in the unlicensed lab in Reedley, California, are particularly alarming. Here, officials found over 20 potentially infectious agents, including HIV and Malaria, and genetically engineered mice carrying COVID-19.

    Zhu’s confession of operating his companies to “further PRC policy” and meet demands of a PRC premier raises serious concerns about espionage and intellectual property theft. His history of operating companies in Canada, engaging in the massive theft of American cattle-related intellectual property, and fleeing to the U.S. after a $330 million judgment, only adds to the gravity of the situation.

    The committee also highlighted Zhu’s inflammatory private messages on WeChat, where he talked about defeating “the American aggressor” and referred to his companies as tools against “American imperialism.”

    CDC Ignores Evidence?

    But perhaps even more disturbing is the alleged disregard by the CDC for potential evidence, including a freezer labeled “ebola.” This negligence or possible cover-up raises critical questions about the integrity and competence of these federal agencies in handling matters of national security.

    A collage of the biolab in Reedley, Calif., on July 31, 2023. (Fresno County Public Health Department/Judicial Watch, Nathan Su/The Epoch Times, Courtesy of City of Reedley)

    The committee’s findings corroborate an investigation by the Daily Caller from August 2023, which linked Zhu’s biolab to Ai De Biopharmaceutical in Qingdao, China. This connection suggests a broader network of PRC-controlled companies engaging in dubious activities on American soil.

    As the full scope of Zhu’s operations and his connections to the PRC government unfold, this case may well represent a glaring example of the CCP’s covert operations in the United States, blending industrial espionage with potential biological threats. The implications for national security are profound and demand an urgent and thorough response from U.S. authorities.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 22:00

  • Can We Reverse America's Distemper?
    Can We Reverse America’s Distemper?

    Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via Of Two Minds,

    Consider this description of America’s discontent:

    “…a Hamlet-like loss of self-confidence, with an apocalyptic sense of doom for the civilization. On the Right it embodies a conviction that the sensate culture is pushing the society down the Gaderene slope of drugs-and-fornication to destruction. On the Left there is the vague sense that America is imperialist, fascist-oriented, caught in inner contradictions of class and ethnic struggles which will end in self-destructive wars or civil chaos.

    …the fragmenting and polarizing of institutions (family, neighborhood, university, church, nation)–in short, the overloading of the social nervous system by sudden accelerations of change.”

    Is that a reasonably fair description of America in 2023? Interestingly, it was written in January 1974, describing the America of 50 years ago. (America Agonistes (Max Lerner, Foreign Affairs, January 1974). I have often referred to Peter Turchin’s evidence-based cyclical mapping of the structural sources of social disorder which he has updated in his latest work, End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration.

    Turchin identified 50-year cycles of integration–in which people find reasons to cooperate–and disintegration, in which people find reasons to devolve cooperation. From this perspective, that an article from 50 years ago sounds current is not only no surprise, it was easily predictable.

    This Salon article summarizes many of the conclusions in Turchin’s new book: Hope in “End Times”: Peter Turchin’s analysis of our coming collapse could help us avoid it:

    For all its breadth and depth, there’s a simple message at the core of “End Times”: At the heart of our problems, Turchin writes, is “a perverse ‘wealth pump’ … taking from the poor and giving to the rich,” and we have to find a way to turn it off.

    This reflects “one of the most fundamental principles in sociology, the ‘iron law of oligarchy,'” he writes, “which states that when an interest group acquires a lot of power, it inevitably starts using that power in self-interested ways.” For example, while wages fell far behind the growth of economic productivity from 1979 onward, Turchin cites analysis from the Economic Policy Institute indicating that three-fourths of that gap was due to elite-driven policy shifts: weakened labor standards, the erosion of collective bargaining, corporate globalization and so-called fiscal austerity.

    Diminished economic conditions for the less educated were accompanied by a decline in the social institutions that nurtured their social life and cooperation. These institutions include the family, the church, the labor union, the public schools and their parent-teacher associations, and various voluntary neighborhood associations.”

    Back in America’s previous cyclical crisis, Lerner identified the sources of decline in this way: “Civilizations die not only of rigidity, failure to meet challenges, constitutional breakdown. They may also die of deep alienations and the erosion of crucial institutions.”

    He concluded that America’s cult of change precluded a decline due to rigidity:

    “My own stress is on studying the crucial factors in the death of past civilizations, and using them to put questions concerning American directions. To start with, the rigidity which marked a number of declines and falls is only minimally present in America, with her cult of change and her experience of social and cultural revolution.”

    I will consider the issue of rigidity in upcoming posts, but for now, let’s consider the decay of America’s social and economic foundations, starting with Turchin’s perverse wealth pump that has stripmined the bottom 90% to enrich the top 1%, as shown in this chart:

    Social trust, a baseline measure of social stability, has eroded. It’s worth noting that the tumultuous 1970s don’t come off so badly in this chart compared to the present. It is not coincidental that social trust rose in the 1990s, when prosperity included the entirety of households and not just the top 10% and has since declined sharply as prosperity was concentrated in the top 10%.

    The hyper-financialization and hyper-globalization of the economy–the engines of wealth and income inequality– took off in 2000, more than tripling total debt. Soaring debt service is a consequential measure of financial decay:

    Across every institution, the entrenched elites and incumbents now respond to decline by doing more of what’s failed, a sign not of flexibility but of self-serving rigidity:

    I’ll consider an even more destructive manifestation of rigidity in my next post.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 21:40

  • The Inaugural ZeroHedge Debate: Laura Loomer And Dave Smith Clash Over The Israel-Hamas War
    The Inaugural ZeroHedge Debate: Laura Loomer And Dave Smith Clash Over The Israel-Hamas War

     

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    Modern discourse has devolved into headlines and soundbites. Gone are the great debates of decades past, when luminaries such as Buckley and VidalChomsky and Foucault, or Tucker and Carville spent the better part of an hour hashing out issues on the national stage. These unfiltered, pre-internet debates, untainted by self-serving echo chambers and the biased lens of corporate media, served to actually inform – not manipulate – the public, and shape official policy.

    In the same vein, and in hopes of short-circuiting the endless media noise, ZeroHedge is going back to basics with a series of live, spontaneous, unscripted and interactive debates, with no commercial breaks, which we hope will inspire discussion on a wide variety of controversial topics, ranging from war to finance, to unsustainable debt, to crypto, to society and religion, and everything in between.

    Why? Because we realize that only free, uncensored debate can crush bad ideas before they evolve and lead to social and economic misery, suffering and death… and because only dialogue can save the world.

    Our first debate features Dave Smith and Laura Loomer, who will discuss the Israel-Hamas war. We will also dedicate a portion of the debate to responding directly to questions submitted by our readers on X/Twitter.

     

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 21:21

  • Where America's International Students Come From
    Where America’s International Students Come From

    While enrollment at US higher education institutes saw a massive dip during the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of international students has bounced back in the 2022/2023 academic year, thanks to a huge influx from India.

    And while still below pre-pandemic levels, 1.06 million international students came to the US in the past school year according to the Open Doors Report on International Education Exchange – a jump of 11.5% over 2021/2022 and 15% over 2020/2021.

    As Katharina Buchholz of Statista further notes, International students make up 5.6 percent of the total U.S. student population, up from 4.6 percent one year prior. They contributed around $40 billion to the American economy in 2022/23.

    China remained the largest source country for international students with a grand total of 289,526 enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, non-degree and optional practicing training programs. Their number has been decreasing for years however. India, on the other hand, came second with 268,923 students – a count that has been increasing, most recently by a whopping 35 percent. South Korea is in rank 3 with 43,847 international students in the past academic year, followed by Canada, Vietnam and Taiwan. Other countries where international enrollment at U.S. institutions grew quickly were Nigeria (up 22 percent) and Japan (up 19 percent).

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 21:20

  • California Landlords Struggle To Make Ends Meet After Eviction Moratorium Ends
    California Landlords Struggle To Make Ends Meet After Eviction Moratorium Ends

    Authored by Rudy Blalock via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    After years of missed rental payments, one Oakland property owner was left on her own to recover her losses, despite desperately seeking help from the city, state, and local law enforcement.

    A fence blocks the front of a home in Oakland, Calif., on Jan. 28, 2020. (Philip Pacheco/AFP via Getty Images)

    Carolyn Silas-Sams, a retired paralegal and an Oakland resident, said she inherited a duplex in the city in 2006 from her late mother and has been maintaining it ever since, although she never imagined that she would face the disaster that she has over the past few years due to the eviction moratorium.

    I’m telling you … any level of education would not allow your brain to accept that something like this could happen, because it’s not rational,” she told The Epoch Times.

    After remodeling her three-bedroom unit, she rented it out in December 2019 to a woman on Section 8 housing, a federal program that provides rental assistance for low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled. The woman claimed to have four children who would be moving in.

    The mother had said that she’d struggled to find housing that was suitable for four kids.

    Unfortunately, her empathy led to thousands of dollars in lost rent and damages that she has now had to cover on her own.

    The owner of a rental unit prepares to clean up after a tenant was evicted. (Courtesy of Carolyn Silas-Sams)

    “Initially, she did have Section 8; then, what I didn’t know is that she was in line to have her kids taken. … Fact of the matter is, the kids never even came,” Ms. Silas-Sams said.

    She said her tenant lied about the children moving in to get a larger rental allowance from Section 8.

    Ms. Silas-Sams asked housing officials for help but was denied.

    Because of the moratorium, nothing could be done, she said. Meanwhile, the tenant’s boyfriend moved in. Fighting ensued and it was discovered that the boyfriend was selling drugs from the apartment and hiding stolen goods in it, she said. The tenant was finally evicted in October.

    If you could just see all of the filth that I’ve had to move out,” she said.

    Some rental relief was offered by Alameda County, where the apartment is located, for tenants earning less than 80 percent of the county’s median income, which means below $76,000, per 2022 calculations. But in Oakland, the city had its own rental relief program, prioritizing those who were earning less than 30 percent of the area median income, or below $30,000 for the same year.

    According to the city’s website, Oakland received $28 million during the pandemic from the federal government for rental assistance, with another $10.4 million from the state. But demand outstripped the funding and landlords were left on the hook for unpaid rents.

    While the rental assistance programs ended in March 2022 for Alameda County and Oakland, renters in the county’s unincorporated areas can still receive assistance if they earn less than 80 percent of this year’s median income, or $78,500 and below.

    A rental vacancy sign is posted in front of an apartment in San Francisco on June 13, 2018. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

    Ms. Silas-Sams said that because there weren’t any repercussions for not paying rent, tenants such as hers didn’t even attempt to apply for the relief provided at the time.

    “Even the program that they could have signed up for—that may have paid me something, they were too trifling to even do that. Because they didn’t have to, they didn’t have to do anything,” she said.

    From mid-2020 until now, Ms. Silas-Sams hasn’t received any rental payments but has still had to cover her $4,400 mortgage payments in addition to water and garbage expenses, she said.

    “I’ve drained everything from my 401(k),” she said. “I’ve even had to borrow from family members, which is stressful. And I had to borrow from my life insurance. … In fact, I was just about to call them again because I don’t have the mortgage for this month.”

    According to estimations by Chris Moore, a landlord in Alameda County who led efforts to end the eviction moratoriums in the cities of Oakland and San Leandro and in Alameda County, there’s about $1 billion in unpaid back rent for Alameda County alone. He said evictions are always a last resort.

    In the Bay Area, tenants can receive free advice and representation from attorneys, he said, who often fight evictions with various arguments, costing the landlord thousands in attorney fees.

    “I can disprove all of them,” Mr. Moore said, “but I have to … pay a lawyer $500 to $600 an hour. It costs $30,000 to $40,000 now to do an eviction, so I can tell you, I’m not interested in evicting the tenant.”

    Mr. Moore is also a board member of the East Bay Rental Housing Association—a nonprofit that represents 1600 rental property owners providing about 40,000 rental homes in Alameda and Contra Costa counties and, along with their affiliates, represent 700,000 rental homes in California.

    “No trespassing” signs hang on the front of a home in Oakland, Calif., on Jan. 28, 2020. (Philip Pacheco/AFP via Getty Images)

    Most tenants do try to make a payment plan and work with us … the ones [that don’t] are really hurting the mom-and-pop housing providers that only have maybe a couple of units, and they don’t have the capital to survive,” he said.

    Ms. Silas-Sams, who said she didn’t have the money to hire a lawyer, was able to prevail in court after the moratorium was lifted in July, and her tenant was evicted in October with the help of the local sheriff’s department.

    She said she had to spend more than $3,000 hauling away the junk left behind, including drug pipes, stolen credit cards, driver’s licenses, and lots of trash scattered throughout the apartment.

    Initially, the tenant agreed to move out after threats of eviction, but after cleaning crews cleaned out the unit, she reappeared and was legally allowed to stay because of the moratorium.

    “She turned around and she came back on the day that we were moving this stuff out, and I was not there. … She told [the junk removal man], ‘What are you doing? This is my place,’” she said.

    Police were called and responded, but they sided with the tenant.

    “They let her stay,” Ms. Silas-Sams said.

    There were an average of 310 eviction filings per month in 2019, but during the moratorium, the monthly average dropped to about 55, according to the Alameda County Superior Court. Since it has been lifted, the average number of evictions has risen to about 580 per month, which some say is because landlords were barred from doing so for years.

    “So why is it happening? Basically, the government said, ‘Hey, you don’t have to pay your rent for the last three and a half years,’ which, by the way, our industry is the only one they did that too,” Mr. Moore told The Epoch Times.

    A recent article in The Wall Street Journal reported that there could be more than $1 billion in unpaid back rent in the greater Los Angeles area because of its eviction moratorium.

    In the city of Los Angeles, landlords who owned 12 or fewer units were eligible to receive through taxpayer dollars up to $30,000 per rental unit for unpaid rents, but they had to apply for the program from Oct. 23 through the end of the month.

    According to the county’s Department of Consumer and Business Affairs website, other assistance that’s “coming soon” includes up to $30,000 in total for landlords with four or fewer units whose mortgages went into default, or $30,0000 for landlord expenses outside of their mortgage payments that accrued due to missed rental payments.

    According to Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, such relief for landlords won’t make up for the losses that they incurred during the pandemic.

    “When you look at what the city’s providing the landlords and what they’re providing in rent subsidies to renters and compare it to the over $1 billion of COVID rental debt that’s still owed … all this pales in comparison,” Mr. Yukelson told The Epoch Times in a recent interview. “It’s really a drop in the bucket compared to the losses that property owners have suffered these past three-plus years.”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 21:00

  • Think Tank Warns Biden's Inner Circle 'Bidenomics' Media Blitz Failed
    Think Tank Warns Biden’s Inner Circle ‘Bidenomics’ Media Blitz Failed

    A progressive think tank recently met with President Biden’s top aides at the White House and delivered a stark warning: The economic policies often referred to as “Bidenomics” were not resonating with most Americans.

    According to Politico, members of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) visited the West Wing in September and October to brief White House officials about Bidenomics’ branding failure. They presented numerous polling data that showed Americans aren’t convinced about economic policy accomplishments under the president. 

    “Democrats can’t just hammer people over the head with an insistence that the economy is great,” Adam Green, co-founder of the PCCC, told Politico.

    Green said, “We have to acknowledge pain and pivot, and there are ways that we can optimize that pivot to hit Trump for mismanaging the economy.”

    Politico said PCCC supplied White House officials with several surveys that showed Americans weren’t buying into the Bidenomics story:

    Just 35 percent of Americans trusted Democrats more on economic issues, according to weeks of private polling presented to the White House in mid-September and recently obtained by POLITICO. The data reinforced broad concerns over the public’s dismal outlook. Despite expressing widespread support for Biden’s policy agenda, few voters were aware he’d made much progress on any of a dozen-plus top priorities, like drug pricing or infrastructure.

    Perhaps most alarming, 7 out of 10 people surveyed believed the economy wasn’t getting better — even after they were explicitly told that inflation had eased and unemployment sat near record lows. That preface, designed specifically to persuade voters to brighten their view of the economy, did not seem to move them.

    Green continued, “When we intentionally put our finger on the scale, and 100 percent of people hear good economic indicators before saying if the economy’s going well for them, we still get walloped.” 

    Headline count data via Bloomberg shows the White House launched the “Bidenomics” media blitz in late June.

    Despite the media blitz, Biden’s job approval polling data via Real Clear Politics went down. 

    Perhaps the Biden administration fails to admit that two years of negative real wage growth crushed many low/mid-tier households. 

    We’ve recently shown consumers have never been in this worse shape, draining personal savings while racking up insurmountable credit card debt in the highest rate environment in a generation. Many folks are struggling with out-of-control food prices, elevated pump prices, and high shelter costs. 

    Biden has lost the GenZer vote.

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    In other words, the Biden administration has failed to control the narrative. Now it’s time for them to usher in more censorship of ‘free speech’ or label anyone with non-approved gov’t narratives ‘Russian bots’.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 20:40

  • The Rise Of Pharma Fascism And The Ruination of the Commons
    The Rise Of Pharma Fascism And The Ruination of the Commons

    Authored by Toby Rogers via the Brownstone Institute,

    I. When the commons was Eden 

    “The commons” is a foundational idea in left political philosophy. The commons refers to shared spaces — oceans, lakes, rivers, forests, the air — that are not owned by anyone. It can also refer to cultural spaces — the town square for example. I could make a case that the internet is a commons — even though there are millions of individual owners of particular spaces no one owns the whole thing. 

    The left loves the idea of the commons because it harkens back to the era of hunter gatherers who were free to hunt, fish, and live off of the abundance of the earth. The commons is also essential to the left imagination because they don’t believe in private property, so on some level they think that the entire world is or could be the commons. And because they see themselves as more empathetic, educated, and wise than everyone else, they believe that they are the best stewards to manage the commons. 

    On the left, entire careers are made by writing and teaching about the commons: 

    Henry George was an early theorist of the commons in the 19th century. 

    Garrett Hardin popularized the idea of the commons with his 1968 article in Science titled, “The Tragedy of the Commons” about managing the individual incentives to overexploit shared resources. 

    In 2009, Elinor Ostrom became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economics for her work documenting examples of successful management of the commons.

    And heaps of additional left public intellectuals have done important work on the commons including feminist theorist Silvia Federici, Marxist geographer David Harvey, and newcomer Raj Patel (with his bestselling book, The Value of Nothing). 

    Anyone who wants to remain a member in good standing of the left must be able to speak at length about the commons. This discussion of the commons is almost entirely concerned with protecting the collective space from encroachment by greedy individuals and rapacious corporations. The worst thing that one can do (a sin usually reserved for feudal lords, kings, and corporations) is to “enclose the commons” — make private and exclusive what was formerly open and accessible to all. I’ve long admired the idea of the commons and think it represents the left at its best. 

    And then a very strange and terrifying thing happened. Over the last several years, the bougie left, without even a hint of self-awareness or irony, enclosed the global commons — seized it is a better term — in the name of public health, based on false assumptions about how viruses work. 

    As I will explain below, this is the mechanism by which the bougie left slid from liberalism into fascism. 


    II. The birth of modern Pharma fascism

    The battle against SB276 in California in 2019 was one of the most sickening and heartbreaking things I’ve ever witnessed. In 2015, California banned all religious and philosophical exemptions to school vaccination requirements with SB277. But SB276 went further. Sponsored by Richard Pan, a man with no empathy who is controlled by Big Pharma, SB276 revokes the medical license of any doctor who writes more than 5 medical exemptions to school vaccination requirements. In a state with 9,100,000 children, 5 exemptions per doctor is not very many. Fearing the loss of their livelihood, doctors in California stopped writing medical exemptions altogether. 

    Disabled by DTaP? Too bad, you still have to take all of the other shots. Your sibling died from a vaccine? Too bad, it wasn’t you that died (yet) so roll up your sleeves. This approach to public health contradicts two centuries of best practices in medicine. Prior to SB276 the entire scientific and medical community acknowledged that some people should not be vaccinated because of underlying medical conditions, previous reactions, or family history. But Pharma was in a hurry to wipe out the unvaccinated control group that would reveal the extent of their crimes so they introduced SB276 in a state they already owned before rolling it out to the entire country. 

    As the bill moved through the legislature, Richard Pan stood at the front of the room grinning like the Cheshire Cat, while thousands of parents, mostly mothers, testified about vaccine injuries in their kids. It was like something out of a Holocaust documentary. As the bill sponsor he was allowed to respond to the public testimony prior to the vote by each committee (Health, Education, and Appropriations). At every hearing he made a strange little speech that conveyed the new ideology of the Pharma Fascist Left.

    Pan explained that “your right to swing your fist ends at my nose.” But he argued (and this is the sleight of hand) the same principle applies to viruses. Because viruses exist, and because the unvaccinated may be carrying a deadly virus, the act of breathing, by an unvaccinated person, is the legal equivalent of punching him in the face. Thus the unvaccinated, by their very existence break the law because they violate his right to be free from disease. The only way to prevent this grave miscarriage of justice then is to either a.) force children to be vaccinated; or b.) remove the unvaccinated from schools (and the rest of society — Pan wants the unvaccinated banned from all public spaces). 

    Let’s just pause for a moment to note that he clearly does not believe that vaccines actually work because if they did, the unvaccinated would pose no threat to the vaccinated. When confronted with this fact he moves the goalposts to claim that his real concern is the “immunocompromised who cannot be vaccinated.” But like everything else he says this is a lie because in California and all blue states they vaccinate the hell out of the immunocompromised as well. 

    This is the “logic” of Pharma fascism. 

    Pan has never had an original thought in his life so this angle of attack was likely developed by a Pharma PR firm and focus-group tested before sending it out to spokespeople in the Democratic Party. And now it’s the dominant ideology in the Democratic Party and ruling parties throughout the developed world. 

    There is a multitude of problems with this flawed ideology. But what I want to point out in this article is that it leads to enclosure of the commons — even before Covid. Democrats would really like to enclose the air itself but that is too difficult. So instead they enclose schools by kicking out some kids (SB276 kicked 56,000 kids out of public school). Vaccine mandates enclose our bodies by allowing corporations to trespass with their toxic products. And Democrats try to enclose the public square (digital and otherwise) by setting up a vast surveillance system to censor, shadowban, demonetize, and deplatform anyone who disagrees with their increasingly zany ideology. 


    III. Pan’s “logic” is absolute horsesh*t

    Democrats do not understand viruses, vaccines, or the law and it leads them to make catastrophic policy decisions that are destroying the health of the American people. 

    Viruses don’t work that way

    There are a quadrillion x quadrillion viruses in the world (more viruses on earth than stars in the known universe).

    Research on the global virosphere has concluded that, “Trillions Upon Trillions of Viruses Fall From the Sky Each Day.” From the New York Times

    Scientists have surmised there is a stream of viruses circling the planet, above the planet’s weather systems but below the level of airline travel…. Each day some 800 million viruses cascade onto every square meter of the planet.

    “Human cells, GOOD! Bacteria and viruses, BAD!” is how public health officials usually frame the discussion. But that’s not how health actually works. Instead, our bodies are a complex ecosystem of different types of cells. Only 43 percent of the cells in our body are human — the rest are various bacteria and viruses that communicate and exchange with our human cells and DNA in ways that make life possible. 

    Human consciousness itself is said to have emerged as a result of the beneficial exchange between viral and human DNA. Between 40 and 80 percent (an admittedly large range) of the human genome came initially from viruses. Viruses (and bacteria) regulate all living systems on earth. 

    So we’re never going to get rid of all viruses and bacteria nor would we want to. But what about the small number of viruses (about 200) that can be harmful to humans?

    Vaccines are ineffective and dangerous

    The large gains in life expectancy and declines in infectious disease in the 20th century happened before the introduction of mass vaccination campaigns. Improved living standards, sewers, water treatment facilities, food safety, organized solid waste disposal, along with “improvements in housing and decreased crowding in US cities” are responsible for “nearly 90% of the decline in infectious disease mortality among U.S. children.” That’s not me talking, that’s a review of a century of public health data published in Pediatrics. In an earlier era, when public health focused on large public works projects, health improved. Now that public health focuses almost exclusively on promoting vaccines, health and well-being have plummeted.

    An analysis, by Danish researchers, of the best vaccine data set in the world indicates that all of the vaccines on the US schedule cause more harms than benefits. 

    None of the vaccines on the US schedule (with the exception of a tiny subtrial of the Gardasil vaccine) were tested against a saline placebo in a true randomized controlled trial. ICAN’s December 31, 2018 letter to the US Department of Health and Human Services proves this fact and it is perhaps the single most important document ever written during the vaccine wars.

    Pan’s approach ignores all the rest of medicine. In the current hysteria, it seems that people sometimes forget that there are medical products other than vaccines! We can treat various diseases with antivirals, antibiotics, and a thousand other medicines without forcing one-size-fits all toxic vaccines on the entire population. 

    Pan’s approach ignores all of the toxicants that can cause ill health. Zach Bush points out that waste ponds from industrial livestock production are breeding grounds for all sorts of viruses, bacteria, and parasites. Pharmaceuticals introduce toxicants into our bodies. Factories and freeways produce a wide range of toxicants that impair health. We could find common ground on regulating those sources but Pharma controls the political process and so the entire focus of public health is on vaccines. 

    Pan’s approach also ignores all the rest of health. Why do two people with similar environmental exposures have different outcomes? Nutrition, exercise, rest, and sunshine (factors now ignored by allopathic medicine) make a significant impact on whether someone will get sick. Furthermore, as Jennifer Giustra-Kozek, LPC, author of Healing Without Hurting points out, most diseases that are usually attributed to viruses and bacteria often have an underlying vitamin deficiency that can be addressed through food, supplements, or intravenously in acute cases. 

    For Covid-19, the corresponding deficiencies that need to be addressed are usually zinc and vitamin D.

    Individualized medicine will always be superior to one-size-fits-all Pharma-captured medicine. 

    The most extreme enclosure of the commons in history

    No Pharaoh, no king, no feudal lord, and certainly no political party has ever before claimed that they own the air and that the mere act of breathing by the citizenry was an assault that must be managed by a police state. 

    Yet that is the central claim of Pan, Fauci, and the public health bureaucracy and the idea that drives vaccine mandates, masks, lockdowns, social distancing, and the rest of the modern Fascist Pharma State. The cultural enclosure is also cruel and senseless — kicking students out of universities via vaccine mandates, delicensing doctors for helping their patients survive by prescribing ivermectin, and refusing medical care in hospitals to the unvaccinated are just some examples. 

    As I’ve written before, the only historical parallels with Pan’s ideology are Jim Crow laws in the US that declared Black Americans unclean (thus requiring separate drinking fountains, bathrooms, and schools) and the Nazis who claimed that Jews were disease carriers and thus must be moved into ghettos and concentration camps. But now this preposterous junk science has returned from the dead and it drives public health policy in the US and throughout the developed world in the Covid era. 


    IV. Ideology becomes policy and law

    Unfortunately the obscene ideology described above is widespread. Naomi Klein in Doppelganger repeats this same vile notion. In Klein’s view there is no individual “I” — we all breathe the same air thus the Fascist Pharma State has the right and indeed obligation to police the bodies of the unvaccinated, lest they infect her superior over-vaccinated body. Again, it is beyond weird that the Cult of Vaccine does not actually believe in their own product while insisting on injecting it into others.

    Indeed this nonsense has become the dominant ideology of ruling parties throughout the developed world. In North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea liberal democracy has been replaced with this Stakeholder Fascism based on junk science that makes Pharma rich.

    You can see how it’s a short distance from this twisted supremacist ideology to concentration camps and extermination of the unvaccinated in the name of public health. 

    These junk science ideas about public health inevitably make their way into policy and the law. In 2020 the NY Department of Public Health created a regulation (10 NYCRR 2.13) titled “Isolation and Quarantine Procedures” that enabled the state to remove anyone from their home for any reason and detain them indefinitely without due process of law under the guise of public health. Quite literally the NY Department of Public Health decided that concentration camps were the best approach for managing Covid. 

    Attorney and Brownstone Institute Fellow Bobbie Anne Flower Cox spent the last two years battling the state of New York to get this regulation struck down. On July 8, 2022, a NY Supreme Court Judge, Ronald Ploetz, ruled that the “Isolation and Quarantine Procedures” regulation is unconstitutional and “violative of New York State law as promulgated and enacted, and therefore null, void and unenforceable as a matter of law.” Astonishingly, Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James appealed the decision and the appeal was heard in court just a few weeks ago. 

    If the NY Supreme Court Appellate Division affirms that the law is unconstitutional, it will be a small step toward sanity. If the court somehow decides that indefinite detention for any reason without right to due process is lawful, we will be living in America’s version of National Socialism. 

    Of course the national media did not report on the NY “Quarantine Camp” policy — why would they, they believe the same nonsense as Richard Pan. And just like SB276 in California, it appears that Pharma introduced this idea in a captured blue state as a test run before rolling it out nationwide. 


    V. Conclusion

    It is essential to reframe this entire debate. I should not have to explain any of this but we live in The Upside Down World so let me state the obvious: 

    Viruses and bacteria are ubiquitous. They live in us, on us, and all around us and usually contribute to our well-being. Bad health outcomes can be reduced through making healthy lifestyle choices. For acute cases there are a range of medicines and supplements that are effective. Large infrastructure projects (e.g. sewers, treatment plants and pipes to deliver clean water to homes and businesses) are the proven best path to improving public health. 

    Public health policy in the US is based on junk science that enriches the largest donors to the Democratic Party. Health has absolutely nothing to do with it. If you follow the advice of the CDC you are putting your life in grave danger. 

    Health and medicine must always be tailored to the individual needs of each person. One-size-fits-all medicine is barbarism. 

    No one owns the air. It is not a crime to breathe. Anyone who wants to protect the commons must recognize the universal right for people to exist without corporate trespass into our bodies. 

    There are no pandemic exceptions to the US Constitution. Totalitarianism is not a recommended treatment for any disease. Concentration camps are never appropriate. 

    The best approach to any problem is always the free and open exchange of ideas in a system of free and sovereign citizens.

    Republished from the author’s Substack

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 20:20

  • In High-Stakes Gamble, Toyota Will Make 2025 Camry Hybrid-Only
    In High-Stakes Gamble, Toyota Will Make 2025 Camry Hybrid-Only

    In a major milestone in the government-coerced push away from gas-powered vehicles, the best-selling sedan in America will only be available with gas-electric hybrid powertrains starting with the 2025 model year, Toyota revealed in Malibu on Tuesday night. 

    The 2025 Toyota Camry will feature a 2.5-liter gas engine paired with an electric drive that will deliver more power than the 2024 hybrids. Toyota is already the leading seller of hybrid vehicles, which, depending on the driving scenario, use only electric power, only gasoline, or both. Hybrids recapture energy from the braking system that helps boost the range. 

    It could be a very risky move for Toyota, considering that combustion models comprise about 85% of Camry’s 2024 sales volume. The Camry is king of the sedan market. However, as Americans increasingly prefer crossovers and SUVs, total sedan sales have plummeted from 7.2 million a year in 2012 to just 2.9 million in 2022, notes the Wall Street Journal.  

    Toyota’s radical shift comes in part because of a government gun held to manufacturers’ heads. Whether consumers want it or not, the federal government is using regulation to force gas vehicles out of the marketplace by tightening average mileage requirements for manufacturers’ fleets. Most recently, the White House proposed a 58 mpg standard for the 2032 model year.  The 2022 average was 27 mpg

    The 2025 Toyota Camry will come with any kind of powertrain you want, so long as it’s a hybrid

    While Toyota didn’t disclose its 2025 pricing yet, at a time when Americans are reeling from inflation, cutting out gas-only models is likely to make the cheapest Camry more expensive next year. For the 2024 model year, the cheapest gas-only Camry is costs about $2,400 less than the cheapest hybrid.  “We think the value the hybrid powertrain brings is worth that kind of premium,” Toyota’s North America brand chief David Christ told Reuters

    According to federal fuel economy numbers, the current Camry hybrid saves $650 a year versus the gas version, reflecting the 52mpg vs 32 mpg difference. That implies a 3.7-year break-even on the price differential between the hybrid and gas-only version. Critically, that math does not include:

    • Extra interest expense for those financing a more expensive vehicle
    • Higher sales and other taxes linked to the sales price
    • Higher insurance costs — on average, hybrids cost about 7% more to insure, according to carinsuranceplan.org

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    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 20:00

  • Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland Speaks Out About His Removal By Pope Francis
    Texas Bishop Joseph Strickland Speaks Out About His Removal By Pope Francis

    Authored by Jana J. Pruet via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Bishop Joseph Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler, Texas, was forcibly removed from his office by Pope Francis on Saturday morning.

    “They had the authority to remove me from diocesan governance, but I encourage those upset or confused by the development to pray for the pope and not to leave the Church,” Bishop Strickland wrote on Facebook on Monday morning.

    Bishop Joseph Strickland walks in front of a reliquary bearing the bones of Saint Maria Goretti, dubbed “The Little Saint of Great Mercy,” into the sanctuary at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler, Texas, on Nov. 2, 2015. (Andrew D. Brosig/Tyler Morning Telegraph via AP)

    The news from the Vatican shocked and angered many who supported the 65-year-old bishop’s respect of traditional Catholic teachings.

    Bishop Strickland, who has served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Tyler since 2012, has been outspoken in his criticisms of Pope Francis’ progressive views on the LGBTQ community within the church.

    In June, Pope Francis ordered an investigation into the pastoral governance of the Tyler Diocese by Bishop Dennis Sullivan of Camden, New Jersey, and Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona.

    “After months of careful consideration by the Dicastery for Bishops and the Holy Father, the decision was reached that the resignation of Bishop Strickland should be requested,” according to a statement by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

    On Nov. 9, the bishop’s resignation was requested, but Bishop Strickland declined to resign his office.

    Two days later, the Vatican announced that Bishop Strickland had been “relieved of pastoral governance of the Diocese of Tyler.” No reason was given for the bishop’s dismissal.

    The pope appointed Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin to serve as Apolostic Administrator of the Diocese of Tyler.

    During this time of transition, we pray that God may continue to abundantly bless and strengthen the Church and God’s holy, faithful people here and around the world,” the Tyler Diocese wrote in a statement.

    In an interview with John-Henry Westen, editor-in-chief of LifeSiteNews, Bishop Strickland said he believes his removal was due to his support of the “truth of the gospel.” LifeSiteNews is a pro-life Catholic news website based in Canada.

    Bishop Strickland said he has turned to prayer during this “storm” in his life.

    “The rosary has taken on a life for me that is truly amazing,” he said.

    The bishop said he does not fully blame the pope for his removal, pointing to the “many forces working at him and influencing him to make these kinds of decisions.”

    The only answer I have to that is because the forces in the church right now don’t want the truth of the gospel,” Bishop Strickland told Mr. Westen.

    “There are people in the Church, rather than glorifying in the truth of Christ, they want to delete significant portions of Sacred Scripture and say, ‘Oh, we got that wrong,’ or ‘We’re just going to ignore it.'”

    “[The Truth], it’s perennial, it’s everlasting, it’s glorious,” the bishop continued. “And if you want it to change, then I’m the problem.”

    “He [Jesus] doesn’t morph into a different being than He was when He died on the cross and rose for us. He is the same Lord; He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and those who want to change that, for a day, in terms of human history, we have to live through this day, but it’s a moment that will pass, and the truth will prevail,” he said.

    Throughout the interview, Bishop Strickland remained steadfast in his faith that God would see him through and that he would continue serving his faith community.

    Michel J. Matt, editor of The Remnant, a national Catholic newspaper, reacted to Bishop Strickland’s removal on X, saying, “This is total war. Francis is a clear and present danger not only to Catholics the world over but also to the whole world itself. It appears now that he is actively trying to bury fidelity to the Church of Jesus Christ. Let him be anathema.”

    Open to Gay Marriage

    Pope Francis has made surprising public statements such as, “Who am I to judge them?” in response to a question about gay priests dating back to his first papal news conference in July 2013.

    Last month, the pope suggested being open to priests performing gay marriages in the Catholic Church, in response to five conservative cardinals who challenged him to affirm the church’s teaching on homosexuality ahead of the 2023 Synod of Bishops at the Vatican. Earlier this year, the pope had stated that while homosexuality is not a crime, it is a sin.

    The faith has long opposed the Church recognizing gay marriages.

    The Church has a very clear understanding of marriage: an exclusive, stable, and indissoluble union between a man and a woman, naturally open to procreation,” Pope Francis wrote in a response to the cardinals. “Only this union can be called marriage.”

    “However, in our relationships with people, we must not lose the pastoral charity, which should permeate all our decisions and attitudes,” he continued. “The defense of objective truth is not the only expression of this charity; it also includes kindness, patience, understanding, tenderness, and encouragement. Therefore, we cannot be judges who only deny, reject, and exclude.”

    Pope Francis added that there is no need to turn such pastoral charity into the norm. Rather, the issue could be dealt with on an individual basis, adding that the “life of the Church flows through many channels other than the normative ones.”

    The letter was a reversal from the Vatican’s position in 2021, when Pope Francis said that the church could not bless same-sex unions because God “does not and cannot bless sin.”

    The Epoch Times reached out to Bishop Strickland for comment. “At the moment, I’m still consulting with my God,” he said. “Will let you know when I will grant another interview. Remain Blessed!”

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 19:40

  • Maryland Teachers Union 'Milking' Taxpayers While Test Scores Plummet 
    Maryland Teachers Union ‘Milking’ Taxpayers While Test Scores Plummet 

    Investigative reporter Chris Papst from Fox45 News’ Project Baltimore finds while Maryland’s education system is in a downward spiral, the state’s largest and most powerful education union continues to record new highs in revenues and assets. 

    Papst pointed out that the Maryland State Education Association’s website says the union is supposed to “make a positive difference in their professional lives in order to elevate the quality of public education for all students.” The tax-exempt non-profit organization derives most of its money by collecting tax dollars given to schools and paid to teachers, who, in turn, pay union dues.

    Data obtained by Project Baltimore show MSEA’s financial statements going back a decade. In 2013, the union reported revenues of $19.8 million. By 2022, revenues jumped 34% to $26.5 million, the highest amount on record. 

    Papst said the divergence in the union’s revenues and test scores is a major concern. 

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    He cited federal test scores that state Maryland students in 2013 outperformed the national average in fourth-grade reading and math. In 2013, MSEA reported revenues of $19.8 million. By 2022, revenues jumped to $26.5 million. 

    Anirban Basu, an economist and former member of the Baltimore City School Board, told Papst, “Teachers make, certainly, more than they used to … But then the question becomes, okay that’s fine, what is the taxpayer getting for all of this money that’s flowing into the educational system, the teachers on to unions? And the answer is, not much.”

    Basu said, “Unions do not exist to profit maximize,” adding, “And if the union in particular, the teachers unions, for instance, are elevating adults over children, then they’re not the force for good that they are supposed to be, given their federal mandate, their organizational mission.”

    He continued, “It seems like this money is just piling up. It’s going to go someplace, I suppose, at some point. But at the end of the day, the test scores speak for themselves.”

    “What we have seen in recent years is our kids are falling behind,” said Basu. He noted, “In many cases, they score below the national average. And so, what does that tell you? We’re taking a lot of potential educational achievement and not fulfilling or operationalizing that achievement. Something is wrong here.”

    Project Baltimore found the bulk of the MSEA revenue collected last year paid for 93 union employees. 

    One X user commented on Papst’s and said this is a case of “Money laundering 101.”  

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    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 19:20

  • Gaza After The War: Biden Needs A Reality Check
    Gaza After The War: Biden Needs A Reality Check

    Authored by Josh Hammer via American Greatness,

    As Israel continues its systematic assault on Hamas deep inside Gaza, closing in on high-ranking targets and putting the jihadist outfit’s sprawling subterranean tunnel network squarely in its crosshairs, the conversation has already begun to shift away from the warfare on the ground. True, much painful fighting likely remains; true as well, no one can predict the extent to which Hezbollah or the Iranian regime itself might escalate, thereby risking a full-fledged regional conflagration.

    But the war will, at some point, end. And a gap has already emerged between the positions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden when it comes to what happens in Gaza the day  after Israel deems that the cancerous Hamas tumor has been sufficiently eradicated.

    On the one hand, Netanyahu avowed that Israel “will for an indefinite period have security responsibility” in Gaza after the war. On the other hand, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking on behalf of a deeply unpopular president who faces a difficult reelection next year and has endured declining Muslim-American support over the past month, stated that “it is clear that Israel cannot occupy Gaza” after the war.

    Something has to give.

    The Biden administration’s specific position on Gaza after the war is downstream of its broader obstinance when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In a speech in Tel Aviv on Nov. 3, Blinken reiterated the Biden administration’s continued support for a so-called “two-state solution” to the conflict. “Two states for two peoples,” Blinken intoned — presumably based, as it was for the Obama administration before it, on the absurd “1967 borders,” which would pinch the Jewish state to 9 miles wide at its narrowest point and which former Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin once lambasted as “Auschwitz borders.”

    The Biden administration, in other words, is of the opinion that the Hamas Holocaust of Oct. 7 was not a paradigm-shifting geopolitical event. Biden, Blinken and the rest of the Democratic foreign policy establishment are of the belief that the single biggest slaughter of Jews since Hitler was not a game-changer — the sort of event that causes one to revise underlying assumptions and reassess a situation from the ground up. They believe that nothing fundamentally has actually changed; after Israel is satisfied with its work in Gaza, it will get right back to more conciliation and territorial concessions.

    It is more plausible that the tooth fairy exists than the “two-state solution,” as presently conceived, ever becomes reality. Indeed, the original proposed “two-state solution,” following the European powers’ post-World War I carving up of the Middle East, would have made all of “Mandatory Palestine” — encompassing the entirety of the Land of Israel, “from the river to the sea” as it is now said — a Jewish state, and would have made the Emirate of Transjordan (today, the kingdom of Jordan) a so-called “Palestinian” state. But the modern “two-state solution,” which would have Gaza and the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria form the basis for an independent “Palestinian” state, is a fantasy that should have died after Yasser Arafat’s Second Intifada — and definitely should have died after the pogrom of Oct. 7, 2023.

    To continue to believe — after all the unspeakable horrors of Oct. 7, after the reality that “Palestinian self-determination” in Gaza following Israel’s unilateral disengagement in 2005 resulted in the barbaric and genocidal (but democratically elected!) rule of an Islamist reich — in a “two-state solution” is to reveal oneself to be entirely out-of-touch to anything smacking of empirical reality. It is to reveal one’s worldview as so deeply ideological, so wholly based on fanciful academic theorizing, and so completely divorced from facts on the ground, that one will have inadvertently outed himself as a complete and utter fool.

    There is an alternative explanation for those still stubbornly peddling a “two-state solution.” It is a darker explanation than mere incompetence or mental deficiency: a desire to simply see more Oct. 7 pogroms and more dead Jews. Indeed, many on university campuses are barely concealing their desire for precisely this.

    After Oct. 7, it is clear that the 2005 disengagement from Gaza will go down as one of Israel’s all-time historical mistakes, along with ceding the Temple Mount to the Jordanian waqf after the Six-Day War, the disastrous lack of preemptive action before the Yom Kippur War, and the Oslo Accords with Arafat. The world has seen what leaving Gaza to “Palestinian self-determination” results in: a jihadist entity that indiscriminately fires rockets at Israeli civilians and commits Nazi-like war crimes. The very least Israel must do is reassert operational control of Gaza’s borders and security; ideally, a military occupation or formal re-annexation would be on the table.

    Biden is understandably concerned about his reelection prospects next fall. There is only so much in the way of Muslim-American support he can afford to lose. Like a true cynic, he has apparently chosen to shore up that support to the exclusion of our close ally’s existential security.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 19:00

  • Biden DOJ Quietly Hires More Lawyers For Vaccine Injury Lawsuits
    Biden DOJ Quietly Hires More Lawyers For Vaccine Injury Lawsuits

    In January, the CDC was forced to reveal the results of its VAERS safety signal monitoring for COVID-19 vaccines (thanks to a FOIA request by Zachary Stieber of the Epoch Times), which painted an alarming picture. The analysis, spanning Dec. 14 2020 through July 29, 2022, revealed:

    • There were 770 different types of adverse events that showed safety signals in ages 18+, of which over 500 (or 2/3) had a larger safety signal than myocarditis/pericarditis.

    • The CDC analysis shows that the number of serious adverse events reported in less than two years for mRNA COVID-19 vaccines is 5.5 times larger than all serious reports for vaccines given to adults in the US since 2009 (~73,000 vs. ~13,000).

    • Twice as many mRNA COVID-19 vaccine reports were classified as serious compared to all other vaccines given to adults (11% vs. 5.5%). This meets the CDC definition of a safety signal.

    Read more on that here

    In April, the Biden administration rejected several demands for compensation from people who have been injured by the Covid-19 vaccine, despite the fact that injury reports have been on the rise – as evidenced by a February report by Florida Surgeon General Joseph Lapado over a 4,400% increase in life threatening conditions reported to in the state to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) since the 2021 rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines.

    Meanwhile, several lawsuits have been filed against the Biden administration by vaccine-injured individuals over worldwide vaccine contracts that indemnified drugmakers from litigation, as well as for censorship surrounding the big tech crackdown on people sharing their experiences after receiving Covid-19 vaccines.

    DOJ Hires Lawyers

    In response to the mounting vaccine injuries, the Biden DOJ quietly began hiring more lawyers in October to handle vaccine litigation. In a posting to USAJobs.gov, the Washington DC Office of Office of Constitutional and Specialized Tort Litigation – Vaccine Litigation Staff asks for individuals who can fight “claims of injury as a result of the receipt of vaccines” covered by the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (“Vaccine Act”).

    The job pays between $94,199 and $183,500 for whatever soulless Devil’s Advocate acolyte take a job fighting vaccine injured Americans.

    The position is a unique trial practice in support of public health, science, and medicine. The legal and medical issues at stake in each case vary. Trial attorneys independently manage heavy caseloads, and while streamlined procedures are utilized, many cases involve complex scientific issues of causation that require expert witnesses in medical fields such as pediatrics, neurology, immunology, and epidemiology. In cases in which petitioners are found entitled to compensation, the litigation occasionally requires use of damages experts to develop an appropriate life care plan for the injured party, including medical treatment and related care needs, and the determination of other compensable damages, such as lost earnings and pain and suffering, often awarded through a structured settlement.

    Attorneys with limited experience will focus primarily on litigating cases in a “claims” type posture, typically involving less complicated issues of science and medicine, limited damages, and fewer court appearances, with the possibility of transitioning to handling more complex cases in litigation over time.

    Attorneys appear frequently before the Office of Special Masters in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and also appear before the judges of the Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit when handling appeals. Responsibilities include factual and legal research, medical record review, brief writing, and working with expert witnesses to develop the defense of claims, as well as to address the life care needs of vaccine-injured petitioners in some cases. The majority of cases are resolved informally, and thus attorneys engage regularly in settlement and damages negotiations, including alternative dispute resolution, and drafting settlement memoranda.

    Hilariously, while the DOJ came after Elon Musk’s SpaceX (which deals with matters of national security) for not hiring illegal immigrants, the vaccine injury job posting requires applicants to be “a U.S. Citizen or National.”

    Other interesting job requirements include:

    • Must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret security clearance with eligibility for Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) access depending on organizational assignment / duty location.
    • Financial Disclosure: If selected, you will be required to disclose financial information in accordance with DOJ and Federal ethics guidelines.
    • You will be required to complete a pre-employment security investigation and background check which includes a drug screening.

    We think they’re going to need more than eight.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 18:40

  • JP Morgan Urges Oil And Gas Clients To Cut Methane Emissions
    JP Morgan Urges Oil And Gas Clients To Cut Methane Emissions

    By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

    Reducing methane emissions and addressing methane leaks in operations are immediate actions from which both businesses and the climate will benefit, JP Morgan, one of the world’s top fossil fuel financiers, said in a new report on Wednesday.

    JP Morgan’s “The Methane Emissions Opportunity” white paper urges companies to boost efforts to cut methane emissions and says that the Wall Street bank recognizes methane abatement as an opportunity “to support accelerated efforts by our clients to reduce operational emissions.”

    “Consistent with that objective, we have set a net zero-aligned emissions intensity reduction target for the Oil & Gas sector’s operational (Scope 1 and 2) emissions in our financing portfolio, including reducing leakage, venting, and flaring of methane as key drivers,” JP Morgan said in the report.

    “We recognize that different technologies and solutions will make sense for different types of operators, and we aim to work with industry participants to support the deployment of effective solutions.”

    According to the bank, recent events such as the war in Ukraine have highlighted the urgent need to provide energy resources securely, reliably, and affordably while scaling solutions and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

    “These objectives are not mutually exclusive. The world can — and must — do both,” JP Morgan said.

    A report by environmental groups from earlier this year showed that JP Morgan is no longer the world’s biggest financier of fossil fuels. Last year Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) became the top bank funding oil and gas. For the first time since 2019, US bank JP Morgan Chase dropped from the top spot of the biggest backer of fossil fuels.

    Overall, U.S. banks dominated fossil fuel financing, accounting for 28% of all fossil fuel financing in 2022.

    JPMorgan Chase remains the world’s biggest funder of fossil fuels since the Paris Agreement, while Citi, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America are still among the top 5 fossil financiers since 2016.

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 18:20

  • Democrats Introduce Bill To Restrict And Track Ammo Sales While Criminalizing “Straw Purchases”
    Democrats Introduce Bill To Restrict And Track Ammo Sales While Criminalizing “Straw Purchases”

    Democrat Senator Elizabeth Warren and California Congressman Robert Garcia have recently introduced a bill called the Ammunition Modernization and Monitoring Oversight (AMMO) Act.  If passed, the bill would restrict bulk sales of ammunition, would require businesses who sell ammunition to obtain the same federal license as gun dealers, and would require businesses to conduct a background check on buyers.

    Additionally, it would also apply the same prohibition on straw purchases for ammunition that currently exists for firearms.  It would make it illegal for individuals to purchasing ammunition and then give that ammo to others, and it would require data sharing on ammunition sales.

    Robert Garcia argues:

    “The bottom line is no individual should be buying bulk amounts of ammunition without a federal background check from places like gas stations, pharmacies, and convenience stores – especially without any sort of regulation and no record of the sale.  If we’re ever going to really take on the gun violence epidemic in this country, we need to regulate ammo accessibility. This bill aims to protect the American public from the devastating violence that occurs when individuals have access to unlimited amounts of weaponry.”

    The bill prohibits bulk sales of ammunition based on the type of ammo. It specifically limits individuals to 100 rounds for .50 caliber ammo, and 1000 rounds for all other ammunition within a 5-day period. The full text of the bill can be found here.

    Records of sales would be required and the data must be held by vendors for at least two years, while anyone buying ammo and transferring it to others without record could be punished with heavy fines and up to five years jail time.

    The AMMO Act essentially places ammunition under the same ATF category as firearms while opening the door to subjective ATF rulings on ammo sales.  Anti-gun lawmakers have long sought to undermine 2nd Amendment rights through the backdoor of ammo purchases.  Some past attempts have included “micro-stamping” as not just a way to track each round back to a buyer, but also to make the production process so expensive for manufacturers that ammo prices rise exponentially.

    The purpose of restrictions on “bulk ammo” sales is less certain.  The average active shooting incident involves far less than 1000 rounds fired, so the new rule would do nothing to prevent criminals from engaging in such attacks.  Shooting events involving 50 BMG ammo are almost non-existent, yet under the bill this caliber of ammo is the most restricted in terms of bulk sales.   

    That said, the restrictions combined with purchase tracking and background checks would be useful in identifying preppers and patriots; people who are much more likely to buy large amounts of ammo at one time.  It should also be noted that few people other than preppers have an interest in spending the exorbitant funds required to shoot 50 BMG, which may explain the special restrictions on the caliber cited in the bill.      

    Federal agencies have consistently stated that they believe “domestic extremists” (their term for conservatives) are the greatest threat to the country.  They have shifted their focus away from foreign terrorism and are aiming the bureaucratic apparatus at American citizens with constitutional ideals.  The phrases “patriot rebellion” and “civil war” have been mentioned in the establishment media with increasing regularity as a growing concern for the government.  

    Despite the endless arguments that “an AR-15 would be useless against an F-16,” it’s clear that the powers-that-be have decided that civilian firearms access is more dangerous to them than they may have initially assumed.     

    Furthermore, making it illegal for the average citizen to share or resell ammo with others creates a pathway to a host of ATF intrusions and prosecutions.  And, as we have seen with gun peripherals such as bump stocks, pistol braces and specialty triggers, once the ATF has their foot in the door on ammo they will exploit their newfound power to the furthest extent possible.  As with most bills like the AMMO Act, the goal is to quietly whittle away at gun rights and frighten law abiding citizens with an ever growing list of potential violations.  Nothing in these bills will save a single life from gun related violence.   

    Tyler Durden
    Wed, 11/15/2023 – 18:00

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Today’s News 15th November 2023

  • US Beef Prices Hit Record High As Nation's Cattle Herd Expected To Shrink Through 2025
    US Beef Prices Hit Record High As Nation’s Cattle Herd Expected To Shrink Through 2025

    Brazilian processor Marfrig Global Foods SA warned the US cattle herd will continue shrinking through the midpoint of the decade. Less supplies will pressure meatpackers and keep the prices of steak and hamburgers at elevated levels. 

    During a conference call, Tim Klein, the head of Marfrig’s North American operation, explained the availability of fattened animals for meatpackers to slaughter and process should trough between 2025 and 2026. He said this is because ranchers have not yet started keeping cows for breeding.

    As we’ve noted, years of drought and high feed costs forced ranchers across the Midwest to send the cows to slaughterhouses, leading to a sharp reduction in the nation’s overall herd size. In January, the beef cow herd size was the smallest since 1962

    Tight supplies of cattle have hurt the profits of meatpackers, including Tyson Foods Inc. and JBS SA: 

    National Beef Inc., Marfrig’s US unit, saw adjusted earnings before items such as taxes and interest more than halve in the third quarter from a year ago to $150 million, according to a statement from the company on Monday. Tyson Foods Inc. and JBS SA posted results earlier that were largely affected by lower profits in their US beef operations. -Bloomberg 

    Declining cattle numbers also sent US beef prices at the supermarket to record highs.

    Also, US beef exports are forecasted to slide 14% this year from 2022 to 3 billion pounds, the lowest since the early days of the Covid pandemic when plant closures crushed meatpackers. The USDA warned US beef production is expected to decline further next year. 

    Last week, Pete Bonds, a Texas-based cattle producer, told Reuters, “The future of this industry is not here in the United States.” 

    Food inflation remains sticky. And soon, beef will be a luxury only the rich can afford. As for the working poor, Tyson plans to build a new insect plant in 2025

     

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 23:45

  • Lucid Lost $227,000 Per Car Sold In Q3
    Lucid Lost $227,000 Per Car Sold In Q3

    What do you get after a decade of negative real rates and unlimited QE as monetary policy? Losing $227,000 per vehicle as an acceptable business model for an automobile company!

    At least that’s the case over at Lucid, according to a new writeup from the Daily Caller. 

    The California-based Lucid Motors, offers four electric vehicle (EV) models priced between $74,900 and $249,000 and reported a third-quarter net loss of $630.9 million, excluding overhead costs.

    This amounts to over $227,000 in losses per car sold, the report says, citing its financial statements and calculations by The Wall Street Journal.

    Despite having sold only 125 vehicles by November 2021, the company’s valuation peaked at $91 billion. However, its stock price has since dropped by approximately 93%.

    Last week, Lucid Motors reduced its vehicle prices to boost demand, the report notes. All the while, the electric vehicle company’s primary investor is the Saudi Arabian public investment fund, ironically sustained by oil revenues.

    The Saudi government plans to purchase 100,000 Lucid cars over ten years, with the fund investing heavily to support the struggling company, the report added. 

    Lucid is not alone in its financial struggles within the EV sector. Rivian, another upscale EV maker, faced a loss of $33,000 per vehicle sold in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Ford, a traditional automaker, anticipates over $4 billion in losses from its EV division this year.

    All this completely rational, sensible behavior and market mechanics in the name of climate change…

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 23:20

  • WeInflate, WeMalinvest, WeWork
    WeInflate, WeMalinvest, WeWork

    Authored by Peter C. Earle via the American Institute for Economic Research,

    The bankruptcy filing of WeWork Inc. on November 6, 2023 came with neither a whimper nor a bang, but with a laconic shrug. Although the company has been around for 13 years, it has been defined more by successive flirtations with demise and unseemly corporate revelations than by innovative ideas for the second half of its life. Few were surprised when the latest, and possibly not the final, chapter arrived.

    While some stories are better told starting at the end, the WeWork story is best told from the beginning: It started as a company that rents desks. That’s it. Yes, it has been described as an enterprise providing “flexible co-working spaces” with the value adds of “collaboration” and “community.” Over the years it has variously billed itself as a real estate company and a high-tech firm. It has dabbled in online events, run a design agency, owned a smartphone authentication startup, acquired an online facilities management platform, and stretched the We brand beyond recognition (WeLive, WeGrow, Rise by We, and others). At the root of all, though — buried deep under a morass of corporate mysticism, questionable business dealings, and most of all a penchant for squandering money at a Biblically diluvian rate — is a business of renting desks.

    One can easily see how the sharing model employed by Uber, AirBNB, Turo, TaskRabbit, Spinlister, and other such firms would’ve found its way into the commercial real estate business. Yet subleasing as a business was not pioneered by WeWork. Large urban office buildings are frequently not fully occupied outside traditional business hours. And rarely are there office spaces small enough to both accommodate and justify the expense of one or two individuals, or for only a day or two per week, or other permutations thereof. And this is where economic calculation begins: If some smart person could figure out how to treat commercial space like a four-dimensional game of Tetris, cleverly fitting different occupancy needs of spaces and times together in ways that traditional building managers can’t or won’t, they might not only serve an unmet need, but eke out a profit in the process. 

    But landlords aren’t terribly interested in putting wild-eyed intermediaries between themselves and their earnings. So an entrepreneur interested in offering unique, customizable office spaces has to first rent out space, usually several floors or an entire building, only then dividing it into the unusual units for which there may be a market. While eventually WeWork did purchase and operate its own buildings, its basic business is that of a sublessor: renting space to rent back out at a slight premium with perks to enhance the marketability of spaces. Some of those amenities were subtle, like dartboards or Ping Pong tables. Others seemed out-of-place in a business context, like beer on tap and hammocks. A few, like administrative support, phone systems, and printers undoubtedly added value.

    While there are many challenges to running that kind of business, several are immediately evident. First, margins are likely to be small — even before spending on inducements. Also, providing maximum permutability to would-be renters of various sizes and terms requires taking long-term leases. And it goes without saying that in order to make significant revenue and profits, the business — again, fundamentally, renting desks — would have to be scaled enormously. More floors, in more buildings, in more cities, with tireless marketing, sales, and development support. 

    If, sometime in 2019, you’d asked a major, international sublessor what the major threats to their business were, they’d probably have said a terror attack or serious recession. But both of those things have happened, and while they dampened economic growth, they weren’t long-lasting. Plus, international diversification provides a hedge, of sorts, to that kind of shock. What few, if any, would have guessed is that a pandemic would break out. Far fewer would have guessed that governments around the world, with few exceptions, would respond to a pandemic by ordering widespread business shutdowns, restrictions on in-person meetings, and other heedlessly destructive policies. And who, even when the word COVID became part of the 24-hour news cycle throughout 2020 and 2021, would have anticipated that the relaxation of non-pharmaceutical interventions would not be met by a surge back into office spaces, but by a vastly broader acceptance of remote work?

    In the future, the many idiosyncrasies of founder Adam Neumann are likely to figure prominently in WeWork retellings. The explanation for the bankruptcy that is likely to prevail, however, is that WeWork was felled by COVID precautions. In fact, WeWork was conceived of and established during the Federal Reserve’s post-2008 collapse zero interest rate policy (ZIRP), at a time when credit was cheap and plentiful. And just as the company was facing calamity, historically expansive monetary and fiscal policy measures gave the long-ailing WeWork a reprieve before it ultimately succumbed to long-looming financial vulnerabilities.

    Austrian Business Cycle Theory

    It sometimes puzzles observers that scores of sound businesses humming along would suddenly collapse in large bunches as economic conditions begin to deteriorate. Or relatedly, that firms which are unprofitable can at times limp along for years on end. The Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT) offers an explanation for these phenomena, by focusing upon the relationship between central bank policies, interest rates, and the allocation of resources within an economy.

    ABCT designates the start of booms with a period of credit expansion by a central bank, which typically involves lowering interest rates and increasing the money supply. This expansion leads to a decrease in market interest rates, making borrowing cheaper and more attractive to businesses and investors. As a result of the lower interest rates, businesses and investors increase their borrowing and investment activities. This leads to an economic boom characterized by increased spending, investment in long-term projects, and a general sense of optimism in the economy.

    Artificially low interest rates (rates set by policy, rather than set by market forces in lending markets) send misleading signals to entrepreneurs and investors. These low rates suggest that resources are more abundant than they actually are, and that the time preference for consumption, versus saving and investment, has changed. Entrepreneurs and businesses respond to the distorted interest rate signals by making investments in long-term and capital-intensive projects that may not be economically viable in the long run. They may engage in speculative ventures and allocate resources inefficiently. Owing to bountiful credit at negligible cost, business concepts which, in normal periods at market-determined rates, may never have gotten off the ground are not only established but gain initial traction. 

    The credit expansion can lead to the creation of asset bubbles in various sectors. These bubbles are unsustainable because they are driven by the artificial credit expansion rather than genuine economic fundamentals. Eventually, the unsustainable nature of the boom becomes evident. The central bank may start to raise interest rates or reduce monetary stimulus, leading to a contraction in credit and a shift in market sentiment. This triggers the “bust” phase. Malinvestments made during the boom become apparent. Businesses may find that their long-term projects are no longer profitable, leading to bankruptcies, layoffs, and a revaluation of asset prices.

    The Federal Reserve began its first round of quantitative easing (QE1) in late 2008 in response to the global financial crisis. It was followed by QE2, which ran from November 2010 to September 2012 and QE3, which ended in October 2014. WeWork’s establishment in March 2010 places its corporate birth late within the first, most-expansionary phase of the post-2008-crisis monetary policy regimes. 

    When interest rates are driven to rock-bottom prices as a matter of policy, investors begin to seek higher-risk projects and vehicles to produce meaningful returns. This phenomenon is known as the “reach for yield,” which has been seen time and time again throughout boom and bust cycles. It may induce individual investors preparing for retirement to abandon investment grade bonds and stock indices in favor of riskier securities. And it may drive venture capital firms already in the business of taking on speculative ventures to ratchet up their exposure to uncertain and questionable ventures. This has been shown from one speculative bubble to the next

    The WeWork Saga

    As mentioned previously, WeWork has done one thing consistently since its founding: lose money. A $15 million investment in 2010 which valued the company at $45 million leapt to a $16 billion valuation by 2016. By that time, the firm was already struggling, missing several financial targets and laying off a substantial number of its employees. By mid-2017 the firm was valued at $20 billion, boosted by high-profile investments from the Softbank Vision Fund among others. Throughout this period, WeWork embarked upon an acquisition spree, purchasing high-profile buildings, international spaces, competitors, and several businesses (some particularly unusual). The valuation of the company reached roughly $42 billion by the end of 2018, even as it lost over $2 billion throughout the year. 

    The peak of WeWork’s valuation was $47 billion in January 2019. At that point, an initial public offering of stock was considered, and in August 2019 a Form S-1 was filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

    (It is instructive at this point to note that an initial public offering, while sometimes depicted as a magnanimous opportunity for retail investors, is in fact an exit strategy for founders and early-stage investors. Although most companies continue to generate positive returns after going public, IPOs are undertaken when the general consensus among insiders is that the explosive period of initial growth is over, nearly so, or that public equity valuations are high enough that they should be taken advantage of.)

    The filing revealed WeWork to be incurring massive losses, with questionable governance arrangements and dubious prospects. Of particular note was the disclosure that the company had incurred $47 billion in future lease obligations with only $4 billion in lease commitments. A number of questionable financial metrics within the filing additionally raised concerns regarding the proper depiction of the firm’s financial health. The effect of these revelations, as well as doubts regarding the fitness of Neumann to serve as the CEO of a public company, led to the IPO being withdrawn in September 2019. Within this time period, the company’s valuation plummeted from nearly $50 billion to an estimated $10 billion

    In November, SoftBank Group disclosed a $9.2 billion loss in the value of its investments in WeWork, which amounted to approximately 90 percent of the $10.3 billion that SoftBank had previously invested in WeWork over the preceding years. Less than two weeks later, WeWork announced workforce reductions of roughly 20 percent of its global headcount. The firm was already struggling mightily before the pandemic struck. 

    With the onset of the pandemic came several rounds of massively expansionary monetary policy programs, as well as fiscal stimuli policies, on a global scale. A stock market crash in March 2020 — the first since 1987 — accompanied by several rounds of stimulus checks, rock-bottom interest rates, and collective ennui, drove investors into markets ranging from equities to cryptocurrencies and beyond. The coordinated short squeezes of a handful of distressed equity issues was emblematic of the effects of the massive credit boom.  

    Throughout 2020, WeWork liquidated some of its Chinese assets and engaged in several more rounds of layoffs. It also renegotiated certain lease agreements and deferments at many locations. Cheap money and seemingly insatiable risk appetites throughout the year led to a surge in Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) deals, which:

    are also commonly referred to as blank check companies … [T]hrough a SPAC transaction, a private company can become a publicly traded company with more certainty as to pricing and control over deal terms as compared to traditional initial public offerings, or IPOs … Unlike an operating company that becomes public through a traditional IPO, however, a SPAC is a shell company when it becomes public.  This means that it does not have an underlying operating business and does not have assets other than cash and limited investments, including the proceeds from the IPO. 

    This was the means by which WeWork ultimately became a publicly traded company on October 21, 2021. It ended its first trading day up 13 percent to $11.78 per share, for a valuation of $9 billion. 

    Fed Funds rate (red), WeWork stock price (black, w/first trading date green horizontal line

    (Source: Bloomberg Finance, LP)

    Less than six months later, in March 2022, the Federal Reserve began its most-aggressive contractionary policy campaign in four decades to arrest the surge of inflation in the United States. With higher interest rates and the contraction of the balance sheet, the size of the US money stock began contracting for the first time in decades. As the flow of credit slowed and became more expensive, the prospects of many SPACs dimmed, with their stock prices following. 

    After going public, WeWork’s stock price and valuation declined steadily. By August 2023 the share price hit $0.14 cents, down 99 percent in 22 months. WeWork bonds traded at a deeply distressed 10 cents to the dollar. Once valued at $47 billion, the company’s valuation had fallen to $300 million. To maintain the minimum $1 bid price required to remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange, the company undertook a 1:40 reverse split. And despite a debt restructuring, shedding superfluous assets, and the renegotiation of virtually all of its remaining global leases, WeWork filed for bankruptcy on Monday, November 6th, with $15 billion in assets, $18 billion in debt, and at a reverse split stock price of 84 cents valued at $60 million. Softbank’s total losses in WeWork are calculated at over $14 billion

    Since 2008, some eleven years have seen policy rates set at one percent or less. In that time period, the year-over-year expansion of different monetary aggregates has varied greatly. From March 2020 to July 2022, the M2 money supply increased by almost $6 trillion, and has since been contracting at the fastest rate in decades. 

    Companies founded in easy money periods will tend to be the most vulnerable. Many firms will survive the credit crunch, but few will emerge unscathed. WeWork is only among the most prominent of countless firms which were carried aloft by expansionary policies, now feeling the effects of the severe contractionary reversal (see also Peloton, Beyond Meat, Zoom, Didi Global, and others). 

    Stock prices of Peloton (blue), Beyond Meat (green), Zoom (purple), and Didi Global ADR (red), M1 Money Supply Index (black dash), and M2 Money Supply M2 Index (black dots), 2020 – present

    (Source: Bloomberg Finance, LP)

    The liquidation of malinvestment is painful and takes time. There will be more layoffs, more breached contracts, and more fire sales. There is a chance that, greatly scaled down and highly focused, WeWork can emerge from bankruptcy and find some measure of commercial success. Or its assets may be acquired by other entrepreneurs and put to work profitably. One cannot and should not fault business visionaries for attempting to scale a niche, low-margin business into a global empire…even if that business is renting desks. Nor are they to be blamed for taking advantage of investor interest, expansive credit offers, or unconventional sources of financing. The cause ultimately lies not with them, and much less with a virus, but with the monetary interventionism that made both the attempt and the ensuing wreckage possible. 

    Peter C. Earle is an economist who joined AIER in 2018. Prior to that he spent over 20 years as a trader and analyst at a number of securities firms and hedge funds in the New York metropolitan area. His research focuses on financial markets, monetary policy, and problems in economic measurement. He has been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC, Grant’s Interest Rate Observer, NPR, and in numerous other media outlets and publications. Pete holds an MA in Applied Economics from American University, an MBA (Finance), and a BS in Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 22:55

  • Watch: Officials Grilled Over San Fran's 'Miraculously' Spotless Streets For Xi Visit
    Watch: Officials Grilled Over San Fran’s ‘Miraculously’ Spotless Streets For Xi Visit

    With Chinese President Xi Jinping’s airplane having touched down in California Tuesday night, the Biden administration is facing questions over the now viral images coming out of San Francisco. As we and others have detailed, the feces-encrusted Golden City was miraculously able to clean itself upseemingly overnight.

    We previously pointed out that for decades, and with increasing severity, residents of San Francisco have been forced to navigate through shit-covered streets, drug dens and criminal elements, all while the city feigned the inability to do anything about it. On Monday, the White House was pressed on the growing and unavoidable public perception that the federal and local government in San Fran cares more about the soon to arrive Communist dictator than American citizens and civic life and public health.

    But as the disturbing clip below from a yesterday afternoon press briefing shows, the administration could care less. Biden admin advisor Jake Sullivan was asked, “Does President Biden agree that it’s more important to impress the leader of China than the American people that live in San Francisco?” Watch Sullivan’s pathetic non-answer below…

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    As one online commenter has pointed out, “San Francisco’s homeless population was entirely cleared out for Xi Jinping” and took note that “The government can easily fix our cities overnight. It just doesn’t want to.”

    And look who just basically admitted that this is precisely what’s going on…

    “I know folks say, ‘Oh, they’re just cleaning up this place because all these fancy leaders are coming into town.’ That’s true because it’s true.”

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    And the reaction from San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who also skirted the relevant pointed question and gave a non-answer

    “We have been working on this now for a few years…

    This is not an issue that we’ve been sitting around waiting to solve,” Mayor Breed said. 

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

    Meanwhile, Xi has emerged to newly “clean streets”…

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

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 22:30

  • Harvard Grad Union Endorses Anti-Israel BDS Movement Amid Backlash From Jewish Alumni
    Harvard Grad Union Endorses Anti-Israel BDS Movement Amid Backlash From Jewish Alumni

    Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    A tourist photographs a sign painted on a wall in the biblical town of Bethlehem on June 5, 2015, calling to boycott Israeli products coming from Jewish settlements. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)

    Harvard University’s graduate student union has voted to endorse the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, a move that risks further ire from the Ivy League school’s Jewish affiliates who are threatening to withhold donations.

    The roughly 600-member Harvard Graduate Student Union voted on Nov. 10 to support a BDS statement from some rank-and-file members of the United Auto Workers, the national union to which the Harvard group belongs, according to student newspaper The Harvard Crimson.

    The BDS is a loose amalgam of organizations and individuals who call for economic pressure on Israel to change its Palestinian policies. While some merely see BDS activism as a way to express their solidarity with the Palestinians, others are convinced that it is a concrete strategy to isolate and delegitimize the state of Israel by inflicting real economic damage.

    As members of the labor movement, we call on U.S. labor unions to cut all ties with Israeli unions,” the UAW rank-and-file statement reads.

    About 64 percent of Harvard grad union members voted in favor of the statement, representing the largest turnout for a non-contract vote in the union’s history, The Crimson reported.

    Also approved at the Nov. 10 meeting was a separate statement calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The statement, primarily signed by the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America, also calls for the release of Israeli civilians taken hostage by Hamas.

    “The road to peace cannot be found through warfare,” it reads. “We commit ourselves to work in solidarity with the Palestinian and Israeli peoples to achieve peace and justice.”

    The second statement passed with 69 percent of votes.

    Shani Cohen, a former bargaining committee member who voted against the BDS endorsement but is in favor of the calling for a ceasefire, told The Crimson that she will resign from the union. She argued that the union’s actions are not helping to fix the hostile climate against Jewish and pro-Israel students on campus.

    The union kind of failed its basic role in protecting members and being in solidarity with members that are Israeli or Jewish,” she said.

    ‘Polarizing Rhetoric’

    The union’s vote also comes as more than 1,600 Harvard alumni declared that they will close their checkbooks to the Cambridge, Massachusetts, school if it doesn’t take urgent action to crack down on anti-Semitism.

    “We never thought that, at Harvard College, we would have to argue the point that terrorism against civilians demands immediate and unequivocal condemnation,” wrote members of the Harvard College Jewish Alumni Association (HCJAA) in an open letter to President Claudine Gay and Dean of Harvard College Rakesh Khurana. “We never thought we would have to argue for recognition of our own humanity.”

    We are calling on the University to meet its commitment to protecting all its students, not just those that shout the loudest or blare the most polarizing rhetoric.

    The HCJAA was formed last month in the aftermath of the university’s response to the Oct. 7 attacks. Organizers claim that this is the first Jewish alumni association in Harvard’s history.

    In an interview with CNN, Rebecca Claire Brooks, a co-founder of the HCJAA, said many of the signatories of the letter are key donors to the university.

    “This is a broad and growing intergenerational movement of alumni from many different sectors and industries,” she said. “Yes, some of them are very influential donors and some of them are sort of more normal-sized donors. But we’re speaking in one unified voice in response to this moment.”

    Harvard, like every other Ivy League school, relies on donations and endowments for a significant proportion of its income. According to the university’s financial report for fiscal year 2022, donations generated total revenue of $5.8 billion. Only 55 percent of the university’s revenue was generated through education, research, and other means such as publications and royalties.

    “As the University’s single largest contributor to revenue, 45 percent of this year’s income arose from philanthropy—9 percent from current use gifts, which have an immediate impact on operations, and 36 percent from the ongoing support of distributions from the endowment,” the report stated.

    Several high-profile donors have already announced that they were cutting ties with Harvard. Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer and his wife, Batia, quit an executive board at the university in protest over the university leadership’s response to the Hamas attacks. Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management; and Leslie Wexner, former chief executive Victoria’s Secret, have also joined the donor exodus.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 22:05

  • "No Ceasefire!": Largest Pro-Israel Rally In World Held In D.C.
    “No Ceasefire!”: Largest Pro-Israel Rally In World Held In D.C.

    Tuesday saw a huge pro-Israel rally take over Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., which organizers say was in support of ongoing Israeli military efforts to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and towards denouncing antisemitism in the US and globally.

    Some reports estimate the crowd was nearly 300,000 people, as it filled the National Mall and stretched for several blocks. Jewish organizations had been active in bussing activist groups from cities across the east coast.

    Image: Times of Israel

    Israeli President Isaac Herzog addressed the crowd via live video feed. He said people from all over the US and world were in D.C. “to march for the babies, the boys and girls, women and men viciously held hostage by Hamas; to march for the right of every Jew to live proudly and safely in America, in Israel and all around the world.”

    The march is being widely reported as the largest pro-Israel demonstration to occur anywhere since the killing of some 1,200-1,400 Jews in Hamas’ Oct.7 attacks:

    Addressing the pro-Israel rally on Washington’s National Mall, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations CEO William Daroff says over 290,000 people are in attendance, making it the largest pro-Israel gathering in history.

    He adds that more than 250,000 people have also been watching online and on C-SPAN.

    US House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke in person, receiving loud cheers when he denounced any talk of ceasefire. He actually called the very idea of ceasefire at this point “outrageous.” He emphasized, “Israel will cease their counter-offensive when Hamas ceases to be a threat to the Jewish state.” The crowd then broke out into chants of “no ceasefire!” 

    Some critics said the march had the atmosphere of a “pro-war rally”

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    Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also addressed the rally, saying “When Hamas says from the river to the sea, they mean all the present-day Israel should be a Jewish-free land.” He said: “We stand with you, and we will not rest until you get all the assistance you need.”

    Many Evangelical pastors and leaders were also present. The Evangelical movement, and particularly those who have ‘end times’ Biblical prophecy as a primary doctrinal focus, represent a significant base of Israel’s unwavering support in America. Arguably the most controversial pastor to address Tuesday’s rally was Christians United For Israel’s Pastor John Hagee, who is based out of San Antonio. 

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    “You, the leaders of Israel, and you alone, should determine how this war is going to be conducted and concluded,” Hagee told the cheering crowd. “You decide — no one else.”

    He continued, “Choose Israel or Hamas,” and emphasized: “There is no middle ground in this conflict. You’re either for the Jewish people or you’re not.”

    But Hagee has long been well-known to make incredibly controversial statements regarding the Jewish state, which he says Christians must support as a matter of dogma. For example:

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    Tuesday’s massive march comes after dozens of large pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the US and across major Western and global capitals have denounced Israel’s military operation as “genocidal”. These rallies have become particularly big in London. They have denounced Israel’s killing of well over 10,000 Palestinians (and now, the mostly civilian death has surpassed 11,200). However, strong supporters of Israel have often deemed these events ‘antisemitic’–and the Israeli government has also accused these marches of being “pro-Hamas”. 

    The D.C. event was considered a ‘high security’ situation, and Metro police were out in force. Earlier in the day it was reported that “The Department of Homeland Security has designated Tuesday’s March for Israel in Washington, D.C., as a  ‘Level 1’ security event, the highest rating of risk assessment, sources tell ABC News.” But thankfully there appears to have been no significant security incident.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 21:40

  • Xi/Biden: Photo Op Or "Defining” Moment?"
    Xi/Biden: Photo Op Or “Defining” Moment?”

    By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

    Xi/Biden – Photo Op or “Defining” Moment?

    I just want to make sure that we are on the same page: I generally view these international meetings (G-20, UN, COP 25, and Davos) as much more about “photo ops” and “soundbites” rather than anything material. However, I think that this time could be different.

    I have been negative on our relationship with China.

    • The need to carefully safeguard intellectual property.
    • The need to secure supply chains. For corporations (and for the nation as a whole), as we reassess what “wartime production” means, the war might not feature a traditional enemy, and could include anything from cyber to pandemics.
    • The competition for chips. This is a tricky one, as it is really about high-end, military, AI, and quantum computing grade chips, but it is impacting the entire industry and IP.
    • Rare earth metals, critical minerals, and processing. We largely ceded this to China as we failed to deal with many of the countries that have these minerals in abundant supply and we regulated ourselves out of much of the processing.
    • The threat to global sales of U.S. products, especially in emerging markets, as China transitions from “Made in China” to “Made by China.” This is a natural progression for Chinese brands, but it introduces a new competitor for our domestic brands.
    • The rise in trade that is being denominated in yuan (versus the dollar or other currencies). This is only a “negative” because it reduces the impact of sanctions in many regions, as trade can easily continue in other currencies.
    • Investing in China. My concern has been about “the ability to get the money out” and “what rules could be changed” especially in cases where the rules were bent to allow for certain investments or financial activities to occur.
    • Taiwan, the South China Sea, China’s military, Geopolitics, and Diplomacy. While these are more in the purview of Academy’s Geopolitical Intelligence Group, everyone is well aware of the risks, and these risks are a concern for many of our clients.

    Based on everything that we’ve done so far, I still think that we could get some “positive” surprises out of this meeting.

    The Case for a “Defining” Moment

    It is important for me to get this on the record, partly because it may surprise people given the litany of issues that were raised in the first section.
    The reasons why I think that we could get a positive surprise out of this meeting are:

    • Tariffs. If you weren’t mired in the back and forth around the tariffs that Trump put in place, then you saved yourself some misery. It was probably the first time that I can remember where one’s political affiliation seemed to really impact one’s views on tariffs. “Trade wars are bad!” I was in the “we’ve been in a trade war for 2 decades and this is the first time that we’ve fired a shot” camp. In any case, there was real vitriol at the time and many pieces were written against tariffs. But the election came and went, and the tariffs were largely unchanged. I believe that many of those senior economic advisors who opposed tariffs still do, which means that there must be an inclination to cut back on tariffs. In fact, many expected that the administration would roll back tariffs on day one and these people were somewhat surprised when that didn’t happen. Rolling back some tariffs seems possible.
    • The chip industry. This is incredibly important, and we initially addressed this in World War V3.1. The risk has always been about finding the “right level” of technology to restrict. If it’s too low, then we don’t accomplish our national security objectives. If it is too high, then we won’t allow companies to profit from existing developments or use those profits to propel us into the future (the Chips Act helps but isn’t sufficient). I must imagine that lobbyists are saying that some recent proposals have gone too far. Real potential for some pullback on rhetoric.
    • Iranian oil. Venezuelan oil. The SPR. We have been “pragmatic” (to say the least) in many cases around the world. So-called “lines in the sand” have been moved. But let’s just focus on oil and what has happened in the past year as we “fought inflation.” By all accounts, Iran is selling over 3 million barrels of oil a day despite sanctions that should be keeping that number much lower. The U.S. struck a deal to start accessing Venezuelan oil, which required a commitment to free elections. The Venezuelan courts killed the free election idea, but so far there is no indication that we have lost interest in getting Venezuelan oil. Not long ago, we said something about replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve when oil was below $80. If we did this, it was at a snail’s pace. So, for anyone arguing that the U.S. has changed its current stance, I must mention the “pragmatic” behavior that we’ve seen recently.
    • Too much geopolitical uncertainty. The attack by Hamas and Israel’s response has opened a new front for U.S. involvement in the region (in terms of support). The Ukrainian offensive stalling doesn’t help matters there, where international support for Ukraine (after almost 2 years) seems to be diminishing. China has been careful not to act against anyone, and many of their diplomatic actions seem to encourage a reconciliation in these conflicts. At the same time, their activity around Taiwan has escalated, pilots have acted more “daring” around U.S. military aircraft, and their Coast Guard has interfered with the resupplying of the Second Thomas Shoal by the Philippines. Wouldn’t it be nice to de-escalate this? With so much going on around the globe, de-escalating the risks here so that the U.S. and China can focus on all the problems already on their plates would be very helpful, especially coming into an election year.
    • China’s slowing economy. China’s economy has still not kicked into gear post-COVID. This is partly because companies across the globe have less interest in creating manufacturing facilities there, the Belt and Road Initiative seems to have slowed, and the real estate market is in decline (which limits the ability of many citizens to consume). Xi has a middle class that he and the Chinese Communist Party would like to placate (remember, after some protests, the government did an about-face on the COVID lockdowns). Xi is not in a position to play hardball and should want a deal (he does have the advantage of knowing that he has a “lifetime” to achieve his goals, so his negotiating strategy can be longer-term in nature).
    • Inflation. Inflation remains a legitimate fear. I’m not in the runaway inflation camp, though I do think that geopolitical/reshoring/ESG inflation will put upward pressure on inflation for the next several years (1% to 3% above “normal” inflation). However, I understand the fear (especially if India’s economy kicks into an even higher gear). Some sort of deal would likely be seen as deflationary (driving bond yields lower and stock prices higher).

    So, be prepared for the meeting this week to come across as highly conciliatory prompting an “everything rally” into year-end. We don’t even need to see concrete actions taken. If the messaging is strong, that messaging (combined with seasonality and a lot of negativity priced into the market) should be enough to get the job done.

    Bottom Line

    I suspect that I will rant about any “deal,” saying that the U.S. traded short-term benefits for longer-term problems, but that won’t stop a “deal” from helping markets near-term.

    We will know more by the end of the week, but position for the “everything rally” in case this meeting turns out to be far more than a mere “photo op” and delivers a deal that will be pitched as “historic!”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 21:15

  • Israeli Troops Storm Gaza's Largest Hospital After Doctors Warn Of 'Catastrophic Consequences'
    Israeli Troops Storm Gaza’s Largest Hospital After Doctors Warn Of ‘Catastrophic Consequences’

    Update(2113ET): In the overnight and early morning hours of Wednesday (local time), Israel’s military says it is moving against al-Shifa hospital, the Strip’s largest, while saying the assault “operation” is necessary to root out a Hamas command post there. 

    Al Jazeera earlier reported that Israel announced the hospital would be raided in “minutes” – but the fate of worried doctors and patients has remained unknown since. According to the latest being reported in The Wall Street Journal

    Israeli forces carried out a targeted operation against Hamas “in a specified area’’ of Gaza’s largest hospital, hours after the White House backed Israeli assertions that Palestinian militants are running military operations from the enclave’s hospitals.

    The Israeli military said that it launched “a precise and targeted operation’’ in the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The White House had earlier cautioned Israel not to carry out airstrikes against the hospital. Hamas said in a statement that it holds Israel and President Biden “fully responsible” for the raid on Al-Shifa hospital.

    On the ground Al Jazeera coverage is showing chaos unfolding at the hospital, which has already been site of mass death, given the IDF has had it surrounded for days and has reportedly fired at targets near the entrance. Fighting has also engulfed its environs, where tanks have the area surrounded.

    The Ministry of Health in Gaza has stated: “Dozens of [Israeli] soldiers entered the emergency department building in Al-Shifa Hospital Complex.”

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    Doctors interviewed by Al Jazeera say they plan to remain with the patients, who have been moved into interior corridors, as gunfire can be heard on the hospital campus. There are multiple thousands, including displaced refugees seeking shelter, still inside the besieged hospital. There are growing accusations that Israel’s operation is a clear war crime.

    Below is the official IDF statement in English announcing the new offensive against al-Shifa:

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    Palestinian Minister of Health Dr. Mai Al-Kaila had earlier been cited in regional sources as warning ahead of the new assault, “Israeli forces are committing a new crime against humanity, medical staff, and patients by besieging and bombing the Shifa Medical Complex. We hold the occupation fully responsible for the lives of the medical staff, patients, and displaced people in the Shifa Medical Complex, and we warn of the catastrophic consequences of storming the medical complex.”

    Israel says it got a green light for the raid on Shifa from the US, after the White House said it backs Israel’s narrative that it’s being used for military purposes.

    * * *

    Israel has been ramping up its global messaging campaign at a moment it faces increased isolation from Global South countries, and amid growing criticism from large powers like China, Russia, and major Latin American countries such as Brazil.  

    But there have been signs of dissent even within the Biden administration as well, with pushback especially coming from the State Department of late, as US officials want to see the White House become more publicly critical of alleged Israeli war crimes, given also the immense death toll, at over 11,200 Gazans killed – with some half of these believed to be women and children.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now taking his message to the American public, in a Monday night appearance on Fox News’ Sean Hannity, warning that the US will be “next” if his military doesn’t decimate Hamas.

    Via AP

    “We have to win not only for our sake, but for the sake of the Middle East, for the sake of our Arab neighbors. You know what, for the sake of Gazans who’ve been held by this dark tyranny that has brutalized and brought them nothing but bloodshed and poverty and misery,” Netanyahu introduced.

    “We have to win to protect Israel. We have to win to safeguard the Middle East. We have to win for the sake of the civilized world. That’s the battle we’re fighting, and it’s being waged right now. There is no substitute for that victory.”

    And that’s when he emphasized the potential dire repercussions for the West if Israel fails in its objectives. “If we don’t win now, then Europe is next and you’re next. And we have to win,” he added.

    Netanyahu’s words carried a theme of a war between ‘barbarians’ and ‘civilization’, with an intent to make Americans believe what’s happening in the Middle East is “your fight” as well. According to Fox:

    Netanyahu stressed that “our fight is your fight” and that there is “no substitute for victory.”

    “We have to have the forces of civilization beat these barbarians because otherwise this barbarism will spread and will endanger the entire world,” Netanyahu said. “Every American, every civilized country will be under peril. We have to win. There is no substitute for victory. Total victory.”

    Such messaging filled with a ‘good vs. evil’ motif was also heavily relied upon by the Bush administration and neocons in selling the Iraq War in 2003. Netanyahu has in past years also painted such simple contrasts when speaking about Iran and its supposed ‘nuclear threat’ as well.

    Netanyahu may have been responding to rare words of restraint issued by President Biden on the same day. “I have not been reluctant in expressing my concerns about what’s going on and it’s my hope and expectation that it will be less intrusive action relative to the hospital,” Biden said Monday regarding the worsening humanitarian crisis at al-Shifa hospital in the center of Gaza City.

    Zelensky’s playbook of “you’re next”?…

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    “So, I remain somewhat hopeful but the hospital must be protected,” he said. This was in response to growing international condemnation, including from the UN, of Israeli troops laying siege to the large Gaza hospital, amid reports that patients – including the very young – are dying, and as the hospital has run out of fuel to keep vital generators going.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 21:13

  • Empty Words? Biden Tells Family Members Of US Hostages In Gaza: "Hang In There, We're Coming"
    Empty Words? Biden Tells Family Members Of US Hostages In Gaza: “Hang In There, We’re Coming”

    It was only on Sunday that the Bident administration belatedly revealed that an American toddler is among the some 240 Israeli and foreign hostages being held by Hamas. Though an exact figure is hard to come by, there may be a dozen or more dual US citizens among the captives. Last month, two were among the first to be released. Days ago, White House spokesman Jake Sullivan put the number at nine Americans missing.

    But hopes are dwindling concerning the fate of the rest, given how violent the fighting in Gaza City has been. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Tuesday a new death of one of its soldiers in captivity: 19-year old Cpl. Noa Marciano. She had been kidnapped by Hamas during the Oct.7 terror raids, but then

    On Monday evening, Hamas published a propaganda video of Marciano, showing her speaking to the camera four days after being taken hostage, identifying herself and reciting the names of her parents and her hometown. The video then cut to showing her dead body.

    Noa Marciano’s mother holds a sign with her picture in a media interview

    Hamas sources have suggested she died as the result of an airstrike, while Israeli sources say that terrorists beat her to death, or executed her. The IDF has now confirmed her death in captivity.

    This has sparked new fears over the worst case scenario for remaining hostages. On Tuesday reporters asked President Joe Biden about what’s being done to free the rest, and particularly the Americans. He told reporters that his message to the hostages and their families is “Hang in there, we’re coming.”

    “I’ve been talking to the people involved every single day. I believe it’s going to happen, but I don’t want to get into any detail,” Biden said. These talks have centered on Qatar’s ability to mediate, given it communicates with Hamas leadership.

    Sullivan over the weekend had told ABC News, “There are ongoing negotiations involving the Israelis, the Qataris, and we, the United States, are actively engaged in this as well because we want to make sure that we bring home those Americans who have been taken hostage as well as all of the other hostages.”

    In addition to the negotiations track, it’s possible the White House could be preparing a military rescue “option”, but such an operation would of course be extremely risky and filled with uncertainty amid the evolving urban battlefield. 

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    It was previously confirmed that the Pentagon currently has elite special forces operators advising the Israelis. There are also rumors these US forces could be on the Gaza battlefield in limited numbers. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 20:50

  • Speculator Or Investor? What’s The Difference?
    Speculator Or Investor? What’s The Difference?

    Authored by Lance Roberts via realinvestmentadvice.com,

    Are you an “investor” or a “speculator?” 

    Over the last month, we have discussed the “false market narratives” that push investors to make portfolio mistakes. Such is why we previously discussed the “Investing Rules” needed to navigate volatile markets.

    This past week, on the #RealInvestmentShow, we discussed the difference between being an investor, like Warren Buffett, and a speculator, which is both you and I.

    In today’s market, the majority of investors are simply chasing performance. However, why would you NOT expect this to happen when financial advisers, the mainstream media, and Wall Street continually press the idea that investors “must beat” some random benchmark index from one year to the next?

    But this defines the difference between being a “speculator” or an “investor?” 

    Graham And Carret

    If you were playing a hand of poker and were dealt a “pair of deuces,” would you push all your chips to the center of the table?

    Of course not.

    The reason is you intuitively understand the other factors “at play.” Even a cursory understanding of the game of poker suggests other players at the table are probably holding better hands, which will rapidly reduce your wealth.

    More importantly, just like a game of poker, as individuals buying a few company shares, we have ZERO control over how that company manages its finances, makes decisions, or conducts its business. As such, we are “betting” on an unknowable future outcome with only a basic understanding of the risks involved.

    Therefore, as individuals, we are “speculators” in the financial markets, and as such, we must focus on the management of the risks to allow us to “stay in the game long enough” to “win.”

    “Philip Carret, who wrote The Art of Speculation (1930), believed “motive” was the test for determining the difference between investment and speculation. Carret connected the investor to the economics of the business and the speculator to price. ‘Speculation,’ wrote Carret, ‘may be defined as the purchase or sale of securities or commodities in expectation of profiting by fluctuations in their prices.’”Robert Hagstrom, CFA

    Chasing markets is the purest form of speculation. It is simply a bet on prices going higher rather than determining if the price being paid for those assets is selling at a discount to fair value.

    Benjamin Graham and David Dodd attempted a precise definition of investing and speculation in their seminal work Security Analysis (1934).

    An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.”

    There is also an essential passage in Graham’s The Intelligent Investor:

    “The distinction between investment and speculation in common stocks has always been a useful one and its disappearance is a cause for concern. We have often said that Wall Street as an institution would be well advised to reinstate this distinction and to emphasize it in all its dealings with the public. Otherwise the stock exchanges may some day be blamed for heavy speculative losses, which those who suffered them had not been properly warned against.”

    Indeed, in today’s world of chasing markets from one year to the next, the meaning of being an investor has been lost. However, the following ten guidelines from legends of our time will hopefully get you back on track and turn you from being a speculator to a successful investor.

    10-Investing Guidelines From Legendary Investors

    1) Jeffrey Gundlach, DoubleLine

    “The trick is to take risks and be paid for taking those risks, but to take a diversified basket of risks in a portfolio.”

    This is a common theme that you will see throughout this post. Great investors focus on “risk management” because “risk” is not a function of how much money you will make but how much you will lose when you are wrong. As a speculator, you can only play if you have capital.

    Be greedy when others are fearful and fearful when others are greedy. One of the best times to invest is when uncertainty and fear are the highest.

    2) Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates

    “The biggest mistake investors make is to believe that what happened in the recent past is likely to persist. They assume that something that was a good investment in the recent past is still a good investment. Typically, high past returns simply imply that an asset has become more expensive and is a poorer, not better, investment.”

    Nothing good or bad goes on forever. The mistake that investors repeatedly make is thinking, “This time is different.” The reality is that it will change despite whatever mainstream narrative is permeating headlines. The rule that never changes is that “what goes up must and will come down, and vice versa.”

    Wall Street wants you to be fully invested “all the time” because that is how they generate fees. However, as an investor, it is crucially important to remember that “price is what you pay, and value is what you get.” 

    Speculators don’t care about value. Investors do.

    3) Seth Klarman, Baupost

    “Most investors are primarily oriented toward return, how much they can make and pay little attention to risk, how much they can lose.”

    The most significant risk in investing is investor behavior driven by cognitive biases. “Greed and fear” dominate the investment cycle of investors, ultimately leading to “buying high and selling low.”

    4) Jeremy Grantham, GMO

    “You don’t get rewarded for taking risk; you get rewarded for buying cheap assets. And if the assets you bought got pushed up in price simply because they were risky, then you are not going to be rewarded for taking a risk; you are going to be punished for it.”

    Successful investors avoid “risk” at all costs, even if it means underperforming in the short termThe reason is that while the media and Wall Street have you focused on chasing market returns in the short term, ultimately, the excess “risk” built into your portfolio will lead to abysmal long-term returns. Like Wyle E. Coyote, chasing financial markets will eventually lead you over the cliff’s edge.

    5) Jesse Livermore, Speculator

    “The speculator’s deadly enemies are: ignorance, greed, fear and hope. All the statute books in the world and all the rule books on all the Exchanges of the earth cannot eliminate these from the human animal….”

    Allowing emotions to rule your investment strategy is, and always has been, a recipe for disaster. All great investors follow a strict discipline, process, and risk management diet. The emotional mistakes show up in the returns of individual portfolios over time. (Source: Dalbar)

    6) Howard Marks, Oaktree Capital Management

    “Rule No. 1: Most things will prove to be cyclical.

    Rule No. 2: Some of the greatest opportunities for gain and loss come when other people forget Rule No. 1.”

    As with Ray Dalio, realizing nothing lasts forever is critical to long-term investing. To “buy low,” one must first “sell high.” Understanding that all things are cyclical suggests that investments become more prone to declines after long price increases.

    7) James Montier, GMO

    “There is a simple, although not easy alternative [to forecasting]… Buy when an asset is cheap, and sell when an asset gets expensive…. Valuation is the primary determinant of long-term returns, and the closest thing we have to a law of gravity in finance.”

    “Cheap” is when an asset sells for less than its intrinsic value. “Cheap” is not a low price per share. When a stock has a very low price, it is usually priced there for a reason. However, a very high-priced stock CAN be cheap. Price per share is only part of the valuation determination, not the measure of value itself.

    8) George Soros, Soros Capital Management

    “It’s not whether you’re right or wrong that’s important, but how much money you make when you’re right and how much you lose when you’re wrong.”

    Regarding risk management, being right and making money is great when markets are rising. However, rising markets tend to mask investment risk that is quickly revealed during market declines. If you fail to manage the risk in your portfolio and give up all of your previous gains and then some, you lose the investment game.

    9) Jason Zweig, Wall Street Journal

    “Regression to the mean is the most powerful law in financial physics: Periods of above-average performance are inevitably followed by below-average returns, and bad times inevitably set the stage for surprisingly good performance.”

    The chart below shows the 3-year average of annual inflation-adjusted returns of the S&P 500 to 1900. The power of regression is seen. Historically, when returns exceeded 10%, it was not long before they fell to 10% below the long-term mean. Those reversions were devastating to investor’s capital.

    10) Howard Marks, Oaktree Capital Management

    “The biggest investing errors come not from factors that are informational or analytical, but from those that are psychological.”

    The biggest driver of long-term investment returns is the minimization of psychological investment mistakes.

    Baron Rothschild once said, “Buy when there is blood in the streets.” This means that when investors are “panic selling,” you want to be the one they sell to at deeply discounted prices. Howard Marks expressed the same sentiment: “The absolute best buying opportunities come when asset holders are forced to sell.”

    Conclusion

    As an investor, it is simply your job to step away from your “emotions” and look objectively at the market around you. Is it currently dominated by “greed” or “fear?” Your long-term returns will depend significantly on how you answer that question and manage the inherent risk.

    “The investor’s chief problem – and even his worst enemy – is likely to be himself.” – Benjamin Graham

    As I stated at the beginning of this message, “Market Timing” is ineffective in managing your money. However, as you will note, every great investor throughout history has had one core philosophy in common: the management of the inherent risk of investing to conserve and preserve investment capital.

    “If you run out of chips, you are out of the game.”

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 20:25

  • Doug Casey On The Imminent Bankruptcy Of The US Government
    Doug Casey On The Imminent Bankruptcy Of The US Government

    Authored by Doug Casey via the International Man,

    International Man: Everyone knows that the US government has been bankrupt for many years. But we thought it might be instructive to see its current cash-flow situation.

    The US government’s budget is the biggest in the history of the world and is growing at an uncontrollable rate.

    Below is a chart of the budget for the most recent fiscal year, which had a deficit of nearly $1.7 trillion.

    Before we get into the specific items in the budget, what is your take on the Big Picture for the US budget?

    Doug CaseyThe biggest expenditure for the US government are so-called entitlements. It’s strange how the word “entitlements” has been legitimized. Are people really entitled to the government paying for their health, retirement, and welfare? In a moral society, the answer is: No. Entitlements destroy personal responsibility, legitimize theft, destroy wealth, and create antagonisms.

    The fact is that once people have an “entitlement,” they come to rely on it, and you can’t easily take it away. The Chinese call that breaking somebody’s rice bowl. In the case of the American welfare state, it’s more a question of breaking a whipped dog’s doggy bowl. It’s a shame because many have come to rely on their mother, the State, not entirely through their own fault. The US has become pervasively corrupt.

    The World Economic Forum (WEF)—a pox upon them—isn’t entirely incorrect when it arrogantly calls most people “useless mouths.” An increasing number produce absolutely nothing but only consume at the expense of others. Courtesy of the State.

    There’s little doubt in my mind that the government’s expenses are going way up as people demand more. While receipts go down as the Greater Depression deepens. Which it will, as the economy is burdened by evermore taxes, regulations, and currency debasement. That’s on top of the gigantic debt the government and country are buried under.

    The government reminds me of a poker player on tilt, betting more and more crazily in hope of magic or luck to bail him out. It always ends badly.

    We’ve watched this progression accelerate since at least the 1960’s—a slow motion train wreck. But the inevitable has finally turned into the imminent.

    International Man: What are your thoughts on Social Security, Health, and Medicare?

    With an aging population, it seems politically impossible to make any meaningful cuts here. On the contrary, spending in these areas is likely to explode.

    Doug Casey: They should be abolished. I’ve said this many times before, but it bears repeating as often as possible because everybody forgets the most basic of the basics. Namely, the government, as an instrument of force, should be limited to protecting people from physical force. And nothing else.

    That implies a police system to defend people from force within, a military to defend against foreign aggressors, and a court system to allow people to adjudicate disputes without resorting to force. I’d further argue that those three things are so important to the conduct of a civil society that they shouldn’t be left to the kind of people who inevitably gravitate towards government. But that’s a different subject.

    Looking at these three things you mentioned in particular, they’re complete disasters. They’re fiscally unsound, will bankrupt the US government, and, therefore, bankrupt the country itself, especially with an aging population.

    Social Security seemed like a good idea at the time so that poor people wouldn’t be left totally without an income in old age. But the fact is that Social Security is a classic Ponzi scheme. Its taxes have gone from a trivial percentage to 12.4%.

    It’s so high that people are on the bottom end of society, who it’s meant to help, are precluded from saving on their own. Social Security is both a practical and moral disaster.

    As for Medicare, how is it your problem if another has failed to take care of his body? Your body is your primary possession. Should it also be your problem if somebody fails to take care of his car? Should the State fix all your property?

    Should the government have anything to do with health? No. It’s strictly a matter of personal responsibility. Of course, if the State believes it owns you, like a milk cow, the cattle can expect food to show up, as will medicine if they get sick.

    Government entitlement schemes encourage everyone to try to live at the expense of his neighbors. They’re intrinsically dehumanizing, corrupting, and degrading. They’re a bad deal all around.

    International Man: With the most precarious geopolitical situation since World War 2, “National Defense” seems unlikely to be cut.

    Instead, so-called defense spending is all but certain to increase.

    What is your take?

    Doug Casey: The United States’ “defense” spending exceeds that of the next 10 nations combined, including Russia and China. Most of that spending goes into the maw of five major defense companies. A decade or two ago, there used to be 30 or 40 defense companies. But they’ve now consolidated, the better to deal with Big Government.

    They increasingly make only expensive high-tech weapons, which may prove totally useless in today’s environment. For instance, the US is currently suffering an invasion of feet people across the southern border—millions and millions of young males, of alien race, language, religion, and culture, in the last two years alone. We may yet wind up with a civil war in the US, on top of several insane foreign wars.

    These high-tech weapons, in the process of bankrupting the US and enriching the defense establishment, will prove largely useless. Meanwhile, military personnel are being gutted. It’s no secret that the services can’t recruit enough people to keep their numbers where they want them. That’s in good measure because ESG and DEI have been insinuated throughout the military like slow-acting poisons. The military is no longer a meritocracy. Now, it’s critical to be the right color and gender. George Patton would quit in disgust.

    On top of all that, defense spending is a provocation to other countries. It’s like waving around a giant golden hammer. They’re correctly afraid that everything has started to look like a nail to the US.

    International Man: The net interest expense on the national debt was $659 billion in FY 2023, which is sure to rise.

    The US government needs to roll over a significant portion of its existing debt issued when interest rates were 0% in an environment of much higher and rising rates.

    What are your thoughts on this item?

    Doug Casey: Interest on the debt is the next big thing, in addition to entitlements and out-of-control “defense” spending.

    They used to say, “Don’t worry about the national debt; we owe it to ourselves,” which was always ridiculous because some specific people always owed it to other specific people.

    But the US can no longer generate adequate capital to fund the government’s debt. And I hasten to point out that the government is not “We the People.” The government is a separate entity, with its own interests, as distinct as General Motors.

    In the recent past, the national debt has been financed not by Americans, but by foreigners. At this point, however, foreigners no longer want to own the debt of a bankrupt entity whose currency is nothing but a floating abstraction. The government can only finance its debt by selling it to its central bank, the Fed, which creates new dollars to buy the debt.

    As the dollar inevitably loses value, interest rates will rise. That’s regardless of what the Fed does or doesn’t want. The market will demand higher interest rates to finance the debt. You don’t want to own bonds.

    International Man: US government expenses seem to have nowhere to go but up.

    Is there any chance the US government can reform and return to a sustainable basis?

    If not, what are the implications?

    Doug Casey: The US government is bankrupt. It’s not just the official $34 trillion. The real number is several times higher, considering contingent liabilities. It’s probably more like $100 trillion. This debt will never be repaid. The US government is like Wiley Coyote after he runs off a cliff.

    In addition, the average American is deeply in debt—student loans, mortgage debt, credit card debt, auto debt, and much more. The country is in big trouble. Frankly, there’s no practical way out at this point except to officially declare bankruptcy.

    I realize serious change is impossible since the situation is so out of control. But here are six things to imagine—for a start:

    1. Allow the collapse of all bankrupt entities. No bailouts, subsidies, or guarantees for banks, insurers, corporations, or anything. 

    There will be plenty in the coming years. Bailout money is always wasted. Most of the real wealth now owned by the bankrupt entities will still exist.

    It will simply change ownership. But that’s not nearly enough. At this point, it would be a half-measure, a 3-foot rope over a 12-foot gap. If you allow the collapse of unprofitable enterprises without changing the conditions that created the problem, recovery is going to be even harder. So…

    2. Deregulate. Contrary to what almost everyone thinks, the main purpose of regulation is not to protect consumers but to entrench the current order. Regulation prevents new institutions from arising quickly and cheaply.

    Does the Department of Agriculture really need 100,000 employees to regulate fewer than two million farms in the US? Abolish it.

    Has the Department of Energy, created in 1977 to somehow solve a temporary crisis, done anything of value with its 110,000 employees and contractors and $32 billion annual budget? Abolish it.

    How about the terminally corrupt Bureau of Indian Affairs, which has outlived whatever usefulness it might have had by 100 years. Abolish it.

    The FTC, SEC, FCC, FAA, DOT, HHS, HUD, Labor, Commerce, and many more, serve little or no useful public purpose. Eliminate them, and the entire economy would blossom – except for the parasitical lobbying and legal trades. There are hundreds of agencies like these. Most aren’t just useless. They’re actively destructive.

    3. Abolish the Fed. This is the actual engine of inflation. Money is just a medium of exchange and a store of value; you don’t need a central bank to have money. In fact, central banks are always destructive. They benefit only the cronies who get their money first.

    What would we use as money? It doesn’t matter as long as it’s a commodity that can’t be created out of thin air. Gold is the obvious choice. Bitcoin may turn out to be excellent.

    The whole idea of a central bank is a swindle. Massive bailouts and optional wars can’t be done without it.

    4. Cut taxes by 50%… to start. The economy would boom. The money won’t be needed with all the agencies gone. Certainly not if the next two points are followed.

    5. Default on the national debt. I realize this is a shocker unless you recall that the debt will never be paid anyway. Why should the next several generations have to pay for the stupidity of their parents?

    A default sounds dishonorable—and it is in civil society. But government is different. It hasn’t been “We the People” for a long time; it’s now a self-dealing behemoth run by cronies. It’s like a building with a rotten foundation—better to bring it down with a controlled demolition than wait for it fall unpredictably.

    Governments default all the time, though most defaults are subtle, through inflation. In an outright default, however, the only people who get hurt are those who lent money to an institution that can only repay them by stealing money from others. They should be punished.

    6. Disentangle and disengage. The entanglements the US needs to escape prominently include the UN and NATO. Spending could easily be cut 50%. The US combat troops now in over 100 foreign countries can come home. They’re not “defending” anything but local collaborators while picking up bad habits and antagonizing the locals. Spending on the military and its sport wars significantly adds to the economy’s problems.

    Editor’s Note: The economic trajectory is troubling. Unfortunately, there’s little any individual can practically do to change the course of these trends in motion.

    The best you can and should do is to stay informed so that you can protect yourself in the best way possible, and even profit from the situation.

    That’s precisely why bestselling author Doug Casey and his colleagues just released an urgent new PDF report that explains what could come next and what you can do about it.

    Click here to download it now.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 19:35

  • Luxury Bust Worsens: Rolex, Patek Prices Hit Two-Year Lows 
    Luxury Bust Worsens: Rolex, Patek Prices Hit Two-Year Lows 

    In October, the secondary market for pre-owned Rolex and Patek Philippe watches reached its lowest point in two years, primarily due to high interest rates crushing demand and increasing supply returning to the market. The combination of the two is accelerating the bust cycle in the luxury watch market. 

    The Bloomberg Subdial Watch Index, which tracks prices for the 50 most-traded watches by value on the secondary market, fell 1.8% in October, stumbling to its lowest level since 2021. 

    Subdial data shows a Patek Philippe Nautilus Travel Time 5990/1A-001 has crashed 42.5% since peaking at $271,000 in March 2022. 

    Prices for a Rolex Daytona 116506 have been halved since peaking at $185,000. 

    “We are seeing growing downward pressure in the market, which could lead to a further downward drift in prices as dealers cut valuations to chase sales,” Christy Davis, the co-founder of Subdial, wrote in an October market report. 

    According to Subdial data, the number of used watches hitting the secondary market has increased 5% since August. More supply is adding downward pressure on an already fragile market. 

    “With more watches available at a wider spread of prices, what we’re seeing is people dropping prices to chase sales going into the holiday season,” Davis said.

    However, she did not provide a specific reason for the increased supply. We note it could be attributed to speculators who purchased luxury watches at high prices during the mania phase during Covid and are now forced to sell to generate liquidity. 

    Last week, luxury group Richemont warned about waning consumer demand for watches, jewelry, and clothing. The owner of Cartier Jewelry was gloomy about the economic outlook. 

    In October, luxury conglomerate LVMH, controlled by billionaire Bernard Arnault, reported a slowdown in sales for high-quality products, such as leather goods, perfumes, watches, and wine, in China, Europe, and the US amid a soaring interest rate environment. 

    Timing the bottom of the used luxury watch market might be a 2024 story. This year has been nothing more than a ‘falling knife.’  

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 19:10

  • The Debt Reaper
    The Debt Reaper

    Authored by Robert Burrows via Bond Vigilantes,

    Debt is an integral aspect of modern economies and has long been hailed as a catalyst for growth. When wielded judiciously, it stands as a potent tool for economic development, providing the means to finance projects, expand operations, and invest in essential sectors like education, health, and housing. In the right context, debt fuels economic growth, creates jobs, and fosters innovation. Furthermore, during economic downturns, it offers a safety net for individuals and organizations, helping them weather financial storms.

    The ghost of future wealth

    Governments have traditionally argued that as long as debt remains manageable and serviceable without difficulty, there’s little cause for concern. While this notion holds some truth, the reality is that recent growth has largely been fueled by an insurmountable increase in debt. Particularly since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008, the creation of what seems like wealth has resulted in soaring asset prices, including equities and real estate, contributing to an alarming rise in wealth inequality. However, there exists a disconnect between perceived wealth and actual wealth, a scenario unlikely to endure. Distinguished economists have persistently argued that debt for consumption essentially borrows demand from the future. This borrowed debt inevitably must be repaid, heralding a probable future slowdown in demand. However, debt allocated for investment purposes differs significantly, capable of fostering future growth and potentially curbing long-term debt.

    Source: IMF (2022)

    The trajectory of global debt, as depicted in the chart above, illustrates an unrelenting rise in both government and private debt over time. Up until the 2000s, the surge in debt was primarily attributed to burgeoning private debt, empowering a substantial improvement in living standards, especially in developed nations. Since 2000, private debt has plateaued, whilst government debt has sharply ascended, sustaining the growth in living standards. Yet, the overarching question remains – at what cost? However benign they might seem, debt levels can swiftly move from being a seemingly manageable concern to a formidable challenge once they surpass a particular threshold.

    Renowned economists Reinhart and Rogoff attempted to ascertain this threshold and concluded that it begins to matter when debt levels hit 90% of GDP. Nonetheless, this figure remains a moving target, contingent upon a multitude of variables. Recent economic theories, particularly Modern Monetary Theory, have further complicated this limit, challenging the traditional understanding of debt thresholds. The struggle to identify this threshold arises from the confluence of two pivotal variables: the stock of debt and the level of interest rates, both in perpetual flux. Research aiming to determine at what point servicing debt becomes unmanageable largely predates the widespread implementation of quantitative easing and the drive towards zero interest rates. As a result of these two relatively recent phenomena, debt levels have significantly swelled, accompanied by a notable surge in bond yields in response to this. Some nations like Japan, sustaining an elevated debt level of 250% of GDP, continue to flourish due to their substantial savings, but issues are  beginning to surface. The Japanese economy represents a unique case. Conversely, smaller economies running twin deficits are anticipated to confront their threshold much sooner. Though the definitive threshold remains an mystery, it is evident that we are closer to this limit than we were just a few years ago. Perhaps economies with low levels of outstanding debt will be considered the new safe harbour going forward. 

    The Factors that Transform Debt into a Menacing Problem

    Interest Rates:

    The escalation of interest rates significantly affects debt servicing costs. As rates soar, the cost of servicing this debt climbs, straining government budgets and impeding economic growth. The Federal Reserve and other central banks strive to engineer a controlled economic slowdown to contain inflation. Nevertheless, history often demonstrates that rapid interest rate hikes are typically followed by recession.

    Source: Bloomberg, M&G (November 2023)

    Crowding Out:

    The hike in rates leads to a natural consequence called crowding out. As rates rise, investors lean towards guaranteed government bond yields rather than venturing into riskier private sector investments. This shift diminishes the availability of private sector financing and forces down valuations of private assets, adversely impacting the equity market. On the consumer front, higher interest rates stimulate a proclivity for saving, as consumers take advantage higher returns in cash, but also brace for anticipated higher tax levels in the future. This hampers demand and augments the likelihood of an economic downturn.

    Budgetary Constraints:

    When a significant portion of a government’s or a business’s budget is directed towards servicing debt, it limits the resources available for essential services, investments, and initiatives. It also restricts the government’s ability to implement a Keynesian fiscal stimulus during economic downturns.

    Economic Downturns:

    Economic recessions or crises can exacerbate debt issues. Reduced revenues and amplified demands on government services lead to deficits and increased borrowing requirements. Extended periods of ultra-loose monetary policy invariably breed misallocations of capital. The rapid increase in interest rates will likely bring these misallocations to the surface, albeit with the usual monetary policy lags. A slowdown is more probable than not.

    Investor Confidence:

    The current high levels of global debt have notably diminished investor confidence. If creditors lose faith in a government’s ability to manage and service debt, they will demand higher yields to cover risks. Alternatively, investors might abstain from investing altogether or, worse, decide to sell existing debt, further complicating the situation.

    Battle lines drawn – electorate vs bond market

    Governments often bear the brunt of public anger, seen as the ‘bad guys’ for imposing spending cuts and increased taxes.  However, this essentially reflects the democratic process, where elected governments serve as gatekeepers of fiscal policy. Should the electorate resist upcoming austerity measures intended to foster debt sustainability, they will likely opt for a new government. However, this poses a challenge. The electorate’s choices for fiscal largesse have been feasible thus far due to low debt levels, compounded by the era of ultra-low interest rates. The bond market presses for fiscal rectitude, pitted against an electorate reluctant to endure forthcoming difficult times in pursuit of debt sustainability given the context of a painful austerity experience in the not too distant past. The recent government bond crisis in the UK is a very good example of this issue and ultimately the bond market won. Further struggles between the bond market and the electorate loom on the horizon.

    In the case of the United States, achieving debt sustainability appears challenging. Both major political parties seem at odds in their fiscal ideals. Democrats aspire to expand entitlement spending, while Republicans are inclined towards tax reductions. Under both administrations, fiscal deficits continue and debt mounts. Ongoing events in regions like Ukraine and the Middle East are unlikely to conclude soon, adding to US military spending, and increasing the debt burden. The move towards carbon neutrality will continue to compete in the race of ever increasing spending. The US is not alone in facing these issues, however, if the biggest and most liquid bond market in the world runs into difficulty, the impacts will be felt far and wide.

    Source: Bloomberg (30 September 2023)

    As it stands debt servicing costs remain relatively low in historical context. However, the Treasury market has an average maturity of circa 7 years and approximately 31% of the $33 trillion needs to be refinanced in the next 12 months, which will result in debt servicing costs moving meaningfully higher. The below chart shows what the Treasury has experienced to date.

    Source: Bloomberg, St Louis Fed, M&G (April 2023)

    The whims and trends in bond markets offer insights into current sentiments, while elections present an accurate pulse of the electorate’s leanings. The impending number of elections over the coming year hints at potentially increasing political instability.

    Source: Bank of America

    Nassim Nicholas Taleb famously introduced the black swan theory, identifying events that emerge unexpectedly and bear significant consequences. In contrast, a neon swan characterizes rare yet highly predictable events with severe implications. The burgeoning stock of debt firmly falls into the latter category.

    A tussle between the electorate and the bond market is unfolding. The eventual victor remains unclear, but the debt reaper is sure to claim some economic souls along the way.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 18:45

  • Wall Street Bonuses Set For Another Year Of Declines
    Wall Street Bonuses Set For Another Year Of Declines

    Wall Street bonuses are set for another disappointing year, affected by elevated inflation, high-interest rates, failures of regional banks, and a downturn in dealmaking and new stock listings.

    A new survey released by New York-based pay consultancy Johnson Associates found investment bankers (on the advisory side) are expected to see bonuses tumble by 15-25% from a year ago, including both cash and stock-based compensation. Retail and commercial bankers at regional banks could see 10-20% smaller bonuses. And investment bankers in debt underwriting could see their payouts slide by as much as 10%.

    Here’s the complete list of expected bonus cuts for Wall Street 2023:

    Source: Bloomberg 

    “It’s another disappointing year, and you overlay that with inflation, people’s incomes are down meaningfully,” stated Alan Johnson, Managing Director at Johnson Associates, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

    It’s the second consecutive year of sliding compensation for Wall Street after record low-interest rates, helicopter money, and juiced-up financial markets sent bonuses to record levels. Global dealmaking has since fallen after peaking at record highs. 

    Last year, the average Wall Street payout plunged 26% to an average of $176,000 across all NYC financial services employees. According to data from the NY State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, this was the most significant annual drop since the financial crisis. 

    Johnson Associates expects 2024 will be “another challenging year” for Wall Street as the Fed holds interest rates’ higher for longer’, which already has rate traders pricing in 50bps of rate cuts for July 2024 on fears of an economic downturn. 

    This year, Goldman Sachs, UBS, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase, among others, have been laying off staff over economic uncertainty. Some of these banks have reproed declines in trading, leaving the bonus pool with less cash to pay staff. 

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 18:20

  • Michael Burry Liquidates "Big Short" After Suffering Big Loss; Doubles Down With Bet Against Semiconductors
    Michael Burry Liquidates “Big Short” After Suffering Big Loss; Doubles Down With Bet Against Semiconductors

    Six months ago, when looking at Michael Burry’s Q1 13F which in turn followed just a few months after the famous permabear admitted he had been wrong to urge his followed to sell

    … we found that the Big Short had continued the trend of rapidly rotating his entire portfolio and in the first quarter, Burry liquidated the rest of his legacy 2022 holdings, dumping his entire stake in companies like Black Knight, Wolverine World Wide, MGM Resorts and Qurate, and also trimmed his formerly largest holding, private prison operator GEO group, and had reallocated the proceeds in three ways:

    • Adding to his Chinese exposure, making JD.com and Alibaba his top stocks (a move which appears to have been driven by the Q4 momentum and which has since fizzled, leading to substantial losses in Chinese names).

    • Launching a handful of new positions in energy names such as Coterra, NOV and Devon

    • Most notably, a third – or seven of the fund’s total 21 positions – were bank names, and with the exception of Wells, they were mostly distressed, regional, small banks and/or credit card companies, such as CapitalOne, Western Alliance, Pacwest, First Republic, and Huntington Bancshares, all of which had been hammered significantly during the March bank crisis.

    In other words, as we put it then, “Burry appears to have enough of being called the “big short” and in this particular twist of the liquidity cycle is positioning himself to be the next “big long.”

    Fast forward three months, when back in August we found that in Q2 Burry’s Scion Asset Management made even more dramatic changes to the investor’s personal portfolio.

    First and foremost, we found that once again, Burry liquidated the bulk of his Q1 holdings, selling not only his previous top two positions, JD.com and Alibaba but also another 13 names of the 21 names that made up Burry’s Q1 holdings, among which were Zoom, Sibanye, Coherent, energy names such as Coterra, NOV and Devon, as well as all the banks he had acquired during the March crisis including Capital One, Wells Fargo, Western Alliance, Pacwest, and First Republic.

    He also bought a bunch of things. Let’s start with Burry’s largest cash holdings which as of June 30, were Expedia ($10.9MM), Charter Communications ($9.2MM) and Generac ($8.2MM, which however is surely worth much less after the company’s catastrophic Q2 earnings which wiped out almost a third of its value). Other names Burry added were Cigna, CVS, MGM, Stellantis, Vital, all of which represented new mid-to-high single digit million positions (the full list is below).

    But what was the most interesting new development, was not the single names Burry bought or sold, but his ETF and derivative trades.

    Starting at the top, as of June, Burry owned two 2 million notional-equivalent blocks of SPY puts (for a notional-equivalent value of $887 million) and QQQ puts (a $739 million notional equivalent). In total, Burry owned puts on both the S&P and Nasdaq 100 for a notional-equivalent of $1.625 billion (which of course is not the capital at risk, and the actual premium Burry paid for those puts is orders of magnitude less), and which are both deeply underwater as of this moment since both the S&P and Nasdaq are trading high above where they were on June 30.

    In other words, in the second quarter, Burry had made another giant (at least for his AUM) and very levered (using over $1.6 billion notional in put) “big short” bet on the broader market. Alas, unlike his infamous and original bearish bet against subprime, Burry’s latest attempt to time a market crash has crashed and burned, because according to the just released 13F from Burry’s Scion Capital, the $1.6 billion notional in puts on the SPY and QQQ have been liquidated. And since during the third quarter, when Burry unwound these positions (originally put on in Q2), the S&P did not drop below the June 30 highs, one can conclude that the puts either expired either worthless or were sold with very little value due to the brutal theta observed n Q3 when both calls and puts saw their value eviscerated.

    Ok, so the “big short” liquidated his big market shorts; what else did he do in Q3?

    Well, as has been the case recently, Burry once again rotated almost all of his holdings, liquidating a total of 25 existing positions, including what were formerly his three biggest cash holdings including Expedia, Charter and Generac. At the same time he added to a handful of smaller positions including Stellantis, Nexstar, and Star Bulk carriers, none of which have done all that well in Q3 or Q4. Burry also appears to have taken a hedged position in Booking Holdings, where he bought both the stock and puts against the stock. Oh, and after liquidating his JD.com and Alibaba positions in Q1, the former doctor is back in the two Chinese names and is once again hoping that this time Chinese stocks will finally surge.

    But the one most notable trade Burry did in Q3 was to put on a large bearish trade against semiconducors, by buying $47 million notional worth of SOXX puts, a trade which was likely prompted by Burry’s bearishness against NVDA and its peers, yet which may have been an even bigger flop than Burry’s ill-timed bet against the SPY and QQQ, especially if he held on to it until now when the SOXX is once again well above where it was on Sept 30 and is fast approaching 2023 highs largely thanks to Nvidia.

    Burry’s full 13F summary is below.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 18:13

  • House Funding Bill Passes Thanks To Democrats, Averting Government Shutdown
    House Funding Bill Passes Thanks To Democrats, Averting Government Shutdown

    Update (1801ET): Democrats stepped in to save the day on Tuesday, helping House Speaker Mike Johnson avert a government shutdown despite opposition from Republicans in the Freedom Caucus who opposed the bill due to a lack of offsetting spending cuts.

    According to Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman, more Democrats voted for it than Republicans.

    Rs: Y: 127 N:93
    Ds: Y: 209 No: 2

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    The legislation now heads to the Senate, where both Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave it their full-throated support as noted earlier.

    According to a Tuesday statement by Schumer, the Senate will work to pass it “as soon as possible,” after which it will head to President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature.

    Along the lines of what Sherman said;

    Passage of the legislation marks an early legislative achievement for Johnson, who was elected to the Speakership less than a month ago after three weeks of standstill in the House following former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) removal from the role.

    That ouster was caused in large part by McCarthy’s decision to put a “clean” continuing resolution on the floor and pass it with help from Democrats — similar to Johnson’s course of action this week.

    But hardline conservatives said they would give Johnson some breathing room this time around — despite opposing his stopgap bill — citing his nascent Speakership.

    “He’s had two weeks to pass it; his predecessor had since January and then he jammed us up against the Sept. 30 deadline,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy.

    Trouble, nonetheless, looms for Johnson and his fractious House GOP conference as they stare down two funding deadlines and try to pass their remaining five appropriations bills, which have run into trouble on the floor and in committee. 

    Johnson plans to tackle Ukraine funding next, which has become a contentious issue among Republicans.

    I’ve been drinking from Niagara Falls for the last three weeks,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “This will allow everybody to go home for a couple of days for Thanksgiving, everybody cool off — members have been here for, as Leader Scalise said, for 10 weeks, this place is a pressure cooker. And so I think everybody can go home, we can come back, reset, we’re gonna get our group together, we’re gonna map out that plan to fight for those principles.”

    Good luck with that.

    *  *  *

    House Speaker Mike Johnson’s new stopgap funding bill designed to avert a  government shutdown on Friday is expected to head to a vote today, marking Johnson’s first big vote as head of the chamber.

    Johnson’s plan, a “two-step continuing resolution,” would fund some parts of the government until January 19, while others would receive funding until February 2.

    “This two-step continuing resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories,” Johnson said in a statement after announcing the plan to House Republicans in a conference call.

    If Johnson’s plan does pass in the House, it appears the Senate will rubber-stamp it – with both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) expressing support for the ‘clean’ bill, which McConnell labeled a “responsible measure that will keep the lights on,” adding “Shutting down does nothing — nothing — to advance that work,” referring to the passage of funding bills.

    “Regular order requires that Congress provides itself the time for careful consideration and thorough amendment. I’m glad that Speaker Johnson has produced a continuing resolution that would do exactly that,” McConnell continued.

    The House Freedom Caucus may dick with Johnson’s plans, however, announcing after a meeting with the Speaker on Monday night that they won’t support the stopgap because it doesn’t include any offsetting reductions in spending.

    Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Scott Perry, (R-Pa.) speak with reporters on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

    “The House Freedom Caucus opposes the proposed ‘clean’ Continuing Resolution as it contains no spending reductions, no border security, and not a single meaningful win for the American People,” the group said in a Tuesday morning position statement. “Republicans must stop negotiating against ourselves over fears of what the Senate may do with the promise ‘roll over today and we’ll fight tomorrow.'”

    “While we remain committed to working with Speaker Johnson, we need bold change,” the Caucus added.

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

    The announcement also comes after GOP leaders announced last night that they would seek to fast-track the bill through a floor vote in order to avoid Republican opposition shooting it down – though it will require support from two-thirds of the whole house, meaning that dozens of Democrats will have to cross the aisle.

    An official position from the Freedom Caucus requires support from 80 percent of the group, which has around three dozen members. But the caucus is not unified in opposition to the continuing resolution plan.

    Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Harris (D-Md.) is an architect of the two-tiered stopgap funding plan. –The Hill

    “The two-step CR is a way to get the broken appropriations process back on track without resulting in a massive omnibus spending bill,” Harris wrote on X over the weekend.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 18:02

  • A Trump-Tucker Ticket?
    A Trump-Tucker Ticket?

    Authored by Andrew W. Coy via American Thinker,

    A Trump Tucker ticket for the presidency in 2024.  Just imagine it.

    Wow.  Oh my goodness.  Praise the Lord.  Fantastic.  Our prayers are answered. 

    Could it actual happen?  The dream ticket is not as far-fetched as previously thought. 

    A Trump Tucker (T2) presidential ticket is beginning to look like a real possibility.  A T2 ticket would be putting the Make America Great Again movement and the America First alliance on steroids. 

    As opposed to being a “balanced ticket,” it would be a “double down” on an American exceptionalism ticket. 

    A Trump-Tucker ticket would certainly electrify and energize a base already loaded for bear.  A T2 ticket would tell the American citizen, and put the globalist elites, and the Deep State hooligans on notice, that we are right, we are unashamed, we will not be intimated, and we will not apologize.  A Trump-Tucker ticket might possibly be the ticket that saves our democratic republic.  A T2 ticket might be the platform that holds off the communists/deep state/globalist elites.

    A T2 presidency might be the answer to putting the BLM and Antifa criminals in jail.  A Trump-Tucker administration might be the only hope for securing the First and Second amendments.  An unashamed and without apology Trump-Tucker ticket might just be the political platform and personalities that save the American empire from the dustpan of history.

    Now, if there is election interference and voter fraud like there was in 2020, it will not matter. 

    If in the toss-up states, they stop counting the votes at 11:30 p.m. and after everyone goes home, start up again at 2:30 in the morning, it won’t matter. 

    If Fulton County, Georgia counts Biden votes multiple times, it won’t matter. 

    If the upper Midwest states use Zuckerbucks again,  it won’t matter. 

    If the management and upper echelons at Fox News appear to be willing participants, it won’t matter.  

    If state election officials in Pennsylvania are once again allowed to purposely ignore their very own state legislated election laws, it won’t matter. 

    If 2024 election tabulations are counted just as they were in the Purple States in 2020, it won’t matter. 

    But, but, but, if the election is run fair and square in the swing states, without cheating, without the Deep State “brownshirts” putting their thumb on the scale; it will matter. 

    Without the FBI/CIA/NSA running cover for the Biden/Harris ticket; Donald Trump and running mate Tucker Carlson will win the 2024 election for the presidency. 

    If only legitimate and legal votes are counted, and they are counted only once, T2 will win by a landslide and they will even dominate in the Purple/Border/Swing States.

    Fair Elections Matter.

    Tucker Carlson brings a great deal to the ticket for Donald Trump.  Tucker is bright, youthful, articulate, and seasoned as to D.C. politics.  Tucker is fearless, unafraid, and courageous to the attacks he will undoubtedly face from D.C. and the far left media.  Tucker has had over 30 years of life  in the D.C./New York City environment and he knows who the evil people are and what their tactics will be. 

    Yet he is the David of the Old Testament taking on the Goliath of the D.C. deep state criminals.  Tucker’s back will be straight, his knee will only bow to the Lord, and he is willing to have a bull’s-eye on his back.

    Donald Trump needs such a soldier.  And ‘soldier’ is the correct term because if T2 are successful, it will be war. 

    Maybe not armed conflict, maybe, but it certainly will be cloak-dagger tactics done by the alphabet intelligence goons.  Unlike Mike Pence, who is now doing his Benedict Arnold/John Dean III impersonation, Tucker Carlson will fight as hard, be loyal, and be as relentless as his president.  Evangelicals, conservatives, Christians, Constitutionalists and supporters of Israel will be very pleased to have Tucker Carlson as vice president. 

    President Trump was willing to take on those sacred cows during his presidency.  Trump fearlessly took on the Deep State, the FBI/CIA/NSA,  NATO, the military industrial complex, and Obama/Bush. 

    Tucker similarly has a history of taking on the sacred cows as well.  Tucker has full-throatily taken on the CIA, the JFK assassination, the J6 FEDsurrection, and the George Floyd lies.  Tucker has without fear taken on the Nord Stream II pipeline explosion, COVID-19 lies, the vaccination lies, white replacement goals, and the falsities of global warming. 

    Tucker continues to attack Hillary Clinton, Anthony Fauci, the military -industrial complex, Kamala Harris, Ray Epps, and why are we in Ukraine. He asks where the Jeffrey Epstein client list is. 

    Tucker is unafraid and Trump must have that in his veep. Tucker is pro-life, worships God, and knows that an America without the underpinning of Judeo-Christian values is headed for the same fate as the Roman empire. 

    Tucker knows , if America has no Godly conscience, then we are done.  Tucker continues to fight for our flawed, but heroic, Founding Fathers.  He knows our Founders were not perfect, but they were exceptional.  Because of Tucker’s background, experience, and his intuition; Tucker knows where many of the bodies are buried and who put them there.

    Tucker Carlson appears exactly who Donald Trump needs to put him over the top in 2024. 

    The T2 ticket tells our friends and our enemies, from within and without, what the T2 mission is.  Trump-Tucker will show MAGA and America First that they are not the forgotten working class.

    A T2 presidency will let Jerusalem and Israel know that we have their backs and that there is no moral equivalence between the Jews and Hamas.  A Trump-Tucker ticket stands with Israel, a Biden administration does not. 

    A T2 presidency will make sure Russia is out of Ukraine, China backs away from Taiwan, and Iran stops its nuclear proliferation…..and this will be done without the firing of one bullet.  A firm, in-your-face, and convincing warning is all that will be needed to thus back off Moscow, Tehran, and Beijing.  A T2 ticket will once again have our friends trust us and our enemies fear us.  A T2 ticket might well replace the gender indoctrinations and white guilt propaganda in our public schools with an emphasis on returning to math, English, computer literacy, civics, and student discipline.  The “free exercise of religion” might soon return to our social fabric.  Tucker on the ticket might just be the final personality and intellect that  Trump needs to assure victory.  Almost assuredly the J6 freedom fighters will be released from the D.C. Bastille.  Trump and Tucker will pardon these political prisoners. 

    The middle class, the blue collar laborers, the working class, and the legal immigrants in our country will all blossom and flourish under T2.  Senior citizens’ dollars will go further once the inflationary policies of Mr. Biden are nullified. 

    The military will become strong, vibrant, and victorious once again.  With our military, once T2 are in office, the days of the impotent and embarrassing Afghanistan retreat will be a thing of the past.  Christians, conservatives, and Constitutionalists will once again be allowed back into our military without harassment.   In our economy, businesses will again operate under sound business money making practices, not D.E.I. mandates. 

    Under Trump-Tucker, we will again be an energy self supporting country.  We will be energy independent once again.  We will not have to kowtow to our enemies in Iran, Venezuela, and Russia for energy.  Under T2, the price of gasoline will once again be under $2 a gallon.  Our nation’s borders will become secure again under T2. 

    Deportations of illegals, criminals, terrorists, Hamas, child traffickers and those that wish our nation harm would begin very soon after January of 2025.  Much like Ronald Reagan, Trump and Tucker know that a nation without borders; really is not a nation. 

    A Trump-Tucker ticket will make our country strong again.  It will allow for religious freedom again. Pro-life advocates will no longer be imprisoned.  And soccer moms at school board meetings will no longer be on the FBI “watchlists” like terrorists.   

    They  will drive out some of the corruption in the Swamp. 

    It will however be dangerous.  Both Trump and Tucker are outsiders.  Many people are surprised that both Trump and Tucker have not already met untimely deaths.  The evil inside of D.C. and also globally, would want to put Trump and Tucker in jail; as Stalin, Mao, and Castro did to their political opponents.  Or they might want to put them in the ground, much like what happened to JFK.  It will certainly make for dangerous times.

    The election of 2024 will undoubtedly be one of the most crucial elections in American history.  2024 can easily be compared to 1860 or 1960 or 1980 or 2020.  It will be crucial and the aftermath of this election result will carry on for decades.  Donald Trump adding Tucker Carlson as his running mate will hopefully help America to still be a rising sun; and not one that is soon to set.  T2 might just make the difference in America’s as well as the world’s future. 

    Donald Trump would be very wise, and he is, to look at Tucker Carlson as his running mate. America’s destiny might well be in the balance of that choice.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 17:55

  • Strip Clubs, D*ck Pics & Booze: FDIC Revealed As Misogynistic Free-For-All In New Expose
    Strip Clubs, D*ck Pics & Booze: FDIC Revealed As Misogynistic Free-For-All In New Expose

    A brand new expose out this week paints banking regulator the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as a toxic work environment where strip club visits, sex with underlings and drinking at work – not to mention male workers texting female co-workers photos of their genitals – were all part of the “day to day” culture. 

    The Wall Street Journal expose was out on Monday and hours later FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg announced that the agency has engaged BakerHostetler for a comprehensive review following. In a staff video, Gruenberg stated that necessary changes would be made based on the law firm’s findings.

    The Journal’s investigation revealed several incidents at the FDIC, including a male supervisor in Denver engaging in sexual relations with an employee, bragging about it to colleagues, and encouraging her to consume alcohol during work hours.

    Additionally, it was reported that senior bank examiners sent inappropriate images to female staff and extended invitations to a strip club, according to the Wall Street Journal. Despite these allegations, the implicated men remain on the FDIC’s payroll.

    Foutz

    This ongoing issue of misconduct and the apparent absence of disciplinary action have reportedly forced many female employees to consider leaving the organization, as evidenced by interviews, legal documents, union complaints, EEOC filings, and various internal communications reviewed in the report. 

    The Journal reports that female examiners characterized the FDIC as a male-centric, sexually charged workplace, where discussions about women’s looks were common.

    Highlighting the severity, a former female employee recounted male colleagues suggesting that women must resort to sexual favors for career advancement, while directly gazing at her. Additionally, the outlet’s extensive interviews, over 100 with current and former staff, including more than 20 women who resigned, indicate a widespread belief among female employees of unequal opportunities compared to their male counterparts.

    Lauren Lemmer, a former examiner-in-training, commented: “It was just an accepted part of the culture.”

    Examiner, Neha Singh who joined in 2017 said she felt pressured to drink every night. “I felt really taken advantage of in a moment where I was totally vulnerable,” she said after being told “You seem a little arrogant” when declining drinks with co-workers. 

    Singh resigned from the FDIC in 2022, within her first year of becoming a fully qualified examiner, having just received her commission. She stated that she clearly informed the senior management that her departure was due to what she perceived as a culture of harassment and misogyny. According to Singh, one of the managers acknowledged hearing similar complaints from other female employees and admitted it was an issue.

    Another former employee, Kelsi Foutz, said: “For the longest time, I didn’t have any perspective. It was just normal. You deal with it.”

    Singh

    She remembered a time when she was told not to bring up issues she was having about her 2018 performance review because the reviewer, she was told, was just “intimidated by tall, beautiful women.”

    “Just smile and make him feel good,” her male counterparts told her. One male co-worker told her in 2013: “Obviously if I walked into this office and you were naked, I’d f–k you right here.”

    The Journal reported that female FDIC staffers said the agency’s toxic work culture persisted nationwide, not just at its Washington, DC headquarters. This pervasive atmosphere, especially during offsite bank examinations, led to it being termed the “Wild West.”

    In one instance, a female examiner, while on a 2018 North Carolina assignment, received an unsolicited explicit image from a colleague but chose not to confront him due to close work proximity. Additionally, Lemmer, who left the FDIC in 2013, recounted various incidents of inappropriate behavior, including being followed to her hotel room, invited to a strip club, and receiving an explicit photo, all of which coincided with her being overlooked for career advancement, the report says.

    You can read the Journal’s full expose here

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 17:40

  • At Least 4 More Attacks On US Forces Since Latest US Airstrikes In Syria
    At Least 4 More Attacks On US Forces Since Latest US Airstrikes In Syria

    Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

    US troops based in Syria have come under attack at least four times since the latest US airstrikes in eastern Syria were launched on SundayTask & Purpose reported on Monday.

    The Pentagon announced Sunday that it launched strikes against facilities “used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups” in eastern Syria’s Deir Ezzor province. It marked the third round of US airstrikes since US troops in Iraq and Syria have come under a spate of attacks in response to President Biden’s backing of Israel’s war in Gaza.

    al-Asad military base in western Iraq, via AP

    A Pentagon official told Task & Purpose that US forces in Syria came under attack three times on Sunday after the US airstrikes and one time on Monday. The White House has said one purpose of its airstrikes is to “deter” further attacks on US troops, but it’s clear the strategy has failed.

    The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it recorded six attacks on US forces on Monday alone, but the report is not confirmed. The four incidents confirmed by the US official brings the total number of attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria since October 17 to 52. The Pentagon has said at least 56 US troops have been wounded.

    An umbrella group of Shia militias known as the Islamic Resistance of Iraq has taken credit for most attacks on US forces. Militia leaders have said they won’t back down unless Israel’s onslaught on Gaza comes to an end. Iran supports the Shia militias that operate in the region but denies any role in the attacks on US forces.

    The US has about 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria, where it backs the Kurdish-led SDF. The occupation of eastern Syria is opposed by the government in Damascus, and the continued US military presence in Iraq is opposed by many elements in Iraqi politics.

    Many observers have pointed out that with a crisis like the Gaza war, US troops occupying Syria are vulnerable as prime targets for Iran-aligned militias in the region…

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

    After the US launched a drone strike in January 2020 that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in Baghdad, Iraq’s parliament voted to expel US troops, but the US refused to leave. In an effort to placate anti-US factions, the US formally changed its presence in Iraq from a combat role to an advisory role in December 2021 but did not withdraw any troops.

    Tyler Durden
    Tue, 11/14/2023 – 17:15

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Today’s News 14th November 2023

  • Next Level Banana Republic: Japan State Finance Minister Resigns After Getting Caught Evading Taxes
    Next Level Banana Republic: Japan State Finance Minister Resigns After Getting Caught Evading Taxes

    We have frequently said that Japan’s top government and central bank power echelons are nothing more than a grotesque circus of utter incompetence…

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

    … and the latest news out of that basket case banana republic have just confirmed out cynicism once again.

    In a “shocking” twist of events out of the land of the rising sun banana, Japan’s State Finance Minister, Kenji Kanda – best known for doing nothing and just watching as Japan’s currency craters to record lows while unleashing historic inflation on the local population – has stepped down following allegations of tax evasion, delivering a fresh blow to the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, which may well be the most incompetent in recent Japanese history, and which is already grappling with the departure of two other Cabinet members since the recent cabinet reshuffle in September.

    According to BNN, Kanda’s resignation came in the wake of a magazine report alleging that Kanda’s company had defaulted on its tax payments. The Finance Minister didn’t deny these claims. Instead, he confirmed that the authorities had seized his company’s land and property due to non-payment of fixed asset taxes.

    The opposition parties didn’t let this opportunity slip by. They criticized Kanda for his financial improprieties, and there were widespread calls for his resignation. In the end, “Kanda had to bow to mounting pressure and vacate his ministerial post” or in other words, jump on the land mine and take one for the Kishida team which has at best bought itself a week or two of extra time.

    The fourth-term lower house member Kanda has confessed that he had skipped compulsory annual lectures for tax accountants, as alleged by the Shukan Bunshun weekly, which also reported the tax scandal in early November.

    “I became busy with national political affairs, and the weight of my tax accountant work decreased,” Kanda said in a parliamentary session last week. “Demand letters and other matters were left to the staff at the tax accountant’s office. I was too busy to get involved.”

    Kinda like Tim “Turbo-Tax” Geithner… remember him?

    An opposition lawmaker, who has called Kanda a “criminal,” said his tax delinquency had given the impression that people do not have to pay taxes. Kanda apologized but initially denied he would resign as senior vice finance minister.

    Kenta Izumi, chief of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said it is “too late” for Kanda to decide to step down, adding, “Questions are being raised about Prime Minister Kishida’s responsibility for the appointment.”

    Izumi indicated that his party will not participate in Diet deliberations on a supplementary budget for the fiscal year through March 2024 to fund the new economic stimulus package, scheduled to start later this month, unless Kishida replaces Kanda.

    This incident marks the third time an official has resigned from a ministerial position since Prime Minister Kishida reshuffled his cabinet in September. The successive resignations have raised questions about Kishida’s choice of cabinet members and his ability to steer the government.

    Akira Koike, head of the secretariat of the Japanese Communist Party, also criticized Kishida, telling reporters, “The prime minister’s responsibility for delaying this far is significant. It is a symbol of sloppy governance.”

    Meanwhile, the grossly incompetent Prime Minister – whose recent track record culminates with crushing the currency, unleashing galloping inflation, and promising extremely unpopular fiscal stimulus and cash handouts with which to “defeat” inflation – has at most a few more months as his latest polls confirmed: according to an NHK poll published Monday, the approval for Kishida’s cabinet fell 7% to 29% the lowest since he took office in Oct. 2021.

    In any other country, this would have been a sufficient condition for angry riots in front of the prime ministry. But for Japan’s zombified population of complacent sheep, where not even the historic currency collapse and near record runaway inflation seems to register, it’s unclear just what can finally wake the local gerontocracy out of its terminal coma.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 23:40

  • Aircraft Carrier USS Dwight S. Eisenhower Now in Gulf of Oman
    Aircraft Carrier USS Dwight S. Eisenhower Now in Gulf of Oman

    Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) and its escorts are operating in the Gulf of Oman after leaving the Red Sea earlier this weekend, USNI News reported.

    Ike and its escorts were operating off the coast of Oman as of Monday, according to the USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker, based on publicly available satellite imagery. The carrier passed through the Suez Canal on Nov. 4 and sailed through the Red Sea and past the Bab el Mandeb through the Gulf of Aden to its current location.

    The move is part of the overall U.S. naval buildup in Europe and the Middle East following the Hamas attacks outside of Gaza and the ongoing conflict in Southern Israel.

    While Ike is operating off the Arabian Peninsula, carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and its escorts remain on station in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea along with U.S. command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20), the amphibious warship USS Mesa Verde (LPD-19), elements of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit and French and U.K. warships.

    Nearby in the northern Red Sea, USS Bataan (LHD-5) and USS Carter Hall (LSD-50) and the rest of the 26th MEU have been on station with a group of guided missile destroyers. Last month, USS Carney (DDG-64) shot down a series of drones and land attack cruise missiles fired by Houthi militants from Yemen over the Red Sea.

    U.S. warships and other units have flowed into U.S. Central Command in an effort to keep the conflict from spreading beyond Israel. To that end, the Pentagon has said there has been an uptick in attacks by forces sympathetic to Hamas on installations in both Iraq and Syria. The U.S. has about 3,400 troops split between Iraq and Syria, Reuters reported.

    As of Thursday, there had been almost 50 attacks on U.S. installations in both Syria and Iraq.

    On Sunday, the U.S. Air Force made two air strikes in Syria in response to ongoing attacks on U.S. forces in the region.

    “U.S. military forces conducted precision strikes today on facilities in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran-affiliated groups in response to continued attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria. The strikes were conducted against a training facility and a safe house near the cities of Abu Kamal and Mayadin, respectively,” reads a Sunday statement from the Pentagon.

    “The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 23:20

  • The Declaration That Wasn't Supposed To Happen
    The Declaration That Wasn’t Supposed To Happen

    Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

    It’s been a continuing mystery for three years, at least to me but many others too.

    In October 2020, in the midst of a genuine crisis, three scientists made a very short statement of highly public health wisdom, a summary of what everyone in the profession, apart from a few oddballs, believed only a year earlier.

    The astonishing frenzy of denunciation following that document’s release was on a level I’ve never seen before, reaching to the highest levels of government and flowing through the whole of media and tech. It was mind-boggling. 

    For proof that nothing in the document was particularly radical, look no further than the March 2, 2020, letter from Yale University signed by 800 top professionals. It warned against quarantines, lockdowns, closures, and travel restrictions. It said such extreme measures “can undermine public trust, have large societal costs and, importantly, disproportionately affect the most vulnerable segments in our communities.” That document appeared only two weeks before the lockdowns announced by the Trump administration. 

    That was the period of the grant amnesia. The conventional wisdom turned on a dime toward full backing of regime priorities, a shift more extreme and mind boggling that anything in dystopian fiction.

    Seven months later, the Great Barrington Declaration said something very similar to the Yale document. It was a summary statement concerning what governments and society should and should not do during pandemics. They should seek to allow everyone to live as normally as possible in order to avoid guaranteed damage from coerced disruptions. And the vulnerable population – those who would experience medically significant impacts from exposure – should be protected from exposure insofar as doing so is consistent with human rights and choice. 

    It was nothing particularly novel, much less radical. Indeed, it was accepted wisdom the year before and for the previous century. The difference this time, however, is that the statement was released during the wildest and most destructive science experiment in modern times. The existing policy of lockdowns was utter wreckage: of businesses, schools, churches, civic life, and freedom itself. Masks were being forced on the whole population, including children. Governments were attempting a regime of test, track, trace, and isolate, as if there were ever any hope of containing a respiratory pathogen with a zoonotic reservoir. 

    The carnage was everywhere already and obvious from a look at every downtown of every city in the US. Stores were boarded up. The streets were mostly empty. The professional class was hunkered down, binging on streaming and gaming services, while the working class was hustling everywhere to deliver groceries to doorsteps. In short, insanity had broken out. 

    Several groups of doctors had already made strong statements against the goings on, including the frontline doctors group on Capitol Hill and the brilliant Bakersfield doctors, among many individuals. However, they were quickly shot down by major media and blasted for failing to support the great undertaking. Even that was astonishing to watch unfold. It didn’t matter how exalted the reputations of the doctors or scientists were. They were all shot down, more or less instantly, as crazies and cranks. 

    It was like living in a horror house of mirrors where nothing appears as it is supposed to. At the time, I chalked it all up to mass confusion, cultural amnesia, bad education, government overreach, media ignorance, or just some general tendency of humanity to go mad that I had not previously seen in my lifetime but had only known from history books. 

    Several top epidemiologists felt the same way. They were Martin Kulldorff from Harvard, Jay Bhattacharya from Stanford, and Sunetra Gupta from Oxford. Together they wrote a very short statement in hopes of bringing public officials and common people back to good sense and rationality. We had the idea of putting it online and inviting others to sign. We were racing against time because there were several interviews coming up. Lucio Saverio-Eastman, now with Brownstone, skipped a nights’ sleep to create the website. He tells the story here

    The blowback began within hours. It was really something to behold. Twitter accounts came out of nowhere to smear the document and its producers and the institution that hosted the event where the scientists explained their thinking. The calumnies and attacks were coming in so quickly that it was impossible to respond. The website itself was subject to open and admitted sabotage, with fake names. That required some fast patches and new levels of security. 

    It was a storm of frenzy the likes of which I had never seen. It’s one thing to object to a point of view but this was next-level. The hit pieces were pouring out of huge venues, almost as if they had been ordered from the top. Much later we found out that they had in fact been ordered: Francis Collins, the head of National Institutes of Health, called for a “quick and devastating takedown” of the document. 

    When that revelation came out, it didn’t make much sense to me. I get that this view had become what seemed to be a minority view but how do you “take down” the public health wisdom of one hundred years? The GBD was not the outlying position; the lockdowns were the radical move that never had a scientific justification. They were just imposed as if they were normal even though everyone knew they were not. 

    Lately we’ve been flooded with more information that starts to make sense of this puzzle.

    As Rajeev Venkayya had told me the previous April, the whole point of the lockdowns was to wait for the vaccine. Frankly, I didn’t believe him at the time. I should have. After all, it was he who had invented the idea of lockdowns, worked for the Gates Foundation as head of its vaccine advisory, and then moved to a vaccine company thereafter. If anyone knew the real plan, it was he. 

    In the meantime, we now know there was then being built a vast censorship machinery involving the federal government, outposts as universities such as Stanford and Johns Hopkins, tech companies, and media embeds in all important outlets. It was not only being built but being deployed in order to craft the public mind in ways that would maintain the spirit of fear and the reality of lockdowns until the magic inoculation arrived. The whole plot sounds straight out of a bad Hollywood movie, but it was a plot being enacted in real life. 

    Think here of the timing of the Great Barrington Declaration. It came out barely a month before the election, after which the plan from the top was to release the vaccine, presumably after the sitting president was defeated. That way the new president could get the credit for the distribution stage and thus would the pandemic end. 

    The underlying dynamic of the timing of the release of the GBD – we had no clue at all that this was going on – worked utterly to subvert the entire censorship regime. The perception too was that this document would undermine vaccine acceptance. At that point in the great plan, all focus was on molding the public mind toward mass jabbing. That meant cultivating among the population the appearance of expert unity.

    “Keeping these measures in place until a vaccine is available will cause irreparable damage, with the underprivileged disproportionately harmed,” said the document.

    “As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all – including the vulnerable – falls. We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity – i.e. the point at which the rate of new infections is stable – and that this can be assisted by (but is not dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity.”

    Further, “the most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk.”

    Reading those words today, in light of what we now know, we can start to make sense of the sheer panic at the top. Natural infection and immunity? Can’t talk about that. The end of the pandemic is not “dependent upon” the vaccine? Can’t say that either. Go back to normal for all populations without significant medical risk? Unsayable. 

    You need only reflect on the astounding barrage of vaccine propaganda that began immediately upon release, the attempt to mandate it on the whole population and now the addition of the Covid jab to the childhood schedule even though children are of near zero risk. This is all about product sales, as you can easily discern from the unrelenting ad videos made by the new head of the CDC. 

    As for the product effectiveness itself, there seems to be no end to the ensuing problems. It was not a sterilizing inoculation, and it appears that the manufacturers always knew that. It could not stop infection or transmission. The hazards associated with it were also known early on. Every day, the news gets more grim: in the latest revelation, the CDC seems to have kept two separate books on vaccine injury, one public (showing harms without precedent but which has been deprecated by officials) and one yet to be released. 

    Even now, therefore, there is every effort being made to keep a lid on what surely ranks as the greatest failure/scandal in the modern history of public health. Some brave experts called it out before the whole calamity unfolded even further. 

    The problem with the Great Barrington Declaration was not that it was not true. It’s that – unbeknownst to its authors – it flew in the face of one of the most funded and elaborate industrial plots in the history of governance. Just a few sentences sneaking through the wall of censorship they were carefully constructing was enough to threaten and eventually dismantle the best laid plans. 

    Sometimes just telling the plain truth in well-timed ways is all it takes. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 23:00

  • Housing, Credit Data Spotlight China's Slump
    Housing, Credit Data Spotlight China’s Slump

    By Ye Xie, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

    When President Xi Jinping meets his US counterpart Joe Biden this week, he will have relatively little evidence to cite while talking up the Chinese economy. In fact, the latest credit and housing data shows growth is again losing momentum.  

    Data on Monday showed China’s credit growth remained steady in October, thanks to a jump in government bond sales, which helped mask the underlying weakness of the private sector. Even so, the flow of aggregate financing still fell short of economists’ forecasts. Those figures made clear that without the government stepping up borrowing, credit growth – the lubricant greasing the wheels of the economy — would have collapsed.

    In addition, M1, a measure of money supply that includes corporate demand-deposit, grew only 1.9% from a year earlier, suggesting that nominal GDP is struggling. The weak M1 growth likely reflects the continued liquidity stress of property developers, according to Morgan Stanley.

    Historically, the housing market, via borrowing from developers and home buyers, had been one of the main drivers of China’s credit growth. But despite various easing measures, the housing slump deepened.

    Since the start of November, average new home sales volume in 21 major cities tumbled 44% from the pre-pandemic level in 2019, compared with a 31% decline in October, according to Nomura economist Lu Ting. That is similar to the pace of contraction in July, before Beijing started a new round of easing measures to stabilize the property sector.

    The housing market isn’t the only place where consumers are reluctant to spend money. During Singles’ Day, the annual bargains extravaganza in days around Nov. 11, the total gross merchandise value (GMV) sold through the e-commerce platforms edged up 2% from the same shopping event last year, according to Nomura, citing data from Syntun, a third-party research firm. That marks a sharp slowdown from a growth pace of 14% in 2022.

    All told, until housing market stabilize and consumer confidence rebounds, Beijing needs to do more to shore up the economy.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 22:40

  • Fewer Americans Are Interested In Fighting Wars For The Regime
    Fewer Americans Are Interested In Fighting Wars For The Regime

    Authored by Ryan McMaken via The Mises Institute,

    Good news: the Pentagon is having trouble meeting recruiting goals, and an increasingly small portion of the American public is interested in fighting wars for the regime. 

    It’s been apparent for several years now that the Pentagon is having serious trouble with recruitment.

    In September, the New York Post reported that “Much of the military will fall short of recruitment goals by as much as 25% this year.”

    2023 is the first time the Air Force has missed its recruiting goals since 1999

    Moreover, a Gallup poll in June found confidence in the military declined for a sixth consecutive year, to 60 percent.

    It doesn’t look like a major war will induce most Americans to sign up either.  For example, Newsweek reports today

    A poll by the research institute Echelon Insights of 1,029 likely voters, conducted between October 23-26, found that 72 percent of those asked would not be willing to volunteer to serve in the armed forces were America to enter a major conflict, compared with 21 percent who would. The remainder were unsure. The poll was conducted after Hamas led an unprecedented militant attack on Israel on October 7.

    Note how the question is phrased. It’s not asking people if they would fight to defend their communities. Rather, the question is whether or not one would be willing to volunteer to fight in “a major conflict.”  Few are apparently interested, and why should they be? It has become abundantly clear over the past 25 years that the elective wars fought by the US regime have nothing to do with the defense of Americans or their communities. The US bombing of Libya and Syria has had nothing to do with keeping Americans safe. The multi-decade wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had nothing to do with keeping Americans safe.  After all, the US lost the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, with no invasion of the United States imminent as a result. In fact, those wars likely increased the danger to  Americans by destabilizing the region—the US invasion made ISIS possible—and making more enemies for the US around the world. 

    Sadly, every American who died in those conflicts died for little except to enrich local warlord “allies” in those countries made rich by suitcases full of US taxpayer dollars.

    In 2023, the “we’re fighting them over there so they don’t fight us here” slogan only works on the most gullible of Americans, and fewer than ever are falling for it. That worked well in 2001. Most have now caught on to the ruse. 

    On the other hand, it’s worth noting that a majority of Americans still say they’d volunteer to fight if the United States were actually invaded. Newsweek continues:

    At the start of October, a survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted by J.L. Partners for the Daily Mail found that while an overall majority of Americans said they would die fighting for their country were the U.S. invaded…

    Discerning potential recruits have figured out the reality which is that joining the military most likely means being shipped 10,000 miles away to do the bidding of wealthy arms dealers, White House officials, and uniformed politicians—known as Pentagon generals. At any time these political cliques could ask ordinary American soldiers to do any of the following: 

    • Provide security guarantees to the dictators of Saudi Arabia.

    • Fight to prop up the Ukraine regime, known to be one of the most corrupt governments on earth. 

    • Fight in a war against Iran because some Washington interest groups don’t like that country. 

    Of course, most service members won’t ever be in combat. They’ll spend their time doing more mundane tasks—such as computer programming or logistics planning—to justify a defense budget that now nears a trillion dollars per year. 

    One thing that is clear to most, however, is that virtually none of this has anything to do with defending the United States from invasion, so most young people who have real talent, skills, and plans know they can contribute to the community is far more useful ways. Ordinary nurses, truckers, roofers, private-school teachers, and insurance salesmen do far more net good for their communities than any member of the military who spends his time guarding a hill of sand in Syria or protecting the dictators of Kuwait. 

    If the US military wants to see a return of enthusiasm for enlistment, there are some things they could do:

    • End all foreign deployments of National Guard troops, and make the National Guard a strictly domestic defense force controlled by state governments. 

    • End all US military foreign deployment to any place where the US Congress has not formally declared war against the local regime. 

    • Stop fighting elective wars that have nothing to do with the defense of Americans in America. 

    Of course, doing those things would put significant obstacles in the way of the regimes that seeks to ever expand an de facto American global empire that reserves to itself the right to invade or bomb any country on earth at any time for any reason. 

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 22:20

  • High Stakes And A Simple Choice: "I'm 94 Years Old & Saddened By What I See Happening To America"
    High Stakes And A Simple Choice: “I’m 94 Years Old & Saddened By What I See Happening To America”

    Authored by Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, via RealClear Wire,

    I am 94 years old and like many of you, I am exhausted by politics and saddened by what I see happening to America. I had hoped it was time for me to move to the sidelines and let younger generations continue the fight to preserve America’s founding freedoms and values. But, like so many of us, I realized that I could not let myself walk away; the stakes are just too high.

    We cannot let the America we see today be what we leave to our children and grandchildren. Many of our once-great cities have devolved into lawlessness with random violent attacks on innocent people, rampant looting, and large-scale homeless encampments. There are rarely consequences for the wrongdoers because George Soros-elected prosecutors across America refuse to prosecute them.

    Moreover, our southern border is unprotected, and millions of people we know nothing about pour into our nation to receive care and benefits that we cannot afford to provide to our struggling military veterans. Worse, many of the border crossers may be gang members who commit violent crimes here. Schoolchildren across America cannot read, write, or do basic math, while our educational leaders tell us that they know better than parents how to raise our children. Working men and women are struggling to provide for their families and must raid their retirement funds just to feed, clothe, and take care of their children. These are just a few of the problems America is facing after three years of bad government policies. They cannot be our legacy.

    This should not be a partisan issue. This should be an issue for all Americans – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – that I hope to reach with this op-ed. You enjoy the freedoms and values on which the nation was founded. Sadly, I see these freedoms and values being eroded today as government gets bigger and weaponized against its political opponents.

    I wrote this op-ed because of my love for America, not for any financial gain or advantage. I have been retired for 30 years and spend my time engaged in philanthropic causes, with which I have committed to share 90% of my net worth. I was born here and can give testimony about The American Dream. I lost my job and was broke when I was 48 years old. A dear friend of mine suggested that my misfortune presented a great opportunity to build a small business based upon an idea I had shared with him. Only in America, the land of opportunity, could being without a job and broke be a great opportunity. In 1978, my partners and I built four hardware stores, and this small business grew and is known as The Home Depot. We could only have done this in America because of America’s system of free enterprise and pro-jobs growth government policies. The state of America today, especially record inflation, government over-regulation, and the problems of the last three years, would prevent my partners and I from succeeding as we have.

    Part of our legacy must be passing on to future generations of Americans our founding freedoms and values, including The American Dream. We must change the current trajectory of the nation and solve the problems created in the last three years. We must also reject calls from some politicians to replace our free market system with big government socialism. Most of them seem to have never had a job outside of government. All they know is making government bigger and more intrusive in the lives of its citizens.       

    I wrote above that I wanted to sit on the sidelines of politics, but the stakes were too high for me just to walk away. The stakes are America’s path forward. Do we want to continue the perilous trajectory we are now on? I do not because it would be disastrous for all Americans except the political elite.

    For Democrats, the choice is simple. If you feel that you are better off now than you were three years ago, you should vote for Joe Biden or whoever is the Democrat candidate. For Republicans, the choice is also simple.  Let’s face it: Donald Trump is going to win the nomination. You should be doing all you can to ensure his winning the general election.

    I understand the frustration of some of my Republican friends who do not like or are offended by things Donald Trump does and says. I, too, have been frustrated at times, but we cannot let his brash style be the reason we walk away from his otherwise excellent stewardship of the United States during his first term in office. Now is the time for unity to save The American Dream for future generations. 

    For these reasons, I endorse Donald J. Trump as the nominee of the Republican Party and as our next President. I endorse him not only because he has the best chance of winning the general election but because he is the best person to take on and dismantle the administrative state that is strangling America. The new war in the Middle East will present great challenges for the free world for some time, especially in keeping other terrorist groups or nations out of the conflict. This will require a president with the judgment, strength, decisiveness, and courage that Donald Trump displayed in his first term when he ordered the strike that killed the Iranian terrorist Gen. Qasem Soleimani and dissuaded Russia from invading Ukraine. Many, including myself, believe that Hamas would not have unleashed its barbarism and cruelty on Israel if Donald Trump was our president today. The reason is America’s enemies respect and, more importantly, fear Donald Trump’s judgment, strength, decisiveness, and courage. It is critical that America’s next leader have these attributes in the face of Hamas murdering innocent babies, old people, including Holocaust survivors, entire families; burning alive innocent people; raping women and young girls; and other unspeakable acts.

    I urge my fellow Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to put their love for America above all else. I urge the Republican National Committee to end the Republican debates that only benefit ad makers and political consultants. They are unproductive and embarrassing.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:55

  • Introducing ZeroHedge Live Debates: Laura Loomer Vs. Dave Smith In Wednesday Showdown Over Israel-Hamas War
    Introducing ZeroHedge Live Debates: Laura Loomer Vs. Dave Smith In Wednesday Showdown Over Israel-Hamas War

    Add this online event to your calendar:

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    Modern discourse has devolved into headlines and soundbites. Gone are the great debates of decades past, when luminaries such as Buckley and VidalChomsky and Foucault, or Tucker and Carville spent the better part of an hour hashing out issues on the national stage. These unfiltered, pre-internet debates, untainted by self-serving echo chambers and the biased lens of corporate media, served to actually inform – not manipulate – the public, and shape official policy.

    In the same vein, and in hopes of short-circuiting the endless media noise, ZeroHedge is going back to basics with a series of live, spontaneous, unscripted and interactive debates, with no commercial breaks, which we hope will inspire discussion on a wide variety of controversial topics, ranging from war to finance, to unsustainable debt, to crypto, to society and religion, and everything in between.

    Why? Because we realize that only free, uncensored debate can crush bad ideas before they evolve and lead to social and economic misery, suffering and death… because only dialogue can save the world.

    Imagine a world where those who lie and lead us into wars do not go on to shape national dialogue through establishment outlets which exist to control narratives – providing revolving-door cover for their benefactors and ideological allies. We can counter this when the marketplace of ideas is alive and thriving. When it’s not, when the market has been manipulated and curbed for the benefit of those in power, that’s when catastrophic outcomes become inevitable.

    Ultimately, exposing ideas to public scrutiny is the only way to separate the wheat from the chaff, to distinguish good from bad.

    Our first debate features Dave Smith and Laura Loomer, who will discuss the Israel-Hamas war.  We will also dedicate a portion of the debate to responding directly to questions submitted by our readers on X/Twitter.

    The winner of the debate will be chosen by you, the readers, through a poll immediately following the debate.

    As this novel ZeroHedge project moves forward (please bear with any glitches especially in the beginning), we seek to collaborate with anyone interested in rational debate on one of the largest free-speech platforms in the world – including members of the Intellectual Dark Web, Munk, and others in the alternative media space who wish to amplify their message and reach a huge audience.

    Tune in on Wednesday, Nov 15 at 7:30 PM ET for the Inaugural, interactive, and commercial-free ZeroHedge Debate, which will be broadcast live on X and on ZeroHedge.

     

    Add this online event to your calendar:

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    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:52

  • Trump Will File For Mistrial In NY Fraud Case 'Soon,' Attorney Says
    Trump Will File For Mistrial In NY Fraud Case ‘Soon,’ Attorney Says

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

    Former President Donald Trump’s legal team will “very soon” file for a mistrial in the New York fraud case to address a range of “issues,” said his attorney on Sunday.

    Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom with attorneys Christopher Kise and Alina Habba during his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court in New York City, on Nov. 6, 2023. (Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images)

    Attorney Alina Habba was asked during a Fox News appearance about whether they will file a mistrial, she said it would come “soon” and “very soon.” She added the former president is concerned about the judge and the clerk in the trial, saying that a gag order prevented her from issuing a full response.

    I can tell you that we will be filing papers to address all of those issues,” Ms. Habba told the outlet. “The problem is, with all of these things, such as filing a motion for recusal, which we have done twice, is that the judge has to be the one that decides—is he going to recuse himself? Does he feel that there was a mistrial?”

    Because it is a “bench trial” and one judge, Arthur Engoron, is involved, he has to make those determinations, the attorney added. “At this point, I don’t have any reason to believe he shouldn’t after what we have learned, if it’s true,” she said.

    On Monday, the former president’s legal team is expected to present their case in New York, where President Trump faces a $250 million lawsuit that was brought about by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

    She has alleged that the Trump Organization engaged in fraudulent activities over a decade, while accusing the former president, his sons, and the real estate firm of falsely inflating the value of its assets. The former president and his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, have denied wrongdoing, while President Trump has said it’s part of a politically motivated bid to derail his third presidential campaign.

    In a separate interview with Fox News on Sunday, Ms. Habba claimed that the Trump Organization can prove that no lenders were harmed and were paid on time, with interest, and made money. Instead, she added, it is because Ms. James wanted to make a name for herself, making note of a statement the attorney general had made during her first campaign about prosecuting President Trump.

    Judge Arthur Engoron presides over former President Donald Trump’s fraud trial in New York Supreme Court, on Oct. 3, 2023. (Dave Sanders/Pool Photo via AP)

    She should really dismiss this case, it’s making her look bad, frankly, and the city needs her attention elsewhere,” Ms. Habba added, referring to Ms. James. Another problem they “have is the judge is the one that’s going make those decisions and he’s proven himself to be quite motivated by the other side,” she also said.

    Late last week, a top House Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a filed an ethics complaint against Judge Engoron, alleging he has displayed a “clear judicial bias” against President Trump and his company. Her letter said that the judge has failed to honor President Trump’s due process rights under the U.S. Constitution and made note of the former president’s status as a clear GOP presidential front-runner for the 2024 race.

    I filed an official judicial complaint against Judge Arthur Engoron for his inappropriate bias and judicial intemperance in New York’s disgraceful lawsuit against President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization,” Mrs. Stefanik said in a statement to several news outlets. “Americans are sick and tired of the blatant corruption by radical Leftist judges in New York. All New Yorkers must speak out against the dangerous weaponized lawfare against President Trump.”

    So far, Judge Engoron has not issued a public comment about the letter. Before the trial started, the judge ruled in September that he believes the Trump Organization defrauded banks and insurers by inflating the value of its assets, ordering that some of the former president’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment.

    “In the defendants’ world, rent regulated apartments are worth the same as unregulated apartments; restricted land is worth the same as unrestricted land; restrictions can evaporate into thin air; a disclaimer by one party casting responsibility on another party exonerates the other party’s lies,” Judge Engoron wrote in a 35-page ruling. “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.”

    However, some real estate professionals have cast doubt on the judge’s ruling, namely regarding President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida. Judge Engoron ruled that President Trump over-valued Mar-a-Lago by a significant margin.

    Appraisal values and market values are just not the same thing. It’s a well-known fact,” Eli Beracha, chair of the School of Real Estate at Florida International University, told CNN last month. “That’s especially true for properties that are unique. And it’s very easy to argue this is a unique property.”

    About a month after his ruling, a New York appeals court judge temporarily halted the process of breaking up President Trump’s businesses. The appeals court judge, however, rejected President Trump’s attempt to dismiss the fraud trial.

    Other than the fraud case, the former president separately faces criminal charges in Georgia, Washington, D.C., Florida, and New

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:40

  • New York's Hunger Games Governor Is Now "Collecting Data" From "Surveillance Efforts" On Social Media To Monitor "Hate Speech"
    New York’s Hunger Games Governor Is Now “Collecting Data” From “Surveillance Efforts” On Social Media To Monitor “Hate Speech”

    New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced threw off some serious Hunger Games vibes Monday, announcing that the state of New York has been ‘collecting data’ from social media platforms in order to combat “hate speech” following an alleged rise in antisemitic attacks.

    The announcement came after Hochul met with the state’s Jewish leaders, local law enforcement and federal authorities.

    “It’s painful to me as the governor of this great state — that has been known for its diversity, and how we celebrate different cultures, different religions, different viewpoints — it’s painful to see the cruelty with which New Yorkers are treating each other,” she said, not letting a crisis go to waste.

    “Everywhere from college campuses, to our streets, to schools, to playgrounds; even as they’re entering their houses of worship,” Hochul said, noting that she “immediately deployed the State Police to protect our synagogues and yeshivas and mosques and any other place that could be susceptible to hate crimes or violence.”

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

    According to the NYPD, hate incidents against Jews have increased nearly 331% in New York City since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

    And after meeting with top Jews in NY, Hochul plans “to catch incitement to violence” and “direct threats to others” via social media surveillance.

    We’re very focused on the data we’re collecting from surveillance efforts – what’s being said on social media platforms. And we have launched an effort to be able to counter some of the negativity and reach out to people when we see hate speech being spoken about on online platforms,” she said, adding that New Yorkers “should feel they have to hide any indications of what their religious beliefs are.”

    Some definitions of ‘hate speech’ and ‘incitement to violence,’ plus a list of who’s judging speech to be hateful, would be nice.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:20

  • Victor Davis Hanson: The Damage Of The 'White Privilege' Smear
    Victor Davis Hanson: The Damage Of The ‘White Privilege’ Smear

    Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

    One of the many satanic paradoxes of the Third Reich’s architecture of the Final Solution was the requirement – mandated after the 1939 outbreak of the war – that Jews anywhere under German rule or occupation had to wear a yellow badge or armband with the Star or David.

    Yet was not all this elaborate bureaucratic need for identification embarrassing to the Nazi apparat?

    After all, if Nazi doctrine about supposedly manifest Aryan “racial” superiority – Nordic looks and build, superior intelligence, stable disposition – were so persuasive, then why the need for Jews to identify themselves?

    In contrast, the Star-of David IDs were prima facie proof that the entire bankrupt Nazi project was based on the unspoken fear that millions of Jews were indistinguishable in all respects from other Europeans.

    In other words, on the fascist right, anti-Semitism was predicated on the pseudo-science that Jews were not European and thus somehow racially inferior. Yet currently, the entire industry of anti-Semitic hatred has flipped, from Jews as toxic non-whites to Jews as toxic whites. The two common denominators of racial obsession and hating Jews remain the same.

    One of the key reasons leftwing anti-Semites have been so effective at galvanizing campus hatred of Israel, and by association of Jews in general, is their careful effort to brand themselves DEI victims why tarring Jews with the empty white supremacy slur.

    Accordingly, Jews and Israel now supposedly enjoy toxic white privilege.

    They are libeled as veritable white supremacists illegitimately in the Middle East to colonize “Palestine,” and as European imperialists picking up the mantle of the earlier 19th century British and French—as if a prior 400 years of Ottoman imperialism in the Middle East never occurred.

    As now-privileged white victimizers, contemporary Jews are not seen as victims of the Holocaust, explaining the comfortable alliance between Islamist Holocaust deniers and the DEI crowd.

    It was no accident that a racist BLM on news of the October 7 massacres quickly issued posters glorifying Hamas hang-gliding murderers.

    It was no surprise that DEI czars and professors in various ethnic and race studies programs proved the most prominent on campus in damning Israel and its Jewish citizens as racists. And who was shocked when university administrators—the cowardly MIT campus is a good example—simply warned Jews of no-go zones, rather than ensured there were no such zones anywhere on campus for anyone?

    Jews seem to be collateral damage from the damning of an entire group of people, namely white Americans and Europeans. In a society that is supposedly wedded to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dictum that we should be judged by the content of our character, not the color of our skin, it is shocking how the racist DEI and woke industries have been given a complete pass to castigate and demonize an entire group, without any concern for individual characteristics, or for class, religious, or ethnic differences.

    Indeed, white is as sloppy a term as Hispanic. Just as third generation Cuban-American professionals have almost no intrinsic ethnic, political, class, or often even linguistic affinities with impoverished Oaxacans who just crossed illegally into America—and vice versa—so too a white male from rural America working as a welder in the Ozarks or a logger in the Sierra Nevada has zero solidarity with a white Bay Area techie at Google or an Ivy League legacy preppie screaming “from the river to the sea” in Harvard Yard.

    But “white” is not just a ridiculous construct that ignores the multiplicities of European ethnic and religious fault lines, the vast differences in “white” class, income, and politics, and the increasing frequency of whites marrying non-whites. When joined with the tired epithets “privilege,” “supremacy,” and “rage,” the result grows even more incoherent and sinister.

    Is proof of the privilege of “whites” that their life expectancy is lower than Hispanics and Asians?

    A suicide rate higher than blacks, Asians, and Hispanics?

    Dying in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq at double their numbers in the general population?

    An inordinate percentage of fentanyl deaths?

    A current percentage of whites in Ivy League freshman classes of 20-40 percent, despite making up 55 percent of the youth demographic?

    Why does “white rage” not result in whites being overrepresented as perpetrators of “hate crimes,” as are Latinos and blacks? Or in relatively rare interracial crimes, why are blacks far more likely to assault or kill whites than vice versa? In the DEI lexicon of reductionist stereotypes, is there a term “black rage” that reflects FBI statistics on hate or interracial crimes?

    Woke and DEI fads have created entire anti- “white privilege” industries.

    One result was the epidemic of careerism-inspired and media-fed hoaxes, such as the Duke Lacrosse lie, the Covington Kids myth, and the Jussie Smollett fiasco.

    All were predicated on the idea the white male smear would alone obviate the need for evidence—and would provide exemption when the fakers were exposed.

    Another bastard child of the “white privilege” myth was the ironic but pathetic effort of whites to fake a non-white identity to win privileges in hiring, admissions, and status.

    What, after all, drove the transitioning of Sen. Elizabeth Warren to declare herself the first “native American” professor of law at Harvard, or careerist professor Ward Churchill to outfit himself in buckskin and beads—not to mention the famous Rachel Dolezal, former head of the NAACP in Spokane, Washington?

    Identity fakery is traditionally an empirical guide to privilege, or otherwise nonwhites would be transitioning to white status, as in the segregationist and overtly racist days of the Old South.

    In that regard, why did the New York Times dub Hispanic, half-Peruvian George Zimmerman “White Hispanic,” when they had never used that phrase for any other person, even though two thirds of “Hispanic” Americans self-identify as white? Because it was an acceptable affront in demonizing Zimmerman, but would have been considered a racist slander against another Hispanic American?

    A hallmark of the white-privilege slander industry is the one-way application of “disproportionality,” or the idea that coveted or celebrity billets must reflect demographics.

    Such institutionalized discrimination is now applied in crude fashion throughout companies and universities, but not when inconvenient. In professional sports, where meritocracy is deemed essential and whites are “underrepresented,” or in recording contracts, or even in the US postal service, there is no such sin in any group’s overrepresentation.

    Another dividend of the blanket white privilege/supremacy slur is the racial shakedown industry. The BLM movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death ended up extorting millions of dollars from guilty or scared corporations. The vast majority of donations ended up unaccounted for, but likely enriched the founding grifters of BLM.

    Ibram X. Kendi earned lucrative fees and honoraria espousing “anti-racism” and founded an “anti-racism” academic center that produced no tangible research. All that and more followed from his academic mish-mash of writings justifying racism against whites to “stop racism.”

    The industry of white demonization also plays a role in the drastic reductions in U.S. armed forces recruitment.

    The Pentagon insists that labor shortages, obesity, criminality, gang affiliations, or drugs explain their current alarming dearth of recruits.

    But the drop-off in white rural and suburban males is demonstrable, and the reason is most likely their weariness with constant woke hectoring and discrimination.

    Such pandering was on display when Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley in his June 2021 testimony to Congress pontificated about ferreting out “white rage” and “white privilege” in the ranks—despite providing no evidence or data to back up his white bias and racism allegations.

    Indeed, the Pentagon publicly quotes in detail the racial makeup of almost every branch and rank of service—except the disproportionately-white demographics of combat deaths, which are considered taboo and inherently macabre and “divisive.”

    The DEI virus and the incessant “white privilege” stereotyping infect all areas of American life, and have rendered our society obsessed and hypocritical, if not incoherent as it equates everything from meritocracy to punctuality to toxic “whiteness.”

    The normal rules of media sensationalism dictate that when any law enforcement officer lethally shoots an unarmed suspect, especially at a distance that posed no direct threat to the shooter, the name of the officer is immediately released.

    But when a capitol officer shot and killed the unarmed January 6 protestor Ashli Babbitt for the likely misdemeanor of entering a broken window in the Capitol, his name and identity were immediately hidden from the public for months.

    The same coverup was at work in the suppression of the manifesto and diaries of the self-declared trans mass shooter in Nashville—given that current leaks reveal one of her motivations was sheer hatred of what she deemed “white privileged” children, or, as she also called them, “crackers.”

    If New York Prosecutor Letitia James had been a white male conservative activist prosecutor, seeking fame and an upward political career in his state by indicting Barack Obama in an election year for some suspicious financial transactions or sweetheart real estate con from years ago, he would have been denounced as racist.

    And what if said prosecutor was on record screaming, not the now socially acceptable and common slogan “too pale, too male, and too stale,” but something about the overrepresentation of the “not pale, not male, but stale?” Would the result be the summary dismissal of an embarrassing, superfluous, and racist writ by a grandstanding, incoherent political hack?

    Inconsistency is a final hallmark of “white privilege” ideology.

    What characterized the exemptions given to the summer of 2020 riots—with 35 dead, 1,500 law enforcement officers injured, $2 billion in damages, and a courthouse, police precinct, and historic church torched—was their pretense that white privilege had resulted in George Floyd’s death and anti-racist violence was justified.

    Black Lives Matter therefore was to be immune from consequences in its “rage” against “white supremacy.”

    During the lockdowns, when minor infractions of the quarantine warranted everything from social ostracism to jailing, thousands of health-care professionals—once the most adamant in insisting on the shutdowns—hit the streets claiming that they were marching against white privilege and therefore exempt from the very protocols they had inflicted on others.

    By contrast, both the peaceful protestors and the rioters of January 6 were alike dubbed “white supremacists” and “insurrectionists,” and given harsh sentences.

    Some no doubt deserved such arrest and punishment, but the single-day event was hardly comparable to the 120 days of rioting, looting, arson, and killing associated with the Antifa/BLM-engineered 2020 riots.

    The low bar for “insurrection,” of course, was white-privilege-inspired.

    Note the contrast with the recent “pro-Palestine” demonstrations.

    Ostensibly these protests should have qualified for all the new requirements of “insurrection” established by the official responses to January 6.

    Some of them entered the Capitol rotunda, where protests are forbidden. They interrupted a session of Congress, yelling and disrupting congressional hearings. They defaced government property, smearing fake-blood on the White House stone wall and swarming iconic statues. The genocide of Jews was the theme of their “river to the sea” monotonous chants.

    And to make the analogy with the January 6 “insurrection” complete, a prominent politician, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, delivered a speech to the protestors prior to their entry into the Capitol.  In fact, she too implicitly fired up the volatile crowd by calling for the destruction of Israel by demanding a Palestine “from the river to the sea.” Yet in contrast to the January 6 protestors, there were very few arrests and likely will be fewer convictions.

    In sum, for years the left has been exempted for what in normal circumstance would be a cardinal civil rights sin. They demonize and stereotype an entire group solely on the basis of their skin color, attributing to them collective negative characteristics that trump all individual differences by presenting them as if frozen in a time warp of the pre-1960s.

    Anti-Semitism is on the rise and fortified by the campus DEI and woke crowd.

    Hate crimes are soaring. Violent crime in general is on the upswing. Military recruitment is dropping. Trust in the media is plunging. Anti-Semites are proud and not ashamed of acting out their hatred. The progressive woke agenda is imploding.

    The one common denominator is the now-acceptable notion that it is not just permissible but encouraged to smear without evidence over two-thirds of Americans as the sole beneficiaries of “privilege,” prone to rage, and conspiring to ensure racial supremacy—all lies.

    But they are lies nevertheless as useful to their promulgators as they are toxic and incendiary to a multiracial consensual society if not addressed, refuted, and discredited.

    It is past time for Americans to reject all racial stereotyping and the racist careerists who leverage it – before we all descend into tribal nihilism.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 21:00

  • Retailers In Boston Are Rushing Out Of The City And Into Suburbia
    Retailers In Boston Are Rushing Out Of The City And Into Suburbia

    In what might be the most least surprising news of the week, retailers are ditching cities and moving to the suburbs. It’s a trend we’ve already seen in places like New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco.

    Now, it’s taking place in Boston. According to a new report from Bisnow, the retail sector in Boston’s suburbs is experiencing a revival, with locals spending less time traveling to the city center and seeking more shopping and dining alternatives in their own neighborhoods.

    The report says that retailers are adapting to changing consumer trends by moving towards suburban areas. However, this shift is bypassing traditional enclosed malls in favor of suburban main streets and open-air lifestyle centers, as reported by brokers and landlords.

    Bisnow notes that the high demand has led to lower vacancy rates, enabling property owners to increase rents and transfer expenses to tenants. Simultaneously, this trend is challenging for new businesses seeking to establish themselves in these areas, prompting developers to consider increasing supply.

    Bialow Real Estate CEO Corey Bialow commented: “The suburbs have been on fire. I’ve never seen such a landlord-favored market. It’s become the norm that if any good space comes up in a strong suburban shopping center, there’s four or five offers right out of the box.”

    He added: “As people are spending more time at home instead of going to lunch down on Boylston Street, they’re having lunch around the corner from their house in downtown Newton or downtown Beverly. We’re just seeing a lot of these small downtowns re-emerge, which is good for the community.”

    Boston’s consumer behavior shift will become evident in the upcoming holiday season, expected to be robust. Deloitte’s Holiday Retail Survey indicates Boston shoppers will spend an average of $1,883, up 16% from last year and 14% above the national average. This expenditure includes non-gift items like personal clothing and home furnishings, with 81% of respondents planning such purchases, the report says

    The pandemic’s impact on work and commute patterns has shifted retail hotspots from downtown areas like Newbury Street and the Seaport to suburban town centers. These New England main streets in Newton, Brookline, Dedham, Arlington, Wellesley, and Lexington, known for their quaint low-rise buildings and local retail, are in high demand but face low vacancy rates. For instance, Newton Centre has less than a 2% vacancy, making it challenging for new businesses to enter these bustling retail corridors.

    Whitney Gallivan, managing director at Boston Realty Advisors, added: “There’s certainly been a flock to the suburbs. With the access to the work-from-home environment, as well as hybrid workplaces, I think more and more people are able to gravitate further away from the city.”

    “Young families and young people want their suburbs and want their town to have more. They want the fitness concept, they want the fast-casual place to grab food, they want a brewery. We are starting to see the suburbs light up,” Gallivan added. 

    Judy Cazeau, associate retail broker at Avison Young’s Boston office, added: “You’re looking at astronomical numbers to get your storefront running. I’ve seen several landlords, even in markets that aren’t even in Boston, asking for 5% annual increases, and it’s kind of jaw-dropping.”

    She concluded: “Cities and towns are just becoming a little more hip. They’re investing in their smaller communities and small businesses.”

    You can read Bisnow’s full report here.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 20:40

  • "This Is The End-Process That We've Been Softened Up For…"
    “This Is The End-Process That We’ve Been Softened Up For…”

    Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

    “I hope you realise the ideological brain worms possessing group narcissists preclude condemnation of anything done in the name of the cause no matter how evil. The ends justify the means — no matter how depraved. This is why you can’t reason with them. Ideology binds and blinds.”

    – Aimee Therese on X

    The sun is low on the horizon all day long now, and darkness creeps in like a home invasion of your mind. Demons descend through a red and black sky and no help is on the way. Our country is so mentally hog-tied trying to unravel the twisted events of just a few years past that it has no mojo left for rationally anticipating the events of just a few years ahead. Have you ever felt more alone?

    This is the end-process that we’ve been softened up for: the inability to think and plan. The gigantic “intel community” evolved from something intended to act as sensitized antennae for detecting threats against our republic into what is now a remorseless mind-fucking operation against our republic. That word, by the way, derives from the Latin res publica: the public thing, a society that literally belongs to the people, who decide its affairs. Now, so much is mysteriously decided for us, and not in any good way.

    It’s no wonder more than half the country can’t think straight, and it’s a whopping irony that this group comprises most of our country’s thinking class —the bureaucratic managers, the professors, the curators, the editors, the reporters lost in mis-reporting. This group used to play a critical role in the res publica: to earnestly determine what is true and what is real, and to present us with a way of understanding all that so we can think and plan. They appear to be captured by malign forces. The scribes are hard at work defending every act of official malice. The dishonesty at work is epic. You need a decoder ring to keep your mind right.

    You are probably desperate to understand why this is happening — how, for instance, a blatantly corrupt and ignorant attorney general in New York state can get away with bringing a politically-motivated nonsense case against the leading presidential candidate in a courtroom ruled by a judge who acts like a jester in a Shakespeare play. New York AG Letitia James gets away with it because the flagship organ of the thinking class, The New York Times, is in on the gambit. But why?

    We struggle to sort this out.

    One explanation is that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has infiltrated the management of our country at every level so as to eventually conquer our territory for its resources while eliminating or enslaving the population?

    Surely, the CCP has made significant inroads, starting with the successful bribery and compromise of “Joe Biden,” probably other elected officials, too, in placing many CCP agents in the vast array of university research departments, NGOs, PACs, and lobbying gangs, and extending to the purchase of vital businesses and farmland to prepare the gameboard for eventual takeover. My opinion is they’ve accomplished a good bit of this, but it’s not the answer you’re seeking.

    Another popular idea out there is that a sinister cartel or cabal composed of the World Economic Forum, the WHO, the EU, and a claque of super-rich megalomaniacs (e.g., Bill Gates, George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg) trying to usher in the so-called “transhumanist” next chapter of human history.

    This scheme is so full of preposterous contradictions that it remains hard to take seriously. The main one is that their engineered collapse of techno-industrial civilization would destroy the very network of complex systems that might support their supposed cyborg nirvana, especially a reliable electric grid. Secondarily, collapse would result not in centralizing power but just the opposite, re-localizing power away from the center, negating the possibility of global rule.

    A third theory is that the USA has somehow gone “communist.”

    The universities have, for sure, but in a most half-assed way imaginable that presents more as a case of collective mental illness than a true political ideology. Higher education has lately enjoyed stupendous subsidies and revenues that funnel down to the miserable cat-ladies who have taken over the faculty department chairs, plus the deans and president’s offices. The Niagara of grants and lavish salaries has funded the dissemination of incoherent cat-lady ideas, such as the foundational notion that all men are hopelessly defective except the ones who pretend to be women or vice-versa. Such postulations lead to ridiculous actions like the drag queen story hour, or men competing in women’s swim competitions. These actions-and-effects are “communistic” only insofar as the induce some Marxist-Gramscian overthrow of normality (i.e., a coherent cultural consensus) in order to usher in the utopia of perfect social equity, where nobody is allowed to do better than anybody else — that is, a society of cat-ladies (plus men pretending to be cat-ladies), all equally miserable.

    Are the editors and reporters of The New York Times all bought off by the CCP, Soros, Gates? I doubt it. That’s not what’s going on here. And the same goes for the Intel Community, much of the rest of the executive branch of the US government, the various “blue” state and blue city governments, and the great social media companies. Are all the employees of these vast bureaucracies dedicated communists?  Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha….

    What’s going on is that all these players are now desperate to evade the blame for and consequences of their many crimes. Hundreds of top bureaucrats and elected officials will be liable for prosecution for monstrous acts of perfidy and treason against our republic and its citizens. The New York Times and other compliant news outlets that lied about everything from Russian collusion to election fraud to the safety of Covid-19 vaccines to protect their fumbling allies in power are desperate to save their reputations — though that will be impossible as the truth eventually unfolds, and it will. Their knowing lies did real and lasting harm to the public thing.

    Take heart in these darkening days. The light will not be extinguished. It will return, as everything does in this universe of endless cycles. A nation turned upside down will find its feet again. The wicked will answer. The counter-revolution has begun. You are not alone.

    *  *  *

    Support his blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 20:20

  • 'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley Launches 2024 Congressional Bid
    ‘QAnon Shaman’ Jacob Chansley Launches 2024 Congressional Bid

    Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

    Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who entered the halls of Congress shirtless while wearing patriotic face paint and horned fur headgear on Jan. 6, 2021, has filed paperwork to run for Congress as a Libertarian.

    Jacob Chansley outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

    According to the filings, Mr. Chansley is seeking to fill the seat currently held by Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), who announced in October that she won’t be running for reelection in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. The congresswoman’s term ends in January 2025.

    Others seeking the seat include Blake Masters, a Republican who lost to Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly in last year’s election, and Republican state Sen. Anthony Kern, who was labeled an “insurrectionist” by Arizona Democrats for being present at the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington.

    Mr. Chansley, better known as “QAnon Shaman,” was among the first batch of the “Stop the Steal” rally attendees to enter the Capitol. Images of him sitting in Vice President Mike Pence’s chair in the Senate became iconic representations of that day, when thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered in the nation’s capital, urging Congress to halt the certification of electoral college votes from states they believed had serious problems of election integrity.

    Jacob Chansley, also known as the “QAnon Shaman,” inside the U.S. Senate chamber after the U.S. Capitol was breached on Jan. 6, 2021. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

    After he was charged with obstructing an official proceeding, Mr. Chansley pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 41 months in prison. In May, after serving a prison sentence of 29 months, including two months in a halfway house, he was released from custody and began a 36-month period of supervised release.

    New Footage Helps Chansley

    Mr. Chansley’s release came after Fox News in March publicized clips of surveillance camera footage in and around the Capitol complex on Jan. 6, 2021, on the prime-time program hosted by Tucker Carlson, who was fired from the media company two months later.

    Among the footage was a clip showing Mr. Chansley walking alongside several U.S. Capitol Police officers who didn’t make any attempt to remove him from the building. At one point of the clip, an officer even opened a door to the Senate Chamber for Mr. Chansley before following the shirtless, American-flag-carrying man inside.

    “The crowd was enormous. A small percentage of them were hooligans. They committed vandalism. You’ve seen their pictures again and again,” said Mr. Carlson, speaking of the “possibly thousands” of people who entered the Capitol over the course of two hours that day. “But the overwhelming majority weren’t. They were peaceful. They were orderly and meek. These were not insurrectionists. They were sightseers.”

    The footage prompted prominent public figures such as Elon Musk to call for Mr. Chansley’s release. The attorney representing the Arizona man also asked the court to vacate the prison sentence, arguing that the government violated his client’s constitutional rights by not handing over the potentially exculpatory footage.

    “Because this material was favorable to Mr. Chansley for purposes of sentencing, and it was suppressed by the Government, Mr. Chansley’s due process rights were clearly violated by the failure to produce the CCTV camera video from inside the Capitol,” wrote his lawyer, William Shipley.

    A Call for National Unity

    In an interview with The Epoch Times after being released from prison, Mr. Chansley said he was being “targeted” while in custody in Washington.

    I experienced a certain level of prejudice, considering I was the guy in the horns, and they knew who I was,” he said of his 11-day stay in the Washington jail in February 2022, before being transferred to a facility in Alexandria, Virginia.

    This experience, according to Mr. Chansley, allowed him to gain a deeper insight into America’s ideological polarization.

    The media sells outrage. They don’t sell truth,” he said. “And they never offer solutions. They only complain about the problem.”

    He also said he believes that the government is “certainly corrupt on both sides of the aisle—Republicans and Democrats.”

    “I think in America, we can actually agree on a whole lot more than we disagree on,” he told The Epoch Times.

    He said he hopes to promote “a spiritual message of love, of peace, the power of love, the power of peace, the power of prayer, the power of forgiveness, the power of the truth.”

    “That’s the only way we’re going to solve our problems,” he said.

    Gary Bai contributed to this report.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 20:00

  • Xi's Decision To 'Stay In Office For Life' Has Created Challenges: Hillary Clinton
    Xi’s Decision To ‘Stay In Office For Life’ Has Created Challenges: Hillary Clinton

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

    Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s life tenure has created not only political challenges at home but difficulties in the bilateral relationship with the United States, according to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

    Hillary Clinton speaks onstage during the 22nd Annual Global Leadership Awards hosted by Vital Voices at The Kennedy Center in Washington on October 25, 2023. (Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Vital Voices Global Partnership)

    Mrs. Clinton’s comment at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore came as tensions between Beijing and Washington remain high, including over China’s military aggressions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea and the U.S. restrictions on high-end technologies exports and investment that has the risk of supping the communist regime’s military ambition.

    The future of U.S.-China relations “really depends upon what Xi Jinping’s goals are,” Mrs. Clinton said at the summit via video link on Thursday. 

    “Once Xi Jinping decided to stay in office for life, that creates a lot of…challenges within their own system,” Mrs. Clinton said. “We’re seeing some of that with the removal of top officials, some of the economic problems in the Chinese economy, but it also creates a kind of chilling effect in terms of relations. “

    How do you deal with somebody who’s not going to be held accountable?

    Mr. Xi claimed a third term as the head of the state during the annual session of China’s rubber-stamp parliament in March, completing the transition to the country’s most powerful chairman since Mao Zedong.

    Now, he is poised to rule the country indefinitely. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has already cleared the way for that move, deleting the two-term limits on the country’s position of chairman from the regime’s Constitution in 2018.

    While the position of the state chairman is a largely ceremonial role in China’s governing system—the main power coming from the role of Party chief — it’s the only post that Mr. Xi holds with term limits. The 70-year-old leader has two other titles: general secretary of the CCP and the chairman of the Central Military Commission that commends the Party’s military wing. Neither of them limits the tenures.

    Mr. Xi, who became the state chairman a decade ago, has already stayed in power longer than his immediate predecessors—Jiang Zemin and then Hu Jintao — who stepped down after two five-year terms.

    “Hu Jintao was a Chinese leader who decided he would not stay for life,” Mrs. Clinton said. “So there could be a constant renewing of both the Chinese government and, through that, the American relationship.”

    Biden-Xi Meeting

    Mrs. Clinton expected to see more coming out of the meeting between Mr. Xi and President Joe Biden at the sideline of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Fransico. The exchange on Nov. 15 will be the two leaders’ first in-person meeting in nearly a year amid growing friction between Beijing and Washington.

    Mrs. Clinton said there has been “a real chill” from China about American business operating in the country. At the same time, there are pressures from the U.S. Congress to counter the threat posed by communist China, she said.

    The Biden-Xi engagement, according to Mrs. Clinton, created “a terrific opportunity” for the world’s two largest economies to “reset the table.”

    According to China’s foreign ministry, Mr. Xi will visit the United States from Nov. 14 through Nov. 17, the first trip in more than six years.

    Mr. Xi’s upcoming U.S. trip came as geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington further dented foreign investors’ confidence in the country amid domestic economic woes. The real estate sector once contributing to nearly one-third of China’s GDP, is on the edge of collapse, threatening the savings of millions of middle-class families when the youth unemployment rate hits a record high.

    Western businesses’ confidence in the country has dropped to the lowest point in decades, according to two recent surveys from China’s American and European business lobbying groups.

    Concerns cited by the report from the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai include the tensions with the West, and the regime’s crackdown on foreign business. Officials have slapped Mintz, a U.S. due diligence firm, with a $1.5 million fine in a security crackdown after police raided its Beijing office and detained five of its local employees earlier this year.

    Apart from Mintz, Chinese police have raided the offices of consultancy Capvision, questioned employees at U.S. due diligence Bain, and detained staff from Japanese drug maker Astellas.

    The European Union Chamber of Commerce, in China’s paper, attributes investors’ sluggish confidence to the regime’s tightening control over perceived threats in data, national security, and espionage. In July, the updated anti-espionage law came into force. The legislation expanded the definition of espionage to include “all documents, data, materials, or items related to national security and interests,” but did not specify what falls under national security, adding to concerns among business leaders.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 19:40

  • Flying Taxi Spotted In Lower Manhattan
    Flying Taxi Spotted In Lower Manhattan

    One of Joby Aviation’s flying taxis – or electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft – was spotted on a helicopter pad in Lower Manhattan. 

    A Sunday post by Joby on social media platform X showed the flying taxi surrounded by office towers but did not mention the location. 

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    Dow Jones reporter Allen Root posted on X a photo Monday morning showing the eVTOL on the edge of a helipad in NYC. 

    Root said, “eVTOL getting ready to fly in NYC on a chilly, clear Monday.” 

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    We’ve all seen Dubai and other cities in the East commit to using flying taxis, but very little activity in the US. 

    NYC could be preparing for future flying taxi services, potentially displacing Uber helicopters as the FAA prepares for the first crewed flying taxi flights by 2027

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 19:20

  • UofA Profs: Hamas Not Terrorists, Just An Anti-Zionist "Resistance" Group
    UofA Profs: Hamas Not Terrorists, Just An Anti-Zionist “Resistance” Group

    Authored by Dave Huber via TheCollegeFix.com,

    A pair of University of Arizona education professors was recorded telling a “Cultural Pluralism for Young Children” class that Hamas is not comprised of terrorists, but is a “resistance” group merely opposed to Zionism.

    Rebecca Lopez and Rebecca Zapien (pictured above), both of whom teach “teaching, learning & sociocultural studies,” initially appear to differ somewhat in their views in the audio obtained by the X account Israel War Room.

    But not for long.

    One of them concedes that Hamas representatives appear to be “like, speaking, like very antisemitic,” but is countered by her peer who says “they’re probably anti-Zionist, which, again, is about the Israeli state.”

    “Antisemitism,” the second professor continues, “is different than being anti-Zionist.”

    The first professor then claims the Hamas “movement” is about how Israel and the Zionists “have been taking away and taking away and blockading [Palestinians] so that they’re not allowed to leave, and they’re tired of that.”

    She goes on to say it is “so exhausting” for Palestinians “to be constantly treated like crap, like you don’t matter,” and that Hamas is merely “responding” to this — much like the Black Panthers did in the U.S. during the civil rights struggle of 60-plus years ago.

    This professor then states Hamas “doesn’t represent the Palestinian people” as they are “not elected officials.”

    (In fact, they are.)

    She says she “thinks [she] thought [Hamas] was a terrorist group” because people “just say” so, and her peer notes that “language matters.”

    Despite having the ability to target its weapons, Israel puts “churches, shelters, schools [and] hospitals” in its crosshairs, the first professor continues. The targeting “seems to be very intentional and deliberate,” she says.

    After a student in the class says Zionists are “almost as cruel as Nazis” and another student objects, one professor jumps in to say “genocide is awful” and that the “part that’s really brutal to think about is that there have been many holocausts” … but “we’re only taught about World War II.”

    One professor eventually informs the class what they can do to support the Palestinian cause: engage in boycotts (she specifically mentions the BDS — Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions — movement), contact various representatives and organizations, and participate in marches.

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    According to Ballotpedia, Zapien last year ran unsuccessfully for an at-large Tucson Unified School District school board seat. In 2020 she penned an op-ed blasting the district for having police, aka School Resource Officers, in its schools.

    “Stop funding the false and dangerous narrative that SROs are safe for our brown and black youth,” she wrote.

    “Stop participating in the school-to-prison pipeline and start practicing transformative justice.”

    On her personal website, Lopez includes the “Mahatma Ghandi” [sic] quote “If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children.”

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 19:00

  • "We Might Need To Let It Burn": Firefighting In The EV Era Is A Whole New Game
    “We Might Need To Let It Burn”: Firefighting In The EV Era Is A Whole New Game

    Firefighting is a whole new game in the electric vehicle era.

    In fact, departments across the U.S. are finding out that the best way to “fight” such fires are to simply let them burn, according to a new report by the the Wall Street Journal.

    The report points out that EV fires, unlike traditional gas-fueled car fires, are more enduring, challenging to extinguish, and prone to reigniting, according to firefighters and experts.

    It also cites and example from Franklin, Tenn., where first responders encountered a Nissan Leaf EV fire in September, which required 45,000 gallons of water to douse, significantly more than the 500 to 1,000 gallons typically needed for gasoline vehicle fires.

    Fire Marshal Andy King stated: “I think if we were faced with a similar scenario next time, we might need to let it burn.”

    Photos: WSJ

    The Journal reported that in the U.S., over 170,000 vehicle fires occur annually. However, the National Fire Protection Association, relying on federal data, doesn’t categorize these fires by the vehicles’ power source.

    Tesla claims its cars have a much lower fire incidence compared to the national average, a finding echoed by some independent studies regarding EVs in general.

    Michael O’Brian, fire chief of Michigan’s Brighton Area Fire Authority and chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ battery committee, told WSJ:  “When we look at how much money is going into battery plants, into the EV transition, there hasn’t been that carve-out to prepare the fire service.”

    EV fires typically originate in the car’s lithium-ion batteries, which hold vast energy. According to UL Solutions’ chief scientist Robert Slone, these fires can start due to poor design, damage, or internal lithium build-up causing “thermal runaway.”

    These batteries, containing combustible chemicals and self-oxygenating properties, can reignite long after being extinguished. Tom Miller, an instructor at West Virginia University Fire Service Extension and the National Volunteer Fire Council, highlights that these fires also release extremely toxic fumes.

    Fire departments are adapting to electric vehicle (EV) fires, which often originate in lithium-ion batteries. In New Jersey and California, firefighters let Teslas burn out after accidents, as water can be ineffective against battery fires, the Journal wrote

    Some firefighters are exploring techniques like using fog streams to cool fires enough to move the vehicle. New technologies, such as specialized nozzles and fire-suppressing batteries, are being developed to address these challenges.

    The National Fire Protection Association recommends additional safety measures, like sprinklers in parking garages, to counteract the increased fire risks from modern vehicles. Meanwhile, car manufacturers and suppliers are working on innovations like early warning sensors and materials to contain battery fires, and research into solid-state batteries is ongoing.

    Regardless, firefighting organizations continue to seek effective strategies for dealing with EV fires, with new guidelines expected in the near future.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 18:40

  • Baker Hughes: Geopolitical Risks Are At The Highest Since 1973 Oil Embargo
    Baker Hughes: Geopolitical Risks Are At The Highest Since 1973 Oil Embargo

    By Tsvetana Paraskova of OilPrice.com

    The world faces the highest geopolitical risks since the 1973 oil embargo, the chief executive of one of the largest oilfield service providers, Baker Hughes, told the Financial Times.

    “From a historical context I’ve heard people say, you go back to the oil embargo of 1973 — that being somewhat similar,” Baker Hughes CEO Lorenzo Simonelli told FT in an interview.

    The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East could threaten further instability in the oil and gas markets, Simonelli noted.

    The risks are stoking demand for LNG, a key growth area for Baker Hughes.

    Global LNG demand is set to grow by 2% year-over-year in 2023, to reach close to 410 million tons annually, the company said last month as it reported higher-than-forecast earnings for the third quarter.

    “Year-to-date, global LNG demand has reached record levels at just over 300 MTPA. This is despite softer than anticipated gas demand and economic weakness persisting in key LNG-consuming markets like Europe and China,” Simonelli said on the earnings call.

    “Turning into 2024, we forecast LNG demand to increase by 3%, which should result in utilization rates remaining at elevated levels, as we forecast just 15 MTPA of nameplate capacity coming online next year.”

    Baker Hughes believes that natural gas will play a critical role as both a transition and destination fuel.

    “Accordingly, natural gas will be fundamental in satisfying the world’s energy needs for many decades to come, while also improving air quality and reducing global emissions, displacing coal in the broader energy mix,” Simonelli said last month.

    Looking into 2024, geopolitical risk will be a very important factor to monitor, the executive said

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 18:20

  • Biden Admin Thinks Israel Seeking Pretext For Wider War In Lebanon: Axios
    Biden Admin Thinks Israel Seeking Pretext For Wider War In Lebanon: Axios

    Some top level members of the Biden administration have warned that Israel could be seeking to provoke a broader war with Hezbollah with an aim toward drawing the United States into a deeper conflict with Iran and its proxies.

    Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “expressed concern” over escalation with Hezbollah in a Saturday call with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant – with the White House also citing “growing anxiety” that Israel’s military action which could spark war in southern Lebanon.

    The US has also been warning Hezbollah, as well as the Lebanese government, against escalating attacks on northern Israel, which have left about ten Israeli soldiers and civilians dead since last month. Hezbollah has also revealed that over 60 of its fighters have been killed.

    This ‘warning’ has also come in the form of a US military build-up in the Eastern Mediterranean, which has significantly included a couple of aircraft carrier strike groups and ominously a nuclear-powered submarine.

    SecDef Austin’s caution conveyed to Gallant about Israeli military actions in Lebanon was first reported in Axios on Sunday, which wrote based on three Israeli and US sources privy to the call

    Austin’s message to Gallant reflected growing anxiety in the White House that Israeli military action in Lebanon is exacerbating tensions along the border, which could lead to a regional war.

    Some in the Biden administration are concerned Israel is trying to provoke Hezbollah and create a pretext for a wider war in Lebanon that could draw the U.S. and other countries further into the conflict, according to sources briefed on the issue. Israeli officials flatly deny it.

    Israel has already evacuated tens of its citizens from near the border with Lebanon, comprising dozens of towns and settlements, given the exchanges of fire have grown daily.

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    Meanwhile, the border just witnessed a big escalation, with Times of Israel detailing that “at least 14 civilians were wounded, including one seriously, in an anti-tank guided missile attack by the Hezbollah terror group from Lebanon on Sunday, the military and medical officials said.” And a separate attack witnessed seven Israeli soldiers wounded by a mortar.

    “The Hezbollah missile struck a number of vehicles near the northern community of Dovev, close to the border. Some of the victims were Israel Electric Corporation employees who had arrived to repair power lines damaged by previous fire from Lebanon,” the Israeli report continued.

    Tyler Durden
    Mon, 11/13/2023 – 18:00

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