• Mental Health Round-Ups: The Next Phase Of The Government's War On Thought-Crimes
  Mental Health Round-Ups: The Next Phase Of The Government’s War On Thought-Crimes

  Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

  “There are no dangerous thoughts; thinking itself is a dangerous activity.”

  – Hannah Arendt

  Get ready for the next phase of the government’s war on thought crimes: mental health round-ups and involuntary detentions.

  

  Under the guise of public health and safety, the government could use mental health care as a pretext for targeting and locking up dissidents, activists and anyone unfortunate enough to be placed on a government watch list.

  If we don’t nip this in the bud, and soon, this will become yet another pretext by which government officials can violate the First and Fourth Amendments at will.

  This is how it begins.

  In communities across the nation, police are being empowered to forcibly detain individuals they believe might be mentally ill, based solely on their own judgment, even if those individuals pose no danger to others.

  In New York City, for example, you could find yourself forcibly hospitalized for suspected mental illness if you carry “firmly held beliefs not congruent with cultural ideas,” exhibit a “willingness to engage in meaningful discussion,” have “excessive fears of specific stimuli,” or refuse “voluntary treatment recommendations.”

  While these programs are ostensibly aimed at getting the homeless off the streets, when combined with advances in mass surveillance technologies, artificial intelligence-powered programs that can track people by their biometrics and behavior, mental health sensor data (tracked by wearable data and monitored by government agencies such as HARPA), threat assessments, behavioral sensing warnings, precrime initiatives, red flag gun laws, and mental health first-aid programs aimed at training gatekeepers to identify who might pose a threat to public safety, they could well signal a tipping point in the government’s efforts to penalize those engaging in so-called “thought crimes.”

  As the AP reports, federal officials are already looking into how to add “‘identifiable patient data,’ such as mental health, substance use and behavioral health information from group homes, shelters, jails, detox facilities and schools,” to its surveillance toolkit.

  Make no mistake: these are the building blocks for an American gulag no less sinister than that of the gulags of the Cold War-era Soviet Union.

  The word “gulag” refers to a labor or concentration camp where prisoners (oftentimes political prisoners or so-called “enemies of the state,” real or imagined) were imprisoned as punishment for their crimes against the state.

  The gulag, according to historian Anne Applebaum, used as a form of “administrative exile—which required no trial and no sentencing procedure—was an ideal punishment not only for troublemakers as such, but also for political opponents of the regime.”

  Totalitarian regimes such as the Soviet Union also declared dissidents mentally ill and consigned political prisoners to prisons disguised as psychiatric hospitals, where they could be isolated from the rest of society, their ideas discredited, and subjected to electric shocks, drugs and various medical procedures to break them physically and mentally.

  In addition to declaring political dissidents mentally unsound, government officials in the Cold War-era Soviet Union also made use of an administrative process for dealing with individuals who were considered a bad influence on others or troublemakers. Author George Kennan describes a process in which:

  The obnoxious person may not be guilty of any crime . . . but if, in the opinion of the local authorities, his presence in a particular place is “prejudicial to public order” or “incompatible with public tranquility,” he may be arrested without warrant, may be held from two weeks to two years in prison, and may then be removed by force to any other place within the limits of the empire and there be put under police surveillance for a period of from one to ten years.

  Warrantless seizures, surveillance, indefinite detention, isolation, exile… sound familiar?

  It should.

  The age-old practice by which despotic regimes eliminate their critics or potential adversaries by making them disappear—or forcing them to flee—or exiling them literally or figuratively or virtually from their fellow citizens—is happening with increasing frequency in America.

  Now, through the use of red flag laws, behavioral threat assessments, and pre-crime policing prevention programs, the groundwork is being laid that would allow the government to weaponize the label of mental illness as a means of exiling those whistleblowers, dissidents and freedom fighters who refuse to march in lockstep with its dictates.

  That the government is using the charge of mental illness as the means by which to immobilize (and disarm) its critics is diabolical. With one stroke of a magistrate’s pen, these individuals are declared mentally ill, locked away against their will, and stripped of their constitutional rights.

  These developments are merely the realization of various U.S. government initiatives dating back to 2009, including one dubbed Operation Vigilant Eagle which calls for surveillance of military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, characterizing them as extremists and potential domestic terrorist threats because they may be “disgruntled, disillusioned or suffering from the psychological effects of war.”

  Coupled with the report on “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment” issued by the Department of Homeland Security (curiously enough, a Soviet term), which broadly defines rightwing extremists as individuals and groups “that are mainly antigovernment, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely,” these tactics bode ill for anyone seen as opposing the government.

  Thus, what began as a blueprint under the Bush administration has since become an operation manual for exiling those who challenge the government’s authority.

  An important point to consider, however, is that the government is not merely targeting individuals who are voicing their discontent so much as it is locking up individuals trained in military warfare who are voicing feelings of discontent.

  Under the guise of mental health treatment and with the complicity of government psychiatrists and law enforcement officials, these veterans are increasingly being portrayed as ticking time bombs in need of intervention.

  For instance, the Justice Department launched a pilot program aimed at training SWAT teams to deal with confrontations involving highly trained and often heavily armed combat veterans.

  One tactic being used to deal with so-called “mentally ill suspects who also happen to be trained in modern warfare” is through the use of civil commitment laws, found in all states and employed throughout American history to not only silence but cause dissidents to disappear.

  For example, NSA officials attempted to label former employee Russ Tice, who was willing to testify in Congress about the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program, as “mentally unbalanced” based upon two psychiatric evaluations ordered by his superiors.

  NYPD Officer Adrian Schoolcraft had his home raided, and he was handcuffed to a gurney and taken into emergency custody for an alleged psychiatric episode. It was later discovered by way of an internal investigation that his superiors were retaliating against him for reporting police misconduct. Schoolcraft spent six days in the mental facility, and as a further indignity, was presented with a bill for $7,185 upon his release.

  Marine Brandon Raub—a 9/11 truther—was arrested and detained in a psychiatric ward under Virginia’s civil commitment law based on posts he had made on his Facebook page that were critical of the government.

  Each state has its own set of civil, or involuntary, commitment laws. These laws are extensions of two legal principles: parens patriae Parens patriae (Latin for “parent of the country”), which allows the government to intervene on behalf of citizens who cannot act in their own best interest, and police power, which requires a state to protect the interests of its citizens.

  The fusion of these two principles, coupled with a shift towards a dangerousness standard, has resulted in a Nanny State mindset carried out with the militant force of the Police State.

  The problem, of course, is that the diagnosis of mental illness, while a legitimate concern for some Americans, has over time become a convenient means by which the government and its corporate partners can penalize certain “unacceptable” social behaviors.

  In fact, in recent years, we have witnessed the pathologizing of individuals who resist authority as suffering from oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), defined as “a pattern of disobedient, hostile, and defiant behavior toward authority figures.” Under such a definition, every activist of note throughout our history—from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr.—could be classified as suffering from an ODD mental disorder.

  Of course, this is all part of a larger trend in American governance whereby dissent is criminalized and pathologized, and dissenters are censored, silenced, declared unfit for society, labelled dangerous or extremist, or turned into outcasts and exiled.

  Red flag gun laws (which authorize government officials to seize guns from individuals viewed as a danger to themselves or others), are a perfect example of this mindset at work and the ramifications of where this could lead.

  As The Washington Post reports, these red flag gun laws “allow a family member, roommate, beau, law enforcement officer or any type of medical professional to file a petition [with a court] asking that a person’s home be temporarily cleared of firearms. It doesn’t require a mental-health diagnosis or an arrest.”

  With these red flag gun laws, the stated intention is to disarm individuals who are potential threats.

  While in theory it appears perfectly reasonable to want to disarm individuals who are clearly suicidal and/or pose an “immediate danger” to themselves or others, where the problem arises is when you put the power to determine who is a potential danger in the hands of government agencies, the courts and the police.

  Remember, this is the same government that uses the words “anti-government,” “extremist” and “terrorist” interchangeably.

  This is the same government whose agents are spinning a sticky spider-web of threat assessments, behavioral sensing warnings, flagged “words,” and “suspicious” activity reports using automated eyes and ears, social media, behavior sensing software, and citizen spies to identify potential threats.

  This is the same government that keeps re-upping the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which allows the military to detain American citizens with no access to friends, family or the courts if the government believes them to be a threat.

  This is the same government that has a growing list—shared with fusion centers and law enforcement agencies—of ideologies, behaviors, affiliations and other characteristics that could flag someone as suspicious and result in their being labeled potential enemies of the state.

  For instance, if you believe in and exercise your rights under the Constitution (namely, your right to speak freely, worship freely, associate with like-minded individuals who share your political views, criticize the government, own a weapon, demand a warrant before being questioned or searched, or any other activity viewed as potentially anti-government, racist, bigoted, anarchic or sovereign), you could be at the top of the government’s terrorism watch list.

  Moreover, as a New York Times editorial warns, you may be an anti-government extremist (a.k.a. domestic terrorist) in the eyes of the police if you are afraid that the government is plotting to confiscate your firearms, if you believe the economy is about to collapse and the government will soon declare martial law, or if you display an unusual number of political and/or ideological bumper stickers on your car.

  Let that sink in a moment.

  Now consider the ramifications of giving police that kind of authority in order to preemptively neutralize a potential threat, and you’ll understand why some might view these mental health round-ups with trepidation.

  No matter how well-meaning the politicians make these encroachments on our rights appear, in the right (or wrong) hands, benevolent plans can easily be put to malevolent purposes.

  Even the most well-intentioned government law or program can be—and has been—perverted, corrupted and used to advance illegitimate purposes once profit and power are added to the equation.

  The war on terror, the war on drugs, the war on illegal immigration, the war on COVID-19: all of these programs started out as legitimate responses to pressing concerns and have since become weapons of compliance and control in the government’s hands. For instance, the very same mass surveillance technologies that were supposedly so necessary to fight the spread of COVID-19 are now being used to stifle dissent, persecute activists, harass marginalized communities, and link people’s health information to other surveillance and law enforcement tools.

  As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, we are moving fast down that slippery slope to an authoritarian society in which the only opinions, ideas and speech expressed are the ones permitted by the government and its corporate cohorts.

  We stand at a crossroads.

  As author Erich Fromm warned, “At this point in history, the capacity to doubt, to criticize and to disobey may be all that stands between a future for mankind and the end of civilization.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 23:40

• Does "Made In America" Still Matter To Consumers?
  Does “Made In America” Still Matter To Consumers?

  Do American citizens care where their products come from? Well, it depends on who you ask.

  

  Over the past few decades, the importance of “Made in America” – labels on products indicating production was done in the U.S. – has ebbed and flowed.

  As China has grown into the United States’ economic rival and geopolitical adversary, the distinction between American-made and Chinese-made has resurfaced, even as some products have been mislabeled or locally produced but Chinese-owned.

  How do people currently feel? This chart, via Visual Capitalist’s Avery Koop, uses survey responses from May 2023 out of Morning Consult, in which a representative sample of 1,000 U.S. adults were questioned on whether they had favorable views of products from U.S. companies using American or Chinese labor and parts.

  

  Who Prefers American-Made?

  According to the report, companies that choose to move production state-side will experience reputational gains with American consumers.

  In fact, around two-thirds of survey respondents said they regularly sought out products that were “Made in America” during the last year. But there were slight divides in gender (men favored American-made products more) and noticeable divides in generational responses.

  Here’s a look at the data on how different demographic groups valued national goods:

  

  Overall, thee older generations like baby boomers tend to be more patriotic in their purchasing opinions, with Gen Z being the least concerned with Chinese products.

  On the political spectrum, both Democrats and Republicans had the exact same share of respondents who favor American-made products at 76%. Comparatively, only 57% of independents favored American-made products, though they also responded least favorably to Chinese-made products at 22%.

  One other interesting point to come out of the survey: close to 50% of consumers said they would actually be willing to pay more for American-made products.

  The American Goods Market

  Looking at responses from U.S. adults overall, large shares of consumers are leaning towards domestic-made goods. Here are some additional insights worth considering:

  • 65% of U.S. adult consumers claimed to sometimes or always buy “Made in America” products intentionally

  • 43% prioritize purchasing American-made products rather than prioritizing other options like quality, sustainability, or affordability

  • 48% are willing to pay higher amounts for U.S.-based products. 39% responded they would pay between 6%-10% more for said products

  Overall, it appears that “in-house” goods are more desirable to Americans in the current environment. This also explains why regionalization is becoming more important for companies, whether in terms of reshoring (or onshoring) production back to America, or “nearshoring” to Mexico and closer neighbors.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 23:20

• The Navy And Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
  The Navy And Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

  Authored by Brett Ramsey via RealClearDefense.com,

  The Navy is all in for DEI.

  At the Navy website if one clicks on “who we are,” one of the first things that shows up is “diversity and equity.”  

  It must be important to show up so prominently.

  The Navy Diversity and Equity website page says: “I AM A SAILOR. WE ARE A TEAM. THIS IS OUR NAVY.” 

  “When Sailors feel included, respected and empowered, they will be more ready to win wars, deter aggression and maintain freedom of the seas.”

  – ADM Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations.

  The Navy offers no evidence to support the CNO’s statement. It is not clear how the statement actually relates to diversity or equity.

  It does mention feeling “included” a form of “inclusion” but in a vague sort of way. In my 34 years in uniform, I don’t recall at any time being asked my feelings.

  Must be a new thing.

  I doubt the People’s Republic of China military leaders ask how their people are feeling?

  The Navy I served in stressed toughness, stamina, perseverance, physical fitness, strength, courage, honor, and commitment. 

  My feelings were secondary and that was well understood by me and my shipmates. I have been literally eyeball to eyeball with the Soviets in the North Atlantic tracking a Yankee class submarine.  Rest assured that former enemy had our full attention and our crew devoted no time to feelings. I have no doubt our current adversaries are just as potentially dangerous to our way of life as was the former Soviet Union.

  The Navy ought to focus on our real threats instead of touchy-feelie nonsense like sailors’ feelings.

  The Navy is a combat force whose job it is to break things and kill people when and where called upon to do so. Those whose personality or psyche demand constant attention to “feelings” probably ought to find something else to do.

  

  Let’s look at diversity

  How diverse should the Navy be? It doesn’t say. The fact is, the Navy is already about as diverse as any institution anywhere. The 2021 DOD report on demographics for Navy shows:

  

  Improved Race, Ethnicity Measures Show U.S. is More Multiracial (census.gov)

  DOD’s 2021 demographics shows the Navy has 114,100 enlisted personnel and 13,361 officers that identify as a minority. The Navy is already diverse. 37% of the Navy is from a measured racial demographic group leaving 63% that identify as white which matches the percent reported nationally in the 2020 Census. That is more diversity than the national average. An anomaly hidden from view is the Hispanic segment of the military. You will note that there is no category for Hispanic in the table above. Actually, 17.7% of the active DOD force is Hispanic but you would never know that from the figures above because it is not reported. The US census does not count Hispanics as a minority. Instead, they are considered a different ethnic group. According to Pew Research Center data published in 2021, 58% of

  Hispanics consider themselves to be white with the remainder identifying as some other color.  This unique accounting obfuscates the fact that the US military is even more diverse than appears to the naked eye when viewing DOD’s reports of racial groups. In fact, over 350,000 Hispanics serve in the military and add considerably to the diversity of the total force.

  Other than a slight underrepresentation of black officers, the Navy is at or exceeds the national demographic of racial diversity. This begs the question, what is all the fuss about diversity? The Navy is diverse! There is no need to become even more diverse than the Navy already is. Millions of dollars and precious time are being devoted to a problem that is outside of the Navy’s ability to control. Nay, you say…. what about the shortfall in black officers? What about it? The Navy is devoting a lot of time and effort into trying to recruit blacks to join the Navy to become officers, but the gap remains. One must ask the question, “Why?”  It is not because of discrimination because there are already thousands of black officers so there is obviously no barrier to blacks becoming officers. What is lacking is blacks who want to become naval officers. No amount of incentives or handwringing over a slight under-representation of blacks in the naval officer ranks is going to change a situation that obviously has other causes. Even the small shortfall is actually not the Navy’s fault as is brilliantly and eloquently analyzed and explained in detail by CDR Phil Keuhlen in Task Force One Navy Final Report:  “The Emperor’s New Clothes” Redux.  According to government graduation data there are more than 200,000 black college graduates each year. The problem is that very few of these qualified people have an interest in serving in the Navy. We ought to be curious about why. It is not because of discrimination as DOD’s own internal reports document that fewer than 2% of the 3.4 million that serve in DOD consider racism to be a problem.

  Let’s look at equity

  The Navy DEI webpage goes on to say “Putting on a uniform doesn’t mean sacrificing who you are. America’s Navy values diversity, equality, and inclusivity — striving to build a community of service members who accurately reflect the rich makeup of our country. Our belief is that with hard work and determination, anyone, from anywhere, has the power to be successful in the Navy.”  The Navy uses the word “equity” earlier twice and then in the next paragraph, the word “equality” is used. Which is it? These two things are not the same. Equity means equal outcomes regardless of merit. Equity is a term associated with social justice advocates who want equal outcomes for everyone regardless of merit. Is the Navy really advocating equal outcomes? How does that even work in a military organization with rigid technical requirements that dictate practices for safety reasons and for warfighting effectiveness? Military organizations are rigid, structured top-down organizations whose fixed chains of commands and methods demand uniformity, strict discipline, and consistency in order to function with any kind of efficiency. Adopting equity in a military chain of command is deadly and dangerous and will get people killed. Equality is equal opportunity based on merit, which is and has been the law of the land for a long time. Equality should be the Navy’s mantra, not equity. The Navy’s use of both terms may confuse those who visit their website? Is the Navy using both terms to conflate the two words into meaning the same thing in order to stimulate interest in the Navy?

  Let’s look at inclusion

  What does that even mean? In one section “putting on a uniform” is the first thing said. The word “uniform” is telling! It absolutely proves the Navy strives for uniformity…that’s why you wear a uniform. Everything top to bottom in the Navy is about uniformity. Ships and aircraft are built to uniform specifications. The way things are done is based on time-tested uniform best practices. Individuality is not allowed because that leads to bad outcomes and people dying. Putting on the uniform is absolutely about giving up your individuality while that uniform is on. You absolutely must sacrifice who you are to join the Navy most of the time. On duty you must conform to the Navy’s uniform standards for dress, behavior, operational excellence and a thousand other things. When you are off duty, then you have time to be yourself. While on duty, you belong to the Navy, you are included by wearing a common uniform, the same one at the same time as everyone else does. When you get up in the morning, you look at the Plan of the Day and it tells you what the uniform of the day is. How inclusive is that? We are all exactly on the same page and the uniform reminds you every day that you are part of something bigger, something important. What does the use of the word “inclusion” imply? Are there some fields in the Navy that only white people have? Of course not. The Navy’s use of the word is purely political, and politics should have no place in the Navy. It is used to show that the Navy has gotten with the program and is using the same language as the larger society and as desired or even dictated by the political left. But, how does that make for a better Navy….using politically charged terminology? It doesn’t! It has no place in the Navy and only serves to introduce doubt and dissension and make the Navy a less effective force. A cursory search reveals the popular origin of the use of the word in today’s parlance. Where you find the term used is in colleges and universities where the political philosophies of the left are preached, including in Critical Theory, Critical Legal Theory, and Critical Race Theory.

  “We are about to lose a major war”

  — Rani, Last of The Red Hot Boomers (@ShadesOfRani) July 21, 2023

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  Conclusion

  There is no place in the Navy for the politics of DEI.

  The Navy is already diverse. The data is not in doubt.

  Equity has no place in the Navy. The Navy’s moral and practical foundation is a merit- based organization focused on being able to fight and win the nation’s wars at sea and projecting power ashore. Equity undermines merit. Dilution of merit in favor of equity will get people killed. Anyone telling you anything different is mistaken and should be ignored.

  Inclusion is a phantom and is word play from the political left. When you join the Navy, you are included by the very uniform you wear which is the same for everyone. The UCMJ guides your conduct and demands fair and equal treatment of all. The oath you swear to uphold has as its foundation the Constitution. Equal protection is guaranteed in the 14th Amendment and has been upheld by the Supreme Court many times including recently in the Harvard and UNC cases on college admissions. Nothing more is required.

  DEI adds nothing of value to our Navy. If just wastes resources and causes division within the ranks.

  *  *  *

  Brent Ramsey is a retired Navy CAPT. He was a military advisor to Congressman Mark Meadows 2016-2020. He is the author of dozens of published articles on national defense.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 23:00

• Twitter Roasts ATF For Posting Image Of Agent Loading Nazi Gun Pointed At Testicles 
  Twitter Roasts ATF For Posting Image Of Agent Loading Nazi Gun Pointed At Testicles 

  Twitter users are roasting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) for an image tweeted by the Houston field office this week of an agent improperly following the basic rules of firearms safety: Always treat every firearm as if it is loaded and always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction. 

  The ATF agent appears to be at an indoor range in Austin. The agent is on the wrong side of a loading table while he loads a magazine for a Nazi MP 40 submachine gun. You will notice that the sub-gun is pointed at the agent’s testicles. 

  

  Here’s the tweet:

  The ATF Austin Office out on the range today with special guests from our local U.S. Attorneys’ Offices. pic.twitter.com/568GrEEHLG

  — ATF Houston (@ATFHou) July 19, 2023

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  The core firearm safety rules at any gun range are: 

  • Always treat every firearm as if it is loaded. 

  • Always keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction. 

  • Always keep your finger straight and off the trigger until you are ready to fire. 

  • Always keep your firearm on safe until you intend to fire.

  This could be interpreted as visual evidence that some ATF agents under Biden’s administration have no idea about basic firearm safety. Notably, even the agent responsible for social media, who took the photograph, failed to recognize the lapse in gun safety. 

  Twitter users mocked the photo, as some said, “Photographic proof the ATF shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near firearms.” 

  “I’m no highfalutin ATF bureaucrat, but I did receive training many years ago that you NEVER stand in front of the muzzle of any firearm, not even one that you are “certain” is unloaded,” someone else said. 

  Gun blog Truth About Gun said, “Standing in front of the loading table with firearms pointed at your junk is Gun Safety 101 for the distinguished agents of @ATFHQ and @ATFHou in particular. But if an FFL makes even a single typo, he gets his ticket pulled. Your tax dollars at work.” 

  “Reminder ATF is in charge of “policing” things pertaining to firearms. ATF agents don’t even follow one of the most important rules of firearm safety, Treat Every Gun As If It Is Loaded. That includes ones sitting on tables, like the one pointed at that idiot’s dick,” another person explained. 

  Here’s what the Federal Affairs Director of Gun Owners of America had to say about this: 

  The fact that the Houston branch of the ATF not only took, but posted, a photo of an alleged agent blatantly ignoring—or not knowing—basic firearm safety is a reflection of the agency’s ineptness. While ATF may be tasked with enforcing federal gun control, their staff obviously have no understanding or respect for even the basic rules of firearm safety. Gun owners have always known the anti-gun movement knows nothing about the firearms they want to ban—but to post it on Twitter is a new level of stupidity.

  Whenever I go shooting, I too load my magazines while standing down range & with my OPEN BOLT machine guns pointed straight at me. https://t.co/c7ACSpoUqG

  — Aidan Johnston (@RealGunLobbyist) July 20, 2023

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  Not the best look for Biden’s ATF. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 22:40

• Illegal Immigrant Children With Tuberculosis Released Across US
  Illegal Immigrant Children With Tuberculosis Released Across US

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

  Thousands of young illegal immigrants with tuberculosis were released from U.S. government custody across one year, officials have revealed in a new report.

  

  The illegal immigrants, all under 18 years of age, were released to family members or other responsible adults despite having latent tuberculosis infection, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a recent disclosure.

  The dates of each release were not clear. HHS officials notified state officials from June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023, of the tuberculosis-positive youth over a web-based system operated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Aurora Miranda-Maese, an HHS official, told a court in the report.

  The CDC, which is part of HHS, declined to comment. HHS did not respond to requests for comment.

  The Washington Times first reported on the report, which runs 35 pages and covers other aspects of managing illegal immigrant youth who are transferred to HHS by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after crossing the border.

  Ms. Miranda-Maese said that each minor must undergo a medical examination within two business days of entering HHS custody. The examination helps officials assess the minors’ health, enables them to administer vaccines, and allows them to detect communicable diseases such as tuberculosis.

  A person with latent tuberculosis infection, or an infection without symptoms, requires three to nine months of treatment to prevent potential progression to active disease, according to HHS officials. Without treatment, 5 to 10 percent of infected people will develop active tuberculosis, or tubercolosis disease, according to the CDC.

  The CDC says that people with the disease are infectious, can transmit the disease to others, and can die if not treated. If tuberculosis becomes active, that is “a threat to both the individual’s and the public’s health,” according to Ms. Miranda-Maese.

  Minors do not typically receive treatment while in HHS custody because most are released before one month elapses, she said, opening up the possibility of problems such as the development of drug-resistant tuberculosis if treatment is initiated and discontinued before completion.

  To that end, HHS developed in 2018 a system that notifies state officials of illegal immigrant minors who have been sent to live in their states.

  Officials in 44 states received more than 2,450 alerts of illegal immigrant minors with tuberculosis in the year ending May 31, 2023, according to HHS.

  Over that same time, 126,069 minors were released by HHS.

  States

  Some states confirmed that they’ve been told of minors with active tuberculosis, in addition to latent cases.

  “The department, in conjunction with local health departments, coordinates care and appropriate follow-up for anyone with active tuberculosis reported through this mechanism,” a spokeswoman for the New York State Department of Health told The Epoch Times via email.

  And some minors, by the time states are alerted to cases, have already moved elsewhere.

  “Some individuals relocate prior to case interviews,” a spokeswoman for the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources told The Epoch Times in an email.

  Even if they haven’t, minors can choose not to undergo offered treatment, according to the spokeswoman for the Indiana Department of Public Health.

  Critics said President Joe Biden was to blame for the situation.

  “Biden’s broken border policies continue to welcome millions of lawbreakers into our country, including countless thousands with infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) told The Epoch Times via email. “Rather than protecting Americans, the Biden regime is quite literally bringing disease and death to our doorstep.”

  Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said that the releases of children with tuberculosis and other communicable diseases “is another example of the administration prioritizing the quick release of migrants over all other considerations, including public health, public safety, and national security.”

  Placement With Sponsors

  HHS deals with unaccompanied minors or children who arrive at the border without a responsible adult.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 22:20

• Forget Bears… Now Coked-Out Sharks Might Lurk Off Florida Coast
  Forget Bears… Now Coked-Out Sharks Might Lurk Off Florida Coast

  After Americans learned about the 1985 incident of a black bear that went on a coke-fueled, carnivorous blood fest in the comedic horror film “Cocaine Bear” earlier this year, it was only a matter of time before entertainment companies produced content about the possibility of cocaine-fueled sharks off Florida’s coast. 

  Tom “The Blowfish” Hird and the University of Florida environmental scientist Tracy Fanara conducted a series of tests to see whether sharks off Florida’s coast may have ingested bales of cocaine ditched by drug smugglers en route to the US, according to Live Science.

  

  “The deeper story here is the way that chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and illicit drugs are entering our waterways — entering our oceans — and what effect that they then could go on to have on these delicate ocean ecosystems,” Hird said. 

  A recent United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime report showed a spike in global cocaine demand and supply. Major South and Central America to US routes are through the Caribbean Sea. There have been many reports over the decades of drug smugglers ditching bales of cocaine or sinking vessels due to hitting reefs. And it’s not unreasonable to believe marine life has ingested this drug. 

  In one experiment, Hird and Fanara created packages similar in size and appearance to real cocaine bales. They observed sharks heading straight for the bales and taking bites from them.

  To investigate further, Hird and Fanara design three experiments to see how sharks react to bales of “cocaine” dropped in the water. They create packages similar in size and appearance to real cocaine bales. In the first, they set these pseudo-bales next to dummy swans to see what the sharks go to. To their surprise, the sharks head straight for the bales, taking bites from them. One shark even grabs a bale and swims off with it. 

  Next, they make a bait ball of highly concentrated fish powder, which would trigger a dopamine rush as close to a hit of cocaine as the team could feasibly (and ethically) do. The sharks are seen going wild. “I think we have got a potential scenario of what it may look like if you gave sharks cocaine,” Hird said in the film. “We gave them what I think is the next best thing. [It] set [their] brains aflame. It was crazy.”

  Finally, the team drop their fake cocaine bales from an airplane to simulate a real-life drug drop — and multiple shark species, including tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier), move in. 

  Hird said that what they uncovered doesn’t necessarily show that sharks in Florida are consuming cocaine. A multitude of factors could explain the behavior observed during filming, and these experiments would need to be repeated over and over to draw full conclusions. 

  “We have no idea what [cocaine] could do to the shark,” Hird told Live Science, adding that of the limited research that’s been done, different fish appear to react in different ways to the same chemical. “So we can’t even say well this is a baseline and go from here,” he said. –Live Science

  In a separate topic, Hird said it’s not just cocaine but pharmaceutical drugs that are getting into the waterways and affecting marine life. 

  “The other thing we might find is actually this long flow, [this] drip of pharmaceuticals: caffeine, lidocaine, cocaine, amphetamine, antidepressants, birth control — this long slow drift of them from cities into the [ocean] is… starting to hit these animals,” Hird said.

  Bears… Sharks… What’s the next animal? 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 22:00

• Artificial Intelligence: The New Scapegoat
  Artificial Intelligence: The New Scapegoat

  Authored by Robert Aro via The Mises Institute,

  Earlier this week, CNBC expressed concerns regarding artificial intelligence:

  Fed banking regulator warns A.I. could lead to illegal lending practices like excluding minorities

  The 21st century is fast approaching the quarter mark. With the emergence of accessible, increasingly popular A.I. tools, it wouldn’t be the worst wager that the growth, development, and eventual ubiquitousness of A.I. is all but inevitable. It will be fascinating to witness how A.I. affects change in various industries, especially the financial sector and Hollywood.

  

  CNBC’s warning came from a speech given the same day by Vice chair for Supervision at the Fed, Michael S. Barr, titled Furthering the Vision of the Fair Housing Act:

  The digital economy has produced alternative data sources, some of which can provide a window into the creditworthiness of an individual who does not have a standard credit history.

  So far so good. With a relatively low cost, machine learning may find new ways to assist those struggling to find credit. However, he goes on to say:

  While these technologies have enormous potential, they also carry risks of violating fair lending laws and perpetuating the very disparities that they have the potential to address.

  Bad input leading to poor outputs is of concern. Worst yet, fundamental problems can exist in the system itself:

  Use of machine learning or other artificial intelligence may perpetuate or even amplify bias or inaccuracies inherent in the data used to train the system or make incorrect predictions if that data set is incomplete or nonrepresentative.

  He provided an example:

  For instance, digital redlining in marketing—the use of criteria to exclude majority-minority communities or minority applications—is one risk…

  That is certainly possible.

  One would expect that in a credit report, past and current employment and financial history would factor into one’s assessment, not one’s race.

  Ultimately, the use of A.I. should be embraced for its potential to save both time and money.

  While it may be employed to assist loan officers in credit applications, it could lead to redlining practices. Defining these practices and proving their occurrence could prove a costly challenge to federal regulators who likely don’t understand the technology themselves. We’re not yet at the stage where a nefarious A.I. can take blame for our problems. Should that day ever come we’ll have much larger issues at hand! 

  Nonetheless, in a freer world without a Federal Reserve system responsible for the economic booms and busts, there would be fewer impoverished communities and much less economic disparity. As A.I advances, with no taxpayer funded regulator, A.I.’s potential would help entrepreneurs across the socio-economic spectrum bring valuable products to market.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 21:40

• "Bidenomics" Has No Answer For Eviction Crisis… Or Much Else
  “Bidenomics” Has No Answer For Eviction Crisis… Or Much Else

  Authored by Conor Gallagher via NakedCapitalism.com,

  The Biden administration continues to insist that the economy is strong and its efforts are improving the situation.

  

  So, what is in its most recent efforts announced on Wednesday? From the White House:

  Today, the President will outline several new, concrete steps in the Administration’s effort to crack down on rental junk fees and lower costs for renters, including:

  • New commitments from major rental housing platforms—Zillow, Apartments.com, and AffordableHousing.com—who have answered the President’s call for transparency and will provide consumers with total, upfront cost information on rental properties, which can be hundreds of dollars on top of the advertised rent;

  • New research from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which provides a blueprint for a nationwide effort to address rental housing junk fees; and

  • Legislative action in states across the country—from Connecticut to California—who are joining the Administration in its effort to crack down on rental housing fees and protect consumers.

  Importantly, while these commitments from rental housing platforms will make renters better informed about the total cost, they do nothing to make housing more affordable. Here is what the platforms are doing:

  • Zillow is today launching a Cost of Renting Summary on its active apartment listings, empowering the 28 million unique monthly users on its rental platform with clear information on the cost of renting. This new tool will enable renters to easily find out the total cost of renting an apartment from the outset, including all monthly costs and one-time costs, like security deposits and application fees.

  • Apartments.com is announcing that this year it will launch a new calculator on its platform that will help renters determine the all-in price of a desired unit. This will include all up-front costs as well as recurring monthly rents and fees. The Apartments.com Network currently lists almost 1.5 million active availabilities across more than 385,000 properties.

  • AffordableHousing.com, the nation’s largest online platform dedicated solely to affordable housing, will require owners to disclose all refundable and non-refundable fees and charges upfront in their listings. It will launch a new “Trusted Owner” badge that protects renters from being charged junk fees by identifying owners who have a history of adhering to best practices, including commitment to reasonable fee limits, no junk fees, and full fee disclosure.

  So a search could now look something more like this:

  

  More from the White House release:

  Today’s announcements build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s ongoing efforts to support renters, including through the release of a first-of-its-kind Blueprint for a Renters Bill of Rights and a Housing Supply Action Plan, focused on boosting the supply of affordable housing—including rental housing. Reducing housing costs is central to Bidenomics, and recent data show that inflation in rental housing is abating. Moreover, experts predict that roughly 1 million new apartments will be built this year, increasing supply that will further increase affordability. The actions announced today will help renters understand these fees and the full price they can expect to pay, and create additional competition housing providers to reduce reliance on hidden fees.

  The problem with these efforts to support renters is that they do nothing to stop the eviction and homelessness crisis now. The Housing Supply Action Plan could maybe help with affordability at some distant date, and a blueprint is just that. Why can other places figure this out, but the US can’t? For example, Ross Barkan writes about Austria:

  Americans are usually shocked to learn that a vast majority of Viennese qualify to live in deeply affordable, high-quality housing. There is no downside to renting there because the rents will always be a small fraction of your annual income. Forty-three percent of all housing is insulated from the market and the government subsidizes affordable units for a wide range of incomes. Decades ago, a great amount of housing supply was built, and unlike in the United States, Vienna never abandoned the cause of public housing.

  It’s obvious to any tenant reading about Vienna that life there, from a standpoint of sheer economics, is better than life in any major American city. Rents, always high in New York and California, surged across the country during the pandemic, fueling a homelessness crisis that will not abate. For those who have housing, existence is only stress-free as long as the job is well-paying. One wrong turn and eviction is around the corner. Certain localities have stronger tenant protections than others. Either way, rent is something many Americans—those who don’t own property, and are nowhere close to buying anything—must think about constantly. It is an economic and psychological burden. To be liberated from it, like the Viennese, would be to enter a utopic state.

  Instead of anything resembling such policies, the Biden administration has been relentlessly hyping the junk fee efforts as a key part of its economic policy. From USA Today:

  The White House is also convinced it’s good politics, particularly as Biden tries to improve his standing with the public on the economy as the U.S. rebounds from 40-year high inflation.

  “Often policy is a way of showing character,” said Celinda Lake, a 2020 Biden campaign pollster who conducts regular focus groups with voters. “When you’re a longtime politician and you’re in office, people think you get out of touch with their lives, you don’t have any commonsense. This shows, ‘Hey, I am in touch. I do have commonsense.’”

  But does it? With the announcement of the administration’s latest efforts, it seems like that plan is running on fumes. With rent increasingly unaffordable for many, will it really make a difference if fees are more transparent? Announcing such voluntary commitments from rental housing platforms without any additional measures to do anything about costs seems like a strange way to go politically, especially as rents continue to rise.

  

  Evictions are also rising. From Quartz:

  Eviction filings are on the rise in some US cities, according to datacollected by the Eviction Lab at Princeton University. The lab published the first dataset on eviction filings in the US going back to 2000, which is based on (pdf) tens of millions of public state and county records. Rising costs of living are affecting Americans across the US, while stock of affordable real estate remains low.

  …Landlords in many US cities have completed at least half of their eviction filings since 2020 in the past year.

  New research in California – which has roughly a third of the country’s 582,000 homeless population – shows that the main driver behind homelessness there is simply that Californians were priced out of housing. The study from UCSF’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative is one of the deepest dives into the state’s crisis, and it shows how the homeless population is getting older and is often the result of just one bad break.  According to the study, “in the six months prior to homelessness, the median monthly household income was $960. A high proportion had been rent burdened.”

  In a recent YouGov survey, more than 50 percent of Americans thought limits on price increases would probably or definitely be an effective policy, and 61 percent blamed large corporations seeking maximum profit for inflation – the highest recipient of blame in the poll. Americans want more action. From Newsweek:

  Poverty remains a huge issue in the U.S., much more so than in other countries with similar levels of distributed wealth, and it is a cause of concern for a majority of Americans, as shown by the Newsweek/Redfield & Wilton Strategies poll. The poll, conducted among a sample of 1,500 eligible voters in the U.S. on May 31, found that some 53 percent of Americans are “very” concerned about the level of poverty in the country.

  Among Democrats—identified as people who voted for Joe Biden in 2020—the number went up to 58 percent, while among Republicans—identified as people who voted for Donald Trump in 2020—48 percent said they were “very” concerned about poverty in the U.S. Some 21 percent of Americans responding to the poll don’t earn enough money from their primary job to pay bills or maintain their family’s standard of living, while 52 percent are working multiple jobs to tackle the daily cost of living.

  The Biden Administration is betting its junk fee efforts, which have also included concert ticket vendors and others, along with softening inflation will be enough to overcome all the other bad news. So far, it’s not looking very promising. At this point in his term Biden is the second-most-unpopular president in modern U.S. history. Wednesday’s announcement might be part of the reason why as it represents the woefully inadequate response to the economic situation faced by so many.

  Just consider some more of the recent news:

  • With inflation biting, credit card debt in the US has been rising at one of the fastest rates in history and is at record highs.

  • Increasing precariousness has homelessness rising across the country, including up 40 percent in Los Angeles County over the past five years. It’s jumped18 percent this year in New York City.

  Here’s the Federal Reserve Board’s Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022 report:

  The report indicates that self-reported financial well-being declined in 2022, in part reflecting ongoing concerns about higher prices. In the fourth quarter of 2022, 73 percent of adults reported either doing okay or living comfortably financially, down 5 percentage points from the previous year and among the lowest levels observed since 2016.

  Consistent with these changes in overall financial well-being, fewer adults reported having money left over after paying their expenses. Fifty-four percent of adults said that their budgets had been affected “a lot” by price increases.

  According to a new survey from Bankrate, Americans said they would need to earn, on average, $233,000 a year to feel financially secure. The median earnings for a full-time, year-round worker in 2021 was $56,473, according to the US Census Bureau. Despite all that, the Biden administration continues to express confusion as to why voters aren’t happier with the economy.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 21:20

• FedNow Is Live And The Framework Is In Place For CBDCs
  FedNow Is Live And The Framework Is In Place For CBDCs

  Authored by Daisy Luther via The Organic Prepper blog,

  Yesterday, with a bit of fanfare but not TOO much fanfare, a “wonderful” new product was launched. FedNow is live, and we can all transfer money to our heart’s content via the Federal Reserve.

  Wow, that sounds great, doesn’t it? Of course, that is a spot created by the Federal Reserve and up ton the Federal Reserve YouTube channel.

  FedNow is live at 35 banks.

  Axios reports that 35 banks across the country are participating in the launch.

  By the numbers: So far, 35 banks have signed up as early adopters of FedNow, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, but notably not including Citigroup or Bank of America. That number is rather lower than the Fed led us to believe as recently as recently as June.

  The U.S. Treasury is also signed up as an early adopter of FedNow.

  Some 353 banks and credit unions have signed up for RTP.

  In order to use either service, both the sending and the receiving bank need to be signed up for the system.

  We are now officially on that slippery slope I’ve been talking about. I wrote about exactly this happening in my dystopian fiction, Good Citizens, and discussed how this could evolve to control almost every aspect of our lives.

  Why I’m concerned now that FedNow is live

  A while back, I wrote an article discussing a payment gateway designed by the Federal Reserve called FedNow. This is a way to make instant transfers between accounts, sort of like PayPal or Venmo, but without the users having to move the money from various wallets.

  While it sounds convenient, the concern is that this puts the infrastructure to quickly roll out CBDCs into place. Previously, I wrote about this.

  On March 15th, in the midst of the banking collapses, the Federal Reserve issued a press release detailing a new instant payment system that will be launched in July. That system is called FedNow. Here’s what they said about it.

  The first week of April, the Federal Reserve will begin the formal certification of participants for launch of the service. Early adopters will complete a customer testing and certification program, informed by feedback from the FedNow Pilot Program, to prepare for sending live transactions through the system.

  Certification encompasses a comprehensive testing curriculum with defined expectations for operational readiness and network experience. In June, the Federal Reserve and certified participants will conduct production validation activities to confirm readiness for the July launch.

  “We couldn’t be more excited about the forthcoming FedNow launch, which will enable every participating financial institution, the smallest to the largest and from all corners of the country, to offer a modern instant payment solution,” said Ken Montgomery, first vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and FedNow program executive. “With the launch drawing near, we urge financial institutions and their industry partners to move full steam ahead with preparations to join the FedNow Service.”

  Many early adopters have declared their intent to begin using the service in July, including a diverse mix of financial institutions of all sizes, the largest processors, and the U.S. Treasury.

  This has all the hallmarks of a government strategy. First, they offer it as a “convenience” or a “safety measure.” Lots of people will jump on board in order to take advantage of this.

  Of course, we’ve heard this song before.

  Next, it will be pushed harder, and those who don’t adopt it will be mocked, thought of as backward, and treated with suspicion. After that, it’ll be darn near impossible to do anything without it. Sound familiar?

  The Federal Reserve Banks are developing the FedNow Service to facilitate nationwide reach of instant payment services by financial institutions — regardless of size or geographic location — around the clock, every day of the year. Through financial institutions participating in the FedNow Service, businesses and individuals will be able to send and receive instant payments at any time of day, and recipients will have full access to funds immediately, giving them greater flexibility to manage their money and make time-sensitive payments. Access will be provided through the Federal Reserve’s FedLine® network, which serves more than 10,000 financial institutions directly or through their agents.

  But what truly makes me worried is that since FedNow is live, this is a soft way to move us all over into using a federal money transferring system that could easily, easily be the platform for the implementation of CBDCs, the digital dollar that could end freedom as we know it.

  Please note that what we have with FedNow is NOT a CBDC. It’s just a payment gateway.

  But now, the early infrastructure is in place for CBDCs.

  Changing a nation’s entire currency is not an overnight project. If we were to go completely digital with our money, it would take a while. Several things would need to happen first:

  • A national financial infrastructure would need to be created that links accounts from all the banks to an information highway.

  • They’d need to get people comfortable with using this system and to do that, it would need to be fast and convenient. Who wouldn’t want their money right away? It feels like a win to sell a car and have 20K in your account instantly without waiting for the check to clear.

  • This provides some time to work out any bugs. The folks adopting FedNow would be the guinea pigs. It’s new, but everyone expects new stuff to be glitchy. If you’re getting in on the ground floor, you’re probably willing to be patient with that.

  • Next, they’ll want to get as many people voluntarily using it as possible. Expect generous offers, outrageous convenience, and free or cheap transactions.

  • Once it’s all in place and running smoothly, the final transition from cash money to digital money would just be a matter of the central bank devaluing our cash but allowing people to trade it for digital at full (or at least greater) value.

  If you’ve never listened to me before, please listen to me now. This IS the road we’re on. And once CBDCs are in place, especially if they are the only option, your every transaction will be monitored, data will be mined from your spending, and your choices can be controlled.

  What’s the big deal with CBDCs?

  CBDC stands for Central Bank Digital Currency, and these are digital versions of a country’s currency. A digital currency alongside our current physical currency is voluntary. My concern is when that digital currency becomes the only option. And I do mean when, not if.

  A digital currency could mean such controls as automatic taxation or where and when you’re allowed to make purchases – all at the push of a button. The most likely way this will be rolled out is to “fight inflation” and “fix the economy.” As per the IMF:

  A world with lower inflation (and even zero inflation) and no persistent recessions may sound like a pipe dream, but we argue that it is possible by transitioning to an “electronic money standard.” Such a transition requires eliminating the zero lower bound, which central banks can achieve using readily available tools. Breaking the zero lower bound implies that the optimal rate of inflation will be lower than in the presence of the lower bound. This will empower central banks to quickly restore full employment and, over the medium term, possibly move toward targeting full price stability with zero inflation.

  Obviously, any kind of manipulation like this is false, and while there may be some temporary relief, it won’t solve the underlying problems with our economy.

  Bank for International Settlements wrote a glowing report about the “benefits” of the CBDC system. Here’s what I took away from this:

  • Central bankers can execute policy or modify rates instantaneously, at the push of a button.

  • Private crypto is bad.

  • Central bank digital currency is good.

  • CBDCs are better than crypto because they’re trusted.

  • CBDCs aren’t “subject to the practical limitations of paper money.” (i.e., they can be tracked.)

  • Therefore it protects against “money laundering, proliferation financing, and terrorist financing.”

  • It will increase the pool of data generated on users and transactions, thus “helping” the “proper authorities.”

  • “Multi-CBDC platforms” aids in decentralization. (i.e., a global economy)

  • On a common CBDC platform across multiple central banks, transactions are recorded on one ledger.

  I don’t think it means what they’re trying to tell us it means.

  What can you do?

  I’ve written a lot lately about the need to get your money out of the banks. You need something of value that does not require you to dance to the tune of the government’s fiddle. Imagine if you had a savings account and the “value” of that money changed with the implementation of CBDCs. Imagine it’s worth less, say, by 20 percent.

  Suddenly your $10,000 becomes $8,000. Your $100,000 loses $20K to become $80,000. It would only take a second, with the click of a button in some office up on the Mount Olympus of the Fed.

  If you have savings and you want to protect your money, you need to make at least a portion of it tangible.

  That means investing in:

  • Supplies like food, tools, and other long-term preps

  • Land

  • Precious metals

  I’m not suggesting going out and dealing in only silver dimes if you are in a situation in which you’re living from paycheck to paycheck. If you are in those shoes like so many of us are right now, you don’t have as many options. It isn’t feasible or practical if you’re going to need this money right away for existing expenses.

  But if you are trying to protect existing wealth and this is not money you’ll need to access immediately, I urge you to consider investing it into gold or silver to protect your savings during the economic downturn ahead. At the same time, getting your money out of this currency system that may soon be switched to CBDC is the only way to ensure it remains yours.

  I use ITM Trading, out of Phoenix, AZ, for all of my metals purchases. I know there are plenty of good companies out there, but I prefer ITM because of their focus on education. I’ve learned so much in my consultations (which are free, btw). I’ve been very impressed with the access to curated resources, research, and weekly insights on macroeconomics, central banks, currencies, and the global reset that they provide. To me, there’s really no other option for my purchases.

  If you want to schedule a strategy session with ITM, it’s absolutely free, and there is no pressure whatsoever. Some folks take weeks or months before investing, and others decide it isn’t for them. But what every single person walks away with is a clearer understanding of the monetary system and what investing in precious metals entails. And you get all of it at no charge. To schedule your own appointment, go here or call this number directly: 1-866-517-1257 – I’ll be really interested to know whether you’re as impressed as I am.

  We’re all just one wrongthink away from losing our money.

  Remember in Canada when Trudeau locked down accounts for supporting the trucker strike? We’re all just one wrongthink away from losing access to our money.

  Another recent precedent regarding losing access to the financial system is the case of Nigel Farage. Both he and his relatives have had bank accounts closed and been unable to open other accounts because they’ve been named PEPs: Politically Exposed Persons. Farage, if you recall, was pro-Brexit. He wrote:

  Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Farage, who said several other banks had denied him accounts, claimed he was the victim of over-zealous anti-money laundering regulations.

  “Anti-money laundering rules appear to have been wildly over-interpreted by the compliance departments of banks in the UK,” he wrote in the Brexit-supporting newspaper.

  “Nobody can deny that money laundering is a problem, he said. “Yet a series of agreements, EU directives and UK rules established to confront this menace have almost entirely failed to do so.

  “Banks now live in fear of receiving huge fines. Their default setting seems to be to close down the business and personal accounts of anybody who is deemed to require extra due diligence – be they the owner of a window cleaning firm or a pawnbroker.”

  He added: “Those who are paid in cash are no longer welcome; the compliance costs of servicing these accounts makes them unprofitable.”

  Mr Farage initially claimed that his account with Coutts, which acts on behalf of the royal family, had been closed in an “establishment”-orchestrated revenge mission for Brexit, sparking a free speech row.

  So it’s already happening. People are losing access to the system for having political beliefs that oppose the status quo that the ruling administration has in place.

  I know that these two examples are outside the US, but that doesn’t provide me even a tiny little bit of comfort. I’ve already suffered massive financial abuse at the hands of government-funded censorship groups. Many others have too.

  Is it really a stretch of the imagination that losing banking privileges could happen here in America, the Land of Cancel Culture? What will you do if you can no longer use a bank? How will you get and cash your paycheck? How will you pay your bills now that so many things must be done online?

  When we are no longer free to vociferously disagree, we aren’t free at all.

  You need a backup plan, and you need it now. FedNow is live, and I don’t believe that good things will follow.

  *  *  *

  Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 21:00

• How US Vehicle Production Has Shifted Over 45 Years
  How US Vehicle Production Has Shifted Over 45 Years

  Over the last few decades, vehicle production in the U.S. has dramatically shifted, with SUVs emerging as the indisputable frontrunners.

  Once perceived as vehicles solely for off-road capabilities and adventuring (hence the name sport utility vehicle), SUVs soon became a useful transportation alternative for large families. Shortly after, they became the top-selling models for many automakers.

  In the graphic below, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu and Bruno Venditti, using on the annual production shares of different vehicle types from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), explore the factors that have led to the surging popularity of SUVs.

  

  U.S. Vehicle Production: The Rise of SUVs

  As SUV production has evolved, they’ve started to blur the line between car and truck classes. The EPA classifies most two-wheel drive SUVs under 6,000 lbs as cars (car SUVs), while those with four-wheel drive or above 6,000 lbs are trucks (truck SUVs).

  In the American market, sedans and wagons dominated production from before the 1970s and well into the 1990s. Combined with smaller car SUVs, cars accounted for more than half of U.S. vehicle production well into the 2010s.

  But the rapid rise of heavier truck SUVs has shifted the landscape. Sedans and wagons dipped below 50% of market production for the first time in 2004. And by 2017, trucks (including truck SUVs, pickups, and minivans) have been the ones accounting for over half of new vehicle production.

  

  The growth of SUVs can be partially linked to all-wheel drive systems that gained momentum in the 1980s, with the Audi Quattro winning three rallies in its rookie season of 1981.

  During that same time, new SUV models started to gain popularity, like the 1984 Jeep Cherokee—considered the first modern SUV with four doors—and Land Rover’s Range Rover, which entered the North American market in 1987.

  By melding the benefits of space, performance, and comfort into one vehicle, SUVs began competing with both vans and station wagons as the quintessential family car. In the 90s, affordable midsize models like the Ford Explorer, Subaru Legacy Outback, and Toyota RAV4 paved the way for more middle-class families to enter the SUV market.

  However, SUV production has been prone to fluctuations. Demand first started dropping as gas prices rose in the lead-up to the 2008 recession, which further strained finances and caused families to opt for cheaper non-SUV models. This significantly hurt the American “Big Three” automotive producers (GM, Ford, and Chrysler) at the time, for which trucks and SUVs had become the primary market.

  SUV Fuel Efficiency and Millennials

  Driven by improvements in fuel efficiency and societal trends, SUV demand roared back over the last 10 years.

  Automakers have implemented fuel-saving technologies, such as direct injection and turbocharging, and have used more lightweight materials in construction to further boost engine efficiency.

  While fuel efficiency has improved across all types of vehicles over the last four decades, sedans and wagons climbed far earlier in miles per gallon (MPG) scores, while SUVs have only more recently started catching up.

  

  Since 2000, fuel efficiency for sedans and wagons improved by around 38%, while car SUVs saw a jump of 70% over the same time period, with both sitting at just over 30 MPG for 2021 models. Even larger truck SUVs, seen as the epitome of gas-guzzling vehicles, have become as efficient (in MPG terms) as sedans were in the 2000s.

  Another factor influencing the market is the surprising entry of millennials, who now represent the majority of the population in the United States. Just a few years ago, automakers were fretting over millennials being a childless, car-less, city-dwelling group who cared little about buying cars or homes.

  Fast forward to today—as millennials have aged and their wallets have gotten a little heavier, more of them are buying SUVs to drive to their suburban homes or just to fit their dogs.

  SUVs are also benefiting from the shift to electric vehicles. In 2022, SUVs represented 46% of global car sales, and electric SUVs accounted for over half of global electric car sales.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 20:40

• Plagued By Drought, China Turns To Coal To Keep The Lights On
  Plagued By Drought, China Turns To Coal To Keep The Lights On

  By John Kemp, senior market analyst

  

  China’s reliance on coal-fired power generation increased during the first half of 2023 as continued drought severely reduced hydroelectric power in the southern provinces.Total generation from all sources increased by +205 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in the first six months of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022 (“Output of energy products, National Bureau of Statistics, July 20″).

  

  The increase was +5.2%, which implies the government is probably on track to meet its declared target of around 5% for growth in gross domestic product this year.

  

  

  But hydro generation slumped by -132 billion kWh (-23%) to its lowest level for eight years as the protracted drought hit reservoir levels.

  

  The two southwestern provinces of Sichuan and Yunnan accounted for almost half (48%) of the country’s hydropower in 2020; adding the neighbouring areas of Guizhou and Guangxi takes the share to almost three-fifths (58%).

  

  But the region experienced much lower than average precipitation over the last 12 months, forcing sharp reductions in power production.

  

  Precipitation at the city of Yibin on the border between Sichuan and Yunnan totalled 626 millimetres in the 12 months ending in June 2023. Rainfall was just half the average over the previous eight years and down by almost 60% compared with the previous 12-month period.

  

  Some of the deficit caused by hydro generation was covered by increased generation from wind farms (+82 billion kWh) and solar power (+25 billion kWh).

  

  

  But the rest of the deficit and all the consumption growth was covered by a massive increase in thermal generation (+218 billion kWh) mostly from coal-fired units.

  

  Thermal generation increased by +8% compared with the same period in 2022 and accounted for 71% of all electrical output, up from 69% in the previous year.

  China’s coal fleet kept the lights on, air conditioning working and industry operating in the drought-stricken south and more recently in the north in an unprecedented heat wave.

  In response to government directives to ensure sufficient fuel stocks for generators, the country’s coal mines produced a record volume in the first six months.

  

  Domestic coal production climbed by +107 million tonnes (+5%) between January and June compared with the same period in 2022.

  At the same time, coal imports also surged by +107 million tonnes (+92%) as power generators and steelmakers built up inventories.

  

  In the first half of the year, wind and solar farms produced more electricity (560 billion kWh) combined than the country’s hydroelectric dams (450 billion kWh) for the first time.

  China’s energy transition is real and is proceeding rapidly…. But coal-fired generation and production is still likely to increase for at least the next several years because of the country’s inherited reliance on coal-fired units and the need to meet rapid load growth.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 20:20

• North Korea Issues Nuclear Warning Over US Nuke-Armed Submarine Off Peninsula
  North Korea Issues Nuclear Warning Over US Nuke-Armed Submarine Off Peninsula

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  North Korea on Thursday issued a warning over the US deployment of a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea, saying the provocation could potentially justify Pyongyang using its nuclear weapons.

  The Ohio-Class USS Kentucky docked in the South Korean port of Busan on Tuesday, marking the first time since 1981 that an American nuclear-armed submarine arrived in the country. It also marked the first time since the US withdrew its tactical nukes from South Korea in 1991 that US nuclear weapons were deployed to the Korean Peninsula.

  

  The provocation coincided with the first meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), which was established by the US and South Korea to increase cooperation related to US nuclear weapons.

  North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun-nam slammed the US and South Korean cooperation on nuclear weapons in a press statement released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency.

  Kang said US and South Korean officials held the NCG meeting “to discuss the plan for using nuclear weapons against the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea].”

  Discussing North Korea’s nuclear policy, Kang said, “I remind the US military of the fact that the ever-increasing visibility of the deployment of the strategic nuclear submarine and other strategic assets may fall under the conditions of the use of nuclear weapons specified in the DPRK law on the nuclear force policy.”

  He said that Pyongyang’s nuclear doctrine “allows the execution of necessary action procedures in case a nuclear attack is launched against it or it is judged that the use of nuclear weapons against it is imminent.”

  After US officials held the NCG meeting, they released a statement that said any nuclear attack from the North will “will result in the end of that regime.”

  

  South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Wednesday boarded the nuclear-armed USS Kentucky and repeated the “end of the regime” threat.

  The US nuclear deployment in South Korea provoked more North Korean missile tests as the two sides continue tit-for-tat escalations. The Biden administration has shown no interest in easing tensions and has vowed to continue deploying strategic assets to the Korean Peninsula.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 20:00

• IRS Issues Important Notice To Storm Victims In 4 States About Paying Taxes Owed
  IRS Issues Important Notice To Storm Victims In 4 States About Paying Taxes Owed

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

  The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a notice to taxpayers in parts of four disaster-stricken states that they must file their federal income tax returns and pay any taxes owed by the end of the month or face consequences.

  

  This year, most taxpayers were required to file by April 18, which was also the deadline for paying any taxes owed to the IRS.

  However, the agency granted special relief to taxpayers affected by federally declared disasters in various regions in the form of filing and payment due date extensions.

  The extended deadlines varied by region. Some disaster-area taxpayers—including in most of California, as well as parts of Alabama and Georgia—were granted an extension until Oct. 16 to file their tax returns and make tax payments. For others, that deadline falls sooner.

  In a reminder issued earlier this week, the IRS said that taxpayers in storm-impacted parts of Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, have until July 31 to file their tax returns and pay any amounts due.

  “As long as their address of record is in a disaster-area locality, individual and business taxpayers automatically get the extra time without having to ask for it,” the agency said in a statement.

  The July 31 deadline applies to taxpayers affected by four different disaster declarations resulting from severe storms, tornadoes, and straight-line winds during late March and early April of this year.

  The following affected areas are included in the latest IRS reminder:

  Three counties in Arkansas: Cross, Lonoke, and Pulaski counties, were impacted by storms and tornadoes on March 31.

  Thirteen counties in Indiana: Allen, Benton, Brown, Clinton, Grant, Howard, Johnson, Lake, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Sullivan, and White counties, affected by storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes from March 31 to April 1.

  Seven counties in Mississippi: Carroll, Humphreys, Monroe, Montgomery, Panola, Sharkey, and Washington counties, were hit by severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes from March 24 to 25.

  Thirteen counties in Tennessee: Cannon, Giles, Hardeman, Hardin, Haywood, Johnson, Lewis, Macon, McNairy, Morgan, Rutherford, Tipton, and Wayne counties, were impacted by severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes from March 31 to April 1.

  Taxpayers who fall into the above categories and need an extension beyond July 31 can apply for extensions, but they must be submitted in paper format using Form 4868, the IRS said.

  The reason is that electronic filing options are not available for extension requests that fall after the original April 18 filing deadline.

  Taxpayers who owe the IRS money but miss their respective deadlines to file a tax return face a failure to file a penalty amounting to 5 percent of the unpaid tax due for each month that they’re late with the payment.

  This is also the case for unpaid amounts owed beyond a given deadline, in which case the IRS charges a failure to pay penalty of 0.5 percent of the tax owed per month.

  If both a failure to file and a failure to pay penalty are charged for a given month, then the failure to file penalty is reduced by the amount of the failure to pay penalty. This means that the combined penalty for a given month will never exceed 5 percent for each month or part of a month that the return was late.

  The penalties jointly max out at 25 percent of the unpaid tax owed.

  Special Notice

  The latest reminder follows a recent special mailing the IRS sent to taxpayers in disaster-affected areas as a follow-up clarification after an earlier message wrongly told them they had 21 days to pay taxes owed.

  “Although the initial notice indicated a payment deadline of 21 days, taxpayers in these disaster-declared regions actually have until a later date this year to make their payments within the designated timeframe,” the IRS said in a June 28 statement.

  In late May and June, taxpayers with balances due who live in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee that fell under disaster declarations received a CP14 notice from the IRS.

  Many of the CP14 notices incorrectly said the affected taxpayers had three weeks to pay outstanding balances.

  “We know our initial mailing caused confusion for taxpayers and tax professionals, and we worked quickly to send a follow-up reminder to help reassure people,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement.

  “This mailing reflects how we’re trying to be more taxpayer-focused given the additional resources that we’ve been given under the Inflation Reduction Act.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 19:40

• Ukraine To Receive F-16s By End Of Year, Kirby Says
  Ukraine To Receive F-16s By End Of Year, Kirby Says

  Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council John Kirby suggested in a Fox News interview Thursday that Ukraine could received US F-16 fighter jets way ahead of schedule. 

  “Most likely, the F-16s will arrive in Ukraine before the end of the year. However, we do not believe that F-16s alone can alter the situation on the battlefield,” Kirby said.

  

  Very likely, training for Ukrainian pilots—which hasn’t even begun yet (at least officially) given NATO press statements have indicated the Denmark-bases training program is set to begin in August—won’t be complete by then.

  Top Zelensky officials, including the Ukrainian president himself, have pleaded for more advanced weaponry to arrive on the battlefield sooner. Amid what’s increasingly acknowledged in mainstream press as a failing counteroffensive, Ukraine’s military leaders have urged ‘superiority of the skies’. 

  But it’s clear that Kirby has downplayed that even Western fighter jets will be a major game-changer. He also emphasized in the interview that the most immediate need remains greater amounts of artillery ammunition, given especially the superior supplies which the Russians possess.

  Kirby listed out what he called the “four A’s”… as “artillery, ammunition, air defense and armor—tanks.”

  Ukrainian media too has begun to acknowledge that Western fighters may have little impact on the overall negative course of the counteroffensive:

  A week ago, Lieutenant General Douglas Sims said that conditions for a transfer of F-16s are not “ideal.” He stressed that Russians still have air defense capability, hinting that the number of jets that can arrive will not change the course of the counteroffensive.

  President Putin and Kremlin officials have said West-supplied jets will “burn” just like other foreign equipment. They’ve also warned that NATO is “playing with fire” in approving them for the Ukrainians.

  “The US may transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine already this year. But we believe that the F-16 alone will not be able to turn the tide,” John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications said. pic.twitter.com/2gdtG2Cc0V

  — NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) July 21, 2023

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

  Initially, F-16s are expected to be sent “likely from European countries that have excess F-16 supplies” – according to the prior words of Jake Sullivan from the NATO summit in Vilnius last week.

  Russian foreign minister Lavrov has in the meantime underscored that the F-16s are capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons, and so will be treated by Russian forces as such.

  “We have informed the nuclear powers – the US, UK and France – that Russia can’t ignore the ability of these aircraft to carry nuclear weapons,” the foreign minister said earlier this month. “No assurances [by the West] will help here,” he warned. In the midst of fighting, the Russian military isn’t going to investigate whether any specific jet is equipped to deliver nuclear weapons or not,” he added.

  Lavrov said yesterday that U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets can “accommodate” nuclear weapons and warned that supplying Kyiv with them will escalate the conflict further.

  John Kirby also had a message for Lavrov: “If you’re worried about Ukrainian military capabilities, then you… pic.twitter.com/CzNYcJf6Fe

  — Yasmina (@yasminalombaert) June 6, 2023

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

  “The very fact of the appearance of such systems within the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be considered by us as a threat from the West in the nuclear domain,” Lavrov warned. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 19:20

• Food Giant Helps Get Child Trafficking Movie 'Sound Of Freedom' To The Big Screen
  Food Giant Helps Get Child Trafficking Movie ‘Sound Of Freedom’ To The Big Screen

  Authored by T.J. Muscaro via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Angel Studios’ anti-people trafficking movie, “Sound of Freedom,” has earned nearly seven times its original budget after only two weeks at the box office.

  

  Shedding a light on a dark, shadowy world—especially child sex trafficking—the film’s commercial success comes years after its production, surviving a corporate merger, the COVID-19 pandemic, and reports of several screenings gone awry.

  The picture owes a lot to two men who wanted everyone to see it—the producer and co-star Eduardo Verastagui and president of Goya Foods, Bob Unanue.

  Opening on July 4, “Sound of Freedom” just surpassed $100 million at the box office, $85 million of which came from domestic theaters. It was made on a $14.5 million budget.

  

  Starring Jim Caviezel (“The Passion of the Christ”) as former Homeland Security Agent and Operation Underground Railroad founder Tim Ballard, the movie is a call-to-action that tells the true story of how hundreds of people were rescued from human trafficking.

  It saw an increase of more than 30 percent in audience attendance in its second week, and more than 10,000 verified audience members have contributed to its 100 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

  It also continues to compete with mainstream movies with much lighter and more entertainment-focused subject matters and much higher budgets.

  But this successful movie might not have ever seen the inside of a theater without the help of food giant Goya Foods.

  “Sound of Freedom” had originally been ordered by 20th Century Fox with Mr. Verastagui already on as its producer and supporting role.

  But the movie became one of the many Fox projects shelved after the merger with The Walt Disney Company.

  “We helped him buy [“Sound of Freedom”] from Disney [and] became executive producers on that,” Mr. Unanue told The Epoch Times in a phone interview. “It just so happened that several years later trying to get it distributed that Angel Studios appeared on the scene.”

  Goya did not disclose the amount of money it contributed to the project.

  The film was completed before the COVID-19 pandemic. But despite Disney releasing the rights, that theater-closing event would require its producers to wait a little bit longer.

  Angel Studios acquired the distribution rights in 2023. He said Angel Studios was “a godsend” in turning around the movie for theatrical release in “just a few months.” Now, he said, they are in talks with Mel Gibson to do a series on human trafficking.

  Caring About Victims

  Tied to the completion and distribution of “Sound of Freedom” is the creation of Goya Cares, Mr. Unanue’s own program, which provides support to several nonprofits fighting child and human trafficking.

  Working primarily on the homefront, it supports several charities already entrenched in the fight to end trafficking and provide safe houses for victims, such as Catholic Charities and the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC).

  It also works with the Monique Burr Foundation to provide lesson plans and educational awareness in schools.

  “At the center of Goya Cares is a heart, and our heart reaches out to these victims of child trafficking and children who are suffering from mental illness so that they may have hope to live in a world where their life is valued, their freedom is a reality and their mind is at peace,” Mr. Unanue’s mission statement for the program states.

  “They need to be reminded that they are precious gifts from God.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 19:00

• CRE Storm: Over $800 Billion In Office Space In Nine Cities Could Become Obsolete By 2030
  CRE Storm: Over $800 Billion In Office Space In Nine Cities Could Become Obsolete By 2030

  During the regional bank failures in March, we directed our readership to focus on the next potential crisis: “CRE Nuke Goes Off With Small Banks Accounting For 70% Of Commercial Real Estate Loans.” By late March, Morgan Stanley warned clients of an upcoming maturity wall in commercial real estate, which amounts to $500 billion of loans in 2024, and a total of $2.5 trillion in debt that comes due over the next five years. 

  In a recent Bloomberg interview, Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital Group warned that the CRE space is in a “Category 5 hurricane.” He said, “It’s sort of a blackout hovering over the entire industry until we get some relief or some understanding of what the Fed’s going to do over the longer term.”

  

  The current downturn in CRE could persist for years, if not through the end of this decade. Jan Mischke, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, along with Olivia White, a senior partner at McKinsey, and Aditya Sanghvi, a senior partner and leader of McKinsey’s real estate special initiative, published a note in Fortune, warning “$800 billion of office space in just nine cities could become obsolete by 2030.” 

  The authors of the report blame the CRE downturn on the “shift to remote and hybrid work prompted two further shifts in people’s behavior”: 

  First, many residents, untethered from their offices and therefore less fearful of long commutes, moved away from urban cores. New York City’s urban core (that is, the dozen densest counties in the metropolitan area) lost 5% of its population from mid-2020 to mid-2022. San Francisco’s urban core (San Francisco County, Alameda County, and San Mateo County) lost 6%.

  Second, consumers began shopping less at brick-and-mortar stores–and far less at stores in urban cores, where people were now less likely either to work or to live. Foot traffic near stores in metropolitan areas remains 10 to 20% below pre-pandemic levels, but the differences between urban and suburban traffic recovery are substantial. For example, in late 2022, foot traffic near New York’s suburban stores was 16% lower than it had been in January 2020, while foot traffic near stores in the urban core was 36% lower.

  As fewer employees work in the office, demand for office space will fall. By 2030, such demand will be as much as 20% lower, depending on the city–even in a moderate scenario in which office attendance goes up but remains lower than it was before the pandemic.

  And as fewer consumers shop at brick-and-mortar stores, demand for retail space will fall as well, according to our model. In the urban core of London, the hardest-hit city, demand for retail space will be 22% lower in 2030 than it was in 2019 in a moderate scenario.

  Some of the most significant declines in office and retail space demand through 2030 will be in major US cities such as San Francisco and New York City.

  

  The authors note that the demand for “residential space will suffer less”… Well, according to their forecasting model. 

  

  “The reduced demand will have major impacts on urban stakeholders. For example, in just nine cities that we studied especially closely, $800 billion of office space could become obsolete by 2030. And macroeconomic complications could make matters even worse,” the authors continued. Without office workers in downtown areas, economic recoveries in major cities will be a “U” shape or, in some cases, an “L.” 

  The unraveling of downtowns is already underway. We shared a video this week of scenes of San Francisco’s downtown transformed into a ‘ghost town.’ Building owners in the crime-ridden metro area are already giving up and defaulting as vacancies rise, crime surges, and refinancing is near impossible in today’s climate as the Federal Reserve keeps interest rates sky-high to tame the worst inflation in a generation. 

  We shift our attention to Baltimore City, where office towers are being dumped in an apparent firesale. 

  • Beginning Of CRE Firesale? Baltimore Office Tower Dumped At 63% Discount
  • CRE Panic Hits Baltimore As Second Office Tower Dumped At 69% Discount

  The authors failed to report that the sliding demand for office towers isn’t just because of “remote and hybrid work” but also due to an exodus of companies fleeing crime-ridden progressive cities that fail to enforce law and order. 

  If McKinsey’s predictions are correct, certain segments of the CRE market are expected to experience prolonged turmoil for years. Some US mayors have proposed an immediate solution to convert office towers into multi-family units. However, this transformation could take years due to the time-consuming processes of obtaining permits and construction.  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 18:40

• Vast Majority Of Americans Say Illegal Immigration Is Either "Crisis" Or "Major Problem"
  Vast Majority Of Americans Say Illegal Immigration Is Either “Crisis” Or “Major Problem”

  Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

  Amid a historic wave of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully, an overwhelming majority of Americans polled say that illegal immigration is a crisis or—at best—a “major problem.”

  

  A recent poll by Gallup found that 39 percent of Americans believe the border situation is a full-blown “crisis.” Another 33 percent think it’s a “major problem,” meaning that a whopping 72 percent believe the situation on the border is bad enough to be considered seriously problematic.

  Views on illegal immigration held by Republicans – who have long opposed open borders – have remained mostly unchanged from 2019, when a similar poll was conducted by Gallup during the administration of then President Donald Trump.

  The relatively stable share (88 percent in 2019 vs. 91 percent in 2023) of Republican respondents saying illegal immigration is at least a “major problem” suggests that porous borders are less of a partisan issue than a matter of deep conviction for those aligned with the GOP.

  Democrats, on the other hand, have sharply raised their tolerance for illegal immigration between the Trump-era days and those of the administration of President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat.

  In 2019, 68 percent of Democrats said it was a crisis or major problem, with that dropping to just 56 percent at the present time, suggesting Democrat views on the issue shift based on politics.

  Republicans in Congress have blamed the Biden administration for policies they say encourage people to undertake the perilous trek north and cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally.

  The Biden administration has blamed factors outside its control—like crime, corruption, and poverty in countries of origin—while blaming Mr. Trump for undermining the country’s asylum system, which the current administration says it’s trying to fix.

  

  Illegal immigrants wait to be taken by Border Patrol to a processing facility to begin their asylum-seeking process in Eagle Pass, Texas, on June 25, 2023. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)

  June Numbers

  Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported this week that 144,607 encounters happened in June along the Southwest border, the lowest number since February 2021.

  CBP officials credited the decline in part to the Biden administration’s expansion of legal pathways and processes for entry into the United States.

  “Our sustained efforts to enforce consequences under our longstanding Title 8 authorities, combined with expanding access to lawful pathways and processes, have driven the number of migrant encounters along the Southwest border to their lowest levels in more than two years. We will remain vigilant,” Troy A. Miler, CBP Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner, said in a statement.

  June marked the first full month since Title 42 restrictions expired on May 11 and were replaced with a new policy that, in many ways, resembled the one that ended.

  Title 42 was a regulation designed to prevent the introduction of contagious diseases in the United States. The rule was issued by the Trump administration in 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and was used over 2.5 million times to block asylum claims.

  When Title 42 ended, the Biden administration rolled out a new rule (pdf), which essentially reinstates a Trump-era travel policy, stipulating that illegal immigrants would be disqualified from applying for asylum in the United States if they didn’t first seek protection in countries that they traveled through on their way to the United States, with limited exceptions.

  The regulation is meant to decrease human smuggling activities at the southern border by encouraging asylum-seekers to use “lawful, safe, and orderly” pathways, such as seeking refuge in a country that they’ve passed through.

  

  Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas (2nd-L) speaks at a press conference on May 5, 2023, in Brownsville, Texas. (Michael Gonzalez/Getty Images)

  Hours before Title 42 was set to expire, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that smugglers had been spreading the word that the border would be open after Title 42 expired.

  “I want to be very clear: our borders are not open,” he said at the time. “People who cross our border unlawfully and without a legal basis to remain will be promptly processed and removed.”

  Issuing a warning to those considering making the trek to the border, he stressed:

  “Smugglers care only about profits, not people. Do not risk your life and life savings only to be removed from the United States if and when you arrive here.”

  Since Mr. Biden took office, over 5 million illegal immigrants have crossed the border into the United States.

  Scheduled Arrivals

  Meanwhile, DHS said at the end of June that more would-be illegal immigrants would be able to schedule their entry into the United States.

  The department’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will allow up to 1,450 appointments per day, an increase of 200 from the current number and 450 from the number available in May.

  “CBP is expanding the number of available appointments at ports of entry for the second time in less than two months, through scheduling enhancements and operational efficiencies,” Troy Miller, the top CBP official, said in a statement.

  The appointments, made through an application called CBP One, are “providing for safe and efficient processes at ports of entry,” he added.

  The would-be immigrants can schedule an appointment at a port of entry, or an official border crossing, through the application.

  The appointment scheduling was part of a January Biden administration announcement on steps that would be taken to deal with the spike in illegal immigration that has occurred since Mr. Biden took office.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 18:20

• Barbie Movie Applauded As A “Feminist Epic” While Depicting Men As Bumbling Villains
  Barbie Movie Applauded As A “Feminist Epic” While Depicting Men As Bumbling Villains

  The underlying and undeniable trend of modern day Hollywood is the making of movies that hate their own subject matter, specifically when that subject matter stems from traditional cultural norms.  The goal is “deconstruction.” Everything must be deconstructed, broken down, burned down, erased from the public consciousness and replaced with the “new” woke ideal.  Well, it was only a matter of time before they went after Barbie and the results are embarrassing.

  Produced by star Margot Robbie and directed by Greta Gerwig, Hollywood critics love Barbie, but their applause doesn’t revolve around the overall quality of the story.  Rather, it revolves around the messaging which is aggressively woke.  

  The Verge calls the movie a:

  “Bold vision built around the idea of deconstructing some of the more complex realities of what Barbie represents in order to tell a truly modern, feminist story.”

  The Wrap declares:

  “Once an equal parts fascinating and controversial Mattel toy, both loved and hate – a tiny-waisted, vacuously smiling, slender doll designed like a straight-male fantasy – is now a complicated feminist symbol of empowerment…”

  NBC News notes:

  “As Barbie makes her way in the real world, she must grapple with the overwhelming emotion and discomfort of being human, as well as a patriarchal system that would make her a secondary character in her own world.”

  The core plot of Barbie plays on the common feminist notion of “reversed roles” along with a predictable hatred of men and masculinity; starting in a place where women run everything and men are simply objects with “no agency.”  Ken is a dunce that Barbie controls while he is also simultaneously cruel, a classic woke depiction of “toxic masculinity.”  

  But when Barbie is transported to the real world (our world as viewed by feminism) she encounters a cartoonish level of male chauvinism and sexism, while Ken learns to love the patriarchy and tries to transport it back to Barbie’s world.  IndieWire asserts that Ken is the villain of the story as he destroys the feminist utopia of Barbieland:

  “It’s been hugely altered by the full force of a returning (and, dare we say it, red-pilled) Ken, who uses all his newfound male rage and patriarchal power to upend what was once a lady-powered idyll.”

  In fact, the film’s script uses the word “patriarchy” at least 10 times.  Obviously, the premise as a metaphor is faulty because the dynamic depicted in the flick doesn’t exist for women, at least not in western society.  Gender roles exist because of biology, not because of conspiracy.  But then, the ultimate childish fantasy is not Barbie’s dreamland, it’s the feminist ideal.   

  

  The surface story involves the realm of Barbie as a parallel universe to our own, but real life issues and fears start to invade Barbie’s thoughts and she begins to challenge the structures of the world she lives in while disrupting everyone’s blissful ignorance (This is how woke activists see themselves; as messiahs shocking people out of an illusion controlled by evil white men).

  Not surprisingly, the movie also ignores the essential reasons why Barbie as a toy is so popular.

  For decades Barbie has been a primary target of the feminist movement.  Their accusation is that the toy is a negative image reinforcement for young girls and a “tool for the patriarchy” for molding women into unattainable beauty standards as well as social standards.  In reality, Barbie is vastly successful because she’s a blank slate – Girls and women tend to project their personalities onto fictional characters (and many other things), and Barbie has no defined personality to get in the way.  Little girls make Barbie into whatever they want her to be, which is usually them.  This is the reason why we often hear feminists argue that everyone needs to “feel represented” in entertainment – They cannot relate unless they can project.   

  But as a blank slate there can be no “manipulation” or male domination with a toy like Barbie. So, feminist claims fall apart.  They simply ignore what the toy means to children and think only of what it means to them.

  By extension, there is no romance in the Barbie movie, no love story for Barbie and Ken, no playing house or taking care of babies.  All the things that little girls do with the toy are deliberately erased from the film.  Beyond the colorful set design, the movie is distinctly hostile to the idea that it should appeal to kids.  It is only made for one very narrow group of people:  Far left ideologues.

  Robbie sold the concept to Mattel as a movie that “loves Barbie” but also “doesn’t shy away from the problematic issues surrounding Barbie.”  It would be interesting to get an honest opinion from Mattel now that the movie has hit theaters – Was this really what they intended?  A complete deconstruction of their brand?  The movie even depicts the CEO of Mattel (played by Will Farrell) as an angry capitalist trying to force Barbie “back into her box.”

  In the middle of the film, a teenage girl shouts at Margot Robbie’s Barbie in a California high school cafeteria:

  “You represent everything wrong with our culture. You destroyed the planet with your glorification of rampant consumerism…you fascist!”

  This is not a display of love for the toy, it’s a group of woke fanatics doing what they always do – It’s not enough that they hate the product and what it stands for, everyone else has to hate it too.  Feminists are not happy in their own crazed beliefs; they are only satiated when others are pressured to affirm those beliefs, often through propaganda.  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 18:00

• Woe, The Humanity: How AI Fits Into Broadly Rising Anti-Humanism
  Woe, The Humanity: How AI Fits Into Broadly Rising Anti-Humanism

  Authored by Joel Kotkin & Samuel J. Abrams via RealClear Wire,

  The future of humanity is becoming ever less human. The astounding capabilities of ChatGPT and other forms of artificial intelligence have triggered fears about the coming age of machines leaving little place for human creativity or employment. Even the architects of this brave new world are sounding the alarm. Sam Altman, chairman and CEO of OpenAI, which developed ChatGPT, recently warned that artificial intelligence poses an “existential risk” to humanity and warned Congress that artificial intelligence “can go quite wrong.”

  

  While history is littered with apocalyptic predictions, the new alarms are different because they are taking place amid broad cultural forces that suggest human beings have lost faith in themselves and connections with humanity in general.  

  The new worldview might best be described as anti-humanism. This notion rejects the idea that human beings are perennially ingenious, socially connected creatures capable of wondrous creations – religious scripture, the plays of Shakespeare, the music of Beethoven, the science of Einstein. Instead, it casts people, society, and human life itself as a problem. Instead of seeing society as a tool to help people to build and flourish, it stresses the need to limit the damage humanity might do.     

  Many climate change activists, for example, argue that humanity’s extinction could be a net plus for planet earth. State-sanctioned euthanasia, which just a few years ago was considered a radical assault on the sanctity of life, is becoming common practice in many Western countries – available not just to the terminally ill but those who are just tired of living. 

  All this is taking place as social science research reveals that people are increasingly cutting themselves off from one another. The traditional pillars of community and connection – family, friends, children, church, neighborhood – have been withering, fostering an everyday existence defined for many people by loneliness. The larger notion of human beings as constituting a larger, collective project with some sense of common goal is being replaced by a solipsistic individualism, which negates the classical liberal values of self-determination and personal freedoms in a worldview that nullifies the societies they built.

  These trends, which have been studied largely in isolation, could be amplified by the ascendance of artificial intelligence. As humanity wrestles with powerful new technologies, a growing body of research suggests that a more fundamental question may be whether human beings are willing to shape their own legacy in the new world order. 

  God as Gaia  

  Anti-humanism has a long history – it can be traced back at least to Thomas Malthus, who warned in 1789 that overpopulation was the greatest threat to human prosperity. Although the British economist and cleric was not hostile to humanity and his dark predictions never came true, his claim that people are the problem has provided the cri de coeur for the modern environmental movement. In 1968, the biologist Paul Ehrlich’s best-seller “The Population Bomb,” which expressed horror at the proliferation of people, prophesied that continued surges in population would lead to mass starvation. Ehrlich and his acolytes urged extreme measures to stave off disaster, including adding sterilant to the water supply to prevent human reproduction.  

  These views have not gone away. The big business-funded Club of Rome report, issued in 1972, embraced an agenda of austerity and retrenchment to stave off population-driven mass starvation and social chaos. Humanity’s ancient effort to create safety and comfort – its commitment to progress and prosperity – was cast as a lethal threat.  

  Others were less politic in their embrace of anti-human memes. In 1991, the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau said that “in order to stabilize world populations, we must eliminate 350,000 people per day.” Today, this mindset informs many climate change activists, who as the writer Austin Williams has noted, believe human beings represent “the biggest problem on the planet” as opposed to the “creators of a better future.” More than 11,000 scientists signed an emergency declaration in 2019 that said having fewer people should be a priority.  

  In a May New Yorker article about “The Earth Transformed,” a new book by Oxford University professor Peter Frankopan, Harvard professor Jill Lepore notes: “In his not at all cheerful conclusion, looking to a possibly not too distant future in which humans fail to address climate change and become extinct, Frankopan writes, ‘Our loss will be the gain of other animals and plants.’” Lepore then quips, “An upside!” 

  Manifestos such as Frankopan’s, whose writing on the history of climate change is quite nuanced, reflect how the climate agenda tends toward apocalypticism, and a highly toxic view of humanity. Already more than half of young people around the world believe the planet is doomed. Although few prioritize climate as their main concern, concerns about warming underpins a profoundly anti-human agenda based on the impoverishment of much of the population. Many corporate interests, as well as their allies among green activists, have embraced the notion of “degrowth,” embracing a weird form of autarkic feudalism in which people live in small places, eat a meager diet, and surrender any chance of upward mobility. The “tiny house” movement is a small example. It is hard to overstate what a radical departure this is from long-held beliefs tying progress to rising standards of living, much less creating offspring. 

  Such an approach seems to require a quasi-religious commitment which, if it does not claim justification from God, acts as the right hand of Gaia and of supposedly sanctified science. Two environmentalists, writing in Time magazine this April, argued that Earth Day should be designated a “religious holiday” just like Easter and Passover.  

  The Fading Family   

  Unlike traditional religious holidays, sacralized Earth Day festivities likely will not celebrate the family or human fecundity. Around the world, the ties between parents, children and extended family are clearly weakening and thus undermining the bonds that have held human society together from the earliest times.  

  Increasingly the very idea of family is under assault, particularly from universities and media that openly criticize monogamy and the nuclear family while extolling a wide array of alternatives including polyamory and some form of collectivized childrearing. Columnist David Brooks of the New York Times, who last week fretted that “human beings are soon going to be eclipsed” by AI, also argued in The Atlantic in 2020 that “the nuclear family was a mistake.” Brooks, no woke zealot, oddly echoed the group Black Lives Matter, which made opposition to the nuclear family a part of its basic original platform, even though family breakdown has hurt African American boys most of all. One prominent feminist, Sophie Lewis, advocates “full surrogacy” as a replacement for the traditional family.  

  To be sure, many children are being brought up without two parents. The number of children living in single parent households has more than doubled in the last 50 years. In the United States, the rate of single parenthood has grown from 10% in 1960 to over 40% today. 

  Rather than a nation of families, the United States is becoming a collection of autonomous human beings and childless households. The impacts of a weaker family, as Brookings Institution scholar Richard Reeves and others have noted, are felt most among poorer people, and particularly their offspring. “This is probably the best documented fact in sociology in America that no one wants to admit,” observed demographer Mary Eberstadt. 

  The links between family dysfunction and crime have been clear since at least the 1970s. This breakdown has worsened as city leaders in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, New York and other urban centers now accept homelessness, open drug markets, and petty crime. This can be viewed as another aspect of anti-humanism, rejecting the notion that people are capable of productive and fulfilling lives. Instead of seeing people as members of a community with obligations to one another, it reflects a kind of live-and-let-die individualism that leads to isolation, despair, and anger. 

  The Friendless American  

  Family decline reflects just one aspect of an increasingly dehumanized social order. The U.S. Census Bureau has found that 28% of American households had just one person in 2020. In 1940, this number was just 8%. In a recent survey conducted by Cigna, researchers found that almost 80% of adults from the ages of 18 to 24 reported feeling lonely. In 2018, even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one study showed that 54% of Americans felt like no one in their life knew them well. The “atomization” of America, first examined 20 years ago by Robert Putnam in books such as “Bowling Alone,” has been simply “speeding out in the wrong direction,” warns journalist Jennifer Senior. 

  As the pandemic wound down in the spring of 2022 and many were looking to resume their lives as normally as possible, a survey of American adults revealed that many people found it harder to form relationships now, and one-fourth of adults felt anxious about socializing. The biggest source of anxiety, shared by 29% of respondents, was “not knowing what to say or how to interact.” As social commentator Arthur Brooks notes, “Many of us have simply forgotten how to be friends.” 

  But it’s young people who bear the brunt of the loneliness wave. Data from the American Enterprise Institute’s Survey on Community and Society indicate that younger Americans are, in fact, considerably more lonely and isolated than older Americans. For instance, 44% of 18 to 29-year-olds report feeling completely alone at least sometimes, compared with just 19% of 60 to 70-year-olds. Perhaps most troubling, 22% of younger Americans stated that they “rarely” or “never” have someone they can turn to when in need. For older Americans, this number was just 5%.  

  So, what replaces human connections? The solution is increasingly expressed as self-love — the notion that the individual, however flawed, needs to be celebrated above all other human connections. According to one recent survey, 44% of people believe self-love is an essential aspect of mental health. For some, like pop singer Lizzo, self-love means accepting even traits such as obesity, which are clear threats to basic health.  

  In this tech-dominant future, even the most pleasurable direct human contact is being supplanted by artificial stimulus.  Many younger people are falling into what researchers have characterized as a “sex recession.” There has been a significant rise in artificial sex and numerous reports have found that pornography consumption can negatively impact marital intimacy and reduce relationship satisfaction. Younger generations are having sex less often and experiencing far more relationship instability, leading to fewer marriages and more atomization. In Japan, the harbinger of modern Asian demographics, roughly a third of men enter their 30s as virgins and a quarter of men over 50 never marry. Nearly a third of Japanese in their 30s have never had sex.  

  Psychologist Maytal Eyal, writing in Time, quotes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez suggesting that that loving yourself is “the one foundation of everything.” She also quotes Nicole LaPera, a clinical psychologist with 6.4 million followers, who claims “Self-love is our natural state,” citing Miley Cyrus, whose recent hit “Flowers” proclaims, “I can love me better than you can.”  

  Life, Death, and Changing Attitudes 

  As reflected in “self-love,” anti-humanism rests on a belief system that substitutes the sanctity of human life with a new ideology centered on the autonomous individual’s wants and desires. This extends to changing views on the most basic events of human existence, birth and death.  

  Attitudes towards euthanasia are increasingly permissive and expansive. Today a majority of Americans (54%), according to Gallup, think that doctor-assisted suicide is morally acceptable. Ten states now provide euthanasia. Several others, including Massachusetts and Vermont, also want to expand the use of “end of life” procedures.  

  The United States is behind the curve on this issue. In Canada, euthanasia is being made available even to those not terminally ill. Some apply to be killed due to homelessness or depression; since the new euthanasia law went into effect in 2016, the numbers using it have grown ten-fold. Canadian medical professionals have been reported to urge terminally ill patients to end their lives earlier, in part to defray hospital expenses. There are even government plans to consider allowing assisted suicide for minors without parental consent. 

  These trends can be seen as well in some European nations, such as Switzerland, where people not terminally ill can orchestrate their own extermination. In Spain, one convicted murderer opted for suicide even before sentencing. Belgium allowed the assisted suicide of a 23-year-old woman with depression, something that has sparked considerable controversy. In Japan, it is widely discussed whether that rapidly aging population should institute euthanasia for the elderly, even those who are not sick or dying. Last year the country experienced twice as many deaths as births. 

  The shifts here and abroad reveal a diminishing value placed on human life. A Connecticut civil rights lawyer, a former strong supporter of liberalized euthanasia laws, reports how physicians advocated assisted suicide for patients with disabilities, even those able to live longer and thrive.  

  Similar attitudes toward life define the ever more contentious abortion debate. When Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992, his platform was that abortion should be “safe, legal, and rare.” Today, the nation’s most prominent abortion advocates – like their opposite number in the pro-life movement – leave no room for compromise. Pro-choice leaders often view abortion as an unchallengeable “human right.” Just as the idea of limiting abortions for rape and incest, and placing very strict time limits, seems extreme to most Americans, the alternative view that has taken hold is that abortion idea is no longer something to be regretted, but celebrated. And this attitude has only intensified after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

  The Fading of Religion  

  The growing atomization of society has accompanied the historic decline of organized religion. Survey data show that two groups saw their rate of unhappiness rise more significantly than the others: single people, and those who did not regularly attend a religious service. The fading of religion, particularly among the young, intensifies isolation; the most recent AEI survey reveals, in contrast, that being faithful and part of a religious community deeply impacts feels of connectedness and isolation.  

  The decline of religion is a fundamental reality in most Western countries. In Europe, over 50% of those under age 40 do not identify with any religion. America, once considered an exception to the global secularizing trend, is also now rapidly “unchurching.” Younger Americans may still embrace of the notion of spiritual power but are leaving religious institutions at a rate four times that of their counterparts three decades ago. Almost 40% of people ages 18-29 have no religious affiliation.  

  The decline in faith among America’s youngest cohorts certainly threatens the trajectory of family formation; the fertility of women attending at least weekly religious services is about half-again higher than that of the secular. Globally, research shows that the higher the level of faith, the higher a country’s fertility will be, suggesting one way how traditional religion is at odds with the anti-human perspective of many in the climate movement.   

  A strong commitment to faith also correlates with community connectivity and engagement. For instance, just 10% of the religiously observant say they have no close friends; the number nearly doubles for those who have no faith.  

  This pattern extends to the younger generation. Religious younger Americans are more than twice as likely to do community work as their nonreligious Gen Z counterparts. Data from a nationally representative survey of nearly 2,000 young adults ages 18-25 coordinated by Neighborly Faith reveals that half of religious Gen Zers report volunteering in the community often or very often, compared to 30% of slightly religious Gen Zers and just 21% of non-religious Gen Zers. Despite narratives of insularity and social disconnect among religious Americans, it is primarily the religiously detached who are isolated and not connecting to others.  

  Tech and De-Humanization 

  Having moved away from family, community, and friendships, people increasingly seek salvation through technology – with some highly negative results. By empowering individuals, PCs, smart phones, and the rest have seemed to reduce the need for human connection. Increasingly, people are coming to see each other the same way machines see us – as data points to be fed into algorithms. “Science per se,” the late British chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks said, “has no space for empathy or fellow feeling.”  

  With the growth of artificial intelligence, the prospect of replacing humans by machines seems increasingly imminent. In Japan, where labor shortages are particularly intense, robots are being developed to care for their aging population and provide companionship for the increasingly rare young, as in Kazuo Ishiguro’s dystopian science fiction novel “Klara and the Sun.” Increasingly, even sex work could conceivably be dominated by artificial life forms.  

  As people hand over even their most intimate relations to machines, the designers of the new anti-human reality espouse the notion that, over time, most humans will be economically redundant and unnecessary. Researcher Gregory Ferenstein, who interviewed 147 tech company founders, found that most believe an “increasingly greater share of economic wealth will be generated by a smaller slice of very talented or original people. Everyone else will come to subsist on some combination of part-time entrepreneurial ‘gig work’ and government aid.”  

  Rather than see most humans as assets to society and the economy, many tech leaders, including AI pioneers like Sam Altman, envision offering the masses what Karl Marx would call “a proletarian alms bag,” a guaranteed income leaving them unstressed but marginally engaged in how society operates. This view is endorsed by many other tech oligarchs – Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Travis Kalanick (former head of Uber), as well as Altman. 

  Yet recent experience suggests clear dangers in what virtual reality guru Rony Abovitz calls “computational autocracy.” When you look at Americans born after 1995,” notes New York University professor Jonathan Haidt, “what you find is that they have extraordinarily high rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, and fragility.” Since 2010 , he notes, teenage girls have seen their rates of depression rise by 145%, while that for men has jumped 161%. Similar patterns, including hospitalizations for suicide, have risen across Western society.  

  The disturbing work of Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University, has revealed in detail the depressive symptoms among students K-12 over the past two decades. Today, half of U.S. students (50%) state that “they can’t do anything right” and that they “do not enjoy life” (49%). Sadly, 44% assert that their “life is not useful,” and this matches many attitudes on college and university campuses around the United States. According to Rebecca Rialon Berry, a professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at New York University, “the intense sounds, colors and rapid movement of digital content can make it much more immersive and entrancing than the real world – and therefore much more difficult to disengage from.”

  Rise of a Post-Human World Order 

  For some, technology could also provide, as religion once did, the mechanism to reinvent the human race. Masayoshi Son, founder of the influential Softbank venture fund, recently suggested that artificial intelligence would lay the foundation for the creation of the “superhuman.” Scientists for a half century have harbored similar dreams and some no doubt welcome the Biden administration’s support for a vast project “to write circuitry for cells and predictably program biology in the same way in which we write software and program computers.” But cautionary tales about trying to create “the better human” are abundant: Consider the scientific promoters of early 20th century American eugenics as well as the examples of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. 

  The ultimate goal of the tech elite increasingly will be to meld people with machines. “Transhumanism” is based on the idea, espoused by former Google chief scientist Ray Kurzweil, that we can “transcend the limitations of our biological bodies and brains,” gaining control of “our fates” as well as our mortality. The new tech religion treats mortality not as a normal part of life, but as a “bug” to be corrected by technology. 

  Although it sounds like a cult, transhumanism has gained devotees from Silicon Valley including Sergei Brin, Larry Page, and Ray Kurzweil (of Google), to Peter Thiel and AI guru Sam Altman, whose Y Combinator is developing a technology for uploading one’s brain and preserving it digitally. The aim is to “develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence.”  

  This new religion is a step toward creating a scientifically ordered society detached from family, religion, and the broad sense of community. Philosopher Yuval Noah Harari envisions a future where “a small and privileged elite of upgraded humans” will use genetic engineering to cement the superior status of their offspring – a small, God-like caste of what he calls Homo deus who can lord over the less cognitively gifted Homo sapiens.  

  “You want to know how super-intelligent cyborgs might treat ordinary flesh-and-blood humans?” Harari asks. “Better start by investigating how humans treat their less intelligent animal cousins.” 

  Joel Kotkin is Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University and executive director of the Urban Reform Institute. 
  Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 17:40

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• These Are The World's Most Valuable Football Club Brands
  These Are The World’s Most Valuable Football Club Brands

  When the oldest national football competition—the FA Cup—was first played in 1872, the players didn’t get paid, clubs were local associations, and there were no such things as football brands.

  Skip ahead a century and a half and many football clubs have comparable levels of global recognition to well-known consumer brands like Apple or Coca-Cola, while simultaneously commanding immense loyalty from fans from all walks of life.

  These characteristics have immense financial worth. Today, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao details which clubs, aside from competing on the pitch, also compete as football brands. Brand Finance, a brand valuation and strategy consultancy, has compiled a list of the world’s 50 most valuable football club brands.

  

  ℹ️ Brand value refers to the present value of earnings specifically related to a football team’s brand reputation. This is separate and distinct from market value, or the value of an organization as a whole (i.e. what it would cost to buy a team)

  Which Football Club Has the Most Valuable Brand?

  Prized at $1.56 billion in 2023, Manchester City FC of England’s Premier League takes the top spot as the most valuable football brand.

  The club’s brand value grew 13.5% in the last year, a testament to the club’s recent and sustained success on the domestic and international fronts. It has won the Premier league seven times since 2011, and in 2023 the club completed a historic “treble”—winning the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup, all in one season.

  Here’s a look at the world’s top 50 most valued football club brands, listed in USD millions.

  Rank	Brand	Country	Brand Value (USD millions)	Value Change (2022-2023)
  1	Manchester City FC	🇬🇧 UK	$1,562	+13.50%
  2	Real Madrid CF	🇪🇸 Spain	$1,513	-14.40%
  3	FC Barcelona	🇪🇸 Spain	$1,425	-7.20%
  4	Manchester United FC	🇬🇧 UK	$1,412	-2.60%
  5	Liverpool FC	🇬🇧 UK	$1,411	-4.40%
  6	Paris Saint-Germain	🇫🇷 France	$1,174	-1.40%
  7	FC Bayern Munich	🇩🇪 Germany	$1,140	-11.30%
  8	Arsenal FC	🇬🇧 UK	$940	+0.02%
  9	Tottenham Hotspur FC	🇬🇧 UK	$931	-8.00%
  10	Chelsea FC	🇬🇧 UK	$893	-9.90%
  11	Juventus FC	🇮🇹 Italy	$655	-19.90%
  12	Club Atletico de Madrid	🇪🇸 Spain	$570	-15.10%
  13	Borussia Dortmund	🇩🇪 Germany	$562	-6.30%
  14	FC Internazionale Milano	🇮🇹 Italy	$528	-8.00%
  15	AC Milan	🇮🇹 Italy	$371	+0.19%
  16	West Ham United FC	🇬🇧 UK	$320	-6.40%
  17	Newcastle United FC	🇬🇧 UK	$259	+0.17%
  18	SSC Napoli	🇮🇹 Italy	$249	+0.18%
  19	RasenBallsport Leipzig	🇩🇪 Germany	$231	-18.40%
  20	Aston Villa FC	🇬🇧 UK	$222	+0.04%
  21	AS Roma	🇮🇹 Italy	$212	+0.01%
  22	Eintracht Frankfurt	🇩🇪 Germany	$210	-5.40%
  23	Everton FC	🇬🇧 UK	$205	-13.60%
  24	Bayer 04 Leverkusen	🇩🇪 Germany	$202	-8.00%
  25	Sevilla FC	🇪🇸 Spain	$196	-5.10%
  26	Brighton & Hove Albion FC	🇬🇧 UK	$189	-3.00%
  27	Leicester City	🇬🇧 UK	$187	-40.70%
  28	Olympique De Marseille	🇫🇷 France	$179	+0.07%
  29	Crystal Palace	🇬🇧 UK	$174	-1.70%
  30	AFC Ajax	🇳🇱 Netherlands	$172	-18.90%
  31	Olympique Lyonnais	🇫🇷 France	$166	-6.90%
  32	Wolverhampton Wanderers FC	🇬🇧 UK	$166	-29.80%
  33	Leeds United	🇬🇧 UK	$160	-25.60%
  34	Real Betis	🇪🇸 Spain	$159	+0.17%
  35	Borussia Monchengladbach	🇩🇪 Germany	$157	-18.80%
  36	Villarreal CF	🇪🇸 Spain	$143	-6.30%
  37	Real Sociedad	🇪🇸 Spain	$139	N/A
  38	VfL Wolfsburg	🇩🇪 Germany	$128	-34.90%
  39	1.FC Koln	🇩🇪 Germany	$125	-3.30%
  40	SC Freiburg	🇩🇪 Germany	$125	N/A
  41	SL Benfica	🇵🇹 Portugal	$123	+0.05%
  42	Celtic FC	🇬🇧 UK	$118	-9.70%
  43	Brentford FC	🇬🇧 UK	$118	N/A
  44	Athletic de Bilbao	🇪🇸 Spain	$117	-23.50%
  45	SS Lazio SpA	🇮🇹 Italy	$116	N/A
  46	1.FC Union Berlin	🇩🇪 Germany	$112	N/A
  47	Valencia CF	🇪🇸 Spain	$112	-38.70%
  48	FC Porto	🇵🇹 Portugal	$105	N/A
  49	Fulham FC	🇬🇧 UK	$104	N/A
  50	CR Flamengo	🇧🇷 Brazil	$102	-8.80%

  Close on City’s heels, Spain’s Real Madrid CF brand is also valued slightly above $1.5 billion, but is down 14% in the last year. The club lost their hold on both their domestic league and European championship titles this season, contributing to their decrease in brand worth in 2023.

  On the Catalonian side of Spain, FC Barcelona’s brand remains ranked in third place, valued at $1.4 billion. The two Spanish giants have a near duopoly over La Liga, Spain’s domestic league, with one of them having won the title 62 times in the 94 years since the league was founded.

  The rivalry gained another edge in the 2000s, hosting one each of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo—two of the most-followed celebrities in the world and often regarded as some of the greatest players to play the game.

  And while both Messi and Ronaldo left in the last five years, Barcelona and Real Madrid’s brands have stayed resilient. Both clubs have consistently ranked in the top five most valuable football club brands since 2013.

  Four more club brands have been valued above $1 billion:

  • Manchester United FC, England, ($1.41 billion)

  • Liverpool FC, England ($1.41 billion)

  • Paris Saint-Germain, France ($1.17 billion)

  • FC Bayern Munich, Germany ($1.14 billion)

  Countries with the Most Valuable Football Brands

  From a regional perspective, the UK is home to the most high-worth football club brands (18), all of them in England with the sole exception of Scotland’s Celtic FC.

  Country	Clubs	Brand Value (USD millions)
  🇬🇧 UK	18	$9,371
  🇩🇪 Germany	10	$2,992
  🇪🇸 Spain	9	$4,374
  🇮🇹 Italy	6	$2,131
  🇫🇷 France	3	$1,519
  🇵🇹 Portugal	2	$228
  🇳🇱 Netherlands	1	$172
  🇧🇷 Brazil	1	$102
  Total	50	$20,889

  The UK is followed by Germany (10) and Spain (9) with the most high-valued brands. Together, the top three countries account for almost three quarters of the most valued football club brands in the world.

  With an even broader-picture gaze, Europe is home to 49 of the 50 listed clubs, a testament to the strength of the European football market. The only non-European team to make the list was CR Flamengo from Brazil.

  What’s in a Brand?

  While the value of a football club brand is not the same as the club value itself, a strong brand can do wonders for a club’s financial performance, and eventual value.

  Just look at Manchester United, which hasn’t quite regained its stellar performances on field since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013, but nevertheless continues to be a commercial juggernaut—it had the fourth highest jersey sales in 2021.

  A similar story can be seen with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr when it signed Cristiano Ronaldo, which drove visits to its merchandise store up 300%.

  With the new football season around the corner, it will be fascinating to see how the rankings of most valuable football brands change next year.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 02:45

• The Future Of AI Is War… And Human Extinction As Collateral Damage
  The Future Of AI Is War… And Human Extinction As Collateral Damage

  Authored by Michael T Klare via TomDispatch.com,

  A world in which machines governed by artificial intelligence (AI) systematically replace human beings in most business, industrial, and professional functions is horrifying to imagine. After all, as prominent computer scientists have been warning us, AI-governed systems are prone to critical errors and inexplicable “hallucinations,” resulting in potentially catastrophic outcomes.

  But there’s an even more dangerous scenario imaginable from the proliferation of super-intelligent machines: the possibility that those nonhuman entities could end up fighting one another, obliterating all human life in the process.

  

  The notion that super-intelligent computers might run amok and slaughter humans has, of course, long been a staple of popular culture. In the prophetic 1983 film “WarGames,” a supercomputer known as WOPR (for War Operation Plan Response and, not surprisingly, pronounced “whopper”) nearly provokes a catastrophic nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union before being disabled by a teenage hacker (played by Matthew Broderick). The “Terminator” movie franchise, beginning with the original 1984 film, similarly envisioned a self-aware supercomputer called “Skynet” that, like WOPR, was designed to control U.S. nuclear weapons but chooses instead to wipe out humanity, viewing us as a threat to its existence.

  Though once confined to the realm of science fiction, the concept of supercomputers killing humans has now become a distinct possibility in the very real world of the near future. In addition to developing a wide variety of “autonomous,” or robotic combat devices, the major military powers are also rushing to create automated battlefield decision-making systems, or what might be called “robot generals.” In wars in the not-too-distant future, such AI-powered systems could be deployed to deliver combat orders to American soldiers, dictating where, when, and how they kill enemy troops or take fire from their opponents. In some scenarios, robot decision-makers could even end up exercising control over America’s atomic weapons, potentially allowing them to ignite a nuclear war resulting in humanity’s demise.

  Now, take a breath for a moment. The installation of an AI-powered command-and-control (C2) system like this may seem a distant possibility. Nevertheless, the U.S. Department of Defense is working hard to develop the required hardware and software in a systematic, increasingly rapid fashion. In its budget submission for 2023, for example, the Air Force requested $231 million to develop the Advanced Battlefield Management System (ABMS), a complex network of sensors and AI-enabled computers designed to collect and interpret data on enemy operations and provide pilots and ground forces with a menu of optimal attack options. As the technology advances, the system will be capable of sending “fire” instructions directly to “shooters,” largely bypassing human control.

  “A machine-to-machine data exchange tool that provides options for deterrence, or for on-ramp [a military show-of-force] or early engagement,” was how Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics, described the ABMS system in a 2020 interview. Suggesting that “we do need to change the name” as the system evolves, Roper added, “I think Skynet is out, as much as I would love doing that as a sci-fi thing. I just don’t think we can go there.”

  And while he can’t go there, that’s just where the rest of us may, indeed, be going.

  Mind you, that’s only the start. In fact, the Air Force’s ABMS is intended to constitute the nucleus of a larger constellation of sensors and computers that will connect all U.S. combat forces, the Joint All-Domain Command-and-Control System (JADC2, pronounced “Jad-C-two”). “JADC2 intends to enable commanders to make better decisions by collecting data from numerous sensors, processing the data using artificial intelligence algorithms to identify targets, then recommending the optimal weapon… to engage the target,” the Congressional Research Service reported in 2022.

  AI and the Nuclear Trigger

  Initially, JADC2 will be designed to coordinate combat operations among “conventional” or non-nuclear American forces. Eventually, however, it is expected to link up with the Pentagon’s nuclear command-control-and-communications systems (NC3), potentially giving computers significant control over the use of the American nuclear arsenal. “JADC2 and NC3 are intertwined,” General John E. Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated in a 2020 interview. As a result, he added in typical Pentagonese, “NC3 has to inform JADC2 and JADC2 has to inform NC3.”

  It doesn’t require great imagination to picture a time in the not-too-distant future when a crisis of some sort — say a U.S.-China military clash in the South China Sea or near Taiwan — prompts ever more intense fighting between opposing air and naval forces. Imagine then the JADC2 ordering the intense bombardment of enemy bases and command systems in China itself, triggering reciprocal attacks on U.S. facilities and a lightning decision by JADC2 to retaliate with tactical nuclear weapons, igniting a long-feared nuclear holocaust.

  The possibility that nightmare scenarios of this sort could result in the accidental or unintended onset of nuclear war has long troubled analysts in the arms control community. But the growing automation of military C2 systems has generated anxiety not just among them but among senior national security officials as well.

  As early as 2019, when I questioned Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan, then director of the Pentagon’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, about such a risky possibility, he responded, “You will find no stronger proponent of integration of AI capabilities writ large into the Department of Defense, but there is one area where I pause, and it has to do with nuclear command and control.” This “is the ultimate human decision that needs to be made” and so “we have to be very careful.” Given the technology’s “immaturity,” he added, we need “a lot of time to test and evaluate [before applying AI to NC3].”

  In the years since, despite such warnings, the Pentagon has been racing ahead with the development of automated C2 systems. In its budget submission for 2024, the Department of Defense requested $1.4 billion for the JADC2 in order “to transform warfighting capability by delivering information advantage at the speed of relevance across all domains and partners.” Uh-oh! And then, it requested another $1.8 billion for other kinds of military-related AI research.

  Pentagon officials acknowledge that it will be some time before robot generals will be commanding vast numbers of U.S. troops (and autonomous weapons) in battle, but they have already launched several projects intended to test and perfect just such linkages. One example is the Army’s Project Convergence, involving a series of field exercises designed to validate ABMS and JADC2 component systems. In a test held in August 2020 at the Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, for example, the Army used a variety of air- and ground-based sensors to track simulated enemy forces and then process that data using AI-enabled computers at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington state. Those computers, in turn, issued fire instructions to ground-based artillery at Yuma. “This entire sequence was supposedly accomplished within 20 seconds,” the Congressional Research Service later reported.

  Less is known about the Navy’s AI equivalent, “Project Overmatch,” as many aspects of its programming have been kept secret. According to Admiral Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, Overmatch is intended “to enable a Navy that swarms the sea, delivering synchronized lethal and nonlethal effects from near-and-far, every axis, and every domain.” Little else has been revealed about the project.

  “Flash Wars” and Human Extinction

  Despite all the secrecy surrounding these projects, you can think of ABMS, JADC2, Convergence, and Overmatch as building blocks for a future Skynet-like mega-network of super-computers designed to command all U.S. forces, including its nuclear ones, in armed combat. The more the Pentagon moves in that direction, the closer we’ll come to a time when AI possesses life-or-death power over all American soldiers along with opposing forces and any civilians caught in the crossfire.

  Such a prospect should be ample cause for concern. To start with, consider the risk of errors and miscalculations by the algorithms at the heart of such systems. As top computer scientists have warned us, those algorithms are capable of remarkably inexplicable mistakes and, to use the AI term of the moment, “hallucinations” — that is, seemingly reasonable results that are entirely illusionary. Under the circumstances, it’s not hard to imagine such computers “hallucinating” an imminent enemy attack and launching a war that might otherwise have been avoided.

  And that’s not the worst of the dangers to consider. After all, there’s the obvious likelihood that America’s adversaries will similarly equip their forces with robot generals. In other words, future wars are likely to be fought by one set of AI systems against another, both linked to nuclear weaponry, with entirely unpredictable — but potentially catastrophic — results.

  Not much is known (from public sources at least) about Russian and Chinese efforts to automate their military command-and-control systems, but both countries are thought to be developing networks comparable to the Pentagon’s JADC2. As early as 2014, in fact, Russia inaugurated a National Defense Control Center (NDCC) in Moscow, a centralized command post for assessing global threats and initiating whatever military action is deemed necessary, whether of a non-nuclear or nuclear nature. Like JADC2, the NDCC is designed to collect information on enemy moves from multiple sources and provide senior officers with guidance on possible responses.

  China is said to be pursuing an even more elaborate, if similar, enterprise under the rubric of “Multi-Domain Precision Warfare” (MDPW). According to the Pentagon’s 2022 report on Chinese military developments, its military, the People’s Liberation Army, is being trained and equipped to use AI-enabled sensors and computer networks to “rapidly identify key vulnerabilities in the U.S. operational system and then combine joint forces across domains to launch precision strikes against those vulnerabilities.”

  Picture, then, a future war between the U.S. and Russia or China (or both) in which the JADC2 commands all U.S. forces, while Russia’s NDCC and China’s MDPW command those countries’ forces. Consider, as well, that all three systems are likely to experience errors and hallucinations. How safe will humans be when robot generals decide that it’s time to “win” the war by nuking their enemies?

  If this strikes you as an outlandish scenario, think again, at least according to the leadership of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, a congressionally mandated enterprise that was chaired by Eric Schmidt, former head of Google, and Robert Work, former deputy secretary of defense. “While the Commission believes that properly designed, tested, and utilized AI-enabled and autonomous weapon systems will bring substantial military and even humanitarian benefit, the unchecked global use of such systems potentially risks unintended conflict escalation and crisis instability,” it affirmed in its Final Report. Such dangers could arise, it stated, “because of challenging and untested complexities of interaction between AI-enabled and autonomous weapon systems on the battlefield” — when, that is, AI fights AI.

  Though this may seem an extreme scenario, it’s entirely possible that opposing AI systems could trigger a catastrophic “flash war” — the military equivalent of a “flash crash” on Wall Street, when huge transactions by super-sophisticated trading algorithms spark panic selling before human operators can restore order. In the infamous “Flash Crash” of May 6, 2010, computer-driven trading precipitated a 10% fall in the stock market’s value. According to Paul Scharre of the Center for a New American Security, who first studied the phenomenon, “the military equivalent of such crises” on Wall Street would arise when the automated command systems of opposing forces “become trapped in a cascade of escalating engagements.” In such a situation, he noted, “autonomous weapons could lead to accidental death and destruction at catastrophic scales in an instant.”

  At present, there are virtually no measures in place to prevent a future catastrophe of this sort or even talks among the major powers to devise such measures. Yet, as the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence noted, such crisis-control measures are urgently needed to integrate “automated escalation tripwires” into such systems “that would prevent the automated escalation of conflict.” Otherwise, some catastrophic version of World War III seems all too possible. Given the dangerous immaturity of such technology and the reluctance of Beijing, Moscow, and Washington to impose any restraints on the weaponization of AI, the day when machines could choose to annihilate us might arrive far sooner than we imagine and the extinction of humanity could be the collateral damage of such a future war.

  *  *  *

  Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Books, John Feffer’s new dystopian novel, Songlands (the final one in his Splinterlands series), Beverly Gologorsky’s novel Every Body Has a Story, and Tom Engelhardt’s A Nation Unmade by War, as well as Alfred McCoy’s In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power, John Dower’s The Violent American Century: War and Terror Since World War II, and Ann Jones’s They Were Soldiers: How the Wounded Return from America’s Wars: The Untold Story.

  Michael T. Klare, a TomDispatch regular, is the five-college professor emeritus of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College and a senior visiting fellow at the Arms Control Association. He is the author of 15 books, the latest of which is All Hell Breaking Loose: The Pentagon’s Perspective on Climate Change. He is a founder of the Committee for a Sane U.S.-China Policy.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 07/21/2023 – 02:00

• Victor Davis Hanson: The Biden Family Caricatures
  Victor Davis Hanson: The Biden Family Caricatures

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via American Greatness,

  The Biden first family seems determined to confirm every stereotype of their antisocial behavior – to the point of dysfunctionality…

  

  During the 2020 campaign at least eight women alleged that then presidential candidate Joe Biden in the past had serially and improperly touched, kissed or grabbed them.

  One, Tara Reade alleged she was sexually assaulted by Biden, who denied the charge.

  Yet Biden himself finally was forced to apologize for some of his behavior. Or as he said at the time, “I get it.”

  He claimed that he would no longer improperly invade the “private space” of women and had meant no harm.

  But Biden’s obnoxious conduct extended well beyond the eight accusers.

  Women as diverse as former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and Biden’s own daughter-in-law Kathleen Buhle, have both alleged in their memoirs that Biden made them feel uncomfortable through his intrusive touching and embraces.

  On several occasions, Biden developed a strange tic of becoming too physical with young girls. He habitually attempted to hug them while blowing in their hair.

  His daughter Ashley wrote in her diary that she feared her past adolescent showers with her father had been inappropriate. Even as president, Biden has weirdly called out young girls in his audiences to note their attractiveness.

  On one occasion, the president interrupted his speech to address a female acquaintance—enlightening the crowd that, “We go back a long way. She was 12 and I was 30, but anyway…”

  As a result, Biden has likely been warned repeatedly to forgo intimate references to young women.

  He has no doubt also been advised by his handlers to stop all close, supposedly innocent contact with young girls and children—if for no other reason than to prevent his political opponents from charging that Joe is “creepy,” “perverse,” or “sick.”

  And yet like some addict, Biden cannot stop—regardless of the eerie image he projects around the world.

  Last week, the president jumped the proverbial shark by embracing a young child in a crowd while on the tarmac of the Helsinki, Finland airport.

  In his strangest act yet, Biden kept moving his mouth near the face of the young girl. He was apparently trying to nibble the youngster, almost in turkey-gobbling fashion.

  She recoiled.

  No matter—Biden continued at her shoulder.

  Again, she flinched.

  Biden then reverted to form, and sought with a second try to smell her hair and nestle closer.

  Had any other major politician in the age of #MeToo committed such an unnerving stunt, he would likely have been ostracized by colleagues and mercilessly hammered by the media.

  Not in Biden’s case.

  The apparent media subtext was that it was either just “Old Joe” trying to be too friendly, or a symptom of his cognitive decline and thus not attributable to any sinister urge.

  Senescence now provides paradoxical cover for Biden’s creepiness—newfound exemption for his old boorish behavior.

  Also, during the President’s latest antics, cocaine was found in the West Wing of the White House.

  All the White House spokespeople had to do was to reassure the public that the drugs most certainly did not belong to first son Hunter Biden—despite being a frequent guest resident of the White House and a former crack-cocaine addict.

  Instead, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dismissed reporters for requesting such clarification.

  Then the official narrative went through several contortions, as to where and how the bag of cocaine was found.

  The disinformation only added suspicion that the White House either would not or could not be transparent about the discovery of illicit drugs abandoned at the very nexus of American governance.

  Requests for clarity were understandable not just because Hunter has had a long history of drug addiction.

  He also has a troubling habit of leaving a public trail of evidence of his drug use.

  Hunter forgot his crack pipe in a rental car. He abandoned his laptop that contained evidence of his own felonious behavior. And his unlawfully registered handgun turned up in a dumpster near a school.

  In sum, the President and his son both have quite disturbing and all-too public bad habits.

  Americans in response assume both would be careful not to offer the tiniest shred of evidence that their pathologies continue.

  White House handlers should keep Joe Biden from even getting near small children and young women.

  And they should be just as unambiguous that Hunter Biden has never, and would never, even get too close to illicit drugs while inside the White House.

  Sadly they can do neither.

  These suspicions are force multipliers of the mounting evidence of Biden family corruption. They feed narratives of heartlessness about disowning a granddaughter born out of wedlock. And they add to worries of presidential senility.

  The result is the caricature of a first family: one that is utterly dysfunctional—and increasingly detrimental to the country at large.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 23:40

• Relocating To Austin Can Save High-Income New Yorkers $250,000
  Relocating To Austin Can Save High-Income New Yorkers $250,000

  New York City’s high-income earners face a soaring cost of living crisis and some of the highest tax rates in the country.

  Compounding their financial struggles is an out-of-control crime wave, as Democratic leadership in City Hall struggles to maintain law and order. The strategy some have had to protect wealth and stretch salaries further is to move South. 

  We have explained to readers that “Moving To ‘Wall Street South’ From NYC Can Save You Up To $200k.” 

  If New Yorkers considered moving to Austin, Texas, they could save even more.

  The Finance website SmartAsset compared NYC’s cost of living and tax rates to Austin’s to determine how much New Yorkers could save.

  The results were stunning.

  Someone earning $650,000 in the Big Apple saves $258,212 in Austin. Even someone making $150,000 in NYC could benefit from the move.  

  

  In a post-Covid era, young professionals and families have fled high-taxed and crime-ridden Democrat metro areas for southern states, such as Texas. One of the most significant advantages of Texas is no corporate or personal income tax … and the state has one of the lowest tax burdens in the nation. 

  But it’s not just all about taxes. The cost of living is cheaper overall. Plus, people are friendlier. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 23:20

• Looking To China For The Next Leg Higher Carries Risks
  Looking To China For The Next Leg Higher Carries Risks

  By Michael Msika, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

  Investors are counting on China to shake European equities out of a lull, but strategists warn that officials’ measures to bolster the world’s second-biggest economy may fall short of expectations.

  Most of the Stoxx 600’s gains this year came in the first quarter, with the benchmark mostly moving sideways since then as investors priced in shifting monetary-policy expectations. Given European stocks’ strong reliance on China, all eyes are on the Politburo meeting later this month after officials vowed on Wednesday to boost the private economy.

  “Slowing growth in China has taken some wind out of the sails for European equities in recent months,” says HSBC strategist Max Kettner, who maintains a cautious stance on Europe. While some easing has helped markets, policymakers are more cautious than before, “so a return to the post-2008 stimulus mix is unlikely,” he adds.

  

  The latest reports out of China, showing weaker-than-expected economic growth and a contraction in real estate, have weighed on for European sectors particularly exposed to the economy — cyclicals like miners, industrials and autos, as well as luxury stocks.

  Kettner says any Chinese stimulus news will likely boost the broader consumer discretionary sector in Europe, but warns that cyclicals on aggregate have already rallied strongly. “In terms of what is priced in currently, there’s already quite some hope for a growth recovery in the price.”

  Miners have borne the brunt of China’s disappointing reopening. They are the worst performers in Europe this year, down 12%. The sector suffered another blow this week after Rio Tinto, the biggest constituent on the Stoxx 600 basic resources gauge, warned that the country’s faltering recovery continues to weigh on demand for metals.

  

  “Structural downtrends” in the Chinese property sector, a major consumer of metals, are likely to continue weighing on European mining stocks, say JPMorgan strategists led by Mislav Matejka. Moreover, potential steel production cuts in China would be bearish for iron ore demand, meaning “lower metal prices could keep the sector’s earnings under pressure,” they add.

  The strategists are negative on European stocks generally, seeing cyclical shares losing momentum in the second half, a trend that could worsen if expectations on China disappoint. They recommend investors “keep fading stimulus news,” adding that the region is sliding back into deflation and the property market will likely need “a much more aggressive policy support to rebound sustainably.”

  

  For luxury stocks, which have been a strong driver of gains in Europe this year,  a continued recovery in China will be necessary to support their strong performance. The sector has diverged from Chinese stocks, which have been dragged by disappointing data.

  “It’s definitely more mixed than it was at the start of the year,” says Karim Chedid, head of EMEA iShares investment strategy, pointing out that the first leg of the China reopening has already played out, while domestic demand has been more sluggish than expected. As Chinese tourists start to travel again, there is a possibility for another tailwind for the sector, he says.

  

  “As it stands, we believe that a brighter outlook for global growth is required for the euro to move sustainably higher and European equities to outperform again,” says Barclays strategist Emmanuel Cau. “And a lot has to do with China, which doesn’t look good at the moment.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 23:00

• Deny, Deflect, Defend: The Censors' Strategy On Display
  Deny, Deflect, Defend: The Censors’ Strategy On Display

  Via The Brownstone Institute,

  Despite the uproar surrounding the case, Judge Terry Doughty’s order in Missouri v. Biden was straightforward. It prohibited government actors from colluding with social media companies to censor “content containing protected free speech.” 

  In other words, the defendants – including the White House, the CDC, and the Department of Justice – must obey the Constitution they swore to uphold by adhering to the First Amendment. The censorship regime responded with familiar doublethink: denying the censorship exists while arguing that it must continue. 

  On Tuesday, the court held a hearing to consider whether Judge Doughty’s order should be reinstated. The oral arguments revealed the government’s three-part strategy: deny, deflect, and defend. Its lawyers denied the established facts, deflected from the controversy, and defended its actions through outlandish justifications. 

  In doing so, they demonstrated the censorship apparatus’s lack of remorse for stripping Americans of their constitutional liberties. Even worse, they insist that the totalitarian operations must continue. 

  

  1. Deny: Blame the Facts

  At the hearing, government defendants maintained that plaintiffs have manufactured the case. Like their allies in the media, they argued that allegations of censorship were nothing more than “an assortment of out-of-context quotes and select portions of documents that distort the record to build a narrative that the bare facts simply do not support.” 

  The censorship is nonexistent, they insist. It is a “thoroughly debunked conspiracy theory,” in the words of Larry Tribe.

  Unlike issues of legal interpretation, this is a factual matter. Either government actors colluded with Big Tech to suppress Americans’ free speech rights or they did not. Discovery revealed extensive documentation proving that they did, and the defendants make no effort to explain how Judge Doughty’s 155-page order detailing dozens of violations of the First Amendment is merely “an assortment of out-of-context quotes.” 

  Journalists including Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger, and Alex Berenson have detailed the “censorship industrial complex,” the entangled web of government agencies, NGOs, and private-public partnerships that seek to control the free flow of information. But reviewing that series of connections and collusions is unnecessary – the defendants’ recorded statements contradict their denial. 

  “Thank you for the ongoing collaboration,” one bureaucrat wrote after a US Government “industry meeting” with Big Tech companies in October 2020.

  White House Advisor Rob Flaherty took a different tack in his demands to Twitter: “Please remove this account immediately.” The company complied within an hour. “Are you guys fucking serious?” he wrote to company officials after they failed to censor critics of the Covid vaccine. “I want an answer on what happened here and I want it today.” His boss was similarly direct regarding posts from RFK, Jr. “Hey Folks-Wanted to flag the below tweet and am wondering if we can get moving on the process of having it removed ASAP.”

  There is no need to recreate Judge Doughty’s 155-page opinion, but the denial of the censorship regime is facially absurd. Alex Berenson’s case, the revelations of the Twitter files, and the undisputed facts of Missouri v. Biden refute the defendant’s premise.

  2. Deflect: Blame the Russians

  Rather than address the case’s inconvenient facts, government lawyers quickly pivoted to their second tactic: deflection. They avoided the case and Judge Doughty’s ruling in favor of a hypothetical narrative.

  At one point, they defended government agencies’ right to issue health advisories that say “the vaccines work or smoking is dangerous.” They argued, “There’s nothing unlawful about the government’s use of the bully pulpit.” That reasoning was uncontroversial, but it was not responsive to Judge Doughty’s order.

  Under Doughty’s ruling, the White House can denounce journalists, deliver press briefings, publish on social media, enjoy the bully pulpit, and take advantage of the friendly media environment; it just can’t encourage private companies to censor constitutionally protected speech. 

  The defense conflates free speech with control over information to deflect attention from the censorship at issue. The tactic is not limited to the government’s powers under the order.

  During the hearing, the judge asked the defense attorneys whether saying “the COVID vaccine does not work” is constitutionally protected free speech. “That speech itself could be protected,” the attorney responded at one point. After repeatedly refusing to concede that the First Amendment protects political opinions that deviate from President Biden’s agenda, he resorted to Russian fear-mongering. 

  “Let’s say it was spoken by a covert Russian operative, that would not be protected by free speech,” he told the judge. Like the issue of the government’s “use of the bully pulpit,” restricting Russian operatives’ speech is unrelated to Judge Doughty’s order. 

  The attorney’s refusal to defend basic First Amendment liberties was telling. The defense instinctively changed the issue from free speech to national security, relying on an oft-used fear tactic to subvert the First Amendment.  

  These deflections deliberately obfuscated the purpose of the hearings. Defendants implied the plaintiffs sought to ban anti-smoking PSAs and fund Kremlin media campaigns. Like their strategy of denial, the goal was to avoid discussion of their extensive censorship operations. 

  3. Defend: Blame the Virus

  When the government was forced to address the case, it resorted to claiming that Covid justified the abolition of constitutional liberties. The pandemic-made-us-censor argument continued the pervasive Doublethink. Eradicating democratic norms was necessary to protect democracy, they reasoned. Previously, the Biden Administration told the court that reversing the order was necessary “to prevent grave harm to the American people and our democratic processes.” 

  Defendants argued that the evidence of the case vindicates the government actors. The attorneys said “It shows, in the face of urgent crises, a once-in-a-generation pandemic and bipartisan findings of foreign interference with U.S. elections, the government responsibly exercised its prerogative to speak on matters of public concern.” 

  They continued, “It promoted accurate information to protect the public and our democracy from these threats. And it used the bully pulpit to call on various sectors of society, including social media companies, to make efforts to reduce the spread of misinformation.”

  Demonstrating no remorse, they remain proud of their efforts to usurp the First Amendment because of their self-professed noble aims. They expect this defense to evade judicial scrutiny.

  When confronted with past censorship – including CISA’s “switchboarding” leading up to the 2020 election – defendants reasoned that prior conduct was not pertinent to the case because plaintiffs could not prove it will happen again.

  They described the Department of Homeland Security’s unconstitutional censorship campaigns as “occurring long in the past.” They argued that health officials’ emails working to silence opponents should be disregarded because they were sent “more than two and a half years ago.” 

  The censorship apparatus is asking the courts to trust them to act responsibly despite repeatedly demonstrating its indifference, or perhaps disdain, toward the First Amendment.

  While the government’s denials and deflections are insulting to the citizens they purport to represent, we must remain focused on their aim: they appealed Doughty’s order because they oppose constitutional restraints on their control of information. 

  We would hope that requiring the government to obey the Constitution would be uncontroversial; now, it may signify whether the rule of law still stands in the United States. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 22:40

• Experts Warn Renewable Energy Creates 'New Opportunities' For Chinese Grid Attacks
  Experts Warn Renewable Energy Creates ‘New Opportunities’ For Chinese Grid Attacks

  Authored by Nathan Worcester via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  America’s increasing reliance on intermittent power sources and batteries is creating novel risks, according to grid specialists who testified before Congress on July 18.

  

  Many of the greatest among them emanate from a key geopolitical rival, China.

  That’s partly because the new technologies frequently use inverters. When solar panels, wind turbines, and battery systems generate or store direct current electricity, inverters turn it into the alternating current electricity that flows through the grid.

  Paul N. Stockton, a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, opened what he called a “rabbit hole” in response to a question on inverters during the House Energy & Commerce hearing.

  “Do we have a satisfactory supply of inverters for all of the renewable energy that’s being brought into the grid?” Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) asked Mr. Stockton, who also holds positions on subcommittees in the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy.

  “Manufacturers in China are important producers of inverters being deployed nationwide, across the United States,” Mr. Stockton responded.

  He explained that the country’s reliance on Chinese inverters could jeopardize grid security.

  “Sure, we’ve got inverters. Some of them are made in China. Others may be manufactured for final assembly in friendly nations, but they might have components—hardware, software, and firmware—that could provide attack vectors. And the constant updating of firmware from the cloud and by service providers—who’s on top of that for maintaining adequate security? Congressman, that’s an opportunity for progress,” Mr. Stockton said.

  Solar Panels With Parts From China

  The United States’ use of solar panels with parts from China that are assembled in Southeast Asia has been a source of controversy in this Congress. President Joe Biden vetoed a bill that would have ended his temporary pause on tariffs affecting those panels.

  In his written testimony, Mr. Stockton elaborated on the ways inverter-based resources “provide China with new opportunities to disrupt the grid.”

  He referred to a 2022 report from the Department of Energy outlining the cybersecurity risks associated with the changes to America’s grid.

  “I propose that we prioritize our efforts to prevent Chinese leaders from accomplishing their goals in attacking the grid,” Mr. Stockton wrote.

  He noted that inverter-based resources have some advantages, testifying in writing that they “have provided reliable, much-needed power during the 2023 heat domes and other extreme events.”

  “Yet, they are also prone to catastrophic failures that can put the grid at risk.”

  Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) also asked Mr. Stockton about inverter-related vulnerabilities facing the United States.

  Mr. Stockton offered a central recommendation to the lawmakers in attendance:

  “Above all, ensuring that at the level of the devices, we hold manufacturers’ feet to the fire and ensure the adoption of safe and secure inverters, instead of relying on individual utilities or energy aggregators or other entities within the larger electric system to do their own homework.”

  Bruce J. Walker of the Alliance for Critical Infrastructure Security voiced similar concerns about the threat from China, citing the U.S. intelligence community’s 2023 threat assessment.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 22:20

• Russia, China Kick Off Joint Naval Drills Flexing Muscle In Sea Of Japan
  Russia, China Kick Off Joint Naval Drills Flexing Muscle In Sea Of Japan

  China and Russia have kicked off their anticipated joint military exercises in the Sea of Japan on Thursday. Chinese state television has described the purpose as ensuring security of “strategic passage at sea”.

  Bloomberg noted of regional reporting that China and Russia are “testing their joint combat capability via the exercise” – but there’s been no specification of how long the exercise is expected to last, which involves land, air, and sea military assets. In reality, China and Russia are ‘answering’ recent US-Japan drills with provocative military exercises of their own in regional waters, at a moment Beijing has warned Japan over its deepening cooperation with NATO.

  

  China’s defense ministry over the weekend confirmed that PLA naval vessels had set sail in preparation for new exercises with Russia. 

  This included Beijing sending five Chinese warships, among them a guided-missile destroyer, to participate – but without specifying an exact location within the Sea of Japan. 

  Last month both countries conducted joint air patrol over the Seas of Japan and East China, demonstrating their deepened ties, also amid the war in Ukraine which Beijing has yet to outright condemn, to the frustration of the West.

  China has considered itself ‘neutral’ concerning the Ukraine conflict while at the same time highlighting the dangers of NATO expansion east. For this reason Washington has accused it of quietly supporting Moscow.

  Bloomberg has meanwhile cited US sanctions and punitive measures aimed at both Beijing and Moscow as a chief motivator to grow militarily closer. 

  PLA Navy Ships Underway off Japan

  

  “China and the armed forces of Russian President Vladimir Putin conducted six joint military exercises together last year, the most in data going back two decades,” the publication notes.

  “That accounted for two-thirds of all of China’s drills with foreign militaries in 2022, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the U.S. National Defense University (NDU).”

  But Russia and China have conducted naval drills in other global hotspots as well, in the last months holding naval exercises with Iran in the Persian Gulf region.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 22:00

• Doubts And Questions About Biden Will Only Grow
  Doubts And Questions About Biden Will Only Grow

  Authored by A.B. Stoddard via RealClear Wire,

  Wow, big news broke Tuesday – President Biden’s campaign is officially going to be headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. For months nervous Democrats have wondered why Biden only had four full-time staffers devoted to his reelection effort and why the campaign wasn’t yet located anywhere.

  

  This development will do absolutely nothing, however, to stop the panic within the party that Biden is too old to run for reelection and could easily lose to former President Donald Trump. Sorry, Team Biden, these fears will not be put to rest; they are going to persist and grow.

  Though the White House and the Democratic National Committee may be trying to ignore it, there is suddenly a constant stream of stories in the media about doubts that Biden can make it across the finish line 16 months from now. Though Frank Bruni noted it’s probably too late, he encouraged Democrats in a New York Times column to talk about Hunter Biden, and suggested Biden should step aside: “It might be best, for him and for continued Democratic control of the White House, if he let Democrats choose a different 2024 nominee.”

  And CNN’s Edward-Isaac Dovere’s reporting last week went there – top Democrats and donors continue to “reach out to those seen as possible replacement presidential candidates. Get ready, they urge…” Democrats, Dovere wrote, worry about Biden’s weak small-dollar fundraising – which shows diminished energy from the grassroots – as well as his light schedule, which they believe will only exacerbate the perception that he is too old to campaign or be president. A Democrat who had a senior role in Biden’s 2020 campaign is quoted saying “If Trump wins next November and everyone says, ‘How did that happen,’ one of the questions will be: what was the Biden campaign doing in the summer of 2023?”

  In a recent New York Times report about how impressive Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s polling and campaign war chest is, and what that says about Biden’s weakness as an incumbent, Julian Castro, the former housing secretary, said “It’s clear there is a softness that perhaps is born out of a worry about electability in 2024.”

  Biden’s polling is not soft, it’s terrible and has worsened over time. The age liability and concerns about Biden’s mental sharpness loom large across all surveys and voter groups. In some general election surveys, he loses to Trump. It’s hard to imagine next year, when he is older, that his standing will improve.

  It’s not just that critical parts of the Democratic coalition are disappointed and apathetic and may not turn out to vote – but data shows some Asian, Hispanic, and black voters are beginning to support Republicans instead. John Della Volpe, polling director at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics and an expert on youth voting, recently wrote that young voters are increasingly identifying as independents, not Democrats, and are becoming disillusioned with politics as a means to create change. “Nearly every sign that made me confident in historic levels of youth participation in 2018, 2020 and 2022 – is now flashing red,” he wrote.

  Biden also appears to have forgotten that, in an election he only won by fewer than 44,000 votes in three states, the support of Never Trump Republicans was critical. Recent reporting by NBC News shows the Biden White House has ignored many of those Republicans who stepped up to endorse him (except for Cindy McCain and former Sen. Jeff Flake who both became ambassadors in his administration) and that they aren’t interested in supporting him again next year.

  The Biden inner circle seems to be confident his age is a smaller political problem than the many ones Trump has. They also seem to be in denial that some of the Hunter Biden business dealings revelations are really bad, and that his father refusing to acknowledge his love child is terrible.

  The campaign will remain focused mostly on the economy – there are plans for the president to embark on an “investing in America” tour this summer to tout the historic investment in manufacturing, infrastructure, and jobs that his administration has secured.

  But it may be too late for Biden to toot his horn.

  Pennsylvania’s Democratic Lt. Gov. Austin Davis was recently quoted by the New York Times, talking about how poorly the administration has communicated its accomplishments to the public. “They’ve done a pretty bad job of telling the American people and Pennsylvanians what they have done,” he said.

  No good economic news – there is much of it and more could materialize – seems able to eclipse the sting of inflation and sink in with voters when 74% of Americans believe we are on the wrong track. Voters give Biden poor ratings on the economy despite record job growth and – as David Brooks recently noted in the New York Times – a lower misery index (inflation rate added to unemployment rate) than Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, or Barack Obama had when they were reelected.

  And it’s clear that Republicans will pummel Biden over his unpopular vice president throughout next year’s campaign. “I think that we can all be very clear and say with a matter of fact that if you vote for Joe Biden you are really counting on a President Harris, because the idea that he would make it until 86 years old is not something I think is likely,” Nikki Haley said, which is only the beginning of this refrain.

  Dismissing Harris’ abysmally low approval rating, which makes clear she is a liability to an 80-year-old Biden running to be president until he is 86 years old, as racist and misogynistic won’t help make her more popular or help Biden win the electoral college.

  The Biden campaign can raise a lot of money and hold lots of ribbon cuttings at factories and try to rehabilitate Harris – but nothing will calm the jitters building in the party about the increasing likelihood of a second Trump term.

  A.B. Stoddard is associate editor and columnist at RealClearPolitics and a guest host on Sirius XM’s POTUS Channel.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 21:40

• "Go Somewhere That Understands Your Worth" – Los Angeles Police Union Boss Tells Cops Leaving City
  “Go Somewhere That Understands Your Worth” – Los Angeles Police Union Boss Tells Cops Leaving City

  Who in their right mind would want to be a police officer in a city run by Democrats or silly progressives who seemingly lack any understanding of how to protect law-abiding, tax-paying citizens from thieves, lunatics, and thugs?

  You know things are bad when the police union leader in Los Angeles vents on Facebook in a post about hostile City Council members, advising departing members of the police force to find jobs in communities where the political leadership “understands your worth.”

  “Go somewhere that respects the work you do and you don’t have to beg for a great contract,” Los Angeles Police Protective League’s vice president, Jerretta Sandoz, wrote in a now-deleted Facebook post. 

  

  Sandoz said, “Go somewhere that has a city council or city manager that openly acknowledges the great work you do, go somewhere that doesn’t have Two or more City Council members who hate you (no exaggeration).”

  Sandoz represents approximately 9,000 police officers. Since 2019, the metro area has seen a surge in crime and homelessness and has lost over 1,000 officers. 

  Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore has blamed the officer exodus on “anti-police sentiments that grew after the law enforcement killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans in recent years,” according to Los Angeles Times. 

  Sandoz’s displeasure with the progressive city leadership comes as the union continues to discuss a new labor contract for officers. 

  An emerging trend is progressive cities that demonize police are finding out the hard way that officers are leaving in droves. This sparks a doom loop of fewer patrols and a continued rise in crime. 

  Demonizing and defunding police has consequences. Perhaps it’s time to hold progressive politicians accountable for failed ‘defund the police’ movements that have transformed some metro areas nationwide into crime-ridden ‘hellholes.’ 

   

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 21:20

• "No Limit" On Number Of Ukrainian Refugees To Be Allowed Into Canada: Federal Memo
  “No Limit” On Number Of Ukrainian Refugees To Be Allowed Into Canada: Federal Memo

  Authored by Peter Wilson via The Epoch Times,

  With 230,000 Ukrainians having already emigrated to Canada to flee the war, a recently disclosed internal memo from the Immigration Department says there is “no limit” on the number of Ukrainian war refugees that can be allowed into Canada.

  

  The government closed applications on July 15 for Ukrainian refugees looking to obtain temporary emergency visas and free flights to Canada, but about 1.1 million Ukrainians applied for visas prior to the deadline—of which about 800,000 had been approved as of the beginning of July.

  “There is no limit,” said a Department of Immigration memo sent to the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs and obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter.

  The memo, titled “Information On Ukrainian Nationals Coming To Canada,” also elaborated on Ottawa’s recently announced plan to facilitate permanent residence status for any Ukrainian nationals and their family members already in Canada.

  The new policy, which Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced on July 15, is set to come into effect this October.

  The new plan will provide permanent residence status to Ukrainian nationals who have fled the war and want to stay in Canada. To qualify, Ukrainian refugees must be in Canada with temporary resident status and have at least one family member in the country.

  The memo said that the new policy will benefit Ukrainians coming into Canada “from anywhere in the world,” regardless of whether they were fleeing Russian aggression, so long as they applied for temporary visas through the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program prior to July 15.

  Ukrainian Refugees

  The plan fixed a quota of permitting entry to 365,000 Ukrainian immigrants in 2023, 485,000 in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025.

  “As this measure offers a temporary safe haven, those who come to Canada on Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel are not included in the Immigration Levels Plan, which is a projection of the number of permanent residents Canada plans to admit,” said the memo.

  “Although a temporary measure, settlement services are available to Emergency Travel holders and their family members after they arrive so they can fully participate in Canadian communities while they are here.”

  Canada’s temporary emergency visa program for Ukrainians was originally set to expire in March, but Mr. Fraser extended the program until July 15.

  Only about 21 percent of Ukrainians who have been granted temporary visas have actually come to Canada, but they will have until the end of March 2024 to do so.

  Refugees who obtained temporary visas and came to Canada will also have until the end of March 2024 to either apply to extend or change their temporary status in Canada.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 21:00

• Pushback Forces Major Retailer To Shelve Graphic Book On Sex Aimed At 10 To 15 Year Olds
  Pushback Forces Major Retailer To Shelve Graphic Book On Sex Aimed At 10 To 15 Year Olds

  Authored by Daniel Y. Teng via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Major Australian retailer Big W has pulled the children’s book “Welcome to Sex” from its shelves after it was lambasted for its graphic content.

  

  Aimed at children aged 10 to 15, the book features detailed illustrations and instructions on how to engage in both heterosexual and homosexual intercourse, as well as information on masturbation, male and female genitalia, and gender identity (including transgenderism) while downplaying virginity.

  “Welcome to Sex: Your no-silly-questions guide to sexuality, pleasure and figuring it out” is stocked in major Australian retailer Big W, bookseller Dymocks, and Target, and is authored by Dr. Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes, who hosts the ABC Radio podcast “Ladies, We Need to Talk.”

  It is the fourth book in their “Welcome to” series, which has covered topics such as sexual consent and puberty.

  

  Yet Rachael Wong, CEO of Women’s Forum Australia, was critical of the latest edition being made available to children.

  “Why is @BIGW selling this graphic sex guide for kids in Australia which includes how-tos for anal/oral sex, masturbation and heavily pushes gender ideology?” she wrote online.

  In another Twitter post, she uploaded a video showing that the book was available in the children’s section of retailer Dymocks, despite claims the title was only available to parents.

  Victorian Senator Ralph Babet called the book “sickening.”

  “If you don’t think there is a war on for the souls and minds of your children, well, you have not been paying attention,” he wrote on Twitter.

  “It’s important that we push back against this type of garbage content. Otherwise, it will never end!”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 20:40

• Robert Malone: You Are The Population They Want To Control
  Robert Malone: You Are The Population They Want To Control

  Authored by Robert Malone via The Brownstone Institute,

  Worldwide birthrate per 1,000 people follows a very predictable trend.

  In “developed” and/or wealthy nations, the birthrate is low and in nations at the lower end of the economic development scale, the birthrate is high.

  Nothing new there.

  Many countries, including the US, have birthrates that either are too low to sustain current population levels or are stable. Since 1970, the population of people born in the US has been stable at below 300 million. In fact, some estimates show a decline in population. All of the population growth in the US during this time period has been due to immigration. That is why the USA has grown to 336 million people in 50 years. This trend has only increased in recent years.

  There were a record 44.8 million immigrants living in the US in 2018, making up 13.7 percent of the nation’s population. This represents a more than fourfold increase since 1960, when 9.7 million immigrants lived in the US, accounting for 5.4 percent of the total US population.

  For Jill and I growing up in a blue state, we were indoctrinated at an early age by the public school system that having two children was the responsible thing to do to save the planet from overpopulation. That careers were more important than having a large family. That women would find more fulfillment in a education and career, as opposed to staying at home. That women should defer motherhood until college and a career were firmed established. That this was the responsible path to take. Today, young women receive the same messaging from our government, our schools systems, and mainstream corporate media. 

  This messaging by the US government is still as strident as when I was in my youth 50 to 60 years ago.

  The truth is that UN’s Agenda 2030 asserts that migration is a human right.

  What this means in practicality is that persons born in countries with high birthrates have a right to migrate into wealthy countries with low birth rates. 

  

  To begin – migration is not a “human right.”

  Property laws and nation states exist for a reason. To assert otherwise is to assert that there is a one-world government which is in control of migration. Another usurpation of authority by the UN and the WEF. 

  This nation’s rules and regulations, our very Constitution do not apply to non-citizens. This is by design. Let’s abide by our Constitution and Bill or Rights, not UN agreements, such as Agenda 2030, which was signed by a US president and never ratified by the Senate.

  Our country has done a fine job of convincing the American populace that large family size hurts families and individuals in aggregate. We were told that the reward of that, for better or worse, would be a stabilized population over time and preservation of the American way of life, environment, cultural heritage and associated economic opportunities for US citizens. And yet still they persist. This week, Kamala Harris specifically stated that a reduced population was key to children being able to breath and drink clean water. This is not the first time she has asserted this false narrative.

  “When we invest in clean energy and electric vehicles and reduce population, more of our children can breath clean air and drink clean water.”

  – Kamala Harris

  Yet, the Biden border crisis grows ever more urgent and the rate of illegal immigration continues to surge. It is a no brainer to think that an option to reduce population might be as simple as reducing immigration, if that was their true intent. 

  The truth is that the US has a vibrant and amazing culture. A heritage built on independence, free speech, shared values, and strong work ethic. This heritage can easily be diluted by too much immigration. Just look what is happening France right now. Open migration policies have worked to cause a vast instability within the nation. France literally can no longer integrate so many people, with such different sets of cultural norms into their core national culture. This is not progress. 

  Under globalism, the heterogeneous cultures throughout the world are being weaponized as a way to destroy diversity; a path towards enabling a single, globalized government controlled by the UN and the WEF. Which is precisely what open borders, the immigration policies of the UN and even Kamala Harris’ statements seem to be working towards. It is time to end this nonsense and get back to a closed and orderly immigration system.

  There are over 8 billion people in the world. The US can not take all those that wish to immigrate. To think otherwise is foolish.

  America has to be an independent and free nation. We need to rely on Americans for our goods and services. A strong economy is one that meets its own needs internally. Whereby goods, services, medical care, and energy are produced domestically. A strong nation doesn’t need to import low-wage earners to do its dirty work. The bizarre directive of reducing the naturally born population while importing new immigrants serves no functional purpose except to further globalize the USA.

  By accepting large numbers of immigrants while reducing our own American population, we further regress as a nation, and we will continue to accelerate economic devastation of both middle class and urban poor citizens. A new world order where migration is a right, borders are open and the UN controls the ebb and flow of populations is ceding American nationalism and will destroy the American experiment in self-governance. 

  Our government needs to stay out of the business of enforcing population measures.

  Which brings me to the mRNA genetic shots. People worry that the mRNA jabs have some sequence or component, such as the lipid nano-particle or genetic code, which are causing sterility. And that these were intentionally designed to cause a decrease in fertility worldwide. This is not a completely unrealistic fear.

  For years, there have been rumors of abortion vaccines and anti-fertility vaccines being developed in India and Africa. With evidence being presented for and against these rumors. But we do know for sure that China used forced sterilizations and forced abortions on its own citizens. Now, China worries that their population levels are crumbling rapidly. Government controls on family choices are immoral. The idea of a vaccine to control population is repugnant.

  Which brings me to a newly published Nature paper that shows that using adeno-associated viral vectored techniques, cats can be permanently sterilized.

  In this essay, I don’t want to get into the science behind this (let’s defer that to a later essay) but I do want to discuss the ethics of developing “gene therapy” techniques that rely on viral vectors for sterilization.

  To begin with, such a fertility gene therapy technique using adeno-associated virus (AAV) “gene therapy” vectors could be accidentally or purposefully modified to be infectious. This requires a recombination event (rescue) of another related adenovirus, which could be a wild type. Once that happens, the viral vector could be replication competent: ergo infectious. Although AAV “gene therapy” vectors are not a full replicating virus; the truth is that in a research setting, using the full virus to create infectious products is relatively simple. It could be as simple as missing a purification step or a recombination event. If such a product were to escape or be released into the general cat population, it would be a disaster. If such a vector had a rescue event in an injected animal, it could literally create a new virus. What happens if it were to infect on other feline species, such as cheetahs, big cats, cougars or bobcats? There is a scenario whereby it could decimate the population of an endangered species or all the cats . Furthermore, there is a possibility that such a virus could jump species – even into humans. Adeno-associated viruses are respiratory viruses, so can spread easily. What happens then? 

  Not to mention, we already know that NGOs and governments are willing to consider reducing population via vaccination or forced sterilization. Who is to say whether an organization, perhaps even one with the “best of intentions” in mind (or believing that “the ends justify the means”), would be willing to go there. After what we have experienced over the past three years, I would consider it in the realm of possibility. Kamala Harris, Bill Gates and the WEF and UN all have made their positions crystal clear. Population reduction is imperative. 

  There must be more regulatory controls on biological research for both animals and humans. 

  But in the meantime, we have to consider that the government doesn’t really care about population control.

  You can know them by their actions, not their words. Their words endorse low birthrate as a pathway to population stabilization, but their actions enable rampant population growth due to immigration. The DATA indicate that what they really are striving for is a New World Order, whereby the UN becomes the dominant force of the world, with nation states nestled under their organizational structure. One in which out-migration combined with regional population control via government-enabled birth control (via both pharmaceuticals and deployed propaganda) is designed to augment that process of enabling populations born in economically disadvantaged regions to gain control of more economically advanced nations and infrastructure while destroying the cultures and politico/economic structures which have historically enabled the economic development of these more advanced regions.

  *  *  *

  Republished from Substack

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 20:20

• Video Of Deserted Mall And Streets In Downtown San Fran Reveals Democrats Destroyed City
  Video Of Deserted Mall And Streets In Downtown San Fran Reveals Democrats Destroyed City

  A recent poll commissioned by Probolsky Research found 60% of voters in San Francisco “disapprove” of Mayor London Breed’s performance, and only 22% believe she deserves re-election. There’s plunging confidence among the business community that progressive leadership in the crime-ridden metro can revive the poop-infested downtown area. Businesses are closing up shops in droves, while some building owners have stopped payments on malls and hotels as the city’s economic recovery appears bleak. 

  San Francisco Chamber of Commerce CEO Rodney Fong recently drew a dire historical parallel of the faltering metro area to the 1906 earthquake: “We have a lot of work to do as residents are more pessimistic than ever.”

  Marc Benioff, the chief executive officer of Salesforce, the city’s largest employer and anchor tenant in its tallest skyscraper, warned this week that the metro area is in trouble. 

  Benioff offered this grim outlook: The downtown area is “never going back to the way it was” in pre-Covid times when workers commuted to offices daily.

  “We need to rebalance downtown,” Benioff said, adding Breed needs to initiate a program to convert dormant office space into housing and hire additional law enforcement to restore law and order. 

  San Francisco’s demise is much more than just the remote or hybrid work narrative, and a record 30% of office space is vacant. Remember, without office workers, local shops can’t thrive.

  This leaves us with Youtuber METAL LEO, who walked the downtown area, revealing empty streets and closed-up stores.

  He wrote in the description of the video, “Embarcadero Center is a commercial complex of five office towers, two hotels, a shopping center with more than 125 stores but only two remain open on three levels located in San Francisco, California.”

  The video is an eye-opener of the economic collapse of the downtown area as it has transformed into a “ghost town” overnight. The exodus of companies and people is a vote of confidence that Breed’s progressive administration has failed. There are attempts to rebuild the downtown district, but that could take many years, meaning the city’s economic recovery won’t happen anytime soon. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 20:00

• China's Digital Yuan Nears $250 Billion Transaction Volume; Central Bank Governor
  China’s Digital Yuan Nears $250 Billion Transaction Volume; Central Bank Governor

  Authored by Brayden Lindrea via CoinTelegraph.com,

  Nearly $250 billion worth of transactions have taken place using China’s digital yuan in the one-and-a-half years since the start of its pilot, the country’s central bank governor has claimed.

  

  On July 19, People’s Bank of China governor Yi Gang told a conference in Singapore that its central bank digital currency transacted 1.8 trillion yuan as of the end of June.

  Yi added there have been around 950 million transactions from roughly 120 million wallets since the digital yuan’s initial January 2022 rollout, leading to an average transaction amount of about $260.

  MAS is honoured to have Dr Yi Gang, President of China Society for Finance and Banking as the speaker for the MAS Lecture 2023. Dr Yi spoke on “CBDC from China’s perspective”.

  Find out more here: https://t.co/UbikjgQhRn pic.twitter.com/UuQwOQe8n0

  — MAS (@MAS_sg) July 19, 2023

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

  He claimed around $2.3 billion, or 16.5 billion digital yuan, was in circulation at the end of June, which only represents 0.16% of China’s monetary supply, according to a July 19 Reuters report.

  The digital yuan’s adoption is still minimal relative to China’s 1.4 billion strong population, so far mostly being used for domestic retail payments aside from a few trials in Hong Kong.

  On July 18, the South China Morning Post reported that the Bank of China Hong Kong began trialing another cross-border payment scheme for Bank of China customers at select retail stores in Hong Kong.

  The trial was rolled out in a bid to further promote the cross-border applications of digital yuan and is the third cross-border trial of the CBDC in Hong Kong, according to the SCMP.

  In a trial last year the BOCHK launched a program that encouraged customers to set up a BOC e-CNY wallet to receive $14 (100 yuan) to be used at the Hong Kong supermarket chain U Select.

  In January, the central bank integrated smart contract functionality into the digital yuan to expand upon its use cases.

  The $250 billion in digital yuan transactions is an over 70% increase from the number the bank cited in August 2022.

  The amount is still, however, far off the amount of value processed by some of the largest public blockchains in the world.

  Bitcoin, for example, processed $8.2 trillion in 2022, according to various reports.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 19:40

• Chinese Hackers Access Email Of US Ambassador, Compromise "Hundreds Of Thousands" Of US Government Emails
  Chinese Hackers Access Email Of US Ambassador, Compromise “Hundreds Of Thousands” Of US Government Emails

  There go all the latest attempts by the Biden admin at a detente with China.

  The WSJ reports that hackers “linked to Beijing” have accessed the email account of the U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, in an attack that reportedly has “compromised at least hundreds of thousands of individual U.S. government emails.” Daniel Kritenbrink, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asia, was also hacked in the cyber-espionage attack. While it remains unconfirmed, the two diplomats are believed to be the two most senior officials at the State Department targeted in the alleged spying campaign disclosed last week.

  Unlike previous so-called “Russian hacking” campaigns which dominated the news between 2016 and 2022 and which were fabricated by the FBI to cover up the FBI’s own criminal activity, and where everything about the perps was known instantaneously, the “contours” of the Chinese hacking campaign aren’t fully known. According to the Journal, while the infiltration was limited to unclassified emails, “the inboxes of Burns and Kritenbrink could have allowed the hackers to glean insights into U.S. planning for a recent string of visits to China by senior Biden administration officials, as well as internal conversations about U.S. policies toward its rival amid a period of delicate diplomacy that has been challenged repeatedly in recent months.”

  Burns and Kritenbrink are the second and third senior Biden administration officials to be identified in news reports as having their emails hacked. U.S. Secretary Gina Raimondo’s email was also compromised in the breach, U.S. officials have said, who also stated that the email of top US State official Antony Blinken, wasn’t directly infiltrated in the hack, nor were those in his circle of top advisers. Instead, the hackers appeared to focus on a small number of senior officials responsible for managing the U.S.-China relationship. That said, since this appears to be another planted deep state narrative which will change over time as the deep state’s needs also change, the WSJ was quick to caveat that “the estimate of individual emails accessed is rough and could also grow, the people said.”

  “For security reasons, we will not be sharing additional information on the nature and scope of this cybersecurity incident at this time,” a State Department spokesman said. “The Department continuously monitors and responds to activity of concern on our networks. Our investigation is ongoing, and we cannot provide further details at this time.”

  Kritenbrink accompanied Blinken on his trip to China a month ago, and Kritenbrink, Burns and Blinken all attended meetings with senior Chinese officials and with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Before the high-level talks in Beijing, Kritenbrink led a trip of less senior officials to lay the groundwork.

  Last week the State Department led the Biden administration’s effort to restart diplomatic communications with China and notch progress in select areas including climate change and synthetic opioid trade. However, deep-seated disagreements over Taiwan, spying and other issues have led to a deterioration in relations, with broad U.S. political concerns about China have “prevented any reversal of the trend.”

  According to the report, the hack was pulled off with the help of a flaw in Microsoft’s cloud-computing environment and has since been fixed; more than two dozen organizations globally were also affected. Fewer than 10 organizations were compromised in the U.S. and each of those appeared to have a small number of individual email accounts directly accessed by the hackers, a senior American cybersecurity official said last week. It isn’t known whether any federal agencies beyond the State and Commerce departments were targeted although we are confident that if they were then Hillary Clinton would gladly donate her version of BleachBit and a few hammers.

  Microsoft hasn’t publicly disclosed how the breach began and has said it is continuing to investigate the incident.

  Hilariously, the Administration of Joe “10 for the big guy” Biden, whose son is deep in China’s pockets, has keep radiosilent about the hack, which U.S. officials have described as surgical in nature “something that targeted a small number of specifically chosen high-value victims… and have sought to play down its overall impact, likening it to routine digital espionage that is constantly going on between adversarial nations.”

  Right, because other nations routinely hack the email accounts of the most important US politicians.

  Not surprisingly, Joe Bidem hasn’t formally blamed China for the hack, but senior Biden administration officials said they have no reason to doubt Microsoft’s assessment linking it to a Chinese hacking group. Meanwhile, China has denied the allegations and accused the U.S. of engaging in rampant cyber-enabled espionage around the world.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 19:20

• Lab-Grown Artificial 'Meat' May Actually Be Worse For The Environment
  Lab-Grown Artificial ‘Meat’ May Actually Be Worse For The Environment

  Authored by Bryan Jung via The Epoch Times,

  Lab grown “meat” may be potentially worse for the environment than actual beef and may have an even larger carbon footprint, according to a recent study.

  

  This follows the USDA’s approval of the FDA’s decision on June 21 to greenlight the sale of lab-grown meat to American consumers.

  GOOD Meat, a company that grows cell-based meat in its labs, announced in June the USDA’s approval to sell its products.

  Advocates of lab grown meat, which is cultured from animal cells, has been lauded by activists of being more environmentally friendly than beef, as it uses less land, water, and produces no greenhouse gases, compared to raising cattle.

  The United States joins Singapore as the only country approving “cell-cultured” meat for human consumption

  Only chicken has passed the official government approval process for now, with a “no questions” letter that grants permission for distribution, but pork and beef will have to wait.

  However, a pre-print study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found that the environmental impacts of lab-grown or “cultivated” meat, are likely to be “orders of magnitude” higher than its natural counterpart, based on current and near-term production methods.

  Fake Meat May Actually Require More Energy Than Organic Meat

  Amy Quinton from UC Davis Department of Food Science announced preliminary results from the study on the environmental impact of lab grown meat in a May 22 report.

  The researchers assessed the amount of energy needed and the greenhouse gases emitted to create artificial beef and compared it with traditional organic meat production.

  It was found that scaling up production using current lab methods was highly energy intensive.

  Lab-grown meat is produced through the use of highly refined or purified growth media, which are the ingredients used to make animal cells multiply and is similar to how biotechnology firms make their drugs.

  The UC Davis team found that the global warming potential of lab-based meat using this process, is four to twenty-five times greater than the average for retail beef.

  “If companies are having to purify growth media to pharmaceutical levels, it uses more resources, which then increases global warming potential,” stated UC Davis doctoral graduate Derrick Risner, the study’s lead author.

  “If this product continues to be produced using the ‘pharma’ approach, it’s going to be worse for the environment and more expensive than conventional beef production,” he added.

  Researchers Hope to Make Artificial Meat Production More Energy Efficient

  The UC Davis Cultivated Meat Consortium, which led the study, are a group of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and educators researching lab grown meat.

  The artificial meat industry plans on creating lab-grown meat using primarily food-grade ingredients or cultures, that use less energy-intensive pharmaceutical grade ingredients and processes in the future.

  They hope that improvements in developing the technology, through “pharma to food,” will perfect the production of artificial meat products.

  Other goals include the establishment and evaluation of cell lines that could be used to grow meat and to improve the structure in cultured meat.

  Me. Risner stated, that if lab-based meat failed to create a more climate-friendly burger, there is still valuable science to be learned from the attempt.

  “It may not lead to environmentally friendly commodity meat, but it could lead to less expensive pharmaceuticals, for example,” he added.

  “My concern would just be scaling this up too quickly and doing something harmful for the environment.”

  US Production Has Begun

  Only a few places will be producing cell-cultured meat for public use for now.

  Upside Foods and Good Meat, of California, will first be distributing their product at Bar Crenn in San Francisco and celebrity chef José Andrés’ restaurant, China Chilcano, in Washington, D.C.

  China Chilcano will first serve Good Meat’s “Anticuchos de Pollo” on the week of July 31 as part of an exclusive tasting menu at $70 per person, by reservation only and then only available in very limited quantities.

  Upside Foods COO Amy Chen told Scientific American that their product will display the regular round-shaped USDA inspection label.

  Artificial meat will have the words “cell-cultured” written on the tag.

  The two firms say that their artificial chicken meat will emit 92 percent fewer carbon emissions and use 95 percent less land during production.

  Meanwhile, a Good Meat spokesperson told Townhall that the production process is still currently expensive.

  “Bioreactors and the supporting infrastructure required to produce cultivated meat are not inexpensive to design, build and operate,” said the spokesperson, comparing the technology to the electronics industry where “costs will drop over time.”

  Good Meat said a few more steps need to be made before that prices will drop.

  The spokesperson said their lab was focused on improving the process to increase cell density, design larger-scale containers to grow meat, and creating more affordable and efficient nutrients to feed the cells.

  Risner told Townhall that the lab meat industry would benefit from the creation of a supply chain for amino acids that could expand current manufacturing volumes.

  “It will take a significant amount of time to reach mass commercial production,” the spokesperson continued.

  Once cell-cultured meat hits mass production, Good Meat believes that sales will pick up as the public becomes more aware of the product.

  The spokesperson said that the dishes sold in Singapore have already received universally high marks from diners, after gaining regulatory approval in the island nation in late 2020.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 19:00

• FBI Official Admits Under Oath They Knew Hunter Biden Laptop Was Real
  FBI Official Admits Under Oath They Knew Hunter Biden Laptop Was Real

  Via The Politics Brief,

  During a transcribed interview with the House Judiciary Committee, an FBI official revealed that at least one senior agent, along with potentially others, who had alerted social media companies about a potential “hack and dump” operation before the 2020 election, were aware of the authenticity of Hunter Biden’s laptop.

  

  As the House Judiciary Committee’s official Twitter account noted, “Testimony reveals the FBI knew the Hunter Biden laptop was authentic, but when asked by a social media company about the laptop’s authenticity the FBI said ‘no further comment’.”

  The FBI official, Laura Dehmlow, participated in discussions between the FBI and Facebook prior to the social media platform’s decision to censor the story related to Hunter Biden’s laptop before the 2020 election. Furthermore, The Intercept has indicated that Dehmlow was also involved in the Biden administration’s endeavors to suppress and censor content on social media platforms in relation to misinformation.

  Massive. The perpetrators of this gigantic fraud must be investigated, prosecuted, and brought to justice.https://t.co/6ca4EO8TpP

  — Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) July 20, 2023

   Dehmlow, the head of the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force (FITF), acknowledged that her former colleague Brad Benavides was certainly aware of the laptop’s legitimacy, as per excerpts of her testimony.

  When asked by the committee about other individuals within FITF who knew about the laptop, Dehmlow replied that she did not have exact information, but she presumed that Brad Benavides, then-FITF Section Chief, was aware.

  “Do you know who else at FITF knew that the laptop was real?” the committee asked, according to the transcript.

  “I don’t actually. I would assume both my – yes, I would certainly say that [then-FITF Section Chief] Brad Benavides was aware,” Dehmlow replied.

  “What about the individuals on the Russia unit?” the committee asked.

  “I would assume the [Russia] unit chief was also aware. I’m pretty certain of that fact,” Dehmlow replied.

  Dehmlow was accompanied by an attorney with the Department of Justice during the interview. The transcript excerpts note that the attorney jumped in to clarify if Dehmlow knew with “certainty” or if she was merely “making deductions.”

  “I’m pretty certain they were aware,” Dehmlow said.

  These transcript excerpts were included in a letter from Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) to FBI Director Christopher Wray. In his letter, Jordan requested names and records related to those within the bureau who were aware of the laptop’s existence and had been communicating with social media companies before the 2020 presidential election.

  The laptop gained significant attention when the New York Post published a story on October 14, 2020, revealing details about then-candidate Joe Biden’s involvement in his son’s business dealings based on the laptop’s contents. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook limited the story’s reach to their vast user bases.

  Simultaneously, behind the scenes, FITF and other federal government entities were engaging in routine meetings with social media companies, repeatedly cautioning them about a potential “hack and dump” operation. This information was highlighted in a recent court ruling from Louisiana, which addressed government censorship.

  According to Jordan’s letter, after the FBI had convinced social media companies that the laptop was connected to a hack-and-dump operation, the bureau ceased sharing information, leading the companies to conclude that the New York Post’s story was part of Russian disinformation.

  Dehmlow further stated during her testimony that she recollected a meeting or hearing about a meeting in which someone from Twitter asked about the laptop’s authenticity. One of the FBI participants on the call confirmed that it was indeed genuine before another participant interjected with “no further comment.”

  Dehmlow’s testimony supports the claims made by IRS supervisory special agent Gary Shapely, who testified before the House Ways and Means Committee in May. Shapely revealed that the FBI had become aware of the laptop’s existence in October 2019, stating, “The FBI became aware that a repair shop had a laptop allegedly belonging to Hunter Biden and that the laptop might contain evidence of a crime.”

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

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 18:40

• No Sanctuary: NYC Shoos Migrants Away, Warns "No Guarantee" Of Shelter, Services
  No Sanctuary: NYC Shoos Migrants Away, Warns “No Guarantee” Of Shelter, Services

  New York City will ‘immediately’ begin discouraging asylum seekers from seeking refuge in the self-proclaimed sanctuary city, warning migrants coming from the southern border that there’s “no guarantee” they’ll receive shelter or services, Mayor Eric Adams said on Wednesday.

  

  “We have no more room in the city,” Adams said during a news conference at City Hall, in what the NY Times describes as a “somewhat unexpected departure from its long-held status as a sanctuary city, and as a place that guarantees a right to shelter.”

  As part of the city’s shift in strategy, it will now require single adult migrants to reapply for shelter after 60 days, a move that the mayor said was designed to make room for families with children. Mr. Adams said the city would intensify efforts to help the migrants connect with family, friends or outside networks in order to find alternative housing arrangements.

  If alternative housing arrangements are not available, single adult asylum seekers will have to return to the intake center and reapply for housing. It is unclear what would happen if there is not housing available at the intake centers. -NY Times

  Pro-migrant activists aren’t happy.

  “I have worked with thousands of people over the years whose lives were saved because of the right to shelter,” said Craig Hughes, a social worker with Mobilization for Justice, a nonprofit legal services group, in a statement to the Times. “The idea that there’s some imaginary place that people are going to go off to besides city streets is just false.”

  NYC has seen an influx of more than 90,000 migrants since the spring of 2022, of which close to 55,000 are still under the care of the city. When combined with the city’s homeless population, New York is caring for a record 105,800 people across more than 188 sites, including 18 humanitarian relief centers.

  Between July 10-16, there were 2,800 migrants who entered the city, according to the deputy mayor for health and human services, Anne Williams-Isom.

  “Our compassion is infinite,” said a senior VP at NYC Health, Dr. Ted Long, adding “our space is not.”

  The city has distributed flyers warning migrants there’s ‘no guarantee we will be able to provide shelter and services.’

  “Please consider another city as you make your decision about where to settle in the U.S.,” the flier concludes.

  

  Unfortunately for New York, the city remains under a decades-old court order requiring it to provide shelter to anyone who needs a bed.

  City comptroller Brad Lander said the announcement undermines the city’s right to shelter, and “the defining role of New York as a beacon of promise inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty.”

  Housing advocates have called on NYC officials to make room in the shelter system by moving homeless people to permanent housing.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 18:20

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• The Media And Ukraine War Coverage: Where Truth Takes A Holiday
  The Media And Ukraine War Coverage: Where Truth Takes A Holiday

  Authored by Connor O’Keefe via The Mises Institute,

  As Ukrainian forces continue their much-hyped counteroffensive to take back contested territories in the country’s eastern and southern regions, we’re faced with conflicting coverage of the campaign.

  Many reports say Ukraine’s forces are struggling to break through the minefields fortifying Russia’s lines. And many admit that even the sudden and dramatic Wagner Group mutiny did not appear to hand Ukraine much of an advantage on the front.

  Days ago, in a move that looks like damage control, Ukraine’s defense secretary even announced that Kyiv would no longer measure success in recaptured territory but would instead just aim to destroy as much Russian military infrastructure as possible.

  

  Still, according to some Western journalists, this is all part of Ukraine’s plan.

  They’re just testing Russian resistance to find weak spots so they can better allocate resources during the next phase of the counteroffensive. And that’s when the big gains will take place. Maybe that’s true, but still, other coverage about Ukraine’s losses would have you think the counteroffensive has been a horrific disaster.

  Much like the wider war, how you see this counteroffensive playing out depends almost entirely on where you get your news. That is not an accident. As citizens of the wealthiest country whose government controls the most military hardware in the world, it’s important to remember that all coverage of this war ought to be viewed with some baseline degree of skepticism. This is because numerous parties—in both governments and the media outlets themselves—are working hard to bend the American public’s perception of the war to their benefit.

  That is, of course, nothing new. In 1941—the last time a European war threatened to go global—the British sent an intelligence officer named William Stephenson to the United States and tasked him with running an information operation to turn American public opinion away from noninterventionism.

  The main approach Stephenson’s stories team used was secretly planting carefully crafted—and sometimes outright fake—stories in the biggest American newspapers and magazines. These stories were specifically designed to portray British forces as having more than enough courage to take on the Germans but lacking sufficient resources, regardless of how accurate that depiction was at any given time.

  It was a specific tone that the United Kingdom’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) believed had the best chance of convincing the American public to support joining the fight. Since then, every group that the American political establishment wants to support militarily gets presented to the American people in a similar fashion—from the Mujahideen to the Syrian Kurds to the current Ukrainian regime.

  Though we may not know about the prevalence of covert information operations for some time, a pair of stories published last month offer a window into some more overt efforts to shape our perception of the war in Ukraine. First, Thomas Gibbons-Neff, a Ukraine correspondent for the New York Times, wrote a viral story detailing how Ukrainian press officers and some Western journalists have tried to downplay, justify, or cover up the use of Nazi symbols by Ukrainian soldiers.

  One specific passage tells of Western photojournalists asking their subjects to remove patches with Nazi emblems before taking photos. By doing so, these journalists crossed the line from documenting their subjects to staging them.

  On the same day, former New York Times media columnist Ben Smith published an article reporting that many Western journalists have grown frustrated with how the Ukrainian government uses access and accreditation to shape war coverage. For example, the Ukrainian military threatened to revoke a photojournalist’s credentials after he took pictures of conscripted soldiers in a trench without the presence or permission of a military press officer.

  In another example, an NBC News crew traveled to Crimea to interview residents about the war. After reporting that most people they talked to preferred that Crimea belonged to Russia, the Ukrainian government revoked NBC’s credentials and confined their in-country crew to a hotel.

  Smith even brings up Thomas Gibbons-Neff from above, who had his access and credentials revoked after reporting on Ukraine’s use of banned cluster munitions. There’s no question that, at least to some extent, the continual threat of a loss of access affects everyone reporting over there in an official capacity.

  This is not a new or unusual technique. The US government used similar tactics to help shape the narrative of its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Most professional journalists struggle endlessly to find sources. So, by granting extensive access that can always be revoked, governments can run an effective carrot-and-stick ploy to control media coverage.

  Our views of war are warped by design. Sure, the Russian regime is mounting a similar effort to control how the Russian people view the war, but it would be absurd to say that the Kremlin holds an influence over the American public that’s even comparable to the US or Ukrainian governments.

  Despite what the media, the government, or your middle school civics teacher wants you to think, you don’t need to frantically keep up with the hourly developments in Eastern Europe to be a good citizen. But if you choose to follow this war, understand which parties have a hand in delivering whatever information you’re consuming because not everyone is trying to tell you the truth.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 07/20/2023 – 02:00

• Journalists Attacking The Film ‘Sound Of Freedom’ Should Have Their Hard Drives Investigated
  Journalists Attacking The Film ‘Sound Of Freedom’ Should Have Their Hard Drives Investigated

  Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us

  I recently went to see the movie Sound Of Freedom with the expectation of a moderate level of political commentary or religious pontificating, given the rabid and widespread attacks on the film by the leftist media. All I knew going in was that the indie production was about child trafficking and that the mainstream media HATES IT. After the film was over, my first thought was that it was an excellent story about a very dark and difficult issue. My second thought was – “What the hell was all the fuss about? There’s not a single political moment in the entire movie!”

  The media war on the low budget flick is so bizarre given this fact that I am immediately suspicious of their intentions. Not one political message, not one momentary critique of the political left, not one moment where MAGA or Trump or “Q-Anon” is mentioned, not one “conspiracy theory.” So why all the hate?

  Before reading this review any further I highly recommend you check out some of the hatchet job articles published about Sound Of Freedom to get a sense of what I’m talking about – examples are here, here, here and here.

  The first thing you’ll probably notice is that the majority of these vitriolic diatribes use the exact same talking points – They suggest that The Sound Of Freedom is based in conspiracy theory, far-right extremism and that it is funded by a subversive network of “Q-Anon adjacent” conservatives. Some journalists have even attacked the veracity of the film’s true story – the career of DHS agent Tim Ballard, who operated covertly to take down child sex traffickers in Central America.

  The Guardian asserts:

  “Caviezel stars as special agent Tim Ballard, a Homeland Security Investigations operative who really did work for the state busting up child-trafficking rings for more a decade. (Or so he claims – the DHS can neither confirm nor deny the real Ballard’s employment history.) Even if he did not literally have the face of Christ, Ballard would still exude an angelic aura as he gently hoists dirty-faced moppets out of peril with the gravely uttered catchphrase: “God’s children are not for sale.”

  Rolling Stone fumes:

  “Ballard, Caviezel, and others of their ilk had primed the public to accept Sound of Freedom as a documentary rather than delusion by fomenting moral panic for years over this grossly exaggerated “epidemic” of child sex-trafficking, much of it funneling people into conspiracist rabbit holes and QAnon communities. In short, I was at the movies with people who were there to see their worst fears confirmed.”

  Perhaps Rolling Stone has never heard of Epstein’s Island? Why are they pretending like this global criminal enterprise is not a thing?

  These reviews are dripping with venom, though a simple investigation into Tim Ballard reveals endless evidence that he did in fact quit his job at DHS to operate in Central America to stop child trafficking rings. And the sting that is the core of the film on an island Ballard set up as a trap to capture an entire network of pedophiles as well as save 120 kids? Yeah, that was real, too.

  In fact, there’s a documentary about Tim Ballard’s successful sting called ‘Triple Take’ and the Sound Of Freedom movie includes real life arrest footage from that event. There is no question that almost every detail in Sound Of Freedom is real. Any media outlet that says otherwise is lying, and the fact that they are attempting to sow seeds of doubt about the legitimacy of Tim Ballard based on politics is villainous.

  

  One interesting part of the the film that is NOT accurate was the depiction of a Latin billionaire funding Tim Ballard’s efforts. In reality, Ballard says that it was primarily conservative host Glenn Beck that raised money for his operations that led to the rescue of hundreds of children. Why Glenn Beck was not mentioned in the final cut of the film is hard to say, but Ballard’s connection to Beck might partly explain the media’s fury over the movie. How DARE these conservative men save children from sex slavery, right? It makes conservatives look like (GASP!) good guys.

  But there’s something more going on here than mere envy on the part of leftist journalists. The campaign against the movie is far too coordinated and far too expansive (global). It is as if these people are interconnected and they all agreed together to try to subvert the film, or they were all ORDERED to subvert the film.

  This kind of behavior suggests a personal stake in creating conditions for failure; it makes it seem like these journalists want to sabotage the movie because of its premise and message. Why would someone want to sabotage a movie which exposes child trafficking and pedophiles? Could it be that we need to check the hard drives of some of these establishment media writers and producers?

  I think it’s important to note that such people have been criminally prosecuted for child sex abuse in the past. For example, long time CNN producer John Griffin was recently arrested and convicted of child rape, using online apps to connect with mothers willing to sell their children to him for thousands of dollars so he could abuse them at his Vermont vacation home.

  Last year the FBI raided the home of renowned ABC News producer James Gordon Meek and arrested him on charges of transporting child pornography. Rolling Stone Magazine was later accused of trying to cover up the reason for the arrest with selective editing and omission. Rolling Stone is now one of the main outlets attacking Sound Of Freedom.

  Maybe the movie makes these journalists angry because it exposes one of their favorite hobbies?

  I’m a long time film buff and I can say with some authority that as a movie, Sound Of Freedom is well made and well executed. The overall acting is effective including Jim Caviezel’s portrayal of Tim Ballard, the child performances are amazing, the editing is excellent and the cinematography is top notch. The film is good all around; it reminds me of one my favorite movies of all time, a criminal procedural directed by Akira Kurosawa called ‘High And Low’ (also known as ‘Heaven And Hell’ in Japan) about police investigating a child kidnapping.

  My only complaint is that I felt they should have shown Tim Ballard with his family a little more, so that when he makes the decision to go to Columbia and risk his life, the choice carries more weight.  Other than that, Sound Of Freedom is one of the best dramas I have seen in a long time, and at no point did I feel “preached at.” I can’t say the same for most Hollywood films the past several years, which are replete with non-stop leftist propaganda.

  The depiction of the process of child trafficking is very uncomfortable, but it’s meant to be. I rarely squirm in my chair with discomfort or get angry at characters on a screen, but every time there was a scene with a pedophile all I could think was “That guy needs to go in a wood chipper.” That’s good film making.

  So again, there are few if any valid criticisms to make about the production itself and the story is largely accurate. Why are leftist journalists raging against this movie? I think because it sheds light on the fact that pedophilia is not only about isolated cases of loners stalking school playgrounds, it’s an international industry worth billions upon billions of dollars, and there are very rich and powerful people involved in that industry (including people in mainstream journalism).

  They don’t want people to consider the pervasive nature of this criminal underworld. They want people passive and unaware. For some reason, they want people to assume that child slavery is a conspiracy theory.

  Another issue to consider is that the political left has been aggressively targeting children with sexualization for the past several years, primarily through the imposition of trans ideology. They are turning the sexualization of minors into an activist movement. Children as young as kindergarten are being indoctrinated with “gender identity” propaganda and HIGHLY pornographic books (with pornographic images) posing as educational LGBT content are being planted in public schools. We all know what the end game of this movement is – The normalization of pedophilia.

  Leftists may be consciously or unconsciously hostile to Sound Of Freedom because when they see the organized networks of child groomers on the big screen, they see themselves.

  To conclude: Go see this movie. The media attacks are clearly designed to dissuade people from watching it based on political bias. Check it out and you’ll realize quickly that all their claims are false. Furthermore, you’ll start to wonder aloud why they hate the film? The saying “Methinks thou dost protest too much…” comes to mind, as such journalists reveal their propensity for evil.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 23:55

• DC Awards Convicted Felon With Contract For 'Bogus' EV Tech
  DC Awards Convicted Felon With Contract For ‘Bogus’ EV Tech

  Self-described inventor (and convicted felon) Lawrence Hardge received a $680,000 contract from the District of Columbia for a small device that he claims increases the range of electric vehicles. 

  Local media outlet WUSA9 was the first to shine the spotlight on the shady EV deal DC’s Department of Public Works recently made with Hardge to outfit 40 Chevrolet Bolt EVs with the Energy Management Module (EEM) device. 

  

  Hardge claims the device can increase any EV battery’s driving range and efficiency by more than 60%. Electrical engineers from the University of Maryland say that’s ‘practically impossible.’ 

  “There’s not technologies that I’m aware of that can really boost that same battery pack to significantly more than 200-mile range,” said Paul Albertus, an associate director of the Maryland Energy Innovation Institute.

  Albertus said, “There’s a variety of limitations just from basic chemical theory. There’s only so much energy you can store for the materials that you put into a battery.”

  WUSA contacted General Motors, maker of the Bolts, and asked if they knew of the EEM device. 

  “We have not been involved in this project and are not aware of this specific technology,” General Motors wrote in a statement. 

  DC awarded Hardge a $680,000 contract for the device that UMD experts say is ‘bogus.’ 

  

  Hardge was convicted of selling unregistered securities from his home state of Mississippi two decades ago. He served five years in prison and tried to expunge his criminal record in 2021. 

  According to a Jackson Advocate article in 2022, Hardge claimed that he “had been notified by the University of Michigan, which is located only 35 miles from Hardge Global Manufacturing offices in Farmington Hills, Michigan, that he is being prepped for a possible Nobel Prize nomination by the university.”

  “I interviewed with the University of Michigan last year,” he said in the article. “I spent about eight hours with them. They wanted to nominate me for a Nobel Prize. They thought I was the perfect candidate.”

  WUSA spoke with a University of Michigan spokesperson who said, “We’ve checked with colleagues who would be most likely to be familiar with Mr. Hardge (Office of Research, College of Engineering, Communications) and no one is familiar with him.”

  Depending on how this plays out, this could be a future episode on CNBC’s American Greed. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 23:35

• Former FBI Special Agent 'Confirmed' Key Parts Of Hunter Biden IRS Whistleblower Testimony: Comer
  Former FBI Special Agent ‘Confirmed’ Key Parts Of Hunter Biden IRS Whistleblower Testimony: Comer

  Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A former FBI supervisory special agent has allegedly confirmed key portions of an IRS whistleblower’s testimony that President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, received preferential treatment during an investigation into felony tax crimes, according to the House Oversight Committee.

  “Today, a former FBI supervisory special agent assigned to the FBI’s Wilmington office and the Biden criminal investigation confirmed key portions of the IRS whistleblower’s testimony,” committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a July 17 statement.

  

  Mr. Comer did not reveal the identity of the former FBI agent.

  He further claimed that the night before the interview of Hunter Biden, “both Secret Service headquarters and the Biden transition team were tipped off about the planned interview.”

  “On the day of the Hunter Biden interview, federal agents were told to stand by and could not approach Hunter Biden—they had to wait for his call. As a result of the change in plans, IRS and FBI criminal investigators never got to interview Hunter Biden as part of the investigation,” he continued.

  The Epoch Times has contacted the White House for comment.

  Mr. Biden’s son has been under federal investigation for alleged tax fraud since 2018. According to prosecutors, he received more than $1.5 million in taxable income in 2017 and more than $1.5 million more in 2018 and was required by law to pay more than $100,000 in income tax for his earnings each of those years but failed to pay the tax.

  

  ‘Obvious Conflicts of Interest’

  Mr. Comer’s statement comes after Gary Shapley, an IRS supervisory special agent, earlier this year claimed that the Department of Justice and the Delaware U.S. Attorney’s Office interfered in the investigation into the younger Mr. Biden in an attempt to delay the probe.

  According to Mr. Shapley, the DOJ provided the younger Mr. Biden with preferential treatment, “slow-walked the investigation,” and “did nothing to avoid obvious conflicts of interest in this investigation.”

  The former IRS agent additionally told prosecutors that the case into Hunter Biden had been “handled differently than any investigation” he’d ever been part of in his 14 years of service to the IRS and that some aspects of the case appeared to be influenced by politics.

  Another whistleblower, a criminal investigator with the IRS identified only as Whistleblower X, has made similar claims.

  The DOJ has denied any interference in the investigation into Hunter Biden.

  Meanwhile, Mr. Biden has denied any wrongdoing on behalf of his family or himself.

  Hunter Biden agreed to plead guilty to two counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax in a deal with the U.S. government in June, according to a letter from U.S. Attorney David Weiss to the U.S. court in Delaware.

  The agreement to plead guilty meant he avoided prosecution on a separate gun charge. He is set to appear in court on July 26.

  According to Mr. Comer, who cited a transcribed interview with the former FBI supervisory special agent, multiple witness interviews were planned for Dec. 8, 2020, and Mr. Shapley and the former FBI agent were assigned to interview the president’s son.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 23:15

• Do The Actor And Writer Strikes Actually Help Woke Hollywood Cover Up Its Failures?
  Do The Actor And Writer Strikes Actually Help Woke Hollywood Cover Up Its Failures?

  Hollywood is in deep trouble, but not for the reasons we are hearing from entertainment journalists. 

  With WGA and SAG strikes now underway production in Tinsel Town has all but disappeared.  Talk among insiders is that the strikes could very well destroy the industry for years to come.  But what if this scenario is exactly what flailing media companies needed?    

  The implosion of the mainstream movie business gestated long before the strikes; it started with the injection of woke politics and propaganda into the western pop culture space.  Since 2016 (a year marking the “coming out party” for extreme intersectional feminism, critical race theory and trans ideology in movies) movie ticket sales have plummeted by around 40%. 

  Box office revenues have collapsed to levels not seen since 2001, and keep in mind that the stats get much worse once they are adjusted for inflation.  

  

  Initially, film studios tried to use the covid lockdowns and fear of the virus as the reason for their declining numbers.  However, hit films like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Top Gun: Maverick proved that the covid rationale was nonsense.  People were more than willing to go to the theaters by the millions, but only for non-woke movies.  Nobody cared about covid.

  It’s now 2023 and the pandemic excuse is dead.  Hollywood is left with no scapegoat to blame their problems on and it’s becoming increasingly apparent that if you “Get Woke” you will in fact “Go Broke.” 

  Almost every major film production containing far-left propaganda or common woke tropes such as race swapped characters, gender swapped characters, feminism, trans ideology, CRT, climate change cultism, “girl boss” propaganda and deconstructed male heroes is now tanking at the theaters to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars in losses per film.

  The problem is that production companies continue to double down and refuse to admit the real reason they are collapsing.  Disney, for example, is now openly discussing a fire sale on pieces of the company in order to shore up their finances.  This is after they fired 7000 employees.  Yet, the political nature of their downfall is rarely if ever broached. 

  This behavior suggests that the woke cult is more important to Hollywood than making a profit or even saving their businesses.  The bottom line?  Americans and most of the world are tired of far-left concepts being forced into entertainment, but Hollywood would rather go down with the ship than build a life raft by acknowledging that woke is sinking them.  It’s truly insane; a perfect expression of mental illness.      

  And make no mistake, these companies are going down.  They might be hoping for a bailout in the future, but it’s not coming.  Not in time to save the industry as it exists today.  The ESG establishment has far more important things to worry about than keeping companies like Disney afloat.

  But, if the goal is to avoid admitting at all costs that woke ideology is a massive failure among the majority of the population, then studios now have an excellent scapegoat in the form of the WGA and SAG strikes.  In a year’s time they can claim that it was the strikes that killed the movie business, not political zealotry.  And let’s not forget that a large number of writers and actors have been participants in the leftist destruction of media, so they don’t really deserve any sympathy either.  

  This all rests, of course, on the strikes lasting longer than a couple months.  If they don’t, then the Hollywood establishment will be right back where they started.  They’ll be force to fire their woke staff and start making good films again, or, they’ll burn as the public dances on the ashes.   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 22:55

• Trump Could Face 'Seditious Conspiracy' Charge In Jan. 6 Probe, Previous Trials Suggest
  Trump Could Face ‘Seditious Conspiracy’ Charge In Jan. 6 Probe, Previous Trials Suggest

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

  With former President Donald Trump saying that he’s been notified that a Washington-based grand jury is investigating him in relation to the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol protest and breach, a commentator who’s been closely following Jan. 6-related trials is pointing to seditious conspiracy as a charge Mr. Trump likely will face.

  

  Mr. Trump said he was informed of being the target late on July 16 through a letter from the office of Jack Smith, a special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Mr. Trump’s involvement in the January 6 incident as well as his retention of documents from his time in the White House.

  “This witch hunt is all about election interference and a complete and total political weaponization of law enforcement!” Mr. Trump commented in a July 18 post on Truth Social, his social media platform.

  He said he has been given four days to show up before the grand jury; it isn’t clear whether he is being invited to testify voluntarily or subpoenaed.

  ‘Tactical Move’

  Prosecutors should first ask for a voluntary appearance before subpoenaing the target of a criminal investigation, according to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Justice Manual.

  Also, lawyers usually discourage their clients from going before a grand jury if they are the target of the investigation—it can be avoided by invoking the right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment, says Marc Ruskin, a former FBI agent and assistant U.S. attorney.

  However, that may be Mr. Smith’s goal, according to Mr. Ruskin.

  He noted that Mr. Trump is already facing indictments in New York and Florida and pleading the Fifth in Washington gives another talking point to his opponents.

  “It could be a tactical and procedural move just to make him look bad,” he said.

  “You have Trump, a former president who is running to be president again, pleading the Fifth. I guess from their point of view, it’s going to help make him less attractive as a candidate.”

  If the target is not asked to testify, “the prosecutor, in appropriate cases, is encouraged to notify such person a reasonable time before seeking an indictment in order to afford him or her an opportunity to testify before the grand jury,” the manual says.

  Mr. Trump indicated he believes charges against himself are imminent, saying that being told to report to the grand jury, “almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.”

  Some commentators have long predicted Mr. Trump will face charges in the probe, including Julie Kelly, an independent journalist who had closely followed the trials of Jan. 6 participants.

  “I’ve warned of this for over a year. I take no pride in being right,” she commented in a July 18 tweet.

  “Only question now is what charges Smith will bring (strong possibility he’ll seek indictment on seditious conspiracy) and who is charged with him. (Any conspiracy charge requires at least one conspirator).”

  In April, she highlighted several members of the pro-Trump Proud Boys group who were convicted of seditious conspiracy. Ms. Kelly believes the DOJ approached the Proud Boys trial in a way that seemed to lay the groundwork for bringing the same charge against Mr. Trump.

  During the closing arguments, it seemed to her that prosecutors tried to tie Proud Boys to Mr. Trump, particularly regarding a comment by Mr. Trump during a 2020 presidential debate that the Proud Boys should “stand down and stand by.”

  She pointed to a comment by one of the prosecutors that “defendants saw themselves as Donald Trump’s army, fighting to keep their preferred leader in power no matter what.”

  “Convictions of 4 members of the Proud Boys set the stage for Smith to pursue a seditious conspiracy indictment against Trump because DOJ made the former president an unindicted co-conspirator of sorts during the trial,” Ms. Kelly told The Epoch Times via text.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 22:35

• In-N-Out Bans Employee Masking In Five States
  In-N-Out Bans Employee Masking In Five States

  The In-N-Out burger chain will prohibit employees in five states from wearing masks unless they’ve got a note from their doctor, according to internal company emails leaked to social media, Bloomberg reports.

  

  Workers in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah are advised in the memo of “the importance of customer service and the ability to show our Associates’ smiles and other facial features while considering the health and well-being of all individuals.”

  The policy, which will go into effect August 14, will apply to all In-N-Out employees in those states, unless their job duties require masks or other protective gear. If they fail to comply, employees could face disciplinary action, up to and including being fired.

  As Bloomberg notes, California and Oregon – not on the list, have laws which prevent employers from banning masks.

  

  And of course, pro-maskers, who can’t cite peer-reviewed studies proving their efficacy – are having a conniption.

  “Requiring a doctor’s note is also a burden in terms of time and money. Many people don’t have a primary care physician or one who is readily available,” wrote infections disease specialist Dr. Judy Stone in Forbes. “And requiring proof of a disability might be considered a violation of the Americans with Disability Act, depending on how one interprets masking as a request for accommodation.”

  Stone also pointed to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — which notes that 6 in 10 adults have a chronic disease, increasing their risk for severe COVID-19.

  In-N-Out workers in California and Oregon also have new mask guidelines set to go into effect August 14, according to a separate leaked company memo. But in contrast to the other states, California and Oregon employees will still be able to choose to wear a mask in stores. -Bloomberg

  The new masking guidelines are also subject to local health regulations.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 22:15

• Chris Rufo Exposes The History Of America's Cultural Revolution
  Chris Rufo Exposes The History Of America’s Cultural Revolution

  Authored by Techno Fog via The Reactionary,

  “The ambition of this book is to reveal the inner history of America’s cultural revolution, tracing the arc of its development from its origin point to the present day.”

  – Christopher Rufo, America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything.

  

  Christopher Rufo may have been setting out the ambition of his new book, America’s Cultural Revolution, but there is no mistake that this work itself is ambitious, given the scale of material (the cultural revolution and pre-revolutionary ideas, and the creation and progression of that movement, for starters) and the connection from leftist thought leaders of the mid-20^th century to the absurdities and very real cultural and political dangers we see today.

  But his task is also necessary, as the proper answer to the question of “where we are” – one of disagreement even among conservatives, some of whom deny we are in a revolutionary age – requires an exploration of how we got here and the ideas that led us to this point. The revolutionary lineage from the 1960s (and before) carries on to this day – albeit in an arguably stronger form. What was radical is now the orthodoxy. Those calling for sexual liberation in 1955, for example, would no doubt be shocked – and proud – at the evolution and success of that idea. We add that political liberation and sexual liberation are indeed intertwined, as they both can lead to spiritual bondage.

  Rufo, to his credit, achieves that ambitious goal. America’s Cultural Revolution is divided into four parts: Revolution, Race, Education, and Power, with each including a biography of the prophets of the cultural revolution. There is an exacting focus on the prophets’ writings (supported by hundreds of footnotes) concerning “liberation”, political violence, anti-racism, and the destruction of institutions – many of which we see regurgitated, exercised, and acted upon to this day.

  Your humble author is especially thankful for Rufo’s deep dive into the history of the revolutionaries, which helps to give a biography of the movement. We often see the ridiculous (the shop teacher with z-cups) and the concerning (statues toppled) and the evil (public school teacher-led gender transitions), but we’re left without an understanding of where all this originated and how it came to be.

  The words of the left’s prophets, as Rufo demonstrates, became the blueprint for societal change, for violent upheavals, and leftist control of institutions that will take a revolution to undo. In the first few chapters, for example, he goes into great detail discussing the demands and views of Herbert Marcuse, a German-born philosopher dubbed “the father of the revolution” who argued:

  “modern capitalist society had created the perfect means of repression, anesthetizing the working class with material comforts, manufactured desires, and welfare programs, which stabilized the system and allowed for the creation of external scapegoats.”

  The solution to this problem was nothing short of unrest and dissolution, through violence if necessary. It would require “the revolt of the affluent white intelligentsia, the radicalization of the black ‘ghetto population,’ the capture of public institutions, and the cultural repression of the opposition.”

  Rufo observes that “all of these objectives have been realized to some degree.” It’s hard to disagree with that assessment – especially considering how Rufo dedicates later chapters solidifying that point through discussions of the liberal domination of academia, the use of race as a means to target the American system as a whole, the far left’s long march (which can also be called a historically short march) through the institutions (including universities, local schools, business, and federal bureaucracies), and the increasingly accepted and forceful censorship and repression regimes, both public and private. In doing so, Rufo effectively makes the argument that for even those paying close attention, things might be worse than we thought, that the revolution we face is stronger than reported.

  His exposition on the evolution of revolutionary ideas is particularly compelling. By the time Rufo gets to discussing Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the later chapters, we have a better understanding of the originators, history, and vulnerabilities of basic elements to CRT. And Rufo provides necessary context, both in historical criticisms of CRT and his own accurate assessment of the movement:

  The elements of critical race theory are, in fact, a near-perfect transposition of race onto the basic structures of Marxist theory. “White supremacy” replaces “capitalism” as the totalizing system. “White and black” replaces “bourgeoisie and proletariat” as the “oppressor and oppressed.” “Abolition” replaces “revolution” as the method of “liberation.” This is not a mere metaphor or post hoc comparison. The critical race theorists appeal directly to Marxist theoreticians and the Marxist-Leninist figures of the black liberation movement.

  With this knowledge, Rufo is by all means qualified to discuss where the movement goes from here. He warns:

  This movement seeks to establish itself in every layer of the public and private administration, which will be refitted to advance the substitute morality of critical race theory and replace governance by the Constitution with governance by the bureaucracy. 

  He makes that warning with the understanding of what the movement wants, the answer to which is “found in the original literature of critical race theory”: the abandonment of equal justice under the law, the redistribution of wealth along racial lines, and the prohibition of speech that is considered harmful or hateful. But we think he makes that warning not just based on their words, but because he understands and respects their zealotry, their dedication, their patience, their resentment (another word for hatred), and the lengths they will go to accomplish their desires.

  As I read this book, I couldn’t help but ask whether this was always going to be the end result of liberalism or whether this is liberalism hijacked by its more radical elements. That’s not really a focus of the book (there are only so many pages), but it’s worthy to explore whether liberal democracy is authoritarian by its very nature and susceptible or predestined to adopting forms of fundamentalism to achieve its ends. Patrick Deneen’s Why Liberalism Failed and Ryszard Legutko’s The Demon in Democracy are good places to start, if you’re interested in looking into those questions further.

  If there is a revolution, then consider this book to be part of the counter-revolution. In conclusion, Rufo concentrates on the response to the revolutionaries and the necessary elements of the opposition: hope, a fight against collectivism and racial reductionism, a fight for natural rights and the Constitution and individual dignity. The counter-revolution he proposes goes much further than vanquishing the far left and retaking the institutions. It requires decentralization, local control, self-governance, a system of government that protects the rights of the individual while scaling back its own authority. It’s not just an improvement. It’s a return.

  That seems ambitious in 2023. But so too were the revolutionary ideas of 1968.

  America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything is available for purchase through Amazon.

  Subscribe here to the reactionary.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 21:55

• Credit Scores Abruptly Plunge As Americans Stop Paying Down Debt; Synchrony Financial Warns
  Credit Scores Abruptly Plunge As Americans Stop Paying Down Debt; Synchrony Financial Warns

  Over the past few years, tens of millions of consumers witnessed a remarkable increase in their credit scores, primarily due to helicopter money dished out by the federal government, rock-bottom interest rates, and a pause on student-loan payments. However, the party has come to an abrupt end as credit scores plunge. 

  Bloomberg reports Synchrony Financial is closing inactive accounts and capping card limits for a number of clients as macroeconomic headwinds mount. 

  “What we are seeing is people who are doing significant score migration — a 680 or a 690 going to a 620,” Synchrony Financial CFO Brian Wenzel said in an interview. 

  Wenzel said, “Folks who had paid down debt, their scores had gone up, and now they’re reverting back to more normal performance.”

  

  The Stamford, Connecticut-based consumer financial services company hasn’t tightened underwriting standards for new accounts but is beginning to notice consumer stress 16 months into the Federal Reserve’s interest rate tightening cycle.

  Two years of an inflation storm has sent real wage growth to negative levels, forcing many consumers to drain personal savings and overutilize credit cards to make ends meet. We noted this in “Credit Card Debt Explodes At 2nd Fastest Pace On Record Just As Rates Hit All-Time High” and “Credit Card Debt Keeps Surging Even As Interest Rates Hit Record High.”

  Consumers have racked up record amounts of credit card debt while interest rates on these cards have surged to the highest level ever of around 21% on average. Surging debt loads and high rates make paying off outstanding balances even harder for some consumers. 

  A lower credit score means consumers will have increasing trouble qualifying for new credit lines, thus cutting off their lifelines. Perhaps that’s why we’ve seen a surge in Google searches for “pawn shop near me” as consumers pawn off items for quick loans. 

  Just wait until student-loan payments restart … this will crush consumers even more as millions must divert even more income into debt servicing payments. Maybe consumers are heading into a period of a balance sheet recession. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 21:35

• The Collapse Of The "Risk-Free" Delusion: Implications For The $133 Trillion Bond Market
  The Collapse Of The “Risk-Free” Delusion: Implications For The $133 Trillion Bond Market

  Authored by Nick Giambruno via InternationalMan.com,

  Did you know that 2022 was the WORST year for US Treasuries in American history?

  The benchmark 10-year Treasury fell nearly 18%, and the 30-year Treasury collapsed over 39%. Many other bonds did even worse.

  Even if you go back 250 years, you can’t find a worse year for Treasuries, the foundation of the colossal global bond market.

  It should forever end the ridiculous—yet pervasive—delusion that Treasuries are “risk-free.”

  Many people and almost every financial institution have long thoughtlessly accepted this trope.

  As a result, bonds in general—and Treasuries in particular—became the store-of-value asset of choice and the de facto savings account for savers and investors worldwide.

  Today, the global bond market has grown to be worth more than an estimated $133 trillion as the masses parked their savings there because conventional wisdom said it was the “safe” thing to do.

  By contrast, all the mined gold in the world is worth about $12.7 trillion, less than 10% of the bond market.

  It may be tempting to think the worst is over for bonds—it’s not. As you’ll see, the pain for bondholders is just starting.

  

  Although most don’t realize it yet, bonds will become a graveyard for capital. They will no longer be the “go-to” savings vehicle because they will no longer be a reliable store-of-value asset.

  I believe the opposite will be true; bonds will become a guaranteed way to lose value. Investors will flee them in droves.

  The implications of that are profound.

  If not bonds, where will people, companies, and nation states park their savings?

  Much of the value stored in the $133 trillion global bond market will move elsewhere—voluntarily to superior store-of-value assets or involuntarily to bankrupt governments and their cronies as they accelerate the largest wealth transfer in history.

  That is the Big Picture reality that most people don’t understand… yet.

  Until recently, bonds had been in a bull market that lasted more than 40 years. Therefore, it’s not surprising that complacency is ingrained and widespread.

  The Big Picture

  In the post-WWII era, Treasuries were a stable foundation for the global bond market as the US dollar reigned supreme as the world’s premier reserve currency.

  However, that foundation has rotted. It is on the path to collapse as the petrodollar system falls apart and a multipolar world order emerges.

  In short, the supply of Treasuries is increasing at an accelerating rate while there’s a shrinking number of suckers (i.e., buyers).

  The inevitable is imminent as the US government can no longer delay or disguise its impending bankruptcy.

  The US federal government has the biggest debt in the history of the world. And it’s continuing to grow at a rapid, unstoppable pace.

  Today, the US federal debt has gone parabolic and is over $32.5 TRILLION.

  To put that in perspective, if you earned $1 a second 24/7/365—about $31 million per year—it would take you over 1,029,860 YEARS to pay off the US federal debt.

  And that’s with the unrealistic assumption that it would stop growing.

  Observation #1: The US government can’t repay its debt. Default is inevitable.

  This isn’t exactly a revelation, but it’s important to remember.

  Therefore, the question is not whether the US government will default but how.

  When faced with a choice, politicians always choose the most expedient option. In this case, that means issuing more debt rather than making tough budget decisions or explicitly defaulting.

  Consider the recent debt ceiling farce, which raised the debt ceiling for the 105th time since 1944 to avoid an explicit default.

  Observation #2: It will not be an explicit default.

  In reality, there is no meaningful limit on the debt and spending.

  Congress is racing towards ever-increasing spending and debt now that they’ve normalized multitrillion-dollar deficits.

  Below is a chart of the Congressional Budget Office’s deficit projections for the next decade. These estimates will almost certainly be too rosy, as they often are.

  Even by the CBO’s optimistic projections, the US government will have a cumulative deficit of over $20 TRILLION for the next ten years that will have to be financed by issuing more Treasuries.

  

  Observation #3: The debt will continue to grow at an accelerating pace.

  Historically, there has been a vast foreign appetite for Treasuries, but not anymore.

  In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US government has launched its most aggressive sanctions campaign ever.

  As part of this, the US government seized the Russian central bank’s reserves—the nation’s accumulated savings.

  It was a stunning illustration of the political risk associated with the US dollar and Treasuries. It showed that the US government could seize another sovereign country’s reserves at the flip of a switch.

  In short, the US dollar—and Treasuries—have become weaponized in a way they had not been before.

  In addition to being terrible investments, Treasuries are now clearly political tools for Washington to coerce others.

  There could even soon be “woke sanctions”…

  For example, the US government recently threatened to sanction Uganda over its LGBT policies, which means that countries’ domestic policies may make them targets of US sanctions.

  The rising political risk attached to Treasuries has made them even less attractive as a store of value. Many countries are undoubtedly wondering if the US government will seize their savings if they run afoul with Washington in even the most trivial ways.

  China is one of the largest holders of US Treasuries, and it indeed took note of what is happening. There’s little doubt that this is the reason China continues to dump Treasuries.

  Beijing has sold about 25% of its Treasuries since 2021, an enormous change in such a short period.

  Even US allies, like Japan, have cut their Treasury holdings.

  There are numerous other examples. The bottom line is that it’s clear the world isn’t hungry for US debt right now, at the moment when supply is exploding higher.

  

  Observation #4: Foreigners are not buying as many Treasuries.

  In the bond market, when demand for a bond falls, the interest rate rises to entice buyers and holders.

  However, it is worth noting that the amount of federal debt is so extreme that even a return of interest rates to their historical average would mean paying an interest expense that would consume more than half of tax revenues. Interest expense would eclipse Social Security and defense spending and become the largest item in the federal budget.

  In short, allowing interest rates to rise high enough to entice natural buyers would bankrupt the US government because of the higher interest costs.

  Observation #5: The US government cannot allow interest rates to rise much further.

  So, if higher interest rates cannot entice more buyers, who will finance these growing multi-trillion dollar budget deficits?

  The only entity capable is the Federal Reserve, which buys Treasuries with dollars it creates out of thin air.

  Observation #6: The Federal Reserve is the only significant buyer of Treasuries stepping up, which means currency debasement.

  Here’s the bottom line.

  The US government can’t pay off its debt.

  They won’t explicitly default.

  They can’t entice a meaningful amount of new Treasury buyers by allowing interest rates to rise much higher.

  Then what can they do?

  Financial repression is their only practical option… and it will devastate bondholders.

  It could all go down soon… and it won’t be pretty.

  It will result in an enormous wealth transfer from savers to the parasitical class—politicians, central bankers, and those connected to them.

  Countless millions throughout history were wiped out financially—or worse—during periods of profound change because they failed to see the correct Big Picture and take appropriate action.

  Don’t be one of them.

  That’s exactly why I just released an urgent new report with all the details, including what you must do to prepare. It’s called, The Most Dangerous Economic Crisis in 100 Years… the Top 3 Strategies You Need Right Now. Click here to download the PDF now.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 21:15

• 'No Way To Escape Haze': Canadian Wildfire Smoke Pours Into North Florida While African Dust Approaches From South
  ‘No Way To Escape Haze’: Canadian Wildfire Smoke Pours Into North Florida While African Dust Approaches From South

  On Wednesday, smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted down to North Florida, coinciding with Saharan dust approaching South Florida. 

  Mike Boylan of Mike’s Weather Page first pointed this out as “there’s no escape from the haze” for Flordia. 

  “Crazy weather today, Wednesday… especially for Florida. Canadian wildfire smoke has made it south. And African dust has made it west. Both can be seen on AM satellite here,” Boylan tweeted. 

  

  Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel once called Mike’s Weather Page a “one-stop shop” for the latest tropical updates. Data on the site shows the National Hurricane Center predicts a 20% chance of cyclone formation in the next seven days in the Atlantic Basin. 

  

  Other tropical activity shows Tropical Storm Don swirling in the Atlantic and expected to remain at tropical-storm strength through the weekend as it approaches the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. 

  

  In the Central Pacific, Gov. Josh Green declared a state of emergency as Tropical Storm Calvin battered Hawaii’s Big Island. 

  

  In the Lower 48, an unrelenting heat dome roasts tens of millions of people from California to Florida. 

  

  The good news is that 5,10,30-year average temperatures for the Lower 48 plateau on a seasonal basis. However, forecasts show average temperatures across the US could rise to as high as 85 degrees Fahrenheit by next Friday, with the possibility of cooler temps into early August. 

  

  Rather than blaming global warming solely on human activities, like billionaires flying around on private jets and sailing on mega yachts, readers must consider the El Nino weather pattern is a significant contributor to the warm spell gripping the planet. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 20:55

• The Django Syndrome: What The Latest Racist Attacks On Clarence Thomas Say About Our Rage Politics
  The Django Syndrome: What The Latest Racist Attacks On Clarence Thomas Say About Our Rage Politics

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  In July 1991, Clarence Thomas, a relatively unknown D.C. Circuit judge, was nominated by President George H.W. Bush to replace Thurgood Marshall on the United States Supreme Court.

  Thomas soon found out that the only thing more perilous than replacing a historical icon on the Court is replacing a liberal with a conservative.

  Thomas would become an icon in his own right for conservatives: an unyielding defender of textualism and conservative jurisprudence. Yet, liberals seem more preoccupied by his race than his rigidity. This week, a leading Democrat, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison unleashed another openly racist attack on Thomas and neither the media nor the political establishment condemned the remarks.

  

  Ellison condemned Thomas as a house slave working for white people, analogizing him to the vile character “Stephen,” played by Samuel L. Jackson in the film “Django Unchained.” (Jackson himself called Thomas “Uncle Clarence” after the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade). Ellison added that, because he disagreed with Thomas’ conservative opinions, the justice is “illegitimate” and “needs to be impeached.”

  That is, of course, nonsensical from a constitutional standpoint. However, what was most striking is the response to statements. The racist attack from the top lawyer in the state of Minnesota was not condemned by a single democrat.

  Not Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who previously falsely declared that hate speech is not constitutionally protected under the First Amendment and declared himself a champion against bigotry and racist rhetoric.

  Not from senior Senator Amy Klubuchar, who has repeatedly denounced racist tropes and rhetoric of Republicans.

  Not from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who rightfully condemned the comments of Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville on white nationalism but made no comment on a racist attack of Thomas in the same week.

  Not from President Joe Biden, who has repeatedly denounced racial rhetoric and “codes” by Republicans.

  Indeed, the day that Ellison’s comments were being aired nationally, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre went to the press room to denounce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at length for his statements suggesting that Covid-19 may have been engineered to spare Jewish and Chinese people. Jean-Pierre declared that “it is important that we essentially speak out” when such racist or anti-Semitic comments are made, but then made no mention of the racist attack on Thomas as nothing more than a house slave.

  Thomas knew that being a conservative black jurist would not be easy when he was nominated for the bench. Thomas replaced Robert Bork on the D.C. Circuit. Bork was also savagely attacked when he was nominated for the Court. Indeed, “borked” is now a term of art for destroying nominees in the confirmation process.

  Thomas’ confirmation became a battle royale after Anita Hill accused him of of sexual harassment. What followed was famously described by Thomas as “a high tech lynching for uppity blacks who in any way deign to think for themselves, to do for themselves, to have different ideas.”

  The attacks on Thomas would never end. His very presence on the Court seemed to disgust liberals who made continual reference to his race. One Democratic legislator on the Georgia Senate floor called him an  “Uncle Tom” who “sold his soul to the slave master.”

  The Smithsonian’s African American museum even skipped over Thomas in its selection of great African Americans at its opening despite being the second African-American appointed to the highest court.

  (His Senate confirmation-hearing accuser, Anita Hill, did make the cut.)

  It was only after a public outcry that the Smithsonian relented to include Thomas.

  The media has been unrelenting in its hostile and one-sided coverage of Thomas. While running gushing pieces heralding the backgrounds of liberal justices, there has been a virtual news blackout on Thomas’ amazing life story, one of the truly most inspirational accounts of overcoming every possible obstacle in life.

  Thomas was born on the Georgia coast in Pin Point, Georgia and grew up speaking Gullah, the creole dialect. He was raised in a one-room shack with dirt floors, no plumbing, and no Dad.  When he was eventually sent to a Catholic school, he had to learn to read and write in English. He overcame segregation and prejudice to eventually go to Holy Cross and then was offered admission to Yale, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania law schools. He would become the chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1982, a federal appellate judge, and the second African American to join the Court.

  Few of these critics could have walked the path of this man from Pin Point to Capitol Hill. He did so by being his own man — relying on his faith and his intellect to face seemingly insurmountable barriers before him.

  Some 32 years ago, Thomas objected to the treatment of an “uppity black” jurist who thinks for himself. Others have made the case for him. For years, commentators have singled out Thomas for his race among the conservative majority. Now, in the face of yet another raw and racist attacks, the political and media establishment is again silent.

  Ironically, the thing that made Stephen hate Django in the movie was that he would not yield to the demands of the white owners. Django defiantly admitted that he was “that one [black man] in ten thousand.” For the liberal establishment, Thomas was a threat because others might emulate him. That is why other black leaders like Sen. Tim Scott from South Carolina have faced continual racist tropes from the left, including a Maryland Delegate Gabriel Acevero stating that “Tim Scott isn’t naive, he’s cooning” to please white people.

  The bitter irony is that Thomas is the antithesis of the Stephen character. He has always refused to yield to the demands of others on how he should think as a jurist due to his race.

  The attacks are meant to chill others from even considering conservative or libertarian views. Ellison has long valued intimidation as a political weapon. He previously praised the ultra-violent group Antifa as useful to “strike fear in the heart” of Trump and Republicans.

  Of course, Django is all about righteous rage as a license for the most extreme actions.

  That is why Ellison may have had the right movie, but the wrong character. Call it the Django syndrome. When you are “one in ten thousand” who refuses to yield, you become not simply an annoyance but an obsession.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 20:35

• "Like A Bomb Went Off": Pfizer Plant In North Carolina Destroyed By Tornado
  “Like A Bomb Went Off”: Pfizer Plant In North Carolina Destroyed By Tornado

  Dramatic footage posted on Twitter shows the aftermath of a tornado that ripped through a massive Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, scattering “50,000 pallets of medicine” across the property.

  Pfizer told local media outlet ABC 11 that a twister damaged its Rocky Mount manufacturing space that sits on 250 acres in Eastern North Carolina. 

  “We are assessing the situation to determine the impact on production.

  “Our thoughts are with our colleagues, our patients, and the community as we rebuild from this weather incident,” the company said.

  According to the company’s website, the Rocky Mount plant is “one of the largest sterile injectable facilities in the world.” Here’s a list of medical devices produced at the plant: 

  At this facility, a wide range of products are produced, including anesthesia, analgesia, therapeutics, anti-infectives and neuromuscular blockers. These products are available in small volume presentations, such as ampules, vials and syringes, and large volume presentations, such as IV bags and semi-rigid bottles.

  One Pfizer employee told ABC 11 that the twister wreaked havoc on the facility for 60 to 90 seconds. He said the tornado sounded “like a bomb went off.” 

  Footage of the damaged plant was posted on Twitter. 

  Pfizer building destroyed by a tornado in North Carolina. 50,000 pallets of medicines destroyed.😳

  🔊

  pic.twitter.com/HP5KSLdEpq

  — Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) July 19, 2023

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

  There’s no word if products related to sterile injectables will be in short supply.

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 20:15

• Bumps Appear In Surfing's Gender Equality Wave
  Bumps Appear In Surfing’s Gender Equality Wave

  Authored by Nicole James via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Feminist surfer Lucy Small has just won a battle in her fight for equality. She has announced that the Kirra Longboard Klassic event now added a women’s division with equal prize money after initially erasing the division.

  

  Ms. Small is continuing to have to battle for equality in surf competitions. The fight to surf is becoming increasingly difficult as seen after the open women’s division was dumped from The Kirra Longboard Klassic starting on July 29 on the Gold Coast.

  After being told that the prize pool of $5,500 (US$3,700) could not be split, Ms. Small hijacked the competition by organising for 15 of the 16 spots to be filled by women. She then persuaded the last entry to show solidarity with the girls and give up his spot.

  Her efforts were successful in the recreation of the women’s event even though the director of the Kirra Longboard Klassic, Sean McKeown told the ABC, “The girls are not particularly good. There’s only a few of them in Australia that are really good at high performance.”

  He went on to say, “I don’t think it’ll be quite as good a spectacle.”

  Surf competitions make their money often via the number of people they attract and thus with the heightened hype around this division, the spectacle may be particularly worth watching and thus generate larger crowds than in previous years.

  Steve Del Rosso, the sponsor of the open division, gave his opinion on social media about this attention.

  “If I thought or knew this was going to happen, I would not of been any part of it, Lucy. It was never in my intention to have anything like this happen. Or to have this reaction as all I was trying to do was honour an old mate,” he said. “I definitely won’t be sponsoring any more events now. As this was the last thing I needed.”

  Series of Steps

  Ms. Small is no stranger to publicity. After winning the Curly Mal Jam Pro Longboard competition in April 2021, she received $1,500 compared to the male prize of $4,000.

  Ms. Small’s victory speech went viral. She said winning was bittersweet because her performance was worth less than half of her male counterpart. She gained a lot of support after this speech with Global Surf Industries to pay the difference in prize money.

  Yet the battle had just begun.

  Ms. Small submitted a petition to the New South Wales (NSW) parliament calling for gender equality in sports to be enshrined in law as it is in the U.S., who had introduced an “equal pay for equal play” law in 2019. It is now illegal to pay men and women a different amount in Californian athletic events.

  The World Surf League also mandated equal prize money in 2020 at top-level competitions.

  In Australia, local government motions have now been passed in regards to “equal pay for equal play”, and in Victoria, local councils must show equal access to government funding applications for sporting facilities.

  The publicity Ms. Small has created has seen Surfing NSW make it mandatory for affiliated clubs to offer women equal prize money.

  The Surfing Australia 2023 rule book also now states, “In surfing competitions where there is prize money allocated, we require equal prize money and investment for both Women and Men’s surfing divisions.”

  Although in May this year, the equal pay mandate was broken by the Noosa Malibu Club, with the male open division winner receiving $718 and the women’s open division winner receiving $505. This resulted in Surfing Australia issuing the club with a “first and final warning.”

  Ms. Small’s campaigning has been recognised by a nomination at the Australian Surfing Awards.

  While not winning this award, Ms. Small has garnered a support base across a number of sports, including surfing’s Mick Fanning and Stephanie Gilmore, Chloe (AFLW), Alicia Eva (AFLW), Kalindi Commerford (Hockey), Matilda McDonell (netball), and Brandon Jack (AFL).

  Ms. Small is continuing her campaigning for female surfers and their conditions with her recently made film, Yama.

  The documentary offers a view of Ghana’s flourishing surf and skate scene and the conditions under which West African women practice.

  Yama dates are coming soon to Australia. For an update visit https://www.yama-film.com/watch

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 19:55

• US General Mark Milley Claims Ukraine Counter Offensive 'Far From Failure'
  US General Mark Milley Claims Ukraine Counter Offensive ‘Far From Failure’

  It’s becoming increasingly apparent that Ukraine is nothing more than a sacrificial proxy pawn in a global game of chess, with NATO consistently misrepresenting the ongoing collapse of the Ukrainian military’s defensive posture.  The government bombardment of the American public with war propaganda is far more impressive than any bombardment that Ukraine has engaged in the past few weeks.   

  On Tuesday the Washington Post reported that US officials are piling the pressure on Ukraine to make a breakthrough against Russian forces, following weeks of bleak headlines.  At the same time, US General Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the media that the Ukraine counter offensive was ‘far from failure’ but will be ‘long and bloody.’  

  It is hard to tell if this rhetoric is for the benefit of the American populace or if it is designed to give false optimism to Ukrainians, but the counter-offensive is now officially a month old and NATO backed forces have gained a mere 35 square miles of ground along a massive 930 mile front line.  By every measure of military doctrine, this constitutes a scrapped offensive. 

  Vladimir Putin argued this exact point this week, with Russia looking far less unstable than the western media has been suggesting.  Putin also commented on the US shipments of cluster bomb munitions to Ukraine which he says would force Russia to escalate to the use of similar weapons.

  To look at the situation in Ukraine from a purely strategic perspective outside of political goggles, there is no longer any momentum for NATO efforts in the region.  Any suggestion otherwise is simply disinformation.  In the meantime, Russia can continue to hold the ground it has already gained while preparing for further incursion (if that is their intent).  The US and European population has shown minimal interest in engaging in a ground war with Russia, which leaves only monetary support and weapons support.  Without an influx of new troops, Ukraine will lose.

  It may be time for NATO to accept this inevitability and shift to a diplomatic solution.  Further escalation only draws the world closer to a catastrophic outcome.      

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 19:35

• Taiwan Says It Detected A Record 16 Chinese Warships Around Island
  Taiwan Says It Detected A Record 16 Chinese Warships Around Island

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  China sent a record number of warships around Taiwan in a single day last week, topping a previous high set when the Chinese military responded to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island in August 2022, The South China Morning Post reported.

  The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said that it detected 16 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ships operating around Taiwan on Friday, although it’s not clear how close they came to the island. After Pelosi’s visit, the PLA sent 14 vessels around the island for drills that simulated a blockade.

  

  In April, when Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with the current House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, China also conducted large-scale exercises around Taiwan and sent 12 PLA warships to the area.

  Major Chinese military exercises around Taiwan are typically done in response to actions the US takes with respect to Taiwan, and Washington has continued to boost ties with Taipei despite Beijing’s position.

  It’s not clear if there was a single event that sparked the PLA’s decision to send 16 warships around the island.

  Global Times, a Chinese state media outlet, mentioned that the PLA warship activity came as the House passed its version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes provisions to boost military ties with Taiwan, and after NATO issued a communiqué at its summit in Vilnius that took aim at China.

  China is war gaming an amphibious assault on Taiwan.

  – Ongoing, unannounced major military exercises
  – 16 warships encircled Taiwan, a single day record, & 100+ in July
  – Northern & Southern Theater forces participate
  – 250 sorties with fighter jets & bombers

  Latest updates 👇 pic.twitter.com/grBHqB5XUI

  — Ian Ellis (@ianellisjones) July 16, 2023

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

  Taiwanese media said the record number of Chinese warships came after a few days of steady PLA activity around Taiwan.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 19:15

• Wheat Prices Soar As Russia Considers Ships Heading To Ukraine As "Carriers Of Military Cargo"
  Wheat Prices Soar As Russia Considers Ships Heading To Ukraine As “Carriers Of Military Cargo”

  Wheat futures jumped Wednesday morning after Russia’s defense ministry released a memo on Telegram indicating all vessels sailing to Ukraine ports in the waters of the Black Sea will be “regarded as potential carriers of military cargo” beginning on Thursday. 

  “In connection with the cessation of the functioning of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and the сlosing of the maritime humanitarian corridor, from 00.00 Moscow time on 20 July 2023, all vessels sailing in the waters of the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo,” the defense ministry said. 

  The ministry continued: 

  • Accordingly, the countries of such vessels will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kiev regime.

  • In addition, a number of sea areas in the north-western and south-eastern parts of the international waters of the Black Sea have been declared temporarily dangerous for navigation. Corresponding information warnings on the withdrawal of safety guarantees to mariners have been issued in accordance with the established procedure.

  Following the defense ministry’s new warning, coupled with the termination of the Black Sea Grain deal earlier this week, wheat futures in Chicago soared 9% on Wednesday morning in Chicago. 

  

  Terminating the grain deal will only bring higher food costs and shortages for countries that import agricultural products from Ukraine. 

   

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 18:55

• Shrinkflation: You're Paying More And Getting Less
  Shrinkflation: You’re Paying More And Getting Less

  Authored by Michael Maharrey via SchiffGold.com,

  We are all keenly aware of price inflation. We notice those rising prices every time we go into a store. But the inflation boogeyman is hitting you even harder than you realize.

  Not only are you paying more for pretty much everything you buy, you’re getting less.

  

  Literally.

  It’s called shrinkflation.

  Rising prices don’t just hit consumers. In fact, they impact producers first. As the cost of materials, labor and equipment goes up, companies feel the pinch. Eventually, they pass those costs on to their customers.

  But raising prices is bad for business, so sometimes, companies find other ways to cut costs. They shrink packages or simply put less stuff in the same size box. While the price stays the same, you get less product.

  Shrinkflation doesn’t show up in the CPI and consumers often don’t even notice, but the effect is the same as rising prices. You ultimately end up with less stuff. It is ninja inflation.

  “Downsizing is really a sneaky price increase,”  former Massachusetts assistant attorney general Greg Dworsky told NPR during an interview.

  “Consumers tend to be price-conscious. But they’re not net-weight conscious. They can tell instantly if they’re used to paying $2.99 for a carton of orange juice and that goes up to $3.19. But if the orange juice container goes from 64 ounces to 59 ounces, they’re probably not going to notice.”

  MousePrint.org chronicles shrinkflation. Here are some recent examples.

  • Double rolls of Bounty paper towels have shrunk from 98 select-a-size sheets to just 90. Triple rolls were downsized from 147 select-a-size sheets per roll to 135.

  • The standard 92-ounce bottle of Gain detergent is now 88 ounces.

  • A family-size bags of Double Stuf Oreos now have four fewer cookies in each bag. (Did the family shrink?)

  • The 19.4-ounce bottle was downsized to 18 ounces.

  • A package of Sara Lee blueberry bagels was reduced from five to four bagels as the package weight dropped by 3.3 ounces.

  • Green Giant frozen broccoli and cheese sauce packages were reduced from 10.0 oz. to 8.0 oz. with no change in the advertised number of servings per package.

  • Ice cream companies have generally dropped the standard 56-ounce container to 48 ounces.

  • A tube of Crest Detoxify toothpaste dropped from 4.1 ounces to 3.7 ounces.

  • Kettle potato chips switched from 8.5-oz. bags to 7.5-oz. bags.

  • A package of Ortega taco shells dropped from 5.8 ounces to 4.9 ounces.

  We also see shrinkflation in services. Remember full-service gas stations? Now, we pump our own gas, bag our own groceries and manage our own investment portfolios.

  Misplaced Blame

  Consumers often don’t notice shrinkflation, but when they do, they get angry, and they usually direct their anger at the “greedy” corporations who are charging them the same amount of money for less product. But there is another culprit who generally slinks around unnoticed.

  The Federal Reserve.

  Price inflation is a symptom of monetary inflation. As the central bank creates money out of thin air and injects it into the economy, prices generally rise. Economist Murray Rothbard noted that since governments have deemed “paper tickets” and computer digits money, “then the government, as dominant money-supplier, becomes free to create money costlessly and at will. As a result, this ‘inflation’ of the money supply destroys the value of the dollar or pound, drives up prices, cripples economic calculation, and hobbles and seriously damages the workings of the market economy.”

  Companies are merely responding to their own cost problem when they shrink package sizes. If they didn’t, they would have to raise the price. And that would make you mad too!

  When it’s all said and done, you end up paying more and getting less.

  Ron Paul summed it up this way.

  Congress should also restore a sound monetary policy by auditing, then ending, the Fed, as well as by repealing both legal tender laws and capital gains taxes on precious metals and cryptocurrencies. Ending the era of the welfare-warfare state and fiat currency can lead to a transition to a new era of liberty, peace, prosperity — and full bags of Doritos.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 18:35

• Scandal-Plagued Stanford President Resigns After Review Finds 'Significant Flaws' In Studies He Ran
  Scandal-Plagued Stanford President Resigns After Review Finds ‘Significant Flaws’ In Studies He Ran

  The president of Stanford University has resigned after an independent review of his prior research found ‘significant flaws’ in studies he supervised going back decades.

  

  Marc Tessier-Lavigne announced on Wednesday that he would resign as president of Stanford after the review, conducted by an outside panel of scientists, found that an important 2009 Alzheimer’s study contained “multiple problems,” and “fell below customary standards of scientific rigor and process,” but that it did not include falsified data which Tessier-Lavigne then covered up.

  The panel concluded that the claims, published in February by The Stanford Daily, the campus newspaper, “appear to be mistaken” and that there was no evidence of falsified data or that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne had otherwise engaged in fraud.

  As a result of the review, Dr. Tessier-Lavigne said he would retract a 1999 paper that appeared in the journal Cell and two others that appeared in Science in 2001. Two other papers published in Nature, including the 2009 Alzheimer’s study, would also undergo what was described as comprehensive correction. –NY Times

  Following the Stanford Daily’s initial report about manipulated studies last November, the college’s board formed a special committee, led by former federal prosecutor Carol Lam, to review the claims. The committee then engaged former Illinois federal judge Mark Filip, and his law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, to conduct the review.

  “I expect there may be ongoing discussion about the report and its conclusions, at least in the near term, which could lead to debate about my ability to lead the university into the new academic year,” said Tessier-Lavigne in a statement describing his reasons for resigning.

  The university has named Richard Saller – a professor of European studies, as interim president, effective Sept. 1.

  The panel’s report, which is 89-pages long, was based on more than 50 interviews and a review of more than 50,000 documents which concluded that members of Tessier-Lavigne’s labs engaged in inappropriate manipulation of research data or deficient scientific practices which resulted in significant flaws in five papers which listed Tessier-Lavigne as the lead author, the Times reports.

  The panel found that in many instances, he took insufficient steps to correct mistakes, including the 2009 Alzheimer’s paper after subsequent studies revealed that its key finding was incorrect.

  The accusations had first surfaced years ago on PubPeer, an online crowdsourcing site for publishing and discussing scientific work. But they resurfaced after the student newspaper, The Stanford Daily, published a series of articles questioning the accuracy and honesty of work produced in laboratories overseen by Dr. Tessier-Lavigne.

  The newspaper first reported claims last November that images were manipulated in published papers listing Dr. Tessier-Lavigne as either lead author or co-author.

  In February, the campus newspaper published an article with more serious claims of fraud involving the 2009 paper that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne published while a senior scientist at Genentech. -NY Times

  The panel found that claims by the Stanford Daily that “Genentech had conducted a fraud investigation and made a finding of fraud,” was “mistaken,” and that no such investigation had been conducted.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 18:15

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• "Most Of The World Is Tired Of War" – PM Orbán Touts Hungary And Latin America's Pro-Peace Stance At EU-CELAC Summit
  “Most Of The World Is Tired Of War” – PM Orbán Touts Hungary And Latin America’s Pro-Peace Stance At EU-CELAC Summit

  Authored by John Cody via Remix News,

  Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán took to Facebook on Tuesday to proclaim that Hungary and Latin America both have a pro-peace stance regarding the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and want the war to end as soon as possible.

  “Most of the world is tired of war. Today, we argued for an immediate ceasefire and peace, and this time the leaders of Latin America joined us!” wrote Orbán on Facebook following the meeting of the leaders of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC) summit in Brussels. 

  Although Orbán’s pro-peace stance is a minority position in Europe, he has found broad support from nations with a similar outlook toward the war elsewhere in the world, including India, China, and countries in Latin America.

  China, for example, has put forward a peace plan that Hungary has backed.

  Within Latin America, there are a number of nations directly aligned with Russia, including Venezuela and Cuba, but more broadly speaking, there are many more nations skeptical of the Western war effort in Ukraine that have called for an immediate ceasefire.

  Countries like Brazil and Mexico have also refused to back sanctions against Russia, arguing it is not in their economic interest.

  Last year, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador criticized the European Parliament’s nomination of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for the Nobel Peace Prize.

  “Regardless of whether we support one or the other (contender), how come one of the participants in a military conflict may receive the Nobel Peace Prize?” said the Mexican leader.

  “Are there no others who are fighting for peace? Why not Pope Francis, the head of the UN?”

  This year, Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said: “It’s necessary that the U.S. stops encouraging the war and talks about peace. It’s necessary that the European Union talks about peace so we can convince Putin and Zelensky that peace is in the interests of everybody and war only serves their two countries.”

  EU, Latin American and Caribbean leaders are using the EU-CELAC conference to meet for the first time in eight years.

  At the top of the agenda are the issues of climate change and free trade, especially the EU-Mercosur free trade deal, which environmental groups have criticized and which Brazil and other Latin American countries have refused to ratify.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 02:00

• Michigan Charges 16 Elderly 'Fake Electors' With Felonies
  Michigan Charges 16 Elderly ‘Fake Electors’ With Felonies

  The state of Michigan has charged 16 Trump supporters with an average age of 69 in a so-called ‘fake electors’ scheme following the 2020 US presidential election.

  

  The defendants allegedly met on Dec 14, 2020 in order to sign several official documents certifying that they were the “duly elected and qualified electors for President and Vice President of the United States of America for the State of Michigan,” per Michigan officials.

  Those false documents were then “transmitted to the United States Senate and National Archives in a coordinated effort to award the state’s electoral votes to the candidate of their choosing, in place of the candidates actually elected by the people of Michigan,” according to a statement from officials.

  In total, Trump allies pushed to organize slates of fake electors in seven swing states, whose votes would supplant the original electors’, before members of Congress and then-VP Mike Pence would certify their slates.

  The defendants are each charged with;

  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Forgery, a 14-year felony,
  • Two counts of Forgery, a 14-year felony,
  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Uttering and Publishing, a 14-year felony,
  • One count of Uttering and Publishing, a 14-year felony,
  • One count of Conspiracy to Commit Election Law Forgery, a 5-year felony, and,
  • Two counts of Election Law Forgery, a 5-year felony.

  Among those charged was Meshawn Maddock, a Trump ally and former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

  

  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says she’s “prosecuted numerous cases of election law violations throughout my tenure, and it would be malfeasance of the greatest magnitude if my department failed to act here in the face of overwhelming evidence of an organized effort to circumvent the lawfully cast ballots of millions of Michigan voters in a presidential election.”

  “The evidence will demonstrate there was no legal authority for the false electors to purport to act as ‘duly elected presidential electors’ and execute the false electoral documents,” her statement continues. “Every serious challenge to the election had been denied, dismissed, or otherwise rejected by the time the false electors convened. There was no legitimate legal avenue or plausible use of such a document or an alternative slate of electors. There was only the desperate effort of these defendants, who we have charged with deliberately attempting to interfere with and overturn our free and fair election process, and along with it, the will of millions of Michigan voters. That the effort failed and democracy prevailed does not erase the crimes of those who enacted the false electors plot.“

  🚨BREAKING: Michigan AG charges 16 Trump electors w/felonies for sending alternate electors

  Here’s video of a van dropping off 100s of thousands of ballots around 3 AM in Detroit w/o any GOP monitors

  Where are the felonies for these election stealers?
  pic.twitter.com/H4I7eHkIGl

  — DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) July 18, 2023

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

  And what’s this?

  John Podesta, role playing Joe Biden in Transition Integrity Project’s summer 2020 simulation to ensure a Biden presidency even if Trump won the election, openly plotted sending a separate elector slate

  — the same thing DOJ just indicted Trump electors for considering doing pic.twitter.com/idF1CuV9YC

  — Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) July 19, 2023

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

  I have video evidence that the Special Counsel might be interested in. It shows a group of people conspiring to overturn the results of our Presidential election by using faithless electors.

  H/T: @almostjingo pic.twitter.com/CnTyYADkbs

  — Shem Horne (@Shem_Infinite) July 18, 2023

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 07/19/2023 – 00:05

• US Finally Cancels Funding To Wuhan Lab
  US Finally Cancels Funding To Wuhan Lab

  The US government has finally pulled funding from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where the Obama administration offshored banned gain-of-function research, including projects to make bat covid more transmissible to humans, before a highly evolved, human-infecting bat coronavirus broke out in the same town and killed millions of people worldwide.

  

  Then the US put the same guy involved in said research, Peter Daszak, in charge of a highly conflicted lab-leak denial.

  

  The stated reason for the funding halt? The lab failed to provide documents concerning safety and security measures, according to a memo obtained by Bloomberg.

  The Biden administration has halted the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s access to federal funding after the lab failed to provide documents about safety and security measures

  This just happened…. now???

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 19, 2023

  The Department of Health and Human Services on Monday notified the WIV of the suspension, and told the lab that it’s looking to cut it off permanently following a review which began last September that concluded that the Wuhan lab isn’t compliant with federal regulations.

  This means that the WIV won’t receive further federal funding.

  Penalizing the lab is the most drastic action the US has taken so far over its failure to share documentation on biosafety practices amid ongoing investigations into Covid-19’s origins. The institute has became become a flashpoint in discussions of how the pandemic, which has killed some 7 million people, started, with some, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, suspecting it could have originated at the facility. -Bloomberg

  In 2014, the NIH awarded EcoHealth Alliance and its president Peter Daszak an grant for “understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence.” The WIV received a subaward of that grant.

  The first $666,442 installment of EcoHealth’s $3.7 million NIH grant was paid in June 2014, with similar annual payments through May 2019 under the “Understanding The Risk Of Bat Coronavirus Emergence” project.

  

  Notably, the WIV “had openly participated in gain-of-function research in partnership with U.S. universities and institutions” for years under the leadership of Dr. Shi ‘Batwoman’ Zhengli, according to the Washington Post‘s Josh Rogin.

  EcoHealth also funneled funds from the US Agency for International Development to the WIV.

  Earlier this year, HHS’s Office of Inspector General conducted an audit that determined that the NIH and EcoHealth Alliance didn’t effectively monitor awards and subawards, limiting their ability to understand the nature of research conducted and identify problem areas.

  …

  The lab won’t be able to conduct any business with US as an agent or representative of others, and its affiliation with any organization that does business with the federal government will also be carefully examined. -Bloomberg

  That said, the Wuhan lab can contest the suspension and proposed disbarment – a relatively rare event. The decision to defund the lab was done independently of the US intelligence community, Bloomberg further reports.

  In June, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified report which identified several safety and security issues at the WIV that could have contributed to a lab leak.

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

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 23:45

• Top Republicans Jump To Trump's Defense Over Imminent 'Arrest And Indictment'
  Top Republicans Jump To Trump’s Defense Over Imminent ‘Arrest And Indictment’

  (Update 1555ET): Top Republicans have rushed to the defense of former President Trump – their current best hope of defeating Joe Biden in a 2024 match-up.

  

  “Recently President Trump went up in the polls and was actually surpassing President Biden for reelection. So what do they do now? Weaponize government to go after their No. 1 opponent,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told reporters on Tuesday, following Trump’s announcement that her would likely be “indicted and arrested” soon over his alleged role in January 6th.

  “This is not equal justice. They treat people differently and they go after their adversaries,” McCarthy continued.

  House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) also came to Trump’s defense, noting that the news comes as the House Oversight Committee is slated to hear testimony from two IRS whistleblowers who alleged that an investigation into Hunter Biden was stonewalled by prosecutors.

  “Now you see the Biden administration going after President Trump once again, it begs that question — is there a double standard? Is justice being administered equally?” asked Scalise at the House GOP conference presser.

  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also chimed in, saying that the charges are “ridiculous,” and that special counsel Jack Smith is “weaponizing” the DOJ against Trump.

  “If this is the direction America is going — we are worse than Russia, we are worse than China. We are worse than some of the most corrupt third world countries, and this needs to end,” she said, adding “It’s an absolute lie.”

  Greene also called Smith a “weak little bitch” on Twitter.

  Jack Smith is a lousy attorney.

  His career is filled with mistrials, overturned cases, and judicial rebukes.

  He only targets Republicans because he’s a weak little bitch for the Democrats.

  — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) July 18, 2023

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

  Meanwhile, GOP Reps. Jim Jordan (OH) and Mary Miller (IL) also had words for the Biden administration.

  

  “Joe Biden’s DOJ: Attack the Portland Federal Courthouse? No problem. Intimidate #SCOTUS justices to influence a court decision? No big deal. But if you’re President Trump and do nothing wrong? PROSECUTE. Americans are tired of the double standard!” Jordan tweeted.

  Joe Biden’s DOJ:

  Attack the Portland Federal Courthouse? No problem.

  Intimidate #SCOTUS justices to influence a court decision? No big deal.

  But if you’re President Trump and do nothing wrong? PROSECUTE.

  Americans are tired of the double standard!

  — Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) July 18, 2023

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

  “The DOJ has become a political agency, targeting Joe Biden’s political opponents while covering up Joe Biden’s crimes. The DOJ is attacking our democracy by actively interfering in the 2024 Election,” tweeted Miller.

  The DOJ has become a political agency, targeting Joe Biden’s political opponents while covering up Joe Biden’s crimes. The DOJ is attacking our democracy by actively interfering in the 2024 Election. I will join Chairman Jim Jordan in his effort to stop the partisan hacks at DOJ!

  — Rep. Mary Miller (@RepMaryMiller) July 18, 2023

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

  *  *  *

  Former President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he expects to be arrested and indicted by special counsel Jack Smith in connection with the January 6th Grand Jury investigation.

  

  “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

  President Biden’s DOJ have cast a wide net in their investigation into President Trump, Biden’s chief rival in the 2024 US election. Trump is expected to travel to Iowa on Tuesday, where he will tape a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

  Prosecutors in Georgia are conducting a separate investigation into efforts by Trump to reverse his election law in that state, with the top prosecutor in Fulton County signaling that she expects to announce charging decisions in the first several weeks since Sunday. –AP

  While the charges Smith is considering are unknown, several lawyers – ranging from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riot to outsiders writing “model prosecution memos” (per the NYT) have focused on the ‘the attempted corrupt obstruction of an official proceeding’ under Section 1512(c) of Title 18, and conspiracy to defraud the government under Section 371 of Title 18.

  Charges of obstructing an official proceeding (Congress’s session to count electoral college votes and certify Biden’s victory) have been brought against some Jan. 6 rioters. Charges of defrauding the government could get into broader actions before Jan. 6, like the scheme to have Trump supporters pretend to be alternative slates of official electors from contested states. –NYT

  Read Trump’s entire message below (emphasis ours):

  WOW! On Sunday night, while I was with my family, having just arrived from the Turning Point event in Florida, where I won the Straw Poll against all other Republican candidates with 85.7%, with all polls showing me leading in the Republican Primary by very substantial numbers, almost everyone predicting that I will be the Republican Nominee for President, and as I am leading Democrat Joe Biden in the polls by a lot, HORRIFYING NEWS for our Country was given to me by my attorneys.

  Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.

  So now, Joe Biden’s Attorney General, Merrick Garland, who I turned down for the United States Supreme Court (in retrospect, based on his corrupt and unethical actions, a very wise decision!), together with Joe Biden’s Department of Injustice, have effectively issued a third Indictment and Arrest of Joe Biden’s NUMBER ONE POLITICAL OPPONENT, who is largely dominating him in the race for the Presidency. Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before, or even close. They illegally spied on my Campaign, attacked me with a totally Fake “Dossier” that was funded by Hillary Clinton’s Campaign and the DNC, Impeached me twice (I won!), they failed on the Mueller Witch Hunt (No Collusion!), they failed on the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, the 51 “Intelligence” Agents fraud, the FBI/Twitter files, the DOJ/Facebook censorship, and every other scam imaginable. But on top of all of that, they have now effectively indicted me three times (the DOJ staffed and runs the D.A.’s Office in Manhattan), with a probable fourth coming from Atlanta, where the DOJ are in strict, and possibly illegal, coordination with the District Attorney, whose record on murder and other violent crime is abysmal. THIS WITCH HUNT IS ALL ABOUT ELECTION INTERFERENCE AND A COMPLETE AND TOTAL POLITICAL WEAPONIZATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT! It is a very sad and dark period for our Nation!

  Under the United States Constitution, I have the right to protest an Election that I am fully convinced was Rigged and Stolen, just as the Democrats have done against me in 2016. and many others have done over the ages. But the Democrats have gone much further than has ever happened before – they cheated on the elections. Rather than looking at the CHEATERS, the WEAPONI2ED DOJ AND FBI target and harass those who complain about the cheaters, and the massive fraud that took place. The prosecutor involved in this case, and likewise the Boxes Hoax, the Manhattan and Atlanta District Attorneys, the New York A.G., etc., has been overturned unanimously in the Supreme Court, headed and caused the Lois Lerner IRS scandal, and failed miserably in his prosecution of John Edwards, where the case was forced to be dropped, along with numerous other catastrophes. He has had a vicious but disastrous career, and is a known biased and obsessed Trump Hater (as is his family). Whether it’s their failure to mention the Presidential Records Act (Prosecutorial Misconduct), their dominance of the Manhattan D.A., including the fact that a Hillary Clinton lawyer, Mark Pomerantz, left a top Democrat law firm (run by Chuck Schumer’s brother) to join the D.A.’s Office and become a prosecutor against me, and then quit, against all rules, regulations, and laws when the Office would not prosecute (he wrongfully wrote a book while working at the Office and is now under scrutiny!), or a perfect phone call made to many lawyers and a Secretary of State, without any protestation of my call, because nothing that was said was wrong, (it was clearly a complaint about an election), these are all Hoaxes and Scams made up to stop me from fighting for the American People – BUT I WILL NEVER STOP!

  This has been a neverending fight from the day I came down the escalator in Trump Tower, many years ago. So interesting that in this case the information was delivered to me on a Sunday night, less than 24 hours after I suggested during a major speech that the Federal Government ASSUME CONTROL of a filthy, unsanitary, neglected, and crimendden Washington. D.C., where murder and violent crime are rampant and people no longer want to go to our Nation’s Capital… and yet. that is where Biden’s DOJ actually wants my trial to take place, all because they think, especially after my strong words of a Federal takeover at the speech, a D.C jury will do whatever they want. VERY UNFAIR!

  As journalist Julie Kelly notes:

  Smith knows this case is small potatoes compared to what he’s about to inflict on Trump and several associates for January 6. It’s very likely Smith will use the “classified docs” prosecution as leverage to seek pretrial detention for Trump when the special counsel indicts Trump for several J6-related offenses, which could include seditious conspiracy.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 23:05

• How Do Chinese Citizens Feel About Other Countries?
  How Do Chinese Citizens Feel About Other Countries?

  Tensions over Taiwan, the COVID-19 pandemic, trade, and the war in Ukraine have impacted Chinese sentiment towards other countries.

  This visualization by Visual Capitalist’s Avery Koop, uses data from the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) at Tsinghua University to rank survey responses from the Chinese public on their attitudes towards countries and regions around the world.

  

  Chinese Sentiment Towards Other Countries in 2023

  In the Center’s opinion polls, which surveyed a random sample of more than 2,500 Chinese mainland adults in November 2022, Russia came out significantly ahead.

  Just under 60% of respondents held Russia in a favorable view, with 19% seeing the country as “very favorable.” Contrast that to the mere 12% that viewed the U.S. in a positive light.

  Here’s a closer look at the data. The percentages refer to the share of respondents that voted for said category.

  

  Japan ranked just below the U.S. in terms of overall unfavorability, though a slightly higher share of respondents saw Japan as “very unfavorable” compared to America. This is likely due to both modern tensions in the East China Sea over mutually claimed islands and historical tensions over the Sino-Japanese Wars.

  Chinese sentiment towards India was also unfavorable at just over 50%, though notably the country also received the lowest favorability rating at just 8%.

  Additional Survey Findings

  The survey also found that 39% of Chinese people get their information on international security from Chinese state-run media (mainly through TV), with an additional 19% getting information from government websites and official social accounts. Conversely, only 1.7% get their news from foreign websites and foreign social media, partially due to the Great Firewall.

  When asked about different international security issues, the biggest shares of Chinese citizens ranked the following as their top three:

  1. Pandemics (12.9%)

  2. Disputes over territory and territorial waters (12.9%)

  3. China-U.S. relations (12.0%)

  The pandemic’s high score reflects the harsher impact COVID-19 had on China. Chinese borders were shut for years and the public faced intense measures to reduce spread.

  In terms of other world events, the majority of Chinese people align with a more “Eastern” viewpoint. For example, in regards to the war in Ukraine, the report found that:

  “About 80 percent of the respondents believe the U.S. and Western countries should be held most accountable [for the war], while less than ten percent of the respondents argue that Russia is mainly responsible.”

  – CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND STRATEGY, TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY

  Overall, the views of the Chinese public reflect the opposite of those found in many Western countries. They provide an important insight that it is not just the Chinese government holding particular views about the world, but the Chinese public as well.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 23:05

• Wuhan Lab Leak "So Friggin' Likely" – New Slack Messages Reveal Massive Media Deception By Fauci & 'Scientists'
  Wuhan Lab Leak “So Friggin’ Likely” – New Slack Messages Reveal Massive Media Deception By Fauci & ‘Scientists’

  Even credentialed scientists began to be disciplined by sites like Facebook, which took direction from government health authorities and prohibited statements about the virus being “man-made or manufactured.”

  There was also an impact on the press, especially after the popular site Zero Hedge was removed from Twitter after an article suggesting a scientist in Wuhan was behind the outbreak.

  It later turned out that Farrar referenced the Zero Hedge article in a letter to Fauci not long after the site was suspended.

  *  *  *

  Authored by Matt Taibbi, Leighton Woodhouse, Alex Gutentag, Michael Shellenberger via Racket News (truncated, read the full version at Racket).

  

  On February 5th, 2020, as a small group of scientists were crafting a Nature magazine paper that would become the basis of years of reports insisting Covid-19 had natural origins, one of the co-authors, Tulane’s Dr. Robert Garry, wrote in group email:

  Accidental release is a scenario many will not be comfortable with, but cannot be dismissed out of hand.

  As detailed in an explosive Public story today, Garry’s thinking changed suddenly when then-New York Times reporter Donald McNeil asked the next day: “Is there any possibility that it could be from the Wuhan lab?”

  

  Garry warned McNeil was “credible,” but “like any reporter can be mislead [sic],” cheering colleague Dr. Andrew Rambaut’s scientific version of a non-denial denial as a “good honest response.”

  Last week, House members investigating origins of Covid-19 accidentally released a trove of Slack chats and emails between the authors of Nature’s seminal paper from March 17, 2020, The Proximal Origin of SARS-CoV-2. The Proximal Origin paper delivered a single line that for years helped authorities slam a lid on theories of human intervention in Covid-19: “It is improbable that SARS-CoV-2 emerged through laboratory manipulation.”

  Chats showing Proximal Origins authors saying things like “The truth will never come out (if lab escape is the truth)” were published first by independent researcher Francisco Del Asis of the independent investigatory group DRASTIC, after which the story was picked up by Ryan Grim of The Intercept. From there, health officials did their best to ignore the material — “Many of them remained silent with this revelation,” is how De Asis puts it — almost as if they were waiting for another shoe to drop.

  That other shoe is dropping. Public and Racket last week obtained a full complement of the “Proximal Origins” communications examined by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, revealing a story far worse than previously believed. While today’s Public story details the unprecedented scientific cover-up, the letters and chats examined here at Racket show how health officials and scientists constructed perhaps the most impactful media deception of modern times, exceeding even the WMD fiasco both in scale and brazen intentionality. Because House investigators uncovered such a wealth of material, some of the Proximal Origin communications — which shed light on other Covid-related controversies — will be addressed in a second part of this series later this week. For now, however, the degree to which these communications blow up years of news stories stands out.

  The released communications mainly center around four of the five Proximal Origin authors: the aforementioned Dr. Rambaut of the University of Edinburgh, Tulane’s Dr. Garry, Scripps Research Professor Dr. Kristian Andersen, and University of Sydney Virologist Edward “Eddie” Holmes. There are also email communications with the fifth author, Columbia’s Dr. Ian Lipkin, who is not on the Slack chats but does figure in the story.

  The core four on the Slack chat — Andersen, Garry, Rambaut, and Holmes — never appear far from thoughts about the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) and famed scientist Shi Zhengli. Affectionately dubbed “Bat Woman” by Chinese colleagues, Shi received grants to research bat viruses, including a recent one called “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronavirus Emergence” in which she partnered with Peter Daszak of the U.S-based EcoHealth Alliance on so-called gain-of-function experimentation.

  At one point, Andersen complains about containment procedures at the WIV, noting, as biosafety expert James Le Duc would write in an email later that year, that the facility was conducting very dangerous experiments as Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3), while the higher BSL-4 would normally be considered necessary. “I’m all for GOF experiments, I think they’re really important,” Andersen writes. “However performing these in BSL-3 (or less) is just completely nuts!”

  Andersen goes on to say he’s “evolved” on the question of gain-of-function research, saying he’s not sure if such knowledge is “actionable,” while “of course being exceptionally dangerous. It only takes one mistake.”

  

  It later came out that WIV was performing some of its experiments at an even lower level. “Keep in mind that WIV actually performed a lot of their coronavirus work at BSL2, which is what ultimately prompted Ian Lipkin to change his mind,” says DRASTIC founder, referring to comments by Lipkin to McNeil in May of 2021, saying “My view has changed.”

  The core four also repeatedly pored over the problem posed by the “furin cleavage site,” a distinctive feature of the Covid-19 genetic sequence. As is now known to the general public thanks again to the digging of the DRASTIC group, which leaked the material in the fall of 2021, researchers at the University of North Carolina led by Dr. Ralph Baric had sent a proposal to the Pentagon seeking to introduce “human-specific cleavage sites” into bat coronaviruses, for a program called DEFUSE. Baric and Shi had worked together on more than one occasion, and even co-authored a paper in 2015 demonstrating that a coronavirus spike protein can infect human cells.

  In any case, with these and other issues in mind, all five scientists express belief that escape from the Wuhan lab was at least possible, if not probable:

  • Andersen: “The lab escape version of this is so friggin’ likely because they were already doing this work…

  • Garry: “The major hangup I have is the polybasic cleavahe [sic] site… it’s not really a natural process.” Also: “It’s not crackpot to suggest this could have happened given the GoF research we know is happening.” 

  • Lipkin: “[A draft of the paper] does not eliminate the possibility of inadvertent release following adaptation through selection in culture at the institute in Wuhan. Given the scale of the bat CoV research pursued there… we have a nightmare of circumstantial evidence to assess.”

  • Holmes (replying to Lipkin): “I agree… Seems to have been pre-adapted for human spread since the get go. It’s the epidemiology that I find most worrying.”

  • Rambaut: “I am quite convinced it has been put there by evolution (whether natural selection or artificial).”

  *  *  *

  As detailed in Public, the Proximal Origin authors who initially discussed lab escape in such a casual manner appeared to have a change of heart after a February 3rd conference call that included the likes of Dr. Anthony Fauci, then-NIH Head Francis Collins, and Dr. Jeremy Farrar of the Wellcome Trust (and now the WHO). Though he was CDC chief at the time, Redfield was excluded. “I should have been invited,” he said, but “I didn’t find out about these phone calls until the Freedom of Information came out,” referencing a FOIA-based report released by Buzzfeed over a year later.

  From that point forward, references by scientists to “lab escape” became less frequent, with some of the Proximal Origin authors claiming to be impressed by various developments, including data sets about mutations in pangolins. However, scientists were clearly more moved by internal politics in correspondence with figures like Farrar, who complained questions about pandemic origin had “gathered considerable momentum not in social media, but increasingly among some scientists, in mainstream media, and among politicians.”

  Anxious to please, Holmes at one point went as far as to say about a draft of the paper, “Jeremy Farrar and Francis Collins are very happy. Works for me.” This feels significant among other things because Andersen testified that when Republicans claimed the Proximal Origins authors “sent a draft to Drs. Fauci and Collins” and that “prior to final publication… the paper was sent to Dr. Fauci for editing and approval,” Andersen said, “These statements are false.”

  Andersen supported the idea of writing the final Nature draft so as not to leave any room for speculation about lab origin. “I believe that publishing something that is open-ended could backfire at this stage,” he wrote, conceding also at another point that “Our main work over the last couple weeks has been focused on trying to disprove any type of lab theory.” On February 8th, Andersen said, “We should all just stay on Slack, that’s what we should do — and not use email.” In a February 12th letter to Nature virology editor Clare Thomas, he went so far as to describe their proposed paper as having been “prompted by Jeremy Farrar, Tony Fauci, and Francis Collins,” only after which did he list the actual authors:

  

  By February 27, 2020, Andersen told Nature editors the virus “does have natural origin,” and by the next day, Rambaut was referring in Slack to “lab origin conspiracy loons.”

  

  In one key email early in the process, Andersen complained about attention from the press, saying the “idea of engineering and bioweapon is definitely not going away.” While “there might be a time where we need to tackle that more directly,” he said, “I’ll let the likes of Jeremy and Tony figure out how to do that.”

  

  *  *  *

  The list of instances in these chats and emails in which the key authorities on Covid’s origins express doubts about theories that would go on to be embraced by officialdom for years is too long to fully catalog here, but for example: the authors seemed unanimous in their assessment that the so-called “wet market” was an unlikely crime scene. “No way the selection could occur in the market,” says Holmes at one point. Garry agrees and says, “Where would you get intense enough transmission… to generate and pass on the furin site insertion?” Rambaut says, “That’s the million dollar question,” and goes on to suggest not “raccoon dogs” or “palm civets,” but ferrets. “I could believe ferrets,” quips Andersen.

  

  It’s with the publication of The Proximal Origin of SARS CoV-2 on March 17th that the unprecedented campaign of media deception really begins. The primary authorities on the question of whether or not the virus was the result of “laboratory manipulation” now turtled, saying little, while other media figures and politicians on a near-constant basis referred to the paper as the authority on the matter, suppressing questions about the pandemic’s origin.

  The “lab leak theory” became infamous in mainstream circles among other things because Donald Trump seemed to blame China for the mess, using terms like “Kung Flu,” and secondarily because it appeared to implicate a neoliberal hero, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who stepped into the shoes of Robert Mueller as the favored leading man of the mainstream press. Fauci too had votive candles made with his image, enjoyed Nicolle Wallace gushing she was a “Fauci groupie,” and got to watch SNL do regular “Fauci cold opens,” in which the slight bureaucrat was depicted swatting away bras thrown at him by adoring fans, or being asked by morons if girls can get pregnant in the sky. The attention clearly got to Fauci’s head, because he soon began to write his own satirical material, telling Chuck Todd that attacks on him were “attacks on science”:

  *  *  *

  The first major coverage development after the March 17, 2020 publication was subtle. While the Nature team merely said they found no evidence of lab escape, headlines soon flowed suggesting something far more affirmative. “COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic has a natural origin,” declared Science Daily, the same day Proximal Origin was published.

  

  Moreover, while the Proximal Origin authors could only say lab origin was “improbable,” legacy media outlets soon after began using the report to assert something far stronger that the report explicitly didn’t exactly say. “No, the new coronavirus wasn’t created in a lab, scientists say,” announced the CBC on March 26, 2020.

  

  Crucially also, fact-checking authorities like Politifact began denouncing the concept as “conspiracy theory” and rating people who suggested the virus was “man-made” using absolute terms like “false” or “debunked.” It wasn’t until over a year later, as federal agencies like the Department of Energy and the FBI began concluding lab origin was at least possible if not likely, that PolitiFact began to correct itself.

  

  Particularly in 2020, scientists all over the world were rebuked, removed from the Internet, and in some cases fired for spreading the “conspiracy theory” that parts of the Covid-19 genetic sequence suggested laboratory origin.

  For a certain type of grant-dependent intellectual, a message was sent not only by the Nature paper published in March, but by an open letter put out weeks before and signed by 27 prominent scientists in the prominent journal Lancet. The message got even louder when Andersen and Garry were two of seven researchers to receive an $8.9 million grant from Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

  *  *  *

  Even credentialed scientists began to be disciplined by sites like Facebook, which took direction from government health authorities and prohibited statements about the virus being “man-made or manufactured.” There was also an impact on the press, especially after the popular site Zero Hedge was removed from Twitter after an article suggesting a scientist in Wuhan was behind the outbreak. It later turned out that Farrar referenced the Zero Hedge article in a letter to Fauci not long after the site was suspended.

  With a few notable exceptions, nearly everyone in the mainstream press community steered clear of any investigation of the possibility of lab origin for Covid-19, for several reasons. One key one was that such theories were coded early on as “right-wing” or even racist. “I was publicly libeled as a racist sinophobe,” says Deigin of DRASTIC, “and of course ridiculed as a crackpot conspiracist by countless virologists and their fanboys.” Prominent figures on channels like MSNBC hammered the idea that “lab leak” was right-wing lunacy, with Nicolle Wallace calling it “one of Trumpworld’s most favorite conspiracy theories,” while Fareed Zakaria in the Washington Post announced, “The far right has now found its own virus conspiracy theory.”

  However, in 2021, both the FBI and the Department of Energy issued reports within government that either pointed toward lab escape or allowed it as a strong possibility. The public was not told of these developments, and instead had to watch in confusion as fact-checking authorities and politicians began reversing themselves on this question, with no obvious reason. In May, 2021, Fauci in particular shocked many when he appeared at, of all places, a “fact-checking conference” sponsored by the Poynter Institute, one of the sponsors of Politifact, and suddenly said he was “not convinced” Covid-19 developed naturally:

  Now, two years later, we’re finding that the authors of the Proximal Origin paper (all of whom refused comment to Racket and Public, by the way, as did Farrar and Collins) were having many of the same thoughts as academics and pundits dismissed for years as crackpots, racists, and traitors. I asked Deigin if he felt vindicated. “I do somewhat,” he said. “The Slack messages confirm what we long suspected.”

  It has to be reiterated that these documents still don’t prove that the virus escaped from the Wuhan Institute, or that American scientists were implicated in the episode. What the documents do show, however, is that both scientists and journalists abandoned their traditional mission to keep their minds open and consider all reasonable evidence without fear of political considerations, in favor of a new discipline that openly admitted political factors and sought a “single message” over free-ranging inquiry. The few mainstream journalists who continued to push this story, like Josh Rogin at the Washington Post, should be commended, but as a whole, both the media business and the scientific profession are taking a big hit after the release of these documents.

  “How does the public ever trust science again?” asked Bhattacharya.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 23:00

• "Work Stoppage As Soon As July 24": Strike Risk Rises As Yellow Punts On More Than $50M In Required Contributions
  “Work Stoppage As Soon As July 24”: Strike Risk Rises As Yellow Punts On More Than $50M In Required Contributions

  By Todd Maiden of FreightWaves

  

  A delinquency notice was issued Monday showing less-than-truckload carrier Yellow Corp. failed to make required contributions to health and welfare and pension funds for the month of June and that it is planning to withhold payments for July. The two periods total more than $50 million, according to a letter from Central States board of trustees.

  Teamsters at Yellow operating companies YRC Freight and Holland that are covered under plans managed by Central States will be impacted.

  The letter said health care claims incurred after Saturday would not be paid unless employees choose to “remit self-payments.” The company’s participation in the pension plan would be terminated effective Sunday if payment is not made, meaning no further accruals of pension benefits.

  The letter showed Yellow was making the move “to avoid running out of cash.”

  “If in the future Yellow fully pays the required contributions, pension benefits and health coverage will be reinstated retroactive to July 23, 2023,” the letter read.

  A separate letter from John Murphy, co-chair of the Teamsters negotiating committee, to local unions invoked a more dire tone. In the notice he cited language from the collective bargaining agreement, outlining a potential work stoppage.

  “In the event an Employer is delinquent in its health & welfare or pension payments in the manner required by the applicable Supplemental Agreement, the Local Union shall have the right to take whatever action it deems necessary until such delinquent payments are made.”

  The document referenced the union’s requirement to give an employer 72 hours’ notice of a strike authorization. Murphy advised the local unions to send notice to YRC Freight and Holland demanding payment by Friday or risk a work stoppage on or after July 24.

  Yellow previously asked the funds for contribution deferrals for the months of July and August, but the company never indicated whether or not those requests had been approved.

  Roughly half of Yellow’s Teamster employees are covered by Central States.

  Last week, Yellow was granted a covenant waiver from lenders. The company’s lending agreements require it to maintain a level of $200 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for the prior 12 months. Yellow had generated just $89 million in the fourth and first quarters.

  That filing also showed the company had in excess of $100 million in cash and equivalents as of June 30.

  “Even if these payments are cured, it would significantly reduce the company’s cash balance,” Deutsche Bank analyst Amit Mehrotra told clients in an email late Monday evening. “This is perhaps the most tangible example of why we think it’s more likely than not YELL will go out of business, as we’ve said before.”

  “We are aware of the decision of Central States Health Fund and Pension Funds to decline our request to defer contributions (with interest) for July and August,” a spokesperson with Yellow told FreightWaves. “We regret that the funds have rejected our request.

  “Even today, we remain committed to negotiating a new contract with the IBT [International Brotherhood of Teamsters], which would provide everyone, especially our employees, with a clear path forward. We are not giving up. We will work with all parties involved to come to a speedy resolution.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 22:45

• FAA Prepares US For Flying Taxi Operations By 2028
  FAA Prepares US For Flying Taxi Operations By 2028

  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Implementation Plan, establishing a framework for nationwide flying taxi operations by 2028. 

  The FAA said the purpose of this Implementation Plan is “limited to those engaging in passenger-carrying or cargo operations with a pilot on board.” AAM is referred to as a transportation system by the agency that moves people and property by air between two points using electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in both controlled and uncontrolled airspace.

  FAA said “Innovate28” is a joint government and industry initiative allowing AAM operations “at one or more key site locations” by 2028. Those locations have yet to be determined. 

  

  “This plan shows how all the pieces will come together, allowing the industry to scale with safety as the north star,” Deputy FAA Administrator Katie Thomson said in a statement. 

  The plan is a blueprint for making flying taxi operations “routine and predictable by maximizing the use of existing procedures and infrastructure,” the FAA said. It also addresses how the agency and partners will certify aircraft and pilots, ensure pilot training, manage airspace access, develop infrastructure, and maintain security.

  New eVTOL aircraft are expected to offer capabilities from multi-passenger short-range aircraft to recreational aircraft to cargo aircraft. 

  The FAA notes that each eVTOL will be operated by a “pilot in command” in Class B and C airspace. This means constant contact with air traffic control while complying with Visual Flight Rules and visual meteorological conditions. 

  Here are the highlights of the new plan to ensure flying taxis hit the skies by 2028:

  Operations

  • Pilots will be able to fly the new advanced mobility aircraft to and from multiple locations at the sites, using predetermined flight schedules with pilots aboard. 
  • Advanced air mobility aircraft likely will operate up to 4,000 feet altitude in urban and metropolitan areas, using existing or modified low altitude visual flight rules (VFR) routes where possible within controlled Class B and C airspace around major airports. 

  Infrastructure

  • Operators, manufacturers, state and local governments, and other stakeholders will be responsible for planning, developing and enabling heliport/vertiport infrastructure. 
  • Advanced air mobility will initially operate at existing heliports, commercial service airports and general aviation airports. Modifications may be necessary to install charging stations, parking zones and taxiing space.

  Power Grid

  • The electrical power grid may require upgrades to serve advanced air mobility operations. 
  • The FAA has an interagency agreement with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab to determine how aircraft electrification affects a vertiport, heliport or airport’s electrical grid. 

  Security

  • The Department of Homeland Security will determine what type of security is necessary.
  • The TSA and FAA are evaluating the need for expanded cybersecurity requirements due to the use of advanced technology and operational protocols. 

  Environment

  • The FAA will consider the environmental impacts of advanced air mobility operations, including factors such as noise, air quality, visual disturbances, and disruption to wildlife. 

  Community Engagement

  • The FAA will engage with airports, and local, state, and tribal communities to better understand community concerns about advanced air mobility operations, including noise and mitigations.
  • Many other stakeholders, such as advanced air mobility operators and airport and vertiport operators will have important roles in community engagement

  We gather from the report that eVTOLs will be operating in Class B & C airspace. A pilot’s license will be needed. The airspace under 4,000 feet is about to get a lot crowded by the end of the decade. 

  FAA Greenlights “Limited” Flight Operations For SpaceX-Backed Flying Car https://t.co/YZDOUUYuno

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 3, 2023

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

  For those pre-ordering flying cars, perhaps now is the time to start researching how to obtain a private pilot’s license. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 22:25

• Jan. 6 Prisoner Takes His Obstruction Charge To The Supreme Court
  Jan. 6 Prisoner Takes His Obstruction Charge To The Supreme Court

  Authored by Patricia Tolson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  In a historic move, a Jan. 6 prisoner has taken his challenge of the infamous obstruction charge, levied against him and hundreds of other Jan. 6 prisoners and defendants, all the way to the Supreme Court.

  

  On July 7, attorneys for Jan. 6 prisoner Edward Jacob (Jake) Lang filed a document with the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) challenging the government’s obstruction of Congress charge—one of the most common felony charges used against Jan. 6 defendants—which carries a 20-year prison sentence.

  “We filed what’s called a writ of certiorari, or a request to the Supreme Court to hear an issue,” Norm Pattis, lead attorney for Mr. Lang, told The Epoch Times. Mr. Pattis explained that the legal team is asking the high court to review the details behind Mr. Lang’s alleged violation of Title 18 U.S. Code Section 1512(c)(2), one of the 11 charges against him, according to court documents (pdf).

  According to the writ, obtained exclusively by The Epoch Times (pdf), “Mr. Lang filed a motion to dismiss the Section 1512 count prior to trial. The District Court granted his motion.”

  However, “on a consolidated interlocutory appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit joined by two similarly situated codefendants, the Court, in a split decision, reversed the District Court. A motion for rehearing was denied.”

  The “question presented for review” is “Whether the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that application of 18 U.S.C. Section 1512(c)(2), a statute crafted to prevent tampering with evidence in ‘official proceedings,’ can be used to prosecute acts of violence against police officers in the context of a public demonstration that turned into a riot, resulting in so ‘breathtaking’ an application of the statute as to run afoul of Van Buren v. United States, 141 S. Ct. 1648 (2021).”

  The document warns the high court that “dozens of convictions” on this same obstruction charge are “headed to this Court,” all arising from Jan. 6, and “Resolution of the question is imperative to prevent the use of this statute to prosecute folks who protested in a good faith belief that their actions were necessary to prevent an election from being stolen, an event tantamount to an internal coup d’état.”

  “Refusal to resolve this question,” the document predicts, “will chill others inclined to petition and assemble for the redress of grievances, for fear that those opposed to their views might prosecute them for possessing a ‘corrupt’ intent.”

  ‘Really Far Afield’

  Obstruction under Section 1512(c) is among the 37 charges for which the federal government indicted the current GOP frontrunner for the 2024 election, Donald Trump (pdf). A favorable ruling by the Supreme Court could have a significant impact on the former president’s legal future as well.

  This is not the first time the obstruction charge has been called into question.

  Politico reported that, during a two-hour hearing on Nov. 19, 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Dabney Friedrich argued in the case of Jan. 6 prisoner Guy Reffitt—also charged with hindering communications through physical force, civil disorder, and bringing a firearm onto the grounds (pdf)—that the government’s effort to apply the obstruction charge appeared to run “really far afield” from what Congress intended.

  Mr. Friedrich ultimately allowed the charge to stand.

  On June 7, 2022, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols granted Mr. Lang’s motion to dismiss (pdf) the obstruction charge.

  It was the third time Mr. Nichols granted a Jan. 6 prisoner’s motion to dismiss. On March 8, 2022, he had granted the motion to dismiss of Jan. 6 prisoner Garret Miller.

  “Upon review of the Defendant’s [Motion to Dismiss], and for the reasons discussed in the Court’s [opinions] in United States v. Miller, it is ordered that the Motion is granted,” Mr. Nichols wrote. “It is further ordered that Count Nine is dismissed without prejudice Superseding Indictment [citations omitted].”

  Mr. Nichols then granted the motion to dismiss of Jan. 6 defendant Joseph Fischer on March 15, 2022.

  Mr. Nichols believes that the statute “must be interpreted” in such a way that “requires that the defendant have taken some action with respect to a document, record, or other object in order to corruptly obstruct, impede or influence an official proceeding.”

  In other words, if someone hasn’t been accused of taking such an action, they cannot be charged with this particular violation.

  In all, federal prosecutors have charged more than 300 Jan. 6 defendants with obstructing congressional proceedings. The obstruction charge has been frequently used by the Justice Department during plea negotiations and as a means to coerce some Jan. 6 protesters into providing information to incriminate fellow protesters.

  ‘Reworking the Penal Code’

  Mr. Pattis and fellow Lang attorney Steven Metcalf are asking the United States Supreme Court to review their client’s case and determine “whether the federal government is misusing the statute designed to prohibit or deter tampering with evidence or evidentiary proceedings” to inflict “extra heavy punishment on those involved in the January 6 events.”

  Title 18 U.S.C. Section 1512 (pdf) provides in part:

  (c) Whoever corruptly –

  (1) alters, destroys, mutilates, or
  conceals a record, document, or
  other object, or attempts to do so,
  with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for
  the use in an official proceeding;
  or
  (2) otherwise obstructs, influences
  or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so,
  shall be fined under this title or imprisoned
  not more than 20 years, or both.

  “The statute says if you obstruct or impede an official proceeding, by screwing around with records or documents, you’re guilty of a felony,” Mr. Pattis said.

  He added, “Congress amended that to include a second section that says if you interfere with an official proceeding you are guilty as well. That statute has been used to punish Jan. 6 protesters who broke the law by trespassing or, in some cases, engaging in acts of violence against police officers, even when that act was in defense of themselves.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 22:05

• China's Economy Is Facing Its Biggest Challenge In Decades
  China’s Economy Is Facing Its Biggest Challenge In Decades

  Authored by Terri Wu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  China’s economy is facing its biggest challenge in decades, and the authorities are running out of tools in their toolbox to address the issues, according to experts.

  

  The country’s latest macroeconomic data point to an economy on the verge of deflation.

  The June consumer price index was flat year on year and down by 0.2 percent compared with May. The producer price index, which reflects wholesale costs, declined by 5.4 percent compared to June 2022, showing a bigger drop than May’s 4.6 percent.

  June’s trade data continued to show a downward trend. The dollar value of China’s exports decreased by over 12 percent year on year, a bigger drop than May’s 7.5 percent. Its imports also declined by nearly 7 percent from June 2022, compared to 4.5 percent in May.

  Gary Jefferson, an economics professor at Brandeis University and a specialist in the Chinese economy, said the troubles facing the world’s second-largest economy are multifaceted, including heavy debts in the property sector and local governments, the weakening of return to investments, low household confidence, and geopolitical tensions with the United States and the European Union.

  And it’s the result of the regime’s policies over the past 30 to 40 years, he said.

  While many have pointed to the massive disruptions brought about by the pandemic and the regime’s zero-COVID policies as the source of China’s current woes, Mr. Jefferson believes that structural issues are likely to blame.

  “As evidence of the systematic nature of the problem, it appears that the decline in economic confidence and social confidence are mutually reinforcing,” Mr. Jefferson told The Epoch Times.

  “The reluctance to partner and marry and have children likely results in part from and feeds into the economic downturn. Fewer families augur a decline in the demand for larger or upscaled housing units, further contributing to weakness in the property sector, leading to less demand for land leases and local government revenue.”

  China is grappling with a declining birth rate despite the regime’s dropping its one-child policy in 2016, and allowing families to have up to three children in recent years. Many couples have refused to have more kids citing the high costs involved.

  

  ‘Deepest Difficulty’ Since 1989

  “The government is really in sort of the deepest difficulty it’s been in, at least since 1989, June 4th,” he added, referring to the Tiananmen Square massacre of Chinese students seeking democratic reforms and the resulting international isolation. After that, China’s economic growth took three years to get back on track.

  While a southern tour by then-Chinese communist leader Deng Xiaoping in 1992 helped reignite economic growth, China is now not in the same situation having significantly developed since then, Mr. Jefferson pointed out.

  With decades of savings by Chinese families and enterprises and abundant investment opportunities, economic recovery is not likely to readily happen, he said, adding that authorities are running out of tools in their toolbox to fix the economy.

  In response to the 2008 global financial crisis, Chinese authorities released an enormous stimulus package— 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion at the time)—that significantly increased government spending on infrastructure, and debt in the property sector and local government.

  Today, the return on physical and human capital investment is low compared to 10 years ago due to the enormous volume of infrastructure investment already undertaken, and the increase in higher education enrollment the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) initiated in 1999, said Mr. Jefferson. China’s youth unemployment rate was over 20 percent in May and June, partly due to the oversupply of college graduates that grew from 1 million to 10 million in two decades.

  In his view, a stimulus would require enormous funding from the central and local governments, which would mean even more debt accumulation—and that’s very problematic. And when people have more money, they may choose to bank it or use it to pay off their debts. Therefore, getting more money into people’s hands may not stimulate spending, he added.

  The professor gave an analogy of a car speeding along a hill and suddenly facing a cliff. “Often when this happened, there’s been a cliff maybe 50 or 100 feet away that the car could land upon and then resume its journey,” he said.

  But in the current circumstances, “more than any other situation in the last 40 years, the distance to the other side of the cliff is substantially greater than that has been, making a safe landing more problematic.”

  A key distinction between China and Western economies, according to Mr. Jefferson, is that Western governments have procedural legitimacy from elections and legislative processes, but the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) legitimacy depends entirely on its economic performance. Because of this, “it makes it very, very difficult for the Party to be able to manage a recession or accept a recession,” he added.

  “It’s a rather difficult, embarrassing situation for the leadership.”

  

  ‘I Don’t See Hope Now’

  Mike, 27, works at a polymer additives factory in a city in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province, one of the country’s private sector hubs. Mike spoke to The Epoch Times using an alias for fear of CCP reprisals.

  He graduated from college in 2017 with a major in urban underground space engineering. In July 2020, after his two-year contract with a subway project in southern China’s Hunan Province ended, he moved to his current city to join the factory that had just opened. The factory specializes in higher quality products tailored to the overseas market.

  In May 2022, a big Western European company didn’t renew its annual order of 15,000 pounds of products due to the geopolitical tensions between China and Europe, he said. Since then, the factory hasn’t been able to secure any replacement orders to make up for this shortfall. It has now stopped production and is selling its inventories.

  The business, he said, is looking for ways to adjust the product line to cater to the domestic market, but “securing orders will be very difficult” because demand is low.

  Mike’s small factory wasn’t alone. According to him, a nearby auto parts factory has cut 3,000 workers or 30 percent of its workforce. In addition, he said workers at that factory no longer have overtime opportunities, a main source for them to earn above the minimum line to make ends meet.

  When Mike first moved to Zhejiang, he thought his life was going somewhere. So he bought an apartment in the city in October 2020. However, the economy took a downturn and the three-year pandemic lockdowns exhausted many, he said.

  “I don’t see hope now,” he told The Epoch Times. “Everyone is dealing with much stress in life.”

  As a factory supervisor, Mike makes about 9,000 yuan a month, or $1,260. His mortgage is 6,000 yuan, or two-thirds of his monthly income. After paying for all necessities, he could hardly save anything, he said. And he still needs to save for a car. Even though his girlfriend, unlike many Chinese women, doesn’t require Mike to have a car and an apartment to marry, he considers it “a man’s obligation” to achieve those before marriage.

  Mike’s hope is to have some savings to take care of his parents, at least to cover their medical expenses when they get older. He wants a child but would rather wait until he’s financially able to provide the baby with a good life. As to having more than one child now that the one-child policy has ended, Mike said “no” without hesitation. “I wouldn’t be able to afford that!”

  When asked about Chinese state media reports that the economy has been steadily recovering, Mike replied, “That’s propaganda! It’s exactly the opposite of how we feel among the people.”

  “As far as my life goes, I’m in a recession,” he added.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 21:25

• Farmland In California Could Be Underwater For Years
  Farmland In California Could Be Underwater For Years

  A conveyor belt of atmospheric river storms has refilled a once-dormant California lake, putting some of the nation’s most important farmland at risk as it is now underwater. 

  Central California’s Tulare Lake is refilled for the first time in four decades. Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow at the Water Policy Center of the Public Policy Institute of California, told NBC News it could take at least a year for the water in the lakebed to evaporate.

  “We are still going to have a Tulare Lake next year,” Mount said. 

  An onslaught of snow and rain from dozens of storms that battered California early this year has caused upwards of $5 billion in damage between December 2022 and March 2023, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

  As cropland remains underwater, there are increasing risks of significant agricultural losses.

  Tulare Lake, San Joaquin Valley, CA…Reformed and refilled after this year’s major rains. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime event as the California dam system normally contains the snowmelt: but not this year. pic.twitter.com/USqvtrreo3

  — TheEvan5 (@TEvan12447) July 14, 2023

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

  NASA’s Aqua satellite shows the progression of flooding in the Tulare Lake basin over the last several months. 

  

  “Flooding in the lakebed is likely to continue into 2024, which will affect residents and farmers in the area, as well as some of the most productive cropland in the Central Valley. The lakebed contains farms that produced cotton, tomatoes, dairy, safflower, pistachios, wheat, and almonds,” the space agency said. 

  United States Department of Agriculture meteorologist Brad Rippey told Bussiness Insider earlier this month, “While it’s unclear how deep Tulare Lake is now, if it’s similar to its former average depth of about 30 feet, that would translate to more than one trillion gallons of water that have flooded the region so far this year.” 

  The bad news is that a lot of the nation’s produce is sourced from the Tulare Lake Basin. Any disruption to supply will mean higher produce prices. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 21:05

• House Republicans Reject Democratic Pressure To Disinvite RFK Jr. From Testifying On Censorship
  House Republicans Reject Democratic Pressure To Disinvite RFK Jr. From Testifying On Censorship

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

  Republicans on the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government are moving ahead with plans to hear testimony from Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, after House Democrats and their supporters raised accusations Mr. Kennedy had made anti-Semitic remarks.

  

  At a July 11 campaign event, Mr. Kennedy described research indicating that the genetic structure of SARS‑CoV‑2 had differing impacts on individuals of different races and ethnicities, including a lesser impact on ethnic Chinese and Ashkenazi Jews. Mr. Kennedy also discussed how bioweapons could potentially be designed with the intent to harm certain ethnic groups over others. The New York Post published an article based on Mr. Kennedy’s remarks, with the headline “RFK Jr. says COVID may have been ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Jews.”

  Mr. Kennedy has insisted he was not claiming SARS‑CoV‑2 was deliberately modified to “spare Jews,” as the New York Post put it. The controversy over his remarks comes as he’s scheduled to testify before the House Government Weaponization Subcommittee on July 20, where he will discuss government collusion with big tech companies to censor free speech.

  The Congressional Integrity Project (CIP), an activist group with the stated goal of defending President Joe Biden and Democrats against Republican congressional investigations, sent a letter (pdf) to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Sunday, accusing him and other House Republicans of an “antisemitic pattern” of behavior and calling for them to disinvite Mr. Kennedy. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also issued a statement on Sunday, similarly accusing Mr. Kennedy of repeating a “vile antisemitic trope” and calling for his remarks to be “uniformly condemned.” Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.), who sit on the House Government Weaponization Subcommittee, also spoke out against Mr. Kennedy’s remarks.

  Mr. Jordan rebuffed the Democratic pressure campaign to disinvite Mr. Kennedy on Monday. The Republican lawmaker distanced himself from Mr. Kennedy’s remarks about COVID-19 but insisted the House Government Weaponization Subcommittee would still have him on to talk about coordinated efforts between government offices and social media companies to throttle speech.

  “I totally disagree with what he said, but he’s a Democrat. I disagree with other things he said, too. But we’re having him because of censorship,” Mr. Jordan told Politico on Monday.

  NTD News reached out to Mr. Jordan for additional comment but did not receive a response by the time this article was published.

  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), similarly distanced himself from Mr. Kennedy’s remarks, but pushed back on the calls to disinvite the Democratic presidential candidate.

  Mr. McCarthy said, “I disagree with everything [Mr. Kennedy] said,” but contended that the hearing’s focus is censorship. “I don’t think censoring somebody is actually the answer here.”

  What RFK Jr. Said

  In a video clip captured at his July 11 campaign event, Mr. Kennedy said with “COVID-19, there’s an argument that it is ethnically targeted.”

  “COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately,” he added before describing how different ethnic groups have differences in the structure of their ACE2 receptors, which are the receptors that bind with SARS‑CoV‑2 and lead to COVID-19 infections.

  “COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese,” Mr. Kennedy said. “We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted or not but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact of that. We do know that the Chinese are spending hundreds of millions of dollars developing ethnic bioweapons and we [the United States] are developing ethnic bioweapons.”

  In his article titled “RFK Jr. says COVID may have been ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Jews,” New York Post wrote that Mr. Kennedy’s remark “echoes well-worn anti-Semitic literature blaming Jews for the emergence and spread of coronavirus which began circulating online shortly after the pandemic broke out, according to The Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at the University of Tel Aviv’s 2021 Antisemitism Worldwide Report.”

  Mr. Kennedy pushed back on the New York Post’s characterization of his comments in a July 15 tweet, saying the Post’s story is mistaken.

  “I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews. I accurately pointed out—during an off-the-record conversation—that the U.S. and other governments are developing ethnically targeted bioweapons and that a 2021 study of the COVID-19 virus shows that COVID-19 appears to disproportionately affect certain races since the furin cleave docking site is most compatible with Blacks and Caucasians and least compatible with ethnic Chinese, Finns, and Ashkenazi Jews,” Mr. Kennedy wrote. “In that sense, it serves as a kind of proof of concept for ethnically targeted bioweapons. I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered.”

  Mr. Kennedy shared a link to the 2021 study he was describing, which was published on the National Institutes of Health’s PubMed site.

  Kennedy Has Sued Biden Over Censorship

  While Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Biden are both running as Democrats, they’ve demonstrated differing views on a number of issues, including COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccine mandates and the war in Ukraine.

  Mr. Kennedy founded the non-profit organization Children’s Health Defense (CHD), which has been critical of COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine mandates. Mr. Kennedy and CHD filed a federal lawsuit in March accusing the Biden administration of working with big tech companies to induce those companies to censor Mr. Kennedy’s constitutionally-protected speech.

  A federal judge just issued a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration in a similar case, finding that a number of plaintiffs were “likely to succeed on the merits in establishing that the Government has used its power to silence the opposition.” That case, which was brought by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, described an instance in January of 2021 in which a White House official flagged a tweet by Mr. Kennedy and sent an email to Twitter officials stating, “Hey folks-Wanted to flag the below tweet and am wondering if we can get moving on the process of having it removed ASAP.”

  Last week, the Biden administration won an appeal from a three-judge panel on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, staying the lower court’s preliminary injunction while the lawsuit proceeds. The two-page appeals court decision did not specify the reasoning for staying the lower court’s injunction. The three judges on the panel were Circuit Judge Carl E. Stewart, an appointee of President Bill Clinton; Circuit Judge James Earl Graves Jr., an appointee of President Barack Obama; and Circuit Judge Andrew Stephen Oldham, an appointee of President Donald Trump.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 20:45

• Montana State Library Exits National Group Over 'Marxist Lesbian' President
  Montana State Library Exits National Group Over ‘Marxist Lesbian’ President

  The Montana State Library Commission has abandoned the American Library Association because the group’s newly-installed president described herself as a “Marxist Lesbian” in a since-deleted Twitter post. 

  “Our oath of office and resulting duty to the Constitution forbids association with an organization led by a Marxist,” Montana’s commission voted to declare in a letter informing the ALA of its exit. That Marxist, Emily Drabinski took her post this month, after being elected in April 2022. At the time, she celebrated her ascendancy to the helm of the world’s largest and oldest library association with a tweet dripping with socialist buzzwords: 

  “I just cannot believe that a Marxist lesbian who believes that collective power is possible to build and can be wielded for a better world is president elect of ALA. I am so excited for what we will do together. Solidarity!“

  

  In a 2022 interview, Drabinski told socialist Jacobin magazine, “I believe the way to get people to understand why libraries are important is by engaging people in a struggle for the fair share of the social wage…because we are all suffering from the maldistribution of wealth.” She openly embraced the idea that the ALA is a platform for political reorganization of American society, saying “I think what the ALA could do is teach people to have an organizing conversation.” 

  In 2021, she gave a presentation titled “Teaching the Radical Catalog,” asserting that “when we teach students how to retrieve information, we are also teaching about structures of power and how to navigate them.” That talk was also heavy on gender-spectrum blather. Her own scholarship includes a paper titled “Queering the Catalog: Queer Theory and the Politics of Correction.” 

  

  Montana’s library commission voted for the ALA exit by a 5-1 margin, following an hour-long public-comment session that was likewise lopsided in opposition to the ALA. Speakers included members of Moms for Liberty, a group that challenges “woke” culture and supports policies that “defend against government overreach and secure parental rights.” 

  “The fact that the ALA is led by a Marxist is absolutely important, because the ALA is using tenets of Marxism and the sexualization and radicalization of children, thus breaking down America’s families,” said one speaker. Another, a Soviet ex-patriate, spoke of the devastation inflicted by Stalinism. 

  Libraries have been a major flash point in the ongoing culture wars, with clashes erupting over the hosting of drag queen story hours for children and the promotion of highly sexualized books for juveniles. 

  

  In a lengthy statement, the ALA didn’t address the criticism of electing an activist Marxist to its presidency, instead saying it’s focused on “serving people of all demographic backgrounds and ideologies.” The group also listed various ALA grants that have benefitted Montana libraries. The Montana Library Association issued its own statement saying it “deeply regrets” the Montana State Library Commission’s decision. 

  As the interim chief librarian at City University of New York, Drabinski ran for the ALA presidency on a platform that included “collective organizing for collective power” and a “Green New Deal for libraries,” which she claimed were threatened by floods, hurricanes and wildfires resulting from climate change. 

  While disassociation from a now-Marxist-led organization is laudable, the Montana commission’s reference to their constitutional oath is somewhat off-target. As socialist Jacobin magazine noted, the Constitution doesn’t reference Marxism, having been ratified about 30 years before Marx’s birth.

  Of course, socialism is certainly antithetical to America’s founding ideals: Benjamin Franklin — who founded the country’s first library in Philadelphia — is rolling in his grave.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 20:25

• Biden Abolishes Popular Tax Break For Many Retirement Savers
  Biden Abolishes Popular Tax Break For Many Retirement Savers

  Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

  A popular tax break in the form of being able to make so-called catch-up contributions to 401(k) retirement savings plans is set to vanish for many higher-earning Americans at the end of this year.

  Catch-up contributions refer to a provision in 401(k) plans that allows individuals aged 50 and older to contribute extra money to their retirement savings accounts. The aim of catch-up contributions is to enable older workers to accelerate their retirement savings in the years leading up to their retirement.

  This year, eligible workers aged 50 and older can put an extra $7,500 into their 401(k) accounts, for a total of $30,000.

  But starting next year, changes will limit that eligibility for higher earners.

  

  Changes to Catch-Up Contributions

  The SECURE 2.0 Act, which cleared Congress late last year and was signed into law by President Joe Biden, changed the rules.

  Specifically, people who earned more than $145,000 the previous year will no longer be able to make catch-up contributions to their 401(k) accounts. Instead, they’ll only be able to funnel those funds into after-tax Roth IRA accounts.

  The significance of this change is that those higher-earning Americans will end up having to pay taxes on their catch-up contributions up front, in years when they’re typically in a higher tax bracket than when they have retired.

  Traditional 401(k) accounts are funded with pretax earnings, and withdrawals are taxed once savers enter retirement. Roth IRA accounts, by contrast, are funded by after-tax dollars, with subsequent withdrawals being tax-free.

  Request for Delay

  A number of employers, retirement plan providers, and others have asked Congress to delay the implementation of the new rule that limits eligibility for 401(k) catch-up contributions for higher earners.

  In a June 29 letter (pdf) to the House Ways and Means Committee, a coalition of more than 100 signatories—including Charles Schwab, the National Association of State Retirement Administrators, and Verizon—has called for a two-year delay in implementing the new Roth IRA catch-up rule.

  The letter cites an inability on the part of many signatories to adapt their systems to ensure that catch-up contributions will be made on a Roth IRA basis for those earning more than $145,000 in the preceding year.

  “Unless transition relief is granted as soon as possible, many retirement plan participants will lose the ability to make catch-up contributions at the end of this year,” the signatories wrote.

  “For many of these plans, unless this requirement is delayed very quickly (i.e., this summer), their only means of compliance will be to eliminate all catch-up contributions for 2024.”

  The reason is that, for the most part, the signatories lack arrangements that coordinate retirement plan recordkeeping with payroll systems (which determine who earned more than $145,000 in the prior year).

  “These circumstances pose a long list of other obstacles including, for many plans, the challenges of adding a Roth feature and communicating that feature to participants, as well as special challenges for state and local governments and collectively bargained plans,” the signatories wrote.

  The call is for Congress to pass legislation to provide a two-year delay to allow employers and plan providers to adapt their systems. However, failing congressional action, the signatories said that the IRS and the Department of the Treasury have the authority to provide the requested relief unilaterally.

  For example, the IRS could announce that it won’t seek any penalties or sanctions for noncompliance with the Roth catch-up rule prior to Jan. 1, 2026.

  The Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment as to whether it’s considering unilateral action to grant a two-year delay, as requested by the groups.

  Other Changes Under SECURE 2.0

  The SECURE 2.0 legislation introduced a number of other changes, as well.

  The legislation changed the age at which people are required to start taking minimum distributions from their retirement accounts. Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, the new minimum distribution age is 73 for those who turn 72 after Dec. 31, 2022, and 75 for those who turn 74 after Dec. 31, 2033.

  However, if someone is already qualified to take their first distribution by April 1, 2023, these changes won’t affect them. The act also reduced the penalty for not taking the required distribution to 25 percent from 50 percent, starting Dec. 29, 2022.

  The SECURE 2.0 Act also permits employers to count qualified student loan repayments as employee contributions to retirement plans, even if the employee isn’t making regular contributions. This allows employers to match these repayments with contributions to the retirement plan.

  Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, individuals can now withdraw up to $1,000 from their retirement accounts for unforeseeable and immediate personal emergency expenses. The plan administrator relies on the employee’s certification that the emergency meets the required criteria for the withdrawal.

  Another change is that, starting in 2025, part-time employees will be able to participate in workplace retirement plans sooner. Previously, they had to work at least 500 hours for three consecutive years in order to be eligible; now they need to work only 500 hours for two consecutive years to qualify.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 20:05

• Beginning Of CRE Firesale? Baltimore Office Tower Dumped At 63% Discount
  Beginning Of CRE Firesale? Baltimore Office Tower Dumped At 63% Discount

  Following the failures of several regional banks earlier this year, we’ve been closely monitoring the commercial real estate (CRE) sector, noticing increasing risks in the office space market. CRE lending standards have tightened considerably in response to the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes over the past sixteen months to combat inflation. Furthermore, depressed office-badge swipes and other occupancy metrics indicate a downshift in demand for office space.

  The latest alarm bell of sliding CRE prices in downtown areas across major US cities is the sale of an office tower at One South Street in downtown Baltimore. The 30-story building was sold in June for $24 million, a 63.6% discount versus the tower’s 2015 sale of $66 million, according to The Baltimore Sun. 

  Opened in 1992, the tower has 479,000 square feet and is the first sale of its kind in the post-pandemic era. The Sun confirmed that Virginia-based American Real Estate Partners sold the building in a short sale to New York-based BHN Associates. 

  

  “Occupancy drives value and many buildings downtown are struggling to maintain that occupancy,” said Terri Harrington, a commercial real estate broker. The latest firesale could indicate more panic selling is ahead. 

  Some argue remote or hybrid work has forced a downward shift in office demand — but that’s not entirely the case, well, not at least in crime-ridden Baltimore. The depressed office building demand is a vote of confidence that Democrats in City Hall have failed to enforce law and order as progressive policies backfire. 

  According to Luis Quintero, an economics professor at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, if office space goes vacant and property values plunge, the city could see a massive reduction in property and income tax revenue. 

  Several high-profile tenants have already left downtown Baltimore, including T. Rowe Price and Pandora.

  Harrington warned this could be the start of firesales across other towers in the downtown area: 

  “I also believe you are going to see other buildings in the same boat.”

  None of this should surprise readers because we’ve already penned a note titled “Entire Downtown Is Effectively Dead:” Baltimore City Descends Further Into Turmoil. 

  Don’t blame remote work for the collapse of Baltimore — blame Democrats and six decades of terrible policies that have transformed the once-thriving metro area into a ‘rat-infested hellhole.’

  As for office building values in other metro areas, Goldman recently told clients to expect a 25% drop. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 19:45

• Some EVs Are "Dirtier" Than Conventional Vehicles; New Study Finds
  Some EVs Are “Dirtier” Than Conventional Vehicles; New Study Finds

  Authored by Alex Kimani via OilPrice.com,

  • A new study from the Manhattan Institute concluded that certain EVs emit more greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetime than certain ICE vehicles.

  • According to the report, the possibilities of GHG emissions for EVs is much wider than for ICEs.

  • In base case scenarios, EVs start off as having more emissions mainly due to the energy intensity of the EV and battery metals used in their manufacture but eventually catch up to ICEs around the 60,000 driven miles mark.

  Electric vehicle skeptics have frequently argued that the manufacturing and disposal of battery-electric vehicles like Teslas as well as reliance on coal to generate the electricity that powers them leaves EVs with a larger carbon footprint than nonelectric vehicles. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of studies that have tried to approve or disapprove this notion. But finally, the Manhattan Institute has compiled a comprehensive report that compares lifetime greenhouse gas emissions of EVs vs. ICEs by looking at dozens of parameters and data points.

  According to the report, the possibilities of GHG emissions for EVs is much wider than for ICEs mainly due to the much wider variances in upstream (mining+ manufacturing) emissions by EVs. The differences are such that the dirtiest EVs can have more than double the emissions of the cleanest internal combustion engines.

  

  Source: Manhattan Institute

  However, you will note that in base-case scenarios, EVs start off as having more emissions mainly due to the energy intensity of the EV and battery metals used in their manufacture but eventually catch up to EVs around the 60,000 driven miles mark.

  Several universities and trade organizations have previously conducted life cycle analyses that compare the amount of greenhouse gasses created from the production, use and disposal of a B.E.V. vs. gasoline-powered vehicles of comparable size.

  Vehicle emissions are divided into two general categories: air pollutants, which contribute to health problems and greenhouse gasses (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide and methane. Both categories of emissions are frequently evaluated on a tailpipe basis, a well-to-wheel basis, and a cradle-to-grave basis. Well-to-wheel emissions are emissions related to fuel production, processing, distribution and use while cradle-to-grave emissions include well-to-wheel emissions as well as vehicle-cycle emissions associated with vehicle and battery manufacturing, recycling, and disposal.

  The good news: whereas these studies have arrived at varying emission figures, they have invariably found that the greenhouse-gas emission difference caused by the carbon-intensive production of BEVs vs. ICE vehicles is virtually erased in the first few years of an EVs life. 

  In one such study conducted by the University of Michigan, it takes 1.4 to 1.5 years for EV sedans to erase the pollution advantage of ICE vehicles due to the manufacturing process; 1.6 to 1.9 years for S.U.V.s and about 1.6 years for pickup trucks. These numbers are based on the average number of vehicle miles driven in the United States. 

  According to the study, on average, emissions from B.E.V. sedans are ~35% of the emissions from an internal-combustion sedan; electric S.U.V.s produce ~37% of the emissions of a gasoline-powered vehicle while B.E.V. pickups create ~34% of the emissions of an internal combustion model. All-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs, which operate as EVs for limited distances), produce lower tailpipe emissions than ICE vehicles, and zero tailpipe emissions when they run only on electricity. 

  Electricity Generation

  Even though all-electric vehicles as well as PHEVs running only on electricity produce zero tailpipe emissions, electricity production may generate emissions depending on how the electricity is generated. 

  According to Greg Keoleian, director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan, 78 of the 3,143 counties in the United States actually have more emissions from electric sedans than from internal combustion vehicles because they generate most of their electricity by burning coal.

  But overall, electric vehicles are much kinder on the environment than ICEs. 

  According to the U.S. Department Of Energy, the average all-electric vehicle in the U.S. produces 2,817 pounds of CO2 equivalent per year; plug-in hybrids emit 4,824 pounds of CO2 equivalent, hybrid vehicles generate 6,898 pounds while gasoline-powered vehicles produce 12,594 pounds of CO2 equivalent per year. 

  

  Source: U.S. Department Of Energy

  Direct Lithium Extraction

  The Manhattan Institute report points at the high upstream emissions of EVs as a key reason why EVs could end up doing more harm to the environment. But an upcoming technology could rapidly improve the score for EVs: direct lithium extraction.

  Over the past few years, the lithium markets exploded as the electrification drive went into overdrive. EV makers like Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) have been scrambling to secure supplies amid rapid EV growth and tight lithium supplies, sending lithium carbonate prices up more than six-fold and spodumene up nearly tenfold in the space of a few years. 

  But a new lithium extraction technology could change the lithium industry forever and significantly increase the supply of lithium from brine projects, much like shale technology did for oil.

  A fleet of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies are getting ready to tap salty brine deposits across North America, Europe, Asia and elsewhere, with the U.S. Geological Survey estimating the technology could unlock 70% of global reserves of the metal. Whereas DLE technologies vary, they are generally comparable to common household water softeners, and aim to extract ~90% of lithium in brine water vs. 50% using conventional ponds. 

  Their biggest draw:  they can supply lithium for EV batteries literally in a matter of hours or days, way faster than 12-18 months needed to be filtered through in order to be able to extract lithium carbonate from water-intensive evaporation ponds and open-pit mines.

  DLE also comes with the added bonus of offering ESG/sustainability benefits: DLE technologies are portable, able to recycle much of their fresh water and limit hydrochloric acid use.

  “The world needs abundant, low-cost lithium to have an energy transition, and DLE has the potential to meet that goal,” Ken Hoffman, co-head of the EV Battery Materials Research group at McKinsey & Co., has told Reuters.

  “The industry is so close to a major leap forward,” John Burba, who helped invent a prominent DLE technology and is IBAT’s executive chairman, has told Reuters.

  The DLE industry is expected to grow to more than $10 billion in annual revenue within the next decade.

  

  Source: Morgan Stanley

  Commercial scale DLE projects are expected to start coming online in 2025, and could supply 13% of global lithium supply by 2030, as per projections by Fastmarkets.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 19:25

• Israeli Fighter Pilots, Commandos Threaten To Resign If Judicial Reform Proceeds
  Israeli Fighter Pilots, Commandos Threaten To Resign If Judicial Reform Proceeds

  More than a thousand Israeli military reservists have threatened to stop reporting for duty — or resign altogether — if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government proceeds with a plan to overhaul the country’s judicial system this month. Among those threatening to withhold their service are hundreds of elite fighter pilots and commandos. 

  Given reservists are an essential part of Israel’s military, and especially its air force, the country’s military leaders say such a mass walkout could have a significant impact on the country’s military operational capacity. They also fear a scenario where activism by reservists could inspire absenteeism among the country’s full-time service members. 

  

  In a letter sent to the commander of Sayeret Matkal, a highly secretive commando unit, more than 300 reservists declared:  

  “In the face of recent legislative procedures that the government is advancing…while completely ignoring that this legislation is destroying the shared basis of Israeli society and tearing apart the nation, our conscience does not permit us to stand aside.”

  Other reservists are drafting group resignation letters with the intent of submitting them in the coming days, reports The New York Times. In contrast to American reservists, who typically drill for just a weekend a month and two weeks in the summer, Israeli pilots are required to participate in multiple training exercises per month, and routinely participate in warfare.  

  The threat of a weakening of Israeli’s military capacity comes during a year of heightened hostilities, with the Israeli Defense Forces targeting adversaries in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip, southern Lebanon and Syria. 

  Political turmoil has steadily boiled across Israel since Netanyahu re-ascended to the prime minister’s office by assembling a ruling coalition that is dominated to an unprecedented extent by ultra-nationalist and religious extremists. Inside Israel, the most controversial item on the government’s agenda is a scheme to overhaul the country’s judicial system. 

  

  Over much of the year, the country has witnessed massive protests against the plan. In March, Netanyahu bowed to the pressure and put the legislative initiative on pause, saying, “When there’s an option to avoid civil war through dialogue, I take a time-out for dialogue.”

  Now, however, seeking to more incrementally effect change, the ruling coalition is pushing to enact a law by month’s end that would remove the supreme court’s ability to block government action or policy via an evaluation of its “reasonableness” — a standard that Netanyahu and allies say is so flexible that it gives the high court undue power. 

  Netanyahu pushed back against the newest wave of resistance to the judicial reform, saying concerns over negating the reasonableness standard are “removed from reality and intended to scare people over nothing.” He also admonished service members threatening not to show up for duty, saying, “In a democracy, the military is subordinate to the elected government and not the opposite.”

  However, 63-year-old Gal Nufar, a colonel in an airborne unit, tells the Journal, “Originally I thought doing something like this would be really like betraying the army. But over the past months, I see that they are bringing us to the point that I’m most fearful of…a regime coup that won’t allow for any balance or any checks on the government.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 19:05

• RFK Jr. And The Tantalizing Echoes Of 1968
  RFK Jr. And The Tantalizing Echoes Of 1968

  Authored by Frank Miele via RealClear Wire,

  It is awkward but necessary to draw comparisons between Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign for president today with the 1968 Democratic campaign in which his own father was slain.

  

  But it is not Sen. Kennedy to whom we should be comparing RFK Jr., but rather Sen. Eugene McCarthy, the quixotic anti-war candidate who was able to expose the vulnerability of President Lyndon Johnson.

  President Biden’s handlers may be acting as though they don’t consider RFK Jr. a credible threat, but that’s exactly what it is – acting. They know that their octogenarian candidate has dangerously low favorability numbers, an arrogance perhaps not seen in Washington since LBJ retired to his Texas ranch, and as many putative supporters in his party as Julius Caesar had assassins.

  Meanwhile, Kennedy comes from a beloved political family, yet at the same time is a fierce outsider. That is a combination rarely seen in a candidate and gives him at least the potential to achieve enough success to demonstrate to Democrat donors and primary voters that Biden is the emperor with no clothes.

  So far, Kennedy has barely edged into the low 20s in polling, and currently he lags even lower in the RealClearPolitics average. But it’s still early. At this point in 1968, LBJ seemed untouchable to the establishment media and the political class. Gene McCarthy, however, recognized that the nation was at a tipping point. And though he failed to capitalize, his campaign was the beginning of a new era of grassroots politics.

  As described by PBS in an article for “The American Experience”:

  He didn’t win the White House. He didn’t even win his own party’s nomination. But in 1968 Eugene McCarthy revealed major divisions among Democrats, changing the political landscape in a way few American politicians ever have.

  McCarthy was an unlikely national candidate. An aloof intellectual from Minnesota, he reluctantly challenged LBJ mainly over Vietnam. But McCarthy also represented a much more radical approach to politics than the Democratic establishment at the time. McCarthy’s platform included a smorgasbord of liberal policies, some of which have since been accomplished and some of which are still being sought: guaranteed jobs, guaranteed minimum income, a federally subsidized health insurance program, affirmative action in education (although based on poverty, not race), and guaranteed quality housing.

  What made McCarthy a viable candidate wasn’t his domestic agenda, however; it was his promise to end the unpopular war in Vietnam, which had already cost nearly 20,000 American lives by the time McCarthy announced his candidacy. And at a philosophical level, McCarthy was boosted by his pledge to unite the country at a time when riots and protests were televised on the nightly news with regularity:

  The role of the presidency – at all times, but particularly in 1968 – must be one of uniting this nation, not by adding it up in some way, not by putting it together as a kind of jigsaw puzzle. To unify this nation means to inspire it, to encourage the development of common purposes and shared ideals, and to move toward establishing an order of justice in America.

  It is widely agreed that the divisiveness of America in 1968 was as great as at any time since the Civil War. Confidence in the institutions of government was at an all-time low, partly as a result of doubts surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and RFK Jr.’s uncle and President John F. Kennedy’s killing five years earlier. And partly because of the war itself.

  These two great themes – polarization and war – are at the center of RFK Jr.’s campaign. As in 1968, we are seeing an unbridgeable gap between those who trust the institutions of government and those who don’t. Much of that doubt has been brought about by the government’s heavy-handed response to the COVID pandemic, including the mask mandates, lockdowns, and vaccine mandates. Kennedy Jr. has cornered the market among Democrats who still treasure civil rights and fear an oppressive government.

  Our administration will make it a top priority to protect and restore the fundamental civil liberties, enshrined in the Bill of Rights, that hold the essence of what America can be. These liberties have endured constant assault for over twenty years, starting with the Bush/Cheney War on Terror, and accelerating in the era of COVID lockdowns.

  But it should not be discounted that, just as in 1968, we are also fighting an increasingly unpopular war, not with our soldiers but with our national treasure, and as the Biden administration sends billions of dollars to Ukraine with no end in sight, RFK promises to put an end to that spending, and much more:

  As president, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will start the process of unwinding empire. We will bring the troops home. We will stop racking up unpayable debt to fight one war after another. The military will return to its proper role of defending our country. We will end the proxy wars, bombing campaigns, covert operations, coups, paramilitaries, and everything else that has become so normal most people don’t know it’s happening. But it is happening, a constant drain on our strength. It’s time to come home and restore this country.

  As for Ukraine itself, Kennedy said he “will find a diplomatic solution that brings peace … and brings our resources back where they belong. We will offer to withdraw our troops and nuclear-capable missiles from Russia’s borders. Russia will withdraw its troops from Ukraine and guarantee its freedom and independence.”

  Kennedy, like McCarthy, has also made uniting the country one of his primary goals. His campaign website states:

  America is more polarized and divided now than at any time in living memory. Both sides seem to agree that the basic problem is the horrible people on the other side. Both sides are wrong. The basic problem is the division itself. A divided public lacks the strength to resist exploitation or to overcome the inertia of the status quo. The classic American can-do spirit exhausts itself in endless battles. So let’s heal the divide.

  Like McCarthy, RFK Jr. is given no chance to win the nomination, but also like his predecessor, Kennedy has the capacity to be the unexpected giant-slayer. Should RFK Jr. break 30% percent in New Hampshire, where he has a natural constituency, Biden’s handlers may panic.

  Biden’s dirty little secret is that he doesn’t even have much of a reelection campaign. As Politico reported, “The president has hired fewer than 20 campaign aides. His team hasn’t yet announced a 2024 headquarters. His first political rally this year was paid for by other organizations.”

  This has some in Biden’s camp nervous, but only in regard to an anticipated rematch with Donald Trump. But the real Achilles’ heel of the Biden campaign is that it is overlooking RFK Jr.’s potential impact.

  Although Biden was able to muscle the Democratic Party into accepting his revised schedule of primary and caucus states, he may live to rue the day he tried to jimmy the system. The goal was to put South Carolina’s primary ahead of New Hampshire and Iowa because Biden owed his 2020 nomination victory to South Carolina dealing a death blow to most of his serious opponents.

  The logic of 2023 suggested that it would be a good thing for Biden to start off with a healthy win, but New Hampshire refuses to play second fiddle. Despite being threatened by the Democratic National Committee with losing their delegates, the state’s officials intend to leapfrog ahead of South Carolina to stay first in the nation. At least one writer has speculated that this will force Biden to stay off the ballot in New Hampshire, providing a huge window of opportunity for Kennedy and the other second-tier candidate, Marianne Williamson.

  Either way, RFK Jr., like Gene McCarthy did, is pinning his hopes on New Hampshire. Kennedy grew up in neighboring Massachusetts, and his family’s mystique is still strong throughout the region. With six months left to campaign before the January primary, Kennedy has plenty of time to energize his voters, but with this caveat: If Kennedy peaks too early, he will invite other ambitious Democrats to enter the race against Biden just as Sen. Bobby Kennedy jumped into the race against LBJ four days after McCarthy came in a close second in New Hampshire in 1968.

  RFK Jr. is walking a tightrope. Unlike the process when his father ran, which was largely governed by party bosses, the filing deadlines for most states and caucuses would severely restrict ballot access for latecomers. Should Kennedy manage to surge in the week or two just before the New Hampshire primary, he might have the field to himself to challenge Biden the rest of the way.

  And even if RFK Jr. falls short in the Democratic primary, he may not be entirely out of the picture in presidential politics. There has been speculation that Donald Trump is considering asking the Democratic gadfly to join him in a unity ticket. Although Kennedy has tweeted that “under no circumstances” would he run with Trump, it might be an opportunity he could not resist should he fall short in the Democratic race. He also could be tempted by a third party run on either the Green Party ticket or the new No Labels ticket.

  In other words, don’t count him out.

  Frank Miele, the retired editor of the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, Mont., is a columnist for RealClearPolitics. His newest book, “What Matters Most: God, Country, Family and Friends,” is available from his Amazon author page. Visit him at HeartlandDiaryUSA.com or follow him on Facebook @HeartlandDiaryUSA or on Twitter or Gettr @HeartlandDiary.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 18:45

• China's Evergrande Reports $113 Billion Loss Over Two Years
  China’s Evergrande Reports $113 Billion Loss Over Two Years

  Two years after it was halted, left for dead, and effectively bankrupted in a controlled demolition, China’s one-time property giant, Evergrande, reported long-delayed results and boy were they a whopper: they showed that in 2021 and 2022, the company generated mindblowing losses of $113 billion, on $340 billion in liabilities.

  The losses – The company’s first since its 2009 listing, and a sharp reversal from the 8 billion yuan profit in 2020 – showed “the existence of material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern”, Evergrande said in a stock exchange filing, which of course is irrelevant since much of the defaulted company’s capital structure has been in some state of restructuring ever since 2021.

  Once China’s largest real estate company, Evergrande was the match that lit China’s property crisis in 2021 when it was found to be drowning in more than $300 billion in liabilities, sparking a nationwide property crisis that had global ramifications and sent the world’s largest asset class (according to Goldman) reeling and plunging China’s economy into a brutal slowdown from which it has been unable to recover to this day.

  

  Trading in the company’s Hong Kong-listed shares has been suspended since March 2022.

  Back then, Evergrande said that it would not be able to publish its 2021 audited results within the timeframe required by Hong Kong’s listing rules, blaming the delay on “a large number of additional audit procedures” and the Covid-19 pandemic.

  The company said on Monday it had suffered a net loss of 686.22 billion yuan in 2021 and 125.81 billion yuan in 2022, in long-delayed Hong Kong stock exchange filings that could bring Evergrande closer to a resumption of trading.

  Evergrande saw its sales plummet during the crisis: according to Bloomberg, revenue plunged by half in 2021 to about 250 billion yuan, before falling further last year to 230 billion yuan, missing the average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

  The developer’s debt pile meanwhile continued to balloon, with total liabilities reaching 2.58 trillion yuan at the end of 2021, or almost $360 billion, on soaring undelivered projects. That figure fell slightly to 2.44 trillion yuan as of December last year.

  The biggest liabilities last year were from trade and other payables, which stood at around 1 trillion yuan as of December. Current borrowings fell slightly from a year earlier to 587 billion yuan.

  “The results are not encouraging at all,” said Ting Meng, a senior credit strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group. While not a game changer, they confirm how the company has been in deep distress and struggling with operations and repayments, Meng said.

  Still, Evergrande could be closer to resuming trading of its shares after reporting the delayed statements. Trading of the shares was suspended since March 2022, risking a delisting if there’s no resumption within 18 months.

  “Evergrande’s successful publication would help to avert a forced delisting and advance the company’s debt restructuring,” said Leonard Law, senior credit analyst with Lucror Analytics Pte. “That said, the results do not really matter ultimately, as we believe the business is already broken.”

  The defaulted real estate giant asked to convene meetings for offshore creditors to approve its credit overhaul plan, after reporting long-delayed financial statements for 2021 and 2022. Court hearings are scheduled to take place next week, exchange filings showed late Monday.

  “There’s potential for approval of its debt-restructuring plan,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Daniel Fan and Adrian Sim. “China Evergrande might act fast to avoid possible breakdown due to offshore litigation for its defaults.”

  Others remain unconvinced that the shares can resume trading after Evergrande’s auditor, Prism, said it was unable to obtain sufficient audit evidence to give an opinion on the statements. It remains “highly uncertain” given that the auditor signaled skepticism over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, said Zerlina Zeng, senior credit analyst at CreditSights, Bloomberg reported.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 07/18/2023 – 18:25

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Hong Kong Offers $1M Bounties For Dissidents Abroad
  Hong Kong Offers $1M Bounties For Dissidents Abroad

  Authored by Frances Hui via RealClear Wire,

  The government of Hong Kong is offering a bounty of up to $1 million to anyone who can help find eight activists who fled to other countries and continue to fight against its authoritarian government. 

  

  I am not one of the eight, but all of us who fight for democracy in Hong Kong are in danger from a Chinese government that is chasing us for showing that it has broken its promises to keep Hong Kong a vibrant and free city-state. 

  I became an activist for democracy in Hong Kong at the age of 14, when I started participating in pro-democracy marches – hardly a radical thing to do. But eventually, when I was 21, I realized I had to leave Hong Kong, knowing that I would be arrested under the newly imposed National Security Law and face charges up to life in prison. Most of the friends I made throughout my activism have either fled or languish in jail. 

  But leaving doesn’t solve the problem. The government of Hong Kong, directed by China, has sent people to harass us. The eight who are targeted are living in the U.K., the U.S., or Australia. Now, with the bounties, there will be more reason for people to stalk us. And I don’t see any evidence that the democracies that have provided refuge realize how serious this is. Instead of taking steps to hold China accountable, they are trying to create warmer relations. 

  Four years ago, I was harassed and followed by Chinese spies in Boston, where I organized rallies in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Although one of the Chinese agents involved, a U.S. citizen, was recently indicted, more needs to be done. Many communities living overseas have endured constant surveillance and harassment by China’s 110 overseas secret police stations. China continues to deny their existence, and very few countries have made them shut down. The outposts of the Hong Kong government, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, located in 14 cities worldwide, have also been working closely with Chinese consulates to brush off their ongoing records of human rights violations in the city state while maintaining close relationships with world democracies.

  It’s the first time Hong Kong has issued official arrest warrants on overseas activists, with bounty eight times more than it would pay for help in arresting a child rapist and three times more than it would offer for a murder. John Lee, the chief executive, said that the eight activists would be “pursued for life.”

  Many Hong Kong activists fled Hong Kong in the past three years as the government jailed dissidents who voiced opposition to Beijing. Many have said publicly they will not return to Hong Kong. So why is the government placing these bounties?

  The rationale likely rests in geopolitics. The list of wanted activists was evenly distributed among the U.S., the U.K., and Australia, all of which have begun re-engaging with China recently after three years of diplomatic freeze. It’s as if Hong Kong is saying, can we go this far? Further? What will you tolerate? It is testing these democracies, and they are letting China win. 

  Despite China’s persistent repression of dissidents both within and beyond its borders, these countries have continued to prioritize improved ties and deeper economic interests over addressing human rights abuses. Instances of repression, such as the attack on Hong Kong protester Bob Chan in the Chinese consulate ground in Manchester, have not prompted strong action from the U.K. government. Attacks continue to happen against Hongkongers, including two who were recently kicked and manhandled by a group of pro-CCP activists at a rally in Southampton to mark the anniversary of the 2019 Hong Kong movement. Meanwhile in the U.S., the Biden administration has hinted its intention to invite the U.S.-sanctioned John Lee to attend the APEC Summit in San Francisco in November.

  By neglecting China’s human rights abuses, countries are exacerbating the situation. If they fail to defend their residents and refuse to impose economic and political consequences on China, this stalking and harassment will persist. This lack of action will also set a dangerous precedent, raising the bar for accountability on human rights abusers, like Russia and Iran, and sending a message to the world that their countries are no longer safe for free speech.

  The international community, including the countries in which the activists reside as well as all Interpol member states, should prioritize human rights in their policy toward China. Diplomatic engagements should not be pursued that compromise the security of its people.

  So far, the U.K, the U.S., and Australia have done nothing to punish China or Hong Kong for this outrageous decision to hunt down people who have entered those countries legally, seeking refuge. It must do something, soon, or the next list will be far longer, and China will understand that it can pursue close relationships without upholding the democratic values of the West.

  Frances Hui is the first public activist from Hong Kong to receive political asylum in the U.S. She continues her advocacy in Washington, D.C., at the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and We The Hongkongers.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 23:40

• Larry Fink's Fake ESG Facade Crumbles As Blackrock Names Aramco CEO To Its Board
  Larry Fink’s Fake ESG Facade Crumbles As Blackrock Names Aramco CEO To Its Board

  Three weeks ago, at the Aspen Ideas Festival, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink revealed that he had abandoned the term “ESG” (every virtue signaler’s beloved “environment, social, and governance” acronym) because it has been highly politicized and even “weaponized,” and he is “ashamed” to be part of the debate.

  BlackRock CEO Drops “ESG” Term After Blowback https://t.co/6sArVLGCbq

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) June 27, 2023

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

  Many applauded the decision, which they viewed as actually representative of the truth: after all, Fink acknowledged at the event that Ron DeSantis’ decision to yank $2 billion in assets from the world’s largest money manager in late 2022 over “woke” policies hurt his firm. DeSantis of course, is not alone: lawmakers from red states have retaliated and called out BlackRock for its toxic woke capitalism push in corporate America. Besides Florida, states like Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah, Arkansas, West Virginia, Missouri, and Texas have withdrawn funds from the asset manager which previously said it would not longer invest in “fossil fuels” and other causes that were unworthy of ESG’s consummate virtue signaling.

  Fast forward to today when we learn that Blackrock named the boss of Saudi Aramo, Amin Nasser, as the fund’s independent director.

  

  Yes, the same Saudi Arabia whose Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman dismembered WaPo’s Jamal Khashoggi without prejudice, a move which not only led to a chilling collapse in US-Saudi relations which has lasted to this day (as Saudi Arabia openly mocks Biden’s demands for increased oil production) but which also leaves quite a bit to be desired on the “social” vertical of the ESG religion; and yes, the same Saudi Arabia which also happens to be the world’s largest producer of oil, and whose “Environmental” rank may leave just a little to be desired, especially to idiots such as these.

  Perfect execution. Be a hero—drag the disruptive “activists” out of the way by their hair. Allow traffic to move again. This is how you can help your community. pic.twitter.com/5b1oBfFnUh

  — Charles Cooper 🛰 (@coopsimms) July 15, 2023

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

  But not to Blackrock, and consummate WEG globalist Larry Fink, who after years of hiding behind the ESG smokescreen if and when it was convenient to convince the peasants just what a lovable, cuddly $10 trillion money manager Blackrock actually is, finally revealed that it was all just one giant lie, and its so-called ESG standards were nothing more than a joke.

  Nasser has led the world’s biggest oil producer since 2015, including overseeing its public listing, and provides BlackRock with “a unique perspective” on key issues facing the company and its clients, CEO Larry Fink said Monday in an emailed statement.

  “His leadership experience, understanding of the global energy industry and the drivers of the shift toward a low-carbon economy, as well as his knowledge of the Middle East region, will all contribute meaningfully to the BlackRock board dialogue,” Fink said in the statement.

  Not that we have anything against Nasser: unlike Fink, he never pretended to be something he never was. Nasser joined Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant as a petroleum engineer in 1982, and decades later having worked his way up from the ground floor, led Aramco’s initial public offering in 2019.

  His expertise in the Middle East will fill the gap left by Bader Alsaad, chairman of the board of the Arab Fund for Economic & Social Development, who is not standing for reelection on BlackRock’s board in 2024, the asset manager said on Monday.

  BlackRock – which will henceforth be the butt of every anti-ESG joke, if the concept of ESG even exists for any other purpose than manipulating mentally-challenged idiots into believing random propaganda…

  !

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 18, 2023

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

  … has sought to strike a balance on the issue of climate change, continuing to invest in fossil fuel companies, while nudging them to adopt energy transition plans.  In a note to clients earlier this month, the asset manager estimated its average annual investment in the energy system would jump to $4 trillion through 2050, up from $2.2 trillion in recent years.

  BlackRock, which had about $9.4 trillion assets under management as of end-June, has projected that by 2030 at least three quarters of its investments will be with issuers of securities that have scientific targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions on a net basis.

  Spoiler alert: that will not happen, and instead – as today’s “shocking” appointment reveals – BlackRock will soon reveal that while it was pushing others to live in virtuous misery, it was gradually preparing for the next fossil-fuel revolution. And none other than Nasser will be there to make that revelation.

  While Aramco, which like BlackRock has tiptoped the virtue signaling line for the benefit of a handful of globalist idiots, and unveiled a $1.5 billion sustainability fund to focus on areas including carbon capture and storage, greenhouse gas emissions, as well as hydrogen, the reality is that as Nasser said the current global energy transition plan was flawed.

  In February Nasser – who also serves on several boards, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Presidential CEO Advisory Board and the JP Morgan International Council – went so far as to warn that an increased focus on ESG was undermining investment in oil and gas to the point where it posed a threat to the world’s energy security.

  “We need to realize that today alternatives are not ready to shoulder a heavy load of the growing energy demand and therefore we need to work in parallel until alternatives are ready.”

  The message from Blackrock is simple: “all that shit we said about ESG? Well, we still mean it… but over the next 30 years we will be investing in all those companies we told you to boycott and avoid. And if you believed us… well, you’re the idiots.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 23:20

• Tucker Carlson Warns Young Conservatives To Pay Attention To Topics With 'Unapproved Words'
  Tucker Carlson Warns Young Conservatives To Pay Attention To Topics With ‘Unapproved Words’

  Authored by Nanette Holt via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Since his separation from Fox News, political commentator Tucker Carlson hasn’t spoken much publicly—until this weekend.

  In a rare spurt of appearances, he enjoyed the adulation of thousands of enthusiastic conservatives at political gatherings in two states.

  

  On July 14, he publicly grilled most of the top-tier Republican presidential candidates—with the exception of former President Donald Trump—at the Family Leadership Summit in Iowa. As the nation’s first state to caucus, it’s been the midwestern mecca of political activity in recent weeks.

  Then, Mr. Carlson caught a flight to Florida, where he lives in cooler times of the year, to speak the next day at the Turning Point Action Conference in West Palm Beach.

  Speaker line-ups at Turning Point events often read like a who’s who of conservative politics, sometimes even drawing leading figures from other countries.

  This time, the two-day conference attracted about 6,000 people—mostly college-age conservatives—from around the country to hear from GOP firebrands. Attendees also mingled, attended Republican strategy workshops on winning elections, and shopped for patriotic merchandise and Trump gear.

  Mr. Carlson was one of the crowd favorites.

  

  Tight Security for Trump Speech

  On Day 1, conference-goers crammed into the Palm Beach Convention Center’s main hall after spending hours in line. They inched forward in the blazing sun, waiting to be inspected in screenings overseen by the U.S. Secret Service.

  Once inside, attendees heard from a string of outspoken supporters of Mr. Trump, the reason for the tight security. His champions included congressmen Byron Donalds and Matt Gaetz, both Republicans representing Florida.

  “We ride or die with Donald John Trump,” Mr. Gaetz said, above the roaring crowd, when it was his turn to speak. He also proclaimed he’d be introducing “in the coming days a national prayer-in-school law,” an announcement that brought more raucous cheers.

  Also riling up the crowd was Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who spoke in the standing-room-only space. He said he’s been criticized for not attacking his chief opponent, apparently alluding to Mr. Trump.

  

  “I’m not running against anyone in this race,” Mr. Ramaswamy said. “I’m running for our country.”

  The 37-year-old political newcomer received an enthusiastic standing ovation as he left the stage.

  ‘All the Cool People are Here’

  As Mr. Carlson stepped out to plumes of yellow pyrotechnics shooting up from the front of the stage, attendees were on their feet again, cheering and holding up phones to capture video of the moment.

  “Thank you,” he repeated over and over, shaking his head and chuckling. “I don’t think most unemployed people get a reception like that.”

  As the cheering and clapping continued, he scanned the audience, clearly recognizing some, and exclaiming, “Roger Stone! All the cool people are here. It’s, like, unbelievable.”

  As if surprised by the unrelenting chorus of whooping, he said with incredulity, “Wow. I haven’t been around a ton of people in a while. But I never miss this event. Ever. And I meet the nicest people, really, that I ever meet at these.”

  

  In contrast, Mr. Carlson expressed disdain for the work he’d done the day before discussing presidential candidates’ campaign platforms.

  He usually despises politicians, Mr. Carlson said, because “they tend to be soulless,” with sad personal lives, seeking to “win affirmation” from strangers, which he finds “pathetic.”

  In person, though, they’re “charming,” he said. “I like almost all of them when I meet them.”

  He didn’t want “to attack anyone on personal grounds” but “it’s tempting,” he laughed, as the crowd chanted, “Do it! Do it!”

  Instead, he said, as if he couldn’t resist, he wanted to offer “general observations, which I think are more edifying than just, like, savaging Mike Pence.”

  The crowd cheered more, egging him on. But Mr. Carlson insisted it “would be wrong because it’s too easy.”

  Mr. Pence, the former vice president under Mr. Trump, stunned many conservatives when he argued in his Iowa forum appearance the day before that the United States has been too slow to provide tanks and pilot training to Ukraine.

  Looking incredulous, Mr. Carlson stopped him and began describing the faltering economy of the United States and the country’s escalating crime, public filth, and suicide rates.

  “Where’s the concern for the United States in that?” Mr. Carlson demanded during the interview.

  “That’s not my concern,” Mr. Pence replied. “Tucker, I’ve heard that routine from you before but that’s not my concern.”

  “I’m running for President in the United States because I think this country is in a lot of trouble. I think Joe Biden has weakened America at home and abroad. And as President of the United States, we’re going to restore law and order in our cities. We’re going to secure our border. We’re going to get this economy moving again. And we’re going to make sure that we have men and women on our courts at every level that will stand for the right to life and defend all the God given liberties enshrined in our Constitution,” he said.

  “Anybody that says we can’t be the leader of the free world and solve our problems at home has a pretty small view of the greatest Nation on Earth. We can do both.”

  Lesson Learned

  He learned much from his day of interviews in Iowa, Mr. Carlson told the Turning Point crowd.

  One was that what Republicans in Washington “actually care about” are “very different from the things that matter to the people who vote for them.”

  He had believed that would change back in 2016, when the politicians saw that “Republicans elected a guy basically on the promise to blow up the Republican Party,” he said.

  

  But even the election of Mr. Trump hasn’t turned many elected politicians to align with the people they represent, he has since observed.

  He also realized that “almost everybody in elected office in the Republican Party has internalized the other side’s rules for debate.”

  There’s “no more self-defeating way to go into politics or life than to accept the terms that your enemies offer before the conversation’s even begun,” Mr. Carlson said. “Because there’s really no way of winning.”

  He used the example of the government’s responses to COVID-19, such as mandating masking, lockdowns, and vaccines. Most people went along with leaders’ demands, he said.

  Those who resisted or questioned the policies were deemed “moral criminals—they’re outlaws,” he said.

  So they were censored, silenced.

  ‘Thought Crimes’

  On a June 7 podcast with English comedian Russell Brand, Mr. Carlson said he doesn’t know why he was fired suddenly by Fox News.

  But his questioning of whether the federal government has been honest about Jan. 6 widely is one of the speculated likely cause for his termination.

  For anyone wanting to explore alternative views on Jan. 6, “that conversation was literally banned,” he said at the Turning Point event. “It’s the guidelines of most social media companies that you can’t have that conversation.”

  But a country that doesn’t allow discussions about “the process of electing its leaders is not a democracy, by definition,” he said. “You can’t have a democracy without free speech. Period.”

  Meanwhile, serious crimes go unpunished, he said, such as defrauding investors of billions of dollars, or “burning down buildings, impoverishing people, starting totally counterproductive wars we can’t win that kill a lot of our citizens, leaving the border open so seven million people can walk across—those are not small things.”

  And “what are the crimes that are punished?” he asked. “Thought crimes. Thinking the wrong things. Having the wrong beliefs. Saying unapproved words.”

  And when words are deemed “wrong,” he’s realized, “those words are always true.”

  He warned against “the people who censor your words and thoughts.”

  He also warned against getting overwhelmed by reports that seem to be “the Mt. Everest of lunacy,” such as that men can give birth or breastfeed infants.

  TUCKER: “No one is punished for lying. People are only punished for telling the truth. What are the crimes that are punished? Thought crimes. Thinking the wrong thing. Having the wrong beliefs. Saying unapproved words.”

  pic.twitter.com/la2QnsvXqQ

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 16, 2023

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

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 23:00

• Detroit Police Commissioner Caught With Prostitute, Asked Arresting Officers To "Help Him Out"
  Detroit Police Commissioner Caught With Prostitute, Asked Arresting Officers To “Help Him Out”

  If you think corruption and crime is out of control in your city, just think: it could be worse. You could live in Detroit, where a member of the Detroit Police Board of Commissioners was recently caught soliciting prostitution. 

  And, like any good police commissioner, when caught in the act, he asked his brothers in blue to “help him out”, according to reporting by The New York Post. And credit to Detroit’s finest, because they didn’t let him go – nor did they cover the incident up. 

  The commissioner, Bryan Ferguson, who “represented District 1 for the DPBC and was the former chair of Detroit’s police oversight board” tendered his resignation on Thursday of last week in light of the news. He was found with the sex worker on Wednesday, the report says.

  In a prepared statement, he told The Detroit Free Press: “It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of Detroit in police oversight.”

  

  “After further consideration of the best interests of my family and the Board, I am choosing to resign as District 1 Police Commissioner effective immediately,” he continued, making no mention of the one resident that he was caught “servicing” the evening prior. 

  He was caught “committing a lewd act with a known sex worker” by undercover agents. When confronted by the police, he told them his position and asked them to “help him out”. 

  Police captain Jason Bates said: “At that time, Mr. Bryan Ferguson stepped out, identified himself as a Detroit police commissioner.” He added: “A title or position doesn’t make them above the law.”

  Ferguson’s rock solid defense, according to the report? That the allegations are a “big misunderstanding”. He added that he has “nothing to hide” and that the woman just “hopped into his truck”. 

  “This is rough. This is rough to tell. Because now I’m going to have to have this conversation with my family,” he added. He was issued a misdemeanor citation for indecent or obscene conduct involving a sex act with a prostitute, the report concludes. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 22:40

• Abominable RFK Jr. Anti-Semitism Accusation A Harbinger Of Things To Come
  Abominable RFK Jr. Anti-Semitism Accusation A Harbinger Of Things To Come

  Authored by Roger L. Simon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  It was sometime around 8 a.m. on July 15, the morning after I had interviewed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for our Presidential Roller Coaster 2024 series, when the following New York Post headline popped up on my iPhone:

  “RFK Jr. says COVID may have been ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Jews”

  What in the Sam Hill, I thought. This didn’t remotely compute with the man I had been talking with only hours earlier. This must be “yellow journalism.”

  

  It was.

  I knew it as soon as I read the first few graphs:

  “Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dished out wild COVID-19 conspiracy theories this week during a press event at an Upper East Side restaurant, claiming the bug was a genetically engineered bioweapon that may have been ‘ethnically targeted’ to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.

  “Kennedy floated the idea during a question-and-answer portion of raucous booze and fart-filled dinner at Tony’s Di Napoli on East 63rd Street.

  “‘COVID-19. There is an argument that it is ethnically targeted. COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately,’ Kennedy said. ‘COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.’

  “‘We don’t know whether it was deliberately targeted or not but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact,’ Kennedy hedged.”

  Hedged?

  That’s what the author, Jon Levine, wants us to believe, but I would imagine Kennedy, who has been researching medical matters for years and wrote that detailed book on the malfeasances of Dr. Anthony Fauci, is merely filling in something that has been known scientifically for a long time – that different ethnic groups are more prone to different diseases and therefore vulnerable in different ways.

  What Kennedy was clearly doing in this after-hours discussion that was supposed to be off the record (they never are) was warning of the dangerous ability of viruses to be used as bioweapons against various ethnicities – something that several countries have in all probability been working on for years or decades in clandestine manners.

  To claim that COVID-19 is the product of a cabal of Chinese and Jews is so ridiculous that it only speaks to what the author wants to believe or, more accurately, wants us to believe Kennedy meant.

  Which Chinese and which Jews? It’s hard to imagine since Israel was locked down to such a degree it made California look like Florida. Also, Israeli scientists were working around the clock to invent a successful vaccine but got nowhere. If they had been in on the original design, you would think they would have been able to do something, or at least have a leg up.

  The internet being what it is, this fake news accusation went around the world faster than Churchill’s famous line about the truth and the time it takes to put on your pants. The lie appeared almost immediately in numerous publications from the Daily Mail to the Daily Beast as if it had to be true that RFK Jr. was anti-Semitic.

  But Kennedy doesn’t need me to defend him. He’s doing a fine job himself, including demanding a retraction from the Post and an apology from Levine, in his Twitter feed.

  The insinuation by @nypost and others that, as as result of my quoting a peer-reviewed paper on bio-weapons, I am somehow antisemitic, is a disgusting fabrication. I understand the emotional pain that these inaccurate distortions and fabrications have caused to many Jews who recall the blood libels of poison wells and the deliberate spread of disease as the pretext for genocidal programs against their ancestors. My father and my uncles, John F. Kennedy and Senator Edward Kennedy, devoted enormous political energies during their careers to supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism. I intend to spend my political career making those family causes my priority.

  I will fight relentlessly alongside my Jewish brothers and sisters and friends against Jew-hatred and the demonization of Israel. I have just recorded an interview with @RabbiShmuley, whom the same New York Post just this month called, “the most famous Rabbi in America.” I have called upon the Biden Administration not to consummate a second Iran deal that would give that genocidal government a legitimized nuclear program. In the same interview, I called upon the Democratic Party to return to the strong, unconditional support of Israel that was the hallmark of the party under the leadership of my uncle and my father.

  Today I had a great conversation with Rabbi Shmuley on Judaism and anti-Semitism.

  He had this to say:

  “Two things bothered me about the reports I had read about what you had said at that dinner on the upper east side. I said number one, again, this perception that you’re anti-Semitic. I know you’re not. And in fact, I know precisely the opposite is true. I know that in your heart you feel a great closeness to the Jewish people, to the Jewish community, and to Israel. And the second thing that bothered me is, that you’re being portrayed as you said before, a crank, as a loony toon…but you’re brilliant. You know your facts.”

  I will continue to stand alongside my Jewish brothers and sisters. Here is an excerpt from my great conversation with @RabbiShmuley about the inaccurate distortion propagated by the @nypost pic.twitter.com/0b5KIQlvpM

  — Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) July 17, 2023

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

  So what’s actually going on here? This isn’t, in the end, really about anti-Semitism, real or imagined. It was just low-hanging fruit, as the “canary in the coal mine” often is, the first of many—a harbinger of many dastardly smears of the candidate to come.

  If there’s one thing the military-industrial complex (endless wars from Iraq to Ukraine) and the health care-industrial complex (Big Pharma, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, et al.) do not want, it’s a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presidency.

  Big Tech probably isn’t very keen on it, either.

  It would cost them all incalculable amounts of money, much of it courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer and a complaisant government.

  Most of all, the current leadership of the Democratic Party—bent on exploiting every so-called progressive policy, no matter how looney, for maximum gain and power—don’t want anyone bringing their party back to sanity, under the leadership of Mr. Kennedy or anyone else.

  Notable is that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is backing Joe Biden for reelection, not RFK Jr.

  And then there’s the CIA, whose antipathy for RFK Jr. should be obvious to all those with even a passing knowledge of the lives and deaths of his father and uncle who wanted that organization splintered in a thousand pieces and cast to the winds.

  In all, it’s no surprise then that the corporate media, in which we now must include the N.Y. Post of the increasingly untrustworthy Murdoch empire, is now the mouthpiece of anti-RFK Jr. propaganda. More and most probably worse will come.

  What we are looking at is what we might call the coming ‘The Plot Against Kennedy” after Lee Smith’s best-selling “The Plot Against the President,” which detailed the subversion of Donald J. Trump before and after his presidency by many of the same parties.

  The similarity between the treatment of Trump by corporate media that was always dishonest and is now, if anything, worse, and the beginnings of the treatment of RFK Jr. is all too obvious.

  My interview with the candidate, in which we discuss the anti-Semitism accusation and other matters, including, of course, the CIA, will appear shortly.

  Roger L. Simon’s new book—“American Refugees”—will be published by Encounter in September.

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

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 22:20

• 'Extremely Dangerous Heatwave' In Southwest US To Continue: NWS
  ‘Extremely Dangerous Heatwave’ In Southwest US To Continue: NWS

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

  A dangerous heatwave is continuing to affect the southern part of the United States, with temperatures expected to exceed 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) in multiple places this week.

  

  In a July 16 update, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned about an “extremely dangerous heat wave” that is affecting the southwest to continue in the region through at least the next weekend.

  Starting Monday, “dangerous heat” will begin building up in the Gulf Coast and southeast region again, with heat index readings of over 110 degrees Fahrenheit expected through Friday, NWS said.

  In some locations in the southwest—San Joaquin Valley, Mojave Desert, and Great Basin—the NWS predicts potential “all-time heat records.” Almost 100 million people are under NWS heat alerts.

  An “Excessive Heat Warning” has been issued for some regions in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas for Monday. Temperatures in Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas can range from “major” to “extreme,” the agency warned.

  A “major” warning indicates that the heat can affect anyone without adequate hydration or cooling. An “extreme” warning is a rare, potentially long-duration heat with little to no overnight relief.

  

  The NWS is advising people to “take the heat seriously” and avoid spending time outdoors.

  “Temperatures will reach levels that will pose a health risk, and be potentially deadly to anyone without adequate hydration or effective cooling,” it warned, adding that “heat is the leading weather-related killer in the U.S.”

  The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued an advisory for employees warning about heat exposure. It has advised workers to drink a cup of cool water once every 20 minutes; take rest breaks in a cool or shady location; and watch out for coworkers for signs of heat illnesses.

  Furthermore, the advisory asked people to “ease into work” as nearly three out of four health-related illnesses happen during the first week of work. New workers need to build up tolerance to the heat.

  While working outdoors, people should not work more than 20 percent of the shift allocation at full intensity, and must take frequent breaks, OSHA said.

  Heat Dome, Rising Temperatures

  The intense heatwave in the southwest is being blamed on a heat dome, which is created when a ridge of high pressure builds in a region and fails to move up for a week or more. The high pressure causes air to sink, which results in temperatures to rise. As the air is unable to escape the dome, temperatures keep warming, even to dangerous levels.

  In a July 17 update, the NWS blamed the expected “near-record temperatures” for each day this week on “a strong and persistent high-pressure system.”

  The hottest place on earth, California’s Death Valley, recently saw record temperatures. On Sunday, the Furnace Creek region of Death Valley saw temperatures hit 126 degrees Fahrenheit (52 degrees Celsius), a record for July 16, according to NWS Las Vegas.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 21:40

• Netanyahu Ejects Jewish Likud Member For Cheering Holocaust Toll On European Jews
  Netanyahu Ejects Jewish Likud Member For Cheering Holocaust Toll On European Jews

  In an incident that highlights ethnic tensions among Israel’s Jews, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered a prominent Likud Party member ejected after the Jewish activist was recorded declaring his pleasure over the Holocaust’s toll on European Jews — and wishing for another round. 

  Itzik Zarka’s outburst came as he confronted protesters opposed to the right-wing Likud Party’s effort to overhaul the judiciary system. Spitting and cursing at the protesters, Zarka said, “Ashkenazim, whores, may you burn in hell. I am proud of the six million that were burned, I wish that another six million would be burned.” 

  #Israel : “I am proud of the six million that were burned, I wish that another six million would be burned,” – Likud activist itzik Zarka shouted at anti-government protesters on Saturday- prompting calls for him to be removed from party
  pic.twitter.com/ddpiRCRmkI

  — sebastian usher (@sebusher) July 16, 2023

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  By addressing the protesters as “Ashkenazim,” Zarka cast the political dispute as an ethnic one, by drawing an aggressive distinction between Israel’s Ashkenazi Jews — those of European descent — from the Mizrahim, whose lineage is Middle Eastern.      

  “The vast majority of the country’s founding left-wing elite was Ashkenazi...and enacted discriminatory policies that disadvantaged Mizrahim, particularly in the country’s early decades,” explains the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “Correspondingly, Mizrahi voters have long formed a key part of the right-wing Likud’s base, while the core of the country’s shrinking left has historically been Ashkenazi.” Mizrahim comprise about half of Israel’s Jews. 

  That was more to Zarka’s vitriol. “Leftists are traitors, you are the cancer of the country,” he said. “The black flags [symbols adopted by judicial-reform protesters] are your shrouds. Your legs should be broken with batons, you should be kneecapped. That way you will not go to any demonstration at all.” 

  

  The outburst by Zarka — who has long played a starring role at Likud campaign events — drew swift condemnation from Jewish conservatives, chief among them, Netanyahu. “We will not tolerate such disgraceful behavior in the Likud movement,” he said in a statement announcing his order of Zarka’s banishment. 

  On Facebook, Zarka apologized for his tirade, claiming he’d been “attacked by 80-100 people with severe violence…It came out of frustration, resentment… I should not have said that disgusting statement.” His wife denied that he had been ousted, but the Likud Party confirmed it. 

  Lauding the Holocaust or questioning its purported scale is punishable in Israel by up to five years in prison.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 21:20

• Pentagon Intel Chief Admits No Weapon Will Be "Holy Grail" For Ukrainian Breakthrough
  Pentagon Intel Chief Admits No Weapon Will Be “Holy Grail” For Ukrainian Breakthrough

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  A senior Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) official has described the war in Ukraine as a “stalemate” and said none of the weapons the US and NATO are providing will help Ukrainian forces “break through” in their counteroffensive.

  “Certainly we are at a bit of a stalemate,” DIA Chief of Staff John Kirchhofer said at a conference on Thursday, according to Bloomberg. “One of the things that the Russian leadership believes is that they can outlast the support of the West.”

  When realism steps back in:

  “At a bit of a stalemate”

  About NATO’s heavy weapons, “None of these, unfortunately, are the holy grail that Ukraine is looking for that I think will allow them in the near-term to break through”

  -John Kirchhofer, US Defense Intelligence Agency pic.twitter.com/3AGQ2Y5bCj

  — Richard (@ricwe123) July 15, 2023

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

  Kirchhofer listed some of the weapons NATO recently began providing, including US cluster bombs and British Storm Shadow missiles.

  “None of these unfortunately, are the holy grail that Ukrainians looking for that will allow them to break through,” he said.

  Ukrainian forces have struggled to make headway since launching their counteroffensive at the beginning of June. US and European officials told The New York Times in a report published Saturday that 20% of all of Ukraine’s weaponry deployed to the battlefield was damaged or destroyed during the first two weeks of the counteroffensive.

  The officials said that the rate of losses dropped to 10% in the ensuing weeks as Ukrainian forces were approaching Russian minefields more cautiously. The officials did not offer figures on how many Ukrainian lives have been expended in the assault as Kyiv is keeping a tight lid on the number of casualties.

  

  Leading up to the counteroffensive, the Discord leaks and media reports revealed that the US did not expect Ukraine to regain any significant territory.

  But the Biden administration pushed for the assault anyway as it is opposed to the idea of a ceasefire.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 21:00

• Two Charts Show Consumers Worldwide Demand Teslas
  Two Charts Show Consumers Worldwide Demand Teslas

  Dozens of US states and countries across Europe and elsewhere are spearheading initiatives to ban new car sales with internal combustion engines by the early 2030s. As a result of the imminent demise of gas and diesel-powered cars, there has been a significant shift in consumer demand towards ‘zero-emission’ electric vehicles. A new study identified Tesla Inc. as one of the world’s most popular carmakers among consumers.  

  Auto Trader published a new study analyzing Google search data for over 200 car brands in over 180 countries to find what cars consumers desire the most. The results should give Tesla’s Elon Musk something to cheer about: 

  Tesla came out as the car brand people are looking to buy the most across the world, topping the tables as the most Googled car for sale in 39 countries. It came first in the USA (in 25 of the 50 states, see appendix below), as well as Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Australia, UAE and Scandinavia.

  Tesla dominates the global car internet search rankings.

  

  In the US, Tesla leads, but Jeep follows closely in the second spot.

  

  According to Auto Trader’s data, Tesla appears to be winning in the EV price war that it played a significant role in initiating earlier this year.

  We pointed out in late January, “Tesla ‘Weaponizes’ Price-Cuts To Crush EV Competition.” Tesla’s move to discount some vehicles by as much as 20% enabled buyers to qualify for government tax incentives by putting the vehicles under a $55,000 cap. 

  Second-quarter sales data from Tesla shows a better-than-expected 10% increase because of a combination of price cuts and government incentives. That may be why Tesla is the most popular automaker searched in the US. And in China, EV price cuts have made Tesla one of the most popular EV car brands.   

  

  In May, The Driven, an Australian auto blog, reported the company’s Model Y vehicle surpassed the Toyota Corolla as the best-selling car in the world. 

  Also, Tesla’s charging standard has a strong possibility of becoming the standard in North America. 

  And CNBC’s Jim Cramer put his endorsement behind Ford’s EV pickup truck. 

  While i am a huge believer in everything Musk save politics, i thing the F-150Lightning has more going for it than the Cybertruck… more later today https://t.co/sDIQfKagZP

  — Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) July 17, 2023

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

  We’re all aware of Cramer’s ‘kiss of death’. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 20:40

• Affordable Diabetes Drug Reduces Long-COVID Risk By 41 Percent: Study
  Affordable Diabetes Drug Reduces Long-COVID Risk By 41 Percent: Study

  Authored by Spring Lin via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Is there a way to prevent long COVID? A new study in the United States found that taking metformin, an affordable first-line Type 2 diabetes drug, shortly after diagnosis of COVID-19 can reduce the risk of developing long COVID by about 41 percent.

  

  The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Minnesota, and the paper was published in the international medical journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases in June.

  Long COVID refers to persistent discomfort for weeks or months after being infected with COVID-19. Common symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath, cognitive impairment, headache, chest pain, and joint pain, among others, which affect daily life.

  Through remote recruitment, the researchers screened 1,126 participants who agreed to long-term follow-up. They were overweight and obese people aged 30 to 85, had symptoms of COVID-19 infection for fewer than seven days, tested positive for COVID within three days of trial enrollment, and had no previous known SARS-CoV-2 infection.

  In this randomized trial, about half of the participants took metformin, and the other half took a placebo. They were also randomly assigned to receive either ivermectin, fluvoxamine, or placebo.

  After 300 days of follow-up, 10.4 percent of participants who took the placebo were diagnosed with long COVID, while 6.3 percent who took metformin were also diagnosed.

  The results of the study showed that taking metformin reduced the risk of developing long COVID by 41 percent. In subjects who took metformin within three days of symptom onset, the risk of developing long COVID was reduced by 63 percent.

  The study also proved that taking metformin reduced the risk of developing long COVID in people infected during the peak period of the three SARS-CoV-2 variants, Alpha, Delta, and Omicron.

  However, the study found that taking ivermectin or fluvoxamine showed no signs of protection against long COVID.

  Metformin, originally developed from the French lilac (Galega officinalis), is inexpensive and has no significant side effects. For decades, it has been the drug of choice for Type 2 diabetes treatment worldwide.

  Researchers believe metformin could be used as a therapeutic drug for outpatients infected with COVID-19. It has the merits of proven clinical efficacy, is available all over the world at a low cost, and is safe to use.

  Read more here…

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

• Biden Admin Touts "Moral Authority" Untarnished As Media Highlights Cluster Bombs Are Indiscriminate Killers
  Biden Admin Touts “Moral Authority” Untarnished As Media Highlights Cluster Bombs Are Indiscriminate Killers

  US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has once again made the Sunday news show rounds with the purpose of defending the administration in the wake of Biden’s controversial approval of cluster munitions for Ukraine. Initial shipments of thousands of cluster bombs have already been received by Kiev, according to reports.

  Speaking to NBC News, Sullivan rejected the notion that Washington is losing “moral authority” in providing the weapon system which is banned by more than 120 countries due to its indiscriminate nature and higher chance that it will kill civilians, possibly even for years to come (given unexploded bomblets often remain in the ground).

  

  Sullivan with a straight face defended the supposedly untarnished “moral authority” of America, based on the mere fact of supporting Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

  “Our moral authority and Ukraine’s moral authority in this conflict comes from the fact that we are supporting a country under brutal, vicious attack by its neighbor with missiles and bombs raining down on its cities, killing its civilians, destroying its schools, its churches, its hospitals,” Sullivan told host Chuck Todd. 

  “And the idea that providing Ukraine with a weapon in order for them to be able to defend their homeland, protect their civilians is somehow a challenge to our moral authority, I find questionable.”

  Watch the exchange below:

  President Biden has meanwhile admitted that a prime factor in the decision to provide cluster munitions arose from severe artillery shortages, both in Pentagon stockpiles and within the Ukrainian arsenal. But the US has plenty of cluster bombs, which have been stockpiled for decades. 

  Another interesting angle to the interview is that Sullivan has once again resurrected the old Russiagate-related talking points to preemptively smear whichever GOP candidate for 2024 emerges – and it’s looking increasingly likely it’ll be Trump. Sullivan told NBC that Putin can’t ‘bet’ on the 2024 US presidential election to further his aims. 

  Meanwhile, for documentation of America’s recent ‘dark history’ of cluster munition use on foreign battlefields…

  Just a reminder US soldiers have been killed by US cluster bomblets that basically created a minefield on the ground in Iraq. But don’t worry when we give them to Ukraine they will be careful. https://t.co/0oxK5t6LeR

  — Rachael (@Rachael_wv) July 8, 2023

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

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 20:00

• Kari Lake Files New Election Appeal To The Arizona Supreme Court
  Kari Lake Files New Election Appeal To The Arizona Supreme Court

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

  Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake filed an appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court in her election case as she claimed that 8,000 unreadable ballots were not configured properly during last year’s midterms.

  

  In an appeal filed (pdf) with the state’s highest court, Ms. Lake alleged that the 8,000 ballots were either “duplicated or counted.” What’s more, they were also unreadable, her team contended.

  “The ballot-on-demand printer investigation report by former Chief Justice McGregor (‘the McGregor Report’) found that ‘four printers randomly printed one or a few ‘fit to page’ ballots in the middle of printing a batch of ballots … [n]one of the technical people with whom we spoke could explain how or why that error occurred,’” said the appeal.

  An expert for Mrs. Lake, a former Fox affiliate anchor, had “testified this ‘error’ could only result from malware or remote access and resulted in at least 8,000 misconfigured ballots, the vast majority of which were neither duplicated nor counted,” it added.

  The defendants in the case, including Maricopa County officials and the Arizona secretary of state’s office, have not issued a public response or filing in the case.

  Courts Have Little Appetite

  While a number of her legal challenges have been rejected by state courts, Ms. Lake has said she would take her lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court if needed, although the top court has shown little appetite to take up election challenges since late 2020.

  “This is, I believe, our best hope to get reform in our elections: my case,” she said in a recent interview.  “I believe it’s the greatest election case. We have the truth on our side. We have tons of evidence. Yes, we haven’t had a judge rule in our favor. But it takes a lot of courage to make the right ruling on this case.”

  Ms. Lake has never conceded the race to Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs, who was sworn into office earlier this year. At the same time, Ms. Lake has signaled in media interviews that she may be exploring a run for the U.S. Senate seat that is currently held by former Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) in what could be a three-way race between Ms. Lake, Ms. Sinema, and Rep. Reuben Gallego (D-Ariz.).

  Her challenge comes as another court, in a separate, case ordered Ms. Lake’s and former Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem’s teams to pay $122,200 in sanctions. U.S. District Judge John Tuchi in Phoenix wrote that former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz also has to pay about 10 percent of that fine because, according to Mr. Tuchi, Mr. Dershowitz signed off on a number of legal documents in the case.

  “Failing to impose meaningful sanctions here might very well encourage others to follow suit by lending their credibility to documents filed in court without facing any real consequence if their certifications prove hollow or incomplete,” Mr. Tuchi wrote in his ruling. “The need for general deterrence is therefore significant.”

  Mr. Dershowitz indicated to the Arizona Republic that he would appeal the order.

  Ms. Lake and Mr. Finchem sued former Arizona Secretary of State Ms. Hobbs and officials in Maricopa and Pima counties in April 2022, in a bid to change the state and counties’ voting procedures. Mr. Tuchi dismissed the lawsuit in August. The Maricopa County officials named as defendants sought sanctions against Ms. Lake for trying to sow doubts about the then-upcoming 2022 elections.

  Defamation Lawsuit

  It comes also as Stephen Richer, the Maricopa County recorder, filed a defamation lawsuit at the end of June against Ms. Lake, saying that he’s faced “violent vitriol and other dire consequences” because of “lies” spread by her, including death threats and the loss of friendships.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 19:40

• Disney Beclowns Itself After Calling Leaked Snow White Pics 'Fake'
  Disney Beclowns Itself After Calling Leaked Snow White Pics ‘Fake’

  Disney has once again beclowned itself, after a photo emerged of Snow White’s new ‘accomplices’ – just one of whom could even be considered dwarfs – which the company initially called “fake.”

  

  On Friday, the Daily Mail posted that conservatives online were losing their minds over a photo of the seven… not dwarfs, but ‘magical creatures,’ so to ‘avoid reinforcing stereotypes’ after “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage called it a “fucking backwards story” last year.

  “I was a little taken aback when they [Disney] were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, but you’re still telling the story of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs,” Dinklage said on Mark Maron’s “WTF” podcast. “It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox? I guess I’m not loud enough.'”

  Meet the cast of Disney’s new woke Snow White film. Snow White is Columbian now and the 7 dwarves look more like the 6 normal sized hipster pedos and 1 dwarf from Portland. Snow White no longer has “skin white as snow”. Absolutely ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/DKZInYty89

  — Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) July 14, 2023

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

  In response to the leaked picture, Disney originally told the Daily Beast: “The photos are fake and not from our production. We are currently trying to have the Daily Mail issue a correction.”

  Except, they weren’t fake.

  Disney then walked back their statement, verifying that the photos were indeed from their woke production, but weren’t official.

  “Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that… the studio later said the photos were from the production but were not official photos,” added the Beast.

  Disney said it changed the dwarfs to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film” in a statement to Hollywood Reporter. “[W]e are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.”

  Disney shared in January 2022 that the “seven dwarfs” would be referred to as “magical creatures” to “avoid reinforcing stereotypes” after criticism of the original depictions by “Game of Thrones” actor Peter Dinklage, who has dwarfism. -Fox News

  Once again, Dinsey comes up short.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 19:20

• Trump Tells Packed House: Giving Up 'Easy' Life Was Worth It
  Trump Tells Packed House: Giving Up ‘Easy’ Life Was Worth It

  Authored by Janice Hisle via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Although he has faced investigations and persecution since becoming a politician in 2015, former President Donald Trump declared that, yes, he would do it all over again “without even a question.”

  

  That was Mr. Trump’s response when a successful businessman wondered whether he regretted leaving behind a cushy life as a billionaire real-estate mogul.

  Mr. Trump recounted that conversation for a standing-room-only crowd at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

  During his July 15 speech, Mr. Trump described his two recent indictment ordeals and told the audience: “I had a nice, easy life. What I do for you, you have no idea.”

  The crowd of about 6,000 people sprang to its feet, cheering and applauding.

  

  Still, Mr. Trump said the reward has been worth the cost. His presidency produced a stronger American economy, a more secure U.S. border, and more respect for the United States on the world stage, he said.

  “And more importantly, now we’re going to do it again. And we’re going to do it even better,” the frontrunner for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination said.

  Mr. Trump said he considers his supporters to be partners in a shared mission: “Side by side, we’re going to fight and we’re going to win.”

  He was the main draw for the first day of the two-day Turning Point Action Conference, which promotes conservative politics. The goal is to provide knowledge and resources so attendees can “make an impact in their communities ahead of the 2024 election,” organizers say.

  Mr. Trump told the audience:  “You are the ones who are going to take back America; you’re the ones who are going to Make America Great Again,” his famous campaign slogan.

  Speech Clinched Voter’s Decision

  After attending Mr. Trump’s speech, Jeffrey Antous of Tarpon Springs, Florida, said that hearing Mr. Trump express such resolve–and witnessing extraordinary enthusiasm from the crowd–convinced him that Mr. Trump is the right choice for president in the 2024 election.

  Mr. Antous, who has been involved in politics since the 1970s, told The Epoch Times: “Because of his experience and his confidence, he’ll be able to walk back into the presidency and start repairing the damage that has been done over the past two and a half years.”

  Since Democrat President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the nation’s energy prices, housing costs and inflation rates have climbed; illegal immigration and other problems have surged.

  Mr. Trump and many of his supporters blame Mr. Biden’s policies, while Mr. Biden claims that his “Bidenomics” approach is improving conditions for minorities.

  Meanwhile, Mr. Trump, who has already been indicted on state business records charges in New York and federal classified records charges in Florida, could soon face accusations in Georgia, too.

  There, his lawyers have asked a court to put the brakes on a prosecutor who has been probing Mr. Trump’s dispute of Mr. Biden’s 2020 election win. In addition, a protest of the 2020 election, which turned violent at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, could produce more federal charges against Mr. Trump.

  Mr. Trump has vowed to continue his quest for the presidency regardless of those cases; he says he has gained support from people who agree with his contention that the prosecutions are politically motivated.

  Prosecutors deny that allegation, and Mr. Biden denies suggesting whether federal charges should be brought against Mr. Trump, his chief political rival.

  ‘Learning Curve’ Cited

  Mr. Trump’s nearest Republican challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, could be a great president because he’s “brilliant,” Mr. Antous said.

  But now is not the time because Mr. DeSantis would need to learn the intricacies of Washington politics. “There’s no ‘learning curve’ for Donald Trump; he already knows what to do,” Mr. Antous said.

  At the outset of Mr. Trump’s candidacy, Mr. Antous was not his fan. But Mr. Antous said he learned to respect Mr. Trump for his ability to analyze situations and “fix things–like this,” he said, snapping his fingers to signify speed.

  Mr. Antous said he feels confident Mr. Trump can follow through on his pledge to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Mr. Antous said he is concerned about Mr. Biden’s recent order to prepare 3,000 U.S. reserve troops to be ready to deploy to Europe.

  American parents “should not have to worry that their child will be sent to die” there, Mr. Trump told the Turning Point audience, asserting that he would broker a peace deal that would be fair to both Ukraine and Russia.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 19:00

• China, Russia Hold Major Naval Drills Mirroring Recent US-Japan Activity
  China, Russia Hold Major Naval Drills Mirroring Recent US-Japan Activity

  China and Russia are ‘answering’ recent US-Japan drills with provocative military exercises of their own in regional waters.

  On Sunday the US, South Korea and Japan conducted joint naval missile defense exercises chiefly aimed at North Korea’s latest missile threats, which include the launch of an ICBM days ago. Pyongyang called the Wednesday launch off its east coast a “strong practical warning” to enemies. But Japan’s closer defense coordination with Washington has also put Beijing on notice. China’s defense ministry over the weekend confirmed that PLA naval vessels have set sail in preparation for new exercises with Russia. 

  This includes Beijing sending five Chinese warships, including a guided-missile destroyer, to participate in the new exercises with Russian forces – but without specifying an exact location for the drills. 

  

  Last month both countries conducted joint air patrol over the Seas of Japan and East China, demonstrating their deepened ties, also amid the war in Ukraine which Beijing has yet to outright condemn, to the frustration of the West.

  China has considered itself ‘neutral’ concerning the Ukraine conflict while at the same time highlighting the dangers of NATO expansion east. For this reason Washington has accused it of quietly supporting Moscow.

  Bloomberg has meanwhile cited US sanctions and punitive measures aimed at both Beijing and Moscow as a chief motivator to grow militarily closer. 

  “China and the armed forces of Russian President Vladimir Putin conducted six joint military exercises together last year, the most in data going back two decades,” the publication notes.

  “That accounted for two-thirds of all of China’s drills with foreign militaries in 2022, according to data compiled by the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the U.S. National Defense University (NDU).”

  But Russia and China have conducted naval drills in other global hotspots as well, in the last months holding naval exercises with Iran in the Persian Gulf region.

  The Chinese naval flotilla warships have set sail!

  The China-Russia joint military drills this time will deepen the two militaries’ strategic coordination, and enhance their ability to jointly deal with various security threats. pic.twitter.com/0etCziT9Xq

  — Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) July 15, 2023

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

  Moscow has also over the course of the Ukraine war deepened its ties with the Islamic Republic, and even established an Iranian drone manufacturing plant on its soil in southern Russia. President Putin has in the face of the West’s sanctions and efforts to impose total isolation turned to ‘pariah’ states like Iran to keep up its military tech needs, such as in the areas of drones and missiles. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 18:40

• Homeless RV Sewage Is Going Into The Ocean In Southern California
  Homeless RV Sewage Is Going Into The Ocean In Southern California

  Authored by Sophie Li via The Epoch Times,

  “Nine thousand gallons [of sewage] a month are going into the wastewater system. That’s the storm drain system, not the sewer. The storm drain carries it straight to Santa Monica Bay,” said Barry Coe, regarding the monthly wastewater of the 600 recreational vehicles (RV) that are being used by homeless persons in the Harbor Gateway area—located in the far southern part of Los Angeles—where he lives.

  According to the 2023 point-in-time count released last month by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, there are over 9,280 homeless people living in about 6,800 RVs in Los Angeles County.

  Mr. Coe, who formerly ran an RV business, estimates those numbers translate to nearly 102,000 gallons, or about the volume of 11 large U-Haul trucks of sewage each month.

  And all of that, he said, is being released into storm drains and directly contaminating the ocean and beaches, he said in a recent interview on EpochTV’s “California Insider.”

  “I’m not talking about just going into the water. You got to remember the water percolates into the sand, you take a walk on the beach, you’re going to get this stuff on your body, if there’s hazardous materials or bacteria,” he said.

  Normally, RV service providers who also collect sewage from rented-out RVs and mobile toilets are required to obtain a license to handle wastewater, and sewage is required to be dumped at a licensed facility. But the homeless that park in such RVs along urban streets are not following such regulations.

  

  A homeless encampment in the Venice area of Los Angeles on Jan. 27, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

  It is common for local health departments to close beaches following rainstorms as litter, trash, chemicals, and debris are washed from storm drains into the ocean.

  However, the prolonged rainy season and the excessive amount of water pollution have led to more beaches in L.A. County closing for longer periods this year including Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Mothers Beach in Marina del Rey, and over a dozen others, according to the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health.

  The explosion of motorhomes in the city not only leads to water pollution but is also affecting residents’ well-being and living quality, Mr. Coe said. Residents may find RVs at no-parking zones that block regular traffic but can’t get them towed away due to cities’ contracts with towing companies regarding hazardous material.

  Additionally, he said that a majority of the motorhomes are inoperable and can only serve as a living space.

  “They’re not functioning so they become shelter, but they’re on the street,” he said.

  “It puts them in a gray area of the law in regard to camping … so it’s a very difficult situation to address.”

  Mr. Coe additionally said, some are renting out the motorhomes to those who cannot afford regular housing and are committing various crimes in the process.

  “There are people that are buying these things from a wrecking yard … and they tow them out to the streets, and they control the turf,” he said.

  “If you don’t pay the rent or the protection money, they will burn you out.”

  Solution

  According to Mr. Coe, officials need to target its growing homelessness crisis at its root—by dealing with drug and mental health issues—instead of focusing on temporary or permanent housing.

  “Because maybe that’s how they got there in the first place. And we shouldn’t be doing it in reverse,” he said.

  He said that many homeless people have compelling life stories—which people have compassion for—but it is important not to be blinded by emotions regarding the issue.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 18:20

• BofA And Others Share Records With FBI Without A Warrant "All The Time", Director Wray Admits
  BofA And Others Share Records With FBI Without A Warrant “All The Time”, Director Wray Admits

  Among the doublespeak and other bombshells disclosed by FBI Director Christopher Wray during testimony to the House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing, one particularly disturbing detail he released was that the FBI “regularly obtains innocent Americans’ personal data from companies with the intent of potentially charging them with crimes,” the Federalist reported last week.

  At a time when many Americans are wondering why they should stick with Elon Musk at Twitter instead of joining Mark Zuckerberg over at the newly minted Threads, here’s one potential reason. 

  Wray told Congress that Bank of America provided them with a “huge list” of financial records for Americans who used B of A cards around the capitol on January 6th. That’s right: no warrants, no court hearings, just blindly turning over records when the FBI asks. 

  Republican Rep. Thomas Massie asked Wray at the hearing: “George Hill, former FBI supervisory intelligence analyst in the Boston field office, told us that the Bank of America, with no legal process, gave to the FBI gun purchase records with no geographical boundaries for anybody that was a Bank of America customer. Is that true?”

  To which Wray replied: “A number of business community partners all the time, including financial institutions, share information with us about possible criminal activity, and my understanding is that that’s fully lawful.”

  “Those who had ever purchased a firearm with a Bank of America card” were highlighted at the top of the list, the report says. Wray said the data was “shared with field offices for information only”. 

  

  “My understanding is that that’s a fully lawful process,” he told Congress. The FBI’s D.C. field office, under scrutiny by Republicans, took the data and then distributed it to the agency’s nationwide offices, according to the report.

  Massie questioned Wray: “Was there a warrant involved?”

  To which, Wray replied: “Again, my understanding is that the institution in question shared information with us, as happens all the time.”

  Trying to unearth whether the information was voluntarily just handed over or requested, Massie followed up, asking:  “Did you request the information?”

  Wray told him: “I can’t speak to the specifics.” 

  But then Massie revealed that an email showed the FBI “did give the search queries to Bank of America”. He asked Wray: “Do you believe there’s any limitation on your ability to obtain gun purchase data or purchase information for people who aren’t suspects from banks without a warrant?”

  Wray declined to answer in full, stating: “What I will tell you is that my understanding is that the process by which we receive information from business community partners across a wide variety of industries, including financial institutions, sharing information with us about possible criminal activity is something that is fully lawful under current federal law.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 18:00

• Will BRICS Implement A Gold Backed Currency In August?
  Will BRICS Implement A Gold Backed Currency In August?

  By Jan Nieuwenhuijs of Gainesville Coins

  Aside from speculation there hasn’t been official confirmation by any BRICS nations that they will either issue a new currency backed by gold or peg their currencies to gold anytime soon. Although it’s likely discussions are going on among BRICS nations to create a new currency, no agreement has been reached and policy makers are denying the new currency is soon to be launched. Current talk about a new currency—suggesting a gold standard will be implemented in August at the next BRICS summit—should be treated with skepticism.

  

  Attention for alliances such as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) has increased since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, the West seized Russia’s dollar assets, and global tensions reached a crescendo. The BRICS, among other countries, have an interest in de-dollarization and have become more vocal about it, though easier said than done.

  No Confirmation for New BRICS Currency

  Based on an item by Russian news agency RT, broadcasted July 7, 2023, several gold commentators became confident that the BRICS will announce a gold standard this August at their next summit in South Africa. In my view, there is a lack of proof for this conclusion.

  Let us examine on which grounds RT communicated a gold backed currency is to be introduced by the BRICS—widely interpreted as a new gold standard. Unfortunately, there is not one official BRICS website to verify what is being stated on Russian news outlets, financial blogs, and Twitter. For every summit a new website is launched. On the BRICS 2023 site I can’t find confirmation of a new currency so we will have to evaluate the source provided by RT.

  RT is banned in the West but has several accounts on Twitter. RT India shared a tweet on July 7 that reads: “BRICS Plans to Introduce New Gold-Backed Currency.” Primarily this tweet is what caused a stir about a BRICS gold standard.

  #BRICS Plans to Introduce New Gold-Backed Currency

  The proposed gold-backed currency will contrast with the credit-backed US dollar, with the decision coming a month ahead of the bloc’s summit in Johannesburg.

  The growing initiative has more and more nations lining up to join… pic.twitter.com/pCF6y9xvGY

  — RT_India (@RT_India_news) July 7, 2023

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

  In the video that accompanies the tweet, the source of RT India appears to be a tweet from July 3 by the Russian Embassy in Kenya. From scrolling through all tweets by the Russian Embassy in Kenya one would think this is an account of an activist, not an embassy. Furthermore, the screenshot of the tweet from the Russian Embassy shown by RT India in their video is edited! The actual tweet, which can be seen below, includes a link to an opinion editorial by US economist Joseph Sullivan for the website Foreign Policy, titled: “A BRICS Currency Could Shake the Dollar’s Dominance.” This article in Foreign Policy is the source of the Russian Embassy’s tweet; the source is not the Russian Embassy itself, which RT India wants you to believe.

  The BRICS countries are planning to introduce a new trading currency, which will be backed by gold.
  More and more counties recently express desire to join BRICS.https://t.co/lMKTd4FlnT

  — Russian Embassy in Kenya/Посольство России в Кении (@russembkenya) July 3, 2023

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

  Sullivan provides two hyperlinks to sources regarding Alexander Babakov, deputy chairman of Russia’s State Duma. According to Sullivan, Babakov has stated that Russia “is now spearheading the development of a new currency.”

  The first link from Sullivan brings us to an article on Coin Telegraph, which links to a piece on India TV, reporting on the Russia-India Business Forum 2023 that was held on March 29 and 30. From India TV (March 30):

  Babakov stressed that both nations should work to obtain a new medium for payment and added digital payment could be the “most promising” and “most viable” option for both nations. “New Delhi, Moscow should institute a new economic association with a new shared currency, which could be a digital ruble or the Indian rupee,” said Babakov.

  “Our goal should be focused on writing new rules in the financial sphere in order to enable the use of an already common currency,” he stressed.

  “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a digital ruble, a digital rupee, a digital yuan, or some other currency. But this currency must follow the laws of our respective nations,” added the top Russian official. 

  There is not a word on gold in the article by India TV.

  The second link from Sullivan brings us to the India Times that writes (April 4):

  According to reports quoting Russian lawmaker Alexander Babakov, the BRICS nations are in the process of creating a new medium for payments—established on a strategy that “does not defend the dollar or euro.” 

  Babakov, who is the deputy Chairman of Russia’s State Duma, reportedly indicated that the new currency would be secured by gold and other commodities such as rare-earth elements.

  The India Times states that “reportedly” a new currency will be established secured by gold and other commodities, though there is no source provided. The RT trail ends there. Any news based on the tweet by RT India is overblown.

  Other websites, such as Al Mayadeen and TeleSUR, offer more information about what Babakov has said on the Russia-India Business Forum. From Al Mayadeen (March 30):

  “The transition to settlements in national currencies is the first step. The next one is to provide the circulation of digital or any other form of a fundamentally new currency in the nearest future. I think that at the BRICS [leaders’ summit], the readiness to realize this project will be announced, such works are underway,” Babakov said on the sidelines of the Russian-Indian … Forum.

  Babakov further did not dismiss the possibility of the formation of a single BRICS currency. According to him, the currency would be secured not just by gold, but also by other groups of products, including rare-earth elements of the soil.

  What Babakov said on the sidelines of the forum doesn’t sound like the BRICS will implement a gold standard at the next summit in August. The first step is to trade in national currencies, then a new currency could be created, for which the “readiness to realize [it] … will be announced” at the next summit, Babakov thinks.

  Implementing this currency could be years away. One, thinking of announcing to start cooperating doesn’t mean much. Second, how Babakov describes the currency is vague and no other BRICS nation has supported his idea publicly. Babakov’s currency backed by gold and other commodities is impractical and will need readjustments. Third, a BRICS initiative for “strengthening … economic partnership” “to reduce dependence on the US dollar” was already discussed in 2012 and developments take time.

  Russian news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS also reported on Babakov’s remarks at the forum on March 30, 2023. From Ria Novosti (Google Translate):

  The BRICS countries are working on a new form of currency and can present ideas for its development at the summit of leaders of the association this year in South Africa, said Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Alexander Babakov.

  Presenting ideas is not the same as implementing a gold standard. Besides, we don’t know how much of this is propaganda. We need official sources from other BRICS members to jump conclusions.

  Conclusion

  Logically, the Russians advocate any alternative to the dollar as they are restricted from using the Western based international financial infrastructure. On the website of the Kremlin there is a statement from President Putin from June 22, 2022:

  We are exploring the possibility of creating an international reserve currency based on the basket of BRICS currencies.

  Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in May 2023:

  The idea of creating a common currency … is floating around and is being discussed. We also have proposals about using digital financial assets supported by real assets, for example gold – stablecoins.

  But what’s it going to be? A currency backed by commodities, a gold stable coin, or a reserve currency based on a basket of BRICS currencies? According to a video shared by the Hindustan Times, India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said, on July 3, 2023, none of the above:

  There is no idea for a BRICS currency. … Currencies to my mind will remain very much a national issue for a long time to come.

  Bloomberg reported on July 5:

  The New Development Bank, a financial institution created by the BRICS bloc of emerging markets, doesn’t have any immediate plans for the group to create a common currency, its vice president and chief financial officer said. 

  “The development of anything alternative is more a medium to long term ambition,” he said. “There is no suggestion right now to creates a BRICS currency.”

  I think it should be clear that neither the Russians nor the BRICS as a whole has a plan worked out for a new currency soon to be introduced, as opposed to what’s hyped in the media. Mr. Market didn’t believe the RT India item as the gold price didn’t budge when it was broadcasted.

  As per CFO of the New Development Bank, the BRICS are discussing a common currency for the long term, but I will believe it when its design is finished.

  The central banks of Brazil, South Africa, Russia, and India declined to comment on a common BRICS currency over email.

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

• As 'Threads' Continues To Face-Plant, House Judiciary Demands Answers Over Censorship
  As ‘Threads’ Continues To Face-Plant, House Judiciary Demands Answers Over Censorship

  After an initial surge of more than 100 downloads in five days, Meta’s Twitter rival, ‘threads,’ is imploding.

  

  Threads vs. Twitter (via Google Trends) pic.twitter.com/IUgKDejtNh

  — Breakout Point (@BreakoutPoint) July 16, 2023

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

  In fact, since we first noted their implosion three days ago – things have gotten worse for Zuck the cuck. As Mario Nawfal reports;

  Usage of the app falls drastically, faster than anyone expected:

  1) Daily Active Users dropped from a peak of 45 million when it launched on July 6 to 28 million on July 13. That’s approximately 38% lower.

  2) Time spent per user has tanked from 20 mins on July 7 to around 5 mins by July 11. That’s a 75% reduction in usage over 4 days!

  During the same period, Twitter metrics remained virtually unchanged. The exodus many feared yet again did not materialize.

  Read more by clicking into Mario’s tweet:

  🚨BREAKING: META’S TWITTER CLONE DYING A FAST DEATH

  Usage of the app falls drastically, faster than anyone expected:

  1) Daily Active Users dropped from a peak of 45 million when it launched on July 6 to 28 million on July 13. That’s approximately 38% lower.

  2) Time spent per… pic.twitter.com/1YsgKKp6fn

  — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) July 17, 2023

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

  Oh, and even the wokies are getting censored by the latest Twitter clone.

  This is glorious pic.twitter.com/43gFbe2ABL

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) July 16, 2023

  Which brings us to Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee – who just shot off a Monday letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking about possible censorship on Threads. 

  

  “Given that Meta has censored First Amendment-protected speech as a result of government agencies’ requests and demands in the past, the Committee is concerned about potential First Amendment violations that have occurred or will occur on the Threads platform,” wrote Committee chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH).

  “Indeed, Threads raises serious, specific concerns because it has been marketed as rival of Elon Musk’s Twitter, which has faced political persecution from the Biden Administration following Musk’s commitment to free speech,” the letter continues, referring to the House Weaponization of the Federal Government Subcommittee’s March report that found the Federal Trade Commission is aggressively harassing Twitter (via Just the News).

  The Republican-led committee subpoenaed Zuckerberg in February for documents related to content moderation and Meta’s conversation with the executive branch, and since then, Jordan said he has received more evidence showing that the federal government has colluded with social media companies to moderate online content.

  Threads already has more than 100 million users after launching earlier this month, according to Zuckerberg. –JTN

  Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Meta’s new app, Threads, has promised users a better experience than Twitter, but he is censoring users and offering no avenue for appeal. pic.twitter.com/kAHbKGFgI0

  — Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) July 6, 2023

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

  

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

   

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

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• "I Am The Regulator!": EU Commissioner Warns Social Media To Censor After French Riots
  “I Am The Regulator!”: EU Commissioner Warns Social Media To Censor After French Riots

  Authored by Robert Kogon via The Brownstone Institute,

  “L’Etat, c’est moi” – “I am the state” – Louis XIV is supposed to have said.

  And in a contemporary echo of that famous phrase, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton repeatedly stressed on Monday that “I am the regulator” when lambasting social media networks for “not having done enough” during the recent French riots and threatening them with sanctions, including even banishment, if they should remain similarly inactive after August 25.

  Not having done enough of what?

  

  Well, namely censorship: suppression of content that the European Commission deems to have been in some way or another harmful in the circumstances. Hence, the importance of the August 25 date. For August 25 will mark exactly four months since the European Commission officially designated 17 “Very Large Online Platforms” and two “Very Large Online Search Engines,” and from that date forward, per the below timeline, the designated entities will have to be in compliance with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which is designed precisely to “regulate” online speech.

  Breton made his remarks in conversation with the French public broadcaster France Info, noting that in the future the social media companies will have to be proactive in deleting content or face sanctions.

  “When there is hateful content,” he said, “content that calls, for example, for revolt, also that calls to kill – because we’ve seen that too, [from] individuals – …they will have the obligation to delete it instantly. If they don’t do it, they will be immediately sanctioned.”

  Breton did not give any specific examples of content calling for violence, much less murder.

  But, interestingly, when one of the interviewers repeatedly tried to point the finger at Twitter as one of the main offenders, Breton was quick to correct him: noting that the main offenders, per coverage in the French press, are rather TikTok and Snapchat. 

  Given the correspondence between the notably young demographics of the French rioters and the demographics of TikTok and Snapchat users, this is hardly surprising in fact. Moreover, the content that has been widely cited as circulating on TikTok and Snapchat – and sometimes indeed reproduced in the traditional French media itself (see here, for instance) – consists not so much of calls to violence, as video documentation of the violence that has occurred.

  This proliferation of videos of the French violence on social media and via messaging apps appears to be the real target of Breton’s wrath.

  Indeed, the Commissioner referred to it himself, even suggesting that platforms were using algorithms to make such material go viral – as if they would have to!

  The indulgence shown by Breton towards Twitter is also unsurprising, since many observers (including the present author) noticed videos of the French violence posted on Twitter quickly disappearing. This suggests that Twitter was indeed acting proactively to suppress the material in question.

  It can be wondered in passing what exactly is the justification for suppressing genuine documentation of the violence and destruction – this is, after all, a form of information, not “disinformation” – and whether its suppression will not in fact create a void that will be filled precisely by inauthentic “fake news.”

  (See, for example, this tweet on the burning of an “Alcazar” library in Marseille. A Twitter “Community Note” correctly points out that the embedded video is of a different building. But it fails to mention that a small municipal library of that name was in fact set on fire by rioters in Marseille.)

  Be that as it may, Breton noted that he had recently been to California to run “stress tests” with the American social media companies to ensure their preparedness for the DSA deadline, and he noted that he will go to China next week to discuss the same matter with TikTok. Consider the irony of this: an EU official traveling to China to ensure that a Chinese company is prepared to comply with a European censorship law!

  Breton also noted that during his visit to California, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that he was going to “hire one thousand people” – presumably to serve as human censors – in order to ensure Meta’s compliance with the EU rules.

  Nonetheless, the France Info journalists poured some cold water on Breton’s enthusiasm, noting that Meta does not even have any plans yet for rolling out its Twitter-alternative Threads in the European Union and wondering whether an excess of EU regulation might not be making some of the Big Tech companies “skittish.”

  In any case, Breton is not wrong that he or, at any rate, the European Commission as such is the regulator. For, speaking of Louis XIV, the DSA invests the Commission with what are, in effect, absolute powers to determine infractions of the DSA and apply sanctions in the case of non-compliance.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 07/17/2023 – 02:00

• The WHO Is A Real And Present Danger
  The WHO Is A Real And Present Danger

  Authored by David Bell via The Brownstone Institute,

  Our governments intend to transfer decisions over our health, families, and societal freedoms to the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), whenever he or she declares it necessary. The success of this transfer of power depends on public ignorance of its implications, and of the nature of the WHO itself and its recent pandemic policy reversals. When the public understands, then its leaders are more likely to act in their interests rather than against them.

  

  In late 2019, the WHO issued new recommendations for pandemic influenza. Influenza spreads by the same mechanism as Covid-19 (aerosols), with a similar mortality in most people. The WHO stated that it is “not recommended in any circumstances” to undertake contact tracing, quarantine of exposed individuals, entry and exit screening, and border closures. They envisioned that in a severe pandemic it may be necessary to close businesses for up to seven to ten days. 

  The WHO cautioned against strict measures because they would have minimal impact on the spread of an aerosolized respiratory virus while inevitably increasing poverty, especially harming low-income people. Poverty makes people die younger and is a major killer of babies in low-income countries.

  

  A few months later, the WHO advocated for everything they had previously advised against, to combat Covid-19. This reversal in their recommendations had the effect they had predicted; increasing poverty and shortening life expectancy, particularly amongst the world’s poorest and most vulnerable, while having minimal overall impact on virus spread. 

  While the WHO’s 2019 recommendations were based on the assessment of decades of knowledge by an expert panel, its Covid-19 lockdown recommendations were based solely on reported experience from one city in China. Their new source of knowledge had, a few weeks earlier, stated that the new virus had no human-to-human transmission. This was followed by apparent propaganda taken up by the world’s media of people dropping dead in the streets.

  It is vital to understand what drove this reversal of WHO policy, and to detail its harm. International public health priorities are currently being upended with the specific aim of allowing the WHO to do this again, harder and more frequently. In May 2024 our countries will vote to allow a single person to dictate border closures and quarantine, and require medical examinations and vaccination of their citizens. They will agree to censor those who protest. Our governments will undertake to make this individual’s recommendations regarding our rights to family life, work, and school effectively binding.

  In promoting lockdowns, the WHO was not only following China, but a group of powerful Pharma-related interests who have been pushing these approaches for over a decade. They have established public-private partnerships such as the Swiss-based CEPI, channeling taxpayer funding to promote their authoritarian approach to public health. In October 2019, a meeting called Event-201 was convened by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Economic Forum and Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, including the WHO, China CDC and others, to run simulations of such approaches for a hypothetical coronavirus outbreak. At this time, Covid-19 virus must already have been circulating well beyond China.

  Whilst establishing this influence over public health policy, Pharma and their private investors increasingly funded the WHO itself, now providing about 25 percent of its budget. This funding is ‘specified,’ meaning the funder decides how and where it is spent. Certain governments now also ‘specify’ most of their funding, leading to over 75 percent of the WHO’s activities being determined by the donor. Germany stands out as the second highest national donor after the USA, also being a major investor in BioNTech, Pfizer’s Covid-19 mRNA vaccine developer.

  Discarding basic immunology, the WHO then claimed in late 2020 that only vaccination could lead to high community immunity (‘herd immunity’) and became a major proponent of mass vaccination within an epidemic, aligning fully with its private sponsors. Under pressure for obviously lying, they then changed to a preference for vaccination – equally foolish as a general statement since many everyday viruses are obviously mild. While not based on evidence or expertise, this clearly serves a purpose.

  Despite there being a clearly identified subset of people at high Covid risk, vaccination-for-all was promoted by Pharma investors as a ‘way out’ of the lockdowns these same people had advocated for. The WHO’s incoherent Covid vax mantra – “No one is safe until all are safe” – is supposed to support this but logically implies that vaccination does not even protect the vaccinated.

  In Western countries the results of these policies are increasingly stark; rising inequality, closed businesses and rising young adult all-cause mortality. In low-income countries across Africa and Asia that the WHO once prioritized, its actions have been even more devastating. As predicted in early 2020, malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS are increasing, killing more people and at a far younger age than Covid-19. Over 100 million additional people face malnutrition, up to 10 million additional girls will endure child marriage and nightly rape, and millions more mothers will lose their infants due to the impacts of deeper poverty. UNICEF estimated nearly a quarter million added child deaths from lockdowns in South Asia in 2020 alone. The WHO did this – they stated that it would happen, then encouraged its implementation.

  Few gained from the Covid response, but those who did – particularly private and corporate funders of the WHO with large Pharma and software assets – gained massively. WHO employees and others working in global health also thrived, and are now securing lucrative careers as the agenda expands. As the old evidence-based public health is pushed aside, it is in the new public health of the software entrepreneurs and Pharma moguls that careers will be made.

  

  So, we have a problem. The WHO, ostensibly leading the show, is deeply conflicted through its private investors, whilst governed by an Assembly including powerful States hostile to human rights and democracy. Its staffing policies, based on country quotas and rules that promote retention rather than targeted recruitment, are not even designed to assure technical expertise. 

  The recent behavior of these staff – blind, dutiful compliance with the organization’s multiple nonsensical claims – must raise questions regarding their integrity and competency. The expanding pandemic industry has a massive financial war chest aimed at media and political sponsorship, and our politicians fear political oblivion should they oppose it.

  Pandemics are rare. In the past century, including Covid, the WHO estimates about one per generation. These cost fewer life-years during their time of spread than tuberculosis or cancer cost every year. No one can rationally claim we face an existential crisis, or that forfeiting human freedom to Pharma and private entrepreneurs is a legitimate public health response should we face one. Our democracies are being eroded through a massive amoral business deal, a structure designed to concentrate the wealth of the many in the hands of the few. Covid-19 proved the model works. 

  The only real question is whether, and how, this society-wrecking pandemic train can be stopped. The public health professions want careers and salaries, and will not intervene. They have proven that in previous manifestations of fascism. The public must educate themselves, and then refuse to comply. We can just hope some of our supposed leaders will step forward to help them.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 23:40

• Crimean Bridge Traffic Halted Due To "Emergency", Explosions Reported
  Crimean Bridge Traffic Halted Due To “Emergency”, Explosions Reported

  It’s deja vu all over again as various local news outlets report that traffic on the Russian-built Crimean Bridge – linking the Crimean peninsula to the Russian region of Krasnodar – was stopped due to an emergency.

  Traffic jam of cars trying to cross into Crimea pic.twitter.com/RbbHgep6V8

  — Dmitri Alperovitch (@DAlperovitch) July 17, 2023

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

  The head of the Crimea Sergey Aksyonov made the statement on his Telegram channel, but did not specify the nature of the incident:

  “Traffic was stopped on the Krymsky Bridge: an emergency occurred in the area of ​​the 145th support from the Krasnodar Territory. Law enforcement agencies and all responsible services are working. I spoke with the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Vitaly Gennadyevich Savelyev, measures are being taken to restore the situation. We keep in touch with colleagues from Krasnodar Territory,” Aksenov wrote.

  It was early in the morning and so there are few images available due to the darkness, but there are some video clips that reportedly of the scene:

  ⚡️Unverified video reportedly showing damage to the Crimean bridge now pic.twitter.com/mJAQknX1XE

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) July 17, 2023

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

  ⚡️Situation at the Kerch bridge, traffic is suspended pic.twitter.com/juBjrfGzBu

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) July 17, 2023

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

  ⚡️Ambulances now arriving at the Crimean bridge after explosions were heard.

  Reminder, traffic is blocked. pic.twitter.com/YnyPWPTii7

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) July 17, 2023

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

  ⚡️Video from the Crimean bridge moments ago after explosions were heard pic.twitter.com/GzhOUg4ecm

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) July 17, 2023

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

  The RBC-Ukraine news agency reported that explosions were heard on the bridge.

  ⚡️Smoke can be seen on the Kerch bridge now pic.twitter.com/irUipvdyXE

  — War Monitor (@WarMonitors) July 17, 2023

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

  Russia’s Grey Zone channel, a heavily followed Telegram channel affiliated with the Wagner mercenary group, reported that there were two strikes on the bridge at 03:04 a.m. and 03:20 a.m.

  The Wagner affiliated Gray Zone channel claims that AFU hit the Kerch Bridge two times pic.twitter.com/7JadFmtfuC

  — Giorgi Revishvili (@revishvilig) July 17, 2023

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

  There has been no official comment from Ukraine or Russia as yet.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 22:50

• China's Youth Unemployment Just Hit A New Record High As Q2 GDP Growth Disappoints
  China’s Youth Unemployment Just Hit A New Record High As Q2 GDP Growth Disappoints

  China’s economy lost momentum in the second quarter with GDP growing just 6.3%, well below the 7.1% expectation.

  The statistics bureau’s press briefing begins with its spokesman, Fu Linghui, proudly proclaimed that China’s economy improved in the first half despite the grim and complex international environment.

  However, bear in mind that the 6.3% YoY growth rate – already quite a bit less than economists estimated – is less impressive when you consider it compares to a quarter in 2022 when Shanghai was under lockdown and other cities faced severe Covid-related restrictions.

  The rest of the major macro data was more mixed (though with a downside bias):

  • China June Industrial Output Rises 4.4% Y/Y; Est. 2.5% – BEAT (and improved from prior month)

  • China June Retail Sales Rise 3.1% Y/Y; Est. 3.3% – MISS (and slowed from prior month)

  • China Jan.-June Fixed Investment Rises 3.8% Y/Y; Est. 3.4% – BEAT (but slowed significantly)

  • China End-June Surveyed Jobless Rate Stands at 5.2% (flat from prior month)

  

  The growth of China’s home sales slowed, while property investment and new construction fell deeper, official data showed.

  • Home sales by value rose 3.7% from a year earlier in the first half of the year, slowing from an 11.9% increase in January to May, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

  • Property investment fell 7.9% in the first half, compared with a 7.2% decline in the first five months.

  • New construction starts dropped 24.3% in the first six months, compared with a 22.6% fall in January to May.

  With China’s extreme Zero-COVID policies now in the distant past, the difficulties facing the world’s second-largest economy will further increase global growth fears and lead to increasing calls for Beijing to do more to shore up confidence (i.e. unleash broader stimulus measures).

  Ho Woei Chen, economist at United Overseas Bank says the GDP is “a big disappointment”:

  “But June data is still mixed. The industrial production was better than expected and picked up from May. The weak domestic demand will be of great concern and this will be the target for its monetary and fiscal stimulus.”

  The problem with those demands is that credit (stimulus) actually rose more than expected…

  

  Finally, and in fact probably even more critical than the actual GDP print, China’s youth unemployment rate rose to another new record high of 21.3% in June (dramatically worse than the 5.2% nationwide surveyed jobless rate)…

  

  Source: Bloombrg

  Of course, China does have a simple solution for this record youth unemployment… “it is becoming increasingly uncomfortable that the world’s concerns of a coming war in Taiwan are intensifying at the very same time that China’s youth unemployment is surging.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 22:29

• Got Meat?
  Got Meat?

  Meat is always on the menu in many parts of the world, as we can see when we map out meat consumption by country.

  How do countries differ in how much, and what type of meat, they eat? In this colorful graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao discusses creator theWORLDMAPS; breakdown of the most consumed type of meat in every country in the world, using data from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

  Each color denotes a different category of meat – beef, pork, mutton, poultry, seafood, or other – with annual consumption calculated per capita in kilograms (kg).

  Let’s dig in to the data.

  

  Is Fish Considered Meat?

  Since meat is normally defined as the flesh of any animal (with the primary components being water, fat, and protein), that includes fish and other seafood.

  But whether fish is considered “meat” or not depends a lot on cultural practices and dietary preferences, and has varied throughout history. Some earlier definitions of meat focused only on mammals, for example.

  In Christianity for example, many denominations allow eating fish on fasting days when abstaining from meat. This was both due to distinctions between meat from warm-blooded land animals and cold-blooded animals (like fish), as well as the importance of fish consumption in parts of Europe where Christianity flourished.

  To account for both sides of the debate, we’ll cover meat consumption by country both with and without fish and seafood.

  The Most Consumed Meat by Country (Including Seafood)

  Just by glancing at the map and the below table, poultry stands out as the most popular meat by weight consumption in 70 countries, or about 40% of the entire database.

  Note: Other meat includes less frequently farmed animals like rabbit, horse, and camel, as well as game—meat from wild animals.

  Country	Most Consumed Meat
  🇦🇫 Afghanistan	Mutton & Goat
  🇦🇱 Albania	Poultry
  🇩🇿 Algeria	Mutton & Goat
  🇦🇴 Angola	Fish & Seafood
  🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda	Poultry
  🇦🇷 Argentina	Bovine
  🇦🇲 Armenia	Bovine
  🇦🇺 Australia	Poultry
  🇦🇹 Austria	Pork
  🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	Poultry
  🇧🇸 Bahamas	Poultry
  🇧🇭 Bahrain	Poultry
  🇧🇩 Bangladesh	Fish & Seafood
  🇧🇧 Barbados	Poultry
  🇧🇾 Belarus	Pork
  🇧🇪 Belgium	Pork
  🇧🇿 Belize	Poultry
  🇧🇯 Benin	Fish & Seafood
  🇧🇹 Bhutan	Bovine
  🇧🇴 Bolivia	Poultry
  🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina	Poultry
  🇧🇼 Botswana	Other
  🇧🇷 Brazil	Poultry
  🇧🇬 Bulgaria	Pork
  🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	Pork
  🇧🇮 Burundi	Fish & Seafood
  🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	Poultry
  🇰🇭 Cambodia	Fish & Seafood
  🇨🇲 Cameroon	Fish & Seafood
  🇨🇦 Canada	Poultry
  🇨🇫 Central African Republic	Bovine
  🇹🇩 Chad	Bovine
  🇨🇱 Chile	Poultry
  🇨🇳 China	Fish & Seafood
  🇨🇴 Colombia	Poultry
  🇰🇲 Comoros	Poultry
  🇨🇬 Congo	Fish & Seafood
  🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Poultry
  🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire	Fish & Seafood
  🇭🇷 Croatia	Pork
  🇨🇺 Cuba	Poultry
  🇨🇾 Cyprus	Pork
  🇨🇿 Czechia	Pork
  🇩🇰 Denmark	Fish & Seafood
  🇩🇯 Djibouti	Bovine
  🇩🇲 Dominica	Poultry
  🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	Poultry
  🇨🇩 DR Congo	Fish & Seafood
  🇪🇨 Ecuador	Poultry
  🇪🇬 Egypt	Fish & Seafood
  🇸🇻 El Salvador	Poultry
  🇪🇪 Estonia	Pork
  🇸🇿 Eswatini	Bovine
  🇪🇹 Ethiopia	Bovine
  🇫🇯 Fiji	Poultry
  🇫🇮 Finland	Fish & Seafood
  🇫🇷 France	Fish & Seafood
  🇵🇫 French Polynesia	Poultry
  🇬🇦 Gabon	Poultry
  🇬🇲 Gambia	Fish & Seafood
  🇬🇪 Georgia	Poultry
  🇩🇪 Germany	Pork
  🇬🇭 Ghana	Fish & Seafood
  🇬🇷 Greece	Poultry
  🇬🇩 Grenada	Poultry
  🇬🇹 Guatemala	Poultry
  🇬🇳 Guinea	Fish & Seafood
  🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	Pork
  🇬🇾 Guyana	Poultry
  🇭🇹 Haiti	Poultry
  🇭🇳 Honduras	Poultry
  🇭🇰 Hong Kong	Fish & Seafood
  🇭🇺 Hungary	Pork
  🇮🇸 Iceland	Fish & Seafood
  🇮🇳 India	Fish & Seafood
  🇮🇩 Indonesia	Fish & Seafood
  🇮🇷 Iran	Poultry
  🇮🇶 Iraq	Poultry
  🇮🇪 Ireland	Pork
  🇮🇱 Israel	Poultry
  🇮🇹 Italy	Pork
  🇯🇲 Jamaica	Poultry
  🇯🇵 Japan	Fish & Seafood
  🇯🇴 Jordan	Poultry
  🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	Bovine
  🇰🇪 Kenya	Bovine
  🇰🇮 Kiribati	Fish & Seafood
  🇰🇼 Kuwait	Poultry
  🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	Bovine
  🇱🇦 Laos	Fish & Seafood
  🇱🇻 Latvia	Pork
  🇱🇧 Lebanon	Poultry
  🇱🇸 Lesotho	Pork
  🇱🇷 Liberia	Poultry
  🇱🇾 Libya	Poultry
  🇱🇹 Lithuania	Pork
  🇱🇺 Luxembourg	Pork
  🇲🇴 Macao	Fish & Seafood
  🇲🇬 Madagascar	Fish & Seafood
  🇲🇼 Malawi	Pork
  🇲🇾 Malaysia	Fish & Seafood
  🇲🇻 Maldives	Fish & Seafood
  🇲🇱 Mali	Fish & Seafood
  🇲🇹 Malta	Bovine
  🇲🇷 Mauritania	Mutton & Goat
  🇲🇺 Mauritius	Poultry
  🇲🇽 Mexico	Poultry
  🇫🇲 Micronesia	Fish & Seafood
  🇲🇩 Moldova	Pork
  🇲🇳 Mongolia	Mutton & Goat
  🇲🇪 Montenegro	Pork
  🇲🇦 Morocco	Poultry
  🇲🇿 Mozambique	Fish & Seafood
  🇲🇲 Myanmar	Fish & Seafood
  🇳🇦 Namibia	Fish & Seafood
  🇳🇷 Nauru	Fish & Seafood
  🇳🇵 Nepal	Bovine
  🇳🇱 Netherlands	Pork
  🇳🇨 New Caledonia	Poultry
  🇳🇿 New Zealand	Fish & Seafood
  🇳🇮 Nicaragua	Poultry
  🇳🇪 Niger	Bovine
  🇳🇬 Nigeria	Fish & Seafood
  🇰🇵 North Korea	Fish & Seafood
  🇲🇰 North Macedonia	Poultry
  🇳🇴 Norway	Fish & Seafood
  🇴🇲 Oman	Fish & Seafood
  🇵🇰 Pakistan	Bovine
  🇵🇦 Panama	Poultry
  🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	Other
  🇵🇾 Paraguay	Bovine
  🇵🇪 Peru	Poultry
  🇵🇭 Philippines	Fish & Seafood
  🇵🇱 Poland	Pork
  🇵🇹 Portugal	Fish & Seafood
  🇶🇦 Qatar	Poultry
  🇷🇴 Romania	Pork
  🇷🇺 Russia	Poultry
  🇷🇼 Rwanda	Fish & Seafood
  🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis	Poultry
  🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	Poultry
  🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	Poultry
  🇼🇸 Samoa	Poultry
  🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe	Fish & Seafood
  🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	Poultry
  🇸🇳 Senegal	Fish & Seafood
  🇷🇸 Serbia	Pork
  🇸🇨 Seychelles	Fish & Seafood
  🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	Fish & Seafood
  🇸🇰 Slovakia	Pork
  🇸🇮 Slovenia	Poultry
  🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	Fish & Seafood
  🇿🇦 South Africa	Poultry
  🇰🇷 South Korea	Fish & Seafood
  🇸🇸 South Sudan	Bovine
  🇪🇸 Spain	Pork
  🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	Fish & Seafood
  🇸🇩 Sudan	Bovine
  🇸🇷 Suriname	Poultry
  🇸🇪 Sweden	Fish & Seafood
  🇨🇭 Switzerland	Pork
  🇸🇾 Syria	Mutton & Goat
  🇹🇼 Taiwan	Poultry
  🇹🇯 Tajikistan	Bovine
  🇹🇿 Tanzania	Bovine
  🇹🇭 Thailand	Fish & Seafood
  🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	Pork
  🇹🇬 Togo	Fish & Seafood
  🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago	Poultry
  🇹🇳 Tunisia	Poultry
  🇹🇷 Türkiye	Poultry
  🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	Bovine
  🇺🇸 U.S.	Poultry
  🇦🇪 UAE	Poultry
  🇺🇬 Uganda	Fish & Seafood
  🇬🇧 UK	Poultry
  🇺🇦 Ukraine	Poultry
  🇺🇾 Uruguay	Poultry
  🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	Bovine
  🇻🇺 Vanuatu	Fish & Seafood
  🇻🇪 Venezuela	Poultry
  🇻🇳 Vietnam	Fish & Seafood
  🇾🇪 Yemen	Poultry
  🇿🇲 Zambia	Fish & Seafood
  🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	Bovine

  Fish & Seafood ranks as the second most popularly consumed meat in 56 countries, most of them with significant coastlines.

  Here’s a breakdown of how much of each type of meat is eaten per capita in each country, measured in kilograms.

  Country	Poultry	Pork	Fish & Seafood	Bovine	Mutton & Other
  🇦🇫 Afghanistan	1.7	0.0	0.4	3.2	4.3
  🇦🇱 Albania	13.9	5.3	8.7	11.7	8.3
  🇩🇿 Algeria	6.4	0.0	3.8	3.8	8.4
  🇦🇴 Angola	8.4	7.0	14.1	3.4	1.1
  🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda	61.8	14.3	54.1	5.0	1.0
  🇦🇷 Argentina	46.2	14.4	6.8	46.9	2.6
  🇦🇲 Armenia	15.3	8.1	5.5	23.9	3.6
  🇦🇺 Australia	48.7	24.2	24.1	37.0	11.5
  🇦🇹 Austria	15.7	45.0	14.3	14.9	1.4
  🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	14.4	0.6	2.0	13.5	8.4
  🇧🇸 Bahamas	54.4	23.8	24.2	5.2	1.7
  🇧🇭 Bahrain	44.0	0.8	16.3	13.7	22.2
  🇧🇩 Bangladesh	1.6	0.0	26.7	1.3	1.4
  🇧🇧 Barbados	49.3	12.3	42.9	8.0	3.4
  🇧🇾 Belarus	32.2	39.2	11.8	18.6	0.4
  🇧🇪 Belgium	12.4	32.8	22.7	14.0	2.6
  🇧🇿 Belize	23.8	20.8	13.3	3.6	0.3
  🇧🇯 Benin	8.7	0.7	16.2	3.6	1.5
  🇧🇹 Bhutan	4.6	1.9	7.3	9.3	0.3
  🇧🇴 Bolivia	40.9	9.7	2.8	21.6	4.9
  🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina	20.0	9.3	7.3	12.8	0.6
  🇧🇼 Botswana	3.5	0.5	2.6	10.2	14.3
  🇧🇷 Brazil	48.4	14.2	8.1	35.4	1.2
  🇧🇬 Bulgaria	21.5	30.0	7.4	3.5	2.0
  🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	9.5	15.2	8.9	5.3	4.3
  🇧🇮 Burundi	0.6	0.9	2.6	0.9	0.8
  🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	19.4	7.3	10.8	1.7	1.9
  🇰🇭 Cambodia	2.8	5.9	45.8	4.2	0.0
  🇨🇲 Cameroon	3.3	1.2	19.1	3.1	4.0
  🇨🇦 Canada	40.1	21.4	20.7	27.5	1.6
  🇨🇫 Central African Republic	2.6	4.1	7.4	20.8	10.4
  🇹🇩 Chad	0.5	0.2	6.6	27.5	18.7
  🇨🇱 Chile	36.1	22.1	14.8	23.7	1.3
  🇨🇳 China	15.6	35.5	39.9	6.8	4.2
  🇨🇴 Colombia	33.8	10.5	8.9	13.7	0.1
  🇰🇲 Comoros	26.8	0.1	14.3	3.0	1.2
  🇨🇬 Congo	23.2	6.8	24.5	1.9	8.1
  🇨🇷 Costa Rica	34.3	12.7	18.0	11.4	0.0
  🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire	2.9	1.0	23.2	1.4	6.5
  🇭🇷 Croatia	16.6	49.6	19.1	11.2	2.1
  🇨🇺 Cuba	37.7	21.6	6.1	7.4	4.9
  🇨🇾 Cyprus	28.4	36.8	25.5	5.9	4.6
  🇨🇿 Czechia	23.5	44.5	10.5	10.2	0.9
  🇩🇰 Denmark	24.6	13.5	26.5	24.3	1.3
  🇩🇯 Djibouti	3.6	0.1	3.5	6.2	5.4
  🇩🇲 Dominica	39.4	11.4	27.9	8.1	1.1
  🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	32.2	9.9	8.5	6.3	0.2
  🇨🇩 DR Congo	1.3	0.5	4.2	0.3	1.2
  🇪🇨 Ecuador	18.9	12.9	8.2	13.3	0.4
  🇪🇬 Egypt	14.3	0.0	27.1	7.4	1.5
  🇸🇻 El Salvador	25.9	4.7	6.5	8.2	0.0
  🇪🇪 Estonia	21.1	37.7	14.7	8.5	0.5
  🇸🇿 Eswatini	7.3	2.0	4.3	16.1	2.0
  🇪🇹 Ethiopia	0.6	0.0	0.5	3.8	3.5
  🇫🇯 Fiji	28.8	3.7	26.5	3.1	5.3
  🇫🇮 Finland	21.1	30.8	33.5	18.4	1.1
  🇫🇷 France	23.0	31.0	33.2	20.8	3.5
  🇵🇫 French Polynesia	48.8	14.3	47.3	21.4	3.7
  🇬🇦 Gabon	39.7	8.3	28.7	4.7	14.3
  🇬🇲 Gambia	10.6	0.3	25.2	3.4	1.1
  🇬🇪 Georgia	18.2	9.3	10.0	5.8	1.8
  🇩🇪 Germany	18.3	44.0	12.6	14.6	1.8
  🇬🇭 Ghana	11.6	1.2	24.9	1.6	4.2
  🇬🇷 Greece	25.6	25.0	21.7	14.5	9.4
  🇬🇩 Grenada	37.4	14.6	33.8	4.1	1.4
  🇬🇹 Guatemala	28.7	3.6	3.0	11.7	0.3
  🇬🇳 Guinea	2.7	0.2	9.7	8.2	2.8
  🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	3.1	7.2	1.2	3.7	1.3
  🇬🇾 Guyana	41.4	5.0	25.0	4.2	1.2
  🇭🇹 Haiti	10.9	4.0	5.0	4.2	0.9
  🇭🇳 Honduras	21.6	5.0	2.6	6.0	0.1
  🇭🇰 Hong Kong	55.5	55.2	65.8	22.5	3.0
  🇭🇺 Hungary	29.8	48.3	6.4	4.6	0.3
  🇮🇸 Iceland	30.0	21.8	90.6	14.0	24.4
  🇮🇳 India	2.6	0.2	8.0	1.1	0.6
  🇮🇩 Indonesia	13.7	0.9	44.4	2.8	0.5
  🇮🇷 Iran	26.0	0.0	12.6	7.6	4.5
  🇮🇶 Iraq	5.4	0.0	3.6	3.1	1.7
  🇮🇪 Ireland	24.7	31.1	22.6	19.8	3.6
  🇮🇱 Israel	68.9	1.6	24.7	27.2	1.7
  🇮🇹 Italy	19.6	32.9	29.2	15.9	1.8
  🇯🇲 Jamaica	53.9	3.1	25.2	3.8	0.7
  🇯🇵 Japan	22.3	21.3	46.2	9.6	0.3
  🇯🇴 Jordan	26.1	0.0	5.1	6.8	4.8
  🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	21.2	8.2	2.8	26.6	15.9
  🇰🇪 Kenya	1.3	0.4	2.9	4.5	4.5
  🇰🇮 Kiribati	26.6	10.3	73.2	1.9	0.3
  🇰🇼 Kuwait	46.6	0.0	14.0	9.4	16.7
  🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	5.2	2.1	1.1	14.9	10.0
  🇱🇦 Laos	6.6	13.5	24.1	8.4	0.5
  🇱🇻 Latvia	26.2	38.4	25.0	5.3	0.8
  🇱🇧 Lebanon	18.6	0.6	8.7	9.2	1.1
  🇱🇸 Lesotho	2.1	3.8	3.0	2.0	3.9
  🇱🇷 Liberia	11.3	5.3	4.3	0.4	2.1
  🇱🇾 Libya	32.8	0.0	14.3	2.9	6.5
  🇱🇹 Lithuania	33.3	50.7	33.1	5.9	1.1
  🇱🇺 Luxembourg	18.1	33.1	31.7	25.7	2.0
  🇲🇴 Macao	45.6	46.9	73.2	9.4	1.8
  🇲🇬 Madagascar	3.1	1.0	4.0	1.3	0.5
  🇲🇼 Malawi	5.7	11.8	10.1	2.9	3.1
  🇲🇾 Malaysia	50.2	7.4	54.7	6.0	1.0
  🇲🇻 Maldives	11.0	0.4	83.1	5.9	0.8
  🇲🇱 Mali	2.4	0.1	8.5	3.6	2.6
  🇲🇹 Malta	25.2	25.8	22.8	26.4	1.8
  🇲🇷 Mauritania	6.3	0.0	8.4	6.4	18.4
  🇲🇺 Mauritius	38.7	3.2	24.0	4.5	4.2
  🇲🇽 Mexico	35.9	19.1	13.6	14.6	1.5
  🇫🇲 Micronesia	38.2	16.2	47.4	4.9	0.2
  🇲🇩 Moldova	17.2	19.2	11.7	1.9	0.3
  🇲🇳 Mongolia	3.0	0.6	0.6	26.6	81.4
  🇲🇪 Montenegro	17.1	43.2	15.6	15.0	2.1
  🇲🇦 Morocco	24.0	0.0	18.4	7.7	6.9
  🇲🇿 Mozambique	3.8	3.1	13.4	0.6	0.1
  🇲🇲 Myanmar	29.9	20.1	45.0	9.3	1.7
  🇳🇦 Namibia	10.2	4.5	11.9	8.8	8.9
  🇳🇷 Nauru	51.0	28.2	51.0	19.1	6.9
  🇳🇵 Nepal	2.3	1.0	3.5	8.2	2.7
  🇳🇱 Netherlands	10.0	27.7	21.9	16.2	5.2
  🇳🇨 New Caledonia	40.9	17.4	23.4	17.7	2.3
  🇳🇿 New Zealand	26.0	25.2	26.4	18.6	15.3
  🇳🇮 Nicaragua	21.8	5.3	6.6	2.2	0.4
  🇳🇪 Niger	1.0	0.1	1.8	2.8	4.4
  🇳🇬 Nigeria	1.2	1.5	6.7	1.6	2.8
  🇰🇵 North Korea	1.8	4.3	11.0	0.8	6.7
  🇲🇰 North Macedonia	20.0	12.6	6.2	6.8	0.9
  🇳🇴 Norway	20.0	23.7	50.2	17.8	5.8
  🇴🇲 Oman	19.7	0.4	26.1	9.0	14.3
  🇵🇰 Pakistan	6.2	0.0	1.6	9.8	2.6
  🇵🇦 Panama	55.4	15.9	13.7	14.5	1.0
  🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	3.9	9.9	14.6	0.8	47.8
  🇵🇾 Paraguay	9.6	8.8	4.0	21.9	0.6
  🇵🇪 Peru	42.7	4.5	27.1	4.2	1.9
  🇵🇭 Philippines	15.9	14.5	29.1	3.1	0.3
  🇵🇱 Poland	32.9	55.0	12.5	1.5	0.1
  🇵🇹 Portugal	30.6	38.1	60.0	18.8	2.8
  🇶🇦 Qatar	54.3	1.2	21.1	8.4	12.1
  🇷🇴 Romania	23.9	34.5	8.3	5.2	2.7
  🇷🇺 Russia	30.8	28.2	21.7	12.9	5.1
  🇷🇼 Rwanda	1.5	1.0	4.6	2.7	3.2
  🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis	48.7	15.5	38.8	2.9	2.5
  🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	57.6	14.9	33.6	3.8	2.0
  🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	74.7	11.3	19.4	7.8	0.7
  🇼🇸 Samoa	65.7	12.3	47.6	6.9	3.5
  🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe	17.1	4.7	27.7	1.7	0.1
  🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	43.0	0.0	11.7	4.4	7.7
  🇸🇳 Senegal	7.4	1.2	11.9	5.0	3.7
  🇷🇸 Serbia	14.1	37.3	6.7	6.1	4.1
  🇸🇨 Seychelles	36.9	13.7	56.8	9.2	2.7
  🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	5.4	1.0	25.5	1.3	1.9
  🇸🇰 Slovakia	16.9	38.8	10.2	5.8	0.9
  🇸🇮 Slovenia	30.4	25.8	13.2	15.3	1.1
  🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	6.1	4.4	28.1	1.8	0.1
  🇿🇦 South Africa	34.9	4.2	6.5	17.2	3.5
  🇰🇷 South Korea	22.8	38.4	55.3	16.9	0.5
  🇸🇸 South Sudan	4.3	0.0	2.9	12.4	4.3
  🇪🇸 Spain	33.6	52.6	40.8	12.3	3.4
  🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	10.4	0.1	29.0	1.2	0.1
  🇸🇩 Sudan	1.9	0.0	1.1	8.0	10.5
  🇸🇷 Suriname	49.6	8.0	16.5	4.4	0.3
  🇸🇪 Sweden	15.4	28.6	32.2	22.5	1.5
  🇨🇭 Switzerland	16.9	27.8	16.0	19.1	2.4
  🇸🇾 Syria	6.4	0.0	2.2	2.2	7.3
  🇹🇼 Taiwan	41.6	38.4	29.8	6.1	0.9
  🇹🇯 Tajikistan	3.5	0.1	0.7	25.8	7.8
  🇹🇿 Tanzania	1.5	0.3	6.4	7.8	1.6
  🇹🇭 Thailand	11.4	13.1	29.2	1.2	0.0
  🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	9.4	11.5	6.4	1.6	0.4
  🇹🇬 Togo	7.2	2.3	11.7	0.8	2.2
  🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago	63.1	5.6	23.6	5.7	1.5
  🇹🇳 Tunisia	17.9	0.0	14.1	3.7	5.8
  🇹🇷 Türkiye	20.0	0.0	5.5	16.0	1.3
  🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	6.1	0.1	2.8	22.5	20.8
  🇺🇸 U.S.	58.7	30.6	22.8	37.9	1.4
  🇦🇪 UAE	31.1	0.0	25.4	6.7	10.4
  🇺🇬 Uganda	1.5	2.9	14.3	3.6	1.0
  🇬🇧 UK	32.7	24.0	17.9	17.4	5.0
  🇺🇦 Ukraine	24.9	16.7	13.8	7.2	0.7
  🇺🇾 Uruguay	21.0	14.1	9.1	19.4	3.5
  🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	3.1	0.2	4.0	31.6	6.1
  🇻🇺 Vanuatu	14.6	12.4	29.0	7.2	0.3
  🇻🇪 Venezuela	16.1	4.4	10.2	12.0	0.3
  🇻🇳 Vietnam	15.8	38.2	39.6	6.1	0.5
  🇾🇪 Yemen	11.2	0.0	3.0	3.0	4.5
  🇿🇲 Zambia	2.6	1.5	13.1	9.3	2.7
  🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	4.6	0.7	3.0	42.3	4.3

  The world’s largest consumers of meat per capita? Hong Kong, Iceland, and Macao have the highest total meat consumption, all above 170 kg (370 lbs) per capita.

  We take a brief look through the biggest consumers of each type of meat below.

  Who Eats the Most Poultry?

  While the U.S. and China eat the most chicken by absolute numbers, the countries rank 7th and 112th respectively when it comes to poultry consumption on a per capita basis.

  Several island nations—St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Samoa—along with Israel eat more than 60 kilograms of poultry meat (about 15 large birds) per person on an annual basis.

  Regionally, poultry consumption can be seen spanning almost all of the Americas, as well as in the UK and former British colonies Australia and South Africa, and in the Middle East.

  Who Eats the Most Pork?

  Despite eating more seafood and poultry, Hong Kong leads the world in pork consumption per capita annually at 55 kg (121 lbs). This is almost equivalent to the average amount of retail pork harvested from a single 250 lb pig.

  Poland and Spain—who are also top pork producers—rank close behind Hong Kong with similar pork consumption numbers. Indeed, we can see pork as the most consumed meat in many European countries with local histories of pork foods, as well as in a few countries in Africa including Burkina Faso and one Southeast Asian country, Timor-Leste.

  Who Eats the Most Fish and Seafood?

  In the middle of the North Atlantic ocean, Iceland eats the most fish and seafood in the world, at a staggering 90 kg (nearly 200 lbs), per person per year. That also gives Iceland the crown for the highest per-capita consumption of any single type of meat.

  Behind Iceland are other island and high coastline nations, including the Maldives, Hong Kong, Macao, and Portugal. Regionally we can see the importance of seafood reflected in East and South Asia, the Atlantic coastline of Africa, and the Nordic countries in Europe.

  Who Eats the Most Beef?

  Argentina’s 46-million-strong population eats nearly 47 kg (103 lbs) of bovine meat per person per year, the most by any country in the UN’s database.

  The South American country has a rich culinary history with beef, as cattle brought by Spanish settlers flourished on the grassy plains of the region. Such is cattle’s importance on the continent that the gaucho—a horseman engaged in cattle work—is a folk symbol in Argentina, Uruguay and parts of Brazil (which ranks 5th in beef consumption).

  The map of beef consumption highlights Central Asian countries including Uzbekistan and Eastern African countries including Ethiopia.

  Who Eats the Most Mutton & Other Meat?

  The people of Mongolia are unrivaled in their consumption of mutton and goat meat, devouring an impressive 66 kilograms (145 pounds) per capita annually. This voracious appetite for meat is deeply rooted in their heritage as a nation of skilled shepherds.

  Papua New Guinea, meanwhile, tops the “other meat” consumption rankings. The country is the largest producer of game meat in the world, due to its mostly rural and indigenous population relying on hunting. One 2023 study found that a sample of villages in the country primarily hunted wild deer and boar for meat, although marsupials like bandicoots, tree-kangaroos, and cuscus were occasionally hunted and consumed as well.

  Mongolia also ranks highly in consumption of other meat per capita, likely due to their traditional consumption of horse meat. The country produced just over 100,000 tons of horse meat in 2020, one-sixth of the country’s total meat production that year.

  Mapping Meat Consumption By Country, Without Seafood

  What happens to each country’s meat consumption habits if we remove fish and seafood from the dataset? The map, and the rankings change quite a bit.

  

  Most of the blue on the map is replaced with a wash of yellow, indicating the global popularity of poultry meat as a cheap and efficient source of protein. However, much of East Asia including China and European countries like France and Sweden consume more pork.

  The rankings for total meat consumption also shuffle.

  Country	Total (With Seafood)	Total (Without Seafood)
  🇦🇫 Afghanistan	9.6	9.3
  🇦🇱 Albania	47.8	39.1
  🇩🇿 Algeria	22.4	18.6
  🇦🇴 Angola	34.1	19.9
  🇦🇬 Antigua & Barbuda	136.2	82.1
  🇦🇷 Argentina	116.9	110.2
  🇦🇲 Armenia	56.4	50.9
  🇦🇺 Australia	145.6	121.5
  🇦🇹 Austria	91.2	76.9
  🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	38.9	36.9
  🇧🇸 Bahamas	109.3	85.1
  🇧🇭 Bahrain	96.9	80.6
  🇧🇩 Bangladesh	31.1	4.3
  🇧🇧 Barbados	115.8	73.0
  🇧🇾 Belarus	102.2	90.4
  🇧🇪 Belgium	84.5	61.9
  🇧🇿 Belize	61.8	48.5
  🇧🇯 Benin	30.8	14.6
  🇧🇹 Bhutan	23.4	16.1
  🇧🇴 Bolivia	79.9	77.1
  🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina	50.1	42.8
  🇧🇼 Botswana	31.1	28.6
  🇧🇷 Brazil	107.2	99.2
  🇧🇬 Bulgaria	64.3	56.9
  🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	43.2	34.3
  🇧🇮 Burundi	5.7	3.1
  🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	41.2	30.4
  🇰🇭 Cambodia	58.6	12.9
  🇨🇲 Cameroon	30.8	11.6
  🇨🇦 Canada	111.3	90.6
  🇨🇫 Central African Republic	45.1	37.8
  🇹🇩 Chad	53.5	46.9
  🇨🇱 Chile	97.8	83.0
  🇨🇳 China	102.0	62.1
  🇨🇴 Colombia	67.0	58.1
  🇰🇲 Comoros	45.5	31.2
  🇨🇬 Congo	64.5	40.0
  🇨🇷 Costa Rica	76.4	58.5
  🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire	35.0	11.8
  🇭🇷 Croatia	98.6	79.5
  🇨🇺 Cuba	77.6	71.6
  🇨🇾 Cyprus	101.1	75.6
  🇨🇿 Czechia	89.6	79.2
  🇩🇰 Denmark	90.1	63.7
  🇩🇯 Djibouti	18.9	15.4
  🇩🇲 Dominica	87.9	60.1
  🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	57.1	48.6
  🇨🇩 DR Congo	7.4	3.3
  🇪🇨 Ecuador	53.6	45.4
  🇪🇬 Egypt	50.3	23.3
  🇸🇻 El Salvador	45.4	38.8
  🇪🇪 Estonia	82.4	67.8
  🇸🇿 Eswatini	31.7	27.4
  🇪🇹 Ethiopia	8.4	7.9
  🇫🇯 Fiji	67.4	40.9
  🇫🇮 Finland	104.8	71.4
  🇫🇷 France	111.5	78.2
  🇵🇫 French Polynesia	135.4	88.2
  🇬🇦 Gabon	95.7	67.0
  🇬🇲 Gambia	40.6	15.5
  🇬🇪 Georgia	45.1	35.1
  🇩🇪 Germany	91.4	78.8
  🇬🇭 Ghana	43.5	18.5
  🇬🇷 Greece	96.2	74.5
  🇬🇩 Grenada	91.3	57.5
  🇬🇹 Guatemala	47.2	44.2
  🇬🇳 Guinea	23.6	13.9
  🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	16.5	15.3
  🇬🇾 Guyana	76.8	51.8
  🇭🇹 Haiti	25.0	20.0
  🇭🇳 Honduras	35.4	32.8
  🇭🇰 Hong Kong	202.1	136.3
  🇭🇺 Hungary	89.3	82.9
  🇮🇸 Iceland	180.9	90.2
  🇮🇳 India	12.6	4.6
  🇮🇩 Indonesia	62.3	17.9
  🇮🇷 Iran	50.6	38.0
  🇮🇶 Iraq	13.8	10.2
  🇮🇪 Ireland	101.8	79.2
  🇮🇱 Israel	124.1	99.4
  🇮🇹 Italy	99.4	70.2
  🇯🇲 Jamaica	86.7	61.5
  🇯🇵 Japan	99.6	53.4
  🇯🇴 Jordan	42.8	37.7
  🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	74.7	71.9
  🇰🇪 Kenya	13.6	10.7
  🇰🇮 Kiribati	112.4	39.2
  🇰🇼 Kuwait	86.6	72.7
  🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	33.2	32.1
  🇱🇦 Laos	53.1	29.0
  🇱🇻 Latvia	95.8	70.8
  🇱🇧 Lebanon	38.2	29.5
  🇱🇸 Lesotho	14.7	11.7
  🇱🇷 Liberia	23.4	19.1
  🇱🇾 Libya	56.5	42.2
  🇱🇹 Lithuania	123.9	90.9
  🇱🇺 Luxembourg	110.6	78.9
  🇲🇴 Macao	176.9	103.7
  🇲🇬 Madagascar	9.8	5.8
  🇲🇼 Malawi	33.7	23.6
  🇲🇾 Malaysia	119.4	64.7
  🇲🇻 Maldives	101.2	18.1
  🇲🇱 Mali	17.1	8.6
  🇲🇹 Malta	102.0	79.1
  🇲🇷 Mauritania	39.5	31.1
  🇲🇺 Mauritius	74.5	50.5
  🇲🇽 Mexico	84.7	71.1
  🇫🇲 Micronesia	106.7	59.4
  🇲🇩 Moldova	50.3	38.6
  🇲🇳 Mongolia	112.1	111.6
  🇲🇪 Montenegro	93.0	77.4
  🇲🇦 Morocco	57.0	38.6
  🇲🇿 Mozambique	21.0	7.6
  🇲🇲 Myanmar	106.0	61.0
  🇳🇦 Namibia	44.3	32.4
  🇳🇷 Nauru	156.2	105.1
  🇳🇵 Nepal	17.7	14.2
  🇳🇱 Netherlands	81.0	59.1
  🇳🇨 New Caledonia	101.7	78.3
  🇳🇿 New Zealand	111.4	85.0
  🇳🇮 Nicaragua	36.3	29.6
  🇳🇪 Niger	10.1	8.3
  🇳🇬 Nigeria	13.8	7.0
  🇰🇵 North Korea	24.6	13.6
  🇲🇰 North Macedonia	46.6	40.3
  🇳🇴 Norway	117.4	67.2
  🇴🇲 Oman	69.5	43.4
  🇵🇰 Pakistan	20.2	18.6
  🇵🇦 Panama	100.5	86.8
  🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	77.0	62.4
  🇵🇾 Paraguay	44.9	40.9
  🇵🇪 Peru	80.5	53.4
  🇵🇭 Philippines	62.8	33.7
  🇵🇱 Poland	102.0	89.5
  🇵🇹 Portugal	150.2	90.2
  🇶🇦 Qatar	96.9	75.9
  🇷🇴 Romania	74.7	66.4
  🇷🇺 Russia	98.6	76.9
  🇷🇼 Rwanda	12.9	8.4
  🇰🇳 Saint Kitts & Nevis	108.5	69.7
  🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	111.9	78.3
  🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	113.8	94.4
  🇼🇸 Samoa	135.9	88.3
  🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe	51.3	23.6
  🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	66.8	55.0
  🇸🇳 Senegal	29.1	17.2
  🇷🇸 Serbia	68.3	61.6
  🇸🇨 Seychelles	119.2	62.5
  🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	35.0	9.5
  🇸🇰 Slovakia	72.7	62.5
  🇸🇮 Slovenia	85.7	72.5
  🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	40.5	12.4
  🇿🇦 South Africa	66.2	59.8
  🇰🇷 South Korea	133.8	78.5
  🇸🇸 South Sudan	23.9	21.0
  🇪🇸 Spain	142.7	101.9
  🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	40.8	11.8
  🇸🇩 Sudan	21.5	20.3
  🇸🇷 Suriname	78.8	62.3
  🇸🇪 Sweden	100.2	68.0
  🇨🇭 Switzerland	82.2	66.2
  🇸🇾 Syria	18.0	15.8
  🇹🇼 Taiwan	116.7	87.0
  🇹🇯 Tajikistan	37.9	37.2
  🇹🇿 Tanzania	17.6	11.2
  🇹🇭 Thailand	54.9	25.8
  🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	29.3	22.9
  🇹🇬 Togo	24.2	12.5
  🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago	99.5	75.9
  🇹🇳 Tunisia	41.4	27.3
  🇹🇷 Türkiye	42.8	37.3
  🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	52.2	49.4
  🇺🇸 U.S.	151.4	128.6
  🇦🇪 UAE	73.6	48.2
  🇺🇬 Uganda	23.3	9.0
  🇬🇧 UK	97.0	79.1
  🇺🇦 Ukraine	63.3	49.5
  🇺🇾 Uruguay	67.3	58.1
  🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	45.0	41.0
  🇻🇺 Vanuatu	63.5	34.5
  🇻🇪 Venezuela	43.1	32.9
  🇻🇳 Vietnam	100.2	60.6
  🇾🇪 Yemen	21.7	18.7
  🇿🇲 Zambia	29.3	16.2
  🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	54.9	51.9

  Hong Kong remains at the top, but the U.S. jumps up three spots to second place, with annual per capita meat consumption at 128 kg (282 lbs) when seafood isn’t included.

  Iceland and Macao drop to the top 15, while Australia, Mongolia, and Argentina climb into the top five. Other countries that preferred seafood dropped a lot lower, such as Japan, which fell 40 spots in the total consumption rankings when fish was removed.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 22:05

• US, NATO Weapons Stockpile At "Dangerously Low" Levels: Top Air Force General
  US, NATO Weapons Stockpile At “Dangerously Low” Levels: Top Air Force General

  Authored by Mimi Nguyen Ly via The Epoch Times,

  The weapons stockpile of the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies are becoming “dangerous low” with no “short term” solutions, according to a top U.S. Air Force commander.

  

  Gen. James Hecker, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, made the remarks at the Chief of the Air Staff’s Global Air & Space Chiefs’ Conference in London, reported Breaking Defense.

  The air force general urged NATO allies to think seriously about their stockpiles.

  “I think it’s very important that we kind of take stock of where we are in our weapons state across the 32 nations of NATO, and we’re getting way down compared to where we were,” Gen. Hecker said on a panel with the air chiefs of the United Kingdom and Sweden at the conference, reported the outlet.

  “And it’s probably not going to get better—well, it’s not in the short term—but we’ve got to make sure in the long term we have the industrial base that can increase what we have,” he said at the July 12-13 event, urging all NATO nations to start making deeper investments.

  The United States is at “roughly half the number of fighter squadrons” it had compared to when it engaged in Operation Desert Storm, a U.S.-led operation that started in January 1991 as part of a response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the general said. He added there’s been a similar decrease in fighter squadrons for the UK.

  “So we don’t have nearly what we had at the heart of the Cold War,” he continued.

  “Now you add that we’re giving a lot of munitions away to the Ukrainians, which I think is exactly what we need to do, but now we’re getting dangerously low and sometimes, in some cases even too low, that we don’t have enough. And we need to get industry on board to help us out so we can get this going.”

  The United States has provided Ukraine over $41.3 billion in security assistance since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to the U.S. State Department as of July 7. This encompasses more than $15 billion in weapons and equipment taken from U.S. military stocks to Ukraine since the Russian invasion.

  It comes after the Biden administration last week announced it would send to Ukraine the controversial cluster munitions, which have since arrived in the country.

  The cluster munitions, after they are fired, open in midair and release bomblets over a wide area to strike several targets simultaneously. They can be delivered by planes, artillery, and missiles. More than 100 countries, including two-thirds of NATO allies, have banned such weapons because they can cause many civilian casualties.

  Cluster munitions can be fired using artillery that the United States has provided to Ukraine, and the Pentagon has a large stockpile of them that were facing decommissioning if it wasn’t for Ukraine’s voiced need for more ammunition.

  

  A man standing next to the remains of a missile that dropped cluster bombs in a residential housing complex in Sloviansk, Ukraine, on June 27, 2022. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

  The Biden administration said the cluster munitions will enable the Ukrainians to continue their war effort with the ordnance they need, while the United States and others who supply Ukraine ramp up their production of artillery shells to further assist Ukraine’s defense.

  “We don’t see this as a permanent solution but rather a bridge,” Colin Kahl, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, said at a July 7 press briefing.

  National security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a separate briefing: “We are reaching a point in this conflict, because of the dramatically high expenditure rates of artillery by Ukraine and by Russia, where we need to build a bridge from where we are today to when we have enough monthly production of unitary rounds that unitary rounds alone will suffice to give Ukraine what it needs.

  “So, as a result, this is the moment to begin the construction of that bridge so that there isn’t any period over this summer or heading into this fall when Ukraine is short on artillery and, being short on artillery, it is vulnerable to Russian counterattacks that could subjugate more Ukrainian civilians.”

  Mr. Sullivan stopped short of saying there was a shortage of artillery shells.

  Heidi Grant, Boeing’s director of business development, who was a former top official for the Pentagon’s weapons sales, told the panel in London that in order to start production lines, industry needs a “written, on-paper request” of what’s required, reported Breaking Defense.

  “It’s hard for us to make the investment unless we know that [the demand is] really there,” Ms. Grant added.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 21:30

• Janet Yellen Consumed Psychedelic Mushrooms In China: Report
  Janet Yellen Consumed Psychedelic Mushrooms In China: Report

  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen may have been tripping balls when she fervently bowed before a Chinese official last week, after the 76-year-old ate four portions of jian shou qing, a type of wild mushroom with unpredictable psychedelic effects.

  

  According to CNN, citing Chinese state media,Yellen nipped into a casual Beijing restaurant right after landing on July 6, where she apparently exhibited excellent skills with her chopsticks.

  Then she did this:

  Janet Yellen keeps bowing repeatedly to the Chinese vice premier, who does not reciprocate even once.
  What an anti-American disgrace this administration is.pic.twitter.com/8vCaIIv6de

  — Rising serpent 🇺🇸 (@rising_serpent) July 9, 2023

   “You thought you were walking straight but you just fell sideways,” one food expert told the Xinhua state news agency in a report about the mushroom’s potent powers, published after Yellen left the country.

  “I have a friend who mistakenly ate them and hallucinated for three days,” Dr. Peter Mortimer, a professor at Kunming Institute of Botany, told CNN.

  Yellen’s stop at an outlet of the Yi Zuo Yi Wang restaurant chain — the name means “In and Out” in English — sparked a flurry of posts on the Chinese social media network Weibo and a deluge of reservations, staffers said.

  “It was an extremely magical day,” the restaurant said of the secretary’s visit. –NY Post

  About that bow…

  “Never, ever, ever – An American official does not bow,” said former George W. Bush White House senior staffer Bradley Blakeman in response. “It looks like she’s been summoned to the principal’s office, and that’s exactly the optics the Chinese love.”

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 20:55

• US Ready To Engage North Korea On Nuclear Program "Without Preconditions"
  US Ready To Engage North Korea On Nuclear Program “Without Preconditions”

  After a recent clear uptick in provocative North Korean missile launches, itself a response to increased joint US-South Korean military drills on the peninsula, national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said the Biden White House is ready to negotiate with Pyongyang “without preconditions” about its nuclear program.  

  “We have indicated to North Korea that we’re prepared to sit down and talk without preconditions about their nuclear program,” Sullivan told “Face the Nation” on Sunday, in comments coming just days after the north test launched an ICBM.

  For months, South Korean and Western officials have expressed alarm over what they see as a potential North Korean nuclear test happening soon. But Sullivan in his own fresh remarks said he’s not seen “any immediate indications” of this happening imminently.

  

  “But it would not come as a surprise that North Korea moved forward with another nuclear test,” he said.

  “With respect to its intercontinental ballistic missile capability, this is a capability they began testing several years ago,” Sullivan continued. “They have continued to test it. We watch all of those tests very closely to see how it is developing and we could coordinate extremely closely with our allies — with Japan and Korea —  to make sure that we are responding in lockstep to this threat.” 

  Sullivan called out China as well, warning of a regional escalation in nuclear build-up activities…

  “We’ve also made clear to China that it is the United States who is ready for diplomacy and North Korea who was not,” Sullivan said.

  “So from our perspective, China has a role to play here too, given its relationship with North Korea, to indicate to the North Koreans that its continued testing is destabilizing, and, frankly, is in fact only creating circumstances in which the United States our allies and partners have to step up our activities and posture to respond to the threat.” 

  The US, South Korea and Japan hold trilateral missile defense exercise in international waters off the Sea of Japan, just days after North Korea launched new-generation intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)https://t.co/M443hnBAZt

  — DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) July 16, 2023

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

  In recent years, the US and Japan began issuing joint affirmations of common nuclear defense.

  A White House statement in April 2021 for example spelled out: “The United States restated its unwavering support for Japan’s defense under the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, using its full range of capabilities, including nuclear.”

  So given this, Beijing is unlikely to quickly heed Washington’s call to rush to be direct mediator with the Kim Jong Un government.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 19:45

• DeSantis Fires Roughly A Dozen Staffers With More On The Way
  DeSantis Fires Roughly A Dozen Staffers With More On The Way

  The 2024 presidential campaign of Ron DeSantis (R) has fired roughly a dozen staffers, with more ‘expected in the coming weeks,’ after the Florida governor has failed to gain ground on former President Donald Trump less than two months after he entered the race.

  

  According to NBC News, those who were let go were described as mid-level staffers across several departments whose firings were related to cutting costs. The downsizing comes after the departures of David Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, veterans of DeSantis’ political orbit, as first reported by Politico.

  Sources from within the DeSantis campaign say that there’s an internal assessment that they hired too many staffers too early despite a $20 million haul during the first six weeks, and that costs needed to come down.

  Others within DeSantis’ political orbit have laid the blame at the feet of campaign manager Generra Peck, who spearheaded the governor’s 2022 midterm reelection bid.

  “She should be,” said one DeSantis donor.

  “They never should have brought so many people on, the burn rate was way too high,” said one GOP source familiar with the campaign’s thought process. “People warned the campaign manager but she wanted to hear none of it.”

  “DeSantis stock isn’t rising,” added the donor. “Twenty percent is not what people signed up for.”

  The person noted that DeSantis has a penchant for switching out staff, which means that he has no core team that has worked together before. DeSantis had three different campaign teams for each of his three runs for Congress, and notably had a huge campaign shakeup during his first run for governor in 2018. –NBC News

  In response, DeSantis campaign spokesman Eric Romeo told NBC News; “Americans are rallying behind Ron DeSantis and his plan to reverse Joe Biden’s failures and restore sanity to our nation, and his momentum will only continue as voters see more of him in-person, especially in Iowa. Defeating Joe Biden and the $72 million behind him will require a nimble and candidate driven campaign, and we are building a movement to go the distance.”

  According to campaign finance reports filed Saturday, the DeSantis campaign had 92 people listed as being on the payroll for at least some period of time during the first fundraising period – the most of any GOP presidential candidate. This comes amid ‘huge payroll expenses’ and ‘fewer resources than originally thought.’

  As of now, DeSantis has $12 million in the bank – of which just $3 million can be used during the general election. Around $14 million of his Q2 haul came from donors who contributed the maximum legal amount. This means that around 2/3 of his early donors will be barred from giving directly to his campaign for the remainder of the race.

  Never Back Down, the pro-DeSantis super PAC, has said it will spend up to $200 million to boost the governor’s White House bid and has a significantly larger staff than the official campaign.

  The moment of potential reset comes ahead of a national finance committee meeting for DeSantis’ campaign Sunday in Tallahassee, which will bring the campaign’s brain trust together as they try to figure out how to chip into Trump’s massive GOP primary lead.

  The event will include a briefing at the campaign’s Tallahassee headquarters followed by a barbecue at the governor’s mansion, according to an invite reviewed by NBC News.

  Despite being on the campaign trail for nearly two months, DeSantis has been frustrating some supporters for his failure to make up ground against Trump.

  “Yeah, there are people grumbling about it, no doubt,” said one DeSantis donor. “There is an overall sense, including with me, that he just has not ignited the way we thought he would.“

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 18:35

• Pronoun Lockdown: Almost Half Of Millennials Want Jail Time For "Misgendering"
  Pronoun Lockdown: Almost Half Of Millennials Want Jail Time For “Misgendering”

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  A recent survey by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for Newsweek, found that 44 percent  of millennials (between ages 25-34) favor criminal charges for people who use the wrong pronouns for others or so-called “misgendering.” 

  We have previously discussed how misgendering is now a crime in countries like Great Britain.

  Misgendering has been referred to as an “act of violence” at some U.S. universities.

  

  There has been a concern that we are seeing the rise of a generation of censors, who have been taught since a young age that speech is harmful and even violent.

  Yet, hate speech is protected in the United States.

  Given that fact, it is astonishing to claim that a pronoun violation could lead to incarceration. Only 31 percent of the millennials disagreed with the proposition.

  They are not alone.

  Recently, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who is a lawyer, said that “if you espouse hate … you’re not protected under the First Amendment.”

  Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean declared the identical position: “Hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment.”

  Even some dictionaries now espouse this false premise, defining “hate speech” as “Speech not protected by the First Amendment, because it is intended to foster hatred against individuals or groups based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, place of national origin, or other improper classification.”

  If hate speech is constitutionally protected, pronoun use or misuse is also protected as a criminal matter.

  (There is ongoing litigation of the protection in an employment setting for civil liability or disciplinary action).

  Yet, the most serious concern is the inclination of this generation to use criminal laws to police such questions. 

  It reflects the erosion of free speech principles with younger generations. 

  That crisis of faith could prove disastrous with free speech in a virtual free fall in Europe.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 18:00

• IRS Taking 'Swift And Aggressive Action' Against 'Delinquent Millionaires' For Tax Evasion
  IRS Taking ‘Swift And Aggressive Action’ Against ‘Delinquent Millionaires’ For Tax Evasion

  The IRS on Friday announced that it’s planning on pursuing “high-income individuals evading taxes,” and says it’s made millions in recoveries from such individuals despite coming under fire for targeting a higher percentage of lower-income Americans as part of its tax audits.

  

  “The IRS is working to ensure [that] high-income filers pay the taxes they owe,” the agency said in a Friday press release. “Prior to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), more than a decade of budget cuts prevented IRS from keeping pace with the increasingly complicated set of tools that the wealthiest taxpayers use to hide their income and evade paying their share. The IRS is now taking swift and aggressive action to close this gap.”

  “In recent months, our Criminal Investigation team has closed a lengthy list of cases where wealthy taxpayers have been sentenced for tax evasion, money laundering and filing false tax returns.

  “Instead of paying taxes, these evaders spent money owed to the government on gambling at casinos, vacations and the purchase of luxury goods. For example, in one case alone, the person was ordered to pay more than $6 million in restitution.”

  The IRS says it’s closed around 175 delinquent tax cases regarding millionaires in the past few months, raising some $38 million in recoveries.

  “This is just the start. We will continue to go after delinquent millionaires as we ramp up enforcement capabilities through the IRA,” the agency statement continues.

  The IRS claims it has recently identified around 100 high-income individuals who were living in Puerto Rico without real residency for the purpose of securing potential tax breaks. The agency is also looking into taxpayers making use of Washington’s treaty with Malta to “improperly” claim tax exemptions.

  “The IRS of today is laser-focused on holding our highest-wealth filers, millionaires and billionaires, accountable for what they owe,” Commissioner Danny Werfel told reporters in a briefing.

  The Inflation Reduction Act, passed last August, had set aside $80 billion for the tax agency over a period of ten years to boost enforcement as well as improve operations and service. –Epoch Times

  The IRS has come under scrutiny for allegedly focusing more on lower-income families vs. wealthy ones, who will typically use complicated structures involving trusts and LLCs in order to minimize or avoid paying taxes.

  “The taxpayer class with unbelievably high audit rates—five and a half times virtually everyone else—were low-income wage-earners taking the earned income tax credit,” reads a Jan. 4 post by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a nonprofit data research center at Syracuse University. “This credit is provided to offset the taxes for the lowest wage-earners in the country.”

  Among the lowest wage earners, the rate of income tax audits per 1,000 filers stood at 12.7 for the lowest income wage earners in FY2022, vs. 2.3% for everyone else.

  More via the Epoch Times;

  IRS’ Focus On Low-Wage Earners

  In a 2021 annual report (pdf) to Congress, National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins pointed out that in fiscal year 2019, over half the taxpayers that IRS subjected to correspondence audits only had total positive incomes of less than $50,000. “These taxpayers often face particular challenges navigating the correspondence audit process,” the report said.

  Low-income wage earners “have historically been targeted not because they account for the most tax under-reporting, but because they are easy marks in an era when IRS increasingly relies upon correspondence audits yet doesn’t have the resources to assist taxpayers or answer their questions,” TRAC said.

  TRAC pointed out that the IRS audits of millionaire taxpayers have fallen over the past decade. In 2012, 40,965 such taxpayers were audited by the IRS. By fiscal 2020, the number fell to 7,108.

  Meanwhile, the Democrat-backed IRA has faced criticism, with some arguing that the bill will increase IRS’ taxation focus on the middle and lower-income classes.

  Before passing the bill in August, an amendment was proposed by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) stipulating that none of the $80 billion funds from the IRA set aside for the IRS could be used by the tax agency to audit taxpayers making less than $400,000 annually. The amendment was voted against by all 50 Democrat senators.

  In a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote that the new funding “shall not be used to increase the share of small business or households below the $400,000 threshold that are audited relative to historical levels.”

  However, as her directive is not in the bill, Yellen’s words do not have the force of law. “This has no teeth behind it,” said Preston Brashers, a senior tax policy analyst with The Heritage Foundation.

  Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) has estimated that the IRA can potentially amount to 1.2 million new taxpayer audits each year, out of which over 710,000 would be Americans making $75,000 or less annually.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 17:30

• More On The Battle For Rare Earths And Critical Minerals
  More On The Battle For Rare Earths And Critical Minerals

  By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

  Because this topic is such a major national security and macroeconomic concern, we wanted to follow up on last weekend’s T-Report and our latest SITREP. The change of mindset to one where nations and companies feel the “need” to control processes and inventories much better is real and has only just begun. We will, over time, see much of the “globalization” of the past few decades reversed as nations and companies identify what is critical to their mission and demand more “control” over certain things including rare earths, critical minerals, and chips.

  It will be inflationary as the capacity is developed and more of the overall environmental impact is considered, but the cost will be worth it as supplies will be more “secure.”

  An Anecdote

  I want to start with an anecdote from a participant (ESG specialist) at a recent Academy Geopolitical Summit.

  1. Australia mined lithium.

  2. Australia shipped the lithium to China to process.

  3. China processed the lithium into a form that can be used in batteries and other things.

  4. China shipped the processed lithium to Australia.

  Just think about some of the risk factors:

  • International shipping can be more time consuming and expensive than domestic freight, especially as ports get “backlogged” more frequently. That is a risk at the best of times, let alone when a country refuses access for some reason (like China during COVID).

  • International shipping likely requires more energy consumption (relying heavily on fossil fuels), which goes against what many countries and companies are trying to achieve.

  • The inability to process means that you are “captive” to a nation (or company) that you have no control over. The processing of this and many other rare earths and critical elements into a useable format is often quite “dirty” (energy and water use, etc.) from an environmental standpoint. If you are truly concerned about the environment, wouldn’t you want more control over the processing and to work with countries and companies that will enforce strict environmental standards?

  Now, Australia mines the lithium, processes it domestically, and then uses it in products that it is making domestically.

  While possibly more expensive, at least initially, many of the risks (that could not be controlled or hedged against) were eliminated by Australia.

  This “anecdote” is happening and will happen 100s of times in the coming years.

  Cost and Control

  “Cost” is not the only factor.

  • Cost cannot be narrowly defined. Risks (especially unhedgeable risks) need to be factored in better than they are.

    • Attribution, even when the work is done by third parties, is a concern for companies and a lack of control is bad.

  • Control. No one wants to feel as handcuffed as they did during COVID. Working with countries and companies that you can trust (or control) is increasingly important. The first time that this breakdown of supply chains occurred, everyone was in the same boat. However, if it happens again, companies (and countries) that are prepared will be in the driver’s seat.

  Nations and companies gave up significant control during this period of unprecedented globalization. There will be a slow unwinding of globalization because the “trust” in the system has been broken and will not be mended easily.

  Acquisition

  Let’s start this section, meant to be about the ability to acquire supplies of rare earths and critical minerals, with a discussion about “blood diamonds.” It isn’t entirely clear how we segue from “cost and control” and “Australian lithium” to “blood diamonds,” but it is worth spending a minute or two on this topic.

  Nations and companies want to be able to secure and process the resources.

  That sounds simple on the surface (especially the acquisition part). We can extract them ourselves from our own land or we can acquire them from some other country that has access to them.

  But let’s just look at something as “obvious” as blood diamonds.

  We (in the “West”) can choose to avoid blood diamonds. We can also feel better about ourselves because our jewelry doesn’t come from the horrifying world of blood diamonds (I assume that there is an industrial equivalent to this argument).
  But the blood diamonds don’t go away because we won’t buy them.

  The Wagner Group allegedly benefits from the blood diamond trade. The Wagner Group offers “protection” and is supposedly paid at least in part with blood diamonds (seems entirely plausible). The West decreases the value of those blood diamonds by not buying them, which ironically (or sadly) probably means that the bad people have to collect more blood diamonds to pay the other bad people for their services.

  I am not saying that our stance on blood diamonds is wrong, but so long as a market of sufficient size remains for them, it may be naïve to think that we’ve “solved” anything.

  No one in the West wants blood diamonds, but blood diamonds probably helped the Wagner Group (and Russia) in the war in Ukraine. Life is complicated!

  I mention “blood diamonds” because unfortunately, in the battle to secure rare earths and critical minerals, countries and companies are likely to face many moral dilemmas. These are dilemmas that our main competitor (China) and our enemies (Russia, Iran) don’t have.

  Being brutally honest, we probably had to deal with many moral issues related to petroleum, but over time we have figured out a way to get the resources we need (by having a strong domestic industry for example). However, we will have to deal with these issues again.

  It would be nice if the acquisition of rare earths and critical minerals was a “walk in the park” and every source came from an area with an impeccable human rights record, a democratic political system, and a low Gini coefficient (a high Gini coefficient represents wealth inequality). However, they won’t all be found in countries like this and I’m not sure that many such countries even exist. It would also be nice if all the resource could be extracted in an environmentally friendly manner with no impact on the workers or regions from which the resources are being extracted. While that just isn’t likely, we can still make the efforts to make it happen (even if this will likely drive prices higher).

  There will be a real challenge for countries and nations to secure resources in a world that isn’t on a level playing field.

  We know what we will do when one nation invades another, but do we know what we will do when we lose mineral rights to players that just don’t care about the same things that we value?

  I don’t know the answer, but this subject will come up over and over again in many forms, and is something that we will need to grapple with as we try to balance the need for control/security with maintaining our ethical and moral standards.
  This is definitely a wildcard in my thought process, but I am optimistic that there are enough “good” sources in “good” countries that we can acquire and process what we need.

  Processing

  Taking control of the processing seems like a “no-brainer” to me.

  While rare earths and critical minerals are important, they are relatively useless compared to the refined products.

  • We want the control and security of being able to process them into those refined products.

  • We want the control and security to oversee the refining process because then we can control the level of environmental risk associated with that processing.

  Seems easy, but there are many things that seem like no-brainers to me that get bogged down in politics or the courts, so one can only hope that we get there.

  Bottom Line

  • Deglobalization.

  • Steady inflation.

  • More “security” for us, our allies, and our companies.

  It is difficult to put a cost on “control” and “security,” but it is imperative on us (as nations and companies) to be prepared to pay that cost to “win” in the long run.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 17:00

• US Virgin Islands Demands $190 Million From JPMorgan Over Jeffrey Epstein Relationship
  US Virgin Islands Demands $190 Million From JPMorgan Over Jeffrey Epstein Relationship

  The US Virgin Islands says it’s seeking at least $190 million from JPMorgan in its lawsuit accusing the bank of facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.

  In a Friday court filing in Manhattan, the USVI also said it wants JPMorgan to commit to reforms that would prevent the bank from enabling human trafficking in the future. Epstein notably had a private island in the USVI where he brought many of his victims – and an unreleased list of associates who abused them.

  

  “I am gratified that the victims have received some measure of compensation from the bank, but more needs to be done to hold JPMorgan Chase accountable and to ensure this does not happen to another generation of women and girls,” said USVI AG Ariel Smith in a statement, Bloomberg reports.

  Last month JPMorgan settled with a group of Epstein victims for $290 million without admitting liability. The USVI suit seeks damages over the bank’s relationship with the dead pedophile which spanned 1998 to 2013.

  The bank says the Friday filing by the USVI does not comport with previous “settlement conversations” between the parties, according to a spokeswoman, who added: “As for the USVI’s misdirected damages theories, they are not well-founded and are being challenged by JPM in court.”

  JPMorgan has argued that the USVI suit is flawed because the territory itself facilitated Epstein’s crimes. For instance, the bank has noted that Cecile de Jongh, the former first lady of the USVI, worked for Epstein and helped arrange visas and travel for women he brought there. Epstein in return paid the Skidmore College tuition for one of De Jongh’s children and provided many other benefits.

  According to its court filing, USVI is seeking $150 million in penalties from JPMorgan for allegedly facilitating Epstein’s sex trafficking. The territory said it also wants $40 million that it estimates JPMorgan earned in fees from managing Epstein’s accounts and the accounts of ultra-high net worth figures he referred to the bank. -Bloomberg

  In its filing, the USVI indicated that it will seek additional compensatory and punitive damages to be distributed to the victims.

  The territory has sought to block the bank from arguing in court that the USVI has “unclean hands” due to several times between officials and Epstein. According to the USVI, a state entity can’t be held liable for failing to protect specific individuals – only the general public.

  Both the settled suit and the USVI action concern the relationship between former JPMorgan executive Jes Staley and Epstein, who had – in Staley’s words, a “profound” relationship.

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

• Hedge Fund CIO: "Such Drama Should Remind Us To Do Those Things We Find Least Comfortable"
  Hedge Fund CIO: “Such Drama Should Remind Us To Do Those Things We Find Least Comfortable”

  By Eric Peters, CIO of One River Asset Management

  US District Judge Analisa Torres granted summary judgment to Ripple on claims by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it sold unregistered securities through sales to retail investors on digital asset exchanges.

  Torres reasoned that such investors did not know that Ripple was on the other side of the trade, so they could not have known or expected that Ripple would use the money to boost the value of its token (XRP).

  It was phenomenal news for Ripple, many other tokens, and for digital asset exchanges. The judge, however, also ruled that sales of XRP to institutional investors were unregistered securities.

  This second ruling was not in Ripple’s favor, but it had no bearing on digital asset exchanges. So, for Ripple, the news was mixed, but XRP nevertheless rocketed 75%.

  There is no greater gravitational force in financial markets than uncertainty, and after a 3yr legal battle with the SEC, it had largely lifted.

  Coinbase shares surged 25%, its largest one-day gain as a public company. Judge Torres’s ruling weakened the SEC’s case against Coinbase in dramatic fashion.

  Like all things in crypto, the moves are big, the cycles compressed. With no buyer of last resort, no central bank to bail you out, hostile regulators, frightened incumbent banks, and politicians with agendas that are difficult to comprehend, crypto markets are where the rawest lessons in investing can be learnt.

  On Nov 9th last year when Binance withdrew its bid to acquire FTX, Sequoia wrote down its $210mm investment to $0, and the SEC/DOJ opened investigations, the NYT ran this headline: “Is this Crypto’s Lehman Moment?”

  Markets plunged. Bitcoin fell to around $15,800. Ethereum hit $1,100. They’re now up 92% and 76% respectively.

  And on June 6th when the SEC sued Coinbase, its stock traded around $40 pre-market. It is up 133% from those lows and +200% from the Nov 9th panic lows.

  Such drama should remind us to do those things we find least comfortable. To lean against the crowd, its panic. To reflect on our own emotions so that we can deny them. In the pursuit of profit.  

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

• CDC Used Journal To Promote Masks Despite 'Unreliable' And 'Unsupported Data': New Analysis
  CDC Used Journal To Promote Masks Despite ‘Unreliable’ And ‘Unsupported Data’: New Analysis

  Authored by Megan Redshaw, J.D. via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A new analysis of studies in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) flagship scientific journal found the agency promoted the effectiveness of masks using unreliable data with conclusions unsupported by evidence.

  

  The preprint, published July 11 on MedRxiv, found the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) made positive findings about the efficacy of masks 75 percent of the time, despite only 30 percent of studies testing masks, and less than 15 percent having “statistically significant results.”

  No studies were randomized, yet the CDC in over half of their MMWR studies, made misleading statements indicating a causal relationship between mask-wearing and a decrease in COVID-19 cases or transmission, despite failing to show evidence of mask effectiveness.

  The inappropriate use of causal language in MMWR studies was directly adopted by then CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky to promote masks and recommendations urging Americans to mask up. The authors said their findings “raise concern about the reliability of the journal for informing health policy” and suggest bias within the journal.

  The MMWR, often called “the voice of the CDC,” is the agency’s primary vehicle for “scientific publication of timely, reliable, authoritative, accurate, objective, and useful public health information and recommendations.”

  The publication—subject only to peer review internally by the agency—is frequently used to draft national health policies. For example, mask requirements implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic for federal workers, travelers, schools, businesses, healthcare workers, and Head Start programs—“mirrored” CDC recommendations.

  Of the 77 reviews cited in the agency’s MMWR used to promote masks, researchers found the following:

  • Only 23 of 77 studies assessed the effectiveness of masks, yet 58 of 77 studies claimed masks were effective.
  • Of the 58 studies, 41 used “causal language,” and 40 misused causal language. Causal language is where an “action or entity is explicitly presented as influencing another” and should not be used in observational studies because these types of studies merely identify “associations” and cannot establish that the “associations identified represent cause-and-effect relationships.”
  • According to the analysis, the 40 studies that used causal language indicated with certainty that masks lower transmission rates, despite the fact their results, at most, found a correlation. In addition, 25 of the 40 studies didn’t even assess the effectiveness of masks. The one remaining study used causal language related to particle filtration on mannequins with “unknown relevance for human health.”
  • Of the 58 studies referenced above, only one mentioned conflicting data on mask effectiveness—the authors noted it was an international study primarily focused on influenza.
  • Four of the 77 studies had more cases in the mask group than in the comparator group, yet all four studies concluded masks were effective.

  None of the 77 studies assessed after 2019 were randomized, and none cited randomized data.

  

  Randomized studies are the “gold standard” for determining whether an intervention or treatment is effective. Instead, the CDC most commonly used observational studies without controls or comparison groups.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 15:30

• "Shocking Number": Rivian Owner Sees $42,000 Repair Bill For Minor Accident
  “Shocking Number”: Rivian Owner Sees $42,000 Repair Bill For Minor Accident

  We’ve explained to readers that auto insurers are inflating premiums for their customers due to the skyrocketing costs associated with vehicle repairs. Some insurers are opting to write off electric vehicles even for minor incidents, as it’s uneconomical to fix these complex systems. For those insurers who do undertake the repairs on EVs, the expenses are shockingly high. 

  The latest example of insurers getting roasted on repairs is a report from The New York Times that says a Rivian owner said his R1T electric pickup truck was involved in a minor fender bender in February in Columbus, Ohio. The insurance company of the driver who struck Chris Apfelstadt’s R1T offered to pay about $1,600 for the repairs. 

  However, after the R1T was taken to a certified repair shop in Columbus, the costs soared to a whopping $42,000 — or about half of the starting price of the EV. 

  

  “A key reason is that the accident damaged a sleek panel that extends from the truck’s rear to front roof pillars. Repairing and repainting it set off a cascade of pricey work, including removing the interior ceiling material, known as the headliner, and front windshield,” NYT wrote. 

  Perhaps the high costs were also associated with “Rivian’s small size and youth”… and “like other auto start-ups, the company, which is based in Irvine, Calif., and delivered its first vehicles to customers in 2021, does not sell through franchised dealers and has had to build an independent repair network from scratch,” the paper continued. 

  Auto experts have said repairing EVs is more expensive than fixing gasoline vehicles. We penned a note in March titled Not ESG-Friendly: Insurers Junk Entire EVs For Minor Accidents. It only takes one minor accident to damage a battery pack, and if that occurs, it must be replaced at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars. 

  At the same time, auto insurance rates are soaring as the cost of fixing not just EVs but all vehicles has led to significant losses for big insurance companies over the last few years. America’s largest insurer, State Farm, lost 28 cents for every premium written in 2022. It posted a $13 billion underwriting loss for its auto arm. 

  If you’ve visited a vintage car show this summer, you’ve likely overheard chatter like, “I wish they still made cars like these.” We agree that incorporating technology into cars is beneficial, but the expense of maintenance and repair in the event of any malfunction or minor fender bender is astronomical. Decades ago, when vehicles had no microchips, anyone with the right tools and common sense could repair these simple machines and even change the oil. It’s becoming clear that complex automobiles have their downfalls. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 15:00

• Russia, Iran Coordinating To Expel US Troops From Syria, Pentagon Says
  Russia, Iran Coordinating To Expel US Troops From Syria, Pentagon Says

  Via The Cradle,

  In a report released by Al-Monitor on Friday, a high-ranking US military official was quoted as saying that Russian and Iranian forces in Syria have been coordinating with the specific aim of forcing Washington’s troops to eventually withdraw from the country.

  The official said that “he’s seen signs that Russian military commanders in Syria have been quietly coordinating with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on long-term plans to pressure the United States to withdraw its forces” from Syria, Al-Monitor wrote. 

  

  “There’s a confluence of interests between those three groups, the Iranians, the Russians, and the Syrians. I see evidence of operational-level planning between mid-level Quds Force leadership that’s operating in Syria [and] Russian forces that are operating in Syria,” the anonymous official told the outlet. 

  According to the official, the Russian-Iranian coordination in Syria centers around “collaborative planning, collaborative understanding, and intelligence sharing… [at the] mid-level to upper echelon” of Moscow and Tehran’s armies. 

  “Frankly, [it’s] the same sorts of things that we would do with our partners in the face of something we were trying to accomplish. We see them doing that on their side, as they try to think about how they sync the different things that different arms of them are doing in order to put that pressure on us,” the source added. 

  In recent months, Washington has continued to reinforce its occupation in Syria, particularly in the country’s oil-rich northeast. In occupied Hasakah, local sources told Syrian news agency SANA last week that large deliveries of US logistical equipment and cement recently made their way into the region. 

  Such reinforcements have been ongoing for months, particularly in the aftermath of the surge in Iranian-linked attacks against US bases in Syria this year.  According to Al-Monitor, “Pentagon officials deny their forces’ actions in Syria have had anything to do with Russian and Iranian provocations,” adding that the US believes its recent responses “have arrested the escalation cycle for now.”

  Over the past two years, attacks on US bases by Iran-linked groups in Syria have become commonplace. In early 2023 particularly, US military sites across Syria witnessed significantly increased levels of drone and missile attacks. 

  In March, one such strike resulted in the killing of a US military contractor at a base in Hasakah. In response, US forces bombed Deir Ezzor, killing several, including Syrian and, allegedly, Iranian military officers. Shortly after the US strikes, two more occupation bases were attacked. The attacks against Washington have “fallen silent” since the strikes on Deir Ezzor, Al-Monitor suggests. 

  Noteworthy: After sending aging A-10 attack aircraft to the Middle East to replace more modern aircraft as a part of the “pivot to Asia,” the U.S. is now sending additional F-16 fighter jets to deter growing ties between #Iran, #Russia, and #Syria.https://t.co/st5WgdDbS5

  — Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) July 14, 2023

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

  US Army General Douglas Sims told reporters recently: “We don’t anticipate an issue, nor do we see a level of escalation we’re concerned about in Syria.” Nonetheless, the Al-Monitor report states US forces in Syria remain “vulnerable.”

  Last month, a leaked Pentagon document revealed that Russia and Iran have agreed to establish a joint operations room in Syria to coordinate a pressure campaign against the US military. 

  On March 25, Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that “there is undeclared Russian-Iranian coordination to escalate against the US presence in Syria, to pressure the US and force it to decide to withdraw from its bases in the north and east of the country.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 14:30

• How The 'Great Society' Destroyed The Nuclear Family Structure In One Chart
  How The ‘Great Society’ Destroyed The Nuclear Family Structure In One Chart

  Who destroyed the American family?

  The argument can be made that the Great Society programs initiated the destruction of the nuclear family structure. The blame starts with President Lyndon B. Johnson’s set of domestic programs in the mid-1960s that were used to fight ‘poverty’ but only discouraged work and destabilized families. 

  Six long decades of socialist welfare programs have aided in the break up of the nuclear family structure. In fact, a central tenet of Marxism is to dismantle this structure. 

  Remember, the Black Lives Matter organization and Marxism share similar goals. BLM stated in 2020 it wanted to abolish the family as we know it: 

  We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and “villages” that collectively care for one another, especially our children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.

  So clearly, there’s been a half-century war on the nuclear family. The latest US Census data shows that a record number of Americans live alone. 

  Census data shows 27.6% of all US-occupied households were one-person households in 2020, up from just 7.7% in 1940. The largest share of people living alone occurred between 1970 and 1980, when the percentage increased from 17.6% to 22.7%, right after the welfare programs started. 

  

  So what’s the result of progressives tearing down the nuclear family structure? Well, Just The News recently noted:

  First, the US has the highest rate of single-parent households in the world. Second, the connection between single-parent households and crime is very strong. According to research carried out by Jerrod Brown, a behavioral specialist at Concordia St. Paul, the extant literature “suggests that children raised in single-parent households experience more physical and psychological problems compared to those raised in two-parent households.” Moreover, he added, the “implications of homes in which fathers are absent may be important to explore for criminal justice and mental health professionals.”

  Maybe this whole Great Society experiment has gone terribly wrong. Let’s try something different. Maybe bring back the family unit and dial back welfare programs.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 14:00

• Hollywood Actors Strike: "It's Only Going To Get Worse"
  Hollywood Actors Strike: “It’s Only Going To Get Worse”

  Authored by Catherine Yang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Summer blockbusters aren’t going to see any actors on red carpets and promotional events—the “Oppenheimer” cast attending the film premiere in the UK have just walked off to join the actors strike.

  

  In a Thursday morning vote, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) unanimously decided to strike. On July 14, the actors will picket.

  The historic walk-out comes after contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which represents studios, fell apart midnight July 12, even after a federal mediator was called in at the eleventh hour. The contracts were originally set to expire June 30, but negotiations were extended 12 days.

  This is the first SAG-AFTRA strike in about 40 years, and the first time both actors and writers have been on strike together since 1960.

  Guild leaders described the crossroads as an existential one that many industries face. Namely, will technology eclipse human contribution?

  When businesses look to Wall Street for answers instead of their creative collaborators, that answer has become yes, according to Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA President and co-chief negotiator.

  “The eyes of labor are upon us. What happens here is important, because it’s happening across all fields of labor,” said Ms. Drescher at a press conference after the vote.

  “I went in in earnest, thinking we could avoid a strike,” she said. “The gravity of this move is not lost on me.”

  “The entire business model has been changed by streaming, digital, AI—this is a moment of history, and a moment of truth. If we don’t stand tall right now we are all going to be in jeopardy of being replaced by machines and big business, who cares more about Wall Street than you and your family,” she said.

  Historic Deal?

  The big issues on the table had been streaming residuals and AI on top of the regular negotiations on minimum increases.

  AMPTP released its own statement after the actors’ announcement of a strike, claiming studios presented “a deal that offered historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, and a groundbreaking AI proposal.”

  Thursday morning, Disney CEO Bob Iger went on CNBC to criticize the union’s decision to walk out as “disruptive.”

  

  “It’s very disturbing to me. We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it’s not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption,” Mr. Iger said.

  “There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.”

  SAG-AFTRA pushed back on AMPTP’s claims in a press conference held after Thursday’s vote.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 07/16/2023 – 13:30