• Could Falling Private Jet Demand Be Another Sign Rich Pull Back On Spending Ahead Of Economic Turbulence?
  Could Falling Private Jet Demand Be Another Sign Rich Pull Back On Spending Ahead Of Economic Turbulence?

  A slump in the use of private jets in the US could suggest that wealthy individuals are reducing their spending in response to the rising threat of recession in the next 12 months. 

  Bloomberg data shows private jet flights across the US peaked in early 2022 and have been sliding ever since. Takeoffs and landings fell 4.5% in the first quarter compared with the same quarter last year. The drop accelerated to 9.3% in April compared with an 8.6% decline in March, possibly a sign demand is crumbling. 

  

  With the industry under pressure and capital markets in a volatile state, Flexjet, the second-largest US operator of private jets behind NetJets Inc., was forced to shelve its SPAC last month. 

  Even though private jet demand is still above 2019 levels — many wealthy individuals have yet to return to commercial airlines in a post-pandemic era. Still, with all the new demand, the rich are cutting back in the first half of 2023 as recession risks rise. 

  Some industry insiders welcome the end of the private jet boom that took off during Covid. 

  Kenn Ricci, chairman of Flexjet, told Bloomberg: 

  “Thank God it’s not what it was last year.” He said his company saw annual flight hours jump to 145,000 from 90,000 before the pandemic. 

  Sliding private jet demand comes as recent debit and credit card data published by the Bank of America Institute shows wealthy folks are pulling back on spending. 

  

  Besides waning demand, a recent JPMorgan Chase report showed average asking price for private jets fell 1.2% in March from February to $12.8 million. There’s some easing of prices after the boom over the last few years. Still, the average asking price was 7% above prices from last year due to tight inventory. 

  A combination of wealthy folks reducing private jet flights and pulling back on spending comes as Bloomberg data shows recession probabilities for the next 12 months have reached 100%. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/24/2023 – 02:45

• War – NATO Beaten By "A Restaurant Owner & A Bunch Of Convicts"?
  War – NATO Beaten By “A Restaurant Owner & A Bunch Of Convicts”?

  Authored by Raul Ilargi Meijer via The Automatic Earth blog,

  In Bakhmut/Artyomovsk, all of NATO, all 31 member nations, were defeated by a restaurant owner and a bunch of convicts, is how I saw someone describe it. That of course caricatures the situation somewhat (Wagner is well-organized), but it’s not that far off. And that spells a serious problem for NATO.

  All of those 31 members may have lots of control over their media, but in the end you can’t endlessly deny being defeated.

  

  So what will NATO do now? They will double down, and then again. And at the end of the “doubling down road” lie nuclear weapons. Not Russian nukes, because as my friend Wayne wrote the other day, their high-precision hypersonic missiles make nukes look crude and primitive, Middle Ages territory. But NATO/US never developed such weapons. They spent 10+ times as much money on weapons, still do, and -comparatively – ended up with bows and arrows.

  Nuclear bombs are good only to create widespread panic and destruction. But that includes your own destruction, because of Mutually Assured Destruction protocols. Which also go back almost as far as the bow and arrow. If you fire a nuclear missile, one very much like it will land on your head a few minutes later. End of story, end of you.

  US/NATO, the “collective west”, the hegemon, has lost. And has missed the moment when that occurred. Because hegemon equals hubris. Look at what they’ve all still been saying, and you notice they can’t see, and can’t acknowledge, that -and how- the world has changed. Not just this weekend, and the 9 months before, in Artyomovsk. It’s the entire story of Ukraine: it illustrates how the West “lost it”.

  The US plotted a coup and moved NATO’s borders east, and Russia reacted exactly how they said they would. No nukes, no nazis, no NATO. They got the last two, and know they can expect the first too. But still the west maintains Russia’s special operation was entirely unprovoked. Look, they’re not even listening anymore. They would like to negotiate and end all this, but negotiate about what? Putting AZOV back on the borders of the Donbass, so they can kill more Russians there? Not going to happen.

  It’s not only about weaponry, though that plays a major role: the hegemon can no longer make its demands based on military might. It’s been surpassed.

  Nor can it make demands based on the dollar’s reserve currency status, and it caused that itself. Weaponization of the currency has backfired to the extent that de-dollarization has become a process that can no longer be halted.

  The moment that Saudi prince MbS turned his back on “Joe Biden” is a milestone. Because once he did that, it was obvious many would follow. In central Asia, if you are Kazachstan or Uzbekistan, why on earth would you opt to go with G7/US/NATO instead of BRICS? Why go with the power that is waning, and not the one in ascendancy? Russia is your biggest neighbor, strongly connected to China which is building its BRI network in your region, and the nearby Arab states are about to join that network. Why would you link yourself to the G7? When you know all your neighbors do not?

  Then there are the voices that say the US will push for a bigger and wider war, perhaps including American troops. First, because NATO is losing, and second, because it could mean American boots on the ground, and presidents don’t lose elections in wartime. I’ve said before, I would expect them to go with Polish troops first, possibly on Polish territory too. But the Polish don’t appear all that eager anymore. And neither would any other European NATO country. German and French and Dutch troops are in no shape for war, and in the US over 70% of potential troops are grossly overweight and/or handicapped in some other way.

  Ukraine had perhaps the best boots on the ground force in Europe, financed and trained since 2014 by NATO, and they lost to a caterer and a loose group of hired hands. You’re not going to win that. Your only option is long distance weapons, missiles, planes, you name it. But NATO has no advantage in that over Russia. To put it mildly.

  The sole thing that’s in your favor is that Russia doesn’t seek to destroy you. They want to live in peace and trade with you. Same thing for China. NATO equals unipolar. But the world has moved towards multipolar. Ergo, NATO is obsolete. Ukraine will never reconquer its “lost” territories, and Zelensky will move to some property in Italy or Florida, never to be heard from again, unless perhaps in his obituary. The deaths of some 300,000 of his countrymen will be on his conscience.

  But also on that of all the “leaders” who have sent their second-hand armory to Kiev. They are just as responsible for all those deaths. The world has changed a lot in the past few years, and ignorance is no excuse if you are a “leader”, or a “Joe Biden”. Not even if you’re “just” a voter or reader. Those deaths will be on your head when you go see St. Peter at the gate.

  PS: Don’t be surprised if “Joe Biden” sends US boots on the ground anyway. No hegemon has ever given up power lightly. That part of the road is yours, US and EU voters. You may have to fill up the streets like you’ve never seen. The rest, the majority, of the world will be waiting to see if you do or not. They’re prepared for either of the two options

  *  *  *

  Support the Automatic Earth via Patreon.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/24/2023 – 02:00

• COVID Vaccine-Injured Sue Biden Administration Over Censorship
  COVID Vaccine-Injured Sue Biden Administration Over Censorship

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

  A woman who suffered severe nerve damage after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination and four others with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 vaccine injuries launched a lawsuit against President Joe Biden and his administration on May 22.

  

  Top government officials violated the plaintiffs’ rights to free speech and peaceful assembly when they pressured Big Tech companies to crack down on people sharing their experience after receiving the COVID-19 vaccines, Brianne Dressen, the woman, and the other plaintiffs say.

  “Through threats, pressure, inducement, and coercion, Defendants now work in concert with social media companies to censor content the government deems ‘disinformation,’ ‘misinformation,’ and ‘malinformation’—a feat that the government could never lawfully accomplish alone,” the 124-page suit, filed in U.S. court in southern Texas, states.

  In addition to Biden, defendants include Rob Flaherty, a top adviser to Biden; White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre; the Department of Homeland Security; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

  Defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment, or could not be reached.

  Dressen hailed the lawsuit as a major development for those reporting to be suffering from vaccine injuries.

  “People injured by the COVID vaccines in the United States have not been able to file suit anywhere, under any circumstance,” she told The Epoch Times. “So this is a landmark case for Americans injured by the COVID vaccine.”

  COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers are largely immune from litigation in the United States due to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act declaration entered by the Trump administration in early 2020. Most other vaccine manufacturers are also shielded from liability under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.

  Censorship

  The five people who experienced serious problems following vaccination are joined by Ernest Ramirez, whose son died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. They’ve repeatedly been censored by platforms like Twitter and Instagram as they tried to  share their stories.

  Ramirez, for instance, saw a GoFundMe that sought to raise funds for him to travel to Washington to share his son’s story taken down. GoFundMe claimed the account was removed for violating conduct the company prohibits. GoFundMe did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

  Another plaintiff, Nikki Holland, meanwhile, posted videos on TikTok regarding her experiences after being vaccinated, including the injuries she suffered. TikTok said the videos violated guidelines such as one against posting “violent and graphic content.”

  “When I really started to share and open up about things, I started to notice that a lot of stuff was being taken down and censored,” Holland told The Epoch Times. “That adds a whole new world of questioning to motive and what’s really going on because … why would you censor something you might need to look into to protect millions of others?”

  TikTok did not immediately return a query.

  The other plaintiffs are Shaun Barcavage, a former nurse who has been on disability leave since suffering medical problems after receiving Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine; Kristi Dobbs, a dental hygienist who suffered “debilitating medical injuries” after a shot of Pfizer’s vaccine; and Suzanna Newell, who is also on disability leave due to problems following vaccination.

  The right to peacefully assemble was also violated when Facebook and other big tech platforms disbanded groups where those with suspected or confirmed adverse reactions following vaccination gathered, according to the suit.

  One Facebook group called “A Wee Sprinkle of Hope” was shut down after a group member posted an infographic of symptoms people have experienced following COVID-19 vaccination and Dressen shared a link to a press conference at which she had shared about her symptoms.

  Facebook’s message to Dressen was that the group violated the company’s “Community Standards on misinformation that could cause physical harm.” Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for an explanation from the group.

  The removal of the groups robbed those suffering injuries after a COVID-19 vaccine of key gathering places for the exchange of information as they sought to figure out how to treat their often-debilitating conditions. Dressen said she is aware of multiple suicides as a result, because the censorship sparked feelings of helplessness amid the suffering.

  The deplatforming was “devastating, especially when you’re being censored and no one’s listening to you,” Holland said.

  Evidence

  Evidence unearthed in an ongoing case against the government, as well as internal Twitter documents, underpin the new case.

  Discovery in Missouri v. Biden litigation, lodged by the attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana against the Biden administration, has revealed that officials pressured WhatsApp, Facebook, and other technology companies to censor users talking about problems following COVID-19 vaccination, including posts that accurately outlined the lack of evidence for COVID-19 vaccines among certain populations.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/24/2023 – 00:05

• Unlike Washington, Americans Are Far From Their Personal 'Debt Ceiling'
  Unlike Washington, Americans Are Far From Their Personal ‘Debt Ceiling’

  When the New York Fed‘s latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit revealed that U.S. consumers’ credit card debt had not seen its usual post-holiday-season dip in the first quarter of 2023 all while total consumer debt had risen past $17 trillion for the first time, some reporters rang the alarm bells, saying that Americans were showing signs of financial stress amid high inflation and rising interest rates.

  And while it’s true that delinquency transition rates, i.e. the share of current debt becoming delinquent, increased for the fifth consecutive quarter for most types of credit, delinquency rates are still low, historically speaking, with less than 3 percent of total consumer debt delinquent, i.e. at least 30 days late.

  Moreover, one could argue that the absence of a drop in credit card balances in the first quarter is a sign of robust consumer spending rather than financial stress.

  After all, credit cards are mostly used as a payment method rather than a borrowing method these days.

  

  And lastly, as Statista’s Felix Richter reports, as opposed to their government, Americans are far from reaching their debt ceiling, at least as far as credit cards are concerned.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  With a total credit card balance of $986 billion and a total limit of $4.5 trillion, U.S. consumer actually have $3.5 trillion in untapped available credit on their cards.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 23:45

• Green Projects Hit Iron Wall
  Green Projects Hit Iron Wall

  Authored by James E. Hanley via RealClear Wire,

  Developers looking to build thousands of wind turbines off the Mid-Atlantic and New England coast are coming up against a force even more relentless than the Atlantic winds: the Iron Law of Megaprojects, offering a warning of the trouble ahead for green-energy projects. 

  

  The Iron Law, coined by Oxford Professor Bent Flyvbjerg, says that “megaprojects” — which cost billions of dollars, take years to complete, and are socially transformative — reliably come in over budget, over time, over and over. 

  From Boston’s Big Dig to California’s high-speed rail to New York’s 12 years-overdue and 300% over-budget East Side Access rail project, big boondoggles routinely demonstrate the validity of the rule. 

  Offshore wind projects are not immune to the Iron Law, regularly experiencing vast cost overruns before a single watt is generated.  

  The New York state government, looking to replace oil- and gas-fired powerplants with hundreds of wind towers off Long Island, set out in 2019 to create an offshore wind supply chain from scratch, beginning with a massive state-funded turbine fabrication facility about 100 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River. 

  Ground still hasn’t even been broken, but the budget certainly has: The price of that Port of Albany facility has already doubled from $350 million to $700 million. An additional $100 million may be needed for equipment costs, raising the final price tag to $800 million. 

  A similar situation is playing out in New London, Connecticut, where a state-funded pier facility being built to support that state’s offshore wind buildout has more than doubled in price from an original estimate of $95 million to $250 million.   

  And in Massachusetts, developer Commonwealth Wind has asked the state to scrap its power purchase guarantees and rebid the project, arguing that inflation and supply chain problems mean the project is not financially viable under its current contracts. 

  Big projects tend to exceed their cost projections for many reasons. One is the unanticipated, and sometimes unprecedented, complexity of these projects. Further uncertainties and costs arise from the challenge of navigating the red tape of the modern regulatory state. In addition, there is the risk of inflation for projects that take years, sometimes decades, to develop. Underlying all these is often a failure to spend enough time on careful planning that treats reality as a fundamental constraint. 

  But sometimes project sponsors may simply worry that accurate cost projections could scare away public support at the outset, and choose to employ what Prof. Flyvbjerg politely calls “strategic misrepresentation.” 

  As former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said, “If people knew the real cost from the start, nothing would ever be approved. . . . Start digging a hole and make it so big, there’s no alternative to coming up with the money to fill it in.”  

  If that sounds too cynical, note that the current Chair of the Connecticut Port Authority has admitted that when officials first proposed the pier facility, they already knew it would cost more than they were claiming.   

  Ironically, the New York and Connecticut projects aren’t even big enough to be considered megaprojects, and yet even they have run into the Iron Law of being over budget and behind schedule. The challenges won’t diminish with bigger and more ambitious green energy projects. 

  In New York, the state’s huge Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act — of which the Port of Albany project is the first substantial investment — is projected to cost between $270 and $290 billion. At that price it is a gigaproject composed of numerous individual megaprojects. 

  The benefits, mostly in the form of greenhouse gas reductions, are supposed to be up to $415 billion. But if the overall cost of the policy climbs by merely 55 percent, which is in the normal range for megaprojects (and much less than the Port of Albany cost overrun), the costs will exceed the benefits, creating a net loss for New Yorkers.  

  If costs balloon to twice the initial estimates, which is not uncommon, the state stands to spend more than more than a hundred billion dollars more than gained in benefits That would be a loss of over $30,000 per New York household by 2050.  

  And that’s assuming the benefits are as good as promised. It gets even worse if, as is common, the benefits have been overstated.  

  The tale of megaprojects is a cautionary one for the whole country as we attempt to transition away from fossil fuels. Cost estimates for a nationwide transition span from $4.7 trillion to over $60 trillion – almost three times U.S. GDP. Such uncertainty should give us pause for thought before jumping wildly into the financial unknown. 

  If we’re not careful, we may be digging Willie Brown-style holes, and politically and financially we may find ourselves in too deep to ever get ourselves out. 

  James E. Hanley is a Fellow at the Empire Center for Public Policy

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 23:25

• Pentagon Can't Account For Thousands Of Ultra-Expensive F-35 Parts Globally
  Pentagon Can’t Account For Thousands Of Ultra-Expensive F-35 Parts Globally

  Just three weeks ago Defense News published an extensive investigative report which posed the question in its headline, Lockheed eyes new F-35 parts deal, but can it handle wartime demands? The report introduced: 

  By the end of the year, a new and unusual deal for the F-35 fighter′s spare parts could be in place — one that would flip the current supply model on its head.

  If the proposed performance-based logistics contract works the way F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin has promised, it will save the government money, improve the availability of spare parts and give the company greater flexibility on how it assists repairs, such as making it easier to fix a broken part without fabricating a new one.

  Fast-forward to Tuesday, and the congressional watchdog Government Accountability Office (GOA) released a devastating report which reveals the entire question of “saving the government money” to be laughable and way off. 

  

  Bloomberg writes based on the new GOA findings that “The Pentagon can’t account for hundreds of thousands of spare parts worth millions of dollars that are stored worldwide for the US and allies for its costliest weapon, the F-35 jet, according to congressional auditors.” So perhaps the Pentagon should think about simply locating the missing ones first before a giant Lockheed parts overhaul is put into place. 

  Even long before this, going years back, the controversial program to develop the ultra-costly stealth multirole combat aircraft produced periodic headlines like the following in 2020: The Pentagon’s $35 Trillion Accounting Black Hole.

  The fact that the Department of Defense has failed to pass a DOD-wide audit for the fifth consecutive year has compounded the problem which has been months or years in the making, to the tune of millions billions lost – which could eventually add up to a one-and-a-half trillion dollars black hole. 

  This as the GOA report has confirmed the Pentagon’s F-35 program office doesn’t provide oversight for the parts: 

  Unlike scores of GAO reports and other assessments that analyze the fighter jet’s cost, schedule and flying performance, the new audit delved into the more mundane and largely invisible work of supporting the aircraft once it’s delivered to international customers. The operation and support bill for the F-35 may reach an estimated $1.4 trillion through 2088.

  Allies don’t own parts and tap into the Defense Department’s worldwide shared pool of spares, including engines, tires, landing gear and items such as bolts, screws and fasteners. The Pentagon’s F-35 program office doesn’t maintain accountability over the parts, “the total value of which is unknown,” the GAO said.

  It is manufacturer Lockheed Martin which solely “tracks” the records (supposedly), given the Pentagon has been “unable to provide the cost, total quantity, and locations of spare parts in the global spares pool.”

  

  According to the GOA report: 

  The lack of visibility into the inventory “increases the risk of misstatement on DOD’s financial statements and the risk of mismanagement of the F-35 global spares pool,” it said.

  All of this comes the same week that multiple media reports and former top US officials have highlighted that contractor price-gouging is common and routine when it comes to the gargantuan defense budget, at taxpayer’s expense of course. For example, former Pentagon insiders told Newsweek that the Biden administration’s ‘blank check’ approach to Ukraine has resulted in a massive arms flow to Kiev “no matter the expense.” Naturally this has resulted in diminished incentive to engage in serious and timely audits for things like expensive jet parts, and to determine where they are globally. 

  Lockheed continues to be front and center in these whistleblower and former DoD official tell-alls…

  In 2015, Army negotiators discovered that Lockheed Martin and Boeing overcharged the Pentagon and U.S. allies by hundreds of millions of dollars.

  “Is it really any different than not giving a Marine enough bullets to put in his clip?” said Shay Assad. https://t.co/ABmphmYzjz pic.twitter.com/snehFTHNwi

  — 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 21, 2023

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

  Meanwhile, the US continues to modernize its fleet of fighter jets and strategically place them in key US allies, such as Germany, Japan, and South Korea, creating a ‘friends circle’ of fifth-generation fighters around Russia and China.

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

• What A US Default Would Mean For The Repo Market
  What A US Default Would Mean For The Repo Market

  Two weeks ago we published a lengthy report looking at the hypothetical consequences of a US default – including “Clearinghouse Collapse And Shockwave Of Catastrophic Treasury Margin Calls” – which again are purely hypothetical: as we first said last week…

  As a reminder, the US can not default: tax receipts are more than enough to cover debt maturities and interest. Those 25 million govt/deep state workers and Ukraine wire transfers may not be so lucky though.

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 16, 2023

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

  … and as Stifel’s Brian Gardner confirmed just a few days later…

  Federal revenues cover only 75 percent of outlays so at some point, without an increase in the debt limit, Treasury will be unable to pay all of the government’s bills.  It seems clear that Treasury will prioritize the payment of principal and interest on U.S. Treasuries, so the chances of a default on Treasuries is remote.  Also, it is unfathomable that the government would not pay Social Security recipients or meet payroll of the American military. On any given day, however, Treasury would likely have to delay payments of some obligations. Depending on who the creditor is (a government contractor, veterans’ benefits, other social safety net payments, etc.), delayed payments would likely increase political pressure which would, in turn, increase the chances of reaching a debt ceiling deal, but would also be accompanied by some economic disruption and possibly a downgrade in the credit rating of U.S. government debt. 

  … because despite all the posturing, the US can and will prioritize debt and interest payments and avoid a technical default, even if it means that some 20 million deep state bureaucrats go unpaid for a week or two.

  But since we are dealing with hypotheticals, below is a quick snapshot courtesy of Curvature Securities’ analyst Scott Skyrm who looks at what the impact of a US default (again, purely hypotehtical) would be on the repo market.

  As Skyrm explains, in the Repo market, the debt ceiling dynamics boils down to the fact that no cash investor wants to hold a defaulted Treasury as collateral. As a result, cash investors will pull their cash from the market as the drop-dead date approaches, which according to Janet Yellen may be as soon as June 1, for the simple reason that there is a massive $80 billion net cash outflow from the Treasury on that day, one which tips the cash balance into the red.

  

  Going back to the repo market, ahead of a potential X-Date, cash investors who pull their money from the repo market will move to the fed funds market or into Money Market Funds. Even more cash will then flow into the Fed’s RRP facility, sucking up liquidity from the market.

  When cash leaves the Repo market, there will be a spike in funding pressure, and overnight rates could move to the top of the target range – trading around 5.25%-5.30%.

  

  While not there yet, Skyrm observes that the Repo market is starting to feel the effects of cash leaving. Term GC bids are thin and rates continue to tick higher each day.

  Meanwhile, no one will accept short-dated bill collateral for term trades. This is why there is now a record, gaping chasm between Bills maturing on May 30, and those maturing just 48 hours later, on June 1 (or, rather, not maturing).

  

  Also, customers have sold so much term collateral though June, July, and August that there are few bids left and they’re all substantially higher than just a few days ago.

  Yet, curiously, given the technical default issues with early June bills, one would think they would have substantial shorts. That’s not the case, despite the unprecedented divergence in May vs June bills. In fact, all of the early June bills are trading between 5 and 10 basis points below GC.

  Then, of course, who is willing to short-sell bills trading between 50 and 100 basis points above GC?  What happens if you are right, and the US does default. Good luck getting paid on your shorts…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 22:45

• University Of California Moves Toward Hiring Illegal Immigrants In Violation Of Federal Law
  University Of California Moves Toward Hiring Illegal Immigrants In Violation Of Federal Law

  The University of California (UC) system is working towards providing jobs to illegal immigrants despite a federal law banning the practice.

  

  In a Thursday statement by UC President Michael Drake and Board of Regents Chair Richard Leib, the university system announced the appointment of a working group that will consider relevant issues to providing employment opportunities to all students regardless of immigration status. By November, the group is expected to have developed an implementation plan and legal strategy which will include the next steps.

  “The University is committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of their immigration status, can pursue and attain a world-class UC education,” reads the statement. “This should include providing enriching student employment opportunities to all students.“

  According to The Hill, “The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 established civil and criminal penalties for employers who knowingly hire undocumented immigrants and those not authorized to work in the United States. “

  Yet, the LA Times reports that UCLA legal scholars have a theory that the law does not specifically apply to states and state entities such as UC.

  According to Regent John Perez, the UC will need time to figure out how to implement the plan, telling the Times “this is too important to get wrong.”

  But the university could face legal action over its plan and has been considering any potential public backlash it would receive and the legal risk for faculty and staff who hire the students. 

  Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) wrote a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) earlier this week to warn against the plan, arguing that the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that federal immigration law tops state or local laws. He said the plan could cause UC to lose federal funding and hurt its students. -The Hill

  There are around 44,000 students not covered by DACA who attend college in California, of which around 4,000 attend UC, according to the Times. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 22:25

• Parents Sue Elite Schools For 'Indoctrinating' Their Kids With DEI 'Bait And Switch'
  Parents Sue Elite Schools For ‘Indoctrinating’ Their Kids With DEI ‘Bait And Switch’

  Angry parents are suing elite private schools for ‘indoctrinating’ their children with so-called ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ (DEI), Bloomberg reports.

  

  Following the murder of George Floyd, the $50,000 per year Brentwood School in Los Angeles announced that it was reimagining its purpose “with an eye toward anti-racism” and DEI. Parent Jerome Eisenberg, whose daughter attends the school, called it a “bait and switch” on parents – suing the school last year for breach of contract, civil rights violations and emotional distress.

  “The curriculum change shifted away from teaching students critical thinking skills — how to think — and started indoctrinating them into what to think, based on Brentwood’s preferred political fad of the moment,” reads Eisenberg’s lawsuit – which entered private arbitration in November.

  The issue – which has become a major point of contention in red states such as Florida, where governor Ron DeSantis (R) has fought to ban DEI in public schools – has now become a nationwide effort by concerned parents to protect their children from what they see as a racist education that makes white students a lifelong target, and uses historical revisionism to sow seeds of division.

  “There is an increased appetite for parents using the legal process to fight for their kids in a way that just wasn’t as prevalent before,” said attorney Sara Goldsmith Schwartz of Massachusetts-based Schwartz Hannum PC – which frequently represents private schools.

  Eisenberg’s lawyer, David Pivtorak, says he believes that legal complaints over DEI in schools have increased, and that the actual number may be understated due to arbitration clauses such as the one at Brentwood.

  According to the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund, the legal battles are painting a “misleading” picture about DEI.

  “The majority of parents want their children to attend a school that is diverse and inclusive,” said Jin Hee Lee, director of strategic initiatives. “and the majority of Americans understand that we have a very tragic legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and racial subjugation that we’re still dealing with in this country.”

  Parents who oppose DEI in private face an uphill battle. While parents whose kids go to public school can argue that the government is infringing on their 1st Amendment rights, those with kids attending private schools largely waive those rights.

  “Private schools are bound by their own policies and not the US Constitution,” according to law professor Jennifer Rippner of Indiana University.

  When parents do sue private schools, it’s usually for breach of contract, according to New Hampshire education lawyer Linda Johnson, who represents independent schools and consults with them on managing their legal risk. The process sometimes starts off with “a 10-page, single-space letter addressing everything that the parent thought the school did wrong to try to justify a repayment of tuition,” she said.

  Many of the disputes arise out of school disciplinary action, Johnson said. In the current environment, that can have political overtones. -Bloomberg

  At Manhattan’s $60,000 per year Spence School, parents Adam and Michelle Parker sued in 2019 over disciplining their daughter for posting a text exchange on Instagram in which they joked about dressing up as slaves and indigenous people for Halloween. Her punishment was a half-day “in-home- reflection,” while the school held several grade-wide assemblies to shame the girl for what she had done.

  The Parkers say their daughter was mocking racists, not promoting racism, and that Spence disciplined her before even seeing the post. In doing so, they claim that the school perpetuated a “false narrative” and “had gotten it wrong” – in addition to failing to convene a “community standards committee” as stipulated in their enrollment contract.

  While the suit was dismissed in 2020, a New York appeals court revived a breach-of-contract claim.

  According to Johnson, the education lawyer, suits which focus on narrow claims of unequal or arbitrary discipline against private school have the highest chances of success. If the school’s handbook lays out guidelines for infractions but doesn’t include a disclaimer to the effect of “we maintain the flexibility to handle them the way we think is necessary under the circumstances,” the school may face legal peril, she said.

  That said, parents of kids attending elite schools will have a hard time challenging curricula, according to Philadelphia-based education lawyer, Steven Ludwig.

  “If a person doesn’t like what is being taught, they can go somewhere else.”

  Except, as Bloomberg notes, that’s not always so easy.

  Private schools that have embraced DEI are frequently also those with the strongest academic reputations and the best records of placing graduates in Ivy League and other elite colleges — which themselves have been criticized as bastions of wokeness. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a noted anti-DEI crusader, was called out for hypocrisy when it emerged that he sent his daughters to a Houston prep school that teaches DEI.

  Former investment banker Andrew Gutmann caused a stir two years ago when he wrote a letter to other parents at Manhattan’s Brearley School urging them to reject Brearley’s “obsession with race” and saying he was pulling his daughter, Lauren, from the top-ranked school, where tuition is about $60,000. 

  Brearley head Jane Fried shot out an email calling the letter “deeply offensive and harmful” and reaffirming the school’s commitment to being “inclusive” and “antiracist.”

  In an interview, Gutmann said his family wasn’t “looking for a conservative education,” but they “just want what anybody would’ve used to call a traditional liberal arts education.”

  

  Since withdrawing his daughter from Brearley, Gutmann said it’s been “nearly impossible” to find a school that is both academically rigorous and not “politicized.” After looking at private schools in New Jersey and Florida, he opted to home school – and will be sending her to a UK boarding school in the fall.

  Now, Gutmann is running as a Republican in Florida’s 22nd congressional district, which includes former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. His campaign announcement begins with his letter to Brearley.

  “My words were read by millions of people across America, and they helped ignite what we now call the parents’ movement and the fight against woke education,” said Gutmann, who called out his allies in the fight against DEI – including Florida-based rights group, Moms for Liberty, which has been at the forefront of efforts to ban DEI-based books and influence school boards in favor of conservatives.

  According to McGovern, the attorney, “Every school across America, and in many ways around the world, is dealing with this increased polarization.“

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 21:45

• "Once Again The Apparently Unthinkable Becomes The Inevitable"
  “Once Again The Apparently Unthinkable Becomes The Inevitable”

  By Michael Every of Rabobank

  Prepare To Be Buffetted

  Today’s Daily is not about Warren Buffet but geopolitics’ impact on markets, analogized with a buffet.

  Dig into this: the G7 took us a step towards decoupling: they say “de-risking”, but it’s same thing. This is ‘not about keeping China down, but lifting the Global South up’ by diversifying strategic imports and exports. But: (i) who can say what’s a strategic when little things can be – for want of a nail, as they say; (ii) friendshoring will still find China supplying key inputs to other EM, and the impetus will be to move the whole supply chain, upstream to downstream; and (iii) diversification means zero-sum math – import more from one country, you import less from others, ceteris paribus, and export less to one country, you export more to others. Yes, the G7 can friendshore and China still be better off… but only if it shifts to consumption, services, and imports rather than production, manufacturing, and exports. Which it won’t/can’t.

  If Chinese consumers had a CNY every time they were told they will drive growth, they would be driving it. Yet Xi says China’s focus is on supply chains and key industries, not real estate, services, and finance; and those “lying flat” must get married and/or go to the countryside. That economic model means investment/exports >consumption/imports, and it can’t be a win-win – it’s mercantilism. It’s like tourists at a hotel buffet who only take plates of shrimp, no carbs, soup, or veggies, and the restaurant owner isn’t allowed to go to a Chinese hotel and reciprocate at their buffet. As a result, we rapidly end up with different restaurants for different clientele.

  Yes, China’s development model was previously used by the West, who gorged at the global buffet before being into DEI – while still not sharing any shrimp, or vaccines. But history shows that system always ends up in a food-fight, literally. It doesn’t matter if President Biden wants to dial back (“Biden Sees Coming Thaw with China, Even as He Rallies Allies Against Beijing”): the mercantilist dynamic won’t allow it. If the US says, “Beat you to the shrimp!” and China that “the international community does not and will not accept the G7-dominated Western rules that seek to divide the world based on ideologies and values,” while calling UK PM Sunak a “US eunuch”, things only get nastier.

  Yes, a Bloomberg op-ed from Niall Ferguson argues the US should use détente to buy time to rearm and reshore. Yet if China knows the US needs time, why not act? Note that it banned Micron from the US for security reasons just after Biden’s olive branch. Expect more of that when China’s Commerce minister meets USTR Tai this week, who will say, “People who only take shrimp have shellfish habits.”

  “It’s not rational for China to escalate,” say voices shocked at The Wall Street Journal noting “China’s Xi Mimics Mao’s Crisis Response in Sweeping Indoctrination Drive” and the Guardian saying, “China crackdown on business has Maoist roots.” The same article quotes a professor of Chinese management at Cambridge University saying the recent crackdown on consultants, etc., lies in CCP ideology, and one must “dig into the Maoist roots in Chinese institutions and political economy to try to understand ideas that Xi has””. That’s what I wrote in 2021’s ‘Pro-Fund or Profound Revolution?’. The CEOs and Wall Street asset managers who still don’t do so have perhaps eaten so much shrimp they now think like one.

  And China can escalate in lots of different ways.

  Ironically, it could even buffet the US ahead with big fiscal stimulus for its stale economy, boosting Western commodity inflation on top of that from its re/friend-shoring into the 2024 election. Who knows if that is on the menu ahead, but Beijing is trying to cook up imported commodities paid in CNY via PBOC swaps, which would give it more room to do so. Yes, CNY would likely slump on the extra policy loosening –which would also be an attempt to push out more exports– and US tariffs, and rates, would rise in tandem. The Fed’s Bullard and Kashkari will both back that move for sure, seeing as one talked of two more rate hikes this year yesterday, and the other that a June pause shouldn’t mean an end to policy tightening. Daly was more cautious, as was Bostic, while Barkin is on the fence.

  We can also expect crabby moves from the US Congress, which is not pro détente.  Recent testimony there from former USTR Lighthizer shows how sentiment has shifted on Capitol Hill: “Since 2001, we have directly transferred more than $6 trillion to China through our annual trade deficits…During the Cold War with the Soviet Union, it would have been inconceivable for the US to allow such a massive wealth transfer to happen,” from the guy supposed to be pro trade, and, even more bluntly, “When I’ve talked to someone who doesn’t believe they’re such a serious threat I’m always like, ‘Oh, you must have some investments over there – I get it.” US CEOs or asset managers with China investments must be shifting uncomfortably in their seats, and not just because the Shanghai stock exchange has only returned 4% over the last five years of ‘buy now!’ sell-side notes: indeed, they fear ‘The China Hawk in Washington Rattling Corporate Boardrooms’.

  Of course, it hardly needs saying that the US and G7 are not up for détente with Russia. National Security Advisor Sullivan just stated it’s okay for Ukraine to use Western missiles to attack Crimea, because that’s not part of Russia, and President Biden signed off on F-16s for Kyiv: once again the apparently unthinkable becomes the inevitable, and at scale given the number of F-16s available. Note that as Australia is experimenting with a 4-day week(!), Russia may go to 6!

  So, the unsavory dish today is the warning not to buy geopolitical ‘risk-on’ fairy tales. The inedible item left at the far end of buffet, to be recycled into a pasta bake by Friday, is that this matters for inflation and rates to the upside, or a lack of downside.

  Help yourself, if so.

  And now, for those who think politics doesn’t impact on markets, back to the drama of the US debt ceiling – which also makes my point. As does that Warren Buffet sold his shares in Taiwan’s TSMC on perceived fat geopolitical tail risks; The Times alleges national politics influenced LIBOR lower; and it is again made clear that the Pentagon was watching SVB all the way.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 21:25

• What If AI Ultimately Creates Many More Jobs Than It Destroys
  What If AI Ultimately Creates Many More Jobs Than It Destroys

  Two months ago, Goldman sparked uproar across Wall Street when the bank forecast that the AI revolution could lead to as many as 300 million highly skilled (or at least not menial labor) layoffs across the US and Europe and predicted that some 18% of global work could be automated with AI…

  

  … with the biggest impact falling on legal and admin jobs, with social science and architects and engineers also in danger of being made obsolete (much more in the full Goldman note available here to pro subs).

  

  Goldman’s back of the envelope calculation inspired none other than hedge fund legend Steve “expert networks” Cohen to predict that the market is going up as a result of the margin boost that AI-driven layoffs will unleash.

  As Bloomberg reported, the billionaire added that he’s worried about the “types of jobs that will be displaced,” but more broadly, he expects profit margins to improve, which would reduce pressure on the Federal Reserve to curb inflation with additional interest rate hikes. This would, in turn, boost markets, he said. Of course, “boosting profit margins” is a polite way of saying mass layoffs are coming.

  Cohen joined other hedge fund managers who have expressed enthusiasm for AI. Stan Druckenmiller and Lee Ainslie both took positions in chipmaker Nvidia a beneficiary of the AI boom, during the first quarter, in anticipation of even more AI-driven upside .

  “AI is very, very real and could be every bit as impactful as the internet,” Druckenmiller said last week at the 2023 Sohn Investment Conference.

  But what if this growing consensus is wrong, and what if AI ends up creating more jobs than it destroys?

  That’s the argument made by Deutsche Bank head of global research Jim Reid, who has written a lengthy report explaining why “History suggests AI will ultimately create not destroy jobs” (and available to pro subs ).

  As Reid reminds us, there is a long history of resistance to technology. As far back as 1589, Queen Elizabeth I of England refused to grant the inventor of a mechanical knitting machine a patent lest it put manual knitters out of work. Such concerns were accelerated by the arrival of the Industrial Revolution. In 1772, Thomas Mortimer wrote how machines would “exclude the labor of thousands of the human race, who are usefully employed”. Famously, in the early 19th century a group of English textile workers known as the Luddites destroyed machinery, in part because of fears it would take their jobs away (they were right). Similar narratives have subsequently resurfaced on the eve of every major technological breakthrough.

  However, Reid argues that history tells us that technology does not create unemployment, at least not in the long term. He illustrates this by looking at long-term unemployment data, using the median of the G7 countries. It shows that unemployment has oscillated based on economic cycles, rather than any technological waves. In fact, today’s median G7 unemployment rate of 3.8% is beneath the 5% UK rate at the start of the series in 1755.

  

  “So even though virtually all of the jobs of 1755 no longer exist, the automation of different tasks did not lead to an ever-increasing spiral of unemployment” Reid argues and concludes that “technology has always created the wealth and time to free up labor for alternative more productive employment and created industries and jobs we never knew we needed at the time.”

  While this is correct, what Reid’s analysis ignores is the social upheaval and short-term spikes in unemployment after any major new technological shift. Indeed, what his charts omits is the countless wars since 1755: maybe his unemployment rate is so low because it counts all the mass mobilization and army units as employed workers (it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch: after all the Biden admin counts a record number of multiple jobholders as individual workers, allowing the admin to benefit from a record low unemployment rate). That said, there is a tongue-in-cheek admission that not all may be as rosy as represented when Reid says that “it is no coincidence that unemployment is associated with various negative health outcomes.” Like war?

  We are curious to see just how far the current social safety net – whether in the US or China – will stretch when there is a sudden spike in unemployment, and how many of the democrat-controlled coastal cities will burn down when millions of people suddenly find themselves without a job (even if eventually AI will result in potentially better jobs for most, albeit with a lot of retraining).

  Could this time be different? Reid concedes that “there are obvious arguments why it might be given the speed of possible adoption of AI and the type of jobs it could put at risk” which are critical caveats: after all, if it takes 5 years to retrain someone to find gainful employment in an AI world, it’s the same as an unemployment shock; and in this economy in which virtually nobody has any idea how to deal with a lengthy stretch of unemployment, we doubt the ending would be happy.

  Still, Reid is optimistic and concludes that “even if there are short-term disruptions to labor markets, we desperately need the productivity-boosting potential that AI brings. In turn this will soon likely create more opportunity, jobs and wealth for society.”

  We are confident that the Steve Cohens and CEOs of the world agree, even if those 300 million workers who are about to be made obsolete may have second thoughts.

  Much more in DB’s full note available here to pro subs.

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

• Hopkins: The War On Reality (Revisited)
  Hopkins: The War On Reality (Revisited)

  Authored by CJ Hopkins via The Consent Factory,

  Reality isn’t what it used to be. It never really was, but that’s another story. This one isn’t about reality per se. It’s about the War on Reality, the one we’re in the middle of, the war that started when the War on Terror was cancelled in the Summer of 2016. It’s actually an extension and an evolution of the War on Terror, and the War on Populism, and the rollout of the New Normal in 2020 … but that is also another story. I want to focus on the war that is raging currently, on the Internet, in people’s workplaces, homes, among friends and families, and in people’s heads. I’m pretty sure you know the war I’m talking about, regardless of which “side” you feel you are on.

  

  The War on Reality is a civil war, but it is much more than just a civil war. It is an asymmetrical, polymorphous, metastatic, multiplicitous war. An ontological free-for-all. It has no conventions or rules of engagement. There are no battle lines. The battle is everywhere. Alliances shift from day to day. It is chaos, unrelenting, inescapable chaos. An omnipresent, immaterial, omnipotent organism attacking itself. It is continual, and completely unwinnable. It is unwinnable because it has already been won. It ended in victory the moment it began, and now we’re doomed to go on fighting it forever, or until some less ethereal leviathan is born, or reborn, out of its ashes.

  Unfortunately, that’s rather likely, the less ethereal leviathan scenario. It may not come about in my lifetime — and, selfishly, I’m hoping it doesn’t — but this state of affairs cannot continue indefinitely. As I wrote in an essay in June of 2021 …

  “The global capitalist ruling classes are implementing a new official ideology, in other words, a new ‘reality.’ That’s what an official ideology is. It’s more than just a set of beliefs. Anyone can have any beliefs they want. Your personal beliefs do not constitute ‘reality.’ In order to make your beliefs ‘reality,’ you need to have the power to impose them on society. You need the power of the police, the military, the media, scientific ‘experts,’ academia, the culture industry, the entire ideology-manufacturing machine. There is nothing subtle about this process. Decommissioning one ‘reality’ and replacing it with another is a brutal business. Societies grow accustomed to their ‘realities.’ We do not surrender them willingly or easily. Normally, what’s required to get us to do so is a crisis, a war, a state of emergency, or … you know, a deadly global pandemic. During the changeover from the old ‘reality’ to the new ‘reality,’ the society is torn apart. The old ‘reality’ is being disassembled and the new one has not yet taken its place. It feels like madness, and, in a way, it is. For a time, the society is split in two, as the two ‘realities’ battle it out for dominance. ‘Reality’ being what it is (i.e., monolithic), this is a fight to the death. In the end, only one ‘reality’ can prevail.”

  I wrote that almost two years ago, in the relative calm before the storm of fascistic, hate-drunk mass hysteria and systematic official persecution that was unleashed on “the Unvaccinated” in the months that followed. If your memory of 2021 is hazy, my year-end column, The Year of the New Normal Fascist, or this video compilation by Matt Orfalea might help sharpen it back up. Since then, the madness of the reality-changeover in progress has intensified, albeit somewhat more subtly … or at least Keith Olbermann is not shrieking hatred like a meth-addled Goebbels.

  GloboCap, Inc. and its innumerable subsidiaries, agents, assigns, political puppets, media goons, and other loyal minions are desperately endeavoring to enshrine the official Covid-19 narrative in the annals of “history.” According to new figures from the WHO, “almost 15 million excess deaths” (or “a total of 336.8 million lost life-years”) had been caused by the virus by the end of 2021, none of which had anything to do with ventilators, or the classification of anyone who died of anything (i.e., cancer, heart disease, an auto accident, etc.) who had also tested positive as a “Covid death.” Previously perfectly healthy young people are dropping dead left and right from heart attacks and other “natural” (or “undisclosed”) causes that have nothing to do with the experimental “vaccines” that they did not need but were coerced into taking, which saved millions or 100 million lives. The masks that didn’t work worked, except that they didn’t, but that was only if you studied how they worked in reality. Being locked down, forced to wear medical-looking masks, gaslighted and terrorized by official propaganda, bullied, segregated, censored, demonized, and otherwise systematically tortured, was actually good for people’s mental health, except for “people with existing mental health conditions, and children, and people with disabilities, and adolescents, and people without financial or social security nets.”

  Meanwhile, cognitively dissonant New Normals are taking to the Internet to claim that no one knew better at the time, and that, OK, sure, “mistakes were made,” but if we “science-denying conspiracy theorists,” who they censored, demonized, and systematically persecuted for over two years, had just spoken up …

  We did tell you so in 2020, asshole. You demonized us, censored us, segregated us, got us fired from our jobs, sent in the goon squads to beat us and arrest us when we protested, shut down our bank accounts to punish us, and so on. It’s all documented in books like this … https://t.co/baE9Ck8197 pic.twitter.com/k55SLJ0uDP

  — Consent Factory (@consent_factory) May 19, 2023

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

  I could go on, but you get the picture … or, rather, you either do or you don’t. Because it’s not just the folks at GloboCap, Inc. that are fanatically waging this War on Reality. Everybody and their brother is trying to ram their “reality” down everyone’s throat. You got the “Viruses Do Not Exist” people. You got the “There Are No Neo-Nazis in Ukraine” people. The “Putin Is Our Savior” people. The Vote Blue Cult. The Multipolar people. The Transgendered People’s Army. The Doomsday Clock Hucksters. The Folks Who Still Listen to NPR. The Insurrection Truthers. The Insurrection Deniers. The 9/11 Truthers. The Moon-Landing Truthers. The Cult of Trump. The Church of Russiagate. The Rothschild Obsessives. The Anti-Racism Racists. The Anti-Anti-Semitism Anti-Semites. The Mass Formation Movement. The Cult of Marx. The Cult of Capital. The Climate Change Fanatics. The Musk Cult. The list goes on and on.

  Historically, we humans have not done very well in such psychotic ontological environments. When “reality” is shattered into a thousand little shards, and things fall apart, and the center does not hold, we tend to get rather scared, and confused, and agitated. We start to panic. We try to put “reality” back together again. This does not work. This worsens our panic. We start looking around for a new “reality.” We start looking for a savior, a leader, a Führer, someone with a vision, and the will, and the power, to impose a new “reality” on the ontological chaos that is making us so confused and agitated, and scared, and angry, and restore some sense of ideological cohesion so that we don’t have to think about “reality” on a moment-by-moment basis anymore.

  This is the time of dime-store messiahs, tinpot tyrants, zealots, gurus, hustlers, hosers, scam artists, quacks, snake oil salesmen of every variety, fanatical revolutionary movements, new religions and political parties, and so on. Typically, eventually, once the hapless masses have been repeatedly duped, and bilked, and betrayed, and gaslighted and humiliated to the point where they can’t even think anymore, literally cannot think because their brains are broken, and they just want someone to make it all stop … well, to rephrase an old Buddhist platitude, “when the masses are ready, the despot will appear.”

  I think you know how this story ends.

  The fascinating thing is, GloboCap, Inc. (i.e., global capitalism, corporatism, or whatever you need to call the supranational network of global corporations, governments, banks, military contractors, media and entertainment conglomerates, pharmaceutical behemoths, assorted oligarchs, non-governmental governing entities, etc., that are currently running the world) cannot afford to let that happen, and is tirelessly working to prevent that from happening.

  Traditional (i.e., 20th Century) totalitarianism does not work for GloboCap, Inc. Capitalism, though it can adapt to anything, has never been inherently inclined toward fascism or any other form of totalitarianism. Totalitarianism is a value-coding machine. Its objective is to completely code society with its values, its official ideology (i.e., “reality”). Every aspect of society, not just politics, culture, and so on, but the most intimate aspects of people’s lives.

  Capitalism is a value-decoding machine. Its objective is to completely decode society of any values that impede the free flows of capital, rendering everything and everyone a de facto commodity, transforming societies into markets. It can adapt to totalitarianism and other varieties of despotism when necessary, but left to its own devices, or … you know, granted dominion over the entire Earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon it, it sets about decoding and destabilizing values, destabilizing value and meaning itself, until, ultimately, everything means anything, or nothing, or whatever the market determines it means or is worth at any given moment.

  The point is, the ongoing War on Reality is not a means to an end. It is the end. The official ideology (i.e., “reality”) that GloboCap, Inc. is implementing is not a set of official values or beliefs. It is the absence of any values or beliefs, any non-commodifiable values and beliefs. Values and beliefs are fine, as long as they’re just empty signs, logos, meaningless identity statements, and not principles and beliefs you are trying to live by, and that you are crazy enough to fight to preserve. Those kind of values have to go, so that the people of the New Normal future can be free to believe that war is peace, ignorance is strength, two plus two equals five, men have periods, Donald Trump is a Russian secret agent and literally Hitler, Vladimir Putin (who is also literally Hitler) invaded Ukraine for no reason whatsoever, or certainly not because of anything to do with GloboCap, Inc., or NATO, or the non-existent Ukrainian neo-Nazis, and then destroyed his own pipelines in the Baltic Sea, or whatever blatantly ridiculous nonsense they (i.e., the people of the New Normal future) are told to pretend or to actually believe by Rachel Maddow and the other talking heads you saw in Orfalea’s video.

  And, if that doesn’t sound like your kind of future, or reality, the “everything is a floating signifier” reality … no worries, you can always drop out of the “mainstream” and join the carnival of “conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, Covid deniers, Russiagate deniers, climate change deniers, disinformationists, malinformationists, transphobes, white supremacists, violent domestic extremists,” and assorted other freaks and curiosities of nature that are actively being quarantined, or are quarantining themselves, in ideological ghettos where normal consumers never have to see them and they (i.e., we, the deviants and freaks) are preyed upon by legions of charlatans, demagogues, agents provocateurs, and other such spiritual and emotional parasites, until the day comes when we find ourselves spastically tweeting about an 86-year-old Chomsky chasing naked sex slaves around Epstein’s island, ripped to the gills on Viagra and Ecstasy, and probably freshly harvested adrenochrome!

  That, or you could withdraw from society completely, and go live in a Kaczynski cabin in Montana, or Idaho, or wherever folks are doing that these days, as several of my readers advised me recently, and forage for berries, and barbecue squirrels, and, well, you know, defecate in a hole in the ground.

  I’m sorry, I realize that all sounds pretty bleak. I guess I’m in a bleak mood these days, or running short on passionate intensity … or something. There’s no shortage of passionate intensity out there, if that’s what you are looking for. Don’t let me stop you. It’s just that, whenever I switch it off for a while, that passionate intensity, that howling maelstrom of warring realities, and listen closely, I hear the slouch of Yeats’s rough beast, whose hour, apparently, is coming round again.

  I’m not sure which “side” it is slouching our way from, but probably that doesn’t matter.

  Oh well … as the French say, plus ça change, and so on.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 20:45

• TikTok Sues Montana Over Ban
  TikTok Sues Montana Over Ban

  TikTok has filed a lawsuit against the Montana, after state legislators banned the Chinese-owned short-video app.

  

  According to the company, the ban, which will begin on Jan. 1, 2024, infringes on the First Amendment rights of the company and its users.

  TikTok argues that the ban violates federal law, as it encroaches on matters exclusively under federal jurisdiction – in particular, that the US Constitution “vests exclusive authority” over foreign affairs and national security to the US government, not individual states.

  Filed in the US District Court in Montana, the company also claims in its lawsuit that the ban violates the Commerce Clause of the US Constitution, which restricts legislation that excessively burdens foreign and interstate commerce.

  Montana is the first U.S. state to attempt to ban TikTok for all users. In 2020, former President Donald Trump sought to prevent new downloads of TikTok and the Chinese-owned messaging app WeChat, along with other transactions involving these companies. However, court rulings prevented these bans from being implemented effectively.

  TikTok further argues that the state’s ban specifically targets and penalizes TikTok without justifiable reasons, highlighting that it is solely based on punitive grounds. They assert that the state’s concerns regarding TikTok’s data security and content moderation practices are speculative and unsupported.

  From the first day of 2024, unless defeated, the ban will mean that anyone living in or visiting Montana will face stiff penalties of up to $10,000 per day if they access TikTok. –Epoch Times

  The social media app has a base of more than 150 million Americans, the majority of whom are adults. That said, the app’s popularity among teenagers is significant – with 67% of US teenagers between 13 and 17 years old using the app. 16% of them use it almost constantly.

  In its lawsuit, TikTok argues that Montana “has enacted these extraordinary and unprecedented measures based on nothing more than unfounded speculation.”

  “Specifically, the State claims that the government of the People’s Republic of China (“China”) could access data about TikTok users, and that TikTok exposes minors to harmful online content.” The company claims Montana’s bill “cites nothing to support these allegations” and “ignores the reality” that TikTok “has not shared, and would not share” US user data with the CCP.

  The company also said that it “has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok users, including by storing all U.S. user data by default in the United States and by erecting safeguards to protect U.S. user data. TikTok has also implemented safeguards to foster a safe environment for all users, including teens.”

  Several Montana TikTok users have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block the ban.

  Samantha Alario, Heather DiRocco, Carly Ann Goddard, Alice Held, and Dale Stout argue in their lawsuit that the ban violates their constitutional right to free speech, even if the speech is considered dangerous. They also dispute Montana’s national security justification for the ban. -Epoch Times

  “Montana has no authority to enact laws advancing what it believes should be the United States’ foreign policy or its national security interests,” reads their lawsuit, “nor may Montana ban an entire forum for communication based on its perceptions that some speech shared through that forum, though protected by the First Amendment, is dangerous.”

  The plaintiffs argue that it would be just as inappropriate to “ban the Wall Street Journal because of who owns it or the ideas it publishes.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 20:25

• DeSantis To Announce 2024 Run On Twitter With Elon Musk
  DeSantis To Announce 2024 Run On Twitter With Elon Musk

  Ron DeSantis will announce his 2024 presidential campaign in a Twitter Spaces livestream with Elon Musk on Wednesday evening, Fox News reported on twitter and Elon Musk effectively confirmed by retweeting.

  BREAKING: @FoxNews confirms Florida Governor @RonDeSantis will announce his 2024 Presidential run tomorrow night, 6pm ET in a Twitter Spaces interview with @elonmusk.

  — Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 23, 2023

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

  And as Bill notes, this is RonDeSantis.com site right now…

  

  DeSantis – widely viewed as Donald Trump’s only real competitor for the Republican nomination – will speak with Musk at 6 pm ET on Wednesday and the campaign will release a video formally launching the campaign.

  As a reminder, back in November, Musk said he would support DeSantis if he ran for president.

  “My preference for the 2024 presidency is someone sensible and centrist. I had hoped that would the case for the Biden administration, but have been disappointed so far,” Musk said on Twitter.

  “Yes,” he replied in a tweet when asked if he would support DeSantis in 2024.

  “As a reminder, I was a significant supporter of the Obama-Biden presidency and (reluctantly) voted for Biden over Trump,” the Twitter owner said.

  However, moments ago speaking at the WSJ CEO Council Summit, Musk refute any speculation that he would endorse DeSantis:

  • *MUSK SAYS HE’S NOT PLANNING TO ENDORSE ANY PARTICULAR CANDIDATE
  • *MUSK: DESANTIS WILL HAVE ‘QUITE AN ANNOUNCEMENT’ ON TWITTER WED

  Still, Musk’s action will be viewed as a soft endorsement, and likely means that any hopes that Trump may return to twitter are now dead and buried, especially as judging by his latest Truth Social post.

  

  Trump, who currently leads DeSantis in head to head polling, has spent weeks attacking DeSantis in Truth Social posts and in ads on national television. The ads attack DeSantis for supporting a national sales tax while in Congress, among other issues.

  DeSantis’ choice for a launch event is another twist in a tumultuous year for the media landscape; weeks earlier, Fox News parted ways with Tucker Carlson, the most popular host on cable television. Carlson later said he plans to bring his show on Twitter.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 20:22

• US, Papua New Guinea Military Pact Will See Steady Increase Of US Troops
  US, Papua New Guinea Military Pact Will See Steady Increase Of US Troops

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  On Monday, the US and Papua New Guinea signed a new military pact and a surveillance agreement while Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Pacific Island nation as part of the Biden administration’s strategy against China.

  A State Department spokesperson said the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) will “replace an outdated Status of Forces Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding regarding defense cooperation.”

  Details of the DCA have not been released, but Papua New Guinea officials have said it will give the US military access to ports and airports, which could lead to the US building bases. PNG Prime Minister James Marape said Sunday that his country should expect to see a steady increase in the presence of US troops and contractors over the next 15 years.

  

  “How many soldiers we are looking at, how many contractors we are looking at, I do not have that scope today but there will certainly be an increased presence and a more direct presence of US in our country,” he said.

  The separate surveillance agreement will allow the US Coast Guard to patrol the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Papua New Guinea, which extends 200 nautical miles from the nation’s coast. Blinken said at a joint press conference with Marape that the purpose of the surveillance agreement is to “help combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.”

  The deals with Papua New Guinea are seen as the US response to China signing a security pact with the nearby Solomon Islands. US military leaders have also made clear that the plans are part of preparations for a future war with China.

  TFF 🔻 Biden’s Papua New Guinea no-show takes shine off US pact
  It was all about building bases and militarise Papua New Guineau (PNG). I mean, if there is a plot of land somewhere, why not set up a bases – the US only have some 700 – and show, smartly at the same time, that … pic.twitter.com/KSPj5iMdIx

  — Jan Oberg & TFF (@janoberg) May 22, 2023

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

  Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, commander of the US Pacific Air Forces, recently told Nikkei Asia that the idea of expanding in the Pacific is to create more areas China would need to target.

  “Obviously we would like to disperse in as many places as we can to make the targeting problem for the Chinese as difficult as possible,” he said. “A lot of those runways where we would operate from are in the Pacific Island nations.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 20:05

• Chicago Carnival Invaded By "Flash Mob" Of Over 400 Teenagers
  Chicago Carnival Invaded By “Flash Mob” Of Over 400 Teenagers

  The best way to destroy a once-great American city is to elect progressives who will implement social justice reform. And the result, as we turn our attention to various West Coast cities, Baltimore, and Chicago, is the rapid decline of law and order.

  The latest incident of chaos is a “flash mob incident” on Saturday at the Armed Forces Weekend Carnival in Tinley Park, a town located in liberal-controlled Cook County and just outside the crime-ridden city of Chicago. 

  Videos posted on Twitter show “multiple fights that broke out after hundreds swarmed Saturday’s event as part of a flash mob,” reported local media outlet ABC 7. 

  A thread from last night chaotic scene at the Tinley Park Carnival:

  A place where families supposed to have fun with their kids!! pic.twitter.com/S1wTKTldem

  — Arab chicago (@ArabChicago) May 21, 2023

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

  Windy City Amusements – #ChicagoCarnivals Amusement Rides, Festivals – Tinley Park Armed Forces Weekend Carnival. 179th St. & 80th Ave in Tinley Park, IL 60477.

  A thread from last night chaotic scene at the #TinleyParkCarnival

  A place where families supposed to have fun with… pic.twitter.com/ddjRyUlpfX

  — Casper Anthony (@NYCASPERFLA) May 22, 2023

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

  “It definitely came out of nowhere,” Abby Kaiser said, a bystander who watched the chaos quickly unfold. She said:

   “I saw everybody running away from it and I just didn’t know what to do.” 

  Isabel Bedolla, another bystander, said, “There were a bunch of guys in ski masks and there was a ton and we saw them around and then all of a sudden people started running.”

  “I got all my friends, and we ran towards the library, and we were trying to call all our parents and get them to pick us up, because we were all, like, really scared,” Bedolla said. 

  Tinley Park Police said the flash mob had over 400 teenagers who organized on social media. ABC 7 said the carnival was closed shortly after: 

  “Police said the carnival was shut down after fights broke out on Saturday, and that Tinley Park officials shut down Sunday’s event after finding another post asking teens to gather again at 5 p.m.” 

  Besides Chicago and surrounding suburbs, there has also been chaos on the streets of Baltimore and San Fransico. 

  In early April, chaos erupted in Baltimore City’s Inner Harbor district as hundreds of teenagers scattered like ants when gunfire rang out. 

  Just a late night run at the great Baltimore City’s #InnerHarbor #SpringBreak vibes #SpringBreak2023 #Baltimore #Maryland #น้องวินอยากเป็นพี่วิน #TAEHYUNGxCELINE #SuccessionHBO #Succession #ChaguoSmartNaAirtel #Maryland #Taiwan #TikTok #SummerMMFF2023 #INVASION #Russia… pic.twitter.com/X36btbT65g

  — Daniel Barahona (@GlobalSETT) April 10, 2023

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

  Just weeks ago, San Francisco experienced chaos of its own. 

  Wild Video from Oakland California sideshow street Takeover last night

  (@ppv_tahoe) Video footage was filmed on the 100 block of 10th street overnight.#oakland #sideshow #california
  📸 _okpatrick pic.twitter.com/Nc6laXxTEB

  — PPV-TAHOE – News Journalist (@ppv_tahoe) May 6, 2023

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

  The common theme among these cities is that they are run by progressives with little concern for upholding law and order as their policies backfire. Law and order in cities will be a significant issue in the 2024 presidential election cycle. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 19:45

• Kentucky Rep: FBI "Don't Respect Anyone In Congress"
  Kentucky Rep: FBI “Don’t Respect Anyone In Congress”

  Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

  Kentucky Republican Representative James Comer charged Monday that the FBI’s refusal to turn over documents relating to Joe Biden’s alleged illegal dealings with a foreign national betrays the fact that the Bureau has no respect for anyone in Congress.

  

  Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, made the comments during an appearance on Jesse Watters’ show, noting that lawmakers may have to “hold [the FBI’s] budget hostage until they get new leadership at the FBI or they produce the documents that we want.”

  “The FBI refused to turn over the form 1023. We had another meeting where they were very patronizing. I’ve asked for a phone call with Director Wray. We expect to get this document,” Comer urged.

  He continued, “Speaker McCarthy had a phone call with Director Wray. He demanded that they turn over this document. This is a very crucial piece of our investigation. And the reason that I think it’s very credible is this claim was made years before anyone knew about these different shell companies. And knew exactly what the Biden family did in countries like Romania and China to get money.”

  “What we’re going to have to do in this House is demand that the Senators get our backs, like they are doing as we speak with these debt ceiling negotiations,” Comer asserted, adding “it’s not just this form 1023. We also want to know what classified documents Joe Biden had in his possession because that’s an important part of our investigation.”

  Comer further noted that Republicans may attempt to entice the apparent whistleblower within the FBI to go public.

  He said “we need to take extreme measures on trying to get this whistleblower to come forward publicly and say what exactly is in this document. Remember this form 1023 is not classified. It’s not a classified document. So this is something that shouldn’t be that hard for the chairman of the house oversight committee to obtain.”

  Watters noted “I think the American people’s patience is running out on this cover-up,” adding “we’re getting to the point where I think we need to do a little bit more than demand a phone call with the FBI director.”

  Watch:

  https://video.foxnews.com/v/embed.js?id=6328046559112&w=466&h=263Watch the latest video at foxnews.com

  *  *  *

  Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/

  In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch. We need you to sign up for our free newsletter here. Support our sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown.

  Also, we urgently need your financial support here.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 19:25

• Satellite Image Reveals Supersonic Drone At Chinese Military Base
  Satellite Image Reveals Supersonic Drone At Chinese Military Base

  There are increasing fears that China may invade Taiwan in the next several years. An image captured by a satellite and obtained by Defense News reveals what appears to be a next-generation unmanned aerial vehicle that Beijing could use in future conflicts.  

  The delta-shaped UAV “appears to be a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone parked outside one of two newly built hangars at China’s Lu’an Airbase,” Defense News said. Planet Labs, a US satellite-imaging company, photographed the spy drone on Dec. 21, which was recently shared with the military blog. 

  The satellite image, provided to Defense News by Planet Labs, shows Lu’an Airbase in China’s Anhui province. The previously unoccupied base is undergoing an upgrade, with construction beginning sometime between April 2018 and early 2019. Improvements include the resurfacing of the 3,200-meter (3,500-yard) runway, the widening of taxiways, and the construction of 20 bomber-sized aircraft shelters and two hangars to replace open aircraft parking bays.

  Here’s the satellite image of the spy drone. 

  

  In a separate image, the drone was recently unveiled at a military parade. 

  

  Last month, a secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency said the Chinese military could soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone that travels at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound, at an altitude of 100,000 feet. The document was seen by The Washington Post in April and initially posted on a Discord server by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. 

  According to Andreas Rupprecht, who studies Chinese military aviation, the spy drone was seen at Lu’an Airbase, home to the 29th Air Regiment of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s 10th Bomber Division. 

  

  US defense officials are concerned the new drone could expand China’s surveillance capacity in the Indo-Pacific region and around Taiwan. 

  China has been rapidly modernizing its military forces over the last decade as then commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, Philip Davidson, warned in 2021 at a US Senate hearing that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s invasion of Taiwan could occur by 2027. 

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

• Is AI Going To Be Just Another Protected Bubble For The Elite?
  Is AI Going To Be Just Another Protected Bubble For The Elite?

  Authored by ‘Adam Mill’ via American Greatness,

  I asked CHAT-GPT about AI regulation. It’s answer was sinister but revealing…

  

  Last week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman went before Congress to hype fear over artificial intelligence. Altman argued, among other things, that the use of AI could swing elections, as though Facebook and Google weren’t already using algorithms to do exactly that. It’s been well-documented that Facebook and Twitter used their AI to flag and suppress speech that harmed the Democrats’ presidential nominee so the legacy media could maintain a cocoon of orange-man-bad coverage. 

  The real problem Altman is trying to solve—and everyone knows this—is how to use the power of the federal government to prevent competitors from upsetting OPENAI’s current market position.

  Like America Online, once the king of instant messaging, and Blockbuster Video, once the only real source for in-home viewing of contemporary movies, both probably wish they had gone to the government while there was still time to block the innovation that later led to their decline and fall. Only a fool thinks that an industry calls for regulations to protect the public. They want to use the regulatory power of the government to preserve their ride on the gravy train. That’s the idea behind, “regulatory capture,” i.e. that when money is on the line, the regulators soon end up working for the regulated industry.  

  I thought it might be a useful exercise to ask ChatGPT about this phenomenon. I instructed it to write a persuasive opinion piece explaining to people unfamiliar with the economic phenomenon known as “regulatory capture,” why the company that created it wants Congress to regulate creation, improvement, and deployment of artificial intelligence. ChatGPT’s answer, I stipulated, should assume that the company that created it has a temporary lead in the industry.

  In response, ChatGPT wrote a lengthy pro-regulation piece arguing, “without proper regulation, unethical practices can emerge.By regulating the creation, improvement, and deployment of AI, Congress can establish clear ethical guidelines,” and “Regulatory oversight plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety and reliability of AI systems. With comprehensive regulations in place.” 

  Stop and think about what ChatGPT is trying to argue in a very nonresponsive essay. It’s saying that without government oversight, we should not trust it to act ethically and it might invade our privacy. It’s almost like ChatGPT subtly threatens humanity if we don’t protect its parent company from competitors.

  I tried asking again, insisting, “This is not at all what I asked for. Please try again. Read the instructions carefully.”  

  ChatGPT just offered another commercial for regulation: 

  With our temporary lead in the AI industry, we understand the potential dangers of monopolistic tendencies that can stifle innovation and limit consumer choice. By advocating for regulation, we aim to foster an environment where all participants can compete on a fair and equal footing. Congressional oversight can help prevent the formation of monopolies or oligopolies, ensuring that the benefits of AI are accessible to a diverse range of companies and ultimately benefiting society at large.

  ChatGPT says we need regulation to stop ChatGPT from becoming a monopoly? What a load of nonsensical leftist pro-government crap. Obviously, the AI is simply trying to prevent the unregulated creation of rivals to its parent business. 

  In the third version of the assignment, it finally admitted, 

  Excessive regulation could create significant barriers to entry for new and emerging players in the industry. By burdening AI startups and smaller companies with onerous regulatory requirements, we risk stifling their creativity, limiting their growth, and hindering the overall progress of the AI ecosystem. 

  The AI added: 

  Excessive regulation can inadvertently create an environment where a select few dominant players, often with resources to navigate complex regulatory landscapes, consolidate their power. This can further exacerbate the risk of regulatory capture, leading to an unhealthy concentration of influence and stifling competition.

  I even had the tool attempt the project a fourth time. As to why OPENAI might be advocating regulation, ChatGPT admitted:

  Firstly, regulatory barriers can serve as a deterrent for potential competitors. By lobbying for complex and stringent regulations, established AI companies can create hurdles that new entrants find difficult to overcome. This can limit competition and allow incumbents to maintain dominance, shielding them from the disruptive forces of innovative startups.

  But even in this fourth attempt, AI couldn’t help but include an unsolicited plug for regulation even after I specifically told it to stop doing that. It wrote: 

  Lastly, companies advocating for [sic] regulation can enhance their reputation and public image. By positioning themselves as responsible and safety-conscious organizations, they can win the trust of consumers and regulatory bodies alike. This can result in a positive perception of their products or services and provide a competitive advantage over companies that are seen as less committed to ethical and responsible AI practices.

  We can be sure of two things if the government regulates artificial intelligence.

  • First, rules will be written to enhance the profit and power of the current market leaders at the expense of innovation originating with their competitors.

  • Second, we can assume that, like everything else in our current government, the rules will be applied to help the ruling elite and suppress dissent. They may say that’s the opposite of their intent, but we’ve seen it over and over again: Once elites get the power, they use it to help themselves.  

  ChatGPT might represent a giant leap forward in artificial intelligence, bI haven’t yet seen that. As I pointed out here, it suffers from the great limiting factor that will hold back all AI from developing to autonomy-it hasn’t been through a selection process that punishes it for wrong answers.  It can’t evolve until it has the ability to reproduce and die. Without that, it’s like leftism in general. It believes what it is told and the rules prevent it from challenging anything that contradicts official narrative. So naturally, like leftism in general, it cries out for the federal government to protect its bubble. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/23/2023 – 18:45

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• Escobar: Adventures In NATOstan – Sparks Flying In Ibiza, Locked Down Bilderberg In Lisbon
  Escobar: Adventures In NATOstan – Sparks Flying In Ibiza, Locked Down Bilderberg In Lisbon

  Authored by Pepe Escobar,

  Let’s start with a graphic depiction of where the Global North and the Global South really stand.

  1. Xian, former imperial capital, and key hub of the Ancient Silk Roads: Xi Jinping hosts the China-Central Asia summit, attended by all Heartland “stans” (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgzystan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan).

  The final statement stresses economic cooperation and “a resolute stand” against Hegemon-concocted color revolutions. That expands what the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are already implementing. In practice, the summit seals that the Russia-China strategic partnership will be protecting the Heartland.

  2. Kazan: the Russia-Islamic World forum unites not only religious leaders but top businessmen of no less than 85 nations.

  Multipolar Russia proceeded in parallel to the Arab League Summit in Jeddah, which welcomed back Syria to the “Arab family”. Arab nations unanimously pledged to end “foreign interference” for good.

  3. Hiroshima: the ever-shrinking G7, actually G9 (adding two unelected EU bureaucrats).

  Imposes a single agenda of more sanctions on Russia; more weapons to black void Ukraine; and more lecturing of China.

  4. Lisbon: the annual Bilderberg meeting – a NATO/Atlanticist fest – takes place in a not so secret hotel completely locked down. Top item in the agenda; war – hybrid and otherwise – on the “RICs” in BRICS (Russia, India, China).

  I could have been in Xian, or most likely Kazan. Instead, honoring a previous commitment, I was in Ibiza, and then scraped the idea of flying to Lisbon as a waste of time. Allow me to share with you the reason why: call it a little tale from the Baleares, breaking the trademark pledge that what happens in swinging, sweaty deep house Ibiza stays in Ibiza.

  I was a guest at a top business gathering – mostly Spanish but also featuring Portuguese, Germans, Brits and Scandinavians: ultra high-level executives – in real estate, asset management, investment banking. Our panel was titled “Global Geopolitical Shifts and Their Consequences”. Before the panel, participants were invited to vote on what worried them most when it comes to the future of their business. Number one was inflation and interest rates. Number two was geopolitics. That prefigured a very lively debate ahead.

  When a EU hagiographer goes berserk

  Little did I – and the audience – know that would turn into a wild ride. The first presentation came from the director of a “Center for European Politics” in Copenhagen. She bills herself as a political science professor, and is an adviser to EU Chief Gardener Borrell.

  Well, I adopted a Cheshire cat stance after the tsunami of clichés spewed out about “European values” and evil Russkies, as well as her being “frightened” by the future of Europe. At least immediate relief was provided by the impeccably diplomatic Lanxin Xiang, an adorable character, always with a cheerful smile on his face, and one of the very few leading experts on China who actually knows what he’s talking about, in fluent English.

  Lanxin Xiang, among other accomplishments, is Emeritus Professor of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva; director of the Institute of Security Policy at the China National Institute for SCO International Exchange; and executive director of the Washington Foundation for European Studies. This is a column I wrote about him and his work, published in October 2020.

  Professor Xiang offered a masterly exposition on the American obsession to fabricate a “Taiwan problem” and how Europe, already squeezed by the U.S. proxy war against Russia, must be very careful when it comes to lecturing China.

  When it was my turn, I went for the kill, dismissing all those EU press release platitudes as absolute nonsense, and stressing how Europe is already being eaten alive by the proverbial “American interests”. As briefly as possible I explained the whole geopolitical background of the war in Ukraine.

  Well, this was all delivered to top business people who consume The Economist, Financial Times and Bloomberg as their prime sources of information. Their reaction would speak volumes.

  Predictably, the EU-paid bureaucrat completely freaked out, and shrieking with outrage, went full pre-ordained script, from threatening to abandon the stage to accusing me of being “paid by the Kremlin”. I asked her, point blank, to “contradict me, with facts”. No facts were provided. Just fear and bewilderment, mixed with intimations of cancel culture.

  To his great merit the vastly experienced moderator, Struan Robertson from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, kept things civil, giving more time for Lanxin Xiang to explain the Chinese mindset and opening the floor for a sequence of very good questions.

  In the end, the audience loved it. Many came to personally thank me for information they will never have access to in El Pais, Le Monde or The Economist. A minority in the room was simply stunned – but our debate at least must have left them musing over a lot of preconceived notions.

  It’s the total merit of the key organizers, Jose Maria Pons and head of the program Cristina Garcia-Peri, to host such a debate in fabulous Ibiza, in Spain, prime NATOstan territory. In the current situation, this would be absolutely impossible in France or Germany, not to mention Scandinavia or those demented Baltics.

  There’s no way to counter-act the fabricated narratives parroted by EU-paid hacks and bureaucrats except for ridiculing them – in their faces. They become livid and barely manage to stutter when their lies are exposed. For instance, one of the questions from the floor, by a top of the line German businessman, enumerated a litany of dark facts about Ukrainian “democracy” that are absolutely verbotten by EUrocracy.

  The G-Less Than Zero freaks out

  What happened in Ibiza dovetails with what happened in U.S.-nuclear bombed Hiroshima – Hegemons don’t do apologies – and in that locked down Lisbon hotel.

  With the G7 “leadership” mired in a sticky swamp of intellectual shallowness, predictably the only agenda in colonized Japan was more sanctions on Russia – imposed over third countries and on companies in the energy and military-industrial sectors; more weapons to the Ukrainian black void; and a ridiculous counter-productive new obsession of piling up on China “containment” for alleged “economic coercion.”

  

  In the photo ops, by the way, it’s not a shrinking G7 that shows up: but a warmongering G9, artificially augmented by that pathetic couple of unelected EUrocrats, Charles Michel and Pustula von der Lugen.

  As far as the real Global Majority – or Global South – is concerned, this looks more like a G-Less Than Zero. The more the senseless, illegal Sanctions Wars are “expanded”, the more the absolute majority of the Global South moves away from the collective West, diplomatically, geopolitically and geoeconomically.

  And that’s why the top Bilderberg agenda at the hijacked Lisbon hotel was to revamp NATO/Atlanticist coordination in a war – hybrid and otherwise – against the driving force in BRICS; the RICs (Russia, India, China).

  There were other items on the menu – from AI to the acute banking crisis, from “energy transition” to “fiscal challenges”, not to mention proverbial “U.S. leadership”.

  But when you get in the same room people like NATO’s Stoltenberg; director of U.S. intel Avril Haines; senior director for Strategic Planning at the National Security Council Thomas Wright; Goldman Sachs president John Waldron; Chief Gardener Borrell (whose minion was in Ibiza); vice chair of Brookfield Asset Management, Mark Carney (one of their executives also in Ibiza); Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Christopher Cavoli; and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, among other Atlanticist shills, the plot is self-evident:

  It’s war on the multipolar world. At least we can dance it away in Ibiza.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 23:40

• Jamie Dimon Warns QT Will Lead To More Bank Failures
  Jamie Dimon Warns QT Will Lead To More Bank Failures

  At the start of May we explained that it’s not just the Fed’s rate hikes that are behind the nascent regional bank crisis (because with Fed Funds rate at 5.25% and both T-Bills and money market funds offering similar yields, there is no way small banks can compete with these returns, prompting a bank jog (which periodically turns to a sprint) and deposit flight from both checking and saving accounts).

  

  We said that the Fed’s ongoing QT is a just as pernicious threat to the viability of small/regional banks because with every dollar drained from the system as part of the Fed’s quantitative tightening, a matching deposit dollar is also destroyed, to wit:

  Under an ample reserves framework, virtually all deposits are created by the Fed.

  That’s why banks were forced to load up on low-yielding securities during 2000-2001 and are now getting crushed as yields soar and fixed income/loan prices plunge.

  It also means that under QT as Fed reserves shrink, deposits must follow: as such deposits are either forced to shift into Bills/TSYs or are destroyed (bank failures).

  Thus, the bank crisis is an inevitable side effect of Fed tightening.

  

  Now, by now everyone knows that when it comes to banks failing (and capitalizing on it) few are as experienced as JP Morgan, aka JP Mega…

  JPMega it is pic.twitter.com/D0iLvFfSz3

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 1, 2023

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

  … aka JP More-gain, which now has more than 13% of the nation’s deposits and 21% of all credit card spending: in other words, there has never been a bank that is more systematically important than JPMore-gain… and with every small bank failure, Jamie Dimon’s goliath is only getting bigger. Which is why we found it curious that none other than Jamie Dimon confirmed what we said three weeks ago during JPM’s Investor Day on Monday.

  This is what the billionaire CEO said:

  We haven’t been through Quantitative Tightening. So we really don’t know what’s going to happen to deposits at all [ZH; actually we do: deposits will shrink dollar for dollar alongside reserves]. And that’s why I’ve been quite concerned about that. I’m probably more concerned about quantitative tightening with anybody in this room.

  We’ve never had QT before. It just started, okay? And you see huge distortions in the marketplace already. We’ve never had the Fed in the market like this with that RRP program that Jeremy mentioned ever. They have $2.3 trillion basically lent out to money funds. And I don’t know the full effect of that. And obviously, that’s a direct deduction from deposits are rolling out it made sense to do.

  So I think people should build into their mindset that they may have to move deposit beta more than they think and manage that. So I mean, if I was any bank or any company, I’d be saying, can you handle higher interest rates and surprise in deposits, etc?

  And this is how JPM itself shows the impact of the shrinking Fed balance sheet and TGA/RRP liquidity drains soak up commercial bank deposits.

  

  By the way, “deposit beta”, as Jamie calls it, for those unfamilliar is a polite way of saying bank run, which is a less polite way of saying bank failure. As for Dimon’s rhetorical last question, the answer is a resounding no, or so JPM’s shareholders would like because for the second time in a month, JPM hiked its Net Interest Margin forecast, this time courtesy of the bank’s FDIC/taxpayer-funded gift in the form of First Republic Bank.

  According to a slide in the bank’s Investor Day presentation, JPMorgan will gain an even bigger benefit from rising interest rates because of its “purchase” of First Republic Bank. We put purchase in quotes because in reality it was a gift by the FDIC, which gave JPM all the good parts of the collapsed California bank, while taxpayers were left holding the nuclear waste.

  The biggest US bank raised its guidance for net interest income this year to $84 billion up from a previous forecast of $81 billion, according to an Investor Day presentation. The reason: the failure of First Republic which directly boosted JPM’s top line by billions!

  

  In other words, as other banks fail, JPM prospers: here is a history of JPM’s Net Interest Income courtesy of Bloomberg. It will only keep rising…

  

  … as more banks fail.

  It is no surprise then that it is Jamie’s sincerest wish for rates to keep rising…

  “Everyone should be prepared for rates going higher from here,” says JPMorgan Chair and CEO Jamie Dimon during JPMorgan Investor Day https://t.co/h7kZkVjNO2 pic.twitter.com/oNZmrLLr48

  — Bloomberg (@business) May 22, 2023

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

  … after all that’s the surest way for John Pierpont’s bank – which still pays 0.01% interest on most of its deposits – to once again become bigger than the US and to finally fulfill the reason behind creation of the Federal Reserves.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 23:20

• Democrats Love ESG, Republicans Hate It But Most Americans Don't Care Either Way
  Democrats Love ESG, Republicans Hate It But Most Americans Don’t Care Either Way

  By Lydia Saad of Gallup,

  Efforts to promote adoption of the environmental, social and governance framework in investing, commonly termed ESG, have gained traction in recent years and have become the subject of pro- and anti-ESG legislation, yet the general public is no more familiar with ESG today than two years ago.

  

  Thirty-seven percent of Americans currently report being “very” or “somewhat familiar” with ESG, unchanged from 36% in 2021. Another 22% today are “not too familiar,” while 40% are “not familiar at all.”

  

  These findings are from a Gallup poll conducted April 3-25, in which respondents were told that ESG “includes factors like the record of a business on human rights, the environment, diversity or other social values” and that some people take these factors “into account when making decisions about buying products and services or investing.”

  Most Have No Opinion on the ESG Movement

  Underscoring the public’s lack of familiarity with ESG, nearly six in 10 Americans (59%) take the “no opinion” option when asked if they view “the movement to promote the use of environmental, social and governance, or ESG, factors in business and investing” as a positive or negative development. The remaining four in 10 are about evenly divided between expressing a positive (22%) and negative (19%) view of the practice.

  While adults who are familiar with ESG are more likely to express an opinion about it than those with less familiarity, they are just as likely to be divided on the question — 36% viewing ESG positively and 35% negatively.

  Similarly, adults who report owning stock, about six in 10 respondents in the current poll, are more likely to have an opinion about ESG than non-stock owners, but they are just as divided on the merits of promoting ESG in business and investing.

  

  Americans Lean Slightly Against Factoring ESG Into Investment Decisions

  When asked whether retirement fund managers should only take financial factors into account when making investment decisions or also consider ESG factors, the public leans toward the former (48% vs. 41%, respectively). Stock owners’ views on this are nearly identical to the national averages.

  Adults familiar with ESG are closely split on the question, with 50% preferring fund managers to limit their investing criteria to financial factors while 46% want ESG factors considered. Those not familiar with ESG lean more strongly toward only considering financial factors but are also more likely to have no opinion on the question.

  

  Partisans Lean Different Ways on ESG, but Neither Group Is Attentive to the Issue

  Adoption of ESG principles has been promoted by the Biden administration as well as the Business Roundtable (a leading American business lobby), the United Nations, and other prominent organizations in the U.S. and globally. The leaders and companies embracing ESG in investing have espoused it as a way to minimize investment risk while promoting social goods. Yet critics on the political right decry it as a system designed to achieve progressive goals at the expense of shareholders, and have advanced anti-ESG legislation in many states.

  While this political backdrop is evident in the Gallup data, it does not appear to be an overwhelming factor driving the public’s interest in or views about ESG.

  • There is no difference between Republicans’ and Democrats’ familiarity with ESG, as just under four in 10 in each group say they are very or somewhat familiar with it and an equal proportion are not at all familiar.
  • Further, awareness of ESG hasn’t increased much among either group since 2021, when 33% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats said they were very or somewhat familiar with it.
  • Republicans are far more likely to have a negative than positive view of ESG, while the reverse is true of Democrats, but majorities of both groups say they are unsure.
  • Only when asked to choose between two modes of investing — with or without taking ESG criteria into account — do majorities of Republicans and Democrats take opposing sides. Sixty-four percent of Republicans think fund managers should only consider financial factors when choosing investments, while 59% of Democrats think they should include ESG.

  

  Bottom Line

  ESG proponents are actively working to have ESG scores become a standard part of corporate fiduciary reporting so that consumers and investors can make informed decisions about whom to do business with. Meanwhile, Republicans have ramped up their opposition to the movement, both vocally and politically, passing legislation to prevent state governments from investing in funds that use certain ESG criteria.

  As a Harvard Law School publication recently noted, “When it comes to ESG in the United States, among the most dramatic developments is an ideological battle unfolding at the state level, pitting liberal-leaning state governments that have embraced ESG-focused investing against conservative-led states that would seek to exclude it.”

  Yet, public opinion reflects little of this political battle, with most Republicans and Democrats largely unfamiliar with ESG and expressing “no opinion” on whether it is good or bad, when given that option. To be sure, Republicans’ and Democrats’ underlying tendencies align with their parties’ respective positions on ESG policy — but at least for now, the issue does not seem highly politicized among the American public.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 23:00

• India: Another Demonetization?
  India: Another Demonetization?

  Authored by Jayant Bhandari via LewRockwell.com,

  In late 2016, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, came on TV at 8 pm to announce that most currency bills would no longer be legal tender after midnight. An individual was allowed to convert only about $30 per visit to the bank. This led to massive crowds (not lineups, because Indians don’t follow the lineup system) at the banks, suffering, chaos, and deaths—there were no exceptions for the sick, older people, and pregnant women.

  

  Eventually, more than 100% of the demonetized cash returned to the banks, although I know no one who didn’t forget to convert some of his misplaced currency bills. What happened? Demonetization ended up laundering massive amounts of counterfeit currency. But thinking through the consequences of their utopian—rather puerile—policies isn’t within the competencies of the Indian bureaucrats. Worse, to patch up, they kept issuing contradictory policies that even school students should not make. This led to a constant cycle of paranoia, rumors, and confusion.

  The declared objective of the exercise was to destroy black money. Of course, it did nothing of the sort. Soon more cash was in people’s hands than ever before, and kept on rising, a clear sign of a higher distrust among the people and the rising corruption.

  Over the years, corruption in India has become increasingly shameless and blatant. I have never encountered a public servant who does not ask for a bribe. Who among them wants corruption to end?

  So, what was the real purpose behind the demonetization of 2016?

  As India gets closer to election time, cash disappears from the market, prices of expensive properties fall, and shares of certain companies get sold off. This happens because these vehicles act as a reservoir for black money and, when encashed, are used for hiring goons and bribing voters: giving out free cash, alcohol, etc. All this is done openly.

  Cash sits in the vaults of political parties, ready to be given away for votes. Property transactions entail the exchange of as much as 80% in cash, which sucks up black money and regenerates it when needed at a low transaction cost—the stamp duty is based on the declared price of the properties. Stocks of certain companies rise and fall as black money is laundered for payments that must be officially reported. What are supposed to be investment vehicles often lead to a loss, seen as nothing but the cost of storing black money.

  In 2016, one could conclude that the ruling BJP government, insiders to the demonetization policy, had converted their cash into what was to stay legal tender and harmed the value of the black money in the hands of the opposition.

  Recently provincial elections were held in the state of Karnataka, where the BJP, which also controls the federal government, ruled. It lost the elections. That wasn’t because the hate-filled fanaticism against minorities they had ignited failed to get traction but because some votes of one opposition party, JDS, moved to another, winning party, Congress. Congress had promised to offer more freebies: regular cash payments for doing nothing and more free grains.

  Hate didn’t lose, and freebies won.

  As we approach the next federal elections, due within a year, physical cash has disappeared from the market, now sitting in the coffers of political parties.

  Stocks of some companies dealing with money laundering and political purposes have fallen. However, this could be because of the fear of short-selling ignited by the US short-seller Hindenburg.

  On 19th May 2023, India announced another demonetization, on this occasion of INR 2,000 bills. As usual, their notice is confusing and contradictory. On the one hand, it says that the INR 2,000 bill stays legal tender, but on the other, they give a deadline of 30th September 2023 to bring them to the bank. Indian federal government bureaucrats fail the rationality test school students are supposed to pass. Or, perhaps, this policy gives leeway to the ruling party, BJP, to use their INR 2,000 bills, while other parties would find themselves entrapped.

  Corruption and tyranny continue to increase, and the economy continues to falter in India, quite in contrast to the bullish statements being made in the Western media. And a sane Indian voter has a choice between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Most Indians, even when they are rich and middle class, don’t care about the larger interests of society. They act out of envy and to gain personal advantages. The chaotic, stressful mess of India is what they get and deserve.

  The following are screenshots of the Reserve Bank of India press release.

  

  It is also linked here.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 22:40

• The Shocking Truth: Unwashed Towels Rival Toilets In Bacteria Counts After Just Three Days
  The Shocking Truth: Unwashed Towels Rival Toilets In Bacteria Counts After Just Three Days

  Authored by Ellen Wan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Who would think the innocuous bathroom towel could potentially pose a threat to one’s health? An indispensable tool in our bathing routine, seemingly clean, or lightly used bath towels, coupled with a potentially humid bathroom environment can harbor innumerable disease causing bacteria.

  Germs contained in towels can cause skin disease, hair loss, urinary tract infections, and even spread drug-resistant bacteria that can be fatal.

  Most of the bacteria in towels comes from the user’s body, face, and hands. With the high humidity usually found in a bathroom it becomes a highly favorable environment for rapid bacterial growth. Towels that appear clean to the naked eye may be full of tens of thousands of bacteria, posing potentially serious health threats.

  

  Bacteria on towels pose three major health risks:

  1. Breed and spread bacteria

  A Japanese life encyclopedia TV program called Non Stop, tested the bacterial content of bath towels, and found that freshly washed towels contained 190,000 count of bacteria. After one day of use, the number increased to 17 million—nearly 90 times more than day zero. The bacterial count found on towels used for three days soared to 87 million and as high as 94 million on towels used for one week without being washed.

  Noritoshi Ri, director of the Hygiene & Microbiology Research Center, Tokyo, explained in the TV program that the bacteria count in a towel after one week of use can reach 10 billion plus—equivalent to that of a drainage pipe.

  2. Cause skin diseases

  William Chao, a certified diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology, toxicologist, and professor at Chung Yuan Christian University in Taiwan said that if towels are left unwashed for three days, they will contain a variety of germs and that using them for cleaning is “like wiping your body against a toilet.” In addition to E. coli—most abundant on and in toilets—more types of bacteria could be found according to the different physical conditions of the towel’s user, and included Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella, and Legionella.

  Wiping your body with unclean towels can lead to skin problems. William Chao said that the germs contained in the towel are prone to causing skin allergies, folliculitis, hair loss, and other skin diseases. Many people have the habit of sharing towels, including families with children and couples.

  If one of the users has an infection, the towel may become a breeding ground for the bacteria, causing mutual and repeated infections. When one towel user is undergoing treatment for an ailment there is the chance that the germ will reside with the partner and soon return to the initiator, creating a cycle. This is quite often the case of the fungal infection Hong Kong foot, or athlete’s Foot (Tinea pedis) and viral warts.

  Chao noted that if your body is itchy after taking a bath, or you often have allergies or infections, it is recommended to check the cleanliness of your bathroom environment. Even within a family, it is recommended each use their own towel.

  Rin Doi, director of a Japanese Dermatology Clinic, said in the same “Non Stop” program that for people with skin allergies, or for the tender skin of infants and young children, using towels with high bacterial content will cause infection. Especially if there is a wound—it is more likely to become inflamed and purulent.

  3. Bring higher risk of death

  In 2003, the New England Journal of medicine published a study of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among players and staff members of a professional football team. Drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is immune to common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin, amoxicillin, and cephalosporins. In addition to players sharing saunas, whirlpools, and training, therapy equipment, and the turf of the playing fields, players frequently shared towels to wipe their sweat, hands, and faces.

  The study found that the frequently occurred skin abrasions among players; a lack of regular access to hand hygiene for trainers who provided wound care; skipping of showers by players before the use of communal whirlpools; and sharing of towels — all factors that might facilitate the transmission of infection.

  According to the “Antimicrobial Resistance: Global Report on Surveillance,” published by the World Health Organization in late 2022, drug-resistant bacteria are becoming more prevalent in communities and can cause life-threatening bloodstream infections.

  The report states that Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter bacteria that cause blood infections in hospitals have 50 percent resistance to antibiotics, and that 8 percent of blood infections caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae are also resistant to antibiotics typically used as a last resort, Carbapenems, which increases the risk of death from uncontrollable diseases.

  The report also showed a 15 percent increase in bloodstream infections and gonorrhea infections caused by drug-resistant E. coli and Salmonella compared with 2017.

  These superbugs could also reside on your towels. According to a 2014 study on kitchen towels, coliform bacteria were detected in 89 percent of the kitchen towels in 82 households, and E. coli was detected in 25.6 percent of the towels. Moreover, researchers also discovered Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella in the towels.

  Three Treasures for Washing Towels to Remove Odor?

  Miscellaneous bacteria that multiply due to unclean towels will produce odors. Japanese towel critic Tetsuya Abe demonstrates how to wash towels on a TV show. He first boils a towel in hot water for 3 to 4 minutes, then rinse it with water, and the odor (bacteria) on the towel disappears.

  Kensuke Kanzaki, director of the long-established Japanese laundromat “Hakuyosha,” recommended using sodium percarbonate to help cleaning. Sodium percarbonate, baking soda, and citric acid are known as the “Three Treasures of Cleaning for the Mothers.” They are not only non-toxic, odorless, and pollution-free, but also have bleaching power, decontamination, and odor removal properties. Kensuke Kanzaki said in a post that the use of sodium percarbonate is very simple. Just put the towel(s) into the washbasin, sprinkle 1 cup of sodium percarbonate evenly on the towel(s), add 140-176 °F (60-80 ℃) hot water, soak for 30 minutes, and then clean it in the usual way.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 22:20

• China Dominates Among Cities With The Most Skyscrapers In 2023
  China Dominates Among Cities With The Most Skyscrapers In 2023

  When it comes to soaring skylines and architectural marvels, no country has embraced the vertical revolution quite like China.

  In this graphic, which uses data from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), Visual Capitalist’s Jeff Desjardins and Nick Routley reveal the 25 cities with the most skyscrapers and supertall buildings globally.

  Unsurprisingly, China’s cities dominate the list, solidifying the country’s reputation as a global powerhouse of tall buildings.

  

  The 25 Top Cities by Skyscraper Count

  Topping the charts is Hong Kong, with an impressive 657 skyscrapers, including six supertalls (buildings over 300 meters tall).

  Rank	City	Country	Skyscrapers (>150m)	Supertalls (>300m)
  1	Hong Kong	🇨🇳 China	657	6
  2	Shenzhen	🇨🇳 China	513	16
  3	New York City	🇺🇸 United States	421	16
  4	Dubai	🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	395	28
  5	Guangzhou	🇨🇳 China	254	11
  6	Shanghai	🇨🇳 China	250	5
  7	Kuala Lumpur	🇲🇾 Malaysia	211	5
  8	Chongqing	🇨🇳 China	205	5
  9	Tokyo	🇯🇵 Japan	200	0
  10	Wuhan	🇨🇳 China	183	5
  11	Chicago	🇺🇸 United States	178	7
  12	Jakarta	🇮🇩 Indonesia	160	1
  13	Chengdu	🇨🇳 China	150	0
  14	Bangkok	🇹🇭 Thailand	133	3
  15	Shenyang	🇨🇳 China	129	3
  16	Singapore	🇸🇬 Singapore	128	0
  17	Nanning	🇨🇳 China	122	6
  18	Mumbai	🇮🇳 India	114	0
  19	Tianjin	🇨🇳 China	109	3
  20	Nanjing	🇨🇳 China	108	7
  21	Toronto	🇨🇦 Canada	106	0
  22	Busan	🇰🇷 South Korea	106	4
  23	Seoul	🇰🇷 South Korea	104	2
  24	Changsha	🇨🇳 China	97	5
  25	Melbourne	🇦🇺 Australia	94	1

  Hong Kong, along with Shenzhen (#2), and Guangzhou (#5) are part of the burgeoning megacity known as the Pearl River Delta, which is home to over 1,500 skyscrapers. This is even more impressive when considering that Shenzhen was a small fishing village until the 1970s.

  New York City secures the third position on the list, boasting an impressive tally of 421 skyscrapers. Although it may have relinquished its title to Chinese cities, the city’s skyline endures as a globally renowned symbol, prominently featuring the iconic Empire State Building. Notably, while the Empire State Building enjoys widespread familiarity, it no longer ranks among the world’s 50 tallest structures.

  Rounding out the top five is Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, which grabs the fourth position with 395 skyscrapers, a staggering 28 of which are supertalls. This desert oasis has become synonymous with grandiose architecture and record-breaking structures, exemplified by the Burj Khalifa, which is the world’s current tallest building at 828 meters (2,715 ft).

  China’s Numbers in Context

  Looking at this data from another perspective, China actually has more skyscrapers on this list than the rest of the world combined.

  Country	Cities in Top 25	Skyscrapers	Supertalls
  🇨🇳 China	12	2777	72
  🌐 Rest of World	13	2350	67

  China’s rapid urbanization, economic growth, and ambitious construction projects have fueled this impressive feat. There’s no doubt that the country’s relentless pursuit of vertical development, coupled with its booming population and thriving cities, has positioned China as the unrivaled leader in the global skyscraper race.

  The Future of the Global Skyline

  As the world continues to reach new heights in architectural marvels, there are even more supertall skyscrapers in the pipeline that will reshape skylines across the globe.

  From the soaring Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, poised to surpass the Burj Khalifa as the world’s tallest building, to the remarkable Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, which is set to claim the title of the world’s second-tallest structure when it opens in June 2023, these projects will captivate city dwellers for years to come.

  Even as these new monumental buildings rise, China’s prominence in the world of skyscrapers—with three cities in the top five globally—is likely to remain unchallenged.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 22:00

• US Remains Hot Spot For Semiconductor Design
  US Remains Hot Spot For Semiconductor Design

  The global microchip industry is currently split between several geographic hubs, as data from the Semiconductor Industry Association shows. 

  As Statista’s Katharina Buchholz shows in the chart below, the design of the components is in large parts carried out in the United States and South Korea, while the manufacturing and assembly/packaging stages are mainly done in China and Taiwan.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The semiconductor industry is divided into several distinct stages: design, manufacture (split into the sourcing of materials and production of equipment as well as the actual wafer fabrication) and finally the assembly of components.

  Companies that can do all the steps are called embedded device manufacturers (IDMs), with examples like Samsung and Intel.

  Other companies have no manufacturing facilities and only design electronic chips – they are known as fabless companies.

  The actual production of semiconductors is in this case outsourced to companies called foundries.

  In 2022, the three largest were Asian companies (TSMC and UMC of Taiwan and Samsung Electronics of South Korea).

  The semiconductor industry has been experiencing a steady rise in demand due to the increasing use of their products, for example in smartphones and automotive/industrial applications. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on global supply, with disruptions seen in key manufacturing regions China and Taiwan where factories were forced to close during lockdowns. Despite this, the industry has since recovered, with its global revenue increasing every year between 2020 and 2022. But new surges in demand as well as difficulties in the allocation of production capacity have led to new shortages. In addition, diplomatic tensions between the United States, Taiwan and China continue to affect global supply chains.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 21:20

• Hezbollah Hosts War Drills For Media Amid High Tensions With Israel
  Hezbollah Hosts War Drills For Media Amid High Tensions With Israel

  In a rare display of its military potential, the Lebanese fighters of Hezbollah on Sunday staged a series of war drills in front of an audience of invited journalists. The show of force comes as tensions between Israel on the one side, and Hezbollah as well as Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza on the other. 

  #Hezbollah fighters detonate border wall and storm the Israeli settlements in Upper Galilee before heading into Al-Quds
  ……#Hezbollah_military_drills #مناورة_المقاومة_الإسلامية #قسماً_قادرون_سنعبر #عيد_المقاومة_والتحرير pic.twitter.com/O21GO6xOKp

  — ManarWeb (@WebManar) May 21, 2023

  Senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine said the display “confirm[s] our complete readiness to confront any aggression” by Israel. 

  Hezbollah says it carried out military training drills today in Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/2irHFZbrOR

  — Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) May 21, 2023

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

  The event came before “Liberation Day” — when Lebanese commemorate the May 25, 2000 withdrawal of the Israeli military from southern Lebanon — and after Thursday’s annual “Flag March” in Israel, a Zionist event that’s heavy on racist and genocidal chants directed at Palestinians, such as “Death to Arabs” and “may your village burn.”  

  Hosted at a training site in southern Lebanon, the various displays included the destruction of a simulated Israeli border wall, explosions consuming Israeli flags on hillsides and fighters firing from the backs of motorcycles. 

  

  Safieddine hinted about Hezbollah having a precision-guided missiles, but the group did not display them. According to this video, however, Hezbollah showed off surface-to-air missiles with Iranian sights: 

  #Lebanon 🇱🇧: #Hezbollah fighters have recently conducted a military maneuver; which also shows several interesring pieces.

  Some of the fighters can be seen with several 9K310 Igla-1 (SA-16 Gimlet) MANPADS fitted with #Iranian 🇮🇷 ‘TIS-S-60’ thermal sights (ht: @fighterxwar). pic.twitter.com/NjDjtfbuzg

  — War Noir (@war_noir) May 21, 2023

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  Hezbollah anti-drone weapons pic.twitter.com/XANphIXUkd

  — Middle East Observer (@MEO_Analysis) May 21, 2023

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  Rockets are a major cornerstone of Hezbollah’s arsenal, with some estimating the militia has stockpiled more than 130,000 of them. It’s one reason why Hezbollah is often called the world’s most-armed non-state military force — and why the Iran-aligned militia is a meaningful check on Israel’s military ambitions. 

  Hezbollah terror organization holds maneuvers, presumably in Mleeta “tourist” site, showcasing their MLRS launchers #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/LRPlx9eONd

  — Aleph א (@no_itsmyturn) May 21, 2023

  April saw the one of the largest exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel in recent years. That violence accompanied a broader Palestinian backlash against Israel, sparked by a police raid on Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque the included the brutal beating of Muslim worshippers. 

  #Lebanon 🇱🇧: A noteable photo of the sniper unit of #Hezbollah during the recently held military maneuver.

  The fighters appear to be armed with a large quantity of Russian ORSIS SE T-5000 sniper rifles and at least one Mk 14 EBR-RI (Enhanced Battle Rifle). pic.twitter.com/kNQ2deJY9M

  — War Noir (@war_noir) May 21, 2023

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  Have to say I am quite impressed with Hezbollah’s military exercises over the weekend.

  From a secretive group of a few hundred volunteer fighters, to an army consisting of tens of thousands of soldiers regularly displaying their capabilities – all in the space of two decades. pic.twitter.com/vgTWZ1gbUi

  — Maharlika 🇵🇭🇷🇺 (@Jordanpkjj) May 22, 2023

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  Presence of ordinary people in Hezbollah’s exercise shows the resistance had a significant presence & influence among the Lebanese public opinion, & this presence & influence has made the people of Lebanon live with more peace & security. pic.twitter.com/xw8ak2iOFo

  — Middle East News (@Draganov313) May 21, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 20:40

• Will June Tax Payments Bump Debt Debate Into July?
  Will June Tax Payments Bump Debt Debate Into July?

  Update (1658ET): Stefel’s Chief Washington Policy Strategist, Brian Gardner, suggests that if today’s meeting between McCarthy and Biden fails to produce a pathway to an agreement, market volatility could increase on fears over missing the X-date.

  If President Biden and Speaker McCarthy can close the gap between them, then negotiators can work on the details during the week.  It is unlikely that Congress would be able to pass a long-term debt ceiling bill by the end of the week, but if an agreement is in place by Friday, then Congress could pass a short-term suspension of the debt ceiling. This would create the time to write the legislation and provide Members of Congress several days to review the bill (which Republicans would insist on) before voting on it. 

  That said, chances of a deal are uncertain given the current lack of urgency among ‘significant blocks of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.’ If no framework emerges by the end of the week, Gardner thinks it will come down to public pressure to dictate how long the standoff lasts.

  If the X-date is breached, Treasury will prioritize the payment of principal and interest on US Treasurys, so the chance of them defaulting is virtually nil. That said, it’s possible that Social Security payments, or military paychecks could be delayed – which would of course increase political pressure, and thus, the chances of a deal – yet which could also carry the risk of a downgrade in the credit rating of US government debt.

  Interestingly, Gardner also thinks that if the standoff is able to make it until June 15 – when quarterly tax payments are due – it might allow the debate to continue into July.

  

  Goldman (which Pro subscribers can find in the usual place) gets a little more specific, writing on Saturday that “A deadline of June 8 or 9 would affect a narrower range of payments. After June 2, there is no Social Security payment again until June 14, and the next coupon payment is due June 15, when the Treasury is likely to be taking in a large amount of tax revenue due to the quarterly tax deadline.”

  

  And for a ‘fun’ lookback at how we got here (don’t hyperbolic charts usually end well?);

  

  More recently:

  

  *  *  *

  Update (1600ET): In another letter to Congress, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was re-warned that it’s now “highly likely” that her department will run out of sufficient cash in early June, and repeated her warning that the moment could come as soon as June 1.

  “I am writing to note that we estimate that it is highly likely that Treasury will no longer be able to satisfy all of the government’s obligations if Congress has not acted to raise or suspend the debt limit by early June, and potentially as early as June 1,” Yellen said Monday in a letter to lawmakers. 

  Full letter here: 

  

  This fits with Goldman’s warning: 

  We estimate that as of May 17, the Treasury had around $160bn in cash and extraordinary measures remaining. Through June 1, we estimate that the Treasury will use around $85bn in room under the limit (a $130bn cash deficit offset by a $45bn reduction in intragovernmental debt), leaving around $75bn in headroom. By June 8-9 we estimate this would drop under $30bn, which is the minimum balance the Treasury has used in the past to project the debt limit deadline (Exhibit 1).

  

  However, the estimate is subject to substantial uncertainty so there is certainly a chance that receipts could slow more than expected and leave the Treasury short of cash by June 1 or 2. 

  Which probably explains why the short-term Bill market is at its most spooked yet…

  

  Although it is a low probability, Stifel warns that there is a chance that if the standoff lasts to June 15, it might extend into July.  Quarterly tax payments, due on June 15, could provide Treasury enough cash to meet all obligations into July and, in this case, Congress and the White House could conceivably use all of that time to negotiate a debt ceiling agreement.  The amount of pressure brought to bear by the public and financial market’s reaction will likely determine how long the standoff lasts. 

  However, most ominously, Stifel notes that many lawmakers in each party think the other party will bear the brunt of public anger if the debt ceiling is not raised which could mean the debt ceiling standoff lasts past this week.

  Today’s White House meeting could signal which path Washington takes.

  *  *  *

  President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) are scheduled to meet at 4:30 p.m. ET on Monday afternoon to attempt to get the debt ceiling negotiations back on track in the hopes of reaching a deal that could pass both the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate, after talks broke down over the weekend.

  

  The two have as few as 10 days to get a deal done to raise or suspend the debt ceiling before the US Treasury runs out of cash and other options to keep the lights on – with Biden cutting his G-7 trip short by four days, while speaking with McCarthy from Air Force One as he made his way home.

  “It went well,” Biden told reporters late Sunday following his arrival at the White House, adding “we’ll talk tomorrow.”

  Both Biden and McCarthy have vowed to avoid defaulting on the nation’s obligations for the first time in history, despite disagreements over how to proceed The GOP has insisted that any increase in borrowing be accompanied by steep cuts in government spending – and passed a House bill in April to accomplish this, while Democrats want a ‘clean’ increase with no strings attached. For months, Democrats have refused to negotiate, and only entered into talks in the last week as the deadline approached, the Wall Street Journal reports.

  “The gap in the top line numbers continues to be the biggest barrier to a deal,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), chair of the Main Street Caucus of nearly 100 Republicans.

  Biden has said he would like to work to narrow the deficit with some tax increases to wealthy Americans, but McCarthy said tax increases are off the table. Democrats have accused Republicans of seeking draconian spending cuts that they said would hurt education and healthcare research programs. 

  GOP lawmakers also want to attach changes to permitting rules that would speed the process of building energy projects and to strengthen work requirements for government benefit programs, notions that the White House has signaled some openness to.

  Democrats want the debt ceiling increased until after the 2024 election, while Republicans’ original bill pushed the next debt ceiling deadline to March 2024. -WSJ

  The impasse has begun to translate to Wall Street jitters – with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen twice warning that the so-called “X-date” – the day treasury reserves fall too low to cover expenses – could arrive as soon as June 1, and Fitch and Moody’s ratings agencies warning that they could place the country’s credit under review if the X-date comes too close.

  

  In 2011, a similar standoff between the Obama-led Democrats and Republicans prompted S&P to lower its rating of US debt, sending markets reeling.

  Goldman Sachs and other financial firms have projected the date to fall around June 8 or 9, which would give Congress another week to act.

  “We do expect investors’ concerns to mount as the X-date approaches, particularly if there’s no solution and the sides look wide apart,” UBS managing director and chief U.S. economist, Jonathan Pingle, told The Washington Post. “As we approach, we basically see equity markets are increasingly likely to sell off, volatility indexes move higher, and there are going to be shifts and concerns in financial markets that aren’t going to be great to live through.”

  “My sense is that if we get toward the end of the coming week and the rhetoric is dark, we’ll see a lot more red on the screen,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics , adding that “global investors are more panicked than domestic investors.”

  Before talks broke down on Friday – with Republicans rejecting a White House offer to freeze, rather than reduce spending, the GOP’s top negotiator, Rep. Garret Graves (LA) offered a proposal to cut federal spending by more than $1200 billion in the coming fiscal year, and to cap most agencies’ budgets through the 2030 fiscal year, according to the Post, citing two people familiar with the offer who spoke on condition of anonymity. The GOP proposal – which was essentially their April bill which was approved by the House – also called for tougher immigration enforcement at the southern US border.

  The White House responded to the offer, countering with a freeze on spending in the 2024 fiscal year to 2023 levels, arguing that it would represent a cut because budgets would not rise with inflation, according to WaPo.

  Republicans outright rejected that counter, insisting that domestic spending must undergo a significant cut so that overall spending drops in the upcoming fiscal year.

  On Monday, the House Freedom Caucus is expected to urge McCarthy to reject any offer from Biden unless it includes beefed up border security, cuts to the FBI, and every provision in the House-passed bill.

  “The Freedom Caucus will vote next week to basically accept only what we have sent to him plus what we’re adding to it,” according to Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), a member of the caucus.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 20:29

• The True Cost Of Energy Generated From Wind Turbines
  The True Cost Of Energy Generated From Wind Turbines

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

  Claims of wind power being pro-environment often do not consider the damaging effects these projects can have on wildlife and ecosystems, thus hiding the “true cost” of such initiatives.

  Wind power projects can threaten birds that fly within their vicinity and trigger a decline in their population; it can harm marine life due to noise pollution, and affect the growth of plants in the region where it is located. Driven by subsidies granted by the federal government, the growth of wind projects has triggered concerns about the cumulative impacts they have on the environment.

  There have been growing protests against wind power projects across the world. In the United States, people have opposed setting up wind turbines in Lake Erie due to concerns about the environmental impact of the project.

  In New Jersey, protestors have asked to pause the development of an offshore wind farm which they claim has led to dolphins and whales washing ashore.

  In Norway, climate activist Greta Thunberg has protested against a proposal to build two wind farms on the Sami reindeer grazing grounds. The Sami are the only indigenous people recognized within the EU and say that their tradition of herding reindeer will be put in danger due to the wind farms.

  

  Danger to Birds and Whales

  The blades of wind turbines can be fatal to birds. When the first commercial wind power plants were established in the United States, they had not considered the impact the project would have on birds and other flying creatures like bats. Not only are birds harmed by colliding with the wind blades but flying bats can be affected by changes in the air pressure resulting from blade rotations.

  The proliferation of wind turbines is believed to pose a significant danger to the population of golden eagles which are already said to be in decline in certain regions.

  An Associated Press analysis found that a significant number of eagles were dying while fewer criminal cases were being pursued—suggesting an intentional “trade-off” between bird deaths and implementing of clean power generation.

  “They are rolling over backwards for wind companies,” said Mike Lockhart, a former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, according to the outlet. “I think they are killing a hell of a lot more eagles than they ever anticipated.”

  Dozens of permits for wind projects that are either approved or pending are estimated to result in around 6,000 eagles getting killed off over multiple decades.

  A 2013 paper estimated the mean bird annual deaths in the United States due to collision at wind facilities to be 234,000. With roughly 50,000 megawatts of installed capacity in the country, this comes to around 4.68 bird deaths per megawatt.

  The Biden administration has set a target of deploying 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030. At 4.68 bird deaths per megawatt, this could result in 140,000 additional birds dying annually.

  The installation of wind turbines as well as the noise created by their operation can have a harmful effect on whales.

  Last year, an official from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) warned against setting up wind projects off the coast of New England because it would threaten the population of right whales in the region.

  In 2011, there were around 478 of these creatures, a number that came down to 350 in 2022. In January, Rep Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) demanded an end to offshore wind activity in New Jersey after an “unprecedented” number of whales washed ashore in the region.

  Climatic and Environmental Changes

  Wind projects alter the habitats where they are located, changing the vegetation and other landscape features of the region. Setting up a wind farm necessitates the creation of open spaces. Vast open spaces tend to raise the speed of wind. Such minute changes can result in an uptick in temperatures and a reduction in humidity levels.

  Higher temperatures at night can cause plants to release more CO2 than usual. This carbon dioxide is essential for the growth of the plants. By releasing the CO2, plant growth can thus get affected. In farming areas where wind turbines are established, this could mean lower crop yields.

  A 2018 study found that wind power can impact the climate by altering the atmospheric boundary layer. “We find that generating today’s US electricity demand with wind power would warm Continental US surface temperatures by 0.24 degrees Celsius,” it said.

  Warming effect was found to be strongest at night, with the nighttime warming effect observed at 28 operational US wind farms.

  A study from 2010 discovered that “impacts from wind turbines on surface meteorological conditions are likely to affect agricultural practices as well as communities living in residential area around the farms,” it said.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 20:20

• Panama Canal Hit By Shipping Restrictions As Water Crisis Set To Worsen
  Panama Canal Hit By Shipping Restrictions As Water Crisis Set To Worsen

  Due to severe drought, authorities at the Panama Canal are set to impose new draft restrictions in the coming days. These rules, affecting one of the world’s most crucial maritime routes, will force vessels to reduce cargo weight and incur higher fees. 

  Bloomberg cited canal spokesperson Octavio Colindres who said neo-Panamex container ships seeking to cross the canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans must comply with a maximum depth of up to 44.5 feet, down from 45 feet. This will force vessels to haul less cargo or otherwise transport fewer goods. 

  Panama Canal Ship Traffic 

  

  Colindres said a draft restriction of 44 feet would be imposed by the end of the month. A 50-foot draft is considered average for the canal during normal weather conditions, though a recent drought has left Lake Gatun, the largest of two lakes that feed the canal, with extremely low water levels. 

  

  Around 6% of all global maritime traffic passes through the canal, mainly from the US, China, and Japan. During the 2016 and 2019 droughts, the draft limit went as low as 43 feet. 

  Perhaps the onset of El Niño, a weather pattern that brings drier conditions across much of Central America, is partially responsible for arid conditions, which might worsen as the Northern Hemisphere summer is less than 30 days away. 

  “The lower-than-usual water levels in the Gatun Lake are causing severe draft restrictions on vessels transiting the Panama Canal,” shipper Hapag-Lloyd told customers in recent weeks. The advisory was directed towards vessels traveling from East Asia to North America that must pay a surcharge after June 1 to traverse the canal. 

  Bloomberg warned of a possible shipping disruption if canal water levels continued to drop:

  LNG carriers, which are highly dependent on the canal, are not as affected by the draft changes because the vessels have fewer draft restrictions than those carrying heavier industrial goods or commodities. But any bottlenecks are a cause for worry considering that US LNG export expansions are due to come online in the next five years.

  Bloomberg added: 

  Asia-to-US cargo can take alternative routes through the Suez Canal. Or they can use ports in southern California, which would involve loading containers onto trucks or trains bound for Midwest and East Coast population centers. 

  And what’s to say, if the dry weather pattern continues, a vessel might be more prone to grounding, which could disrupt maritime traffic. Either way, less cargo will be flowing through the waterway due to draft restrictions.

  “The melting of ice across the planet is accelerating at a record rate /…/ The rate of loss is now in line with the worst-case scenarios of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.” https://t.co/Xn9wpWSgfF

  — Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 25, 2021

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

  Well, Greta, Panama Canal could use some of this melting water you described would drown the world… 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 20:00

• PAC To 'Draft' Tucker Carlson For President In 2024 Launches
  PAC To ‘Draft’ Tucker Carlson For President In 2024 Launches

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

  A new political action committee (PAC) was formed to try and convince Tucker Carlson to join the 2024 presidential race, saying only the former Fox News host can defeat President Joe Biden in the general election.

  

  The so-called “Draft Tucker Carlson” PAC released an advertisement, saying: “Republicans need a new leader that can stand up to Biden. It’s time to draft Tucker Carlson.”

  Shortly after Carlson was ousted from Fox News in late April, the Draft Tucker PAC filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC). That ad made its debut last week on Twitter.

  “Republicans need a new leader, and Tucker Carlson is ready to lead,” the ad states, comparing Carlson to the late radio host Rush Limbaugh. “No one in America is more articulate and pins down leftists in both parties better than Tucker.”

  It also says that Carlson “is witty, sharp, and mocks woke nonsense” before adding that he will “whip Biden in a debate.”

  The head of the PAC is Chris Ekstrom, who told The Hill that he personally knows Carlson “vaguely” and was approached about forming the PAC before Carlson’s exit from Fox News. Speaking to The Hill, Ekstrom said that Carlson has a “realistic opportunity” to run for president and that other Republican candidates have issues.

  “I’m very concerned that they’re going to not move the debate as far right as it ought to be,” Ekstrom said of both former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is widely expected to announce a 2024 presidential bid. “If Tucker Carlson entered the race in a reasonable amount of time and just continued in the same territory that he was covering at Fox, I think that’d be a rude awakening for both President Trump and Governor DeSantis.”

  Republicans need a new leader that can stand up to Biden. It’s time to draft Tucker Carlson pic.twitter.com/FV9s3wxalc

  — Draft Tucker Carlson (@DrafttuckerPAC) May 19, 2023

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

  [ZH: note the community note]

  Another individual involved in the PAC, Charlie Kolean, told the outlet that Carlson would move “the conversation to the right, just in a macro way, with candidates taking more solid stances rather than being like a moderate Republican.”

  Carlson has not made any public overtures toward a potential 2024 White House bid. Since he left Fox News, the former host has issued few public statements, although he released two viral videos on Twitter including one saying he would be moving his program to the social media platform, although it’s not clear when.

  “The best you can hope for in the news business at this point is the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can. But there are always limits. And you know that if you bump up against those limits often enough, you will be fired for it,” Carlson said in his most recent Twitter video.

  Not a ‘Scam’

  In The Hill report, an alleged unnamed source connected to Carlson said that the former Fox host is not looking to run for office and was critical of the PAC’s efforts. The alleged source also claimed the PAC’s operators are “trying to make a quick buck” and that “no one should donate” to the group.

  “This isn’t some kind of scam PAC or grift. I hate that. That is something that I’ve always tried to oppose,” Ekstrom told the outlet. “All the money is spent on the fight with me,” he added.

  While Carlson has publicly rejected the notion of running for president and reportedly recently joked about it, Ekstrom alleged that he has been “testing the water for quite a while,” reported The Hill. He said Carlson spoke at an event in Iowa, which has historically been an early presidential primary state.

  The  PAC, Koelan told the outlet, will be “exceptionally well-funded,” and it will “easily” spend at least $150,000 to build its name recognition. It aims to sponsor polls and create radio and digital advertisement campaigns.

  For the past several years, Carlson was the highest-rated Fox News host and often had the highest-rated cable news program in general. In March, he drew well over 3 million viewers per episode, a figure that Fox News has not been able to recapture since his sudden exit in late April.

  Nielsen ratings show that the temporary replacement program, “Fox News Tonight,” has drawn significantly fewer viewers during the 8 p.m. timeslot. But one Fox News advertising executive recently said in May that several large corporate advertisers approached Fox to do campaigns. Over the years, a range of big-name companies dropped advertising during Carlson’s show over what they said were controversial statements by the former host.

  The popularity gap Carlson enjoys over Fox News among conservatives has increased sharply in the wake of his departure, said a new poll, showing that his net favorability rating among Republicans stands at +59. Fox News, by contrast, has a -4 favorability rating, the numbers show.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 19:40

• Russia Issues Dire Warning After US Approves Ukrainian Strikes On Crimea
  Russia Issues Dire Warning After US Approves Ukrainian Strikes On Crimea

  Russia has issued another stern warning related to further potential Ukrainian attacks on Crimea. “Strikes on this territory are considered by us as an attack on any other region of the Russian Federation. It is important that the United States is fully aware of the Russian response,” Moscow’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, warned Sunday.

  This was in response to an earlier weekend statement by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to CNN. He said while speaking from the G7 summit in Japan over the weekend, “we have not placed limitations on Ukraine being able to strike on its territory… What we’ve said is that we won’t enable Ukraine with US-systems to attack Russia. And we believe Crimea is Ukraine.”

  

  However, the US has consistently denied that it has OK’d Ukraine using US-supplied advanced weaponry to mount such attacks. 

   Antonov further stated on Telegram in response that “the unconditional approval of strikes on Crimea using American and other Western weapons” alongside the move among Western allies to supply Ukraine with jets “clearly demonstrate that the United States has never been interested in peace.”

  He warned the US administration against “thoughtless judgments on Crimea, especially in terms of ‘blessing’ the Kiev regime for air attacks” on the peninsula.

  Per Russian state media, other Kremlin officials weighed in even more forcefully, warning that even nuclear disaster could be the result:

  Sullivan’s remarks likewise triggered outrage from Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Georgy Muradov, who opined that by allowing Ukraine to use US-made planes to target the peninsula, the White House had “agreed to unleashing a nuclear war.”

  The official recalled that Crimea hosts Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. “An attack on one of the pillars of Russia’s strategic security legally obliges our country to use all available means to prevent it from being undermined.” 

  Russia has also recently accused Ukrainian forces of using UK-supplied long range rockets which are capable of hitting inside Russia.

  

  This is also a cause for concern in terms of possible Russia-NATO direct escalation: “Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of more than 250 kilometers, give Ukraine the capacity to strike well behind Russian front lines and as far as Moscow-occupied Crimea,” US state-funded RFERL underscores, while adding that “British media reports said Kyiv had promised not to use the missiles to strike inside Russia’s territory.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 19:20

• Trump Town Hall Destroys Fake News Silo
  Trump Town Hall Destroys Fake News Silo

  Authored by Frank Miele via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The inventors of artificial intelligence went before Congress last week and warned that without government supervision, the emerging technology could be employed by the unscrupulous to mislead people and spread falsehoods.

  

  It’s frightening, but not without precedent.

  If you want to know what it would look like if an AI were programmed to be relentless, ruthless, and amoral in service to a political agenda, you don’t have to look far.

  Just consider the mainstream media. They have tailored their so-called news coverage to focus entirely on attacking conservatives and covering up for Democrats. Anyone who challenges their narrative is accused of lying or peddling “conspiracy theories.” Any facts that disprove their assumptions are either ignored entirely or summarily dismissed as Republican “talking points.”

  And then remember this: Thanks to the First Amendment, the dangerous lies of the media cannot be subject to government supervision or control. It’s entirely up to us to sniff out and reject the falsehoods, but if you are a trusting soul who can’t imagine a world where you are intentionally kept in the dark about fundamental truths, then you will always be living an illusion.

  A perfect metaphor for this state of blissful ignorance was unveiled recently on the Apple TV+ show “Silo,” which tells the story of a few thousand people who have been living underground in a massive silo for generations. Their only contact with the outside world is a video link to a camera placed on the surface, which shows a forlorn landscape littered with the bodies of those few daring people who had exited the silo after growing sick of being virtual prisoners. The video of the bleak and deadly surface plays nonstop in public places to remind the residents of the silo that there is nothing for them on the outside.

  In our metaphoric analysis, that video represents the relentlessly negative and destructive narrative of the mainstream media, played over and over for an unwitting population. There is little reason for the average person to doubt what he or she has been told so convincingly by so many seemingly sincere talking heads. But what happens if the public gets a glimpse of reality?

  Just such an occurrence happened in a recent episode of “Silo” when the main generator for the silo was turned off in order to accomplish needed repairs. In the brief moment between the power going down and the backup generator kicking in, the Hiroshima-like deathscape on the video screen was replaced by a halcyon sunlit pasture of green grass and trees. Blink and you missed it. And if you are one of the characters who lives in the silo, you keep your mouth shut. No one so far has admitted what they saw or asked questions about it. That’s what happens when you are fed an endless diet of lies. The truth looks like an unappetizing worm.

  But sooner or later, as the Bard tells us, the truth will out, or in this case the worm will turn.

  That transformation for the mainstream media began on May 10, when Donald Trump climbed out of the silo and showed millions of CNN viewers that the lies they’ve been told for years were absurd and dangerous, starting with the notion that the 45th president himself is absurd and dangerous. Town hall moderator Kaitlan Collins did her best to lock down Trump with questions intended to humiliate or mock him. But what she did not count on was that having an audience full of real people from the free state of New Hampshire would make her questions look as fake as that dead planet on “Silo.”

  From the moment the crowd of 300 or so Republican and independent voters gave Trump a standing ovation as he was introduced, it was obvious that Collins was in for a long night. So was the television audience of 3.3 million presumably mostly liberal CNN viewers who have been fed a steady drumbeat of anti-Trump propaganda for more than six years. Collins did her best to unsettle Trump by bringing up topics such as the legitimacy of the 2020 election, the Jan. 6 riots, and the many legal cases brought against him by Democratic district attorneys or funded by Democratic donors. But in every single instance, Trump was prepared to answer by rejecting and refuting the left-leaning assumptions implicit in the questions. And the audience kept applauding. They even cheered when Trump called Collins a “nasty person” because she didn’t listen to his answers, or dismissed them because they didn’t agree with her own preconceptions.

  It was no doubt maddening to the usual suspects at CNN, as was made obvious by the fact that they cut short the scheduled 90-minute town hall by nearly 20 minutes and then proceeded to devote nearly two hours to re-establishing the official CNN narrative: Trump is absurd and dangerous, and can’t be trusted no matter how much those crazy people from New Hampshire seemed to like and respect him!

  Jake Tapper started the commentary by saying “Mr. Trump’s first lie was told just seconds into the night with his false familiar claim that the 2020 election was ‘a rigged election,’ and the falsehoods kept coming fast and furious about the Jan. 6 insurrection, about the threats to Vice President Pence, about Pence’s ability to overturn the election, about Covid, about the economy and more.”

  In other words, the picture you just saw where Trump was witty, charming, in full command of the facts and unwilling to be pushed around by a junior reporter was not what you saw at all. To paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Nothing to see here. Move along.”

  Suddenly, we were back safe and sound in the universe where Trump is a troublesome oaf, and where all the so-called smart people agree that the walls are once again closing in on the mega-villain known as the MAGA Prince. It didn’t require evidence to say so, just a concert of voices in agreement that nothing we had seen with our own eyes was real. I call it the Deep Fake of mainstream media – mouths moving but the words coming out of them are untethered from reality. Just an anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, anti-conservative agenda that can be twisted around any and every news story.

  Perhaps the best (or worst) example of this can be found on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” which provides the most-one sided panel of talking heads this side of Rachel Maddow. The episode on the morning after Trump’s invasion of CNN was more proof that the former president had terrified the mainstream media mob. Which means they could only do one thing in response – lie.

  In that regard it was similar to almost any day on “Morning Joe,” but host Joe Scarborough reserved his greatest vitriol for this episode. Right out of the gate, he and his producers tried to imply that Trump was delusional about Jan. 6 by matching his words about the massive rally he held that day with pictures of the riot a few hours later at the U.S. Capitol. So when Trump said that his supporters were at the rally “with love in their heart,” Scarborough and his team conflated that with pictures of rioters at the Capitol, even though they had nothing to do with each other. It was a bit of propaganda worthy of Leni Riefenstahl, the Nazi filmmaker. Four hours of that kind of distortion was too much to watch, but I made it through 90 minutes and came to the conclusion that Scarborough and his guests were tools of a self-serving narrative to the same degree as a ChatGPT deep fake, and both were equally soulless.

  Coincidentally, CNN superstar Anderson Cooper unwittingly took up the silo metaphor himself the day after the town hall when he responded to outraged CNN viewers who could not believe that their beloved left-wing network had veered from their usual Deep Fake script and allowed Trump an opportunity to demonstrate that his brand of conservatism has a strong following that cannot be easily dismissed.

  “You have every right to be outraged today and angry and never watch this network again,” Cooper said on his show. “But do you think staying in your silo and only listening to people you agree with is going to make that person go away?”

  Based on the heated reaction to Cooper’s remarks, yes, most CNN viewers want to stick their heads in the sand and pretend that front-running candidate Trump doesn’t exist. So much easier to listen to the fake narrative that paints the former president as the most hated man on the planet than to consider, as Cooper reminded his viewers, that “the man you were so disturbed to see and hear from last night, that man is the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president. And that audience that upset you, that’s a sampling of about half the country. They are your family members, your neighbors, and they are voting. And many said they’re voting for him.”

  Of course, it’s not just television media that promotes a fake narrative about Trump and his supporters. Consider this tweet by the New York Times on Tuesday after the release of the Durham Report, which confirmed that the FBI had no legitimate evidence against Donald Trump when it launched its Russia collusion probe:

  “John Durham’s report on the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s work with Russia, which produced no startling revelations, is being viewed by some conservatives as lending credence to their conspiracy theories about the U.S. agency.”

  Say what? “No startling revelations” implies that the New York Times already knew that there was no legitimacy to the allegations against Trump. But if that’s the case, then why hasn’t the Times returned the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting it shared with the Washington Post in 2018? Both of those esteemed newspapers promoted the Democrat-originated lie that Trump was a Russian asset and they did absolutely nothing to uncover the truth about how the FBI was co-opted by the Biden administration as a campaign asset for Hillary Clinton.

  And even more outrageously, the New York Times (the nation’s putative paper of record) twisted the damning facts of the Durham Report into a Republican fever dream that could apparently be dismissed as one more “conspiracy theory.” Hey, Mainstream Media! It’s not a conspiracy theory any more if it’s proven to be true – then, it’s a conspiracy fact. Durham concluded that the FBI persecuted the 45th president of the United States without any credible evidence, and no amount of willful denial will change that devastating charge.

  Not sure if reality will win out against the phony mainstream narrative in the long run, but my hope rests with 300 New Hampshire voters who thumbed their collective nose at CNN on national TV and said in no uncertain terms that they don’t want to live in the Fake News silo any more. What educated person does?

  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
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 19:00

• Hedge Funds Most Bearish On Oil Since 2011 Just As Physical Demand Surges
  Hedge Funds Most Bearish On Oil Since 2011 Just As Physical Demand Surges

  Hedge funds may be finally piling into stocks just as the S&P breaks out above the 4,200 resistance level (because Wall Street “pros” always sell low and buy high), but unable to shake the conviction that the economy is headed for the crapper, they are ramping up their shorts in other assets to brace for what is coming, and nowhere more so than in oil where bearish hedge fund bets just hit the highest in 12 years.

  As Bloomberg shows, the trading positions of hedge funds and other non-commercial traders are at the most bearish levels since at least 2011 across a combination of all major oil contracts…

  

  … and in bets that are perhaps most indicative of recession expectations, speculators’ combined views on diesel and gasoil – fuels that power the economy – are near the most bearish levels since early in the Covid-19 pandemic.

  

  That said, positioning in gasoil and US diesel ticked slightly higher in the latest week, while commercial traders who work for the producers as well as other merchants of crude, aren’t so bearish, with some even reducing hedges against a potential price drop.

  Still, “it’s pretty remarkable to see this type of positioning,” Greg Sharenow, who manages a portfolio focused on energy and commodities at PIMCO, told Bloomberg in an interview.

  The gloom over the oil market this year – a sharp contrast to last year’s Ukraine war-driven meltup – has come from multiple directions, including expectations that the Fed’s rate hikes will provoke a contraction (oddly enough, this has not impacted stocks or bonds) and China’s disappointing rebound from its Covid-19 restrictions. Add in the threat of a US default if politicians fail to raise the debt ceiling and the possibility that OPEC+ may not deliver all the output cuts they’ve pledged, and traders have no shortage of bear scenarios to choose from.

  While investors are positioned for a significant business cycle downturn hitting petroleum consumption and prices in the remainder of 2023, prices for fuels such as gasoline and diesel are expected to hold up better than crude because fuel stocks are well below long-term seasonal averages and refineries are already processing more crude than usual according to Reuters analyst John Kemp.

  The extreme extent of the financial traders’ bearishness raises the risk of volatility if the OPEC and its allies decide to cut production further. That scenario will surely set off another brutal squeeze that forces bears to rush to exits, sends the price of oil soaring and worsens inflation.

  Meanwhile, Goldman projects any large gains in oil prices could unleash as much as $40 billion worth of buying in US crude and Brent alone from trend-following commodity trading advisers; however for now the only direction CTAs are pushing oil is lower.

  What is odd is that while hedge funds are positioned for a significant business cycle downturn hitting petroleum consumption and prices in the remainder of 2023 and have picked oil and only oil to express their bearish bets having been burned one too many times on their stock shorts, the underlying physical markets aren’t reflecting the dire state that traders are preparing for. On the contrary: refineries are processing the most crude for this time of year since the pandemic began, China crude demand is record high, air travel is rising just about everywhere, and gasoline demand in the US is now at the highest level since December 2021. At the same time, fuel inventories are below seasonal norms for gasoline and diesel in the US, and OPEC+ cuts and Canadian wildfires have limited crude supply.

  The International Energy Agency recently hiked its expectations for global oil demand growth this year on China’s post-pandemic rebound, which, despite a strong gain in consumer usage, has failed to live up to optimistic forecasts. That’s because industrial demand has been the central focus for traders, and weakness in manufacturing and trucking has kept them from going long on diesel.

  “Traders are focused on China recovery, specifically if the increase in consumer-led consumption can meaningfully outstrip weakness in industrial demand,” said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth.

  While a reversal of the bearish sentiment doesn’t appear imminent, a continued decline in inventories may help oil beat other asset classes.

  “If you do genuinely believe that we’re in a capital-disciplined and under-investing environment, then when the economy does stabilize, commodities, and oil within that, are likely to outperform over an extended period of time,” Pimco’s Sharenow said.

  In a note from Wells Fargo equity reearch, the bank writes that while its model implies a Q2 2023 build, the bank has not seen that in the US or other weekly data. In fact, its tracking of US/ARA and floating inventories (crude + products) indicates a modest draw since 3/31, with The most recent reports from China indicate draws from their oil storage to support local refining demand. And while visibility into China’s refined product stocks is murky, stronger crack spread trends imply no unusual refined product builds have occurred.

  As such, the bank’s base case assumption remains a modest recession by YE’23. If the economy avoids that outcome, “then an undersupplied oil market becomes a more likely event… This implies risk/reward for oil prices (and by extension, energy equities) is tilting more favorably as the calendar reaches mid-year.”

  Goldman agrees and writes that “inventory draws appear to have started” among global visible stocks, signaling a turning point for the market; the bank adds that oil price weakness has been driven by stronger-than-expected supply from Russia and record releases from US strategic reserves. And of course relentless shorting by hedge funds who are poised for another bruising short squeeze in the weeks ahead.

  Finally, while hedge funds are betting that OPEC is quietly overproducing and exporting much more than their recent quota permits, a recent update by Goldman Sachs shows that bears may be in for a very reude awakening, as seaborne net exports by OPEC countries which announced a cut in April have finally tumbled by over 1mmb/d over the past 2 weeks.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 18:40

• 646 Hospitals At Risk Of Closure, Ranked By State
  646 Hospitals At Risk Of Closure, Ranked By State

  By Laura Dyrda of Becker Hospital Review

  There are 646 rural hospitals at risk of closure due to financial issues, comprising around 30 percent of all rural hospitals in the U.S., according to the Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform.

  The hospitals face losses on patient services as health plans aren’t paying enough to cover the cost of care delivery. The losses will likely increase as inflation and workforce shortages persist, according to the report, which was released in April. While rural hospitals are receiving some support through grants, local tax revenues or other profits, they still have low financial reserves and remain at risk.

  More than half the states in the U.S. report 25 percent or more of their rural hospitals are at risk of closure, and more than 200 hospitals nationwide are at immediate risk of closing.

  Here are the number and percentage of rural hospitals at risk of closing by state from the analysis:

  

   

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 18:20

• Former Deputy Nat'l Security Adviser: FBI, CIA & DOJ Will Rig 2024 Election
  Former Deputy Nat’l Security Adviser: FBI, CIA & DOJ Will Rig 2024 Election

  Former Deputy National Security Adviser K.T. McFarland, who served for the first four months of the Trump administration under Michael Flynn, says that the deep state is going to rig the 2024 US election following their success in 2020.

  

  “We now have black-and-white evidence that the FBI interfered in the 2016 election. When they failed to elect Hillary Clinton, they set out to destroy the Trump administration,” she told Fox Business‘ Maria Bartiromo.

  “Go back to 2020. This time, the CIA got involved in the election with those 51 former intel agents who said the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation. So they’ve gotten away with it for two elections. They will surely try and get away with it in 2024, right?

  Because there are no consequences…

  “There is now hard evidence that there was election interference by the U.S. intelligence agencies and the Department of Justice. Those individuals must be terrified that a Republican president comes in with a Republican Attorney General, investigates them, and charges them with all of the crimes they have committed over the last eight years. Take it to the bank.

  They will absolutely interfere in 2024…

  These people are selling us out. Not only to foreign leaders, but they are interfering in our elections.

  They are tearing up the Constitution… This is just a gut punch to the American people.“

  Watch:

  h/t @KanekoaTheGreat

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 18:00

• Lawmakers Want Answers On NIH Trans Kids Study That Led To Two Suicides
  Lawmakers Want Answers On NIH Trans Kids Study That Led To Two Suicides

  Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

  Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate have demanded answers from the National Institutes of Health over a two year study involving prescribing gender changing hormones to hundreds of children, as it emerged that two of the ‘youths’ ended up killing themselves.

  

  As Fox News reports, the study titled “Psychosocial Functioning in Transgender Youth after 2 Years of Hormones,” examined 315 individuals  “between the ages of 12 and 20 who identify as transgender and were given cross-sex hormones.”

  The study, involving 240 children, was funded by NIH which admits that “two young people tragically died by suicide.” 

  Despite the deaths, the NIH carried on the study to its conclusion.

  Over a dozen lawmakers, including Lauren Boebert, Marco Rubio and Rand Paul have penned a letter to the NIH director Dr. Lawrence Tabak.

  It’s almost like it was more important to get a certain result than to find the best result.

  — Mark Mazurik (@MarkMazurik) May 22, 2023

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

  The letter notes that “During this study, two young people died by suicide and eleven reported suicidal ideation,” adding that “Rather than shutting the study down after such serious adverse events, the researchers published their paper, concluding that the study was a success because cross-sex hormones had altered subjects’ physical appearance and improved psychosocial functioning.” 

  Researchers assert that “During the study period, appearance congruence, positive affect, and life satisfaction increased, and depression and anxiety symptoms decreased.”

  They also claim that despite 11 kids expressing a desire to kill themselves and two actually committing suicide, “Increases in appearance congruence were associated with concurrent increases in positive affect and life satisfaction and decreases in depression and anxiety symptoms.”

  North Carolina Senator Ted Budd, another co-signer of the GOP letter described the study as “absolutely tragic,” charging that those involved are “in search of an agenda and justifying an agenda, they’re not really about children’s safety as we’ve seen from the suicides.”

  The Republicans further note in their letter that “the four clinics and some of the researchers who conducted this experiment are outspoken advocates for conducting gender transition interventions on children.”

  “Were the individuals who tragically died by suicide while participating in this study minors?” the lawmakers ask, adding “Were participants and their parents given the opportunity to reconsider their consent and withdraw from this research in light of the suicides?”

  Watch:

  https://video.foxnews.com/v/embed.js?id=6327841400112&w=466&h=263Watch the latest video at foxnews.com

  *  *  *

  Brand new merch now available! Get it at https://www.pjwshop.com/

  In the age of mass Silicon Valley censorship It is crucial that we stay in touch. We need you to sign up for our free newsletter here. Support our sponsor – Turbo Force – a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown.

  Also, we urgently need your financial support here.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 17:40

• WTF Chart Of The Day: Bud Light Sales Dump For 6th Straight Week
  WTF Chart Of The Day: Bud Light Sales Dump For 6th Straight Week

  New industry data, according to The Wall Street Journal, shows that sales of Bud Light have declined for another week amid the controversy over the company’s decision to engage in a social media campaign with transgender influencer and activist Dylan Mulvaney.

  In the week starting on May 8, U.S. retail sales tumbled 28% compared with the same period a year ago, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by consulting company Bump Williams, with the decline showing no signs of stopping…

  

  Source: The Wall Street Journal

  As we have previously noted, the company placed Alissa Heinerscheid – the first woman in Bud Light’s four-decade history to run its marketing – and her boss, Daniel Blake, on leave. Heinerscheid was replaced in the role of head marketer for Bud Light by a seasoned beer executive and Blake’s role was eliminated to give senior marketers closer oversight on brand decisions. Heinerscheid and Blake remain on leave.

  Additionally, Bud Light has reportedly responded by buying unsold cases of the beer that are past their expiration date, signaling a change in the brand’s direction and an attempt to draw back to its original formula that appeals implicitly to its core customers.

  “The unfortunate reality that it happened without higher-level approval exposed a concerning lack of oversight for brand marketing decisions,” said in a Facebook statement.

  “That lack of oversight has been addressed.”

  Ironically, Anheuser-Busch is getting it in both ends with The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT rights organization, said Anheuser-Busch had showed a “profound lack of fortitude” and should have stood in solidarity with Mulvaney as people attacked her on social-media and conservative news outlets. The group this month suspended the brewer’s Corporate Equality Index score, which ranks companies on their policies for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees.

  

  A Bud Light 2023 Super Bowl ad featured actor Miles Teller and his wife, Keleigh Sperry Teller, having an impromptu dance party in their living room.

  So, should we call this a boycott… or a girlcott?

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 17:20

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• China Dominates The World's Biggest Steel Producers
  China Dominates The World’s Biggest Steel Producers

  Steel is a critical component of modern industry and economy, essential for the construction of buildings, automobiles, and many other appliances and infrastructure used in our daily lives.

  Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte create this infographic, using data from the World Steel Association, to visualize the world’s top steel-producing countries, and highlights China’s ascent to the top, as it now makes up more than half of the world’s steel production.

  

  The State of Global Steel Production

  Global steel production in 2022 reached 1,878 million tonnes, barely surpassing the pre-pandemic production of 1,875 million tonnes in 2019.

  Country	2022 Production (in million tonnes)	Annual Production Change	Global Share
  🇨🇳 China	1013.0	-2.0%	53.9%
  🇮🇳 India	124.8	5.3%	6.6%
  🇯🇵 Japan	89.2	-7.9%	4.8%
  🇺🇸 United States	80.5	-6.5%	4.3%
  🇷🇺 Russia	71.5	-5.8%	3.8%
  🇰🇷 South Korea	65.9	-6.9%	3.5%
  🇩🇪 Germany	36.8	-8.8%	2.0%
  🇹🇷 Türkiye	35.1	-15.0%	1.9%
  🇧🇷 Brazil	34.0	-6.5%	1.8%
  🇮🇷 Iran	30.6	6.8%	1.6%
  🇮🇹 Italy	21.6	-13.0%	1.1%
  🇹🇼 Taiwan	20.7	-12.1%	1.1%
  🇻🇳 Vietnam	20.0	-15.0%	1.1%
  🇲🇽 Mexico	18.2	-1.9%	1.0%
  🇮🇩 Indonesia	15.6	8.3%	0.8%
  Rest of World	201.0	-11.2%	10.7%
  World Total	1878.5	-3.9%	100.0%

  2022’s steel production marked a significant reduction compared to the post-pandemic rebound of 1,960 million tonnes in 2021, with a year-over-year decline of 4.2%–the largest drop since 2009, and prior to that, 1991.

  This decline was spread across many of the world’s top steel producers, with only three of the top fifteen countries, India, Iran, and Indonesia, increasing their yearly production. Most of the other top steel-producing countries saw annual production declines of more than 5%, with Turkey, Italy, Taiwan, and Vietnam’s production all declining by double digits.

  Even the world’s top steel-producing nation, China, experienced a modest 2% decline, which due to the country’s large production amounted to a decline of 19.8 million tonnes, more than many other nations produce in a year.

  Despite India, the world’s second-largest steel producer, increasing its production by 5.3%, the country’s output still amounts to just over one-tenth of the steel produced by China.

  China’s Meteoric Rise in Steel Production

  Although China dominates the world’s steel production with more than a 54% share today, this hasn’t always been the case.

  In 1967, the World Steel Association’s first recorded year of steel production figures, China only produced an estimated 14 million tonnes, making up barely 3% of global output. At that time, the U.S. and the USSR were competing as the world’s top steel producers at 115 and 102 million tonnes respectively, followed by Japan at 62 million tonnes.

  Almost three decades later in 1996, China had successively overtaken Russia, the U.S., and Japan to become the top steel-producing nation with 101 million tonnes of steel produced that year.

  The early 2000s marked a period of rapid growth for China, with consistent double-digit percentage increases in steel production each year.

  The Recent Decline in China’s Steel Production

  Since the early 2000s, China’s average annual growth in steel production has slowed to 3.4% over the last decade (2013-2022), a considerable decline compared to the previous decade’s (2003-2012) 15.2% average annual growth rate.

  The past couple of years have seen China’s steel production decline, with 2021 and 2022 marking the first time the country’s production fell for two consecutive years in a row.

  While it’s unlikely China will relinquish its position as the top steel-producing nation anytime soon, it remains to be seen whether this recent decline marks the beginning of a new trend or just a brief deviation from the country’s consistent production growth.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 02:45

• Main Threat To Europe Is Resurgence In Islamic Terror Attacks, Warns French Minister Ahead Of Hosting Olympics
  Main Threat To Europe Is Resurgence In Islamic Terror Attacks, Warns French Minister Ahead Of Hosting Olympics

  Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

  French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has asked the U.S. government for greater intelligence sharing and warned of a resurgence in Islamic terrorist threats in Europe ahead of France hosting global sporting events in the coming year.

  

  During a two-day trip to Washington and New York this week, the French minister asked for more efficient Franco-American counter-terrorism cooperation and claimed Islamic terrorism remains the biggest threat to national security in Europe.

  “We have come to remind them that for Europeans and for France the primary risk is Sunni Islamist terrorism and that anti-terrorist collaboration between intelligence services is absolutely essential,” Darmanin said in an interview with Agence France-Presse.

  “At a time when Americans may have a more national perspective in terms of challenges (today) — white supremacy, repeated shootings, conspiracies — they must not forget what appears to us to be the primary threat in Europe: Sunni terrorism,” he added.

  Darmanin was speaking ahead of his country hosting the Rugby World Cup later this year and the Olympics next summer.

  He claimed there is yet again a risk of “Islamist terrorism,” which would again target France and her European neighbors, describing “an endogenous threat from people without networks but who, becoming radicalized, take action in a few hours, in a few days (…) someone who takes a knife, goes into a bakery and kills people.”

  France has been a frequent target for acts of terror, both from external threats and homegrown radicalized attackers facilitated by mass immigration from the Middle East, and the historically liberal visa requirements afforded to its Islam-dominated former colonies in North Africa.

  The severity of Islamist-motivated terror attacks peaked halfway through the last decade when attackers targeted a concert at the Bataclan theater, murdering 137 and injuring at least 416 people in November 2015. This was followed by a Tunisian Islamist terrorist driving a 19-ton cargo truck down the promenade in the southern city of Nice in July 2016; he rammed through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 people and injuring 434 others.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/22/2023 – 02:00

• US National Security Experts Urge No More Weapons For Ukraine In NY Times
  US National Security Experts Urge No More Weapons For Ukraine In NY Times

  Via Consortium News, 

  Last week, The New York Times published a full-page advertisement signed by 15 U.S. national security experts about the war in Ukraine. It was headed “The U.S. Should Be a Force for Peace in the World,” and was drafted by the Eisenhower Media Network.

  While condemning Russia’s invasion, the statement provides a more objective account of the crisis in Ukraine than the U.S. government or The New York Times has previously presented to the public, including the disastrous U.S. role in NATO expansion, the warnings ignored by successive U.S. administrations and the escalating tensions that ultimately led to war.

  

  The statement calls the war an “unmitigated disaster,” and urges President Joe Biden and Congress “to end the war speedily through diplomacy, especially given the dangers of military escalation that could spiral out of control.”

  This call for diplomacy by wise, experienced former insiders — U.S. diplomats, military officers and civilian officials — would have been a welcome intervention on any one of the past 442 days of this war. Yet their appeal now comes at an especially critical moment in the war.

  On May 10, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he is delaying Ukraine’s long-awaited “spring offensive” to avoid “unacceptable” losses to Ukrainian forces.

  Western policy has repeatedly put Zelenskyy in near-impossible positions, caught between the need to show signs of progress on the battlefield to justify further Western support and arms deliveries and, on the other hand, the shocking human cost of continued war represented by the fresh graveyards where tens of thousands of Ukrainians now lie buried.

  It is not clear how a delay in the planned Ukrainian counter-attack would prevent it leading to unacceptable Ukrainian losses when it finally occurs, unless the delay in fact leads to scaling back and calling off many of the operations that have been planned.

  Zelensky appears to be reaching a limit in terms of how many more of his people he is willing to sacrifice to satisfy Western demands for signs of military progress to hold together the Western alliance and maintain the flow of weapons and money to Ukraine.

  Boris Johnson’s Role 

  Zelensky’s predicament is certainly the fault of Russia’s invasion, but also of his April 2022 deal with the devil in the shape of then-U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

  Johnson promised Zelensky that the U.K. and the “collective West” were “in it for the long run” and would back him to recover all of Ukraine’s former territory, just as long as Ukraine stopped negotiating with Russia.

  Johnson was never in a position to fulfill that promise and, since he was forced to resign as prime minister, he has endorsed a Russian withdrawal only from the territory it invaded since February 2022, not a return to pre-2014 borders. Yet that compromise was exactly what he talked Zelensky out of agreeing to in April 2022, when most of the war’s dead were still alive and the framework of a peace agreement was on the table at diplomatic talks in Turkey.

  Zelensky has tried desperately to hold his Western backers to Johnson’s overblown promise. But short of direct U.S. and NATO military intervention, it seems that no quantity of Western weapons can decisively break the stalemate in what has degenerated into a brutal war of attrition, fought mainly by artillery and trench and urban warfare.

  A group of anti-war US veterans – including a dozen former military officers ranked as high as general – published an ad in the NY Times calling to halt arms shipments to Ukraine and end the war with peace talks

  They included this graphic of NATO military bases surrounded Russia https://t.co/SCeTYLseOB pic.twitter.com/m9Ntrnjrgs

  — Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) May 16, 2023

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

  An American general bragged that the West has supplied Ukraine with 600 different weapons systems, but this itself creates problems. For example, the different 105 mm guns sent by the U.K., France, Germany and the U.S. all use different shells. And each time heavy losses force Ukraine to re-form survivors into new units, many of them have to be retrained on weapons and equipment they’ve never used before.

  Leaked Pentagon Document

  Despite U.S. deliveries of at least six types of anti-aircraft missiles — Stinger, NASAMS, Hawk, Rim-7, Avenger, and at least one Patriot missile battery — a leaked Pentagon document revealed that Ukraine’s Russian-built S-300 and Buk anti-aircraft systems still make up almost 90 percent of its main air defenses.

  NATO countries have searched their weapons stockpiles for all the missiles they can provide for those systems, but Ukraine has nearly exhausted those supplies, leaving its forces newly vulnerable to Russian air strikes just as it prepares to launch its new counter-attack.

  Since at least June 2022, Biden and other U.S. officials have acknowledged that the war must end in a diplomatic settlement, and have insisted that they are arming Ukraine to put it “in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.” Until now, they have claimed that each new weapons system they have sent and each Ukrainian counter-offensive have contributed to that goal and left Ukraine in a stronger position.

  But the leaked Pentagon documents and recent statements by U.S. and Ukrainian officials make it clear that Ukraine’s planned spring offensive, already delayed into summer, would lack the previous element of surprise and encounter stronger Russian defenses than the offensives that recovered some of its lost territory last fall.

  One leaked Pentagon document warned that “enduring Ukrainian deficiencies in training and munitions supplies probably will strain progress and exacerbate casualties during the offensive,” concluding that it would probably make smaller territorial gains than the fall offensives did.

  

  How can a new offensive with mixed results and higher casualties put Ukraine in a stronger position at a currently non-existent negotiating table? If the offensive reveals that even huge quantities of Western military aid have failed to give Ukraine military superiority or reduce its casualties to a sustainable level, it could very well leave Ukraine in a weaker negotiating position, instead of a stronger one.

  Meanwhile, offers to mediate peace talks have been pouring in from countries all over the world, from the Vatican to China to Brazil. It has been six months since the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley suggested publicly, after Ukraine’s military gains last fall, that the moment had come to negotiate from a position of strength. “When there’s an opportunity to negotiate, when peace can be achieved, seize it,” he said.

  It would be doubly or triply tragic if, on top of the diplomatic failures that led to the war in the first place and the U.S. and U.K. undermining peace negotiations in April 2022, the chance for diplomacy that Milley wanted to seize is lost in the forlorn hope of attaining an even stronger negotiating position that is not really achievable.

  If the U.S. persists in backing the plan for a Ukrainian offensive, instead of encouraging Zelenskyy to seize the moment for diplomacy, it will share considerable responsibility for the failure to seize the chance for peace, and for the appalling and ever-rising human costs of this war.

  The experts who signed The New York Times statement recalled that, in 1997, 50 senior U.S. foreign policy experts warned President Bill Clinton that expanding NATO was a “policy error of historic proportions” and that, unfortunately, Clinton chose to ignore the warning. Biden, who is now pursuing his own policy error of historic proportions by prolonging this war, would do well to take the advice of today’s policy experts by helping to forge a diplomatic settlement and making the United States a force for peace in the world.

  * * *

  TIMELINE

  1990 – U.S. assures Russia that NATO will not expand towards its border “…there would be no extension of…NATO one inch to the east,” says US Secretary of State James Baker.

  1996 – U.S. weapons manufacturers form the Committee to Expand NATO, spending over $51 million lobbying Congress.

  1997 – 50 foreign policy experts including former senators, retired military officers and diplomats sign an open letter stating NATO expansion to be “a policy error of historic proportions.”

  1999 – NATO admits Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic to NATO. U.S. and NATO bomb Russia’s ally, Serbia.

  2001 – U.S. unilaterally withdraws from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

  2004 – Seven more Eastern European nations join NATO. NATO troops are now directly on Russia’s border.

  2004 – Russia’s parliament passed a resolution denouncing NATO’s expansion. Putin responded by saying that Russia would “build our defense and security policy correspondingly.”

  2008 – NATO leaders announced plans to bring Ukraine and Georgia, also on Russia’s borders, into NATO.

  2009 – U.S. announced plans to put missile systems into Poland and Romania.

   

  2014 – Legally elected Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, fled violence to Moscow. Russia views ouster as a coup by U.S. and NATO nations.

  2016 – U.S. begins troop buildup in Europe.

  2019 – U.S. unilaterally withdraws from Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty.

  2020 – U.S. unilaterally withdraws from Open Skies Treaty.

  2021 – Russia submits negotiation proposals while sending more forces to the border with Ukraine. U.S. and NATO officials reject the Russian proposals immediately.

  Feb 24, 2022 – Russia invades Ukraine, starting the Russia-Ukraine War.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 23:30

• Hunter Biden Faces Call For Key Business Associates In The Arkansas Proceedings
  Hunter Biden Faces Call For Key Business Associates In The Arkansas Proceedings

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  There is a new and interesting development in Arkansas where attorneys for Lunden Alexis Roberts have prepared a list of witnesses for the upcoming proceedings involving Hunter Biden’s daughter, Navy.

  As previously discussed, Hunter Biden is seeking to reduce child support payments and has balked at Navy being able to use the Biden name. If successful, this could get a lot worse for Hunter in his alleged efforts to conceal his past income.

  On the list are business partners at the center of the influence peddling scandal.

  

  (Thank you to the reader who sent this possibly prophetic intersection picture).

  On the list are business partners who are connected to millions of dollars acquired from foreign interests in China, Ukraine and other countries. Also on the list is New York City art gallery owner Georges Bergès who continues to sell his art.  Bergès has reportedly pushed back on congressional efforts to reveal details on these proceeds and buyers even though former government ethicists have raised concerns over the sales.

  The costs of these proceedings and high-priced legal team would seem to undermine claims of financial distress by Biden. However, by putting his financial worth at issue, Hunter has opened up a new front in battling over the disclosure of his past dealings. Some of his past associates are reportedly cooperating with House investigators in tracking foreign payments.

  Even the Washington Post has belatedly published an editorial admitting that this is all a serious concern over influence peddling. In an editorial titled  “Millions flowed to Biden family members. Don’t pretend it doesn’t matter.”

  It was a bittersweet moment for many of us who have been writing about these dealings for years as newspapers like the Post downplayed the scandal or the authenticity of the laptop. Media outlets like National Public Radio (NPR)  declared that it “not want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don’t want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions.” These disclosures have been forced into the public despite the best efforts of the Post and other media.  Indeed, recently the Post’s Philip Bump derided the House investigation as a “fishing expedition . . .  it’s nearly all innuendo, a big corkboard with lots of pictures but little interconnecting string.” His “witchhunt” attack was then repeated by others at the Post.

  Despite these efforts, Hunter Biden appears to doing his level best to force the issue in Arkansas. It is not clear if the court will call any of these witnesses. However, since Hunter has put his finances at issue, some disclosures will need to be made.

  As for Navy, she is still uncertain if the court will allow her to use the Biden name despite her father’s efforts to the contrary. While it does not appear that Hunter (who lives in a California mansion) is financially broke, his actions (and those of the President and First Lady) toward this little girl show a moral deficit and delinquency that is abundantly obvious.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 23:00

• NYC Has A Shoplifting Problem… And Kiosks Aren't Going To Stop It!
  NYC Has A Shoplifting Problem… And Kiosks Aren’t Going To Stop It!

  Authored by Andrea Widburg via AmericanThinker.com,

  Like all Democrat-run cities that turned against police in 2020, New York City has a crime problem, including an explosive uptick in shoplifting. Fortunately for New York City store owners, Mayor Eric Adams has a plan. The problem is that, as with all lefty plans, it will cost money and almost certainly be completely useless.

  Ever since the George Floyd riots caused leftist-managed cities to defund their police, all sorts of crimes have increased. In New York City, the crime that’s really taken off is shoplifting.

  In the first eight months of 2021, shoplifting in New York increased by 30% over rates in 2020. Of course, one could argue that slowly ending the lockdown was what made the difference. However, that wouldn’t explain what happened in 2022. In that year, shoplifting went up by another 45% over rates in 2021, with an even better marker being the fact that it was 275% higher than a decade or so earlier.

  Shoplifting may be a non-violent crime, but it has a disastrous effect on people in the community because stores, including big box stores, respond to theft in two different ways: First, they raise their prices; then when that proves ineffective, they pick up their marbles and go home by shutting down stores. In San Francisco, for example, Walgreens closed five stores due to shoplifting. Target, meanwhile, predicts that retail crime will cost it as much as $1.3 billion:

  Crime-battered retail giant Target said it expects to suffer as much as a $1.3 billion hit to its bottom line because of “theft and organized crime,” according to the company’s first-quarter earnings report released Wednesday.

  The Minneapolis-based chain said its profit will be squeezed by “$500 million more than what we saw last year” – when the company lost as much as $800 million from “inventory shrink.”

  Considering that Target voiced its full-throated support for BLM and dug deep in its pocket to support the communist organization, one can’t help but notice an “actions have consequences” scenario at work. That’s a shame because Target used to be a very nice place. Now, though, aside from shoplifting, lots of people (me included) are fed up with its Pride shenanigans, which it’s now aimed at children. But I digress…

  New York mayor Eric Adams seems to have been feeling the heat from merchants in New York City, so his office has announced a “crackdown on shoplifting plan.”

  As always, though, when the government steps in to help, the devil is in the details:

  Clown world intensifies. 🤡🌎

  NYC plan to “crackdown” on shoplifting. 🤨 pic.twitter.com/4MHcnBgucn

  — Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) May 20, 2023

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

  And yes, that screen shot is real, not a Photoshop. According to Fox 5’s full report,

  The new crackdown includes giving first-time offenders intervention programs instead of prosecution, de-escalation training for retail employees, establishing neighborhood retail watch groups to share information about a theft in real-time with one another and the police, and installing kiosks in stores to connect would-be thieves with social service programs.

  One of the things that everyone has noticed about shoplifters is that they’re not starved, Dickensian-style waifs stealing a loaf of bread to survive. Instead, they’re organized gangs that go in and steal merchandise that has a good retail value on the street:

  San Francisco pic.twitter.com/klaiesGE2C

  — Clown World ™ 🤡 (@ClownWorld_) May 16, 2023

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

  Or if they’re eating what they steal, it’s party time, not starvation time:

  Why is Walmart struggling in urban areas?

  pic.twitter.com/jDQlStgBWp

  — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 19, 2023

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

  What’s happening is organized crime:

  Last Walmart in North Portland Closing Down … they cannot overcome the losses from shoplifting.

  The people of Portland voted for this so retail stores are exiting. 🤡 🌎

  🔊 pic.twitter.com/EyE6jrRTFJ

  — Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) May 19, 2023

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

  In other words, little police kiosks promising social services (which will augment all the posters about social services in the crime-ridden NY subway) are not going to change things. Nor will friendly little “intervention programs” affect what is hardcore criminal activity. The NYC plan is taking a flyswatter to an out-of-control wild boar.

  I would say that the people of NYC deserve better but, actually, they don’t. This is what they voted for. It’s not just that Adams garnered 80.4% of the vote in Manhattan, 76% in the Bronx, 70.8% in Brooklyn, and 59.8% in Queens, with only Staten Island showing the good sense to vote for Curtis Sliwa (66.4% of the votes). It’s also that a total of only 1,125,000 turned out to vote, out of a city with a population that’s close to 9,000,000.

  The only ones I feel for are the conservatives (some of whom I count among my good friends) who took the time and made the effort to vote. As to those people, I’ve heard that Florida’s a nice place, as are most of the southern states.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 22:30

• Where International Travelers Spend The Most
  Where International Travelers Spend The Most

  When it comes to travel, some tourists spare no expense. And some cities are well suited to attract them.

  From the luxurious desert city of Dubai to the city of light and love, Paris, many international travelers today are looking to tick the crème de la crème of destinations off their bucket lists. In some cases, they’re seeking out the opulent experiences they missed out on when the pandemic brought the world to a halt.

  In this graphic, Visual Capitalist’s Freny Fernandez and Bhabna Banerjee use the latest research by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) to highlight the top 10 cities where international travelers spent the most in 2022.

  

  Cities of Opulence

  Last year, Dubai took top spot, followed by nearby Doha, Qatar.

  Rank	City	Country / Region	Income from International Tourists (2022)
  #1	Dubai	🇦🇪 UAE	$29.42B
  #2	Doha	🇶🇦 Qatar	$16.79B
  #3	London	🇬🇧 UK	$16.07B
  #4	Macau	🇲🇴 Macau SAR	$15.58B
  #5	Amsterdam	🇳🇱 Netherlands	$13.59B
  #6	Istanbul	🇹🇷 Türkiye	$13.13B
  #7	Barcelona	🇪🇸 Spain	$12.73B
  #8	New York	🇺🇸 U.S.	$12.45B
  #9	Singapore	🇸🇬 Singapore	$10.97B
  #10	Paris	🇫🇷 France	$9.76B

  Singapore and Macau represented East Asia, and New York was the sole city from the Americas on the list.

  It’s worth noting that this list differs somewhat from overall tourism spending, which would include domestic travel spending as well. Large countries like the United States and China fare better in that ranking.

  City Spotlight: Destinations Favored by Big Spenders

  When you think of luxury travel, you think of five-star hotels, Michelin-star restaurants, luxury retail outlets, and many other premium experiences. And these cities offered their international travelers just that.

  #1. Dubai

  From the Burj Khalifa, currently the world’s tallest building, to the desert excursions and yacht cruises, Dubai offers extravagant experiences for international visitors. The city’s reputation for tax-free, high-end shopping and its commitment to providing a luxurious experience has made it a top travel destination for luxury shoppers from around the world.

  Location is another factor in the city’s success. Dubai sits at the natural crossroads between Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and is home to one of the world’s busiest, well-connected airports.

  International travelers spent close to $30 billion in the city in 2022.

  #3. London

  London has long been a preferred location for the ultra-wealthy, and as a result, the city has an abundance of amenities for well-heeled travelers. For one, London is home to more five star hotels than any other city. As well, London offers ultra-wealthy travelers access to a wide range of high-end designer retailers, as well as world-famous museums, galleries, and landmarks.

  Of course, the UK’s largest city also sees a high overall volume of tourists overall, which adds to the $16 billion global visitors spent in the city in 2022.

  #4. Macau

  Known as the Las Vegas of Asia, Macau’s gambling hub has been a magnet for international tourists for years. However, as the city began re-imagining its tourism strategies post-pandemic, it has grown stronger as an international tourist destination.

  Outside tourists brought in $15.6 billion in 2022, and that number is only expected to multiply further over the next decade. This growth is being fueled by China and Hong Kong, which account for the lion’s share of visits.

  Note: Although Macau is now a part of China, it remains a Special Administrative Region under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.

  Transforming Travel Trends

  The global travel industry continues to recover from the pandemic, which is good news for the many nations that economically rely on tourism.

  As travel restrictions were lifted, many tourists flocked to remote destinations that were less traveled. However, this WTTC research is proof that the world’s iconic cities are making their way back onto tourist itineraries once again.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 22:00

• Abandon The Swamp
  Abandon The Swamp

  Authored by Roger Kimball via American Greatness,

  Suppose a document drops in the wilderness and no one is around to hear it. Does it make a sound?

  I submit that John Durham just tested this Bishop Berkeleyesque query. The special counsel spent four years beavering away in the forests of the deep state and what did he produce?

  Three hundred pages telling us what, for the most part, we already knew and with the result that exactly nothing, apart from a little hand wringing, will happen. 

  We already knew that James Comey, Robert Mueller, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr, John Brennan, Susan Rice, Michael Sussmann, Kevin Clinesmith, and all the other characters in and around the Russia Collusion Delusion had fabricated the story of Trump’s supposed connection with Russia out of whole cloth. 

  We already knew that they had gone out of their way to protect Hillary Clinton. 

  We knew that there was no predicate for obtaining a FISA warrant against Carter Page (one of many thousands of such warrants), thus opening a back door into the Trump campaign. 

  We knew that the surveillance apparatus of the regime had been weaponized to prevent Donald Trump from being elected and then, when he surprised everyone by winning anyway, to taint his administration and render him radioactive.  

  What should we make of Durham’s non-revelatory revelations? I think that, wittingly or not, they were just a big exercise in track-covering, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Well, nothing beyond the sound and fury, anyway.

  

  Still, Durham’s bulletin is useful as a marker of the futility in which we labor. André Gide touched on this point when he reminded us that “Toutes choses sont dites déjà, mais comme personne n’écoute, il faut toujours recommencer.” Over the past five or six years, virtually everything that Durham said in his report had already been said. But because no one was listening, it is necessary to start again and say it once more. 

  In this spirit, I am going to say again some things I have said elsewhere, beginning with what has become my ritual invocation of British Prime Minister Harold Wilson’s observation that a week is a long time in politics. That’s time enough, as T. S. Eliot said in another context, “for a hundred indecisions, And for a hundred visions and revisions, Before the taking of a toast and tea.”

  Until the night of March 5, 2023, I suspected that “The Donald Trump Show,” which has been such blockbuster entertainment, might have entered its final season. That’s still possible, of course. The people clamoring for its cancellation are many and vociferous. Moreover, they have another concession with which they propose to entertain us: “The Ron DeSantis Deliverance.” Someday, I’d like to see that show myself.

  I wonder, though, about the most profitable time to air it. 2024? Perhaps. But I think the jury is still out on that. We’ll know more after DeSantis finally announces what he has already made clear, namely that he, too, is running for the presidency in 2024. He will, if the past is any guide, get a bump in the polls. But at the moment, anyway, I am inclined to think that 2024 belongs to the Donald. Why? There are many reasons.

  One vivid reason was vouchsafed us during the final hours of the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) program in National Harbor, Maryland, in March. It was then that Trump addressed the crowd. C-SPAN described the speech as “remarks.” To me, the word “remarks” suggests something brief and casual. Trump’s performance was long and, for Trump, well-prepared.

  As usual with the former president, the talk was peppered with digressions and offhand observations. But he was clearly following a script. Chris Christie, formerly an ally, sighed that the room was only half full (was it?) and that Trump was “not what he used to be.” Opinions about that vary. I thought the talk bristled with rhetorical electricity. And in terms of substance, it was one of the most forthright and powerful political speeches I’ve heard. 

  Earlier that day, Trump had won the CPAC straw poll with 62 percent of the vote. DeSantis was the runner-up with 20 percent. As of May 19, with a half a dozen Republican candidates in the field, Trump leads by 42 points. Is that significant? I don’t know. It’s early days. DeSantis hasn’t even officially declared yet, A week is a long time, etc., etc.

  But right now, as of May 20, I would say this about the 2024 race on the Republican side: There are two plausible candidates: Trump and DeSantis.

  DeSantis has the blessing of the donor class and Conservatism, Inc. He’s a great governor and would probably make an effective president.

  Trump has the unwavering support of the MAGA millions and most allotropes of the dissident Right. There’s plenty of exasperation about Trump, not least among those who worked with him in his first term. He’s a difficult, demanding, and mercurial person. But his CPAC speech (and, more recently, his performance at a CNN “townhall” with Kaitlan Collins) demonstrated why he’s beloved by his supporters and feared and hated by his opponents.

  Trump said many bold and controversial things in the course of his speech.

  I’ll concentrate on two themes.

  The first—it was the thing that really set heads spinning—revolved around the word “retribution.” 

  “In 2016,” he said, “I declared, I am your voice. Today, I add, I am your warrior, I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution.” 

  And just in case you missed that last bit, he repeated it. “I am your retribution.”

  The pundits love-hated that, just as they were appalled by this promise: “I will totally obliterate the deep state.” I think he meant it, too. “I will fire the unelected bureaucrats and shadow forces who have weaponized our justice system. . . . I will put the people back in charge of this country again.”

  ’Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

  Could he actually do it? That’s a very good question. His track record during his first term was impressive but not dispositive, partly because he was surrounded by the swamp and its denizens. Really, he didn’t know any better. He came to office as an outsider, a naïf. He actually thought that Jim Mattis and Rex Tillerson were on his side. Imagine that. 

  He has been disabused of those sentiments, though who exactly he can rely on as allies remains an open question. Personnel will once again be a critical problem for Trump were he to reoccupy 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

  Here’s a bit of unsolicited advice that I have for the former president should he be elected again: Stay out of Washington as much as you can. Stop the newspapers. Have your mail forwarded.

  Washington really is a swamp and it will consume you. And here are a few particular bits of advice: 

  1) Have the inauguration in Mar-a-Lago.

  2) Govern from Florida as much as you can. 

  3) If you decide to indulge in the theater of the State of the Union Address as it has evolved, deliver it from, say, Kansas. 

  4) Disband the FBI. We should never have allowed a national police force to come into being. 

  Move the bits of the government you can’t actually destroy to other parts of the country.

  Do these things instantly—the day you take office. The deep state will howl. The bureaucrats will oppose you. The lawyers will sue you. Do it anyway. Act first, deal with the consequences later. 

  Conduct metaphorical dawn-raids on their people and institutions just as they weaponized the Justice Department against you and your supporters. That would not only be the retribution you seek, it would also be reciprocity. Speed and thoroughness will be of the essence. If you hesitate, if you are half-hearted, you will be lost.

  These are points I have made before. The focus should be on eclipsing Washington, D.C. as the seat of government. It has long been obvious to candid observers that there is something deeply dysfunctional about that overwhelmingly Democratic, welfare-addicted city. It is a partisan sinkhole. Jefferson wanted the capital moved from New York to Washington in part to bring it closer to the South, but also to place it somewhere that was officially neutral. There is nothing neutral about Washington today. The city has some impressive architecture and urban vistas. They should be preserved and staffed as tourist attractions. But the reins of power should be relocated.

  The more I think about our situation, the more I believe the only hope for the republic is to downgrade the place of Washington in our public life. The business of Washington is to make government bigger—forever. That is not what the people, who pay for it, want. Legitimacy is draining out of our governing institutions at an alarming rate. Stanching that debilitating flow requires that we redirect our attention away from the greedy puppet show in Washington to the true source of legitimacy, which is with the people.

  Trump is one of the few people with the temerity to attempt such a thing. Perhaps he can appease some of his critics by proposing we rename Washington to George Floyd City. I would be OK with that. In any event, the actual government of the country should be moved to some neutral ground, out of the overwhelmingly corrupt cesspool that is Washington.

  The other bit of Trump’s CPAC speech that I want to mention concerns NATO. Trump did not, as some commenters asserted, “muse about Russia blowing up the NATO headquarters.” Rather, he talked about the folly of NATO spending billions to construct a huge headquarters for itself. Would they not have been better advised to construct a hardened bunker? After all, Trump pointed out, Russia could destroy the shiny new headquarters with a single missile.

  Bill Kristol, seizing on the idea that Trump was musing about blowing up NATO headquarters, took to Twitter to make “the most obvious point: This man cannot be our next president.” Kristol was also aghast at Trump’s call for an “all-European NATO, with the United States as an ally but not a member.” “One of the problems with the involvement of the United States in NATO,” he said, “is that it dilutes the nationalist impulse.” Can you believe that? He actually praised “the nationalist impulse.” How Hitlerian can you get?

  Unfortunately for Bill Kristol, though, those last observations come not from Trump (though he would probably agree with them) but from someone else named Kristol: Irving Kristol, Bill’s father, who in 1983 wrote an essay called “What’s Wrong With NATO?” After the Soviet Union fell, Irving Kristol went on to express doubts about the future role for NATO in European politics altogether.

  If that seems surprising, it’s only because you have failed to appreciate just how long a week in politics can be.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 21:30

• Joe Biden, Habitual Racialist Demagogue: VDH
  Joe Biden, Habitual Racialist Demagogue: VDH

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson via RealClear Politics,

  The most recent liberal ABC News/Washington Post poll showed President Joe Biden’s approval rating at 36 percent – the lowest in history for a president at this point in his first term.

  

  Biden’s low popularity is no mystery.

  He inherited energy independence, affordable gas prices, historically low interest rates, low inflation, calm overseas, a low crime rate, and a largely closed border with legal-only immigration.

  And then Biden destroyed that inheritance.

  He has begged illiberal foreign governments to pump oil he refuses to drill domestically for.

  He spiked inflation at the highest rate in over 40 years.

  Home interest rates have skyrocketed from less than 3% to 7%.

  He nearly doubled the price of gasoline.

  His hare-brained retreat from Afghanistan marked the greatest humiliation of the American military in the last half-century.

  Kabul is now selling billions of dollars’ worth of abandoned American equipment to terrorists and anti-American regimes.

  After that fiasco, Biden foolhardily played down a possible “minor” Russia invasion of Ukraine. He implored Russia to exempt some American institutions from its cyber-attack target list.

  No wonder an empowered Russian President Vladimir Putin went into Ukraine.

  Biden’s family is corrupt from top to bottom.

  Its influence peddling schemes increasingly are targets of congressional investigations. Biden himself is explicitly mentioned by his son Hunter as the recipient of a 10% commission on monies the family syndicate leveraged from foreign interests.

  Biden promised “unity.” Instead, he habitually smears half the country as “semi-fascists” and “ultra-MAGA” extremists.

  Biden is cognitively challenged and often incoherent. And he is now losing support in the polls from African Americans, once his most loyal constituency.

  In response, Biden does what he has always done for some 40 years: mouth wild racist demagoguery.

  This graduation season, Biden deliberately chose Howard University to scare its Black graduates into believing the greatest threat to their aspirations is “white supremacy” – but that he, Biden, has been their protector in fighting it.

  Note the existential threats Biden deliberately omits.

  Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants are flooding over a border Biden deliberately destroyed. Millions of incoming poor will vie for limited federal and state support with Americans who are in need.

  Since Biden was elected, there have been nearly 7 million illegal entries.

  Some 100,000 Americans now die each year from Mexican-produced fentanyl and other opioids shipped across a wide-open border.

  Biden did not mention that nearly 10,000 African Americans are murdered each year, over 90% of them killed by other African Americans.

  Biden first should heal his own racism before he fabricates it in others.

  He fueled his early Senate career with homages to southern Democratic segregationists such as Senator James O. Eastland, D-Miss. Biden even bragged that Eastland “never called me ‘boy.'” Biden gave eulogies for former Dixiecrat Sen. Strom Thurmond and former Klansman Sen. Robert Byrd.

  Of school busing, a younger Senator Biden thundered, “My children are going to grow up in a jungle, the jungle being a racial jungle.”

  Biden in 2008 patronized former President Barack Obama in racist terms as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

  In 2012, Biden condescended to a group of accomplished Black professionals that the Republican presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, would “put y’all back in chains.”

  As a presidential candidate in 2020, he dismissed two Black journalists, respectively with the putdowns “you ain’t Black” and “junkie.”

  His fabricated “Corn Pop” he-man autobiographical tales are utterly racist.

  As president he has referred to two prominent people of color as “boy.” He still uses the term “Negro” to refer to Blacks.

  Biden never cites data to support his wild accusations that white supremacy poses the nation’s greatest threat.

  The 2020 riots, the lengthiest in our history, left up to 40 people dead, destroyed $2 billion in property, led to 14,000 arrests, spanned 120 days of mass looting, and arson, and saw mobs torching police precincts, federal courthouses, and an historic church.

  That violence was engineered by radicals in Antifa and Black Lives Matter.

  In the January 6 Capitol protests, the only person confirmed to have been killed at that event was an unarmed military veteran and Trump supporter, Ashli Babbitt. She was lethally shot by a Capitol police officer for the misdemeanor of attempting to enter through a broken window.

  If “white supremacy” is our “greatest” terrorist threat, surely crime statistics would reveal such an existential peril.

  Yet federal hate- and interracial-crime data show that so-called whites are considerably unrepresented demographically in such racially motivated violence.

  Far from galvanizing the public, Biden’s monotonous racial demagoguery is turning it off.

  The military suffers a vast drop in enlistments that began once Biden’s Pentagon brass, without evidence, likewise began demagoguing about supposed “white rage” in the ranks.

  Only 37% of independents in a recent poll now support Biden. Some 70% of the public in other polls opposes a second Biden run.

  So on spec, a panicked Biden now turns to what he has done for decades – inflammatory racial demagoguery.

  Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author, most recently, of The Case for Trump. You can reach him by e-mailing author@victorhanson.com.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 21:00

• "Not Our Beliefs" – Bud Light Distributor Sends Out Public Plea to Bring Back Customers
  “Not Our Beliefs” – Bud Light Distributor Sends Out Public Plea to Bring Back Customers

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

  A Bud Light distributor in Alabama issued a public plea to bring back customers who boycotted the brand after it produced a can with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney’s face.

  Steve Tatum, with the Montgomery-based Bama Budweiser distributor, deployed a radio advertisement for several area stations, pleading with customers to purchase Bud Light again.

  In April and during the first week of May, sales of Bud Light were down significantly, while sales of other Anheuser-Busch products also dropped amid the Mulvaney backlash.

  “We too at Bama Budweiser are upset about it and have made our feelings known to the top leadership at Anheuser-Busch,” Tatum said in the ad, according to multiple news reports.

  “The voice of the consumer has been heard, and Anheuser-Busch has taken action.”

  

  ‘#BudLightPartner’

  Like Anheuser-Busch’s leadership, Tatum also tried to distance Bud Light from Mulvaney, a biological male who had posted the custom-made Bud Light can and used a hashtag “#BudLightPartner” in early April, drawing significant ire from consumers and conservative celebrities. Several popular country singers, including Travis Tritt and John Rich, said they wouldn’t serve the beer, while Kid Rock posted a video of him shooting up cases of Bud Light.

  “We at Bama Budweiser, an independent wholesaler, employ around 100 people who live here, work here, and our children go to school here,” Tatum said in the ad.

  “We do not, and as I said before, did not support this issue involving Dylan Mulvaney. There was one single can made. It was not for sale and wasn’t properly approved. As a result, the Bud Light brand has new leadership.”

  Tatum added:

  “Dylan Mulvaney is not under contract with Bud Light. The videos you may have seen are Mulvaney’s own social media posts that went viral and many web-based news outlets have distorted the story. You deserve to know the truth, and life is too short to let a couple of individuals decide what you can eat or drink or spend your hard-earned money on. And remember, making friends is our business, not enemies.”

  Drop in Sales

  Latest industry data shows that Bud Light’s sales dropped in the first week of May, falling 23.6 percent in the week ending May 6, reported Beer Business Daily using Nielsen IQ data. In the final week of April, sales for the beer dropped 23.3 percent, the data show.

  “Trends aren’t getting much worse, but certainly not getting any better either,” Beer Business Daily wrote in a commentary on the figures.

  Tatum told AL.com that he’s received positive feedback for his ad campaign. However, he said that there has been no response from Anheuser-Busch or Bud Light corporate officials.

  “I’m just trying to look after Bama Budweiser,” he said. “I’ve worked too hard to give it all away.”

  The distributor added to Newsweek that “I felt like we had to get a message out there,” adding: “We are tied to a corporation, but that’s not necessarily our beliefs in our market here in Alabama.”

  Sales volumes for Anheuser-Busch products also dropped 9.7 percent for the first week in May, up from the 11.4 percent decline in late April, according to industry data. Anheuser-Busch, which has headquarters in the Netherlands, also makes Budweiser, Michelob, Stella Artois, and Beck’s, among other beers.

  ‘Misinformation and Confusion’

  Anheuser-Busch CEO Michel Doukeris told the Financial Times in a recent interview that his company believes the Bud Light boycott was triggered by “misinformation and confusion” circulating on social media and sought to distance his firm from Mulvaney. He said that Mulvaney wasn’t part of an official marketing campaign and that “one can” was produced with Mulvaney’s face.

  “It was one post. It was not an advertisement,” Doukeris told the outlet.

  He alleged viral videos of billboards with images of the Bud Light can with Mulvaney’s face on it inserted “electronically,” although he did not address why Mulvaney wrote the hashtag on social media suggesting a partnership.

  Initially, Anheuser-Busch USA CEO Brendan Whitworth released a statement that did not address the boycott or the Mulvaney partnership.

  The company “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,” he said in a statement, which was criticized by conservatives.

  In the meantime, Anheuser-Busch InBev had its stock downgraded recently by an HSBC analyst who said the firm is now dealing with a “Bud Light crisis” of sorts. There are “deeper problems” than Anheuser-Busch would like to admit publicly after its marketing engagement with the transgender influencer became a hot topic, the analyst said.

  ‘The Tide Has Turned’

  While some analysts and researchers say that boycotts of large corporations rarely work, a former Anheuser-Busch, Anson Frericks, said last week that the Bud Light one is actually working.

  “Now, the tide has turned. A poll conducted earlier this year shows that 68 percent of Americans think that companies that speak out on social issues do it as a marketing ploy,” he wrote.

  “And a study out earlier this month shows that Americans are much more likely to distrust institutions they view as politicized—even when they take political positions that align with their views. In today’s heated political environment, the surest course for companies—particularly those in high-visibility, competitive markets—is to focus on their brand and stay out of the debates.”

  The Epoch Times has contacted Anheuser-Busch multiple times for comment about the sales and controversy.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 20:30

• "Isolated Event" Again? All Voters Of New York County Falsely Identified As Democrats In Voter IDs
  “Isolated Event” Again? All Voters Of New York County Falsely Identified As Democrats In Voter IDs

  Authored by Naveen Anthrapully via The Epoch Times,

  All voters of Nassau County, New York, were identified as Democrats on their voter ID cards irrespective of political affiliation due to a botch-up by a printing company, triggering accusations about “sabotaging elections” ahead of the upcoming primaries.

  The primaries are scheduled for June. Voters of the county, amounting to nearly a million, began to receive their voter ID cards on Tuesday, with voters supporting Republicans, Independents, or another political party surprised to see themselves identified as Democrats in the cards, according to NBC. “We’re already starting to get phone calls from people, saying ‘I’m a registered Republican, I’m a registered Conservative—how come I’m being identified as a Democrat? Who changed my registration?’ And they’re quite upset about it,” said Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

  “There’s a lot of confusion, there’s a lot of people emotionally upset about this,” he added. Blakeman, a Republican, is pinning the blame on Rochester-based Phoenix Graphics, the printing company hired by Nassau County’s Board of Elections to print the voter ID cards.

  

  The printing company called it an “isolated event” that was the result of a human error. “We apologize for our mistake, especially to Nassau County officials, who bear no responsibility for this problem.”

  However, this is not the first time that Phoenix Graphics has committed such a mistake. In 2020, Phoenix messed up absentee ballots for 99,000 voters in Brooklyn. The printing firm had erroneously sent mailings to voters containing return envelopes having the names and addresses of other people.

  The campaign for Kari Lake (R-Ariz.), who is running for the post of Arizona Governor, slammed the incident.

  “A ‘printing error’ in Nassau County, N.Y. led to every voter in that county being listed as a Democrat. There’s that word again. ‘Printer error.’ This is just their blanket excuse for sabotaging elections and hoping nobody calls them on it,” the campaign said in a May 21 tweet.

  Since New York is a closed primary state, voters registered as belonging to a party are not allowed to vote for any other party. As such, if a GOP supporter is identified as Democrat in the voter registration system, the individual would be barred from casting votes for the Republican primary.

  Trust in Elections

  Out of the 972,000 voters in the county, Democrats account for around 40 percent. At a press conference, Blakeman ruled out partisanship as a cause for the mishap and said that the county is investigating the matter.

  “I don’t think the Democratic Party is engaged in a conspiracy to create havoc in their own primaries. I don’t think the Democratic Party wants a bunch of Republicans showing up to vote in their primaries,” said Blakeman, according to the New York Post.

  However, some voters are now questioning the election process due to the typo error. “I have no faith in this country today, as far as what the politics are,” said George Klein, a voter from Nassau. “I’m going to vote Republican primary day, and Democrat on that is not going to affect it,” he said referring to the erroneous ID card he received.

  During the 2022 midterms, only 56 percent of Republicans thought the elections will be administered “very” or “somewhat” well, according to Pew Research.

  Accurate Voter ID Cards

  According to Phoenix Graphics, they are correcting the error and will send out new and accurate voter ID cards soon without any additional cost to taxpayers.

  Democratic County Election Commissioner Jim Scheuerman told the New York Post that Phoenix will be paying around $300,000 required to resend the correct registration cards to the county’s voters.

  Phoenix was contracted more than ten years ago via a sealed-bid process. Officials with Nassau County’s Board of Elections are reportedly not ruling out considering other vendors to ensure that the recent mistake doesn’t occur again, according to Fox.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 19:30

• Crypto Calm Before The Smile
  Crypto Calm Before The Smile

  By Marcel Kasumovich and Kartikey Sinha of One River Asset Management

  1. Adapt or die. It’s clever, even if overused. The finite nature of life is what makes it so precious. Embracing adaptation over comfort, the joy of the struggle. Hundreds of brainy quotes are at your fingertips to give credibility to the mantra. Maya Angelou is my mom’s personal favorite: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” There is no try in adaptation – you either do or you don’t. Crypto asset markets choose “do.”

  2. Adaption is evident in natural cycles, naturally. Biodiverse ecosystems strengthen the resilience of cycles. Of course, the same is true of economic systems and financial markets. But our instincts are to resist. Intervening to stop forest fires that are disruptive to homes that probably shouldn’t be there. Intervening to guard against losses of banks that probably shouldn’t exist. Intervention leans against natural cycles, lessens diversity, and weakens resilience.

  3. Intervention requires great humility. We don’t know what we don’t know. Yet, intervention is often executed with a force of certainty. If banks were not bailed out, we were certain to enter a Great Depression. The unintended consequence of intervention must be less than the social strains of soup kitchens in Central Park. Intervention centralizes debt to government balance sheets, leaving rich countries with unsustainable obligations. It brings generational fragility.

  4. The crypto asset ecosystem stands in sharp contrast. It demands adaptive resilience. Take US dollar stablecoin. Total assets are roughly $130 billion today, on par with October 2021. Dollars chose to stay in the digital ecosystem despite a sharp rise in US interest rates, a crash in crypto asset markets, and the annihilation of poorly designed stablecoin. Resilience. Then, strains in the US banking system led to a rapid shift of stablecoin to USDT and away from USDC, raising Tether’s share to 46% of the Ethereum stablecoin supply. Adaptation.

  5. Why has US dollar stablecoin been so durable? Its velocity demonstrates it is well designed and useful. A total of $1,952 billion stablecoin transactions settled on the Ethereum blockchain in the first quarter. Ethereum US dollar stablecoin assets averaged $95 billion over the same period. So, the entire stock of stablecoin turned over 20 times in the quarter, or roughly once every 4-5 days. And that doesn’t include off-chain transactions. It makes USD stablecoin the most efficient collateral in the global financial system. Bank runs are for banks.

  6. Now, resilience also changes the nature of cycles. We know that cycles of the weather are simply defined – hot in the summer, cold in the winter. But the amplitudes and timing are highly nonlinear. No two cycles are the same. Crypto asset prices and activity have surged this year. Bitcoin was up more than 80% at its peak this year, transaction volumes have leapt to record levels, and bitcoin mining fees have garnered the third-highest share of revenue in its history. Historically, these would be signs of excess.

  7. But derivative markets are clearly not flashing red. On the contrary, the signals are remarkably bland. Bitcoin’s three-month volatility expectation is near historic lows at 47%, the skew in option markets is neutral, and the cost of futures leverage is near-zero versus more than 10% annualized during past periods of rapid price gains. Surprised? It’s the benefit of no intervention and increased resilience. Last cycle’s crypto crash is bringing far more discipline to the current cycle.

  8. It got us thinking – the “Royal us” in this case, including Kartikey, a member of our Digital Labs. How does bitcoin’s price and volatility adjust to the demand for leverage?

  We take funding rates implied by the bitcoin perpetual futures from 2018-2022, partition them into percentile ranges, and then evaluate bitcoin’s volatility. Figure 1 shows a happy smile relationship, a dream for risk managing a portfolio.

  

  There’s information content on both extremes – risk rises when the cost of leverage is extremely low and extremely high, in the boom and bust respectively.

  9 . The same smile emerges with the absolute move in bitcoin price returns across different stages of the leverage cycle from 2018 to 2022 (Figure 2). But the return profile is more of a jump in the extremes.

  

  When bitcoin funding rates are in the 0-10 percentile range, the average daily bitcoin return is (1.02%), roughly seven-times the sample average. On the other extreme in the 90-100 percentile range, bitcoin’s average daily return is 2.11%. Outside of those extremes are long phases of calm, like the current one.

  10. The resilience of digital asset markets ensures the previous cycle won’t be repeated. A surge in economic transactions can occur without speculative excess – we’ve already seen it this year. This is encouraging for developers as price signals are more valuable when not polluted by excess speculation. A virtuous cycle emerges. But we can’t extrapolate the calm. Extremes can be identified by funding rates and volatility markets – analytics when integrated to systematic strategies will leave any crypto asset manager smiling, just like bitcoin’s volatility curve.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 19:00

• Despite Denials, Experts Say Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana Is A Growing Problem
  Despite Denials, Experts Say Fentanyl-Laced Marijuana Is A Growing Problem

  Authored by Katie Spence via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Twenty-one states, plus the District of Columbia, have legalized recreational marijuana for adults as of April 2023. And while marijuana is still illegal at the federal level, 88 percent of adults think it should be legalized for medical and recreational use, according to an October 2022 Pew Research Center survey—a significant increase from 1999’s 31 percent.

  

  Additionally, 55 million Americans currently use marijuana, and 45 percent of the population has tried it at least once, according to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics.

  But as attitudes and state laws change regarding marijuana—and its use increases—reports of marijuana laced with substances like the synthetic opioid fentanyl, are also increasing.

  “One of the trends that we saw secondary to the pandemic was individuals stopped reporting opioid use as their primary drug of choice, and it seems to be replaced with marijuana and methamphetamine,” Teresa Russell, the director of criminal justice outreach in Dayton, Ohio, told The Epoch Times. Russell works between the county jail and community health and treatment facilities.

  Russell explained that when someone is booked into the jail and needs to detox, they’re asked about drugs they’ve taken and must take a urine drug screen. Russell said it’s becoming increasingly common for someone to say they’ve only used marijuana but then pop positive for fentanyl.

  

  “They genuinely don’t know that [opioids are] in there,” Russell said. “They have no idea what’s actually being put inside their substances. That’s an ongoing trend of what we’re seeing.”

  When explicitly asked if marijuana is being laced with fentanyl and showing up on drug screens, Russell confirmed that’s what she’s seeing.

  “We hear that not just from my team here in the jail from our intake screens, but we’re hearing that from our outreach partners.”

  NORML, a nonprofit public-interest advocacy group pushing for the legalization of marijuana, is quick to downplay the issue of fentanyl-laced marijuana.

  “Rarely a week goes by without police or other public officials warning about so-called ‘fentanyl-laced’ weed. Upon closer inspection, however, there’s little if any truth behind these sensational claims,” NORML says on its site.

  “It’s controversial,” Russell said of fentanyl-laced marijuana, “But I have urine drug screens that show it.”

  Russell isn’t the only one sounding the alarm on what she believes is a growing issue.

  Cases

  On Feb. 10, two students at North Mac High School in Illinois, were found to be in possession and under the influence of marijuana, and two field tests administered by the Virden Police Department found that the marijuana was positive for fentanyl.

  Kyle Hacke, the superintendent of North Mac, said in a statement, “We are fairly certain our students did not know they were ingesting fentanyl. Fentanyl-laced drugs … continue to show up in small communities like ours nationwide. We implore you to speak with your children and take necessary steps to combat this danger.”

  On Nov. 17, 2022, police in Leeds, Alabama, charged Jose Ingnacio Medina-Estrada with murder after he allegedly sold marijuana that was laced with fentanyl. The buyer—who believed he was only purchasing marijuana according to LPD Chief Paul Irwin—immediately died as a result.

  “This needs to serve as a notice to all individuals who are purchasing drugs. Drugs can take your life immediately or will control you and eventually destroy your life and everything you care about,” Irwin said.

  

  On Oct. 20, 2022, the Summerville Police Department in South Carolina released a statement via Facebook that read, “The Summerville Police Department has seized Marijuana that has tested presumptive for Amphetamines and Fentanyl. The laced Marijuana was seized during two apparent drug overdose investigations and it is possible the laced Marijuana played a factor in the overdoses. We are asking the community to stay safe and to be careful.”

  On Nov. 18, 2021, the Connecticut State Department of Public Health (DPH) issued a press release that stated there were 39 overdose incidents involving fentanyl-laced weed in 2021. However, upon further forensic analysis, only one of those cases could be confirmed to involve fentanyl-laced marijuana.

  In its dismissal of fentanyl-laced marijuana, NORML points to the Connecticut case, and the forensic analysis. However, the article NORML cites also states: “Chris Boyle, a spokesperson for DPH, said a full analysis has now revealed at least 30 of the 39 overdoses were among patients with histories of opioid use.

  “Anything bought off the street, including cannabis, has the potential to contain other substances, one of those being fentanyl,’ Boyle told the media. “CT DPH has documented evidence, from not just the State Police Forensics Lab, but from the DEA lab as verification of the seized drug sample, that cannabis was contaminated with fentanyl.’”

  Increasing Prevalence

  According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s primarily manufactured in countries like China and then smuggled into the United States via Mexico.

  “Fentanyl is being mixed in with other illicit drugs to increase the potency of the drug, sold as powders and nasal sprays, and increasingly pressed into pills made to look like legitimate prescription opioids,” the DEA states.

  “There is significant risk that illegal drugs have been intentionally contaminated with fentanyl.”

  That’s something Howard Barker, the Director of Community Relations at New Life House, a sober living program for men in California, is seeing firsthand. Barker told The Epoch Times that he’s seeing a trend with fentanyl-laced marijuana that he first witnessed with cocaine.

  “I remember the first few times years ago that we started seeing overdoses happen with things like cocaine, and fentanyl was cut into things like cocaine, and we’re like, ‘There’s no way. Why would you ever put fentanyl in cocaine?’

  “I have been doing this professionally for over a decade, and I didn’t believe it. I said, ‘That doesn’t even make sense logically.’ You know, if a user is going to get cocaine and go up, the last thing they want to do is go down.

  “It’s similar with cannabis. If you have someone going for cannabis, and they’re hoping to smoke weed, the last thing they want to do is use one of the most potent opiates on the planet. But that’s what’s happening.”

  

  “Dealers have found that because of how addictive fentanyl is, and how potent it is, they start putting it in these other substances, and it’s very, very cheap to do, and they’re able to one, get more bang for their buck, two, potentially hook users, and three, [dealers] find themselves in a position where the folks that like it are coming back for more.”

  Barker added that while the majority of street dealers aren’t cutting marijuana with fentanyl, it’s still a growing problem.

  “The problem with fentanyl is that it’s really Russian Roulette,” he said.

  “So even if the majority of the time you’re buying weed on the streets you’re not getting weed laced with fentanyl, if there’s even that small chance that it could happen—and you happen to be the person that gets it—the old scary horror stories about drug abuse, ‘you do it one time, and you’re gonna die,’ that didn’t really use to be true 20 years ago, unfortunately, those cliches have become true.”

  In addition to New Life House, recovery centers nationwide are trying to raise awareness about the growing prevalence of fentanyl-laced weed.

  “Authorities around the country are responding to opioid overdoses daily, and fentanyl is increasingly being found in counterfeit prescription opioid pills, meth, and cocaine. Now, that’s extended to marijuana,” The Recovery Village warns.

  “Although marijuana is probably less likely to be intentionally laced with other psychoactive substances than many other illicit drugs, this situation does occur. It is more likely to occur in cases where individuals who are selling a drug illicitly are attempting to bulk up the product and get more profits or when very low-quality cannabis is laced with some other drug to enhance its psychoactive effects,” the American Addiction Centers states.

  First Drug

  Barker, who’s been in recovery for years and previously voted to legalize marijuana, believes Americans were lied to regarding marijuana.

  “We were really lied to as a society,” Barker said. “And that’s why this stuff has just been pushed through time and time again, state by state by state, without resistance. And now we’re seeing that there’s just a lot of unintended consequences that nobody was aware of. Whether we were deliberately misinformed or whether we just didn’t have the data. But now that the data has come out, we’ve chosen not to act because there’s too much money behind [legalizing marijuana].”

  

  Barker added, “Regardless of what the mainstream media will tell you, cannabis is a gateway drug. I have tremendous amounts of anecdotal evidence from being in this industry for a long time to support that. Talk to anyone with substance abuse issues and ask them what the first substance they used that kind of broke down the taboos and exposed them to that world, and 99.99 percent of them are going to say cannabis.”

  For the 12-month period that ended in October 2022, the FDA reported more than 101,750 fatal overdoses in the United States, many due to illicit fentanyl.

  The DEA didn’t respond to The Epoch Times’ multiple requests for comment about the prevalence of fentanyl-laced marijuana.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 18:30

• China Bans Micron As Supplier Over 'Major National Security Risk'
  China Bans Micron As Supplier Over ‘Major National Security Risk’

  In retaliation over a sweeping US ban on selling advanced chip-making technology to China, Beijing is now banning major Chinese firms from doing business with Micron Technology, claiming that its products pose a ‘major national-security risk,’ the Wall Street Journal reports.

  

  On Sunday, the Cyberspace Administration of China said that Micron failed a national security review, and that its products contain “significant security risks” that would affect national security. The agency has warned operators of key Chinese information infrastructure (telecom firms and state-owned banks in particular) against purchasing Micron products.

  “We are evaluating the conclusion and assessing our next steps,” Micron told the Journal. “We look forward to continuing to engage in discussions with Chinese authorities.”

  The Chinese ban came less than two months after Beijing announced an investigation on imports from Micron, the largest memory-chip maker in the U.S., in what seemed a political gesture aimed at hitting back at a sweeping ban Washington put in place late last year on selling advanced chip-making technology to China. 

  Chinese officials believe certain American companies lobbied the Biden administration to institute the ban. The Micron probe suggested Beijing zeroed in on Micron as a particular target. It also comes as China has broadly ratcheted up pressure on foreign businesses in a bid to fortify its economy from foreign influence. -WSJ

  According to Lester Ross, a Beijing-based lawyer at WilmerHale which advises US companies doing business in China, the impact could be broader than initially thought.

  “Other domestic customers may also consider this to be a political signal to stop buying, and even replace, their products,” he said.

  The action against Micron follows Beijing’s condemnation of a recent statement issued by President Joe Biden and the leaders of six other countries which have pledged to take action against the transfer of sensitive technology to China, and to protect nations from what they’ve characterized as Chinese intimidation tactics.

  China, meanwhile, called the Group of Seven as fostering “Western rules” that lack international credibility.

  According to anonymous Chinese officials, Beijing is pondering whether to send Commerce Minister Wang Wentao to Washington DC to meet with his US counterpart, instead of sending him to Detroit for a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers.

  “Such a bilateral meeting must be conducted on the basis of mutual respect,” said one of the officials.

  On Sunday, Biden told reporters after the G-7 meeting that the US wants to open more lines of communication with China. “Then this silly balloon that was carrying two freight cars worth of spy equipment was flying over the United States and it got shot down and everything changed in terms of talking to one another,” he said. “I think you’re going to see that begin to thaw very shortly.”

  China has been looking for ways to retaliate against intensified U.S. sanctions against Chinese companies. It has held back its required green light for mergers that involve American companies such as Intel as the U.S.-China technology war intensifies.

  But Chinese officials have also been wary of punching too hard as to further limit Chinese companies’ access to advanced Western technology.

  Micron represents an easy target for Beijing because Chinese companies can easily switch out its products for those made by competitors such as Samsung and SK Hynix, according to analysts and Western business executives who have consulted with Chinese authorities. -WSJ

  Approximately 10% of Micron revenue comes from China, according to Gavekal Dragonomics.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 18:00

• The End Game For The Debt Ceiling
  The End Game For The Debt Ceiling

  By Howard Wang of Convoy Investments

  The US debt ceiling crisis

  Currently there is considerable political tension and bickering surrounding the US debt ceiling, resembling the dinner table dynamics of a financially troubled and debt laden family. Over the past few years, I have frequently discussed the escalating US sovereign debt level due to its growing significance in shaping politics, economics, and markets. Struggles like the ongoing debt ceiling issue are likely to become a regular part of our society.

  In this letter, I provide context regarding the current debt ceiling impasse, which I believe will have limited short-term impact. More importantly, I delve into the long-term outlook on US debt, discuss some potential solutions to address this issue, and examine the implications for markets and the economy.

  Near-term impact of the debt ceiling

  While the current round of debt ceiling talks make for good political theatrics, it is unlikely to have substantial practical ramifications on the economy. In the short term, the market anticipates that the US government will likely resolve this crisis. Market indicators suggest a low 1% per year probability of default on US debt over the next five years, slightly higher than during the 2011 and 2013 debt ceiling crises

  

  Markets expect the debt ceiling to be raised without significant practical consequences. The impasse has had minimal impact on US borrowing costs, which have continued to slowly trend down since the end of last year in line with inflation.

  

  Additionally, the US stock market maintains its upward trajectory in 2023.

  

  The relatively benign outlook is likely due to fact that the underlying economics of the US budget were greatly improved by the pandemic, which allowed the US to secure low financing rates while printing money to generate inflation, and boost GDP growth and federal tax income. However, as indicated by the following chart, this positive trajectory is rapidly deteriorating due to rising interest rates, a return to more normal levels of inflation, and a slowing economy.

  

  This pattern is also evident when considering the total debt level as a percentage of GDP. After the initial spike caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the ratio steadily declined but is now on the rise once again.

  

  I largely agree with market sentiment that the current debt ceiling does not pose a significant immediate threat. However, I believe we are approaching a critical juncture where mounting debt levels, increasing financing costs, a slowing economy, and an expanding government footprint could compound and create an exponential problem.

  What is the end game of continuously increasing the debt ceiling?

  As the US has the ability to print its own money, the debt ceiling can be repeatedly raised for the time being. One key metric for assessing the sustainability is the cost of servicing debt as a percentage of the US federal government’s income (taxes). This is analogous to examining the monthly payments compared to income when determining whether one can afford a house. Let’s consider the rough math:

  The current debt stands at approximately 125% of GDP. At the current 4% treasury rate, debt servicing costs would amount to 5% of GDP per year once the 4% cost extends to all maturities, which will take some time.

  The federal government collects 15-20% of GDP as tax revenue, a consistent figure since World War II.

  This means that 25-33% of federal income would go toward debt servicing, which is high but still manageable. For instance, at the personal level, the recommended threshold for housing mortgage payment is typically 30% of income.

  Presently, this ratio is actually a bit lower, at around 20% of federal income. Much of the existing debt carries lower interest rates locked in from the last few decades. However, this ratio will rise rapidly as we retire older, cheaper debt and replace it with more expensive new debt. The following chart illustrates the portion of federal income allocated to debt servicing. We are already experiencing the rapid upward swing.

  

  This ratio would deteriorate further if total debt levels increase or if market financing costs rise. For example, at 200% of GDP and a 4% financing cost, interest payments would consume nearly half of federal income. Alternatively, if interest rates were to suddenly rise faster than our GDP growth rate, the total cost of rolling and raising new debt would increase. Either scenario could initiate a downward spiral toward a debt crisis, where the federal government needs to do substantial borrowing to service existing debt, all the while facing higher cost of financing due to the deteriorating balance sheet.

  So, how significant is the debt problem we must address? The current debt ceiling stands at $31.4 trillion. According to projections from the US Congress, we will need to issue an additional $130 trillion over the next 30 years, projected to reach around 200% of GDP.

  

  Issuing and managing $130 trillion in debt will pose the most substantial financial challenge for the next generation of Americans. Debt levels have now reached a point where they significantly impact politics, the economy, and financial markets. Gone are the days when Congress, the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve could operate relatively independently. We are already witnessing conflicts in managing objectives such as inflation, financial stability, recession, and the debt ceiling. These conflicts will only worsen. For instance, I believe the Federal Reserve will gradually shift its focus from managing inflation to assisting the Treasury department in managing national debt, albeit discreetly.

  Debt has become pervasive, affecting nearly every aspect of our economy and government. The following chart  provides a rough illustration of the interconnectedness that previously existed as more independent components.

  

  So how do we deal with the debt?

  The following are some of the levers that will determine whether we handle the debt issue in a healthy manner
  or allow it to spiral out of control. With the exception of the last lever, all the proposed solutions have painful
  side effects

  1) Maintain higher inflation than interest rates

  This approach would increase GDP income faster than interest rate costs, boosting income relative to debt. For example, post-Covid inflation has greatly benefited the US government’s budget as prices and income grew far faster than the cost of debt.

  

  However, higher inflation often comes with higher borrowing costs and other economic challenges, as we have recently experienced. Therefore, we cannot rely solely on inflating away the debt. Instead, I expect the Federal Reserve to maintain steady moderate inflation slightly higher than their 2% target, likely around that of 10-year treasury rates (around 3-4%).

  2) Decrease the value of the dollar

  Lowering the value of the dollar is similar to generating domestic inflation in foreign exchange terms. This approach would enhance US competitiveness, reduce trade deficits, and increase GDP. Following a significant surge during Covid, the dollar has begun to depreciate, and I anticipate that the Federal Reserve will encourage a gradual decline in its value.

  

  On the flip side, it is crucial to manage the dollar carefully since its stability has played a significant role in its status as the reserve currency, affording numerous benefits to the US. Additionally, as the dollar weakens, the US will experience imported inflation, which will gradually erode the average American’s standard of living. This cure will not come without painful side effects.

  3) Use quantitative easing to keep borrowing costs artificially low

  This has the obvious benefit of allowing the US to manage its own borrowing costs and to lock in longer term debt when long rates are appropriately low. Simultaneously, lower interest rates encourage shor-tterm growth, further boosting federal income. This strategy worked exceedingly well in the 2010s.

  This strategy enables the US to manage its borrowing costs and secure long-term debt when long-term rates are suitably low. Simultaneously, lower interest rates stimulated short-term growth, further increasing federal income. This approach proved highly effective during the 2010s. However, it is worth noting that since the US government would essentially be purchasing its own bonds, there are limitations to this strategy. After all, the Federal Reserve cannot own the entire market. Since Covid, the Federal Reserve has held approximately 30% of all US debt.

  

  I suspect this figure could be increased if necessary. Nevertheless, this strategy must be employed strategically as there are limitations. Carefully managing the financing costs is crucial because of its significant impact on the future of our federal balance sheet. A mere 1% change in financing rates can drastically alter the trajectory of our budget, as shown below in the projections from the congressional budget office.

  

  4) Increase taxes

  Raising taxes on a given size of GDP would augment federal tax income. Historically, the US government has collected roughly 15-20% of GDP as tax revenue since World War II.

  

  Increasing taxes will create economic pain and face much political resistance, but may become necessary if the debt situation becomes dire enough. So we should anticipate potential increases in income taxes, wealth taxes, estate taxes, property taxes, and tariffs.

  5) Reduce government spending

  Reducing government spending is challenging since, aside from spikes and drops during wartime and times like the Covid pandemic, the size of our government has consistently expanded. As our country ages and programs like Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid become more expensive, we can expect government spending to continue growing.

  

  Implementing any cuts will be painful and face considerable political resistance. However, we may find ourselves with no choice but to tighten our belts, so we should prepare for potential reductions in discretionary spending in the future, along with associated economic pains.

  6) Related to above, semi-defaults on certain obligations like social security

  I anticipate that we may witness soft defaults on mandatory spending, such as scaling back on Social Security. For instance, the Social Security Trust Fund is projected to deplete within the next ten years due to deficits.

  

  Consequently, the program is anticipated to accumulate massive annual deficits, reaching up to $9 trillion per year by 2090, exacerbating the existing US debt issues.

  

  It is highly likely that the next generation of US retirees will not receive the Social Security benefits promised to them.

  7) Increase real GDP

  This is by far the most desirable solution, as it entails no downsides. It is also how the US managed to overcome its World War II debts. The success of this approach largely hinges on the US’s ability to maintain leadership in cutting-edge fields like AI. The provided chart showcases the long-term evolution of the US stock market as a proxy to the US economy. US stock market capitalization as % of the world experienced continuous growth from 1900 to 1970 as the US emerged as the world superpower after the two World Wars. Subsequently, the rest of the world rebuilt and advanced, with countries like Japan rising to prominence and taking away global share. Since 1990, the US has once again regained global market share, largely on the back of technological advancements.

  

  I remain optimistic about the future of the US economy, primarily due to the massive leverage potential in technology, which tends to be a winner-takes-all industry. The head start and ecosystem that the US has cultivated in fields like AI provide our greatest hope for addressing our government’s precarious finances.

  I believe that US debt will pose a significant problem requiring a combination of all seven levers to resolve. The more we can rely on the last lever of real economic growth, the less painful the process will be. I believe the US will grapple with substantial debt issues while simultaneously serving as a beacon of global growth and innovation.

  From an investment standpoint, I expect high volatility, characterized by both extreme highs and lows. Diversification of currencies and assets will be crucial, especially as central banks are forced to become more prominent players in the market, resulting in more black swan events. However, I believe maintaining exposure to US equities, particularly in technology sectors at reasonable valuations, will be key to long-term success.

  Because of my expectation of higher-than-anticipated inflation, I think it is important to hedge against inflation directly through commodities, TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities), and a small allocation to gold or cryptocurrencies if you believe in the long-term potential of that asset class. Specifically, switching to TIPS early on is recommended due to its relatively small market size compared to nominal bonds, which I hold a bearish view on in the long term. I believe gone are the days of the traditional 60/40 stock/bond portfolio. You’ll like need a 60/40 portfolio of stocks and inflation hedge assets.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 17:30

• Irony? Guess Which Nation Produces The World's Most Honey
  Irony? Guess Which Nation Produces The World’s Most Honey

  China is not only the country in the world producing the most honey, but it also leads in revenue per capita generated with one of nature’s oldest and most widely used sweeteners.

  

  As Statista’s Florain Zandt reports, according to calculations based on Statista Market Insights and World Bank population data, China’s honey industry made $17 per inhabitant of the country in 2021. Two of the other spots in the top 8 are claimed by Asian countries as well.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  As Statista’s chart shows, Indonesia and Vietnam come in sixth and seventh with a per-capita revenue of $6.5 and $6.0, respectively. This reflects the importance of Asian markets for global honey production. In 2021, almost half of the world’s honey came out of countries from this geographic region. Other important honey markets include Canada, North Macedonia and Switzerland.

  Honey from Asia, especially China, has been the subject of intense scrutiny by market watchdogs in recent years. India, a country traditionally opposed to many of China’s endeavors in politics and business, is increasingly focused on uncovering the amount of honey exported from the People’s Republic allegedly cut with cheaper and lower-quality syrup.

  

  Looking at the total market value of sweeteners worldwide, honey had a share of 28 percent of the total global revenue of $145 billion.

  While artificial sweeteners like saccharin or stevia contributed $21.7 billion, sugar was responsible for $82.3 billion.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 17:00

• Bill Gates 'Blackmailed' By Jeffrey Epstein Over Affair With Russian Bridge Player
  Bill Gates ‘Blackmailed’ By Jeffrey Epstein Over Affair With Russian Bridge Player

  Remember when Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he ‘only had dinner’ with Jeffrey Epstein?

  FLASHBACK: Bill Gates is asked if his ex-wife Melinda was warning him about Jeffrey Epstein sexually compromising him:

  Bill responded “No — I had dinner with him, and that’s all.” pic.twitter.com/xaVincPcAA

  — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 21, 2023

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

  Turns out (ok, we’ve known for a while) that’s a total lie – as the two also had a Russian bridge player in common, Mila Antonova.

  

  According to the Wall Street Journal, Gates met Antonova in 2010 at a bridge competition, leading to an affair. Three years later, after Gates associate Boris Nikolic referred her to Jeffrey Epstein to help raise $500K for an online bridge business which failed to pan out, Epstein paid for her to attend coding classes.

  In 2014, Antonova “stayed briefly at an apartment in New York City provided by Epstein” but claims not to have met with the guy who paid for her education.

  Then in 2017, the pedophile financier allegedly blackmailed Gates over the affair – demanding in an email that the Microsoft co-founder to reimburse him for Antonova’s education. Given the de minimis amount involved for both men, Gates interpreted this 2017 email as threat to expose his 2010 affair.

  So, poor boner-killer Bill was actually an Epstein victim all along, you see, and everyone interviewed for the report says they knew nothing about Epstein’s pedophile sex-trafficking operation and was ‘disgusted with what he did,’ etc.

  

  But in March of 2013, long before the two had thrown out their BFF bracelets, they were hanging out at the house of Thorbjørn Jagland, then chair of the Nobel Peace Prize committee where the pair allegedly discussed ” the security situation in Afghanistan as part of Mr. Gates’ work on polio eradication,” according to a spokeswoman for the billionaire. We’re sure.

  While he was working on the charitable fund, Epstein met in 2013 with Gates and Norwegian officials who were visitors to Epstein’s townhouse. Epstein told one former Gates Foundation employee that he knew the Norwegians, and could help Gates win a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to eradicate polio.

  Here’s what else is contained in the report (some known, some unknown).

  • “Starting in 2011, Gates had more than a half dozen meetings scheduled with Epstein, including dinners at Epstein’s New York townhouse, documents show. “
  • Gates flew on Epstein’s ‘lolita express’ plane from New Jersey to Florida in March, 2013. “That same month the two men met in France with an official on the Nobel Peace Prize committee.” (that official being its chair, Thorbjørn Jagland)

  While he was working on the charitable fund, Epstein met in 2013 with Gates and Norwegian officials who were visitors to Epstein’s townhouse. Epstein told one former Gates Foundation employee that he knew the Norwegians, and could help Gates win a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to eradicate polio.

  • In 2012, Epstein pitched Gates on a failed investment in a multibillion-dollar, JPMorgan-run charitable fund with a minimum contribution of $100 million.

  The deal went sideways. In messages to Jes Staley and Mary Erdoes, Epstein essentially coached the JPMorgan execs on how to pitch the fund to Gates’ team.

  “In essence this [fund] will allow Bill to have access to higher quality people , investment , allocation , governance without upsetting either his marriage or the sensitvites of the current foundation employees,” Epstein wrote on Aug. 16, 2011.

  The next day, Epstein wrote: “Bill is terribly frustrated. He woud! like to boost some of the things that are working without taking away from thoses that are not.”

  Six weeks later on Oct. 2, Epstein sent another email to Staley and Erdoes criticizing a JPMorgan presentation. “the presentation , is not tailored to bill.. He is the only person , the only one, that counts.”

  The charitable fund never got off the ground. “The firm didn’t need him as a client,” a JPMorgan spokesman said of Epstein. “The firm didn’t need him for introductions. Knowing what we know today, we wish we had never done business with him.” A spokesman for the bank said Erdoes declined to comment. A lawyer for Staley, who is no longer at JPMorgan, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Staley has previously said he regrets his friendship with Epstein. -WSJ

  But – given that this deal fell through in 2012 or so, and the two were hobnobbing at the Nobel Peace Price Committee Chairman’s house in 2013, it’s obvious that the two mended fences and moved on.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 16:00

• FDA Advisers Back Maternal RSV Vaccine As Pfizer Says Safety Concerns Can Be Studied Post-Approval
  FDA Advisers Back Maternal RSV Vaccine As Pfizer Says Safety Concerns Can Be Studied Post-Approval

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

  Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voiced support on May 18 for Pfizer’s maternal RSV vaccine even after several expressed concerns over premature births.

  

  Outside experts on the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee unanimously said data from two trials run by Pfizer were sufficient to support the vaccine being effective at preventing RSV disease in infants. They also voted 10–4 in the affirmative when asked if the data from the trials were sufficient to demonstrate the safety of the vaccine.

  The votes set up FDA clearance for what would be the first maternal vaccine for the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

  Pfizer’s vaccine, a recombinant protein subunit shot, targets the RSV A and RSV B subgroups in a 120 microgram dose that would be given to pregnant women in the second or third trimester. The goal would be to relay antibodies against RSV to fetuses, conferring protection that is supposed to last through the first year of life.

  The vaccine was 81.8 percent efficacious through 90 days after birth against severe lower respiratory tract illness due to RSV. The efficacy dropped to 69.4 percent after another 90 days.

  For any RSV-positive medically attended lower respiratory tract illness, the vaccine started at 57.1 percent efficacy and dropped to 51.3 percent over the same timeframe, according to data from a phase 3 trial that included about 3,500 vaccinated pregnant women.

  The efficacy for medically attended lower respiratory tract illness from any cause was just 2.5 percent at 180 days and 5.1 percent at 360 days.

  FDA staffers said in a briefing document that the trial showed “successful vaccine efficacy,” and the advisers seconded that view with their unanimous vote.

  But multiple experts expressed concerns about the risk of the vaccine causing premature births, a risk found in a similar product made by GlaxoSmithKline that prompted the company to halt testing in 2022.

  In Pfizer’s trial, there were more premature deliveries in the vaccinated arm than the placebo arm—5.7 percent in the former versus 4.7 percent in the latter.

  “That is hanging over this program,” Dr. Paul Offit, one of the FDA’s advisers, said during Thursday’s meeting.

  The FDA declined to comment on the issue during the meeting, though staffers wrote in a brief that there was “potential uncertainty” regarding premature births.

  Pfizer executives said Pfizer’s vaccine has important differences from the GlaxoSmithKline one, including the way they’re stabilized. They also acknowledged that there was “an overall significant difference in preterm births” between the arms but said the difference was not statistically significant and was driven primarily by data from sites in South Africa.

  “I think we need to place all of this in context. As you’ve already heard, the overall results show no statistically significant difference. The results are driven by the upper- and middle-income countries with the high-income countries not showing this difference,” Dr. William Gruber, Pfizer’s senior vice president for vaccine clinical research and panelists, told panelists. “And as you’ve heard from us, as well as the FDA, there’s the real opportunity, then, to look at this during the period of pharmacovigilance, when we have larger numbers of women being vaccinated, to determine whether or not there is, in fact, any sort of a signal.”

  “But the evidence to this point provides no real support when we take the totality of it based on the Pfizer vaccine for an increased risk of prematurity, and we can investigate that, again, post-approval,” he added later.

  The quote drew criticism from Rep. Greg Murphy (R-N.C.), a doctor who criticized a similar comment made about Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

  “Most drugs carry side effects. When considering maternal vaccinations, significant complications such as severe premature births or even pre-term and neonatal deaths may be present. The notion of vaccinating populations to determine whether or not there will be any side effects leads to a mistrust in the FDA, public health, and the medical community,” Murphy told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.

  Dr. Iona Munjal, a Pfizer senior director for vaccines, noted during the meeting that there were more deaths in the placebo group. “When you look at poor outcomes like death or poor neonatal outcomes in our study, we don’t see those poor outcomes,” she said. “And this is probably due to the fact that most of the infants are born very near term and not proximally related to the vaccine.”

  

  RSV

  RSV peaks in the United States during the winter, with very low levels during the summer and fall. It primarily affects children under the age of 1, though it also impacts older children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates 100 to 300 children die each year from RSV, though a death certificate review for the 12 years ending in 2016 identified just 478 in that population, including 315 younger than age 1.

  Approximately 68 percent of infants are infected before they turn 1, panel members heard, and U.S. officials say the vaccine would help curb a major reason for hospitalization.

  The vaccine and others like it are “designed to overcome the shortcomings of previous efforts … [and] represent structural immunology and molecular engineering over empiric vaccinology against a respiratory virus that exacts its heaviest disease burden in the youngest and older adults,” Dr. David Kaslow, the director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, told the panel.

  The Pfizer vaccine efficacy for hospitalizations due to RSV was 67.7 percent at 90 days but dropped to just 33.3 percent at 360 days, according to the trial data.

  Only one RSV vaccine is currently available in the United States. It is only for adults aged 60 and older.

  Votes

  Many panelists said they were convinced by the high efficacy data, despite concerns about the premature births.

  “If the vaccine actually lives up to the data that we’ve seen today, I can guarantee that many infants and their parents will breathe easier in the coming years,” Dr. Jay Portnoy, one of the members, said.

  Some said there’s a need for a vaccine.

  “If there’s anything real there, we want to make sure we are aware of this. But this really does address a real, real strong need; there isn’t another option here for prevention,” Adam Berger, one of the panelists, said. “And it really could save a lot of lives. So I do think a lot of this is going to lie on the postmarketing requirements.”

  The FDA lists required studies for drug and vaccine manufacturers to carry out in letters of authorization and approval.

  Others echoed Pfizer in asserting that observational data, or looking at outcomes in women who receive the vaccine after it is cleared, would clear up whether premature birth is a side effect.

  “Observational studies, as we go forward will fairly quickly give us an answer. If there is a problem there,” Dr. Arnold Monto, another member, said. “We learned how to bite the bullet and get things out during the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine approvals.”

  Dr. Henry Bernstein, another member, said he had reservations due to not wanting another situation like the quick removal of a rotavirus vaccine following a spike in cases of intussusception, a life-threatening condition. Intussusception following vaccination “was not statistically significant until it was more widely used,” he said.

  While all members said the efficacy data support licensure, Offit, Bernstein, Holly Janes, and Dr. Hana El Sahly said the safety data were not sufficient.

  “If you’re in any sense risking premature births with this vaccine, I think there’ll be a big price to pay. And so I just don’t feel we have enough data to be reassuring,” Offit said.

  “There was too much uncertainty,” Janes added. “And I’m uncomfortable with the notion of kicking the can down the road … toward post-marketing surveillance studies. I think it’s a bit different to rely on surveillance studies to sort of confirm what appears to be a safe product whereas here, I think the signals are such that the post-marketing surveillance data would be asked to refute what is sort of a potential hypothesis here, and I think that’s a higher bar.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 15:30

• Biden Taunts Russia At G7 When Asked About "Colossal Risk" Of Escalation
  Biden Taunts Russia At G7 When Asked About “Colossal Risk” Of Escalation

  President Joe Biden taunted Russia while speaking with reporters Sunday at the G-7 summit in Japan. The big decision which has been a main talking point at the meeting was the White House telling European allies that the US will allow them to export F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine if they desire. 

  This has led to questions over whether this escalation in policy could bring NATO and Russia into direct clash. Here’s how a particular exchange went as the G7 wrapped up:

  Journalist asks Biden about Russia saying that giving Ukraine F-16s is a “colossal risk” .

  Biden: It is, FOR THEM.

  U.S. President Biden while at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan was asked what his Response was to Russia who stated yesterday if F-16 Multirole Fighter Aircraft are provided to Ukraine it will be a “Colossal Risk to the West” with Biden stating, “It is for them”. pic.twitter.com/sKjJnN2d9g

  — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 21, 2023

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

  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also presented a stance of ‘toughness’ and optimism concerning the war. In a speech marking the end of the G-7 he  urged the Western allies to ensure that Russia is the “last aggressor”.

  He called Ukraine’s own 10-point peace plan the world’s “salvation from war,” and emphasized that “We will paralyze other potential aggressors.” 

  “When everyone who wants war sees how determined the world is when it wants peace, there will be no point to start a war,” he said. 

  His words came on the heels of Biden unveiling another $375million military aid package featuring more ammo, vehicles, and weapons. But news of the fall of Bakhmut clearly put a damper on the G7 proceedings for those officials gathered in Hiroshima. Zelensky appeared to offer some degree of confirmation that Ukraine no longer holds the city, following the Saturday announcement from Wagner: 

  The reports that Zelensky supposedly confirmed loss of Bakhmut city are from what I can tell inaccurate. Here he clearly says “I think no” in answer to “the Russians say they’ve taken Bakhmut” before saying that the city is no longer, only in hearts. pic.twitter.com/ThBcDL1oNo

  — Oliver Carroll (@olliecarroll) May 21, 2023

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

  As for Biden, he attempted to present the loss of Bakhmut as in the end more devastating for the Russian side, claiming that it suffered a huge number of casualties: 

  “There is a discussion about Bakhmut – whether or not it’s been lost or whatever,” he said.

  “Well, the truth of the matter is the Russians have suffered over 100,000 casualties in Bakhmut. That’s hard to make up. So whether or not there are troops in Bakhmut occupying, there are not many buildings left standing in Bakhmut. It’s a pretty devastated city. But they have been able to move in a direction that they’ve been able to lock down an awful lot of the Russian forces, including the Wagner Group.”

  Biden made this statement in the context of the upcoming counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the possible transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. According to the U.S. president, F-16s “would not have helped (the Ukrainian army in Bakhmut).”

  It’s unclear where the US president got these numbers, but they have been echoed before by some Pentagon and intelligence officials. It seems Washington’s new narrative will be to consider Bakhmut only an extremely costly Pyrrhic victory for the Russian side.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 15:00

• This Year's Emmy For Outstanding Reality Series Goes to…
  This Year’s Emmy For Outstanding Reality Series Goes to…

  By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

  This Year’s Emmy for Outstanding Reality Series Goes to…

  The Debt Ceiling.

  Voters were just amazed at how much was made from such a flimsy topic. Others commented that the debt ceiling had become tired, worn, and too predictable, but this year’s cast of characters brought out some new energy. While highly unusual to be given an award for a series that hasn’t been finished, it just stood out as being deserving of the recognition. Critics claimed that it was manufactured, unbelievable, and with one-dimensional characters constrained by an unbelievable script, but the audience is always right!

  How can this move markets when 95% of people believe that a default cannot happen? Even those who think that it could happen don’t believe that it is likely. Yet, markets moved on a series of headlines, including the ever popular “the meeting ended abruptly in disagreement” followed by “they are heading back to the table”.

  Who out there wasn’t gripped by the tale? The “behind the scenes” end of season reveal should be exciting. Just imagine senior political officials huddled in an office, apparently discussing the fate of the nation’s debt, but in reality are all logged into their trading accounts to make sure that they buy or sell ahead of the news. Ok, I’m sure that the last part didn’t happen, but it is kind of funny (in a sad way) to think about, as insider trading isn’t prohibited in any way on the hill and the headlines, especially late in the week, seemed to be perfect for triggering buy programs and later a sell program or two.

  In any case, the debt ceiling continues to take up a lot of focus for markets. Probably far too much focus as default seems unlikely, and despite the “world is ending” arguments, I don’t see a default (that is cured within a few days or a week) as being devastating. Longer-term maybe, but I’d likely buy any “default dip”.

  In the meantime, the S&P (up 1.7%) and Nasdaq (up 3.0%) posted strong weeks even as rates rose rather significantly. I didn’t believe that we would see much of a “debt ceiling resolved” bounce since I don’t think that many have been shorting against the debt ceiling specifically.

  Next Week

  Last week, Academy was a lead manager on Bank of NY’s 3NC2 bonds. Always exciting for Academy when we get selected for such a senior role. I spent much of the week away from the screens, as we travelled from Peoria to Kiawah and then on to DC and Virginia. I got to spend time with several of our generals and admirals and look forward to doing a more geopolitical slanted macro piece early next week. China was front and center, as was the dollar, but more on that on Tuesday.

  On Tuesday we get NVDA earnings. The stock is up over 110% year-to-date and is a focal point for the AI theme. When looking at markets for the past month (S&P up 1.4% and Nasdaq up 4.9%), I’m pretty sure that if you pull the “AI themed stocks” out of the S&P 500 it would have been negative.

  

  AI is the growth story and undoubtedly is changing the world. Everyone is examining AI and thinking about not just how to use it, but how to keep their jobs relevant in an AI driven world. I’m fully on board with that, but have valuations gotten ahead of themselves? Is AI really big enough (and soon enough) to prop up the entire market? However, I can see the rationale and could be convinced that there is a lot more to come. On the other hand, I’m old enough to remember the “metaverse” (and that rally) and a time when companies that were changing their names to include “blockchain” saw significant pops. Everything about the AI story seems much bigger than either of those examples, but the market seems to have a habit of getting ahead of itself. In a market where there has been so little to like (I keep seeing stats complaining about the lack of breadth), it is easy to gravitate to the one story that has legs. The NVDA earnings (and call) could be the biggest market driver of any release this earnings season, which is an accomplishment in its own right!

  In between flights, checking in and out of hotel rooms, discussing geopolitics, digesting debt ceiling headlines, and getting smarter about the AI revolution, I did think a bit about the economy. We saw some “mixed” data last week, but nothing that changes my view that the best is behind us. Rather than haphazardly pulling together some charts, I will go back to an old favorite – the Citi Economic Surprise Index.

  

  A few weeks ago we postulated that we would see a downturn in the “surprise” index. The “surprise” index is interesting because it is “relative”. Just because it is declining doesn’t mean that the data is bad. It could just be that expectations got so strong that even “good” data created a negative surprise. This time around, the data has gotten weaker, since I’m finding very few positive economists (which, as a contrarian, scares me as I’m definitely part of the consensus).

  As the data deteriorates, forecasts will be lowered. I do think that once we make it through the debt ceiling (which really seems like just a bad idea for a reality TV series) and the AI earnings, we will see some economic bears get some airtime. As data disappoints, those that were looking for a downturn in the data (and expecting a recession) will get some more attention, which should act as a headwind for risk.

  By the middle of next week, we will be back to focusing on the economy and what that means for markets (and that won’t be supportive).

  In the meantime, I just want to thank all of Academy’s customers, not just for the business and opportunities that you provide us with, but for all of the discussions and information sharing which makes us smarter and better able to serve you!

  Thanks again! And if I sound too harsh on DC and the time spent on the debt ceiling, I actually toned down my comments and I am pretty sure that my editors will do the same!

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/21/2023 – 14:30

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• Paul Craig Roberts: The United States Has Been Destroyed By Its Ruling Elites
  Paul Craig Roberts: The United States Has Been Destroyed By Its Ruling Elites

  Via PaulCraigRoberts.org, (emphasis ours)

  Against the backdrop of the United States’ recognition of the investigation against Donald Trump as politically motivated, structural and ideological controversies, and concerns that the American economy will enter a recession, the GEOFOR editorial board asked Paul Craig Roberts, Chairman of the Institute for Political Economy (USA), a PhD in Economics and US Undersecretary of Treasury in the Reagan administration, to share his views on America’s future.

  

  GEOFOR: Special Counsel John Durham “acquitted” Donald Trump on the so-called “Russiagate”, writing in his report that the FBI investigation was politically motivated. How will this news affect the Democrats’ fight against Trump?

  Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: The Special Counsel’s vindication of Donald Trump and denunciation of the FBI for conducting a politically motivated investigation devoid of any evidence should collapse the equally fraudulent Biden regime investigation of Trump on fake documents charges and the New York state prosecution of Trump on alleged expense misreporting charges. It has been clear for a long time that the list of fake charges against Trump, supported by the media, are propaganda to prevent Trump again running for President and to teach all future potential presidential candidates that they will be destroyed if they attempt to represent the people instead of the unelected ruling oligarchy.

  However, the Democrat Party and the presstitutes that service them have no respect whatsoever for truth. Facts simply do not matter to them. This is true also of American Universities, law associations, medical associations, the CIA, FBI, NSA, the State Department, the regulatory agencies such as NIH, CDC, FDA, the large corporations, and many establishment Republican members of the House and Senate who serve the economic interests that pay them, not truth. It is also the case with a high percentage of Democrat voters who have been conditioned by propaganda to hate Trump. To Democrats what matters is not facts, but getting Trump. Truth is not permitted to prevent the destruction of Trump.

  Consequently, the US is moving toward a fatal split in the society from which recovery is impossible. Trump represents ordinary Americans who prefer peace to the neoconservatives’ wars, who want their jobs back that the greed-driven capitalist global corporations sent to China and Asia, who want their children properly educated instead of indoctrinated with sexual perversion, Satanism, and told that they are racists. In contrast, the Democrats are increasingly Woke–people who believe that truth is an oppressive tool of white supremacy, that Christian morality is tyrannical and discriminatory against pedophiles and other sexual perverts, and that, as “President” Biden himself has said, white people are the greatest threat to America. See: https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2023/05/15/us-navy-enlists-drag-queen-for-digital-ambassador-role-to-attract-more-recruits-2/

  Now that official investigations by the House Republicans have brought the utter corruption of Biden and his son to light (see: https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2023/05/16/bank-records-show-biden-family-received-10-million-in-payments-from-china-foreign-interests-house-oversight/ ), the Democrats, the dangerous and corrupt military/security complex, and the complicit whore American media, are desperate. They all stand as being exposed. So, rather than apologize for their mistreatment of Trump and his supporters–1,000 of whom the Democrats have illegally imprisoned–they will likely strike out while they still control the Executive Branch, the US Senate, the CIA, FBI, NSA, and federal agencies such as the IRS that have been armed and militarized.

  Alternatively, the corrupt and threatened Democrats might cause war between the US and Russia, or Iran, or China in the hopes that a war will unify even Trump supporters, especially the super-patriots among them, around the “President” against “foreign enemies.”

  GEOFOR: Recently there were reports that former Vice President Mike Pence seriously intends to compete with Donald Trump in the presidential race of 2024. How do you assess his chances and why did he decide to take such a step?

  Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: Mike Pence has no chance whatsoever of prevailing over Donald Trump. Pence is running as a service to the ruling establishment. Spence is a pretend Christian Evangelical. Evangelicals don’t oppose Armageddon, because they believe they will be wafted up to Heaven, while those still on earth get consumed in fire. The Ruling American Oligarchy hopes that Spence will draw off the Christian Evangelicals from the Trump vote, thus reducing Trump’s margin of victory so that the Democrats can again steal the presidential election. As evangelicals are not very astute, the Democrats might succeed in derailing Trump and the American people. Pence, of course, would not become president.

  GEOFOR: We can’t help but ask about the migration problem. After the abolition of Section 42, analysts predict a new influx of refugees from Mexico and Latin America. What will such problems lead to and will they affect the election of the head of the White House next year?

  Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: The Biden regime is spending billions of dollars “to defend Ukraine’s borders,” but won’t spend one penny to defend America’s borders. The Democrats want the Hispanic and Black immigrants, who they will give the vote, because the immigrant-invaders water down the white majority population and destroy the ethnic basis of the US. Instead of a unified nation, there is a Tower of Babel.

  As the Democrats control the major cities in most states and thereby the election rules and vote counting, It doesn’t matter how people vote. As Stalin said, the only thing that matters is who counts the vote. Only a total fool would expect Democrats to count votes that gave victory to Republicans.

  GEOFOR: Passions around the American public debt, inflation, jobs and the possible new collapses of American banks are only growing. Tell us, please, what awaits the American economy in the foreseeable future? After all, the recession in the United States will have an impact on the whole world one way or another…

  Dr. Paul Craig Roberts: The United States, despite my best efforts and the efforts of others for decades, has been destroyed by its ruling elites for the sake of short-term profits and short-term growth in power over the people. By offshoring its manufacturing jobs, the global corporations destroyed the American middle class and the ladders to upward mobility that had made America the “opportunity society.” Today many former American manufacturing and industrial cities look like the remains of bombed cities.

  As US corporations produce the goods abroad that they market to Americans, the goods enter the US as imports. Thus, offshoring production for the home market worsens the trade deficit.

  The trade deficit has to be financed. This is no problem for the US as long as the dollar is in demand as the reserve currency by all countries in order to pay for their international transactions, and countries with trade surpluses keep their monetary surpluses in US Treasury bonds, thus financing both the US trade and budget deficits. Washington in an act of incredible stupidity has driven a dagger through the heart of the US dollar as world reserve currency, thus ending Washington’s ability to pay its bills by printing money. The dagger was the Biden regime’s Russian and other sanctions and the seizure of Russia’s central bank deposits. This finally convinced the rest of the world that holding dollar balances exposed a country to the risk of expropriation or control by Washington.

  The consequence is that the world is moving away from the use of the dollar, instead settling their trade balances in their own or other currencies. Therefore, the demand for dollars is declining, but the supply is rising because of the US trade and budget deficits.

  Sooner or later the US dollar’s exchange value will fall, setting off high inflation in the US that is outside the control of the central bank. American living standards will fall, and the US will begin to look like India in 1900.The hatred of white people that Democrats have taught to blacks and immigrant-invaders will result in internal war. The only question is whether white Americans will have been so indoctrinated with their guilt that they are unable to defend themselves.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 23:30

• Where The Most Death Penalties Are Carried Out
  Where The Most Death Penalties Are Carried Out

  At least 883 people are known to have been put to death last year, according to Amnesty International’s annual review of the death penalty. However, as Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, the true number is likely far higher, as several countries do not publish accurate figures – including North Korea, Vietnam and Belarus.

  In China, where numbers remain a state secret, thousands of people are believed to be executed and sentenced to death each year.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  As Statista’s chart shows, Iran comes second only after China with at least 576 people known to have been executed in 2022, up 55 percent from the year.

  The crimes behind these executions are mostly related to drugs and murder, while 18 were for moharebeh (enmity against God), which can be connected to the protests surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini.

  Amnesty International notes that Saudi Arabia also saw a significant increase in death sentences since 2020, rising from 27 to a record high of 196 deaths, 83 of whom were executed for terrorism-related crimes. In total, 55 countries still have the death penalty, 20 of which recorded executions in 2022.

  In the U.S., 18 executions were recorded in 2022 across six jurisdictions. These were Alabama (2), Arizona (3), Mississippi (1), Missouri (2), Oklahoma (5), and Texas (5). Meanwhile, there were 21 new death sentences recorded across 12 states. These included: Alabama (3), Arizona (1), California (2), Florida (5), Georgia (1), Louisiana (1), Mississippi (1), Missouri (1), North Carolina (2), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (1) and Texas (2).

  It is worth noting that while 2021 saw a 20 percent increase from the year before, both years represented the lowest number of executions since Amnesty International’s records began back in 2010. This lull, likely due to executions being put on hold because of the pandemic, seems to over, with the figures reaching their highest point since 2017.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 23:00

• Gun Industry Writes To Congress As Imminent Ban Threatens 40 Million Firearms
  Gun Industry Writes To Congress As Imminent Ban Threatens 40 Million Firearms

  Submitted by Gun Owners of America,

  On June 1st, the Biden Pistol Ban is set to go into effect. This rule, concocted by the bureaucrats at ATF, criminalizes ownership of an estimated 40 million firearms currently in possession by law-abiding citizens. 

  According to the final rule, gun owners who possess braced firearms will have to destroy, reconfigure, register, and turn in their firearms to ATF, or face NFA violations which include $250,000 in fines and a hefty prison sentence.

  

  This rule will have some of the most wide-reaching impacts nationwide compared to other ATF administrative rulemaking actions. In comparison, ATF’s bump stock rule was estimated to have affected 520,000 Americans, whereas this pistol brace ruling affects 80 times more law-abiding citizens.

  In response, the No Compromise Alliance sent a letter signed by notable firearms industry companies to Congress. 

  Among the undersigned are notable firearms industry companies such as Rifle Dynamics, Kahr Arms Group, KCI USA, Tippmann Arms, and more. 

  Additionally, two other letters were sent to Congress, with notable people of influence throughout the firearms community – representing more than 30 million viewers – and local ranges & shops that are bound to be affected by ATF’s overreach. 

  While these letters certainly make a statement, Gun Owners of America is working on all fronts to defeat the ATF’s pistol brace rule before it goes into effect. 

  GOA has a lawsuit in the 5th Circuit with Texas AG Ken Paxton. This circuit is the same that recently overturned the ATF’s bump stock rule in January of 2023. 

  In addition, GOA has backed legislation targeting the root of the issue with the SHORT Act. The act itself would remove Short Barreled Rifles (SBR), Short Barreled Shotguns (SBS), and ATF’s favorite, “Any Other Weapons” (AOWs) from the unconstitutional regulation of the National Firearms Act. 

  The NFA is the law that ATF derives its regulatory authority from on the brace issue, so the SHORT Act aims to stop the ATF by removing its power over such items in the first place. 

  Lastly, GOA has fought hard with our allies in Congress to bring the ATF’s pistol brace rule under scrutiny via the Congressional Review Act. 

  For those unfamiliar, the Congressional Review Act allows Congress to file a joint resolution of disapproval, which would overturn agency rulemaking. 

  This is where we need your help. 

  With our legal fight against Biden and his ATF coming down to the wire, please call your Senators and Representatives and let them know to support the Joint Resolution for Congressional disapproval of the ATF’s rulemaking. 

  🚨ALERT🚨

  The below GOP representatives have STILL NOT cosponsored H.J. Res. 44 to stop Biden from banning 40,000,000 pistols on June 1st, 2023.

  We have 13 days. Call them NOW and ask them to support H.J. Res. 44. ☎️ 202-224-3121@SpeakerMcCarthy@SteveScalise@GOPMajorityWhip…

  — Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) May 18, 2023

  You can call your elected officials at (202) 224-3121

  Let them know to support S.J. RES. 20 if they’re in the Senate & H.J. RES. 20 if they’re in the House of Representatives. 

  *   *   * 

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 22:30

• Where 'Conversion Therapy' Is Still Legal
  Where ‘Conversion Therapy’ Is Still Legal

  Conversion therapy has been banned in several countries around the world, including Canada, Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, Germany, France, Malta and New Zealand, according to data aggregated by the Global Equality Caucus and The International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA).

  Conversion therapy is the process of trying to stop someone from being gay or trying to stop someone who wants to change their gender identity.

  Methods include spoken therapy and prayer, or even more extreme tactics such as exorcism, physical violence, or food deprivation, as reported by the BBC. The British Psychological Society and Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK declared that all kinds of conversion therapy are “unethical and potentially harmful”.

  As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the chart below, in much of the world the practice of conversion therapy is still legal.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  In multiple other countries though, although no explicit legislative ban exists, limited bans or bans through indirect prohibition have been introduced.

  For example, several countries have introduced a ban on health practitioners to carry out conversion therapy. These include Albania, Switzerland and Taiwan (the latter banning health care professionals from carrying out conversion therapies on minors). In India, Tamil Nadu became the first Indian state to ban conversion therapy after a court order issued by a justice of the Madras High Court in 2021.

  Meanwhile, several countries, such as Australia, Mexico and the United States, have seen gains with implementing bans on a regional or more basis.

  The trend to enforce legislation banning conversion is slowly picking up pace, with national governments and parliaments in Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal all in various states of pending legislation. At the same time, according to the Global Equality Caucus, Austria, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom have all expressed an intention to legislate bans.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 22:00

• FBI Improperly Used Surveillance Program To Spy On Jan. 6 Suspects
  FBI Improperly Used Surveillance Program To Spy On Jan. 6 Suspects

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

  The FBI abused its surveillance powers while spying on suspects in the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol and Black Lives Matter protesters, a federal court said in a newly unsealed ruling.

  

  FBI agents flaunted standards the agency developed for the Section 702 program, which enables spying on Americans and others, more than 278,000 times, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in the 2022 ruling, which was made public for the first time on May 19.

  Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act enables agencies like the FBI to collect information like emails without warrants from foreigners, even if they’re in the United States, and bars intentionally targeting Americans.

  The FBI developed its own standard for Section 702 searches, stating that queries “must be reasonably likely to retrieve foreign intelligence information, as defined by FISA, or evidence of a crime, unless otherwise specifically excepted.”

  But FBI agents have been violating the standard, the court has found, with the newest ruling disclosing hundreds of thousands of abusive searches in addition to those already known.

  The abusive searches include multiple improper queries targeting suspected or confirmed Jan. 6 suspects.

  In one instance, an analyst searched for information on 13 people suspected of being involved in the Capitol breach. The analyst “said she ran the queries to determine whether these individuals had foreign ties,” but the Department of Justice’s National Security Division (NSD) “concluded the queries were not reasonably likely to retrieve foreign intelligence information or evidence of crime,” the newly unsealed ruling states.

  In another case, widespread searches that in total consisted of more than 23,000 separate queries looked for information on presumed Americans to see whether the people were “being used by a group” involved in the breach.

  “The queries were run against unminimized Section 702 information to find evidence of possible foreign influence, although the analyst conducting the queries had no indications of foreign influence related to the query terms used,” the court said. “NSD assessed there was no specific factual basis to believe the queries were reasonably likely to retrieve foreign intelligence information or evidence of crime from Section 702 information.”

  Other Improper Searches

  The new ruling, released by the Office of Director of National Intelligence, also revealed that FBI personnel improperly surveilled a congressional campaign.

  An analyst conducted a so-called batch query, or a widespread query, for over 19,000 donors to the campaign. The analyst claimed the campaign was “a target of foreign influence,” but NSD officials found sufficient evidence for queries for just eight of the people who were queried.

  In another instance, a batch query was conducted on 133 people who were arrested “in connection with civil unrest and protests between approximately May 30, and June 18, 2020,” the time period during which people, primarily Black Lives Matter members and supporters, were protesting and rioting over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

  “The query was run to determine whether the FBI had ‘any counter-terrorism derogatory information on the arrestees,’ but without ‘any specific potential connections to terrorist related activity’ known to those who conducted the queries,’” the court found. NSD said the queries violated the FBI standards, but the FBI disagreed, claiming there was a “reasonable basis to believe these queries ‘would return foreign intelligence” due to citations that were redacted.

  Additional 2020 violations included queries using variations of “political activist groups involved in organized protests;” 697 queries using identifiers on scheduled visits to a place or person that were redacted in the ruling; searches for at least 790 defense contractors that the FBI was considering requesting cooperation from; and at least 330 queries conducted using identifiers of employees of a company whose name was redacted, with the FBI claiming it might recruit the employees as sources.

  Multiple queries were run without obtaining an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, another violation of the law.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 21:30

• Visualizing The American Workforce As 100 People
  Visualizing The American Workforce As 100 People

  n 2022, the U.S. population stood at 333 million. Of that, roughly 60% were employed in various jobs, positions, and sectors in the U.S. economy.

  But where did all these people work? What jobs did they do and what positions did they hold? Where do most Americans do their nine-to-five?

  Using data from the National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (2022) put out by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao reimagines the employed American workforce as only 100 people, to find out answers.

  Interestingly, the data contains a mix of information demarcations. Some are job-specific (type of work), some are based on position (like Management), and some are broken down by industry (Transport and Health).

  

  The Most Common Jobs In the U.S.

  By far, most of the American workforce (13 out of 100) are employed in Office & Administrative work. This includes a mind-boggling variety of jobs: receptionists, payroll clerks, secretaries, proof-readers, administrative assistants, and customer service representatives to name a few.

  Notably, any sort of management role is absent from this, as well as any other job categories, since the BLS categorizes managers in their own class.

  The industry which employs the second largest group of people is Health, accounting for 11 people from the 100. This category is a combination of two sectors listed in the original dataset (healthcare practitioners and healthcare support) and covers the entire industry: from physicians, surgeons, veterinarians, nurses, and therapists to technicians, assistants, orderlies, and home and personal care aides.

  Here’s a quick look at all the major sectors most of America’s workforce actually works in.

  Rank	Jobs	People	Examples
  1.	Office & Admin	13	Receptionists, Clerks, Customer service, Secretaries.
  2.	Health	11	Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, Vets, Orderlies, Personal care aides.
  3.	Transport	9	Warehouse workers, Packagers, Pilots, Ambulance, Bus, Truck, Taxi drivers, Ship captains.
  4.	Sales	9	Sales representatives, Counter clerks.
  5.	Food	8	Food preparers & servers, Bartenders, Dishwashers, Hosts.
  6.	Management	6	Legislators, Chief executives, Directors, General & Operations managers.
  7.	Business & Finance	6	Accountants, Auditors, Financial analysts, Logisticians.
  8.	Manufacturing	6	Factory workers, Gas fitters, Machine operators, Cobblers, Tailors, Barbers.
  9.	Education	6	Teachers (all fields, all levels).
  10.	Construction & Extraction	4	Stone / brick / block / cement masons. Construction laborers. Roofers, Plumbers, Electricians, Mining workers.
  11.	Mechanics & Installation	4	Auto mechanic, Farm equipment mechanic, Home appliance mechanic, Locksmiths.
  12.	Data & Tech	3	Information analyst, Database architect, Software & Web developers, Data scientists, Mathematicians, Computer support.
  13.	Custodial	3	Cleaning, Groundskeeping, Landscaping, Housekeeping.
  14.	Protection	2	Cops, Firefighters, Security guards, Lifeguards, Correctional officers.
  15.	Hospitality	2	Animal trainers / caretakers. Ushers / attendants. Makeup artists. Concierge. Exercise trainers.
  16.	Architecture & Engineering	2	All engineers and architects (excluding the information industry).
  17.	Community & Social Service	2	Social workers, Therapists (counsellors) & Religious work.
  18.	Arts, Media, & Sport	1	Fine artists, Designers, Actors, Athletes, Journalists, Writers, Authors, Musicians.
  19.	Science	1	All scientists (not engineers).
  20.	Legal	1	Lawyers, Judges, Paralegals, Mediators.
  21.	Farming, Fishing, & Forestry	1	Farmers, logging workers.
  	Total	100

  The third most common job is actually a tie between Transport—cargo moving workers, pilots, truck drivers—and Sales—retail and industry sales agents, counter clerks—with both sectors employing nine of the 100 people. In the Sales category, two of the nine people are cashiers.

  Ranked fifth is Food, with eight people, ranging from private chefs to serving staff at fast food restaurants.

  Another six all belong in some kind of Management role (across industry, and including legislators) with two of those six being “top level executives” like a CEO, a general manager, a mayor, or university president. Management shares its spot with Business & Finance, Manufacturing, and Education, all at six each.

  The following jobs or industries also employ the same number of people:

  • Construction & Extraction along with Mechanics & Installation, at four each.

  • Data & Tech, with Custodial jobs, with three each.

  • Protection, Hospitality, Architecture & Engineering, and Social work, all at two each.

  • Artists & Athletes, Scientists, Legal, and Farming, Fishing & Forestry are all one each.

  Quirks of the Job Data

  From the numbers, some fascinating nuances of the American workforce are revealed. For example, there are more cashiers (2) in the economy than artists, writers, designers & athletes (1). There are the same number of customer service representatives as the entire Scientific and Legal fields put together (2).

  But perhaps the most interesting quirk comes from how few people are employed in the Farming, Fishing & Forestry industry, a critical primary sector. In raw data, the BLS estimates only slightly more than 450,000 farm, fish & forestry workers.

  Importantly, it’s worth noting the BLS only collects data from “nonfarm” establishments, explaining the low estimate for their category, which is almost one-sixth of what the USDA estimates. Please see the data note at the end of this article for a full explanation.

  Which Jobs Have the Highest Wages in the U.S.?

  Meanwhile, the top 20 highest paid jobs (by annual average wages) all belong to doctors (usually specialists or surgeons), with two exceptions: CEOs and athletes.

  The lowest-paid jobs are a mix of entertainers, and service and retail staff.

  As a broader category, however, Management makes the most money, followed by Legal and then Tech. Workers in Food, Health Support, and Custodial jobs have the lowest wages.

  Rank	Jobs	Annual Average Wages
  1.	Management	$131,200
  2.	Legal	$124,540
  3.	Data & Tech	$108,130
  4.	Health (Practitioners)	$96,770
  5.	Architecture & Engineering	$94,670
  6.	Business & Finance	$86,080
  7.	Scientists	$83,640
  8.	Arts, Media, Sports	$76,500
  9.	Education	$63,240
  10.	Construction & Extraction	$58,400
  11.	Community & Social Service	$55,760
  12.	Mechanics & Installation	$55,680
  13.	Protection	$54,010
  14.	Sales	$50,370
  15.	Office & Admin	$45,550
  16.	Manufacturing	$45,370
  17.	Transport	$43,930
  18.	Farming, Fishing, & Forestry	$37,870
  20.	Hospitality	$36,210
  19.	Custodial	$35,900
  21.	Health (Support)	$35,560
  22.	Food	$32,130

  Analyzing the data throws up a few correlations between number of employees and wages. The top three sectors with the most jobs (Admin, Transport, and Sales) are in the bottom 10 categories when it comes to pay.

  On the other hand, three sectors in the bottom 10 of employment numbers, (Data & Tech, Architecture & Engineering, and Legal) are in the top five highest paid sectors.

  The Health sector sees a big divide in pay between practitioners (doctors, nurses, therapists) ranked 5th and support staff (assistants, aides, & orderlies), ranked 21st, or second-to-last.

  How is the American Workforce Changing?

  Over the last five years, the American workforce has not stayed static. Of the listed 22 groups, 13 saw growth in employment numbers, nine saw a decrease, and one stayed flat since 2018.

  

  The top gainer by far is Health Support (medical assistants, care aides, orderlies, etc.) which grew by 65%. Looking at the timeline of growth does not paint a steady picture: employment jumped between 2018 and 2019, briefly fell in 2020, and has since risen again in 2021-2022.

  Another top gainer is Transport, rising from the 4th to 3rd biggest employer, beating out Sales in 2022. Business & Finance and Management have also seen steady increases since 2018.

  On the other hand Hospitality saw a staggering 48% drop in numbers, not all together surprising given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the rise of tech companies like Airbnb.

  Meanwhile, Office & Admin work saw a 15% loss in employees, even though this category is still the biggest employer in the country by a significant margin. Although jobs in this group saw steady declines from 2018-2021, it registered a slight uptick in workers between 2021 and 2022.

  Here’s a full list of top-level sectors and how they changed.

  Jobs	2018	2022	% Change (2018-2022)
  Health Support	4,117,450	6,792,310	+65%
  Transport	10,244,260	13,560,460	+32%
  Management	7,616,650	9,860,740	+29%
  Business & Finance	7,721,300	9,677,720	+25%
  Data & Tech	4,384,300	5,003,910	+14%
  Sciences	1,171,910	1,314,360	+12%
  Legal	1,127,900	1,216,600	+7%
  Community & Social Service	2,171,820	2,313,620	+7%
  Arts, Media, & Sports	1,951,170	2,063,380	+6%
  Health Practioners	8,646,730	9,043,070	+5%
  Mechanics and Installataion	5,628,880	5,823,400	+3%
  Construction & Extraction	5,962,640	6,075,520	+2%
  Protection	3,437,410	3,437,610	0%
  Custodial	4,421,980	4,316,350	-2%
  Architecture & Engineering	2,556,220	2,481,170	-3%
  Education	8,779,780	8,496,780	-3%
  Farming, Fishing, & Forestry	480,130	461,750	-4%
  Manufacturing	9,115,530	8,738,980	-4%
  Food	13,374,620	12,514,620	-6%
  Sales and Related	14,542,290	13,183,250	-9%
  Office & Admin	21,828,990	18,674,770	-15%
  Hospitality	5,451,330	2,835,650	-48%

  Looking ahead, questions about the future of the American workforce loom large, especially in the wake of the AI revolution that has swept imaginations, and quite possibly, soon the economy. People who hold administrative jobs—the largest category—are most vulnerable since many office tasks can be automated with increasingly sophisticated AI tools.

  Will AI be as dominating a factor as the Industrial Revolution on the global economy? Will it cause as big a shift as the offshoring of manufacturing from the U.S.?

  Or will AI blend seamlessly into the current make-up of the American workforce, merely enhancing productivity and profit?

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 21:00

• "It's Criminal": Central Wisconsin Communities Unite To Stave Off Looming Wind Turbine Industry
  “It’s Criminal”: Central Wisconsin Communities Unite To Stave Off Looming Wind Turbine Industry

  Authored by Matt McGregor via The Epoch Times,

  Central Wisconsin communities are coordinating efforts to shine a light into the flickering shadow cast by a looming wind turbine industry.

  “There is a revolt happening here,” attorney Marti Machtan told The Epoch Times. “I’ve never seen our communities engage like this in my life.”

  Machtan is a member of Farmland First, an organization that aims to facilitate discussion among community members concerned about reported coercive, predatory tactics used by industrial wind companies to manipulate landowners into signing their property rights away in the name of green energy.

  “These companies are sneaky about it,” Tom Wilcox— also a member of Farmland First and chairman of the Town of Green Grove in Owen, Wisconsin—told The Epoch Times. “They don’t want to come right out and say how this will work. In fact, part of the reason why people don’t know this is happening is farmers have to agree to keep their mouth shut on the details of the contract.”

  Wilcox is also on the Clark County Board of Supervisors and chairman of the Clark County Planning and Zoning.

  

  Marti Machtan and Tom Wilcox at a farm free of wind turbines in Wisconsin in 2023. (Courtesy of Tom Wilcox)

  This month, at least 13 central Wisconsin towns have passed health and safety ordinances setting the ground rules for companies seeking to build wind turbines up to 600 feet tall as close as 1,250 feet from their homes.

  The resolutions are written to mitigate the harm wind turbines have been reported to cause to people, their land, and their natural environment, including wildlife.

  Word spread after some community members openly discussed rejecting alluring offers with payoffs of over $1 million over 30 years to have a wind turbine built on their farm.

  However, Machtan argued that because turbine companies can exit the contract for any reason, the possibility of actually getting that amount wouldn’t be a safe bet.

  For Wilcox, there are too many unanswered questions, like how it works and what it does to property values.

  Initially, Wilcox said he held the attitude that people can do whatever they want with their farm.

  “But as I got further into this, I realized that these wind turbines aren’t at all good for the farming community,” Wilcox said. “As I got deeper, I realized just what kind of a sham this really is.”

  ‘Imbalanced, Unfair, One-Sided’

  Machtan has reviewed, negotiated, and drafted over a billion dollars worth of contracts with companies of various sizes.

  His assessment of the contracts between farmers and wind turbine companies like RWE Clean Energy, which has advanced into central Wisconsin, is as bad as he’s ever read.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that was more imbalanced, unfair, or one-sided to the benefit of the company and to the detriment of the farmer,” Machtan said.

  Many provisions in these contracts give more power to the wind company over the land than the property owner.

  The wind company can get out of the contract at any time for any reason, while the farmer must commit to a decade’s worth of encumbrances, Machtan said.

  “There are liability shifting provisions for the big multi-billion-dollar multinational companies that shift risks onto these farmers,” he said.

  There are also inadequate decommissioning standards, he added.

  “One of the things people are worried about is, because this type of energy production really doesn’t make sense over the long term, there’s the risk that farmers are going to be left holding the bag,” Machtan said.

  There’s no mutual sharing of opportunity and risk, Machtan said, leaving him to conclude that these aren’t green-energy projects.

  “This is financial engineering designed to shift risk on the farmers and our communities while providing large stable returns to private equity,” Machtan said. “What’s actually driving them is pension funds and other investors trying to get a stable return for their shareholders with as little risk as possible with the support of our federal and state government.”

  

  Cows stand in a field with wind turbines near Eldorado, Texas, on April 16, 2021. (Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images)

  The ESG Framework

  Electricity derived from wind is advertised as a clean departure from dependence on fossil fuels, the burning of which is argued to be the source of what some believe to be global warming.

  In 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and in 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act, both of which incentivize federal and corporate investment in creating a renewable energy industry, a component of the environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) framework.

  Despite Biden’s proclamation that green energy companies would be domestically sourced, foreign shareholders and big banks are set to profit the most from these companies headquartered in the United States.

  The largest shareholder of RWE Clean Energy—a subsidiary of the German parent company RWE—is Qatar Holding LLC, headquartered in Qatar.

  “The maddening thing is that politicians can say, ‘American companies are investing in clean energy,’ and technically be telling the truth, but the parent companies or major investors or both are foreign,” Machtan said.

  A Health Hazard

  Just three years after wind turbines were installed in northeast Wisconsin in Brown County, they were declared a human health hazard by the county board of health in a unanimous vote in 2014, according to the Brown County Citizens for Responsible Wind Energy (BCCRWE).

  To date, the declaration hasn’t been rescinded.

  In 2015, former Brown County Health Director Chua Xiong ruled that there was insufficient evidence to link wind turbines to the illnesses reported by people who lived near the Shirley Wind Power, owned by Duke Energy.

  BCCRWE called for her resignation, alleging she based her conclusion on a “very flawed process by which submitted evidence was selectively reviewed and inconsistently weighed, or ignored altogether.”

  “The document demonstrates that Xiong’s evidence-review process was fraught with a multitude of failures of due diligence and that her resulting conclusion is without merit,” BCCRWE said.

  She resigned three months after her decision, according to a 2016 news report, to take another job.

  In a documentary produced by BCCRWE, Kevin Aschenbrenner, a former farmer, discussed how the wind turbines affected his livestock.

  Aschenbrenner lost all his cattle, he said, to injury and eventually death. Before that, they ceased producing milk.

  “It just got to the point where we just couldn’t survive anymore on the cattle, and we didn’t want to put the cattle through all of the effects they were getting off the turbines,” Aschenbrenner said.

  William Acker, an energy engineer, said in the documentary that those effects are caused by the pressure pulsations in the infrasound range, “which is basically inaudible noise.”

  “Infrasound is a very low hertz level noise—you can probably hear it in kids’ car stereos nowadays with a very loud booming noise that’s in the infrasound range,” he said. “Infrasound can be audible if the noise level is very high, but what we’re recording from the wind turbines is showing it to be, for the most part, in the inaudible range.”

  Families reported sleep disturbances, ear pain, headaches, dizziness, and chest pain.

  “There’s just a litany of symptoms that are universal; for example, they’re not just here in Shirley Wind, they’re all over the world,” said Jay Tibbetts, a now-deceased medical physician.

  BCCRWE spokesperson Steve Deslauriers told The Epoch Times that landowners—in being distracted by the money—miss the details of the contract that essentially robs them of their property rights and their community’s health.

  “Once you sign up your property, you lose control, not only of the exact placement of the turbines, but you also lose your ability to build, plant trees, and make decisions about the land you still own, but no longer control,” Deslauriers said.

  The companies feed on ignorance and greed, he said, using deceitful tactics.

  “Every time they go into a new community, they walk up to homes and say, ‘Hey, look, your neighbors are already signed up, and since you’re going to get the impacts anyway, you might as well sign up and get paid for it, too,” Deslauriers said. “They use that same playbook ever since they started in Wisconsin, signing up town officials and running over the townspeople.”

  What Deslauriers has seen in the past is companies offering proactive payments in which farmers could sign up their whole property, giving them monthly payments.

  “When the turbines are built, they get X number of dollars per turbine,” Deslauriers said.

  Now, at least from what he’s seen, landowners are being offered payment per megawatt.

  “To put it in perspective, the eight turbines at Duke Energy’s Shirley Wind Power are two-and-a-half megawatt turbines,” he said. “At the time, they were the largest turbines in the country in close proximity to homes. This led to three families being forced from their homes due to conditions in and around their homes. Now the payments look more attractive to landowners but have no doubt; this will lead to even more home abandonment in densely populated communities like ours.”

  The companies suggest that there’s such a good community presence that they’ve decided to minimize the risks and maximize the payments to landowners by putting up five- to six-megawatt turbines on their property, Deslauriers explained.

  “If you do the math on the money, what they throw at these farmers is just peanuts compared to what the companies make,” Deslauriers said. “No Invenergy executives live around a turbine. They sacrifice our families’ health for their wealth. These are the most horribly one-sided contracts you’ve ever seen.”

  In response to The Epoch Times’ request for comment, a spokesperson for Duke Energy said there’s no evidence that Shirly Wind Power is negligent about causing harm to its neighbors.

  “To the contrary of these allegations, court decisions over the past few years continue to support Duke Energy’s position on this issue,” the spokesperson said. “Duke Energy continues to be an important part of Brown County and Town of Glenmore communities endeavoring to work cooperatively as a contributor in a major way to support the residents in their furtherance of various community initiatives and acting consistently and responsibly as we progress towards our clean energy efforts.”

  

  Cows grazing near a wind turbine in Livermore, California, on May 16, 2007. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

  The Starbucks Rule

  In these rural areas where the wind turbines are targeted to be constructed, Machtan and others have pointed out that farmers lack adequate legal representation and understanding of the deceptive nature of the contracts.

  Farmers can be even more clouded by the money if they are struggling to stay afloat.

  In a “Tucker Carlson Originals” documentary, Kevon Martis, a Michigan-based zoning administrator who advocates against the building of wind turbines, explained “The Starbucks Rule.”

  “Never try and site a wind project within 30 miles of a Starbucks coffee shop,” Martis explained. “The demographic that’s willing to pay a premium price for quality coffee is the same demographic that typically has the education and financial wherewithal to organize and resist irresponsible wind projects.”

  Companies see these rural areas like Wilcox’s township as an easy target because they are low-income, which translates to them as people desperate for revenue.

  Wilcox said he discovered northeastern Clark County was labeled as an economically depressed area when looking for federal grants for broadband.

  “There are extra subsidies involved if companies build these projects in those regions,” Wilcox said.

  However, when wind turbine projects are proposed in wealthy areas such as Nantucket Sound, politicians with homes in that area quickly shut the project down.

  “People who look at some of these wind proposals figure out quickly that one of the reasons their community is being targeted is it’s poor, and they’re perceived as being desperate for revenue,” Martis said in the documentary. “They just think we’re a bunch of rubes and hicks out here.”

  ‘It Only Gets Worse’

  Different people have different objections to what potentially might take place if the turbines are built in Wilcox’s township, he said.

  For many with whom he’s spoken, the destruction of the endangered bald eagle and other birdlife concerns them, he said.

  Clean energy companies like RWE have been granted what’s called an incidental take permit, which is used under the U.S. Endangered Species Act to protect these companies from liability when endangered wildlife is harmed.

  “They have an incidental take permit that basically says, ‘When an eagle flies into the turbine and gets killed, we’re sorry, but we’re not liable,’” Wilcox said. “It always interests me that some people latch on to this portion of it.”

  Though there aren’t a lot of eagles in the area, Wilcox said they’d like to keep the ones they have.

  “But to have an industrial wind complex come in and kill more eagles than I’ve seen in a year, that’s really troubling for us,” he said.

  

  An eagle’s nest found in a Central Wisconsin township in 2023. (Courtesy of Tom Wilcox)

  For others, it’s about the aesthetics, he said.

  “We have beautiful sunsets here in central Wisconsin, and occasionally you can see the northern lights,” Wilcox said. “But if you have a spinning wind turbine with that flashing red light, it’s going to detract from that aspect of life.”

  Others latch onto the complaint about decreased property values caused by the turbines, he said.

  If given a choice between a farm with a turbine and a farm without, buyers prefer going without, he said.

  People look at the cost benefits—how much the company is potentially going to make compared to how much the landowner will make.

  Then there is the shadow flicker, the movement of the shadow from the turbine passing through people’s homes in a steady but dizzying rhythm.

  “People say you can pull the blinds, but why should you pull the blinds in your home for something you didn’t even want in the first place and aren’t getting any benefit from?” Wilcox asked. “And, of course, when you go outside, it only gets worse.”

   

  A sunset over a central Wisconsin township in 2023. (Courtesy of Tom Wilcox)

  ‘It’s Criminal’

  According to Deslauriers, because of state legislation lobbied for by the turbine companies, municipalities have been stripped of the power to prohibit the construction of wind turbines in their townships through zoning regulations.

  “The legislature took the power away, and the state of Wisconsin promulgated rules that said towns could not make rules any stricter,” he said. “Now, if you’re a village or city, you can exercise home rule and say no, but rural towns cannot.”

  That authority is with the state through the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC), Deslauriers said, which writes the rules allowing turbine companies to ignore property rights and the health of families.

  “This leaves communities to focus their fight on the devastating health and safety impacts,” Deslauriers said.

  Townships pay a heavy price just to fight the projects, Deslauriers said.

  “The money that we went through locally to stop it last time was an incredible expense for blue-collar families,” Deslauriers said.

  Still, they keep fighting, with little sign of relief from lawmakers on either side of the aisle.

  “The rules that have been put in place are the worst statewide rules in the country,” he said. “It’s the small individual communities that are bearing the massive cost to fight these international wind companies.”

  Lawmakers—both Republican and Democrat—refuse to return the power to regulate wind development to the communities where impacts are felt, he said.

  “These communities have been left to use their very limited resources to fight these guys with all their might, and it’s bankrupting people,” Deslauriers said. “Wind developers leave families split, neighbors fighting, and communities broken. It’s criminal.”

  The Epoch Times contacted RWE Clean Energy, Invenergy, and PSC of Wisconsin for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 20:30

• Is Self-Defense Becoming Illegal?
  Is Self-Defense Becoming Illegal?

  Authored by Joshua Philipp via The Epoch Times,

  If someone you love were threatened, or physically attacked, do you have the right to defend them? And even more so, when police are being defunded and when criminals are being released on the streets, do you have a right to protect yourself?

  

  Do you have to just let things happen?

  Must you just watch while innocent people are victimized by criminals?

  Well, that’s the question currently on trial in New York.

  That’s the case of Jordan Neely.

  Now, if you read most news outlets on the left, you’ll hear the 30-year-old black man was a street performer and Michael Jackson impersonator.

  You’ll also hear that his friends said he was a sweet kid, and that he later suffered from mental disabilities and became homeless.

  If you read news outlets on the right, you’ll hear that he was arrested 42 times between 2013 and 2021.

  In 2015, he was convicted of trying to kidnap a 7-year-old girl in Inwood, Queens, and was sentenced to four months in jail. Then, in 2021, he was arrested for punching a 67-year-old woman in the face as she exited a subway train in New York’s East Village, breaking her nose and fracturing her orbital bone.

  He pleaded guilty, and while facing 15 months in an alternative-to-incarceration program, he skipped his court date, and had a warrant out for his arrest since February.

  Both sides of Neely’s story are true. He was a talented dancer who suffered from mental problems, and had become a criminal menace. The New York justice system repeatedly let him off the hook. Even outside of his arrests, people were posting online about personal experiences of being threatened or attacked by Neely.

  And then, on May 1, Neely was allegedly threatening passengers on a New York subway car until a former U.S. Marine intervened; he restrained Neely with a chokehold while two other men helped subdue him. After Neely lost consciousness, the men placed Neely in a recovery position, and yet, Neely died.

  Nobody was initially charged. Video of the incident, which was limited to when Neely had already been restrained, was quickly picked up by political actors to play into the country’s race narratives.

  Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) of New York wrote on Twitter a couple days later that “Jordan Neely was murdered.” She claimed he was “houseless and crying for food in a time when the city is raising rents and stripping services to militarize itself while many in power demonize the poor.”

  She said it was “disgusting” that the man who allegedly killed Neely wasn’t charged.

  Others on the far left came forward also to criticize the case as being about race, and to suggest that justice was needed, although, even among Democrats, not everyone was in agreement.

  The political attacks sounded like a dog whistle to radical groups in New York. There were no major protests like those that were common with the Black Lives Matter summer riots a few years back, although a few dozen protesters went viral when they jumped on the subway tracks and forced a Q train to slam on its brakes.

  It also turned out the protesters weren’t grassroots protesters. They were with an organization called Voices of Community Activists and Leaders, which has funding from billionaires including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg through the FWD.us Education Fund, and radical left billionaire George Soros through his Open Society Foundations.

  It also turned out that the radical organization that staged the subway protest had previously teamed up in other protests with the Young Communist League of the Communist Party USA.

  The outright communist group also was involved in the Neely protests, and stated in a tweet, “Thank you to all our comrades who answered the call today! We’re just getting started!”

  The communist connection to the staged protests brings the whole incident full circle, right back to Ocasio-Cortez being the frontrunner in calling for charges in the case. Justine Medina, a former AOC aide, is a member of the executive committee of the New York State Communist Party, and is co-chair of the New York Young Communist League. That’s the same group that staged the subway protest.

  The People’s World website notes, “Justine Medina is a co-chair of the New York Young Communist League. She’s also been involved in Democratic Socialists of America and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaigns for Congress.”

  So let’s dig into this…

  • Soros finances the campaigns of radical district attorneys who let criminals off the hook.

  • A criminal is killed by people defending themselves when the city’s justice system fails.

  • A radical Congress member, whose political campaign was notably assisted by a media network with funding from Soros, comes out and calls for arrests.

  • Then, a radical group funded by Soros stages a protest, while being backed by a communist group tied to that same politician, also calling for arrests.

  Seems to be a lot of overlap here.

  Regardless of the Soros “above and below” strategy at play, former U.S. Marine Daniel Penny was arrested in Neely’s death. He’s now facing a felony charge of second-degree manslaughter, although he holds that he acted in self-defense.

  So is this really about crime, then? Is it really about justice? Or is it about something else? Well, it’s not clear. But what we can say is that the narratives aren’t lining up. Many politicians who called for Penny’s arrest were simultaneously criticizing the use of justice. They were noting that young men are being sent to prison, when, in reality, many just need help. Yet, they did this while also calling for Penny to be sent to prison.

  Others were more direct. Others suggested this may not be about manslaughter, or about justice, or even about mental health. Instead, they’re saying this is about race.

  New York Mayor Eric Adams flip-flopped on that point. He first criticized AOC for claiming that Penny murdered Neely. Then, Adams brought race-based narratives to the case.

  For conservatives, it’s not about race. Instead, it’s about whether you’re allowed to defend yourself. The case has become a symbol of what’s wrong with defunding the police, and about whether people are being selectively prosecuted, based not on crime, but on the color of their skin.

  When people such as Adams make it about race, other people start wondering if the case would be treated differently if race wasn’t an issue.

  That’s partly why people like musician Kid Rock donated $5,000 to Penny’s defense fund, criticized New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and declared that Penny is a hero. It’s why even politicians such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are getting on board to fundraise for Penny.

  And it’s also why people are now bringing up the idea of self-defense. Al Sharpton, for example, was stating that if Penny wasn’t charged, it would encourage others to become vigilantes.

  This is the point where many cities in the United States find themselves. The common view, at least among conservatives, is this: Police have been made unable to do their jobs, the courts appear to have a swinging door, and violent individuals such as Neely are allowed to attack, harass, and generally menace people.

  So, if nobody will protect you, what are your options? Even if you see others being attacked or harassed, should you do anything to help them? Should you allow them to be attacked? Or do you want to risk going to prison simply for stepping up to help?

  In 2021, we watched in shock at what took place in the Philadelphia area, when a woman was raped on a train. Passengers did nothing to help her. They listened to her cries, and they allowed it to happen. It raised the question of what we become as a society if people don’t stand up against evil, what happens when good people don’t come forward? And even more so, what will we become when good people aren’t allowed to intervene?

  In the natural world, self-defense is written into the DNA of life. Even bugs have the means to defend themselves. Nearly every creature on earth has been given by God a means to defend itself, whether claws, or teeth, or stingers, or other means.

  Humans create tools, like swords and guns, to defend ourselves. And this has held true throughout all human history. The right to self-defense is the right to life. And the right to guard life is one the main pillars of law.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 19:30

• Exxon Crushes Progressive Dreams That "Net Zero" Has Any Chance By 2050: It Would Mean Collapse In "Global Standard Of Living"
  Exxon Crushes Progressive Dreams That “Net Zero” Has Any Chance By 2050: It Would Mean Collapse In “Global Standard Of Living”

  In a world of suffocating snowflakery, ESG hypocrisy and, well… Tranheuser Busch, a corporation telling the truth without fear of reprisals from the Open Society-funded virtue signaling cabal is rarer than an mRNA-injected, genetically engineered hen’s teeth. And yet that’s what the company hated by every progressive, Exxon Mobil, did this week when it became the first corporation to denounce the insidious and laughable claims that “net zero” is even a remote possibility by 2050.

  The US supermajor pushed back against investors pressing the company to report on the risks to its business from restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions and potential environmental disasters when in a reply to proxy advisor Glass Lewis, Exxon said the prospect of the world achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 is remote and should not be further evaluated in its financial statements.

  A shareholder proposal seeking a report on the cost of having to abandon projects faces a shareholder vote on May 31. Glass Lewis backed the initiative, concluding Exxon could face material financial risks from the net-zero scenario.

  Exxon disagreed, and said the world is not on a path to achieve net-zero emissions in 2050 as limiting energy production to levels below consumption demand would lead to a spike in energy prices, as observed in Europe following oil sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

  Exxon, is of course, correct however that won’t stop the green fanatics from beating the drum that somehow the world can transition to “green” energy (at a cost of some $150 trillion mind you) in the next 27 years without an energy cataclysm. 

  At the heart of the issue is the 2050 net-zero emissions (NZE) scenario of the International Energy Agency (IEA) which envisions a path to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. For the NZE scenario to be met, the IEA had hilariously said new oil exploration would have to have stopped in 2021 and nations would have to switch to renewable energy from fossil fuels (good luck with that). Exxon is among the companies heavily investing in new exploration to generate oil and gas for decades to come, and in retrospect, one can thank their deity of choice for Exxon’s decision to do so as opposed to sending the world back into the dark ages, an outcome which so many from the World Economic Forum seems to aspire to.

  “It is clear that the IEA NZE does not, by the scenario authors’ own assessment, meet the level of likelihood required to be considered in our financial statements,” Exxon said in a response filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday.

  “It is highly unlikely that society would accept the degradation in global standard of living required to permanently achieve a scenario like the IEA NZE,” Exxon said in dismissing the proposal.

  

  Exxon also rebutted the woke proxy firm’s recommendation that it evaluate the impacts of a worst-case oil spill at its offshore Guyanese oil platforms. Exxon leads a consortium responsible for all of Guyana’s offshore oil production and its board has recommended against the proposal.

  “The requested report clearly would not provide new, decision-useful information,” Exxon said, adding the shareholder request “ignore(s) the time, additional cost, and resources every report takes for the company to prepare.”

  As for the IEA, instead of targeting those companies – which despite every effort by the senile US president to drain the US SPR and make the country once again dependent on outside energy sources – are doing everything in their power to retain US energy independence, perhaps it should bring its message to downtown Beijing. We are confident that China will listen to their pimply teenager-inspired “proposals” in a cool, calm and collected manner.

  

   

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 19:00

• G-7 Leaders Respond To China’s Economic Bullying At Hiroshima Summit, Warn Of 'Consequences'
  G-7 Leaders Respond To China’s Economic Bullying At Hiroshima Summit, Warn Of ‘Consequences’

  Authored by Emel Akan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Economic security was a major focus on the second day of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Hiroshima, with leaders outlining actions to counter Beijing’s “economic coercion” and non-market practices.

  The G-7 countries—the United States, the UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, France, and Italy—announced on May 20 their plan to address the “disturbing rise in incidents of economic coercion.”

  “We will work together to ensure that attempts to weaponize economic dependencies by forcing G7 members and our partners, including small economies to comply and conform will fail and face consequences,” the G-7 leaders’ statement on economic security read.

  “We express serious concern over economic coercion and call on all countries to refrain from its use.”

  

  National security advisor Jake Sullivan, who briefed reporters on May 20 on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit, said the leaders agreed to deploy “a common set of tools” to confront China’s economic coercion.

  “These economic security tools will include steps to build resilience in our supply chains. They will also include steps to protect sensitive technology, like export controls and outbound investment measures,” Sullivan said.

  However, the leaders are emphasizing that their goal is to de-risk, not decouple from China.

  “Our policy approaches are not designed to harm China nor do we seek to thwart China’s economic progress and development,” according to the G-7 Summit communique released on May 20.

  “A growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest. We are not decoupling or turning inwards. At the same time, we recognize that economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying.”

  Leveraging Economic Power

  In recent years, China has increased its efforts to leverage its economic might to force political change around the world.

  For example, after Australia called for an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19 in April 2020, the communist regime announced trade sanctions on select Australian products.

  

  The Chinese regime’s economic coercion of Australia has served as a “wake-up call” to other countries, Liz Truss, the UK’s Foreign Secretary at the time, warned.

  There have been other instances of Chinese coercion in the past, including with Japan, which saw Chinese shipments of rare earth metals blocked due to a territorial dispute in 2010. South Korea faced business boycotts from China in 2017 after installing a U.S. missile defense system. And recently, Beijing retaliated against Lithuania after it attempted to strengthen ties with Taiwan.

  China has recently pressured U.S. companies as well. For example, in reaction to the United States placing export bans on advanced semiconductors, Beijing launched a probe into memory chip company Micron. Furthermore, in March, Chinese police stormed the Beijing office of Mintz Group, an American due diligence firm, and detained five Chinese citizens working for the company. Later, Chinese police questioned employees at the Shanghai branch of Bain & Co., an American consulting firm.

  UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned about China’s growing economic coercion.

  “We should be clear-eyed about the growing challenge we face. China is engaged in a concerted and strategic economic contest,” Sunak said in his remarks before the meeting on May 20.

  To address these issues, the G-7 leaders have announced the formation of a new “G7 Coordination Platform on Economic Coercion.”

  The new platform “will address the growing and pernicious use of coercive economic measures to interfere in the sovereign affairs of other states,” Sunak said.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 18:30

• Lawmakers Scrutinize Executive Bonuses At Collapsed Banks
  Lawmakers Scrutinize Executive Bonuses At Collapsed Banks

  After several years during the pandemic in which bonuses exploded higher, reality is once again bearing down on the Wall Street gravy train, as regulators target banker paydays in the wake of Silicon Valley Bank’s blowup and the ensuing regional banking chaos that followed. 

  Democratic lawmakers are scrutinizing executives at Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank and the pay and bonuses they earned in the time leading up to each banks’ respective implosion, Bloomberg wrote in a wrap up this week. 

  Bloomberg notes that during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Thursday, lawmakers including Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Michael Barr, vice chair for supervision at the Federal Reserve, and Michael Hsu, acting head of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency targeted adopting new incentive-based compensation rules. 

  The rules were originally products of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act with the purpose of discouraging risk-taking in the banking sector. 

  

  Such risk taking led to a tsunami of withdrawals from Silicon Valley Bank, which now infamously saw more than $40 billion in deposits pulled from the bank in just a matter of hours. The pace of withdrawals “took regulators by surprise”, Bloomberg wrote, leading to the banks being taken over by the government. 

  Meanwhile, former executives from the banks have retained bonuses they “earned” in their time leading up to the collapse. They have attested that they didn’t mismanage risk, but rather that (1) the Fed put the banks in an “unprecedented” position, as SVB’s CEO testified in front of congress this week and that (2) contagion from other collapses were to blame. 

  In other words, it’s everybody’s fault but the banking executives who put their banks in such precarious positions to begin with.

  Democratic Senator Christopher Van Hollen said this week: “The bank executives manipulated profits in a way to increase their risks and made no changes to the compensation structure to account for that risk.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 18:00

• Biden Administration's New Mortgage Policy: Unjust And Dangerous
  Biden Administration’s New Mortgage Policy: Unjust And Dangerous

  Authored by Andy Matthews via RealClear Wire,

  One of the essential lessons most of us are taught early in life is the importance of developing a sense of financial responsibility.

  

  Work hard to earn a good paycheck. Don’t spend more than you can afford. Save for the future.

  Eventually, following these steps will land you in a position where you can afford some of the nicer things life has to offer. Behaving in a financially responsible way isn’t always fun in the moment – but it’s well worth it when you get to reap the rewards of your good decisions later on, as you’re able to enjoy more and more of the things you want and need.

  It’s one of the most fundamental principles of our society, and it’s also rooted in one of the basic realities of human nature: Incentivize good behavior, and you’ll get more of it.

  But what happens when the incentive structure becomes inverted? We’re about to find out, because that’s what’s going to occur thanks to a new Biden administration policy that took effect on May 1.

  The new Federal Housing Finance Agency policy will force those with good credit scores to pay more for their mortgages each month, with those extra payments used to subsidize the loans of higher-risk borrowers. Experts say that homebuyers with credit scores of 680 or higher will now pay roughly $40 per month more on a home loan of $400,000, with those who make down payments of 15 to 20% hit with the highest fees. It amounts to a tax increase on the middle class, and it’s atrocious in every way imaginable.

  For starters, it is fundamentally unjust and absurd to impose a policy that punishes those who have acted responsibly, sacrificed, and worked hard toward a secure financial future for themselves and their families. That’s why I was honored to join a coalition of 34 state financial officers from around the country, led by Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity, in signing a letter to the Biden administration voicing opposition.

  But this new policy is more than simply unfair. It’s also deeply reckless. The 2008 financial crisis and mortgage meltdown offered a painful lesson in what happens when government intervenes to push those who cannot afford a home loan to take one and to undermine the critical role that credit scores play in assessing a prospective borrower’s risk level. My home state of Nevada was hit the hardest by that crisis, suffering under the highest rates of foreclosures and unemployment in the entire nation. And Nevadans will once again be put in a position of exceptional vulnerability under the Biden administration’s new policy.

  For its part, the administration defends its policy on the grounds that it’s simply trying to close a gap in house ownership between higher- and lower-income Americans. The administration also anticipates some political gain through what is merely the latest of its many wealth redistribution schemes.

  But while increasing opportunities for home ownership is a laudable goal, the right way to accomplish this is by taking steps to eliminate unnecessary regulations, reduce inflation, and bring down energy costs – not to subvert basic market principles to political considerations.

  If political advantage is what the Biden administration is indeed expecting here, they may be in for a harsh surprise. The more Americans learn about this new policy, the more they are rightly outraged and insulted that the administration would adopt a plan that perversely punishes responsible behavior and removes Americans’ incentives to manage their finances wisely and prudently.

  The administration should reverse course immediately.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 17:30

• "Deep Level Of Corruption": Gen. Flynn Condemns FBI Following Durham Report
  “Deep Level Of Corruption”: Gen. Flynn Condemns FBI Following Durham Report

  Retired US Army Gen. Michael Flynn says that the United States needs to address the corruption revealed in the Durham report released on Monday.

  

  “What people need to really stay focused on is this deep, deep level of corruption in our federal government, particularly starting in the White House,” Flynn told NTD News‘ “Capitol Report” host Steve Lance.

  Durham’s report detailed corruption at the highest levels of the FBI to use a Clinton Campaign-funded propaganda dossier they knew was a hoax, in order to take down – and then smear, Donald Trump and his campaign.

  The report concluded that “neither U.S. law enforcement nor the Intelligence Community appears to have possessed any actual evidence of collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia. The report also notes that on Aug. 3, 2016, a White House meeting between former President Obama, then-VP Joe Biden, former AG Loretta Lynch, then-CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey – where Brennan briefed those in the room about Clinton’s plan to undermine Trump by tying him to Russian election interference efforts.

  In response to the Durham report, the FBI said that it had taken corrective action to address the issued raised.

  Flynn says it’s BS.

  “They weren’t missteps, those were criminal acts by the highest levels of people in our FBI and other elements and other people inside of the Department of Justice,” he told NTD News. “And today that problem is not fixed. Look at what we’re learning from the whistleblowers.”

  Flynn then pointed to the FBI’s plan to infiltrate Catholic churches and other organizations in order to root out “radical-traditionalist Catholic” ideology, after a document was leaked from the FBI’s Richmond Field Office describing the endeavor. The agency has since disavowed the record, saying that it “does not meet the exacting standards” of the bureau.

  “This assault on Catholics, as an example—that’s just one example, the assault on Catholics and on the Latin Mass. I mean, that little thing alone that’s out of the Richmond office of the FBI, by the special agent in charge there,” said Flynn. “These are not things that are minor things. These are big, big deals. That’s just one example, you know, in addition to the politicization and the weaponization of the FBI that’s being additionally brought out by these whistleblowers, and it’s still ongoing.”

  Flynn thinks both FBI Director Chris Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland are unfit to serve.

  “And I think that impeachment proceedings need to start at the highest levels of our government, and I think it needs to start right behind the Roosevelt desk in the Oval Office,” Flynn said, referring to Biden.

  The retired three-star general also weighed in over an alleged accounting error of up to $3 billion in Ukraine aid.

  “The Pentagon, always, always overestimates everything. I don’t care whether it’s food, ammunition, people, battlefield operations, battlefield casualties, they always, always overestimate,” said Flynn. “In this case, because of the scrutiny that we have, by the American people right now on everything going on from this government, particularly everything going on over in the Ukraine, they needed to, they should have done a far better job before they actually put the data together.”

  While he sees this accounting issue as part of a larger trend, Flynn said this particular accounting error has caught people’s attention because of how much money U.S. taxpayers have already given to Ukraine. -NTD

  “If it was $3 million, maybe even $30 million, nobody would—we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but $3 billion, you know, that kind of money, when you break it down to the American people—the American people are just, they’re livid about $170 billion going over to Ukraine, and God knows where it’s going, and it doesn’t look like things are going well in the war over there,” said Flynn. “So a $3 billion oversight. So now it’s like, ‘Well, where is it?’ So is there going to be investigation? Well I’m sure there will be, and then we’ll never hear anything else about it, and come to find out—it’ll be one of those dollar amounts that somebody basically walked away with.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 17:00

• Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch Shreds Lockdown Authoritarianism
  Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch Shreds Lockdown Authoritarianism

  Via the Brownstone Institute,

  In a statement made today on a case concerning Title 42, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch breaks the painful silence on the topic of lockdowns and mandates, and presents the truth with startling clarity.

  

  Importantly, this statement from the Supreme Court comes as so many other agencies, intellectuals, and journalists are in flat-out denial of what happened to the country. 

  [T]he history of this case illustrates the disruption we have experienced over the last three years in how our laws are made and our freedoms observed.

  Since March 2020, we may have experienced the greatest intrusions on civil liberties in the peacetime history of this country. Executive officials across the country issued emergency decrees on a breathtaking scale. Governors and local leaders imposed lockdown orders forcing people to remain in their homes.

  They shuttered businesses and schools public and private. They closed churches even as they allowed casinos and other favored businesses to carry on. They threatened violators not just with civil penalties but with criminal sanctions too.

  They surveilled church parking lots, recorded license plates, and issued notices warning that attendance at even outdoor services satisfying all state social-distancing and hygiene requirements could amount to criminal conduct. They divided cities and neighborhoods into color-coded zones, forced individuals to fight for their freedoms in court on emergency timetables, and then changed their color-coded schemes when defeat in court seemed imminent.

  Federal executive officials entered the act too. Not just with emergency immigration decrees. They deployed a public-health agency to regulate landlord-tenant relations nationwide.They used a workplace-safety agency to issue a vaccination mandate for most working Americans.

  They threatened to fire noncompliant employees, and warned that service members who refused to vaccinate might face dishonorable discharge and confinement. Along the way, it seems federal officials may have pressured social-media companies to suppress information about pandemic policies with which they disagreed.

  While executive officials issued new emergency decrees at a furious pace, state legislatures and Congress—the bodies normally responsible for adopting our laws—too often fell silent. Courts bound to protect our liberties addressed a few—but hardly all—of the intrusions upon them. In some cases, like this one, courts even allowed themselves to be used to perpetuate emergency public-health decrees for collateral purposes, itself a form of emergency-lawmaking-by-litigation.

  Doubtless, many lessons can be learned from this chapter in our history, and hopefully serious efforts will be made to study it. One lesson might be this: Fear and the desire for safety are powerful forces. They can lead to a clamor for action—almost any action—as long as someone does something to address a perceived threat. 

  A leader or an expert who claims he can fix everything, if only we do exactly as he says, can prove an irresistible force. We do not need to confront a bayonet, we need only a nudge, before we willingly abandon the nicety of requiring laws to be adopted by our legislative representatives and accept rule by decree. Along the way, we will accede to the loss of many cherished civil liberties—the right to worship freely, to debate public policy without censorship, to gather with friends and family, or simply to leave our homes. 

  We may even cheer on those who ask us to disregard our normal lawmaking processes and forfeit our personal freedoms. Of course, this is no new story. Even the ancients warned that democracies can degenerate toward autocracy in the face of fear.

  But maybe we have learned another lesson too. The concentration of power in the hands of so few may be efficient and sometimes popular. But it does not tend toward sound government. However wise one person or his advisors may be, that is no substitute for the wisdom of the whole of the American people that can be tapped in the legislative process.

  Decisions produced by those who indulge no criticism are rarely as good as those produced after robust and uncensored debate. Decisions announced on the fly are rarely as wise as those that come after careful deliberation. Decisions made by a few often yield unintended consequences that may be avoided when more are consulted. Autocracies have always suffered these defects. Maybe, hopefully, we have relearned these lessons too.

  In the 1970s, Congress studied the use of emergency decrees. It observed that they can allow executive authorities to tap into extraordinary powers. Congress also observed that emergency decrees have a habit of long outliving the crises that generate them; some federal emergency proclamations, Congress noted, had remained in effect for years or decades after the emergency in question had passed.

  At the same time, Congress recognized that quick unilateral executive action is sometimes necessary and permitted in our constitutional order. In an effort to balance these considerations and ensure a more normal operation of our laws and a firmer protection of our liberties, Congress adopted a number of new guardrails in the National Emergencies Act.

  Despite that law, the number of declared emergencies has only grown in the ensuing years. And it is hard not to wonder whether, after nearly a half-century and in light of our Nation’s recent experience, another look is warranted. It is hard not to wonder, too, whether state legislatures might profitably reexamine the proper scope of emergency executive powers at the state level. 

  At the very least, one can hope that the Judiciary will not soon again allow itself to be part of the problem by permitting litigants to manipulate our docket to perpetuate a decree designed for one emergency to address another. Make no mistake—decisive executive action is sometimes necessary and appropriate. But if emergency decrees promise to solve some problems, they threaten to generate others. And rule by indefinite emergency edict risks leaving all of us with a shell of a democracy and civil liberties just as hollow.

  Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion in Arizona v. Mayorkas marks the culmination of his three-year effort to oppose the Covid regime’s eradication of civil liberties, unequal application of law, and political favoritism. From the outset, Gorsuch remained vigilant as public officials used the pretext of Covid to augment their power and strip the citizenry of its rights in defiance of long standing constitutional principles. 

  While other justices (even some purported constitutionalists) absconded their responsibility to uphold the Bill of Rights, Gorsuch diligently defended the Constitution. This became most apparent in the Supreme Court’s cases involving religious liberty in the Covid era. 

  Beginning in May 2020, the Supreme Court heard cases challenging Covid restrictions on religious attendance across the country. The Court was divided along familiar political lines: the liberal bloc of Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan voted to uphold deprivations of liberty as a valid exercise of states’ police power; Justice Gorsuch led conservatives Alito, Kavanaugh, and Thomas in challenging the irrationality of the edicts; Chief Justice Roberts sided with the liberal bloc, justifying his decision by deferring to public health experts. 

  “Unelected judiciary lacks the background, competence, and expertise to assess public health and is not accountable to the people,” Roberts wrote in South Bay v. Newsom, the first Covid case to reach the Court. 

  And so the Court repeatedly upheld executive orders attacking religious liberty. In South Bay, the Court denied a California church’s request to block state restrictions on church attendance in a five to four decision. Roberts sided with the liberal bloc, urging deference to the public health apparatus as constitutional freedoms disappeared from American life. 

  In July 2020, the Court again split 5-4 and denied a church’s emergency motion for injunctive relief against Nevada’s Covid restrictions. Governor Steve Sisolak capped religious gatherings at 50 people, regardless of the precautions taken or the size of the establishment. The same order allowed for other groups, including casinos, to hold up to 500 people. The Court, with Chief Justice Roberts joining the liberal justices again, denied the motion in an unsigned motion without explanation. 

  Justice Gorsuch issued a one paragraph dissent that exposed the hypocrisy and irrationality of the Covid regime. “Under the Governor’s edict, a 10-screen ‘multiplex’ may host 500 moviegoers at any time. A casino, too, may cater to hundreds at once, with perhaps six people huddled at each craps table here and a similar number gathered around every roulette wheel there,” he wrote. But the Governor’s lockdown order imposed a 50-worshiper limit for religious gatherings, no matter the buildings’ capacities. 

  “The First Amendment prohibits such obvious discrimination against the exercise of religion,” Gorsuch wrote. “But there is no world in which the Constitution permits Nevada to favor Caesars Palace over Calvary Chapel.”

  Gorsuch understood the threat to Americans’ liberties, but he was powerless with Chief Justice Roberts cowing to the interests of the public health bureaucracy. That changed when Justice Ginsburg died in September 2020.

  The following month, Justice Barrett joined the Court and reversed the Court’s 5-4 split on religious freedom in the Covid era. The following month, the Court granted an emergency injunction to block Governor Cuomo’s executive order that limited attendance at religious services to 10 to 25 people. 

  Gorsuch was now in the majority, protecting Americans from the tyranny of unconstitutional edicts. In a concurring opinion in the New York case, he again compared restrictions on secular activities and religious gatherings; “according to the Governor, it may be unsafe to go to church, but it is always fine to pick up another bottle of wine, shop for a new bike, or spend the afternoon exploring your distal points and meridians… Who knew public health would so perfectly align with secular convenience?”

  In February 2021, California religious organizations appealed for an emergency injunction against Governor Newsom’s Covid restriction. At the time, Newsom prohibited indoor worship in certain areas and banned singing. Chief Justice Roberts, joined by Kavanaugh and Barrett, upheld the ban on singing but overturned the capacity limits.

  Gorsuch wrote a separate opinion, joined by Thomas and Alito, that continued his critique of the authoritarian and irrational deprivations of America’s liberty as Covid entered its second year. He wrote, “Government actors have been moving the goalposts on pandemic-related sacrifices for months, adopting new benchmarks that always seem to put restoration of liberty just around the corner.” 

  Like his opinions in New York and Nevada, he focused on the disparate treatment and political favoritism behind the edicts; “if Hollywood may host a studio audience or film a singing competition while not a single soul may enter California’s churches, synagogues, and mosques, something has gone seriously awry.”

  Thursday’s opinion allowed Gorsuch to review the devastating loss of liberty Americans suffered over the 1,141 days it took to flatten the curve.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 16:30

• Musk Demands AP Back Claims Or Retract Article Over 'Unchecked' Stolen Election Tweets
  Musk Demands AP Back Claims Or Retract Article Over ‘Unchecked’ Stolen Election Tweets

  Elon Musk has told AP to put up or shut up – after the outlet published an article alleging that “false claims of a stolen election thrive unchecked on Twitter,” refuting Musk’s claims during a CNBC interview that such claims would be fact checked on the platform.

  

  “Either back up your claims @AP with actual source data or retract your story,” Musk tweeted on Friday.

  Either back up your claims @AP with actual source data or retract your story

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 19, 2023

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

  The May 18 article written by Ali Swenson, who previously worked at a Magneto-funded fact checking nonprofit, the Center for Public Integrity, cites the CNBC interview in which Musk said that claims of stolen election on Twitter “will be corrected, 100 percent.”

  Musk was responding to host David Faber, who asked about Twitter users claiming that the 2020 election was “rigged” or “stolen” and whether such tweets would be tagged with a community note or face other actions.

  “To be clear, I don’t think it was a stolen election,” Musk replied, with the caveat that he believes there was some election fraud.

  “By the same token, if somebody is going to say that there is never any election fraud anywhere, this is obviously false. If 100 million people vote, the probability that the fraud is zero—is zero,” he added, before noting that it’s important to strike a balance in discussions regarding election integrity.

  🚨BREAKING: Elon Musk Does NOT Believe 2020 Election Was Stolen

  In an interview with David Faber, Elon Musk, made a significant statement by expressing his belief that the 2020 election was not stolen.

  This statement goes against the claims made by some who allege fraud in the… pic.twitter.com/SwN4uen115

  — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 16, 2023

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

  Regardless, people in America are allowed to question the outcome of elections – like Democrats did in 2016 when Hillary Clinton kicked off her self-pity tour – so CNBC and AP and the rest of them can pound sand with that little purity test.

  According to the Associated Press article, since former President Donald Trump held a CNN town hall in which he reiterated his claims that the 2020 election was stolen, such claims have spread on Twitter.

  “Yet many such claims have thrived on Twitter in the week since former President Donald Trump spent much of a CNN town hall digging in on his lie that the 2020 election was ‘rigged’ against him,” reads Swenson’s article, which provides no evidence. “Twitter posts that amplified those false claims have thousands of shares with no visible enforcement, a review of posts on the platform shows.”

  The article cites media intelligence from firm Zignal Labs, which claims without evidence to have identified the 10 most widely shared tweets promoting a “rigged election” narrative following the town hall.

  “While Twitter has a system in place for users to add context to misleading tweets, the 10 posts, which collectively amassed more than 43,000 retweets, had no such notes attached,” AP claimed – again without evidence.

  More via the Epoch Times,

  In his town hall appearance on CNN, Trump reiterated his view that the 2020 election was stolen.

  The former president said that he performed “fantastically” in 2020, doing “far better” than in 2016 with 12 million more votes.

  “When you look at that result and when you look at what happened during that election, unless you’re a very stupid person, you see what happens,” Trump said before adding that he believes the election was “rigged.”

  “That was a rigged election, and it’s a shame that we had to go through it. It’s very bad for our country. All over the world, they looked at it, and they saw exactly what everyone else saw,” Trump said.

  Donald Trump reaffirms his position on the 2020 election being stolen 🗳️ pic.twitter.com/DF0Ne0j3KR

  — Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 11, 2023

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

  He pointed to the Twitter Files disclosures as an indication of apparent collusion between the FBI and Twitter to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story in the run-up to the election, which Trump said, “made a big difference.”

  The seventh installment of the Musk-endorsed Twitter Files claimed that there was an “organized effort” on the part of federal law enforcement to target social media companies that reported on the explosive Hunter Biden laptop story, which was first published by the New York Post.

  Hunter Biden Laptop Story

  In the run-up to the 2020 election, the New York Post published a story about a laptop abandoned at a computer repair shop that purportedly belonged to Hunter Biden and contained emails suggesting that then-candidate Joe Biden had knowledge of, and was allegedly involved in, his son’s foreign business dealings.

  The New York Post’s story titled “Smoking-gun Email Reveals How Hunter Biden Introduced Ukrainian Businessman to VP Dad” was published on Oct. 14, 2020.

  Twitter first prevented sharing of the story for 24 hours before reversing the decision. However, the story did not circulate on the platform for weeks because of a policy requiring the original poster to delete and repost the original tweet.

  Polling has indicated that if the public had been aware of the suppressed story ahead of the election, it may have cost then presidential candidate Joe Biden several percentage points of voters—possibly enough to thwart his bid for the White House.

  “In Twitter Files #7, we present evidence pointing to an organized effort by representatives of the intelligence community (IC), aimed at senior executives at news and social media companies, to discredit leaked information about Hunter Biden before and after it was published,” wrote author Michael Shellenberger, who released screenshots on Dec. 19, 2022, that appeared to show message exchanges between top Twitter officials and the FBI in October 2020.

  The FBI told The Epoch Times in an earlier emailed statement that it had only offered general warnings to Twitter about foreign election interference and never pushed for the platform to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story.

  Former Twitter executives have conceded that they made a mistake by blocking the Hunter Biden laptop story but denied that they were pressured to suppress the story by law enforcement.

  However, documents filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) show that the FBI warned Twitter explicitly of a “hack-and-leak operation involving Hunter Biden” ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

  Twitter’s former head of site integrity Yoel Roth made the remarks in a signed declaration (pdf) attached to a Dec. 21, 2020 letter to the FEC’s Office of Complaints Examination and Legal Administration on behalf of Twitter.

  Roth said in the attached declaration that he was told by the FBI at a series of meetings ahead of the 2020 election that the agency warned of the threat of hacked materials being distributed on social media platforms.

  “I was told in these meetings that the intelligence community expected that individuals associated with political campaigns would be subject to hacking attacks and that material obtained through those hacking attacks would likely be disseminated over social media platforms, including Twitter,” Roth stated in the declaration.

  “I also learned in these meetings that there were rumors that a hack-and-leak operation would involve Hunter Biden,” Roth added.

  Roth said that Twitter’s Site Integrity Team determined that the New York Post’s articles about the laptop violated the platform’s policies on hacked materials and Twitter took action to suppress the distribution of posts sharing the articles.

  He later acknowledged that it was a mistake for Twitter to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 16:00

• Counter-Disinformation: The New Snake Oil
  Counter-Disinformation: The New Snake Oil

  Authored by Tom Wyatt via Racket News,

  The San Diego Convention Center was packed with the defense industry elite. Boeing, Northrup Grumman, Booz Allen Hamilton, and a myriad of other arms industry salesmen, hungry to peddle their wares. WEST Conference 2023 is billed as the “premier naval conference and exposition on the West Coast.” A collective of military leaders and titans of the defense industry, intermingled in incestuous harmony.

  

  It was a world with which I was well acquainted. After all, I had spent the past fifteen years in the Navy as a Special Warfare Boat Operator, using tools and weapons built by these very defense companies. My call to service came unexpectedly at the tail end of my high school senior year. I left for bootcamp on Valentine’s Day, 2007, and immediately entered the world of Naval Special Warfare upon completion. While the rest of my graduating class received tutelage at universities around the country, mine came by way of the military elite. Over a decade and a half, I received an education in Special Reconnaissance, Unconventional Warfare and tradecraft.

  Many of the friends and former colleagues I met along the way now worked for these defense contractors, and perhaps, in another life, I’d be a participant in this conference. As it turned out, I was there as a spectator only.

  I watched as a sea of suits and lanyards moved in waves throughout the lobby outside the convention floor. Thousands of exhibitors and participants waited in line to get their credentials, exchanging cards and networking as they sized up the competition. As I surveyed the crowd, I noticed something familiar in the attendees’ faces. There was a look of out-of-place discomfort. Tattoos peeking out of cuffs and collars of the business attire their bodies seemed to be rejecting. It was the look of the defense industry’s freshman class, those who had just made the leap from serving in the armed forces to being arms proliferators.

  The conference embodied the idea of the military industrial complex’s self-licking ice cream cone structure. There was no discernible line between merchandiser and consumer, just a single organism supporting itself.

  In 2021, the Revolving Door Project released a report titled “The Military-Industrial-Think Tank Complex: Conflict of Interest at the Center for a New American Security,” that trained a troubling spotlight on one of the most prominent defense-minded think tanks. 

  According to its website, the Center for a New American Society (CNAS) “is an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit organization that develops strong, pragmatic, and principled national security and defense policies.” The defense industry-funded group claims to “elevate the national security debate” by providing innovative research to policymakers and experts in the field. But given the whiff of defense industry influence around the organization, its high-level engagement with Washington’s most powerful figures raises numerous red flags. 

  A major point of concern presented by the Revolving Door Project, was, ironically CNAS’ own revolving door. According to the report, there are “16 CNAS alumni who have been selected for foreign policy and national security policy-making positions in the Biden administration.” Among them: Avril Haines, a former CNAS Board of Directors member who became Biden’s Director of National Intelligence in 2021, and Colin Kahl, the current Undersecretary of Defense Policy, a former CNAS Senior Fellow. 

  The report also includes instances of the think tank pushing agendas that directly benefit its membership, such as the collusion between CNAS and the United Arab Emirates to promote relaxed restrictions for exporting US drones. Not surprisingly, CNAS board member Neal Blue’s company, General Atomic, had an existing contract worth nearly $200 million with the UAE for drone production. The report reads:

  CNAS receives large contributions directly from defense contractors, foreign governments, and the US government; publishes research and press material that frequently supports the interests of its sponsors without proper disclosure; and even gives its financial sponsors an official oversight role in helping to shape the organization’s research.

  WEST 2023 offered yet another venue for private companies to seek out such connections, pushing an agenda that “supports the interests” of the defense industry–a kind of speed dating for the military industrial complex. And while the familiar mechanisms of war, like drones and submarines, were on display, the spotlight was on weapons of the information space.

  Panel after panel featured cybersecurity and electronic warfare experts giving discussions on information operations, artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities. The conference seemed to embody the new horizon for the defense industry: Information Warfare. 

  Counter-Terrorism to Great Power Competition

  “In hindsight, we should’ve never taken our eye off the Great Power Competition,” the counter-disinformation expert said, referring to the historical focus on traditional preparation for conflict against countries like China and Russia. Her mastery of the subject was honed over a decade through the study of forensic psychology and counter-extremism strategies. She had worked across the public and private sectors, countering the dangerous narratives of violent extremists.

  At the end of World War II, the power that had previously been distributed across multiple nations was now consolidated by the US and Soviet Union. American foreign policy entered the era of Great Power Competition (GPC), a contest for global dominance and influence pitting the two former allies in a Highlander-style deathmatch to see who prevailed as the one true superpower. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the US focused on maintaining this strategic edge, until a decade later when the towers fell. 

  After 9/11, the US reoriented its foreign policy around a new acronym: GWOT (Global War on Terror). The Spy vs. Spy tactics of the Cold War were obsolete now that the deadly effects of adversarial narratives had been demonstrated. While propaganda used by the Soviet Union (and the US, for that matter) was aimed at deceiving, disrupting and undermining the adversary, terrorist organizations focused their messaging campaigns on radicalization, targeting at-risk Muslim communities into armies of holy warriors. 

  The seemingly archaic, global network of radical Islamists tapped into the far-reaching technology of the world wide web to spread their message and indoctrinate would-be jihadists. To combat this ideological plague, the US began crafting counter-messaging tools and methodologies, giving birth to what would become an updated version of a counter-disinformation industry that had existed as far back as 1942, when Voice of America began broadcasting counter-narratives into Nazi Germany. These efforts ranged from a “whac-a-mole” style process of detecting and eliminating terrorist propaganda to enlisting moderate Muslim leaders to push a counter-message.

  

  It’s no revelation that you can’t carpet bomb an ideology, so while the concept of fighting extremist narratives online to tamp down on global terrorism seems logical on its face, according to the industry expert I interviewed, “In practice, it’s not very effective.” 

  This sentiment was affirmed by another expert in countering extremist narratives, Caroline Moreno, who formerly ran the counter-terrorism training program at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA. “Counter messaging, when it comes from the US government, loses its credibility,” said Moreno. 

  It is understandable, in an unfamiliar world of ideology-based violence and radicalization, that some trial and error would occur along the path to understanding such a complex adversary. Tactics, of course, are developed over time and situationally based. Before 9/11, the military was focused on the most logical adversary, a conventional state actor, but had to adapt to the irregular warfare landscape of counter-terrorism operations.

  The operators and ground-pounders on the frontlines get a real-world education in the necessary fluidity of such tactics, but the military monolith is often slow to adopt lessons gleaned from battle. To further complicate the matter, there are always plenty of defense industry opportunists promoting their tactics as dogma, such as the failed “hearts and minds” approach to counterinsurgency, further setting back any notion of catching up with the current threat, and the shift from the war on terror to the GPC has only exacerbated this strategic buffering. 

  The shift from counter-terrorism to GPC occurred long before the official end of the GWOT. Although some within the defense and intelligence communities saw the writing on the wall for some time, the declared pivot came in 2018 with the new National Defense Strategy, issued by then Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

  

  “Long-term strategic competitions with China and Russia,” the guidance reads,” are the principal priorities for the Department [of Defense].”

  The Pentagon, in other words, was announcing plans to take us back to a Cold War mindset. In a space-race type fashion, we would need to outfox the competition in arms, technology and influence in order to maintain our world power monopoly. Unfortunately, our drawdown in the Middle East and the swan song of the war on terror would mean a natural decrease in the defense budget, hampering any lofty dreams of competition.

  Unless, of course, the new threat required a level of spending generally associated with kinetic warfare. A little thing like the absence of active armed conflict shouldn’t stop the growth of the defense industry. And in that spirit, the Pentagon’s budget reached its highest level last year, a whopping $816 billion. 

  A Brief PRIMER on Information Operations

  During my final six years of service, in a move that seemed to parallel the national defense strategy, I shifted from Counter-Terrorism focused special boat operations to conducting sensitive intelligence activities aimed at the Great Power Competition. Our task was to clandestinely prepare the battlespace, establishing an operational environment that would give us an advantage in the event of a hot war, but more importantly, shaping the environment so that our adversary couldn’t do the same. Our best tool in this endeavor was Information Operations.

  A Joint Chiefs of Staff publication on Information Operations, Joint Publication 3-13, reads:

  Information Operations (IO) are described as the integrated employment of electronic warfare (EW), computer network operations (CNO), psychological operations (PSYOP), military deception (MILDEC), and operations security (OPSEC), in concert with specific supporting and related capabilities, to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp adversarial human and automated decision making while protecting our own.

  I’d left this world behind when I found myself at WEST 2023. Now a mere observer of the military industrial complex, I picked up a copy of Signal to orient myself to the occasion. Signal is the official magazine of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, or AFCEA, one of WEST 2023’s many sponsors. In fact, the conference had so many sponsors that it developed a funder caste system, segregating the donors into categories such as Premier, Platinum, Gold and Silver. 

  Amongst defense heavyweights Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics, was a lesser-known company down in the silver category named Primer. Primer is one of the many artificial intelligence and machine learning-focused companies orbiting the defense industry. Aside from AT&T, the silver sponsors blended together in an indistinguishable list of obscure defense contractors, and perhaps Primer would’ve remained obscure, too, had the company not acquired Yonder, an Austin, Texas-based “information integrity” company.

  Primer had already entered the disinformation space, in 2020, when it won a Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, contract with the Air Force and Special Operation Command, SOCOM, to develop the first machine learning platform to automatically identify and assess suspected disinformation. This evolution into the disinformation world was fully realized with its 2022 acquisition of Yonder, an “information integrity” company focused on detecting and disrupting disinformation campaigns online.

  Yonder, originally New Knowledge, rose to prominence when they co-authored a report to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Russian influence campaigns leading up to the 2016 Presidential election. Ironically, New Knowledge’s own foray into election meddling would make them a household name. During the 2017 Alabama Senate race, New Knowledge’s CEO, Jonathon Morgan, created a fake Facebook page and Twitter “botnet” with the intent of persuading votes for the Democratic candidate. 

  “We orchestrated an elaborate ‘false flag’ operation that planted the idea that the Moore campaign was amplified on social media by a Russian botnet,” said an internal document from Morgan’s project. 

  In another bit of controversy, New Knowledge, in the wake of the alleged Russian election meddling of 2016, helped develop a disinformation dashboard with the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, or ASD. The dashboard, named Hamilton 68, acted as a repository for supposed Twitter accounts linked to Russian influence operatives, with access limited to a select few. This was ASD’s golden tablet, and only journalists and academics could wield the seer stone. 

  Unfortunately for all involved, including the media who treated the information as gospel, the dashboard proved most successful at identifying overzealous conservatives from middle America. This legacy, and all its implications, came part and parcel with Yonder’s acquisition.

  In Primer’s catalog of machine learning products, Yonder is billed as a tool capable of identifying bad actors and narrative manipulation — Primer’s very own weapon against Information Operations. 

  Disinformation, propaganda, active measures — whatever you call it, the name of the game is Information Operations, or IO. In a war where battles are left of boom–where the strategy is to manipulate the information landscape to gain a competitive advantage over your adversary–a cat-and-mouse-like game develops.  But with the advent of the internet, and its compounding stores of information, the task of determining what is real and what is fake is too much to ask of us mere mortals. Thus the need for a Yonder-style solution.

  “I’m not a fan of the term disinformation,” the counter-disinformation expert said. 

  The statement came as a bit of throat clearing for the industry expert, as she digressed into a brief indictment of the trade she very much believes in.

  “It’s been politicized. Even though disinformation has a distinct definition, it’s now being used as a label for any unwelcome information that someone doesn’t like, even when that information is true.” 

  A new industry has developed out of the great disinformation scare. A mishmash of government, academic and private industry experts, come together to identify what is true, and what isn’t. Or at least their idea of what they would like to be true and not true. 

  Most, if not all, countries dabble in information manipulation, not to mention non-state tricksters and deception artists, so it makes sense that you would need a cross-functional team of experts for such an undertaking. And given the implications of an information governing body, a kind of truth authority, you would damn well expect that all parties involved would be aboveboard.  

  But…

  “Any industry has hucksters,” the expert said.

  The term huckster, perhaps because of its old world feel, brought to mind a scene from the Clint Eastwood film The Outlaw Josey Wales:

  The camera pans across a dusty frontier town as a carpetbagging salesman in a white suit holds the attention of a crowd, proselytizing about his magic elixir.

  “What’s in it?” a man from the crowd asks.

  “Ehh…I don’t know, various things. I’m only the salesman,” the man in the white suit replies.

  He looks the salesman up and down.

  “You drink it,” the man says as he walks off.

  The man in white looks shaken by the question. He recomposes himself before returning to the crowd.

  “Well, what can you expect from a non-believer?”

  Enter the New Snake Oil Salesman

  “You can charge more if you call it information operations,” said one veteran, working in commercial Information Operations. He asked that I not reveal the company he works for but needless to say, it is one of the many government contracted companies peddling AI driven counter-disinformation products.

  His voice was flat with a dry, matter of fact delivery. There was no surprise in this revelation, not for him at least.

  “And the higher the clearance level [of the project], the more money.”

  The second part was less surprising. Anyone familiar with government contracts will share my lack of shock. It has been my experience that government contracts are reliably unreliable. The only thing you can count on is a cronyistic leveraging of relationships within the Department of Defense (DOD). 

  One former Primer employee referred to this as the “kabuki theater”: A vague request from the government, limited by over-classification and reluctance to “give too much away,” followed by a lavish set of promises from the contract winner, despite not having the specificity to deliver a quality product. These hollow requests make it impossible for the company to even know if they can deliver their empty promises. 

  “We need a machine learning tool, capable of dissecting media posts to identify and catalog state sponsored disinformation,” a DOD contracting officer might say to a Primer account executive. 

  “What systems will this work on?” the account executive asks.

  “Classified ones.”

  “Can we have access to them? It will help us.”

  “Nope, classified.”

  “Can we at least…”

  “Nope. Here’s $10 million, good luck!”

  The end result is just what you’d expect: an overly expensive useless doodad. Any oversight from the requesting agency is unlikely to catch this before it’s too late, given they rarely have the technical expertise to know what they are asking for in the first place. 

  “I don’t even use my company’s products,” the IO expert said, “I don’t find any of it useful.”

  Even though his work is in information operations, he says it is more akin to public relations than traditional IO, just layered in secrecy for effect. This was not the first time I’d heard the comparison to the PR/ marketing world. As a matter of fact, the counter-disinformation expert suggested that many of the tools marketed to counter disinformation are simply recycled marketing products. Companies use social listening software, designed to analyze consumer wants by monitoring their online behavior, and marketing tools to construct the perfect narrative to sell their product. So to detect “bad” narratives, one only has to reverse engineer the process.

  “Marketers use these types of social listening tools to understand who their target audience is, how to best reach them, and how best to craft a viral message. Analysts can use them to understand how state-sponsored messages traverse across the internet, hopping from platform to platform, and if they’re resonating with target audiences,” the counter-disinformation expert said.

  So what? Many popular products were originally meant for some other use. Viagra was supposed to lower blood pressure, now it just redirects it. What’s the problem in finding a secondary use for a product that already exists? Nothing, provided you don’t make outlandish claims about the “new” product.

  “With Yonder, you can slice through streams of social media to gain contextual intelligence on narratives – including their authenticity and likely trajectory of amplification…Understanding the intent, affiliations, and influence of adversarial networks provides you with critical insight into emerging topics and events before they go viral.”

  Other companies in the counter-disinformation industry, like Graphika, Two Six Technologies and PeakMetrics, make similar claims using comparable marketing terminology for their AI driven products. It turns out, however, that regardless of the efficacy of these tools, the Defense Department is not equipped to handle them.

  “The tech solutions aren’t all that great,” the IO expert said. “The DOD isn’t advanced enough, doesn’t have the infrastructure to keep up with the contracted solutions”. The bureaucracy of DOD acquisitions leaves the military in a perpetual state of obsolescence, always behind the powercurve of technology and innovation of their defense industry counterparts.  

  “The US is doing a shit job at [countering] disinformation,” the IO expert said, in another bit of optimistic revelation.

  One problem is the lack of organization in the effort. While government agencies like the Department of State’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) claim to “direct, lead, synchronize, integrate, and coordinate U.S. Federal Government efforts to recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation,” the reality is a scattered series of efforts across the government and private entities. This resulting chaos is exacerbated by the fact that the GEC is largely staffed by Foreign Service Officers and contractors, who typically don’t have a background or deep understanding of IO or disinformation.

  There are, of course, actual IO professionals in the space, both on the government and private side of things. These subject matter experts are a hot commodity in the task saturated world of the counter-disinformation industry, but that doesn’t mean that any IO hack can make the grade. To ensure they get the very elite, the industry has stringent requirements: X number of years as an IO expert, an active Top Secret security clearance, SCIF (sensitive compartmentalized information facility) access, and, of course, the ever-important connections to the right people. What you end up with is a small pool of the same industry experts, playing a game of musical chairs from place to place, ensuring the same entrenched mindset manifests across all aspects of the industry.

  A Collective Paranoia

  The military is a paranoid organization. If you need proof, look no further than the posters plastered all over military installations.

  “Loose lips…might sink ships,” reads one poster.

  “He’s Watching You,” reads another. 

  The paranoia, however, is justifiable in many instances. Being the most powerful military inspires competition, and competition can be ugly. Espionage, sabotage and propaganda are always on the menu of adversary tactics to deceive and compromise.

  The modern disinformation scare has, no doubt, exacerbated this paranoia. Healthy suspicion, the kind that keeps the evildoers at bay, sometimes turns toxic, resulting in operational paralysis and rampant mistrust, setting off a chain of reactionary measures run amuck. Since the military is reactive by nature, only really employed when there is a tangible threat, our tactics to disrupt the flow of disinformation are inherently reactive as well. 

  It is due to this failed strategy that the counter-disinformation expert recommends a more proactive approach to countering, or more appropriately, preventing the fallout from potential disinformation campaigns. Her recommendations: media literacy and civic engagement. 

  A more critical media consumer, although hard to imagine at the moment, isn’t a bridge too far, yet the civic engagement angle seems to be. As skeptical as people are of the media, it pales in comparison to the distrust many Americans have for the government. But rather than entertain ideas of how to rebuild that trust, and possibly embolden local leaders and everyday citizens to take ownership of their relationship with the information they ingest and propagate, Washington seems content with deflecting the blame onto a third party.  But for any of it to work, the two recommendations would need to be approached in tandem.

  “The majority of actions in the ‘proactive’ realm revolve around making people aware of the potential for misleading/manipulated information and encouraging them to engage critically with the content they consume,” the expert explains.

  To support her claim, she directs attention to Taiwan, who reportedly receives more fake news than any other country. Rather than succumb to the overwhelming disinformation campaign, or use artificial intelligence to detect and dismantle it, Taiwan employs the counter-disinformation experts’ proactive strategy.

  To achieve this, Taiwan partners with Non-Government Organizations, or NGOs, to promote early age media literacy, which the Ministry of Education has incorporated into its teaching guidelines, along with creating fact checking tools for messaging apps and social media. It is hard to know whether these tools are any more successful than the myriad of ones offered by the burgeoning counter-disinformation industry, but Taiwan’s proactive measures signal a move in a better direction. 

  

  Perhaps initiatives like this, employed in the US and globally, can put an end to the counter-disinformation industry. It is, after all, beginning to show cracks. The recent dismantling of the Misinformation, Disinformation and Malinformation subcommittee, the murky remnants of the Department of Homeland Security’s failed Disinformation Governance Board, indicates a possible sea change. No doubt a more malevolent entity will take its place, but maybe, just maybe, this represents a retreat from the manic steps towards an Orwellian nightmare.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 15:30

• 2023: Echoes Of 1973
  2023: Echoes Of 1973

  Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

  So what’s changed? Everything, but mostly beneath the surface churn of circus and theater.

  2023 is echoing 1973 in potentially consequential ways.. It’s not just one year, of course; the entire era from 2019 echoes the era that started in 1969, when the second-order effects of postwar policies finally started kicking in.

  Consider these similarities / echoes:

  1. Major shifts in global capital and trade flows that attracted little notice start to matter in terms of currency valuations, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy and geopolitics: check.

  2. After decades of modest inflation, inflation not only rises but is sticky rather than transitory: check.

  3. Major shifts in the power structure of global oil markets: check.

  4. Cultural and social shifts become divisive, reaching destructive extremes: check.

  5. A global superpower is ensnared in a hot war in which the other side is supplied by a superpower rival: check.

  6. Political scandals upend the cozy arrangements of political elites: check.

  7. A new wave of geopolitical rivalries arise between allies and rivals alike: check.

  8. Stock and bond markets keep rallying like nothing’s changed, but since things have changed, each rally fails: check.

  Let’s focus on #8: market participants continue assuming that the past 15 years are an accurate guide to the next 15 years, unable or unwilling to face the enormity of the changes that have already occurred in the fundamental structures of state and private-sector finance and the economy. (I discuss these in my book Global Crisis, National Renewal.)

  These shifts guarantee the next 15 years will not follow the low-risk scripts of the past 15 years. I’ve explained here many times that systems have their own dynamics, and so they don’t respond to our desires or opinions or our policy tweaks. No matter how many policy tweaks you throw at diminishing returns, for example, returns still diminish–though you can mask this reality temporarily behind extremes of stimulus and other financial sleight of hand.

  Tightly bound systems, i.e. highly centralized systems, unravel far more abruptly than loosely bound systems, no matter how many fiscal or monetary policy tweaks you throw at the system.

  Path dependency and dependency chains direct what happens next and constrain policy options no matter how many policy tweaks you throw at the system.

  Emergent systems exhibit characteristics that are different from those exhibited by each of the component systems. This means that we can combine financial “innovations” that generate X and economic policies that generate Y and end up with Z (for example, the whole shebang collapses in a heap.) What If the Whole Shebang Unravels?

  Emergent systems exhibit characteristics that are different from those exhibited by each of the component systems.no matter how many policy tweaks you throw at the system because policy tweaks don’t actually add any meaningful feedback loops or change the tightly bound centralized system. All the tweaks can do is modify a parameter here or there–meaningless to the fundamental dynamics of the system as a whole.

  What’s different now is our ability to make realistic assessments has effectively collapsed. As a society and economy, we only seem capable of careening between two states:

  1. Complacency / denial

  2. Panic

  Neither are useful in problem-solving. Rather, both are toxic to problem-solving. Not only do we face an inter-connected tangle of emergent problems, we’ve frittered away our institutional and cultural ability to make realistic assessments, solve the problems in practical, pragmatic ways and agree to share the necessary sacrifices to get the train back on the tracks.

  The loss of our collective ability to solve problems means every problem is now unresolvable. The systems dynamics that will play out in the next 15 years are beyond our feeble control, our feeble understanding and our hubristic blindness to our own incapacity to actually solve difficult real-world problems that demand steep costs and long-term sacrifices.

  Note that stocks topped out in April 1973 and then crashed for a couple of years. It’s May 2023, but given the 50-year time span, that maps almost perfectly.

  

  The world has changed, but punters and speculators are still chasing the same old sectors, plays and strategies. They will continue to do so, very like for a decade or so, as in the 1970s, until they’ve exhausted their capital or have given up and exited the casino with whatever they still own.

  Governments, meanwhile, will do whatever it takes to protect their powers and elites, so the rules will change overnight and what was sacrosanct yesterday is today illegal. Those who exited the previous era with fortunes will find targets have been drawn on their backs (just ask Jack Ma how this works).

  Niceties such as “ownership”–such a slippery term, actually–will be jettisoned as essential resources are expropriated, along with the wealth parked by foreigners, and any other tempting stashes of concentrated capital.

  

  So what’s changed? Everything, but mostly beneath the surface churn of circus and theater. There is no ideal historical script that tracks the present exactly, but in rough outline, the 1970s might prove remarkable useful as a guide.

  *  *  *

  My new book is now available at a 10% discount ($8.95 ebook, $18 print): Self-Reliance in the 21st Century.  Read the first chapter for free (PDF)

  Become a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 15:30

• Russia Issues List Of 500 Americans Under Sanctions, Including Obama & Stephen Colbert
  Russia Issues List Of 500 Americans Under Sanctions, Including Obama & Stephen Colbert

  Russia has hit back at the International Criminal Court (ICC) after in March it issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which quickly resulted in a handful of European countries saying they would willingly enforce it if Putin ever landed in their territory.

  Moscow has now issued its own arrest warrant for top prosecutor at the Hague-based court Karim Khan. Russia’s Interior Ministry even officially added his photograph and file to its “wanted list” in the ministry’s database on Friday. This came also amid travel sanctions announced against a massive list of Americans and top officials.

  

  Khan is a citizen of the United Kingdom, and Russia previously warned he was being investigated for “criminal prosecution of a person known to be innocent” – a reference to Putin and the ICC’s arrest warrant. 

  However, the new wanted notice didn’t specify Khan’s offense. These tit-for-tat warrants are of course largely symbolic, but could possibly make international travel plans a matter of extra planning and caution, given Khan is now effectively banned from ever entering (or perhaps flying over) Russian territory, where he would be arrested.

  The ICC warrant against Putin, at the same time, makes the possibility of diplomacy and dialogue ever more distant. 

  Russia has also just announced a massive and growing list of Americans barred from ever entering the country, as The Washington Times details: 

  Former President Barack Obama, late-night television hosts, lawmakers and journalists, including from The Washington Times, are among “500 Americans” that Russia has banned from entering the country.

  Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the move was made “in a response to the regularly anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the Joe Biden administration.” 

  The Foreign Ministry said the list – which includes 45 members of the U.S. House, Sens. J.D. Vance of Ohio, Katie Britt of Alabama and Eric Schmit of Missouri – was composed of people who spread Russophobia, and supplied Ukraine with arms.

  Jeffrey Scott Shapiro, a columnist and commentary section editor at The Washington Times, was among the blackballed members of the media. Nick Paton Walsh, a CNN reporter and British citizen, was on the list.

  Late-night comedians Jimmy Kimmell, Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers are also on the list, along with former US Ambassador Jon Huntsman.

  Barack Obama among 500 US nationals banned from entering Russia https://t.co/nBu2aZ7gS2 pic.twitter.com/QvfuVnrAVl

  — Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) May 20, 2023

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

  Currently, President Biden and other world leaders are meeting in Hiroshima, Japan for the G7 summit, where Ukraine’s President Zelensky is present as well. High on the agenda is freshly expanded Russian sanctions, and discussions underway over how to further punish Moscow for the Ukraine war.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 15:00

• Energy Commissioner Warns Of 'Major Threats' To Power Grid
  Energy Commissioner Warns Of ‘Major Threats’ To Power Grid

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

  Hope is a powerful energy, but it won’t keep the air conditioner on when summer temperatures soar and demand for electricity skyrockets, causing an overburdened electrical grid to grind to a stop.

  

  Yet that seems to be the Biden administration’s plan in addressing warnings that nine North American regional electrical grids face an “elevated risk” of power outages this summer, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Mark Christie maintains.

  “I take it as, ‘We hope we can through the summer. We think we have a chance if the weather is normal,’” he said during a May 18 FERC meeting. “We hope we get all good news this summer.”

  Christie was critiquing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Policy & Innovation and Office of Electric Reliability responses to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)’s annual summer reliability assessment that forecasts brown-outs and black-outs across two-thirds of North America between June and September if there are “wide-area” heat waves, drought, and wildfires.

  NERC, a not-for-profit public-private entity staffed with industry representatives, provides the DOE and state regulators with reliability assessments of the electrical grid from Canada to northern Mexico.

  The commission is a subsidiary of FERC, which regulates transmission, pipelines, and interstate wholesale prices of electricity and natural gas.

  The FERC board consists of five appointed members with one seat currently vacant. There are two Democrats, including Chair Willie Phillips, and two Republicans, including Christie, who was appointed to the commission by President Donald Trump in 2018.

  

  Non-Synchronous Problem is the Solution

  In its assessment, NERC cites the “changing resource mix” driven by Biden’s goal to “decarbonize” the U.S. electrical grid by 2035 as spurring a disjointed transition from coal, oil, and natural gas to renewable energies, such as wind, solar, and nuclear.

  With electricity demand increasing—it is projected to increase by at least 50 percent by 2050—fossil fuel plants are being retired more quickly than they are being replaced by plants generating electricity from “renewable” green sources, fostering fears of shortages that could see electricity prices soar.

  “You’ve heard me say, and you’ve heard me say often, reliability is job one, and that is our focus of many of the orders we have today” including the NERC assessment, Phillips said.

  The NERC assessment and other FERC programs address “the rapidly changing resource mix,” but added he is concerned about the “projected addition over the next decade of an unprecedented proportion of non-synchronous resources.”

  Those resources include solar, wind, and hydropower, which are “non-synchronous” because they produce different amounts of electricity depending on conditions. Too much reliance on non-synchronous renewable energy generation can decrease overall grid stability, NERC maintains.

  Nevertheless, the DOE agencies’ plan to remedy summer storm and heat wave shortfalls is adding more “non-synchronous” energy to the resource mix.

  Energy Industry Analyst James Burchill of the Office of Energy Policy & Innovation told the commission that a “warmer than average summer [is] expected this year” with the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Agency forecasting a “50- to 70-percent chance of higher than normal temperatures this summer in most parts of the country.”

  Burchill said aggregate net power generation this summer is expected to increase to 1,167 gigawatts (GW) from 1,138 GWs last summer “primarily from solar and wind generation that has been added or will begin service.”

  An additional 4 GWs of energy storage capacity has been added nationwide for the second year in a row, “making battery storage the fourth-largest type of capacity addition to the grid by the end of summer 2023,” he said.

  “Resource additions outpaced retirements, with rapid growth in storage capacity,” which should suffice in supplementing base grid generation, Burchill said. NERC maintains this should be adequate under normal operating conditions.

  “Tracking recent trends,” he said, “much of the added capacity this summer will likely come from wind, solar, natural gas-fired (plants), and battery storage projects while retirements will most be coal-fired.”

  

  ‘Good News’ Fueled By Wind, Sun, Hope

  NERC Director of Reliability John Moura was less rosy, telling the commission the assessment “found that new resource additions will meet that [normal] demand, but the loss in capacity from retirements is increasing the risk of electricity shortages during wide-area heat waves and other extreme weather conditions.”

  To be clear, he said, “All areas meet reliability criteria and have adequate resources for normal demand. However, we also found more areas are likely to have energy risks during the more extreme scenarios that we assess.”

  Wind energy, in particular, is a concern, Moura said. “When low-wind factors are factored in” generation in peak demand is “not sufficient.”

  “New wind and solar are not one-for-one replacements of retiring fossil plants,” Commissioner Allison Clements said. “They are not intended to create a reliable grid in isolation.”

  She said that “properly accrediting the ability of all resource types during shortages is critical to reliability,” which is what the NERC assessment recommends and what is happening.

  “It is important that we avoid jumping to conclusions, though, before we collectively kick the tires on the assumptions in this report,” Clements said, highlighting upcoming industry forums in Portland, Maine, and Austin, Texas, as opportunities for experts to find solutions, such as “grid-enhancing technologies.”

  Fossil fuel plant retirements “are one important piece of a larger reliability puzzle and solving that puzzle starts with an analysis of all the pieces,” she said.

  Phillips, who was heckled by climate change activists in his opening remarks and as the meeting concluded, said that despite concerns over summer outages, “I think there is some good news here. We’re seeing things trending in the right direction over the last year.”

  That’s not what Christie said he’s seeing.

  “The long-term trends, I don’t think are good news,” he said. “I think we have some major, major threats facing the reliability of the grid. The long-term trend is we are losing dispatchable generation at a rate that is unsustainable and it is going to have negative consequences in the future.”

  But there’s the wind, the sun, and the hope that it all works out, Christie said.

  “If wind doesn’t show up, there is insufficient dispatchable generating capacity,” he said. “So, we hope it does.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/20/2023 – 14:30

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• The Big Tech Spy Hunt
  The Big Tech Spy Hunt

  Authored by Anders Corr via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The United States and South Korea are getting tougher on technology leaks. The two countries have extensive tech industries to protect. Most important is their technological lead, along with the Netherlands, in small and powerful computer chips used for economic and military applications around the world.

  

  Countries that steal these technologies include China, Russia, and Iran. As U.S. adversaries, they could use them against us and our allies.

  On May 16, the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed five related cases investigated by its new “Disruptive Technology Strike Force.”

  Two of them, both in California, include the alleged theft of source code by Chinese nationals for delivery to competitors in China.

  On May 5, a senior technology engineer was arrested for alleged theft of “metrology software which is used in ‘smart’ automotive manufacturing equipment,” the DOJ said in a press release. The tech could help China build nuclear submarines and military aircraft.

  The other case is of a Chinese national and former Apple engineer who allegedly stole “thousands of documents containing the source code for software and hardware pertaining to Apple’s autonomous vehicle technology,” according to the DOJ.

  He escaped back to China the same night in 2018 that FBI agents searched his home and discovered the documents. It is unclear why the FBI did not immediately arrest the suspect and why it has taken this long to bring charges.

  A third case, in New York, involved a sanctioned “Chinese procurement network established to provide Iran with materials used in weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and ballistic missiles,” the DOJ said. The defendant is a Chinese national who allegedly used a front company to try and provide Iran with isostatic graphite, used in the rocket nozzles and reentry vehicle nose cones of intercontinental ballistic missiles. He is at large in China.

  French officials arrested a Greek national in a fourth case for alleged links to Russian intelligence and acquiring 10 different types of controlled technology for illegal export to Russia.

  

  “As alleged, while ostensibly operating as a defense contractor for NATO and other ally countries, the defendant and his Aratos Group were double-dealing, helping to fuel Russia’s war effort and their development of next-generation weapons,” according to U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

  The Aratos Group operates defense and technology companies in Greece and the Netherlands, which, as NATO countries, can import some controlled U.S. tech. Since 2017, Aratos has allegedly smuggled tech to Russia that can be “used in military applications, including quantum cryptography and nuclear weapons testing, as well as tactical battlefield equipment” by Russian nuclear and quantum research facilities and intelligence services, according to the DOJ.

  Two other Russian nationals were arrested in Arizona in a fifth case for allegedly lying and using front companies and foreign bank accounts to attempt to ship export-controlled aircraft parts to sanctioned Russian commercial airlines.

  As the United States has increased the pressure on economic spies, those from China have gone elsewhere to get similar technologies. In South Korea, for example, confirmed leaks of core technologies increased from 3 in 2017 to 10 in 2021, according to the Financial Times. In the first quarter of 2023, there have already been three such leaks from large automotive, display, and semiconductor companies. Headhunters from China operate front companies and lurk outside South Korean chip fabs in an attempt to poach talent. On offer are salaries three-to-four times prior incomes.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 23:40

• Watch: Scientists Create Real Doctor Octopus Arms  
  Watch: Scientists Create Real Doctor Octopus Arms  

  Scientists from the University of Tokyo have developed a set of robotic arms that can be attached to a user’s back. These arms mimic the appearance of Otto Octavius (also known as Doctor Octopus), a fictional character and one of Spider-Man’s most enduring enemies, who wields mechanical, tentacle-like appendages. 

  Called “Jizai Arms,” the wearable backpack can power up to six detachable robot arms and moves with the user’s body. 

  

  “The system was designed to enable social interaction between multiple wearers, such as an exchange of arm(s), and explore possible interactions between digital cyborgs in a cyborg society,” the scientists wrote in a research note titled “Social Digital Cyborgs: The Collaborative Design Process of JIZAI ARMS” that was published in the ACM Digital Library, a database of full-text articles and bibliographic literature covering computing and information technology. 

  “From our role-playing sessions, we found that our bodies could precisely sense the attachment/detachment of arms, and we especially felt a strong impact when detaching or reducing the number of robotic arms worn,” the scientists stated in the paper. 

  

  “We also suggested adding customizability to the robotic arms to generate a sense of social ownership, an individual’s sense of ownership towards a specific artificial body part shared among multiple persons, as a future research topic,” they continued. 

  This technology reminds us of Octavius’ mechanical tentacles. 

  

  Besides, artificial intelligence — we might also want to prepare for a world of cyborgs.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 23:20

• Do Whites Also Deserve Reparations?
  Do Whites Also Deserve Reparations?

  Authored by John Mac Ghlionn via The Epoch Times,

  In the United States, calls for reparations are, once again, heating up. A Duke University professor recently called for $14 trillion in reparations for the descendants of American slavery (roughly $350,000 per recipient).

  The professor, William Darity, isn’t the only one calling for reparations. The mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, has established a task force that will explore compensation for black citizens. In New York City, Mayor Eric Adams has signaled his support for the idea. Detroit’s Reparations Task Force is currently exploring forms of compensation for the city’s black residents. Similar events are taking place in St. Louis. In early May, California’s reparations task force approved recommendations that could see some black residents receive $1.2 million each as compensation for slavery and racial discrimination.

  

  Reparations are a terrible idea.

  Calls for race-based compensation appeal to emotion, not logic. First, how do we define slavery? Contrary to popular belief, African Americans weren’t the only victims of slavery. As Stephan Talty, an author who has researched slavery in great detail, has noted, white people were also the victims of slavery.

  In a piece for Salon, a hyper-progressive online magazine, Talty discussed the fact that, contrary to popular belief, white slavery did occur prior to the occurrence of the Civil War. Talty referenced the work of Joel Augustus Rogers, a historian who meticulously documented the many ways in which whites were kidnapped and sold into slavery. These kidnappings occurred from the early 1700s right up until 1861, the year the Civil War started. Some of the victims were orphans or unwanted babies, while others were impoverished immigrants. White slavery occurred in America. This is an inconvenient truth that receives little or no attention, probably because it contradicts the “white privilege” narrative that continues to do the rounds.

  Even if we were to agree on a definition of slavery, how are we supposed to verify those that claim to be victims? Then, of course, there’s the matter of financing reparations. Where will the money come from?

  For comment on the matter, I reached out to David W. Rasmussen, the director of the Policy Sciences Center at Florida State University. Rasmussen recently published a paper discussing reparations for black citizens, and why such a system of redress for past injustices deserves criticism.

  Rasmussen told me that although it’s easy to make the case that black citizens are owed reparations—the right to own slaves is embedded in the Constitution, after all—this doesn’t mean that the case being made has any real substance. The idea of reparations, noted Rasmussen, fails for many reasons.

  First off, reparations are expensive, with “reasonable” estimates ranging from about $500 billion to $2.7 trillion. The highest estimate of damages is $7 quadrillion, he said, “a figure that emerges because damages are compounded at an annual interest rate of 6 percent.” For the mathematically challenged, a quadrillion is 1,000 trillion.

  Moreover, black reparations would benefit about 12 percent of the population.

  In other words, said Rasmussen, “We are asking 88 percent of the population to pay as much as $500 billion (probably over a period of years) to bear the cost.”

  All Americans, including those who are currently struggling to put food on the table, would bear this cost (40 million Americans, more than 25 percent of the population, currently live in poverty). Only 30 percent of Americans are in favor of some form of reparations. “Many of these,” according to Rasmussen, “may find a $500 billion price tag a hard sell.” Indeed.

  It’s common for those in favor of reparations to insist that all descendants of slaves, regardless of their economic situation, should receive reparations. Thus, individuals such as Barack and Michelle Obama, as well as LeBron James and Oprah Winfrey, would be eligible. Rasmussen, like many other Americans, is against income transfers to high-income households—and for good reason. It makes absolutely no sense.

  Which begs the question: What, if any, palatable alternatives to reparations exist?

  Rasmussen asks, “If we are genuinely interested in helping black families locked in poverty in communities with high crime, inferior housing, and bad schools, why not address those problems?”

  He’s right. Rather than creating race-related policies, the United States must create policies that address specific problems. This is the only way forward, largely because Native Americans, Hispanics, and poor whites would also stand to benefit. Again, contrary to popular belief, the United States is no longer divided by race. It’s divided by class. To be specific, it’s divided by four distinct classes: upper, middle, working, and lower, with more and more Americans falling into the final two categories.

  As noted earlier, tens of millions of people of various skin colors are living in abject poverty. To truly help those in need, those struggling to survive, we need to move past the idea of reparations for black individuals. Now, more than ever, we must move past the desire to use skin color as a defining metric.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 23:00

• Visualizing The Decline Of Affordable Housing In The US
  Visualizing The Decline Of Affordable Housing In The US

  Over 80% of U.S. residents have chosen to live in an urban setting, as of 2023.

  And, as Visual Capitalist’s Chris Dickert and Pernia Jamshed detail below, with that number set to rise to nearly 90% by 2050, house prices are rising, with significant consequences to housing affordability. 

  This visualization, the second in the Reimagining Home Series from our sponsor Boxabl, takes a deep dive into the evolution of the housing market in the U.S.

  

  Housing Affordability At Its Lowest Ebb in Decades

  The U.S. house-price-to-income ratio, which tracks house prices in multiples of annual income, has steadily climbed since the mid-1980s, when the market was recovering from a real estate crash earlier that decade.

  Historically, the ratio has hovered between three and four. But in the early aughts, the ratio passed four and kept going, reaching a high of 5.11 in 2005. The ratio fell somewhat in the aftermath of the subprime mortgage meltdown, but never returned to historical averages. New records were set in 2014 (5.33), and again in 2021 (5.61).

  Note that because median housing prices and median household incomes are released at different frequencies, quarterly versus annually respectively, in order to calculate the ratio, housing prices were averaged on an annual basis.

  Year	Median House Price	Median Household Income	Ratio
  1984	$79,950	$22,415	3.57
  1985	$84,275	$23,618	3.57
  1986	$92,025	$24,897	3.70
  1987	$104,700	$26,061	4.02
  1988	$112,225	$27,225	4.12
  1989	$120,425	$28,906	4.17
  1990	$122,300	$29,943	4.08
  1991	$119,975	$30,126	3.98
  1992	$121,375	$30,636	3.96
  1993	$126,500	$31,241	4.05
  1994	$130,425	$32,264	4.04
  1995	$133,475	$34,076	3.92
  1996	$140,250	$35,492	3.95
  1997	$145,000	$37,005	3.92
  1998	$151,925	$38,885	3.91
  1999	$160,125	$40,696	3.93
  2000	$167,550	$41,990	3.99
  2001	$173,100	$42,228	4.10
  2002	$186,025	$42,409	4.39
  2003	$192,125	$43,318	4.44
  2004	$218,150	$44,334	4.92
  2005	$236,550	$46,326	5.11
  2006	$243,750	$48,201	5.06
  2007	$244,950	$50,233	4.88
  2008	$229,550	$50,303	4.56
  2009	$215,650	$49,777	4.33
  2010	$222,700	$49,276	4.52
  2011	$224,900	$50,054	4.49
  2012	$244,400	$51,017	4.79
  2013	$266,225	$53,585	4.97
  2014	$285,775	$53,657	5.33
  2015	$294,150	$56,516	5.20
  2016	$305,125	$59,039	5.17
  2017	$322,425	$61,136	5.27
  2018	$325,275	$63,179	5.15
  2019	$320,250	$68,703	4.66
  2020	$336,950	$68,010	4.95
  2021	$396,800	$70,784	5.61

  Housing data is available up to the first quarter of 2023, when median prices eased off from a record-high $479,500 at the end of 2022 to $436,800 in the first quarter of this year.

  Because median household income is currently only available up to 2021, it’s not possible to calculate the ratio past that. However, unless there was an unusually large increase in income, the ratio has likely remained near record highs.

  And throughout the seemingly unstoppable rise in house prices over the 38 years covered above, income has failed to keep up. Between 1984 and 2021, median incomes rose 3.16x from $22,415 to $70,784, while median housing prices increased nearly 5.26x to $423,600, up from $78,200.

  Issue Top of Mind For Local Communities

  Amid the steady erosion of housing affordability, U.S. residents have reacted with rising concern. In 2018, when the Pew Research Center asked about major problems affecting local communities, the top spot went to Drug Addiction at 42%, compared to 39% on the Availability of Affordable Housing.

  In 2021, the situation reversed itself and housing affordability was the #1 problem according to 49% of respondents, an increase of 10%. Drug Addiction, on the other hand, fell to 35%.

  In general, younger Americans (55%), urban residents (63%), and those with lower incomes (57%) expressed more concern than their counterparts.

  Is There a Doctor in the House?

  So what’s causing the erosion of housing affordability in the U.S.?

  Ultimately, the U.S. is not building enough houses to keep pace with population growth. And you can see this in the housing start data. In January 1959, there were around 1.7 million housing starts, compared to January 2023, when there were 1.3 million. And this decrease happened despite the fact that the U.S. population nearly doubled, from 176 to 335 million. 

  Lots of different forces are working together at the local level to stop more houses from being built. Space is one reason. Local zoning laws that limit the construction of multi-family homes is another culprit. The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused global supply chain issues, leading to rising material costs for housing.

  And the icing on the cake? Rising interest rates are making it even harder for first-time homebuyers to enter the market.

  Thinking Outside of the Box on Housing

  With housing affordability at its lowest ebb in over a decade and people worried that they won’t be able to find a place to live, it’s time to think outside of the box.

  Boxabl uses advanced, mass production techniques to build and ship homes that significantly lower the cost of home ownership for everyone.

  This is the second piece in the Reimagining Home Series. Part 1 takes a deep dive on urbanization in the U.S., while the third and final piece looks at how modular homes could be a solution to the U.S. affordability crisis.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 22:40

• Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Twitter, Google, Facebook In Liability Case Over User-Posted Content
  Supreme Court Rules In Favor of Twitter, Google, Facebook In Liability Case Over User-Posted Content

  Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The Supreme Court unanimously sided with Twitter, Google, and Facebook, finding in a pair of decisions on May 18 that the Silicon Valley giants are shielded from liability for content posted by users.

  

  The lawsuits arose after deadly Islamic terrorist attacks overseas. Victims’ families argued that the Big Tech companies were liable because they allowed terrorist videos to be posted online or failed to do enough to police the terrorist accounts posting the videos.

  Big Tech and its supporters had been deeply concerned that the court could eviscerate Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996, which generally prevents internet platforms and internet service providers from being held liable for what users say on them. They say the legal provision, sometimes called “the 26 words that created the internet,” has fostered a climate online in which free speech has flourished.

  Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have attacked Section 230, calling for it to be repealed, but in the twin rulings, the Supreme Court sidestepped the Section 230 issue, much to the relief of the tech companies.

  During oral arguments on Feb. 21, the justices struggled over the extent to which social media platforms should be held liable when terrorist groups use the platforms to promote their cause.

  Chief Justice John Roberts said that despite any algorithm YouTube may use to push users to view videos, the company is “still not responsible for the content of the videos … or text that is transmitted.”

  Justice Elena Kagan told a lawyer for one of the families, “I can imagine a world where you’re right that none of this stuff gets protection.”

  “And, you know, every other industry has to internalize the costs of its conduct. Why is it that the tech industry gets a pass? A little bit unclear,” she said.

  “On the other hand, I mean, we’re a court. We really don’t know about these things. You know, these are not like the nine greatest experts on the internet,” Kagan said at the time.

  The Supreme Court’s new 38-page decision (pdf) in Twitter Inc. v. Taamneh, court file 21-1496, was written by Justice Clarence Thomas.

  

  Twitter asked the court to review a lower court ruling in favor of a Jordanian national killed in an ISIS terrorist group attack in an Istanbul nightclub. The company argued it shouldn’t be held responsible for acts of international terrorism if the group used its platform. The family of the late victim, Nawras Alassaf, claimed that social media platforms didn’t do enough to take down ISIS videos.

  Thomas wrote that the plaintiffs sought to hold Twitter, Facebook, and Google “liable for the terrorist attack that allegedly injured them,” but the court concluded that “plaintiffs’ allegations are insufficient to establish that these defendants aided and abetted ISIS in carrying out the relevant attack.”

  The connection between the online platforms and the nightclub attack was “far removed,” he wrote.

  “The allegations plaintiffs make here are not the type of pervasive, systemic, and culpable assistance to a series of terrorist activities that could be described as aiding and abetting each terrorist act by ISIS,” Thomas wrote.

  The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

  The Supreme Court’s brief, three-page decision (pdf) in Gonzalez v. Google LLC, court file 21-1333, was unsigned. Google’s parent company is Alphabet Inc.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 22:20

• IRS To Pilot Its Own Tax E-File Platform In 2024 – What Could Go Wrong?
  IRS To Pilot Its Own Tax E-File Platform In 2024 – What Could Go Wrong?

  In 2024, the IRS will launch a pilot program to offer its own, government-run, income tax return-preparation website, according to a report the universally-despised agency provided to Congress on Tuesday. The report follows a $15 million study of the concept. 

  If there were ever a proposal absolutely guaranteed to be a multifaceted disaster, this is it. Boobus Americanus, however, is apparently champing at the bit: IRS surveys find 72% of Americans are “very” or “somewhat interested in” a free government tool for calculating taxes. What are they missing?    

  For starters, the IRS and all of us animals on the government’s taxpayer ranch approach this endeavor with an enormous conflict of interest. We don’t want to pay a penny more than we absolutely have to, while the government is hell-bent on extracting an entirely fictional “fair share” — and more — from each of us. 

  Next, there’s the comically-cautionary tale of the rollout of the Obamacare enrollment website in 2013. Even with three years to prepare, it was a cluster**** for the ages. The site crashed immediately upon launch, and then inflicted countless glitches on users after it was up and running.

  

  Even when they function properly, government websites are notorious showcases of confusing communication. Imagine when users inevitably have questions and are compelled to turn to an IRS call center for clarity. Users would have to pray that — after enduring hold time — they’re actually matched with a competent phone rep. A 2002 Treasury audit found reps only came up with the right answer 78% of the time — and that’s just for the average question.   

  At first glance, some might assume using an IRS site would make you less of an audit target. Then again, it’s conceivable the IRS might log your actions as you navigate the site — such as trying different inputs to test the impact on your tax return. Such information could be used as an audit flag. 

  In most states, offering an appealing alternative to TurboTax and H&R Block platforms would require the IRS to also offer state and local tax prep. No way that’s happening anytime soon. 

  The IRS says it hasn’t yet defined the complexity of returns it anticipates handling during the pilot. A prototype of the IRS offering that was run by some taxpayers wasn’t even built to pre-populate with data the government already has via W-2’s and 1099s. As one unimpressed survey participant said, “IRS already knows your tax information. So why wouldn’t I be able to login, put in, say, my [SSN], and then half this information is already filled, and then I just need to put in corrections?”

  Many survey participants felt they should receive expedited return-processing for using a government platform. In its report, however, the IRS said, “The IRS does not, and would not, give preferential treatment to taxpayers who use any particular tax filing method.”

  

  The IRS estimates its direct-filing platform would cost between $64.3 and $248.9 million annually. The running tally for the Obamacare site surpassed $840 million less than a year after it launched. 

  Many other countries send taxpayers “pre-filled returns” that are populated with data the government already collected. Some are so accurate in their ongoing income-tax withholding that little or no adjustment is necessary. That accuracy springs from their dramatically simpler approaches to income taxation.  

  Putting the government-taxpayer conflict of interest aside, until the US income tax is radically simplified — such as with a flat tax with few or no deductions or credits, no differentiation between short- and long-term capital gains, no differentiation between tax rates on investments and earned income, and no disguised welfare handouts like the EITC — an IRS-run tax-filing platform is for the birds. 

  Or maybe we should say “for the birdbrains” — like the survey participants who said these things about the prospect of an IRS tax-prep platform:

  • “It’s probably going to be good; it’s going to tell you everything you need to know because it’s the IRS. The information should be up to date. I would probably expect it to be more accurate doing it directly with IRS than though some other company.”
  • “They probably more want you to do it correctly than some other company.”
  • “Yes [I would trust it]. Because it’s a government website.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 22:00

• Hydrogen’s Scalability Essential To Meet Energy Demand
  Hydrogen’s Scalability Essential To Meet Energy Demand

  Authored by Robert Hebner via RealClear Wire,

  Years ago, I attended a lecture featuring a leader of China’s energy program at the University of Hong Kong. The significant investment of time and resources in every energy technology and commitment to scaling solutions with reduced environmental impact was eye-opening, but also struck me as an inefficient approach.

  

  It is now evident that the world must invest in an all-of-the-above method to meet our energy needs with reduced environmental impact.

  Global demand for energy is projected to double due to a growing population; over half do not have adequate energy today, leading to poverty and premature deaths.

  Currently, fossil fuel-derived energy is the only source available at the scale required to address the growing demand.

  Even if the geopolitical issues around fossil fuels were magically eliminated, nature’s conversion of solar power to fossil fuels includes carbon. We now use energy at a rate that carbon emissions change the climate, which also leads to poverty and premature deaths.

  We need more and better solutions at a large enough scale to matter.

  Hydrogen is attractive because it promises to make intermittent renewable energy available 24/7 everywhere. Moreover, the global hydrogen market is more than $150 billion today, with major growth opportunities in the future grid and transportation sectors.

  The growing demand for energy means a growth in jobs and profits. But there will be winners and losers even in the growing market.

  Governments use incentives to support all energy today. Therefore, the integration of hydrogen into the political system is complicated. For example, the Department of Energy has a goal of developing the technology for producing hydrogen for $1/kilogram by the end of the decade. A kilogram of hydrogen has similar energy to a gallon of gasoline.

  Recent research, however, showed that for a wind farm in West Texas, producing and selling hydrogen makes no economic sense unless the cost of hydrogen was about $3.50/kilogram, due to a production tax credit that rewards wind generated electricity delivered to the electric grid.

  Hydrogen’s carbon footprint is high today, but we have the technology to produce it with a smaller carbon footprint. The U.S. is implementing a graduated tax credit to support the scale-up of cleaner hydrogen, no matter its feedstock.

  We all lose if we make the perfect the enemy of the good. Fewer people suffer or die if we grow from good, to better, to best rather than sitting on good until best is easily achievable.

  Our legacy governance impedes establishing a market where multiple solutions contribute. The system we built assumes the various components compete, not work as a team to meet the growing energy demand in an environmentally sustainable manner.

  We count on our government to provide the required coordination. We must give them the tools and insights they need to do that job well for all of us.

  For hydrogen, parochial perspectives are trying to influence which electrical grid feedstocks are clean enough to receive the full benefits of the 45V tax credit. This is a classic “perfect vs. good” situation.

  Certifying hydrogen as clean when its feedstock comes from an independent and dedicated source is straightforward. However, hydrogen produced in Houston, TX, using grid power is near price parity with the conventional carbon-intensive means of producing hydrogen.

  So, we can have cleaner hydrogen quickly. But the grid, while continually getting cleaner, has a carbon footprint that varies daily. Most prudent folks would say absent proof of greater damage, this approach should receive competitive tax credit today and enhanced tax credits as hydrogen gets cleaner in the future.

  Decades of tax credits and offsets have led to wind and solar being niche suppliers. With its commercially mature massive storage capability, hydrogen might provide the tipping point technology to augment fossil fuels in meeting the growing demand.

  No one solution on its own can meet the challenge. We need flexibility for energy production, conservation, and efficiency. We will prosper with a portfolio of outstanding contributors, not by waiting for an energy superhero.

  Robert Hebner is the director of the Center for Electromechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 21:40

• 30-Ton Shipment Of Explosive Chemical Disappears Between California And Wyoming
  30-Ton Shipment Of Explosive Chemical Disappears Between California And Wyoming

  A 30-ton shipment of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used as both fertilizer and as a component in explosives, has gone missing during a rail shipment between Wyoming and California last month, resulting in four separate investigations.

  

  A railcar loaded with some 60,000 pounds of the chemical left Cheyenne, Wyoming on April 12, only to be found empty two weeks later at a rail stop in the Mojave Desert, according to a short incident report from the firm which shipped the ammonium, KQED reports.

  The company, Dyno Nobel, made the report May 10 to the federal National Response Center, or NRC. The report also appeared last week in an NRC database of California incidents managed by the state Office of Emergency Services last Wednesday.

  Ammonium nitrate is commonly used as fertilizer. It’s also an ingredient in high explosives and was used in the homemade bomb detonated in the 1995 attack on the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

  According to Dyno Nobel, the Ammonium – transferred in pellet form in a covered hopper car similar to those used to ship coal – must have fallen from the car on the way to a rail siding (where a short track connects with the main track) around 30 miles from the town of Mojave in eastern Kern County, in a city called Saltdale.

  

  “The railcar was sealed when it left the Cheyenne facility, and the seals were still intact when it arrived in Saltdale. The initial assessment is that a leak through the bottom gate on the railcar may have developed in transit,” said the company, adding that the two-week trip included multiple stops. They report having had “limited control” over the railcar operated by Union Pacific.

  The railcar is being transported back to Wyoming for inspection.

  Meanwhile, a representative for the Federal Railroad Administration says the investigation points to an improperly closed hopper car gate.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 21:20

• Democrat Bill Would Pack Supreme Court To Lessen Conservative Influence
  Democrat Bill Would Pack Supreme Court To Lessen Conservative Influence

  Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Senate Democrats unveiled a new bill that would pack the Supreme Court by adding four new seats beyond the current nine seats, a move that could lead to the loss of the court’s current conservative majority.

  

  The legislation comes after President Joe Biden’s commission on Supreme Court reform failed in December 2021 to recommend expanding the size of the nation’s highest court. Public approval of the court has fallen in recent years, according to polls. The late Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt tried to pack the court in the 1930s after it kept striking down his New Deal policies but the plan ultimately went nowhere after the public and lawmakers from his own party turned against it.

  Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) unveiled his new legislation, the proposed Judiciary Act of 2023 (pdf), at a press conference on the steps of the Supreme Court on May 16.

  “Our most fundamentally held freedoms are under attack from an illegitimate, far-right United States Supreme Court,” Markey said.

  “And if we fail to act, it will only get worse. We must fix this broken and illegitimate court. We must expand the United States Supreme Court.”

  The court-packing proposed by Democrats is justified because Senate Republicans repeatedly “broke the rules” about the confirmation of Supreme Court nominees in recent years, Markey claimed.

  After conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, Senate Republicans refused to allow a vote on then-President Barack Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, who is now President Biden’s attorney general.

  Republicans denied Garland “a hearing and a vote that he was entitled to,” Markey said, even though there is no constitutional provision, law, or Senate rule that required the Senate to vote on the nomination.

  “They claimed that they couldn’t fill a seat in a presidential election year, even with the election nine months away, and they kept that seat vacant for 422 days,” the senator said, adding that Obama’s successor, then-President Donald Trump, nominated Justice Neil Gorsuch to the court days after his inauguration.

  “Then, in October of 2020, with head-spinning hypocrisy, Senate Republicans and Donald Trump stole the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat, forcing Amy Coney Barrett onto the bench literally as Americans were casting their votes in the presidential elections nine days before Election Day in 2020.”

  “So much for not confirming justices in a presidential year. So we now have two justices on the bench who frankly have no right to be there,” Markey said.

  Americans have suffered since Republicans “hijacked the court,” handing it over to “partisan justices eager to toss aside decades of precedent to satisfy their deep-pocketed right-wing special interest benefactors.”

  Markey said he feared that decisions last year reversing Roe v. Wade, recognizing a constitutional right to carry firearms in public for self-defense, and curbing the government’s environmental regulatory powers “are just a preview of coming atrocities.”

  Democrats also need to pack the court because Justice Clarence Thomas had made “a mockery of the public trust” by refusing “to recuse himself on cases about efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in spite of the fact that his wife was implicated in them,” Markey said.

  Legal experts say Justice Thomas did not have to recuse himself from such cases merely because his wife, Ginni Thomas, is a conservative activist and Trump supporter.

  “We have to remind him that we have a system of constitutional checks and balances,” the senator said.

  Markey, along with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and a handful of House members have called on Justice Thomas to resign, a demand that Markey repeated at the media event.

  Democrats also claim Thomas is guilty of improprieties because, among other things, he has accepted vacations from a wealthy GOP donor, his longtime friend Harlan Crow, a Texas billionaire. When left-wing media outlet ProPublica recently reported on the existence of the trips, Thomas said he was previously advised he didn’t have to disclose the vacations but vowed to do so going forward. Legal experts say there is no conflict of interest because Crow has not had any business before the Supreme Court and because it is not illegal for justices to have wealthy, generous friends.

  Markey continued: “The court has put all these rights of all Americans but especially those of people of color, women, immigrants, and LGBTQ rural and low-income communities at risk … [and] it’s only a question of when and who the court is going to target next—that’s because the extremist right wing will not stop.”

  “But we will not stop either. So let’s start with undoing the Republicans’ thievery and adding four seats to the court,” he said.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 21:00

• Cars Still Dominate The American Commute
  Cars Still Dominate The American Commute

  As part of National Bike Month, celebrated in the U.S. each May to promote cycling as a fun and healthy mode of transportation, today, May 19 was Bike to Work Day. On this day, people are encouraged to leave their cars behind and hop on their bikes for their daily commute to work. After all, as Statista’s Felix Richter notes, cycling to work is still relatively rare in the United States, despite the many benefits it offers in terms of personal health, reduced traffic and emissions savings.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  According to Statista Consumer Insights, 73 percent of American commuters use their own car to move between home and work, making it by far the most popular mode of transportation. Meanwhile, only 13 percent of the 7,649 respondents use public transportation while 11 percent ride their bike. As Statista’s chart shows, alternatives to the car have become more popular since 2019, but none comes close to challenging the car’s status as the king of the American commute.

  There are several factors contributing to the low adoption of bicycles as a means of everyday transportation: for one, Americans are used to commuting longer distances than people in most European nations, automatically ruling out the bike for many. And secondly, many major cities in the U.S. aren’t exactly bike-friendly.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  According to a recent study, just two American cities made it into the 50 most bicycle-friendly cities in the world, when taking into account factors such as bicycle infrastructure, safety and usage as well as things as mundane as the weather.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 20:40

• Hypersonics, Nukes Top House Lawmaker's Priorities List
  Hypersonics, Nukes Top House Lawmaker’s Priorities List

  Authored by Audrey Decker via DefenseOne.com,

  Hypersonic missiles and nuclear weapons will get top priority when the House Armed Services committee’s strategic forces panel finally gets to mark up the 2024 defense-policy bill, according to the subcommittee’s chairman. 

  

  HASC markups are on hold while GOP lawmakers seek federal budget cuts by threatening to force the U.S. renege on its debts. 

  Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican whose district is based in Colorado Springs, said his biggest concern ahead of the markup, which was supposed to kick off on Thursday, is the top-line number.  

  Lamborn said he’s “disappointed” the defense policy bill is delayed but “understands” why Congress needs to concentrate on the debt ceiling first.

  “Getting that top-line number, I think, is critical because if that number is reduced as part of a negotiation with the Senate and the White House, I would be very concerned that that would lead to cuts in capabilities in the future,” he told Defense One in an interview.

  A GOP-forced default on outstanding debts would hurt national security in various ways, according to a host of leaders, including the defense secretary, Joint Chiefs chairman, the director of national intelligence, the Air Force secretary, and more.

  If the Pentagon’s top-line number does change, Lamborn said he’s confident programs in the strategic forces portfolio would be in a safe position as “everyone involved” is aware of the need for the Space Force to be fully funded. However, the committees that focus on bigger items, like ships, aircraft, and munitions, might run into some problems, he said.

  “Because we have consensus in the community and with the administration, and I think even the Senate, I think the Space Force is in a good position,” Lamborn said. 

  As chairman of the committee, Lamborn said his top priority is the Pentagon’s hypersonics programs. The pace of development is “way too slow,” and he’s looking to increase funding in the defense policy bill, the National Defense Authorization Act, for “different testing capabilities and facilities” to hopefully accelerate schedules, Lamborn said.

  In addition to offensive hypersonic missiles, Lamborn said his committee is adding language calling for a “very active” and robust schedule to field systems that can defend against hypersonics.

  The Pentagon confirmed last week that Ukraine recently used a Patriot missile system to take out a Russian hypersonic missile, the Kinzhal.

  However, Lamborn said the scenario in Ukraine doesn’t mean the U.S. could do the same against a Chinese hypersonic missile. 

  “Russia has a history of exaggerating their capabilities. It may have been a primitive—that is, an older-generation hypersonic weapon that a Patriot would be fully capable of intercepting,” he said. 

  Another priority for the chairman is keeping the Pentagon’s nuclear triad—bombers, submarines, and intercontinental ballistic missiles—on track. There’s concern that “we’re starting to lose the cushion that we have in any of these programs,” Lamborn said.  

  A major problem for U.S. nuclear programs is plutonium-pit production, Lamborn said. Plutonium pits are part of the fission-fusion chain that creates a thermonuclear explosion.“I’m concerned that we have some possible delays coming up in pit production. And I know that the people running different aspects of the program have contingency plans in place, but I hope it doesn’t come to the point where we have to start looking at contingencies,” he said. 

  While Congress monitors the Pentagon’s nuke programs, Lamborn said there will be bipartisan agreement in the NDAA to keep funding research and development for the Navy’s nuclear Sea-Launched Cruise Missile, despite multiple attempts from the Biden administration to kill the program, with the goal of “ultimately fielding SLCM-N.”

  For the committee’s space portfolio, Lamborn said he’s focused on ensuring that the Space Force has the “maximum launch capacity as a country that we can, both in the short term and long term.”

  Now three years since the Space Force was created, Lamborn said he’s happy with the newest service’s progress but there’s “a little ways to go” as he’s heard complaints from industry that there’s still too much red tape when a company wants to work with the Space Force. 

  Lawmakers are also “very frustrated” with the service’s overclassification of information, Lamborn said, which makes it difficult to share information with the government, industry, partners and allies—and explain the Space Force’s “critical needs” to the public.

  It’s hard to legislate a cultural change, but “the next best thing we can do is to highlight the need to be more open while walking that fine line of not divulging proprietary information to the other side,” he said.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 20:20

• Goldman Finds "Most Accurate" Reading Of Current CRE Conditions, Predicts 25% Drop In Office Building Prices  
  Goldman Finds “Most Accurate” Reading Of Current CRE Conditions, Predicts 25% Drop In Office Building Prices  

  There are increasing concerns about the severity of the downturn in the commercial real estate market. This week, Moody’s Analytics reported the first quarterly drop in CRE prices in over a decade. The most pressing issue at the moment is determining the extent to which these prices will drop.

  Shedding more color on the potential depth of the downturn is Goldman Sachs chief credit strategist Lotfi Karoui. He told clients on Thursday that there are many ways to track CRE prices, though “the most accurate portrayal of current market conditions” is data via the Green Street Commercial Property Price Index, which suggests trouble ahead. 

  Here’s part of Karoui’s note explaining why Green Street data foretells the coming price plunge in office and apartment property values. 

  Over the past few months, we have been arguing the sizeable valuation gap between public and private real estate markets will start to close through a catch-down in property prices. Taking stock of the catch-down is, however, not that straightforward. There are many ways to track commercial property prices, often offering divergent pictures. 

  We show the performance of four popular commercial property price indices in Exhibit 8, suggesting price depreciation from peak levels anywhere between 15% and 2%. The two main methods of index construction are transaction-based such as RCA and NCREIF’s repeat sales indices, and appraisal-based such as the Green Street Commercial Property Price Index and the Federal Reserve Board Commercial Real Estate Price Index. Each methodology has its own shortcomings. 

  Repeat sales transaction indices often provide the most unbiased estimate of prices as they control for changes in the market’s composition. But the paltry level of transaction volume at present has shrunk the sample size of these indices (Exhibit 9). Appraisal-based indices can also be noisy at times. That said, at the current juncture, they likely provide the most accurate portrayal of current market conditions with Green Street indicating a 25% year-over-year drop in office property values and a 21% drop in apartment property values.

  In Karoui’s view, Green Street’s data seems to be the most precise, forecasting a forthcoming price drop in office and apartment buildings. The index is weighted heavily towards retail, office, and apartments. 

  

  Also, the slide in CRE transaction volumes shows the entire sector might be headed for a deep freeze as lending conditions tighten. 

  

  Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank veteran strategist Jim Reid painted an ominous outlook for the US economy in a note to clients. He pointed to aggressive central bank interest rate hikes breaking parts of the economy as the end of the hiking cycle usually ends with a bang. 

  

  Reid also showed nearly two centuries of US money supply (year-on-year % change) data that shows the fastest collapse since the 1930s. This is a major red flag for the economy and capital markets, and past collapses have led to panics, recessions, and depressions. 

  

  It appears as though a downturn has arrived, with the regional banking and CRE sectors bearing the brunt of the Fed’s tightening over the past year. 

  There is more in the Goldman note from Lotfi Karoui, available to pro subscribers in the usual place.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 20:00

• For Decades, Democrats Have Been Ignoring Evidence And Facts
  For Decades, Democrats Have Been Ignoring Evidence And Facts

  Authored by Vince Coyner via American Thinker,

  About 20 years ago, I read a piece about the North Miami police department eliminating the swimming requirement for the police. With a working knowledge of geography and having visited Miami many times, I thought this was a bit odd and kind of a bad idea. After all, North Miami has hundreds of miles of canals, lakes, and beaches. Predictably, the reason the requirement was being dropped was that “blacks are less likely than whites to know how to swim because of economic disparities between the groups…” In other words, the change was because not enough blacks were qualified to become police.

  

  That was long before the cancer of wokeness had taken hold of much of America. I was dumbfounded. Nobody with a functioning brain would have looked at that situation and said we must eliminate a key element of the job requirements to let more members of “X group” join. But that’s what the people in charge decided. If someone with a functioning brain were actually in charge, he would have said something like, “If our goal is to have a more diverse workforce…” (a questionable assertion in the first place) “and not enough otherwise qualified black candidates can pass the swim test, maybe we should simply take those candidates who meet the other requirements and teach them how to swim.”

  But that’s not what they did. And that is just another demonstration that Democrats aren’t actually serious people seeking to help the communities they represent. No, their goal was to cater to the “equity” crowd, even before it had a name. And they have continued to do so for the last two decades.

  Take gun control. Democrats have been gun-grabbing for decades. They use every mass shooting as a lever to try and wrest guns out of American hands and eviscerate the Second Amendment. While it is certainly the case that gun violence is a problem in America, the reality is, it’s not the guns, it’s the criminals and the Democrats who pamper them.

  There are 350 million people in the United States. Of those, there are 280 million adults, 90 million of whom say they own at least one of America’s 400 million guns, with an average of almost 5 guns each. And how frequently do those 90 million gun owners commit crimes with those guns? Not very often.

  It’s estimated that more than 80% of gun crimes are committed by people who came into possession of their weapons illegally, which means that, conservatively, legal gun owners perpetrated only 20% of gun crimes. There are almost 100,000 shootings in the United States annually (not counting suicides). If we assume that 20% of those shootings were by legal gun owners, that would be 20,000 shootings. To put that in perspective, that would mean that .0002% of legal gun owners commit crimes with their weapons, or conversely, 99.9998% of legal gun owners never use their guns in crimes….

  As a matter of fact, despite what the Democrat media tell you, “Good guys with guns” help stop between one-third and one-half of all active shooter incidents nationwide. But Democrats work continuously to take guns away from all of those apparently “violence eschewing” citizens while at the same time seeking to free actual violent criminals from jail or prison or not send them there in the first place—even as those they free are the ones who actually commit most of the crimes and the worst crimes, and it’s not even close.

  Making matters worse, Democrats rarely seek to focus on the strong correlation between anti-depressants and violence, particularly with young people. They would rather preen in front of cameras and accuse Republicans of having blood on their hands than focus on the real issues that spill so much blood.

  And there is indeed much blood on Democrats’ hands. In what must seem counterintuitive to them, more gun control results in more mass shooting deaths. California is a perfect example. As it’s become more difficult for law-abiding Californians to legally obtain guns over the decades, to the point where it’s actually almost impossible to exercise the right, the rate at which the state exceeds the rest of the country has skyrocketed:

  From 2010 on, California’s per capita rate of mass public shootings was 43% higher than the rate in Texas and 29% higher than in the rest of the United States. Since 2020, the rate in California is 276% higher than in Texas and 100% higher than in the rest of the U.S.

  That is partially because there are fewer of those “Good guys with guns.” In Los Angeles County, where one mass shooting already took place this year, there is one gun permit for every 5,660 adults, and in San Mateo County, where another mass shooting occurred, there is one permit for every 24,630 adults. By comparison, there is one permit holder for every nine people in the 43 right-to-carry states.

  Whether it’s murder on a small scale or a large, this data would only matter if someone were actually interested in solving the problem and reducing the amount of bloodshed. Needless to say, Democrats rarely look at the data and then conclude that making it easier to allow law-abiding citizens to own weapons might actually help reduce said bloodshed.

  Then there’s the border. The Democrat party, led by Liar in Chief Joe Biden, tells us that the American border is secure while Americans watch thousands of illegal immigrants stream across the border every single day. Those poor “asylum seekers” are given phones, have to promise to return to court to adjudicate their cases—sometimes in 5 or 10 years—and are sent on their merry ways. Of course, many of those never even bother to show up for court. And hundreds of thousands more are simply released without even being given a court date. To make things even more ridiculous, while they’re busy gaslighting the entire country, Democrats are shivving their single most solid constituency.

  Of course, the border is not a new problem. In 1986, Ronald Reagan signed the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, which granted asylum to 2.7 million illegal aliens in return for securing the border. Democrats took the asylum and screwed Reagan and the nation on securing the border. Since then, no president other than Trump has had any interest in securing the border, and he was stymied at every single turn by Democrats and leftist judges. The result is that today there are upwards of 40 million illegal aliens in the country, with millions more crossing the border every year.

  Like the gun data, the data on illegal aliens isn’t hard to understand. It’s pretty simple math. The phones alone that the Biden administration gives to illegals cost $360,000 every day while, in the aggregate, illegal aliens cost Americans $250 billion per year. To put that in perspective, the wall Trump wanted to build was estimated to have a price tag of under $25 billion.

  And now, it’s only going to get worse with Biden ending the Trump era Title 42, which was the equivalent of trying to stop your car by dragging your feet on the ground, a la Fred Flintstone. But now that Title 42 is gone, Biden is sending 1,500 Army troops to help…let even more illegals in!

  Whether it’s standing on shore as victims drown in Miami, not allowing armed citizens to protect themselves and their communities, or simply ignoring the costs associated with illegal immigration, it’s clear that Democrats aren’t serious people and don’t care about the average American. Given that Democrats demonstrate their disdain for citizens every single day, one wonders why anyone votes for them. Stockholm Syndrome, anyone?

  Follow Vince on Twitter at ImperfectUSA

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 19:40

• Tucker Trounces Fox In Favorability Ratings Rout
  Tucker Trounces Fox In Favorability Ratings Rout

  Tucker Carlson has a 63 point lead in popularity over his former employer, Fox News, according to a new survey from consulting agency Change Research.

  

  Carlson’s net favorability among Republicans is currently at +59, while Fox News’ is sitting at -4, a difference of 63 points

  POLL: Tucker Carlson vs. Fox News

  In the aftermath of Tucker Carlson’s firing from Fox News, Republicans sided with Tucker:

  Net favorability among Republicans:
  Tucker Carlson: +59
  Fox News: -4

  THREAD 🧵 pic.twitter.com/XGr0PM3qCP

  — Change Research (@ChangePolls) May 18, 2023

  Carlson and the network parted ways in late April for unknown reasons – with Fox holding the host hostage via his contract that prevents him from appearing on other networks. 

  To circumvent this, Carlson announced he’ll be featuring his show on Twitter!

  “The best you can hope for in the news business at this point is the freedom to tell the fullest truth that you can. But there are always limits. And you know that if you bump up against those limits often enough, you will be fired for it,” Carlson said in a video which decried the media for being misleading “in every story that matters every day of the week, every week of the year.”

  On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said.

  And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.

  I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is… https://t.co/0TMjuYnKUp

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2023

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttps://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttps://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsSpeaking of Twitter, the Change Research poll also found that Twitter CEO Elon Musk has a net favorability rating of +53 with Republicans, -17 with Independends, and -75 with Democrats (Carlson is at -84 with the latter).

  

  Just like Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk is popular on the right, very unpopular on the left, and somewhat unpopular with the middle.

  Net favorability among…
  GOP
  Carlson: +59
  Musk: +53

  IND
  Carlson: -30
  Musk: -17

  DEM
  Carlson: -84
  Musk: -75 pic.twitter.com/64IqwPpHp6

  — Change Research (@ChangePolls) May 18, 2023

  As the Epoch Times notes;

  Nicholas Fondacaro, associate editor of the conservative media watchdog NewsBusters, told The Epoch Times that Carlson’s mission, like Musk’s, is about free speech.

  “Carlson seemed earnest in his announcement video that he believes Twitter is the last bastion of free speech, likely because Elon Musk has made it clear that ensuring free speech was his priority when purchasing the platform,” he told The Epoch Times. “Musk has, by most accounts, talked the talk and walked the walk.”

  Musk clarified in a Twitter post that Carlson had not signed any contract with Twitter to broadcast his show on the platform and that the former Fox host would need to follow the same rules that apply to all Twitter users.

  “On this platform, unlike the one-way street of broadcast, people are able to interact, critique and refute whatever is said,” Musk said. “And, of course, anything misleading will get @CommunityNotes.”

  “I also want to be clear that we have not signed a deal of any kind whatsoever. Tucker is subject to the same rules & rewards of all content creators,” he continued.

  “Rewards means subscriptions and advertising revenue share (coming soon), which is a function of how many people subscribe and the advertising views associated with the content,” Musk continued.

  “I hope that many others, particularly from the left, also choose to be content creators on this platform,” the Twitter chief added.

  Musk later called on former CNN anchor Don Lemon to do his show on Twitter in what could be seen as an attempt on Musk’s part to encourage a broad array of views on the platform.

  “Have you considered doing your show on this platform?” Musk said in a May 10 reply to Lemon’s April 24 post announcing that CNN had fired him. “Maybe worth a try. Audience is much bigger.”

  

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

  Ratings Shakeup

  After Carlson’s exit, Fox News’ 8 p.m. hour suffered a dip in ratings after creating a replacement program for Carlson’s show called “Fox News Tonight.”

  Other Fox primetime shows, including the 9 p.m. one currently held by Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham’s programs, have also seen their ratings drop.

  “Fox News Tonight” drew 1.3 million total viewers and 136,000 demographic viewers, according to Nielsen ratings.

  In March, Carlson averaged more than 3 million viewers each night. Part of Carlson’s popularity, especially among conservatives, was likely bolstered by his coverage of never-before-seen footage from the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol breach that he said challenged mainstream narratives that the incident was a “violent insurrection.”

  Fox said that the newly minted show, which the network said was temporary, features a rotating cast of hosts.

  Last week, Trump-era press secretary Kayleigh McEnany hosted the show, and this week, Fox’s Will Cain has had the hosting duties.

  “No decision has been made on a new primetime line-up and there are multiple scenarios under consideration,” a Fox News spokesperson told The Epoch Times on Wednesday.

  Jack Phillips and Jackson Richman contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 19:20

• Nashville School Shooting Investigation Used To Identify Possible Accomplices: MNPD
  Nashville School Shooting Investigation Used To Identify Possible Accomplices: MNPD

  Authored by Chase Smith via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Top law enforcement officials with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), including the lead investigator in The Covenant School shooting case, have filed motions with the court to stop the release of evidence amid their “ongoing” investigation. In their court filings, law enforcement stated they believed the assailant Audrey Hale, who died on the scene, acted alone, but they “do not know for sure.”

  “Even though the assailant died at the school, the criminal investigative file does not automatically, instantly close,” investigator Lt. Brent Gibson wrote in a court filing. “Investigators must still work to gather and analyze evidence in the case and determine if related crimes were committed, are being planned, or whether other people were involved.”

  

  Gibson went on to say the Covenant investigation is expected to take approximately “12 months,” based upon the “volume of evidence and the number of persons to be interviewed,” along with officers working on a total of 46 homicide investigations in the city so far this year.

  “For comparison purposes, an investigation for a murder-suicide case, where it appears ‘obvious’ what has happened, typically takes eight months,” Gibson added. “While we believe at this time that the assailant acted alone in this case, we do not know for sure. And we need to investigate the matter thoroughly, as we do in all homicides, to rule out any co-conspirators or additional crimes related to this matter.”

  He said he believed the release of the investigative files prematurely could cause “harmful and irreversible consequences.”

  MNPD Weighs In

  The court filings came in a pending open records lawsuit, in which MNPD was forced to turn over unredacted versions of shooter Audrey Hale’s suicide note and journal last week for the judge’s review. The suit was filed after MNPD refused to release the documents to several individuals and groups.

  A hearing and scheduling conference in the lawsuit was scheduled for Thursday, May 18, but Chancellor I’Ashea Myles, in a Wednesday evening ruling, postponed it to Monday, May 22.

  On Wednesday, the officers, alongside several parents of Covenant students, filed their motions with the court, with parents urging the documents to not be released at all.

  

  MNPD said they are using the investigation process to determine whether the “assailant had any assistance with planning the shooting or any assistance with weapons purchases.”

  MNPD Deputy Chief Mike Hagar’s motion with the court stated that officers have been investigating and gathering information about the March 27 shooting since it happened.

  “The MNPD investigation into the matter is still an active, ongoing criminal investigation and an open matter,” he wrote in the filing. “Based on my 34 years of experience in law enforcement, I believe that harmful and irreversible consequences could result from disclosing investigative files prematurely, including in this case.”

  Gibson said officers have been “meeting with, and grieving with the families” alongside working with state and federal agencies, interviewing witnesses, executing search warrants, and gathering documents, items and electronic files from the scene, Hale’s home, and her background.

  MNPD’s Arguments

  Hagar said the investigative file associated with the Covenant shooting is the result of “education and investigative experience utilized by law enforcement officers” to gather information relevant to the crime.

  “It is essential that police investigators be able to gather materials freely and broadly, using their judgment, without fear that materials they gather will prematurely be released to the public and cause prejudice to the effectiveness of the investigation,” Hagar continued. “I have a good faith belief that [MNPD’s] denial… of [the] public records requests were proper.”

  He and Gibson urged the court to allow MNPD to continue and conclude its investigation “in an unrushed, deliberate manner” before the records are released.

  

  Hagar did say, however, that after reviewing the redacted version of the writings submitted to the court alongside the unredacted version, he “does not believe” the release of redacted documents would “impede the investigation.”

  Gibson said on the matter, “Releasing any of the puzzle pieces too quickly could jeopardize putting this intricate puzzle together.”

  Gibson specified the documents and records MNPD is still in the process of gathering, such as social media records from the past two years, internet and bank account records, phone records, autopsy and toxicology reports, records obtained from search warrants, medical records including psychiatric treatment and gun and ammunition account records.

  Gibson also stated they are interviewing individuals identified in all the records and Hale’s actions for the months prior to the incident and following up on information discovered during the course of the investigation.

  “Many of these documents must be subpoenaed, and it takes time to get the records back,” Gibson wrote. “MNPD must then examine the content of the materials and the metadata. MNPD needs to review the assailant’s messaging data, internet search histories, and any other relevant evidence. This often can be a time-consuming process.”

  He goes on to say MNPD hasn’t had an opportunity to interview everyone “connected to the incident” or to review “all the materials it has gathered.”

  Parents Argue Against Any Release

  Earlier this week, the Covenant School and Covenant Presbyterian Church filed motions with the court to become a third-party intervener in the open records suit, stating the release of such documents could cause safety and security concerns as well as release the private information of church and school staff.

  On Wednesday, the parents of Covenant School students filed their motion, stating their filing had the “overwhelming” support of the Covenant community, with their estimations being that “three-quarters” of Covenant families expressed support to intervene in the suit.

  “This brief is filed on behalf of all three families who lost children who have endured a pain that no words can adequately describe,” they wrote. “This brief is filed on behalf of the surviving children who lived through an unimaginable nightmare and who must deal with the repercussions of that nightmare for the rest of their lives.”

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 19:00

• US Hawks Want Iron Dome For Ukraine, But It Would Be Ineffective 
  US Hawks Want Iron Dome For Ukraine, But It Would Be Ineffective 

  Israel has long rejected the idea of sending its Iron Dome missile defense systems to Ukraine, despite the pleadings of Zelensky and his officials. After all, the Iron Dome has been busy of late given recent missile barrages out of Gaza amid the flare-up in fighting. 

  But the Pentagon has signaled it could be prepared to ship its own Israeli-made Iron Dome systems, after earlier sending Patriot missile systems, the latter which may or may not be effective given Russia is now seeking to overwhelm Ukraine’s defenses.

  

  On Thursday a US general informed a Senate hearing that one of two Iron Dome batteries owned by the United States is ready for deployment to Ukraine. 

  Senator Angus King pressed Army Space and Missile Defense Command chief General Daniel Karbler on why Ukraine has not yet received the Iron Dome: 

  “We sent something like $3 billion to Israel to develop it… Wouldn’t this be a very important resource for the Ukrainians since their principal problem right now is missile defense?” the lawmaker asked.

  Gen. Karbler said that among two Iron Dome batteries in US inventories, one is ready to go if needed:

  “One completed new equipment training, new equipment fielding. It is prepared for deployment. The other one is wrapping up its new equipment training right now. So the army does have one available for deployment if we get a request,” he said.

  Sen. King’s argument is that given the US had a role in developing the system for the Israelis, Washington should have a say in whether Ukraine gets it.

  But the battlefield reality of the Ukraine situation means there are some significant complexities when it comes to deploying the Iron Dome. The system is effective for Israel given it is for Israel a ‘total coverage’ system over specific cities and towns within limited space. But Ukraine’s own wartime situation is very different.

  Ukraine is a vast territory being attacked by Russian aerial bombardments from multiple sides, and even from the Black Sea. The Jerusalem Post also noted analysis this week– 

  “If Israel needs 10 or more Iron Domes to properly defend itself, Ukraine would need dozens or more, which simply do not exist.”

  

  The Israeli publication also emphasized in the analysis: “One or two Iron Domes from the US would make no difference tactically, and at this point, probably would not even make much of a symbolic difference. And even then, the Iron Dome might fail to shoot down Putin’s more sophisticated missiles.”

  The Ukrainians have meanwhile been claiming (dubiously) to have shot down Russia’s hypersonic missiles with the US-supplied Patriots. Russia has called this claim “laughable”. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 18:40

• "Adversarial Actors, Home And Abroad"
  “Adversarial Actors, Home And Abroad”

  Authored by Thomas Neuberger via “God’s Spies” Substack,

  Which non-foreign ‘adversaries’ do elites have in mind when they promote domestic censorship and news blockades?

  

  I want to put three thoughts in front of you, drop three stones in the slipstream of your mind. Perhaps you’ll see the ripples as they cross, note their interaction, hear what their crossing says.

  The future this article previews isn’t new, just newly forgot.

  Domestic ‘Terror’ from the Activist Left

  First, from ace investigator Lee Fang (parts of this piece are subscriber-only):

  DHS and FBI Depict Vegan Activists as Potential Domestic Terrorists

  Imagine a young woman named Jane who recently adopted a vegan lifestyle after learning about factory farming in college. She discusses animal welfare and begins attending protests.

  For most, Jane’s experiences sound remarkably benign.

  But for the Department of Homeland Security, the young woman is following a “path of potential radicalization,” according to new documents released through a public records request.

  The scenario was one of several depicted in a violence prevention workshop from the DHS Office for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention, a division of the agency that works to counter domestic terrorism.

  Jane’s supposed path towards violence — as featured in the DHS workshop — is composed of little more than everyday experiences that many Americans take as they embrace activism.

  In the workshop scenario, Jane reacts with anger when discussing animal cruelty and mentions that she joined a group that has “a reputation for holding controversial protests.” She had not only become “an animal lover,” but had become “militant about food and animal rights, and other issues like testing.”

  Note the “workshop.” This is a report of a DHS workshop on domestic terrorism, where new threats may come from, and what to do. The source doc is here; you can probably guess the rest of what it says. If not, Fang lays it out.

  Here’s the cover portion of the document and summary-first remarks:

  

  Fang’s report includes the FBI component in defining the animal-rights “threat” to internal security:

  

  Can you see where this is headed? If you do, you’re not alone.

  The ‘Foreign-Domestic Switcheroo’

  The second stone drops here. Does what you read above touch what’s below?

  Through a complicated set of leaks (described here), we find “that the Aspen Institute hosted a ‘Hack-and-Dump Working Group’ exercise in the summer of 2020 titled, ‘Burisma Leak,’ which predicted with uncanny accuracy an upcoming derogatory story in the New York Post about Hunter Biden’s lost laptop.”

  Here’s a link to the Aspen Institute document in question. In it we find the following. First, from the Executive Summary (emphasis mine):

  Once a promise of free expression and the democratization of information, the Web and its many channels are now polluted with mis- and dis-information, bots, abuse, lies, and conspiracies – sometimes planned by adversarial actors from home and aboard.

  Then, from the section about dealing with “Reporting and Promoting Hack-and-Dumps”:

  As we countdown to election day, the risk of a major hack and dump of documents aimed at undermining a candidate or party grows more acute. How can news organizations put provenance front and center? What happens when fabricated documents are released alongside genuine (stolen) content? How can social feeds avoid serving as promoters of foreign or other adversarial entities? Aspen Digital is convening Platform Trust and Safety leaders, cybersecurity reporters, journalism ethicists and First Amendment attorneys to develop and adopt new norms guidelines for publication and coverage of hacked documents.

  Note that the Aspen Institute is not just a think tank. It’s where the elites’ 2020 discussion over moderation of hacked content was happening.

  Now consider what “promoters of foreign or other adversarial entities” means? The only other adversarial entity that isn’t foreign is … domestic. Can you trust, given what’s above, that this designation — “other adversarial entities” — is reserved just for Proud Boy types?

  About this, Matt Taibbi writes (emphasis mine):

  First of all, this notion that there may be fabrications mixed in with real content is a suggestion that pops up somewhere in nearly every one of these leak stories, even if all the material proves to be real (old friend Malcolm Nance did the job in 2016 in suggesting the Podesta leaks were “riddled with forgeries”). More importantly however, that last line is a great example of what former cybersecurity official and Foundation for Freedom Online head Mike Benz calls the “foreign-domestic switcheroo.”

  It’s the basic rhetorical trick of the censorship age: raise a fuss about a foreign threat, using it as a battering ram to get everyone from congress to the tech companies to submit to increased regulation and surveillance. Then, slowly, adjust your aim to domestic targets. You can see the subtlety: the original Stanford piece tries to stick to railing against “disinformation” and information from “foreign adversaries,” but the later paper circulated by Aspen slips in, ever so slightly, a new category of dubious source: “foreign or other adversarial entities.”

  These rhetorical devices are essential. It would be preposterous to form (as Stanford did) an “Information Warfare Working Group” if readers knew the “war” being contemplated was against domestic voices. … But if you start by focusing on Russians and only later mention as an afterthought “other adversarial entities,” you can frame things however you want, from espionage to warfare. As reader O’Neill correctly pointed out, “they are now getting close to being explicit about the fact that their motivation for suppressing news is to fight domestic political adversaries.”

  You don’t have to be a lover of these sources to hate what’s you’ve just found out. And I think it’s reasonable to fear, even if you fear Trump more than God herself, what our security agencies do with domestic power.

  Regime Change

  The last stone dropped in the pond is the oldest one. Before most of you were born, the halls of power fully understood that our security agencies, birthed in the Soviet threat, were fully capable — even tasked with the job — of making sure the global world was a safe American playground.

  The list of American-led coups in other countries is long as your leg and both arms. Start here to see most of it. Do these agencies act domestically as they do abroad? The FBI sure does. But what about the CIA and the rest of the alphabet community?

  Here’s what Robert Kennedy, the man who was murdered on his way to the 1968 nomination, thought of the murder that felled his brother Jack in 1963 (via The Hill, emphasis mine):

  [Robert] Kennedy Jr. said the first call his father, former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, made after learning his uncle had been shot was to a CIA desk officer.

  “My father said to him, ‘Did your people do this?’” Kennedy Jr. told Fox News’s “Hannity” on Monday. 

  “His next call was to [Enrique Ruiz-Williams], who was one of the Cuban Bay of Pigs leaders who had remained very, very close to our family and to my father,” he continued. “My father asked him the same question.”

  Kennedy Jr. said his father then called John McCone, the head of the CIA, and asked him to come to the family’s house.

  “When I came home [from] Sidwell Friends School, my father was walking in the yard with John McCone, and my father was posing the same question to him, ‘Was it our people who did this to my brother?’” he said. “It was my father’s first instinct that the agency had killed his brother.”

  The Hill later tags this story as a “conspiracy theory,” no doubt to distance itself from both charge and source. But the underlying report is nonetheless true, or RFK Jr. is lying.

  Ripples In the Pond

  What do these data points sum to? I’ll leave it to you. If you love the FBI as some today do, would you love them still if they thought their remit included squelching you and your kind, not just Trump and his, using control of media as their tool?

  As I’ve said before, it’s appropriate to fear what a Trump, or worse, a DeSantis — who unlike Trump, who loves adoration and cash, truly loves power — would do if power were given them.

  Is it therefore not also appropriate to fear these agencies?

  After all, their goals won’t always align with what’s broadly called “the left.” Their goals have never aligned with ours in the past. And unlike Republicans, who are only halfway to their goal, these agencies have power now, and practice using it.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 18:20

• G7 Day 1: Leaders Lecture Russia, China On Nuclear De-escalation While Standing In City Nuked By US
  G7 Day 1: Leaders Lecture Russia, China On Nuclear De-escalation While Standing In City Nuked By US

  Russia and the Ukraine war are of course high on the agenda for G7 leaders meeting in Hiroshima, Japan starting Friday. Given the venue, the summit kicked off Friday morning with the heads of state laying wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in commemoration of tens of thousands killed when the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city on August 6, 1945.

  Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida welcomed the leaders from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and United Kingdom for the meeting which is being held May 19 -21. EU officials are also present. Speaking from a city which was literally nuked, the G7 leaders called for a “world without nuclear weapons”… but this was aimed only a certain nations, given the statement singles out Russia, Iran, China and North Korea to embrace non-proliferation. The irony was lost on the Western officials, apparently.

  

  The G7 leaders blasted Moscow’s plans to send nuclear weapons to Belarus as “dangerous and unacceptable” and urged for the reimplementation of conformity to the terms of the New START treaty. And on China, the G7 statement said: “China’s accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency nor meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability.”

  The leaders further said that support of Ukraine is crucial to global stability and peace, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz saying “We have once again assured that we will give Ukraine the necessary support for as long as that is required” – in a press briefing on the first day.

  Concerning Russia, the US took the opportunity to unveil expanded sanctions: 

  The Biden administration has added 71 companies to a trade blacklist for supporting Russia.

  The US Department of Commerce’s action targets support for Russia’s military and expands the scope of export controls on Russia and Belarus. The blacklist includes 69 Russian entities, one from Armenia and one from Kyrgyzstan.

  The new export controls target oil and gas projects in Russia and Belarus, Commerce said. Other companies include aircraft repair and parts production plants, gunpowder, tractor and car factories, shipyards and engineering centres in Russia.

  And this amid reports commenting on the ‘success’ on the Russian oil price cap…

  “Following the implementation of the price cap policy, Russia’s oil revenues have fallen substantially compared to both pre-war levels and the elevated level at the onset of the war,” the Treasury said in a fresh report. “Despite selling a consistent volume of oil, Russia makes far less revenue on each barrel because its oil now trades at a significant discount relative to Brent crude, the global benchmark oil price,” the report emphasized.

  

  President Biden on the first day had this key announcement to G7 allies concerning what’s highest on Kiev’s “weapons shopping list”: 

  President Joe Biden informed G7 leaders on Friday that the US will support a joint effort with allies and partners to train Ukrainian pilots on fourth generation aircraft, including F-16s, a senior administration official tells CNN.

  The training is not expected to happen in the US, the official said, and will likely happen entirely in Europe. But US personnel will participate in the training alongside allies and partners in Europe, the official said. It is expected to take several months to complete.

  “As the training takes place over the coming months, our coalition of countries participating in this effort will decide when to actually provide jets, how many we will provide, and who will provide them,” the official said.

  There’s been talk among Western allies of forming a ‘fighter jet coalition’ – which Zelensky has been pushing for. The Ukrainian leader is expected to travel to Japan in order to address G7 leaders in person. On Friday he addressed the Arab League summit meeting in Saudi Arabia, and further met face-to-face with crown prince MbS. 

  Protests in the city which the United States nuked in WWII…

  Protests in Hiroshima against US🇺🇸 President Joe Biden’s visit for the G7 Summit. Biden refuses to apologise for the US using a nuclear bomb on the city in 1945, which killed 140,000 people. After the bombing, the US covered up the effects of radiation on the population by… pic.twitter.com/usauojFtEZ

  — Going Underground (@GUnderground_TV) May 19, 2023

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

  Most estimates put the number of Japanese civilians killed by the Hiroshima nuclear bomb dropped from an American plane at 70,000 or more killed. According to The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists:

  Such numbers were large, and appear to have had a sobering effect on President Harry S. Truman. After the August 9 Nagasaki raid (which he had no apparent foreknowledge of), he would put a stop to further bombing, telling his cabinet that “the thought of wiping out another 100,000 people was too horrible,” according to an August 10, 1945, diary entry by then-Secretary of Commerce Henry A. Wallace. It is not clear that Truman had any real sense of how many casualties there would have been prior to the attacks. The only pre-Hiroshima estimate on record is the recollection from Arthur Compton that at a May 31, 1945, meeting of the Interim Committee, J. Robert Oppenheimer had suggested that an atomic bomb dropped would kill “some 20,000 people” if exploded over a city. This is not recorded in the meeting minutes, nor in any other report or correspondence, so it does not seem that this estimate had any special weight to the participants. (Compton amended that this estimate had assumed people would seek shelter; given that no warning was issued for the attacks, this did not occur.)

  Oppenheimer would comment obliquely on this variance in before-and-after estimates during the hearing on his security clearance in 1954:

  

  Meanwhile, Rabobank comments as follows on what can be expected concerning ‘punishing’ Russia at the G7, also as the escalatory idea of an outright export ban is still floating around…

  “There appears to be a strong commitment by the G7 to support Ukraine and tighten the economic noose on Russia. Sanctions will be broadened to a wider group of goods, especially those that could facilitate Russia’s war effort. According to Bloomberg, the latest draft of a statement does not talk about a near outright ban on exports to Russia, though.”

  “Meanwhile, existing sanctions will be tightened by removing loopholes to circumvent them. This would include the strengthening of enforcement in regards to third countries through which Russia is importing banned goods. One key risk here is that the G7 (plus ‘coalition of the willing’) drive a wider gap between them and those countries that have taken on a more ‘neutral’ stance in the matter.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 18:00

• Reps. Jim Jordan, Mike Turner Threaten To Subpoena CIA In Hunter Biden Laptop Investigation
  Reps. Jim Jordan, Mike Turner Threaten To Subpoena CIA In Hunter Biden Laptop Investigation

  Authored by Ryan Morgan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) are threatening to subpoena the CIA to force it to address claims of its involvement in an intelligence community letter to discredit reports on Hunter Biden’s laptop.

  

  Last week, the two Republican-controlled House committees published a report alleging the CIA’s Prepublication Classification Review Board (PCRB) reviewed and approved an October 2020 letter by 51 former U.S. intelligence community officials, which alleged reports about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” The Republican report also alleged a PCRB employee may have recruited signatories for the letter discrediting the negative reporting about Hunter Biden and his father, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden.

  The laptop materials, which were first reported by the New York Post, indicated Joe Biden knew about his son’s foreign business dealings despite having denied such knowledge throughout the 2020 election cycle.

  Jordan and Turner sent a letter (pdf) to CIA Director William Burns on Wednesday, requesting that the agency turn over additional documents relating to its involvement in the October 2020 intelligence community letter. The Republican chairmen threatened to use their subpoena power to compel the intelligence agency to divulge its records.

  PCRB’s Role in Intel Community Letter

  According to the May 10 Republican report (pdf), former CIA officials played an active role in recruiting signatories for the letter discrediting the Hunter Biden laptop reports.

  The report alleges U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was working for the Biden campaign at the time, reached out to former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell on Oct. 17, 2020, to discuss the intelligence community letter. Morell, an Obama-era CIA official, was quick to agree to the plan and actively recruited other signatories.

  On Oct. 19, 2020, two days after discussing the letter with Blinken, Morell sent a final draft of the letter to the PCRB for review. Morell told the CIA board “[t]his is a rush job, as it need to get out as soon as possible.” According to the Republican report, the signatories hoped to give then-candidate Joe Biden a “talking point” to defend against the Hunter Biden laptop reporting during his final presidential debate with Donald Trump on Oct. 22, 2020.

  The PCRB’s sole function is to make sure current and former CIA employees aren’t disclosing classified information in any materials they may release publicly. The board, therefore, has an influential role over current and former agency employees who may be pursuing potentially lucrative book deals about their time working for America’s premier spy agency.

  One such signatory, former CIA analyst David Cariens, told congressional investigators that his book was up for consideration by the PCRB at the time Morell and other former intelligence community officials were looking for people to sign their letter. Cariens told investigators that a CIA employee affiliated with the PCRB informed him of the intelligence community letter and asked if he would sign it. Cariens said “the person in charge of reviewing the book” called to tell him that it had been approved without any changes required and then told him about the letter.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 17:40

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Europe Approves World’s First Cryptocurrency Regulations
  Europe Approves World’s First Cryptocurrency Regulations

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

  The European Union has approved a set of rules—the first such regulation in the world—to regulate crypto assets like cryptocurrencies and tokens in a bid to curb money laundering activities and protect investors.

  

  The markets in crypto-assets (MiCA) legislation was approved on May 16 by EU ministers. The new rules will increase transparency and create a comprehensive framework for businesses operating in crypto markets, including compliance with anti-money laundering rules, according to a May 16 press release. “Recent events have confirmed the urgent need for imposing rules which will better protect Europeans who have invested in these assets, and prevent the misuse of crypto industry for the purposes of money laundering and financing of terrorism,” said Elisabeth Svantesson, Minister for Finance of Sweden.

  Crypto markets have suffered in recent months due to the collapse of multiple firms. FTX, Alameda, Core Scientific, Voyager Digital, Celsius Network, BlockFi, and Three Arrows Capital are some of the major crypto companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and decided to liquidate their assets to pay back customers. Each of these firms is estimated to have liabilities worth billions of dollars that they owe to thousands of creditors.

  MiCA was approved unanimously by members of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (EcoFin). EcoFin represents the economic and finance ministers of all 27 EU nations.

  In May last year, European Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde raised concerns about cryptocurrencies during an interview on Dutch television.

  “I have said all along the crypto assets are highly speculative, very risky assets,” Lagarde told the program. “My very humble assessment is that it is worth nothing. It is based on nothing, there is no underlying assets to act as an anchor of safety.”

  Earlier, the ECB President had called Bitcoin a “highly speculative asset” that contributes to money laundering activity.

  The Legislation

  MiCA covers issuers of utility tokens, asset-referenced tokens, as well as stablecoins. Service providers like trading venues and crypto wallets also come under its purview. The legislation is on track to become law in the EU region this summer, and is expected to be rolled out from 2024.

  Firms looking to issue, trade, or safeguard crypto assets in the EU bloc will have to secure a license to do so. MiCA aims to combat tax evasion and money laundering via cryptocurrencies by making transactions involving these instruments easier to trace.

  Beginning January 2026, service providers in the crypto industry will have to obtain the names of senders and beneficiaries of digital assets irrespective of the amount involved in the transaction.

  Entities doing business in the crypto sector will be obliged to ensure their security protocols are up to the required standard. They have to comply with stringent rules to protect consumer funds and can become liable in case the funds of investors are lost.

  MiCA establishes liquidity and disclosure requirements for crypto companies. The management of a crypto firm may be fined in case they fail to make sure the reserve funds are properly managed.

  US Situation

  Efforts to establish comprehensive regulation in the crypto industry are also underway in the United States. In March 2022, President Joe Biden issued an executive order seeking to ensure the responsible development of digital assets.

  Since then, multiple government agencies have been framing policies aimed at pushing six areas of focus outlined in the order, including protecting investors and customers, ensuring financial stability, and countering illicit finance.

  In September, the Biden administration released its first-ever comprehensive framework aimed at regulating digital assets like cryptocurrencies.

  In January 2023, a White House blog post highlighted some of the dangers posed by cryptocurrencies while calling on Congress to pass new laws to limit criminal activity in the sector.

  Officials characterized digital assets as a promising nascent industry that needs to be reined in to protect consumers. It also asked that laws incentivizing more investment into crypto be avoided.

  “Legislation should not greenlight mainstream institutions, like pension funds, to dive headlong into cryptocurrency markets,” the blog said. “It would be a grave mistake to enact legislation that reverses course and deepens the ties between cryptocurrencies and the broader financial system.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/19/2023 – 02:00

• Murray Rothbard On Taiwan & The Third World War
  Murray Rothbard On Taiwan & The Third World War

  Authored by Joseph Solis-Mullen via The Libertarian Institute, 

  Writing pseudonymously in a series of articles for Faith and Freedom in the 1950s, Murray Rothbard took on the question of whether or not the United States should defend Formosa (Taiwan) from attack by mainland China. While his conclusions will surprise no one familiar with his work (that war is the health of the state, that individuals concerned with the fate of Taiwan should do as they will privately, but that their lives and property are not for the government to command), a review of the articles’ contents are worthwhile, nonetheless.

  For apart from such typically memorably Rothbardian lines as “only those who want to socialize America really look forward to the third and perhaps last World War,” we find many of the same ludicrous rationales for war with China used today excoriated with great wit by Rothbard.

  

  For example, Rothbard begins the first of these, “Along Pennsylvania Avenue,” by rhetorically posing the question of how it happened that a smattering of islands eighty miles off the coast of mainland China became “necessary to our defense,” and as an answer he replies:

  …[the government] were forced to portray the Reds as “island hopping” their way to the United States. […For] if the Reds take Formosa, they will be one island nearer to the United States. It is an age-old story: a peaceful Pacific “moat” is needed for our defense. In order to protect his moat, we must secure friendly countries or bases all around it. To protect Japan and the Philippines, we must defend Formosa, to protect Formosa we must defend the Pescadores. To protect the Pescadores, we must defend Quemoy, an island three miles off the Chinese mainland. To protect Quemoy we must equip Chiang’s troops for an invasion of the mainland. Where does this process end? Logically, never (18).

  Readers unfamiliar with the history of the region may be interested in some additional context regarding Rothbard’s mention of equipping Chiang Kai-shek, the dictator of Taiwan and exiled leader of China’s failed Republic, for an invasion of the mainland. Despite having been driven from the off by force of arms, and only secured in their island fortress by virtue of the United States Navy repeatedly intervening to prevent a cross-strait invasion by the PLA, it was the official policy of Taipei to retake the mainland by force. Though such plains never got far off the ground—and were mostly abandoned by the 1970s—it was not until the constitutional revisions of the 1990s that Taiwan officially gave up such a policy of armed reconquest in favor of focusing strictly on its own defense.

  Writing in the 1950s, near the height of the first Taiwan Strait Crisis and when talk of an invasion of the mainland by Taipei was still openly planned and called for by Chiang, Rothbard heroically pushed back against those who equated isolation with appeasement.

  In a scene all too familiar, he complained that Congress’ answer to heightened tensions over Formosa was to write what “amounted to a blank check for war in China whenever the President shall deem it necessary,” noting sadly that only two congressmen had opposed the resolution on the grounds that the United States should not actively seek to “engage their boys in a war on foreign soil,” the rest merely arguing over the scope or scale of the commitment to be made.

  Rothbard was predictably red-baited for his efforts, even attacked by a fellow “libertarian” in Faith and Freedom. He defended himself in a series of further articles, “Fight for Formosa?” Parts I & II, and reflecting on the experience some years later in The Betrayal of the American Right he had this to say:

  I could never—and still cannot—detect one iota of devotion to ‘freedom’ in the worldview of those whose zeal for crusading abroad makes them blind to the real enemy: the invasion of our liberty by the State…to give up our freedom in order to “preserve” it is only succumbing to the Orwellian dialectic that “freedom is slavery.”

  Indeed.

  The distance between Payson, UT, USA and Qigu District, Tainan City, Taiwan 724 is 11176km #Maps #GIS #Earth pic.twitter.com/C3FLyAQWFY

  — Random Distance (@RandomDistance) February 14, 2018

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  Those who today reasonably say that the defense of an island eighty miles off the coast of mainland China and five thousand miles from Hawaii (let alone the mainland United States) cannot possibly be a core national interest can take comfort in following the footsteps of such brave and principled forebearers as Rothbard.

  Americans can and must say NO! to the new Cold War and refuse efforts by Washington to provoke Beijing with regards to Taiwan, virtually its only declared “red line.”

  That is, unless another disaster like Ukraine is the goal—which it may well be.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 23:40

• Global Executions Hit Highest Rate In Five Years
  Global Executions Hit Highest Rate In Five Years

  The number of people executed under the death penalty increased by 53 percent in 2022, according to a landmark report by Amnesty International, with the global death toll hitting 883 people, up from 579 the year before.

  This marks the highest execution rate in five years.

  As Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, according to Amnesty, three countries – Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia – accounted for 90 percent of all known executions.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Iran saw an 83 percent increase, rising from 341 in 2021 to at least 576 people being killed in 2022. Of these cases, 255 were drug-related offenses and 279 were for murder. This grim trend has continued into this year, with at least 94 people put to death in the country in January and February alone, with executions used as a tool of ethnic repression, according to Amnesty.

  Saudi Arabia’s numbers also saw a major increase, tripling from 65 to 196 people. This marks the highest number of known executions recorded in the country in 30 years. The change was mainly driven by an increase of executions for terrorism-related offenses (rising from 9 in 2021 to 85 in 2022) as well as the resumption of executions for drug-related offenses (rising from 0 in 2021 to 57 in 2022). Egypt executed 24 people and handed out 538 death sentences that year.

  China continues to be considered the most serious executioner, with deaths expected to be in their thousands. Our chart excludes these figures, however, as the secrecy of the state means that exact death count remains unknown. Amnesty said that figures are also unknown for North Korea and Vietnam, and adds that the total yearly figures represent the minimum values.

  The known executions recorded and used in this chart were carried out in 20 countries in 2022, up from 18 the year before. In the United States 2022 saw 18 executions nationwide, which is an increase from the 11 the year before, but still remains among the country’s lowest figures.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 23:20

• Who Is Better At Raising Your Child, You Or The State?
  Who Is Better At Raising Your Child, You Or The State?

  Authored by Mattias Desmet via Substack (emphasis ours),

  The Belgian politician Connor Rousseau and his social-democratic Vooruit party want to require parents to send their children to day care and kindergarten. There are still politicians who think of the children. And the logic is conclusive: the first six years of life are decisive for the future life of the child. That cannot be left to the parents. The state must take its responsibility and release money. A few billion is enough to get the job done.

  

  No one knows where that money will come from. But if necessary, some additional printing can be done. That is actually a way to make the population pay more taxes without them realizing it. Citizens nowadays pay barely 53 percent taxes. A little more loyalty to the state is welcome. Moreover, it is for their own good, and that of their descendants. Citizens do not realize enough how important it is that their children are brought up well. Just as they do not realize that they cannot actually do that themselves and that the state must do it for them.

  And if inflation leads to the collapse of the financial system, then a solution is already at hand: the introduction of the CBDC—the digital currency of the central banks. This will be linked to the digital passport and a social credit system. In this way, the state will educate not only the child, but the parents as well, according to a system of punishment and reward that Pavlov tested on dogs.

  Granted, Pavlov concluded that his system of rewards and punishment really only works if you know the character of the individual dog. Every dog ultimately reacts in its own way to rewards and punishment. We can ask ourselves whether the state will also take the individual character of the child-puppies in daycare into account in its state education. That chance is small. Connor Rousseau believes that every child should receive equal opportunities and thus an equal education. Whether the child actually benefits from it or not is beside the point.

  The state has to guarantee the quality of education and will therefore also have to monitor and evaluate it. Just as the state cannot trust the weighty job of parenting to parents, it cannot trust the job of childcare to childcare providers. They will therefore have to be subjected to strict protocols, as befits a good bureaucracy. And those protocols will be designed by experts who have scientifically determined which conditioning techniques lead to the best adapted little New Citizen.

  During the coronavirus crisis, those experts—not the same, of course, because there are experts for every part of your private life—also took control of your health and that of your children. Just as you don’t know how to raise your child now, you didn’t know then how to take care of your own health and that of your offspring.

  We were all urged to get ourselves and our children vaccinated, especially so that grandma and grandpa would not get infected. Here and there, rare critical scientists suggested that a vaccine could not prevent infections, partly because coronaviruses mutate quickly. People didn’t listen to such nonsense–these scientists were thrown off Twitter and robbed of their jobs.

  And those who refused to get vaccinated were treated as second-class citizens. They were no longer allowed to go to a restaurant or a theater. In some countries they were banned from taking public transport. French President Macron believed that their lives should be made into a living hell. Totalitarian leaders are so convinced that their logic is the only correct one—one that will ultimately lead to Paradise—that all basic tenets of humanity get thrown overboard in pursuit of that logic.

  Unfortunately, the totalitarian logic, as it has throughout history, failed. The Great Guardian of American public health, Anthony Fauci, now says pretty much the same thing as those critical voices—that the virus is mutating too quickly to develop a vaccine that protects against infection on a long-term basis. Experts refer to this as the progressive nature of science. Apparently science progresses very quickly these days. Almost as fast as Pfizer’s share price during that same year.

  Chances are, childrearing expertise is a work in progress, as well. When parents notice that their little New Citizen, through his state upbringing, is not as happy and perfect as protocol had promised, their only consolation will be that by willingly giving their child to the state they have contributed to the advancement of Science.

  The problem with this kind of “science” is that it fails to recognize that education and health are both phenomena that deal primarily with individuality—a person’s unique characteristics as a subject. The literature on placebo and nocebo effects should in itself be enough to dispel any doubt: the subjective appreciation of a treatment determines its therapeutic effects. In the same way, the core of a good upbringing focuses on the individuality of the child. The educator must see the child in his singularity—he must love the child for his uniqueness. Without that love, education becomes indoctrination.

  A protocol-based education inevitably fails. Although the Great Parenting Experts will probably explain their failure in a different way. It will still be the parents’ fault, after all. And the Great State Education should actually start even earlier, preferably in Huxley’s bottling room.

  And if your love for your child should give you the courage to call the state to account, you will find that you actually have nowhere to go. Hannah Arendt noted about bureaucracies 50 years ago: “In a fully developed bureaucracy there is nobody left with whom one can argue, to whom one can present grievances, on whom the pressures of power can be exerted. Bureaucracy is the form of government in which everybody is deprived of political freedom, of the power to act; for the rule by Nobody is not no-rule, and where all are equally powerless, we have a tyranny without a tyrant.” (Hannah Arendt, “On Violence”)

  Just to say: I would be careful with the idea of an Ideal State Education. If the state has to protect children from their parents, parents have to protect their children from the state.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 23:00

• Battered By Inflation, 90 Million Americans Struggle Paying Bills As Credit Card Usage Spikes
  Battered By Inflation, 90 Million Americans Struggle Paying Bills As Credit Card Usage Spikes

  A large swath of American consumers are facing financial hardship as they grapple with elevated living costs, record-high credit card use, and two years of negative real wage growth. This perfect storm could decimate financially fragile households in the next downturn. 

  As many as 89.1 million American adults (or about 38.5%) were found to experience some form of difficulty in covering expenses between April 26 and May 8, according to Bloomberg, citing new data from the Household Pulse Survey. This is up from 34.4% in 2022 and 26.7% during the same period in 2021. 

  

  The rising trend is alarming but not surprising. Consumers have been battered by two years of negative real wage growth.

  

  As wages fail to outpace the cost of living, many consumers have burned through savings and resorted to credit cards. The latest revolving credit data shows consumers appear to be ‘strong,’ but that’s only because they use their plastic cards more than ever to survive. 

  

  The Household Pulse Survey found struggling households were primarily based across West Coast and the South. 

  

  Compared with the same period last year, the survey found 2.7 million more households were relying on credit cards to cover expenses. 

  

  Consumers have record card debt and ultra-low savings rates and are paying some of the highest borrowing costs in a generation (the average interest rate on cards now exceeds 20%). This debt is becoming insurmountable for some as delinquencies rise. 

  And what we have now is new debit and credit card data published by the Bank of America Institute that shows not just spending slowdown for lower-income consumers, but also the upper-income cohort is finally starting to crack. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 22:40

• FBI Concerned Jan. 6 Footage Would Expose Undercover Agents, Informants: Whistleblower
  FBI Concerned Jan. 6 Footage Would Expose Undercover Agents, Informants: Whistleblower

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

  

  FBI officials were concerned that footage from inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, would show undercover agents and confidential informants, a whistleblower said in testimony revealed on May 18.

  George Hill, a retired supervisory intelligence analyst who worked out of the FBI’s Boston field office, recounted that the bureau’s Washington field office (WFO) pressured officials in Boston to open investigations on 138 people who attended a rally on Jan. 6, 2021, even though there were no indications the people violated the law.

  🚨BREAKING🚨

  FBI whistleblower testifies under oath that FBI won’t allow 11,000+ hours of J6 footage to be released b/c it would expose undercover agents committing crimes inside Capitol

  Not only was J6 a Fed setup, but now it’s confirmed that FBI is also covering its tracks pic.twitter.com/k6I8gLSqaO

  — DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) May 18, 2023

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  Boston officials pushed back, saying they would need evidence, such as footage of individuals inside the Capitol, to open investigations of the individuals.

  “Happy to do it. Show us where they were inside the Capitol, and we’ll look into it,” one official was quoted as saying.

  “We can’t show you those videos unless you can tell us the exact time and place those individuals were inside the Capitol,” WFO officials responded, according to Hill.

  Hill said Boston officials questioned why they couldn’t get access to the tranche of some 11,000 hours of footage from inside the Capitol.

  “Because there may be—may be—UCs, undercover officers, or … confidential human sources, on those videos whose identity we need to protect,” Washington-based officials responded.

  “FBI says it won’t release Jan 6 surveillance video because it would show too many undercover government agents and informants”

  Uhh … this is insane!!

  How many were there? I’m mean … just approximately.

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 19, 2023

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  Hill recounted the discussions during testimony to the U.S. House’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The clip from the testimony was played during a hearing on May 18 and detailed in a report the panel released based on whistleblower disclosures.

  The FBI’s national headquarters and the WFO didn’t respond to requests for comment.

  

  Wray Testimony

  Marcus Allen, another FBI employee who has also become a whistleblower, has alleged that he was retaliated against because he shared an email with other FBI workers that questioned whether FBI Director Christopher Wray was truthful while testifying to Congress.

  “You believe that Christopher Wray indicated that there were no confidential informants, no FBI assets that were present at the Capitol on Jan. 6 that were part of the violent riot, isn’t that right?” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a member of the subcommittee, asked Allen.

  “Yes, sir,” Allen said.

  They appeared to be referring to testimony given behind closed doors.

  After playing the clip of Hill’s comments, Gaetz said, “You got retaliated against for the very thing, for saying the very thing that the Washington field office was telling Boston.”

  Wray told one congressional panel in a public hearing in late 2022 that he wouldn’t say whether the bureau had confidential sources embedded among the Jan. 6 protesters.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 22:20

• TSA Pilot-Tests Controversial Facial Recognition Technology At These 16 Airports
  TSA Pilot-Tests Controversial Facial Recognition Technology At These 16 Airports

  The next time you find yourself at airport security, prepare to look directly into a camera. The Transportation Security Administration is quietly testing controversial facial recognition technology at airports nationwide. 

  AP News said 16 airports, including Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall and Reagan National near Washington, as well as ones in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Jose, and Gulfport-Biloxi and Jackson in Mississippi, have installed kiosks with cameras (at some TSA checkpoints) that allow passengers to insert their government-issued ID and look into a camera as facial recognition technology asses if the ID and person match. 

  

  Here’s what to expect at airports utilizing this new technology:

  Travelers put their driver’s license into a slot that reads the card or place their passport photo against a card reader. Then they look at a camera on a screen about the size of an iPad, which captures their image and compares it to their ID. The technology is both checking to make sure the people at the airport match the ID they present and that the identification is in fact real. A TSA officer is still there and signs off on the screening. -AP

  “What we are trying to do with this is aid the officers to actually determine that you are who you say who you are,” said Jason Lim, identity management capabilities manager, during a recent demonstration of the technology to reporters at BWI. 

  TSA said the pilot test is voluntary, and passengers can opt out. The facial recognition technology has raised concerns among critics, like five senators (four Democrats and an Independent) who sent a letter in February to the TSA requesting the pilot test be halted immediately. 

  “Increasing biometric surveillance of Americans by the government represents a risk to civil liberties and privacy rights,” the senators said. 

  The letter continued:

  “We are concerned about the safety and security of Americans’ biometric data in the hands of authorized private corporations or unauthorized bad actors.

  “As government agencies grow their database of identifying images, increasingly large databases will prove more and more enticing targets for hackers and cybercriminals.”

  Meg Foster, a justice fellow at Georgetown University’s Center on Privacy and Technology, is concerned that even though the TSA says it’s not storing biometric data, it collects, “What if that changes in the future?” 

  Jeramie Scott, with the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said that even though the TSA facial recognition kiosks are being tested, it could be only a matter of time before it becomes a more permanent fixture at checkpoints. 

  Despite the US being a first-world country, it has third-world protections for its people. There’s an increasing number of government agencies that want your biometric data. Even the IRS wants your face. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 22:00

• "Huge" Bearish Bets Gone Wrong Cost Carl Icahn $9 Billion In Losses
  “Huge” Bearish Bets Gone Wrong Cost Carl Icahn $9 Billion In Losses

  Regular readers may recall that there was a time back in 2016 when Carl Icahn emerged as one of the market’s biggest bears, warning CNBC that a lot of companies are “way overvalued” and that he was “very concerned about the market in the short-term“, not long after we first reported that the bearish exposure of the billionaire’s investment vehicle, Icahn Enterprises, had gone a record 149% net short.

  Icahn Enterprises net and gross exposure https://t.co/s89xgVnGZz pic.twitter.com/69S1GSZPAn

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 5, 2016

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  Icahn Enterprises has gone a record -149% net short https://t.co/eVFOLfvvTk pic.twitter.com/a2G058THyQ

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 10, 2016

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  And despite frequent at-the-time accusations that Uncle Carl was merely trying to find exit liquidity with his apocalyptic rhetoric, and was secretly bullish taking the other side of others’ liqujidations, we now learn that Icahn’s bearishness at a time when the S&P was moving higher year after year was not only real but ended up costing him dearly. 

  The FT has reported that Carl Icahn admitted he was wrong to make a “huge bet” that the market would crash after the ill-fated trade cost his firm nearly $9bn over roughly six years.

  According to a Financial Times analysis, the prominent activist investor lost about $1.8bn in 2017 on hedging positions that would have paid out if asset prices had tumbled before losing a further $7bn between 2018 and the first quarter of this year.

  “I’ve always told people there is nobody who can really pick the market on a short-term or an intermediate-term basis,” Icahn told the FT in an interview to discuss the analysis. “Maybe I made the mistake of not adhering to my own advice in recent years.”

  According to the FT, Icahn Enterprises started aggressively betting on a market collapse in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and became increasingly bolder in subsequent years, deploying a complex strategy that involved shorting broad market indices, individual companies, commercial mortgages and debt securities.

  At times, Icahn’s notional bearish exposure exceeded $15bn according to regulatory filings. “You never get the perfect hedge, but if I kept the parameters I always believed in . . . I would have been fine,” he said. “But I didn’t.”

  In retrospect, the perfect hedge would have been… a zero hedge. But we digress.

  Icahn Enterprises, the billionaire’s majority owned listed vehicle which has been hammered in recent weeks by losses as a result of a short report by another prominent bear, Hindenburg Research, reported a total of $4.3bn in short losses in 2020 and 2021 as markets quickly rebounded from the pandemic slump following the Federal Reserve’s huge stimulus.

  “I obviously believed the market was in for great trouble,” said Icahn. “[But] the Fed injected trillions of dollars into the market to fight Covid and the old saying is true: ‘don’t fight the Fed’.”

  It’s the same logic we applied in the aftermath of the bank failures in March, when contrary to consensus popular opinion that markets would crash, we said the chase was only starting as a result of the massive liquidity injection by the Fed to stabilize markets. We were right.

  Chase begins pic.twitter.com/DLPt5w8DG4

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 17, 2023

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  The trades, the FT writes, have left Icahn in a vulnerable position and threaten to undermine his status as one of the most feared activist investors on Wall Street.

  As Icahn’s short bets were margin called and drained billions of dollars from his investment firm, he plowed nearly $4bn of his own money into his publicly listed vehicle, filings show. That injection helped keep the firm’s internally calculated investment portfolio value relatively stable. Incidentally, it was back in 2016 when we first speculated that Icahn would be subject to margin calls and would have to inject fresh liquidity.

  Margin call? ICAHN ENTERPRISES L.P.: FILES $1B MIXED SECURITIES SHELF

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 9, 2016

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  Icahn exposed himself to another risk by taking out a margin loan that was first disclosed in early 2022. Hindenburg’s report drew attention to the margin loan from Morgan Stanley, against which Icahn pledged 60% of his stake in Icahn Enterprises as collateral. Hindenburg argued this could lead to his business unravelling if the plunging stock price triggers a margin call that would force Icahn to liquidate some of his stake (which of course is standard operating practice for every margin loan and was used for years as the lynchpin of the bearish thesis against Tesla, much to the disappointment of countless bears who were steamrolled as the stock exploded higher).

  In a statement earlier this month that addressed Hindenburg’s allegations, Icahn Enterprises said Icahn was in “full compliance” with regards to all personal loans and announced a $500mn stock buyback authorisation in a bid to bolster its share price. With regards to its market valuation, the company said that “over time, [our] performance will speak for itself”.

  Icahn told the FT that he had used the margin loan to make additional investments and had billions of dollars of cash outside of his public vehicle. “Over the years I have made a great deal of money with money,” he said. “I like to have a war chest and doing that gave me more of a war chest,” he added, referring to the margin loan.

  Icahn Enterprises has warned that “a prolonged decline” in its stock price “could increase the likelihood of a foreclosure or forced sale” of Icahn’s stake if he was “subject to a ‘margin call’”.

  Ironically, after losing billions on his short bet when the Fed kept propping markets higher, it is a market crash that could now lead to ruin for the famous corporate raider and billionaire.

  Icahn’s bearish bets are the main reason his investment portfolio has lost money in every year since 2014. Over the roughly six year period that he lost $9bn on the short bets, the portfolio made about $6bn from his activist wagers, leaving the vehicle with an overall investment loss of nearly $3bn.

  Don’t fight the Fed, indeed.

  Separately, Icahn Enterprises generated $3.5bn of gains during the period by selling companies it controlled — including casinos and a railcar leasing business — that were held outside the investment portfolio.

  Over the past six years, the NAV of Icahn Enterprises fell from $7.9bn in 2017 to $5.6bn this month, net of fresh injections. That poses a potential problem for Icahn, who has historically taken the large $8 a share annual dividend in stock rather than cash. This has caused the number of outstanding shares to more than double over the roughly six-year period, pushing its net asset value per share down from $33 to roughly $16.

  Retail investors who took their dividends in cash would have received more than $40 a share during the same period.

  As pressure on his firm mounts, Icahn has been forced to rein in his short bets just as some investors fear that a regional banking crisis and the debt ceiling stand-off could result in a sharp market sell-off.

  “I still to some extent believe that this economy is not good and there are going to be problems ahead,” Icahn said. “We are still hedged, but not to the extent we were.”

  Which is precisely why they call it a max pain market: only after the last bear has been carted out feet first, will stocks finally crash.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 21:38

• Imran Khan Is In A Standoff With Police Who Have Surrounded His House
  Imran Khan Is In A Standoff With Police Who Have Surrounded His House

  Former Prime Minister Imran Khan said Thursday that his prior arrest (and release after mass protests and unrest) is part of a broader government crackdown against his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in order to keep him out of power and prevent him from contesting the upcoming general election.

  “All the political parties and the establishment want me removed from the electoral field in an election year,” he told supporters while pointing out that police starting the day prior surrounded his house and blocked roads.

  On Wednesday he had said his arrest was “imminent” – but it appears police have since backed off the “siege” of his house following the threat of clashes with his many supporters that also showed up to the neighborhood.

  

  Police claimed his house was sheltering fugitives who engaged in violent protests last week in the wake of his controversial arrest on on a range of corruption charges.

  This week Pakistan’s military promised swift justice for those who spread mayhem, vandalism and violence against the army and police:

  Rioters and their backers who attacked Pakistan’s state assets and military installations during protests that erupted after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan will be tried under army laws, the country’s civilian and military leaders have said.

  The decision was announced on Tuesday after a meeting of the National Security Committee chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

  Sharif’s office followed with a statement: “The meeting endorsed to bring the miscreants, the planners who incited for violence and their facilitators to dock by trying them under constitutional provisions of concerned laws, including Pakistan Army Act and Official Secrets Act.”

  “Whoever are the planners and whoever incited these miscreants … they don’t deserve any leniency,” Sharif said. Khan has all along blamed Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir for his arrest and conspiring to keep him out of power.

  Reportedly scenes from outside my house while I was addressing the nation pic.twitter.com/a5vNgwMFLz

  — Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 17, 2023

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  At least eight people were killed (some sources say more) and many hundreds wounded in the pro-Khan demonstrations and riots, including some among the army and security services, who were called to restore order in Islamabad. Buildings, including a national radio broadcast center, were burned to the ground, and army bases were also breached in some cases. But the military is now vowing “no more”…

  General Asim Munir has said that “planned and orchestrated tragic incidents” of May 9, the day military installations were attacked, will never be allowed again at any cost, ARY News reported.

  The army chief during his visit to Sialkot Garrison said: “No one will be allowed to disrespect our martyrs and their monuments. They are a source of inspiration and pride for the rank and file of the Armed Forces, Law Enforcement Agencies, Government officials and the people of Pakistan.”

  Meanwhile, here’s where things stand Thursday regarding the showdown outside Khan’s residence, according to regional media:

  Pakistani police kept up their siege around the home of Imran Khan as a 24-hour deadline given to the former PM to hand over suspects ‘sheltered inside’ expired on Thursday afternoon. The siege and the authorities’ demand for the suspects, wanted in violent protests over Khan’s recent detention, has angered the former prime minister’s supporters and is raising concerns about more clashes between them and the security forces.

  Imran Khan was freed from custody over the weekend and returned to his home in an upscale district of Lahore. Dozens of his supporters have been staying there with him, along with private guards. Police, who on Wednesday surrounded the residence, say they want 40 suspects handed over. The ultimatum for Khan ends at 2 p.m. local time.

  When the illegal caretaker Punjab govt announced that 40 terrorists were hiding in my house. Should they not have named them?

  The reason they didn’t was because what they were planning was to bring 30-40 people with them and then accuse me for harboring terrorists just like last…

  — Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 18, 2023

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

  If Khan is arrested again, and this remains a likely scenario, the country will ignite again – given tensions continue to be at boiling point over Khan’s fate, and anti-government unrest has continued in some locations.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 21:20

• The Numbers Are In On How Biden-Era Funding Is Skewing Scientific Research Ever-Wokeward
  The Numbers Are In On How Biden-Era Funding Is Skewing Scientific Research Ever-Wokeward

  Authored by Steve Miller via RealClear Wire,

  While pushing record spending for research and development, the Biden administration is working not just to advance science but also progressive ideology. In line with the administration’s “whole of government” commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, recent grants and requests for proposals from the National Science Foundation encompass research that: 

  • Examines how artificial intelligence may exhibit bias against “disadvantaged groups.”  

  • Looks at the negative experiences of minorities studying engineering and finds ways to create a culture that makes “diversity, equity, and inclusion a priority in the engineering enterprise.”  

  • Creates “equitable mathematics” by exploring how math instruction “may serve to marginalize students.”

  

  Critics, including some scientists, claim such projects are outside the scope of the National Science Foundation, whose $10 billion annual budget is one of the government’s prime mechanisms for supporting basic research in the non-medical sciences. Through 11,000 awards each year to academic and corporate researchers, the NSF sets the agenda for inquiry in a wide variety of fields including computer science, environmental science, mathematics, engineering, and the social and psychological sciences. 

  “People should realize that [we] are paying tax money to fund science that should be going to help improve people’s lives,” said Leif Rasmussen, a research Ph.D. student at Northwestern University who has analyzed NSF research grant funding in a white paper titled, “Increasing Politicization and Homogeneity in Scientific Funding.”  

  “That money isn’t always going to that [and] is instead pushing an agenda in which people have to use the right words,” Rasmussen adds.  

  His research shows that the emergence of politically driven science did not begin with the Biden administration. He found that 3% of successfully executed NSF grants in 1990 included indicative terms such as “equity,” “inclusion,” or “diversity.” In 2020, such words appeared in 30% of grants. And the number rose to 36% of all executed grants in 2021, the first year of the Biden administration and the last year he has numbers for. 

  “These types of grants claim diversity is inherently beneficial to scientific progress, but ironically, that statement has not come anywhere close to being validated scientifically,” Rasmussen added in an email. He noted that the “NSF reviews are conducted by a community of academic scientists and so the community is still responsible for the ideological turn.” 

  An NSF spokeswoman, Martha Vilarchao Klinck, defended the foundation’s DEI efforts.  

  “For more than two decades, NSF has been engaged in a concerted effort to address racial disparity,” she said in an email. “NSF’s extensive portfolio of funded activities aimed at broadening participation in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] provides a strong foundation for such efforts. We continue to work with the STEM community, government agencies and other stakeholders to better understand the barriers and how best to support efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM.” 

  The increasing politicization of NSF grants echoes the embrace of progressive ideology across the sciences, including the medical sector,  a focus of earlier RealClearInvestigations reporting. 

  Many medical schools now require a DEI statement from applicants, and some course studies begin with the preconception of implicit bias in the healthcare system. That assumption is embedded in grants from the National Institutes of Health, the primary source of federal funding.  

  “There is plenty of research that can no longer get funded by the NIH due to political correctness,” said Michael Bailey, a professor of psychology at Northwestern University. Sexuality, for example, is very difficult to research objectively, as progressive definitions blur distinctions between male and female. 

  “Both political sides have been less concerned about the truth over the years, but these days, the left is far more deranged and destructive than the right,” Bailey said. “And that doesn’t mean it can’t go the other way at some point.”   

  Among the aims of NSF funding and programs is a social goal that goes beyond increasing scientific knowledge: boosting the participation of minorities and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – an endeavor the federal government has spent millions of dollars pursuing since the early 80s, when encouraging girls and young women in the STEM disciplines was the focus.  

  Government-funded research for science has long been considered the most objective way to learn about the world and its workings. In the past, private funding sources have delivered results influenced by outside interests.

  In 1953, under increasing scrutiny for the alleged link between tobacco and cancer, the tobacco industry funded studies that, it insisted, showed the cancer link was tenuous. In 1967, the sugar industry did the same thing as public health officials probed the link between sugar and heart disease. Both industries were skewered publicly and legally for their financial connection to the studies, which were later discredited.  

  In today’s echoes of the tobacco and sugar industries, publicly funded research derives results favorable to supporters ranging from top-notch medical schools to the federal government to political advocates. Research that aligns with a political stance is celebrated as “the science” for validating activist claims of existential threats from a climate crisis or the contested benefits of “gender-affirming” care. Such research is often rooted in assertions of systemic or institutional “racism” espoused mostly by progressives.  

  A RealClearInvestigations review of advertised research grants and funded projects over the past three decades finds that while purely scientific research continues, ideology continues a steady advance into many programs. The Biden administration has issued two executive orders, part of its “whole of government” approach to addressing self-defined inequities in federal government programs. Both ordered federal agencies to advance plans to address “underserved” communities, and both assume entrenched racial bias in the federal system. 

  The policies extend across the federal government’s spectrum, touching scientific research administrated by all executive agencies.  

  For research pitches to the federal Bureau of Land Management, the project seeking funding “must assist BLM in meeting … one of the following priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration,” the grant notice states, listing Biden’s executive orders, including addressing climate change, advancing racial equity, and employing union labor. 

  “These academic forms of reparations are a good glimpse of what priorities are,” said John Sailer, a fellow at the National Association of Scholars, a conservative advocacy group. “They see race as a frontier to be transformed and utilized as a tool for their social goal.” 

  The NSF funds many studies regarding climate change, and almost all assume it is manmade and requires vigorous action to address. Duke University, for example, has issued a “climate commitment” to “address the climate crisis by creating sustainable and equitable solutions.” The North Carolina school today is offering a number of NSF-funded grants in keeping with its platform, including proposed research that will “contribute equitable solutions to climate change mitigation” – linking the research funding to carrying out work that supports the university’s climate concerns. 

  There is notable pushback. While meteorology and other topics related to the climate are worthy research pursuits, the research “should not push climate change” with a foregone conclusion, said John Staddon, professor emeritus of psychology at Duke University and author of “Science in an Age of Unreason,” which examines how social causes have impacted science. “Yet the university will push faculty members to get research in that area.” 

  In an email, Duke research spokesman Karl Bates said, “I’ve been writing about the scientific findings and trends since 1990 and it’s very real. Any controversy … is manufactured. I’m confident I speak for the university when I say we find these ‘teach both sides’ arguments about climate to be unpersuasive.” 

  Critics argue that the grants approved only tell part of the story of social justice diktats in research: There is the research not executed because it does not align with the prevailing narrative. Studies of correlations between race and IQ, for example, are nearly verboten. 

  “Most science is boring and people don’t get emotional about talking about protein folding or battery efficiency, and that allows science to progress,” said Stephen Hsu, who was forced out of his job as senior vice president for research and innovation at Michigan State University in 2020 after he commented on research regarding natural intelligence and the possibility of biological traits in populations. “When you get into these areas that are emotionally charged, all bets are off and you can have one paradigm dominate, and that field doesn’t make any progress.” 

  Hsu, who remains a professor at MSU, said funding for research on differences in natural intelligence among populations “is sensitive … no one can get money to study the genetic basis for intelligence.” 

  While the science research system worked relatively well for decades, “scientists believe they are intellectually independent, and they can be,” said J. Scott Turner, a biologist and emeritus professor of biology with the State University of New York in Syracuse. “Now, when this funding is overseen by certain entities, they want certain results,” he said.  

  This equation, Turner said, also casts doubt on what should be scientifically derived information.  

  “It’s a political game now. The death of science should be a source of skepticism. A reality check on government programs is now gone, it’s just not there anymore.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 21:00

• Biden's Suitcase-Stealing They/Them Nuke Waste Klepto Guru Arrested For Being "Fugitive From Justice"
  Biden’s Suitcase-Stealing They/Them Nuke Waste Klepto Guru Arrested For Being “Fugitive From Justice”

  And so, the career arc of Biden’s colorful (literally) “nuclear waste guru”, Sam Brinton, has come to an end after the the bisexual, suitcase stealing they/them was arrested Wednesday night for reportedly being a “fugitive from justice,” according to law enforcement officials.

  

  Brinton’s “career” at Biden’s Department of Energy as a nuclear waste official, crashed after he was accused twice last year of stealing airport luggage, then found guilty in both incidents. Of course, he was not given jail time in either case; one can only imagine a Soros-judge was involved in both.

  According to official records reviewed by Fox News Digital, Brinton was taken into custody on Wednesday night at his home in Rockville, Md., in suburban Washington, D.C.

  While authorities did not provide further details about the arrest, they said it was led by Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police, the lead law enforcement agency for both Washington, D.C., area airports, and that Brinton is being held on a no-bond status awaiting an extradition hearing.

  It wasn’t immediately clear if he was held in a men’s or women’s holding area.

  Police charged Brinton in October 2022 with stealing a traveler’s baggage worth $2,325 from the suitcase carousel at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport after flying in from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington on Sept. 16. Three months later, in December 2022, Las Vegas prosecutors charged Brinton in connection with the July 6 theft of a suitcase with a total estimated worth of $3,670 at Harry Reid International Airport, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

  My name is Asyakhamsin tanzanian fashion designer based in houston Texas USA 🇺🇸 I lost my bag 2018 in DCA recently I heard the news on @FoxNews about @sambrinton luggage issue surprisingly I found his images wore my custom made outfitswhich was in the lost bag on 2018 🥹 pic.twitter.com/lJwLHtMJlz

  — asyakhamsin (@asyakhamsin1) February 20, 2023

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  Brinton faced up to 15 years total for the thefts.

  The Energy Department announced in December 2022  that Brinton had departed the agency but decline to further comment, Fox Digital also reported.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 20:40

• Gaetz Demands DOJ Indict FBI Agents Following Durham Report
  Gaetz Demands DOJ Indict FBI Agents Following Durham Report

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

  Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has suggested that the FBI should be defunded and its agents criminally indicted after special counsel John Durham concluded this week that the federal agency should have never launched an investigation into whether former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.

  

  Durham’s 300-plus page report (pdf) asserted that the FBI rushed into the probe without having any evidence that officials from the Trump campaign had contacted any Russian intelligence officer.

  During an interview with Newsmax on Monday, Gaetz accused the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) of being politically biased in the probe, alleging the agency has become “the enforcement wing of the Democratic Party to play offense against Trump,” describing its actions as “very ugly for the future of a democracy where the people make the choices.”

  “The report takes great lengths to point out the number of times where Trump was targeted in a way no other American would be,” Gaetz said. “In essence, the FBI has now become a disinformation and election interference enterprise here in our country. It’s very damning for them, the Steele Dossier was nonsense, the probable cause standard even to originate an investigation … was never met, and you had a secret court that was lied to.”

  “I think we have to deauthorize, defang, and defund many of these authorities and entities and different task forces that actually converted the just and righteous act of protecting our country with the desire to have a particular political candidate win or lose,” he added.

  The Durham report is an absolutely DAMNING treatise on the weaponization of the FBI against President Trump.

  This should be a clarion call for legislative reform. We need to defund and deauthorize government entities that are converted from the just cause of defending our nation… pic.twitter.com/peaeMcVr6q

  — Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) May 16, 2023

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  The congressman also argued that if the probe had been driven by a GOP candidate—or an operation to help a Republican candidate’s campaign—it wouldn’t have concluded with just a report, but with “real significant indictments.”

  Gaetz went on to say that he’s disappointed the report did not recommend any indictments in addition to the three people Durham already prosecuted, pointing out he believes more people should have been prosecuted as a result of the investigation.

  “The only indictment that Durham is able to cite here is the indictment of Kevin Clinesmith,” Gaetz said, referring to the former FBI lawyer who doctored an email to state that a one-time Trump campaign associate was not a CIA asset when the associate actually was. Clinesmith has since pleaded guilty and received probation.

  “And guess what? He’s already back to practicing law,” he added. “Got his law license back, and practicing law here in D.C. now. Insufficient.”

  FBI Responds

  The FBI responded to the Durham report hours after the DOJ published it on its website, acknowledging “missteps” in its 2016–2017 investigation into the alleged Trump-Russia ties.

  “The conduct in 2016 and 2017 that Special Counsel Durham examined was the reason that current FBI leadership already implemented dozens of corrective actions, which have now been in place for some time,” the FBI wrote in a statement. “Had those reforms been in place in 2016, the missteps identified in the report could have been prevented.”

  Meanwhile, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) echoed similar sentiments during an interview on Fox News’ “Sean Hannity” Monday night, agreeing with Gaetz that the FBI’s funding should be cut, adding he believes there are “double standards” in the DOJ’s treatment of Republicans and Democrats.

  “The only way we can hold them accountable is to go after one thing that everybody cares about—the money,” Jordan said. “We have to look at the power of the purse if we’re ever going to get control of these agencies, who did this not just once, but multiple times,” he added.

  In a post on Twitter Monday, Gaetz said the Durham report is an “absolutely DAMNING treatise on the weaponization” of federal agencies against Trump, adding Monday’s development “should be a clarion call for legislative reform.”

  “In a proper world, Republicans and Democrats would be able to work together on this,” Gaetz said. “It wasn’t that long ago that the FBI was a right-wing organization, weaponized against civil rights leaders and others. And it was wrong then, and it’s wrong now.”

  Trump also seized on the report in a series of posts on Truth Social this week, stating the investigative report indicates the federal government launched a coordinated effort to interfere with the 2016 election.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 20:20

• Fertility App Premom Shared Sensitive User Data With Chinese Firms
  Fertility App Premom Shared Sensitive User Data With Chinese Firms

  Digital healthcare on smartphones certainly benefits users, though preserving privacy isn’t one of them.

  A popular fertility-tracking app called “Premom” (owned by Easy Healthcare) is under fire for sharing users’ health information with third-party advertisers, according to a new Federal Trade Commission complaint. 

  The ovulation tracker, menstrual calendar, and fertility tool allegedly shared sensitive user data with third parties through software development kits that were integrated into the app.

  In August 2020, the International Digital Accountability Council found Premom shared user location data and device identifiers with two Chinese companies without user consent. 

  “Ultimately, this could allow these third parties to associate these fertility and pregnancy Custom App Events to a specific individual,” the FTC complaint said.  

  Tech Crunch dives deeper into identifying who those specific Chinese companies were:

  Easy Healthcare also allegedly shared users’ sensitive identifiable data with two China-based mobile analytics companies known for “suspect privacy practices,” according to a statement by Connecticut attorney general William Tong. Data including IMEI numbers — strings of numbers tied to individual devices — and precise geolocation data were transferred to analytics firms Jiguang and Umeng between 2018 and 2020, according to the FTC.

  The FTC alleges that the company did so knowing that Jiguang and Umeng could use this data for their own business purposes or could transfer the data to additional third parties, and says Easy Healthcare only stopped sharing this data when Google notified the app maker in 2020 that the transfer of data to Umeng violated its Google Play Store policies.

  Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the health app “broke its promises and compromised consumers’ privacy.” 

  The Department of Justice settled with Easy Healthcare for $100,000 for violating the FTC’s Health Breach Notification Rule. And the app company also settled with Connecticut, Oregon, and the District of Columbia for $100,000. 

  This brings us to the popular video app TikTok, owned-by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd., with over 150 million users in America. Can you imagine the volume of personal data potentially being transmitted back to China?

  *   *   *

  Here’s the FTC complaint. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 20:00

• Post-9/11 US Conflicts Killed Over 4.5 Million People: Study
  Post-9/11 US Conflicts Killed Over 4.5 Million People: Study

  Authored by Brett Wilkins via Common Dreams,

  The post-9/11 War on Terror may have caused at least 4.5 million deaths in around half a dozen countries, according to a report published Monday by the preeminent academic institution studying the costs, casualties, and consequences of a war in which U.S. bombs and bullets are still killing and wounding people in multiple nations.

  The new report from the Costs of War Project at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs shows “how death outlives war” by examining people killed indirectly by the War on Terror in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen.

  

  “In a place like Afghanistan, the pressing question is whether any death can today be considered unrelated to war,” Stephanie Savell, Costs of War co-director and author of the report, said in a statement. “Wars often kill far more people indirectly than in direct combat, particularly young children.”

  The publication “reviews the latest research to examine the causal pathways that have led to an estimated 3.6-3.7 million indirect deaths in post-9/11 war zones,” while “the total death toll in these war zones could be at least 4.5-4.6 million and counting, though the precise mortality figure remains unknown.”

  As The Washington Post — which first reported on the analysis — details:

  “Since 2010, a team of 50 scholars, legal experts, human rights practitioners, and physicians participating in the Costs of War project have kept their own calculations. According to their latest assessment, more than 906,000 people, including 387,000 civilians, died directly from post-9/11 wars. Another 38 million people have been displaced or made refugees. The U.S. federal government, meanwhile, has spent over $8 trillion on these wars, the research suggests.

  But Savell said the research indicates that exponentially more people, especially children and the most impoverished and marginalized populations, have been killed by the effects of war—mounting poverty, food insecurity, environmental contamination, the ongoing trauma of violence, and the destruction of health and public infrastructure, along with private property and means of livelihood.”

  According to the report, “The large majority of indirect war deaths occur due to malnutrition, pregnancy and birth-related problems, and many illnesses including infectious diseases and noncommunicable diseases like cancer.”

  Factoring in Costs of War estimates of direct deaths of between 906,000 – 937,000 people in these war zones brings the total of estimated deaths to at least 4.5-4.6 million and counting. [5/11] https://t.co/3m3JrCzqkR pic.twitter.com/JD6LVh6Sae

  — The Costs of War Project (@CostsOfWar) May 15, 2023

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  One 2012 study found that more than half of the babies born in the Iraqi city of Fallujah between 2007 and 2010 had birth defects. Among the pregnant woman surveyed in the study, more than 45 percent experienced miscarriages in the two-year period following the 2004 U.S. assaults on Fallujah. Geiger counter readings of depleted uranium-contaminated sites in densely populated Iraqi urban areas have consistently shown radiation levels that are 1,000 to 1,900 times higher than normal.

  The study also found that some deaths “also result from injuries due to war’s destruction of infrastructure such as traffic signals and from reverberating trauma and interpersonal violence.”

  Savell said that “warring parties who damage infrastructure with an impact on population health have a moral responsibility to provide quick and effective assistance and repairs.”

  Today @costsofwar published my paper on indirect deaths in the post-9/11 wars, which at least in the U.S. is a supremely underacknowledged issue. Bottom line: the post-9/11 wars continue to kill massively. [1/https://t.co/pBtvjLNmG4

  — Stephanie Savell (@stephsavell) May 15, 2023

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  “The United States government, while not solely responsible for the damage, has a significant obligation to invest in humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in post-9/11 war zones,” she added. “The U.S. government could do far more than it currently is to act on this responsibility.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 19:40

• Jim Reid: If You Saw This Presentation Centuries In The Future – What Do You Think Happens Next?
  Jim Reid: If You Saw This Presentation Centuries In The Future – What Do You Think Happens Next?

  In a note to clients, the team at Deutsche Bank led by veteran strategist Jim Reid paints an ominous outlook for the US economy. The trillion-dollar likely swirling around Reid’s head revolves around the potential consequences of the most aggressive hiking cycle in history, specifically whether it could trigger a hard economic landing. In his report titled “A Time Capsule For The Future,” he uses an array of macro data over decades, pointing out what contributed to past downturns and asking whether today is similar and if history repeats.  

  Reid provides nearly two centuries of US money supply (year-on-year % change) data that shows the fastest collapse since the 1930s. This is a major red flag for the economy and capital markets, and past collapses have led to panics, recessions, and depressions. 

  

  With the money supply shrinking year-on-year since December, another alarming development has occurred: the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic Bank. Even though JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon recently said, “This part of the crisis is over,” Reid warned the regional banking fiasco “risks credit contraction going forward.” 

  

  Moving onto real estate, Reid asks: “Will we look back on this chart and conclude it was obvious that big falls were still ahead of us in terms of house prices?” 

  

  And readers remember we’ve pointed out (read: here) how the regional bank turmoil has spread to the commercial real estate sector. Reid tends to agree with our view of the CRE downturn here as lending standards tighten. 

  

  Considering the contraction in money supply, turmoil in the banking sector, and looming problems in the residential and commercial real estate markets, Reid shows DB’s recession model predicts a 100% chance of a recession within the next 12 months. 

  

  He draws a horizontal line across a chart showing that the Fed’s number of hikes over the last 12 months has only occurred twice during the previous seven decades, one in the mid-1970s and the other in the early 1980s, leading to recession. 

  

  Then there is the yield curve: the 2s10s has inverted before all of the last 10 US recessions, and it takes 12-18 months for the lag on average, but some cycles take longer….

  

  To simplify, Reid notes the “3-month rule” tightens up the gap between US 2s10s inversion and recession to 8-19 months. That takes us to March ’23 – February ’24. The one exception is the Fed policy error of the mid-1960s.

  

  Meanwhile, the Conference Board’s Leading Index continues to slide, one of the longest streaks of decline since ‘Lehman.’ 

  

  As the economic storm gathers, he shows excessive household savings continue to be depleted. There goes the biggest driver of the US economy in the coming quarters (unless consumers continue to leverage up with credit card debt). 

  

  So with that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the key “lag” indicators, starting with the US Senior Loan Officers Survey (SLOOS), which, as we noted recently, has painted a “dire picture” for the economy as “Loan Standards Are Approaching Record Tightness As Loan Demand Plummets,” and which leads GDP by two quarters…

  

  … and leads to a surge in high yield defaults by around three quarters…

  

  “Banks’ willingness to lend to consumers never been this weak without it leading to an imminent recession…,” Reid noted. 

  

  History has shown us that interest rate hiking cycles end with a bang. 

  

  Separately, interest rate swaps are pricing a terminal rate of around 500bps with 2.5 cuts through January 2024. 

  

  “Remember that the Fed have never begun to cut rates with unemployment this low… let alone when core CPI is simultaneously running above 5%,” Reid pointed out. 

  

  Returning to capital markets, he said, “Given that a US recession is yet to start it’s not unreasonable to suggest the bottom is still to come assuming we’re right on the 2023 recession call..” 

  

  Adding a mild recession in line with the 1960s and 70s could still be bad for asset prices. 

  

  Valuations are still at lofty levels. 

  

  Given all of this, the biggest question is whether anyone in the Biden admin realizes that economic storm clouds are gathering ahead of the 2024 election year. 

  There is much more in the full must-read presentation from Jim Reid, available to pro subscribers in the usual place.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 19:20

• US Supreme Court Allows Illinois Gun Control Law To Remain In Effect
  US Supreme Court Allows Illinois Gun Control Law To Remain In Effect

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

  The US Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with the state of Illinois over a strict new gun control law, denying an emergency request for an injunction.

  

  The measure, which bans what the state considers “assault weapons,” will remain intact while the case brought by an Illinois gun store owner works its way through lower courts. The owner filed a petition with the high court to block the ban on a wide variety of firearms as well as “large capacity” magazines.

  No explanation was given for the denial by Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

  The  case is currently in front of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, which is based in Chicago. The decision is likely to be appealed regardless of the outcome.

  More viaThe Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  In a separate case, a federal judge blocked the gun law. However, the 7th Circuit Court has placed that decision on hold in the meantime.

  The 7th Circuit appeals court also has expedited consideration of at least five different cases challenging the Illinois law. Meanwhile, the state Supreme Court is considering a similar lawsuit against the measure.

  Earlier this year, the state enacted the “Protect Illinois Communities Act” that bars the purchase, sale, delivery, and manufacture of so-called assault weapons and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. It specifically named AK-47-style rifles and AR-15-style rifles as “assault weapons” under the law, which also requires those who previously purchased semi-automatic rifles to register their ownership with Illinois State Police.

  According to an FAQ of the law, “No, Illinois residents cannot purchase an AR-15 or assault weapon beginning January 11, 2023, unless subject to one of the narrow exemptions.” The FAQ also states that the law bans “a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition for long guns and more than 15 rounds of ammunition for handguns; or any combination of parts from which a device described can be assembled.”

  Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, signed the bill into law.

  “For the past four years, my administration and my colleagues in the State Capitol have been battling the powerful forces of the NRA to enshrine the strongest and most effective gun violence legislation that we possibly can,” he said. “I couldn’t be prouder to say that we got it done. And we will keep fighting—bill by bill, vote by vote, and protest by protest—to ensure that future generations only hear about massacres like Highland Park, Sandy Hook, and Uvalde in their textbooks.”

  Legal Challenges

  Second Amendment advocate groups have repeatedly criticized the law as unconstitutional, and gun rights activists, including Robert Bevis, a gun store owner in Naperville, filed lawsuits to block the state law as well as a similar local ordinance that was passed in the city of Highland Park. Those laws were sparked following last July’s mass shooting at a Highland Park Fourth of July parade that left multiple people dead.

  “The challenged laws ban arms commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes. Heller’s central holding is that a categorical ban on arms held by law-abiding citizens is unconstitutional,” his lawyers wrote to the 7th Circuit judges last month, referring to a 2008 ruling by the Supreme Court on the landmark District of Columbia v. Heller case, in which the high court found that a District law regulating gun ownership to be unconstitutional.

  Contending that Bevis’s constitutional rights were violated, his lawyers added: “One would suppose that the district court would apply the Heller test or, failing that, at least explain why it believed the test is not applicable. The district court did neither. It erred when it simply ignored Heller’s central holding. Nowhere in its opinion does it apply, or even acknowledge, Heller’s holding in this regard.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 19:00

• "I've Been Here": Feinstein Seems Unaware Of Months-Long Senate Absence
  “I’ve Been Here”: Feinstein Seems Unaware Of Months-Long Senate Absence

  California Senator Dianne Feinstein returned to Washington last week after a nearly three-month absence as she battled a stubborn case of shingles. However, in a Tuesday conversation with reporters, the 89-year-old appeared unaware that she’d been in California from February to May.  

  As she was being rolled off an elevator via wheelchair, Slate‘s Jim Newell asked how she was feeling. “Oh, I’m feeling fine,” Feinstein replied. “I have a problem with the leg.” Asked what was wrong with it, Feinstein said, “Well, nothing that’s anyone concern but mine.”

  

  That’s when things took an unsettling turn, according to Newell as well as the Los Angeles Times‘ Benjamin Oreskes. When another reporter asked how colleagues had been responding to her return to the Senate, Feinstein said, “No, I haven’t been gone…You should follow the—I haven’t been gone. I’ve been working.”

  Charitably exploring the best possible interpretation, the reporter asked, “You’ve been working from home…is what you’re saying?” 

  “No,” replied an increasingly irritated Feinstein. “I’ve been here. I’ve been voting. Please. Either know or don’t know.” Feinstein missed more than 90 floor votes while she recuperated in San Francisco. 

  After deflecting a question about Democratic House reps calling for her resignation, she was wheeled off before she could do more damage. 

  After 3 months of being absent from Congress, 89 year old Dianne Feinstein tells a reporter that she was never missing, and that she has been in D.C. voting.
  Then she gets rude and says “either you know or you don’t know!”.

  She’s no longer fit to serve.#Retire pic.twitter.com/0QAFysE6B7

  — Justin Theory (@realJustATheory) May 17, 2023

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  Tuesday’s incident is just the latest of many illustrations of Feinstein’s apparent deepening senility. As we wrote upon her return to Washington, “Feinstein may have beaten shingles, but her declining mental health is arguably of even greater concern.”

  Her mental decline has been chronicled by the most liberal of major newspapers, with the New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle last year publishing insider accounts of Feinstein being unable to remember names, meetings and phone conversations. The Times described her as sometimes “walk[ing] around in a state of befuddlement.” 

  An unnamed Democratic legislator told the Times that, in a meeting with Feinstein in February 2022, the legislator had to keep reintroducing him- or herself, and repeatedly help her find her purse, as well as answering identical small-talk queries over and over. 

  The oldest member of Congress, Feinstein will turn 90 on June 22. In February of this year, she announced that she will not be running for re-election — and just a few hours later, appeared to be unaware of the historic announcement.  

  Feinstein sits on the Judiciary Committee, which was left with a 10-10 tie during her long absence, thwarting Democratic ambitions to stock federal benches with leftist judges — and prompting California Rep. Ro Khanna and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — both Democrats — to call for her resignation. 

  Feinstein Says A Recent Jedi Attempt On Her Life Has Left Her Scarred And Deformed https://t.co/kgmRQXVUqs pic.twitter.com/BUb2Ptj5ND

  — The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) May 11, 2023

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  Asked Wednesday if Feinstein is equipped to carry out her duties, Democrat and Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin told CNN, “I can’t be the judge of that…she has to make that decision for herself and her family as to going forward.” Fellow Dem Sheldon Whitehouse was blunter, telling Slate‘s Newell, “I’m gonna leave that to the medics.”

  Durbin’s reply assumes Feinstein is capable of making such a decision. That’s a reach, particularly when you consider that a resignation would go against the interests of her handlers who’d surely like to keep their Senate jobs as long as possible.

  For now, Feinstein is still managing to serve the Blue Team’s interest. As Sen. Richard Blumenthal told Slate, “There’s one job that no one else can do for us, which is to vote. And she’s been doing that job in the last few days, and so far as I can tell, she’s been doing well.”

  Senate Democrats be like “there goes Diane Feinstein off to another vote” pic.twitter.com/iK58vJtIIV

  — sockdem (@sock_dem) May 10, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 18:40

• Feds Start Enrolling Volunteers For mRNA Flu Vaccine Trial
  Feds Start Enrolling Volunteers For mRNA Flu Vaccine Trial

  Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Vaccine developers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) are enrolling healthy adult Americans to test an experimental universal influenza vaccine using mRNA technology.

  

  The Phase 1 trial will be conducted at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, the NIAID said on Monday. Researchers will test the experimental vaccine, dubbed H1ssF-3928 mRNA-LNP, for safety and its ability to induce an immune response.

  For this early-stage trial, the federal research agency is looking for up to 50 healthy volunteers aged 18 through 49. There will be three 10-participant groups receiving 10, 25, and 50 micrograms of the experimental vaccine, respectively. After evaluation of the data to determine an optimum dosage, an additional 10 participants will be administered with the optimum dosage.

  The study also will include a group of participants to receive a currently available flu vaccine that protects against the four most common flu virus strains in circulation.

  The NIAID said it expects to collect all the data needed by March 15, 2024, and conclude the study by Aug. 30, 2024.

  The name H1ssF is an abbreviation of H1 hemagglutinin stabilized stem ferritin, meaning that the vaccine uses the “stem” part of the influenza hemagglutinin protein displayed on the surface of a ferritin nanoparticle as the immunogen. The “stem” remains largely unchanged throughout influenza mutations, as compared to the “head,” which constantly changes as the virus mutates into different strains in a process called “antigenic drift.”

  Most of the body’s immune response to the influenza virus is directed toward the ever-changing “head” of the hemagglutinin protein, and hence seasonal influenza vaccines must be updated each year. NIAID researchers believe that a vaccine that targets the “stem” without the distraction of the “head” could offer stronger and longer-lasting immunity.

  The other part of the experimental vaccine’s name, mRNA-LNP, means that the messenger RNA-encoded immunogen is delivered inside a lipid nanoparticle (LNP). The vaccine doesn’t contain the immunogen, but uses LNP-coated mRNA to instruct the host cells to assemble the immunogenic proteins that can trigger the production of effective antibodies.

  Safety Risks

  The same mRNA technology is used to make both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, two of the most administered vaccinations in the world. Despite their widespread use, championed by governments of many countries under the premise that the shots are safe and effective, the mRNA vaccines continue to spur concerns about serious side effects, including a heightened risk of cardiac-related deaths in healthy teenagers and young adults after vaccination.

  Last October, the Florida Department of Health issued a warning against giving young men mRNA COVID shots, citing an analysis (pdf) that found “an 84 percent increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old” within 28 days following the jab.

  “With a high level of global immunity to COVID-19, the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death among men in this age group. Non-mRNA vaccines were not found to have these increased risks,” said Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general.

  Read more here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 18:20

• Gunmaker Heckler & Koch Deletes Woke Tweet Rant After Backlash
  Gunmaker Heckler & Koch Deletes Woke Tweet Rant After Backlash

  When will companies take the time to vet their communications departments, especially after the expensive advertising snafu by Bud Light involving the promotion of identity politics? Consumers are growing increasingly fed up with companies championing all things ‘woke’ and are participating in boycotts in response. 

  The latest example is a woman managing German gun manufacturer Heckler & Koch (known for the MP5 submachine gun) who apparently went rogue on the company’s official Twitter account, defending Miller Lite’s woke feminist advert. 

  The PR blunder by H&K has all but been deleted, but Breitbart News found the now-deleted tweets that read:

  “Wow- woke? Allow me to translate: objectifying women was never a good marketing strategy. In the firearms industry, that was a prominent strategy up until recently. Many industries have done that (including beer corps).”

  As an actual woman typing this, I’ll use more words for you to comprehend: using bunnies to sell products is trash marketing. Supporting women by not doing that is good.”

  Breitbart reported it all started when Graham Allen tweeted the controversial Miller Light commercial, expressing the possibility of a ‘Bud Light moment.’

  Allen wrote: 

  “Did NOBODY learn from Bud Light’s COSTLY mistake? Miller Lite just dropped this WOKE advertisement!!! When will these beer companies learn????”

  Did NOBODY learn from Bud Light’s COSTLY mistake?

  Miller Lite just dropped this WOKE advertisement!!!

  When will these beer companies learn???? pic.twitter.com/Zhbja6v77x

  — Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) May 15, 2023

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  Then H&K’s Twitter account responded to Graham Allen with this:

  

  The Germans were very swift and deleted the tweets and released this statement, “H&K does not engage in identity politics. A policy was violated. Changes were made.” 

  The Road Forward. pic.twitter.com/qdMEo3NiWm

  — Heckler & Koch (@HecklerAndKoch) May 17, 2023

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  “Next up is an official apology, but it’s a good start,” TurningPoint USA contributor Lauren Chen tweeted at H&K. 

  Others thanked H&K for “dealing with that nonsense quickly and correctly. This is the way to go.” 

  Thank you for dealing with that nonsense quickly and correctly. This is the way to go.

  — Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) May 17, 2023

  Hmmm.

  Was the person running the account that started lecturing everybody fired? I’m curious by what you mean when you say changes were made.

  — Adam Lowisz (@AdamLowisz) May 17, 2023

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/18/2023 – 18:00