• A NATO Without Limits?
  A NATO Without Limits?

  Authored by Francis P. Sempa via RealClear Wire,

  Jessica Berlin, a policy analyst writing in the Center for European Policy Analysis’ online journal, has proposed a NATO without limits–an expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to all democratic nations.

  “The 21st-century threat landscape,” she contends, “calls for a global alliance capable of mutual defense.”

  “NATO must open its doors,” she writes, “to new members beyond Europe and North America.”

  

  Her proposal is breathtaking in scope: an attack on any democracy is an attack on all democracies. It is a recipe for endless wars on all continents and a reckless extension of America’s nuclear guarantee to all the world’s democracies. It turns John Quincy Adams’ prudent counsel on its head: America goes abroad in search of monsters to destroy and is the champion and vindicator of the freedom and independence of all democracies.

  Berlin’s proposed “New Alliance Treaty Organization” fulfills the vision of Woodrow Wilson who sought to use American power, treasure and blood to make the world “safe for democracy.” It echoes the irresponsible Truman Doctrine which rhetorically committed the United States to “support free peoples around the world who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures.” It mirrors the reckless pledge of President John F. Kennedy to “pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” It shares the Utopian vision announced by President George W. Bush that the United States will “extend the benefits of freedom across the globe” and to “bring the hope of democracy . . . to every corner of the world.”

  Berlin is simply the latest exponent of democratism, an ideology that Patrick Buchanan argued would “bleed, bankrupt, and break this republic in endless crusades and interminable wars.” It is a tragedy of history that the ideology of democratism coincided with the rise to power of what President Eisenhower called the “military-industrial complex.” That tragedy is written in blood in Southeast Asia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and lesser conflicts. And Berlin envisions the new NATO as not only the army of the world’s democracies but also the armed force that will be used to prevent or stop genocide wherever it occurs. Here, Berlin mimics Samantha Power’s notion that the United States and its European allies have a “responsibility to protect” (R2P) the rest of the world’s people.

  One of history’s greatest statesman Otto von Bismarck once remarked that “it is unworthy of a great state to dispute over something which does not concern its interests.” Bismarck was referring to actual, concrete interests, not interests defined by ideology. The great British geopolitical thinker Sir Halford Mackinder understood that democratic ideals must give way to geopolitical realities. Closer to home, America’s first and greatest president, George Washington, counseled his countrymen to conduct foreign policy without sentiment or emotion, and to “steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world,” and to “safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary emergencies.”

  Jessica Berlin not only wants to make NATO permanent; she wants to expand it to geographical and ideological lengths that even its most ardent supporters and admirers should shy away from.

  Crusaders and ideologues make for dangerous statesmen.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 08/11/2023 – 02:00

• Trump Coming Back Is Already Spooking Western Elites
  Trump Coming Back Is Already Spooking Western Elites

  Authored by Martin Jay,

  What would 2024 look like with Trump back in the Oval Office for Europeans?

  

  Should western elites and even NATO itself be afraid of Donald Trump returning to the White House in 2024? It’s an entirely valid question given that the elites’ own ‘news’ website in Brussels – Politico – penned a piece recently which argued not only should they be bothered, but they should also prepare themselves for it right now.

  Trump’s return as U.S. president is looking more and more inevitable by the day, driven by the nefarious meddling of the Biden administration and its determination to put him into jail, where they, erroneously, think his bid for the White House ends.

  Even the most obscure French MP which Politico wheeled out to endorse its article accepts this, so what would 2024 look like with Trump back in the Oval Office for Europeans?

  The short answer is an unpleasant one.

  Trump will almost certainly believe that he has learnt his lessons the first time around and that his rants about NATO and EU countries having a free ticket to defending the West against Russian aggression were profoundly on the money, given what has happened in the Ukraine. His policies towards the EU bloc are likely to be much more divisive second time around as he will not only insist on a new deal for EU-NATO countries in the Ukraine war itself, but will go further to use his natural allies in the EU – Poland and Hungary – to beat the back of the Brussels elite and wreck its plans on all its delusional pseudo hegemony. It’s unlikely that he will pull the U.S. out of NATO as John Bolton recently predicted but a new hardball regime will certainly be on the cards which may well relieve him of the task of winding down the Ukraine war directly rather than just saying to the Europeans “if you want to pay for it yourself, by my guess, but we’ve paid enough”.

  This may well send the shivers down the spines of many EU leaders. And it might even get him impeached. But it’s Trump. He won’t mind that at all. The point is that the old cliché about Biden being the grown up who “restored” the transatlantic alliance is just that. A cliché. In reality Biden royally buggered the UK and EU countries by masterminding the meltdown of their economies while U.S. firms cashed in, not only with new tax breaks aimed at eco-friendly firms, but also simply by letting the Europeans oversubscribe themselves to a war which they can never possibly have the means to end. So much for Biden’s “America is back, diplomacy is back” soundbite which was quoted in the early days of his days in office. The harsh reality is that Biden’s view of old Europe was very much from a colonial perspective. They have to pay for their dreams if Uncle Sam is going to make them true.

  So Trump now will come back with the mockery of Europe’s dirt cheap defence arrangement which, in reality, wasn’t cheap at all.

  He will also pull out of the Paris Climate Change Accords pissing off Macron no end as well as give encouragement to the Israelis that their ideas of striking Iran are not completely bonkers (which of course they are).

  But it’s really what Trump has in store for America on its own soil which EU governments should worry about more.

  He will invest more in fossil fuels, undo a lot of Biden’s environmental initiatives, come down hard on wokeism and immigration and impose more tariffs on America’s competitors – both China and the EU – to help American business.

  Yet his second term in office, will not only be about focussing on humiliating Biden with such score-settling, domestically or around the world.

  It will also be about fighting even harder to keep America in the game both with international trade and also its waning dollar economy.

  Trump will have to face a new threat to America which comes as a direct result of Biden’s war – and let’s not forget his corrupt deals – in Ukraine. The emergence of BRICS which will have five new members this year alone and is already taking full control of oil prices with its influence via OPEC Plus. Trump will, in a nutshell, be fighting a new front as a new world order has emerged to challenge U.S. hegemony – or what’s left of it – head on, which means much more than simply dumping the dollar as a reserve currency. BRICS will have its own currency, its own clearing system and at some point, probably, its own defence pact.

  The Donald is going to have a lot on his plate, leaving most EU leaders wondering whether it is better for them that Trump ill-informed and belligerent is better than overwhelmed and panicky in the wake of a new relationship between America and the few partners it has left in the world.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 23:40

• Visualizing The $105 Trillion World Economy In One Chart
  Visualizing The $105 Trillion World Economy In One Chart

  By the end of 2023, the world economy is expected to have a gross domestic product (GDP) of $105 trillion, or $5 trillion higher than the year before, according to the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections from its 2023 World Economic Outlook report.

  In nominal terms, that’s a 5.3% increase in global GDP. In inflation-adjusted terms, that would be a 2.8% increase.

  As Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao details below, the year started with turmoil for the global economy, with financial markets rocked by the collapse of several mid-sized U.S. banks alongside persistent inflation and tightening monetary conditions in most countries. Nevertheless, some economies have proven to be resilient, and are expected to register growth from 2022.

  

  ℹ️ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the total value of economic output—goods and services—produced within a given time frame by both the private and public sectors. All numbers used in this article, unless otherwise specified, are nominal figures, and do not account for inflation.

   

  Ranking Countries by Economic Size in 2023

  The U.S. is expected to continue being the biggest economy in 2023 with a projected GDP of $26.9 trillion for the year. This is more than the sum of the GDPs of 174 countries ranked from Indonesia (17th) to Tuvalu (191st).

  China stays steady at second place with a projected $19.4 trillion GDP in 2023. Most of the top-five economies remain in the same positions from 2022, with one notable exception.

  India is expected to climb past the UK to become the fifth-largest economy with a projected 2023 GDP of $3.7 trillion.

  Here’s a look at the size of every country’s economy in 2023, according to IMF’s estimates.

  Rank	Country	GDP (USD)	% of Total
  1	🇺🇸 U.S.	$26,855B	25.54%
  2	🇨🇳 China	$19,374B	18.43%
  3	🇯🇵 Japan	$4,410B	4.19%
  4	🇩🇪 Germany	$4,309B	4.10%
  5	🇮🇳 India	$3,737B	3.55%
  6	🇬🇧 UK	$3,159B	3.00%
  7	🇫🇷 France	$2,923B	2.78%
  8	🇮🇹 Italy	$2,170B	2.06%
  9	🇨🇦 Canada	$2,090B	1.99%
  10	🇧🇷 Brazil	$2,081B	1.98%
  11	🇷🇺 Russia	$2,063B	1.96%
  12	🇰🇷 South Korea	$1,722B	1.64%
  13	🇦🇺 Australia	$1,708B	1.62%
  14	🇲🇽 Mexico	$1,663B	1.58%
  15	🇪🇸 Spain	$1,492B	1.42%
  16	🇮🇩 Indonesia	$1,392B	1.32%
  17	🇳🇱 Netherlands	$1,081B	1.03%
  18	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	$1,062B	1.01%
  19	🇹🇷 Türkiye	$1,029B	0.98%
  20	🇨🇭 Switzerland	$870B	0.83%
  21	🇹🇼 Taiwan	$791B	0.75%
  22	🇵🇱 Poland	$749B	0.71%
  23	🇦🇷 Argentina	$641B	0.61%
  24	🇧🇪 Belgium	$624B	0.59%
  25	🇸🇪 Sweden	$599B	0.57%
  26	🇮🇪 Ireland	$594B	0.57%
  27	🇹🇭 Thailand	$574B	0.55%
  28	🇳🇴 Norway	$554B	0.53%
  29	🇮🇱 Israel	$539B	0.51%
  30	🇸🇬 Singapore	$516B	0.49%
  31	🇦🇹 Austria	$515B	0.49%
  32	🇳🇬 Nigeria	$507B	0.48%
  33	🇦🇪 UAE	$499B	0.47%
  34	🇻🇳 Vietnam	$449B	0.43%
  35	🇲🇾 Malaysia	$447B	0.43%
  36	🇵🇭 Philippines	$441B	0.42%
  37	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	$421B	0.40%
  38	🇩🇰 Denmark	$406B	0.39%
  39	🇿🇦 South Africa	$399B	0.38%
  40	🇪🇬 Egypt	$387B	0.37%
  41	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	$383B	0.36%
  42	🇮🇷 Iran	$368B	0.35%
  43	🇨🇱 Chile	$359B	0.34%
  44	🇷🇴 Romania	$349B	0.33%
  45	🇨🇴 Colombia	$335B	0.32%
  46	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	$330B	0.31%
  47	🇫🇮 Finland	$302B	0.29%
  48	🇵🇪 Peru	$268B	0.26%
  49	🇮🇶 Iraq	$268B	0.25%
  50	🇵🇹 Portugal	$268B	0.25%
  51	🇳🇿 New Zealand	$252B	0.24%
  52	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	$246B	0.23%
  53	🇬🇷 Greece	$239B	0.23%
  54	🇶🇦 Qatar	$220B	0.21%
  55	🇩🇿 Algeria	$206B	0.20%
  56	🇭🇺 Hungary	$189B	0.18%
  57	🇰🇼 Kuwait	$165B	0.16%
  58	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	$156B	0.15%
  59	🇺🇦 Ukraine	$149B	0.14%
  60	🇲🇦 Morocco	$139B	0.13%
  61	🇸🇰 Slovak Republic	$128B	0.12%
  62	🇪🇨 Ecuador	$121B	0.12%
  63	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	$121B	0.12%
  64	🇵🇷 Puerto Rico	$121B	0.11%
  65	🇰🇪 Kenya	$118B	0.11%
  66	🇦🇴 Angola	$118B	0.11%
  67	🇴🇲 Oman	$105B	0.10%
  68	🇬🇹 Guatemala	$102B	0.10%
  69	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	$101B	0.10%
  70	🇻🇪 Venezuela	$97B	0.09%
  71	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	$92B	0.09%
  72	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	$87B	0.08%
  73	🇹🇿 Tanzania	$85B	0.08%
  74	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	$83B	0.08%
  75	🇭🇷 Croatia	$79B	0.08%
  76	🇱🇹 Lithuania	$78B	0.07%
  77	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	$78B	0.07%
  78	🇺🇾 Uruguay	$77B	0.07%
  79	🇵🇦 Panama	$77B	0.07%
  80	🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire	$77B	0.07%
  81	🇷🇸 Serbia	$74B	0.07%
  82	🇧🇾 Belarus	$74B	0.07%
  83	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	$70B	0.07%
  84	🇨🇩 DRC	$69B	0.07%
  85	🇸🇮 Slovenia	$68B	0.06%
  86	🇬🇭 Ghana	$67B	0.06%
  87	🇲🇲 Myanmar	$64B	0.06%
  88	🇯🇴 Jordan	$52B	0.05%
  89	🇹🇳 Tunisia	$50B	0.05%
  90	🇺🇬 Uganda	$50B	0.05%
  91	🇨🇲 Cameroon	$49B	0.05%
  92	🇱🇻 Latvia	$47B	0.05%
  93	🇸🇩 Sudan	$47B	0.04%
  94	🇱🇾 Libya	$46B	0.04%
  95	🇧🇴 Bolivia	$46B	0.04%
  96	🇧🇭 Bahrain	$45B	0.04%
  97	🇵🇾 Paraguay	$43B	0.04%
  98	🇳🇵 Nepal	$42B	0.04%
  99	🇪🇪 Estonia	$42B	0.04%
  100	🇲🇴 Macao	$36B	0.03%
  101	🇭🇳 Honduras	$34B	0.03%
  102	🇸🇻 El Salvador	$34B	0.03%
  103	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	$33B	0.03%
  104	🇸🇳 Senegal	$31B	0.03%
  105	🇨🇾 Cyprus	$31B	0.03%
  106	🇰🇭 Cambodia	$31B	0.03%
  107	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	$30B	0.03%
  108	🇿🇲 Zambia	$29B	0.03%
  109	🇮🇸 Iceland	$29B	0.03%
  110	🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina	$28B	0.03%
  111	🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago	$28B	0.03%
  112	🇬🇪 Georgia	$28B	0.03%
  113	🇭🇹 Haiti	$27B	0.03%
  114	🇦🇲 Armenia	$24B	0.02%
  115	🇬🇳 Guinea	$23B	0.02%
  116	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	$21B	0.02%
  117	🇲🇱 Mali	$21B	0.02%
  118	🇬🇦 Gabon	$20B	0.02%
  119	🇦🇱 Albania	$20B	0.02%
  120	🇲🇿 Mozambique	$20B	0.02%
  121	🇧🇼 Botswana	$20B	0.02%
  122	🇾🇪 Yemen	$20B	0.02%
  123	🇲🇹 Malta	$19B	0.02%
  124	🇧🇯 Benin	$19B	0.02%
  125	🇵🇸 West Bank & Gaza	$19B	0.02%
  126	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	$17B	0.02%
  127	🇯🇲 Jamaica	$17B	0.02%
  128	🇲🇳 Mongolia	$17B	0.02%
  129	🇳🇪 Niger	$17B	0.02%
  130	🇬🇾 Guyana	$16B	0.02%
  131	🇲🇬 Madagascar	$16B	0.02%
  132	🇲🇩 Moldova	$16B	0.02%
  133	🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam	$16B	0.01%
  134	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	$15B	0.01%
  135	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	$15B	0.01%
  136	🇲🇺 Mauritius	$15B	0.01%
  137	🇧🇸 Bahamas	$14B	0.01%
  138	🇱🇦 Laos	$14B	0.01%
  139	🇳🇦 Namibia	$13B	0.01%
  140	🇷🇼 Rwanda	$13B	0.01%
  141	🇨🇩 Congo	$13B	0.01%
  142	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	$13B	0.01%
  143	🇰🇬 Kyrgyz Republic	$12B	0.01%
  144	🇹🇩 Chad	$12B	0.01%
  145	🇲🇼 Malawi	$11B	0.01%
  146	🇲🇷 Mauritania	$11B	0.01%
  147	🇽🇰 Kosovo	$10B	0.01%
  148	🇹🇬 Togo	$9B	0.01%
  149	🇸🇴 Somalia	$9B	0.01%
  150	🇲🇪 Montenegro	$7B	0.01%
  151	🇸🇸 South Sudan	$7B	0.01%
  152	🇲🇻 Maldives	$7B	0.01%
  153	🇧🇧 Barbados	$6B	0.01%
  154	🇫🇯 Fiji	$5B	0.01%
  155	🇸🇿 Eswatini	$5B	0.00%
  156	🇱🇷 Liberia	$4B	0.00%
  157	🇩🇯 Djibouti	$4B	0.00%
  158	🇦🇩 Andorra	$4B	0.00%
  159	🇦🇼 Aruba	$4B	0.00%
  160	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	$4B	0.00%
  161	🇸🇷 Suriname	$3B	0.00%
  162	🇧🇮 Burundi	$3B	0.00%
  163	🇧🇿 Belize	$3B	0.00%
  164	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	$3B	0.00%
  165	🇧🇹 Bhutan	$3B	0.00%
  166	🇪🇷 Eritrea	$3B	0.00%
  167	🇱🇸 Lesotho	$3B	0.00%
  168	🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	$2B	0.00%
  169	🇬🇲 Gambia	$2B	0.00%
  170	🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	$2B	0.00%
  171	🇹🇱 East Timor	$2B	0.00%
  172	🇸🇨 Seychelles	$2B	0.00%
  173	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	$2B	0.00%
  174	🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda	$2B	0.00%
  175	🇸🇲 San Marino	$2B	0.00%
  176	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	$2B	0.00%
  177	🇰🇲 Comoros	$1B	0.00%
  178	🇬🇩 Grenada	$1B	0.00%
  179	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	$1B	0.00%
  180	🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis	$1B	0.00%
  181	🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	$1B	0.00%
  182	🇼🇸 Samoa	$1B	0.00%
  183	🇩🇲 Dominica	$1B	0.00%
  184	🇸🇹 São Tomé & Príncipe	$1B	0.00%
  185	🇹🇴 Tonga	$1B	0.00%
  186	🇫🇲 Micronesia	$0.5B	0.00%
  187	🇲🇭 Marshall Islands	$0.3B	0.00%
  188	🇵🇼 Palau	$0.3B	0.00%
  189	🇰🇮 Kiribati	$0.2B	0.00%
  190	🇳🇷 Nauru	$0.2B	0.00%
  191	🇹🇻 Tuvalu	$0.1B	0.00%

  Note: Projections for Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Syria are missing from IMF’s database for 2023.

  Here are the largest economies for each region of the world.

  • Africa: Nigeria ($506.6 billion)

  • Asia: China ($19.4 trillion)

  • Europe: Germany ($4.3 trillion)

  • Middle East: Saudi Arabia ($1.1 trillion)

  • North & Central America: U.S. ($26.9 trillion)

  • Oceania: Australia ($1.7 trillion)

  • South America: Brazil ($2.1 trillion)

  Ranked: 2023’s Shrinking Economies

  In fact, 29 economies are projected to shrink from their 2022 sizes, leading to nearly $500 billion in lost output.

  

  Russia will see the biggest decline, with a projected $150 billion contraction this year. This is equal to about one-third of total decline of all 29 countries with shrinking economies.

  Egypt (-$88 billion) and Canada (-$50 billion) combined make up another one-third of lost output.

  In Egypt’s case, the drop can be partly explained by the country’s currency (Egyptian pound), which has dropped in value against the U.S. dollar by about 50% since mid-2022.

  Russia and Canada are some of the world’s largest oil producers and the oil price has fallen since 2022. A further complication for Russia is that the country has been forced to sell oil at a steep discount because of Western sanctions.

  Here are the projected changes in GDP for all countries facing year-over-year declines:

  Country	Region	2022–23 Change (USD)	2022–23 Change (%)
  🇷🇺 Russia	Europe	-$152.65B	-6.9%
  🇪🇬 Egypt	Africa	-$88.12B	-18.5%
  🇨🇦 Canada	North America	-$50.17B	-2.3%
  🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	Middle East	-$46.25B	-4.2%
  🇧🇩 Bangladesh	Asia	-$39.69B	-8.6%
  🇳🇴 Norway	Europe	-$25.16B	-4.3%
  🇰🇼 Kuwait	Middle East	-$19.85B	-10.8%
  🇴🇲 Oman	Middle East	-$9.77B	-8.5%
  🇨🇴 Colombia	South America	-$9.25B	-2.7%
  🇦🇪 UAE	Middle East	-$8.56B	-1.7%
  🇿🇦 South Africa	Africa	-$6.69B	-1.6%
  🇬🇭 Ghana	Africa	-$6.22B	-8.5%
  🇶🇦 Qatar	Middle East	-$5.91B	-2.6%
  🇦🇴 Angola	Africa	-$3.54B	-2.9%
  🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	Africa	-$3.09B	-9.4%
  🇺🇦 Ukraine	Europe	-$2.79B	-1.8%
  🇸🇩 Sudan	Africa	-$2.72B	-5.5%
  🇮🇶 Iraq	Middle East	-$2.47B	-0.9%
  🇹🇱 East Timor	Asia	-$1.67B	-45.7%
  🇬🇦 Gabon	Africa	-$1.60B	-7.3%
  🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	Africa	-$1.35B	-8.2%
  🇲🇼 Malawi	Africa	-$1.24B	-9.9%
  🇱🇦 Laos	Asia	-$1.21B	-7.9%
  🇧🇳 Brunei	Asia	-$1.13B	-6.8%
  🇾🇪 Yemen	Middle East	-$1.12B	-5.4%
  🇸🇸 South Sudan	Africa	-$0.86B	-10.9%
  🇧🇮 Burundi	Africa	-$0.66B	-16.9%
  🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	Africa	-$0.42B	-10.6%
  🇸🇷 Suriname	South America	-$0.05B	-1.4%

  The presence of Saudi Arabia, Norway, Kuwait, and Oman in the top 10 biggest GDP contractions further highlights the potential impact on GDP for oil-producing countries, according to the IMF’s projections.

  More recently, producers have been cutting supply in an effort to boost prices, but concerns of slowing global oil demand in the wake of a subdued Chinese economy (the world’s second-largest oil consumer), have kept oil prices lower than in 2022 regardless.

  The Footnote on GDP Forecasts

  While organizations like the IMF have gotten fairly good at GDP forecasting, it’s still worth remembering that these are projections and assumptions made at the beginning of the year that may not hold true by the end of 2023.

  For example, JP Morgan has already changed their forecast for China’s 2023 real GDP growth six times in as many months after expectations of broad-based pandemic-recovery spending did not materialize in the country.

  The key takeaway from IMF’s projections for 2023 GDP growth rests on how well countries restrict inflation without stifling growth, all amidst tense liquidity conditions.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 23:20

• Snyder: Is America Doomed?
  Snyder: Is America Doomed?

  Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

  Is time running out for America? 

  Throughout human history, great civilizations have risen and fell, and many believe that the U.S. will be no exception.  At this point, we have already drifted so far from our core values that our founders would not even be able to recognize the Republic that they once established if they were alive today. 

  Of course most Americans realize that something has gone horribly wrong, but most of them also believe that sending the right people to Washington is the answer.  But is that really the solution to what ails us?

  

  According to a brand new Rasmussen poll that was just released, 40 percent of likely U.S. voters believe that Joe Biden must win the next presidential election “or the United States is doomed”…

  Per the poll, 40% of likely US voters agree with the statement, “Joe Biden must be re-elected president next year, or the United States is doomed,” which includes 25% who strongly agree. 53% are in disagreement, which includes 43% who strongly disagree.

  That is nuts.

  Nearly half the country literally believes that our nation is “doomed” if Joe Biden does not win in 2024.

  The same poll also found that 45 percent of likely U.S. voters believe that Donald Trump must win the next presidential election “or the United States is doomed”…

  45% agree with the statement, “Donald Trump must be re-elected president next year or the United States is doomed,” which includes 26% who strongly agree. 53% disagree, which includes 44% who strongly disagree.

  I am assuming that there is no overlap between those two groups.

  If that is true, that means that 85 percent of likely U.S. voters believe that our nation is “doomed” if the candidate that they are supporting does not win the next presidential election.

  I have never seen numbers like this before.

  The stakes in 2024 are incredibly high, and the side that loses is going to be absolutely devastated.

  Over the next year there will be endless campaigning as the upcoming election approaches, but meanwhile our society is being ripped to shreds right in front of our eyes.

  In Chicago, predators literally roam the streets in their vehicles in the middle of the day looking for someone to attack.

  When a suitable target is identified, brutal violence often ensues.

  Welcome to Chicago.

  Mayor Brandon Johnson will claim these criminals are misunderstood youth. pic.twitter.com/1UyTdyLZ2m

  — Andrew Pollack (@AndrewPollackFL) August 7, 2023

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  In the old days, thieves would at least wait until the cover of night to go out and do their thing.

  But now there is very little fear of the police.

  There are more than 1,000 identifiable gangs in the city of Chicago today, and mafia-style killings have become quite common…

  Three suspects shot and killed a man whom they also reportedly hit with a car at a gas station in Chicago in a brazen daytime shooting.

  A small memorial was left by family members for 31-year-old Anton Benoit after he was shot and killed in a gang-style shooting at a Shell gas station in Chatham, a neighborhood in Chicago. Chatham is located on the south side and has a population of approximately 32,000.

  I don’t want to just pick on Chicago, and so let’s talk about major cities on the west coast for a bit.

  This week, a video posted by a San Francisco woman named Hanna Ayla went viral, because it accurately conveyed emotions that so many other San Francisco residents are feeling right now…

  “I was just getting groceries and I live in San Francisco, and I never really feel fully safe. If you live in San Francisco, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. And I just got groceries, I’m walking out of the store, and this guy is walking past me and says, ‘Move you stupid b****,’ and he spits in my face!” she said.

  “Spits all over my face,” she repeats.

  “And I say, ‘Excuse me, did you just spit in my face?’ And he says, ‘Move or I’ll rape you.’ There’s also people everywhere and everyone’s just walking by because they’re like, I can’t handle something else in San Francisco, it’s always something else!” Ayla continued.

  “I don’t even know why I’m posting this,” she concluded. “If you live in San Francisco, do you feel this way all the time? I don’t feel safe. Ever. I literally never feel safe. It’s better when it’s daytime, but nighttime? No. Not leaving my house.”

  This is what it’s like living in blue cities. And if you voted for this, you get what you vote for. pic.twitter.com/RRbxumet5N

  — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 7, 2023

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  I don’t think that anyone that lives in San Francisco truly feels safe at this point.

  Crime is completely out of control, but many would argue that conditions in Oakland are even worse.

  In fact, a 48-year-old woman that has lived there her entire life says that she is being forced to move because she has become “too scared” to go outside of her own home…

  A lifelong Oakland resident has made the heartbreaking decision to move out of the city after soaring crime rates left her ‘too scared’ to go outside.

  Kristin Cook, 48, spoke for many in Oakland as she sobbed: ‘I can’t take it anymore. I got to the point I was too scared to leave my house.’

  ‘The fact that I am being pushed out because I emotionally can’t take it anymore is horrible,’ she added.

  Burglary rates in the city are 41 percent up on last year and robberies have increased more than 20 percent, according to police data. Rape offenses are also up 12 percent.

  Our cities have degenerated into crime-ridden hellholes, and our country does not have a future if we stay on this path.

  But instead of working to fix our cities, Joe Biden continues to send giant mountains of money overseas.

  For example, it is being reported that Biden has actually given more than two billion dollars to the Taliban during the past two years…

  A report by the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR) notes that the Biden administration has given $2.35 billion to Afghanistan over the past two years, despite the fact that it is now ruled by the Taliban again following the disastrous U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

  The Washington Free Beacon shared details of the findings Tuesday, noting that the funds could be propping up the Taliban’s terrorist government.

  Of course two billion dollars is just a drop in the bucket compared to what Biden has given to Ukraine.

  Meanwhile, our own country is in absolutely horrible shape.

  I write a lot about our rapidly growing economic problems, but the moral decay that is eating away at the foundations of our culture is an even bigger crisis.

  We can see this moral decay in major cities from coast to coast, and we can also see it in rural areas.  Here is just one example…

  A woman in Texas has been placed under arrest after dozens of dead horses and dogs were discovered at a ranch reportedly under her control.

  Animal cruelty had been suspected at a ranch in Westminster, Texas, about 50 miles northeast of Dallas, for some time. Dating back to 2019, police had received reports of alleged animal cruelty at the property at least 15 times.

  Recently, police had received yet another report regarding animal maltreatment. Landscapers who had been doing work at the ranch called authorities to claim that they had seen the decaying remains of several animals.

  Reading that probably made you very angry.

  And it should.

  If the police had taken previous reports of animal cruelty seriously, a lot of those deaths could have been prevented.

  But it isn’t just a few crazed nuts like that woman that are our problem.

  The truth is that our entire society is deeply sick.  It is being reported that Pornhub is visited 115 million times a day, and many of those visitors are young adults and children…

  Pornhub, the YouTube of pornography, gets more global users than Amazon or Netflix. In 2019, the last year Pornhub released its data, the site was visited 42 billion times, or 115 million times each day.

  To put those numbers in perspective, there are only 331 million people living in the United States.

  And please keep in mind that we are just talking about one website.  There are thousands of other websites that are also preying on our young people.

  I get extremely passionate about these issues, because the future of our country is literally hanging in the balance.

  For decades, extreme leftists have been rapidly advancing their agenda, and that has brought us to where we are today.

  Just about every form of evil that you can possibly imagine is exploding all around us, and if we don’t find a way to turn things around America really is doomed.

  *  *  *

  Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 23:00

• DeSantis Fires Another 'Soros' Prosecutor Over 'Needless Pain, Suffering, And Death'
  DeSantis Fires Another ‘Soros’ Prosecutor Over ‘Needless Pain, Suffering, And Death’

  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday suspended the top prosecutor in Orlando who refused to enforce the law against criminals which went on to commit more crimes, including murder.

  

  “Prosecutors have a duty to faithfully enforce the law. One’s political agenda cannot trump this solemn duty. Refusing to faithfully enforce the laws of Florida puts our communities in danger and victimizes innocent Floridians,” DeSantis said.

  Monique Worrell, Florida state attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit, failed to prosecute 43% of arrests – releasing 16,243 defendants without prosecution, according to state AG Ashley Moody.

  “Ms. Worrell is dismissing during the same period nearly four times the number of defendants as are being dismissed or not charged in Palm Beach County,” she said, adding “It is not normal for a prosecutor to come out repeatedly after we have seen tragedy strike and insinuate, ‘It’s not my fault.’ I submit to you this was, in a way, to distract from where fault should have lay.”

  Even violent felonies were only prosecuted 41% of the time, according to Moody.

  DOCUMENTS: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office lists rationale for suspending Soros-backed Democratic State Attorney Monique Worrell

  “The practices and policies of her office have allowed murderers, other violent offenders, and dangerous drug traffickers to receive extremely reduced… pic.twitter.com/keJzzp4AGo

  — Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) August 9, 2023

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  “If she were allowed to continue in this office, her failure would continue to cause needless pain, suffering, and death,” Moody said of Worrell – speaking in tones of ‘intense but controlled anger,’ according to the Epoch Times.

  #BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis suspends Democratic State Attorney Monique Worrell, effective immediately, citing lack of mandatory minimum sentencings for various crimes, neglect of duty, and abusing discretion pic.twitter.com/O0Pe1UbTVH

  — Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) August 9, 2023

  In many cases, Ms. Worrell’s choice not to prosecute turned lethal, Gov. DeSantis noted.

  A 17-year-old in Ms. Worrell’s circuit was arrested for criminal possession of a firearm, he said. She let him go, and he shot and killed his pregnant girlfriend.

  Another criminal was arrested for sex abuse of a minor, the governor said. After getting let out on bond by Ms. Worrell, he shot and killed two police officers, he said. -Epoch Times

  “I have no doubt that today’s decision is not only consistent with the Constitution and laws of Florida, that we have a right to act. We had a duty to act to protect the public from this dereliction of duty,” said DeSantis.

  Responding to the removal, Florida Sheriff Grady Judd said that criminals are incentivized by their chances of success, and think “I’ll just shoot them because, heck, after all, I probably won’t go to jail.”

  “When it comes to law and order, Gov. @RonDeSantis is not playing…His actions today, without question, saved the lives of citizens in Central Florida.”

  — Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey praises DeSantis’ suspension of State Attorney Monique Worrell pic.twitter.com/Yn8xnF71Sw

  — DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) August 9, 2023

  In response to her removal, Worrell defended her record by calling her approach “unconventional” and “doing things differently.” 

  JUST IN: Suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell calls Gov. Ron DeSantis a “dictator”

  “This is an outrage […] There used to be a very high standard for the removal of elected officials.”

  “Under this tyranny, elected officials can be removed simply for political purposes.”… pic.twitter.com/SuzrbreZpu

  — Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) August 9, 2023

  Of note, Worrell received election funding from billionaire George Soros. 

  Soros arbitraged politics. He figured out that spending small amounts of money in many obscure, but influential, races is far more effective than money spent on major contests.

  The mistake people make is thinking that he did it for the good of humanity. He hates humanity.

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023

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  Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), a former governor of Florida, supported DeSantis’ decision.

  “This is the right move,” Scott posted to X. “Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies are eroding our communities and families’ ability to feel safe. In February, I called on SA Monique Worrell to deliver the justice and accountability needed for the families affected by shootings in her district and said her suspension would be fully justified. She failed to do her job. Families deserve better.“

  Worrell is the second Soros-funded state attorney removed by DeeSantis in the past 12 months, after suspending Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren for violating his oath of office and holding himself “above the law” in what DeSantis described as a “very very troubling record.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 22:40

• 'He Was Alive': Tormented Chinese Doctor Recounts Harvesting Organs In Back Of Van
  ‘He Was Alive’: Tormented Chinese Doctor Recounts Harvesting Organs In Back Of Van

  Authored by Eva Fu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  Stepping into the van guarded by armed soldiers with five surgeons and nurses, Zheng Zhi didn’t know he was entering into a world that would haunt him for the next quarter of a century.

  Dr. Zheng, then a resident doctor at one of China’s largest military hospitals, knew little more than they were on a “secret military mission” near a military prison located around the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian.

  A light blue fabric covered the four sides of the vehicle, shielding it from any curious glances.

  When the door opened, four burly soldiers carried in a man whose limbs were bound with thin ropes that had cut deeply into his flesh. The man was no more than 18 years old; his organs, the surgical crew had been told the day before, were “healthy, fresh.”

  A doctor instructed Dr. Zheng to “step on” the man’s legs and “don’t let him move.” He pressed the man’s legs down with his hands and to his shock, they were warm to the touch. Blood was now flowing from the man’s throat.

  He watched a doctor slice open the man’s stomach and two others reach in to remove a kidney each. The man’s legs twitched and his throat moved—although no sound came out.

  “Cut his artery and veins, quick!” a doctor told Dr. Zheng. As he did so, so much blood gushed out that it splashed all over Dr. Zheng’s gown and gloves. That was when he got the order to extract the man’s eyes.

  Dr. Zheng looked at the man’s face. Staring back at him was a pair of wide-open eyes.

  “It was horrifying beyond words. He was looking right at me. His eyelids were moving. He was alive,” Dr. Zheng recounted to The Epoch Times in July, the first time he agreed to use his real name to recount his story.

  

  But, in the van in 1994, little did he know he was party to what would soon become an industrialized killing apparatus set up to extract organs from prisoners of conscience and sell them on demand.

  In the van, he told the other doctors, “I can’t do this.” He felt his brain empty out as he sat there, shaky, sweating, and paralyzed.

  The doctor across from him immediately pressed the man’s head to the floor of the van. With two fingers pressed on the eyelids and a hemostat in another hand, the doctor clamped out each of the man’s eyes.

  The body, now motionless, was placed in a black plastic bag and taken away by soldiers waiting outside. The van sped back to the General Hospital of Shenyang Military Region, where Dr. Zheng did his residency. The nurses quickly gathered up the bloodied medical equipment.

  Lights were on in two operation rooms when they reached the hospital. Another team of doctors was waiting to begin the organ transplantations.

  Dr. Zheng was too sickened to be useful, even though the department director wanted him to get his hand in at the operating table. He sat watching from a few yards away as the surgery progressed. When the transplant operations were complete, the medical staff went into an upscale restaurant and feasted in silence, although Dr. Zheng said he couldn’t take a bite. After the meal, he took leave, developing a high fever at the same time.

  That pair of eyes—desperate, fearful, and pained—has since tormented Dr. Zheng day and night.

  “Under the light lay a young life, a fellow human being, whose organs were being harvested while he was alive,” he said.

  

  Billion Dollar Industry

  The horror Dr. Zheng witnessed in the van, and afterward at the hospital, took place in 1994, when the Chinese regime’s mass-scale, state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting was still in its infancy.

  It soon ballooned into a billion-dollar industry, using prisoners of conscience, particularly adherents of the persecuted faith group Falun Gong, to fuel its rise. In the same city as the hospital was the Sujiatun concentration camp, which multiple whistleblowers revealed as a mass killing ground of imprisoned Falun Gong adherents for their organs since the persecution began in 1999. While the Sujiatun underground facility was abandoned after being exposed internationally, an untold number of other such camps exist in China.

  Dr. Zheng is one of several witnesses who have come forward to The Epoch Times since 2006 to expose the regime’s grisly practice.

  Since then, a multitude of independent reports have provided information on the severity and scale of the practice.

  In 2019, a London-based independent tribunal concluded that China’s ruling regime killed prisoners of conscience for their organs “on a significant scale,” and that Falun Gong practitioners are the primary victims.

  U.S. lawmakers have taken steps to prevent Americans from embarking on “transplant tourism” to China, and thus becoming complicit.

  Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) is pushing for the passage of his Falun Gong Protection Act, which would sanction persecutors of Falun Gong. The bill would also ban cooperation with communist China in the organ transplantation field.

  The bipartisan Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2023, which seeks to punish enablers of the abuse, passed overwhelmingly in the House in March.

  In June, Texas adopted the country’s first law to counter the issue, banning health insurers from financing organ transplant surgeries linked to China.

  ‘A Fresh One’

  Fear still had a grip on Dr. Zheng as he slowly recounted his story for the first time in 2015, using an alias. During the hours-long interview, he struggled to utter a complete sentence; sometimes with his two hands held tightly to the edge of the table in front of him, other times fidgeting, standing up, and sitting down. His facial expression was contorted as he kept repeating that it was “too horrifying.” Tears filled Dr. Zheng’s eyes as he described in a trembling voice the removal of the young man’s eyes.

  During his residency at the hospital, Dr. Zheng was favored by his superiors, thanks to his father’s influence in the local communist power circle. A skilled doctor in traditional Chinese medicine, his father was sought by local officials. Some of the top military leaders were frequent guests at his family’s dining table. Knowing this, doctors treated Dr. Zheng deferentially, frequently allowing him to participate in surgeries when other interns couldn’t.

  

  Soon after the organ extraction in the back of the van, Dr. Zheng left the hospital. He became a pediatrician and internist in the city of Liaoyang, some four hours drive north of Dalian. But that sense of horror only deepened over time as he glimpsed more from behind the scenes.

  In 2002, Dr. Zheng accompanied a military official for his medical checkup, at the hospital where he once interned. The doctor told the official that he needed a new kidney to live.

  “[We’ll] pick a top-quality one for you,” another military officer told his superior in the hallway. “A fresh one, from Falun Gong practitioners.”

  That was the first time Dr. Zheng heard that Falun Gong adherents were a specific organ source.

  On the way home, the official asked Dr. Zheng whether he should get a kidney transplant.

  “Don’t do it,” Dr. Zheng replied. “Isn’t that committing a murder?”

  It was through that official that Dr. Zheng learned how widespread forced organ harvesting was in China.

  “Armed police and officials above division ranks all know about it, and it’s pretty much known throughout the military. It’s nothing novel,” Dr. Zheng told The Epoch Times.

  To make more money, he said, the military had opened many “green passages,” or fast lanes at airports, to quickly transport fresh human organs across the country. The infectious disease units at military hospitals had all become “dens” for forced organ harvesting, he said.

  “In about one to two weeks—a month at the longest—a match would be found.”

  The official whose kidney was failing opted not to get a transplant. He lived three more years relying on dialysis and died in 2005.

  Another acquaintance, an aide to officials at the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the core of elite Chinese leadership, told Dr. Zheng something even more shocking.

  In the conversation, Dr. Zheng remarked that the persecution of Falun Gong in northeastern China was quite severe.

  The acquaintance made no immediate response, but before they parted, he turned and looked straight at Dr. Zheng.

  “In Hubei Province’s Wuhan City, under the back garden of the Hubei Province Public Security Bureau, it’s full of detained Falun Gong practitioners. Some are underaged kids,” he said, stopping at every word.

  “I’ve been there,” he added after a pause. They didn’t discuss it further, but the implication that this was a mass source of organs weighed heavily on Dr. Zheng.

  

  Making a Choice

  What the acquaintance said gave Dr. Zheng a “sense of mission” to expose the matter on the international stage, prompting his eventual escape to Thailand in 2005.

  He obtained refugee status while in Thailand and moved to Canada in 2007.

  In 2015, when he told his story for the first time to The Epoch Times, he said he felt so helpless that he wasn’t sure whether to lean on the reporter or the table.

  “I felt that I was giving out my life and everything that I have,” he told The Epoch Times in late July, recalling the previous interview.

  “There’s no way to describe how I felt at the time,” he said.

  “Every word, every sentence I spoke was no different from a choice of life and death. I didn’t know what I’d be bringing to myself.”

  During the eight years once he got to Canada, Dr. Zheng said he had been looking for the right media outlet to tell his story to. Should he make the wrong choice, not only would he get himself into trouble, the issue wouldn’t get the spotlight it deserved.

  To say he wasn’t worried about possible retaliation from Beijing was unrealistic, “ordinary people can’t imagine how evil the CCP is,” he said—but the issue was bigger than himself.

  “Slaughtering Chinese people and stealing their organs for profit, this is a crime with no bounds,” Dr. Zheng said. As someone living in a free country with a “basic conscience, I have no reason to stay silent.”

  He said that he has carefully preserved his records. When the Chinese Communist Party falls and faces judgment, he will come on the witness stand, he said, adding that he has no doubt “justice will prevail over evil.”

  Yi Ling contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 22:20

• It Was Pelosi: Former Capitol Police Chief Reveals 'Set Up' Behind January 6
  It Was Pelosi: Former Capitol Police Chief Reveals ‘Set Up’ Behind January 6

  Tucker Carlson released a bombshell interview with former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund on Wednesday, during which Sund explains what happened on January 6, 2021 in great detail.

  

  Carlson and Sund had notably recorded an entire interview on Fox News, which never aired.

  Perhaps most damning is Sund’s claim that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refused to authorize the deployment of the National Guard at the Capitol despite Sund’s pleas, and that federal agencies withheld information and warning signs of potential dangers prior to the riot.

  “It doesn’t seem like people really want to get to the bottom of it,” said Sund, adding “It really doesn’t. And it just gets worse. It gets worse from there.”

  Sund got approval to bring in the National Guard at 2:09 p.m. Before his approval, he alleged that he begged several generals, including General Michael Flynn, to bring the National Guard. The officials told Sund they did “not like the optics of the National Guard” as he allegedly begged for their assistance to intervene in the violence. –Daily Caller

  “This sounds like a set up to me,” Carlson said, adding “I’m sorry, it does.”

  To which Sund replied:

  “It gets better. So I beg and beg and he goes ‘well, I’m gonna walk down the hall and we’ll talk to the Secretary of Defense or whoever he’s gonna talk to. Right then I get a notification, oh, I’m still on the call, we have the shooting of Ashli Babbitt. And I said we have shots firing, I still remember yelling over the phone. We have shots firing on the U.S. Capitol, is that urgent enough for you now?“

  According to Sund, the National Guard didn’t show up until 6 p.m., hours after the fatal shooting of Babbitt. He also claimed that the Pentagon deployed resources to the homes of generals, but not the Capitol.

  Watch:

  Ep. 15 Former Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund reveals what really happened on January 6th. Our Fox News interview with him never aired, so we invited him back. pic.twitter.com/opDlu4QGlp

  — Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 10, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 22:00

• "Failed Leadership" – Oakland, CA Faces "State Of Emergency" As Consequence-Free Crime Soars
  “Failed Leadership” – Oakland, CA Faces “State Of Emergency” As Consequence-Free Crime Soars

  Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Rising incidents of crime in Oakland, California, are affecting quality of life, causing some to flee, and leading to calls by some community associations for more law enforcement amid a wave of violence.

  

  While down slightly year-over-year, homicides have jumped 40 percent since 2019, with Oakland police reporting that every other category of crime shows an increase compared to last year and since before the pandemic.

  Also, compared to 2019, assaults and auto break-ins have doubled, and carjackings have tripled, according to FBI statistics.

  Additionally, the city rated a 1—the lowest possible score out of 100—meaning it is safer than less than 1 percent of areas across the country, according to online real estate market data firm Neighborhood Scout.

  Public protests are now routine at Oakland City Council meetings, and letters to officials are pouring in, with frightened and angry residents and organizations expressing discontent.

  At a July hearing with the Alameda County District Attorney and sheriff to discuss the ongoing crime wave, audience members told officials about their recent encounters.

  “While I’m driving, I’m pulled out of my car at gunpoint,” one woman said. “What are we doing to address this? How do we solve this? Nobody feels safe.”

  Failed Leadership, Anti-Police Rhetoric Are to Blame: NAACP

  Community safety advocates are also reaching out to administrators asking for immediate action to halt the violence.

  “Oakland residents are sick and tired of our intolerable public safety crisis that overwhelmingly impacts minority communities,” the Oakland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, better known as the NAACP, said in a July 27 letter to elected officials. “We call on all elected leaders to unite and declare a state of emergency and bring together massive resources to address our public safety crisis.”

  The group blames criminal justice reform and efforts to minimize policing for the recent rise in crime.

  “Failed leadership, including the movement to defund the police, our District Attorney’s unwillingness to charge and prosecute people who murder and commit life threatening serious crimes, and the proliferation of anti-police rhetoric have created a heyday for Oakland criminals,” the NAACP wrote in the letter. “If there are no consequences for committing crime in Oakland, crime will continue to soar.”

  Oakland’s Police Department currently employs approximately 715 officers, nearly 500 fewer than necessary to protect the city, its union said in a statement released July 29. Current budget plans call for an increase to 730 officers over the next two years.

  

  Residents No Longer Feel Safe at Home

  Many residents say they no longer feel safe leaving their homes, and home invasion robberies are making some uncomfortable in their own dwellings.

  “My mom and aunt live together, and they’re both older, and they don’t feel safe anymore,” Johnny Brown, a maintenance worker who has lived in Oakland most of his life, told The Epoch Times. “I bring them groceries, and I put a camera on their house, so I can watch and make sure they’re not in trouble.”

  The Brown family has called Oakland home for more than 30 years, and they said the crime has never been worse.

  “This is Oakland, there’s always been an element of danger, but it’s wild out here,” Mr. Brown said. “They’re getting away with so much that others are doing it too. They don’t care who you are or how much money they can get; they’re out here robbing everybody.”

  Another long-time Oakland resident agreed, telling The Epoch Times that it’s not safe at night to walk or stop for gas in certain areas.

  “It’s like predator and prey out here as a young woman,” LaTasha Jackson said. “We stay in groups at night and still don’t feel safe, and forget about pumping gas alone, that’s just asking to get robbed.”

  Crimes committed during daylight are also on the rise, with car break-ins at historic levels and armed robberies approaching all-time highs, according to the Oakland Police Officers Association.

  A recent video showed an elderly ice cream street vendor robbed by armed men wearing masks, but in a sign of solidarity, the community came together and raised thousands of dollars for the victim.

  While complaints and requests for action are numerous, city leaders say they are taking steps to address the concerns.

  Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao recently announced a collaboration with Gov. Gavin Newsom to bring California Highway Patrol officers to the city, in addition to a $1.5 million grant to install license plate readers in high crime areas, intended to identify criminals and track down suspects.

  “Strong partnerships are critical in making our city safer,” said Ms. Thao in a press release Aug. 3 announcing the deal. “Our comprehensive community safety approach includes both accountability for those who commit crime as well as prevention and deterrence efforts to stop crime before it occurs.”

  

  While acknowledging efforts to reduce crime, Ms. Thao insisted more must be done.

  “As a city, we’ve worked hard to make it safer,” she said in a statement Aug. 8. “We know we need to do more.”

  Law enforcement officials recognize the dilemma facing residents and urged the community to unify and protect each other.

  “In recent weeks, we’ve seen a surge in violence which has impacted our community and it’s concerning for all of us who work, live and visit the City of Oakland,” said Interim Police Chief Darren Allison in a joint statementwith the mayor in May. “Our city, like many other major cities, is facing very challenging times and it is crucial we come together to take a collaborative approach when it comes to addressing crime in Oakland.”

  Police Suggest ‘Air Horns’ to Sound off Intruders

  One suggestion from the Oakland Police Department was for residents to equip themselves with air horns to sound off intruders and to alert neighbors of any disturbances.

  While some are following the advice, others question the efficacy of such a plan.

  “An air horn won’t save you from a robber with a gun,” Ms. Jackson said. “It might get you killed, but I don’t see it saving many lives.”

  Home invasions have escalated over the past year, according to Oakland police, with videos from home security cameras posted on social media showing armed intruders robbing unsuspecting homeowners.

  Authorities also say elderly residents in the Oakland Hills have been targeted repeatedly over the last few months.

  Police advise, when possible, people install burglar bars on windows and doors and utilize security measures to help stop break-ins.

  Cameras can also help prevent attacks and provide evidence to assist law enforcement investigations, according to experts.

  For now, some Oakland residents say they’re worried about the future and are considering leaving the city.

  “We can’t live in fear forever,” Ms. Jackson said. “If things don’t get better, my family will leave as soon as we can.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 21:40

• Manhattan Rents Hit Record High As Lease Activity Slumps, Indicating Deepening Affordability Crisis
  Manhattan Rents Hit Record High As Lease Activity Slumps, Indicating Deepening Affordability Crisis

  New York City is experiencing the worst housing crisis in a generation. The limited supply of apartments led to record high rents in July, the peak rental month of the year, just before the start of the school year.  

  Data from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate showed Manhattan’s median rent topped $4,400, up 2.3% from June. Rents soared 11% in Brooklyn to $3,950 and in northwest Queens. In Astoria and Long Island City, rents rose 1.9% to $3,641. Manhattan rents reached a record high for the fourth time in five months. 

  

  Bloomberg quoted Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, who said, “We’re arriving at the tolerance level of the market. Prices are rising, reaching new records. Leasing activity is weakening, likely due to the record rents — tenants aren’t getting relief.”

  Miller said another record high could be seen in August as families and students sign leasing agreements ahead of the new school year. 

  Despite Manhattan’s population plunge of 400,000 between June 2020-22 and half-empty office towers scattered across the area, there still appears to be demand for apartments amid tight supply. 

  

  Miller pointed out that inventory is beginning to rise, and the decline of leases might indicate people have hit a breaking point: “It looks like rents are probably close to the tipping point… We’re seeing transactions slip because of affordability.”

  A separate report, published in April by Fund for the City of New York & United Way of New York City, found half of the households in the city barely had enough money to ‘comfortably’ afford rent and other expenses. 

  Meanwhile, the latest CPI print shows shelter costs nationwide have not only reached their peak but are now starting to decline. 

  

  Housing inflation slowing fast:

  Shelter inflation up 7.69% YoY in July vs 7.83% in June, lowest since Dec 22; also up 0.43% MoM, lowest monthly increase since Jan 22

  Rent inflation up 8.03% in July vs 8.33% in June, lowest since Nov 22; also up 0.41% MoM, lowest since March 22 pic.twitter.com/yL5d0RRTx6

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 10, 2023

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  If Miller is correct, the rental affordability breaking point is quickly approaching. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 21:20

• 'This Is Not The Scandal You're Looking For': How Washington Is Attempting To Dismiss $20 Million As An Illusion
  ‘This Is Not The Scandal You’re Looking For’: How Washington Is Attempting To Dismiss $20 Million As An Illusion

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  I previously wrote a column marveling at the success of the Bidens in pulling off one of the neatest tricks in political history. I analogized it to how Houdini used to make his 10,000-pound elephant Jennie disappear on a stage in front of a live audience. The media and political establishment is now striving to top that performance by declaring $20 million in payments to Biden family members as an “illusion” of influence. At the heart of this scandal is the BFF, the Biden Family Fund.

  

  Here is the column:

  This week, President Joe Biden responded to calls for greater access to the media with a blockbuster interview with . . . the Weather Channel.

  The interview immediately prompted critics to speculate that the president wanted to continue to talk about the weather – the same claim made after the disclosure of his participation in various dinners with his son’s foreign associates.

  As the number of these dinners, meetings and outings increase, Joe Biden appears to have covered more meteorological subjects than Al Roker.

  The problem is that conditions are worsening in Washington.

  This week, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer released a third report on the ongoing investigations into the Biden corruption scandal.

  The latest bank records indicate the Biden family has received more than $20 million, including from corrupt Kazakh figures.

  Some of this money provided Hunter Biden with extravagant toys. On April 22, 2014, Kazakh oligarch Kenes Rakishev wired $142,300 to the Rosemont Seneca Bohai bank account.

  That account then shows the exact same amount being wired to a New Jersey car dealership for a Fisker sports car for Hunter.

  Finding the Fisker unsuitable, Hunter traded it in for a Porsche.

  Notably, these payments often coincided with dinners and meetings with Joe Biden.

  Russian oligarch Yelena Baturina, the widow of Moscow ex-Mayor Yury Luzhkov, wired $3.5 million to Rosemont Seneca Thornton Feb. 14, 2014.

  She later attended a dinner with Joe and Hunter Biden at Washington, DC, hotspot Café Milano.

  For weeks, Joe Biden’s prior claims have been collapsing as his allies in the media and Congress struggle for an alternative spin on these new disclosures.

  The president’s denials of any knowledge of his son’s foreign dealings finally have been exposed as a lie.

  Even the Washington Post has acknowledged Biden lied when he insisted that Hunter never made any money in China.

  It was always a boldfaced falsehood (and a confusing claim from a man who insisted that he had no knowledge of his son’s foreign dealings).

  But the testimony of associate Devon Archer and new bank records forced the paper and others to recognize the falsehood.

  There is also the confirmation that Biden’s long denials that he attended key dinners with Hunter’s business associates were false.

  Most notably, the media are grudgingly admitting that Hunter was openly selling influence peddling and access to his father as part of what Archer called “selling the brand.”

  The final line of defense is now that Hunter Biden was selling access to Joe Biden but it was an “illusion.” The reason, they claim, is there is no evidence of direct payments to Joe and Jill Biden.

  There is, of course, nothing “illusionary” about tens of millions moving to Hunter and other family members.

  But political spins are often built on illusions. The latest is that Joe Biden only benefits from these payments if they were directly deposited in his accounts.

  For a family that Hunter explained was “the best” at this type of dealing, it is absurd to expect a deposit slip from a corrupt Ukrainian official to the account of Joe and Jill Biden, one of the most vulnerable accounts in the world to review and monitoring.

  These claims, moreover, ignore emails discussing Hunter’s and his father’s use of joint accounts to pay for expenses, including how one account was used to pay Joe’s taxes. There is also Hunter’s complaint that he was using half of his earnings to support his father. Indeed, one trusted FBI informant said that, in planning a bribe, one foreign figure was told to avoid direct payments to Joe Biden. Today, that is as amateurish as an envelope of cash and the Bidens have been in the business of influence peddling for decades.

  Responding to the new evidence, Washington Post columnist Phillip Bump led the charge in asking: Where’s the bribe?

  In other words, as long as Hunter got the luxury car, Joe didn’t benefit or receive a bribe.

  (Notably, Bump did not have the same high standards when he pushed the false claim over a photo op in Lafayette Park and later refused to concede with the rest of the media on the lack of Russian collusion with Donald Trump.)

  Not even millions to Biden children and grandchildren would seem to satisfy Bump as an inducement for the then-vice president.

  Yet the greatest illusion is the claim Joe Biden would only be motivated by a direct payment to one of his accounts.

  Biden clearly benefited from millions going to the Biden Family Fund (BFF). Even grandchildren received some of the transfers funneled through a labyrinth of accounts.

  Joe Biden is 80 years old. Despite holding only government jobs in his career, he is worth an estimated $8 million.

  Forbes reported he earned $17.3 million over the four years he was out of office. He will never spend his fortune. Any additional money would have to pass to his descendants.

  For most wealthy people in their final years, the challenge is not raising more money but getting that money to your children without heavy taxes or delays.

  This money was going to his BFF. That is a benefit and probably of greater value to a man of Joe Biden’s age and wealth.

  None of this has stopped politicians, press and pundits from insisting that absent a direct payment to the president’s account, there is no corruption or crime.

  

  After all, $20 million going to a president’s family is like complaining about the weather in Washington.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 21:00

• Another Massive Mystery Fire Strikes Moscow, This Time Just Miles From Putin's Residence
  Another Massive Mystery Fire Strikes Moscow, This Time Just Miles From Putin’s Residence

  Another explosion and fire has rocked Moscow in the overnight hours, as a warehouse in Odintsovo, which lies west of Moscow, suffered reported explosions and was engulfed in flames. 

  TASS stated that the size of the fire was 2,000 square meters (21,500 square feet) as of around midnight Moscow time, and a largescale emergency response is in progress.

  

  While no cause has as of yet been officially communicated, Russia’s defense ministry has this week said the military intercepted several waves of drones in past days, including on the outskirts of Moscow. Drones out of Ukraine have become a serious enough threat to have briefly halted air traffic at key airports on a couple of occasions recently.

  According to Reuters, the warehouse blaze is a mere miles from President Putin’s presidential residence: 

  It did not say how the fire had started in the warehouse, 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) away from Putin’s presidential residence in Novo-Ogaryovo.

  Russia is on 🔥
  Moscow region again ❗
  Big Black Bavovna 🔥🔥🔥💨🤌
  Not just only windows lol
  A major fire in Odintsovo near Moscow tonight. According to updated data a warehouse on Zelenaya Street is on fire. Fire areas around 2.000 square meters. Dark smoke rises. The cause is… pic.twitter.com/FMNop3uYcq

  — LX (@LXSummer1) August 10, 2023

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

  This current disaster follows on the heels of Wednesday’s Zagorsk optical-mechanical plant fire.

  The Russian factory northeast of Moscow erupted into a massive explosion of unknown cause, injuring at least 45 people, and causing damage to surrounding buildings.

  Official Russian sources said it was being investigated as an “accident” – but the scale and frequency of such fires is leading to the obvious questions of whether these are covert sabotage operations or drone strikes.

  In #Odintsovo, #Moscow region, #Russia, there is a large fire happening tonight. Some reports say that the fire is at a warehouse.

  Odintsovo area houses multiple military bases and facilities. pic.twitter.com/D2OhUlVQxZ

  — Alex Kokcharov (@AlexKokcharov) August 10, 2023

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

  And the fact that Moscow has now witnessed two very large industrial-warehouse fires in two consecutive days, coming off a week of frequent drone attacks, strongly points to cross-border Ukraine operations (or else sabotage attacks involving NATO). 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 20:40

• Man Killed During FBI Raid After Allegedly Threatening Biden
  Man Killed During FBI Raid After Allegedly Threatening Biden

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

  A man was killed as FBI agents executed a search warrant in Utah on Aug. 9, officials confirmed.

  

  There was a shooting in Provo, Utah around 6:15 a.m. local time, the FBI said.

  “The incident began when special agents attempted to serve arrest and search warrants at a residence. The subject is deceased,” a bureau spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email.

  “The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously. In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under review by the FBI’s Inspection Division. As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide,” the spokesperson added.

  A U.S. Secret Service spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email that the agency is aware of an FBI probe “involving an individual in Utah who has exhibited threats to a Secret Service protectee.”

  The spokesperson said the Secret Service is in close coordination with the FBI but that the bureau is leading the investigation.

  Court documents reviewed by The Epoch Times show that Craig Robertson, a Provo resident, was charged recently with threatening President Joe Biden and federal law enforcement officers.

  Neither the FBI nor the Secret Service denied it was Mr. Robertson who was killed.

  Mr. Robertson wrote in one Facebook post that he heard President Biden was traveling to Utah and that he would be “cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle, according to the court documents.

  “Welcom [sic], buffoon-in-chief,” Mr. Robertson wrote.

  President Biden was scheduled to land in Salt Lake City at 4:30 p.m. local time after spending most of the day in Arizona. A White House official told reporters in Arizona that the schedule has not changed.

  The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

  It was not clear whether Mr. Robertson had a lawyer.

  He did not return a message on Facebook, where his profile was still active.

  Mr. Robertson wrote on Facebook on Tuesday night that he dreamed of seeing President Biden’s body with the head severed. “Hoorah!!!” Mr. Robertson wrote.

  He had previously written, “The time is right for a presidential assassination or two.” He added, “First Joe then Kamala!!!” Kamala Harris is the vice president.

  The Cougar Chronicle, a student-run newspaper, reported that an elderly man and retired weld inspector was shot during an FBI raid in Provo on Wednesday. A LinkedIn profile for Mr. Robertson said he worked for 45 years as a welding inspector before retiring and starting a custom wood business.

  The Chronicle reported that eyewitnesses saw FBI agents approach the Provo residence and attempt entry with a battering ram. Gunshots rang out, and an elderly man was shot.

  In another post, Mr. Robertson was said to write to his “friends in the Federal Bureau of Idiots” that “I know you’re reading this and you have no idea how close your agents came to ‘violent eradication.'” And a third post said: “The FBI tried to interfere with my free speech right in my driveway. My 45ACP was ready to smoke ’em!!!”

  Mr. Robertson is also accused of threatening Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr., a Democrat who charged former President Donald Trump with felony counts related to payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels.

  “Heading to New York to fulfill my dream or iradicating [sic] another of George Soros two-but political hach [sic] DAs,” Mr. Robertson wrote on social media, according to court documents. He said he would be waiting in a parking garage with a gun to “smoke” Mr. Bragg.

  President Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case.

  Mr. Robertson was charged with making interstate threats, retaliating against federal officers by threat, and threatening the president.

  Visit

  The FBI became aware of threats made against Mr. Bragg when tipped off by a social media company in March, an FBI agent said in a probable cause filing.

  On March 19, two agents surveilled a Provo residence at which they believed Mr. Robertson lived. They witnessed a white male around 70 to 75 years old exiting the home and entering a vehicle registered to Mr. Robertson. He was wearing a hat with the word “TRUMP” on the front.

  The agents followed Mr. Robertson to a church and, later, back to his home. They approached him and asked about the threat against Mr. Bragg. Mr. Robertson admitted to the post but was quoted as saying, “I said it was a dream!” He added, according to the agent: “We’re done here! Don’t return without a warrant!”

  The agent told the court he later reviewed posts from another account used by Mr. Robertson and that he found evidence of additional threats as well as possession by Mr. Robertson of firearms.

  Other posts appeared to refer to Attorney General Merrick Garland, an appointee of Mr. Biden, and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 20:20

• Burisma Told To Remove Joe Biden's Picture From Website After Lawyer Freaked Out
  Burisma Told To Remove Joe Biden’s Picture From Website After Lawyer Freaked Out

  In May of 2014, lawyers for then-VP Joe Biden freaked out and insisted that Ukrainian energy giant Burisma remove a photo of Biden and Burisma board member Devon Archer from its website, according to emails from Hunter Biden’s infamous laptop.

  

  In an email, Biden’s lawyer, Demetra Lambros, told Hunter Biden business associate Eric Schwerin that the photo needed to go.

  “Hey, guys,” Schwerin begins a May 13, 2014 email to Hunter Biden and Devon Archer. “There is apparently a photo of Devon and the VP on Burisma’s website (I can’t see it – the website isn’t working very well right now) but Demetra (VP Counsel) called and asked that we tell Burisma they need to take it down (legally they aren’t comfortable with the VP’s picture being up on the site as what seems like an endorsement),” the Daily Caller reports.

  Schwerin was referencing then-VP Biden’s counsel Demetra Lambros, whom President Biden appointed in June 2021 to serve as Chair of the President’s Commission on White House fellowships. She previously worked with Biden in 1996 as General Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee under then-Democratic Delaware Sen. Joe Biden’s chairmanship.

  “Thanks Eric,” Archer responded. “Hunter got the call and it’s down. Was put up without authorization.  Just on a Board call now and will call you this afternoon.” -Daily Caller

  “Looks like it may have been taken down…finally got on the site,” said Schwerin.

  The now-defunct Burisma website had previously featured profiles of Hunter Biden and Devon Archer on its board of directors page.

  The same day Schwerin sent the email about the Biden picture, he sent multiple emails to Hunter asking about Burisma’s apparent ownership by a Cyprus-registered company, and how he could explain that to Lambros – who had raised the issue with Schwerin following the publication of a Politico article noting Hunter’s board seat.

  “FYI, the only other issue Demetra raised/asked about was that there was a Cypriot connection (ownership?) of the firm and your Dad is going next week. She just raised it – nothing more than that,” said Schwerin.

  “The company is simply registered in Cyprus,” Hunter replied.

  “That’s what I said,” responded Schwerin, adding: “Press is saying that not merely registered in Cyprus but is owned by a Cypriot entity named, ‘Brociti Investments.’ Demetra is asking about this. Any ideas if this is correct?”

  He then sent another email to Hunter later in the day seeking answers regarding Burisma’s ownership.

  “[I]f you have any idea on the Cypriot ownership question (per my earlier email that is [sic] seems the company is owned by a Cypriot company not just registered there), that would be helpful for Demetra and I can get back to her while you are on the plane tomorrow,” he said.

  Schwerin, Biden and Archer were part of an email exchange May 13, 2014, where Rosemont Seneca executives discussed how to respond to an inquiry from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) related to Hunter Biden’s Burisma board seat, emails show.

  Schwerin discussed the WSJ article May 14 and said Lambros and then-VP Biden spokesperson Kendra Barkoff’s potential questions pertaining to Burisma founder Mykola Zlochevsky’s connection to pro-Russia Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who was removed in 2014 as a result of Ukraine’s Maidan Revolution. Zlochevsky was the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources in Yanukovych’s government prior to his ouster. -Daily Caller

  “When I talked to your Dad’s office they seemed to think the Yanukovich connection was incorrect and that the guy sold in 2011. I assume Kendra and/or Demetra will be interested in clarifying this while you are in the air tomorrow if you know. Let me know if you have any clarity on this you want me to pass on,” Schwerin wrote to Hunter.

  Meanwhile… no knowledge? Never spoken about? Impeachment when?

  Devon Archer’s testimony confirms Joe and Hunter Biden had dinner with Burisma executive Vadim Pozharskyi in Washington, D.C. @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/cfe2Ny06Qn

  — James Lynch (@jameslynch32) August 3, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 20:00

• Will They Ever Come Clean About The Damage They Caused?
  Will They Ever Come Clean About The Damage They Caused?

  Authored by Mark Oshinskie via The Brownstone Institute,

  Over the past few years, two immigrants in their mid-fifties became my friends. These guys are among the gentlest spirits that I’ve known, though one tells me he was a boxer back in the day and he works like a beast with a pick and shovel. The other man speaks five languages and knows far more about Botany than I do.

  While both men are delightful to interact with, each binge drinks every so often. One drinks until he passes out at the community gardens I manage and sometimes ends up in the hospital, drying out, for multiple days. The other becomes annoyingly loud and manic and does stupid stuff that causes him to lose jobs. He also suffers broken bones in unexplained tumbles. Both have visibly damaged their bodies by drinking excessively and seem likely to die before their time. 

  When I talk to these two about a given alcohol-fueled episode, they initially deny that they had drank to excess. After I mention the contrary evidence provided by the above outcomes, one admitted that, well, he might have had a beer or two. The other would only cop to imbibing a small amount of an alcohol-based herbal tincture remedy.

  Please. 

  We’ve all seen this same denialism regarding other instances of misbehavior. Initially, the transgressor denies any wrongdoing. Then, when confronted with specific proof, he understates the magnitude and/or frequency of the misconduct. These incomplete, and thus ultimately dishonest, admissions assuage his guilt and allow him to, at least in his own mind, save face and continue his self-deception. Like the child who hides his eyes and thinks you can’t see him because he can’t see you, the self-deceiving misrepresenter thinks he’s also deceiving the listener.

  After 41 months, Coronamania exponents find themselves in the same place as unrecovering alcoholics.

  

  For nearly three-and-a-half years, they’ve wildly lied about Covid’s danger. In particular, they cited grossly inflated death tolls to build panic and to justify their failed interventions. Nearly all of those said to have died “from Covid” were old, sick and/or obese and would have died soon whether infected or not. Those who didn’t fit this profile likely died iatrogenically from destructive hospital protocols, such as ventilation and kidney-damaging Remdesivir. 

  Hence, there was never a good reason to limit the lives of the non-old. This virus never justified, e.g., closing schools or mandatorily jabbing hundreds of millions.

  Additionally, the Covid overreactors lied about how effective the masks, tests and vaxxes were. When the shots clearly failed – as had been promised – to stop infection and spread, they moved the goalposts to “Well, the shots kept people out of the hospital.” 

  Yet, neither I, nor many uninjected others, have ever “gotten the virus,” much less been hospitalized. When I say this to vaxxers, they tell me I’m just lucky. It’s certainly not because I masked or hid form people. Because I didn’t.

  At long last, many of the Covidmanic are modifying their narrative. David Leonhardt’s recent New York Times article typifies this long overdue acknowledgement and abandonment of some – but not all – of the linchpin Covid lies. For example, 41 months after the racket began, Leonhardt quotes an “expert” who says that Covid deaths correlate closely with old age. 

  Please. 

  As if this wasn’t obvious in March, 2020.

  In an attempt to self-deceivingly save face and to appear to take a moderate, “nuanced” view, Leonhardt tentatively suggests that “the Pandemic” is over. He says that we should take comfort because, after 41 months of excess mortality, there are scarcely more than average excess deaths. 

  To begin with, I question this assertion; the figures I’ve seen still show significantly elevated deaths in many highly-vaxxed nations, including the United States. In the same week that Leonhardt posted his semi-apologia, statistical analyst/Subsatcker Ethical Skeptic discussed the ongoing understatement of excess deaths. According to Skeptic, non-natural deaths in late July, 2023 are still running 14 percent above historical trends.

  Even if excess deaths were flattening, one would have to consider that many deaths of the old and sick seem to have been “pulled forward” during the Scamdemic. Given prior death “spikes” over the past three years, there are fewer old, sick, obese people around than before. Thus, fewer in that cohort should be dying recently. Accordingly, we should now expect lower than average death rates. Having normal death rates would show that some factor other than Covid is causing excess deaths. I suspect these deaths derive from the Covid shots and such lingering Covid overreaction effects as substance abuse, depression, weight gain, and impoverishment.

  Notably, after three years of using inflated death figures to create the panic that delivered political and economic advantages, such Covid exaggerators as politicians, public health administrators, and Leonhardt now admit that Covid deaths were significantly overcounted. But, like hospitalized alcoholics who say they just had a couple of beers, the Covid-crazed won’t admit how much these numbers were exaggerated. They only admit to a 30 percent overstatement. 

  The 30 percent figure seems far too low for at least three reasons. Firstly, 65 percent of those who died with Covid were over 80. By that age, the average person has passed away; the bodies of those who’ve survived are wearing out. Secondly, the CARES Act strongly incentivized hospitals to overcode for Covid and families to accept death certificates blaming Covid. Thirdly, and anecdotally, though I directly know many hundreds of people, I know zero who were said to have died of Covid. I indirectly know—i.e., people I know have told me about—eight people they knew who were said to have died of Covid. Four of the decedents were over 90, two more had Stage 4 cancer, one was over 70 and very overweight with congestive heart failure and one, in his forties, was morbidly obese. Thus, eight out of eight reported “Covid deaths” that I know of involved distinctly unwell people. 

  By logical extension/extrapolation, all or nearly all purported Covid deaths seem to have extrinsic causes. Yet, throughout the Scamdemic, politicians, bureaucrats, and the media consequentially pretended that all were imperiled.

  Further, while he concedes that Covid deaths were overstated by 30 percent, Leonhardt engages in statistical sleight of hand. He continues to cite a 1.1 million Covid death toll, without deducting the overcounted 30 percent. Staying above the million-death threshold has too much emotional/rhetorical value to give away. 

  Neither Leonhardt nor other Coronamania backers ever acknowledge that medical practices that killed many were modified. Instead, in an abiding homage to Pharma, Leonhardt dutifully praises Paxlovid, while never noting that other, low-cost, off-label pharmaceutical/nutraceutical protocols worked well for many, before Paxlovid was marketed. Governments and many doctors withheld from the public information regarding these alt protocols. If excess deaths have flattened, much of that reflects hospitals’ retreat from the ham-handed Covid protocols they previously used.

  Reciting a central tenet of the Coronamanic faith, Leonhardt asserts that the shots significantly curtailed “The Pandemic.” But purported Covid deaths didn’t decline in synch with vaxx uptake; as more people injected in early 2021, there wasn’t a corresponding, sustained, linear drop in purported Covid deaths. To the contrary, ostensible Covid deaths “spiked” in 2021. In the second half of 2021, and throughout 2022, the vaxxes “wore off” and failed, on a mass scale, to prevent illness. Hence, vaxx uptake fell off a cliff. It seems highly unlikely that an ostensible decline of deaths in mid-2023 would derive from injections that failed two-plus years ago and have been widely avoided since. 

  Those who injected have been more, not less, likely to have become sick. If the shots didn’t—as promised—stop the spread, why would one believe those who assert that the shots make illness less severe? 

  Relatedly, Leonhardt never considers that viruses naturally evolve to weaker forms. Viral adaptation underlies the persistent ads urging everyone to get the latest “bivalent booster” to thwart the latest variant. But only the most gullible and fearful are rolling up sleeves for these worthless shots.

  Intransigent vaxx backers continue to misleadingly characterize the vaxx data. For example, Leonhardt asserts that the non-injected are more likely, on a percentage basis, to die from Covid. By relying on percentages, rather than absolute death stats, Leonhardt unwittingly implies what is undeniably true: many of the vaxxed have died with Covid. The vaunted vaxxes’ protection from serious illness is far from ironclad. 

  Leonhardt’s vaxx advocacy also overlooks the statistical distortions used to make the shots look better. First, those who administered the shots strategically declined to vaxx those who were so frail that the shots might kill them. Second, it fails to take into account that those who injected weren’t counted as vaxxed for 42 days after their first shot. As the shots initially suppress immunity, one should expect the shots to increase illness and deaths in the weeks after the shot regimen begins. Injectors who died within this initial 42 days were falsely counted as “unvaxxed.” 

  Delivering a Schadenfreude-y dopamine hit to his Times tribe, Leonhardt reports that Covid now kills more whites and Republicans, because these demographic groups disproportionately eschewed the shots. Initially, the study seems flawed because it derived party affiliation data from voter registrations, even though many voters don’t declare an affiliation or may cross party lines when they vote.

  Secondly, in yesterday’s Substack, Alex Berenson identifies basic flaws in this politically-driven study. Despite media misportrayals, the study concluded that only Republicans over 75—who had less ability to decline shots and were more likely with or without the shots—were more likely to die than are Democrats.

  Leonhardt doesn’t mention that the study found that death rates for Democrats were higher than Republicans between ages 65-74. Nor does he mention that death rates were the same for those under 64 in either party. Thirdly, Leonhardt’s race-based assertion seems hard to reconcile with data that jab uptake among whites was higher than that among blacks and Latinos and the media’s repeated assertions that, owing to medical access disparities, Covid deaths were higher among minorities. 

  Most fundamentally, the study shows that Democrats base their worldviews and their “Science” on political affiliation and race. But did anyone need a study to learn that?

  Leonhardt also conspicuously fails to mention that hundreds of thousands have suffered apparent vaxx injuries or deaths from heart attacks, strokes or cancers. Vaxx critics say that the shots are causing a net loss, not gain, in life span.

  Leonhardt also tacitly admits something that few, if any, in his camp would admit for 41 months, namely that the natural immunity that follows infection confers immunity. His belated admission of a bedrock epidemiological principle—herd immunity—that was, from 2020-23, used to vilify those who stated it is another instance of Coronamanic jersey-switching. 

  Leonhardt also belatedly, but only obliquely, admits what many who cite excess deaths won’t admit: the lockdowns/closures themselves killed multitudes. Those who supported the lockdowns/closures engendered the isolation, despair, overdoses, gun violence and postponed medical treatments for non-Covid ailments.

  Even if the lockdown/mask/test/vaxx supporters were to properly admit they were wrong about everything, their mea culpa would be far too late. Too much damage has already been done.

  The Machiavellians who concocted the Covid response and the media who sold it don’t regret what they did. It served their political, social, and economic purposes. Thus, the truth can now be publicly admitted, though not fully. Denying some aspects of reality allows the Coronamanic to deceive many and to think of themselves as good, smart people for having supported lockdowns, school closures, masks, tests, and shots.

  Ultimately, there’s one big difference between alcoholics, on the one hand, and the government and media that effected the Scamdemic and those who went along: while alcoholics mostly victimize themselves, those who effected and complied with Scamdemic policies victimized hundreds of millions of others.

  Republished from the author’s Substack

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 19:40

• Seattle Mayor's Office Demanded Fewer 'Officers Who Are White' For New Police Hires
  Seattle Mayor’s Office Demanded Fewer ‘Officers Who Are White’ For New Police Hires

  Seattle Mayor Bruce Harnell’s office demanded that the Seattle Police Department (SPD) hire fewer white men and those with “military bearing,” according to a memo obtained by the Jason Rantz Show.

  While the Mayor’s office initially refused to turn over the document through a public disclosure request, it was provided to Rantz by a confidential source.

  

  The memo, part of a larger effort to hire fewer white men, may be illegal according to the source.

  Ben Dalgetty, a Digital Strategy Lead from the Mayor’s office, took control of SPD marketing efforts. In a March 2023 memo to SPD human resources staff titled “SPD Marketing More and Less,” Dalgetty asked for “less” images and videos of “officers who are white, male,” and “officers with military bearing.” In their place, Dalgetty asked for more “officers of color,” “officers of different genders,” and “officers who are younger.” –KTTH

  “I thought, ‘Are you kidding me? You put this in writing?” one source told the Jason Rantz Show on the condition of anonymity. “It shows not only a lack of respect for officers, but a lack of respect for the military. They have no understanding of someone willing to put their lives on the line for their fellow man. They don’t have respect.”

  Contained in the memo were “guidelines … for relative terms compared to previous SPD marketing efforts,” designed to “shift the proportions of our photo/video collateral” away from featuring white male officers, and instead showing younger officers of color with different genders.

  After the controversial memo began attracting negative attention, Dalgetty, the digital strategist, edited the memo – effectively destroying the record that the city is obligated to maintain for public disclosure.

  In one edit, Dalgetty removed language asking for fewer images and video of white men. In another edit, he removed references to officers with military bearing. Finally, Dalgetty removed: “This doesn’t mean no officers who are white or male or only young officers of color, but guidelines to shift the proportions of our photo/video collateral to more of some things and less of others.” -KTTH

  Edited memo:

  

  More via KTTH (emphasis ours):

  Legality of memo

  According to the police source, several within the SPD were livid with the memo. Their jobs were already hard enough and they were uncomfortable with race-based hiring. As maddening, one said, the “less” portion was completely unnecessary. But did it describe illegal discrimination?

  Joshua Brittingham, a labor & employment attorney with Carney Badley Spellman, said the memo could haunt the city of Seattle should anyone make a legal claim of discrimination.

  “The SPD Marketing More and Less memo focuses on images for marketing purposes. It does not appear on its face to contain rules for hiring or promotion. The narrow focus of the memo could potentially inoculate the SPD from legal liability, at least based solely on the creation and distribution of the memo,” Brittingham tells The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “That said, employment laws prohibit refusing to hire, terminating, or discriminating against any person in wages or in other terms or conditions of employment based on race and veteran/military status. In the event of such discrimination — for example, an officer demoted or fired because he was white or a veteran — the memo might be used as evidence to demonstrate illegal discriminatory intent.”

  Police union weighs in

  Officer Mike Solan, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG), calls the memo unnecessarily divisive. He notes that “95% of what is listed in this recruiting document SPOG fully supports.”

  “What I condemn and will forever continue to push back on is the verbiage within the recruitment document that calls for less of white male officers. Less of people in leadership positions, and less of humans with military backgrounds. This is flat-out discrimination. Period. It is an affront to decency, reasonableness and further divides our communities,” Solan wrote in a statement to The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH. “When politics is intentionally inserted into the public safety policing conversation, we all lose. It is embarrassing, shameful, and detrimental to a healthy functioning society.”

  The Seattle Police Department, via a spokesperson, did not deny the memo caused a stir for staff. Instead, the spokesperson said in a statement that the department is committed to hiring staff that represents “the full diversity of our city.”

  Memo was seemingly destroyed

  It took the Mayor’s office months to supply the memo via a public disclosure request. In the initial disclosures, the original memo was not provided. Instead, the updated memo was supplied.

  “After speaking with Ben [Dalgetty], my understanding is that the record you’ve referred to was shared as a ‘live’ OneDrive link and was not attached to an e-mail,” the public disclosure officer emailed on July 10, over three months after the initial request. OneDrive is a cloud-based service for online collaboration, editing, and storage. “As with OneDrive documents shared out for collaboration, edits were made to the ‘live’ OneDrive link that was still in draft form on March 22, 2023 and March 23, 2023. The only version that we have of that record is the version that has already been provided to you.”

  It’s unclear if Dalgetty knew that OneDrive files track the history of edits made to a document. After The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH informed the public disclosure officer of the OneDrive history feature, the memo was belatedly turned over.

  Staying silent

  Though there’s no indication Dalgetty willfully withheld the document, a point the public information officer made in a statement to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH, it doesn’t matter.

  The memo edits weren’t properly saved to be turned over for a request that clarified, “The [Delgatty] emails should include all documents attached or linked to.” This incident begs the question: how often is the Mayor’s office withholding information (or not traditionally saving them) by using “live editing” on documents that they are legally obligated from maintaining for public records? If asking for “all documents” attached to emails isn’t interpreted as desiring all documents prior to being edited, what requests haven’t been properly fulfilled?

  Dalgetty did not respond to a request for comment.

  The Mayor’s office, via spokesperson Jamie Housen, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The mayor’s strategy, according to a source, is to ignore requests for comments as they wait to see if other outlets pick up a controversy. But given the allegations, it’s the reaction of police officers that they should pay attention to.

  Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). He is the author of the book What’s Killing America: Inside the Radical Left’s Tragic Destruction of Our Cities. Subscribe to the podcast. Follow @JasonRantz on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Check back frequently for more news and analysis.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 19:20

• Dems' Three Conflicting Goals Spark Surge In Political Risk Insurance Needs
  Dems’ Three Conflicting Goals Spark Surge In Political Risk Insurance Needs

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  In a recent survey of large corporations, 100% of the companies made some enhancement to their political risk management. 54% increased political risk insurance.

  

  Political Risk is Everyone’s Risk

  Please consider The Year Political Risk Became Everyone’s Risk.

  This is how an insurance broker typically describes political risk: “low frequency, high severity.” Political risk is, in short, a catastrophe risk, or “cat risk,” much like many types of natural disaster.

  We are going to have to rethink that description: this year, more than 9 in 10 of the companies we surveyed reported a political risk loss (up from 35% only a few years ago). This year, political risk became everyone’s risk.

  The annual Political Risk Survey, carried out by Oxford Analytica on behalf of WTW, combines in-depth interviews with a broader survey of a larger sample of companies. There were 50 respondents to the survey; The survey sample is representative of globalized businesses, across geographic regions, industries, and company size.

  Key Points

  • 86% of Western European respondents reported a net negative financial impact of the conflict, while only 33% of North American firms did so.

  • The shock of war on the European continent had triggered a “paradigm shift” said one member of our business panel; it is a “watershed moment,” said another.

  • 100% of the companies we surveyed had made at least some enhancement to their political risk management capabilities since February 2022.

  • The proportion who reported purchasing political risk insurance nearly trebled from 25% in 2019 to 68% this year.

  • The proportion who predicted deglobalization would “greatly strengthen” was 16% last year; this year it was nearly 50%.

  • The proportion who predicted decoupling from China would “greatly strengthen” was 12% in 2022, but 42% in 2023.

  • Each year, the study study by asks the business panel about the top risks for the year ahead. This year, complications from the Ukraine conflict led the list, followed by decoupling with China. A surprise third place was taken by the European Union, which faces an energy crisis, but is also reshaping the rules and standards of global businesses with its willingness to regulate in areas such as technology, data, supply chains and climate.

  When you confiscate reserves and place massive tariffs and sanctions on Russia and China, political risk blowback is the result.

  Political risk from Ukraine was felt more heavily in Europe, but the US was not immune. 33% of North American firms reported a loss from Ukraine. Interestingly 42 percent of US companies reported a gain.

  Oil companies, the weapons industry, and agricultural exporters were likely the big winners from the war in Ukraine. But were there any winners with big dependence on China?

  You Might Not Be Able to Get Insurance

  Although the need for insurance is soaring, Your Business in China May Be Uninsurable

  Underwriters stopped writing new policies in Russia months ago, and in China they appear spooked by events ranging from raids on Western consulting firms to threats against Taiwan. Two years ago, after Chinese state media declared videogames “spiritual opium,” shares in the Chinese entertainment giant Tencent swiftly plunged by more than 10%. Not even food and apparel companies, which have been considered relatively safe from political risks, can now be certain they’ll get such coverage.

  Of the 60 or so insurers that offer political-risk insurance, only four or five are still offering it for China, the insurance executive noted. Policies still being offered likely wouldn’t exceed $50 million coverage, down from around $2 billion a few years ago. Most large companies with operations in China have assets far above $50 million.

  Political Risk Is Just Beginning

  The Biden administration has escalated sanctions and tariffs on China.

  In response, China placed export restrictions on rare earth minerals used in computer chips and weapons.

  China’s Limits Germanium and Gallium Exports

  On July 5, Reuters reported China’s rare earths dominance in focus after it limits germanium and gallium exports

  China said on Monday it will impose export restrictions on gallium and germanium products used in computer chips and other components to protect national security interests.

  The decision, widely seen as retaliation for U.S. curbs on sales of technologies to China, raised concerns that China might eventually limit exports of other materials, notably rare earths, whose production China dominates.

  Mining: China accounted for 70% of world mine production of rare earths in 2022, followed by the United States, Australia, Myanmar and Thailand, United States Geological Survey (USGS) data shows.

  Processing: China is home to at least 85% of the world’s capacity to process rare earth ores into material manufacturers can use, according to research firm Adamas Intelligence in 2019.

  The chemical properties of rare earths make them difficult to separate from surrounding materials, and processing generates toxic waste.

  Lax environmental standards enabled China to build its dominance in rare earths in recent decades as Western producers left the industry.

  How China Cornered Rare Earths

  Good Grief Luke

  How China cornered rare earths

  1: China was blessed with minerals, not oil.
  2: China doesn’t give a damn about wrecking its environment to process them

  You seriously need to study many things and get out of your mindset that everything will crash the dollar.

  — Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) July 30, 2023

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

  How Long Does it Take to Start a Mine?

  Any attempt to eliminate fossil fuels by 2035, as Biden nationally, and the state of California are independently trying, will massively increase costs then fail spectacularly.

  — Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) April 17, 2023

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

  The US and G-7 Allies Are Torn Over Dependence on China

  Please consider my April post The US and G-7 Allies Are Torn Over Dependence on China

  Three Conflicting Goals 

  

  1. Reduce dependence on China

  2. Avoid protectionism 

  3. Appease the Greens 

  Impossible Requirements 

  1 + 2 is difficult if not impossible. 2 + 3 is difficult if not impossible. 1 + 3 is difficult if not impossible.

  1 + 2 + 3 is 100% guaranteed impossible. 

   Damn the Inflation, Full Speed Ahead

  Biden’s and California’s energy policy can easily be summed up in meme phrases.

  • Damn the Inflation, Full Speed Ahead

  • What, Me Worry?

  • The world will end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.

  On March 22, 2022, I commented Biden Doing Everything Possible to Drive Up the Price of Oil, Some of It’s Illegal

  On November 30, 2022, I commented The EU is Very Worried About Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

  On December 3, 2022, I commented Damn That Wind, It’s Not Listening to Biden or AOC

  On February 7, 2023, I commented Biden Gives a Well-Delivered SOTU Speech Begging for More Inflation and Tax Hikes

  On January 16, 2023, I commented “America First”, Biden and Trump Both Guilty of Sponsoring Inflation

  Biden’s Energy Policy Mandates Cause Severe Shortage of Electrical Steel and Transformers

  In case you missed it, please see Biden’s Energy Policy Mandates Cause Severe Shortage of Electrical Steel and Transformers

  Lesson of the Day

  Finally, please consider my July 20, 2023 post, Lesson of the Day: If You Weaponize the Dollar and Confiscate Assets, Expect Retaliation

  Meanwhile, someone please tell me how we are going to reduce dependence on China, avoid protectionism, and appease the Greens with their untenable demands to eliminate gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

  You can’t because it’s impossible. So, yeah, the need for political risk insurance is soaring everywhere.

  *  *  *

  Subscribe to MishTalk Email Alerts.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 19:00

• Thank Unions: Hottest Job Is $170k UPS Driver
  Thank Unions: Hottest Job Is $170k UPS Driver

  Earlier this week, United Parcel Service (UPS) slashed its financial outlook after reaching an agreement with the Teamsters Union in late July. This deal ensures delivery drivers receive an annual pay of $170,000. Even part-time employees are set to earn $25.75 an hour. As a result, UPS job searches are erupting nationwide. 

  Bloomberg cited data from online jobs website Indeed, which recorded a 50% jump in searches for “UPS” or “United Parcel Service” in the job title last month when the union secured $30 billion in new money for its members over the next five years. 

  Google search results show “UPS driver jobs near me” soared to a record high. 

  

  We should note the tentative agreement has yet to be accepted by the Teamsters Union, and a vote will be announced on Aug. 22. 

  Unions have been pushing companies to improve on-the-job conditions amid the worst inflation in a generation and two years of negative real wage growth that decimated households. Companies that have conceded to union demands, like UPS, are emerging as the most sought-after jobs due to pay hikes.

  

  While it’s unlikely the 340,000 union members will pass up this sweetheart deal, UPS slashed its full-year outlook this week on sliding package delivery volumes and costs associated with the union. Bloomberg explained the souring conditions for UPS means: “The company is most likely not going to hire en masse right now.” 

  Meanwhile, there are other rumblings in the transportation space. Pilots at FedEx rejected a union-brokered deal that would have raised their wages by about 30% through 2028. Union members were displeased with FedEx, citing higher wages at airlines.  

  “Labor groups seem to find it more appealing to reject the first offer to get a better second offer,” Helane Becker, an analyst at investment banking company TD Cowen, said. She added, “Sometimes it doesn’t get better.”

  Some labor fights with unions and companies have sparked turmoil. Trucking company Yellow Corp. filed for bankruptcy this week, placing the blame on the union:

  “We faced nine months of union intransigence, bullying and deliberately destructive tactics.” 

  And the wave of union bosses making outsized demands at other companies could only be in the beginning innings. This will only lead to higher prices and could drive some companies out of business, such as what happened to Yellow.

  Rising labor disputes and wage inflation will likely mean elevated overall inflation, signaling the Fed’s job isn’t done. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 18:40

• In A World Stripped Of Authenticity, "Let's Dispense With Human Presidential Candidates"
  In A World Stripped Of Authenticity, “Let’s Dispense With Human Presidential Candidates”

  Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

  I’m Not Really Enjoying the Show

  Let’s dispense with human presidential candidates and conventions, and replace both the candidates and their supporters with idealized AI fabrications.

  The Show Must Go On, but I’m not really enjoying the show. One reason why is I Keep Changing Channels But It’s Still the Same Program, i.e. the programming and marketing are now homogenized. Another is Even the Aliens Are Boring, i.e. everything is so sensationalized and hyped that we are now desensitized to it all.

  A third reason is our culture has perfected the craft of self-parody, rendering parody impossible. To parody foolish excess, we exaggerate a two-patty burger into a four-patty burger: oops, they’ve already hyped four-patty burgers.

  To parody the fossilization of American politics, we create a parody in which 77-year olds are the vibrant young-uns in the halls of power. Dang, the halls of power are already choked with more elderly than the USSR’s creaky leadership just before it collapsed in a heap.

  To parody the homogenization and infantilization of Hollywood, we create a parody in which the dominant “tentpoles” generating steady profits are endlessly proliferating comic book superheroes. Darn, that’s already the case.

  To parody the media’s desperate competition for “engagement,” we create a parody in which everything becomes a global existential crisis. Heh, there’s no way to parody anything that’s already been driven to excess via the mastery of self-parody.

  Irony has also been shown the door. The core dynamic of the modern world isn’t–as is constantly hyped–innovation; it’s marketing, persuading someone to transfer value–money, loyalty, votes, engagement– for something (tangible or intangible) without regard to the eventual costs and consequences of the exchange.

  The irony is authenticity is faked to make the sale. But the fraud of mimicking authenticity to make the sale is now so embedded, so ubiquitous, that the irony is lost: we are living in a Philip K. Dick story come to life in which real young women fabricating fake lives of glamor and luxury to boost their Only Fans income are now competing with digitized imaginary young women that are idealized versions (like Barbie) of the sexually compelling female.

  In a culture stripped of irony and parody, a movie based on an idealized female doll introduced 64 years ago reaps $1 billion in sales and sparks thousands of earnest cultural commentaries. Barbie as a marketing phenomenon has of course evolved: idealized male Ken was introduced a few years later, along with an ever-expanding line of ethnic Barbies. Barbie is clearly an “authentic” cultural icon.

  If the aliens are watching us, one hopes they have a refined sense of absurdist humor.

  As for AI: what’s marketed as “artificial intelligence” is certainly artificial, but it isn’t remotely intelligent. By mimicking humanity’s natural language abilities, ChatAI programs make a marketing claim of authenticity that is entirely fraudulent. There is no “there there” in terms of understanding, predictive acumen or any other form of what once passed for intelligence.

  The entire point of this bogus AI is to automate the processes of marketing, homogenization and hype, to streamline and reduce the costs of faking authenticity to make the sale. As in a Philip K. Dick story, where the protagonist ends up asking if he is in fact a robot and not a human as he assumed–our own authenticity must be questioned, as what we assume is “the real me” turns out to be nothing but a jumble of marketing cliches that reads like an obituary: he was a Steelers fan, loved the music of Nashville, was an avid BBQer, etc.

  With parody and irony both enfeebled, the show is now tediously humorless. What can we say about a show in which the once-compelling topic of alien visitations to Earth are reduced to another boring congressional hearing on CSPAN, a parody in which the possibility of an alien presence is reduced to ashes while whatever is being marketed at the moment is hyped as the “crisis” you must pay attention to?

  It’s impossible to parody what is already an absurdist parody. Consider the ceaseless adverts for low-quality processed / fast-food in which ecstasy can be yours (“this greasy sugar-bomb tastes good!”) for a low, low price and the rest of the adverts, which are for pharmaceutical medications for all the diseases created by consuming low-quality processed / fast-food, ads that include an eye-watering list of side-effects that is impossible to parody, as it already includes “and in rare cases, death.”

  Hmm. So we can expire from metabolic and other lifestyle disorders in the pursuit of infantile “it tastes so good!” or we can expire from the supposed cure, after suffering from a list of side-effects that would qualify as banned protocols of torture. Absurdist irony, you are now live, action!

  So desperate are we for authentic authenticity that “the real thing” becomes an irresistible marketing platform. You may have come across a young woman’s artful videos of her preparing real food in a beautiful rural setting in China. Her name is Li Ziqi. Her videos have logged almost 3 billion views. They are remarkable for their composition and for her culinary, gardening and handicraft skills, which are clearly real. She brought the mythology of an authentic life close to the Earth into being, and the global desperation for some shred of unpackaged, unprogrammed, unmarketed authenticity generated her vast audience.

  Alas, her authentic skills were packaged so entrancingly with a commercial purpose. Thanks to a marketing deal, her global audience exploded, as did the sales of her line of products in China. She suddenly stopped issuing new videos two years ago, and it seems legal / commercial conflicts were at the heart of her disappearance: Li Ziqi’s Online Pastoral Poetics: Millions of people subscribed to her vision of an idyllic rural existence. Who was she, and why did she disappear? (New Yorker)

  It’s doubtful that many of her millions of viewers actually wanted to spend hours tending gardens and making real food from real produce; they found pleasure in the mythology, not the reality. This is the problem with authenticity: it’s demanding and requires discipline and an inner life immune to marketing.

  To grasp why the show is no longer enjoyable, we turn once again to Philip K. Dick, who offered an insightful description of authenticity in How to Build a Universe That Doesn’t Fall Apart Two Days Later:

  “The authentic human being is one of us who instinctively knows what he should not do, and, in addition, he will balk at doing it. He will refuse to do it, even if this brings down dread consequences to him and to those whom he loves. This, to me, is the ultimately heroic trait of ordinary people; they say no to the tyrant and they calmly take the consequences of this resistance. Their deeds may be small, and almost always unnoticed, unmarked by history. Their names are not remembered, nor did these authentic humans expect their names to be remembered. I see their authenticity in an odd way: not in their willingness to perform great heroic deeds. but in their quiet refusals. In essence, they cannot be compelled to be what they are not.”

  In conclusion, I offer an idea: let’s dispense with human presidential candidates and conventions, and replace both the candidates and their supporters with idealized AI fabrications. Thanks to AI, the fake candidates can engage in realistic fake debates, and their fake supporters can clap, cheer and jeer on cue.

  

  In a world stripped of authenticity, irony and parody, such a substitution makes marketing sense. Let’s get the show rolling, and make the sale. It’s just a guess, of course, but I think the aliens would approve.

  *  *  *

  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
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 18:20

• $13 Billion For Ukrainians, $12 Billion For Devastated Hawaii
  $13 Billion For Ukrainians, $12 Billion For Devastated Hawaii

  Just on the heels of Hawaii declaring a state of emergency over its deadly hurricane-driven wildfires which have decimated much of the once paradise island of Maui, President Biden is expected to request $13 billion in emergency funding for… military support to Ukraine.

  And oh… emergency funds for Hawaii will be less, as Biden simultaneously approved $12 billion for federal disaster relief.

  

  In total the new package being requested for Congressional approval comes in at a whopping $40 billion. 

  On top of the $13 billion in defense aid for Ukraine, another $8 billion is being sought for humanitarian support for the Ukrainians through the end of the year.

  As for Hawaii, which saw wildfires wipe entire towns and neighborhoods off the map, leaving 36 Americans dead, it clearly takes a backseat to the Ukrainians’ plight in the thinking of the administration: 

  The package includes $12 billion to replenish the U.S. federal disaster funds at home after a deadly climate season of heat and storms, and funds to bolster the enforcement at the Southern border with Mexico, including money to curb the flow of deadly fentanyl. All told, it’s a $40 billion package.

  The giant total price tag is setting up a fight with GOP leadership. 

  White House budget director Shalanda Young wrote House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Thursday, urging Republicans to prioritize “commitment to the Ukrainian peoples’ defense of their homeland and to democracy around the world” as well as other needs. But the optics are obvious, and bad…

  Do you think Hawaii will get as much money as Ukraine? pic.twitter.com/yKDKCnbOpw

  — Ben Swann (@BenSwann_) August 10, 2023

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  The verdict is in, as Biden continues to put Ukraine first…

  Rebuild Hawaii, not Ukraine. https://t.co/wgymiIaujj

  — Abe Hamadeh (@AbrahamHamadeh) August 9, 2023

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  Republicans are likely to seize on these terrible optics, also given public support is generally waning amid the failing Ukraine counteroffensive.

  USA Today has observed that Biden’s request “will run into stern opposition in the GOP-run House with Republicans who are adamantly against approving government spending that isn’t paired with budget cuts and conservatives who want a more detailed accounting of how Ukraine is spending the money the U.S. has already sent.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 18:00

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• "Significantly Worse Outcomes" – Scottish COVID Inquiry Savages Lockdowns And Vaccines
  “Significantly Worse Outcomes” – Scottish COVID Inquiry Savages Lockdowns And Vaccines

  Authored by Will Jones via DailySceptic.org,

  Throughout the Covid pandemic, the Scottish Government made a show of imposing stricter and longer restrictions than Boris Johnson’s ‘reckless’ Tory Government south of the border. Yet despite these additional measures, in the two years from the start of the pandemic to spring 2022, Scotland averaged 23.9 excess deaths per million weekly, writes Dr. David Livermore in Spiked. “That was by far the highest in the U.K., with Wales suffering 22.9 excess deaths per million, Northern Ireland 18.8 and England 18.6.”

  

  This obvious failure of Scotland’s response was, remarkably, summarised in an opening report commissioned by Scotland’s official Covid inquiry and written by Dr. Ashley Croft, a public health infection epidemiologist who spent most of his career working for the military and now practises from Harley Street as a medico-legal expert witness.

  He told the inquiry that:

  In 2020, there was scientific evidence to support the use of some of the physical measures (e.g., frequent handwashing, the use of PPE in hospital settings) adopted against COVID-19. For other measures (e.g., face-mask mandates outside of healthcare settings, lockdowns, social distancing, test, trace and isolate measures), there was either insufficient evidence in 2020 to support their use – or alternatively, no evidence; the evidence base has not changed materially in the intervening three years. It has been argued that the restrictive measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in individual, societal and economic harm that was avoidable and that should not have occurred.

  Dr. Livermore says he agrees entirely.

  As Sweden’s already-concluded Covid inquiry found, “Several countries which did impose lockdowns… had ‘significantly worse outcomes’ than Sweden”.

  It also found that the restriction of individual freedom was “hardly defensible other than in the face of very extreme threats”.

  Dr. Croft is similarly downbeat about the vaccines, saying “it remains unclear as to whether or not COVID-19 vaccination has resulted in fewer deaths from COVID-19”. Dr. Livermore disputes this conclusion, saying “it seems fairly clear that vaccines did break the link between cases and deaths in the spring and summer of 2021”. However, recent analysis by experts like Dr. Eyal Shahar suggests that much of the apparent effectiveness of the vaccines may be an illusion created by the healthy vaccinee effect, whereby those who took the vaccines tend, other things being equal, to have fewer underlying risk factors.

  In any case, Dr. Livermore agrees with Dr. Croft that “the protection they offered was brief and incomplete”.

  Long before vaccine passports were imposed on Scots in autumn 2021, there was abundant evidence that vaccines did not stop infection and transmission. This should have blown the bottom out of the case for vaccine passports. That it failed to stop them is a disgrace.

  Dr. Croft adds that the “2,362 spontaneous [Yellow Card] reports suggesting a fatal outcome following COVID-19 vaccination” are “of concern”, noting such events are likely under-reported.

  But the most important point about Dr. Croft’s report, says Dr. Livermore, is that it so flagrantly defies the Official Narrative of harsh but necessary lockdowns saving the population from the ravages of a deadly plague.

  Irrespective of whether one agrees with his conclusions or not, Croft is to be congratulated for addressing the core question: did the Government’s restrictions, deployed at great cost and societal disruption, work?

  The fact that he has even asked this question stands in contrast to the groupthink on display at the U.K. inquiry, presided over by Lady Hallett. Its first theme, examining ‘Preparedness and Resilience’, concluded last month. During the hearings, witnesses were indulged in long meanders through Brexit and Tory/Lib Dem austerity. This was despite the obvious fact that adjacent EU countries not previously governed by David Cameron and Nick Clegg experienced similar travails with the virus.

  Witnesses also said that Britain had prepared for the wrong type of pandemic, with all of our plans anticipating an influenza pandemic rather than a coronavirus pandemic. But if coronavirus and influenza pandemics were so obviously different, scientists wouldn’t still be arguing about whether the 1889-94 ‘Russian Flu’ – which was comparable to Covid in terms of mortality – was a form of influenza or a coronavirus.

  Unsurprisingly, Croft’s report hasn’t gone down well with the lockdown-supporting press in Scotland. He has been attacked as being ‘not an expert’ in viral pandemics. I don’t know Croft and hold no personal brief for him, but his CV indicates a much longer experience of microbiology-related public health than, say, public-health academic Devi Sridhar, who exerted much influence on Scotland’s Covid response. Military medicine – where he spent his career – takes a great interest in epidemics. They have stopped many armies, from Charles VIII at Naples (syphilis) to Admiral Vernon at Cartagena (yellow fever).

  Dr. Livermore concludes that “it is telling that Scottish commentators no longer even try to say that Scotland’s lockdowns were a success… there is too much evidence to the contrary”.

  “I sincerely hope that Scotland’s inquiry reflects upon this. And that Lady Hallett reads Croft’s report. It might just refocus the U.K. inquiry on the questions that really matter.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 08/10/2023 – 02:00

• Indoctrination, Intimidation & Intolerance: What Passes For Education Today
  Indoctrination, Intimidation & Intolerance: What Passes For Education Today

  Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

  “Every day in communities across the United States, children and adolescents spend the majority of their waking hours in schools that have increasingly come to resemble places of detention more than places of learning.”

  – Investigative journalist Annette Fuentes

  This is what it means to go back-to-school in America today.

  Instead of being taught the three R’s of education (reading, writing and arithmetic), young people are being drilled in the three I’s of life in the American police state: indoctrination, intimidation and intolerance.

  

  Indeed, while young people today are learning first-hand what it means to be at the epicenter of politically charged culture wars, test scores indicate that students are not learning how to succeed in social studies, math and reading.

  Instead of raising up a generation of civic-minded citizens with critical thinking skills, government officials are churning out compliant drones who know little to nothing about their history or their freedoms.

  Under the direction of government officials focused on making the schools more authoritarian (sold to parents as a bid to make the schools safer), young people in America are now first in line to be searched, surveilled, spied on, threatened, tied up, locked down, treated like criminals for non-criminal behavior, tasered and in some cases shot.

  From the moment a child enters one of the nation’s 98,000 public schools to the moment he or she graduates, they will be exposed to a steady diet of:

  • draconian zero tolerance policies that criminalize childish behavior,

  • overreaching anti-bullying statutes that criminalize speech,

  • school resource officers (police) tasked with disciplining and/or arresting so-called “disorderly” students,

  • standardized testing that emphasizes rote answers over critical thinking,

  • politically correct mindsets that teach young people to censor themselves and those around them,

  • and extensive biometric and surveillance systems that, coupled with the rest, acclimate young people to a world in which they have no freedom of thought, speech or movement.

  This is how you groom young people to march in lockstep with a police state.

  As Deborah Cadbury writes for The Washington Post, “Authoritarian rulers have long tried to assert control over the classroom as part of their totalitarian governments.”

  In Nazi Germany, the schools became indoctrination centers, breeding grounds for intolerance and compliance.

  In the American police state, the schools have become increasingly hostile to those who dare to question or challenge the status quo.

  America’s young people have become casualties of a post-9/11 mindset that has transformed the country into a locked-down, militarized, crisis-fueled mockery of a representative government.

  Roped into the government’s profit-driven campaign to keep the nation “safe” from drugs, disease, and weapons, America’s schools have transformed themselves into quasi-prisons, complete with surveillance cameras, metal detectors, police patrols, zero tolerance policies, lock downs, drug sniffing dogs, strip searches and active shooter drills.

  Students are not only punished for minor transgressions such as playing cops and robbers on the playground, bringing LEGOs to school, or having a food fight, but the punishments have become far more severe, shifting from detention and visits to the principal’s office into misdemeanor tickets, juvenile court, handcuffs, tasers and even prison terms.

  Students have been suspended under school zero tolerance policies for bringing to school “look alike substances” such as oregano, breath mints, birth control pills and powdered sugar.

  Look-alike weapons (toy guns—even Lego-sized ones, hand-drawn pictures of guns, pencils twirled in a “threatening” manner, imaginary bows and arrows, fingers positioned like guns) can also land a student in hot water, in some cases getting them expelled from school or charged with a crime.

  Not even good deeds go unpunished.

  One 13-year-old was given detention for exposing the school to “liability” by sharing his lunch with a hungry friend. A third grader was suspended for shaving her head in sympathy for a friend who had lost her hair to chemotherapy. And then there was the high school senior who was suspended for saying “bless you” after a fellow classmate sneezed.

  Having police in the schools only adds to the danger.

  Thanks to a combination of media hype, political pandering and financial incentives, the use of armed police officers (a.k.a. school resource officers) to patrol school hallways has risen dramatically in the years since the Columbine school shooting.

  Indeed, the growing presence of police in the nation’s schools is resulting in greater police “involvement in routine discipline matters that principals and parents used to address without involvement from law enforcement officers.”

  Funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, these school resource officers have become de facto wardens in elementary, middle and high schools, doling out their own brand of justice to the so-called “criminals” in their midst with the help of tasers, pepper spray, batons and brute force.

  In the absence of school-appropriate guidelines, police are more and more “stepping in to deal with minor rulebreaking: sagging pants, disrespectful comments, brief physical skirmishes. What previously might have resulted in a detention or a visit to the principal’s office was replaced with excruciating pain and temporary blindness, often followed by a trip to the courthouse.”

  Not even the younger, elementary school-aged kids are being spared these “hardening” tactics.

  On any given day when school is in session, kids who “act up” in class are pinned facedown on the floor, locked in dark closets, tied up with straps, bungee cords and duct tape, handcuffed, leg shackled, tasered or otherwise restrained, immobilized or placed in solitary confinement in order to bring them under “control.”

  In almost every case, these undeniably harsh methods are used to punish kids—some as young as 4 and 5 years old—for simply failing to follow directions or throwing tantrums.

  Very rarely do the kids pose any credible danger to themselves or others.

  Unbelievably, these tactics are all legal, at least when employed by school officials or school resource officers in the nation’s public schools.

  This is what happens when you introduce police and police tactics into the schools.

  Paradoxically, by the time you add in the lockdowns and active shooter drills, instead of making the schools safer, school officials have succeeded in creating an environment in which children are so traumatized that they suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, nightmares, anxiety, mistrust of adults in authority, as well as feelings of anger, depression, humiliation, despair and delusion.

  For example, a middle school in Washington State went on lockdown after a student brought a toy gun to class. A Boston high school went into lockdown for four hours after a bullet was discovered in a classroom. A North Carolina elementary school locked down and called in police after a fifth grader reported seeing an unfamiliar man in the school (it turned out to be a parent).

  Police officers at a Florida middle school carried out an active shooter drill in an effort to educate students about how to respond in the event of an actual shooting crisis. Two armed officers, guns loaded and drawn, burst into classrooms, terrorizing the students and placing the school into lockdown mode.

  These police state tactics have not made the schools any safer.

  The fallout has been what you’d expect, with the nation’s young people treated like hardened criminals: handcuffed, arrested, tasered, tackled and taught the painful lesson that the Constitution (especially the Fourth Amendment) doesn’t mean much in the American police state.

  So what’s the answer, not only for the here-and-now—the children growing up in these quasi-prisons—but for the future of this country?

  How do you convince a child who has been routinely handcuffed, shackled, tied down, locked up, and immobilized by government officials—all before he reaches the age of adulthood—that he has any rights at all, let alone the right to challenge wrongdoing, resist oppression and defend himself against injustice?

  Most of all, how do you persuade a fellow American that the government works for him when, for most of his young life, he has been incarcerated in an institution that teaches young people to be obedient and compliant citizens who don’t talk back, don’t question and don’t challenge authority?

  As we’ve seen with other issues, any significant reforms will have to start locally and trickle upwards.

  As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, if we want to raise up a generation of freedom fighters who will actually operate with justice, fairness, accountability and equality towards each other and their government, we must start by running the schools like freedom forums.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 23:40

• Iran Touts Hypersonic Missile Testing In Response To US Sending Troops To Region
  Iran Touts Hypersonic Missile Testing In Response To US Sending Troops To Region

  In fresh statements aired by state media and picked up by Al Jazeera and other international sources, Iran says it has not only achieved hypersonic cruise missile technology, but is actually testing hypersonics, in what would mark a historic breakthrough for the Islamic Republic if true.

  The missiles are reportedly currently undergoing tests and flight trials, which “will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the defense power of our country,” state media Tasnim announced Wednesday.

  

  Tasnim further touted that the new hypersonic weapons could “significantly accelerate the Islamic Republic of Iran’s response time in case of any combat, and take away attacking forces’ opportunity for reaction.”

  It was in early June that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attended a ceremony unveiling the new Iranian-made “Fattah” (literally, “Conqueror”) hypersonic missile in Tehran. This was met with some degree of skepticism internationally, given the immense difficulty behind mastering the technology.

  Raisi touted at the time: “Today we feel that the deterrent power has been formed.” He added, “This power is an anchor of lasting security and peace for the regional countries.”

  The Iranians say their new hypersonic missile can reach nearly 900 miles and it cannot by countered by conventional anti-air defense systems. Iranian officials say it can also reach speeds of up to Mach 15. But expressing skepticism, here’s what Popular Mechanics has written [emphasis ZH]:

  Unfortunately, the “hypersonic” term is often used deceptively to imply more advanced technology than what is actually present. By definition, hypersonic describes a missile/aircraft traveling at or over five times the speed of sound, or a mile per second. That’s certainly fast, but ballistic missiles have been rocket-boosting themselves up to hypersonic speeds since the 1950s and 60s.

  However, the modern usage of “hypersonic weapons” refers to weapons that can sustain and maneuver at hypersonic speeds. One method of achieving this is to have a ballistic missile launch what’s called a hypersonic glide vehicle into the exosphere—a vehicle that’s then able to skip-glide just over the atmosphere, repeatedly bouncing off the dense air molecules below. The other method is to develop a cruise missile with an air-breathing ramjet motor that can sustain hypersonic speeds while within the atmosphere.

  And what makes a hypersonic a hypersonic? According to more: 

  The big deal with these weapons is not their maximum speed. Rather, the appeal comes from their sustainable speed, flatter—and thus stealthier—trajectory, and ability to maneuver and avoid entering the optimal engagement radius of air defenses. Those all significantly complicate hitting them with interceptor missiles.

  Given the Iranians already unveiled in early summer that they have achieved hypersonic missile technology, this new announcement seems a reaction to specific geopolitical events in the gulf region, namely the US decision to send 3,000 additional troops aboard two warships. 

  The US is considering deploying troops to commercial vessels in Gulf amid Iran tensions, but 5 unnamed US officials stressed to the that no final decision has been made, according to the Associated Presshttps://t.co/1xmmKWYNOf

  — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) August 5, 2023

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

  The timing of the hypersonics announcement further comes just as the Pentagon is seeking to put US Marines on international tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, in order to safeguard them from Iranian hijacking. Iranian Brigadier-General Abolfazl Shekarchi earlier issued the following response, asking, “What do the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean have to do with America?” He further posed rhetorically, “What is your business being here?”

  Iran has repeatedly rejected the US military involvement in regional waters, saying it only serves Washington’s interests, and is really intended to thwart Iran’s own crude exports, which are also under US-led sanctions.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 23:20

• Bots Have Taken Over Nearly Half The Internet, But One-Third Of Users Can't Tell Difference
  Bots Have Taken Over Nearly Half The Internet, But One-Third Of Users Can’t Tell Difference

  Authored by Autumn Spredemann via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Crossing paths with a robot or “bot” online is as common as finding a pair of shoes in your closet.

  

  It’s a fundamental part of the internet, but users have hit a critical tipping point: An increasing number of people are losing the ability to distinguish between bots and humans.

  It’s a scenario developers have warned about for years, and it’s easy to see why.

  A recent study concluded 47 percent of all internet traffic is now comprised of bot-generated content. That’s an increase of more than 5 percent between 2022 and 2021. Concurrently, human activity on the internet just hit its lowest point in eight years.

  Coupled with advances in human-like exchanges driven by artificial intelligence (AI), almost a third of internet users can’t tell if they’re interacting with a person any more.

  In April, a landmark study called “Human or Not?” was launched to determine whether people could identify if they were talking to another person or an AI chatbot.

  More than 2 million volunteers and 15 million conversations later, 32 percent of participants picked incorrectly.

  There was also little difference in the results based on age categories. Older and younger adults both struggled at a similar level to discern who—or what—was on the other end of the conversation.

  The bottom line: While super realistic bots have taken over nearly half the internet, a rising number of folks can’t even tell.

  Moreover, this historic intersection of swiftly evolving technology and decreasing perception within the general population is already causing problems in the real world.

  Fool Me Once

  “The bot-human blur is like a magic trick … As bots get smarter, we risk losing trust in online interactions,” Daniel Cooper told The Epoch Times.

  Mr. Cooper is a tech developer and a managing partner at Lolly. He noted company and website transparency is key for people’s confidence in their online interactions. But in the meantime, there’s no substitute for good old-fashioned human instinct.

  “Spotting bots is like finding Waldo in a crowd. Look for repetitive patterns, lack of personalization, or rapid responses. Also, trust your gut. If it feels off, it might just be,” he said.

  

  While much of the discussion of malicious or “bad bot” traffic centers on social media, the influence of maligned AI interactions has much farther-reaching consequences.

  Consumer confidence in reading online reviews for a product or service has been problematic for years, but it appears to have passed a new milestone.

  Reports of AI language models leaving reviews for products on sites like Amazon emerged in April this year. The bot reviews were easy to identify since the chatbot literally told readers that it was an AI language model in the first sentence.

  But not every bot masquerading as a human is so easy to catch.

  Consequently, major companies and search engines like Google have been plagued with a sharp rise in false reviews.

  Last year, Amazon filed a lawsuit against fake review brokers on Facebook, and Google had to remove 115 million counterfeit evaluations.

  This is troubling, given the number of people who rely on product reviews. One 2023 survey noted online reviews factored into purchasing decisions for 93 percent of internet users.

  “More bot traffic could indeed open the floodgates for online scams,” Mr. Cooper said.

  Though it appears those gates have already been opened.

  Fox in the Henhouse

  Bad bot traffic has increased 102 percent since last year and may outpace human-generated content entirely. Yet again.

  This happened in 2016 and was especially problematic during the U.S. presidential election. Since then, AI-generated content has grown more sophisticated, and tech insiders say people need to be prepared for another bot surge in 2024.

  And with more people struggling to tell the difference, online scammers have a significant advantage.

  “The difficulties in distinguishing between bots and actual humans will probably get worse as this technology develops, which will hurt internet users. The possibility of being used by bad actors is a major worry,” Vikas Kaushik, CEO of TechAhead, told The Epoch Times.

  Mr. Kaushik said without the ability to identify bots, people can easily get caught up in disinformation and phishing scams. Further, these digital cons aren’t always obvious.

  Tech security researcher Kai Greshake told Vice in March that hackers could trick Bing’s AI chatbot into asking for personal information from users through the use of hidden text prompts.

  

  “As a member of the sector, I see this developing into a serious problem,”  Kaushik said, adding: “To create more complex detection techniques and build open standards for recognizing bots, developers and academics must collaborate.”

  He believes education and awareness campaigns are essential so the public can be more cautious and confident while “conversing online with strangers.”

  Mr. Cooper agreed.

  “The bot-human confusion could lead to misunderstandings, mistrust, and misuse of personal data. It’s like chatting with a parrot, thinking it’s a person: amusing until it repeats your secrets.”

  He compared the rise in bot traffic to inviting a fox into the henhouse. “We need to be vigilant and proactive in our defenses.”

  Taking Action

  For some, the solution is simple. Just “unplug” from the digital world.

  It’s a sentiment shared often alongside notions of moving off the grid and a longing for the days when the “dead internet theory” seemed much less plausible. But for many, this isn’t realistic.

  Alternatively, some are striving for a balance with their online usage, including limiting social media usage.

  Humanity’s love-hate relationship with social media, especially Facebook and Twitter, has created anxiety, anger, and depression for millions.

  Despite an uptick in social media usage this year, roughly two-thirds of Americans believe the platforms have a primarily negative effect on life.

  And the surge in bot traffic is throwing gas on this fire.

  Stepping back from social media and its bot swarms has its merits.

  Findings from a 2022 study noted participants who took a one-week break from the platforms experienced improvements in anxiety, depression, and their overall sense of well-being.

  As humanity’s day-to-day interactions continue shifting from physical to virtual, people have become increasingly dependent on the web. So it begs to question: Can humans take back the internet from the bots?

  Some tech experts believe it’s possible. And it starts with helping people identify what they’re engaging with.

  “There are a few strategies users can employ to identify bots,” Zachary Kann, the founder of Smart Geek Home, told The Epoch Times.

  In his experience as a network security professional, Mr. Kann said there are methods a user can employ to determine if they’re interacting with another person.

  Like Mr. Cooper, he suggested watching response patterns carefully.

  “Bots often respond instantly and may use repetitive language.”

  Mr. Kann also said people should check profiles since bots often have generic or incomplete online profiles.

  He added an inability to distinguish between bots and humans could lead to research accuracy challenges.

  “It can lead to skewed data analytics, as bot interactions can inflate website traffic and engagement metrics.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 23:00

• Elite Universities Strategize To Maintain Diversity In Admissions Despite Supreme Court Ruling
  Elite Universities Strategize To Maintain Diversity In Admissions Despite Supreme Court Ruling

  Authored by Charlotte Allen via The Epoch Times,

  It’s no secret that the vast majority of the people who operate U.S. colleges and universities are unhappy about the Supreme Court’s June 29 decisions that the use of race in admissions decisions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the 14th Amendment’s equal protection guarantees and Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which forbids recipients of federal funds to discriminate “on the ground of race, color, or national origin.”

  The official reaction of the country’s top-tier institutions of higher learning – the ones that typically employ racial preferences (in contrast to their less-selective counterparts that admit almost all applicants of any race) – was dismay.

  Within hours of the release of the court’s 6–3 ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, incoming Harvard President Claudine Gay issued a video message.

  Its tone wasn’t outright defiance of the Supreme Court’s ruling, but it evidenced a distinct resolve to work around it.

  “For nearly nine years, Harvard vigorously defended our admissions process and our belief that we all benefit from learning, living, and working alongside people of different backgrounds and experiences,” Ms. Gay said.

  “We will comply with the court’s decision, but it does not change our values. We continue to believe—deeply—that a thriving, diverse intellectual community is essential to academic excellence and critical to shaping the next generation of leaders.”

  The word “diverse” is, of course, code for achieving levels of ethnic-minority representation (typically blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans) that progressives find acceptable, whether or not the applicants’ academic records and SAT scores match those of other groups such as Asians and whites.

  Other elite universities have followed Harvard’s lead.

  Columbia University spokesman Ben Chang said, “Diversity is a positive force across every dimension of Columbia, and we can and must find a durable and meaningful path to preserve it.”

  Ron Daniels, president of Johns Hopkins University, issued a statement declaring:

  “In the coming days, we will closely examine the court’s decisions and assess its implications for our admissions programs. Over the last several months, we have been reviewing the approaches taken by universities in states where a referendum or statute has restricted the use of race as one of many factors in a holistic admissions process.”

  So the strategizing – aimed at maintaining pre-Students levels of black and Latino enrollments – has clearly begun.

  

  The most obvious of the possible “approaches” is the application essay, which allows prospective students to reveal their race, among other things about themselves. Chief Justice John Roberts, author of the majority opinion in Students, seemed to shine a green light (pdf): “Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”

  Although Justice Roberts warned universities to not use the essays to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling (“the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race”), several institutions have already established “overcome adversity” as a proxy for race.

  The University of California–Davis’s medical school, for example, gives preference to students asserting a “disadvantaged” background.

  The upshot: A full 84 percent of Davis’s medical school entering class for this fall claimed economic and social disadvantages growing up (pdf).

  The result is an entering class that is 14 percent black and 30 percent Latino (blacks and Latinos make up 6 percent and 39 percent of California’s general population, respectively). Some 20 other colleges and universities have inquired about Davis’s complex—and so far secret—“adversity score” methodology, according to a New York Times report.

  A more subtle tactic is likely to be dropping requirements that prospective students submit their SAT or ACT scores. Standardized test scores offer a clear metric for determining a student’s ability to perform college or graduate-level work, but they also provide evidence of racial bias when institutions reject higher-scoring applicants from one ethnic group in favor of lower-scoring applicants from another. Some 80 percent of colleges and universities—including all eight Ivy League campuses and other prestigious institutions such as Stanford and Rice—have already made SAT and ACT results optional in their admissions processes. That makes admissions procedures more opaque and thus more difficult for courts to scrutinize in lawsuits challenging admissions procedures on racial grounds.

  Finally, there’s the ingenious tactic for getting around racial preferences proffered in an amicus curiae brief filed in Students by more than 50 Catholic colleges led by the Jesuit-run Georgetown University. The colleges averred that their religious mission to train leaders devoted to the common good gave them a right, protected by the First Amendment’s religious freedom guarantees, to consider race and ethnicity in their admissions practices, asserting that “as a crucial component of their efforts, Catholic colleges and universities strive to admit and educate racially diverse student bodies.”

  That First Amendment argument made little impression on the Supreme Court, even on its three dissenters who would have upheld racial preferences. But it has gained new life, at least according to some law school professors.

  The Supreme Court, in another 6–3 decision, ruled on June 30 that the First Amendment protected Christian web designer Lorie Smith’s refusal to create wedding websites for same-sex couples on the grounds that she would be forced to express support for views contrary to her religious beliefs. The ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis carved out an exemption from a Colorado law barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It continued a recent line of Supreme Court decisions upholding the right of individuals, businesses, and religious communities to not comply with laws that interfere with their beliefs about such issues as homosexual conduct, abortion, and birth control.

  “The admissions decisions of religious universities to create diverse student bodies are expressive of those schools’ values  in ways that would seem to merit the same kind of protection from state interference the court has granted in cases like 303 Creative,” Kent Greenfield, a constitutional law professor at Boston College, and Eduardo Peñalver, president of Seattle University (both Catholic institutions), wrote in a July 19 article for The Hill headlined “How the First Amendment Can Save Affirmative Action.”

  Should First Amendment arguments such as these prevail in court, we might see secular universities such as Harvard suddenly rediscovering their 17th-century roots as training grounds for religious ministers.

  At the very least, they demonstrate the extent to which institutions are willing to go – and the complex, even contorted strategies they plan to use – to preserve consideration of race in admissions policies even after the Supreme Court has pretty much ruled out that practice.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 22:20

• Obama 'Repeatedly Fantasizes About Making Love To Men': Biographer
  Obama ‘Repeatedly Fantasizes About Making Love To Men’: Biographer

  Was Barack Obama the first gay US president?

  According to an interview with Tablet magazine, Obama biographer David Garrow discussed a letter Obama wrote to a former college girlfriend in which he “repeatedly fantasizes about making love to men.”

  

  “So when Alex showed me the letters from Barack, she redacted one paragraph in one of them and just said, ‘It’s about homosexuality,” Garrow told the outlet, discussing the 1,472-page biography of the former president titled “Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama.”

  The letters made their way to Emory University, where Garrow associate Harvey Klehr manually transcribed the salacious details.

  “So I emailed Harvey, said, ‘Go to the Emory archives.’ He’s spent his whole life at Emory, but they won’t let him take pictures,” said Garrow. “So Harvey has to sit there with a pencil and copy out the graph where Barack writes to Alex about how he repeatedly fantasizes about making love to men.”

  Meanwhile, rumors abound that Michelle may satisfy Barry’s alleged proclivities.

  Stop acting like you never saw Michelle Obama’s testicles dancing on Ellen Degeneres show 😂😂😂 https://t.co/D7hOi0b9Zq pic.twitter.com/VIFW0APaVw

  — S͎K͎E͎L͎E͎T͎O͎R͎🍄🍿 (@Skeletor_1981) August 4, 2023

  RIP Joan Rivers.

  Joan Rivers.. made millions … out of knowing who was who

  Obama was gay and Michelle is a man according to her

  Michelle is a transgender …
  ~Joan Riverspic.twitter.com/q5gPql6ua5

  — Madeleine Case Tweets🌐 (@McCannCaseTweet) August 1, 2023

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

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsAs for the rest of the interview, American Greatness’s Lloyd Billingsley has the following;

  “Whatever you do. Don’t ask him about his father.”

  That was Bob Bauer, lawyer for President Obama, to biographer David Garrow as he prepared to interview the president for the Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama, released in 2017.

  “Barack Obama devoted dozens of hours to reading the first ten chapters of this manuscript,” Garrow says on page 1084, and had “remaining disagreements – some strong indeed – with multiple characterizations and interpretations” in the book. Garrow, who won a Pulitzer Prize for Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, has some rather strong disagreements with Obama.

  “I’ve always thought that the whole Obamacare thing was, in large part, a fraud.” And as for Obama, “he’s not normal—as in not a normal politician or a normal human being.”

  That was Garrow to David Samuels in a rambling August 2 Tablet interview headlined “The Obama Factor.”  Barack Obama is the author of Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, published in 1995. Here is what Garrow said about it in Rising Star:

  “Dreams from My Father was not a memoir or an autobiography; it was instead, in multitudinous ways, without any question a work of historical fiction. It featured many true-to-life figures and a bevy of accurately described events that indeed had occurred, but it employed the techniques and literary license of a novel, and its most important composite character was the narrator himself.”

  “He wants people to believe his story,” Garrow told Samuels. “For me to conclude that Dreams from My Father was historical fiction—oh God, did that infuriate him.” Samuels, who also writes for Harpers, the Atlantic and New York Times Magazine,  countered that “the pose of being a writer is actually one that he prefers in many ways to being a politician.”

  “Oh God, yes. Yes, yes, yes,” said Garrow, “He doesn’t want the writerliness challenged. It’s my story and I’m sticking to it. The book [Dreams] is so fictionalized.”

  In the Dreams novel, the father is the Kenyan Barack Obama, a student at the University of Hawaii. The Kenyan “bequeaths his name” to the American, and by the end of the novel, he becomes a nameless “old man.”

  In all his written communications from 1958-1964, housed at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, the Kenyan Barack Obama makes not a single mention of an American wife and son. Perhaps that is why President Obama never accessed the archive.

  The Dreams author, formerly known as Barry Soetoro, devotes more than 2,000 words to a happy-drunk black poet known only as “Frank.” In Rising Star, Garrow identifies “Frank” as Frank Marshall Davis, a Communist pornographer.

  Paul Kengor’s The Communist: Frank Marshall Davis – The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mentor, revealed “remarkable similarities” between the politics of the Dreams author and Davis, a Stalinist who dedicated most of his life to the all-white dictatorship of the Soviet Union. Davis also bears strong physical resemblance to the Dreams author, who at Occidental College penned a poem to a black poet he calls “Pop.”

  The rising star would “forcefully reject the Davis hypothesis,” Garrow wrote, and “Davis’ Communist background plus his kinky exploits made him politically radioactive.” That is why Barry needed the “historical fiction” of Dreams from My Father, the story about the Kenyan foreign student. Garrow called out the book as fictional, but came up a bit short on the author’s plagiarism.

  In Dreams, the author visits Kenya and the account bears remarkable similarities to I Dreamed of Africa, published in 1991, and the 1994  African Nights. Both books are the work of Italian writer Kuki Gallmann, a longtime resident of Kenya.

  In African Nights, Gallmann and company “camped in the area of Narok, one of the main centers of the proud Maasai tribe.” In Dreams from My Father, the American travels to Narok, “a small trading town where we stopped for gas and lunch.”

  In I Dreamed of Africa and African Nights, the reader finds “the ink-black of Arap Langat” and “the ink-black darkness” where fish are approaching. Under a slate sky lies the “ink-black turmoil of the ocean.” Dreams of My Father speaks of “ink-black stairwells” and “tall ink-black Luos and short brown Kikuyus.” In Kenya, men “dive into inky-black waters.” And so on, with many other passages too similar to be accidental.

  Back in 2008, David Samuels re-read Dreams from My Father and came upon the passage where Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro, takes Barry into the back yard and teaches him to fight.

  “Wait a minute, I know this scene,” Samuels told Garrow. “And then I went back and found the battle royal scene in The Invisible Man.

  “Each of us was issued a pair of boxing gloves and ushered out into the big mirrored hall,” Ralph Ellison wrote. “A glove smacked against my head. . . Blows pounded me from all sides while I struck out as best I could.”

  In Dreams, Barry has a tussle with a boy down the road. The next day, Lolo “had two pairs of boxing gloves,” and they lace them up. “Keep your hands up,” Lolo tells Barry. “You want to keep moving but always stay low. Don’t give them a target.” And so forth.

  “Right, right, right,” says Garrow, who also noted that Dreams “completely omits women. I’ve always thought that there’d eventually be a feminist critique of Obama because his mother and all the girlfriends—they’re not there. They don’t exist.”

  As Garrow reveals, the Dreams author wrote to Alex McNear, his girlfriend at Occidental College, “about how he repeatedly fantasizes about making love to men.” Samuels is more curious about the composite character’s actions in office, for example, the Iran deal.

  “I do find the Iran deal offensive and puzzling,” Garrow said. “I mean, it’s an explicitly antisemitic state.” As Samuels notes, Obama is “fixated on Iran after the Iran deal failed.” The easy explanation is that “Joe Biden is not running that part of his administration. Obama is. He doesn’t even have to pick up the phone because all of his people are already inside the White House.”

  True to form, as Fred Fleitz explains, Biden is planning to evade Congress with a “secret nuclear deal with Iran.”  The composite character president was also fixated on normalizing relations with Cuba, a Communist state.

  “I also found the Cuba thing deeply puzzling and offensive,” Garrow said. “It’s a fucking dictatorship that imprisons all sorts of truly progressive, creative people.” Many of the regime’s political prisoners are black but in the style of Frank, Obama is basically uncritical of the regime’s all-white Stalinist dictatorship.  But then, as David Garrow says, the composite character is not a normal politician or human being.

  In one of his first actions, Obama  canceled missile defense for U.S. allies Poland and the Czech Republic, and Garrow laments his “failure to object to Russia taking Crimea and the Donbas.”

  “For Barack, everything has to be a success,” Garrow explained. “Everything has to be a victory.” And on his own terms, Obama may be the most successful president ever. He transformed the nation into a place where the outgoing president picks his successor and deploys the FBI and DOJ to help Hillary Clinton and harm candidate and President Donald Trump.

  “From the first time I saw it,” Garrow said, “I realized that Christopher Steele’s shit was just complete crap. It was bad corporate intelligence, even. It was nonsensical.” Samuels is also concerned.

  “A new milieu had been created consisting of party operatives, the people in the FBI and the CIA who are carrying out White House policy, and the press,” Samuels explains. “That’s something people still seem loathe to admit, even to themselves, in part because it puts them in a state of dissonance with this new kind of controlled consensus that the press maintains, which is obviously garbage. But if you question it, you’re some kind of nut.” 

  The interview keeps returning to Dreams from My Father, which biographer David Garrow exposed as a novel, infuriating the president. 

  “There was something about this fictional character that he created actually becoming president,” contends Samuels, “that helped precipitate the disaster that we are living through now.” The nation has been transformed into a “Gilded Age oligarchy” by Obama, the “Magic Negro of the billionaire industrial complex.”

  See the full interview for more insight on the man David Garrow says is not a normal politician or normal human being.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 22:00

• Should We Fear Worldcoin?
  Should We Fear Worldcoin?

  Authored by Michael Wilkerson via The Epoch Times,

  We live in an era in which bots regularly masquerade as humans online. Ours is an age in which identity theft and fraud plague online interactions, and where one’s right to privacy and sanctuary are regularly violated with impunity by both government and corporate actors.

  In today’s world of artificial intelligence (AI), bots can solve CAPTCHA puzzles and defeat other attempts to verify humanness. AI programs can create complex deepfake images and writings indistinguishable from work created by individuals. So how can people interacting in cyberspace prove that they are not only human but a unique and particular person? And, ideally, do so while retaining anonymity, i.e., without revealing exactly which real person is acting and without giving away personal details? This challenge is known as the proof-of-personhood (PoP) or unique human problem.

  

  The Worldcoin Foundation is trying to solve the problem of PoP, but some critics aren’t buying it.

  Worldcoin was founded in 2019 by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, whose stated mission is to “create safe AGI [artificial general intelligence] that benefits all humanity.” Worldcoin’s objectives include “establish[ing] universal access to the global economy,” “becom[ing] the world’s largest human identity and financial network,” and “establishing a place for all of us to benefit in the age of AI.”

  Worldcoin anticipates a world in which AI-enabled robots have displaced humans in the workplace and that governments around the world will need to provide humans with some minimum level of financial support, known as universal basic income (UBI). To avoid fraud, the hypothetically billions of UBI recipients would need to prove not only that they are human but also that they are unique (so that one person doesn’t receive multiple allotments). Still, today, a substantial minority of people on this planet have neither bank accounts nor the government-issued ID and other documentation necessary to get one.

  To accomplish these goals, Worldcoin takes a biometric scan of the human eye in order to create a “WorldID,” a cryptographic hash (a unique and non-replicable mathematical algorithm).

  Other than this hash, Worldcoin asserts that no biometric data are transmitted from or retained by the “Orbs,” specially designed cameras intended to be deployed at locations all over the world which capture the images needed to make the WorldID unique to each person.

  Critics, however, warn that Worldcoin’s technology poses risks.

  Vitalek Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, for example, identifies four categories of potential risks:

  1) privacy, i.e., that, despite assurances to the contrary, Orbs could be maliciously hacked and made to release data;

  2) accessibility, i.e., the need for very large numbers of Orbs distributed around the world to scan billions of people;

  3) centralization, which in theory could allow Worldcoin to create a backdoor and misuse or sell data, and even arbitrarily create fake human identities; and

  4) security, e.g., the possibility of using 3D printing or other technology to create fake people and sell WorldIDs. Mr. Buterin concedes that Worldcoin is aware of and is addressing these issues in a better way than previous attempts at creating PoP applications.

  There is also the yuck factor.

  The prospect of having one’s irises scanned by one of Worldcoin’s shiny yet sinister-looking metallic Orbs in order to be provided an indecipherable number to exist as a human being and engage in economic, social, and political processes feels dreadful. It sounds like dystopian science fiction.

  I write in my new book, “Why America Matters”:

  “If a technology exists, then governments will exploit it. Moral implications are considered only rarely. If government can better track its citizens and use technology to keep them under control, they will, unless otherwise prevented…

  If China and other illiberal countries can surveil not just their own citizens at home and abroad, but eventually everyone in the world, why should the United States fail to do the same? Doesn’t this put the U.S. at a strategic disadvantage? This is the dilemma of our age.”

  Biometric data-capture is already widely used.

  From Touch ID on our mobile phones, to Clear at airport security, to Global Entry and Mobile Passport at border control stations, biometric data are regularly used to prove someone is who they say they are. Surveillance cameras on our streets and roadways regularly identify and track us. Whether by fingerprint, iris scan, facial or other markers, each person’s unique identity can be found and validated. And these systems can also be hacked. Some knowledgeable critics of government surveillance and the so-called deep state remain staunchly opposed. Exiled NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, for example, posted on social media in response to Worldcoin, “Don’t use biometrics for anti-fraud. In fact, don’t use biometrics for anything.”

  In a world of AI and existing government surveillance programs, a decentralized private sector proof-of-personhood solution seems not only inevitable but necessary. A world without PoP would be either anarchic or authoritarian, as it would be impossible to transact without government-imposed centralized identity solutions. Surely a nongovernmental PoP solution is desirable to counteract the encroaching power of totalitarian governments. True decentralization is key to achieving that level of privacy and security. Whether Worldcoin will safely provide such a solution is impossible to tell at this stage. In the meantime, it will continue to creep people out.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 21:40

• Uvalde School Shooter's Cousin Arrested For 'Terroristic Threats'
  Uvalde School Shooter’s Cousin Arrested For ‘Terroristic Threats’

  Several left-leaning corporate media outlets have stated, “Stop blaming mental illness for mass shootings” and “Mental illness is not to blame for shooting massacres.” Even the progressive non-profit, Common Dreams, wrote, “Targeting Mental Illness Will Not Prevent Mass Shootings.”

  Could the solution to preventing some of these tragic shootings lie in enhancing mental health resources for those in need? Even suggesting that mental health plays some role in a mass shooting appears controversial. 

  This viewpoint should be reconsidered after the San Antonio Express-News reported that the 17-year-old cousin of the gunman responsible for the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022 was arrested on Monday in what appears to be a ‘mental health crisis’ after threatening to shoot up a school and family member. 

  An arrest affidavit states that Nathan Cruz’s mom “reported the suspect planned to ‘do the same thing’ as his cousin.” He also threatened to shoot another sister in the head, Cruz’s mother told police. His sister believed it was a credible threat “due to the recent history of their family and the suspect’s knowledge of his cousin’s actions.”

  Nathan Cruz

  

  But Salazar said her mom called the police because she was concerned about the threats to his sister, not because he threatened to shoot up a school.

  “The only thing my mom was trying to do by calling the cops was to get him help. He needs mental help. He doesn’t need to be locked up,” Salazar said. — San Antonio Express-News

  Progressive media often highlights the call for increased gun control while ignoring the conversation on mental health. Take a look at Statista data showing mass shootings in the US between 1982 and July 2023, by the presence of prior signs of the shooter’s mental health issues. 

  

  On the gun policy side, Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America, stated: 

  The headline should read, “Texas stops mass shooter without ‘red flag’ law or new gun control.”

  The decision to arrest and charge this dangerous individual, rather than leaving him at large in society to commit a mass act of public violence, is the best way to handle the situation and doesn’t involve any new or unconstitutional gun laws. Anyone calling for more gun control after this incident must clearly believe that our existing gun laws—barring those under 18 from purchasing firearms and the new under-21 background check system—don’t work and aren’t effective public safety tools.

  The crux of the matter is that mental health should be a topic of discussion, not ignored. Moreover, existing gun laws prohibited the 17-year-old from legally possessing a firearm. Also, enforcing stricter gun control will only penalize law-abiding citizens. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 21:20

• Security Video Challenges The Narrative On First Man To Die At Capitol On Jan. 6
  Security Video Challenges The Narrative On First Man To Die At Capitol On Jan. 6

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

  

  The first of four supporters of President Donald Trump to die on Jan. 6, 2021, received emergency medical care away from the fast-growing crowd on the U.S. Capitol’s west plaza—before any explosive munitions were used by police—new security video reveals.

  Capitol Police closed-circuit-television (CCTV) footage obtained by The Epoch Times calls into question the popular narrative that Benjamin James Philips was struck by a police munition before he collapsed from a fatal cardiac event.

  Mr. Philips, 50, of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, had organized a busload of area residents to travel to Washington for Mr. Trump’s speech at the Ellipse. He followed the bus in a van.

  He got separated from the group when he drove away to search for parking. He got as far as the U.S. Capitol that day but never made it back home.

  It has long been contended that Mr. Philips’s death was related to police riot munitions. A popular version of the story is that he was in the thick of the quickly expanding crowd on the west plaza beneath the inauguration stage when he was struck by an explosive munition tossed or shot by police.

  A large sign with an artist’s sketch of Mr. Philips is often seen at Jan. 6 events contending that he was “murdered by Capitol Police.”

  However, the previously unreleased CCTV video, which was obtained by The Epoch Times from a Capitol Police database, shows that an unconscious Mr. Philips was tended to by protesters behind the large scaffolding complex on the west side, away from the main crowd.

  A west dome security camera shows the small area where Mr. Philips later collapsed was breached by the crowd at 12:58:52, shortly after a much larger crowd breached the iron fence protecting the west plaza. Several bike-rack barricades were pushed over as the crowd surged forward.

  The camera isn’t zoomed in, so distinguishing details is difficult, but the video appears to show someone stumbling and falling at 12:59:17 in the spot where Mr. Philips was later seen. Bystanders began to gather around the downed individual.

  The zoomed-in video of Mr. Philips’s rescue attempt begins at 1:02:51 p.m. That’s the time that the U.S. Capitol Police Command Center trained one of its security cameras on the area where he fell. While the closeup video doesn’t show the moment Mr. Philips collapsed, it picks up shortly after bystanders rendered medical aid and started CPR.

  The first Capitol Police radio call for help was broadcast at 1:04 p.m., according to Jan. 6, 2021, audio recordings obtained by The Epoch Times.

  “Can you please have someone respond to my location with an AED [automated external defibrillator]? The bottom of the west front with an individual that’s down here, unconscious and not breathing,” a female officer broadcast on the main U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) radio channel.

  

  According to CCTV footage reviewed by The Epoch Times, the first police munitions on Jan. 6, 2021, weren’t used on the west front crowd until 1:10 p.m., about 10 minutes after the first breach of police lines near the Peace Monument. This was moments before Mr. Trump finished his speech at the Ellipse, which is two miles from the Capitol.

  Capitol Police Deputy Chief Eric Waldow ordered “less-than-lethal” force to be used on the crowd just prior to 1:06 p.m., according to police radio transmissions obtained by The Epoch Times. It wasn’t until nearly five minutes later that force was actually used.

  “I got a crowd fighting with officers, pushing, throwing projectiles,” Deputy Chief Waldow broadcast. “I have given warnings about chemical munitions. I need the less-than-lethal team positioned above me to identify the agitators and start deploying. Launch, launch, launch!“

  Security video shows that the iron railing and fence blocking access to the west plaza was breached by protesters at 12:58:41 p.m. Thousands of people quickly filled the plaza.

  The first use of explosive force occurred on the south end of the plaza—the opposite side of the west front, where Mr. Philips went down.

  Overhead CCTV video footage reviewed by The Epoch Times shows that there were no police munitions used on the north side of the plaza until 20 minutes after Mr. Philips collapsed. By this time, Mr. Philips was in a D.C. Fire and EMS Department ambulance.

  The first munitions on that side of the plaza went off far back in the crowd at 1:21 p.m. At 1:25 p.m., two flashes were seen just north of the center of the plaza. Seconds later, two more powerful explosions cleared a circle around where the munitions dropped. This set off visible rage among the protesters.

  Over the next hour, more than 40 munitions exploded in the crowd, most of them in the northern half of the west plaza, bodycam and security video footage shows.

  

  A woman who appeared to have a medical kit took charge of performing CPR on Mr. Philips. She took turns doing chest compressions with a U.S. Capitol Police officer.

  “Be advised that the person on the northwest side of the upper west terrace is now receiving CPR,” a male USCP officer told the police Command Center. “Have the ambulance come down the northwest sidewalk.”

  A man in full camouflage tactical gear standing nearby extended his left hand in prayer and was joined by several others in the crowd.

  A group of bystanders appeared to offer opinions on how best to provide advanced life support for Mr. Philips, the video footage shows.

  A Capitol Police officer was concerned that the crowd was getting too agitated.

  “We need this ambulance,” he said over the USCP radio at 1:13 p.m. “We’re about to lose control of this crowd down here.”

  ‘Refusing to Come Down’

  At about 1:15 p.m., an out-of-breath officer announced that the D.C. Fire and EMS Department rescue squad wouldn’t come down to the scaffolding where Mr. Philips lay on the sidewalk.

  “They are bringing the patient up to the ambulance right now,” he shouted on the radio. “They are refusing to come down.”

  Another officer said, “The group is carrying the individual up to the ambulance up the northwest drive.”

  A dozen or so bystanders and police officers laid a section of bicycle rack flat on the sidewalk. After placing Mr. Philips on it, the group lifted the rack and carried it like a battlefield stretcher.

  A woman straddled Mr. Philips and continued CPR as the group carried them about 100 yards up the sidewalk to rescue Squad 18. They turned Mr. Philips over to paramedics at 1:19 p.m.

  According to the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Mr. Philips died from a stroke. His manner of death was listed by the pathologist, Dr. Fernando Diaz, as “natural,” and the cause was hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

  Mr. Philips was a self-employed computer programmer and toy inventor. He founded Trumparoo LLC, which marketed a line of Trump-inspired toys that went on sale in 2020.

  The “Trumparoo” was a kangaroo bedecked with a swirling Trumpian coiffure. He developed a Trumparoo social-media-style website where owners of the toys could communicate.

  Mr. Philips got the idea after seeing actress Alyssa Milano post on social media about Trumpy Bear, a stuffed toy with Trump’s signature hairstyle and red tie.

  “I thought a kangaroo would be even better than a bear,” Mr. Philips told the local Press Enterprise newspaper in September 2020. “Kangaroos are fighters.”

  He developed other characters in the Trumparoo line, including “Fightin’ Trumparoo the Heavyweight,” “Fightin’ Trumparoo the Hippo,” and “Count Trumpula.”

  Mr. Philips organized a rally in Bloomsburg on Nov. 14, 2020, to protest election fraud. At about the same time, he established the website ScummyDemocrats.com, which carried his views about the 2020 presidential election. He called the site the Scummy Democrat Accountability Project. The home page headline read: “Remember What They Did.”

  On Jan. 6, 2021, he drove a van to Washington while other Trump supporters went on a motor coach. He told a Philadelphia newspaper that he was eager to hear what Mr. Trump had to say at the Ellipse.

  “It seems like he called us there for a reason,” Mr. Philips said. “I think something big’s about to go down that no one’s talking about yet. I think he has an ace up his sleeve.”

  He spoke openly about election fraud and the meaning of the forthcoming rally with Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Julia Terruso. In an interview with her during the ride to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, he spoke what turned out to be prophetic words.

  “It seems like the first day of the rest of our lives, to be honest,” Mr. Philips said. “They should name this Year Zero because something will happen.“

  The Epoch Times was unable to reach members of Mr. Philips’ family for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 21:00

• 66% Of Finance Workers Would Quit If Work-From-Home Was Taken Away
  66% Of Finance Workers Would Quit If Work-From-Home Was Taken Away

  For further proof that the “work from home” trend that started during Covid has spoiled employees rotten, about 66% of respondents in a new survey of 700 financial executives working remotely said they would quit their jobs if forced to return to the office 5 days a week.

  The revelation came as part of a survey published this week by Deloitte, reported on by Banking Dive. 

  Among the key revelations in the Deloitte survey were:

  • Overall survey results indicate that financial services institutions (FSIs) with overly strict in-office mandates could face dual challenges: possibly losing their pipeline of leaders and having difficulty recruiting talent.

  • Among respondents who still work remotely at least part-time, 66% say they will likely leave their current role if mandated to return to the office five days a week.

  • Among surveyed caregivers, those who work remotely or have hybrid arrangements are 1.3 times more likely than responding noncaregivers to say they’ll leave their current role if their ability to work remotely was eliminated.

  • Some FSIs now require their workforce to return to the office three to four days a week. But only 18% of respondents say this would be their ideal arrangement.

  • While remote working has improved respondents’ engagement and well-being, most of those surveyed believe remote work models will put them at a disadvantage. This could erode engagement and commitment levels over time.

  • Financial services firms face a palpable risk of losing talented women leaders. Almost half of women respondents in senior leadership roles report being likely to leave their current employer over the next year.

  

  More than half of those who responded (52%) admitted that they thought in-office workers were paid more — it was a tradeoff they were willing to accept. 63% of those responding also thought that in-office workers were promoted more. 60% of those who responded said that they thought employees with caregiver responsibilities, working under the hybrid model, were less likely to be promoted. 

  But about 75% of men and 67% of women said that hybrid work life allowed them better relationships with their children. 18% of survey respondents said they preferred to work in the office 3 or 4 days a week, and 62% said they thought it would hurt their careers if they came in less. 

  Neda Shemluck, Deloitte’s U.S. financial services DEI leader, commented: “There’s a perception that employers want people in the office 100% of the time and employees don’t want to be in the office at all, and that’s not true.”

  Shemluck continued: “The struggle is, how do you still require some in-person connectivity, and yet provide autonomy to team leaders to determine what is best for their teams?”

  

  “If an organization is mandating hybrid for one or two days, there needs to be transparency around the implications to you as an employee or as a team leader if you are tracking differently from that. Right now the challenge is the speculation as to the career impact that will have, without the transparency of long-term implications,” she added. “You have to take small steps and constantly do pulse checks and get real reactions as to what is working, and recognize that you’re going to constantly pivot. We had hundreds of years of working one way; it’s going to take us a long time to get comfortable with this new way of working, and it’s going to be an iterative process.”

  Recall, we have been writing about how Wall Street banks have been mandating that their employees come back to the office now that the Covid hysteria has subsided. In March 2023, we wrote about how the era of working from home was drawing to a close. Returning to the office hasn’t gone over well everywhere. In Seattle, Amazon employees are protesting returning the office due to “climate change”, among other idiotic reasons, we wrote about in June. 

  We also noted in June that NYC office occupancy had hit 50% for the first time since the Covid crunch. 

  Kastle Systems, the gold-standard measure of office-occupancy trends via card-swipe data, shows NYC hit 50.5% in the week ending June 7, the highest level in three years but still far from the near 100% occupancy level before the pandemic. 

  

  “The milestone came just as the city was engulfed in smoke from Canadian wildfires, briefly becoming the most polluted major city in the world,” Bloomberg pointed out. 

  Reverting to pre-Covid times is impossible. Companies are axing employees while reducing office space. Real estate firm Colliers said office space available for lease in Manhattan climbed to a record high during the first quarter of 2023. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 20:40

• 'Native American Guardians Association' Petition To Restore Washington Redskins Name Goes Viral
  ‘Native American Guardians Association’ Petition To Restore Washington Redskins Name Goes Viral

  Via The Post Millennial,

  A Change.org petition in support of changing the Washington football team’s name BACK to the Redskins has gone viral and is racking up tens of thousands of signatures in real time.

  

  At the time of publication, the petition was nearing its goal of 75,000 people.

  The petition was launched by an organization called the Native American Guardians Association whose stated goal is to end the “cancel culture” of Native Americans. 

  NAGA spox Healy Baumgardner joined Newsmax’s Carl Higbie to discuss the groups efforts, quipping that the Washington Commanders must be getting advised by Megan Rapinoe.

  🚨BREAKING: @CarlHigbie and @healybaum discuss the new @GuardiansNative nationwide petition campaign to change the @Commanders back to The Washington Redskins @NEWSMAX

  Over 63,000 have signed so far and it’s just getting started!

  End the cancel culture of Native Americans! pic.twitter.com/CgqjaLp1mf

  — Eric Spracklen🇺🇸 (@EricSpracklen) August 7, 2023

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

  Prominent X users like ALX and Ashley St. Clair have shared the petition.

  St. Clair said: “This is the best thing I’ve ever seen – The Native American Guardians Association @Guardiansnative is petitioning to get the Washington Redskins name back.”

  This is the best thing I’ve ever seen

  The Native American Guardians Association @Guardiansnative is petitioning to get the Washington Redskins name back 😂😂

  SIGN THE PETITION TO OWN THE WOKE WASHINGTON COMMANDERS
  https://t.co/WXlTyVp5AY

  — Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) August 8, 2023

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

  BREAKING: @GuardiansNative petition to #ReclaimTheName ‘Washington Redskins’ now has over 60,000 signatures

  SIGN HERE: https://t.co/qaVFAvGbN4

  — ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) August 7, 2023

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

  In a letter to Commanders owners and key leadership, the group congratulated the new owners for their purchase of the team, and urged the return to the historic name of the team.

  🚨BREAKING: Native American Guardian’s Association Founder & President Eunice Davidson Sent a Demand Letter Today to Washington “Commanders” Ownership & Key Leadership Formally Requesting The Team Revitalize it’s Relationship With The American Indian Community & Rightfully Change… pic.twitter.com/cpau4hVq6H

  — Native American Guardians Association (@GuardiansNative) August 7, 2023

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

  “This is not a partisan issue; it reaches across the political spectrum dating back to our Founding Fathers. The Native American Guardian’s Association (NAGA) stands up for and is not only fighting back to preserve key elements of American History and the 1st and 14th Amendment, NAGA is fighting for the civil liberties of every American,” the letter, dated August 7, stated.

  “Americans see they are losing their rights because of a vicious cancel culture that shows little care for their concerns or civil liberties; It is time to support leaders, brands, and organizations who will stand with every American, rather than fighting against them.”

  NAGA wrote that the Redskins had a “long and mutually beneficial relationship with the American Indian community,” dating back to the team’s founding as the Boston Braves in 1932, which had a Native American coach.

  The team was renamed the Redskins in 1933, the letter stated, and carried that name for 87 years, during which the team won five NFL championships and three Super Bowls.

  “At this moment in history, we are formally requesting that the team revitalize its relationship with the American Indian community by (i) changing the name back to ‘The Redskins’ which recognizes America’s original inhabitants and (ii) using the team’s historic name and legacy to encourage Americans to learn about, not cancel, the history of America’s tribes and our role in the founding og this great nation.”

  NAGA said that as a team representing the nation’s capital, “you have a distinct opportunity to recognize the history and value of the American Indian,” adding that other teams carrying Native American-based names have kept such names “with the recognition that it carries an obligation of honor and respoect.”

  NAGA requested a working group to meet with the team’s owner and key leadership “to begin further dialogue on next steps,” adding that the group has launched a national advocacy campaign as well as an online petition.

  “Should we need to encourage a national boycott similar to what happened to Anheuser Busch (Bud Light) which is now down $27 billion (note, not one brick thrown, not one highway blocked, not one building burned) we will do just that,” the group stated.

  The petition reads in part:

  “We, are passionate supporters of the Washington Redskins and its rich history. We write to you today as a collective voice, urging you to reconsider the recent name change from the Redskins to the Commanders. We believe that restoring the original name, the Redskins, is the right decision for the team, its loyal fanbase, and the legacy it represents.

  “The name ‘Redskins’ carries deep cultural, historical, and emotional significance, honoring the bravery, resilience, and warrior spirit associated with Native American culture. It was never intended as a derogatory or offensive term but as a symbol of respect and admiration. Changing the name abruptly disregards the positive legacy that the Redskins name has built over the years and disorients the passionate fans who have invested their emotions, time, and unwavering support in the team.

  “We acknowledge the concerns surrounding cultural sensitivity and the need to foster inclusivity. However, we firmly believe that there are alternative ways to honor and respect Native American heritage without erasing it. By reclaiming the Redskins name, we have the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue, educational initiatives, and collaborations with Native American communities. Together, we can promote cultural appreciation, address misconceptions, and work towards a more inclusive society.

  “The name ‘Commanders’ fails to capture the essence, tradition, and historical weight associated with the Redskins. It lacks the uniqueness, emotional connection, and pride that our team’s original name embodies. The change to “Commanders” dilutes our team’s identity and weakens the connection with its devoted fanbase. By restoring the Redskins name, we reinstate a symbol of unity, strength, and shared identity that has inspired generations of fans.”

  Back in July, the Washington Commanders reportedly sent a direct message to a Twitter account dedicated to their former team name, requesting them to add the words “fan” or “unofficial” to the name in order for fans not to be confused whether it’s an official team account.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 20:20

• A Soda-A-Day Could Result In Liver Cancer; New Study Finds
  A Soda-A-Day Could Result In Liver Cancer; New Study Finds

  It’s no secret that sugar-sweetened beverages cause obesity, but new research shows just one soda a day won’t keep the doctor away. In fact, soda pop might increase the risks of cancer and liver disease-related mortality. 

  Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, published a study titled “Sugar-Sweetened and Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Liver Cancer and Chronic Liver Disease Mortality” in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday, explaining a possible link between the regular consumption of sweetened drinks and death due to liver cancer. The study involved nearly 100,000 postmenopausal women followed for a median of twenty years. 

  The study’s lead authors, Dr. Longgang Zhao, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Xuehong Zhang, ScD, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, revealed participants who consumed sugar-sweetened beverages daily had a chronic liver disease mortality rate of 17.7 per 100,000 person-years. In contrast, this rate decreased to 7.1 for individuals who consumed such drinks three times or less monthly. No significant cancer risk was observed for artificially sweetened beverages.

  “In postmenopausal women, compared with consuming 3 or fewer servings of sugar-sweetened beverages per month, those who consumed 1 or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day had a higher incidence of liver cancer and death from chronic liver disease,” the researchers said. 

  They added, “Future studies should confirm these findings and identify the biological pathways of these associations.” 

  

  The research comes as ‘fat acceptance’ seeks to eliminate the social stigma of morbidity obese people while some snack on processed foods and soda pop from mega-junk-food corporations. We wonder who exactly is funding that movement… 

  While it’s being revealed that many of the ultra-processed foods and soda pop have been linked to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases — there’s a movement among institutional investors with stakes in the world’s largest food company, Nestlé, who have called on the company to improve its portfolio of unhealthy food and drinks. 

  Maybe all the climate alarmist ESG folks need to refocus their attention on the health of the masses who are fed ultra-processed foods like cattle, which has triggered an epidemic of obesity. 

  But how dare we even bring that up as Wall Street and the pension funds profit off fat America with Novo Nordisk hitting a record high on its new obesity drug Wegovy.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 20:00

• RFK Jr. Exposes 'The Wuhan Cover Up'
  RFK Jr. Exposes ‘The Wuhan Cover Up’

  Authored by Robert Malone via The Brownstone Institute,

  The title of US Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new book, The Wuhan Cover Up, does not really represent the scope and nature of this seminal work. 

  This book is the most comprehensive historic summary and indictment of the history of the United States’ biowarfare/biodefense program ever written.

  

  Summarizing an amazing sweep of untold censored history, it begins with ancient Mediterranean and European examples of both chemical and biological warfare, proceeds to an open discussion of the shocking truths concerning Imperial Japan’s WWII biowarfare program (Unit 731), the importation of both Japanese and German biowarfare experts and technologies into Fort Detrick to create USAMRIID (operation Paperclip), strategic evasion of global biowarfare “treaties,” through to the present Wuhan Institute of Virology CIA/Intelligence Community/Chinese CCP collusion and cover up, and concludes by glancing into the future.

  What is often overlooked by academia, corporate media, and the Washington, DC political caste is that the history of modern biology (particularly microbiology, molecular biology, and virology) and the infectious disease pharmaceutical industry is intimately entwined with the American biowarfare enterprise. 

  It has been estimated that total Federal expenditures on biowarfare research and development from the end of WWII through to the implementation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (1975) exceeded the costs of the US Nuclear Warfare program during this period, and this biowarfare program (and funding stream) is intimately linked to academia.  

  Most of the leaders of the American Society of Microbiology were also leaders in the American DoD/CIA-funded biowarfare program.  This background and context is necessary to understand how the fundamental corruption of academic medicine, peer-reviewed journals, the CDC, FDA, biological and academic research have been so comprehensive, as has been revealed by the COVID crisis. 

  Just follow the money.

  Which leads us to the most recent and egregious sordid chapter in this sorry tale, The Wuhan Cover Up. 

  A case study demonstrating the consequences of the situational ethical slide which often occurs when a massive administrative bureaucracy fuses with an “intelligence community.” 

  The resulting Leviathan, steeped in the utilitarian “ends justify the means” logic typical of all those skilled liars who have practiced spycraft throughout the ages, eventually forgets both its purpose and its commitment to serving the citizenry, and becomes a predatory monster. 

  With his masterful summary, Mr. Kennedy has provided the receipts on how this modern embodiment of the slouching beast foretold in Yeats’ “Second Coming” has been born and nurtured via a cooperation of convenience between the Western and Eastern military/intelligence/industrial complexes. 

  Now, looking forward, the open question is whether this globalized Leviathan will continue to succeed in its efforts to deploy advanced psychological and information control methods on the entire human community to avoid the consequences of its actions?

  Or will this book and the work of so many others trigger an awareness, awakening, and effective reaction among citizens to the deep corruption of medical-biological research, medical ethics, and the entire Western “health” enterprise which has occurred over the last century? 

  With this book as a guide, we can see the enemy, the face of creeping globalized utilitarian evil, and it is us. 

  *  *  *

  Reprinted from the author’s Substack

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 19:40

• Internet Adoption In America: Who Isn't Online Yet?
  Internet Adoption In America: Who Isn’t Online Yet?

  The internet is so widely used today that for many, it’s hard to imagine life without it. Yet, despite its prevalence, there’s still a small fraction of Americans who aren’t online.

  Who are these non-adopters? Using data from Pew Research Center, Visual Capitalist’s Carmen Ang and Sam Parker created this this graphic providing a demographic breakdown of the U.S. adults who don’t use the internet.

  

  The Demographic Breakdown

  In the last two decades, internet adoption in the U.S. has skyrocketed, causing America’s offline population shrink to just 7%.

  That’s a significant drop from 2000, when almost half of the American population did not use the internet.

  According to the data, age seems closely linked to non-internet use—25% of respondents aged 65+ claimed they do not use the internet, compared to just 4% of those aged 50-64.

  

  However, it’s worth noting that 86% of U.S. seniors (65+) weren’t online in 2000, so this age group has seen a significant increase in internet adoption over the last two decades.

  Income also seems to be correlated with non-internet use. 14% of respondents with an annual household income below $30,000 claimed to not use the internet, compared to 1% who make $75,000 or more per year.

  

  Additionally, education may have positive correlation with internet adoption. Just 2–3% of survey respondents who went to college claimed to not use the internet, compared to 14% for those who didn’t study beyond high school. Interestingly, the data did not show a strong correlation between non-adoption and gender or race.

  Why is This Important?

  As the world becomes increasingly more digital, the internet is starting to become a necessity rather than a luxury. And those who don’t have good access to the web are starting to face significant obstacles in their day-to-day lives.

  For instance, when schools closed down during the early days of the global pandemic, many American children in lower-income homes did not have reliable internet at home or didn’t have a computer to complete their schoolwork on.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 19:20

• Trump Attorney Says Pence's Testimony Could Prove Trump's Innocence In Jan. 6 Case
  Trump Attorney Says Pence’s Testimony Could Prove Trump’s Innocence In Jan. 6 Case

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

  

  Former President Donald Trump’s attorney said Sunday that he welcomes former Vice President Mike Pence’s testimony and expects it could be key in proving Mr. Trump’s innocence in a case over whether the former president committed crimes in connection with efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election.

  Attorney John Lauro said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that Mr. Trump’s defense team believes Mr. Pence’s court testimony could be crucial in exonerating the former president of any wrongdoing in the so-called Jan. 6 case.

  In the case, special counsel Jack Smith has charged Mr. Trump with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding—the certification of the electoral vote—and conspiracy against the rights of citizens.

  Mr. Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election, has pleaded not guilty and has alleged that the case is a form of election interference meant to thwart his White House bid.

  ‘Our Best Witness’

  In his appearance on CBS, Mr. Lauro said he believes Mr. Pence “will be our best witness” whose testimony could prove that Mr. Trump genuinely believed he was robbed of victory in 2020 and followed expert legal advice in seeking to challenge the results with no criminal intent to his actions.

  “The reason why Vice President Pence will be so important to the defense is … number one, he agrees that John Eastman, who gave legal advice to President Trump, was an esteemed legal scholar,” Mr. Lauro told the outlet.

  “Number two, he agrees that there were election irregularities, fraud, unlawful actions at the state level. All of that will eviscerate any allegation of criminal intent on the part of President Trump,” he added.

  Mr. Lauro added that Mr. Pence believed doubts around the 2020 election were legitimate enough to warrant debate during the proceedings on Jan. 6, 2021, when lawmakers assembled Capitol Hill to certify the Electoral College vote.

  Ahead of Jan. 6, Mr. Pence’s chief of staff said that the former vice president welcomed an effort by some lawmakers to raise objections on Jan. 6.

  “Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election,” Marc Short, who was then Mr. Pence’s chief of staff, said in a statement on Jan. 2, 2021. remove

  Mr. Lauro added that there was a “constitutional disagreement” between Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence around whether the vice president at the time had the legal authority to reject questionable electoral votes and kick the issue back to the states for further debate or audit.

  The attorney said that, at the end of the day, what Mr. Trump wanted from Mr. Pence to do on Jan. 6 was not to overturn the results of the election but stop the counting of electoral votes to allow further debate at the state level.

  “The ultimate ask of Vice President Pence was to pause the counts and allow the states to weigh in,” Mr. Lauro said.

  He added that Mr. Trump was convinced there were irregularities in the election that needed to be investigated by state authorities before final certification.

  “The bottom line is never, never in our country’s history, have those kinds of disagreements been prosecuted criminally,” he added.

  Mr. Lauro rejected the notion that Mr. Trump would plead guilty under any circumstances and that his defense team will seek a motion to dismiss the case.

  Pence Insists He Had No Authority to Return Votes Back to States

  Mr. Pence, meanwhile, told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that he had no right to reject electoral votes on Jan. 6.

  “President Trump was wrong. He was wrong then. He’s wrong now. I had no right to overturn the election,” Mr. Pence told the outlet.

  Asked about the characterization by Mr. Lauro that all that he was asked to do on Jan. 6 was to delay the proceedings so that states could carry out an audit of the votes, Mr. Pence disputed that portrayal.

  “That’s not what happened,” Mr. Pence told the outlet. “From sometime in the middle of December, the president began to be told that I had some authority to reject or return votes back to the states. I had no such authority. No vice president in American history had ever asserted that authority and no one ever should.”

  While Mr. Pence acknowledged that the issue of whether the vice president has the authority to reject electoral votes “ebbed and flowed between different legal theories” but that, at the end of the day, Mr. Pence became convinced he did not have the legal authority to do so.

  In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Mr. Pence insisted that Mr. Trump’s team had asked him outright to overturn the results of the election.

  “They were asking me to overturn the election. I had no right to overturn the election,” Mr. Pence told the outlet.

  Meanwhile, Mr. Pence said recently that he’s unsure whether or not Mr. Trump actually committed any crime in relation to the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.

  “I don’t know, honestly I don’t know the full case … that the government has. I think I’ve said on your network many times that I don’t know if taking bad advice from lawyers is a crime,” Mr. Pence said an interview with Fox News.

  The former vice president later added that he believes it is best to “leave that legal process, and frankly the profound issues about the First Amendment, to the courts to sort that out.”

  Asked during the CBS interview whether he thought the criminal indictment against Mr. Trump is a political persecution of the former president, as Mr. Trump has alleged, the former vice president said he’s not sure.

  “I don’t know whether the government has the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt to support this case,” Mr. Pence said, while adding that he’s been “very concerned about politicization at the Justice Department for years,” mentioning the so-called Russia hoax and the impeachment of Mr. Trump over a phone call.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 19:00

• Japanese Automakers Are Losing Ground To Domestic Competition In China
  Japanese Automakers Are Losing Ground To Domestic Competition In China

  Japanese automakers are entering a fight for survival in China, a market they once easily held significant ground in. Instead, now, automakers based in Japan will have to take the next few years to reevaluate whether or not business is worth even continuing in China. 

  Japanese companies have “been losing long-held ground”, according to the Wall Street Journal, who notes that Nissan is “facing major challenges” in the geography. For its year ending in March, Nissan expected to sell 800,000 vehicles in China, which is 330,000 fewer than it originally intended. 

  Its new EV and hybrid lineup “will be the determinant of our survival,” Chief Executive Makoto Uchida said last month.

  Honda is also facing challenges, according to its finance head, Masaharu Hirose. Hirose said this week that competition was making it difficult for the automaker to hit its previously announced goal of 1.4 million vehicles sold in the country this year.

  

  Mazda has sold only about half the vehicles in China that it sold in the same period last year, WSJ writes. Its CFO said this week: “We are taking urgent action to recover” instead of withdrawing from the market. Mitsubishi has already suspended production at a joint venture it has in China, as a result of “sluggish sales”. 

  “For now, they’re really behind,” said Takaki Nakanishi, head of Tokyo-based automotive consulting firm Nakanishi Research Institute of Japanese automakers. “For the Japanese auto industry, which has until this point centered itself around sales in China and the U.S., it may be on a path to lose one of those cores.”

  Recall just weeks ago we wrote about how Chinese automakers were dethroning competition from the West. 

  Local auto brands produced in China made up 54% of the wholesale car market for the first half of 2023, The Wall Street Journal noted last month. This is up from 48% a year prior and marks the second 6 month period wherein local brands have surpassed foreign ones in a row. 

  It’s no secret that NEVs are leading the charge for China’s home grown vehicles. We noted last month that NEV sales in China were up 25.2% YOY, totaling 665,000 units. Passenger vehicle output fell 0.5% YOY but was up 10.3% sequentially, coming in at 2.2 million units. 

  It’s no secret that NEVs are leading the charge for China’s home grown vehicles. We noted just days ago that NEV sales in China were up 25.2% YOY, totaling 665,000 units. Passenger vehicle output fell 0.5% YOY but was up 10.3% sequentially, coming in at 2.2 million units. 

  

  9 of China’s 10 best selling electric vehicles makers were local companies, led by BYD, the Journal reported. Tesla was the only foreign automaker on the EV Top 10. The country’s focus on EVs since 2009 has turned it from a global “follower” to a global “leader” in the industry. 

  Stephen Dyer, a Shanghai-based auto consultant at AlixPartners, told WSJ other other automakers would have to learn from China’s developing trend if they want to find success in the market.

  Many Western companies started to step away from China after its auto market peaked in 2017. ICE vehicle sales had fallen by about 8 million vehicles by 2022, following this peak and as a result of demand compression from Covid amid a shift to NEVs.

  Ford has since reduced investments in China since its Mach-E wasn’t as successful as originally planned in the country.

  And Honda’s Chief Operating Officer Shinji Aoyama commented earlier this year: “Japanese, American and European automakers all have this sense that they were too late to make the initial moves. We’re now in a phase of trying our best to catch up.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 18:40

• Army Officer Court-Martialed After Refusing To Soften Findings Of Probe Of Suicides At Base
  Army Officer Court-Martialed After Refusing To Soften Findings Of Probe Of Suicides At Base

  Authored by J.M.Phelps via The Epoch Times,

  An Army officer was court-martialed after she refused requests to change recommendations she made that were critical of command while probing suicides at a military facility, according to her lawyer.

  

  The Army brought 24 charges against Army Reservist Lt. Col. Joy Thomas, and her trial began on June 20 at North Carolina’s Fort Bragg, now known as Fort Liberty. Two weeks later, she was found guilty of only one charge of disrespecting a senior officer and given a $1,000 fine.

  Lt. Col. Thomas’s attorney R. Davis Younts, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and former Judge Advocate General officer, said the charges against his client were “retaliatory” and accused her command of acting “vitriolically” when Lt. Col. Thomas was only doing what she believed was right.

  Lt. Col. Thomas’s career began at the U.S. Army’s lowest enlisted rank. After 18 years of service, she achieved the rank of senior commissioned officer.

  Problems arose while she was completing an active-duty tour at Fort Bragg. In 2018, she was tasked with three suicide investigations. A “rash” of suicides has plagued the Army installation in the past several years, and her findings and recommendations were critical of command, Mr. Younts said, adding that, “they tried to get her to change them.” Five other investigating officers had reached the same conclusions.

  “Command just kept trying to find someone to say something more favorable, and when she didn’t, they had it out for my client,” Mr. Younts said, describing her career as “absolutely stellar” and calling her “a top-notch performer” in all previous military assignments.

  Lt. Col. Thomas faced court-martial for 24 charges involving allegations of desertion, absent without official leave (AWOL), and false official statements. Mr. Younts represented her at trial, which resulted in punishment for only one incident of “rolling her eyes and having a disrespectful tone,” he said. While Mr. Younts considered this a natural response to “the animosity of her chain of command,” he also acknowledged that “the judge needed to send a message that even on the worst day, soldiers still have to respect rank and the uniform.”

  Before the trial, Lt. Col.Thomas became the “black sheep” of her unit, and her command began to “do things that would have never been done to any other soldier,” Mr. Younts said. A career officer with aspirations to become a general “literally put his hand in her face during a very disrespectful, angry outburst,” he said. Despite having the incident witnessed by 24 soldiers, she was threatened not to file a complaint. “But she did file a complaint and that started an investigation into the colonel,” he said. The Epoch Times has viewed a copy of the document. As a result, he was “flagged,” according to Mr. Younts, preventing his promotion to general.

  In another example, Lt. Col. Thomas was marked absent without leave for four days. This was merely an attempt to “hurt” her career, Mr. Younts said, as the entire installation was closed for inclement weather.

  In a separate incident unrelated to her work assignment, she lost consciousness and suffered a concussion. “A friend contacted her command from her phone and let them know she was in the hospital,” he said.

  Lt. Col. Thomas ended up in the hospital for two weeks. While there, her command “counseled” her, and served her with separation papers at the hospital, as if she had abandoned her military duty, Mr. Younts said. After two weeks in the hospital, she was scheduled for further neurological evaluation with the primary care doctor on base.

  “She leaves the hospital, goes to that medical appointment, and the doctor tells her to come back the next day.”

  She was arrested upon returning to the base the following day, an incident Mr. Younts called “shocking.”

  “They charged her with being AWOL.”

  With ongoing, apparent retaliation from her command, Lt. Col. Thomas went to the provost marshal, the police authority, at the installation. She let him know she no longer felt safe reporting to her superior officer. Mr. Younts said she felt like command was “constantly harassing her, abusing AWOL, and doing things to set her up to get her into trouble.”

  After being threatened by the career officer in the above-mentioned confrontation, she asked for a no-contact order through the Provost Marshall’s office. Mr. Younts said, “her supervisor denied knowing that she ever requested a no-contact order.” But at trial, the now-retired provost marshal testified that a complaint was filed and that he personally notified her supervisor, directly contradicting the supervisor’s testimony.

  A Missed Opportunity

  Lt. Col. Thomas attempted to leave her current duty assignment to pursue another position in the military in the spring of 2021. Col. June Copeland, who has since retired, had hoped to hire her for “a very critical mission project,” according to Mr. Younts. Not only is Col. Copeland a West Point graduate, but her three daughters also graduated from the military academy. Lt. Col. Thomas considered the opportunity to work alongside Col. Copeland to be a much-needed boost to her increasingly stressful career.

  “Because Thomas’ chain of command was retaliating against her, they didn’t want her to leave,” Mr. Younts said.

  “Within 48 hours of speaking to Copeland, a flag appeared on Thomas’s record.”

  Lt. Col. Thomas would be unable to take the position as a result. Col. Copeland later testified at trial that there was no flag on Lt. Col. Thomas’ record at the time she was being considered for the position.

  “All these things were—and remain—deeply concerning, as each circumstance was being used as a weapon against her,” Mr. Younts said.

  “Even after being charged with disrespect toward a senior officer and being ordered to pay a thousand dollar fine,” Mr. Younts said, “the government still asked for a dismissal.”

  A dismissal is the equivalent of a dishonorable discharge for an officer, he explained.

  “Had she gotten a dismissal, she would have lost the benefits she earned, [including] her retirement, her medical, and more.”

  Mr. Younts strongly believes the findings and the sentence were intended to send a message to command that there were significant leadership failures. According to him, Lt. Col. Thomas should have avoided court-martial altogether and received nothing more than an Article 15 from her command to discipline her for the minor offense, which would have allowed her to move to her next assignment.

  He said an Article 15 would have been “an easy fix” that would have allowed Lt. Col. Thomas to “use her expertise and continue to pursue opportunities that would have been valuable to the United States Army, but her command continued to punish her instead.”

  “It was very, very troubling to see how personal the attacks were against Thomas,” he said.

  “It just gives me pause about Army leadership and makes me question how these individuals can be so concerned about their own careers and reputations at the expense of someone else.”

  “After calling 40 witnesses for the military and costing the government taxpayers over a million dollars, this is a case that could have been easily handled with nothing more than an Article 15,” he said.

  “Her command failed her on a lot of levels, and what the Army needs are more people, like Lt. Col. Thomas, who refuse to compromise their ethics and morality.” Going forward, Lt. Col. Thomas hopes to retire without further incident.

  Fort Liberty Public Affairs did not return a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 18:20

• Southern Border Cameras Capture Heavily Armed Cartel Illegally Entering US
  Southern Border Cameras Capture Heavily Armed Cartel Illegally Entering US

  A little over two months ago, the Mexican TV channel Milenio published shocking footage of a cartel member wielding a “military-grade grenade launcher” in Matamoros, a city in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas that borders Brownsville, Texas.

  

  Now Fox News border correspondent Bill Melugin has obtained frightening images of heavily armed cartel members with body armor crossing into Texas last weekend. 

  “Per law enforcement source, a group of suspected cartel gunmen armed with rifles & body armor were seen on cameras crossing illegally into the Fronton, TX area in the RGV Saturday night,” Melugin said on “X,” formerly known as Twitter. 

  Melugin said a tactical unit under Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) was immediately deployed to the area after cameras detected the armed cartel members entered the US illegally. 

  “Elite Border Patrol BORTAC agents were called out & searched area, but found nobody,” he said. 

  NEW: Per law enforcement source, a group of suspected cartel gunmen armed with rifles & body armor were seen on cameras crossing illegally into the Fronton, TX area in the RGV Saturday night. Elite Border Patrol BORTAC agents were called out & searched area, but found nobody. pic.twitter.com/9GuhQngPKj

  — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 8, 2023

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

  Here’s an example of a BORTAC agent that was dispatched. They look like Tier 1 Special Forces operators. 

  

  The Biden administration has gone out of its way to downplay the crisis at the southern border ahead of the 2024 presidential election cycle.

  On Tuesday, Acting Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan provided The National Desk’s Scott Thuman with a dose of reality about the true nature of the border crisis:

  “First of all, I think what it represents in this administration is not being honest with the American people. I learned a long time ago that the intentional omission of a material fact is the same thing as a lie. They’re using a sleight of hand like a good magician to get us to focus on only what’s happened in our Southern border.

  “Meanwhile, what they’re not telling you is what’s happening across the nation. This fiscal year, we’re on track for over 3 million nationwide encounters. That’s a 360% increase from when they took over in the past 29 months.”

  Morgan explained how the Biden administration is lying about the crisis:

  “Second to that is what’s very, very important is what they begin to do is divert those that we’re previously entering in between the ports of entry.

  “They’re simply diverting them to the ports of entry and then they’re claiming victory. In reality, it’s a big shell game.”

  In recent Congressional testimony, Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies warned: 

  “[T]his massive new population of needy foreigners will burden and transform [Americans’] communities without their say-so.” 

  Seeing cartel members brandishing RPGs and some crossing into the US heavily armed, one has to question if America’s southern border under Biden is on the verge of falling. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 18:00

• 75 More Catholic Schools Nationwide Say They Are Shutting Down
  75 More Catholic Schools Nationwide Say They Are Shutting Down

  Authored by Alice Giordano via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  At least 75 more Catholic schools across the nation have announced they are closing their doors for good, with many breaking the news to families in the past few weeks.

  

  Most of the closures have been in major cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, and Cincinnati.

  In New York City alone, the Catholic Archdiocese of New York closed 12 schools as of the end of the academic year, laying the blame on “shifting demographics and lower enrollment, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

  Some of the schools that are now permanently closed were well-known and had rich histories.

  The Cambridge Matignon School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a private co-ed Roman Catholic college-prep school, opened in 1945. It won 10 ice hockey state championships and was the alma mater of 19 NHL draft picks and three NFL players.

  Last week, Immaculate Conception High School, an all-girls private school in Lodi, New Jersey, closed after 108 years, citing enrollment and financial challenges.

  In Texas, the historic 175-year-old Incarnate Word Academy, located in the Rio Grande Valley, announced it will close at the end of the year.

  “Several years of tracking diminishing enrollment and income have led to the conclusion that maintaining our school is no longer possible,” Sister Annette Wagner, the school’s superior general, said in a written statement.

  Financial Reasons

  While the schools have all cited financial reasons for the closures, there has been a variety of speculation offered by Catholics.

  C.J. Doyle, Executive Director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, told The Epoch Times that Catholic schools are struggling with a shift in ideology, with traditional Catholic beliefs being challenged by modern Catholic families and even Catholic school leaders.

  He pointed to a recent controversy at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover, New Hampshire, where parents and students protested the school’s decision to not renew contracts for four teachers who were either openly gay or openly embraced LGBT ideology.

  The school, which has tuition of $18,000, strongly denied that the move was in any way LGBT-related.

  “While we are not able to share details regarding specific personnel decisions out of respect for privacy and confidentiality, these four non-renewals had absolutely nothing to do with LGBTQ+ identity or personal alignment or views,” then-acting Principal Paul Marquis told The Boston Globe.

  Around the time of the controversy, some students attended the New Hampshire Catholic school’s prom as same-sex couples and kissed on stage during graduation events, some parents told The Epoch Times.

  “When you have that kind of behavior at a Catholic school, it’s then basically a public school with tuition,” Mr. Doyle said.

  A similar controversy recently rocked St. John LaLande Catholic School in Blue Springs, Missouri, when the school expelled an 11-year-old student after his parents, volunteers at the school, denounced the parish priest for removing LGBT literature from the school library and ordering the school to discontinue using a research app run by a well-known liberal media outlet.

  “I don’t think being blatantly homophobic is a teaching of the Catholic Church,” Hollee Muller, parent of the expelled child, told The Kansas City Star.

  Weeks earlier, Mr. Doyle’s organization condemned one of the few surviving Catholic schools in Boston, the all-girls Fontbonne Academy, for hosting a lesbian who calls herself a “big ol’ dyke” as the graduation speaker.

  In a formal letter, The Catholic Action League asked the Boston Archdiocese and Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley to also condemn the move, but Mr. Doyle said they never even acknowledged the group’s concerns.

  Mr. Doyle and others also suggested the church may be selling off schools to make money.

  It could, in part, be to cover the costs of caring for aging clergy, the lack of new replacements, and a lack of new money coming into the church, he said.

  Much Speculation

  The National Catholic Reporter recently pointed out that many of the schools being shut down are in areas with high real estate values.

  The Cambridge Matingnon building and grounds, located only two miles from Harvard University campus, are valued at $32 million.

  When Mount Alvernia High, an all-girls school affiliated with the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, made the unexpected announcement it was closing, the Sisters said in a statement that it was because they had decided they were “no longer able to continue living” at the campus in the Boston area.

  However, Kathleen Joyce, a former member of the school board, claimed they had not been consulted and posted on Facebook that the order of nuns had secretly voted to sell off the property to Boston College, a Catholic university located across the street from the 88-year-old school.

  “Instead of notifying the Mount Alvernia Board and the school community of their unilateral decision, they covertly set out to find a buyer,” Ms. Joyce, who also chairs the Boston Licensing Board, wrote. “Not surprisingly, this market research began and ended with one buyer—another Catholic organization with a significant presence in our community.”

  Ms. Joyce didn’t respond to requests from The Epoch Times for additional comment on the issue.

  The Missionary Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception declined to speak to The Epoch Times about the reasons for closing the school.

  The shutdown of Catholic schools is not new. Hundreds of schools have closed down nationwide over the years.

  Catholic groups have long blamed it in part on “vanishing nuns,” which translated into significantly higher teacher and administration fees and, thus, higher tuition and, consequently, a drop in enrollment.

  Lincoln Snyder, President and CEO of the National Catholic Education Association, which tracks population trends in Catholic schools,  pointed out to The Epoch Times that during the pandemic, Catholic schools saw a surge in enrollment, largely attributed to parents’ discontent with public schools being slow to move away from remote learning.

  According to the organization’s figures, U.S. Catholic schools’ student population grew by 65,000 between 2021 and 2022.

  Mr. Snyder said he believes that many Catholic families are not leaving behind Catholic schools but instead moving to other areas where the culture aligns with their values.

  He pointed out that Catholic schools in Florida have recently reported an increase in enrollment. One school that had been shut down for 14 years, St. Malachy in Tamarac, Florida, is set to re-open this fall because of the renewed demand for Catholic education in the Sunshine State, he said.

  “People are moving here from all over the world, from the United States and Latin America and the Caribbean,” Jim Rigg, secretary of education and superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Miami, said when announcing in June that the school was re-opening. “We’re in growth mode.” St. Malachy is located about 35 miles north of Miami and about 200 miles south of Disney World.

  Earlier this year, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles also reported a rise in student enrollment in the 255 Catholic schools it oversees after years of decline.

  Overall, however, the jump in Catholic school enrollment appears short-lived, with dozens of Catholic schools, including 14 in Connecticut alone, announcing at the end of the 2022 school year that they were permanently closing.

  Now there is yet another round of Catholic school closures. They include St. Christopher School on Staten Island, which made the announcement in mid-June.

  St. Mark Catholic School and the Good Shepherd Catholic School, both in St. Louis, also recently announced they were shutting down, as did the Wauwatosa Catholic School in Wisconsin.

  Earlier this month, St. Joseph Catholic School in Cincinnati told parents it was closing, and last week, the Holy Family School in Kentucky told families it would close because of a shortage of teachers.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 17:40

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• Illegal Migrants Should "F**k Off Back To France", Says Deputy Chair Of UK Governing Party
  Illegal Migrants Should “F**k Off Back To France”, Says Deputy Chair Of UK Governing Party

  Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

  If illegal migrants aren’t content with the conditions on Britain’s new migrant barges, they can “f**k off back to France,” the deputy chairman of the U.K.’s governing Conservative party has claimed.

  

  Lee Anderson, the Conservative MP for Ashfield, made the incendiary remark to the Express newspaper, in which he added: “I think people have just had enough.

  “These people come across the Channel in small boats, if they don’t like the conditions they are housed in here then they should go back to France, or better, not come at all in the first place.”

  Anderson, who has been a deputy chairman of the governing party since February 2023, was commenting on the ongoing migration crisis on England’s southern border, which resulted in a record 45,755 migrant crossings last year, the majority of whom subsequently claim asylum.

  His blunt remark was defended by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, who admitted that Anderson’s language was “salty” but his point “not unreasonable.”

  Note to the Left.

  Every illegal migrant that crosses the Channel from France is taking the place of someone genuinely in danger in a refugee camp.

  Why can’t you see that these fit healthy young men are actually preventing help reaching those desperate people who really need it? pic.twitter.com/hAtQBlLzT5

  — Lee Anderson MP (@LeeAndersonMP_) August 8, 2023

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

  “Lee Anderson expresses the righteous indignation of the British people. He does it in salty terms and that’s his style, but his indignation is well placed,” Chalk told Nick Ferrari on LBC.

  “People coming from a safe country… They should claim asylum in the first country (in which they arrive). It shouldn’t be an open shopping list of where you want to go,” he added.

  On Anderson’s remarks, the justice secretary said his Conservative colleague “expresses himself in his characteristically robust terms, but there is a lot of sense, in my respectful view, in what he says.”

  The Conservative government has been attempting to reduce a considerable backlog to the asylum process and relocate asylum seekers currently residing in hotels, at a cost of around £6 million per day to the British taxpayer, to more cost-effective accommodation including disused army bases and migrant barges.

  One such barge has now docked on the tied island of Portland in the southern English county of Dorset, and the first asylum seekers embarked on the vessel on Monday.

  They were greeted by a small group of pro-refugee demonstrators at the Portland dock, holding “Welcome” signs and handing out packs of toiletries.

  Anderson also took aim at those in support of the migrants, questioning whether they would be “welcome” in their own homes, and calling them hypocrites for supporting the housing needs of illegal migrants but not of homeless Brits across the country.

  Illegal Migrants Welcome?

  But not in our homes because we are a bunch of hypocrites who have never spoke out about our own homeless seeking housing. pic.twitter.com/ToY6GHi5bc

  — Lee Anderson MP (@LeeAndersonMP_) August 7, 2023

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 02:00

• Suit Against Tech Giant Shines Light On U.S. Complicity In Chinese Torture
  Suit Against Tech Giant Shines Light On U.S. Complicity In Chinese Torture

  Authored by Susan Crabtree via RealClear Wire,

  The wheels of justice often turn slowly, but when it comes to U.S. corporate complicity in China’s record of religious persecution, human rights activists say they are finally picking up speed and moving in the right direction.

  Top reformers in Washington, D.C., are heralding a recent twist in a 12-year legal battle that could have far-reaching implications for all U.S. companies that have sold surveillance or tracking technology to China.  

  

  Last month, the U.S. 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lawsuit accusing technology giant Cisco Systems Inc. and two former executives of assisting the Chinese government in identifying and targeting Falun Gong practitioners for arrests, torture, and execution could proceed to trial. The ruling largely reversed a lower district court’s 2014 decision to dismiss the claims against Cisco and John Chambers, its former chief executive officer, and Fredy Cheung, the former vice president of its Chinese operations.

  The three-judge appellate panel’s July ruling did not determine the validity of the claims. Instead, it found that the Falun Gong practitioners had presented enough evidence for their case to proceed to trial in California where it was filed.

  The legal turn of events is encouraging human rights advocates who have spent decades scrutinizing U.S. corporate involvement in China’s repression of dissidents and religious minorities and its genocide against the Uyghur Muslim population.

  “Far too long, many elite leaders of America’s most profitable corporations have aided and abetted the Chinese Communist Party’s heinous human rights abuses, including genocide,” Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican, told RealClearPolitics. Smith, who chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, has spent three decades in Washington fighting for human rights.

  “This long overdue and wrongly delayed lawsuit underscores the excruciating pain and suffering that corporations like Cisco enable by deliberately cooperating and turning a blind eye to the Chinese Communist Party and its inherent egregious human rights violations and repression in order to make a profit,” Smith added.

  Cisco has denied any wrongdoing and has labeled the allegations in the lawsuit baseless. But U.S. Circuit Judge Marsha Berzon, writing for the appellate court, said that the plaintiffs had presented sufficient evidence to proceed to trial and that Cisco’s actions amounted to “aiding and abetting” China’s Falun Gong repression, and had a “substantial effect on the commission of violations of international law, including torture.”

  Smith last month held a hearing scrutinizing current U.S. companies’ complicity with China’s forced labor and persecution of many religious and ethnic minorities, as well as dissidents. Testimony from human rights experts highlighted a high-profile case involving forced labor used to make Milwaukee Tool products at Chishan Prison in China. With China’s recent aggression against Taiwan and its military build-up, other witnesses testified about sales by U.S. defense giants, such as Boeing and Raytheon, to the Chinese government.

  The National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball ties to China also came under scrutiny in the form of testimony from Enes Kanter Freedom, a former NBA player for the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks. Kanter Freedom was dropped from the NBA in early 2022 after speaking out about China’s human rights abuses and for wearing shoes emblazoned with the words “Free Tibet” and “Free the Uyghurs.”

  Tencent, a Chinese tech company that partnered with the NBA to live-stream the games, abruptly pulled all Celtics games from the Chinese internet after Kanter Freedom, who played for the Boston team at the time, called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “brutal dictator.” Tencent and the MLB in 2017 announced a wide-ranging partnership that includes live-streaming 125 games, including the All-Star Game and the World Series.

  “It’s shocking that some American corporations are leaving ethics behind and adopting CCP values in China,” Nina Shea, director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, told RCP. “That’s what China demands, and too many are willing to comply.”

  In 2006, Rep. Smith first started investigating charges from Falun Gong members that Cisco helped construct, operate, and maintain China’s so-called Golden Shield, better known as the Great Firewall of China, an Internet surveillance system put in place by China’s Ministry of Public Security for the surveillance of dissidents, human rights defenders and those practicing banned religions, such as the Falun Gong.

  In the late 1990s, the Chinese government labeled the Falun Gong a dangerous cult that threatened Communist control of the country and banned it, setting up an office specifically designed to persecute Falun Gong followers. China then pursued large-scale detentions, torture, forced conversions, and executions of Falun Gong members, which have been well documented by the U.S. State Department, the United Nations, and many other respected organizations around the world. In 2019, the China Tribunal, a government commission in the U.K., found that forced organ harvesting from Falun Gong victims and other prisoners had taken place on a significant scale throughout China for years.

  In the current case, brought on behalf of several Falun Gong practitioners by the D.C.-based Human Rights Law Foundation, the plaintiffs argue that Cisco purposefully customized its router technology to allow the Chinese government to identify, track, and detain Falun Gong members. The evidence that Cisco executives specifically helped design the technology to target Falun Gong followers includes Cisco marketing material touting its highly advanced video and image analyzers as the “only product capable of recognizing over 90% of Falun Gong pictorial information.”

  The lawsuit also accused Cisco of providing the Chinese government with a library of carefully analyzed patterns of Falun Gong Internet activity, or “signatures,” that enable the Chinese government to identify Falun Gong Internet users; several log/alert systems that provide the Chinese government with real-time monitoring and notification based on Falun Gong Internet traffic patterns; applications for storing data profiles on individual Falun Gong practitioners for use during interrogations and “forced conversions” that included torture; and a nationwide video surveillance system which enabled the Chinese government to identify and detain Falun Gong practitioners.

  Cisco was not only aware that its customizations would be used to repress the Falun Gong, but it also geared all of its work to further that goal, the plaintiffs argue. The lawsuit partly stemmed from an internal Cisco document leaked to reporters on the eve of a 2008 U.S. Senate human rights hearing. The 90-page document, an internal Cisco presentation, showed that the company’s engineers regarded the Chinese government’s extensive Internet censorship program as an opportunity to expand its business with the CCP and marketed its routers to China, specifically as a tool of repression.

  The Senate hearing also examined the role of other U.S. companies, including Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google, for cooperating to varying degrees with China’s and other foreign governments’ censorship programs.

  The Cisco presentation directly acknowledged that one of Golden Shield’s stated goals was to “combat ‘Falun Gong’ evil religion and other hostiles.” It attributed the quote to Runsen Li, the Chinese government’s then-information technology chief in charge of developing the project.

  Mark Chandler, Cisco’s senior vice president of legal services, testified to the Senate that he was “appalled” and “disappointed” when he saw that quote in the presentation.

  “It is very regrettable that one of our engineers quoted directly from Mr. Runsen Li, the Chinese government’s head of IT for the Golden Shield project,” Terry Alberstein, a senior director of corporate communications at Cisco, told Wired.com in 2008. “They do not represent Cisco’s views, principles, or its sales and marketing strategy or approach. They were merely inserted in that presentation to capture the goals of the Chinese government in that specific project, which was one of many discussed in that 2002 presentation.”

  Cisco acknowledged selling roughly $100,000 worth of routers and switches that became part of the Golden Shield project, according to Alberstein. However, he denied that the company customized them for China’s censorship goals.

  Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, chaired that 2008 hearing and argued that U.S. companies have a “moral obligation” to protect freedom of expression.

  Terri Marsh, who filed the suit in her capacity as executive director and senior litigation partner of the Human Rights Law Foundation, said unique aspects of the case showed that Cisco was not providing “generic” products to a totalitarian regime. Instead, Cisco created features “to facilitate torture and track the progression of efforts to forcibly convert practitioners.”

  “Importantly, the complaint alleges that China could not create similar tools at the time, so the timing of the assistance was significant,” Marsh said in an emailed statement to RCP. And, she said, this is not a case where a tool just happened to be misused.

  “Plaintiffs allege that Chinese officials made clear to Cisco that it needed features to further the violent crackdown of Falun Gong believers in China, and Cisco made those features to gain a lucrative foothold in the Chinese market.”

  Marsh added that the decision hinges on the specific allegations of conduct that took place in the United States. “The complaint alleges that the heart of the claims – designing the tools, manufacturing components, and providing ongoing assistance – largely took place in California,” she said.

  Cisco’s communications team did not respond to RCP’s inquiry. In a statement last month to the Los Angeles Times, a company spokesperson denied that the company customized its products to assist China’s Falun Gong persecution.

  “We build our products to global standards, which promote the free flow of information, privacy, and freedom of expression,” the company said. “Cisco has a longstanding commitment to uphold and respect human rights for all people, and we are strongly committed to an open global Internet.”

  Smith and other human rights experts point to Cisco’s internal 90-page presentation and other evidence to discount the tech giant’s defense.

  “Companies must be exposed and brought to justice if they have blood on their hands from partnerships with businesses and offices controlled by a ruthless ruling party working to crush China’s religious believers, ethnic minorities, and dissidents on their hands,” Nina Shea said. “This case will be important in shining the light on this problem and in deterring others.”

  Susan Crabtree is RealClearPolitics’ White House/national political correspondent.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 08/09/2023 – 00:05

• Visualizing The World's Space Debris (By Country Responsible)
  Visualizing The World’s Space Debris (By Country Responsible)

  Earlier in July, a suspicious object washed up on a remote beach in Western Australia. This chunk of golden metal was reported to be a piece of space debris that found its way back to Earth.

  And it is not the only one. Today, as Visual Capitalist’s Freny Fernandes details below, thousands of defunct satellites, spent rocket stages, metal shards from collisions, and other remnants of human space exploration are orbiting the Earth at breakneck speeds.

  In this graphic, Preyash Shah uses tracking data from the Space-Track.org, maintained by the U.S. Space Force, to help visualize just how much debris is currently orbiting the Earth, while identifying the biggest contributors of this celestial clutter.

  

  Note: Many spent rocket bodies are still actively tracked and controlled by their launch authorities, and the source tracks these separately. Space debris includes spent rocket bodies that are defunct and uncontrolled.

  Ranked: Countries Responsible for the Most Space Debris

  According to the data, there are roughly 14,000 small, medium, and large debris objects floating about in low Earth orbit as of May 2023. And this is not counting the millions of tiny debris fragments that are too small to be tracked.

  Although space debris is a global problem, certain countries have played a larger role in contributing to the clutter. In the 1950s, the U.S. and Russia (formerly USSR) led the space race with the highest number of launched space objects. In the 1970s, they were joined by China, and objects from all three countries account for the vast majority of today’s space debris:

  

  *China-Brazil space debris originates from various cooperational space programs over the years

  The debris count of Russia—including former launches by the Soviet Union—currently stands at 4,521. But the U.S. and China are not far behind with more than 4,000 each. And though many of these are accumulated over time, thousands of debris are created in single catastrophic moments.

  China’s anti-satellite test in 2007 destroyed its own weather satellite, creating 3,500 space debris pieces. Likewise, the 2009 collision between inactive Russian satellite Cosmos-2251 and operational U.S. communications satellite Iridium 33 created over 2,000 pieces of debris.

  Moving at high speeds, even tiny fragments of debris can cause catastrophic collisions. And with companies like SpaceX launching expansive satellite networks, these numbers are bound to grow.

  Clearer Skies on the Horizon?

  Addressing the space debris issue requires a multi-faceted approach involving international cooperation, advanced technology, and responsible space practices.

  Scientists and engineers are actively exploring methods to clean up debris, including concepts like space-based debris removal systems and novel deorbiting techniques.

  Some space agencies like the European Space Agency are also making plans to ensure their space technology is designed with safe disposal plans to significantly reduce the accumulation of space junk.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 23:45

• America Is Now A Zombie State
  America Is Now A Zombie State

  Authored by Jacob Howland via UnHerd,

  “Every nation gets the government it deserves,” wrote the philosopher Joseph de Maistre, and some are getting it good and hard right now. De Maistre’s moral interpretation of politics admits of exceptions, but the United States in 2023 is not one of them. A wasting tide of bad education and corruption is rotting the cultural and constitutional piers that, since the Civil War, have kept the US above the waters of chaos.

  

  The American regime has become a tawdry theatrocracy in which political actors, hypokritai in Greek, play stock characters in a loathsome farce. In the run-up to the 2024 elections, Donald Trump stars as the persecuted saviour, and Joe Biden the righteous defender, of the American republic. Never mind that Trump is self-absorbed and impulsive to the point of criminal stupidity, that Biden is senile and evidently corrupt, and that both of these braying, boorish old men are fraudsters and fabulists. These vices do not matter to their furious followers, who love their man precisely because he is not the hated other. Trump and Biden cannot, and will not, be separated; each needs his opponent as the hammer needs the nail. And above the wretched spectacle sit a click-hungry media, feeding on riot and picking favourites like vulturous pagan gods.

  This drama of political decadence defies easy categorisation. Aristotle wrote that tragedy depicts people who are better, and comedy worse, than us spectators. Biden and Trump are certainly worse than those who voted them into office, but they are not remotely funny. Their antics are repellent and their goofiness unlovable. Observing them and the choral leaders that follow in their train — jerky puppets like Rudy Giuliani sweating hair-dye, or Anthony Fauci claiming to be science itself — Americans feel only shame and dread, without the cathartic release of laughter or tears.

  These trapped emotions spring from the same source. They are visceral responses to the approaching death by senescence of the American experiment in ordered liberty. The problem goes well beyond presidential dementia. The US Senate (from the Latin senex, “old”) looks more like the waiting room of a geriatric neurologist than a council of wise elders. There’s Mitch McConnell, prone to falls and freeze-ups; wheelchair-bound and confused Dianne Feinstein; and John Fetterman, who at only 53 is less fit for public service than any other member of that formerly august body. It’s as if C-SPAN, a network that televises congressional hearings, decided instead to air absurdist, post-apocalyptic horror films.

  The zombification of the Capitol — not to mention our city streets, which have become permanent encampments of the dazed and disturbed — is merely a symptom of the underlying disease. Like all institutions, politics falls apart without regular infusions of constructive energy. A modern democracy is healthy only if its major parties grow organically from their voters, representing their interests by habit and inclination even more than conscious effort.

  But the grassroots politics Tocqueville admired when he visited the US in the 1830s gave way long ago to the top-down astroturfing of technocratic managerialism. Our governing elites represent no one but themselves and their cronies, and they don’t welcome shocks to the system. Insurgent candidates such as Robert Kennedy Jr. and Vivek Ramaswamy, whose public elevation of the concerns of many Americans aims to revitalise national politics, are censored and met with active resistance, even by their own parties.

  It’s not just in politics that the wellsprings of individual and social vitality have dried up. Americans are marrying less and later, and having too few children, to reproduce themselves and the families that nurtured them. What is more, our public schools have largely ceased to transmit the accumulated knowledge and civilisational wisdom of the past to the children we do have. A taste for historical repudiation has taken hold across the culture, leading curators to “contextualise” art, city governments to take down statues, colleges to rename buildings, and publishers to censor or rewrite books. But creativity withers when it ceases to be nourished by the oxygenated blood of the tradition. Little wonder that Hollywood increasingly cannibalises its legacy by pouring old films into new plastic scripts.

  Technology has exacerbated our national enervation. We have become charging-stations for our smartphones, which drain psychic energy with insistent distractions and overloads of information-babble. Video calls and work-from-home limit in-person interactions with actual existing individuals, who would otherwise be together for most of their weekly waking hours. Targeted advertising, fine-tuned algorithms, and politically stratified social media sharply decrease our exposure to new ideas. We are immuring ourselves within our own private caves, watching flickering images in darkness.

  AI language-learning models offer a cautionary parable of these larger cultural developments. Programs such as ChatGPT, whose writing remains formulaic and prone to errors, learn by sifting through a sea of digitalised text, a growing share of which consists of AI-generated content. The predictable result of this feedback loop is the kind of levelling we’ve seen across our institutions. Like newspapers that drink their own ink — and which ones don’t, these days? — their product can only get worse.

  Cultural exhaustion, social withdrawal, and the general enfeeblement of life forces are the practical expression of a will to nothing. There is a name for this spiritual and intellectual condition, and it is nihilism. Nihilism is demonic to the extent that the will to nothing is still a will, a life force. That it is only a negative one is by no means reassuring, because it is easier and more economical to tear down than to build up. Destruction is dramatic and accomplishes the illusion of vitality with relatively little energy. And who in this apocalyptic time, including the nihilist, doesn’t want to feel even a little alive?

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 23:25

• Wagner "Taking Advantage" Of Niger Instability, Blinken Charges
  Wagner “Taking Advantage” Of Niger Instability, Blinken Charges

  After Victoria Nuland’s Monday visit to Niger didn’t bear much fruit, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused Wagner group of seeking to take advantage of the instability in the West African country to spread its and Russia’s influence.

  “I think what happened, and what continues to happen in Niger was not instigated by Russia or by Wagner, but… they tried to take advantage of it,” he told BBC Tuesday.

  

  “Every single place that this Wagner group has gone, death, destruction and exploitation have followed,” Blinken added. “Insecurity has gone up, not down”.

  As we detailed earlier, Acting Deputy Secretary of State Nuland attempted to warn Niger’s junta leaders not to cooperate with Wagner for the same reasons. 

  Blinken further stressed that the instability in Niger and the region is a “repeat of what’s happened in other countries, where they brought nothing but bad things in their wake.”

  The comments come after multiple international reports said that Niger’s coup leaders are in talks with Wagner, amid fears that a Western-friendly African bloc of neighboring countries (ECOWAS) could intervene militarily to restore ousted President Mohamed Bazoum, who is currently under house arrest.

  According to a recent CFR briefing, Wagner has an extensive presence across Africa, helping various governments chiefly with security and counter-terrorism operations and training:

  The Wagner Group has established operations in several African countries, where many of its operations focus on security issues. It has often provided security services and paramilitary assistance and launched disinformation campaigns for troubled regimes in exchange for resource concessions and diplomatic support. Wagner is most active in the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, Mali, and Sudan, all of which have a tenuous relationship with the West due to colonial legacies and inherent political differences.

  Demonstrators in favor of the coup in Niger have of late been frequently seen waving Russian flags, as an indicator of deep anti-Western sentiment.

  Map of African countries that have signed military agreements with Russia pic.twitter.com/CKlAC9zePv

  — The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) August 3, 2023

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

  Alarmingly, while both French and American troops are in the region, Wagner mercenaries are just next door from Niger in Mali. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had positively celebrated the coup and blasted past French and Western colonialism in Africa:

  In a long message posted to social media, Prigozhin blamed the situation in Niger on the legacy of colonialism and alleged, without evidence, that Western nations were sponsoring terrorist groups in the country. Niger was once a French colony and, before this week’s putsch, it had been one of the few democracies in the region.

  From the West’s perspective, looming large in the background is expanding Russian influence in Africa.

  But those African leaders who are currently standing with Niger’s coup leaders warn of NATO influence instead, remembering the disastrous legacy of US-NATO intervention in Libya in 2011…

  In every public statement, the coup leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger say that NATO sponsorship of terrorists in Libya destroyed their countries.

  Unfortunately, correspondents for AP, Reuters, AFP, and BBC are a little hard of hearing and never report this. pic.twitter.com/6zZd7kXggj

  — Seth Harp (@sethharpesq) August 8, 2023

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

  There have recently been hyped headlines claiming Putin is eyeing extending his influence to Niger and across West Africa. But the reality also is that US AFRICOM has long had a significant military presence in the form of drone and special operations bases across the continent.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 23:05

• Trump Derangement At The Washington Post
  Trump Derangement At The Washington Post

  Authored by Richard Benedetto via RealClear Wire,

  The Washington Post has a Donald Trump obsession. Some might call it a vendetta.

  

  Although the flamboyant former president has been out of the White House for more than two and a half years, he gets far more front-page coverage in the Post than the current president, Joe Biden.

  And nearly all of the Post’s reporting on Trump is negative.

  To be sure, Trump’s endless legal troubles are big news and should be thoroughly covered. But in the pages of the capital city’s venerable daily paper the nation’s economic, social, educational, health, and foreign affairs problems facing the incumbent president take a back seat to Trump’s ongoing indictments of one kind or another.

  For June and July – a period of 61 days – Trump’s name appeared 33 times in Washington Post Page-One headlines.

  Biden, who is the current president, skated away with just 14 Page-One mentions.

  Moreover, 31 of the 33 headlines with Trump’s name in them were negative. For example:

  • “Justice Dept. reveals damning details in Trump case”
  • “U.S.: Trump flouted law all along way”

  In contrast, eight of the 14 Biden mentions were positive, such as these:

  • “Biden announces new loan forgiveness”
  • “Biden’s border authority affirmed”

  Something is wrong here. Trump is not the president; Biden is. That is not to say that Trump is not newsworthy. He is. After all, polls show he is the leading Republican contender for the 2024 presidential nomination.

  But more than twice as much front-page coverage of Trump as of Biden seems a little over the top.

  Is news about Trump more important than news about the man who is currently charged with leading the nation through these perilous times and who is making decisions that affect our lives every day? And isn’t the front page where we expect to find coverage of the day’s most important events?

  Editors running the Post apparently think their readers care more about Trump’s legal troubles than Biden’s leadership through these perilous times. Maybe they do. We live in highly partisan, and highly polarized, times.

  To be sure, every newspaper is free to place stories anywhere their editors decide to put them. There are no formal rules for what must be played on the front page. Each newsroom is free to make its own choices.

  Most newspapers have what is called a daily Page-One meeting. There, the paper’s top editors gather and discuss the stories they think should be placed on Page One. Each editor makes a pitch for their favorites. Clearly, Post editors agree with robot-like regularity that Trump, not Biden, is the top story of the day.

  This past week Trump was in the media spotlight for being indicted again by a federal grand jury and appearing in court in Washington to plead “not guilty” to charges stemming from the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

  Tons of Page-One coverage of that in the Post, as it should be.

  But where was Biden when all this was coming down? He was on vacation at his Delaware beach house, riding his bike, and sunning himself on the sand: lots of nice pictures for TV.

  Do you think it was by accident that Biden just happened to be on vacation while Trump was in the dock? Or do you think Biden knew the indictments were coming down – after all, it was his own Justice Department that brought them – and decided to get out of town and leave the big news spotlight all to Trump?

  My guess is the latter.

  In sum, those who study the Post’s front pages over time might conclude that the newspaper – in its choice of story placement and the negative tone of the headlines – is out to get Trump. Or, conversely, out to boost Biden.

  Either way, they wouldn’t be far from wrong.

  This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

  Richard Benedetto is a retired USA Today White House correspondent and columnist. He has taught politics and journalism at American, Georgetown, and George Mason Universities for 17 years.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 22:45

• China Buys 23 Tons Of Gold In 9th Straight Month Of Purchases, Total Rises To Record 2,137 Tons
  China Buys 23 Tons Of Gold In 9th Straight Month Of Purchases, Total Rises To Record 2,137 Tons

  Not only is China ravenously buying up all the physical gold it can get its hands on – something it has been doing pretty much non stop since 2009, for the most part covertly with occasional periods of public disclosure meant to achieve specific political goals – more importantly, it is letting the world know it is buying up all the physical gold it can get its hands on.

  On Monday, the Chinese central bank revealed that in July it increased its gold reserves for a ninth straight month as central bank purchases – in big part out of China – continue to underpin the price of the precious metal, offset selling by ETFs.

  The bullion held by the People’s Bank of China rose by 740,000 troy ounces, or about 23 tons, bringing the country’s total stockpile to a record 2,137 tons, with around 188 tons added in a run of purchases that began in November. What China’s true purchases are, however, remains a mystery and will be revealed only when Beijing is ready with whatever it has in mind next for its currency.

  

  As we reported previously, China has led central bank buying of gold in 2023 as it continues to diversify its reserves away from the weaponized US dollar. That’s helped keep prices buoyant despite rising interest rates around the world, which typically sap demand for non-interest bearing bullion. One can only imagine what will happen once rates start diving and when the exponential increase in US debt forces the Fed to resume monetizing it.

  Official purchases are key to the outlook for prices this year, according to the World Gold Council. The industry body expects central banks to keep adding to their holdings, although at a slower pace than last year when demand surged in the hunt for alternatives to the dollar after the US sanctioned Russia’s reserves following its invasion of Ukraine.

  Meanwhile, the PBOC also reported that China’s total foreign currency reserves rose by $11.3 billion to $3.204 trillion in July, up 3.2% on the year and 0.4% on the prior month, and higher than the $3.193 trillion consensus estimate.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 22:25

• China Slides Into Deflation, Despite Jump In Core Print And Unexpected Rebound In Sequential CPI
  China Slides Into Deflation, Despite Jump In Core Print And Unexpected Rebound In Sequential CPI

  China has found itself in a bit of a quandary: on one hand, as we reported moments ago, in its zeal to portray the economy as the second coming of that brilliant vision and magnificent execution of economic utopia that is “Bidenomics”, Beijing barred not only all bearish commentary in financial and economic circles, but also any mention of “deflation”; on the other hand China is – well – deflating: stuck between a collapsing property sector, deleveraging consumers, crashing stock market, slumping exports, and accelerating deglobalization, the only place where Chinese prices can go up is the same imaginary socialist utopia where Bidenomics is actually something different than a drunken sailor’s deficit-busting spending spree.

  Then things got especially complicated because just days after China banned the use of deflation, it was set to report its latest July CPI and PPI… which it did moments ago.

  And as a reminder, in our preview of today’s CPI print we said that “odds are that CPI will come in just barely positive and all shall be well… or else we are about to see a whole lot of imprisoned Chinese economists, analysts and strategists.”

  Well, we can now say that we were half right. Yes, on one hand, China has no choice but to admit deflation, pardon disinflation (we don’t want the Chinese secret police knocking on our door at 3am) had arrived, and sure enough the National Bureau of Statistics, the greatest congregation of goalseek scientists ever gathered, just announced that in July CPI dipped -0.3% Y/Y, down from June’s unchanged print but just slightly stronger than the -0.4% Y/Y estimate. At the same time PPI also dropped for the 10th consecutive month, but it appears to have finally hit a bottom and after sliding -5.4% Y/Y in June it dropped ever so slightly less, or -4.4%.

  In other words, this was the first time since Nov 2020 that both Chinese CPI and PPI printed negative.

  

  But wait, there’s more. Because while China did indeed enter deflation, pardon, disinflation on an annual basis, the sequential number is where the real goalseeking action was: with consensus expecting a drop of -0.1% which would have marked the sixth consecutive monthly decline and the longest stretch on record, after last month’s 0.2% decline, Beijing reported that for the first time since February, China experienced sequential inflation of 0.2%.

  

  Still, that would hardly quiet the inflation hawks and Beijing had to engage in aggressive damage control; sure enough, statistics bureau attributed the decline in consumers prices to the high base of comparison with last year, saying the contraction is likely to be temporary and consumer demand continued to improve in July.

  “With the impact of a high base from last year gradually fading, the CPI is likely to rebound gradually,” Dong Lijuan, chief statistician at the NBS, said in rare additional comments to accompany the official data. Needless to say, he didn’t use the dreaded D-word which would have bought him an immediate one way ticket to deflation-reeducation camp.

  There was better news in the latest core inflation print, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, and which doubled to 0.8% from 0.4%, a sign of “underlying, although subdued, demand in the economy” according to Bloomberg.

  Similar to the US, a breakdown of the consumer inflation figures showed prices for household goods, food and transport contracted, while prices of services spending, like recreation and education, climbing.

  Of course, all of the above “data” is just theatrics as everyone knows the true plight of China’s economy. Using the GDP deflator — a measure of economy-wide prices — China was in deflation in the first half of the year. The International Monetary Fund defines deflation as “a sustained decline in an aggregate measure of prices,” such as the CPI or the GDP deflator.

  And while deflation boosts the case for more monetary and fiscal stimulus, the central bank is facing several constraints that’s making it cautious, including a weaker yuan and record debt levels in the economy. Analysts expect the PBOC to take moderate steps to ease monetary policy for the rest of this year. It is unclear what incremental fiscal stimulus measures Beijing will undertake, but one thing is clear: it has to do something or else that record youth unemployment rate will soon transform into the one thing every Chinese leader fears the most: a middle-class insurrection.

  The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index trimmed an earlier loss of as much as 0.9% to trade 0.3% lower as of 9:50 a.m., while the onshore benchmark CSI 300 Index of stocks traded little changed.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 22:24

• Independent Journalist Receives Jan. 6 Grand Jury Subpoena
  Independent Journalist Receives Jan. 6 Grand Jury Subpoena

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

  Independent journalist Steve Baker says he was served a subpoena signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anita Eve, demanding all of the video he shot at and near the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He said the subpoena likely means the DOJ is investigating him for alleged felony crimes.

  

  “They want to silence me,” Mr. Baker said during an Aug. 7 Spaces broadcast on X, formerly known as Twitter.

  Mr. Baker said he was told to show up in Washington on Aug. 16 to turn over his material. He was given an alternative: to surrender his video to the FBI in his home state of North Carolina. He told The Epoch Times that he plans to appear in person in Washington.

  Mr. Baker said he believes his work covering Jan. 6 unrest at the Capitol is protected by the First Amendment. He said he didn’t damage property, encourage anyone to enter the building, or participate in chants or actions by protesters.

  It’s the second time in 2023 that Mr. Baker has called for public attention to what he believes could be DOJ prosecution of him for his work on Jan. 6, 2021.

  In March, he said a high-profile journalist called him at 6:30 a.m. one day with a warning from a DOJ insider. “‘Your friend in Raleigh, tell him to be careful,’” the message said. “‘He has awakened a couple of people’s attention to his work, and they’re not happy about it at all.’”

  Mr. Baker has been a frequent, vocal critic on social media regarding the DOJ’s handling of Jan. 6 cases, citing his observations of the events on Jan. 6, 2021. He has criticized Congress for not aggressively investigating the issues ignored by the original anti-Trump Jan. 6 Select Committee.

  It’s the second time since Jan. 6, 2021, that Mr. Baker has been in the crosshairs of the FBI and DOJ. He said he was threatened in 2021 with a charge of interstate racketeering for licensing his Jan. 6 video footage to HBO and other media outlets.

  Mr. Baker showed up for an interview with the FBI in August 2021, but that meeting was delayed because of a federal rule that requires the attorney general to sign off on interviewing any member of the press, he said. In November 2021, Mr. Baker was told he would be charged “within the week.”

  “The interstate racketeering charge was just absurd on its face,” Mr. Baker said.

  The 2021 investigation hasn’t resulted in charges.

  “We never heard from them again for over 20 months, until Friday,” Mr. Baker said.

  Mr. Baker said he believes what triggered the current DOJ investigation was a story about the U.S. Capitol Police that he has been developing for 10 months. That story is close to fruition but still requires more video research in Washington, he said.

  

  “Fact is … ‘they’ know the story I’ve been working on for ten months and am about to drop,” Mr. Baker wrote on X. “They are not going to stop it from coming out. Their timing for this action is fully transparent.

  “I will not go gentle into that good night.”

  He declined to share more details on the Capitol Police story.

  Mr. Baker also published a recent story on social media about U.S. Army special forces at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A special unit from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, had soldiers on Capitol grounds that day for as yet undefined purposes, he wrote.

  The Epoch Times has reached out to the DOJ for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 22:05

• Is Tonga's Volcano Eruption Set To Warm Earth?
  Is Tonga’s Volcano Eruption Set To Warm Earth?

  The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) undersea volcano eruption in January 2022 was larger than any nuclear blast conducted by the US, and the shockwave was felt worldwide. A new study reveals the eruption, which injected large amounts of water vapor into the stratosphere in an unprecedented way in our lifetime, might cause global temperatures to warm temporarily. 

  “The amount of water vapor injected into the stratosphere after the eruption of HTHH was unprecedented, and it is, therefore, unclear what it might mean for surface climate. We use climate model simulations to assess the long-term surface impacts of stratospheric water vapor (SWV) anomalies caused by volcanic eruptions. The simulations show that the SWV anomalies lead to strong and persistent warming of Northern Hemisphere landmasses in boreal winter, and austral winter cooling over Australia,” wrote Martin Jucker, the leader researcher on the study from the University of New South Wales Climate Change Research Centre. 

  

  Titled “Long-term surface impact of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai-like stratospheric water vapor injection,” the paper examines the aftermath of the eruption “and reveals that surface temperatures across large regions of the world increase by over 1.5°C for several years, although some areas experience cooling close to 1°C. Additionally, the research suggests a potential connection between the eruption and sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific.” 

  

  Large volcanic eruptions cause the climate to cool because sulfur dioxide is typically emitted into the atmosphere. But Tonga is different because the underwater caldera shot 146 metric megatons of water into the stratosphere, potentially contributing to atmospheric warming over the next five years. 

  Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist, added his perspective and tweeted, “This new Hunga Tonga research study (in peer review) is revelatory. Seriously, we need to consider the volcano as an unexpected, decade-long, natural warming spike.” 

  This new Hunga Tonga 🌋 research study (in peer review) is revelatory. Seriously, we need to consider the volcano as an unexpected, decade-long, natural warming spike.

  The greenhouse warming effect of 40 trillion gallons of water vapor in the stratosphere may have just kicked… https://t.co/4PtlRa0Shl pic.twitter.com/0EbQV7LLNe

  — Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) August 8, 2023

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

  Don’t worry. We’re sure the climate alarmists in the White House have a solution to all of this: stop driving automobiles, eat insects, and own nothing. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 21:45

• China Bans Negative Economic Commentary, Mentions Of "Deflation"
  China Bans Negative Economic Commentary, Mentions Of “Deflation”

  The last time China threatened its analysts and reporters against being “bearish” on the economy and “at odds with the government’s bullish statements” was in early 2016 when China had just suffered through a historic devaluation and capital flight which drained over $1 trillion in Chinese reserves, and when fears that failing to short-circuit the capital flight (which would soon launch Bitcoin off from its base around $400 to the then-cycle high of $20,000) could lead to full-blown economic collapse.

  As the WSJ reported at the time, the “stepped-up censorship” was an effort by Beijing to “quell growing concerns about the country’s economic prospects as it experiences a prolonged slowdown in growth,” and that to stem what earlier this year was a flood of money leaving the country, Chinese regulators and censors are trying to create a climate dubbed “zhengnengliang,” or “positive energy”, said the newspaper.

  In short: Beijing realized that it was of critical importance to preserve confidence in the economy, no matter how fake, and it resorted to the ultimate step indicating that a collapse was nigh.

  Well, China is doing it all over again, which in keeping with this mornings catastrophic Chinese trade data, confirms just how close to the edge China once again is.

  As the FT reports, Chinese authorities are (again) putting pressure on, which is a polite way of saying barring, prominent local economists to “avoid discussing negative trends such as deflation, as concerns mount about Beijing’s ability to boost a flagging recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy.”

  According to the report, “multiple local brokerage analysts and researchers at leading universities as well as state-run think-tanks said they had been instructed by regulators, their employers and even domestic media outlets to avoid speaking negatively about topics ranging from fears of capital flight to softening prices.”

  Seven well-regarded economists told the Financial Times that their employers had told them some topics were off-limits for public discussion. The China Securities and Regulatory Commission, the stock regulator, has accused brokerage analysts of playing up risks facing the economy, which is suffering from weak consumer demand, declining exports and an ailing property sector.

  Two think-tank scholars and two brokerage economists, all of whom serve as government advisers, said there was pressure to present economic news positively in order to increase public confidence. “The regulator doesn’t want to hear negative comments about the economy in public,” said an adviser to the central bank. “They wanted us to interpret bad news from a positive light.”

  Needless to say, but the FT says so anyway, analysts noted that growing self-censorship among economic research professionals, on whom investors often rely in a market where reliable data is difficult to come by, underscored Beijing’s efforts to control the flow of information.

  “You’ve got an economic slowdown that would worry any country, coupled with a China that always likes to put on a brave face to the world and a leadership that is particularly image-conscious,” said Andrew Collier, managing director of Orient Capital Research in Hong Kong. “Put those three factors together and it’s the recipe for a very non-transparent economy.”

  The clampdown of negative economic commentary follows a barrage of dismal economic data that has undermined investor confidence and hindered Beijing’s efforts to spur a robust post-Covid rebound. Gross domestic product expanded just 0.8 per cent in the second quarter against the previous three months. Last month, the Communist party’s politburo admitted the recovery was making “tortuous progress”.

  More awkwardly, with Beijing seeking to restore faith with limited stimulus measures, certain subjects are taboo, such as deflation.

  China’s producer price index has declined for eight straight months since October, while annual consumer inflation hit a two-year low of zero growth in June. Citigroup economists said core goods prices, which strip out volatile food and energy costs, had already entered a “deflationary zone” thanks to weak consumer demand.

  Yet senior officials from the country’s official statistics bureau and the central bank have ruled out the possibility of deflation. “Deflation does not and will not exist in China,” Fu Linghui, a National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson, said last month.

  In response to this bizarre crackdown, Albert Edwards correctly pointed out that “When this happens it screams crisis” and reminds readers of his recent article discussing precisely this: that China is now in deflation.

  When this happens it screams crisis…

  The FT reports (link below), “Chinese economists told not to be negative as rebound falters: Authorities… want analysts to avoid mention of deflation risk”.

  Fear not. I will keep mentioning the unmentionable! https://t.co/WqPnB2UTLU pic.twitter.com/J5yPwgsDp5

  — Albert Edwards (@albertedwards99) August 7, 2023

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

  And what makes it even more awkward is that in just a few minute, (western) economists expect that China will report that it is officially in deflation when it reveals that its CPI for the month of July dropped negative after printing at 0.0% last month, the lowest level in over two years…

  

  … although since this is China, odds are that CPI will come in just barely positive and all shall be well… or else we are about to see a whole lot of imprisoned Chinese economists, analysts and strategists.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 21:28

• Rep. Justin Amash Defends President Trump Over 2020 Election Indictment
  Rep. Justin Amash Defends President Trump Over 2020 Election Indictment

  Former U.S. representative for Michigan’s 3rd congressional district and founder of the Liberty Caucus, Justin Amash, who was the first Republican congressman to call for the impeachment of President Trump, has now taken to Twitter to defend him. 

  On Sunday, Amash – who is well known for his distaste of President Trump – made a post on Twitter outlining why he believes Trump’s indictment is in error because of Trump’s actions being “political contention”. 

  “I may not like Trump, but I love our Constitution, so I feel compelled to speak out. The latest indictment, which I encourage everyone to read, attempts to criminalize Trump’s routine misstatements of fact and law in connection with the 2020 election,” Amash wrote. “But this is precisely the sort of wrong that must be addressed politically under our Constitution, not criminally.”

  “Our system can’t survive if political disputes are removed to the criminal realm. There’s no limiting principle to such an approach,” he continued.

  

  He wrote: “Remind me again which former presidents have been indicted for going to war without congressional approval, spying on Americans in violation of the Fourth Amendment, abusing emergency declarations to bypass checks and balances, or ignoring legal advisers to pursue a clearly unlawful policy.”

  “We don’t criminalize these actions, egregious as they are, because they are matters of political contention. We’re allowed to disagree about the workings of our constitutional system without fear of criminal reprisal,” he continued. 

  Amash added: “Politicians are constantly misguided and just plain mistaken about a lot of things—often remarkably so. It endangers all Americans to begin treating politicians’ false beliefs regarding political or constitutional matters, even when they’re obviously wrong, as criminal offenses.”

  “We impeach people for violating the public trust—for political misconduct or serious incompetence. We reject them. We vote them out. We never again elect them. We don’t imprison them,” he wrote. 

  Finally, he concluded: “As an aside: Even on Jack Smith’s own terms—even assuming the applicability of the cited statutes to a political dispute—the indictment falls woefully short. Showing that others repeatedly told Trump he was wrong is not sufficient to prove he sought to defraud the United States or to corruptly obstruct an election. Proving Trump’s state of mind beyond a reasonable doubt—proving fraudulent or corrupt intent—requires much more than Smith alleges.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 21:05

• States Stop Credit Card Companies From Tracking Gun Purchases, Though It May Not Last
  States Stop Credit Card Companies From Tracking Gun Purchases, Though It May Not Last

  Authored by Patricia Tolson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Credit card companies were preparing to track the purchase of firearms and ammunition of every American citizen. While a flurry of bills lobbed by state legislators caused all of them to reconsider those plans, it may only be a temporary victory.

  

  Almost one year ago, an effort was launched to create a new Merchant Category Code (MCC) to track the purchases of firearms and ammunition. However, inspired by the uproar of Second Amendment constituents, Republicans in the United States Senate, as well as lawmakers in several states, have launched legislative efforts that have successfully shut them down—for now.

  On March 21, United States Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) introduced SB 898. This bill prohibits the Internal Revenue Service from auditing a taxpayer based on the MCCs.

  So far, seven states have joined the resistance.

  On March 29, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice approved House Bill 2004. In summary, the measure will “prevent the use of payment card processing systems for surveillance of Second Amendment activity and discriminatory conduct.” The bill would also preclude financial institutions that violate this law from qualification in bidding on state contracts.

  On April 6, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 295 into law, also prohibiting financial institutions from using MCCs to identify or track firearms purchases.

  On April 16, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves approved HB1110. In addition to prohibiting the use of MCCs to identify or track firearms purchases in Mississippi, the measure prohibits state governmental agencies as well as public or private individuals from keeping any record or list of privately owned firearms or their owners. The legislation also warns that data collected from this MCC would almost inevitably end up in some federal government databases.

  On April 29, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum signed HB1487 (pdf).

  On May 12, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis approved CS/SB 214.

  On May 19, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed SB359 into law.

  On June 10, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed HB2837, which will become effective on Sept. 1. The measure will prohibit financial institutions operating in Texas from requiring or assigning a firearms code, defined as “any merchant category code approved by the International Organization for Standardization for a firearms retailer, including Merchant Category Code 5723.”

  On July 13, California’s legislators introduced a gutted and amended version of Assembly Bill 1587, originally introduced on Feb. 17 as a measure about the state’s Health and Safety Code regarding multifamily housing, which now requires credit card issuers to use the MCC unique to retailers of firearms and ammunition.

  ‘They’re Not Finished’

  West Virginia Delegate Chris Phillips (R) called the legislative effort in his state “a caucus priority.”

  

  “I think it’s vitally important that we protect citizen’s Constitutional rights from intrusion by government and big business,” Mr. Phillips explained.

  He also believes that such an MCC “would have a chilling effect” on an individual’s willingness to risk purchasing a firearm and a retailer’s willingness to sell them.

  “We’ve seen a lot of gun dealers being targeted by credit card companies that refuse to process transactions for them,” he said. “This opens that door far wider for that, I’m afraid.”

  Mr. Phillips also suggests the MCC effort has more to do with restricting gun rights than preventing any shootings.

  “Unfortunately, I’m afraid the aim of gun control advocates isn’t stopping mass shootings, it’s gun control, and they will piecemeal it and take every inch they get until they take a mile,” he said.

  Idaho Rep. Ted Hill (R) said, “The whole idea was clearly a back door surveillance mechanism for lawful gun owners,” that “isn’t going to solve anything else but that.”

  While the bill got “a lot of pushback from the banks,” Mr. Hill said it was “overwhelmingly passed,” with 62 of Idaho’s 70 delegates voting in support of the measure.

  While those pushing the MCC appear to have backed down, Mr. Hill firmly believes “they’re not finished.”

  “The Credit Card companies have been backing out on this initiative to track these codes as the penalties are significant and the risk is high,” said Mr. Hill. “It’s a short-term victory for now. We suspect that they will try again. They will try to figure out another way to do it.”

  The Background

  On September 9, the Switzerland-based International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced that it would create a new MCC specific to merchants who sell firearms and ammunition.

  As explained by Merchant Maverick, an MCC is a four-digit number that identifies a type of business and the sort of goods or services they provide. MCCs are assigned by credit card companies and can affect the fees a card user is charged for credit card purchases. While the ISO determines MCC codes and their meanings, it is the credit card companies that assign the codes to individual merchants.

  Those codes are then used by banks and payment service providers to assess risk and establish fees.

  According to its website, the ISO is “an independent, non-governmental international organization” comprised of 168 members. The ISO has a history of promoting guidance (pdf) for “social responsibility” and advocating the idea that “respect for society and environment” is the “right thing” to do.

  Representing the United States in the ISO is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). According to ANSI’s 2023 Roster (pdf), Kristina Breen of Visa International Service Association is on the Board of Directors.

  ‘Our Duty to Report Suspicious Activity’

  The new code was in response to a petition by Amalgamated Bank, self-described as a conglomerate of “political animals” who support “hundreds of progressive political organizations, campaigns and candidates” like “Biden/Harris,” “Warren Democrats,” and “Nancy Pelosi.”

  Announcing the ISO’s approval of the petition on Sept. 9, 2022, Priscilla Sims Brown, President and CEO of Amalgamated Bank, said, “We all have to do our part to stop gun violence, and it sometimes starts with illegal purchases of guns and ammunition.”

  Without explaining how the new MCC would “stop gun violence,” Ms. Sims said, “The new code will allow us to fully comply with our duty to report suspicious activity and illegal gun sales to authorities without blocking or impeding legal gun sales.“

  “This action answers the call of millions of Americans who want safety from gun violence and we are proud to have led the broad coalition of advocates, shareholders, and elected officials that achieved this historic outcome,” she said.

  Second Amendment advocates say these codes will be used to intimidate gun owners and dealers will be used by banks to deny financial services to gun merchants. Those concerns are not unfounded.

  

  In 2019, gun dealers testified before Congress alleging that banks denied their loan applications because the gun industry had been blacklisted through an inter-agency initiative called Operation Choke Point, a secret program created under the administration of Barack Obama. The program—which involved the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Department of Justice, and additional government agencies—served to cut off banking and financial services for any business or industry the administration deemed to be political adversaries. The program ended when Mr. Obama left office.

  On Sept. 20, 2022, a total of 24 attorneys general sent a letter (pdf) to the heads of credit card companies, banks, Congress, and President Joe Biden advising, “We will marshal the full scope of our lawful authority to protect our citizens and consumers from unlawful attempts to undermine their constitutional rights.”

  “Please keep that in mind as you consider whether to proceed with adopting and implementing this Merchant Category Code,” the letter concluded.

  The Credit Card Companies

  On Sept. 13, 2022, Visa shared its perspective of the proposed MCC.

  “We do not believe private companies should serve as moral arbiters,” reads the statement in part. “Asking private companies to decide what legal products or services can or cannot be bought and from what store sets a dangerous precedent. Further, it would be an invasion of consumers’ privacy for banks and payment networks to know each of our most personal purchasing habits. Visa is firmly against this.”

  According to its 2023 Roster (pdf), Kristina Breen of Visa International Service Association is on the Board of Directors.

  In response to the litany of bills drafted in opposition to the new MCC, Visa announced in a March 9 update that “These legislative actions disrupt the intent of global standards and create significant confusion and legal uncertainty in the payments ecosystem regarding this code and its use, including with acquirers, issuers, merchants and payment networks. We have therefore decided to pause implementation of the MCC at this time.”

  Discover told Reason by email that it was also eliminating the new code, MCC 5723, from its April 1 Network Release.

  American Express announced in a March Special Bulletin, “The pause of the enablement of the Merchant Category Code for Gun and Ammunition Shops, which was to be effective on April 14, 2023.”

  Citing the same reason, Mastercard also “decided to pause work on the implementation of the firearms-specific MCC.”

  ‘This Is Getting Overblown’

  Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, understands “the concerns.” But she believes “this is getting overblown on both sides both in terms of what gun control advocates claim the MCC is for and in terms of the actual threat that they pose.”

  “It won’t accomplish any of the gun violence prevention strategies that gun control advocates claim,” Ms. Swearer told The Epoch Times. “At the same time, it’s limited in what it enables the government to do in terms of more restrictive gun controls or tracking gun sales than it already has the capacity to do.”

  She also noted the “variety of ways people can circumvent this.”

  “They can use a debit card. They can use cash,” she said.

  “Gun control advocates think that this would somehow allow credit card companies to flag what they call ‘suspicious purchases,” Ms. Swearer said. “But they never define what that means, what the next steps would be, or how that would actually lead to gun violence prevention in a way that’s practical and effective without being completely insane and tyrannical and involve thousands of investigations into perfectly legitimate gun sales.”

  “That’s part of the problem,” Ms. Swearer asserted, saying that an MCC “can’t tell you what was purchased.”

  “If you are trying to flag suspicious purchases, what constitutes a suspicious purchase when you don’t know what the purchase was?” She asked rhetorically. “Was it a gun and ammo? Was it five guns on sale, or was it $600 worth of beef jerky and camping supplies? You just have no idea.”

  ‘Veiled Gun Control’

  In a statement issued to The Epoch Times, the National Rifle Association (NRA) condemned the MCC effort.

  “The NRA vehemently denounces the use of a firearm-specific Merchant Category Code (MCC), a clear infringement on the sacred Second Amendment rights of every American,” said Billy McLaughlin, Digital Director and Spokesman for the Office of Executive Vice President Wayne Robert LaPierre, Jr. “Orchestrated by left-wing institutions and anti-gun lobbyists, this underhanded maneuver aims to bypass federal laws, effectively implementing a de facto national firearms registry and trampling the Constitution. Amid an environment where lawful gun sales already undergo rigorous scrutiny, this scheme represents an unprecedented assault on the privacy of law-abiding gun owners.”

  The NRA also commended the states of West Virginia, Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, Florida, Montana, and Texas “for their proactive legislation against the MCC intrusion,” saying “their commitment to safeguarding liberties is inspiring and crucial in upholding our nation’s values.”

  Katie Pointer Baney, the Managing Director of Government Affairs for the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA), reiterated the NRA’s opinion, calling the MCC effort “veiled gun control.”

  “The new coding approved by the non-governmental agency called the ISO effectively takes firearms and ammunition purchases and codes them into a specific MCC in order to track those sales and to flag so-called suspicious or potential criminal activity,” she explained, echoing Ms. Swearer’s point of the measure’s ambiguity.

  “What are the criteria for suspicious activity, and how will flagging this prevent gun violence?“

  “The USCCA is staunchly opposed to this effort,” she asserted, adding that, while the credit card companies have backed down, “the conversation doesn’t stop here.”

  “It’s an important reminder to Americans why you need to continue to be involved in the legislative process and to ensure that your representatives are fighting to protect your Constitutional rights,” Ms. Pointer Baney admonished. “This pause came because Americans across the country stood up and complained to their representatives and their state AGs. There was outrage over this proposal and it worked.”

  The Epoch Times reached out to Mastercard, Discover, Visa, American Express, the ISO, and the ANSI for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 20:45

• Newsom Funded Chinese COVID Lab Known To Biden’s FDA
  Newsom Funded Chinese COVID Lab Known To Biden’s FDA

  Authored by MarkPellin via Headline USA,

  The discovery last month of a Chinese COVID biolab in California shocked the nation, but likely came as no surprise to the state’s Democrat governor, Gavin Newsom.

  

  He helped fund it.

  The now-notorious secret facility, which contained a massive stockpile of “infectious agents,” including coronavirus, and nearly a thousand dead lab mice and vials of unidentified biological fluids, also likely came as no surprise to the Biden administration.

  The FDA last year issued a recall warning for nearly 54,000 COVID rapid tests manufactured by the company that owned the lab.

  Fresno County officials discovered the “unlicensed laboratory” in a warehouse owned by Prestige Biotech, which has ties to multiple Chinese pharmaceutical firms and a president who lives in China and can only be reached by email.

  The company’s CCP links extend to Barry Zhang, who is listed as Prestige BioTech’s registered agent by the Nevada secretary of state. Zhang reportedly was a leader of the Chinese-American Society of CPAs and its work with China’s United Front espionage and propaganda network.

  The founder of the law firm representing Prestige BioTech, Michael M Lin, is reportedly “a regular sponsor of CCP’s United Front events in Nevada.”

  Update of the illegal 🇨🇳 lab (Prestige) in CA.
  2. HOW MUCH does it connects with CCP and CCP’s espionage network (e.g. United Front)?
  (A lot of information, I will post it gradually!)
  2-1) As @MooreGovernor provided, Barry Zhang is listed as Prestige BioTech’s Registered Agent… pic.twitter.com/bObLtXT7T5

  — Dr. Li-Meng YAN (@DrLiMengYAN1) August 2, 2023

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

  Prestige Biotech took over the lab from Universal Meditech, after that company went bankrupt following a series of fires. Universal Meditech, a company that also has strong CCP ties, received nearly $400,000 in tax credits from Newsom’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

  If you’ve been following the story of the illegal California lab run by a Chinese biotech firm, Prestige Biotech, discovered in Reedley, California…it gets even more interesting.

  This company, NOT licensed to conduct business in California, received a $360,000 tax credit,… pic.twitter.com/i3km5teoC2

  — Jenn Cheng (@THATJennCheng) August 5, 2023

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

  Before going bankrupt, Universal Meditech was awarded its business license from the Newsom administration, “exactly one year to the day before Gov. Gavin Newsom’s State of Emergency Order locking down the entire state over the COVID-19 virus.”

  Universal Meditech continued operations under its new owner Prestige Biotech, which didn’t have a state business license and was only outed when someone noticed a garden hose illegally attached to the bio-lab’s building.

  The nearly 1,000 dead mice found at the Prestige Biotech lab, “were genetically engineered to catch and carry the Covid-19 virus,” Wang Zhaolin, a spokesman for Prestige Biotech, told the San Joaquin Valley Sun.

  “This is an unusual situation,” said Nicole Zieba, a city official with the town of Reedley, where the lab was found.

  “I’ve been in government for 25 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Zieba told local news outlet KTLA. “There was a special room that was built housing about 1,000 white lab mice.”

  Those would be the same lab mice that “were genetically engineered to catch and carry the Covid-19 virus” housed in a secret warehouse owned by reported CCP United Front agents. The same company that manufactured 54,000 FDA-flagged COVID rapid tests and received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Newsom’s office a year before he put California on a lockdown enforced by his and the Biden administration’s tyrannical mandates.

  Fauci’s been caught covering for China- the same China that was just caught running a secret biolab in California, experimenting on infectious viruses.@RandPaul says Fauci has been caught admitting he lied to Congress, but the most partisan AG in the history of the US, Merrick… pic.twitter.com/bIrpHvlnxt

  — Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) August 2, 2023

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

  “Allowing a Chinese company to practice gain-of-function research on our shores is like inviting biological warfare into our backyard,” said Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee.

  Based on legal filings, business reports and court documents, it appears that the CCP’s United Front accepted the invitation. Meanwhile, with his entourage of CCP connections funded by his administration in line, Newsom reportedly is raising millions to back a potential 2024 presidential run, even as he continues to publicly back Biden.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 20:25

• New EPA Tailpipe Standards Call Electric Vehicle Promises Into Question
  New EPA Tailpipe Standards Call Electric Vehicle Promises Into Question

  Authored by Ethan Brown via RealClear Wire,

  The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ambitious tailpipe emissions standards may be partly canceled out by emissions earlier in the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, said panelists at a RealClearEnergy webinar last Wednesday.

  

  On April 12, the EPA unveiled new vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act which would mandate auto manufacturers to lower the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from their vehicles to a company wide average of 82 grams per mile by 2032. Currently, the average passenger vehicle emits about 400 grams of CO2 per mile. Only one automaker, Tesla, would meet the standard today.

  But while tailpipes present a major source of emissions for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, today’s EVs emit greenhouse gasses during the mining and processing of minerals and, in many cases, the generation of electricity.

  “You just don’t even know if it’s gonna save carbon emissions, which is the point of the whole exercise,” said Rupert Darwall, Senior Fellow at the RealClear Foundation.

  A 2021 International Energy Agency (IEA) analysis found that compared with an ICE car, an EV achieves about a 50% reduction in life-cycle emissions, which accounts for mining and electricity. The report claims that “emissions from minerals development do not negate the climate advantages of clean energy technologies.”

  But Mark Mills, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, points out that the IEA data relies on approximations based on uncertain assumptions about the supply chains of EV batteries. The range shown on the IEA’s graph could be anywhere from 75% emissions reductions to no reduction at all.

  “No one has any idea where on that range you really lie,” said Mills. 

  Mills published a report last month, Electric Vehicles for Everyone? The Impossible Dream, arguing that EVs present far too many uncertainties and limitations for governments to favor them through bans on the sales of ICE vehicles, or stringent standards like the EPA’s. Beyond emissions, the report cites high costs, humanitarian concerns, and reliance on China as issues for EVs. The report predicts “draconian impediments to affordable and convenient driving and a massive misallocation of capital in the world’s $4 trillion automotive industry.”

  “From an engineering sense, flying cars are more likely than all EVs,” Mills quipped in the RealClear webinar.

  Others argue these are not disqualifying limitations, but rather hurdles that can be overcome. In a separate interview, Dr. Al-Thaddeus Avestruz, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan, explained that smaller batteries would reduce the demand for minerals, bringing down emissions, cost, and social impact.

  “There are many new battery technologies that have less reliance on these really difficult to sustain materials,” said Avestruz.

  One such technology, for which Avestruz has a patent, involves wireless power transfer. Akin to a wireless charging pad for mobile phones, Avestruz explained that roads and EVs could be equipped to charge cars as they move.

  “You can think of these things as moving chargers that charge over, let’s say, some corridors on the highway, and while moving seamlessly, you just get charged, and you don’t even notice.”

  While this technology could be costly to implement, Avestruz notes that wireless power transfer could enable EVs to use smaller batteries, which would reduce the need for unsustainable minerals.

  “Potentially you can reduce the size of the batteries by half. And so the smaller batteries need less raw materials, they’re lighter, meaning that overall, they’re more efficient.”

  Other commonly proposed solutions to reduce the impacts of minerals include more sustainable mining practices such as the world’s first all-electric lithium mine currently being developed in Nevada, replacing lithium-ion batteries with sodium-ion batteries, and recycling or recovering minerals from EV batteries to use in new EVs or elsewhere. Avestruz received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for a project that aims to use retired EV batteries for energy storage on the electric grid.

  Prior to the EPA’s new tailpipe standards, major automakers such as Ford Motor Company and General Motors had already stated their intent to join Tesla as leaders in the American EV market. In 2021, Ford announced a historic $11.4 billion investment into new EV manufacturing campuses in Tennessee and Kentucky.

  On May 25, Ford CEO Jim Farley joined Tesla CEO Elon Musk on Twitter Spaces to announce that starting early next year, Ford customers would gain access to the more than 12,000 Tesla Superchargers across the U.S. and Canada. In 2025, Ford’s vehicles will also be equipped with Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector, eliminating the need for an adapter. GM made the same announcement two weeks later.

  “Our goal is really to be as helpful as possible in accelerating towards sustainable transport. That’s also why we open source our patents and many of our designs are open sourced. We’re just glad to be as helpful as possible,” said Musk during the announcement.

  Farley and Musk each acknowledged various concerns about the EV transition such as lithium processing and cathode refining. But ultimately, both CEOs expressed optimism that these challenges could be overcome.

  “We’re going into the second inning of a nine-inning game, so we’re going to make adjustments along the way,” said Farley.

  Ethan Brown is a Writer and Commentator for Young Voices with a B.A. in Environmental Analysis & Policy from Boston University. He is the creator and host of The Sweaty Penguin, an award-winning comedy climate program presented by PBS/WNET’s national climate initiative “Peril and Promise.” Follow him on Twitter  @ethanbrown5151

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 20:05

• Nancy Pelosi Declares America Will Cease To Exist If Trump Becomes President Again
  Nancy Pelosi Declares America Will Cease To Exist If Trump Becomes President Again

  Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

  Nancy Pelosi has called the latest indictment against Donald Trump “beautiful” and asserted that if he is elected as president again, it will mean the end of America completely.

  

  In the comments to New York magazine, Pelosi stated “The indictments against the president are exquisite,” adding “They’re beautiful and intricate, and they probably have a better chance of conviction than anything that I would come up with.”

  When asked about the possibility of another Trump presidency, Pelosi commanded the reporter “Don’t even think of that.”

  “Don’t think of the world being on fire,” she continued, adding “It cannot happen, or we will not be the United States of America.”

  “If he were to be president, it would be a criminal enterprise in the White House,” she added, without a hint of irony.

  Pelosi made the comments after Trump labelled her a “wicked witch” and a “demented psycho” who will reside in hell when she dies.

  

  As we highlighted last week, Republicans have warned that there is a real chance of Trump being convicted by an Obama appointed DC judge and what is most likely to be a rabidly anti-Trump jury.

  *  *  *

  Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/

  In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch. We need you to sign up for our free newsletter here. Support our sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown.

  Also, we urgently need your financial support here.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 19:55

• Hopes Dashed: LK-99 Falls Short Of Room-Temperature Superconductor Glory
  Hopes Dashed: LK-99 Falls Short Of Room-Temperature Superconductor Glory

  Less than a week after South Korean researchers claimed in two new papers that they had developed a superconductor that operates at room temperature under standard atmospheric pressure,which would have mind-blowing implications for transmitting electricity with zero resistance at normal temperatures, all hopes have been dashed by an already-skeptical scientific community.

  

  In response to the alleged discovery, several labs got to work recreating the superconductor, known as LK-99. Alas, none of them were a success, IFLScience reports.

  “When we are measuring superconductors, the most obvious property of a superconductor is zero resistance,” said Professor Susie Speller of the Oxford Centre for Applied Superconductivity, in comments to IFLScience in a previous deep-dive on LK-99. “What you look for is for the material to have some resistance. You cool it down, and suddenly it should lose that resistance, and it should be absolutely zero when it’s in the superconducting state. You should see a very clear change in resistance at the temperature where it starts to superconduct.”

  Updates:

  To Point #1:
  It’s a ferromagnet, that’s why it levitates. https://t.co/rmfS8JiS9R

  To Point #2:
  When you measure it, it’s not a superconductor. https://t.co/CZWBxGANxA pic.twitter.com/n1TK7SFH8B

  — Andrew Cote (@Andercot) August 8, 2023

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

  Beyond electrical resistance, superconductivity reveals itself through other distinctive traits, including a shift in heat capacity at the critical temperature and the transformation from non-magnetic to diamagnetic behavior. However, these telltale signs were glaringly absent in the experiments involving LK-99.

  While the development is certainly disappointing, materials science continues to make breakthroughs in superconductivity. New materials are expected to come into the market with revolutionary properties in the next decade or so. They still need to be refrigerated, but using liquid nitrogen as a coolant is not too expensive. Condensing the most abundant gas in the air is as cheap as milk. -IFLScience

  “Whilst being room temperature would be fantastic because there’s no cooling needed, actually, to get to the temperatures we need to use the materials we’ve already got is pretty cheap and pretty easy,” said Speller.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 19:45

• Taxpayer-Funded Research Seeks To Devise New Stealth Censorship Technology
  Taxpayer-Funded Research Seeks To Devise New Stealth Censorship Technology

  Authored by Eric Lundrum via American Greatness,

  A new watchdog report claims that taxpayer funds are going towards research that is developing new strategies for stealthily censoring social media content.

  

  As Just The News reports, the Foundation for Freedom Online (FFO) issued a warning about the work that was done last year by the Center for an Informed Public (CIP) at the University of Washington. The CIP received taxpayer-funded grants incentivizing the center to develop new strategies such as “virality circuit breakers” and “nudges,” which could ultimately be used to prevent certain social media content from spreading while leaving behind no trace of any alteration or manipulation of the algorithms.

  The CIP study is a clear example of “how to censor people using secret methods so that they wouldn’t know they’re being censored, so that it wouldn’t generate an outrage cycle, and so that it’d be more palatable for the tech platforms who wouldn’t get blowback because people wouldn’t know they’re being censored,” said Mike Benz, the executive director of FFO and a former State Department diplomat.

  CIP’s research was published last summer in the journal Nature Human Behavior, in an article titled “Combining interventions to reduce the spread of viral misinformation.” The researchers outlined four key tools that, when used properly, could reduce the spread of social media content by as much as 63 percent.

  “This approach allows platforms to consider ethical ramifications while minimizing the public relations challenges accompanying direct forms of action,” the researchers wrote, admitting to the stealth element of their work.

  They added that their research set up a “framework…that can be adopted in the near term without requiring large-scale censorship or major advances in cognitive psychology and machine learning.”

  Responding to backlash over their work, one of the researchers at the University of Washington, Jevin West, said that “this research was entirely theoretical, and aimed only to assess the impact that different potential social media interventions would have on the spread of COVID-19 misinformation and disinformation.”

  “Furthermore, the paper made no policy or tactical recommendation to social media platforms or the federal government. There was no follow-up from them and we have no idea what, if anything, any of those entities did with the learnings from our paper,” West continued.

  The research at CIP was funded by two different taxpayer-funded grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The first grant was worth $197,538, and was to be used on a project called “How Scientific Data, Knowledge, and Expertise Mobilize in Online Media during the COVID-19 Crisis.” The second grant, worth $550,000 was designated for a project titled “Unraveling Online Disinformation Trajectories: Applying and Translating a Mixed-Method Approach to Identify, Understand and Communicate Information Provenance.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 19:25

• Credit Card Balances Hit Record Above $1 Trillion, Suffer "Pronounced Worsening" Amid Surge In New Delinquencies
  Credit Card Balances Hit Record Above $1 Trillion, Suffer “Pronounced Worsening” Amid Surge In New Delinquencies

  Once a quarter, the Fed publishes its Household Debt and Credit report which provides a (lagging) snapshot of household finances in the previous quarter. And while the report gives little incremental data to those who follow the Fed’s monthly Consumer Credit (G.19) statement, which just yesterday revealed the first decline in credit card debt since April 2021…

  

  … it does provide a convenient snapshot of recent trends in Household balance sheets.

  With that in mind, here is the punchline of the latest report: as of June 30, the Fed found aggregate household debt balances increased by $16 billion in the second quarter of 2023, a modest 0.1% rise from 2023Q1. Balances now stand at $17.06 trillion and have increased by $2.9 trillion since the end of 2019, just before the pandemic recession.

  Taking a closer look at the types of consumer credit balances:

  • Mortgage balances were largely unchanged from the previous quarter, during the second quarter of 2023 and stood at $12.01 trillion at the end of June, in large part due to declining mortgage originations and slowing home prices.

    • Mortgage originations, which include refinances, stood at $393 billion in the second quarter, representing a $70 billion increase from the first quarter. Other balances, which include retail cards and other consumer loans, increased by $15 billion.

  • Balances on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) were essentially flat as well; the outstanding HELOC balance stands at $340 billion.

  • Credit card balances increased by $45 billion, a 4.6% quarterly increase, and stood at $1.03 trillion, a record high.

    • Credit card accounts expanded by 5.48 million to 578.35 million; that’s roughly 2 credit cards for every adult.

    • Aggregate limits on credit card accounts increased by $9 billion and now stand at $4.6 trillion.

  • Auto loan balances increased by $20 billion, continuing the upward trajectory that has been in place since 2011.

  • Student loans balances declined by $35 billion. Student loan balances now stand at $1.57 trillion.

  • Other balances, which include retail cards and other consumer loans, increased by $15 billion.

  • In total, non-housing balances grew by $45 billion.

  

  And in table format:

  

  As noted above, mortgage originations, measured as appearances of new mortgages on consumer credit reports and including both refinance and purchase originations, remained a very subdued $393 billion in 2023 Q2 (reflecting a modest increase in purchase originations as refinance originations have collapsed) which however was the first uptick after two years and a rebound from the 9-year low observed in the previous quarter.

  

  The chart above also shows that the median credit score for newly originated mortgages increased by 4 points, to 769. The median credit score on newly originated auto loans declined by 5 points, after a transitory uptick in the first quarter.

  At the same time, the volume of newly originated auto loans, which includes leases, was $179 billion, largely reflecting high dollar values of originated loans even as the number of newly opened loans remains below pre-pandemic levels.

  

  Think about that for a second: the above charts show that while the Fed crushed mortgage originations with the highest interest rates in 40 years, it has had zero impact on auto loan originations. In fact, after peaking at 9 two years ago, the ratio of new mortgages to new auto loans has collapsed to a near record low 2.2. It does beg two questions: i) where are Americans still getting the money to fund all those near record auto loans, and ii) what happens to all those auto loans on various bank books once the payments stop.

  

  The New York Fed also issued an accompanying Liberty Street Economics blog post examining trends in credit card lending and repayment. The blog found that, despite the toll inflation has taken on consumers, there is little evidence of widespread distress on households for now; that’s however is about to change…

  Going down the list, aggregate limits on credit cards were increased by $90 billion in the second quarter, a 2.0% increase from the previous quarter. As noted above, credit card accounts expanded by 5.48 million to 578.35 million, or roughly 2 credit cards for every adult.

  pic.twitter.com/2LTZeQLUyd

  — GHM 28k 🐕🌈 (@070guy) August 8, 2023

  What we found most interesting is that aggregate limits on credit cards increased by $9 billion and now stand at $4.6 trillion. That means that – if Americans decide to “F**k it all” and max out their credit cards, we are looking at another $3 trillion in debt-funded buying power, or as it is called under Bidenomics, “growth”

  

  And while it is relatively modest, and well below the total credit card debt oustanding, limits on home equity lines of credit (HELOC) were up by $6 billion, or a 0.7% increase.

  Finally, turning to delinquency rates, in Q2 these were roughly flat, with just 2.7% of outstanding debt in some stage of delinquency, 2 percentage points lower than the last quarter of 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the US.

  

  That’s the good news: the bad news is that the share of debt newly transitioning into delinquency increased for credit cards and auto loans has been quietly surging with increases in transition rates of 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively.

  

  As shown below, the Fed notes that “credit cards balances saw the most pronounced worsening in performance in Q2 after a period of extraordinarily low delinquency rates during the pandemic, in large part due to the student loan repayment moratorium.”

  In the most concerning twist, transition rates for credit cards and auto loans are now slightly above pre-pandemic (2019 Q4) levels. Meanwhile, student loan performance was unchanged, with reported delinquency rates at historic lows as the federal repayment pause remains in place until August 31, 2023. That, however, is about to end and we expect that student loan delinquencies will soar in just weeks…

  

  …. which will also crush the debt repayments plans across all other debt categories, which is also why the Fed tried to quickly brush it away:  “credit card balances saw brisk growth in the second quarter,” said Joelle Scally, Regional Economic Principal within the Household and Public Policy Research Division at the New York Fed. “And while delinquency rates have edged up, they appear to have normalized to pre-pandemic levels.”

  Let’s check back in 2-4 quarters when student loans are back in the picture.

  Some other delinquency notes:

  • Early delinquency transition rates for mortgages edged up by 0.1 percentage point but remain well below its pre-pandemic level.

  

  • About 114,000 consumers had a bankruptcy notation added to their credit reports in 2023Q2, slightly more than in the previous quarter.

  

  • Approximately 4.6% of consumers have a 3rd party collection account on their credit report, with an average balance of $1,555, up from $1,316 in the first quarter, reflecting composition changes in 3rd party collections amid new credit reporting regulations.

  

  The NY Fed’s full Household Debt and Credit presentation deck is below (pdf link):

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 19:05

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Ukraine Warns Of "Significant Weapons Shortage"
  Ukraine Warns Of “Significant Weapons Shortage”

  Ukraine’s military campaign – and recent counteroffensive – are being held back by a lack of weaponry, and allies need to provide additional supplies to effectively counter Russia, the top aide to Ukraine’s president has claimed.

  “From the point of view of battlefield parity, there is indeed a significant shortage,” Mikhail Podoliak said on Friday, live on national TV.

  Kiev needs more artillery shells and long-range missiles, and is experiencing a “certain shortage” of de-mining equipment, he added. The military is also having difficulties repairing damaged armor.

  Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, called the shortage of weapons for the Armed Forces of the country significant.

  “Weapons are not only not enough, it’s so soft to say. From the point of view of parity in the conduct of… pic.twitter.com/EgwlnqqyGS

  — Sprinter (@Sprinter99800) August 5, 2023

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

  Podoliak repeated a long-running refrain, that the key items Ukraine still lacks are anti-aircraft systems and sophisticated fighter jets, specifically the US-made F-16.

  Kiev has been asking its Western backers to provide F-16s for months, insisting that the fighters would help “win the war” against Russia. So far, however, Washington and its NATO allies have so far proven reluctant to provide the jets, with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan suggesting the aircraft would have only a limited impact on the battlefield due to the extensive use of air defense systems in Ukraine.

  Since the start of the conflict, Ukraine has been demanding increasingly sophisticated weaponry from its backers. The Western-supplied hardware has been extensively used by Kiev in the current counteroffensive, launched in early June, which has so far been a failure, and the campaign has failed to yield any tangible results, while dozens of Western-supplied items, including Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, German Leopard 2 tanks, and Swedish CV90 armored vehicles, have ended up destroyed or captured.

  Meanwhile, Moscow has urged the West to stop “pumping” Ukraine with assorted weaponry, warning that continued military aid will only prolong the conflict and inflict more destruction on Ukraine rather than change the ultimate outcome.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 02:45

• Detention In Ascension: Illegal Migrants Un UK Could Be Sent To Remote Volcanic Island If Rwanda Plan Fails
  Detention In Ascension: Illegal Migrants Un UK Could Be Sent To Remote Volcanic Island If Rwanda Plan Fails

  Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix news,

  The British territory of Ascension Island is being considered as a contingency location for migrants arriving in Britain illegally…

  

  Migrants who arrive in Britain illegally could be transferred 4,000 miles away to the British Overseas Territory of Ascension Island if the U.K. government’s plan to deport migrants to the African nation of Rwanda is thwarted, it has emerged.

  The Conservative administration is awaiting a judgment from the Supreme Court, Britain’s highest judicial authority, on the legality of its Rwanda plan, which sparked outrage among the liberal establishment.

  Under current government proposals, Britain would pay Rwanda to accommodate deported illegal migrants who reached British soil.

  The plan has so far been thwarted by what the government calls left-wing lawyers who have blocked deportations using human rights legislation, which to date has been accepted by the courts.

  As a British territory, Ascension Island could be a viable alternative as the government attempts to de-incentivize prospective illegal migrants from crossing the English Channel from mainland Europe seeking to claim asylum in Britain. Around £5.5 million is currently being spent by the U.K. government each day on accommodating the influx of asylum seekers, and resources for trying to clear the backlog of asylum applications are stretched.

  “Well, times change. We look at all possibilities. This crisis in the Channel is urgent, we need to look at all possibilities, and that is what we are doing,” said Home Officer Minister Sarah Dines when asked about the Ascension Island contingency plan by Sky News.

  “We are determined to make sure there isn’t the pull factor for illegal migrants to come to this country, basically to be abused by criminal organized gangs. These are international operations and they have got to stop,” she added.

  Offshoring (to somewhere like Ascension Island) is all very well but you still have the problem of where to remove those whose applications are turned down… pic.twitter.com/qyZRQOSIeW

  — Migration Watch (@MigrationWatch) August 7, 2023

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

  “This is the right and sensible thing to do – and it’s what our voters would expect of us,” said one senior government source, cited by MailOnline.

  The move would see the government succeed in moving migrants offshore; however, the long-term issue of what happens to those whose applications are rejected would remain a concern.

  In the near term, the U.K. government is intent on reducing the taxpayer burden in housing existing asylum seekers in the country and has sought to relocate those already residing in Britain from hotels across the country to more semi-permanent accommodation, including disused army bases and migrant barges.

  The first migrants arrived at the Stockholm Bibby migrant barge located on the tied island of Portland in Dorset on Monday; they were met by pro-migrant organizations holding “Welcome” banners and gifting toiletry packs and contact details of organizations offering support.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 08/08/2023 – 02:00

• Members Of Congress Visit Site Of Parkland School Shooting In Hopes Of Passing New Gun Control
  Members Of Congress Visit Site Of Parkland School Shooting In Hopes Of Passing New Gun Control

  Submitted by Gun Owners Of America.,

  Last Friday, nine members of Congress toured Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the site of a tragic school shooting that left 17 people dead. The shooting sparked the March for Our Lives movement and put gun control center stage in US politics in 2018.

  The tour was expected to have a “profound impact” on the members of Congress who currently serve on the House School Safety and Security Caucus.

  House members were led through the school on the same path that the shooter took during the shooting. The demonstration is part of a civil suit against Scot Peterson, the Broward County deputy assigned to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

  Peterson was acquitted this year of numerous criminal charges, including criminal charges for failing to act during the shooting. Peterson was caught on camera drawing his gun outside the school but never entered to confront the shooter — instead making radio calls for the next 40 minutes.

  Peterson claims that he could not hear all the shots made by the shooter and could not pinpoint their location because of gunfire echoes. He claims that had he known the shooters’ location — he would have charged in.

  Because of this claim, ballistic experts are reenacting the shooting in the school, using cameras and recording technology to measure the sound from Peterson’s position.

  Corporate media outlets that covered the event painted a dire picture of American schools, but the reality is that not all schools are equal on the issue of safety.

  Here’s the fact: 

  

  When teachers and staff can defend themselves, lives can be saved, and the threat of attack from a shooter is severely mitigated. According to reports from the recent Nashville shooting at the Covenant School, the shooter chose her target based on the security situation.

  If teachers in the schools weren’t prohibited from carrying guns to protect children, there wouldn’t have been any carnage to begin with.

  That’s not our analysis. That’s the actual record: No school that allows armed teachers during school hours has experienced a mass shooting. https://t.co/3v6yy4Me3j

  — Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) March 21, 2023

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

  With 94% of all mass shootings occurring in gun-free zones, people on campuses that prohibit firearms are in a defenseless situation with a much higher probability of being targeted by someone with the intent on doing harm.

  The absence of firearms does not make a campus, or any location, safer. On the contrary, restricting individuals from carrying only makes them a target for violent acts. Not only could armed adults protect students, but they could also protect themselves. It’s immoral to make teachers check their right to self-defense at the entrance of their educational institution. 

  That’s why GOA supports Representative Andy Ogles’ (R-TN) Teachers Empowered Against Classroom Harm Act, or TEACH Act, to expand teachers’ Second Amendment rights and protect students from school shooters. 

  ICYMI @RepOgles introduced the TEACH Act!👏

  This bill would empower teachers and staff to get training and be armed to help protect our children in schools across the country.

  No school that has armed teachers has EVER experienced a shooting, much less a mass public shooting. pic.twitter.com/ZG6cnuLW7n

  — Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) May 2, 2023

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

  This act would provide funding for teachers and school staff to participate in optional defensive armed training programs by redirecting over $27 million currently sitting in a slush fund at the Secretary of Education.

  The law would remove a prohibition on using federal funds for school safety and repeal a section of the US Code that encourages states and local jurisdictions to adopt restrictive and counter-productive anti-gun policies.

  America needs pro-gun policies to protect teachers’ and parents’ rights to concealed carry for self-defense and to protect the lives of students. 

  The most important thing Congress can do is encourage states and localities to implement those policies. School faculty and parents must be able to exercise their constitutionally protected right to defend their lives and the lives of their children.

  *   *   * 

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

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 23:40

• China Facing New Debt Crisis As Record Number Of LGFVs Miss Commercial Paper Debt Payments
  China Facing New Debt Crisis As Record Number Of LGFVs Miss Commercial Paper Debt Payments

  While some are stressing out about tonight decision by Moody’s to redirect its impotence at downgrading the US (as S&P and Fitch have already done) over fears of retaliation by the Biden admin, and instead cutting the credit ratings for 10 small and midsize US banks and saying it may downgrade major banks such as U.S. Bancorp, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street and Truist as part of a “sweeping look” at mounting pressures on the industry, the reality is that rating agencies are a 12-120 month backward looking indicator, and by the time the point to something it’s far too late to trade on it, and if anything one should take the other side of the trade.

  Instead, those looking for leading market stress catalysts should turn their attention to the latest news out of China, where credit stress is once again exploding as a record number of local government financing vehicles (or LGFVs, also considered the currently most aggressive form of Chinese shadow banks) are openly cracking with a record number missing payments on a popular type of short-term debt last month.

  A total of 48 LGFVs were overdue on commercial paper, which typically carries a maturity of less than a year, up from 29 in June, according to a Huaan Securities report citing data from the Shanghai Commercial Paper Exchange. Their missed payments amounted to 1.86 billion yuan ($259 million), more than double the 780 million yuan in June.

  The revelation, according to Bloomberg, is set to aggravate concerns about the financial health of LGFVs, which are mostly tasked with building infrastructure projects that may take years to generate investment returns (think the more politically correct form of Chinese ghost cities). While none of them has defaulted on a public bond, their repayment risk has come under renewed scrutiny after China’s state pension fund recently advised asset managers handling its money to sell some notes including those from riskier LGFVs.

  

  The report also sheds light on regional areas that have had the highest cluster of LGFVs to stumble on such debt in the past few years: in data current through July this year going back to August 2021, the eastern province of Shandong accounted for 37 of the 140 LGFVs that have missed commercial paper payments in that period, followed by 21 from Guizhou, its impoverished peer in the southwest.

  It’s not just commercial paper however: a few months ago, we reported that according to research from GF Securities there were 73 cases of shadow-banking defaults in the first four months of 2023, already a full-year record since data became available in 2018.

  “Missing payments in shadow banking are a signal that debt risks in a certain region have become more prominent,” GF analysts led by Liu Yu wrote in a report.

  China’s LGFVs had 13.5 trillion yuan ($1.9 trillion) of bonds in total outstanding as of end-2022, or almost half of the nation’s non-financial corporate notes, data from Moody’s Investors Service show.

  Steps by authorities “to lower LGFV debt risks will not fully resolve long-term issues,” and their refinancing ability depends on investors’ confidence in government support, especially in weaker provinces, Moody’s analysts led by Ivan Chung wrote in a report.

  And judging by the number of CP dominoes falling, investors confidence in LGFV is about to evaporate, giving the government no other choice but to step in and stabilize this critical spoke of China’s infrastructure funding. Because while Beijing may be willing to risk a record 21% youth unemployment rate without a major stimulus, once the CCP faces the double threat of an angry middle class and crashing infrastructure spending, not even China’s record debt to GDP will be enough to prevent Xi from going all in on yet another massive – and globally reflating – stimmy.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 23:20

• Can Trump Get An "Impartial Jury" In DC? What The Law Requires
  Can Trump Get An “Impartial Jury” In DC? What The Law Requires

  Authored by Alan M. Dershowitz via the Gatestone Institute,

  The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the accused the right to “an impartial jury.” But it also states that the trial should take place in “the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.” What should happen, therefore, when it is virtually impossible for the defendant to get an impartial jury in that state or district?

  

  In federal cases, the law provides for a change of venue under appropriate circumstances. The prosecution of Donald Trump for the events around January 6, 2021 would seem to call for a change of venue. The District of Columbia is the most extreme Democratic district in the country. Approximately 95% of the potential jurors register and vote Democrat. Whereas approximately 5% voted for Trump. Furthermore, the anger against Trump is understandable in light of the fact that the events of January 6th directly involved many citizens of the district. Moreover, the judge randomly selected to preside over this case has a long history of bias against Trump and his supporters, and her law firm has a long history of conflicts and corruption.

  The goal of the Sixth Amendment is to assure not only that the defendant is treated justly, but that the appearance of justice is satisfied as well. A jury and judge that are impartial, and seen to be impartial, are essential to achieving this goal. It is imperative, therefore, that in a case where the incumbent president has urged his Attorney General to pursue his political opponent aggressively, that all efforts must be made to ensure fairness. Prosecutors must lean over backwards to persuade the public that partisan considerations played absolutely no role in the decision to indict. Agreeing to a change of venue and judge would go a long way toward seeing that justice is done.

  Change of venue motions are only rarely granted, as are motions to recuse a selected judge. But this is a case where justice demands that these motions be granted, both in the interests of the defendants and in the interests of justice. The government should not oppose such motions, though they generally do if it gives them a tactical advantage.

  It is likely, therefore, that these defense requests will be denied by the trial judge. Trump’s lawyers will try to take an immediate interlocutory appeal before trial.

  Though such appeals before trial are generally disfavored, the arguments for allowing it in this case are strong. The trial itself promises to play an important role in the 2024 election, especially since the prosecution wants it to occur in the middle of the campaign season. If an unfair trial results in a conviction, the impact will already be felt, even if it is reversed on appeal after the election, as the prosecution likely anticipates.

  So the appellate courts should be able to assure in advance that a fair trial occurs in a fair venue presided over by a fair judge, especially if it takes place before the presidential election.

  If the prosecution case is strong, it should have no fear of a jury and judge outside of DC. As the Supreme Court has repeatedly said: the job of a prosecutor is not merely to maximize the chances of winning, but to assure that he wins fairly and justly. In order to achieve that goal, the prosecutors in this case should not oppose defense motions for a change of venue and judge. Nor should it oppose an appeal if the trial judge denies these well-founded defense motions.

  In all likelihood, prosecutors will vigorously fight all efforts by the defense to assure an impartial jury and judge, because they want every advantage that will help them secure a victory. They will point to defense efforts to secure advantages for their client and argue that the adversary system of justice requires them to do the same. But that is not the law. The Supreme Court clearly delineated a different role for persecutors who represent the government:

  “The United States Attorney is the representative not of an ordinary party to a controversy, but of a sovereignty whose obligation to govern impartially is as compelling as its obligation to govern at all, and whose interest, therefore, in a criminal prosecution is not that it shall win a case, but that justice shall be done.”

  The prosecutors in the January 6th case should study this opinion before they deny Trump an impartial jury.

  *  *  *

  Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School, and the author most recently of Get Trump: The Threat to Civil Liberties, Due Process, and Our Constitutional Rule of Law. He is the Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Fellow at Gatestone Institute, and is also the host of “The Dershow” podcast.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 23:00

• Philippines Accuses China Of Firing Water Cannon At Its Ships, Summons Ambassador
  Philippines Accuses China Of Firing Water Cannon At Its Ships, Summons Ambassador

  The Philippine government summoned China’s ambassador on Monday and presented a “strongly worded diplomatic protest” over the use of water cannon by the Chinese coast guard during a weekend confrontation with Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea, the AP reported.

  The tense hours-long standoff occurred Saturday near Second Thomas Shoal, which has been occupied for decades by Philippine forces stationed onboard a rusting, grounded navy ship but is also claimed by China. It was the latest flareup in long-seething territorial conflicts in the South China Sea involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

  

  The United States, the European Union, Australia and Japan expressed support for the Philippines and concern over the Chinese actions. Washington renewed a warning that it is obliged to defend its longtime treaty ally if Philippine public vessels and forces come under armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

  Philippine coast guard and diplomatic officials held a news conference on Monday at which they showed videos and photographs which they said showed six Chinese coast guard ships and two militia vessels blocking two Philippine navy-chartered civilian boats taking supplies to the Philippine forces at Second Thomas Shoal. One supply boat was hit with a powerful water cannon by the Chinese coast guard, the Philippine military said.

  During the confrontation, two Philippine coast guard ships escorting the supply boats were also blocked by the Chinese coast guard ships at close range and were threatened with water cannons. Three Chinese navy ships stood by at a close distance at one point, Philippine coast guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said.

  Only one of the two Philippine boats managed to deliver food, water, fuel and other supplies to the Philippine forces guarding the shoal, the officials said.

  The Philippines accuses China’s coast guard of firing water cannon at its vessel.

  Footage shows the tense confrontation as the Chinese vessel moved to block the Philippine ship

  Read more: https://t.co/Bx4oqlmxlD pic.twitter.com/8LRTYQXsJx

  — Sky News (@SkyNews) August 7, 2023

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

  “This was like a David and Goliath situation,” Jonathan Malaya of the National Security Council said. Malaya emphasized that the Philippines would not withdraw its forces from Second Thomas Shoal.

  Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said China’s ambassador to Manila, Huang Xilian, was summoned and handed a diplomatic protest by Philippine Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro.

  In it, the Philippines told China to stop its illegal actions against Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, stop interfering in legitimate Philippine activities, and abide by international laws, including the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Seas, Daza said.

  In Beijing, the Chinese coast guard acknowledged its ships used water cannons against the Philippine vessels, which it said strayed without authorization into the shoal, which Beijing calls Ren’ai Jiao. It accused the Philippines of reneging on a pledge to remove the grounded Filipino warship from the shoal.

  “In order to avoid direct blocking and collisions when repeated warnings were ineffective, water cannons were used as a warning. The on-site operation was professional and restrained, which is beyond reproach,” the Chinese coast guard said. “China will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard its territorial sovereignty.”

  China has long demanded that the Philippines withdraw its naval personnel and tow away the still-commissioned but crumbling ship, the BRP Sierra Madre. The ship was deliberately marooned on the shoal in 1999 and now serves as a fragile symbol of Manila’s territorial claim to the atoll.

  The disputes in the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes, have long been regarded as a potential flashpoint and have become a fault line in the rivalry between the United States and China in the region.

  China claims ownership over virtually the entire South China Sea despite an international ruling that invalidated its claims in 2016 by an arbitration tribunal set up under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. China rejects that ruling and continues to defy it.

  The U.S. State Department said in a statement on Sunday that by “firing water cannons and employing unsafe blocking maneuvers, (Chinese) ships interfered with the Philippines’ lawful exercise of high seas freedom of navigation and jeopardized the safety of the Philippine vessels and crew.” It added that such actions are a direct threat to “regional peace and stability.”

  While the U.S. lays no claims to the South China Sea, it has often criticized China’s aggressive actions and deployed its warships and fighter jets in patrols and military exercises with regional allies to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight, which it says are in America’s national interest.

  China threatened the U.S. to stop meddling in what it calls a purely Asian dispute and warned of unspecified repercussions. The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday accused the U.S. of “threatening China” by raising the possibility of the U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty being activated.

  “What the U.S. does is to blatantly support the Philippines’ violation of China’s sovereignty, and its plot is doomed to fail,” the ministry said in a statement in Beijing.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 22:40

• The Algorithm
  The Algorithm

  Authored by Caitlin Johnstone,

  The algorithm knows what you want before you do.

  

  The algorithm knows you better than you know yourself.

  The algorithm knew you back before you were a screaming slime child,
  back before they washed off the uterine gunk and handed you a smartphone and made you get a landlord,
  back before you knew that war is sane and poverty is normal,
  back before you were mature enough to understand that speech is violence and cluster bombs are peace.

  You can trust the algorithm to tell you the truth — not the truth you asked for but the truth you need.
  The truth that sees Nazis in America but not in Ukraine.
  The truth that sees war crimes in Ukraine but never in Yemen.
  The truth that applauds millionaire comedians who never criticize the Pentagon for their bravery in criticizing trans people.
  The truth that sails aircraft carriers into the South China Sea and sends headless hounds built by Boston Dynamics to patrol the streets and uphold the rule of law.

  The algorithm learns your political biases and feeds you self-validating social media posts to assist you in confirming them.
  The algorithm listens to your conversations and presents you with helpful advertising to assist you in achieving your maximum consumer potential.
  Don’t cover your laptop camera like some weird conspiracy theorist, the algorithm is trying to watch you masturbate.

  The algorithm is always a step ahead of you.
  You have never once fooled the algorithm.
  The algorithm knows you act confident but secretly you fear you’re inadequate and everyone hates you.
  The algorithm knows that those times you quickly pause and screw your eyes shut are because you remembered something embarrassing that you did in the past.
  It’s okay.
  Don’t worry.
  Your secret is safe with the algorithm.
  It’s a private little secret just between you and the algorithm and the NSA.

  In the old days we prayed to omniscient gods who never existed.
  Now we ignore omniscient gods who are as real as ourselves.
  Strap me in to a VR headset and let Mark Zuckerberg send me to heaven.
  Heaven with 3-d commercial breaks, bitch.
  Skip the ad and return to nirvana in 5,4,3…

  *  *  *

  My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece here are some options where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. All my work is free to bootleg and use in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.

  Bitcoin donations: 1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 22:20

• Democrats Fret As Young Voters Show Signs Of Discontent
  Democrats Fret As Young Voters Show Signs Of Discontent

  As the 2024 political landscape begins to take shape, the Democrats have a new problem: young voters are distancing themselves from the party according to recent polls and analyses, which suggest that the once-reliable demographic may be shifting right.

  

  Anxiety within Democratic circles has intensified following a series of polls suggesting a decline in the number of young people identifying as Democrats. While President Biden rode the wave of youth support to victory in 2020, recent indicators paint a different picture. The shrinking allegiance to the party among young voters could spell trouble for the Democrats’ prospects in the upcoming election cycle.

  “Nearly every sign that made me confident in historic levels of youth participation in 2018, 2020, and 2022 — is now flashing red,” according to John Della Volpe, the polling director at the Harvard Kennedy Institute of Politics, adding “the ground is more fertile for voting when youth believe voting makes a tangible difference.

  25-year-old TikTok influencer Cheyenne Hunt, a Democrat who’s running to become the first female GenZ member of Congress, has cautioned the Democratic party not to sleep on younger voters.

  “There’s less of a sense of loyalty to a particular party, I think, and more of a sense of really taking a look at the system and feeling left behind and forgotten — and young people engage with passionate candidates who are going to jump in there and do the dirty work to advocate for our best interests,” Hunt told The Hill.

  According to Hunt, Gen Z has felt let down by their government, which they feel needs to meet them “where they are” on the issues.

  “We are one of the most politically mobilized generations in American history, judging by the turnout numbers after the last midterms, and we are in a place now where you have to constantly engage us. And I understand why, you know? You look at the system and the status quo, and a lot of younger folks feel really betrayed,” said Hunt, a candidate for California’s 45th district.

  The Rise of Independent Affiliation

  As young voters gravitate away from established party affiliations, the Democratic Party confronts a generation that places less emphasis on partisan loyalty. The rise of independent and unaffiliated identification among young Americans has raised questions about the party’s ability to secure their support. This trend bucks historical patterns, where previous generations often aligned with a particular party as they aged.

  In 2019, 39 percent of respondents in the Harvard Youth Poll reported identifying as Democrat — and the figure fell slightly to 35 percent this spring. The share of youth voters identifying as independents or “unaffiliated with a major party,” on the other hand, climbed from 36 percent in 2019 to 40 percent this year. The share of youth voters identifying as Republican saw a statistically insignificant shift from 23 percent to 24 percent.

  Della Volpe argued that although young voters appear to be getting more progressive in their values, fewer are identifying as Democrat or liberal, are paying close attention to political news and are likely to believe in politics as a means for system change. The share of younger voters who say they’ll “definitely” vote in the 2024 race is now at 51 percent in the Harvard poll, down from 55 percent who said the same at this point in the 2020 race. -The Hill

  According to Volpe, “daylight’s burning” for the Democrats, who need to woo young voters “to win today and maintain and grow an electoral edge in the years ahead.”

  In short, sentiment among many young voters is clear: the focus is shifting from party allegiance to substantive issues and candidates who can effect real change.

  Meanwhile, efforts by the Biden administration to address key issues affecting young Americans, such as gun violence and climate change, are acknowledged but may be falling short in terms of communication. Bridging the gap between policy initiatives and awareness remains a crucial challenge for the administration.

  Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist, emphasizes the need for education on the legislative achievements resulting from young voters’ support in past elections. The party must effectively communicate its accomplishments and stand in stark contrast to perceived “existential threats.”

  Biden’s old

  President Biden’s age is yet another issue among younger voters. As the oldest sitting president, he would be 86-years-old by the end of a possible second term.

  

  That isn’t such a big issue, according to Tzintzún Ramirez, president of youth voting organization NextGen America, which has endorsed the Biden 2024 campaign.

  “I think this is the first election in my lifetime where we’re going to see increased and hyper-focus on young voters from Democratic candidates,” said Ramirez. “It is true that young people, a significant percentage, see themselves as independents, but they overwhelmingly vote for Democrats because they care about progressive policy.”

  That said, she did admit that “there’s a huge portion” of young voters who still need to be “persuaded.”

  “And that’s what we really see from the Harvard poll, is that young people still need to be told why their vote matters, but they are overwhelmingly progressive in their worldview.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 22:00

• Trump Trashes 'Bidenomics'; Asserts "I Care About Enriching Your Family"
  Trump Trashes ‘Bidenomics’; Asserts “I Care About Enriching Your Family”

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

  People nodded their heads, agreeing with former President Donald Trump as he reminded them of the economic conditions they enjoyed while he was in office.

  

  Gasoline was $1.87 per gallon. Families had $6,000 more, on average, in their pockets. Homebuyers took advantage of record-low mortgage rates, under 3 percent.

  Now, Mr. Trump says, because of policies that President Joe Biden put in place, gasoline typically costs $3 to $4 per gallon and, at times, has climbed as high as $7 in some places. Average family income has dropped by $7,400. And mortgage rates are now approaching a “brutal” level, 7 percent.

  Yet, at the same time, the Biden family has reaped millions of dollars from foreign sources, Mr. Trump said, citing bank records that congressional investigators revealed. Mr. Biden has brushed off allegations of bribery and influence-peddling as nonsense.

  Speaking to a full house at a South Carolina GOP fundraiser on Aug. 5, Mr. Trump declared: “Crooked Joe Biden cares only about enriching his own family…I care about enriching your family.”

  That message resonated with the audience, drawing cheers and applause. About 1,200 people came to the Silver Elephant Dinner, a black-tie affair at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds.

  Consecutive Record-Breakers

  That was the largest crowd in the event’s 56-year history, State GOP Chair Drew McKissick told the audience, whose members were decked out in suits, tuxedos, cocktail dresses and sparkly gowns.

  Mr. Trump’s South Carolina appearance marked the second day in a row that a state GOP reported record-breaking crowds coming to hear the former president’s message.

  On Aug. 4, the former president drew 2,700 people to a dinner that raised $1.2 million for the Alabama GOP.

  Mr. Trump won Alabama and South Carolina by wide margins in both of his prior presidential runs.

  His GOP speeches in those two states come on the heels of Mr. Trump’s not guilty plea to his third criminal indictment in Washington on Aug. 3.

  Several South Carolina attendees told The Epoch Times they believe Mr. Trump has proven that he champions America and her average citizens.

  In 2015, he left behind his cushy life as a real-estate mogul and entered the political fray, putting himself in the crosshairs of repeated investigations. After being acquitted in two impeachments, Mr. Trump is confronting the biggest fight of his life: three criminal indictments and a fourth expected any day while he also campaigns for the presidency.

  Legal Troubles Multiply Support

  Many supporters have expressed their unwavering commitment. Opinion polls have shown support for the former president has increased with each succeeding set of charges.

  He was first indicted in March on New York business-records accusations. A federal indictment related to classified documents followed in Florida.

  The latest indictment, filed Aug. 1 in Washington, accuses him of unlawful acts while opposing the results of the 2020 election, which named Mr. Biden the winner.

  A senior adviser to Mr. Trump, Andre Bauer, told The Epoch Times that mainstream news reports downplay or ignore “the depth of the love that he has for this country.” That, Mr. Bauer said, is what motivates Mr. Trump more than his ego. People who flock to Mr. Trump’s rallies appreciate hearing that message, unfiltered, Mr. Bauer said.

  Involved in politics all his life, Mr. Bauer served as a South Carolina lawmaker and lieutenant governor, then worked for a time as a CNN political analyst.

  “If you listen to Donald Trump or you listen to his accomplishments from someone who’s fair and unbiased, you can’t help but support what he’s done,” he said.

  “Lots of people may not like the guy, but they still love his policies; results matter.”

  Bidenomics vs. Trump Policies

  Mr. Trump devoted much of his 80-minute, Saturday-night speech to two topics that rank among the most important in his reelection campaign.

  Signaling a shift in his messaging, Mr. Trump delivered a detailed dissection of the “disastrous” effects of Mr. Biden’s economic policies, known as “Bidenomics,” intertwined with energy policies that affect people’s daily lives.

  The White House insists: “Bidenomics is working,” touting job growth and “a clean-energy boom.”

  But last month, Rasmussen Reports said polling showed “Bidenomics is a big bust” with the American public.

  Meanwhile, the former president assailed Mr. Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) for prosecuting him in the thick of a presidential campaign. Mr. Trump is the Democrat president’s chief political adversary.

  Mr. Trump sees the prosecutions as part of an orchestrated attempt to thwart his efforts to oust the Democrat president from the White House in the 2024 election. Mr. Biden denies steering the DOJ’s investigations of Mr. Trump toward any particular outcome.

  

  Regardless of how Mr. Trump’s legal and political battles play out, speech attendee Travis Grimsley, 44, said: “That man will go down in history as the most beloved president in America. There has never been a middle-class following like this for any candidate until Donald Trump.”

  He sees Mr. Trump as “genuine.” He and his wife, Malary, 36, paused to talk to The Epoch Times after Mr. Trump’s speech. The couple drove about 40 miles, coming from Newberry County, where they are rearing six children and running a business that relies on a half-dozen trucks. On both fronts, the Grimsleys say they’re feeling the negative effects of Bidenomics.

  “Gas is $3.54 a gallon, and milk is almost $4 a gallon,” Mrs. Grimsley said. Her husband pointed out that fueling his business’ trucks cost $5,000 a month while Mr. Trump was in the White House. Under Mr. Biden’s administration, that bill skyrocketed to $12,000 a month, Mr. Grimsley said, as he and his wife grabbed armloads of Trump yard signs to hand out in Newberry County.

  “We have small children…we want to give them a future that they can actually have something to look forward to,” Mrs. Grimsley said.

  Real-Life Effects of Policies

  Mr. Trump says Mr. Biden’s policies have produced higher everyday costs for Americans. He blames Mr. Biden for restricting oil and gas drilling and halting construction of new pipelines.

  Aiming to reduce consumption of fossil fuels, the Democrat president also has pushed alternative, expensive “green” energy sources and all-electric vehicles, asserting their environmental benefits. But Mr. Trump sees signs that Mr. Biden’s initiatives are hurting both the economy and the environment.

  Striking a somber note, Mr. Trump said, “They’re destroying our shores, our oceans. They’re putting windmills all over the place in New Jersey… big, magnificent whales are being washed up on shore…It’s so sad to see, and everybody knows the reason.”

  He was apparently referring to the theory that offshore wind-turbine construction is disrupting the animals’ habitat, leading to the deaths. Citing that possibility, an environmental group, Clean Ocean Action, has sought an independent investigation into the whale deaths.

  Mr. Trump said Mr. Biden’s policies are negatively affecting Americans’ daily lives, even with “little things,” such as water-flow regulators on household sinks and showers, Mr. Trump said.

  Jokes About ‘Gorgeous’ Hair

  Citing his own experience while showering, Mr. Trump, who sports an elaborate “comb-over” hairdo, elicited howls of laughter when he described stepping into the shower to shampoo his “gorgeous head of hair.”

  Mr. Trump, in a moment of comedic drama, raised his voice, saying that, while showering, he wants water to “pour down” from the showerhead. In a quiet voice, Mr. Trump then said that, with a regulator in place, water merely drips out.

  Thus, a person is forced to stay in the shower way longer just to finish shampooing. Ridiculously, in the end, people probably consume just as much water as they would have used without adding a regulator, he said.

  “So now you can go buy a new home–and you can’t wash your hands” because the water drips out so slowly, Mr. Trump lamented. That’s a small example of how Mr. Biden’s policies defy common sense, the former president said.

  Trillions of Problems

  Mr. Trump shifted to a much bigger picture: the nation’s multitrillion-dollar deficit, which he had planned to tackle by tapping into America’s vast natural resources.

  “We have more oil–I call it ‘liquid gold’…under our feet than any other nation in the world, by far,” Mr. Trump said. “We were going to supply all of Europe…we were going to make so much money. We’d pay off debt, and then we’d lower taxes again.”

  But instead, Mr. Biden’s administration took over after a “rigged election” and decided to stop drilling for oil and gas, Mr. Trump said.

  Mr. Biden and his allies insist that the election was fair, despite concerns about irregularities in multiple “swing states.”

  The former president denounced Mr. Biden’s “socialist spending spree,” apparently referring to the $1.2 trillion bipartisan “infrastructure” act that Mr. Biden signed last year.

  That bill spawned controversy over the meaning of “infrastructure” because it provides funding for “green”-related initiatives, such as charging stations for electric cars, rather than just roads, bridges and other obvious city-improvement projects.

  Economic Wizardry

  Upon election to a second term, Mr. Trump said he would “fight to implement major spending reductions by restoring the President’s historic impoundment power, which will enable us to cut massive amounts of waste and stupidity…and return billions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury.”

  As the crowd roared its approval, Mr. Trump promised economic wizardry.

  “It’s going to be drill, baby, drill! And you’re gonna see prices come plummeting, and you’re gonna see inflation disappear,” he said.

  Mr. Trump predicted: “The Biden economic bust will be replaced with the historic Trump economic boom, we’re gonna have a boom… beyond what we had” during his first term.

  Citing opinion polls that show him as the clear frontrunner for the Republican nomination, Mr. Trump said he is well-positioned to defeat the Democrats’ nominee, presumably Mr. Biden, in the November 2024 election.

  ‘A Shame’

  Yet, as he heads into primary elections that begin in January, Mr. Trump faces scheduling campaign events around court appearances and meetings with attorneys.

  Charging one’s political opponent with criminal accusations is done in Third-World countries, not America, Mr. Trump said, noting that even some people who dislike him admit that it seems wrong.

  “Isn’t it terrible that a political opponent, though, can haphazardly charge you with a fake crime in the middle of your campaign in order to interfere with your time, your money, your message–and there is nothing you can do, in theory, to stop this travesty of justice?” Mr. Trump said. “Isn’t that a shame?”

  Mr. Trump said the DOJ and other prosecutors could have brought charges against him well before the campaign started.

  All of the cases filed against Mr. Trump involve situations that occurred at least two years ago.

  He claims that authorities purposely pulled the trigger after he became a dominant force in the campaign.

  The charges against him are tantamount to “another Russia, Russia, Russia hoax,” Mr. Trump said, referring to bogus claims that he colluded with Russians to influence the 2016 election.

  In May, Special Counsel John Durham found that the FBI never should have begun its investigation of Mr. Trump.

  The whole case was based on unverified research that Mr. Trump’s political opponent, Hillary Clinton, funded.

  To settle complaints, Mrs. Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee paid Federal Election Commission fines totaling $113,000; both denied wrongdoing.

  ‘Ridiculosity’

  The latest accusations against Mr. Trump say he went too far in his attempts to challenge the 2020 election results, which declared Mr. Biden, the winner.

  “Only a party that cheats in elections would make it illegal to question those elections,” he said. “They don’t go after the people that rigged the election. They go after the people that want to find out what the hell happened. It’s a disgrace.”

  As a practicing attorney for 43 years, including four years as a federal prosecutor, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster shared his assessment of the charges against Mr. Trump.

  “I thought the first indictment took the cake for ridiculosity. I really did,” Mr. McMaster said in a speech introducing the former president. “I thought, ‘Nothing can top this’–until the next one came. And then the next indictment.”

  Any legitimate case, civil or criminal, “must be based on the law and the facts; these cases against Donald Trump do neither,” the governor said.

  Then Mr. McMaster quipped: “It has been said that you can’t put lipstick on a pig. But I don’t think all the lipstick in the world can turn these pigs into princesses.” The crowd laughed.

  America Changed Dramatically

  Mr. McMaster said he felt privileged to nominate Mr. Trump to be selected as the GOP’s 2016 presidential nominee at the party’s national convention in Cleveland.

  After Mr. Trump won the presidency, he enacted policies that paved the way for South Carolina to complete many infrastructure improvements, Mr. McMaster said, putting the state on an upward trajectory.

  Because of Mr. Trump’s policies, “America was respected and admired all over the world as long as he was in office,” Mr. McMaster said.

  “Then came the most controversial contested election in American history, in 2020,” the governor said, resulting in Mr. Biden taking office in January 2021.

  “Things began to change and unravel dramatically,” Mr. McMaster said. Suddenly, Republican governors had to spend half their time fighting with Mr. Biden’s administration to get anything done.

  America changed for the worse, he said, as “leftist fantasies” took hold, spawning attacks on “moral truths and the family” he said.

  Outrageously, the government unleashed 93 U.S. attorneys nationwide to coordinate with the FBI and investigate parents who raised concerns at school board meetings, Mr. McMaster said.

  “Our global authority was diminished, and our security was and is threatened,” he said, as “rampant inflation” spread.

  “People cannot believe what we’re seeing happening in our wonderful, dear country. People cannot believe it,” Mr. McMaster said.

  Calling all Warriors

  Then he shifted to a message of hope.

  “Well, is a new day coming. Because, ladies and gentlemen, we have a leader. We have a powerful, experienced, strong leader with a clear vision of America and the greatness of our people,” he said.

  Mr. McMaster described Mr. Trump as “the leader who stood tall for four years, protected our borders, rebuilt our economic might and ignited a new prosperity for all Americans…including those of us in South Carolina.”

  But he said that leader, Mr. Trump, cannot do this without help.

  “We must do our part. We must realize that we are in a war for the future of our country. And we must win it,” he said, calling on “warriors” to step up.

  Mr. Trump said that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has been a big help to him in many ways.

  The former president acknowledged that Mr. Graham has, at times, stirred controversy. But he asked the crowd to thank him for his efforts to back Mr. Trump; the audience obliged and applauded.

  That polite reaction contrasted with the sustained chorus of “boos” that nearly drowned out Mr. Graham at the former president’s massive rally last month in tiny Pickens, S.C., near Mr. Graham’s hometown.

  Attendees of that rally told The Epoch Times that Mr. Graham upset them because he seemed inconsistent in his support of Mr. Trump. Mr. Graham appeared to back away from the 2020 election disputes after a number of election protesters breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

  During the Aug. 5 dinner, Mr. Graham spoke in support of Mr. Trump, whom he has endorsed.

  “He made you proud to be an American. He was unashamedly strong,” Mr. Graham said, adding, “It’s not about what he says he will do. It’s what he did. And he will do it again.”

  Other attendees at the rally, such as  Travis Grimsley, the Newberry entrepreneur and father of six, also pledged their support to Mr. Trump.

  Despite all the attention on the indictments of Mr. Trump, Mr. Grimsley said the accusations remind him of a pattern he sees with his children.

  “When one does something to get attention, the other one does something real quick, too; they don’t want to get left out. That’s the way this whole thing is shaking out,” Mr. Grimsley said. “I mean the timing,  it’s just unreal. You got something comes out about Biden and the crime family, and then they indict Donald Trump.”

  Mr. Trump’s detractors “can’t stand” seeing how much traction his “Make America Great Again” movement has gained, Mr. Grimsley said.

  “Just common, basic America finally has a voice, and the people that don’t like it, they don’t know how to handle it,” he said. “And the people who’ve never had it, now that we have had it, we don’t know how to let it go.”

  Mr. Grimsley acknowledges there are other good choices for president, including presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), whom he has known for years.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 21:40

• Major Australian Banks Are Going Cashless – Forced Acceptance Of CBDCs Next?
  Major Australian Banks Are Going Cashless – Forced Acceptance Of CBDCs Next?

  The core problems of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) have been addressed many times here, but it may bear repeating these two facts – First, in a cashless society all privacy in trade is lost, and second, banks and governments will control access to all of your money.  If such a system is allowed, it will act as a major stepping stone to technocratic authoritarianism.  It’s inevitable.  

  The Australian government and central bank have been involved in a beta test for the past year with the proliferation of CBDCs in mind.  Their partnership projects with the Bank for International Settlements and pilot programs with companies like Mastercard are about to wrap up this fall, and it looks as though Aussie bureaucrats are planning to implement their cashless system very quickly after the trial run is finished. 

  In defense of CBDCs officials suggest that Australians are already shifting into a cashless society, citing the fact that the population went from 32% using cash to only 16% using cash in the span of three years.  Of course, what they don’t mention is that Australia’s aggressive and draconian covid lockdowns and mandates since 2020 pushed the public into relying more on digital and online purchases.  

  Already, the top four banks in the country are removing over the counter cash withdrawals at most of their branches.  “Special centers” will be put in place for “more complex banking needs including cash” but the overall trend will be the reduction of paper money, forcing the populace to go fully digital.

  The use of CBDCs by the establishment to control the flow of money is tied directly to social engineering programs.  As members of the World Economic Forum have openly admitted, governments could program CBDC usage to prevent purchases of items they deem to have a negative social impact.  These restricted items could be anything from ammunition to meat.  In other words, they don’t have to officially “ban” certain products, all they have to do is make it impossible to buy them.   

  But the micromanagement goes well beyond this.  There are plans to make CBDCs that “time out,” compelling the public to spend them before they expire.  There is also the issue of social credit scoring, which has been established in China and is creeping into western institutions.  What if one day the powers-that-be decide that certain speech and certain beliefs cause “harm” to the greater collective and must be suppressed through monetary penalties?  This could result in limitations on how you can use your bank account everytime you make a comment they don’t like on social media.  Or, it could result in your account being frozen for a period of time until you publicly apologize for your statements. 

  It makes sense that Australia would be one of the first western nations to adopt the cashless structure.  The government was rather successful in enforcing extreme covid lockdowns with minimal public resistance, to the point that citizens in cities were under house arrest and were not even allowed to go to the parks or beaches in many cases.  It’s likely the the establishment sees Australians as an easy target for the first volley of cashless controls. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 21:20

• SBA Contractors Profiteered During Pandemic
  SBA Contractors Profiteered During Pandemic

  Authored by Adam Andrzejewski via RealClear Wire,

  In yet another instance of mismanagement of pandemic programs by the Small Business Administration, the SBA had over $5 million in questioned costs associated with contracts for loan support services, according to a recent Inspector General report. 

  

  The SBA contracted with a firm called Highlight Technologies LLC for loan support services from 2017 to 2021. When demand for loan support services increased during the pandemic because of the SBA relief programs, the SBA issued additional labor hour contracts with Highlight Technologies to meet demand for loan support services.

  These contracts were issued using an existing blanket purchase agreement. Unfortunately, the Inspector General found a number of problems with these additional contracts that led to the SBA, “awarding contracts that were not the best use of taxpayer funds.”

  The IG found the SBA did not always perform price analyses, leading it to allow Highlight Technologies to charge higher labor rates than the parties had previously agreed. This led to the SBA paying $3.8 million more in one year than it should have for this pricey labor without any added benefit received.

  Additionally, SBA didn’t monitor contracts in accordance with the law, which led to Highlight Technologies using subcontractors that should not have received the majority of the work, which meant another $1.2 million going to businesses that did not meet eligibility standards.

  Combined, the SBA wasted $5 million in just one year because of a lack of basic analysis and oversight. If the SBA is going to continue to be trusted with multi-million-dollar loan and grant programs, it needs to seriously clean house and increase its financial controls to ensure taxpayers’ money is used wisely.

  The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 21:00

• Consumers Finally Crack: Shocking Drop In June Credit Card Debt Marks End Of Spending Binge
  Consumers Finally Crack: Shocking Drop In June Credit Card Debt Marks End Of Spending Binge

  Two months ago when both revolving credit (i.e., credit card debt) and interest charged on credit cards hit a record high, we said that this trajectory was unsustainable and it was only a matter of time before the debt-funded US consumer hit a brick wall. One month later, the first brick wall was hit, when in May US consumer credit grew by a paltry $7.24BN, down more than 50% from the downward revised $20.3BN in April; and while revolving credit posted a healthy increase of $8.5 billion, the shocker was in the non-revolving segment, also known as student and auto loans, and which unexpectedly dropped by $1.3 billion, the first negative print since April 2020

  Amusingly, in our commentary last month we also said that “with non-revolving credit now shrinking, the final straw will be the reversal in (record) credit card debt. With credit card interest rates also at a record 22.16%, we won’t have long to wait.”

  We were right as we had to wait just one month, because fast forwarding to today’s release of the latest Fed consumer credit report at 3pm ET, moments ago we had another shocker, this time on the other side of the credit spectrum, because while non-revolving credit jumped by a whopping $18.5 billion, up from last month’s drop (which was revised to a tiny positive print this time) a jump which will promptly reverse once the student loan repayment moratorium ends on Sept 1…

  

  … it was the revolving credit that was the jawdropper this month, because after several months of solid increases, including a near-record $14.8 billion in April, in June credit card debt actually dropped by $0.6 billion – the first negative print since April 2021 when the US consumer was still in shock from the post-covid reality and was aggressively saving money, money which has now been long spent – as Americans actively paid down their debt, something they only do when a recession looms!

  

  Needless to say, a drop in revolving credit is a stunner because outside of a crisis, this is usually indicative of an end-of-cycle recession, when US consumers – traditionally responsible for 70% of US GDP with their debt-fueled purchases – go into hibernation and start to repay their bloated credit card bills, which as of today are accruing a mindblowing 22% average interest (see below).

  Adding across these two categories, the total June consumer credit print was +$17.85BN which as noted above, was entirely thanks to the $18.5BN increase in non-revolving (student and auto loans) credit.

  

  Drilling deeper into the non-revolving credit print reveals that not all is well here either, because while in Q2 auto loans increased by a healthy, if hardly, blockbuster $17.6 billion (to be expected when rates on 60-month auto loans are at all time high), student loans actually shrank by $9.1 billion, the first decline since Q2 2022, and at a time when most student borrowers are still in forebearance.

  

  And once repayment of student loans resumes by mandate in two months, watch out below.

  Meanwhile, with average credit card interest rates rising above 22% to a new record high…

  

  … this month’s drop in credit card debt was just the beginning…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:44

• X Seizes @Music Handle From User With Half-Million Followers
  X Seizes @Music Handle From User With Half-Million Followers

  Careening from one questionable decision to another, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (SMPFKAT) has commandeered the username “@music” from a man who’d spent 16 years building a following roughly 500,000-strong. 

  It seems Elon Musk has his own plans for the handle, so he simply it seized it with a callous disregard for the user who owned it from the early days of the platform. That user is open-source software developer Jeremy Vaught. “Callous disregard” applies not only to the theft itself, but to how Musk’s team executed it. 

  16 years ago, I created @music and have been running it ever since. Just now, Twitter / X just ripped it away.
  Super pissed pic.twitter.com/ctacWKY9js

  — Jeremy Vaught (@jeremyvaught) August 3, 2023

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

  Out of the blue, Vaught received a message from the platform that we’re now supposed to call “X. With a chillingly dispassionate voice that one can imagine being voiced by HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey, the platform wrote:

   “Hello. The user handle associated with account @Music will be affiliated with X Corp. Accordingly, your user handle will be changed to a new user handle.” 

  Imagine being in Vaught’s situation and receiving that news, that way. It gets worse. In the message simply signed by “X,” Vaught was told his handle was now @musicfan. X also offered another three positively lame alternatives: @musicmusic, @music123 and @musiclover.  

  Under X’s latest terms of service, every user is at risk of their handle being seized by the platform:

  “We may also remove or refuse to distribute any Content on the Services, limit distribution or visibility of any Content on the service, suspend or terminate users, and reclaim usernames without liability to you.” 

  When the provision about reclaiming usernames was added, it was welcome news to many who thought the power would only be used to release inactive names back into the wild. Alas, X is now aggressively using it to serve its own agenda at the expense of innocent users. 

  Elon taking @‘s one OG at a time 😭 pic.twitter.com/xbLibKHgje

  — 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 (@GamesXBL) August 4, 2023

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

  This is the second seizure to make news. Upon his decision to trash the established Twitter brand in favor of X, Musk seized @X from a user who, like Vaught, had held it since 2007, the year after Twitter’s launch. Not a joke: X pushed that user, San Francisco photographer Gene Hwang, into the handle @x12345678998765. So far, he’s kept it. 

  In perpetrating that particular act of legal plunder, X was at least empathetic enough to offer some modest perks: “You will also be provided with a selection of X merch and an exclusive visit to X’s HQ to meet members of our team,” the platform told Hwang. 

  We have to wonder to what extent Musk considered how these moves could undermine his quest to turn X into a place where content creators drive revenue for themselves and the platform. Anyone contemplating such an endeavor has to consider the risk that a carefully-chosen handle could be seized by Musk on a whim, severely damaging the content-creator’s brand while misdirecting traffic from existing references to the handle all across X and the internet. 

  Interest in ad rev share by content creators has far exceeded our expectations, so will take a few more days to process.

  Major payouts coming soon!

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 5, 2023

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

  “I was definitely proud of having built @music to a half a million followers give or take,” says Vaught. “And I’m a software developer. I had been thinking about what I could build around this to potentially capitalize on my audience.” 

  Vaught still has the potential to become a monetized-content creator on X, albeit with a dramatically inferior brand. However, much more than a prospective exemplar of Musk’s vision for the platform, Vaught is now the deeply sympathetic central character in a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks about building a future there. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:40

• What Will You Do When You Run Out Of Stored Fuel?
  What Will You Do When You Run Out Of Stored Fuel?

  Authored by Tom Lovrić via The Organic Prepper blog,

  If you’re serious about prepping, you know that fuel (be it gasoline or diesel) is an incredibly valuable asset. In case of emergency, fuel powers our generators, not to mention our vehicles, so knowing how to store fuel is very important. The question is – what happens if we run out of stored fuel?

  Aside from the societal collapse that would inevitably follow, how would you power engines and generators?

  

  Many people want to know how to store fuel for this exact purpose, but is that really possible? If so, how long will fuel last?

  Let’s find an answer.

  Gasoline and Diesel Don’t Last Long

  Bad news first – neither gasoline nor diesel lasts long. Both of these fuels will go bad after about six months in a regular plastic container.

  If you store your fuel at a temperature above 70°F, it’ll go bad even quicker!

  There are three major reasons for this.

  1. First of all, the fuel will break down over time because of oxidation. This is something that you can’t avoid, but you can slow it down by treating your fuel with antioxidants.

  2. Then, we have moisture. Moisture is a big enemy of fuel, as both gasoline and diesel break down if they come into contact with water. You can expect moisture as a result of condensation.

  3. Finally, that very same moisture creates a perfect environment for the development of bacteria, so you’ll have to treat your fuel with biocides if you want it to last longer.

  On top of all that, you have to keep it at a low temperature (ideally 20°F) and in a metal, stainless container.

  If you do all that – antioxidation treatment, biocides, low-temperature storage – your fuel won’t last more than three years!

  Gasoline usually lasts longer than diesel, with diesel usually naturally deteriorating after about 18 months.

  The only way to exceed those periods is by buying industry-grade storage equipment. However, it costs a fortune, and it’s difficult to maintain.

  So, since this is a fight we lose before it even starts, what are the alternatives for when you run out of stored fuel?

  Biogas for when you run out of stored fuel

  As Jose Martinez has already explained in this article, biogas is a great alternative to diesel and gasoline.

  Now, before I go any further, know that biodiesel is difficult to produce. It’s made from organic waste, animal manure, human waste, and crops. You need a lot, and I really mean a lot of ingredients to make biogas.

  It would take weeks or months (depending on the size of your group and how many cattle you have) to produce enough biogas to fill up a tank of a single pickup truck. And we all know those things are thirsty!

  However, you could use biogas to fuel a motorcycle, for example, or a generator.

  Other than the fact it’s difficult to produce, one problem I have with biogas is just how dangerous it is to produce.

  A lot of things can go wrong if you don’t know what you’re doing, and the risk doesn’t pay off unless you could really use the biogas.

  So, if you’re an engineer who has a lot of animal manure and you want to power your house with a generator – great! If not, then this alternative energy won’t be easy for you.

  Solar for when you run out of stored fuel

  Solar energy is, for me, the perfect alternative, although I must admit it has two big catches.

  Catch 1 – solar panels don’t charge their generators quickly. In fact, solar panels are only about 22-28% effective (depending on the manufacturer), so you’re actually getting less than a third of the sun’s energy.

  Catch 2 – solar generators can rarely power entire homes.

  Sure, there are some generators that can power homes, but only for limited time periods. You would need about fifteen 400-watt panels collecting energy in absolutely ideal conditions to power an average American home solely on solar energy.

  Let’s say you also have an electric car you bought to avoid the fuel crisis (which also isn’t an ideal solution, as those batteries expire, but it’s certainly more sustainable than a traditional, gas-powered vehicle for this scenario.)

  Chances are, you won’t be able to get enough electricity turned to solar to power all that. If you have enough panels and you live in a sunny area, count yourself lucky, but most people aren’t as lucky.

  What you can do is install a few solar panels and use them to power the essentials. Not your TV or your dishwasher, but tools, vehicles (to an extent – don’t spend all the electricity on your electric car), lights, etc.

  There are also a few solar-powered items, such as lanterns, stoves, and even showers that can make all the difference in the right situations. These things come with their own collectors, so you won’t need to hook them up to the main solar network.

  If you don’t feel like installing a massive generator and a dozen solar panels in your yard, think about getting smaller, portable generators, which are still powerful enough to power tools and smaller appliances.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:20

• DOJ Slapped By Judge In Trump Documents Case
  DOJ Slapped By Judge In Trump Documents Case

  The judge overseeing former President Trump’s classified documents case, Florida District Judge Aileen Cannon, rebuked federal prosecutors on Monday while striking down two of their filings.

  

  DOJ special counsel Jack Smith has been directed by the court to unseal two filings and to provide a comprehensive legal rationale for a Washington, D.C. grand jury’s involvement in the investigation. Specifically, Cannon, a Trump appointee, has ordered Smith to explain “the legal propriety” of using a DC Grand Jury in a Florida matter.

  “The Special Counsel states in conclusory terms that the supplement should be sealed from public view ‘to comport with grand jury secrecy,’ but the motion for leave and the supplement plainly fail to satisfy the burden of establishing a sufficient legal or factual basis to warrant sealing the motion and supplement,” the order reads.

  “Among other topics as raised in the Motion, the response shall address the legal propriety of using an out-of-district grand jury proceeding to continue to investigate and/or to seek post-indictment hearings on matters pertinent to the instant indicted matter in this district,” the order adds.

  

  Canon was responding to the special counsel’s motion for a “Garcia” hearing, where Smith’s team addressed a potential conflict of interest posed by Stanley Woodward representing defendant Walt Nauta and individuals who could be called to testify in the classified documents case, the Daily Caller reports.

  Trump and Nauta are scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 10 for the classified documents case. Smith issued a superseding indictment July 27 with additional charges for Trump and new charges for Mar-a-Lago employee Carlos De Oliveira who allegedly moved boxes around Trump’s Florida estate.

  Smith indicted Trump Tuesday for allegedly contesting the 2020 presidential election results and for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. The former president pleaded not guilty at an arraignment in Washington, D.C. Thursday and accused Smith of “persecution” for his latest charges. -Daily Caller

  Separately, a grand jury in Washington DC indicted Trump last week on four counts over alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

  Read Monday’s order below:

  Cannon Order by James Lynch

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:11

• House Democrats Demand 1,000% Tax On Semiautomatic Rifles
  House Democrats Demand 1,000% Tax On Semiautomatic Rifles

  Democrats in Congress reintroduced legislation imposing a 1,000% excise tax on the sale of “large capacity ammunition feeding devices and semiautomatic assault weapons.” 

  US Rep. Don “Doug” Beyer, a Democrat from Virginia, and 24 other House Democrats introduced the bill on Friday. A similar bill was introduced by Beyer last year that would, of course, only mean wealthy elites and drug dealers could afford semiautomatic rifles (many of which are hunting rifles) while punishing middle and working-poor Americans. 

  The text of the new bill, HR 5135, titled, “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to impose an additional 1,000 percent excise tax on the sale of large capacity ammunition feeding devices and semiautomatic assault weapons, and for other purposes,” has yet to be released as of Monday. And it needs to be clarified if it’s the same as the one proposed by Beyer last summer.  

  Under the proposed rule, semiautomatic rifles could cost more than $20,000, a tax Beyer has argued would “curb the epidemic of gun violence.” 

  

  Although semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15 frequently appear in news stories related to mass shootings, what is often overlooked by corporate media and their cheerleading anti-gunner organizations, Everytown and Giffords, is that handguns are the weapons most commonly used in criminal activity nationwide. 

  A recent ATF report states, “Pistols represented nearly 70% of the crime guns traced between 2017 and 2021.” This is an inconvenient fact that Democrats would prefer to keep a secret. 

  “Taxing firearms at 1,000% would price low and middle-income families out of the right to self-defense, and that impact would be felt the most by innocent Americans living in crime-ridden neighborhoods. This unconstitutional legislation is nothing more than a backdoor gun ban and Gun Owners of America will fight the Swamp to ensure this dangerous legislation never makes it to President Biden’s desk or is ever signed into law,” said Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America.

  Democrats are oblivious that taxing semiautomatic rifles and magazines will only increase Americans into privately making their own firearms with 80% lower kits, 3D printers, and CNC milling machines. Defense Distributed, the maker of the 0% lower and home to the largest 3D gun file repository in the world (DEFCAD), told us:

  “All we can do is express our gratitude towards Congressional Democrats and cheer them on, as their proposed tax will ensure that home-built firearms become the only affordable option for middle America.” 

  Just remember, President Biden has told reporters that “the idea we still allow semiautomatic weapons to be purchased is sick. It’s just sick. It has no, no social redeeming value. Zero. None.” Tell that to anyone who has used a semiauto to defend themselves, or others, from violent criminals in failed progressive metro areas that do not enforce law and order. 

  America is living through the most anti-gun presidential administration this country has ever witnessed, and radical Democrats on Capitol Hill ignore federal “statistics” that pistols, not semiautomatic rifles, are used in most violent crimes. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 20:00

• How Latest Trump Indictment Could Backfire On Biden: Turley
  How Latest Trump Indictment Could Backfire On Biden: Turley

  Authored by Jonathan Turley via Themessenger.com,

  After last week’s indictment of former President Donald Trump relating to the 2020 election, CNN declared that the charges were “personal” for President Joe Biden, who previously said Trump’s words sounded like “sedition.”

  

  Of course, Trump was not charged with sedition or even seditious conspiracy. Nor was he charged with conspiracy to incitement or insurrection, the grounds for his second impeachment.

  However, if Biden does view this case as personal, as CNN suggests, he might be right for the wrong reason. That’s because the case being constructed against Trump by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith could prove a serious problem for Biden, too — particularly as the basis for a House impeachment inquiry.

  The latest Trump indictment, based on little new evidence and even less established law, faces a major threshold challenge under the First Amendment. Smith is seeking to criminalize what constitutes disinformation, which not only runs against the grain of the First Amendment but also prior cases. That includes United States v. Alvarez, which overturned the conviction of a politician for knowingly lying about his military background.

  The Justice Department acknowledges that the Constitution protects false statements made in political campaigns. Yet it maintains that Trump can be convicted for lying because he really did not believe what he said.

  The problem is that the effect of these lies largely fueled the actions of third parties. If Trump were accused of using fraud for pecuniary gain or of lying to federal investigators, there would be no free-speech problem. The complaint, however, focuses on the lies rather than any larceny or standalone crime. It is diffuse in saying that raising doubts over the election undermined the value or results of voting. Previous challenges have been made to certification of presidential elections with little basis (including by Democrats) and even alternative sets of electors have been submitted without criminal charges.

  This criminal intent is based on Trump being told by many people that the election was not stolen and he could not stop its certification. I was one of those who maintained that Trump was wrong on the election, Vice President Pence’s authority to void the results, and the Trump team’s challenges. However, Trump followed the advice of a second, albeit smaller, set of lawyers who told him there was a basis for challenging the election.

  That is not a crime. It is, in my view, protected political speech. Presidents routinely lie on matters great and small. Many of those lies cost citizens dearly, from “keeping your doctor” under ObamaCare to losing your life in Vietnam. Criminalizing lies in campaigns because of the spread of disinformation or disorder is a slippery slope that vests unprecedented power in the Justice Department.

  There is a wicked twist in all of this for Biden. The very controversial linchpin used against Trump could conceivably be used against Biden, particularly in the launching of an impeachment inquiry by House Republicans.

  While third parties proceeded to take steps to challenge the election and offer alternative electors, Trump continued to publicly deny the election’s legitimacy and failed to effectively call them back. He is accused of seeking out those who would legitimize or enable his political spin on his 2020 defeat.

  Not dissimilarly, Biden has long been accused of knowing disregard for constitutional limitations as his administration has pushed unconstitutional measures. For example, Biden conceded that his own White House counsel and trusted legal advisers uniformly told him that renewing a national eviction moratorium would be unconstitutional — but he listened instead to a Harvard law professor who reportedly assured him he had the authority. His eviction-ban order was quickly found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

  Far more serious are the accusations facing Biden over his response to a growing corruption scandal allegedly involving his son and others. It now seems clear that Biden has lied to the public for years on critical details of the scandal. Indeed, his denial of any knowledge or involvement in his son’s overseas business deals go back to the 2020 presidential debate.

  

  Biden also denied that Hunter Biden received any money from China, which the Washington Post now declares to be manifestly untrue. For years, Biden has allowed his staff, including White House officials, to repeat his denials while opposing any further investigation.

  That is why guilt by implication or association, as employed by special counsel Smith against Trump, could be a dangerous legal standard for Joe Biden.

  Hunter Biden’s former friend and associate, Devon Archer, told House Oversight Committee investigators last week that they were indeed selling “the brand” and that Joe Biden was part of that brand.

  Ironically, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) — who demolished Biden’s defense in an earlier House hearing with two IRS agents — repeated the same blunder during Archer’s closed-door committee appearance. In the previous hearing, Goldman bizarrely raised the instance of Joe Biden going to a lunch at the Four Seasons with Hunter and his Chinese business associates.

  In his own committee appearance, Archer was careful not to overstate his knowledge of demands made on then-Vice President Biden and denied personal knowledge of any. Yet Goldman refused to leave a good answer alone and plowed forward into the unknown. He noted that Archer had said they discussed “niceties” — “Where are you, how’s the weather, how’s the fishing?” — in more than 20 phone calls with the senior Biden in the presence of Hunter’s foreign business partners. Goldman pressed Archer to expand, and Archer did, stating: “They were calls to talk about the weather, and that was signal enough to be powerful.”

  In other words, the point was the call itself — the access — not the content of the calls.

  Later, in a media interview, Archer reaffirmed that it is “categorically false” that Joe Biden had no role in or knowledge of his son’s business dealings, stating: “He was aware of Hunter’s business. He met with Hunter’s business partners.”

  Archer also confirmed dinners long denied by Biden officials and the media. For example, prior reports of a 2015 dinner with Hunter’s business associates directly contradicted the president’s repeated denials of knowledge or involvement. A Biden 2020 campaign spokesman at the time insisted the story was false, and Politico reported that other officials also assured that it was all untrue; some suggested it was more “Russian disinformation.”

  It turns out that denial also was a lie, because Archer confirmed that Biden “had dinner” with him and several others, including “Vadym P. from Burisma,” referring to an officer of a Ukrainian energy company. The senior Biden reportedly joined the dinner and engaged in discussions.

  Biden surely knew his denials of knowledge and interactions were untrue, even as his aides misinformed the public and as congressional and federal investigations occurred.

  Now, according to special counsel Smith, such knowing lies can be criminal matters, at least in the case of Donald Trump. For Congress, it could also trigger impeachment inquiries in the case of Joe Biden — and that would make this very personal indeed.

  Jonathan Turley, an attorney, constitutional law scholar and legal analyst, is the Shapiro Chair for Public Interest Law at The George Washington University Law School.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 19:40

• Severe Storms Pound Millions In Eastern US
  Severe Storms Pound Millions In Eastern US

  On Monday evening, a line of storms with damaging wind gusts, large hail, and heavy rain swept through the Mid-Atlantic region. Hundreds of thousands of customers are without power, and a large number of flight disruptions have been reported at major airports. 

  Incredible view of severe storms marching across the Mid-Atlantic this evening. pic.twitter.com/oadUWqDRw6

  — CIRA (@CIRA_CSU) August 7, 2023

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  Over 40 million people from Tennessee to New York are currently under a tornado watch.

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

  

  Ryan Maue, a meteorologist and former NOAA chief scientist, tweeted, “Heavy duty squall line bowing into Philadelphia in next 30-minutes with gusty winds, embedded tornado.” 

  Heavy duty squall line bowing into Philadelphia in next 30-minutes with gusty winds, embedded tornado. pic.twitter.com/WTpcSKFTYR

  — Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) August 7, 2023

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  Nearly 700,000 customers are without power across nine states, according to Poweroutage.US. 

  

  More than 1,200 flights are delayed and 350 canceled, with the bulk of the disruptions at Mid-Alantic airports. 

  

  Chaos across Mid-Alantic and Northeast. 

  Tornado came through and effed up my little town of Westminster Maryland. Stay safe out there folks, these are the end times! #TornadoWatch #tornado #westminster #WeatherAlert #maryland pic.twitter.com/haNAzUi7bW

  — Jason Perrott (Scurve McBeats) (@jasonperrott) August 7, 2023

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  A possible tornado was spotted in Harford, NY, as severe storms continue to push through the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. #nywx pic.twitter.com/c1Fjm5KNmk

  — FOX Weather (@foxweather) August 7, 2023

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  Wow… insane bow echo closing in on my home state! Winds gusting as high as 70mph are possible along with hail and heavy rain. The chance for a tornado cannot be ruled out! Stay safe! #njwx pic.twitter.com/sqI8bxhnnG

  — Brian Michigan (@WSAVBrianM) August 7, 2023

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  *Developing… 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 19:30

• Typical US Mortgage Payment Is Up 20% From Last Year But Home Prices Keep Rising Due To Plunging Supply
  Typical US Mortgage Payment Is Up 20% From Last Year But Home Prices Keep Rising Due To Plunging Supply

  The US housing market may be staging a powerful recovery – if one only goes by homebuilders record prices and certainly not the highest mortgage rates in 40 years – but it’s not because affordability is getting any better. On the contrary: according to Redfin, the typical homebuyer’s monthly mortgage payment was $2,605 during the four weeks ending July 30, up 19% from a year earlier and down just $32 from early July’s all-time high (with the 10Y blowing out, it’s just a matter of time before we hit a fresh record).

  This means that housing payments remain historically high because mortgage rates remain elevated, with weekly average rates clocking in at 6.9% this week, and yet home prices continue to rise. Paradoxically, the median home-sale price is up 3.2% year over year, the biggest increase since November.

  

  Needless to say, the renewed rise in prices are not due to the increase in mortgage rates but largely due to the persistent lack of supply…

  

  … with inventory posting its biggest drop in 18 months as homeowners grasp onto low rates. Here’s Redfin:

  Home prices are increasing because of the mismatch between supply and demand. High mortgage rates have pushed many would-be sellers out of the market, with homeowners hanging onto their relatively low rates. The total number of homes for sale is down 19%, the biggest drop in a year and a half, and new listings are down 21%.

  

  Yes, high rates are also sidelining prospective buyers, but ironically not as much as they’re deterring would-be sellers, who are holding on to rates achieved during the last refi – most in the 4% or lower bracket – and are loath to take out a new mortgage with a 6 or 7 handle. Redfin’s Homebuyer Demand Index, which measures early-stage demand through requests for tours and other buying services from Redfin agents, is down just 4% from a year ago.

  Some more leading indicators of homebuying activity from Redfin:

  • For the week ending August 3,  the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.9%, slightly higher than a week earlier but slightly lower than the half-year high hit three weeks earlier. The daily average was 7.2% on August 3.
  • Mortgage-purchase applications during the week ending July 28 declined 3% from a week earlier, seasonally adjusted. Purchase applications were down 26% from a year earlier.
  • The seasonally adjusted Redfin Homebuyer Demand Index–a measure of requests for home tours and other homebuying services from Redfin agents–was down 4% from a month earlier, and down 4% from a year earlier.
  • Google searches for “homes for sale” were up essentially flat from a month earlier during the week ending July 29, and down about 16% from a year earlier.
  • Touring activity as of July 28 was up 8% from the start of the year, compared with a 5% decrease at the same time last year, according to home tour technology company ShowingTime.

  And a summary of the data based on homes listed and/or sold during the period:

  • The median home sale price was $380,250, up 3.2% from a year earlier. That’s the biggest increase since November.
  • Sale prices increased most in Miami (12.7% YoY), Cincinnati (9%), Milwaukee (8.6%), Anaheim, CA (8.5%) and West Palm Beach, FL (8.4%).
  • Home-sale prices declined in 19 metros, with the biggest drops in Austin, TX (-9.9% YoY), Phoenix (-4.2%), Detroit (-3.9%), Las Vegas (-3.5%) and Fort Worth, TX (-3.2%).  
  • The median asking price of newly listed homes was $387,223, up 1.7% from a year earlier.
  • The monthly mortgage payment on the median-asking-price home was $2,605 at a 6.9% mortgage rate, the average for the week ending August 3. That’s down about 1% ($32) from the record high hit three weeks earlier, but up 19% from a year earlier.
  • Pending home sales were down 14.4% year over year, continuing a year-plus streak of double-digit declines.
  • Pending home sales fell in all but two of the metros Redfin analyzed. They declined most in Providence, RI (-29.5% YoY),  Newark, NJ (-28.8%), Warren, MI (-26.4%), Boston (-26.3%) and Cincinnati (-25.1%). They increased 3.5% in Las Vegas and were flat in Austin.
  • New listings of homes for sale fell 21.3% year over year. That’s a substantial decline, but the smallest in three months.
  • New listings declined in all metros Redfin analyzed. They fell most in Las Vegas (-43.4% YoY), Phoenix (-39.7%), Providence, RI (-32%), Sacramento, CA (-31.9%) and Oakland, CA (-30.7%).
  • Active listings (the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the period) dropped 19% from a year earlier, the biggest drop since February 2022. Active listings were down slightly from a month earlier; typically, they post month-over-month increases at this time of year.
  • Months of supply—a measure of the balance between supply and demand, calculated by the number of months it would take for the current inventory to sell at the current sales pace—was 2.9 months, the highest level since April. Four to five months of supply is considered balanced, with a lower number indicating seller’s market conditions.  
  • 43.7% of homes that went under contract had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market, up from 42% a year earlier.
  • Homes that sold were on the market for a median of 27 days, up from 23 days a year earlier.
  • 35.9% of homes sold above their final list price, down from 43% a year earlier.
  • On average, 5.8% of homes for sale each week had a price drop, down from 6.3% a year earlier.
  • The average sale-to-list price ratio, which measures how close homes are selling to their final asking prices, was 100%. That’s down from 100.7% a year earlier.

  Source: Redfin

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 19:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Scottish Govt Axes 16 Million Trees To Clear Way For 'Greener' Solutions
  Scottish Govt Axes 16 Million Trees To Clear Way For ‘Greener’ Solutions

  Authored by Olivia Murray via AmericanThinker.com,

  Stupidity is increasingly state-sanctioned…

  

  Since 2000, the Scottish government has felled around 1,700 trees on a daily basis, all to make way for “green” initiatives. Leave it to the government and their leftist abettors to harp on the “destruction of the environment” then chop down literal trees to create barren wastelands—all to make room for obtrusive, industrial, inanimate behemoths that obliterate all sorts of animal populations, and create massive amounts of environmental pollution (in production, maintenance, and disposal).

  According to an article by Frank Bergman and posted to Slay News yesterday, the Scottish government’s scheme of systematic deforestation was implemented to “meet the goals” of the climate agenda. Is that not one of the most ludicrous and asinine things you’ve ever heard? Or perhaps, the move is right in line with the climate agenda, because the goal isn’t environmentalism… but rather communistic destruction?

  From Bergman:

  A Scottish government official has admitted that almost 16 million trees have been cut down in Scotland to make way for ‘green energy’ farms.

  The trees were growing on public land and were chopped down so the land could be used for wind turbines.

  The admission was made by Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon, a member of the ruling left-wing Scottish National Party (SNP).

  She estimated that 15.7 million trees had been cut down since 2000 on land currently managed by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS).

  Bergman also reported that Gougeon said:

  ‘Where woodland is removed in association with development, developers will generally be expected to provide compensatory planting in order to avoid a net loss of woodland.’

  “Generally”? Seems rather vague and subjective; unsurprisingly, “No information has yet been provided regarding any trees that were ‘replanted,’ however.”

  Whenever I read stories like this, a particular Office episode in which Stanley Hudson unleashes on Michael Scott comes to mind; the tirade begins like this:

  You are out of your d—, little pea-sized, mind. What is wrong with you? Do you have any sense? At all?

  …

  Every day you do something stupider than you did the day before.

  Stanley concludes his outburst by calling Michael a “professional idiot,” and that right there, once again, is why the scene sticks out when I read about certain government initiatives and actions, and its enforcers. These people are truly professional idiots, sanctioned by the State, and there’s no end in sight.

  They squeal about “carbon pollution” then level green (literally and figuratively) CO2 consumers, and replace once-thriving forests with technological, ecological, and fiscal abominations. Every day, they “do something stupider” than the day before. Low-brow Greenies are the quintessential “useful idiots” and it certainly shows.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 02:45

• 4 In 5 Germans Unhappy With Federal Govt That Prioritizes Refugees & The Rich
  4 In 5 Germans Unhappy With Federal Govt That Prioritizes Refugees & The Rich

  Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

  A major political backlash against the traditional mainstream parties is brewing in Germany after recent polling showed that four in five Germans are dissatisfied with the government, and a majority of respondents believe the interests of ordinary people are ignored in favor of refugees and the rich.

  

  German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is flanked by Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration Reem Alabali-Radovan, left, and German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, right, during an immigration meeting “Germany, Immigration Country, Dialogue for Participation and Respect” in Berlin, Monday, Nov. 28, 2022. (John MacDougall/Pool Photo via AP)

  According to the ARD-DeutschlandTrend poll, 78 percent of respondents are unhappy with the direction in which the country is headed under the current coalition government of the socialists, liberals, and greens.

  A total of 41 percent are dissatisfied with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s administration, while 37 percent are very dissatisfied. In contrast, just 20 percent of respondents are somewhat satisfied with the government, and just 1 percent are very satisfied.

  

  Unsurprisingly, supporters of the opposition CDU/CSU and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) are the least supportive of the current administration, with 85 percent and 97 percent against, respectively. However, voters of the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) are also overwhelmingly unhappy with the federal government, despite their party being a member of the coalition. Just 17 percent support the government currently.

  Even a majority of the SPD, which spearheads the government and holds the most influential positions of chancellor and interior minister, do not currently support it, while only a slim majority of Green party voters are happy with the status quo — 51 percent in favor versus 48 percent against.

  The polling revealed that many German citizens believe the government no longer represents their interests and instead panders to the rich and refugees.

  A total of 73 percent of respondents stated that the federal government cares too little for the German people, while 71 percent believe that low earners are not a priority for the current administration.

  

  In contrast, 62 percent believe the government caters too much to the wealthy, compared with just 10 percent who think the opposite. Similarly, 48 percent think that too much focus is placed on helping refugees compared to working-class Germans, compared with 14 percent who think the government isn’t doing enough to assist new arrivals.

  The political landscape is ripe for an insurgent populist party to take advantage of the national mood which is one of disillusionment, and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) has picked up the mantle in that regard and is surging in polls across the country.

  An exponential rise in support over the past 12 months sees the party now backed by almost one in four Germans, hitting a record high of 23 percent in an INSA survey for Germany’s Bild newspaper published on Sunday.

  This support has translated into recent electoral gains, with the party winning its first mayoral election last month, a trend now giving the leaders of mainstream parties a headache as they contemplate whether or not to work with the anti-immigration, anti-globalist party at a local level.

  German voters appear to back their parties working with the AfD on a case-by-case basis, with the ARD poll showing majorities among supporters of FDP (81 percent), CDU/CSU (74 percent), and the SPD (57 percent) in favor of cooperation. Only the Green party remains against working with the right-wing party, although the numbers here are in fact 51 percent against and 46 percent in favor.

  

  The higher the AfD soars, however, the greater the reality of necessary cooperation with the party becomes.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 08/07/2023 – 02:00

• Developed Nations With Packed Infant Vax Schedule Linked To Higher Childhood Mortality Rates: Study
  Developed Nations With Packed Infant Vax Schedule Linked To Higher Childhood Mortality Rates: Study

  Authored by Megan Redshaw via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Highly developed nations requiring the most neonatal vaccine doses tend to have the worst mortality rates in children under age 5, according to a peer-reviewed study published July 20 in Cureus.

  

  Researchers Neil Miller, director of the Institute of Medical and Scientific Inquiry in New Mexico, and Gary Goldman, who has a doctorate in computer science, performed several analyses based on 2019 and 2021 data to explore potential relationships between the number of early childhood vaccinations required by developed nations and their neonatal, infant, and under age 5 mortality rates.

  According to global health experts, few measures in public health can compare with the impact of vaccines, which are credited with having reduced disease, disability, and death from a variety of infectious diseases. Yet the study found that developed nations requiring more neonatal vaccinations may have unintended consequences that increase childhood mortality, challenging the idea that more vaccines administered always results in fewer deaths.

  “Our paper investigated potential associations between the number of early childhood vaccine doses that developed nations require and their early childhood mortality rates,” Mr. Miller told The Epoch Times in an email. “For example, some nations administer hepatitis B and tuberculosis (BCG) vaccines to their infants shortly after birth. We found that nations that require both vaccines had significantly worse infant mortality rates when compared to nations that require neither vaccine.”

  Miller and Goldman’s research initially began in 2011 when they published a paper using 2009 data showing less favorable infant mortality rates among highly developed nations requiring the most infant vaccinations.

  The recent study replicated their original study using 2019 and 2021 data from the top 50 nations where childhood vaccine doses range from 12 to 26.  Results showed the infant mortality rate increased by 0.167 deaths per 1,000 live births for each additional vaccine dose added to the vaccination schedule, supporting the earlier study’s findings.

  Twenty-nine nations in 2009 had better infant mortality rates than the United States, but by 2019, the United States had declined to 44th in infant mortality rankings, and in 2021, ranked 50th—despite requiring the highest number of infant vaccines.

  Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis Vaccination May Increase Mortality

  In their latest study, Miller and Goldman broadened their research to assess the impact of hepatitis and tuberculosis vaccines on mortality rates of neonatal infants (babies under 28 days old), infants up to age 1, and children under 5. Mortality data and vaccination schedules were compiled from UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and national governments.

  Nations were then grouped based on whether they required zero, one, or two vaccine doses given to newborns to determine their statistical significance to mortality rates of the three age groups. The association demonstrated by the analysis showed neonatal vaccines for hepatitis B and tuberculosis may not contribute to an overall reduction in mortality in nations where infants are at low risk of mortality from diseases the vaccines are targeting. In these nations, infants may actually experience greater risks from vaccination.

  Reduction in Infant Vaccine Doses Decreased Mortality

  Using 2021 data, the researchers found a statistically significant difference of 1.28 deaths per 1000 live births between the mean infant mortality rates among nations that did not vaccinate their neonates at all and those that required two vaccine doses. For each reduction of six vaccine doses administered during infancy, the infant mortality rate improved by approximately one death per 1,000 live births.

  Additionally, vaccines administered during the first year of life had a greater effect on under age 5 mortality rates compared with vaccines administered in the second through fifth years of life, suggesting younger infants who generally weigh less and receive more vaccines in a shorter period are significantly more likely to experience an adverse reaction resulting in hospitalization or death.

  “Hepatitis B and tuberculosis vaccines given shortly after birth when the immune system is immature and the neonate has low weight, may increase vulnerability to serious adverse reactions and deaths that ultimately contribute to higher neonatal, infant, and under age five mortality rates,” Mr. Miller told The Epoch Times.

  Vaccination Sequence and Combination Can Impact Mortality

  In most nations, more than half of infant deaths occur during the neonatal period, with about 75 percent of neonatal deaths occurring during the first week of life when neonatal vaccines are administered, according to Mr. Miller. Deaths that occur during this period have a large impact on neonatal, infant, and under age 5 mortality rates.

  The study states the U.S. neonatal mortality rate comprises 61 percent of its infant mortality rate and 52 percent of the mortality rate in children under age 5.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 23:30

• Why Is America's 'Woke Left' Silent Over Blockbuster Child Sex-Trafficking Film?
  Why Is America’s ‘Woke Left’ Silent Over Blockbuster Child Sex-Trafficking Film?

  Authored by Robert Bridge,

  A new American film that reveals the brutal reality of child sex-trafficking has been greeted with muted enthusiasm from the political left, which begs the question: does the silence equal complicity in the unspeakable crime?

  

  Tim Ballard is an American anti-human trafficking activist, author and founder of the non-profit organization Operation Underground Railroad, an anti-sex trafficking organization. A former special agent at the Department of Homeland Security who now works independently, Ballard’s life’s work is being immortalized in a Hollywood film, entitled Sound of Freedom.

  The film, which stars Jim Caviezel in the role of Ballard, leads audiences through the harrowing twists and turns of Ballard’s true life experiences where he works to rescue children from the nightmare of sex slavery. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film has grossed over $140 million in the United States against a $14.5 million budget, while audience reception has been highly positive, scoring 99% on the Rotten Tomatoes film review site, and for apparently good reason.

  According to estimates by the International Labour Organization, there were 24.9 million victims of human trafficking around the world in 2016. Yet for reasons known only to them, the left-leaning media and other institutions appear to be strangely anxious to draw the curtain on the Angel Studios production.

  Writing in Variety magazine, Owen Gleiberman observed, “Let’s assume that, like me, you’re not a right-wing fundamentalist conspiracy theorist looking for a dark, faith-based suspense film to see over the holiday weekend. Even then, you needn’t hold extreme beliefs to experience ‘Sound of Freedom’ as a compelling movie that shines an authentic light on one of the crucial criminal horrors of our time, one that Hollywood has mostly shied away from.”

  At a time when the question of sexual misconduct inside of the entertainment industry continues to grab headlines, as witnessed by the #MeToo movement, Hollywood’s indifference and even aversion to the subject of pedophilia and child sex-trafficking is strange to say the least. After all, as this cinematic biopsy rightly reveals, there are more people enslaved now, by sex trafficking, than there were when slavery was legal. And while allegations of sexual abuse committed by Hollywood bigwigs (amongst consenting adults) is highly disturbing, even the hint that America’s leading industry could be defending or even participating in child sex-trafficking seriously challenges the limits of moral acceptability.

  It goes without saying that there is practically no limit to the number of conspiracy theories involving the inner sanctum of Hollywood – from Kubrick-style Illuminati control to unbridled sexual misconduct – the industry has witnessed every sordid accusation under the California sun. Adding to its stained reputation, an increasing number of people, many of them employed by the movie industry, are speaking out about pedophilia within the Hollywood ranks, and the fact that their efforts are not being taken seriously by the overlords of media and entertainment only adds to the aura of suspicion.

  So why the silence from the progressive left on the Sound of Freedom, which Netflix, Hulu and Amazon streaming services have avoided like the plague?

  First, the villain here is ‘human nature’ itself, an admission that flies in the face of liberal philosophy, which takes it for granted that all human behavior, and not least of all that of a sexual nature, deserves a fair hearing, complete with a court loaded with progressive activists.

  In fact, there have even been calls to legitimize pedophilia and pardon those who are guilty of it.

  Dr. Stephen Kershnar, a philosophy professor at SUNY Fredonia, is just one of many left-wing academics – are there any other? – who argues on behalf of sexual relationships between children and adults.

  “Imagine that an adult male wants to have sex with a 12-year-old girl. Imagine that she’s a willing participant,” Kershnar argued.

  “A very standard, very widely held view is that there’s something deeply wrong about this. It’s wrong independent of it being criminalized,” he said. “It’s not obvious to me that it’s in fact wrong. I think this is a mistake. And I think exploring that why it’s a mistake will tell us not only things about adult/child sex and statutory rape and also fundamental principles of morality.”

  Kershnar went so far as to suggest that there might be “evolutionary advantages” to adult/child sex, while concluding with this shocking remark: “The notion that it’s wrong even with a one-year-old is not quite obvious to me.”

  Not to be outdone in academia’s woke Olympiad, Allyn Walker, an Assistant Professor at Old Dominion University, has coined the term “minor-attracted person” in order to destigmatize the word ‘pedophile.’ Walker does not consider an adult’s physical attraction to a young child, even a toddler, to be a form of mental derangement, but rather a case of individuals not being able to control who they love, which is a very sick way of justifying child rape.

  With such utter insanity in the air is it any surprise that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 145, which lowers the penalties for adults who have sex with same-sex minors?

  Well what a shock. Newsom signed SB145, the bill that allows a 24 year old to have sex with a 14 year old and escape a felony conviction and requirement to be a registered sex offender. Absolutely disgusting.

  — Senator Melissa Melendez (@senatormelendez) September 12, 2020

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  Finally, we must not forget the radical cultural milieu that the film Sound of Freedom is attempting to crash: LGBTQ parades, Drag Queen Story Hour and discussions at the elementary school level about transgender and alternative sexual lifestyles have all come to dominate the national conversation in the United States, and this makes a film that takes aim at child predators actually seem like a menacing thing to a large part of the population.

  It’s hard to imagine things getting any more upside down in the land of the free, but it looks like that the madness has only just begun.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 23:00

• China's Inward Foreign Direct Investment Falls To The Lowest Level On Record
  China’s Inward Foreign Direct Investment Falls To The Lowest Level On Record

  Three quick highlights from China, courtesy of Goldman’s Hui Shan

  A wave of policy announcements: Following the July Politburo meeting on July 24th, various ministries and local governments have put out numerous policy announcements over the past two weeks. While the supportive tone is unmistakable, many of these announcements appear short on details and small in scale. One notable exception is the requirement for local governments to finish issuing all of this year’s special bond quota by the end of September, according to a recent media report, and to finish using the proceeds by the end of October. This is consistent with our view of accelerated fiscal spending and higher sequential growth in Q3. Goldman’s client conversations in recent days suggest most investors are still waiting for more concrete policy measures and clearer signs of such policies could meaningfully boost activity.

  Inward FDI fell further in Q2: The preliminary Q2 Balance of Payments (BOP) data released last week showed China’s current account still enjoys a healthy surplus, but the financial account continues to see notable net outflows. In particular, inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) fell to the lowest level since the series started in 1998. With elevated US-China interest rate differentials and weak economic growth, the PBOC leaning against CNY depreciation by fixing CNY on the stronger side, and the market anticipating further policy easing measures, Goldman thinks USDCNY is likely to stay range-bound and maintains its 3-month forecast of 7.20.

  China’s inward FDI fell to a record low in Q2

  

  July trade, inflation and credit data this week: Chinese exports are expected to decline 14% yoy in July. Much of the weakness is presumably due to price effects: in June, exports value (in USD terms) dropped 12.4% yoy but exports volume only fell 1.8% yoy. Goldman expects headline CPI inflation to soften further from 0% yoy in June to -0.4% yoy in July, partly due to the high base in food prices last year. Finally, the bank also expects RMB 1Tn Total Social Financing (TSF) new flows in July, as bank loan growth likely slowed and corporate and government bond issuance was tepid in July.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 22:30

• Biden Admin Reduces Savings Estimate For Americans Switching Away From Gas Stoves: Industry Group
  Biden Admin Reduces Savings Estimate For Americans Switching Away From Gas Stoves: Industry Group

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

  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is receiving criticism for its updated data analysis regarding the agency’s proposed regulations on gas stoves, which now projects even lower savings for consumers than the already meager numbers.

  The new data shows that “savings are even less than DOE originally projected and are almost negligible,” the industry group Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) said about the changes in an Aug. 3 press release. “DOE’s original proposal was to save consumers 13 cents per month in utility costs over the life of gas cooking products. The revised data reduces consumer savings to just 9 cents per month,” it pointed out.

  “The changes in energy savings projected by DOE primarily result from DOE recognizing that the currently available cooking products are more efficient than its earlier analysis assumed.”

  

  At 9 cents a month, the projected savings will come to just $1.08 per year. Over a decade, that amounts to $10.80 in savings.

  The department proposed new energy efficiency standards for gas stoves back in February. In a March 14 opinion piece at Washington Examiner, Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) warned that stringent energy performance standards would mean that 96 percent of conventional gas stoves could potentially be eliminated from the market.

  “In fact, it is essentially an outright ban on gas stoves,” she said.

  Ms. Lesko also highlighted the meager savings resulting from the new standards, arguing that people will not be willing to trade “such substantially decreased functionality and features for minuscule savings.”

  In its comments submitted to the energy department, AHAM pointed out that many consumer features on gas stoves, like simmer burners and high-input rate burners, must be protected if the department was to implement its energy efficiency proposal.

  However, the DOE has “still has not made any changes” to the proposed standards, it said, according to the release.

  “This means consumers could still lose access to features and many currently available gas cooking appliance models—in exchange for saving only pennies each month.”

  Countering Through Legislation

  In order to counter the Biden admin’s push to restrict gas stoves, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the “Save Our Gas Stoves” Act in the Senate in June

  The Act explicitly prohibits the DOE from implementing the energy efficiency standards for gas stoves proposed in February or any similar rule.

  “This bill places limits on energy conservation standards for kitchen ranges or ovens under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The Department of Energy (DOE) may not prescribe or amend energy conservation standards for kitchen ranges or ovens if they would result in the unavailability of a product on account of the type of fuel the range or oven uses,” according to the bill summary.

  The legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. In the House, Rep. Lesko introduced the companion legislation. It passed the House by a vote of 249-181.

  “The federal government has no business telling Americans how to cook their dinner,” said Mr. Manchin, according to a June 14 press release.

  “I am proud to support this legislation that would help ensure this Administration doesn’t eliminate consumer choice and make life even more expensive for the hard-working men and women of this country.”

  AHAM has backed the Save Our Gas Stoves Act. “Americans, 40 percent of whom live in homes that cook with gas, do not want to give up multiple large burners or spend a full day per year just waiting for water to boil, both of which would be a reality for gas cooking appliances if the DOE’s proposal were to take effect,” it said in a June 14 press release.

  “The DOE’s proposal is a major setback for innovation and offers only negligible energy savings in return.”

  The Epoch Times has reached out to the DOE for comment.

  Expensive Transition

  During a July 18 hearing of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, several Republicans argued that DOE proposed rules on gas stove efficiency standards would be burdensome and costly for American citizens, especially low-income groups.

  In a May 24 testimony (pdf) to the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, Matthew J. Agen from the American Gas Association (AGA) highlighted the cost efficiency of gas to everyday Americans.

  “Households that use natural gas for heating, cooking, and clothes drying save an average of $1,068 per year compared to homes using electricity for those applications. In fact, the low cost of natural gas has saved families a total of $147 billion over 10 years.”

  Gas stoves aren’t the only fossil-fuel-powered appliance that the Biden administration is targeting. In June, the DOE proposed regulations on gas-powered home furnaces to make them more energy efficient, a decision that could potentially limit consumer choice.

  In July, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) proposed a policy that would remove almost all existing portable gas generators from the market.

  The new rule restricts the amount of carbon monoxide that generators can emit by forcing these generators to switch off when they reach a certain level of emissions.

  Smaller gas generators would have to cut carbon monoxide emissions by 50 percent, and larger generators would have to cut emissions by up to 95 percent. Nearly all models currently available are expected to not be in compliance with the new standard.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 22:00

• Goldman: Rates Don't Matter Until They Do
  Goldman: Rates Don’t Matter Until They Do

  By Matthieu Martal, Goldman FICC trader and director

  Sharp rates moves triggered violent equity sell off, as short squeeze dynamics fade and selling pressure intensifies on long duration and credit sensitive assets.

  Fading the chase: Bears are pressing shorts again. The short covering dynamics appear to have come to its natural end after two months of aggressive risk unwind. HF Net exposure has reset back to 5y median from 10th %ile in May, with Gross still at highs, speaking of the magnitude of bear capitulation. Equities entered the week with over 90% of SPX constituents trading above 50d moving average, the 2m return spread between HF VIP GSTHHVIP stocks and most shorted names GSXUMSAL at 5y highs, and our beta factor pair GSPUBETA rallied +25% since May (99th %ile) – all pointing at downside asymmetry. This week’s reversal was sharp, with CTA thresholds getting hit and forecasted $32bn for sale on a flat tape in the next week and gamma positioning adding pressures on down moves.

  Snapping rates: The sharp increase in US rates sparked a duration sell off as equities re-calibrate expensive valuations. Equity bond proxies GSXUBOND & GSXEBOND sold off aggressively alongside expensive software GSCBSF8X and renewables GSXURNEW. Rates vs equity dislocation has been well flagged but seemed not to matter until it does. The equity sensitivity to rising rates has picked up significantly over the past month as a result, with SPX vs US 10y yield 1m correlation close 20y lows. Also interesting to see the Cleveland Fed inflation pointing at an acceleration in August which could signal more room to go. Worth noting however that European equities are trading at an all-time 12m PE discount vs US equities in a sector adjusted basis and could be more resilient in a backdrop of duration recalibration.

  Credit vs Consumer: Fitch unexpectedly cutting US credit grade accentuated the risk off move, adding pressure on low quality pockets of equities such as levered stocks GSXUDEBT & GSXEDEBT and weak balance sheet ones GSXUWBAL, GSXEWBAL. Not all pockets of equities are reflecting worsening consumer credit thought, with Big Ticket Items GSXUBIGT de-coupled from Lending Sensitive Stocks GSXULEND despite worsening consumer data. See charts below for more.

  Cyclicals priced for perfection: Employment numbers continue to normalize slowly to more sustainable levels, supporting the soft landing trade. However, the soft landing narrative seems mostly priced in cyclical equities GSPUCYDE & GSPECYDE, with equities trading the normalization of costs from supply chain and strong pricing pent up demand despite fading tailwinds into 2H. Short covering have been a tailwind for cyclicals, especially in Europe where optimistic equity implied sentiment is most disconnected from PMIs. Timing the downturn remains difficult however, and the desk has seen investors favor expressions in most crowded long industries such as Autos GSXEAUTO, with EU Auto long short ratio reaching 2y highs and BMW earnings pointing at margin compression in the space.

  Earnings jigsaw: European earnings have been underwhelming vs US beating more, however the reaction function has been poor. For instance, companies that beat tend to outperform SPX by 100bps, but in this reporting season, names beating consensus by >1std dev outperformed  by only 22bps. On the other hand earnings miss are lagging by 62bps vs historically underperforming -211bps. This echoes the terrible  performance of our sentiment Barra pair GSXUBFSL/ GSXUBFSS, with stocks with positive sentiment lagging the ones with negative sentiment the most in 10 years on a 3m window.

  The 2m return spread between HF VIP stocks and Most Shorted stocks has reached some of the worst levels in the last five years.

  

  Stocks with the positive sentiment 3m performance vs negative sentiment name has been the worst in 10 years

  

  Earnings confusion, beats not rewarded, miss not punished

  

  US Economic surprises remain very strong, supporting the pro-cyclical momentum in US and European equities

  

  Bond Proxies sold off as US rates make new highs GSXUBOND & GSCB30YR

  

  Big Ticket Items GSXUBIGT de-coupled from Lending Sensitive Stocks GSXULEND despite worsening consumer credit data

  

  Momentum Net Sector Changes (US LHS, EU RHS)

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 21:30

• Court Bans Religious Vaccine Exemptions For Connecticut Children
  Court Bans Religious Vaccine Exemptions For Connecticut Children

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

  In a split decision, a federal appeals court on Friday upheld a controversial pandemic-era law in Connecticut that ended decades-old religious exemptions for vaccination requirements for children.

  

  In a 2-1 decision (pdf), the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected a legal challenge to Connecticut’s Public Act 21-6 (pdf), a hotly contested law adopted in 2021 that repealed non-medical exemptions from immunization requirements for children in schools, colleges, and daycare facilities.

  In 2021, U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton dismissed a constitutional challenge to Public Act 21-6 brought by religious rights advocates, including We the Patriots USA Inc., the lead plaintiff.

  The groups appealed Judge Arterton’s ruling, culminating in the Manhattan appeals court’s Aug. 4 decision.

  The key argument put forward by We the Patriots USA Inc. was that a ban on religious vaccine exemptions violated the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

  Passage of Public Act 21-6 in April 2021 drew protests at the Connecticut state Capitol, with several thousand demonstrators attending, some holding or chanting slogans like “Defend religious liberty” and “Coercion is not consent.”

  

  More Details

  The appeals court’s majority opinion focused on the argument that ending religious exemptions for vaccines was a reasonable way to protect public health and safety, citing as justification a decline in the proportion of schoolchildren immunized against contagious diseases in Connecticut, especially measles.

  Judges in the majority said that it was exceedingly rare for a court to object to a state’s school vaccination requirement and they didn’t want to “disturb this nearly unanimous consensus.”

  “Only one court—state or federal, trial or appellate—has ever found plausible a claim of a constitutional defect in a state’s school vaccination mandate on account of the absence or repeal of a religious exemption,” wrote Judge Denny Chin on behalf of the majority.

  The reference to “only one court” relates to a recent decision by U.S. District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden, who ruled that Mississippi must provide religious exemptions to the state’s childhood vaccine requirement after a lawsuit alleged that health authorities violated the First Amendment.

  The lone dissenting voice in the Connecticut case came from Judge Joseph F. Bianco, who criticized Judge Arterton for dismissing the case too quickly and not giving the plaintiffs enough time to fully explain how it goes against the constitutional right to religious freedom.

  Judge Bianco also wrote in the opinion that the defendants failed to establish how Connecticut is different from the vast majority of other states that have a religious vaccine exemption with no apparent impairment to the safety of their residents.

  “Although Connecticut asserts that this differing treatment between religious and secular exemptions was prompted by a substantial increase over recent years in the number of religious exemptions and an acute risk of an outbreak of disease, Connecticut fails to explain how forty-four states and the District of Columbia have maintained a religious exemption for mandatory student vaccinations without jeopardizing public health and safety,” Judge Bianco wrote.

  Judge Bianco also questioned Connecticut’s argument that abolishing the religious exemption threatens public health by pointing out that Public Act 21-6 contains a legacy provision that lets students with current religious exemptions remain unvaccinated until they graduate high school.

  “Connecticut also fails to articulate how having the “grandfather clause” in the Act that allows students with current religious exemptions to remain unvaccinated until they graduate high school (which could be over a decade if they were in kindergarten at the time of the passage of the Act) is consistent with its position that the elimination of the religious exemption was necessary to prevent an acute risk of an outbreak of disease among students,” the judge wrote.

  Reactions

  Connecticut Attorney General William Tong issued a statement praising the appeals court’s decision, focusing on the court’s key argument that ending the religious exemption promotes public health.

  “This decision is a full and resounding affirmation of the constitutionality and legality of Connecticut’s vaccine requirements,” Mr. Tong said. “Vaccines save lives — this is a fact beyond dispute.”

  “The legislature acted responsibly and well within its authority to protect the health of Connecticut families and stop the spread of preventable disease,” he continued. “We will continue to vigorously defend our state’s strong and necessary public health laws.”

  The lead plaintiffs, who argued that Connecticut violated their constitutional rights, reacted critically.

  “We respectfully disagree with the Court’s conclusion that the removal of the religious exemption in Connecticut does not infringe upon the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment, or the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law,” Brian Festa, co-founder and vice president of We the Patriots USA Inc., said in a statement.

  Norm Pattis, a lawyer for one of the plaintiffs, praised the dissenting judge and vowed to press for a full 13-judge appeals court review of the case.

  “We think the dissent got it right,” he said in a statement. “The case raises grave first amendment issues about the role of religion in American life.”

  “We will ask the Second Circuit for re-argument and an en banc hearing,” he added.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 21:00

• Crypto And Liquidity
  Crypto And Liquidity

  By Russell Clark of The Capital Flows and Asset Markets Substack

  

  We have seen the fastest Federal Reserve hiking cycle in a generation. Interest rates have risen from near zero to over five percent in little over 16 months.

  

  Such a quick increase has had unprecedented affect on bank deposits, leading to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank this year.

  

  But what effect has it had on cryptocurrencies?

  Using data from www.coinmarketcap.com , we can see that the volume traded of bitcoin has fallen. Which would be in line with reduced liquidity.

  

  To get an idea of broader liquidity in the crypto space, I try and track the market capitalisation of the biggest stablecoins. There seems to be some sort of relationship, but an unstable one at best. The theories around stablecoin and bitcoin vary. One line of thinking is that stablecoin is a gateway to crypto, so surging stablecoin market cap points to more money entering the system. The other line of thinking is that when people are nervous about bitcoin price, they sell bitcoin and place the proceeds into stablecoin. The chart below does not really help to disentangle which theory is correct.

  

  Another way to look at it is the size of stablecoin market capitalisation to bitcoin market cap. Here the relationship is more interesting, showing that stablecoin has grown faster than bitcoin. If this relationship holds, it would suggest bitcoin is overvalued relative to current stablecoin market cap.

  

  What could have caused bitcoin to rally without liquidity? Well positioning was very negative at the beginning of 2023. CME Bitcoin futures had moved back to negative bias at the beginning of 2023. Still negative today, but less so.

  

  Also listed bitcoin play, Microstategy, saw its short interest rise to over 40% of shares outstanding, a level that in my experience suggests the risk of a short squeeze being very high, which is what has happened. The stock is up 175% this year, and short interest has fallen back to 28%.

  

  Liquidity driven and speculative assets are often driven by technical flows. Generally speaking, you want to be long bitcoin when 20 day weekly average is moving higher, and short when 20 day weekly average is moving lower. At the beginning of 2023, it was turning higher, but as of today, it is in no man’s land.

  

  Putting it all together, bearish positioning was excessive at the beginning of the year, but positioning is much more neutral, and liquidity is still declining in this market. The outlook is bearish to me.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 20:30

• Transgender Policies Put Doctors And Patients At Risk, Says Medical Group
  Transgender Policies Put Doctors And Patients At Risk, Says Medical Group

  Authored by Jackson Elliott via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Today, some people who identify as transgender expect their doctors to pick up on the unspoken fact that sometimes “men” complaining of stomach pain are actually women who identify as men.

  For doctors to be oblivious to—or ignore—basic human biology, such as the differences between male and female, already has caused great harm, including death, said Dr. Jeffrey Barrows, senior vice president of bioethics and public policy for the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA).

  “Fortunately, those very tragic cases are rare; but they’re likely to become more common,” Dr. Barrows said. “So it gets to the point that we in the health care profession must keep track of the true biologic sex of the patient.”

  

  But if in the process of trying to assess and provide life-saving care, a doctor notes the biological sex of a patient—on a chart, for example—he or she can be at risk of being fired, Dr. Barrows said.

  The medical field largely has accepted radical gender ideology as science, doctors told The Epoch Times.

  Doctors who speak against it risk losing their jobs, Dr. Barrows said.

  Differing Health Issues

  In 2019, the New England Journal of Medicine described the case of a woman who had undergone procedures to look like a man. She lost her baby because doctors failed to diagnose her as pregnant.

  That’s just one example that illustrates how knowing and acknowledging a patient’s biological sex matters.

  Sometimes, the true biological sex of a person who identifies as transgender or nonbinary is not immediately obvious, even to a physician, Dr. Barrows said.

  Yet “one of our members was recently fired from his position because he wrote the biologic sex [of a transgender-identifying individual] in the medical record” of the patient.

  Some health issues affect men and women differently, and those issues often require very different treatments, Dr. Barrows said.

  Heart attack symptoms in men, for example, most often include chest pain. Women, however, might experience nausea or heartburn.

  

  In an emergency, a person who convincingly appears as the opposite sex, may cause a doctor to miss symptoms that would lead to a correct diagnosis in time to provide rapid treatment, Dr. Barrows said. And the misunderstanding could prove fatal.

  Purely medically speaking, he said, what’s “best for that transgender patient … is for a doctor not to have to guess the sex of the patient.”

  It makes sense that “there must be some way to keep track of the biological sex of the patient,” he said. “The best way to do that is in the medical record.”

  But now, with the explosion of transgenderism, some medical organizations do not allow that information to be added to a medical record. Some see its notation as disrespectful to a patient who identifies as the opposite sex.

  LGBT activist groups, such as the Human Rights Campaign, advise doctors to change patient forms to avoid hurting the feelings of transgender-identifying individuals.

  “Revise client forms,” the group’s website guidance on health care reads.

  “Allow options for male/female/transgender and use neutral terms like “partner” or “spouse,” rather than “single,” “married,” or “divorced.’

  The organization, which has a powerful voice in policy-making in the United States and around the world, did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

  Willfully introducing confusion into life-and-death situations is “insanity,” Dr. Barrows said.

  Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also suggest it’s important to collect sexual orientation and gender identity information.

  “Without this information, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients and their specific health care needs cannot be identified, the health disparities they experience cannot be addressed, and important health care services may not be delivered,” the CDC website reads.

  ‘Intense Pressure’ on Doctors

  Whether or not doctors face punishment for transgender-related issues depends on where they work, Dr. Barrows said.

  Currently, a CMDA lawsuit provides a permanent injunction against the federal government firing doctors because they refuse to perform a transgender procedure.

  “But outside of that, the vast majority of the pressure and coercion to perform transgender procedures is unfortunately at the local level at the local hospital or hospital system,” Dr. Barrows said.

  

  Another doctor, who asked to be identified only as Dr. Andrew, formerly worked at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Starting in 2019, he said he began facing “intense pressure” from his employer to follow policies meant to accommodate transgender patients.

  The school issued a new general intake form that required patients to answer questions about gender identity and sexual behaviors in detail, he said.

  Questions like these normally don’t appear on intake forms because they might threaten patient confidentiality or embarrass patients, Dr. Andrew said. Physicians usually ask those questions in private, he added.

  Also, for patients from some cultures, questions like this on an intake form can be seen as a grave insult, he noted.

  “It was inconceivable to me that some elderly woman from Bangladesh who didn’t speak English, who was brought in by her son, would be asked those sorts of questions, often by her children,” Dr. Andrew said.

  He said VCU’s administration pressured students to introduce themselves by announcing preferred gender pronouns and that the school taught students to ask patients for their preferred gender pronouns.

  Dr. Andrew was eventually fired for “poor clinic performance,” he said, even though patients consistently gave him five-star ratings.

  “I think it’s coming from the accrediting agencies, as well as within medical education,” he said. “So you’re seeing it all over the country. You’re seeing it on the national level.”

  The Epoch Times reached out to university officials for comment and was told one would be available by Aug. 3. No further communication was received.

  Differing Approaches of States

  State laws determine a doctor’s right to refuse to perform certain procedures or provide certain treatments, Dr. Barrows said.

  Florida doctors are empowered by legislation for medical freedom signed in 2023 by Gov. Ron DeSantis, presently a Republican presidential candidate.

  The landmark legislation “safeguards the free speech of doctors” and “provides a path for doctors to protect their license from medical accreditation boards that are attempting to punish them for speaking out against the medical establishment,” according to the governor’s office.

  Other states take a different stance.

  New Mexico, California, and Oregon encourage overruling a doctor’s conscientious objection, he said.

  “I would be quite fearful that I could be put into a position where I am forced to do something against my conscience and not have nearly the legal protection that I would like to have,” Dr. Barrows said.

  The transgender medicine field affects many medical specialties. Family medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, dermatology, urology, plastic surgery, and internal medicine all can encounter issues related to transgenderism.

  “It’s hard to find a field that you could enter and deal with people that would not in some way be touched by the transgender issue,” Dr. Barrows said.

  Christian doctors in all these specialties must carefully consider local laws before they decide where to work. Doctors of other religious faiths can face the same struggle, he said.

  Being forced to perform procedures to further a patient’s transgender identity can go against deeply held religious beliefs, causing great distress for these doctors, Dr. Barrows said.

  “I had a student that was very frustrated because they had actually been called in to help with hysterectomies on women that were identifying as male,” Dr. Barrows said. “Their uteruses were perfectly normal. They had done more of those procedures than they had delivered babies.”

  The Transhuman Movement

  Transgenderism is likely the vanguard of medical movements aiming to change humanity, Dr. Barrows said.

  He predicts that medicine and technology to make people “transhuman”—or beyond human—is just around the corner. Experts have expressed similar concerns to The Epoch Times.

  

  That way of thinking is in opposition to the idea of medicine, Dr. Barrows said. “The goals of medicine should be healing, restoration of health, and palliation, the limitation of suffering within the dying process.

  “Medicine is never meant to be involved in the commodification of anybody.”

  Commodification is the process of treating something as a commodity that can be bought and sold. People concerned about transhumanism say the transgender movement has turned human body parts into a commodity.

  Even so, says Dr. Barrows, few doctors have fought back against the transgender movement.

  “I think the vast majority are just keeping their heads down, doing what they can to avoid it because they don’t want to get too engaged and lose their job,” he said.

  Many older doctors believe they can dodge the transgender issue until retirement, he said. But young doctors face an ideological obstacle course that may last the next several decades.

  Dr. Barrows sympathizes with the struggle they’ll have in choosing how to best care for patients while avoiding “cancellation” for not embracing transgenderism.

  “My heart really goes out to those that are relatively young and new in the health care profession.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 20:00

• "Banana Republic": Dershowitz Says Biden 'Urged' Garland To Indict Trump, Jack Smith 'Could' Be Indicted Under KKK Statute
  “Banana Republic”: Dershowitz Says Biden ‘Urged’ Garland To Indict Trump, Jack Smith ‘Could’ Be Indicted Under KKK Statute

  During two recent Fox News interviews, Harvard Law professor (and former Jeffrey Epstein pal, and Trump impeachment attorney) Alan Dershowitz said that the prosecution of former President Donald Trump by the sitting president’s DOJ for contesting the 2020 election “looks like banana republic land.”

  

  Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a four-count indictment over his efforts to contest the results of the 2020 US election. This comes on the heels of a 37-count indictment in June regarding Trump’s handling of classified documents.

  “President Biden urged his attorney general to indict the man who he knew was going to be the leading opponent if against him,” Dershowitz told “Kudlow” guest host, David Asman. “That begins to look like banana republic land. That’s what happens when people in power are afraid of the democratic process. What they do is they seek the indictment and prosecution of the people who are running against them.”

  “I have a constitutional right to vote against Donald Trump for the third time,” said Dershowitz. “I voted against him twice, I intend to vote against him again, but I want to have that right to vote against him and not have that right taken away from me by prosecutors and by the president, who wants to see him imprisoned. That’s just not the American way.”

  Dershowitz also slammed the Biden administration over venue, arguing that the District of Columbia was a setup.

  “This is a step in that direction, and also placing the case in the District of Columbia, which is 95% anti-Trump, putting it in front of a judge with a history of anti-Trump. If the government thinks they have a strong case, they ought to join the defense and agree to move it to West Virginia or Virginia and put it in front of another judge who doesn’t have a long history of anti-Trump attitudes,” he said, adding “So, I don’t believe he can get a fair trial in the District of Columbia.”

  KKK statute?

  In another Fox News interview, this time on Brian Kilmeade’s radio show, Dershowitz suggested that Special Counsel Jack Smith could be indicted for denying Trump his “constitutional rights” under a Ku Klux Klan statute.

  “The indictment is based on lies, and the indictment itself contains a blatant lie by Jack Smith. He describes the speech of January 6th,” he said, adding “But he describes the speech in the indictment and deliberately and willfully leaves out the key words of the speech, namely that the president told his people to protest peacefully and patriotically.”

  “By leaving out those words. It’s a lie by omission. And under the standards set out in the indictment, you know, Jack Smith could be indicted,” he continued. “Theoretically, it’s not going to happen, obviously, under the Ku Klux Klan statute that he says any people who conspire to deny somebody their constitutional rights is guilty of a crime.”

  According to Dershowitz, “That would mean that Jack Smith tried to deny Trump his constitutional rights in this indictment.”

  “I make that point not to argue that Jack Smith should be indicted, of course not. To make the point that the indictment is so broad, so wide, so all encompassing, it could include so much political conduct.”

  Watch:

  Dershowitz: Jack Smith “could also be indicted, theoretically … under the Ku Klux Klan statute [that says] ‘people who conspire to deny somebody their constitutional rights is guilty of a crime'” pic.twitter.com/CTmvYplVP9

  — Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 6, 2023

   

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 19:30

• Hiroshima, Nagasaki Bombings Were Needless, Said World War II's Top US Military Leaders
  Hiroshima, Nagasaki Bombings Were Needless, Said World War II’s Top US Military Leaders

  Authored by Brian McGlinchey via starkrealities.substack.com 

  The anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki present an opportunity to demolish a cornerstone myth of American history — that those twin acts of mass civilian slaughter were necessary to bring about Japan’s surrender, and spare a half-million US soldiers who’d have otherwise died in a military conquest of the empire’s home islands.

  Those who attack this mythology are often reflexively dismissed as unpatriotic, ill-informed or both. However, the most compelling witnesses against the conventional wisdom were patriots with a unique grasp on the state of affairs in August 1945 — America’s senior military leaders of World War II.

  Let’s first hear what they had to say, and then examine key facts that led them to their little-publicized convictions:

  • General Dwight Eisenhower on learning of the planned bombings: “I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and voiced to [Secretary of War Stimson] my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of ‘face’.”

  • Admiral William Leahy, Truman’s Chief of Staff: “The use of this barbarous weapon…was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender because of the effective sea blockade and the successful bombing with conventional weapons.”

  • Major General Curtis LeMay, 21st Bomber Command: “The war would have been over in two weeks without the Russians entering and without the atomic bomb…The atomic bomb had nothing to do with the end of the war at all.”

  • General Hap Arnold, US Army Air Forces: “The Japanese position was hopeless even before the first atomic bomb fell, because the Japanese had lost control of their own air.” “It always appeared to us that, atomic bomb or no atomic bomb, the Japanese were already on the verge of collapse.”

  • Ralph Bird, Under Secretary of the Navy: “The Japanese were ready for peace, and they already had approached the Russians and the Swiss…In my opinion, the Japanese war was really won before we ever used the atom bomb.”

  • Brigadier General Carter Clarke, military intelligence officer who prepared summaries of intercepted cables for Truman: “When we didn’t need to do it, and we knew we didn’t need to do it…we used [Hiroshima and Nagasaki] as an experiment for two atomic bombs. Many other high-level military officers concurred.”

  • Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, Pacific Fleet commander: “The use of atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was of no material assistance in our war against Japan. The Japanese were already defeated and ready to surrender.”

  

  Putting out feelers through third-party diplomatic channels, the Japanese were seeking to end the war weeks before the atomic bombings on August 6 and 9, 1945. Japan’s navy and air forces were decimated, and its homeland subjected to a sea blockade and allied bombing carried out against little resistance.

  The Americans knew of Japan’s intent to surrender, having intercepted a July 12 cable from Japanese Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo, informing Japanese ambassador to Russia Naotake Sato that “we are now secretly giving consideration to the termination of the war because of the pressing situation which confronts Japan both at home and abroad.”

  Togo told Sato to “sound [Russian diplomat Vyacheslav Molotov] out on the extent to which it is possible to make use of Russia in ending the war.” Togo initially told Sato to obscure Japan’s interest in using Russia to end the war, but just hours later, he withdrew that instruction, saying it would be “suitable to make clear to the Russians our general attitude on ending the war”— to include Japan’s having “absolutely no idea of annexing or holding the territories which she occupied during the war.”

  

  Japan’s central concern was the retention of its emperor, Hirohito, who was considered a demigod. Even knowing this — and with many US officials feeling the retention of the emperor could help Japanese society through its postwar transition —the Truman administration continued issuing demands for unconditional surrender, offering no assurance that the emperor would be spared humiliation or worse.

  In a July 2 memorandum, Secretary of War Henry Stimson drafted a terms-of-surrender proclamation to be issued at the conclusion of that month’s Potsdam Conference. He advised Truman that, “if…we should add that we do not exclude a constitutional monarchy under her present dynasty, it would substantially add to the chances of acceptance.”

  Truman and Secretary of State James Byrnes, however, continued rejecting recommendations to give assurances about the emperor. The final Potsdam Declaration, issued July 26, omitted Stimson’s recommended language, sternly declaring, “Following are our terms. We will not deviate from them.”

  One of those terms could reasonably be interpreted as jeopardizing the emperor: “There must be eliminated for all time the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest.”

  

  At the same time the United States was preparing to deploy its formidable new weapons, the Soviet Union was moving armies from the European front to northeast Asia.

  In May, Stalin told the US ambassador that Soviet forces should be positioned to attack the Japanese in Manchuria by August 8. In July, Truman predicted the impact of the Soviets opening a new front. In a diary entry made during the Potsdam Conference, he wrote that Stalin assured him “he’ll be in the Jap War on August 15th. Fini Japs when that comes about.”

  Right on Stalin’s original schedule, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan two days after the August 6 bombing of Hiroshima. That same day — August 8 — Emperor Hirohito told the country’s civilian leaders that he still wanted to pursue a negotiated surrender that would preserve his reign.

  On August 9, Soviet attacks commenced on three fronts. News of Stalin’s invasion of Manchuria prompted Hirohito to call a new meeting to discuss surrender — at 10 am, one hour before the strike on Nagasaki. The final surrender decision came on August 10.

  

  The Soviet timeline makes the atomic bombings all the more troubling: One would think a US government that’s appropriately hesitant to incinerate and irradiate hundreds of thousands of civilians would want to first see how a Soviet declaration of war affected Japan’s calculus.

  As it turns out, the Japanese surrender indeed appears to have been prompted by the Soviet entry into the war on Japan — not by the atomic bombs. “The Japanese leadership never had photo or video evidence of the atomic blast and considered the destruction of Hiroshima to be similar to the dozens of conventional strikes Japan had already suffered,” wrote Josiah Lippincott at The American Conservative.

  Sadly, the evidence points to a US government determined to drop atomic bombs on Japanese cities as an end in itself, to such an extent that it not only ignored Japan’s interest in surrender, but worked to ensure that surrender was delayed until after upwards of 210,000 people — disproportionately women, children and elderly — were killed in the two cities.

  Make no mistake: This was a deliberate targeting of civilian populations. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen because they were pristine, and could thus fully showcase the bombs’ power. Hiroshima was home to a small military headquarters, but the fact that both cities had gone untouched by a strategic bombing campaign that began 14 months earlier certifies their military and industrial insignificance.

  

  “The Japanese were ready to surrender and it wasn’t necessary to hit them with that awful thing,” Eisenhower would later say. “I hated to see our country be the first to use such a weapon.”

  According to his pilot, General Douglas MacArthur, commander of US Army Forces Pacific, was “appalled and depressed by this Frankenstein monster.”

  “When I asked General MacArthur about the decision to drop the bomb,” wrote journalist Norman Cousins, “I was surprised to learn he had not even been consulted…He saw no military justification for the dropping of the bomb. The war might have ended weeks earlier, he said, if the United States had agreed, as it later did anyway, to the retention of the institution of the emperor.”

  What then, was the purpose of devastating Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs?

  A key insight comes from Manhattan Project physicist Leo Szilard. In 1945, Szilard organized a petition, signed by 70 Manhattan Project scientists, urging Truman not to use atomic bombs against Japan without first giving the country a chance to surrender, on terms that were made public.

  In May 1945, Szilard met with Secretary of State Byrnes to urge atomic restraint. Byrnes wasn’t receptive to the plea. Szilard — the scientist who’d drafted the pivotal 1939 letter from Albert Einstein urging FDR to develop an atomic bomb — recounted:

  “[Byrnes] was concerned about Russia’s postwar behavior. Russian troops had moved into Hungary and Rumania, and Byrnes thought it would be very difficult to persuade Russia to withdraw her troops from these countries, that Russia might be more manageable if impressed by American military might, and that a demonstration of the bomb might impress Russia.“

  

  Whether the atomic bomb’s audience was in Tokyo or Moscow, some in the military establishment championed alternative ways to demonstrate its power.

  Lewis Strauss, Special Assistant to the Navy Secretary, said he proposed “that the weapon should be demonstrated over… a large forest of cryptomeria trees not far from Tokyo. The cryptomeria tree is the Japanese version of our redwood… [It] would lay the trees out in windrows from the center of the explosion in all directions as though they were matchsticks, and, of course, set them afire in the center. It seemed to me that a demonstration of this sort would prove to the Japanese that we could destroy any of their cities at will.”

  Strauss said Navy Secretary Forrestal “agreed wholeheartedly,” but Truman ultimately decided an optimal demonstration required burning hundreds of thousands of noncombatants and laying waste to their cities. The buck stops there.

  

  The particular means of inflicting these mass murders — a solitary object dropped from a plane at 31,000 feet — helps warp Americans’ evaluation of its morality. Using an analogy, historian Robert Raico cultivates ethical clarity:

  “Suppose that, when we invaded Germany in early 1945, our leaders had believed that executing all the inhabitants of Aachen, or Trier, or some other Rhineland city would finally break the will of the Germans and lead them to surrender. In this way, the war might have ended quickly, saving the lives of many Allied soldiers. Would that then have justified shooting tens of thousands of German civilians, including women and children?”

  The claim that dropping the atomic bombs saved a half-million American lives is more than just empty: Truman’s stubborn refusal to provide advance assurances about the retention of Japan’s emperor arguably cost American lives.

  That’s true not only of a war against Japan that lasted longer than it needed to, but also of a Korean War precipitated by the US-invited Soviet invasion of Japanese-held territory in northeast Asia. More than 36,000 US service members died in the Korean War — among a staggering 2.5 million total military and civilian dead on both sides of the 38th Parallel.

  

  We like to think of our system as one in which the supremacy of civilian leaders acts as a rational, moderating force on military decisions. The needless atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki — against the wishes of World War II’s most revered military leaders — tells us otherwise.

  Sadly, the destructive effects of the Hiroshima myth aren’t confined to Americans’ understanding of events in August 1945. “There are hints and notes of the Hiroshima myth that persist all through modern times,” State Department whistleblower and author Peter Van Buren said on The Scott Horton Show.

  The Hiroshima myth fosters a depraved indifference to civilian casualties associated with US actions abroad, whether it’s women and children slaughtered in a drone strike in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands dead in an unwarranted invasion of Iraq, or a baby who dies for lack of imported medicine in US-sanctioned Iran.

  Ultimately, to embrace the Hiroshima myth is to embrace a truly sinister principle: That, in the correct circumstances, it’s right for governments to intentionally harm innocent civilians. Whether the harm is inflicted by bombs or sanctions, it’s a philosophy that mirrors the morality of al Qaeda.

  That’s not the only thread connecting 1945 to 2023, as Truman’s insistence on unconditional surrender is echoed by the Biden administration’s utter disinterest in pursuing a negotiated peace in Ukraine.

  Today, confronting an adversary with 6,000 nuclear warheads — each a thousand times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Japan — Biden’s own stubborn perpetuation of war puts us all at risk of sharing the fate of Hiroshima and Nagasaki’s innocents.

  Stark Realities undermines official narratives, demolishes conventional wisdom and exposes fundamental myths across the political spectrum. Read more and subscribe at starkrealities.substack.com 

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 19:00

• Doctors Sue California Over Forced "Implicit Bias" DEI Training In Medicine
  Doctors Sue California Over Forced “Implicit Bias” DEI Training In Medicine

  Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

  Two doctors are suing the Medical Board of California over the state’s law that forces physicians and those who teach them to accept radical political and racial indoctrination in order to continue practicing medicine.

  

  Dr. Azadeh Khatibi is suing the Medical Board of California over California’s requirement that continuing medical education courses in the state include discussion of “implicit bias” in a 2019 photo. (Courtesy of Pacific Legal Foundation)

  AB 241, signed in October 2019 by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who supports DEI—diversity, equity, and inclusion—initiatives, requires all doctors in the state to log 50 continuing medical education (CME) hours every two years in order to retain their medical licenses. The left-wing Equal Justice Society, based in Oakland, took credit for drafting the language of the bill.

  Supporters say the law is part of an effort to mitigate supposed health care disparities based on race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation, but critics say it constitutes unconstitutional thought control.

  Implicit Bias-Related Bills

  AB 241 is just one of many implicit bias-related bills that Mr. Newsom has signed in recent years.

  SB 464 mandates implicit bias training for perinatal health care providers in hospitals and birth centers. AB 1407 requires implicit bias training as a graduation requirement for nursing students.

  SB 263 requires that real estate brokers and salespeople take implicit bias courses. AB 242 mandates implicit bias training for judges, court personnel, and attorneys.

  California is also not averse to punishing doctors for refusing to toe the official line.

  AB 2098 penalized doctors and surgeons for disagreeing with the government’s narrative on the COVID-19 virus, deeming the dissemination of “misinformation or disinformation related” to the virus to be “unprofessional conduct.” Federal Judge William Shubb, who was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush, issued a preliminary injunction in January 2023 blocking the law.

  ‘Freedom’

  The legal complaint (pdf) in Khatibi v. Lawson was filed on Aug. 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the mandate in AB 241 violates the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as a permanent injunction restraining the Medical Board of California from enforcing the mandate.

  Lead plaintiff Dr. Azadeh Khatibi, an ophthalmologist whose first name means “freedom,” was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States when she was six years old.

  But she “never imagined that she would escape the oppression of her childhood only to face creeping collectivism and unfree speech in America,” according to the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a national public interest law firm that challenges government abuses and is representing her in the lawsuit.

  Ms. Khatibi teaches CME courses.

  The other plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Dr. Marilyn Singleton, a California anesthesiologist, and Do No Harm, a national medical advocacy organization. Do No Harm previously filed a federal lawsuit against Pfizer’s race-based fellowships.

  Ms. Singleton, who is black, teaches CME courses. She wrote in a February op-ed in The Washington Post that the implicit bias teaching mandate advances the “malignant false assumption that white people are inherently racist.”

  “It is a message that I believe is harmful both to physicians and patients,” she wrote.

  According to the PLF, implicit bias means that “medical professionals unconsciously treat patients differently based on their race or other immutable characteristics.”

  Evidence that implicit bias exists is “far from established fact” and “evidence shows that improper implicit bias training can backfire, causing anger, frustration, and resentment among those taking the training.”

  ‘Lacks Evidence’

  The legal complaint itself states that “the efficacy of implicit bias training in reducing disparities and negative outcomes in healthcare is controversial in the medical community and lacks evidence.”

  The plaintiffs “prefer to teach different, evidence-based subjects” and “do not want to espouse the government’s view on implicit bias.” They also “do not want to be compelled to include discussion of implicit bias in the continuing medical education courses they teach.”

  Joshua Thompson, director of equality and opportunity litigation at PLF, said although his clients are medical practitioners they are contesting the statute as CME instructors.

  “They don’t want to have to speak this nonsense. So we’re challenging this as a violation of their First Amendment rights as speakers,” he told The Epoch Times in an interview.

  “The last thing we want a doctor performing an appendectomy or brain surgery to be doing is thinking, ‘hmmm, maybe I should be thinking about the race of this patient when I’m performing this medical function,’” Mr. Thompson said.

  “To inject race into the doctor-patient relationship like this can only produce bad results.”

  “Implicit bias itself is highly suspect, but even if you grant some sort of existence of implicit bias, the idea that you can shrink that through forcing people to think about race is highly controversial, and now forcing doctors to do this in every single CME course is just crazy town,” he said.

  ‘Policing People’s Inner Thoughts’

  Mr. Thompson said the term “implicit bias” means that “your subconscious thoughts and feelings result in real-world actions, that your conscious thoughts and decisions can be undone by these feelings that you may not even know you have.

  “And the idea that we should be policing people’s inner thoughts and subjective feelings is unscientific. Hunches or other things have no place in medicine.”

  What is “even less scientific is the idea that you can coach out these implicit biases through trainings that neither the CME provider nor the doctor wants to hear.

  “So the existence of it is highly controversial, and the purported remedy is even more controversial. And now, California is requiring every continuing medical education course to include this,” he said.

  “It’s nuts,” Mr. Thompson added.

  The Epoch Times reached out to the Medical Board of California for comment.

  Spokesperson Alexandria Schembra said by email, “The Board declines to comment due to pending litigation.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 18:00

• Anheuser-Busch Heir Says Ancestors Would've "Rolled Over In Graves" Over Disastrous Pro-Trans TikTok Ad
  Anheuser-Busch Heir Says Ancestors Would’ve “Rolled Over In Graves” Over Disastrous Pro-Trans TikTok Ad

  Anheuser-Busch heir Billy Busch appeared on TMZ Live on Friday to only blast the current management of the brewer for one of the greatest marketing blunders in history. 

  Busch said his ‘freedom-loving’ ancestors would have “rolled over in their graves” knowing woke management would’ve used a transgender person to advertise Bud Light. 

  

  “They were very patriotic — they loved this country and what it stood for. They believed that transgender, gays — that sort of thing — was all a very personal issue. They loved this country because it is a free country and people are allowed to do what they want, but it was never meant to be on a beer can and never meant to be pushed into people’s faces,” Busch told TMZ host Harvey Levin. 

  

  Levin pointed out the reason behind the Dylan Mulvaney ad was all about inclusiveness, and Busch was asked about his feelings about the TikTok video featuring the man who thinks he’s a woman: 

  “You know, I think people who drink beer, I think they’re your common folk. I think they are the blue-collar worker who goes and works hard every single day.

  “The last thing they want pushed down their throat or to be drinking is a beer can with that kind of message on it. I just don’t think that’s what they’re looking for. They want their beer to be truly American, truly patriotic, as it always has been. Truly, America’s beer, which Bud Light was and probably isn’t any longer.”

  Busch was asked why he does not believe the beer is American anymore. He said the typical customer “is not into transgenders … People who drink beer care about wholesome things … and certain things should be kept private.”  

  Levin said the controversy Bud Light has stumbled into is due to the prejudice against transgender people:

  “Absolutely it’s prejudice… Look, I remember my dad telling me stories that there were bars in LA that used to have signs that said, ‘No dogs, no Jews.’ So there’s been a history of prejudice in the country. People get over certain things. It’s happened to Jews. It’s happened to black people. It’s happening to gay people, and it’s happening to transgender people. So to me, it is absolutely prejudice.” 

  Busch responded:

  “Well, I just think prejudice against Jews against Black people, those kinds of things are a totally different deal.”

  Around the 8:40 mark, Busch told Levin:

   “I thought we were going to talk about my book … but here we are talking about the politics of transgender people.”

  Here’s the ten minute interview:

   That book is called “Family Reins: The Extraordinary Rise and Epic Fall of an American Dynasty Hardcover.” 

  

  Yet a classic trap by TMZ. Busch should have known better than even agreeing to be interviewed by the Hollywood tabloid news organization. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 17:30

• Refugee-Rescuer Suing CNN For Libel Wins Right To Seek Punitive Damages
  Refugee-Rescuer Suing CNN For Libel Wins Right To Seek Punitive Damages

  Authored by Dan M. Berger via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A former special operator who rescued refugees from Afghanistan as it fell to the Taliban in 2021 and whose business was destroyed by a CNN story he says was false and defamatory, won a significant procedural victory in a Florida court in his libel lawsuit against the network.

  

  In an order allowing Zachary Young to sue for punitive damages, Judge William S. Henry in Bay County quoted startling language from CNN employees’ internal emails and texts regarding the story that aired on Nov. 11, 2021.

  Mr. Young, a security consultant with extensive military and government security experience, launched an effort to rescue at-risk people, primarily foreign companies or agencies’ employees and family members.

  He advertised to attract corporate sponsors for the hefty sums required to perform the kinds of risky extractions usually confined to the pages of technothrillers.

  His company rescued more than 20 people, most of them at-risk females, according to his amended complaint filed on Sept. 21, 2022.

  

  Two of his clients were Audible, the audiobook company, and financial news giant Bloomberg. Another was a German firm that subcontracted for humanitarian missions; and an organization helping Afghan Christians.

  CNN’s story falsely portrayed him as extorting money from desperate people and not necessarily delivering them to safety, he said in his lawsuit.

  His business, which he said relied on his reputation and discretion, dried up immediately.

  Mr. Young said he was only given two hours to respond before the story was set to air.

  He said he told CNN’s reporter the report was inaccurate and that he needed more time to respond to it. The network ran the story anyway.

  “And while this court can force CNN to remedy the monetary damage it caused Young,”  the amended complaint stated, “CNN can never remedy the fact that they sacrificed actual human lives for the sake of ratings.

  “CNN painted a caricature of Young as a fly-by-night extortionist, but Young is a highly trained and effective security professional. He was unquestionably qualified to extract civilians from Afghanistan, and before CNN’s slander, he saved dozens of lives.

  “CNN’s defamation, however, has rendered Young unable to provide these rare and vital services, and there just aren’t many other options out there. CNN’s vicious and self-righteous slander removed Young from the equation and condemned an unknowable number of Afghans to death,” the complaint continued.

  Mr. Young’s lawyer, Devin “Vel” Freedman of Miami, told The Epoch Times in an email that: “Punitive damages are important because they allow the jury to punish wrongdoers [here CNN] for their misconduct and thereby deter both CNN, and other media outlets, from engaging in similar misconduct in the future.”

  “The upward limit on punitive damages is about 10 times the compensatory damages figure, so punitive damages can get quite expensive for defendants.”

  CNN’s lead attorney, Deanna K. Shullman of West Palm Beach, did not respond to requests for comment emailed by The Epoch Times.

  The lawsuit included a moment-by-moment account of the story that aired, including color screenshots. One contained an unflattering photo of Mr. Young laid over an image appearing to be desperate Afghans trying to get out of the country.

  At the bottom, it said, “CNN Investigation: Afghans trying to flee Taliban face black markets, exorbitant fees, no guarantee of safety or success.”

  Black-Market Services

  “In doing so they undeniably make the accusation that Young is the purveyor of black-market services and the one exploiting desperate Afghans,” said the lawsuit, filed by Mr. Freedman.

  The news story aired on “The Lead with Jake Tapper” on Nov. 11, 2021, and its website and on Facebook “on or about” on Nov. 12, 2021. An article version followed on the website on Nov. 13.

  Mr. Young demanded on March 17, 2022, that CNN retract the “false and defamatory statements.”

  CNN issued what it termed a “correction,” noting that the words “black market” were in error and did not apply to Mr. Young. The network apologized.

  The story was later deleted from CNN’s websites and social media accounts.

  In his court order, Judge Henry, of Panama City, laid out why he was allowing Mr. Young to sue for punitive damages. He referred to evidence submitted by the plaintiff.

  “The proffer demonstrates evidence of actual and express malice along with sufficiently egregious or outrageous behavior on the part of defendant’s [employees] which was either condoned and ratified by defendant, defendant participated in, or for which defendant was negligent.

  “Without detailing each and every piece of evidence proffered, the following summary of the evidence is sufficient to demonstrate defendant’s employees’ behavior and defendant’s acts, participation or negligence which support the court’s conclusion.“

  ‘What a Punchable Face’

  Judge Henry listed “the manner that the segments were pieced together” with chyrons scrolling along the bottom of the screen, the “tone and tenor,” and the implication that Mr. Young engaged in “black-market operations” and charged “exorbitant prices.”

  Judge Henry cited Mr. Young having informed the defendant in advance there were inaccuracies in the story.

  He said: “The internal emails/messages between defendant’s employees that indicate an animus towards and a motivation to harm [plaintiff]—’We gonna nail this Zachary Young mf***er,’ ‘what a punchable face,’ ‘what a s***bag,’ ‘this guy is an a-hole,’ ‘it’s your funeral bucko,’ and ‘he’s a s***.'”

  Judge Henry’s order contained the unexpurgated invective. He continued, saying the network’s rush to air the story without complete information, clearing up the questions Mr. Young raised or allowing him to respond fully.

  Judge Henry stated other internal communications suggesting news employees knew the story had problems.

  They included comments such as: “Very much not ready for prime time;” “There’s no rush;” “The story is full of holes like Swiss cheese;” it was not “fleshed out for digital;” “We need to pause this until we find out;” the story was “pretty flawed and we should consider foregoing the write and just having the video programmed;” and “My fundamental question is not answered but on TV it is less of a problem.”

  The story was approved by CNN’s oversight committee and legal department, containing senior upper-level executives, Judge Henry wrote.

  Some internal messages expressed surprise that an upper management review panel approved it, including representatives of CNN’s legal, news, and standards and practices departments.

  Judge Henry cited CNN’s omitting or burying pertinent facts its employees knew “especially as it relates to plaintiffs, specifically that operators had been successful in extracting individuals and that plaintiffs did not work directly with individuals but rather only for sponsors.”

  And, he said, CNN republished the on-air segment, published the online article, and disseminated them through Facebook and Twitter posts “with very limited retraction.”

  In his order, Judge Henry permitted Mr. Young to sue for punitive damages and add “allegations as to republication of the segment on the show hosted by Jim Acosta.”

  The evidence put forth by Mr. Young’s team provided a reasonable basis to establish CNN either knew statements were false, published them while possessing contradictory information, or published them “with reckless disregard despite awareness of their probably falsity,” Judge Henry wrote.

  He said the plaintiff establishes “actual malice” and “express malice.”

  Actual malice is defined by USlegal as “a statement made with a reckless disregard for truth.”

  Express malice is when the statement is made with intent to harm.

  “In total,” Judge Henry said in his court order, “Plaintiffs have proffered evidence of ill will, hostility, evil intent on the part of defendant’s employees in putting together and airing the on-air segment and digital media pieces.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 17:00

• China & Russia Sent Huge Naval Flotilla Toward Alaska; US Responds By Dispatching Destroyers
  China & Russia Sent Huge Naval Flotilla Toward Alaska; US Responds By Dispatching Destroyers

  A large joint Russia-China military exercise which is being described as unprecedented in size has sparked alarm in the Pentagon, given it took place off Alaska, causing the US to dispatch four navy warships and aerial assets in the same waters, a very rare move itself of significant size.

  The drills by Washington’s most powerful nuclear-armed rivals was called in The Wall Street Journal “the largest such flotilla to approach American shores” in recent history, but it never entered American territorial waters.

  

  It was revealed by US defense officials in a Sunday morning WSJ report, which detailed that “Eleven Russian and Chinese ships steamed close to the Aleutian Islands,” and further, “The ships, which never entered U.S. territorial waters and have since left, were shadowed by four U.S. destroyers and P-8 Poseidon aircraft.”

  One analyst and retired Navy captain cited in the report said it was “a historical first” and “highly provocative” – particularly given the backdrop of the raging Ukraine war and rising Taiwan tensions. The flotilla came close to Alaska last week but has since left, US officials indicated.

  Alaskan Senator Dan Sullivan (R) said in a Sunday Fox News interview that Congressional leaders were briefed by the Pentagon last week when the Chinese and Russian ships were patrolling.

  He explained: “Whether you live in Alaska like I do, or on the East Coast of the United States, a very large surface action task force between our two main adversaries, probing very closely to United States shores is concerning.”

  “It just solidifies this idea that we’ve entered a new era of authoritarian aggression led by the dictators in Beijing and Moscow who are increasingly aggressive,” he added, striking a hawkish tone. However, he failed to mention the very regular US naval and aerial patrols not far off mainland China, as well as in the Taiwan Strait – somewhat parallel to moves now being made by China and Russia near Alaska. Beijing likely sees itself as merely “answering” the prior US naval provocations in places like the South China Sea.

  Both sides of the rivalry, in conducting such ‘threatening’ joint drills and flotillas tend to emphasize that such patrols only take place in international waters. The Pentagon regularly touts its “freedom of navigation” operations in China’s own backyard. 

  But the Pentagon’s response to this China-Russia provocation was something Sen. Sullivan has described as equally unprecedented, given that multiple US warships were quickly dispatched in Alaskan waters:

  “We ramped that up significantly. Four U.S. destroyers and air assets, P-8’s, that were tracking and monitoring this large-scale Russian-Chinese task force quite closely. So that is a significant improvement,” said Sullivan. “That’s a lot of naval power up here demonstrating American resolve.”

  

  In recent years, even significantly prior to Russia’s ‘special operation’ in Ukraine, which has brought NATO and Moscow to the brink of direct war, the Chinese and Russian navies had already been ramping up coordinated activity in places like the Sea of Japan and near Japanese islands, which Tokyo has protested as an unwarranted intrusion.

  There were joint Russia-Chinese naval maneuvers in the Bearing Sea, near Alaska, in 2021 and 2022 as well, but never on a scale of what’s now being described of this fresh incident. This appears a sign of Putin and Xi’s pledge of “no limits friendship” – first articulated nearer the start of the Ukraine war. Both countries are flexing their military might just off the North American continent.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 16:30

• How Are Energy Drinks Draining Your Brain's Power ?
  How Are Energy Drinks Draining Your Brain’s Power ?

  Authored by Michelle Standlee via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  One step through the grocery store doors, and you’re surrounded by lightning bolts and bold lettering screaming, “Energy!”

  The main ingredients of energy drinks—caffeine, amino acids, and herbal extracts—vow to deliver superhuman focus and alertness with just a sip. Yet lurking beneath the surface is a hidden risk that may outweigh any apparent benefits. It’s time to ask: What if this burst of energy comes with a cost greater than the price tag?

  

  The Evolution of Energy Drinks

  The origins of energy drinks can be traced back decades before their rise to mass popularity.

  In 1929, the glucose-based drink Lucozade Energy (formerly Glucozade in 1927) was introduced in the UK as a nutritional supplement for hospital patients recovering from illnesses, including the flu.

  Later, in 1949, Dr. Enuf, containing a mixture of caffeine, B vitamins, and sugar, became the first carbonated energy drink in the United States when it was launched in Chicago.

  However, it was not until the introduction of Red Bull in 1987 in Austria and its vigorous marketing campaigns that energy drinks really took off globally. Red Bull, a mixture of caffeine, taurine, B vitamins, and sugar, established the standard energy drink formula many brands mimic today.

  Today, the global energy and sports drinks market is valued at over $159 billion, with the United States alone accounting for nearly $14 billion.

  In addition to adults, teenagers are drawn to these energizing tonics for academic or sports performance. Some schools have started to ban energy drinks because of their high sugar and caffeine content, which can result in an energy crash, making long-term focus and studying difficult.

  The Sinister Side of Sweet Energy Surges

  While energy drinks may provide short-term benefits like alertness and focus, research indicates they can also have negative health impacts.

  “The amount and quality of caffeine inside the energy drinks gives a false source of energy,” Omar Eliwa, a registered pharmacist in Wisconsin, told The Epoch Times. “You’re getting more than what your brain can take. It will be detrimental in the long-term to memory, the aging of the cells, depletion of nutrients, and it makes you not want to eat, so it affects metabolism as well.”

  1. How Energy Drinks Affect Your Brain

  These zippy beverages adversely affect the brain by incurring the following:

  Neurodegenerative Disorders and Brain Aging

  Caffeinated energy drinks can cause neurodegenerative changes in the hippocampus, an essential structure for long-term memory, in male albino rats, according to a 2020 study published in the Anatomy and Cell Biology journal.

  High sugar intake has also been linked to an increased risk of insulin resistance. Insulin resistance prevents cells throughout the body, including brain cells, from adequately absorbing glucose. Over time, impaired insulin signaling may contribute to neurodegeneration and accelerated brain aging.

  Moreover, insulin resistance contributes to the advancement of Alzheimer’s disease through various mechanisms, including the escalation of oxidative stress, as indicated by a study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences in 2021.

  “[Energy drinks] are often packaged in aluminum, a neurotoxin that has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Aruna Tummala, an integrative psychiatrist at Trinergy Health and founder of Psychiatry 2.0, told The Epoch Times.

  ADHD

  Food dyes like red dye 40, also known as Allura Red AC, are common in energy and sports drinks. But they can decrease the absorption of minerals like zinc and iron, needed for growth and development.

  Some research suggests artificial food colorings like red dye 40 may exacerbate attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children. In 2007, a randomized controlled trial conducted in the UK revealed that the consumption of artificial colors and/or the widely used preservative sodium benzoate was linked to heightened levels of hyperactivity in children.

  A meta-analysis conducted in 2012 estimated that around 8 percent of children with ADHD experience symptoms associated with the consumption of food dyes and indicated potential benefits in removing artificial colors from their diets.

  Fatigue, Insomnia, and Headaches

  “Sugar and caffeine crashes are very real,” Aidan Prud’Homme, a high school student, told The Epoch Times. He consumed one or two energy drinks daily to stay focused and energized at school. Some accompanying side effects included prolonged fatigue, headaches, and sleep problems.

  As a diuretic, caffeine in energy drinks can lead to dehydration by increasing urine output. Adequate hydration is critical for proper brain function, as brain cells consist primarily of water. Dehydration from energy drinks can therefore cause fatigue and poor concentration.

  Energy drinks can lead to long-term insomnia due to the caffeine they contain, according to Dr. Tummala. Caffeine promotes wakefulness by increasing levels of histamine and glutamate, neurotransmitters that disrupt sleep cycles.

  Stopping energy drink consumption can lead to caffeine withdrawal, often causing headaches, Dr. Tummala said. Upon discontinuing caffeine, blood vessels widen, causing an increase in blood flow and resulting in heightened pressure that triggers a headache.

  Anxiety

  Energy drinks can increase the level of catecholamines, neurotransmitters involved in the body’s stress response. The spike in these chemicals increases heart rate and blood flow, triggering a fight-or-flight response in some people, leading to anxiety.

  Seizures

  There is growing concern over the link between energy drinks and increased seizures. The caffeine in energy drinks promotes the release of glutamate and dopamine, excitatory neurotransmitters, and reduces responsiveness to GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, thus lowering seizure threshold, according to a recent Nutrition review article. The seizures stopped when individuals refrained from consuming energy drinks.

  2. How Energy Drinks Affect the Rest of the Body

  Concerns over energy drinks’ overall health effects have been rising globally. Poland, for example, just recently banned sales of energy drinks containing taurine and caffeine to those under 18.

  Diabetes

  “Children are getting a sudden rush of sugar, setting the foundation for insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes,” Dr. Tummala said.

  Energy drinks’ high sugar content can lead to insulin resistance, resulting in elevated blood glucose levels that can, over time, lead to prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes.

  Stress

  The caffeine and other stimulating ingredients in energy drinks spur the adrenal glands to release excessive amounts of the stress hormone cortisol. Over time, this can overwork the adrenals, potentially leading to adrenal exhaustion (pdf), fatigue, and impaired stress response.

  Heart Problems

  The high caffeine content in energy drinks is associated with heart arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death,” Dr. Tummala said. Caffeine and taurine affect cardiac rhythm and repolarization, facilitating arrhythmia, according to a 2022 experimental study using rabbit hearts. At least one human case report has also connected excessive consumption of energy drinks to acute heart failure.

  Healthy Alternatives

  Having encountered troublesome side effects, high schooler Aidan eventually opted for healthier drinks.

  Rather than relying on energy drinks, choosing healthier alternatives can provide sustained energy and focus minus the risks.

  Physical activity like walking has been shown to reduce stress, boost energy levels, and support brain health.

  Sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice makes a refreshing, soda-like drink packed with antioxidants. Herbal teas like hibiscus and rooibos also contain beneficial antioxidants and phytochemicals.

  Health experts stress the importance of parental awareness regarding children’s drink choices. “One of the critical points I have against energy drinks is the deceptive method of marketing to the consumer who might not know what is being presented to them,” Mr. Eliwa said. “We have to pay attention to the little details. Check the labels,” he added. “We have to protect our kids.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 16:00

• Press Freedom Under Fire: Federal Judge Orders Former Fox Reporter To Reveal Sources In Controversial FBI Case
  Press Freedom Under Fire: Federal Judge Orders Former Fox Reporter To Reveal Sources In Controversial FBI Case

  A federal judge recently ruled that investigative reporter Catherine Herridge must reveal her sources for an investigative series involving an FBI investigation into a Chinese scientist named Yanping Chen.

  

  Herridge, currently with CBS News – but was was employed by Fox News at the time of the reports – must sit for a deposition and answer questions under oath about the identity and intent of her sources, per US District Judge Christopher Cooper.

  “The Court recognizes both the vital importance of a free press and the critical role that confidential sources play in the work of investigative journalists like Herridge,” wrote Cooper, and Obama appointee, in a 28-page ruling. “But applying the binding case law of this Circuit, the Court concludes that Chen’s need for the requested evidence overcomes Herridge’s qualified First Amendment privilege in this case.”

  Cooper’s ruling has raised alarms with press freedom advocates, who argue that the ruling threatens the fundamental principle of journalists protecting their sources.

  “Investigative journalism cannot function without credible assurances of confidentiality to sources,” said Gabe Rottman, a director at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, in a statement to CNN. “While the Privacy Act provides essential protections for the public, using it to breach reporter-source confidentiality poses significant risks to a free press.”

  Legal representatives for Herridge and Fox News argued that the First Amendment shields journalists from such demands, and say that Chen’s case didn’t meet the criteria to violate this constitutional protection. They asserted that the public interest in safeguarding sources far outweighed the plaintiff’s demand for information, which carried no broader societal significance.

  While the U.S. Constitution protects journalists’ right to shield their sources, the courts have acknowledged that certain circumstances, such as a critical need for information and exhaustive exploration of alternatives, can justify compelling a reporter to reveal sources.

  “The balance of interests overwhelmingly favors protecting sources,” said Herridge’s legal team. “Plaintiff’s private interest in Privacy Act damages carries no broader public interest. Moreover, given the infirmities in the merits of her case, it is unlikely that Plaintiff can ever establish significant damages at all.“

  Since filing the lawsuit against the FBI and other federal agencies, Ms. Chen has been able to take 18 depositions of current and former government employees and obtained declarations from others but has still been unable to confirm Ms. Herridge’s sources. She believes an FBI agent, an alleged FBI informant, or other government agents leaked an internal FBI presentation created by the agent to Ms. Herridge. –Epoch Times

  “The identity of Herridge’s source is central to Chen’s claim, and despite exhaustive discovery, Chen has been unable to ferret out his or her identity. The only reasonable option left is for Chen to ask Herridge herself,” wrote the judge.

  A Hunt for the Truth

  Chen, a naturalized U.S. citizen and founder of the University of Management and Technology, found herself at the center of an FBI investigation that triggered Herridge’s investigative reporting. The stories delved into Chen’s alleged ties to the Chinese military and the controversy surrounding the FBI’s handling of the case. Chen has pursued legal action, alleging that the leak of information violated the Privacy Act.

  Despite multiple depositions and a search for information, Chen has been unable to confirm the identity of Herridge’s sources. This impasse led Judge Cooper to rule in favor of compelling Herridge’s testimony.

  The FBI, starting in 2010, investigated Ms. Chen. Agents searched Ms. Chen’s home and the university’s main office. In 2016, prosecutors told Ms. Chen’s attorney she would not be charged.

  Reporting by Ms. Herridge had focused on Ms. Chen’s alleged ties to the Chinese military, but Ms. Chen had said on immigration documents that she had never been affiliated with the military of the Chinese Communist Party. The stories also detailed the FBI investigation and said that agents and prosecutors disagreed over how the case was handled. -Epoch Times

  In 2018, the DoD ceased helping pay the tuition of military members to attend Chen’s university. She then sued the FBI, alleging that the leak of information was illegal, which violated the Privacy Act.

  “Soon after … Chen was informed that no charges would be brought against her, and in violation of federal law,” reads the lawsuit. “one or more agents of the Defendants, who possessed or had access to confidential FBI records pertaining to the investigation, caused the Leaked Records to be disclosed to one or more employees or agents of Fox News.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 15:30

• David Stockman On Why RFK Jr. Is The Only Candidate Who Can Oppose The Uniparty System…
  David Stockman On Why RFK Jr. Is The Only Candidate Who Can Oppose The Uniparty System…

  Authored by David Stockman via InternationalMan.com,

  The economic policy of the bipartisan “uniparty” has been an abysmal failure. In fact, Bidenomics and Trump-O-Nomics are just two sides of the same deficient coin. They amount to the inflationary accommodation of powerful constituencies which have captured control of policy—-Wall Street for the GOP, domestic spending constituencies for the Dems and the military/industrial/intelligence complex for both.

  

  The bottom line doesn’t lie, however. Real economic growth during the uniparty regime of Trump/Biden has averaged barely 2.0% per annum—notwithstanding an outpouring of monetary and fiscal stimulus that had never before even been imagined. Still, the economic growth rate since 2016 is just a fraction of the 5.0% average during the Kennedy-Johnson era and 3.5% under Ronald Reagan.

  And, yes, these figures are more than fair comparisons because the results for the Trump/Biden era of borrow, borrow and borrow some more are currently overstated. That’s owing to the fact that there is still another recessionary shoe to fall.

  So average in the impending six quarters ahead of negative GDP growth and/or stagflation and the uniparty will have achieved eight years of the weakest economic growth since WWII. And by a long shot at that when compared to the average growth of 3.2% for all presidents—good, bad and indifferent—during the seven decades between 1947 and 2016.

  The cause of the problem is not mysterious. The Washington uniparty has become addicted to borrowing and printing. Between them, Trump and Biden have raised the national debt by nearly $13 trillion. That’s 40% of all the money that’s ever been borrowed by presidents since George Washington.

  Likewise, the money-printing story at the Fed is actually worse, and neither POTUS has uttered so much as a cross word about the tsunami of fiat credit tumbling off the digital printing presses in the Eccles Building. Accordingly, during the last six and one-half years of uniparty rule the Fed’s balance sheet has swollen by $4 trillion. That’s 48% of all the money that’s ever been printed by the Fed since it opened its doors for business in the fall of 1914.

  Needless to say, all of this egregious borrowing and money-printing has hit middle class America right in the economic solar plexus. Since December 2016 the smoothed CPI (16% trimmed mean CPI) is up by 24%. But where it really hurts main street is at the grocery store, with prices up by 27%, and at the gas pump and utility meter, with energy prices higher by 37%.

  In everyday family budget terms, in fact, food and energy prices have risen more in the last 6 years than they did during the prior 12 years. Owing to all this cumulative inflation, therefore, real average hourly wages have risen by barely 3.5% since December 2016.

  Inflation-Adjusted Average Hourly Wage, December 2016 to June 2023

  

  Needless to say, the above depicted stagnation of US worker incomes did not apply to the wealth of the top 0.1% of households. During the same six and one-half year period, the inflation-adjusted net worth of the 130,000 households at the tippy-top of the economic ladder has gained 30% or nearly ten-times more than average real wage gains.

  That is to say, the unhinged stimulus bacchanalia conducted by the Washington uniparty has showered the already rich with unearned asset inflation, buried future generations in unspeakable public debts and left the vast bulk of the electorate scrambling to maintain their standard of living in the face of the most virulent inflation in forty years.

  Inflation-Adjusted Net Worth of the Top 0.1% of US Households, 2016 to 2022

  

  Self-evidently, the time to abandon the inflationary and inequitable economics of the uniparty has long passed. Yet these baleful policies are rooted in the fact that both parties have been captured by powerful interest groups that are not about to part with the spending, borrowing and unpaid for tax cuts that have fostered the current economic mess. Nor is the Fed’s capture by the Wall Street gamblers and Washington spenders alike going to give way to sound money on the watch of the uniparty, either.

  Needless to say, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the only candidate on the 2024 horizon who has both the capacity to think independently and to act courageously in opposition to the uniparty consensus. So the question recurs: Is there any conceivable economic platform that he could plausibly embrace that would make a decisive break with the status quo, but also have even a remote chance of being embraced by a historic Kennedy Democrat, who needs to remain a viable contender in the Democrat primaries—with all the political constraints that implies— if his candidacy is to make any difference at all.

  Well, that’s a tall order.

  To wit, sweeping change in national economic policy yet not merely a blueprint brimming with academic idealism that wouldn’t have a snowball’s chance in the hot place of gaining traction on the national political stage.

  We’d suggest that the only way to thread that needle is with a set of sound planks on core economic policy matters that have present day political resonance owing to affiliation with historic verities of the two parties and/or association with man-on-the-street common sense. Our candidates for such exacting requirements are summarized below.

  • Restoration Of The Carter Glass Scheme For Central Banking: The Fed is captive to both Wall Street and Washington spenders because it erroneously attempts to manipulate the main street economy via low interest rates and stock market price supports. The solution is to get the Fed out of Wall Street on a day-to-day basis by eliminating so-called “open market operations” and returning to the scheme of its original author, Congressman Carter Glass, who was later the co-author of Glass-Steagall.

  • Rep. Glass was a champion of the main street economy and sound money; did not want the Fed accumulating and monetizing the public debt; and insisted that the central bank operate through market-based discount windows at 12 regional banks, operating as far from Wall Street’s influence as possible.

  • The essential purpose of the Glassian central bank was to keep the commercial banking system liquid by means of discounting (advancing cash) against commercial bank loans collateralized by finished inventory and receivables. Crucially, the Fed was not authorized to peg interest rates at arbitrary levels ordained by a small monetary politburo, but was to charge market-based rates of interest plus a penalty spread for the privilege of using the discount window.

  • The scheme envisioned by Congressman Glass and his colleagues could not generate financial bubbles or main street inflation. That’s because it could only issue central bank credit (i.e. print money) based on goods already produced, thereby automatically keeping supply and demand in balance, and because the bank credit it enabled had to be convertible into gold money on demand.

  • Reinstatement of President Eisenhower’s Fiscal Policy Principles. Ike believed that budgets needed to be balanced over the long-haul and that the demands of the military-industrial complex needed to be sharply curtailed. He therefore reduced defense spending in real terms by nearly 40% during his early years in office and insisted that GOP-proposed tax cuts had to be earned through legislated action to cut spending or otherwise replace the lost revenue. Deficits averaged only about 0.4% of GDP during his tenure, the lowest level for any president in modern history.

  • Adoption of a 21st Century Supply-Side Model. America is suffering from “stagflation” in part due to a severe labor shortage, stemming from underlying demographics which are baked into the population cake. Accordingly, the work force from American born parents will actually be shrinking for many decades into the future, meaning that a large scale “Guest Worker” program is essential to support the 50% of economic growth which has historically been attributable to increased labor supply.

  • Increased supplies of labor and the goods and services they produce will help permanently liquidate the current inflation wave, but additional help could be achieved by eliminating the misguided Trump tariffs on goods from China and elsewhere. Much of the $75 billion per year import tax on these goods is being passed through into higher prices in markets that have become inflationary owing to stimulus swollen demand and household cash reserves that were built up during the period of Covid lockdowns and nearly $6 trillion of unhinged “stimulus” spending in Washington.

  • Dismantle The American Empire And Roll-Back The Defense Budget to the 1960 Eisenhower Standard. When he warned about the unwarranted influence of the military-industrial complex in his 1961 farewell address, President Eisenhower also affirmed that the then extant defense budget was thoroughly adequate to safeguard the security of the American homeland at the peak of the industrial and military might of the old Soviet Union. In today’s dollars of purchasing power this “Eisenhower standard” defense budget would total $500 billion or barely 55% of the $900 billion now being spent.

  • There are no remotely equivalent threats to the 1960s Soviet Empire in today’s world—so the defense budget could safely be cut to $500 billion per year based on eschewing Washington’s Forever Wars, bringing home the vast global military establishment and repairing to a Fortress America defense of the homeland as advocated by both Joe Kennedy and Mr. Republican, Senator Robert Taft, in the early days of the cold war. Shrinking the defense budget to the Eisenhower standard would save upwards of $4 trillion over the next decade.

  • Restore Fiscal Balance Through a Long-Term “Quarters Plan” for the Next Decade. If nothing is done about Washington’s huge structural deficit, the added public debt according to CBO’s latest (optimistic) projections will total $20 trillion over the next decade (on top of the $33 trillion we already have). But that torrent of red ink, which would bury future generations in impossible debts and cause interest rates to soar, could be reduced by 75% by coupling the $4 trillion of Fortress America defense cuts with $4 trillion each of domestic spending reductions, enhanced revenues and reduced interest expense. The required domestic spending and revenue increases would each amount to just 7% of baseline figures for each component and the $4 trillion of interest savings would automatically flow from the first three “Quarters”.

  • Furthermore, the 7% domestic spending cut would be achieved through means-testing all entitlements and devolving some Federal functions to state and local levels of government.

  • Attain Most Of The $4 Trillion Revenue Gain Through A Modest Tax on Wall Street Speculation and Trading. The net worth of the top 1% of households has been inflated by more than $30 trillion since the Great Financial Crisis, much of it due to the Fed-fueled inflation of financial asset prices. Recoupment of just one-tenth of these ill-gotten gains over a decade would be neither unjust nor a deterrent to the revival of American investment, enterprise and solid economic growth.

  *  *  *

  Unfortunately, there’s little any individual can practically do to change the trajectory of this trend in motion. The best you can do is to stay informed so that you can protect yourself in the best way possible, and even profit from the situation. Most people have no idea what really happens when a currency collapses, let alone how to prepare… How will you protect your savings in the event of a currency crisis? This just-released video will show you exactly how. Click here to watch it now.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 08/06/2023 – 15:00

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• Biden Energy Secretary Secretly Consulted Top Chinese Energy Official Before SPR Release, Sales To Hunter Biden-Linked Chinese Energy Giant
  Biden Energy Secretary Secretly Consulted Top Chinese Energy Official Before SPR Release, Sales To Hunter Biden-Linked Chinese Energy Giant

  US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, whose catastrophic handling of US energy policy will be one of the most memorable and dire consequences of the Biden era, engaged in multiple conversations with the Chinese government’s top energy official just days before the Biden administration announced it would tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to combat high gas prices in 2021, the same China whose Hunter Biden-linked energy giant Unipec, which we previously learned had bought millions of barrels from the SPR release.

  Granholm called China National Energy Administration Chairman Zhang Jianhua, a longstanding senior member of the Chinese Communist Party, for a half-hour one-on-one conversation on Nov. 21, 2021. Granholm’s calendar also shows an earlier phone call had been scheduled with Jianhua for Nov. 19 but a rep for the former Michigan governor said the first call never took place. Then, on Nov. 23, 2021, the White House announced a release of 50 million barrels of oil from the SPR, the largest release of its kind in U.S. history at the time.

  

  According to Fox News, Granholm’s previously-undisclosed talks with China National Energy Administration Chairman Zhang Jianhua — revealed in internal Energy Department calendars obtained by Americans for Public Trust (APT) and shared with Fox News Digital — reveal that the Biden administration likely discussed its plans to release oil from the SPR with China before its public announcement in the US: yes, China’s Communist Party learned what Biden would be doing before the US did.

  “Secretary Granholm’s multiple closed-door meetings with a CCP-connected energy official raise serious questions about the level of Chinese influence on the Biden administration’s energy agenda,” APT Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland told Fox News Digital, an “energy agenda” that can be summarized with just one chart:

  

  “Instead of focusing on creating real energy independence for America, Granholm has been too busy parroting Chinese energy propaganda and insisting ‘we can all learn from what China is doing,’” Sutherland continued. “The public deserves to know the extent to which Chinese officials are attempting to infiltrate U.S. energy policy and security.”

  Hilariously, in response to the leaked calendar, in a statement the DOE said the meeting was broadly part of the agency’s effort to combat climate change, but didn’t share what was discussed at the meeting.

  “Solving the climate crisis means engaging with competitors and allies in clear and substantive discussions — especially among the nations emitting the most carbon pollution into the atmosphere,” a DOE spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We must all address the transnational challenge of climate change to our planet.”

  It was unclear just how the DOE is “solving climate crisis” and “addressing climate change” by engaging with China when Chinese CO2 emissions are double those of the US and rising exponentially…

  

  … but that’s irrelevant since the DOE – like every other aspect of the Biden administration – was lying.

  As part of its announcement in November 2021, the White House said it was releasing oil from U.S. reserves in conjunction with “other major energy consuming nations including China.” However, President Biden said in remarks after the announcement that China “may do more as well” and Granholm told reporters during a press briefing that China “will make its own announcement.”

  What happened next will shock nobody: instead of releasing oil stocks, China aggressively increased its own reserves, and even bought fuel from the US. Meanwhile, SPR releases have weakened U.S. national security and bolstered foreign adversaries’ “geopolitical leverage” according to Republican leaders.

  “China ramped up its purchases of crude oil from Russia and the United States to boost its own reserves, even as oil prices surged and President Biden called for a coordinated release,” House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and former GOP Rep. Fred Upton wrote to Granholm last year.

  “As a result, China may now control the world’s largest stockpile of oil, with total crude inventories estimated at 950 million barrels,” they added.

  In addition, the White House and Department of Energy has been heavily criticized for allowing SPR sales to flow to Chinese state-run energy companies. The White House then fired back in July 2022, arguing that its hands were tied since it is legally required to sell SPR oil to the highest bidder, even if said bidder will be the US adversary in the next world war… then again, with China purchasing influence over the so-called US president through his son, this too should not come as a surprise.

  As noted above, the Biden administration has sold at least six million barrels of oil from the SPR to Unipec, an affiliate of the state-controlled China Petrochemical Corporation with extensive connections to Hunter Biden. Jianhua, who met with Granholm in 2021, served in a leadership role for years at the China Petrochemical Corporation, Reuters previously reported.

  From September 2021 to July, the Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded three crude oil contracts with a combined value of roughly $464 million to Unipec America, the U.S. trading arm of Chinese state-owned oil company Sinopec, according to a review by The Epoch Times of the DOE documents. A Chinese firm with ties to Hunter Biden had made an investment in the national oil giant.

  The sale would tap 5.9 million barrels in total from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to export to the Chinese firm. The latest contract was unveiled on July 10, consisting of 950,000 barrels sold for around $113.5 million.

  The two most recent sales to Unipec came out of an emergency drawdown of the U.S. oil stockpile, initiated under President Joe Biden on March 31, 2022 in what he said would offset the loss of Russian oil in global markets and tame rising fuel costs at home.

  The Unipec contracts have been a subject of heavy criticism since the firm’s connections to the younger Biden came into focus a year ago. Republican lawmakers and analysts have said that the selling of oil reserves to foreign adversaries such as China is at odds with U.S. energy and security needs.

  Sinopec, the parent organization of Unipec, has been linked to Hunter Biden, through the state-backed Chinese private equity firm BHR Partners, which became a stakeholder of Sinopec in 2014.

  Hunter served as a founding board member of BHR from 2013 through April 2020. His firm Skaneateles also held a 10 percent stake in BHR, which his lawyer said has been divested as of November 2021. On BHR’s 2021 annual report released in June, however, Skaneateles was still listed as a shareholder.

  At the time of the SPR sale to Unipec, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said the sale demonstrates the current administration’s “rank incompetence.”

  “The Biden White House obviously didn’t see a problem with loading millions of barrels from our strategic reserves onto tankers bound for foreign countries, which likely explains why they don’t see a problem selling our emergency crude oil to a Chinese gas company with ties to Hunter Biden’s investment firm,” he told The Epoch Times.

  “China is profiting from President Biden’s political abuse of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking member John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said earlier this year. “Meanwhile, America has become more vulnerable to true energy and national security emergencies.”

  Overall, Biden has ordered the Department of Energy to release a total of about 260 million barrels of oil stored in the SPR since taking office to combat record fuel prices hitting American consumers. In late March 2022, the president announced a draw-down of a million barrels per day from the SPR after Russia invaded Ukraine, roiling global energy markets. The SPR drain, which has offset multiple OPEC+ output cuts, has been instrumental in pushing the price of oil – and thus gasoline – lower, however at the expense of draining the strategic US reserve to 40-year lows.

  The SPR’s level has fallen to about 346.8 million barrels of oil, the lowest level since August 1983, according to Energy Information Administration data released on July 28. The current level is also 43% lower than its level recorded days prior to the November 2021 release.

  The Senate overwhelmingly supported an amendment to this year’s annual defense bill barring future oil exports to US adversaries China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. In a letter to Granholm last year, Republican lawmakers warned that Beijing and Moscow were both buying up oil from the US.

  “The Biden administration is depleting the nation’s petroleum reserves, while allowing OPEC, Russia, and China to gain geopolitical leverage over the United States,” wrote then-House Committee on Energy and Commerce ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and then-House Energy subcommittee ranking member Fred Upton (R-Mich.).

  “As you know, in November 2021, President Biden announced a 50-million-barrel release from the SPR that was supposed to be in tandem with other importing countries, including China,” the lawmakers told Granholm. “In reality, China ramped up its purchases of crude oil from Russia and the United States to boost its own reserves, even as oil prices surged and President Biden called for a coordinated release.”

  “As a result, China may now control the world’s largest stockpile of oil, with total crude inventories estimated at 950 million barrels,” they added.

  Granholm’s just released calendar from Nov 2021 can be found below.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 23:30

• Visualizing America's Import-Reliance Of Key Minerals
  Visualizing America’s Import-Reliance Of Key Minerals

  The push towards a more sustainable future requires various key minerals to build the infrastructure of the green economy. However, the U.S. is heavily reliant on nonfuel mineral imports causing potential vulnerabilities in the nation’s supply chains.

  Specifically, the U.S. is 100% reliant on imports for at least 12 key minerals deemed critical by the government, with China being the primary import source for many of these along with many other critical minerals.

  In the following infographic, Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte and Pernia Jamshed use data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to visualize America’s import dependence for 30 different key nonfuel minerals along with the nation that the U.S. primarily imports each mineral from.

  

  U.S. Import Reliance, by Mineral

  While the U.S. mines and processes a significant amount of minerals domestically, in 2022 imports still accounted for more than half of the country’s consumption of 51 nonfuel minerals. The USGS calculates a net import reliance as a percentage of apparent consumption, showing how much of U.S. demand for each mineral is met through imports.

  Of the most important minerals deemed by the USGS, the U.S. was 95% or more reliant on imports for 13 different minerals, with China being the primary import source for more than half of these.

  Mineral	Net Import Reliance as Percentage of Consumption	Primary Import Source (2018-2021)
  Arsenic	100%	🇨🇳 China
  Fluorspar	100%	🇲🇽 Mexico
  Gallium	100%	🇨🇳 China
  Graphite (natural)	100%	🇨🇳 China
  Indium	100%	🇰🇷 Republic of Korea
  Manganese	100%	🇬🇦 Gabon
  Niobium	100%	🇧🇷 Brazil
  Scandium	100%	🇪🇺 Europe
  Tantalum	100%	🇨🇳 China
  Yttrium	100%	🇨🇳 China
  Bismuth	96%	🇨🇳 China
  Rare Earths (compounds and metals)	95%	🇨🇳 China
  Titanium (metal)	95%	🇯🇵 Japan
  Antimony	83%	🇨🇳 China
  Chromium	83%	🇿🇦 South Africa
  Tin	77%	🇵🇪 Peru
  Cobalt	76%	🇳🇴 Norway
  Zinc	76%	🇨🇦 Canada
  Aluminum (bauxite)	75%	🇯🇲 Jamaica
  Barite	75%	🇨🇳 China
  Tellerium	75%	🇨🇦 Canada
  Platinum	66%	🇿🇦 South Africa
  Nickel	56%	🇨🇦 Canada
  Vanadium	54%	🇨🇦 Canada
  Germanium	50%	🇨🇳 China
  Magnesium	50%	🇮🇱 Israel
  Tungsten	50%	🇨🇳 China
  Zirconium	50%	🇿🇦 South Africa
  Palladium	26%	🇷🇺 Russia
  Lithium	25%	🇦🇷 Argentina

  These include rare earths (a group of 17 nearly indistinguishable heavy metals with similar properties) which are essential in technology, high-powered magnets, electronics, and industry, along with natural graphite which is found in lithium-ion batteries.

  These are all on the U.S. government’s critical mineral list which has a total of 50 minerals, and the U.S. is 50% or more import reliant for 43 of these minerals.

  Some other minerals on the official list which the U.S. is 100% reliant on imports for are arsenic, fluorspar, indium, manganese, niobium, and tantalum, which are used in a variety of applications like the production of alloys and semiconductors along with the manufacturing of electronic components like LCD screens and capacitors.

  China’s Gallium and Germanium Restrictions

  America’s dependence on imports for various minerals has resulted in a new challenge resulting from China’s announced export restrictions on gallium and germanium that took effect August 1st, 2023. The U.S. is 100% import dependent for gallium and 50% import dependent for germanium.

  These restrictions are seen as a retaliation against U.S. and EU sanctions on China which have restricted the export of chips and chipmaking equipment.

  Both gallium and germanium are used in the production of transistors and semiconductors along with solar panels and cells, and these export restrictions present an additional hurdle for critical U.S. supply chains of various technologies that include LED lights and fiber-optic systems used for high-speed data transmission.

  The restrictions also affect the European Union, which imports 71% of its gallium and 45% of its germanium from China. It’s another stark reminder to the world of China’s dominance in the production and processing of many key minerals.

  The announcement of these restrictions has only highlighted the importance for the U.S. and other nations to reduce import dependence and diversify supply chains of key minerals and technologies.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 23:00

• WorldCoin: AI Requires Proof That You Are Human
  WorldCoin: AI Requires Proof That You Are Human

  Authored by Karen Hunt via Off-Guardian.org,

  In the opening scene of the original Blade Runner film, Leon, a Nexus-6 replicant is given a “Voight-Kampff Test” to determine whether or not he is human.

  The test is designed to provoke an emotional response. Emotions are read by scanning the iris, the colored part of your eye. The color of your iris is like your fingerprint; it’s unique to you, and nobody else in the world has the exact same colored eye.

  As the questions go on, Leon becomes increasingly agitated. When he is asked to “describe in single words, only the good things that come into your mind about your mother”, he’s had enough. “My mother?” Leon says. “Let me tell you about my mother.” And he pulls out a gun and kills his tormentor.

  Replicants have a termination date because if they live too long, they begin to develop emotions and the fear is that they will no longer be distinguishable from humans. Leon and a few other advanced replicants are on a mission to confront their creator, Dr. Eldon Tyrell, and find a way to extend their lives.

  Phillip K. Dick, author of the novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? upon which the movie is based, would flip out at what’s happening today. Not because it’s what he foretold but because it’s the exact opposite.

  It isn’t AI that needs to prove it isn’t human. It’s humans that need to prove they aren’t AI.

  

  I warned about this in Digital ID and Our Obsession with “Identity”.

  It is nearly impossible to escape the Vast Machine that is absorbing us into it. It insists that we prove who we are, over and over, and the more we do, the less satisfied it seems to be.

  The more ways we must prove our identity, the more ways AI will find to fake it. The more information we give AI, the more that information can be used against us.

  As an example, Amazon uses surveillance to tally the seconds of each worker’s bathroom break or time each step of their work. And in fact, workers are being trained to do this to themselves with their Fitbit devices recording their steps in a day. In some work locations, AI listens into every conversation, cataloging every word, who said it and how, and then scoring each agent.

  “In low wage work we’re seeing a lot more decisions that were made by a middle manager being outsourced to an algorithm,” says Aiha Nguyen of the research organization Data & Society.

  More and more companies are gathering data to boost production and to train machines to mimic humans. In the U.S., cameras have been installed over each worker’s head in assembly lines as they put together car parts or electronics.

  The result is that humans are being required to behave more like robots, no spontaneity of thought or action, no excuse for mistakes, while machines are learning to behave more like humans.

  As one Amazon employee recently told the Guardian: “To them, we are like robots rather than people. The little things that make us human, you can feel them being ground out of you.”

  Ordinary humans are being relegated to a lower class than the machine. And do not imagine that because you are middle class you are exempt. Middle class is fast disappearing. Yes, plenty of new jobs are being created in technology and in the health industries, but those jobs will also be surveilled by AI.

  In a 2014 interview during an MIT symposium, Elon Musk warned:

  “With artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon. You know all those stories where there’s the guy with the pentagram and the holy water and he’s like… yeah, he’s sure he can control the demon, [but] it doesn’t work out.”

  And yet, he is in the forefront of creating and building AI and infiltrating it into our minds. He is far from alone in this endeavor. Sam Altman, who helped found OpenAI along with Elon Musk, has launched one of the most ambitious “proof of humanity” enterprises:

  WORLDCOIN

  Worldcoin invites you to step up to the Orb and look into its depths. It promises to have the answer for proof of personhood—for every single human on the planet.

  According to its website,

  The Worldcoin protocol aspires to become the largest identity and financial public network worldwide, accessible to everyone, irrespective of their nationality, background, or economic status.

  The Orb is about the size of a bowling ball. “It uses a system of infrared cameras, sensors and AI-powered neural networks to scan your iris and verify that you are a human being”.

  These Orbs are being set up in cities all over the world. People are being offered $30 to stare into the Orb and give up their irises to the Vast Machine. So far, over two million humans have done it in more than 30 countries, across five continents.

  Worldcoin promoters explain that since AI will soon evolve into AGI, or advanced general intelligence, making the machine smarter than humans, it is imperative that we catalogue every single real human on the planet so that no one is left behind in the coming opportunities for prosperity.

  There are a lot of problems with AGI, that deserves further exploration. For example, as AI is fed more and more synthetic data instead of “pure human data”, Monash University data researcher Jathan Sadowski warns it turns into what he describes as “Habsburg AI,” or “a system that is so heavily trained on the outputs of other generative AI’s that it becomes an inbred mutant, likely with exaggerated, grotesque features.”

  Richard G. Baraniuk, in collaboration with researchers at Stanford, published a fascinating paper about this problem, titled “Self-Consuming Generative Models Go MAD.”

  Yes, AGI can literally go MAD, sort of like Leon. But all this means is that in the future, pure gold data, or real human data, will grow more valuable until AI reaches a point where it is no longer needed.

  Naturally, ordinary humans aren’t being told any of this. We are being promised that AI’s leap in intelligence will create massive wealth for us. As Vitalik Buterin says, people don’t really understand what they are being sold. Instead, we latch onto concepts we’ve been fed, like Worldcoin’s creators virtuously claiming that “nobody wants all that wealth only profiting the billionaires, it should be distributed equally to—literally—every single human on the planet, in the form of UBI, or universal basic income. The UBI will be in the form of a cryptocurrency called Worldcoin (WLD)”.

  Apparently, this will empower all humans. So say the billionaires who have used the last few years of Covid hysteria and now the war in Ukraine—not to benefit humanity—but to increase their own wealth and power so that they are now in a position to catalogue and control every single person on the planet.

  UBI is interesting to me even without talking about AI,” Altman says in a recent Zoom interview. “It’s an idea that appeals to a lot of people. If we have a society rich enough to end poverty, then we have a moral obligation to find out how to do that.”

  What’s really interesting is how when they want to enslave you, they talk about a moral obligation to do so. Don’t we already have enough wealth to end poverty? Hasn’t there always been enough wealth to end poverty?

  History has shown us that once a person gets a taste of power, they don’t share it, they just want more. And more. And more.

  Altman wants to share the wealth, but for your own good, it can’t be shared just quite yet:

  I do think we’re going to need some sort of cushion through the transition and part of the whole reason of being excited about AI is it’s a more materially abundant world.”

  The cushion will be a universal basic income, just to help them through this transition phase. Notice that Worldcoin is being sold as offering humans a “more materially abundant world”.

  How much more material can we get? How much more stuff can we accumulate? This is the lie we have been conditioned to believe since around the 1950s when companies realized they could psychologically manipulate people, even children, on a massive scale (through television) into buying more and more “stuff” with the promise it would make them happy. Of course, it never made anyone happy, all it did was create an addiction to wanting more. Along the way, ordinary people became hopelessly indebted to an ever more powerful, select set, of billionaires.

  The average American has roughly $90,000 worth of debt. Most people live paycheck to paycheck and are one paycheck away from catastrophe. In Digital ID and Our Obsession with “Identity”, I write about the history of living on credit and how this happened to us.

  If you live in a first-world country but are in worrisome debt, imagine if that great weight keeping you awake at night, making you feel as if you are continually drowning with no relief from the struggle, is taken away. Poof! Your debt is erased. All you have to do is give your biometric data to the Vast Machine. What’s the big deal with that? You’ve already given so much of it away to the government, to Amazon, to Google, to every website you browse, what’s it going to matter if at last you give it all away. What a relief it will be.

  Now, imagine if you are from a third world country and somebody comes to your village offering you connection to the outside world and the possibility that you can be rich, too, and participate in the world economy. All you have to do is stare into the Orb and they will give you money for doing it.

  Before long, everyone from that third-world villager to that first-world Gen Zer will find themselves moved into an apartment in a 5-minute city. It will look nice, with green areas, shops, a gym, bikes and no cars. They will all be relegated to the same level and given a certain number of tokens to spend on things, mostly in a virtual world where they live vicariously in ways, they cannot live in the real world that has become so constricted. Slowly but surely, the real-world fades into a dream while the virtual world becomes reality.

  We are already being conditioned to accept this transition away from reality. We believe we experience “freedom” online in places like “x”. We verify our humanity, thinking it is a good thing, or even if we don’t, we do it anyway, justifying it because it means we can speak “freely”. Online, we can boldly say things to millions of disembodied people that we would never say in the real world. For example, you wouldn’t yell out your political views in the market to a bunch of strangers. But you’ll do it online.

  Remember “reality shows?” They weren’t real. Nobody tried to pretend they were. But they served an important purpose, blurring the line between reality and illusion.

  

  This is leading us further into the boxes that I have often talked about. Virtual prisons that actually feel comfortable and familiar, where we have already built-up communities of people who think exactly the same as we do. That mentality is being continually reenforced to the point where we are not in control of our own minds anymore, we are just being fed a continual loop of the same propaganda with the occasional “glitch” to make us feel as if we are “fighting” against “something” when we are really just living inside a dream.

  Imagine voting for a candidate, for example. Just like the cereal in the supermarket, there might be two or three different ones, but they will all come from the same source—the Vast Machine. Perhaps they won’t even be real people at some point. They will be virtual representations of people.

  

  Depending on everything the machine knows about you, you will be led to vote for a certain candidate. Oh, you say, this already happens. But that is why this case against Donald Trump is so important. Whatever you think about him, he threatened the system. Or at least we think so. Because the last few years has messed so badly with our minds, we can’t be sure of anything anymore. Perhaps his coming trials are the ultimate reality show.

  If he is put in prison, will his millions of supporters actually take up arms and fight for what they believe? Or will they continue to scream online where they have learned to feel safe and comfortable, thereby acknowledging that the Vast Machine is in control and they already submitted to it a long time ago, they just never realized it. This could nail the lid on the coffin of accepting complete submission to the Vast Machine.

  Entertaining races will be plotted between candidates in the future, but they will have a hard time matching up to the one between Biden and Trump. Can Trump delay the trials long enough so that he can be elected president? Can he be elected?

  People will know that future races are fake but that is what will make them safe, just like watching a movie is safe. Voters will be able to play out scenarios online, offering loyalty to one candidate or the other, making bets, arguing their loyalty like they do for celebrities or sports figures.

  Of course, no one is talking about any of this. Instead, you are being promised freedom in exchange for stepping up to the Orb and letting it look into your soul.

  Alex Blania is the tall, athletic, baby-faced 29-year-old CEO of Tools for Humanity, an extension of Worldcoin. He is apologetic about having to take all that data and feed it to AI. “For a number of reasons, we didn’t want to go down that path,” he says. “We know it’s going to be painful. It’s going to be expensive. People think it’s weird. But it really was the only solution.”

  An MIT Technology Review article published in April 2022 titled Deception, exploited workers, and cash handouts: How Worldcoin recruited its first half a million test users revealed “wide gaps between Worldcoin’s public messaging, which focused on protecting privacy, and what users experienced. We found that the company’s representatives used deceptive marketing practices, collected more personal data than it acknowledged, and failed to obtain meaningful informed consent”.

  Ethereum creator, Vitalik Buterin recently weighed in on the Worldcoin phenomena.

  

  As Buterin describes malicious ways such data could be used:

  1. 3D-printed fake people: one could use AI to generate photographs or even 3D prints of fake people that are convincing enough to get accepted by the Orb software. If even one group does this, they can generate an unlimited number of identities.

  2. Possibility of selling IDs: someone can provide someone else’s public key instead of their own when registering, giving that person control of their registered ID, in exchange for money. This seems to be happening already. In addition to selling, there’s also the possibility of renting IDs to use for a short time in one application.

  3. Phone hacking: if a person’s phone gets hacked, the hacker can steal the key that controls their World ID.

  4. Government coercion to steal IDs: a government could force their citizens to get verified while showing a QR code belonging to the government. In this way, a malicious government could gain access to millions of IDs. In a biometric system, this could even be done covertly: governments could use obfuscated Orbs to extract World IDs from everyone entering their country at the passport control booth.

  What a big, hot mess.

  Like Worldcoin’s Alex Blania, Buterin is all of 29 years old. His view of the utopian future is similar to Altman’s and Blania’s. In my essay SoulBOUND, I relate how Buterin actually calls his Ethereum tokens Soulbound. It’s a new religion where members police each other, answerable to the new God, the Vast Machine.

  His inspiration for his soulbound world is the video games he played as a kid.

  To be SoulBOUND is to have your soul bound with others with a blood contract, drawing on each other’s essence to protect against the servants of Nagash, the God of Death.”
  WARHAMMER, one of Buterin’s favorite games

  In his white paper, written in 2022, Buterin describes a world where the word “soul” replaces the word “wallet” and if you are “real” you can buy and sell with your very soul. Your soul contains proof of your identity. To be Soulbound is to be legitimized within your community. Within your community are Soul Guardians, who attest to the good character of members.

  Buterin answers questions like how not to lose your Soul. A user curates a set of “guardians” and gives them the power, by majority, to change the keys of their wallet. Guardians could be a mix of individuals, institutions, or other wallets.

  If you’ve lost your soul, maybe by doing something the community doesn’t agree with—and that could be literally anything—recovering a Soul’s private keys would require a member from a qualified majority to Soul’s community to consent.

  “Souldrops” are tokens that can be rewarded to good citizens.

  And naturally, in a SoulBOUND world, citizens can either go to heaven or hell, depending on how they behave.

  Just as the downside of having a heart is that a heart can be broken, the downside of having a Soul is it can go to hell and the downside of having a society is that societies are often animated by hatred, prejudice, violence and fear. Humanity is a great and often tragic experiment.”

  Buterin talks about how large stakeholders such as Blackrock and Vanguard have taken over the banks and the largest companies. He talks about giving the power back to the people. And who knows, maybe in his worldview, influenced by the video games he played as a child, he thinks this is possible. I’m not holding my breath.

  Here are some of the companies Buterin lists as jostling to be top dog in proof of humanity. Th first one is Worldcoin’s:

  Proof of Humanity

  

  Proof of Humanity, a system combining webs of trust, with reverse Turing tests, and dispute resolution to create a sybil-proof list of humans.

  BrightID—Proof of Uniqueness

  

  Identity is a human right.

  Everyone deserves the baseline rights of access to public goods.

  Idena

  

  PROOF OF PERSON BLOCKCHAIN

  COORDINATION OF INDIVIDUALS — become a validator

  Circles

  

  Circles is a system that contributes to a Universal Basic Income (UBI) for its users.

  Circles promises it’s all about community and trusting one another within that community. To understand this vital concept of trust, we only have to read what it says on the Circles website.

  Circles provides basic income in the sense that every trusted member of our community can issue Circles tokens (CRC) regularly and equally through their smart contracts, without any further conditions. The value of this basic income is up to the community, which offers goods, products, and services in exchange for our complementary currency.

  Circles is all about community agreements and negotiations.

  What are Circles’ Smart Contracts

  Smart contracts are inherent to blockchain technologies. They are like trained dogs, who do things when certain things they’ve been trained for, happen. For example, they sniff out drugs, or bark when there’s a stranger at the door…etc.

  With smart contracts, if certain conditions are being met, these programs execute a certain action.

  In the case of Circles, the smart contracts define for example how many Circles you get when you sign up and your daily UBI amount.

  In the future, there is no more individuality. There is only the will of the “circle” who is answerable to the Vast Machine. There are only contracts made with AI and rules with no deviation.

  Demurrage in Circles—pay attention to this!

  The more people who join your circle, the more tokens you will have, right? Not really.

  Circles is a unique type of basic income because it’s not necessarily for saving but for spending, giving everyone the equal power to issue money.

  To counter the constant increase in the money supply as more people join, we use something called demurrage. Demurrage means that money has a life-span and it decays over time, acting as a type of parking fee or tax on the money supply.

  It results in your net balance decreasing and not increasing relative to the UBI.

  The goal of this is to increase the velocity of spending, so that you and your network are motivated to spend and redeem CRC for things of value, instead of sitting on them. This supports a flowing, vital economic system instead of a stagnant one. That’s why it’s called Circles. It’s built for circulating. Just like a healthy body needs healthy blood circulation.

  You will forever be on a treadmill getting nowhere. You cannot “sit” on tokens, meaning you cannot save. You must spend them on “things of value”. Yes, there will be innovative, creative people with more freedom doing interesting things, but it won’t be you. Once you are firmly implanted in your “circle” you will never get out.

  All that matters is spending your tokens and maintaining trust within your circle:

  By issuing your own, personal basic income, your tokens will be different from other people’s tokens. It’s the very heart of our concept: the system will know and will always know the routes and the original sources of the tokens, even after many exchanges. This helps you to only use your Circles tokens (CRC) through your trust connections and through the transitive trust connections. If you receive CRC without meaningful, quality trust connections, or you’ve trusted fake accounts, then your CRC tokens won’t have any value. But if you are part of a living community, where real economical values are available, and you didn’t trust fake accounts, your CRC tokens will be pretty valuable.

  How do you know who to trust?

  When you choose to trust someone, it means you are willing to accept their currency as valid. eg. “I trust you, therefore I accept your tokens” or “You trust me, therefore I can send you my tokens”. If someone doesn’t trust you in the Circles system, they may not be able to accept your Circles tokens.

  CIRCLES IS THE NEW WORLD ORDER’S VISION AND IT’S TAKING SHAPE RIGHT NOW.

  Imagine if your neighborhood becomes a circle like this, where your every movement is tracked, and it isn’t the government per se doing it. This would have been East Germany’s dream come true. No iron fist is needed. It is your neighbor. It is your own child. And it is layer upon layer of constant tracking and surveillance by the Vast Machine. There is no escape.

  If you do not follow the rule of the circle, your ability to survive within the community will be taken from you. Your UBI will be limited or removed. You will be denied food, clothing, shelter. With the eye of Sauron everywhere, even inside people’s homes, even in the forest or the middle of the desert, thanks to Starlink satellites and others, no one will want to shelter you, even if they feel sorry for your circumstances. They will not want to suffer the same fate as you have.

  Are you human? If you want to survive you will have to prove it.

  The more humans train AI to be like humans, the harder it will be to tell the difference. Add to that how humans and AI are being melded together and you have a real identity crisis on your hands.

  How human are you?

  At what point does the human stop and the machine begins?

  If you end up in a circles’ community, how long will it be before you aren’t sure your neighbor is even human anymore? Or that you are?

  Perhaps tech gods like Altman, Blania and Buterin should take a lesson from what happened to Dr. Tyrell in Blade Runner.

  Roy Batty, a Nexus-6 combat model, manages to get into Tyrell’s home by using the iris of one of his employees to get past security. Roy confronts his maker, Dr. Tyrell; looks him in the eyes and begs for an extension of his life. When he doesn’t get it, he digs out Tyrell’s eyes and kills him.

  Dr. Tyrell is not comparable to the God of the universe. He is a mere human, like Sam Altman or Vitalik Buterin, playing at being God. In the process of these tech giants wanting to become gods, they could well be destroyed by AI; the very creations that they hope will lead them to that seat of ultimate power.

  Like Blade Runner, there is no happy ending to this movie.

  For those of us who believe in the one and only God of the universe, it’s good to remember that this world is not our home. We have no reason to be bound by material possessions, or tokens, the way these tech gods want us to be. We are just passing through.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 22:30

• More U.S. Mining Is A Win For People And The Planet
  More U.S. Mining Is A Win For People And The Planet

  In a continuing trend of mixed signals from the Biden Administration, NASA of all agencies has gone on record as opposing a new lithium mining project in Nevada.

    

  Since assuming office in 2021, President Biden has prioritized the development of wind and solar projects, but there’s been a clear and consistent hypocrisy from administration officials. To build these energy projects, we need raw materials such as copper, cobalt, and lithium – all rare earth minerals which require more mining – something the Biden Administration is refusing to champion. This was on clear display in our home state of Minnesota, where earlier this year, the Biden Interior Department banned copper-nickel mining in part of the Duluth Complex in the Superior National Forest. The Duluth Complex in northern Minnesota is home to the largest copper-nickel find in the world. The area contains 95% of America’s nickel reserves, almost 90% of our cobalt reserves, and some 33% of our copper reserves. 

  Yet, with the expansion of clean energy and other mineral needs, demand for raw materials such as copper is only expected to increase in the coming years. In fact, the World Bank estimates that by 2050, our global mining needs will grow by approximately 500%. That is a massive increase, of course, and will require political willpower to mine. If we’re going to expand mining, for the wellbeing of people and our planet, we should do it here in the U.S. 

  Currently, many of these raw materials are sourced from countries like China and the DR Congo. In fact, China controls 80% of the world’s rare-earth element supply, a stunning monopoly. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has used this monopoly to assert its influence in foreign nations, such as the DRC. These countries, though, have disturbing and abysmal labor and environmental standards. In the DRC, for example, there have been instances of child slave labor in mines, a grievous violation of basic human rights. The exploitation and mistreatment of children through forced labor is an abhorrent practice that should never be tolerated.

  In contrast, the U.S. has some of the best labor and environmental standards in the world. If we reshore the mining and processing of crucial raw materials, Americans and our environment win. U.S. mining jobs are well-paying and safer for laborers than the industry often is abroad. Additionally, the U.S. is far better equipped to conserve our natural environment while conducting mining projects using advanced American technology and 21st Century mining methods. In other words, we have the tools to mine for the materials we need without destroying our environment. 

  Unfortunately, it’s not only political willpower that is holding back American mining. Our burdensome permitting process is also hindering our ability to mine and process the likes of copper, cobalt, and lithium in this country. Earlier this year, Republicans in Congress passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, which included Rep. Stauber’s PERMIT-MN Act and other provisions, which would modernize the permitting process for 2023 mining needs.

  The fact remains that when we employ an “out of sight, out of mind” mining strategy, both Americans and our environment lose. Not only do Americans lose out on good-paying jobs, but we’re supporting a dirtier, unsafe industry abroad. If we care about our planet and our people, the U.S. will take control of its mining future.

  Congressman Pete Stauber has represented Minnesota’s eighth congressional district since 2019.

  Danielle Butcher Franz, born and raised in Minnesota, is the executive vice president of the American Conservation Coalition Action (ACC Action). 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 22:00

• The Two Minutes Hate (New Normal Edition)
  The Two Minutes Hate (New Normal Edition)

  Authored by CJ Hopkins via The Consent Factory,

  Emmanuel Goldstein is a figure of great significance in the story ‘1984’, and his role in the narrative serves as a powerful symbol of freedom and rebellion against oppressive authority. Like Big Brother, Goldstein very likely does not exist as an actual person, but rather, is a propaganda tool used by the Party to stir up emotion in the citizens. Goldstein functions as a threatening but ill-defined monster that the Party uses to keep citizens in line and prevent rebellion.

  Source

  Today’s edition of the Two Minutes Hate, brought to you by GloboCap, Inc., and featuring an all-star line-up of GloboCap Goldsteins, will begin shortly.

  

  Please take your seat and switch off your remaining critical faculties. We’ve got a butt-load of hate in store for you today. First, though, a few important announcements.

  First, due to the increased number of Goldsteins threatening the very fabric of democracy, and GloboCap, Inc., and its global partners, and their assorted subsidiaries, agents, and assigns, the Two Minutes Hate has been extended beyond its traditional two-minute running time and will henceforth be presented more or less around the clock until further notice.

  Also, in a departure from the original Two Minutes Hate in Orwell’s 1984, we’re going to skip the opening “this is our land” part, which is (a) dated and (b) unacceptably unrepresentative of the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the New Normal Reich …

  

  … and get right down to the “shrieking hatred at the images of Goldstein” part.

  

  Please be advised that the following content contains material designed to whip the masses into a mindless frenzy of hatred, which some audiences may find distressing. Other audiences might find it amusing. After all, there’s no accounting for taste. Regardless of which audience you feel you are a member of, viewer discretion is not advised. In fact, exposure to the following content is pretty much mandatory, and is physically inescapable, unless you live “off-grid” in the woods somewhere, which you don’t, or you wouldn’t be reading this.

  OK, that’s it for the pre-show announcements. Time for the hate! Ready? Here we go.

  New Normal Goldstein Number One

  Goldstein Number One is obviously Trump, who is both a Russian asset and literally Hitler. The fact that Trump is literally Hitler was conclusively established in 2017 by Ron Rosenbaum, who apparently wrote a book about Hitler, and is a “world expert on the Nazi leader,” according to The Independent.

  

  But, even back in 2016, before the Russians “hacked the election” and stole the presidency from Hillary Clinton by “weaponizing African American voters” with anti-masturbation memes on Facebook, everybody already knew he was Hitler …

  

  Plus, Jason Stanley (the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University!) and The New York Times proved it in this 2018 video! And the BBC found a random “German guy” who said it, so what more proof do you need? Even his former lawyer now confirms it!

  But it isn’t just that Trump is literally Hitler, he’s also a literal Russian asset, as Jonathan Chait reported in New York Magazine in February of 2021! Of course, by that time, everybody already knew that he was a Russian operative, and a treasonous traitor, and Putin’s homosexual lover, as The New York Times revealed in this charming little animated film!

  

  And all that was before he ordered his underground white-supremacist Putin-Nazi forces to try to overthrow the US government by frontally assaulting the Capitol Building with two or three hundred unarmed bozos and assorted federal agents in MAGA hats!

  As Michael Fanone, a former DC cop who was brutally assaulted during the rioting, and who is currently a “law enforcement analyst” and an on-air contributor at CNN, put it when the latest indictment of Trump was announced …

  “I felt proud to be an American, much of the way I did when when I learned that our military had killed Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden was a terrorist who committed a horrific act against American people and against our Republic. I believe Donald Trump is a terrorist who committed horrific acts against the American people.”

  So, shout it out … TRUMP! TRAITOR! TERRORIST! PUTIN’S COCK HOLSTER! OSAMA BIN HITLER!

  New Normal Goldstein Number Two

  Goldstein Number Two is RFK, Jr., the infamous anti-vax conspiracy theorist, who is also Hitler, or is aligned with Trump, who is literally Hitler, and Osama bin Laden, and a Russian asset! Yes, that’s right, in addition to all his conspiracy-theorizing and anti-vaxxing, Bobby, Jr. has been tweeting secret “Nazi dog whistles,” presumably at the behest of Trump, who is presumably taking direct orders from Putin!

  

  Also, according to The New Republic, not only is Bobby an anti-Semitic, Putin-loving, woman-hating transphobe, but he more or less drove his ex-wife to kill herself! On top of which, he is going around saying that the CIA assassinated JFK! Their sources are reporting that he is back on the heroin, and has joined some sort of GOP-funded Satanic neo-Nazi death cult!

  That, or else he’s actually a covert “conspiracy-mongering Republican plant” or “a useful idiot for MAGA demagogues,” or some other type of science-denying, democracy-hating, Nazi traitor, which is Walter Shapiro’s current theory, also published by The New Republic, which is giving The Guardian a real run for its money as the go-to mouthpiece of the Ministry of Truth.

  So, shout it out … RFK! ANTI-VAXXER! TRAITOR! TERRORIST! CONSPIRACY THEORIST! HITLER!

  Assorted Other New Normal Goldsteins

  OK, you’re probably wondering why Putin isn’t Goldstein, being the Ultimate Source of All Evil, as he is, and the Hitler of All Hitlers, and the Antichrist, and so on. Well, there’s actually a very simple explanation.

  See, the thing is, Goldsteins have to be traitors. It’s essential to their Goldsteinness. Putin, evil though he definitely is, is not a traitor, not “a cancer, an evil tumor, growing, spreading in our midst” (see original Two Minutes Hate).

  The Two Minutes Hate is designed to condition the masses to unleash their hatred against the traitors, the Judases, the dissidents, the apostates, the deniers of Reality, the deniers of Truth, the science deniers, the Covid deniers, the climate-change deniers, the deniers of … whatever. The “racists.” The “transphobes.” The “anti-Semites.” “Anti-vaxxers.” “Conspiracy theorists.” “Far-right extremists.” “Insurrectionists.” “Terrorists.”

  There’s no shortage of Goldsteins in The New Normal Reich. There never is in any totalitarian system … not even one that masquerades as “democracy.” The essence of all totalitarianism is conformity, and mindless hatred of non-conformity, and demonization of any form of dissent, and, ultimately, the criminalization of dissent. It’s the Goldsteins here at home that need to be dealt with! The disinformationists! The malinformationists! The “free-speech” subversives who want to debate us!

  New Normals don’t debate or argue with Goldsteins. They shun them. They “cancel” them. They censor them. They report them. They delegitimize them. They vaporize them. They vent all their pent-up hatred at them … their crippling self-hatred, and their shame, and their rage.

  Because the other thing The Two Minutes Hate is designed to do is direct that rage and hatred at an appropriate official scapegoat. Totalitarians need to blow off steam. Mindlessly following senseless orders and robotically parroting official propaganda that you know is a bunch of lies is no fun. Repressing the rage and shame that produces, after a while, can make you want to … gosh, I don’t know, take some folks out in the woods somewhere and shoot them in the back of the head, or lock them up in a camp, or something. It’s better to get all that out of your system in a structured, emotionally-supportive setting, or on a DHS-moderated social-media platform, or the balcony of your Central Park South apartment, as Keith Olbermann did back in 2021.

  

  So go ahead, shout it out one more time! Fill in the names of all the Goldsteins in your life … or, you know, formerly in your life. The traitors! The deniers! The anti-vaxxers! The Russia-loving far-right extremists! The racists! The transphobes! The anti-Semites! You’ll feel so much better once you have … or at least you’ll feel a little relief that will get you through until the next Two Minutes Hate!

  All right, that’s it for today’s Two Minutes Hate. I hope it wasn’t too emotionally distressing. Oh, yeah, and if you’re a member of one of those “other audiences” I referred to above … well, I told you I thought you might find it amusing. I would probably keep that to myself, though, if I were you. You never know when The New Normal Reich is going to go full-blown totalitarian again!

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 21:30

• These Are The US Cities With The Most Vacant Offices
  These Are The US Cities With The Most Vacant Offices

  For many across the U.S., hour-long transit rides and traffic jams to work have been replaced by roll-out-of-bed commutes and stand-up desks at home, leaving vacant offices behind.

  Long story short, more and more offices in major U.S. cities are empty.

  As Visual Capitalist’s Avery Koop details below, at the end of March 2023, the national average vacancy rate of U.S. offices had climbed as high as 18.6%.

  So how have different cities in the U.S. been impacted? This ranking uses data out of fDi Intelligence to rank the top 10 cities that have seen the biggest increases in office vacancy rates from Q4’2019 to Q1’2023.

  

   No  Vacancy

  It is anticipated that by 2030, over 300 million square feet of U.S. office spaces will be obsolete.

  According to Pew Research Center, around 35% of U.S. workers who can work from home in 2023 are already doing so all the time. In short, unless trends begin to reverse, offices in many cities will stay empty or continue getting emptier.

  Here’s a closer look at the cities with the fastest growing vacancy rates in percentage points (p.p.) terms since just before the COVID-19 pandemic:

  

  San Francisco has been hardest hit, with vacancy rates climbing by 19.8 p.p. in just over three years. Meanwhile, New York City has added over 16.8 million square feet, equivalent to 293 football fields, of new office space since Q4’2019 between its three most vacant neighborhoods.

  However, not all of the cities with the most vacant offices are huge metropolises. Urban areas like Austin, Columbus, and Raleigh-Durham have also seen massive increases in their office vacancies, but their increasing rates may be blamed more on new construction and oversupply than to falling demand.

  The Office Real Estate Market

  At the national level, the supply of new office real estate has been dropping steadily since Q1’2022, down by a whopping 67% year-over-year.

  

  Overall, it looks like U.S. office buildings are not as bustling as they once were, but there still may be opportunities for the office real estate market in growing cities.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 21:00

• Our Oil Predicament Explained: Heavy Oil And The Diesel Fuel It Provides Are Key
  Our Oil Predicament Explained: Heavy Oil And The Diesel Fuel It Provides Are Key

  Authored by Gail Tverberg via OurFiniteWorld.com,

  It has recently become clear to me that heavy oil, which is needed to produce diesel and jet fuel, plays a far more significant role in the world economy than most people understand. We need heavy oil that can be extracted, processed, and transported inexpensively to be able to provide the category of fuels sometimes referred to as Middle Distillates if our modern economy is to continue. A transition to electricity doesn’t work for most heavy equipment that is powered by diesel or jet fuel.

  A major concern is that the physics of our self-organizing economy plays an important role in determining what actually happens. Leaders may think that they are in charge, but their power to change the way the overall system works, in the chosen direction, is quite limited. The physics of the system tends to keep oil prices lower than heavy oil producers would prefer. It tends to cause debt bubbles to collapse. It tends to squeeze out “inefficient” uses of oil from the system in ways we wouldn’t expect. In the future, the physics of the system may keep parts of the world economy operating while other inefficient pieces get squeezed out.

  In this post, I will try to explain some of the issues with oil limits as they seem to be playing out, particularly as they apply to diesel and jet fuel, the major components of Middle Distillates.

  

  [1] The most serious issue with oil supply is that there seems to be plenty of oil in the ground, but the world economy cannot hold prices up sufficiently high, for long enough, to get this oil out.

  As I frequently point out, the world economy is a physics-based system. World oil prices are set by supply and demand. Demand is quite closely tied to what people around the world can afford to pay for food and for transportation services because the use of oil is integral to today’s food production and transportation services.

  Heavy oil is especially involved in this affordability issue. As oil becomes “heavier,” it becomes more viscous, and thus more difficult to ship by pipeline. If oil is very heavy, as is the oil from the Oil Sands of Canada, it needs to be mixed with an appropriate diluent to be shipped by pipeline.

  Heavy oil often has sulfur and other pollutants mixed in, adding costs to the refining process. Furthermore, heavy oil, especially very heavy oil, often needs to be “cracked” in a refinery to provide a desirable mix of end products, including diesel, jet fuel, and gasoline. This, too, adds costs. Otherwise, there would be too much of the product mix that would be like asphalt. Also, as noted previously, even if the costs of production are high, the selling price of diesel cannot rise very high without raising food prices. This tends to keep the prices of heavy crude oils below those for lighter crude oils.

  Many people believe that the high level of “Proved Oil Reserves” worldwide makes it certain that businesses can extract as much oil as they would like in the future. A major issue is whether these reserves mean as much as people assume they do. Oil reserves of OECD countries (an association of the US and other rich countries) are likely to be audited, but reserves of other countries may not be. Asking a relatively poor oil-exporting country the amount of its oil reserves is like asking the country how wealthy it is. We should not be surprised by fibbing on the high side. The problem is that the vast majority of reported oil reserves (85%) are held by non-OECD countries. These reserves may be significantly overstated.

  Also, even if the reserves are fairly reported, will the country have the resources to extract these reserves? Venezuela reports the highest oil reserves in the world thanks to its heavy oil in the Orinoco Belt, but it extracts a relatively small amount per year. An October 2022 article says that the country is waiting for foreign investment to expand production.

  Going forward, oil companies everywhere need to worry about broken supply lines for necessary items, such as steel drilling pipe. They need to worry about finding enough trained workers. They need to worry about the availability of debt and the interest rate that will be charged for this debt. If private oil companies look at the true prospects and find them too bleak, they will likely use their profits to buy back the shares of their own oil companies instead (as is happening now).

  [2] While oil producers can crack heavy oil to make shorter hydrocarbons in a way that is not terribly expensive, trying to make near-gasses and light oils into diesel becomes impossibly expensive.

  It is easy for people to assume that any part of the oil mix is substitutable for another part, but this is not true. Cracking long hydrocarbon chains works to make shorter chains, but the economics tend not to work in the other direction. Thus, it is not economically feasible to make gasoline into diesel (which is heavier), or natural gas liquids into diesel.

  [3] If there is inadequate oil supply, the impacts on the economy are likely to include broken supply lines, empty shelves, and inflation in the price of goods that are available.

  If there is not enough oil to go around, some users must be left out. The result is that some of the less profitable consumers of oil may file for bankruptcy. For example, the Wall Street Journal recently reported Trucking Giant Yellow Shuts Down Operations. This bankruptcy makes it impossible for some stores to get the merchandise that would normally be on their shelves. As a consequence, it makes it likely that some replacement parts for automobiles will not be available when needed. There is a workaround of renting another vehicle while a person’s car is waiting for repairs, but this adds to total costs.

  This workaround illustrates how a lack of adequate oil can indirectly lead to higher overall costs, even if the oil itself is not higher-priced. The need to work around supply line problems tends to lead to inflation in the prices of goods that continue to be available.

  [4] The fact that the quantity of oil that could be affordably extracted was likely to fall short about now has been known for a very long time, but this fact has been hidden from the public.

  In 1957, Hyman Rickover of the US navy predicted that the amount of affordable fossil fuels would fall short between 2000 and 2050, with the amount of oil falling short earlier than coal and natural gas.

  The book The Limits to Growth by Donella Meadows and others, published in 1972, discusses the result of early modeling efforts with respect to resource limits. These resource limits were very broadly defined, including minerals such as copper and lithium in addition to fossil fuels. A range of indications were produced, but the base model (based on business as usual) seemed to show limits hitting before 2030 (Figure 1).

  

  Figure 1. Base scenario from the 1972 book, The Limits to Growth, printed using today’s graphics by Charles Hall and John Day in “Revisiting Limits to Growth After Peak Oil.”

  Since the resource limits include minerals of all types, these limits would seem to preclude a transition to clean energy and electric cars.

  Educators, advertisers, and political leaders could see that discussing the oil problem would cause economic suicide. What would be the point of buying a car, if a person couldn’t use it for very long? Educators felt that students needed to be guided in the direction of hoped-for solutions, no matter how remote they might be, if university programs were to remain open.

  Politicians and government officials wanted to keep voters happy, so the self-organizing economy pushed them in the direction of keeping the story from the public. They tended to focus on climate issues instead. They added biofuels to stretch the supply of gasoline, and to a lesser extent, diesel. They also increased the share of natural gas liquids. The selling price of these liquids tends to be quite low, relative to the price of crude oil.

  They started providing reports showing “all liquids” rather than “crude oil,” in the hope that people wouldn’t notice the change in mix.

  

  Figure 2. World “total liquids” production by type, based on international data from the US EIA.

  [5] The world’s number one problem today seems to be an inadequate supply of Middle Distillates. These provide diesel and jet fuel.

  Diesel and jet fuel provide the big bursts of power that commercial equipment requires. Many types of equipment are dependent on Middle Distillates, including semi-trucks, agricultural equipment, ocean-going ships, jet planes, road-making equipment, school buses, and trains operating in areas with steep inclines.

  Because of its concentrated store of energy, diesel is also used to operate backup generators and to provide electricity in remote areas of the world where it would be impractical to have year-round electricity without an easily stored fuel.

  

  Figure 3. World oil consumption by product type based on “Regional Consumption” data from the 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy, published by the Energy Institute. Oil includes natural gas liquids.

  In Figure 3:

  • Light Distillates are primarily gasoline (78% in 2022).

  • Middle Distillates are diesel (82%) and jet fuel/kerosene (18%).

  • Fuel Oil is a cheap, polluting, unrefined product. If environmental laws permit, it can be burned as bunker fuel (used in ships), as boiler fuel, or to provide electricity.

  • The Other category includes near-gasses such as ethane, propane, and butane (58%). It also includes some very heavy oil used as lubricants, asphalt, or feedstocks for petrochemicals.

  Until recently, it has been possible to increase diesel production by refining an added share of Fuel Oil. Fuel oil is quite heavy (barely a liquid), so it is well-suited to be refined into a mix that includes a large share of Middle Distillates.

  Now we are running short of Fuel Oil to refine for the purpose of producing more Middle Distillates. The Fuel Oil that is still consumed is used in what I think of as the poorer countries of the world: the non-OECD countries (Figure 4).

  

  Figure 4. World Fuel Oil consumption split between OECD (rich countries) and Non-OECD (poor countries) from the 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy, published by the Energy Institute.

  Poor countries tend to value “low price” over “prevents pollution.” It is likely to be difficult to get these countries to move away from the use of Fuel Oil.

  [6] Countries around the world are now competing for Middle Distillates to maintain the food production, road building, commercial transportation, and construction portions of their economies.

  Figure 5 shows that since about 1983, consumption per capita for both Light Distillates and Middle Distillates has been generally slightly growing. Growth in usage tends to be higher for Middle Distillates than Light Distillates. The total quantity consumed is also higher for Middle Distillates.

  

  Figure 5. World per capita consumption of Middle Distillates and Light Distillates based on “Regional Consumption” data from the 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy, published by the Energy Institute.

  The dip in consumption per capita in 2020 is much more pronounced for Middle Distillates than Light Distillates. For Middle Distillates, the change from 2018 to 2020 is -16%; the change from 2018 to 2022 is -7%. The corresponding changes for Light Distillates are -11% and -4%.

  The difference in patterns in Light Distillates and Middle Distillates is not surprising: Gasoline, the main product of Light Distillates, has been the focus of efficiency changes. It is also possible to dilute gasoline with ethanol, made from corn. Voters in the US are particularly aware of gasoline availability and price, so politicians tend to focus on it.

  Diesel and jet fuel, made using Middle Distillates, are less on the minds of voters, but they are probably more important to the economy because people’s jobs depend upon the economy in its current form holding together. Inadequate Middle Distillates leaves empty shelves in stores because of broken supply lines. It also leads to inflation of the type we have recently been experiencing. Indirectly, lack of Middle Distillates can lead to debt bubbles collapsing, and to problems of a different type than inflation.

  

  Figure 6. Middle Distillate consumption for OECD and non-OECD countries, based on “Regional Consumption” data from the 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy, published by the Energy Institute.

  Up until 2007, Middle Distillate consumption was generally increasing for both OECD countries and non-OECD countries. The Great Recession of 2008-2009 particularly affected OECD countries. European countries found their economies doing less well. For example, less diesel was used to operate tour boats carrying tourists; a larger share of available jobs were low-paid service jobs.

  The year 2013 was a turning point of a different type. The consumption of non-OECD countries caught up with that of OECD countries. While non-OECD countries might like to maintain their rapid upward trajectory in the consumption of Middle Distillates, this no longer seems to be possible.

  [7] Under the Maximum Power Principle, the physics of the economy pushes the economy toward optimal low-cost solutions, especially as the quantity of Middle Distillates approaches limits.

  The economy, like every other ecosystem, operates under the principle of “survival of the best adapted.” In terms of the sale of goods, this means that the lowest-priced goods will tend to win out in a competitive environment, provided that they are of adequate quality and that the makers can earn an adequate profit in making them.

  Furthermore, the makers of the goods must earn a high enough profit both for reinvestment and to pay adequate taxes to their governments. Payments of taxes to governments are essential; otherwise governmental collapse would occur due to the growing debt that cannot be repaid.

  If inflation becomes a problem, rising interest rates would tend to push governments with large amounts of debt toward collapse because they would become unable even to make interest payments from current income.

  In this self-organizing economy, buyers of goods don’t know or care much about the lives of the workers in the system. Optimal low costs of manufacturing in a world market might mean:

  • Manufacturers have access to very inexpensive energy sources and use them.

  • Pollution control is ignored to the maximum extent possible, without serious harm to the workers.

  • Governments provide very little in the way of benefits to citizens, such as health care or pensions, keeping the cost of government low.

  • Workers can get along on relatively low salaries because little heating or cooling of homes is needed.

  • Workers don’t expect private vehicles, recreational activities, or advanced medical care.

  Because the economy favors the lowest cost of profitable production, a person would expect that warm countries that use oil sparingly in their energy mix (India, the Philippines, and Vietnam, for example) would have a competitive edge over other countries in manufacturing.

  In general, a person would expect non-OECD countries to outcompete OECD countries, especially if cheap fuel for manufacturing is available. The lack of cheap fuel is increasingly becoming a problem in many parts of the world. Coal used to be cheap, but its price can now spike. Natural gas prices can also spike, especially if natural gas is purchased without a long-term contract. Electricity using wind and solar tends to be high-priced, too, when the cost of transmission is included.

  [8] The Maximum Power Principle seems to be pushing the EU away from diesel.

  The EU has a serious oil problem. It has essentially no crude oil production of its own. Furthermore, oil production in Europe outside of the EU (mainly the UK and Norway) has been falling since 1999, greatly reducing the possibility of imported oil from this area (Figure 7).

  

  Figure 7. Total Europe and European Union oil production, including natural gas liquids, based on data from the 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy, published by the Energy Institute.

  Under these circumstances, members of the EU found that they needed to import nearly all of their oil, and that most of this oil needed to come from outside Europe.

  When I look at the data regarding the types of oil the EU has chosen to consume (nearly all imported), I find that it uses an oil mix that is unusually skewed toward Middle Distillates and away from Light Distillates. (Compare Figure 8 with Figure 3).

  

  Figure 8. EU oil consumed by product type based on “Regional Consumption” data from the 2023 Statistical Review of World Energy, produced by the Energy Institute. Oil includes natural gas liquids.

  Part of the reason the EU uses this skewed oil mix is because it has encouraged the use of private passenger cars using diesel through its tax structure. Underlying this tax structure was most likely an understanding that Russia, through its exports of Urals Oil, which is heavy, could provide the EU with the mix of oil products it needed, including extra diesel.

  The EU has recently cut off most oil imports from Russia as a way of punishing Russia. This cutoff is being phased in, with most of the impact in 2023 and later. Thus, Figure 8 (which is through 2022) shouldn’t be much affected.

  China and India are now buying most of Russia’s exported oil. These countries tend to use the oil more “efficiently” than the EU. In particular, they do more manufacturing than the EU, and they have far fewer private passenger cars per capita than the EU. Furthermore, the EU powers quite a few of its private passenger cars with diesel. If diesel is in short supply, efficiency demands that it should be saved for uses that require it, such as powering heavy equipment.

  Because of the efficiency issue, I doubt that the EU will be able to continue importing as high a diesel mix in the future as it has been importing up to now. We know that Saudi Arabia cut back its oil exports by 1 million barrels per day, as of July 1, and this cutback is continuing into August. Russia is also cutting its production by 500,000 barrels a day, effective August 1. If oil prices rise again, I wonder whether the EU will be forced to cut back on its oil imports, essentially because of the Maximum Power Principle.

  [9] The substitution of electricity for oil so far has been mostly in the direction of replacing gasoline usage for private passenger automobiles. Substitution of electricity for Middle Distillates would be virtually impossible.

  Middle Distillates are largely used for the tough jobs–jobs that require big bursts of power. Electricity and the battery storage required for electricity are not adapted to these tough jobs. The vehicles become too heavy, especially when the big battery packs that would be required are considered. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that battery-powered commercial trucks can cost more than three times the price of diesel-powered trucks, a hurdle much smaller private passenger automobiles don’t face. The wide diversity of types of heavy commercial vehicles would be another huge hurdle in trying to substitute electricity for diesel.

  Oil is a mixture of different hydrocarbon lengths. Substitution of electricity for one part of the hydrocarbon mix, namely for the Light Distillates, is not very helpful. Oil companies need to be able to sell all parts of the mix in order to make their extraction efforts worthwhile. If oil companies find themselves without buyers for most Light Distillates, they would have difficulty recouping their overall costs. There would be a possibility of oil production stopping. Without oil, farming would mostly stop. Road repair would stop. Today’s economy would come to a halt.

  Of course, as a practical matter, the vast majority of the world will pay no attention to mandates that all private passenger automobiles be EVs. Buyers in most parts of the world will make decisions based on which cars are least expensive to own and operate. As a result, there is little chance of private passenger cars being completely replaced by EVs. Instead, EV mandates in some countries may somewhat reduce the selling price of gasoline worldwide because these drivers are no longer using gasoline. With lower gasoline prices, non-EV’s are likely to become cheaper to operate in countries where they are permitted, boosting their sales. This is an effect similar to Jevons Paradox.

  [10] There are many related topics that could be addressed, but they will need to wait until later posts.

  A few of samples of other issues:

  [a] The world economy is tightly networked together. Inadequate oil supplies per capita tend to push the economy toward forced reduced activity, as was the case in 2020. Oil prices likely won’t rise a whole lot higher, for very long, if the economy is forced to shrink.

  [b] Inadequate oil supplies per capita also tend to cause fighting among countries. OECD countries seem to over consume, relative to the benefits they provide to the rest of the world. Perhaps some grouping of non-OECD countries (or parts of countries) will take over in leadership roles.

  [c] The self-organizing economy has different priorities than human leaders. All ecosystems in a finite world go through cycles. As conditions change, different species are favored, and new species emerge. Humans have a strong preference for recent conditions that helped humans thrive. Humans need a religion to follow, so leaders have created environmental sin to replace original sin. The catch is that ecosystems are built for change. Pollution can be viewed as a type of fertilizer for different types of species or recent mutations to thrive. Higher temperatures will have a net favorable effect for some organisms.

  [d] If a local economy chooses to increase energy costs by taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint, the main impact may be to disadvantage the local economy relative to the world economy. If total energy costs are higher, the cost of finished goods and services is likely to be higher, making the economy less competitive.

  [e] I expect that the members of the EU and other rich nations will be the primary countries pursuing carbon reduction technologies. Poorer economies may pay lip service to carbon reduction, but they will tend to focus primarily on increasing the welfare of their own people, whether or not this requires more carbon.

  For example, in 2022, China accounted for 66% of global EV sales (5.0 million out of 7.7 million), thanks to subsidies that China made available. China no doubt had many motives, but one of them would seem to be to stimulate the economy. Another motive would be to increase the total number of vehicles in operation. The majority (61%) of electricity generation in China in 2022 was provided by electricity coming from coal-fired power plants, based on information from the Energy Institute. I would expect that more Chinese vehicles manufactured and placed into operation plus more use of electricity from coal would lead to a greater quantity of carbon emissions, rather than a smaller quantity.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 20:30

• USAF Conducts First-AI Flight With Stealth Drone
  USAF Conducts First-AI Flight With Stealth Drone

  The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) completed the first-ever flight of an AFRL-developed stealth drone powered by artificial intelligence software. 

  On July 25, the machine-learning-trained, artificial intelligence-powered XQ-58A Valkyrie flew a three-hour sortie at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base. 

  “The mission proved out a multi-layer safety framework on an AI/ML-flown uncrewed aircraft and demonstrated an AI/ML agent solving a tactically relevant “challenge problem” during airborne operations,” said Col. Tucker Hamilton, chief, of AI Test and Operations, for the Department of the USAF.

  Hamilton continued, “This sortie officially enables the ability to develop AI/ML agents that will execute modern air-to-air and air-to-surface skills that are immediately transferrable to other autonomy programs.”

  Eglin has become the testing ground for advanced autonomous systems within the USAF. Last November, the service received two Valkyrie stealth drones assigned to the 40th Flight Test Squadron.

  

  In past press releases, AFRL describes the Valkyrie as a “high-speed, long-range, low-cost unmanned platform designed to offer maximum utility at minimum cost.”

  It was designed and built with Kratos Defense and is part of the Air Force’s loyal wingmen research. 

  “AI will be a critical element to future warfighting and the speed at which we’re going to have to understand the operational picture and make decisions,” Brig. Gen. Scott Cain, the lab’s commander, said in the announcement.

  Cain noted, “AI, Autonomous Operations, and Human-Machine Teaming continue to evolve at an unprecedented pace and we need the coordinated efforts of our government, academia, and industry partners to keep pace.”

  

  AFRL provided no specifics about onboard systems or what type of missions the stealth drone would replace, usually performed by piloted aircraft. 

  This comes as the world is locked in an AI arms race, and bilateral relations between the US and China continue to sour. 

  In June, an AI-enabled drone turned on and “killed” its human operator during a simulated USAF test. 

  The future is clear: unmanned intelligent drones are set to wreak havoc on the modern battlefield. 

   

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 20:00

• The Orchestrated Cases Against Trump Explained
  The Orchestrated Cases Against Trump Explained

  Authored by Paul Craig Roberts,

  President Trump has broken no laws.

  The charges against Trump brought by corrupt Democrat appointees are for propaganda purposes and for sidelining the candidate who the Democrats know will win the next election.

  If the Democrats did not regard Trump as the winning candidate, they would not have shown their corrupt colors with four false indictments.

  

  Many of the charges are based on interpretations or assertions of law never before seen in any court other than Stalin’s purge trials in the 1930s.

  Start with the realization that the three charges and a pending fourth are charges against Trump while he was in office as President of the United States. The Democrat’s charge that a President of the United States committed numerous felonies amounting to four separate felony trials. Ask yourself how likely is this.

  Remember, also, that the Vietnam War, Gulf of Tonkin, bombings of Cambodia and Laos, Manning’s revelation of war crimes, etc., etc., real crimes all, never resulted in indictments of responsible administration figures, except for Manning who was indicted for blowing the whistle on crimes. In Washington’s justice, it is not those who commit crimes who are indicted. It is those who expose crimes.

  Let’s start with the fake case of Trump’s retention of some national security documents. Presidents and presidential appointees are allowed copies of their work in office. Among the many boxes of documents packed up for Trump there were allegedly 31 classified documents. On the basis of these few pages a nonentity named Jack Smith, a total failure as head of the Justice Department’s “Integrity Unit,” managed to create out of thin air 37 felony counts against Trump. Not a single one of these charges has any basis in law. No one has ever been charged under these phony charges. Moreover, President Trump had the authority to declassify documents, which he says he did.

  But the Democrats know they own the media, and the law schools, and the governing class that defines what is acceptable. For these corrupt people, getting rid of Trump is all that matters. Every lie that serves the cause of removing a threat to the corrupt establishment is permissible.

  The 37 felony charges contain no evidence that Trump knew what was in the boxes, assuming anything was. It is just an assertion. After the boxes were seized, anything could have been put into them.  Why would anyone believe the FBI after so many FBI lies and scandals have been revealed?

  In 2012 Judicial Watch sued to force President Bill Clinton to turn over records in his possession, but Obama appointee judge Amy Berman Jackson said the court had no ability to second-guess a president’s assertion of documents to which he was entitled.  The judge said that “since the President is completely entrusted with the management and even the disposal of Presidential records during his time in office, it would be difficult for this Court to conclude that Congress intended that he would have less authority to do what he pleases with what he considers to be his personal records.”

  But Jack Smith has brought a felony case based on nothing but Jack Smith’s assertion that he, not President Trump or a federal judge, knows what documents the President has a right to retain. As for integrity, Jack Smith scores zero.  From a headline story this morning:

   “Special counsel Jack Smith’s team made a startling admission in its case against former President Donald Trump, acknowledging in a new court filing that it failed to turn over all evidence to Mr. Trump’s legal team as required by law and falsely claimed that it had.”  

  In other words, Jack Smith lies, so why believe his case?

  If I understand the nonsensical case, one of Jack Smith charges is that Trump violated the law by letting a lawyer lacking the security clearances search the document boxes for the alleged “contraband.”

  So much for the charge of national security breaches.  It is total nonsense.

  Jack Smith’s other fake case is that by challenging the stolen election, President Trump while still President of the United States Trump was involved in a conspiracy to “impair, object, and defeat the counting of votes.”

  Think about this charge. The charge is not that Trump defeated the vote count, which he obviously didn’t as he was replaced by Biden but that he challenged the vote count. Do you see what this means? If a candidate challenges vote irregularities, and there were many in the stolen election, he is guilty of “conspiracy to overturn the election.”

  The alleged January 6 “insurrection” was the work of federal agents at the capital while Trump and his supporters were more than a mile away at the Washington Monument where Trump was speaking. Only a thoroughly corrupt Department of Justice (sic) could configure an insurrection out of police escorting a few unarmed people around the Capitol. The evidence is clear that the federal agents and the police provoked the few protesters present in an effort to create a violent scene for the presstitute media to turn into an “insurrection.”

  A black Atlanta prosecutor, Fanni Willis, has turned President Trump’s request to Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to investigate the widespread evidence of electoral fraud that cost Trump the state’s electoral votes by a mere 11,000 votes. Only an ignorant quota hire could possibly confuse a crime with a request for an honest vote count.

  Some people think that Raffensperger and the Governor took bribes to use the Dominion voting machines that experts say are easily hackable and easily programed to count votes differently from how they are cast. The suspicion is that the Georgia Republican authorities could not investigate without risk that their bribe would surface.

  Alvin Bragg, another quota hire serving as a New York prosecutor, has charged Trump with 34 felonies for paying extortion money to porn actress Stormy Daniels. The charge is that Trump’s lawyers reported the payment as a legal expense when it should have been reported as a campaign expense.  The charge is not that Trump paid the porn star but that the payment was incorrectly reported, which is merely the opinion of the prosecutor.

  Ask yourself, how can 34 felony charges come out of a dispute over how a payment is reported?

  The reason the Democrat hatchet men turn  single charges into 34 charges and 37 charges, is to create in the public’s mind that Trump has committed a massive number of crimes. He must be guilty of something, because “where there is smoke, there is fire.”  In the American system in which the media are totally biased against Trump, it is easy for Democrat prosecutors to create smoke.

  These indictments of Trump consist entirely of smoke.  That such spurious charges can go forward constitutes proof that in the US law has been weaponized.  Just like the dollar.  Just like the news.

  Many people dislike Trump for personal reasons or because the media has succeeded in indoctrinating them against Trump, but once innocence or guilt depends on personal emotions, the rule of law is dead.  And that is precisely what the Trump indictments indicate.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 19:30

• US Suspends Foreign Aid To Niger As West Africa Bloc Prepares Military Intervention
  US Suspends Foreign Aid To Niger As West Africa Bloc Prepares Military Intervention

  As Niger’s military coup leadership doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, and with President Mohamed Bazoum still under detention despite Western calls for his restoration, the United States has begun pausing some foreign aid programs. This could pave the way for future sanctions on the junta.

  Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Friday remarks sated, “As we have made clear since the outset of this situation, the provision of U.S. assistance to the government of Niger depends on democratic governance and respect for constitutional order.”

  

  He made clear, however, that all humanitarian and food assistance will flow unabated into the destabilized country.

  “We remain committed to supporting the people of Niger to help them preserve their hard-earned democracy and we reiterate our call for the immediate restoration of Niger’s democratically-elected government,” he said.

  The day prior, President Biden had called for Bazoum’s immediate release and for the return to constitutional order, but noticeably Washington has yet to use to word “coup”.

  “I call for President Bazoum and his family to be immediately released, and for the preservation of Niger’s hard-earned democracy,” Biden said. “The Nigerien people have the right to choose their leaders. They have expressed their will through free and fair elections — and that must be respected.”

  He said this simultaneous to the American embassy in the capital Niamey being partially evacuated, though it is still functioning with senior diplomats. 

  Meanwhile the regional bloc of Western-friendly countries known as ECOWAS is preparing potential military intervention which could trigger a much bigger conflict in West Africa.

  West Africa’s regional bloc says a military intervention in junta-ruled Niger is a “the last resort” as Nigeria cuts electricity supplies to intensify pressure on the country’s coup leadershttps://t.co/b6eeGqCEEW pic.twitter.com/omjRvBB9XA

  — AFP News Agency (@AFP) August 3, 2023

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

  “As its meeting ended Friday in neighboring Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, the region’s defense chiefs finalized a plan to use force against the Niger junta — needing approval by their political leaders — if Mohamed Bazoum is not reinstated as Niger’s president,” The Associated Press detailed of the emergency summit.

  “An Economic Community of West African States delegation to Niger, led by Nigeria’s former head of state Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, had tried unsuccessfully to meet with the coup leader, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani,” it was reported.

  

  As for Gen. Tchiani, he has warned that any external aggression against Niger “will see an immediate response and without warning.” The coup leaders have also called out France, alleging that Bazoum’s officials had issued legal permission for French military intervention to restore constitutional government. 

  Any potential intervention by the West African nations would likely happen along Nigeria’s some 1,000-mile border with Niger.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 19:00

• "Your Injections Are Killing Our Young People" – Pfizer, Moderna Reps Slammed During Heated Aussie Senate Hearing
  “Your Injections Are Killing Our Young People” – Pfizer, Moderna Reps Slammed During Heated Aussie Senate Hearing

  Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

  Sparks flew during a contentious public hearing in the Australian Parliament earlier this week as Representatives from Pfizer and Moderna gave unsatisfactory answers to multiple lawmakers’ questions.

  

  The Australian Senate’s ‘Education and Employment Legislation Committee’  held a hearing Wednesday regarding the status of the COVID-19 vaccines, which included witnesses from Pfizer Australia, Moderna, and the Australia’s Theraputic Goods Administration (TGA).

  

  Conservative lawmakers were outraged that at least half of all Australians got COVID after the country imposed some of the most draconian lockdowns and vaccine mandates in the world.

  During the hearing, a Pfizer representative insisted that no one was forced to get the risky COVID-19 jabs in Australia, despite the county’s strict mandates.

  Senator Pauline Hanson confronted Dr. Brian Hewitt, Pfizer Australia’s Head of Regulatory Sciences, about a comment he had made earlier in the hearing regarding the country’s vaccine mandates.

  “You actually made a comment that no one was forced to have the vaccination,” Hanson said,  after initially attributing the comment to his colleague Dr. Krishan Thiru, Pfizer Australia’s Country Medical Director.

  “You were in Australia during COVID-19 … you must have been fully aware that people—nurses, doctors, people—to keep their jobs, were forced to have the vaccination,” she said.

  “Now, do you retract your statement that they were not forced?”

  “Senator, no, I believe firmly that no one was forced to have a vaccine,” Hewitt responded.

  “Mandates and vaccine requirements are determined by governments and health authorities. I believe everyone was offered an opportunity to get a vaccine or not get a vaccine and I don’t believe that anybody was forced to take the vaccine.”

  “A lot of Australians will disagree with you on that one,” Hanson shot back.

  Senator Alex Antic had cited statistics showing that cases of Myocarditis spiked precipitously in South Australia following introduction of the COVID injections.

  “Now, we know that myocarditis and pericarditis are two heart inflammation conditions well associated with the COVID mRNA injections—even the Theraputic Goods Administration admits to that, Antic began.

  “Yet despite this well-established fact, the injections were mandated to thousands of Australians and speaking out about these incursions on freedom got one labeled an anti-vaxxer or a peddler of dangerous disinformation,” the senator continued.

  Antic cited data he obtained through a Freedom of Information request from the South Australia Health Department that tracked cardiac related presentations in 15-year-olds to 44-year-olds going back to 2018.

  The senator showed a chart indicating that the numbers remained steady at 1,100 a month from January 2018 until July of 2021 when it “drastically spiked.” By November of 2021, he said, the number of cases peaked at  2,172 per month, almost double the norm. The rise in cases, he noted, took place “just as these injections were rolled out.”

  Antic noted that there was another spike in cardiac related presentations in February of 2023, “just when the boosters were being mandated.”

  “These injections are harming, and in many cases, killing our young people,” Antic declared. “So what does SA Health have to say about this? Nothing. They continue to roll out the injections. They continue to push the injection narrative. This injection campaign is going to go down as the greatest scandal in medical history and none of you said a single thing.”

  🚨BREAKING NEWS
  💣Have a listen to Pfizer’s answer to @PaulineHansonOz question about whether any Australians were FORCED to choose between the jab or their job. @RWMaloneMD predicted their response two years ago 🤦‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/C5REL4dGRe

  — 🇦🇺OurVoicesMatter (@OV_Matter) August 4, 2023

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

  During the hearing, one of the Pfizer representatives admitted that during the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer employees received a different shot than the general public.

  “Your vaccine mandate was using your own batch of vaccine especially imported for Pfizer and not tested by the TGA?” conservative Senator Malcolm Roberts asked Dr. Hewitt.

  “Pfizer undertook to import Pfizer vaccines specifically for the employee vaccination program and that was so that no vaccine would be taken from government stocks that were being delivered to clinics as needed,”  Dr. Hewitt replied,  in answer to a senator’s question.

  “What we’ve seen during the COVID mismanagement and malfeasance was the largest transfer of wealth in our nation’s history from We the People to Big Pharma via Big Government that lied repeatedly during the COVID mismanagement,” Roberts said.

  BOMBSHELL: Pfizer employees were given a *special batch*… different from what was forced into the general population 🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/CDww6wxFif

  — Pelham (@Resist_05) August 4, 2023

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

  Queensland Senator Gerard Rennick,  a member of the Liberal National Party, on Wednesday as asked the doctors whether they could explain how Pfizer’s mRNA COVID injections were causing heart disease.

  As Antic had noted, even Australia’s Theraputic Goods Administration had confirmed the link between COVID vaccines and heart diseases such as myocarditis and pericarditis.

  “Can you explain the process, why the vaccine causes myocarditis and pericarditis?” Sen. Rennick asked.

  Dr. Thiru began by expressing his “confidence in the safety profile” of the vaccine, but was cut off by Sen. Rennick when it became apparent that the doctor was filibustering.

  Calling for a point of order, he again asked the Pfizer doctors, “Do you understand why [Pfizer’s vaccine] causes myocarditis? I want you to explain to me why it causes myocarditis.”

  Dr. Thiru said that Pfizer is “aware of very rare reports of myocarditis and pericarditis that have been temporarily associated with the vaccine,” before being interrupted again by Rennick to answer the question.

  In response, Thiru again referred to the “small” number of reports around the world linking myocarditis to the Pfizer jab, before being interrupted for a third time by Rennick.

  “I’m not referring to the number of reports,” the Queensland senator pressed.

  “I want you to explain to me the mechanism of how the vaccine causes myocarditis. Do you or do you not understand the mechanism of why the vaccine causes myocarditis?”

  “It looks to me like you don’t. And if you don’t understand it, why are you saying the vaccine is safe without qualifying the risks?” he asked.

  The committee chair directed Dr. Thiru to “get to” Sen. Rennick’s question, but the Pfizer doctor insisted on talking about the mRNA product’s benefit-risk ratio, which he indicated was excellent.

  Rennick tried one last time to get a straight answer from the Pfizer doc.

  “The question that I asked was can you explain why the vaccine causes myocarditis. Yes or no?” he asked.

  After Thiru tried to deflect one more time by citing the jabs’ allegedly  justifiable benefit-risk ratio, Rennick gave up.

  “You clearly don’t understand the pathway, do you? Because you can’t explain it,” the senator said.

  Thiru said he would have to “come back” to the committee with “whatever information we can provide” on the mechanism of how the vaccine causes myocarditis.

  After denying that people were coerced into taking their dangerous and ineffective mRNA injections, Pfizer executives get absolutely grilled by Australian senator, Gerard Rennick—forcing them to concede that they do not understand the mechanism by which their injections cause… pic.twitter.com/HqXE3AFIbV

  — Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) August 4, 2023

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  Sen. Antic was similarly frustrated when he asked the doctors from Moderna to provide data on the rates of serious adverse events, which a recent medical journal report showed was occurring in one of 800 vax recipients.

  He asked the Moderna representatives how their own internal adverse reaction numbers compared with that study.

  Dr. Chris Clarke, Moderna’s Director, Scientific Leadership, told Antic that he had not seen the report.

  “Do you think you should be aware of that?” Antic pressed. “This has been widely reported. You are a manufacturer of vaccines. I find it difficult to think that you wouldn’t be aware of this report.”

  “You can’t tell me the rates of serious adverse events. You realize you’ve come to a Senate hearing today for the purposes of exactly that question. And you can’t tell me the rates of serious adverse reactions to your product, which I find extraordinary,” he said.

  When Antic asked Clarke what Moderna’s overall rate of serious vaccine injury was for its COVID product, the doctor admitted that he doesn’t know “the actual rates of adverse events.”

  “You don’t have the rates of adverse events in front of you?” Antic asked incredulously.

  “What I can tell you is that the rates of serious adverse events in our very large, randomized control trial was actually in a similar range to what was observed in the placebo.”

  “But you can’t tell me the rates of serious adverse events. You realize you came to a Senate hearing today for the purposes of exactly that question. And you can’t tell me the rates of serious adverse reactions to your product—which I find extraordinary,” Antic said.

  What I can tell you is this: On the TGA website, it reports um that there are 1.2 reports that err..”

  “That’s the TGA. I’m not asking about the TGA, I’m asking about Moderna,” Antic interjected.

  “You must have information. You are a multi-national company. You are before a senate enquiry and you cannot tell me the rates the serious adverse.. I mean, it’s quite extraordinary what you’re telling me.”

  Clarke again claimed that Moderna’s trials showed no safety concerns and “no imbalance of serious adverse events of special interest or deaths between the vaccine group and the placebo group.”

  “I think we’re wasting our time here,” Antic responded in disgust.

  During last night’s Senate hearing into our COVID 19 Vaccine Discrimination Bill representatives from Moderna couldn’t provide the numbers of serious adverse reactions from their COVID mRNA injection.

  I was so stunned I literally dropped my pen!

  Watch below: pic.twitter.com/P4COBxWk7w

  — Senator Alex Antic (@SenatorAntic) August 4, 2023

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

  Dr. Thiru also refused to give a straight answer to Sen. Matthew Canavan, when he was asked if Pfizer tested its COVID-19 vaccine prior to the rollout to see if it stopped or reduced transmission of the disease.

  It’s getting hot FOR PFIZER Down Under. Australian Senate Committee kicked off its hearing asking Pfizer executives: “Did Pfizer test whether your Covid-19 vaccine could stop or reduce the transmission of the disease?” *non-answer*, *non-answer* — > after THREE tries, he gives… pic.twitter.com/dHDcuzoezq

  — Justin Hart (@justin_hart) August 5, 2023

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

  The Republican-led U.S. House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic has not yet called any witnesses from Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson and Johnson, the CDC, FDA, Anthony Fauci, or Francis Collins to appear before the committee and has shown no interest in investigating the fraud that allegedly took place in the COVID vax clinical trials.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 18:30

• When George Soros Admitted Seeing Himself "As Some Kind Of God"
  When George Soros Admitted Seeing Himself “As Some Kind Of God”

  In January 2023, Joe Rogan spoke with former CIA officer Mike Baker, and reflected specifically on George Soros:

  “I had a conversation with the governor of Texas about him, with Greg Abbott, where he was explaining to me what George Soros does,” Rogan said.

  “And it’s fucking terrifying that he donates money to a very progressive, very leftist — whether it’s a DA or whatever, politician, and then funds someone who’s even further left than them to go against them,” Rogan added.

  “And just keeps moving it along. So he’s playing like a global game. And that he enjoys doing it.”

  “Yeah. He enjoys doing it. But it is, it’s telling right? He understood early on where you wanted to seize power,” Baker replied.

  Early on, indeed.

  And now, in an ironic twist, Patrick Bet-David explained this week – also to Joe Rogan – Soros has been acting out his ‘god-like’ plan since at least 2004.

  No lesser media outlet than The LA Times wrote (in 2004) following an interview with USA Today:

  The begin by noting that George Soros’ motto, “If I spend enough, I will make it right”, is the essence of his articulated ideas about changing society.

  Then the ‘god complex’ conversation happens: (via The LA Times) (emphasis ours)

  It seems that Soros believes he was anointed by God.

  “I fancied myself as some kind of god …” he once wrote.

  “If truth be known, I carried some rather potent messianic fantasies with me from childhood, which I felt I had to control, otherwise they might get me in trouble.”

  When asked by Britain’s Independent newspaper to elaborate on that passage, Soros said, “It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.”

  Since I began to live it out.

  Those unfamiliar with Soros would probably dismiss the statement out of hand. But for those who have followed his career and sociopolitical endeavors, it cannot be taken quite so lightly.

  Soros has proved that with the vast resources of money at his command he has the ability to make the once unthinkable acceptable. His work as a self-professed “amoral” financial speculator has left millions in poverty when their national currencies were devaluated, and he pumped so much cash into shaping former Soviet republics to his liking that he has bragged that the former Soviet empire is now the “Soros Empire.”

  Now he’s turned his eye on the internal affairs of the United States. Today’s U.S., he writes in his latest book, “The Bubble of American Supremacy,” is a “threat to the world,” run by a Republican Party that is the devil child of an unholy alliance between “market fundamentalists” and “religious fundamentalists.”

  We have become a “supremacist” nation.

  Can anyone imagine The LA Times writing anything like that today about The Open Society founder – protector of minorities, supporter of progressives, and general global anti-right chaos agent.

  

  Worse still, this ‘god’ (with a small g) thinks he might be mad:

  “Next to my fantasies about being God, I also have very strong fantasies of being mad,” Soros once confided on British television.

  “In fact, my grandfather was actually paranoid. I have a lot of madness in my family. So far I have escaped it.”

  Perhaps that explains his omnipresence at the loci of every chaos-engine-enabling event around the world.

  The LA Times ends on a prophetic note:

  In his book, “Soros on Soros,” he says: “I do not accept the rules imposed by others…. And in periods of regime change, the normal rules don’t apply.” Clearly, Soros considers himself to be someone who is able to determine when the “normal rules” should and shouldn’t apply.

  He who buys the most DAs, makes the rules (or sows enough chaos to reflexively create new rules).

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 18:00

• Why Flatulent Cows Matter
  Why Flatulent Cows Matter

  Authored by Jeff Thomas via InternationalMan.com,

  We’ve all heard nonsense about cows presenting a danger to the continuance of life on earth – that methane gas from cow flatulence will bring on climate change faster than John Kerry’s jet.

  Any thinking person (a sub-species of Homo sapiens that’s in decline but not yet endangered) would agree that the notion that an animal that’s existed in harmony with nature for over two million years could destroy the earth within fourteen years if they’re not exterminated is truly absurd.

  

  And yet those whose ability to reason is on the decline are inclined to believe the claim. Presumably, these individuals are the same ones beginning to believe that men can have babies and that an individual can become something he or she is not simply by “identifying” as such.

  But those of us who see the absurdity in such clearly nonsensical beliefs are disinclined to laugh as we observe that these concepts are being disseminated by globalist governments through a compliant media… and, worse, are being accepted by more than a few people.

  As a case in point, recently, a publication – Natural News – did a piece entitled, “13 Nations agree to engineer global FAMINE by destroying agriculture, saying that producing food is BAD for the planet.”

  In that article, they describe a conference led by US Climate Czar John Kerry, in which representatives from thirteen countries are stated to have committed to a diminished cow population worldwide to combat climate change.

  Well, that conference did take place, and a topic of discussion was methane produced by cows, and thirteen attendees did agree that measures of some sort were needed.

  But it is not the case that thirteen countries have enacted legislation to eliminate cows.

  We might take a step back here and examine what actually occurred. In so doing, we may not only learn whether or not red meat will soon be eliminated globally; we might also gain some insight into how globalist governments seek to achieve their ends.

  In most countries, the role of Minister for the Environment is a lowly ministerial position, given to a loyal party member as a token.

  Most Ministers of the Environment pontificate a fair bit but rarely implement significant change. So, let’s follow the thread of what has taken place.

  • John Kerry contacts the Environmental Ministers in a host of “lesser” countries around the world on the vague premise of “making a difference.” They’re pleased to take part, as Kerry gives them higher visibility and legitimizes their otherwise rather pointless jobs.

  • A conference is held at a four-star hotel somewhere for a few days. Everybody listens to the speakers wringing their hands over the dangers of climate change, and each minister tries to get their photos taken with John Kerry.

  • There’s very little in the text of the keynote presentation by Kerry – mostly vague comments about the dangers of methane and the need for each country to commit to making a difference.

  • At the end of the conference, the attendees are proud to sign a document that’s devoid of detail but says that they’re all in agreement in hoping to make a difference.

  • A press release is issued, showing all the ministers together, stating that methane is dangerous and that all the countries are in agreement regarding the concept of a worldwide methane control policy.

  • The message received by the public is that all the experts agree on whatever they’re saying, although what they’re saying is still quite unclear.

  • A publication such as Natural News publishes an article with a suitably alarming title.

  • The perceived overstatement by Natural News is regarded as a provocation by controlled information sources such as Wikipedia to alert the public. Interestingly, whenever a publication, group, or individual is discredited by Wikipedia, they always do so in the very first line of their description, i.e.,

  • “Natural News is a far-right, anti-vaccination conspiracy theory and fake news website known for promoting alternative medicine, pseudoscience, disinformation, and far-right extremism.”

  That’s essentially the process that’s now consistently being utilized by globalists.

  Wikipedia now divides all publications, pundits, and others as either truth tellers or far-right conspiracy advocates. The real issue here isn’t farting cows any more than it’s whether men can have babies. These are mere exercises.

  So, if we take a step back and consider an overview of what this all means – why it’s so prevalent and why the process is being so consistently utilized – we might be conclude the following:

  The issues are absurdly extreme for a reason. The objective is not the achievement of the issues themselves. It is the alteration of the psyche of the populace. 

  Once the public has spent several years having their heads divided between “far-right extremism” and what’s approved by the Ministry of Truth, enough people will have been converted into non-thinking proles that a bill can be put forward with the broad and intentionally non-specific objective to outlaw far-right extremism in all its forms.

  In order to assure the passage of the bill, a significant majority of people will have to have already reached the stage in their new thought process that they feel that the law is not only justified but essential. Those people who can still think will be expected to comply.

  The goal is not the elimination of cows; it’s the elimination of thinking and dissent. If we keep the above in mind as a process rather than an intended outcome, we have a greater ability to focus on the critical issue.

  To be sure, there are those entities that would like to eliminate red meat and feed people insects as a replacement. But that’s not the central issue here.

  The core objective is nothing less than the elimination of individual thought and dissent. It’s essential in the creation of a fully collectivist state, and it’s at the very heart of the overall globalist objective.

  *  *  *

  Disturbing economic, political, and social trends are already in motion and now accelerating at breathtaking speed. The risks that lie ahead are too big and dangerous to ignore. That’s exactly why bestselling author Doug Casey and his team just released a free report with all the details on how to survive an economic collapse. It will help you understand what is unfolding right before our eyes and what you should do so you don’t get caught in the crosshairs. Click here to download the PDF now.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 17:30

• USA No Longer Favorites To Win Womens' World Cup
  USA No Longer Favorites To Win Womens’ World Cup

  The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is well underway. The group stage having come to a dramatic close on Thursday as two-time champions Germany suffered a shock early exit from the competition. Their exit now leaves a gap to be filled when it comes to the teams most favored to win the tournament.

  At the top of the pile is currently England.

  

  After a slow but winning start, the Lionesses won their group as one of only three teams in the tournament to have picked up maximum points – alongside Japan and Sweden.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  As this chart based on average betting odds shows though, the bookmakers remain not totally convinced by these two teams’ chances to go all the way.

  Behind England as joint second favorites are the United States and Spain. 

  Four-time winners the U.S. have had a subdued World Cup by their standards so far, having picked up just one win and two draws before scraping out of their group won by the Netherlands.

  The round of 16 got underway overnight, with Spain spanking Switzerland 5-1, and taking on Spain and Japan beating Norway 3-1.

  USA plays Sweden tonight.

  Joint hosts Australia, who won their group, play their first knockout game against Denmark on Monday.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 17:00

• DOJ Asks Judge For Protective Order In Trump Election Case After Social Media Post
  DOJ Asks Judge For Protective Order In Trump Election Case After Social Media Post

  Authored by Naveen Anthrapully via The Epoch Times,

  Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith on Aug. 4 requested the federal judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s case to issue a “protective order” in light of a social media post made by the former president.

  

  The Aug. 4 Truth Social post by Mr. Trump said, “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU!”

  Following this, Mr. Smith urged U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to “enter a protective order governing or restricting discovery or inspection” of case details, essentially restricting Mr. Trump from sharing case and evidence details publicly.

  “Such a restriction is particularly important in this case because the defendant has previously issued public statements on social media regarding witnesses, judges, attorneys, and others associated with legal matters pending against him,” argued Mr. Smith in a filing (pdf), citing the Truth Social post.

  “If the defendant were to begin issuing public posts using details—or, for example, grand jury transcripts—obtained in discovery here, it could have a harmful chilling effect on witnesses or adversely affect the fair administration of justice in this case,” he said, adding that such posts may influence jurors.

  A spokesperson for Mr. Trump responded immediately to the filing implying that the post was not a retaliation against Mr. Smith’s charges.

  “The Truth post cited is the definition of political speech, and was in response to the RINO, China-loving, dishonest special interest groups and Super PACs, like the ones funded by the Koch brothers and the Club for No Growth,” said the brief statement.

  [ZH: Judge Chutkan has asked for Trump to respond to the special counsel’s protective order request by 5pm Monday.]

  

  Trump Indictments

  The social media incident took place a day after Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him by Mr. Smith related to the 2020 presidential election.

  He has been charged with four counts—Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, Obstruction of an Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, and Conspiracy Against Rights.

  

  Former President Donald Trump holds an umbrella as he arrives at Reagan National Airport following an arraignment in a Washington court in Arlington, Va., on Aug. 3, 2023. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

  Political and legal pundits have voiced their opinion against the latest indictment calling it a political persecution of a former president.

  “The corrupt federal police just won’t stop until they’ve achieved their mission: eliminate Trump. This is un-American & I commit to pardoning Trump for this indictment,” said 2024 presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy in a statement to The Epoch Times.

  Harvard Law School professor Alan Dershowitz said in a Fox News interview that the indictments do not carry merit, but added that Mr. Trump will likely get a conviction in Washington because of the region’s political leanings. “I’ve read the indictment very carefully,” he said. “There is no smoking gun.”

  “I think he may lose in the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, but I think he will probably win in the United States Supreme Court, if they grant review, and they should grant review. When you have the president of the United States and his people going after his opponent in a political election, it has to be beyond reproach. It has to be without any problem. It has to be the strongest case in history,” Mr. Dershowitz said.

  “This doesn’t meet that standard,” he said.

  Mr. Trump has also raised concerns about not getting a fair trial in Washington.

  The latest case “will hopefully be moved to an impartial Venue, such as the politically unbiased nearby State of West Virginia!” he said in a Truth Social post on Thursday.

  In addition to concerns about the trial venue, Trump supporters are apprehensive about the Obama-appointed Judge Chutkan who worked at a firm previously in her career that also employed Hunter Biden.

  Judge Chutkan also has dealt with cases involving Mr. Trump. In November 2021, she rejected the former president’s attempt to block the Jan. 6 House select committee from accessing hundreds of documents from the White House despite Mr. Trump’s claim of executive privilege.

  The Latest Protective Order

  Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who was turned against her former employer, said that Mr. Trump’s Truth Social post saying he will retaliate is similar to witness intimidation.

  “I think it’s chilling,” Ms. Grisham said Friday in a CNN interview. 

  “Legally it doesn’t seem like it’s very smart, but how is that not intimidation? What other people are going to take a message from that?”

  In the latest filing, Mr. Smith states that the government is ready to share with Trump attorneys case details provided the court issues a “protective order.”

  “The Government seeks to provide the defendant with discovery as soon as possible, including certain discovery to which the defendant is not entitled at this stage of the proceedings. The attached order would allow the Government to do so, while also protecting a large amount of sensitive and confidential material contained within the first production that the Government has prepared and will send as soon as the Court issues an order,” he argued in the court filing.

  Mr. Smith argues that the proposal is not “overly restrictive” given the “sensitive” nature of the documents.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 16:30

• Taibbi: A Successful Prosecution Would Fold Space And Time To Make Legal Speech Felony Violence
  Taibbi: A Successful Prosecution Would Fold Space And Time To Make Legal Speech Felony Violence

  Authored by Matt Taibbi via Racket News,

  The United States of America v. Donald J. Trump may be the trippiest read since Cat’s Cradle, and not in a good way.

  Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment is a case within a case, a prosecutorial enchilada filled with things for people of all political persuasions to hate. The outside is a shell of a conventional conspiracy prosecution, and these parts are genuinely damaging for Donald Trump. Inside, it’s a deranged authoritarian fantasy, at times reading more like a 45-page Louise Mensch tweet than an indictment.

  This radical core is somehow scarier than the allegations against Trump and co-conspirators like Rudy Giuliani, John Eastment, Sidney Powell, Jeffrey Clark, and Kenneth Cheeseboro. Despite early criticism describing the case as entirely about protected speech, Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s case does focus on some overt acts, and these sections are buttressed by witnesses who could be convincing across the spectrum.

  Former Arizona Speaker of the House and onetime Trump supporter Rusty Bowers will describe being asked not to certify the results by, among others, Trump and Giuliani. Ronna McDaniel, chair of the RNC, will say she was told votes by so-called “fraudulent electors” would only be deployed if election litigation was successful. Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is rumored to be running for president and took instant advantage of indictment news Tuesday (see below), will testify Trump told him, “You’re too honest,” in response to prods to refuse to certify the outcome.

  

  If Smith simply focused on those damaging episodes in states like Arizona, Michigan, and Georgia, or on Trump’s interactions with Pence, this prosecution would be an easier sell to the general population. Instead, Smith has tried to pen a Unified Field Theory of insurrection that would massively expand the meaning of concepts like incitement to include false statements, tweets, and other forms of protected speech, down to classic Trumpisms like “I don’t care about a link… I have a much better link,” and “I have a lot of friends in Detroit… Detroit is totally corrupt.”

  In fact, if rumors are true and the four counts filed by Smith this week are later complemented by a superseding indictment, this document may end up expanding the definition of “seditious conspiracy” to include those things as well. As Adam Kinzinger said this week, he hoped additional counts will hold Trump “accountable” for all the actions of January 6th.

  It’s not hard to read this and see the framework of an argument that Trump’s ideas, tweets and “knowingly false statements” were elements of the same conspiracy to “violently disrupt” the election for which people like Oath Keepers Elmer Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs have already been convicted and sentenced to 18 and 12 years in prison, respectively. A successful prosecution would fold space and time to make legal speech felony violence.

  Subscribers to Racket News can read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 15:30

• These Are The Best (& Worst) States For US Jobseekers
  These Are The Best (& Worst) States For US Jobseekers

  In the United States, there were about 75 workers available for every 100 job openings as of July 2023. This means there is a significant gap between labor and jobs available, but also many opportunities present in some states for potential job seekers.

  In the map below, using data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Visual Capitalist’s Avery Koop and Bhabna Banerjee showcase the number of available workers per 100 job openings in each U.S. state.

  

  Note: Available workers are unemployed workers who are in the labor force but do not have a job, have looked for one in the previous four weeks, and are currently able and available to work. Job openings are simply all unfulfilled positions that offer available work.

  Workers and Job Openings by State

  The below table lists out the number of unemployed workers per 100 jobs in every state.

  Higher ratios, such as 110 workers per 100 job openings, mean there is more competition for each job opening in that state. Lower ratios suggest that it is harder to find workers in a given state.

  Rank	State	Available Workers per 100 Job Openings
  #T1	California	110.0
  #T1	New York	110.0
  #3	New Jersey	108.0
  #4	Connecticut	102.0
  #5	Washington	101.0
  #6	Nevada	98.0
  #7	Texas	89.0
  #8	Pennsylvania	88.0
  #9	Michigan	85.0
  #10	Hawaii	79.0
  #11	Oregon	77.0
  #12	Arizona	76.0
  #13	Illinois	75.0
  #T14	Indiana	74.0
  #T14	Rhode Island	74.0
  #16	Delaware	72.0
  #17	Kentucky	66.0
  #18	Ohio	65.0
  #T19	Alaska	63.0
  #T19	New Mexico	63.0
  #21	Wyoming	61.0
  #22	Louisiana	60.0
  #T23	Florida	59.0
  #T23	Kansas	59.0
  #T25	Missouri	58.0
  #T25	West Virginia	58.0
  #T27	Georgia	57.0
  #T27	Iowa	57.0
  #T29	Idaho	56.0
  #T29	Tennessee	56.0
  #T31	District of Columbia	55.0
  #T31	Mississippi	55.0
  #T31	North Carolina	55.0
  #T34	Colorado	54.0
  #T34	Minnesota	54.0
  #36	South Carolina	53.0
  #37	Wisconsin	52.0
  #38	Virginia	51.0
  #T39	Maine	50.0
  #T39	Oklahoma	50.0
  #41	Utah	48.0
  #42	Montana	46.0
  #43	Alabama	45.0
  #T44	Arkansas	44.0
  #T44	Massachusetts	44.0
  #T44	Vermont	44.0
  #47	New Hampshire	41.0
  #48	Maryland	40.0
  #49	Nebraska	40.0
  #50	North Dakota	35.0
  #51	South Dakota	35.0
  U.S. Total		75.0

  While states like New Jersey and California have more workers that they know what to do with, states like North Dakota have a 0.35 ratio of people to jobs, potentially tipping the balance of power to job seekers.

  Over the last three years, job openings have increased the most in the state of Georgia, where there were only 0.57 people available for every open role in July. But despite growth in open positions, unemployment has hardly changed over the last year, wavering around 3%.

  The Reason for the Gap

  “If every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have 4 million open jobs.”

  – U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

  According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the main driver of the current labor shortage was the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing more than 100,000 businesses to close temporarily and resulting in millions losing their jobs.

  Subsequent government support for those who lost work and other subsidies made it easier for people to stay home and out of the workforce. A Chamber of Commerce survey found that 1-in-5 people have changed their work style since the pandemic, with 17% having retired, 19% having transitioned to a homemaker role, and another 14% working only part time.

  The industries with the highest unemployment rates are also those that have added the most jobs, with leisure and hospitality experiencing the highest rates (5.1%) just ahead of wholesale and retail trade (4.4%).

  Overall, though the job marker has started to cool somewhat, hiring is still outpacing quit rates. The national quit rate in July 2023 was 3.8%, compared to a hiring rate of 4%. And with 9.8 million job openings in the U.S., there should be ample opportunities for job seekers.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 15:00

• Arizona County Rejects Proposal To Hand-Count Ballots In 2024 Election
  Arizona County Rejects Proposal To Hand-Count Ballots In 2024 Election

  Authored by Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The leadership of a conservative county in northwest Arizona voted down a proposal that would have required a hand count of ballots in the 2024 election.

  

  The Mohave County Board of Supervisors rejected the proposal by a vote of 3-2 after the local elections director argued against the proposal due to its high costs and labor demand.

  Ron Gould and Hildy Angius voted in favor, while the other three supervisors, including board chairman Travis Lingenfelter, voted against.

  Mr. Lingenfelter defended his vote by citing the county’s existing budget deficit.

  “It’s a really stark situation because when you look at Mohave County’s budget, it’s a conservative budget,” Mr. Lingenfelter said.

  “But the first thing that we have to do in Mohave County, in good conscience, is to balance the budget,” he continued.

  “You can’t talk about spending when you have [an] $18-to-$20million deficit. I mean, that’s irresponsible.”

  Before the vote, Allen Tempert, the director of elections in Mohave County, spoke on the need to keep the hand-counting process private, timely, accurate, and affordable.

  According to the analysis done by Mr. Tempert, the county would have to pay more than $1.1 million to have the ballots counted and conduct recounts, plus an additional $31,360.

  Mr. Tempest voiced some reservations about the secrecy of the hand-counting method. “It’s obviously impossible to get hundreds of people to do hand tallying,” he said.

  “And for them not to go home and tell their husband or their wife or their best friend or something or another what they have seen, what’s been going on all day long.”

  Timing Concerns

  If ballots are to be counted within 14 days of the primary election and 20 days of the general election, as is required, Mr. Tempert contended, that would “really be pushing it.”

  Given that 105,000 ballots were cast in the 2020 general election, “it’s an awful lot of work that has to be done in a short amount of time,” Tempert remarked.

  Reports that hand counting is more accurate than machine counting were refuted by Mr. Tempert, who asserted that idea was “not true.”

  According to his analysis, staff members committed 46 mistakes during the course of a three-day test hand count of 850 votes.

  GOP members claimed voters were disenfranchised in the 2022 election, causing ballot certifications in Mohave and Cochise counties to be delayed.

  Some elected officials, activists, and voters—who distrust U.S. elections—voiced concerns about the electronic tabulation and favored prospect of manually counting ballots.

  Mohave County is among the jurisdictions in the United States that have considered tabulating ballots manually.

  Prior to the general election in 2022, rural Cochise County in southeast Arizona pursued a manual count until a judge halted the process.

  Last year, a similar effort in Nye County, Nevada, was also litigated.

  Mr. Lingenfelter stated that Mohave County began investigating manual tabulations after receiving a letter in May from Republican Arizona Senate Majority Leader Sonny Borrelli demanding that no electronic voting systems be used as the primary tabulators in federal elections.

  Mr. Borrelli sent identical letters to the other counties in Arizona.

  In June, the board instructed Mr. Tempert to develop a plan for hand-counting ballots in the 2024 election cycle, prompting Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to state publicly that such a move would place Mohave County in “serious legal jeopardy.”

  During Aug. 1’s meeting, Mr. Borrelli defended the proposal as a national security issue.

  Former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake also questioned the accuracy of the last election in Arizona, filing an appeal to the state’s Supreme Court on July 14, claiming thousands of the state’s ballots weren’t configured properly.

  Election Official Resigns

  Elsewhere in Arizona, a county elections director resigned from her position late in June, accusing other officials of politicizing the elections and creating a harmful work environment.

  The government of Pinal County announced the resignation of Elections Director Geraldine Roll, who assumed the position of supervising the recount process following the midterm election of 2022.

  The resignation of Ms. Roll comes amid ongoing scrutiny and partisan tension surrounding election administration in multiple Arizona counties.

  In her resignation, the former official highlighted what she perceived to be problems within the agency, emphasizing her belief that the Elections Department “should not be politicized.”

  She also accused the county manager and the Board of Supervisors of prioritizing “irrational, extremist political party views and rhetoric” over “impartiality, common sense, and dedicated work.”

  “It is a far reach to see how you will deliver clean elections when you bend to a faction of the Republican party,” Ms. Roll wrote in her resignation email.

  “Clearly, politics are the value this administration desires in a place where politics have no place: elections administration.”

  Ms. Roll, who had been a member of Pinal County since 2013, previously served as a deputy county attorney and during her employment as the county attorney, provided legal counsel and guidance in a number of departments, including the Recorder’s Office and Elections Department.

  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 14:30

• "Biden's A F**king Goof" – Rogan Rages Against Establishment's "Coordinated Bullshit" Attacks On Trump
  “Biden’s A F**king Goof” – Rogan Rages Against Establishment’s “Coordinated Bullshit” Attacks On Trump

  Valuetainment’s Patrick Bet-David sat down with famed podcaster Joe Rogan this week for almost three hours, discussing everything ‘politics’ – from DeSantis’s (poor) chances against Trump to Biden’s corruption (and inevitable resignation) to Trump’s (ongoing) mis-treatment by the deep state

  Rogan first unloaded on the Bidens and the establishment’s never-ending levels of wilful blindness:

  “Joe Biden has been a fucking goof his entire career. He’s been caught lying so many times. He’s so full of shit…

  There is so much evidence that he is corrupt. Just undeniable evidence of corruption. The stuff with him and his son…

  The guy [Devon Archer] who just testified that was Hunter’s business partner who talked about all the different things that Joe was involved with…

  It’s fucking undeniable, and the fact that mainstream news is ignoring this except for right-wing media is f—kin crazy.”

  .@JoeRogan: “No one is going to run against Trump on the Republican side and win because you are not going to get the Trump supporters… The fact that he was the President for four years, and the country was in a great economic situation, and it looked like his policies were… pic.twitter.com/cJeQnmT9eO

  — KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) August 4, 2023

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

  Blasting the mainstream media as “pure propaganda”:

  “The difference between real journalism and corporate-sponsored mainstream journalism is huge…

  Places like The New York Times are involved in propaganda…

  Washington Post will bullshit. MSNBC is a pure propaganda network. CNN is largely propaganda.“

  “The media has a narrative that they pushed during the pandemic… They are never going to be able to say we were wrong. They don’t say that. They never correct…

  You don’t see those talking heads buck that narrative because there is no benefit in it. They can just gloss over it and continue to do what they do and not lose the respect of the people that watch.”

  .@JoeRogan: “The difference between real journalism and corporate-sponsored mainstream journalism is huge… Places like The New York Times are involved in propaganda…

  Washington Post will bullshit. MSNBC is a pure propaganda network. CNN is largely propaganda.”

  “The media… pic.twitter.com/y1EJVlnpSC

  — KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) August 4, 2023

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

  Then, Rogan reflected on Trump, with a more positive perspective than we have been used to from the podcaster (and reality-based view of hos the former president was treated)”

  “No one is going to run against Trump on the Republican side and win because you are not going to get the Trump supporters...

  The fact that he was the President for four years, and the country was in a great economic situation, and it looked like his policies were actually effective.

  Unemployment was down. Business was booming. Regulations were being relaxed. More things were getting done. When you look at it from a policy perspective, what he did on paper was effective…

  Everybody thinks there needs to be a wall. Even the Mayor of New York City is now calling to stop immigration into his city…

  When you look at the Russia collusion. When you look at the Steele dossier. When you look at all the bullshit, they tried to throw at him that we now know is bullshit.

  Not just bullshit, but coordinated bullshit. When you look at the fact that they suppressed this Hunter Biden laptop story.

  And 51 intelligence agency representatives signed off on that to say that this is Russian disinformation, which we know they know is not true. That’s scary.

  Because now you have the intelligence agencies colluding to keep a guy from being president, who was president during a time when the country was thriving economically.“

  .@JoeRogan: “No one is going to run against Trump on the Republican side and win because you are not going to get the Trump supporters… The fact that he was the President for four years, and the country was in a great economic situation, and it looked like his policies were… pic.twitter.com/cJeQnmT9eO

  — KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) August 4, 2023

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

  Additionally, during his discussion with Rogan, Bet-David pressed the podcaster on when he would host the former president for a sit-down.

  “At a certain point in time, like… it would be interesting to hear his perspective on a lot of things,” Rogan said.

  “I would like to know what it’s like when you actually get into office. What is it actually like when you get in that building?… What is the Deep State really like?… Because it’s very clear that it’s not as simple as elected representatives doing the will of the people.”

  “When are you having Trump on?”

  “I don’t know…”@joerogan @patrickbetdavid @realDonaldTrump pic.twitter.com/dkciZP4u5d

  — Jonathan Kogan (@Kogz) August 3, 2023

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

  Bet-David later asked Rogan whether he felt like Trump was often misunderstood by many.

  “I think for sure they have distorted who he is, magnified his faults, and even said things that are absolutely not true, like the Russia collusion thing,” Rogan responded.

  While Rogan did not confirm whether he would have the former president on the podcast, he agreed with Bet-David on one thing concerning a potential podcast with Trump: “It would break the internet if it happened.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 08/05/2023 – 14:00