• Europol Warns Weapons Shipped To Ukraine Could Be Used By "Criminal Groups" For Years
  Europol Warns Weapons Shipped To Ukraine Could Be Used By “Criminal Groups” For Years

  In a weekend German media interview the head of the European police agency Europol has issued a dire warning about the huge amount of weapons being pumped from the West into Ukraine.

  Europol Director Catherine De Bolle told the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that the flood of weapons on the Ukraine-Russia battlefield could end up in the hands of criminal groups for years to come. “At some point the war will be over. We want to avoid a situation like the one that followed the war in the Balkans 30 years ago,” she said to the publication in reference to conflicts in the wake of Yugoslavia’s collapse.

  “The weapons from this war are still being used by criminal groups today,” De Bolle emphasized in speaking of Balkan conflicts, and what’s looking to be a similar situation emerging in Ukraine.

  

  “The situation is highly dynamic and fragmented and we’re receiving different figures from our European partners,” De Bolle said. She stressed that in response her agency is seeking to “find a way in which we will deal with the situation after a possible end to the war.” She described that this will involve Europol “assembling an international task force that will address this issue.” 

  The Ukraine conflict has attracted a reported tens of thousands of foreign volunteers after the government in Kiev established a foreign legion. This has also included American and British military veterans and mercenaries. On this, she explained as cited in Deutsche Welle:

  People traveling to Ukraine have different experiences and ideologies. But she said that even those who become disillusioned by the violence they witness there will be under observation.

  Russia, for its part, has long highlighted far-right and neo-Nazi groups and the danger of arming them. Azov Battalion in particular had been on the front lines in what is now Russian-controlled Mariupol, and is believed to be a main Ukrainian fighting force in Donbass.

  The Kremlin has especially complained about Stinger missiles from the US flooding the Ukrainian battlefield. Stingers don’t only pose a severe threat to military aircraft, but to civilian aviation as well.

  

  The type of scenario that Europol’s De Bolle is now alarmed about has already played out in Syria, as has long been documented, given that twin CIA and Pentagon programs to arm so-called “moderate rebels” resulted in an array of weapons, including TOW anti-tank missiles, going straight to Syrian al-Qaeda, ISIS, and all terror groups in between.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 06/01/2022 – 02:45

• A Global ESG System Is Almost Here: We Should Be Worried
  A Global ESG System Is Almost Here: We Should Be Worried

  Commentary by Jack McPherrin via The Epoch Times,

  Day two of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, started off on a concerning note.

  

  Some of the chief architects of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores met during a session called “Global ESG for Global Resilience,” and have clearly decided to double down on their objective for a new global economic order that transcends national borders and replaces free-market capitalism.

  Destroying free-market capitalism in favor of a new “stakeholder” model, in which global elites hold all the power, has been their objective for years. A single ESG system gets them much closer to this goal, and will be significantly more effective at eroding national sovereignty, circumventing democratic processes, coercing companies into compliance, and ultimately restricting individual choice.

  Early in the session, Hong Kong Stock Exchange Chairman Laura Cha got right to the point. She revealed, “In order for the [ESG] disclosures to be meaningful, we need to have a harmonized standard. … It would be very good in terms of the work that the ISSB [International Sustainability Standards Board] is doing to bring about some standardized global measures.”

  The ISSB is a new standard-setting board developed for the sole purpose of institutionalizing this global framework.

  ISSB Chairman Emmanuel Faber confirmed that these efforts have begun: “We just a week ago … we convened the first-ever working group of jurisdictions on sustainability standard alignment …. And there was China, Japan, [the] UK, [the] U.S., and [the] EU. … And that is just the start.”

  He had earlier stated, “We can’t stay at the taxonomy levels of any jurisdiction. Because they are linked to a certain political consensus and they might be changing tomorrow. So, if you look at the long-term, you need to go deeper than the taxonomies.”

  Reading between the lines, Faber seems to be saying that he intends to institutionalize a top-down system that will infiltrate all national borders and be impervious to political decision-making, which would render the idea of democracy impotent.

  Much of the remainder of the conversation was an illuminating look at the ways in which elites will threaten and coerce the world into compliance.

  Bank of America Chairman and CEO Brian Moynihan didn’t waste any time, immediately threatening companies to get in line. When asked if he believed that the war in Ukraine and COVID-19 have set efforts to expand ESG back, he responded, “No. … The reality is that operating companies have made commitments, along multiple dimensions …  you can’t just say, ‘Oh, it’s inconvenient right now.’”

  He added: “I don’t see there’s a way you can walk away from it, because your customers won’t let you, your employees won’t let you, and your shareholders shouldn’t, won’t let you. And, by the way, society won’t let you.”

  Gee, Brian, it really doesn’t sound like these companies are doing this based upon free will.

  Moynihan also committed to using the economic clout of his entire organization, including the funds of his individual account holders, saying, “200,000 people, a three trillion-dollar balance sheet, 60 billion in expenses; you start aiming that gun, and you take that across all these companies, it is huge …. [The companies] delivering on the metrics will get more capital, the ones that won’t will get less.”

  He even discussed his implementation of a training regimen for each of his lending officers, educating them on how to talk to their clients about the benefits of ESG-resilient companies.

  Moynihan went on to discuss how Bank of America and other organizations will make purchasing decisions related to their supply chains that will be based on their net-zero commitments, all of which will trickle down to businesses and consumers.

  He warned customers to get on board: “What we’re trying to do is educate those customers. The idea is: We’re going to stick with you, but you have to start to think about this. … We’ve got to get the rest of the world ready to go. … Don’t think this is other people’s problems. This could become your problem.”

  Brian, you’re manufacturing the “problem,” just like you’re manufacturing “consent.”

  Unilever CEO Alan Jope echoed similar commitments to shutting off supply valves for the rest of the world in favor of his objectives, which, by the way, won’t help solve our current supply chain issues and the related inflationary crisis.

  He preached, “We’ve pledged to only do business with suppliers who are, for example, paying their people properly a fair living wage … who have made net-zero commitments, so we can take our impact into the entire universe of people who work with our company.”

  In one of the most concerning statements of the morning, Jope declared that for this system to work, “It has to go from government and regulators, into the capitalist system, big companies, small and medium-sized entities; but actually, the ultimate democratization, the ultimate way of moving markets is when the consumer is voting with her wallet.”

  First, the growing alliance between big government and big business—with a little help from the media—carries substantial fascist overtones.

  Second, the consumer you reference doesn’t have a free choice, Alan. What you hope to do is akin to taking a popular candidate off an electoral ballot—like they do in electoral autocracies such as Russia—and forcing people to choose between limited options that are unlikely to be their preference.

  There’s a reason a natural market exists for these goods; there’s consumer demand, which is in turn fulfilled by producers. These people are trying to both fundamentally alter demand by changing consumer preferences, while fundamentally altering supply by destroying producers who don’t join their team.

  Faber frames these efforts as “We are not going to say what’s good or what’s bad. We are just providing the information for people to make decisions.”

  Simply put, that is a lie.

  As has clearly been stated by members of this WEF panel, what these elites are actually doing is steering investment away from companies that don’t align with their vision for the world, and severing relationships with companies—causing a trickle-down reduction in choice for the rest of the market—that don’t get on board.

  This isn’t about information; it’s about control, and power.

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 06/01/2022 – 02:00

• Luongo: The Big Questions We Should All Be Asking Geopolitically
  Luongo: The Big Questions We Should All Be Asking Geopolitically

  Authored by Tom Luongo via Gold, Goats, ‘n Guns blog,

  To say that current events are ‘messy’ today would be the height of understatement. Everyday the headlines blare at us some new set of contradictory data points convincing us of some lie that serves someone’s purpose.

  

  No matter how hard we try to keep up with things, cutting out the extraneous to find the nuggets of signal from the jungle of noise is more than a full-time job.

  Sometimes, however, it’s best to take a few steps back, fall back on first principles and remind ourselves who the players are, what they want and then ask the big question of each of them… are they succeeding?

  But to even ask that question we have to ask ourselves honestly the following question:

  “What will they be willing to do to survive under present circumstances?”

  This is the most uncomfortable question you can ever ask anyone. What would you do to survive? To protect your family? Your position? Your conception of yourself?

  Everyone’s morality has limits. Everyone. Everyone has a shadow, a dark side, a place where they retreat to their Hobbesian self and see the world purely in terms of ‘a war of all against all.’ Anyone who refuses to admit this to themselves is someone you should run screaming from.

  Those that always claim the moral high ground, who are always “the goodies!” are those without limits on their behavior. As the great H.L. Mencken proclaimed nearly 70 years ago:

  The urge to save humanity is almost always only a false-face for the urge to rule it. Power is what all messiahs really seek: not the chance to serve. This is true even of the pious brethren who carry the gospel to foreign parts.

  This is the context in which we have to ask that question, “What will they do?”

  Of course, the answer is, “Whatever they have to.”

  This is why I never rule anything out in my analysis. It’s why I’m always willing to leap five or six steps ahead to the big move, because that’s the limit of the behavior of the group under study. Today it may be Davos, tomorrow it may be The Fed, the day after it’s Russia.

  They all have a preferred end-state, a solution to their personal equation, with their own set of input variables. For me I see this as a set of differential equations to be solved. We all want them to reduce to a set of outcomes which will leave someone closer to their preferred outcome.

  And the scary part for all of us should be realizing that not only is there no single set of outcomes here where everyone is maximized, there isn’t even a ‘win/lose,’ condition here.

  There are only losers, us.

  Because the first rule of any organization is self-survival. Throw the mission statements, corporate bloviating and HR virtue signaling into the dumpster fire. At the end of the day all that matters is survival. Only when that is as secure as it can be can an organization begin thinking beyond its collective lizard brain.

  No different than you or me. And at this point every major faction has been reduced to this, their event horizon is just out of reach, striving for it almost half…. There!

  But, like Xeno’s paradox never reaching it because it was never attainable in the first place.

  What I fear more than anything else, what I see from too many people analyzing the intersection of geopolitics, markets and ideology, is complacency. There is a stunning amount of normalcy bias in the punditocracy, too much ‘cooler heads will prevail’ and not enough ‘everyone’s got a plan until they’re punched in the mouth.’

  So when thinking about Davos and their stated goals for the Great Reset and saving the world from Climate Change do you really think there’s a limit to their behavior?

  Do you really believe they wouldn’t start a nuclear war, unleash a virulent plague, engineer a cure that’s worse than the disease, create a false flag mass shooting at a school or leak a Supreme Court opinion?

  When thinking about the Federal Reserve in the context of an unprecedented assault on its autonomy and the commercial banking interests it was created to protect, do you really think today, at this point in time, they wouldn’t engender an economic collapse to save themselves from another group (say Davos) from destroying it?

  So, everyone pontificating about how the Fed only has one or two more rate hikes in them because that’s what the models say, that’s what the Fed’s past behavior supposedly tells them, what will you tell your clients when the Fed hikes that fourth time by 50 basis points. Or accelerates the run rate of QT to $125 billion per month and allows the US 10-year note to rise to 6%? 8%? 10%?

  Are you going to shrug and say, “Uh, sorry my bad.”

  When faced with the prospect of a nuclear re-armed Ukraine in bed with Neoconservative ideologues in Congress and the U.S. State Department committed to a singular vision of hegemony for the planet, would Russia not fight a vicious war of attrition using World War II artillery tactics to grind their adversaries into paste while grimly pledging itself to their eradication?

  What about the terminally corrupt and morally bankrupt Congressional leaders on Capitol Hill who have gotten personally rich and weaved an immense web of bullshit so vast and encumbering we can barely keep track of even the surface level details?

  Would they not do anything to protect their malfeasance from breaking free from the containment of plausible deniability which is the true coin of the realm in D.C.?

  Today newly-confirmed FOMC Chair Jerome Powell was summoned by President Select Biden to the White House to have a chat about the economy. Biden and the Democrats are scared to death of this fall. Biden obviously wants Powell to stop hiking rates. The Democrats only want to lose 40 seats in the House in November.

  That’s all the vote fraud infrastructure George Soros’ money pays for.

  Powell’s barely even begun the tightening cycle and these people are shamelessly, after holding up his confirmation for a year, after playing the most egregious power politics in the Fed’s history, summoning Powell like a dog to the White House and say, “Don’t hurt our chances this fall.”

  If I’m Powell I’m smiling like the Cheshire Cat before vanishing into the bowels of the Marriner-Eccles building, and considering a 75 basis point hike just for the lulz.

  Or he could see his shadow, get spooked and cut a deal. But at this point with who? Who do you cut a deal with? Bond-holders? Davos? Biden? Who?

  Seriously, this is what our politics is reduced to by these venal Davos-controlled halfwits? And there are people out there still engaging in one-sigma thinking?

  I’ve been telling you for a year that no one is asking the right questions about what the Fed is willing to do, not just to save itself, but possibly the much larger goal of breaking the people who are intentionally breaking the world for their benefit.

  Too many can’t get past the budget or tax receipt numbers. The bond markets? Stocks? The Fed couldn’t possibly burn all of that down, could they? Those unwilling to ask that question seriously are those that keep looking away from the Abyss because the Abyss stares back.

  They refuse to contemplate what happens when the board state is so screwed up, when the Jenga tower that fragile, that the only winning move is to nudge the table and watch it all come crashing down.

  The Fed has looked into this Abyss in the past and they’ve always shied away, but that was when there was still time. But Davos has pushed us to the brink of societal collapse across the West, it has refused to even contemplate they are the Abyss and because of that the Fed may be staring at the heroic choice of jumping in and letting us pick up the pieces.

  The question I have for you then is simple, “What are you prepared to become if that happens?”

  We already know what the big players are doing.

  *  *  *

  Join My Patreon if you are sure of what you are capable of

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 23:40

• China Prepares Launch Of Most Advanced Aircraft Carrier On 'Dragon Boat Festival'
  China Prepares Launch Of Most Advanced Aircraft Carrier On ‘Dragon Boat Festival’

  China is preparing to launch the country’s third aircraft carrier, called the Type 003, amid increasing fears of conflict in the Taiwan Strait. 

  Last week, the Maritime Safety Administration announced a notice requesting that berths at the Jiangnan Shipyard on Changxing Island, where Type 003 has been under construction since 2017, be cleared, according to South China Morning Post (SCMP).

  SCMP spoke with Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at the Taiwanese Naval Academy, who said the launch would end dry dock work and then begin tests and equipment installations for sea trials.   

  

  A military insider suggested the launch of the new aircraft carrier could be seen as soon as this Friday, coinciding with Dragon Boat Festival

  “The aircraft carrier needs to go into sea trials as soon as possible – it may take several years to achieve initial operational capability,” said the insider. 

  Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie explained that “time is precious” for Type 003, adding, “the installation of all of the weapon systems and the activation of its propulsion system will only start after the hull is proven to have no leaks once it goes into the water.”

  Type 003 was supposed to be launched last month to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of the Chinese Navy, but the event was postponed due to the widespread outbreak of COVID in Shanghai. 

  At 320 meters long, the new carrier will be outfitted with a high-tech electromagnetic catapult system, launching China’s stealth fighters with heavier weapon loads and more fuel. Here’s how the new aircraft carrier compares with others: 

  

  Sea trials and installation of equipment could take at least two years. The Pentagon doesn’t expect the carrier to become operational until 2024. 

  China is modernizing and expanding its maritime capabilities for dominance in the Indo-Pacific region and, more specifically, in the Taiwan Strait. 

  News of Type 003 about to launch comes as Beijing sent a massive group of fighters into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone on Monday. 

  Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Command recently denounced “collusion” between Taiwan and the US after President Biden pledged the West would defend Taiwan if under attack by Chinese forces; however, the White House was quick to follow by saying there’s been no change in the One China policy or its approach of “strategic ambiguity.” 

  And now, there will be three Chinese aircraft carriers the West and allies have to worry about. There are plans for a fourth carrier that could be nuclear-powered. This is an attempt by Beijing to project power and dominate the Indo-Pacific region as Thucydides Trap between China and the US inches closer. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 23:20

• A Case For Government As A Borrower To Limit Tyranny
  A Case For Government As A Borrower To Limit Tyranny

  Submitted by Gary Marshall, first published in Real Clear Markets. Gary Marshall is a Public Finance researcher living in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He can be reached by email at grimmer9 at gmail.com or through his website at www.economart.ca.

  Many are resigned to the belief that salvation from the perpetual destruction of wealth, property and life by those directing ruinous government is a myth. But, an end of government tyranny is within our grasp, and a little exercise in thought and reason should reveal the solution to all our economic ills and slay this monster forever.

  

  I have detailed two facts in Public Finance that most in the field ignore perpetually and inexplicably. The first: that government is in deficit to the whole of its expenditures, that it has no money or funds with which to pay its bills, that taxpayers, rather resident citizens, and specifically their property, assets, and incomes fund government and all of it. 

  The second: that it makes no difference whether government taxes or borrows from the collective of the assets, property and incomes that comprise the source of government funds, that a superficial equivalence exists between Taxation and Borrowing in raising funds for public expenditures. 

  I use the phrase ‘superficial equivalence’ because Taxation and Borrowing are not the same. Taxation bears immense costs in government waste and in deterrence that disappear with Borrowing. 

  We are all familiar with government waste. Though government does supply a small number valued public goods, the majority of funds that pass into its control are squandered on politically useful, but dubious, harmful, and barren undertakings. The politicians and their employ eagerly institute regulations and laws for their own benefit, favored voting blocks, and the special interests that dominate them at great cost to us all.

  But the greater and generally unaccounted cost inherent in Taxation is its weighty and poignant role as deterrent. The same instrument, essentially a fine or punishment, used to penalize speeders and criminals is used to raise funds for public expenditures. As it is with fines and the lawless, so it is with tax levies and the productive. The ubiquitous scourge of Taxation persecutes and chases away enterprising and hard-working spirits, and we are all poorer for it.

  With the institution of full Public Borrowing, with the financial inducement of interest and eventual return of all principle these costs shall disappear. With deterrence erased the productive class shall thrive through full enjoyment of the rewards of their efforts, not penalized with the loss of large fractions of income. Worthy economic activities squelched, halted, curbed, delayed or concealed will of a sudden re-emerge and resume. Firms and people having sought tax refuge elsewhere will have every reason to return.

  With a capital charge imposed, government must borrow funds instead of eagerly and obnoxiously confiscating them by daily entering the financial markets. The people, former taxpaying slaves transformed into Public Bankers, shall become the arbiters of which public expenditures are worthy and which are not. When private bankers fail to adhere to prudent lending practices and endanger the financial health of the institution, depositors withdraw and move funds elsewhere. Government, perpetual dependence imposed, must embrace sound financial measures, must embrace cost and benefit analysis in all undertakings. If it should falter, government shall find itself starved of funds until the perpetrators of waste or corruption are replaced. 

  Suppose we have an economy producing 100 units per year with 40 units allotted to government and the remaining 60 units left to the rest of the people. With the institution of full Public Borrowing, one would expect government expenditure to decline sharply.  I estimate that about 75% of public expenditures go to waste. If correct, the size of the government’s allotment should reduce from 40 units to 10. 

  I estimate the deterrent effect upon the economy at approximately 35% in an economy with a 40% tax rate. If correct, the economy should grow steeply in size, from 100 units to 135.

  An economy of size 135 less 10 units for government would deliver 125 units to the people, beyond a doubling of the former allotment of 60. This explosion in wealth and prosperity would have no precedent in history. The same outcome repeats the following year and into perpetuity, the initial explosion in wealth building upon itself, compounding such that accruing assets always outpace accruing liabilities by at least 4 to 1.  

  There may be some dispute about the size of government waste and the effect of deterrence and, thus, the size of the incomparable augmentation of wealth. But the direction and result is clear. 

  Some have argued that none would lend to a government bereaved of the means of Taxation. By simple calculation, the increase in assets, 65 units, far surpasses the incurred liability of 10 units. How is a community so enriched, its Public Credit so enhanced by the abolition of all Taxation unable to provide security to or repay its lenders? It would be as if lenders turned away the wealthiest corporation in the world. 

  A learned community would never persist with taxing resident citizens when enlightened as to its punishing costs. With the stagnant, medieval fields of economics once again rendered fertile, a declaration uttered by the authorities of a small town, city, province, state, region or nation would set the many peoples of our world, united in purpose, on a blessed and enriching path. Abolish all Taxation and institute full Public Borrowing, and I guarantee the meek, suffering poverty and tyranny, shall inherit the earth as prophesied by a great man long ago. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 23:00

• QT2 Officially Begins: What Happens Next?
  QT2 Officially Begins: What Happens Next?

  For the second time in the past decade, the Fed will try (and fail) to shrink its balance sheet to some “reasonable” size, a process known as Quantitative Tightening 2. What this means in theory is that, as shown below, the Fed’s balance sheet will shrink by $95BN or so every month for the foreseeable futures as existing TSYs ($60BN/month) and MBS ($35BN/month) matures.

  

  What it means in practice, is that we will get a brief period of BS shrinkage for a few months before the “next big crisis” emerges and the Fed blows up the balance sheet again.

  

  We know this will happen with 100% certainty and without a trace of doubt, if for no other reason than the green agenda of the anti-climate change crusaders, the one event that western politicians have been salivating over for decades, will cost $150 trillion over the next 50 years, of which roughly $2 trillion will come in the form of global QE every year (as we explained in “Here is The Hidden $150 Trillion Agenda Behind The “Crusade” Against Climate Change“.)

  But while everyone knows what happens in the medium-to-long term, traders are more focused on how to trade the next few weeks.

  For one answer we go to the latest note from JPMorgan flow trader Andrew Tyler who writes that “the question the market needs answered is whether growth is stabilizing after a move lower or if there is more decay to come…. I think it is premature to call the bottom in stocks, which appears to be a consensus view, given QT is about to launch and we are going to get another 100bps in rate hikes over the next 8 weeks.” We wonder if his permabullish “buy the dip, any dip” co-worker Marco Kolanovic has read this… we doubt it.

  Tyler then pivots to JPM’s preview of QT2, as follows:

  • QT2 kicks off tomorrow
  • Today, on the Rates Sales podcast, they hosted JPM Economist Peter McCrory, who discuss the impact of QT on markets. Podcast is here.
  • The TL; DR version is that QT2 could act as a 25bps rate hike in 2022.
  • Mike Feroli had published a note, A Roadmap for QT2 (full note available to pro subscribers). The note contains information on the mechanics, impact on financial conditions, the long pathway to normalization, and some thoughts on bank deposits.
  • As noted above, by the end of 2023, the Fed is set to shed over $1T in longer-duration assets (in theory), with JPM speculating that “the reduction in bank reserves should have little effect on lending or deposit growth” (it’s very wrong).

  And here it gets really funny: JPM calculates that “to get back to a “normal” size balance sheet, QT2 may last until 2026 or 2027.” Uh, we have some bad news: by 2027, the US will have been in at least one depression, and we will be lucky if the Fed’s balance sheet is only twice as large as it is now (and the price of cryptos will be about 10-100x higher than it is now). In any case, readers can track the Fed’s activities in real-time in Treasuries (here) and MBS (here).

  QT2 aside, there is still the question of the Fed’s rate hikes, at least until the Fed pulls a 180 some time around the August Jackson Hole symposium and the Fed “pauses” in September. According to JPM, here’s what to look for: the market continues to price according to Fed guidance (50bps hikes in June and July; 50% of maximum QT pace). Currently, the market has a ~50% probability of a 25bps hike in Sept and 50% probability of a 50bps hike. The market then prices in 25bps in both November and December. This week, keep an eye on whether Waller’s narrative is echoed by other speakers; or, if the Bostic mention of a September pause remains. If we see the Fed pivot and/or turn dovish, then this would benefit stocks.

  * * *

  Finally, going back to square one, the question is how does all of this impact the market in the coming days and weeks? According to Andrew Tyler, “the question is one of whether the US bounce is a bear market rally or the continuation of the longer-term bull trend. It is tough to say that we have seen the bottom in stocks given that we have seen a bottom when we still have potential for the Fed to increase its hawkish behavior due to the uncertainty surrounding the next few inflation prints. That said, if an investor wants to short this market, there are challenges given the relatively light positioning among hedge funds and the potential for vol-targeting funds to re-gross and for CTAs to reverse from short to long. Tactically, I think you ride the momentum higher which should be led by Tech and Energy; but, Energy is an idiosyncratic long play given the supply/demand dynamic and supercycle hypothesis.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 22:40

• Florida Truck Driver Charged With Crashing Rig While Smoking Meth
  Florida Truck Driver Charged With Crashing Rig While Smoking Meth

  By Mark Solomon of FreightWaves

  This isn’t a happy Memorial Day weekend for Florida truck driver Michael Calvo.

  

  The Cape Coral driver admitted to having smoked meth before he crashed into the back of a Publix shopping center Thursday afternoon in Haines City near Lakeland, according to reports that cited the Haines City Police Department.

  According to police, Calvo, 51, was making a delivery in the back of the shopping center when his truck tore an awning off the building and hit an unoccupied pickup truck, pushing it for about 200 feet. Both vehicles were totaled, reports said.

  After the wreck, an officer reportedly approached Calvo and asked if he needed medical assistance. Calvo told him that he thought he was being “pranked” by a television show and resisted exiting the tractor, reports said, citing police information. 

  After a few minutes, the officer was able to remove Calvo from the truck and asked him what caused his truck to crash, whether he had fallen asleep, been drinking or was experiencing a medical emergency, according to published reports.

  “I was smoking my meth pipe,” Calvo said, according to police information cited in the reports.

  Calvo was arrested and faces charges of possession of methamphetamine, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest without violence and possession of narcotics paraphernalia, according to reports.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 22:20

• Wall Streeters' Demand For Hamptons Rental Market Hit With Abrupt Chill As Recession Risks Flash
  Wall Streeters’ Demand For Hamptons Rental Market Hit With Abrupt Chill As Recession Risks Flash

  It’s been a brutal year for some on Wall Street. There’s been no corner of the market to hide in the first five months of the year, and stocks, bonds, and cryptocurrency markets have been clubbed like a baby seal. Poor performance in markets comes as the rental market in the Hamptons, also known as a playground for Wall Streeters during the summer months, faces an abrupt chill ahead of summer. 

  Jonathan Miller, CEO of real estate firm Miller Samuel, reports the median rental price in the first quarter slumped 26%. Brokers are reducing prices by as much as 39% to attract renters before the summer begins. 

  “There is a tremendous amount of inventory and people are not renting it. And it’s across all segments, from the very low to the very top of the market,” Enzo Morabito of Douglas Elliman told CNBC. 

  After two years of booming markets (2020-21) and asset prices soaring to the moon as the Federal Reserve expanded its balance sheet and lifted all tides for Wall Streeters, those days are long gone as the monetary wonks in Eccles reversed policy to remove liquidity from markets, sending asset prices spiraling lower this year. This means that Wall Streeters are feeling the pain, and perhaps some have pulled back from splurging their bonuses on luxurious beachfront rental properties on eastern Long Island. 

  

  Morabito said one beachfront mansion was asking $70,000 a month. Just weeks before summer, there are still no takers. He said one potential renter offered just $45,000. 

  “We were hoping the renter would split the difference, but it’s a different market right now,” he said.

  “There are a lot of questions in the air, about the economy, both locally and nationally,” said Harald Grant with Sotheby’s International Realty. “It all affects the market.”

  Median rents for May are 46% higher than the same month in 2019. Given the plunge in stocks and crypto prices, the dwindling demand of Wall Streeters, balking at the high rental prices, is an ominous sign of the cloudy economic outlook. 

  Samuel and Douglas Elliman said many renters who spent their summers in the Hamptons bought homes during the pandemic and have become permanent residents or second homes.

  “The buyers removed themselves from the rental market,” Morabito said. “Now, all of the sudden the people who bought want to rent it and the renters aren’t there. So you have this huge surplus.”

  The days of renting a beachfront mansion for $1.65 million per month appear to be over. Check out the massive reduction in rent for 155 Surfside Drive.

  

  The cooling of the Hamptons rental market is a sign of the slowdown in the economy as recession risks flourish. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 22:00

• As Biden Mulls Saudi Trip, Outcry Grows Over Death Sentence Of Child Defendant
  As Biden Mulls Saudi Trip, Outcry Grows Over Death Sentence Of Child Defendant

  Authored by Jessica Corbett via Common Dreams,

  Following reports that US President Joe Biden may visit Saudi Arabia during his trip to the Middle East next month, a human rights group on Monday highlighted global calls to release Abdullah al-Howaiti, a young man twice sentenced to death by the country’s courts.

  Reprieve pointed out in a statement that United Nations experts have urged the Saudi government to annul his sentence “because he did not receive a fair trial, as credible reports that he was tortured into making a false confession when he was 14 years old were not investigated.” Sharing the statement on Twitter, the group noted that the U.S. leader is considering a trip to Saudi Arabia and encouraged Biden to review what a trio of U.N. experts has recently said in response to the case.

  Arrested and tortured at 14
  Sentenced to death at 17
  At risk of “arbitrary execution”@JoeBiden @POTUS, before you visit #SaudiArabia 🇸🇦 read what UN legal experts say about Abdullah al Howaiti 👇🏼 https://t.co/Rx71pdYfnE

  — Reprieve US (@ReprieveUS) May 30, 2022

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

  “From the moment police raided the Howaiti family home and dragged out 14-year-old Abdullah, the Saudi justice system has been on autopilot, punishing him for a crime he cannot have committed,” said Jeed Basyouni, who leads Reprieve’s work on the death penalty across the Middle East and North Africa.

  “Every court knew how young he was,” she continued. “Every court heard he had an alibi. Every court was told he was tortured. But they sent him to death row and kept him in a cell, when he should have been playing football with his friends.”

  “Abdullah will never get back the teenage years he spent fearing for his life, but it’s not too late for the Saudi courts to do the right thing,” Basyouni added. “The world is watching.”

  Human Rights Watch (HRW) explained last year that “while Saudi authorities announced an end to the death penalty for children for certain crimes in 2018 and applied this retroactively to previous cases in 2020, the death penalty remains a possible punishment for the type of crime Abdullah al-Howaiti is accused of committing.” He is accused of murdering a police officer during a robbery of a jewelry store in Duba.

  “Al-Howaiti’s court proceedings flouted almost every internationally recognizable fair trial guarantee, and yet a Saudi court still sentenced him to die for a crime allegedly committed when he was 14,” said Michael Page, HRW’s deputy Middle East director, at the time. “In sentencing a child to die while ignoring torture allegations, the Saudi court made a mockery of the country’s alleged ‘reforms.'”

  Referencing al-Howaiti’s plea of not guilty and his written account from January 22, 2019, HRW outlined:

  Al-Howaiti said in the letter and to the court that interrogators subjected him to torture and ill treatment to force him to confess. He said they made him stand for hours at a time, beat him and slapped him on the face, flogged him with an electric cable on the soles of his feet and various parts of his body until he lost consciousness, forced him to hold his brother’s legs while he was being beaten, and lied that his mother and sisters were also in detention and would only be released once he confessed.

  Al-Howaiti eventually signed the confession prepared for him, after which authorities transferred him to a social observation home in Tabuk. He told another investigator there that his confession had been forcibly extracted. He said he was then transferred to a prison cell, where the criminal investigations interrogators from Tabuk arrived after midnight, blindfolded him, and transferred him back to the criminal investigation department.

  There, he said, an interrogator threatened to pull out his nails, suspend him from one hand, and torture him in ways he “could not begin to imagine,” prompting al-Howaiti to promise him he would not tell anyone else about his ill treatment.

  In March, the U.N. experts—Nils Melzer, special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; Miriam Estrada-Castillo, vice-chair of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and Morris Tidball-Binz, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions—sent their letter to Saudi leadership that Reprieve elevated.

  After outlining the allegation about al-Howaiti’s treatment since his arrest in 2017, the experts’ letter states that “while we do not wish to prejudge the accuracy of the information received, we are deeply concerned by the continuing imposition and execution of the death penalty against persons who were below 18 years of age at the time of committing the crime, which amounts to a serious violation of international human rights law.”

  The top 5 executioners of 2021 are…

  🇨🇳 China – 1000+
  🇮🇷 Iran – 314+
  🇪🇬 Egypt – 83+
  🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia – 65
  🇸🇾 Syria – 24+

  — Amnesty International (@amnesty) May 28, 2022

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  Along with reminding the kingdom of its obligations under international law, the letter calls on the government not only “to annul the death sentence imposed on Mr. al-Howaiti,” but also “to promptly and thoroughly investigate the allegations of torture, and to ensure that he is re-tried in conformity with international norms and standards.”

  The letter further calls on the Saudi government “to adopt without delay the necessary legislative measures to abolish the imposition of the death penalty for children for all crimes” as well as “to consider establishing an official moratorium on all executions as a first step towards fully abolishing the death penalty in the country.”

  Meanwhile, in the United States, though Biden’s administration suspended federal executions following what critics called a “killing spree” under his predecessor, death row inmates are still being executed at the state level—conditions that fall short of the president’s campaign promise to “work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow the federal government’s example.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 21:40

• Goldman Predicts That EV Battery Metals Are In For A "Sharp Correction"
  Goldman Predicts That EV Battery Metals Are In For A “Sharp Correction”

  Of all the commodities in the midst of a raging bull market, Goldman Sachs thinks the run in the battery metals is over and done with. The firm said this week that cobalt, lithium and nickel prices will drop over the next two years, according to a recap by Bloomberg. 

  Goldman analysts Nicholas Snowdon and Aditi Rai wrote in a note over the weekend: “Investors are fully aware that battery metals will play a crucial role in the 21st century global economy. Yet despite this exponential demand profile, we see the battery metals bull market as over for now.”

  While future demand looks strong, “investor exuberance has led to an oversupply”, the report says. 

  The analysts said there has been “a surge in investor capital into supply investment tied to the long term EV demand story, essentially trading a spot driven commodity as a forward-looking equity. That fundamental mispricing has in turn generated an outsized supply response well ahead of the demand trend.”

  

  Goldman is predicting a “sharp correction” in the prices of lithium, the report also says. The firm predicts lithium will average under $54,000 a ton this year and that Cobalt will drop to $59,500 a ton. 

  The bank concluded: “This phase of oversupply will ultimately sow the seeds of the battery materials super cycle over the second half of this decade. Then the demand surge will more sustainably overcome current supply growth.”

  In April we noted that Chinese EV manufacturers were grappling with the continued rising cost of all input materials. Remember, we just wrote days prior to that piece that Japanese automakers were also grappling with the skyrocketing cost of raw materials and a shortage of semiconductors. 

  Even as some parts have become unavailable, raw materials for other parts have skyrocketed in price. For example, palladium, nickel and aluminum have all surged to record highs this month. The metals are used in automobile catalytic converters, batteries and other car parts.

  

  The price hikes are likely due to the fact that 40% of palladium production comes from Russia, Nikkei noted last week. This has forced auto manufacturers to abandon buying from Russia and seek out alternative sources. 

  Back in February we broke down the cost of an EV battery here. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 21:20

• 10 Examples When 'Empire Managers' Exposed Their Desire To Control Our Thoughts
  10 Examples When ‘Empire Managers’ Exposed Their Desire To Control Our Thoughts

  Authored by Caitlin Johnstone,

  The single most-overlooked and under-appreciated aspect of our society is the fact that immensely powerful people are continuously working to manipulate the thoughts we think about the world. Whether you call it propaganda, psyops, perception management or public relations, it’s a real thing that happens constantly, and it happens to all of us.

  

  And its consequences shape our entire world.

  This should be at the forefront of our attention when examining news, trends and ideas, but it hardly ever gets mentioned. This is because the mass-scale psychological manipulation is succeeding. Propaganda only works if you don’t know it’s happening.

  To be clear, I am not talking about some kind of wacky unsubstantiated conspiracy theory here. I am talking about a conspiracy fact. That we are propagandized by people with authority over us is not seriously in dispute by any well-informed good faith actor and has been extensively described and documented for many years.

  More than this, the managers of the US-centralized empire which dominates the west and so much of the rest of the world have straightforwardly shown us that they propagandize us and want to propagandize us more. They have shown us with their actions, and they have at times come right out and told us with their words.

  Here are just a few of those times.

  1. Operation Mockingbird

  Let’s start with maybe the best-known example. In 1977 Carl Bernstein published an article titled “The CIA and the Media” reporting that the CIA had covertly infiltrated America’s most influential news outlets and had over 400 reporters who it considered assets in a program known as Operation Mockingbird.

  It was a major scandal, and rightly so. The news media are meant to report truthfully about what happens in the world, not manipulate public perception to suit the agendas of spooks and warmongers.

  But it only got worse from there.

  2. Intelligence operatives now just openly working in the media

  The CIA Used To Infiltrate The Media. Now The CIA Is The Media.

  “This isn’t Operation Mockingbird. It’s so much worse. Operation Mockingbird was the CIA doing something *to* the media. What we are seeing now is the CIA openly acting *as* the media.”https://t.co/mFwHob0MFC

  — Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ (@caitoz) April 16, 2021

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  Nowadays the CIA collaboration happens right out in the open, and people are too propagandized to even recognize this as scandalous. Immensely influential outlets like The New York Times uncritically pass on CIA disinfo which is then spun as fact by cable news pundits. The Washington Post has consistently refused to disclose the fact that its sole owner has been a CIA contractor when reporting on US intelligence agencies as per standard journalistic protocol. Mass media outlets now openly employ intelligence agency veterans like John Brennan, James Clapper, Chuck Rosenberg, Michael Hayden, Frank Figliuzzi, Fran Townsend, Stephen Hall, Samantha Vinograd, Andrew McCabe, Josh Campbell, Asha Rangappa, Phil Mudd, James Gagliano, Jeremy Bash, Susan Hennessey, Ned Price, Rick Francona, Michael Morell, John McLaughlin, John Sipher, Thomas Bossert, Clint Watts, James Baker, Mike Baker, Daniel Hoffman, David Preiss, Evelyn Farkas, Mike Rogers and Malcolm Nance, as are known CIA assets like NBC’s Ken Dilanian, as are CIA interns like Anderson Cooper and CIA applicants like Tucker Carlson.

  Operation Mockingbird was the CIA doing something to the media. What we are seeing now is the CIA openly acting as the media. Any meaningful separation between the CIA and the news media, indeed even any pretence of separation, has been dropped.

  3. Richard Stengel’s CFR remarks on propaganda

  At a Council on Foreign Relations forum about “fake news,” former Editor at Time Magazine Richard Stengel directly states that he supports the use of propaganda on American citizens – then shuts the session down when challenged about how propaganda is used against the third world pic.twitter.com/ClAT5POv7G

  — William Craddick (@williamcraddick) May 11, 2018

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  Former US State Department official and Time Magazine editor Richard Stengel expressed full-throated support for the use of propaganda on both foreign and domestic audiences during a 2018 event organized by the supremely influential think tank Council on Foreign Relations.

  “Basically every country creates their own narrative story,” Stengel said. “My old job at the State Department was what people used to joke as the chief propagandist. I’m not against propaganda. Every country does it, and they have to do it to their own population. And I don’t necessarily think it’s that awful.”

  Interestingly, years earlier during his time at the US State Department under the Obama administration Stengel actually provided his own definition of what precisely he means by the word “propaganda”, and it’s not nearly as innocuous as he made it sound for his CFR audience.

  “Propaganda is the deliberate dissemination of information that you know to be false or misleading in order to influence an audience,” Stengel wrote in 2014.

  Those are two mighty interesting positions for an empire manager to hold at the same time, especially one who just served on the presidential transition team of the current president.

  4. US officials telling the press they’re circulating disinfo about Russia to win an information war against Putin

  US Officials Admit They’re Literally Just Lying To The Public About Russia

  “And the only plausible reason I can think of that they would want the public to know about it is that they are confident the public will consent to being lied to.”https://t.co/mYBJ4kQhk8

  — Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ (@caitoz) April 7, 2022

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  Last month NBC News released a report citing multiple anonymous US officials who said the Biden administration has been rapidly pushing out “intelligence” about Russia’s plans in Ukraine that is “low-confidence” or “based more on analysis than hard evidence”, or even just plain false, in order to fight an information war against Putin.

  The report says that toward this end the US government has deliberately circulated false or poorly evidenced claims about impending chemical weapons attacks, about Russian plans to orchestrate a false flag attack in the Donbass to justify an invasion, about Putin’s advisors misinforming him, and about Russia seeking arms supplies from China.

  So they lied. They may hold that they lied for a noble reason, but they lied. They knowingly circulated information they had no reason to believe was true, and that lie was amplified by all the most influential media outlets in the western world.

  That this happened while the mass media is continually churning out reports warning the public about the dangers of “disinformation” is an irony that was lost on almost everybody.

  5. Senators telling Silicon Valley representatives it’s their job to manipulate public thought to prevent dissent

  Friendly reminder that last year representatives of Google/Youtube, Facebook and Twitter were instructed on the floor of the US Senate that it is their responsibility to “quell information rebellions” so as to “prevent the fomenting of discord.”https://t.co/X4Hc56fH0k

  — Caitlin Johnstone ⏳ (@caitoz) August 6, 2018

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  In 2017 representatives from Google, Facebook and Twitter were called before the Senate Judiciary Committee and told they must “quell information rebellions” and were instructed to come up with a mission statement expressing their commitment to “prevent the fomenting of discord” on their platforms.

  “We all must act now on the social media battlefield to quell information rebellions that can quickly lead to violent confrontations and easily transform us into the Divided States of America,” the tech giants were told by think tanker and former FBI agent Clint Watts, who added, “Stopping the false information artillery barrage landing on social media users comes only when those outlets distributing bogus stories are silenced — silence the guns and the barrage will end.”

  When monopolistic billionaire corporations are faced with demands from a legislative body that could easily make their lives a lot harder and a lot less profitable by taking action, up to and including major antitrust cases, they are being made an offer they can’t refuse. This was made abundantly clear by Senator Dianne Feinstein during the 2017 hearings in her threat to intervene if those corporations failed to curtail the spread of unauthorized information online.

  “You have to be the ones who do something about it — or we will,” Feinstein told the online platforms.

  6. The Department of Homeland Security’s “Disinformation Governance Board”

  Patriot Act co-author, former DHS secretary, surveillance porn addict, & Russiagate hoax spreader Michael Chertoff will be overseeing the review of the Ministry of Truth
  You can’t make this shit uphttps://t.co/IeAelhFy3m

  — Slow News Day (@SlowNewsDayShow) May 24, 2022

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  The Department of Homeland Security’s hotly controversial Disinformation Governance Board, which critics have not-unfairly labeled a government-run Ministry of Truth, has “paused” its operations pending a review in light of public outcry. That review will be headed by corrupt imperial swamp monsters Michael Chertoff and Jamie Gorelick, of all people.

  No government entity has any business appointing itself the authority to sort information from disinformation on behalf of the public, because government entities are not impartial and omniscient deities who can be entrusted to serve the public as objective arbiters of absolute reality. They would with absolute certainty wind up drawing distinctions between information, misinformation and disinformation in whatever way serves their interests, regardless of what’s true, exactly as any authoritarian regime would do.

  Whatever happens with that review we may be sure that the board’s mission will continue, either under its current name or under some other more carefully disguised iteration. The empire is expressing far too much enthusiasm for greater and greater control over public thought to just let this one slip past.

  7. The Smith–Mundt Modernization Act of 2012

  Congressmen Seek To Lift Propaganda Ban http://t.co/NClezBI0 via @BuzzFeed

  — Michael Hastings (@mmhastings) May 18, 2012

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  In December of 2012 the US congress passed a revision of the Smith-Mundt Act as part of the 2013 NDAA which critics said ended restrictions that were put in place to prevent the government from propagandizing US citizens.

  The legislation was first highlighted in a BuzzFeed News article by journalist Michael Hastings, who the following year would die in a rather suspicious car wreck while reportedly working on a major story.

  “It removes the protection for Americans,” an unnamed Pentagon official told Hastings. “It removes oversight from the people who want to put out this information. There are no checks and balances. No one knows if the information is accurate, partially accurate, or entirely false.”

  Hastings’ report sparked online controversy, with many agreeing with his analysis of what would become known as the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 and others saying concerns were unfounded. Either way, with all that’s happened over the last ten years, it’s clear now that Americans were right to be worried about a dramatic escalation in domestic propaganda.

  8. Reagan’s Psychological Operations

  Robert Parry shows how three decades ago the US began an operation to flood the world with psyops, https://t.co/xXRRRufsBS

  — Consortium News (@Consortiumnews) March 25, 2017

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  The late Robert Parry wrote numerous articles for Consortium News about the Reagan administration’s operations of mass-scale psychological manipulation, which related directly to Parry’s extensive work on the Iran-Contra affair during that time.

  Parry described how Reagan and his neocon goons were obsessed with countering the public war-weariness and distrust of US interventionism which followed the Vietnam War in order to gain more consent for the depraved agendas the administration was working to roll out in Latin America. Central to this goal of consent-manufacturing, which the White House called “public diplomacy” in public and “perception management” in private, was a particularly odious-sounding spook named Walter Raymond Jr.

  In an article titled “The Victory of ‘Perception Management’,” Parry wrote the following:

  During his Iran-Contra deposition, Raymond explained the need for this propaganda structure, saying: “We were not configured effectively to deal with the war of ideas.”

  One reason for this shortcoming was that federal law forbade taxpayers’ money from being spent on domestic propaganda or grassroots lobbying to pressure congressional representatives. Of course, every president and his team had vast resources to make their case in public, but by tradition and law, they were restricted to speeches, testimony and one-on-one persuasion of lawmakers.

  But things were about to change. In a Jan. 13, 1983, memo, NSC Advisor Clark foresaw the need for non-governmental money to advance this cause. “We will develop a scenario for obtaining private funding,” Clark wrote. (Just five days later, President Reagan personally welcomed media magnate Rupert Murdoch into the Oval Office for a private meeting, according to records on file at the Reagan library.)

  As administration officials reached out to wealthy supporters, lines against domestic propaganda soon were crossed as the operation took aim not only at foreign audiences but at U.S. public opinion, the press and congressional Democrats who opposed funding the Nicaraguan Contras.

  9. Canadian military leaders using Covid regulations as an opportunity to test out psyop techniques on civilians

  Sad that a tragedy like COVID was used to test Canadians’ reaction to fear propaganda. I hope we didn’t lay down our freedoms at the alter of gov created fear, segregation, & hatred. Was that the purpose of the secret military op, testing our malleability? https://t.co/IPtx8eVa7u

  — Dr. Leslyn Lewis (@LeslynLewis) September 29, 2021

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  Last year Ottawa Citizen reported that the Canadian military used the Covid outbreak as an excuse to test actual military psyop techniques on its own civilian population under the pretense of assuring compliance with pandemic restrictions.

  Some excerpts:

  • “Canadian military leaders saw the pandemic as a unique opportunity to test out propaganda techniques on an unsuspecting public, a newly released Canadian Forces report concludes.”

  • “The plan devised by the Canadian Joint Operations Command, also known as CJOC, relied on propaganda techniques similar to those employed during the Afghanistan war. The campaign called for ‘shaping’ and ‘exploiting’ information. CJOC claimed the information operations scheme was needed to head off civil disobedience by Canadians during the coronavirus pandemic and to bolster government messages about the pandemic.”

  • “A separate initiative, not linked to the CJOC plan, but overseen by Canadian Forces intelligence officers, culled information from public social media accounts in Ontario. Data was also compiled on peaceful Black Lives Matter gatherings and BLM leaders.”

  • “’This is really a learning opportunity for all of us and a chance to start getting information operations into our (CAF-DND) routine,’ the rear admiral stated.”

  • “Yet another review centred on the Canadian Forces public affairs branch and its activities. Last year, the branch launched a controversial plan that would have allowed military public affairs officers to use propaganda to change attitudes and behaviours of Canadians as well as to collect and analyze information from public social media accounts.”

  • “The plan would have seen staff move from traditional government methods of communicating with the public to a more aggressive strategy of using information warfare and influence tactics on Canadians.”

  So empire managers are not just employing mass-scale psychological operations on the public, they’re testing them and learning from them.

  10. The US government funding “independent” media in Ukraine

  White House fact-sheet says part of the mammoth $33 billion spending package it’s requesting for Ukraine will be to “support independent media.” Because nothing screams “independent” like being directly funded by the US Government as part of its “information warfare” initiative pic.twitter.com/O3JshV1Mg9

  — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) April 28, 2022

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  Lastly, there’s the fact that the infamous $40 billion proxy war package sent to Ukraine includes funds allocated to “Counter Russian disinformation and propaganda narratives, promote accountability for Russian human rights violation, and support activists, journalists, and independent media to defend freedom of expression.”

  So information warfare. The US government is funding information warfare to manipulate public perception of this war and running cover for those manipulations by calling them activism, journalism, and independent media.

  Given that the mainstream western press have been uncritically reporting even the most outlandish stories coming out of Ukraine without a shred of evidence, we can expect this government-funded propaganda to spread throughout the western world.

  *  *  *

  My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, following me on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud or YouTube, or throwing some money into my tip jar on Ko-fi, Patreon or Paypal. If you want to read more you can buy my books. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for at my website or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permission to republish, use or translate any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, click here. All works co-authored with my American husband Tim Foley.

  Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 21:00

• These Are The Best (& Worst) Months For Stock Market Gains
  These Are The Best (& Worst) Months For Stock Market Gains

  Many investors believe that equity markets perform better during certain times of the year.

  Is there any truth to these claims, or is it superstitious nonsense? Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu investigates the issue using data gathered by Schroders, a British asset management firm.

  

  What the Data Says

  This analysis is based on 31 years of performance across four major stock indexes:

  • FTSE 100: An index of the top 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)

  • MSCI World: An index of over 1,000 large and mid-cap companies within developed markets

  • S&P 500: An index of the 500 largest companies that trade on U.S. stock exchanges

  • Eurostoxx 50: An index of the top 50 blue-chip stocks within the Eurozone region

  The percentages in the following table represent the historical frequency of these indexes rising in a given month, between the years 1987 and 2018. Months are ordered from best to worst, in descending order.

  

  There are some outliers in this dataset that we’ll focus on below.

  The Strong Months

  In terms of frequency of growth, December has historically been the best month to own stocks. This lines up with a phenomenon known as the “Santa Claus Rally”, which suggests that equity markets rally over Christmas.

  One theory is that the holiday season has a psychological effect on investors, driving them to buy rather than sell. We can also hypothesize that many institutional investors are on vacation during this time. This could give bullish retail investors more sway over the direction of the market.

  The second best month was April, which is commonly regarded as a strong month for the stock market. One theory is that many investors receive their tax refunds in April, which they then use to buy stocks. The resulting influx of cash pushes prices higher.

  Speaking of higher prices, we can also look at this trend from the perspective of returns. Focusing on the S&P 500, and looking back to 1928, April has generated an average return of 0.88%. This is well above the all-month average of 0.47%.

  The Weak Months

  The three worst months to own stocks, according to this analysis, are June, August, and September. Is it a coincidence that they’re all in the summer?

  One theory for the season’s relative weakness is that institutional traders are on vacation, similar to December. Without the holiday cheer, however, the market is less frothy and the reduced liquidity leads to increased risk.

  Whether you believe this or not, the data does show a convincing pattern. It’s for this reason that the phrase “sell in May and go away” has become popularized.

  Key Takeaways

  Investors should remember that this data is based on historical results, and should not be used to make forward-looking decisions in the stock market.

  Anomalies like the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 can have a profound impact on the world, and the market as a whole. Stock market performance during these times may deviate greatly from their historical averages seen above.

  Regardless, this analysis can still be useful to investors who are trying to understand market movements. For example, if stocks rise in December without any clear catalyst, it could be the famed Santa Claus Rally at work.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 20:40

• US National Guard To Cooperate With Taiwan Military: President Tsai
  US National Guard To Cooperate With Taiwan Military: President Tsai

  Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said on Tuesday that the United States is planning on “cooperation” between its National Guard and Taiwan’s military amid mounting threats from communist China.

  

  The announcement comes as China, which wants to claim the self-ruled island as its own, has stepped up its military harassment of Taiwan in recent years.

  Last week, China’s military organized military drills in the sea and air spaces surrounding Taiwan, a move it described as a “solemn warning” to Washington against its “collusion” with the liberal democratic island.

  Col. Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army, said the regime’s military conducted “multi-service joint combat readiness patrol” and “actual combat drills” near Taiwan, according to a May 25 statement.

  The warning came after U.S. President Joe Biden angered the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing when he said in a May 23 statement that America would intervene militarily to defend Taiwan if it was attacked, stating that it was the “commitment we made.”

  U.S. officials said there had been no change to the longstanding U.S. policy toward Taiwan known as “strategic ambiguity” under which the administration has remained intentionally ambiguous on the subject of whether the United States would defend Taiwan, should it be invaded by the CCP.

  President Tsai Ing-wen met with visiting U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) at her office in Taipei this week, and noted that Duckworth was one of the main sponsors of the Taiwan Partnership Act, aimed at developing a partnership between the National Guard and Taiwan as a means of maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability.

  The Act has received bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress but has yet to become law.

  “As a result, the U.S. Department of Defense is now proactively planning cooperation between the U.S. National Guard and Taiwan’s defence forces,” Tsai said, without providing further details.

  “We look forward to closer and deeper Taiwan-U.S. cooperation on matters of regional security,” Tsai added.

  Duckworth and 51 other senators sent a letter to Biden in mid-May, calling for Taiwan to be included in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.

  Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam have signed up to be part of the IPEF initiative, however, Taiwan was not included in the IPEF last week.

  Tsai said on Tuesday that the island will keep expressing its willingness to participate.

  “In the near future, we look forward to Taiwan and the United States working together in taking new steps to develop concrete plans that further deepen our economic partnership.”

  During Duckworth’s visit to Taiwan, dozens of Chinese warplanes entered its air defense zone and were scrambled by Taiwan’s military jets.

  Reuters contributed to this report.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 20:20

• YouTube CEO Reassures Davos Elites That They Will Continue To Control The Narrative
  YouTube CEO Reassures Davos Elites That They Will Continue To Control The Narrative

  Yet another story out of Davos that went mostly unnoticed by the mainstream, YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki addressed issues of “misinformation” on the internet at the WEF forum and how the content platform plans to deal with it.

  As we all know, the concept of “misinformation” is treated arbitrarily by Big Tech corporations according to whatever narrative corporate oligarchs and governments want to push at the time. If you are confused as to what they consider misinformation to be, just take any fact, piece of evidence or opinion that’s contrary to the mainstream narrative of the day and assume it is now “misinformation.” It’s as simple as that.

  We saw this with painful clarity throughout the covid fear campaign of the past two years. Any discussions on medical facts that did not support the CDC, the WHO or Anthony Fauci’s assertions that we should be living in terror were swiftly removed from social media. In the meantime, corporate legacy media outlets were pushed the forefront and widely promoted despite their lack of audience support.

  The acceptable narrative was this – The masks work, the lockdowns work, the vaccines work, and vaccines passports are necessary and justified. If you tried to point out that the evidence showed any or all of these claims were false, you were probably censored or blocked by a Big Tech platform or two.

  If you pointed out that the Level 4 virology lab in Wuhan China is the most likely source of the Covid-19 virus, then you were probably censored. If you pointed out that Anthony Fauci and his cohorts funded gain of function research on covid at the Wuhan Lab, then you were accused of spreading “misinformation.” If you pointed out that the average vaccine is tested for 10-15 years while the covid mRNA vaccines were barely tested at all before release, then you were probably blocked for “misinformation.” All of these things are considered facts or are greatly supported by hard evidence today, but two years ago they were labeled misinformation on YouTube.

  And what about the Biden Laptop story? Oh yeah, that was called “misinformation” too, even though it was indeed a concrete fact.

  Wojcicki has left little doubt that despite YouTube being caught numerous times mislabeling the truth as misinformation, the company will continue on the same exact path and serve establishment interests.

  The CEO suggested at the Davos conference this past week that the platform would work harder to remove incentives for the publishing of “misinformation.” The WEF made this query during the interview:

  WEF: “So it sounds like, bury, to the extent that you can, things that are not credible sources and don’t recommend. But it also still sounds like a work in progress, do you think it always will be a work in progress?”

  Wojcicki: “I think there’ll always be work that we have to do because there will always be incentives for people to be creating misinformation…The challenge will be to keep staying ahead of that…I think there’ll always be work. But after all this work that we have put in, this has been a huge initiative for us for at least over, you know, five, six years. I think we’ve come a long way. And I would challenge you if you go and you look and you do a search or you look at your home page in terms of what you’re seeing when it comes to sensitive topics, you’re going to see them coming from more authoritative sources.”

  Beyond the suppression of alternative media sources with inconvenient facts, Wojcicki noted that the terms of service for YouTube would adapt to events. Despite the fact the YouTube still allows Russian news to operate on the site, the narrative could still be molded, suggesting that criticism of the Ukraine narrative could now be considered a violation.

  Wojcicki: “…What we saw was if there was denial or trivialization associated with the conflict, with the war in Ukraine, that would also become a violation. So, the first and most important thing for us was to really focus on the responsibility, figure out how we could be good players in making sure that users can get authoritative and the right information. And what we’re really seeing in this conflict is that information does play a key role, that information can be weaponized.”

  Of course, the weaponization of information is exactly what social media platforms including YouTube have been engaged in lately. This can be done through suppression of honest sources as much as censorship.

  As the legacy media continues to falter and lose its audience to the alternative media, the establishment narrative must be encouraged by some other means. Big Tech platforms have taken up the propaganda mantle, asserting that information must now be filtered by the “authorities” instead of being allowed to spread freely. According to YouTube and other companies, average people are not capable of deliberating on data and information themselves and coming to their own conclusions. This is apparently too dangerous to allow.

  But who determined that Big Tech corporations are qualified to dictate what is factual and what is misinformation? No one voted for them to do the job and very few people want them to do the job. According to polls, around 75% of Americans do not trust social media to make fair content moderation decisions. While 63% of people say they support the “removal of misinformation,” most people could not agree on what misinformation actually is. In the minds of establishment bureaucrats and Big Tech, they are the one’s that decide what it is. In other words, label the truth a threat and then offer to be a moderator for that threat, and in doing so gain power from thin air.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 20:00

• Biden Raising Gas Prices On Purpose, Top Republican Says
  Biden Raising Gas Prices On Purpose, Top Republican Says

  Authored by Allen Zhong via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A top Republican said on Friday that President Joe Biden is raising gas prices on purpose.

  

  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) made the remarks when he was asked on Fox Business’s “Wall Street with Maria Bartiromo” to respond to Biden’s recent comments where he said raising gas prices is part of “an incredible transition.”

  “I think that’s the main takeaway from his statement, that he is telling the American people they’re doing this to you on purpose, that the transition period is being imposed by policies coming from the Biden administration,” he said.

  “This is a conscious effort by the Biden administration to destroy fossil fuel production in the United States, to get away from fossil fuels, and you’re living this experience. This is an irresponsible shutting down of oil and gas production in America, making us more dependent on oil and gas from bad actors, and it’s destroying the American economy,” he continued.

  

  Biden characterized the soaring cost of gasoline in the United States as an “incredible transition” on Monday while taking questions from reporters during his trip to Japan.

  “When it comes to the gas prices, we’re going through an incredible transition that is taking place that, God willing, when it’s over, we’ll be stronger and the world will be stronger and less reliant on fossil fuels when this is over,” he said alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

  The comment came as the national average cost of a gallon of gas sat at a record-high $4.596, with several states paying more than $6.00.

  Biden went on to take credit for gas prices not being “even worse.”

  “What I’ve been able to do to keep it from getting even worse—and it’s bad,” he said.

  His comments were widely denounced by Republicans.

  Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) criticized Biden for being “completely out of touch with everyday Americans.”

  Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel released a statement the following day blaming the Biden administration for the continually elevated cost of gas.

  “Another day, another new record high gas price in Biden’s America,” the statement reads. “Joe Biden doesn’t care about the historic inflation and skyrocketing gas prices families are facing every day as a result of his failed agenda. The pain is the point for Biden and Democrats, and Americans will continue to suffer as long as Biden is in charge.”

  

  Biden and other senior administration officials have continually blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the inflated gas prices. In response to the invasion on Feb. 24, the United States and many of its Western allies put a halt to all imports of Russian oil and gas.

  While the cost of gas did spike dramatically after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, it had already been rising steadily throughout Biden’s first year in office. After the sanctions, the price leveled off before increasing to new record highs in recent weeks.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 19:40

• Former Pacific Hurricane Could Become First Atlantic System With Florida In Crosshairs
  Former Pacific Hurricane Could Become First Atlantic System With Florida In Crosshairs

  On the eve of the official June 1 start date of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, probabilities are increasing that the first organized tropical system could form later this week. 

  Remnants of Hurricane Agatha in southern Mexico will play a crucial role in forming the tropical depression that could develop in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico or the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Thursday or Friday. 

  “A highly likely solution is for moisture and residual energy from Agatha to give birth to a new storm system on the Atlantic side,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Courtney Travis said.

  The National Hurricane Center (NHC) places formation chances at 30% over the next 48 hours and 70% odds over the next five days. 

  2 PM EDT Tuesday May 31: A low pressure area is forecast to form near the Yucatan Peninsula in a couple of days. There is a high chance of this system becoming a tropical depression as it moves northeastward over the northwestern Caribbean Sea and southeastern Gulf of Mexico. pic.twitter.com/hCjC8gEn97

  — National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) May 31, 2022

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  The first name storm of the season would be called “Alex.” 

  

  The European weather model points to circulation late Thursday or Friday and could become an organized storm near Florida by the weekend. If the model is correct, South Florida could be hit with heavy rains, high winds, and coastal flooding. 

  “Regardless of development, locally heavy rainfall is likely across portions of southeastern Mexico, the Yucatán Peninsula, Guatemala, and Belize during the next few days, spreading across western Cuba, southern Florida, and the Florida Keys by the end of the week,” NHC said. 

  

  … And just what the US Gulf Coast needs: A tropical system, as this year’s hurricane season could be active and jeopardize offshore drilling and inland refinery operations, comes when the Biden administration struggles to stomp out high pump prices. It only takes one perfect storm to paralyze the Gulf Coast energy complex. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 19:20

• Chinese Media And Influencers Blame US For Spread Of Monkeypox
  Chinese Media And Influencers Blame US For Spread Of Monkeypox

  Authored by Alex Wu via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  With the outbreak of monkeypox, Chinese state media and social media influencers in China have claimed that the monkeypox virus originated in a U.S. laboratory. They have also made claims that monkeypox will cause the next pandemic, despite European and American scientists pointing out that the possibility of a pandemic is extremely small due to the close contact needed to transmit the virus.

  

  They have also said that, at present, patients are infected with a natural monkeypox virus with no links to a laboratory.

  “Jimu News,” a subsidiary of state-run Hubei Daily Group, published an article on May 23 implying that escaped monkeys from a truck involved in a traffic accident on Jan. 21 in Pennsylvania have something to do with the recent monkeypox outbreak in the United States and Europe.

  The four monkeys that escaped, among the 100 being transported by the truck, were recaptured next day.

  The first confirmed case of monkeypox in the United States appeared in Massachusetts on May 18. The patient was diagnosed after returning to the United States from Canada. Cases have since appeared in New York City, Florida, and Utah.

  

  Meanwhile, Chinese social media influencers who are supportive of China’s ruling communist regime have echoed claims similar to those made by official state media outlets.

  On May 20, a blogger named “Guyan Muchan” posted a few screenshots on Chinese social media Weibo of a document claiming that to be a “monkeypox biochemical pandemic plan leaked by the United States,” implying that the U.S. government was aware of the outbreak in advance.

  “Guyan Muchan” has 6.41 million followers on Weibo, and the post has been liked by more than 7,500 users and received more than 660 comments. Influenced by this post, someone even commented that the United States is “evil beyond human imagination.”

  The document was actually from a hypothetical biohazard scenario published in a research report by the U.S. think tank Nuclear Threat Initiative in 2021. The document is available for viewing on its website.

  Major international media, such as Reuters and Bloomberg, further pointed out that: “Pandemic preparedness scenarios and symposiums are not proof that pandemics are planned, nor are these scenarios a new occurrence.”

  After the false claim is debunked, “Guyan Muchan” has continued to spread similar claims blaming the U.S. for the spread of the monkeypox.

  

  A self-proclaimed “patriotic” cartoonist “Sweet Potato Bear Lao Liu” also posted claims that the spread of the monkeypox virus was related to a U.S. laboratory. On May 21, he posted on his Weibo account that the United States may have modified and upgraded the monkeypox virus to develop a more virulent and transmissible variant, to lead to the next pandemic.

  Zhao Shengye, an internet technology blogger, further claimed on his Weibo account that, after researching the monkeypox virus that appeared in Europe and the United States, he believes the probability of the monkeypox being produced in a laboratory through virus gain-of-function research was greater than 99.9 percent. Zhao has 4 million Weibo followers.

  A major mainland Chinese news portal NetEase News published an article on May 23, titled “Is the Monkeypox Virus Man-made? The United States wrote the data on the outbreak of monkeypox last year, which is terrible.” The article claims that monkeypox has more than 50 mutations, which exceeds the mutation rate of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus that caused COVID-19. It added that no viral evolution in nature would have such a fast mutation rate.

  Such claims have been refuted by international scientists.

  David Robertson, head of viral genomics and bioinformatics at the University of Glasgow, told the Newsweek that the claims are baseless as “there’s no evidence for monkeypox being generated in a lab.”

  Richard Ebright, professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, echoed the point, “All indications are that the monkeypox outbreak involves a natural monkeypox virus.”

  Daniel Bausch, an infectious disease expert and president of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, told Axios that the risk of a monkeypox pandemic is extremely low.

  “I don’t think there’s a reason for panic, I don’t think we’re going to have tens of thousands of cases,” he said of the virus.

  According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, monkeypox is not known to spread easily between people, requiring direct contact with bodily fluids, lesion fluids, or prolonged face-to-face contact.

  Li Linqing contributed to the report.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 19:00

• Ukraine Fires Own Human Rights Chief For Perpetuating Russian Troop 'Systematic Rape' Stories
  Ukraine Fires Own Human Rights Chief For Perpetuating Russian Troop ‘Systematic Rape’ Stories

  For over the past two months, an avalanche of stories have hit Western mainstream press which purported to document instances of mass rape carried out by Russian troops against Ukrainian civilians. One particular story in Time took off, driving outrage and condemnation by Western officials and receiving repeat coverage on CNN and other major US networks.

  It alleged “a systemic, coordinated campaign of sexual violence” – relying chiefly on testimony gathered by Ukraine’s appointed top human rights representative. It included a particularly shocking story of 25 teenage girls being gang-raped by Russian troops – nine of which became pregnant. According to the report:

  Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Lyudmyla Denisova said that 25 teenage girls were kept in a basement in Bucha and gang-raped; nine of them are now pregnant. Elderly women spoke on camera about being raped by Russian soldiers. The bodies of children were found naked with their hands tied behind their backs, their genitals mutilated. Those victims included both girls and boys…

  Ukrainians are speaking up about rape as a war crime to ensure the world holds Russia accountablehttps://t.co/tEilTSgmbS

  — TIME (@TIME) April 24, 2022

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  As has been the pattern in prior wars, whether in Syria or Libya, the media claims got more and more sensational and over-the-top as the conflict intensified, and as Western powers became more deeply involved, yet with no concrete or definitive proof.

  But one consistent detail in the majority of the stories is that the aforementioned Ukraine human rights ombudsman, Lyudmyla Denisova, is often the central figure feeding Western correspondents the shocking rape stories.

  For example, she’s featured in this April Newsweek piece: 

  Lyudmila Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, alleged on Friday that Russian soldiers have raped children during the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

  In a Facebook post, Denisova alleged that an 11-year-old boy was raped by Russians in front of his mother who was tied to a chair and forced to watch as it happened in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.

  

  Many such stories which presented ever-more horrifying details as the war progressed quickly went viral, particularly among pro-Ukraine activists on Twitter and other social media, to the point where prominent pundits would begin casually agreeing amongst themself that Russians simply are “animals”.

  And below is another example among many, which tended to be based on “reports say” for many of the most central, damning claims…

  

  But recently, within the last couple of weeks, as investigators began to dig deeper into the allegations, it seems the media stories started to dry up. The geopolitical analysis blog Moon of Alabama details what happened in the following:

  However, a bunch of eager NGOs in Ukraine, hoping for fresh ‘western’ money for new ‘rape consultation and recovery’ projects, tried to find real rape cases. They were disappointed when they found that there was no evidence that any rape had taken place 

  (machine translation):

  On May 25, a number of media outlets and NGOs published an open appeal to Lyudmila Denisova calling for improved communication on sexual crimes during the war.

  The signatories insist that Denisova should disclose only information about which there is sufficient evidence, avoid sensationalism and excessive detail in their reports, use correct terminology and take care of the confidentiality and safety of victims.

  “Sexual crimes during the war are family tragedies, a difficult traumatic topic, not a topic for publications in the spirit of the ‘scandalous chronicle.’ We need to keep in mind the goal: to draw attention to the facts of crimes,” the appeal reads.

  An entire global activist movement even sprang up which focused on highlighting Russian sexual crimes in Ukraine, based on the premise that Russia’s military is using “rape as a tool” as part of its arsenal to spread a campaign of terror…

  Th woman also shouted ‘Don’t rape us!’ as the security encircled her quickly to take her off the red carpet. The incident again brought to light the Ukraine crisis at #Cannes.https://t.co/Ghs9UCKC7q

  — WION (@WIONews) May 21, 2022

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  And now on Tuesday, Interfax, Politico, The Wall Street Journal, and others are reporting that Lyudmyla Denisova has been fired – precisely for floating and perpetuating fantastical claims of mass rape but without providing evidence…

  Ukraine’s parliament just fired human rights ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova. MPs claimed her work focusing on the rape of Ukrainians by Russian troops which “couldn’t be confirmed with evidence […] only harmed Ukraine and distracted the global media from Ukraine’s real needs.”

  — Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) May 31, 2022

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  “Ukrainian lawmakers dismissed the country’s ombudsman for human rights, Lyudmyla Denisova, in a no-confidence vote on Tuesday, concluding that she had failed to fulfill obligations including the facilitation of humanitarian corridors and countering the deportation of Ukrainians from occupied territory,” The Wall Street Journal reported late in the day.

  “Lawmaker Pavlo Frolov said Ms. Denisova was also accused of making insensitive and unverifiable statements about alleged Russian sex crimes and spending too much time in Western Europe during the invasion,” the report added.

  Frolov said in a Facebook post announcing her dismissal as the country’s top human rights investigator: 

  “The unclear focus of the Ombudsman’s media work on the numerous details of ‘sexual crimes committed in an unnatural way’ and ‘rape of children’ in the occupied territories that could not be confirmed by evidence, only harmed Ukraine.”

  Such accusations of mass rape by the enemy de jour are made in every war (Libya, Syria) . They rarely turn out to be true.https://t.co/bF0NVhQiFl https://t.co/i4rE2LMZMV

  — Moon of Alabama (@MoonofA) April 21, 2022

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  Needless to say this is an absolutely devastating blow to Ukraine’s ‘information war’ which has been in full force since the Russian invasion (as naturally in war each side will enter into propaganda campaigns against the other simultaneous to the actual ground war, and while seeking to sway world opinion).

  Angry pushback has started already within hours after the news of Denisova’s removal was confirmed, including from UN accounts and US media pundits…

  Dismissal of Ombudsperson Denisova is contrary to int standards, undermines independence of important human rights institution in #Ukraine. We call on authorities to take steps to ensure independence of Ombudsperson & abide by int standards in law&practice https://t.co/C3689VYRih

  — UNHumanRightsUkraine (@UNHumanRightsUA) May 31, 2022

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  That Ukraine’s parliament took the drastic step of dismissing her in such a public manner also speaks volumes – strongly suggesting that Ukrainian officials themselves don’t believe the bulk of the ‘systematic rape’ claims.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 18:40

• Who Is John Durham Targeting Next?
  Who Is John Durham Targeting Next?

  Authored by Hans Mahncke via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The trial of Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann is coming to an end [ZH: has now ended with Sussman’s acquittal] but rather than provide definitive answers to the origins of the Russiagate hoax, the trial has thrown up many new mysteries and unanswered questions.

  

  Durham’s overarching trial narrative was that the FBI was duped by Sussmann when he presented them with data purportedly tying Trump to the Kremlin via the Russian Alfa Bank. It may have been Durham’s only viable strategy given the fact he was facing a jury of twelve Washington D.C. residents, a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 20 to 1.

  This strategy did give Sussmann’s team the opportunity to highlight serious misconduct by the FBI, with a flurry of new information about FBI malfeasance and abuses coming to light.

  What does this all mean for Durham? Can he now do a U-turn and go after the FBI that he spent the past two weeks calling a victim? Can he go after Sussmann’s associates like tech executive Rodney Joffe? And what about Hillary Clinton, who we learned greenlighted the plan to vilify Trump?

  The Danchenko Case

  Durham’s most immediate concern will be his second big case—that being against Christopher Steele’s primary sub-source, Igor Danchenko.

  Danchenko was indicted in November 2021 for lying to the FBI, the same type of charge that Sussmann faced. Specifically, Danchenko is alleged to have lied about his own sources, making up a conversation with Sergei Millian, a man he never met, and concealing from the FBI his conversations with Clinton operative Charles Dolan.

  There are a number of crucial differences between Sussmann’s and Danchenko’s situations. Perhaps most importantly, Danchenko was charged in Virginia, not in Washington D.C. That means the jury pool will be more favorable to Durham.

  

  Like Sussmann, Danchenko talked to the FBI in Washington but, unlike Sussmann, he later repeated his lies at his home in Virginia when the FBI came for follow-up interviews. That Durham chose to charge Danchenko in Virginia where the lies were repeated instead of in Washington where they were first told, gives us an insight into how Durham views the Washington jury pool.

  The second big difference is that Danchenko is charged with five lies, not just one. In fact, an analysis of the only publicly available Danchenko interview transcript appears to show other lies. However, Durham charged just five, perhaps because he has audio recordings of those lies, which would be another difference between the Sussmann and Danchenko cases.

  Lastly, Danchenko does not enjoy Democratic Party privilege. Sussmann is a high-powered, well-connected Democratic Party lawyer who represented Clinton and who himself is represented by a high-powered team of top lawyers.

  Whether by design or coincidence, most decisions from Obama-appointed Judge Christopher Cooper went Sussmann’s way. Such is the way of Washington that Cooper is married to Amy Jeffress, a former senior official with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and lawyer for Lisa Page. Page was front and center of the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation. Cooper’s marriage was officiated by Obama’s Attorney General Merrick Garland, the man who overlooks Durham.

  Danchenko’s situation is very different. He’s a Russian national with few connections. There will be no special privileges and he will likely be convicted.

  Danchenko’s trial will be held in October and Durham is facing a number of discovery obligations this coming month. But once he has those matters under control, he will probably move on to bigger fish.

  Will Durham Pursue Private Operatives?

  The looming question is whether those bigger fish will involve anyone bigger than Sussmann, who was, after all, a leading campaign lawyer for Clinton. There are two broad categories of people who may be in Durham’s sights.

  First, there are private actors—people from outside the government who pushed the Clinton campaign’s smears against Trump. A number of Clinton operatives were implicated as part of the case against Sussmann, including Joffe, Clinton lead campaign lawyer Marc Elias, and Fusion GPS co-founders Peter Fritsch and Glenn Simpson. Fusion GPS is the political consulting firm that coordinated with Sussmann to push false stories about Trump into the media.

  We also heard testimony that Clinton herself greenlighted the scheme to use the press to vilify Trump with false accusations of Russia collusion. But will any of these people face consequences?

  

  The person most likely in Durham’s crosshairs is Joffe, who was remarkably offered a top government job in the case of a Clinton election victory, which may have been what motivated him to get involved in the scheme. Joffe was also the person who brought the false Alfa Bank data to his attorney, Sussmann, who later brought it to the FBI.

  During the past two weeks we learned that after setting things in motion with Sussmann, Joffe took things into his own hands by taking the same fake Alfa data that Sussmann brought to FBI general counsel Baker to FBI agent Tom Grasso. Joffe told Grasso that he got the info from a reporter and that Grasso should keep Joffe’s name secret.

  In essence, with Sussmann’s help, Joffe was creating the appearance of two separate information streams into the FBI when in fact all the fake data was coming from Joffe himself. The scheme was simple, effective, and devious. First, Sussmann would get the FBI to investigate Trump, and then Joffe would come in “independently” to back Sussmann’s fake story.

  During Grasso’s testimony it was also revealed that Joffe was a confidential human source for the FBI and that he worked on “Russian-related cyber matters.” There was at least a suggestion that Joffe might have had a role in analyzing the alleged Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee in May 2016. If Joffe was involved in shaping the narrative of the alleged hacking, it would cast yet more doubt on the flimsy yet prevailing conclusion that the Russian government was responsible.

  Joffe has thus far not been charged with any offense. However, in court last week it emerged Joffe misled the FBI on where he got the Alfa data from. Second, he concealed his connections to Sussmann and the Clinton campaign from the FBI. But those two alleged lies happened in 2016 and are now time-barred under the five-year statute of limitations.

  Why wasn’t Joffe charged? There are two possibilities: Either Durham messed up and let the statute of limitations lapse or Durham has far more serious charges in mind for Joffe than lying to the FBI. Durham has made mistakes but it’s unlikely he got this wrong. Major fraud against the United States government has a seven-year statute of limitations and may be what Durham is contemplating for Joffe.

  What about Clinton and her top lieutenants? Not much was said about Jake Sullivan, Clinton’s 2016 campaign foreign policy adviser and current national security adviser who was pushing the Russia hoax during the 2016 campaign.

  However, Clinton’s campaign manager Robby Mook was on the witness stand. He testified that Clinton was personally briefed on the Trump-Russia nonsense and gave the green light to hand the info to the media. While Mook’s admission is significant in that, for the first time, there is unequivocal evidence that directly ties Clinton to the Russiagate hoax, it is not a crime to lie to the media. Mook claimed he did not know the false data was being given to the FBI, nor did he state that Clinton knew.

  Will Durham Pursue Government Actors?

  That still leaves the public actors, in particular people like former FBI director James Comey, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe and former FBI counterespionage director Peter Strzok.

  Through Sussmann’s lawyers—who spent most of their time casting doubt on the FBI—we found out that the FBI’s leadership was rooting for the fake scandal. An internal text message revealed the following:

  “People on the 7th floor to include the Director are fired up about this server.”

  

  Despite FBI cyber analysts having dismissed Sussmann’s server data as laughable, FBI leadership opened a full investigation into the matter, which they then farmed out to the lead agent in the FBI’s Chicago office, Curtis Heide. This is important because Heide is currently under DOJ investigation for concealing exculpatory evidence from the investigation, another fact that was revealed during the trial. Heide also happened to be in charge of the investigation of Trump 2016 campaign adviser George Papadopoulos and he was the arresting officer when Trump confidant Roger Stone’s home was raided in Florida.

  Sussmann’s lawyers made the case that the FBI was not duped but was in on the scam, telling the jury, “They didn’t want to know.” While Sussmann’s team maintained that their client wasn’t responsible, it is notable that high-powered Washington lawyers would admit that the FBI promoted the Russia hoax.

  

  Sussmann’s team also elicited evidence that FBI leadership prevented field agents from interviewing David Dagon, a tech expert who helped Joffe assemble the Alfa data, supposedly because FBI leadership did not want to interfere in the 2016 election. Had FBI agents interviewed Dagon—who is now cooperating with Durham—they would likely have found out about Joffe’s role in the scheme.

  We also know that McCabe lied to his DOJ supervisors in March 2017 about the Russia investigation whose predicate had by that point completely fallen apart. He was not charged even though Durham has had access to the documents that prove that McCabe lied. Those documents have now been made public by Sussmann’s team but it is too late to charge McCabe as the five-year statute of limitations period has passed.

  The same limitation period also applies to Comey’s statements to Congress in March 2017 when he talked up the Russia investigation despite knowing it no longer had any basis. We further already knew that Strzok lied to his DOJ supervisors about how the whole investigation got started, another lie that has now lapsed under the statute of limitations.

  

  Given these circumstances, why was no one charged? The answer may simply be that Durham is effectively fenced in and limited to pursuing private actors. Aside from having only a barebones team and limited budget, Durham works under Biden’s DOJ, which is headed by Attorney General Garland, whose counsel is Margaret Goodlander, who happens to be Sullivan’s wife. It’s very difficult to take on government actors under such circumstances. This could change if Republicans win control of the House in November and provide Durham with political cover. But given that most offenses have lapsed such a development might come too late for Durham.

  The Sussmann trial did, however, achieve at least two important successes. First, we now have documented evidence in the form of an internal text message that Comey and his group of FBI leaders were out to get Trump. Second, the trial revealed that Clinton herself greenlighted the scheme to vilify Trump with false claims of Russia collusion.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 18:20

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• Mainstream Media Praises Ukraine's Azov Battalion For Dropping Nazi Patches From Uniform
  Mainstream Media Praises Ukraine’s Azov Battalion For Dropping Nazi Patches From Uniform

  Amid their looming defeat in the Donbas, which even The New York Times and Washington Post have belatedly and reluctantly begun to acknowledge of late, the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion is still struggling to make over its image, given the Western mainstream had long ago admitted them as a significant “neo-Nazi threat” – as one BBC documentary bluntly described years ago. But since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, the public has been steadily told that Azov is merely “far right” or simply “nationalist” in their ideology. Or even better, the group just has far-right “roots” with images often “misunderstood” and shared “out of context”…

  “Many soldiers who surrendered at a steel complex in Mariupol belong to the Azov battalion, a group with far-right roots,” The New York Times wrote two weeks ago following the large-scale Ukrainian surrender at Azovstal steelworks plant in Mariupol. In the same article we are told this is merely a false “portrayal” the that Kremlin propagandists have presented. And now in new reporting on Monday, the UK Times assures its readers that “Azov Battalion drops neo-Nazi symbol exploited by Russian propagandists” in its headline. Below is the Times working overtime trying to run damage control…

  The new insignia features a golden trident, the Ukrainian national symbol worn by other regiments https://t.co/2VQT9RkeIF

  — The Times (@thetimes) May 30, 2022

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  From the opening lines we are informed it’s really all just “Russian propaganda” and exploitation: “The Azov Battalion has removed a neo-Nazi symbol from its insignia that has helped perpetuate Russian propaganda about Ukraine being in the grip of far-right nationalism.” 

  Ah yes… when these fighters proudly display Nazi symbols, the real problem is Russian officials and media pointing it out: all very inconvenient of course.

  But supporters can now Rejoice…as the group is busy fixing the issue of all its pesky pro-Hitler (literally) emblems and symbolism which has made their enlightened Liberal Western backers squirm just a bit:

  “At the unveiling of a new special forces unit in Kharkiv, patches handed to soldiers did not feature the wolfsangel, a medieval German symbol that was adopted by the Nazis and which has been used by the battalion since 2014,” the Times writes further.

  “Instead, they featured a golden trident,” or the entirely tame and much more common symbol use by Ukrainian national forces broadly. 

  But the question has to be asked: what of those myriad of symbols that can’t be so easily whitewashed? (yes, pun intended). What about all those tattoos?

  More Azov tattoos :
  1 photo “Time to kill”
  2 nd – an attempt to disguise the Nazi Black Sun ?
  3rd- Hitler’s quote
  4th- the same person, “Bears” [HALO?] tattoo? pic.twitter.com/Yj7voWOyz1

  — Elena Evdokimova (@elenaevdokimov7) May 26, 2022

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  Below are a few samples of what Azov militants tend to look like sans uniforms and patches…

  

  Many of the problematic patches which are apparently increasingly being taken off official uniform emblems (as the Times now assures) are still inked on skin, thus a bit harder to readily make disappear for the photo ops…

  

  …in some instances the problematic insignia even shows up as items like eyepatches of all things:

  Amazing… Any thoughts, @SkyNews @DermotMurnaghan? pic.twitter.com/GlDsJW6XBc

  — Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 14, 2022

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  One of the few countries to keep giving mainstream press coverage to Azov’s clear neo-Nazi identity and ideology remains Israel.

  For example Haaretz previously published the below photo, while featuring an array of Azov’s unmistakably Nazi symbols, including those of the Waffen-SS:

  

  Below, journalist and Russia-Ukraine war observer Michael Tracey has a few questions for the mainstream media…

  * * * 

  There are currently mountains of evidence, much of which was contemporaneously gathered over the course of the ongoing war, that Azov “defenders” at the very least physically adorn themselves with unabashed Nazi symbols. 

  Out of context?

  

  Examples of such symbols that have been recently observed on their uniforms include the Wolfsangel, the Black Sun, and even a crest of a division of the SS — the paramilitary organization of the actual, historical Nazis. You know, the ones commanded by Hitler who exterminated lots of Jews.

  If a bunch of Trump supporters were running around with these symbols stitched onto their clothing, do you suppose the US media would be extra charitable in deciphering whether they really subscribed to Nazism?

  Don’t you hate it when propagandists exploit the swastikas that you willingly tattoo on your body? https://t.co/1XB42AS1QA

  — Independent journalist with CIA funding (@JournalistCia) May 30, 2022

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  At this very moment, you can log onto the ADL website and see the Wolfsangel, Black Sun, and other Azov-brandished iconography on the organization’s official list of “hate symbols” actively being “appropriated by Nazis.”

  This is the same ADL which evidently sees no need to make even a cursory statement about the pro-Azov rallies breaking out in the streets of the US. “Don’t think we have any comment here. Thanks for reaching out,” Todd Gitnick, the ADL’s Communications Director, told me when I asked if they had any thoughts on the “Azov!” chanters in NYC.

  Meanwhile, only a few short years ago…

  This Ukrainian extremist group, called The Azov Battalion, has ties to neo-Nazis and white supremacists. Our latest report on international white supremacy details how they try to connect with like-minded extremists from the US: https://t.co/GtvssxwzbN https://t.co/gGHMM8L46k

  — ADL (@ADL) September 23, 2019

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  Read the rest of Tracey’s commentary at Substack.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 02:45

• World Economic Forum Pushes Facial Recognition Technology
  World Economic Forum Pushes Facial Recognition Technology

  Authored by John Mac Ghlionn via The Epoch Times,

  The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, has just ended. The theme of the five-day event, “Working Together, Restoring Trust,” was both vague and troubling, in equal measures.

  

  Remember, this is the WEF we are discussing here, an international organization actively pushing “The Great Reset.” The theme could just as easily have read “Suffering Together, Restoring Compliance.”

  Among the many issues discussed, members focused on the spread of misinformation and disinformation. How, they asked, can the proliferation of harmful content be combatted? It’s easy, they answered, how about introducing digital IDs?

  The WEF recently rolled out the Global Coalition for Digital Safety, an initiative designed to “accelerate public-private cooperation to tackle harmful content online.” In an effort to remedy the scourge of malicious material, the WEF has brought together a “diverse group of leaders who are well placed to exchange best practices for new online safety regulation and help millions of connected citizens improve digital media literacy.”

  These “diverse leaders” include head honchos at the likes of Google, Microsoft, Interpol, and a number of government ministers. Another coalition member is Yoti, a company that strives to make the internet a safer place. How so? Through the use of digital IDs.

  The dangers posed by digital IDs cannot be emphasized enough. As the researcher Brett Solomon—a man “who has tracked the advantages and perils of technology for human rights” for well over a decade—previously noted, the mass rollout of digital IDs “poses one of the gravest risks to human rights of any technology that we have encountered.”

  As we rush “headlong into a future where new technologies will converge to make this risk much more severe,” we must prepare ourselves for the dawn of “near-perfect facial recognition technology and other identifiers, from the human gait to breath to iris,” according to Solomon.

  

  German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (L) addresses the assembly next to Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on May 26, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

  According to the tech researcher, biometric databases of the not-too-distant future will be centralized in nature. Opaque in the extreme, our data will be harvested by the people in the highest positions imaginable—you know, the kind of people who travel to Davos for polite debates.

  Moreover, added Solomon, throw geolocation of identifiers into the mix, and you have a recipe for absolute chaos. Such identifiers track you—more specifically, the digital you—in real time. You can run all you want, but you cannot hide.

  The Panopticon Gets a Digital Upgrade

  Canada, a country with close ties to the WEF, is actively considering the use of digital IDs. According to the Canada Gazette, the country’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has spoken with airlines about introducing “digital identity documents” and “biometric travel documents.”

  Catherine Luelo, Canada’s chief information officer, has also spoken about the need for digital identity. Luelo is currently spearheading Canada’s digital innovation strategy, which seeks to introduce digital IDs across the entire public sector.

  Canada’s plan is part of a broader plan, one that was initiated by the World Economic Forum. In a white paper released last year, authors at the WEF discussed the many ways in which digital ID programs will become an integral part of the financial services industry.

  Resistance is futile. Digital IDs may soon be the norm. In the United States, as analysts at Reclaim the Net recently reported, the U.S. Postal Service is pushing for the introduction of digital IDs. The USPS wants to “have a more prominent role in biometric data collection and digital ID services.”

  More worryingly, the USPS has already partnered with the General Services Administration (GSA) and the FBI, two prominent “biometric data collection pilots.”

  The bad news doesn’t end there. As I have discussed elsewhere, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also wants your face.

  

  A facial recognition program is demonstrated during a biometrics conference in London, in this file photo. (Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

  Digital IDs Are Not Compatible With Democracy

  Freedom House, an international group that was established to promote the idea of democracy, recently warned that when it comes to respecting democratic norms, like the right to privacy, the United States is going backward.

  The country’s “democratic institutions have suffered erosion, as reflected in partisan pressure on the electoral process, bias and dysfunction in the criminal justice system, harmful policies on immigration and asylum seekers, and growing disparities in wealth, economic opportunity, and political influence,” Freedom House argued.

  Yes, but what about digital surveillance? What about the government’s desire (and the organizations closely affiliated with the government) to spy on the American people? What about the push to mine people for data and use the information gathered to manipulate and control?

  For those who doubt that the United States is backsliding, please note that Argentina and Mongolia now rank higher on the democracy ladder, according to a Freedom House 2021 report. Who is to blame for the regression? The very people elected to keep citizens safe, I contend.

  The United States is fast becoming a first-world country with third-world protections for its people. No one should be happy about this. Well, almost no one, except, perhaps, the elites in Davos.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/31/2022 – 02:00

• China Expanding New Space Station To Rival ISS
  China Expanding New Space Station To Rival ISS

  China’s Tiangong Space Station is operational and is poised to rival the International Space Station (ISS) and comes at a time when the ISS is locked in a fierce political battle between Russia and the US due to the Ukraine war. 

  Bloomberg reports that spacecraft Shenzhou-14, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, was moved to a launchpad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on Sunday. The Shenzhou-14 crewed spacecraft will ferry three astronauts to Tiangong in early June for a six-month mission. 

  China will have a busy year expanding the Tiangong. A total of six space flights will be carried out this year. In May, a cargo spacecraft delivered supplies to the station. Next will be the Shenzhou-14 human-crewed spacecraft. Then the launch of the Wentian lab module in June. The launch of the Tianhe core module in July and another lab module in October. Another three astronauts aboard the Shenzhou-15 human-crewed spacecraft will be taken up later this year to stay in orbit for six months. 

  Last week, China released a never-before-seen image of Tiangong, orbiting above the Earth at 250 miles. 

  

  Under President Xi Jinping, China has ambitious expansion plans for the Tiangong. In April, Beijing invited international and commercial partners to the new station as Russia quits the ISS.

  The uncertainty gripping the ISS due to Washington’s sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine has pushed Russia and China closer. 

  Before the Ukraine conflict, Russian space agency Roscosmos signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s National Space Administration, agreeing to work together on an international lunar research station.

  The race for space dominance appears to be morphing into a multi-polar playing field—the US and European allies against Russia and China. 

  With ISS retiring by 2030, China’s Tiangong will be the only space station operational unless the US has a replacement. The US has enjoyed complete space dominance for decades, though the gap appears to be closing. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 23:15

• Iranian Military Base Attacked With Drones 'Launched From Inside Iran'
  Iranian Military Base Attacked With Drones ‘Launched From Inside Iran’

  Authored by Will Porter via The Libertarian Institute,

  An apparent drone attack targeting Iran’s Parchin military complex earlier this week was launched from within the country, The New York Times reported, suggesting the deadly incident followed a “pattern” of previous strikes carried out by Israeli operatives.

  Blasts erupted at a research unit at the sensitive military site last Wednesday, killing a young engineer and injuring one other person, according to the Times, which cited three Iranians and one US official familiar with the incident. The sources said the attack involved multiple quadcopter suicide drones, but did not specify their make.

  

  While Iranian officials initially said the explosions were the result of an “industrial accident,” the government later suggested the site was attacked, also identifying the slain engineer as Ehsan Ghadbeigi, who it deemed a “martyr.”

  Given the short range of quadcopter drones and Parchin’s significant distance from Iran’s borders, Iranian sources told the Times that the assault must have been launched from within the country, not far from the complex.

  No actor has claimed responsibility for the blasts, and Tehran has yet to publicly cast blame, though the Times noted that “the attack fit a pattern of past Israeli strikes,” including an assault in February in which six quadcopter drones detonated near a factory in the city of Kermanshah.

  Weeks later, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) retaliated with a missile salvo into Iraqi Kurdistan, claiming to target a site used by Israeli intelligence agents planning attacks on Iran.

  The strikes on Parchin came just days after an IRGC officer was assassinated by gunmen in the Iranian capital. According to the Times, Israeli officials told US counterparts they were behind the killing, but Tel Aviv did not publicly confirm involvement, in line with its typical policy. 

  

  In addition to the drone bombings and other assassinations targeting Iranian scientists in the past, a string of mysterious explosions have also rocked Iranian nuclear infrastructure in recent years, such as one high-profile incident in April 2021 at the Natanz site, a major uranium enrichment facility.

  Israel has been a top suspect in each case given its history of operations inside Iran, and Tehran has explicitly blamed the country for a number of the incidents.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 22:40

• Concern About Civil Rights Wanes In The US
  Concern About Civil Rights Wanes In The US

  After concern about civil rights peaked in the United States in early 2021, Statista’s Katharina Buchholz reports that the share of respondents identifying it as an important issue for the country quickly dropped again – back to 2019 levels as of Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. This is according to the Statista Global Consumer Survey.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  Throughout 2020, civil rights took center stage in U.S. political discourse after the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in May triggered mass protests and a politicized re-awakening on racial injustice in the country.

  The second anniversary of George Floyd’s death was last week, May 25, 2022.

  As of Q2 2021, 32 percent of respondents still named civil rights as an important issue for the United States. Higher ranked issues at that time were the economic situation, unemployment, health and social security (at 43-45 percent as the Delta variant intensified concern about Covid-19 once more) as well as inflation (35 percent) and crime (33 percent).

  By Q1 of 2022, concern about civil rights was additionally overtaken by concern about climate and the environment as well as concern about education, immigration, poverty and housing, delegating its importance back to an also-ran.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 22:05

• In Memoriam 2022
  In Memoriam 2022

  Authored by Robert Gore via Straight Line Logic blog,

  “You don’t fight for your country, you fight for your government.”

  The Golden Pinnacle, by Robert Gore

  On Memorial Day, America remembers and honors those who died while serving in the military. It is altogether fitting and proper to ask: for what did they die? Do the rationales offered by the military and government officials who decide when and how the US will go to war, and embraced by the public, particularly those who lose loved ones, stand up to scrutiny and analysis? Some will recoil, claiming it inappropriate on a day devoted to honoring the dead.

  However, it is because war is a matter of life and death, for members of the military and inevitably civilians, that its putative justifications be subject to the strictest tests of truth and the most probing of analyses.

  

  Millions have marched off to war believing they were defending the US, which implies the US was under attack. Yet, setting aside for a moment Pearl Harbor and 9/11, US territory hasn’t been invaded by a foreign power since the Mexican-American War (arguably—Mexico claimed the territory it “invaded” was part of Mexico), or, if the Confederacy is considered a foreign power, the Civil War. That war ended a century-and-a-half ago, yet every US military involvement since has been justified as a defense of the US. That has gradually attenuated, in a little noted slide, to a defense of US “interests,” which is something far different.

  Only one of those involvements could, arguably, have been said to have forestalled not an invasion, but a possible threat of invasion: World War II. Watching newsreel graphics of Germany’s drives across Europe, Northern Africa, and the USSR, and Japan’s across Asia and the Pacific, it was perhaps understandable that Americans believed the Axis powers would eventually come for them, especially after Pearl Harbor. However, that was a one-off attack by the Japanese to disable the US’s Pacific Fleet. To launch an invasion of the US, Japan, a smaller, less populated nation whose economy depended on imports of vital raw materials, including oil, would have had to cross the Pacific and fight the US, and undoubtedly Canada, on their home territories. The Pearl Harbor attack, provoking America’s entry into the war, proved a strategic blunder for the Japanese. An invasion would have been ludicrous. Similarly, Germany, up to its eyeballs in a two-front war, couldn’t conquer Russian winters or Great Britain across the English Channel. How was it supposed to either cross the Atlantic, or the USSR and hostile guerrillas, then the Pacific, and attack the US? That, too, would have been ludicrous.

  The 9/11 attack was also a one-off. A majority of the attackers came not from a US enemy but rather a supposed ally, Saudi Arabia. They received funding and other support from people in that country and perhaps its government. A conventional war against a “state sponsor of terrorism” might have required war against Saudi Arabia; it is still not clear how involved its government was. That option was never considered. Rather, the Bush administration performed metaphysical gymnastics and launched the first war in history against a tactic: terrorism. Although the jihadists who perpetrated 9/11 were self-evidently not the vanguard of an invasion, the terrorism they employed was deemed a threat to US interests in the Middle East, and to life and property in the US. However, none of our subsequent involvements in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen have been necessary to maintain US citizens’ freedoms, the nation’s territorial integrity, or its lives and property.

  There are undoubtedly many epitaphs on tombstones in this country to the effect: Here lies the deceased, who died defending America, and not one that reads: Here lies the deceased, who died defending American interests. However, the latter is in most cases more accurate than the former. Who decides the interests for which members of America’s military will die? Those considering entering the military today must look beyond the slogans, contemplate the risks of being killed, wounded, dismembered, paralyzed, or psychologically traumatized, and ask themselves: why and for whom are these risks being borne? You don’t fight for your country, you fight for your government. Is it worth risking one’s life for the US government?

  In 1821, John Quincy Adams said America had not gone “abroad in search of monsters to destroy,” and while we wished those seeking liberty well, theirs was not our fight (see “In Search of Monsters,” SLL, 4/11/15). Since then, America has searched for monsters, found, and in some cases, destroyed them. However, as the poison of power has worked its evil on the minds and souls of those who possess it, the monsters have become more ethereal, apparitions conjured like creatures in the closet by children when they go to bed. The war on terrorism creates more terrorists, the monsters of choice since 9/11. The government still pays occasional lip service to “democratic values” and “civil liberties,” but allies itself with regimes which have no more fealty to those values and liberties than the “tyrants” the government opposes.

  “Defending America” and “Promoting Our Way of Life” have become transparent pretexts for American power and domination unbounded.

  As Adams so presciently warned, the search for monsters has turned the government itself into a monster, the biggest threat to Americans’ “inextinguishable rights of human nature.”

  Those who have fought and died to defend America and its freedoms are noble beyond measure. Those who pay self-serving tribute to their valor, but make war and expend lives as means to corrupt ends are evil beyond redemption. Honor the former; expose and oppose the latter.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 21:30

• Back To The Future: DeLorean Unveils All-New Electric Alpha5
  Back To The Future: DeLorean Unveils All-New Electric Alpha5

  The DeLorean DMC-12 became widely popular thanks to the Back To The Future films from the mid/late 1980s. Its most memorable appearance was when the vehicle had to travel 88 miles per hour so the “flux capacitor” could initiate time travel. 

  

  Four decades since the DMC-12 was first released (1981), DeLorean Motor Company unveiled the DMC Alpha5 on Monday.

  

  The Alpha5 and DMC-12 have one noticeable feature: the famous massive gullwing doors, though the new vehicle will feature an all-electric powertrain that allows for 0-60 mph in 2.99 seconds or 0-88 mph in 4.35 seconds, much faster than DMC-12’s 0-60 mph in 10.5 seconds. 

  

  The aerodynamic body of the Alpha5 is a lot cleaner than the boxy body of the DMC-12. Alpha5 has a drag coefficient similar to the Tesla Model 3 and a 300-mile range. 

  

  The history of John DeLorean, the creator of the DMC-12, was a rather interesting one. In 1982, one year after the DMC-12 was released, the FBI set up a sting where DeLorean agreed to bankroll a fake cocaine smuggling operation in hopes of providing cash flow to his company. DMC went bankrupt shortly after DeLorean was arrested, and the DMC-12 halted production. The car was only made between 1981-1982. Then in 1995, Stephen Wynne bought the rights to the company. 

  

  According to Joos de Vries, the CEO of Delorean Motor Company: “The Alpha5 is for people that love to drive.” Neilo Harris, VP of branding, added: 

  “We have been given the opportunity to reimagine a brand that has meant to much to so many people from all corners of the globe for four decades. DeLorean has touched so many lives and set the stage for so many memories… We are all now witnessing a new chapter of this amazing story.” 

  Alpha5 will “will premiere at Pebble Beach Concours d ‘Elegance Award ramp on August 18 and the Concept Lawn on August 21,” the company said on its website. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 20:55

• The New York Times' Dramatic Shift On Victory In Ukraine
  The New York Times’ Dramatic Shift On Victory In Ukraine

  Authored by John Walsh via Consortium News,

  On May 11 The New York Times ran an article documenting that all was not going well for the U.S. in Ukraine, and a companion opinion piece hinting that a shift in direction might be in order.

  Then on May 19, the editorial board, the full Magisterium of the Times, moved from hints to a clarion call for a change in direction, declaring that “total victory” over Russia is not possible and that Ukraine will have to negotiate a peace in a way that reflects a “realistic assessment” and the “limits” of U.S. commitment. The Times serves as one the main shapers of public opinion for the elite and so its pronouncements are not to be taken lightly.

  US Limits

  The editorial contains the following key passages:

  “In March, this board argued that the message from the United States and its allies to Ukrainians and Russians alike must be: No matter how long it takes, Ukraine will be free. …”

  “That goal cannot shift, but in the end, it is still not in America’s best interest to plunge into an all-out war with Russia, even if a negotiated peace may require Ukraine to make some hard decisions.” 

  And, to ensure that there is no ambiguity, it went on:

  “A decisive military victory for Ukraine over Russia, in which Ukraine regains all the territory Russia has seized since 2014, is not a realistic goal. …Russia remains too strong…”

  

  Then, to make certain that President Joe Biden and the Ukrainians understand what they should do, it adds:

  “… Mr. Biden should also make clear to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his people that there is a limit to how far the United States and NATO will go to confront Russia, and limits to the arms, money and political support they can muster. It is imperative that the Ukrainian government’s decisions be based on a realistic assessment of its means and how much more destruction Ukraine can sustain.”

  As Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky read those words, he must surely have begun to sweat.  The voice of his masters was telling him that he and Ukraine will have to make some sacrifices for the U.S. to save face.  As he contemplates his options, his thoughts must surely run back to February 2014, and the U.S.-backed Maidan coup that culminated in the hasty exit of President Viktor Yanukovych from his office, his country and almost from this earth.

  Alexander Mercouris of The Duran explains the shift in Western media reporting:

  Too dangerous

  In the eyes of the Times editorial writers, the war has become a U.S. proxy war against Russia using Ukrainians as cannon fodder – and it is careening out of control:

   “The current moment is a messy one in this conflict, which may explain President Biden and his cabinet’s reluctance to put down clear goal posts.

  “The United States and NATO are already deeply involved, militarily and economically. Unrealistic expectations could draw them ever deeper into a costly, drawn-out war…

  “Recent bellicose statements from Washington — President Biden’s assertion that Mr. Putin ‘cannot remain in power,’ Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s comment that Russia must be ‘weakened’ and the pledge by the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, that the United States would support Ukraine ‘until victory is won’ — may be rousing proclamations of support, but they do not bring negotiations any closer.”

  While the Times dismisses these “rousing proclamations,” it is all too clear that for the neocons in charge of US foreign policy, the goal has always been a proxy war to bring down Russia. This has not become a proxy war; it has always been a proxy war.

  The neocons operate by the Wolfowitz Doctrine, enunciated in 1992, soon after the end of Cold War 1.0, by the necoconservative Paul Wolfowitz, then under secretary of defense:

  “We endeavor to prevent any hostile power from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be sufficient to generate global power.

  “We must maintain the mechanism for deterring potential competitors from even aspiring to a larger regional or global power.”

  Clearly if Russia is “too strong” to be defeated in Ukraine, it is too strong to be brought down as a superpower.

  

  What Changed?

  After seven years of slaughter in the Donbas and three months of warfare in southern Ukraine, has the Times editorial board suddenly had a rush of compassion for all the victims of the war and the destruction of Ukraine and changed its opinion?  Given the record of the Times over the decades, it would seem that other factors are at work.

  First of all, Russia has handled the situation unexpectedly well despite dire predictions from the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s support exceeds 80 percent.

  Out of 195 nations, 165 —including India and China with 35 percent of the world’s population —have refused to join sanctions against Russia, leaving the U.S., not Russia, relatively isolated in the world. 

  The ruble, which Biden said would be “rubble,” has not only returned to its pre-February levels but is trading recently around a two-year high of about 60 rubles to the dollar compared to 150 in March. 

  Russia is expecting a bumper harvest and the world is eager for its wheat and fertilizer, oil and gas all of which provide substantial revenue. The EU has largely succumbed to Russia’s demand to be paid for gas in rubles.  U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellin is warning the suicidal Europeans that an embargo of Russian oil will further damage the economies of the West.

  Russian forces are making slow but steady progress across southern and eastern Ukraine after winning in Mariupol, the biggest battle of the war so far, and a demoralizing defeat for Ukraine.

  In the U.S., inflation, which was already high before the Ukraine crisis, has been driven even higher and reached over 8 percent with the Federal Reserve now scrambling to control it by raising interest rates.  Partly as a result of this, the stock market has come close to bear territory.  As the war progresses, many have joined Ben Bernanke, former Fed Chair, in predicting a period of high unemployment, high inflation and low growth — the dread stagflation. 

  

  Domestically, there are signs of deterioration in support of the war.  Most strikingly, 57 House Republicans and 11 Senate Republicans voted against the latest package of weaponry to Ukraine, bundled with considerable pork and hidden bonanzas for the war profiteers.  (Strikingly no Democrat, not a single one, not even the most “progressive” voted against pouring fuel on the fire of war raging in Ukraine.  But that is another story.) 

  And while US public opinion remains in favor of U.S. involvement in Ukraine there are signs of slippage.  For example, Pew reports that those feeling the U.S. is not doing enough declined from March to May.  As more stagflation takes hold with gas and food prices growing and voices like those of Tucker Carlson and Rand Paul pointing out the connection between the inflation and the war, discontent is certain to grow.

  Finally, as the war becomes less popular and it takes its toll, an electoral disaster looms ahead in 2022 and 2024 for Biden and the Democratic Party, for which the Times serves as a mouthpiece.

  Note of Panic

  There is a note of panic in this appeal to find a negotiated solution now.  The US and Russia are the world’s major nuclear powers with thousands of nuclear missiles on launch-on-warning, aka hair-trigger alert.  At moments of high tension, the possibilities of accidental nuclear Armageddon are all too real. 

  Biden’s ability to stay in command of events is in question. Many people of his age can handle a situation like this, but many cannot and he seems to be in the latter category.

  The neocons are now in control of the foreign policy of the Biden administration, the Democratic Party and most of the Republican Party. But will the neocons in charge give up and move in a reasonable and peaceful direction as the Times editorial demands? 

  This is a fantasy of the first order.  As other commentators have observed, hawks such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan have no reverse gear; they always double down. They do not serve the interests of humanity nor do they serve the interests of the American people. They are in reality traitors to the US.  They must be exposed, discredited and pushed aside. Our survival depends on it.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 20:20

• Elite San Francisco School Sees Record D's And F's After Ditching 'Racist' Merit-Based Admissions
  Elite San Francisco School Sees Record D’s And F’s After Ditching ‘Racist’ Merit-Based Admissions

  A record number of freshman students at San Francisco’s elite Lowell High School earned D and F grades this past fall – the first semester after the school board eliminated merit-based admissions that were deemed “racist” by former SF Board of Education Commissioner, Alison Collins – who was ousted along with two other school board members in a February recall over the admissions debate and other issues – including a series of 2016 tweets by Collins targeting Asian Americans.

  

  Of the 620 freshman students at Lowell, 24.4% received at least one D or F during the fall semester, which compared with just 7.9% of first-year students in fall 2020 and 7.7% in fall 2019, according to internal SF Unified School District figures obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle. Overall, the number of 9th graders at Lowell with a D or F tripled from 51 in 2020 to 152 in 2021 – bringing the figures closer to those at other high schools in the city.

  Lowell students in grades 10 through 12 – who were admitted under the old merit-based system, saw a “slight” drop in grades over the same time period, while other city high schools did not see similar rises in D’s and F’s. In fact, freshman receiving low grades at other schools declined citywide between fall 2019 and 2021.

  The lower grades, while expected by many, are likely to become part of a fervid debate over Lowell that touches on race, equity and achievement. The grades raise questions about how students — and the school’s teachers and administrators — are adapting to the changes.

  However, it’s unclear exactly how much the change in admissions policy factored into the rise in D’s and F’s among Lowell’s ninth-graders, compared with other possible factors such as the pandemic. –SF Chronicle

  In 2020, Collins notably said merit-based achievement and standardized testing are “racist systems” and the “antithesis of fair” – prompting the school to change their admissions policy to a lottery system similar to all other SF city high schools, vs. test scores and grades.

  However, many parents I’ve spoken to disagree with that framing, pointing out that academic achievement shouldn’t be demonized.

  Other parents I’ve heard from say reform is needed but that the process shouldn’t be rushed and that community input is needed. (4/7)

  — Sophie Bearman (@stbearman) February 2, 2021

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  After the school dropped merit-based admissions, Lowell High accepted fewer asian (-4.4%) and white students (-6.5%), and more hispanic (+10%) and black students (+2.9%).

  

  According to outgoing Lowell High principal Joe Ryan Dominguez, there are “way too many variables that contributed” to the rise.

  “Over a year of distance learning, half of our student body new to in-person instruction at the high school level and absences among students/staff for COVID all explain this dip in performance,” he said – without addressing the fact that students admitted under the merit-based system were doing better than those admitted under the lottery. “It is important not to insinuate a cause on such a sensitive topic at the risk of shaming our students and teachers who have worked very hard in a difficult year.”

  Pressured by the pandemic, the school board approved a fast-tracked switch from merit- to lottery-based admissions at Lowell starting this school year, citing COVID disruptions to the tests and grades that underpin applications to the school. Lowell’s freshman class this year was the most diverse in decades, with more Black and Latino students.

  Both before and since the board’s decision, Lowell’s students, parents, educators and alumni have been locked in a debate over how the school should admit its students in the future.

  Lowell has long been one of the top performing public schools in the country, whose alumni include prominent figures in politics, entertainment, literature and science. It’s viewed as a high-pressure launchpad to elite colleges and has offered more advanced placement courses than other San Francisco high schools. -SF Chronicle

  Those opposed to the new lottery-based system say it disproportionately hurts Asian American students, who were ‘overrepresented’ at Lowell vs. other SFUSD schools, and that it ignores the benefits of a competitive school afforded to high-achievers.

  During a Tuesday school board meeting, departing district Superintendent Vincent Matthews proposed extending the lottery-based admissions system at Lowell through the 2023-2024 school year while the district launches a public process to determine a long-term solution.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 19:45

• Kremlin Makes Announcement Amid Rumors On Putin’s Health
  Kremlin Makes Announcement Amid Rumors On Putin’s Health

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

  A top Kremlin official on Monday disputed reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s health is getting progressively worse amid rumors that he may have cancer.

  

  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov issued a response to the reports, saying that Putin “makes public appearances on a daily basis.”

  “You can see him on TV screens, read, and listen to his speeches. I don’t think that a sane person can suspect any signs of an illness or ailment in this man,” he added. “I’ll leave it on the conscience of those who disseminate such rumors despite daily opportunities for everyone to see how he and others look like.”

  Lavrov, who was speaking to a French TV station, did not address claims that Putin is suffering from an undisclosed form of cancer.

  Christopher Steele, the former UK spy and reputed author of the infamous and discredited “Steele dossier,” told Sky News earlier this month he believes Putin is “seriously ill” and claimed that factored into the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

  Notably, Steele was hired by organizations on behalf of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign to conduct opposition research against then-candidate Donald Trump, creating the dossier accusing Trump of having connections to Moscow. Most of the claims within Steele’s notes have been debunked by U.S. intelligence officials, although those allegations ultimately made it to corporate American news outlets such as MSNBC and the New York Times.

  

  A report from an outlet called New Lines Magzine claimed that it received an audio recording from an unnamed Russian oligarch, who alleged Putin is “very ill with blood cancer.”

  And in March, Moscow also denied other rumors—which are largely based on uncorroborated and unnamed sources—about Putin’s health. At the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian leader said he was in fine condition.

  However, a former KGB official, Boris Karpichkov told The Sun tabloid that he suspects Putin, 69, has several ailments, including Parkinson’s and dementia. Karpichkov provided no evidence to the publication, which, along with the Daily Mail and Mirror, often publishes speculative reports about Putin’s health and family members.

  This month, Jeffrey Edmonds, the former director for Russia on the National Security Council and a former CIA military analyst, told Business Insider that he is “not seeing anything truly credible” in regards to claims about the Russian president’s allegedly poor health.

  Because of Russia’s failure to capture certain parts of Ukraine, Edmonds said that he and other analysts have seen “a definite change” in Putin’s public behavior.

  Putin is “normally the voice of calm in Russia but publicly has become more emotional and angry,” he said, adding that the president is  “not comfortable with something.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 19:10

• Brent Tops $122 After EU Agrees On "Partial" Ban Of Russian Oil
  Brent Tops $122 After EU Agrees On “Partial” Ban Of Russian Oil

  After days of leaks, late on Sunday Bloomberg confirmed that European Union leaders agreed to pursue a partial ban on Russian oil, setting the stage the way for a sixth package of sanctions to punish Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, for the invasion of Ukraine…

  I welcome the #EUCO agreement tonight on oil sanctions against Russia.

  This will effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.

  — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 30, 2022

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  … with some member states reportedly already pushing for a seventh EU sanctions package… although considering that Russian oil exports have hit record highs ever since the Ukraine war erupted, one wonders if this round of “sanctions” will be just as worthless as all the previous ones.

  Some member states are already pushing for a seventh EU sanctions package.
  Discussions move tomorrow onto potential global food crisis, and defence.

  — Naomi O’Leary (@NaomiOhReally) May 30, 2022

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  The sanctions – as previewed last week – would ban the purchase of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia delivered to member states by sea but include a temporary exemption for pipeline crude (at the insistence of Hungary and German), European Council President Charles Michel said late Monday during a summit in Brussels.

  “This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine,” Michel said in a tweet. “Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war.”

  #Unity

  Agreement to ban export of Russian oil to the EU. 

  This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine. 

  Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war. 

  #EUCO

  — Charles Michel (@eucopresident) May 30, 2022

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  Of course, that’s just propaganda for the idiot masses: as we have shown previously, it is thanks to Europe’s laughable “sanctions”, that Russian oil revenues have soared by 50%, hitting a record high, and sending Russia’s current account to all time highs.

  

  Officials and diplomats still have to agree on the technical details and the sanctions must be formally adopted by all 27 nations. As we reported previously, Hungary, which will continue to receive Russian oil via pipeline, had been blocking an embargo for the past month as it sought assurances its energy supplies wouldn’t be disrupted.

  Of course, if one actually reads the fine print, the latest round of “sanctions” is even more laughable then the previous ones: the European Commission has proposed to ban crude oil six months from inaction, while refined petroleum products would be halted in eight months, which of course is ridiculous as the Ukraine war will be long over by then. Meanwhile, showing just how turn Europe actually remains, shipments of oil through the giant Druzhba pipeline to central Europe will be spared until a technical solution is found that satisfies the energy needs of Hungary and other landlocked nations.

  Seaborne supplies account for about two-thirds of Russian oil imports, and once in place, the measure would cost Putin up to $10 billion a year in lost export revenue, according to Bloomberg calculations. That’s because the ban would force Russia to sell its crude at a discount to Asia, where it’s already changing hands at about $34 a barrel cheaper than the price of Brent futures. Of course, while Russia will quickly compensate for that discount once the price of spot Brent rises by – say – $10, it will be Europeans who end up with exploding gas bills.

  The latest “sanctions” package also proposes another softball ban on insurance related to shipping oil to third countries… which is also absolutely toothless as it won’t take effect until six months after the adoption of the measures, from the previously proposed three-month transition. That adds to a longer list of concessions since the proposal was originally put forward by the EU’s executive arm in May, all meant to appease German while appearing to act tough on Russia.  

  It gets even funnier: some countries will also have a longer transition for the seaborne oil ban. For Bulgaria, a transition period until June or December 2024 is envisioned, while Croatia could get an exemption for imports of vacuum gas oil, which is used to make products including gasoline and butane.

  The EU’s efforts to limit price spikes and Russia’s ability to divert its oil exports in the event of a European embargo had already been watered down in earlier negotiation rounds after a plan to ban tankers from transporting oil to third countries was abandoned.
  A plan to ban Russians from purchasing real estate in the EU was dropped from the deal, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Haggling over the terms of the EU’s oil embargo also led other member states to seek exemptions.

  Meanwhile, as Europe’s revels in the laughable pomp of yet another toothless round of sanctions, Russia – the wolrld’s 2nd largest exporter of oil (and perhaps 1st if Saudis are having a bad month), shipped about 720,000 barrels a day of crude to European refineries through its main pipeline to the region last year. That compares with seaborne volumes of 1.57 million barrels a day from its Baltic, Black Sea and Arctic ports.

  According to Bloomberg, some of the other measures in the proposed EU sanctions package include:

  • Cutting three more Russian banks off the SWIFT international payments system, including Russia’s largest lender Sberbank.
  • Banning the ability to provide consulting services to Russian companies and trade in a number of chemicals.
  • Sanctioning Alina Kabaeva, a former Olympic gymnast who is “closely associated” with Putin, according to an EU document; and Patriarch Kirill, who heads the Russian Orthodox Church and has been a vocal supporter of the Russian president and the war in Ukraine. Hungary, however, is opposed to sanctioning Kirill, the people said.
  • Sanctioning dozens of military personnel, including those deemed responsible for reported war crimes in Bucha, as well as companies providing equipment, supplies and services to the Russian armed forces.

  In any case, between Europe’s surprising ability to agree on something, even if it is yet another symbolic and theatrical round of “sanctions”, and China effectively “defeating” covid over the past week…

  

  … which has resulted in the end of lockdown measures in Shanghai and Beijing, Brent topped $122 and WTI was trading above $117.

  

  One can only imagine where oil would be trading if Biden hadn’t taken the political decision to drain the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve just so dems had even a glimmer of a chance come November…

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 18:36

• Hurricane Agatha, First Of The Season, Takes Aim At Mexico Tourist Beaches
  Hurricane Agatha, First Of The Season, Takes Aim At Mexico Tourist Beaches

  Agatha is the first hurricane of the 2022 season and is spinning towards Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane. Landfall could be as early as Monday afternoon or evening, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. 

  Agatha has sustained maximum winds of 110 mph (1 mph shy of Cat 3) about 65 miles southwest of Puerto Angel as it moved northeast at six mph early Monday. 

  

  “Life-threatening hurricane-force winds are expected in portions of the hurricane warning area in southern Mexico on Monday,” NHC warned.

  The storm’s path is near Puerto Escondido and Puerto Angel in the southern state of Oaxaca, an area known for beaches and resorts. 

  NHC said that Agatha could “bring extremely dangerous coastal flooding from storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves is expected near and the east of where Agatha makes landfall.” 

  NHC forecasts Agatha to dump 10 to 16 inches of rain on parts of Oaxaca, with some areas of at least 20 inches, which may trigger mudslides and flash floods. 

  Another busy season hurricane season is expected. One of the reasons is due to the ongoing La Niña.

  The official Atlantic hurricane season begins on Wednesday and lasts through Nov. 30, where there’s a strong possibility of an above-normal season. 

  “Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook 2022: 70% likelihood of 14-21 named storms of which 6-10 could become hurricanes, including 3-6 major hurricanes,” tweeted NOAA.

  

  Meanwhile, there’s a 40% chance of tropical development in the Gulf of Mexico over the next five days. 

  “A large and complex area of low pressure is expected to develop across Central America, the Yucatán Peninsula, and the southwest Gulf of Mexico in a few days, partially related to the remnants of Hurricane Agatha from the eastern Pacific. Some gradual development is possible within this system in the far southwest Gulf of Mexico around midweek or in the northwest Caribbean by the latter part of this week as it drifts eastward or northeastward,” NHC said. 

  

  Another active hurricane season could prove disastrous for offshore drilling and inland refinery operations along the US Gulf Coast and comes at a time the Biden administration struggles to stomp out high pump prices. It only takes one powerful storm to dent Gulf Coast refining capacity, thus catapulting fuel prices on the East Coast to the moon. So much for the SPR drain… 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 18:35

• Elizabeth Warren Desperately Seeks "More" Inflation
  Elizabeth Warren Desperately Seeks “More” Inflation

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MIshTalk.com,

  To put things politely, Elizabeth Warren is an economic moron…

  

  Gas Gouging

  Big oil companies are making out like bandits. Our plan would crack down on their price gouging, tax their windfall profits, and send four rebate checks a year to American consumers:https://t.co/EH147IeQpC

  — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 24, 2022

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  Elizabeth Warren Flashback

  On my first day as president, I will sign an executive order that puts a total moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases for drilling offshore and on public lands. And I will ban fracking—everywhere.

  — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) September 6, 2019

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  “On my first day as president, I will sign an executive order that puts a total moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases for drilling offshore and on public lands. And I will ban fracking—everywhere.”

  Thank you Elizabeth Warren for another “Hoot of the Day”.

  She is a multiple time winner.

  More Free Money

  As a country, we shouldn’t crush people with debt for trying to build a better future. Technical schools, community colleges, and public universities should be tuition-free. And to start righting this wrong, President Biden must #CancelStudentDebt. https://t.co/cHl9197vYc

  — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 24, 2022

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  Warren’s plan to tamp down inflation includes more free money.

  “As a country, we shouldn’t crush people with debt for trying to build a better future. Technical schools, community colleges, and public universities should be tuition-free. And to start righting this wrong, President Biden must #CancelStudentDebt.”

  Why stop there?

  Free Universal Child Care

  Let’s take this vision nationwide with my plan for universal child care and pre-k.https://t.co/cL2fhrxgpC

  — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 29, 2022

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  “Let’s take this vision nationwide with my plan for universal child care and pre-k.”

  Yeah, that’ll sure fix inflation.

  To put things politely, Elizabeth Warren is an economic moron.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 18:00

• Memorial Day Air Travelers Hit With Heavy Flight Cancellations 
  Memorial Day Air Travelers Hit With Heavy Flight Cancellations 

  Flight disruptions spread across the US on Memorial Day weekend, a turbulent start to the summer travel season two years since the virus pandemic began.  

  On Monday morning, Flight Aware’s plane tracking website reports 272 cancellations within, into, or out of the US. There were 546 cancellations on Sunday, and hundreds more on Saturday and Friday, totaling at least a thousand across the holiday period. 

  One of the most significant headaches over the weekend was when Delta Air Lines canceled more than 250 flights or 9% of its US operations on Saturday.

  In an email statement, Atlanta-based Delta told AP News that Saturday’s cancellations resulted from bad weather and “air traffic control actions.” 

  Angry passengers tweeted their woes from airports. 

  “So our flight from Savannah to Miami has just been canceled out of the blue not other flights available on the day wtf do we do,” one traveler said. 

  “Instead of canceling the flight hours ago, delta had me waiting from 3:50 pm till 12:04 am just to tell me my flight was canceled,” another said. 

  Demand destruction has yet to be reached despite soaring domestic airfare prices, as TSA throughput data at US airports shows air travel is back to pre-COVID levels. 

  

  According to travel data firm Hopper, this weekend’s average cost for a plane ticket was more than $400 round trip, 24% higher than this time in 2019 and 45% higher than a year ago. 

  Multiple major airlines, such as Delta, JetBlue Airways, and Alaska Airlines, recently announced a reduction of flights this summer due to a pilot shortage. 

  Combine reduced flights and soaring jet fuel costs — on top of increasing flight demand, ticket prices have already catapulted with a record monthly jump in March. And could go higher this summer. 

  

  Flight cancellations this past holiday weekend may suggest a rocky summer for airline carriers. Unreliable airlines and record-high ticket prices, at what point do travelers give up on flying? 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 17:25

• Watch: Rand Paul Rages At "Democrat Plan To Brand Police, Soldiers As White Supremacists And Neo-Nazis"
  Watch: Rand Paul Rages At “Democrat Plan To Brand Police, Soldiers As White Supremacists And Neo-Nazis”

  Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

  In a speech on the Senate floor Friday, Rand Paul blasted efforts by Democrats to paint up all law enforcement officers and those in the military as dangerous radical racists.

  

  Paul was addressing The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022, blocked by Republicans in the Senate, that demands the FBI and Department of Homeland Security change the way they investigate and monitor domestic terrorism suspects.

  The official summary of the bill notes that an “interagency task force” would be established in order to probe into “white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services and federal law enforcement agencies.”

  “This bill should be called by a more accurate name: the Democrat plan to brand our police and soldiers as white supremacists and neo-Nazis,” Paul proclaimed.

  He continued, “How insulting,” adding “We knew that Democrats despise and want to defund the police, but now, they believe that the police, federal law enforcement, and the U.S. military are full of white supremacists and neo-Nazis?”

  Referring to the now mothballed ‘Disinformation Governance Board’, Paul also noted “Those of us who still care about the Bill of Rights just got done taking down the DHS ‘Ministry of Truth,’ and a day later, Democrats want to create the DHS Thought Police. You couldn’t make it up if you tried. But they don’t stop there.”

  “The bill creates two other Thought Police offices at the Department of Justice and at the FBI, which seems like a self-defeating choice, since elsewhere in the bill, we are told that federal law enforcement is shot through with white supremacists and neo-Nazis,” Paul urged.

  The Senator also noted that “None of the bill makes sense. It doesn’t make sense because it was a bill that was never intended to become law. It’s a dumb, Washington talking points memo masquerading as legislation.”

  “But congressional Democrats have gotten so radical, so extreme, and so out-of-touch with the American people that when they read it, they see something worthwhile,” he added.

  Paul concluded that “This bill will fail today because the Democrats’ message — hate the police, defund the police, slander the military and police as racists and white supremacists — has been roundly rejected by the American people.”

  The bill failed to pass the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster in a 47-47 vote.

  Watch:

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  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 16:50

• As US Economic Data Crashes, Biden 'Invites' Powell To Oval Office
  As US Economic Data Crashes, Biden ‘Invites’ Powell To Oval Office

  Shit is not going well for President Biden… and blaming Putin is not working…

  

  Despite proclamations of the ‘strongest economy ever’ or some such gaslighting, Americans’ cost of living is rapidly outstripping their wage growth as those with assets (stocks and real estate) are facing an annus horibilis, and those without assets are forced to borrow at higher and higher rates of interest to cover day-to-day expenses…

  

  So it little wonder that President Biden will reportedly hold a rare Oval office meeting on Tuesday with Fed Chair Jerome Powell amid the highest inflation in decades, which has angered Americans and hurt his standing with voters.

  According to a White House statement, the two will discuss the state of the American and global economy. Bloomberg reports that, it’s the first meeting between the two since Biden in November announced his intention to nominate Powell for a second term at the helm of the US central bank, according to a record of the Fed chief’s public schedule which is available through March.

  Mr. Biden has said he won’t tell the Fed what to do but has broadly supported the Fed’s plans to withdraw stimulus.

  “I believe that inflation is our top economic challenge right now, and I think they do too,” Mr. Biden said on May 10.

  As The Wall Street Journal reports, while presidents and the party in power have often favored lower interest rates to support stronger growth, polls show that inflation is very unpopular, and Democrats are bracing for losses in this fall’s midterm congressional elections. Consumer confidence has slumped amid rising prices of food and gas. Lawmakers in both parties have supported the Fed’s efforts to raise interest rates, with some criticizing the Fed for having waited too long to do so.

  Remember, as the stock market was hitting record highs in Nov 2021, real estate sales were soaring and the economy was being allowed to reopen by the government, President Biden explained why he renominated a Republican appointee (and as Liz Warren said “a dangerous man”) promising that he will “maintain the independence of The Fed.”

  “The Federal Reserve is an independent operation,” he said in April 2021.

  “I want to be real clear that I’m not going to do the kinds of things that have been done in the last administration… telling them what they should and shouldn’t do.”

  However, everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth… The last month has seen one of the biggest run of serial macro data disappoint in history, crashing US Macro Surprise Index to its weakest since Sept 2021

  

  As Global Stagflation accelerates…

  

  So given Biden’s ‘invitation’ for a chat, we wonder, did the president finally realize that market crashes, free-falling real-estate, and recessions poll worse than hyperinflation…

  Biden about to find out what polls worse: recession and bear market or runaway inflation.

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 20, 2022

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  Because it appears whatever he is doing is not working as his approval rating nears record lows once again…

  

  If Powell now suddenly pivots to more dovish talk, ‘pause in September’, transitory-inflation once again… is there any doubt that the ‘independent’ Fed is just a figment of America’s imagination, like “equal justice for all”?

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 16:15

• The Case For A Decentralization Premium
  The Case For A Decentralization Premium

  Authored by Omid Malekan via Medium.com,

  Theodore Roosevelt once observed that nothing in the world is worth doing unless it means effort, difficulty and pain.

  True for building the Panama Canal, and true enough for building a Web3 protocol – but only if it’s actually decentralized.

  Crypto has been in turmoil lately. Here a prominent stablecoin project failing in the span of a few days, in the spectacular fashion that only an algorithmic coin can. There a slew of once high flying coins crashing down, and their owners wondering if they were the punchline of an inside joke between a founder and a VC. Here yet another bridge being exploited. There some other NFT project being rug pulled.

  Most people see these machinations through the lens of price, but price is ephemeral. We’ve seen promising projects decline by 90% before, only to come back stronger. We’ve also seen poseur projects fall by 90%, only to fall another 90% and disappear. Crypto can be thought of as startup equity with the unique twist of having price discovery from the start. Prices fluctuate wildly in the short run because sentiment trumps fundamentals, and many projects don’t have any. But like any other startup, what matters in the long run is whether a project delivers something useful.

  Not in terms of transactions per second, clean user interfaces or efficient governance, that’s what Big Banks and Big Tech are for. Crypto projects should be measured by the unique attributes of decentralization, features like trustlessness, censorship-resistance, transparency and — as a direct result — resilience. Given the many downsides of decentralization, these attributes should be priority one for every project. On a long enough timeline, they will determine price.

  

  Bitcoin node distribution via https://bitnodes.io/

  Consider the case of Bitcoin. It took a decade to mature and did so gradually. Its network is now decentralized to a fault and may never change, come hell or high energy prices. As frustrating as this obdurateness may be, it makes that network one of the most resilient on earth. That’s why the coin has entered the conversation as a potential reserve currency. The more the rest of the world descends into chaos, the greater the need for an apolitical and algorithmically minted store of value.

  Unlike bank accounts, GoFundMe balances or whatever Roubini is working on, Bitcoin is money that you can take into a foxhole — its low throughput and poor UI be damned.

  Bitcoin will survive this bear market because it is decentralized. For that reason, it should trade at a premium to almost everything else.

  

  Lune ownership from lunarichlist.com

  Now consider the case of Luna and UST. Other algorithmic stablecoins have failed, but none so spectacularly. What made UST special (and dangerous) was the speed with which it grew, rising tenfold in the span of a year and setting the stage for an Icarian fall. It grew quickly because it was centralized. Both the Terra blockchain and its most popular applications were created by one company. Terraform Labs also controlled half the original token supply and used its financial firepower to fund the ill-fated Anchor yield, not to mention the Bitcoin reserve and Curve takeover.

  Also contributing to the collapse was the cult of personality around Do Kwon. Luna owners were all too eager to defer to a dictator so long as they were making money. But Kwon was nowhere to be found when the project entered a tailspin, contributing to the loss of trust. Those who claim that UST was the victim of an attack — which it probably was — should remember that the entire point of this technology is to achieve resilience in the face of constant attack. Projects that can’t handle attacks shouldn’t exist.

  Terra was not resilient because it took too many shortcuts. Had the team stuck to the original plan of integrating UST into a merchant payment network and focused on organic growth, then its stablecoin may have had a fighting chance. But the founder wanted to be famous and powerful, and the community gave him their support, so things went off the rails. Part of Kwon’s god complex may have stemmed from the fact that his project was very well funded.

  Like other decentralization sellouts, Terra had tens of millions of dollars in the bank, from a successful ICO back in 2019 and additional raises since. That money helped fund ecosystem development, which was good, but it also funded a lot of egos, which was fatal.

  

  Biggest ICOs of the last boom

  We’ve heard this story before. The short history of crypto is filled with examples of projects that raised a lot of money, sacrificed first principles to steal the limelight, then faltered. The original DAO was hacked. Tezos devolved into a governance crisis almost right away. Block.one thrashed from one pointless endeavor to another, even spending $30m on a domain name. Telegram had to pay civil penalties and give the money back. Basis never launched. Ripple doesn’t do anything, and never has.

  On the other stride of the spectrum is Bitcoin, which never raised a penny, took its time to grow, and is now worth half a trillion dollars. Similarly, Ethereum only ever raised $16m — one tenth of the amount raised recently by Tom Brady’s NFT platform — and almost all of it came from the public. Insiders never controlled more than 15% of the token supply, and being Proof of Work diluted them further. It too has been painfully slow to evolve, but is well positioned to survive a bear market. If the merge succeeds and rollups continue to evolve then it can come out more useful than ever.

  

  Solana disdain for the public, via Messari.io

  Now consider the case of the latest generation of smart contract platforms like Solana, Avalanche, Polygon, BSC and Fantom. Instead of trying to develop their own communities in an organic fashion, most have focused on siphoning Ethereum’s by adopting the Ethereum Virtual Machine. That strategy makes it easier for users and developers to port over, but also diminishes what made these protocols special in the first place. Being clones, the only way they can distinguish themselves is by increasing capacity via greater centralization. Good for lower transaction fees, bad for why you need a blockchain in the first place.

  To make matters worse, most of these platforms have a great deal of insider ownership, the kind you’d expect from a traditional tech company, not a supposedly community-controlled platform.

  

  Like Terra, all of these projects have smart founders and capable teams. If they were more patient, then they could have built something worthwhile — both Bitcoin and Ethereum have their flaws. But billions of dollars worth of locked up tokens will soon hit the market, so shortcuts had to be taken. Adding insult to injury is the fact that the companies that manage these blockchains have raised a lot of money themselves. Ava Labs, the team behind Avalanche, has raised $300m at a $5b valuation. That makes the company half as valuable as the blockchain. How decentralized can any protocol be if so much of the value accrues to the founders?

  Avalanche’ primary go-to-market strategy has been to pay users to come over from Ethereum, leading to the risky situation where almost all the tokens on Avalanche are wrapped tokens bridged from elsewhere. Blockchain bridges are honeypots for hackers — as the Solana community learned the hard way. To mitigate such risks, Ava Labs has made its new bridge highly centralized. It has only 4 validators, one of which — surprise, surprise — is Ava Labs itself.

  Welcome to the world of decentralization theater, the fastest way for insiders to get rich in crypto, at least on the way up. Impatient crypto investors love chasing the next hot thing, and the market tends to reward projects that abandon first principles for short term gain during bull markets. But the fundamentals — or lack thereof — often lead to a reckoning during the bear.

  It’s worth noting that decentralization is no panacea and has many drawbacks. As I argue in my new book, the most likely outcome of the crypto revolution is a hybrid future, one where the core protocols are decentralized but the ramps and interfaces that most users rely on are not. Foundations and corporations will still have important roles to play, and there will be plenty of value creation to go around. But the one thing the market will not tolerate is inauthenticity, particularly at core. The more centralized the blockchain, the less antifragile the community.

  Ironically, the greatest tell of whether a project is actually decentralized is how slowly it evolves. That’s why Bitcoin takes years to execute a trivial BIP and Ethereum has had endless delays in its migration to proof of stake. This indicator also applies to dApps that move slowly due to inefficient governance. All solutions that move fast and break things will eventually be broken by market forces.

  As frustrating as decentralized progress can be, the market should reward the related coins with a premium.

  *  *  *

  I own some Bitcoin and Eth, and this is not investment advice. Crypto winters are not for the faint of heart, and how much any coin is down from it’s all time high is a meaningless number.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 15:40

• Dozens Of Border Patrol Agents Uninvited From Biden Event In Uvalde
  Dozens Of Border Patrol Agents Uninvited From Biden Event In Uvalde

  The Biden administration uninvited several Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement officers who responded to last week’s deadly elementary school shooting in Uvalde, TX, from a Sunday afternoon event with the President.

  

  Despite the event being held in a large open-space facility, Biden officials cited a lack of space as the reason for the retracted invitations, according to Breitbart.

  According to a senior Customs and Border Protection source, the officers received the invitation late last week. Many had accepted and were scheduled to attend the private address from the president. Most are now being informed they are no longer invited.

  The meeting, specifically to address the law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting is part of President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden’s visit to Uvalde to address the families of the victims of last week’s school shooting at Robb Elementary.

  According to the former Border Patrol veteran Randy Clark, the location was able to accommodate hundreds of people – however more than 90% of the Border Patrol agents who were invited were subsequently told that time and space are limited and they would be unable to attend.

  Over 80 Border Patrol agents – including several members of the elite BORTAC special response team which was involved in taking down the school shooter, received invitations. Late Saturday evening, the Border Patrol was notified that Biden could only meet with 7 of the more than 80 agents involved in the response.

  In addition to Border Patrol BORTAC tactical unit members who killed the shooter after entering the classroom, others assisted with removing students and teachers from harm’s way. They also provided emergency medical attention to the survivors of the brutal attack. The source says the limitations likely apply to other large law enforcement agencies such as the Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol which participated in the active shooter response as well.

  The source says deciding which officers will be allowed to attend on such short notice will be difficult. -Breitbart

  “These agents are still traumatized by the incident; the venue is large, and they are not going to buy this excuse,” the CBP source told Breitbart Texas, who added that mid-level managers from Border Patrol were tasked with deciding who would attend.

  “It appears now as if this planned meeting was nothing more than a photo opportunity with the law enforcement community,” they added.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 15:05

• New IRS Data Reveals Florida Biggest Winner, New York Biggest Loser In Competition For People & Their Wealth
  New IRS Data Reveals Florida Biggest Winner, New York Biggest Loser In Competition For People & Their Wealth

  Authored by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner via Wirepoints.org,

  Every year, states across the country compete with each other for people and their wealth as millions of Americans move between states. The stakes are large. A growing population for the winners means an increasing tax base, economic growth and investment. For the biggest losers, it means more difficulties in paying down debts, higher taxes and fewer investments for the future.

  The nation’s most-recent winners of migration from other states are Florida and Idaho according to the latest migration data released by the IRS. Florida, the nation’s perennial winner, gained the most people and income overall in 2020, while Idaho gained the most of both on a percentage basis.

  On the other end of the competition are states that have become perennial losers. States like California, New York, Illinois and New Jersey once again experienced some of the nation’s biggest losses of both residents and their money.

  Those findings are based on a Wirepoints’ analysis of the latest 2020 domestic migration data provided by the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS reviews tax returns annually to track when and where people move. It also aggregates the ages, income brackets and adjusted gross incomes of filers.

  Winners and losers

  The Sunshine State attracted over $41.1 billion in Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from 624,000 new residents (tax filers and their dependents) that moved into Florida in 2020. On the flip side, Florida lost $17.4 billion in AGI from 457,000 people who left. Overall, Florida came out ahead with 167,000 net new people and $23.7 billion in net new taxable income.

  That’s a total gain of about 3.3 percent of the state’s total 2019 AGI ($711 billion).

  Texas was the runner up with a net income gain of $6.3 billion, followed by Arizona with $4.8 billion. North and South Carolina rounded out the top five with net gains of $3.8 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively.

  

  On the losing side, New York suffered the worst outflow of money of any state in 2020. The Empire State lost a net $19.5 billion in income, or 2.5 percent of its 2019 AGI, while a net of nearly 250,000 residents moved out.

  California was next, losing a net $17.8 billion and 263,000 people. Illinois was third with a net loss of $8.5 billion and 101,000 people. Massachusetts and New Jersey were in 4th and 5th place, with $2.6 and $2.3 billion in income losses, respectively.

  

  Tables with each state’s ranking in migration gains/losses are provided below.

  The cumulative impact of income losses and gains

  The problem with chronic outflows, like in the case of New York, is that one year’s losses don’t only affect the tax base the year they leave, but they also hurt all subsequent years. The losses pile up on top of each other, year after year. And when a state loses income to other states for 21 straight years, the numbers add up.

  In 2020 alone, New York would have had nearly $123 billion more in AGI to tax had it not been for the state’s string of yearly migration losses. And when the state’s AGI losses are accumulated from 2000 to 2020, it totals $1.0 trillion in cumulative lost income that could have been taxed over the entire period.

  

  The opposite is true for migration winners like Florida. Gains in people and income pile on top of each other each year, building an ever-growing tax base. In 2020 alone, the state’s tax base was some $197 billion higher due to the 20-year string of positive income gains from net in-migration.

  Even though Florida doesn’t tax incomes, Wirepoints also added up Florida’s cumulative AGI to make an apples-to-apples comparison with New York. When the Sunshine State’s AGI gains are accumulated from 2000 to 2020, it totals $1.6 trillion in income that could have been taxed over the entire period.

  

  The competition for people matters

  Illinois, one of the nation’s other big losers, shows just how damaging being an “exit” state can be – especially when a state starts to lose its wealthier residents and and they are only partially replaced by people who make less. The Illinoisans who fled in 2020 earned, on average, $30,600 more than the residents Illinois gained from other states. That’s the biggest gap since at least 2000, based on Wirepoints’ analysis of the IRS data.

  

  Based on a percentage of total income, Illinois ranked 2nd-worst nationally for income losses in 2020. Illinois lost 1.9 percent of its 2019 AGI. New York and Alaska ranked 1st and 3rd, with losses of 2.5 percent and 1.3 percent of their 2019 total incomes, respectively.

  In contrast, Idaho was the nation’s big winner on a percentage basis in 2020, gaining 4.2 percent of its 2019 AGI base. The nation’s top five were rounded out by Wyoming, Montana, Florida and South Carolina.

  

  *  *  *

  Florida’s gains and Illinois’ losses are a clear reminder that states are constantly competing for people, businesses and a growing tax base.

  The prize for winning is big, but the price for losing may be even bigger.

  Read more from Wirepoints:

  • Bleeding people: New IRS migration data shows Illinois lost another 100,000 residents and a record amount of wealth in 2020

  • A statistic that continues to be ignored: The high rate of births to unmarried mothers across Illinois’ 20 largest cities

  • False advertising of Illinois’ new ‘property tax relief’ bill

  • About that U.S. Census “undercount”: Illinois’ population is still just 12.8 million

  • 2021 Census numbers are horrible for Illinois: Population decline second worst in country, behind only New York

  Appendix

  

  

   

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/30/2022 – 14:30

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• How To Cut Crime In The Murder-Capital Of America
  How To Cut Crime In The Murder-Capital Of America

  Authored by Douglas Carswell via RealClear Policy (emphasis ours),

  In the first week of May there were six homicides in Jackson, Mississippi. How many more will there be before the end of the month?

  

  Last year Jackson had the highest homicide rate of any city in America, with 155 homicides. To put that grisly statistic in perspective, that was about the same number of homicides as happened in Atlanta, a city with almost four times the population.

  As a recent arrival in the city, what shocks me is not the murder rate, but the attitude of those who make endless excuses for it.

  Some officials invoke that catch-all excuse for every failure, Covid. Homicide rates did increase at the same time that there was a pandemic, but correlation is not causation. I am unconvinced that the virus somehow made people more violent.

  Some of the Mississippi media seem desperate to avoid being seen to blame Jackson’s city leadership. Rather like the failure to provide the city with running water, everything but the city leadership is held responsible. Why? It does a disservice to Jackson residents.

  Honest reporting should hold to account those making bad public policy choices today, and not insist on looking at everything that happens in Mississippi in 2022 through the prism of a distant past.

  There is far too much wishful thinking when it comes to crime. If only, some imply, we had one more rehabilitation program or enacted another bill that purported to help ex-offenders all would be okay. Sadly, good intentions don’t cut crime. Being honest about the causes of crime might.

  Responsibility for crime lies with criminals. Responsibility for failing to deal with criminals rests with those public officials mandated to run the criminal justice system.

  Next time there is another killing, Jackson’s leaders will do what they always do. They will emote about it. What we need to hear instead is what they will actually do.

  Here are five specific actions they could take that would cut crime in Jackson:  

  1. More police: Despite the often heroic efforts of individual law enforcement officers, there are simply not enough of them. 

  2. Prosecute: No matter how effective the police are at chasing suspects through the streets, there are serious failings when it comes to pursuing them through the courts. Who in Jackson has not heard stories of suspects being allowed to walk free?

  3. Detention: The failure to have enough detention capacity in Hinds County is outrageous. Build it. 

  4. Clear the courts: The bureaucratic backlog in the courts is perhaps the single biggest impediment to effective justice. Clear the backlog of cases. If those that administer the court system can’t cope, bring in administrators that can.

  5. Work with the state: Every city likes to manage its own affairs. I get that. But the state capital ought to be able to team up with state-wide officials, police forces and prosecutors to tackle a problem that impacts us all. 

  I live and work in Jackson – and I love to call this city home. Jackson might seem caught in downward spiral, but every city has the power to regenerate itself.

  New York in the early 80s seemed caught in a spiral of decline. But the city revived once it got a grip on crime. The key to Jackson’s future is to follow this example.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 23:30

• DARPA Experiments With Soviet-Style 'Ground-Effect' Vehicle 
  DARPA Experiments With Soviet-Style ‘Ground-Effect’ Vehicle 

  The Pentagon’s top research agency has unveiled a highly unusual kind of plane that is a blend between a hovercraft and an aircraft to skim the ocean’s surface to deliver cargo much faster than convention transport vessels. 

  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) “Liberty Lifter” uses a trick of physics known as the “ground effect” to reduce aerodynamic drag by only flying no more than the length of its wingspan above water. This allows the plane to travel much faster and carry large amounts of payload. 

  Liberty Lifter “will combine fast and flexible strategic lift of very large, heavy loads with the ability to take off/land in water,” DARPA said in the press release. 

  

  The agency pointed out the Soviet Union developed a ground-effect vehicle called ekranoplans, explaining that “these vehicles were high speed and runway- independent, but were restricted to calm waters and had limited maneuverability.” 

  Ekranoplans was designed in 1975 and used by the Soviets in the late 1980s through the 90s. Only three Orlyonok-class ekranoplans were operational and flew 13 feet above the water at a top speed of 342 mph. They were nicknamed the “Caspian Sea Monster” and were only limited to good weather and calm seas. All three were retired by the late 1990s. 

  

  DARPA’s Liberty Lifter appears to be an evolution of the ekranoplans and can operate in rough conditions or even sustained flight at mid-altitudes, something the Soviets could never achieve. 

  “This first phase of the Liberty Lifter program will define the unique seaplane’s range, payloads, and other parameters.

  “Innovative advances envisioned by this new DARPA program will showcase an X-plane demonstrator that offers warfighters new capabilities during extended maritime operations,” said Alexander Walan, a program manager in DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office.

  Watch a simulation of Liberty Lifter below:

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 23:00

• Stockman: Perpetual Debt, Perpetual War
  Stockman: Perpetual Debt, Perpetual War

  Authored by David Stockman via AntiWar.com,

  It’s always useful to visit the museum in order to offset the recency bias that distorts perceptions of current realities.

  In the great scheme of things, the picture below is admittedly not that ancient – from just 42 years ago. But it is nevertheless a museum piece because it pertains to a matter that has long since faded from the scene. Namely, the public debt and in this instance the day when your editor was compelled to warn the Gipper that the Federal debt was about to cross the dreaded one trillion dollar mark.

  Back then, that prospect gave one and all the fiscal heebie-jeebies. Massive public debt was viewed as an immoral imposition on future generations and an economic scourge on the present. That’s because when properly financed in the bond pits it drove up interest rates, thereby crowding-out household and business borrowers and economic growth and rising prosperity on main street.

  

  1/28/1981: President Meeting with David Stockman, Don Regan, Murray Weidenbaum, and Martin Anderson to discuss the economy in oval office

  No more. Massive fiscal deficits year-after-year have become a way of life in the Imperial City, but even then CBO’s latest 10-year forecast is a shocker. It shows that even if there is no recession for the next ten years (fat chance!) and existing tax and spending policies (dashed red line) remain in place without enactment of a single new spending program or tax cut (even fatter chance!), the deficit will exceed $3 trillion per year by the end of the decade.

  That would amount to a structural deficit equal to 8.4% of GDP and a ticket to fiscal perdition. In dollar terms, it would add $20.3 trillion to the public debt over the next decade, taking the total debt to $50 trillion by 2032.

  That is to say, 50-years on from the photo above, the public debt will have risen fifty-fold.

  

  Here’s the thing, however. Such horrendous projections do not phase these clowns one single bit – as was underscored in spades by Congress’ shameful boondoggling on the Ukraine aid bill. That $40 billion was rushed into law sight unseen and without the benefit of any committee hearings at all.

  Worse still, the historic party of the antiwar left went abjectly AWOL. The vote among Dems was 48-0 in the Senate and 223-0 in the House. And those stunning counts include Bernie Sanders and the House “squad” all in the “yea” column.

  That is to say, if Washington cannot muster even a single Dem “nay” vote on the funding of a mindless war that has no bearing whatsoever on America’s homeland security, then the prospects for restoration of even a semblance of fiscal discipline are somewhere between slim and none.

  Indeed, what in the world is wrong with these blithering knuckleheads? Last week’s action brings  already spent and promised Ukraine weapons and aid to $54 billion.

  For crying out loud, Ukraine’s GDP last year was just $155 billion. At the current run rate, they have spent 120% of Ukraine’s GDP on its own destruction, and with no end in sight.

  It is no wonder, therefore, that the pretentious little peacock who parades as the country’s president is now telling the world that the war will go on until the last Ukrainian soldier is dead and Washington’s endless bounty is finally used up.

  After all, at a moment when Russia is making steady gains in Donbas, reportedly now poised to take all of Luhansk province, Zelensky instructed the grandees gathered at Davos that Ukrainian forces would fight to liberate all occupied territory:

  Ukraine will fight until it reclaims all its territories,” he stressed. “It’s about our independence and our sovereignty.” This as there have been calls from a handful of European leaders to make some territorial concessions for the sake of ending the war based on a negotiated settlement.

  Zelensky had said the day prior, on Tuesday, that negotiating recognition of Russia’s possession of Crimea is not on the table. 

  “Russia will also have to leave Crimea,” he had said during a daily briefing according to the Kyiv Independent.

  Speaking of Kherson, Melitopol, Enerhodar, Mariupol, he said the Russians must exit these and “all other cities and communities where they are still pretending to be the owners.”

  There is no other way to say it: Washington has empowered a madman, who is so smitten by his own strutting on the world stage that rationality itself has become the victim.

  There is not a snowball’s chance in the hot place that Putin is about to give back Crimea, nor the Donbas and all the cities listed above by Zelensky. And when they stay in Russian possession it will not make a damn bit of difference to America’s national security anyway.

  But, of course, that’s not what Ukraine is actually about. Those 271 Dem “yea” votes were merely an exercise in political virtue-signalling. They were a vote against Donald Trump’s avatar on the scene – the endlessly demonized Vladimir Putin.

  That’s why the discourse about this calamity has lost all touch with reality. For instance, Zelensky is now saying that if Ukraine is not victorious, the Baltics will be next on Putin’s agenda and American servicemen will soon be shedding Article 5 blood in Latvia.

  That’s absurd, yet nary of word of rebuke was to be heard from Washington. The town is in full on war heat with no compunction at all about the massive waste of American treasure or putting the American economy itself in harm’s way.

  Thus, according to current reports the Biden Administration is looking for more ways to inflict damage on Russia’s economy by targeting buyers of Russian oil. As the New York Times reported last week, these proposed measures include so-called secondary sanctions that would block Russian oil buyers from doing business with companies based in the US and in other nations aligned with Washington.

  Right. In order to win a pointless battle over some no count real estate along the Dnieper River, Washington is prepared to declare war on Chinese, Indian, Greek, Brazilian etc. companies.

  Likewise, no matter that Russia wants to pay its international debts and US and European lenders are more than happy to receive the proceeds they are owed. But, no, these lenders are being expropriated by Washington’s writ – all to make sure that Putin gets the message.

  So after Wednesday, US investors will no longer be allowed to receive bond payments from Russia without breaching sanctions. And this whole misbegotten Ukraine escapade is supposedly about defending economic freedom!

  Finally, when it comes to becoming untethered from reality, last week’s pitiful double-talk about the “evacuation” of upwards of 3,000 Azov Battalion soldiers in Mariupol surely takes the cake.

  The fact is, they surrendered hook, line and sinker in the first of what will soon be multiple occurrences along the Donbas front. But that did not stop Zelensky from powdering the pig:

   “…our soldiers were transported to occupied territory for future exchange.”

  Right. We have now reached the point where Pravda of the Soviet era is looking like a plausible journalistic enterprise by comparison.

  As one commentator chided,

  We can, of course, laugh, and often with a good reason. But that chorus of “not a surrender but carrying out orders”, “not a surrender but an evacuation,” “not an surrender but an exchange” is that Pravda newspaper from the anecdote.

  A citizen can focus on a topic for several days. Kiev hopes that by the end of the week everyone will happily forget Azov surrendered, if they are not reminded of it. And who is to remind them of it when Ukraine’s media have been purged and placed under government control?

  It’s the same in the economy.

  Incidentally, one of Marchenko’s (finance minister)  complaints concerned military salaries. He called them a heavy burden (they’ve been greatly increased, and the budget did not reflect it). But what then of Ukraine’s minister of defense’s plans to increase the size of the army to one million?

  The “we have almost won, any minute now” approach might seem naïve. But Kiev has perfected it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s Azov or the economy. It all revolves around the effort to protect Zelensky’s ratings. The purpose of stubborn resistance is the same.

  Historians will someday wonder how today’s insanities actually came to pass, but there is actually no mystery. Washington has become the world’s capital of perpetual war because it was able – for a time – to perpetually issue debt and then monetize it at the central bank.

  At the end of the day, that’s the greatest central banking sin of all: It has turned the nation’s politicians – including so-called progressives – into Sunday afternoon warriors who are a menace to the nation, and, for that matter, to the entire planet.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 22:30

• A Golden Opportunity: How To Invest For The Coming Stagflation
  A Golden Opportunity: How To Invest For The Coming Stagflation

  Now that even hardened permabulls are forced to pick between two poisons and debate whether the US is sliding into stagflation or merely recession, last week Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid and Henry Allen published their latest must-read note, “Investing during Stagflation: What happened in the 1970s” (available to pro subscribers in the usual place), a follow-up to their note back in October last year comparing the 2020s to the 1970s (which we discussed extensively here at the time).

  While Reid hedges that the decade is still young, he asks what if inflation stays around for much of the next few years? What should we expect from returns?

  While we will present a more extensive answer tomorrow when we dissect his recent report, the short answer is that for traditional financial assets like bonds and equities one would expect real wealth destruction rather than the massive real wealth creation seen over the last four decades.

  On the other end, commodities will be a far better bet, although given the run up already seen so far this decade, it is possible that the easy gains have already been made although we doubt that because as we noted recently, quoting from BofA, “Energy’s weight is now ~5%, the sector is still 30% underweight. The pain trade in Energy is up.””

  “Energy’s weight is now ~5%, the sector is still 30% underweight. The pain trade in Energy is up.” – BofA https://t.co/24A9W7arEk

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 27, 2022

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

  However, Gold and Silver haven’t made much progress over the last two years so if the playbook follows the 1970s they are the standout cheap asset from this starting point, according to Reid, who concludes that while “history never exactly repeats it provides a framework as to how to think about the next few years if inflation remains high even after a Fed-induced recession.”

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 22:00

• "I'm Watching": Image Of Father Standing Guard Outside Daughter's Elementary School Goes Viral
  “I’m Watching”: Image Of Father Standing Guard Outside Daughter’s Elementary School Goes Viral

  Authored by Lorenz Duschamps via The Epoch Times,

  A picture of a father in Central Texas standing guard at his daughter’s elementary school where his wife also works has gone viral on social media in the wake of this week’s mass shooting incident in Uvalde.

  

  Ed Chelby, a U.S. Army veteran who has a background in security, told KWTX that he couldn’t sleep after news emerged that an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers on Tuesday at Robb Elementary School.

  Chelby said he contacted the school’s superintendent to ask for permission to stand guard at the main entrance of Saegert Elementary School in Killeen, which is located about 180 miles northwest of Uvalde.

  “I said I would just be out there unarmed to let people know that I’m watching. Let the parents have a little bit of relief,” Chelby said in an interview with the local news station.

  “I can’t let this go,” he added.

  “This is just a testament to the sleeplessness caused by the grief I experienced.”

  The U.S. Army veteran was already in the process of becoming a volunteer at his daughter’s school and was undergoing a background check when the superintendent approved his application to stand guard outside.

  Chelby said with 11 years of experience in the U.S. Army, he isn’t afraid to be in front of the school without a gun.

  Parents of other children at Saegert Elementary School have approached Chelby to express their gratitude for what he’s doing.

  “I’ve had a lot of emotional people come up to me,” he said,

  “They didn’t want to send their kids to school. They struggled with sending their kids to school. And I told them, I was like, ‘I got them.’”

  Eli Lopez, the principal at Saegert Elementary School, told Newsweek that another parent, identified as a veteran mother, has also volunteered to help guard the back entrance of the school.

  

  A makeshift memorial at Robb Elementary School is filled with flowers, toys, signs, and crosses bearing the names of all 21 victims of the mass shooting that occurred on May 24, in Uvalde, Texas, on May 27, 2022. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

  Other parents have volunteered for a safety program for the next school year, Lopez told the magazine.

  “As I took time to check on them and express my personal appreciation, they both expressed the simple act they felt they were taking on of being present as the least they could do,” said Lopez.

  “I was humbled that they demonstrated what it is to be part of the village that cares for each other. Neither one chose this task for recognition.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 21:30

• Visualizing 30 Years Of Gun Manufacturing In America
  Visualizing 30 Years Of Gun Manufacturing In America

  While gun sales have been brisk in recent years, the uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 was a boon for the gun industry.

  

  From 2010-2019, an average of 13 million guns were sold legally in the U.S. each year. In 2020 and 2021, annual gun sales sharply increased to 20 million.

  While the U.S. does import millions of weapons each year, a large amount of firearms sold in the country were produced domestically. In the following Visual Capitalist’s Nick Routley digs into the data behind the multi-billion dollar gun manufacturing industry in America.

  Gun Manufacturing in the United States

  According to a recent report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the U.S. has produced nearly 170 million firearms over the past three decades, with production increasing sharply in recent years.

  

  America’s gunmakers produce a wide variety of firearms, but they’re generally grouped into five categories; pistols, rifles, shotguns, revolvers, and everything else.

  Below is a breakdown of firearms manufactured in the country over the past 30 years, by type:

  

   

  Pistols (36%) and rifles (35%) are the dominant categories, and over time, the former has become the most commonly produced firearm type.

   

  In 2001, pistols accounted for 21% of firearms produced. Today, nearly half of all firearms produced are pistols.

  Who is Producing America’s Firearms?

  There are a wide variety of firearm manufacturing companies in the U.S., but production is dominated by a few key players.

  Here are the top 10 gunmakers in America, which collectively make up 70% of production:

  

   

  One-third of production comes from two publicly-traded parent companies: Smith & Wesson (NYSE: RGR), and Sturm, Ruger & Co. (NASDAQ: SWBI)

   

  Some of these players are especially dominant within certain types of firearms. For example:

  • 58% of pistols were made by Smith & Wesson, Ruger, and SIG SAUER (2008–2018)
  • 45% of rifles were made by Remington*, Ruger, and Smith & Wesson (2008–2018)

  *In 2020, Remington filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and its assets were divided and sold to various buyers. The Remington brand name is now owned by Vista Outdoor (NYSE: VSTO)

  The Geography of Gun Manufacturing

  Companies that manufacture guns hold a Type 07 license from the ATF. As of 2020, there are more than 16,000 Type 07 licensees across the United States.

  These manufacturers are located all around the country, so these numbers are somewhat reflective of population. Unsurprisingly, large states like Texas and Florida have the most licensees.

  Sorting by the number of licensees per 100,000 people offers a different point of view. By this measure, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho come out on top.

  

  If recent sales and production trends are any indication, these numbers may only continue to grow.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 21:00

• Presence Of New, More Potent Opioid Growing In Canada's Illegal Drug Supply, Warns Substance-Use Research Org
  Presence Of New, More Potent Opioid Growing In Canada’s Illegal Drug Supply, Warns Substance-Use Research Org

  Authored by Isaac Teo via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A national substance use research organization is warning about a new type of opioid that is increasingly appearing in Canada’s illegal drug supply.

  

  In an alert issued in March, the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) warned there is a rising presence in the drug supply of potent synthetic opioids referred to as nitazenes that are “several times more potent than fentanyl.”

  Nitazenes usually appear unexpectedly in drugs assumed to contain other types of opioids like fentanyl, oxycodone, and non-medical benzodiazepines, said the CCSA, while noting the substance was first identified in Canada’s unregulated drug supply in 2019.

  “They were developed 60 years ago as potential pain relief medication, but were never approved for clinical use.”

  The centre noted that even though nitazenes were only detected in less than 1 percent of samples analyzed by Health Canada’s Drug Analysis Service (HC DAS) in 2021, the percentage was a “four-fold increase” compared to 2020.

  HC DAS analyzes the content of drugs seized by law enforcement agencies.

  Sarah Konefal, research and policy analyst at the CCSA, said the presence of nitazenes is likely underestimated, given some drug-checking services in Canada don’t have the tools to actually detect this type of substance.

  “One of the concerns is that we’re only looking at the tip of the iceberg,” she said in an interview with The Canadian Press, reported on May 21.

  Konefal added that the centre issued a similar alert when fentanyl first appeared in Canada in 2013. The prevalence of fentanyl in Canada’s drug supply started picking up in 2015, she said.

  In April 2016, British Columbia declared a public health emergency due to the significant rise in opioid-related overdose deaths reported in the province since the beginning of that year.

  Citing data from HC DAS, the CCSA said the majority of samples with nitazenes came from Ontario at 64 percent, followed by a quarter of samples coming from Quebec, in 2021.

  In addition, only one type of nitazene was detected in January 2020. But in a span of two years, the overall case counts increased, as well as the types of nitazenes detected, the data showed.

  “Note that more than one nitazene can be identified in a single sample,” the CCSA said.

  “In 2021, approximately 14 percent of nitazene-positive samples contained two or more.”

  Konefal said the fact that more different types of nitazenes are showing up is an indication that “probably the reach of nitazenes is expanding.”

  Because newer opioids in the unregulated drug supply, like nitazenes and benzodiazepines, tend to show up in drugs with fentanyl, the risk of people overdosing increases, she said.

  Given that nitazenes are more potent, along with the fact that they’re in drugs that have the same effect, it will increase risk of opioid poisoning, she added.

  In an October 2021 brief, Public Health Ontario said the risk of nitazenes is “likely moderate to high, with a high degree of uncertainty.”

  “The presence of these substances is increasing in Ontario and they pose an increased risk of severe overdose, particularly when present with other sedating substances,” the agency said.

  The deaths of four people in Ontario have been directly attributed to nitazenes, according to Stephanie Rea, spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Coroner. Nitazenes have been detected in the examination of other deaths, and the investigations are still underway, Rea told The Canadian Press.

  The CCSA said overdoses involving nitazenes may be difficult to reverse and might require extra doses of naloxone.

  “But protocols around this are not yet clear,” it said.

  The Public Health Agency of Canada reported an estimated 26,690 Canadians died from an apparent opioid-related overdose between January 2016 and September 2021, in its latest update in March.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 20:30

• What Happens To Markets After Peak Inflation: Goldman Answers
  What Happens To Markets After Peak Inflation: Goldman Answers

  In recent days we have speculated that while food and energy prices are likely set to keep soaring for many months ahead, core prices especially among goods have likely peaked…

  

  … and will trend lower over the next year, especially if our thesis that the US is about to experience a major downside shock to the labor market – one which crushes US consumer whose savings rate just hit a 14 year low as the amount of credit card debt goes vertical …

  

  … materializes. Finally, all of this takes place as markets have fallen sharply amid sharply higher inflation and as growth expectations slump, leading to further deceleration in the inflationary impulse.

  That said, it’s not just us who thinks that core (if not headline, because as noted above both food and energy inflation will continue to rise for a long time) inflation has peaked: as Goldman economists write this weekend, “US inflation has probably already peaked and expect European inflation to peak in the next 2-3 months (see Exhibit 1). Even in the UK, where the inflation spike has been especially sharp, we think core inflation has peaked in April and headline will do so in October once the Energy price cap rises”

  To be sure, the impact of the rate tightening cycle, growth slowing and the falling out of the Y/Y numbers of some sharp rises from 2021 (autos prices for example) should all help to bring down the pace of inflation.

  

  In addition, the Y/Y growth of energy prices is moderating and semis supply is starting to ease. It is also notable that market implied inflation has started to moderate too.

  

  Overall, Goldman thinks headline inflation is likely to be peaking, which also prompts the Vampire Squid to ask “could this be a catalyst to support a turn equities?” Their answer: “it is probably more a necessary than sufficient condition.”

  Looking at US history, Goldman identified the peaks in headline inflation going back to 1950 (the bank only took clear peaks above 3% yoy inflation and found 12 peaks above 3% prior to today.)

  

  In terms of what to expect in markets as inflation peaks, Goldman shows in the next chart that the market usually falls in the run up to the peak in headline inflation, just as we have seen in recent months. But after the peaks, there is a little more variance and on average the market does recover.

  

  Of course there are times when this didn’t happen. Goldman admits that the peak in inflation might be helpful but equities really need other supports, especially if investors fear a sharper downturn. Among these are:

  The economy: Interestingly the peak in inflation is often followed by a continued weak economic outlook with the ISM continuing to fall as was the case in the 50s/60s after the peak in inflation and in the mid-1980s. But as Goldman’s economists note, there are some exceptions – post the late 1974 peak in inflation, the market recovered sharply and the economy did too with the ISM up 24pts in the 12 months from December 1974 (from a low of 31). The early 1990s also saw a strong rise in the ISM post the peak in inflation. Dec-74, Mar-80 and Oct-90 peaks in inflation were all good times to buy the market but they were also at or around economic troughs. There were three times when it would have been a clear mistake to buy equities at the peak in inflation: Dec-69, Jan-01 and Jul-08. In two of these cases, it was because the economy was at or about to enter recession (1969 and 2008). And while a recession after the recent inflation peak is very much assured, the $64 trillion question is what will the Fed do to offset it?

  Valuation: In January 2001, the market continued to fall even after the peak in inflation as the starting point for valuation was still high. In a different case, in September 2011, inflation peaked and again it was a good entry point, but this was not because the economy was about to turn, but more because valuations were low. The forward P/E on S&P 500 was 11x in late 2011.

  Rates: Another support for the market in the post-inflation-peak period has been falling rates – both long and short rates have typically declined – but especially at the shorter end of the curve: on average in the 12m after the peak in inflation the 2-year yield has been down 90-130bp (Exhibit 5).

  

  October 1990 is a good example of all three supports – the market rose 30% in the subsequent 12-months post the peak in inflation with the ISM rising almost 10pt and the 2-year yield falling almost 200bp. Still, as Goldman again reminds readers, “the starting point for valuation was just 11x forward EPS. A very different set-up from the one we have today.”

  

  Looking across the Atlantic, the profile of European stocks is similar to the US around peaks in inflation: European markets are weak in the months preceding the peak in inflation but on average rise after inflation has peaked. Indeed, European equities typically outperform as US inflation peaks (as shown below). This may be a function of the higher beta of European equities, the UK with a lower beta tends not to outperform after inflation peaks. The fact that the UK has a large share of commodity stocks might also account for its relative resilience in the run up to inflation peaking as well.

  

  To be sure, periods of higher inflation are generally associated with lower equity valuations, which is why Goldman warns that even if inflation does come down from the peaks, assuming it stays sticky and high and is higher than last cycle then it’s likely that valuations – especially in the US – won’t rise to the levels we saw last cycle when inflation was lower and less volatile. This is a similar point BofA just made in an earlier post. Indeed in the 1970s the average PE in the US was 12.0 and in the UK 11.7 (based on trailing earnings). Of course, if we get a rapid reversal and inflation quickly mutates into deflation, then all bets are off.

  

  It’s not just the level of inflation but the volatility of inflation too – when inflation is more volatile (spikes followed by sharp falls as growth slows) this can be even worse for equities. The uncertainty both in terms of monetary policy and margin setting make high inflation volatility generally difficult for equities to digest. The tightness of both energy and labor markets makes not just high inflation more likely but also more volatility and bigger spikes (as we have seen in gas prices for example).

  

  With all these caveats in mind, Goldman asks, rhetorically, If inflation peaks who has most to gain?

  It answers by pointing out that relationships with inflation are not stable over time: in the last decade, higher inflation was associated with cyclicals and value outperforming, and low inflation – which was main concern in Europe until relatively recently – was associated with underperformance. But now relationships have reversed and higher inflation has been damaging to cyclicals and value stocks (outside of commodities). This is because it has been seen as increasingly supply-side rather than demand driven and because ultimately it provides a speed-limit to growth and prevents CBs from loosening even in the event that growth is slowing. In that sense, inflation peaking should be good for cyclicals. Banks and Consumer discretionary stocks are also now sharply negatively correlated to inflation.

  

  Much depends on whether the inflation peak is seen as marking an end to the sharply rising rate expectations we have seen in recent months and ultimately providing room for CBs to loosen policy should they need to. The uncertainty around the potential paths for inflation and the likelihood of it remaining sticky and high probably mitigate against equities rallying sharply. As Goldman shows below, the bank’s economists model various scenarios for inflation and in most cases – unlike just a few months ago – inflation remains sticky and high, which is precisely why we are confident in our view that the not too distant future, inflation will be replaced with deflation.

  

  Here Goldman also notes that another consideration is how much of the higher inflation we are seeing now is discounted, and cautions that consumer discretionary names remain vulnerable even as inflation moderates. While stock valuations have fallen, demand is likely to be hit by the persistent and sticky inflation and its impact on real wage growth.

  As the bank shows in the charts below, considering the pace of inflation and the consequent sharply negative real wage growth, the hit to consumer areas that Goldman has been looking at have seen so far still looks relatively modest. While we think that is rapidly changing in the US, where we just saw a historical plunge in new home sales and the abovementioned record jump in credit card debt coupled with tumbling savings…

  

  … other places are looking somewhat better: consider the UK, where the available cash flow for households to spend on non-essentials (food/energy/rent) is set to decline in 4Q22/1Q23, yhet the high level of savings and still capped energy costs is cushioning consumers now the cap is set to rise further in October, higher rates will slowly feed through to higher mortgage payments and finally households will have used more of their savings by late this year/early next.

  

  With all that in mind, Goldman continues to recommend four areas in Europe: strong balance sheets, High & Stable margins and companies with exposure to a structural rise in Capex and/or government investment. Nonetheless, the bank is cautious on Consumer areas of the market and while falling inflation will be helpful, it remains of the view that “discretionary spend will take a sharp dip.”

  

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 20:04

• San Francisco School District Drops 'Chief' From Job-Titles, Cites Native-American Concerns
  San Francisco School District Drops ‘Chief’ From Job-Titles, Cites Native-American Concerns

  Authored by Bill Pan via The Epoch Times,

  San Francisco’s public school district, which not too long ago underwent a recall election fueled by its controversial priorities, said it will remove the word “chief” from all job titles to avoid offending the Native American community.

  

  Gentle Blythe, a spokesperson for San Francisco Unified Schools District (SFUSD) told the San Francisco Chronicle that the word “chief” will no longer be used in job titles because of its connotations with Native Americans.

  “While there are many opinions on the matter, our leadership team agreed that, given that Native American members of our community have expressed concerns over the use of the title, we are no longer going to use it,” Blythe said, reported The Chronicle.

  The word “chief” entered English via Old French and shared the same Latin origin with words such as “capital” and “captain.” In the 17th century, English settlers started to use the word to describe the headmen of indigenous tribes of America.

  The SFUSD’s website lists a dozen officials who have the word “chief” in their titles, including Chief Technology Officer Melissa Dodd, Chief of Staff Jill Hoogendyk, and Chief General Counsel Danielle Houch. As of May 26, these titles remain unchanged on the website.

  The school district, which has approximately 10,000 employees, has not yet decided what top officials will be called instead of chiefs. Blythe clarified that the name change does not mean demotion.

  “By changing how we refer to our division heads we are in no way diminishing the indispensable contributions of our district central service leaders,” the spokesperson explained.

  The decision comes about three months after a recall vote that decisively ejected three members from the San Francisco Board of Education.

  According to San Francisco Mayor London Breed, voters were frustrated because the school district had been focusing on things other than its “fundamental job.”

  “It was really about the frustration of the board of education doing their fundamental job, and that is to make sure that our children are getting educated, that they get back into the classroom,” Breed said in February on NBC programming.

  “That did not occur.”

  As an example of the school district’s misplaced priorities, Breed pointed to a now-shelved plan to find alternative names for 44 schools that weren’t even open at that time.

  In January 2021, the SFUSD unanimously approved a decision to start replacing names of schools named after prominent figures who allegedly have connections to injustices in history, such as slavery, oppression of women, and “inhibiting societal progress.”

  The namesakes that were planned to be dropped, in addition to U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, included two-time Secretary of State Daniel Webster, Spanish missionary Junipero Serra, American revolutionary Paul Revere, and Francis Scott Key, the author of the lyrics for “The Star Spangled Banner.”

  The plan was met with immediate opposition from the district’s families and the general public. The backlash continued until board president Gabriela López announced that the district would focus on reopening those schools instead of finding new names for them. López was ousted in this year’s recall election.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 19:30

• When Will Powell Trigger The "Fed Put": Here Are The Four Things To Watch, As Well As The Most Important One
  When Will Powell Trigger The “Fed Put”: Here Are The Four Things To Watch, As Well As The Most Important One

  Despite the market’s long-overdue rebound after a near-record 7 consecutive down weeks for the S&P (a 20yr record), the Fed has so far offered no help to risk assets and appears far from stepping in or triggering the elusive “Fed Put”. This is despite, as BofA’s Gonzalo Aziz warns in the bank’s latest Global Equity Volatility Insights note (available to pro subs), risks building in financial markets to an extent that central banks wouldn’t have allowed in years past.

  Indeed, as we observed recently (see “When Will The Fed Capitulate And Stop Hiking: Finally Some Good News For The Bulls“), credit spreads, historically the most reliable predictor of Fed interventions, have reached levels of prior Fed rescues. Furthermore, over 85% of dovish Fed turns in the last 50yrs were preceded by less volatile equity selloffs than today’s. And as we highlight virtually every day, S&P futures liquidity has only been worse in the depths of the GFC and the Covid shock, adding to fragility risk and the potential the Fed put is tested in a dysfunctional market.

  And yet, despite all these growing risk-factors, so far Powell has ignored all appeals for help from the market. Of course, no matter how hard the US central bank may try to signal otherwise, the Fed put isn’t fully gone, and it will likely be tested, as it has repeatedly since Greenspan gave birth to it in 1987.

  So what signposts should investors watch to know when the Fed put’s strike is near? According to Bank of America there are key indicators to keep an eye on:

  1. Credit stress: We have discussed before that credit stress has been the most consistent predictor of dovish Fed pivots in the last 10yrs, particularly stress in Investment Grade bonds (which have historically used by companies to fund buybacks, if not so much capex). This is notable because CDX IG spreads are near those key levels now, but the Fed’s focus on inflation means spreads are likely to widen further before triggering a policy response.

  

  2. S&P drawdown: Perhaps just as important as nascent credit stress, the size of the equity drawdown from all-time highs has according to BofA become an important signal for investors looking to buy the dip in recent years. However, while this may have worked relatively well in the era of high Fed sensitivity to markets, it has been a much less reliable predictor of dovish Fed turns over a longer history. As chart 10 shows, the Fed has either stopped hiking or begun cutting rates during S&P drawdowns of very different magnitudes – from as low as 2-3% in the mid-1990s to over 30% in ‘75 and ‘87.

  

  3. Economic data: Economic data is of course critical to the Fed’s reaction function, and a sustained cooling of inflationary pressures is arguably the data point most likely to slow their tightening plans (something we expect is gradually taking place now and will become manifest at the Jackson Hole Pivot^TM). Indeed, BofA’s rates team’s 20-May Global Rates Weekly argues that a Fed pivot requires a meaningful slowdown in job market data. However, that type of data is much slower-moving, and it would take several months or quarters to convince the Fed that a dangerous inflationary spiral has been averted. On the other hand, as PIper Sandler quantified recent layoff announcements, it is clear that mass layoffs have begun, and the bank expects “a million layoffs or more” which will be more than sufficient to force the Fed to pivot.

  

  4. Market dysfunction: While all of the above are certainly important catalysts for the Fed to “panic” and go into full-blown Fed Put mode, BofA’s derivatives traders believe that an episode of market dysfunction is the most likely trigger for central banks, or as they quote us (quoting BofA’s Michael Hartnett), “markets stop panicking when central banks start panicking”, but today it will take more market panic for the Fed to start panicking.

  So are we there yet? Not quite, but getting closer. The near-record low liquidity in equity futures (a key feature of fragility shocks) which we highlight virtually every day…

  

  … indicates that such risk may be closer than the relatively orderly pace of the YTD selloff may suggest.

  

  And in fact 85% of the Fed’s dovish turns in the last 50yrs were preceded by less volatile equity selloffs than today’s.

  

  In other words, while the Fed may need a lower inflation and higher unemployment print to greenlight a dovish pivot, one which will send high beta growth names and cryptos limit up in milliseconds, the actual catalyst that prompts the Fed’s capitulation may simply be a market crash which the illiquidty in the market accelerates to the point where not even the Fed will be able to ignore what is going on.

  One final, important point, according to the BofA strategists: the Fed pivoting to rescue markets may not crush volatility or create a sustained rebound back to new highs, as the 2013, 2015, and 2018 pivots did. If inflation remains a pressing concern, a Fed intervention may only bring temporary relief to risk assets.

  Despite the lack of a Fed capitulation so far, BofA believes markets will continue to test the Fed put, but they caution that it will take more market panic for the Fed to start panicking. To hedge this event, BofA’s derivatives traders like owning local SPX skew near 10yr lows through Dec put ratios. The trade is designed for a tail event in which markets test the Fed put and find that it’s heavily compromised in the face of inflation. As one example, consider selling 1x SPX Dec 4050 put to buy 2.5x of the Dec 3500 put for an upfront debit of ~1% (ref. 3973.75). More details on this highly convex trade in the full BofA note available to pro subscribers.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 19:00

• GOP Must Hold 'Radical' Health Officials Like Fauci 'Accountable': Republican Study Committee
  GOP Must Hold ‘Radical’ Health Officials Like Fauci ‘Accountable’: Republican Study Committee

  Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  In a May 24 policy memo, the Republican Study Committee (RSC) argued that if Republicans take back Congress in November 2022, holding “radical” public health officials like Dr. Anthony Fauci accountable must be a “major oversight priority” for the party.

  

  Once a figure trusted by Republicans and Democrats alike, Republicans have increasingly balked at Fauci’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  Several Republican lawmakers, most prominently Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), have quarreled openly with Fauci, accusing him of lying intentionally and of attempting to seize powers that should belong to Congress under the Constitution. In one official email, Paul attached an image showing Fauci’s face with the caption, “Fire Fauci.”

  Many Republicans remain anxious to do just that, particularly in light of information that Fauci and his associates may have worked to intentionally mislead the public about the so-called “lab leak theory” of the origin of COVID-19.

  Now the RSC, a GOP research group comprising several sitting Republican House members, is demanding that GOP leadership take a strong stance against Fauci and his allies if they take back Congress in the 2022 midterms.

  “If Congress fails to hold the Fauci clique accountable, and fails to reform public health agencies, we will be giving far-left bureaucrats a blank check to shut the country down whenever they want to,” RSC Chairman Jim Banks (R-Ind.) told Breitbart. “We need to send a message that the restrictions, the mandates, and the school closures can never happen again.”

  “Before the New Normal™, the most dreaded symptoms of flu season were fever, sniffles, and cough,” the RSC wrote in a May 23 news release. “Now, as families prepare for the coming winter and corresponding flu seasons (or growing cases of Monkey Pox), Americans have something much worse to fear: Government health officials.”

  “Far-Left activists have taken over our public health agencies, abused their power, undermined the public’s trust, and wreaked havoc on our nation,” the news release continued.

  The RSC pointed out that the NIH funded 257 grants to study social disparities related to COVID-19, but only four grants to study how the virus spreads.

  “Even worse,” the release continued, “President Biden’s budget includes $100 MILLION EACH for the CDC and NIH to fight ‘climate change.’”

  “If we want to ever restore trust in these institutions and preserve our once-cherished freedoms and liberties, radicals like Dr. Fauci must be held accountable and our public health agencies be reformed,” the RSC demanded. “If Republicans don’t use congressional oversight powers to do so, we will be giving far-left bureaucrats a blank check to shut the country down whenever they want.”

  In a policy memo, the RSC expanded on these points.

  “Trust in the public health bureaucracy is at a historic low,” the memorandum began. “Americans rightly feel that Washington bureaucrats have abandoned common sense and the common good for political purposes.”

  “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Left embraced Rahm Emmanuel’s famous quip, ‘never let a good crisis go to waste.’ At first, many of their policies went unchallenged. But public health authorities soon started issuing nonsensical, contradictory directives and embracing partisan rhetoric.

  “These directives increasingly burdened Americans but had no obvious effect on the spread of COVID,” the memo stated. “When Americans pointed this out, authorities responded with censorship, not evidence, and commanded them to ‘follow the science.’ Dr. Fauci clarified what he meant when he declared, ‘I am the Science.’”

  The memo continued, stating that many Americans realized that left-wing bureaucrats had “twisted the term ‘public health’ into a catch-all for leftist policies that limited their basics liberties.”

  Concluding the memorandum, the RSC wrote: “The CDC and NIH have strayed far from their original missions. The CDC was founded to combat infectious diseases. The NIH’s established mission is to seek fundamental knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. Instead, both agencies have been influenced by an ideological public health academia and advance the Left’s war on American culture.

  “Conservatives would be wise to root out this institutional rot at these institutions and return them to their core missions,” the RSC stated.

  Fauci and the NIH did not respond to a request for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 18:30

• …Turns Out Keynes Was A Commie
  …Turns Out Keynes Was A Commie

  Authored by Mark Jeftovic via BombThrower.com,

  Why The Cantillon Effect Creates Communism

  

  Awareness of the centuries old concept of The Cantillion Effect has been experiencing a revival of late, particularly since the extraordinary acceleration of monetary injections that occurred under COVID. Named for the French-Irish economist who died in 1734 (he was murdered), the Cantillon Effect is when you create a bunch of new money and inject it into an economy. What happens is the people at the front of the line who receive the new money first become wealthier, while the people at the end of the line who receive it last are further impoverished.

  

  The Cantillon Effect

  This is not peculiar to the post-Covid era. For more than a decade I’ve been describing how rampant money creation and credit expansion skews formerly free markets into a kind of economic vampirism, without actually knowing there was a term like this to describe it.

  From my vantage-point as a tech CEO running a company that has never taken on VC funding, it unfolded as having to compete with multiple deep-pocketed 800lb gorillas and billion dollar unicorns who were losing money on every transaction and driving a race to the bottom across the entire industry. Companies like ours have to be profitable or perish. Serially funded unicorns just have to keep their burn rate below their fund-raising tempo.

  Marc Andreesen, the noteworthy VC icon touched on it with his famous “Software is eating the world” euphemism, but it failed to capture the financialization aspect of it. It’s more like “serial up-rounds are eating the world”.

  The dynamic intensified dramatically under COVID. Not only were the monetary injections accelerating, but governments globally shut down small and independent businesses for nearly two years, and then central banks went out and bought the bonds of the quasi-monopolies who were left.

  

  Via Statista – the Fed purchased bonds of companies controlled by every person on this list.

  But even if the people at the front of the line have a privileged position, why does this necessarily translate into them either using that position to launch, fund and flip money-losing unicorns, or hollowing out via financial engineering what would have otherwise been long term viable businesses?

  It’s the currency debasement, stupid

  When the cost of capital is cheap, like near-zero cheap, companies never have to be profitable. In fact if the capital pool is growing faster than the operating earnings are, you’re actually incentivized to eschew profits in favour of taking on funding – provided you have a short-term time horizon.

  Here’s the thing about printing money: because it devalues the currency, it compresses time horizons.

  If you think of currency as “shares” in the economy they denominate, then it should be easy to grasp that by increasing the number of currency units, you aren’t magically growing the economy. You’re just increasing the numerator (the currency units) while keeping the denominator (the actual goods and services available) the same.

  If the numerator grows, that means it takes more currency to buy the same goods and services, so it is experienced as variations of “number go up”:

  • For people who are already wealthy: assets increase in “value” because they are being measured in more units

  • For everybody else: food, shelter and essentials get more expensive, same reason.

  In fact government metrics that define some arbitrary “poverty line” as being based on some level of income almost completely misses the point. The line between poverty and wealth should more accurately be measured in terms of net assets. The wealthy have assets – that compound. The poor have bills – that get more expensive.

  Whenever the monetary authorities increase the currency supply or expand credit, it is always proffered as a necessity of saving the system. The fact that the reason the system needed saving in the the first place was a direct consequence of previous expansions is ignored or shouted down.

  There are only three real moves in the central banker toolbox: print money, expand credit, suppress interest rates.

  The intellectual basis of this approach is often rationalized as a prescription dictated by  “Keynesianism” or “Keynesian economics”, after John Maynard Keynes, the intellectual father of mainstream “economics” as it is known today.

  Keynes was a bit of a mixed bag. Though often cited for his “gold as a barbarous  relic” quote, he ended up heavily allocated in South African gold miners years after he wrote that. Mid-way through his career he swore off macro investing, coming to the opinion that no amount of macro knowledge would give you an edge at the company level: he had become a sort of proto-value investor.

  He was also a pederast, having kept detailed records of  numerous young, mostly male partners, their names and ages, which are preserved still in the archives at King’s College, Cambridge …he was a Malthusian believing it was “the salvation of the British economy” and eugenicist – having served on the board of the British Eugenics Society.

  …and, as it turns out, Keynes was a raving pinko. Full blown Commie.

  The Socialist scaffolding of Keynesian Economics

  Vladimir Lenin is often attributed as saying “the best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency.” However the quote is possibly apocryphal, because the earliest reference to it is a citation by Keynes in his Economic Consequences of Peace. 

  Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalist System was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens. By this method they not only confiscate, but they confiscate arbitrarily; and, while the process impoverishes many, it actually enriches some. … As the inflation proceeds and the real value of the currency fluctuates wildly from month to month, all permanent relations between debtors and creditors, which form the ultimate foundation of capitalism, become so utterly disordered as to be almost meaningless;…

  Lenin was certainly right. There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which not one man in a million is able to diagnose.

  Keynes is describing The Cantillon Effect, and yet, as we’ll see, Keynes may not have been viewing this as a bad thing. While Keynes clearly understood that government spending and money creation drove wealth inequality, it seems as though he viewed this as a beneficial dynamic, because it would inexorably lead toward the ultimate wealth inequality: Communism.

  

  Contrary to the popular platitudes that socialism and communism are about achieving equality for all, going so far to prescribe absurdities like “equality of outcome”. The reality, documented by the likes of Dr. Kristian Niemietz in his “Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies”, is that the only equality brought about by collectivism is where everybody beneath the thin scab of elites and their apparatchiks are equally mired in poverty and servitude.

  In Edward W Fuller’s “Was Keynes a socialist” paper, published 2019 in The Cambridge Journal of Economics, Fuller looked at whether John Maynard Keynes, the chief architect behind the entire edifice of conventional economics (and arguably it’s intellectual descendants like Modern Monetary Theory) was a socialist.

  He compared the defenses of Keynes as “a liberal who wanted to save Capitalism” against various writings, correspondence and accounts of Keynes himself and from those who knew him, including his own father.

  John Neville Keynes,  journaled on Sept 6, 1911 ‘Maynard avows himself a Socialist and is in favour of the confiscation of wealth’. Turns out this was not a passing fad, it was a lifelong devotion. Young Keynes first came out as a socialist in February 1911, declaring that:

  “the progressive reorganization of Society along the lines of Collectivist Socialism is both inevitable and desirable”

  Over the course of his career Keynes authored numerous odes to socialism, fraternized with notorious socialists like George Bernard Shaw (head of the Fabian Society) and Owen Mosley, who founded the socialist New Party in 1931, which later morphed into The British Union of Fascists.

  Keynes supported the Bolshevik Revolution, even though it had seized power in a coup d’etat against what was then the only democratically elected government in Russia’s history (“the only course open to me is to be a buoyantly bolshevik”.) Keynes became a regular attendee at the 1917 Club, a Soho meeting place in vogue amongst socialists of the day, named to honour the year of the revolution.

  It was at the 1917 Club where members of The Fabian Society met. The Fabians wanted to usher in global communism, but instead of doing that through, sudden, violent revolutions (a la Marx) they would take their time.

  They thought in generational increments and proposed the slow, steady infiltration of higher education, government bureaucracies, cultural chokepoints (theatre, pop-culture, the media and the press), and posited that over time they could pull society toward collectivism without anyone realizing it.

  Their emblem was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

  

  As per Keynes: “Socialism can be introduced gradually… the economic transition of a society [into Socialism] is a thing to be accomplished slowly”.

  Fuller’s paper concludes that Keynes was a non-Marxist socialist, meaning he eschewed the obsession with the idea of class struggle and focused his thinking around increased State control over the economy.

  If Keynes was a commie, why does it matter?

  In a previous incarnation of this blog, I wrote about Keynes’s predictions of a theoretical future where humanity would be freed from all care of day-to-day concerns through expert management of the economic cycle by credentialed technocrats.

  He called this future state “Bliss” and described it in his essay The Economic Possibilities of Our Grandchildren (coincidentally cited via marxists.org)

  The pace at which we can reach our destination of economic bliss will be governed by four things – our power to control population, our determination to avoid wars and civil dissensions, our willingness to entrust to science the direction of those matters which are properly the concern of science, and the rate of accumulation as fixed by the margin between our production and our consumption; of which the last will easily look after itself, given the first three.

  Economic bliss sounds a lot like fully automated luxury communism. But you can’t get there if the rabble is still making economic decisions for itself. Free markets must be destroyed, and only credentialed elites can be permitted economic autonomy. (That’s why nobody’s life, liberty or property is safe whenever the World Economic Forum is in session).

  Keynes laid out a path to get there. Through endless money printing, the Cantillon Effect would lead to the destruction of the middle class. By wrapping it within a cloak of crypto-socialism, he gave it a veneer of intellectual acceptability:

  “The work of monetary cranks like John Maynard Keynes taught in the modern universities the notion that government spending only has benefits, never costs. The government, after all, can always print money and so faces no real constraints on its spending, which it can use to achieve whatever goal the electorate sets for it”

  – Saifedean Ammous, The Bitcoin Standard.

  In Saifedean’s follow up, The Fiat Standard, Keynes and Marxism are mentioned as having large areas of overlap, goals and practically identical results:

  “The number and influence of third-world leaders who were educated in British and American universities from the 1930s onward is staggering…anyone familiar with the economic history of developing countries, or with the rhetoric of any development agency or ministry in a developing country, will see this influence in the distinct stench of Marxist and Keynesian notions of central planning.The entire framing of the notion of economic development is driven ultimately by a highly socialist view of how an economy works.”

  “By the 1970s, the development failures piled high, and a lot of soul-searching within the misery industry would lead to more government control and more centralized economic planning. As the “dependency school” approach became more popular, government central planning became far more pervasive. The combination of global easy money, following the U.S. government’s decision to suspend gold redeemability, and governments and international bureaucracies staffed with Keynesians and Marxists proved disastrous.”

  Fuller’s paper goes a long way in providing an explanation on why collectivism and Keynesianism seem to resemble each other: it’s the same thing. It is all statist, centralized technocracy under the guise of

  a) high-minded collectivism for the useful idiots of the working class, and

  b) high-powered intellectual macro-economic policy for the useful idiots in the universities and think tanks.

  This could be why we’re demonizing capitalism, energy, self-reliance, family, spirituality and anything else that falls to the right of Stalin. This is why Big Tech unicorns are by their own admission “commie as f*ck”, and why many of the celebrity class these days are self-proclaimed “woke” socialists. Especially the super-rich ones.

  The good news

  There was a time, especially under lockdowns, when I looked at the direction things were going, and I thought the Fabians had achieved complete victory. World socialism was practically here, having arrived under banners with names like The Great Reset, The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Stakeholder Capitalism.

  Even worse, large swaths of the public seemed to be clamouring for it.

  COVID stimulus showed how the lubricant for a globalized socialism was the monetary printing press. In his day, Friedrich Hayek (the anti-Keynes) realized this as well and was similarly pessimistic.

  “I don’t believe we shall ever have a good money again before we take the thing out of the hands of government, that is, we can’t take it violently out of the hands of government, all we can do is by some sly roundabout way introduce something they can’t stop.”

  – Hayek, quoted in The Bitcoin Standard, p72

  Enter, Satoshi.

  The epiphany I had, and I’m not alone, is that we are not entering an age of centralized, technocratic authoritarianism, we are in the process of departing from it. We’re in the end game now. The crescendo of an age which has been unfolding for over a century – the era of the welfare state.

  With the arrival of the Internet, and then Bitcoin, we’re undergoing a phase shift into the decentralized era of network states and micro-sovereigns.

  The near universal mismanagement of COVID, from the possibility of a lab leak in the first place to being absolutely wrong about everything after that, pulled forward about 20 years of this tension and crammed it into 18 months. Too much, too soon. We were on track to gradually transition to a decentralized society via an interim phase of technocratic authoritarianism that could have lasted for decades, before giving away to the inevitable decentralized society. But now, we’re looking instead at a disorderly phase shift into deglobalization and decentralization. It’s already happening.

  We’re at a point where reality is intervening with ideology and it was the pandemic that brought us here a few decades before I would have otherwise expected it. The conventional COVID narrative has all but broken down completely. Trust in institutions and experts is plummeting, the corporate media is a joke.

  We may have already blundered our way into World War 3, while incumbent politicians around the world are being swept out of office on a wave of public backlash. Then there’s the economic and physical consequences of batshit policies that threaten to overwhelm our supply chains and energy availability everywhere.

  Woke capitalism is being exposed as a sham. The public increasingly sees The Party at Davos as saturated with hypocrisy and arrogance.

  Make no mistake, we’re talking about the end of an epoch and the demise of the legacy power structure. Not only in terms of who the incumbents are, but the very architecture and fabric of how geopolitical and economic power is configured.

  The old guard will not go down without a fight, and for the moment, they have the institutions and the media, but that is already changing.

  “We’re all Keynesians now” was the intellectual rallying cry of the fiat era. Laser eyes will be the defining meme of the next one.

  If I had to offer advice to anybody who was looking for ways to pivot their existing affairs and navigate the coming changes I would bullet point them as follows:

  • Do not be reliant on government entitlements: these will soon be delivered via CBDCs and be full-throated social credit systems

  • Turn off your TV, cancel all mainstream media subscriptions: read more books, get your news through alternative / indie media channels (start with The Sovereign Individual, both Saifedean Ammous books, and George Gilder’s Life After Google)

  • If you’re a business owner: start taking crypto payments and HODL them

  • If you’re not a business owner: Start one. Even a kitchen table business that you can grow over time.

  • And stack sats. Always be stacking sats.

  Buying Bitcoin is calling bullshit on everything

  — Interstellar (@InterstellarBit) May 27, 2022

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  We’re going through a Fourth Turning-style phase shift. It will be turbulent, violent and at times terrifying.  But it will also bring boundless opportunity. Never before have we lived in age where nearly anybody can go from a standing start to spectacular success in the shortest amount of time with the lowest barriers to entry.

  This dynamic will only intensify over the coming years and in the long run, this is what will propel a quantum leap in the human endeavour.

  *  *  *

  The world is undergoing a monetary regime change. Get the Crypto Capitalist Manifesto free, when you join the Bombthrower mailing list. Follow me as @bombthrower on Gettr or if you haven’t been kicked off Twitter (yet), @StuntPope

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 17:30

• Nancy Pelosi's Husband Arrested For Misdemeanor DUI
  Nancy Pelosi’s Husband Arrested For Misdemeanor DUI

  The bear market has taken its toll on the richest “husband” in US Congress: as first reported by TMZ, Paul Pelosi – husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi – perhaps best known for putting on massive call option trades in names like Google, Micron, Roblox, Disney which are now massively underwater, was arrested at 11:44pm on Saturday night in Napa County and booked hours later into jail on two counts – driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08 or higher, both of which are misdemeanors.

  

  Since the bail for Paul – who has been been married to Nancy since 1963 – was set at paltry $5,000, a pittance for the multi-millionaire, he was released at 7:26, shortly after he was booked at 4:13am on Sunday morning.

  For now details of the incidents are scarce: TMZ said that it is working on getting a full narrative – as well as a mug shot once it is available.

  We do know that the Pelosis own a vineyard in Napa Valley. In 2015, the LA Times reported that the vineyard made her the fourth richest person in California.

  Way back in 1990, according to property record recourse PropertyShark, The Pelosi’s paid $2,350,000 for a 16.55-acre vineyard in Saint Helena, CA aka Napa Valley. Nestled just north of Napa and sitting directly across from the Napa River, Pelosi is living in the lap of luxury.

  The sprawling estate came with a 3,314 square foot structure built in 1958, and in 2006, records show that a 2,400 square foot, 2-story structure was added. Inside the original structure, there are said to be 6 generously sized rooms that include 2 bedrooms. There are also two fireplaces and a pool in the backyard for entertaining guests.

  She’s known to throw lavish parties at her estate, often inviting financial supporters and other political figures over for dinner. Neighbors say there’s no missing her when she is in town – gaggles of black SUVs and air traffic are everywhere.

  In 2005, the Napa Valley Planning commission granted the Pelosi’s a permit to operate a 5,000-gallon-per-year winery, allowing for weekly wine tastings. However, as Napa County Deputy Planning Director John McDowell said, “They did enough to activate the permit…The ball is in their court to pursue the rest of the construction project.” They have yet to do so.

  

  Those wondering if Nancy was with her husband when he was busted last night, the answer is no even though a spokesperson for the California Democrat said that she would not be commenting on the “private” matter.

  “The Speaker will not be commenting on this private matter which occurred while she was on the East Coast,” the spokesperson said.

  Pelosi’s designated driver husband was more drunk than she was.

  — John Cardillo (@johncardillo) May 29, 2022

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  Nancy did, however, tweet that she delivering the Brown University commencement speech on Sunday afternoon, so clearly she was not with her husband.

  Join me live @BrownUniversity as I deliver the Commencement Oration to 2022 graduates and receive an honorary doctorate degree. https://t.co/uBhdzJyOej

  — Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) May 29, 2022

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  According to Fox News’ Chad Pergram her speech was just the usual “January 6 US terrorism” and pro-Ukraine war propaganda:

  1) Pelosi giving commencement address at Brown University: As we gather here, war rages in Ukraine, all in awe of the heroism and resolve of the people of Ukraine as they courageously defend democracy not only

  2) Pelosi: Our nation is no stranger to dark and anti-democratic forces. On July January six, 2021, an unprecedented insurrection unleashed unimaginable violence on the grounds in the halls of the Capitol. A strike at the heart of our democracy. The peaceful transfer of power.

  3) Pelosi: And in the months since the insurrection, we’ve seen further assaults on democracy. Shameful campaigns of voter suppression and election nullification. A Supreme Court poised to erase the woman’s right to decide and threaten even more privacy rights

  4) Pelosi: In just the last two weeks, two senseless mass shootings..This, in addition to countless deadly attacks rooted in racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and white supremacy…hope remains democracy’s most powerful weapon.

  5) Pelosi: When I had the great privilege of visiting Kiev a month ago, we saw firsthand the hope in the eyes of the Ukrainian people as they defied the odds against a more powerful and brutal cell.

  And so on; there was naturally no mention of her drunk husband, although we are confident that  Soros-handpicked DA Chesa Boudin and his cronies…

  

  … will make sure that any record of last night’s crime is promptly deleted from the public record, because after all, laws are for the little people.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 17:05

• Demand For Bulletproof Backpacks Surges After Texas School Shooting
  Demand For Bulletproof Backpacks Surges After Texas School Shooting

  Demand for bulletproof backpacks soars (again) after the elementary school mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Over the years, mass shooting incidents at schools have increased sales for companies that manufacture bulletproof gear. 

  Nationwide, the search trend for “bulletproof backpack” is rising after last week’s horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 students and two teachers dead. Parents are concerned about their children’s safety. 

  A surge in search trends for bulletproof backpacks has occurred after significant shootings in the last ten years. This weekend’s search trend is at a three-year high and back to 2019 levels when there were several mass shootings that summer. Another spike in early 2018 occurred after a 19yo kid walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 17 others. A smaller jump was seen in late 2012 when a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. 

  

  After the events in Uvalde last week, bulletproof backpack demand is surging, Bussiness Insider reports, citing Guard Dog Security, a Florida-based company that manufactures and distributes bulletproof gear. Guard Dog President Yasir Sheikh said they’re “seeing an increase” in customers interested in bulletproof backpacks. 

  

  Sheikh said there’s “an increase from our national retailers who carry our bags.” He noted retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods, Home Depot, and Lowe’s already carried the bags that act as a shield in the event of a shooting. The bags are equipped with a level 3 plate that is designed to protect against 9mm and .44 magnum rounds.

  Prices of the backpacks range from $100 to $300. 

  

  A diagram on Guard Dog Security’s website shows how the bags are used in the event of a shooting. 

  

  For five years, we have pointed out the increasing popularity of these bags:

  • Bulletproof Backpacks And Combat Apparel Sales Soar
  • Philly Middle-School Students Given ‘Bulletproof Backpack’ As Graduation Gift
  • Company Making Bulletproof Backpacks For US Students Flooded With Orders
  • Bulletproof Backpack Sales Spike Once Again During ‘Back To School’ Shopping

  A spike in bulletproof backpack sales has been typical after tragic events like a school shooting. Next thing you will know, the minivan is swapped out with an Audi Q5 Security (Audi’s first armored vehicle on a production line). 

  Meanwhile, lawmakers around the country have called for a ban on body armor since the Buffalo supermarket mass shooting earlier this month and the Uvalde shooting, where both gunmen wore plates. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 16:50

• Morgan Stanley: We're Through The Worst Of Markets Being Surprised By Inflation And Policy
  Morgan Stanley: We’re Through The Worst Of Markets Being Surprised By Inflation And Policy

  Excerpted from the latest Morgan Stanley Sunday Start note authored by Andrew Sheets, Chief Cross-Asset Strategist; full note available to professional subs.

  Better Late than Never

  In a world filled with so much tragedy, any good news is welcome. And so it was this week as London saw the opening of the Elizabeth line, a new railway that tunnels from one end of this great city to the other. It’s been the largest infrastructure project in Europe, a marvel of modern engineering and a testament to the fact that great, big things are still possible.

  It was also several years overdue. This big, transformative project required more than a bit of patience. But the end result will be a better, more sustainable system.

  This idea of ‘better late than never’ also rings true for markets.

  The post-GFC period was filled with paradoxes. It was a period of serially disappointing economic growth but exceptional cross-asset returns. Wealth exploded in relation to the economy, while capital investment withered. It was a period of fragility that demanded enormous policy support, yet produced a remarkably consistent pattern of performance. From the January 1, 2010 trough to the end of last year:

  • US equities outperformed RoW in 10 of 12 years;
  • Growth outperformed Value in 9 of 12 years;
  • Bonds (US Agg) outperformed cash in 9 of 12 years;
  • Global equities outperformed commodities in 9 of 12 years;
  • The fed funds rate averaged 0.67%.

  That consistency in performance often mirrored consistency in the macro economy. Generally speaking, 2010-21 saw low inflation (US core PCE averaged 1.8%Y), low growth (US GDP averaged 2.0%Y) and central bank policy that was both supportive and predictable, with investor faith in a central bank ‘put’.

  All this is changing. Year to date, commodities have outperformed stocks, cash has outperformed bonds, Value has outperformed Growth and non-US stocks are beating their US counterparts (especially if you hedged the currency). The macro backdrop is also different; US core PCE just printed at 4.9%, US 1Q nominal GDP was +10.6% YoY and capital investment is strong, while global central bank policy has been more restrictive, less predictable and has thrown cold water on the idea of a policy solution to every market wobble.

  Does this shift have risks? Yes. But how many conferences did you attend in the last decade that bemoaned the trapped state of the global economy, doomed to a future of insufficient demand that required extreme monetary policy as far as the eye could see. As recently as December, German 30-year bond yields were -0.07%. Today, the ECB policy rate is expected to be ~1.0% in 12 months. In a choice between those two economic futures, give us the latter.

  Trends below the surface also point to encouraging change. Any bear market leads to the question of whether to ‘abandon the process’, because rational analysis can be overwhelmed by questions like: ‘will the financial system survive’ (2008-09), ‘will the European Union survive’ (2011-12), ‘will the VIX create forced sellers’ (2018) or ‘can we handle a global pandemic’ (2020).

  But this is not one of those trauma-induced bear markets. Year to date, relative value has been working, especially when it comes to cross-asset factors (see Cross-Asset Spotlight: Systematic Strategies (CAST): RV Rules, May 27, 2022). And price action has often been about (finally) normalizing some extreme valuations. Not sure how a particular asset has done so far this year? ‘Moved closer to its average valuation over the last 20 years’ is a pretty good guess.

  ‘Better late than never’ also feels appropriate for the central bank debate. It’s easy to argue that policy remained too accommodative for too long. But hindsight is cheap and easy; what matters now is that policy is normalizing, in a significant way. More importantly, this shift has credibility. The US, eurozone and Australia are priced for terminal rates that assume the economy can handle further tightening. Inflation expectations are now falling, the housing market is cooling and credit risk premiums are back near the long-run average. If this is a ‘policy error’, more than a few central bankers must be thinking, ‘that’s fine by us!’

  What does all this mean for the markets? We think we’re through the worst of markets being surprised by inflation and policy. That should help yields to stabilize over the summer and bring down rate volatility, which in turn should help mortgages, munis and IG credit (in that order). We think it’s too soon to buy HY, especially after this week’s pop, but expect outperformance of CDS over cash as investors decide they are well hedged for the current uncertainty (see Cross-Asset Playbook: Organized Chaos, May 20, 2022).

  Finally, energy over metals remains a good example of relative value that can continue to work. Energy commodities generally have better carry, better momentum and more fundamental support (tighter markets). The ratio of 12-month Brent crude to gold has risen, but it is still 30% lower than it was 20 years ago. Better late than never.

  All reports mentioned in this note available to pro subs in the usual place.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 16:34

• "Only Criminals Are Gonna Have Guns": Joe Rogan Warns Against Confiscation
  “Only Criminals Are Gonna Have Guns”: Joe Rogan Warns Against Confiscation

  Podcaster Joe Rogan has come out against attempts to confiscate guns in the aftermath of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, arguing that criminals will be the only ones left with firearms.

  

  “It’s like, how do you stop that? No one knows how to stop that. What is the answer? Is the answer to take everyone’s guns? Well, they’re not gonna give their guns up. Only criminals are gonna have guns. It’s not gonna be a good situation. Is the answer to make schools these armored compounds, where you have armed guards outside of every school? … Boy, that’s not something we want either,” Rogan told guest Lex Fridman.

  “I don’t think it’s wise to take all the guns away from people and give all the power to the government. We see how they are with an armed populace, they still have a tendency towards totalitarianism. And the more increased power and control you have over people, the easier it is for them to do what they do. And it’s a natural inclination, when you’re a person in power, to try to hold more power and acquire more power.”

  “This Country Has a Mental Health Problem Disguised as a Gun Problem,” said the host, echoing his comments from 2013.

  Watch:

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 16:00

• A Roman Lesson On Inflation
  A Roman Lesson On Inflation

  Authored by Alasdair Macleod via GoldMoney.com,

  “While it is the duty of the citizen to support the state, it is not the duty of the state to support the citizen” 

  – President Grover Cleveland

  After two centuries of debasement the Roman denarius ended up with no silver content.

  The decline of the empire was accompanied by increasingly costly bureaucracy, stifling the economy.

  It was a template for today.

  There are differences.

  But we share suffocating bureaucracy and the lack of specie in our currency systems.

  As Rome did from Nero onwards, we have lost the plot. A general deterioration in our sense of purpose is an additional factor.

  Perhaps Diocletian was the Joe Biden of his day. He was infamous for his edict on maximum prices, which basically shut down the production of goods. Will Joe Biden introduce a similar edict? Don’t rule it out…

  

  Intervention’s slippery slope

  The point President Cleveland made back in the 1880s was that individuals and vested interests had no rights to preferential treatment by a government elected to represent everyone. For if preference is given, it is always at the expense of others.

  Those days are long gone, and the last president to take this stance was Calvin Coolidge in the 1920s. He was followed by Herbert Hoover, who was very much an interventionist. As Coolidge reportedly said of his Vice-President, “That man has given me nothing but advice, and all of it bad”. Hoover was criticised for his disastrous intervention policies by Franklin Roosevelt, who succeeded in ousting him in the 1932 election, and then outdid him with even more intervention. The outflows of gold generated by accelerating government spending and the Fed’s monetary policies led in 1933 to the suspension of gold convertibility for American citizens and the devaluation of the dollar in 1934 from $20.67 to $35 per ounce of gold.

  Interventionsism has increased ever since, not just in America but in all other advanced nations. The socialisation of earnings and profits and the regulation of our behaviour by governments dominates economic activity today. Despite the warnings of sound-money theorists, a process that commenced over a century ago has not yet led to economic collapse, though the dangers of escalating state liabilities are a growing threat to economic stability.

  A point that is ignored by nearly everyone is that government spending is an expensive luxury for any economy, tying up capital resources in the most inefficient way. Furthermore, governments, through tax and the diversion of savings and monetary inflation, destroy personal wealth. Yet, it is clear both through observation and logic that a successful economy is one that instead maximises personal prosperity.

  This is clearly illustrated by observing the difference between Venezuela and America. Venezuela overtly and covertly has transferred nearly all personal wealth to its socialist government in the name of equality for all. The costs of government increased exponentially relative to its sources of available finance, bringing forward the day when economic and civil order cease entirely. America, despite decades of growth in government spending, has not yet sequestered most of its citizens’ wealth, though the process has been accelerating in recent years.

  However, the problem is likely to become more of a public issue in the coming months, triggered perhaps by an increase of US Government bond issues at a time of an economic downturn and a downturn in bond demand due to a reluctance by the Fed to raise government borrowing costs.

  At the same time as President Biden’s administration faces increasing spending demands, the Fed is trying to normalise its balance sheet by ceasing QE, and then presumably running off its bond exposure. Add to the mix marginal reductions of financial securities exposure in foreign-owned portfolios, and we have the potential for a perfect storm in the reserve currency’s bond market.

  We have already seen a sharp increase in bond yields since March 2020, with the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield increasing from 0.5% to 3%. On an historic basis and given that the Fed’s inflation target of 2% is left in the dust, the time-value on this bond is still far too low, despite the increase in yields so far.

  Official consumer price inflation already exceeds 8%, and there is unlikely to be any significant let-up in this rate. And readers should give more credence to independent estimates than clearly biased government ones. ShadowStats.com currently has consumer prices rising at well over 15%.

  We should not be surprised if these dynamics soon result in a derating of US Government bonds, and of the US Government’s finances. The derating won’t come from rating agencies which rightly fear official sanctions, but from markets themselves. But then markets are always the final arbiters of value.

  Instead of passively accepting the Fed’s monetary cool-aid, proper assessments of bond risk can be expected to increasingly dominate valuations. Assuming the Fed continues to suppress interest rates, market pressures will lead to bond yield curves steepening and overcoming attempts at yield curve control. The interest cost to the Treasury will increase for all its new debt, except for very short-term borrowing. After snoozing through the period of zero interest rates, we are bound to awaken with some suddenness to the consequences of monetary debasement, which we have been collectively ignoring for too long.

  Therefore, when thinking about risk, the economics of inflation are likely to become central to our thoughts. And as bond yields adjust by rising, we will be increasingly aware of the debt trap faced by the US Government. A one per cent increase in interest costs it an extra $230bn. Will President Biden pay for this by cutting the overall budget at a time of economic downturn? Unlikely, on the evidence so far. And when we begin to think in terms of what the time-value on US Government debt should be, possibly two per cent above a rising, but heavily doctored, CPI, how will an increase of borrowing costs of perhaps three or four per cent or even more look on the government’s books?

  The UK faced a similar situation in the 1970s, when the IMF had to rescue government finances. Putting to one side the IMF’s mandated function which is to rescue emerging market economies from policy errors, there is no way the IMF or any other supranational organisation can intervene in US economic policy. In the absence of a supranational agency, the checks and balances which force the politicians to accept economic and monetary reality are entirely in the hands of the market —a situation which the establishment simply does not understand or recognise.

  An inflationary collapse is the oldest of stories

  The pressure to increase the rate of wealth-transfer from the productive private sector by dollar debasement will simply increase as bond yields rise. And the more wealth is transferred, the less there is left to transfer. This was the underlying reality faced in the Roman Empire, when the spendthrift Nero began the process by reducing the silver content of the denarius to pay his soldiers, having run out of funds. Among other costly acts, he set much of Rome on fire to rebuild it, through which legend has it he fiddled. This was perhaps a metaphor, because according to Suetonius, Nero was dedicated to the arts, sex, and debauchery, and may have been a pyromaniac as well. If Nero fiddled with anything, it was the currency. Some forty-three emperors following Nero continued the debasement process until the final monetary destruction under Diocletian over two centuries later.

  The current century’s-worth of spending-led monetary debasement includes the additional burden (that is additional to Roman profligacy) of promises to the public in defiance of President Cleveland’s maxim quoted under the heading of this article. Depending on the rate at which future financial liabilities are discounted, in addition to current liabilities these are anything between five- and ten-times current GDP for America, and probably considerably more proportionately for Japan and many EU member states. Not even heavily-doctored price inflation figures can suppress the debt trap in which governments are now visibly ensnared, which all precedence tells us will be met with accelerating monetary debasement.

  Since Herbert Hoover’s presidency, the US Government has been unconsciously rhyming the American economy with the Roman. Just as Rome’s emperors debased the coinage to pay for their profligacy and armies, so have America and her western allies debased their currencies to pay for welfare and military spending.

  Excessive military spending was a Roman theme: pay the soldiers or courtesy of the Praetorian Guard the emperor dies. A declining empire and increasing bureaucracy further strangled its finances. 225 years after Nero, Diocletian went on to issue an edict in stone, banning traders from raising prices any higher than in the edict. Trade ceased, and Rome and other cities emptied for lack of food and growing disorder. The table below translates a few items from Diocletian’s price edict into current values, using the gold price as the exchange medium between then and now.

  

  Other than beer and wine, price caps then were not too dissimilar from those of today and the cost of a jacket is almost the same as a modern blazer. While Biden is not Diocletian, perhaps these disparities indicate the levels towards which the US administration will be tempted to introduce price controls. And with respect to food, meat and dairy staples prices could reach Diocletian’s maximum prices this summer.

  But Joe Biden and his predecessors have overseen other methods of achieving the same result. For the last forty years, prices for goods and services have been officially controlled by doctoring the inflation figures, though the reality is prices have continued to rise. The government’s inflation-linked spending commitments have been curbed and the state’s beneficiaries cheated. That cannot go on for ever.

  Wage increases, which normally keep pace with rising prices, have been replaced by the simple expedient of encouraging the expansion of bank credit to fund personal consumption, along with discouragements to saving. Consequently, US Household debt now stands at $15.6 trillion funding personal consumption expenditures of $16.6 trillion. It amounts to modern smoke-and-mirrors deflecting attention from an underlying problem. But that is coming to an end, with labour shortages and a renaissance in union power.

  The comparison with Rome has a further, worrying similarity. Roman silver and gold coins were the principal money for the known world. The US dollar is the world’s reserve currency today, and nearly all the other 170-odd government fiat currencies are aligned with or refer to it. An accelerating dollar collapse will take most of them down, just as surely as the Roman currency collapse propelled the world into the Dark Ages.

  So far in this article, we have seen that the US economy has provided us with an example of a modern debt trap, that if not faced up to, will inevitably lead to an acceleration of monetary inflation and ultimately a collapse of purchasing power for the dollar.  Most other nations are in the same position, though the high levels of personal borrowing are more endemic to America and the UK than anywhere else. Consequently, when the final currency collapse happens, profligate Anglo-Saxons will suffer a slightly different fate from the citizens of nations who habitually save.

  The next phase of today’s monetary debasement

  The next major expense facing governments and their central banks is a future credit crisis, likely to tip the inflation story into hyper-drive. Possibly, it will be a modern Diocletian moment, the final act of debasement before the lights go out, and we (only metaphorically, one hopes) leave the cities to forage in the country. A credit crisis is always the culmination of a cycle of credit, endemic to economies destabilised by banking systems trying to stimulate consumption by the inflation of currency and credit.

  The time for the next credit crisis is rapidly approaching. We should be prepared for it to happen by the year-end. Crucially, inflation prospects will be set by the response of central banks. If they do not stand ready to bail out the commercial banks with monetary inflation, the global banking system will almost certainly collapse. Assuming central banks will attempt to prevent it, it will require the injection of enormous quantities of extra currency and central bank credit, potentially far larger than was required to bail out the global banking system in 2008/09. Not only that, but with their enormous holdings of interest-rate sensitive financial assets, central banks will themselves need to be recapitalised.

  The Lehman rescue was itself of historic proportions, but the looming crisis is far larger. The risk is that governments and their central banks won’t succeed next time without collapsing their unbacked currencies. Additionally, since the last credit crisis all G20 nations agreed to introduce bail-in procedures to replace bail-outs, creating rescue uncertainty. The false reasoning was that governments shouldered the cost of the Lehman crisis, when bondholders and large depositors should have borne it instead. Governments never shoulder the costs of a crisis because it is paid for by debauching the currency. But bail-ins may be logical for rescuing single banks, or the banking system of a small country, but is likely to complicate the difficulties in a broader systemic crisis, because bondholders and large deposit holders will cause anticipatory runs on the system to protect themselves.

  Large depositors have only two escapes, now the alternative of withdrawing cash notes in quantity is effectively closed. They can buy physical assets, at any price, to get rid of bank balances, or alternatively buy physical commodities. And top of the list of commodities must be gold, followed by silver, because they are widely accepted as the mediums of exchange everywhere.

  But when you sell a currency to buy an asset, you are simply passing the currency to a willing buyer. The prescient observer might expect that there will be no bid for the riskiest currencies on the foreign exchanges, and then possibly no bid for the dollar itself. In other words, what in the past has been a systemic crisis for the global banking system could rapidly become a systemic crisis for the currencies themselves.

  A currency crash is a growing risk

  The future might be forecastable, but its timing is not. We can only speculate how rapidly events might evolve. However, unlike the Roman experience, which took 225 years to destroy the denarius, its successors, and the empire itself, today’s wave of monetary destruction looks like terminating soon after only a century or so.

  Central banks are keenly aware of some systemic dangers, which is why they want to move us to a cashless society. With no cash, there cannot be an old-fashioned bank run. Their response to every successive credit crisis has been to restrict how businesses and people can protect themselves in the event of a systemic meltdown.

  But now, long after President Cleveland made the remark that heads this article, his successors’ attempts to curry electoral favour have led to escalating costs, now demonstrably out of control. The combination of a debt trap sprung on governments by higher interest rates, and the unsustainability of private sector debt threatens a financial and monetary crisis world-wide, from which any attempted rescue through money-printing is bound to fail.

  The rate at which inflation and the destruction of paper currencies accelerates from now will be determined by how swiftly the financially aware and the ordinary public wake up to the true scale of the monetary fraud governments have perpetrated. The consequences of currency and bank credit expansion have not yet been reflected in official price statistics, which have been hedonically manipulated to hide the evidence. An awakening to the reality, that fiat currencies have been badly abused by all governments, can be expected to have a suddenness about it.

  Reflecting a loss of purchasing power, prices could begin to move rapidly higher. If the effects of Roman inflation over more than two centuries progressed with the lumbering speed of a laden oxcart, today it could suddenly accelerate like a post-Roman Ferrari.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 15:30

• "We Are Going To Shoot You Graveyard Dead": Florida Sheriff Warns Potential School Shooters
  “We Are Going To Shoot You Graveyard Dead”: Florida Sheriff Warns Potential School Shooters

  In the aftermath of the elementary school mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, a Central Florida sheriff made it very clear that if a shooter were even to attempt to attack a school in his county, armed personnel at the school would put a bullet through their head. 

  On Friday, Sheriff Grady Judd in Polk County told reporters: “If you come to a school in this county, armed, we’re going to do our best through either our guardians, our school resource officers, or our school resource deputy sheriffs to eliminate the threat outside of the school before they ever get to the children. We’re trained to do that.”

  

  “This is the last thing you’ll see before we put a bullet through your head if you’re trying to hurt our children,” Judd said while holding a picture of two heavily armed officers equipped with AR-15-style rifles. 

  

  “We are going to shoot you graveyard dead if you come onto a campus, with a gun, threatening our children or shooting at us,” he warned. 

  Judd’s comments come days after the Robb Elementary School mass shooting that left 19 children and two adults dead. The sheriff said good guys with guns would end the terror even before it started. 

  Sheriff Judd mixes no words (Polk County vernacular) when it comes to letting you know how he feels about keeping kids safe. We’re praying for Uvalde. Have a safe and happy summer everyone. #PrayersForUvalde #UnitedWithUvalde pic.twitter.com/E7swt5oT55

  — Polk County Sheriff 🚔 Grady Judd (@PolkCoSheriff) May 27, 2022

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  Ryan Petty, a Florida father whose daughter died in the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting, joined Judd on stage. Petty has become an activist for school safety and advocates for armed teachers on school grounds. 

  “Since the year 2000, there has yet to be a single case of someone being wounded or killed from a shooting, let alone a mass public shooting, between 6:00 AM and midnight at a school that lets teachers carry guns,” Petty tweeted

  Since the year 2000, there has yet to be a single case of someone being wounded or killed from a shooting, let alone a mass public shooting, between 6:00 AM and midnight at a school that lets teachers carry guns. 2/ https://t.co/fivocF5EQD

  — Ryan Petty (@rpetty) May 27, 2022

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  “In Florida, we have the Coach Aaron Feis Guardian program with rigorous training requirements,” he explained, adding: “I’ve been through the training. It was tough and Guardians are required to pass marksmanship training with a higher proficiency score than law enforcement.”

  Polk County is not alone. Schools in Connecticut, Michigan, and New York have increased police presence since the tragedy in Uvalde. 

  It’s becoming clear that the presence of good guys with guns at schools to protect children is a necessity in this day in age. This idea is nothing new. School resource officers have been embedded at some schools across the country for more than two decades. 

  There should not even be a debate to harden schools across the country because of the threat of copycats. 

  Rarely does the mainstream media cover good guys or even good girls with concealed carry licenses preventing mass shootings. That’s exactly what happened last week when one law-abiding woman saved the lives of dozens of people by immediately eliminating the threat, not waiting for police, of a crazed man who attempted to shoot up a graduation party.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 15:00

• These Public Oil Companies Are Joining Forces With Bitcoin-Miners To Reshape The Industry
  These Public Oil Companies Are Joining Forces With Bitcoin-Miners To Reshape The Industry

  Authored by Zack Voell via BitcoinMagazine.com,

  As more major oil and gas operations partner with bitcoin miners, it’s clear that this magic internet money is transforming energy…

  

  One of the world’s largest industries – oil and gas – is converging with magic internet money infrastructure, but bitcoin’s prolonged market selloff has taken some of the shine off of these monumental partnerships. Some cryptocurrency traders are even facetiously asking if energy will be a new bullish narrative for Bitcoin, bringing wind to fill its metaphorical sails as the leading cryptocurrency sits over 50% below its record price highs from late 2021.

  Jokes aside, the “energy narrative” for bitcoin mining is real and gaining momentum as a growing list of mining companies and energy producers join forces. Assessing the short-term price implications of these partnerships are well outside the scope of this article, but the long-term benefits for bitcoin mining as an industry and the broader bitcoin economy are enormous.

  This article overviews the partnerships that are leading the merge between bitcoin mining and oil companies, and it offers some summary analysis into the specifics of why these corporate unions matter.

  NORTH AMERICAN MINING PARTNERSHIPS

  In the news media and general discourse, the focus on partnerships between miners and oil companies has primarily centered on North America. Most of this attention is being paid here for good reason as several of the biggest names in the oil industry are working with North American miners.

  In 2021, ExxonMobil reported annual revenue of more than $285 billion with global daily production during the same period reaching more than two million barrels per day of oil and gas. This titan of the oil industry is also reportedly working with a bitcoin mining company in North Dakota to turn otherwise wasted gas into energy for mining operations. This news spread like wildfire through the Bitcoin community when it was first published, but some off-grid mining teams already knew of Exxon’s relationships with miners. In August 2021, for example, Giga Energy co-founder Matt Lohstroh said Exxon was already selling some gas to miners.

  But as the premise of this article suggests, Exxon is far from the only oil company dealing with miners.

  ConocoPhillips is also supplying gas to bitcoin miners, which has been widely reported by various mainstream media outlets, including CNBC and Bloomberg.

  Marathon Oil, a multi-billion-dollar oil company based in Houston, also powers co-located bitcoin mining operations with its gas. On its website’s page about emissions control, Marathon indicates it uses gas “that would otherwise be flared due to lack of a gas connection or gas takeaway capacity constraints [to] generate electricity to power co-located computing and data centers used for Bitcoin mining.”

  EOG Resources, another American oil company, is also rumored to be dealing with miners by members of the industry, although official deals have not yet been reported.

  And Texas Pacific Land recently signed a deal with two mining companies, Mawson and JAI Energy, to begin what JAI Energy co-founder Ryan Leachman called “the biggest bitcoin related announcement in oil and gas to date.”

  INTERNATIONAL MINING PARTNERSHIPS

  American companies aren’t the only ones making headlines for their bitcoin-and-oil deals though.

  A subsidiary of the Russian oil giant Gazprom has been planning and building its own bitcoin mining venture on its oil drilling sites since late 2020.

  Below the equator, oil wells in remote areas of Australia are being used by Canadian gas company Bengal Energy to power bitcoin mining machines. According to a report from The Australian, Bengal CEO Kai Eberspaecher said his team is “dealing with stranded assets,” adding that, “We were basically looking at six months of having wells ready but without an outlet.”

  That sounds like a perfect fit for some off-grid hashing.

  WHY THESE PARTNERSHIPS MATTER

  Bitcoin mining as an industry gains mainstream legitimacy as more traditional energy companies start to work with bitcoin miners. Even though the total magnitude of ongoing partnerships is small relative to the entire mining industry, let alone the global energy market, the significance of these first few deals cannot be understated.

  Exxon and others are sprinkling legitimacy on a historically maligned, misunderstood and shadowed industry. These are some of the biggest names in oil and gas production working with companies who manage computing power for a barely-decade-and-a-half-old magic internet money industry. Even four years ago, the idea of all of these names inking contracts with mining companies would be nearly unbelievable. Other metaphorical dominos will inevitably fall soon.

  Related to its legitimacy is the effect that these partnerships have on bitcoin mining taking a place as energy infrastructure on or off the electric grid. Speaking to the audience at Bitcoin 2022, Paul Prager, CEO of the public mining company TeraWulf, said, “Bitcoin mining is energy infrastructure. That’s what it is.”

  That notion is hard to ignore as corporate energy titans sign deals with bitcoin miners. Of course, these mining partnerships occupy a very small share of Bitcoin’s total hash rate, but that share is sure to grow in the coming years.

  WHERE EVERY MAJOR OIL PRODUCER IS A BITCOIN MINER

  A future where every major oil producer is also a bitcoin miner — or at least operates a bitcoin mining arm — is very easy to imagine and could become reality soon. Particularly for the oil and gas industry, bitcoin miners continue to make inroads with more reported deals between these two industries. The milestones that these partnerships represent would be nearly unimaginable three to five years ago.

  Even though bitcoin’s price is well off its record highs, the future for the infrastructure undergirding the Bitcoin network is brighter than ever. The union between oil producers and bitcoin miners is just beginning.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/29/2022 – 14:30

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• Red Flag Laws And Unintended Consequences
  Red Flag Laws And Unintended Consequences

  Commentary by Nikki Goeser & Thomas Massie via RealClear Politics,

  The senseless murder of 19 children and two teachers at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas is leading to calls for more gun control. To some, “red flag” laws, also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders, seem like the obvious solution. These laws allow judges to seize a person’s guns without a trial, based solely on a written complaint that the person might be a danger to themselves or others. All a judge needs is “reasonable suspicion.”

  “We know that we can show we can be united to protect our children,” said Sen. Joe Manchin, a famously moderate West Virginia Democrat.

  

  We also care about children, but much better laws are already in place. We are concerned that red flag laws will cause more harm than good.

  Democratic politicians’ support for red flag is almost universal, but the Washington Times reports that some Republican senators are now warming up to such legislation. “For people who threatened harm to themselves or somebody else, you could only go through law enforcement, and you had to go through the courts, and it wasn’t permanent,” explained Republican Sen. Rick Scott, who signed a red flag bill while governor of Florida. 

  It has always been possible to take a dangerous person’s guns away. All 50 states and the federal government have involuntary commitment laws that go by various names: the Baker Act in Florida, for example, or the 5150 code in California. They all require a mental health expert to testify before a judge, but hearings can occur quickly in urgent cases. If those facing a hearing can’t afford a lawyer, the judge provides them with one. Judges have a lot of flexibility when ruling. For instance, if the person on trial does not agree to voluntary psychiatric treatment, they may be committed involuntarily or have their guns confiscated.

  But red flag laws remove all these due process protections. Based only on a written complaint, which could come from a relative, friend, neighbor, or police officer, a judge decides whether to take away a person’s guns. There is no ability to challenge claims or to offer testimony from a mental health care expert. Gun control advocates argue that the person should not even know that the judge may be deciding to take his or her guns. When a hearing finally takes place up to a month later, if the person in question cannot afford an attorney, they will not be provided with one. 

  When faced with the costs for a hearing, which may be up to $10,000, few people find that fighting red flag laws to keep their guns makes sense. Few defendants obtain legal representation, but the courts still overturn a third of the initial orders. The actual error rate is undoubtedly much higher, because many of those wrongly prosecuted don’t have a lawyer.

  People who truly pose a clear danger to themselves or others should be confined to a mental health facility or be required to seek treatment. Laws used to confiscate guns are typically enforced when dealing with suicidal people. However, if someone is suicidal, there are many other ways they may choose to kill themselves. Simply taking away a gun isn’t the answer. 

  A person intent on violence may not even need a gun to inflict mass carnage. Are we going to also take away their cars? Gun control advocates find it much easier to conjure up  new laws without protections than to fine-tune laws already on the books. They find that times of national grieving present an opportunity to push new measures through Congress.

  We worry that red flag laws could actually increase instances of suicide. One of us, Nikki Goeser, watched as a stalker murdered her husband in front of her. As anyone would understand, that loss left her devastated. Despite her grief, however, she was not suicidal. But a well-meaning friend or relative might have raised a complaint, worrying that she was depressed and had a gun. With a stalker having just murdered her husband, taking away her ability to protect herself from stalkers would have left her feeling even more vulnerable.

  Under Baker Act statutes, she would have had a chance to explain her concerns to the mental health care experts. If that didn’t work, she would have still had a hearing with a lawyer and been given the opportunity to explain her situation to the judge. 

  Simply talking to other people about your depression can be important in overcoming it. But with red flag laws in place, people may have been reluctant to discuss their mental state with others. Police officers also often experience work-related depression. They may bottle up their feelings for fear of losing their guns, and thus their jobs. 

  We don’t want a world where police make unannounced predawn raids or people lose their fundamental right to self-defense without a judicial hearing. For some, it’s a matter of life and death.

  *  *  *

  Nikki Goeser is the executive director for the Crime Prevention Research Center.

  Thomas Massie is a Republican member of the House who has represented Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District since 2012 and is co-chairman of the Second Amendment Caucus.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 23:30

• Army Replenishing Stinger Missiles In $687M Deal As Raytheon's Ukraine Cash Bonanza Continues
  Army Replenishing Stinger Missiles In $687M Deal As Raytheon’s Ukraine Cash Bonanza Continues

  Precisely one month ago we highlighted that amid the frenzy to handover Pentagon weapons to Ukraine’s forces ostensibly in order to stave off the Russian onslaught, Raytheon Technologies Corporation warned of depleting supplies and thus near-term future production delays for some vital weapons systems, notably the Army’s famed Stinger should-fired missile system.

  Robert Spingarn from Melius Research asked Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes at the time: “Will the Army replace the current 1,400 stingers that were sent to Ukraine?” Hayes replied Raytheon is “currently producing stingers for an international customer, but we have a very limited stock of material for stinger production.” 

  Like with everything related to the ease with which Congress and the administration shovels taxpayer money overseas, the Pentagon has apparently come up with a solution… in the form of more, more, more taxpayer money. “The U.S. Army has signed a deal to buy $687 million worth of anti-air Stinger missiles to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine, sources said on Friday,” Reuters reports.

  

  The Stingers are in “hot demand” we are told: “The shoulder-fired anti-aircraft Stinger missiles made by Raytheon Technologies were in hot demand in Ukraine, where they have successfully stopped Russian assaults from the air, and in neighboring European countries who fear they may also need to beat back Russian forces,” writes Reuters further.

  Again, late last month it was one of the DoD’s biggest contractors that “alerted” the Pentagon that it needs to do some urgent replentishing.

  Raytheon’s Hayes had described that “DoD hasn’t bought a stinger in about 18 years. And some of the components are no longer commercially available, and so we’re going to have to go out and redesign some of the electronics in the missile of the seeker head.”

  Hayes said it’s “going to take us a little bit of time” to ramp up production and doesn’t expect DoD to place large replenishment orders for stingers until 2023 or 2024. 

  Within the opening three months of Russia’s invasion, the US has sent at least than1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. With stingers in limited production, this could be problematic for the West if the conflict in Ukraine broadens. 

  During his visit to Lockheed Martin’s Troy, Alabama plant, Joe Biden pushed for approval of his proposed $33 billion military aid package to Ukraine by claiming Ukrainians were naming their children “Javelin” and “Javelina” after the anti-tank missile the plant manufactured. pic.twitter.com/zNPiKRjSrw

  — Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) May 4, 2022

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  The Army recently sent out a request for a next-generation infrared homing surface-to-air missile with plans to award a contract in the 2Q23, though the new missiles won’t be fielded until 2028.  

  The Russians have meanwhile warned that any foreign weapons system that targets Russian assets in Ukraine will mark a severe escalation, for which Moscow will hold the foreign country sending the weapons responsible.

  Meanwhile, where it’s all headed… military-industrial complex stays mega-rich, while American people see their savings plummet and devalued:

  By the time the war is over, Lockheed Martin will be worth $1 quadrillion. https://t.co/Lkw68nQgVh

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 19, 2022

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  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 23:00

• Victor Davis Hanson: A Cabinency Of Dunces
  Victor Davis Hanson: A Cabinency Of Dunces

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson,

  As the nation sinks inexplicably into self-created crisis after crisis, debate rages whether President Joe Biden is incompetent, mean-spirited, or an ideologue who feels the country’s mess is his success…

  

  A second national discussion revolves around who actually is overseeing the current national catastrophe, given Biden’s frequent bewilderment and cognitive challenges.

  But one area of agreement is the sheer craziness of Biden’s cabinet appointments, who have translated his incoherent ideology into catastrophic governance.

  Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has essentially nullified federal immigration law. Over 2 million foreign nationals have illegally crossed the southern border without audit — and without COVID vaccinations and tests during a pandemic.

  Mayorkas either cannot or will not follow federal law.

  But he did create a new Disinformation Governance Board. To head his new Orwellian Ministry of Truth, he appointed Nina Jankowicz — an arch disinformationist who helped peddle the Russian collusion, Steele dossier, and Alfa Bank hoaxes.

  While Jankowicz’s adolescent videos and past tweets finally forced her resignation, Mayorkas promises his board will carry on.

  In the days before the recent Virginia election, grassroots parent groups challenged critical race theory taught in the schools.

  In reaction and under prompts from teachers’ unions, Attorney General Merrick Garland directed both the FBI and the Justice Department to establish a special task force apparently to “investigate threats” from parents against school board members.

  The FBI recently has been knee-deep in political controversies. It illegally doctored a FISA application to entrap an American citizen. Its former directors, under oath before Congress, either claimed faulty memory or admitted lying to federal investigators.

  The last thing a scandal-plagued FBI needed was to go undercover at school board meetings to investigate parents worried over their children’s education.

  We are in a fuel price spiral that is destroying the middle class.

  Yet when Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was asked about plans to lower gas prices, she laughed off the idea as “hilarious.”

  Later Granholm preposterously claimed, “It is not the administration policies that have affected supply and demand.”

  Apparently haranguing those who finance fossil fuel production, canceling the Keystone Pipeline, suspending new federal oil and gas leases, and stopping production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge all had nothing to do with high fuel prices.

  Currently, supply chain disruptions are paralyzing the U.S. economy.

  The huge Port of Los Angeles has been a mess for over a year. Since last fall dozens of cargo ships have been backed up to the horizon. Thousands of trucks are bottlenecked at the port.

  During the mess, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was not at work. Instead at the height of the crisis, he took a two-month paternity leave to help out his husband and two newborn babies.

  Such paternal concern is a noble thing. But Buttigieg is supposed to ensure that life-or-death supplies reach millions of strapped Americans.

  This winter, trains entering and leaving Los Angeles were routinely looted in the Old-West style of train robbing — without much of a response from Buttigieg’s transportation bureau.

  In Senate testimony Secretary of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland refused to explain why her department is slow walking federal oil and gas leases at a time when Americans are paying between $5 and $6 a gallon for gas.

  Haaland was unable to provide simple answers about when new leases will result in more supplies of oil and gas. Her panicked aides slid talking points to her — given that in deer-in-the-headlights fashion, she seemed incapable of providing senators with basic information about U.S. energy production on federal lands.

  The United States is sending many billions of dollars worth of sophisticated weapons to Ukraine to combat Russian aggression. We rightly claim it is not a proxy war against Russia but instead an effort to help stop a brutal Russian invasion.

  Why then did Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tell the world the very opposite in a fashion that could only convince Russians that our real aim in Ukraine is to destroy Russia as a superpower?

  As Austin put it publicly, “We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.”

  Even if that description of the agenda is true, why broadcast it — given Russia has over 6,000 nuclear weapons and its President Vladimir Putin is increasingly erratic and paranoid?

  The common denominator to these Biden appointees is ideological rigidity, nonchalance, and sheer incompetence.

  They seem indifferent to the current border, inflation, energy, and crime disasters. When confronted, they are unable to answer simple questions from Congress, or they mock anyone asking for answers on behalf of the strapped American people.

  We don’t know why or how such an unimpressive cadre ended up running the government, only that they are here and the American people are suffering from their presence.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 22:30

• Geologists To Crack Open 830-Million-Year-Old Crystal With Potential Life Inside
  Geologists To Crack Open 830-Million-Year-Old Crystal With Potential Life Inside

  Geologists plan to crack open an 830-million-year-old crystal that may have ancient living microorganisms inside. 

  Scientist from the Geological Society of America first published their findings on the rock salt crystal in the journal Geology earlier this month. They say organic solids are floating inside the rock salt, also known as halite, and the organic matter appears to be cells of prokaryotes and algae.

  “This discovery shows that microorganisms from saline depositional environments can remain well preserved in halite for hundreds of millions of years and can be detected in situ with optical methods alone. This study has implications for the search for life in both terrestrial and extraterrestrial chemical sedimentary rocks, “the study read.

  

  Kathy Benison, a geologist from West Virginia University, told NPR her team is about to open the crystal to confirm whether the organic objects are still alive. 

  “There are little cubes of the original liquid from which that salt grew. And the surprise for us is that we also saw shapes that are consistent with what we would expect from microorganisms. And they could be still surviving within that 830-million-year-old preserved microhabitat,” Benison said. 

  

  She said there’s “a lot of detailed work going on for years to figure out how” to bring microorganisms that are hundreds of millions of years old back into the modern world “in the safest possible way.” 

  Bonnie Baxter, a biologist at Westminster College in Salt Lake City who didn’t participate in the study, said Benison’s team could find evidence of alien life from nearly one billion years ago. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 22:00

• Texas Moms Demand Revision Of Textbook That Encourages Withholding Info From Parents
  Texas Moms Demand Revision Of Textbook That Encourages Withholding Info From Parents

  Authord by Juliette Fairley via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A parental rights watchdog is calling on the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) to redact an online curriculum that it believes encourages withholding information from parents about their child’s mental and physical health.

  

  In an email sent to a board member about language included in textbook publisher Goodheart-Willcox’s instructional material, Moms for Liberty alleges that it undermines a parent’s ability to access health information about their child.

  The Epoch Times reviewed a copy of the email and the portion of the textbook in question.

  “Goodheart now does not comply with the law,” wrote Mary Lowe, chair of the Tarrant County Moms for Liberty chapter, on May 18 to Pat Hardy, a Republican who has served on the board for some 20 years.

  Lowe included in her email an excerpt from Goodheart-Willcox’s Health Instructional Material for High School, which allegedly states, “People who provide mental health treatment are required by professional ethics to maintain confidentiality. This means the info you share will not be shared with anyone else, including your family members, school, or even a doctor.

  “This confidentiality helps people feel comfortable sharing private information with a mental health professional. Confidentiality can only be broken if people express intent to harm themself or others, or report abuse or neglect that is currently occurring.”

  Goodheart-Willcox did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

  “It’s divisive of a family and it does not allow the family to parent their child,” Lowe told The Epoch Times.

  “There are a multitude of things they could be concealing. Certainly, sexual identity grooming can be going on, but even religious and cult grooming can be happening in these conversations.

  “There are numerous other accounts across Texas where school counselors have taken girls for abortion and not let the parents know.”

  The board included Goodheart-Willcox’s instructional material on its list of recommended textbooks last year and Hardy said in an email that, once approved, publishers cannot change anything on adopted materials without going through the state board.

  However, the board does not have the authority to require Goodheart-Willcox to update its instructional materials, according to Audrey Young, a Republican SBOE member who is vice-chair of the Committee on Instruction.

  “Just because the State Board of Education recommends a book doesn’t mean it has to be the one the school districts adopt,” Young told The Epoch Times.

  “It’s the responsibility of the Student Health Advisory Committees (SHAC) in each school district. That’s who should be making decisions about curriculum and instructional materials.”

  SHAC members are typically parents who work in tandem with the Texas Department of State Health Services to review and oversee the health of students.

  “I can, as a member of the SBOE, request that my chair ask Goodheart-Willcox to further explain what that language means in their publication,” Young added.

  The stakes are high, according to Lee Spiller, executive director of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights Texas, who said not arming parents with information about their child can be dangerous.

  “There are good reasons why parents should be involved,” he said. “We have had to deal with cases where children underwent screenings or other things at school and then there were really bad outcomes like being institutionalized.”

  The controversy over Goodheart-Willcox’s instruction materials has emerged at a time when Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a letter stating that parents have the right to access all educational information about their children, under state and federal law, which includes medical and health information.

  “Title IX does not authorize a school district to withhold medical or health information about a minor child from the child’s parent or legal guardian,” Paxton stated in a May 17 opinion.

  “Parents possess a fundamental right to make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their child, and school districts and officials must work with parents in furtherance of the child’s education.”

  Paxton issued the guidance after state Rep. Briscoe Cain (R) requested it on May 5.

  “This ruling clearly created a problem with the Goodheart-Willcox high school textbook in that the textbook says mental health professionals can keep secrets from parents,” Lowe added.

  “We really appreciate Briscoe Cain writing in for the opinion and are glad AG Paxton has corrected some of the false and illegal ideas many of the government schools have been operating under.”

  The Texas Health and Safety Code, however, allows for confidentiality, according to Jonathan Covey, director of policy with Texas Values.

  “One of the limitations is that a professional can determine whether releasing information would be harmful to a patient’s physical, mental, or emotional health and there were even some Texas cases that concluded that a parents’ right to mental health records is restricted in rare circumstances,” he said.

  “The SBOE doesn’t have the authority to amend the Texas Health and Safety Code, but the Texas Legislature does.”

  Neither Cain nor Paxton responded to requests for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 21:30

• America's Other Shortage Crisis – Human Organs
  America’s Other Shortage Crisis – Human Organs

  A total of 106,090 people were on the waiting list for potentially life saving organ transplants in 2021, according to data from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

  As Statista’s Anna Fleck details below, kidney transplants took up the lion’s share of these, with 90,483 people awaiting treatment.

  The data reveals the extent of the organ shortage crisis in America right now.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  According to the HRSA, 17 people die each day waiting for an organ transplant, and another person is added to the waiting list every nine minutes. While 90 percent of adults support the idea of organ donation, according to an HRSA report, only 60 percent are actually registered as donors.

  The pandemic has exacerbated the shortage crisis in the U.S., with Penn Medical News reporting that the number of recovered organs dropped from more than 110 a day on March 6 in the U.S. to less than 60 per day on April 5. Peter Reese, an associate professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Penn, tells the news site: “Organs from deceased donors represent a time-limited opportunity, as they must be procured and used rapidly. However, in order to protect the safety of their patients, centers must now carefully vet all donors to ensure there is minimal risk of COVID-19.”

  However, despite the ‘shortage crisis’ in America, it is second only to Spain in the world for organ donation rates.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  The Swiss have voted in favor of a new law which would promote an ‘opt-out’ transplant system. Or, in other words, when someone dies, the default will be to donate their organs where possible, unless the person had specifically said otherwise. Relatives can also reject the process if they say the deceased person would not have wanted it. The case raises the question once more of whether countries should enforce an opt-in or an opt-out system, and draws attention to the ongoing organ shortage of past years.

  Data from the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Health Care (EDQM) shows that Spain and the U.S. came out joint top for the highest rates of organ donors in 2020, with 38 deceased donors per million population. In Spain, this high rate is mostly put down to its opt-out system.

  The U.S., however, is perhaps more surprising as it has an opt-in system. In its case, the barrier for registration is relatively low, as in most states, you can register to be a donor when applying for or renewing a driver’s license. This leads onto the grim reality that the biggest source of organ donations are people who have been in fatal vehicle accidents. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, these account for 33 percent of donations. As NPR reports, with fewer people on the roads through the pandemic, that meant fewer transplants.

  Despite the fact that Russia has an opt-out system which presumes consent, its numbers of organ transplants are relatively low.

  According to the Russian Journal of Transplantology and Artificial Organs, this is put down to “human causes” and “poor organization.”

  Meanwhile Turkey has a higher level of organ transplants from living donors, but is at the lower end of the organ transplant gap from the deceased, with only 2 people per million, respectively.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 21:00

• California Poised To Adopt 'Medical Misinformation Bill' Targeting Alternative COVID-19 Protocols
  California Poised To Adopt ‘Medical Misinformation Bill’ Targeting Alternative COVID-19 Protocols

  Authored by Patricia Tolson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The California Legislature is poised to pass Assembly Bill 2098, described as a “medical misinformation bill.” If passed, the new law would prohibit doctors from freely providing medical advice and treating their patients if those practices run counter to the official state sanctioned position.

  

  In April 2020, the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs, the California State Board of Pharmacy, and the Medical Board of California issued a statement (pdf) regarding the “improper prescribing of medications related to treatment of Novel Coronavirus,” such as hydroxychloroquine, warning that “inappropriately prescribing or dispensing medications constitutes unprofessional conduct in California.”

  On June 29, 2021, the Federation of State Medical Boards issued a warning, stating that “Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license.”

  In August 2021, Dr. Anthony Fauci said there was no evidence that ivermectin works, and that it’s more likely to cause harm. In December 2021, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning headlined, “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19.” In an updated April 29, 2022, report, the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel said it “recommends against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19, except in clinical trials.”

  Should AB 2098 become law, doctors who prescribe medications not approved by the state or who claim unsanctioned drugs are effective would see their licenses revoked and face strict penalties and disciplinary actions by the Medical Board of California.

  In short, AB 2098 would designate the dissemination of information not approved by the state related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes “COVID-19,” as misinformation or disinformation, which constitutes unprofessional conduct.

  One physician, Dr. Syed Haider, has already been reported to four state medical boards by pharmacists he says “don’t like filling ivermectin prescriptions.” He has also been forced to retain a lawyer to protect his medical license.

  

  Since December 2020—after realizing that the United States had offshored almost all prescription drug manufacturing to unfriendly nations like China—Haider has focused on the prevention and treatment of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus through his online initiative mygotodoc.com, by providing easy online access to off-label prescriptions such as ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, budesonide, and protocols for COVID, long COVID, and vaccine injuries.

  “There was such a huge demand for it, it just took over my life,” Haider, who used to be “a hospital doctor,” told The Epoch Times. “Then, the pandemic hit.”

  In early February 2020, Haider contracted the CCP virus at a hospital that he was working in. His work as a temporary traveling physician across many different medical practices and hospitals was coming to an end and he thought that, with the pandemic outbreak, there would be plenty of work. However, although he had applied for a position at a hospital in New York, Haider had begun to hear about online prescribing, and he started to work through an unnamed online telemedicine provider in the United States.

  “Once I heard about ivermectin and off-label prescribing, people would show up on the online website looking for help with COVID and I would try to tell them about off-label medications,” Haider recalled. “And they would just give me a blank stare. Aside from hydroxychloroquine, they had never heard about drugs like ivermectin. They thought I was crazy. I think the thought was, ‘If this stuff works, why haven’t I heard about it on CNN, Fox News, or MSNBC?”

  According to Haider, what really changed things for him was when he saw the Dec. 8, 2020, testimony of Dr. Pierre Kory (pdf) before Sen. Ron Johnson and the Homeland Security Committee Meeting regarding early treatment of COVID-19, “not only as an individual physician,” but also on behalf of his non-profit organization, the Front-Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance.

  “Although we, like many, are extremely encouraged by the apparent successes in developing effective vaccines,” Kory said, “we also are dismayed at the near complete absence of guidance and research on effective early, at-home, or preventative treatment options apart from vaccines—a reality we find unconscionable.”

  It was “with great pride as well as significant optimism” that Kory reported that his group, “led by Professor Paul E. Marik,” had “developed a highly effective protocol for preventing and early treatment of COVID-19,” and that “emerging publications” had provided “conclusive data on the profound efficacy of the anti-parasite, anti-viral drug, anti-inflammatory agent called ivermectin in all stages of the disease.”

  “It was real clear in his face and in his demeanor that he was really upset and very sincere and it went viral on the internet,” Haider recalled. “Then, people started hearing from family and friends that they had used ivermectin and it made a difference for them, and people went online to find doctors who would prescribe it. At that point, things got very busy and I had to basically start my own website and prescribing it online to patients. Over the next year and a half, things really ramped up. More and more people had begun hearing about ivermectin, so more and more people were looking for it.”

  According to the website, “mygotodoc makes it easy to safeguard you and your family, serving three important needs the wider medical community tends to ignore: (1) emergency antibiotics to have on hand in case disaster strikes and prescription drugs are unavailable, (2) 1-month backup supplies of your regular medication, and (3) safe off-label COVID protocols designed for prevention and treatment.”

  “Myself and other doctors from all over the world have had incredible results with off-label protocols including ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, budesonide, and a number of other protocols,” Haider explained. “What you hear over and over again is about the successful treatment of 5,000, 7,000, or 10,000 patients and maybe one death. They are shocking numbers compared to what you’re hearing with conventional treatments the CDC or FDA are recommending and what hospitals and other doctors are doing that are not using off-label protocols.”

  Personally, Haider has treated over 50,000 COVID-related patients, many of them elderly. He said that among his patients, there have been zero deaths and only five hospitalizations. Despite his success, under California’s proposed Bill AB 2098, doctor’s using similar methods would have the state interfere and persecute them for providing independent care.

  “Like a lot of other doctors around the world, I’ve just been trying to raise awareness of this,” Haider explained. “But, like a lot of doctors in America, I’ve gotten letters from the American Medical Association, the Federal State Medical Board warning me that my license is at risk if I speak out about vaccines or if I spread misinformation or if I prescribe ivermectin. I’ve had pushback from pharmacists, insurance companies, from medical boards in multiple states, that have sent me complaints and asked me to explain why I am conducting experimental trials on patients and why I am prescribing ivermectin.”

  Prior to all of this, Haider had worked for over 10 years as a trained hospital physician in internal medicine and had “never had a single complaint from anyone on anything.”

  “So, it was a very strange experience over the past couple of years to see what has happened to medical providers, including pharmacists,” Haider explained. “Pharmacists were pushing back at us because they were getting letters from their pharmacist boards warning them not to dispense it. ”

  According to Haider, dissenting voices have been muzzled and censored from the very onset of the pandemic and they are now being threatened with the loss of their medical licenses. Because of this, Haider has had to retain an attorney.

  “It’s very stressful to have to reply to a medical board,” he explained, adding that it’s a “very opaque process.”

  “You don’t know who is going to see it or review it. You don’t know whether or not they’re friendly to what you are doing or if they disagree with what you are doing, and it’s not like a court of law where you can bring in witnesses in your defense. They just make a decision and sometimes they don’t even explain to you the reason behind it.”

  Worse than that, Haider said his experience felt like they were trying to get doctors like himself to “get tripped up and to say the wrong things” and to incriminate themselves.

  “One of the medical boards accused me of conducting medical experimental trials,” he said. “It’s not like they don’t know I’m prescribing off-label. We do off-label prescribing all the time in medicine. About 40 percent of prescribing is off-label and it doesn’t fall under the classification of ‘experiment.’ It’s not an unauthorized experimental medical trial. But they use that wording to try to get me to defend myself against that attack. If I had foolishly replied to them and tried to defend myself against their terminology, I would have incriminated myself because I can’t run an experiment without having a review board, authorization, and specific consent forms for experimental drug trials.”

  Haider reflected on how during the current shift to vilify ivermectin that “everyone seems to forget that, during the past six months, they had the same problems with prescribing hydroxychloroquine.”

  “I can send a hydroxychloroquine prescription to any pharmacist and they’ll fill it without question,” he said. “But now, they won’t fill ivermectin. It almost seems political rather than medical. It’s not scientific. There’s something else going on and it’s very strange. We can now prescribe things through pharmacies they used to vilify. But because our entire medical establishment has now decided that ivermectin must be killed, pharmacists now have a problem with ivermectin.”

  According to Haider, the purpose of what he described as the “medical misinformation bill” in front of the California Legislature is to prevent doctors from saying things that the state deems to be disinformation. “That,” he said, “begs the question of who decides what is the truth?”

  

  “In any scientific field or endeavor, there is no absolute truth,” he explained, asserting that “Dr. Fauci is not science, like he claims to be.”

  “He does not have the last word on what scientific truth is. We’re always getting closer to the truth, but we have never arrived at a final truth in medicine. So, there always has to be room for debate. Doctors have to be able to take multiple different sides of an argument. So physicians have to be able to hash things out among themselves and to prescribe off-label. You can’t single out one disease and say, ‘This is off limits for the way we’ve conducted medicine for the past 100 years.’ Patients should be able to consult with their physician, discuss treatments and risks, and make decisions without the interference of the government.

  “In nearly every hospital and clinic in the United States right now, it’s considered to be some form of misinformation or disinformation to say anything other than the vaccines are safe and effective,” Haider noted. “To say there are any risks associated with the vaccines is claimed to be misinformation or disinformation, and the working definition of misinformation or disinformation seems to be anything that would prevent someone from submitting to or doubting the FDA and CDC guidelines and recommendations.”

  This bill would affect any doctor licensed in California, including Haider.

  If AB 2098 becomes law, any doctor who prescribes ivermectin—even at the request of their patient—can lose their license to practice medicine in California.

  “Once you lose your license in one state and you have licenses to practice in other states, you have to report that you lost your license in California to every other state you are licensed in, and then every medical board will start asking questions like, ‘Why did you lose your license in California.’ Once the snowball starts rolling, depending on what the medical board thinks about the reasoning behind the loss of your license in California, you can lose all of your licenses.”

  In the wake of the pandemic, Haider noted how the country has been further compromised by unprecedented delays in supply lines. We no longer have domestic manufacturing of almost any medications, including and especially antibiotics. In fact, China has captured over 97 percent of the U.S. market for antibiotics. In the setting of runaway inflation, food shortages, and soaring gas prices, it’s easy to imagine an America where pharmacy shelves are bare, or with limited stock and huge price increases.

  If AB 2098 becomes law, the precedent that would be set is California gets to become the proving grounds for new legislation, not just in medicine, but in everything, Haider said.

  “Once you make this inroad in violation of physician autonomy on how to treat COVID for their patients, that could just be the beginning,” Haider warned. “What about after that? Do you go after a doctor’s ability to prescribe off-label for anything? Do we have to be restricted to what has been FDA approved for any indication? What happens when we don’t have an on-label drug for the treatment of an indication? What then? How do we treat our patients then?”

  The Epoch Times has reached out to California Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Cupertino), sponsor of the Assembly version of the bill, as well as the Medical Board of California.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 20:30

• 'Privacy' Search Engine DuckDuckGo Smoked Over Hidden Tracking Agreement With Microsoft
  ‘Privacy’ Search Engine DuckDuckGo Smoked Over Hidden Tracking Agreement With Microsoft

  DuckDuckGo, the search engine which claims to offer ‘real privacy’ because it doesn’t track searches or store users’ history, has come under fire after a security researcher discovered that the mobile DuckDuckGo browser app contains a third-party tracker from Microsoft.

  Researcher Zach Edwards found that while Google and Facebook’s trackers are blocked, trackers related to bing.com and linkedin.com were also being allowed through.

  You can capture data within the DuckDuckGo so-called private browser on a website like Facebook’s https://t.co/u8W44qvsqF and you’ll see that DDG does NOT stop data flows to Microsoft’s Linkedin domains or their Bing advertising domains.

  iOS + Android proof:
  👀🫥😮‍💨🤡⛈️⚖️💸💸💸 pic.twitter.com/u3Q30KIs7e

  — ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

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

  In response to the revelation, CEO Gabriel Weinberg essentially shrugged – telling BleepingComputer that the company offers “above-and-beyond protection” that other browsers don’t, but that he ‘never promised’ anonymity when browsing.

  “We have always been extremely careful to never promise anonymity when browsing, because that frankly isn’t possible given how quickly trackers change how they work to evade protections and the tools we currently offer,” he said.

  

  “When most other browsers on the market talk about tracking protection, they are usually referring to 3rd-party cookie protection and fingerprinting protection, and our browsers for iOS, Android, and our new Mac beta, impose these restrictions on third-party tracking scripts, including those from Microsoft. What we’re talking about here is an above-and-beyond protection that most browsers don’t even attempt to do — that is, blocking third-party tracking scripts before they load on 3rd party websites,” he continued.

  “Because we’re doing this where we can, users are still getting significantly more privacy protection with DuckDuckGo than they would using other browsers.”

  In short, DuckDuckGo doesn’t provide the type of privacy they’ve earned a reputation for – they simply betray users the least.

  As TechRadar notes, this didn’t go over well.

  The news quickly drew in crowds of dissatisfied users, with DuckDuckGo founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg, soon chiming in to confirm the authenticity of the findings. 

  Apparently, DuckDuckGo has a search syndication agreement with the software giant from Redmond, with Weinberg adding that the restrictions are only found in the browser, and are not related to the search engine. 

  What remains unknown is why the company who is known for its transparency decided to keep this agreement a secret for as long as it could. -TechRadar

  See Edwards’ entire May 23 Twitter thread below:

  DuckDuckGo has browser extensions & their own browsers for iOS / Android @ https://t.co/2Il4VrBVqc

  iOS @ https://t.co/srtR22gtfS

  Android @ https://t.co/STtTve3vS7

  Both versions of the DDG browser claims to use tools which
  “automatically blocks hidden third-party trackers” 👀 pic.twitter.com/amhdT0w3Ru

  — ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

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

  I don’t have the full list of advertising domains that the DuckDuckGo browser is allowing to collect data within their new “private” browser ((anyone have that or parsed it somewhere??) but any list that doesn’t include “linkedin[.]com” + “bing[.]com” is *purposefully* broken. pic.twitter.com/xjkcWafZqD

  — ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

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

  But you won’t find any public articles from DuckDuckGo explaining *why* they are not blocking Microsoft-owned 3rd party data flows on websites *not* owned by Microsoft, like on Facebook’s Workplace[.]com domain sending data to Bing & Linkedin in the DDG “private” browser. 👀🤡⛈️ pic.twitter.com/ATS4J7aBhE

  — ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

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

  You can capture data within the DuckDuckGo so-called private browser on a website like Facebook’s https://t.co/u8W44qvsqF and you’ll see that DDG does NOT stop data flows to Microsoft’s Linkedin domains or their Bing advertising domains.

  iOS + Android proof:
  👀🫥😮‍💨🤡⛈️⚖️💸💸💸 pic.twitter.com/u3Q30KIs7e

  — ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

  So another question to ask: if you were a DDG privacy researcher who knew that Microsoft has a variety of domains they use for cross-site tracking to optimize their ads systems, and you already knew that DDG was giving IP address & UA string data to MSFT, did you know this too?👀 pic.twitter.com/08ryUFY6rH

  — ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

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

  Personally, I think that both Google & Apple have an obligation to users within their app marketplaces to remove apps which claim to do X, Y, Z, but do the opposite, merely because it makes the parent company more money.

  If you say you block 3rd party data flows, *do that* …

  — ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

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

  I don’t think there is a public list of *all* the domains that the DuckDuckGo browser is *not* blocking, but they seem to be doing this w/ hardcoded rules. The DDG browser stops data flows from tons of domains…. except DDG’s #1 ad tech partner.

  Mysterious! 🤡⛈️⚖️📴📴 pic.twitter.com/mdC78ihRfr

  — ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

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

  I won’t hold my breath that DuckDuckGo will update their own so-called private browser to actually stop data flows to their own ad tech partners, but this is one of those things that makes a privacy auditor … annoyed? bitter? confrontational?

  Does Google / Apple care? pic.twitter.com/SB0jrizrVi

  — ℨ𝔞𝔠𝔥 𝔈𝔡𝔴𝔞𝔯𝔡𝔰 (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022

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

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 20:00

• House Oversight Committee To Probe Gunmakers After Texas School Shooting
  House Oversight Committee To Probe Gunmakers After Texas School Shooting

  Authored by Caden Pearson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Oversight Committee, has opened an investigation into five U.S. gun manufacturers in the wake of the Texas school shooting.

  

  Maloney sent letters Friday ahead of a hearing on gun violence on June 8 to Bushmaster Firearms (pdf), Daniel Defense (pdf), Sig Sauer (pdf), Smith and Wesson (pdf), and Ruger (pdf) asking for data on how they make, market, and sell semiautomatic rifles.

  “Our country faces an epidemic of gun violence, which is now the leading cause of death for children in the United States,” Maloney wrote, tying guns made by the five companies to mass shootings of the last two decades.

  “I am deeply concerned that gun manufacturers continue to profit from the sale of weapons of war, including the AR-15-style assault rifle that a white supremacist used to murder ten people last week in Buffalo, New York, and the AR-15-style assault rifle that was reportedly used this week in the massacre of at least 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.”

  

  The Democratic lawmaker from New York accused the manufacturers of “reaping a profit from the deaths of innocent Americans” by marketing their guns “to civilians.”

  She asked the companies to reveal their “annual gross revenue and profit” from semiautomatic gun sales since 2012, how much they spend on marketing annually, and how many are sold annually to distributors, retailers, consumers, and government agencies.

  Maloney said the Uvalde gunman who killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School on May 24 used a semiautomatic rifle made by Daniel Defense, which markets firearms on its website under the categories of sports use, personal defense use, and professional arms use.

  She also cited the recent 2022 Buffalo grocery store shooting, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and the 2002 D.C. sniper attacks, among others, as times weapons made by the five manufacturers were linked to mass shootings. 

  The AR-15 style rifle used by the gunman in Uvalde was made by @DanielDefense.

  The Las Vegas shooter was also found with four AR-15-style rifles from DD, including one outfitted with a bump stock and 100 round magazine.

  As Chair of @OversightDems, I am investigating them. https://t.co/Wk83mQX1ML

  — Carolyn B. Maloney (@RepMaloney) May 27, 2022

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

  Maloney accused the five gun manufacturers of “aggressively” marketing their products to the public despite “strong public support for an assault-weapon ban.”

  “The Committee respects the rights of law-abiding Americans under the Second Amendment, but that does not excuse irresponsible corporate conduct that fuels deadly gun violence and endangers our children,” she wrote.

  The Epoch Times has contacted Bushmaster Firearms, Daniel Defense, Sig Sauer, Smith and Wesson, and Ruger for comment.

  U.S. gunmaker Remington Arms settled a $73 million lawsuit by the parents of Sandy Hook victims in February. The company argued the shooter was responsible, not the manufacturer. It was the first time a gun manufacturer was held responsible for a shooting.

  Some of the parents of the victims argued that if the company didn’t market their guns to young men, their children would still be alive. Remington had argued it was immune from claims because of the Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but ultimately decided to settle to prevent the case from going to trial.

  

  However, proponents of gun rights argue their constitutional right to bear arms without infringement, under the Second Amendment, is an important safeguard from the potential tyranny of government.

  This view was recently supported by the world’s richest man, Telsa and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who said he “strongly” believed in the right.

  “Historically, maintaining their power over the people is why those in power did not allow public ownership of guns,” Musk said in an email to CNBC on May 25.

  In the same email, Musk elaborated that he supports applying “tight background checks” on all gun purchases, and limits on gun sales to people with special circumstances such as “high-risk location, like gang warfare,” reported CNBC.

  Later, on Twitter, he further revealed his thoughts, advocating for “at minimum” a “special permit” to own “assault rifles.”

  Assault rifles should at minimum require a special permit, where the recipient is extremely well vetted imo

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 26, 2022

  Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog, replied to Musk’s posts with what he thinks is the point at issue between gun control activists and those advocating for the right to bear arms.

  “A gun is a gun is a gun when it comes to those commonly available to civilians. ‘Assault rifles’ (as gun opponents have broadly defined) are no more/less deadly than other avail firearms. ‘Assault rifles’ (full automatic fire kind you likely mean) already banned/highly restricted,” Fitton said.

  “In truth, anti-gun activists seek severe restrictions on, and oppose in concept, any individual civilian RIGHT to own ANY firearm, even though it is an inalienable right specifically recognized in the U.S. Constitution under the Second Amendment. This is the debate,” Fitton added.

  Former President Donald Trump on Friday also spoke in support of gun rights, saying the “existence of evil” in the world made it important to arm law-abiding citizens.

  “The existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens who know how to use their weapons and can protect a lot of people. The existence of evil is one of the best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens,” Trump said at the National Rifle Association annual convention.

  Gary Bai contributed to this report.

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  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 19:30

• Should I Be Worried About Monkeypox?
  Should I Be Worried About Monkeypox?

  A World Health Organization (WHO) official urged countries to increase surveillance for Monkyepox infections this week as, according to the latest data from BNO, about 400 confirmed and around 50 suspected cases of the infectious disease have been detected so far outside of the countries where it usually spreads.

  

  Source: BNO

  As Reuters reports, WHO’s senior epidemiologist Maria Van Kerkhove said during an online briefing cases have so far been detected in more than 20 non-endemic countries, adding that the agency expected the numbers to go up.

  “We expect more cases to be detected. We are asking countries to increase surveillance… This is a containable situation. It will be difficult, but it’s a containable situation in the non-endemic countries.”

  

  Health agencies in four U.S. states are now reportedly offering monkeypox vaccines only to at-risk close contacts as a new step in the country’s response.

  The Bavarian Nordic-made Jynneos monkeypox vaccine is currently being offered in a limited scope to those at-risk close contact cases, mostly laboratory and healthcare workers, in Colorado, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington, CBS reported.

  “Vaccine is typically only used if we are concerned about a higher risk type of exposure. Not everyone who is assessed as a contact receives vaccine, because we know that monkeypox is not as easily transmissible as other viruses like COVID-19,” said Dr. Julia Murphy, a public health veterinarian for the Virginia Department of Health, in a statement to CBS News.

  

  So, given all that FUD, should we be worried about Monkeypox?

  PeakProsperity’s Chris Martenson clears up all the confusion and media hype.

  Monkeypox! You know what? It’s absolutely nothing you should worry about from a personal or public health standpoint.

  Even better, there’s no evidence that it has come from a lab – so that’s a huge relief. In this video, I explain all the reasons why it’s not a health concern.

  However, the way it’s been used by the press and health authorities to spin up more fear/anxiety and to reach for quarantine powers is disturbing.

  Just as troubling is that there was another Event-201-like simulation run in spring of 2021 that featured monkeypox as the lab-tweaked pathogenic agent unleashed on the world.

  Man, I hate coincidences.

  At any rate, many of the same disturbing cast of characters sat in or contributed to this exercise as they did for Event 201.

  Moreover, there were a very large number of high-level U.S. government officials involved as well as a bevy of corporate and top-end university players.

  Meanwhile, there seems to be no rush to disclose the sequence of an actual public health concern which is the adenovirus linked to the many severe and even fatal cases of childhood hepatitis. Why is that? We got the sequence of omicron within hours of its discovery, and ditto for monkeypox. Why not the adenovirus associated with these tragic cases of hepatitis?

  One possibility is that the sequence would be embarrassing to someone. Or a whole lot of someones. Or maybe it’s simply too hard to isolate…but the silence is becoming deafening. It is increasingly becoming a sin of omission.

  Watch the video…

   

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 19:00

• 'You Go To The Sound Of Gunfire': Retired Active Shooter Trainer And Border Patrol Special Agent
  ‘You Go To The Sound Of Gunfire’: Retired Active Shooter Trainer And Border Patrol Special Agent

  Authored by Charlotte Cuthbertson via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Retired Border Patrol special operations agent Jim Volcsko has trained law enforcement officers in active shooter scenarios.

  

  For years he was part of the Border Patrol tactical unit called BORTAC, similar to a SWAT team, in the Uvalde and Del Rio region. His former colleague, an active BORTAC agent, fatally shot the suspect at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24.

  Volcsko said an active shooter is one of the most dangerous situations a law enforcement officer can face and he didn’t want to speculate on the specific situation in Uvalde because he wasn’t there, but spoke to his training.

  “The active shooter training is basically: We show up, and we go. If there’s shots being fired, we go,” Volcsko told The Epoch Times.

  “You go to the sound of gunfire. It’s not a systematic clearing, it’s a direct-to-threat—that’s what it’s called.

  “Somebody’s going to get shot in these scenarios—I mean, that’s the whole point of an active shooter. And when you are a law enforcement officer and your job in that situation is to prevent any more innocent people from being wounded or killed—then you’ve got to go. Hopefully everything turns out OK, but you’ve got to go.”

  

  Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told reporters on May 27 that the incident commander, Uvalde school district Chief of Police Pete Arredondo, made the “wrong decision” to not engage Texas mass shooter Salvador Ramos sooner. Eighteen-year-old Ramos ended up killing 19 children and two adults in the worst U.S. school mass shooting in a decade.

  “The on-scene commander at the time believed that it had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject,” McCraw said.

  Emergency call records reveal that several children called 911 during the siege and gunfire could be heard in the background of one call.

  

  Volcsko said active shooter and hostage situations require different responses but his training dictates that in the former scenario law enforcement has to find a way in and neutralize the threat.

  “If you’re met by a hail of gunfire, then you’ve got to work your way around and figure out another way. If that means you retreat and port a window and go in, OK. The doors are locked, we can’t get in, we don’t have the tools to get in, well, then we’ve got to break the windows and go in. Driving a squad car through the side of the building—when you have children being massacred inside of a building who gives a [expletive] about a $50,000 squad car? Drive it through the wall.

  “Because every shot that’s fired is somebody either dying or getting wounded. You’ve got to go.”

  Volcsko reiterated that every scenario is different and he wasn’t at the scene in Uvalde.

  “Every building is different. The amount of civilians that are involved is different. The amount of shooters is different. The reason why the shooter is there is different. The amount of firepower the bad guy has, or bad guys have, is different,” he said.

  “As far as I’m concerned, if there was any shooting going on, and there was law enforcement there that failed to act for whatever reason, anybody that was there needs to turn in their badge and their gun, and they need to go away and hope they can live with the deaths of these children. That’s my opinion—not having all the facts.

  “I’m tore up over this. It’s terrible.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 18:30

• Which Countries Trust Their Government (And Which Ones Don't?)
  Which Countries Trust Their Government (And Which Ones Don’t?)

  In many countries around the world, vast portions of the population do not trust their own government.

  Lack of faith in government and politics is nothing new, but, as Visual Capitalist’s Nick Routley details below, in times of uncertainty, that lack of trust can coalesce into movements that challenge the authority of ruling parties and even threaten the stability of nations.

  This visualization uses data from the Ipsos Global Trustworthiness Monitor to look at how much various populations trust their government and public institutions.

  

  Tracking Trust in Government

  Since the beginning of the pandemic, global trust in government has improved by eight percentage points, but that is only a small improvement on an otherwise low score.

  At the country level, feelings towards government can vary widely. India, Germany, Netherlands, and Malaysia had the highest government trust levels.

  Many of the countries with the lowest levels of trust were located in Latin America. This makes sense, as trust in politicians in this region is almost non-existent. For example, in Colombia, only 4% of the population consider politicians trustworthy. In Argentina, that figure falls to just 3%.

  Trust in Public Institutions

  Broadly speaking, people trust their public services more than the governments in charge of managing and funding them. This makes sense as civil servants fare much better than politicians and government ministers in trustworthiness.

  

  As our main chart demonstrates, there is a correlation between faith in government and trust in public institutions. There are clear “high trust” and “low trust” groupings in the countries included in the polling, but there is also a third group that stands out—the countries that have high trust in public institutions, but not in their government. Leading this group is Japan, which has a stark difference in trust between public services and politicians. There are many factors that explain this difference, such as values, corruption levels, and the reliability of public services in various countries.

  While trust scores for government improved slightly during the pandemic, trust in public institutions stayed nearly the same.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 18:00

• Concerns Over Egg Shortages Grow
  Concerns Over Egg Shortages Grow

  By Allan Stein of The Epoch Times

  Concerns over potential shortages of eggs nationwide are growing due to inflation and supply chain issues made worse by avian flu.

  “Like many sectors of the economy, egg farming is impacted by inflation and experiencing some limited supply chain challenges due to a variety of factors,” the American Egg Board (AEB) said in a May 24 statement in response to an Epoch Times inquiry.

  

  The AEB was created by an act of Congress in 1976 at the request of egg farmers as a way to pool resources for national-level marketing.

  Regarding avian flu, the AEB said, “It is important to note that less than 5 percent of commercial layer flocks have been impacted by avian influenza and those farms affected are working with state and federal agency partners to safely resume operations.

  “Our farmers continue to work diligently to ensure that Americans nationwide have consistent access to their favorite protein: the incredible egg.” 

  At Frye’s Market in Cottonwood, Arizona, for example, the shelves appeared about half full on May 20. 

  

  This week, a dozen Happy Egg free-range grade-A large brown eggs sold for $4.99. The price of Kroger grade A and AA large eggs was $4.39.

  The situation wasn’t much different at Cottonwood’s Safeway on May 23, where a stock clerk attributed empty shelves to the increasing demand for eggs and lagging deliveries.

  According to the USDA’s April 29 monthly Cage-Free Shell Egg Report, the average price range for a carton of eggs was between $1.15 and $2.79.

  The report based weekly egg production on monthly flock size estimates, which totaled 18.1 million in April at an estimated lay rate of 84.5 percent for 30-dozen cases of organic eggs. 

  Non-organic egg layers total 90.5 million birds at a weekly production rate of nearly 1.5 million cases of 30-dozen eggs.

  More than 36 million chickens and turkeys have been euthanized since highly infectious avian flu was first detected in the United States in January.

  On April 20, the egg board said America’s farmers have been working “around the clock” to keep their products affordable and grocery stores stocked.

  

  “It’s important to know that farmers don’t usually get to choose the price of their eggs. Eggs are priced on the commodity market, like corn and wheat. Temporary increases in egg prices reflect many factors,” the AEB said.

  “Like many sectors of the economy, egg farming is being impacted by inflation and experiencing supply chain challenges related to increases in cost and availability of feed and grain, labor and transportation.

  “Recent cases of bird flu have created additional strains on supply in limited situations,” the organization added.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 17:30

• Putin Ready For "Serious Negotiations" With Zelensky, But Says Western Arms 'Destabilizing' Situation
  Putin Ready For “Serious Negotiations” With Zelensky, But Says Western Arms ‘Destabilizing’ Situation

  Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Saturday phone call with his French and German counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Moscow stands “ready” to re-engage in peace talks with the Ukrainian government. The phone call came as some Western officials have belatedly admitted that Russian forces are making steady gains in the Donbas, also as the Luhansk is about to come under total Russian control.

  The focus of the call included Macron and Scholz urging the Russian leader to immediately hold “serious negotiations” with President Zelensky; however the European leaders reportedly requested that captured Azov battalion members from Mariupol must be released, which the Kremlin balked at, also given the group’s neo-Nazi identity.

  A follow-up Kremlin statement said of the call that “Special attention was given to the state of affairs on the negotiating track, which is frozen because of Kiev. Vladimir Putin confirmed Russia is open to resuming the dialogue.”

  

  But neither side as yet appears willing to make serious concessions. For example, while Zelensky has in past days admitted an increasingly “difficult” situation for Ukrainian forces fighting in Donbas, he’s still pledging that he’ll never recognize Russian authority over any Ukrainian territory, even including Crimea.

  In his latest statements in a Friday night speech, he vowed that Donbas will be “Ukrainian again”… 

  “That’s why we have to increase our defense, increase our resistance, and Donbas will be Ukrainian again. Even if Russia will bring all suffering and ruination to Donbas, we will rebuild every town, every community. There’s no real alternative,” Zelensky stressed. 

  Putin, for his part, appears unwilling to get serious about negotiations so long as huge quantities of Western weapons are pouring into the Ukrainian side. He warned Macron and Scholz in the Saturday call that continuing the arms flow is “dangerous”, saying the situation “risks of further destabilization of the situation and aggravation of the humanitarian crisis,” according to a Kremlin statement.

  The Russian leader condemned the dangerous “ongoing pumping of Ukraine with Western weapons…” as the conflict continues to slide into a full-blown proxy war between Russia and NATO.

  This as the Biden administration is widely reported to be readying authorization of long-range missiles for Ukraine, also as it appears Stinger anti-air rockets are being transported to Kiev in larger numbers.

  Massive threat of escalation by Russia. Let’s hope the West does not bottle out. Putin is now desperate to halt Western arms supplies which are now critical to Ukraine being able to stop Putin. https://t.co/5vsmvpIr2t

  — Timothy Ash (@tashecon) March 12, 2022

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  Putin also discussed with Macron and Scholz the growing global food and wheat supply crisis due to Black Sea port blockages… “Based on specific data, Vladimir Putin explained the real reasons for the difficulties with food supplies, which were the result of the misguided economic and financial policies of Western countries, as well as the anti-Russian sanctions they imposed,” the Kremlin readout said. Russian officials have also laid central blame on Ukrainian forces mining their own ports as well.

  The Kremlin statement emphasized, “Russia is ready to help find options for unhampered exports of grain, including exports of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea ports”. And further: “Increasing supplies of Russian fertilizers and agricultural products will also help reduce tension on the global food market, which, of course, would require removing the relevant restrictions.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 17:00

• The End Of The 40-Year Bull In Debt & A "Global Depression" Threat
  The End Of The 40-Year Bull In Debt & A “Global Depression” Threat

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  Francis Hunt interviews Danielle DiMartino Booth in a must watch video, her most economically comprehensive yet.

  

  Discussion Topics

  Please do yourself a favor and watch the video link below. Here are just some of topics discussed.

  • Possible end of the 40-year bull in debt, if so a “global depression” threat

  • Emerging Market Blowups

  • The Yen

  • Equity Markey Complacence – Bond Market Reacting to Reality of Higher Interest Rates, Equity Markets Say Prove Hikes Are Coming

  • Game of Chicken

  • Average age of Senators – No one will stand up to the Fed except Pat Toomey

  • Jay Powell knows the damage he did by saving BBB-rated bonds

  • Yield Curve Inversions – How Much Time Is There?

  • Watch currencies especially in countries importing energy

  • Inventories

  • De-globalization

  • Not going to get fiscal stimulus in this mid-term election year.

  • Housing wealth effect in reverse

  • Violent unwind of the carry trade (Yen and Euro)

  • Pension Plan Irony, Pension Plan Risk, Pension Plan Ponzi Schemes

  • Fed Pushes Legal Limits

  • Monetary policy favors the 1%

  • Extends and Pretend on Commercial Real Estate Loans, Midsize Banks Hold this Debt

  • Investment ideas: Look for Safe Municipals (not Illinois), Gold, Cash

  • Avoid value traps like discretionary spending and healthcare, wary of energy because of huge valuation runups

  Two Teaser Quotes

  In response to a question about the end of the 40-year bull market in bonds, Booth replied: 

  “I don’t do hyperbole at all, but if this really is the end, and we really are going to see real rates rise appreciably, then you are talking about a global depression.“

  Later in the interview, Booth commented:

  “If you want a front row seat with popcorn, follow the EM [emerging market] space.”

  YouTube Interview 

  Thanks to Danielle DiMartino Booth and Francis Hunt for an amazingly informative video interview. 

  It’s about an hour long, and it may be the best financial hour you spend all year. 

  But I would like the final word.

  Nixon Shock, the Reserve Currency Curse, and a Pending Currency Crisis

  Booth commented “If you want a front row seat with popcorn, follow the EM [emerging market] space.”

  Let’s tune into my September 30, 2019 post Nixon Shock, the Reserve Currency Curse, and a Pending Currency Crisis

  Here are some key snips

  Our Currency But Your Problem

  Shortly after taking the Treasury post, Connally famously told a group of European finance ministers worried about the export of American inflation that the dollar “is our currency, but your problem.”

  On August 15, 1971 Nixon directed Connally to suspend, with certain exceptions, the convertibility of the dollar into gold or other reserve assets, ordering the gold window to be closed such that foreign governments could no longer exchange their dollars for gold. He also issued Executive Order 11615, imposing a 90-day freeze on wages and prices in order to counter inflation. This was the first time the U.S. government had enacted wage and price controls since World War II.

  So Much for Temporary

  The move was not temporary. There have not been any restraints on deficit spending since.

  Wars became easy to finance. Deficits? No problem.

  In 2011, Paul Volcker, who replaced William Miller as Fed Chair in 1979, expressed regret over the abandonment of Bretton Woods.

  “Nobody’s in charge,” said Paul Volcker.

  Who Really Want’s Reserve Currency Status?

  Despite moaning about the dollar, China does not want to have the world’s reserve currency because it implies running trade deficits in which other nations accumulate yuan reserves.

  Japan and the EU (led by Germany), don’t want to have the reserve currency “advantage” either, for the same reason: An export-based, current account surplus economy is incompatible with reserve currency status.

  Global Consumers of Last Resort

  The US is stuck with the reserve currency because we have the largest, most open capital markets in the world, the world’s largest bond market, and a far better business climate than the EU, China, or Japan.

  To ensure the US remains the curse holder, the EU and Japan have negative rates, China does not float the Yuan but props up corrupt SOEs, and Germany punishes the rest of the EU.

  Currency Crisis Coming

  Since the dollar is still rising (thanks to European, Japanese, and Chinese tactics), It may take even bigger US deficits before something major breaks.

  On that score, both political parties in the US are poised to deliver increasing deficits as far as the eye can see.

  Meanwhile, negative interest rates are destroying the European banks. For discussion of this important issue, please see In Search of the Effective Lower Bound.

  A currency crisis awaits as the current path is not sustainable.

  Timing and conditions of the crisis are not knowable. It can start anywhere but I suspect the EU, Japan, or China as opposed to the US.

  Meanwhile, I suggest holding at least some gold.

  Currency Crisis Start Where?

  On September 30, 2019, I commented “Timing and conditions of the crisis are not knowable. It can start anywhere but I suspect the EU, Japan, or China as opposed to the US.”

  This week, Booth commented “If you want a front row seat with popcorn, follow the EM [emerging market] space.” She’s also watching the Yen.

  Those are independently arrived at positions. I rather doubt she knew who I was back then, nor was I a follower of Quill.

  In the above video interview, Francis Hunt asked Booth where a crisis starts. She admitted she does not know, and that’s something I have been saying a lot recently.

  It’s amazing that people actually believe they know where the Bitcoin, the Dollar, the stock market, etc. is going to go.

  No one does. 

  But we can say this is not an exact repeat of 2008.

  Then the dollar index plunged from over 100 to 72 and hyperinflationists came out of the woodwork. Since then, the dollar index rose from 72 to 103 with gold now at $1850 (something few if any would have predicted). 

  Everyone is massively concerned about inflation now. Generally, when everyone is looking one way, something else happens. 

  How many are watching emerging markets and the Yen? 

  Over the years I maintained a currency crisis was far more likely in Japan than the US. We will see. 

  Regardless, the end of the 40-year bull market in debt does not rate to be a pretty affair.

  Thanks to Danielle DiMartino Booth and Francis Hunt for an amazingly informative video interview.

  *  *  *

  Please Subscribe to MishTalk Email Alerts.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 16:30

• Elon Musk Says He 'Strongly' Believes In Second Amendment, Yet Suggests 'Special Permit' Be Required For 'Assault Rifles'
  Elon Musk Says He ‘Strongly’ Believes In Second Amendment, Yet Suggests ‘Special Permit’ Be Required For ‘Assault Rifles’

  Authored by Gary Bai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk joined the right-to-bear arms debate this week by sharing his thoughts on the second amendment after the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School in Texas on May 24.

  “I strongly believe that the right to bear arms is an important safeguard against potential tyranny of government. Historically, maintaining their power over the people is why those in power did not allow public ownership of guns,” Musk said in an email to CNBC on May 25.

  

  In the same email, Musk elaborated that he supports applying “tight background checks” on all gun purchases, and limits on gun sales to people with special circumstances such as “high-risk location, like gang warfare,” reported CNBC.

  In a later interaction with Twitter users, the billionaire further revealed his thoughts on the right to bear arms.

  Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, a nonprofit government watchdog, replied to Musk’s posts with what he thinks is the point of issue between gun control activists and those advocating for the right to bear.

  “A gun is a gun is a gun when it comes to those commonly available to civilians. “Assault rifles” (as gun opponents have broadly defined) are no more/less deadly than other avail firearms. “Assault rifles” (full automatic fire kind you likely mean) already banned/highly restricted,” Fitton said.

  “In truth, anti-gun activists seek severe restrictions on, and oppose in concept, any individual civilian RIGHT to own ANY firearm, even though it is an inalienable right specifically recognized in the U.S. Constitution under the Second Amendment. This is the debate,” Fitton added.

  A gun is a gun is a gun when it comes to those commonly available to civilians. “Assault rifles” (as gun opponents have broadly defined) are no more/less deadly than other avail firearms. “Assault rifles” (full automatic fire kind you likely mean) already banned/highly restricted

  — Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) May 26, 2022

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

  In response to Fitton’s post, Musk pitched a few ideas for striking a balance between protecting people’s constitutional freedoms and public safety.

  “How about a middle ground, where the licensing standard for semi-auto rifles is a driver’s license, age 21 and no rap sheet?” Musk said. “Basically, what is a reasonable way to make it harder for people with homicidal impulses to obtain body count maximizing weapons?”

  “Maybe just require homicide insurance for a gun purchase? Minimum car insurance, which is basically homocide insurance, is required for car ownership,” the billionaire said in response to a Twitter user’s suggestion to raise the gun licensing age to 25. “I think this would actually work.”

  In response to a query about his thoughts on AR-15s, the weapon used in Tuesday’s mass shooting, Musk said, “Assault rifles should at minimum require a special permit, where the recipient is extremely well vetted [in my opinion].” By “assault rifles,” he meant “any semi-automatic gun with supersonic ammo and a large magazine,” Musk added.

  Assault rifles should at minimum require a special permit, where the recipient is extremely well vetted imo

  — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 26, 2022

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

  The billionaire’s comments after a school shooting incident in Uvalde, Texas, that took the lives of 19 children and 2 adults, which stirred up debate on the gun laws in the country.

  Democrats have called for increasing restrictions on gun ownership. U.S. President Joe Biden decried current gun laws during a White House speech on Wednesday, saying that the Second Amendment “is not absolute.”

  “While they clearly will not prevent every tragedy, we know certain ones will have significant impact and have no negative impact on the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment is not absolute,” Biden said. “When it was passed, you couldn’t own … a cannon, you couldn’t own certain kinds of weapons.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 15:30

• Texas Gunman Made 'Frequent' Death Threats And Disturbing Posts
  Texas Gunman Made ‘Frequent’ Death Threats And Disturbing Posts

  Salvador Ramos, the shooter in the Uvalde, Texas massacre frequently threatened to rape and kill teen girls, and had a history of aggressive behavior and disturbing social-media posts, according to locals.

  

  “I witnessed him harass girls and threaten them with sexual assault, like rape and kidnapping,” one 16-year-old told the Washington Post, adding that Ramos had been posting on social networking app, Yubo.

  “It was not like a single occurrence. It was frequent.“

  All but one of the girls Ramos threatened reported him in the months leading up to last week’s elementary school shooting, which left 19 children dead. Other girls dismissed Ramos’ disturbing behavior, chalking it up to just “how online is.”

  On Yubo, people can gather in big real-time chatrooms, known as panels, to talk, type messages and share videos — the digital equivalent of a real-world hangout. Ramos, they said, struck up side conversations with them and followed them onto other platforms, including Instagram, where he could send direct messages whenever he wanted.

  But over time they saw a darker side, as he posted images of dead cats, texted them strange messages and joked about sexual assault, they said. In a video from a live Yubo chatroom that listeners had recorded and was reviewed by The Post, Ramos could be heard saying, “Everyone in this world deserves to get raped.” -WaPo

  Ten days before the shooting, he wrote “10 more days,” according to a Texas official. Another person replied: “Are you going to shoot up a school or something?” to which Ramos replied: “No, stop asking dumb questions. You’ll see.”

  In one Instagram exchange, Ramos – who went by the username “TheBiggestOpp,” sent a girl a picture of a gun.

  

  In another exchange, a 16-year-old girl who said she met Ramos in February said he replied to a meme she’d posted that referenced a weapon, saying “personally I wouldn’t use a AK-47,” rather “a better gun.”

  

  “He gave me such an odd vibe,” 17-year-old Crystal Foutz, an Uvalde High School junior, told the Wall Street Journal, adding “He always seemed scary.”

  Ramos posted pictures on Instagram of him cutting himself, with blood in a sink, Ms. Vasquez said. Earlier this year, she said, he showed up to school one day with a mask on, and when he took it off, his face had scars and scratches that he said he had inflicted on himself.

  A screenshot of an Instagram story on an account linked to him, which since has been taken down, showed an ammunition magazine. A TikTok account with the same handle, “@salv8dor_,” which also has been removed, showed a photo of two rifles. The account included in its description the line, “Kids be scared.” -WSJ

  Ramos’ mother, Adriana Reyes, said last week that the 18-year-old “was not a monster,” but could become “aggressive.”

  “Sometimes I had an uncomfortable feeling, like ‘what are you doing?’,” she told ABC, adding “He could become aggressive if he got really angry. (…). We all have rabies, but some people have more than others.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 15:00

• Hunter Biden Used Burner-Phone And Data-Recovery Apps: Former US Secret Service Agent
  Hunter Biden Used Burner-Phone And Data-Recovery Apps: Former US Secret Service Agent

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

  Data recovered from Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop have shown that the president’s son reportedly used burner phone apps extensively from 2014 to 2018, and a data recovery app to extract data from iPhones owned by Hallie Biden, the widow of his late brother Beau.

  

  The discovery was made by Konstantinos “Gus” Dimitrelos, retired U.S. secret service agent and current chief executive officer of U.S.-based firm Cyber Forensics, after examing a copy of the laptop’s hard drive provided by the Washington Examiner.

  According to his report, one of his key findings was a CSV file, created on Jan. 21, 2019, containing Hunter Biden’s transaction records in the Apple app store.

  “The file contained over 2,000 purchases by Robert Hunter Biden and dozens of purchases of burner phone apps which are used to generate alternate phone numbers capable of making calls and texting from a primary mobile device such as an iPhone or iPad,” the report says.

  Dimitrelos listed details of 39 purchase transactions in his report, their invoices dating from 2014 to 2018, showing Hunter Biden make multiple purchases with three burner phone apps—Phoner, textPlus, and WePhone. The president’s son bought items including “Unlimited Mexico Calls,” “Unlimited Calling US & Canada,” and “Second Phone Number Yearly.”

  It is unknown why Hunter Biden needed these apps, which offer more privacy protection. And neither is it clear whether and to what extent he used these different phone numbers to conduct foreign business dealings.

  Hunter Biden, who is currently under federal investigation for tax affairs, has been under scrutiny for his overseas business dealings in countries including Ukraine, Russia, and China, particularly during the time when Joe Biden was vice president under the Obama administration.

  “In addition to buying burner phone apps, there is evidence on the MacBook Pro hard drive that Phone was used to record a call and save the audio file titled Recording.mp3,” the report says. The audio file, which lasted 8 minutes and 16 seconds, involved a conversation between Hunter Biden and a woman he called Hallie.

  On May 6, 2017, Hunter Biden purchased Dr.Fone, a software that allows its users to recover deleted data and back up data on their cellphones, as well as transfer certain files such as photos and contacts between phones and computers. According to the report, the software was installed on Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop.

  Hunter Biden “manually connected iPhones belonging to Hallie,” the report says, and he “extracted” information including messages, call logs, photographs, notes, and over 120 voicemails.

  In 2017, Hunter Biden began dating Hallie Biden, two years after Beau Biden died from brain cancer. The two eventually split up and the president’s son re-married in 2019.

  Dimitrelos ended his report by authenticating the laptop.

  “Based on my analysis and overwhelming data confirmed the Hunter Biden MacBook Pro was not hacked and the data contained on the hard drive is authentic,” he wrote. “Based on the data I examined there was no manipulation of any photographs, emails, documents, or other user activities.”

  In October 2020, The New York Post broke the Hunter Biden’s laptop story. The Washington Post and the New York Times didn’t authenticate the laptop until March 2022.

  The Epoch Times has reached out to Hunter Biden’s attorney Chris Clark for comment.

  Recently, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, sent letters to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and 13 banks, demanding financial records and documents in connections to Hunter Biden, his uncle James Biden, and business associates Eric Schwerin and Devon Archer, among others.

  “We are investigating the domestic and international business dealings of President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and other Biden associates and family members to determine whether these activities compromise U.S. national security and President Biden’s ability to lead with impartiality,” Comer wrote in the letters.

  Comer’s letters cited a CBS News report that more than 150 financial transactions tied to Hunter Biden or James Biden “were flagged by U.S. banks” as concerning.

  “The sheer number of flagged transactions in this case is highly unusual and may be indicative of serious criminal activity or a national security threat,” Comer said in the letter (pdf) to Yellen.

  The 13 banks include Morgan Stanley, Citi Bank, and Bank of America—as well as the state-owned Bank of China (pdf).

  Comer wanted the Yellen and the banks to produce the documents and information before June 8.

  The documents sought by Comer could lay the groundwork for a potential probe by House Republicans if they win control of the House after the midterm elections. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 14:30

• Russia Conducts Hypersonic Missile Test Near Finland & Sweden
  Russia Conducts Hypersonic Missile Test Near Finland & Sweden

  On Saturday Russia announced it conducted another successful test of the Zircon hypersonic missile, which reportedly flew over a distance of 1,000km (or 621 miles) after it was launched at a target in the White Sea. 

  The missile was fired from the Russian navy’s Admiral Grigorovich-class frigate the waters of the Barents Sea. The identified area for the test, given the hypersonic was launched from the Barents, is very close to waters off Finland and Sweden.

  📹| #Russia tests Zircon cruise missile near #Finland and #Sweden. pic.twitter.com/AQogM9QB9x

  — EHA News (@eha_news) May 28, 2022

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

  Reuters wrote of the footage released by the defense ministry, “Video released by the ministry showed the missile being fired from a ship and blazing into the sky on a steep trajectory.”

  “Today, the lead frigate of Project 22350, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov, fired a hypersonic cruise missile ‘Zircon’ from the Barents Sea at a naval target position located in the White Sea (a southern inlet of the Barents Sea). The rocket firing was carried out as part of a test of new kinds of weapons,” the defense ministry said.

  Though it was likely a long in the making “scheduled” test launch, it comes as the Ukraine war is in its fourth month, and as a result Finland and Sweden have abandoned their historic neutrality and have applied to join NATO.

  

  Additionally, the Pentagon and Ukraine’s government have accused Russia of using hypersonic projectiles – possibly up to a dozen times – against Ukrainian targets as the invasion has continued to unfold.

  Russian President Vladimir Putin previously hailed the Zircon hypersonic missile as capable of traveling upwards of Mach 9, or about 6,900 mph. It’s widely believed that no anti-air defense system in the world is capable of bringing it down, given its speed.

  This latest Zircon test comes after last month the Kremlin carried out a test of the Sarmat, which is a new nuclear-capable intercontinental missile capable of reaching the United States. The Sarmat is described as capable of carrying ten or more warheads.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/28/2022 – 14:00

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• Mass Shootings: The Vicious Cycle Fueled By America's Toxic Cult Of Violence
  Mass Shootings: The Vicious Cycle Fueled By America’s Toxic Cult Of Violence

  Authored by John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

  “Mass shootings have become routine in the United States and speak to a society that relies on violence to feed the coffers of the merchants of death. Given the profits made by arms manufacturers, the defense industry, gun dealers and the lobbyists who represent them in Congress, it comes as no surprise that the culture of violence cannot be abstracted from either the culture of business or the corruption of politics.”

  – Professor Henry A. Giroux

  We are caught in a vicious cycle.

  

  With alarming regularity, the nation is being subjected to a heartbreaking spate of violence that terrorizes the populace, fractures communities, and gives the government greater justifications to crack down, lock down, and institute even more authoritarian policies for the so-called sake of national security without many objections from the citizenry.

  Mass shootings have taken place in schools, on college campuses, movie theaters, nightclubs, grocery stores, concert venues, bars, workplaces, churches, on military bases, and in government offices. In almost every instance, the shooters were dressed in military-style gear and armed with military-style weapons.

  Take the latest shooting that took place in Uvalde, Texas, when 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, wearing body armor and carrying a rifle, walked into Robb Elementary School and opened fire, leaving at least 19 children and two teachers dead.

  This Uvalde shooting took place ten days after another 18-year-old man, heavily armed and wearing tactical gear (including a tactical helmet and plated armor), opened fire in a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y, killing 10 people.

  In 2018, a 19-year-old former student armed with a gas mask, smoke grenades, magazines of ammunition, and an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle opened fire on students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., leaving 17 people dead.

  Ten years ago, 20-year-old Adam Lanza—wearing body armor and black clothing, and armed with military-style weapons—opened fire on students and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., leaving 26 dead. Prior to the shooting, Lanza reportedly spent his days “playing violent video games amid posters showcasing military equipment.”

  According to an FBI report issued the day before the Uvalde shooting, these kinds of “active shooter attacks” have doubled in recent years.

  As expected in the wake of such tragedies, there has been a vocal outcry for enacting more strident gun control measures, more mental health checks, and heightened security measures.

  Yet surely there’s more to these shootings than just easy access to weapons and mental illness.

  Ask yourself: Why do these mass shootings keep happening? Who are these shooters modelling themselves after? Where are they finding the inspiration for their weaponry and tactics? Whose stance and techniques are they mirroring?

  When you start to connect the dots, they lead right back to the American police state and the war-drenched, violence-imbued, profit-driven military industrial complex, both of which continue to dominate, dictate and shape almost every aspect of our lives.

  The United States is the number one consumer, exporter and perpetrator of violence and violent weapons in the world.

  Violence has become America’s calling card.

  We are a military culture engaged in continuous warfare.

  We have been a nation at war for most of our existence.

  We are a nation that makes a living from killing through defense contracts, weapons manufacturing and endless wars.

  We are being fed a steady diet of violence through our entertainment, news, sports and politics.

  All of the military equipment featured in blockbuster movies is provided—at taxpayer expense—in exchange for carefully placed promotional spots aimed at boosting civic pride in the military, recruiting for the military, and churning out profit-driven propaganda for the military industrial complex. Even reality TV shows have gotten in on the gig.

  It’s estimated that U.S. military intelligence agencies (including the NSA) have influenced over 1,800 movies and TV shows.

  Then there are the growing number of violent video games, a number of which are engineered by or created for the military as recruitment tools, which have accustomed players to interactive war play through military simulations and first-person shooter scenarios. As Esther J. Cepeda writes for The Washington Post, “Violent video games alone do not cause people to go off the rails, arm themselves and open fire on innocent people in public places. But there’s also no question that there is something wrong with a multibillion-dollar video game industry that sells to young men the ability to virtually assassinate a foe as an escape from real life.”

  The media, eager to score higher ratings, has been equally complicit in making (real) war more palatable to the public by packaging it as TV friendly.

  The military has also been firmly entrenched in the nation’s sports spectacles, having co-opted football, basketball, even NASCAR, “tying the symbols of sports with the symbols of war.”

  This is how you acclimate a population to war.

  This is how you cultivate loyalty to a war machine.

  This is how, to borrow from the subtitle to the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove, you teach a nation to “stop worrying and love the bomb.”

  This is how you sustain the nation’s appetite for war.

  As journalist David Sirota writes for Salon, to those who profit from war, it is “a ‘product’ to be sold via pop culture products that sanitize war and, in the process, boost recruitment numbers.”

  No wonder entertainment violence is the hottest selling ticket at the box office. As professor Henry Giroux points out, “Popular culture not only trades in violence as entertainment, but also it delivers violence to a society addicted to a pleasure principle steeped in graphic and extreme images of human suffering, mayhem and torture.”

  No wonder the government continues to whet the nation’s appetite for violence and war through paid propaganda programs (seeded throughout sports entertainment, Hollywood blockbusters and video games)—what professor Roger Stahl refers to as “militainment“—that glorify the military and serve as recruiting tools for America’s expanding military empire.

  No wonder Americans from a very young age are being groomed to enlist as foot soldiers—even virtual ones—in America’s Army (coincidentally, that’s also the name of a first-person shooter video game that was produced by the military and used as a pivotal recruiting tool for 20 years).

  Explorer scouts, for example, have been one of the most popular recruiting tools for the military and its civilian counterparts (law enforcement, Border Patrol, and the FBI). Writing for The Atlantic, a former Explorer scout described the highlight of the program: monthly weekend maneuvers with the National Guard where scouts “got to fire live rounds from M16s, M60 machine guns, and M203 grenade launchers… we would have urban firefights (shooting blanks, of course) in Combat Town, a warren of concrete buildings designed for just that purpose. The exercise always devolved into a free-for-all, with all of us weekend warriors emptying clip after clip of blanks until we couldn’t see past the end of our rifles for all the smoke in the air.”

  No wonder America spends more money on war than the combined military budgets of China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, Saudi Arabia, India, Germany, Italy and Brazil. America polices the globe, with 800 military bases and troops stationed in 160 countries. Moreover, the war hawks have turned the American homeland into a quasi-battlefield with military gear, weapons and tactics. In turn, domestic police forces have become roving extensions of the military—a standing army.

  You want to stop the gun violence?

  • Stop the worship of violence that permeates our culture.

  • Stop treating guns and war as entertainment fodder in movies, music, video games, toys, amusement parks, reality TV, sports and more.

  • Stop distributing weapons of war (weapons that have no business being anywhere but on a battlefield) to the local police and transforming police into extensions of the military.

  • Stop exposing young people to the military industrial complex’s pervasive propaganda.

  • Stop falling for the military industrial complex’s psychological war games.

  Salvador Ramos may have pulled the trigger that resulted in the mayhem in Uvalde, Tex., but something else is driving the madness.

  We’ve got to do more than react in a knee-jerk fashion.

  Those who want safety at all costs will clamor for more gun control measures, widespread mental health screening of the general population and greater scrutiny of military veterans, more threat assessments and behavioral sensing warnings, more CCTV cameras with facial recognition capabilities, more “See Something, Say Something” programs aimed at turning Americans into snitches and spies, more metal detectors and whole-body imaging devices at soft targets, more roaming squads of militarized police empowered to do random bag searches, more fusion centers to centralize and disseminate information to law enforcement agencies, and more surveillance of what Americans say and do, where they go, what they buy and how they spend their time.

  Yet as I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, all of these measures play into the government’s hands by locking down the nation without doing anything to address the underlying causes of this madness.

  What we need is a thoughtful, measured, apolitical response to these shootings that takes aim at the violence plaguing our nation by lowering the levels of violence here and abroad, whether it’s violence we export to other countries, violence we glorify in entertainment, or violence we revel in when it’s leveled at our so-called enemies, politically or otherwise.

  Our prolonged exposure to the toxic culture of the American police state is deadly.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 23:40

• These Are The 10 Largest Gold-Mines In The World
  These Are The 10 Largest Gold-Mines In The World

  Gold mining is a global business, with hundreds of mining companies digging for the precious metal in dozens of countries.

  But where exactly are the largest gold mines in the world?

  As Visual Capitalist’s Niccolo Conte shows in the infographic below, using data compiled from S&P Global Market Intelligence and company reports, the top 10 gold-producing mines in 2021 were very geographically diverse.

  

  Editor’s Note: The article uses publicly available global production data from the World Gold Council to calculate the production share of each mine. The percentages slightly differ from those calculated by S&P.

  The Top Gold Mines in 2021

  The 10 largest gold mines are located across nine different countries in North America, Oceania, Africa, and Asia.

  Together, they accounted for around 13 million ounces or 12% of global gold production in 2021.

  

  In 2019, the world’s two largest gold miners—Barrick Gold and Newmont Corporation—announced a historic joint venture combining their operations in Nevada. The resulting joint corporation, Nevada Gold Mines, is now the world’s largest gold mining complex with six mines churning out over 3.3 million ounces annually.

  Uzbekistan’s state-owned Muruntau mine, one of the world’s deepest open-pit operations, produced just under 3 million ounces, making it the second-largest gold mine. Muruntau represents over 80% of Uzbekistan’s overall gold production.

  Only two other mines—Grasberg and Olimpiada—produced more than 1 million ounces of gold in 2021. Grasberg is not only the third-largest gold mine but also one of the largest copper mines in the world. Olimpiada, owned by Russian gold mining giant Polyus, holds around 26 million ounces of gold reserves.

  Polyus was also recently crowned the biggest miner in terms of gold reserves globally, holding over 104 million ounces of proven and probable gold between all deposits.

  How Profitable is Gold Mining?

  The price of gold is up by around 50% since 2016, and it’s hovering near the all-time high of $2,000/oz.

  That’s good news for gold miners, who achieved record-high profit margins in 2020. For every ounce of gold produced in 2020, gold miners pocketed $828 on average, significantly higher than the previous high of $666/oz set in 2011.

  With inflation rates hitting decade-highs in several countries, gold mining could be a sector to watch, especially given gold’s status as a traditional inflation hedge.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 23:20

• Sussmann Trial Exposes Dems' Scandal-Industrial Process
  Sussmann Trial Exposes Dems’ Scandal-Industrial Process

  Commentary by Charles Lipson via RealClear Politics (emphasis ours),

  Modern political scandals, like Caesar’s Gaul, are divided into three parts. The first is the actual malfeasance. That might be taking bribes, lying to federal agents, leaking classified materials, sexual misconduct, selling political access, whatever. The second part is the hyper-partisan involvement of Congress and, often, federal agencies, all eager to score points for their side. The third part is the media’s role, which goes beyond bias to include active promotion of political goals.

  

  Federal agencies, like all bureaucratic institutions, have always tried to increase their power and preserve their autonomy. What’s different today is that the bureaucrats, and often their entire agencies, are frequently partisan players. That’s disheartening but understandable. One party is clearly the “party of government” and the party of experts. Most educated professionals, including bureaucrats and journalists, identify with that party. Filled with partisan “civil servants,” these agencies routinely tilt investigations (or kill them outright) to advance political goals – the same ones as their favored party. For the same reasons, they leak insider information to friendly media. Predictably, the opposing party tries to score points by attacking them for doing so.

  That brings us to the third element of these scandals: the “friendly media.” Mainstream outlets are not just biased. They often become outright partisans when a potential scandal could hurt conservatives or populists. That bias degrades what was once called “hard news.” Today, neutral reporting is as antiquated as rotary phones, conservative Democrats, and liberal Republicans.

  The media’s bias, both left and right, is amplified by the fragmentation of the digital landscape. That fragmentation encourages each outlet to appeal to its self-selected audience and avoid alienating them with uncomfortable information.

  The trial of Hillary Clinton lawyer Michael Sussmann illustrates how modern scandals have devolved into this dismal three-ring circus. Last Thursday, the FBI’s former general counsel, James Baker, testified at length that his old friend Sussmann had requested an urgent private meeting and provided the bureau damning, confidential information. Sussmann claimed he did so solely “as a good citizen,” not on behalf of any client. Sussmann made the same claim in a text message to Baker the night before. Baker testified that he was “100% confident” Sussmann had repeated his disclaimer at the beginning of their meeting. (Before Special Counsel John Durham’s team concluded their case on Wednesday, they showed the jury that Sussmann had actually billed the Clinton campaign for that meeting.) Baker’s testimony was especially powerful because he was clearly reluctant to provide it.

  The papers and thumb drives Sussmann gave Baker were designed to show that Donald Trump was secretly communicating with a Kremlin-connected European bank. The implication was that this back-channel communication was part of Vladimir Putin’s effort to elect Trump, a line the Clinton campaign eagerly promoted. Baker testified he was alarmed by the prospect, which is why he immediately briefed his bosses, including FBI Director James Comey. Baker gave the materials Sussmann had provided to the bureau’s cyber experts, who quickly discovered it was rubbish. Their conclusion: Trump was not secretly communicating with Russia’s Alfa Bank.

  Baker’s testimony was followed, on Friday, by that of Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook. Mook casually (perhaps inadvertently) dropped a bombshell. Hillary Clinton, he said, had personally approved sharing the Trump-Alfa Bank story with the press. Mook said the campaign wasn’t sure if the story was true but figured the press would look into it. Hillary agreed and approved spreading the false story.

  But Mook cannot be right when he says “the campaign” didn’t know if the Alfa Bank story was true. Mook may not have known, but others in the campaign surely did since they were the ones who created the false story. They expended campaign funds to generate that dishonest “inference and narrative” about Trump and Alfa Bank from internet data, knowing it would fool only naïve FBI agents and reporters. Real cyber experts could – and did – disprove the “inference” almost immediately.

  The Alfa Bank tale wasn’t the Clinton campaign’s only dirty trick. They also commissioned the now-disproven Steele dossier and aggressively shopped it to the FBI, Department of Justice, State Department, and, of course, the press.

  Both the Alfa Bank story and the Steele dossier had the same goals: Smear Donald Trump, generate media reports that the “FBI is investigating,” and distract the media from Hillary’s own problems with her private email server and the classified documents it contained. The obvious goal before November 2016 was to prevent Trump’s election. That’s why Sussmann wanted the late October meeting with Baker so urgently. After Trump was elected, the new goal was to hamstring his presidency by tying him up in investigations. That is presumably why Sussmann later met with the CIA and gave them the same Alfa bank story, plus another fable about secret Russian mobile phones that were always near Trump. Again, pure garbage, based on cherry-picked data and quickly shown to be worthless.

  The Sussmann trial indicates how the media and federal agencies play into the Democrats’ scandal-industrial process. Take Mook’s testimony last Friday. It was a huge story because, for the first time, a Clinton insider directly tied Hillary to the smear campaign. That campaign was the biggest political dirty trick in modern American politics, one the media had actively promoted. Yet, when the bombshell exploded, the mainstream media went silent, both about the news and about their own culpability. On Friday, when the news broke, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC did not mention the Mook bombshell or even the Sussmann trial. Not a peep. Saturday’s New York Times was equally silent. The Washington Post did cover the story but buried the lede – Hillary Clinton’s direct involvement – well down in their report. A Post national correspondent actually ran an “analysis” piece entitled “Again: There’s No Evidence Hillary Clinton Triggered the Russian Probe.”

  Robert Mueller’s prolonged investigation as Special Counsel missed this whole massive scandal. When Mueller testified before Congress, he was asked about Fusion GPS, a central player in Clinton’s smear campaign, and the Special Counsel said he’d never even heard of the firm.

  What about the FBI? How did it treat Sussmann’s information about Trump and Alfa Bank? General Counsel Baker testified that he immediately informed the bureau’s top officials, noting Sussmann’s assurance that he had no client. Although the Alfa Bank story was quickly disproven, that didn’t stop the bureau’s relentless investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia. Two days after Sussmann gave the FBI his (false) information, the head of the bureau’s counter-intelligence division texted a colleague, “People of the 7^th floor to include Director are fired up about this server.” They were so fired up they refused to let agents know Sussmann’s name, referred to him (dishonestly) as the “Department of Justice,” and refused to let agents interview the authors of the cyber data given to Baker.

  The FBI handled the Steele dossier the same way they handled Sussmann’s material – a mixture of incompetence and malign intent, trampling over administrative safeguards and legal rules in an effort to ensnare Donald Trump. Even though the FBI couldn’t verify the dossier’s salacious allegations, it used them to impale the president-elect. Comey briefed Trump on the worst allegations and then secretly told the press that the FBI was investigating them. Over the next month, the bureau conducted lengthy interviews with Steele’s principle source (Igor Danchenko, now indicted himself) and learned the dossier’s allegations were based on bar talk and rumors, as told by a Brookings Institution researcher, not Kremlin insiders. That didn’t stop – or even slow – the government’s pursuit of Trump, and its use of this discredited material.

  The falsity of the Alfa Bank connection and Steele dossier – and the FBI’s knowledge of their falsity – did not stop the bureau from spying on Trump associates for purported “Russian connections.” That surveillance didn’t stop even after field agents said their investigation turned up no evidence and should be closed. Instead, Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe, personally kept the investigation open. Since the spying required FISA warrants (from the court overseeing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act), the FBI omitted or doctored exculpatory information to renew their authorization. Yet another subversion of justice.

  The full scope of this multi-pronged scandal is finally emerging after five years of administrative misconduct, media coverups, partisan reporting, and pervasive deceit by Washington insiders. What is still submerged is any accountability. The media is still burying the story and its own role in promoting those lies. Nobody has returned their dubious Pulitzer Prizes. Senior officials in Comey’s FBI have never been held to account. Congressmen, led by California Democrat Adam Schiff, who continued the smear and leaked their closed-door inquiries to the press, still appear on the Sunday talk shows. Hillary Clinton, who sat atop the conspiracy, was given a quick “all clear” by the FBI on her server and has not been targeted for federal investigation in the subsequent scandals. That Mook’s testimony surprised Durham’s prosecutors indicates they never bothered to probe Hillary’s involvement before the grand jury.

  The Sussmann trial, like all modern political scandals, is part of a three-ring circus, showcasing sleazy political enablers, malfeasance by public officials, and biased reporting. In this circus of deceit, the public has to walk behind the elephants with a huge shovel.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 23:00

• USAF's New Stealth Bomber "Strides Toward Flight Readiness" After Successful Load Test
  USAF’s New Stealth Bomber “Strides Toward Flight Readiness” After Successful Load Test

  Northrop Grumman tweeted Wednesday that its new stealth bomber “made strides toward flight readiness with a successful loads calibration test.” 

  The B-21 Raider is making strides toward flight readiness with a successful loads calibration test. Learn more about the #RiseOfTheRaider: https://t.co/JEoADIshv8 pic.twitter.com/nWTeiMfneG

  — Northrop Grumman (@NGCNews) May 25, 2022

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

  A press release from Northrop Grumman described how the B-21 Raider “completed the first — and most critical — loads calibration test.” The first of three ground test before the aircraft takes to the skies in 2023. 

  The next two tests will be engine testing and low-speed and high-speed taxi tests. Air Force Magazine noted the B-21 was initially supposed to take flight in the second half of this year, though Northrop Grumman has pushed that back to 2023 (cause of delays weren’t cited). 

  “The B-21 test aircraft is the most production-representative aircraft, both structurally and in its mission systems, at this point in a program, that I’ve observed in my career,” Randy Walden, director of the Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and program executive officer of the B-21 Raider program, recently said. 

  Northrop Grumman said the stealth bomber would be unveiled later this year. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 22:40

• Will The Midterms Be Biden's Last Hurrah?
  Will The Midterms Be Biden’s Last Hurrah?

  Authored by Pat Buchanan,

  For half a decade now, America’s media elite have been obsessed with former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s conversion to Trumpism.

  Press and TV are daily consumed with his actions and prospects and the future of the party he captured in 2016.

  Perhaps it is time to consider the prospects of President Joe Biden and the political future of his embattled presidency.

  

  What are the odds that Biden, like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama before him, will run again in 2024, win reelection, serve out a second term and transfer his office to the 47th president on Jan. 20, 2029?

  My guess: The odds of that happening are roughly the same as the odds that last-minute entry Rich Strike would win the Kentucky Derby, as he left the starting gate at Churchill Downs at 80-1.

  Consider the first hurdle Biden faces on the way to renomination in 2024 — the midterm elections five months off.

  Since the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 reached record highs in January, both have seen eight weeks of wipeouts of trillions of dollars in value as we approached bear-market territory by the end of last week.

  Stock portfolios, pensions and retirement benefit plans have been gutted. These massive market losses are also a lead indicator pointing to a recession right ahead, just as voters pass judgment on a Democratic Party that controls the White House and both houses of Congress.

  But even before we reach recession, Americans have already been living with a Biden inflation of 8% that has lasted for months and affected all the necessities of normal life, such as groceries and gasoline.

  And the worst seems yet to come.

  The Federal Reserve has reversed course from its easy money days and begun to raise interest rates to squeeze the Biden inflation out of the economy. What lies ahead may remind people who were around then of Jimmy Carter’s “stagflation,” where interest rates hit 21% to kill an inflation that reached 13%.

  As for the crisis on the southern border, it is deeper than ever. Some 234,000 migrants were caught illegally entering the U.S. in April alone, with thousands of others evading any contact with U.S. authorities.

  This is an invasion rate of some 3 million illegal migrants a year.

  Shootings, killings, carjackings, criminal assaults, and smash-and-grab robberies in record numbers are the subject of our nightly news.

  And the latest national polls suggest the country is holding Biden responsible. The president’s approval rating is down to 39%, and only 1 in 3 Americans think he is doing a good job handling the economy and that the nation is headed in the right direction.

  Now the omicron variant of COVID-19 is making a comeback; infections are again over 100,000 a day.

  Biden might find consolation from how his predecessors overcame midterm defeats. Clinton in 1994 lost 54 House seats and won reelection easily in 1996. Obama lost 63 House seats in 2010 to come back and win handily over Mitt Romney in 2012.

  Why cannot Biden ride out the anticipated storm in this year’s midterms and come back to win election in 2024, as did Clinton and Obama?

  Age has something to do with it. Clinton was 50 in his reelection year 1996. Obama was 51 in his reelection year 2012. And both were at the peak of their political powers.

  Biden, on election day 2024, will be two weeks shy of his 82nd birthday. Should he serve out a second term, he would not leave the White House until he had turned 86. Biden has been America’s oldest president since the day he took office.

  Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers wrote of “energy in the executive” as being an indispensable attribute of good government.

  Does Biden, with his shuffling gait, regular gaffes, and physical and cognitive decline manifest that attribute of which Hamilton wrote?

  

  The likely scenario for Biden?

  His party sustains a crushing defeat in November comparable to what Clinton and Obama suffered. But the party does not immediately rally around Biden as present and future leader, as it did with Clinton and Obama. Critics inside the Democratic coalition begin to blame Biden for the loss.

  Ambitious Democrats, sensing disaster if Biden tops the ticket in 2024, begin to call for him to stand down and give way to a younger candidate, a new face, in 2024.

  One or two progressives declare for president, and the pressure builds on Biden to avoid a personal and political humiliation in the 2024 primaries by standing down, as Harry Truman did in 1952 and Lyndon Johnson did in 1968.

  By early 2023, Biden will have adopted the line that dealing with the challenge of China and Russia and, at the same time, coping with recession and inflation require his full attention. And these preclude a national political campaign for reelection.

  And then President Joe Biden announces he will not run again.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 22:20

• 50% Of Millennials Think They Only Need $300,000 To Retire
  50% Of Millennials Think They Only Need $300,000 To Retire

  This has got to be one of the all time best forthcoming wakeup calls we’ve ever seen. A new survey published by Acorns last week revealed that half of millennials think they’ll need just $300,000 to “retire comfortably”.

  As the piece notes, this is obviously a fraction of what they will actually need to retire in comfort.

  Gen X and Gen Z had slightly higher estimates, guessing that they would need $500,000 to retire, while boomers have a clearer picture and understand they would need closer to $750,000 to retire.

  Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of the Transamerica Institute, who conducted the study, commented: “The estimated retirement savings for all workers are on the low side. I’m concerned that they’re not thinking big enough in terms of how much somebody should save.”

  

  Instead, as the article notes, people should be targeting about 75% of their pre-retirement income. That would mean that the average millennial earning $68,703 would need to save $1.8 million to retire comfortably by age 67. 

  More than 40% of respondents to the survey said they arrived at their estimates “simply by guessing”. 

  “It’s surprising that people are not taking as much advantage as they can and should of the tools that are available,” Collinson said. 

  Their $750,000 estimate “is much more than they’ve actually saved in all their retirement accounts,” she said about boomers, who have an average retirement account balance of just $200,000. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 22:00

• Baby Formula Shortage Could Persist Until July: FDA Commissioner
  Baby Formula Shortage Could Persist Until July: FDA Commissioner

  By Mimi Nguyen Lu of The Epoch Times

  Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf said the severe nationwide shortage of baby formula is expected to be eased within two months. Testifying before a Senate hearing, Califf said that while he cannot give exact dates, his expectation is “that within two months we should be beyond normal and with a plethora” of formula supply.

  “It’s going to be gradual improvement up to probably somewhere around two months until the shelves are replete again,” he told lawmakers at the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on the baby formula shortage on Thursday.

  “Due to all the measures being taken, the shortage is going to be getting better and better.”

  

  Califf said that FDA inspectors found unsanitary conditions at the Sturgis facility, including evidence of previous bacterial contamination, roof leaks, and a lack of adequate hygiene. Before it can reopen, the facility has to implement a series of steps to ensure safe production to comply with U.S. food safety standards, he said.

  Supply chain pressures and a shortage of workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic have been responsible for an ongoing baby formula shortage in the nation, but the supply became even more scarce after Abbott Nutrition in February recalled multiple baby formula products, including some Similac products, after four infants fell sick, two of whom died.

  Abbott, which has the largest U.S. market share for infant formula, also temporarily shuttered its formula manufacturing plant in Sturgis, Michigan—where the recalled products were produced—over safety concerns, after an FDA investigation found unsanitary conditions there. The plant is one of three run by Abbott.

  An investigation into suspected bacterial contamination at the facility failed to confirm a link to the recalled products, with the FDA saying the bacterial strains the infants fell sick to did not match the strains at the plant.

  Abbott said the plant is due to resume production on June 4, but previously noted it would take six to eight weeks for the products to arrive in stores. The company said it would prioritize supplying its specialty formula EleCare on or about June 20. The formula would be provided to children in need for free.

  

  On Wednesday, Califf had told House lawmakers that Abbott did not have a contingency plan to produce its specialty formulas that serve as the only source of nutrition for thousands of babies with metabolic disorders. He added that the best option was to enter into a consent decree agreement with Abbott, “where we literally have oversight of every single step” of remediation of problems at the facility to get it back to production as soon as possible.

  The FDA eased import restrictions this month by doing away with various labeling requirements. These rules had contributed to about 98 percent of the pre-crisis baby formula supply being produced domestically by just three companies. The Biden administration sees the easing of restrictions as a temporary measure before the normal supply chain stabilizes.

  Separately, the U.S. Department of Defense is airlifting about 1.5 million 8-ounce bottles of baby formula from Europe, as part of the White House’s recently launched initiative “Operation Fly Formula.” The first lots of formula arrived in Indianapolis, Indiana, from Germany on Sunday.

  The Biden administration also invoked the Defense Production Act to help manufacturers obtain ingredients to produce more baby formula.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 21:40

• TSMC And Intel Are In A Mad Dash To Hire Semiconductor Technicians For Their New Plants In Arizona
  TSMC And Intel Are In A Mad Dash To Hire Semiconductor Technicians For Their New Plants In Arizona

  To solve the semiconductor shortage, companies now have to deal with a labor shortage…

  We have extensively covered how major semiconductor companies have been responding to the global chip shortage over the last couple of years. One of the most notable companies to take action has been TSMC, who is in the process of building a $12 billion chip fab in Arizona, not far from where Intel is expanding their campus. 

  TSMC’s project is racing to come online by 2024, but there remains a major obstacle for both companies: securing labor. “Simply finding enough workers to build the facilities has already proved a challenge,” according to a new report from Nikkei. 

  Over 6,000 workers are currently on site trying to get the facility up and running by its targeted 2024 timeline, the report says. While it was tough to find construction workers, finding the skilled technicians necessary to work at a chip plant is proving even tougher. 

  Kweilin Waller, deputy human services director at the Phoenix Business and Workforce Development Board, commented: “You say ‘semiconductor manufacturing’ [to potential recruits], people look at you like you have two heads. It’s just unfamiliar.”

  

  “I think those students that we are trying to recruit to ultimately become employees don’t know what they don’t know. So even before we give consideration to the seven semiconductor manufacturers that they could work with, they need to understand, ‘What is a semiconductor technician?'” added Daniel Barajas, a careers director at the Maricopa County Community Colleges District.

  Intel is trying to tackle the problem by creating a close relationship with The Schools of Engineering at ASU, which have about 27,000 students enrolled. 

  TSMC doesn’t have the history that Intel does with the university to attract such talent as easily.

  Kyle Squires, the school’s dean, said: “Indeed, it’s more of a challenge [for TSMC to attract students]. The informal networking [among students] starts to really grab on.”

  One associate professor at ASU said: “TSMC recruiters have been very heavily present on campus. TSMC is presently negotiating with the university for some extended collaborations, both in research and in workforce development, and broader training programs.”

  TSMC only had plans of hiring in the U.S. before sending employees to train in Taiwan, but now the company is considering hiring directly from Taiwan, the Nikkei report says. “TSMC is focused on hiring employees, including technicians, locally in the U.S. for our Arizona fab,” a spokesperson said. 

  Jennifer Mellor, chief innovation officer at the Greater Phoenix Chamber, concluded: “I think TSMC is really trying to get their name known in the market, and they’re actually doing a really good job of trying to connect with different education partners.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 21:20

• Watch: Biden Education Secretary Says Biological Males Should Be Allowed To Compete In Girls' Sport
  Watch: Biden Education Secretary Says Biological Males Should Be Allowed To Compete In Girls’ Sport

  Authored by Steve Watson via Summit News,

  Joe Biden’s Education Secretary declared Thursday that he believes biological boys should be allowed to compete against girls in sports, and even accused his questioner, GOP Congressman Jim Banks, of wanting to exclude children by discussing their biological gender.

  

  During a Congressional hearing, Banks questioned Cardona on the administration’s attitude toward “gender identity”.

  Banks told Cardona that “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. However, your department is currently pushing a rule to force every school in America to add non binary as a sex characteristic.”

  “How can the Department of Education enforce sex based discrimination when the very definition of sex is so unclear?” Banks asked.

  “We’re not pushing for that. We are allowing states who have different categories to use those different categories of data collection that they’re already collecting,” Cardona claimed.

  “So you’re not waiting for a rule to add non binary?” Banks further asked Cardona.

  “We’re allowing states to report whatever classifications they have in their states,” Cardona responded.

  Banks then moved to probe on the sports issue, asking “do you believe that biological male athletes competing in women’s sports are in conflict with Title IX protections for female athletes?” 

  After failing to properly answer the question, Banks doubled down, asking “Do you think it’s fair for biological boys to compete against girls in sports?”

  Cardona responded “Sir, I see where your questions are going, and I’m going to be very clear with you – our transgender students need to feel supported, included, and seen,” adding “And, your line of questioning is, even by describing it the way you’re doing it, shows me that you don’t believe that all students should have access to the extracurricular activities that schools provide.”

  Banks told Cardona that “somehow, somewhere you and this administration believe that Title IX somehow protects biological boys for competing against girls and sports. You’re okay with that.”

  Watch:

  NEW: Cardona refused to recognize biological sex, said transgenders should be able to compete against girls and said there are “sensitive issues” where children should feel safe at school when asked if schools should be able to hide a child transitioning from their parents pic.twitter.com/PwUtajlcP1

  — Henry Rodgers (@henryrodgersdc) May 26, 2022

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

  The Congressman then asked Cardona three times if he agrees “that school districts should keep a child’s involvement in gender transition a secret from their parents?”

  Cardona again did not properly answer the question, instead referring to such situations as “very sensitive.”

  Watch:

  WATCH: Education Secretary @SecCardona refuses to answer a question by @RepJimBanks about whether or not parents should be kept in the dark if their child is undergoing a gender transition at school. pic.twitter.com/kYMCWZd6Qr

  — Jeremiah Poff (@JJ_Poff) May 26, 2022

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

  Before he took up the position of Education Secretary, Cardona made it clear during his Senate confirmation hearing that he supports biological males competing against girls in sports.

  “I think it’s critically important to respect the rights of all students, including students who are transgender, and that they are afforded the opportunities that every other student has to participate in extracurricular actives,” Cardona said at the time under questioning from Senator Rand Paul, who noted that such a development would “completely destroy girls athletics”.

  Paul told Cardona “A lot of us think that that’s bizarre, you know? Not very fair,” adding “I think most people in the country think it’s bizarre. You know? That it’s just completely bizarre and unfair that people, and you’re gonna run the education? You’ve got no problem with it?”

  “I mean, to think it’s okay that boys would compete with girls in a track meet, and that somehow would be fair,” the Kentucky senator continued, positing “I wonder where feminists are on this. I wonder where the people who supported women’s sports are on this.”

  Watch:

  *  *  *

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  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
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 21:00

• Made In America: Goods Exports By State
  Made In America: Goods Exports By State

  After China, the U.S. is the next largest exporter of goods in the world, shipping out $1.8 trillion worth of goods in 2021 – an increase of 23% over the previous year.

  Of course, as Visual Capitalist’s Raul Amoros and Jennifer West detail below, that massive number doesn’t tell the whole story. The U.S. economy is multifaceted, with varying levels of trade activity taking place all across the nation.

  Using the latest data on international trade from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, we’ve visualized the value of America’s goods exports by state.

  

  Top 10 Exporter States

  Here are the top 10 American states that exported the highest dollar value worth of goods during 2021. Combined, these export-leading states represent 59.4% of the nation’s total exports.

  

  Texas has been the top exporting state in the U.S. for an incredible 20 years in a row.

  Last year, Texas exported $375 billion worth of goods, which is more than California ($175 billion), New York ($85 billion), and Louisiana ($77 billion) combined. The state’s largest manufacturing export category is petroleum and coal products, but it’s also important to mention that Texas led the nation in tech exports for the ninth straight year.

  California was the second highest exporter of goods in 2021 with a total value of $175 billion, an increase of 12% from the previous year. The state’s main export by value was computer and electronic product manufacturing, representing 17.8% of the total U.S. exports of that industry. California was also second among all states in exports of machinery manufacturing, accounting for 13.9% of the U.S. total.

  What Type of Goods are Exported?

  Here is a breakdown of the biggest U.S. export categories by value in 2021.

  

  These top 10 export categories alone represent almost 70% of America’s total exports.

  The biggest grower among this list is mineral fuels, up by 59% from last year. Pharmaceuticals saw the second biggest one-year increase (45%).

  Top 10 U.S. Exports by Country of Destination

  So who is buying “Made in America” products?

  Unsurprisingly, neighboring countries Canada (17.5%) and Mexico (15.8%) are the two biggest buyers of American goods. Together, they purchase one-third of American exports.

  

  Three Asian countries round out the top five list: China (8.6%), Japan (4.3%), and South Korea (3.7%). Together, the top five countries account for around half of all goods exports.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 20:40

• 12 Groups Behind Protest Of Musk’s Twitter Takeover Have Ties With Gates Foundation, Soros
  12 Groups Behind Protest Of Musk’s Twitter Takeover Have Ties With Gates Foundation, Soros

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

  A dozen liberal groups that pressured Twitter advertisers to boycott the platform in response to Elon Musk’s plans to acquire it received money from entities backed by Bill Gates and George Soros, an analysis of public filings shows.

  

  In early May, a group of 26 organizations penned a public letter claiming that the Tesla CEO’s takeover of Twitter would “be a direct threat to public safety” and turn the platform into “a cesspool of misinformation.” The letter called for Twitter’s top advertisers to “hold [Musk] to account” by committing to “non-negotiable” standards for doing business with the site, one of which is to not restore the accounts of political and public figures banned for “egregious violations of Twitter Rules.” The letter contained the logos of Accountable Tech, Media Matters for America, and UltraViolet Action.

  An analysis of the public filings and records shows that at least 11 of the letter’s signatories or their affiliated groups have taken money from organizations funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. One of the three groups leading the letter has received over $1 million from billionaire financer George Soros’s grant-making network Open Society Foundations, while the two others were founded in part by former staffers for Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton.

  Eight signatories also collected roughly $10.25 million in federal grants and loans between 2020 and 2021, public records show.

  The New Venture Fund, the recipient of more than $500 million in grants from the Gates Foundation since 2012, in 2020 gave $180,000 in total to two signees, Media Matters for America and Center for Media Justice. Another $11.2 million of the New Venture Fund’s 2020 grant money went to North Fund, a shadowy progressive nonprofit based in Washington that funnels money to a number of other activist groups, including Accountable Tech, which published the letter.

  Accountable Tech’s website shows that two members on its team—its co-founder and digital director—worked for Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

  Founded in 2004, Media Matters for America describes itself as a “progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.” A key function of the organization is to provide tools for monitoring what it considers to be “conservative misinformation,” which it defines to be “news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda.”

  The Center for Media Justice, which in 2019 was rebranded to MediaJustice, aims to promote “racial, economic, and gender justice in a digital age,” its website states.

  

  Tides Foundation, a Gates Foundation grantee since at least 2013, has handed over $2.34 million to eight of the signatories or their affiliates over a three year-period since 2019.

  Among the recipients is Indivisible Project and its nonprofit charitable arm Indivisible Civics that work to “defeat the Trump agenda,” of which the signatory Indivisible Northern Nevada is a local chapter.

  The other seven signatories that received money from Tides Foundation in the past three years are: women’s advocacy group UltraViolet Action; environmentalist groups Union of Concerned Scientists and Friends of the Earth; pro-abortion association NARAL Pro-Choice America; Black Lives Matter South Bend, a local chapter of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation; GLAAD, which monitors media portrayal of LGBTQ groups; and Media Matters Action Network, a partner project of Media Matters for America.

  UltraViolet Action’s board chair and board member Karen Finney was the Democratic National Committee’s first African American spokeswoman and had served as the senior spokesperson for Hilary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to the group’s website. Another board chair, Arisha Hatch, was an organizer for then-candidate Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008.

  Access Now, which focuses on internet accessibility around the world, in 2021 received funds totalling $1.35 million from the Open Society Foundations that Soros founded and chairs, along with grants from Wikimedia Foundation, Microsoft, governments in Germany, Switzerland, Canada, and the Netherlands.

  Beginning in 2017, the Open Society Foundation has also awarded three grants with a combined value of 1.625 million to Free Press, a pro-net neutrality group that also signed on to the letter.

  The Microsoft founder last month admitted to having taken a $500 million short position on Tesla shares, according to a leaked text message string between Gates and Musk said that the latter said was authentic.

  

  Musk had reacted to the boycott letter by calling for an investigation of the signatories’ funders.

  “Who funds these organizations that want to control your access to information? Let’s investigate …” he wrote on Twitter on May 3, adding: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”

  He later made note of a report that some signatories received funding from Soros and European governments. “Interesting. I wonder if those funding these organizations are fully aware of what the organizations are doing,” he wrote.

  Twitter in recent years has drawn criticism for censoring and suspending conservative users. Among its list of banned public figures are former President Donald Trump, Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, COVID-19 vaccine critic Dr. Robert Malone, and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

  Musk has called Twitter’s ban of Trump’s account in early 2021 “flat-out stupid.” He said he would reverse the move if he becomes the platform’s new owner.

  At a recent Miami tech conference, Musk also said he would be voting Republican after having “voted overwhelmingly for Democrats.” He described the $44 billion deal as “not some right-wing takeover,” but instead a “moderate take over and an attempt to ensure that people of all political beliefs feel welcome on a digital town square and they can express their beliefs without fear of being banned or shadowbanned.”

  The Gates Foundation connections were first reported by Breitbart. The Epoch Times has reached out to all the named organizations.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 20:20

• Helium Shortage Leaves Dollar Tree And Party City's Balloons Deflated 
  Helium Shortage Leaves Dollar Tree And Party City’s Balloons Deflated 

  Retailers from Dollar Tree to Party City are warning about a helium shortage. There’s even a shortage of the gas, produced when Uranium decays, to fill weather balloons for the National Weather Service (NWS). 

  The US, Qatar, and Algeria are the world’s top helium producers. Due to supply chain disruptions, including production plant closures and the 2017 embargo on Qatar, supplies have tightened.

  Dollar Tree officials warned Thursday that “once again” a helium shortage will impact balloon sales in a quarterly earnings call. 

  “Currently, helium demand is greater than supply, so our stores are finding themselves temporarily out of helium from time to time as they wait for new deliveries. We know this can be tricky when getting ready for a party, and we are very sorry for the inconvenience,” Dollar Tree said in a statement on its website. 

  Earlier this month, Party City CEO Brad Weston told investors on a quarterly earnings call about the shortage of the odorless gas. 

  The shortage has impacted NWS’ ability to launch weather balloons because of its inability to source the gas. Several NWS sites across the country used for weather forecasting have had to limit daily ballon launches because of a contract dispute with a helium supplier. 

  Increasing search trends for “helium shortage” implies that impacts are worsening, or more people are becoming aware of the shortage. 

  

  The shortage has even ended a six-decade tradition at the University of Nebraska, where fans at Huskers football games will no longer release balloons into the sky this fall because of what University of Nebraska athletic director Trev Alberts says, “acquiring helium in today’s day and age, given some of the production of it is really challenged and it’s been hard to get.” 

  The world isn’t running out of helium. There’s just an imbalance in the market of too much demand and not enough supply. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 20:00

• State Department Approves $2.6 Billion Helicopter Deal For Egypt
  State Department Approves $2.6 Billion Helicopter Deal For Egypt

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  On Thursday, the Pentagon said the State Department approved a potential sale of CH-47F Chinook helicopters and related equipment to Egypt worth about $2.6 billion.

  The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the sale is for 56 Chinooks, which come with installed M-240 machine guns. The principal contractor for the deal is Boeing.

  

  The Chinook sale is the second arms deal the Biden administration moved forward for Egypt this month. Last week, the State Department approved the sale of over 5,000 TOW 2A anti-tank missiles worth an estimated $691 million.

  The sales to Egypt come despite concerns in Washington over Cairo’s human rights abuses and its harsh treatment of political prisoners. Egypt receives about $1.3 billion in military aid from the US each year, the second-highest of any country except for Israel, although Ukraine has surpassed both nations for 2022.

  Last year, the Biden administration withheld $130 million in military aid from Egypt after pressure from Congress, but many critics said it didn’t go far enough.

  As a candidate, President Biden vowed to take a harder line on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, but the arms sales continued.

  US StateDept. authorizes a proposed Foreign Military Sales for Egypt to purchase up to 23 CH-47F Chinook helicopters and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.6 billion.
  Already 19 CH-47D in service in EAFhttps://t.co/KgTUubu3k3 pic.twitter.com/KQVlpxwsuV

  — Harry Boone (@Harry_Boone) May 26, 2022

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

  The State Department’s approval of the Chinook deal begins a period where it could potentially be blocked by Congress.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 19:40

• Bankrupt Sri Lanka Takes Russian Crude As Fuel Crisis Depletes Stocks, Mulls Loan From China
  Bankrupt Sri Lanka Takes Russian Crude As Fuel Crisis Depletes Stocks, Mulls Loan From China

  A foreign exchange shortage has resulted in the worst financial crisis Sri Lanka has ever endured, with shortages of everything from food to crude. Fuel supplies are down to just days, food has run out at supermarkets, and social-economic chaos has unfolded across the island country in South Asia.

  However, there’s short-term hope, and somehow the bankrupt country found enough money to pay for a shipment of Russian crude. 

  Bloomberg said Ceylon Petroleum Corp., the country’s only refinery, is set to take shipment of Russian grade Siberian Light on May 28. It will be the first time the refinery has processed crude to produce high-value products such as gasoline and diesel in two months. 

  Fuel supplies on the island nation are so low that the government has told citizens to stop waiting in long lines at filling stations. The government has run out of foreign reserves to pay for essential imports.

  Last week, newly-appointed prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, said his government needed $75 million for critical imports such as crude. 

  “At the moment, we only have petrol stocks for a single day. The next couple of months will be the most difficult ones of our lives.

  “We must prepare ourselves to make some sacrifices and face the challenges of this period,” Wickremesinghe said. 

  Sapugaskanda Refinery will commence operations for first time since March 20th with a Crude Oil cargo unloading tomo. The refinery will start producing Fuel Oil in 6 days. Stocks on 26 May –
  Diesel 23022 MT, Sup Diesel 2588 MT, 92 Pet 39968 MT, 95 Pet 7112 MT and JETA1 3578 MT

  — Kanchana Wijesekera (@kanchana_wij) May 26, 2022

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

  Ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg shows the Nissos Delos tanker carrying Siberian Light has moved towards a mooring point where it can begin discharge operations. The vessel loaded up on March 29 at Novorossiysk, a port city on the Black Sea in southern Russia. 

  

  Bloomberg wasn’t exactly sure how Sri Lanka paid for the Russian crude, considering it owes more than $50bn in overseas debt. It’s seeking a $4bn loan from the IMF and has asked China to renegotiate at least $3.5bn in debt.

  China recently offered a few hundred million dollars in lending to help alleviate a shortage of essential goods.

  “It’s quite substantial. It would be a few hundred million dollars,” Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was appointed Sri Lanka’s prime minister this month, told the Financial Times in an interview. 

  “It’ll still help us get hold of essential consumer items, fertilizers. . . the ministry of finance is having discussions on some of the items.”

  Perhaps, that’s how Sri Lanka will pay for the Russian crude.  

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 19:20

• Gun Control Advocacy Group Plans Nationwide Protests After Texas School Shooting
  Gun Control Advocacy Group Plans Nationwide Protests After Texas School Shooting

  Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  A student-led gun control advocacy group is planning nationwide protests in the wake of the Texas elementary school shooting that claimed the lives of 19 children this week.

  

  According to its website, March for Our Lives is planning to take to the streets of Washington, D.C. on June 11. The group also has several other marches planned in various parts of the country spanning from San Francisco and Michigan to South Carolina, on a number of dates.

  There will also be a protest at the convention center where the National Rifle Association (NRA) is hosting a conference in Houston, Texas on May 27. The convention center is roughly 300 miles from the scene of the deadly shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24.

  Organizers are also calling on activists to join them at Capitol Hill from June 7 to 10 where they will be discussing a push for universal background checks on gun purchasers with lawmakers.

  A bill requiring them, titled the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, or H.R. 8, passed the House in March 2021 but the Republican-controlled Senate has not taken it up.

  “Our message and ask is simple: no longer will we be held hostage by our lawmakers and no longer will we tolerate feeling unsafe in our communities,” the group wrote on the website.

  “Regardless of what party you stand for, if you do not support lifesaving measures like universal background checks, we will pledge to vote against you this fall and in future elections. ”

  March for Our Lives was founded in 2018 following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, during which a gunman killed 17 people.

  The group organized one of the largest protests against gun violence in U.S. history.

  March for Our Lives says it believes gun violence across the country is the result of gun glorification, political apathy, poverty, armed supremacy, and a nationwide mental health crisis.

  The group proposes proactively addressing these issues while banning assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and other weapons; and holding the gun industry and lobbyists more accountable. It also advocates policies to disarm gun owners who pose a harm risk, and a national gun buy-back program to reduce the estimated 265–393 million firearms in circulation by at least 30 percent.

  “President [Joe] Biden and all our elected officials must act with a fierce urgency to call this crisis what it is: a national public health emergency,” the group states on its website.

  Biden condemned gun laws in America in a White House address on Wednesday following the Texas school shooting, while advocating for limitations on constitutionally protected gun rights and for lawmakers to “stand up to a very powerful” gun lobby.

  “When in God’s name will we do what needs to be done to, if not completely stop, fundamentally change the amount of the carnage that goes on in this country?” Biden said.

  “While they clearly will not prevent every tragedy, we know certain ones will have a significant impact and have no negative impact on the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment is not absolute,” he added. “When it was passed, you couldn’t own … a cannon, you couldn’t own certain kinds of weapons.”

  Salvador Ramos, 18, allegedly shot his grandmother on May 24 before driving toward Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and opening fire on the campus, killing 19 children and two adults.

  The gunman was shot and killed by law enforcement officers.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 19:00

• US, Taiwan Push Forward On Economic Talks Amid China Denunciations
  US, Taiwan Push Forward On Economic Talks Amid China Denunciations

  “Taiwan is part of China,” Chinese military spokesman Col. Shi Yi asserted in response to President Biden’s start of the week remarks pledging US defense for Ukraine in the event of an invasion (comments walked back by the White House). “The theater troops are determined and capable of thwarting any external forces’ interference and separatist attempts to ‘Taiwan independence’, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability,” he had underscored, speaking of snap PLA live fire drills near the island this week.

  “This is a solemn warning to the recent US-Taiwan collusion activities. It is hypocritical and futile for the US to say one thing and do another on the Taiwan issue, and frequently encourage the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces,” Yi said.

  A senior Taiwanese official also informed CNN that the country plans to send a delegation to the SelectUSA Summit in June, a meeting to promote foreign investment in the U.S. arranged by the Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.

  The U.S. and Taiwan are especially interested in cooperation in sectors related to supply chain resilience and sustainable development.

  A Friday statement from US Trade Representative Katherine Tai’s office suggests the June meeting is indeed in motion: “Ambassador Tai and Minister Deng directed their teams to explore concrete ways to deepen the US-Taiwan trade and investment relationship and to meet again in the coming weeks to discuss the path forward,” it said.

  Beijing has frequently denounced efforts at deepened diplomatic and economic ties, calling the latest trip last month of a group of US lawmakers “deliberately provocative” which has “led to further escalation of tension in the Taiwan Strait.”

  Meanwhile, in a major policy speech given by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday in D.C., the top diplomat charged that it’s Beijing which has engaged in “increasingly provocative rhetoric and activity” threatening the democratic island.

  He stressed in words which China is without doubt going to see as provocative that the Biden administration is working to “shape the strategic environment around Beijing to advance our vision for an open and inclusive international system.”

  Suggesting what’s no doubt a top US trade priority and supply chain issue when it comes to Taiwan, a group delegation led by Sen. Menendez last month stated the following: “With Taiwan producing 90 percent of the world’s high-end semiconductor products, it is a country of global significance, consequence and impact, and therefore it should be understood the security of Taiwan has a global impact.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 18:40

• Shouldn't Hillary Clinton Be Banned From Twitter Now?
  Shouldn’t Hillary Clinton Be Banned From Twitter Now?

  Authored by Matt Taibbi via TK News Substack,

  Trial testimony reveals Hillary Clinton personally approved serious election misinformation. Is there an anti-Trump exception to content moderation?

  Last week, in the trial of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann, prosecutor Andrew DeFilippis asked ex-campaign manager Robby Mook about the decision to share with a reporter a bogus story about Donald Trump and Russia’s Alfa Bank. Mook answered by giving up his onetime boss. “I discussed it with Hillary,” he said, describing his pitch to the candidate: “Hey, you know, we have this, and we want to share it with a reporter… She agreed to that.”

  In a country with a functioning media system, this would have been a huge story. Obviously this isn’t Watergate, Hillary Clinton was never president, and Sussmann’s trial doesn’t equate to prosecutions of people like Chuck Colson or Gordon Liddy. But as we’ve slowly been learning for years, a massive fraud was perpetrated on the public with Russiagate, and Mook’s testimony added a substantial piece of the picture, implicating one of the country’s most prominent politicians in one of the more ambitious disinformation campaigns we’ve seen.

  There are two reasons the Clinton story isn’t a bigger one in the public consciousness.

  One is admitting the enormity of what took place would require system-wide admissions by the FBI, the CIA, and, as Matt Orfalea’s damning video above shows, virtually every major news media organization in America.

  More importantly, there’s no term for the offense Democrats committed in 2016, though it was similar to Watergate. Instead of a “third-rate burglary” and a bug, Democrats sent schlock research to the FBI, who in turn lied to the secret FISA court and obtained “legal” surveillance authority over former Trump aide Carter Page (which opened doors to searches of everyone connected to Page). Worse, instead of petty “ratfucking” like Donald Segretti’s “Canuck letter,” the Clinton campaign created and fueled a successful, years-long campaign of official harassment and media fraud. They innovated an extraordinary trick, using government connections and press to generate real criminal and counterintelligence investigations of political enemies, mostly all based on what we now know to be self-generated nonsense.

  The Clintons, and especially Hillary, have been baselessly accused of all sorts of things in the past, the murder of Vince Foster being just one example. The “vast right-wing conspiracy” was so successful that the Clintons ended up aligning with and helping fund its chief architect, David Brock, ahead of the 2016 cycle. Along with Perkins Coie and the research agency Fusion-GPS, headed by former Wall Street Journal reporter and current self-admiring sleaze-merchant Glenn Simpson, they engineered three long years of phony “collusion” headlines. No matter what papers like the Washington Post try to argue this week, this was an enormous scandal.

  The world has mostly moved on, since Russiagate was thirty or forty “current things” ago, but the public prosecution of the collusion theory was a daily preoccupation of national media for years. A substantial portion of the population believed the accusations, and expected the story would end with Donald Trump in jail or at least indicted, scrolling for a thousand straight days in desperate expectation of the promised justice. Trump was bounced from Twitter for incitement, but Twitter has a policy against misinformation as well. It includes a prohibition against “misleading” media that is “likely to result in widespread confusion on public issues.”

  I’m not a fan of throwing people off Twitter, but how can knowingly launching thousands of bogus news stories across a period of years, leading millions of people to believe lies and expect news that never arrived, not qualify as causing “widespread confusion on public issues”?

  …

  Keep reading with a 7-day free trial… Subscribe to TK News by Matt Taibbi to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives…

   

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 18:20

• Wall Street's Most Bearish Analyst Points To Biggest Equity Inflow In 10 Weeks, Remains Bearish: "Fade Rallies"
  Wall Street’s Most Bearish Analyst Points To Biggest Equity Inflow In 10 Weeks, Remains Bearish: “Fade Rallies”

  One week ago, after 7 consecutive weeks of declines for the S&P (and a record 8 weeks for the Dow), One River CIO Eric Peters said that “If We Can’t Bounce After Being Down 7 Weeks In A Row, Something Is Seriously Wrong.“ It was also around that time that BofA’s in house doom and gloomer, Michael Hartnett, issued his latest warning that his new “bull case” for the market is 3,600 and while he would “sell-any-rips”, he warned that “the tape remains very vulnerable to a bear market rally,” a vulnerability which only increased as the bank’s Bull and Bear market indicator swung further into panic territory dropping from 1.5 to 0.6, the lowest level since March 2020.

  

  Well, fast forward to today when we have finally bounce, and yes, the bear market rally finally appeared…

  BofA Bull and Bear Indicator hits 0.6, one of the lowest prints on record.

  Unless the Fed quietly launches a nuke at the US, a big bear market rally is coming pic.twitter.com/aXoJOgrbqh

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 27, 2022

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

  … and after briefly dipping into a bear market one week ago, the S&P exploded 6.6% higher this week, its best weekly advance since Nov 2020.

  While this is hardly the end of the bear market, which we expect to resume in earnest shortly. it was enough to give Hartnett a break from his usual weekly fire and brimstone sermon, and instead his latest Flow Show was titled simply enough “It’s Back On” (full note is available to professional subs).

  Picking up where he left off last week, Hartnett writes that the summer rally bandwagon is growing: the number of bears is soaring (see the abovementioned plunge in the BofA Bull & Bear Indicator) add growing speculation of both “peak” inflation and Fed “pause”, and mix in the most oversold stocks relative to 200dma, and you get tradable bounce dynamite.

  Not that this was exactly surprising to investors who clearly were aware of what is coming and as Hartnett notes, citing the latest EPFT data, this week saw $20.6BN in cash piled into to equities, the most in 10 weeks, as well as $0.8bn into gold, 28.2BN to cash, funded by another $5.8BN pulled from bonds.

  

  Some more details from Goldman: net flows into global equity funds turned positive in the week ending May 25n (+$21bn vs -$5bn the prior week), following net outflows over the prior six weeks. The turn reflected greater net purchases for the US market, primarily due to a spike in ETF inflows (although mutual fund flows were also less negative).

  

  Not that this week was some kind of “all clear” – as Goldman notes, net outflows continued for most other markets, mostly at a steady or slightly reduced pace; although mainland China equities saw net inflows on the week.

  

  By sector, the largest net inflows (scaled by AUM) were into telecom, consumer goods, and infrastructure; the largest net outflows were from industrials.

  Some more detailed flow details from BofA, which also highlights the 5th week of outflow from tech ($1.0bn),

  

  8th week outflow from financials ($1.2bn);

  

   Outflows from IG + HY + EM debt continue ($8.3bn);

  Largest 4-week outflow from bank loans since Apr’20 ($0.6bn);

  

  Finally, last week also saw the largest inflow consumer stocks since Dec’21 ($1.2bn).

  In credit, flows into global fixed income funds were negative for the 19th week out of the last 20 (-$7bn vs -$14bn the prior week). Outflows from HY credit products and EM fixed income slowed but remained negative; inflows into government-only funds continued. Money market fund assets increased by $28bn.

  

  So after this week’s ramp has Hartnett’s infamous pessimism eased? Not one bit.

  First, the strategist shows a chart of rolling equity vs commodity returns and notes that “secular 10-year returns from commodities are on the rise (latest 0.7% +ve for 1st time since Nov’14), while those from stocks are peaking (13.7%, down from 16.6% in Sep’21), and those from bonds are already falling (2.7%, lowest since Oct’81).

  

  Next, as he explains when looking at the “tale of the tape”, we saw sneaky new highs in oil (which tarnishes the “peak inflation” argument), crypto continues to see a very limited bid (low speculative animal spirits), but MOVE (Treasury volatility) is off its highs (it served as the epicenter of the risk-off), with biotech trying to hold 2018, 2020 lows (XBI $65) to confirm “peak yields”, and best of all, the IG & HY spread widening halted at 2018 highs, which even Hartnett has to admit is positive for risk…

  

  … but not positive enough for the BofA strategist to say BTFD and instead he concludes that “we fade rallies (e.g. SPX >4200)… but not in rush.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 17:57

• "We Could See A Million Layoffs Or More" – Here Comes The Job Market Shock
  “We Could See A Million Layoffs Or More” – Here Comes The Job Market Shock

  Last weekend we showed something remarkable (or delightful, if one is a stock bull): with the US economy on the verge of recession, with inflation topping, with the housing market about to crack, the last pillar holding up the US economy (and preventing the Fed from continuing its tightening plans beyond the summer), the job market, had just hit a brick wall as revealed by real-time indicators – such as Revello’s measure of total job postings – which plunged by 22.5%, the biggest change on record (we also listed several other labor market metrics confirming that the job market was about to crater).

  

  Fast forward to today when one day after we found that initial jobless claims continue to rise after hitting a generational low in March, and as company after company is warning that it will freeze hiring amid a historic profit margin crunch – if not announce outright layoff plans – Piper Sandler has compiled all the recent company mass layoff announcements. They are, in a word, startling.

  

  Commenting on the surge in layoffs, Piper Sandler’s chief economist Nancy Lazar says that “post-covid rightsizing means that lots more layoffs are coming” and adds that “many companies overhired and overpaid during the Covid crisis.” Lazar also points out the obvious, that “the stay-at-home bubble was a bubble, and not a “new paradigm” of goods consumption” which means that “a right-sizing cycle is coming, with weaker growth in jobs and wages.”

  Here are the stunning implications according to Piper Sandler:

  • We could see a million layoffs or more, as many goods sectors that benefited from the pandemic now realize they added too much capacity (as involuntary admissions make clear).
  • Low-income workers – who enjoyed the hottest wage gains during the crisis – are now most at risk of layoffs, with remaining job holders to see much slower wage growth.
  • Payrolls gains are poised to downshift to just 100k/month on average in the second half of the year, from about 515k/month through April.

  While the above implications are startling for the US economy as a whole, they are especially bad for America’s poorest quintile which, according to Morgan Stanley calculations, now have less “excess cash” than they did pre-covid. In other words, the poorest 20% income quintile is now poorer than it was before Biden’s massive stimmy bonanza. And with every passing month, more quintile will get dragged underneath.

  

  Of course, the US labor market doesn’t need to go into all-out cardiac arrest – a sharp drop in wage growth should do it. And sure enough, according to a Bloomberg report today, after handing out hefty salary increases over the past year, companies are now becoming more cautious with their cash over concern further big payouts will eat into profits, according to staffing companies, business owners and recent surveys.

  “We’ve reached a level of wage inflation where employers are going to say, ‘I’ve done as much as I can,’” said Jonas Prising, chief executive officer of ManpowerGroup Inc., the Milwaukee-based staffing company that serves more than 100,000 clients worldwide. “‘My consumers and customers aren’t going to accept me passing these costs on any further, so we need to start to mitigate them.’”

  Burning Glass Institute Chief Economist Gad Levanon said the US is transitioning from a pandemic-driven job market — where many Americans weren’t actively seeking work due to fears of the virus and related issues — to one that is more traditionally tight because unemployment is low.  “Every company still needs people but they don’t need hundreds of people,” said Tom Gimbel, chief executive officer of Chicago-based employment agency LaSalle Network. “They’re being choosier about who they’re hiring than they were six months ago.”

  Beveridge Well Drilling Inc. is among those feeling the pinch. The Nebraska-based company is offering an hourly wage of $16.50 for manual labor, up from $12 about a year ago. But even with “100%” health care benefits and other generous perks, it can’t fill all the open slots, vice president of construction Brandon Jones said.

  And while the firm could bump up its offers to about $18 an hour, that’s “about as high as we feel we can do” against the backdrop of rising fuel and supply costs, Jones said.

  All of which begs the question: yes, Biden may be terrified about soaring inflation….

  Biden about to find out what polls worse: recession and bear market or runaway inflation.

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 20, 2022

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

  … but how long will he tolerate an economy (and how long will an economic tolerate him) where millions are not only about to see their wages “revert back to normal” if they are lucky, while many other millions are about to lose their jobs.

  As for the Fed, well with the Citi US Eco surprise index already crashing…

  

  … one can only imagine where it will go not if but when we get a negative payrolls print in one of the coming months, and what that will do to the Fed’s hiking plans.

  Full notes available to professional subs in the usual place.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 17:55

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• EU Suspends Russia's Access To Vital Crime Data Sharing Program
  EU Suspends Russia’s Access To Vital Crime Data Sharing Program

  Amid the unprecedented waves of EU and US sanctions imposed on Russia in the wake of its Ukraine invasion, and as tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions continue between Moscow and European capitals, among the last frontiers of Russia-Europe cooperation remains in the area of crime monitoring and data sharing.

  But that too appears to be winding down, as Russian state media has announced the European Union has suspended its drug traffic data sharing program with Russian law enforcement agencies. “The EU has suspended contacts and data sharing with Russia as part of the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official said,” TASS reports.

  

  “The European Union has unilaterally suspended expert contacts and data sharing with us” as part of the EMCDDA, Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov confirmed. “The annual OSCE-wide Anti-Drug Conference has been postponed indefinitely,” he added.

  The Russian official slammed the move as counterproductive, with the inevitable consequence being that drug traffickers will be able to act with greater impunity as a country the size of Russia (literally the world’s largest by land mass and border area) is cut out of the program.

  “We believe this is a destructive approach. It plays into the hands of drug traffickers, who are taking advantage of the disagreements among countries to increase illicit drug supplies to Europe,” he said.

  Russia, however, remains and will likely continue to remain a vital country within INTERPOL – the world’s largest international policing organization, representing 194 member countries.

  According to the INTERPOL website, “Russia is the world’s largest country by area, and shares borders with countries in northern Asia and Europe. Identifying, investigating and preventing serious crime across Europe and Asia is a large part of the daily work carried out by INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau (NCB) in Moscow.”

  Further it highlights Russian law enforcement’s importance in tracking international crime as follows: “The NCB’s global police cooperation activities are centered on Russia’s crime areas of priority concern; these include terrorism, organized crime – particularly drug and financial crime – and the international fugitive investigations these generate. Cybercrime is also an emerging crime area of concern.” Given rapidly deteriorating diplomatic relations with the West, this too could eventually be threatened as a vital area of close coordination.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/27/2022 – 02:45

• The WHO's Pandemic Treaty "Is Tied To A Global Digital Passport And ID System"
  The WHO’s Pandemic Treaty “Is Tied To A Global Digital Passport And ID System”

  Commentary by Aaron Kheriaty via Human Flourishing,

  We must oppose this to maintain national sovereignty and democratic norms…

  

  A clever play on words from the man that many are hoping will preserve free speech on Twitter.

  The WHO recently announced plans for an international pandemic treaty tied to a digital passport and digital ID system.

  Meeting in December 2021 in a special session for only the second time since the WHO’s founding in 1948, the Health Assembly of the WHO adopted a single decision titled, “The World Together.”

  The WHO plans to finalize the treaty by 2024. It will aim to shift governing authority now reserved to sovereign states to the WHO during a pandemic by legally binding member states to the WHO’s revised International Health Regulations.

  In January of 2022 the United States submitted proposed amendments to the 2005 International Health Regulations, which bind all 194 U.N. member states, which the WHO director general accepted and forwarded to other member states. In contrast to amendments to our own constitution, these amendments will not require a two-thirds vote of our Senate, but a simple majority of the member states.

  Most of the public is wholly unaware of these changes, which will impact the national sovereignty of member states.

  The proposed amendments include, among others, the following. Among the changes the WHO will no longer need to consult with the state or attempt to obtain verification from the state where a reported event of concern (e.g., a new outbreak) is allegedly occurring before taking action on the basis of such reports (Article 9.1).

  In addition to the authority to make the determination of a public health emergency of international concern under Article 12, the WHO will be granted additional powers to determine a public health emergency of regional concern, as well as a category referred to as an intermediate health alert.

  The relevant state no longer needs to agree with the WHO Director General’s determination that an event constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. A new Emergency Committee will be constituted at the WHO, which the Director-General will consult in lieu of the state within whose territory the public health emergency of international concern has occurred, to declare the emergency over.

  The amendments will also give “regional directors” within the WHO, rather than elected representatives of the relevant states, the legal authority to declare a Public Health Emergency of Regional Concern.

  Also, when an event does not meet criteria for a public health emergency of international concern but the WHO Director-General determines it requires heightened awareness and a potential international public health response, he may determine at any time to issue an “intermediate public health alert” to states and consult the WHO’s Emergency Committee. The criteria for this category are simple fiat: “the Director-General has determined it requires heightened international awareness and a potential international public health response.”

  Through these amendments, the WHO, with the support of the United States, appears to be responding to roadblocks that China erected in the early days of covid. This is a legitimate concern. But the net effect of the proposed amendments is a shift of power away from sovereign states, ours included, to unelected bureaucrats at the WHO. The thrust of every one of the changes is toward increased powers and centralized powers delegated to the WHO and away from member states.

  Leslyn Lewis, a member of the Canadian parliament and lawyer with international experience, has warned that the treaty would also allow the WHO unilaterally to determine what constitutes a pandemic and declare when a pandemic is occurring. “We would end up with a one-size-fits-all approach for the entire world,” she cautioned. Under the proposed WHO plan, pandemics need not be limited to infectious diseases and could include, for example, a declared obesity crisis.

  As part of this plan, the WHO has contracted German-based Deutsche Telekom subsidiary T-Systems to develop a global vaccine passport system, with plans to link every person on the planet to a QR code digital ID.

  “Vaccination certificates that are tamper-proof and digitally verifiable build trust. WHO is therefore supporting member states in building national and regional trust networks and verification technology,” explained Garret Mehl, head of the WHO’s Department of Digital Health and Innovation.

  “The WHO’s gateway service also serves as a bridge between regional systems. It can also be used as part of future vaccination campaigns and home-based records.”

  This system will be universal, mandatory, trans-national, and operated by unelected bureaucrats in a captured NGO who already bungled the covid pandemic response.

  *  *  *

  Subscribe to Aaron’s ‘Human Flourishing’ Substack here…

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 23:40

• NYC Exodus To Florida Accelerates As People Fed Up With Violence And High Taxes 
  NYC Exodus To Florida Accelerates As People Fed Up With Violence And High Taxes 

  New York City struggles with a sharp rise in violent crime as the new mayor fails to make the metro areas safer. Public safety is worsening and has likely resulted in a continued exodus of residents.

  NYPost reports that 21,546 New Yorkers left the state for Florida during the first four months of this year, a 12% rise over the same period last year. 

  The exodus of New Yorkers first began before COVID-19 because of high taxes, then accelerated during the pandemic as the city went into lockdown. Now people are leaving in droves as the metro area descends into chaos.

  For some more context about the exodus, 2022 totals are 55% higher than the same period in 2019 (pre-COVID). A stunning trend that is only gaining momentum. 

  

  New Yorkers are frightened to walk the streets, nevertheless travel in the subway, which is plagued with criminals. In April, a mass shooting in a subway car left more than a dozen people injured. Last Sunday, a Goldman Sachs research analyst was shot in the chest, in an unprovoked attack, on the subway. The analyst died on the spot.

  The toxic environment of crime and high taxes have forced some Wall Street firms to move operations to the Sunshine State as an attractive place for long-term expansion. City dwellers have fallen in love with the state because there’s no personal income tax. 

  If migration trends persist, the number of New Yorkers leaving the state for Florida could shatter last year’s figure of 61,728. 

  Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams has been absolutely wrong about migration trends reversing. It’s only accelerating as NYC descends into darkness as another failed liberal city implodes under the weight of violent crime and high taxes. An environment businesses and or households will no longer tolerate because technology has allowed them to become more mobile.  

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 23:20

• China Paralyzed As Feud Erupts Between Xi And Li Over Covid Response
  China Paralyzed As Feud Erupts Between Xi And Li Over Covid Response

  For the past several months there had been rumors that a quiet feud had erupted within Beijing’s top echelons, the result of disagreement within the communist party whether Xi Jinping’s “zero covid” policy was the proper solution for the country of 1.4 billion and which two and a half years ago unleashed the coronavirus plague on the world. Well, now it’s official because as Bloomberg reported this morning, China finds itself gripped by “discord” at the very top level, with president Xi and premier Li on opposite sides of the the “zero covid” ring.

  As Bloomberg notes, shortly after Premier Li Keqiang held the previously discussed “rare” video call with thousands of Chinese officials across the nation to warn of an even worse economic crisis than two years ago, and calling on them to better balance Covid controls and economic growth, those same government officials charged with implementing policy at the ground level found themselves stumped and unsure whether they should still listen to: supreme leader Xi – who continues to emphasize the need for officials to push for zero Covid-19 cases – or Li, who continuously urges them to bolster the economy and hit preordained growth targets.

  This apparent dilemma has led to paralysis within a nation normally hailed for speedy implementation of orders from above, Bloomberg reports, citing eight unnamed senior local government officials.

  While analysts saw Li’s impromptu meeting as an attempt to strengthen consensus on the urgency to revive the economy, four senior officials said it did little to change their view that controlling the Covid outbreak still took priority: “One said that from a personal career perspective, a cadre’s hard work means nothing if they fail to contain an outbreak, while the upside for kicking off economic projects was limited.”

  For a glaring example of just how deep the schism within China’s core runs, one should look at who did not attend Li’s mammoth meeting – which brought together cadres right down to the county level, featuring officials from nearly all government departments including propaganda, environment, and utilities, according to notices on county-level government websites – the top-ranking Communist Party official for many cities was absent because they had to focus on ensuring Covid control, said a BBG source, adding that it signaled that pandemic work still trumped the economy. Attendance for party heads wasn’t mandatory.

  Which is bad news for Li who is tasked with restoring the economy… without actually being allowed to do anything:

  “He is being put in the impossible position of trying to rescue the economy without being able to adjust the one policy — zero-Covid — that is causing the most economic damage,” McArver said, referring to Li.

  For Li, who will depart the post of China’s second in command next March, the stakes couldn’t be higher: the Chinese Communist Party prepares to hold a twice-a-decade leadership conclave later this year, where Xi is expected to win a landmark third term, yet where rumor also has it some of his challengers are sharpening their knives if covid is still uncontained and if the economy remains a complete mess. The top party ranks will also be reshuffled, clearing the way for other cadres to move up the ladder if they can avoid any missteps, particularly in handling Covid outbreaks.  

  The paralysis is reflected in market sentiment. On Wednesday, the benchmark CSI 300 Index remained flat after sliding as much as 1.1% while shares in Hong Kong declined as investors have lost hope that – besides constant jawboning – China will be unable to implement a major stimulus.

  Which is a problem because as Li warned on Wednesday, when he delivered his starkest warnings about the economy’s weak performance, Beijing is facing another economic crisis with “difficulties in some aspects, to a certain extent, are greater than when the epidemic hit us severely in 2020.” He said China must avoid a contraction in the second quarter, adding that the nation would pay a huge price with a long road to recovery if the economy can’t keep expanding at a certain rate.

  It is unclear if Xi had heard the message.

  Meanwhile, as reported earlier this month, the latest official data also showed a contraction in industrial output for the first time since 2020 and a jump in the surveyed jobless rate to 6.1% in April, close to a record. High-frequency data for May showed the economy remained in a deep slump, according to Bloomberg’s aggregate index of eight indicators.

  Xi hasn’t directly addressed the depths of China’s economic struggle in recent weeks, though his more generic comments have received prominent treatment in state-run newspapers. “China’s resolve to open up at a high standard will not change and the door of China will open still wider to the world,” Xi said at a recent trade council anniversary meeting, in a typical comment.

  Li, by contrast, has emerged as a more candid figure. At the same trade council event in Beijing earlier this month Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, said the premier “woke up” when some delegates shared their frustrations over China’s Covid policy.

  “Li came over afterward and asked us how we were doing and how was business,” Wuttke said, adding that he was surprised by the move. “It was a very positive gesture. His actual crossing the street, showing up and saying ‘let’s chat’ was impressive.”

  Meanwhile, as it scrambles to address these two contradictory mandates, China prepares to unleash the latest bubble: according to Bloomberg, bank managers at several state-owned lenders have been told they will be held accountable for failing to meet loan issuance targets. They have struggled to implement orders to introduce more liquidity, as companies that meet requirements are reluctant to borrow given the uncertain outlook of economy, according to banking business heads and executives.

  In other words, with little actual loan demand, China has no other option than to flood markets with said loans, which will then promptly find their way into speculative activity – such as equities and housing, both of which will soon be on the receiving end of trillions more in liquidity. In fact, as we noted last night, it appears that China’s housing bubble is already making a comeback.

  China’s housing bubble is baaaack:

  New home sales rose 80.81% last week in Suzhou compared to a week earlier and the figure for Nanjing was 42.30%, the report said, citing data from https://t.co/i0S7LkM4DM

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 26, 2022

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

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 23:00

• China's Military Must Be Able To Destroy SpaceX's Starlink Satellites: Researchers
  China’s Military Must Be Able To Destroy SpaceX’s Starlink Satellites: Researchers

  The Chinese military must be able to destroy SpaceX’s Starlink satellites if they pose a threat to national security, according to an April publication by Chinese military researchers.

  

  The researchers speculated that US military drones and stealth fighter jets could boost their data transmission speed by more than 100x using the Starlink network. Notably, SpaceX has signed a contract with the US Department of Defense to develop technology based on the Starlink platform – which includes instruments sensitive enough to track hypersonic weapons traveling at 5x the speed of sound or faster.

  The paper also recommends developing a satellite surveillance system with ‘unprecedented scale and sensitivity’ in order to track every Starlink satellite, according to the South China Morning Post.

  The study was led by Ren Yuanzhen, a researcher with the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications under the PLA’s Strategic Support Force. Co-authors included several senior scientists in China’s defence industry. -SCMP

  “A combination of soft and hard kill methods should be adopted to make some Starlink satellites lose their functions and destroy the constellation’s operating system,” reads the paper, published in China’s peer-reviewed journal Modern Defence Technology.

  SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk is generally considered popular in China, however he received harsh criticism after two Starlink satellites came ‘dangerously close’ to the Chinese space station last year.

  

  Musk notably provided over 12,000 Starlink dishes to Ukraine to help facilitate broadband internet amid the war with Russia – which SpaceX is providing free of charge.

  “All critical infrastructure uses Starlink, all structures that are needed for the state’s functioning use them,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister for digital transformation. “We need to receive them constantly because they are one of the elements of the foundation of our fight and resilience.

  Another concern from the Chinese researchers is that Starlink satellites all contain ion thrusters, which could allow them to rapidly change orbits for a rapid move against high-value targets in space.

  On the public-facing side of things, Starlink’s popularity has continued to grow – experiencing a 275% increase since January.

  The research paper also suggests that the unprecedented scale and flexibility of the Starlink system would allow the West to insert military payloads into SpaceX commercial launches – necessitating the development of new anti-satellite capabilities and a surveillance system that can obtain super-sharp images of small satellites in order to identify unusual features.

  China claims it has already developed numerous ground-based laser imaging devices that can photograph orbiting satellites at a millimetre-resolution, but in addition to optical and radar imaging, the country also needs to be able to intercept signals from each Starlink satellite to detect any potential threat, according to Ren.

  He said China had also showed its ability to destroy a satellite with a missile, but this method could produce a large amount of space debris, and the cost would be too high against a system consisting of many small, relatively low-cost satellites. -SCMP

  “The Starlink constellation constitutes a decentralised system. The confrontation is not about individual satellites, but the whole system. This requires some low-cost, high-efficiency measures,” wrote the researchers.

  SCMP notes that Chinese scientists have already developed lasers for blinding or damaging satellites, as well as cyber weapons that can attempt to hack into the satellite communication network.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 22:40

• Suppressing the Truth About Suppressors
  Suppressing the Truth About Suppressors

  Op-Ed authored by John Velleco via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Big government leftists aren’t only trying to silence your voice on social media and through the Department of Homeland Security’s new Ministry of Truth, they’re also trying to silence your ability to simply possess a firearm suppressor.

  Hollywood, the “besties” of the left, likes to make it seem as if a suppressor completely silences a firearm, as seen by clever TV assassins and action-movie stars. Last year, New Jersey Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman backed this up, calling silencers “tools of murder.”

  Sen. Bob Menendez (also from New Jersey) said, “Gun silencers are dangerous devices with one purpose and one purpose only—to muffle the sound of gunfire from unsuspecting victims.”

  I’ll give you one guess as to which two Washington politicians have been watching a few too many Hollywood movies. Hint: they’re the same two who introduced legislation in 2021 to ban all Americans from simply possessing a gun suppressor. Not using one. Possessing one.

  Gun suppressors (called “sound moderators” in the UK) only decrease the noise of a gunshot by 20 to 35 decibels. That leaves them still “louder than your average ambulance siren,” according to an article by the Associated Press posted by Police1. That organization is a part of the nation’s leading content, policy, and training platform for public safety. Their job isn’t to kiss babies and raise money; their job is to tell the truth when it comes to how guns work in the real world.

  

  As much as the left would have you believe these devices are only used for Hollywood hitman-style murders, the truth is that the greatest use of silencers is for sporting professionals (pdf). Many shooting pros build private ranges in their basements and use silencers out of respect for their neighbors—literally the opposite of committing a crime.

  Second to sporting, suppressors are used with small-caliber subsonic ammunition to rid local areas of disease-carrying vermin, like rats (pdf). Stopping disease from a distance is a good thing.

  Fortunately, not all politicians believe big-action Hollywood movies are documentaries. Rep. Bob Good, from Virginia, looked to protect Americans from the suppressor-grab introduced by Menendez and Watson-Coleman. Good’s 2021 legislation sought a complete deregulation of gun suppressors at the federal level and it preempts state laws that would regulate, tax, or prohibit the possession of these devices.

  “The Second Amendment is the guarantor or protector of all other rights,” Good told Breitbart News. “If our Second Amendment right is not safe, no rights are safe. Democrats continue to fear-monger and spread misinformation as a justification to undermine our constitutional rights. I’m pleased to introduce legislation that will remove regulatory burdens from purchasing accessories that protect hearing and promote safety.”

  There are more than 60,000 legal federal gun-suppressor permits throughout the United States. If suppressors are so dangerous and used only as “tools of murder” then one would expect there to be a plethora of federal prosecutions for crimes committed with a firearm fitted with a suppressor. In reality, such federal prosecutions are rare occurrences (pdf), and the vast majority of those are not because a crime was committed but rather because someone hadn’t properly registered the suppressor. In other words, Menendez was flat-out lying about how they’re used.

  It’s ridiculous to use Hollywood and fear to limit a person’s firearm use for competition, sport shooting, hunting, self-defense, teaching children about being responsible gun owners, or for any other constitutionally protected purpose. Don’t be fooled—bills like this do nothing to stop a criminal. They only serve to hurt your ability to use your firearm in a responsible manner.

  A suppressor is not a firearm and is incapable of discharging any projectile, yet it’s regulated in the same manner as a machine gun. A firearms suppressor is a simple accessory, like a scope, holster, or any of the hundreds of other firearms accessories available, and ought to be available for purchase over the counter like any other lawful product.

  Maybe President Joe Biden’s new Ministry of Truth should look at the Menendez and Watson-Coleman bill as their first order of business when rooting out misinformation. Somehow, I doubt they will.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 22:20

• Russia Ready To Help Solve Global Food Crisis, On One Condition
  Russia Ready To Help Solve Global Food Crisis, On One Condition

  Italy says it’s working to intervene diplomatically with Russia to allow Ukrainian ports to open amid a growing global wheat and food supply crisis, given some 30% of the world’s wheat comes from war-ravaged Ukraine and Russia. 

  This culminated in a Thursday phone call between Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, wherein the Italian leader is believed to have pressed Putin to order his military to unblock Black Sea ports.

  A statement from the Kremlin following the call said “Vladimir Putin emphasizes that the Russian Federation is ready to make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis through the export of grain and fertilizer, subject to the lifting of politically motivated restrictions by the West.”

  

  Putin’s office confirmed he spoke about “steps taken to ensure the safety of navigation, including the daily opening of humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilian ships from the ports of the Azov and the Black Sea, which is impeded by the Ukrainian side.”

  Draghi’s office in turn described that “the call was dedicated to developments in Ukraine and efforts to find a common solution to the ongoing food crisis, as well as the severe repercussions for the world’s poorest countries.”

  The United States and leaders of several European countries have blamed Russia for increasing world hunger and ratcheting food prices and lack of supply, which is impacting already struggling and poor countries the hardest. However, Putin said the accusations are “unfounded” – following Russian officials earlier blaming Ukraine’s military for deploying thousands of sea mines around its ports.

  As Bloomberg reviews, “Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said this week the government in Kyiv is to blame for the halt to grain exports from Ukraine because it mined its ports. Ukraine denies that, says it is Moscow that is preventing ships from docking and accuses it of stealing grain stores from occupied regions.” Further, “A White House spokesperson said Russia’s actions were increasing world hunger.”

  Late yesterday, the Russian government – after being accused of using the food supply as blackmail and a bargaining chip – announced its military will open up protected sea corridors for international shipping to pass through from seven Ukrainian ports that have thus far been militarized and blockaded.

  It’s yet to be confirmed the degree to which this has happened, and likely most shipping companies and vessels would still deem the situation and ports near frontline fighting areas to be unsafe, given also the presence of mines.

  #UPDATE Moscow is ready to make a “significant contribution” to averting a looming food crisis if the West lifts sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said in a telephone call with Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi https://t.co/O3Av33GFTu pic.twitter.com/dhTOH4TThS

  — AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 26, 2022

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  Russia has meanwhile stressed that its military is engaged in extensive and complex demining operations of mines placed by Ukrainian forces, making international shipping dangerous and impossible in some areas off Ukraine’s coast. 

  NATO in a message earlier this month warned all commercial traffic in the Black Sea of the growing danger of drifting mines as spillover from the Russia-Ukraine war. “The latest statement of regional authorities, confirming another sighting of a mine, shows the threat of drifting mines in the Southwest part of the Black Sea still exists,” a May 13 NATO shipping advisory said.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 22:00

• Meanwhile Back In Washington, & Somalia, & Syria, & Kenya, And…
  Meanwhile Back In Washington, & Somalia, & Syria, & Kenya, And…

  Authored by Tom Gallagher via Common Dreams,

  So we hear that former President George W. Bush finally came around to denouncing “the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq.” This unexpected and belated outburst of truth-telling and self-criticism was, of course, unintentional—just one of those verbal gaffes that the man once entertained the nation with on a regular basis. Realizing his error, the former commander-in-chief quickly explained that the unjustified and brutal invasion he was condemning was, naturally, not that of Iraq, but Ukraine. He brushed his faux pas off as a result of his advanced age, and the audience had a good laugh about it all.

  Unfortunately, that crowd at the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas was not the only group with reason to smile at the current state of affairs, for these are happy days throughout the entire war-making community. With the nation understandably and justifiably outraged at the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it’s been widely noted that NATO is back in favor, arms manufacturers are back in clover, and increased military spending is way back in vogue in Washington—not that it ever suffered much of a downswing, mind you.

  

  What’s also happening these days is that the public are paying much closer attention than usual to matters of war. With the Ukraine invasion streaming on every screen, most Americans appear to know far more of the activities of the Russian and Ukrainian militaries than they know about their own—a situation that our domestic military policy makers are probably quite comfortable with. Unfortunately, the rest of us ought to be quite uncomfortable with this situation—as a glance at the back pages of the past week’s news will show.

  First, there was the announcement that President Biden would be sending troops back to Somalia. Why? In the words of National Security Council spokeswoman, Adrienne Watson, the purpose is to wage “a more effective fight against Al Shabab.” Al Shabab, (“the youth”), a fundamentalist Islamic group thought to have 5,000-10,000 members, has been fighting for control of Somalia since the 2000s.

  The U.S. started bombing Somalia in 2011. The following year Al Shabab declared allegiance to al-Qaeda. The U.S. has bombed Somalia in every subsequent year. The reason we can be waging war in Somalia? Well, it’s not something much discussed, since the fact that we bomb Somalia is not much discussed in the first place. Used to be that the justification and authorization cited for almost all of the bombs we have dropped in this century was the 2002 Authorization of the Use of Military Force resolution (the one that only Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California opposed.) Since that authorization was actually repealed last September, the White House/Pentagon’s operative rationale here now seems to be a sort-of “We’ve always done it this way” thing.

  This move on the part of Biden—who declared it “time to end the forever war” when he announced the withdrawal of all American troops from Afghanistan—will reverse President Trump’s decision to remove almost all of the 700 Americans previously stationed in Somalia, which Watson called “a precipitous decision to withdraw.” The unofficial word is that about 450 will return. Biden has also approved the Pentagon’s request to attempt assassinations of about a dozen suspected Al Shabab leaders, part of an overall effort—in the words of an unnamed senior administration official—to reduce “the threat to a level that is tolerable.” A prime example of the type of “threat” that Americans might face in that part of the world was the attack that killed three soldiers at the American air base at Manda Bay, Kenya on January 2, 2020. (American soldiers killed in Kenya? We’ll return to that.)

  And elsewhere on the assassination-attempts-on-enemy-leaders front, the very next day the Pentagon spoke for the first time about civilian casualties resulting from its March 18, 2019 drone strike near Baghuz, Syria. The U.S. military had not originally intended to discuss this matter at all, until the New York Times uncovered the incident in a November, 2021 series on civilian deaths resulting from U.S. air strikes. This recent Pentagon acknowledgment came a week after the Times was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for that series. Although the bulk of its investigation remains classified, the Pentagon does acknowledge 73 casualties including 56 dead, 52 of whom it claims “were enemy fighters, including one child.” The enemy in this case refers to the Islamic State (ISIS). Anonymous officials familiar with the findings acknowledged that all males at the site, armed or not, were assumed to fall into the “enemy fighters” category, despite the Times report that the camp’s occupants included “captives and scores of wounded men who were no longer in the fight and, according to the law of armed conflict, were not legal targets.”

  The Kremlin has been banking on this shift in western support for the economic war: “Americans are becoming less supportive of punishing Russia for launching its invasion of Ukraine if it comes at the expense of the U.S. economy”https://t.co/9KkfsYhXnw

  — Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) May 24, 2022

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  The justification offered for this bombing was the defense of our Syrian Defense Force allies in Syria’s civil war. At the press conference announcing its report, Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby characterized the Times’ findings as “not comfortable, not easy and not simple to address,” but he assured those present that “We actually do feel bad about this.” No wrong doing was found on the part of any American involved in the military operation, however, nor was anyone found to have improperly covered it up. And why are U.S. military forces currently at war in Syria? Again, it would pretty much seem to come back to the undeniable fact that this is just the sort of thing we do, ever since four airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

  The very next day following the Pentagon’s self-exoneration in the Syria bombing, it took the opportunity to present even happier news: Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has nominated Lt. Gen Michael E. Langley to a position that puts him in line to become the U.S. Marine Corp’s first black four star general. If formally nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate, Langley will assume the top position of the U.S. Africa Command, a group said to currently number about 2,000 men and women, about 1,500 of whom actually operate out of Stuttgart, Germany (a country that is host to 40 U.S. military bases and about 35,000 American military personnel). The actual extent of the Africa Command remains a bit murky, though. In 2020, the news website Intercept published a Pentagon planning document that listed 29 U.S. military bases in fifteen different African nations.

  And why are we in Africa? According to the Africa Command’s website, the organization “counters transnational threats and malign actors.” Indeed, these “malign actors” do appear to be on the rise. For instance, in the course of the decade plus in which the U.S. has been bombing Somalia, the number of militant Islamist organizations operating in the continent has risen from about five to 25. And now it appears that there are at least 29 locations there where Americans might now be threatened.

  So, with just a brief look at what’s not streaming on every screen, it’s hard to avoid thinking that if there were half as many Americans who knew what our own military was up to around the globe—or if there were half as many Americans who could name even half the countries we repeatedly bomb—as there are Americans who know what the Russian military is doing, people might start talking about making some real changes there.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 21:40

• Texas Law Forces Companies To Be Neutral On Guns Or Face Consequences
  Texas Law Forces Companies To Be Neutral On Guns Or Face Consequences

  Woke companies who want to continue operating in Texas will have to effectively take a vow of neutrality on guns following the latest school shooting.

  

  Thanks to a June 2021 law endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) signed by Governor Greg Abbott, firearm makers, retailers and industry groups have special protections using language typically reserved to shield people from racism, sexism, ageism or other ‘isms, Bloomberg reports.

  The bill requires companies signing contracts with state government agencies to verify that they don’t discriminate against the gun industry – which forces them to ignore calls from Democrats to sever business ties in the state over the latest shooting in Uvalde, TX in which a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.

  “Texas has pro-gun legislation which clearly makes a statement at ensuring that the firearms industry is well protected,” said Janice Iwama, a professor at American University, who studies the impact of gun legislation. 

  Meanwhile, the National Shooting Sports Foundation wants states to follow in Texas’ footsteps, as companies in the industry are regularly denied services by banks. Similar bills have been advanced in Oklahoma and Louisiana, while additional measures have been introduced elsewhere.

  The Texas law has already cast ripples across Wall Street, where Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. had been curtailing some ties to gun companies, including by not lending to those that make military-style weapons for civilian use. Citigroup Inc. had also put in place restrictions for retailers that it works with.

  The Texas bill requires any public contract valued at or more than $100,000 to include a provision that states the company does not and will not discriminate against a firearm entity or trade association. -Bloomberg

  Texas’ law caused virtue signaling banks such as BofA, JPMorgan and Goldman to stop underwriting Texas muni bonds, however Citigroup returned to the market last year, and earlier this month JPMorgan took a first step to re-enter the market with an attempt to appeal to state lawmakers.

  This isn’t the first time woke corps have bent the knee. Earlier this week, State Farm withdrew support of a program providing LGBTQ-themed children’s books to teachers and libraries, after conservative groups slammed the insurance company as “a creepy neighbor,” a play on its slogan “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”

  “State Farm tells us they’re a good neighbor, but would a good neighbor target 5-year-olds for conversations about sexual identity?” a narrator says in a Monday video by the conservative group, Consumers’ Research. “That’s what State Farm is doing.”

  This gross and blatant attempt to indoctrinate our children by @StateFarm is shameless and consumers should be aware a company founded on family values is now encouraging five-year-old children to question their gender.

  And we have the receipts. pic.twitter.com/UYTWGb5yod

  — Will Hild (@WillHild) May 23, 2022

  “Conversations about gender and identity should happen at home with parents,” said State Farm spokesman Roszell Gadson in a statement to the Washington Post on Tuesday. “We don’t support required curriculum in schools on this topic. We support organizations providing resources for parents to have these conversations. We no longer support the program allowing for distribution of books in schools.”

  Get woke, go broke.

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  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 21:20

• Baby Formula Export Scheme Worth $200 Million Lands Florida Trio In Prison
  Baby Formula Export Scheme Worth $200 Million Lands Florida Trio In Prison

  Clarissa Hawes of FreightWaves

  A Florida trio was recently sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a $200 million baby formula fraud scheme that began some nine years before the current critical shortages. 

  

  U.S. District Court Judge Roy K. Altman sentenced South Florida residents Johnny Grobman, 48, Raoul Doekhie, 53, and Sherida Nabi, 57, each to 18 years in prison on Friday. He also ordered the three to forfeit over $200 million in fraudulently obtained profits. The three used the profits from the baby formula sales to buy a $9 million mansion in Florida, a 48-foot yacht, and several properties outside the U.S.

  Federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida said the trio convinced U.S. infant formula manufacturers to sell them the products at deeply reduced prices, in some cases receiving up to 60% discounts, by claiming they had a government tender to purchase the formula on behalf of the impoverished country of Suriname in South America.

  Instead of shipping the formula to Suriname, the three sold the products for full price in the U.S., raking in record profits.

  Following a 13-day trial in February 2020, a federal jury found Grobman, Doekhie and Nabi guilty of conspiring to commit wire fraud; wire fraud; money laundering; conspiring to obtain pre-retail medical products worth $5,000 or more by fraud or deception, theft of pre-retail medical products; and smuggling goods from the United States.

  Two weeks after the trial ended, Grobman requested a new trial, which Judge Altman later denied. 

  As of publication, attorneys for the three did not respond to FreightWaves’ request seeking comment. Court records confirm the three are now in custody. However, a reason was not given for why the sentencing took place more than two years after the convictions. 

  The sentencing comes at a time when the U.S. is dealing with a nationwide infant formula shortage after a massive recall at manufacturing giant Abbott Laboratories’ Michigan plant. 

  How the scheme worked

  According to court documents, the trio negotiated steep discounts from the victim companies by pledging to redistribute the products in Suriname when in fact, they intended to sell those goods in the U.S. at a substantial markup, a business practice known as diversion.

  Doekhie and Nabi, who are married, set up a company called Tropical Marketing & Distribution N.V., based out of Suriname. The pair created a website for a fictional entity called the Suriname Tender Office to “support their false misrepresentation that they had a government tender for the victim companies’ products,” according to court records.

  Grobman was listed as the manager of Nutrisource I LLC, as well as J Trading LLC and as a registered agent of Vejota Holdings LLC. All three companies show the same principal address in Aventura, Florida.

  Court filings claim the three concealed their scheme by fabricating purchase orders, covertly shipping the products abroad and then immediately bringing them back, a practice known as  U-turning, filling dummy cargo containers with sheetrock and falsifying export documents. 

  Once the products returned to the U.S., court records state Grobman would submit false shipping documents to U.S. Customs agents.

  A fourth man, Edgar Torres, who received a reduced sentence of 25 months in exchange for cooperating with the government against Doekhie, Nabi and Grobman, served as president and registered agent of Le Mare Transport, a freight forwarding company in Medley, Florida.

  During the trial, Torres testified they would swap out the cargo containers’ baby formula with sheetrock that was the same weight as the product they were supposed to be exporting to Suriname. They would replace the etched cargo seals, which the infant formula manufacturers installed to prevent tampering, using a special machine that could carve identical markings, in a concerted effort to avoid detection by customs officials and victim companies, court records said.

  Through their companies, Grobman and Torres would sell the infant formula to distributors in the U.S., then split the profits with Doekhie and Nabi, court documents said.

  Prosecutors claimed about 60 companies were defrauded between March 2013 and December 2018.

  The scam reportedly started to unravel in 2017 after one of the manufacturers refused to do business with the group after a truck driver alerted the company about possible delays with their products.

  “The fraud perpetrated by these defendants is nothing short of egregious,” said U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez in a statement. “The 18-year prison sentences reflect the seriousness of the defendants’ crimes.”   

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 21:00

• Watch: Boeing Starliner Conducts "Picture-Perfect Landing" In New Mexico Desert 
  Watch: Boeing Starliner Conducts “Picture-Perfect Landing” In New Mexico Desert 

  Four hours after Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft detached from the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, the capsule safely returned to Earth, landing in the New Mexican desert. 

  The parachute-assisted landing occurred at 1849 ET in the desert of White Sands Space Harbor, New Mexico. Its return marks a significant milestone for Boeing after a failed test flight in 2019. 

  TOUCHDOWN! Starliner OFT-2 completes a full test flight to the ISS and back with a landing at White Stands.

  Overview: https://t.co/OPSmCEvrZM – by Mihir Neal (@MihirNeal) pic.twitter.com/TtQQHndWSP

  — Chris Bergin – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) May 25, 2022

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  Starliner was uncrewed when it launched from Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida last week. It delivered 800 pounds of cargo to the ISS and had “Rosie the Rocketeer,” a mannequin outfitted with sensors to monitor the cabin environment that astronauts will experience during future flights. 

  NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the Starliner mission is a “major and successful step on the journey to enabling more human spaceflight missions to the International Space Station on American spacecraft from American soil.” 

  

  NASA outlined that Starliner met all planned test objectives that would soon pave the way for commercial flights.  

  • Starliner launch and normal trajectory to orbital insertion
  • Launch of United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V and dual-engine Centaur second stage
  • Ascent abort emergency detection system validation
  • Starliner separation from the Atlas V rocket
  • Approach, rendezvous, and docking with International Space Station
  • Starliner hatch opening and closing, astronaut ingress, and quiescent mode
  • Crew habitability and internal interface evaluation
  • Starliner undocking and departure from space station
  • Starliner deorbit, and crew module separation from service module
  • Starliner descent and atmospheric entry with aero-deceleration system
  • Precision targeted landing and recovery

  NASA’s commercial crew program manager Steve Stich said Starliner made a “picture-perfect landing” and “meet all mission objectives.” 

  Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, says Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft made a “picture perfect landing” after a test flight that “met all the mission objectives.”

  Watch the post-mission press conference: https://t.co/TcKCTaaxGr

  — Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) May 26, 2022

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  Boeing’s Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon will be a human spaceflight program redundancy program for the space agency. If one spacecraft encountered issues, the agency will lean on the other for upcoming missions. Also, this marks a time when the West has become less reliant on Russia for space operations. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 20:40

• Yuan, Dollar Divergence Heralds More Losses Ahead
  Yuan, Dollar Divergence Heralds More Losses Ahead

  by George Lei, Bloomberg Markets Live Commentator and analyst

  The Chinese yuan is on track for the first weekly slide in more than two months, despite a much lower dollar and good news on the trade front. That’s a tell-tale sign of how pessimistic market sentiment is and may only reinforce expectations that yuan’s downtrend is here to stay.

  The Chinese currency has lost 1% so far this week in offshore trading and 0.7% onshore. While the drop itself doesn’t seem very remarkable, the context is key: the yuan couldn’t hold on to its Monday rally amid news of possible US tariff removals. It also failed to benefit from a 1.3% weekly decline in the dollar index.

  

  The last time a weaker greenback couldn’t help at all was in March: the dollar index lost 0.9% in the week ending March 18, while the onshore yuan dropped 0.34% and its offshore counterpart declined 0.14%. Since then, the Chinese currency has weakened more than 5.5%. Only the Turkish lira, Argentine peso and Hungarian forint lost more among 24 emerging-market peers tracked by Bloomberg.

  Following a brief rebound from May 13 to 24, the offshore yuan is sliding once again and is now poised to revisit 6.80 support. A breach may open up path toward year-to-date low at 6.8380, last seen on May 13, when the dollar index found its recent top. Further losses could send the currency toward 6.90, a level last seen in August 2020.

  

  The discord between China’s top leaders over whether to prioritize Covid control or economic growth is paralyzing the implementation of policy responses, according to eight senior local government officials and financial bureaucrats. It may also amplify the negative sentiment toward broader Chinese assets and weigh heavily on the yuan, independent of what the dollar does.

  On Thursday, China’s trade-weighted yuan fell below 100 for the first time in seven month, according to a Bloomberg replica of the CFETS RMB index that tracks the exchange rate against 24 peers. Fidelity International and Credit Agricole CIB both predicted more downside for the trade-weighted gauge, with the dollar-yuan pair possibly testing 7 level in the coming months.

  “China and the US are moving in different directions and I don’t see PBOC stand in the way of depreciation,” said David Loevinger, Los Angeles-based managing director at TCW Group Inc. and a former China specialist at the US Treasury. He said the big selloff is over and the next 6- to 12-month view is a gradually weaker yuan.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 20:20

• Israel Informs US It Killed Iranian IRGC Colonel, Officials Infuriated Over Media Leak
  Israel Informs US It Killed Iranian IRGC Colonel, Officials Infuriated Over Media Leak

  Israeli defense and intelligence officials have owned up to the brazen assassination of a senior Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officer, which took place in Tehran on Sunday. A pair of unidentified gunmen drove up to IRGC Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei as he sat in his car outside his home. The Quds Force colonel was shot five times, and his death was quickly blamed on Israeli intelligence given prior similar killings.

  The NY Times days later reported that “The Israelis told the Americans the killing was meant as a warning to Iran to halt the operations of a covert group within the Quds Force known as Unit 840, according to the intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified information.”

  

  It described, “Unit 840 is tasked with abductions and assassinations of foreigners around the world, including Israeli civilians and officials, according to Israeli government, military and intelligence officials.” Col. Khadaei was reportedly the deputy head of the covert unit.

  The Israelis didn’t comment for the story, however the Times stressed “But according to an intelligence official briefed on the communications, Israel has informed American officials that it was behind the killing.”

  The Israeli government is now said to be infuriated by the leak and are calling for an internal US intelligence investigation. Knesset member Ram Ben Barak, who heads the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said “It mainly harms trust.” 

  “We have very many close relationships and a lot of cooperation between us, which all depend on trust, and when it is violated in some way then it damages future cooperation,” he said in an Israeli radio interview Thursday. “I hope the Americans investigate the leak and figure out where it came from and why it occurred.”

  There’s currently speculation that the assassination was intended to highlight Iranian covert efforts to kill Israeli officials and civilians, something which Tehran has rejected. The timing, some pundits have said, was meant to further disrupt the stalled nuclear talks between Tehran and world powers in Vienna. A separate follow-up Thursday report in The Wall Street Journal suggests the slain Quds Force colonel was part of Iranian efforts to take out an Israeli diplomat, however this cannot be confirmed.

  Iranian IRGC colonel assassinated in downtown Tehranhttps://t.co/X0HAADGqut

  — The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) May 22, 2022

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  “An Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officer shot and killed outside his Tehran home led the group’s efforts to assassinate opponents of Iran around the world, including recent failed plots to kill an Israeli diplomat, an American general and a French intellectual, according to people familiar with the matter,” WSJ writes citing anonymous sources.

  President Ibrahim Raisi had vowed in a Monday speech revenge on Israel, after semi-official ISNA news agency claimed that the Guards uncovered and arrested spies backed by Israeli intelligence. The reports were not commented on by Israel. “The thugs and terrorist groups affiliated with global oppression and Zionism will face consequences for their actions,” Raisi had said.

  The assassination is being widely viewed as the biggest foreign sponsored attack inside Iran since the killing of top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in 2020. Israel was widely acknowledged as behind that killing which also took place in a Tehran suburb.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 20:00

• Biden’s ATF Pick, Senator Clash Over 'Assault Weapon' Definition During Judiciary Hearing
  Biden’s ATF Pick, Senator Clash Over ‘Assault Weapon’ Definition During Judiciary Hearing

  Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  The Senate Judiciary Committee on May 25 met to consider the nomination of Steven Dettelbach to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco (ATF), leading to a tense exchange between Dettelbach and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) over the definition of an “assault weapon.”

  

  The meeting comes in the wake of a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 21 dead, sparking renewed cries among Democrats for stricter federal gun control legislation.

  In its 50-year history, the ATF has had recurring difficulties in getting Senate confirmation for appointed directors, with only one nominee—B. Todd Jones, appointed by President Barack Obama—ever being confirmed by the Senate.

  In September 2021, President Joe Biden was forced to withdraw the nomination of his first pick for ATF director—David Chipman—after Chipman proved too controversial even for some Democrats. In the absence of a Senate-confirmed ATF head, the agency has for decades been run by non-confirmed acting directors.

  “I vow, if I’m given the privilege of serving as director, to partner with others to advance the cause of public safety, and to approach that task—especially here and now—with an open heart, with open ears, and with an open mind,” Dettelbach concluded his opening remarks.

  Reviving a common GOP line of questioning for would-be gun regulators, Sen. Cotton during his questioning of Dettelbach asked for a definition of the word “assault weapon,” a catch-all term often used by gun control advocates but which many have difficulty defining.

  Citing a 2018 campaign Dettelbach mounted to become attorney general of Ohio, Cotton noted “you called for a ban on ‘assault weapons.’ What is an ‘assault weapon,’ could you define it for me?”

  “Senator, when I was a candidate for office I did talk about restrictions on assault weapons, I did not define the term and I haven’t gone through the process of defining that term,” Dettelbach admitted.

  He continued, “That would only be for the Congress—if it chose to take that up—to do, and if you chose to take it up, I would be at the ATF and there’s perhaps expertise or data we could give you so you could make the appropriate decision to both protect the public and protect the Second Amendment.”

  “So you’re running for public office and you called for a ban on assault weapons but you don’t have a definition for assault weapons?” Cotton asked.

  “Senator, it would only be for a legislative body—whether it was the Ohio legislature or the Congress—it would only be for a legislative body to do that work, and I acknowledge that that would be a difficult task to define assault weapons because, on the one hand, you don’t want it to be so narrow that it doesn’t offer the protections that are intended, and on the other hand you don’t want it to be so broad that it infringes unnecessarily on the rights of citizens,” Dettelbach responded.

  “I acknowledge that that’s a difficult task but it would be for this body to do, not for me,” he added.

  “Why is it so hard to define assault weapons?” Cotton asked.

  “Well, I think senator, it’s what I told you which—it’s you don’t want to be so narrow as to be meaningless and you don’t want to be so broad as to infringe on the rights of law-abiding Americans unnecessarily,” Dettelbach responded.

  Pushing further, Cotton argued that while various types of firearms exist—ranging from pistols to shotguns to rifles—there is no category clearly defined as an “assault weapon.”

  “Can you go into a federally-licensed firearm dealer and find a category of weapons on the wall labeled as ‘assault weapons?’” Cotton asked.

  “I don’t believe that’s a category of weapons that’s labeled on the wall of retailers—it’s not necessarily what retailers call it that would affect the decision of a legislative body but, no, in answer to your question,” Dettelbach responded.

  “It’s what politicians and lawyers in Washington call it,” Cotton retorted.

  During the hearing, several Democrats took the opportunity to push for stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Texas shooting.

  “You come here at a moment of extraordinary anguish, anxiety, and anger in this country,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Dettelbach. “And I believe that we must move forward with gun violence prevention reforms that make our laws more effective and give you more tools you need in saving communities and individuals.”

  “I believe in the Second Amendment,” Blumenthal insisted. “It’s the law of the land. There are measures we can take that are consistent with the Second Amendment that will separate people from firearms if they are dangerous to themselves or others—red flag statutes, background checks, safe storage … ghost gun bans, and others.”

  Blumenthal called for the Senate “to seize this moment of extraordinary challenge … to make sure you have a mandate from the United States Congress to do your job.”

  “We’re the only civilized nation on earth that watches our citizens, our children, get gunned down and does nothing to prevent it from happening again,” said Senate president pro tempore Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in an impassioned statement.

  “We’re cowards if we don’t act, cowards!” Leahy added.

  Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), against many in his party, rejected efforts to tie the ATF nomination to the Texas shooting.

  “I don’t think the shooting in Texas has anything to do with the ATF nominee,” Tester told reporters.

  Some Republicans, by contrast, attributed the Texas shooting and other shooting to causes beyond the availability of firearms.

  “For far too long [we’ve] failed to look back at the root causes of rampage violence,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said.

  “Questions involving things like ‘Why is our culture suddenly producing so many young men who wanna murder innocent people?’ It raises questions like, could things like fatherlessness, isolation from families, the breakdown of civil society or the glorification of violence be contributing factors?

  “But instead the left once again is calling for more gun control. They wanna crack down on law abiding Americans and federal firearms licensees who wanna follow the law instead of armed criminals.”

  Lee also blasted gun control groups like the Brady Campaign for “[wasting] no time in trying to profit off of this tragedy,” noting that immediately following news of the shooting several gun control groups sent out emails asking for donations to “play off of [peoples’] emotions” about the shooting.

  Despite his party’s calls for a doomed test vote on a gun control bill to show where Republicans stand, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a May 25 statement that there would be no such vote. Instead, Schumer called for Americans to vote Democrat in November for more wide-reaching gun control legislation.

  To be confirmed, Dettelbach will need to prove more popular with several moderate Democrats than Biden’s previous nominee.

  In September, controversy surrounding Chipman fractured the Democratic unity needed for a confirmation. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.), along with moderate Sens. Angus King (I-Maine) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.) signaled strong skepticism toward the nominee.

  It remains unclear whether these moderates will feel more confident in Dettelbach. Because the Senate is evenly-divided, a single defection would cause Dettelbach’s nomination to fail, leaving the ATF without a Senate-confirmed director.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 19:40

• Watch: Photo Bomb, Chicago Style – Man Points Gun At Live TV Crew
  Watch: Photo Bomb, Chicago Style – Man Points Gun At Live TV Crew

  “Good day, Chicago!”

  …

  Chicago police are looking for a man who took photo-bombing to the next level on Wednesday morning as a local Fox affiliate aired the quite aspirationally-titled “Good Day Chicago.”  

  During a live shot from the corner of Clark and Hubbard Streets in downtown, a man crossed behind reporter Joanie Lum and pointed a gun over her shoulder at the crew.

  

  Video then shows him pointing the gun across the street before merrily skipping away down the sidewalk. 

  So far, there’s no media framing of the incident as an example of black-on-Asian violence.

  Chicago’s in the midst of yet another wave of gun violence that included the killing of a teen next to the famed “Bean” sculpture in Millennium Park on May 14.

  Chicago police are gently referring to the man in Wednesday’s TV incident as a “person of interest.”

  He’s likely to face charges of aggravated assault with a firearm.

  Maybe he’ll plead not guilty by reason of over-caffeination:

  

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 19:20

• Cost Of EV Batteries May Increase 15% Amid Supply-Chain Disruptions: Report
  Cost Of EV Batteries May Increase 15% Amid Supply-Chain Disruptions: Report

  Authored by Katabella Roberts via The Epoch Times,

  The cost of electric vehicle batteries is set to soar amid the ongoing Russia–Ukraine conflict and supply chain disruptions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Monday.

  

  While electric vehicle sales have remained strong so far this year with 2 million electric cars sold worldwide in the first quarter, IEA said that further efforts to diversify battery manufacturing and critical mineral supplies are needed to reduce the risks of bottlenecks and increased prices going forward.

  A growing number of countries and carmakers across the globe have set out ambitious vehicle electrification targets for the coming decades amid a push to address climate change.

  However, IEA warned that soaring prices for some critical minerals essential for battery manufacturing, supply chain disruptions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in China, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remain the greatest obstacles to strong electric vehicle sales.

  The biggest battery manufacturer in the world is China and more than half of all lithium, cobalt, and graphite processing and refining capacity is located in China.

  In 2021, more than half of all electric vehicles were assembled in China, which is set to maintain its manufacturing dominance.

  “In the longer term, greater efforts are needed to roll out enough charging infrastructure to service the expected growth in electric car sales,” the report also noted.

  Supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have already pushed up the price of key components used in electric vehicles such as cobalt and nickel—the most important of these components—given that Russia is the world’s third-largest supplier.

  Russia is also home to the world’s largest nickel producer, Norilsk Nickel, which produced 145,817 metric tons of nickel in 2021 and is also a large provider of aluminum, which is used in batteries.

  According to the U.S. Geological Survey (pdf), Russia produced 3.7 million metric tons of aluminum last year, making up 5.44 percent of the global production of around 68 million metric tons.

  Meanwhile, lithium, another key component in electric vehicles as well as other electric devices, has seen unprecedented demand as vehicle makers move to battery-powered cars and away from fossil fuels.

  The raw materials that make up the key components in batteries are located deep in the earth’s core and new mining infrastructures take time to set up. The production capacity of existing facilities is also still relatively low, further limiting supply. China produces three-quarters of all lithium-ion batteries.

  Prices for lithium were over seven times higher in May 2022 than at the start of 2021, according to IEA, while prices for cobalt and nickel also rose.

  “All else being equal, the cost of battery packs could increase by 15 percent if these prices stay around current levels, which would reverse several years of declines,” the agency warned.

  IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said, “Policy makers, industry executives, and investors need to be highly vigilant and resourceful in order to reduce the risks of supply disruptions and ensure sustainable supplies of critical minerals.”

  The IEA said it is “working with governments around the world on how to strategically manage resources of critical minerals that are needed for electric vehicles and other key clean energy technologies.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 19:00

• Rising Rates Are Squeezing Landlord Profits
  Rising Rates Are Squeezing Landlord Profits

  We can’t say we’re surprised. It appears that the rising rate environment (read: literally we are still only at 1% rates) has put pressure on investors who paid top dollar for apartments over the past year. 

  Profits for landlords who have borrowed to buy new apartments and for those who have turned to renting these properties to tenants are starting to come under pressure, according to a new article by the Wall Street Journal. 

  Tenants may find that their rents are being raised as a result of the financial pressures, too, the report notes. It says that annual volume of rental apartment purchases “almost doubled” between 2019 and 2022 while investors spent $63 billion on apartment buildings. 

  But it isn’t just rates that are pressuring the buyers – the sheer speed with which prices moved higher also means shrinking returns for owners. Apartment building prices rose 22.4% during this year’s first quarter, the report says. 

  

  This type of negative leverage for the owners hasn’t been this prominent since the 2008 crisis, the report notes. Nitin Chexal, chief executive of real-estate investment manager Palladius Capital Management, compared today’s environment to 2008, stating: “You’re seeing a lot of the same mistakes.”

  However, defaults are not expected to be as prominent as 2008 due to investors having less debt. However, outstanding mortgage debt backed by multifamily buildings has “more than doubled since the financial crisis to $1.8 trillion”. 

  The Wall Street Journal wrote that “The median asking rent for any rental unit rose to $1,827 in April, according to Realtor.com, the highest rent on record and a nearly 17% gain from the prior year.”

  If rent growth continues to slow while rates rise, landlords could experience “far reaching consequences”, the report says. 

  David Brickman, CEO of real-estate finance company NewPoint Real Estate Capital and former head of housing-finance company Freddie Mac concluded: “There’s no question you’re going to have rent growth; the question is whether it will outpace interest rates.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 18:40

• East Coast Diesel Inventories Tighter Again; Other Numbers Offer Buyers Hope
  East Coast Diesel Inventories Tighter Again; Other Numbers Offer Buyers Hope

  By John Kingston of FreightWaves.com

  The trucking sector’s most important statistic in the weekly Energy Information Administration statistical report wasn’t a good one. But a lot of others were.

  

  With so much focus on the diesel market on the East Coast, the level of inventories has been the key data point to determine whether any easing of the squeeze in supplies is in sight. 

  The information in the weekly report was not positive for the trucking industry. Inventories of ultra low sulfur diesel in the region that the EIA calls PADD 1, which contains the key East Coast markets, declined to 19.375 million barrels from 20.4 million barrels a week before.

  Comparisons of how low these figures are relative to historical figures are difficult in that ULSD has only been the standard diesel product for roughly 10 years. But the latest figures are some of the lowest of the past five to eight years.  

  Last week’s figure was encouraging, because it marked the first time in several weeks that East Coast ULSD stocks had risen. It raised the possibility that inventories were headed up. And while the latest report is still more than the PADD 1 inventories of 19.19 million barrels from two weeks ago, the fact that stocks went down again was a surprise.

  “I did not expect it,” Andrew Lebow of Commodity Research Group said of the decline.

  “The problem is on resupply, and it looks like the only way we’re going to resupply is to ramp up refinery capacity and production.”

  And that’s where most of the other news was positive from the perspective of diesel consumers. Among the statistics in the report that are hopeful for industries that use diesel:

  • U.S. refineries are cranking away. Total refinery utilization for the country was 93.2%. That’s the highest level since the end of 2019. On the East Coast, utilization was 97%, highest since June 2018. However, PADD 1 refinery capacity at that time was listed at about 1.2 million barrels per day. It’s now 818,000 b/d. East Coast refinery utilization is up almost 13 percentage points in just five weeks. 

  • The end result of all that refinery activity is that total distillate production in the U.S., including diesel, was 5.137 million b/d. That is the highest since January 2020, when the country’s refineries would have been making heating oil for the winter. Within that number, U.S. refineries produced 4.875 million b/d of ULSD, up from 4.69 million a week earlier. It was the highest number since August 2020.

  • Exports of all distillates rose to 1.124 million b/d from just over 1 million last week. However, that is still down from the range of 1.3 million to 1.5 million b/d it was running at a few weeks ago. Lebow noted that the arbitrage to export diesel to Europe is closed and what is moving offshore now would likely be deals completed when that window was open and traders could make that movement work. The recent high-water mark for distillate exports — they are not broken out in the weekly reports by specific distillate products — was 1.739 million b/d the week of April 8.

  Despite the tighter East Coast diesel market, the reaction in the physical diesel market was relatively muted. According to benchmark administrator General Index, the spread between ULSD in the Gulf Coast and in New York Harbor narrowed for the third day in a row Wednesday, tightening to 17.73 cents a gallon from 21.5 cents a day earlier. It has moved in relatively steadily for the past seven trading days, dropping from the New York Harbor number holding a premium of 76 cents on May 16 to the latest number. 

  The spread between the Gulf Coast and the East Coast is a good indicator of the tightness in PADD 1. Historically, the New York price is a few cents more than the Gulf Coast, but the recent squeeze drove it up to astronomical numbers that at the start of the month swung between about 50 cents and 65 cents. Watching the spread narrow, even in light of the tighter inventories reported by the EIA, suggests some level of easing in the East Coast inventory squeeze.

  On the CME commodity exchange, the futures price for June barrels of ULSD rose 9.56 cents a gallon to settle at $3.8644 a gallon, a gain of 2.54%. The June contract has only two more trading days before its final day, and it is showing signs of a mild squeeze, far from the enormous surge in front-month pricing when May barrels headed toward that contract’s close.

  The 2.54% gain in ULSD contrasts with a 0.9% increase in the price of RBOB gasoline, an unfinished product used to make finished gasoline. West Texas Intermediate crude was up just 0.04%, while global crude benchmark Brent increased 0.54%.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 18:20

• "People Are Not In A Good Place" – Mom-And-Pop Investors Panic As Fed Abandons Them
  “People Are Not In A Good Place” – Mom-And-Pop Investors Panic As Fed Abandons Them

  The question that wealth managers are getting across the nation is: “Where can I go to stop getting poorer?”

  Where indeed?

  As institutional investors continue to dump stocks to cash…

  

  …Corporate insiders have been buying…

  

  … and as Vanda notes, the panic-bid-ramps in the last few days have been driven largely by retail traders…

  …retail seem to be behind the quick late afternoon recoveries in the S&P 500 in the last few days.

  We suspect that institutional asset managers were the cohort of investors reducing equity allocations in the morning last Friday and yesterday, while retail aggressively bought the dip towards the end of the trading session.

  

  The large inflows from retail towards the end of the day – without additional selling pressure from institutional investors – were probably the main force behind these sharp intraday rebounds.

  However, as The Wall Street Journal reports, retail ‘investors’ are suffering greatly as the market meltdown accelerates, with some wondering if they will live long enough to see their investments recover.

  As a reminder, the Nasdaq is suffering its largest drawdown since the great financial crisis and the S&P 500 is teetering on the brink of a bear market (while under the surface a number of the largest companies in the world are down very dramatically)…

  

  The collapse in these widely-held stocks have sparked shock and horror among America’s investing class who have enjoyed a decade on ‘easy street’, buying every dip knowing The Fed will always be there for them.

  WSJ cites one asset manager whose retired clients have thrown in the towel and moved to cash:

  “Those people were not in a good place,” said the CIO.

  “They had a lot of anxiety about goals and dreams and being able to live their lifestyles.”

  Another investor, Craig Bartels, a 46-year-old real-estate broker in Zionsville, Ind., looked to the distant past for advice, reading Ray Dalio’s recent book on economic history and Adrian Goldsworthy’s “How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower.”

  “This sounds like us right now,” he thought, adding that:

  “I don’t think we’re anywhere near the bottom.”

  Another investor, who lives in Manhattan, exclaimed:

  “When you’re banking on that money saved over your lifetime to carry you through and it starts to go away, you feel helpless,” he said.

  “I don’t want to go back to work at 66.”

  Many investors, like Susan Wagner, a recent retiree, have taken their retirement money out of the markets altogether this month.

  “The anxiety was literally me losing sleep, tossing and turning at night wondering how much more we were going to lose,” Ms. Wagner said. Her wife, a former radiologist, was hesitant but eventually agreed.

  “It was too nerve-racking, and I was quite emotional about it,” Ms. Wagner said.

  “I was very upset by what was happening.”

  Perhaps most notably, veteran bond trader Rick Reider, head of BlackRock’s massive fixed income group, admits that:

  “My stomach is churning all day,” adding that “there are so many crosscurrents of uncertainty, and we aren’t going to get closure on any of them for weeks, if not months.”

  Simply put, professional and amateur investor alike – everyone is clueless (and shocked) when The Fed does not have your back.

  And for an anecdote of that ‘cluelessness, one so-called ‘economist’ is quoted as saying in the WSJ article:

  “The Fed is going too far, inflation is a nightmare and the real-estate market is going to crash.”

  So what is it that you want ‘Mrs.Economist’?

  

  Former Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher said it best in January:

  “Let’s face it Joe, I want to come back to the alcohol metaphor we started with, the market has been wearing beer goggles for the longest possible time…and they just assume the Fed’s going to bail them out. I think the strike price on the Fed put has moved significantly…and unless we have a dramatic turn in the markets that indicates it can infect the real economy, I don’t believe – under this chair in particular who has a credit market background – that they will be weak in following through on what they pronounced.”

  “The market has been wearing beer goggles for the longest possible time. Everything looks beautiful because money was free. They just assume the Fed is going to bail them out. The strike price on the Fed put has moved significantly,” says Richard Fisher. pic.twitter.com/VgPUzGQaB8

  — Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) January 27, 2022

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

  Back in February 2020, he offered some more thoughts about Wall Street’s ‘lost generation’.

  “The Fed has created this dependency and there’s an entire generation of money-managers who weren’t around in ’74, ’87, the end of the ’90s, and even 2007-2009.. and have only seen a one-way street… of course they’re nervous.”

  “The question is – do you want to feed that hunger? Keep applying that opioid of cheap and abundant money?”

  As we warned at the time, if Fisher is correct, however, that would be bad news for the generation of Wall Street traders who still have never faced a drawn-out bear market in equities (just swift and vicious bear-market corrections like we saw in February and March 2020). If the Fed truly is intent on abandoning the “Fed put”, then two-way volatility might finally become a more regular feature in equity markets.

  It appears after a ten-year consequence-free party, the hangover is here.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 18:00

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• Putin Authorizes 'Fast-Tracked' Russian Citizenship For Occupied Ukrainian Territories
  Putin Authorizes ‘Fast-Tracked’ Russian Citizenship For Occupied Ukrainian Territories

  In the biggest indicator thus far in the over three-month long war in Ukraine that Russia intends to likely fully annex territory in the East and South, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a decree which allows residents of Russian-occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to gain fast-tracked Russian citizenship.

  Already the same policy is currently in effect for the breakaway eastern republics of Donetsk and Luhansk, the latter which is now reported to be almost completely in Russian forces’ control, as final battles with Ukrainian fighters are centered in the Luhansk cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.

  

  Since 2019 an estimated 200,000 people in the two far eastern regions have gained Russian passports through the policy, which is now being extended to the Russian-controlled southern cities.

  “Citizens of Ukraine, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), or the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR), permanently residing in the territory of the DNR, LNR, the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine or the Kherson region of Ukraine, have the right to apply for citizenship of the Russian Federation in a simplified manner,” the decree reads.

  Ukraine was swift to condemn the move as a violation of its sovereignty and of international law and norms. Its foreign ministry said, “The illegal issuing of passports… is a flagrant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as norms and principles of international humanitarian law.”

  Meanwhile also on Wednesday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed the door on the idea of making territorial concessions for the sake of ending the war.

  “It’s possible if Russia shows at least something. When I say at least something, I mean pulling back troops to where they were before Feb. 24,” which marked the start of the invasion. He even said on Tuesday that Russia must hand back Crimea as well. He put the ball in Moscow’s court, saying it must “shift from the bloody war to diplomacy” if it hopes for the war to end.

  Southern Axis Update:

  Recent #Ukrainian partisan actions in #Zaporizhia Oblast continue to pressure #Russian occupation forces, which are continuing actions to strengthen administrative control of occupied areas.https://t.co/xCKUYwQv6p pic.twitter.com/QxwpUIRNes

  — ISW (@TheStudyofWar) May 25, 2022

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

  Meanwhile, concerning its standoff with Washington and the West on the question of making sovereign debt payments with the ruble, the Bank of Russia according to Bloomberg “moved up its next interest-rate meeting by more than two weeks to Thursday as currency controls and high commodity prices have fueled the ruble’s surge against the dollar.”

  Per the report it’s expected that “Moscow may make foreign debt payments in local currency after the US Treasury Department let a waiver expire, pushing Russia closer to a default.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 02:45

• Escobar: NATO vs Russia – What Happens Next
  Escobar: NATO vs Russia – What Happens Next

  Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Cradle,

  In Davos and beyond, NATO’s upbeat narrative plays like a broken record, while on the ground, Russia is stacking up wins that could sink the Atlantic order…

  

  Three months after the start of Russia’s Operation Z in Ukraine, the battle of The West (12 percent) against The Rest (88 percent) keeps metastasizing. Yet the narrative – oddly – remains the same.

  On Monday, from Davos, World Economic Forum Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab introduced Ukrainian comedian-cum-President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the latest leg of his weapons-solicitation-tour, with a glowing tribute. Herr Schwab stressed that an actor impersonating a president defending neo-Nazis is supported by “all of Europe and the international order.”

  He means, of course, everyone except the 88 percent of the planet that subscribes to the Rule of Law – instead of the faux construct the west calls a ‘rules-based international order.’

  Back in the real world, Russia, slowly but surely has been rewriting the Art of Hybrid War. Yet within the carnival of NATO psyops, aggressive cognitive infiltration, and stunning media sycophancy, much is being made of the new $40 billion US ‘aid’ package to Ukraine, deemed capable of becoming a game-changer in the war.

  This ‘game-changing’ narrative comes courtesy of the same people who burned though trillions of dollars to secure Afghanistan and Iraq. And we saw how that went down.

  Ukraine is the Holy Grail of international corruption. That $40 billion can be a game-changer for only two classes of people: First, the US military-industrial complex, and second, a bunch of Ukrainian oligarchs and neo-connish NGOs, that will corner the black market for weapons and humanitarian aid, and then launder the profits in the Cayman Islands.

  A quick breakdown of the $40 billion reveals $8.7 billion will go to replenish the US weapons stockpile (thus not going to Ukraine at all); $3.9 billion for USEUCOM (the ‘office’ that dictates military tactics to Kiev); $5 billion for a fuzzy, unspecified “global food supply chain”; $6 billion for actual weapons and “training” to Ukraine; $9 billion in “economic assistance” (which will disappear into selected pockets); and $0.9 billion for refugees.

  US risk agencies have downgraded Kiev to the dumpster of non-reimbursing-loan entities, so large American investment funds are ditching Ukraine, leaving the European Union (EU) and its member-states as the country’s only option.

  Few of those countries, apart from Russophobic entities such as Poland, can justify to their own populations sending huge sums of direct aid to a failed state. So it will fall to the Brussels-based EU machine to do just enough to maintain Ukraine in an economic coma – independent from any input from member-states and institutions.

  These EU ‘loans’ – mostly in the form of weapons shipments – can always be reimbursed by Kiev’s wheat exports. This is already happening on a small scale via the port of Constanta in Romania, where Ukrainian wheat arrives in barges over the Danube and is loaded into dozens of cargo ships everyday. Or, via convoys of trucks rolling with the weapons-for-wheat racket. However, Ukrainian wheat will keep feeding the wealthy west, not impoverished Ukrainians.

  Moreover, expect NATO this summer to come up with another monster psyop to defend its divine (not legal) right to enter the Black Sea with warships to escort Ukrainian vessels transporting wheat. Pro-NATO media will spin it as the west being ‘saved’ from the global food crisis – which happens to be directly caused by serial, hysterical packages of western sanctions.

  Poland goes for soft annexation

  NATO is indeed massively ramping up its ‘support’ to Ukraine via the western border with Poland. That’s in synch with Washington’s two overarching targets: First, a ‘long war,’ insurgency-style, just like Afghanistan in the 1980s, with jihadis replaced by mercenaries and neo-Nazis.  Second, the sanctions instrumentalized to “weaken” Russia, militarily and economically.

  Other targets remain unchanged, but are subordinate to the Top Two: make sure that the Democrats are re-elected in the mid-terms (that’s not going to happen); irrigate the industrial-military complex with funds that are recycled back as kickbacks (already happening); and keep the hegemony of the US dollar by all means (tricky: the multipolar world is getting its act together).

  A key target being met with astonishing ease is the destruction of the German – and consequently the EU’s – economy, with a great deal of the surviving companies to be eventually sold off to American interests.

  Take, for instance, BMW board member Milan Nedeljkovic telling Reuters that “our industry accounts for about 37 percent of natural gas consumption in Germany” which will sink without Russian gas supplies.

  Washington’s plan is to keep the new ‘long war’ going at a not-too-incandescent level – think Syria during the 2010s – fueled by rows of mercenaries, and featuring periodic NATO escalations by anyone from Poland and the Baltic midgets to Germany.

  Last week, that pitiful Eurocrat posing as High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, gave away the game when previewing the upcoming meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council.

  Borrell admitted that “the conflict will be long” and “the priority of the EU member states” in Ukraine “consists in the supply of heavy weapons.”

  Then Polish President Andrzej Duda met with Zelensky in Kiev. The slew of agreements the two signed indicate that Warsaw intends to profit handsomely from the war to enhance its politico-military, economic, and cultural influence in western Ukraine. Polish nationals will be allowed to be elected to Ukrainian government bodies and even aim to become constitutional judges.

  In practice, that means Kiev is all but transferring management of the Ukrainian failed state to Poland. Warsaw won’t even have to send troops. Call it a soft annexation.

  The steamroller on the move

  As it stands, the situation on the battlefield can be examined in this map. Intercepted communications from the Ukrainian command reveal their aim to build a layered defense from Poltava through Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhia, Krivoy Rog, and Nikolaev – which happens to be a shield for the already fortified Odessa. None of that guarantees success against the incoming Russian onslaught.

  

  It’s always important to remember that Operation Z started on February 24 with around 150,000 or so fighters – and definitely not Russia’s elite forces. And yet they liberated Mariupol and destroyed the elite neo-Nazi Azov batallion in a matter of only fifty days, cleaning up a city of 400,000 people with minimal casualties.

  While fighting a real war on the ground – not those indiscriminate US bombings from the air – in a huge country against a large army, facing multiple technical, financial and logistical challenges, the Russians also managed to liberate Kherson, Zaporizhia and virtually the whole area of the ‘baby twins,’ the popular republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

  Russia’s ground forces commander, General Aleksandr Dvornikov, has turbo-charged missile, artillery and air strikes to a pace five times faster than during the first phase of Operation Z, while the Ukrainians, overall, are low or very low on fuel, ammo for artillery, trained specialists, drones, and radars.

  What American armchair and TV generals simply cannot comprehend is that in Russia’s view of this war – which military expert Andrei Martyanov defines as a “combined arms and police operation” – the two top targets are the destruction of all military assets of the enemy while preserving the life of its own soldiers.

  So while losing tanks is not a big deal for Moscow, losing lives is. And that accounts for those massive Russian bombings; each military target must be conclusively destroyed. Precision strikes are crucial.

  There is a raging debate among Russian military experts on why the Ministry of Defense does not go for a fast strategic victory. They could have reduced Ukraine to rubble – American style – in no time. That’s not going to happen. The Russians prefer to advance slowly and surely, in a sort of steamroller pattern. They only advance after sappers have fully surveilled the terrain; after all there are mines everywhere.

  The overall pattern is unmistakable, whatever the NATO spin barrage. Ukrainian losses are becoming exponential – as many as 1,500 killed or wounded each day, everyday. If there are 50,000 Ukrainians in the several Donbass cauldrons, they will be gone by the end of June.

  Ukraine must have lost as many as 20,000 soldiers in and around Mariupol alone. That’s a massive military defeat, largely surpassing Debaltsevo in 2015 and previously Ilovaisk in 2014. The losses near Izyum may be even higher than in Mariupol. And now come the losses in the Severodonetsk corner.

  We’re talking here about the best Ukrainian forces. It doesn’t even matter that only 70 percent of Western weapons sent by NATO ever make it to the battlefield: the major problem is that the best soldiers are going…going…gone, and won’t be replaced. Azov neo-Nazis, the 24th Brigade, the 36th Brigade, various Air Assault brigades – they all suffered losses of 60+ percent or have been completely demolished.

  So the key question, as several Russian military experts have stressed, is not when Kiev will ‘lose’ as a point of no return; it is how many soldiers Moscow is prepared to lose to get to this point.

  The entire Ukrainian defense is based on artillery. So the key battles ahead involve long-range artillery. There will be problems, because the US is about to deliver M270 MLRS systems with precision-guided ammunition, capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 70 kilometers or more.

  Russia, though, has a counterpunch: the Hermes Small Operational-Tactical Complex, using high precision munitions, possibility of laser guidance, and a range of more than 100 kilometers. And they can work in conjunction with the already mass-produced Pantsir air defense systems.

  The sinking ship

  Ukraine, within its current borders, is already a thing of the past. Georgy Muradov, permanent representative of Crimea to the President of Russia and Deputy Prime Minister of the Crimean government, is adamant: “Ukraine in the form in which it was, I think, will no longer remain. This is already the former Ukraine.”

  The Sea of ​​Azov has now become a “sea of ​​joint use” by Russia and the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), as confirmed by Muradov.

  Mariupol will be restored. Russia has had plenty of experience in this business in both Grozny and Crimea. The Russia-Crimea land corridor is on. Four hospitals among five in Mariupol have already reopened and public transportation is back, as well as three gas stations.

  The imminent loss of Severodonetsk and Lysichansk will ring serious alarm bells in Washington and Brussels, because that will represent the beginning of the end of the current regime in Kiev. And that, for all practical purposes – and beyond all the lofty rhetoric of “the west stands with you” – means heavy players won’t be exactly encouraged to bet on a sinking ship.

  On the sanctions front, Moscow knows exactly what to expect, as detailed by Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov: “Russia proceeds from the fact that sanctions against it are a rather long-term trend, and from the fact that the pivot to Asia, the acceleration of reorientation to eastern markets, to Asian markets is a strategic direction for Russia. We will make every effort to integrate into value chains precisely together with Asian countries, together with Arab countries, together with South America.”

  On efforts to “intimidate Russia,” players would be wise to listen to the hypersonic sound of 50 Sarmat state-of-the-art missiles ready for combat this autumn, as explained by Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin.

  This week’s meetings in Davos brings to light another alignment forming in the world’s overarching unipolar vs. multipolar battle. Russia, the baby twins, Chechnya and allies such as Belarus are now pitted against ‘Davos leaders’ – in other words, the combined western elite, with a few exceptions like Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

  Zelensky will be fine. He’s protected by British and American special forces. The family is reportedly living in an $8 million mansion in Israel. He owns a $34 million villa in Miami Beach, and another in Tuscany. Average Ukrainians were lied to, robbed, and in many cases, murdered, by the Kiev gang he presides over – oligarchs, security service (SBU) fanatics, neo-Nazis. And those Ukrainians that remain (10 million have already fled) will continue to be treated as expendable.

  Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir “the new Hitler” Putin is in absolutely no hurry to end this larger than life drama that is ruining and rotting the already decaying west to its core. Why should he? He tried everything, since 2007, on the “why can’t we get along” front. Putin was totally rejected. So now it’s time to sit back, relax, and watch the Decline of the West.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/26/2022 – 02:00

• Gun Rights Are More Important Than False Security And Appeasing Leftists
  Gun Rights Are More Important Than False Security And Appeasing Leftists

  Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

  If there is one Holy Grail target that the political left obsesses over more that anything else, it is getting their hands on the 2nd Amendment and molding it to their will or erasing it forever.

  The pursuit of American gun rights is paramount to them, beyond critical race theory, beyond gender politics, even beyond the abortion debate. The problem for them is that ever since the Obama era they have consistently hit a brick wall in terms of convincing the general public to give another inch of ground when it comes to gun control.

  

  To be sure, there are many reasons for this that coincide.

  First, the credit crash of 2008 opened many people’s eyes to the possibility that the economic systems we take for granted today could disappear tomorrow. Gun rights were no longer a matter of “tradition,” but a matter of necessity.

  If the system breaks down and emergency services are overwhelmed or disappear then the only person you can rely on to protect your family is you. Mortal realities always win over emotional and reactionary demands. In other words, the benefits of individual self protection greatly outweigh any potential risks of criminality or abuse.

  Second, the advent of the covid mandates, lockdowns and the blatant attempts to implement vaccine passport tyranny upon half the population of this country yet again reinforced the idea that gun rights are more important than ever. Without the unified refusal to comply by conservatives and some moderate Americans, it is highly likely that our nation would be in the same situation as China is right now – A pointless cycle of lockdowns, authoritarian denial of basic services for people that refuse to submit to a highly experimental mRNA vaccine, and even worse supply chain disruptions and financial instability than we already have.

  Make no mistake, the reason the US is mostly free from these draconian conditions today is because of the continued existence of the 2nd Amendment and an armed citizenry. Without these things, there is no longer any obstacle to enforcing whatever unconstitutional provisions the establishment wants.

  Third, with the advent of the BLM riots, inflationary pressures and rising crime rates, there has been a renewed interest in gun ownership in the US among normies. It’s not just a conservative trend, many democrats have suddenly taken an interest also.

  There is very little chance that increased gun restrictions are going to happen with the approval of the public. The only way it could even be attempted is through executive order, and many millions of Americans will simply say ‘no’, just as they did with the vaccine passports.

  And, let’s be clear about what is really going on: The intention of political elites and the left is not “reasonable gun control.” Their purpose is indeed confiscation.

  Incrementalism is the name of the game. Lets not forget what we saw with the covid passports – At first they claimed that there were no plans to institute anything like a vaccine passport system. They said this was “conspiracy theory.” Then, not more than a year later Biden tried to enforce proof of vaccination through executive order. Suddenly, it wasn’t conspiracy theory anymore.

  The same strategy has been attempted with gun rights in the past, and they will try to do it again. As with every other Western nation that has restricted gun ownership down to almost nothing, they start with the “scary” semi-auto weapons and work their way down until you have nothing left. Or, until only people with considerable money have the ability to purchase a firearm (which is the case through most of Europe).

  I suspect that leftists are not fully opposed to the idea of gun ownership as they often pretend to be. I think they would actually like to retain their own guns if possible, they just don’t want people like you and I to have them. Selective gun confiscation would be their ideal, which is the same exact strategy used by the Nazis, who selectively outlawed gun ownership for Jewish citizens and anyone politically opposed to the Third Reich but let all other Germans keep their weapons.

  I would note that whenever gun crimes and mass murders are committed by people that are ideologically opposed to conservatives, the media and leftists often conveniently stop caring about taking action. They only seem to care when the crime can be associated with their political enemies.

  We all know that leftists constantly argue that conservatives are inherently dangerous. It only takes one more step for them to claim that conservative thought is in itself a “mental illness” and that our guns should be taken by default. But let’s talk about REAL mental illness for a moment, shall we?

  Let’s talk about recent active shooters like Payton Gendron with bizarre political and ideological beliefs that have nothing to do with conservative principles. Democrats like AOC and Chuck Schumer immediately tried to link Gendron, the Buffalo grocery store shooter, to conservatives and the Republican party. Yet, in only a few days time they were suddenly silent about the whole event and the media was oddly quiet. But why?

  As it turns out, Gendron’s philosophies were entirely socialist, with tinges of fascism and communism within the same framework. In fact, Gendron stated on multiple occasions that he hated conservatives and identified himself as an “eco-fascist.” He also had a history of reports concerning his mental health and safety. The media’s focus on “replacement theory” was a clear distraction from the real issue at hand. Their assertion was that if you are critical of illegal immigration, then you are automatically a racist and share an ideological boat with people like Payton Gendron. But then, their narrative fell apart when it became obvious that Gendron was actually anti-conservative.

  In the case of Salvador Ramos, details are still emerging about the Texas school shooter and his affiliations, but some information has been leaked despite the media’s quick move to control the narrative. For example, Ramos is not the white conservative monster the leftists need to fulfill their narrative requirements. Photos are also in circulation allegedly taken from his social media accounts which suggest he was transgendered and identified as “they/them.” I’ll stress here though that his social media accounts have been completely scrubbed and right now there is no way to confirm that this claim is true. Why his accounts were removed so quickly is not clear, but surely we will know more in the next couple of days.

  Leftists are swiftly moving to refute any possibility that Ramos was transgendered; maybe they are right, maybe not. They were also very quick to deny that Darrell Brooks Jr., the mass killer that ran down a parade of people with his car in Waukesha, WI, was a supporter of BLM. But, as it turned out initial reports by internet sleuths were correct. Suddenly, leftists were fielding arguments that he was “pushed” to commit the crime by “institutional racism.”

  If it turns out that Ramos did in fact identify as trans, then the media message will surely change once again. I have no doubt there will be a move to defend Ramos as a tragic figure, rather than a monster, and the blame will be placed on the state of Texas and their legislative actions to stop transgender policies from invading their public school system.

  The point is, there is no connection between gun rights supporters or conservatives and gun crime as leftists often claim. I can find just as many if not more incidences of mass murder perpetrated by leftists.

  The common thread between all of these killers and events is not guns or gun rights. Rather, it is blatant signs of mental illness and ideological zealotry. The media will not address this issue, and political puppets like Joe Biden will not address it either. Remember, the goal is gun confiscation, not public safety. If they actually cared about public safety then the mental illness connection would not be ignored.

  It is also important to point out that such tragedies are not limited to the US as some gun grabbers would like you to believe. Numerous mass murder incidences have taken place in Europe and Asia despite strict gun control. Many people have forgotten the mass murder of French citizens in Paris in November of 2015 by Islamic militants with AK47s. Or, how about the mass killing of Spanish citizens by Muslim terrorists in Barcelona in 2017 using a moving truck?

  Another factor which is almost always present during mass murder events is that most of them occur in gun free zones; places where carrying by law abiding citizens is denied or frowned upon. If we are going to address the issue of mass murder, we cannot ignore the commonalities of mental illness and gun free areas. The existence of guns in civilian hands is not the problem, if it were then mass murders would be a daily occurrence in every community in the country. However, this does not stop leftists from trying to exploit every tragedy as an opportunity to attack gun rights.

  They don’t care about nuance or honest solutions, they just want guns out of the hands of people they don’t like. The establishment also wants guns out of public hands for obvious reasons; it makes it much easier to erode other parts of the constitution when the 2nd Amendment is no longer a deterrent. Joe Biden argues that Americans “need to stand up to the gun lobby” in the wake of the Texas shooting, but the gun lobby has nothing to do with these events either. The biggest gun lobby in the US is the American people standing in defense of their freedoms, and they have committed no crime.

  At bottom, no gun owner or gun rights advocate is to blame for what happened in New York or Texas this past week. We didn’t commit the crimes, but the assertion is that we should be punished anyway. Well, I’m not going to allow that, and millions of conservatives and liberty minded people are not going to allow it. The appeal for new gun control measures and confiscation is aimed at the political left, and it is designed to make them feel better about the reality of tragedy. It’s a false silver bullet solution (no pun intended). It doesn’t address the real causes of mass violence, it only makes us more vulnerable to it.

  Frankly, I don’t care if leftists feel better, or feel like they accomplished something when they did not. I also know that increased gun control is exciting to many of them simply because it goes against the values of people they hate – i.e. conservatives. The fact is this: No matter what tragedy arises, our right to self defense overall is more important than appeasing the emotions of the moment. We won’t be giving up our guns. It’s not going to happen. They think we will capitulate given enough threats or enough pressure, and they are wrong. It will not end well for them.

  Other solutions need to be explored because the path to a revision or erasure of the 2nd Amendment, whether by legislation or by executive order, is nothing more than a path to civil war. It’s time to move on from the foolish notion that taking away guns from everyone (or just the people we disagree with politically) solves the underlying causes of mass murder. It doesn’t remove the motivation, nor does it even remove the means, it only sets the stage for a conflict that leftists will find impossible to win.

  *  *  *

  If you would like to support the work that Alt-Market does while also receiving content on advanced tactics for defeating the globalist agenda, subscribe to our exclusive newsletter The Wild Bunch Dispatch.  Learn more about it HERE.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 23:40

• China Builds World's First AI-Powered Drone Carrier For Maritime Operations 
  China Builds World’s First AI-Powered Drone Carrier For Maritime Operations 

  The latest observation of how China aims to use artificial intelligence to conquer the Pacific is the launching of the world’s first autonomous drone carrier. 

  According to the South China Morning Post, the intelligent, unmanned 88-meter drone carrier named Zhu Hai Yun will bring revolutionary changes to ocean surveillance, deploying a swarm of aerial, sea, and or submersible drones. 

  

  The Zhu Hai Yun is powered by an artificial intelligence system called the Intelligent Mobile Ocean Stereo Observing System (IMOSOS). The vessel can navigate autonomously in open water and or be controlled remotely while releasing various types of drones. 

  “The intelligent, unmanned ship is a beautiful, new ‘marine species’ that will bring revolutionary changes for ocean observation,” Chen Dake, director of the laboratory responsible for the ship, was quoted as saying by the Science and Technology Daily in 2021 when the shipbuilding began. 

  The ship was built by Guangzhou of the Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard, a subsidiary of China’s top shipbuilding company, the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Sea trials will happen in the second half of the year. 

  China has launched its first “drone mother ship Zhu Hai yun” capable of carrying more than 50 drones 😎 pic.twitter.com/xt0FZmAiSb

  — 彩云香江 (@louischeung_hk) May 19, 2022

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

  Aside from these civilian uses, the drone carrier could be used for military operations. 

  Suppose the autonomous drone carrier is transferred to the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). In that case, it could be used as a surveillance craft to patrol the country’s militarized islands in the South China Sea.

  China’s primary strategy is to defeat the US by expanding its artificial intelligence military capabilities. So this could be the beginning of the world’s second-largest superpower building out a fleet of intelligent drone carriers to patrol highly contested waters. 

  Meanwhile, the US Navy has piloted drone ships in the Pacific, though only equipped for anti-submarine warfare. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 23:20

• Nuland-Pyatt Ukraine Coup Tape Removed From YouTube After 8 Years
  Nuland-Pyatt Ukraine Coup Tape Removed From YouTube After 8 Years

  Authored by Joe Lauria via Consortium News,

  The smoking gun proving US involvement in the 2014 coup in Kiev has been removed from YouTube after eight years. It was the most complete version of the intercepted and leaked conversation between then Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey Pyatt, the then US ambassador to Ukraine, in which the two discuss who will make up the new government weeks before democratically-elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown in a violent coup on Feb. 21, 2014. 

  The US State Department never denied the authenticity of the video, and even issued an apology to the European Union after Nuland is heard on the tape saying, “Fuck the E.U.” Mainstream media at the time focused almost exclusively on that off-color remark, ignoring the greater significance of U.S. interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs. 

  Consortium News has numerous times embedded the YouTube video in articles about the overthrow of Yanukovych. CN successfully embedded it earlier this week in an article now being written, but on Wednesday the video suddenly appeared this way in the draft article: 

  

  This is a screenshot taken earlier from the video that has now been removed. 

  

  Timing of Removal

  The removal of a video that had existed online for eight years raises major questions as it comes during the war in Ukraine. Corporate media has studiously avoided mentioning the causes of the current conflict, including NATO eastward expansion, the rejected Moscow treaty proposals in December, the civil war in Donbass and the 2014 coup in Kiev that led to the Donbass uprising and violent repression by the coup government. 

  The coup in 2014 is the starting point that led to all these events culminating in Russia’s invasion in February. Removing the video would be consistent with the suppression of any information that falls outside the enforced narrative of events in Ukraine, including whitewashing any mention of the U.S.-backed coup. 

  There is, of course, massive censoring by Big Tech of conservative voices, as well as leftist anti-establishment ones.

  But overlooked: their primary allegiance when censoring is to the US Security State. Big Tech censorship always aligns with US intelligence and military aims.👇 https://t.co/1dRj1gkoE1

  — Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) May 25, 2022

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

  It was the original, most complete, and widely viewed recording of the call on YouTube:

  There are a couple of other versions on YouTube but this one had the most views. It was posted on April 29, 2014 and had 181,533 views. It’s on Odyseey and Rumble but they don’t have the reach that YouTube has nor this particular video.

  — Consortium News (@Consortiumnews) May 25, 2022

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

  Transcript Still Online

  The BBC on Feb. 7, 2014 — 14 days before Yanukovych was toppled- — published a transcript of the Nuland-Pyatt conversation. Consortium News is republishing the transcript here, lest it be removed from the internet as well:

  * * *

  Voice thought to be Nuland’s: What do you think?

  Voice thought to be Pyatt’s: I think we’re in play. The Klitschko [Vitaly Klitschko, one of three main opposition leaders] piece is obviously the complicated electron here. Especially the announcement of him as deputy prime minister and you’ve seen some of my notes on the troubles in the marriage right now so we’re trying to get a read really fast on where he is on this stuff. But I think your argument to him, which you’ll need to make, I think that’s the next phone call you want to set up, is exactly the one you made to Yats [Arseniy Yatseniuk, another opposition leader]. And I’m glad you sort of put him on the spot on where he fits in this scenario. And I’m very glad that he said what he said in response.

  Nuland: Good. I don’t think Klitsch should go into the government. I don’t think it’s necessary, I don’t think it’s a good idea.

  Pyatt: Yeah. I guess… in terms of him not going into the government, just let him stay out and do his political homework and stuff. I’m just thinking in terms of sort of the process moving ahead we want to keep the moderate democrats together. The problem is going to be Tyahnybok [Oleh Tyahnybok, the other opposition leader] and his guys and I’m sure that’s part of what [President Viktor] Yanukovych is calculating on all this.

  Nuland: [Breaks in] I think Yats is the guy who’s got the economic experience, the governing experience. He’s the… what he needs is Klitsch and Tyahnybok on the outside. He needs to be talking to them four times a week, you know. I just think Klitsch going in… he’s going to be at that level working for Yatseniuk, it’s just not going to work.

  Pyatt: Yeah, no, I think that’s right. OK. Good. Do you want us to set up a call with him as the next step?

  Nuland: My understanding from that call – but you tell me – was that the big three were going into their own meeting and that Yats was going to offer in that context a… three-plus-one conversation or three-plus-two with you. Is that not how you understood it?

  Pyatt: No. I think… I mean that’s what he proposed but I think, just knowing the dynamic that’s been with them where Klitschko has been the top dog, he’s going to take a while to show up for whatever meeting they’ve got and he’s probably talking to his guys at this point, so I think you reaching out directly to him helps with the personality management among the three and it gives you also a chance to move fast on all this stuff and put us behind it before they all sit down and he explains why he doesn’t like it.

  Nuland: OK, good. I’m happy. Why don’t you reach out to him and see if he wants to talk before or after.

  Pyatt: OK, will do. Thanks.

  Nuland: OK… one more wrinkle for you Geoff. [A click can be heard] I can’t remember if I told you this, or if I only told Washington this, that when I talked to Jeff Feltman [United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs] this morning, he had a new name for the UN guy Robert Serry did I write you that this morning?

  Pyatt: Yeah I saw that.

  Nuland: OK. He’s now gotten both Serry and [UN Secretary General] Ban Ki-moon to agree that Serry could come in Monday or Tuesday. So that would be great, I think, to help glue this thing and to have the UN help glue it and, you know, Fuck the EU.

  Pyatt: No, exactly. And I think we’ve got to do something to make it stick together because you can be pretty sure that if it does start to gain altitude, that the Russians will be working behind the scenes to try to torpedo it. And again the fact that this is out there right now, I’m still trying to figure out in my mind why Yanukovych (garbled) that. In the meantime there’s a Party of Regions faction meeting going on right now and I’m sure there’s a lively argument going on in that group at this point. But anyway we could land jelly side up on this one if we move fast. So let me work on Klitschko and if you can just keep… we want to try to get somebody with an international personality to come out here and help to midwife this thing. The other issue is some kind of outreach to Yanukovych but we probably regroup on that tomorrow as we see how things start to fall into place.

  Nuland: So on that piece Geoff, when I wrote the note [US vice-president’s national security adviser Jake] Sullivan’s come back to me VFR [direct to me], saying you need [US Vice-President Joe] Biden and I said probably tomorrow for an atta-boy and to get the deets [details] to stick. So Biden’s willing.

  Pyatt: OK. Great. Thanks.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 23:00

• 10,000 Truck Drivers Taken Off The Road Due To Marijuana Violations
  10,000 Truck Drivers Taken Off The Road Due To Marijuana Violations

  Five years ago in 2017, when the US labor shortage was in its nascent stages and when the US was years away from a wage-price spiral, the Fed’s Beige Book surveys of economic activity across the country in April, May and July all noted the inability of employers to find workers able to pass drug screenings: “It’s not just a matter of labor participation; there is also a lot of collateral economic damage,” said Alan B. Krueger, a Princeton economist who wrote a widely discussed paper on the subject last year. In other words, too many people were high 24/7 to be gainfully employed.

  Well, fast forward to today when with the US in the depth of the biggest labor crisis in history, when there are almost two job openings for every unemployed worker (according to the latest JOLTs report), we learn that just marijuana violations have taken over 10,000 truck drivers off the road this year, adding more to unprecedented supply chain disruptions.

  While the COVID-19 pandemic has been the catalyst for a myriad of supply-chain challenges, including delayed packages, bare grocery store shelves, and inflated prices, there are other bottlenecks also causing supply chain issues, including a lack of truck drivers to transport goods from one place to another. In late 2021, the American Trucking Associations reported that the driver shortage had risen to an all-time high of 80,000, partly due to the aging population and shrinking wages.

  In response, the Biden administration vowed in December to get more truck drivers on the road by boosting recruitment efforts and expediting the issuing of commercial licenses. However, that won’t have an effect on another hurdle: disparate marijuana laws across the U.S. that are contributing to an increase in violations. According to KPLC News, in 2022, a growing number of truckers are being taken off the job, which could soon worsen the already suffering supply chain.

  As more states legalize recreational marijuana—four of which did so in the past year and three more are expected to by the end of 2022—more truck drivers have tested positive for the substance. As of April 1, 2022, 10,276 commercial vehicle drivers have tested positive for marijuana use. By the same time in 2021, there had been 7,750 violations. That’s a 32.6% increase year over year.

  Truck drivers who travel cross-country face inconsistent state regulations as 19 states have legalized recreational marijuana and 37 states permit it for medicinal purposes. But even if a driver used marijuana or hemp-based products like CBD while off duty in a state where those substances are legal, they could still be faced with a violation due to the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) zero-tolerance policy at the federal level.

  “While states may allow medical use of marijuana, federal laws and policy do not recognize any legitimate medical use of marijuana,” a DOT handbook for commercial vehicle drivers reads. “Even if a state allows the use of marijuana, DOT regulations treat its use as the same as the use of any other illicit drug.”

  Stacker looked at what’s causing thousands of truckers to be removed from their jobs, and the looming domino effect of the continued supply chain disruptions.

  Under regulations set forth by the DOT, truck drivers are tested for drug use—including marijuana—prior to starting a new job. They can also be tested at random, as well as after accidents. In January 2020, the DOT’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also upped the random drug testing rate from 25% of the average number of driver positions to 50%. Truck drivers are mainly screened for drug use via urinalysis, but there are now new saliva tests being proposed as well.

  At worst, if a driver fails just one drug test, that can be grounds for termination under DOT regulations. At best, they are temporarily taken off the road and required to complete an evaluation with a substance misuse professional who determines their rehabilitation process, which can sometimes take months.

  As of January 2020, employers are also required to list commercial drivers who fail a drug test in the FMCSA’s Drug & Alcohol Clearinghouse. These violations remain searchable for five years. Potential employers are also required to check the Clearinghouse to see if a commercial driver had any previous violations, which would prevent them from being hired.

  In recent years, more states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making it more widely available and used. However, marijuana use is still prohibited for commercial truck drivers, state laws and medical prescriptions aside. According to the FMCSA, “a driver may not use marijuana even if [it] is recommended by a licensed medical practitioner.” The DOT has maintained its zero-tolerance stance for marijuana use even as it’s become legalized, saying, “Legalization of marijuana use by States and other jurisdictions also has not modified the application of U.S. Department of Transportation drug testing regulations.”

  A commercial driver could use marijuana while off-duty, not driving, and in a state where marijuana is legal, but still test positive for the substance for up to a month later and be taken off the road. The American Addiction Centers says for infrequent marijuana users—meaning those who use the substance less than two times a week—it can show up in their urine for up to three days. Someone who uses marijuana several times a week can test positive for up to three weeks, and those who use marijuana even more frequently can “test positive for a month or longer.”

  Meanwhile, shortages, factory closures, and goods waiting to be unloaded at ports are just some of the current issues affecting the supply chain across America. Trucking transports 72% of products within the U.S., according to a report from the White House, but a growing number of commercial drivers are sidelined for marijuana use.

  The return-to-duty process that commercial vehicle drivers must undergo once faced with a marijuana violation can keep them from returning to work at all. According to the FMCSA’s monthly report, 89,650 commercial drivers are currently in prohibited status as of April 1, 2022, but 67,368 of them have not begun the RTD process.

  If violations continue at the current rate, the truck driver shortage will further disrupt the supply chain, which means higher prices not just for commodities but the cost of living at large.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 22:40

• Report Shows FBI Spied On 3.3 Million Americans Without A Warrant, GOP Demands Answers
  Report Shows FBI Spied On 3.3 Million Americans Without A Warrant, GOP Demands Answers

  Authored by Joseph Lord via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  Top House Republicans are demanding answers from the FBI after court-ordered information came to light showing that the federal agency had collected the information of over 3 million Americans without a warrant.

  

  In a May 25 letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Turner (R-Ohio) asked Wray to explain why his agency had wiretapped and gathered personal information on over 3.3 million Americans without a warrant (pdf).

  Limited authority to gather foreign intelligence information is granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

  Specifically, section 702 of the bill says: “the Attorney General (AG) and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) may jointly authorize the targeting of (i) non-U.S. persons (ii) who are reasonably believed to be outside of the United States (iii) to acquire foreign intelligence information.”

  However, this power can grant an expanding circle of possible searches to the FBI and other intel agencies, who can use the same power against American citizens who had any interaction with targeted foreigners.

  Historically, insight into how FISA has been used against American citizens has been limited and hidden behind classified reports.

  However, a November 2020 decision by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC)—which serves as a watchdog for U.S. intelligence agencies—required that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) report “the number of U.S. person queries run by the FBI against Section 702-acquired information.”

  In accordance with these new requirements, ODNI’s recently-released Annual Statistical Transparency Report included data on how often the FBI gathered information on American citizens using section 702 in 2021.

  In total, queries against U.S. citizens came out to a jaw-dropping 3,394,053 searches. By comparison, only 1,324,057 such queries were made in 2020, representing around a 250 percent increase during President Joe Biden’s first year in office.

  According to ODNI more than half of these queries—approximately 1.9 million—were part of the larger investigation of alleged Russian attempts to target or weaken U.S. critical infrastructure.

  The ODNI report also admitted that on at least four occasions, the FBI failed to get FISC approval before accessing the contents of information collected under section 702.

  This is not the first time the FBI has been caught red-handed overstepping its legal authority under section 702.

  In November 2020, the FISC announced that “the government … reported numerous incidents” in which the FBI reviewed information gathered under section 702 without obtaining proper permission from the court.

  On other occasions, the FISC noted, the FBI used section 702 for issues entirely unrelated to foreign intelligence. These included queries for criminal investigations about healthcare fraud, transnational organized crime, violent gangs, domestic terrorism involving racially motivated violent extremists, as well as investigations relating to public corruption and bribery.”

  “None of these queries was related to national security, and they returned numerous Section 702-acquired products in response,” the FISC noted.

  “Rigorous Congressional oversight of the FBI’s Section 702-related activities is essential given FBI’s track record utilizing its FISA authorities,” Jordan and Turner ruled in view of the FBI’s past overreach.

  

  In their letter to Wray, Jordan and Turner laid out a laundry list of questions about the report, demanding further transparency and explanations on the revelation that the FBI has often overstepped its legal authority to spy on American citizens.

  Among other questions, they requested a full accounting of all 3,394,053 citizens who showed up in FBI queries and “[the] number of preliminary or full investigations into any U.S. citizens the FBI has initiated as a result of information obtained through any of these U.S. person queries, and the nature of the predication for each such investigation.”

  They also asked for information on the 1.9 million Americans queried over alleged Russian efforts to compromise U.S. critical infrastructure. Specifically, they asked for, “The rationale for why these queries were found to be compliant with the FBI’s Section 702 querying procedures [and the] total number of U.S. citizens the FBI identified as victims of these compromises(s) pursuant to these queries.”

  In addition, they demanded “A detailed statement about the FBI’s investigation, including the status of the investigation and any information uncovered about the identity of the Russian actors and their involvement with or connection to the Russian government, if any.”

  Additionally, they asked for information gathered under FISA rules in the years between 2015 and 2020, as well as for an explanation of the FBI’s overreach of authority on various occasions.

  The letter demands that Wray provide a written response by no later than 5 p.m. on June 7.

  FISA Section 702 was last authorized by Congress for a six-year period in 2018 and will be up for reauthorization in 2024.

  The FBI could not be immediately reached for comment.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 22:20

• Elon Musk's Starlink Satellite Internet Hits 400,000 Users 
  Elon Musk’s Starlink Satellite Internet Hits 400,000 Users 

  SpaceX’s Starlink has exponentially grown its subscriber base worldwide this year. The network of thousands of satellites in low Earth orbit, providing high-speed internet anywhere globally, has seen a 275% increase in subs since January. 

  CNBC noted that the Elon Musk-owned company presented the new figures to the Federal Communications Commission in a presentation on May 19. Starlink had 145k subscribers at the beginning of the year. By March, it was 250k, and as of this month, it had 400k. 

  

  Last week, SpaceX launched a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket with 53 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit. The satellites will expand the company’s constellation of more than 2.5k, which provides high-speed internet worldwide. Coverage is set to expand across North America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East by the end of the year, opening the doors for the company to add even more subs. 

  

  The 400k subs are spread across 48 U.S. states and dozens of countries (36 in total). Starlink’s website shows much of the U.S. and Europe have service, but plenty of places worldwide are on a “waitlist.” 

  

  Starlink has also inked deals with two carriers to provide inflight Wi-Fi, which could dramatically increase internet speeds on planes from the dial-up-like speeds that make remote work near impossible. 

  High-speed internet from space is great, but is it a profitable business? Not yet… 

  So Starlink now has 400,000 subs= $530M/yr revenue.

  It plans 30,000 satellites @ $400,000 each & lasting 5 years.

  That means it needs $2.4B annual revenue just to break even on satellites. Let’s add $500M/yr ground systems + $500M payroll = $3.4B/yr revenue just to BREAK EVEN.

  — Stanphyl Capital (@StanphylCap) May 25, 2022

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  Meanwhile, Russia has been trying to jam the internet service as it’s being used across Ukraine. Also, Chinese scientists are developing ways to destroy the global network. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 22:00

• Russia To Open Sea Corridors From Ukraine Ports Amid Wheat Crisis, But Warns Of Ukrainian Mines
  Russia To Open Sea Corridors From Ukraine Ports Amid Wheat Crisis, But Warns Of Ukrainian Mines

  After being accused of using the food supply as blackmail and a bargaining chip, Russia said Wednesday its military will open up protected sea corridors for international shipping to pass through from seven Ukrainian ports that have thus far been blockaded.

  According to a defense ministry statement reported by Bloomberg late in the day, “Humanitarian maritime corridors from ports on the Black Sea and Azov Sea, including Odesa, will operate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.”

  

  The announcement comes two days after the head of the United Nations World Food Program David Beasley ripped Moscow for what he dubbed a “declaration of war” on global food security. He’s been urging “political solution” to the crisis of blocked Black Sea ports, saying the war in ‘the world’s breadbasket’ threatens to unleash “famine, the destabilization of nations as well as mass migration by necessity.” Millions of people in 43 countries dependent on grain from the war-torn region are “knocking on famine’s door,” he said.

  However, Russia has stressed that its military is engaged in extensive and complex demining operations due thousands of mines dotting Ukraine’s coast placed by Ukrainian forces, making international shipping dangerous and impossible. As reported in the independent Moscow Times:

  The port of Mariupol has resumed normal operations, Russia’s Defense Ministry  announced Wednesday.

  The Defense Ministry said Black Sea Fleet specialists cleared more than 12,000 mines from the seaport and its surrounding areas.

  Some one-third of global wheat supplies originate from Ukraine and Russia, with the bulk of it passing through the Black Sea.

  On Wednesday Russia said it remains ready and willing to work with the West to reach a solution, but that easing sanctions is a necessity:

  “We have repeatedly stated on this point that a solution to the food problem requires a comprehensive approach, including the lifting of sanctions that have been imposed on Russian exports and financial transactions,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko was quoted as saying by Interfax.

  But the statement called on Ukraine to cease deployment of sea mines, and to engage in immediate demining operations: “And it also requires the demining by the Ukrainian side of all ports where ships are anchored. Russia is ready to provide the necessary humanitarian passage, which it does every day,” Rudenko added.

  Resuming Ukrainian gain shipments will be time consuming given challenges that include mine-clearing in Black Sea ports and the need for cooperation from the very country that kicked off the war, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says https://t.co/x4ORt9KDr8

  — Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) May 25, 2022

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  He further warned against such plans that have been floated lately by Lithuania and the UK which involve foreign military naval escorts accompanying cargo ships. Interfax quoted him as saying such a scenarios would “seriously exacerbate the situation in the Black Sea.”

  Also, addressing ongoing accusations that Russia is stealing Ukrainian grain and other food sources, he stressed to reporters: “We completely reject this. We don’t steal anything from anyone.”

  Regarding mines, NATO in a message this month warned all commercial traffic in the Black Sea of the growing danger of drifting mines as spillover from the Russia-Ukraine war. “The latest statement of regional authorities, confirming another sighting of a mine, shows the threat of drifting mines in the Southwest part of the Black Sea still exists,” a May 13 NATO shipping advisory said.

  Most of #Ukraine and #Russia‘s grain exports originate at these 9 ports. Mykolaiv for Ukraine and Novorossiysk for Russia are the top ones.

  🇺🇦&🇷🇺 account for 29% of world #wheat exports, but all grain & vegetable oil shipments from both are effectively cut off right now. pic.twitter.com/x4M6HVPVNc

  — Karen Braun (@kannbwx) March 1, 2022

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  “An additional stray mine was detected and deactivated on 06 of April 2022 in the Southwestern part of the Black Sea. National authorities stated that the searches for mine-like objects are ongoing. The threat of more drifting mines cannot be ruled out,” it warned.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 21:20

• "Very Dangerous": Pelosi Responds For The First Time Since Being Banned From Communion
  “Very Dangerous”: Pelosi Responds For The First Time Since Being Banned From Communion

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

  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on May 24 reacted for the first time to being banned from communion in San Francisco, where she lives.

  The decision “is very dangerous,” Pelosi said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

  

  San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Joseph Cordileone recently announced that he was banning Pelosi because of her continued support for abortion despite “numerous attempts” to convince her of “the grave evil she is perpetrating.”

  Cordileone said he held off on the move for years while speaking with Pelosi but was compelled to act after the lawmaker’s position on abortion became “more extreme.” He also noted she has said that her Catholic faith motivates her support for abortion, which directly opposes Pope Francis and the Catholic teachings.

  “Since the first century the church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable,” the Vatican said in a communication to questioners in 2009, citing the Catechism of the Catholic Church. “Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”

  Pelosi will not receive communion in San Francisco until she “publicly repudiate[s] her support for abortion ‘rights’ and confess[es] and receive[s] absolution for her cooperation in this evil in the sacrament of penance,” Cordileone said.

  Pelosi, speaking on Tuesday, attacked Cordileone directly by describing him as being “against LGBTQ rights” and questioning why he has not barred people who support the death penalty from taking communion.

  “I wonder about death penalty, which I am opposed to. So is the church, but they take no action against people who may not share their view,” she said.

  Pelosi reportedly received communion at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown over the weekend following Cordileone’s announcement.

  The Archdiocese of Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

  A spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that Archbishop Wilton Gregory will not ban Pelosi from communion.

  “The actions of Archbishop Cordileone are his decision to make in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Cardinal Gregory has not instructed the priests of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington to refuse communion to anyone,” the spokesperson said.

  Other bishops, including Bishop Robert Vasa of the Diocese of Santa Rosa, have said they support Cordileone’s decision.

  “All politicians who promote abortion should not receive holy communion until they have repented, repaired scandal, and been reconciled to Christ and the church,” Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, said in a statement.

  Pelosi on Tuesday also was asked about the Women’s Health Protection Act, which she helped pass the House of Representatives before a bipartisan majority of senators blocked it.

  Pelosi falsely said the bill did not expand access to abortion, alleging it would just “enshrine Roe v. Wade into the law.”

  “I think it’s very insulting to women to have their ability to make their own decision hampered by politics,” she said. “This should never have been politicized.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 21:00

• Obamacare 'Time Bomb' To Hit Right Before Midterms
  Obamacare ‘Time Bomb’ To Hit Right Before Midterms

  Congressional Democrats have yet another thing to worry about going into this year’s midterm elections.

  A temporary pandemic relief program aimed at lowering healthcare premiums under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, is set to expire unless Democrats can revive a reconciliation bill that extends the financial assistance past the end of the year. And that means striking a deal with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).

  

  If they can’t, roughly 13 million Americans will be hit with steep price hikes amid crippling inflation, in what Insider describes as a “time-bomb.”

  “There’s no denying that if they are not extended, then there could definitely be a political impact,” said healthcare policy analyst Charles Gaba.

  Voters are set to receive notices about premium increases in late October, as they head to the ballot box for the November midterms. Others would find out during the ACA open enrollment period, which begins on November 1.

  “If Congress lets the ACA premium help in the American Rescue Plan expire at the end of this year, middle-class people buying their own insurance would be hit hardest,” tweeted Larry Levitt, vice president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.

  If Congress lets the ACA premium help in the American Rescue Plan expire at the end of this year, middle-class people buying their own insurance would be hit hardest.

  They could face a double whammy of inflation and the loss of premium assistance, costing thousands of dollars.

  — Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) May 20, 2022

  https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsLevitt noted that “a middle-class couple of 50 year-olds making $75,000 would see their premium go up by $8,304 on average,” adding “And, if the insurer hikes the unsubsidized premium by 10% for inflation, that’s another $1,468.“

  Extending the extra ACA premium help in the American Rescue plan beyond this year would increase federal spending, which could come from tax increases or lowering drug prices.

  Not extending the help would result in a premium shock for ACA enrollees.

  — Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) May 20, 2022

  Gaba, the healthcare analyst, calculated potential premium hikes using different scenarios based on age, income, marital status and family size, and created two maps to illustrate how letting the ACA assistance lap would affect Americans by state:

  In this scenario, a couple nearing retirement age in West Virginia would see their monthly premium soar $2,704 if  enhanced Obamacare subsidies expire, the sharpest increase in the US. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has been open to reviving pieces of Biden’s agenda without committing to any specific plans and Democrats can’t revive a bill without his support. He has been publicly noncommittal on renewing the program in a smaller package. -Insider

  

  Americans who make just enough to lose access to government help would feel the brunt of the increases. “If you’re in that situation, you’d see all financial aid removed and your net cost would increase pretty dramatically,” said Gaba.

  

  Those who make under 150% of the federal poverty level – $19,320 for singles and $39,750 for a family of four – would also end up paying more if the ACA assistance lapses.

  As Insider notes, 20 Senate Democrats urged President Biden to include an extension of Obamacare subsidies a priority in his Build Back Better plan.

  In other words – extending the assistance is a no-brainer for Democrats. The only question is whether Manchin will be on board. According to Politico, “Staffers for Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have spent the last couple weeks exchanging preliminary ideas for what the framework of a bill might look like,” adding that “the discussions have boosted hopes that an agreement remains in reach, though there is little expectation of a breakthrough before Memorial Day.”

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  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 20:40

• US Government Admits It Used Schools As Tool To Erase Culture, Seize Native American Land: Report
  US Government Admits It Used Schools As Tool To Erase Culture, Seize Native American Land: Report

  Authored by Beth Brelje via The Epoch Times,

  Erasing culture, pulling children away from their parents, and disregarding the emotional needs of children. These tactics could be pulled from today’s headlines, but they are the tried-and-true education policies the United States has admitted to using for 150 years as a tool to force the assimilation of Native Americans, and specifically to acquire Indian territorial land.

  

  This month, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) released a 106-page report detailing how the U.S. federal government “applied systematic militarized and identity-alteration methodologies in the Federal Indian boarding school system to assimilate American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children through education.”

  The BIA says the government used the education of children to “replace the Indian’s culture with our own.” This, the report says, was considered “the cheapest and safest way of subduing the Indians, of providing a safe habitat for the country’s white inhabitants, of helping the whites acquire desirable land, and of changing the Indian’s economy so that he would be content with less land.”

  The report was requested last year by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna in New Mexico. She is the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary.

  

  Haaland asked for an investigation into the loss of lives and lasting consequences of the Federal Indian boarding school system.

  “This report shows for the first time that between 1819 and 1969, the United States operated or supported 408 boarding schools across 37 states [or then-territories], including 21 schools in Alaska and seven schools in Hawaii,” Bryan Newland, assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, wrote in a letter introducing the report.

  Another report expanding the investigation is planned.

  “The Federal Indian boarding school policy was intentionally targeted … at children to assimilate them and, consequently, take their territories,” Newland said.

  The report makes recommendations for new funding and the revitalization of tribal languages and cultural practices—a move necessary, Newland said, to start the healing process.

  Taken from Parents

  Congress ended treaty-making with Indian tribes in 1871 and started using statutes, executive orders, and agreements to regulate Indian Affairs, the report says. Around that time, Congress enacted laws to compel Indian parents to send their children to school and to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations to secure the enrollment and regular attendance of eligible Indian children, whom the government considered wards of the government.

  “Many Indian families resisted the assault of the Federal Government on their lives by refusing to send their children to school,” the 1969 Kennedy Report, quoted in the current report, said.

  Under the Act of March 3, 1893, Congress authorized the Secretary of Interior to withhold rations, including those guaranteed by treaties, to Indian families whose children between ages 8-21 did not attend schools. No school meant no money or food for the family.

  “There is ample evidence in federal records demonstrating that the United States coerced, induced, or compelled Indian children to enter the Federal Indian boarding school system,” the report says.

  The Department of Interior moved children to off-reservation boarding schools without parental consent, often in distant states where children endured “rampant physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; disease; malnourishment; overcrowding; and lack of health care,” the report says.

  

  Once at boarding school, children were given English names and clothing. Their hair was cut, and they were prevented from using their native language, religion, and cultural practices. Children were sorted into units to perform military drills; performed labor and were subject to corporal punishment.

  At the Kickapoo Boarding School in Kansas, when children ran away from school, officials went looking for them and brought them back to school where they faced “a whipping administered soundly and prayerfully,” in front of other students to warn them not to flee, the report says. This same school had children sleeping three to a bed. The schools were typically overcrowded, the report shows.

  The intent of all this was to permanently break family ties and prevent students from returning to the reservations. The system produced intergenerational trauma, the report says.

  In 1886, the Haskell Institute in Kansas intentionally mixed Indian children from 31 different tribes to disrupt tribal relations and prevent Indian language use, the report says. The Department of Interior intended school graduates from different tribes to intermarry, so they would use English for their children’s mother tongue. Affected tribes that year included the Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Cherokee, Chippewa, Comanche, Caddo, Delaware, Iowa, Kiowa, Kickapoo, Kaw, Mojave, Muncie, Modoc, Miami, New York, Omaha, Ottawa, Osage, Pawnee, Pottawatomie, Ponca, Peoria, Quapaw, Seneca, Sac and Fox, Seminole, Shawnee, Sioux, and Wyandotte.

  Lacking Education

  Work done by children in these boarding schools would likely be a violation of child labor laws in most states, said the 1928 Meriam Report, prepared at the request of the then-Secretary of the Interior.

  Focused on vocational training, the government adopted a half-time plan, with students spending half the day in academic subjects and the remaining time in work. They tended to farm animals, the report says, and worked in lumbering, on the railroad, carpentry, blacksmithing, fertilizing, irrigation system development, well-digging, making furniture including mattresses, tables and chairs, cooking, laundry, ironing services, and garment-making.

  The 2022 report shows that, in 1857 at the Winnebago Manual Labor Schools in Nebraska, the girls made 550 garments for themselves and the boys attending the school, and 700 sacks for farm use. In 1903, a report from the Mescalero Boarding School in New Mexico showed the Mescalero Apache boys sawed over 70,000 feet of lumber, 40,000 shingles, and made more than 120,000 bricks.

  Schools at the time said they could not afford to support operations merely on the funds provided by Congress. Students had to handle these chores to keep the places going. The report notes that this labor had a monetary value.

  Paid for With Money Meant for Indians

  The schools were given operation money annually, but according to the report, the federal government likely also used money held in tribal trust accounts and proceeds of the sale tribal land to run the schools.

  “It is apparent that proceeds from cessions of Indian territories to the United States through treaties—which were often signed under duress—were used to fund the operation of Federal Indian boarding schools. As a result, the United States’ assimilation policy, the Federal Indian boarding school system, and the effort to acquire Indian territories are connected,” the report says.

  The United States government paid missionary church groups to run the programs. It had contracts, the report says, with the American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church, the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church, the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church, the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, and the Protestant Episcopal Church.

  In some cases, the missionaries were given no education or training. The government had no standards to follow or oversight over the programs, the report shows.

  Schools had Grave Sites

  

  Most schools don’t need a cemetery, but these schools did. An initial investigation of 19 schools found over 500 student deaths.

  “The intentional targeting and removal of … children to achieve the goal of forced assimilation of Indian people was both traumatic and violent,” the report says. “The department found hundreds of Indian children died throughout the Federal Indian boarding school system and it believes continued investigation will reveal the approximate number of Indian children who died at these schools to be in the thousands or tens of thousands.”

  The department’s research has identified at least 53 different burial sites across the school system; some marked, others unmarked or poorly maintained.

  “The deaths of Indian children while under the care of the federal government, or federally-supported institutions, led to the breakup of Indian families and the erosion of tribes,” the report says.

  The department has been talking with tribal leaders to address cultural concerns regarding the burial sites, including future protection of burial sites and potential repatriation or disinterment of remains. “The department will not make public the specific locations of burial sites associated with the Federal Indian boarding school system in order to protect against well-documented grave-robbing, vandalism, and other disturbances to Indian burial sites,” the report says.

  Recommendations

  The report makes recommendations including funding a full investigation. Congress appropriated $7 million in new funds through fiscal year 2022, through the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The report asks to expand the investigation with continued funding for fiscal year 2023.

  It also suggests identifying surviving boarding school attendees, and formally documenting their historical accounts and experiences, including studying current impacts such as health status, including substance abuse and violence.

  It asks to protect details of gravesites from being made public under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, by making information exempt from Freedom of Information Act.

  It also recommends the advancement of native language revitalization by funding the development of programs supporting native language revitalization in both Bureau of Indian Education funded schools, and non-BIE schools.

  The report calls for the promotion of Indian health research by funding scientific studies on lasting health impacts.

  And the report suggests recognizing the generations of children who experienced the Federal Indian boarding school system with a federal memorial.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 20:20

• Consumers Face Summer Of Hell As Power Bill Costs Set To Jump 
  Consumers Face Summer Of Hell As Power Bill Costs Set To Jump 

  The last thing consumers want to hear is an increase in power costs this summer following the news last week of rising threats of rolling blackouts across half of the US. 

  Tight supplies of natural gas, crude, and coal have pushed up residential electricity rates this year. A nationwide weather outlook for this summer forecasts extreme heat — all of this will force households to crank up their air conditions, resulting in oversized power demand that could stress national grids. 

  Bloomberg cites new data from Barclays Plc that says monthly power bills could be 40% more than last year’s. The US Energy Information Administration expects retail residential electricity rates to increase the most since 2008. 

  Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Miami households spent 38% more on energy in April than a year ago. Power prices in the state have jumped due to the rising cost of natgas. 

  “Our continued overreliance on gas only sets us up for these burdensome and unnecessary rate increases. 

  “This business model is unsustainable, and it’s hurting people,” said Natalia Brown of Catalyst Miami, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group. 

  Besides Miami, parts of Hawaii, Dallas, Minneapolis, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and San Francisco recorded the highest increases in retail electricity costs last month. 

  

  Barclays analyst Srinjoy Banerjee said the average residential power bills averaged $122 in April. He pointed out that power bills could raise another $49 due to natgas prices soaring over $8 per million British thermal units. 

  

  Consumers can’t escape the inflation storm that only suggests a summer of hell is ahead. Gasoline and diesel prices are at a record, food prices are screaming higher, homes and cars are unaffordable, and real wage growth is negative. 

  Banerjee said the inflation burden “disproportionately falls on lower-income groups.” 

  In California, higher costs for electricity and less reliable electric grids mean consumers will pay on average 25% more this summer, according to Cisco DeVries, chief executive officer of OhmConnect Inc., which helps households save money by remotely adjusting thermostats. 

  The cost of everything is rising and has pushed consumers to the brink. Many have maxed out credit cards and drained critical savings to survive this terrible economic backdrop of what appears to be stagflation which could quickly morph into a Federal Reserve-induced recession due to aggressive interest rate hikes. 

  Then there’s the risk of rolling blackouts across the Great Lakes to the West Coast due to tight power supplies may not be able to satisfy demand amid a megadrought. 

  Some Americans could get a nasty dose of high inflation and power blackouts, similar to life in Venezuela. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 20:00

• Sussman Trial Day 8: Ex-Clinton Lawyer Told Different Stories To Congress And FBI, Jury Hears
  Sussman Trial Day 8: Ex-Clinton Lawyer Told Different Stories To Congress And FBI, Jury Hears

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

  A lawyer representing Hillary Clinton’s campaign told members of Congress in 2017 that he took information about Donald Trump and Russia to the FBI on behalf of a client, even though he told the bureau previously that he was bringing the data on his own volition, jurors in federal court heard on May 25.

  “I think it’s most accurate to say it was done on behalf of my client,” Michael Sussmann, the lawyer, told the House Intelligence Committee on Dec. 18, 2017.

  

  Portions of the transcript were read into the record as prosecutors with special counsel John Durham’s team wrapped up their case against Sussmann, who is on trial on the charge of lying to the FBI.

  Sussmann texted James Baker, a bureau lawyer, in September 2016 asking for a meeting so he could share information, but claimed he was coming forward on his own accord, not as part of his representation of any clients.

  Sussmann, with Perkins Coie, at the time was representing both the Clinton campaign and Rodney Joffe, a technology executive who has said he was promised a position in the government if Clinton won the 2016 election.

  The parties colluded in gathering data and claiming that it showed a secret link between Trump and Russia’s Alfa Bank, prosecutors say. They hoped to sway the election in Clinton’s favor.

  About 14 months after handing over the allegations to Baker—the FBI and the CIA both deemed the claims false—Sussmann sat before the House panel and told members that he received the Trump-Russia information from a client, whom he indicated was not the Clinton campaign. He also said he did not go to the FBI and CIA on his own volition but was directed by his client to go to the agencies and hand over the information.

  “We had a conversation, as lawyers do with their clients, about client needs and objectives and the best course to take for a client. And so it may have been a decision that we came to together. I don’t want to imply that I was sort of directed to do something against my better judgment, or that we were in any sort of conflict, but this was—I think it’s most accurate to say it was done on behalf of my client,” Sussmann said before the panel.

  Clinton campaign officials have testified that they did not approve of Sussmann going to the FBI. They hoped that media outlets would publish stories on the Trump-Alfa Bank claims, and feared going to the bureau would delay the articles.

  Defense lawyers, meanwhile, called their first witnesses—several former Department of Justice employees, including former Associate Deputy Attorney General Tashina Gauhar.

  According to notes Gauhar took at a March 6, 2017, meeting that involved top officials, there was an awareness that Sussmann brought the information for a client or clients.

  Then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said during the meeting that the Trump-Alfa Bank claims came from an “attorney” who “brought [them] to [the] FBI on behalf of his client,” with the last word possibly being “clients.”

  Gauhar said on the stand she did not remember the meeting but said she recognized the notes as ones she took. When pointed to the part about McCabe, Gauhar said she didn’t recall that moment.

  Another former DOJ official, Mary McCord, was questioned as the defense introduced her notes, which stated that an attorney brought the allegations to Baker and that the attorney did not “say who client was.”

  Baker testified earlier in the trial that Sussmann told him when their meeting first started that he was not coming on behalf of any particular client, and that he was “very confident” of the recollection. He did not take notes of the meeting.

  Baker also said he could only vaguely remember the 2017 meeting, for which he was listed as a participant, and did not remember anything that was said.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 19:40

• Stellantis CEO Warns Of Impending EV Battery Shortage As 'Greenification' Hits Snag 
  Stellantis CEO Warns Of Impending EV Battery Shortage As ‘Greenification’ Hits Snag 

  The latest sign the rapid transition to a green economy could soon hit a snag is a warning from the world’s fourth-largest carmaker about an approaching electric vehicle (EV) battery shortage. 

  Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares expects a shortage of EV batteries by 2024-25, according to CNBC. He then said the adoption of EVs by 2027-28 will slow due to a lack of raw materials for vehicles. 

  “The speed at which we are trying to move all together for the right reason, which is fixing the global warming issue, is so high that the supply chain and the production capacities have no time to adjust,” Tavares said. 

  President Biden’s ambitious target of 50% EV sale shares in the U.S. by 2030 could hit a brick wall unless domestic supply chains are strengthened and raw materials for battery-making are adequately sourced. 

  Tavares said new EV regulations to phase out traditional internal combustion are too aggressive and urged lawmakers to stop moving targets for EVs forward. 

  

  He expects a battery shortage will first emerge and then a lack of raw materials for the vehicles.

  “You’ll see that the electrification path, which is a very ambitious one, in a time window that has been set by the administrations is going to bump on the supply side,” the CEO added, who runs the world’s fourth-largest carmaker, with brands such as Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Maserati, and others. 

  A shortage of batteries and raw materials will drive the spread of EV-combustion average car prices even wider. The average cost of an EV is around $60k, versus $46k for all other vehicles. That’s a difference of $14k. The spread will continue to widen as battery costs increase, thus making EVs unaffordable for most people. 

  And it’s not just EVs that could soon run into trouble. Greenify the nation’s power grid could result in power shortfalls across the western half of the US because grid operators have removed too much power capacity through retiring fossil fuel power plants and have yet to bring enough solar and wind to satisfy the increasing demand. This may trigger a summer of power blackouts. 

  What’s deeply depressing is that elected and unelected officials forcing this green transition have taken no accountability for their actions upon mishaps. Thank the billionaires at Davos for this mess, who want the masses to own nothing, drive EVs, and eat bugs. 

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 19:20

• Hedges: No Way Out But War
  Hedges: No Way Out But War

  Authored by Chris Hedges via ScheerPost.com, (emphasis ours)

  Permanent war has cannibalized the country. It has created a social, political, and economic morass. Each new military debacle is another nail in the coffin of Pax Americana…

  

  Original Illustration by Mr. Fish — “No Guts No Glory”

  The United States, as the near unanimous vote to provide nearly $40 billion in aid to Ukraine illustrates, is trapped in the death spiral of unchecked militarism. No high speed trains. No universal health care. No viable Covid relief program. No respite from 8.3 percent inflation. No infrastructure programs to repair decaying roads and bridges, which require $41.8 billion to fix the 43,586 structurally deficient bridges, on average 68 years old. No forgiveness of $1.7 trillion in student debt. No addressing income inequality. No program to feed the 17 million children who go to bed each night hungry. No rational gun control or curbing of the epidemic of nihilistic violence and mass shootings. No help for the 100,000 Americans who die each year of drug overdoses. No minimum wage of $15 an hour to counter 44 years of wage stagnation. No respite from gas prices that are projected to hit $6 a gallon.

  The permanent war economy, implanted since the end of World War II, has destroyed the private economy, bankrupted the nation, and squandered trillions of dollars of taxpayer money. The monopolization of capital by the military has driven the US debt to $30 trillion, $ 6 trillion more than the US GDP of $ 24 trillion. Servicing this debt costs $300 billion a year. We spent more on the military, $ 813 billion for fiscal year 2023, than the next nine countries, including China and Russia, combined.

  We are paying a heavy social, political, and economic cost for our militarism. Washington watches passively as the U.S. rots, morally, politically, economically, and physically, while China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, India, and other countries extract themselves from the tyranny of the U.S. dollar and the international Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a messaging network banks and other financial institutions use to send and receive information, such as money transfer instructions. Once the U.S. dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency, once there is an alternative to SWIFT, it will precipitate an internal economic collapse. It will force the immediate contraction of the U.S. empire shuttering most of its nearly 800 overseas military installations. It will signal the death of Pax Americana.

  Democrat or Republican. It does not matter. War is the raison d’état of the state. Extravagant military expenditures are justified in the name of “national security.” The nearly $40 billion allocated for Ukraine, most of it going into the hands of weapons manufacturers such as Raytheon Technologies, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing, is only the beginning. Military strategists, who say the war will be long and protracted, are talking about infusions of $4 or $5 billion in military aid a month to Ukraine. We face existential threats. But these do not count. The proposed budget for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in fiscal year 2023 is $10.675 billion. The proposed budget for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is $11.881 billion. Ukraine alone gets more than double that amount. Pandemics and the climate emergency are afterthoughts. War is all that matters. This is a recipe for collective suicide.

  There were three restraints to the avarice and bloodlust of the permanent war economy that no longer exist.

  • The first was the old liberal wing of the Democratic Party, led by politicians such as Senator George McGovern, Senator Eugene McCarthy, and Senator J. William Fulbright, who wrote The Pentagon Propaganda Machine. The self-identified progressives, a pitiful minority, in Congress today, from Barbara Lee, who was the single vote in the House and the Senate opposing a broad, open-ended authorization allowing the president to wage war in Afghanistan or anywhere else, to Ilhan Omar now dutifully line up to fund the latest proxy war.

  • The second restraint was an independent media and academia, including journalists such as I.F Stone and Neil Sheehan along with scholars such as Seymour Melman, author of The Permanent War Economy and Pentagon Capitalism: The Political Economy of War. 

  • Third, and perhaps most important, was an organized anti-war movement, led by religious leaders such as Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King Jr. and Phil and Dan Berrigan as well as groups such as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). They understood that unchecked militarism was a fatal disease.

  None of these opposition forces, which did not reverse the permanent war economy but curbed its excesses, now exist. The two ruling parties have been bought by corporations, especially military contractors. The press is anemic and obsequious to the war industry. Propagandists for permanent war, largely from right-wing think tanks lavishly funded by the war industry, along with former military and intelligence officials, are exclusively quoted or interviewed as military experts. NBC’s “Meet the Press” aired a segment May 13 where officials from Center for a New American Security (CNAS) simulated what a war with China over Taiwan might look like. The co-founder of CNAS, Michèle Flournoy, who appeared in the “Meet the Press” war games segment and was considered by Biden to run the Pentagon, wrote in 2020 in Foreign Affairs that the U.S. needs to develop “the capability to credibly threaten to sink all of China’s military vessels, submarines and merchant ships in the South China Sea within 72 hours.” 

  The handful of anti-militarists and critics of empire from the left, such as Noam Chomsky, and the right, such as Ron Paul, have been declared persona non grata by a compliant media. The liberal class has retreated into boutique activism where issues of class, capitalism and militarism are jettisoned for “cancel culture,” multiculturalism and identity politics. Liberals are cheerleading the war in Ukraine. At least the inception of the war with Iraq saw them join significant street protests. Ukraine is embraced as the latest crusade for freedom and democracy against the new Hitler. There is little hope, I fear, of rolling back or restraining the disasters being orchestrated on a national and global level.  The neoconservatives and liberal interventionists chant in unison for war. Biden has appointed these war mongers, whose attitude to nuclear war is terrifyingly cavalier, to run the Pentagon, the National Security Council, and the State Department.

  Since all we do is war, all proposed solutions are military. This military adventurism accelerates the decline, as the defeat in Vietnam and the squandering of $8 trillion in the futile wars in the Middle East illustrate. War and sanctions, it is believed, will cripple Russia, rich in gas and natural resources. War, or the threat of war, will curb the growing economic and military clout of China.

  These are demented and dangerous fantasies, perpetrated by a ruling class that has severed itself from reality. No longer able to salvage their own society and economy, they seek to destroy those of their global competitors, especially Russia and China. Once the militarists cripple Russia, the plan goes, they will focus military aggression on the Indo-Pacific, dominating what Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, referring to the Pacific, called “the American Sea.” 

  You cannot talk about war without talking about markets. The U.S., whose growth rate has fallen to below 2 percent, while China’s growth rate is 8.1 percent, has turned to military aggression to bolster its sagging economy. If the U.S. can sever Russian gas supplies to Europe, it will force Europeans to buy from the United States. U.S. firms, at the same time, would be happy to replace the Chinese Communist Party, even if they must do it through the threat of war, to open unfettered access to Chinese markets. War, if it did break out with China, would devastate the Chinese, American, and global economies, destroying free trade between countries as in World War I. But that doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

  Washington is desperately trying to build military and economic alliances to ward off a rising China, whose economy is expected by 2028 to overtake that of the United States, according to the UK’s Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The White House has said Biden’s current visit to Asia is about sending a “powerful message” to Beijing and others about what the world could look like if democracies “stand together to shape the rules of the road.” The Biden administration has invited South Korea and Japan to attend the NATO summit in Madrid.

  But fewer and fewer nations, even among European allies, are willing to be dominated by the United States. Washington’s veneer of democracy and supposed respect for human rights and civil liberties is so badly tarnished as to be irrecoverable. Its economic decline, with China’s manufacturing 70 percent higher than that of the U.S., is irreversible. War is a desperate Hail Mary, one employed by dying empires throughout history with catastrophic consequences. “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable,” Thucydides noted in the History of the Peloponnesian War. 

  A key component to the sustenance of the permanent war state was the creation of the All-Volunteer Force. Without conscripts, the burden of fighting wars falls to the poor, the working class, and military families. This All-Volunteer Force allows the children of the middle class, who led the Vietnam anti-war movement, to avoid service. It protects the military from internal revolts, carried out by troops during the Vietnam War, which jeopardized the cohesion of the armed forces.

  The All-Volunteer Force, by limiting the pool of available troops, also makes the global ambitions of the militarists impossible. Desperate to maintain or increase troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan, the military instituted the stop-loss policy that arbitrarily extended active-duty contracts. Its slang term was the backdoor draft. The effort to bolster the number of troops by hiring private military contractors, as well, had a negligible effect. Increased troop levels would not have won the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but the tiny percentage of those willing to serve in the military (only 7 percent of the U.S. population are veterans) is an unacknowledged Achilles heel for the militarists.

  “As a consequence, the problem of too much war and too few soldiers eludes serious scrutiny,” writes historian and retired Army Colonel Andrew Bacevich in After the Apocalypse: America’s Role in a World Transformed.

  “Expectations of technology bridging that gap provide an excuse to avoid asking the most fundamental questions: Does the United States possess the military wherewithal to oblige adversaries to endorse its claim of being history’s indispensable nation? And if the answer is no, as the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq suggest, wouldn’t it make sense for Washington to temper its ambitions accordingly?”

  This question, as Bacevich points out, is “anathema.” The military strategists work from the supposition that the coming wars won’t look anything like past wars. They invest in imaginary theories of future wars that ignore the lessons of the past, ensuring more fiascos. 

  The political class is as self-deluded as the generals. It refuses to accept the emergence of a multi-polar world and the palpable decline of American power. It speaks in the outdated language of American exceptionalism and triumphalism, believing it has the right to impose its will as the leader of the “free world.” In his 1992 Defense Planning Guidance memorandum, U.S. Under Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz argued that the U.S. must ensure no rival superpower again arises. The U.S. should project its military strength to dominate a unipolar world in perpetuity. On February 19, 1998, on NBC’s “Today Show”, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright gave the Democratic version of this doctrine of unipolarity. “If we have to use force it is because we are Americans; we are the indispensable nation,” she said. “We stand tall, and we see further than other countries into the future.”

  This demented vision of unrivaled U.S. global supremacy, not to mention unrivaled goodness and virtue, blinds the establishment Republicans and Democrats. The military strikes they casually used to assert the doctrine of unipolarity, especially in the Middle East, swiftly spawned jihadist terror and prolonged warfare. None of them saw it coming until the hijacked jets slammed into the World Trade Center twin towers. That they cling to this absurd hallucination is the triumph of hope over experience.

  There is a deep loathing among the public for these elitist Ivy League architects of American imperialism. Imperialism was tolerated when it was able to project power abroad and produce rising living standards at home. It was tolerated when it restrained itself to covert interventions in countries such as Iran, Guatemala, and Indonesia. It went off the rails in Vietnam. The military defeats that followed accompanied a steady decline in living standards, wage stagnation, a crumbling infrastructure and eventually a series of economic policies and trade deals, orchestrated by the same ruling class, which deindustrialized and impoverished the country.

  The establishment oligarchs, now united in the Democratic Party, distrust Donald Trump. He commits the heresy of questioning the sanctity of the American empire. Trump derided the invasion of Iraq as a “big, fat mistake.” He promised “to keep us out of endless war.” Trump was repeatedly questioned about his relationship with Vladimir Putin. Putin was “a killer,” one interviewer told him. “There are a lot of killers,” Trump retorted. “You think our country’s so innocent?” Trump dared to speak a truth that was to be forever unspoken, the militarists had sold out the American people.

  Noam Chomsky took some heat for pointing out, correctly, that Trump is the “one statesman” who has laid out a “sensible” proposition to resolve the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The proposed solution included “facilitating negotiations instead of undermining them and moving toward establishing some kind of accommodation in Europe…in which there are no military alliances but just mutual accommodation.”

  Trump is too unfocused and mercurial to offer serious policy solutions. He did set a timetable to withdraw from Afghanistan, but he also ratcheted up the economic war against Venezuela and reinstituted crushing sanctions against Cuba and Iran, which the Obama administration had ended. He increased the military budget. He apparently flirted with carrying out a missile strike on Mexico to “destroy the drug labs.” But he acknowledges a distaste for imperial mismanagement that resonates with the public, one that has every right to loath the smug mandarins that plunge us into one war after another. Trump lies like he breathes. But so do they.

  The 57 Republicans who refused to support the $40 billion aid package to Ukraine, along with many of the 19 bills that included an earlier $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine, come out of the kooky conspiratorial world of Trump. They, like Trump, repeat this heresy. They too are attacked and censored. But the longer Biden and the ruling class continue to pour resources into war at our expense, the more these proto fascists, already set to wipe out Democratic gains in the House and the Senate this fall, will be ascendant. Marjorie Taylor Greene, during the debate on the aid package to Ukraine, which most members were not given time to closely examine, said:

  “$40 billion dollars but there’s no baby formula for American mothers and babies.”

  “An unknown amount of money to the CIA and Ukraine supplemental bill but there’s no formula for American babies,” she added.

  “Stop funding regime change and money laundering scams. A US politician covers up their crimes in countries like Ukraine.”

  Democrat Jamie Raskin immediately attacked Greene for parroting the propaganda of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

  Greene, like Trump, spoke a truth that resonates with a beleaguered public. The opposition to permanent war should have come from the tiny progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which unfortunately sold out to the craven Democratic Party leadership to save their political careers. Greene is demented, but Raskin and the Democrats peddle their own brand of lunacy. We are going to pay a very steep price for this burlesque.

  *  *  *

  The walls are closing in, with startling rapidity, on independent journalism, with the elites, including the Democratic Party elites, clamoring for more and more censorship. Please, if you can, sign up at chrishedges.substack.com so I can continue to post my now weekly Monday column on ScheerPost and produce my weekly television show, The Chris Hedges Report.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 19:00

• Is The US Already In Recession?
  Is The US Already In Recession?

  Do recessions lead to bear markets, or is it vice versa?

  That is the question Bloomberg Markets Live commentator Ye Xie asks today, and with good reason: with the S&P having fallen about 18% from its January peak, just a hair shy of the typical bear-market definition of a 20% drawdown, everyone is talking about an imminent recession. But here Yie spots a mathematical oddity: if the S&P 500 falls into a bear market and a recession follows in coming months, that would be the first time in modern history that a bear market has foreshadowed an economic downturn.

  As Xie explains his methodology, he counted 11 times when the S&P 500 fell at least 20% from previous records since 1929. (That excludes most of the periods from the 1930s and 1940s because the S&P 500 didn’t climb back to the its pre-Great Depression peak until the 1950s.)

  

  Here are Xie’s conclusions:

  • It took (a median of) four months for markets to trough. The median peak-to-trough drawdown was 34%
  • There were three false alarms, including 1987, 1966 and 1962, when the S&P fell more than 20% without an imminent recession
  • Recessions don’t always cause a bear market. Stocks fell less than 20% during recessions in 90-‘91, 1980, ‘60-’61 and ‘53-‘54 for example
  • The punchline: Bear markets never occurred before recession started. The 20% threshold was typically hit roughly 2-3 months after the economic contraction started.

  As Xie points out, the 20% threshold is of course arbitrary and yet that’s what traditionally is viewed as a bear market. Still, stocks fall more during, rather than before, an economic contraction. The bigger point is that if indeed the S&P entered a brief bear market last Friday when the S&P dipped below 3,855 and bounced immediately, then it’s safe to conclude that the US economy is already in a recession, unless this time is different. But we doubt it: after all just a few hours earlier the Atlanta Fed announced that its GDPNowcast tracker for Q2 GDP dropped from 2.4% to 1.8%.

  On May 25, the #GDPNow model nowcast of real GDP growth in Q22022 is 1.8%. https://t.co/T7FoDdgYos #ATLFedResearch Download our EconomyNow app or go to our website for the latest GDPNow nowcast. https://t.co/NOSwMl7Jms pic.twitter.com/EOQVx4h2Wy

  — Atlanta Fed (@AtlantaFed) May 25, 2022

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

  And with Q1 already negative, it means we are just 1.8% away from a full-blown technical recession.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 18:40

• They're Worried About The Spread Of Information, Not Disinformation
  They’re Worried About The Spread Of Information, Not Disinformation

  Authored by Caitlin Johnstone via Medium.com,

  We’re in the final countdown to British Home Secretary Priti Patel’s decision on the fate of Julian Assange, with the WikiLeaks founder’s extradition to the United States due to be approved or rejected by the end of the month. Joe Lauria has a new article out with Consortium News on the various pressures that Patel is being faced with from both sides of this history-making issue at this crucial time.

  

  And I can’t stop thinking, as this situation comes to a boil, about how absurd it is that the US empire is working to set a precedent which essentially outlaws information-sharing that the US doesn’t like at the same time western news media are full of hand-wringing headlines about the dangerous threat of “disinformation”.

  ‘Disinformation’ Label Serves to Marginalize Crucial Ukraine Facts https://t.co/f9iQoHXzpT

  — FAIR (@FAIRmediawatch) May 18, 2022

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

  Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) has an article out titled “‘Disinformation’ Label Serves to Marginalize Crucial Ukraine Facts” about the way the mass media have been spinning that label to mean not merely the knowing distribution of false information but also of information that is true but inconvenient to imperial narrative-weaving.

  “In defense of the US narrative, corporate media have increasingly taken to branding realities inconvenient to US information goals as ‘disinformation’ spread by Russia or its proxies,” writes FAIR’s Luca Goldmansour.

  Online platforms have been ramping up their censorship protocols under the banner of fighting disinformation and misinformation, and those escalations always align with narrative control agendas of the US-centralized empire. Just the other day we learned that Twitter has a new policy which expands its censorship practices to fight “misinformation” about wars and other crises, and the Ukraine war (surprise surprise) will be the first such situation about which it will be enforcing these new censorship policies.

  Then there’s the recent controversy over the Department of Homeland Security’s “Disinformation Governance Board,” a mysterious institution ostensibly designed to protect the American people from wrongthink coming from Russia and elsewhere. The board’s operations (whatever they were) have been “paused” pending a review which will be led by Michael Chertoff, a virulent swamp monster and torture advocate. Its operations will likely be resumed in one form or another, probably under the leadership of someone with a low profile who doesn’t sing show tunes about disinformation.

  And this all comes out after US officials straight up told the press that the Biden administration has been deliberately sowing disinformation to the public using the mainstream press in order to win an infowar against the Kremlin. They’ve literally just been circulating completely baseless stories about Russia and Ukraine, but nobody seems to be calling for the social media accounts of Biden administration officials to be banned.

  Pressure Mounts on Patel Over Assange Decision https://t.co/QrSC9V4HSf

  — Consortium News (@Consortiumnews) May 23, 2022

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

  You see so many discrepancies between what the oligarchic empire says and what it actually does regarding the issue of disinformation because the empire has no problem with disinformation.

  The empire that is built on propaganda and lies has no problem with propaganda and lies. It has a problem with the truth.

  They’re not worried about disinformation, they’re worried about information. They’re worried about journalists using the unprecedented information-sharing power of the internet to reveal inconvenient facts about the largest and most murderous power structure on earth. They’re worried about people finding out that they’ve been lied to their entire lives about their world, their nation and their government. They’re worried about people using their newly connected minds to decide together that they don’t much like the status quo as it’s been laid out for them, and deciding to build a new one.

  All the safeguards they’re setting up now to manipulate the flow of information online are not there to eliminate lies, they’re there to eliminate truth. These people have a vested interest in keeping things dark and confused, and we the ordinary people of the world have a vested interest in shining a big inconvenient spotlight on everything. The elite agenda to keep things endarkened is at direct odds with the people’s agenda to get things enlightened.

  We are not being protected by a compassionate alliance of corporations and governments who only want us to know the truth, we are being manipulated and oppressed by an oligarchic empire that wants us to believe lies. That’s why they’re locking up Assange, that’s why they’re censoring the internet, that’s why they’re filling our minds with propaganda, and that’s why we can’t let them win.

  *  *  *

  My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, following me on Facebook, Twitter, Soundcloud or YouTube, or throwing some money into my tip jar on Ko-fi, Patreon or Paypal. If you want to read more you can buy my books. The best way to make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for at my website or on Substack, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permission to republish, use or translate any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I’m trying to do with this platform, click here. All works co-authored with my American husband Tim Foley.

  Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 18:20

• Zelensky Rejects Kissinger Concession Comments, Says "Russia Must Also Leave Crimea"
  Zelensky Rejects Kissinger Concession Comments, Says “Russia Must Also Leave Crimea”

  Ukraine’s president in fresh Wednesday remarks asserted that his country will hold no talks or negotiations with Russia until its forces pull back to their pre-war positions. It’s but the latest clear signal that there likely won’t be any negotiated settlement on the horizon, also as US defense officials have recently been predicting a protracted, possibly even “years-long” conflict.

  President Volodymyr Zelensky laid out Ukraine’s position in a virtual address before this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It came after an initial speech before the forum at the start of this week, according to the AP. He put the ball in Moscow’s court, saying it must “shift from the bloody war to diplomacy” if it hopes for the war to end. “It’s possible if Russia shows at least something. When I say at least something, I mean pulling back troops to where they were before Feb. 24,” which marked the start of the invasion. He added: “I believe it would be a correct step for Russia to make.”

  

  He also said at a moment Russia is making steady gains in Donbas, reportedly now poised to take all of Luhansk province, that Ukrainian forces would fight to liberate all occupied territory. 

  “Ukraine will fight until it reclaims all its territories,” he stressed. “It’s about our independence and our sovereignty.” This as there have been calls from a handful of European leaders to make some territorial concessions for the sake of ending the war based on a negotiated settlement. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who has been present in Davos, admitted that the situation in eastern Donbas region remains “extremely bad”.

  Zelensky had said the day prior, on Tuesday, that negotiating recognition of Russia’s possession of Crimea is not on the table. “Russia will also have to leave Crimea,” he had said during a daily briefing according to the Kyiv Independent. Speaking of Kherson, Melitopol, Enerhodar, Mariupol, he said the Russians must exit these and “all other cities and communities where they are still pretending to be the owners.”

  🔴 The former US secretary of state told a gathering in Davos that it would be fatal for the West to get swept up in the mood of the moment and forget the proper place of Russia in the European balance of power pic.twitter.com/JRL4VLY5fq

  — Telegraph World News (@TelegraphWorld) May 24, 2022

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  Crucially, all of this comes on the heels of veteran US statesman Henry Kissinger’s own controversial Davos remarks advising that Ukraine must be willing to cede territory or risk a broader Russia-NATO war that spreads beyond Ukraine’s borders. He said:

  “I hope the Ukrainians will match the heroism they have shown with wisdom,” Kissinger warned an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland…

  “Negotiations need to begin in the next two months before it creates upheavals and tensions that will not be easily overcome.

  Ideally, the dividing line should be a return to the status quo ante.

  Pursuing the war beyond that point would not be about the freedom of Ukraine, but a new war against Russia itself,” he said.

  But now it’s been made clear that Zelensky has slammed the door on such a pragmatic approach, telling the same Davos audience that his government and armed forces won’t compromise, but will keep fighting until it has all sovereign territory back.

  When the war in Ukraine will end? It will depend on several things, 🇺🇦 president Zelensky said in Davos:
  1) willingness of the West to support Ukraine militarily and financially;
  2) lack of fear in the West to confront Russia in this hybrid war;
  3) the desire of Russia.

  — Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) May 25, 2022

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  Kissinger’s Tuesday comments went viral and drove world headlines, with some Western pundits even suggesting, absurdly, that America’s most famous diplomat has been “compromised” by Putin and Russia.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/25/2022 – 18:00