• More Warmongers Elevated In The Biden Administration
  More Warmongers Elevated In The Biden Administration

  Authored by Caitlin Johnstone,

  The Biden administration looks set to become even more warlike than it already was if you can imagine, with virulent Russia hawk Victoria Nuland and virulent China hawk Charles Q Brown now being elevated to lofty positions by the White House.

  Nuland, the wife of alpha neocon Robert Kagan, has been named acting deputy secretary of state by President Biden, at least until a new deputy secretary has been named. This places her at second in command within the State Department, second only to Tony Blinken.

  

  In an article about Nuland’s unique role in souring relations between the US and Russia during her previous tenure in the State Department under Obama, Responsible Statecraft’s Connor Echols writes the following of the latest news:

  Nuland’s appointment will be a boon for Russia hawks who want to turn up the heat on the Kremlin. But, for those who favor a negotiated end to the conflict in Ukraine, a promotion for the notoriously “undiplomatic diplomat” will be a bitter pill.

  A few quick reminders are in order. When Nuland was serving in the Obama administration, she had a now-infamous leaked call with the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. As the Maidan Uprising roiled the country, the pair of American diplomats discussed conversations with opposition leaders, and Nuland expressed support for putting Arseniy Yatseniuk into power. (Yatseniuk would become prime minister later that month, after Russia-friendly former President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country.) At one memorable point in the call, Nuland said “Fu–k the EU” in response to Europe’s softer stance on the protests.

  The controversy surrounding the call — and larger implications of U.S. involvement in the ouster of Yanukovych — kicked up tensions with Russia and contributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to seize Crimea and support an insurgency in eastern Ukraine. Her handing out  food to demonstrators on the ground in Kyiv probably didn’t help either. Nuland, along with State Department sanctions czar Daniel Fried, then led the effort to punish Putin through sanctions. Another official at State reportedly asked Fried if “the Russians realize that the two hardest-line people in the entire U.S. government are now in a position to go after them?”

  In a 2015 Consortium News article titled “The Mess That Nuland Made,” the late Robert Parry singled out Nuland as the primary architect of the 2014 regime change operation in Ukraine, which, as Aaron Maté explained last year, paved the way to the war we’re seeing there today. Hopefully her position winds up being temporary.

  In other news, the Senate Arms Services Committee has voted to confirm Biden’s selection of General Charles Q Brown Jr as the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing Mark Milley. A full senate vote will now take place on whether to confirm Brown — currently the Air Force Chief of Staff — for the nation’s highest military office.

  Brown is unambiguous about his belief that the US must hasten to militarize against China in the so-called Indo-Pacific to prepare for confrontation between the two powers, calling for more US bases in the region and increased efforts to arm Taiwan during his hearing before the Senate Arms Services Committee earlier this month.

  Biden’s Joint Chiefs Pick Wants More Bases in Asia to Prepare for War With China
  Gen. Charles Q. Brown has been nominated to replace Gen. Mark Milley
  by Dave DeCamp@DecampDave https://t.co/q0WAJj0lJC pic.twitter.com/z6cxX1Og6f

  — Antiwar.com (@Antiwarcom) July 12, 2023

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  Back in May, Moon of Alabama flagged Brown’s nomination in an article which also noted that several advocates of military restraint had been resigning from their positions within the administration, including Wendy Sherman, the deputy secretary of state who Nuland has taken over for.

  It’s too soon to draw any firm conclusions, but to see voices of restraint stepping down and proponents of escalation stepping up could be a bad portent of things to come

  * * *

  My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, throwing some money into my tip jar on Patreon, Paypal, or Substack, buying an issue of my monthly zine, and following me on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud or YouTube. If you want to read more you can buy my books. 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. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, click here. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley. 

  Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 23:40

• Watch: South African Black Party Chants 'Kill The Boer (White), Kill The Farmer'
  Watch: South African Black Party Chants ‘Kill The Boer (White), Kill The Farmer’

  The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, also known as the “Black Party” in South Africa, is a far left Marxist movement with a membership in the millions.

  The party has consistently called for the eradication of all white South Africans, though this fact often goes completely ignored by the western media.

  At a rally this week packed with members wearing communist red, EFF leader Julius Malema hyped up the mob with a racially charged chant of ‘Kill the Boers! Kill the farmers!’

  The word Boer is used in South Africa to describe white farmers of Dutch heritage, or white people in general. 

  Shocking video shows South Africa’s black party singing “kill the Boer (Whites), kill the White farmer”

  This is all downstream from the rotten secular religion of wokeness and CRT plaguing America today.

  You have been warned.

  WATCH.

  pic.twitter.com/P4T8XqSjMq

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 31, 2023

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  As a reminder, in 2022, The Equality Division of the Supreme Court in South Africa has ruled that the song “Kill the Boers” was not a case of “hate speech.” 

  The hateful song, which celebrates the killing of Dutch settlers in South Africa, is protected by freedom of expression and must be left to the political debate within society, according to the court.

  EFF members are suspected in the past of engaging in attacks on white owned farms and murdering farmers; horrifying crimes which the media has consistently denied are a problem in the region.  In some cases perpetrators are acquitted by courts despite ample evidence of their guilt. 

  In 2018, as the violent attacks and death threats against white farmers in South Africa ramped up, a delegation of 30 South African farming families arrived in Russia’s Stavropol region seeking refuge.

  “It’s a matter of life and death – there are attacks on us. It’s got to the point where the politicians are stirring up a wave of violence,” Adi Slebus told the media at the time.

  “The climate here [in the Stavropol region] is temperate, and this land is created by God for farming. All this is very attractive.”

  It appears the rhetoric (and actions) are once again boiling over.

  South African political leaders claim the attacks are not racially motivated. 

  “anti-racist” means “anti-white” #WhiteGenocide pic.twitter.com/Kg5nH2glGX

  — Robert Sepehr (@robertsepehr) July 31, 2023

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  As many in the US have noted, the rise of Marxist movements in South Africa may be a glimpse into America’s future if something is not done soon to stop the proliferation of woke ideology. 

  Calls for racial violence against white people have become commonplace, and though any similar public declarations within the US by white supremacist groups are admonished as reprehensible, if minority activists do it, it’s simply called “political speech.”

  Not surprisingly, coverage of the EFF rally by the western media has been thoroughly washed, with the majority of news outlets not mentioning the underlying atmosphere of racial hatred. 

  It’s no different from their treatment of the BLM riots, which were described as “mostly peaceful” and “fiery but peaceful” protests as neighborhoods in multiple American cities burned. 

  Luckily, there is a growing contingent of moderate and conservative minorities refusing to submit to the far-left plantation. 

  One can only hope that this will be enough to diffuse racial tensions in the US in the coming years. 

  Unfortunately, South Africa may be too far gone into the clutches of Marxist fanaticism to turn back. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 23:20

• Energy Industry Fears White House Will Declare COVID-Like 'Climate Emergency'
  Energy Industry Fears White House Will Declare COVID-Like ‘Climate Emergency’

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

  Some energy industry groups are expressing concern that the White House will declare a COVID-19-like emergency—but for the climate instead.

  “They’re leaning to that direction,” U.S. Oil and Gas Association President Tim Stewart told Just the News in an article published on July 30. “If you grant the president’s emergency powers to declare a climate emergency, it’s just like COVID.”

  

  An emergency declaration on the climate could give the president “vast and unchecked authority to shut down everything from communications to infrastructure,” said Mr. Stewart, who has been a critic of the Biden administration.

  Infrastructure around water and electricity could be affected by such a decision, he said.

  “They can literally do exactly what they did in COVID,” Mr. Stewart said. “If you disagree with the climate emergency, [speech] can be shut down. We really need to be paying attention to that because that power could be extended indefinitely until the ‘climate emergency’ is over. Who knows how long that would last.”

  The White House press office didn’t respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment about whether the administration might be preparing such a declaration.

  President Joe Biden and other administration officials have said that the United States and the world are in the midst of a “climate crisis” and have used language describing it as an emergency. So far, Mr. Biden has stopped short of declaring an emergency, although some Democrats and environmental groups have pushed the idea.

  About 60 congressional Democrats recently backed legislation known as the “Climate Emergency Act of 2021,” sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), that would require the Biden administration to make a climate-related emergency declaration.

  Last week, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres released an alarmist message saying that “the era of global warming has ended” and “the era of global boiling has arrived.” Using adjectives that included “terrifying,” Mr. Guterres said U.N. member states “must turn a year of burning heat into a year of burning ambition.”

  A number of legacy media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, have floated proposals such as purposefully implementing an “occasional blackout” to “help solve climate change.” A Guardian article published last week calls on the Biden administration to “declare a climate emergency” and states that it “must do so now.”

  Mr. Stewart recently said the LA Times article and similar reports are part of a “propaganda war” that’s designed to “condition the public to think people it is their duty to the State to be miserable, cold, and hungry.”

  “It wasn’t too long ago that even posing a question like this would be considered preposterous even from Democrats,” he said. “After all—one of the defining problems of Third World countries is the lack of reliable energy infrastructure and supply.”

  Amid relatively high temperatures across the East Coast last week, the White House sent out what it described as the “first-ever” heat wave hazard alert for people working outside.

  

  “President Biden has asked the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue the first-ever Hazard Alert for heat, and DOL will also ramp up enforcement to protect workers from extreme heat,” a White House fact sheet released on July 27 states. “For years, heat has been the number one cause of weather-related deaths in America.”

  At the time, Mr. Biden’s announcement came as about 40 percent of the U.S. population was under heat advisories, according to the National Weather Service. As of July 30, the hot weather was mostly relegated to the southeastern United States, the agency stated.

  The largest power grid operator in the country also issued an emergency alert, which ended on July 28, because of high demand.

  “PJM has issued these alerts to help prepare generators for the onset of intense heat,” the grid operator said. “A Hot Weather Alert helps to prepare transmission and generation personnel and facilities for extreme heat and/or humidity that may cause capacity problems on the grid.

  “Temperatures are expected to be near or above 90 degrees in these regions, which drives up the demand for electricity.”

  Notably, data from the Environmental Protection Agency show that some of the hottest heat waves in the United States occurred in the 1930s and particularly in 1936. At the same time during that same decade, the Dust Bowl occurred, greatly damaging farmland across the central United States while sparking a mass exodus of farmers to Southern California that inspired author John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath.”

  Earlier this year, PJM released a report that suggested that state and federal policies to de-carbonize the grid are “[presenting] increasing reliability risks during the transition, due to a potential timing mismatch between resource retirements, load growth and the pace of new generation entry.”

  De-carbonization of the grid refers to the reduction of fossil fuel usage and greater reliance on solar, wind, and hydroelectric power sources.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 23:00

• Canadian Pastor Convicted Of Inciting Mischief In Trucker Protests Facing Up To 10 Years Prison
  Canadian Pastor Convicted Of Inciting Mischief In Trucker Protests Facing Up To 10 Years Prison

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

  Pastor Artur Pawlowski’s troubles with the Canadian authorities began long before his sermon to commercial truckers encouraging their peaceful defiance against what he thought were “oppressive” public health mandates for COVID-19.

  

  In 2005, he began serving and ministering to downtown Calgary—Alberta’s poor and downtrodden. “In other words, feeding the homeless and praying for them, which is now illegal,” he described to The Epoch Times in a telephone interview while under house arrest in Calgary following his court conviction in May for inciting mischief and violating his release conditions.

  The police eventually showed up at Mr. Pawlowski’s church, telling him he couldn’t feed the homeless by law. Neither was he allowed to assemble or preach in public.

  Such actions are also illegal and punishable with tickets, fines, and even jail time.

  

  “They even have laws on the books that distributing printed materials—Bibles and Gospel tracts—is illegal. So I got tickets for that,” Mr. Pawlowski said.

  He added that tensions with the authorities had reached the point where police showed up at his church weekly.

  During the pandemic, he received 40 tickets for COVID-19 violations, including one for a Christmas celebration he said drew a response from over 100 police officers, 52 police vehicles, as well as anti-terrorism units.

  Over 300 Citations

  Between 2005 and 2015, Mr. Pawlowski said he received over 300 citations for refusing to stop preaching, feeding the homeless, and doing what he thought was helpful to those in need.

  He was arrested and charged in 2006 for reading the Bible in public, and considers being the first Canadian to receive a COVID-19 ticket for feeding the homeless a badge of honor in what he’d say was righteous defiance.

  “I asked them a simple question: ‘What do you think will happen to the homeless if we kick them out of shelters and shut down soup kitchens?’” he said of his efforts.

  

  Mr. Pawlowski, pastor of the Cave of Adullam ministry and founder of Street Church Ministries in Calgary, said he has also been granted some victories in the eyes of the law. He won significant court battles through Alberta’s provincial courts of appeal.

  On Aug. 9, Mr. Pawlowski, a native of Poland and an acolyte of the “Solidarity Movement,” could receive up to 10 years in prison for the charge of “inciting mischief” during Canada’s nationwide trucker protests last year.

  The protests rose in response to the public health rules of Canada’s Trudeau administration, sparking a massive “Freedom Convoy” from like-minded residents that threatened to bring the nation’s economy to a halt unless COVID-19 restrictions that were also impacting the economy and mental health were lifted.

  Response to Government Overreach

  As a Christian minister, Mr. Pawlowski said he believed he was waging a spiritual battle against “government overreach” during the pandemic, even if it means he has to pay fines, get arrested, or go to jail.

  On Feb. 7, 2022, at the border crossing blockade in Coutts, Alberta, Mr. Pawlowski told a crowd of commercial truckers, “It’s about time for Canadians to rise up and start roaring.”

  “For the first time in two years, you’ve got the power. They’ve got the guns, yes—it’s all useless when you all rise up. There is no tyrant big enough that can stop [the] masses.”

  Canadian authorities arrested and charged him with inciting mischief and interfering with essential infrastructure under Alberta’s Critical Infrastructure Defense Act of 2020.

  The Critical Infrastructure Defense Act “protects essential infrastructure from damage or interference caused by blockades or similar activities, which can cause significant public safety, social, economic and environmental consequences.”

  

  Mr. Pawlowski said Canadian authorities also accused him of promoting “genocide” for referencing the Solidarity Movement contributing to the fall of communism in Poland.

  “Of course, if you listened to my service, you will know that I said no guns, no swords, just stand for God and human rights during my sermon three times,” he said of the accusation.

  Mr. Pawlowski said he spent 50 days in prison, mostly in solitary confinement surrounded by concrete cells, before he was placed in maximum security and a psychiatric ward without evaluation.

  The court found him guilty of inciting mischief in May. Judge Gordon Krinke placed him under 12-hour daily house arrest until his sentencing date.

  

  “So, encouraging Canadians to stand for God and state human rights is a criminal act, a terrorism act,” said Mr. Pawlowski, who needs special permission to leave his house between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. “Therefore I am guilty, and all of them are guilty, according to this judge.”

  Months later, he is “still under house arrest in Calgary,” he said.

  Belief on Trial

  “I am the first Canadian where my sermon and speech were on trial. Everything was about what I said. The lawyers argued what I meant. It was a charade, a show trial—a joke,” Mr. Pawlowski said.

  “I was not allowed to say a word as they debated what I said and what I meant. They couldn’t agree on the wording.”

  Mr. Pawlowski said he is also the first Canadian citizen charged with eco-terrorism in the history of Canada.

  “And now, the judge ruled I am the first Canadian ever to be found guilty of inciting mischief and eco-terrorism,” Mr. Pawlowski said. “The Canadian courts are upside down. I am a political prisoner. It has nothing to do with law and order,” he expressed.

  An Alberta Crown Prosecution Service spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email that the agency has “no comment on this matter.”

  Sarah Miller of JSS Barristers is currently representing Mr. Pawlowski in the case. She said she “currently cannot speak to media regarding this case while the sentencing is outstanding.”

  However, Ms. Miller said she does not expect sentencing to occur on Aug. 9. Rather, the proceedings will “set the date for sentencing.”

  “I hope to be able to speak publicly about this case in the future,” Ms. Miller added.

  Son Expresses Cry for Help

  The pastor’s son, Nathan Pawlowski, recently testified in the European Parliament about the “consequences of abuse of power under the guise of help” during the pandemic by the Canadian government.

  “I am here today in desperation—a cry for help,” Nathan Pawlowski said by videolink from Canada. “I would like to tell you all the things about freedom and democracy that I like, but I no longer know those things.

  “They have been taken away from us Canadians. Canada has fallen. We no longer have freedom of religion, freedom of speech, or the right to assemble, associate, or express ourselves, or have free media or disagree with the government.”

  Nathan Pawlowski said his father could be imprisoned for up to a decade for his trucker sermon and referenced the Solidarity Movement.

  “This case sets a precedent with all Canadians—and the world—if you allow this to happen,” he said.

  He explained that his father was charged with preaching and reading the Bible publicly because the government had ruled that the Bible is “hateful and isn’t inclusive.”

  “My father told the truckers to stand for their rights, Solidarity-style, and to do so peacefully.”

  “If he goes down, we are all lost as Canadians. If a pastor goes to prison, what can they do to the rest of us?” the younger Pawlowski said.

  ‘Seen This Movie Before’

  In a video recording played by his son, Mr. Pawlowski also addressed the European Parliament—as a political dissident “born behind the Iron Curtain of Poland, crushed by the iron fist of oppression” in Canada.

  “Freedom is more than a word—it’s a measure of our humanity, courage, and determination. It’s a cost borne by soldiers, journalists, and volunteers,” he said.

  Mr. Pawlowski told The Epoch Times he had received offers of money and government positions in exchange for his silence, but he’s “not for sale.”

  “I have seen this movie before” under communism in Poland, he said. “It does not end well.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 22:20

• Biden Admin Wants 58 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standard By 2032
  Biden Admin Wants 58 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standard By 2032

  The Biden administration on Friday announced a proposal to require raising fuel economy standards to 58 miles per gallon.

  

  The proposal, from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), would aim for a respective 2% annual increase for passenger cars, and a 4% increase in light trucks’ Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for 2027 – 2032 models, and would require 2030 – 2035 “heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans” to boost fuel economy by 10% per year.

  “If finalized as proposed, the updated standards would save Americans hundreds of dollars at the pump,” reads a NHTSA press release. “all while making America more energy secure and less reliant on foreign oil.”

  CAFE requirements are not as stringent as an Environmental Protection Agency proposal in April to cut vehicle tailpipe emissions. NHTSA is barred by law from considering electric vehicles fuel economy in setting standards.

  The EPA said its proposed 2027-2032 standards would cut emissions by 56%, or 13% annual average pollution cuts and result in 67% of new vehicles in 2032 being electric.

  NHTSA estimates its proposal would cut gasoline consumption by 88 billion gallons through 2050. –Reuters

  The NHTSA also estimates $18 billion of “combined benefits” would be realized as a result.

  The rule, according to the agency, “will encourage manufacturers producing (internal combustion engine) vehicles during the standard-setting timeframe to achieve significant fuel economy, improve energy security, and reduce harmful pollution by a large amount.”

  The NHTSA is seeking comment on five alternatives, ranging from not hiking requirements to raising them annually by 6% for cars and 8% for light trucks.

  The Alliance for Automotive Innovation which represents GM, Toyota, Volkswagen and others has asked the EPA to soften its emissions proposal, calling it “neither reasonable nor achievable.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 22:00

• White House Rejects Australia's Call To Drop Assange Charges
  White House Rejects Australia’s Call To Drop Assange Charges

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday rejected Australian concerns about WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange, who faces up to 175 years in prison if extradited to the US and convicted for exposing US war crimes.

  Blinken was in Australia with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to discuss bolstering military ties between the US and Australia. At a press conference during the visit, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra has made clear to Washington that it wants the US to drop its case against Assange.

  

  “We have made clear our view that Mr. Assange’s case has dragged on for too long and our desire that it be brought to a conclusion. And we’ve said that publicly, and you would anticipate that that reflects also the position we articulate in private,” Wong said.

  Blinken confirmed that the issue has been discussed but rejected Australia’s concerns. He said Australia must recognize the US’s position on Assange, claiming the Wikileaks founder’s alleged actions risked “very serious harm to our national security.”

  “Mr. Assange was charged with very serious criminal conduct in the United States in connection with his alleged role in one of the largest compromises of classified information in the history of our country,” Blinken said. “So I say that only because just as we understand sensitivities here, it’s important that our friends understand sensitivities in the United States.”

  Assange has been indicted under the Espionage Act by the US Justice Department related to documents WikiLeaks published that it obtained from former Army Private Chelsea Manning. But Assange obtained the material using standard journalistic practices, and if he is convicted in the US, it would set a grave precedent for press freedom.

  Assange has been held in London’s Belmarsh Prison since April 2019 and recently filed another appeal against the UK’s decision to extradite him to the United States. “Mr. Assange has filed a renewal of appeal application in the UK,” Wong said. “The Australian Government is not party to these legal proceedings, and nor can we intervene with them. Having said that, we will continue to offer him consular assistance and to convey our expectations about his treatment.”

  

  While Wong says the Australian government wants the case against Assange to be brought to an end, it has not impacted ties between the US-Australia. After signing the AUKUS military pact that will eventually allow Canberra to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, the US and Australia continue to increase military cooperation.

  After two days of talks in Australia, the two sides announced the US would expand its military presence in the country by sending more submarines, adding regular rotations of US Army watercraft, and collaborating on joint missile production. The US expansion in Australia is part of its military buildup to prepare for a future war with China.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 21:40

• Joe Biden Met With Moscow Mayor's Wife Before $3.5 Million Wire To Hunter: Devon Archer
  Joe Biden Met With Moscow Mayor’s Wife Before $3.5 Million Wire To Hunter: Devon Archer

  While former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer spills the beans about Burisma, Joe, and the Biden family dealings, the Daily Mail revealed on Monday that Hunter Biden’s real estate firm received a $40 million investment from a Russian oligarch, Yelena Baturina, the billionaire widow of the former mayor of Moscow.

  

  Baturina also wired $3.5 million to a Hunter-linked company, in what her brother, Viktor Baturin, tells the Daily Mail was “a payment to enter the American market.”

  And which, as Devon Archer testified on Monday, kept her off the sanctions list.

  DailyMail.com can now reveal that Hunter’s financial relationship with Baturina was far more extensive, with her firm investing $40million in a real estate venture by Hunter’s company Rosemont Realty.

  In 2012 Hunter’s firm had a $69.7million plan to invest in 2.15million sq ft of office space in seven US cities.

  Documents outlining the plan said the money came from a mix of investors, including $40million from Inteco Management AG, a Swiss company owned by Baturina.

  The Inteco group is a plastics and construction behemoth that made Baturina the richest woman in Russia at the time. She has a current net worth of $1.4billion according to Forbes. -Daily Mail

  Baturina wired the $3.5 million on February 14, 2014, when Joe Biden was Vice President of the United States. The wires were made in a series of payments to Rosemont Seneca Thornton LLC, for “Consultancy Agreement DD12.02.2014.”

  The deal had been negotiated in 2012. In 2016, Baturina established a US office to oversee her US investments, and in 2016 she invested $10 million in commercial buildings near the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

  The payments were flagged in suspicious activity reports filed with the US Treasury Department.

  Hunter’s lawyer, George Mesires (not the bong guy) has previously denied that the money went to Hunter.

  “Hunter Biden had no interest in and was not a co-founder of Rosemont Seneca Thornton, so the claim that he was paid $3.5 million is false,” he told CNN in September 2020.

  The emails came to the Daily Mail via the anti-corruption group, the Kazakhstani Initiative on Asset Recovery.

  Now, we find from Devon Archer that Joe Biden met with Baturina in Georgetown before the $40 million investment, after which she was left off the Biden administration’s sanctions list.

  LAST YEAR: Karine Jean-Pierre refused to say why Biden didn’t sanction Russian billionaire Elena Baturina — nor if Biden met with her in Georgetown while he was VP.

  Today, Hunter’s former business partner testified that meeting did, in fact, happen.pic.twitter.com/trzfN9ilMK

  — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 31, 2023

  More:

  8) The Biden Administration’s public sanctions list for Russian oligarchs does not contain Baturina.

  — Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 31, 2023

  And your daily reminder that Trump was impeached for simply asking about shady Biden family dealings.

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

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 21:20

• The Most Embarrassing "Facebook Files" Revelation? The Press, Exposed As Censors
  The Most Embarrassing “Facebook Files” Revelation? The Press, Exposed As Censors

  Authored by Matt Taibbi via Racket News,

  

  The most embarrassing revelation of the “Facebook Files” released by House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan yesterday (described in more detail here) involves the news media:

  

  In one damning email, an unnamed Facebook executive wrote to Mark Zuckerberg and Cheryl Sandberg:

  We are facing continued pressure from external stakeholders, including the White House and the press, to remove more Covid-19 vaccine discouraging content.

  We see repeatedly in internal communications not only in the email above, but in the Twitter Files, in the exhibits of the Missouri v Biden lawsuit, and even in the Freedom of Information request results beginning to trickle in here at Racket, that the news media has for some time been working in concert with civil society organizations, government, and tech platforms, as part of the censorship apparatus.

  In the summer of 2021, the White House and Joe Biden were in the middle of a major factual faceplant. They were not only telling people the Covid-19 vaccine was a sure bet — “You’re not going to get Covid if you have these vaccinations” is how Biden put it — but that those who questioned its efficacy were “killing people.” But the shot didn’t work as advertised. It didn’t prevent contraction or transmission, something Biden himself continued to be wrong about as late as December of that year.

  If you go back and give a careful read to corporate media content from that time describing the administration’s war against “disinformation,” you’ll see outlets were themselves not confident the vaccine worked. Take the New York Times effort from July 16th, 2021, “They’re Killing People: Biden Denounces Social Media for Virus Disinformation.” You can see the Times tiptoeing around what they meant, when they used the word “disinformation.” In this and other pieces they used phrases like, “the spread of anti-vaccine misinformation,” “how to track misinformation,” “the prevalence of misinformation,” even “Biden’s forceful statement capped weeks of anger in the White House over the dissemination of vaccine disinformation,” but they repeatedly hesitated to say what the misinformation was.

  Any editor will tell you this language is a giveaway. Journalists wrote expansively about “disinformation,” but rarely got into specifics. They knew that they couldn’t state with certainty that the vaccine worked, that there weren’t side effects, etc., yet still denounced people who asked those questions. This is because they agreed with the concept of “malinformation,” i.e. there are things that may be true factually, but which may produce political results considered adverse. “Hestiancy” was one such bugbear. Note the language from the unnamed Facebook executive above, which describes the press lashing out “Covid-19 vaccine discouraging content,” not “disinformation.”

  This is total corruption of the news. We’re supposed to be in the business of questioning officials, even if the questions are unpopular. That’s our entire role! If we don’t do that, we serve no purpose, maybe even a negative purpose. Moreover, think of the implications. News outlets wail about “disinformation” when they’re aware the public has tuned them out. When people don’t listen to reporters, it’s usually because they suck. You can do the math, as to why the current crop embraces censorship. A more embarrassing outcome for our business would be hard to imagine.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 21:00

• Meet One Startup Trying To End Hangovers With Synthetic Alcohol
  Meet One Startup Trying To End Hangovers With Synthetic Alcohol

  For at least a year we have been writing about the secular shift in the beverage world to non-alcoholic drinks – and the corresponding ways with which alcohol giants are changing their product roadmaps to adapt.

  Now, the next “big thing” in the alcohol world could wind up being synthetic alcohol, according to the Wall Street Journal. The idea of a synthetic alcohol substitute could seek to address hangovers or other ill-effects of cocktails, according to the report. 

  GABA Labs is one company that is looking to try and make synthetic alcohol that can deliver the positive effects of the drink, without the negatives. Namely, the company is seeking to avoid hangovers, health problems or slurred speech. The company is using gamma-aminobutyric acid to try and hit relaxation receptors in the brain while avoiding the negatives that alcohol delivers to the body. 

  David Orren, managing director of GABA Labs, told WSJ: “Alcohol is like playing the piano with boxing gloves on. You hit too many keys.”

  Dr. David Nutt, the chief scientific officer of GABA Labs, is a former psychiatrist and neuropsychopharmacologist. He has spent two years as chief of section of clinical science in the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism at the National Institutes of Health, the Journal notes, and has long argued about the negative effect of alcohol on society. 

  

  “It feels like what a glass of wine feels like. It feels relaxing. It makes you a bit more chatty, a bit more socially engaged with people,” he said about the company’s product, called Alcarelle. 

  GABA is looking to raise $10.3 million and finish food safety testing in the U.S. by the middle of 2026, the report says. Orren and Nutt have been testing the product themselves, with Orren commenting: “It feels like a warm glow. You’re being you. And you’re being with somebody that’s being them. You’re being real.” 

  The next step will be testing the product, including testing it when mixed with actual alcohol. 

  Dr. Mack Mitchell, senior medical advisor for Amygdala, a company working to inhibit alcohol cravings with an oral drug that targets similar receptors, commented: “People who can’t control drinking don’t always want to stop drinking completely. They just want to be able to drink normally.” 

  Another company, Indivior, is working on a nasal spray to inhibit alcohol cravings as well. Its CEO Mark Crossley added: “I arrive in the parking lot. I don’t want six or seven drinks. I’ll top up with a nasal spray.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 20:40

• Victor Davis Hanson: The Biden Presidency Is Unsustainable
  Victor Davis Hanson: The Biden Presidency Is Unsustainable

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

  Imagine if Gavin Newsom was currently Vice President amid the final meltdown of the Biden family consortium.

  

  Does anyone doubt that Biden would then either be forced to resign by Democratic politicos (for reasons in addition to his escalating dementia), or would be impeached and perhaps abdicate Nixon-style?

  The presence of the now predictable mediocrity of Kamala Harris and the impossibility, given her race and gender, of removing her, for now is about all that keeps a cognitively declining Biden still in office. The Left fears what she could do as president to the Democratic Party; conservatives are terrified of what she could do to the country.

  Joe Biden’s bewilderment exempts his embarrassments from accountability in the way that Hunter Biden’s addictions excuse his past serial criminality. But the passes granted to both father and son would be now unsustainable with a viable Vice President in waiting.

  Indeed, the Harris problem explains some of current Democratic strategy.

  Backroom leaks and growing insider rumors of Biden dementia confirm the portrait of an often befuddled president whom the public by now knows all too well.

  The aimless House Democrats’ “how-dare-you-even-consider-an-impeachment inquiry” furor, coupled with their half-hearted efforts, along with the media, to refute the actual charges of corruption of the Biden family, suggest that he will not run for reelection—but also not be impeached much less convicted or removed under the 25th Amendment.

  So the Harris dilemma explains a lot: finding a way to keep her out of current power until Biden somehow finishes his first term, and thus letting the Democratic 2024 primary candidates organically abort her presidential aspirations.

  There are a few problems, however, with this strategy.

  One, can Joe Biden finish his first term?

  That would require his staff to shorten his already truncated workday for the next 18 months to about 2-3 hours of work per day.

  He would have to be kept away from photo-ops with young (especially female) children, lest he turkey-gobbles the cheek of another victim to a worldwide audience.

  He can no longer read off a teleprompter without slurring his words, losing his place, or going off extemporaneously on to topics such as “Vladimir” Zelenskyy, the “Iraq” war in Ukraine, or relief over the curing of cancer.

  He cannot hold half-hour press conferences given his incoherence and his angry prevarications. He still insists incredulously that he never discussed the Biden family business with Hunter, although we may soon see transcripts, recordings, and affidavits that he was in fact intimately involved in and profited from it. 

  The Strange Case of Hunter in the White House

  Hunter is toxic and capable of leaving behind incriminating evidence or engaging in surreal behavior anywhere and anytime. Why would a former crack cocaine addict be brought into the White House, after which a bag of cocaine was for the first time in presidential history found abandoned in the West Wing?

  (Partial answer: why and how would an addict leave an incriminating crackpipe in a rental car, simply abandon a laptop at a repair shop with evidence of his own felonious behavior on it, or allow his illegally registered handgun to turn up in a dumpster near a school)?

  An outside, disinterested observer who read the contents of the laptop and Hunter’s wounded-fawn protestations about his unappreciated role in enriching his father and uncle, or digested his unhinged recent career as a quid-pro-quo, paint-by-the-numbers artiste, selling high-priced junk in exchange for presidential flavors, would conclude that the Bidens are apprehensive of the unpredictable Hunter. Keep your friends close, but your explosive son even closer.

  Of course, they fear Hunter’s recklessness, addictions, and greed—but more perhaps his ability to take down the entire Biden clan should they distance themselves too far from him or leak that the family’s corrupt schemes were birthed by the fall-guy Hunter alone.

  Aside from Joe’s cognitive decline and Hunter’s volatility, no one believes anymore Joe Biden’s patent lies that he never discussed with Hunter his lucrative grifting career. Already, the untruth has transmogrified into he never did business with Hunter—and soon perhaps he never profited from the business he did and discussed with Hunter.

  No matter, by year’s end there will be witnesses and hard data showing that Joe himself discussed pay-for-play schemes with foreign entities, of the sort he long ago boasted with previous impunity before a Council of Foreign Relations event.

  This is no Whitewater, Trooper-gate, or Stormy Daniels scandal, but bribery of the sort explicitly outlined by the Constitution for removal from office: “The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”

  Selling influence to foreign-government related enterprises is, of course, not just bribery but perhaps treason as well. And it involves other “high Crimes and Misdemeanors,” among them tax fraud on unreported foreign income.

  Moreover, it is arguable that the Biden shake-down consortium has altered the very nature of U.S. foreign policy. We will never know the full effect of the false Russian disinformation/laptop narrative, following the fake Russian collusion hoax, on Kremlin thinking. Nor can we explain why Joe Biden once urged Putin to lay off hacking humanitarian U.S. targets, or suggested that a minor invasion of Ukraine would not elicit a U.S. response, or offered to airlift Zelenskyy out of Kyiv in the first days of the war.

  Nor can we explain why China was never held accountable by Biden after new information entailed the role of the Wuhan lab in birthing the Covid virus, or for sending a spy balloon across the continental U.S. with impunity. Meanwhile, the administration’s crazy talk of partnering with a supposedly non-bellicose China seems unhinged.

  Finally, given the first Trump impeachment, what is the Left now going to say to House Republicans—“You cannot in this country impeach a president merely for threatening to cancel foreign aid unless Ukraine fired a prosecutor looking into his high-ranking family’s illegal influence selling?”

  Equality Under the Law?

  The Democrats in their Trump derangement fits so lowered the bar for impeachment and special prosecutions, that not impeaching or removing Biden under the Left’s own new standards seems almost ridiculous.

  If Trump earned hysteria about 25th-amendment removal (to the point of taking and acing the Montreal Cognitive Assessment) for a halting gait on an occasion descending a ramp, how could a non-compos-mentis and chronically falling Biden not be so examined?

  Moreover, Trump was impeached for 1) asking a foreign leader to examine the corruption of the Biden family with Ukraine while he put a hold on approved foreign aid to Ukraine; 2) and at the time, it was possible that Joe Biden could have been Trump’s likely future 2020 opponent.

  But in contrast note that Biden 1) issued an ultimatum that a Ukraine prosecutor would either be summarily fired, or aid would be ended. And he was fired!; and 2) Biden was only a possible general-election presidential rival when Trump called Zelensky; Trump is currently the front-runner against a putative Biden candidacy in 2024.

  Biden has also done far more than ask Ukraine to ensure a political opponent was not guilty of corruption, but rather sicced a special DOJ prosecutor on Trump for taking out classified papers in the manner that Joe Biden himself did years earlier, without the prerogative as a senator or vice president of declassifying such papers.

  Harris Paradoxes

  The open disregard for Kamala Harris is not just a Republican phenomenon. Her dismal popularity reflects that such disappointment in her is bipartisan. And now the likely machinations mentioned to keep her out of the presidency are undoing all the racial and gender pandering that explain her otherwise inexplicable appointment in the first place. At some point the Democratic identity-politics base is going to pressure the party’s hierarchy to back off and back Harris or face charges of racism.

  In an odd way, the Left’s tolerance of Biden’s own cognitive impairment also strengthens Harris’s case, especially among her diversity base. Kamala utters incomprehensible sentences; Joe cannot finish them. Kamala’s public declamations are kindergarten stuff; Joe’s are more nursery school level. In theory, Kamala can be coached and improve; Joe’s declines are at a geometric rate that is irreversible.

  So if someone so cognitively challenged is currently President with the full assent of the Democratic Party, for what reasons does it turn its animus on a Vice President who is still relatively young and hale?

  How odd that the Left knows that both the current President and Vice President should not be in either job after 2024; and yet its own prior pandering and rank politicking have made both almost impossible to remove. And how odder that the extra-legal measures the Left took to emasculate the Trump presidency are now the low standards by which an utterly corrupt Biden can be investigated, indicted, impeached, or forced to resign.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 20:20

• "National Priority": USAF Buys Six Midnight eVTOL Aircraft For Rescue Operations
  “National Priority”: USAF Buys Six Midnight eVTOL Aircraft For Rescue Operations

  The US Air Force entered into a contract with Archer Aviation Inc. to purchase six electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in a deal worth up to $142 million. The agreement is an expansion of Archer’s partnership with the Pentagon and represents a move by the world’s largest military to pursue new flight technology for the modern battlefield. 

  Archer first partnered with the Pentagon in 2021 on a series of projects through the Air Force’s AFWERX (work project) program to accelerate development in the vertical flight market. The purchase announced on Monday of six Midnight electric air taxis will provide an alternative to helicopters for personnel transport, logistics support, and rescue missions. 

  

  “This expansion of Archer’s partnership with the DoD represents a significant investment in the future of the country and will help ensure the US maintains its leadership position in aviation,” Archer wrote in a press release. 

  Now, with Archer recently completing the manufacturing of its first Midnight aircraft, the DoD recognizes that with its vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, target payload of approximately 1,000lbs, proprietary electric powertrain system, and low noise profile, Archer’s aircraft represents a potential paradigm shift in military aviation and operations. These aircraft hold the promise of enhancing rapid response, agility, and operational effectiveness across a wide range of mission profiles, from personnel transport and logistics support to rescue operations and more. — the company wrote 

  “This historic agreement reflects the steadfast commitment by our Armed Forces to embrace the cutting-edge technology our eVTOL aircraft offer,” said Adam Goldstein, Archer’s Founder and CEO.

  Goldstein continued, “It’s clear that the development and commercialization of eVTOL technology continues to remain a national priority. We look forward to working closely with the US Department of Defense and the US Air Force to integrate Midnight into their operational fleet with a focus on transport, logistics and rescue operations.”

  Besides Archer, Joby Aviation has already received orders from the Pentagon for its eVTOLs. Joby expects to deliver its first eVTOL to the USAF in 2024. 

  

  Archer shares jumped as much as 12%, and Joby shares were up 4.5%. 

  

  While the Pentagon is ramping up eVTOL orders, the Federal Aviation Administration is preparing for nationwide flying taxi operations by 2028. 

  

  And if you want to get in on the action, let’s say owning an Alef Aeronautics’ “Model A” flying car for recreational purposes — the pilot in command will likely need an airlift or eVTOL rating, which means you’ll need a private pilots license to operate in controlled airspace. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 20:00

• Kunstler: "Remember, The Government Is Not Our Country"
  Kunstler: “Remember, The Government Is Not Our Country”

  Authored by James Howard Kunstler via Kunstler.com,

  Blobulation

  “Biden has restored the integrity of the Department of Justice”

  – Dan Goldman, Congressman from New York

  Surely Merrick Garland is not running the Department of Justice, but which gloopy pseudopod of the Blob is?

  My guess would be some Intel Community politburo made up mostly of people you’ve never heard of.

  The trouble is these geniuses confuse political fuckery with the operations of law.

  

  So, Saturday night when the lights were supposedly off at the DOJ, and much of America was tuned out — getting new tattoos, arguing with the re-po man, watching the Orioles — the Blob told a lawyer from the Southern District of New York, one Damian Williams, to send a letter to Federal Judge Ronnie Abrams asking her to set a date for one Devon Archer to report to prison on a bond fraud conviction that Mr. Archer is appealing on the grounds of DOJ sentencing misconduct. Like, can you hurry that up, please?

  Devon Archer, you recall, was the college room-mate and later close business associate of R. Hunter Biden, First Son, who is in a bit of trouble for laundering money from foreign companies and governments through a score of shell companies that then made large payouts to Biden family members, including the so-called Big Guy currently living in the White House. Mr. Archer, who has been in hiding (wonder why?) is scheduled to be deposed by the House Oversight Committee today. It is believed that he knows a thing or two about the Biden family business doings, enough, say, to corroborate the shit-ton of documentary evidence already in the Committee’s possession that lays out a pretty stark template of bribery with adumbrations of treason.

  Sounds serious, a little bit, especially since it’s become ever more obvious that the whole federal law enforcement apparatus has been aware of the Biden family’s activities since well before “Joe Biden” was selected to be elected president. Of course, Mr. Archer’s testimony would only be the cherry on a well-baked cake. Chairman James Comer (R-KY) of the Oversight Committee says his investigators have rooted out new banking shenanigans on top of the over one hundred suspicious activity reports already in their files, despite obstruction and obfuscation from the Blob’s IRS and FBI arms. He seems determined to press forward and I daresay the Blob will find it very difficult to stop him.

  Speaker Kevin McCarthy declared last week that all this roguery was “rising to the level of an impeachment inquiry.” D’ya think? What I wonder is: would such an inquiry begin to unravel the secret of who has been running “Joe Biden” lo these many months of face-plants, preposterous utterances, morning “lids,” and other indications that the commander-in-chief of the USA is not much more than a media apparition? One might also ask: was this really the best that Blob could come up with? Really? Him? This ghastly load of damaged goods?

  Five House members: Matt Gaetz, Mike Johnson, Chip Roy, Harriet Hageman, and Dan Bishop, are calling for an emergency return from the August recess to get the impeachment process rolling. Let the case be made in an orderly and comprehensive process. See if The New York Times and its allies in the captive Blob media can ignore the proceeding. It will probably shock their readers-and-watchers to learn that the Biden family bribery and racketeering scandal actually exists. Will any of them ask: how come we never heard about this?

  Behind all these blobulations looms the specter of Mr. Trump’s attempted return to power. What would he do in the remote case that he escapes the Blob’s mendacious prosecutions? Chop the Blob into a million gelatinous fragments, expose it to enough heat to vaporize it all, and recalibrate a US government back to the task of operating the few things it might arguably be competent at. Such a program would obviate the Blob’s drive to destroy everything worth operating in the human project of remaining civilized.

  Alas, Blobism has become the religion of the deranged intellectual / managerial class in America. The chief concern of this crypto-gnostic religion is summoning demons to harass those it regards as heretics to Blobism. Thus, it is well within the historic tradition of fanatical / hysterical paroxysms that shake ordinary human doings and end up needlessly and wrongfully killing a lot of people.

  No doubt Blobism is a product of the Intel Community run by that mysterious politburo, with assists from partners in foreign lands such as the WEF, the WHO, the CCP, and a coterie of essentially stateless super-rich guys with axes to grind. It was designed to derange the people who do most of its on-the-ground dirty work. They already have a lot of blood on their hands with the Covid-19 trip laid on the world, the pointless war in Ukraine, which it started deliberately, and now the forced de-industrialization of the West with a crusade against farming on the side, to make sure that those who don’t die of vaccine-related immune system disorders just starve to death.

  Beginning a process to expel “Joe Biden” would be like cutting the head off a chicken. The head doesn’t have much going on inside of it except the eat-and-sleep-scratch-and-cackle algorithm, but without that head, the rest of the chicken just staggers around in circles for a minute before it drops dead. Our government needs to go through that for the country to become itself again. And remember: the government is not our country.

  *  *  *

  Support his blog by visiting Jim’s Patreon Page

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 19:40

• "Peacetime Is Over": Financial Times Pens Puff Piece On Silicon Valley Defense Tech Startups After NDAA Passage 
  “Peacetime Is Over”: Financial Times Pens Puff Piece On Silicon Valley Defense Tech Startups After NDAA Passage 

  We have pointed out that AI competition between the US and China is heating up. In 2019, we wrote a note titled As Tech War Unfolds, AI Arms-Race Erupts, China Could Overtake US By Next Decade and penned this in April, Winner Takes All: The US-China Race To AI Mastery. 

  In yet another sign the arms race could intensify, a new Financial Times article titled How Silicon Valley is Assisting the Pentagon in the AI Arms Race appears to be a promotional piece that reads as if a lobbying group wrote it to convince folks that after the passage of the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, more taxpayers dollars should flow to Silicon Valley defense startups rather than the five prime contractors, which include Lockheed Martin and Boeing. 

  But getting the defence department to reallocate some of its mammoth $886bn budget from its five incumbent prime contractors, which include Lockheed Martin and Boeing, to the thousands of entrepreneurs producing cutting-edge systems remains an obstacle. Tech entrepreneurs and investors have accused military leaders of engaging in “innovation theatre” — paying lip service to the benefits of disruptive technology while holding back lucrative contracts. -FT

  Steve Blank, a tech veteran and founding member of the Gordian Knot Center at Stanford, said, “For the first time ever, the US military is dependent on commercial tech to win a war, but they’re not organized to deal with commercial tech.” 

  “China operates like Silicon Valley,” Blank added, in reference to the tech sector’s speed of innovation and agility — noting: “On a good day, the DoD operates like Detroit,” the metro area that has yet to recover from a plunge in auto-making. “It’s not a fair fight.”

  

  FT pointed out, “Ukraine’s deployment of dual-use technology — capabilities that have both commercial and defense applications — such as satellite imagery and autonomous drones is among the biggest catalysts for the US to bridge the chasm between Washington and California.”  

  “What’s happened in Ukraine has been a game-changer. More commercial technology is being used than during any other disagreement,” said Mike Brown, a venture capitalist at Shield Capital and the former director of the Defence Innovation Unit.

  Brown said, “That has got the wheels turning for the US military, which is saying, ‘We need to adopt far more of this.'”

  Again, the article reads that the “groundbreaking” commercial tech used in the war in Ukraine is grounds to divert military monies to California defense tech startups, which will better prepare the military for an even more significant issue: an AI arms race with China. 

  For some fear porn, the author declares, “Peacetime is over,” outlining a list of Silicon Valley defense startups that would add value to military capabilities on the modern battlefield if they received a larger chunk of the new Pentagon budget for 2024. 

  Furthermore, the promotional article about Silicon Valley’s defense startups failed to address potential dystopian outcomes, such as the dire implications of AI killing humans (there was already an incident of one rogue AI drone). 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 19:20

• "Too Big To Hide" – Ed Dowd Slams COVID Vax Injuries "Cover-Up… It's A Crime"
  “Too Big To Hide” – Ed Dowd Slams COVID Vax Injuries “Cover-Up… It’s A Crime”

  Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

  Former Wall Street money manager Ed Dowd is still a skillful number cruncher.  Dowd made billions of dollars in profits by being right on the data. He’s right on the data again in his recent wildly popular book “Cause Unknown” The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 and 2022. 

  

  Dowd’s book documents the extreme deaths and horrible injuries that are now skyrocketing in number.  The huge problems being caused by the CV19 bioweapon/vax are increasing, unstoppable and no longer need to be proven.  Dowd says,

  “I was not in the room, but at this point, it is a crime because it’s a coverup. 

  I said this in my book in December of 2022.  They see the same data that I see, and the data has only gotten worse since then.  So, it’s a crime, and it’s a coverup.  That’s all you need to know...

  Forget about the who and the why.  It was a bioweapon.  It was a mistake.  I don’t care at this point.  This is a joke.  They are killing people. 

  They continue to mandate these jabs at some universities.  Some employers still mandate them.  The UK is requiring all school children who enter school in the fall to take these shots. 

  This is a joke.  This is a crime.  This is a coverup, and it’s murder at this point.”

  In 2022 alone, Dowd figured 30% of the workforce had been killed, disabled and cannot work or is working chronically ill.  Dowd says the death and disability trend for 2023 is way up.  Thousands everyday are reporting they are getting sick, and Dowd says the CV19 bioweapon injections are to blame.  Supply chains and society are going to grind to a crawl, and Dowd predicts,

  “Everything is slowly breaking down. 

  You won’t see this on the news, but you will see this when you need something done, and you will experience this. 

  You are going to be gaslit and told everything is fine. 

  There is not problem here.  Don’t look over here. 

  We are going to see glacial Mad Max.  

  Things are going to get harder to do.  Businesses and services you take for granted are going to become scarce. 

  I think we are going to see a deflation in financial assets that will start soon enough.  We will have inflation in things you need like food, medical care and much other stuff.”

  Dowd also points out,

  “The Justice Department is protecting the looting operation that’s been going on for 40 plus years. 

  Everybody in Washington D.C. is literally stealing your taxpayer dollars…

  The Deep State protects the looting operation, and they are all in on it.”

  Ivermectin is being used by doctors like Pierre Kory as a base drug for treating CV19 vaxed injured patients and unvaxed patients harmed by so-called “shedding.”  Yet, it is still being withheld from a public that desperately needs it.  Why is Ivermectin being restricted?  Dowd says,

  “For them to start pushing Ivermectin would expose them.  They are the ones who said what do you mean and called it horse paste.  Criminals and people in coverup mode continue as if everything is fine until they are caught. 

  That’s what happened at Enron.  Enron was fraud, and the stock was down 50% from the highs… I was skeptical, and I protected my firm from it and got out of it…

  This is the same thing.  Criminals are going to act as if everything is fine, and they are not going to ever admit that Ivermectin is worth anything to anybody because to do so would unravel their whole thread of lies.  I take Ivermectin and I have never been vaccinated, and I take a little dose of Ivermectin a couple times a week.”

  In closing, Dowd says,

  “This is going to become too big to hide.  Congress needs to act.  These people in the GOP are forming committees on J6 and other things.  That’s great and good on you.  How about the Covid vaccine committee?  Call me up, I’ll share my numbers.”

  Dowd also talks about the importance of holding cash, the dollar’s near term and longer term future, gold as a core investment and the wild card of world war.

  There is much more in the 49-minute interview.

  Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with money manager and investment expert Ed Dowd, author of the book called “Cause Unknown” The Epidemic of Sudden Deaths in 2021 and 2022

  *  *  *

  To Donate to USAWatchdog.com Click Here

  You can order Dowd’s book called “Cause Unknown” by clicking here.

  If you want to go to Dowd’s website called PhinanceTechnologies.com, click here.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 19:00

• Exxon About To Become 'Lithium Kingpin'? Talks Begin With Tesla, Ford, Volkswagen, Reports Say
  Exxon About To Become ‘Lithium Kingpin’? Talks Begin With Tesla, Ford, Volkswagen, Reports Say

  Exxon Mobil Corp. is planning to enter the minerals game by becoming a supplier of lithium to Tesla Inc., Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG, and other automakers, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. 

  The sources said discussions are in the “early stages and also include battery giants Samsung and SK On Co.” If the report is correct, Exxon appears to be searching for buyers as it positions itself to capitalize on the electric-vehicle boom amid pressure by ESG funds and the Biden administration to shrink its core oil production and refining businesses. 

  The people also said Exxon is in talks with lithium producer Albemarle Corp. The company told Bloomberg, “Given Albemarle’s leadership role in the market, people routinely want to speak with us — especially when looking at potential resources.”

  

  In a conference call with investors last Friday, Exxon’s CEO Darren Woods broke the silence about the interest in lithium brine mining. He said Exxon wants to extract lithium from underground saltwater, a cheaper and more environmentally friendly method than traditional mining on the surface. 

  “We can bring it on at a much lower cost, and I think, importantly, with much less environmental impact versus open mining that they’re doing in other parts of the world,” Woods said. 

  

  He continued, “The processing of the brine and extracting the lithium is very consistent with a lot of the things that we do in our refineries and chemical plants and, in fact, in some of our upstream operations.” 

  The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Exxon plans “to build one of the world’s largest lithium processing facilities” in Arkansas. 

  Exxon might be an emerging player in the lithium field as the US rushes to secure critical mineral supply chains amid souring relations with China. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 18:40

• The Jokes Write Themselves
  The Jokes Write Themselves

  By Benjamin Picton of Rabobank

  It’s important to maintain a sense of humor in the markets. Here at Rabobank we occasionally get accused of being perma-bears but I think that’s a little unfair because, like any team, we have a diversity of views and some of us are actually quite upbeat! Nevertheless, we have been fairly negative on the global outlook for a while. I prefer to think of this as cheerful pessimism, which Charlie Munger assures us is the best way to be, and he ought to know.

  Indeed, there is much cause for mirth because funny things happen in the markets all the time. A case in point is the news over the weekend that the Bank of England will be leaning on the expertise of Ben “sub-prime is contained” Bernanke to lead a review into the Bank’s forecasting performance. We’re not suggesting that a bit of navel-gazing wouldn’t be justified for the Bank given its recent forecasting performance, but if you’re going to take advice on a subject wouldn’t it make sense to ask somebody with more of a track record of success?

  Another famous Bernanke clanger was his assurances to Congress that the United States would not enter recession in 2008. I don’t want to jinx it, but that sounds eerily similar to the prognostications of another former Fed Chair, Janet Yellen, who has also been telling us pretty much the same thing recently. Yellen isn’t alone in her view. Following the decision to increase the Fed Funds rate last week Jerome Powell told us that Fed staff no longer expect a recession in 2023. That probably invalidates my working theory that Yellen’s no recession call might just have been the magic mushrooms talking, but it still might be worth checking what was on the menu at the Bank of England when the Bernanke decision was made.

  Regular readers will know that our resident Fed expert, Philip Marey, has been cheerfully pessimistic for quite some time about the prospects for US growth later in the year. That is still the case, but the dataflow recently has been pretty good. Second quarter GDP last week beat the consensus forecast by miles, the core PCE deflator showed moderation, durable goods orders were strong and new jobless claims continue to outperform. Talk of a soft landing, or even “no landing” is creeping back into markets, but risks are legion! Commercial real estate jitters, deep losses on bank ‘hold to maturity’ portfolios, sky-high PE ratios and oodles of debt are all known-knowns (that we are ignoring for the time being), but what about the unknowns?

  For this, I turn to my colleague Michael Every:

  Saudi Arabia is to hold a peace summit over Ukraine, without Russia(!), and is potentially interested in a peace deal with Israel, with strings attached for the far-right Israeli government and the White House, which would have to offer a mutual defence treaty, against Iran, and backing for a Saudi civilian nuclear program – those who know the Middle East can see the upsides *and* the downsides of that potential dynamic. But ‘Peace now’, then, to match the ‘rate cuts soon’ vibe? Hardly! Consider: Kyiv may (or may not) have been behind new drone attacks on Moscow; Ukraine’s counter-offensive may finally be working; Russia’s Medvedev has stated Ukrainian success would require a Russian nuclear response; and, as the Financial Times (and others) warn, ‘Putin is looking for a bigger war, not an off-ramp, in Ukraine’, the Polish PM and senate suggest the Wagner group may soon stage a provocation at the Suwalki gap between Belarus and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad to test NATO unity. In short, far fatter tail risks than another 25bp hike from the Fed or ECB remain present. Even assuming we don’t get a bigger war, NATO defence spending needs to surge to keep pace with rising global threats just as some economists are talking about fiscal prudence again. Japan, which just tightened monetary policy, will see its military spending leap from $122.5bn to $310bn over the next five years. Meanwhile, the New York Times warns Chinese hackers placed malware in key US infrastructure, which logically may need to be replaced, alongside ongoing onshoring. In short, markets may like doves but there is no guarantee of either ‘peace now’ or ‘rate cuts soon’.

  It’s hard not to see some black humor in staging peace talks that don’t include the main belligerent. Signs of further Russian aggression are particularly concerning given the position of relative weakness that Europe is starting from. The German manufacturing PMI released last week looks absolutely diabolical, as do the preliminary growth figures for the second quarter. The situation is sufficiently serious for Economy Minister Habeck to caution last week that the economy faces five difficult years of green industrial transition.

  Greeks and Italians who have been subject to more than a little finger-wagging from Berlin over the years may be enjoying the Schadenfreude for the time being, but a weak Germany in a time of geopolitical tensions is not in the broader interests of the EU. That is no laughing matter.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 18:20

• The Indoctrination Of America's Boys Is Not Working…
  The Indoctrination Of America’s Boys Is Not Working…

  Major media outlets, including The Washington Post and numerous left-slanted ones, have published articles to persuade the public that the up-and-coming generation holds more socially and politically progressive attitudes. However, a new respected federal survey of American youth shows otherwise. 

  The Hill cites a new survey from Monitoring the Future that shows an explosion of high school seniors that identify as male and say they’re “conservative” or “very conservative.” Data from the survey extends back more than a half-century to the mid-1970s. The eruption happened during President Trump’s first term. Meanwhile, male respondents who identified as “liberals” plunged to 13%. 

  

  As for female seniors during Trump’s first term, there was a surge in ones who identified as “liberals” while identifying as a “conservative’ was unchanged. 

  

  Although this is just one study, outlets such as WaPo and Axios reference other studies indicating a leftward shift among America’s youth.

  

  

  

  Even with progressives implanting their agendas in public schools, such as ‘woke’ math, this study shows that perhaps the indoctrination of the young generation into aligning with the Democratic party might be faltering.

  

  Can this be attributed to Trump?

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 18:00

• A Tale Of Two Plea Deals
  A Tale Of Two Plea Deals

  Authored by Techno Fog via The Reactionary (emphasis ours),

  As discussed here and elsewhere, the Hunter Biden plea deal (and its accompanying exhibits and diversion agreement) is a curious document: it reduces the power of federal prosecutors to convict Hunter Biden for more serious charges; it eliminates the potential for Hunter Biden to be a cooperating witness; it keeps the DOJ from Congressional oversight; its ambiguous terms could have foreclosed future prosecution of Hunter Biden for Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) charges; and it left Judge Maryellen Noreika rejecting it, for the time being, citing concerns with its potential unconstitutionality and its unprecedented structure.

  

  And that doesn’t even take into consideration that the plea agreement was made after the statute of limitations on some of Hunter Biden’s crimes had passed, after charging recommendations of the DOJ Tax Division were ignored, after the scope of the broader investigation was improperly limited, and after search warrants were rejected and witness interviews were sabotaged.

  But we want to get to something else that has been all but ignored until now – how two prosecutors assigned to the Hunter Biden case, Leo Wise and Derek Hines, treated less serious tax cases as compared to the Hunter Biden case.

  Before we get to that, it’s important to understand who we’re dealing with. Leo Wise is a trial attorney in the DOJ Criminal Division – Public Integrity Section. He has held that position since June of 2023; prior to that, he was the Chief of the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland’s Fraud and Public corruption unit (a position from which he was demoted after disagreements with supervisors over staffing). He has been with the DOJ since at least 2004.

  By all accounts, Wise is an aggressive prosecutor. It’s in his DNA. He was part of the Enron Task Force, assisted in the racketeering trial against big tobacco (US v. Philip Morris), and prosecuted significant high-profile cases against corrupt leadership in Baltimore, including the Baltimore Police Gun Trace Task Force, former Baltimore mayor Catherine Pugh, and former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby. Wise also “brought the biggest racketeering case in Maryland history.”

  Assisting Wise on the Hunter Biden case is Derek Hines, an equally aggressive prosecutor whose current role is Assistant US Attorney at the DOJ Criminal Division. Hines, for example, was part of Wise’s prosecution team in the Baltimore Police Gun Trace Task Force, which “won indictments against 11 men – eight Baltimore cops, two civilians, and one Philadelphia office” who robbed drug dealers, sold drugs, and ran interference for drug dealers.

  Wise and Hines have been described in one Baltimore Sun article as relentless prosecutors who “are like the terminator.” They are hardliners who “pursue stern sentences and prosecute even small-time crooks.”

  

  The Hunter Biden case isn’t the first time Wise and Hines have prosecuted a tax case. Back in 2018, they prosecuted Darryl De Sousa, a former Baltimore Police Commissioner for three counts of failing to file individual tax returns. The case of De Sousa is particularly instructive, as it demonstrates the uncharacteristically soft prosecution of Hunter Biden by Wise and Hines. Allow us to explain.

  De Sousa was charged with failing to file an income tax return for the years 2013-2015, in violation of 26 USC § 7203. Not only had he failed to file income tax returns for those years, but De Sousa had also owed the IRS taxes for other years (2008-2012) and had “falsely claimed deductions that he was not entitled to.”

  The De Sousa case was relatively small, though it did concern misconduct by a public official. He only owed approximately $60,000; the tax loss calculated by the IRS was between $40,000 and $100,000. De Sousa pleaded guilty to failing to file an income tax for the years 2013-2015. DOJ prosecutors Wise and Hines (who, by the way, both served under currently Special Counsel Robert K. Hur when he was US Attorney for the District of Maryland) saw to it that the stipulation of facts included in the November 20, 2018 plea agreement itemized (1) the false deductions claimed by De Sousa, such as vehicle expenses and travel expenses and charitable donations; (2) the specific times De Sousa was put on notice that he owed taxes; and (3) the specific amounts owed by De Sousa in each of the applicable years.

  Wise and Hines, true to their reputations, demanded De Sousa go to prison: 12 months incarceration was necessary to send a message to all other tax cheats. There was no promise to recommend probation. The judge would end up sentencing De Sousa to 10 months.

  Let’s compare De Sousa’s treatment to the Hunter Biden case.

  • Both cases involve violations of 26 USC § 7203 (willful failure to pay tax).

  • The tax loss in the De Sousa case was between $40,000 and $100,000; Wise and Hines recommended he serve a year in prison. The tax loss in the Hunter Biden case is between $1,199,524 and $1,593,329. Wise and Hines, in apparent agreement with DOJ supervisors, recommend Hunter get probation.  

  • Where Wise and Hines made sure the Court was aware of the numerous false deductions in the De Sousa Case, Wise and Hines agree that Hunter Biden’s more significant deductions for sex clubs and prostitutes was because Hunter “miscategorized certain personal expenses as legitimate business expenses.” In doing so, these prosecutors have allowed felony fraud to be excused as a mis-categorization.

  • In fact, Wise and Hines omitted a discussion of the facts underlying many of the charges recommended by the IRS Tax Division, including those involving fraud (26 USC § 7206). De Sousa never received that benefit – likely because De Sousa, unlike Biden, wasn’t allowed to write his own stipulation.

  • Wise and Hines agreed to the claim that Hunter Biden received $1,000,000 from Patrick Ho (a Chinese national convicted for bribery) “as a payment for legal fees” – without even thinking to question whether that payment was a bribe masked as legal fees.

  • Wise and Hines failed to inform the Court of whether Hunter Biden owed California income taxes. In the De Sousa case, that defendant’s outstanding Maryland tax obligations were listed for a number of years and he was required to pay restitution to Maryland.

  • De Sousa’s plea deal was standard and readily accepted by that court. The Hunter Biden plea/diversion was “unprecedented” and abnormal and without “authority”, contained ambiguous paragraphs that could have allowed Hunter to avoid any type of FARA prosecution, and the diversion itself is probably unconstitutional.

  If we can briefly summarize – in the De Sousa case, DOJ prosecutors Wise and Hines wanted to send a message that you get a harsh sentence if you try to avoid your taxes. The DOJ, assisted by Wise and Hines, now sends a different message in the Hunter Biden case: the son of the President gets preferential treatment. More egregious tax crimes are no longer subject to imprisonment.

  Barring shocking revelations, DOJ “terminators” Leo Wise and Derek Hines, the prosecutors who in the past pursued “stern sentences”, the two men who made their names in the Department by taking down notorious targets, are now doing all they can – from misrepresenting Hunter’s conduct to the Court to omitting key details of Hunter’s tax fraud – to make sure the President’s son doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist.

  Subscribe to The Reactionary here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 17:40

• Air Travel Bubble Might Be In A Stall
  Air Travel Bubble Might Be In A Stall

  There are early indications that the air travel boom post-Covid might be in the early stages of a stall following a slowdown in consumer credit and debit card transactions of airline ticket purchases in the second quarter, according to tech firm Bloomberg Second Measure. This would mark the first drop in two years since government-enforced lockdowns led carriers to reduce flights nationwide. 

  Once the skies reopened after lockdowns were lifted, consumers began to travel, and some called it ‘revenge travel’ to make up for time and experiences lost during the pandemic. But after a two-year boom and soaring airfare inflation, consumers are reducing travel, like other discretionary purchases, including electronics, apparel, and restaurants. 

  Bloomberg Second Measure data for the second quarter shows anonymous credit and debit card transactions made with airline carriers, such as Delta Air Lines, American Airlines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and JetBlue. 

  

  According to the transaction data, Alaska, American, and Delta experienced the most significant quarterly declines. This data aligns with Alaska’s earnings report last week, warning about a slowdown in demand. 

  Southwest reported earnings last week that topped Wall Street’s expectations but was concerned about how demand will hold up in the second half of the year. 

  The good news is the latest CPI report showed ticket inflation has finally plummeted. 

  

  But that might not stoke demand as consumers are already pulling back on overall card spending as retailer sales disappointed in June. Many consumers have been battered by two years of negative real wage growth that forced them to drain personal savings and rack up insurmountable credit card debt in a high-rate environment. 

  The new data that shows consumers are pulling back on air travel is an ominous one despite the White House touting ‘Bidenomics’ has sparked an economic ‘renaissance.’ 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/31/2023 – 17:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Should America Dominate The World?
  Should America Dominate The World?

  Authored by Edward Ring via American Greatness,

  Forty years ago, during the final decade of the Cold War, nobody had any illusions about America being perfect. Without wallowing in the topic, we all knew our nation had ongoing social and economic problems, and that our history was filled with examples of oppression. But for most Americans, understanding the grim reality of life for people living in the Soviet Union provided clarity. It was understood that no country is perfect, and compared to the USSR, living in America was paradise.

  The argument that America, by a wide margin, is the lesser of two evils, does not get the traction today that it got during the Cold War. But there is no justification for its diminished relevance. Despite alarming new challenges to the rights and freedoms of American citizens, the gap between America and its contemporary rivals, Russia and China, is as wide as it’s ever been. And in the case of China, the magnitude of the threat they now pose to American global leadership is far more than anything the USSR could have once posed.

  These considerations give rise to a pair of sobering questions:

  First, is China an expansionist nation, committed to growing powerful enough to dominate the world and impose its vision of human rights onto all of humanity?

  Second, before we level well deserved criticisms on American foreign and domestic policies, shouldn’t we compare these policies to those practiced by the Chinese government?

  Forty years ago, those questions mattered. Today, we need to revisit these questions.

  

  Does China Intend to Dominate the World?

  China is committed to an expansionist strategy. In just the last century, an era during which Western powers were relinquishing their claims to foreign colonies, China has annexed Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang. The Chinese have absorbed Hong Kong, cracking down on human rights they had pledged to uphold. They have lopped off chunks of Indian Kashmir as well as the northern portion of Indian state of Assam. The Chinese openly declare their intention to absorb the independent nation of Taiwan. They’re even claiming virtually all of the South China Sea, in defiance of every other bordering nation.

  China’s expansionist tensions with neighboring nations and Borg like assimilation of the occupied nations within its borders should provide clues to how it treats all its citizens. China’s population is more than 90 percent comprised of the Han ethnic group, and they are probably the most surveilled, micromanaged population on earth. Any dissent that deviates from the collective is immediately suppressed.

  One may go on endlessly about allegedly parallel encroachments on the rights of Americans to express dissent, but it isn’t remotely comparable to what Chinese people go through. The regime of Xi Jinping has turned China into the world’s biggest prison camp, with nearly 1.4 billion inmates. Law enforcement extends well beyond criminal behavior to “social behavior,” where not just what you do, but what you say, what you think, and how you worship are all strictly regulated.

  China’s economic aggression is well documented and points to an unavoidable conclusion; nations that do business with China are going to be systematically robbed of their technological edge and their financial stability. According to Fortune, one in five corporations say China has stolen their intellectual property in the past year. Estimates of how much this costs the U.S. economy range as high as $600 billion per year.

  China’s economic war with the United States has been unrelenting. Over the past 25 years the cumulative U.S. trade deficit with China is nearly $6 trillion. China retains some of its trade surplus with the U.S. in the form of debt, currently an estimated $1.6 trillion.

  Another way China is expanding its economic reach and influence in the world is through the “Belt and Road Initiative,” a modern version of the ancient Silk Road connecting East to West. In theory this is a laudable series of infrastructure projects linking China with trading partners across Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond with a series of highways, railroads, and modernized seaports. But participating nations are realizing that Chinese investment carries a high price.

  The way China intends to control the railroads and seaports being built across this new Silk Road is by using the so-called debt trap. This is a practice whereby China lends billions of dollars to an economically weaker country for them to construct infrastructure. Chinese firms then pour in materials and labor to build the project, which means the Chinese loan funds are repatriated right back into Chinese hands. Then when the debtor nation can’t afford to pay back the loan, the Chinese seize ownership of the project as collateral.

  An article published by the Washington Post provides an extensive list of nations already victimized by China’s infrastructure debt trap. They include Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Montenegro, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. Some of these projects involve debt nearly equal to the entire GDP of the host nations. In many cases, Chinese-only gated communities are constructed, sometimes entire cities, swarming with Chinese security forces.

  China’s economic imperialism is also reflected in its global buying binge. Using the savings generated from their huge trade surplus, China is buying companies and real estate all over the world. The United States is one of the only nations in the world that allows foreign companies to purchase controlling interests in U.S. companies, and China has taken full advantage of that. Michele Nash-Hoff, writing for Industry Week, posed this question: “Did we let the USSR buy our companies during the Cold War? No, we didn’t! We realized that we would be helping our enemy. This was pretty simple, common sense, but we don’t seem to have this same common sense when dealing with China.”

  American Globalism – The Alternative to China

  The evidence that China is an expansionist nation is overwhelming. In addition to China’s territorial aggression and predatory economic policies, there are the precedents of history. Throughout recorded history, expansionist empires have risen and fallen. Across all continents and through the millennia, regardless of geography or ethnicity, empires have fought wars of conquest. Today is no different. America will rise to the challenge of China, or China will dominate the world. And this gives rise to the second question: How do America’s foreign and domestic policies compare to China’s, and how can they be better calibrated to unite Americans and set an attractive example for people in the rest of the world?

  Only in this context can the American government’s current cultural priorities and globalist ambitions be fairly evaluated. Most American conservatives will agree that a month-long display of gay pride flags in front of every government building in America and every embassy America has in foreign nations, is pushing the woke narrative to ridiculous extremes. But compared to what? Compared to the Iranian regime hanging homosexuals from construction cranes? The Ugandans making homosexual acts subject to the death penalty?

  Conservative Americans have ample reason to criticize the way establishment institutions, certainly including the federal government, have pandered to the extremist wing of the LGBTQ+ lobby. That the cultural pendulum will swing back to some more universally tolerable position is quite likely, and soon would be better. But which is worse? Nations where homosexuals are executed, or nations where activist gender extremists are overly indulged?

  America’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, meeting with Chinese diplomats in Alaska two years ago, was criticized for acknowledging American imperfections, saying “we have the humility to know that we are a country eternally striving to become a more perfect union.”

  Blinken, and his boss, Joe Biden, may be leading America down a perilous path. But Blinken was right to acknowledge that America is “eternally striving to become a more perfect union.” The debates we are having in America over identity and equity may be tedious and threatening, and with good reason, but it’s a process at work in American society today that is unthinkable in China. America’s rival in the world is a fascist police state. For all of its flaws, and for all of its dangerous drift into decadence, America is a better place to live than China. The existential importance of that fact should not be lost on anyone, whether they are woke malcontents or appalled conservatives.

  Moving towards a more perfect union will not be easy. Restoring colorblind meritocracy and reestablishing reasonable gender norms will take time, but is probably inevitable. The woke have simply gone too far. An even greater threat to a desirable Pax Americana, however, concerns how America’s establishment is responding to the “climate crisis.” Current policies, designed to stifle development of hydroelectric, nuclear, and natural gas sources of energy, are guaranteed to weaken America and alienate the world. They will impose a tyranny of surveillance and rationing in developed nations, and they will cause chaos, poverty, and endless war in developing nations. They are outrageous and will drive nonaligned nations into alliances with China.

  It may be that the greatest test of American democracy in the 21st century will be whether or not the cabal of oligarchs that have hijacked America’s energy policy can be overcome by a media that has finally come to its senses and a population that awakens from its brainwashed stupor. Without adequate supplies of energy, civilization will falter and individual freedom will die. Claiming that adequate energy can be delivered worldwide exclusively via wind and solar power, without also relying on hydro, nuclear, and natural gas is a blatant, misanthropic, opportunistic lie. This lie, unchallenged, will fatally undermine the credibility of American leadership in the world.

  Answering the question “should America dominate the world” requires recognition of an immutable prerequisite: If America does not, someone else will. And for all of its many flaws, some of them horrifically and even murderously misguided, when compared to empires of the past and rivals in the present, America’s empire is remarkably benevolent. That fact used to matter, and it still does. We would do well to embrace it, even as we work towards something better.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 23:30

• China Leads The Way In Electrifying The Road
  China Leads The Way In Electrifying The Road

  Over the last ten years, China has become the global battery electric vehicle (BEV) forerunner, increasing its annual sales of fully-electric cars from roughly 10,000 in 2012 to 4.4 million in 2022.

  As Statista’s Florian Zandt shows in the chart below, based on data from the Global EV Data Explorer maintained by the International Energy Agency, three out of the five countries with the most BEVs sold last year have been part of the top 5 ever since e-mobility turned from a marketing buzzword to a tangible effort towards reducing CO2 production in transport.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Apart from China, which jumped from third place in terms of BEV sales in 2012 to the uncontested number one spot in 2017, the United States and France have also been at the forefront of electrifying their passenger car fleets.

  Since 2017, Germany has also become a serious contender in this area, registering around half a million new fully-electric cars in 2022.

  When it comes to growth, China again can’t be beaten, increasing its annual sales by 44,000 percent from 2012 to 2022.

  This drive towards electric mobility coincides with the People’s Republic’s efforts in the energy sector.

  The country is expected to reach its goals in energy production via wind and solar five years earlier than planned and will produce 1,200 gigawatts through the aforementioned renewables by 2025 according to media reports. Renewable energy made up 45 percent of China’s total energy capacity in 2022, up from 26 percent in 2011.

  With a buzzworthy topic like e-mobility, it helps to put the numbers in perspective though.

  Last year, total sales of passenger cars in China amounted to 23.6 million, which means only about 19 percent of new cars were BEVs. However, the second biggest market for BEVs fares far worse.

  In the U.S., 13.8 million light vehicles, which include the most popular segment for U.S. car buyers, light trucks, were sold, of which 800,000 or roughly six percent were BEVs.

  Germany, the United Kingdom and France, on the other hand, are hot on the heels of the People’s Republic with BEVs market shares in new cars sold ranging from 13 to 18 percent.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 23:00

• Beijing Signals It's Not Just All Talk This Time
  Beijing Signals It’s Not Just All Talk This Time

  By Charlie Zhu and Helen Sun, Bloomberg Markets Live reporters and strategists

  Three things we learned last week:

  1. It looks like China’s markets may be on an inflection point, finally. The mainland stock benchmark CSI 300 Index gained 4.5% last week, marking its best performance since November. A gauge of tech shares in Hong Kong entered a bull market.

  Chinese shares surged Tuesday after senior leaders vowed again to shore up economic growth, before paring the gains in the following two sessions due to skepticism about a dearth of detailed measures. The rally resumed Friday as signs emerged that policymakers aren’t just paying lip service to their support pledges.

  “The recognition of a new supply-demand paradigm in real estate helped to open policy space,” Citigroup strategists led by Gaurav Garg wrote in a note, adding the reference to a holistic resolution to local debt issues also helped contain fears of a blowout.

  

  2. With signs of stress plaguing some developers once considered safe, investors may need to brace for more volatility in credit markets. A local risk assessor put bonds issued by Country Garden’s onshore unit on its watch list, and the major builder’s dollar notes slumped as JPMorgan downgraded the firm’s stock rating to underweight.

  Meantime, state-backed Sino-Ocean Group is seeking investor approval to extend three dollar-note coupons by two months
  “Constraints on the actions that China can undertake may not be well appreciated,” Chang Wei Liang, a strategist at DBS Bank, wrote in a note. “A nuanced view to Chinese credit is still warranted.”

  3. There are growing indications that authorities are taking concrete action to address some of the biggest market concerns. Among the catalysts for Friday’s stock gains was news that signaled regulators’ intention to support tech investments. A separate report on the possibility of a cut in stamp duties helped too.

  The housing minister urged regulators and lenders to strengthen efforts to revive the ailing property sector, calling for homebuyers who had paid off previous mortgages to be considered first-time purchasers.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 22:30

• DOJ Denies Trying To Jail Hunter Biden Witness Before Tomorrow's Testimony
  DOJ Denies Trying To Jail Hunter Biden Witness Before Tomorrow’s Testimony

  Update (2030ET): The DOJ has responded to allegations that they want Hunter Biden witness Devon Archer arrested before tomorrow’s testimony, saying in a statement:

  “To be clear, the Government does not request (and has never requested) that the defendant surrender before his Congressional testimony,” reads a Sunday night filing. “For the avoidance of all doubt, the Government requests that any surrender date, should the Court order one, be scheduled to occur after the defendant’s Congressional testimony is completed.”

  BREAKING: BIDEN DOJ BLINKS – FILES NEW LETTER ALLOWING DEVON ARCHER TO TESTIFY TOMORROW

  They felt the pressure pic.twitter.com/op8BHgFKGd

  — Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) July 31, 2023

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

  *  *  *

  The Department of Justice is pushing a federal judge to jail former Hunter Biden witness Devon Archer just days ahead of his hotly anticipated congressional testimony, court documents reveal.

  

  On Saturday, Manhattan federal prosecutors filed a letter asking a judge to set a date for Archer to begin his one-year sentence in a fraud case which is unrelated to Hunter’s various scandals. The request came less than a week after the Second Court of Appeals upheld Archer’s 2018 conviction on two felony charges for his role in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe.

  Archer is scheduled to testify on Monday in front of the House Oversight Committee.

  Here’s Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer on @MariaBartiromo #Sundaymorningfutures describing this letter as “obstruction of justice” and decrying “the lengths to which the Biden legal team has gone to try to intimidate our witnesses, to coordinate with the DOJ and… https://t.co/8a25tsSOAQ

  — Miranda Devine (@mirandadevine) July 30, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsAs the NY Post notes;

  Archer — who is set to deliver closed-door testimony to the House Oversight Committee on Monday about Biden — had been challenging the conviction.

  His attorney, Matthew Schwartz, said he would be filing a formal response to the request from the US Attorney’s Office by Wednesday — and noted that his client would still testify as planned despite allegations the DOJ letter was an intimidation tactic.

  …

  Back in 2009, Archer, Biden, and Christopher Heinz co-founded investment and advisory firm Rosemont Seneca Partners, which the first son used as a vehicle for many of his overseas business endeavors.

  Archer is expected to testify that Hunter Biden would dial-in his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden during various meetings with overseas partners, as The Post exclusively reported.

  “We are aware of speculation that the Department of Justice’s weekend request to have Mr. Archer report to prison is an attempt by the Biden administration to intimidate him in advance of his meeting with the House Oversight Committee,” said Archer’s attorney, Matthew Schwartz, adding that his client will testify as planned despite allegations that the DOJ letter was an intimidation tactic.

  “To be clear, Mr. Archer does not agree with that speculation,” Schwartz added. “In any case, Mr. Archer will do what he has planned to do all along, which is to show up on Monday and to honestly answer the questions that are put to him by the Congressional investigators.”

  Blatant obstruction of a congressional investigation by the DOJ but the media ignores it. pic.twitter.com/MzzGk51XEi

  — RedVirgo🔥Stacy 🔥 (@stacy_redvirgo) July 30, 2023

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

  Devon Archer has just been threatened 💥

  “And I am receiving calls from the Southern District of New York from the U.S. Attorney himself.
  My best friend in business Devon… has named me as a witness without telling me, in a Criminal case… and my Father without telling me.” pic.twitter.com/GL0NxV3kbo

  — Joni Job (@jj_talking) July 30, 2023

  This shows how scared they are – which tells you they know they are in real trouble – which tells you he is guilty…. https://t.co/BzsXf7ZXrq

  — Lara Logan (@laralogan) July 30, 2023

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 22:23

• Russia 'Ready' For Clash With US Over Syrian Skies, Putin Says
  Russia ‘Ready’ For Clash With US Over Syrian Skies, Putin Says

  President Putin in a Saturday statement given to the press significantly ramped up his rhetoric regarding a potential clash with the United States over Syria.

  TASS media quoted him as saying that “Russia is ready for any scenario” if it comes to that, but still “does not want a direct military clash with the US.” 

  

  This summer has seen a series of near-miss incidents between Russian fighter jets and American MQ-9 Reaper drones. In two incidents this month, the US drones were actually damaged from the encounters, which has reportedly involved the Russian warplanes shooting flares or else possibly dumping fuel. 

  The US drones can be damaged by these flares, which according to the Pentagon has happened. When asked about this, Putin stressed in the new comments that “we are always ready for any scenario, but no one wants this.”

  “On an American initiative, we once created a special mechanism to prevent these conflicts; we have department heads that communicate directly with each other, and consult on any crisis situation,” he said of a military-to-military contact hotline intended to avoid inadvertent clash. “This shows that no one wants clashes.”

  Both sides have blamed the other for ‘unsafe’ and ‘irresponsible’ aerial operations over Syria. Russia’s RT has tallied the following, from Moscow’s perspective:

  The Russian military has reported a total of 23 dangerous incidents involving its aircraft and those of the US-led coalition since early 2023, said Admiral Oleg Gurinov, the head of the Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria. Most incidents took place in July, he added. 

  In 11 cases, Russian pilots recorded being targeted by Western weapon systems. Such provocations by the US-led coalition led to the automatic engagement of onboard defense systems which released decoy flares, the admiral told journalists.

  Just last week, a US Reaper drone was said to be “severely damaged” after a high-risk intercept by a Russian Su-35 fighter. 

  These near-misses over Syrian skies also come amid the backdrop of the Ukraine war, where the nuclear-armed superpower rivals keep inching toward potential direct conflict. Russian media has framed Putin’s new comments as also a warning directed against NATO broadly, in the contexts of both Syria and Ukraine.

  Previously, we’ve pointed out that In Syria, successive US administrations going back to Obama have justified any and all US military actions as based on “countering ISIS” – even though at this point the Islamic State has long been driven underground and was defeated. Russia and Syria have charged that the US really just wants to steal Syria’s oil and gas resources, as part of the continued economic war against Damascus.

  Days ago, The Wall Street Journal appeared to agree with this assessment, in a rare and surprise admission…

  WSJ on the US occupation of Syria:

  US claims to be “combating the remnants” of ISIS. Yet US troops “are operating in the east, far from the northwest enclave where suspected ISIS and al Qaeda leaders have been operating.”

  So what’s in the east? Syria’s oil and wheat. pic.twitter.com/OK9uiEOE5C

  — Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) July 28, 2023

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

  Where are the terrorists vs. where is the American troop occupation located? WSJ belatedly concedes the following…

  “The U.S. still has about 900 troops in Syria that are assisting a local partner, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, in combating the remnants of Islamic State,” the report acknowledges. “But those U.S. troops are operating in the east, far from the northwest enclave where suspected Islamic State and al Qaeda leaders have been operating.” 

  This mainstream media admission concerning jihadist-infested Idlib province in Syria’s northwest, while good, comes many years late, as is typical of belatedly acknowledged inconvenient truths.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 22:00

• Pediatrician Fired After Raising Alarm On COVID Vaccines During US Senate Event
  Pediatrician Fired After Raising Alarm On COVID Vaccines During US Senate Event

  Authored by Zachary Stieber and Jan Jekielek via The Epoch Times,

  A medical expert was terminated by one of her employers after raising concerns about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines during an event held by a U.S. senator, according to newly disclosed documents.

  

  Dr. Renata Moon, a pediatrician, poses for a picture in Washington on July 28, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

  After Dr. Renata Moon (who will appear on “American Thought Leaders” premiering Mon. Aug. 30, 7:30pm ET) testified during the December 2022 event on Capitol Hill, Washington State University officials told her that they were alerting a state medical commission because she allegedly promoted misinformation, one of the documents shows.

  The Washington Medical Commission (WMC) has said that doctors who offer misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and preventative measures “erode the public trust in the medical profession and endanger patients,” that people should lodge complaints against doctors who allegedly provide misinformation, and that it may revoke the licenses of doctors who are found to have spread misinformation.

  Drs. Jeff Haney and James Record, Washington State University officials, referenced the commission in a letter to Dr. Moon dated March 3, 2023.

  “The WMC has asked the public and practitioners to report possible spread of misinformation. There are components of your presentation that could be interpreted as a possible spread,” they wrote. “As such, we are ethically obligated to make a report to the WMC to investigate possible breach of this expectation.”

  The university informed Dr. Moon in June 2023 that it was effectively firing her by not renewing her appointment as a clinical associate professor of medicine, according to other documents reviewed by The Epoch Times.

  “At this time, the needs of the college are moving in a different direction and your participation is no longer required,” Drs. Haney and Record wrote.

  More detailed reasoning was not provided.

  “This is not about my personal situation with the school. This is about freedom of speech for all Americans,” Dr. Moon told The Epoch Times in an email.

  “We must create an ethical healthcare system that is concerned only with the well being of individual patients and not the financial interests of massive corporations. We are dealing with conflicts of interest that are larger than any of us ever imagined.”

  Testimony

  Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) convened Dr. Moon and other experts, including Drs. Peter McCullough and Robert Malone, to talk about COVID-19 vaccines. The event was titled, “COVID-19 Vaccines: What They Are, How They Work, and Possible Causes of Injuries.”

  Dr. Moon testified that she had only seen two or three cases of myocarditis, a form of heart inflammation, while practicing for more than 20 years. But after the COVID-19 vaccines were rolled out, she said, she has been seeing more cases, and heard about others from fellow doctors.

  “There’s clearly been a massive increase,” Dr. Moon said.

  Dr. Moon also pulled out the package insert for the vaccines, or a piece of paper that typically outlines warnings, ingredients, and other information for a vaccine. The insert for the COVID-19 vaccines has no information and says, “intentionally blank,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has acknowledged.

  “How am I to give informed consent to parents when this is what I have?” Dr. Moon said.

  Regulators say people can access the information that is usually on the paper on the administration’s website. One of the vaccine manufacturers has said that the COVID-19 vaccine inserts were left blank because the information was being updated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  “I have a government telling me that I have to say ‘safe and effective’ and if I don’t, my license is at threat. We’re seeing an uptick in myocarditis. We’re seeing an uptick in adverse reactions. We have trusted these regulatory agencies—I have—for my entire career up until now,” Dr. Moon testified.

  “Something is extremely wrong, and that is the anecdotal story that I have.”

  Myocarditis is caused by the COVID-19 vaccines, U.S. officials have confirmed. The heart inflammation primarily affects younger males and can cause death.

  “It’s my obligation to speak out. It’s the obligation of any physician who thinks that there is a problem with a product to speak about that product, whether, honestly, whether they’re right or wrong,” Dr. Moon said on EpochTV’s “ATL: Now.”

  “And in this case, everything I said was completely factual.”

  

  Other Concerns

  Drs. Haney and Record claimed Dr. Moon failed to request and report an absence in order to travel to Washington and testify on the panel, which would violate faculty rules.

  They also said that Dr. Moon did not make clear she was not speaking on behalf of Washington State University, another possible rule violation, and that other parts of the roundtable were “inconsistent with expectations of the evidence-based medical education expected in developing a future generation of physicians.”

  They added, “The expressed views will require us to review your teaching assignments in the frame of the education of our students.”

  Emails reviewed by The Epoch Times show Dr. Moon did not list the university in a bio she provided Mr. Johnson’s office. The bio stated that her views were her own and that she was not speaking on behalf of any institutions with which she has or is affiliated.

  Mr. Johnson, in introducing Dr. Moon, did not mention any institution but also did not mention the latter part of the bio.

  Dr. Moon’s placard did not list an institution. One of the video streams of the panel listed Washington State University. A university investigator noted that in one email.

  “I was unaware of this happening and did everything in my power to prevent it by sending the press release and making sure not to mention the name of any employer either with my words or on the cardboard placard in front of me,” Dr. Moon told The Epoch Times.

  According to other emails, Dr. Moon requested substitutes for Dec. 6, 2021, and Dec. 8, 2021, the days before and after the panel. She was not scheduled to teach on the day of the panel. University employees responded to the messages by saying they were looking for or had found substitutes, and the university investigator confirmed that substitutes were ultimately found for both days.

  “I did it the way we’ve always done it. My senior physicians approved it; we had substitutes for my classes,” Dr. Moon told The Epoch Times.

  A university spokesman declined to comment on the situation.

  “As a matter of policy WSU does not comment on personnel matters,” the spokesman told The Epoch Times via email.

  It’s unclear if the university ultimately referred Dr. Moon to the medical commission. Dr. Moon is part of a lawsuit against the commission for enforcing its misinformation statement without proper adoption. She says the threat of having her license revoked caused her to not renew her license and has impacted her constitutional right to free speech.

  Trend?

  Dr. Moon said she’s concerned about medical schools no longer serving as venues for discussion and critical thinking.

  She recalled being called into the office of a superior over student complaints. She learned that the students complained about Dr. Moon noting correctly that some information about the COVID-19 vaccines was unknown, such as where in the body the ingredients were distributed and whether they would cause certain health problems.

  “I just engaged in some critical thinking with my students. I thought it was something that we’re supposed to do in discussion groups, and they had asked me, right?” Dr. Moon said.

  “They said that I had caused them trauma and harm by telling them that the vaccines might not be 100 percent safe. Again, these are medical students. This is a medical school. Nothing is 100 percent safe, not even aspirin is 100 percent safe. Everything has the potential for a reaction. So to have that be a complaint against me really surprised me and it really concerned me.”

  Another complaint related to how Dr. Moon, after students asked how her week in the clinic had gone, relayed how she had seen anxious and depressed children.

  Dr. Moon attributed the problems to the harsh lockdowns imposed in Washington state, like much of the country, and questioned why those policies were put into place when children face little risk from COVID-19.

  “I just said to my students, I think we need to rethink this masking that we’re doing and the social distancing and isolating, I wonder if CDC has considered that we need to think about isolating our more vulnerable in our communities and keeping them more safe and keeping them at home but letting our kids go out there,” Dr. Moon said, referring to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  “My students again stated that they were traumatized and harmed by that discussion, in a discussion group in a graduate-level medical school,” Dr. Moon said. “This is happening nationwide. Our students have lost that ability, I think, to tolerate critical thinking, and to hear perspectives that are different than the main narrative or the main party line that is being pushed.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 21:30

• Watch: G7 Vs BRICS By GDP (1992-2028)
  Watch: G7 Vs BRICS By GDP (1992-2028)

  Fifty years ago, the government finance heads from the UK, West Germany, France, and the U.S. met informally in the White House’s ground-floor library to discuss the international monetary situation at the time. This is the origin story of the G7.

  This initial group quickly expanded, adding Japan, Italy, and Canada, to solidify a bloc of the biggest non-communist economies at the time. As industrialized countries that were reaping the benefits of the post-war productivity boom, they were economic juggernauts, with G7 economic output historically contributing around 40% of global GDP.

  However, as Visual Capiutalist’s Pallavi Rao details below, the more recent emergence of another international group, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), has been carving out its own section of the global economic order.

  This animation from James Eagle uses data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and charts the percentage contribution of the G7 and BRICS members to the world economy.

  Specifically it uses GDP adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP) using international dollars.

  Charting the Rise of BRICS vs. G7

  The acronym “BRIC”, developed by Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill in 2001, was used to identify four fast-growing economies in similar stages of development. It wasn’t until 2009 that their leaders met and formalized their relationship, later inviting South Africa to join in 2010.

  ℹ️ Russia was at the time also a member of the G7, then the G8. It was invited to join in 1997 but was expelled in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea.

  While initially banded together for investment opportunities, in the last decade, BRICS has become an economic rival to G7. Several of their initiatives include building an alternate global bank, with dialogue underway for a payment system and new reserve currency.

  Below is a quick look at both groups’ contribution to the world economy in PPP-adjusted terms.

  

  A major contributing factor to BRICS’ rise is Chinese and Indian economic growth.

  After a period of rapid industrialization in the 1980s and 1990s, China’s exports got a significant boost after it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. This helped China become the world’s second largest economy by 2010.

  India’s economic rise has not been quite as swift as China’s, but by 2022, the country ranked third with a gross domestic product (PPP) of $12 trillion. Together the two countries make up nearly one-fourth of the PPP-adjusted $164 trillion world economy.

  The consequence of using the PPP metric—which better reflects the strengths of local currencies and local prices—is that it has an outsized multiplier effect on the GDPs of developing countries, where the prices of domestic goods and services tend to be cheaper.

  Below, we can see both the nominal and PPP-adjusted GDP of each G7 and BRICS country in 2023. Nominal GDP is measured in USD with market-rate currency conversion, while the adjusted GDP uses international dollars (using the U.S. as a base country for calculations) which better account for cost of living and inflation.

  

  By the IMF’s projections, BRICS countries will constitute more of the world economy in 2023 ($56 trillion) than the G7 ($52 trillion) using PPP-adjusted GDPs.

  How Will BRICS and G7 Compare in the Future?

  China and India are in a stage of economic development marked by increasing productivity, wages and consumption, which most countries in the G7 had previously enjoyed in the three decades after World War II.

  By 2028, the IMF projects BRICS countries to make up one-third of the global economy (PPP):

  

  BRICS vs. the World?

  The economic rise of BRICS carries geopolitical implications as well.

  Alongside different political ideals, BRICS’ increasing power gives its member countries financial muscle to back them up. This was put into sharp perspective after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, when both China and India abstained from condemning the war at the United Nations and continued to buy Russian oil.

  While this is likely concerning for G7 countries, the group of developed countries still wields unparalleled influence on the global stage. Nominally the G7 still commands a larger share of the global economy ($46 trillion) than BRICS ($27.7 trillion). And from the coordination of sanctions on Russia to sending military aid to Ukraine, the G7 still wields significant influence financially and politically.

  In the next few decades, especially as China and India are earmarked to lead global growth while simultaneously grappling with their own internal demographic issues, the world order is only set to become more complex and nuanced as these international blocs vie for power.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 21:00

• Power Companies Could Remotely Switch Off EV Chargers To Reduce Grid Stress
  Power Companies Could Remotely Switch Off EV Chargers To Reduce Grid Stress

  Authored by Daniel Yeng via The Epoch Times,

  Energy providers could have the option to switch off home EV charging stations remotely to reduce pressure on Queensland’s electricity grid.

  

  The proposal is part of the Australian state’s Queensland Electricity Connection Manual (QECM), which provides a framework for the grid’s operation.

  Section 8 of the QECM proposes that EV charging equipment may be limited or switched off by operators Ergon Energy and Energex (distributed network service providers or DNSPs) if it has an output of more than 20 amps—a standard domestic single-phase EV charger uses 32 amps.

  The use of such “demand management” schemes is largely unique to Queensland and is also used on residential pool cleaning machines, hot water systems, and air conditioning units under the Peaksmart program.

  Peaksmart gives households a cash rebate; in return, the operator can turn off air conditioners remotely during peak operating times (summer) to reduce pressure on the energy grid.

  The large-scale roll-out of such programs has been earmarked as a potential catalyst to close down coal-fired power stations faster—amid the net zero push—and to, instead, adopt more intermittent renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and battery.

  Confidence Towards Net Zero’s Viability is Low: MP

  Federal Nationals MP Keith Pitt, himself an electrical engineer, says a proposal to use demand management on EV charging reveals that operators have little confidence the grid can handle the uptake of electric cars expected in the push towards net zero.

  “EV take-up could increase peak demand by as much as 60 percent right across the National Electricity Market,” Mr. Pitt told The Epoch Times.

  “That would mean you need a 60 percent increase in generating electricity capacity, transmission, and distribution. So that’s every substation, every cable, every supply point, every house—it will cost an absolute fortune.”

  The federal Labor government has set a lofty goal of having 3.8 million EVs on the road by 2030—there are currently 83,000 in use.

  Further, the government is also pushing to expand the charging network, aiming for 100,000 for businesses, 3.8 million chargers in households, and 1,800 publicly available fast chargers.

  The initiative comes as part of a wider push towards net zero by 2050 and to reduce emissions by 43 percent by 2030. Further, the Labor government hopes to have 82 percent of the National Electricity Market powered by renewables.

  Advocacy Groups Push Back Against Proposal

  Advocacy groups have argued against a demand management system saying it will dampen enthusiasm for EVs.

  “We know from surveys that average consumers aren’t particularly keen on mandated orchestration of their appliances,” says the Electric Vehicle Council in its submission on the QECM (pdf).

  “The Peaksmart program enlists between 10,000 and 15,000 air conditioning units for orchestration each year … out of a total of about 300,000 that get installed. About 95 percent of consumers prefer retaining control of their air conditioning, overtaking the financial incentives on offer.”

  Meanwhile, Melissa McAuliffe, acting director of energy services at Energy Consumers Australia, says it would erode consumer trust that the “energy system is working for them.”

  “Our 2023 Energy Consumer Sentiment Survey finds that only 35 percent of households are confident that the energy industry and regulators are working in their long-term interests now,” she wrote in a submission (pdf).

  “Further, such measures are unlikely to be completely effective for consumers or the system, as consumers may look to workarounds that circumvent giving DNSPs control. For example, through disincentivising the use of EV chargers, consumers may just use regular power points.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 20:30

• Zelensky Says War 'Returning' To Russian Territory After Moscow Drone Attack
  Zelensky Says War ‘Returning’ To Russian Territory After Moscow Drone Attack

  On Sunday, the day following a major drone attack on Moscow’s financial district, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he is ready to “return” war to Russia’s own territory, emphasizing that this is “inevitable”.

  “Today is the 522nd day of the so-called ‘Special Military Operation’, which the Russian leadership thought would last a couple of weeks,” he said in a new video message. “Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia – to its symbolic centers and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process.” 

  He described these increasing attacks Russian territory as an “inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process” of the war between the two nations.

  

  It seemed a rare moment of Ukraine’s leadership owning up to a brazen cross-border attack deep in Russian territory. Throughout most of the war, Kiev officials have tended to stay silent on claiming responsibility specific attacks like this.

  BBC noted of Zelensky’s words that “It may be far from a confession, but President Zelensky clearly feels confident enough to pile on the pressure, and not just on the Kremlin.”

  Ukraine’s most powerful military backer, the United States, early in the conflict urged restraint when it comes to the prospect of attacking Russian territory—and has even long been resistant to providing Kiev with long-range missiles.

  And yet, there’s mounting testimony and evidence that strongly suggests US support for certain major attacks on Russian territory, especially in the Crimean peninsula. Arguably the biggest and most devastating attacks were the two bombings of the Crimean Bridge (which Russia alleges Ukrainian forces had US or NATO assistance with in both cases).

  It seems Zelensky now has greater willingness to be “open” in his intent to keep hitting Russian territory, which in turn raises to pressure on President Putin to respond with military escalation.

  Indeed Putin is now signaling he’s ready to do just that. While addressing the following remarks specifically in reference to the potential for a US-Russia clash over the skies of Syria, the issues at play certainly intersect with the Ukraine crisis as well:

  Russia is “always ready for any scenario,” President Vladimir Putin told journalists on Saturday, commenting on a potential direct confrontation between the Russian and NATO militaries. The president was responding to a question about recent near-collisions involving Russian and American aircraft in Syria. 

  “No one wants that,” the president added, pointing to the existing conflict-prevention lines that allow Russian and US officers to talk directly about “any crisis situation.” That fact that these lines still work shows that no side is interested in a conflict, he added. “If someone wants it – and that’s not us – then we’re ready,” Putin added.

  In Ukraine, there have been reports that intelligence and military command centers are being hit with Russian missiles at greater regularity.

  A new Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow. Kiev is in a desperate situation. Desperate people do desperate things. From the beginning of this war the desperate act of a nuclear war was always attributed to Russia, despite its gains in the battlefield. Why is no one paying attention…

  — Sophia (@les_politiques) July 30, 2023

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

  Some analysts have speculated that should the Ukrainian counteroffensive keep sliding toward failure and eventual defeat, Kiev will grow more desperate. Ukraine’s government might also be desperate enough to orchestrate an intentionally escalatory situation which would “ensure” the West gets more directly dragged into the war. This also at a moment Kiev officials continue to be frustrated at lack of air superiority, given the lag over the timeframe of receiving F-16 jets.

  Meanwhile…

  America, you loved Build Back Better!

  Now you’re loving Bidenomics!

  And this fall he’s delivering a very special treat:
  Bidenuclear armageddon! pic.twitter.com/Ybm68wop4G

  — Peachy Keenan (@KeenanPeachy) July 30, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 20:00

• CNN Still Pushing COVID Fear In 2023
  CNN Still Pushing COVID Fear In 2023

  Authored by Ben Bartee via PJMedia.com,

  Imagine being so soulless as to be a CNN editor still pushing COVID fear in this, the Year of Our Lord 2023.

  

  Imagine being gullible enough, as a non-ironic consumer of corporate state media, to take it all in.

  It’s time to stock up on tissues, bingeable TV options and Covid-19 tests. Yes, many signs are pointing to a Covid-19 summer surge – although one that’s far less intense than what emerged the past few summers. https://t.co/VAhO8gr4KN

  — CNN (@CNN) July 29, 2023

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

  Via CNN (emphasis added):

  It’s time to stock up on tissues, bingeable TV options and Covid-19 tests. Yes, many signs are pointing to a Covid-19 summer surge – although one that’s far less intense than what emerged the past few summers.

  Experts say they do not expect that cases will be severe or that the uptick will be prolonged, and there are early signs from wastewater data that this wavelet may already be leveling out.

  “Experts say” lots of things: that masks don’t work and then they magically do; that COVID injections stop transmission; that something called “herd immunity” is going to end the spread of a virus that constantly mutates; etc.

  If we’re keeping score, the “conspiracy theorists” have outperformed the “experts” in every way possible since the start of the pandemic. I put more stock in what my trusted colleague on Substack, with no institutional support and no budget for research, has to say about COVID than CNN.

  Continuing via CNN:

  But data posted this week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that many Covid-19 indicators, including hospital admissions, emergency department visits and test positivity, are once again on the rise.

  Independent commercial laboratories are also noting the increase.

  “When we look at our data, we have noticed that since late June to the beginning of July and probably through now, there has been a mild uptick in cases and these are based on samples sourced from pharmacy-based testing and also from health system-based testing,” said Shishi Luo, associate director of bioinformatics at Helix, a gene sequencing company which has been assisting the CDC with tracking the gene changes of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19…

  As testing data has become more limited, wastewater surveillance can offer a more consistent view of transmission trends over time. Data from Biobot Analytics, a biotechnology firm that has partnered with the CDC, shows that the concentration of coronavirus particles in sewage samples is about a third of what it was at this time last year.

  Here’s the thing, Jack: if COVID-19 is so like a common cold as to be indistinguishable in terms of symptoms, and therefore the only way to confirm whether there’s a “surge” in cases is through testing the wastewater, what’s the point of all of this fearmongering? No one ever reports on a rise in common colds among the population because it’s irrelevant to the vast majority of people with decent immune systems. Then again, Pfizer doesn’t have any injections to sell that ostensibly inoculate against a common cold.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 19:30

• How The World Economy Is Expected To Grow
  How The World Economy Is Expected To Grow

  The latest estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicate that globally, economic growth is expected to slow to the end of 2024.

  As Statista’s Martin Armstrong reports, representing a slightly more optimistic view than that offered in April – plus 0.2 points for 2023 – the IMF expects global real GDP to grow by 3.0 percent in both 2023 and 2024 after an estimated increase of 3.5 percent in 2022.

  Looking at the picture regionally, the highest growth rates are forecast for emerging and developing Asia, where output is expected to go up by 5.3 percent and 5.0 percent in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The United States, on the other hand, is projected to see faster declining growth over this period, going from 2.1 percent in 2022 to just 1.0 percent in 2024 .

  That is a pattern mirrored in advanced economies generally, where the rate is expected to go from 2.7 percent in 2022, down to 1.4 percent in 2024.

  Contributing to this slowing growth is Germany, where a decline in GDP of 0.3 percent is forecast for 2023.

  According to the IMF, this contraction is due to “weakness in manufacturing output and economic contraction in the first quarter of 2023”.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 19:00

• 'Questionable Political Prosecutions': House Republicans Ask Garland To Release Jack Smith Conflict-Of-Interest Documents
  ‘Questionable Political Prosecutions’: House Republicans Ask Garland To Release Jack Smith Conflict-Of-Interest Documents

  Authored by Catharine Yang via The Epoch Times,

  Republican members of Congress have sent a letter asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to release the conflict-of-interest review of special counsel Jack Smith.

  “Mr. Smith has a history of questionable political prosecutions,” wrote Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) in the Wednesday letter signed by eight other representatives.

  

  Mr. Smith was appointed special counsel last November to investigate former President Donald Trump, and is heading both the Mar-a-Lago case in which Mr. Trump has been indicted, and the probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach and surrounding events.

  Mr. Trump last week announced he’d received a letter informing him he was a target of this Jan. 6 investigation that has already resulted in more than 1,000 charged, and just today wrote on social media that his lawyers have met with Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators and that, contrary to many news reports, he was not told to expect an indictment. The grand jury reportedly convened this morning.

  Prior to Mr. Smith’s appointment, it would have been standard procedure to do a background check and review of the special counsel’s “ethics and conflicts of interest,” the letter states, citing a statute.

  “We request that you provide us with unredacted copies of all documents related to the conflicts of interest review that was conducted prior to Smith’s appointment, including any reports that were prepared as a part of the review by Friday, August 4, 2023,” reads the letter, which was first obtained by The Daily Caller.

  

  Special counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on a recently unsealed indictment against former President Donald Trump, in Washington on June 9, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

  The letter goes on to call into question Mr. Smith’s prosecution former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, “which was unanimously overturned by the Supreme Court.”

  Mr. McDonnell had been sentenced to two years in prison for accepting bribes in 2015. In 2016 the Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling that the prosecutors used a “boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute.”

  “A more limited interpretation of the term ‘official act’ leaves ample room for prosecuting corruption, while comporting with the text of the statute and the precedent of this Court,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. “Setting up a meeting, calling another public official, or hosting an event does not, standing alone, qualify as an ‘official act.’”

  “Conscientious public officials arrange meetings for constituents, contact other officials on their behalf, and include them in events all the time. The basic compact underlying representative government assumes that public officials will hear from their constituents and act appropriately on their concerns—whether it is the union official worried about a plant closing or the homeowners who wonder why it took five days to restore power to their neighborhood after a storm,” Roberts wrote.

  The letter also points out that Mr. Smith’s wife, Katy Chevigny, “produced a documentary about former First Lady Michelle Obama and donated to President [Joe] Biden’s 2020 campaign, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest for Mr. Smith.” Ms. Chevigny had donated $1,000 twice to Mr. Biden’s campaign in 2020.

  “We hope that you, in compliance with DOJ regulations, conducted the required review of potential conflicts of interest prior to Mr. Smith’s appointment. In order for the American people to have confidence in Mr. Smith’s investigation, it is vital that you release the information associated with the investigation of Mr. Smith’s potential conflicts of interest,” the letter reads.

  Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Bill Posey (R-Fla.), Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), Matthew Rosendale Sr. (R-Mont.), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), Alex Mooney (R-W. Va.), and Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) joined Mr. Burlison in signing the letter.

  

  Supreme Court Justice John Roberts (2L) administers the oath of office to U.S. President Donald Trump as his wife Melania Trump holds the Bible and son Barron Trump looks on, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

  Third Indictment?

  Reports of the Jan. 6 grand jury meeting emerged Thursday morning as jurors were seen entering a courthouse, and news reports of Mr. Trump’s lawyers being informed of an indictment that could come as soon as that day followed. The lawyers were seen leaving before noon, and by around 1 p.m. Mr. Trump had taken to social media to dispell the rumors.

  “My attorneys had a productive meeting with the DOJ this morning, explaining in detail that I did nothing wrong, was advised by many lawyers, and that an Indictment of me would only further destroy our Country. No indication of notice was given during the meeting—Do not trust the Fake News on anything!” he wrote.

  Mr. Trump has claimed the latest investigation is “election interference” on the part of the Biden administration, which has stayed quiet on the topic. When he announced the letter stating he was a target of this latest investigation, he wrote that a grand jury “almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.” He has already pleaded not guilty in one case related to falsifying business records, and another related to classified documents.

  “We’ll have fun on the stand with all of these people that say the Presidential Election wasn’t Rigged and Stollen. THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY!!!” Mr. Trump wrote.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 18:30

• CDC At 'Precipice' Of Recommending Annual Covid-19 Shots
  CDC At ‘Precipice’ Of Recommending Annual Covid-19 Shots

  The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is on track to recommend annual COVID-19 shots for Americans, according to the agency’s new director, Dr. Mandy Cohen.

  

  “We’re just on the precipice of that, so I don’t want to get ahead of where our scientists are here and doing that evaluation work, but yes we anticipate that COVID will become similar to flu shots, where it is going to be you get your annual flu shot and you get your annual COVID shot,” Cohen told Spectrum News, adding “We’re not quite there yet, but stay tuned. I think within the next couple of weeks, month we’re going to hear more from our experts on COVID shot.”

  The proposal, which would make COVID-19 shots akin to the flu vaccine, is expected to be finalized and announced in September despite concerns raised by critics regarding the lack of clinical trial data supporting the vaccines and the efficacy of the boosters.

  In April the CDC scaled back recommendations for people of all ages to receive a primary vaccine series and at least one booster – while countries such as England have stopped recommending or allowing certain people to get boosters, period. According to critics, the CDC should further scale back recommendations – particularly for those who are young and/or healthy until more data is available from trials and studies.

  “When you look at tracking data for the young, the rates of either infection or vaccination—in other words, the rate at which people have some level of circulating immunity—is quite high. And so the idea that that group needs to have a vaccination series now, without current research in that particular population, I don’t think is scientifically valid,” said Dr. David McCune, an oncologist, in a statement to the Epoch Times.

  The CDC’s plan ignores the fact that the vaccines have ‘faced challenges’ against the newer COVID-19 variants, while clinical data for newer, reformulated shots has yet to be made public. The updated shots which are supposed to target the XBB.1.5 variant are expected to be rolled out around September, and will exclude components of the original shot designed for the Wuhan variant.

  “Immunity from both vaccines and infection wanes over time. The only way to stay ahead of the virus is to continue to update the composition of our vaccines and administer them in a regular cadence. Although this strategy is critical, with our current generation of vaccines, it also requires immense resources for mounting frequent vaccination campaigns—at a time when antivaccination sentiment continues to grow and the public’s appetite for regular vaccinations has waned,” Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and former White House official Dr. Ashish Jha wrote in an editorial.

  

  “Next-generation vaccines and treatments are needed if we are to break the cycle of responding to new variants as they appear: we need tools that can improve our bodies’ ability to stop infections, reduce transmission, build longer-lasting immunity, and target parts of the virus that are less likely to evolve. Ideally, such vaccines and treatments would provide better protection, enabling us to avoid disruptions of our lives and continue to enjoy the activities we value.”

  Pharmaceutical companies are also developing combination vaccines to handle both COVID-19 and influenza.

  “The companies need a new market for the COVID product and they can get that by combining it with the influenza vaccine and making sure the CDC recommends that everyone get a COVID booster annually,” said Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center, in an email to the Epoch Times.

  “If CDC officials recommend that everyone get an annual COVID booster shot,” she added, “it will only further increase public distrust in vaccines and call into question the scientific and moral integrity of public health policy.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 18:00

• Inflation Is Dead… Long Live Inflation
  Inflation Is Dead… Long Live Inflation

  Submitted by Sebastian Bea of One River Asset Management

  60 years. That’s the median age of FOMC members. It puts their prime college learning years from 1983 to 1988, a period of exciting change in economics. Policy was attentive to taming inflation and shrinking the role of the government. Academicians calibrated how to keep future policy from cheating once price stability was achieved. And the world settled on inflation targeting, with New Zealand the first responder.

  “It was a bit of a shock to everyone, I think,” offered Roger Douglas, New Zealand’s finance minister in the late 1980s. “I just announced it was gonna be 2%, and it sort of stuck.” Global monetary policy can credit its current north star to “Rogernomics” – 2% became the global norm, agreeing with the direction of the wind. It was low enough to make inflation irrelevant and high enough to give policy a margin of error, greasing the wheels of an economy.

  But inflation targeting failed to achieve its objective. And for predictable reasons.

  “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure,” Charles Goodhart quipped in 1975 at a time when statistical techniques were on the rise. Models that looked useful when fitted to the past would become useless once policy used them, as everyone would anticipate their effects. And despite the vintage of policymakers learned in this era of thought, the lessons were brushed aside. The consequences cannot be. The amplitudes of financial asset prices have never been greater than in the era of “price stability.”

  And so, the pattern continues. Today, the global goods sector is in a deep recession. Industrial powerhouses of Europe’s north have become the weakest links in the global economy. Downward pressure on inflation from these sources is welcomed in overheated economies, like the US where nominal GDP is 14% above its 2010-2020 trend. One-year US inflation swaps have collapsed to 2%, a Pavlovian green light to be long growth equities. Only, that’s not really the story.

  Last year was a deflationary board, not an inflationary one. Yes, global CPI inflation rocketed to 9%, the highest in nearly two decades. But from any other vantage point, 2022 was deflationary. The US dollar rose. Equities evaporated. Bonds busted. Crypto cratered. Commodities collapsed. These are not outcomes of a world seeking inflation protection. There was a strongly held belief that inflation would be contained by rate hikes. And we got a lot of them. Cash was king.

  Now, the board is inflationary in the face of declining consumer price growth. Weak growth and low inflation in China open the door for aggressive easing, executing targeted stimulus to boost the consumer. Inflationary. Global equity gains are multiple expansion, discounting higher nominal GDP. Also, inflationary. Financial markets are internalizing the other lesson of the 1970s – monetary policy can’t do it alone in taming inflation, a fiscal anchor is needed. It isn’t there.

  Growth assets are leading performers this year with all eyes on scalable virtual worlds. Artificial intelligence. The Metaverse. Virtual currencies. Investors are enamored by scale. And like macro models, the past 20 years of scaling solutions are not the right guide to the future. Scaling the new generation of technologies will require enormous resources at a time when they are in sparse supply. A commodity supercycle will focus investors back to the need for physical investment.

  Signs are already there. Despite higher-for-longer policy rates, inflation commodities are firming. Gold is approaching cycle highs. Its correlation to bitcoin has averaged 65% this year (Bloomberg, CBAM calculations). The levels look nothing alike – bitcoin is still 57% from all-time highs. But there are two distinct patterns in the relationship between gold and bitcoin. One where bitcoin follows gold in a low-beta manner, and the other where digital gold surges in the phase of speculative excess (Figure 1).

  

  We have yet to see the unabashed speculative excess that derailed past cycles – crypto-asset markets are avoiding past mistakes. It’s a disciplined rally. Digital Financial Conditions are tight. Capital is available, but only for those with strong projects anchored to conservative planning. Even where momentum and speculation show signs of building, it is localized. Figure 2 makes the point with a scatter of one-month price changes against the year-to-date.

  

  The upward-sloping line is indicative of momentum. Those winning for the month are now winning for the year. Narrow momentum is the story of July, a bet on previously lagging assets racing ahead, like Stellar, Ripple, and Solana. This cycle’s early movers, dominated by Bitcoin and Ethereum, delivered mostly nothing in July despite an inflationary board in traditional markets. The gift of nothing is welcomed. Durable trends are built on discipline. It’s the prevailing theme in crypto-asset markets.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 17:30

• Summer Blockbuster 'Sound Of Freedom' To Hit Movie Screens "Around The World"
  Summer Blockbuster ‘Sound Of Freedom’ To Hit Movie Screens “Around The World”

  Despite a wave of negative criticism from mainstream outlets like (Rolling Stone and Bloomberg) targeting the anti-child trafficking movie “Sound of Freedom,” the independent film is defying expectations by increasing its nationwide screening count. The film’s earnings have exceeded $140 million, and there are plans to expand its reach to over 20 countries in Central and South America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Australia, and South Africa. 

  The film’s production company Angel Studios tweeted, “Sound of Freedom is on its way around the world.” 

  You ask, we answer. “Sound of Freedom” is on its way around the world.

  Find international showtimes at https://t.co/tUytCofxfr .#SoundOfFreedom #AngelStudios pic.twitter.com/fOCIZ7od1p

  — Angel Studios (@AngelStudiosInc) July 26, 2023

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

  On Friday, Angel Studios released a statement, “SOUND OF FREEDOM enters its fourth-weekend screening in 3,411 theaters, and is crossing the total booking threshold of over 4,000 screens and topping $130M in box office revenue.” 

  “Everyone in the industry knows that films are generally supposed to lose screens week-over-week, not add them. And yet, the incredible word-of-mouth driving SOUND OF FREEDOM continues to spread. In response, we are continuing to expand our offering in theaters this weekend,” said Brandon Purdie, Angel Studios Head of Theatrical. 

  According to Box Office Mojo, the movie that only had a budget of $14.5 million has earned $140 million as of Friday since being released on July 4 — and remains in the top five hottest movies at theaters. 

  

  Geesey told Newsweek, “Since Sound of Freedom launched in the U.S., demand has been building around the world in dozens of regions and languages. Child trafficking is a global issue, and we hope to build on the incredible momentum here in the States and share the film’s powerful message worldwide.”

  He told Variety: “Sound of Freedom has become the people’s movie. This is the opposite of the top down system developed by Hollywood gatekeepers. We are empowering people to be part of choosing, funding, and sharing stories that amplify light and impact culture.”

  The film, which stars Jim Caviezel, is based on the true story of Tim Ballard, a former Homeland Security agent who battles against human trafficking. 

  “A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE MASTERPIECE THAT EVERYONE MUST SEE!”

  “An inspiring, life-changing film that captured my heart and changed the way I think about everything.”
  See showtimes at https://t.co/JEKL04lTRB #2MillionFor2Million pic.twitter.com/iCjrweVSxl

  — Angel Studios (@AngelStudiosInc) June 30, 2023

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

  At the end of the film, a message reads, “Human trafficking is a 150 billion-dollar-a-year business. The United States is one of the top destinations for human trafficking and is among the largest consumers of child sex. There are more humans trapped in slavery today than [at] any other time in history—including when slavery was legal. Millions of these slaves are children.” 

  

  No matter how much corporate media bashes the movie as nothing more than ‘QAnon conspiracy theories,’ the horrors of child trafficking are very real, and the popularity of it continues to expand worldwide. 

   

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 16:33

• "Everything Is Changing" – Californians Struggling With High Rent Prices, End Of Eviction Moratoriums
  “Everything Is Changing” – Californians Struggling With High Rent Prices, End Of Eviction Moratoriums

  Authored by Travis Gillmore via The Epoch Times,

  With some of the most expensive rent prices in the nation, Californians pay a disproportionate share of income for housing, and with evictions now returning after nearly three years of moratoriums in certain locations, some property owners and renters are finding themselves in difficult predicaments.

  

  More than 768,000 households are behind on rent in the Golden State, with debts totaling more than $5 billion, putting approximately 721,000 children at risk of eviction, according to the National Equity Atlas—a collaborative data and analytics tool founded by Oakland-based Policy Link and the University of Southern California Equity Research Institute.

  Residents in the City of Los Angeles are facing a deadline of Aug. 1 to repay all rental debt accrued between March 2020 and September 2021, with that from October 2021 to January 31, 2023, due by February 2024.

  With the first deadline imminent, Mayor Karen Bass and the city council are working to assist overburdened renters with a series of programs allowing applicants to request financial aid.

  

  Renters and housing advocates attend a protest to cancel rent and avoid evictions amid the Coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles on Aug. 21, 2020. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)

  Renters make up nearly half of the state’s population, with an estimated 17 million people leasing their homes out of 39.5 million residents, and rising prices are impacting their ability to make ends meet, according to Legislative analyses.

  Average rent prices in California are $2,902 across all sizes and property types, according to online real estate listing company Zillow as of July 21.

  Based on current listings in many areas like Orange, San Diego, Santa Clara, or San Francisco counties, homes with three bedrooms and space to accommodate a family cost at least $4,000 a month to rent.

  Supply and demand are to blame, with less housing available than is needed fueling a progressive increase in rental prices, according to economists.

  Rent increase limits for existing tenants were established with the passage in 2019 of Assembly Bill 1482, known as the California Tenant Protection Act, setting a 5 percent plus the cost of inflation or 10 percent, whichever is lower, as the highest adjustment allowed.

  New leases are not subject to the same protection, thus further incentivizing landlords to evict slow or non-paying and at-fault tenants, according to experts.

  

  A “For Lease” sign is posted in front of a house available for rent in Los Angeles on March 15, 2022. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

  Meanwhile, stakeholders on both sides of the rental equation have raised questions about various regulations instituted during the pandemic.

  Some landlords report dealing with stressful moments when renters were not paying, and they had no legal recourse to evict for non-payment, yet their mortgage payments continued to be due monthly.

  “It put all the headache on the property owner,” John Morgan, owner of multiple rental properties in Northern California, told The Epoch Times.

  “I understand some tenants were unable to pay. But some of these situations we saw across the state were people taking advantage of the moratorium. They just stopped paying and used the money to fund a better lifestyle.”

  The California Apartment Association has brought attention to the matter by filing lawsuits to limit renter protection mandates, lobbying lawmakers, and presenting stories of landlords that were owed significant sums—one more than $108,000—in back rent from families that simply chose to stop paying because they could not be evicted.

  Now with the state COVID moratoriums rescinded in June 2022 and municipal protections slowly coming to a close—with the exception of San Francisco, which is extending its policies for some low-income residents—evictions are starting to climb.

  “We don’t ever want to evict anyone, but we have bills to pay, and when they’re mounting up, it weighs on our family,” Mr. Morgan said.

  “If I can’t pay the mortgage, I don’t have a house to offer for rent.”

  

  Dozens of people hold up signs protesting against an eviction moratorium while a property owner sitting in a wheelchair continues his hunger strike in Oakland, Calif., on Feb. 26, 2023. (Xue Mingzhu/The Epoch Times)

  On the other hand, renters are faced with inflationary pressures and an uncertain economic future, with layoffs occurring in high-paying technology and finance fields in the state this year, and some rural areas experiencing economic upheaval with mounting losses reported by many businesses involved in the cannabis industry.

  “It’s been tougher to find a job and steady income this year than at any time since I moved here in 2009,” Maria Aguilera, a restaurant employee and mother of two living in Mendocino County, told The Epoch Times.

  “Everything is changing, people have less money to spend, so we’re making less in tips. Most of my money goes to rent and utilities because housing is so expensive.”

  Recognizing the issues facing renters in the state, a group of lawmakers—themselves renters—formed the Renters Caucus, a bicameral group of five Democrats dedicated to addressing rental-related housing concerns.

  Chaired by Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), the caucus includes fellow Assemblymembers Alex Lee (D-Milpitas), Isaac Bryan (D-Culver City), Tasha Boerner (D-Carlsbad), and Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-Fremont).

  Several proposals were introduced this year to strengthen renters’ protection, with one such measure, Senate Bill 567—authored by Sen. María Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) and designed to limit rent increases to 5 percent annually—finding itself watered down in the legislative process. With price caps now stripped from its text, the bill will next be considered by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

  

  Apartments in Santa Ana, Calif., on Feb. 10, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

  Assembly Bill 12, introduced by Mr. Haney, the renters’ caucus chair, would reduce the amount of security deposit allowable from two months’ rent for an unfurnished dwelling and three months’ for furnished to the amount equal to one month’s rent for any new residential lease.

  The bill passed the Assembly and all Senate committees and will be debated on the Senate floor once legislative meetings resume in August following the summer recess.

  The author notes the importance of the bill in the analysis provided to the Legislature, as high up-front costs prevent some residents from obtaining housing, citing statistics that show average deposits of $8,000 in Los Angeles and $10,000 in San Francisco. Most landlords require first and last month along with a deposit when securing a lease.

  “While many families are able to afford their monthly rent, the requirement for two or three months’ rent solely for a security deposit places a financial burden on many who cannot afford it,” Mr. Haney argued in support of the bill in the Assembly’s analysis. “As a result, many families have to choose between acquiring more debt to afford their security deposit or not being approved for their much-needed housing.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 16:30

• "Like Organized Crime" – Multiple Banks Filed Over 170 'Suspicious Activity' Reports On The Bidens
  “Like Organized Crime” – Multiple Banks Filed Over 170 ‘Suspicious Activity’ Reports On The Bidens

  As the evidence for at least an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden mounts, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and co-host Ben Ferguson discussed the latest bombshell – 170 suspicious activity reports (SARs) from six banks over the past few years – on their podcast with House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-KY).

  

  As Townhall reports, these SARs are submitted and sent to the Treasury Department when banks “have a strong suspicion” that a crime has been committed, so as to protect the bank.

  As Comer emphasized, these are submitted “very seldom.”

  If someone were to have two, the chairman explained, it would be hard for that person to open up a bank account.

  Submitting an SAR, Comer added, also is “inviting the regulators to come in and regulate,” which is the last thing banks want.

  The 170 reports are thus quite significant. 

  To paint the scene here, Comer explained that what might trigger an SAR is “a large transaction that comes out of the blue.”

  BREAKING🚨 Rep. James Comer says six banks, including JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, submitted over 170 suspicious activity reports to the Treasury Department regarding the Biden family, alleging their involvement in money laundering, human trafficking, and tax… pic.twitter.com/62WcXaITeM

  — KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) July 27, 2023

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

  As @KanekoaTheGreat lays out in his detailed tweet: (emphasis ours)

  BREAKING🚨 Rep. James Comer says six banks, including JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, submitted over 170 suspicious activity reports to the Treasury Department regarding the Biden family, alleging their involvement in money laundering, human trafficking, and tax fraud.

  The American banks also raised concerns about wire transfers received by the Bidens from foreign state-owned entities, notably from the Chinese government, allegedly for the purpose of money laundering and tax evasion.

  The foreign wires were found to be directed towards Biden’s business associates before being funneled through 20 shell companies associated with the Bidens. Subsequently, the funds were distributed among various Biden family members.

  SARs are vital documents that financial institutions must file with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) when they suspect any cases of money laundering or fraudulent activities.

  Rep. Comer highlighted one specific SAR linked to a $3 million wire from China to Biden’s business partner, Rob Walker.

  This money was received in an inactive account that had maintained a $50,000 balance for ten years before the significant wire transaction from China.

  Within just 24 hours of receiving the wire, Walker initiated incremental payments to several Biden shell companies, eventually disbursing funds to four different Biden family members.

  Comer explained that concealing the source of money through the use of shell companies to deceive the IRS is considered money laundering and racketeering. 

  He noted that if the funds were intended for legitimate purposes, they could have been wired directly to Hunter Biden, but instead, they were routed through business partners and various companies with no clear legitimate purpose.

  Senator Ted Cruz asked, “So the Chinese Communist government was sending the money?”

  Rep. Comer replied, “Yes.”

  “If Hunter Biden was doing something legitimate for China, they could have just wired the money to Hunter Biden, but they didn’t,” he explained. 

  “They sent it to a company called Robinson Walker. Then they wired it to a company called Owasco. Then they wired it to another company called Bohai. These companies don’t do anything with the money.”

  Senator Cruz responded, “It’s just a bucket to pour the water in, then a bucket to pour it into somewhere else?” 

  Rep Comer said, “That’s exactly what it is and it was organized. This is like organized crime.”

  When the corporate media foolishly asks where is the evidence that the Bidens committed crimes?

  American banks have submitted hundreds of suspicious activity reports on the Biden family, alleging their involvement in human trafficking, money laundering, and tax fraud. 

  Congressional investigators have obtained bank account records and wire transfer statements on twenty shell companies owned by the Bidens, which were allegedly used for laundering illegally obtained money from China, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Kazakhstan as unregistered foreign agents. 

  This evidence is supported by hundreds of thousands of emails, tens of thousands of text messages, photographs, audio recordings, calendar statements, and ten years of data from Hunter Biden’s laptop, which the FBI took into its possession in 2019. @MarcoPolo501c3 published a comprehensive “Report on the Biden Laptop,” documenting 459 alleged crimes involving the Biden family and their associates, including 140 business crimes, 191 sex crimes, and 128 drug crimes.

  A $1,000 reward is offered for any verifiable corrections, but thus far, no crimes have been disputed.

  In addition, credible IRS whistleblowers have accused the Justice Department of obstructing the Hunter Biden investigation by blocking felony charges, search warrants, and interviews while preventing any investigation of the President and his family.

  Furthermore, just yesterday, a judge highlighted an unprecedented lenient deal offered by the Justice Department to Hunter Biden, which would result in no felony charges or jail time for tax fraud and lying on a gun form.

  This DOJ deal would have also granted protection to the First Son from any future prosecution related to illegally obtained money from foreign nations as an unregistered foreign agent.

  What is more corrosive and destructive to our nation than a politicized Justice Department that applies different legal standards depending on whether one’s last name is Trump or Biden?

  With Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea-deal now eviscerated, will the mainstream media find any of this “suspicious activity”, suspicious enough to warrant a report?

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 16:00

• DoJ Wants SBF's Bail Revoked Over Witness-Tampering, Diary Leak Allegations
  DoJ Wants SBF’s Bail Revoked Over Witness-Tampering, Diary Leak Allegations

  Authored by Amaka Nwaokocha via CoinTelegraph.com,

  According to a July 28 court filing, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking the revocation of Sam Bankman-Fried’s (SBF) bail, accusing him of attempting to tamper with witnesses and leaking Caroline Ellison’s diary to The New York Times.

  

  The DOJ notes that SBF was released on a bond on Dec. 22, 2022, but later requested multiple bail modifications. According to the filing, on Jan. 15, 2023, the defendant reached out to the current general counsel of FTX US via email and the encrypted messaging application, Signal.

  In the communication, SBF expressed a desire to reconnect and explore the possibility of establishing a constructive relationship.

  He inquired about the potential of using each other as resources or providing mutual input on various matters.

  

  Screenshot of the DOJ’s filing. Source: CourtListener.

  SBF also allegedly used Signal for obstructive purposes, with the app’s auto-deletion feature complicating the investigation. The court expressed concerns regarding the potential risk of witness tampering in light of the defendant’s behavior.

  According to John Reed Stark, former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Internet Enforcement chief, Judge Lewis Kaplan has several options. He could view SBF’s actions as an effort to improperly influence witnesses and choose to either make further modifications to his bail conditions or revoke his bail entirely.

  He argued that Kaplan would face a tough decision in this case. If SBF is permitted to stay free, the judge will likely reiterate his previous warnings.

  The written submission comes after a July 26 hearing in a Manhattan court. U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon requested the revocation of SBF’s bail based on allegations he used his freedom to intimidate Ellison, his former romantic partner and colleague. Sassoon informed the judge that SBF attempted to “intimidate” Ellison and made around 100 calls to an NYT reporter.

  In a July 20 complaint, the DOJ also leveled accusations against SBF for leaking Ellison’s diary, accusing him of trying to publicly discredit a government witness by sharing her personal writings with a reporter.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 15:30

• A Silent Threat To The Energy Transition: America's Broken Infrastructure Policy
  A Silent Threat To The Energy Transition: America’s Broken Infrastructure Policy

  Authroed by Joshua Trott via RealClear Wire,

  On paper, the Inflation Reduction Act was a big win for America’s infrastructure and energy future: $550 billion in federal spending, with nearly $400 billion earmarked for energy projects aimed at reducing our carbon emissions by the end of the decade. But money alone, even half a trillion dollars in federal funding, can’t solve the biggest problems facing the energy industry as it works to meet global demand today while building toward a more sustainable tomorrow. 

  So much of the conversation focuses on the tired and misleading narrative about Oil & Gas villains vs. Renewable heroes. The true enemy of our sustainable energy future is the nation’s broken infrastructure policy. We could greenlight every renewable project in development today and innovate every piece of technology needed to meet our climate goals, and it wouldn’t matter because we lack the ability to utilize and store the energy we create.

  Take the West Virginia pipeline finally approved after years of stalled progress. It’s getting done not because of new funding or policy innovation, but thanks to pork barrel politics in Capitol Hill’s debt ceiling negotiations. The Mountain Valley Pipeline highlights the shortcomings of our fragmented infrastructure policy, which threatens to derail even the costliest, best-executed, and most well-intentioned energy transition plans. The stakes have never been higher, and the situation is growing more precarious by the day. 

  

  A Broken System

  There’s a massive gap between our efforts to transition to sustainable energy and our ability to make it happen. Countless examples and data points bear this out. Here are just a few:

  • At the end of 2022, there were over 10,000 projects in the U.S., most of them wind, solar, and batteries, waiting for permission to connect to the grid, up from 8,100 the year before, according to researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In 2021, backlogged projects sitting in the queue represented 1,300 gigawatts of solar, wind, and battery projects – technically enough to supply about 80% of the country’s electricity demand. 

  • Most energy storage projects never get built. A Clean Energy Group report found that “lengthening wait times and rising interconnection costs dramatically restrict the rate at which renewable generation and energy storage resources are installed.” This creates obstacles to hitting so many goals, including emissions reduction targets, renewable generation and energy storage procurement targets, and grid modernization plans.

  • California’s big three utilities may need to invest up to $50 billion by 2035 to upgrade their grids in order to meet the state’s ambitious electric vehicle goals. That’s a staggering sum, what is arguably the greenest and most forward-looking state regarding renewables, and it highlights the needs every state will face when tackling energy infrastructure investment.

  • The IR Act included hundreds of billions of dollars for solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and other technologies to tackle climate change. Yet if we can’t build new transmission at a faster pace, around 80% of the emissions reductions expected from that bill might not happen, according to researchers at Princeton University’s REPEAT Project.

  Infrastructure isn’t top of mind for most people, but it has gotten more attention in recent years, particularly after Congress passed the massive $1 trillion infrastructure bill in 2021. The legislation included funding for everything from airport repairs to clean drinking water. It also contained the largest investment in clean energy transmission and the electric grid in U.S. history – $65 billion – to be used for new transmission lines for renewable energy, advanced transmission and distribution technologies, and research hubs for next-generation technologies, including carbon capture and clean hydrogen.

  But what good are new transmission lines and next-gen technologies if they never make it past the black hole of red tape, interminable delays, supply-chain problems, and exploding costs that derail so many energy projects? 

  The Interconnection Crisis

  The demand for investment far outpaces the industry’s speed and capacity to build. In the past decade, only about 23% of all projects in interconnection queues have ultimately been able to plug into the grid and start operations. The total capacity of energy projects in the nation’s queues is growing fast and increased by 40% year-over-year in 2022, according to a recent report from the Berkeley Lab.  

  This surge of development, largely a response to government climate resilience incentives, is good news for the energy transition – in theory. But to be able to build the infrastructure needed to meet our targets, development and construction timelines must be radically shortened.

  Some more sobering statistics: The combined solar and wind capacity currently actively seeking grid interconnection roughly equals the installed capacity of the entire U.S. power plant fleet. And just 21% of projects (and 14% of capacity) seeking connection from 2000 to 2017 had been built as of the end of 2022.

  Not surprisingly, bad wait times are only getting worse. The typical duration from connection request to commercial operation increased from less than two years for projects built from 2000 to 2007 to nearly four years for those built from 2018 to 2022. When companies do finally get projects reviewed, they often face another hurdle: Local grids are at capacity, so they are required to spend much more than they planned for new transmission lines and other upgrades.

  The mission-critical priority is not the ability to build energy resources. It’s the infrastructure and ability to absorb and leverage those energy resources. Forget about politics, policy, and money – if you don’t have the infrastructure to support the new technology, nothing else matters.

  Aging Grid, Growing Problems 

  This New York Times headline from February sums up the issue well: “The U.S. Has Billions for Wind and Solar Projects. Good Luck Plugging Them In.”

  Much of the U.S. grid was built in the 1960s and 1970s, and over 70% of it is currently more than a quarter-century old. But age isn’t the grid’s only problem. The U.S. power infrastructure was built to bring energy from where fossil fuels are burned to where the energy will be used. The nation’s electricity industry, meanwhile, grew via a patchwork of local utility companies whose targets were to meet local demand and maintain grid reliability.

  Emissions-free energy sources like sun and wind are, by nature, intermittent. They’re abundant only in places where the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, and therefore need to be stored and transmitted to other locations where there is demand for power. 

  Along with the need for new ways to transmit and store sustainable energy, the existing grid will need a major upgrade as demand for electricity rises to meet the needs of electric vehicles, heat pumps, and other replacements for conventional energy sources. A modernized and expanded grid “will be the backbone of the energy transition – and a requirement of any realistic decarbonization pathway,” according to a 2022 report by McKinsey & Company.

  A recent Department of Energy draft analysis cited “a pressing need for additional electric transmission,” especially between different regions. The McKinsey study framed it more dramatically: The U.S. grid will need to expand by 60% by 2030, and doing so would require “a mind-boggling acceleration of the typical ten-year capital project timeline. It is, arguably, a century of work to do in less than a decade.” 

  So far, that expedited timeline looks like a pipe dream. PJM Interconnection, the largest electrical grid operator in the U.S., has been so inundated by connection requests that last year, it announced a freeze on new applications so it can work through a backlog of thousands of interconnection requests, mostly for renewable energy.

  Upgrading the grid is the single most important thing we must do to enable a successful energy transition. Without policy change, this problem won’t get solved. 

  Washington: We Need Action Now 

  There is no silver bullet to fix this complex set of issues. But it’s clear we need a strategic approach to infrastructure investment, and fast. Part of that investment needs to come from Washington in the form of comprehensive policy and regulatory reform, which is the single biggest blocker to private investment and healthy competition in the energy sector. 

  Simply put, building energy projects is complicated. Who pays for what is even more complicated, as processes, permitting, payment, and incentivization are all misaligned. Current policy doesn’t support the buildout we need; in fact, it slows it down and exacerbates the problem. Without policy and regulatory reform, we’ll continue to pay more and more to maintain our quality of life. Even worse, we’ll never reach the finish line in the race to a sustainable energy future.

  If we want such a future, we must completely retool our approach to building infrastructure. We must support the resourcing we need in ways that maintain reliability while also furthering our climate goals. We need improved processes for addressing state and federal permitting, with a focus on timely conflict resolution. And we need incentive structures that promote large-scale infrastructure investment and improve cross-sector collaboration.

  Pitting Oil & Gas vs. Renewables is a false choice that ignores the perilous state of our country’s infrastructure policy and sidesteps the sizable obstacles to overhauling it. Solving these issues should galvanize everyone who cares about the transition to a sustainable energy future. It also should unite the energy industry behind a clear and urgent mission: to understand the challenges posed by our grids and infrastructure, to intelligently invest in solutions that are both profitable and deliver results for society, and to ring the bell loudly about the regulatory reform that is needed to deliver on our goals.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/30/2023 – 14:30

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• Escobar: Geopolitical Chessboard Shifts Against US Empire
  Escobar: Geopolitical Chessboard Shifts Against US Empire

  Authored by Pepe Escobar,

  The geopolitical chessboard is in perpetual shift – and never more than in our current incandescent juncture…

  

  A fascinating consensus in discussions among Chinese scholars – including those part of the Asian and American diasporas – is that not only Germany/EU lost Russia, perhaps irretrievably, but China gained Russia, with an economy highly complementary to China’s own and with solid ties with the Global South/Global Majority that can benefit and aid Beijing.

  Meanwhile, a smatter of Atlanticist foreign policy analysts are now busy trying to change the narrative on NATO vs. Russia, applying the rudiments of realpolitik.

  The new spin is that it’s “strategic insanity” for Washington to expect to defeat Moscow, and that NATO is experiencing “donor fatigue” as the sweatshirt warmonger in Kiev “loses credibility”.

  Translation: it’s NATO as a whole that is completely losing credibility, as its humiliation in the Ukraine battlefield is now painfully graphic for all the Global Majority to see.

  Additionally, “donor fatigue” means losing a major war, badly. As military analyst Andrei Martyanov has relentlessly stressed, “NATO ‘planning’ is a joke. And they are envious, painfully envious and jealous.”

  A credible path ahead is that Moscow will not negotiate with NATO – a mere Pentagon add-on – but offer individual European nations a security pact with Russia that would make their need to belong to NATO redundant. That would assure security for any participating nation and relieve pressure on it from Washington.

  Bets could be made that the most relevant European powers might accept it, but certainly not Poland – the hyena of Europe – and the Baltic chihuahuas.

  In parallel, China could offer peace treaties to Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, and subsequently a significant part of the US Empire of Bases might vanish.

  The problem, once again, is that vassal states don’t have the authority or power to comply with any agreement ensuring peace. German businessmen, off the record, are sure that sooner or later Berlin may defy Washington and do business with the Russia-China strategic partnership because it benefits Germany.

  Yet the golden rule still has not been met: if a vassal state wants to be treated as a sovereign state, the first thing to do is to shut down key branches of the Empire of Bases and expel US troops.

  Iraq is trying to do it for years now, with no success. One third of Syria remains US-occupied – even as the US lost its proxy war against Damascus due to Russian intervention.

  The Ukraine Project as an existential conflict

  Russia has been forced to fight against a neighbor and kin that it simply can’t afford to lose; and as a nuclear and hypersonic power, it won’t.

  Even if Moscow will be somewhat strategically weakened, whatever the outcome, it’s the US – in the view of Chinese scholars – that may have committed its greatest strategic blunder since the establishment of the Empire: turning the Ukraine Project into an existential conflict, and committing the entire Empire and all its vassals to a Total War against Russia.

  That’s why we have no peace negotiations, and the refusal even of a cease fire; the only possible outcome devised by the Straussian neocon psychos who run US foreign policy is unconditional Russian surrender.

  In the recent past, Washington could afford to lose its wars of choice against Vietnam and Afghanistan. But it simply can’t afford to lose the war on Russia. When that happens, and it’s already on the horizon, the Revolt of the Vassals will be far reaching.

  It’s quite clear that from now on China and BRICS+ – with expansion starting at the summit in South Africa next month – will turbo-charge the undermining of the US dollar. With or without India.

  There will be no imminent BRICS currency – as noted by some excellent points in this discussion. The scope is huge, sherpas are only in the initial debating stages, and the broad outlines have not been defined yet.

  The BRICS+ approach will evolve from improved cross border settlement mechanisms – something everyone from Putin to Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina have stressed – to eventually a new currency way further down the road.

  This would probably be a trade instrument rather than a sovereign currency like the euro. It will be designed to compete against the US dollar in trade, initially among BRICS+ nations, and capable of circumventing the hegemonic US dollar ecosystem.

  The key question is how long the Empire’s fake economy – clinically deconstructed by Michael Hudson – can hold out in this wide spectrum geoeconomic war.

  Everything is a ‘national security threat’

  On the electronic technology front, the Empire has gone no holds barred to impose global economic dependency, monopolizing intellectual property rights and as Michael Hudson notes, “extracting economic rent from charging high prices for high-technology computer chips, communications, and arms production.”

  In practice, not much is happening other than the prohibition for Taiwan to supply valuable chips to China, and asking TSMC to build, as soon as possible, a chip manufacturing complex in Arizona.

  However, TSMC chairman Mark Liu has remarked that the plant faced a shortage of workers with the “specialized expertise required for equipment installation in a semiconductor-grade facility.” So the much lauded TSMC chip plant in Arizona won’t start production before 2025.

  The top Empire/vassal NATO demand is that Germany and the EU must impose a Trade Iron Curtain against the Russia-China strategic partnership and their allies, thus ensuring “de-risk” trade.

  Predictably, US Think Tankland has gone bonkers, with American Enterprise Institute hacks rabidly stating that even economic de-risking is not enough: what the US needs is a hard break with China.

  In fact that dovetails with Washington smashing international free trade rules and international law, and treating any form of trade and SWIFT and financial exchanges as “national security threats” to US economic and military control.

  So the pattern ahead is not China imposing trade sanctions on the EU – which remains a top trade partner for Beijing; it’s Washington imposing a tsunami of sanctions on nations daring to break the US-led trade boycott.

  Russia-DPRK meets Russia-Africa

  Only this week, the chessboard went through two game-changing moves: the high-profile visit by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to the DPRK, and the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg.

  Shoigu was received in Pyongyang as a rock star. He had a personal meeting with Kim Jong-Un. The mutual goodwill leads to the strong possibility of North Korea eventually joining one of the multilateral organizations carving the path towards multipolarity.

  That would be, arguably, an extended Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It could start with an EAEU-DPRK free trade agreement, such as the ones struck with Vietnam and Cuba.

  Russia is the top power in the EAEU and it can ignore sanctions on the DPRK, while BRICS+, SCO or ASEAN have too many second thoughts. A key priority for Moscow is the development of the Far East, more integration with both Koreas, and the Northern Sea Route, or Arctic Silk Road. The DPRK is then a natural partner.

  Getting the DPRK into the EAEU will do wonders for BRI investment: a sort of cover which Beijing does not enjoy for the moment when it invests in the DPRK. That could become a classic case of deeper BRI-EAEU integration.

  Russian diplomacy at the highest levels is going all out to relieve the pressure over the DPRK. Strategically, that’s a real game-changer; imagine the huge and quite sophisticated North Korean industrial-military complex added to the Russia-China strategic partnership and turning the whole Asia-Pacific paradigm upside down.

  The Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, in itself, was another game-changer that left collective West mainstream media apoplectic. That was nothing less than Russia publicly announcing, in words and deeds, a comprehensive strategic partnership with the whole of Africa even as a hostile collective West wages Hybrid War – and otherwise – against Afro-Eurasia.

  Putin showed how Russia holds a 20% share of the global wheat market. In the first 6 months of 2023, it had already exported 10 million tons of grain to Africa. Now Russia will be providing Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Somalia and Eritrea with 25-50 thousand tons of grain each in the next 3-4 months, for free.

  Putin detailed everything from approximately 30 energy projects across Africa to the expansion of oil and gas exports and “unique non-energy applications of nuclear technology, including in medicine”; the launching of a Russian industrial zone near the Suez Canal with products to be exported throughout Africa; and the development of Africa’s financial infrastructure, including connection to the Russian payment system.

  Crucially, he also extolled closer ties between the EAEU and Africa. A forum panel, “EAEU-Africa: Horizons of Cooperation”, examined the possibilities, which include closer continental connection with both the BRICS and Asia. A torrent of free trade agreements may be in the pipeline.

  The scope of the forum was quite impressive. There were “de-neocolonialization” panels, such as “Achieving Technological Sovereignty Through Industrial Cooperation” or “New World Order: from the Legacy of Colonialism to Sovereignty and Development.”

  And of course the International North South Transportation Corridor (INSTC) was also discussed, with major players Russia, Iran and India set to promote its crucial extension to Africa, escaping NATO littorals.

  Separate from the frantic action in St. Petersburg, Niger went through a military coup. Although the end-result remains to be seen, Niger is likely to join neighboring Mali in reasserting its foreign policy independence from Paris. French influence is also being at least “reset” in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Burkina Faso. Translation: France and the West are being evicted all across the Sahel, one-step at a time, in an irreversible process of decolonization.

  Beware the Pale Horses of Destruction

  These movements across the chessboard, from the DPRK to Africa and the chip war against China, are as crucial as the coming, shattering humiliation of NATO in Ukraine. Yet not only the Russia-China strategic partnership but also key players across the Global South/Global Majority are fully aware that Washington views Russia as a tactical enemy in preparation for the overriding Total War against China.

  As it stands, the still unresolved tragedy in Donbass as it keeps the Empire busy, and away from Asia-Pacific. Yet Washington under the Straussian neocon psychos is increasingly mired in Desperation Row, making it even more dangerous.

  All that while the BRICS+ “jungle” turbo-charges the necessary mechanisms capable of sidelining the unipolar Western “garden”, as a helpless Europe is being driven to an abyss, forced to split itself from China, BRICS+ and the de facto Global Majority.

  It doesn’t take a seasoned weatherman to see which way the steppe wind blows – as the Pale Horses of Destruction plot the trampling of the chessboard, and the wind begins to howl.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 23:30

• Only 1 In 4 Americans Enjoy "Being Social"
  Only 1 In 4 Americans Enjoy “Being Social”

  International Friendship Day will be celebrated tomorrow, July 30.

  To mark it, Statista’s Anna Fleck looks at data from a Statista Consumer Insights survey to see where “socializing” is most often considered a hobby in different countries around the world.

  As the following chart shows, Germans, and to a slightly lesser extent the Danish and Spanish, are particularly likely to include spending time with others as one of their main personal pastimes.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  By contrast, respondents in the United States and in urban India were far less likely to consider socializing as one of their top hobbies, with only around one in four picking the option.

  In the U.S., just some of the hobbies which were selected by a higher share of people included cooking and baking (40 percent of respondents), reading (36 percent), pets (34 percent), video gaming (33 percent) and outdoor activities (31 percent).

  In the U.S. at least, a slightly higher share of women said socializing was one of their hobbies (27 percent) versus men (23 percent).

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 23:00

• The Truth Is Out There
  The Truth Is Out There

  Authored by Emina Melonic via RealClear Wire,

  The cacophony of the Internet has been distracting from proper intellectual discussion for quite some time now. Over time, it has added clashes of ideological cymbals and symbols, signifying not much other than anger, destruction, and despair. The fact that Americans are divided has become a forgone conclusion. People have been split into so many subsets that it’s impossible to carry out a proper conversation. We indeed have an American Tower of Babel.

  

  To make matters worse, discourse appears to be the least of our problems. Political philosophy and political life itself have entered a post-everything phase, and this has rendered the very meaning of America on shaky grounds. What can we do in this situation? Is it possible to restore order not only in America but also in society as a whole? Glenn Ellmers’ new book, The Narrow Passage: Plato, Foucault, and the Possibility of Political Philosophy, offers challenging questions to this problem. Unlike many political analyses of today, Ellmers’ book engages deeply with several thinkers, seeking and providing clear paths out of a disorienting and dense thicket.

  Reminiscent of the past tradition of philosophical essays, The Narrow Passage is a concise and sharp reminder of philosophy’s relevance. In a world in which ideologues fancy themselves journalists, and journalists fancy themselves philosophers, Ellmers brings clear and deep thinking into the intellectual fold. Thoughtfully and with supreme confidence as well as intellectual humility, Ellmers dares to do what most writers and cultural critics are afraid of: challenge the mediocrity of ideological dogmatism, be it on the Left or Right.

  Guided by the wisdom of Plato, Leo Strauss, and Harry Jaffa, Ellmers explores the idea of political life in the context of dramatic changes our world has seen in the last few years. Ellmers’ book is part philosophical exegesis, part cultural critique, and it is these two elements that make the book and Ellmers’ voice unique. He brings together several elements of political philosophy, and “one of the central themes of this book is this battle between the scientific-bureacratic-rational state (which comes out of Hegel) and the post-modern rejection of all objective standards (which comes out of Nietzsche).”

  The extreme use of rationalism has gotten us into such metaphysical trouble. This inevitably leads to moral relativism, and no one is immune. We are more post-modern than we’d like to admit, despite the fact that we may be fighting for age old tradition. We shouldn’t run away from this. In fact, post-modernism cannot be properly dealt with without engaging with thinkers that we deem enemies.

  Enter Michel Foucault. While most conservatives either ignore or entirely dismiss Foucault as an unserious thinker, Ellmers engages with his thought in a very careful and deep way. While Ellmers’ philosophical conclusions differ greatly from Foucault’s, he asks us to reconsider Foucault’s arguments for purposes other than the French philosopher envisioned. As Ellmers writes, “Foucault’s central theme was the power discourse, or the relationship between political power, knowledge, and truth…It might be tempting to dismiss [Foucault]…as so much academic babble. But I would argue that we should reflect on Foucault’s argument in part because he is offering a quite accurate description of how today’s intellectuals perceive the world, and therefore how the ruling class, at least to some degree, thinks and operates.”

  Foucault understands the strangeness of modern life, and the power structures that are strangling humanity. The discourse Foucault is interested in is the one that reveals the power structure and power struggle. He “shows that what may seem like propaganda and lies to abnormal or mentally recalcitrant subjects are nothing but the ebb and flow of the power discourse as it modulates in response to environmental changes.” In other words, we are just cogs in a big machine. But do we have to be?

  “You are being manipulated. But you already know that,” Ellmers writes. You might wonder what technological and social media-influenced manipulations have to do with political life; in reality, it has to do with everything. As Ellmers writes, “…Americans are lied to on a daily basis – by corporate advertisers, medical hucksters and spiritual charlatans, the sensationalist media, and of course the authorities in government.”

  Because of this, reality is constantly challenged. If reality itself is questioned, then how can a human being expect to participate in political life? All we have are forms of control, yet all of these attempts at totalitarianism are not definitive and hard. For example, it’s clear what the meaning of censorship is, theoretically speaking, but today’s censorship works in shapeshifting ways. One is censored through ambiguous means reliant on pseudo-morality.

  The authoritarians in charge are many, but who are they? Everyone and no one is in charge. The system of tyranny appears to be a mesh of vertical and horizontal lines, absolving the authoritarians of guilt as they enact their tyranny. Ellmers rightly asserts that our awareness of all of this may be an actual hindrance to doing something about it. “Our cynical hyper-awareness of being “in the cave,” our post-modern sophistication, actually drives us deeper underground and away from the natural experiences of moral-political life. We accept the idea of the authoritative political narrative or discourse, and then assume (as Foucault did) that reality is nothing but discourse.”

  Throughout his book, Ellmers is not interested in so-called solutions. This is not to say that he is not concerned about the state of the world, or that he doesn’t want to offer certain strategies in combating the chaos that is before us. But he deeply understands that if political philosophy is to be used in any way, then it has to be given room to breathe without any imposition of ideology or specific practical matters. Of course, one could argue that there is nothing more practical than politics because it gets into the heart of the matter of being a citizen. But in a society that appears to have lost interest in deeper thought, one that has gotten used to “content” and “products” that take care of immediate gratification, it will be difficult to figure out how to move away from a mob-oriented politics to one based on citizen and community.

  In all this bureaucratic and cultural mess, people are attempting to feel like they belong somewhere, that they have home. “Part of what we are seeing,” writes Ellmers, “in the re-emerging tribalism of both Left and Right may be a creation of profound emptiness in the soul created by the loss of this “belonging,” an attempt to recover a sense of meaning and purpose by recreating a holy community of citizen-believers.”

  One cannot blame people for turning to something that may resemble a like-mindedness. But caveat emptor–there are many intellectual frauds out there that are stoking the fires of chaos all for the purposes of their own self-interest. As much as the need to belong is a truly human and noble desire, we ask must ourselves: to what do we really want to belong?

  In a 1955 lecture titled “The History of Political Theory,” Hannah Arendt said that “The modern growth of worldlessness, the withering away of everything between us, can also be described as the spread of the desert. That we live and move in a desert-world was first recognized by Nietzsche, and it was also Nietzsche who made the first decisive mistake in diagnosing it.” But even deserts, as Arendt later observes, are full of storms and elements that are beyond our control. This, more than anything, seems to be a human condition, and each generation ends up experiencing it in their own way.

  But there is something more at play here, which includes the inevitable impact on the political life of a citizen. Our atomization (perhaps something Foucault already recognized) is spreading despair. As Ellmers writes, “Despair, Jaffa was fond of saying, is not only a sin (because it presumes we have been abandoned by God), but also an intellectual error.” We don’t believe in political life anymore. There is a reason for this–everywhere we look, we see corruption out in the open and we can’t do anything about it.

  Maybe we have entered a post-political age, but wouldn’t even that assessment render us weak in embracing our unwanted post-modernism? No matter what, despair should never be an option, even if sadness, anger, and loneliness often rise to the surface. It’s in the act and encounter that we become fully human, and part of that act is a recognition of political life as well as truth. Ellmers’ book is a valuable exploration of the significance and singularity of truth and authenticity, without which political life cannot exist.

  Emina Melonic’s work has appeared in National Review, The New Criterion, The Imaginative Conservative, American Greatness, Splice Today, VoegelinView, and New English Review, among others.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 22:30

• Watch: Drones Strike Moscow's Financial District
  Watch: Drones Strike Moscow’s Financial District

  Early Sunday morning, there are reports of several drone strikes in ‘Moscow City’ – a very high-end business district just 2.8 miles from the Kremlin.

  🚨 BREAKING: Drone hits an office building in Moscow, Russia.

  pic.twitter.com/ukD5PB08Ee

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 30, 2023

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

  Footage of the attack pic.twitter.com/63FZmcqOdj

  — Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) July 30, 2023

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

  ⚡️The moment the explosion in Moscow took place this morning.

  You can always count on a Russian dashcam. pic.twitter.com/rOarvur1Bo

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) July 30, 2023

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

  “Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow at night. The facades of the [Moscow] City’s two office towers sustained minor damage. There are no casualties or injuries,” Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said on Telegram.

  Of course, we have no confirmation that these were Ukrainian drones.

  News agency TASS cited emergency services as saying that there was “an explosion” between the fifth and the sixth floor of the 50-story building in the ‘IQ-Quarter’ complex, which has three high-rise buildings.

  

  The aftermath of the strike:

  Drone hits “IQ Quarter” high-rise in Moscow, which is home to apartments and government offices. At least 1 person injured pic.twitter.com/bp8VYI3j3h

  — BNO News (@BNONews) July 30, 2023

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

  The following are reportedly videos of the internal damage:

  Footage from inside the building that was struck by a drone this morning in Moscow pic.twitter.com/gSnHUrNsLZ

  — Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) July 30, 2023

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

  The damaged building has been evacuated, officials said. The evacuations from other Moscow City buildings are underway.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 22:04

• Justice Alito To Democrat Lawmakers: F U!
  Justice Alito To Democrat Lawmakers: F U!

  Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times,

  Answering Democrat critics who want to legislatively impose a code of conduct on the Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Alito said Congress has no constitutional authority to regulate the court.

  “Congress did not create the Supreme Court” – the Constitution did, Justice Alito told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published July 28.

  “I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it,” he said.

  “No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court – period.”

  He was referring to Article III, section 1 of the Constitution, which states:

  “The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”

  His Republican supporters say this means Congress has a relatively free hand to regulate lower courts—including creating and abolishing them—but can do very little to the Supreme Court.

  Justice Alito said he was not sure if his colleagues on the nation’s highest court agree with this view.

  “I don’t know that any of my colleagues have spoken about it publicly, so I don’t think I should say. But I think it is something we have all thought about.”

  Justice Alito’s comments came after the Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee narrowly approved a Democrat-backed Supreme Court ethics reform bill on July 20 on a party-line vote.

  

  Republicans oppose the legislation, the proposed Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act (SCERT) of 2023 (S.359), which they say is unconstitutional. They have suggested that Democrats—many of whom want to pack the Supreme Court with liberal justices—only want to move against the judicial body because its six-member conservative-leaning majority has been handing down decisions they find objectionable.

  The proposed SCERT Act, sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), chairman of one of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s panels, would direct the Supreme Court to issue a code of conduct governing its own members and require justices to recuse themselves from certain cases. It would also mandate the public disclosure of gifts, paid travel, and income information.

  It would allow members of the public to file complaints against justices and appoint a panel of five lower court judges to investigate the complaints. Litigants would be allowed to file a motion to disqualify a justice from a case—a process Republicans say is ripe for abuse.

  The measure would impose new rules governing the filing of friend-of-the-court briefs, which seek to influence the court on specific cases and require greater disclosure by the parties filing them.

  Most of the left’s ire has been directed at conservative Justice Clarence Thomas. They are upset that wealthy Republican donor Harlan Crow gave Justice Thomas luxurious vacations, tuition support for a grandnephew he raised, and purchased low-dollar real estate from the justice’s family.

  Justice Thomas didn’t disclose the events, saying he was advised that it wasn’t required, but has vowed to disclose such events going forward.

  But critics have also attacked Justice Alito, who has defended his decisions not to disclose a paid Alaska trip in 2008 and not to recuse himself from a court case in 2014 that was related to the person who paid for the transportation.

  The justice said he did not mention the trip in a 2008 report because not disclosing it was the “standard practice” in cases like this.

  Justice Alito and the eight other members of the court voluntarily follow disclosure rules that apply to lower court judges and officials in the executive branch.

  Democrats like Mr. Whitehouse believe that the very fact that Justices Alito and Thomas have received gifts from wealthy benefactors is corruption in and of itself.

  The Supreme Court is “the only court in the country, perhaps the only court in the world, with no ethics process at all,” Mr. Whitehouse said at the committee hearing on July 20.

  “Then came the news that six politically active right wing-billionaires have been paying household expenses, engaging in financial transactions, and providing massive secret gifts of travel and hospitality for at least two justices.”

  “We are here because the highest court in the land has the lowest standard of ethics anywhere in the federal government. And justices have exhibited much improper behavior, not least in hapless efforts to excuse the misdeeds,” Mr. Whitehouse said.

  It is unclear when the full Senate will take up the proposed SCERT Act. If it passes the Democrat-controlled Senate, it seems unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

  Justice Alito also said in the interview, “I marvel at all the nonsense that has been written about me in the last year.”

  Facing political attacks, “the traditional idea about how judges and justices should behave is they should be mute” and allow others, especially “the organized bar,” to come to their defense.

  “But that’s just not happening. And so at a certain point I’ve said to myself, nobody else is going to do this, so I have to defend myself.”

  In the interview, Justice Alito also addressed the possibility that governments could begin defying Supreme Court rulings, as some did after the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling that desegregated public schools.

  Public approval for the court is currently at a low ebb in the nation’s polarized political environment and some states and elected officials have been doing their best to do an end-run around the court’s decisions. Some claim the court itself is illegitimate.

  President Joe Biden frequently criticizes the court. After it struck down his student loan forgiveness program in June, instead of accepting the decision, he promptly began working on new ways to grant debt relief.

  After the court struck down New York state’s tough concealed carry gun permitting system a year ago, recognizing for the first time a constitutional right to carry firearms in public for self-defense, New York and other Democrat-led states passed new gun restrictions, some of which have been enjoined by the courts.

  After the court’s decision a year ago reversing the 1973 abortion precedent, Roe v. Wade, President Biden began pressing Congress to codify the now-overturned decision. And he’s made abortion one of the centerpieces of his 2024 reelection campaign.

  “If we’re viewed as illegitimate, then disregard of our decisions becomes more acceptable and more popular,” Justice Alito said.

  “So you can have a revival of the massive resistance that occurred in the South after Brown,” he added.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 21:30

• "Depart Haiti" Now: State Department's Dire Warning To Americans
  “Depart Haiti” Now: State Department’s Dire Warning To Americans

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

  U.S. citizens in Haiti are urged to leave the Caribbean country immediately due to the recent surge in armed clashes between gangs and police.

  

  The U.S. Embassy in Haiti and the Department of State issued a “Level 4” travel advisory on Thursday, categorizing Haiti as a “Do Not Travel” destination.

  “On July 27, 2023, the Department of State ordered the departure of family members of U.S. government employees and non-emergency U.S. government employees,” the agency said in an updated travel advisory.

  “U.S. citizens in Haiti should depart Haiti as soon as possible by commercial or other privately available transportation options, in light of the current security situation and infrastructure challenges,” the travel advisory continues.

  U.S. citizens in the capital Port-au-Prince should monitor local news and depart only when it is safe to do so, the warnings read.

  Specific neighborhoods, including Vivy Michel, Tabarre, Torcel, Tapage, and Trutier, have been deeply affected by the violent clashes, posing significant risks to residents and visitors.

  The ability of the U.S. government to provide emergency services to its citizens in Haiti is currently extremely limited, raising concerns about their safety and well-being.

  US Embassy Sounds Alarm

  Kidnapping has become widespread in Haiti, with U.S. citizens frequently falling victim. Kidnappers often use sophisticated measures or take advantage of unplanned opportunities, even attacking convoys.

  Violent crimes involving firearms, such as armed robberies, carjackings, and kidnappings for ransom, are common and pose risks to both residents and visitors.

  “Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings,” the agency said, adding that victim’s families have paid thousands of dollars to rescue their family members.

  Protests, demonstrations, tire burning, and roadblocks frequently occur in Haiti and can turn violent unexpectedly.

  

  Critical shortages of gasoline, electricity, medicine, and medical supplies persist, further exacerbating the fragile situation in the country. Medical facilities lack qualified staff and basic resources.

  Travelers have reported being followed and violently attacked shortly after leaving the Port-au-Prince international airport, while private vehicles stuck in heavy traffic congestion have been targeted by robbers and carjackers.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 20:30

• "I've Never Seen Anything Like This" – Mysterious Chinese Bio-Lab Discovered In Remote California City
  “I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This” – Mysterious Chinese Bio-Lab Discovered In Remote California City

  Why would a bio-lab run by a shady Chinese company be operating in Reedley, CA in the central San Joaquin Valley?

  

  What was supposed to be an empty building used only for storage was home to a black-market type of lab testing facility.

  

  YourCentralValley.com reports that the discovery was made after a local code enforcement officer noticed this garden hose poking out a back wall of the building.

  Public Health staff also observed blood, tissue and other bodily fluid samples and serums; and THOUSANDS of vials of unlabeled fluids and suspected biological material.

  

  Additionally they found 900 genetically engineered mice, engineered to catch and carry COVID-19, living in “inhumane” conditions.

  773 of the mice had to be euthanized, and officials found another 178 mice already dead.

  “This is an unusual situation. I’ve been in government for 25 years. I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Reedley City Manager Nicole Zieba.

  Even county health officials were left in shock.

  “I’ve never seen this in my 26-year career with the County of Fresno,” said Assistant Director of the Fresno County Department of Public Health Joe Prado.

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tested the substances and detected at least 20 potentially infectious agents, including coronavirus, HIV, hepatitis and herpes, according to a Health and Human Services letter dated June 6.

  Agents also found thousands of package boxes – many with shipping labels from China. Below is a photo included in court documents in California.

  

  NBC News reports that an investigation found the tenant was Prestige BioTech, a company registered in Nevada and unlicensed for business in California. City officials spoke with Xiuquin Yao, who was identified as the company president, through emails included in the court documents.

  Yao told officials that Prestige BioTech moved assets belonging to a defunct company, Universal Meditech Inc., to the Reedley warehouse from Fresno after UMI went under. Prestige Biotech was a creditor to UMI and identified as its successor, according to court documents.

  Officials were unable to get any California-based address for either company except for the previous Fresno location from which UMI had been evicted.

  “The other addresses provided for identified authorized agents were either empty offices or addresses in China that could not be verified,” court documents said.

  As Kyle Bass asks in a brief tweet-thread:

  Is this illegal lab the tip of the iceberg? How many additional bioagent labs will be found?

  THIS WAS A LUCKY FIND.

  The lab was discovered by Reedley, CA city code enforcement officers when they saw a garden hose attached to the building and investigated.

  This investigation into this illegal Chinese bio-agent lab must be handled at the highest levels of US law enforcement to determine a comprehensive plan to protect U.S. national security.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 20:00

• Macleod: Inflation Will Return
  Macleod: Inflation Will Return

  Authored by Alasdair Macleod via GoldMoney.com,

  It is an error to expect inflation to continue to fall in America. All financial market values in the US and elsewhere are predicated on this hope.

  The misunderstanding is to assume that the widely expected recession will lead to further falls in consumer price inflation, and that therefore interest rates and bond yields will decline. These hopes are based on Keynes’s rejection of Say’s law, which simply points out there is no such thing as Keynes’s general glut because the unemployed stop producing.

  A further point is that banks are increasingly scared of lending risk, which is leading to a credit squeeze. This raises the question, as to how can interest rates fall when there is a growing shortage of credit?

  The current economic setup for the US, the Eurozone, and the UK seems set to increase central bank credit replacing commercial bank lending, which will undermine their currencies.

  Additionally, government funding requirements will increase materially at a time when cross-border investment flows are threatened by financial bear markets.

  The timing of a new BRICS gold-backed settlement currency and China’s determination to consolidate the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s sphere of influence have the potential to offer alternatives for capital flows escaping from the collapsing finances of the western alliance led by America.

  

  Above all, we are witnessing the death of fiat, because it is increasingly difficult to see how the current currency regime based on the dollar will survive.

  Market misconceptions

  Equities and bonds are priced in the expectation that consumer price inflation will subside and that interest rates will start falling in the not too distant future. This is the underlying reason behind a negative yield curve, with 10-year bond yields yielding significantly less than 2-year maturities. And the chart below shows that this disparity is the highest it has been since the 1980s.

  

  A negative yield curve is also associated with a recession to follow, and the chart confirms that negative yield curves are indeed followed by recessions. But the rate of price inflation will have to remain subdued, because expectations of low long-term rates must be confirmed by events. Indeed, the apparent success of monetary policy over the period covered by the chart without leading to persistent inflation has contributed to the widespread belief that official monetary policies work.

  But is the wager in financial markets correct, that this credit cycle will conform with those of the last forty years and that a negative yield curve tells us that with consumer demand dropping, price inflation will subside, and short-term interest rates fall? This is the essence of the belief that bond yields along the yield curve will normalise with lower yields at the front end and that the bull market in equities will remain intact.

  Sticking with the chart for the moment, you will notice that at minus 1% the negative yield on the curve far exceeds that of previous occasions, which surely must raise concerns that for once the past is not a guide to the future. Perhaps the forecast recession will be considerably worse than anything in living memory. Perhaps the long end of the yield curve is badly mispriced, being far too low. If the latter is the case, as this article will argue, the outlook for financial asset values is extremely poor.

  Illustrated below, charts of the yields on 10-year bonds around the world give little comfort.

  

  Any technical analyst would describe these charts as being in strong bull markets, merely consolidating before going higher. In the cases of Germany and the UK, the shape of the consolidation is immensely bullish. We are, of course, discussing bond yields, which means bond prices are set for further substantial falls. And if bond prices fall, equity values will fall as well. Based on the experience of the last forty years, this is the opposite of what is priced into financial markets.

  That a recession will follow seems assured. The bank credit cycle is seeing to that, with money supply not growing or even contracting alarmingly in some jurisdictions. And the neo-Keynesians who make up the bulk of the establishment and investing communities believe recessions are caused by falling demand leading to a glut of unsold products. Therefore, they believe that a recession will always knock inflation on the head. And being forward looking, markets can be expected to discount falling inflation in the expectation of recession.

  So much for Keynesian expectations. Keynesians were confused by events in the 1970s, when recession was accompanied by inflation. They had difficulty explaining this phenomenon, believing that inflation of prices was only the result of overstimulation of an economy. They had discarded Say’s law, which pointed out there could be no such thing as a general glut because production output declined with employment. They also airbrushed the conditions of every great fiat currency inflation out of their minds, ignoring the fact that if the GDP statistic had been invented earlier, Germany’s nominal GDP would have risen off the charts in 1918‑1923. And that the lagging inflation deflator would have even shown the economy to be remarkably healthy in real terms through the whole episode of the paper mark’s collapse, which for other than exporters being paid in hard currency impoverished the vast majority of the population.

  An additional problem is in the monetarists’ approach, which rarely, if ever, distinguished properly between credit and money. Admittedly, the early warnings of a downturn in economies came from monetarists who pointed to the slowdown of monetary growth in the broad money statistics. They were correct in assuming a correlation between GDP and growth in broad money. But they fell into the trap of believing that the authorities should manage economic policy in the light of changes in the quantity of money. In other words, they have become statists themselves, turning their backs on the ability of free markets to set demand for credit.

  Doubtless, today’s monetarists would claim they are merely being practical in the context of the current system, but they cannot have it both ways. In any event, their claims over the relationship between the money supply and prices only hold water in a limited context, as the following conundrum illustrates.

  Let us assume that Nation A has an economy of a certain size, measured by output volumes instead of GDP credit totals. Let us also assume that Nation B, using the same currency units and with the same quantity of human resources has an economy twice the size in terms of volume outputs. What will be the difference in the purchasing power of their common currency units?

  The first thing to note is that other things being equal, there will be substantial expansion of credit to finance the extra production. In other words, on the same population base, money supply could be approximately twice as high in Nation B compared with Nation A. But this does not mean that prices will be higher in Nation B. It is more likely they will be lower in Nation B than in NationA because of higher output volumes benefitting from economies of scale, investment in more efficient production, and enhanced competition.

  From this we can deduce a simple rule governing the monetary relationship. So long as expanded credit is provided for the enhancement of commerce it will not result in price inflation. If, in the example above, Nations A and B were simply the same nation under different conditions, doubling the quantity of credit would not result in similar increases in prices. And the purchasing power of a circulating medium is determined by markets, not its quantity. 

  There is a further distinction to be made, in this case between credit backed by sound money, which is gold, and credit backed by fiat currency. Sound money is the universally accepted money without counterparty risk, which both legally and derived from long-standing human acceptance is gold. In an earlier article[i], I showed that the expansion of bank credit (which makes up over 90% of the circulating medium) can have a short-term cyclical effect, while the more permanent destruction to its purchasing power comes from the state increasing the quantity of bank notes and commercial bank deposits on its central bank’s balance sheet. The example where the expansion of central bank credit is strictly controlled, while commercial bank deposits are determined by market factors is illustrated in the following chart of Britain under its gold standard for over nine decades, taken from the article referred to above:

  

  We can see from the first chart how under Britain’s gold coin exchange standard, the note issue was stable while commercial bank credit expanded. The crises of 1847, 1857, and 1866 which led to temporary suspensions of the Bank Charter Act of 1844 are notably reflected in wholesale price fluctuations in the lower chart, but the self-correcting nature of disruption to the general price level usually applies with there being almost no net change in the two price indices over sixty years.

  The disruptions to prices from the bank credit cycle diminished over time. Undoubtedly, much of this was due to improvements in the banking system. But there is another factor at play: over time, public confidence grew in the government’s commitment to maintaining the gold standard, so cyclical variations in the purchasing power of the currency diminished. In other words, instead of the quantity theory of money determining the relationship between changes in the quantity of currency and prices, it is its users who have the final say.

  In a gold-backed credit system, saving is a more attractive proposition. While bank credit expanded over the century, so did savings. According to the Bank of England’s statistical research, in 1830 savings represented 5.3% of GDP. By 1844, at the time of the Bank Charter Act it had risen to 14%. And by 1890, it hit a high of 22.5%. The proportions between current consumption and consumption deferred, which are savings, has a regulating influence on the general level of prices.

  Under a fiat currency regime, with respect to savings the same is true today as it was under Britain’s gold standard. In Japan and China, there is a high propensity to save. This means that the expansion of bank credit only partly fuels consumer demand. And the element which consumers save supports investment in production, which tends to reduce prices, thereby offsetting pressures for consumer prices to rise due to higher consumer spending.

  The point behind fiat currency, which has ruled us for the last 53 years, is that it gives governments an extra source of finance by inflating its quantity. In this it is fundamentally different from the sound money example which imposes a strict monetary discipline. And governments which have discouraged savings both by taxing them and by encouraging consumer spending have simply added to the tendency for consumer prices to rise and undermine the currency.

  Credit theory therefore attributes persistent non-cyclical inflation to the expansion of central bank currency and its credit, and both are associated with excessive government spending leading to budget deficits. For most advanced economies, a global slump leads to lower tax revenues and higher welfare costs. Consequently, budget deficits soar, undermining their currencies. And a currency undermined is reflected in higher consumer prices. The current lull in CPI inflation is merely temporary.

  Interest rate management by the state fails

  Markets are in thrall with central bank monetary policies, which centre on interest rate management. And despite the recent failure of these policies, economists and investors still believe that central bankers know best, and with a misreading of the great depression in mind, that their control is preferable to rates set by free markets. But there is no clearer example of policy failure than that which is exposed by current events. The suppression of interest rates to zero and below has contributed in no small measure to the mess central banks find themselves in today. Even so, critics blame the incompetence of individual central bank leaderships without appreciating the impossibility of official interest rate management to improve economic outcomes compared with leaving it to free markets.

  The groupthinking that pervades in central banking circles denies any radical reassessment of the relationship between interest rates and prices. The idea that interest rates reflect time preference, counterparty risk, and a market-based assessment of change in purchasing power of the currency is not even considered, presumably because an understanding of these factors would rule out the prospects of any official role in setting interest rates. And for the largest stock market priced in the world’s reserve currency, ignoring the true relationship between the dollar’s prospective purchasing power and interest rates is leading it towards disaster.

  Foreigners, who at the margin determine the dollar’s purchasing power are the first to turn sellers. They over-own dollars and dollar assets to the tune of $32 trillion, well in excess of US GDP. Not only are there moves afoot in an expanded BRICS to reduce dependence on the dollar, making its ownership less relevant for the nations involved, but if expectations of falling interest rates turn out to be incorrect, there is bound to be substantial foreign liquidation of US financial assets as losses mount on portfolios. Furthermore, it seems that with $6 trillion of the $32 trillion total sitting in bank deposits it is likely that a bear market driven by the receding prospects of falling interest rates, and the prospect of commercial bank credit contracting as well, will undermine the dollar’s exchange rate.

  Bank credit is contracting

  Bank credit in the US has begun to contract as the FRED chart below shows.

  

  Bearing in mind that the interest cost has increased for borrowers, they are facing mounting liquidity problems particularly for those whose sales growth is stagnating. A combination of higher input costs, persistent supply chain issues, and higher borrowing costs are set to worsen the outlook for bank credit expansion even more, with bankers becoming increasingly concerned over their risk exposure.

  The situation in the Eurozone is worse, as the next screenshot from a ZeroHedge article this week demonstrates.

  

  In its bank lending survey, the ECB admitted that “The cumulated net tightening since the beginning of 2022 has been substantial, and the bank lending survey results have provided early indications about the significant weakening in lending dynamics observed since last autumn.[ii]”

  However, by attributing the decline in bank lending to falling demand for loans is a common error of interpretation. At a time of economic stagnation — the current situation in Germany particularly refers — businesses do not stop borrowing. Instead, their demand for credit increases. The correct interpretation is that banks are withdrawing their supply of credit, with entirely different connotations. But then an official understanding of the cycle of bank credit was always wanting.

  The situation in the UK is similarly alarming, as the Bank of England’s chart below shows.

  

  In the US, Eurozone, and UK, high levels of bank balance sheet leverage and a deteriorating economic and financial outlook seem assured to lead to further contraction of bank credit. But these are also the conditions which lead to increasing credit demand to offset cash flow difficulties for borrowers. Inevitably, interest rates will rise for the minority of businesses that can present exceptionally good cases to their banks for extending credit facilities. Otherwise, they must seek funding from other sources, such as private equity houses, selling assets, or downsizing to reduce costs.

  Over the rest of this year, we will see businesses that fail to convince their banks to extend loan facilities begin to go to the wall. Furthermore, the implications for employment, tax revenues, and welfare commitments will increase government budget deficits above current expectations. And funding these increasing budget deficits will require credit expansion by the central banks, offsetting the credit contraction of the commercial banks.

  Commercial bank credit, which imparts value to both loans and deposits, with a small theoretical discount for counterparty risk is firmly tied to the value of central bank credit, evidenced in bank notes and commercial bank reserves on the central bank’s balance sheet. The difference between these two forms of bank credit is that other than cyclical variations, changes in purchasing power come entirely from central bank credit. Inevitably, if central banks are forced into expanding the quantity of their credit for whatever reason, then they will almost certainly undermine the purchasing power of their currencies.

  Foreign valuations of currencies

  In maintaining the purchasing power of the dollar, the US authorities appear to have an insuperable problem. The prospects for the economy are worsening because of the outlook for bank credit. The budget deficit is likely to increase significantly above official expectations. And with the misunderstanding of what interest rates actually represent, being the expected future value of the currency by those who presently hold it, the inflationary implications of funding the US Government’s deficit will require foreign holders not to liquidate their exposure.

  For foreigners selling dollars, the alternatives of the euro, yen, or sterling appear equally unattractive, their only positive being that the dollar is over-owned by foreigners, but the others are not. The euro has the additional problem that the entire system of the ECB and its national central bank shareholders are technically bankrupt due to hidden losses on the bonds carried on their balance sheets. And recapitalising the entire system at a time of a gathering bank credit crisis due to contracting credit leading to higher interest rates is virtually impossible.  Sterling can be likened to a poor man’s dollar, with a lack of savings and budget deficits similarly set to expand due to the impending recession. And the yen only offers negative interest rates, plus a central bank that also needs recapitalising.

  There are two alternative homes for foreign capital flows leaving these currencies. The obvious one is physical gold as an escape from increasingly risky credit tied to fiat currency. But perhaps that argument will have greater force when the new BRICS trade settlement currency being backed by gold is confirmed in the upcoming summit in Johannesburg. The less obvious option is to buy into China’s renminbi.

  The case for the renminbi is that China has substantial investment plans in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In partnership with Russia, the two hegemons are determined to protect themselves and their interests from US disruption. Not to put too fine a point on it, this is a battle which the US may have already lost. We will know more following the BRICS summit, but with the priority being to neutralise the weaponised fiat dollar, China and Russia are likely to consolidate their position as ringmasters for an enlarged group of nations.

  That being the case, while the economies of the western alliance which owes its allegiance to America are sinking into oblivion, the prospects for the combined BRICS+ and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation are improving. Unlike the time when President Trump managed to disrupt inward investment flows through the Shanghai-Hong Kong Connect, this time President Biden can only ban US funds from investing in China. In anticipation of demand for inward investment, China expanded the scheme in December last year to widen the range of equities available on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Doubtless, there will be further tweaks to this facility.

  The consequences for gold

  A resurgence of consumer price inflation during a recession has not happened for a considerable time. It is during recessions that government deficits rise. This time, the US Government’s starting point is deficits of over £1.5 trillion. And as demonstrated in this article, it is the expansion of central bank credit, not commercial bank credit, which undermines currency values on a non-cyclical basis.

  At a minimum, the stagflationary conditions of the 1970s appear to be returning, which drove the gold price to rise from $35 to $850 in less than ten years, even though the Fed Funds rate rose from 5% to a peak 19%. The problems for the dollar are shared by others, notably sterling and the euro. But the dollar is also over-owned by foreigners and almost certainly will be dumped by them, in some cases for gold.

  There could be an additional problem for the dollar arising from a new gold-backed trade settlement currency, mooted to be discussed at the BRICS summit in August. While there are some signs that it will not be universally popular with the attendees, it is notable that Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s Foreign Minister is on record as stating that Russia has accumulated billions of useless Indian rupees as payment for oil sales. The tolerance of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other net exporters for payment in illiquid minor currencies is strictly limited, so payment changes in a more secure currency are bound to be forced through.

  Consequently, dollar reserves at central banks representing over forty nations will be exchanged for gold — a trend which has already been evident for the last eighteen months. The gold price is therefore likely to rise materially due to economic factors set to destabilise the economies of America and her western allies. And foreign influences will shift capital away from them into gold, commodities perhaps, and the investment opportunities offered by the two Asian hegemons.

  Assuming the new gold backed trade currency is introduced, it seems bound to accelerate a move by Russia and China towards backing their own currencies with gold. Others are bound to follow. Only then will the full benefit of a widespread industrial revolution for most emerging economies be available to them. But the fiat system based on the dollar will be destroyed.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 19:30

• RFK Jr. Says Biden DHS Won't Provide Secret Service Protection
  RFK Jr. Says Biden DHS Won’t Provide Secret Service Protection

  RFK Jr., whose father was assassinated on the presidential campaign trail in 1968, says the Biden Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has denied his request for Secret Service protection.

  “Since the assassination of my father in 1968, candidates for president are provided Secret Service protection. But not me,” Kennedy tweeted.

  “Our campaign’s request included a 67-page report from the world’s leading protection firm, detailing unique and well established security and safety risks aside from commonplace death threats.”

  Since the assassination of my father in 1968, candidates for president are provided Secret Service protection. But not me.

  Typical turnaround time for pro forma protection requests from presidential candidates is 14-days. After 88-days of no response and after several…

  — Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 28, 2023

  Here’s Mayorkas’ letter. This screenshot is from Kennedy’s campaign website: pic.twitter.com/cEXUfPmV0c

  — Alex Nitzberg (@alexnitzberg) July 28, 2023

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

  A misleading community note was added to the tweet, which suggests that candidates will only be protected within 120 days of the general election…

  

  The Secret Service’s website suggests the same:

  

  The actual text of the law, however, makes clear that the 120-day guidance is for spouses.

  “Major Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and, within 120 days of the general Presidential election, the spouses of such candidates.“

  Punctuation matters.

  Meanwhile, an argument for why Kennedy should receive SS protection:

  1) In June of 1968, following the assassination of presidential nominee Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, the Secret Service began protecting leading presidential nominees and their spouses. Just days after the assassination the Secret Service became responsible for the safety of five…

  — Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) July 29, 2023

  (continued, emphasis ours)

  The law authorizes Secret Service protection for major presidential and vice presidential candidates and their spouses within 120 days of the general presidential election. However, the evolution of the protective detail is based upon actual threats and acts of aggression against both the highest public office in the land and those who seek the position.

  History shows there is precedent for candidates receiving protection >120 days ahead of the general election.

  Donald Trump & Ben Carson were provided Secret Service protection 365 days before Election Day in 2015

  Barack Obama was provided Secret Service protection 551 days before Election Day in 2007

  7) Ted Kennedy was provided Secret Service protection 410 days before Election Day in 1979https://t.co/1QXvEqLG5D

  — Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) July 29, 2023

  RFK Jr is within the time range of the precedent set by the candidates above (465 days from Election Day) and is arguably under even greater threat given the Kennedy family’s tragic history of assassinations.

  The Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas) has the discretion and the ability to approve or deny Secret Service coverage to presidential candidates at any point in the campaign.

  Given that the Biden Administration began to censor RFK Jr within days of getting into the White House and is continuing that censorship even through last week’s censorship hearing, it is not surprising that a Biden appointee has denied a political opponent’s request for Secret Service protection.

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 19:00

• Non-Human 'Biologics' Recovered From UFOs, Whistleblower Testifies
  Non-Human ‘Biologics’ Recovered From UFOs, Whistleblower Testifies

  Authored by Savannah Hulsey Pointer via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A former Air Force intelligence officer said the U.S. government has recovered UFO vehicles as well as the “biologics” of the pilots during a House hearing on unidentified flying objects, now known as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP).

  

  The Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs held a hearing on July 26, where testimony was heard from retired Maj. David Grusch, Former National Reconnaissance Officer Representative, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Task Force, Department of Defense, and other expert witnesses.

  Mr. Grusch was one of three witnesses at the hearing entitled “Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena: Implications on National Security, Public Safety, and Government Transparency.”

  Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) questioned Mr. Grusch about the recovery of “crashed craft[s]” and whether or if their pilots had been found.

  “You’ve stated that the government is in possession of potentially non-human spacecraft. But based on your experience and extensive conversations with experts, do you believe our government has made contact with intelligent extraterrestrials?” Ms. Mace asked.

  “That’s something I can’t discuss in a public setting,” Mr. Grusch replied.

  “If you believe we have crashed craft—as stated earlier—do we have the bodies of the pilots who piloted the craft?” Ms. Mace asked, specifically wanting to know whether any possibly recovered remains had “human or nonhuman biologics.”

  “Biologics came with some of these recoveries, yes,” said Mr. Grusch, citing those with involvement in the program directing the recovery attempts had determined that the organisms in question were “non-human.”

  “Non-human. And that was the assessment of people with direct knowledge on the program,” he said.

  .@RepNancyMace asks about extraterrestrials: “If you believe we have crashed craft…do we have the bodies of the pilots…?”

  David Grusch: “As I’ve stated…biologics came with some of these recoveries.”

  Mace: “Were they Human or non-human?”

  Grusch: “Non-human.” pic.twitter.com/TJVbIRp4jw

  — CSPAN (@cspan) July 26, 2023

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

  He also told lawmakers that he believes the U.S. government has probably been aware of “non-human” activity for nearly 100 years and affirmed to Ms. Mace that he believed there was an “active disinformation campaign within our government to deny the existence of [unidentified anomalous phenomena].”

  Fellow witness Ryan Graves, the Executive Director of Americans for Safe Aerospace, testified that he believes around 95 percent of unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) currently go unreported by pilots working for the U.S. government.

  A Witnesses’ Encounter

  Another witness, retired Commander David Fravor, Former Commanding Officer for the U.S. Navy, testified before the committee about being on a training mission in 2004 when he was dispatched to investigate an ariel phenomenon that was detected on the ship’s radar persistently for weeks.

  The pilot reported seeing a “small, white, Tic Tac-shaped object” moving rapidly across the water’s surface despite having no rotors or visible means of propulsion.

  “As we pulled [our] nose onto the object at approximately one-half of a mile with the object just left of our nose, it rapidly accelerated and disappeared right in front of our aircraft. Our wingman, roughly 8,000 ft above us, also lost visual,” Mr. Fravor said.

  Shortly thereafter, the command ship informed Mr. Fravor that the object had returned to its radar after traveling approximately 60 miles in less than one minute.

  Legislators believe that as a result of a large amount of likely unreported evidence that supports the presence of unexplained events, two issues arise. The first is that it destroys the public’s faith in their government and that secrecy on the matter degrades the political process.

  “The sightings of UAPs have rarely been explained by the people who have firsthand accounts of these situations,” said Rep. Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) during the hearing.

  “This is largely due to the lack of transparency by our own government and the failure of our elected leaders to make good on their promises to release explanations and footage and mountains of over-classified documents that continue to be hidden from the American people.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 18:30

• Yellow Ceased "Regular Operations" On Friday
  Yellow Ceased “Regular Operations” On Friday

  By Rachel Premack of FreightWaves

  Yellow, the third-largest less-than-truckload company that’s in the midst of financial chaos, said in a memo to laid-off, nonunion employees viewed by FreightWaves that the company was “shutting down regular operations”.

  All locations will be closed and/or lay off some number of employees. As the memo stated:

  “We regret to inform you that your employment with Yellow Corporation, or one of its subsidiaries, (collectively referred to as the ‘Company’) will permanently terminate on July 28, 2023, or within 14 days after (the ‘Separation Date’). The Company is shutting down its regular operations on July 28, 2023, closing and/or laying off employees at all of its locations, including yours (the ‘Shut Down’).”

  

   

  The company on Friday morning laid off an unknown number of office employees, most of which were nonunion. It said in a memo to the laid-off employees that it was unable to alert them previously of this closing of business “because the Shut Down was not reasonably foreseeable.”

  

  John Murphy, who is the Teamsters National Freight director, advised union employees to collect their belongings from all offices and terminals, in the case that Yellow shutters in the coming days and facilities are not accessible.

  Murphy noted Teamsters is continuing to look for financing solutions for Yellow. However, he wrote, “the likelihood that Yellow will survive is increasingly bleak. Yellow continues to clear its system, and it appears to be laying off personnel and closing entire terminals across the country. All Yellow employees should, in our opinion, prepare for the worst, as Yellow appears to be headed to a complete shutdown within the next few days.”

  

  Employees were notified of the layoffs on Friday morning in voice-only calls. At least three executives laid off large portions of their teams:

  • Yellow Chief Information Officer Annlea Rumfola informed her team of some 300 technology employees that Friday was their last day, according to an employee on the call.
  • Steve Selvig, vice president of customer care at Yellow, informed an unknown number of customer service employees that Friday was their last day, according to an employee on the call and a local news publication.
  • Yellow Chief Commercial Officer Jason Bergman invited the following teams to a call that said Friday was their last day: local sales divisions 1, 2 and 4; all inside sales; multiple regions of corporate sales; exhibit operations managers; and Yellow third-party logistics sales. This came from two employees on the call. FreightWaves reviewed screenshots of emails sent before and a recording of the call. A Yellow representative told FreightWaves after publication that not all teams invited were laid off.

  These layoffs come ahead of a potential Yellow bankruptcy filing. A senior vice president said Yellow is expected to file for bankruptcy on Monday, according to three employees who attended an internal call in which the executive shared this news.

  Terminated employees were instructed to receive information regarding their severance pay, health care, W-2s, and other key documents through an Oracle platform, as their access to company systems will be terminated on Friday. According to a memo distributed to terminated employees viewed by FreightWaves, severance for nonunion workers depends on title and length of tenure at the company:

  

  It’s unclear why the Yellow third-party logistics sales team was invited to the layoff call, as the company is actively seeking to sell its logistics arm. A Yellow representative said in an emailed statement after the story was published that the Yellow Logistics organization has remained intact, including the Yellow Logistics salesforce.

  A Yellow representative said in an emailed statement to FreightWaves after the story was published that customers can contact Yellow’s support line at 800-610-6500 or customer.care@myyellow.com.

  “Yellow has retained a robust customer service team that is fully capable of handling inquiries and assisting with all support that customers might need,” the representative said.

  Yellow, a 99-year-old company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, employs some 30,000 workers. About 22,000 of them are represented by the Teamsters union. Teamsters and Yellow have been locked in a monthslong strife over changing key work rules at the trucking fleet. Now, sources say Yellow may file for bankruptcy imminently. 

  In a call to Yellow sales teams, Bergman shared a statement on the company’s potential shuttering — and pinned the blame on the Teamsters’ refusal to negotiate with the company:

  “Since last January, we have made every attempt to meet with the IBT. The IBT’S refusal to negotiate for nine months, its freezing of our essential business plan, One Yellow and, finally, its strike authorizations caused customers to find alternative freight carriers and it’s had a catastrophic effect on our business. When IBT leaders were finally ready to meet this week, it was too late. By then, the IBT strike threat had already a devastating impact on our business, [unclear] investors and causing customers to quickly depart. Given this impact to our business, we are forced to announce additional headcount reductions of non-union employees.”

  In a memo published to members Thursday night, Teamsters blamed Yellow’s management for the company’s financial issues:

  “In the meantime, TNFINC and the IBT continue to try to work with the Government to determine whether there is a way to protect the Teamster families at Yellow. TNFINC and the IBT remain willing to work with Yellow and its lenders or potential lenders. Hope, however, is fading. Unfortunately, despite more than a decade of concessions totaling billions of dollars given to the Company by Teamster members as well as a massive government bailout loan in 2020, Yellow may finally be succumbing to its enormous debt burden.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 18:00

• Navy Gets The Nod: President Biden Acknowledges The Existence Of His Fifth Granddaughter
  Navy Gets The Nod: President Biden Acknowledges The Existence Of His Fifth Granddaughter

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  For her entire life, Navy Joan Roberts has been “she who must not be named.”

  

  There is no evidence that her father has ever visited her, let alone held her. 

  Her grandparents repeatedly denied her existence and said that they had only “four granddaughters.”

  The first time Joe Biden was asked about the existence of his granddaughter.

  What a vicious monster. pic.twitter.com/SIyWBWum0o

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 29, 2023

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  They even gave their dogs stockings at Christmas rather than Navy, who never even bit one let alone a score of Secret Service agents.

  As even Democrats began to voice their own shock at the cruelty of the First Couple shunning this child, the Bidens finally relented and recognized her existence, but only barely so.

  Pressed by Fox News, the White House issued this statement:

  “Our son Hunter and Navy’s mother, Lunden, are working together to foster a relationship that is in the best interests of their daughter, preserving her privacy as much as possible going forward. This is not a political issue, it’s a family matter. Jill and I only want what is best for all of our grandchildren, including Navy.”

  Even for those of us who merely followed this saga from the beginning, the statement was maddening and frankly insulting. It suggested that there was some reason, until now, that prevented the Bidens from acknowledging the existence of their fifth granddaughter. That is false. There was no legal, or even tactical, reason for the refusal of the First Couple to acknowledge Navy for four years.

  Navy and her mother sought that recognition and the Bidens refused. How was that in the “best interests” of this child? Were they fostering a relationship when they gave the German Shepherds stockings at Christmas but not their grandchild?

  Moreover, Hunter has not been “working together” with Lunden for the best interests of his daughter. He has been a callous cad throughout this process, consistently putting his own interests ahead of his child.

  Hunter refused to admit that he was Navy’s father for years until forced to accept the results of a court-ordered DNA test.

  He then fought child support and even her use of the name Biden. He was threatened repeatedly with contempt of court over his obstruction in the litigation in Arkansas. The statement that he has been working together with Lunden is insulting to anyone who has followed these court proceedings, let alone their granddaughter.

  In June, Hunter settled the Arkansas child support case on the condition that Lunden agreed to withdraw her request to change their child’s last name to “Biden.”

  Washington is a hard town. I have lived and worked here for decades and I am still amazed by the cold calculations of many in this city. Long-standing values and associations are routinely jettisoned for personal advantage. Here the moral strictures of the rest of the nation are flipped; vice is a virtue and integrity is a weakness.

  Yet, even in this place of utter personal corruption, the Bidens shocked the local population. It was not their millions in influence peddling. The Bidens are standouts but hardly unique in that form of corruption. It is not the President’s obvious lies about his knowledge and ties to his son’s foreign dealings. Truth is as relative in Washington as loyalty in this city. However, few have the stomach for how the Bidens treated this little girl. The Bidens spent more time fretting over the “pressure” of the White House on Major and Commander than they did the emotional impact on a four-year-old child who was prevented from even calling herself a Biden.

  So what changed after four years to compel this passing recognition in a press statement? It was not the litigation. There was never any legal reason not to recognize their granddaughter since it was confirmed by DNA and court order. It was not any sudden request of the child or her mother. They have been asking for years for such recognition.

  It was more likely the disgust expressed even by Democrats that this is simply wrong. The President is about to head out on the campaign trail and had no answer to that objection. In other words, for the First Couple, it is a political not a family matter. If it were the latter, they would have done the decent thing years ago.

  Of course, the President cannot go into his loving account of how his granddaughter is “a talker” and playful (like his German Shepherd) because he has never bothered to meet her.

  That is now a matter for this little girl to contemplate as she gets older.

  However, whatever the impetus of the sudden recognition of Navy’s existence, it was not any legal cause.

  The First Couple was free to do the decent thing at any time over the last four years. They simply did not find it in their “best interest” to do so.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 17:30

• "Jackasses! You Little Sh*ts!" – House Rep Curses Teenage Senate Pages
  “Jackasses! You Little Sh*ts!” – House Rep Curses Teenage Senate Pages

  Wisconsin Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden is facing bipartisan condemnation after giving a group of teenage Senate pages a profane tongue-lashing late Wednesday night. The rookie congressman doesn’t dispute their account, and defended his words — which some reports suggest may have been influenced by alcohol. 

  

  Pages are 16- and 17-year-olds — 30 per term — who facilitate Senate functions by delivering messages, carrying legislative papers and preparing the chamber for activity. While not on Capitol duty, the pages live in the Daniel Webster Senate Page residence, which also houses the Senate Page School.  

  When the Senate is burning the midnight oil, pages often take breaks in the Capitol rotunda. That was the case on Wednesday, as the Senate processed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act. A Reuters correspondent says pages were lying on the floor taking photos of the rotunda. 

  

  That apparently set Van Orden off, according to a transcript the pages say they wrote in the immediate aftermath of the confrontation:

  “Wake the fuck up you little shits. … What the fuck are you all doing? Get the fuck out of here. You are defiling the space you [pieces of s‑‑‑]. Who the f‑‑‑ are you?” 

  After a page explained their role, Van Orden is said to have replied: 

  “I don’t give a fuck who you are, get out. You jackasses, get out.” 

  Democrats and Republicans united in condemning Van Orden. “I was shocked when I heard about it, and I am further shocked at his refusal to apologize to these young people,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.  “I want to associate myself with the remarks of the Majority Leader,” chimed in Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. “Everybody on this side of the aisle feels exactly the same way.” 

  Grateful every day to our Senate pages! These incredible young people are a vital part of our democracy. pic.twitter.com/AauQ6Le2Sg

  — Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) July 27, 2023

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  “Chuck Schumer should think twice before throwing stones from glass houses,” Van Orden spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement.

  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he hadn’t yet had a chance to speak to Van Orden. “That’s not their normal Van Orden,” he told Politico. 

  Maybe it was an alcohol-infused Van Orden: PunchBowl News, which was first to report the incident, said Van Orden and his staff were heard loudly partying in his offices before his outraged rant. The outlet’s Max Cohen tweeted at photo said to show a long row of alcohol bottles in the office that night: 

  Per a source, here’s a photo from last night of a bunch of alcohol in Van Orden’s office. Van Orden and staff were heard partying loudly before he cursed out a group of teenage Senate pages pic.twitter.com/W6KF35nfWt

  — Max Cohen (@maxpcohen) July 27, 2023

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  Responding to an inquiry from The Hill, Van Orden defended his rough treatment of the high-schoolers with a questionable comparison:

  “The history of the United States Capitol Rotunda, that during the Civil War it was used as a field hospital and countless Union soldiers died on that floor, and they died because they were fighting the Civil War to end slavery. And I think that place should be treated with a tremendous amount of respect for the dead. If anyone had been laying on a series of graves in Arlington National Cemetery, what do you think people would say?”

  Van Orden is a first-termer and the first Republican to represent Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District in 26 years, after he beat Democrat Brad Pfaff in an open-seat contest by a margin of 51.8% to 48.1%. We’ll see what this incident does for his reelection bid. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 17:00

• Gasoline: The Price Rally That Nobody Saw Coming
  Gasoline: The Price Rally That Nobody Saw Coming

  Authored by Charles Kennedy via OilPrice.com,

  • Gasoline prices have gained around 20% year-to-date.

  • This week, gasoline topped $2.90 per gallon and may yet reach $3.

  • In the United States, gasoline inventories are lower than the five-year average both because of the gap between demand and production rates but also because of unplanned refinery outages.

  The direction of oil prices is top news material. Everyone follows oil prices. Many also follow the prices of the most traded oil derivatives, and some may have noticed something rather alarming in the trend of one of these derivatives.

  

  Gasoline, one of the six most traded petroleum contracts on the global futures market, has gained over 20% in the year to date, according to a recent Bloomberg report. This is more than what crude oil has gained—a lot more.

  At the start of this year, Brent crude was trading around $78 per barrel. This week, the international benchmark, which now also includes a U.S. crude grade, touched $83 per barrel.

  Gasoline, meanwhile, started the year at less than $2.50 per gallon. This week, gasoline topped $2.90 per gallon and may yet reach $3.

  

  This is a cause for worry for governments around the world because gasoline, along with diesel, plays a lead role when it comes to inflation. When the price of fuels rises, the prices of everything else rises, too, because everything else is being moved from one place to another—from producer to consumer—on vehicles using either diesel or gasoline.

  

  Yet while diesel is a lot more common for goods transportation, gasoline is a lot more popular among regular drivers. Gasoline demand is a closely watched economic indicator that analysts use to gain insight into the state of the economy, among many others.

  Right now, the data suggests that gasoline demand is quite healthy, which could be cause for optimism about the global economy were it not for the fact that supply is falling short of expectations. This is fueling concern about more inflation pain despite the efforts of central banks in Europe and North America to tame it with a series of rate hikes.

  In the United States, the Federal Reserve announced yet another hike of 25 percentage points for the benchmark interest rate this week. In the same week, gasoline prices moved higher, with the national average adding 4% in a single day. According to the EIA, gasoline stocks are some 7% below the five-year average for this time of the year. And oil drillers are not drilling more. They are drilling less.

  In Europe, governments had to step in last year and subsidize fuels amid the energy crunch and the following embargo on Russian crude and fuels. The move drew a lot of criticism from transition advocates who argued the EU is essentially selling out to the oil and gas industry by encouraging the use of its products.

  Yet those governments that implemented the subsidies knew very well what they were doing: they were avoiding riots by millions of drivers whose living standard depends quite a lot on affordable fuels.

  Meanwhile, the European Central Bank just hiked interest rates to the highest in more than two decades. And gasoline is not going down anytime soon. Because there is simply not enough supply, at least not everywhere.

  In the United States, gasoline inventories are lower than the five-year average both because of the gap between demand and production rates but also because of unplanned refinery outages, Bloomberg noted in its report, such as the one at Exxon’s Baton Rouge facility from earlier this week. In fact, for this time of year, gasoline inventories are the lowest since 2015…

  

  Media reported that a gasoline production unit was down at the Baton Rouge refinery earlier this week. The reports noted that the unit, a catalytic converter, could be down for several weeks. Needless to say, gasoline prices jumped lively at the news.

  In Europe, refining and gasoline production has been disrupted by protests in France and then, last month, Shell’s Pernis refinery in the Netherlands shut down a unit due to a leak.

  That and the shutdown of refineries in the past few years on both sides of the Atlantic have combined to create a tight supply picture even as governments consider bans for gasoline-powered cars.

  While they consider these bans and even vote on them, consumption is on the increase. Bloomberg reports that gasoline consumption in France, Germany, Spain, and Italy is on the rise. At the same time, because of the embargo on Russian fuels, feedstocks needed to produce gasoline are in short supply on the continent.

  Meanwhile, Chinese refiners are producing millions of barrels of gasoline and diesel. They are, in fact, producing so much that there were recently pressuring refining margins for the whole region. But most of the gasoline and diesel that Chinese refiners produce gets consumed locally. Because although it’s the world’s biggest EV market, China is also a giant non-EV market. And fuel demand is on the rise.

  

  The picture that gasoline supply and demand trends paint is one of prolonged tight supply and high prices.

  This, in turn, will likely keep inflation untamed despite the best efforts of central banks—efforts, which also unfortunately make life more expensive.

  The silver lining: inflation leads to lower consumption of everything. The risk is slipping into a recession.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 16:30

• These Are The States That Strike The Most
  These Are The States That Strike The Most

  Having averted what could have been the biggest work stoppage the US has known since the 1950s, the Teamsters Union agreed a deal with UPS this week that mean the approximately 330,000 UPS drivers, loaders and handlers would not strike, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz details below, it is clear that strikes and work stoppages have returned as a mainstay of U.S. news.

  Among recent high profile walkouts, for example, are the Writers Guild of America, among newly unionized Starbucks employees and Amazon drivers, also represented by the Teamsters.

  But not every part of the U.S. sees an equal amount of these strikes, data from Cornell University suggest. 

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  While California registered the most strikes since the beginning of 2021 by far at more than 300 individual actions, Texas only registered 33 despite having around three quarters of California’s population.

  The same is true for the states of Florida and New York. Despite about equal populations, New York state saw more than 100 strikes in 2.5 years, while Florida only experienced 24 listed by Cornell – showcasing a divide between blue and red states when it comes to strikes. West Coast states Oregon and Washington as well as East Coast state Massachusetts also saw more strikes than suggested by their populations. An outlier in this logic was Missouri, which registered 33 strikes—three more than Texas—with many of them centering on St. Louis. Other cities outside the major centers experiencing a lot of strikes in the specified time frame were Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Buffalo, where the Starbucks unionization drive started.

  The Guardian newspaper identifies the recent developments in the U.S. as a “new wave of organizing” while also concluding that the affected corporations have been engaged in counterattacks, including the firing of workers and the closing down of unionized or unionizing stores. The article also rates U.S. laws as weak in regard to protecting workers who want to unionize. In addition, many Republican-dominated U.S. states have passed so-called Right to Work laws, which prohibit mandatory union membership – contributing to regional differences in the number of union members and strikes.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 16:00

• All Bubbles Pop
  All Bubbles Pop

  Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

  The problem with bubbles of received wisdom and herd-euphoria is conditions change but the risk of something untoward happening is still perceived as inconsequentially low.

  

  All bubbles pop–and not just stock market bubbles. A speculative bubble is a psychological-social phenomenon in which confidence in the stability of future gains reaches levels where doubts are banished and risks have dissipated into thin air. This confidence can be euphoric or it can be the baseline: this (guaranteed gains) is the way the world works.

  

  This baseline confidence in the system is a form of received wisdom based on recency bias: since gains keep notching higher, the evidence supports expectations of future gains. Thus embracing what is clearly over-confidence (i.e. a bubble) is perceived as rational, and doubting future gains as irrational.

  For example, the Higher Education Bubble is popping. The PR machinery that generated the confidence that borrowing immense fortunes to pay for university diplomas was a means to securing guaranteed lifetime gains is breaking down.

  This confidence was not euphoric, it was received wisdom based on recency bias: study after study showed those with any flavor of four-year college degree earned far more over their lifetimes than those with only high school diplomas.

  But beneath this apparently rock-solid evidence, the realities of debt, supply, demand and the changing nature of work and the economy were eroding the cost-benefit of borrowing fortunes to pay for college. As the percentage of the workforce with college diplomas rose, the scarcity value of degrees declined. The gap between the low level of actual productive skills gained in most college programs and the demands of employers for high levels of real skills widened.

  With the money spigots of student debt gushing hundreds of billions of dollars into the higher education sector, universities had zero incentives to limit costs and every incentive to hire more administrators at ample salaries and construct fancy new buildings.

  The risks generated by student debts also rose. The received wisdom held that borrowing $120,000 would automatically generate a financial return of many multiple of the total debt payments. But given that the accrued interest, penalties and late fees can double the initial sum borrowed, this drag on lifetime income becomes consequential when combined with the decay of marginal returns on having a college degree.

  

  Now enrollments are plummeting, even in more affordable community colleges. The confidence in guaranteed gains from investing the time and money to get a diploma has been broken, and now bloated, ineffective (in terms of measurable productive skills learned by graduates) universities and colleges are facing declines in revenues that they are unprepared to manage.

  5 Charts That Explain the Student Debt Crisis

  The higher education bubble is not just a distortion of perceived risk and return; it’s a financial bubble of massive debt, profiteering and mal-investment. Please glance at the chart below of student loan debt, which soared from near zero 20 years ago to $1.77 trillion in highly profitable, high-interest loans owned by the wealthy at the expense of credulous students.

  Confidence in guaranteed future gains in the stock market is both received wisdom and a run-with-the-herd euphoria. Humans are social animals acutely attuned to the zeitgeist of the herd. There are strong incentives to join the herd and run with it, and the feeling of euphoria as the herd starts running is intense and gratifying.

  Combine the recency bias generated by continual “saves” by the Federal Reserve since 2008 (and arguably from 1998) with the euphoria of the stampeding herd, and the result is a heady super-confidence that risk has dropped to “permanently low levels” while stocks have reached “what looks like a permanently high plateau.”

  The problem with bubbles of received wisdom and herd-euphoria is conditions change but the risk of something untoward happening is still perceived as inconsequentially low. Consider the South Seas Bubble. In the early days of globalization and colonial expansion, the opportunity created by the granting of a monopoly for all future profiteering in a vast undeveloped region of the world was obviously compelling. It was clearly a no-brainer to bet on gains.

  Early investors were rewarded, and so were those who bought the dip. Even late-comers notched gains, and naysayers and skeptics were silenced by the monumental gains accrued by the herd.

  Then the bubble popped, as all bubbles do, and the wealth vanished into the ether. Confidence has many sources, and recency bias and the herd are the most reliable and persuasive. The Internet will grow for decades, and so earnings can grow for decades. This received wisdom, goosed by Fed liquidity, generated a herd-euphoria in 1999 and 2000 that generated spectacular gains for everyone in the herd.

  Then the herd went off the cliff, as herds tend to do when risk is perceived as inconsequentially low.

  *  *  *

  My new book is now available at a 10% discount ($8.95 ebook, $18 print): Self-Reliance in the 21st Century. Read the first chapter for free (PDF)

  Become a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

  Subscribe to my Substack for free

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 15:30

• Bidenomics Accelerates Death Of American Dream  As Housing Affordability Crisis Stokes Mobile Home Demand
  Bidenomics Accelerates Death Of American Dream  As Housing Affordability Crisis Stokes Mobile Home Demand

  Here’s our coverage of the boom and bust of the RV industry:

  • April 2021: RV Sales Just Hit An All-Time High
  • March 2022: RV Shipments Soar To Record For This Time Of Year
  • July 2022: “All Of A Sudden, It Came To A Halt”: After Posting Fresh Records Just Months Earlier, RV Industry Grinds To A Halt
  • Nov 2022: RV Boom Over? Monthly Shipments Plunge As Dealerships Overflow With Campers
  • May 2023: RV Bust Worsens As Dealers Discount Trailers
  • June 2023: RV Bust Kicks Into High Gear As Winnebago Records Big Revenue Miss

  The latest results from the RV Industry Association’s June 2023 survey of manufacturers found more of the same: “Total RV shipments ended the month with 24,095 units, a decrease of (-46.4%) compared to the 44,942 units shipped in June 2022. To date, RV shipments are down (-49.2%) with 164,830 units.” 

  

  Rather than focusing on the continued RV downcycle — mainly the result of high borrowing costs which popped the demand bubble — we thought the most critical data from this report is the ongoing surge in demand for “Park Model RVs.” 

  “Park Model RVs finished June up 7.7% compared to the same month last year, with 391 wholesale shipments,” RVIA said in the report. 

  

  What are Park Model RVs? Well… 

  

  The most logical conclusion one can make about the soaring mobile home demand is possibly the worst housing affordability crisis in a generation has killed the ‘American Dream’ for many. We detailed this in a note last week titled Starter Homes Are Becoming Extinct, Making ‘The American Dream’ Unaffordable.

  Following two years of negative real wage growth that has decimated the working poor and parts of the middle class, coupled with tens of millions of folks, have been priced out of the American Dream. It’s so evident that Home Depot now sells trailers called “Gateway Pad.” 

  Isn’t ‘Bidenomics’ Great? 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 15:00

• Rise In Type 1 Diabetes Among Young People Linked To COVID-19
  Rise In Type 1 Diabetes Among Young People Linked To COVID-19

  Authored by Marina Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  There was an unexpected surge in the diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes among children and teenagers worldwide amidst the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study.

  The systematic review, published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), analyzed 42 studies on diabetes incidence, including 17 studies involving nearly 38,000 people under the age of 19. The review revealed a 14 percent surge in Type 1 diabetes cases in 2020, followed by a 27 percent increase in 2021, compared to before the pandemic.

  Furthermore, the research highlighted a rise in Type 2 diabetes incidence and diabetic ketoacidosis, a severe complication of diabetes more common in Type 1 patients, after the start of the pandemic.

  

  What Is the Link Between COVID and Type 1 Diabetes?

  The exact connection between COVID-19 and the higher risk of developing diabetes is unclear, according to the authors of the study. However, some doctors disagree.

  Type 1 diabetes is well established as an autoimmune disease, where the body attacks its own pancreatic beta cells, a primary source of insulin.

  Both viral infections and vaccinations are known triggers for autoimmune diseases, and COVID-19 and its vaccine could be no exception, Dr. Paul Marik, a critical care physician, former tenured professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, and co-founder of the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care (FLCCC) Alliance, told The Epoch Times.

  Numerous case reports have documented instances where patients developed Type 1 diabetes following either COVID-19 infection or COVID-19 vaccination.

  The spike proteins present in the SARS-CoV-2 virus, as well as those produced by the body after vaccination, are very likely to be causing autoimmunity, according to Dr. Marik.

  “There is few doubts that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is the most likely trigger of Type 1 diabetes,” Dr. Flavio Cadegiani, an endocrinologist and researcher at Federal University of São Paulo in Brazil, told The Epoch Times via email.

  The primary role of COVID-19 spike proteins is to attach to ACE-2 receptors on cell surfaces and enter the cells. Pancreatic beta cells, which have ACE-2 receptors, are vulnerable to infection and potential damage caused by spike protein entry.

  Spike proteins also share similarities with human proteins, and their presence may lead the body to produce antibodies that not only target the spike protein but also attack human tissues, including the pancreas.

  This phenomenon of molecular mimicry is seen in vaccine-injured patients, and those with long COVID, Dr. Marik said. Studies have found autoantibodies—antibodies that attack the body’s own tissues or cells—in both groups of patients.

  Type 2 Diabetes: More Common and Complicated Consequence

  The study may mistakenly conflate Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes as the same disease, hence the “no clear underlying mechanism” conclusion, board-certified internist Dr. Keith Berkowitz told The Epoch Times.

  Type 2 diabetes, compared to Type 1, is more complex and metabolic, influenced by factors like obesity, processed food, heart disease, blood cholesterol, and hypertension.

  Dr. Berkowitz said he has observed a unique blood glucose dysregulation pattern in his post-COVID and post-vaccine patients.

  Patients with Type 2 diabetes typically have high blood sugar levels with high or low insulin levels as the beta cells become fatigued. However, Dr. Berkowitz said he observed that some of his patients had low blood sugar alongside high insulin levels, a condition he said he has never encountered before.

  “Even my well-controlled diabetic patients are not faring well, especially those who have received both vaccinations and had COVID infections,” Dr. Berkowitz added.

  Dr. Berkowitz uses intravenous fluids to address these conditions in Type 2 diabetics, restoring their water balance and blood sugar regulation. “When a diabetic goes to the hospital, the first thing they do is administer intravenous saline because insulin doesn’t work well in a severely dehydrated cell,” he said.

  Treatment for Autoimmunity and Type 1 Diabetes

  Autoimmunity is a condition where the body’s immune system mistakenly identifies its own cells, tissues, or organs as foreign invaders and attacks them. This can lead to various autoimmune diseases.

  But the body may be brought back into balance.

  1. Remove COVID-19 Spike Protein

  The spike protein may contribute to autoimmune disease, prompting doctors to consider therapies that may remove these inflammatory proteins.

  Research suggests that fasting can trigger autophagy, the process of clearing old, damaged, and foreign proteins.

  Intermittent fasting and prolonged fasts, even for three days, may “reset” the immune system, potentially reducing autoimmune activity. Fasting, however, is not recommended for children or pregnant or breastfeeding women.

  Other recommended therapies for spike protein removal include ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug, and N-acetylcysteine (NAC) supplementation.

  2. Supplement With Vitamin D

  Vitamin D insufficiency, a common deficiency among the U.S. population, has been linked to autoimmune disorders.

  Research shows vitamin D supplementation reduces autoimmune disease risk by 22 percent. Infants given vitamin D also have lower Type 1 diabetes incidence, a 2001 study found.

  Vitamin D reduces inflammation and provides infection protection. Some scientists propose it helps the immune system differentiate between self and non-self.

  Dr. Cadegiani stated that one of his first therapies is to increase Type 1 diabetes patients’ vitamin D levels between the range of 60 to 90 ng/ml, which is around 6,000 to 9,000 IUs of dietary vitamin D per day.

  Vitamin D is also linked to improved insulin sensitivity.

  3. Reduce Sugar Intake 

  Sugar contributes to inflammation, and studies have found that those who consume high levels of sugar over extended periods are at a higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases.

  In the case of patients with Type 1 diabetes, Dr. Cadegiani said that cutting glucose and carbohydrate consumption reduces insulin, and, therefore, can prevent the body from forming more autoantibodies against pancreatic beta cells.

  4. Hydroxychloroquine

  Dr. Cadegiani said that he sometimes prescribes hydroxychloroquine when a patient is positive for Type 1 diabetes antibodies, but still has around normal blood sugar levels.

  The anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine is a powerful drug that fights autoimmune diseases. It is able to bind to the ACE-2 receptors and prevent spike protein entry and is also able to block spike protein from causing further harm.

  It is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in chronic discoid lupus erythematosus, systemic lupus erythematosus in adults, and rheumatoid arthritis, all autoimmune diseases.

  Studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine can also reduce blood sugar and is associated with a reduced risk of Type 1 diabetes. The use of chloroquine, a hydroxychloroquine derivative, in Type 1 diabetes cases can reduce inflammation in the body.

  5. Plant Supplements 

  Plant supplements like curcumin and berberine also have anti-diabetic properties and may help prevent Type 1 diabetes.

  Curcumin can decrease blood sugar and insulin levels and reduce inflammation and oxidation. Some theories have suggested that curcumin may be able to prevent the immune system from overreacting, which results in autoimmunity.

  Curcumin reduces inflammation in the gut, helping with digestion and overall gut health. An unhealthy gut can lead to a dysregulated immune system, increasing the risk of autoimmunity.

  Despite being a plant compound, berberine has been found to have potent blood glucose-lowering properties. Berberine has been shown to be protective against pancreatic beta cells and also improve insulin resistance.

  Thus, both patients with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes may supplement with berberine. Those already taking medications for diabetes may need to consult their doctors before supplementing with berberine.

  6. Diabetes Drugs 

  Dr. Cadegiani also uses diabetes drugs like metformin and liraglutide to treat and prevent Type 1 diabetes.

  Metformin is a common diabetes drug that can reduce blood sugar levels. In Type 1 diabetes, metformin increases insulin sensitivity and action and also increases peripheral glucose uptake.

  Liraglutide increases satiety and slows gastric emptying. Studies have also shown that the drug increases pancreatic beta cell mass, improves the cells’ functions, and prevents beta cell deaths, all of which may help prevent Type 1 diabetes.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 14:30

• Ukraine Firing North Korean Rockets At Russian Forces
  Ukraine Firing North Korean Rockets At Russian Forces

  North Korea may be allied with Russia, but the Ukrainian army has started firing North Korean rockets at Putin’s forces. It’s the latest illustration of how the West’s drive to sustain its proxy war against Russia has turned Ukraine’s arsenal into a wacky smorgasbord of the world’s weapons, transcending both time and geography. 

  The North Korean rockets are being fired from Ukraine’s Soviet-era Grad multiple-launch rocket system (MLRS) launchers. Their use was first reported by the Financial Times, after Ukrainian troops showed them off to the paper’s reporter. The soldiers say the rockets were “seized” from a ship by an unidentified “friendly” country.

  

  A Ukrainian defense official implied the rockets may have instead been captured from the Russians. “We capture their tanks, we capture their equipment and it is very possible that this is also the result of the Ukrainian army successfully conducting a military operation.” Or maybe not. 

  Whatever their precise origin, the rockets are nothing to brag about. A Ukrainian artillery officer told FT that the North Korean rockets — mostly manufactured some 30 or 40 years ago — are used grudgingly, as they’re highly prone to misfiring or failing to detonate. Accordingly, the soldiers cautioned against standing near the launcher while it was in action, saying the rockets “are very unreliable and do crazy things sometimes.”

  

  News of the presence of North Korean rockets in Ukraine’s arsenal comes just days after Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang to mark 70 years of the Korean War armistice and to “strengthen cooperation” between the countries. 

  Western governments have been going to great lengths to keep Ukraine’s army in action, to the point of significantly decreasing their own arsenals.  Most recently, the United States started supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions, which are banned by an international treaty that has 108 signatories — but not the United States. 

  It’s only a war crime of someone else does it?

  White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki in 2022 acknowledging the use of cluster bombs by Russia is a war crime. A year later Biden does same thing pic.twitter.com/bCmmJ51krW

  — Veterans For Peace (@VFPNational) July 14, 2023

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  Asked about the controversial move, President Biden went off-script and acknowledged the real reason why his administration would provide Ukraine with weapons known to cause disproportionate harm to civilians — weapons that his own administration had condemned when it was suggested that Russia might be using them: “[The Ukrainians] are running out of [155mm artillery shells], and we’re low on it.” 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 07/29/2023 – 14:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Escobar: The Russia-Global South Connection – Africa As Strategic Partner
  Escobar: The Russia-Global South Connection – Africa As Strategic Partner

  Authored by Pepe Escobar,

  The second Russia-Africa summit, this week in St. Petersburg, should be seen as a milestone in terms of Global South integration and the concerted drive by the Global Majority towards a more equal and fair multipolar order.

  

  The summit welcomes no less than 49 African delegations. President Putin previously announced that a comprehensive declaration and a Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan all the way to 2026 will be adopted.

  Madaraka Nyerere, the son of Tanzania’s legendary anti-colonial activist and first President, Julius Nyerere, set the context, telling RT that the only “realistic” way for Africa to develop is to unite and stop being an agent for foreign exploitative powers.

  And the path towards cooperation goes through BRICS – starting with the crucial upcoming summit in South Africa, and the incorporation of more African nations into BRICS+.

  Nyerere’s father was a very important force behind the Organization of African Unity, which later became the African Union.

  South Africa’s Julius Malema succinctly expanded the geoeconomic concept of a united Africa: “They [neocolonial powers] thrive on the division of the African continent. Can you imagine the minerals of the DRC combined with the minerals of South Africa, and with a new currency based on the minerals? What can we do to the dollar? If we become a United States of Africa, with our minerals alone, we can defeat the dollar.”

  No humanitarian nature, no deal

  The Russian-African Conference of the Valdai Club functioned like a sort of final expert watch synchronization in the run-up to St. Petersburg. The first session was particularly relevant.

  That came after the publication of a comprehensive analysis by President Putin of Russia-Africa relations, with a special emphasis on the recently collapsed grain deal involving the UN, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine.

  Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Russian Federation Council, has stressed how “Ukraine, Washington and NATO were interested in the grain corridor for sabotage”.

  In his Op-Ed, Putin explained how, “for almost a year, a total of 32.8 million tons of cargo were exported from Ukraine under the ‘deal’, of which more than 70% went to high-and above-middle-income countries, including the European Union, while countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, as well as Yemen and Afghanistan accounted for less than 3% of the total volume – less than one million tons.”

  So that was one of the key reasons for Russia to leave the grain deal. Moscow published a list of requirements which would need to be fulfilled for Russia to reinstate it.

  Among them: a real, practical end to sanctions on Russian grain and fertilizers shipped to world markets; no more obstacles for banks and financial institutions; no more restrictions on charter of ships and insurance – that means clean logistics for all food supplies; restoration of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline.

  And a particularly crucial item: the restoration of “the original humanitarian nature of the grain deal.”

  There’s no way the collective West subjected to the Straussian neocon psychos who control US foreign policy will fulfill all or even some of these conditions.

  So Russia, by itself, will offer grain and fertilizers free of charge for the poorest nations and contracts for grain supply at normal commercial terms for the others. Supply is guaranteed: Moscow had the biggest grain harvest ever during this season.

  This is all about solidarity. At the Valdai session, a key discussion was around the importance of solidarity in the struggle against neo-colonialism and for global equality and justice.

  Oleg Ozerov, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry, and Head of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, stressed how European “former” partners persist on the one-way track of shifting blame to Russia as Africa is “acquiring agency” and “denying neo-colonialism.”

  Ozerov mentioned how “France-Afrique is collapsing – and Russia is not behind it. Russia is ensuring that Africa acts as one of the powers of the multipolar world”, as “a member of the G20 and present in the UN Security Council.” Moreover, Moscow is interested to expand Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) free trade deals towards Africa.

  Welcome to Global South “multi-vector” cooperation

  This all spells out a common theme in the Russia-Africa summit: “multi-vector cooperation”. The South African perspective, especially in the light of the raging controversy over Putin’s non-physical presence in the BRICS summit, is that “Africans are not taking sides. They want peace.”

  What matters is what Africa brings to BRICS: “Markets, and a young, educated population.”

  On the Russian bridge to Africa, what is needed, for instance, is “railways along coastlines”: connectivity, which can be developed with Russian assistance, much as China has been investing widely across Africa under BRI projects. Russia, after all, “trained many professionals across Africa.”

  There’s a wide consensus, to be reflected in the summit, that Africa is becoming an economic growth pole in the Global South – and African experts know it. State institutions are becoming more stable. The abysmal crisis in Russia-Western relations ended up boosting interest in Africa. No wonder that’s now a national priority for Russia.

  So what can Russia offer? Essentially an investment portfolio, and crucially the idea of sovereignty – without requesting anything in return.

  Mali is a fascinating case. It goes back to investments by the USSR training the workforce; at least 10,000 Malians, who were offered first-class education, including 80% of their professors.

  That intersects with the terrorism threat of the Salafi-jihadi variety, “encouraged” by the usual suspects even before 9/11. Mali holds at least 350,000 refugees, all of them unemployed. France’s “initiatives” have been deemed “totally inefficient”.

  Mali needs “broader measures” – including the launch of a new trading system. Russia after all taught how to set up infrastructure to create new jobs; time to fully profit from the knowledge of those trained in the USSR. Moreover, in 2023 over 100 students from Mali are coming to Russia on state-sponsored scholarships.

  As Russia makes inroads in French-speaking Africa, former “partners”, predictably, demonize Mali’s cooperation with Russia. With no avail. Mali has just dropped French as its official language (that has been the case since 1960).

  Under the new constitution, passed overwhelmingly with 96.9% in a June 15 referendum, French will be only a working language, while 13 national languages will also receive official language status.

  Essentially, this is about sovereignty. Coupled with the fact that the West, as recognized from Mali to Ethiopia – the only African nation never colonized by Europeans – is losing moral authority across Africa at astonishing speed.

  Multitudes in Africa now understand that Russia actively encourages freedom from neocolonialism. When it comes to geopolitical capital, Moscow now seems to enjoy all it takes to build a fruitful, Global Majority-centered strategic partnership.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 23:30

• Forget California. Texas Is "King Of Clean Energy"
  Forget California. Texas Is “King Of Clean Energy”

  California likes to pretend it leads the nation in decarbonizing its power grid but has been out ‘greened’ by an unlikely state: Texas. 

  Texas is the reddest state in the country (for now). It leads California and all other states in terms of total electricity generation from renewable sources. 

  The latest U.S. Energy Information Administration data shows Texas versus California’s power generation mix. And the clear winner in decarbonizing the grid so far is… 

  

  Since 2018, Texas has surpassed California and the national average in integrating renewable energy sources like solar and wind, thus becoming a frontrunner in the efforts to decarbonize the grid. This contradicts the popular narrative that California, with its progressive leadership, is the champion in this field.

  Bloomberg explained why Texas is now the “king of clean energy”: 

  In Texas, solar permitting is uncomplicated. Connecting projects to the electric grid is straightforward. Then there’s cheap labor, homegrown energy expertise, plenty of sunshine and an anything-goes ethos. “There’s no ‘Mother, may I?’ here,” says Doug Lewin, who worked in the Texas Legislature on energy policy and now advises power companies. “In Texas, it’s just easier to get things done.”

  Texas’ leadership in adding renewables to its power generation mix is at odds with its status as the top-producing state of crude oil, natural gas, refined products, and petrochemicals. 

  But in terms of decarbonizing power grids, Texas trumps virtue signaling California. After all, America’s largest EV carmaker, Tesla, is now based in Austin, Texas. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 23:00

• Biden's DOJ Illegally Bribing States To Pass Gun Confiscation Laws: Lawmakers
  Biden’s DOJ Illegally Bribing States To Pass Gun Confiscation Laws: Lawmakers

  Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

  Last summer, weak Republicans teamed up with Anti-Gun Democrats to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.  

  Part of that law included funding for ‘red flag laws’ nationwide. The reason for this is that the Anti-Gun lobby knows that a national red flag law is totally unconstitutional and would immediately be struck down by federal courts. So instead, they chose to bribe states with federal funds into passing their own ‘red flag’ laws at the state level, where challenges to the laws could get stuck in court proceedings for years to come.  

  According to the letter penned by Senator Roger Marshall of Kentucky and Representative Alex Mooney from West Virginia, the Biden Department of Justice has weaponized Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to Illegally bribe states into passing red flag laws. 

  In the letter, the lawmakers state that the Justice Department gave Federal funding to States that did not meet the criteria for due process.  

  “The Department of Justice appears to have weaponized the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to illegally fund ineligible red flag laws and bribe pro-gun states into passing gun confiscation laws.”  

  Interestingly, Minnesota passed a red flag law within 100 days of receiving $3.7 Million from this program.  

  These Federal grants were supposed to only be given to states whose ‘red flag’ laws met “due process requirements,” a term specifically set by one of the bill’s Republican authors, Senator John Cornyn of Texas.  

  When Gun Owners of America pointed out that this provision would be abused and ignored by the government, Republicans who supported the legislation accused GOA of lying. 

  But now it seems that states that don’t have red flag laws at all, — such as West Virginia, Alaska, Kansas, and Arkansas – got millions of dollars towards implementing these sorts of laws in their respective states.  

  This letter, — along with Representative Lauren Boebert’s Shall Not Be Infringed Act, which would repeal all the gun control passed by the 117th Congress — are just a few of the battles that GOA is fighting for your 2A rights every day on Capitol Hill. 

  Read the letter here: 

  So, pick up the phone and call your Senators and Representative and demand to know what they’re doing to hold the Biden administration accountable for this misuse of federal funds. 

  *   *   *

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

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 22:30

• Environmental Protection Vs. Economic Growth
  Environmental Protection Vs. Economic Growth

  The battle in the minds of people in the U.S. between prioritizing the environment (even at the risk of curbing economic growth) or the economy (even if the environment suffers), has been a bit of a rollercoaster over the last few decades.

  As Statista’s Martin Armstrong reports, while Gallup survey data shows that back in the 80’s and 90’s, the environment was the clear winner in this moral dilemma when looked at nationally; things have started to change as the new millennium commenced.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  As Statista’s infographic illustrates, the struggle in the U.S. between the two really came to a head as the effects of the 2008 financial crisis started to bite.

  In March 2009, the economy had shifted to the forefront of most people’s minds, with a majority (51 percent) choosing the economy as a priority, compared to 42 percent favoring the environment.

  Mother Earth did eventually start to gain control over American hearts and minds again between 2015 and 2019, but the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 onward narrowed the gap between the slight majority thinking conservation is paramount and those who feel that economic development should be given priority over conservation efforts.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 22:00

• COVID Vaccines Show 24 Times More Adverse Reactions Than Others
  COVID Vaccines Show 24 Times More Adverse Reactions Than Others

  Authored by Jessie Zhang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  The latest report on adverse reactions to vaccines in Western Australia has revealed that COVID-19 vaccinations have 24 times the rate of adverse reactions in the state compared to all other vaccines.

  According to the state’s vaccine safety surveillance report (pdf), COVID-19 vaccines showed that for every 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines administered, 264 adverse events following immunisations (AEFIs) were recorded.

  For all other vaccinations, 11.1 AEFIs were recorded, making the COVID-19 vaccines 23.8 times more likely than non-COVID-19 vaccines to result in adverse events.

  

  The rate of adverse events varied among different types of COVID-19 vaccines.

  The Spikevax (Moderna) vaccine recorded 281.4 AEFIs per 100,000 doses, Comirnaty (Pfizer) recorded 244.8, and the Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) vaccine, which was removed from the vaccine program after reports emerged of blood clotting in younger people, recorded 306.

  Adverse events following vaccination can range from mild, such as a sore arm, to serious conditions, such as anaphylaxis, thrombosis with thrombocytopaenia syndrome (TTS), Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), myocarditis, and pericarditis.

  Collaboration Continues With 3-in-1 Super Jab

  Meanwhile, despite these concerns, the Australian government’s partnership with Moderna to produce vaccines using experimental messenger RNA technology to prepare for the next pandemic means these vaccines are here to stay.

  The company has been forming a trifecta jab to address the main respiratory viruses—influenza, COVID-19, and RSV to maintain its market share amid the falling revenue of vaccine companies as the health crisis subsides.

  Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine sales of US$18.4 billion in 2022 are expected to dive to $5 billion this year.

  Recently, it was granted expedited approval by Australia’s authority for medicines for its mRNA-1345 (RSV vaccine), meaning that the company will be able to launch the vaccines in Australia before any other country in the world.

  

  A spokesperson from Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration told the Epoch Times that Moderna was granted an accelerated approval process on March 30 after satisfying all of the following criteria:

  • the medicine is new
  • the medicine is for the treatment, prevention, or diagnosis of a life-threatening condition
  • no other medicines that are intended to treat, prevent or diagnose the condition are included in the Australian drug register or there is substantial evidence that this medicine provides a significant improvement in efficacy or safety of the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of the condition compared to those goods already included in the register
  • there is substantial evidence that the medicine provides a major therapeutic advance.

  However, phase 3 clinical trials for Moderna’s mRNA version of the seasonal influenza vaccine have been underwhelming, showing a high rate of side effects.

  Although the vaccine generates a strong immune response against the A strains of the flu, its efficacy against B strains is not better than existing approved vaccines.

  Additionally, 70 percent of trial participants who received the shot reported adverse reactions such as headaches, swelling, and fatigue compared to 48 percent for the conventional flu vaccine.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 21:30

• Ex-Mossad Chief: Netanyahu Government Worse Than Ku Klux Klan
  Ex-Mossad Chief: Netanyahu Government Worse Than Ku Klux Klan

  The former head of Israel’s Mossad says the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is filled with “extreme lunatics” that are “a lot worse” than the Ku Klux Klan.  

  In a Thursday interview, Tamir Pardo, who led the Israeli intelligence agency from 2011 to 2016, said national security minister Itavar Ben Gvir and finance minister Bezalel Smotrich represent “horrible racist parties” — respectively, Jewish Power and Religious Zionism — that make the Klan pale in comparison. 

  

  However, Pardo said suggestions that Netanyahu is being coerced by extremists amounds to “urban legend,” telling Kan radio, “The leader has lost his mind. Nothing that has happened would have happened if the prime minister didn’t lead this process.”

  Substantiating the comparison, Pardo pointed to Smotrich’s call for the wholesale destruction of an entire Palestinian village. In the wake of the killing of two Israeli brothers, Smotrich liked a tweet in which a West Bank Israeli mayor called for the government to “wipe out the village of Huwara today.” 

  When asked why he “liked” it, Smotrich said, “Because I think the village of Huwara needs to be wiped out. I think the State of Israel should do it,” adding that “God forbid” private Israelis take matters into their own hands. 

  Israeli settlers are rampaging through the Turmus Aya village.

  Fires can be seen from miles. People are locked inside their homes. Multiple vehicles & farms burned down…

  All with total impunity & ZERO consequences!

  Yesterday settlers burned & damaged 134 cars & wounded 34! pic.twitter.com/tNNBIT3sJw

  — Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) June 21, 2023

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  Previously, Smotrich called for Palestinian mothers to be separated from Jews in the country’s maternity wards, saying, “[My wife] would not want to sleep next to someone who just gave birth to a baby who might want to murder her baby in twenty years,”

  Meanwhile, security minister Ben-Gvir decorated his home with a poster of mass murderer Baruch Goldstein, who in 1994 killed 28 Muslim worshippers and wounded 125 in the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre. 

  Exposing the hypocrisy of the Israeli government, Pardo said that if a different country adopted laws against Jews akin to the anti-Palestinian laws being passed by the Knesset, it would be considered anti-semitic. For example, this week saw the passage of a law empowering about half of Israeli’s small towns to bar Palestinians from moving in. 

  Within hours of the Israeli president meeting with President Biden and addressing Congress, the Israeli occupation government bulldozed the farming plot of a Palestinian community, in the occupied West Bankpic.twitter.com/qQdZhUI7KP

  — Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) July 21, 2023

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  Pardo has been outspoken against the Netanyahu government’s drive to reform Israel’s judiciary system. Middle East Eye notes that in a speech against that effort, Pardo said that if a law was passed to remove the Supreme Court’s ability to apply a “reasonableness” standard, Israel would “be similar to Iran and Hungary – ostensibly a democracy, in practice a dictatorship.”

  That law was passed Monday, following months of enormous protests across the country. Pardo pins the division on Netanyahu: “A nation has been torn in two and the prime minister does not blink and shows happiness on his face.”  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 21:05

• The F-35 Lightning's Vulnerability To Lightning Is Both Ironic And Unforgivable
  The F-35 Lightning’s Vulnerability To Lightning Is Both Ironic And Unforgivable

  Authored by Mike Fredenburg via The Epoch Times,

  That the F-35 Lightning II has been prohibited from flying anywhere near lightning is ironic. That the F-35 has been under development since 1994 and that the Pentagon “doesn’t have a path forward” to fix the F-35 is unforgivable.

  

  That a plane that’s supposed to be the foundation of American air supremacy has an Achilles heel so easily exploitable is a glaring example of how our military procurement system wastes taxpayer dollars while failing to provide the weapon systems needed to meet our national security needs.

  Yes, the F-35, the aging “wunder plane” that the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin have been assuring us for decades is just that one fix away from being ready for full-rate production, isn’t allowed to fly within 25 miles of a thunderstorm.

  So far, the indefinite restriction has been publicly announced as applying “only” to the Air Force’s F-35A. But given the F-35 Joint Program Office’s history of hiding and “managing” bad news, it would not be at all surprising to find out that the same restrictions are in place for the Marines’ F-35B and the Navy’s F-35C, but have not yet been made public. That having this unpublicized policy in place could make sense was demonstrated in July 2021 when two F-35Bs flying out of their airbase in Japan were forced to execute emergency landings after they both suffered millions of dollars worth of lightning damage in the same storm.

  This restriction is even more crippling than the F35’s restrictions on supersonic flight, as not being able to fly within 25 miles of potential lightning activity will allow an enemy to use lightning proximity as cover for air, ground, and sea operations knowing that the F-35s will not be flying overwatch or be able to be scrambled to areas where lightning threatens them. That this is the plane that’s slated to be the replacement for F-16s, A-10s, AV-8B Harriers, F/A-18E Hornets, and F/A-18F Super Hornets is a decision that needs to be re-evaluated.

  On the face of it, it seems as if it shouldn’t be that hard to design a plane to do what planes have been doing for many decades. Each year commercial aircraft worldwide are struck tens of thousands of times by lightning. And every commercial plane is struck about once or twice a year on average. As is the case with commercial aircraft, military aircraft, while instructed to avoid thunderstorms if possible, are expected to be able to fly through them as necessary. And they’re expected to be able to take lightning strikes and complete their missions with no problem. For example, a single 1950s-era jet fighter, an F-106B Delta Dart, was struck over 700 times by lightning while flying test flights for NASA and maintained flight worthiness. Of course, that’s an extreme example, but it does demonstrate that lightning strikes need not cripple or destroy a fighter.

  So, why was the most expensive airplane/weapons system development program in the history of the world unable to come up with a plane able to do what pretty much any other plane can do? We don’t really know, because the F-35 Joint Program Office won’t reveal the problem specifics due to “operational security reasons.” But by looking at the F-35’s design history and the basics of lightning protection for aircraft, we can come up with a couple of possibilities.

  Possibility one comes out of the fact that planes with composite skins, such as that of the F-35, rely much more heavily on their on-board inert gas generating system (OBIGGS) to keep their fuel tanks from blowing up than do planes with metal skins.

  The OBIGGS pumps nitrogen into a plane’s fuel tanks as they empty to ensure that the oxygen content in the tanks never reaches a level that will support combustion (about 9 percent). That way, even if lightning does arc through the fuel tanks, the fuel vapor will not have enough oxygen to combust, and the plane doesn’t blow up.

  So, if the F-35 OBIGGS can’t generate enough nitrogen and or evenly distribute that nitrogen through all the F-35 tanks, the F-35 would be vulnerable to a lightning strike. Still, one would think that properly sizing an OBIGGS unit would be a no-brainer for F-35 designers. However, the F-35 isn’t your typical airplane, and since the beginning of its development, it has been dealing with severe weight problems, and in 2004 it went through what many would describe as a draconic weight-cutting exercise.

  Did the F-35 design team, in their eagerness to drop weight, perhaps cut it too close in estimating just how much oxygen the OBIGGS system would have to deal with for a plane with truly massive fuel tanks and a super big fuel fraction? And did they take into account just how much dissolved oxygen would be forced out of the fuel when it heated up as it provided cooling for electronics, avionics, and radar equipment—far more cooling than for which it was initially specificationed? This could be the case, but the other possibility that has yet to be mentioned publicly is even more insidious.

  The other possibility is that the F-35 is so stuffed full of sensitive electronics gear that the foil/mesh embedded in its composite skin isn’t thick enough to effectively conduct lightning strikes around the exterior of the plane. Hence a lightning strike could damage the sensitive electronics housed in the interior.

  This vulnerability may also have stemmed from a design process in which every ounce mattered, and that the weight of metal embedded in the F-35 skin necessary to conduct the lightning ended up being inadequate for the task of protecting more electronics than was ever before crammed into a single-engine fighter, or any fighter for that matter.

  That this could be the issue jibes with the previously cited incident in which F-35Bs damaged by lightning didn’t blow up but did suffer severe enough damage to require landing immediately. Of course, the exact nature of the damage was never revealed, but if it was the electronics that were damaged, that would be very bad news as a fix would almost certainly be prohibitively expensive.

  Either both, or one of the above, or maybe even none of the above, could be why the F-35 has to avoid lightning. As the Pentagon is keeping the specifics secret, we don’t know for sure. Regardless, having our main source of future airpower unable to fly in rough weather is flat-out unacceptable, and unless this critical problem can be remedied, continuing to move forward with the F-35 is actually damaging, not enhancing our national security.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 20:40

• Kansas Troopers 'Waged War On Motorists' With Bogus Stops, Interrogations: Judge
  Kansas Troopers ‘Waged War On Motorists’ With Bogus Stops, Interrogations: Judge

  “The Kansas Highway Patrol has waged war on motorists — especially out-of-state residents traveling between Colorado and Missouri on federal highway I-70,” a federal judge declared on Friday in a scathing condemnation of tyrannical practices embedded in police training.  

  Among those practices is something cops call the “Kansas Two-Step.” After pulling you over for a traffic violation and dispensing either a warning or a ticket, a cop starts walking away, but then turns back and asks, “Hey, can I ask you something?” 

  

  What feels like a friendly conversational question is actually intended to trick you. As Reason’s Jacob Sullum explains: 

  “Police are not supposed to continue detaining you after the ostensible purpose of the stop has been accomplished unless they reasonably suspect you are involved in criminal activity.

  The two-step is designed to extend the encounter by making it notionally voluntary, giving the officer a chance to elicit incriminating information, ask for permission to search your car, and/or walk a drug-sniffing dog around the vehicle.”

  Troopers are taught the technique in their training, but US District Judge Kathryn Vratil said, “the theory that a driver who remains on the scene gives knowing and voluntary consent to further questioning is nothing but a convenient fiction.”

  “Troopers occupy a position of power and authority during a traffic stop,” wrote Vratil, an appointee of George H.W. Bush, “and when a trooper quickly re-approaches a driver after a traffic stop and continues to ask questions, the authority that a trooper wields—combined with the fact that most motorists do not know that they are free to leave and KHP troopers deliberately decline to tell them that they are free to leave—communicates a strong message that the driver is not free to leave.”

  

  The Kansas Two-Step is just one piece of a policing regime that Vratil rightly found objectionable. In her decision, Vratil also criticized pretextual traffic stops, in which police contrive some reason to pull people over merely on the hope that they’ll discover something they can arrest them for. 

  “As wars go, this one is relatively easy; it’s simple and cheap, and for motorists, it’s not a fair fight,” wrote Vratil. “The war is basically a question of numbers: stop enough cars and you’re bound to discover drugs. And what’s the harm if a few constitutional rights are trampled along the way?” 

  The thicket of traffic and vehicle equipment regulations, including the ability for cops to pull drivers over for actions subjectively deemed “imprudent,” means anyone can be pulled over on a whim. 

  “Even the most cautious driver would find it virtually impossible to drive for even a short distance without violating some traffic law,” writes University of Pittsburgh law professor David Harris, whom Vratil cited in her ruling. “A police officer willing to follow any driver for a few blocks would therefore always have probable cause to make a stop.”

  

  Kansas state troopers disproportionately preyed on those with out-of-state license plates. “KHP troopers stopped 70 per cent more out-of-state drivers than would be expected if KHP troopers stopped in-state and out-of state drivers at the same rate…represent[ing] roughly 50,000 traffic stops,” wrote Vratil.

  She found the KHP has been violating tenets set down by the 2016 case of Vasquez v Lewis, which rejected searches based on flimsy pretexts such as “status as a resident of Colorado.” Vratil said troopers applied “an absurd and tenuous combination of factors” to conclude that individuals were suspicious, such as: 

  • Having a car with out-of-state plates
  • “Seeming nervous while interacting with law enforcement”
  • “Having fingerprints on the trunk lid”
  • “Going on a trip with one’s nephew”
  • “Having a bag in the passenger seat”

  Many fruitless vehicle searches were initiated by the use police dogs, whose purported alerts are determined solely by their dog handlers. That’s problematic enough, but even genuine alerts are triggered by mere odors, not drugs per se. That means a dog could very well alert simply because someone who smoked pot — maybe a car mechanic or the previous user of your rental car — touched your door handle.  

  In the coming weeks, Judge Vratil, who was arrested in 2019 on suspicion of driving under the influence, will impose an injunction. Her ruling includes a draft with provisions that would, among many other things, require troopers to:

  • Communicate to drivers when they’ve reached the point where the traffic stop has concluded and they are free to go 
  • Inform drivers of their right to refuse or revoke search consent
  • Obtain supervisory approval before commencing purportedly consensual searches
  • Maintain better traffic-stop documentation and electronic records

  Plaintiffs in the the case, Shaw v Jones, are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. Yes, on rare occasion, the ACLU — which increasingly throws its principles to the wind to please leftist donors — still manages to occasionally do some good.   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 20:15

• Pennsylvania Revives Effort To Impeach 'Soros-DA' Larry Krasner
  Pennsylvania Revives Effort To Impeach ‘Soros-DA’ Larry Krasner

  Authored by Beth Brelje via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  The move to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is back in action this week, with Pennsylvania state Rep. Craig Williams announcing that the House managers in Krasner’s impeachment trial have filed a 100-page appeal in the state Supreme Court, accusing Mr. Krasner of criminal conduct.

  In November, the state Senate voted to call Mr. Krasner to a trial to answer for seven articles of impeachment against him, which if supported could result in his removal from office.

  Mr. Krasner appealed to the Commonwealth Court asking to have the articles set aside. After many delays, the court decided the articles of impeachment did not constitute misconduct in office.

  “They relied principally on the idea that, in some of these articles, we cited ethics rules rather than criminal statutes, and they did nothing whatsoever to analyze the actual behavior that was alleged,” Mr. Williams, a former federal prosecutor told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. Mr. Williams, a Republican, is chairman of the House impeachment managers.

  “The lower court determined that the articles improperly used the ethics rules as a basis for determining whether DA Krasner’s conduct was unlawful. We have argued that the very same conduct might have just as easily been alleged as crimes. The lower court did no analysis of the unlawful behavior itself,” Mr. Williams said in a statement on the matter.

  Soros-Backed DA

  Mr. Krasner first took office in 2018. His was one of several key district attorney campaigns that was funded in part by billionaire George Soros who supports leftist progressive policies.

  In his office, Mr. Krasner has loosened responses to drug, gun, and prostitution crimes, and under his watch, homicide and other violent crimes have climbed in Philadelphia.

  “Pennsylvania’s official oppression statute makes it a crime for a public official to knowingly and intentionally deprive another’s legal rights. The articles are replete with instances where DA Krasner used his office to do exactly that, be it police officers, family members of murder victims, or other crime victims. In fact, the many alleged instances of DA Krasner and his office lying to the courts constitute overt acts in furtherance of several instances of official oppression—a crime,” Mr. Williams alleges.

  The appeal focuses on the case of Philadelphia Police Officer Robert Pownall, for which courts have reprimanded Mr. Krasner and his office.

  The case stems from a 2017 incident in which Mr. Pownall was involved in the deadly shooting of 32-year-old David Jones, who had been riding a dirt bike after a traffic stop. In 2018, Mr. Krasner charged Mr. Pownall with first-degree murder. In 2022, a Philadelphia judge dismissed all charges against Mr. Pownall.

  “In the case of the Officer Pownall shooting, the district attorney’s office failed to provide the legal instruction for homicide and made an intentional, deliberate choice not to inform the grand jurors about the justification defense available to Officer Pownall, despite being aware of it,” Mr. Williams said.

  “The trial court also found that the district attorney’s office ‘demonstrated a lack of candor to the Court by misstating the law and providing [it] with incorrect case law’ and was ‘disingenuous with the Court when it asserted [for various reasons] that it had good cause to bypass the preliminary hearing,’ resulting in prejudice to Officer Pownall and the violation of his due process rights.

  “In addition, the District Attorney’s Office withheld from Officer Pownall its own expert report concluding that Officer Pownall’s use of deadly force was justified,” Mr. Williams added.

  Mr. Krasner and his office knowingly made false statements to the courts, failed to disclose evidence in court, prejudiced the administration of justice, and neglected to provide legally required notice to victims of crime, Mr. Williams charges. All of these violate the criminal code.

  The Epoch Times reached out to Mr. Krasner’s office for comment but has yet to receive a response. In the past, Mr. Krasner and his supporters in the state House have said that he was voted into office twice, and removing him would disenfranchise voters who want his progressive policies..

  “His response to whether or not he’s allowed to behave in a way that he wants to as the district attorney is that he was elected,” Mr. Williams said of Mr. Kranser’s actions. “I don’t think that’s the standard.

  “The standard is clearly set out in the criminal statutes and in the ethical canons, and those are the standards by which we will hold him. And if he violates them, then we’ll impeach him, try him, and remove him from office, and I’ll leave it to the attorney general to decide whether or not there are other remedies. But there’s no standard that says well, if you were elected, then you can’t be tried or accused.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 19:50

• "If You Need Money You Can Get It" – 'Easy' Market Crushes Fed's Credit-Tightening Efforts
  “If You Need Money You Can Get It” – ‘Easy’ Market Crushes Fed’s Credit-Tightening Efforts

  Fed Chair Powell knows he has a problem… and he all but admitted it this week.

  He told journalists that “if financial conditions get looser we [may] need to do more”, but said he was confident interest rates were affecting economic activity and inflation.

  “What tends to happen is financial conditions get in and out of alignment with what we’re doing [but] ultimately over time we get where we need to go.”

  The problem – of course – is that he is full of gaslighting crap.

  

  Soaring stock prices and falling bond yields have made it so much easier for US companies to raise funds than would be expected given The Fed’s inflation-fighting efforts so far.

  In fact, as The FT reports, much of the impact of the Fed’s interest rate rises has been neutralised.

  Goldman’s Financial Conditions Index is at its ‘easiest’ since The Fed started on its 50bps rate-hikes in May 2022, and while they have continued to hike rates for the last 9 months, financial conditions have done nothing but ease as traders ‘fight The Fed’.

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  Remember, looser financial conditions run counter to the Fed’s goal of slowing the economy to bring inflation under control, and make it more likely the Fed will have to keep interest rates higher for longer.

  “The reality is that financial conditions have loosened — we have [effectively] unwound roughly 450 basis points of rate hikes. Financial conditions are enough to take us back to March of last year,” said Sonal Desai, chief investment officer for Franklin Templeton Fixed Income.

  “As the market comes around to the belief that we are not going to have a recession, that implies that demand will remain strong, [and] that implies that we will not have any need to cut interest rates.”

  The looser conditions reflect a view among investors that the Fed has effectively finished raising interest rates since its main focus is bringing down inflation – which has fallen sharply in recent months.

  “I would say that conditions right now are loosening, probably to the chagrin of the Fed,” said Andy Brenner, head of international fixed income at Natalliance Securities.

  “But as long as the Fed gets better inflation numbers, they’re going to care less and less.”

  However, what few seem to believe is that inflation could re-emerge from these ‘easy’ financial conditions.

  Mike Chang, a high-yield portfolio manager at Vanguard, said financial conditions had not loosened across the board.

  “The market is still discriminating between stronger and weaker issuers and many weaker issuers still don’t have access to capital markets.”

  “Higher interest rates generally take time to work [their] way through the economy and through corporate balance sheets”, Chang added.

  “Given how much refinancing activity has occurred over the past several years in the high-yield market, it will take more time for maturities and refinancing to become a larger issue.”

  Finally, markets will closely scrutinize next Monday’s Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS) – after the last quarterly report by the Fed found that banks expected to tighten lending standards over the rest of 2023 – for signs of worsening credit conditions (or worse still for The Fed, improving conditions).

  The message – be careful what you wish for: the ‘easier’ financial conditions get, the more likely a new bubble emerges, asset prices re-inflate, and The Fed is forced to stay higher-er for longer-er…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 19:25

• Exploding E-Bikes: Lithium Battery Fires Spread In New York And California
  Exploding E-Bikes: Lithium Battery Fires Spread In New York And California

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

  

  Lithium-ion batteries have sparked hundreds of fires across New York and San Francisco this year, injuring dozens and resulting in the death of a few individuals, triggering worries about ongoing public safety.

  In New York, “fires caused by Lithium-ion batteries have grown exponentially every year since 2021,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said on Friday during a public safety briefing. “We are now, unfortunately, seeing more and more of these kinds of extremely fast-moving, very powerful fires with some regularity in the city. As of this week, there have been 131 fires, 76 injuries, and 13 deaths caused by these Lithium-ion batteries.”

  This is a significant jump from 2021 when there were 79 injuries and four deaths from such fires. In 2022, there were 142 injuries and six deaths. The 2023 death toll has already exceeded the past two years combined with roughly five months remaining in the year.

  Multiple lithium-ion battery fires have made it to the headlines this year. On Jan. 20, a 63-year-old man was killed and 10 more injured after a fire from a charging e-bike spread through a home in Queens.

  In April, a teenager and a 7-year-old child died in a home, also in Queens, due to a fire that erupted from an e-bike. And on May 7, four people died from a lithium battery fire that blazed through an apartment building in Upper Manhattan.

  Lithium fires are also becoming a problem in San Francisco, California. On Monday, two people had to jump out of an apartment in the Tenderloin neighborhood due to a fire believed to have been triggered by an overheated e-scooter battery—with one of them taken to a hospital suffering from serious injuries.

  In an interview with The New York Times, Capt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Fire Department, said that it was the 24th fire in the city this year that was linked to rechargeable batteries.

  Since 2017, San Francisco has seen 202 battery fires which injured eight people and killed one. Of these, 58 fires broke out in 2022, up from just 13 in 2017.

  “We’re not seeing it to that same degree here in San Francisco,” Baxter said while referring to the surging lithium fire incidents in New York. “However, one fire is one too many.”

  Lithium Fires in New York

  Multiple reasons are cited for the surge in lithium fire incidents. Some point to hazardous charging practices like the use of mismatched equipment to charge the devices and overcharging as a problem. Using damaged or refurbished batteries can also pose issues. Others blame a lack of proper safety testing and regulation.

  Though lithium-ion batteries are also used in cellphones and computers, e-mobility devices pose a bigger threat as their lithium batteries tend to be larger and more susceptible to wear and tear.

  Cheap e-bikes became popular in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic when public transit was affected and orders for food deliveries surged. People who buy e-bikes usually charge these vehicles inside apartments, posing a significant risk to the residents.

  The situation has gotten so worse that some landlords in New York have banned e-bikes and other e-mobility devices.

  In a March 20 press release, the City of New York admitted that “fires caused by batteries that power e-micromobility devices are a significant problem in New York City … These fires are particularly severe and difficult to extinguish, spreading quickly and producing noxious fumes.”

  Even as NYC Mayor Eric Adams promotes e-bikes as a “convenient transportation” option for New Yorkers, he admitted that faulty and illegal devices are making their way into homes and streets, triggering fires and “putting lives at risk.”

  Lithium-ion batteries are also used in industrial settings. However, these setups are heavily regulated and subject to professional supervision. This is not the case with smaller lithium batteries used in e-bikes and other devices. Customers tend to usually not have much of an understanding of the fire risks posed by such batteries.

  Dealing With Lithium Battery Fires

  To deal with the problem of lithium battery fires, the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is recommending that citizens only buy lithium battery devices certified by a nationally recognized testing laboratory like Underwriters Laboratory (UL).

  When using batteries, the manufacturer’s charging and storage instructions must be adhered to. Batteries should be kept away from heat sources and anything flammable, and must be maintained at room temperature, it advises.

  People should avoid using aftermarket or generic batteries. They should desist from overcharging and avoid leaving the batteries charging overnight. When charging, the battery should be away from a person’s bed, pillow, or couch. While charging e-bikes, FDNY advises people to never leave them unattended.

  A bill enacted in March seeks to prohibit the sale, lease, or rental of e-bikes and other such mobility devices as well as their storage batteries in New York which fail to meet certain safety standards. The ban will come into effect in September, making New York the first American city to do so.

  The bill insists that e-mobility devices must be certified by an accredited testing laboratory for compliance with UL standards 2849, 2272, or similar safety standards set by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles in consultation with the fire department.

  “The first violation of this law would be met with a warning, but subsequent violations would carry civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violating device,” states the bill summary.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 19:00

• Starter Homes Are Becoming Extinct, Making 'The American Dream' Unaffordable
  Starter Homes Are Becoming Extinct, Making ‘The American Dream’ Unaffordable

  Hitting the news wires late this week are headlines about the Biden administration’s plan to tackle the housing affordability crisis that has persisted since the Federal Reserve aggressively raised interest rates in early 2022 to combat the worst inflation storm in a generation. The result of tighter monetary policy has propelled mortgage rates north of 7%, making starter homes for first-time buyers more unaffordable. 

  “Buyers searching for starter homes in today’s market are on a wild goose chase because in many parts of the country, there’s no such thing as a starter home anymore,” Sheharyar Bokhari, Redfin senior economist, told Bloomberg. 

  Bokhari said, “The most affordable homes for sale are no longer affordable to people with lower budgets due to the combination of rising prices and rising rates.”

  

  The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage was 7.34% on July 27, reaching its highest point since November, according to data published by Bankrate. This means the average priced starter home, around $243,000, has become increasingly unaffordable to many — with that, the American Dream quickly dies. 

  

  An increase in borrowing costs has led to more than a doubling of the average mortgage payment for a median single-family home over the course of a year, assuming a 30-year fixed mortgage with a 20% down payment.

  

  Real estate firm Redfin said buyers must earn at least $64,500 to ensure their debt-to-income ratio doesn’t exceed 30% when buying a starter home. 

  Buyers face a market where active listing for affordable homes across the US is rapidly plunging. Bokhari said new active listings are down 23% year-over-year due to homeowners staying put because many bought in an era of record-low mortgage rates. We pointed that out last week when only 1% of US homes changed hands in 2023, the lowest on record, indicating the market is in ‘complete paralysis.’ 

  Bokhari said the number of affordable homes on the market had been halved in the last decade. 

  

  The housing affordability crisis has been manifesting for more than a year. Readers have been well-informed about this trend via notes titled First-Time Homebuyers Are Absolutely Screwed Right Now and Housing Affordability Worsens As Homeownership Out Of Reach For Anyone Making Under $100k. 

  That may be why parked mobile home shipments are surging as the American Dream dies. And Home Depot understands this by offering $44,000 tiny homes (land not included). 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 18:40

• Biden: Hiding In Plain Sight
  Biden: Hiding In Plain Sight

  Authored by Charles Ortel via American Thinker,

  

  American voters who struggle to enjoy the benefits of “Bidenomics” understand that Joe Biden and his family likely never earned an honest living while Joe was senator, vice president, or president.

  Now that iconic Democrat Robert Kennedy, Jr. has called for a serious investigation into suspicious wealth accumulation by the Biden family during the President’s long career chiefly as a “public servant,” one might be tempted to get lost in minutiae and go far back over years of evidence to see whether impeachment and conviction are warranted in 2023.

  In truth, there is a simpler approach: focus on the strange and dramatic increase in Joe Biden’s personal fortune from his time as vice president starting early in the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency in late January 2017, using tools hiding in plain sight in the public domain. Begin with the final days of the Obama-Biden administration. We have yet to learn the complete truth concerning what was discussed in the Oval Office when a coterie of top officials including Obama, Biden, and Comey met there on January 5, 2017.

  This was only weeks before Donald Trump and Mike Pence took the reins of the Executive Branch on January 20, 2017. Moreover, Republicans were destined to take control over the House of Representatives and the Senate with a clear majority in the former body, and much slimmer control over the latter. Much might have been lost for key Democrats and their allies in the bureaucracy, had the incoming Trump administration enjoyed free rein to direct investigations into suspicious activities of many in the Obama-Biden administration. During eight long years while “fundamentally transforming America,” Barack Obama and others likely had positioned themselves to garner outsized financial returns in retirement from public service, following the examples set by Bill and Hillary Clinton from 2001 onwards. With so much at risk and with so many domestic and foreign challenges and uncertainties swirling, one wonders exactly why Joe Biden decided to take a brief trip over to Ukraine and to Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, returning to Washington, D.C. right before Inauguration Day.

  Without doubt, a raft of paper and electronic records exists somewhere that will eventually shed light upon why Biden needed to spend crucial last-minute time with principals whom some believe have been orchestrating financial payments to the Biden family and their associates using murky means for years. These records, which IRS and FBI investigators surely considered examining at some point since 2017, remain relevant to any fair inquiry into the Biden family for monetizing Joe Biden’s influence over key American policies while he held high elective offices. According to public accounts, Biden and Obama lunched regularly at the White House to compare notes and coordinate making progress implementing key policy initiatives. Perhaps Obama and Biden (who each used alias email accounts while serving in the White House) marveled at the bold ways in which Hillary Clinton and her aides operated while she served as Secretary of State, and as Bill Clinton claimed that he directed affairs of “his” presidential foundation.

  Yet, unlike the Clintons, Biden had little to show financially from his long career in politics when he departed the vice-presidential residence.

  According to detailed information, Joe and Jill Biden declared a total of $4,122,376 in pretax income on their federal tax returns for tax years 2001 through 2016 — this works out to an average of $257,648 annually during the sixteen-year period when he finished his career as senator and, later, became vice president. Leaving aside, for the moment, fair questions concerning how Biden managed to sustain living costs for his large family from his home in Wilmington and also save for retirement, his years with educator Jill Biden do not appear to show proven ability to derive investment income, or garner outsized compensation. Yet, things were to change dramatically and for the better, days following the beginning of the Trump-Pence administration.

  Trump and Pence inherited a stumbling economy after the anemic Obama-Biden recovery and the disastrous final years of the Bush-Cheney administration. According to data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey put out by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the top ten percent of households in America saw their pretax incomes decline 8.3 % from $269,644 (on average) in 2016 to $247,174 (on average) in 2017.

  In stark contrast, Joe and Jill Biden saw their pretax income climb from $338,464 in 2016 to a whopping $9,578,639 in 2017 — an amount that was more than 28 times Biden pretax income for the prior year and more than twice, in just one year, total Biden pretax income for a 16 year period from 2001 through 2016.

  What accounted for this enormous Biden family windfall in a single year, when even the top 10% of American households suffered pronounced declines in their pretax incomes? Initial answers found in Biden tax returns warrant further inquiry, including whether the IRS line agents trying to investigate suspicious Hunter Biden activities were restricted in plowing what appears now to be fertile ground in his father’s joint tax filings for 2017. Buried back on page 23 of a 103-page tax filing for 2017, we learn that two subchapter S corporations, each formed in 2017, somehow managed to send more than $10 million dollars together in their first partial years of operation, to the Bidens.

  The first entity — CelticCapri Corp — generated $9,490,857 for the Bidens in just eleven months of existence during 2017. This total amount is more than $860,000 per month, which represents a heroic if not completely unbelievable result for a start-up. What products or services did CelticCapri provide? Who else was involved operating this business? How were other participants compensated? And, what pre-formation actions were taken before late January 2017, when CelticCapri was formally organized in Delaware? The second entity — Giacoppa Corp — made $557,882 for the Bidens in nine and one-half months, or more than $58,000 per month in a start-up year and the same sorts of questions raised about CelticCapri should be answered about Giacoppa. The American people deserve to understand why the IRS, FBI, and Department of Justice rarely target difficult-to-explain wealth-building by dynastic political families such as the Bidens and Clintons, but mount furious assaults against families like Donald Trump’s which built outsized wealth for decades, well before entering politics. Let truly serious investigations begin.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 18:20

• 'Heat Islands' Have City-Dwellers Swelter In A Concrete Jungle
  ‘Heat Islands’ Have City-Dwellers Swelter In A Concrete Jungle

  With 130 million Americans under a heat advisory, and tens of millions more on watch for or received a warning of excessive heat by the National Weather Service, one group of people is especially at risk of the negative consequences of very high temperatures: city dwellers.

  As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, according to a new study by NGO Climate Central, 41 million Americans in 44 major cities – the equivalent of around half of these cities’ populations – habitually see outside temperatures in their Census tracts rise by an average of more than 8° Fahrenheit above those in surrounding areas. This is due to heat intensifying in densely populated and built-up areas that lack vegetation. For 5.7 million Americans in the studied areas, temperatures where they live even exceeded non-city temperatures by more than 10° Fahrenheit on average.

  The city in the study where most people face this problem was New York, with 7.1 million people or 78 percent of inhabitants subject to these so-called heat islands. New York was also the city where the most people have to endure heat islands with average temperature increases of more than 10° F – 3.8 million – or even more than 12° F, which affect 48,000 New Yorkers.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Cities in the Southern United States known for their concrete jungles also ranked high on the heat island index, for example Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas.

  It was Chicago, however, which subjects more people to intense heat islands where temperatures rise on average more than 10° F above those outside the city.

  With 78 percent of inhabitants in heat islands, New York ranked second behind Detroit (86 percent). New Orleans came fourth at 74 percent of people living in heat islands. Miami had the highest share of people dwelling in extreme heat islands (>12°F above non-city temps): 1.5 percent, the equivalent of 12,700 people.

  People experiencing heat are advised to drink plenty of water, stay in an air-conditioned area and not leave children or pets in cars. Kids, older adults as well as people with disabilities and those working outside are especially at risk for heat-related illnesses.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 18:00

• Senate Backs Measures Tackling China Tech Investments, CCP Farmland Purchases
  Senate Backs Measures Tackling China Tech Investments, CCP Farmland Purchases

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

  

  The U.S. Senate on July 25 overwhelmingly adopted two amendments to the proposed defense budget that would require American tech companies to notify the Treasury Department of any dealings with China-based companies and to prevent entities and individuals from four nations, including China, from acquiring agricultural land anywhere in the country.

  The “Protection of Covered Sectors” amendment sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and five bipartisan sponsors was adopted in a 91–6 vote while the agriculture land preemption amendment, filed by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), also with bipartisan backing, was approved in an 89–8 tally.

  Both measures are among the 872 prospective amendments filed by senators since the proposed $886.3 billion Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), or annual defense budget, advanced in a 24–1 June 23 vote.

  The Democrat-majority Senate began FY24 NDAA floor deliberations on July 18 with at least 90—including 51 submitted by Republicans—amendments set for floor debate.

  

  No ‘Culture War’ Amendments

  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) aims to have the Senate’s NDAA adopted by July 28 before the upper chamber adjourns, as the House did last week, for August recess. Neither chamber convenes again until Sept. 5.

  Mr. Schumer, in remarks before the somewhat languorous votes on July 25, said he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), among other chamber leaders, are developing “a second round of amendments” for floor discussion in the coming days.

  The GOP-majority House on July 14 approved its preliminary version of the proposed defense budget in a 219–210 near-total partisan vote with an attached raft of “culture war” amendments unlikely to pass muster in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

  Those measures include repealing the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) abortion travel policy, prohibiting DOD health care programs from providing gender transition procedures, a DOD “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” and a host of other proposed add-ons eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs to the must-pass defense budget that is normally approved in bipartisan accord.

  None of those amendments were likely to pass in the Senate so it is no surprise that the upper chamber’s proposed defense budget does not include the House’s “culture war” add-ons.

  Those differences between the adopted House defense budget and the version the Senate approves will be resolved in closely-tracked (if not watched) backroom conferences between the chambers. The goal is to present one NDAA for final adoption to both chambers ideally before the new fiscal year begins on Oct. 1.

  None of those House “culture war” components are in the proposed Senate NDAA, nor have any Senate versions of the House amendments thus far made it to the chamber floor.

  Mr. Schumer stressed the need for speed in getting the “must pass” defense budget adopted by the end of the week for conferencing to begin and the final budget to be in place at the start of the fiscal year.

  “We cannot let the perfect be the enemy of good,” he said, praising what has been a smooth process so far that shows “the Senate can work productively on national defense in stark contrast to the race to the bottom we saw in the House.”

  Both preliminary defense spending plans top out at the same $886.3 billion top-line figure submitted by President Joe Biden in March but vary in how that money is spent across the NDAA’s massive appropriations package. It is approximately $28 billion more than the FY23 NDAA.

  Protecting American Tech, Farmland

  In introducing Mr. Cornyn’s proposed amendment, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) said the measure would establish a requirement that companies notify the Treasury and Commerce departments of intent to “invest in technology sectors in countries of concern.”

  The NDAA reflects “the toughest challenges that face the nation and the technological competition with China is on top of the list. The Chinese communist government doesn’t play by the rules,” Mr. Casey said.

  These “outbound investments” often imperil U.S. strategic interests and essentially amount to “technology transfers” that lead to “under-investment in domestic capabilities,” he said.

  Mr. Casey said in 2020 alone, American companies invested $200 billion in China for research and development into artificial intelligence programs.

  “That’s just in AI,” he said, noting U.S.-based entities invested $2 billion in semi-conductor production and $50 billion in biotech. “We need a targeted response to these threats to our national security.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 17:40

• Teammates Of Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Voiced Complaints – University Offered To "Re-Educate" Them
  Teammates Of Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Voiced Complaints – University Offered To “Re-Educate” Them

  It was perhaps unfair that the teammates of trans swimmer Lia Thomas (originally William Thomas) were accused of being complicit in the destruction of women’s sports because they “refused” to speak out.  Their initial silence in the public eye was treated by some as an endorsement of biological men posing as women participating in women’s sports.  At the time, Lia Thomas was being held up by the corporate media as a hero (or heroine), the very model of the new trans-ification of sports; a rush by trans competitors into the women’s arena soon followed.  

  However, the team members were trying to fight back.  And according to their recent testimony, Lia Thomas was made a priority by the University of Pennsylvania and they were given an ultimatum – Fall into line or risk being ostracized as “bigots.”  Furthermore, the women were told that they would have to share a locker room, changing facilities and bathrooms with the man, regularly forced to undress in front of him and be forced to watch him undress.  When they expressed concerns over this privacy issue, UPenn offered psychological services to “re-educate” Lia’s teammates so that they would feel more comfortable with the changing arrangements.   

  The trans movement has proven time and time again to be a vehicle for censorship and thought control in the name of “protecting the feelings of marginalized people.” In reality, trans activists use a classic Marxist methodology: The exploitation of false victim status as a means to gain power over others.  And while intersectional feminism was the gateway drug to the trans movement we see today, it is now ironically women who face erasure as their entire biological reality is denied.  Hopefully the tide is turning as women speak out against dangers of trans ideology, no longer content to be used by the political left as pawns while their spaces are slowly diminished.  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 17:20

• Victor Davis Hanson: The Wild 2024 Race
  Victor Davis Hanson: The Wild 2024 Race

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

  Current polls, pundits, and politicos insist that the 2024 race is a sure rematch between former President Donald Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden.

  It may well turn out that way.

  But in past election cycles, summer polls 15 months before the general election usually did not mean much.

  

  In December 2003, the CBS poll headline blared, “Dean Pulls Away in Dem Race.” Howard Dean would eventually be clobbered by nominee John Kerry.

  In the Gallup Poll of late June 2007, Hillary Clinton still continued to enjoy her wide lead in the Democratic primary over eventual nominee and elected president Barack Obama.

  On the Republican side, Gallup noted of its summer 2007 polls that, “There has been little serious threat to the frontrunner, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani”—who bombed out early in the race.

  About this time in 2015, Jeb Bush was leading Donald Trump in the Republican primary. Or as CNN characterized their summer poll, “He [Bush] holds a significant lead over the second-place candidate Trump.”

  By January 2016, the favorite, can-do Wisconsin governor Scott Walker was leading all candidates by a substantial margin as they headed for the Iowa caucuses.

  There are lots of reasons to believe that 2024 may prove to be the most volatile race in recent memory.

  Not since 1912 – when third-party ex-president Theodore Roosevelt challenged incumbent President William Howard Taft in a three-way race with Woodrow Wilson – have two presidents run against each other.

  Both, remember, lost that year to the far less experienced Wilson.

  Second, Donald Trump is currently the target of at least four state and federal prosecutors.

  Millions of Americans feel that current and likely future indictments are patently political. The Trump prosecutions would never have gone ahead had he not run for the presidency a third time.

  Leftwing strategists believe that these partisan indictments will earn Trump Republican empathy.

  The legal persecutions supposedly will ensure him the nomination, but then intensify during the 2024 general campaign to bleed him out—ensuring a Democratic victory.

  Perhaps.

  But the Left’s weaponization of the legal system is playing with fire.

  They have no real idea whether their hounding will result in an indicted, inert Trump at election time, or fuel more empathy to empower him over his eventual Democratic rival, regardless of his legal status.

  Or will the nonending legal morass eventually wear out Republican primary voters, resulting in their rage at such unfairness helping another Republican candidate?

  Third, despite Democratic denials, there is mounting evidence—from emails, laptop communications, IRS whistleblowers, testimony from Biden family business associates, and likely bank records—that Joe Biden was directly involved in his son’s illegal activities.

  Yet daily new details elicit only incoherent fury from Biden—especially since he clearly has serially lied that he had no knowledge of his son Hunter’s business misadventures.

  Fourth, not since Woodrow Wilson’s incapacity rendered him bedridden and all but incommunicado for the last 17 months of his presidency, has a president appeared so enfeebled.

  The 80-year-old Biden has fallen repeatedly. He often slurs his words to the point of inaudibility.

  His halting gait radiates frailty.

  Often aides must remind Biden where he is.

  Biden appears frustrated and angry at his increasing cognitive decline—forgetting the names of foreign leaders and close associates.

  To be blunt, Joe Biden is one more serious fall from physical incapacity—and a Vice President Kamala Harris stewardship of his presidency.

  Increasing leftwing leaks and rumors spread alarm about Biden’s legal problems. Liberal writers chart his mental confusion. Progressive columnists decry his treatment of his illegitimate granddaughter.

  Apparently Democratic insiders hope Biden does not run for reelection—but by all accounts must finish his term to prevent a Kamala Harris presidency in either 2023-4 or thereafter.

  So, the leaks of Biden’s impropriety and incapacity are aimed at ensuring Biden does not run in 2024.

  Yet they apparently must not prove actionable enough to abort his current presidency.

  Fifth, the first Republican primary debate is still almost a month away. And debates often have proven the graveyard of sure-thing front-runners.

  Donald Trump has understandably indicated it would be foolish to debate while enjoying a sizable lead in the polls.

  Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine that Trump, a proven and skilled debater, would pass up the stage of a multi-million-person televised audience only to be ritually trashed in absentia on it.

  It is even more difficult to envision a frail Joe Biden holding his own against either Democratic rivals or a Republican contender in the general election.

  Add it all up, and the presidential race is unpredictable with an array of known “unknowns.”

  The only certain fact is that anyone who currently declares the outcomes of the primary races or general election a foregone conclusion is utterly delusional.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 17:00

• NatGas, Coal, Nuclear Power Save Largest US Grid As Emergency Alert Declared For Second Day
  NatGas, Coal, Nuclear Power Save Largest US Grid As Emergency Alert Declared For Second Day

   Update (1653ET):

  PJM Interconnection is being saved by natural gas, coal, and nuclear power generation as temperatures surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit across the Mid-Alantic. 

  

  Power prices surge in some parts of the PJM as customers crank up their air conditioners. 

  

  PJM’s load forecast is currently around 144,363 megawatts as of 0419 ET. 

  

  Some say the world is “boiling,” … others might say it’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere. 

  

  Where is the power generation from renewable sources? It appears that fossil fuels and nuclear power generation are doing the heavy lifting to ensure the grid doesn’t collapse. 

   

  *    *    * 

  Update (Friday):

  PJM Interconnection LLC declared another Energy Emergency Alert Level 1 through Friday. Excessive heat advisories and warnings cover much of PJM’s grid across 13 states, from Illinois to New Jersey, with over 65 million customers. 

  Here’s a map of the PJM grid: 

  

  The latest National Weather Service data shows that advisories and warnings for heat plague most of PJM’s grid. 

  

  “PJM has issued these alerts to help prepare generators for the onset of intense heat,” the grid operator said. 

  This is the second day the largest US grid operator declared a level one emergency. On Thursday, PJM’s preliminary peak load was around 148,000 megawatts and is forecasted to peak at around 155,000 megawatts later on Friday.

  PJM expects hot weather to persist through Saturday. Bloomberg data shows average temperatures across the Lower 48 are expected to peak on Saturday and possibly revert to 5-10-30-year averages. Also, notice how the yearly temperature averages have plateaued for the Northern Hemisphere summer. 

  

  “A Hot Weather Alert helps to prepare transmission and generation personnel and facilities for extreme heat and/or humidity that may cause capacity problems on the grid. Temperatures are expected to be near or above 90 degrees in these regions, which drives up the demand for electricity,” the grid operator said. 

  How did PJM become so unreliable all of a sudden? Well, PJM published a study earlier this year that showed the alarming trend of state and federal decarbonization policies across the grid that “present increasing reliability risks during the transition, due to a potential timing mismatch between resource retirements, load growth and the pace of new generation entry.”

  So before corporate media blames ‘climate change’ for power grid woes, remember decarbonization policies have sparked these instabilities. 

   

  *    *    * 

  A heat wave continues to blast the Midwest, Northeast, and South through the end of the work week, forcing the largest US grid operator to declare a level one emergency for Thursday as tens of millions of people crank up air conditioners to escape scorching temperatures as summer in the Northern Hemisphere peaks. 

  On Wednesday evening, PJM Interconnection LLC declared an Energy Emergency Alert Level 1 in 13 states that stretch from Illinois to New Jersey with over 65 million customers. PJM is concerned about maintaining adequate power reserves on Thursday as power demand is set to soar because of air conditioners. It expects demand to reach 153,286 megawatts as of 1700 ET and has about 186,000 megawatts of generating capacity. 

  

  The power mix of the grid shows natural gas, coal, and nuclear are doing most of the heavy lifting of 0600 ET. Power prices across the grid appear normal.  

  

  The surge in above-average temperatures for the Lower 48 is expected to peak on Friday and return to normal levels for this time of the year. According to Bloomberg data, 5-10-30-year average temperatures show the Northern Hemisphere summer has peaked. 

  

  Before corporate media blames “human-induced climate change” on power grid woes, we must note PJM’s reliability has worsened because of federal and state decarbonization policies. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 16:53

• CRE Troubles: US Office Space Set To Contract For First Time
  CRE Troubles: US Office Space Set To Contract For First Time

  The US has nearly 1 billion square feet of empty office space, according to commercial real estate services company JLL. Things could worsen in the CRE market (mainly office) in the coming quarters due to the Federal Reserve’s 16 months of aggressive interest rate hikes. This will continue to pressure property owners who have built their real estate empires on a mountain of debt, potentially triggering a wave of delinquencies and defaults due to high borrowing costs. All this is happening when the office sector is already struggling with reduced demand due to the proliferation of remote work, as well as some companies fleeing progressive metro areas because of soaring violent crime. 

  

  The latest sign the office sector has not hit bottom and values unlikely to return to pre-pandemic peaks this decade is the total amount of US office space is set to decline for the first time in history, according to Bloomberg, citing new data from JLL. 

  A lack of new construction and a plethora of aging office space being repurposed or destroyed will lower the amount of office space, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Less than 5 million square feet (465,000 square meters) of new offices broke ground in the US so far this year, while 14.7 million square feet has been removed, often to be converted into buildings for other uses.

  

  That would mark the first net decline in data going back to 2000, JLL reported, adding that it’s most likely the first ever. –Bloomberg

  This means demolitions and conversions of these worthless assets are underway to correct the supply imbalance. 

  Things are so bad in New York City that 26 Empire State Buildings could fit all the empty office space in the metro area, according to the chair of Harvard Economics Department, Edward Glaeser and MIT’s Carlo Ratti.

  

  Parts of San Francisco have been transformed into a ghost town as office vacancy rates soar.

  Many downtown districts across major cities in the US are effectively ghost towns as office vacancy rates soar. This has rippled across local communities, forcing retail shops to close because of declining foot traffic. 

  In Baltimore City’s Inner Harbor district, things are so bad that office towers are being dumped at massive losses or reassessed at half the values. 

  • Beginning Of CRE Firesale? Baltimore Office Tower Dumped At 63% Discount
  • CRE Panic Hits Baltimore As Second Office Tower Dumped At 69% Discount
  • “I See A Wave Coming”: Assessed Value Of Baltimore City Office Tower Nearly Halved Amid CRE Panic

  We first pointed out the CRE dominos would begin to fall just days after the regional bank failures in March. We wrote in a note titled “Nowhere To Hide In CMBS”: CRE Nuke Goes Off With Small Banks Accounting For 70% Of Commercial Real Estate Loans. 

  Across the nation, underperforming CRE office towers and buildings will be sold or reassessed at massive discounts. Many will be demolished, and some will be converted, as the ‘Great CRE Office Reset’ is underway. 

  Let’s remember there’s a multi-trillion-dollar CRE debt maturity wall over the next five years, according to Morgan Stanley.  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 16:40

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• I Keep Changing Channels But It's Still The Same Program
  I Keep Changing Channels But It’s Still The Same Program

  Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

  We can pretend an insanely over-leveraged, fragile status quo is rock-solid and will deliver the goodies regardless of anything short of an alien invasion or meteor-strike, but pretending will only take us so far.

  

  I have the impression that changing the channels of “news”, “analysis” and “opinion” doesn’t modify the narrow band of what’s being offered. The bullish views are more or less all the same, and the occasional bearish counterpoint is equally bland. I keep changing channels but the program doesn’t vary.

  This homogenization of opinion and analysis is so ubiquitous that it’s difficult to discern. That’s the point, of course; to present carefully pruned and curated “views” and “analysis” that stick to the same tired narratives of propaganda: the flavor changes and the talking heads / actors change, but the product remains the same: homogenized.

  Like toothpaste, the virtually identical media product is packaged into supposedly competing “brands” to “differentiate” and “offer consumers more choices” to buy the same highly profitable product, engagement, i.e. addiction and derangement.

  Fellow independent Mark St. Cyr and I discuss this homogenization and the forgotten value of experience in our recent podcast. The “marketplace” of ideas has been corporatized, i.e. reduced to a simulacrum / facsimile of competition, as the media and Big Tech have assembled quasi-monopolies of corporate cartels: a handful of global, politically powerful corporations control the entire media: the “news,” social media, etc.

  The central state takes a keen interest in the power to control the “competing” narratives created by this corporate monopoly homogenization. Let’s not call it censorship–such an ugly word. Let’s call it “happiness,” a much more palatable and marketable slogan.

  

  This homogenization serves to deliver the right mix of “happiness”: a bit of variation, colorizing the same old black-and-white narrative (Us vs Them), blend in a bit of spice (the latest conspiracy theory debunked), feature the car wrecks and riots, and then the ending wrap-up of puppies, kittens and kids.

  Once again I’m reminded of this Houellebecq quote:

  “I have the impression of being caught up in a network of complicated, minute, stupid rules, and I have the impression of being herded towards a uniform kind of happiness, toward a kind of happiness that doesn’t really make me happy.”

  What’s been devalued isn’t just truly independent thinking–real-world experience has also been devalued. Mark and I both started out earning a living with hands-on skills–what was once known as “honest work” that created value you could actually touch and see.

  In the rush to globalize, stripmine labor and rush poorly trained workers into the meat grinder–oops, I mean “productive labor force”–the kind of experience needed to truly understand how systems work and fix just about anything that goes awry has decayed. By specializing, segmenting and siloing tasks and skills into narrow bands of expertise, we’ve lost the kind of experiential knowledge that was once taken for granted.

  This depth of experience can’t be rushed, packaged or commoditized. It has to be earned and learned the hard way, by making countless mistakes in the real world, learning from mentors and constantly advancing and practicing one’s skills. This level of experience is built on the foundation of pride in one’s work and the value one creates every day.

  We also discuss the value of the old decentralized, middleman, family-owned biz model that was crushed by global corporate giants. As Mark notes, there used to be a phrase for the wholesaler / dealer middleman layer in the economy–“I have this guy, I know this guy”–for someone who really knew the field and could get the needed parts and supplies and could direct the small business owners to whatever fix-it was needed.

  This layer of the economy has been decimated as it was deemed “inefficient” compared to vertically organized corporations. Nice, but this efficiency generates a second-order effect–extreme vulnerability and fragility once the specialized layers collapse and the system needs people who actually know more than their corporate slot.

  Could family-owned enterprises served by localized wholesalers / jobbers actually become more effective than globalized, super-efficient corporations? Once the cracks start opening in globalization and a workforce homogenized into specialization, the hyper-efficient globalized model of doing business breaks down. This is currently considered “impossible,” for anyone pointing out the inherent fragilities of this maximizing-profit cartel-corporate system is, ahem, marginalized as an “unhappy” and therefore quickly deleted / demonetized influence.

  We also discuss the value of thinking and acting in an entrepreneurial mindset of costs, benefits, risks, competition and constant learning / adaptation. This is the point of my book Get a Job, Build a Real Career and Defy a Bewildering Economy: even if we’re an employee, we benefit from thinking about our career and livelihood in an entrepreneurial context, the core of which is creating value not just with our own work but by collaborating productively with others of the same mindset.

  Taking control of one’s work and life is the heart of Self-Reliance. We can call this agency or entrepreneurial, the point is the same: stop buying into a system that no longer benefits you and start reducing your exposure to its intrinsic risks.

  We also echo management guru Peter Drucker’s insight that enterprises don’t have profits, they only have costs. Fixed costs define the risk structure of enterprises and households alike; costs of production constrain what’s possible and what’s sustainable. What’s not sustainable will go away, regardless of what we’re told is “impossible.”

  It won’t just be components that are on back-order: entire lifestyles will be out of stock. We can pretend an insanely over-leveraged, fragile status quo is rock-solid and will deliver the goodies regardless of anything short of an alien invasion or meteor-strike, but pretending will only take us so far.

  Our podcast on Rumble:

  *  *  *

  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
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 02:00

• BOJ Tweaks YCC For "Greater Flexibility", Sending Bond Yields Soaring
  BOJ Tweaks YCC For “Greater Flexibility”, Sending Bond Yields Soaring

  In a central bank decision that was a far more uncertain nailbiter than the Fed’s guaranteed 25bps hike, moments ago the BOJ revealed that in a unanimous vote it would keep rates at -0.1% and also keep the 10Y JGB yield target at 0%, but in an 8-1 vote (with Yakamura dissenting) said it would conduct yield curve control “with greater flexibility” (i.e. tweak it) by which it means that both the lower and upper bounds (but mostly upper) of yield control would be “references” not “rigid limits.”

  What does that mean? Simple: while the BOJ is keeping the implied 10Y JGB target at 0.50%, it will allow the yield to rise as high as 1.0% (where it has a hard stop to buy all bonds that are for sale) but it also may not. This is how the BOJ explained it in its statement…

  The Bank will continue to allow 10-year JGB yields to fluctuate in the range of around plus and minus 0.5 percentage points from the target level, while it will conduct yield curve control with greater flexibility, regarding the upper and lower bounds of the range as references, not as rigid limits, in its market operations.

  The Bank will offer to purchase 10-year JGBs at 1.0 percent every business day through fixed-rate purchase operations, unless it is highly likely that no bids will be submitted.

  In order to encourage the formation of a yield curve that is consistent with the above guideline for market operations, the Bank will continue with large-scale JGB purchases and make nimble responses for each maturity by, for example, increasing the amount of JGB purchases and conducting fixed-rate purchase operations and the Funds-Supplying Operations against Pooled Collateral.

  … and visually:

  

  So while everything else remains the same, going forward the BOJ will hard offer to purchase 10Y at 1.0% yield instead of 0.50% – which is where the target for the 10Y JGB remains – while leaving it to its discretion how much it will purchase at any one point between 0.5% and 1.0%.

  Or, as Bloomberg’s Marc Cudmore puts it:

  “so, wait, the target cap is still 0.5%, but the active cap is 1%? Huh? How does that work? Well, while the BOJ will no longer buy daily amounts of JGBs at a 0.5% yield, it will conduct nimble market operations to seek that target yield level. I.e. This theoretically means the BOJ could come in at any point to intervene to buy JGBs in order to lower yields to 0.5%. It might work a little like JPY intervention.

  Realistically, how often will they do that, and in what manner? Well, that’s why investors are more excited by a BOJ press conference than they have been in years.”

  Said otherwise, the BOJ was too scared to go ahead with explicit policy normalization and shift its 10Y target to 1%, so it is instead doing a half-assed job by implicitly moving the target to “test the waters” so to speak, and preserve the flexibility to revert if and when the bond market crushes it. But, as always happens, when a central bank does things half-assed and without a Draghi-esque “bazooka resolve”, the results is always catastrophic and this time won’t be any different.

  Which means that we are about to see a whole lot more volatility in the JGB market as the market tests just how high the BOJ will allow yields to rise. And sure enough, at last check the 10Y was already yielding just north of 0.57% – or far above the previous YCC limit – ensuring that the BOJ has a lot of emergency bond buying ahead of it, just like in Dec/Jan when it tweaked YCC previously.

  The rest of the statement was the usual compendium of excuses for why the BOJ will inevitably get everything wrong:

  There are extremely high uncertainties for Japan’s economic activity and prices, including developments in overseas economic activity and prices, developments in commodity prices, and domestic firms’ wage- and price-setting behavior. Under these circumstances, it is necessary to pay due attention to developments in financial and foreign exchange markets and their impact on Japan’s economic activity and prices.

  Japan’s recent inflation rates, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), are higher than projected in the April 2023 Outlook Report, and wage growth has risen, partly on the back of this year’s annual spring labor-management wage negotiations. Signs of change have been seen in firms’ wage- and price-setting behavior, and inflation expectations have shown some upward movements again. If upward movements in prices continue, the effects of monetary easing will strengthen through a decline in real interest rates, while on the other hand, strictly capping long-term interest rates could affect the functioning of bond markets and the volatility in other financial markets. Such effects are expected to be mitigated by conducting yield curve control with greater flexibility.

  Meanwhile, there are also significant downside risks to Japan’s economic activity and prices, including the impact of a tightening of global financial conditions on overseas economies. If such downside risks materialize, the effects of monetary easing will be maintained through a decline in long-term interest rates under the framework of yield curve control.

  Only 18% of the 50 economists polled by Bloomberg expected a YCC tweak at this meeting (in no small part due to Bloomberg’s own reporting on the matter), though half foresaw such a move no later than October. In addition, there was a widespread view that any change to the program would have to come as a surprise, as any foreshadowing might trigger a massive bond sell-off, complicating the move. Instead, the bond selloff has just been delayed to, well, right now.

  Eslewhere, while the BOJ did admit that inflation was higher than it expected in April, and it also did hike its 2023 core CPI forecast to 2.5% from 1.8% previously, the central bank bizarrely slashed its 2024 core CPI forecast from 2.0% to 1.9%, as inflation’s effects “are expected to be mitigated by conducting yield curve control with greater flexibility.” suggesting that no more “tweaking” or whatever it’s now called will be required, and instead the current yield differentials for the world’s carry currency of choice will remain for the foreseeable future.

  To summarize the revised forecasts:

  Real GDP

  • Fiscal 2023 median forecast cut to 1.3% from 1.4%.
  • Fiscal 2024 median forecast maintained at 1.2%.
  • Fiscal 2025 median forecast maintained at 1.0%.

  Core CPI

  • Fiscal 2023 median forecast raised to 2.5% from 1.8%.
  • Fiscal 2024 median forecast cut to 1.9% from 2.0%.
  • Fiscal 2025 median forecast maintained at 1.6%.

  The continuation of the main policy settings will likely enable Ueda to argue that the new guidance on the band was a technical move aimed at improving the sustainability of its stimulus, rather than a step toward imminent policy normalization.

  In kneejerk response to the half-pregnant YCC tweak, which will do nothing to reverse Japan’s inflation problem but will do everything to spark another bond market crisis, the USDJPY first spiked by 200 pips before reversing the entire move…

  

  … but a far more significant move was observed in 10Y JGBs whose yields were spiked as high as 0.57% – the highest level since 2014…

  

  … while 10Y JGB futs tumble…

  

  … as the market immediately tests just far the BOJ will allow bonds and yields to move.

  Knowing well it would kick the bond market hornets nest, the BOJ immediately announce it would widen its range for purchase of medium and long-term JGBs in Aug.

  • Offers to buy 400b-750b yen of 3-5 year JGBs 4 times/month
  • Offers to buy 450b-900b yen of 5-10 year JGBs 4 times/month
  • Purchase amounts of other maturities unchanged

  To summarize: with today’s “less hawkish than expected” YCC tweak (see below) all the BOJ has done is buy itself a few weeks of a stronger yen, until the 10Y yield rerates from 0.5% to 1.0% (still far below inflation), before yield differentials re-emerge as the dominant power in currency pairs. Meanwhile, as part of its half-assed attempt to control both the currency and rates, the repricing of the entire JGB bond market, the 2nd largest in the world, will send shockwaves not only in Japan but across the globe. In fact, at last check, the 10Y TSY yield was at 4.03%, right at session highs.

  * * *

  Commenting on the BOJ’s decision, Khoon Goh head of Asia research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group said that the Bank of Japan’s decision to tweak their yield curve control was in line with what the market had anticipated, but probably not as hawkish as previously feared.

  “The range that the 10-year JGB yield is allowed to fluctuate remains unchanged, but greater flexibility has been introduced at the upper and lower bounds of the range.”

  “How far yields will be allowed to trade beyond those limits is uncertain, and something which the market will no doubt try to test”, and indeed the relentless selling in 10Y JGB has confirmed just that.

  “But there is a hard limit of 1% as the BOJ will offer to purchase 10-year JGBs at that level every business day through fixed-rate purchase operations (up from 0.5% previously)” he said, adding that “market reaction has been very choppy as it is not a straightforward decision to digest. The yen is still gyrating, but risk assets have risen, as the tweak was not as bad as initially feared”

  A somewhat more formal take came from former Bank of Japan assistant governor Kazuo Momma, who said that the central bank is making a little adjustment to the yield-curve control “because the exchange rate weakened before the meeting and there are risks it could decline further.” In other words, instead of buying the yen outright, the central bank has decided to cripple the bond market as well.

  “My sense is that the hidden motivation for the BOJ is the exchange rate,” Momma, who is currently an executive economist at Mizuho Research and Technologies said on Bloomberg Television. A strict YCC may invite an undesirable weakening of the yen going forward, he said correctly.

  “This is not the first step toward monetary policy normalization. I would characterize this as a mini-technical tweak not a tweak” Momma said adding that “this is not the time for the BOJ to send a message that this is the first step to policy normalization.”

  Which is correct: the BOJ will never be able to normalize, instead the best it can hope for is to contain the collapse in the yen by keeping the market guessing, although after an initial period has passed, the selling in the yen will promptly resume.

  Momma concluded that the press conference will be very important on how they convey the message on conducting YCC. “Changing the band would be sending a clearer message that they’re taking steps toward policy normalization but that’s the last thing they want.“

  The problem with the BOJ is that what they want, and what they get, are usually two very different things.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/28/2023 – 00:14

• Hamptons Mansion Bidding Wars Persist
  Hamptons Mansion Bidding Wars Persist

  The US housing market has remained surprisingly resilient price-wise despite 7% mortgage rates. The Fed continues pushing interest rates to 22-year highs to curb the multi-year inflation storm. In the luxury market, bidding wars for mansions in the Hamptons hit a record high in the second quarter, even as prices and sales cooled.

  About 31% of the mansions that closed in the quarter had several offers, topping the previous high of 27% set a year ago, according to Bloomberg, citing new data from appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. This was for homes priced at $4.4 million and above, representing about 10% of transactions. 

  Justin Agnello, an East Hampton-based agent at Douglas Elliman, explained the continued bidding wars for luxury homes are because of a “lack of inventory.” He said if buyers “bring something to the market that’s really appealing, buyers are even more hungry for it.” 

  

  Across all homes in the seaside playground for Wall Street’s centi-millionaires and billionaires, 21% of all homes sold in the quarter were over asking prices. One example is 37 Dune Road #C in East Quogue, a five-bedroom beach house that Douglas Elliman listed for $3.25 million. The agent on the deal told the buyer to expect a $3 million sale, but after a four-way bidding war, the house sold for $3.526 million. 

  Strong demand for Hamptons single-family homes and condos persists even as the overall market in the beach community cools. Miller Samuel and Douglas Elliman’s data showed the median sale price of a home in the area was around $1.45 million, a 9.4% decline in the second quarter versus the same quarter last year. 

  The biggest issue is inventory as buyers during Covid, fleeing NYC and other major metro areas, along with record low borrowing costs, went on a buying spree, leading to an inventory shortage. The good news is the number of listings available in the quarter rose 6.6% to 955 versus 2Q22. 

  Even with mounting macroeconomic uncertainty and the highest borrowing costs in decades, there’s still demand for Hamptons residential real estate even as the median prices in the second quarter are 71% higher versus 2Q22. 

  The overall theme is that the lack of available homes on the market puts upward pressure on prices. We saw that this week with the latest Case-Shiller figures for America’s 20 largest cities. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 23:45

• Watch: Mitt Romney Argues That It Shouldn't Be Illegal For Government To Use Big Tech For Censorship
  Watch: Mitt Romney Argues That It Shouldn’t Be Illegal For Government To Use Big Tech For Censorship

  Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

  During a Senate hearing Wednesday, Mitt Romney argued against an amendment proposed by Rand Paul to make it illegal for government to use social media and big tech companies to censor the views of Americans.

  

  Paul put forth the case that “the First Amendment really isn’t about protecting the speech of government workers the First Amendment says Congress shall make no law it’s about limitations on government involvement with speech.”

  Paul continued, “if Twitter says bad things about me and puts up bad things and takes me down I have no recourse against Twitter, same with Facebook. I’m mad, I hate that YouTube has taken my speeches down I don’t do business with them anymore, because I think they’re bigoted, biased and wrong-headed on this.”

  “As far as threats, what we do know from the Twitter files is that the government was making threats,” Paul continued, adding “there were threats of Anti-Trust action against the companies if they didn’t take the material down, there was also threats of we will remove your 230 protection. Section 230 gives them liability protection and there were overt threats and threats in writing basically saying if you don’t take this down you know your 230 protection of liability could go away.”

  “I think the government should be absolutely prohibited without question. I think it should be as Draconian as you probably can make it,” Paul continued, adding “things that are an opinion, the government has no business in this.”

  Romney disagreed with him, claiming that individuals within the government should have the right to stop social media companies or legacy media companies from putting out content that is “wrong”.

  Romney stated “To say that no employee of the government from the president on down to that millions of people who work in the government can speak with a social media company or a Legacy Media Company and express their point of view that an article is wrong or that Avenue they’re going down is wrong, that would shut off free speech.”

  Watch:

  The debate comes on the heels of a Federal Judge issuing a recent injunction to put a stop to the Biden Administration acting like an “Orwellian Ministry Of Truth” by colluding with big tech to censor opinions it doesn’t like, much to the disliking of the establishment media.

  *  *  *

  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
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 22:40

• Cases Of Severe Tropical Disease Exploding With No End In Sight: WHO
  Cases Of Severe Tropical Disease Exploding With No End In Sight: WHO

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

  

  The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that cases of dengue fever could reach record highs this year.

  Dengue rates are rising globally, with reported cases since 2000 up eight-fold to 4.2 million in 2022, a WHO official said on July 21.

  In January, the WHO claimed that dengue is the world’s fastest-spreading tropical disease and alleged it could be a “pandemic threat.”

  The disease was found in Sudan’s capital Khartoum for the first time on record, according to a health ministry report in March, while Europe has reported a surge in cases and Peru declared a state of emergency in most regions.

  About half of the world’s population is now at risk, Raman Velayudhan, a specialist at the WHO’s control of neglected tropical diseases department, told journalists in Geneva on Friday.

  Cases reported to the WHO hit an all-time high in 2019 with 5.2 million cases in 129 countries, said Mr. Velayudhan via video link.

  This year the world is on track for “4 million plus” cases, depending mostly on the Asian monsoon season. Already, close to 3 million cases have been reported in the Americas, he said, adding there was concern about the southern spread to Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru.

  Argentina, which has faced one of its worst outbreaks of dengue in recent years, is sterilizing mosquitoes using radiation that alters their DNA before releasing them into the wild.

  “The American region certainly shows it is bad and we hope the Asian region may be able to control it,” Mr. Velayudhan said.

  Officials in the European Union said that as of June 8, 2023, some 2.1 million cases have been reported around the world, with 974 deaths.

  “Dengue is occurring in urban areas where it did not exist before,” Coralith Garcia, associate professor at the school of medicine at Cayetano Heredia University in Peru, told Fox News this week. The virus is on the rise in Peru because “it’s so crowded that anything can happen,” she added.

  

  “But Peru had the highest COVID mortality rate [in] the world and now we have several patients dying of dengue, confirming that the Peruvian health system is very weak,” Ms. Garcia said.

  What Is Dengue?

  Dengue fever can be caused by the dengue virus 1, 2, 3, or 4, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The illness is transmitted primarily via the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which the CDC says is active during the day.

  The most common symptom of dengue is a fever with nausea, vomiting, rash, aches, and pains, including eye pain, muscle pain, and bone pain. Symptoms generally last between two and seven days, the CDC says.

  There is no specific medicine to treat dengue, which is sometimes called breakbone fever. The CDC notes that most cases of dengue reported in the United States occurred in people who traveled elsewhere, although the isolated spread of dengue has occurred in Arizona, Hawaii, Texas, and Florida.

  Most patients who contract dengue fever recover without hospitalization, said Dr. David O. Freedman, a former professor with the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 22:30

• Who Has Qualified For The First RNC Debate?
  Who Has Qualified For The First RNC Debate?

  According to website FiveThirtyEight, six candidates for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential primaries have so far met the criteria to participate in the first Republican National Committee debate, scheduled for August 23.

  

  Those who have since July 1 managed to poll at at least 1 percent in three eligible polls and have gathered at least 40,000 individual donors (out of which 200 each must be located in 20 different states) are former President Donald Trump, Florida governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former South Carolina governor and Trump ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, as well as Sen. Tim Scott and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The RNC’s metrics are more stringent than those of the Democratic National Committee in the last election cycle, when 20 candidates qualified for the first DNC debate, causing it to be held on two separate nights. For one, candidates have to meet both the polling and the donor metric. One requirement in particular concerning polls – that they have to include 800 likely Republican primary voters or caucus-goers – meant it took more than three weeks into the qualifying time period for a first list of candidates to emerge.

  Remaining presidential hopefuls have until August 21 to meet the criteria.

  Trump’s vice president Mike Pence has so far only fulfilled the polling benchmark, but hasn’t announced he has met the donor threshold. It is the other way round for North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, who sent gift cards of $20 to donors for contributions as low as $1.

  None of the criteria appear to be met for candidates Asa Hutchinson, Francis Suarez, Will Hurd and Larry Elder.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 22:00

• Scientists Call For Nature Medicine To Retract 'Proximal Origins' Lab-Leak Denial: Thacker
  Scientists Call For Nature Medicine To Retract ‘Proximal Origins’ Lab-Leak Denial: Thacker

  Authored by Paul D. Thacker via The Disinformation Chronicle,

  

  Internal communications finding that virologists did not believe the conclusions they published in a prestigious journal has triggered scientists to circulate a petition calling for Nature Medicine to retract the influential “Proximal Origins” paper that denied the possibility of a lab accident in Wuhan, China, and misled the public during the pandemic’s first crucial years. Within days, the petition garnered over 1,300 signatures and set the hashtag #RetractProximalOrigins trending on Twitter.

  The torrent of virologists’ internal communications became public following a House hearing earlier this month, during which Scripps Research’s Kristian Andersen submitted false testimony about the Nature Medicine paper. Last week, The Intercept published newly revealed documents finding that Andersen and his co-author, Robert “Bob” Garry of Tulane University, both lied to Congress during the House hearing about whether they had pending federal grants controlled by Anthony Fauci that could have been used as to influence them.

  The NIH is clear about its process. “Council recommends an application for funding. NIAID makes the final decision,” the agency explains. “The main NIAID advisory Council must recommend an application for funding before we can award a grant, although the Institute makes the final funding decision,” the agency goes on.

  The grant wasn’t finalized until May 21, 2020. In other words, it was on Fauci’s desk at the time of the conference call. Andersen’s lab announced the funding in a press release in August 2020, nine months after he claimed it was already finalized. The press release describes it as a “new $8.9 million grant.”

  Many of the virologists’ internal emails and Slack messages began leaking onto Twitter, followed by a joint Public and Racket investigation. The messages showed scientists were deeply concerned that the COVID virus could have been engineered or leaked from a Wuhan lab, even as they publicly ridiculed such thinking as a “conspiracy theory.”

  In one example, Andersen wrote his colleagues on February 1, 2020, in a private Slack message, “I think the main thing still in my mind is that the lab escape version of this is so friggin’ likely to have happened because they were already doing this type of work and the molecular data is fully consistent with that scenario.” 

  

  That following day, Andersen added another private message to virologists, “The main issue is that accidental lab escape is in fact highly likely – it’s not some fringe theory.”

  

  “Someone needs to lay out the science of all this before it gets out of hand (and creates more formal investigations),” emailed Andersen’s Nature Medicine co-author a week later.

  

  After Andersen and colleagues published the Nature Medicine piece denying the possibility of a lab accident, Andersen tweeted that the paper failed to sway conspiracy theorists, likening people who questioned a Wuhan lab accident to those who denied the moon landing.

  

  On Friday, The Telegraph published an article on the virologists’ communications, noting that one of the Nature Medicine authors feared the “shit show” that would result if they accused China of starting the pandemic. Nature Medicine told the paper that the journal would not retract the piece, which was intended to present a “point of view” on the issue rather than being a research study.

  Subscribers to The Disinformation Chronicle can read the rest here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 21:40

• Why There's No Quick Fix For China's Ailing Property Market
  Why There’s No Quick Fix For China’s Ailing Property Market

  By Ye Xie, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

  China’s top housing official has stepped up rhetoric meant to revive the housing market. It comes after the Politburo removed “the housing is not for speculation” slogan from the readout of its meeting, which increased expectations for more support for the market. Unfortunately, there’s no panacea to end the crisis quickly.

  Hang Seng futures pointed to a weaker opening Friday. Strong US data spurred a dollar rally and higher US Treasury yields, which may weigh on foreign inflows to China. A Nikkei report that the Bank of Japan may discuss changing the yield-curve control policy added to uncertainties.

  On the China front, the news flow continues a pattern of traders going “long on the words, short on actions.” Top housing official on Thursday urged more support, including calling for homebuyers who had paid off previous mortgages to be considered as first-time purchasers, so that they could enjoy lower mortgage rates. (The so-called “recognizing houses but not loans” policy.）

  None of the talking points are entirely new. In 2022, 57 cities have adopted the “recognizing houses” policy, according to Nomura, citing data from China Real Estate Information Corp. Altogether, nearly 300 cities issued almost 600 various easing measures last year, including lowering down payments and loosening purchasing restrictions.

  If that hasn’t helped prop up the market already, one can be excused for having doubt that any incremental, piecemeal measures will do the trick.

  

  In a report published in June, Nomura’s economists, including Lu Ting, listed a few reasons why investors should lower their expectations on the housing stimulus, even though more support is likely to come.

  For starters, Beijing simply has no appetite for a policy bazooka when the priority is focused on security and sustainability. So forget about another round “shantytown renovation” programs. That scheme, which offered cash compensation for homes demolished in less-developed areas, helped turn around a housing downturn in 2015-2016, but it also helped fueled a real estate bubble in lower-tier cities.

  Second, some easing measures will likely increase sales of existing homes, strengthening expectations of home price declines and delaying purchases.

  It’s questionable that China will meaningfully ease restrictions in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Even if it does, easing in big cities may crowd out the demand for homes in low-tier cities, which have been the driver of commodity demand and construction activity over the past decade.

  Smaller cities are still suffering from the overhang of the shantytown renovations, which have pulled forward home demand. These cities are facing high leverage, falling home prices and population outflows. Coupled with a large amount of unfinished projects and the withdrawal of private developers, a sustainable property rebound there is questionable.

  Finally, the capability and willingness of Chinese households to borrow and buy homes may have been significantly reduced, even in large cities, once expectations that housing prices can only go up have been shattered.

  

  All told, an “L-shaped” recovery in housing is all one can hope for.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 21:20

• Leftist Parents "Flee" Florida Because Of New Laws Blocking Child Mutilation
  Leftist Parents “Flee” Florida Because Of New Laws Blocking Child Mutilation

  A recently passed Florida law, known as Senate Bill 254, now makes transgender surgeries and hormone therapies with irreversible effects illegal for minors in the state while also requiring people to use bathrooms and locker rooms according to their biological sex.  Circumventing the often cited problem of narcissistic parents using their children as political fashion accessories, the law outlines the reality that minors do not have the capacity to consent and that sex change procedures should wait until they are adults.  It also sets a standard for dozens of states across the country seeking the stem to tide of destructive biological denial associated with far left ideology. 

  Of course, not everyone is happy that state governments are coming to their senses and protecting children from mutilation – Some leftist parents say they must now “flee” places like Florida in order to “keep their children safe.” 

  People are fleeing Florida in a state of panic and fear. pic.twitter.com/n4PPcL8FJe

  — Dr. Jebra Faushay (@JebraFaushay) July 27, 2023

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

  Political mass migrations of Americans are now commonplace with millions upon millions of people leaving blue states in particular after their authoritarian covid policies inspired anger rather than compliance. 

  And perhaps this is for the best – Certain social concepts simply cannot coexist and it’s better that leftists who exploit children as props for activism not live so close to conservatives and moderates that view this practice as abhorrent.  Certainly all sides come out happier (except maybe the unfortunate children being groomed), and surely the majority of Floridians are glad to see such people go.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 21:00

• Trump Makes Appeal To Unions Emboldened Under Biden Administration
  Trump Makes Appeal To Unions Emboldened Under Biden Administration

  Authored by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  

  When former President Donald Trump released a campaign video outlining plans to boost the auto industry last Thursday, he took the opportunity to court the United Auto Workers (UAW), which has notably withheld its endorsement of President Joe Biden as contract negotiations continue and the threat of yet another strike looms.

  While Mr. Trump’s appeal might have interested a few rank-and-file workers, it certainly wouldn’t have swayed union leadership.

  “I think they feel emboldened,” said Mark Mix, of the union leadership. As president of the National Right to Work Foundation, Mr. Mix has watched labor negotiations closely over the years, and the tone they’ve taken on this year is unusual.

  Unions routinely vote to authorize a strike ahead of negotiations, just to have it as a chip on the bargaining table, but the language union leaders have been using this summer has become “militant,” Mr. Mix said.

  The Teamsters, which just reached a deal with UPS today, walked away from the table twice and announced intent, not just authorization, to strike on a historic scale over a month ahead of the end of the contract. Sean M. O’Brien, the newly elected president, had gone on CNN ahead of Tuesday’s negotiations to say of their tactics, “we strategize, we organize, now it’s time to pulverize.” He had asked the White House to not intervene if they went on strike.

  The UAW, which began negotiations with the Big Three automakers last week as the current contract expires Sept. 14, has likewise made a lot of noise about its willingness to strike before talks even began.

  “There is a new environment. These union officials feel empowered,” Mr. Mix said. “And I think one of the reasons that is the fact and why we’re seeing more of this saber-rattling is because the Biden administration … basically has created an environment where the union officials think the Department of Labor, and the Department of Justice, and the National Labor Relations Board—which are the three agencies that would be involved and interested in in violence, intimidation, or violation of individual workers rights—that they’re controlled by the Biden administration.”

  “Union officials feel like they’re emboldened by this White House and this administration to do basically whatever it takes to get what they’re demanding,” he said.

  In Thursday’s video, Mr. Trump criticized Mr. Biden’s policies affecting the auto industry, referencing unsold electric vehicles “piling up on car lots” by the thousands.

  “They are absolutely destroying your business,” Mr. Trump said of the government subsidies for electric vehicles at the expense of the market. “That’s why I’m going to terminate these Green New Deal atrocities on day one.”

  He touted his track records on trade, including the NAFTA renegotiation, and how that benefited the auto industry. “I saved the auto industry once, and now I will save it again,” he said.

  That same day, Mr. Biden visited a shipyard in Philadelphia to speak on “Bidenomics” and “clean energy” jobs.

  “A lot of my friends in organized labor know: When I think climate, I think jobs. I think union jobs,” he said. “Here today, workers from nine different unions will start building a vessel called the Acadia. It’s going to place heavy rocks at the base of the offshore wind projects to stabilize them when they put these down, and it’s going to protect it against erosion.”

  Where Are the Union Jobs?

  Experts say that while the Biden administration benefits union leadership and is pro-unionization, it has a mixed record when it comes to rank-and-file workers.

  Mr. Mix pointed to the cancellation of the Keystone XL Pipeline project, which was meant to bring tens of thousands of union jobs. He said the administration had also fanned the flames of possible strikes in other ways, including with its pandemic-era policies. Stimulus checks and unemployment gave many no reason to work, and UPS had to raise wages in order to increase its workforce.

  “Everyone who has been working for UPS and was on the job was saying, ‘Wait a minute, how can somebody who has just started today make the same amount that I’m making?’ So that caused the demand for these wage increases, for the part-timers in particular,” Mr. Mix said.

  F. Vincent Vernuccio, senior fellow at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Center’s director of labor policy between 2012 and 2017, said that some of the UAW jobs could be going away because of the president’s push for electric vehicles.

  He pointed to a recent report estimating that the new electric vehicle targets could eliminate 117,000 manufacturing jobs.

  “You’re seeing it reflected in jobs moving down south to right-to-work states,” he said, referring to states that make forced unionization illegal. Employees who want to cross the picket line and work when unions have issued a strike have to do it legally, else face fines or other disciplinary action from the unions. He said that large, industrialized unions tend to have one-size-fits-all contracts that benefit some but not all workers, making the administration’s push for unionization where there was none before a net negative. He advocates instead for term flexibility for workers, unionized or not.

  Of the jobs that are left, Mr. Mix says you can be sure the union leadership is demanding the Biden administration guarantee they will be union jobs.

  “That’s what they’re demanding now, more privilege and more power,” Mr. Mix said.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 20:40

• US Pilot Shortage Might Not Be Resolved Until 2032 
  US Pilot Shortage Might Not Be Resolved Until 2032 

  Air travel demand soared back to pre-Covid times during the Fourth of July holiday weekend. But with rising demand for air travel comes persistent flight delays and cancellations due to a pilot shortage. Some of the reasons for a pilot shortage have been a surge in early retirements during the pandemic, a mandatory retirement age of 65, a shrinking pool of potential pilots from the military, and a challenging value proposition for civilians to pursue a career as a pilot. 

  We have told readers there’s “no quick fix” to the severe pilot shortage. Airlines like American Airlines have seen flight disruptions this summer due to a lack of pilots. 

  

  Current figures from the Federal Aviation Administration show the aviation industry is short 32,000 commercial pilots, mechanics, and air traffic controllers — and the gap continues to expand by the year.

  Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CBS News his office is investigating several airlines that book “unrealistic” scheduling by selling seats ahead of scheduling personnel to fly planes.  

  “If you look at the delays, for example, that America experienced through last year in the summer 2022, a lot of that was driven by these companies not having the staff that they needed,” Buttigieg said.

  “This is not something that’s going to be worked out overnight. It took years to get this way,” he warned.

  Wichita State University emeritus associate professor Dean Headley said, “The pilot shortage won’t be resolved until 2032 or something like that.” 

  Headley said airlines can train 1,500 to 1,800 pilots a year but noted with a deficit of 17,000 pilots, “we can’t catch up that quick.” 

  The current pilot shortage has forced commercial airlines to “cut back flights to smaller regional airports. So, people [who] are not at a major airport will find that their flight schedules have been reduced simply because they don’t have enough people to put in an airplane to fly it somewhere,” Headley explained

  Besides a pilot shortage, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Transportation revealed in early July there was also a severe shortage of air-traffic controllers. And just like pilots, it takes years to train air-traffic controllers. 

  One airline lobbying group has asked Congress to allow just one pilot in the cockpit to alleviate the shortage. 

  The shortages in pilots and air-traffic controllers won’t be resolved anytime soon. No longer can airlines blame the “weather.” 

   

   

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 20:20

• Turley Unleashed: Hunter Biden’s Judge Raised The One Question The White House Most Fears
  Turley Unleashed: Hunter Biden’s Judge Raised The One Question The White House Most Fears

  Authored by Steve Straub via The Federalist Papers,

  Watch as Constitutional Law Professor Jonathan Turley reveals why Democrats are now panicking over Hunter Biden, and the question of whether he is, or is not, a foreign agent.

  Turley: Hunter Biden’s Judge Raised the Question the W.H. Most Fears, Was He A Foreign Agent and For What Purpose? pic.twitter.com/RxZnpHuDWr

  — Alexandra Datig | Front Page Index 🇺🇸 (@alexdatig) July 27, 2023

  “I think part of the problem is they really did want to cap out the case.”

  “The Department of Justice wanted to cap this investigation. But they didn’t want to say that it was now over.”

  “From the very beginning, the Hunter Biden team said this is a close-out plea agreement. There would be nothing left to investigate.”

  “But the Department of Justice is telling Congress we’re not going to give you these witnesses or these documents because there’s an ongoing investigation.

  “You can’t do both things when a judge is asking you to specifically address whether this is a close-out or a continuing investigation…”

  “This is a big problem. This was all supposed to be scripted. It was all supposed to be easy. And now it is off script and it is anything but easy.

  “Because the judge just raised the one charge that the White House most fears which is the chance that Hunter was a foreign agent. And if he was a foreign agent, the question is foreign agent for who and for what purpose?”

  “The president was that purpose. If you’re influence peddling, it’s influence over the president. So if you go for FARA, it’s going to bring all of this stuff in.”

  “Including some of these tax accounts for 2014 and 15 that the Department of Justice allowed to run, allowed the statute of limitations to expire.”

  “All of that can get boot strapped into a FARA issue. The whole purpose of this deal is collapsing as we’re watching it. And it’s taken Washington by utter surprise. I was on the Hill talking with members and everyone was floored.”

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

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 20:00

• Port Of Baltimore Is One Of The "Hottest Beds Of Stolen Vehicles Leaving The Country"
  Port Of Baltimore Is One Of The “Hottest Beds Of Stolen Vehicles Leaving The Country”

  A wild report from Arlington 7News I-Team found two of the four Mercedes, including a $200,000 G-Wagon, stolen from a Bethesda, Maryland, dealership earlier this year — were recovered at the Port of Baltimore before being shipped off to Africa. 

  7News I-Team was given exclusive access to the Port of Baltimore in recent weeks. While talking with US Customs and Border Protection agents, a scan of one container found the missing vehicles in a container destined for West Africa. 

  Months after the thefts, the 7News I-Team was at the Port of Baltimore when US Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted two of the cars stolen from the Bethesda dealership. The cars, valued at more than $400,000, were discovered before they disappeared overseas.

  The shipping container manifest indicated one car was destined for West Africa, but an X-ray scan revealed three cars inside. 7News’ cameras rolled as US Customs and Border Protection agents opened the shipping container’s gate, revealing the dealer plates intact and providing critical evidence for the ongoing investigation.

  Bethesda Euro Motorcars General Manager Jim Willard was ecstatic when he learned the news his cars were found:

  “I couldn’t even believe it. I couldn’t believe it. I figured these were long gone.” 

  Willard highlighted:

  “Port of Baltimore, from my understanding, is one of the hottest beds of stolen vehicles leaving the country.” 

  We detailed the surge in stolen vehicles recovered from seaports in Baltimore, Wilmington, Del., and Philadelphia in 2019 hit a record high. 

  7News I-Team pointed out a recent explosion in car thefts across the Montgomery County region where the dealership is located. 

  Car thefts have also erupted in Baltimore City, where the Port of Baltimore is located. Baltimore Banner reporter Justin Fenton tweeted about the out-of-control crime. 

  The number of car thefts in Baltimore reached 383 for the week of 7/22 – as @BaltimoreBanner previously reported, the city typically had 200 to 300 per MONTH before this surge. There’s been 1,380 over the past 28 days https://t.co/UWh1vuW3oK

  — Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) July 25, 2023

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

  It’s important to note that the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area is controlled by Democrat politicians who are failing at enforcing law and order. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 19:40

• Trump, Maintenance Guy Charged With Trying To Delete Surveillance Footage At Mar-a-Lago
  Trump, Maintenance Guy Charged With Trying To Delete Surveillance Footage At Mar-a-Lago

  Former President Donald Trump and a maintenance guy at Mar-a-Lago were charged with attempting to delete surveillance footage.

  

  In a superseding indictment filed on Thursday, Trump and the worker charged under the Espionage Act, bringing the total number of counts Trump faces to 42.

  It accuses Trump of acting with Carlos de Oliveira, the property manager of the hotel, and Trump’s other co-defendant Walt Nauta, with trying to delete the footage.

  The indictment notes efforts from de Oliveira, 56, to determine how long security footage was stored on the Mar-a-Lago system. It says he later told another Mar-a-Lago employee that “‘the boss’ wanted the server deleted.”

  The indictment also described de Oliveira and Nauta organizing their plans secretly, apparently walking among the bushes around the IT office where the security footage was managed. –The Hill

  Meanwhile the president of a Ukrainian gas company allegedly paid the current US president $5 million dollars in connection with a quid pro-quo in which a prosecutor investigating said company – which employed the president’s son for $80k/month, was fired. Said Ukrainian oligarch also made several recordings of said shady dealings as an ‘insurance’ policy, for which no special counsel has been appointed.

  Anyway…

  De Oliveira has been summoned to appear in a Miami courthouse on Monday, where he’ll face charges of lying to investigators about allegedly moving boxes at the property, where he says he “never saw anything.”

  The indictment also adds a thirty-second document to the tally for which Trump is facing charges of violating the Espionage Act, a top secret document on a presentation about military activity in a foreign country.

  The superseding indictment comes as a Washington grand jury met in another special counsel probe into Trump’s efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. -The Hill

  Trump responded following the new indictment, with his campaign calling it “nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their Department of Justice to harass President Trump and those around him.”

  “Deranged Jack Smith knows that they have no case and is casting about for any way to salvage their illegal witch hunt and to get someone other than Donald Trump to run against Crooked Joe Biden,” the statement continues.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 19:13

• 62% Of Food Derived From Forced Labor Is "Likely Produced In The U.S."
  62% Of Food Derived From Forced Labor Is “Likely Produced In The U.S.”

  International Labor Organization estimates say that up to 28 million people could be coerced into forced labor as part of the country’s food chain on any given day, a new study highlighted by Forbes revealed this week. 

  The study was published Monday in the journal Nature, and it found that forced labor – once thought to be an issue only outside of the United States – is actually taking place within the country’s borders.

  

  Social risk assessments and case studies of labour conditions in food production primarily focus on specific subpopulations, regions and commodities. To date, research has not systematically assessed labour conditions against international standards across diverse, complex food products. Here we combine data on production, trade, labour intensity and qualitative risk coding to quantitatively assess the risk of forced labour embedded in the US land-based food supply, building on our previous assessment of fruits and vegetables.

  We demonstrate that animal-based proteins, processed fruits and vegetables, and discretionary foods are major contributors to forced labour risk and that 62% of total forced labour risk stems from domestic production or processing. Our findings reveal the widespread risk of forced labour present in the US food supply and the necessity of collaborative action across all countries—high, middle and low income—to eliminate reliance on labour exploitation.

  The findings included the fact that 62% of products sold in the U.S. and produced by forced labor were “likely produced in the U.S.”. The highest risk of foods using forced labor come from animal-based proteins, processed fruits and vegetables and discretionary foods, the report says.

  It also notes that sweeteners, coffee, wine, and beer all require handpicking or significant processing, and can also be at risk. Forbes concluded that “more often than not, when forced labor produces the food Americans eat, it likely happens within the U.S. instead of at foreign locations that import food”. 

  

  The study’s authors conclude that trade bans and trade sanctions are the “most effective tools” in preventing forced labor. Poverty, language barriers and precarious immigration statuses contribute to the risk of people being forced into work.

  It uses the International Labor Organization’s definition of forced work, described as “situations in which persons are coerced to work through the use of violence or intimidation, or by more subtle means such as accumulated debt, retention of identity papers, or threats of denunciation to immigration authorities.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 19:00

• Biden Admin Cancels $130 Million In "CollegeAmerica" Student Loans
  Biden Admin Cancels $130 Million In “CollegeAmerica” Student Loans

  The Biden administration will cancel $130 million in federal student grants for roughly 7,400 borrowers who attended a now-defunct Colorado college, the Department of Education announced Tuesday.

  

  The cancellation applies to borrowers who attended CollegeAmerica locations between Jan. 1, 2006 and July 1, 2020, and will only apply to federal student loans, not private loans or commercial (FFEL) loans.

  The decision was made after the Colorado attorney general’s office found that CollegeAmerica parent company, the Center for Excellence in Higher Education (CEHE), made widespread misrepresentations about the salaries and employment opportunities available to graduates (like every college?).

  In a statement, President Joe Biden said that borrowers at CollegeAmerica “were lied to, ripped off, and saddled with mountains of debt.”

  More via the Epoch Times

  CollegeAmerica was at one point a for-profit institution, with locations in Arizona and Colorado.

  Borrowers will be notified in August about the discharge, which will occur automatically. Any payments those borrowers made to the Education Department will be refunded.

  “Today’s announcement shows how different parts of government can work together to deliver relief to those who’ve been taken advantage of,” said Richard Cordray, who heads the Federal Student Aid office at the department.

  The move is the latest effort from the Biden administration to provide relief to borrowers who attended colleges accused of misrepresenting their student outcome and degree offerings.

  “CollegeAmerica knowingly took advantage of students by luring them into high-priced, low-quality programs with promises of high-earning potential and job placement that it knew were not attainable,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement. “Protecting borrowers from predatory lending and helping Coloradans navigate through student loan burdens will continue to be a priority for our office.”

  Mr. Weiser’s investigation found that Colorado CollegeAmerica campus graduates on average earned just $25,000 five years out of school, less than the salaries of high school graduates publicized by the school, the press release stated.

  CEHE were also found to inflate and falsify job placement rates. Furthermore, CEHE told borrowers that its private loan product was affordable when it knew that 70 percent of Colorado CollegeAmerica borrowers had defaulted on their loans.

  CollegeAmerica campuses in Colorado stopped new enrollments in 2019, closed by September 2020, and closed all its remaining campuses in August 2021, according to the press release.

  Borrowers who were misled or whose school “engaged in other misconduct in violation of certain state laws” can apply for loan discharge under the Borrower Defense Loan Discharge program.

  To date, the Biden administration has approved $116 billion in loan forgiveness through various federal programs to over 3.4 million Americans. Of those borrowers, 1.1 million attended colleges that defrauded them or abruptly closed, according to the White House.

  Mr. Biden has made addressing mounting U.S. student debt a top priority since taking office in January 2021, including by pursuing a plan to provide $430 billion in loan relief. However, the Supreme Court blocked that plan in a June 30 ruling. Biden has vowed to pursue the relief through new measures.

  Earlier this month, the Biden administration announced that it would be canceling more than $30 billion in student loans for 800,000 borrowers under the existing income-driven repayment program.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 18:40

• These Will Be The Fastest Growing (And Declining) Industries In The US Over The Next Decade
  These Will Be The Fastest Growing (And Declining) Industries In The US Over The Next Decade

  The labor force is always shifting, responding to technological or societal changes.

  For that reason, keeping an eye on the fastest growing industries can help workers and businesses stay on top of the crucial trends driving employment.

  Today, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao looks through projections from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the fastest growing industries, as well as those that are the fastest declining, by percentage employment change between 2021 and 2031.

  

  Ranked: Fastest Growing Industries By Employment Change

  Event Promoters, Agents, and Managers top the list of fastest growing industries, with an impressive predicted growth of 39%, employing over 180,000 workers by 2031.

  Amusement Parks and Arcades follows close behind, with an expected 38% increase—adding over 60,000 new employees—in the same time period. Ranked third, the Performing Arts industry will start the next decade with around a 100,000-strong workforce, up 35% from 2021.

  Below is the full list of BLS’ projected fastest growing industries, ranked by percent change in employment, between 2021–2031.

  Rank	Industry	Sector	Change (2021-2031)	% Change (2021-2031)
  1	Event Promoters, Agents & Managers	Leisure & Hospitality	50,800	+39%
  2	Amusement Parks & Arcades	Leisure & Hospitality	60,500	+38%
  3	Performing Arts Companies	Leisure & Hospitality	28,400	+35%
  4	Individual & Family services	Health Care	850,000	+31%
  5	Mining Support Activities	Mining	69,700	+31%
  6	Spectator Sports	Leisure & Hospitality	36,500	+31%
  7	Other Information Services	Services & Other	112,900	+30%
  8	Other Personal Services	Services & Other	87,200	+28%
  9	Travel & Reservation Services	Professional & Business Services	32,300	+23%
  10	Agriculture & Forestry Support	Agriculture & Forestry	26,200	+23%
  11	Artists, Writers & Performers	Leisure & Hospitality	11,500	+23%
  12	Accommodation	Leisure & Hospitality	333,700	+23%
  13	Private Education Services	Services & Other	169,200	+22%
  14	Government Transit	Services & Other	61,200	+22%
  15	Home Health Care Services	Health Care	330,100	+22%
  16	Health Practitioners	Health Care	205,500	+20%
  17	Film, Video, & Audio Recording	Services & Other	75,300	+20%
  18	Museums & Historical Sites	Leisure & Hospitality	27,600	+20%
  19	Computer Systems Design	Professional & Business Services	455,200	+20%
  20	Professional, Scientific & Technical Services	Professional & Business Services	144,100	+18%

  Note: Services & Other sector includes Information, Education and State & Local Government industries.

  All of the top three industries belong to the Leisure and Hospitality sector, which accounts for seven of the 20 fastest growing industries. This outsized performance reflects recovery more than pure growth, as the BLS notes that the Leisure and Hospitality sector was unduly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, giving it a lower-than-usual baseline in 2021.

  Ranked fourth by employment change percentage is Individual and Family Services, though it is actually expected to see the largest growth in total employment terms, adding 850,000 new workers by the end of the decade. It is one of three industries in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector with large projected growth, thanks to an increased need for care service due to an aging American population.

  Not to be missed is Computer Systems Design, projected to grow by 20% in employment thanks to growing demand for computing infrastructure and IT security. Due the industry’s sheer size in employment force with 2.3 million workers in 2021, that’s close to half a million additional workers over the next decade.

  Ranked: Fastest Declining Industries By Employment Change

  Tobacco Manufacturing leads the group of industries expected to register employment declines by 2031, with a projected decrease of 53% in employment, bringing its already small workforce down to only 5,000 employees by the end of the decade. This stark decline is not necessarily driven by waning smoking habits, as cigarette sales in the U.S. went up during the pandemic. Instead, further automation of the industry may replace tobacco manufacturing employees.

  Another industry facing a similar situation is CDs & Tapes Manufacturing, which is expected to witness a 51% reduction in employees by 2031.

  Below is the full list of BLS’ projected fastest declining industries, ranked by percent change in employment, between 2021–2031.

  Rank	Industry	Sector	Change (2021-31)	% Change (2021-2031)
  1	Tobacco Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-5,700	-53%
  2	CDs & Tapes Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-5,800	-51%
  3	Apparel & Leather Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-41,800	-36%
  4	Printing	Manufacturing	-96,800	-26%
  5	Coal Mining	Mining	-9,500	-26%
  6	Newspaper & Book Publishers	Services & Other	-60,000	-24%
  7	Satellite & Telecommunications	Services & Other	-19,300	-22%
  8	Cable Programming	Services & Other	-9,700	-21%
  9	Other Furniture Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-7,600	-20%
  10	Engine & Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-14,800	-17%
  11	Railroad Rolling Stock Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-3,100	-16%
  12	Rental Services	Services & Other	-22,200	-15%
  13	General Machinery Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-39,800	-15%
  14	Iron Ore & Steel Scrap Smelting	Manufacturing	-10,600	-13%
  15	Lighting Equipment Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-5,600	-13%
  16	Metalworking Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-21,100	-13%
  17	Logging	Agriculture & Forestry	-6,000	-13%
  18	Textile Mills	Manufacturing	-26,100	-13%
  19	Agriculture, Construction & Mining Machinery Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-25,500	-13%
  20	Office Furniture Manufacturing	Manufacturing	-12,600	-13%

  Most of the industries facing large total employment contraction belong to the Manufacturing sector. The troubles of American manufacturing aren’t new, but the variety of industries presented suggests a mix of factors causing slumps across the sector.

  Some industries like Printing, Cable Programming, and Newspaper and Book Publishers face shifting consumption habits.

  Meanwhile, others like Textiles, Apparel, and Furniture Manufacturing are expected to suffer from further automation and shifted production abroad.

  Factors Shaping Future Employment Trends in the U.S.

  It’s important to note that these projections by the BLS were released in September 2022. That means they do not reflect the rapid rise of generative AI like ChatGPT and how they have begun to affect the economy.

  A recent Goldman Sachs report, for example, stated that AI could replace 300 million jobs—almost the size of the U.S. population—around the world in the next 10 years.

  That makes it an open and important question as to whether AI or powerful demographic trends, such as slower population growth and an aging workforce, will be the most impactful in terms of determining the future employment landscape.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 18:20

• Watch: Joe Biden Won't Pardon Hunter, White House Backtracks On Business Deals
  Watch: Joe Biden Won’t Pardon Hunter, White House Backtracks On Business Deals

  The White House on Thursday ruled out the possibility that President Biden would end up pardoning his son, Hunter, after a federal judge on Wednesday rejected an absurd plea deal which effectively made Hunter bulletproof from future prosecution for various crimes.

  

  The judge’s decision puts Hunter’s case on hold for several weeks as both sides submit new materials to judge Maryellen Noreika, Axios reports.

  Watch:

  BREAKING: @whitehouse @PressSec says President @JoeBiden will not pardon his son, Hunter Biden if convicted of tax fraud and probably other crimes. WATCH pic.twitter.com/MKedWodHVe

  — Simon Ateba (@simonateba) July 27, 2023

  Meanwhile, the White House has backtracked on its language concerning Joe Biden’s claim that he ‘never discussed’ Hunter’s business dealings with his son, after evidence emerged late last month contradicting that claim.

  “I have never spoken to my son about his overseas business dealings,” Biden claimed in September 2020 on the campaign trail. One month later, he doubled down in a radio interview, saying “I don’t discuss business with my son.”

  Except, in late June a text message presented during testimony by IRS whistleblowers before the House Ways and Means Committee reveals Hunter essentially asking a Chinese businessman where their bribe is.

  “I am sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled,” wrote Hunter via WhatsApp on July 30, 2017. “Tell the director that I would like to resolve this now before it gets out of hand, and now means tonight.“

  Hunter then warned that “if I get a call or text from anyone involved in this other than you, Zhang or the chairman, I will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction. I am sitting here waiting for the call with my father.“

  Spin, baby!

  Now, the White House’s verbiage is a bit different when it comes to Hunter and Joe – after Ian Sams, a spokesman for  the White House counsel’s office, told the Washington Examiner “As we have said many times before, the president was not in business with his son.”

  The White House press secretary repeated the line on Tuesday. 

  As RealClear Wire notes;

  Asked by RealClearPolitics at the daily White House briefing Wednesday why the language had shifted and if both statements were simultaneously true, Karine Jean-Pierre replied, “Nothing has changed on this. You could ask me a million different ways on this question. Nothing has changed.”

  The exchange was enough for New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the chairwoman of the House Republican conference, to allege that the White House was engaged in a coverup.

  “The facts are the facts,” Stefanik told RCP. “The White House has changed their statement on Hunter Biden. The American people are smart and no matter how many times the Biden White House claims otherwise, they know that the White House is lying.”

  While administration aides have repeatedly side-stepped questions about Hunter Biden’s business dealings with Ukrainian and Chinese businesses, citing the fact that the president’s son “is a private citizen,” this is not the first time the president’s inner circle has insisted that the father and son were not business partners.

  During the 2020 presidential campaign, a spokesman for Biden told the New York Times that the former vice president never had any stake in his son’s myriad dealings. “Joe Biden has never even considered being involved in business with his family, nor in any overseas business whatsoever.” The White House has only recently returned to that language.

  The ongoing political controversy was compounded by new legal drama Wednesday when a plea deal between Hunter Biden and federal prosecutors stemming from two misdemeanor tax charges was unexpectedly placed on hold. The defense was reportedly shocked that the deal, which would spare the president’s son from prison, would not shield him from future prosecution under other laws that notably include the Foreign Agent Registration Act.

  Leo Wise, the lead prosecutor for the Department of Justice, said in federal court that there was “an ongoing investigation.” When the court asked for more details, Wise reportedly replied that he wasn’t “in a position where I can say.”

  Legal wrangling to salvage or update that plea agreement is ongoing, but House Republicans will continue to press their own case. Devon Archer, a close friend and former business partner of Hunter Biden, is set to speak to lawmakers behind closed doors next week. The New York Post reported earlier this week that Archer will testify that Hunter Biden was in the habit of calling his father, then Vice President Joe Biden, and placing him on speakerphone during business meetings with foreign companies.

  House Republicans were already doing a close reading of previous White House statements when Jean-Pierre, asked about the New York Post report, said Monday that the president “was never in business with his son.”

  Led by Stefanik, House Oversight Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri sent a letter to the White House demanding answers about their updated language.

  House Republicans allege that the shift in language came after the House Oversight Committee discovered messages between Hunter Biden and a Chinese business associate where the president’s son alleged that he was “sitting here with my father and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled.”

  Stefanik told RCP that they have not heard back from the Biden administration. “The White House Counsel has until tomorrow to respond to our oversight letter demanding answers to Joe Biden’s involvement in Hunter Biden’s shady foreign business practices,” she said before adding, “We will not stop until all of the corruption comes to light and accountability is served.”

  The White House referred reporters to the DOJ and to Hunter Biden’s legal representatives Wednesday, describing his legal trouble “as a personal matter for him.”

  “As we have said, the president, the first lady, they love their son, and they support him as he continues to rebuild his life,” Jean-Pierre said to kick off the briefing.

  Until adding this summer that the president and his son were never in business together, the White House continued to refer to Biden’s previous statements from the campaign trail. Was it still the case, a reporter asked in April 2022, that Biden had never spoken to his son about his business dealings? Then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki replied, “Yes.”

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

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 18:00

• Shoplifter Strolls Past CNN Reporter As She Profiles Rampant San Fran Crime
  Shoplifter Strolls Past CNN Reporter As She Profiles Rampant San Fran Crime

  San Francisco’s crime situation is so bad that even CNN decided to shine a spotlight on it — and while they were shooting from the nation’s most-robbed Walgreens, a shoplifter casually walked by the reporter and camera with stolen merchandise. 

  In fact, CNN’s Kyung Lah says she and her crew observed three shoplifters in just 30 minutes at a Walgreens in San Francisco’s Richmond District, which is bordered by Golden Gate Park and the Presidio. Among the company’s 9,000 US stores, that one is robbed the most — an average of 12 times a day.  

  

  “In the 30 minutes we were at this Walgreens we watched three people, including this man, steal,” says Lah, as the accompanying video shows a messy man with stringy hair and a winter jacket walk right out the store with some type of product in his hands. Turning to a cashier, she asks, “Did that guy pay?” The cashier replies with a simple “no.” Naturally, CNN protected the thief’s identity by blurring his face. 

  The particular Walgreens featured in the story is the same one that garnered social media buzz earlier this month after installing heavy chains and padlocks across the frozen food coolers. 

  NEW: The Walgreens at 16th/Geary in San Francisco has chained up the freezer section ⛓️

  Workers said normally shoplifters clean out all the pizza and ice cream every night. They’re usually hit 20x a day. The whole store is virtually locked up. @KPIXtv

  h/t @greenbergnation pic.twitter.com/lfFWmkLWdo

  — Betty Yu (@bett_yu) July 18, 2023

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

  Lah reports that store workers, fed up with being ripped off a dozen times daily, installed the highly conspicuous chains and padlocks on their own initiative. However, after the imagery was widely shared across social and traditional media, Walgreen’s corporate leadership ordered the locks removed, apparently fearing the visuals would damage the company’s brand more than they would underscore the increasingly desperate situation for retailers in San Francisco and other crime-plagued cities. 

  While the unsightly hardware is gone, an astonishing proportion of the store’s products are behind locked plexiglass, from mustard to maple syrup to cough medicine. At another retailer, CNN showed frozen foods under cable locks, while the purchase of products like fake eyelashes and lotion also requires asking an employee for help.

  In San Francisco, we went to the Walgreens that is the #1 spot for theft in all the 9000 US stores, per Walgreens. This is where chains once shut the freezer section. And we saw 3 thefts right in front of us. But across SF, coffee, mustard, nail polish– are all locked up: pic.twitter.com/IfYBVgpeI2

  — Kyung Lah (@KyungLahCNN) July 25, 2023

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

  CNN’s Lah also observed ground coffee under lock and key. Asked for his perspective, a clueless customer told her, “I don’t understand why coffee [would be locked up.] It’s become kind of like a police state in San Francisco.”  Of course, any rational observer would realize the locked-up coffee demonstrates San Francisco has become the opposite of a “police state,” as criminals steal property with utter impunity.  

  California’s Prop 47 chummed the waters for shoplifters by making thefts of up to $950 of merchandise a misdemeanor. Now, Sacramento legislators are working hard to make things even worse: Last month, the state senate passed a bill that would make it illegal for store employees to confront thieves.

  Hell-bent on wealth redistribution, it seems California’s Marxist rulers are as happy to enable it by individual, criminal acts as they are via government programs.  

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 17:55

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• WorldCoin May Face UK Data Regulators Inquiry Days After Launch: Report
  WorldCoin May Face UK Data Regulators Inquiry Days After Launch: Report

  Authored by Prahsnat Jha via CoinTelegraph.com,

  The project has faced criticism from within the fintech world over its dystopian features and privacy concerns…

  

  The newly launched controversial crypto and ID project Worldcoin could face inquiries from data regulators in the United Kingdom as it raises concerns over privacy and critical biometric data safety, according to a Reuters report.

  The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — the U.K.’s data regulatory body — acknowledged the launch of the crypto project in the country, and said it would examine the project and make further inquiries concerning data laws, reported Reuters.

  When Cointelegraph reached out to the ICO to ask about its reported probe into Worldcoin, the agency declined to comment. A spokesperson for the regulator said that they “have not announced anything publicly to confirm or deny if we are looking into Worldcoin. Until then, I would not be able to pass comments.”

  The digital identification-centered crypto project launched on July 24 and was co-founded by OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman.

  The project secured $115 million in funding in May from Andreessen Horowitz, Bain Capital Crypto and Distributed Global.

  Worldcoin onboarded over 2 million users during its beta phase despite many sharing concerns over the nature of the project.

  While those numbers might look impressive, a study by MIT Technology Review claimed that the majority of the first one million users were onboarded using “deception, cash handouts and exploiting workers” in developing countries.

  Several aspects of the project have not gone down well with the crypto community, from concerns over the security of users’ biometric data to privacy concerns.

  Apart from an inquiry in the U.K., Worldcoin’s native token WLD will not launch in the U.S., with none of the U.S.-based exchanges, such as Coinbase or Kraken, listing it. The project developers cited regulatory concerns in the U.S. as the key reason behind the decision.

  However, many crypto proponents believe it qualifies as an unregistered security.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/27/2023 – 02:00

• 7-Year-Old Boy Sues California School District For Violations Of Civil Rights
  7-Year-Old Boy Sues California School District For Violations Of Civil Rights

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

  

  The first thing “H.N.” did when he got up on a July Sunday morning was say hi to his dog, Biscuit, and then start reading “Treasure Island,” which after just the first chapter may overtake “Robinson Crusoe” as his all-time favorite book—but that needs to wait until he finishes the book. Later, he played Monopoly with a friend, practiced baseball (which he plays for his school team), and told us about his favorite board game, Kids Against Maturity.

  His room looks like a typical young boy’s, with board games, Nerf guns, baseball equipment, and toy vehicles. In the living room is a miniature train set, which he said he worked on for months when he was younger.

  

  https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/exclusive-7-year-old-boy-sues-californ…

  What makes H.N. different from most other kids—other than that he is very mature for his age—is that he is the plaintiff in a case that was filed with the California Superior Court, Santa Cruz County, when he was 7 years old.

  Because of the lawsuit, he is not disclosing his name and just goes by H.N. for privacy purposes. He is suing the Scotts Valley Unified School District, the district superintendent, the school principal, and two teachers for negligence, false imprisonment, violating his civil rights, and other charges.

  The story was first broken by Drew Penner in the Press Banner on April 21, 2023. The Epoch Times spoke with the boy, his family, and their attorney in July.

  

  Refusing to Wear a Mask

  It all started in September 2021 when at times he refused to wear a mask in school and did not consent to getting tested for COVID-19 weekly.

  “I did not like this big gigantic thing up my nose,” said H.N.

  From September 2021 to June 2022, H.N. and his father informed the school principal multiple times that they did not consent to “experimental medical products like masking or COVID injections.”

  H.N. stated that he does not like to wear a mask because the virus travels through the mask anyway, he cannot breathe well in the mask, he cannot see the facial expressions of his teachers and classmates when they wear masks, and there is a chance of bacteria getting trapped in the mask. In addition, he said that proper ventilation is superior to masks according to multiple studies.

  But that was not enough, and he continued to be disciplined for not complying with school regulations.

  The complaint mentions nine separate incidents in which H.N. refused to wear a mask and subsequently was isolated in a classroom by himself with a substitute teacher, taken to the principal’s office, or taken to classroom 34, which was used for storage at the time.

  Another incident included in the complaint took place on Jan. 11, 2022, when H.N. was allegedly harassed for not wanting to use hand sanitizer. H.N. says that after he told the teachers that hand washing with soap is more effective, he was sent to Nurse Selena Treuge, who allowed him to wash his hands as a one-time exception.

  The next day, Jan. 12, the same incident was repeated. This time H.N. showed his teacher, Ms. Gelter, and his nurse a CDC report indicating that hand washing is more effective than hand sanitizer. He was again allowed to wash his hands as an exception.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 23:40

• These Are The World's Most Valuable Brands In 2023
  These Are The World’s Most Valuable Brands In 2023

  Brand value can be a critical part of any company’s intangible assets.

  These kind of non-physical assets, such as patents and brand names, are having an increasing influence on a company’s overall value. A 2020 analysis found that intangibles made up 90% of the S&P 500’s market value, an increase of 22 percentage points since 1995.

  In the infographic below, Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld shows the world’s 100 most valuable brands in 2023 based on an annual ranking from Brand Finance, illustrating the role brand equity plays in a company’s market position.

  

  The Top 100 Companies, by Brand Value

  Brand Finance examined over 5,000 companies (and in cases of groups like Alphabet and Meta, their subsidiary brands) across 38 countries.

  Broadly speaking, a brand’s value represents the allocation of company earnings that are linked to the brand. More details on the methodology are found at the end of this article.

  Here are the most valuable brands in 2023:

  Rank	Brand	Brand Value (B)	Country	Sector
  1	Amazon	$299.3	U.S.	Retail
  2	Apple	$297.5	U.S.	Tech
  3	Google	$281.4	U.S.	Media
  4	Microsoft	$191.6	U.S.	Tech
  5	Walmart	$113.8	U.S.	Retail
  6	Samsung Group	$99.7	South Korea	Tech
  7	ICBC	$69.5	China	Banking
  8	Verizon	$67.4	U.S.	Telecoms
  9	Tesla	$66.2	U.S.	Automobiles
  10	TikTok/Douyin	$65.7	China	Media
  11	Deutsche Telekom	$62.9	Germany	Telecoms
  12	China Construction Bank	$62.7	China	Banking
  13	Home Depot	$61.1	U.S.	Retail
  14	Facebook	$59.0	U.S.	Media
  15	State Grid	$58.8	China	Utilities
  16	Mercedes-Benz	$58.8	Germany	Automobiles
  17	Agricultural Bank Of China	$57.7	China	Banking
  18	Starbucks	$53.4	U.S.	Restaurants
  19	Toyota	$52.5	Japan	Automobiles
  20	WeChat	$50.2	China	Media
  21	Moutai	$49.7	China	Spirits
  22	AT&T	$49.6	U.S.	Telecoms
  23	Disney	$49.5	U.S.	Media
  24	Allianz Group	$48.4	Germany	Insurance
  25	Shell	$48.2	UK	Oil & Gas
  26	Instagram	$47.4	U.S.	Media
  27	Bank of China	$47.3	China	Banking
  28	Costco	$46.6	U.S.	Retail
  29	Aramco	$45.2	Saudi Arabia	Oil & Gas
  30	Ping An	$44.7	China	Insurance
  31	Huawei	$44.3	China	Tech
  32	China Mobile	$43.4	China	Telecoms
  33	BMW	$40.4	Germany	Automobiles
  34	accenture	$39.9	U.S.	Tech
  35	Oracle	$39.6	U.S.	Tech
  36	Bank of America	$38.6	U.S.	Banking
  37	Tencent	$38.1	China	Media
  38	UnitedHealthcare	$37.1	U.S.	Healthcare Services
  39	McDonald’s	$36.9	U.S.	Restaurants
  40	Porsche	$36.8	Germany	Automobiles
  41	NTT Group	$36.6	Japan	Telecoms
  42	UPS	$35.4	U.S.	Logistics
  43	Mitsubishi Group	$35.0	Japan	Automobiles
  44	Marlboro	$34.7	U.S.	Tobacco
  45	Deloitte	$34.5	U.S.	Commercial Services
  46	American Express	$34.1	U.S.	Commercial Services
  47	Volkswagen	$34.0	Germany	Automobiles
  48	Coca-Cola	$33.5	U.S.	Soft Drinks
  49	Wells Fargo	$33.0	U.S.	Banking
  50	CSCEC	$31.9	China	Engineering & Construction
  51	J.P. Morgan	$31.8	U.S.	Banking
  52	Lowe’s	$31.6	U.S.	Retail
  53	Chase	$31.3	U.S.	Banking
  54	Nike	$31.3	U.S.	Apparel
  55	Mitsui	$30.7	Japan	Engineering & Construction
  56	CVS	$30.6	U.S.	Retail
  57	Citi	$30.6	U.S.	Banking
  58	Taobao	$30.5	China	Retail
  59	Wuliangye	$30.3	China	Spirits
  60	YouTube	$29.7	U.S.	Media
  61	PetroChina	$29.6	China	Oil & Gas
  62	VISA	$29.6	U.S.	Commercial Services
  63	FedEx	$28.9	U.S.	Logistics
  64	Xfinity	$28.8	U.S.	Telecoms
  65	Target	$27.6	U.S.	Retail
  66	Tmall	$27.4	China	Retail
  67	Hyundai Group	$27.3	South Korea	Automobiles
  68	Sinopec	$27.1	China	Oil & Gas
  69	Tata Group	$26.4	India	Engineering & Construction
  70	Louis Vuitton	$26.3	France	Apparel
  71	IBM	$26.2	U.S.	Tech
  72	EY	$25.7	UK	Commercial Services
  73	PWC	$25.3	U.S.	Commercial Services
  74	Mastercard	$24.8	U.S.	Commercial Services
  75	China Merchants Bank	$24.5	China	Banking
  76	Honda	$24.2	Japan	Automobiles
  77	Netflix	$24.2	U.S.	Media
  78	Cisco	$23.9	U.S.	Tech
  79	Sumitomo Group	$23.9	Japan	Trading Houses
  80	Spectrum	$23.3	U.S.	Telecoms
  81	Uber	$23.3	U.S.	Mobility
  82	Intel	$22.9	U.S.	Tech
  83	Dell Technologies	$22.6	U.S.	Tech
  84	SK Group	$22.5	South Korea	Telecoms
  85	Nestlé	$22.4	Switzerland	Food
  86	Ford	$22.3	U.S.	Automobiles
  87	TSMC	$21.6	Taiwan	Tech
  88	Walgreens	$21.6	U.S.	Retail
  89	Siemens Group	$ 21.4	Germany	Engineering & Construction
  90	LG Group	$21.3	South Korea	Tech
  91	SAP	$21.1	Germany	Tech
  92	TotalEnergies	$20.7	France	Oil & Gas
  93	TD	$20.4	Canada	Banking
  94	Optum	$20.1	U.S.	Healthcare Services
  95	Elevance Health (formerly Anthem)	$19.9	U.S.	Healthcare Services
  96	HSBC	$19.9	UK	Banking
  97	CREC	$19.8	China	Engineering & Construction
  98	CHANEL	$19.4	France	Apparel
  99	General Electric	$19.3	U.S.	Engineering & Construction
  100	Salesforce	$19.1	U.S.	Tech

  Amazon ranks number one globally with its brand valued at $299 billion. As a market leader in online retail, it has strong brand loyalty in its B2C segment which generates its largest share of revenue, and is a key player in cloud services for its B2B platforms.

  Apple is in close second with a $298 billion brand. It’s important to note that both tech giants brands fell in value from last year, as supply chain disruptions, labor market constraints, and slower forecasted revenue impacted their brands.

  Other big tech brands Google (#3) and Microsoft (#4) were next in the ranking. Korean conglomerate Samsung (#6) was the highest-ranking firm based outside of America.

  Brand Value: Leading Sectors in 2023

  Looking at brand value based on sector, we can see that tech continues to dominate. The sector breakdown below uses data from the top 500 brands covered by Brand Finance.

  Rank	Sector	% of Total	Total Brand Value (B)
  1	Tech	19.4%	$891.2
  2	Retail	15.0%	$690.0
  3	Media	14.0%	$645.2
  4	Banking	10.2%	$467.4
  5	Automobiles	8.6%	$397.3
  6	Telecoms	7.3%	$334.6
  7	Commercial Services	3.8%	$174.0
  8	Oil & Gas	3.7%	$171.0
  9	Engineering & Construction	3.3%	$149.5
  10	Insurance	2.0%	$93.0
  11	Restaurants	2.0%	$90.3
  12	Spirits	1.7%	$80.0
  13	Healthcare Services	1.7%	$77.1
  14	Apparel	1.7%	$77.0
  15	Logistics	1.4%	$64.3
  16	Utilities	1.3%	$58.8
  17	Tobacco	0.8%	$34.7
  18	Soft Drinks	0.7%	$33.5
  19	Trading Houses	0.5%	$23.9
  20	Mobility	0.5%	$23.3
  21	Food	0.5%	$22.4

  Overall, the top tech brands were worth a combined $891 billion largely thanks to the outsized influence of Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung.

  After retail and media, the banking sector still held significant brand sway at $467 billion. Automobiles rounded out the top five sectors at $397 billion, led by companies like Tesla and Mercedes-Benz.

  The Fastest Rising Brands in 2023

  While some brands such as Apple and Amazon fell in value over the last year, others have increased their brand value.

  Below, we show the fastest rising brands across the top 500 around the world:

  Rank	Name	Brand Value % Change (2022-2023)
  1	BYD	57%
  2	ConocoPhillips	56%
  3	Maersk	53%
  4	LinkedIn	49%
  5	Christian Dior	46%
  6	Tesla	44%
  7	ADP	44%
  8	United Airlines	42%
  9	Instagram	42%
  10	Equinor	40%

  BYD, a leading electric vehicle (EV) firm in China, jumped the sharpest. Focused on budget EVs and backed by Warren Buffett, it has become a growing competitor to Tesla, and is the second-largest producer of lithium-ion batteries globally.

  Energy firm ConocoPhillips saw the second-largest gain in brand value, driven by its focus on energy transition fuels, cutting production emissions, and lowering supply costs.

  Following a series of difficult years for the airline industry, United Airline’s brand value increased 42% as travel demand accelerated.

  As the economic landscape continues to shift, the value of these brands will shift as well.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 23:00

• NASA's Solid-State Battery Breakthrough Could Transform Air Travel
  NASA’s Solid-State Battery Breakthrough Could Transform Air Travel

  Authored by Haley Zaremba via OilPrice.com,

  • NASA’s new solid-state battery technology offers a greener alternative to traditional jet fuel combustion, eliminating associated carbon and non-carbon emissions.

  • The solid-state batteries surpass current lithium-ion batteries by being lighter, having a larger energy storage capacity, and avoiding the environmental and geopolitical implications linked to lithium.

  • This battery technology also solves typical solid-state drawbacks, providing a higher discharge rate, improving safety by avoiding liquid elements, and operating effectively under extreme temperatures, making it ideal for aviation.

  NASA may have just found a way to change the future of the aeronautics industry. Researchers at NASA’s Solid-state Architecture Batteries for Enhanced Rechargeability and Safety (SABERS) have successfully created a solid-state battery technically advanced enough to efficiently power an aircraft. Finding a way to make air travel greener has been a critical point of interest for the global path to decarbonization, as well as for the economic wellbeing of the industry in a future where fuel prices will likely continue to increase while policy instruments such as carbon taxes become more commonplace. 

  

  The transportation sector is one of the world’s biggest contributors to climate change, producing almost a quarter of total energy-related carbon emissions worldwide – and air travel is one of the biggest offenders. On average, airplanes emit approximately 100 times more carbon dioxide per hour than a shared bus or train ride. Altogether, aviation’s annual emissions are higher than most entire countries, at 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. And the combustion of jet fuel doesn’t just emit carbon, it also produces “nitrogen oxides, soot, water vapor and sulfate aerosols, all of which interact with the atmosphere and have an effect on the climate in different ways and at different time scales.”

  Not only will the new batteries be able to electrify aircraft, thereby eliminating carbon and non-carbon emissions associated with burning jet fuel, these breakthrough solid-state batteries manage to avoid one of the most major trade-offs plaguing electrification processes writ large: lithium. Lithium is a finite resource associated with its own slew of negative environmental externalities, as well as major geopolitical implications. China currently controls nearly one-third of the world’s lithium supply chains, and diversifying that market will not be easy. Furthermore, lithium’s essential role in a huge number of clean energy infrastructural components has led to rising prices and a scarcity mindset. Avoiding this sticky situation altogether is a major win for SABERS.

  Not only that, the new NASA solid-state battery is lighter and can store more power than lithium-ion batteries. “We’re starting to approach this new frontier of battery research that could do so much more than lithium-ion batteries can,” said SABERS’ Rocco Viggiano, an investigator at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.“Not only does this design eliminate 30 to 40 percent of the battery’s weight, it also allows us to double or even triple the energy it can store, far exceeding the capabilities of lithium-ion batteries that are considered to be state of the art,” he added. 

  SABERS has also been able to overcome a major disadvantage associated with solid-state battery technology. Typically, lithium-ion batteries are much more efficient when it comes to discharging power. But through a new innovation SABERS has been able to “increase a solid-state battery’s discharge rate by a factor of 10 — and then by another factor of five,” according to a report from Yahoo! News. 

  When talking about any innovation in aviation, safety is a top priority and concern. Solid-state batteries also eliminate key safety concerns connected with lithium-ion batteries, which contain highly flammable liquid which is historically prone to leakage, requiring extra casing that makes the batteries even heavier. Solid-state batteries don’t contain any liquid at all, which allows them to be stacked in more space-efficient configurations, and they can still be used even when they are damaged. In the extreme temperature changes experienced by aircraft over the course of a flight, such durability is essential. “NASA researchers have found that solid-state batteries can operate in temperatures twice as hot as lithium-ion batteries,” Yahoo! reports. What’s more, “solid-state batteries achieve this using less cooling technology than lithium-ion.”

  While the technology is brand new, and is not yet commercially viable, it shows enormous disruptive potential. “Aviation is widely recognised as a ‘hard-to-decarbonise’ sector having a strong dependency on liquid fossil fuels and an infrastructure that has long ‘lock-in’ timescales, resulting in slow fleet turnover times,” according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In this context, the NASA breakthrough is particularly exciting. If these solid-state batteries become cost-effective at scale, the benefits for the transportation sector – as well as global climate goals – are enormous. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 22:30

• Russia, South Korea Hold Rare Defense Talks In Pyongyang Amid Soaring US Tensions
  Russia, South Korea Hold Rare Defense Talks In Pyongyang Amid Soaring US Tensions

  Russia has held high-level defense talks with North Korea at a moment Pyongyang is conducing a series of ballistic missile tests aimed at warning the United States while it docks a nuclear-armed submarine at a South Korean port. Threats and even nuclear warnings have been on the rise on the peninsula, also after several provocative joint US-South Korea military drills,

  Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu led the talks with his North Korean counterpart, Kang Sun-nam, in the capital on Wednesday, a defense ministry statement confirmed, pledging a deepened ‘partnership’.

  

  Shoigu declared of “friendly” relations that bilateral relations would be improved in all fields. “I am confident that today’s talks will contribute to strengthening cooperation between our defense ministries,” he said.

  “Visits of warships, official visits of high-ranking defense officials, exchanges of working-level delegations, and personnel training have all contributed to maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” Shoigu added.

  “I am glad to make your acquaintance and meet with you. I happily accepted your invitation to visit Pyongyang, the capital of a friendly state. I am grateful to my Korean friends for the rich program you have offered. From the very first minute, I felt your care and attention. I hope we will manage not only to work actively, but also to learn a lot of interesting things about North Korea, your culture and traditions, and see the sights,” the ministry quoted Shoigu as introducing the talks.

  The Russian delegation will be in attendance Pyongyang’s celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, featuring a huge military parade and display of advanced missiles.

  A Russian delegation or officials have not visited North Korea since the pandemic, when the already very isolated country completely shut off its borders in order to prevent spread. There’s some speculation currently that the north may have changed its policies, given the Russian defense ministry’s visit this week.

  Shoigu : North Korea is an important partner of Russia 🇷🇺 . pic.twitter.com/FsThwedBWG

  — Nagi N. Najjar (@NagiNajjar) July 26, 2023

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

  This appears to be the case, also given China is sending a delegation of officials to observe the commemoration events:

  Russia and China are sending government delegations to North Korea this week for events marking the 70th anniversary of the armistice that halted fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War.

  The visits suggest North Korea is further opening up after years of pandemic isolation and is eager to showcase its partnerships with authoritarian neighbors in the face of deepening nuclear tensions with Washington, Seoul and Tokyo.

  Washington has over the course of the Ukraine conflict at various points accused North Korea of supplying the Russian military with additional artillery ammo. The two countries actually share a small border. More recently, there have been accusations that Wagner Group, which is now on the outs with Moscow in the wake of last month’s mutiny, purchased large quantities of arms and equipment from the Kim Jong-Un government.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 22:00

• The Simpocalypse Is Upon Us
  The Simpocalypse Is Upon Us

  Authored by 𝙈𝙞𝙠𝙚 “DR. DOOM” 𝙃𝙤₿𝙖𝙧𝙩 via BombThrower.com,

  For decades fathers, uncles, brothers and sons sat idly by as men were publicly insulted and berated without providing refutation or challenge. Yet, we all bear the burden in these unfortunate outcomes. In our willful complacency weakness and fragility have festered and society has since progressed further with rot. Every battle that we choose not to fight, is a battle left for our children to be forced to toil with. We have set our children up for a most troublesome conflict with the self, society, and the soul of America.

  

  We have run aground onto the shores of simp culture. Before we continue it would be best that we define what this term “simp,” and the culture entails. A simp refers to one who expresses undue or excessive affection, sympathy, and attention towards one that does not reciprocate these feelings. With explicit focus on the “undue” aspect of this relationship, the receivers of this behavior do not provide actions or evidence that would justify such admiration.

  For this discussion I’m not just speaking on the men that are purchasing OnlyFans subscriptions. I am also commenting on the general public’s approach to celebrities, politicians, influencers, and public figures. People seem to have become so disgustingly obsessed with the lives of their favorite, pedestalized, humans that they hang on their every word, and take their words as gospel, without challenge. Effectively outsourcing critical thinking (and thought in general) to those that have been propped up to a higher perceived status than their own. As if the numbers of Followers or Likes one accumulates is a representation of their intelligence or work performed. While this may be true for some I can most certainly tell you, with a hefty amount of experience engaging with individuals of comparable stature on forums such as Twitter Spaces, that many of these individuals are putting forth just as much (or as little) effort and thought as you or I.

  

  Society the world over demands better from all of us. Your children deserve better. In order to achieve this we must correct this abomination that is simp culture.

  We are in the midst of a simpdemic.

  In order to do so, we must fix the imbalances in the development of our youth. Here in America this cannot be accomplished while we have an average number of jobs per household greater than 2, ideally with that number being closer to 1.5 (let alone lower). We need the nuclear family to return back to an attainable reality for the average citizen. Today it is not. Without the availability of time parents cannot provide the proper guidance necessary to teach the lessons that produce effective, well-rounded members of society. Without the availability of savings as a strategy the average parent cannot work towards building meaningful generational wealth. Otherwise they have to sacrifice a 2/20 over scraps to “save” their purchasing power in assets on the stock market, where their nest-egg is at risk to human fallibility and incompetence – which would require further investing of time and effort in order to understand where they are putting their hard-earned capital. Assets that they are already radically short in. The only other option is to pay for an individual to manage their funds, which increases the likelihood of unfortunate outcomes due to human incompetence, while these managers still pocket their fees.

  That is a lose-lose for the average American family.

  Taking Corrective Action Against Simpdom

  In order to correct this swelling of simp culture we have to empower and embolden the individual. The individual needs to be capable of standing on their own, both the single individual as well as each individual family. Through the lens of genuine freedom and individual sovereignty, we can bring the value and strength back to the nuclear family structure. And we can return to proper child-rearing practices and raising effective members of society, rather than those that spout the latest headline that has been pushed by the mainstream media. Producing citizens that are hard thinking, hard working, and capable of checking authority is how we maintain a true America. The government was never intended to be the arbiter of truth. This land was founded on the principle that The People will be a checks & balance on the governmental body just like the governing body is structured to be checks & balances on each of the three systems that make up said governing body.

  What is the most effective way to produce a populace of such capacity? Or… perhaps “most effective” is incorrect here. Perhaps I mean what is a very effective tact that we can rely on currently, that is actionable today. What allows for the individual to be capable of standing their ground? For a family to withstand social pressures? For an individual to work toward changing their destiny through hard work and tenacity? That allows the elementary teacher, the doctor, the nurse, the plumber, or the soldier to be capable of standing up for what they believe in without a daunting fear of their standard of living going into the shredder? I believe that bitcoin provides an avenue that alleviates some of these fears.

  The ₿-Word

  Bitcoin, when custodied properly – outside of the nefarious claws of a financial system that is dictated by the BlackRock’s and JPMorgan’s – can provide a paradigm shift to our most cherished citizens; those that lie outside of the unproductive class or the 1%. Saving a small amount of excess into an asset that can avoid seizure when the seedphrase is securely stored, and is uncensorable, allows for an accumulation strategy that can effectively not be stopped. Saving a small amount of excess in an asset that is still very much in the early stages of its understanding, let alone its adoption, provides an avenue for wealth generation tantamount to early investment opportunities previously only made available to participants that held an “accredited” status. Where one had to already boast a networth in the range of 6 to 7 figures before being deemed “safe” enough to invest.
  While we are witnessing the likes of BlackRock and banks having done the work to provide investment vehicles to allow their customers the access to investing in financial products that enable exposure to the price discovery of this asset. Not out of desire by these entities neither, nay, by the demand of their customers. All while the energy industry has been learning their very own lesson with regards to the wildly synergistic relationship that bitcoin mining provides for both incentivization of energy generation beyond that of societal demand. A relationship that has never existed for our species before (that has been economical), while also providing a positive for the environment as well via greenhouse gas reduction strategies in the ways of flare gas mitigation on oil production operations. A relationship that I have personally witnessed first-hand while working in the Bakken Basin (psst: that flare mitigation allows for American producers to also pump more oil in the regulated markets like North Dakota and Colorado).

  Conclusion

  America is sick. Sick with simps. Sick with confusion. She needs a healthy dose of quality American stubbornness. That stubbornness can not be allowed to stand without catching a breath. That breath has to be provided via money, because money provides opportunity. Opportunity to chase our dreams or stand our ground for what we believe is right, just, and what is moral. In the information age, money that cannot flow as freely as the information itself effectively prevents the propagation of freedom and incentivizes tyranny.

  Give yourself a foundation to stand upon so that we can tear down these pillars of simp culture, take a stand and simply say “No. I can not comply.” Is there a more American thing one can do?

  Resist the simps. Build families. Question authority. Workout. Eat meat. Own guns. Say what you believe. And say with ya chest. Freedoms that can be enabled by a money of individual sovereignty and freedom; bitcoin.

  *  *  *

  Subscribe to the Bombthrower mailing list to get these posts as they come out (plus The CBDC Survival Guide when it’s ready), and follow Mike Hobart via his Substack and Twitter.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 21:30

• Beware The Huge Negative Lag Impact Of Three Rounds Of COVID Stimulus
  Beware The Huge Negative Lag Impact Of Three Rounds Of COVID Stimulus

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  Estimates from econometric studies indicate that the government expenditure multiplier is positive for the first four to six quarters after the initial deficit financing, then turns negative after three years.

  The lag now begins to bite.

  

  Real Per Capital Average of GDP and GDI courtesy of Lacy Hunt at Hoisington Management

  The Hoisington Management 2023 Q2 Review by Lacy Hunt is another gem. His focus this quarter is on government debt, negative multipliers, and lag times.

  2023 Q2 Key Ideas

  Rising Budget Deficits

  The U.S. Government budget deficit has taken a serious turn for the worse this year. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, as enacted, add over $1 trillion to the deficit over the next several years. The Penn Wharton Budget Model, however, indicates that due to the way instructions were written, the cost of the IRA is running three times greater than the amount appropriated by Congress. Current year federal tax revenues have also fallen considerably below a year ago. This is consistent with real gross domestic income (GDI) which fell in three of the last four quarters.

  Increased interest payments and a short fall in tax revenues both add to the deficit, but they do not boost economic activity. Neither produce a new job, a new road, or a new dollar of research and development. More importantly, the lagged effects of the huge budget deficits of FY 2020-21 are likely to be negative due to the government expenditure multiplier.

  Estimates from econometric studies of highly indebted industrialized economies indicate that the government expenditure multiplier is positive for the first four to six quarters after the initial deficit financing, then turns negative after three years. This implies that a dollar of debt financed federal expenditures will, ‘at the end of the day,’ reduce private GDP.

  Successfully Time Tested

  Two different rigorous studies, one completed in 2011 and the other in 2012, each using different methodologies, both concluded government fiscal policy actions that either increase the size of government relative to GDP or increase the government debt relative to GDP significantly weaken the trend rate of economic growth. The evidence, from more than a decade since this research was published, confirms those findings and indicates that the government multiplier is becoming increasingly negative.

  Andreas Bergh and Magnus Henrekson (BH), writing in the peer-reviewed Journal of Economic Surveys in 2011, determined that a one percentage point increase in government size reduces the annual growth rate in real per capita GDP by 0.05% to 0.1% per year. Increases in government size means that more of the economy is being shifted away from the high positive multiplier private sector into the negative multiplier government sector.

  When President Nixon closed the Gold Window, the 20-year moving average of the ratio of government size relative to GDP was 25.2% while the real per capita GDP/GDI average growth rate was 2.2%, which coincided with the average real per capita GDP growth rate since 1870. Based on the comparable numbers in early 2023, government size was a considerably higher 34.3%, and the growth in the real per capita GDP/GDI average was a much slower 1.3%. Thus, government size increased 9.1 percentage points and the real per capita GDP/GDI average growth lost 0.9% per year [Lead Chart]. Thus, the actual results, twelve years of which were beyond BH’s publication date, means the negative impact on economic performance was within 0.1% of BH’s top of the range.

  Reinhardt, Reinhardt and Rogoff (RRR)

  The Reinhardts (Carmen and Vincent) and Kenneth Rogoff, published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives in 2012, found that when gross government debt exceeds 90% of GDP for more than five years, then economies lose 1/3 of the trend rate of growth. Gross U.S. government debt moved decisively above this 90% threshold ten years ago. As previously stated, the trend rate of growth of real per capita GDP since 1870 is 2.2%. Over the last twenty years the average growth rate has fallen to 1.3%, a loss of slightly more than 1/3 of the yearly growth rate even though the last twenty years included some years in which the debt ratio was not above 90%. If the U.S. economy were on trend, real per capita GDP would be approximately $73,000, almost $13,000 higher than the actual level. RRR also argued that the deleterious effects of high debt levels would build even before reaching the 90% threshold, and indeed they did. This finding leads to the causal explanation that the overuse of debt reflects the law of diminishing returns.

  Productivity

  Productivity, or output per hour in the nonfarm sector, declined by a record pace over the past ten quarters. Neither a rising standard of living nor increasing corporate profitability are achievable over time without higher productivity. Since January, non-farm payrolls have increased by 1.2 million, but the average workweek has dropped from 34.6 hours to 34.4 hours, leaving aggregate hours worked virtually unchanged. To restore productivity, firms will need to rationalize their workforce, which will simultaneously reduce labor costs, inflation and household purchasing power.

  The above paragraphs from Lacy Hunt highlight some of my recent articles on the ridiculously named Inflation Reduction Act, Industrial Production, and declining productivity.

  Labor Productivity vs Costs

  

  Labor productivity, costs, and hourly earnings data from BLS, chart by Mish.

  Labor Productivity vs Costs Long Term

  

  Productivity Dead Zone

  A huge wave of boomers retirements is in progress. Skilled boomers are now replaced with unskilled Zoomers (generation Z), who do not seem to have the same work ethic.

  So, it’s no wonder productivity is in the gutter.

  For discussion, please see Four to Six PM and Friday Afternoons Are a Productivity Dead Zone

  The Fed Reports Abysmal Industrial Production Numbers and Negative Revisions Too

  

  Industrial production data from the Fed, chart by Mish

  Recession Lead Times From IP Peaks

  

  In yet another sign of a weakening economy, the latest industrial production report was an outright disaster.

  The Bloomberg Econoday consensus estimate was unchanged in May from June. Instead, Industrial production fell 0.5 percent and the Fed revised May from -0.2 percent to -0.5 percent.

  For discussion, please see The Fed Reports Abysmal Industrial Production Numbers and Negative Revisions Too

  EVs

  Also note that Despite Huge Incentives, Supply of EVs on Dealer Lots Soars to 92 Days

  Why build cars that nobody seems to want?

  President Biden can mandate ridiculous rules, but he cannot force people to buy EVs.

  Largest Discrepancy Between GDP and GDI in 20 Years

  

  Real GDP, Real Final Sales, and Real GDI data from BEA, chart by Mish

  Economists have given up on the idea of a strong recession, if indeed any at all. That’s despite the fact that GDI suggests a recession may have already started.

  Note that we have the Largest Discrepancy Between GDP and GDI in 20 Years

  It would be a hoot if recession started just as economists finally gave up on the idea of one happening.

  *  *  *

  Subscribe to MishTalk Email Alerts.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 21:00

• Details Of Secret US-Russia Talks Revealed As Ukraine Counteroffensive In Bad Shape
  Details Of Secret US-Russia Talks Revealed As Ukraine Counteroffensive In Bad Shape

  New details have been revealed Wednesday related to the Ukraine war, at a moment the West is beginning to admit Ukraine’s counteroffensive is failing, despite billions of foreign military hardware (and counting) shipped to Kiev thus far.

  “Secret diplomatic talks are ongoing between former senior U.S. national security officials and high-ranking members of the Kremlin, a U.S. official directly involved in the talks has confirmed to The Moscow Times,” the Amsterdam-based publication reports.

  While NBC earlier this month first reported on the back-channel discussions described as “discrete” exchanges with top Kremlin officials, Moscow Times interviewed an unnamed US official involved, shedding light on what’s dubbed “track 1.5 diplomacy”. 

  

  The ongoing meetings have involved Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov representing Moscow, detailed as follows:

  Known as track 1.5 diplomacy, these covert discussions enable both sides to understand each other’s red lines and mitigate potential conflicts, serving as a crucial link between official government negotiations (track 1 diplomacy) and unofficial expert dialogues (track 2).

  “There is an eminent need for track 1.5 diplomacy when the world gets closed off as it has now,” the US official who is directly involved in the talks said, further confirming twice-a-month meetings, but which are sometimes done remotely online. 

  “I have been visiting Moscow at least every three months,” the diplomat told Moscow Times. After in the opening months of the war direct attempts at Russia-Ukraine negotiations collapsed, reportedly thwarted by the US and UK at a moment there was a guiding belief that Ukraine could push back the invasion, US-Russia communications deteriorated to the point of becoming almost non-existent.

  However, there was a focus on exchanges of prisoners, as the case of Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout demonstrated. 

  “If Russia thought it might lose Crimea,” the US official said, “it would almost certainly resort to tactical nuclear weapons.”

  Thanks Biden, Congressional Democrats, Nuland & sycophants in the media 👍 https://t.co/Vz05aXNzFQ

  — Max Abrahms (@MaxAbrahms) July 26, 2023

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  Below is a transcript of the US official’s statements, revealing some of what the US delegation has learned (or at least what the US government wants to signal to the public) throughout the back-channel dialogue [emphasis ZH]…

  * * *

  “We were given some access to the Kremlin’s thinking, though not as much as we would have liked.” 

  From his vantage point, sitting across from senior Kremlin officials and advisers, it was apparent that the greatest issue was that the Russians were unable to articulate what exactly they wanted and needed. 

  “They don’t know how to define victory or defeat. In fact, some of the elites to whom we spoke had never wanted the war in the first place, even saying it had been a complete mistake,” said the official. 

  “But now they’re at war — suffering a humiliating defeat is not an option for these guys.”

  “It was here that we made clear that the U.S. was prepared to work constructively with Russian national security concerns,” the official added, breaking from the official U.S. line of squeezing Russia financially and isolating it internationally so as to prevent it from continuing its war against Ukraine. 

  “An attempt to isolate and cripple Russia to the point of humiliation or collapse would make negotiating almost impossible — we are already seeing this in the reticence from Moscow officials,” he said.

  “In fact, we emphasized that the U.S. needs, and will continue to need, a strong enough Russia to create stability along its periphery. The U.S. wants a Russia with strategic autonomy in order for the U.S. to advance diplomatic opportunities in Central Asia. We in the U.S. have to recognize that total victory in Europe could harm our interests in other areas of the world. 

  “Russian power,” the official concluded, “is not necessarily a bad thing.” 

  Still, the top levels of White House leadership, including President Biden himself, have only presented a stance of wanting to bolster and arm Kiev “for as long as it takes” — but it remains likely that the more that Ukrainian forces are against the ropes, the scenario could emerge of a greater ‘openness’ to serious negotiated settlement among Western officials.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 20:40

• Mitch McConnell Escorted Away After Freezing During News Conference
  Mitch McConnell Escorted Away After Freezing During News Conference

  Can the US get term limits already.

  The 81-year-old Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell inexplicably froze and stopped speaking during a weekly Republican leadership news conference Wednesday afternoon, and went silent before he was escorted away.

  The Kentucky Republican had been making his opening remarks about an annual defense policy bill when he suddenly stopped talking. The Republican leader was silent for 19 seconds, leaving reporters and senators in stunned silence. His Republican colleagues asked if he was OK, and Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, a top McConnell deputy who previously worked as a physician before serving in Congress, escorted McConnell away from the cameras and reporters.

  Flag: McConnell just stopped abruptly during his opening statement during the gop leadership presser and appeared to be unable to restart talking. He then stepped away and walked away with Barrasso: pic.twitter.com/f1kFUjggzm

  — Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) July 26, 2023

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  A few minutes later, McConnell walked back to the news conference by himself. When asked about his health, he said he was fine. Asked whether he is fully able to do his job, McConnell said, “Yeah.”

  UPDATE: McConnell is back at the presser. pic.twitter.com/hrAdKXpAVX

  — Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) July 26, 2023

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  Asked about the episode, a McConnell aide pointed to the GOP leader saying, “I’m fine,” but the aide added that McConnell “felt lightheaded and stepped away for a moment.”

  “He came back to handle Q&A, which as everyone observed was sharp,” the aide said.

  McConnell spoke to reporters briefly on Wednesday night as he left the Capitol and said, “The president called to check on me.”

  “I told him I got sandbagged,” McConnell joked.

  Senator Mitch McConnell’s response to the incident today at the press conference where he froze up: “The President called to check on me. I told him I got sandbagged”

  pic.twitter.com/nYzbNYHkJf

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 27, 2023

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  Both the White House and a spokesperson for the senator confirmed that Biden and McConnell spoke by phone Wednesday. It was unclear how many extended and inexplicable silences permeated that particular conversation.

  Asked by reporters how he was feeling, McConnell said, “I’m fine.” He did not directly answer what happened earlier in the day or whether he saw a doctor.

  The Republican leader tripped and fell March 8 after an event for the Senate Leadership Fund — a Republican super PAC aligned with McConnell and GOP leadership — at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington. He was hospitalized with a concussion and a minor rib fracture and was discharged March 13 before entering rehab. McConnell didn’t return to the Senate, however, until mid-April.

  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told NBC News on Wednesday that he met with McConnell following the Senate GOP leadership press conference for a regularly scheduled meeting “to catch up on both houses.”

  “He was good,” McCarthy said. “There was no concerns about his health in the meeting.”

  According to NBC, McConnell has served in the Senate since 1985, nearly 40 years ago. He isn’t up for re-election again until the 2026 midterm elections when he will be 84. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 20:20

• Another Aerial Near Miss Over Syria Involving Russian Jet & US Drone: Sixth This Month
  Another Aerial Near Miss Over Syria Involving Russian Jet & US Drone: Sixth This Month

  “We’ve seen the reports, the early reports, of a second Russian fighter aircraft this week flying dangerously close to our drone” on a mission to counter ISIS in Syria, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced Wednesday.

  Few details were provided, but it comes the day after the Pentagon revealed an MQ-9 Reaper drone was damaged in the prior incident after a Russian fighter jet dropped flares on it during a dangerous intercept.

  According to The Associated Press, “A Russian fighter jet fired flares and struck another U.S. drone over Syrian airspace on Wednesday, the White House said, in a continued string of harassing maneuvers that have ratcheted up tensions between the global powers.”

  It marks the sixth reported incident only this month, and reveals a concerted effort of Russian aircraft to intimidate US warplanes.

  

  US officials say a Russian and Iranian campaign is in full swing towards pressuring the US to retreat from the region and halt its military operations. Russian intercepts of US drones are rapidly increasing, with the US each time condemning “unsafe” and “irresponsible”, threatening maneuvers.

  Concerning the prior intercept which had been revealed Tuesday—

  “One of the Russian flares struck the U.S. MQ-9, severely damaging its propeller,” Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the top U.S. Air Force commander in the region, said. “Fortunately, the MQ-9 crew was able to maintain flight and safely recover the aircraft to its home base.”

  These ‘harassment’ episodes over Syria appear very similar to the March 14, 2023 event closer to Russia which resulted in an American MQ-9 Reaper drone crashing into the Black Sea. 

  A Russian Su-27 fighter jet had intercepted and damaged the drone, at one point dumping fuel on it in mid-air flight. The drone then had to be crash landed in the waters below, and was lost.

  In Syria, things could seriously escalate fast between the US and Russia, which had during the height of the Syria war narrowly avoided major exchanges of fire, should an American drone or other aircraft be destroyed due to these increasingly brazen Russian intercepts.

  Meanwhile…

  🇺🇸🇸🇾 Amid tensions with Russia and Iran in Syria and the region, US Central Command released documentation of the arrival of new F-35 fighter jets to boost activity in the Middle East pic.twitter.com/dtdEWyggVA

  — Sinnaig (@Sinnaig_) July 26, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 20:00

• Exec At Trucking Giant Yellow Tells Staff Company Will File Bankruptcy On Monday
  Exec At Trucking Giant Yellow Tells Staff Company Will File Bankruptcy On Monday

  By Rachel Premack of FreightWavs

  

  Yellow’s senior vice president of sales informed her staff on Wednesday that their last day would be Friday and the less-than-truckload carrier will file bankruptcy on Monday, according to three employees who attended the video call.

  Yellow is the third-largest LTL company and employs some 30,000 workers, including around 22,000 Teamsters members. The trucking company had an operating revenue of $5.245 billion in 2022.

  The sales employees were approved to tell customers of the bankruptcy plans and to take paid time off for the rest of the week. 

  In a meeting later Wednesday, according to a video of the meeting viewed by FreightWaves and two employees present, the senior vice president told employees to backtrack on the bankruptcy statement. She said to “correct” any customers that were previously told there would be a bankruptcy and to share the following statement: 

  “Yellow’s talks with the IBT are ongoing. As previously stated, and in keeping with fiduciary responsibility of the company’s executives, the company continues to prepare for a range of contingencies.” 

  A Yellow representative shared the same statement when FreightWaves reached out for comment to learn more about the message that the trucking company may file for bankruptcy on Monday.

  Yellow’s vice president of technology services also told her team the above statement Wednesday afternoon, according to one Yellow employee. That employee said, previously in the day, their boss advised their team that a bankruptcy could happen at any time and to send out resumes.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 19:40

• Coca-Cola CEO: "Cost-Conscious" Consumers Trade Down Some Products As Inflation Bites
  Coca-Cola CEO: “Cost-Conscious” Consumers Trade Down Some Products As Inflation Bites

  Despite the Biden administration claiming ‘Bidenomics’ has kick-started an economic renaissance and the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for July rising, cautionary signs from corporations suggest inflation continues to crush the pocketbooks of the working class. The latest warning comes from Coca-Cola’s CEO, who highlighted a trend of consumers becoming more budget-conscious and switching to less expensive private-label brands.

  “Across the sector, consumers are increasingly cost-conscious. They’re looking for value and stocking up on items on sale,” CEO James Quincey told investors during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. 

  “As we look towards the second half, the global inflationary environment is impacting consumers and our business differently across geographies. In developed markets like North America and Western Europe, inflation is beginning to moderate, and labor markets remain strong. Our elasticities continue to be relatively low, however, we have seen some willingness to switch to private label brands in certain categories,” Quincey added. 

  He pointed out the trade-down phenomenon is occurring in Europe and the US with certain products:

  “It’s, in our view, highly related to the strength of the brands in any specific category. So we see it more in terms of beverages happening in water and juices rather than soft drinks, and certainly less when you get to colas.”

  Coca-Cola also announced that its two-year hiking cycle of raising the price of drinks to combat high costs is ending in developed markets like the US and Europe.

  

  Regardless of the gloom about consumers, the company raised its full-year outlook and reported earnings and revenue for the second quarter that topped Wall Street estimates. 

  So far, Coca-Cola’s multi-year pricing strategy hasn’t sparked significant backlash, but signs of thrifty consumers and trading down indicate the breaking point nears. 

  Several companies, such as railroad company Union Pacific and containerboard company Packaging Corp of America, warned about softening consumer demand. 

  As macroeconomic headwinds mount, credit conditions tighten for consumers, and student debt payments restart in a little over a month, the strong consumer narrative might falter into the end of the year. After all, we’ve already reported some consumers are trading down from Walmart to Dollar Tree.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 19:20

• From "America The Beautiful" To "America Smeared With Feces"…
  From “America The Beautiful” To “America Smeared With Feces”…

  Authored by Michael Snyder via The Economic Collapse blog,

  I am going to warn you right now – this article is all about poop.  Our nation was once known as “America the Beautiful”, but now so much of what made us so beautiful has crumbled and decayed, and feces is literally being smeared all over the place. 

  

  I truly wish that I was exaggerating, but at this point poop in the streets has become a major issue from coast to coast.  Our homeless population is absolutely exploding, and many of the homeless are addicted to drugs.  Unfortunately, many drug addicts simply do not care where they are when it is time to take a crap.  They just pull down their pants and let it fly.

  For those of us that aren’t addicted to drugs, it can be difficult to understand how addicts can let themselves sink so low.

  Sadly, the truth is that many of these drugs are so powerful that they literally make people stagger around like zombies.  For example, “tranq” is now being mixed with all sorts of street drugs all over the U.S., and someone that is on “tranq” can be “seemingly unaware of what’s happening around them”…

  The sight of drug users hunched over in a lifeless state, seemingly unaware of what’s happening around them, has become increasingly common in recent years.

  Many experts point to the influx of an animal tranquillizer that has begun to flood the US illicit drug supply – being mixed with everything from fentanyl to cocaine.

  Xylazine – known on the street as ‘tranq’ – is a potent sedative used to put large animals to sleep before procedures.

  Once upon a time, it was quite rare to see human feces right in the middle of the street.

  But now in cities that have severe drug problems authorities are constantly battling to keep things clean.  For example, San Francisco has become world famous for the human feces that is seemingly “everywhere”…

  According to 311, some of San Francisco’s most excrement-riddled streets are in the Tenderloin and SoMa neighborhoods. The Tenderloin, in particular, has publicly struggled to help its growing unhoused population and address its filthy streets.

  “It’s terrible; this street is covered,” said Joe Souza, a Tenderloin resident who has lived on Larkin Street for a year. “There’s poop everywhere. You always see it along the wall and in front of the garage there.”

  A four-block zone in the Tenderloin, between Larkin and Taylor streets, recorded dozens of feces-related 311 cleaning requests in the last five months. But residents say the problem is much bigger than what the data shows.

  In addition to the streets, our beaches have also become popular locations for drug addicts and the homeless to relieve themselves.

  If you can believe it, 55 percent of America’s beaches had unsafe levels of feces in their waters at some point within the last year…

  More than half of America’s beaches contain potentially dangerous levels of feces, according to a new report described as ‘troubling’ by experts.

  Testing carried out at more than 3,000 beaches across the country’s coastlines showed that 55 percent had unsafe levels of sewage in their waters on at least one day last year.

  Large numbers of drug addicts and homeless individuals live in rapidly growing tent cities that are mushrooming all over the country, but those with a little bit more money often live in illegal RV encampments.

  In southern California, one such encampment that is being run by a “vanlord” is being shut down due to “an unbearable stench of feces and urine”…

  A California ‘Vanlord’ with at least two dozen illegal RVs parked on her LA property has been ordered to vacate by Monday after residents complained about an unbearable stench of feces and urine.

  The campsite, located on private property in Sylmar, California, is managed by Cruz Godoy – dubbed ‘Vanlord’ by locals – who rents out the RVs to individuals without alternative housing options, making up to $20,000 a month.

  It turns out that the people that are living in these RVs are literally dumping their urine and feces into the streets, and one boy that lives nearby got so sick from the smell that he was literally vomiting…

  Maria Macias, whose backyard faces Cruz’s lot expressed sympathy for the people living in the RVs but decried the unbearable stench emanating from the illegal campers that has plagued residents for years, making life ‘unbearable.’

  ‘I don’t have peace, not even in my own house,’ she told CBS. ‘My son got sick, all of us got nauseous the ambulance came because my son was vomiting at night.’

  Many of the RV residents, who neighbors say are mainly immigrants searching for a better life, are forced to dump their sewage in the streets.

  This is what our country has become.

  At one time we were a shining example of cleanliness to the rest of the world, but now many of us are super disgusting “pig people” that have no class at all.

  Let me give you a perfect example of what I am talking about…

  A mother and her boyfriend were arrested for allegedly imprisoning their children inside their Wisconsin home after neighbors spotted both boys wandering the streets completely naked, covered in blood, bruises, and feces.

  Katie Koch is facing a slew of felony charges, including chronic neglect of a child, false imprisonment and neglecting a child. Her boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, was meanwhile hit with felony charges of chronic neglect of a child and false imprisonment in connection with the case.

  How can anyone treat children like that?

  Sadly, this sort of thing happens way too often.

  As a society, we have openly embraced evil, and now we are experiencing severe consequences as a result.

  Millions upon millions of Americans have lost all sense of self-respect, and the level of human degradation that we see all around us just gets worse with each passing day.

  If we had not rejected the values that this nation was founded upon, “America the Beautiful” could have been our legacy.

  But instead we have chosen another road, and it is heavily smeared with feces…

  *  *  *

  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
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 19:00

• EV Suspected In Fire Of Massive Cargo Ship Carrying 3,000 Cars
  EV Suspected In Fire Of Massive Cargo Ship Carrying 3,000 Cars

  A fire on a ship carrying 3,000 cars off the Netherlands coast is suspected of being started by an electric vehicle and killed one sailor, “could burn for days,” the Dutch Coast Guard told AFP News. 

  The fire broke out late Tuesday night on board the roll-on, roll-off ship the Fremantle Highway off the northern Dutch coast. “The fire could still burn for days,” stated a coastguard official who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

  “The ship is being cooled to keep it stable.

  “Only the side of the ship is being sprayed, not the deck,” said the official. 

  Fremantle Highway is carrying 3,000 vehicles. Of those vehicles, 25 are EVs, a coastguard official told the NOS public broadcaster, adding there is suspicion that one of those 25 EVs started the blaze.

  De rederij heeft een bergingsmaatschappij opdracht gegeven de #FremantleHighway te bergen zodra dit mogelijk is. Wij hebben inmiddels een schip op locatie en houden onder andere toezicht op het bergen. De scheepvaartroute is vrij toegankelijk: https://t.co/vZXh4nRjPl pic.twitter.com/L4YJBX0ybr

  — Rijkswaterstaat (@Rijkswaterstaat) July 26, 2023

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  Es gibt neue Bilder vom Brand der #FremantleHighway in der Nordsee, etwa 27 km von #Ameland 🇳🇱 entfernt.

  Der Brand konnte bisher nicht gelöscht werden. Zwei Schiffe kühlen aktuell den Rumpf und weitere Bergungsspezialisten sind auf dem Weg.pic.twitter.com/wqVF9nN5gX

  — romestylez (@romestylez) July 26, 2023

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  Rescue ships and helicopters have evacuated 23 crew members. However, one individual lost their life due to the fire. 

  Should the vessel sink, “it would be a disaster of the highest order,” the daily paper De Telegraaf said.

  Bloomberg ship tracking data shows Fremantle Highway left the German port of Bremen on Tuesday. The vessel appears to have deviated off course around 5 pm local time Tuesday, an indication of possibly when the fire broke out.  

  

  “Currently several parties including salvagers and the Dutch authorities are looking at minimizing the damage as much as possible,” the Coast Guard said.

  Shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen warned earlier this year: 

  Shipping companies are facing an added concern with the increasing demand for electric vehicles. Fires onboard vessels can have catastrophic consequences, and battery fires are extra potent and dangerous. Li-ion batteries generate extreme heat when they malfunction, often reaching temperatures of 800 degrees Celsius or higher. This heat can quickly spread to nearby combustible materials, causing a rapid fire that’s challenging to extinguish.

  Controlling battery fires is nearly impossible and might indicate Fremantle Highway could burn for days, if not longer. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 18:40

• IRS Ends Most Unannounced Agent Visits To Taxpayers’ Homes
  IRS Ends Most Unannounced Agent Visits To Taxpayers’ Homes

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

  

  The IRS has announced a major yet “common-sense” policy change that will put an end to most unannounced agent visits to taxpayers’ homes, mostly because of security concerns.

  The move, effective immediately, reverses decades of policy that saw IRS revenue officers knock on the doors of taxpayers’ homes without forewarning in attempts to resolve delinquent tax matters.

  The reason for the change, according to a statement by the agency, is to lower the risk that anxiety-provoking surprise home visits by tax enforcement agents could spiral out of control, posing a hazard to both taxpayers and agency field officers.

  Experience shows that unannounced door knocks at homes and businesses were high-risk encounters, with agents routinely facing “hazards and uncertainty” when making surprise visits, according to the IRS.

  Unannounced visits also created what the IRS called “public confusion” and posed risks to taxpayer safety.

  “These visits created extra anxiety for taxpayers already wary of potential scam artists,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement. “At the same time, the uncertainty around what IRS employees faced when visiting these homes created stress for them as well. This is the right thing to do and the right time to end it.”

  ‘Common-Sense Step’

  Part of the problem, according to the IRS, is that there has been a rise in recent years of scam artists posing as IRS agents, creating confusion for both taxpayers and local law enforcement.

  The change comes amid the IRS’s recent rollout of a new Strategic Operating Plan, which seeks, in part, to put a kinder face on the tax enforcement agency.

  “We are taking a fresh look at how the IRS operates to better serve taxpayers and the nation, and making this change is a common-sense step,” Mr. Werfel said. “Changing this long-standing procedure will increase confidence in our tax administration work and improve overall safety for taxpayers and IRS employees.”

  The union for tax agents, the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), praised the decision to shift policy regarding unannounced door knocks.

  “We applaud Commissioner Werfel’s quick action after hearing the safety concerns raised by NTEU leaders and IRS Field Collection employees who faced dangerous situations that put their safety at risk,” Tony Reardon, president of the NTEU, said in a statement.

  He blamed “false, inflammatory rhetoric about the agency and its workforce” for adding to the danger facing field agents.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 18:20

• NatWest CEO Resigns Over Nigel Farage Account Fiasco
  NatWest CEO Resigns Over Nigel Farage Account Fiasco

  The CEO of NatWest, on of the UK’s largest banks, resigned on Wednesday following an account-closing fiasco involving Nigel Farage, the former leader of the UK’s Independence Party.

  

  CEO Alison Rose has exited stage-left after becoming the first woman to lead a major British bank.

  The scandal began several weeks ago, when Farage said that his account at Coutts, a private bank owned by NatWest, had been closed due to his political views.

  What followed was a pure debacle – with the bank lying to the BBC over what happened, only for internal Coutts documents to reveal that the reason for Farage’s cancellation included his retweet of a Ricky Gervais joke and his friendship with Novak Djokovic, which they pointed to as evidence of Farage being ‘xenophobic and racist.’ 

  Since then, the bank has issued multiple apologies to Farage, including from the BBC and from Rose, who admitted on Tuesday that she had disclosed information to the BBC about Farage’s account. The BBC subsequently reported that Farage ‘no longer met the financial requirements for Coutts,’ when in fact it was his politics that got him booted.

  The apology and a promise to review the bank’s policies was not enough to ease the pressure on Ms. Rose. Reports late Tuesday night that the government, which has a 39 percent stake in the bank, was “significantly concerned” about Ms. Rose’s leadership seemed to seal her fate. Before dawn, the bank announced her immediate departure.

  The board and Ms. Rose agreed “by mutual consent” that she would step down, Howard Davies, the bank’s chairman, said in a statement. NatWest shares fell about 4 percent on Wednesday. –NY Times

  “It is a sad moment,” said Davies, adding “She has dedicated all her working life so far to NatWest and will leave many colleagues who respect and admire her.”

  The 53-year-old Rose has been with the bank since 1992, when she joined as a trainee. She was appointed CEO in 2019, which was accompanied with a planned overhaul of the bank – previously known as the Royal Bank of Scotland.

  Last week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “It’s not right for anyone to be denied financial services because they’re exercising their lawful right to free speech.”

  The next day, the Treasury announced new rules governing the closure of accounts.

  On Wednesday, PM Andrew Griffith, met with the heads of Britain’s six-largest lenders “to discuss the importance of protecting lawful freedom of expression for customers,” according to the Treasury, adding that the attendees acknowledged that recent events had eroded trust in the banks.

  “It is right that the NatWest C.E.O. has resigned,” said Griffith, adding “This would never have happened if NatWest had not taken it upon itself to withdraw a bank account due to someone’s lawful political views. That was and is always unacceptable.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 18:00

• Federal Judge Deals Blow To Biden's Immigration Plans
  Federal Judge Deals Blow To Biden’s Immigration Plans

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

  

  A federal judge has blocked the White House’s new rules for people seeking asylum at the U.S.–Mexico border, handing a win to left-wing immigration groups.

  U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar—an Obama appointee—in Northern California found the rules unlawful because the mandate imposes conditions that Congress did not intend. Judge Tigar stayed his own ruling for 14 days, allowing the Biden administration to appeal before his order takes effect.

  “The Court concludes that the Rule is contrary to law because it presumes ineligible for asylum noncitizens who enter between ports of entry, using a manner of entry that Congress expressly intended should not affect access to asylum,” the judge wrote on Tuesday.

  “The Rule is also contrary to law because it presumes ineligible for asylum noncitizens who fail to apply for protection in a transit country, despite Congress’s clear intent that such a factor should only limit access to asylum where the transit country actually presents a safe option.”

  In recent months, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented a series of measures that attempt to stem the flow of illegal immigration and better manage the influx of illegal aliens along the U.S.–Mexico border. It came after the Trump-era Title 42 pandemic rule that was used to expel people from the country expired earlier this year.

  But Judge Tigar concluded that the new programs that provide illegal aliens an avenue to apply for asylum in the United States are specific to certain nationalities. He added that the rules aren’t meaningful for all people who seek asylum.

  “The Rule therefore assumes that these exceptions will, at the very least, present meaningful options to noncitizens subject to the Rule. Parole programs are not meaningfully available to many noncitizens subject to the Rule,” he wrote.

  “Though other parole programs exist, the Rule generally relies on the parole programs for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, Venezuelan, and Ukrainian nationals. These programs are country-specific and ‘are not universally available, even to the covered populations.’”

  Lawyers for the Department of Justice argued that the administration’s policy is different than a Trump administration version, with a lawyer for the DOJ arguing last week that the new policy includes legal pathways for people seeking asylum protection.

  The Biden administration added that the asylum rule was a key part of its strategy to strike a balance between strict border enforcement and ensuring several avenues for migrants to pursue valid asylum claims. The rule was a response to political and economic instability fueling an exodus of migrants from countries, including Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela.

  The Rule Is ‘Arbitrary and Capricious’

  The judge wrote the government violated the Administrative Procedures Act, which sets guidelines on how agencies implement rules when it rolled out the latest asylum rule.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 17:40

• China, Russia Hold Series Of Large Joint Naval & Air Drills Flexing Muscle In Pacific
  China, Russia Hold Series Of Large Joint Naval & Air Drills Flexing Muscle In Pacific

  China and Russia are continuing to display to the world their deepening military cooperation with a series of joint military drills in regional waters, spanning different phases and multiple weeks.

  Last week they held their four-day Northern/Interaction-2023 joint exercises in the Sea of Japan. It went through Sunday and was deemed a ‘success’, but are now quickly pivoting to their third joint naval patrol drills in a row set for this week, this time in western and northern parts of the Pacific Ocean.

  

  “The drills met the expected goals of deepening mutual trust, enhancing friendship and boosting capabilities,” the PLA Navy said of the Sea of Japan portion of the exercises. 

  “The exercises marked a major China-Russia joint combat operation in safeguarding the security of strategic maritime routes, as well as an important move in implementing the two militaries’ sea-air integrated joint capabilities,” said PLA Navy Rear Admiral Qiu Wensheng, as quoted in state media. 

  Those exercises in particular emphasized anti-sea mine, anti-aircraft, anti-ship and anti-submarine operations in order to safeguard maritime routes. State media claimed the drills weren’t aimed at any outside power, FT has noted.

  The increasingly close allies have ramped up their military cooperation and joint drills amid Washington’s pressure campaign related to the Ukraine war. At multiple points early in the conflict, Washington went so far as to accuse Beijing of secretly supplying Russia’s military for Ukraine operations, but US officials have since backed off pressing the allegations too far. 

  State-run Global Times has summarized growing military cooperation of the past few years as follows:

  China and Russia have had two joint naval patrols. One came after the Joint Sea-2021 naval drills in 2021, which saw Chinese and Russian navies form a joint flotilla and sail across the Sea of Japan, the West Pacific and the East China Sea in seven days in their first joint naval patrol, marking a circumnavigation around Japan. The other came after the Russia-led Vostok-2022 strategic drills in 2022, also in the Pacific Ocean.

  The two countries also regularly hold joint aerial strategic patrols. The sixth patrol was held in June this year.

  📹 Enjoy!
  MoD RF: ” The joint Russian-Chinese drill “Northern/Interaction-2023” has been completed in the Sea of Japan. After the end of the exercise, Russian and Chinese ships set course for Vladivostok.. “https://t.co/LGbmo3wqnv
  📹 ‘Zvezda’ pic.twitter.com/nS7Zek6V33

  — Massimo Frantarelli (@MrFrantarelli) July 23, 2023

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

  Likely driving their strategic rationale for greater cooperation is not only the increased US naval presence connected with supporting Taiwan, but Japan’s closer relations to NATO. China has also resisted US-EU pressure to take a firm line condemning the invasion of Ukraine.

  President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Russia to meet with his counterpart Vladimir Putin in October, the Kremlin announced this week after the formal invitation was sent out.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 17:20

• Get Woke, Go Broke?
  Get Woke, Go Broke?

  Authored by James E. Hartley via RealClear Wire,

  

  The following is a condensed version of “Get Woke, Go Broke?” by James E. Hartley, published at Law & Liberty. 

  “Woke Capitalism is a growing and troubling dimension of contemporary economic and political life, especially among the mammoth multinational corporations that dominate so many aspects of our lives.” Such laments have become omnipresent in conservative circles. What is surprising is that the quotation is from a very proud progressive. Carl Rhodes in Woke Capitalism: How Corporate Morality is Sabotaging Democracy is greatly disturbed by the “naive, if not gullible” liberals who celebrate woke corporations.

  On the criterion of rhetorical ferocity directed at corporations adopting progressive political causes, Rhodes yields nothing to the conservative critics he so clearly despises. But, before celebrating this unification of the Left and the Right, we should note a fundamental difference. In the phrase “Woke Capitalism,” which word is problematic?

  For conservatives the problem is “Woke.” As Milton Friedman famously argued, it is the manager’s job to maximize the returns to the owners of a firm. The problem with Woke Capitalism is CEOs who have decided to pursue other goals, regardless of or even to the detriment of the company’s profitability.

  Rhodes, on the other hand, believes the problem is “Capitalism.” The problem is not that corporations are voicing agreement with causes Rhodes embraces. The real problem is that corporations have not yet committed themselves to a suicide pact.

  The book raises a rather provocative question for conservatives. When you draw the battle lines over the desirability of progressive political causes, then it is quite natural for conservatives to see corporate leaders as becoming shills for the other side. Rhodes, however, thinks that battle line is misdrawn. He argues the divide is over the desirability of profit maximizing businesses. As Rhodes sees it, Woke Capitalism is a problem because it deceives people into thinking corporate leaders are focused on something other than profits.

  Here is the troubling question: what if Rhodes is right about the real goal of Woke Capitalists? Using Friedman’s formulation, the responsibility of business leaders is to make profits. To make profits, it is necessary to persuade people to buy your product. Suppose for a moment that embracing progressive causes results in higher profits for a company. Suppose the customer base for a company likes progressive causes and is more inclined to buy products from companies which share their values. If that is true, then what should a firm do if it wants to follow Friedman’s mandate that the sole responsibility of the business is to make profits?

  Before thinking about the implications of that question, we should first examine the presupposition. In popular cadence, if a firm gets woke, does it really go broke? Both opponents and proponents of corporations adopting progressive causes will happily provide you with lots of anecdotal evidence. Nike’s sales rose after the Kaepernick ad; Bud Light’s sales fell after the Mulvaney promotion. Finding anecdotes that confirm initial biases is easy; finding dispassionate studies which are persuasive to people who disagree is impossible.

  But, set aside the question about whether wokeness is or is not profitable; that is not actually the right question. Imagine that a CEO believes that a woke advertising campaign will be profitable. After all, advertising is not an exact science; if it was, there would never be failed ad campaigns. If a business leader believes it will be good for profits to embrace wokeness, then what should the business leader do? It seems a bit odd for people to argue that businesses should focus on profits, but that a business should not adopt progressive causes when the managers believe it will be profitable to do so.

  Thought about in this way, a curious conclusion arises. If you are convinced that a firm that gets woke will go broke, then what is the problem with Woke Capitalism? Won’t the firms adopting progressive positions die out? The real problem for conservatives occurs if wokeness is profitable. The real problem is if Woke Capitalism is just a cynical form of profit-maximizing behavior. If it is profitable, then shouldn’t Woke Capitalism be encouraged?

  Thinking about the implications of these questions makes it obvious that the debate over Woke Corporations is just a proxy war for the debate over the best set of cultural norms. In a society which is deeply divided on this question, is it any surprise that businesses have realized that joining the Culture War in selective ways may be a means of attracting new sales? Such a strategy might fail, but it also might work. In a free market, every business decision comes with risk; if you want to avoid risk altogether, stay out of the marketplace. If you want to win the Culture War, though, instead of complaining about firms trying to maximize profits, it would be better to focus on the moral–cultural institutions.

  James Hartley is Professor of Economics at Mount Holyoke College.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/26/2023 – 17:00