• Turkey Cracks Down On Alcohol As Erdogan Pushes Islamist Agenda
  Turkey Cracks Down On Alcohol As Erdogan Pushes Islamist Agenda

  Turkey, which Ataturk’s reforms dragged kicking and screaming from the confines of medieval Islam into the modern world, is fast regressing to its original state under its despotic ruler Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is seeking to place Islam at the heart of national politics to deflect away from his catastrophic rule, and steer the overwhelmingly Muslim country toward the Middle East and away from the West. He is doing so by restricting the use of alcohol, to start.

  On April 29, the Turkish government imposed a nearly three-week nationwide lockdown and ban on alcohol sales through the end of Ramadan. Even at grocery stores allowed to operate during the period, liquor sections were sealed off with tape notifying customers that the corner has been temporarily closed by government order.

  

  As the Nikkei details, many people rushed to buy liquor before the lockdown. An employee at a midsize winery in the western region of Thrace said it had received telephone inquiries about delivery from about 30 customers. “I guess we have never sold so much alcohol during Ramadan,” she said.

  The lockdown ended May 17, but the government would keep the weekend curfews and alcohol ban through the end of the month. It may extend it beyond. Many Turks question the effectiveness of the ban on drinking at home as an antivirus measure and criticize the move as undue meddling in private lives.

  Since taking power in 2002, the Islamist ruling Justice and Development Party has clamped down on alcohol. The government has increased related taxes over the years and in 2013 passed a law banning alcohol ads and sales at liquor stores after 10 p.m. It also prohibits makers and sellers of alcohol from sponsoring sports events.

  And these are only the visible measures. Although more than 150,000 stores, including supermarkets, sell alcohol in Turkey, over the past few years it has become increasingly difficult to obtain permission to open new stores to sell liquor, said Ozgur Aybas, head of a liquor store association that opposes government restrictions. In some conservative regions, local authorities turn down stores’ applications, saying alcohol is a sin.

  Erdogan is a pious Muslim known for his dislike of alcohol. “The president may be trying to turn Turkey into a place like Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which allows alcohol consumption only among non-Muslim foreigners,” said Aybas, echoing similar views in the industry.

  Although Turkey is a Muslim-majority country, it has a rich drinking culture and produces a wide variety of alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine and raki, the country’s signature spirit. Drinking became legal soon after the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey and a hard drinker, helped establish a state-owned winery.

  Ataturk – who regarded Islamic politics and society as the primary obstacle – pushed for Westernization with a focus on the separation of state and religion. While some see Turkey as a Middle Eastern country, international organizations and Western media often regard it as part of Europe. Turkey is a member of NATO and was named as a candidate for EU accession in 1999.

  Erdogan has been trying to reverse the country’s secularization. Last year, the government converted Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, a World Heritage site secularized by Ataturk in 1934, into a mosque, and this past March it announced a withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, an international accord designed to protect women from violence.

  Diplomatically, Turkey has actively engaged in the Palestinian issue as a Muslim country, and its EU accession has been practically put on hold.

  The current move to tighten alcohol regulations is part of Erdogan’s effort to promote Islam and traditional values. When the tougher law was introduced in 2013, Erdogan implicitly criticized Ataturk and his longtime ally Ismet Inonu by saying, “Given that a law made by the two drunkards is respected, why should a law that is commanded by religion be rejected by your side?”

  

  Erdogan is trying to appeal to the country’s conservatives, who make up a majority of the population but often feel neglected by secular elites, who did not even allow women to wear headscarves in public at times.

  According to several private-sector surveys, only around 20% of Turks drink alcohol regularly, while the state-run Turkish Statistical Institute – which is more Erdogan’s personal propaganda arm than anything data-driven – reported that more than 70% of those age 15 or older have never had alcohol.

  Yet people seem weary of the government’s move to limit their freedom to choose their favorite drink. In a recent survey conducted by Istanbul Economics Research, 56% of respondents saw the recent alcohol ban as inappropriate, while 44% voiced their support. The poll shows that many in the nondrinking segment have reservations about the ban.

  Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that Erdogan and Ataturk are very similar in that both try to transform the country based on their own vision — but their visions are completely opposite.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 06/01/2021 – 02:45

• On The Hunt For Gas – War Drums In The Western Mediterranean
  On The Hunt For Gas – War Drums In The Western Mediterranean

  Authored by Piero Messina via South Front,

  The waters of the eastern Mediterranean have become the scene of a low-intensity war. The goal is to control the energy resources that extend into the seabed from the coast of Greece to Israel. The maritime area of the eastern Mediterranean is one of the main areas of energy interest. In 2009, the Leviathan gas field (450 billion m3) was discovered, about 130 kilometers offshore from the Israeli city of Haifa. Subsequent explorations in this sea area have shown that large quantities of gas also exist in adjacent areas. In particular, the Tamar fields (about 318 billion m3) and some minor fields, including Dalit (55 billion m3) and Karish and Tanin (respectively about 8 and 55 billion m3), were discovered off the Israeli coast. They will allow Israel to meet domestic consumption and export part of its production. Then came, in 2011, the discoveries in the Cypriot waters of Aphrodite (about 129 billion m3) and Calypso (with a potential of 170-230 billion m3).

  

  Greek Energy and Environment Minister Kostis Hatzidakis, Minister of Energy, Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Cyprus Giorgos Lakkotrypis and Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz signed in Athens the intergovernmental agreement on the construction of the EastMed gas pipeline in December 2020

  Whose are those energy resources? How and where will that wealth be distributed?

  All the key players of that geopolitical quadrant claim their rights over those waters and the exploitation of the resources contained in the subsoil. The first move to conquer those seas is Turkey. Erdogan’s expansionist policy begins at the end of 2018, first with a series of hostile naval patrols against Cyprus, then with a series of drilling off the island shared with Greece. Turkish research activities arouse protests from the international community. So, the EU imposes sanctions on Turkey. But they are almost a caress.

  

  Then, in compliance with the neo-Ottoman project of “Blue Homeland”, Ankara signs, in November 2019, an agreement with the Libyan transitional government, then chaired by  Fayez Al Serraj, for the exclusive exploitation of the maritime EEZ and for cooperation military. A punch in the face of Greece. In fact, on that same stretch of sea, another cooperation treaty entered into force in the summer of 2020, signed between Greece and Egypt. For Ankara it is a blow to the heart. Within days, the Ankara government sends the Oruc Reic seismic research ship to inspect what it considers to be its exclusive sea area. Too bad,  even the Greeks also think the same. The incident occurred on 12 August 2020. The Oruc Reis is sailing escorted by a fleet of Turkish ships and is approached by a Greek naval patrol. Eventually the Greek frigate Limnos and the Turkish Tgc Kemalreis will clash in this absurd sea duel. Greece and Turkey are both members of NATO. But national interests come first.

  To understand the importance of that incident, it is necessary to look carefully at the map of the pipelines under construction.  That naval crash seems to be only the anticipation of a geopolitical conflict. A conflict that risks becoming more complicated: the two frigates collided exactly in the middle of Eastmed’s route.

  

  What exactly is Eastmed and what can its real geopolitical value be?

  EastMed is a pipeline that must connect the Levantine basin (in practice, Israel) with the gas distribution networks in Europe. It is a project carried out in joint ventures by Depa (the national gas company for Greece) and by Edison, an Italian-French multinational in the energy sector. The project was blessed by the European Commission which considered it strategic for the European Union. The pipeline route is over 1900 kilometers, 1300 offshore and 600 onshore. According to forecasts, the pipeline will start from the Israeli natural gas reserves of the Levant Sea basin, and then go to Cyprus, Crete and end in Greece. Subsequently, the gas from Greece will reach Italy through a further pipeline. The project, according to estimates, has a value of about 6 billion euros and, within 7 years, will meet 10% of the European Union’s natural gas needs. But in reality nothing has been decided yet. From a geopolitical point of view, that gas pipeline serves to reduce the energy dependence that Europe has on Russia.

  

  That pipeline risks transforming the eastern Mediterranean into a war scenario. For the Eastmed design, the countries interested in the construction of the pipeline came together in a permanent forum. EMGF is its name: it was established in 2018 and was ratified by the acceding countries with a meeting in Cairo in September 2020. Here is the list of adhering countries: Italy, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Cyprus, Greece and the Palestinian National Authority . The simultaneous presence of Israel and the Palestinian National Authority makes us think. In the report explaining the reasons for the Forum, there are sufficient reasons to imagine a possible escalation of violence. Both for the exclusion of Turkey and Lebanon, which will have no intention of giving up those enormous riches, and for the geopolitical position declared hostile to the Kremlin. It is no secret that the project is against Russia.

  The anti-Moscow blockade is strengthened by the forthcoming entry of France and the blessing of the US government. Here is what the Statute of the EMGF says: “Countries such as Turkey and Lebanon do not participate in the Forum due, respectively, to persistent tensions with Greece and Cyprus and the presence of Israel. Interest in the initiative was expressed by France which intends to join the Forum in the near future. The United States views the creation of the EMFG with great interest and would like to join the Forum or at least strengthen cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean region in the energy sector, as evidenced by the participation of the US Deputy Secretary for Energy at the launch of the Forum in January. 2020. The US, in particular, believes that the gas resources present off the coast of Israel, Cyprus and Egypt constitute an important element for the diversification of European energy supplies, with a consequent decrease in the old continent’s dependence on supplies from Moscow”.

  Eastmed is expected to be fully operational in 2025. But there are still many doubts.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 06/01/2021 – 02:00

• Eisenhower Rejected Military Chiefs' Demand For Nuclear War On China
  Eisenhower Rejected Military Chiefs’ Demand For Nuclear War On China

  Authored by Gareth Porter via TheGrayZone.com,

  A previously censored account of the 1958 Taiwan Strait crisis that was sponsored by the Pentagon has been published in full by the leaker of the Pentagon Papers, Daniel Ellsberg. The report provides a hair-raising portrait of a reckless US military leadership relentlessly pressing President Dwight Eisenhower for the authority to carry out nuclear attacks on communist China. After holding the still-classified version of the account in his possession for fifty years, Ellsberg said he decided to release it because of the growing threat of US war with China over Taiwan, and the danger that such a conflict could escalate into a nuclear exchange.

  A May 22 New York Times report on the account offered only general details of the role the US Joint Chiefs of Staff played in the run-up to the 1958 Taiwan crisis. However, it is now clear from the original highly classified documents as well as other evidence now available that from the beginning, the Joint Chiefs aimed first and foremost to exploit the tensions to carry out nuclear strikes against Chinese nuclear military targets deep in highly-populated areas.

  

  Chiang Kai-shek’s nationalist Kuomintang regime and the Joint Chiefs were allies in wanting to embroil the United States in a war with China. Deputy Secretary of State Christian Herter feared that the Nationalist regime was determined to drag the US into conflict, according to the Pentagon-sponsored account. The reason, according to the author of the account, Morton Halperin, was that involving the United States in a war with the Chinese Communists “was clearly their only hope for a return to the mainland.”

  Quemoy and Matsu, the two main offshore islands occupied by Nationalist troops, were less than five miles from the mainland and had been used by Chiang’s forces as bases to mount unsuccessful commando raids inside the mainland. And Chiang, who was still committed to reconquering the mainland China with the ostensible support of the United States, had stationed a third of his 350,000-man army on those two islands.

  In May 1958, the Joint Chiefs adopted a new plan (OPS PLAN 25-58), ostensibly for the defense of the offshore islands. In fact, the plan provided a basis for attacking China with atomic weapons. It was to begin with a brief preliminary “Phase I”, which it called “patrol and reconnaissance” and was said to be already underway. “Phase II”, which would have been triggered by a Chinese attack on the offshore islands, would involve US air forces wiping out the attacking forces.

  But the new plan envisioned a possible third phase, in which the Strategic Air Command and forces under the command of the US Pacific Command would carry out strategic attacks with 10 to 15 kiloton tactical nuclear weapons “to destroy the war-making capability” of China.

  According to the account authored by Halperin, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Air Force Gen. Nathan Twining, told State Department officials in an August meeting that the third phase would require nuclear strikes on Chinese bases as far north as Shanghai. The Joint Chiefs played down the threat to civilian casualties from such tactical atomic weapons, emphasizing that an airburst of tactical atomic explosions would generate little radioactive fallout. But the account indicates that they provided no concrete information on expected civilian casualties.

  Given the fact that both the Chinese gun emplacements across the Taiwan Strait and a key airbase serving the Chinese military forces in any conflict over the offshore islands would have been located close to significant population centers, such atomic explosions would have certainly caused civilian casualties on a massive scale.

  The Joint Chiefs did not acknowledge that the bombs they planned to detonate with airbursts would have had the same potential lethality as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Nor would they concede that the targets of such bombings were located in the immediate vicinity of Chinese cities that were roughly the same population as Hiroshima.

  The city of Xiamen, for example, was close to military targets in the Amoy area, while Ningbo was close to the main Chinese airbase in Zhejiang province that would have been attacked by US forces. Like the Hiroshima bomb, the nuclear explosions would have been triggered in the air, where blast damage is greatest, destroying or damaging nearly everything within a radius of three miles from the blast, killing much of the population.

  The Joint Chiefs also assumed that China would respond to the US use of atomic weapons by retaliating with atomic weapons, which the Joint Chiefs presumed would be made available to the Chinese government by the Soviet Union. 

  Top Secret plans and presidential decisions (not yet declassified) to initiate nuclear war against China in defense of Taiwan in 1958 were just revealed by me to the @nytimes. https://t.co/SXS6TGEfgV

  — Daniel Ellsberg (@DanielEllsberg) May 23, 2021

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

  The Halperin report recounts that Twining told State Department officials that the bombing of the intended targets with tactical nuclear weapons “almost certainly would involve nuclear retaliation against Taiwan and possibly against Okinawa….” That assumption was based on a Special National Intelligence Estimate that had been issued on July 22, 1958. The estimate had concluded that, if the U.S. “launched nuclear strikes deep into Communist China,” the Chinese would “almost certainly” respond with nuclear weapons.

  Despite the acceptance of the likelihood that it would lead to nuclear retaliation by China, JCS Chairman Twining expressed no hesitation about the plan, asserting that in order to defend the offshore islands, “the consequences had to be accepted”.

  The Joint Chiefs seek to appropriate war powers

  The Joint Chiefs’ plan betrayed the military chiefs’ hope of removing the power of decision over nuclear war from the hands of the president. It said the plan would be put into operation when “dictated by appropriate U.S. authority” – implying that it would not necessarily be decided by the president.

  In his own memoirs, Eisenhower recalled with some bitterness how, during the 1958 crisis, he was “continuously pressured — almost hounded — by Chiang [Chinese nationalist Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek] on one side and by our own military on other requesting delegation of authority for immediate action on Formosa [Taiwan] or the offshore islands….” He did not refer, however, to the efforts by the Joint Chiefs efforts to gain advance authorization for the use nuclear weapons on the Chinese mainland.

  The wording of the JCS plan was changed to read “when authorized by the President” at Eisenhower’s insistence to provide that only conventional means could be used at least initially for defense of the islands, while leaving open the possibility of using tactical nuclear weapons if that failed.

  But the Joint Chiefs were not finished. In a paper presented to Eisenhower on September 6, the chiefs proposed that they be authorized to “oppose any major attack on Taiwan and attack mainland bases with all CINPAC force that can be brought to bear” in the event of “an emergency arising from an attack on Taiwan and the offshore islands moving so rapidly that it would not permit consultations with the President…”

  Further, they asked for the authority to respond to a “major landing attack on offshore islands,” by “[u]se of atomic weapons and U.S. air attack in support of [Chinese Nationalist] Air Force…as necessary, only as approved by the President.” Eisenhower approved the paper with those qualifiers.

  When Secretary of State John Foster Dulles warned that Japan would object strongly to using nuclear weapons against the Chinese mainland, and forbid the launching of nuclear weapons from their territory, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Arleigh Burke suggested that the opposition to nuclear weapons in Japan was “inspired by the Communists,” and that foreign leaders would soon recognize that the use of nuclear weapons by the US “was in their interests”.

  Burke closed his argument by claiming that if the US did not maintain the threat of tactical nuclear weapons in conflicts,  it would “lose the entire world within three years.” That obviously absurd argument suggests that the intense desire among the Joint Chiefs to use nuclear weapons against China was less motivated by any threat from Communist Chinese than by their own institutional interests.

  In pre-Cold War Washington, the US Navy served as the primary bureaucratic ally of the Kuomintang regime. The relationship was forged when Chiang provided the Navy with the home base for its 7th Fleet at Tsingtao in Northern China. Navy brass in the Pacific had urged unconditional support for Chiang’s regime during the civil war with the Communists and derided as “pinkies” those State Department officials – beginning with Secretary George C. Marshall – who entertained any doubts about the Kuomintang leader.

  By 1958, the Air Force was so strongly committed to its role as an exclusively nuclear-weapons delivery organization that it insisted on being able to able to using nuclear weapons in any war it fought in the Pacific region. The account of the crisis reveals that, when the Air Force Commander in the Pacific, Gen. Lawrence S. Kuter, learned of Eisenhower’s decision to defend the offshore islands with conventional weapons, he relayed the message to Gen. John Gerhart, the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff. Shockingly, Gerhart responded that the Air Force “could not agree in principle” to the use of SAC forces for such non-nuclear operations.

  Beyond the desire of the Navy and Air Force chiefs to ensure their long-term presence and reinforce the importance of their respective roles in the Pacific, the Joint Chiefs of Staff have always aspired to maximize their influence over US policy in any conflict where U.S might use military force.

  It turned out that the Chinese never intended full-scale war over the offshore islands. Instead they sought to mount a blockade of resupply to the islands through artillery barrages, and when the US military provided armed escorts for the ships carrying out the resupply, they were careful to avoid hitting American ships. As the Halperin report observed, once the Chinese recognized that a blockade could not prevent the resupply, they settled for symbolic artillery attacks on Quemoy, which were limited to every other day.

  It was the eagerness of the Joint Chiefs for a nuclear war against China, rather than the policy of communist China, that presented the most serious threat to American security.

  Although the circumstances surrounding the U.S.-China conflict over Taiwan have changed dramatically since that stage of the Cold War, the 1958 Taiwan crisis provides a sobering lesson as the US military gears up for a new military confrontation with China.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 06/01/2021 – 00:00

• Space Junk Damages Part Of International Space Station
  Space Junk Damages Part Of International Space Station

  Amid fears of increasing space junk in low Earth orbit, a robotic arm attached to the International Space Station (ISS) has been damaged by space junk. 

  In a blog post, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) said a routine inspection on May 12 uncovered a small, untrackable piece of space junk that struck Canadarm2, which is a Canadian robotic arm on ISS used to conduct station maintenance. 

  “Canadarm2 is continuing to conduct its planned operations,” said the CSA. “The damage is limited to a small section of the arm boom and thermal blanket.” 

  

  The statement also explained that NASA and CSA would work together to find out more about the impact. CSA said near-term robotic operations will continue as plan. 

  Over decades, debris from satellites, rockets, and other space devices has been locked in orbit. A lot of the junk is building up and could cause significant damage to the ISS and functioning satellites.

  According to the CSA, “over 23,000 objects the size of a softball or larger are tracked 24/7 to detect potential collisions with satellites and the ISS.” Yet as these items deteriorate and break apart, they produce smaller debris that can’t be tracked, posing additional risk to space-based operations. 

  The European Space Agency (ESA) said many of these objects are accumulating rocket boosters, defunct satellites, and spaceborne shrapnel. It estimates up to 160 million objects measuring upwards of a millimeter are clogging up low Earth orbit. 

  In its annual 2020 report, ESA showed that the number of “fragmentation events” has soared over the last three decades. 

  

  Though these fragments may be small, they travel at thousands of miles per hour and can easily pierce satellites and other spacecraft, resulting in ESA and NASA calling for action against space debris. 

  Planned for 2025, the ESA recently awarded the Swiss startup company Clearpace, a $117 million contract, to remove space debris from orbit. 

  

  If readers are curious about just how much space junk is floating above, ESA’s animation shows an incredible view of all the debris:  

  

  Meanwhile, Elon Musk is expected to launch thousands of Starlink satellites into space which could cause further traffic jams in orbit. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 23:30

• "Let Me Be Very Clear": Michael Flynn Sets Record Straight On 'Coup' Comment
  “Let Me Be Very Clear”: Michael Flynn Sets Record Straight On ‘Coup’ Comment

  Update (2300ET): Following today’s outrage over comments made at this weekend’s “For God & Country Patriot Roundup,” Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn denied that he wants a coup in the United States.

  “For all the fake news ‘journalists’: Let me be VERY CLEAR — There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort. Any reporting of any other belief by me is a boldface fabrication based on twisted reporting at a lively panel at a conference of Patriotic Americans who love this country, just as I do. I am no stranger to media manipulating my words and therefore let me repeat my response to a question asked at the conference: There is no reason it (a coup) should happen here (in America),” said Flynn in a Monday statement on Parler.

  Flynn attorney Sidney Powell backed him, saying that Flynn does not endorse “any act of violence or any military insurrection,” and that his comments had been “grossly distorted,” per CNN.

  *  *  *

  Former Trump National Security Adviser Micheal Flynn made an off-the-cuff statement over the weekend that a Myanmar-like military coup not only could happen, but “should happen” in the US.

  

  Speaking at the Dallas “For God & Country Patriot Roundup,” branded by Business Insider and MarketWatch as a “QAnon conference” (because a quilt with a “Q” on it was auctioned off at the event), Flynn was asked during a Q&A session “I want to know why what happened in Myanmar can’t happen here?“

  To which Flynn – who spent 33 years as an Army intelligence officer – replied: “No reason. I mean, it should happen.“

  Here is the video of former national security advisor Michael Flynn saying that he thinks a coup like the coup in Myanmar should happen in the US. pic.twitter.com/7mGYjfXg18

  — Mamie 😌 (@MC_Hyperbole) May 30, 2021

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  After it was revealed that the FBI pressured Flynn into pleading guilty amid threat of going after his son, leading the DOJ to drop its case against him (which a judge finally closed eight months later), Flynn has become an icon among former President Trump’s most ardent supporters.

  According to the New York Times, “He was one of the most extreme voices in Mr. Trump’s 77-day push to overturn the election,” and suggested using the military to rerun the vote in key battleground states – which then-President Trump could have imposed martial law to enact.

  “People out there talk about martial law like it’s something that we’ve never done,” Flynn told Newsmax several months ago, noting that the military had taken over for civilian authorities dozens of times in US history.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 23:01

• Trump: Biden Is "Destroying" Our Country With "Failed Border Policies"
  Trump: Biden Is “Destroying” Our Country With “Failed Border Policies”

  Authored by Isabel van Brugen via The Epoch Times,

  Former President Donald Trump on Saturday accused Joe Biden of “destroying” the United States with his administration’s “failed border policies,” in a wide-ranging interview that also saw him criticize the president for his handling of issues in the Middle East and China.

  “If he would have done nothing, we would have had right now the strongest border in history,” Trump said in an interview with Dick Morris on Newsmax’s “Dick Morris Democracy.” 

  “All he had to do is nothing.”

  Since assuming office on Jan. 20, President Joe Biden’s has rescinded a number of his predecessor’s immigration and border policies.

  

  Republican lawmakers have long argued that the burgeoning crisis is a result of Biden’s move to overturn several Trump-era immigration policies that helped curbed the flow of illegal border crossings. This includes his predecessor’s cornerstone Migrant Protection Protocol, which effectively ended the problematic “catch and release” policy, significantly stemming the number of illegal immigrants at the southern border in 2019.

  In a return to Obama-era policies, the Biden administration is again releasing unaccompanied illegal immigrant minors into the country. Lawmakers argue that Biden’s act sent a signal to prospective migrants to once again travel to the United States.

  

  Illegal immigrants just released from detention through “catch and release” immigration policy stand at a bus station before being taken to the Catholic Charities relief center in McAllen, Texas, on April 11, 2018. (Loren Elliott/Reuters)

  The Biden administration, meanwhile, has sought to shift the blame onto the previous administration, with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas saying that the previous government had “dismantled the orderly, humane, and efficient way of allowing children to make their claims under United States law in their own country.”

  “I had everything worked out with the other countries, whether it’s Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Mexico,” Trump said Saturday. “And even Mexico, stay in Mexico. In other words, these people ought to stay in Mexico, and they couldn’t get into our country. And he ended that. It’s just crazy what they did.”

  Trump also claimed in his interview with Newsmax that the Northern Triangle countries are “opening their prisons.”

  “Their prisoners are coming in, their murderers, their drug addicts, and drug dealers, by the way. And the human traffickers are coming in. And we’re accepting them, because they’ve opened up the borders,” Trump said.

  “The question is do they do it out of incompetence, which I happen to think, or they do it because they really believe open borders are good for this country? Which they are not.”

  He added:

  “We won’t have a country. They are destroying our country.”

  According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data published on May 11, arrests and detentions at the U.S.–Mexico border hit record levels last month.

  

  Illegal immigrants, mostly from Central America, are dropped off by Customs and Border Protection at a bus station in the border city of Brownsville, Texas, on March 15, 2021. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

  Immigration arrests and detentions at the southern border last month rose by 3 percent from March, to 178,622—the highest one-month total in 20 years, CBP data show.

  [ZH: Additionally, the number of people attempting to cross the US-Mexico border from countries beyond Mexico and Central America’s Northern Triangle – including residents of Haiti, Cuba, Romania and India – has spiked during recent months.]

  

  Last month’s figures, however, marked the first month since Biden took office that the CBP didn’t record a major month-on-month jump in the number of border arrests and detentions, despite reaching record levels.

  While the Biden administration has called the unprecedented surge in numbers a “challenge,” neither the president nor the vice president has visited the border.

  White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on May 4, “After coming into office, our administration immediately jumped into action to address the influx of migrants at the border—something that began during and was exacerbated by the Trump administration.”

  

  Press Secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing at the White House in Washington, U.S. May 24, 2021. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

  The former president also mentioned the violence between Hamas—a designated terrorist group since 1997—and Israel this month, saying “what’s happened to Israel is one of the great injustices.”

  “If you look back 10 or 12 years ago, Israel was so protected by Congress. Congress loved Israel. Now, especially if you looked at the House, the House doesn’t like Israel. The House is protective of anything other than Israel,” Trump said.

  Members of the progressive group that has come to be known as the “Squad”—Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib D-Mich.)—have come under fire in recent days for their controversial anti-Israel comments on Twitter as violence intensified, before a ceasefire agreement was eventually reached on May 20. The 11-day conflict started when Hamas launched rockets into Israel over a court case to evict several Palestinian families in East Jerusalem that triggered riots.

  “What’s gone on with the House with AOC and Omar and all of these people and Pelosi, they are not in favor of Israel, and yet the Jewish vote goes to the Democrats,” Trump added.

  The White House and “Squad” members didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment by The Epoch Times.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 23:00

• For Second Time, Canadian MP "Accidently" Caught Naked During Parliament Call 
  For Second Time, Canadian MP “Accidently” Caught Naked During Parliament Call 

  Screenshots of a virtual meeting, which have gone viral, show a Canadian politician urinating on camera during a work meeting. 

  William Amos, a Liberal MP for Pontiac, Quebec, released a statement Thursday about the incident:

  Last night, while attending House of Commons proceedings virtually, in a non-public setting, I urinated without realizing I was on camera. I am deeply embarrassed by my actions and the distress they may have caused anybody who witnessed them. 

  While accidental and not visible to the public, this was completely unacceptable, and I apologize unreservedly. I will be stepping aside temporarily from my role as Parliamentary Secretary and from my committee duties so that I can seek assistance. 

  I will continue to represent my constituents and I’m grateful to be their voice in Parliament. I am deeply appreciative for the support of my staff and the love of my family.

  

  This is not the first time Amos, 46, was captured in the nude during a virtual meeting. In April, he was accidentally caught on video changing into work clothes after a workout. 

  “Obviously, it was an honest mistake, and it won’t happen again,” Amos said at the time. 

  “You’re either laughing at someone who’s having the worst experience of their life or you’re laughing at people who were subjected to nudity without their consent at work. I just can’t find an angle where that would be funny to me,” Ottawa-based sexual violence prevention instructor Julie Lalonde told Vice at the time.

  Conservative Deputy House Leader Karen Vecchio was suspicious that the on-camera urination was “accidental.” 

  “This is the second time Mr. Amos has been caught exposing himself to his colleagues in the House, and the House of Commons, virtual or otherwise, must be free of this type of unacceptable behavior,” Vecchio said.

  From professional meetings to online classes to online educational classrooms, virtual conference calls have had their fair share of embarrassing episodes for people who didn’t understand how to turn off the session. 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 22:30

• Steven Seagal Is Now A Russian Politician
  Steven Seagal Is Now A Russian Politician

  On May 29th, Hollywood “legend” Steven Seagal has opted into a career change.

  

  He joined a Russian political party.

  As South Front reports, Seagal received a party membership card of an alliance named Just Russia – Patriots – For Truth.

  It was formed earlier in 2021, when three leftist parties, all of which support Putin, merged into one.

  In November 2016, Segal was granted Russian citizenship. In August of 2018, Moscow’s Foreign Ministry appointed him to the unpaid position of “special representative for Russian-US humanitarian ties.”

  He lamented the lack of ability, even in Russia, to arrest people for no apparent reason, just fining them for breaking the laws.

  “Without being able to arrest people, when we just fine them, they are probably making more money of the production of the things that are defiling the environment,” said in his welcome speech at a party event.

  The party controls a faction in the lower house of the Russian parliament and plans to take part in a parliamentary election in September.

  The US-born Seagal is known for his action movies of questionable quality, and his alleged martial arts prowess. Russian President Vladimir Putin seems fond of him and martials art, and as such they, apparently, have become “best friends.”

  In 2018, Russia tasked Seagal with improving humanitarian ties with the United States at a time when relations between the two countries have deteriorated to their worst level since the Cold War.

  As a Russian representative, Seagal visited Venezuela earlier in May and presented a samurai sword to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

  Previously, he was a member of the For Truth party (on February 22 it merged with Fair Russia and Patriots of Russia).

  According to the actor, his priorities will be the fight against environmental crimes and the protection of Lake Baikal. Seagal also called for the demilitarization of outer space, stressing that he is extremely concerned about this problem.

  Answering the TASS question whether he considers himself a socialist, Sеаgal noted that A Just Russia – For Truth is not a socialist party “in the Soviet sense of the word.”

  “This is a different party, it is different. Because people have quite open views on what is good, what is good for the country, for the people. And this does not correspond at all with the outdated Soviet concepts,” he is sure.

  He likely will not run for a seat in Russian parliament due to his American citizenship.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 22:00

• Iran Warns Against "Miscalculations" As US Military Monitors Pair Of Venezuela-Bound Warships
  Iran Warns Against “Miscalculations” As US Military Monitors Pair Of Venezuela-Bound Warships

  In a seeming repeat of the Trump admin attempt to impose a full naval blockade on Venezuela to prevent fuel and oil imports and exports, especially involving Iranian tankers, the US military is said to be actively monitoring two Iranian naval vessels which are believed headed toward Venezuela.

  Washington has reportedly warned the Maduro government against receiving the warships, which likely have elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force members aboard. The two “rogue states” (as the US sees them) have become increasingly close especially under the prior four Trump years as they cooperated in circumventing US sanctions, and have grown militarily more cooperative. 

  

  Days ago Politico was the first to report on their movements – but whether they are intent on entering Venezuelan waters is still largely subject of speculation. “An Iranian frigate and the Makran, a former oil tanker that was converted to a floating forward staging base, have been heading south along the east coast of Africa, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive subject,” the report said.

  Politico continued: “Senior officials in President Nicolás Maduro’s government in Caracas have been advised that welcoming the Iranian warships would be a mistake, according to a person familiar with the discussions. But it’s not clear whether Maduro has heeded that warning: At one point on Thursday, U.S. military officials understood the ships had turned around, but as of Friday morning they were still steaming south, one of the people said.”

  On Monday Iran’s foreign ministry responded to the reports, asserting the country’s right to freely navigate international waters, but stopped short of confirming or denying any operation involving Venezuela. “Iran has constant presence in international waters, is entitled to this right on the basis of international law, and can be present in international waters. No country can violate such a right”, an Iranian spokesman said. The spokesman then warned:

  “I warn that nobody should make a miscalculation. Those who live in glass houses must be cautious.”

  #Iran has warned the US against “any miscalculations” after reports emerged that the US was monitoring two Iranian warships said to be en route to Venezuela.

  “Those in glass houses should be careful,” Foreign Ministry spox Khatibzadeh said today.https://t.co/VdlKfKwI4s

  — Kian Sharifi (@KianSharifi) May 31, 2021

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

  Last year on multiple occasions Venezuela’s military escorted Iranian fuel tankers through its coastal waters after Trump vowed to send a military blockade to the Caribbean.

  Despite the threats, multiple tankers made it to the Venezuelan coast; however in some other instances US authorities were able to seize Iranian fuel on the high seas much earlier before ships made it near South America’s coast.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 21:30

• Mexican Cartels Respond To AMLO's "Hugs, Not Bullets" By Hunting Down, Torturing, And Executing Cops At Their Homes
  Mexican Cartels Respond To AMLO’s “Hugs, Not Bullets” By Hunting Down, Torturing, And Executing Cops At Their Homes

  After Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) attempted to combat cartels through peaceful means – namely his “hugs, not bullets” campaign to appease criminal organizations, the notoriously violent Jalisco cartel responded by kidnapping several members of an elite police force in the state of Guanajuato, torturing them to obtain the names and addresses of other cops, and is now hunting them down and killing them at their own homes, “on their days off, in front of their families,” according to the Associated Press.

  

  This type of direct attack on the police is rarely seen outside of Central America, and stands to become the  most direct challenge to AMLO’s attempt to peacefully ‘manage’ the country’s competing cartels. The cartels, meanwhile, have already declared war on the government – focusing their efforts on eradicating every member of an elite state force known as the Tactical Group, which the cartel accuses of treating its members unfairly.

  “If you want war, you’ll get a war. We have already shown that we know where you are. We are coming for all of you,” reads a banner signed by the cartel and hung on a Guanajuato building in May.

  “For each member of our firm (CJNG) that you arrest, we are going to kill two of your Tacticals, wherever they are, at their homes, in their patrol vehicles,” the banner continues.

  Officials in Guanajuato — Mexico’s most violent state, where Jalisco is fighting local gangs backed by the rival Sinaloa cartel — refused to comment on how many members of the elite group have been murdered so far.

  But state police publicly acknowledged the latest case, an officer who was kidnapped from his home on Thursday, killed and his body dumped on a highway.

  Guanajuato-based security analyst David Saucedo said there have been many cases.

  “A lot of them (officers) have decided to desert. They took their families, abandoned their homes and they are fleeing and in hiding,” Saucedo said. “The CJNG is hunting the elite police force of Guanajuato.” -AP

  According to one Guanajuato news outlet, Poplab, at least seven police officers have been killed on their days off so far this year. In January, a female state police officer was tortured and killed, after gunmen went to her home and murdered her husband first. Her bullet-ridden body was then dumped. Poplab adds that Guanajuato has had the highest number of cops killed of any Mexican state for at least three years – with at least 262 police officers having been killed.

  “Unfortunately, organized crime groups have shown up at the homes of police officers, which poses a threat and a greater risk of loss of life, not just for them, but for members of their families,” reads a May 17 decree by the Guanajuato state government, which promises to provide an unspecified amount of funding for protecting the police and prison officials.

  “They have been forced to quickly leave their homes and move, so that organized crimes groups cannot find them,” the decree continues.

  According to Saucedo, the security analyst, “This is an open war against the security forces of the state government.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 21:00

• Melbourne Lockdown May Be Extended As Latest COVID Cluster Rises To 51
  Melbourne Lockdown May Be Extended As Latest COVID Cluster Rises To 51

  Australia and New Zealand have managed to keep COVID cases and deaths at a minimum thanks largely to their isolated status, which has enabled both countries to “raise the drawbridge”, so to speak, keeping out most foreigners since the start of the crisis.

  

  But even with Australia’s notoriously stringent COVID-19 restrictions, a few cases have managed to slip by. In the face of the biggest cluster uncovered in months, Melbourne and the surrounding Victoria State entered their 4th lockdown last week. Though it was only supposed to last a week, that could soon change as more cases are confirmed.

  

  Source: Worldometer

  Reuters reports that 5 new cases were discovered over the last 24 hours, bringing the total number in the Melbourne cluster to 51.

  Australia’s second-most populous state of Victoria, the epicentre of the country’s latest coronavirus hotspot, reported 11 new cases of community transmission on Monday and authorities warned the situation could worsen in coming days.

  The state officially reported five new cases in the 24 hours to midnight. At a press conference on Monday, authorities announced a further six cases were recorded after the late night cut-off which will reflect in Tuesday’s data, taking the current cluster to 51.

  Victoria went into a strict seven-day lockdown on Friday after new COVID-19 infections in the state capital Melbourne ended its three-month run of zero community cases. Authorities identified several Melbourne schools, supermarkets, department stores and gyms among hundreds of exposure sites.

  The rising tally has raised questions about whether the current lockdown might be extended, since several cases have been connected to a nursing home, and another deadly nursing home outbreak is exactly what Australia’s public health authorities are trying to avoid.

  Authorities are concerned about the virus taking hold in aged care homes after two workers and one resident at the Arcare facility in Melbourne tested positive, the home operator said in a statement.

  Another resident is being re-tested for COVID-19.

  Victoria endured one of the world’s strictest and longest lockdowns last year to suppress a second wave of COVID-19 that killed more than 800 people in the state, accounting for 90% of Australia’s total deaths since the pandemic began. Hundreds of elderly Victorians in residential aged care facilities were among the fatalities.

  The Australian government has faced criticism for the country’s relatively slow vaccine rollout, as well as for its citizens’ reluctance to take the AstraZeneca jab following cases of extremely rare blood clots. Overall, Australia has been among the most successful globally in curbing the pandemic thanks to swift contact tracing, snap lockdowns and strict social distancing rules, with 22,275 local cases and 910 deaths.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 20:30

• Here Is The Most Important Number In The Biden Budget
  Here Is The Most Important Number In The Biden Budget

  While there was far more than met the eye in Biden’s $6 trillion budget (released late on Friday ahead of the “long weekend” as if Joe desperately hoped nobody would read it as it pissed off both conservatives as well as socialists) as discussed last week his budget proposal to Congress did reveal what Goldman has called the “most important number” in the budget – it calls for an increase in the deficit of $800BN over 10 years (0.3% of GDP over that period) to accommodate his “American Jobs Plan” (AJP) and “American Families Plan”(AFP). While the amount is not surprising, according to Goldman this is the first time the White House has formally shown the net effect of their proposals over the ten-year period Congress will use when it considers them.

  Why is this important?

  As Goldman explains, this figure will be relevant to the congressional debate, as Democratic leaders will need to choose a dollar figure to include in a forthcoming budget resolution that directs the committees that will craft the fiscal package. Whatever figure they choose figure will set a limit on the reconciliation legislation that follows. In most recent budget resolutions, the directive has come in the form of a directive to increase the budget deficit by a certain amount. However, congressional leaders could also specify separate spending directives and tax directives. In either case, once the amount is set, the legislation that follows may not increase the deficit by more than directed.  While congressional Democrats are free to choose a different amount, the Biden budget is the first  formal indication from any of the key decisionmakers regarding how much they propose to increase the deficit to fund their proposals.

  Besides the formalized deficit number, most of the details in the budget were already previewed in White House releases over the last several weeks. The White House already announced the two major proposals, the AJP and AFP (American Jobs and Families Plans), several weeks ago, and there were few other policy proposals in the budget outside of those plans. For the most part, the specific figures in the budget match fairly closely with what the White House had already laid out. These plans are summarized in the table below.

  

  As for the “6 trillion proposal”, Goldman expects Congress to scale back the proposal, “with a risk that it is scaled back more than we have been expecting.” Goldman’s forecast assumes that Congress enacts a package of slightly more than $3 trillion, with tax increases of around half this much. However, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the risks to Goldman’s fiscal assumptions appear skewed to the downside.

  Why? Because if congressional leaders adopt the White House position that the total deficit impact of the forthcoming fiscal package should be kept to around $800bn over ten years (i.e., the “most important number”), this would mean that Congress would need to raise taxes much more than expected (which is unlikely as even centrist democrats have balked), or increase spending far less than expected.

  And with regard to taxes, Goldman expects less than half of the Biden proposals to become law:

  Specifically, we assume Congress will pass a 25% corporate rate, rather than the 28% the White House proposes, and that congress will substantially scale back the corporate tax increases on international income. We expect the top marginal individual rate to increase as proposed, but the capital gains rate is more likely to settle around 28% and that the increase is unlikely to take effect retroactively, as there appears to be tepid support for a capital gains rate increase among some centrist Democrats and making the tax hike retroactive could reduce support further.

  Meanwhile, as noted above, the budget highlights the smaller scale of any additional fiscal boost. The budget proposes to increase the deficit by $118bn (0.5% of GDP) in FY2022, and $224bn (0.9%of GDP) in FY2023. Spending would increase by more than this—$265bn (1.1%) and$530bn (2.2%)—but around half of this would be offset with tax increases. These are big numbers in a normal policy and economic environment, but this amounts to only a fraction, on an annual basis, of the fiscal support Congress has provided over the last year. The chart below shows the Biden Administration’s estimate of the proposals effect on the budget deficit over the next ten years.

  

  What happens next? We expect Congress to begin moving forward on these proposals next month.

  Although bipartisan discussions on an infrastructure package are continuing, the already low odds of success appear to be dwindling further. With a nearly $1.5 trillion gap between the White House’s proposal and the Senate Republican offer, and even less overlap in how to finance the new spending, it is hard to see how a bipartisan agreement will come together. Instead, congressional Democrats are likely to move forward with one large reconciliation bill, requiring only 51 votes in the Senate, that encompasses both of President Biden’s major proposals (the AJP and AFP).

  Here, Goldman assumes that the House and Senate Budget Committees will begin to move forward with the irrespective budget resolutions by mid-June, which will lay the procedural groundwork for the reconciliation bill and, as described above, set a limit on the deficit impact. It is possible that the House will begin to pass legislation in committee in June, but full House passage of the actual reconciliation bill will likely take until July.  The Senate could start on the bill in July, but passage in September or October looks more likely than July at this point.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 19:54

• 61-Year-Old Woman Living Near Wuhan Lab May Have Been 'Patient Zero' – Three Weeks Before CCP Claims First Case
  61-Year-Old Woman Living Near Wuhan Lab May Have Been ‘Patient Zero’ – Three Weeks Before CCP Claims First Case

  Three weeks before China admitted that a mysterious virus was circulating in the city of Wuhan, a 61-year-old woman who lived about a mile from several bat research facility was known as “Patient Su” at a local hospital, according to the Daily Mail.

  Her identity was accidentally revealed after a leading Chinese official sent a screen-grab to a medical journal which partially revealed personal information, including the fact that she was admitted to the Rongjun Hospital in Wuhan, and “almost certainly lived in the Kaile Guiyan community on Zhuodaoquan Street, about 600 metres from the medical centre.”

  

  What’s more, “Patient Su” became ill three weeks before China claimed anyone had been stricken with the novel virus.

  The academic then detailed two more suspected cases reported to Wuhan doctors on November 14 and 21, along with several others before December 8 – the date that China gave to the World Health Organisation for the ‘earliest onset case’.

  The Health Times article included a screenshot of the two November cases on the professor’s database. Although personal details were blurred out, some were visible, including the hospital name and home district.

  They show Patient Su was treated at Rongjun Hospital in Wuhan and, given the building and street numbers, almost certainly lived in the Kaile Guiyan community on Zhuodaoquan Street, about 600 metres from the medical centre. -Daily Mail

  Patient Su also lived close to a stop for the high-speed rail line believed to have played a key role in spreading the virus around the city of 11 million people, according to the report. 

  Both the hospital and Su’s presumed residence are in the Hongshan district, where both China’s CDC and a downtown site run by the Wuhan Institute of Virology were located less than a mile away. According to former lead US State Department investigator David Asher, three researchers became ill with a mysterious respiratory condition in November 2019 – with the wife of one scientist dying.

  

  One Washington source told The Mail on Sunday that US intelligence on the Wuhan researchers was collected in late 2019 in data-scraping from routine surveillance. It is thought to include tapped phone conversations, texts and emails.

  He said it was not discovered until efforts were intensified last year to investigate the pandemic’s origins and any possible links with Wuhan laboratories – and that it is backed by testimony from a source with access to one of the units. -Daily Mail

  The Wall Street Journal last week reported on the three ill lab workers who ended up in the hospital – claims which Beijing furiously disputes. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has ordered a 90-day intelligence review after it was revealed that US intelligence agencies have been sitting on a ‘raft’ of un-analyzed intelligence gathered during the course of their investigation – largely because establishment minions wrote it off as a partisan witch hunt.

  

  “The time has come for China to open up all its files so the world can find the truth about the origins of this pandemic,” said Tom Tugendhat MP, Chairman of UK’s foreign affairs committee. “We cannot protect against future risks if there is not recognition that we all need to share knowledge and learn from any mistakes.”

  Covering up the report

  Professor Yu Chuanhua, professor of biostatistics at Wuhan University, was the one who revealed that Patient Su fell ill three weeks before the official disclosure date. According to the Daily Mail, however, China is hard at work performing yet more damage control.

  Professor’s Yu’s interview with Health Times took place on the day China’s health authorities issued a silencing gag on the novel coronavirus as President Xi Jinping tried to regain control of the situation.

  Yu rang the journalist within two days to retract this information, claiming the dates had been entered incorrectly and all the other suspected cases before December 8 needed verification.

  The details were discovered by Gilles Demaneuf, a member of the ‘Drastic’ group of online digital activists who have uncovered many of the facts seen as contradicting the official Chinese narrative that Covid-19 was a disease that crossed over naturally from animals. -Daily Mail

  “We were able to pinpoint the exact name, age and address of a very early suspected case nearly one month before the official first case,” said Demaneuf, a French data scientist who works for a New Zealand bank. “That address is right next to the subway line No 2 and also not far from a People’s Liberation Army hospital that treated some of the other earliest cases.”

  Demaneuf argues that the new findings highlight how many more clues might be accessible if people continue to pursue the lab leak theory, rather than “wishful acceptance at face value of statements from China.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 19:30

• Who Watches The Border In Mexico?
  Who Watches The Border In Mexico?

  By Noi Mahoney of FreightWaves,

  Transporting goods in and out of Mexico can be a challenge for both experienced and new shippers or logistics professionals.

  

  U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is tasked with assessing all commercial or pedestrian traffic entering the United States by airplane, overland vehicle, ship or on foot. However, in Mexico, about 10 different organizations are tasked with implementing customs clearance, issuing permits and certificates of imports/exports and protecting the border, including the Mexican army, the Guardia Nacional and the federal Tax Administration Service (SAT). 

  In July 2020, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador put the army in charge of customs at border crossings and seaports across the country. The move was aimed at fighting corruption and drug smuggling. The SAT was previously in charge of customs but has a long history of corruption, according to Obrador and media reports.

  “We have taken this decision about management of the port because of the mismanagement, the poor administration of the seaports, the corruption, the smuggling of drugs into the country through these ports,” Obrador said during a July 19 press conference. “Ports, and especially customs, have long been enclaves of corruption. It is not just a matter of capacity, of professionalism, it is of honesty.”

  SAT, under the army’s supervision, still operates the day-to-day customs transactions across Mexico’s ports, collecting customs taxes as goods cross the border, as well as applying fiscal and customs laws. 

  Mexico has 49 customs offices or districts around the country overseen by SAT. They include the border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, Reynosa, Matamoros and Nogales, Arizona. 

  SAT has three bureaus involved in the country’s foreign trade. These are General Administration of Customs, General Administration of Foreign Trade Audit and the General Legal Administration.

  Depending on the type of goods, other federal authorities could also intervene in the transport operations of goods to and from Mexico. Other Mexican agencies that are involved in customs clearance include:

  • Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food issues certificates of import and export and inspects goods for human consumption.

  • Ministry of National Defense grants import and export permits and inspects goods (weapons, cartridges and explosives) during customs clearance in Mexico.

  • Secretary of Health issues the sanitary import and export authorizations and verifies and inspects certain goods in accordance with regulations on health supplies.

  • Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources issues import and export authorizations and inspects goods in regard to the protection of the environment.

  • Secretary of Energy issues the permits for the import and export in Mexico of hydrocarbons, nuclear, radioactive materials and fuels.

  In 2020, Mexico’s annual customs revenue from foreign trade was $49.4 billion, according to SAT.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 19:00

• Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Says Semi Shortage Could Last "A Couple Years"
  Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Says Semi Shortage Could Last “A Couple Years”

  Brace for more pessimistic news about the global semiconductor shortage…

  Intel is now going on the record and doubling down on statements that its CEO made on 60 Minutes earlier this year, stating that it could take “several years” for the current supply shortage of semiconductors to be resolved. 

  CEO Pat Gelsinger said that the pandemic-inspired “work from home” trend caused a “cycle of explosive growth in semiconductors”, according to Reuters. 

  “But while the industry has taken steps to address near term constraints it could still take a couple of years for the ecosystem to address shortages of foundry capacity, substrates and components,” Gelsinger commented. 

  Gelsinger also reiterated Intel’s plans to expand: “We plan to expand to other locations in the U.S. and Europe, ensuring a sustainable and secure semiconductor supply chain for the world.”

  Intel is trying to keep pace with Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor – both of which also have plans to expand, including into the U.S. – to increase semi production. 

  We noted in mid-May that TSMC had plans of “doubling down” and vastly increasing its investment for production in Arizona. The chipmaking giant said at the time it was “weighing plans to pump tens of billions of dollars more into cutting-edge chip factories in the U.S. state of Arizona than it had previously disclosed”.

  The company had already said it was going to invest $10 billion to $12 billion in Arizona. It now appears to be mulling a more advanced 3 nanometer plant that could cost between $23 billion and $25 billion. The changes would come over the next 10 to 15 years, as the company builds out its Phoenix campus.

  

  The move would put TSMC in direct competition with Intel and Samsung for subsidies from the U.S. government. President Joe Biden has proposed $50 billion in funding for domestic chip manufacturing. 

  Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, in early May, called for a “major increase” in U.S. production capacity of semiconductors. She commented: “Right now we make 0% of leading-edge chips in the United States. That’s a problem. We ought to be making 30%, because that matches our demand. So, we will promise to work hard every day, and in the short term also see if we can have more chips available so the automakers can reopen their factories.”

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 18:30

• Rep. McCaul Calls COVID Virus Origin "Worst Cover-Up In Human History"
  Rep. McCaul Calls COVID Virus Origin “Worst Cover-Up In Human History”

  Authored by Isabel van Brugen via The Epoch Times,

  Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on Sunday said it was “more likely than not” that COVID-19 originated from a lab accident, calling it the “worst cover-up in human history.”

  “I do think it’s more likely than not it emerged out of the lab, most likely accidentally,” McCaul said during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

  “Let me say, this is the worst cover-up in human history that we’ve seen resulting in 3.5 million deaths, creating economic devastation around the globe.”

  His remarks come amid calls for a deeper probe into the origins of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus following widespread concerns that the pandemic may have been sparked by a laboratory accident in China’s central city of Wuhan. President Joe Biden has ordered the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) to ramp up efforts to investigate the virus’s origins.

  

  Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci admitted last week that he’s now “not convinced” that COVID-19 developed naturally, and called for a deeper investigation into its origins.

  Early reports about an outbreak of the CCP virus first appeared in Wuhan in late 2019, when a cluster of cases was reported by state-controlled media to be linked to a local wet market. More than a year later, the origins of the virus remain unknown, although the possibility that the virus leaked from a laboratory at China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) is now receiving wider recognition.

  The Wall Street Journal reported on May 23 that three researchers at the WIV were hospitalized in November 2019 with symptoms consistent with seasonal flu and COVID-19. The newspaper cited unnamed U.S. government sources familiar with a previously undisclosed U.S. intelligence report.

  “That was suppressed by the Chinese Communist Party,” McCaul said, referring to the hospitalizations of the three researchers.

  McCaul said Biden’s calls for a deeper probe into the origins of the CCP virus were “long overdue,” and called on the United States to “pull our supply chain” out of China as a “punitive” response.

  “My response to this whole thing is supply chain. We need to pull our supply chain out of the region, that being medical supply, rare earth mineral supply,” the lawmaker said.

  He also warned that the president’s investigation could be inconclusive because “they [Beijing] have destroyed everything at the lab.”

  White House press secretary Jen Psaki, said on May 24 that the Biden administration has “repeatedly called for the WHO to support an expert-driven evaluation of the pandemic’s origins that is free from interference or politicization.”

  “Now, there were phase one results that came through. We were not—during that first phase of the investigation, there was not access to data, there was not information provided. And now, we’re hopeful that WHO can move into a more transparent, independent phase two investigation,” Psaki said.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 18:00

• Florida Rock Concert Sells $18 Tickets For Vaxxed Fans; $1,000 For Non-Vaxxed
  Florida Rock Concert Sells $18 Tickets For Vaxxed Fans; $1,000 For Non-Vaxxed

  It’s not like we didn’t tell you so… 

  The introduction of COVID status certificates is creating a two-tier society whereby vaxxed people enjoy their full rights and other perks, and non-vaxxed are heavily penalized.  

  The latest example is in Florida, where a concert promoter for a future rock show this summer in Tampa Bay charges $18 per ticket for vaxxed fans and $999.99 for non-vaxxed fans, according to Tampa ABC affiliate WFTS. 

  “To be eligible for the DISCOUNT, you will need to bring a government-issued photo ID and your PHYSICAL COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card (if you have lost it keep reading, we got you). You will need to have had your second shot of Pfizer or Moderna, or your single shot of Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on or before 6/12/2021,” Paul Williams of Leadfoot Promotions wrote on his website where tickets can be bought. 

  “If you do not care about the discount, tickets are available for a flat rate of $999.99,” continued Williams . 

  

  The concert is set to take place on June 26 at the VFW Post 39 venue in St. Petersburg. It will feature appearances from three rock bands: Teenage Bottlerocket, MakeWar, and Rutterkin.

  “We’re all vaccinated. We encourage everyone to get vaccinated so we can see you in the pit,” Ray Carlisle, singer from Teenage Bottlerocket, told WFTS.

  This is just another example of COVID creating vast inequalities among society. Vaccine status certificates could worsen social divisions wherever they are used. Those who are vaxxed can return to everyday life, while those who aren’t vaxxed will be left out in the cold. 

  So what about the people who have recovered from the virus and have developed antibodies and have opted out of vaccines? 

  They are also left out, despite a new study from the University in Melbourne, Australia, which provides evidence that immunity triggered by the infection will be extraordinarily long-lasting. 

  Why can’t people who have the antibodies achieve the same status as those who have been vaxxed? 

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 17:30

• Memorial Day: Remember Political Lies That Caused Soldiers To Die
  Memorial Day: Remember Political Lies That Caused Soldiers To Die

  Authored by James Bovard via JimBovard.com,

  On Memorial Day, the media do their usual sacralizing of war. Instead, it should be a day for the ritualized scourging of politicians.

  During the last 70 years, their lies have resulted in the unnecessary deaths of almost 100,000 American soldiers and millions of foreigners. And yet, people still get teary-eyed when politicians take the stage to talk about their devotion to the troops.

  

  On Memorial Day 2011, for instance, the Washington Post included numerous touching photographs of graves, recent widows or fatherless kids by the headstones, and stories of the troops’ sacrifices. The Post buried a short article in the middle of the A-Section (squeezed onto a nearly full-page ad for Mattress Discounters) about the U.S. military killing dozens of Afghan civilians and police in a wayward bombing in some irrelevant Afghan province. The story’s length and placement reflected the usual tacit assumption that any foreigner killed by the U.S. military doesn’t deserve to be treated as fully human.

  The Washington Post celebrations of Memorial Day never include any reference to that paper’s culpability in helping the Bush administration deceive America into going to war against Iraq. When Post reporters dug up the facts that exposed the Bush administration’s false claims on the Iraqi peril, editors sometimes ignored or buried their revelations. Washington Post Pentagon correspondent Thomas Ricks complained that in the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, “There was an attitude among editors: ‘Look, we’re going to war, why do we even worry about all this contrary stuff?’”

  The Post continued aiding the war party by minimizing its sordidness. When the Bush administration’s claims on Iraq’s nuclear-weapons program had collapsed, the Washington Post article on the brazen deceits was headlined, “Depiction of Threat Outgrew Supporting Evidence.” According to Post media columnist Howard Kurtz, the press are obliged to portray politicians as if they are honest. He commented in 2007, “From August 2002 until the war was launched in March of 2003 there were about 140 front-page pieces in the Washington Post making the administration’s case for war. It was, ‘The President said yesterday.’ ‘The Vice President said yesterday.’ ‘The Pentagon said yesterday.’ Well, that’s part of our job. Those people want to speak. We have to provide them a platform. I don’t have [sic] anything wrong with that.”

  

  World War I: Transport of the Wounded. Oil painting by Ugo Matania. https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/V0018185.html [Wikimedia]

  The Post was not alone in its groveling to war. Major television networks behaved like government-owned subsidiaries for much of the period before and during the Iraq War. CNN chief news executive Eason Jordan explained a month after the United States attacked Iraq, “I went to the Pentagon myself several times before the war started and met with important people there and said, for instance, at CNN, ‘Here are the generals we’re thinking of retaining to advise us on the air and off about the war,’ and we got a big thumbs-up on all of them. That was important.” Jessica Yellin, a CNN correspondent who formerly worked for MSNBC, commented in 2008, “When the lead-up to the war began, the press corps was under enormous pressure from corporate executives, frankly, to make sure that this was a war that was presented in a way that was consistent with the patriotic fever in the nation and the president’s high approval ratings.” NBC news anchor Katie Couric stated that there was pressure from “the corporations who own where we work and from the government itself to really squash any kind of dissent or any kind of questioning of it.”

  Before the war, almost all the broadcast news stories on Iraq originated with the federal government. PBS’ Bill Moyers noted that “of the 414 Iraq stories broadcast on NBC, ABC, and CBS nightly news, from September 2002 until February 2003, almost all the stories could be traced back to sources from the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department.”

  But this record of servility and deceit has not slackened the media’s enthusiasm to drench Memorial Day with sanctimony.

  In reality, Memorial Day should be a time to remember the government’s crimes against the people. Politicians have perennially sent young Americans to die for false causes or on wild-goose chases.

  Over the past century, war memorials have become increasingly popular. However, most of the memorials do little or nothing to inform people of the chicaneries or deceits that paved the way to or perpetuated the war. It would be a vast improvement if each war memorial also had an adjacent monument of major lies—such as an engraved plaque listing the major deceits by which the American public were swayed to support sending American boys off to die for some grand cause.

  

  UH-1D Operation MacArthur Vietnam 1967 [Wikimedia]

  The Vietnam War memorial in Washington, for instance, lists the names of each American killed in that conflict. If that memorial could be complemented by excerpts from the Pentagon Papers—or from some of the major admissions of deceit by some of that war’s policymakers—the effect on the public would be far more uplifting.General Patton said that an ounce of sweat can save a pint of blood. Similarly, a few hours studying the lessons of history can prevent heaps of grave-digging in the coming years. President Trump has saber-rattled against Iran, North Korea, Syria, and other nations. His bellicose rhetoric should spur Americans to review the follies and frauds of past wars before it is too late to stop the next pointless bloodbath.Memorial Day can benefit from the creativity of free spirits across the board. Tom Blanton, the mastermind of the website Project for a New American Revolution, proposed in an exchange on my website changing Memorial Day to make it far more realistic:

  It used to be that Memorial Day was to honor dead soldiers. In recent years, we are asked to also honor veterans (who already have a day) and active duty members of the armed services. This may be an indication that the politicians feel there aren’t enough dead soldiers…

  I think Memorial Day should simply be renamed Tombstone Day and people should decorate their yards with styrofoam tombstones like they do for Halloween. True-believers might even consider a few flag-draped coffins made of cardboard and maybe hanging dismembered arms and legs made of rubber from their trees.

  Blanton’s proposal would provide a shot in the arm for party stores during the slow period between Valentine’s Day and Halloween. And it would be a spark for conversations that were far more substantive than the usual flag waving.

  I would favor celebrating Memorial Day the way the British used to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. Fawkes was the leader of a conspiracy in 1604 to blow up the Parliament building in London. Until recently, the British celebrated the anniversary of that day by burning Guy Fawkes in effigy. (Government officials have recently banned such burnings on the grounds that something bad might happen because of the fires. The movie V for Vendetta probably made some bureaucrats nervous.)

  It would be appropriate to celebrate Memorial Day by burning in effigy the politicians whose lies led to the deaths of so many Americans (and innocent foreigners). Those whose images deserve to be torched run the gamut from Lyndon Johnson to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara to Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton (Kosovo) to George W. Bush (Iraq, et cetera), to Barack Obama (Afghanistan, Libya, et cetera). Donald Trump’s warring has primarily resulted in the killing of foreigners, but they are also worthy of remembrance and lamentation. The burnings could be accompanied by recitations of the major offenses against the truth and liberty that each politician committed.

  The best way to honor American war dead is to cancel politicians’ prerogative to send troops abroad to fight on any and every pretext. And one of the best steps towards that goal is to remember the lies for which soldiers died.

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 17:00

• IceCap Asset Management: The Story Of The Year
  IceCap Asset Management: The Story Of The Year

  Submitted by Keirh Dicker of IceCap Asset Management, as excerpted from the May 2021 report: “Californication”

  The Elephant in the Room

  Since we now know the extreme monetary policy implemented by the Americans is actually less extreme when compared to the Japanese, the Europeans, the Chinese, the Canadians and others, then there must be something else happening to create all of this (nonsensical) drama about the US Dollar being on the verge of collapsing.

  And this is where the reflation trade comes into play. Monetary theorists have always proclaimed that if you produce excessive stimulus via interest rate cuts, balance sheet expansion and especially when combined with excessive stimulus, then inflation is going to storm back with vengeance.

  And since it has been over 40 years since inflation was a problem for the developed world, most have become either dismissive about the potential for inflation, or have simply become ignorant towards this monetary demon.

  Here is the long-term showing core inflation in the USA.

  

  Inflation isn’t everywhere.

  It’s true how every picture tells a story, and this picture of American core inflation tells so many stories, that like many stories, they tend to become distorted over time.

  For starters, economic purists will forever proclaim that inflation is a phenomenon created by monetary policies. In other words, if a central bank prints money or does other excessive things, then inflation is right around the corner. And since no one wants to run into anything around any corner – this must be bad.

  Yet, a casual view of this US inflation chart clearly shows how from the late 1980s to present day, inflation has never been a challenge. And perhaps more importantly (or embarrassing for the inflation purists), inflation has not once jumped out from around any corner.

  Absolutely there were times when inflation was maybe about to become a concern – but those concerns were quickly swished away, not by the magical, deep thinking, parlor smoking, cognac drinking central bank economists – but instead simply by the explosion of the global economy.

  Yes, the great equalizer to any inflation concerns was globalization. The inclusion of increasing more emerging market economies into the manufacturing supply chains of the developed world did wonders for keeping prices lower.

  Have a gander at the chart next column.

  

  Inflation can be complicated.

  While the prices of some items have exploded upwards, the prices for other items haven’t budged. While some people dedicate their entire lives to studying inflation, and can support or refute any discussion about inflation – one incredibly important fact will always remain about inflation. The vast majority of people fall asleep at the mere mention of the word.

  And since IceCap Global Outlooks are not in the business of putting people to sleep, we’ll cut straight to the chase.

  To start with, and in our opinion, runaway inflation across the education and healthcare industries in the USA (and other countries) is a function of union powers for compensation and retirement packages across universities and colleges, and a function of the American approach to providing both private sector and public sector offerings across the healthcare sector.

  Put another way – these two very large and vitally important economic services are structured to GENERATE strong inflation. Price increases in these sectors have little to do with low interest rates and quantitative easing. The remaining items in the chart clearly show a lack of inflation over time. While computer costs have mostly remained the same over the years, and this would be thought of as a positive contributor to inflation, the productivity powers within these computers have expanded exponentially. In other words, consumers are absolutely getting more bangs for their bucks.

  This is also true for many other items within our shopping baskets.

  At the same time, we are not oblivious to the obvious concerns with the exclusion of house prices from most inflation calculations.
  For those who are not aware, the rapidly rising price of homes in your neighbourhood is excluded from inflation calculations.

  Yes, you heard us right.

  Economists have instead decided to use Owner Equivalent Rent (OER) as the factor to represent housing within inflation calculations. Let’s just say this metric kinda understates the true impact of housing on the average Joe’s wallet.

  Another interesting inflation phenomenon is the central bankers’ keen focus on trying to foster an economy that produces inflation at an average annual rate of 2%. What we find so incredibly ironic about this 2% target is how it was calculated, or deemed to be appropriate. Despite extraordinary volumes of publications, millions of hours of lectures, armies of PhDs, and lifetimes of tobacco filled pipes and bourbon enjoyed near gentle simmering fires; the 2% target is simply a number magically created out of thin air.

  The other interesting thing about our central bank power brokers, none of them can answer why inflation hasn’t been booming over the last 20 years.

  Central banks have failed.

  Since the 1999-2000 tech bubble burst, we’ve lived through nearly 15 out of 20 years with interest rates near 0%, while also having central banks implement quantitative easing.

  Yet, during these same 20 years, core inflation has been greater than the magical 2% target rate a grand total of 3 years.

  • Alan Greenspan failed.
  • Ben Bernanke failed.
  • Janet Yellen failed.
  • Wim Duisenberg failed.
  • Jean-Claude Trichet failed.
  • Mario Draghi failed.
  • David Dodge failed.
  • Mark Carney failed (twice).
  • Yasuo Matsushita failed.
  • Masaru Hayami failed.
  • Toshihiko Fukui failed.
  • Masaaki Shirakawa failed.
  • Sir Mervyn King failed.
  • Mark Carney (again) failed.

  Yes, all of these highly respected leaders of the central banks for USA, Japan, Eurozone, Canada, and Britain all failed to produce the 2% target rate of inflation. And just as these past central bankers failed with their primary objectives, it is highly likely their successors will also face an F on grading day.

  The reason for our confidence is rather simple – in the eyes of these past (and now current) central bankers, the reason for this complete lack of monetary success was due to one thing – our central bankers simply didn’t cut enough rates or print enough money.

  Yes, this is the point where Einstein would make a casual observation. In our minds, the IceCap observation is rather obvious – the reason inflation hasn’t soared to the moon is due to all of this central stimulus actually creating the opposite effect than what was intended.

  Instead of historic stimulus resulting in companies and households going on historical spending and buying sprees, it has had the opposite effect – larger amounts of private capital has decided to not participate in the economy. The irony of central banks inability to generate inflation lies in their solutions to generate inflation.

  For starters, central banks believe lower interest rates are good for everyone. Even suggesting otherwise will earn you scowls from those in charge. Yet, consistent and continuous low interest rates has absolutely massacred the risk-adverse saver’s ability to receive basic income levels to sustain their living standards.

  Remember, there are two sides to every interest rate story.

  One side is borrowing to either make a long-term investment, or to fund short-term needs – note that both actions are simply borrowing from future income streams.

  Quantitative Easing explained.

  The other side is receiving interest for lending to the borrower. For this individual, this represents cumulative past savings being used to fund current consumption. When these two sides are in equilibrium – it is adding value to the global economy. When these two sides are in disequilibrium – value is detracted from the global economy.

  By stacking the interest rate deck in favor of borrowers over savers, central banks today have created a period of disequilibrium. In other words, it shouldn’t be a surprise that our economies and financial systems are acting in unusual ways. In addition to the zero % interest rates, there’s another elephant in the central bank room. And while most people are now aware of this large, slow moving and space eating animal, most do not understand just how destructive it has been on the global economy.

  This elephant of course, is quantitative easing, or QE as the central banks like to say. In its very simple form, QE is an indirect attempt by central banks to suppress interest rates and keep them low everywhere for as long as possible. To achieve this non-capitalistic outcome, the following occurs:

  1. Government spends more than it collects in taxes
  2. Government must now borrow to make up the difference
  3. Government issues bonds which are bought immediately by the country’s largest commercial banks
  4. These large commercial banks, then immediately sell these very same bonds to the central bank.

  This process achieves two immediate outcomes:

  1. Central banks are in effect (in)directly funding governments budget deficits (and debt rollovers)
  2. These central bank purchases are so large, that they influence the price of these bonds, as well as all other bonds in the world. The net effect is lower interest rates.

  That’s not the whole story. There’s much more.

  To start with, in order for central banks to “buy” government bonds from the commercial banks, it needs money.

  Exactly where do they get this money? They simply create it out of thin air – they print it, using their keyboard. Now, this is the point where QE and money printing gets a bit confusing.

  Many refer to them as being the same. This isn’t true, there is a difference. It is true the central bank “prints” money” out of thin air. Yet, it is untrue that this printed money is unleashed into the economy and intentionally create inflation.

  Instead the following happens:

  1. Commercial bank buys new bonds from the government
  2. Central bank buys these same bonds from the commercial banks
  3. Central bank pays for these bonds by crediting the commercial banks’ RESERVE account at the central bank

  Credit Creation Remains Weak

  Note that these new reserves cannot be withdrawn by the commercial bank. In effect, QE (or money printing) actually remains clogged in the banking system and can only be released by the commercial bank via new loans or credit creation.

  

  It is this “clogged-up” portion of the entire QE process that makes us question whether the surging inflation story is really occurring due to QE.

  If QE was working as intended, bank loans should be surging in line with QE. Instead, the opposite is happening. Of course, if QE is not being directly injected into the economy – what else is the reason for surging prices across housing, commodity and stock markets?

  To begin with, one needs to look at the other side of the Keynesian Economic Theory gambit. By this of course, we are referring to the fiscal stimulus, or “stimmy” as it is now so un-eloquently known.

  Yes, seemingly everyone around the world has either directly or indirectly received their stimmy from the government.

  Initially, these checks were intended to act as income replacements due to the pandemic shutdowns. Yet, today it is now widely known that stimmy checks are  actually for amounts greater than what people were receiving as wages for pre-pandemic  work.

  As a result, many stimmy checks have been spent (or invested) on housing, renovations, DoorDash food, stock markets and crypto currencies.

  Supply chains have been greatly affected by pandemic shutdowns.

  Make no mistake, this fiscal flood has been the driver of the rapid recovery. At the same time, pandemic shutdowns have also had the effect of stopping manufacturing and production of many items and goods needed for a normal economic cycle.

  Here’s an example of price increases resulting from supply constraints. This table from Tyson Foods shows significant price increases, yet volumes are down across the board.

  

  When the shutdowns are combined with the stimmy checks, the final outcome is lower supplies smacking directly into higher demand for goods and services. The result is increasing inflation.

  The question of course is whether this is a temporary or permanent increase in inflation.

  Currently, practically every investment house and market pundit is warning that inflation is about to sustain itself, not inline with the 1970s experience, but rather inline with the German Weimar experience from the 1920s.

  And they claim it is all because of the US Federal Reserve printing money.

  As markets always move in extremes, the question to ask is “what happens if higher or hyper inflation isn’t around the corner?”

  The answer “a sharp reversal of the reflation trade.” Of course, another way to quickly offset all this talk and forecasts of inflation is a quick and sustained correction in equity markets.

  A 20% decline would very quickly take the oomph out of the inflation expectations game. Any sudden loss in paper wealth can very quickly change all of those house purchases, renovations, and big ticket purchases.

  The point we make is whenever the vast majority of the market is in agreement with any market movement, theme or future expected event – the probability of an unexpected event can very quickly create a scene where everyone is suddenly running towards the other side of the boat.

  The story of the year

  We acknowledge this whole inflation story is a bit unusual for many investors, yet it is absolutely THE story facing markets today. Let’s finish by squaring the inflation peg and how we believe this story will play out:

  1. central bank monetary policy is not creating inflation.
  2. Fiscal policy and especially stimmies, is creating inflation.
  3. Global shutdowns during 2020 April May June created disinflation and these data points will cause a base effect producing higher year over year inflation for these same months in 2021.
  4. Shutdowns and other pandemic responses has created supply disruptions. Unless these disruptions turn permanent, these effects will wane as supply comes back online.
  5. Any severe (-20% or more) equity market correction will have a negative wealth effect and will also reduce inflation expectations.
  6. Longer term Inflation will likely be driven by commodity prices and supply effects driven by non-pandemic factors.

  Imagine a year ago, you were told there would be a pandemic so severe that the entire global economy would be completely shuttered for several months, and then not returning to normal capacity 12 months later. Also imagine, you were told that the social and political reaction to the pandemic was so severe that all travel for business, vacations and education would be effectively halted. As well, imagine you were told that all central banks reduced interest rates to 0% or negative %, printed unlimited amounts of money (quantitative easing) and bailed out federal, state, and provincial governments. And finally, take a few minutes to imagine you were told that governments would mandate temporary deferment of debt, rental and lease payments, while also paying workers who lost their jobs and businesses who closed their doors.

  Considering the above, imagine you were then asked how would financial markets perform 1 full year out.

  Most objective people would disbelieve how a pandemic could have this effect on the world. And these same objective people would believe global financial markets would be a rather unpleasant experience.

  Instead, we have the opposite.

  We have a non-financial world where many of the day-day changes in our lifestyles are slowly becoming the new (and expected) norm.

  In addition, we have a financial-world where practically every market has gone parabolic.

  Whereas many people refer to the year 2020 as the year from hell, 2021 may eventually be referred to as the year from disbelief. Maybe Dionysus, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Hank Moody actually did infiltrate our global economic and financial systems. Or maybe, we are all simply experiencing a cognitive dissonance.

  More in the full May 2021 note below

  Tyler Durden
  Mon, 05/31/2021 – 16:00

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• America Still Loves The Warfare State
  America Still Loves The Warfare State

  Authored by José Niño via The Mises Institute,

  The Biden administration’s announcement in mid-April to withdraw American troops looks like a positive first step in the right direction in ending America’s longest military conflict to date. Undoubtedly, questions remain about the sincerity of such a withdrawal, and whether there will still be a residual military presence left over under the cloak of “counterterrorism” or some type of arrangement with private defense contractors to maintain order in the graveyard of empires.

  

  Looking back, it was rather amusing all the stops the corporate press pulled out to derail former president Donald Trump’s previous attempts to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. The Russian bounty program took the cake as the most significant news story used to thwart Trump’s sensible withdrawal proposal in Afghanistan. On that occasion, the media started spreading stories about Russian military intelligence paying militants connected to the Taliban bounties for killing Americans and allied armed forces in the Afghan conflict. In its predictable salvo against the Trump administration, the corporate press made a major stink about this program throughout the 2020 elections, adding another chapter to the ridiculous anti-Russia saga.

  Farcically enough, once Biden was safely installed in office, the US intelligence community began to walk back allegations regarding the bounty program by noting that there was not sufficient evidence from US military intelligence to corroborate its existence.

  Whether or not Biden’s withdrawal was motivated by politics is up for speculation.

  Beyond the partisan implications of the Afghan withdrawal, we have to wonder whether the previous Trump administration squandered a genuine opportunity to break from the liberal hegemonic order that the US government has presided over since the end of World War II.

  Naïve as some observers were about the Trump administration functioning as a wrecking ball to this international order, myself included, many underestimated the level of institutional inertia present in the foreign policy bureaucracy along with the constant media propaganda designed to foment tensions with whatever country the ruling class deems to be an adversary.

  The election of Donald Trump did offer a tantalizing illusion of hope for noninterventionists and restrainers who questioned the nation-building programs DC undertook in the last few decades. On the campaign trail, Trump made the right noises about the failures of excursions into Iraq. He even cast doubts on the continued viability of entangling alliance arrangements such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), of which the US has been a member of since 1949.

  In Trump’s view, the US was the main country shouldering the bulk of the defense burden under this alliance. Trump’s constant complaints did yield some changes in how countries contribute to NATO. For example, Germany ended up boosting its defense spending in order to comply with NATO requirements.

  While Trump’s attempt to get NATO member countries to pull more of their weight was solid, it still didn’t address the underlying issue of the US’s involvement in what amounts to an entangling alliance that no longer serves a useful purpose following the Soviet Union’s dissolution three decades ago. We shouldn’t forget that even Dwight Eisenhower, as he was assuming the role of supreme commander of NATO in 1951, declared that “[i]f in 10 years, all American troops stationed in Europe for national defense purposes have not been returned to the United States, then this whole project will have failed.”

  NATO was originally designed as a temporary alliance to balance the Soviet Union that would eventually be phased out, not a permanent security arrangement that policymakers could tinker with to satisfy their desires of spreading America’s universal democratic “values.” Little did the former president realize that NATO would continue in existence well into the twenty-first century and serve as a tool for the expansion of the national security state’s interests.

  Defense is not exempt from the very “ratchet effect” present in domestic policy, whereby crises provoke increased government activity that becomes difficult to roll back once bureaucratic organizations become cemented. Milton Friedman averred that “[n]othing is so permanent as a temporary government program,” a dynamic present in the modern national security state. What originally starts out as a temporary program later becomes an irreplaceable pillar of public policy. That’s the nature of government growth, and no matter the government agency, it seemingly operates in a uniform manner.

  We cannot so easily separate defense affairs from economic affairs, since the common denominator in these activities is the lumbering behemoth that is the state. The state dominates both ambits, with all its attendant flaws. For example, government waste that the average conservative typically groans about is also present in the defense sector. Indeed, there’s nothing special about the government’s defense spending efforts. They are not immune from waste and corruption.

  Most proponents of defense spending overlook one of the iron laws of any serious analysis of political economy—Frédéric Bastiat’s concept of the seen and unseen. What is seen are the fancy military toys—the fiscal boondoggle that is the F-35 fighter jet comes to mind. According to some estimates, this weapons system has a lifetime price tag of $1.5 trillion. Gargantuan costs aside, such a weapons system will assuredly make for some great air force recruitment ads. Plus, it will give politicians another program to brag about by making the case that spending vast sums of money is the key to keeping America “safe.” 

  But what’s not captured in this entire orgy of spending are the many productive goods and services that would have been created under normal economic circumstances. In a world where defense spending is restrained, taxpayer money would remain in private citizens’ hands, whereupon it would be saved and invested in productive ventures. In Human Action, Ludwig von Mises grasped how inordinate defense spending is a drag on economic development:

  All the materials needed for the conduct of a war must be provided by restriction of civilian consumption, by using up a part of the capital available and by working harder. The whole burden of warring falls upon the living generation.

  A less militaristic economic policy would improve overall living standards, whereas excessive defense spending benefits concentrated interest groups at the expense of everyday Americans. Ending the current state of perpetual warfare will be a tall order. It’s way too easy to say, “Just vote for the right people.” The question at hand is more profound. It goes deeper than whoever is occupying political office at a given time. It’s ultimately ideological in nature.

  The Trump administration, which was ostensibly against never-ending wars, had trouble in conducting even the most basic of troop withdrawals. A lot of this can be attributed to the institutional inertia present in the US regime. The rise of the deep state—an unaccountable bureaucracy that has morphed into a permanent shadow government—is no aberration, but rather an indispensable feature of the current administrative state that is buttressed by an interventionist ideology.

  The warfare state and welfare state have grown together. Many of the same social engineering precepts that domestic politics is predicated on, ultimately apply to foreign policy, in which interventionist zealots are firmly committed to maintaining the regime’s imperialist project intact.

  Although Mises was no pacifist, he understood that Western values such as free speech, free markets, could not be spread at the barrel of a gun. In fact, for Mises, constant warfare was one of the catalysts for despotism. Instead, countries could set a strong moral example to follow by practicing limited government and encouraging peaceful commerce between nations. In Human Action, Mises also observed:

   To defeat the aggressors is not enough to make peace durable. The main thing is to discard the ideology that generates war.

  A measured retrenchment from foreign affairs would obviously do a lot to reverse many of the lingering side effects of the misguided foreign adventures of the past century and allow America to focus on its internal affairs, which appear to be tearing it apart at the moment. To reach this point, however, interventionist ideologies must be thoroughly discredited.

  Too many innocent lives have perished, and trillions of dollars have been spent to continue indulging the quixotic daydreams of foreign policy wonks who will skirt any form of accountability for their misdeeds.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 23:25

• Why China Could Vanquish The US In New Space Race
  Why China Could Vanquish The US In New Space Race

  Authored by Brandon Weichert via RealClearPolitics.com,

  There are now only two nations in the history of humanity that have successfully landed rovers on the surface of the Red Planet: The United States and the People’s Republic of China. You can expect this to be the dominant headline in all matters related to space for many years to come. After all, humanity is due for another round of great state competition and it seems that the two major contenders in this strategic competition will be the United States and China.

  

  For too long Western observers have downplayed China’s rapidly growing space technology industry. The Chinese Martian rover, Zhurong, is nowhere near as advanced as NASA’s Perseverance, which recently made headlines. Yet, it took NASA almost 30 years to reach the level of complexity in its rover operations that the storied American space agency now enjoys. Certainly, China can expect to stay trailing the Yanks for many years to come — or so argue the naysayers who downplay the threat that China’s ambitious, though less advanced, space program poses to the United States.

  Suppose it doesn’t take several decades for Beijing to catch up to the Americans in space. After all, there are no greater teachers than experience and competition. For the former, China learns by doing — and Beijing embraces a leap-without-looking mentality that once defined America’s storied program.

  As for competition, China truly believes it is in a new space race with the Americans whereas most American leaders do not. The new space race between these nations will determine not only who gets human beings to Mars first, but also will decide which one dominates the strategic high ground of space (and whoever controls the high ground rules the territory below).

  Right now, the Americans hold this position — but barely.

  China’s competitive and nationalistic view of space means that, unless the Americans fundamentally change the way they operate, the United States will be knocked from its perch in space — in much the same way the British denied the French access to North America in the 19th century.

  How do the Americans view space?

  Some — the naysayers — have a pessimistic outlook. They (wrongly) believe it is a vast wasteland that will do nothing other than drain our country of vital resources. Others, the utopians, believe space can be maintained as a sanctuary and that the Americans can cooperate with China to share space.

  Fat chance.

  If Washington viewed space as China’s rulers do, they’d be authorizing the $1 trillion, decade-long investment into the program and other high-technology pursuits that I’ve been advocating. American leaders from both parties would be cutting through the bureaucratic red tape to ensure that the best elements of our budding private space sector were married to nationalistic goals for dominance. We’d have astronauts on Mars by now, too.

  Look at it this way: China’s space program did not take serious flight until 2003. By that time, America had been dominating the stars for decades. In 2003, China first placed a taikonaut into orbit. During the intervening 18 years, Beijing has not only repeatedly placed its people into Earth orbit, but has successfully developed counterspace capabilities (weapons intended to deny others access to space in the event of a war). Beijing has landed the first rover on the dark side of the moon in history. Red China has also successfully placed the first of three components necessary to complete their modular space station which is meant to rival the American-built International Space Station. Now, China has its first (of many) rovers on the Martian surface.

  Where will China’s space program be in another 18 years?

  Beijing leaders have already outlined their plans for the next decade: by 2024, to have an automated base built on the south pole of the moon. In 2028, Chinese (and possibly Russian) personnel will be permanently stationed at that lunar base.

  China seeks to have taikonauts on the Martian surface by 2030.

  The same naysayers in the West who’ve laughed off China’s space ambitions for the last two decades now scoff at its achievements made in that time. These naysayers continue to belittle China’s chances of achieving its space dreams. Meanwhile, the utopians pine for joint missions — which would only serve as tech transfers from America to China. So long as American policymakers listen to these voices, China will catch up and ultimately beat America in this new competition.

  Unlike the American government, China’s regime has identified dominating space as a key tenet for their “China Dream 2049” program. By the 100-year anniversary of the rise of Communist Party in China, 2049, Beijing’s leaders envision their nation displacing the United States as the world’s hegemon. Raising the Chinese flag on Mars first is a major goal in that regard.

  In the meantime, Washington is still holding up America’s manned space program until a female-friendly space suit can be made.

  This is what losing looks like, America.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 22:50

• Visualizing The World's Biggest Passenger Ships From 1831-Present
  Visualizing The World’s Biggest Passenger Ships From 1831-Present

  The Titanic lives large in our minds, but it’s probably not surprising that the world record for biggest passenger ship has been broken many times since its era. In fact, as Visual Capitalist’s Carmen Ang details below, today’s largest passenger ship can now hold over 6,000 people – more than double the Titanic’s capacity.

  This graphic by HMY Yachts looks at which vessels held the title of the world’s largest passenger ship over time, and how these vessels have evolved since the early 19th century.

  

  Different Types of Passenger Ships

  Before diving into the ranking, it’s worth explaining what constitutes a passenger ship.

  Passenger ships are vessels whose main purpose is to transport people rather than goods. In modern times, there are three types of passenger ships:

  • Cruise ships: Used for vacationing, with a priority on amenities and luxury

  • Ferries: Typically used for shorter day trips, or overnight transport

  • Ocean liners: The traditional mode of maritime transport, with a priority on speed

  Traditional ocean liners are becoming obsolete, largely because of advancements in other modes of transportation such as rail, automobile, and air travel. In other words, the main priority for passenger ships has changed over the years, shifting from transportation to recreation.

  Now, luxury is the central focus, meaning extravagance is part of the whole cruise ship experience. For example, the Navigator of the Seas (which was the largest passenger ship from 2002-2003) has $8.5 million worth of artwork displayed throughout the ship.

  A Full Breakdown: Biggest Passenger Ships By Tonnage

  Now that we’ve touched on the definition of a passenger ship and how they’ve evolved over the years, let’s take a look at some of the largest passenger ships in history.

  The first vessel on the list is the SS Royal William. Built in Eastern Canada in the early 1800s, this ship was originally built for domestic travel within Canada.

  In addition to being the largest passenger ship of its time, it’s often credited as being the first ship to travel across the Atlantic Ocean almost fully by steam engine. However, some sources claim the Dutch-owned vessel Curaçao completed a steam-powered journey in 1827—six years before the SS Royal William.

  In 1837, The SS Royal William was dethroned by the SS Great Western, only to change hands dozens of times before 1912, when the Titanic entered the scene.

  The Titanic was one of three ships in the Olympic-class line. Of the three, two of them sank—the Titanic in 1912, and the HMHS Britannic in 1916, during World War I. Some historians believe these ships sank as a result of their faulty bulkhead design.

  Fast forward to today, and the Symphony of the Seas is now the world’s largest passenger ship. While it boasts 228,081 in gross tonnage, it uses 25% less fuel than its sister ships (which are slightly smaller).

  COVID-19’s Impact on Cruise Ships

  2020 was a tough year for the cruise ship industry, as travel restrictions and onboard outbreaks halted the $150 billion industry. As a result, some operations were forced to downsize—for instance, the notable cruise operation Carnival removed 13 ships from its fleet in July 2020.

  That being said, restrictions are slowly beginning to loosen, and industry experts remain hopeful that things will look different in 2021 as more people begin to come back on board.

  “[There] is quite a bit of pent-up demand and we’re already seeing strong interest in 2021 and 2022 across the board, with Europe, the Mediterranean, and Alaska all seeing significant interest next year.”

  -JOSH LEIBOWITZ, PRESIDENT OF LUXURY CRUISE LINE SEABOURN

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 22:15

• Veterans Speak About Memorial Day: "It's Not About Us"
  Veterans Speak About Memorial Day: “It’s Not About Us”

  Authored by Patricia Tolson via The Epoch Times,

  On Monday, May 31, Americans from sea to shining sea will observe Memorial Day. However, veterans are quick to remind you: “It’s not about us.”

  “Monday is not about us,” Sergeant J.O. Batten, Commander of VFW Post 8713 in Brooksville, Florida told The Epoch Times.

  “It’s about the men on that wall out there. A lot of people don’t realize that.”

  Batten, a United States Marine, served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969.

  

  “The wall” is a granite monument, which stands guard at the front door of VFW. It bears the names of a group of men known as “The Brooksville Eight,” men who were killed in action during the Vietnam War.

  They are:

  Capt. Denver Colburn, Lance Corporals Hercules Moore and Charles Keathly, Private First Class Danny Overton, and First Lieutenant Denis Vacenovsky of the United States Marine Corps; Sergeants Virgil Hamilton and Larry Kinder and Specialist Washington Langley of the United States Army.

  

  “The Brooksville Eight” monument stands guard at the front door of VFW Post 8713 in Brooksville, Florida. (Patricia Tolson/The Epoch Times)

  “Memorial Day is not about veterans who are still alive,” Ron McCombs told The Epoch Times, standing at attention before the wall as he looked at the names engraved into the stone.

  “It’s about those men, the ones who didn’t make it.”

  McCombs, now 73-years-old, was an E5 in the U.S. Army. He also served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969.

  Batten said there aren’t many veterans left from the Vietnam war at his post, and those members who served in World War II and Korea have all passed away.

  “Ron and I are the only ones left here from the Vietnam era,” Batten said.

  Originally known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day originated in the years following the Civil War. However, it didn’t become an official federal holiday until 1971. Still, in the 50 years that have passed, veterans have observed how the sacred meaning of Memorial Day is becoming diluted and lost.

  Batten lamented how even the hallowed ritual of lowering the American flag to half-mast has been diminished by politics and political correctness. While events like school shootings are tragic, these events do not meet the guidelines for lowering the flag, as set forth by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. According to Public Law 94-344, known as the Federal Flag Code (pdf) the American flag should be flown on Memorial Day and lowered to half-mast until noon. The code further dictates it “may be flown at half-staff to honor a newly deceased federal or state government official by order of the president or the governor, respectively.”

  Billy Butts served his country as a soldier in the U.S. Army. His tours included such places as Iraq and Afghanistan. He noted a similar lessening in the meaning of medals, such as the Bronze Star. While Butts personally received one, he believes this medal is little more than a participation trophy.

  “It doesn’t have the ‘V Device,’” Butts clarified, leaning forward as he held up two fingers in the shape of the letter. “That’s the difference.”

  As Butts explained, a regular Bronze Star can be awarded to someone for something like administrative excellence, which is little more than “doing their job.”

  However, a Bronze Star with a “V Device” is earned only for committing an act of valor during the heat of combat.

  Timothy Zarbo, who served six months in the Gulf War as a member of the United States Air Force, believes this era was the peak of America’s military prowess. While the war in Vietnam dragged on for nearly 20 years, Operation Desert Storm, was over in three days. Still, Zarbo is still humbled by those who fought in Vietnam.

  “We were part of the era of volunteer military service,” Zarbo asserted.

  “Those who served in Vietnam didn’t have a choice. They were drafted. Those who fought in the Gulf War were called heroes, and welcomed back with yellow ribbons and parades. Those who served in Vietnam were spit on and called baby killers.”

  As with the others, Zarbo made it clear that Memorial Day isn’t about him.

  “Veterans Day is for those who survived and retired,” Zarbo explained.

  “Armed Forces Day is for those who are still serving. Memorial Day is reserved for those who never got to take off their uniform.”

  Because of this, the act of stolen valor is a particular point of contention for most veterans.

  “If I could speak for all veterans, I would say: “We don’t care if you didn’t serve,” McCombs said.

  “Just don’t say you did. It’s a slap in the face to all who did, especially to those that never came home. We see it all the time.”

  Batten spoke of how many who served in war returned home with the crippling effect of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Morgan Schmitz of the U.S. Air Force spoke of the deadly diseases that are slowly claiming the lives of many who served with him in the Gulf Wars because they were exposed to the smoke from burn pits.

  Burn pits were used by the United States and military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan to dispose of metal, rubber, chemicals, paint, medical waste, munitions and unexploded ordnance, petroleum products, human waste, plastics, and various other forms of waste. Many who were exposed to the toxic fumes from these burn pits have been diagnosed with such diseases as Leukemia, Non-Ischemic Cardiomyopathy, Intestinal Cancers, and Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

  But even with all of the things America’s veterans suffered, the men kept returning to one important message: “Memorial day isn’t about us.”

  It’s about the ones who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

  

  Ron McCombs, Billy Butts, Robert Romance, J.O. Batten, Tim Zarbo, and Morgan Schmitz at the Brooksville Eight monument at VFW Post 8713 in Brooksville, Florida. (Patricia Tolson/The Epoch Times)

  But there was one last thing Batten wanted to share with his fellow Americans to think about on Memorial Day, particularly with the younger generation, who either don’t know or don’t seem to care about the sacrifices made by the generations who went before them in order to defend the freedoms they have today. He iterated the sacred vow they all took when they were inducted into their respective branches of the military, how they raised their right hands and swore to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” and to “bear true faith and allegiance to the same… so help me God.”

  “Just because we left the military,” Batten said as his eyes glistened with emotion, “we were not relieved of that vow. I don’t care if we’ve been retired for five years, ten years or twenty, once we take that oath as a member of the military, we are forever obligated to defend the United States, and its Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, with up to and including our lives. For us, that promise we made to you never ends.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 21:40

• Morgan Stanley Asks What To Do When Everything Is Expensive
  Morgan Stanley Asks What To Do When Everything Is Expensive

  By Vishwanath Tirupattur, global head of Quantitative Research at Morgan Stanley

  The title of our recently published mid-year outlook – Now the Hard Part – captures the conundrum market participants face: early-cycle timing, mid-cycle conditions and late-cycle valuations.

  

  It is unusual to see this confluence, especially because it was only a little over a year ago that global risk markets were reeling and recording cyclical lows. Thus, despite our economists’ call for strong global economic growth supported by the largest fiscal stimulus, the largest monetary easing and the highest consumer savings rates in post-war history, the investment recommendations from our strategists have a more subdued tone. Over the next 12 months, we see single-digit upside in global equities, a modest steepening of the yield curve and thus a neutral stance in government bonds. We have downgraded corporate credit to neutral and expect flat returns in emerging market fixed income.

  Our strategists’ restraint is really driven by the conviction that current valuations across risk markets already reflect a lot of positivity about economic growth. That said, our outlook also points to attractive return potential in asset classes not often in the limelight because of the perception of complexity associated with them. In today’s Sunday Start, we will highlight a few such opportunities. We argue that these are not nearly as complex as perceived and are driven by the same economic narrative that underlies broader risk markets. Equally interestingly, the opportunity set includes both long and short ideas.

  The first opportunity we want to highlight is in collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), which are first-order securitizations of corporate loans. With over US$800 billion of outstanding, CLOs are no longer a niche market. The structural leverage in CLOs makes the equity tranches well suited for current conditions as CLO liability tranche spreads have tightened at a faster rate than spreads of CLO assets, thus creating conditions for attractive returns. The strong fundamental backdrop, leading to lower loan default rates, along with upside from Libor floors and other embedded options convince our CLO strategists, Charlie Wu and Vasu Goel, to expect CLO equity tranche returns to be in the mid-to-high teens over the next 12 months.

  As we have noted on these pages before, the US housing market has been on fire in the months since the onset of the pandemic. Even though we expect the rate of growth in home prices to slow from current levels, the US housing market sits on a healthy foundation. As our securitized credit strategists, Jim Egan and Som Basu, have highlighted, the growth in home prices, and the consequent increase in the equity that borrowers have in their homes, has been a boon for the fundamental performance of the mortgage credit market in two ways – lower delinquencies and higher prepayments, both of which benefit securitized mortgage credit markets. Over the next 12 months, we see single-digit upside in global equities, a modest steepening of the yield curve and thus a neutral stance in government bonds. We have downgraded corporate credit to neutral and expect flat returns in emerging market fixed income.

  Contrary to the old adage, what’s good for the goose is sometimes not good for the gander. Strong housing fundamentals are a positive for securitized credit but not necessarily so for Agency RMBS. The elevated purchase volumes that come with a healthy housing market just mean a continuation of an endless supply of Agency RMBS. Prepayment risk, which is a negative for Agency RMBS, continues to run high. At or close to their all-time tights, valuations in Agency RMBS are notably richer than other comparable asset classes. For example, the spread on the mortgage index is 15bp through its post-GFC tights, whereas the spread on the investment grade corporate credit index is merely at its post-GFC tights. Jay Bacow and Zuri Zhao, our Agency MBS strategists, note that Agency RMBS have already priced in all the optimism that accompanies demand from a supportive Fed and deposit-rich domestic banks. Thus, they recommend a longer-term structural underweight in MBS. Not only do negative option-adjusted valuations give minimal room for further spread tightening, but the steepness of the belly of the Treasury curve means that being long five-year Treasury notes against Agency RMBS is a positive carry, positive convexity steepener. It is not often that investors can be short a risk asset at the tights and get paid to do it.

  The three ideas we discuss are not plain vanilla. There is indeed a degree of complexity associated with CLOs, CRT and Agency RMBS, and fully harvesting the risk premia embedded in these ideas does require an investment in digging into the nuances of these products. What we are arguing is that understanding the complexity is worth the effort, given the potential for returns in this opportunity set.

  Enjoy your Sunday.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 21:05

• Taiwan Is A Great Country
  Taiwan Is A Great Country

  Authored by Ethan Yang via The American Institute for Economic Research,

  The internet is having a field day over a seemingly trivial mishap involving actor and wrestler John Cena, who apologized for calling the island nation of Taiwan a country. That is a massive point of issue for the Chinese Communist Party as they continue to claim that Taiwan is part of China. NBC News provides the context by reporting,

  “In an interview to Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS earlier this month, Cena sparked controversy while promoting the ninth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise when he said, “Taiwan is the first country to watch Fast and Furious 9.”

  Cena later issued an apology by stating,

  “I must say right now, it’s very, very, very, very, very, very important,” Cena said.

  “I love and respect China and Chinese people. I’m very, very sorry for my mistake.”

  China is one of the world’s largest consumers of films so it is understandable but disappointing that Cena is taking steps to appease the Chinese on this matter. A similar issue arose earlier regarding the Hong Kong protests and the NBA, which also made concessions to China, likely to maintain market access.

  NBC News writes that some Weibo users attacked Cena by writing,

  “It’s the western political correctness. he (sic) wants Chinese people to forgive him but he also doesn’t want to offend idiot Taiwan and the West.”

  It should be common knowledge at this point that the CCP maintains an iron grip on free expression and thought. Ethnic Chinese people who reside outside the influence of the party likely share no such issue with Taiwan. 

  A more forgiving comment goes as follows,

  “I think we should sit down and chat about it in a less intense way. Foreigners don’t necessarily know China’s politics, just like we don’t necessarily know their politics.”

  Of course, foreigners, like John Cena, wouldn’t understand the internal politics of China. The main problem with this statement is, of course, Taiwan is not part of China’s “internal politics.” It’s been an independently operating nation-state since its formal establishment in 1949 and has a history dating back to antiquity.

  

  What is Taiwan?

  To give the Chinese government credit, Taiwan is not recognized as a formal country by most nations around the world. The simple reason is that the Chinese government threatens any country that tries to do so. The Chinese government wishes to annex the island of Taiwan to fulfill a tired old vision of the great imperial Chinese empire of centuries past. The CCP has used this rationale to justify its invasions of Tibet and East Turkestan, more commonly known as Xinjiang. Two once independent nation-states now living under the authoritarian horrors of the CCP. 

  Regardless, Taiwan is a fully functioning and independent democracy off the coast of China. It has every single component of a country one could think of, from one of the top militaries in the world, free elections, its own currency, bureaucracy, global trade, a court system, the list goes on. Taiwan is also the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage. The CCP does not and has never exercised authority over Taiwan. As a result, Taiwan is one of the freest nations in the world with a bustling market economy. 

  The standard of living in Taiwan, due to its liberal democratic values and open economy, is far higher than that of China. According to My Life Elsewhere, those residing in Taiwan compared to China experience 2.8 times higher earnings and are half as likely to live below the poverty line. If anything, Taiwan, which was mainly settled by Chinese immigrants among other groups, is a model of what a free China could be, instead of the oppressive dictatorship that it currently is. Of course, at this point, calling Taiwan a free version of China would be misleading, as a survey in 2020 showed that a record 83% percent of respondents would now identify as Taiwanese and not Chinese. 

  Taiwan is a fantastic tourist destination to visit when the world opens up. Its unique culture is influenced by China and Japan as well as its aboriginal inhabitants. The tropical island features modern infrastructure and Michelin star restaurants alongside gorgeous natural wonders like its many hot springs, mountains, and its famous Sun Moon Lake. Taiwan is also well known for its night markets, which are a staple of Taiwanese culture and widely viewed as one of the top street food scenes in the world. One of the tallest buildings in the world, Taipei 101, is located in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei. 

  In short, Taiwan is not just a country that ought to be recognized, it’s a global treasure. Not just because it’s a great cultural spot or one of the United State’s top trade partners, but a global force for good. 

  Was Taiwan Ever Part of China?

  China would be correct that at certain points during its history such as during the Qing dynasty, it maintained control over the island of Taiwan. However, when viewed in a larger context, the Chinese were simply just visiting. The first inhabitants of Taiwan were actually aboriginal groups that had more in common with the civilization that settled the Pacific Islands rather than East Asia. One of the earliest and most notable colonizers of Taiwan after this point was the Dutch Empire. The Portuguese gave Taiwan its nickname Formosa sometime in the 16th Century. The Chinese formally annexed Taiwan in 1683 during the Qing Dynasty, which no longer exists of course, and if you want to get real technical, the Qing Dynasty was actually led by the Manchurians.

  In 1895, China ceded Taiwan to Japan after the Treaty of Shimonoseki, to which Taiwan would become a Japanese colony until 1945. After Japan lost World War II the United States gave Taiwan to the Kuomintang, which was the nationalist faction in the still ongoing Chinese Civil War. After being defeated by the Communist faction that went on to control China, the Kuomintang set up a military dictatorship in Taiwan in 1949 where it would use the name Republic of China as its official name but also be referred to as Taiwan. At the time, its leaders had ambitions of retaking the mainland. After this dream faded from reality, and after decades of activism, Taiwan eventually held its first elections and liberalized into the free country it is today. While all this was happening the people of Taiwan began to form their own national identity, to the point that the overwhelming majority of its residents, as well as members of its diaspora, identify themselves as Taiwanese. 

  In short, Taiwan can certainly be considered part of the Chinese civilization, much like Canada and the United States are part of the Anglosphere, if not less connected than that, but such affiliations warrant no political obligations. It has also never been controlled by the current Chinese regime: the People’s Republic of China. Taiwan is a beautiful island country with an interesting history, it’s really not that complicated.

  What Can The US Do to Help Taiwan?

  The incident with John Cena was the most recent of a long campaign that involves pressuring Western companies and individuals to erase Taiwan’s identity. Organizations like the World Health Organization and the International Monetary Fund do not keep information on Taiwan at all. In particular, the WHO has consistently rejected requests for Taiwan even though it had an excellent performance with containing the virus. On top of that, the WHO Facebook Messenger app that gives updates on a country’s Covid statistics when asked displays an error message when Taiwan is inputted. American companies have also been pressured to stop calling Taiwan a country for years. 

  What the United States can do is first continue normalizing relations with Taiwan diplomatically and continue bringing up Taiwan in international conversations. Furthermore, trade relations should be expanded with a free trade agreement, which will not only allow Taiwan to reduce its dependence on Chinese trade but is also mutually beneficial. Finally, the United States should continue to maintain, if not expand, its military support of Taiwan. This includes approving bigger and more comprehensive arms deals as well as strengthening strategic ties with other key players in the Asia Pacific to ensure the Chinese military can be contained. 

  Taiwan is a country full of rich culture and a model of freedom not just in Asia but the world. Taiwan and the United States share a lot in common; the most important aspects being our commitment to human liberty, the rule of law, and shared prosperity. These are in striking contrast to Taiwan’s rowdy neighbor, the People’s Republic of China. If the CCP is looking for a country to question the legitimacy of, perhaps it should stop looking at Taiwan and look in a mirror.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 20:30

• Upper Limit Of Human Mortality Is 150 Years Old, Scientists Say
  Upper Limit Of Human Mortality Is 150 Years Old, Scientists Say

  Silicon Valley elites are obsessed with immortality. They’re pouring investments into biohacking technologies on their quest for living forever. We don’t want to spoil their fun, but sometimes we have to, as a new study suggests the upper limit of human mortality is 150 years old. 

  Researchers of Gero, a Singapore-based biotech company in collaboration with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, published new research in the journal of Nature portfolio, showing results between aging and the loss of the ability to recover from stresses. They gathered iPhone and medical data from volunteers in the US and UK to calculate the maximum age of humans. 

  

  Using artificial intelligence, researchers analyzed the health data of the volunteers. The study found two crucial data points for human lifespan — biological age and resilience. The former is connected with stress, lifestyle, and chronic diseases and the latter are related to how fast a person reverts to normal conditions following stressor response.

  Heather Whitson, director of the Duke University Center for the Study of Aging, who was not involved in the study, told Scientific American that the researchers “asked the question of ‘What’s the longest life that a human complex system could live if everything else went really well, and it’s in a stress-free environment?'”

  In doing so, the researchers were able to establish the “pace of aging,” which found human bodies aren’t immortal but have an “absolute limit” of 120 to 150 years old. 

  

  “Aging in humans exhibits universal features common to complex systems operating on the brink of disintegration. This work is a demonstration of how concepts borrowed from physical sciences can be used in biology to probe different aspects of senescence and frailty to produce strong interventions against aging,” said Peter Fedichev, co-founder and CEO of Gero.

  “This work, in my opinion, is a conceptual breakthrough because it determines and separates the roles of fundamental factors in human longevity – the aging, defined as progressive loss of resilience, and age-related diseases, as “executors of death” following the loss of resilience. It explains why even most effective prevention and treatment of age-related diseases could only improve the average but not the maximal lifespan unless true antiaging therapies have been developed,” said prof. Andrei Gudkov, PhD, Sr. Vice President and Chair of Department of Cell Stress Biology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

  David Sinclair, Harvard Medical School professor of genetics, commented on the study by saying it “shows that recovery rate is an important signature of aging that can guide the development of drugs to slow the process and extend healthspan.” 

  … and possibly the quest for immortality has been shattered by this new research as elites resort to biobacking in their quest to live forever. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 19:55

• Homeland Security Walks Back Director's Claim US Taking "Close Look" At Vaccine Passports
  Homeland Security Walks Back Director’s Claim US Taking “Close Look” At Vaccine Passports

  Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday walked back comments made by the agency’s chief, who suggested earlier in the day that the federal government was “taking a very close look” at the idea of requiring vaccine passports to enter or leave the United States.

  “Looking ahead to summer, Europe and other countries are going to open up. Could we see vaccine passports to travel internationally either into or out of the U.S.?” an ABC “Good Morning America” host asked Alejandro Mayorkas, head of the DHS.

  “We’re taking a very close look at that,” Mayorkas responded.

  

  This illustration photo taken in Los Angeles on April 6, 2021 shows a person looking at the app for the New York State Excelsior Pass, which provides digital proof of a COVID-19 vaccination, in front of a screen showing the New York skyline. (Chris Delmas/AFP via Getty Images)

  But DHS said Mayorkas was only talking about how Americans will need to use such passports to enter other countries.

  “We’ve always said we’re looking at how we can ensure Americans traveling abroad have a quick and easy way to enter other countries. That’s what the secretary was referring to; ensuring that all U.S. travelers will be able to easily meet any anticipated foreign country entry requirements,” an agency spokesperson told news outlets.

  “There will be no federal vaccinations database and no federal mandate requiring everyone to obtain a single vaccination credential,” the department also said.

  The White House had responded to Mayorkas’ statement by saying the same thing.

  Asked to explain his comments, spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One:

  “Again, the U.S. government recognizes that other countries have or may have foreign-entry requirements. We will be monitoring these and helping all U.S. travelers meet those, but we will not be—there will be no federal mandate requiring anyone to obtain a single vaccination credential.”

  

  Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testifies before a Senate panel in Washington on May 26, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

  The Biden administration has previously said multiple times that it will not require vaccine passports, or proof of vaccination, on the federal level.

  However, the administration is working with private companies to set guidelines for passport systems.

  A variety of groups have raised concerns about vaccine passports, arguing it would be an overreach of government authority to require vaccination proof. A number of states have banned requiring of passports, such as Georgia, and Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) announced Friday they were introducing a bill that would ban them.

  “Americans shouldn’t be discriminated against because of COVID-19 vaccine status—whether that is at work or in everyday life. Americans have a well-established right to privacy that any mandated vaccine passport would destroy. A vaccine passport would be discriminatory against people who, for whatever reason, do not get the COVID-19 vaccine. We should be encouraging individuals to receive the vaccine through increased patient protections, not mandating it,” Cruz said in a statement.

  “The truth is not everyone can receive the COVID-19 vaccine—for legitimate reasons. I got the vaccine because it was the right decision for me, but people should be free to make the decision that is right for them and consult with their doctor if they have concerns. Individuals who are unable to receive the vaccine should not be denied access to aspects of everyday life or the opportunity to participate in society. Mandating the vaccine or requiring all individuals to be fully vaccinated before returning to normal life could prevent America from fully reopening,” he added.

  The United States earlier in the week hit the milestone of 50 percent of adults being fully vaccinated against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, which causes COVID-19.

  As of May 28, that percentage was up to nearly 51 percent, or 131.3 million Americans 18 or older. Another 29 million have gotten one dose and are waiting for their second one.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 19:20

• Ship Carrying Auto Parts Sinks Off Japan Coast
  Ship Carrying Auto Parts Sinks Off Japan Coast

  By Kim Link-Wills of American Shipper

  A search is ongoing for three crew members reported missing from a roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) vessel that sank off the coast of Japan early Friday morning.  The MV Byakko sank at about 2:40 a.m. local time after colliding with the chemical tanker Ulsan Pioneer just before midnight in the Seto Inland Sea, Reuters reported. The Byakko reportedly sank about 2.5 miles off the coast of Imabari.

  Nine of the Byakko’s 12 crew members were said to have been rescued by the Japanese coast guard and nearby ships. 

  

  Kyodo News reported that the ship’s captain, 66-year-old Tamotsu Sato, was among the missing. Responders also are searching for two of the Byakko’s engineers, Japanese men in their 20s. 

  The 557-foot-long Byakko is operated by Kobe, Japan-based Prince Kaiun Co. According to Kyodo News, the Byakko was carrying auto parts and left Kobe at 4:30 p.m. Thursday bound for Kanda, Japan. The Ulsan Pioneer reportedly departed a port in China on Tuesday and was scheduled to arrive in Osaka, Japan, on Friday afternoon. 

  There was no word on what types of auto parts the Byakko was carrying. Denso is the largest automotive parts manufacturer in Japan and specializes in electronic systems and powertrain control modules, according to Japan Industry News, which lists the other major suppliers in the country as Aisin Seiki, Yazaki, JTEKT and Hitachi Automotive Systems.  

  Sebastian Blanco, who follows the automotive industry for FreightWaves, said Toyota has a plant in Kanda and Nissan has one in the region. 

  On its website, Prince Kaiun lists its primary clients as Nissan Motor Co., Mitsubishi Logistics, Vantec Corp., Sea Link, Tatsumi Shokai, Zero Co. and Koshin Shoun.

  The website says the 11,454-ton Byakko was built just last year and that it can carry “809 commercial vehicles, 113 trailer chassis.” Byakko is the Japanese word for white tiger.The Ulsan Pioneer, which flies under the flag of the Marshall Islands, was built in 2016.

  A cause of the collision has not been reported. According to FreightWaves meteorologist Nick Austin, there were no indications of unusual weather at the time of the accident. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 18:45

• "We Are Going To Expose You": Crenshaw, Cotton Create Military Whistleblower Site To Combat 'Woke Ideology'
  “We Are Going To Expose You”: Crenshaw, Cotton Create Military Whistleblower Site To Combat ‘Woke Ideology’

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

  Two GOP lawmakers this week launched a campaign calling on whistleblowers in the military to come forward with their experiences in training programs that promote critical race theory or “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

  “We won’t let our military fall to woke ideology,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), a former Navy SEAL, wrote in a tweet on Friday while linking to a website where informants can submit their accounts.

  “With written permission, we will anonymously publish egregious complaints on social media and tell the country what’s happening in our military.”

  “For too long, progressive Pentagon staffers have been calling the shots for our warfighters,” said Crenshaw about the web page posted in conjunction with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a former Army captain.

  

  House Homeland Security Committee member Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) speaks during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Sept. 17, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

  They hope that service members “will anonymously publish egregious complaints on social media” in order to “tell the country what’s happening in our military,” according to Crenshaw.

  “Progressive Pentagon staffers have been calling the shots for our warfighters,” the lawmaker added, “and spineless military commanders have let it happen. Now we are going to expose you.”

  Earlier this month, the U.S. Space Force confirmed it relieved Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier of his duties after he alleged that Marxism and critical race theory—which draws heavy inspiration from Marxist critical theory—are both being spread in the military via training courses that are required by Department of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other high-level officials.

  “Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting, Space Operations Command commander, relieved Lt. Col. Matthew Lohmeier of command of the 11th Space Warning Squadron, Buckley Air Force Base, Colorado, May 14, due to loss of trust and confidence in his ability to lead,” the Space Force said in mid-May, adding that Lohmeier’s remarks in a podcast and in his self-published book “constituted prohibited partisan political activity.” The Space Force’s statement didn’t provide an example.

  

  Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) speaks during a hearing to examine United States Special Operations Command and United States Cyber Command, on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 25, 2021. (Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images)

  Last week, Lohmeier met with Cotton, who tweeted after their meeting that he’s concerned “by what I heard” and promised to press “senior military leaders for answers.”

  Critical race theory denounces U.S. and Western culture as a systematic form of oppression that negatively impacts minority groups. Critics of the ideology—which is sometimes referred to as being “woke”—have said its proponents apply the Marxist tactic of “class struggle” to divide people along lines of race, gender, and ethnicity to label them “oppressors” and the “oppressed.”

  At the state level, legislatures and governors have taken action against critical race theory as well as The New York Times’ “1619 Project,” by barring them from being promoted in schools and in government institutions.

  The governors of Tennessee, Idaho, Arkansas, and Oklahoma have already signed anti-critical race theory bills. In Texas, Arizona, and Iowa, similar measures have been proposed, according to an analysis.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 18:10

• Netanyahu Faces Shocking Ouster After Israeli Opposition Reaches Deal To Form Government
  Netanyahu Faces Shocking Ouster After Israeli Opposition Reaches Deal To Form Government

  It’s the end of an era for Israeli politics as embattled prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest serving leader, is facing a shocking ouster after the head of a small hard-line party on Sunday said he would try to form a unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents, effectively ending Bibi’s 12-year rule.

  In a nationwide address, Yamina party leader and Netanyahu’s former defense minister, Naftali Bennett said he had decided to join forces with the country’s opposition leader, Yair Lapid in a “unity government” whose “unified” goal has long been removing Netanyahu from office. The pair have until Wednesday to complete a deal in which they are expected to each serve two years as prime minister in a rotation deal.

  “It’s my intention to do my utmost in order to form a national unity government along with my friend Yair Lapid, so that, God willing, together we can save the country from a tailspin and return Israel to its course,” Bennett said adding that “we could go to fifth elections, sixth elections, until our home falls upon us, or we could stop the madness and take responsibility.”

  

  This coalition will have one week to finalize deals and then will face a vote in the Knesset. Lapid will inform President Reuven Rivlin of his ability to form a new government with his partners on Monday, according to reports.

  A unity government would end the cycle of deadlock that has plunged the country into four inconclusive elections over the past two years. It also would end, at least for the time being, the record-setting tenure of Netanyahu, the most dominant figure in Israeli politics over the past three decades.

  In his own televised statement, Netanyahu accused Bennett of betraying the Israeli right wing. He urged nationalist politicians who have joined the coalition talks not to establish what he called a “leftist government.”

  “A government like this is a danger to the security of Israel, and is also a danger to the future of the state,” he said.  Netanyahu also took to twitter where he blasted his rivals and the coalition deal as the “scam of the century,” adding that recent conflicts with Hamas prove that Israel can not function with a “left-wing government.”`

  “We just got out of a war, from a military operation, and it was clear, amid the battle, that it’s not possible to fight with Hamas from a left-wing government,” he said, proposing that they form a functioning “right-wing government for Israel” instead, although there is zero chance of that happening.

  אין אדם אחד בארץ שהיה מצביע לנפתלי בנט אם היה יודע מה הוא הולך לעשות. זו הונאת המאה!

  במקום להקים ממשלת שמאל מסוכנת, מיד עם סיום המנדט של לפיד אפשר להקים ממשלת ימין טובה לישראל.

  צפו בדבריי הערב. pic.twitter.com/o8qLSWxToG

  — Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 30, 2021

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

  Bennett, a former Netanyahu aide turned rival, said he was taking the dramatic step to prevent yet another election. While sharing Netanyahu’s nationalist ideology, Bennett said there was no feasible way for the hard-line right wing to form a governing majority in parliament.

  “A government like this will succeed only if we work together as a group,” he said, adding that everyone “will need to postpone fulfilling all their dreams. We will focus on what can be done, instead of fighting all day on what’s impossible.”

  Each of the past four elections was seen as a referendum on Netanyahu — who has become a polarizing figure as he stands trial on corruption charges — with each ending in deadlock.

  For Netanyahu the motive to remain Prime Minister is simpler: avoiding prison, and he is desperate to stay in power while he is on trial. He has used his office as a stage to rally support and lash out against police, prosecutors and the media. According to the AP, if his opponents fail to form a government and new elections are triggered, it would give him another chance at seeing the election of a parliament that is in favor of granting him immunity from prosecution. But if they succeed, he would find himself in the much weaker position of opposition leader and potentially find himself facing unrest in his Likud party, not to mention prison time.

  In order to form a government, a party leader must secure the support of a 61-seat majority in parliament. Because no single party controls a majority on its own, coalitions are usually built with smaller partners. As leader of the largest party, Netanyahu was given the first opportunity by the country’s figurehead president to form a coalition. But he was unable to secure a majority with his traditional religious and nationalist allies.

  Netanyahu even attempted to court a small Islamist Arab party but was thwarted by a small ultranationalist party with a racist anti-Arab agenda. Although Arabs make up some 20% of Israel’s population, an Arab party has never before sat in an Israeli coalition government.
  After Netanyahu’s failure to form a government, Lapid was then given four weeks to cobble together a coalition. He has until Wednesday to complete the task.

  Lapid already faced a difficult challenge, given the broad range of parties in the anti-Netanyahu bloc that have little in common. They include dovish left-wing parties, a pair of right-wing nationalist parties, including Bennett’s Yamina, and most likely the Islamist United Arab List.

  Lapid’s task was made even more difficult after war broke out with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on May 10. His coalition talks were put on hold  during the 11 days of fighting. But with Wednesday’s deadline looming, negotiations have kicked into high gear. Lapid has reached coalition deals with three other parties so far. If he finalizes a deal with Bennett, the remaining partners are expected to quickly fall into place.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 17:36

• Fraudsters Go Where The (COVID-19) Money Is
  Fraudsters Go Where The (COVID-19) Money Is

  Authored by Diane Diamond, op-ed via The Epoch Times,

  Last June, eight guys in Brooklyn put their heads together, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, and came up with a scheme to steal strangers’ identities and take what didn’t belong to them.

  Just a couple months before that—in the earliest days of the COVID-19 scare—Congress passed a $2.2 trillion bill called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. The money was supposed to go to the millions of isolated Americans who had their paychecks interrupted during the pandemic.

  The mooks in Brooklyn had other plans.

  This gang of eight, ranging in age from 18 to 25, submitted some $2 million worth of fake unemployment claims for CARES Act assistance. And they got away with it for nearly a year, according to the feds. Several of these criminals stupidly posted online photos of themselves flashing stacks of money. Others were caught on ATM cameras withdrawing their free cash. Busted!

  

  The more Uncle Sam giveth, the more criminals taketh away.

  And it wasn’t just the Brooklyn gang. Besides extra money for bigger unemployment checks, Congress allocated nearly $350 billion for Small Business Administration loans to be doled out by vendors at some 3,800 financial institutions.

  Now we find out that just one of those lenders, an online firm called Kabbage, OK’d more than $7 million to go to fake companies, mostly nonexistent farms. Speed in disbursement was the name of the game, and apparently, vetting applications was lax. Many entities seeking loans from Kabbage seemed fishy. Farms and cattle ranches on a New Jersey sandbar? An orange grove in Minnesota? A potato field in ritzy Palm Beach, Florida? All were phony-baloney.

  The SBA’s inspector general now estimates that close to 100,000 loans went to businesses that were ineligible or got more cash than they should have. By late March 2021, the DOJ had brought criminal fraud charges against 474 people who sought to rake in a collective $570 million.

  It’s great that the feds caught up with these cheaters, but there must have been a better way to administer this program from the get-go, right? Simply relying on after-the-fact prosecution is like trying to chase the horse after it bolts through the open barn door.

  An acquaintance tells me he was expecting a small relief payment on a debit card but it never arrived. His wife called to trace it, but the automated system required her to punch in the number on the card—which, again, they never received. A typical government Catch-22. They ultimately gave up and are still wondering who got their $318 debit card.

  The point is there has been so much money flowing out of the U.S. Treasury over the last year that the task of keeping track of all of it seems futile.

  Trillions of dollars in aid have already been approved by Congress; trillions more are under consideration.

  This isn’t monopoly money, folks. And according to The Wall Street Journal, billions of dollars already pumped into the U.S. economy are still sitting there. Between the CARES Act and the companion American Rescue Plan Act, more than $32 billion earmarked just for pandemic-ravaged hospitals remains unspent. They can’t spend their money fast enough to make the June 30 deadline, so hospitals are seeking an extension.

  The Rescue Plan also allocated a windfall $350 billion for states to help spur a post-pandemic recovery. Some states will be swimming in surplus dough, but who in Washington will be checking to see if the lengthy spending rules for that money are actually being followed? Let’s hope the supervision is better than what occurred with the Kabbage loans.

  It’s time to remember the reported words of notorious criminal Willie Sutton. When asked why he robbed banks, he is said to have answered, “Because that’s where the money is!”

  Whether Sutton actually uttered those words is in dispute, but this is a certainty: The criminal element will flock to wherever there is an abundance of cash and lax oversight. Today, money is being printed and is flowing out of the U.S. Treasury at a ferocious pace. Calculating criminals are making plans.

  When the U.S. government isn’t diligent, taxpayers lose. It is abundantly clear that conscientious oversight is not being practiced. I say, no more money bills until that changes.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 17:00

• ​​​​​​​China Millionaires To Double By 2025 As America Fades Into Darkness 
  ​​​​​​​China Millionaires To Double By 2025 As America Fades Into Darkness 

  Rising wealth in China and the number of millionaires and the middle class is set to increase through the midpoint of this decade as the country grows more affluent and smarter. 

  HSBC Holdings Plc’s new report “The rising wealth of China; Millionaires and the middle class lead the way” predicts a world where millionaires in the country are set to double in the next five years, and the middle class will increase by nearly half. 

  From an asset manager’s point of view, China could be the next hot spot for new clients mainly because the report shows 2 million high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), those with the equivalent of at least $1.55 million in investable assets, are set to more than double to at least 5 million by 2025. 

  

  The bank also estimated the middle-class number (currently at 340 million) would increase by more than 45% to over 500 million in the period. 

  “The middle class is expanding rapidly too, and the urban homeownership rate is the highest in the world, a remarkable 96%.1 We estimate that total household wealth will grow by more than 50% in the next five years, putting China on a very sound financial footing,” HSBC said.” 

  

  For asset managers overseeing their client’s portfolios, the goal is to grow business, and China could be the best region to do so in the period. 

  “An expanding middle class will underpin medium to long-term economic growth, and stronger consumer spending boosts domestic demand, business confidence, and capital expenditure,” wrote HSBC chief economist Qu Hongbin. 

  Hongbin said, “A rising middle class will also increase imports of goods and services, and attract foreign companies to invest in China.” 

  An increasing middle class is the backbone of the country that will help it avoid the “middle-income trap,” and the government will also support a new order to transition the economy to more of a consumption-led one. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that the middle class can be the backbone of China’s dual circulation strategy,” they said.

  HSBC’s report examines the structure of the three parts of the country’s wealth, the asset portfolios of households, the government, and the external sector and how they’re all changing. Here are the reports top findings: 

  • China’s household wealth is set to grow by around 8.5% annually in the next five years, with household investable assets topping RMB300trn in 2025, equivalent to 300% of China’s GDP in 2020.
  • HNWIs have investable assets of around RMB70trn (USD10.8trn) – that’s approaching the combined market cap of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges at the end of 2020 (RMB79trn). Based on our conservative forecasts, this number will increase by 60% to RMB111trn by 2025.
  • The middle class already numbers 340m people – bigger than the population of the U.S. – and is on track to grow over 45% by 2025 to more than 500m. A USD20 increase in daily spending by the newly made middle class would increase consumption by cUSD1.1trn per year, surpassing all but seven countries in terms of total middle class expenditure in 2020 (Kharas and Dooley, 2020).

  China is growing more prosperous, and simultaneously it’s recovering faster from the virus pandemic than any other country. The middle class is becoming more financially sophisticated and has a broader range of investment opportunities.

  A larger middle class with higher income levels will increase demand for quality goods, supporting the transition to a consumption-led economy throughout this decade. 

  Perhaps the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), a UK-based consultancy group, is correct: China is set to overtake the U.S. by 2028 that could usher in the dollar’s demise. 

  JPMorgan’s latest “Long-Term Capital Market Assumptions” report highlights an extended period of U.S. “exceptionalism” – in growth, interest rates and equity market performance – may be coming to an end. “As a result, we expect the dollar to weaken in most crosses over this cycle, with notable falls coming against EUR, JPY, and CNY.”

  

  Americans must wake up to the uncomfortable fact that China is ahead of schedule at displacing the West as the world’s greatest economic superpower. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 16:30

• Over 200 Republicans Press Pelosi To Back COVID-19 Origin Probe, "Hold The CCP Accountable"
  Over 200 Republicans Press Pelosi To Back COVID-19 Origin Probe, “Hold The CCP Accountable”

  Authored by Eva Fu via The Epoch Times,

  More than 200 House Republicans are putting pressure on their Democrat counterparts to get down to the COVID-19 origins and hold the Chinese regime accountable for the pandemic coverup.

  “We request that you instruct the appropriate Democrat committee chairs to immediately join Republican calls to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for its role in causing the global COVID-19 pandemic,” stated a May 28 letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

  The effort was led by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif), Minority Whip Reps. Steve Scalise (R-La.), and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House Republican Conference and joined by 209 House Republicans.

  

  Security personnel keep watch outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on Feb. 3, 2021. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

  The lawmakers said Pelosi had “falsely claimed” that “questions about the CCP’s liability” were a “diversion” – likely referring to Pelosi’s remarks from last May describing then-President Donald Trump’s blame on China as an “interesting diversion.”

  “There is mounting evidence the pandemic started in a Chinese lab, and the CCP covered it up. If that is the case, the CCP is responsible for the deaths of almost 600,000 Americans and millions more worldwide,” they stated in the letter.

  “[E]very American family that lost someone deserves answers about the origin of this terrible virus,” they continued, adding that “House Democrats’ ongoing refusal to allocate investigative resources to get those answers is an affront to them.”

  “China can’t get away with this. Americans deserve answers,” Scalise wrote in a May 28 tweet.

  The Epoch Times has reached out to Pelosi’s office for comments.

  The lawmakers cited a growing pile of evidence that the virus may have escaped from a Wuhan lab, an idea that many media outlets and scientists had initially dismissed as a conspiracy theory.

  A State Department fact sheet, released during the final days of the Trump administration, suggested researchers with the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), located in the vicinity of the seafood market initially thought to be the outbreak’s origin, fell ill with COVID-19 like symptoms in autumn 2019. Recently, an undisclosed intelligence report also surfaced saying three WIV staff were sick enough to seek hospital care that November.

  

  The P4 laboratory of Wuhan Institute of Virology is seen behind a fence during the visit by the World Health Organization (WHO) team tasked with investigating the origins of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, on Feb. 3, 2021. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

  Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, recently backed a deeper virus probe and said that a lab leak possibility “certainly exists,” reversing comments he made in May 2020.

  U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, while not mentioning China or Wuhan directly, has called for the World Health Organization (WHO) to launch a “transparent, science-based” phase 2 COVID origins study “to fully assess the source of the virus and the early days of the outbreak.”

  “To hold the CCP accountable,” the lawmakers said they need “access to the full range of tools available to congressional investigators, including subpoenas for documents and the power to compel key witnesses to give testimony.”

  “To date, Democrat committee chairs throughout the House are refusing to allocate those resources for questioning about the origin of the COVID-19 virus,” the letter stated.

  They also pointed to Beijing’s consistent refusal to share raw data and WIV lab records, which they said fit into the CCP’s pattern of deception that includes expelling journalists to COVID-19 disinformation and silencing of whistleblowers.

  While the WHO-led mission in Wuhan ruled the lab accident theory as “extremely unlikely,” experts and world leaders alike have criticized the findings for lacking independence. Foreign experts on the panel requested original data and samples but were only supplied a summary from their Chinese counterparts.

  On Tuesday, a Chinese representative told the WHO’s assembly that the “China part” of the origin-tracing “has been completed,” and suggested investigators look elsewhere.

  Pressure to find out how the pandemic began has nonetheless continued to mount despite the Chinese denial.

  Biden, in a rare statement on Wednesday, said he has ordered an intelligence inquiry regarding the virus’ origins and expected a report within 90 days. The U.S. Intelligence has “‘coalesced around two likely scenarios’ but has not reached a definitive conclusion on this question,” he said.

  The Senate on Friday passed a bipartisan resolution calling for the WHO to act with “extreme urgency” and “get to the bottom” of the pandemic origin.

  The House Republican lawmakers, in their letter, said the Congress should take virus hunt effort into their own hands.

  “It is clear that WHO failed to produce the final word on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the CCP’s liability. That task falls to us in Congress,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 16:00

• Kamikaze AI Drone "Hunted Down" Human Targets 
  Kamikaze AI Drone “Hunted Down” Human Targets 

  A recent report by the United Nations Security Council found that a Turkish-made autonomous drone may have “hunted down and remotely engaged” enemy soldiers loyal to the Libyan General Khalifa Haftar. This bombshell report could be one of the first recorded instances where a terminator-style AI drone engaged and destroyed human targets on its own initiative. 

  “Logistics convoys and retreating Haftar Affiliated Forces (HAF) were subsequently hunted down and remotely engaged by the unmanned combat aerial vehicles or the lethal autonomous weapons systems such as the STM Kargu-2 and other loitering munitions,” the UN report reveals. 

  “The lethal autonomous weapons systems were programmed to attack targets without requiring data connectivity between the operator and the munition: in effect, a true “fire, forget and find” capability,” the report went on to say.

  An image from the report provides a detailed infographic of the STM Kargu-2, calling it a loitering munition (also known as a suicide drone or kamikaze drone). This drone is outfitted with an explosive charge and uses AI and sensors to target enemy forces in a kamikaze attack. 

  

  It’s unclear in the report if any soldiers were killed in the attack, but one would assume the loitering munition completed its mission. 

  Zachary Kallenborn, a research affiliate with the Unconventional Weapons and Technology Division of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, said, “the Kargu-2 signifies something perhaps even more globally significant: a new chapter in autonomous weapons, one in which they are used to fight and kill human beings based on artificial intelligence.” 

  Kallenborn published a report last year for the US Air Force that argues a large-scale adversarial drone swarm attack could be classified as a “weapon of mass destruction” (WMD), a term commonly used to describe chemical, biological, or radioactive weapon capable of causing widespread death and destruction.

  He is not the only one warning about killer AI robots. A group of the world’s leading AI researchers and humanitarian organizations are warning about the day when lethal autonomous weapons systems. 

  Future of Life Institute released this video several years ago titled: “Slaughterbots.”

  Futuristic robots that conduct war without human intervention have already been deployed to modern battlefields. The warnings are too late as the Pentagon takes aim with AI bots taking the kill shot. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 15:30

• COT Primer: The Gold Trend Is Still Very Favorable
  COT Primer: The Gold Trend Is Still Very Favorable

  Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

  The gold commitment of traders report is bullish. Let’s start with a primer of what the COT report shows.

  

  What is the COT Report?

  COT reports show the positioning of commodity futures. There is a COT report for every commodity (gold, silver, lean hogs, live cattle, sugar, corn, the S&P 500, US Treasuries, etc.).

  The reports are released every Friday but reflect futures positions as of the previous Tuesday.

  In the futures world, the net position is always zero. For every long there is a short.

  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission CTFC produces two sets of reports described below.

  Legacy Reports

  The legacy reports show large specs, small specs, and commercials. 

  • Large specs are hedge funds, pension plans, and individuals trading in sizes deemed to matter. (Top Green Line) 

  • Commercials (Top Red Line) consist of three groups. Producers who sell the the gold they produce, merchants who use gold (e.g. jewelry makers), and market maker hedgers who take the other side of trade. The producers are  net short and the merchants are net long. 

  • Small specs are small traders. (Top Blue Line) 

  Disaggregated Reports

  Starting September 4, 2009, the CTFC produced a second set of reports called the disaggregated reports. 

  • Commercials – Producers and Merchant/Processor/Users (Bottom Red Line)

  • Swap Dealers (Bottom Green Line), the commercial hedger market makers

  • Managed Money (Bottom Blue Line), in general represents the large specs.

  • Other Reportables (Bottom Orange Line), in general represents the   the small specs.

  Market Makers Have No Say in the Matter

  The commercial market makers have no say in what they do.

  Q: How So?

  A: By definition there is a short for every long. Speculators place their bets, producers sell what they produce, merchants buy gold and take delivery. The market makers net the entire position to zero. They have no say.

  I have not heard it phrased that way but that is the mathematical truism. 

  Curiously, many gold bulls blame the market makers for being short and suppressing price although they have no say in what they do. 

  You frequently hear statements such as “The market makers increased their shorts and will get blown out of the water if the price rises.”

  They will not get blown out of the water because they are hedged, and they had no say in being short. 

  It’s more accurate to state speculator long accumulation or liquidation as the driving force. 

  What About Manipulation?

  Theoretically, the commercial hedger market makers do not care which way the market goes because they are hedged. If they were not hedged, they would have blown up long ago. 

  Gold rose from $250 to $2000 with the hedgers short nearly the entire way.

  However, the commercial hedgers can and do manipulate the market when their hedges get out of whack or they see an opportunity for a quick gain. 

  They have admitted to manipulation and have been fined for that manipulation. 

  Cot Report Bullish or Bearish? 

  1. In general, when the speculators are building their positions, the price of the commodity is rising. 
  2. In general, when speculators are unwinding their positions the price of the commodity is falling. 

  The lead chart shows the last two years with a couple of arrows that spotlight the generalities. 

  But generalities can get you in trouble as the lead chart also shows. Here is a 20-year look. 

  Gold Commitment of Traders 20 Years 

  

  Notes On Generalities

  • Don’t count on generalities. 

  • The green arrows show periods of long liquidations in which the price of gold rose anyway. These are very bullish setups.

  • The red arrows show periods when gold fell where long liquidation did not take place. 

  • The blue boxes show wipeouts where speculators threw in the towel. That’s when commercial hedgers are likely to be net long. In general, those are excellent time to buy with the least risk. Yet, one must be patient as the red arrows show. 

  Current Setup is Bullish

  Q: How so?
  A: Speculator position is building, but nowhere near extreme and the price is rising. 

  Take another look at the lead chart.

  Managed money started unwinding contracts (long liquidation) in February 2020 yet the price of gold, albeit with one dip, exploded higher. 

  That was a very bullish setup.

  Current speculator positioning is nowhere near extreme. Their position is building and the price is rising. 

  This is a bullish setup. Those who expecting another washout (blue box) and waited for it missed much of the move.

  Gold vs the Dollar

  In related generalities, we hear things like “The dollar is rising and that is bad for gold“.

  On a day to day basis the conventional wisdom is generally true. Long-term and even intermediate-term such statements are laughable.

  Charts of gold vs the dollar highlight the silliness of conventional wisdom.

  For discussion, please see Nonsense from the WSJ on Gold vs the Dollar

  In the above post I also discuss conventional wisdom on jewelry demand and the real driver for the price of gold. 

  The US dollar may be poised for a rally, but don’t presume gold is destined to sink in response. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 14:59

• Tesla Facing "Further Fallout" In China As Local Governments Mull "Security Risks" Of Vehicles
  Tesla Facing “Further Fallout” In China As Local Governments Mull “Security Risks” Of Vehicles

  The rocky road between Tesla and the Chinese Communist Party looks like it is continuing.

  The automaker is facing “further fallout” in China as some local governments are reviewing Tesla vehicle ownership among their staff, citing the vehicles posing potential security risks, according to Bloomberg. 

  Government bodies have been asked to check and report on employees who own Teslas in Zhejiang and Guangxi. Employees are being “forbidden” from driving into certain official areas, due to supposed security risks, the report notes. 

  Other official Chinese bodies are following suit. The China Meteorological Administration, for example, has already told its employees not to buy Tesla EVs and, if they have already, to transfer ownership of the vehicles. The Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (yes, this is actually what it is called) is also “checking whether any employees or their family own Teslas.”

  Any continued major hiccups in Tesla’s relationship with China could be devastating for the automaker, who relies on the world’s largest auto market to help it redline production to meet Wall Street’s increasingly optimistic expectations. 

  Recall, we noted in mid May that Teslas had been banned from some Chinese government compounds due to concerns about their cameras. 

  

  Staff at some Chinese government officers were told not to park their Tesla cars inside of government compounds “because of security concerns over cameras installed on the vehicles,” Reuters reported in May.

  “At least two government agencies” in Beijing and Shanghai have been told the same, according to the same report. It’s unclear how many employees and vehicles this had a direct impact on. 

  Despite the fact that cameras and sensors are found in many vehicles, the restriction “only applies to Tesla cars”, the report noted. 

  This isn’t the first time China has cited security concerns as a reason to ban Tesla vehicles. Back in March, China banned Tesla vehicles from military bases over similar concerns about the vehicles’ cameras. The ban was due to “concerns about sensitive data being collected by cameras built into the vehicles.”

  Recall, before making somewhat of an about face on their recent attitude on Tesla (after Musk’s odd rebuke of bitcoin), Chinese state media had been anything but friendly to the U.S. auto manufacturer. 

  We have been documenting the ongoing spat between Tesla and the CCP over the last few months, apparently (at least publicly) catalyzed by a protestor at the Shanghai Auto Show alleging faulty breaks on Tesla vehicles. This led to intense shaming by Chinese media, who called Tesla’s handling of the situation a “blunder” and suggested it could “inflict serious damage” on Tesla with the Chinese market. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 14:30

• Increasingly Chaotic Volatility Ahead – The New Normal Few Think Possible
  Increasingly Chaotic Volatility Ahead – The New Normal Few Think Possible

  Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

  That the era of stability has ended and a new era of increasingly chaotic volatility has begun is not on anyone’s radar as a possibility.

  The standard debate about the future of the economy is: which will we get, high inflation or a deflationary collapse of defaults and asset bubbles popping?

  The debate goes round and round in widening circles of complexity as analysts delve into every nuance of the debate.

  A recent conversation with my friend A.T. raised a third possibility few seem to consider: increasingly chaotic volatility will be the new normal, as wild swings between inflation and deflation will increase in amplitude and ferocity as the system destabilizes.

  Increasingly chaotic volatility is a classic sign of a system that has lost equilibrium and is attempting to regain its dynamic stability by going into overdrive.

  The amplitude and violence of these fluctuations increase as each attempt to restore stability fails.

  This loss of stability is not what people expect. The experience of the past 60 years has been that any hiccup in financial stability–a recession or market crash–is temporary, as the system responds with monetary and fiscal stimulus which quickly restores the system’s stability.

  That the era of stability has ended and a new era of increasingly chaotic volatility has begun is not on anyone’s radar as a possibility.

  Human physiology offers a useful analogy: blood glucose homeostasis, which is the system of insulin production and sensitivity that maintains the dynamic stability of glucose in our bloodstream for use as energy.

  Insulin is produced as needed after a meal to regulate the level of glucose within the ideal bandwidth of homeostasis, i.e. the range of dynamic stability that optimizes insulin production and glucose levels. (3.5 to 5.5 mmol/L or 70 to 130 mg/dL)

  In metabolic disorders, the body’s sensitivity to insulin declines, and in response the body increases the production of insulin to compensate for the decline in sensitivity.

  As the disease progresses, sensitivity drops further, forcing the production of insulin into overdrive. Eventually this overdrive degrades the body’s ability to produce insulin and the regulatory system managing glucose levels crashes.

  In the economic analogy, the system is responding to the decline of surpluses and efficiencies by pumping ever larger sums of new money into the system as quantitative easing (financial stimulus) and fiscal stimulus (more federal spending funded by borrowing).

  Lower interest rates are intended to stimulate more private borrowing, another form of stimulus.

  The initial massive dose of financial insulin has created enormous asset bubbles and a frenzied rush to restock inventories depleted during the pandemic.

  The conventional media is echoing the Federal Reserve and other authorities who claim the resulting spike of inflation is temporary and will soon fade. Other analysts fear the scarcities are not transitory, as they reflect depletion of real-world resources that cannot be overcome by injecting more insulin (money) into the system.

  Meanwhile, other analysts are looking at the skyrocketing leverage in the system, where million-dollar speculative bets are leveraged into billion-dollar bets that cascade into crashes and defaults when the bets go bad.

  Leverage is difficult to assess as much of it is in the shadow / off-balance-sheet banking system, where exotic financial instruments are buried deep in footnotes and even experts have trouble unraveling the complex bets embedded in CDOs and various multi-party swaps.

  So we have all the necessary ingredient for both inflation and asset-debt deflation, and this is the backdrop for the binary debate of inflation or deflation.

  But perhaps the future is not one or the other, but a rapidly destabilizing system that will become increasingly prone to semi-chaotic swings of ever greater amplitude as regulatory agencies (central banks and Treasuries) attempt to flood the system with enough insulin to restabilize debt / leverage / asset prices that are increasingly desensitized to conventional stimulus.

  As each new flood of stimulus pushes debt, leverage and assets higher, it further desensitizes the system, setting the stage for yet another collapse of speculative leverage, which then prompts an even larger flood of monetary insulin, which then triggers an even more dramatic crash when then causes an even large dose of monetary insulin, and so on until the system crashes.

  Eventually the monetary insulin has none of the desired effects, and the mechanisms for producing more insulin (money) break down as well.

  In other words, both critical mechanisms break down: the economy no longer responds to new injections of stimulus and the issuance of money no longer functions as desired.

  As the financial system loses stability, injecting more monetary insulin only pushes the system further into chaotic volatility.

  For three generations, the Warren Buffett investment strategy worked wonderfully: just buy Coca-Cola etc. and never sell. We see this same mindset in the never sell crypto, diamond hands of the current speculative mania.

  

  If the financial system loses stability, this buy-and-hold strategy will fail. The winners in increasingly chaotic volatility will be those who no longer see any value in the inflation-deflation debate and no longer expect one or the other–or a return to stability. It won’t be that simple or that easy.

  *  *  *

  If you found value in this content, please join me in seeking solutions by becoming a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

  *  *  *

  My recent books:

  A Hacker’s Teleology: Sharing the Wealth of Our Shrinking Planet (Kindle $8.95, print $20, audiobook $17.46) Read the first section for free (PDF).

  Will You Be Richer or Poorer?: Profit, Power, and AI in a Traumatized World (Kindle $5, print $10, audiobook) Read the first section for free (PDF).

  Pathfinding our Destiny: Preventing the Final Fall of Our Democratic Republic ($5 (Kindle), $10 (print), ( audiobook): Read the first section for free (PDF).

  The Adventures of the Consulting Philosopher: The Disappearance of Drake $1.29 (Kindle), $8.95 (print); read the first chapters for free (PDF)

  Money and Work Unchained $6.95 (Kindle), $15 (print) Read the first section for free (PDF).

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 14:00

• Gas Is Going To $5 Per Gallon: First In California, Then Across The Country
  Gas Is Going To $5 Per Gallon: First In California, Then Across The Country

  Get ready for $5 per gallon gasoline – especially if you live in California.

  At least, that was the contention of a new WSJ op-ed that claims higher taxes and environmental regulations are both driving up the price of gas. 

  Author Allysia Finley notes that the average cost at the pump in California is now $4.18 a gallon, pointing out that in 2017, Democrats in the state’s legislature raised a tax on each gallon by 20.8 cents over three years. 

  California drivers are now paying an astonishing average of 63 cents a gallon in state and local taxes, compared an average of 36.8 cents elsewhere in the country. 

  The reasoning for the price hike was to repair the state’s infrastructure, but instead the proceeds have been “directed toward projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as bike lanes and mass transit,” the op-ed notes.

  The California Air Resources Board is also responsible for imposing a tax through its cap and trade program, which has added about 14 cents per gallon to the state’s average gas price. 

  CARB requires that retailers sell “a special extra-clean-burning gasoline blend” which raises the price about another 10 cents per gallon. The Board “assigns carbon-intensity scores to hundreds of fuels” and requires refiners to meet a low score to blend lower-carbon fuels. If they can’t meet the threshold, they are forced to buy carbon credits, which also drives up the price of fuel.

  

  The board awards these credits to utilities when their customers charge EVs at home. Utilities then turn around and sell the credits to refiners. Gas powered vehicle drivers are subsidizing thousands in incentives to EV buyers, the op-ed notes:  

  So Californians can get a $1,500 rebate from their local utility on top of $2,000 from the state and $7,500 from the feds for buying an electric vehicle. Sweet.

  Yet drivers of gasoline-powered cars are subsidizing the utility rebates through higher fuel prices. As the state’s carbon-intensity benchmark has fallen, prices for regulatory credit prices have soared—from $17 on average in 2012 to $198 in the first quarter of this year. An analysis last fall by Stillwater Associates estimated that the program would add 24 cents a gallon to the price of gasoline this year and 63 cents by 2030.

  Refiners, as a result of the rules in the state, are switching to producing renewable fuels, which are now “much more profitable” due to regulatory and tax credits. But the infrastructure conversion that refineries will have to undertake to produce this fuel – such as Marathon Petroleum recent planning to convert a refinery in California – will once again wind up in rising prices for California drivers. 

  In fact, many refineries have simply closed due to the burdensome regulations. This means that when the remaining refineries experience outages, price spikes are more severe. 

  “Californian drivers can soon look forward to paying more than $5 a gallon at the pump as the state’s green mandates ratchet up and gasoline refineries shut down or convert to renewable fuels,” the op-ed concludes. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sun, 05/30/2021 – 13:30

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• Abramson: Critical Race Theory Versus American Exceptionalism
  Abramson: Critical Race Theory Versus American Exceptionalism

  Authored by Bruce Abramson, op-ed via The Epoch Times,

  Over the past few weeks, legislatures, school boards, and parents have risen to challenge critical race theory (CRT) as a divisive ideology that teaches our children to become racists.

  Their objections have brought this once-obscure academic theory to the front pages of newspapers around the country.

  

  Demonstrators gather in front of Los Alamitos Unified School District Headquarters in protest of critical race theory teachings in Los Alamitos, Calif., on May 11, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

  They’ve also raised some burning questions: What is CRT? What makes it so objectionable? How can this central pillar of “antiracist” training be racist?

  The answer begins, as so many do these days, with the progressive penchant for the redefining—or rather, deconstruction—of words. “Antiracist” training is racist because progressives have redefined “racism.”

  CRT scholars have been clear and consistent on this matter. The “antiracism” they’re preaching isn’t the “anti-racism” of Martin Luther King Jr. Nor is it opposition to the discriminatory treatment most Americans oppose when speaking against racism. CRT contends that the “systems” defining modern American life are irredeemably racist. It calls for a revolutionary upheaval, laying waste to every existing governmental, legal, economic, cultural, social, communal, and familial institution.

  CRT’s “antiracism” explicitly requires compensatory discrimination against “white people,” rather than equal treatment for all. To further this goal, K–12 CRT programs emphasize and heighten racial identity, segregate students by racial group, discriminate in their treatment of these groups, and teach that racial tension is unavoidable.

  CRT also embodies an absolute and total rejection of American exceptionalism. One consequence of that rejection is that CRT has become a shorthand for the entire constellation of anti-American neo-Marxist theories dominating today’s political left. Whereas Marx cast history as a struggle among economic classes, contemporary Marxists believe that struggles among races and genders to be at least as important. CRT sees the entire American experiment of extolling individual liberty as white supremacism seen through the lens of good public relations.

  Though CRT’s blurring of culture clashes may give its advocates a talking point, it’s hardly one of consequence. Just as Marx missed the incredible adaptivity of capitalism and the benefits it confers upon poor workers, CRT’s loathing of America blinds it to the adaptive and evolutionary role American exceptionalism has played in combating discrimination.

  There was nothing exceptional about the first African slave ships to arrive in the New World in the early 17th century. Slavery had been around throughout recorded history. Every known culture, everywhere in the world, had embraced inequality. Captives taken from conquered cities, warring tribes, or disfavored faiths had long been sold into bondage. People were born into a station in life and expected to behave accordingly. Few even bothered to question such “structural inequalities.” No human society had ever embraced the radical idea that “all men are created equal,” much less tried to put it into practice.

  That is, until July 4, 1776, when a slaveholding plantation owner named Thomas Jefferson declared it to be the foundational creed of a new nation. That foundation was truly exceptional. It sent the young America on a collision course with all of past history. One after another, the time-honored institutions of inequality fell before this revolutionary American ethos.

  Four score and seven years later, Abraham Lincoln reiterated Jefferson’s proposition as part of the fight to end slavery. A century after that, King galvanized the nation to end Jim Crow. Over the next few decades, the United States not only dismantled all legal and most social barriers to black advancement, but also adopted numerous set asides and preferences to promote the full integration of its black citizens into the American dream. In 2009, America inaugurated its first black president.

  Those steps were all exceptional and proper sources of American pride. Yet viewed through the lens of CRT, they merely masked increasingly subtle forms of anti-black racism and white supremacism.

  CRT’s ability to reach such a conclusion reveals just what type of “theory” it is. CRT relies upon the reasoning that has served as the hallmark of conspiracy-theoretic thinking: Evidence—like slavery—tending to support the argument that the United States is racist is taken at face value, while evidence tending to negate it—like the elevation of King to the forefront of this country’s heroes—is inverted into support. To critical race theorists, CRT is self-evidently true. All relevant evidence, no matter what it appears to say, is taken as confirmation.

  CRT is a toxic, racist, anti-American conspiracy theory. At its heart is a denial of the American exceptionalism that has done more than any other ideology to combat inequality and discrimination. CRT has no place in our schools. America’s children should learn that their nation introduced new notions of equality to the world—and dedicated its history to broadening their applicability. They should learn to embrace America’s foundational ideal and take pride in the way it has developed throughout our history.

  True advocates for diversity and inclusion should love no country on earth more than the United States. Our exceptional nation has taught the world that broad equality under the law provides a far better path to stability and prosperity than the perpetual struggle among divided groups ever could. That’s why true opponents of racism oppose CRT—in our schools and elsewhere.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 23:30

• Space Plane Startup Promises Los Angeles To Tokyo In One Hour 
  Space Plane Startup Promises Los Angeles To Tokyo In One Hour 

  Modern transportation is experiencing significant upgrades thanks to transformative technologies. A startup space plane company is promising hypersonic flight worldwide and travel times to anywhere in about an hour. 

  Venus Aerospace is building a passenger aircraft that will revolutionize the world’s transportation sector with hypersonic flight. The company raised $3 million in a March funding round. It plans to build a Mach 12 hypersonic aircraft designed to travel at the edge of space, allowing passengers to go from Los Angeles to Tokyo in one hour.

  Traveling in a space plane is sort of like traveling in a regular plane, except for when the pilot initiates rocket boosters mid-flight that propels it to the edge of space. The aircraft then glides back into the atmosphere and can land at any conventional airport. 

  Two former Virgin Orbit employees started Venus: Sarah Duggleby, a launch engineer, and her husband, Andrew, who manages launch, payload, and propulsion operations.

  “Every few decades humans attempt this,” Andrew Duggleby told Bloomberg, as for now, the dream of high-speed global travel is in reach because of new rocket engine and hypersonic technologies. “This time, it will work.”

  The Dugglebys say their space plan has more efficient engines, wings, landing gear, and jet engines that allow it to take off like a commercial airliner. 

  

  Jack Fisher, a former NASA astronaut who analyzed Venus’ plans, said the initial blast of acceleration “throws you back in your seat” but soon dissipates because “you get going so fast that you don’t even feel it anymore.”

  Three scale models of the space plane will be tested this summer. The project is expected to take at least a decade of testing before commercialization. 

  If the technology works, Venus will have to decide if the plane is for commercial or military use first. Already, the husband and wife team, with a dozen employees, have secured a research grant from the U.S. Air Force.

  Sassie Duggleby suggests the superfast space plane is for “regular people.”  

  Before hypersonic space planes, we suspect supersonic ones would be commercialized first, at the end of this decade.  

  The Federal Aviation Administration is already issuing new regulations around supersonic travel as multiple startups are working on developing supersonic aircraft.  

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 23:00

• Coming Soon: China's Navy Patrolling Off New York?
  Coming Soon: China’s Navy Patrolling Off New York?

  Authored by Gordon Chang via The Gatestone Institute,

  China is scouting for a naval base on the west coast of Africa. In the near future, therefore, Chinese ships could be regularly patrolling off America’s East Coast.

  

  In recent testimony before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, General Stephen Townsend, commander of U.S. Africa Command, has been sounding the alarm.

  At the moment, China’s only offshore military base is in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa. The facility is near some of the world’s busiest shipping routes, including those going through the Suez Canal.

  Townsend believes the People’s Liberation Army Navy is surveying locations on Africa’s west coast, from Mauritania in the north to Namibia in the south.

  “Now they’re casting their gaze to the Atlantic coast and wanting to get such a base there,” the general told the Associated Press.

  Africa is important in its own right.

  “Located at the crossroads of the world, Africa watches over strategic choke points including the Strait of Gibraltar, the Strait of Sicily, the Red Sea, the Bab al Mandeb, and the Mozambique Channel,” General Townsend pointed out in a publicly released 2021 Posture Statement for Congress.

  “The land mass of Africa is larger than the United States, China, India, Japan, and most of Europe combined.”

  The African continent is home to 11 of the 25 fast-growing economies and is the world’s most demographically vital region.

  Chinese planners are not only thinking of the continent, they are also eyeing islands in the Atlantic, specifically Terceira, one of the Azores.

  On that island, part of Portugal, there is a port and, of even greater interest, Air Base No. 4. Better known as Lajes Field, the facility is jointly operated by the U.S. Air Force and its Portuguese counterpart.

  If China controlled the base, the Atlantic would no longer be secure. From the 10,865-foot runway there, Chinese planes could patrol the northern and central portions of the Atlantic and thereby cut air and sea traffic between the U.S. and Europe. Beijing would also be able to deny access to the nearby Mediterranean Sea.

  Pentagon budget cutters have been scaling back activities at Lajes, making it a “ghost base.” As a result, Lajes is ripe for China to take it over.

  Whether China takes over Lajes or not, China’s plans for Africa are clear. As Bradley Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies told the Washington Times this month, “It’s just a matter of time before you have regular surface and subsurface Chinese naval vessels in the Atlantic.”

  An Atlantic base “would let China make mischief for the United States in its own hemisphere,” James Holmes of the U.S. Naval War College told Gatestone.

  “It could siphon some U.S. forces from the Western Pacific to the Atlantic, easing the pressure on China in the East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and South China Sea. It would distract and stretch us to Beijing’s benefit.”

  Worse, China could then target the American homeland. Lajes, for instance, is less than 2,300 miles from New York, shorter than the distance between Pearl Harbor and Los Angeles.

  China could get a base even closer than that. About 90 miles east of Palm Beach, on Grand Bahama Island, a Hong Kong-based business is spending about $3 billion on a deep-water container facility, the Freeport Container Port.

  That port is designed to take advantage of traffic from the recently expanded Panama Canal, but the concern is that the port will become another Hambantota. China in December 2017 took control of the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, grabbing 70% of the equity and signing a 99-year lease after that project could not repay high-interest loans extended by China. China’s takeover was inevitable because Hambantota was, from an economic point of view, misconceived from the beginning.

  Now there are concerns that Hambantota will eventually become a Chinese naval base. China’s admirals have long eyed Sri Lanka. In both September and October 2014, the Sri Lankan government allowed a Chinese submarine and its tender to dock at the Chinese-funded Colombo International Container Terminal.

  Sri Lanka is perhaps the model for China’s militarization of the Bahamas. In addition to the overly large facility in Freeport, there is a Chinese-funded port on Abaco Island, also part of the Bahamas. The port in Abaco is essentially useless from a commercial point of view and could fall into Beijing’s hands.

  China, therefore, could have two naval bases close to Florida, unless the Biden administration moves fast to block Chinese penetration of the Bahamas.

  As Holmes points out, it would be a mistake to believe that countries in Africa or this hemisphere will not assert their own interests.

  “It’s worth speculating about what response a Chinese presence would elicit from South Atlantic countries, not just ourselves,” he tells this site.

  “Like other regional hegemons, Brazil has proprietary feelings toward regional waters, especially considering how much of Brazilians’ economic hopes depend on the offshore ‘Blue Amazon.’ “

  Holmes, the first holder of the J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College, suggests Brazil could act like India. In the Indian Ocean, India, with big ambitions, can determine outcomes close to its coast. “China,” Holmes says, “can’t automatically bully its way into a dominant position.”

  At the moment, Beijing, deploying trade, investment, and other tools, bullies and intimidates countries in Africa and in Latin America and the Caribbean. America can counter, however, by working closely with capitals on both sides of the Atlantic.

  Yet Washington needs to look beyond countries with ports. South and Central America and the Caribbean are important in their own right, as is Africa.

  At the moment, America is, with trade and investment, strengthening a hostile Chinese regime, which has declared the U.S. to be its enemy. Last year, America’s two-way trade with China totaled $560.1 billion.

  Washington, with incentives and disincentives, should redirect trade toward countries in Africa and the Western hemisphere so that the U.S. can build support for democracy instead of Chinese-style totalitarianism — and permit countries to be less reliant on Chinese cash.

  There is a long way to go to build ties. America’s two-way trade in goods with Africa last year was a paltry $45.8 billion. The figure for US two-way trade in goods and services with Brazil last year was $103.9 billion.

  That brings us back to the Chinese naval bases. Beijing, as evident from statements from its leaders, wants to rule the world. An interim step is controlling the Atlantic, the Caribbean, and the waters off the East Coast of the United States.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 22:30

• Australian Mouse Plague May Last Two Years; Rodents Eye Sydney Invasion 
  Australian Mouse Plague May Last Two Years; Rodents Eye Sydney Invasion 

  Australia’s out-of-control mouse plague is worsening in New South Wales, a southeastern Australian state, as experts warn the fast-spreading rodents could overwhelm the area for two years if urgent extermination action is not taken, according to Daily Mail. 

  Xavier Martin, the New South Wales Farmers (NSW Farmers) vice president, said farmers are abandoning their fields and barns as a biblical wave of mice devour the region’s crop before it can be harvested. He said now is the perfect time to stop the plague. 

  “Farmers are abandoning some paddocks and cannot hold off winter crop sowing a moment longer, and researchers warn that without a concerted baiting effort in the next few weeks, this could easily turn into a two-year plague event.

  “After more than eight months of battling growing mouse numbers, farmers are still waiting for State Government assistance to hit the ground and offer some practical support to our farming community,” Martin said.

  He said the NSW government’s mouse plague aid is “impractical, dysfunctional, and weeks away, which is not helping farmers who need support right now to drive mouse numbers down and break this horrible, unrelenting cycle.” 

  “NSW Farmers has consistently said the simplest, safest, and most timely way for the State Government to assist farmers would be through providing rebates of up to $25,000 per farm business to cover 50 percent of the cost of zinc phosphide bait,” he added.

  Mouse tracking website “MouseAlert” shows the mice are migrating from the countryside into cities. There are concerns the mice are already populating across the Sydney metro area. 

  

  “Mice are a significant problem in Australia, causing severe economic, social and environmental damage during plagues,” the website states. 

  Videos posted on Twitter show stomach-churning scenes of mice pouring out of grain storage facilities and equipment. 

  The current mice plague in Australia is horrible, it’s causing so much strife for farmers and people in general. Just for an example I’ll show you what happened when we turned on our auger today. pic.twitter.com/NjTNlx6EhK

  — TKK Ash (Aura) (@William84533624) May 22, 2021

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

  The mouse plague just gets worse- mice pour out of a temporary silo and into an opportunistic trap near Dubbo. Sarah Pye was horrified by the scene – she says she’s “devastated, disgusted and done.” She says “after such a boomer of a season after drought, to lose it all is awful” pic.twitter.com/6bfzprY67j

  — Lucy Thackray (@LucyThack) May 18, 2021

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

  Stomach-churning new video of mice pouring out of a grain bin in northern NSW shows the struggle farmers continue to face from the plague as they approach winter planting.

  The plan to ‘napalm’ mice: https://t.co/QDOydLAocH#9News pic.twitter.com/w2gAY2wAJP

  — 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) May 24, 2021

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

  Australia suffers from a mouse plague every decade or so. A combination of a bumper crop in NSW and heavy rains resulted in perfect breeding conditions for mice in late 2020. 

  What’s concerning is that migrating mice to city centers could transmit diseases such as hantavirus, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, tularemia, and even the plague.

  NSW has faced everything from drought to brushfires, a pandemic, devastating floods, massive hordes of spiders, and now a biblical wave of mice. 

  Apart from the economic cost of the mouse plague, a public health crisis could be forming as mice swarms appear to be honing in on Sydney. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 22:00

• Appellate Court Strikes Down Racial And Gender Preferences In Biden's COVID Relief Law
  Appellate Court Strikes Down Racial And Gender Preferences In Biden’s COVID Relief Law

  Authored by Glenn Greenwald vis Substack, (emphasis ours)

  This judicial ruling about the raging debates over group-based benefits vividly highlights the social, political and culture divisions driving U.S. politics…

  

  A federal appellate court on Thursday invalidated the racial and gender preferences in President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act as unconstitutional. The Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit of Appeals ruled that provisions of that law, designed to grant preferences to minority-owned small-restaurant owners for COVID relief, violate the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law:

  No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

  The specific provision struck down was part of the law’s $29 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund grant program for small, privately owned restaurants struggling to meet payroll and rent due to the COVID crisis. The law, which was passed almost entirely by a party-line vote in March, grants priority status to restaurants that have 51% ownership or more composed of specific racial and ethnic groups as well as women. By effectively relegating struggling businesses owned by white males or ethnicities and nationalities excluded from a priority designation “to the back of the line,” the COVID relief program, ruled the court by a 2-1 decision, ran afoul of core constitutional guarantees.

  The ruling is not only constitutionally significant in its own right but also vividly reflective of broader societal debates over how race and gender categories ought to be treated when set next to class. The parties to this case as well as the judges involved in the ruling themselves highlight the pervasive conflicts created by race and gender preferences.

  The lawsuit was brought by Jake’s Bar and Grill, a restaurant jointly owned by Antonio Vitolo, who is white, and his wife, who is Hispanic. If Vitolo’s wife owned more than 50% of the restaurant, then Jake’s Bar and Grill would be eligible to receive priority treatment for a grant, since her ethnicity qualifies as “socially and economically disadvantaged” under the law. But because she only owns 50% — her white husband owns the other half — the restaurant’s application cannot be considered until the Small Business Administration (SBA) first processes all applications from restaurants entitled to priority status based on race and gender, as well as veteran status.

  The Vitolos’ restaurant, said the court, “has struggled during the pandemic—it closed on weekdays and offered to-go orders on weekends. It lost workers and a considerable amount in sales.” For that reason, they filed their application for a grant under the COVID relief bill on the first day the SBA accepted applications, which was May 1. But under the law, their application could not be considered until the 21-day period reserved for priority businesses elapsed. If all of the allocated grant money were exhausted during that designated 21-day period — as the Vitolos feared — then Jake’s Bar and Grill and other non-minority-owned struggling businesses would receive no relief.

  The Vitolos filed a lawsuit against the SBA administrator asking that the race-and-gender-based scheme be enjoined and that, instead, their application be processed without regard to their race. Though the district court judge rejected the request on a variety of procedural and substantive grounds, the three-judge appellate panel yesterday ruled in their favor.

  The court ordered the government to cease “using these unconstitutional criteria when processing Antonio Vitolo’s application.” The majority expressed the crux of its ruling simply: “This case is about whether the government can allocate limited coronavirus relief funds based on the race and sex of the applicants. We hold that it cannot.”

  The appellate judge who wrote the majority opinion is Amul Thapar. He made history when, in 2008, he became the first-ever South Asian judge appointed to the U.S. federal bench after being selected by then-President George W. Bush. The son of immigrants from India, whose father owns a heating and air-conditioning supply business in Toledo, Ohio, Thapar was elevated to the Sixth Circuit in 2017 after first being considered by President Trump for the Supreme Court vacancy ultimately filled by Justice Neil Gorsuch.

  

  Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amul Thapar authored a ruling invalidating the race and gender preferences in President Biden’s COVID relief bill, May 27, 2021 (photo: Court of Appeals)

  Thapar’s ruling contains multiple indirect references to his own ethnicity and race. Among the components of the racial preference scheme that clearly offended his constitutional sensibilities was the seemingly arbitrary classification calculus — what he called a “scattershot approach” — used to determine which groups do and do not qualify as “socially and economically disadvantaged” under SBA regulations. As Judge Thapar put it:

  [I]ndividuals who trace their ancestry to Pakistan and India qualify for special treatment. But those from Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq do not. Those from China, Japan, and Hong Kong all qualify. But those from Tunisia, Libya, and Morocco do not.

  The racial divisions and ethnic categories imposed on the citizenry for determining which restaurants are eligible for COVID relief are, in his view, as irrational as they are discriminatory. One hypothetical invoked by Judge Thapar illustrated the precise racial discrimination which, in his view, the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection guarantee was created to avoid:

  Imagine two childhood friends—one Indian, one Afghan. Both own restaurants, and both have suffered devastating losses during the pandemic. If both apply to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Indian applicant will presumptively receive priority consideration over his Afghan friend. Why? Because of his ethnic heritage. It is indeed “a sordid business” to divide “us up by race.” League of United Latin Am. Citizens v. Perry, 548 U.S. 399, 511 (2006) (opinion of Roberts, C.J.). And the government’s attempt to do so here violates the Constitution.

  Thapar was referencing the fact that under SBA regulations, a person is deemed “socially and economically disadvantaged” if they are “black, Hispanic, or Native American.” They are deemed presumptively disadvantaged as “Asian Pacific Americans” only “if they have origins from Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, Japan, China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Vietnam, Korea, the Philippines, U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Republic of Palau), Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Samoa, Macao, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati, Tuvalu, or Nauru.” Meanwhile, for a person to qualify as “Subcontinent Asian Americans,” they “must have origins from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, the Maldives Islands, or Nepal.”

  If a person is in one or more of those groups, they are deemed presumptively disadvantaged — and thus entitled to priority grant allocation — unless “someone comes forward” with “credible evidence to the contrary.” But if someone is not in one of those groups — not just if they are white or male but also from any of the countries excluded from the preferred designations — then they can qualify only if they “prove they have experienced racial or ethnic discrimination or cultural bias by a preponderance of the evidence,” a process filled with lengthy delay and red tape.

  If they fail to demonstrate this to the satisfaction of the SBA, then they must wait, and perhaps never receive relief. As Judge Thapar put it, “the schedule of racial preferences detailed in the government’s regulation—preferences for Pakistanis but not Afghans; Japanese but not Iraqis; Hispanics but not Middle Easterners—is not supported by any record evidence at all.” The law, in his words, is designed for “presumptively sending men from non-favored racial groups (including whites, some Asians, and most Middle Easterners) to the back of the line.”

  Thapar, who was joined in the decision by Reagan-appointed Judge Alan Norris, recognized that racial and gender preferences are sometimes constitutionally permissible under Supreme Court jurisprudence, but only if “the government has a compelling interest” in giving some racial and ethnic groups preferential treatment, and only if the preferences are “narrowly tailored,” whereby “the government must show ‘serious, good faith consideration of workable race-neutral alternatives.’”

  The court ruled the preference scheme in the COVID relief law constitutionally insufficient for multiple reasons. Among them was the lack of a specific nexus between the discrimination suffered by the favored groups and prior government action. Equally significant, said the court, was the existence of numerous race-neutral alternatives to the problems identified by the government that they are trying to fix: namely, that minority-and-female owned businesses have had greater difficulty obtaining credit or prior COVID relief funds. “The government could,” said the court, “grant priority consideration to all business owners who were unable to obtain needed capital or credit during the pandemic,” rather than only those who are from preferred racial groups. Or the state “could simply grant priority consideration to all small business owners who have not yet received coronavirus relief funds” (emphasis added).

  But instead of a targeted effort to assist all American small-restaurant owners who have suffered equally from the pandemic, the law arbitrarily grants priority to some based on racial or gender identity that has no necessary relationship to economic suffering. The law, for instance, favors white women over Middle Eastern men. And it grants priority to ethnic groups that are among the highest earners in the U.S. — including Indian-Americans and specific groups of Asian-Americans — over lower-earning groups including white men and Middle Easterners.

  

  Group-based income levels in the from 2013-15 U.S. Census Bureau data. Data from subsequent years adheres to these trends.

  The court explained this irrational approach in the context of striking down the law’s gender preference:

  The priority system is designed to fast-track applicants hardest hit by the pandemic. Yet under the Act, all women-owned restaurants are prioritized—even if they are not “economically disadvantaged.” Pub. L. No. 117-2, § 5003(c)(3)(A). So whether a given restaurant did better or worse than a male-owned restaurant next door is of no matter—as long as the restaurant is at least 51% women owned and otherwise meets the statutory criteria, it receives priority status. Because the government made no effort to tailor its priority system, we cannot find that the sex-based distinction is “substantially related” to the objective of helping restaurants disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

  In sum, divvying up Americans by race and gender and determining who, on that basis, is entitled to benefits and who is not, is something that is constitutionally permissible only in the narrowest and most extreme circumstances. In the view of the court, the race and gender preferences embedded in the COVID relief bill for small-restaurant owners did not come anywhere near that requisite justification. “As today’s case shows once again,” concluded the court, quoting a prior Supreme Court ruling, the ‘way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race.’”

  The dissenting judge, Bernice Donald, is an African-American woman who was first appointed to the federal bench in 1995 by President Bill Clinton, then elevated to the Sixth Circuit in 2011 by President Barack Obama. Her dissenting opinion thoroughly captures the broader political arguments in favor of providing race-and-gender-based preferences.

  “It took nearly 200 years for the Supreme Court to firmly establish that our Constitution permits the government to use race-based classifications to remediate past discrimination,” she wrote, but “only seven days for the majority to undermine that longstanding and enduring principle.” Echoing the argument made by those who advocated for such legislative preferences in the first place, Judge Donald insisted that the purportedly race-blind majority opinion ignores systemic realities about how the United States functions and the damages it imposes on specific groups of people:

  The majority’s conclusion that Plaintiffs are entitled to injunctive relief requires us to make several assumptions. The majority’s reasoning suggests we live in a world in which centuries of intentional discrimination and oppression of racial minorities have been eradicated. The majority’s reasoning suggests we live in a world in which the COVID-19 pandemic did not exacerbate the disparities enabled by those centuries of discrimination. The majority’s reasoning suggests that we live in a world in which Congress passed the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (“RRF”) not to aid the nation’s economic recovery, but to arbitrarily provide special treatment to racial minorities and women.

  She also argued that the evidence is overwhelming that the racial and gender preferences in the law correspond to those most discriminated against by COVID struggles. Citing the legislative process and the judicial hearing, she said “experts offered evidence showing that minority-owned businesses were more vulnerable to economic distress than businesses owned by white entrepreneurs—they were more likely to operate in retail, accommodation, food services, and personal care services industries, which were hardest hit by government shut-down orders and a decrease in foot traffic.” Beyond that, she said, minority-owned businesses were more likely to be in areas with higher rates of COVID-19 infections.”

  Judge Donald seemed to concede that no scheme of racial or gender preferences will perfectly match the realities of the population. Some people who do not suffer as much will receive race-based benefits, while others who suffer more will be denied them. But such schemes, in her view, are nonetheless constitutionally justified given the “broad-based emergency legislation designed to fight business fallout that is uniquely and directly tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Given the one-time emergency nature of this grant, she said, “we must avoid hurried judicial decision-making under such circumstances,” and should grant extra deference to the legislature regarding its assessments of how best to help a struggling population.

  Judge Donald’s core argument is that racial and gender preferences, even if imperfectly targeted, are justified to cure widespread racial and gender inequalities.

  “Entrepreneurs of color have had specific difficulty in accessing business capital,” she said, while “banks require more documentation from minority applicants but approve loans less often or for lower amounts” and “minority entrepreneurs had lower familial and household incomes, decreasing access to private capital.”

  But what of the solutions proposed by the majority, which would target people based on need rather than race and gender? Judge Donald conceded that “in normal times, there may be some force to the majority’s position,” but given the need to “act fast,” some imperfections are inevitable. The Congress, she said, is far better positioned than the Court to assess what is best for the nation during an emergency.”

  The undercurrents and conflicts driving this case are highly illustrative of broader cultural debates. Indeed, the case captures the core question driving much politics in the U.S. and the West: is it remedial, or bigoted, to continue to divide people based on race and gender and determine their official rights, benefits and preferences based on their membership in demographic groups rather than the realities of their individual lives?

  Specific states, such as Oregon, have explicitly set aside millions of dollars in COVID relief funds available only to black residents. Such race-based benefits across the nation have prompted similar litigation and have resulted in many of these funds being frozen pending their outcome (a Mexican-American resident of Oregon who sued the state over the state’s black-only relief fund had her case rejected).

  This latest appellate ruling — at least when it comes to COVID relief for small-restaurant owners in the Sixth Circuit (parts of Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee) — resolves that question in favor of individual treatment and against group-based preferences. But that specific decision is likely to be appealed to the full court and perhaps the Supreme Court and, either way, this specific race and gender debate will continue to rage.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 21:30

• Prosecutors Seek To Seize $15 Million Fly Fishing Lodge In "Biggest U.S. Tax Evasion Case Ever"
  Prosecutors Seek To Seize $15 Million Fly Fishing Lodge In “Biggest U.S. Tax Evasion Case Ever”

  Billionaire Robert Brockman was indicted last year on the “biggest U.S. tax-evasion case ever against an individual”. Now, prosecutors are looking to seize his assets, including a $15 million fishing lodge in Colorado and $77.9 million in a Swiss bank account, according to Bloomberg.

  The 80 year old Brockman is being accused of failing to report $2 billion in income and using a foreign company to buy secondary debt in his own software firm at a deep discount. The government says that assets tied to the debt fraud can be forfeited, which includes the fishing lodge on the Frying Pan River. It’s the government’s first attempt at taking his property since he was indicted last October. 

  The 143 acres were used by Brockman as he “spent parts of his summers fly fishing for rainbow and brown trout”. He built the property to avoid the 30 minute drive from Aspen to the Frying Pan River. 

  “If you’re a fisherman, it’s just a wonderful place to live,” John Gierach, the author of “Sex, Death, and Fly-Fishing” told Bloomberg, calling the area “one of Colorado’s best trout streams.” 

  

  Now, the burden is on the government to show the land was “the product of tainted funds”, Bloomberg reports. Internal Revenue Service special agent Ted Lair said in a court filing that Brockman laundered illicit proceeds through funds managed by Vista Equity Partners.

  That firm is run by Robert Smith, who already agreed to a deal with prosecutors to help deliver Brockman in exchange for avoiding prosecution for his own tax evasion crimes. He’s also paying $139 million in back taxes. Lair noted that Smith was “unaware” of the debt fraud being perpetrated by Brockman. 

  Swiss prosecutors have frozen more than $1 billion held in bank accounts belonging to Brockman. 

  Brockman has pleaded not guilty and denies wrong doing. His lawyers have claimed he has dementia and can’t aid in his defense. Prosecutors, meanwhile, think he “may be faking the illness”, bringing to the court’s attention that Brockman worked at his software company up to and through the date of his indictment. 

  A judge is set to rule on the asset seizure, review expert testimony from medical experts and determine where and when Brockman should stand trial, later this year.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 21:00

• Restricting Freedom Didn't Defeat COVID
  Restricting Freedom Didn’t Defeat COVID

  Authored by John Tamny via The American Institute for Economic Research,

  Let’s travel back in time to March of 2020, when predictions of mass death related to the new coronavirus started to gain currency. One study, conducted by Imperial College’s Neil Ferguson, indicated that U.S. deaths alone would exceed 2 million. 

  The above number is often used, even by conservatives and libertarians, as justification for the initial lockdowns.

  “We knew so little” is the excuse, and with so many deaths expected, can anyone blame local, state, and national politicians for panicking?

  

  The answer is a resounding yes.  

  To see why, imagine if Ferguson had predicted 30 million American deaths. Imagine the fear among the American people then—which is precisely the point: The more threatening a virus is presumed to be, the more superfluous government force is. Really, who needs to be told to be careful if a failure to take precautions could reasonably result in death? 

  Death predictions aside, the other justification bruited in March of 2020 was that brief lockdowns (two weeks was the number often thrown around) would flatten the hospitalization curve. In this case, the taking of freedom allegedly made sense as a way of protecting hospitals from a massive inflow of sick patients that they wouldn’t have been able to handle, and that would have resulted in a public health catastrophe.

  Such a view similarly vandalizes reason. Think about it. Who needs to be forced to avoid behavior that might result in hospitalization? Better yet, who needs to be forced to avoid behavior that might result in hospitalization at a time when doctors and hospitals would be so short-staffed as to not be able to take care of admitted patients? Translated for those who need it, the dire predictions made over a year ago about the corona-horrors that awaited us don’t justify the lockdowns; rather they should remind the mildly sentient among us of how cruel and pointless they were. The common sense that we are to varying degrees born with, along with our genetic predisposition to survive, dictates that a fear of hospitalization or death would have caused Americans to take virus-avoidance precautions that would have well exceeded any rules foisted on them by politicians. 

  To which some will reply with something along the lines of “Not everyone has common sense. In truth, there are lots of dumb, low-information types out there who would have disregarded all the warnings. Lockdowns weren’t necessary for the wise among us; rather they were essential precisely because there are so many who aren’t wise.”

  Actually, such a response is the best argument of all against lockdowns.  

  Indeed, it cannot be stressed enough that “low information” types are the most crucial people of all during periods of uncertainty. Precisely because they’ll be unaware of, misunderstand, or reject the warnings of the experts, their actions will produce essential information that the rule-followers never could. In not doing what the allegedly wise among us will, low information citizens will, by their contrarian actions, teach us what behavior is most associated with avoidance of sickness and death, and more important, what behavior is associated with it. 

  One-size-fits-all decrees from politicians don’t enhance health outcomes as much as they blind us to the actions (or lack thereof) that would protect us the most—or not. Freedom on its own is a virtue, and it produces crucial information. 

  But wait, some will say, “how elitist to let some people act as Guinea Pigs for the rest of us.” Such a statement is naïve. Heroin and cocaine are illegal, but people still use both. Thank goodness they do. How could we know what threatens us, and what doesn’t, without the rebellious? 

  Still, there’s the question of “elitism.” The lockdowns were the cruelest form of elitism, by far. The implication of the lockdowns was that those who had the temerity to have jobs that were destinations—like restaurants and shops—would have to lose them. The lockdowns destroyed tens of millions of destination jobs, destroyed or severely impaired millions of businesses, not to mention the hundreds of millions around the world who were rushed into starvation, poverty, or both as a consequence of nail-biting politicians in countries like the U.S. that chose to take a break from reality. Talk about elitist actions. The very idea of wrecking the economy as a virus-mitigation strategy will go down in history as one of the most abjectly stupid policy responses the world has ever endured. 

  That’s the case because economic growth is easily the biggest enemy death and disease have ever known, while poverty is easily the biggest killer. Economic growth produces the resources necessary so that doctors and scientists can come up with answers to what needlessly sickens us, or shortens our lives altogether. 

  In the 19th century, a broken femur brought with it a 1 out of 3 chance of death, while those lucky enough to survive the break had only one option: amputation. A child born in the 19th century had as good a chance of dying as living. A broken hip was a death sentence, cancer most certainly was, but most didn’t die of cancer because tuberculosis and pneumonia got them first. 

  So what happened? Why don’t we get sick or die as easily as we used to? The answer is economic growth. Business titans like Johns Hopkins and John D. Rockefeller created enormous wealth, only to direct a lot of it toward medical science. What used to kill us became yesterday’s news. 

  Even though freedom is its own wondrous virtue, even though freedom produces essential information that protects us, and even though free people produce the resources without which diseases kill with sickening rapidity, panicky politicians erased it in 2020 on the supposition that personal and economic desperation was the best solution for a spreading virus. Historians will marvel at the abject stupidity of the political class in 2020.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 20:30

• EPA Orders Shutdown Of St. Croix Refinery After Oil "Rains Down" On The Island
  EPA Orders Shutdown Of St. Croix Refinery After Oil “Rains Down” On The Island

  It was literally raining oil in St. Croix a couple weeks ago – and not in the good “newly discovered oil”-type way most people know from movies and TV.

  The oil falling from the sky was the result of a “flare incident” that took place Limetree Bay refinery; the incident shot oil up into the sky and it was carried west by the wind before raining down on parts of the island, according to CNN. 

  As a result of the incident, the US Environmental Protection Agency ordered an emergency, 60-day shutdown of the plant, citing an “imminent risk” to public health, the report says. The incident sent sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide into the air. 58 year old resident Dyline Thomas said: “The smell was so strong, like sulfur, like rotten eggs.”

  As a result of the “incident”, she said she had an upset stomach, running nose and sore throat. 

  The release of oil has the island reconsidering whether or not its economic future is worth keeping the refinery on the island. While it has provided jobs and revenue for the island’s battered economy, residents are starting to question whether the “price is too high”. 

  

  Jennifer Valiulis, the executive director of the St. Croix Environmental Association, told CNN: “We are at a crossroads. We have an opportunity to examine what we want our economy to look like, what we want St. Croix to be in a world that’s moving away from fossil fuels as its primary energy source.”

  The island had its first refinery – responsible for helping its citizens raise their quality of life – open in 1966, managed by Hess. The same petroleum refinery paid $5.3 million in fines in 2011 for environmental violations. It then filed for bankruptcy and shut down before being re-opened via a grant issued by the Trump administration. It produces about 200,000 barrels of oil per day. 

  Virginia Clairmont, who runs a nonprofit working to revitalize the town of Frederiksted on the island’s western end, has spoken out about the refinery: “If you talk about it, you’ll be attacked for trying to deprive other people of jobs.”

  Covid-19 also struck a blow to the island, crippling its cruise industry just years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria “devastated” the island. 

  The restart of the plant created 400 full time jobs and will generate about $7 million in annual tax revenue. 

  

  Local senator Nellie Rivera-O’Reilly pushed for the re-opening of the plant. She told CNN: “As a business owner now, I see the benefits of the refinery, or any employer of that magnitude, remaining viable on the island of St. Croix.” 

  But the EPA received “hundreds of calls and emails” complaining about the plant since it reopened. Tysha Henry, who grew up on St. Croix, said smells from the plant woke her up at night: “It felt like I was going to asphyxiate or something. I will not be going back home as long as this smell is there,” 

  EPA Administrator Michael Regan said of the decision to shut down the plant: “This already overburdened community has suffered through at least four recent incidents that have occurred at the facility, and each had an immediate and significant health impact on people and their property.”

  Speaking about the spill, Rivera-O’Reilly concluded: “These things happen in these types of industries. The thing to do is to make sure we learn and put in place measures to prevent this from happening.”

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 20:00

• Could Facebook’s Diem Become FedCoin By Default?
  Could Facebook’s Diem Become FedCoin By Default?

  Submitted by Mark Jeftovic, Co-founder and CEO, easyDNA technologies.

  Today’s post is an excerpt from the monthly edition of The Crypto Capitalist Letter. To learn more about TCC and receive a free copy of The Crypto Capitalist Manifesto, join the Bombthrower list here.

  

  I had a reader ask me about Silvergate Capital. They’re a bank holding company with a lot of exposure to the crypto currency space. I hadn’t yet analyzed them deeply, but I did notice that they recently announced a partnership with Facebook on their DiemUSD stablecoin.

  Diem is Facebook’s rebrand of Libra. Libra was a private crypto currency Facebook proposed to launch which in my mind was a transformative event for nation states and central banks. That was the moment when the establishment elites realized that non-state money had arrived and it posed an existential threat to the status quo.

  They were able to hold off Facebook’s Libra, for awhile. They fought dirty. US Senators sent straight up extortion letters to members of Facebook’s Libra Consortium threatening to investigate them for ostensible ties to child pornography on Facebook’s platform if they went through with the project. They all dropped out.

  My heart didn’t exactly bleed for Facebook, but the incident was instructive. I wrote about it at the time, but I will repeat the salient point here:

  Should a gigantic platform like Facebook successfully launch their own digital currency, a person’s Facebook account will become more important in their day-to-day lives than their nation state issued passport. Especially if we’re entering an era of drastically curtailed travel for plebeians. The battle between the US, France, et al and Facebook over Libra was an early round in the struggle between waning Nation States and ascendent Network States.

  Facebook kept working on their Libra, first under a wallet program called Novi and now as Diem, and Diem USD will be their stablecoin.  One can only surmise that behind the scenes something has shifted so that Facebook thinks they can proceed with launching a new stablecoin.

  This partnership with Silvergate, as well as relocating their Diem Association, which oversees their digital currency projects, from Switzerland back to the United States may be part of that calculus.

  There have been some rumblings that the US is losing the Central Bank Digital Currency race and that one way to jumpstart a program would be to partner with a private entity who is already further down the road with it.

  Who would be uniquely situated to provide a solution in some manner of public-private partnership? Facebook, for one.

  When we think about what Fedcoin could reasonably be expected to do, my guess is:

  • Provide the rails for UBI and other entitlement programs

  • Be fully programmable (an example is Australia’s cashless Centrelink card which will provide welfare benefits that cannot be spent on booze, cigarettes or gambling)

  • Be fully trackable: with everybody walking around with Facebook installed on their smartphone, it’s already baked-in.

  • Ubiquitous: There are more Facebook users in the USA (190 million) than had voted in the last election (161 million).

  Consider this, what everybody knows from all camps (pro fiat, pro Bitcoin, establishment, anti-establishment, et al), is that the days of the petrodollar are numbered. For an excellent summary of how the current petrodollar regime arose and has been enforced over the past 50 years, listen to “From the Petrodollar to a Bitcoin Standard” with Nic Carter and Alex Gladstein on a recent What Bitcoin Did episode hosted by Peter McCormick.

  As pointed out in that episode, the US has a track record of militarily enforcing USD primacy when countries like Iraq or Libya wanted to sell their oil for some other currency than USD.

  What is different between Facebook’s Libra and Facebook’s Diem? Libra was to be backed by a basket of currencies, Diem is a stable coin pegged to USD. US lawmakers moved swiftly to kill Libra in the crib. So far there’s been at least silent assent on Diem.

  It may be that the US policymakers  hope that USD stable coins may be the way for the US to preserve its Exorbitant Privilege and extend its run at the helm of a world reserve currency.

  (But make no mistake: CBDCs will be pathways to dependancy and poverty by design. The antidote to being trapped in a system constructed to preclude wealth and capital formation are crypto-currencies. That’s our focus at The Crypto Capitalist, and you can read the overall thesis here).

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 19:30

• China Warns Global Financial Bubble Could Burst
  China Warns Global Financial Bubble Could Burst

  Almost three months after markets stumbled when after China’s top banking regulator said he’s “very worried” about risks emerging from bubbles in global financial markets (and China’s property sector) sparking concerns about further tightening in the world’s second-biggest economy and slamming risk assets, China has done it again and on Saturday Liang Tao, vice chairman of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said at the International Finance Forum in Beijing that recent interest rate hikes by emerging economies could lead to a bursting of global financial asset bubbles which have been made even bigger by unprecedented pandemic easing measures by developed countries (i.e., Biden’s trillions). And just in case it wasn’t clear whose fault this is, Tao added that developed countries are sticking with ultra-low rates even as emerging economies raised their borrowing costs, “potentially resulting in the re-pricing of global assets.”

  In short, China is already pre-emptively pointing the finger at the US and western central banks as the parties responsible not only for bursting the biggest asset bubble in history, but for creating it in the first place.

  

  Tao’s comments are almost a verbatim repeat of what his boss, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said during a briefing back on March 1 when he said he’s “very worried” about risks emerging from bubbles in global financial markets and the nation’s property sector. Again blaming everyone but China, Guo said that bubbles in U.S. and European markets could burst because their rallies are heading in the opposite direction of their underlying economies and will have to face corrections “sooner or later.”

  So what is the solution? None really: instead, the Chinese regulator suggested that all countries should take a page out of China’s totalitarian and centrally-planned playbook and that countries should coordinate financial regulation and improve the monitoring of cross-border fund flows, while emerging markets must prevent risks from large movements of the so-called hot money. He also said that organizations such as the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO should better represent developing countries (but China’s subsidiary known as the World Health Organization?). As if every emerging market has a capital firewall like China which can be shut down at a moment’s notice.

  The official also said China – whose debt has absolutely exploded in the past year – has managed risks from new hidden local government debt, and contained bubble risks in property finance. He also claimed – erroneously – that financial sector leverage has declined, while a disorderly expansion of capital has been corrected. Neither is true…

  

  … with China’s debt level the highest among major emerging markets…

  

  … although it is true that China’s credit expansion has slowed down to the point where China’s credit impulse has now turned negative.

  

  Which means that if anyone is looking for the deflationary catalyst that tips the global financial system into contraction – now that all developed central banks are primed to print metric tons of digital money in order to flood the world with inflation – and crashes the stock market, look no further than China.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 19:00

• Virginia County’s Schools Warned To Revoke Teacher’s Suspension For Declining to Use Students’ Preferred Pronouns
  Virginia County’s Schools Warned To Revoke Teacher’s Suspension For Declining to Use Students’ Preferred Pronouns

  Authored by Mark Tapscott via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

  In Virginia, Loudoun County Public Schools officials were warned Friday to revoke their suspension of a teacher for declining to use students’ preferred pronouns or face further legal action.

  

  Tanner Cross, who taught at Leesburg Elementary School, was suspended after speaking publicly May 26 during a school board meeting in opposition to the system’s proposed policy that teachers must use the pronouns preferred by students rather than the pronouns consistent with their biological sex.

  Cross was informed May 28 that he was being suspended “pending an investigation of allegation that [he] engaged in conduct that had a disruptive impact on the operations of Leesburg Elementary School.”

  On Friday, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer told school officials in a letter that they must either revoke the suspension and excise all records of it from Cross’s personnel file or he will take further legal action.

  “The First Amendment prohibits retaliation against public employees for speaking on matters of public concern. ‘A  teacher’s  exercise  of his  right  to speak on issues of  public importance  may not furnish  the  basis for his dismissal  from public employment.’ Pickering v. Bd. of Educ. of Twp. High Sch. Dist. 205,391 U.S. 563, 574 (1968),” Langhofer explained in his letter to school officials.

  “Mr. Cross’s expression during public comment time at an open school board   meeting was undoubtedly expression in his private capacity on a matter of public concern. Id. (teachers’ public expression regarding school board actions is protected speech); Janus v. Am. Fed’n of State, Cnty. & Mun. Emps., 138 S. Ct. 2448, 2476 (2018) (listing examples of matters of public concern); see also, Meriwether v.Hartop, 992 F.3d 492, 506-07 (6th Cir. 2021) (teachers’ use of pronouns is protected speech on a matter of public concern),” Langhofer continued.

  “Immediately suspending an employee and launching an investigation for engaging in First Amendment-protected expression, creates an atmosphere of fear and is intended to send a message to Mr. Cross and other teachers that they must toe the line or face the consequences …The First Amendment does not countenance such retaliation.”

  Langhofer added that “we demand that you immediately (1) rescind the suspension, (2) reinstate Mr. Cross so that he can return to class on Tuesday, June 1, (3) remove the suspension letter from his file, and (4) refrain from any future retaliation against protected speech …

  “Absent the complete revocation of this suspension, Mr. Cross will be forced to pursue other legal options to safeguard his rights.”

  A spokesman for the school system could not be reached for comment for this news story.

  While he is suspended, Cross is barred entirely from being on school property or participating in any school activities without obtaining prior permission. He is also required to make himself available to school officials for conversation by telephone or in-person meetings during official business hours.

  Loudoun County is one of the nation’s most affluent counties and has been the focus of serious controversies in its education system as officials here have adopted extensive politically correct policies, educational materials and programs that have sparked major public opposition, including those based on Critical Race Theory (CRT).

  As The Epoch Times has previously reported, Loudoun County parents began to organize in June 2020, asking for the reopening of schools that had been shuttered in response to the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic.

  However, it was the remote learning the district put in place that allowed parents to learn more about what their children are being taught, which raised some red flags.

  “We’re seeing what our kids are learning and our goal changes from opening schools to ‘Oh my gosh. What are we sending our children back to?’” one parent, who asked to remain anonymous because of concern about reprisals, told The Epoch Times.

  “Basically, they’re categorizing children by race to determine the quality of education each will have, which is absolutely unacceptable,” she added. She said her children won’t be returning to that school.

  Loudoun County Public Schools spokesman Wayde Byard denied that the schools are determining the quality, level, or resources for education based on skin color.

  “Our goal is to ensure equity based on this definition as outlined by the Virginia Department of Education: Education Equity is achieved when we eliminate the predictability of student outcomes based on race, gender, zip code, ability, socioeconomic status or languages spoken at home,” he told The Epoch Times via email.

  With reporting by Petr Svab

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 18:30

• Missouri Man Sentenced For Role In Largest "Organic Food" Fraud In American History
  Missouri Man Sentenced For Role In Largest “Organic Food” Fraud In American History

  A north Missouri businessman who was involved in the largest organic fraud scheme in American history has been sentenced to probation and fined. According to KTTN, federal prosecutors in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sentenced Steven Whiteside of Chilicothe to three years probation and a fine of 45-thousand dollars.

  

  Two other Northwest Missouri men were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in the 142-million dollar grain fraud scheme, which federal prosecutors describe as the “Field of Schemes.”

  Steven Whiteside of Chillicothe pleaded guilty in December to signing a document that allowed Randy Constant to sell conventionally raised grain as certified organic and receive a higher premium.

  Federal prosecutors say Whiteside received $177-thousand for grain that Constant resold to animal feed producers. They had asked for a one-year term in prison for Whiteside. His defense attorney argued he received a lesser sentence for having a clean record and having family obligations.

  Constant, also of Chillicothe, killed himself in 2019, three days after being sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for wire fraud. Four other farmers, one from Missouri and three from Nebraska, received prison sentences for their role in the long-running scheme.

  Back in December, the DOJ said that Constant admitted the fraudulent scheme involved at least $142,433,475 in grain sales, and the vast majority of those sales were fraudulent. From 2010 to 2017, Constant misled customers into thinking they were buying certified organic grain when the grain he was selling was not organic. Constant admitted falsely telling customers the grain he sold was grown on his certified organic fields in Nebraska and Missouri when the grain was not organic either because he purchased the grain from other growers, the certified organic fields were sprayed with unauthorized chemicals, or organic grain was mixed with non-organic grain. As part of the plea, Constant also agreed to forfeit $128,190,128 in proceeds from the fraudulent scheme.

  Constant’s grain was mostly used as animal feed, primarily for chickens and cattle. That livestock was then sold as organic meat or products from the livestock were sold as organic products. Because of Constant’s fraud, most of the livestock that was fed his grain was not organic, causing millions of consumers to purchase what they thought was organic meat for a premium price across the country.

  It is unclear how much of the billions in exorbitantly expensive “organic” food sold every year by the likes of Whole Foods and other overpriced outlets, is just plain, ordinary, off-the-shelf “inorganic” produce with a “ceritifed” sticker slapped on it to part the gullible with their money.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 18:00

• Do We Really Want To Return To "Normal" If "Normal" Is Destroying The Planet?
  Do We Really Want To Return To “Normal” If “Normal” Is Destroying The Planet?

  Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

  Change the incentives, and the outcomes change.

  Ecologist Howard Odum provided a profound insight into human expansion, stagnation and collapse. He argued that humans are wired to maximize power output (i.e., consumption) rather than maximize efficiency.

  In other words, humans are wired to strip the tree of every ripe fruit and throw a party, have more children and use the surplus food to feed an army of conquest. Efficient use of resources is simply not part of what I term Wetware 1.0, the set of tools that was selected and optimized over the past 200,000 years for small hunter-gatherer tribes roaming an apparently near-infinite world.

  We’ve squandered the surpluses enabled by hydrocarbons to maximize energy output (consumption) rather than achieve efficiency. 

  That is finally coming around to haunt the entire “infinite growth on a finite planet” status quo.

  Here’s the happy story being promoted by the status quo: we can keep overconsuming / wasting resources on a vast scale by electrifying everything that is currently powered by hydrocarbons: The Electrification of Everything: What You Need to Know.

  There are a great many problems with this fantasy. One is that per Odum, humanity doesn’t replace hydrocarbons with wind-solar, it consumes all the alt-energy being added, too. Adding energy just increases consumption.

  Another is that the quantity of scarce minerals and resources needed to replace hydrocarbons with so-called renewable energy is so vast that it’s unrealistic.

  As I’ve noted many times, per analyst/educator Nate Hagens, “renewables” are actually ‘replaceables’, as solar panels and wind turbines wear out and need to be replaced every 20-25 years, if not sooner.

  The scale of energy consumption is so vast and the percentage supplied by solar and wind is so insignificant. Most charts lump solar and wind with hydropower and biofuels (wood), but wind and solar provide at best 3% of global energy, after all the tens of billions of dollars that have been invested.

  To provide the majority of global energy consumption, we’d need to increase solar-wind 20-fold, from 3% to 60%. The problem, as Tim Watkins explains, is the Earth doesn’t have enough scarce minerals to build this monstrous global system, and then replace it every 20-25 years: Are you still buying this?

  “Net-zero carbon dioxide by 2050 would require the deployment of ~1500 wind turbines (2.5 MW) over ~300 square miles, every day starting tomorrow and continuing to 2050.”

  “Challenges of using ‘green energy’ to power electric cars: If wind farms are chosen to generate the power for the projected two billion cars at UK average usage, this requires the equivalent of a further years’ worth of total global copper supply and 10 years’ worth of global neodymium and dysprosium production to build the windfarms.”

  “To replace all UK-based vehicles today with electric vehicles, assuming they use the most resource-frugal next-generation NMC 811 batteries, would take 207,900 tonnes cobalt, 264,600 tonnes of lithium carbonate (LCE), at least 7,200 tonnes of neodymium and dysprosium, in addition to 2,362,500 tonnes copper. This represents, just under two times the total annual world cobalt production, nearly the entire world production of neodymium, three quarters the world’s lithium production and at least half of the world’s copper production during 2018.”

  Every kilogram of these scarce minerals must be mined, transported and processed with hydrocarbons.

  The problem with wind and solar is intermittency: modern industrial economies require steady electrical power 24/7 or they fail. Wind and solar generate power intermittently, meaning they can’t generate a steady supply 24/7 nor can they generate electricity when consumers want to use it.

  So the intermittency problem becomes a storage problem: how can we store surplus electricity in quantities large enough to power our vast consumption when the wind dies and the sun goes down?

  There are no cheap, easy answers to storage, and ideas such as converting it all to hydrogen are not realistic due to cost and safety issues. There isn’t enough lithium and other scarce minerals to build batteries for 2 billion vehicles and storage for every electrical grid on Earth. (And note that lithium batteries have very limited lifespans and need to be replaced every decade, if not sooner. Very few batteries are recycled, so recycling billions of batteries is also a fantasy.)

  As Gail Tverberg observes in her recent post, How the World’s Energy Problem Has Been Hidden:

  “So-called renewable fuels tend to be very damaging to the environment in ways other than CO2 emissions. This point is made very well in the new book Bright Green Lies: How the Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It by Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith and Max Wilbert. It makes the point that renewable fuels are not an attempt to save the environment. Instead, they are trying to save our current industrial civilization using approaches that tend to destroy the environment. Cutting down forests, even if new trees are planted in their place, is especially detrimental. Alice Friedemann, in her new book, Life after Fossil Fuels: A Reality Check on Alternative Fuels, points out the high cost of these alternatives and their dependence on fossil fuel energy.”

  Many people I respect see thorium nuclear reactors as the answer, but like all the other proposals to replace the staggeringly large consumption fueled by hydrocarbons with some other source, it’s not as easy in the real world as it is conceptually.

  India has reserves of thorium and has an ambitious plan to build thorium reactors. But the thorium nuclear fuel cycle is extremely non-trivial, and despite billions of rupees invested, India has yet to complete a single large-scale thorium reactor–and neither has any other nation. There are seven research reactors scattered around the world, but no actual power plants. India’s Ambitious Nuclear Power Plan–And What’s Getting in Its Way:

  “With the commercialization and enhanced use of renewable energy technologies, the per unit cost of electricity produced from renewables has gone down significantly. The cost of solar power in India right now is Rs 2.62 per unit, almost half of the per unit cost of electricity being produced by the recently operational Kudankulam nuclear power plant (Rs 4.10 per unit).”

  The problem is we’ve based our entire global economy on maximizing consumption, not efficiency, so that waste = growth = maximizing profits.

  Consider this chart of energy consumption, and the chart of energy efficiency, which reflects the appalling inefficiency of our consumption.

  

  

  Given that we incentivize profits earned from increasing waste (i.e. “growth”), this shouldn’t surprise us.

  As Tim Morgan has explained, our entire financial system presumes that money-finance is the master system that controls everything in the real world, when in fact the financial system is an overlay on the energy system. In essence, the entire financial system is nothing but abstract claims on energy that unlike energy can be endlessly multiplied.

  Claims (currency and debt) can be created out of thin air, but energy systems cannot be created out of thin air.

  The answer isn’t to attempt to replace a disastrously inefficient and wasteful system with replaceable energy sources–a delusional fantasy. The answer is to set aside our Wetware 1.0 programming to maximize energy output and consumption in favor of maximizing energy efficiency and conservation.

  There are a number of ways this transition could be made. For example, rather than tax human labor, we could tax the consumption of non-renewable resources.

  UnTax–Taxing Away Climate Change:

  “Yet the reason for this inertia is simple: the price we pay for fossil fuels, and most other non-renewable resources, is far too low, because we don’t pay for their creation which took hundreds of millions of years, but only for their extraction. To make matters worse, more than 90% of all taxes are paid on labor in most countries, which discourages employment and forces automation into every part of the economy.

  This mix-up, a by-product of the industrial revolution, leads to pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, waste production and the unnecessary use of automation, which damages our ecosystems and at the same time deprives future generations of their right to access those scarce resources.”

  Do we really want to return to the “normal” of waste = growth = maximizing profit if this “normal” is destroying the planet?

  Cutting consumption is anathema in the current mindset of waste = growth = maximizing profit, but the Pareto Distribution suggests we could cut consumption by 80% and still retain 80% of the essentials for a good life such as clean water, healthy food, basic shelter, etc.

  As I posted in Musings #9, consider this short film of Market Street in downtown San Francisco shot a few days before the catastrophic earthquake and fire of 1906. A trip down Market Street before the fire (Library of Congress).

  Life was pretty good in 1906 San Francisco and many other cities. Now look at the energy consumption around 1900: it was around 15 TWh compared to today’s 160 TWh, roughly 10% of current consumption. And the engines and machines of 1906 were by today’s standards extremely inefficient. Adjust for increases in population and efficiency and it’s clear lower-consumption life is not necessarily a return to living in caves.

  

  

  Do we really want to return to “normal” if “normal” is destroying the planet?

  Waste is everywhere in our way of life because waste is profitable in the current arrangement. What would happen if waste was taxed at very high rates and efficiency was the sole means of maximizing profits?

  Charlie Munger (head of Berkshire Hathaway) famously said: “Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.” That’s how humans operate: we respond to the incentives presented, even if they destroy the planet.

  Change the incentives, and the outcomes change. What if efficiencies and conservation earned the biggest rewards and human labor was freed from taxation? The outcomes would improve very dramatically–and that’s just the start.

  *  *  *

  If you found value in this content, please join me in seeking solutions by becoming a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

  *  *  *

  My recent books:

  A Hacker’s Teleology: Sharing the Wealth of Our Shrinking Planet (Kindle $8.95, print $20, audiobook $17.46) Read the first section for free (PDF).

  Will You Be Richer or Poorer?: Profit, Power, and AI in a Traumatized World (Kindle $5, print $10, audiobook) Read the first section for free (PDF).

  Pathfinding our Destiny: Preventing the Final Fall of Our Democratic Republic ($5 (Kindle), $10 (print), ( audiobook): Read the first section for free (PDF).

  The Adventures of the Consulting Philosopher: The Disappearance of Drake $1.29 (Kindle), $8.95 (print); read the first chapters for free (PDF)

  Money and Work Unchained $6.95 (Kindle), $15 (print) Read the first section for free (PDF).

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 17:30

• China Successfully Launches Cargo Rocket With Supplies For New Space Station
  China Successfully Launches Cargo Rocket With Supplies For New Space Station

  China launched an automated cargo rocket hauling supplies for the country’s new space station late Saturday from the tropical island of Hainan in the South China Sea. 

  A Long March-7 Y3 rocket carrying the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft blasted off at 8:55 pm local time from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, state-run media Global Times reported. 

  China launched the cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-2 on Saturday, which is scheduled to dock with the space station core module Tianhe to deliver supplies, equipment and propellant. #GLOBALink pic.twitter.com/GElRRa7NZd

  — China Xinhua News (@XHNews) May 29, 2021

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

  The Tianzhou spacecraft is tasked with refueling the Tianhe space station core cabin for maintenance in orbit and also provides living necessities for future crewed missions at the space station. 

  

  The Chinese space agency expects 11 launches through the end of this year to deliver two more modules for the Tiangong Space Station, additional supplies, and a three-member crew. Today’s launch marks the second within a month. 

  

  Apart from launch and eventual docking at the new space station, the rocket itself is set to fall back to Earth in an uncontrolled manner. Well, that’s at least what happened earlier this month after the launch. There was no statement from Beijing about reentry plans for the rocket. 

  Beijing isn’t part of the International Space Station (ISS), primarily due to the U.S. The ISS has been in low Earth orbit for a little more than 22 years and could reach its lifespan by the end of this decade. Russia has already announced it would be withdrawing from the ISS to build its own. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 17:00

• Where Will The Next Deflationary Shock Come From?
  Where Will The Next Deflationary Shock Come From?

  Authored by Louis-Vincent Gave via Evergreen Gavekal blog,

  “Whenever I hear numbers like this, I look back to my childhood growing up in Hungary, where…[the] value of money meant nothing. I’m very worried this is an unstoppable situation because the longer the Fed waits, the more they will have to raise rates. So, we’re basically painting ourselves into a box, and I don’t see how we’re going to get out of it.”

  – Thomas Peterffy, chairman and founder of Interactive

  

  The 1986 oil price crash, to an extent, fired the starting gun on 30 years of global deflation. As commodity prices collapsed, so did the Soviet Union, giving the West a deflationary peace dividend. By the early 1990s, Japan’s real estate and equity market busts threatened its banks. The rollout of the North American Free Trade Area and the 1995 “tequila crisis” helped make Mexico a competitive manufacturing hub. Soon after, the 1997-98 Asian crisis made producing abroad even cheaper, while China’s 2001 entry into the World Trade Organization greatly simplified outsourcing. In 2008, the US mortgage bust spurred China to build more infrastructure, unleashing 500mn more workers into the global economy. Europe’s 2011-13 crisis caused another deflationary hit, while the US’s shale energy boom stopped oil and gas prices rising.

  So today, as inflation expectations move toward generational highs, a relevant question is: where might the next deflationary shock come from?

  Europe.

   If vaccine rollouts let Europeans vacation freely this summer, it is unlikely to spur deflationary forces. The effect should be steeper eurozone yield curves, outperformance by financials and a firmer euro. Yet, if Europeans are told to stay home, another deflationary eurozone crisis could still ensue. Citizens deprived of a vacation may register their protest at the ballot box or, more likely, on the streets. For this reason, the odds are high that Europe re-opens, just as last year’s large fiscal stimulus gets rolled out. We should thus assume that—for now at least—Europe will not be a deflationary black hole.

  Commodities.

  With Europeans set to hit the beach and Americans looking to crank up the vehicle miles, energy prices should stay well bid. And as about a third of the cost of producing commodities is attributable to energy, the broader complex is unlikely to provide any kind of deflationary shock in the near future.

  The US dollar.

  As big projects in emerging economies are mostly funded in US dollars, any strengthening of the unit reduces their growth and depresses commodity prices. So, could a rising dollar unleash deflationary forces? For now, the US currency is making lower highs and lower lows, in spite of higher yields. This is perhaps not surprising, as the Federal Reserve has promised to add US$120bn of fresh dollars to the global system each month. Given such generosity, the threat of a US dollar short squeeze has now greatly receded. Hence, the dollar seems unlikely to be a deflationary force in the near future.

  The renminbi.

  With so much production capacity centered in China, the renminbi’s value is vital for manufacturers. When it is weak, few Western industrial firms can compete with China but when strong, foreign producers can expand margins and/or compete on price. Whether viewed on a three-year, five-year or 10-year basis, the renminbi has been the world’s best-performing major currency on a total return basis, which shows that, structurally, there is little appetite in Beijing for a devaluation. Moreover, as China’s trade surplus hits new highs and the authorities there tighten both fiscal and monetary policies, there seems little reason, cyclically, for this to happen.

  US real estate. 

  Homes are getting expensive, with median prices relative to incomes near the highs seen in 2006-07. The difference now is low supply as the stock of existing homes available for sale is at an all time low. Add into the mix the soaring cost of skilled labor and surging prices for building materials and it is hard to see why US real estate prices should crater anytime soon.

  

  Putting it all together, in the coming few years those “usual suspects” that previously unleashed deflation are now more likely to raise the inflationary temperature. Hence, if deflationary forces are going to carry the day, there will need to be impressive productivity gains. Somewhere in the system, someone will have to produce a whole lot more, with a whole lot less. But is this likely given the following trends that have been covered in recent Gavekal reports?

  1. Globalization rollback: productivity gains from outsourced production are under threat as its true social costs have become more apparent.

  2. Semiconductor shortage: robots have been touted as replacements for low-end labor everywhere, but as car factories are shuttered for want of chips one has to wonder where robot-makers will find the semiconductors they need to build the robots that will then build the cars.

  3. Labor markets: workers across Western economies are being incentivized to stay home and, unsurprisingly, wages are now starting to rise. Indeed, 2020 saw the first meaningful US recession in which wage growth barely fell.

  

  This leaves us in the situation of seeing the price of everything from meat, corn, gasoline and lumber to shipping rates rise without a clear countervailing deflationary force. In an environment of rising government intervention, expanded public hand-outs, higher corporate taxes and more protectionism (and that is just the US!), it is possible that a surge in productivity provides an offset to the growing inflationary wind. But like an Elizabeth Taylor marriage, this seems to represent the triumph of hope over experience.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 16:30

• After Grade-Rigging Scandal, Baltimore City Schools No Longer Holding Back Failing Students
  After Grade-Rigging Scandal, Baltimore City Schools No Longer Holding Back Failing Students

  A new grading policy, put forth by the Baltimore City School Board, Tuesday, will allow students who are struggling and failing classes to move up to the next grade level due to the virus pandemic, according to local news Fox 45. 

  Instead of holding back students, Baltimore City Public School System’s (BCPSS) new grading policy will push up struggling students who failed classes during the pandemic and have their educational status tested during the fall semester to determine what skills they missed during virtual learning classes. 

  

  Chief Academic Officer Joan Dabrowski said the new policy is intended to “avoid the punitive approach of failing students.” 

  “This is not about a failure, but it is about unfinished learning and giving multiple opportunities, multiple onramps for young people to complete that … learning,” BCPSS CEO Sonja Santelises said.

  High school students will have their failing grades swapped out for a “No Credit,” and for lower schools, a “Fail” will be replaced with “Not Completed.” 

  About 78,000 students are enrolled across the metro area. More than 65% of students in secondary schools and 50% of Elementary Schools failed at least one class.

  Fox 45’s investigative arm, “Project Baltimore,” has spent several years investigating BCPSS corrupt school system. Grade-rigging has been well known before the pandemic, but now it’s out in the open. At least now, school officials can deflect their failures on the pandemic. 

  Earlier this year, we pointed out how a high school student who almost graduated near the top half of his class failed almost every class. There have been attendance issues, such as attendance at high schools dropping to a 13-year low. More than a dozen schools have zero students proficient in math. 

  BCPSS officials no longer have to be covert about grade rigging as they can openly blame the pandemic. 

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 16:00

• Brandeis Dean Declares "Yes, All White People Are Racists"
  Brandeis Dean Declares “Yes, All White People Are Racists”

  Authored by Jonathan Turley,

  Last year, we discussed the controversy over the acting Northwestern Law Dean declaring publicly to “I am James Speta and I am a racist.”

  He was followed by Emily Mullin, executive director of major gifts, who announced, “I am a racist and a gatekeeper of white supremacy. I will work to be better.” 

  The public confessions reflect the view that all white people are racist due to their race and privilege — a view contested by some as itself a form of racial intolerance or bias.

  Now one of Brandeis’ Assistant Deans, Kate Slater, has triggered a similar controversy after declaring “all white people are racists.”

  Slater is the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

  

  Slater defines herself as an “anti-racism scholar” who is seeks to “facilitate an understanding of race and racism through honest and frank conversations.”  In her discussion of “critical race theory,” she does not exclude herself from being a racist and insists that she does not hate white people, just “whiteness.” Such statements rankle many. It is doubtful that Brandeis would tolerate an academic saying that she does not hate black people, just “blackness.” 

  

  Slater defines her role as helping “White people conceptualize what sustained anti-racism can look like with the ultimate goal in mind: liberation from oppression for Black people and people of color.” Ironically, this is an effort to get “white folx” not to fear critical race theory which clearly did not work with a number of conservative sites:

  

  I have a different take on this controversy from some who have denounced Slater as engaging in simply another form of “race baiting.” I agree with Slater that we should be debating this issue. This is a view among many academics and should be respected as a good-faith understanding of the source of racism.

  The problem is that critical race theorists and advocates often insist that we must have a dialogue on race but it tends to be more of a diatribe. For an academic to voice opposing views on such issues is to risk investigation, re-training, or even termination, as we have discussed in past cases. The only dialogue allowed in these sessions tends to be the willingness to accept the underlying premises rather than alternative viewpoints.  Indeed, most sessions are treated as “trainings” to address “whiteness:” and “white privilege” rather than debating if this view is itself racially intolerant.  The same is true at corporations like Lockheed where top executives were sent into mandatory training to address “white male culture” and “white male privilege.”

  Slater says that she seeks “an understanding of race and racism through honest and frank conversations” but it is clearly a discussion premised on the assumption of all white people being racist and “whiteness” being hateful. It is designed to be more therapeutic and transformative for white people than a real debate of the assumptions and stereotypes underlying this aspect of critical race theory.

  It is a loss in my view and inhibits true evolution of viewpoints and assumptions. I accept that I many be blind or insensitive to racial bias or privilege, but I have serious concerns over the bias shown in some of these lectures and supporting material.

  Colleges and universities were once places where controversial subjects could be debated in a passionate but civil exchange.  Assumptions were challenged and data reviewed. That is not happening on many of the issues that face us today. Certain subjects are treated as off-limits. We have been discussing the targeting of professors who voice dissenting opinions about the Black Lives Matter movement, police shootings, or aspects of the protests around the country from the University of Chicago to Cornell to Harvard to other schools. Students have also been sanctioned for criticism BLM and anti-police views at various colleges. Even a high school principal was fired for stating that “all lives matter.”

  I obviously follow a robust view of free speech that is out of vogue today. I have no problem with extreme views being voiced on campus so long as schools allow countervailing views also to be voiced. For that reason, I have defended faculty who have made similarly disturbing comments “detonating white people,” denouncing police, calling for Republicans to suffer,  strangling police officers, celebrating the death of conservatives, calling for the killing of Trump supporters, supporting the murder of conservative protesters and other outrageous statements. We previously wrote about academic freedom issues at University of Rhode Island due to its Director of Graduate Studies of History Erik Loomis, who has defended the murder of a conservative protester and said that he saw “nothing wrong” with such acts of violence.

  We cannot make true progress unless we are able to speak openly and freely on such subjects. Many disagree with the views of academics like Slater but few faculty members are willing to raise such disagreements openly on campus. To do so is to risk being labeled as an example of reactionary white privilege and hostility. Without such freedom to challenge underlying assumptions or viewpoints, these sessions will be viewed as indoctrinations rather than real discussions of race in society. That will serve to silence many but convince few.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 15:30

• US Set For Epic Labor Market Experiment: Red States Vs Blue States
  US Set For Epic Labor Market Experiment: Red States Vs Blue States

  According to JPMorgan’s Daniel Silver, as of this moment some 23 – all republican – states have announced at least some form of early reduction in pandemic-related unemployment insurance benefits ahead of the September expiration at the federal level. These programs, he suggests, are likely limiting labor supply, generating a potential economic argument for ending these programs early.

  A glance at the following chart – which shows the number of US job opening vs the number of Americans who remain on some form of Pandemic unemployment benefit, would suggest that Silver is right.

  

  So, while the left are desperately gaslighting that this is a skills or geographic mismatch, the chart above makes it clear that paying people to stay home is not good for growth (or social stability).

  Which is why 23 (Republican) states have listened to their business owners and started to cut those benefits. In fact, as Mike Shedlock notes, that means around 3.5 million Americans will come off Pandemic emergency benefits in the next few weeks.

  

  And since Democrats will likely not end UI benefits any time soon – or ever, if they could –  this sets up the US economy to become an epic real-time economic experiment, one where everyone can keep track of the unemployment across in Red states (most of which have ended their UI benefits), and blue states where claims will keep potential workers at home, pressuring unemployment rates.

  

  As noted above, all of the 23 states announcing early-UI benefit terminations have Republican governors and as is clear from the charts below, many of these states have tighter labor markets and stronger earnings growth (naturally, not all).

  

  So the trade off appears to be one of political pandering vs practical economics – lower unemployment rates in Red states even as the hoped for tradeoff – higher wage growth – is largely missing, with average hourly earnings in red states also slightly higher on average.

  By way of early confirmation of our thesis that government handouts are repressing the recovery by encouraging people not to work, according to an analysis published this week by job site Indeed, job searches jumped by 5% the day each state announced its intent to pull out of the federal programs.

  In May, job search activity on Indeed increased, relative to the national trend, in states that announced they would end federal UI benefits prematurely.

  

  We will be closely watching the unemployment rates of the red and blue states going forward as a real-time test of whether paying people to stay home (something not even the USSR did) is indeed the best way forward for Americans… or if it will create an idiocracy.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 15:00

• The USD Is Weak, And What That Could Mean For The Rest Of 2021
  The USD Is Weak, And What That Could Mean For The Rest Of 2021

  Authored by Bryce Coward via Knowledge Leaders Capital blog,

  The US dollar is on the verge of breaking down to the lowest level since 2014.

  

  This is not all that surprising. After all, the US money supply continues to grow at a rapid pace relative to other countries and quantitative easing is likely to continue at full pace through the end of 2021. Meanwhile, other countries like the UK, Canada and others are already telegraphing rate hikes. Not only that, but the US budget deficit as a percent of GDP – which has a tight correlation with the level of the US dollar index – is set to explode through 2022 and beyond. The ballooning budget deficit suggests a level of 70 or 80 on the US dollar index over the coming years would not be out of the realm of possibilities. That would equate to a further decline of 11% to 22% from here.

  

  If the US dollar drops below the 90 “line in the sand” and starts on a path toward 80 in the back half of 2021, that would have fairly large ramifications for stocks.

  In this post we’ll briefly highlight one.

  For the last 15 years or so one of the most persistent trends in the equity market was the relative outperformance of US technology companies vs basic materials companies. The red line in the chart below shows the relative performance of materials vs tech. Since 2005 the red line has gone nowhere but down – meaning tech was outperforming materials – until recently. The blue line in the chart is the US dollar index, inverted. As tech was outperforming materials, the US dollar index was going up most of the time…until recently. The tight correlation between the US dollar index and tech/materials relative performance suggests further weakness in the US dollar will be accompanies by a rather large and important rotation out of tech and into materials. For passive investors this is tricky and risky because the tech+ sector accounts for more than 40% of the S&P 500.

  

  There’s also a fundamental case to be made for such a rotation. The relative valuation level of materials companies vs tech companies is well below average. The next two charts display the price/earnings ratio and price/book value ratio, respectively, for materials vs tech companies. The green line shows the average relative valuation since 2006.

  

  

  Valuations must always be put in the context of earnings growth. Tech stocks are supposed to be the high growth engines of the market, so they should, in theory, receive a higher valuation than other lower growth companies. However, the relative growth between materials and tech companies is normalizing and is currently above the historic average. This doesn’t mean that materials companies will grow faster than tech companies (even though that could certainly happen), just that growth rate difference between the two groups is shrinking.

  

  In sum, we have poor trends in the US dollar that are being driven by fundamental factors of money supply growth and budget deficits. These factors could push the US dollar down to 70 or 80 in the coming years, which would have substantial effects on financial markets. One of those effects could be to see a continued rotation out of tech and into materials, which is a trend supported not only by a weak US dollar but also changing valuation and fundamental trends between the two sectors. That kind of rotation is likely to be more difficult for passive investors than active ones given the rather large weighting of tech and tech-like companies in the major indexes.

  Tyler Durden
  Sat, 05/29/2021 – 14:30

Digest powered by RSS Digest

• COVID & The Noble Lie
  COVID & The Noble Lie

  Authored by Brian Maher via DailyReckoning.com,

  “Unethical”… “dystopian”… “totalitarian”…

  These are the words of the British government’s primary scientific advisory bunch — the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviour, by title.

  These scientific advisors presently droop their heads in shame. For these are the very words they employ to describe their own conduct.

  They concede: Last March their wicked counsel encouraged government officials to wildly inflate the true viral threat.

  Only a pitiless torturing of facts — argued these men and women of science — could terrify the public into locking themselves in, locking themselves up, locking themselves down.

  The London Telegraph:

  In March [2020] the Government was very worried about compliance and they thought people wouldn’t want to be locked down. There were discussions about fear being needed to encourage compliance, and decisions were made about how to ramp up the fear.

  Fear came ladling out by the ton.

  Millions and millions would perish in agonies scarcely describable, they howled. The hospitals would overflow into the streets, they screeched.

  Only the near-cessation of all public life could cage the menace.

  The halfway men, the men counseling a measured response… were drummed out of court.

  

  “Using Fear Smacks of Totalitarianism”

  Group psychologist Gavin Morgan, confessing his atrocities:

  Clearly, using fear as a means of control is not ethical. Using fear smacks of totalitarianism. It’s not an ethical stance for any modern government. By nature I am an optimistic person, but all this has given me a more pessimistic view of people.

  A pity, it is, that this fellow is not a Daily Reckoning reader.

  We would have squeezed the optimism from him long ago… and pumped in an implacable pessimism.

  It would have spared him an awful letting-down, a massacre of his innocent delusions.

  Here another (unnamed) scientific advisor enters the confession booth:

  The way we have used fear is dystopian. The use of fear has definitely been ethically questionable. It’s been like a weird experiment. Ultimately, it backfired because people became too scared.

  Another member was “stunned by the weaponisation of behavioural psychology.”

  Yet another head-shrinker likens his witchcraft to mind control:

  “You could call psychology ‘mind control.’ That’s what we do…”

  Might we suggest another term for what they do? Might that term be… ‘propaganda?’

  Propaganda

  Let us consult Mr. Webster and his famous thesaurus. He defines propaganda this way:

  Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view… ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause.

  We will assume the Telegraph’s reporting in this instance is authentic. If true… has not the British government… purposefully broadcast propaganda?

  We are compelled to conclude it has.

  And since the United States government let out similar shrieks, can we conclude it too has broadcast propaganda — and for identical reasons?

  ‘Maybe it did,’ you argue. ‘But the government needed to exaggerate the threat, else too few people would take it seriously. More people would have died. They did what they needed to do.’

  That is, you give a wink and nod towards what Plato labeled “the noble lie.”

  It may be a lie, you allow. But it is a lie conscripted in the service of a higher good.

  Perhaps your argument has juice in it. But is not a noble lie… nonetheless a lie?

  And should democratic governments lie to We the People, however nobly?

  As well heave the civics books into the hell box.

  Noble Lies

  The men gathered at Philadelphia in 1787 lacked authorization to draft a Constitution.

  Their mandate was to sand down the rougher edges of the Articles of Confederation, to rub on some polish, to give a slight renovation.

  They instead dynamited the thing to bits and pieces. The public was denied all knowledge of their mischiefs, denied all voice in the outcome.

  It represented — in essence — a coup, a treason against the United States.

  Yet it glows in history as the Miracle at Philadelphia. We label the plotters “Founding Fathers.”

  And they mounted Olympus rather than the gallows.

  The Good Guys Don’t Always Sport White Hats

  Mr. Lincoln was no more determined to banish slavery than a bought policeman is determined to banish the narcotics trade.

  He would look away from Southern evil so long as he could count his tariffs at the ports of Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans.

  What does the noble lie mistell us?

  That Old Abe was monomaniacal against the scourge of chattel slavery… and that “every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword.”

  Here is another noble lie:

  The Kaiser’s soldaten bayoneted Belgian babies during the First World War.

  In August 1914, the British scissored the undersea German communications cables running west to American shores.

  All trans-Atlantic flows would therefore issue from the British Foreign Office… the same British Foreign Office that sweated mightily to enlist the United States in its cause.

  Hence the dreaded Hun’s skewering of poor Belgian infants and similar atrocities.

  Come now to Dec. 8, 1941…

  Dastardly, Yes. But Unprovoked?

  Roosevelt — Franklin Delano — raged against Japan’s dastardly and unprovoked attack the morning prior.

  Yet was it entirely unprovoked?

  In July 1941, the United States government froze all Japanese assets in its possession.

  In August 1941,  the United States government embargoed oil and gasoline exports to Japan.

  Over 80% of Japan’s supply shipped in from the United States.

  Officials knew well that Japan might take a desperate armed lunge in response.

  These men believed war was all but assured. But it was critical that Japan deliver the initial blow… to incense the American public.

  United States War Secretary Henry Stimson, on the wrecks of Pearl Harbor:

  “My first feeling was of relief … that a crisis had come in a way which would unite all our people.”

  Picking Fights With Germans

  Prior to Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy had also been initiating jousts against German U-boats along the Atlantic convoy routes.

  Was the United States a neutral power prior to December 1941? And did razzing German U-boats constitute a breach of this neutrality?

  Many historians will tell you Mr. Roosevelt was attempting to lure the Germans into another Lusitania trap.

  But Herr Hitler saw the worm wriggling upon Roosevelt’s hook.

  He ordered his men to avoid all tangles with vessels flying the neutral flag of the United States.

  He laced into any U-boat man who gobbled the American bait — even in strictest defense.

  Not Defending Japan or Germany

  Let it go immediately into the record:

  We do not throw in with the Japanese Empire… or with the Austrian corporal’s National Socialist German Workers’ Party.

  In our residence, Victory in Europe Day and Victory Over Japan Day are events of high revelry. They are third only to Independence Day and Flag Day.

  Once, under the heavy instigation of liquor, we even hung Herr Hitler in effigy — and set his mannequin aflame.

  We additionally made a voodoo doll of Tojo… and gave his ghost a frightful jabbing.

  We merely wish to illustrate that truth is war’s first battlefield fatality.

  The lie may or may not be noble. But a lie it often is.

  Examples multiply and multiply.

  The Noble Lie of Climate Alarmism

  The noble lie lives yet… as the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviour demonstrates.

  In recent years, the noble lie has also covered the planet itself — climate change.

  Alarmists insist we perch perilously upon the devil’s shovel.

  If man continues coughing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, Earth will catch a raging fever.

  Thus the world no longer confronts “climate change.” It confronts a “climate crisis.”

  The noble lie writes the warrant for the mass merchandising of alarm. Stanford climate scientist Stephen Schneider:

  On the one hand, as scientists we are ethically bound to the scientific method… On the other hand, we are not just scientists but human beings as well. To do that we need to get some broad based support, to capture the public’s imagination. That, of course, means getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have. Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest.

  There, in a walnut shell, you have the noble lie.

  Crying Wolf

  The noble liars have yelled wolf so often, so loudly, they have cashed in their credibility. Here is the danger:

  One day the wolf may truly snarl at the door. An authentic plague or environmental cataclysm may menace us.

  But they have already squandered their credit.

  They will shout wolf and shout wolf and shout wolf again… telling a noble truth…

  Only this time… no one will heed them.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 23:40

• China Reveals "God Of War" Stealth Bomber
  China Reveals “God Of War” Stealth Bomber

  It’s been common knowledge the US-China relationship could be described as one that is in a “Cold War.” The great power competition between the two, as China (the rising power) and the US (the status quo), are engaged in a titanic power struggle. 

  The battleground for global supremacy will come down to economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power, which China is quickly gaining on the US. 

  Chinese President Xi Jinping’s rapid military modernization effort has beefed up its force with advanced technology, such as fifth-generation fighter jets, drones, and hypersonic weapons. Last October, he said China would never allow its sovereignty, security, and interests to be undermined. 

  The latest sign China continues to advance at full speed is the revelation of a new 5000-mile range stealth bomber capable of striking US military assets in the Pacific. 

  The latest edition of Chinese Modern Weaponry magazine revealed new computer-generated images of the country’s next-generation Xian H-20 strategic bomber. 

  

  The futuristic stealth bomber was first revealed in 2018 and has a flying wing design similar to the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit built in the late 1990s. The main feature of the H-20 is the intercontinental range and the ability to carry nuclear weapons to strike Guam and other key military bases in the Pacific.  

  Modern Weaponry describes the aircraft as “the god of war in the sky.” Though in development for several years, actual images of the bomber have yet to be leaked into the press. 

  Jon Grevatt, an Asia-Pacific defense analyst at security intelligence firm Janes, told South China Morning Post that when “the aircraft becomes operational, it has the potential to be a game-changer.” 

  “That means that the advantage of that plane is that it could attack like a strategic bomber does, hitting targets at a great distance, perhaps in the second island chain and beyond,” Grevatt said. The second island chain poses a threat to US interests in Asia-Pacific.

  If and whenever the H-20 is deployed, it would likely have air-launch hypersonic weapons that would extend the strike range of the aircraft – one that would frighten Washington. China has dubbed one of its hypersonic missiles the “Guam killer.” 

  In 2018, China gave everyone a sneak peek of the H-20 at the end of this clip.

  While America’s military try’s to decide

  The ‘Kitten heel’ or the ‘Stiletto heel’

  China’s getting ready to unveil it’s ‘stolen technology’

  The Xian H-20 strategic bomber

  China- ‘God of war in the sky’

  America- We choose the ‘Kitten heel’

  👠🇺🇸👠 pic.twitter.com/0WSfms0VNU

  — 🇭ip~ (@TruthInBytes) May 25, 2021

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

  This Cold War could be a zero-sum game, and China wants it all. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 23:20

• Is Ivermectin The New Penicillin?
  Is Ivermectin The New Penicillin?

  Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug placed the same radioactive category as Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for the treatment of COVID-19, has reemerged as a promising treatment in the battle to extinguish the pandemic.

  New York Times best-selling author Michael Capuzzo has called it the “drug that cracked Covid,” writing that there are “hundreds of thousands, actually millions, of people around the world, from Uttar Pradesh in India to Peru to Brazil, who are living and not dying.”

  Doctors in India are big fans.

  To that end Dr. Justus R. Hope, MD asks in The Desert Review: Is Ivermectin the new Penicillin?

  

  *  *  *

  As those Indian States using Ivermectin continue to diverge in cases and deaths from those states that forbid it, the natural experiment illustrates the power of Ivermectin decisively.

  Cases in Delhi, where Ivermectin was begun on April 20, dropped from 28,395 to just 2,260 on May 22. This represents an astounding 92% drop. Likewise, cases in Uttar Pradesh have dropped from 37,944 on April 24 to 5,964 on May 22 – a decline of 84%. 

  Delhi and Uttar Pradesh followed the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) guidance published April 20, 2021, which called for dosing of .2 mg per kg of Ivermectin per body weight for three days. This amounts to 15 mg per day for a 150-pound person or 18 mg per day for a 200-pound individual.

  The other three Indian states that adopted it are all down as well. Goa is down from 4,195 to 1,647, Uttarakhand is down from 9,624 to 2,903, and Karnataka is down from 50,112 to 31,183. Goa adopted a pre-emptive policy of mass Ivermectin prevention for the entire adult population over age 18 at a dose of 12 mg daily for five days.

  Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu announced on May 14 they were outlawing Ivermectin in favor of the politically correct Remdesivir. As a result, Tamil Nadu’s cases are up in the same time frame from April 20 to May 22 – 10,986 to 35,873 – more than a tripling.

  Although Big Pharma and Big Media have scrambled to try, they cannot explain away this natural experiment. As I predicted May 12, they would first argue “the lockdowns worked.” The problem with this is that Tamil Nadu has been on strict lockdown for weeks as their cases have done nothing but climb. So the lockdown did not work.

  Their next argument was that “there has been a shift from the highly populated urban areas like Delhi and Mumbai” to the hinterlands, like Tamil Nadu. The big problem is that the adjacent state, Karnataka is just as rural, and its cases are dropping on Ivermectin.

  Uttar Pradesh is near the Himalayas and out in the far non-urbanized north where cases are down 84% with Ivermectin. Uttarakhand is even more rural and located in the Himalayas next to Nepal. Its infections are down 70% with Ivermectin.

  Their final argument lacked any proof. It was essentially an attempt to smear Ivermectin through association with another drug. It attempted to link Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) with Ivermectin unfairly. While HCQ has become a punchline by the media, scientists like Dr. George Fareed know it is effective against COVID-19 – especially in the early stages. 

  Dr. Fareed and his associate, Dr. Brian Tyson, have treated some 6,000 patients with nearly 100% success using a combination of HCQ, Ivermectin, Fluvoxamine, and various nutraceuticals, including zinc Vitamin D.

  https://www.thedesertreview.com/health/local-frontline-doctors-modify-covid-treatment-based-on-results/article_9cdded9e-962f-11eb-a59a-f3e1151e98c3.html

  Unfortunately, none of this has made it through the censorship of the mainstream media, and the public has not heard about the 200 plus studies that reflect HCQ’s effectiveness against COVID-19. The fact remains that HCQ has an undeserved negative connotation due to its connection with Trump, which is unfortunately used to tarnish other life-saving repurposed drugs, like Ivermectin. For example, in the recent Forbes article, journalist Ray uses the title, “Is Ivermectin the New Hydroxychloroquine?“

  https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/05/19/is-ivermectin-the-new-hydroxychloroquine-online-interest-in-unproven-covid-drug-surges-as-experts-urge-caution/

  Ray does not make a single substantive argument against Ivermectin; instead, he attempts to defame, debase or degrade it by repeating baseless accusations. For example, Ray cited Merck’s recommendation against Ivermectin as evidence of ineffectiveness, while Merck used no evidence to support their claim. In addition, he cited the FDA’s recommendation against Ivermectin, yet the FDA admits they have not reviewed the data on which to base this conclusion:  “The FDA has not reviewed data to support the use of Ivermectin in COVID-19 patients to treat or prevent COVID-19…”

  As we all know, Merck was involved in the development of a competing drug and had 356 million reasons to throw its own cheap, unprofitable Ivermectin under the bus. Furthermore, the US government was likewise involved in a significant financial conflict of interest with Merck.

  https://trialsitenews.com/is-the-ivermectin-situation-rigged-in-favor-of-industry-is-the-big-tobacco-analogy-appropriate/

  The story of Ivermectin is more similar to that of Penicillin. Penicillin has saved almost 200 million lives. In addition, three men shared a Nobel Prize in 1945 for its discovery.

  Ivermectin’s discoverers won the 2015 Noble Prize in Medicine, and it has proven to be a life-saving drug in parasitic disease, especially in Africa. Over the past four decades, Ivermectin has saved millions from parasites like strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis – river blindness.

  It has already saved tens of thousands from COVID-19 in India in those few locations that use it. It crashed Mexico’s, Slovakia’s, and Zimbabwe’s cases. I remain more convinced than ever that Ivermectin will bring an end to this Pandemic as the word gets out and more people share the book, Ivermectin for the World. A more fitting title to the Forbes piece might be, “Is Ivermectin the New Penicillin?”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 23:00

• Texas Passes Bill Requiring Sports Teams To Play National Anthem
  Texas Passes Bill Requiring Sports Teams To Play National Anthem

  Lawmakers in Texas passed a bill on Tuesday which will penalize professional sports teams that don’t play the national anthem before games, according to Fox News.

  

  The bill, dubbed the “Star Spangled Banner Protection Act,” would require written contracts between government entities and pro sports teams in which they would agree to play the national anthem. Failure to do so could result in the loss of state or local subsidies, or the loss of state contracts in the future.

  “Texans are tired of sports teams that pander, insulting our national anthem and the men and women who died fighting for our flag,” said Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a staunch advocate for the bill according to Fox News.

  “The passage of SB 4 will ensure Texans can count on hearing the Star Spangled Banner at major sports events throughout the state that are played in venues that taxpayers support. We must always remember that America is the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

  The bill was passed by the Texas House of Representatives in a 110-34 vote. It previously passed the Texas Senate with bipartisan support in April, with Gov. Greg Abbott expected to sign it into law.

  To nobody’s surprise, Democrats criticized the bill, arguing that it constitutes government overreach and violates First Amendment protections. Apparently now they care about free speech.

  “Once again, we’re carrying legislation that is openly and aggressively unconstitutional,” said Rep. Gene Wu (D), according to the Houston Chronicle.

  The Mavericks drew criticism from local lawmakers last February after the team stopped playing the national anthem at the direction of owner Mark Cuban. The NBA later affirmed a league rule requiring teams to play the anthem before home games.

  Cuban told ESPN the decision to stop playing the anthem came after consultations with both NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the local community.

  “In listening to the community, there were quite a few people who voiced their concerns, really their fears that the national anthem did not fully represent them, that their voices were not being heard,” said Cuban at the time.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 22:40

• Buchanan: Does Our Diversity Portend Disintegration?
  Buchanan: Does Our Diversity Portend Disintegration?

  Authored by Pat Buchanan,

  After nine people were shot to death by a public transit worker, who then killed himself in San Jose, the latest mass murder in America, California Governor Gavin Newsom spoke for many on the eve of this Memorial Day weekend.

  “What the hell is going on in the United States of America? What the hell is wrong with us?”

  Good question.

  Indeed, it seems that the country is coming apart.

  

  In May, Congress, to address a spate of criminal assaults on Asian Americans, enacted a new hate crimes law to protect them.

  May also witnessed a rash of assaults on Jewish Americans to show the attackers’ hatred of Israel and support for the Palestinians in the Gaza war.

  The terms “racist” and “racism” are now commonplace accusations in political discourse and a public square where whites are expected to ritually denounce the “white privilege” into which they were born.

  In the year since the death of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter “Defund the Police!” campaign, the shootings and killings of cops and citizens in our great cities have skyrocketed.

  In March, and again in April, 167,000 immigrants were caught crossing our southern border illegally. The invaders are now coming not only from Central and South America but also from Africa, the Islamic world and the largest and most populous continent, Asia. And their destiny may be to replace us.

  For as the endless invasion proceeds, native-born Americans have ceased to reproduce themselves. Not since the birth dearth of the Great Depression and WWII, when the Silent Generation was born, has the U.S. population experienced such a birth decline as today.

  At the same time, a war of all against all in America seems to raise the question, to which recitation of the cliche — “Our diversity is our greatest strength” — no longer seems an adequate response:

  Is there no limit to the racial, religious, ideological, political, cultural and ethnic diversity the nation can accommodate before it splinters into its component parts?

  In professions of religious belief, atheists, agnostics and secularists have become our largest “congregation,” followed by Catholics and Protestants, both of which are in numerical decline.

  Diversity of faiths leads to irreconcilable, clashing opinions about morality on the most divisive social issues of our era: abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, etc.

  Racial diversity, too, is bringing back problems unseen since the 1960s.

  America was almost 90% white in 1960, but that figure is down to 60% and falling. In 25 years, we will all belong to racial minorities.

  Are we Americans still united in our love of country? Do we still take pride in what we have done for our own people and what America has done for the world in the 400 years since Jamestown?

  Hardly. Part of the nation buys into the academic and intellectual elites’ version of history, tracing America’s birth as a nation to the arrival of the first slave ship in Virginia in 1619.

  We not only disagree about our history; some actually hate our history.

  That hate can be seen in the statues and monuments destroyed, not just of Confederate military heroes but of the European explorers who discovered America, the Founding Fathers who created the nation, and the leaders, from Thomas Jefferson to Andrew Jackson to Teddy Roosevelt, who built the America we became.

  Yet, tens of millions from all over the world still see coming to America as the realization of a life’s dream.

  Some look at Western civilization as 500 years of colonialism, imperialism, genocide, slavery and segregation — practiced against people of color. This is the source of the West’s wealth and power, it is said, and that wealth and power should be redistributed to the descendants of the victims of Western rapacity.

  For many, equality of opportunity is no longer enough.

  We must make restitution, deliver reparations and guarantee a future where an equality of rewards replaces an equality of rights.

  Meritocracy must yield to equity.

  Elite high schools, such as Thomas Jefferson in Virginia, Stuyvesant in New York and Lowell in San Francisco, must abandon their emphasis on grades, tests and exams to gain admissions and prove progress.

  And these schools must be remade to mirror the racial and ethnic composition of the communities where they reside.

  And a new cancel culture has taken root in America.

  Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum, a CNN commentator, was fired for suggesting that Native American institutions and culture played no significant role in the foundation and formation of the American Republic.

  “We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here. I mean, yes, we have Native Americans,” Santorum said, adding: “There isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.”

  Impolitic though this rendition was, was it wholly false?

  Something is seriously wrong with a country that professes to be great but whose elite cannot abide the mildest of heresies to its established truth.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 22:20

• Microsoft President Warns 2024 Will Look Like Orwell's '1984' If We Don't Stop AI Police State
  Microsoft President Warns 2024 Will Look Like Orwell’s ‘1984’ If We Don’t Stop AI Police State

  George Orwell’s dystopian vision written in his book “Nineteen Eighty-Four” could become a reality by 2024 as artificial intelligence technology becomes the all-seeing eye, a top Microsoft executive warned Thursday. 

  Microsoft President Brad Smith told BBC’s Panorama George Orwell’s 1984 “could come to pass in 2024” if government regulation doesn’t protect the public against intrusive artificial intelligence surveillance. 

  “I’m constantly reminded of George Orwell’s lessons in his book ‘1984.’ You know the fundamental story … was about a government who could see everything that everyone did and hear everything that everyone said all the time,” Smith said on BBC while chatting about China’s use of artificial intelligence to monitor its citizens. 

  

  “Well, that didn’t come to pass in 1984, but if we’re not careful, that could come to pass in 2024,” Smith continued.

  “If we don’t enact the laws that will protect the public in the future, we are going to find the technology racing ahead, and it’s going to be very difficult to catch up.”

  He warned that Orwell’s view of a government spying on its citizens around the clock is already a reality in some parts of the world. 

  Artificial intelligence-led totalitarianism, such as in China, has wiped away the freedoms of its citizens and transformed them into obedient members of the state. A social credit score keeps citizens in check. 

  To prevent such a dystopia in the West, lawmakers need to act now, explained Smith. 

  In 2019, the billionaire investor Peter Thiel insisted that artificial intelligence was “literally communist.”

  He said artificial intelligence concentrates power to monitor citizens. These surveillance tools know more about a person than they know about themselves.

  Artificial intelligence is a crucial tool for governments to adopt an Orwellian state of surveillance and control. 

  But can we trust lawmakers and “Big Tech” who want to consolidate power to prevent such a dystopia? 

  It’s hard to say, considering politicians have only one objective: stay in power.

  Suppose we can’t trust politicians to protect our freedoms and interests; instead, they side with mega-corporations. In that case, we must raise our understanding of privacy shields that protect us from artificial intelligence spying on us. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 22:00

• Biden Rebuffs Russia's Attempts To Restore Open Skies Treaty
  Biden Rebuffs Russia’s Attempts To Restore Open Skies Treaty

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  The Biden administration has informed Russia that the US will not rejoin the Open Skies Treaty, an arms control agreement that allows unarmed surveillance flights over participating countries. “Thursday’s decision means only one major arms control treaty between the nuclear powers — the New START treaty — remains in place,” Associated Press observes.

  The Trump administration withdrew from the treaty last year. Russia had been attempting to salvage it, but the Biden administration’s decision appears to be the final nail in the coffin for Open Skies.

  

  Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman informed Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov of the US decision late this week.

  As a candidate, President Biden slammed the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the treaty. In May 2020, Biden released a statement that said a US withdrawal from Open Skies would “exacerbate growing tensions between the West and Russia, and increase the risks of miscalculation and conflict.”

  In one of his first major foreign policy moves, President Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the two leaders agreed to extend New START, the last nuclear arms control treaty between the US and Russia. Biden vowed to work on more arms control agreements with Russia, but so far, he has failed to do so.

  Biden and Putin are scheduled to meet in Geneva on June 16th amid heightened tensions. US-Russia relations are at their lowest point since the end of the Cold War, thanks to hostile US policies. Since coming into office, Biden has slapped sanctions on Russia, expelled Russian diplomats, and supported Ukraine during a tense stand-off with Moscow.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 21:40

• The First American City To Authorize "Reparations" Is Already Regretting It
  The First American City To Authorize “Reparations” Is Already Regretting It

  Evanston, Illinois made headlines earlier this year by becoming the first city in the US to authorize “reparations” in the form of payments to compensate Black Americans for abuses done to family members. The Chicago suburb’ City Council voted back in March to distribute $400K to eligible black households, with each qualifying family receiving up to $25K for homeownership and or improvement grants, as well as mortgage assistance.

  But while proponents on the left praised the move as unprecedented, it turns out that those who designed the proposal were careful to ensure the word “reparations” was nowhere near it. In fact, a lengthy Bloomberg piece telling the story of how the proposal came to be shows that its backers were simply hoping to put new revenue from cannabis legalization to use righting historical wrongs in Evanston.

  

  For starters, only 16 people will initially be eligible for the money (only $400K was approved and it will be doled out in increments of $25K). And what’s more, instead of receiving cash payments, the money must go directly to a bank or a contractor to prevent the recipient from incurring a state or federal tax penalty.

  In essence, this shows the futility of making ‘reparations’ a reality via a series of local or municipal movements: there are myriad boundaries at the federal level that make it unrealistic.

  Right now, the money can only be used to help qualified Black residents buy homes, fix them up, or stay in them. Right now, the priority is the grants go to any Black resident of Evanston from 1919 to 1969, the year after the federal government passed the Fair Housing Act, then any of their direct descendants, then anyone who moved to the city after that and can show that they’ve faced discrimination.

  Even supporters of reparations said they were underwhelmed.

  “We want cash payments. I want reparations like any Black person” And the big question: How much? They decided on grants of $25,000—not a lot of money in Evanston, where the average home sells for many multiples of that. The $400,000 covers just 16 people to start with. That’s a tough number, another reality check. There are other restrictions: The residents won’t get the cash directly. The city says that would likely require them to pay state and federal taxes on it. Instead, the money will go to the financial institution providing a new mortgage or holding an existing one or to the closing agent handling a down payment. It could go to a contractor making repairs on the recipient’s home or to Cook County to pay property taxes.

  At a virtual town meeting held on March 22, Black residents lined up to explain why they supported the program, but didn’t support calling it “reparations”.

  At the March 22 City Council meeting, held virtually, so many people had something to say that the mayor limited them to a minute each. The first speakers were the Duke professor Darity and Kirsten Mullen, co-authors of the 2020 book From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century. Darity said the program would do little about the equity gap in housing. Mullen challenged the premise. “There are some admirable efforts by municipalities to atone for their own race-based policies,” Mullen said. “However, it is unfortunate when those acts of atonement are confused with reparations.” Cannon said that because she now rents an apartment and at age 73 doesn’t want to take on a mortgage, she wouldn’t benefit, even though she’d qualify. “We want cash payments,” she said. “I want reparations like any Black person.” Kevin Brown, another founder of the Facebook group, said: “The city of Evanston should not willingly mislead our country. … We support the housing program, but we don’t support calling it reparations.”

  Now that the program has blown up and become national news, it turns out, everybody in the community has something negative to say about it.

  Brown says it wasn’t until earlier this year that some people realized the city was going ahead with reparations. There had been regular public meetings, opportunities to comment, but they’d almost all occurred while the city was locked down, people were struggling, and no one was socializing much. Then there’s the $10 million. It had seemed a smart idea to use the marijuana sales tax to pay for reparations. It’s such a convenient, tidy model that other communities might copy it. That’s the problem, Brown says. “I kind of call it reparations on the cheap. There’s no pain involved. I think it would be a different dynamic if reparations became an element of the city budget—of the core city budget—and the city government was saying, ‘We’re going to allocate a hundred million dollars over this period of time to fund the reparations budget.’ ” The city’s annual budget, for reference, is about $300 million. “This is just not costing anyone anything. So they’re OK.” Percy Berger, 72, a former banker and private equity investor and the owner of a home in Evanston’s Lake Shore Historical District, calls the $10 million inconsequential, arbitrary. A national reparations program would have to calculate African Americans’ economic losses: The lost wages from almost a century of forced labor after America’s independence; or the loss of land, the 40 acres and the mule promised to those formerly enslaved after emancipation. Plus interest. But how, Berger wants to know, were the losses calculated in Evanston? “No one looked at it systematically,” he says. “And if they did and came up with that number it would be even more insulting.”

  And with COVID-19 stretching state and local budgets, some are arguing that maybe that money could have been better spent. The community still has another $9 million-plus in weed tax revenue to spend – but it’s unlikely it will go to a continuation of this program.

  This is an argument about what’s possible and what’s necessary and how far America will go. It’s happening in Evanston, and it will happen elsewhere. “Black folk have to raise their voices and say what reparations are,” Rue Simmons says. Some of the pushback she expected; some of it, she says, is personal and political. There will be plenty more discussion in Evanston about the remaining $9.6 million. The council’s resolution states it should be spent not only on housing but also on economic development and educational initiatives. Everyone hopes the $10 million is just a start and that 10 years won’t be the end.

  It’s just a reminder that those hoping to fight against economic inequality have many other, better options than whatever Evanston is doing.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 21:20

• Judge Postpones Georgia Election Audit After County Hires Criminal Defense Attorneys, Files Motion To Dismiss
  Judge Postpones Georgia Election Audit After County Hires Criminal Defense Attorneys, Files Motion To Dismiss

  Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

  A judge in Georgia told parties in an election integrity case on May 27 that a previously scheduled meeting at a ballot storage warehouse was canceled after officials filed a flurry of motions in the case.

  

  Media crews film while election workers process absentee ballots at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Nov. 2, 2020. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

  Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero said a May 28 meeting was no longer taking place because of motions filed by Fulton County, the county’s Board of Registration and Elections, and the county’s clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts, a spokesperson for the court confirmed to The Epoch Times.

  Amero said the motions must be heard before the plaintiffs can gain access to the absentee ballots. He proposed a June 21 hearing, but the order scheduling the hearing hasn’t yet been filed.

  “It seems like a desperation move. The silver lining is that we now have more time to perfect the changes we had to make in our inspection plan,” Garland Favorito, the lead petitioner, told The Epoch Times via email.

  County officials argued that the complaint filed by voters should be dismissed because the petitioners failed to serve, or even attempt to serve, the county. They also said Fulton County doesn’t have final control over elections, that petitioners aren’t entitled to declaratory judgment, and that petitioners haven’t complied with election contest requirements.

  Amero heard in a hearing last week that petitioners weren’t able to properly examine ballot images they’ve received because of their low resolution—200 dots per inch (DPI). Amero granted the petitioners’ request to unseal the mailed ballots and said they could go to where they were stored in order to observe county workers create higher resolution images of the ballots.

  Amero mentioned during the hearing that no parties had filed a motion to dismiss, allowing petitioners to obtain some discovery.

  During the hearing, lawyers for the county urged the judge not to grant access to the ballots.

  Before the latest update in the case, some officials had supported the ballot examination.

  Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, opposed letting petitioners get access to the ballots, but said he supported Amero’s ruling.

  “From day one, I have encouraged Georgians with concerns about the election in their counties to pursue those claims through legal avenues. Fulton County has a long standing history of election mismanagement that has understandably weakened voters’ faith in its system. Allowing this audit provides another layer of transparency and citizen engagement,” he told The Epoch Times in an email.

  However, Democrat Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts criticized the attempt to examine the ballots.

  “It is outrageous that Fulton County continues to be a target of those who cannot accept the results from last year’s election,” he told news outlets in a statement.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 21:00

• US Embassies Worldwide Are Flying BLM Flags This Week
  US Embassies Worldwide Are Flying BLM Flags This Week

  US embassies and consulates across the globe this week flew Black Lives Matter (BLM) flags after being authorized and encouraged to do so for the first time ever in a memo by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. It’s now expected to be a regular practice, particularly in instances of race-related events or memorials.

  Just ahead of the May 25 one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death, a State Department memo was sent to all diplomatic staff worldwide saying that it “supports the use of the term ‘Black Lives Matter’ in messaging content”. It further encouraged speeches and commemorative events related to diplomatic engagements on the anniversary “and beyond”. Subsequently on Tuesday BLM flags were photographed flying at various US diplomatic compounds across the globe, stretching from east Asia to Greece to Spain and Latin America.

  

  Blinken said in a Tuesday video commemorating the Floyd anniversary that America can only be “credible force for human rights around the world” if it faces “the realities of racism and hatred here at home.”

  It’s a reversal of a State Dept. crackdown last year on embassies abroad flying politically charged banners of non-government and partisan organizations, also sparking intense controversy given it’s widely acknowledged BLM is so much more than a mere racial justice organization, and also given the summer’s violent riots and looting in which sections of US cities burned and police were attacked. As The Washington Examiner recalls of BLM leadership’s own words…

  Black Lives Matter Global Network has been a lightning rod for many conservatives since one co-founder of the group described the leadership team as “trained Marxists” organizing based on those principles.

  

  Note that the BLM banner was actually placed over the official United States seal in order to cover it…

  

  After…

  

  And given BLM is also widely recognized as being undergirded by an entire ‘package’ of far left ideologies, the US government flying its flag is tantamount to adopting distinct symbols of a radical political party and movement (even as it would be a violation of the Constitution and the law should embassies promote either the Republican or Democratic parties on a similarly official basis).

  We raise this banner in honor of George Floyd, murdered one year ago today, in solidarity with people around the globe seeking a world without racial discrimination and a future with equal opportunity for all. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/cVIkfH5Yra

  — U.S. Embassy Athens (@USEmbassyAthens) May 25, 2021

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  On this note of “ideology” – the memo further calls for “building coalitions of like-minded nations” in order “fight against systemic racism and discrimination, to include swift and meaningful responses to human rights abuses and violations of racial, ethnic, and other underserved and mainstream racial equity issues throughout the multilateral system.” 

  Here’s more from Washington Examiner: 

  “We actually do have an ideological frame,” BLMGN [or Black Lives Matter Global Network] co-founder Patrisse Cullors said in 2015. “We are super-versed on, sort of, ideological theories.”

  Among these ideologies includes “defunding the police” – among many others.

  

  Commenting on this, Republican Congressman from Arizona Andy Biggs this week ripped the new State Dept. authorization as a huge and brazen step away from the kind of political neutrality that embassies are supposed to represent: “BLM burned down cities and caused billions in property damage. They are the antithesis of American values and do not belong on any of our embassies,” he stated on Twitter.

  Displaying a private NGO’s flag like the BLM logo on US embassies is unprecedented.

  It violates the Hatch Act, endorses one NGO over another and undermines American security by endorsing calls for defunding the police.

  Don’t be outraged later when other presidents do it too.

  — Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) May 26, 2021

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  And veteran diplomat and former Acting Director of National Intelligence under the Trump administration Richard Grenell also blasted embassies for flying the banner, saying, “Displaying a private NGO’s flag like the BLM logo on US embassies is unprecedented. It violates the Hatch Act, endorses one NGO over another and undermines American security by endorsing calls for defunding the police.“

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 20:40

• Oregon Is Proof That Leftist Politics Ultimately Lead To Tyranny And Decay
  Oregon Is Proof That Leftist Politics Ultimately Lead To Tyranny And Decay

  Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us,

  What kind of abysmal social and economic conditions would make at least five separate counties of US voters want to flee a state to join the borders of another state? Well, all it takes is a cult of insane Marxists running the entire state into the ground from the safety of their metropolitan communes while demanding that people submit their undying fealty to the draconian medical mandates of an elitist minority. Yeah, things have to get pretty bad to inspire so many people into leaving and taking half the state with them.

  

  Welcome to Oregon…

  I used to live right across the state border from Portland, Oregon through the 1990s, and while the place was always considered a bit of a haven for washout hippies, reject grunge bands and limp-wristed wine sipping progressives, there wasn’t enough of them to take the place over completely and the city was still relatively clean and well kept and peaceful. You rarely heard of crime, poverty or unrest; those were problems reserved for places like California.

  I can’t recall any moment during that time when people said they felt “unsafe” in Portland, or when they were desperate to leave Oregon for greener pastures. It used to be a decent place to build a life. A lot has changed since then.

  As the political left and the Democratic Party has become increasingly militant in its regressive ideology and collectivist underpinnings the states these people control have become increasingly dismal financial and constitutional failures. Perhaps it was always there under the skin, but in the past few years the cancer has grown terminal. I really have no interest in ever going back to Oregon and no one I know has any interest in visiting the place either. When I research the local news, this is what consistently pops up:

  Portland is now a homeless tent city with walls of garbage in the streets and riots on a regular basis. The city has reported a 2000% rise in homicides, specifically after taking measures to defund local police precincts. Oregon also has a total debt of around $43 billion, which is dramatically higher than red state neighbors like Idaho and Montana. Data for 2020 to 2021 poverty and homeless rates have not been released yet, partially because cities like Portland sought to stall the federally mandated count back in January. I would not be surprised if the numbers have had an epic spike in the past year; the only question will be, is it because of covid, or is it just because of the bumbling of the lefties?

  But it’s not just the economic decline that’s the issue in Oregon, it’s also the rampant suppression of individual rights through medical tyranny, along with the special government treatment of Marxist extremist groups like Antifa and BLM.

  Thousands of businesses have closed in the state because of pointless lockdowns which did NOTHING to stop the natural spread of Covid, and the businesses that tried to defy the mandates in order to survive were harassed or threatened with fines by state health officials and OSHA. At the same time, local politicians have barely lifted a finger to stop leftist civil unrest. Some people say they are too weak to take action, but their meekness is more likely a show of support, a virtue signal. They want the riots to continue, at least to a certain extent.

  That said, nothing tops the announcement this past week by the Oregon Health Authority, which has just issued a rule that businesses must now demand proof of vaccination before a customer may enter. If they do not have proof, they must be forced to wear a mask or they must be made to leave. This is the first time I have heard of a state actually codifying vaccine passports into their enforcement mandates, but I’m sure other blue states will follow Oregon’s lead in the near future.

  Keep in mind that these rules are a threat to Oregon businesses as much as they are a threat to the regular public. As one bureaucrat from the Oregon Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration argued:

  “We expect employers to comply, whichever route they take–allowing the vaccination exemption or sticking with current requirements….We will take and investigate complaints alleging employers aren’t requiring face coverings, for example, or checking vaccination status.”

  Don’t forget that this guy is not a law maker, he’s a nobody. He was never elected. Most of these mandates across the country have not yet been debated by a legislature or voted on by citizens. None of the mandates are real law, they are simply Color of Law controls enforced unilaterally outside of the constitution. This is unacceptable.

  As those of us in the liberty media have been warning since the beginning of the pandemic hype, the end game was always going to be vaccine passports; it was always about control of the citizenry, it was never about saving lives. We told people that vaccine passports were coming and the media called us crazy. Now Oregon is proving us right. Of course, Oregon is not the only blue state setting the standard for tyranny. Most leftist dominated states are pushing similar measures.

  For example, Illinois officials have said they will not enforce vaccine passports, while at the exact same time admitting they are considering vaccine passports. Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lightfoot, a racist who has demanded segregation of white journalists from black journalists in her press interactions, is also using her influence to encourage segregation of vaccinated people from unvaccinated people in local restaurants.

  In Virginia, Gov. Northham has stated that vaccine passports are on the table. Most counties in the state are predominantly conservative, but it is run once again from metropolitan areas that are saturated with leftists. This has led many counties to seek nullification of state government controls (including Red Flag gun laws). On top of that, numerous counties of Virginia are considering leaving the state to join West Virginia, just as multiple counties in Eastern Oregon are trying to join with Idaho.

  In Blue States across the nation incremental totalitarianism is being implemented, but Oregon is clearly leading the charge in my opinion.

  Many states are claiming that they will not enforce vaccine passports while subversively supporting corporations that do the enforcing of the passports for them (by the way, no company has the right to demand access to your private medical history before allowing you to enter their establishment).  But this is all a farce – Eventually all leftist governments are going to demand vaccine passports as a rule.  Oregon simply leap-frogged ahead of everyone else and went straight to the Orwellian end game.   

  So, of course we have to ask an obvious medical question here first:

  If the experimental mRNA vaccines actually work, then why do we need vaccine passports at all?

  The people who are vaccinated would be protected, and the people who are not vaccinated would be taking a “risk”, as is their right.  The unvaccinated are no threat whatsoever to the vaccinated if the vaccines do what Big Pharma claims they do.

  Of course, being unvaccinated is not much of a risk considering the death rate of Covid is only 0.26% outside of nursing homes according to independent medical studies. And for those that claim “mutations” are a concern, viruses mutate with or without mass vaccination. Just as there are seasonal strains of the flu, there will now be seasonal strains of covid. That’s the beauty of it for those in power; there will have to be new vaccinations every year, and you will have to renew your vaccine passport every year. The controls will NEVER end.

  If you want to see what our future will be in America if we allow this totalitarian march to continue just take a look at Australia.  Regional lockdowns of millions of people are now a regular occurrence there despite the proliferation of vaccines within the country.  All it takes is a handful of covid positive tests and the government has all the excuse it needs to erase people’s rights. 

  In my recent article ‘Vaccine Virtue Signaling And The Cult Of Woke’, I outlined in detail why it makes little sense to become a guinea pig for an experimental “vaccine” (which is really a form of gene therapy) when 99.7% of people will survive the virus without difficulty. On top of that, why submit to a vaccine today that will probably be declared useless next year anyway?

  The future implications of vaccine passports and economic decline are disturbing, but this is the inevitable result when leftists and collectivists are allowed to gather political and social power. As I have noted many times this year, leftists are the ONLY subset of the population seeking and supporting government dominion over American lives. Not only that, but they have consistently partnered with global corporations that they supposedly despise in order to leverage more power.

  They are the only people supporting mass censorship, mob intimidation of those with different political views, mass violence against innocent people and businesses, they supported government lockdowns and extensive violations of the Bill of Rights, and now they are supporting vaccine passports which would destroy all personal liberty in this country for all time.

  Am I falling into a “left/right” paradigm trap here? Are things just as bad in conservative red states? Why not take a look at a red state like my home of Montana? In Montana, the state government has passed multiple laws and set multiple precedents which now protect the public against covid restrictions. These include:

  Court orders which prevent local health departments from forcing businesses to require that customers wear masks. (5 businesses took a stand in Flathead County and the courts sided with them).

  The Montana Legislature has passed a law banning employers from requiring that their employees get vaccinated in order to keep their jobs.

  A law has been passed which prevents any establishment including schools, colleges and medical facilities from demanding proof of vaccination before offering services. Vaccine passports will not be allowed in Montana.

  A law has been passed which protects businesses from lawsuits related to covid if a business does not enforce mandates. A similar law is being forwarded which also protects government buildings and healthcare facilities.

  Executive orders by Governor Gianforte are being established which stop city governments from enforcing mandates while the state government has lifted them.

  Montana has also passed legislation which prevents any new federal gun law from being enforced in the state.

  Montana has seen a rush of people relocating to the state and seeking to escape the suffocating restrictions. I have spoken with many of the people that have moved to my area and most of them are conservatives that can no longer tolerate the path of Marxism that their original states are following.

  As it stands right now, Montana is one of the MOST free states in the US. Many other red states are considering or have already passed similar measures to protect the rights of their citizens. So, who are the real fascists? Who are the real power mongers? Leftists or conservatives?

  The fact of the matter is, the left/right paradigm is a reality. The political elites at the top of the pyramid have no loyalties to either side, but regular people at the bottom of the pyramid are indelibly separated. The proof is in the actions of blue states vs red states.

  Perhaps there are many Democrats out there who do not necessarily agree with the cultism of social justice warriors. Maybe they don’t support the unhinged thirst for vicarious control that vaccine virtue signalers display. But if they don’t support it they are not saying much about it out loud. This is indeed about sides, and “moderation” at this point is a joke. One side is supported by real science, the other side is ignoring the science for the convenience of their ideology. One side is clearly right, and the other side is clearly wrong.

  Conservatives want to be left alone, and leftists want to dictate the lives of others. Conservatives are for freedom, and leftists are not. There is no debating this any longer. The question is, which side are you on?

  *  *  *

  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
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 20:20

• Daily Caller Sues Racist Chicago Mayor For Blacklisting White Journalists
  Daily Caller Sues Racist Chicago Mayor For Blacklisting White Journalists

  The Daily Caller News Foundation and one of its reporters, Thomas Catenacci, is suing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) over her decision to only grant interviews to ‘black or brown journalists.’

  

  The lawsuit, filed by Daily Caller and Judicial Watch in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that Lightfoot’s denial violates the plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights, as well as Catenacci’s right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.

  “It’s absurd that an elected official believes she can discriminate on the basis of race,” said DCNF Editor-in-Chief Ethan Barton. “Mayor Lightfoot’s decision is clearly blocking press freedom through racial discrimination.”

  Earlier this month Lightfoot announced that she would grant one-on-one interviews “only to black or brown journalists.”

  More via the Daily Caller:

  Catenacci sought to interview Lightfoot about a variety of topics regarding COVID-19 and the city’s efforts to vaccinate its population.

  “On May 20, 2021, Plaintiff Catenacci requested, by email, a one-on-one interview with Mayor Lightfoot,” the DCNF lawsuit said. “Plaintiff Catenacci sent a follow-up email on May 21, 2021. He also sent a third email on May 24, 2021.”

  “As of the date of this Complaint, Mayor Lightfoot’s office has not responded to Plaintiff Catenacci’s request nor has Mayor Lightfoot agreed to an interview with Plaintiff Catenacci,” the suit continues.

  Lightfoot denied Catenacci’s request by “failing to respond in a timely manner,” the lawsuit said, noting that “on information and belief,” Lightfoot is aware that Catenacci is “not a journalist of color.”

  “Racial discrimination has no place in America, especially in the halls of government,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “Mayor Lightfoot’s admitted policy of race-based discrimination is flagrantly illegal and immoral. Simply put, we’re asking the court to find Mayor Lightfoot’s racist abuse unlawful.”

  According to Catenacci, “Preventing journalists from doing our jobs in such a blatantly discriminatory way is wrong and does a disservice to our readers who come from all backgrounds. Every journalist and every person who consumes the news should be concerned by Mayor Lightfoot’s actions.”

  Lightfoot’s policy set off a firestorm of protest from local Chicago reporters, with one Chicago Tribune journalist of color canceling a scheduled interview with the mayor in protest.

  “I am a Latino reporter @chicagotribune whose interview request was granted for today,” tweeted the Tribune’s City Hall reporter, Gregory Pratt, adding “However, I asked the mayor’s office to lift its condition on others and when they said no, we respectfully canceled. Politicians don’t get to choose who covers them.”

  I am a Latino reporter @chicagotribune whose interview request was granted for today. However, I asked the mayor’s office to lift its condition on others and when they said no, we respectfully canceled. Politicians don’t get to choose who covers them. https://t.co/YMW8M8ZgJm

  — Gregory Pratt (@royalpratt) May 19, 2021

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  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 20:00

• And Now Prices Are Really Soaring: May Rent Jump Is Biggest On Record
  And Now Prices Are Really Soaring: May Rent Jump Is Biggest On Record

  With BofA predicting that the US is facing a period of “transitory hyperinflation” as a result of soaring commodity prices in everything from metals to food…

  The @UNFAO global food price index rose for an 11th month in April to a seven year high at 120.9, representing a y-o-y jump of 30.7%. Food #inflation has not risen this fast since 2011 with all sectors rising led by sugar and oils – #agriculture #grains pic.twitter.com/V78egWukzI

  — Ole S Hansen (@Ole_S_Hansen) May 6, 2021

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  …. and beyond, in what increasingly more warn is a stagflationary burst right out of the 1970s playbook…

  

  … it makes sense that home prices are also surging thanks to trillions in stimmy checks, near-record low mortgage rates and an exodus away from cities, and as we noted two weeks ago that’s precisely what they are doing, with Redfin reporting an 18% jump in median home sale prices to an all time high…

  

  … as a record 58% of all houses sell within two weeks of listing, of which 45% sell for more than their listing price, also a record.

  

  Amid this dismal “transitorily hyperinflationary” landscape, where those whose incomes aren’t similarly hyperinflating find themselves at risk of being unable to afford a roof above their head, there was one ray of hope: renting, with rent prices tumbling in recent months and according to the BLS’ monthly CPI metric, rent inflation had just dropped to the lowest in a decade, just below 2.0% annually…

  

  … which due to the way the CPI basket is weighted acted as a key anchor on overall CPI rates, and served to distort the broader inflationary picture. In short, the Fed would look at the relatively tame core CPI which was only tame thanks to “tumbling” rents and would conclude that there is nothing to worry about.

  Only, as we first discussed three weeks ago, it now appears that not only was the government misrepresenting the actual data in hopes of extracting as much stimulus from the Biden regime by pretending inflation is low and “contained”, but that rents are in fact soaring once again.

  As we reported at the start of May, American Homes 4 Rent, which owns 54,000 houses, increased rents 11% on vacant properties in April, the company reported in a statement:

  … Continued to experience record demand with a Same-Home portfolio Average Occupied Days Percentage of 97.3% in the first quarter of 2021, while achieving 10.0% rental rate growth on new leases, which accelerated further in April to an Average Occupied Days Percentage in the high 97% range while achieving over 11% rental rate growth on new leases.

  Invitation Homes, the largest landlord in the industry, also boosted rents by similar amount, an executive said on a recent conference call. Or, as Bloomberg puts it, record occupancy rates are emboldening single-family landlords to hike rents aggressively, testing the limits of booming demand for suburban rentals.

  While soaring housing costs had put homeownership out of reach for most Americans, rents had been relatively tame for much of 2020. But in recent months, rents have also soared as vaccines fuel optimism about a rebound from the pandemic, and a reversal in the city-to-suburbs exodus.  The increases, as Bloomberg so eloquently puts it, “may add to concerns about inflation pressures.”

  “Companies are trying to figure out how hard they can push before they start losing people,” said Jeffrey Langbaum, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “And they seem to be of the opinion they can push as far as they want.”

  Fast forward to today when we have definitive proof that the companies were right.

  According to the June Apartment List National Rent Report, the national rent index increased by 2.3% from April to May, the largest single month increase ever recorded in AL estimates, which begin in January 2017.  It was also the third straight month in which that record has been broken, following a 2.0 percent increase last month and a 1.4 percent increase in March.

  In March, prices rebounded to their pre-pandemic levels. This month, we hit a new milestone — our national index is now above the level where we project it would have been if the pandemic-related price declines of 2020 had never occurred at all.

  After this recent spike, year-over-year rent growth now stands at 5.4% nationally, and prices are now above the level where rents would have been if the pandemic-related price declines of 2020 had never occurred at all.

  

  In the chart above, AL plots the national median rent from 2018 to present. The data for 2018 and 2019 depicts the smooth seasonality of a typical year, in which prices peak during the summer busy season and then dip slightly in the winter off-season. Overall, prices increased by 2.9 percent in 2018 and 2.1 percent in 2019. 2020 represents a clear break from this trend, with rents declining in the early months of the pandemic during what is normally peak-season. The dashed line in the chart represents a projection of how rents would have changed over the past year in the absence of the pandemic. This projection is based on an average of the growth rates that we observed in 2018 and 2019. Actual rent growth had been trailing this projection since the start of the pandemic, but this month’s record setting growth has now put actual rents ahead of the projection. Year-over-year rent growth now stands at 5.4 percent, another record.

  To be sure, there is significant regional variation in rent trends, and prices in a number of markets are still well below pre-pandemic levels. That said, even in these markets, prices are rebounding rapidly. San Francisco headlines throughout the pandemic for the staggering 26.6 percent drop in rents from March 2020 through January 2021, but since January, San Francisco rents have increased by 13.4 percent. Although rents in San Francisco are still 16.8 percent below pre-pandemic levels, the market has clearly turned a corner, and the best deals appear to be behind us.

  

  San Francisco aside, there is a similar trend across the rest of the country where rents had been falling fastest. Nine of the ten cities with the sharpest year-over-year rent declines have now experienced positive rent growth for four consecutive months. Four of these cities — San Jose, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Minneapolis — have seen rents increasing for five consecutive months. The following chart shows month-over-month rent growth from 2018 to present for six of the cities that have been hit hardest by the pandemic:

  

  As AL notes, in each of the six cities shown, the fastest single-month rent increase has taken place in 2021. Rents are still below pre-COVID levels in each of these cities, but they’re quickly catching up. Nowhere is the trend stronger than in Boston, where prices have increased by an average of 3.4 percent per month in 2021 –  if that pace continues, Boston rents will surpass March 2020 levels by mid-summer.

  But if prices are rebounding sharply in traditional coastal markets, the market is nothing short of frenzied across another group of mid-sized markets. The pandemic and remote work spurred demand for the space and affordability that these cities offered, and in response, rent prices grew even as the surrounding economy struggled. But while rent declines in expensive markets have reversed course, the cities where rents have been growing fastest are continuing to boom. For the clearest example, no further than Boise, ID where the average rent has soared by 31% in the past year!

  

  As ApartmentList notes, Boise, ID is leading the list, where rents grew by a staggering 6.6% over just the past month. This is the fastest month-over-month growth rate among the nation’s 100 largest cities, and Boise also continues to rank #1 for fastest year-over-year growth, which now stands at 30.8 percent. All of the 10 cities where rents have grown fastest since the start of the pandemic continued to see increases this month.

  Many of these markets had been heating up prior to the pandemic. For example, from January 2017 to January 2020, rents in Mesa, AZ increased by 25.5 percent, the fastest growth in the nation over that period. Fresno ranked third for fastest rent growth from 2017 to 2020, while Chandler, AZ ranked sixth. Eight of the ten cities with the biggest pandemic booms were in the top 20 for pre-pandemic growth from 2017 to 2020. The pandemic did not necessarily start a new trend in these markets, so much as accelerate an existing one. This stands in contrast to what has happened in the expensive markets discussed above, for which the rent declines of the past year were a complete aberration. Given this longer-term context, as well as the continued upward trajectory in rent trends, it seems that Boise and cities like it have yet to hit their peaks.

  As the Apartment List concludes, the pandemic created some truly “transitory” softness in the rental market last year, and in response, 2021 has seen some of the fastest rent growth we have on record in our data. Nationally, rents have now surpassed the level where they would have been if rent growth had not been disrupted by the pandemic. In markets like San Francisco where rents had been falling fastest, prices have turned a corner and are now rebounding. At the same time, booming markets like Boise continue to see prices climb. More broadly, rental inventory across the nation remains tight, and as vaccine distribution continues to gain momentum, we may be seeing even higher prices as a result of released pent up demand from renters who had been delaying moves due to the pandemic. Whereas last year’s peak moving season was halted by the pandemic, this year’s seasonal spike appears to be making up for lost time.

  

  Summary: surging rents – the “missing piece” from both the CPI and PCE baskets – are back with a vengeance, and the result is that no matter which official inflation metric one uses, we are about to see some truly epic numbers in the coming weeks.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 19:44

• Federal Government Gives Employers Green Light To "Incentivize" Workers To Get Vaccinated
  Federal Government Gives Employers Green Light To “Incentivize” Workers To Get Vaccinated

  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has just quietly given American companies the green light to to do whatever it takes to “incentivize” American workers to accept the coronavirus vaccine.

  

  As vaccinations continue to slow, and states beef up incentives including lotteries and cash prizes to any adults who agree to get vaccinated who haven’t already, the EEOC has just issued some long-awaited guidance on how far companies can go in pushing workers to be vaccinated. Some companies, including Delta Air Lines, have said they won’t hire anyone who hasn’t already been vaccinated.

  Earlier today, EEOC posted updated and expanded technical assistance related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including answers to FAQs concerning vaccinations in the employment context. https://t.co/wUWNs6bG3L

  — Sara Clark (@saracravenclark) May 28, 2021

  The updated guidelines say employers may offer incentives for employees to provide documentation showing they have been vaccinated since requesting this proof “is not a disability-related inquiry” or an “unlawful request” under federal anti-discrimination laws. What’s more, companies who choose to offer the vaccine on-site, or who incentivize employees to get vaccinated elsewhere, can’t offer perks or punishments substantial enough to be “coercive”.

  The questions, which were by far the most important pieces of the new guidance, were tucked away at the bottom of the update, making the changes an easy thing for reporters to miss before a long holiday weekend.

  K.16. Under the ADA, may an employer offer an incentive to employees to voluntarily provide documentation or other confirmation that they received a vaccination on their own from a pharmacy, public health department, or other health care provider in the community? (5/28/21)

  Yes. Requesting documentation or other confirmation showing that an employee received a COVID-19 vaccination in the community is not a disability-related inquiry covered by the ADA. Therefore, an employer may offer an incentive to employees to voluntarily provide documentation or other confirmation of a vaccination received in the community. As noted elsewhere, the employer is required to keep vaccination information confidential pursuant to the ADA.

  K.17. Under the ADA, may an employer offer an incentive to employees for voluntarily receiving a vaccination administered by the employer or its agent? (5/28/21)

  Yes, if any incentive (which includes both rewards and penalties) is not so substantial as to be coercive. Because vaccinations require employees to answer pre-vaccination disability-related screening questions, a very large incentive could make employees feel pressured to disclose protected medical information. As explained in K.16., however, this incentive limitation does not apply if an employer offers an incentive to employees to voluntarily provide documentation or other confirmation that they received a COVID-19 vaccination on their own from a third-party provider that is not their employer or an agent of their employer.

  Employers including Dollar General, Aldi and Instacart have already moved to reward their employees for receiving the Covid-19 vaccine by offering paid time off and cash stipends. And in April, President Joe Biden called on every employer to offer paid time off for workers to recover from potential vaccine side effects.

  Will this be the last of the federal government’s pre-MDW Friday news dump? We shall see…

  Not to be shown up by the EEOC’s Friday News dump, OSHA will surely release its long-awaited emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 the weekend before the Fourth of July.

  — Meg Spicer, Esq. (@Spicer_Meg) May 28, 2021

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  But it’s extremely likely that some critics of the new rules might emerge after the three day weekend.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 19:40

• "Next Level Dystopian Sh*t": Amazon Rolls Out Portable Panic Booth For Warehouse Employees To Collect Themselves
  “Next Level Dystopian Sh*t”: Amazon Rolls Out Portable Panic Booth For Warehouse Employees To Collect Themselves

  After years of reports of Amazon warehouse employees being forced to urinate in bottles, forego medical care, and work through injuries – causing hundreds to launch petitions and revolt, the online retail giant has come up with a solution…

  

  …a special sensory deprivation booth that allows stressed out employees to collect themselves before heading back out to the floor.

  Known simply as the “ZenBooth,” the new apparatus, according to a video released by the company on Wednesday, is an “interactive kiosk where you can navigate through a library of mental health and mindful practices to recharge that internal battery.” –daily dot

  Amazon’s Leila Brown used her background in sports medicine and her passion in alternative therapies to create a space where our employees could focus on their mental well-being. https://t.co/bvk2bw9Lke pic.twitter.com/cEQhsTH0Od

  — Amazon News (@amazonnews) May 26, 2021

  The “ZenBooth” is part of Amazon’s WorkingWell program, which allows employees to “recharge and reenergize” with a series of “physical and mental activities, wellness exercises, and healthy eating support.”

  The panic booth features a small fan, some plants, and a library of meditation videos. Hopefully it features a toilet too.

  (Did we mention most COVID-19 transmission occurs via aerosolized particles hanging in the air, particularly in poorly ventilated spaces?)

  As the daily dot notes, the announcement received lots of pushback from Twitter users.

  “why not just improve working conditions?” said one user.

  “Or you could pay your employees well, not treat them like garbage, and accept unionization,” added another.

  “This is some next level dystopian shit. Maybe just pay people more and let them have bathroom breaks,” read yet another tweet.

  This is some next level dystopian shit. Maybe just pay people more and let them have bathroom breaks

  — katie 🕰 👍 (@Ah_occ_o) May 27, 2021

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

  pic.twitter.com/5OlN0Nmw75

  — Jeremy, #1 Ethan Winters Fan (@Jorrpen) May 27, 2021

  At least this is a step up from their now-abandoned, patented ‘worker cages.’

  

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  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 19:20

• Trump-Era 1776 Commission Opposes Funding For "Teaching Of Racial Discrimination" In Schools
  Trump-Era 1776 Commission Opposes Funding For “Teaching Of Racial Discrimination” In Schools

  Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

  A Trump-era commission tasked with combating “false narratives about the American Founding” has urged the Biden administration to drop its proposal to fund history and civics programs that promote critical race theory or related curricula “under the misleading name of ‘anti-racism.’”

  

  Former President Donald Trump holds an executive order he signed at the White House in Washington on June 26, 2020 to establish a 20-person Advisory 1776 Commission under the Department of Education to promote “patriotic education.” The commission was terminated by President Joe Biden on Jan. 20, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

  The so-called “1776 Commission,” established in the final months of the Trump presidency before being formally dissolved by President Joe Biden upon taking office, has continued its work in a non-government capacity. The group met on Monday at Hillsdale College’s campus in Washington to discuss civic education curricula, issuing a statement critical of the Biden administration’s proposed rule to issue grants to classroom educational projects that give prominence to so-called “antiracist” ideas such as the controversial “1619 Project.”

  “We are concerned that the U.S. Department of Education’s Proposed Rule defining priorities for the American History and Civics Education programs, whether as Critical Race Theory or under the misleading name of ‘anti- racism,’ actually encourages and seeks to direct federal funds to the teaching of racial discrimination in America’s elementary and secondary school systems,” the group wrote.

  “This Proposed Rule should be withdrawn, and individual states should oppose any such race-based pedagogy as part of their curricula, especially if that curricula is imposed by the federal government,” it added.

  In the proposed rule, released on April 19, the Education Department outlined new priority criteria for a $5.3 million American History and Civics Education grant, as well as exemplary materials for K-12 educators to use. Specifically, the department cited the “1619 Project,” and critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi’s “antiracist idea” as leading examples of the kind of content it wants to use taxpayer dollars to promote in history and civics classrooms across the country.

  The Biden administration’s proposal, which was open for public comment until May 19, praises “growing acknowledgement of the importance of including, in the teaching and learning of our country’s history, both the consequences of slavery, and the significant contributions of Black Americans to our society,” but makes clear that such an “acknowledgement” would be “reflected […] in the New York Times’ landmark ‘1619 Project’” and in Kendi’s “antiracist” ideas. The proposal cites Kendi, noting that “antiracist ideas argue that racist policies are the cause of racial inequities,” which is essentially the highly contentious argument that differences in outcomes among different racial groups can be reduced to a single variable—racist policies.

  

  President Joe Biden delivers remarks from the South Court Auditorium at the White House in Washington on May 12, 2021. (Oliver Contreras/Sipa USA)

  The “1619 Project,” inaugurated with a special issue of The New York Times Magazine, attempts to cast the Atlantic slave trade as the dominant factor in the founding of America instead of ideals such as individual liberty and natural rights. The initiative has been widely panned by historians and political scientists, with some critics calling it a bid to rewrite U.S. history through a left-wing lens.

  The 1776 Commission meeting was hosted by Larry Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, who said in a statement: “History is complete and cannot be changed. These controversies about history can only be resolved by looking at the facts. To help the young know this history is the work of the commission, and its importance has not diminished since inauguration day.”

  Matthew Spalding, the 1776 Commission’s executive director, told the Washington Examiner in an interview ahead of the group’s meeting that the commission does not want to whitewash the nation’s history of racism, but rather seeks to emphasize racial equality as America’s foundational principles, as enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, namely that “all men are created equal.”

  “When we start going about dividing people by groups, by social identities, and especially by identities that deal with race, and we’re starting to make those kinds of divisions, all Americans should get very nervous,” Spalding told the outlet.

  “It’s a departure away from the historic grounding of civil rights in America, which is that we all are equal.”

  “Current arguments about identity politics and critical race theory that … present themselves as merely responding to perceptions of their current assessment of American society, but do so by introducing as their principle that we should look at people based on the color of their skin, strikes us as a fundamental denial of the idea that all men are created equal,” Spalding said.

  “And that’s a problem for politics. That’s a problem intellectually and historically.”

  The commission’s meeting comes as Republicans across the nation are trying to prevent the teaching of critical race theory and related ideas in the nation’s classrooms.

  Proponents of critical race theory have argued that it’s needed to demonstrate what they say is “pervasive systemic racism” and to facilitate rooting it out.

  Critics have noted critical race theory’s roots in Marxism, arguing that the concept advocates for the destruction of institutions, such as the Western justice system, free-market economy, and orthodox religions, demanding that they be replaced with institutions compliant with the critical race theory ideology.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 19:00

• Japan Extends State Of Emergency As Support For Canceling Olympics Rises
  Japan Extends State Of Emergency As Support For Canceling Olympics Rises

  As demands to cancel the Tokyo Olympics intensify, Japan on Friday extended a state of emergency in Tokyo and eight other prefectures until June 20 as hospitals struggle to handle a rise in COVID-sickened patients.

  

  The state of emergency had previously been slated to end on May 31, but strains on the medical system are still too intense for Japanese officials to be entirely comfortable with the current situation. Japan has seen a record number of COVID patients in critical condition in recent days, even as the number of new infections has slowed. This has prompted worries about infectious new COVID “variants” spreading in the country with the start of the Olympics just a few weeks away.

  “In Osaka and Tokyo, the flow of people is starting to creep up, and there are concerns that infections will rise,” Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who also heads the country’s coronavirus countermeasures, said at the start of a meeting with experts.

  The experts later approved the government proposal and PM Yoshihide Suga officially announced the extensions.

  Japanese officials, Olympics organizers and the IOC have said the Games would go ahead withstrict virus-prevention measures. IOC’s senior official John Coates, who is overseeing the runup to the Games, said last week the Games were on whether or not the host city, Tokyo, is under a state of emergency at the time. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said at a regular press conference on Friday that another delay in the Olympics would be “difficult.”

  The Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee President Seiko Hashimoto told a news conference Friday that she had received pledges from India and five other countries to vaccinate all their Olympic athletes and delegates as a measure against a new variant that has emerged in India.

  

  IOC President Thomas Bach has said 80% of the 10,500 athletes expected in Japan would be vaccinated and on Thursday urged Olympians to get their shots if they could. Delegates must also be tested before and after arrival.

  International spectators will not be allowed for the Games but some 90K people including athletes and their delegations will be coming. No decision has been made yet on domestic fans and Tokyo 2020’s Hashimoto said the situation regarding the state of emergency would need to be taken into account.

  But in a worrying sign for Japanese authorities, polls show a majority of Japanese want the Games either cancelled or postponed again, and even SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, one of the country’s most visible business leaders, has spoken out in favor of delaying the Olympics.

  Japan’s latest emergency steps, unlike stricter measures in many countries, have focused mainly on asking eateries that serve alcohol to close and those that don’t to shut down by 2000ET.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 18:40

• Senate Unanimously Approves Amendment Banning Chinese Gain-Of-Function Research
  Senate Unanimously Approves Amendment Banning Chinese Gain-Of-Function Research

  Following Friday’s bombshell revelation that Dr. Anthony Fauci has supported ‘gain of function’ research, even arguing that the “risks” (which include a worldwide pandemic caused by a potential lab accident) were outweighed by the potential benefits to humanity, it’s worth revisiting a vote that quietly took place earlier this week in the Senate.

  

  Sen. Paul has been arguing with Dr. Fauci about the merits of the research and whether they’re outweighed by the risks of deadly lab leaks for weeks now. He memorably took the good doctor to task during a hearing of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee hectoring over his prior support for gain of function research in China, to which Dr. Fauci insisted that was not the case. 

  Now, reporting by the Australian, which brought to light an obscure 2012 paper written by the doctor,  has proven the doctor’s comments to be disingenuous.

  Here’s what we wrote about that earlier.

  “In an unlikely but conceivable turn of events, what if that scientist becomes infected with the virus, which leads to an outbreak and ultimately triggers a pandemic?” Fauci wrote in the American Society for Microbiology in 2012, adding “Many ask reasonable questions: given the possibility of such a scenario – however remote – should the initial experiments have been performed and/or published in the first place, and what were the processes involved in this decision?”

  “Scientists working in this field might say – as indeed I have said – that the benefits of such experiments and the resulting knowledge outweigh the risks,” Fauci continued. “It is more likely that a pandemic would occur in nature, and the need to stay ahead of such a threat is a primary reason for performing an experiment that might appear to be risky.”

  In the paper, Dr Fauci also writes: “Within the research community, many have expressed concern that important research progress could come to a halt just because of the fear that someone, somewhere, might attempt to replicate these experiments sloppily. This is a valid concern.”

  Coincidentally, the mainstream was silent when just days ago, Sen. Paul proposed an amendment that would ban the use of federal money to support  ‘gain of function’ research in China, an effort that hasn’t garnered widespread support in the Democrat-dominated body for obvious reasons. But despite this, the amendment received unanimous support, and was attached to the bill.

  “We may not know whether this rose out of a Wuhan lab, but I think gain-of-function research – where we take a deadly virus, sometimes much more deadly than COVID, and then we increase its transmissibility to mammals – is wrong. In 2014, NIH stopped all of this research. I’m using the same definition to say any gain-of-function research should not be funded in China with U.S. taxpayer dollars, and I recommend a yes vote.”

  But with President Biden now giving the government 90 days to release something conclusive about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, some believe public interest in this type of research is about to surge. And in a sign of just how much public opinion has shifted so far, a group of supporters gathered cheered when Rand’s amendment was passed unanimously.

  Speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday, Paul delivered a brief speech, pointing out that the NHS had banned this type of research in 2014.

  SENATE: The Senate chamber erupts into cheers after an amendment proposed by @RandPaul that bans US funding of gain-of-function research in China is passed by unanimous voice vote pic.twitter.com/8fQ6hAWpuW

  — Forbes (@Forbes) May 25, 2021

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  The amendment, Senate Amendment 2003, was appended to the Endless Frontier Act which bans Fauci’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other U.S. agencies from funding any gain-of-function research in China.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 18:20

• China Warns Australia's Military Is "Weak", Will Be "First Hit" In Any War With Western Alliance
  China Warns Australia’s Military Is “Weak”, Will Be “First Hit” In Any War With Western Alliance

  Following now completed joint war games held by the US, Japan, France and Australia in the East China Sea off the southwest coast of Japan earlier this month, China has lashed out particularly at its large regional neighbor Australia, calling its military “weak” and “insignificant” at a moment the two are locked in a severe trade and diplomatic tit-for-tat dispute. 

  Beijing voiced specific threats and warnings via its state-run English language mouthpiece Global Times, which recently wrote, “Australia’s military is too weak to be a worthy opponent of China, and if it dares to interfere in a military conflict for example in the Taiwan Straits, its forces will be among the first to be hit.”

  

  “Australia must not think it can hide from China if it provokes,” the report continued with its threats. “Australia is within range of China’s conventional warhead-equipped DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile.”

  Exercise Jeanne d’Arc 21 – or ARC21, as the Western alliance called it, also featured rare amphibious assault landing drills, which is seen as aimed at challenging China’s expansive claims over regional island-chains and contested reef areas on which it’s built up military installations. 

  Here’s more from the GT column’s response…

  The ongoing joint exercises by Japanese, US, French and Australian troops, claimed to “serve as a deterrent to China,” is only symbolic and of little military significance, as the drill was put together by participants that have different agenda or are too weak, experts said on Wednesday, while slamming Japan’s outdated mindset of rallying alliances for confrontation.

  The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) doesn’t even need to make pointed responses to the joint drill since it’s insignificant militarily.

  Japan was also focus of China’s media attacks over the exercise as it was warned not to let its historic “militarism come back to life”.

  Sobering assessment by @MOFA_Taiwan foreign minister that China is “preparing for war.” To be clear though, Beijing has never stopped preparing for war since 1949. Recent surge in military activities & possibility of domestic upheaval causes for concern. https://t.co/RvUXxSHm6s

  — Russell Hsiao (@lcrhsiao) May 26, 2021

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  Also at a sensitive moment its hosting the summer Olympics is in question, the article called for Tokyo not to get distracted from the more pressing pandemic and health crisis in its midst:

  Despite its severe domestic COVID-19 situation, Japan remains stubborn in hooking in “like-minded” countries for joint military exercises, which is an outdated Cold War mindset and will only build divisions and confrontation, Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

  As an invading country defeated in World War II, why is Japan holding offensive exercises like this? Zhang asked. “Japan should learn from history and not let militarism come back to life.”

  All of this comes as the United States also this week announced it will send its only Asia-Pacific carrier presence to Mideast waters in order to assist with the Afghanistan withdrawal this summer – a move which Republican Congressional hawks lamented as leaving the US exposed in a “priority theater”. 

  Rabobank noted on the USS Ronald Reagan’s impending departure from waters off Japan that “For the first time in a long time, the US has no aircraft carrier in the Pacific. The symbolism is clear: and it leaves some wondering what might happen if push comes to shove.”

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 18:00

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• Nissan Preparing To Build Its Own "Gigafactory" In The U.K.
  Nissan Preparing To Build Its Own “Gigafactory” In The U.K.

  Gigafactories aren’t just for Tesla anymore.

  Perhaps a sign of how far the rest of the EV market has come or perhaps just trying to keep up with legacy automakers like Ford (who announced yesterday they were tackling EVs head on), Nissan has announced it is in talks with the U.K. government to build its own Gigafactory in Sunderland.

  The new factory would go at the company’s existing site in Sunderland, FT wrote this week, and would be run by Nissan’s Chinese battery supplier Envision AESC. Nissan already makes batteries for its Nissan Leaf at a facility run by Envision near the proposed Sunderland site. 

  The purpose of the facility would be to support 200,000 battery cars per year and thousands of jobs. 

  A possible announcement for a deal could be scheduled for this summer, the report notes, “ahead of Britain hosting the COP26 climate summit this year.”

  

  Nissan is seeking “tens of millions of pounds” in financial support fort the project. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has called battery investment “essential”. 

  Surely, the U.K. will be thinking back to when Tesla passed on the location in favor of Germany to build one of the company’s factories. 

  “We are dedicated to securing gigafactories, and continue to work closely with investors and vehicle manufacturers to progress plans to mass produce batteries in the UK,” a spokesperson for the U.K. government’s business department told FT. 

  The site would be expected to produce 6 gigawatt hours of battery capacity per year and could open toward the end of 2024. The Sunderland area’s current battery plant has a capacity of 1.9GWh. Nissan has referred to its already-existing facilities in Sunderland as “one of the best plants in the world for Nissan in terms of competitiveness” and that it has “played a pioneering role in developing the electric vehicle market”.

  The U.K. is phasing out sales of ICE and diesel models by 2030 and Nissan is seeking to make its Leaf model the predominant EV in the country. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 02:45

• Is Europe Changing Its Strategy Toward China?
  Is Europe Changing Its Strategy Toward China?

  Authored by June Teufel Dreyer via The Epoch Times,

  The answer might be yes… and no. The European Parliament’s May 20 resolution freezing any consideration of a long-awaited Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) with China, along with advocacy of a strengthened European Union screening regulations on foreign investment and increased cooperation with the United States on a Transatlantic Dialogue on China, certainly seemed to symbolize a changed European attitude toward China.

  

  A container ship from China Shipping Line is loaded at the main container port in Hamburg, Germany, on Aug. 13, 2007. Northern Germany, with its busy ports of Hamburg, Bremerhaven and Kiel, is a hub of international shipping. Hamburg is among Europe’s largest ports. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

  Undoubtedly, European leaders have become more wary than those who met with members of a visiting U.S. congressional commission two decades ago. Warned by commissioners against lifting an embargo on arms sales that had been passed after the massacre in Tiananmen Square, they replied stoutly and virtually in unison that China “is not the same country that it was in 1989.” They dismissed evidence that, although China was incontestably not the same country that it had been in 1989, it was in fact more repressive than it had been, and was getting more so.

  Both Eurocrats and politicians seemed intrigued by the notion of strategic partnerships that China held forth, denying that they had any military implications, even when shown that the ideograph for the first character in strategic 戰略, shows a man holding a spear. Possibly their receptivity had something to do with Beijing’s hints at the prospect of lucrative deals for purchases of the wares of European defense contractors as well as the hordes of Chinese tourists eager to visit the continent’s castles, cathedrals, and department stores. Interestingly, the Western European states who had never lived under communism were the most trusting of Chinese promises whereas the Eastern European states, which had, were far more skeptical.

  Fast forward twenty years and the picture changes dramatically. Not overnight, to be sure, but incrementally in rough proportion to increases in Chinese assertiveness. Enthusiasm for lifting the arms embargo waned after China’s National People’s Congress in 2005 passed an anti-secession law formally asserting Beijing’s determination to use non-peaceful means against the separation of Taiwan from China and in any scenario where unification [read: annexation] became otherwise impossible. So as well did China’s moves to enforce its claims to contested areas of the South China and East China seas as seen in its outright rejection of the 2016 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) that China’s nine-dash line had no basis in international law, and its willingness to use force, as it did against Vietnam in 2020. Revelations about the treatment of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, and the steady diminution of the rights of residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region that had been guaranteed under a 1984 treaty between Great Britain and China made it difficult to believe that Beijing cared about the rights of its peoples and international law. Or that post-1989 China was evolving toward the kind of liberal democratic state that European leaders had seemed so confident of.

  

  An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged on-going land reclamation by China on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, west of Palawan, Philippines, on May 11, 2015. (Ritchie B. Tongo/Pool/Reuters)

  Reports on the suppression of religion and the persecution of believers were widely reported, but had few policy consequences. It was not so much that Europeans did not care about human rights issues as that they were eclipsed by concerns with the lure of a rapidly expanding Chinese market and their desire to get a larger share of it for themselves and their countries, often in competition with other European states.

  There was no lack of awareness that China was negotiating with European countries one deal at a time, skillfully playing one against another, but also no consensus about what to do about it. French President Jacques Chirac declared 2004 the Year of China and bathed the Eiffel Tower in red for visiting counterpart Hu Jintao, with lucrative business deals signed during the latter’s four-day stay. And after German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with the Dalai Lama in 2007, she was criticized for jeopardizing German business opportunities in their rivalry with France.

  Most European states welcomed Xi Jinping’s signature “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR, later renamed the “Belt and Road Initiative”) project that would facilitate Sino-European trade. Enthusiasm cooled markedly when it was discovered that too many of the railway cars that brought Chinese goods to Europe were being shipped back empty: a rueful quip was that OBOR should be renamed OBOW: One Belt One Way. In addition, it was noticed that European companies had slipped in global rankings even as Chinese companies like State Grid and Sinopec climbed into Fortune’s top ten.

  With its 28, now 27, members, the European Union, finds it difficult to reach an agreement on most issues, let alone ones as contentious as dealing with China. Until the 2021 decision on CAI, the results tended to be tepid. Maritime law expert Peter Dutton deemed the EU statement on the PCA’s decision on the nine-dash line, a “deeply disappointing statement from a government that likes to consider itself one of humanity’s strongest supporters of international law. They could have … and should have … said they support the tribunal’s decision. Period.”

  China was also able to take advantage of economic downturns in the Euro economy to acquire strategically important assets at low prices. China’s State Grid Corporation began acquiring stakes in the power networks of cash-strapped southern European countries, including Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy, raising concerns that Beijing might exercise control of their operations. In response to a query by Reuters, a State Grid official replied, “This is not a financial investment, [it’s] more like a strategic investment.”

  When chided by the EU for allowing Chinese shipping company COSCO to acquire rights in Piraeus, Greek officials responded angrily that the EU had done little to help their country in its hour of need and that they would welcome more investment from China. COSCO now has a 67 percent stake in Piraeus, one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean and strategically situated close to the Suez Canal. The Chinese-Greek partnership has had consequences for EU decision-making, as when Greece refused to sign an EU letter on the South China Sea and, later, on China’s alleged torture of detained human rights lawyers. Hungary, where China had pledged to spend billions of dollars on a railway project, likewise declined to sign. Concerns grew that China could be targeting smaller countries with weaker economies in order to penetrate the region. And, when in 2012 China set up the 16 (later 17)+1 partnership with central and eastern European states, EU leaders fretted that this was a mechanism to try to divide Europe.

  

  A view of old warehouses in the port of Piraeus which will be transformed to five-star hotels, on Oct. 18, 2018 – Chinese shipping giant Cosco said it has ambitious plans for the Greek port of Piraeus, including a boost on already-bustling container and car piers but also five-star hotel expansion. (Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images)

  Chinese interests were not confined to penurious southern and eastern European states. German firms specializing in engineering and technology were prime targets for acquisition. In 2016, news that China’s Midea group planned to acquire cutting-edge robotics firm Kuka raised anxieties about loss of intellectual property. However, Chancellor Merkel declined to intervene, making Kuka essentially a Chinese company despite charges that German engineers were now designing robots for the People’s Liberation Army (Chinese military).

  Vigilance, however, had been heightened. Shortly after the Kuka purchase, Germany’s economics ministry withdrew its earlier approval of chipmaker Aixtron by China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund LP, with Chinese officials accusing Germany of protectionism. Although German sources gave as their reason the lack of reciprocity in their dealings with China—which is true—the underlying issue was security. For example, Aixtron’s new, highly efficient semiconductor technology are able to boost the power of military radar transmitters while consuming less electricity. Not all concerns were economic: Berlin-based scholar journalist Didi Kirsten Tatlow’s meticulously documented study of China’s Einheitsfront (united front) operations, concluded that Beijing’s deliberate influencing in an orchestrated manner cannot be ignored, and that most Germans underestimate the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) will to power.

  Similar revelations occurred in Britain bringing to an end what both sides called the “golden era” of bilateral relations, especially when, shortly after leaving office, former Prime Minister David Cameron accepted the headship of a fund to create new investment links between China and the UK. Security concerns were raised about Chinese participation in the UK’s Hinkley Point nuclear power station. News of the persecution of Uyghurs and the crackdown on pro-democracy Hong Kong residents deepened concerns, with Hong Kong being a particularly sensitive issue in Great Britain since it violated the 1984 treaty under which the UK agreed to return its colony to Chinese jurisdiction. These were exacerbated when the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that the agreement “no longer has any practical significance and is not at all binding for the central government’s management over Hong Kong.”

  Civil liberties not only in China but in the UK itself also began to be threatened with incidents such as Chinese students at the London School of Economics, likely acting on suggestions from their embassy, demanding that an LSE globe depicting Taiwan as separate from China be altered. The Chinese Embassy then threatened Oxford University’s Vice-chancellor Louise Richardson with the withdrawal of Chinese students unless she stopped Chancellor Chris Patten from visiting Hong Kong. Both efforts were unsuccessful: LSE’s globe remains unaltered and Richardson refused the embassy’s request. Patten subsequently said that “China had betrayed the people of Hong Kong and the West should cease kowtowing to Beijing for an illusory pot of gold.” And a February 2021 study of academic cooperation with Chinese entities found many UK universities “unintentionally generating research that is sponsored by China’s military conglomerates including those with activities in the production of weapons of mass destruction, intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, and other items of massively destabilizing weaponry.”

  

  Oxford University in Oxford, United Kingdom, on Sept. 20, 2016. (Carl Court/Getty Images)

  Similarly high-handed statements from Chinese official sources occurred elsewhere. When meeting pushback, they tended to elicit insults. The ambassador to Sweden, reacting to its government’s complaints about the arrest of one of its nationals and, separately, evidence that an incident of Chinese tourists being bullied was fabricated, declared that his country had fine wines for its friends but shotguns for its enemies. Replying to widespread criticism of his words, the ambassador responded that Sweden was “not important enough to threaten.” After a French scholar defended the rights of parliamentarians to visit Taiwan, tweets from the Chinese embassy called him a “little hoodlum,” “ideological troll,” and “mad hyena.” When Lithuanian intelligence services accused China of increasingly aggressive espionage campaigns and the use of tech companies as surveillance assets, the Chinese ambassador countered that his country was being demonized and charged Lithuania with cold war-ism. Eighteen months later, Lithuania’s foreign minister announced his country’s withdrawal from the 17+ 1 organization and called on the other member states to do the same.

  The EU’s tepid statement on Beijing’s rejection of the PCA ruling on the South China Sea did not diminish the concerns of nations with major shipping interests in the area. Britain and France announced plans to send naval vessels to emphasize the importance they attached to freedom of navigation in the area. France, which has geographically extensive territories in the South Pacific, was particularly articulate on this issue. After the ruling, then-defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called for joint EU patrols of the maritime areas of Asia and the establishment of a “regular and visible presence there” and, with China clearly in mind, Le Drian argued that if the rule of law and freedom of navigation were not respected in the South China Sea today, they will next be challenged in and around Europe. More surprising than the British and French FONOPs was Germany’s decision, although it has no territories in the area, to send a frigate to the area as part of a newly-adopted Indo-Pacific strategy.

  What does this mean for the future of Sino-European relations? Unquestionably, attitudes in major EU countries have hardened. In Germany, the Green party’s candidate for chancellor, the Greens having a realistic chance to become the ruling party in the country’s September election, has vowed to be tough on China. The smaller Free Democratic Party, which has a reputation of being a kingmaker, has pointedly removed the “one-China” clause from its party platform. Britain has banned Chinese telecommunications provider Huawei from its 5G networks, offered UK passports to British National Overseas residents of Hong Kong, revoked state-owned broadcaster CGTN’s UK broadcast license, and expelled three Chinese for spying. In Czechia, attempts to build influence in politics backfired and there was discontent when a number of promised investments failed to materialize. The Czech senate president visited Taipei in defiance of Chinese orders and declared “I am Taiwanese;” Prague’s mayor publicly refused to accept a “one-China” clause and flies Tibetan flags from city hall.

  

  Prague City Mayor Zdeněk Hřib talks to media about China during his visit to Taiwan on March 29, 2019. (Zdeněk Hřib, Mayor of Prague/Facebook)

  Yet it would be foolish to overinterpret these events. China is defiant, with the Global Times editorializing that the conditions imposed for resuming the ratification process are “rough and arrogant,” that the sanctions imposed by China are actually countermeasures against the EU’s sanctions over Chinese officials and entities, and that there is no way that China will lift those sanctions under pressure from the European parliament. EU organizations other than the EP and many more European countries, the paper pointed out, want the CAI to come into force.

  Global Times may well be correct. The CAI was, and presumably continues to be, a major priority for Chancellor Merkel because of China’s importance to the German automobile industry: if ratified, it would allow European companies to own majority stakes in their Chinese subsidiaries rather than forcing them to operate though joint venture with Chinese partners and share trade secrets. China is Germany’s largest trading partner.

  In less wealthy countries, the lure of Chinese largesse is a powerful force for leaders even where there is opposition from the general public. Czech president Milos Zeman, who has been described as “ostentatiously pro-China,” has vowed to make his country China’s gateway to Europe, even welcoming Xi Jinping with a 21-gun salute—an honor not accorded to any foreign leader for more than fifty years. Most recently, he praised China as “the only country that helped us and sent medical supplies” in the pandemic. In Serbia, although complaints about the environmental and political aspects of Chinese investment grew, its elected leaders, despite their aspiration to join the EU and claims to share its democratic values, lean further toward China, which offers big loans, vaccines, and investments without the constraints that the EU would impose. Mutatis mutandis, there is a similar situation in Montenegro, whose government has asked Brussels for financial assistance to refinance a loan to China for an expensive only partially built highway that, according to European analysts, was a risky proposition to start with. China holds a quarter of Montenegro’s debt; if it defaults, the terms of the contract give China the right to access the country’s land as collateral.

  It is also possible that the EU sanctions themselves may end up hurting Western companies as much or more than China. Beijing has imposed boycotts on companies such as Sweden’s H&M, among others, for its “suicidal” remarks on so-called slave labor in Xinjiang, thereby impacting an important market for the apparel maker. A Xinjiang factory manager, admitting an initial downturn in international purchases of cotton, stated that his factory had made up the difference by shifting to domestic orders.

  In sum, European strategy toward China has evolved beyond the so-called golden years, and present tensions are unlikely to abate in the foreseeable future. With the emotional naivete of the past now spent, European statespersons would do well to concentrate on the realistic economic and security aspects of the relationship. Given the democratic principles that undergird both Eurogovernance and those of Europe’s component states, Beijing will always have the upper hand in playing one off against another. How long this can continue depends on many factors outside the scope of this study. Meanwhile, however, the EU’s dream of a partnership between a united Europe and a liberalizing China seems to have fallen victim to Xi Jinping’s China Dream.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 02:00

• Thousands Flee Eastern Congo Amid Further Risk Of Volcanic Eruptions
  Thousands Flee Eastern Congo Amid Further Risk Of Volcanic Eruptions

  In the city of Goma in eastern Congo, residents were advised by authorities to pack up their bags and head to the next town as another volcanic eruption by Mount Nyiragongo could be imminent, according to The Guardian. 

  “Current data on seismicity and the deformation of the ground indicate the presence of magma under the urban area of Goma, with an extension under Lake Kivu,” the local military governor, Gen Constant Ndima, said in a public address.

  “We can’t rule out an eruption on land or under the lake, which could happen very soon and without warning. The situation can change rapidly, and is being constantly monitored.”

  An update from our team in #Goma after Sat’s volcanic eruption: the ground is still shaking every few mins, with a magnitude 5.3 quake registered by Rwandan authorities. Cracks are visible in the city splitting roads in two — with some cracks up to 10cm wide. pic.twitter.com/21HQjCMnnq

  — Concern Worldwide (@Concern) May 26, 2021

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  Tens of thousands of people have already fled 12 miles west of Goma to another city called Sake. Thousands of others have already crossed the Rwandan border for refuge. 

  A massive evacuation is underway. 

  Update: A crowd of Congolese people from #Goma are evacuating to #Sake region in #DRC after #Gvt order of evacuation plan before the threat of #Earthquakes & #EruptionOfNyiragongo is completely eliminated basing on Scientists suggestions. pic.twitter.com/qfMo3JyAsE

  — Christophe Uwizeye (@ChristopheUwiz) May 27, 2021

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  #Evacuation de @Goma vers @Sake @fatshi13 @awdf01 @focusdroits @lebonkasamira @Le_HCR @IfokuMarijo @Evebazaiba à Sake , manque d’eau propre pic.twitter.com/n5m0q4ILAz

  — Grâce Peninah (@GracePeninah) May 27, 2021

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  Les images et Videos de la population a Goma. Une evacuation de peur d’une autre explosion, une autre eruption volcanique ou un tremblement de terre. Que Dieu sõit avec vous 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/WQSQg7LtTs

  — WILLY KALALA (@Willyetaisici) May 27, 2021

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  #RDC🇨🇩: En union de prière avec nos compatriotes de goma qui sont dans l’obligation de se mettre à l’abri de leur ville pour quelques semaines sur décision du gouvernement congolais.

  Nous demandons au gouvernement @LukondeSama de tout mettre en place pour une évacuation digne. pic.twitter.com/jn7cL2wCnx

  — Bukasa Emmanuel (@BukasaEmmanuel2) May 27, 2021

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  Goma, a city of about two million people, is located six miles from Mount Nyiragongo volcano, which erupted last Saturday. Lava flows spilled into Buhene neighborhood, a suburb of the city, destroying hundreds of structures. 

  Image of destruction in #DRC #GOMA after #Nyiragongo Volcano Erupts pic.twitter.com/KvnycIKXXO

  — Abdallah Nduhirabandi (@ANduhirabandi) May 23, 2021

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  Saturday’s eruption spared central Goma, but now it appears to be coming under threat as hundreds of aftershocks have been felt across the region, suggesting another eruption could be nearing. 

  The displacement of tens of thousands of people in the eastern Congo could develop into a humanitarian crisis. 

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 01:00

• Drivers Beware: The Deadly Perils Of Blank Check Traffic Stops
  Drivers Beware: The Deadly Perils Of Blank Check Traffic Stops

  Authored by John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

  “The Fourth Amendment was designed to stand between us and arbitrary governmental authority. For all practical purposes, that shield has been shattered, leaving our liberty and personal integrity subject to the whim of every cop on the beat, trooper on the highway and jail official. The framers would be appalled.”

  – Herman Schwartz, The Nation

  We’ve all been there before.

  You’re driving along and you see a pair of flashing blue lights in your rearview mirror. Whether or not you’ve done anything wrong, you get a sinking feeling in your stomach.

  You’ve read enough news stories, seen enough headlines, and lived in the American police state long enough to be anxious about any encounter with a cop that takes place on the side of the road.

  For better or worse, from the moment you’re pulled over, you’re at the mercy of law enforcement officers who have almost absolute discretion to decide who is a threat, what constitutes resistance, and how harshly they can deal with the citizens they were appointed to “serve and protect.”

  

  This is what I call “blank check policing,” in which the police get to call all of the shots.

  So if you’re nervous about traffic stops, you have every reason to be.

  Trying to predict the outcome of any encounter with the police is a bit like playing Russian roulette: most of the time you will emerge relatively unscathed, although decidedly poorer and less secure about your rights, but there’s always the chance that an encounter will turn deadly.

  Try to assert your right to merely ask a question during a traffic stop and see how far it gets you.

  Juanisha Brooks—black, 34 years old and on her way home at 2:20 am—was pulled over, handcuffed, arrested and charged with resisting arrest, eluding the police, reckless driving and failure to use headlights after repeatedly asking police why she had been stopped. When Brooks—a Department of Defense employee—filed a complaint, prosecutors conceded that the traffic stop had been carried out without “proper legal basis” and dropped all charges.

  Caron Nazario, a uniformed Army officer returning home from his duty station, was stopped for not having a rear license plate (his temporary plates were taped to the rear window of his new SUV). Nazario, who is Black and Latino, pulled over at a well-lit gas station only to be pepper sprayed, held at gunpoint, beaten and threatened with execution.

  Zachary Noel was tasered by police and charged with resisting arrest after he questioned why he was being ordered out of his truck during a traffic stop. “Because I’m telling you to,” the officer replied before repeating his order for Noel to get out of the vehicle and then, without warning, shooting him with a taser through the open window.

  Despite complying with all police orders when ordered to show his identification and exit his parked vehicle, Jeriel Edwards was subjected to excessive force and brutality, including being thrown to the ground, tasered, and placed in a chokehold that rendered him unconscious and required his hospitalization for three days. Although dash cam video of the arrest confirms that Edwards was peaceful, did not defy police orders, and did nothing to provoke police, a federal court ruled that Edwards’ trouble understanding police directions during the encounter constituted “resistance” that justified the force used by the four police officers involved in the violent arrest. Edwards is African-American.

  Gregory Tucker, also black, was stopped by police for a broken taillight, only to be thrown to the ground, beaten and punched in the face and body more than 20 times, then arrested and hospitalized for severe injuries to his face and arm, all for allegedly “resisting arrest” by driving to a safe, well-lit area in front of his cousin’s house before stopping.

  No wonder Americans are afraid of getting pulled over by police.

  Mind you, all of these individuals complied with police. They just didn’t do it fast enough to suit their purposes.

  At a time when police can do no wrong—at least in the eyes of the courts, police unions and politicians dependent on their votes—and a “fear” for officer safety is used to justify all manner of police misconduct, “we the people” are at a severe disadvantage.

  Add a traffic stop to the mix, and that disadvantage increases dramatically.

  According to the Justice Department, the most common reason for a citizen to come into contact with the police is being a driver in a traffic stop.

  On average, one in 10 Americans gets pulled over by police.

  According to data collected under Virginia’s new Community Policing Act, black drivers are almost two times more likely than white drivers to be pulled over by police and three times more likely to have their vehicles searched. As the Washington Post concludes, “‘Driving while black’ is, indeed, a measurable phenomenon.”

  Historically, police officers have been given free range to pull anyone over for a variety of reasons.

  This free-handed approach to traffic stops has resulted in drivers being stopped for windows that are too heavily tinted, for driving too fast, driving too slow, failing to maintain speed, following too closely, improper lane changes, distracted driving, screeching a car’s tires, and leaving a parked car door open for too long.

  Motorists can also be stopped by police for driving near a bar or on a road that has large amounts of drunk driving, driving a certain make of car (Mercedes, Grand Prix and Hummers are among the most ticketed vehicles), having anything dangling from the rearview mirror (air fresheners, handicap parking permits, toll transponders or rosaries), and displaying pro-police bumper stickers.

  Incredibly, a federal appeals court actually ruled unanimously in 2014 that acne scars and driving with a stiff upright posture are reasonable grounds for being pulled over. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that driving a vehicle that has a couple air fresheners, rosaries and pro-police bumper stickers at 2 MPH over the speed limit is suspicious, meriting a traffic stop.

  Equally appalling, in Heien v. North Carolina, the U.S. Supreme Court—which has largely paved the way for the police and other government agents to probe, poke, pinch, taser, search, seize, strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance—allowed police officers to stop drivers who appear nervous, provided they provide a palatable pretext for doing so.

  Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the lone objector in the case. Dissenting in Heien, Sotomayor warned, “Giving officers license to effect seizures so long as they can attach to their reasonable view of the facts some reasonable legal interpretation (or misinterpretation) that suggests a law has been violated significantly expands this authority… One wonders how a citizen seeking to be law-abiding and to structure his or her behavior to avoid these invasive, frightening, and humiliating encounters could do so.”

  In other words, drivers beware.

  Traffic stops aren’t just dangerous. They can be downright deadly.

  Remember Walter L. Scott? Reportedly pulled over for a broken taillight, Scott—unarmed—ran away from the police officer, who pursued and shot him from behind, first with a Taser, then with a gun. Scott was struck five times, “three times in the back, once in the upper buttocks and once in the ear — with at least one bullet entering his heart.”

  Samuel Dubose, also unarmed, was pulled over for a missing front license plate. He was reportedly shot in the head after a brief struggle in which his car began rolling forward.

  Levar Jones was stopped for a seatbelt offense, just as he was getting out of his car to enter a convenience store. Directed to show his license, Jones leaned into his car to get his wallet, only to be shot four times by the “fearful” officer. Jones was also unarmed.

  Bobby Canipe was pulled over for having an expired registration. When the 70-year-old reached into the back of his truck for his walking cane, the officer fired several shots at him, hitting him once in the abdomen.

  Dontrell Stevens was stopped “for not bicycling properly.” The officer pursuing him “thought the way Stephens rode his bike was suspicious. He thought the way Stephens got off his bike was suspicious.” Four seconds later, sheriff’s deputy Adams Lin shot Stephens four times as he pulled out a black object from his waistband. The object was his cell phone. Stephens was unarmed.

  Sandra Bland, pulled over for allegedly failing to use her turn signal, was arrested after refusing to comply with the police officer’s order to extinguish her cigarette and exit her vehicle. The encounter escalated, with the officer threatening to “light” Bland up with his taser. Three days later, Bland was found dead in her jail cell. “You’re doing all of this for a failure to signal?” Bland asked as she got out of her car, after having been yelled at and threatened repeatedly.

  Keep in mind, from the moment those lights start flashing and that siren goes off, we’re all in the same boat. However, it’s what happens after you’ve been pulled over that’s critical.

  Survival is key.

  Technically, you have the right to remain silent (beyond the basic requirement to identify yourself and show your registration). You have the right to refuse to have your vehicle searched. You have the right to film your interaction with police. You have the right to ask to leave. You also have the right to resist an unlawful order such as a police officer directing you to extinguish your cigarette, put away your phone or stop recording them.

  However, there is a price for asserting one’s rights. That price grows more costly with every passing day.

  If you ask cops and their enablers what Americans should do to stay alive during encounters with police, they will tell you to comply, cooperate, obey, not resist, not argue, not make threatening gestures or statements, avoid sudden movements, and submit to a search of their person and belongings. 

  Unfortunately, there are no longer any fail-safe rules of engagement for interacting with the police.

  In the American police state, compliance is no guarantee that you will survive an encounter with the police with your life and liberties intact.

  Every day we hear about situations in which unarmed Americans complied and still died during an encounter with police simply because they appeared to be standing in a “shooting stance” or held a cell phone or a garden hose or carried around a baseball bat or answered the front door or held a spoon in a threatening manner or ran in an aggressive manner holding a tree branch or wandered around naked or hunched over in a defensive posture or made the mistake of wearing the same clothes as a carjacking suspect (dark pants and a basketball jersey) or dared to leave an area at the same time that a police officer showed up or had a car break down by the side of the road or were deaf or homeless or old.

  More often than not, it seems as if all you have to do to be shot and killed by police is stand a certain way, or move a certain way, or hold something—anything—that police could misinterpret to be a gun, or ignite some trigger-centric fear in a police officer’s mind that has nothing to do with an actual threat to their safety.

  Now you can make all kinds of excuses to justify these shootings, and in fact that’s exactly what you’ll hear from politicians, police unions, law enforcement officials and individuals who are more than happy to march in lockstep with the police.

  However, to suggest that a good citizen is a compliant citizen and that obedience will save us from the police state is not only recklessly irresponsible, but it is also deluded and out of touch with reality.

  To begin with, and most importantly, Americans need to know their rights when it comes to interactions with the police, bearing in mind that many law enforcement officials are largely ignorant of the law themselves.

  A good resource is The Rutherford Institute’s “Constitutional Q&A: Rules of Engagement for Interacting with Police.”

  In a nutshell, the following are your basic rights when it comes to interactions with the police as outlined in the Bill of Rights:

  You have the right under the First Amendment to ask questions and express yourself. You have the right under the Fourth Amendment to not have your person or your property searched by police or any government agent unless they have a search warrant authorizing them to do so.  You have the right under the Fifth Amendment to remain silent, to not incriminate yourself and to request an attorney. Depending on which state you live in and whether your encounter with police is consensual as opposed to your being temporarily detained or arrested, you may have the right to refuse to identify yourself. Not all states require citizens to show their ID to an officer (although drivers in all states must do so).

  As a rule of thumb, you should always be sure to clarify in any police encounter whether or not you are being detained, i.e., whether you have the right to walk away. That holds true whether it’s a casual “show your ID” request on a boardwalk, a stop-and-frisk search on a city street, or a traffic stop for speeding or just to check your insurance. If you feel like you can’t walk away from a police encounter of your own volition—and more often than not you can’t, especially when you’re being confronted by someone armed to the hilt with all manner of militarized weaponry and gear—then for all intents and purposes, you’re essentially under arrest from the moment a cop stops you. Still, it doesn’t hurt to clarify that distinction.

  While technology is always going to be a double-edged sword, with the gadgets that are the most useful to us in our daily lives—GPS devices, cell phones, the internet—being the very tools used by the government to track us, monitor our activities, and generally spy on us, cell phones are particularly useful for recording encounters with the police and have proven to be increasingly powerful reminders to police that they are not all powerful.

  Knowing your rights is only part of the battle, unfortunately.

  As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the hard part comes in when you have to exercise those rights in order to hold government officials accountable to respecting those rights.

  Tyler Durden
  Fri, 05/28/2021 – 00:00

• US Sitting On 'Raft' Of Unexamined Virus Intel; Former Official Says 'Almost No Evidence' Of Natural Origin
  US Sitting On ‘Raft’ Of Unexamined Virus Intel; Former Official Says ‘Almost No Evidence’ Of Natural Origin

  Hours after President Biden promised to release the ‘full report’ from US Intelligence community’s 90-day examination of where COVID-19 originated – unless there’s something he’s unaware of…

  …the New York Times reports, there’s things he’s unaware of.

  

  Namely, ‘a raft of still-unexamined evidence that required additional computer analysis that might shed light on the mystery,” according to anonymous senior administration officials.

  

  In other words, the US government has been sitting on a large collection of intelligence in perhaps the most important investigation into an economy-wrecking global pandemic, as China destroyed evidence and has refused to cooperate with international probes. According to the report, Biden’s call for the new investigation was in response to the ‘new’ evidence.

  While officials declined to describe the new evidence, they are hoping to apply ‘an extraordinary amount of computer power’ to analyze what the Times speculates may be ‘databases of Chinese communications, the movement of lab workers and the pattern of the outbreak of the disease around the city of Wuhan.”

  Biden’s call was also meant to spur American allies and intelligence agencies to scour their own evidence, such as “intercepts, witnesses or biological evidence — as well as hunt for new intelligence,” to assess whether the Chinese government covered up what happened.

  Astute readers will note that the NYT substitutes its own facts, framing any lab release as of course “accidental,” and suggesting that Biden only dismissed the lab origin theory “until the Chinese government this week rejected allowing further investigation by the World Health Organization.”

  In reality, plenty of evidence existed which the entire leftist establishment and their media surrogates flatly branded a ‘debunked conspiracy theory’ after then-President Trump promoted it, while the World Health Organization (WHO) and US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) parroted CCP propaganda that the virus could have only emerged via ‘natural origin’ (as opposed to the Chinese lab manipulating bat coronaviruses in the same city that the pandemic started).

  

  Meanwhile, China isn’t playing ball.

  So far, the effort to glean evidence from intercepted communications within China, a notoriously hard target to penetrate, has yielded little. Current and former intelligence officials say they strongly doubt anyone will find an email or a text message or a document that shows evidence of a lab accident.

  One allied nation passed on information that three workers in the Wuhan virological laboratory were hospitalized with serious flulike symptoms in the autumn of 2019. The information about the sickened workers is considered important, but officials cautioned that it did not constitute evidence that they caught the virus at the laboratory — they may have brought it there.

  The White House is hoping that allies and partners can tap their networks of human sources to find additional information about what happened inside the laboratory. While the United States has been rebuilding its own sources in China, it has still not fully recovered from the elimination of its network inside the country a decade ago. As a result, having allies press their informants about what went on inside the Wuhan Institute of Virology will be a key part of the intelligence push ahead.

  The inquiry has not reached a dead end, a senior Biden administration official said. Officials would not describe the kind of computational analysis they want to do.

  According to the Times, both scientists and spies will be working to unravel how the pandemic started, as “Senior officials have told the spy agencies that their science-oriented divisions, which have been working on the issue for months, will play a prominent role in the revitalized inquiry.“

  Will the Five Eyes rally around the lab leak?

  According to the report, US allies have been providing evidence since the beginning of the pandemic. Australia, a member of the so-called Five Eyes partnership which also includes Britain, Canada and New Zealand, has strongly promoted the lab-leak theory. And while US intelligence agencies are reportedly coming together “around the two likely scenarios,” a former State Department official says the evidence to support the natural origin theory is virtually non-existent.

  “We were finding that despite the claims of our scientific community, including the National Institutes of Health and Dr. Fauci’s NIAID organization, there was almost no evidence that supported a natural, zoonotic evolution or source of COVID-19,” said former State Department official David Asher in a statement to Fox News. “The data disproportionately stacked up as we investigated that it was coming out of a lab or some supernatural source.“

  Asher, the lead contractor on the subject, said the team investigated the two chief hypotheses for the virus’ origins, the other being the lab-leak theory that has gained credence after widespread media dismissal over the past year.

  …

  Asher has a history of investigative work tracking money for the AQ Khan network, North Korea’s nuclear program, and top Al Qaeda leaders, but has fallen under scrutiny from former State Department officials.

  Asher was critical Thursday of former Assistant Secretary of State Chris Ford, who expressed reservations about the investigation’s findings and cautioned against the lab theory. Ford told Fox News that the AVC probe had been kept secret from him and bypassed department and intelligence community biological experts, although adding the lab origin theory was “very possible.” –Fox News

  “That was the epicenter of synthetic biology in the People’s Republic of China, and they were up to some very hairy stuff with synthetic biology and so-called gain-of-function techniques,” said Asher, adding that the odds of natural origin were ‘extremely long.’

  “To say this came out of a zoonotic situation, it’s ridiculous,” he concluded.

  https://video.foxnews.com/v/embed.js?id=6256307843001&w=466&h=263Watch the latest video at foxnews.com

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 23:40

• Assad Elected Through 2028 After Predictable Landslide Syria Election, Denounced By West
  Assad Elected Through 2028 After Predictable Landslide Syria Election, Denounced By West

  This week war-torn Syria took to the voting polls and as expected the result was a landslide victory for Syrian President Bashar Assad, ushering in a fourth seven-year term after he came to power in the year 2000 after the death of his father Hafez, who had been the Syrian Arab Republic’s first strongman Baath ruler going back to 1971.

  The results were announced from Damascus early Thursday (local time), making it official that Assad is to rule Syria through at least 2028 – having received 95% of the vote in an election widely denounced as a sham and ‘illegitimate’ by Western leaders, as well the anti-Assad jihadist groups in control of Idlib.

  

  Out of 18 million eligible voters (in government areas), a little over 14 million participated (78% participation according to Syrian government figures). While the Syrian state urged the participation of the over five million refugees currently outside the country, it appears this only happened on any significant scale in neighboring Lebanon. 

  Alongside the armed insurgent jihadist groups obviously boycotting the election, the US-backed Kurdish areas of the oil-rich northeast which are still under American troop occupation also banned the election.

  Overnight upon the election results being announced, celebrations broke out in Damascus and other cities with strong loyalist support like Tartus, with fireworks being seen over the Syrian capital and guns being fired into the air. 

  ساحة الأمويين بدمشق… من احتفالات السوريين بفوز الدكتور #بشار_الأسد بمنصب رئيس الجمهورية العربية السورية#سورية_تنتخب_2021#الانتخابات_الرئاسية_26_أيار_2021 pic.twitter.com/o6yzY9P6ql

  — سانا عاجل (@SanaAjel) May 27, 2021

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  Perhaps the most interesting line of commentary and reporting came via an AFP journalist on hand during the Syrian election:

  Syria’s Bashar al-Assad said Western criticism of Wednesday’s presidential election has “zero value” as he cast his ballot in a Damascus suburb.

  Commenting on US and EU criticism branding the vote “neither free nor fair,” Assad said: “Your opinions have zero value”, an AFP journalist reported.

  The US and EU had on Tuesday issued a joint statement saying, “This fraudulent election does not represent any progress towards a political settlement.”

  Rally in Tartous in support of president Assad short time before elections results are announced. #Syria prevails! 🇸🇾 https://t.co/0f9Edquv5E

  — Sara_Haj 🇱🇧 (@Sara_Haj) May 27, 2021

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  While the Assad victory was fully expected, the once in seven year voting process within the context of the war which raged since 2011 has fundamentally become a moment where Syrians in government areas (now the majority of the country) take to the streets en masse to show support for the state, and simultaneously their “defiance” to West-backed regime change efforts which sought to overthrow Assad. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 23:20

• China Braces For Summer Of Floods As 97 Rivers Exceed Warning Levels 
  China Braces For Summer Of Floods As 97 Rivers Exceed Warning Levels 

  China braces for another dangerous flood season with 97 rivers already exceeding warning levels as of Thursday, according to Chinese state media Global Times. Major floods are expected this summer, and Western media will soon be drumming up headlines about how confidence in China’s flood control capabilities is faltering. 

  Water levels along the Yangtze River basin and its tributaries are expected to increase over the next week, the Ministry of Water Resources said, adding that major floods are possible throughout the country from June to August. 

  

  Wang Wei, an official with the flood and drought disaster prevention office of the Ministry of Water Resources, told state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) that total flood control capacity is approximately 69.5 billion cubic meters – most of the reservoirs have been discharged to full levels. He said the water level of the Three Gorges Reservoir is about 150.83 meters as of Wednesday and will decline through June 10. 

  Sun Chunpeng, director of the hydrological information and forecast center under the water resources ministry, told CCTV rivers of southern China are experiencing record-high levels. More precipitation is expected in the weeks ahead and could push river levels to even higher dangerous levels. 

  The country’s largest freshwater lake, called Poyang Lake, located in Jiangxi Province, could have water above warning levels by the end of the week. 

  “This year’s rainy season has come earlier than usual, but it is still within the normal range. Last year, China recorded record heavy rainfall, so the chance of this year being the same is low, but extreme weather is unpredictable due to the impact of global warming,” Cheng Xiaotao, the former head for the Institute of Flood Control and Disaster Reduction, with the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, told the Global Times. 

  QingMa Investment, a hedge fund based in Shanghai China, shows flooding risks are climbing for China. 

  

  

  Last summer’s rainy season was the second-highest level since 1961, which triggered massive flooding and fears of the giant Three Gorges Dam failure that circulated across Western media. 

  It’s about that time Western media becomes obsessed with China flooding stories and persuades the world that China’s flood control capabilities are lacking. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 23:00

• Lockheed Martin Put Executives Through Training to Unlearn ‘White Male Privilege’: Report
  Lockheed Martin Put Executives Through Training to Unlearn ‘White Male Privilege’: Report

  Authored by Brittany Bernstein via National Review (emphasis ours),

  Lockheed Martin, the nation’s largest defense contractor, put top executives through a three-day training to deconstruct their “white male culture” and unlearn their “white male privilege,” according to a new report.

  

  Thirteen employees, including a former three-star general and the vice president of production for the $1.7 trillion F-35 fighter jet program, attended a program on Zoom last year led by the consulting firm White Men As Full Diversity Partners, according to City Journal’s Christopher Rufo. The firm works to help white men “awaken together.”

  The program was led by the consulting firm White Men As Full Diversity Partners, which specializes in helping white males “awaken together.” The participants included a former three-star general and the vice president of production for the $1.7 trillion F-35 fighter jet program. pic.twitter.com/x5YU2bBNbn

  — Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) May 26, 2021

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  The training began with a “free association” exercise which asked the Lockheed executives to list words associated with “white men.” The trainers listed “old, racist, privileged, anti-women, angry, Aryan Nation, KKK, Founding fathers, guns, guilty, can’t jump,” according to Rufo.

  The diversity trainers posed the question, “What’s in it for white men?” A list of responses included, “I won’t get replaced by someone who is a better full diversity partner,” “[I will] improve the brand, image, reputation of white men,” and “I [will] have less nagging sense of guilt that I am the problem.”

  The consulting firm claims that the “roots of white male culture” include traits such as “rugged individualism,” “a can-do attitude,” “hard work,” “operating from principles,” and “striving towards success” – which are “devastating” to women and minorities.

  The employees were also asked to recite and internalize 50 “white privilege statements,” including:

  “My culture teaches me to minimize the perspectives and powers of people of other races”;

  “I can commit acts of terrorism, violence or crime and not have it attributed to my race.”

  After the participants finished their white privilege statements, they were asked to recite and internalize 59 “male privilege statements,” including: “My earning potential is 15-33% higher than a woman’s”; “My reproductive organs are not seen as the property of other men, the government, and/or even strangers because of my gender.”

  For the final step, the employees recited and internalized 59 “heterosexual privilege statements,” including:

  “I am not asked to think about why I am straight”;

  “I can have friendships with or work around children without being accused of recruiting or molesting them.”

  The training concluded by asking the participants to read a list of “I’m tired” statements attributed to fictitious people of color and woman, such as “I’m tired of being Black”; “I’m tired of Black boys/girls being murdered”; “I’m tired of … the concept that we should be ‘colorblind.’”

  “This is pure neoracism from a company that receives billions of taxpayer dollars every year,” Rufo said in a tweet thread sharing his reporting.

  “I call on the United States Senate to launch an immediate inquiry into the racist practices at @LockheedMartin. We must shut this down before it endangers our national security.”

  *  *  *

  Meanwhile, never mincing words is Paul Joseph Watson of Summit News:

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 22:40

• America's Lone Carrier In Asia-Pacific Will Depart Region For Afghan Troop Withdrawal
  America’s Lone Carrier In Asia-Pacific Will Depart Region For Afghan Troop Withdrawal

  Currently the sole US aircraft carrier based out of the Asian-Pacific, specifically with a home port in Yokosuka, Japan, is the USS Ronald Reagan – but it’s now set to depart the region for the first time in years in preparation for the complete withdrawal of US troops in Afghanistan. 

  Pentagon officials told The Wall Street Journal the new carrier mission will see the Reagan depart Asian-Pacific waters this summer in support of ensuring a safe US troop exit from Afghanistan by the time of Biden’s Sept. 11 deadline. There’s growing concern that given Americans are now staying well past the previously agreed upon May 1st exit (based on the prior deal under the Trump White House), departing soldiers could face severe Taliban attacks, a scenario which is more likely the longer they stay. But now Congressional hawks worry about the glaring “gap” to be created should ongoing tensions with China escalate. 

  

  The carrier presence is expected to assist in thwarting any such attacks via air operations or other missions which require calling in major firepower. 

  Lack of a carrier presence near the South and East China seas could (perhaps as an inadvertent byproduct ) actually help to cool continually rising tensions with China – hawks inevitably sounding the “alarm” notwithstanding – following over a dozen contentious sail-throughs of warships in the Taiwan Strait and waters claimed by Beijing, such as the recent Paracel island incident.

  “While it is away, the Navy will go without an aircraft carrier presence in the Asia-Pacific region for at least part of that time, the officials said,” WSJ describes. This strongly suggests another carrier may be later called upon to enter the waters.

  “The U.S. Seventh Fleet, based in Japan, has dozens of other ships and aircraft, but the redeployment of its only available aircraft carrier represents a significant diversion away from Asia, which President Biden has called a priority for the military,” WSJ continues. The current carrier operating in the Middle East, which has been active in the north Arabian sea since last month, is the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower – but it’s scheduled to return to port in Virginia in July.

  Already on Thursday this is sparking controversy over the largest navy in the world “not having enough ships”…

  Senate Armed Services Comm top Republican @JimInhofe worries abt reported redeployment of #USSRonaldReagan from @INDOPACOM to help w/ #Afghanistan withdrawal@SecDef “should not have to choose btw providing force protection & keeping an aircraft carrier in the priority theater” pic.twitter.com/BaDhAApCxe

  — Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) May 27, 2021

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  This appears part of US Central Command commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie’s promise to the Senate Armed Services Committee made last month wherein he stated, “We will bring additional resources in [to the region] in order to protect the force as it comes out” of Afghanistan, which is by far America’s longest running war. “That’s normal in any kind of disengagement operation, and I don’t want to go into the detail of those operations right now, but we will have additional capabilities and I’m confident that we and our coalition partners will be able to extract ourselves,” McKenzie said.

  And Rabobank comments on the matter: “…at a time of heightened tensions around the South China Sea, due to the US leaving Afghanistan in July–opening up USD1-3trn in mineral resources for anyone brave enough to dive in–the US Navy is shifting the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan to help with the logistics. For the first time in a long time, the US has no aircraft carrier in the Pacific. The symbolism is clear: and it leaves some wondering what might happen if push comes to shove.”

  The US has further of late reportedly beefed up its bomber presence in the Gulf region, also as the major logistical feet of pulling out a 20-year build-up of equipment and military hardware continues. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 22:20

• Brain-Computer Interfaces: Don't Worry, It's Just A "Game"
  Brain-Computer Interfaces: Don’t Worry, It’s Just A “Game”

  Authored by Robert Wheeler via The Organic Prepper blog,

  Valve, the company behind Life and Counter-Strike, has just announced that the video games giant is ushering humanity into a Brave New World. How so? By merely including new technologies called brain-computer interfaces in its games.

  

  BCIs will work on our feelings by adjusting the game accordingly

  The head of Valve, Gabe Newell, has stated that the future of video games will involve “Brain-computer interfaces.” Newell added that BCIs would soon create superior experiences to those we currently perceive through our eyes and ears. 

  Newell said he envisions the gaming devices detecting a gamer’s emotions and then adjusting the settings to modify the player’s mood. For example, increasing the difficulty level when the player is getting bored.

  Valve is currently developing its own BCIs and working on “modified VR head straps” that developers can use to experiment with signals coming from the brain. “If you’re a software developer in 2022 who doesn’t have one of these in your test lab, you’re making a silly mistake,” Newell said.

  VR headsets will collect data by reading our brain signals

  Valve is working with OpenBCI headsets. OpenBCI unveiled a headset design back in November that it calls Galea. It is designed to work alongside VR headsets like Valve’s Index.

  

  “We’re working on an open-source project so that everybody can have high-resolution [brain signal] read technologies built into headsets, in a bunch of different modalities,” Newell added.

  “Software developers for interactive experience[s] — you’ll be absolutely using one of these modified VR head straps to be doing that routinely — simply because there’s too much useful data,” said Newell.

  The data collected by the head straps would consist of readings from the players’ brains and bodies. The data would essentially tell if the player is excited, surprised, bored, sad, afraid, or amused and other emotions. The modified head strap will then use the information to improve “immersion and personalize what happens during games.”

  The world will seem flat and colorless in comparison to the one created in your mind

  Newell also discussed taking the brain-reading technology a step further and creating a situation to send signals to people’s minds. (Such as changing their feelings and delivering better visuals during games.)

  “You’re used to experiencing the world through eyes,” Newell said, “but eyes were created by this low-cost bidder that didn’t care about failure rates and RMAs, and if it got broken, there was no way to repair anything effectively, which totally makes sense from an evolutionary perspective, but is not at all reflective of consumer preferences.”

  “So the visual experience, the visual fidelity we’ll be able to create — the real world will stop being the metric that we apply to the best possible visual fidelity.

  

  “Where it gets weird is when who you are becomes editable through a BCI.” ~ Gabe Newell

  Typically your average human accepts their feelings to be how they truly feel. Newell claims that BCIs will allow for an edit of these feelings digitally.

  “One of the early applications I expect we’ll see is improved sleep — sleep will become an app that you run where you say, ‘Oh, I need this much sleep, I need this much REM,’” he said.

  Newell also claims that another benefit could be the reduction or complete removal of unwanted feelings or brain conditions.

  Doesn’t something good come from this technology?

  Newell and Valve are working on something beyond merely the improvement of the video game experience. There is now a significant bleed over in the research conducted by Newell’s team and the prosthetics and neuroscience industries.

  Valve is trading research for expertise, contributing to projects developing synthetic body parts.

  “This is what we’re contributing to this particular research project,” he said, “and because of that, we get access to leaders in the neuroscience field who teach us a lot about the neuroscience side.”

  Are we equipped to experience things we have never experienced?

  Newell briefly mentioned some potential negatives to the technology. For example, he said how BCIs could cause people to experience physical pain, even pain beyond their physical body.

  “You could make people think they [are] hurt by injuring their tool, which is a complicated topic in and of itself,” he said.

  From the TVNZ article:

  Game developers might harness that function to make a player feel the pain of the character they are playing as when they are injured — perhaps to a lesser degree.

  Like any other form of technology, Newell says there’s a degree of trust in using it and that not everyone will feel comfortable with connecting their brain to a computer.

  He says no one will be forced to do anything they don’t want to do, and that people will likely follow others if they have good experiences, likening BCI technology to cellular phones.

  “People are going to decide for themselves if they want to do it. Nobody makes people use a phone,” Newell said.

  “I’m not saying that everybody is going to love and insist that they have a brain-computer interface. I’m just saying each person is going to decide for themselves whether or not there’s an interesting combination of feature, functionality, and price.”

  But Newell warned that BCIs come with one other significant risk. He says, “Nobody wants to say, ‘Remember Bob? Remember when Bob got hacked by the Russian malware? Yeah, that sucked. Is he still running naked through the forests?’”

  Is this just another step in separating us from ourselves?

  The truth is we will continue to be told to ignore the implications for this type of technology and the direction in which we are heading. Because, of course, they ARE developing prosthetics, and this is an advance in scientific discovery. Still, one step forward by an agenda and a plan created long ago only brings us that much closer to losing our ability to remember. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 22:00

• Illinois McDonald's Offers Free Iphones To New Hires Amid Labor Shortage
  Illinois McDonald’s Offers Free Iphones To New Hires Amid Labor Shortage

  Thanks to President Biden’s trillions in stimmy checks that pay unemployed Americans more for sitting on their ass than having a job, the nationwide job shortage continues to worsen. The service industry has been impacted the most as one fast food restaurant in Illinois offers free iPhones to new hires. 

  Twitter user “Bragard“ posted a picture of a promotional ad in the window of a McDonald’s in Illinois that read: “Now Hiring – Free iPhone.”

  There was no mention of what type of iPhone, but the fine print stated: “After six months employment & meet employment criteria,” the new hire would be rewarded with a new smartphone. 

  

  Bragard’s tweet went viral with more than a quarter-million likes and 36k retweets.

  A McDonald’s worker at the Altamont, Illinois location confirmed to Bussiness Insider that the promotion was, in fact, real. 

  A spokesperson for the company told Insider the fast-food chain was increasing recruitment ahead of the summer. It said individual restaurants offered special promotions and a range of benefits, including pay incentives, such as paid time off, sign-on and referral bonuses, and appreciation pay. 

  The promotion comes as one McDonald’s in Flordia offered people $50 to just show up to an interview. The fast-food industry has been hit the hardest with labor shortages as fewer people are returning to the workforce. 

  Last month, JPMorgan warned clients of a nationwide labor shortage. 

  

  Besides hiring promotions, McDonald’s is raising the hourly wages for its employees at corporate-owned locations by 10% over the next several months. This leaves out stores owned by franchisees. 

  “If you want to look like you’re raising wages to $15 an hour, then you should actually raise wages to $15 an hour, for every McDonald’s worker in this country, minimum,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said last week.

  “We’re not buying it. We’re not falling for it.”

  Wage push inflation has a spiral effect – say goodbye to “Dollar Menu” prices. 

  More or less, soaring labor costs for fast food restaurants will incentivize them to automate to achieve lower costs. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 21:40

• California Joins The Long List Of States, Companies, & Sports Leagues Bribing Americans To Get Vaccinated
  California Joins The Long List Of States, Companies, & Sports Leagues Bribing Americans To Get Vaccinated

  With demand for COVID-19 vaccines in the US waning quickly, both individual states and the federal government are pulling out all the stops to try and convince as many American adults as possible to consent to being vaccinated. Some states have pushed promotions offering free money, free beer, and free doughnuts, among other offers. Oregon is even offering a $1 million lottery for which only the vaccinated are eligible.

  

  As more states embrace these types of incentives, California just announced that it was hopping on the vaccination lottery bandwagon Thursday evening by offering 10 vaccinated residents  the chance to win $1.5 million each, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday, while another 30 residents will win $50K cash prizes.

  The program is being announced as California struggles to boost its vaccination rate (while the national rate of adults who have received at least one dose has just passed 60%).

  

  More than 288 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed across the US, but the daily rate for patients receiving both their first and second doses is slowing.

  

  Source: USA Today

  These types of initiatives are being rolled out across the US as rural areas see comparatively little demand when compared with urban areas.

  

  Now that California is in the mix, 7 US states are offering the possibility of cash prizes for those who choose to get the vaccine. Prizes range from a daily $40,000 prize in Maryland to a $5 million jackpot in New York. Here’s a rundown of what other states are offering. Another state, West Virginia, is offering savings bonds to all adults between the ages of 16 and 35.

  Ohio

  The Buckeye State is offering $1 million vaccine lottery prizes. The state administered a record number of vaccines in the first two days after announcing the $1 million vaccine lottery.

  The money is coming from the state’s pandemic relief funds.

  New York

  Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the Empire State will offer a free $20 scratch-off lottery tickets to the vaccinated for a chance at a $5 million Mega Multiplier Lottery. The program, which was announced last Thursday, ends tonight.

  Maryland

  Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said residents over the age of 18 who sign up to receive the COVID-19 vaccine will be entered into the lottery.

  “All you have to do to enter is get your shot,” Hogan said Thursday.

  The cash prizes will be dispersed in daily $40,000 drawings between May 25 to July 3, ending with a $400,000 jackpot, which will be drawn on July 4.

  Kentucky

  The Kentucky Lottery is giving a free Cash Ball 225 ticket — which usually costs $1 per ticket — to COVID-19 vaccine recipients ages 18 and older. Lottery officials will give 225,000 free tickets out to vaccinated residents in the state.

  “I hope this shot at $225,000 will be the incentive needed for more Kentuckians to get a vaccine,” Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said. “Helping keep our Kentucky communities safe and a free chance at winning hundreds of thousands of dollars is a win-win for everyone involved. “

  Oregon

  As we noted above, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown unveiled the state’s “Take Your Shot, Oregon” lottery last week.

  Vaccination data from the CDC broken down by county shows that the biggest gaps in vaccination rates are largely between rural and urban communities, with rural areas consistently lagging behind their ally with better resources.

  Colorado

  Colorado Gov. Jared Polis launched the “Colorado Comeback Cash” program to incentivize residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Starting June 4 until July 5, one vaccinated resident will be chosen at random to win $1 million, with one winner each week for five weeks.

  West Virginia

  In West Virginia, in a bid to get more young people vaccinated, the state will give out $100 savings bonds to all 16- to 35-year-olds who get the COVID-19 vaccine, including those who have already received their shot.

  People Magazine also published an article with instructions for how readers can get the most free stuff with their vaccine card.

  White Castle

  The fast food chain is giving out their cake on a stick (take your pick from butter cake, fudge dipped brownie, fudge dipped cheesecake-on-a-stick, or birthday cake) until May 31.

  Juniors Cheesecake

  The beloved cheesecake chain is offering a free cupcake-sized taste of their famous cheesecake at their flagship restaurant in Brooklyn until May 31 with proof of full vaccination against COVID-19.

  Nathan’s Famous

  Nathan’s is offering a free hot dog on the same day of your vaccine at their original Coney Island location in Brooklyn, New York.

  Krispy Kreme

  The doughnut chain is offering one free doughnut per day for the rest of 2021 to customers who present proof of being fully vaccinated.

  Sports franchises, including the NFL, are also offering incentives including free Super Bowl tickets.

  NFL

  The NFL announced during the Global Citizen’s VAX Live: The Concert to Reunite the World event that they would be giving away 50 tickets to Super Bowl LVI to vaccinated people who shared why it was important to get the shot.

  MLB

  The MLB teams are offering vaccinations at their respective stadiums (Yankee Stadium and Citi Field) and a free ticket to a game as encouragement to get the vaccine.

  On the services side, President Biden tweeted that Uber and Lyft would offer free rides to vaccination sites.

  Help spread the word: From May 24 until July 4, Uber and Lyft will offer everyone in America free rides to and from COVID-19 vaccination sites.

  — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 18, 2021

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  Finally, Office Depot and Office Max are offering free lamination for vaccine cards nationwide through July 25.

  And it’s not just states that are offering these incentives: Cities and corporations (like Krispy Kreme) are getting in on the action. In NYC, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that tickets to a slew of the city’s top destinations and experiences will be made available at a discount or for free to those who’ve received the COVID-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, the mayor of Long Beach, California (hometown of Snoop Dogg and Sublime) is offering two free tickets to the Aquarium of the Pacific for those getting vaccinated by May 15.

  Finally, we have one simple (awkward) question – why are states, companies, and sports leagues having to bribe people to get vaccinated against “the most deadly pandemic in over a century”?

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 21:20

• Li Auto Predicts 15% Sales Rise In China, As U.S. Competitor Tesla "Runs Foul" Overseas
  Li Auto Predicts 15% Sales Rise In China, As U.S. Competitor Tesla “Runs Foul” Overseas

  With Tesla falling out of favor in China, one domestic EV maker, Li Auto, is predicting a tailwind.

  The Chinese Tesla rival, which produces the Li One SUV, predicts that its sales will rise at least 15% in from April to June as a result of Tesla running “foul of angry Chinese customers,” SCMP reported on Wednesday. 

  The company’s Li One SUV competes with Tesla’s Model Y. It is an extended-range sport-utility vehicle (SUV) that is priced at 328,000 yuan (US$51,316), according to the report. 

  Li Auto said on Wednesday that Q2 deliveries would come in between 14,500 units and 15,500 units, up from estimates of 12,579 in the first three months of the year. Li reported a 13% decline in shipment volume in Q1 from 14,464 units the year prior. Now, it believes it is poised to increase its market share due to Tesla’s ongoing rocky relationship with the CCP and Chinese regulators. 

  

  Eric Han, a senior manager with Shanghai-based business advisory firm Suolei, commented: “Some Chinese drivers who want to own a premium smart EV are looking at the indigenous brands amid a series of news reports about Tesla’s quality and safety. NIO and Xpeng are also expected to gain a bigger market share.”

  Shares of Li Auto are down 30.7% in the U.S. so far after rising more than 150% in 2020. 

  Recall, about a week ago, we continued to note how Tesla had fallen out of favor in China, with some Chinese government compounds banning the vehicles. Staff at some Chinese government officers were told earlier this month not to park their Tesla cars inside of government compounds “because of security concerns over cameras installed on the vehicles.”

  “At least two government agencies” in Beijing and Shanghai had been told the same.

  

  Recall, before making somewhat of an about face on their recent attitude on Tesla (after Musk’s rebuke of bitcoin), Chinese state media had been anything but friendly to the U.S. auto manufacturer. 

  We have been documenting the ongoing spat between Tesla and the Chinese Communist Party over the last month, apparently (at least publicly) catalyzed by a protestor at the Shanghai Auto Show alleging faulty breaks on Tesla vehicles. This led to intense shaming by Chinese media, who called Tesla’s handling of the situation a “blunder” and suggested it could “inflict serious damage” on Tesla with the Chinese market. 

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 21:00

• 'Defund The Police' Atlanta Mayoral Candidate Has Car Stolen By Kids In Broad Daylight
  ‘Defund The Police’ Atlanta Mayoral Candidate Has Car Stolen By Kids In Broad Daylight

  Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times,

  An Atlanta city councilman running for mayor, who last year supported a measure to reduce city police funding by tens of millions of dollars, had his car stolen by children on Wednesday, he and police confirmed.

  

  Councilman Antonio Brown had been attending a ceremony in northeastern Atlanta at 12 p.m. Wednesday when several children jumped into his vehicle and drove away, he said.

  “You don’t immediately think, ‘Oh, these kids are going to steal my car,’” Brown told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, referring to the incident, adding that the thieves appeared to be children, although one of them “acted as though he had a gun.”

  Brown told officers that he emerged from his car to speak with someone when “several males entered his unlocked car and drove away with it,” according to police. “At this time, officers are gathering information on exactly how this happened and working to identify anyone involved in the incident and locate the stolen vehicle,” the department added.

  After the children got into the vehicle and were about to leave, Brown said he held onto his car and was dragged about a block down the road before he let go of it, adding that the driver “started to go faster and faster.”

  In an interview with FOX5, the councilman said the children were between the ages of 6 and 12.

  “One kid was in the driver’s seat. [Community leader Ben Norman] attempted to open the door to get him out of the car. He fought with Ben. I then engaged and tried to get him out of the car. The three other kids were trying to figure out how to get in the car or stay out of the car. He started to hit on the gas,” Brown added.

  Brown defended his stance on law enforcement saying “there’s no amount of officers … that could have stopped this from happening.”

  Brown said that he doesn’t plan on filing charges against the children.

  “This is a generational poverty issue. These kids, it’s 12:30 in the afternoon. Why aren’t they in school? Why aren’t we enforcing systems to ensure that if they are not in school, they’re in recreational centers?” he told WSB-TV.

  Brown called 911 and waited for five minutes to speak to a dispatcher, and then waited 45 minutes for the police to arrive.

  

  Brown is running his mayoral campaign, according to the Journal-Constitution, on a platform of “reimagining public safety,” which is a term generally used by left-leaning officials who want to reduce the budgets of police departments and transfer the money into social programs.

  Last summer, in the midst of Black Lives Matter protests and riots, Brown was an avid participant in BLM marches and demonstrations, calling for the resignation of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in the wake of an officer-involved fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks.

  Brown and several other Atlanta City Council members last June voted in favor of an ordinance that would have defunded the Atlanta Police Department by about $73 million. The measure failed in a 7-8 vote. Before it was voted down, Brown appeared to be one of the measure’s chief proponents.

  The councilman’s car was stolen in the midst of a crime wave that’s hit major metropolitan areas. Atlanta is no different as homicides are up 52 percent from the same time last year, while the number of shootings has increased 40 percent, according to the Atlanta Police Department.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 20:40

• Lockheed, GM Team-Up To Develop Next-Gen Lunar Rover For Astronauts 
  Lockheed, GM Team-Up To Develop Next-Gen Lunar Rover For Astronauts 

  Lockheed Martin and General Motors are teaming to develop the next-generation lunar vehicle for NASA’s upcoming Artemis missions to the Moon. 

  The Artemis program aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface by the midpoint of the decade. For exploration purposes, astronauts will need “surface mobility that is critical to enable and sustain long-term exploration of the lunar surface. These next-generation rovers will dramatically extend the range of astronauts,” a Lockheed press release read. 

  

  The new lunar vehicle “may allow astronauts to explore the lunar surface in unprecedented fashion and support discovery in places where humans have never gone before,” the defense contract continued. 

  “This alliance brings together powerhouse innovation from both companies to make a transformative class of vehicles,” said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space. “Surface mobility is critical to enable and sustain long-term exploration of the lunar surface. These next-generation rovers will dramatically extend the range of astronauts as they perform high-priority science investigation on the Moon that will ultimately impact humanity’s understanding of our place in the solar system.”

  NASA’s request for a next-generation lunar vehicle comes as GM, more than half a century ago, helped Boeing to create the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) for the Apollo mission to the Moon in 1969. 

  “General Motors made history by applying advanced technologies and engineering to support the Lunar Rover Vehicle that the Apollo 15 astronauts drove on the Moon,” said Alan Wexler, senior vice president of Innovation and Growth at General Motors. “Working together with Lockheed Martin and their deep-space exploration expertise, we plan to support American astronauts on the Moon once again.”

  GM will leverage its battery-electric technologies and propulsion systems to allow the rover to have a much greater range than the electric Apollo LRV. It will also incorporate autonomous, self-driving systems that will enable the rover to prepare for human landings, provide payload services, and allow astronauts to explore farther distances. 

  Lockheed Martin said the lunar rover is “being designed to traverse significantly farther distances to support the first excursions of the moon’s south pole, where it is cold and dark with more rugged terrain.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 20:20

• When Will America Protect Itself Against EMP, Cyber, & Ransomware Attacks?
  When Will America Protect Itself Against EMP, Cyber, & Ransomware Attacks?

  Authored by Peter Pry, op-ed via The Hill,

  “A long-term outage owing to EMP could disable most critical supply chains, leaving the U.S. population living in conditions similar to centuries past, prior to the advent of electric power. In the 1800s, the U.S. population was less than 60 million, and those people had many skills and assets necessary for survival without today’s infrastructure. An extended blackout today could result in the death of a large fraction of the American people through the effects of societal collapse, disease and starvation. While national planning and preparation for such events could help mitigate the damage, few such actions are currently under way or even being contemplated.”

  – Congressional EMP Commission (2017)

  The people of Rangely, Colo., are not waiting for Washington to protect them from a Great American Blackout caused by a solar superstorm or cyber warfare or electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. Like several other Western municipalities, Rangely, a town of 2,300 in northwest Colorado, home to a community college, has rolled up its sleeves and, in the best traditions of Western pioneering spirit, independence and self-sufficiency, is building redundant microgrids so they can survive anything.

  

  Texas state Sen. Bob Hall and his colleagues aren’t waiting for Washington to “provide for the common defense,” either. Hall’s bill to protect the Texas electric grid from all hazards — including EMP, cyber warfare and sabotage — recently passed the state Senate.

  Texans had a small taste of “electronic apocalypse” in February when an ice storm caused statewide rolling blackouts, resulting in property damage totaling billions of dollars, fuel shortages including a reduction in the national fuel supply, industrial accidents, including a major explosion and fire in a chemical plant, and 100 deaths. Experts have cautioned the same could happen during hot, summer weather.

  Sen. Hall, a former Air Force officer and an EMP expert, has been warning Texas for years that electric grid vulnerability to EMP and cyber attack could have catastrophic consequences. The Electric Reliability Council Of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the state’s electricity infrastructure, proved in February that they and the utilities are not even prepared to cope with a severe ice storm, let alone existential threats from EMP and cyber warfare.    

  In South Carolina, Ambassador Henry Cooper, a former Air Force officer, EMP expert and engineer, is working with Duke Energy on the Lake Wylie project to protect a nuclear reactor from EMP — a pilot project that could result in converting 100 U.S. nuclear reactors into “islands of survivability” to help the nation recover in the event of an EMP or cyber attack, or both. The Lake Wylie project began, and continues, as a local grassroots initiative receiving no financial or technical support from the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or other agencies of the federal government.

  Ambassador Cooper says he has lost faith that Washington will ever act to protect the national electric grid and other life-sustaining critical infrastructures from EMP and cyber warfare. According to Cooper, if America is to be protected, it won’t be done by an incompetent federal government but by the people and the states, working “from the bottom up.”

  Now the recent Colonial Pipeline cyber attack appears to prove the ambassador is right. The official story is that Russian hackers made a ransomware attack on the business side of Colonial Pipeline’s information technology network, moving the owners, Koch Industries, to shut down the pipeline to exercise “an abundance of caution.” So supposedly, turning off the 5,500-mile artery that supplies 45 percent of petroleum to the eastern U.S. for civilian and military use — causing gas shortages and panic-buying — was self-inflicted.

  Or maybe not. 

  The U.S. government and Koch Industries might not want to admit that Russian hackers turned off Colonial Pipeline — which they could do by manipulating the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system that controls the pipeline valves. A cyber attack could destroy the pipeline by manipulating valves to cause excessive pressure, resulting in an explosion. At minimum, the decision to turn off Colonial Pipeline proves that the ransomware threat was sufficiently credible that the government and Koch did not want to take any chances.

  So why is Colonial Pipeline vulnerable to Russian hackers, and the Texas electric grid vulnerable to ice storms, and all the nation’s life-sustaining critical infrastructure vulnerable to EMP and cyber attacks?

  Since President George W. Bush’s administration established the Department of Homeland Security, protection of the nation’s critical infrastructure supposedly has been high priority. But in truth, little has been done.

  Much to their credit, Congress passed the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act in 2015, the White House issued an executive order to protect critical infrastructure from EMP in 2019, and Congress in 2020 incorporated the essentials of the order into the National Defense Authorization Act, giving it the force of law. This month, President Biden issued an executive order to improve cybersecurity. The White House and Congress have given the federal government all the direction and legal authority necessary to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure from existential threats — yet, again, little has been done.

  The problem may be that there are too many lawyers and non-expert bureaucrats in charge of national preparedness for EMP and cyber warfare who lack deep technical expertise. The problem may be that lawyers are not forged in a national security culture that gives highest priority to winning a World War III. Lawyers are taught negotiation, compromise, achieving consensus among all stakeholders — which means critical infrastructure never will be protected.

  Once upon a time, nuclear physicist Robert Oppenheimer (not a lawyer) led the Manhattan Project to invent the atomic bomb in just three years. Adm. Hyman Rickover, an engineer and not a lawyer, built the U.S. “nuclear navy.” And rocket scientist Werner von Braun, not a lawyer, ran NASA and sent Americans to the moon.

  Today what is urgently needed are EMP and cyber warfare experts to run another “Manhattan Project” to quickly protect America’s critical infrastructure. Their maxim should be: “Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way!”

  *  *  *

  Dr. Peter Vincent Pry is executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security. He served as chief of staff to the EMP Commission, on the staff of the House Armed Services Committee, and was an intelligence officer with the CIA. He is author of “The Power And The Light: The Congressional EMP Commission’s War to Save America.”

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 20:00

• Australia Imposes 4th COVID Lockdown On Melbourne As New Cluster Found
  Australia Imposes 4th COVID Lockdown On Melbourne As New Cluster Found

  Despite essentially cutting off all international travel in an attempt to “raise the drawbridge” and keep out COVID-19 after mostly purging it from their society, Australia is entering its fourth COVID-inspired lockdown in Melbourne, the country’s second-largest city. The lockdown began Thursday and was set to remain in place for a week for Melbourne and the rest of Victoria state after a new cluster of cases was uncovered, yielding 26 new infections, including one person who was sent to intensive care, the AP reports.

  Another 10K people have reportedly had some form of contact with those infected.

  “Unless something changes, this will be increasingly uncontrollable,” Victoria Acting Premier James Merlino said.

  Australia’s federal goverment declared Melourne a hot spot, allowing the city to tap additional federal resources. PM Scott Morrison said 218 military personnel would be dispatched to Victoria to help administer vaccine doses to the population. Additional doses have been sent to Victoria, where only 3.9MM doses have been administered so far among a population of 26MM.

  

  Health Minister Greg Hunt described the lockdown, which begins at midnight, as “highly regrettable, but necessary restrictions under the current circumstances.”

  Under the terms of the strict lockdown, people will only be able to leave home to shop for food and essential items, provide or receive care, exercise, work or study if they are unable to do so from home, and to get vaccinated. Masks will be compulsory indoors and outdoors.

  Cafes and restaurants will only be able to sell takeout, and schools will close once again, reverting to all-remote instruction for the duration of the lockdown. Professional sports events in Melbourne will continue, but crowds won’t be allowed.

  

  Raising the sense of alarm, Australian authorities said the variant that caused the latest outbreak is the same one first identified in Inda, which has made its way across Europe and the US by now. Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly confirmed that it was the Indian variant designated as a “variant of concern” by the WHO.

  The new Melbourne cluster was found after a traveler from India became infected while in hotel quarantine in South Australia state earlier this month. The traveler was not diagnosed until he returned home from Adelaide to Melbourne.

  The city of 5MM people became Australia’s biggest hot spot for the first time last year when infections peaked at 725 new cases in a single day in August at a time when community spread had been virtually eliminated elsewhere in the country.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 19:40

• Will The Madness Of 2020 Last?
  Will The Madness Of 2020 Last?

  Authored by Victor Davis Hanson, op-ed via The Epoch Times,

  The COVID-19 pandemic is ending with mass vaccinations. So is the national quarantine. The rioting, looting, and arson that began in the summer of 2020 is finally sputtering out.

  The acrimony over the 2020 election is fading. Trump Derangement Syndrome became abstract when Donald Trump left office and was ostracized from social media.

  In other words, the American people are slowly regaining their senses after the epidemic of mass hysteria that gripped the nation last year.

  

  But many Americans wonder whether what Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and the hard left wrought last year will last when the nation is no longer gripped by 2020 madness.

  Teachers and academics are notorious for furious opposition to administrative bloat. For the last 50 years, administrations have proliferated while the ratio of non-teachers to teachers has skyrocketed—much to the chagrin of teachers unions.

  But in the last year, colleges have gone mad in hiring thousands of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” administrators. Their job descriptions may be vague, but certainly they will not contribute to classroom education. Instead, they will monitor the speech and actions of those who do.

  How long will mostly left-wing teachers unions continue to support such vast diversions of money to armies of new non-teaching administrators?

  Before 2020, the Left demanded “proportional representation” in hiring and admissions. And if minority groups and women were not represented in the workplace according to their percentages of the American population, then prejudice was automatically assumed, and reparatory measures were then taken to hire by race and gender.

  “Affirmative action” was the euphemism for such quotas. It was more or less institutionalized because proportional representation was not entirely illogical in a multiracial society, and there was still the common goal to follow Martin Luther King Jr.’s notion of integration and assimilation to make race incidental, not essential, to who Americans are.

  Not now. The foundations of the new woke race agenda are mostly anti-white. African American Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently decided not to grant interviews to white reporters. The city of Oakland’s entitlement payouts, like those of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are designed not to be distributed to white people.

  A number of black intellectuals now openly envision American life segregated from whites. The Nation’s Elie Mystal envisions his life as “whiteness-free.” Damon Young, a senior editor of The Root and an occasional New York Times contributor, claims, “Whiteness is a public health crisis. It shortens life expectancies …” And Barnard College English instructor Ben Philippe recently wrote a novel envisioning the mass gassing and blowing up of white people.

  Such hatred has never been condemned by Black Lives Matter or other civil rights groups. When the country returns to life after COVID-19, will such venom still be tolerable?

  For that matter, will the media be able to get away with not covering attacks on Jews in major cities by mostly pro-Hamas or Arab American youth?

  Before 2020, the American people had tired of media farces such as the demonization of the Duke lacrosse team, the lies about the Covington Catholic High School kids, and the Jussie Smollett hoax about an attack by white racists. Will Americans return to their earlier skepticism when it increasingly seems as if the media and the government mostly misled them when denying the possibility that COVID-19 leaked from a Wuhan lab engaged in the engineering of dangerous viruses?

  Will people still believe that “armed insurrectionists” planned a Jan. 6 coup?

  As the hysteria fades, we are learning there were no arms anywhere. No one has been charged with treason, conspiracy, or insurrection. There are no conspiracy kingpins in custody.

  By the end of the year, will the media-hungry Dr. Anthony Fauci still be a national icon, as the country finally adds up his contradictory communiqués that were constantly changing and often flat-out wrong?

  From March 2020 to spring of 2021, the country went through a mass hysteria. Despite its ideological pretensions, the collective insanity was not unlike the Tulip mania in early 17th-century Holland or the June bug epidemic paranoia of 1962.

  But as Americans sober up, will they institutionalize or reject the frenzy remaining from the destructive stampede that took the country over the cliff during the most unhinged year in American history?

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 19:20

• The Fed Explains Why Stocks Melt-Up In Overnight Trading
  The Fed Explains Why Stocks Melt-Up In Overnight Trading

  By now everyone has seen some iteration of this chart (most recently discussed here), which shows that whereas stocks are generally flat over longer periods of time during the regular “cash”, or day session, they tend to melt up during the overnight hours when liquidity is far lower and when the “pajama trades” come out and play.

  

  And while there is no single, widely accepted reason for this “overnight drift”, the post-closed meltup phenomenon has been one of the most popular and recurring strategies in equity markets, with many traders selling spoos when the day session begins and then re-buying at the market close in pursuit of scarce alpha.

  Today, DataTrek’s Nicholas Colas goes right after the $64 trillion question and asks “why do US stocks so often seem to rally overnight rather than during regular trading hours?” He answers by pointing to an analysis published today by the New York Fed which has some notable observations and makes an interesting conclusion..

  First, here is what the Fed dubs the “Overnight Drift”. The chart below shows average daily S&P 500 futures returns by hour from 1998 – 2019. The time stamps on the X axis are East Coast US time, starting at 6 pm local. As you can see, the largest returns (when the red line goes parabolic) are from 2am to 3am. During regular trading hours (930 to 1600, right side of the graph) average cumulative returns are basically flat.

  

  The Fed attributes this “Drift” to US equity market makers absorbing excess supply during selloffs at discounted prices going into the 4:00 pm close, which in turn creates an artificially low S&P closing price. The chart below shows the “Overnight Drift” broken down by days with high “RSV” (Relative Signed Volume, the percent of sell imbalances) versus those with no RSV or negative RSV (lots of buy interest at the close). Sure enough, days with high levels of selling at the close have a more pronounced positive “Overnight Drift”.

  

  Takeaway: to the Fed’s thinking, the Overnight Drift is caused by non-US traders sniffing out artificially discounted closing S&P prices and arbitraging them away (albeit with some risk) before the next trading day in the States. As for a practical takeaway, the first chart we showed you says that on average you’re often better off selling equity positions at the open and putting in your Buy tickets in the middle of the afternoon. Market events can always subvert that approach, of course, but on average it has been a productive rule set to follow.

  Sources: Fed Overnight Drift analysis: https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2021/05/the-overnight-drift-in-us-equity-returns.html

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 19:00

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• "They Didn't Even Try To Respect The Contract" – EU Demands Massive Fine In Lawsuit Against AstraZeneca
  “They Didn’t Even Try To Respect The Contract” – EU Demands Massive Fine In Lawsuit Against AstraZeneca

  After suing AstraZeneca for falling far short of its promise to deliver 300MM doses of its vaccine to the EU by the end of the year (so far, it’s only on track to deliver roughly one-third of that due to manufacturing hiccups and other issues).

  The vaccine, which is still in widespread use despite evidence of rare but sometimes deadly cerebral blood clots, was designed by Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant with cooperation from Oxford University. The EU took the company to court back in April after the company confirmed that deliveries would likely fall far short of expectations.

  

  The EU’s struggle to compensate for this shortfall has at times led to hostility with its neighbors, including the newly independent UK. The EU’s ruling body, the European Commission, nearly ordered a ban on all exports produced on the continent to claim more supplies for Europeans, but ultimately that plan was quashed.

  Still, Brussels wants the company to deliver at least 120M doses by the end of June. AstraZeneca had delivered only 50M doses as of the beginning of May, though it has likely delivered at least a few million more by now. Still, 50MM is only a quarter of the 200MM that were expected to be delivered by now.

  A lawyer for the EU told Reuters that the bloc is seeking monetary compensation for each promised dose that wasn’t delivered. The rate proposed by the EU would be roughly €10 ($12) per day of delay per dose, starting July 1. At that rate, the fine would amount to $12M per million vaccines per day, or roughly $2.4 billion per day if the number missing is still 200MM.

  Brussels wants the company to deliver at least 120 million vaccines by the end of June. AstraZeneca had delivered 50 million doses by the beginning of May, just a quarter of the 200 million vaccines foreseen in the contract by then.

  “AstraZeneca did not even try to respect the contract,” the EU’s lawyer, Rafael Jafferali, told a Brussels court in the first hearing on the substance of the legal case.

  He said the EU was seeking 10 euros ($12.2) for each day of delay for each dose as compensation for AstraZeneca’s non-compliance with the contract. This penalty would apply from July 1, 2021, if the judge accepted it.

  Jafferali said the EU was seeking an additional penalty of at least 10 million euros for each breach of the contract that the judge may decide.

  A lawyer for AZ denounced the accusations as “shocking” and argued that manufacturing vaccines is fraught with complexities that sometimes can’t be anticipated.

  “This is not a contract for the delivery of shoes or T-shirts,” AstraZeneca’s lawyer Hakim Boularbah told the court later on Wednesday, stressing the complexity of manufacturing a new vaccine.

  The EU accusations were “shocking”, Boularbah said, noting the company had formulated its delivery targets based on early estimates of production capacity. He added that the vaccine was sold at cost.

  AstraZeneca has repeatedly said the contract was not binding as it only committed to make “best reasonable efforts” in delivering doses.

  Jafferali said that principle had not been respected because the drugmaker had not delivered to the bloc 50 million doses produced in factories that are listed in the contract as suppliers to the EU, including 39 million doses manufactured in Britain, 10 million produced in the United States and 1 million in the Netherlands.

  AZ’s factories in Britain, and their refusal to export vaccines, is central to the lawsuit. The company claims that it fulfilled its commitments by alerting the EU to production delays.

  AstraZeneca’s lawyer said the British factories were mentioned in the EU contract for information, but there was no commitment to use them. They were expected to produce vaccines solely for Britain until February 2021, when the company expected to deliver 100 million doses to London. It has not yet completed its deliveries to Britain.

  Jafferali said AstraZeneca had pledged in the EU contract not to have other engagements that would prevent it from abiding by the terms of the deal.

  The lawyer also said AstraZeneca had failed to communicate to the EU in a timely manner the magnitude of its supply problems because it repeatedly sent messages, including publicly, that it was able to meet its targets, before finally admitting there were large shortfalls in March.

  The company had warned the EU in December of production problems, but communicated only at the end of January, just before the start of deliveries, a much larger cut than initially expected for the first-quarter.

  Boularbah said AstraZeneca had continuously kept the EU informed about its production plans and problems.

  A verdict is expected next month.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 02:45

• Massive War Study Shows 91% Of All Global Casualties From Explosives Were Civilians
  Massive War Study Shows 91% Of All Global Casualties From Explosives Were Civilians

  Authored by Jessica Corbett via Common Dreams,

  On the heels of Israel’s recent bombardment of the Gaza Strip, a London-based charity revealed Tuesday that civilians accounted for 91% of people killed or injured when explosive weapons were used in populated areas worldwide from 2011 to 2020.

  The new Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) report (pdf) is based on data collected as part of the group’s Explosive Violence Monitoring Project. It emphasizes that the data, taken from English-language media reporting, “is not an attempt to capture every single casualty of every incident around the world.”

  

  However, the report provides insight on the devastating impact of using explosive weapons—including air-dropped bombs, artillery shells, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and mortars—in densely populated areas and demands global commitments to end such violence.

  “Since the monitor began, AOAV has recorded the appalling suffering caused across the globe by both manufactured and improvised weapons,” the report says. “We call on states and other users to commit politically to stop using explosive weapons with wide area effects in populated areas. The harm recorded over the last 10 years and reflected in this report illustrates the stark urgency needed for a political declaration detailing such a commitment.”

  AOAV tallied 357,370 deaths or injuries in 28,879 incidents across 123 countries and territories—and at least 262,413 of those casualties or 73% were civilians. Overall, explosive weapons killed 155,118 people—of which 92,588 or 60% were civilians—and injured 202,252 people, of which 169,825 or 84% were civilians.

  

  As the report details:

  Civilians were most at risk when explosive weapons were used in populated areas—a well-established pattern of harm.

  60% of all recorded incidents took place in populated areas. In those attacks, AOAV recorded 263,798 casualties. Civilians accounted for 91% (238,892) of those killed or injured in populated areas. This compares to 25% of victims being reported as civilians when explosive weapons were used in areas not identified as highly populated areas.

  AOAV executive director Iain Overton told The Guardian the report clearly demonstrates that “when explosive weapons are used in towns and cities, civilians will be harmed.” That conclusion, he added, was “as true as it is today in Gaza as it was a decade ago in Iraq and beyond.”

  The highest numbers of civilian deaths and injuries were recorded in Syria (77,534), Iraq (56,316), Afghanistan (28,424), Pakistan (20,719), and Yemen (16,645). Though Gaza and Lebanon ranked ninth and 13th in terms of civilian casualties by numbers, they had the highest percentages of deaths and injuries endured by civilians—90% and 91%, respectively.

  IEDs were responsible for 52% of all deaths and injuries while manufactured explosive weapons accounted for another 47%. In other events, both types were used.

  Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen saw the highest number of civilian deaths and injuries in the last decade with 77,534, 56,316, 28,424, 20,719 and 16,645 civilian casualties respectively. pic.twitter.com/qKaj2iGkHO

  — Iain Overton (@iainoverton) May 25, 2021

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

  AOAV points out that the consequences of such incidents are not limited to immediate deaths and injuries, highlighting that “further casualties have been caused by the reverberating impacts.”

  “Explosive remnants of war contaminate the land, posing a risk to civilians for generations and frequently preventing local populations from returning or using the land for livelihood activities,” explains the report. “The destruction of civilian infrastructure takes years to repair and can leave civilians without access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities or prevent access to services such as healthcare,” AOAV continues. “Such impacts cost further lives, exacerbate the mental health impact for survivors, and see rises in poverty and disease.”

  In an effort to prevent future casualties and damage, Ireland put forth a “Draft Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians From Humanitarian Harm Arising From the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas” (pdf) in January, and has welcomed comments on the proposal.

  The International Committee of the Red Cross is among the parties that have offered comments (pdf), stating that “in the ICRC’s view, the revised draft provides a solid basis for further work towards clear and concrete political commitments to strengthen the protection of civilians from harm caused by these weapons,” and detailing some recommendations aimed at “clarifying and strengthening the text.”

  

  The Guardian reports that though the draft “has won the support of Belgium and will be considered at a U.N. meeting in Geneva later this year,” countries including the U.S., U.K., Israel, and France have reservations “while Russia, accused of repeated breaches of humanitarian law during indiscriminate bombing in Syria, has not participated.” According to AOAV’s report, “For civilians living in conflict zones this declaration cannot come soon enough—states and civil society must ensure that stronger standards are not watered-down by states that reject the need for constraint.”

  “States should also seek to improve their policies and practices in light of the harm that is predicted when explosive weapons are used in populated areas,” the group adds. “The international community must not only take note of the scale of the figures we have included in this report but be cognizant of the fact that each number represents a life, frequently young, and almost always a civilian.”

  Earlier this month, Israel’s assault of Gaza—which included the destruction of medical facilities and apartment buildings, one of which housed international media offices—killed at least 248 Palestinians, including 66 children, and wounded over 1,900 people, according to local health officials. Although Palestinian groups also launched rockets toward Israel, most were stopped by the nation’s air defenses; 13 people have been killed in Israel.

  Tyler Durden
  Thu, 05/27/2021 – 02:00

• "I Don't Know Of A Bigger Story In The World" Right Now Than Ivermectin: NYTimes Best-Selling Author
  “I Don’t Know Of A Bigger Story In The World” Right Now Than Ivermectin: NYTimes Best-Selling Author

  Authored by Nick Corbishley via NakedCapitalism.com,

  So why are journalists not covering it?

  Michael Capuzzo, a New York Times best-selling author , has just published an article titled “The Drug That Cracked Covid”. The 15-page article chronicles the gargantuan struggle being waged by frontline doctors on all continents to get ivermectin approved as a Covid-19 treatment, as well as the tireless efforts by reporters, media outlets and social media companies to thwart them.

  Because of ivermectin, Capuzzo says, there are “hundreds of thousands, actually millions, of people around the world, from Uttar Pradesh in India to Peru to Brazil, who are living and not dying.” Yet media outlets have done all they can to “debunk” the notion that ivermectin may serve as an effective, easily accessible and affordable treatment for Covid-19. They have parroted the arguments laid out by health regulators around the world that there just isn’t enough evidence to justify its use.

  For his part, Capuzzo, as a reporter, “saw with [his] own eyes the other side [of the story]” that has gone unreported, of the many patients in the US whose lives have been saved by ivermectin and of five of the doctors that have led the battle to save lives around the world, Paul Marik, Umberto Meduri, José Iglesias, Pierre Kory and Joe Varon. These are all highly decorated doctors. Through their leadership of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care (FLCCC) Alliance, they have already enhanced our treatment of Covid-19 by discovering and promoting the use of Corticoid steroids against the virus. But their calls for ivermectin to also be used have met with a wall of resistance from healthcare regulators and a wall of silence from media outlets.

  “I really wish the world could see both sides,” Capuzzo laments.

  But unfortunately most reporters are not interested in telling the other side of the story. Even if they were, their publishers would probably refuse to publish it.

  That may explain why Capuzzo, a six-time Pulitzer-nominated journalist best known for his New York Times-bestselling nonfiction books Close to Shore and Murder Room, ended up publishing his article on ivermectin in Mountain Home, a monthly local magazine for the of the Pennsylvania mountains and New York Finger Lakes region, of which Capuzzo’s wife is the editor.

  

  It’s also the reason why I decided to dedicate today’s post to Capuzzo’s article. Put simply, as many people as possible –particularly journalists — need to read his story.

  As Capuzzo himself says, “I don’t know of a bigger story in the world.”

  Total News Blackout

  On December 8 2020, FLCCC member Dr Pierre Kory gave nine minutes of impassioned testimony to the US Homeland Security Committee Meeting on the potent anti-viral, anti-inflammatory benefits of ivermectin.

  

  A total of 9 million people (myself included) saw the video on YouTube before it was taken down by YouTube’s owner, Google. As Capuzzo exhaustively lays out, both traditional and social media have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep people in the dark about ivermectin. So effective has this been that even in some of the countries that have benefited most from its use (such as Mexico and Argentina) many people are completely unaware of its existence. And this is no surprise given how little information is actually seeping out into the public arena.

  A news blackout by the world’s leading media came down on Ivermectin like an iron curtain. Reporters who trumpeted the COVID-19 terror in India and Brazil didn’t report that Ivermectin was crushing the P-1 variant in the Brazilian rain forest and killing COVID-19 and all variants in India. That Ivermectin was saving tens of thousands of lives in South America wasn’t news, but mocking the continent’s peasants for taking horse paste was. Journalists denied the world knowledge of the most effective life-saving therapies in the pandemic, Kory said, especially among the elderly, people of color, and the poor, while wringing their hands at the tragedy of their disparate rates of death.

  Three days after Kory’s testimony, an Associated Press “fact-check reporter” interviewed Kory “for twenty minutes in which I recounted all of the existing trials evidence (over fifteen randomized and multiple observational trials) all showing dramatic benefits of Ivermectin,” he said. Then she wrote: “AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. There’s no evidence Ivermectin has been proven a safe or effective treatment against COVID-19.” Like many critics, she didn’t explore the Ivermectin data or evidence in any detail, but merely dismissed its “insufficient evidence,” quoting instead the lack of a recommendation by the NIH or WHO. To describe the real evidence in any detail would put the AP and public health agencies in the difficult position of explaining how the lives of thousands of poor people in developing countries don’t count in these matters.

  Not just in media but in social media, Ivermectin has inspired a strange new form of Western and pharmaceutical imperialism. On January 12, 2021, the Brazilian Ministry of Health tweeted to its 1.2 million followers not to wait with COVID-19 until it’s too late but “go to a Health Unit and request early treatment,” only to have Twitter take down the official public health pronouncement of the sovereign fifth largest nation in the world for “spreading misleading and potentially harmful information.” (Early treatment is code for Ivermectin.) On January 31, the Slovak Ministry of Health announced its decision on Facebook to allow use of Ivermectin, causing Facebook to take down that post and removed the entire page it was on, the Ivermectin for MDs Team, with 10,200 members from more than 100 countries.

  In Argentina, Professor and doctor Hector Carvallo, whose prophylactic studies are renowned by other researchers, says all his scientific documentation for Ivermectin is quickly scrubbed from the Internet. “I am afraid,” he wrote to Marik and his colleagues, “we have affected the most sensitive organ on humans: the wallet…” As Kory’s testimony was climbing toward nine million views, YouTube, owned by Google, erased his official Senate testimony, saying it endangered the community. Kory’s biggest voice was silenced.

  “The Most Powerful Entity on Earth”

  Malcom X once called the media “the most powerful entity on the earth.” They have, he said, “the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of masses”. Today, that power is now infused with the power of the world’s biggest tech and social media companies. Together social and traditional media have the power to make a medicine that has saved possibly millions of lives during the current pandemic disappear from the conversation. When it is covered, it’s almost always in a negative light. Some media organizations, including the NY Times, have even prefaced mention of the word “ivermectin” — a medicine that has done so much good over its 40-year lifespan that its creators were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2015 — with the word “controversial.”

  Undeterred, many front-line doctors have tried to persuade their respective health regulators of the unparalleled efficacy and safety of ivermectin as a covid treatment. They include Dr. Tess Lawrie, a prominent independent medical researcher who, as Capuzzo reports, evaluates the safety and efficacy of drugs for the WHO and the National Health Service to set international clinical practice guidelines:

  “[She] read all twenty-seven of the Ivermectin studies Kory cited. The resulting evidence is consistent and unequivocal,” she announced, and sent a rapid meta-analysis, an epidemiolocal statistical multi-study review considered the highest form of medical evidence, to the director of the NHS, members of parliament, and a video to Prime Minister Boris Johnson with “the good news… that we now have solid evidence of an effective treatment for COVID-19…” and Ivermectin should immediately “be adopted globally and systematically for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.”

  Ignored by British leaders and media, Lawrie convened the day-long streaming BIRD conference—British Ivermectin Recommendation Development—with more than sixty researchers and doctors from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, England, Ireland, Belgium, Argentina, South Africa, Botswana, Nigeria, Australia, and Japan. They evaluated the drug using the full “evidence-to-decision framework” that is “the gold standard tool for developing clinical practice guidelines” used by the WHO, and reached the conclusion that Ivermectin should blanket the world.

  “Most of all you can trust me because I am also a medical doctor, first and foremost,” Lawrie told the prime minster, “with a moral duty to help people, to do no harm, and to save lives. Please may we start saving lives now.” She heard nothing back.

  Ivermectin’s benefits were also corroborated by Dr. Andrew Hill, a renowned University of Liverpool pharmacologist and independent medical researcher, and the senior World Health Organization/UNITAID investigator of potential treatments for COVID-19. Hill’s team of twenty-three researchers in twenty-three countries had reported that, after nine months of looking for a COVID-19 treatment and finding nothing but failures like Remdesivir— “we kissed a lot of frogs”— Ivermectin was the only thing that worked against COVID-19, and its safety and efficacy were astonishing—“blindingly positive,” Hill said, and “transformative.” Ivermectin, the WHO researcher concluded, reduced COVID-19 mortality by 81 percent.

  Why All the Foot Dragging?

  Yet most health regulators and governments continue to drag their feet. More evidence is needed, they say. All the while, doctors in most countries around the world have no early outpatient medicines to draw upon in their struggle against the worst pandemic in century. Drawing on his own experience, Capuzzo describes the absence of treatments for COVID-19 as a global crisis: 

  When my daughter Grace, a vice president at a New York advertising agency, came down with COVID-19 recently, she was quarantined in a “COVID hotel” in Times Square with homeless people and quarantining travelers. The locks on her room door were removed. Nurses prowled the halls to keep her in her room and wake her up every night to check her vitals—not to treat her, because there is no approved treatment for COVID-19; only, if her oxygen plummeted, to move her to the hospital, where there is only a single eective approved treatment for COVID-19, steroids that may keep the lungs from failing. 

  There are three possible explanations for health regulators’ refusal to allow the use of a highly promising, well-tolerated off-label medicine such as ivermectin:

  • As a generic, ivermectin is cheap and widely available, which means there would be a lot less money to be made by Big Pharma if it became the go-to early-stage treatment against covid.

  • Other pharmaceutical companies are developing their own novel treatments for Covid-19 which would have to compete directly with ivermectin. They include ivermectin’s original manufacturer, Merck, which has an antiviral compound, molnupiravir, in Phase 3 clinical trials for COVID-19. That might explain the company’s recent statement claiming that there is “no scientific basis whatsoever for a potential therapeutic effect of ivermectin against COVID-19. 

  • If approved as a covid-19 treatment, ivermectin could even threaten the emergency use authorisation granted to covid-19 vaccines. One of the basic conditions for the emergency use authorisation granted to the vaccines currently being used against covid is that there are no alternative treatments available for the disease. As such, if ivermectin or some other promising medicine such as fluvoxamine were approved as an effective early treatment for Covid-19, the vaccines could be stripped of authorisation.

  This may explain why affordable, readily available and minimally toxic drugs are not repurposed for use against Covid despite the growing mountains of evidence supporting their efficacy. 

  Ivermectin has already been approved as a covid-19 treatment in more than 20 countries. They include Mexico where the mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Scheinbaum, recently said that the medicine had reduced hospitalisations by as much as 76%. As of last week, 135,000 of the city’s residents had been treated with the medicine. The government of India — the world’s second most populous country and one of the world’s biggest manufacturers of medicines — has also recommended the use of ivermectin as an early outpatient treatment against covid-19, in direct contravention of WHO’s own advice.

  Dr Vikas P. Sukhatme, the dean of Emory School of Medicine, recently wrote in a column for the Times of India that deploying drugs such as ivermectin and fluvoxamine in India is likely to “rapidly reduce the number of COVID-19 patients, reduce the number requiring hospitalization, supplemental oxygen and intensive care and improve outcomes in hospitalized patients.” 

  Four weeks after the government included ivermectin and budesonide among its early treatment guidelines, the country has recorded its lowest case count in 40 days.

  

  In many of India’s regions the case numbers are plunging in almost vertical fashion. In the capital Delhi, as in Mexico City, hospitalisations have plummeted. In the space of 10 days ICU occupancy fell from 99% to 70%. Deaths are also falling. The test positivity ratio slumped from 35% to 5% in just one month.

  One of the outliers of this trend is the state of Tamil Nadu, where cases are still rising steeply. This may have something to do with the fact that the state’s newly elected governor, MK Stalin, decided to exclude ivermectin from the region’s treatment protocol in favor of Remdesivir. The result? Soaring cases. Late last week, Stalin reversed course once again and readopted ivermectin. 

  For the moment deaths in India remain extremely high. And there are concerns that the numbers are being under-reported. Yet they may also begin to fall in the coming days. In all of the countries that have used ivermectin widely, fatalities are the last thing to fall, after case numbers and hospitalizations. Of course, there’s no way of definitively proving that these rapid falloffs are due to the use of ivermectin. Correlation, even as consistent as this, is not causation. Other factors such as strict lockdowns and travel restrictions no doubt also play a part.

  But a clear pattern across nations and territories has formed that strongly supports ivermectin’s purported efficacy. And that efficacy has been amply demonstrated in three meta-analyses.

  India’s decision to adopt ivermectin, including as a prophylaxis in some states, is already a potential game-changer. As I wrote three weeks ago, if case numbers, hospitalizations and fatalities fall in India as precipitously as they have in other countries that have adopted ivermectin, it could even become a watershed moment. But for that to happen, the news must reach enough eyes and ears. And for that to happen, reporters must, as Capuzzo says, begin to do their job and report both sides of this vital story.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 23:40

• Lukashenko Lashes Out After BBC & Others Admit Detained Activist's Ukrainian Azov Battalion Ties
  Lukashenko Lashes Out After BBC & Others Admit Detained Activist’s Ukrainian Azov Battalion Ties

  Belarus’ long time leader Alexander Lukashenko has spoken out on Wednesday over the Ryanair diverted flight saga, pushing back against widespread accusations coming from the former Soviet satellite country’s opposition but especially Western leaders that his security services engaged in “state hijacking” of the airliner carrying activist and blogger Roman Protasevich. Promises of EU and US additional sanctions were swift after Protasevich and his girlfriend were detained on charges of inciting riots and publishing the personal information of police and officers of the state online. State airline Belavia is also facing an airspace ban over Europe and carriers out of the EU are avoiding flying over Belarus. 

  Instead of concealing the ordeal or downplaying the detention which has attracted international media scrutiny and outrage, Lukashenko has gone on the offense, lashing out at his critics while justifying the detention of Protasevich, calling him an “extremist” who was ultimately taking cues from a foreign entity in his activism and journalism, or even “inciting riots” – as he’s being charged with. “One extremist with his female accomplice. So let his numerous Western patrons answer this question: Which intelligence services did this individual work for?” Lukashenko said as quoted by the Belarus Segodnya newspaper.

  

  “Not only him but his accomplice as well. These Western advocates should answer one more question: who paid him for taking part in the war in Donbass?” Belarus’ president added, “Perhaps, they fear this the most. So they’re making a fuss. His experience as a mercenary is huge.“

  It’s long been reported and a subject of controversy in Belarusian and Eastern European media that Pratasevich was indeed in war-torn Donbas in Ukraine at the height of fighting there in 2015. And BBC among others is now acknowledging:

  “Mr Protasevich confirmed in an interview last year that he had spent a year in the conflict-hit Donbas region and was wounded, but said he was covering the conflict as a journalist and photographer.” 

  He was “embedded” with the far-right and neo-Nazi linked Azov Battalion while they fought fierce battles against pro-Russia separatists. However, BBC notes that Protasevich has insisted he was only there as a journalist: “A former commander of the Azov unit has backed Mr Protasevich’s version of events, confirming that he spent time with them as a journalist and was wounded,” the report says.

  Anglo-American journalists working the Russia beat doing a bang-up job maintaining disciplined silence over Protasevich’s Nazi ties. You only need state censorship if journalists won’t self-censor, which ours do as a motor reflex. https://t.co/7eeKhYTSTx

  — Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) May 26, 2021

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  Minsk is now accusing the young detained activist of essentially being a mercenary and “terrorist” who’s long plotted the overthrow of the legitimate government. Lukashenko added in his Wednesday comments:

  “These facts are well-known not only here, but in brotherly Russia, and also throughout the world. And he did not hide this. Well, here, in Belarus, he and his accomplices also plotted a massacre and a bloody coup,” Lukashenko said further.

  Photographs of Protasevich’s time in Eastern Ukraine increasingly point to him having been more than a mere journalist in the conflict…

  A much clearer picture of #Protasevich at the Azov parade in Mariupol in 2015. The account is a bot but here’s the original from Azov Vkontaktehttps://t.co/6Y1w5lXqoW

  — Volodymyr Ishchenko (@Volod_Ishchenko) May 26, 2021

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  The Belarusian president stressed and claimed further that “there was a terrorist on that plane.”

  

  Instead of skirting the issue, Lukashenko owned up directly to authorizing Protasevich being removed from the plane along with his girlfriend:

  “According to the law, this person had been put on a terrorist list, and his organization is recognized as an extremist one. Who does not know this? And that we detained him, a Belarusian national, and his partner who holds our residence permit at the airport, this is our sovereign right to do so,” he said.

  However, the president stated the Ryanair flight was not initially diverted because of efforts to apprehend Protasevich, but because there was a bomb threat. The West has accused the bomb threat of being a ruse orchestrated to force the plane’s emergency diversion and landing.

  

  “As we predicted, ill-wishers from outside and inside the country have changed their ways of attacking our country,” Lukashenko said, according to state media. “They crossed many red lines, crossed the boundaries of common sense and human morality.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 23:20

• How Zuckerberg Paid Millions For Progressives To Work With 2020 Vote Officials Nationwide
  How Zuckerberg Paid Millions For Progressives To Work With 2020 Vote Officials Nationwide

  Authored by Steve Miller via RealClearInvestigations (emphasis ours),

  In the months leading up to November’s election, voting officials in major cities and counties worked with a progressive group funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and its allies to create ballots, strategically target voters and develop “cure” letters in situations where mail-in ballots were in danger of being tossed out.

  

  The Center for Tech and Civic Life, or CTCL, provided millions of dollars in private funding for the elections that came from a $350 million donation from Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.  The CTCL gave “COVID-19 response” grants of varying amounts to  2,500 municipalities in 49 states.

  In exchange for the money, elections divisions agreed to conduct their elections according to conditions set out by the CTCL, which is led by former members of the New Organizing Institute, a training center for progressive groups and Democratic campaigns.

  A CTCL partner, the Center for Civic Design, helped design absentee ballot forms and instructions, crafted voter registration letters for felons and tested automatic voter registration systems in several states, working alongside progressive activist groups in Michigan and directly with elections offices in Georgia and Utah.

  Still other groups with a progressive leaning, including the Main Street Alliance, The Elections Group and the National Vote at Home Institute, provided support for some elections offices.

  Facebook, with the CTCL, was also part of the effort, providing a guide and webinar for election officials on how to engage voters. Included were directions to report “voter interference” to Facebook authorities. The company also provided designated employees in six regions of the U.S. to handle questions. Together, the groups strategically targeted voters and waged a voter assistance campaign aimed at low-income and minority residents who typically shun election participation, helping Democratic candidates win key spots all over the U.S.

  The little-explored roles of CTCL and other such groups emerged in emails and other records obtained by RealClearInvestigations and public documents secured by conservative litigants and groups, including the Foundation for Government Accountability, which has filed more than 800 public records requests with elections offices accepting the grants.

  Previously, the Zuckerberg-funded effort has been described in generally positive terms, notably when NPR reported in December on “How Private Money From Facebook’s CEO Saved The 2020 Election” — in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump’s doubts about the legitimacy of the process and “Congress’ neglect.”

  Conservatives take a more critical view the effort. “This private funding has never been done before,” said Hayden Dublois, a researcher at the Foundation of Government Accountability. ”We hear about dark money and corporations buying ads, but never have we seen hundreds of millions of private dollars going into the conducting of elections. And states didn’t have any laws on the books to stop it.”

   

  Numerous Trump supporters contend that the 2020 presidential election was rigged or even stolen but have produced little concrete evidence to prove it. But their suspicions aren’t likely to be dispelled by the efforts of the private progressive groups, however legal.

   

  They are among other notable instances of monied interests underwriting public governance and affairs for political ends. In 2018, RCI reported that a New York University School of Law program funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg had placed environmentally minded lawyers in the offices of Democratic state attorneys general to challenge Trump administration policies. And examples of private efforts to steer cash-strapped public education are numerous, from the Koch charities on the right to more recent race-conscious programs on the left emphasizing the legacy and centrality of white racism in society.

  Zuckerberg did not respond to an emailed request from RCI for comment. In a post-election interview, he praised Facebook’s security work during the election and singled out its policing of “misinformation.” He noted working with polling officials to watch for information that might lead to “voter suppression” and said Facebook had strengthened its enforcement “against militias and conspiracy networks like Q-Anon.” 

  Facebook has banned Trump from its platform and has delisted individuals – many of them conservatives — for espousing views about the election that it insists are “misinformation.”

  ‘Curing Absentee Ballots’

  According to court documents filed by the Thomas More Society, a conservative law firm, the Zuckerberg-funded CTCL allowed elections departments to use grant money to buy vehicles to transport “voter navigators.”  The group filed unsuccessful lawsuits in several states before the election, contending the private funding created unconstitutional public-private partnerships. Several other suits remain active.

  The election department in Green Bay, Wis., promised as part of its CTCL grant of $1 million that it would employ the vote navigators to “assist voters, potentially at their front doors, to answer questions … and witnessing absentee ballot signatures,” according to documents filed in legal complaints in Wisconsin by Erick Kaardal, a Minneapolis-based lawyer who has worked on the Thomas More Society lawsuits.

  Caleb Jeffreys, one of at least two voter navigators in Green Bay, described his duties as including “curing absentee ballots.” Jeffreys, now a city employee in Green Bay according to his LinkedIn profile, did not respond to an interview request.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 23:00

• Canadians Overwhelmingly Support Leaving US Border Closed Until September
  Canadians Overwhelmingly Support Leaving US Border Closed Until September

  Even as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has moved to roll back some of the COVID-19-inspired restrictions to allow Canadians to enjoy their all-too-brief summer, the latest reports suggest that the US-Canada border – the world’s longest undefended frontier – will remain closed until at least September. And even once it does reopen, most Canadians appear to support requirements for proof of vaccination before any unvaccinated American heathens are allowed to enter Canada.

  

  According to Bloomberg, roughly half of the respondents to a recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute said that the border should remain shut until September, and more than three quarters of respondents said they would support a vaccine passport.

  

  Source: Bloomberg

  The border with the US has been closed for more than a year, but now that Canada is accelerating its vaccination program, Trudeau is facing growing pressure from business groups (not to mention the opposition Conservatives) to come up with a concrete reopening plan. And as Trudeau mulls whether to trigger an early election in an attempt to win back his parliamentary majority, the politics of the border reopening are suddenly critical.

  More than half of Canadian adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and the country’s three largest provinces – Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia – have announced phased reopening plans.

  During a recent press briefing, Trudeau stressed that Canada still has a long way to go toward reopening.

  “There are lots of reasons to be hopeful but that doesn’t mean we can let our guard down yet,” Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa.

  “Ultimately, the freedoms of a ‘one-dose summer’ may prove inadequate to a pandemic fatigued country, and that may well extend to border reopening timelines as well,” Kurl said. “The next month will be telling.”

  Last week, Trudeau’s government announced another month-long extension of border restrictions until June 21. According to the poll, there isn’t much support for an immediate reopening after a recent flareup in cases last month. But as case numbers continue to slow, and vaccination tallies rise, public opinion might shift sooner than the PM expects – especially as Canadians are forced to watch as their American peers return to a state of near-normalcy, which is already happening across all 50 states.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 22:40

• New Zealand Worried That China "Storm" On Horizon, Urges Diversity Of Exports
  New Zealand Worried That China “Storm” On Horizon, Urges Diversity Of Exports

  New Zealand officials have of late looked at their much larger Aussie neighbor and expressed concern that the island could soon find itself in the middle of a similar trade war with China and generally a target of Beijing’s wrath. New Zealand is after all part of the 70-year old “Five Eyes” intelligence grouping of English-speaking nations that includes the US, UK, Australia and Canada – all of which have been increasingly vocal against China’s human rights abuses and coercive trade and spy measures abroad.  Wellington is under growing pressure from its bigger, influential allies to get more vocal. 

  In April New Zealand’s foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, sought to distance her country from the “pressure” and controversy as they spotlighted human rights abuses connected with the Uyghur Muslim population as well as Hong Kong, and other anti-democracy malfeasance, calling such criticisms “uncomfortable”. But despite the conciliatory attempts to stay somewhat “neutral” on the China criticism and growing antagonism, Mahuta is now warning the tiny nation could soon find itself in the center of a “storm” of anger from China in “only a matter of time”.

  

  She’s now openly pushing for greater diversity of exports before that day comes after witnessing the Australia example and the devastation wrought by a trade war with its single biggest export destination – vocalizing something which itself is sure to gain Beijing’s scrutiny. 

  “We cannot ignore, obviously, what’s happening in Australia with their relationship with China. And if they are close to an eye of the storm or in the eye of the storm, we’ve got to legitimately ask ourselves – it may only be a matter of time before the storm gets closer to us,” she said in a Guardian interview this week.

  “The signal I’m sending to exporters is that they need to think about diversification in this context – Covid-19, broadening relationships across our region, and the buffering aspects of if something significant happened with China,” she said, and posed further, “Would they be able to withstand the impact?” 

  An estimated 30% of all New Zealand’s exports now goes to China (accounting for over $33 billion), a clearly massive enough chunk for Beijing to unleash real damage if it wanted to, after a past decade of steady reliance on China as NZ’s “big buyer”, stemming back to the New Zealand–China Free Trade Agreement signed in 2008.

  

  For now it appears Beijing is desirous of keeping things in accord with FM Mahuta’s April assessment of wanting to stay away from hurling “uncomfortable” accusations, or staying far away from “distractions”. 

  In reaction to Mahuta’s Monday published interview statements, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, expressed hope that the two countries can work in “the same direction, make the pie of cooperation bigger, rise above external distractions.” The Chinese statements were made Wednesday.

  

  The Chinese statement laid out that progress in relations can only be achieved “on the premise that the two sides have long been committed to mutual respect, mutual trust and win-win results” – ultimately toward a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.

  Of course Beijing has alternately lately voiced that it’s precisely “mutual respect and trust” that is fundamentally lacking in the current state of deteriorated relations with Washington.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 22:20

• Two Million Evacuated As "Severe Cyclonic Storm" Hits India's Eastern Coast
  Two Million Evacuated As “Severe Cyclonic Storm” Hits India’s Eastern Coast

  Torrential rains, howling winds, and tidal surges from Cyclone Yaas wreak havoc in eastern India as the virus-stricken country experiences its second cyclone in less than two weeks, according to Bloomberg. 

  More than two million people were evacuated from the eastern states of Odisha and West Bengal as Yaas made landfall Wednesday morning, destroying homes, farms and affecting ten million people. 

  NEW: Cyclone Yaas made landfall in Northeast India. It brought with it hurricane-force winds, heavy rain, and storm surge several feet high. Here’s a look at flooded streets. #KOMONews pic.twitter.com/dOzgtNHsXW

  — Holly Menino (@hollymenino) May 26, 2021

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  West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Yaas had destroyed more than 300,000 homes in the state, adding that crops have been swamped, livestock farms have been devastated, and river embankments have been breached. He said around 1.5 million were evacuated ahead of landfall. In neighboring Odisha, more than 500,000 people were evacuated. 

  The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) continues to define Yaas as a “very severe cyclonic storm.” 

  VERY SEVERE CYCLONIC STORM YAAS CENTRED ABOUT 50 KM SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF BALASORE.LANDFALL PROCESS HAS COMMENCED AROUND 0900 HRS IST. pic.twitter.com/esPuoaECL0

  — India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) May 26, 2021

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  “Landfall process of Cyclone Yaas is complete. Between 1030 am (05:00 GMT) to 11.30 am (06:00 GMT), it crossed 20km (12 miles) south from the Balasore coast,” IMD director-general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told Al Jazeera.

  

  “The cyclone is now moving towards Mayurbhanj district and Jharkhand (state),” he said.

  

  This is the second storm in ten days to batter India. Last week, cyclone Tauktae, categorized as “extremely severe,” barreled through the country’s western coast and sank a drilling rig, killing dozens. 

  The twin disasters come as India is battling the second wave of COVID-19, increasing pressure on hospitals and medical workers. 

  “This cyclone spells double trouble for millions of people in India as there is no respite from COVID-19,” said Udaya Regmi, the South Asia head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

  Hazra said it would be near impossible to maintain social distancing in the emergency shelters.

  … and it’s a good thing India is preparing to unleash another stimulus package as the latest surge in infections and cyclones could hamper the nation’s economic recovery.  

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 22:00

• "Descending Into A Farce": Chaos Erupts After Stiffed UniCredit Bondholders Get Fat-Fingered Payment
  “Descending Into A Farce”: Chaos Erupts After Stiffed UniCredit Bondholders Get Fat-Fingered Payment

  Step aside Citigroup, and your erroneous $500MM transfer to Revlon bondholders: there is an even dumber “fat finger” in town.

  Late last week the financial world was shocked when Andrea Orcel, the new CEO of Italy’s second largest bank UniCredi, decided not to make a €30MM debt coupon payment on the grounds that the bank made a loss last year, even though investors had been assured of the cash. Then, on Tuesday, the financial world was even more shocked when the news broke that despite the bank’s decision, some bondholders said they had received notice of payment after all. And while UniCredit insists it didn’t pay it, raising Citigroup-esque dejavi questions about how the payment was made, Orcel’s calculated show of strength has “rapidly descended into a farce“, according to Bloomberg.

  What happened?

  It all started last Friday when UniCredit made the shocking decision to skip the payment of coupons on some financial instruments, in a U-turn that sent he bond in question into a tailspin and hurt some other debt sold by Italy’s No. 2 bank. Just back in February, when presenting full-year results, Finance Chief Stefano Porro had told analysts the bank expected to pay a coupon on the legacy bond it issued over a decade ago, as well as on Additional Tier 1 bonds. But a spokesman on Friday said UniCredit would not do so after posting a 2.79 billion euro ($3.4 billion) loss last year.

  As Reuters noted, UniCredit has withheld coupon payments on the CASHES notes in the past after ending the year in the red, but the latest decision, taken by new Chief Executive Andrea Orcel barely a month after his arrival, took bond investors by surprise.

  However, some bond investors were even more surprised when they woke up on Tuesday to find that their bank accounts had been properly debited with the required coupon payment from the UniCredit bonds.

  Initially there was much confusion who was responsible for the payment or where it came from, even if the confusion was understandable: the 2.98 billion euro bond’s complicated structure meany that there are several players involved, and the error could have come from any one of them. The CASHES, short for Convertible and Subordinated Hybrid Equity-Linked Securities, have different banks serving as depository and fiduciary for the instruments.

  The confusion went away this morning when we learned that Euroclear – Europe’s largest bond custodian and settlement agent of securities transactions – said it had mistakenly credited client accounts with funds for a coupon payment on UniCredit bonds that the bank had decided not to honor. The flub by Euroclear added a fresh – and confusing – twist to the surprise decision by new UniCredit Chief Executive Officer Andrea Orcel not to pay the debt coupon of about 30 million euros.

  In response, the bonds fell 0.5 cents on the euro to about 51.2 on Wednesday, while UniCredit shares fell 0.6% to 10.29 euros as of 10:38 a.m. in Milan. The bank’s Additional Tier 1 bonds, a newer-style capital security, were little changed. The CASHES are quoted almost 10 cents on the euro lower than prior to the news of the coupon skip last week.

  

  “It’s embarrassing for them of course, even if it isn’t their fault,” said Jerome Legras, a managing partner and head of research at ‎Axiom Alternative Investments. “But the truth is this happened because they took everyone by surprise.”

  For Orcel, the fat finger debacle is denting what would have been another signal of a high-energy start to his tenure. In just over a month in charge the Italian has already slimmed down the management ranks and cut down on co-head structures to simplify decision making – all while embroiled in a high profile court case in Spain over millions of dollars in lost pay.

  In any case, now that the source of the mistake has been isolated, the question is what happens next: does UniCredit pull a Citigroup and try to recover the funds (it didn’t work too well for Citi), or does it slink away with its tail folded between its legs.

  it would raise questions over whether investors will need to return the funds — and who will be on the hook for the payment if not.

  “Even if it isn’t their fault, but of the depositary or fiduciary bank, the timing is very unfortunate,” said Paola Biraschi, an analyst at CreditSights. “They already incurred some reputational damage given the inconsistent market communication around the intention to pay the coupon. Investors will now want to understand the reasons behind the alleged payment of the coupon. And if any money was transferred, I imagine they will attempt to claw it back from bond holders.”

  Since a clawback appears unlikely especially in the aftermath of the Citi cash study, an angry UniCredit may just take out its anger and frustration on more bondholders and refuse to pay future coupons. According to Bloomberg, given the notes’ terms the bank could also skip the next three coupons, even though UniCredit took steps last year to update terms of the CASHES allowing it to pay the coupons after reporting a loss or without distributing a dividend.

  The notes are a legacy of the financial crisis, highly complex securities issued more than a decade ago. Investors in this type of legacy bond contend not only with unpredictable decisions by lenders, but also labyrinthine regulations and often-tortuous terms that can be interpreted in different ways. As Bloomberf notes, They’ve already been the subject of controversy after a London hedge fund accused the bank of boosting its capital strength by misclassifying them. The issue fizzled after the European Banking Authority sided with the bank, saying it found “no clear evidence” to support the hedge fund’s claim.

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 21:40

• Ireland Rejects US Plan For Global Minimum Tax, Will Keep 12.5% Rate
  Ireland Rejects US Plan For Global Minimum Tax, Will Keep 12.5% Rate

  Following reports that an agreement between the G-7 and the White House on a global minimum corporate tax rate is almost ready, Ireland – which isn’t a G-7 member, but is a member of the OECD and the EU, and therefore must also assent to these changes – is speaking out against a new minimum level agreed to by the White House.

  

  According to Sky News, Ireland has no plans to increase its 12.5% corporate tax rate, which is already one of the lowest in the developed world, and which has been a tremendous boon for its economy. The latest iteration of the agreement as envisioned by the US set the global minimum rate at more than 15%.

  

  Source: Sky

  While the OECD is supportive of proposals for a global minimum corporate tax, it has also pointed out that reforms should also include more clear treatment of where and how taxes are assessed.

  Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said that he had “significant reservations” over American plans to encourage countries around the world to adopt a minimum corporate tax rate in order to prevent companies from shifting their profits and avoiding payments in future, especially as President Biden tries to engineer one of the biggest tax hikes in decades.

  In an interview with Sky News, Donohoe said “we do have really significant reservations regarding a global minimum effective tax rate status at such a level that it means only certain countries, and certain size economies can benefit from that base – we have a really significant concern about that.”

  The international agreement being hammered out by the US and the G-7 would be the biggest such overall in a century, when the current rules on international corporate taxes were hammered out. Back then, it was much more difficult for corporations to use accounting and legal loopholes to reduce their tax burden.

  Today, it’s commonplace for companies to shift billions of dollars of profits around the world to countries with lower tax rates, something the Biden administration has vowed to combat. The US is planning on raising its own corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, and is increasing the rates for American companies working overseas. And the UK has its own plans for tax hikes.

  Donohoe’s comments will raise the stakes during negotiations at the upcoming G-7 summit in England. The OECD has been pushing for corporate taxation reform for many years, and the US proposal for a global accord is building off of that.

  

  Of course, if Ireland refuses to lower its tax rate, that will make it extremely difficult for the UK to agree to the US plan, since British firms are already seeing unprecedented pressure to move across the border and back into the EU single market.

  “I absolutely support and will be making the case for our 12.5% tax rate,” Donohoe said. “I believe a rate like that – a low rate – should be a feature of an agreement in the future. “Our friends and partners in the United States understand our concerns in these matters, but the best kinds of partnerships – the best kinds of friendships – are ones in which you can talk about these matters openly and engage with each other, professionally, and that’s what we’re going to be doing.”

  The US has already pitched concessions like surrendering more tax revenue from American tech giants that operate internationally. Apparently, whatever they’re offering, it’s not going to be good enough for Ireland, which essentially holds the power to scuttle a global agreement simply by making its neighbors unwilling to tolerate Ireland’s notoriously low tax rates.

  In other words, just when US diplomats were proclaiming to the press that a deal was as good as done, it looks like talks have a long way to go.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 21:20

• Iran Bans Crypto Mining As Blackouts Grow Into Summer: "85% Of Mining Farms Are Unlicensed"
  Iran Bans Crypto Mining As Blackouts Grow Into Summer: “85% Of Mining Farms Are Unlicensed”

  On Wednesday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced efforts to combat the growing trend of rampant and unpredictable blackouts experienced across parts of the country of over 80 million people at the start of a hot summer, particularly in already strained major cities. By many accounts what was somewhat already a “norm” under American sanctions has come early this year – namely the sporadic blackouts, increasingly angering the population just ahead of a key presidential election in June.

  “The ban on the mining of cryptocurrencies is effective immediately until September 22… Some 85 percent of the current mining in Iran is unlicensed,” Rouhani said in a cabinet address aired by state TV. 

  

  There are an estimated 50 officially licensed mining farms sucking up a total of at least 200 megawatts of power, according to the most recent analysis. Iran’s state-controlled power generation company recently made public its data showing colossal increases in energy consumption far beyond this – mostly due to miners, leading to a nationwide strain that includes periodic blackouts, indeed confirming mining operations that far exceed the aforementioned 50 legal large-scale operations. 

  “Rouhani said legal crypto mining operations in Iran consume about 300MW of electricity, which is very insignificant. But illegal operations consume up to 2,000MW,” Al Jazeera noted of the speech announcing legislation enacting the four month ban.

  Rouhani did, however, appear to make a passing acknowledgement of the benefit to the country that crypto mining represents (which reportedly netted the country over $1 billion a year in recent years amid its isolation), saying “Now everybody has a few miners laying around and are producing Bitcoins” – which reportedly got some laughs out of top officials, but at the same time slammed illegal mining as coming at the cost of the citizenry’s well-being. 

  As we previously detailed, both private and public crypto mining has exploded in Iran over the past few years, putting it according to one recent study among the top ten bitcoin mining countries in the world – accounting for 4.5% of all bitcoin globally – primarily as a means of paying for imported goods and as an easily available way to soften the impact of sanctions amid a hard cash shortage – also given foreign currencies are hard to come by as a result of the prior US-led economic war against the Islamic Republic.

  Here’s a sneak preview of the upcoming #Elliptic Guide to Sanctions Compliance in Cryptocurrencies:

  How Iran uses #Bitcoin mining to effectively “export” millions of barrels of oil each year and bypass sanctions.https://t.co/a7y27myRYM#sanctios #cryptocompliance

  — elliptic (@elliptic) May 21, 2021

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

  While Iran has relied on ‘legal’ and authorized mining farms to soften the US sanctions blow, it’s in recent months cracked down on private and undisclosed operators seeking to profit from state subsidized electricity.

  And now with the Islamic Republic on the cusp of achieving a renewed JCPOA nuclear deal in Vienna, and with sanctions expected to quickly be rolled back including vitally on the oil and banking sectors, priorities are shifting, also as a presidential election is set for June, and further as Tehran appears to be following China’s example.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 21:00

• Biden Panics After CNN Reveals He Canceled COVID Origins Investigation, Orders 90-Day Report From US Intel Agencies
  Biden Panics After CNN Reveals He Canceled COVID Origins Investigation, Orders 90-Day Report From US Intel Agencies

  Update (1522ET): Less than 24 hours after CNN threw Biden under the bus for canceling a State Department effort launched under Trump to get to the bottom of the origins of COVID-19, the Biden administration has backpedaled – and has ordered the US intelligence community to conduct a 90-day investigation into how the pandemic began.

  In a statement via the White House website, the Biden administration claims that officials have been pursuing various possibilities – including “whether it emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a laboratory accident,” it’s clear that the administration is in full damage control mode.

  “I have now asked the Intelligence Community to redouble their efforts to collect and analyze information that could bring us closer to a definitive conclusion, and to report back to me in 90 days,” said Biden in the announcement.

  *  *  *

  The Biden administration pulled the plug on a Trump-era State Department investigation into whether COVID-19 originated from the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, according to a Tuesday evening report by CNN.

  The effort, led by then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also sought to determine whether China’s biological weapons program may have played a role in the pandemic. According to the report, it was met with internal opposition from officials who thought it was simply a politicized witch hunt to blame China for the virus.

  

  According to three unnamed sources, when Biden was briefed on the investigations’ findings in February and March, he pulled the plug – and instead opted to trust the findings of the World Health Organization, which conducted an ‘investigation’ earlier this year which turned out to be nothing more than political theater, the cast of which included the highly conflicted Peter Daszak, the Fauci-funded virologist who was studying bat viruses at the Wuhan lab.

  “The way they did their work was suspicious as hell,” said one former State Department official who (we’re guessing was rooting for team Schiff during Trump’s impeachment).

  Pompeo, meanwhile, said in May 2020 that there was “enormous evidence” and a “significant amount of evidence” to support the lab-escape theory. And according to former senior State Department official David Feith, “People in the US government were working on the question of where Covid-19 came from but there was no other effort that we knew of that took the lab leak possibility seriously enough to focus on digging into certain aspects, questions and uncertainties.“

  The revelation that Biden shut down the inquiry is awkward at best, after the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that three researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were so sick in November of 2019 that they sought hospitalization, citing the intelligence report that Biden rejected.

  

  The details of the reporting go beyond a State Department fact sheet, issued during the final days of the Trump administration, which said that several researchers at the lab, a center for the study of coronaviruses and other pathogens, became sick in autumn 2019 “with symptoms consistent with both Covid-19 and common seasonal illness.”

  The disclosure of the number of researchers, the timing of their illnesses and their hospital visits come on the eve of a meeting of the World Health Organization’s decision-making body, which is expected to discuss the next phase of an investigation into Covid-19’s origins. -WSJ

  And of course now we know that the ‘venerable Dr. Fauci’ was involved in funding research in Wuhan via EcoHealth Alliance, and now admits “there’s no way of guaranteeing” that American taxpayer funds didn’t go towards “gain-of-function” research to make bat coronaviruses better-infect humans.

  Twitter needs to censor Fauci now I guess…amirite…
  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ https://t.co/1KIjG1G6in

  — Ed ☯️ The Obsolete Man…a Free Thinker (@DowdEdward) May 26, 2021

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  The lab leak theory, floated by Zero Hedge and several other outlets in early 2020, was promoted heavily by former President Trump, who blamed China for unleashing the virus on the world and derailing historic economic growth following three years of ‘America First’ international negotiations, along with generous tax breaks.

  

  “I said it right at the beginning, and that’s where it came from,” Trump told Newsmax Tuesday night, taking somewhat of a victory lab over the MSM’s ‘come to Jesus’ moment over the mounting lab leak hypothesis. “I think it was obvious to smart people. That’s where it came from. I have no doubt about it. I had no doubt about it. I was criticized by the press.”

  Trump also said he remains confident that the lab leak theory is correct.

  “‘People didn’t want to say China. Usually they blame it on Russia,” he continued. “I said right at the beginning it came out of Wuhan. And that’s where all the deaths were also, by the way, when we first heard about this, there were body bags, dead people laying all over Wuhan province, and that’s where it happened to be located.”

  “To me it was very obvious. I said it very strongly and I was criticized and now people are agreeing with me, so that’s okay.“

  TRUMP ON @NEWSMAX TONIGHT:

  “I was criticized by the press because China has a lot of people taken care of — they took care of Hunter, they took care of Joe…”

  pic.twitter.com/O3XMDKpHoB

  — Benny (@bennyjohnson) May 26, 2021

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  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 20:44

• Dutch Court Orders Shell To Aggressively Cut Carbon Emissions In Landmark Decision
  Dutch Court Orders Shell To Aggressively Cut Carbon Emissions In Landmark Decision

  There’s been a lot of speculation this year about what it might take for western governments like the US to meet the carbon emissions targets laid out in the Paris Accords, which President Biden has enthusiastically rejoined. One study by the IEA concluded that all oil and gas firms would have to halt new projects in order to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

  While progressives increasingly demand more aggressive change, moderate Democrats and Republicans have long insisted that markets would naturally wean society off of its dependence on fossil fuels as renewables, nuclear and other alternatives to fossil fuel become more affordable. As COVID led to a memorable drop in demand that sent spot oil prices into negative territory last spring, investors have made clear that ESG investing and carbon credits are growing increasingly popular, alongside divestment movements. A recent runup in gas prices has also helped spur interest in alternatives.

  However, over in Europe, EU courts are stepping in to force one of the world’s biggest energy companies to accelerate its green commitments. Royal Dutch Shell has just lost a landmark case brought by environmental activists in Dutch courts in the Hague. The court ruled that the company must cut its greenhouse gas emissions more aggressively: by 2030, Shell’s net carbon emissions needed to be 45% lower than 2019 levels. The FT said the ruling could have “far-reaching consequences” not just for Shell, but for its competitors as well. Though Shell said it expects to appeal the decision.

  

  Previously, Shell had promised to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% within a decade, and to net-zero before 2050.

  If it stands, the ruling would set a precedent for similar cases against the world’s biggest corporate polluters who could now be exposed to similar lawsuits that could force an ESG reckoning that oil firms have repeatedly tried to delay.

  Judge Alwin, who handed down the decision on Wednesday, said it would require the company to accelerate “a change of policy” from Shell that could “curb the potential growth of the Shell group”.

  “The interest served with the reduction obligation outweighs the Shell group’s commercial interests,” she added.

  The big change here is that until now oil companies have mostly faced lawsuits related to environmental damages that they specifically caused, like an oil spill. Now, court rulings could allow activists to influence energy company policy more directly, with courts threatening massive fines if the firms don’t comply.

  One analyst who spoke with Bloomberg said the decision could have far-reaching ramifications for oil companies.

  “This is big news for carbon emitters everywhere, not just in the oil industry,” Angus Walker, an environmental lawyer at BDP Pitmans in London, said. “This may spread from large emitters to small, and from the Netherlands to other countries, at least in terms of challenges, if not successful ones.”

  Shell has poured billions of dollars in investment into low-carbon energy, including electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, renewables and biofuels. Even so, the firm has insisted it wouldn’t set targets for fossil fuel reduction targets saying they would be arbitrary given that demand is the ultimate factor. Other firms, like European rival BP, have agreed to reduction targets, thought whether they will be met remains to be seen.

  Shell’s lawyers argued in its case that society and the market must change before Shell does. But the judge countered that the company “must do more than monitoring developments in society and complying with the regulations in the countries where the Shell group operates.”

  And although Shell had no input and never agreed to the Paris Climate Accord, Judge Alwin ruled that the company must still shoulder the burden since the Netherlands, which is one of its parent companies, has agreed to the deal.

  “Companies have an independent responsibility, aside from what states do,” Judge Alwin said in her decision. “Even if states do nothing or only a little, companies have the responsibility to respect human rights.”

  The ruling followed a legal campaign led by Milieudefensie, the Dutch wing of activist group Friends of the Earth, which celebrated the decision, with one spokesman for the group declaring it “a monumental victory” for the climate movement.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 20:40

• Facebook Stops Removing Posts Claiming COVID-19 Man-Made After Lab-Leak Hypothesis Finally Goes Mainstream
  Facebook Stops Removing Posts Claiming COVID-19 Man-Made After Lab-Leak Hypothesis Finally Goes Mainstream

  After nearly 18 months of punishing anyone who suggested that COVID-19 might have originated in a Wuhan lab, Facebook has decided to stop removing posts which claim the virus was man-made or manufactured, a company spokesperson told Politico on Wednesday.

  

  The move comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that three lab workers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were hospitalized in late 2019 with symptoms consistent with the virus – building on previous reporting by the Washington Post‘s Josh Rogin. Both articles cast doubt on the mainstream media’s unsupported claim that COVID-19 jumped from bats to humans through an intermediary species – as opposed to the far more plausible theory that the virus escaped from a lab known for manipulating bat coronaviruses to better infect humans, in the same town which became ground zero for the pandemic. As we noted last week, there were very obvious clues to anyone able to think for themselves.

  As the mainstream media parroted CCP talking points throughout 2020 and punished anyone who strayed from the official narrative, Facebook banned Zero Hedge articles and policed COVID ‘disinformation’ based on the word of so-called “fact checkers” who insisted that the new disease could only have emerged via yet-to-be discovered animal intermediaries.

  Of course, one of Facebook’s “fact checkers” also worked at the Wuhan lab, and was defending her former colleagues in a giant undisclosed conflict of interest.

  

  Let’s say it clearly: the mainstream are our Cranks.

  Those who said all those entertaining Wuhan Laboratory Lab Leak hypotheses were a pro-Trump anti-Asian hate campaign were peddling conspiracy theory.

  Did you speak out against our real conspiracy theorists? Check your dates: https://t.co/uw9kvyIq3h

  — Eric Weinstein (@EricRWeinstein) May 18, 2021

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  Meanwhile, Politifact was caught quietly editing an article ‘debunking’ the lab-leak hypothesis.

  I never want to hear about Politifact. Ever. Never. Ever. I’m going to use these two screencaps if anyone ever cites that source. pic.twitter.com/5EPgpxEgiW

  — Sohrab Ahmari (@SohrabAhmari) May 19, 2021

  VOX was similarly caught stealth-editing an article “debunking” the lab origin.

  Some of the stealth edits that Vox made to its article debunking “conspiracy theories” that Covid-19 originated in a lab leak between its original publication in March 2020 and now. pic.twitter.com/RYxZ2B81mc

  — Paul Graham (@paulg) May 24, 2021

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  No apologies. No introspection. Just spineless stealth edits and quiet policy changes such as Facebook’s recent decision. Perhaps most disturbing is the complete rejection of the lab-leak hypothesis by the MSM, social media giants, and liberal leaders because President Trump promoted it.

  What’s more, last night we learned from CNN that President Biden canceled aTrump-era State Department investigation into the origins of COVID-19, which also sought to determine whether China’s biological weapons program may have played a role in the pandemic. According to the report, it was met with internal opposition from officials who thought it was simply a politicized witch hunt to blame China for the virus.

  After news broke of Biden’s pro-China decree to cancel the investigation, his administration scrambled to do damage control, announcing that US intelligence agencies have 90 days to “redouble” their efforts to find out the virus’ origin and report back.

  Facebook flip-flop

  As Politico notes, “Facebook announced in February it had expanded the list of misleading health claims that it would remove from its platforms to include those asserting that “COVID-19 is man-made or manufactured.” The tech giant has updated its policies against false and misleading coronavirus information, including its running list of debunked claims, over the course of the pandemic in consultation with global health officials.”

  Now, according to a spokesperson, the origin language has been stricken from that list due to the renewed debate.

  “In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 is man-made from our apps,” said the spokesperson in an email. “We’re continuing to work with health experts to keep pace with the evolving nature of the pandemic and regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge.”

  Now maybe they can unblock ZeroHedge posts and realize they have no place as the arbiters of anything.

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

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 20:20

• Apple Seeks 'Experienced BizDev Manager' To Negotiate Alternative Payments Partnerships, Must Have 'Crypto Experience'
  Apple Seeks ‘Experienced BizDev Manager’ To Negotiate Alternative Payments Partnerships, Must Have ‘Crypto Experience’

  Apple is looking to hire an ‘experienced’ business development manager to spearhead Alternative Payments partnerships for the company’s Apple Wallets, Payments and Commerce (WPC) team, in a sign that the technology giant is getting more serious about mainstreaming cryptocurrencies for practical purposes.

  

  Per a Wednesday job posting highlighted by Coindesk.

  The Apple Wallets, Payments, and Commerce (WPC) team is seeking an experienced Business Development Manager to lead Alternative Payments Partnerships. We are looking for a proven professional in global alternative and emerging payment solutions. We need your help forming partnership framework and commercial models, defining implementation paradigms, identifying key players and managing relationships with strategic alternative payment partners. This position will be responsible for the end to end business development, including screening partners, negotiating and closing commercial agreements and launching new programs.

  The ideal candidate will have more than 5 years of experience working in or with alternative payment providers, “such as digital wallets, BNPL (buy now, pay later), Fast Payments, cryptocurrency and etc..”  They will also need to have “Deep knowledge of the alternative payments ecosystem, understanding the complexities of funds flow, roles/responsibilities for settlement, relevant regulations and industry standards and the wide spectrum of FinTech products.“

  As Coindesk’s Danny Nelson notes, “Apple has long maintained an ironclad grip over payments, especially in its App Store, which has never accepted customers’ crypto and forces all catalog apps to use Apple’s commerce rails and play by Apple’s rules.”

  That tightly-controlled ecosystem is the focus of a blockbuster court fight launched by Fortnite developer Epic Games. Epic alleges Apple’s rules violate antitrust laws and stifle payments innovation. App developers could accept “bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies” if not for Apple’s restrictions, Epic claimed in the suit.

  Apple has made no public statements about its plans for the crypto space. -Coindesk

  Meanwhile, according to MacRumors, Coinbase included an Apple Pay logo in a recent update regarding its Coinbase Card. Perhaps negotiations have already begun?

   

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 20:00

• "Don't You Live In The Ghetto?" – Bill Gates Ignored Complaints About Top Money Manager's Racist, Sexist Behavior
  “Don’t You Live In The Ghetto?” – Bill Gates Ignored Complaints About Top Money Manager’s Racist, Sexist Behavior

  Since Bill and Melinda Gates first announced their divorce earlier this month, barely a day has passed without some unflattering new revelation, as the American media apparently scrambles to compensate for all those years where it treated Bill Gates with kid gloves.

  It’s bad enough that Melinda reportedly divorced Bill over his insistence on maintaining ties with Jeffrey Epstein, something that has stoked speculation about whether Gates might face more sexual harassment allegations (sure enough, reports have emerged claiming he was essentially pushed out at Microsoft over improper behavior involving a female subordinate) or that he might be caught up in the Epstein drama.

  

  Larson

  While that so far hasn’t happened, the allegations of sexual improprieties have been enough to shatter his “dad geek” image. And now, the NYT has published a #MeToo-style report alleging that Gates’ main money man, Michael Larson, has a long history of sexual harassment and Scott Rudin-style abuses, and that Gates has repeatedly been warned about Larson’s antics, but neglected to act. Perhaps because Larson helped Gates grow his assets from $10 billion to $130 billion-plus through a strategy of low-profile investments, including buying up so much land that Cascade is believed to be the largest owner of farm land in the US.

  Larson has managed Gates’ money since the early 90s; before that, he was a portfolio manager at Putnam Investments. Cascade was incorporated in 1995 in Washington State. The generic-sounding name allowed Larson to runa  vast investment operation with a relatively low public profile. The perception that Larson had Gates’ unwavering support allowed him to do essentially whatever he pleased. And his employees, most of whom were hired directly out of college, never felt empowered to speak up.

  The list of allegations is pretty typical: Larson was accused of sexual harassment, racist remarks, acting extremely vindictive toward employees who left the company as well as his extremely blunt and degrading comments made in meetings, which his staffers described as “Larson bombs”. Overall, he was described as a “bully”.

  But what’s more, Bill and even Melinda Gates had been made aware of Larson’s behavior as early as the mid-2000s.

  But Mr. Larson, 61, also engaged in a pattern of workplace misconduct at Mr. Gates’s money-management firm, Cascade Investment, according to 10 former employees as well as others familiar with the firm.

  He openly judged female employees on their attractiveness, showed colleagues nude photos of women on the internet and on several occasions made sexually inappropriate comments. He made a racist remark to a Black employee. He bullied others. When an employee said she was leaving Cascade, Mr. Larson retaliated by trying to hurt the stock price of the company she planned to join.

  Cascade paid off at least seven people , including former employees, who witnessed or were the victim of Larson’s inappropriate behavior. The fact that Gates was so reluctant to reprimand Larson is “at odds with his image as a roving global do-gooder and champion of women’s empowerment,” the NYT said.

  While spokespeople for Larson and Cascade denied the allegations, a representative for Melinda Gates offered a cryptic statement saying she was unaware of “most” of these allegations, but at any rate had zero power to do anything about it since she had zero control over Cascade.

  Courtney Wade, a spokeswoman for Ms. French Gates, said, “Melinda unequivocally condemns disrespectful and inappropriate conduct in the workplace. She was unaware of most of these allegations given her lack of ownership of and control over B.M.G.I.”

  One particular incident, where Larson made a joke about a black employee living in “a ghetto”, was even brought to the Gates’ attention back when it happened in 2005. The employee who was the subject of the joke was also targeted with other harassing behavior, including Larson allegedly shorting the stock of a company that made her a competing offer.

  Ms. Ybarra, then 30, had joined Cascade three years earlier as an investor relations analyst. After she announced her planned departure, Mr. Larson became so angry that he shorted the stock of InfoSpace, according to three people familiar with the episode. (Short selling involves placing bearish bets on the company’s shares, which sometimes causes the stock to fall.) Two of the people said they saw Mr. Larson’s trades on their computer terminals.

  Mr. Larson told Ms. Ybarra and others that he had shorted InfoSpace’s stock out of spite, according to the three people, who heard about his remarks at the time.

  Mr. Giglio confirmed that Cascade shorted the stock but denied that Mr. Larson did it to spite Ms. Ybarra.

  At the same time, Mr. Larson repeatedly pressured Ms. Ybarra to remain at Cascade. She ultimately agreed to stay.

  On Election Day that November, Mr. Larson asked some Cascade employees in the office about the best time to go vote. Ms. Ybarra, who is Black, replied that she had voted that morning without having to wait in line. Mr. Larson responded: “But you live in the ghetto, and everybody knows that Black people don’t vote.” The scene was described by two people who heard the comment and a third who was told about it later.

  Mr. Giglio denied that Mr. Larson made the remark.

  At least one employee at Cascade complained to human resources about Mr. Larson’s remark. The complaint made its way to Mr. Gates and Ms. French Gates, who later spoke to Ms. Ybarra as part of an internal investigation, according to people familiar with the matter.

  In January 2005, she quit Cascade, received a small payout and agreed to not speak about the firm in the future.

  Another anecdote used in the report involves California fund manager Robert Sydow, who had been close friends with Larson until he tried to confront Larson about his behavior, at which point Larson retaliated by allegedly pulling money he had with Sydow’s firm.

  In November 2006, Mr. Gates and Ms. French Gates were sent another complaint about Mr. Larson. This one was from Robert E. Sydow, a California fund manager who had been close friends with Mr. Larson and whose firm, Grandview Capital Management, Mr. Larson had hired to manage a $1.6 billion slice of the foundation’s endowment.

  Mr. Sydow wrote a six-page letter to the Gateses accusing Mr. Larson of abruptly severing Cascade’s ties with Grandview after a dispute between him and Mr. Sydow. (The dispute, Mr. Sydow wrote, came after Mr. Sydow warned Mr. Larson that he needed “to stop using his power to hurt others in anger.”) The letter, reviewed by The Times, said Mr. Larson had harmed Grandview’s reputation in part by spreading “false and defamatory” lies about it in the market.

  Mr. Sydow, the godfather to one of Mr. Larson’s children, went on to describe multiple instances of Mr. Larson seeking to punish employees who left Cascade and retaliating against those who cooperated with the investigation into his treatment of Ms. Ybarra, among other things.

  Mr. Larson has “the potential to greatly embarrass both you and the foundation,” Mr. Sydow wrote.

  “We exit agreements with third-party investment managers for a variety of reasons,” Mr. Larson said in a statement sent by Mr. Giglio.

  The sexual harassment allegations involving employees chiefly revolve around two incidents:

  • At a work Christmas party in the mid-2000s, Mr. Larson was seated outdoors with a small group of male employees after dinner, according to one of the men. Three female colleagues were standing about 20 feet away. “Which one of them do you wanna” have sex with? Mr. Larson asked the men, using a profane verb.
  • On at least one occasion in recent years, with employees looking on, Mr. Larson displayed photographs of naked women on his phone and compared them to Ms. Berman, the human resources executive, according to a former employee who witnessed the incident and another person who was told about it. (Ms. Berman left Cascade in 2015.) Another woman who worked at Cascade said Mr. Larson asked her if she would strip for a certain amount of money.

  Larson apologized for using “harsh language”, but said he only did so early in his career.

  But by far the most egregious allegations involved Larson’s alleged harassment of a bike shop manager, who eventually received a monetary settlement after she hired a lawyer who sent a letter to the Gates’s attorneys warning them about Larson’s behavior.

  Around the time of the complaints involving Ms. Harrington, Mr. Larson was repeatedly propositioning, and being rebuffed by, the manager of a local bicycle store that was mostly owned by a firm, Rally Capital, that Cascade had invested in.

  In 2017, the manager hired a lawyer, who sent a letter to Mr. Gates and Ms. French Gates warning them that if Mr. Larson did not stop harassing her, she would sue them. The letter said Mr. Larson had exposed himself to the manager and had told her that he wanted to have sex with her and another woman, according to someone who read the letter.

  Mr. Gates agreed to settle the matter by having a payment made to the bike store manager. Ms. French Gates insisted that an outside investigator review the incident and Cascade’s culture, people familiar with the matter previously told The Times. In 2018, Mr. Larson went on paid leave while the investigation took place.

  When Larson left Cascade on a temporary leave in 2018, Gates confided in another senior employee that Larson likely wouldn’t return. However, he did return the following year, after an investigation into the bike shop manager’s allegations found that they could not be substantiated.

  Rumors about Larson’s behavior have percolated for years, but now that the NYT has targeted him with a #MeToo-style expose, it’s likely his days atop Cascade are numbered. The last money manager fired by Gates was Andrew Evans, who served a six-month prison sentence for bank fraud (Gates even visited him in jail). When WSJ published a front-page story about Evans’ criminal record in 1993, Gates was forced to seek out somebody else to manage his personal fortune. That’s when he met Larson.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 19:55

• Illinois Constitutional Amendment Is "A Monstrous Giveaway To Public Unions"
  Illinois Constitutional Amendment Is “A Monstrous Giveaway To Public Unions”

  Authored by Mark Glennon via Wirepoints.org,

  Most Illinoisans are unaware, but their General Assembly is poised to pass a resolution for a state constitutional amendment, the consequences of which are hard to overstate. It would vastly expand union power, permanently, particularly public union power that is already extreme.

  

  Limited media coverage so far characterizes the amendment mostly as an attempt to permanently ban right-to-work and lock in current worker protections. That would be bad enough, since the majority of states are now right to work including nearby competitors Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Iowa. And Illinois is already an outlier in how much power it has given to public unions, particularly in collective bargaining rules.

  But that’s just the start. Think hard about what the short amendment, shown here, would do.

  

  Read it and consider the following:

  The first sentence, by itself, creates a new, personal constitutional right. That right would take all covered matters described in that sentence out of the hands of the legislature and local governments, subjecting it all, instead, to collective bargaining.

  Both the scope of that right and the rules for how the collective bargaining would be conducted are sweeping and open-ended. Note in particular that all matters of “economic welfare” would be forced into collective bargaining, and those matters of economic welfare apparently need not be tied to the workplace (though that’s not entirely clear).

  What isn’t a matter of “economic welfare”? Practically nothing. The Chicago Teachers Union has attempted in the past to include matters like affordable housing in its bargaining. Under the amendment it would clearly have a strong case for demanding any number of such policies as part of its contract negotiations. Same for any other union.

  The broad, new right would override extensive law already in place. Today, public union negotiation is covered by the lengthy Illinois Public Labor Relations Act and the Illinois Education Labor Relations Act. Private unions are governed by both federal and state law.

  But constitutional rights trump all state law, so claims based solely on the new amendment would be asserted. Public unions would have a field day in Illinois courts. The amendment would throw everything open to a new standard that only the courts would define, and we know that Illinois’ political courts routinely rule as unions want.

  The second sentence is irrational surplus on its face. Since a constitutional right is already created by the first sentence, why bother saying that “no law shall be passed” that contradicts the things for which a constitutional right is already created in the first sentence?  Note also that there’s no reference to existing rights, so this is not about locking in current law. The key is that first sentence, which creates something entirely new.

  One example of how the amendment would work is pension reform. Suppose the legislature some day goes back to the courts to try again claiming the facts have changed  (as they already have) since the courts last ruled against reform. Or perhaps the composition of the Illinois Supreme Court changes in favor of reformers. As before, the legislature would then pass a reform bill that the unions wouldn’t like. But the unions, under the amendment, would answer that reforms could only be made through collective bargaining. It wouldn’t be a matter legislation could change. The amendment would thereby create an additional bar to pension reform, just as it would to any other change in labor law.

  Trial lawyers, too, would have a field day with the amendment. Because the proposed amendment is so open-ended and horribly worded, the claims they might assert would be limited only by their imagination.

  I have focused so far on the proposed amendment’s impact on public unions for two reasons.

  First, let’s just stipulate that much of Illinois’ problems derives from their excessive influence over Illinois government, because every informed Illinoisan knows that.

  Second, the powers behind the proposal have basically admitted that it’s intended to benefit public unions.  Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) is lead sponsor of the measure in the Senate.

  As reported by Capitol News Illinois, Villivalam said it would have minimal impact on private-sector workers because the National Labor Relations Act governs organizing and collective bargaining in the private sector. He said the intent was to protect the right to collective bargaining that is already established under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act and the Illinois Education Labor Relations Act, and those are for public unions.

  Villivalam’s admission is probably right, but he’s wrong to disregard the impact the amendment might also have on private sector labor.

  One lawyer we heard from on that is Jeff Risch, who chairs the labor and employment group at the SmithAmundsen law firm. He primarily represents small and mid-size employers that occasionally are able to voluntarily reach agreements to remain union-free. The amendment would apparently make that impossible, he said, by giving any employee a constitutional right to bargain collectively. For that and other reasons, “This amendment will seal Illinois’ fate forever,” he says.

  Also, much of private sector collective bargaining is controlled by federal law. Insofar as the amendment purports to override it, complex questions of preemption would have to be litigated, which is another mess the amendment would create.

  To summarize, drafters of the proposal have made it deliberately and deceptively ambiguous and misleading, but also radically broad and open-ended. By creating a new constitutional right for themselves and their agenda they would be throwing a cluster bomb toward everything in their way. The amendment’s full impact may not be entirely certain but it would, for sure, clear a path to new, unimagined public union power.

  *  *  *

  The Illinois Senate has already passed the resolution and it has passed out of committee in the House. The House is likely to vote on the resolution this month. The amendment would then be presented to voters for approval in the 2022 election.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 19:40

• Global Chip Hub Taiwan Hammered By Triple Blow Of Drought, Blackouts And COVID Surge
  Global Chip Hub Taiwan Hammered By Triple Blow Of Drought, Blackouts And COVID Surge

  The calm of a sunny May afternoon in Taiwan was broken by what the Nikkei describes as a crescendo of smartphones buzzing due to a national emergency alert: electricity blackouts were coming due to a malfunction at a power plant in the south of the island. People had no time to prepare. There were more than 30 reports of people being trapped in elevators half an hour after the warning in the capital city.

  “I was talking to my clients… but our building suddenly blacked out. The air conditioning as well as WiFi crashed completely, so I went home early,” a manager with the surname of Lin working in the Neihu Science Park in Taipei, where many top tech companies have offices, told Nikkei Asia. “Many traffic lights on my way home were out and my home was dark too.”

  “We could only use candles and have instant noodles for dinner, and there was no hot water for showers,” a resident in the southern city of Tainan told Nikkei. “It’s been like living in ancient times.” Or Texas during a cold blast.

  More than four million households on the island, which has a population of 24 million, were affected by six rounds of rolling one-hour power suspensions on May 13 before power was fully restored around 8 pm. Taipower, the state-owned electricity operator, said human error at Hsinta Power Plant in the southern city of Kaohsiung caused a malfunction in the power grid, tripping four generators and cutting about 13 megawatts of electricity supply. This dragged Taiwan’s total power supply below a critical security level and triggered the outages.

  The nation’s phones buzzed again just four days later with another blackout warning. That evening, up to 659,000 households had their power cut. Taipower said that, with temperatures warmer than usual, there was a shortage of electricity supply because they had not anticipated demand for electricity to be so high.

  “Power demand at 2:09 p.m. broke another historic record in May and the demand around 7:30 p.m. was far higher than usual in the evening,” Taipower said in a statement.

  The two blackouts did not affect Taiwan’s crown jewel semiconductor industry. But they still put production continuity at risk because chipmakers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and United Microelectronics Corp said they experienced a sudden voltage dip, which could have a small impact on semiconductor production, industry sources said.

  After the two massive power outages, Taiwan endured another small-scale power suspension in Taipei City on Friday and experienced temporary power generator malfunctions at two separate coal-fired power plants on Sunday and Monday respectively.

  Maintaining production is crucial at a time of global chip shortage, with political tensions and pandemic-induced lockdowns affecting supply chains and remote working increasing demand for electronic devices.

  

  The outages have triggered serious concerns over whether the island’s electricity infrastructure is sufficient to sustain its booming economy.

  Taiwan’s economy grew more than 8% in the January-March quarter from a year earlier. National Development Council Minister Kung Ming-hsin said the island could see economic growth of more than 5% in 2021, the highest in more than a decade, if “all industrial production can stay intact.”

  The power problems come as Taiwan sees a surge in local COVID cases, after being a model of COVID control in 2020.

  

  The government has raised the alert level for the whole island, demanding that all schools close for two weeks and urging businesses to adopt contingency plans such as asking employees to divide into groups and work from home. The administration of President Tsai Ing-wen said on Monday it is considering extending the two-week level 3 alert — one stage below a de facto lockdown — after reporting more than 3,000 local cases in just nine days.

  * * *

  Another headache is Taiwan’s worsening water shortage. The island is suffering its most serious drought in more than five decades — another factor that may stymie economic growth.

  

  Ministry of Economic Affairs officials on Wednesday described the drought as the “worst ever,” saying they planned to implement a new round of water-reduction plans from June should rainfall be insufficient. The affected cities include Hsinchu, where top chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and United Microelectronics have headquarters. Taoyuan, a major hub of print circuit board production sites and home to Taiwan’s biggest memory chip maker Nanya Technology, is also included in water rationing plans.

  The government also plans to impose stricter water supplies for major industrial users in the southern Taiwanese cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung, where TSMC operates its most cutting-edge plant. It has ordered several central cities, including Taichung, to suspend residential water use for two days a week since early April.

  “It never rains but it pours,” a chip industry executive told Nikkei Asia.

  “We suddenly face a chain of crises: we are short on water, and then we are short of electricity, and we are also short of vaccines amid surging local COVID cases,” the executive said. “The only thing we are not short of is business orders that are full and bright at least until the year end and beyond thanks to surging demand across sectors. But those orders cannot be fulfilled without sufficient water and electricity.”

  Powertech Technology, the world’s biggest memory chip packaging and testing house, is based in Hsinchu, and some of its plants will be subject to a planned two-day suspension of water use for industry and residential use starting in June.

  CFO Evan Tseng said the company stored water in its basement and could transfer some water between plants. “We now only offer bento boxes in our cafeterias and we don’t serve soup or noodles with soup as that could consume more water,” Tseng told Nikkei Asia. “So far we think production could still run normally.”

  Powertech’s CEO told Nikkei in an interview that he expected the robust orders to last at least until the end of this year.

  TSMC spokesperson Nina Kao told Nikkei Asia that the latest water-reduction plan would not affect the company’s production, but the company would “mobilize more water trucks” to support manufacturing to overcome the stricter water rationing. TSMC said in April that the global chip shortage could last until 2022 based on robust demand.

  

  The water and power issues highlight some key vulnerabilities in basic infrastructure for Taiwan, one of the world’s most important sources of the advanced chips that power everything from cars to smartphones, computers and servers to games consoles.

  Lin Faa-Jeng, dean of the college of electrical engineering and computer science at National Central University and adviser to the Executive Yuan, Taiwan’s administrative organ, told Nikkei Asia that Taipower had not anticipated the impact of climate change in making the weather so hot at this time of year.

  “The power company has to adjust all the planning for annual maintenance and take into account some new factors that they had not considered… But I think the power supply will be alleviated when some annual maintenance on power generators is completed from next week.”

  Chen Chao-shun, chair professor at I-Shou University and a specialist on power infrastructure, told Nikkei Asia the two massive blackouts were both due to a sudden loss of power supply that triggered the system’s automatic under-frequency load shed to protect the power grid.

  “The two power outages were all related to the supply and the incidents highlight that Taipower needs to improve its capability to schedule backup generators to quickly support the system,” Chen said. “Taipower also has to readjust the system to keep vital equipment such as traffic lights and elevators operating. You can’t unexpectedly cut off the power and trap people in elevators.”

  “Before Taipower can improve its agility to schedule power generation and respond to any sudden supply loss, we are likely to face a power suspension triggered by the automatic under-frequency load shed again this summer,” Chen said.

  By way of contingency plans, the government has been drilling wells and building new water pipes to draw water from the north of the island to the south. But, while suppliers in the science parks are minimizing their use of water, the change is far from sufficient.

  The water level is extremely low in the Nanhua Reservoir in the mountainous area of southern Taiwan — one of the key water reserves for Kaohsiung and Tainan Science Park. Areas of sand that used to be under water have been exposed under the tropical sun and are now sand dunes.

  “It’s really too hot…the temperature can reach more than 40 Celsius around noon now and we haven’t seen a drop of rain in months,” a local resident told Nikkei Asia. “We are all worried that the water reserves here can only last for about a month.”

  Multiple cities across Taiwan welcomed heavy rain on Monday afternoon, however, as of evening, the water reserve rate at the Nanhua Reservoir stood at just 8.8%, suggesting the water supply from this reservoir could last only 19 days without any rainfall, according to open data provider Taiwanstats, citing data from the Water Resources Agency.

  

  Tsengwen Reservoir, another key water resource for Tainan Science Park and the largest in Taiwan, had a water reserve rate of just 6% as of Thursday, the data showed. The rate at Shihmen Reservoir, one of the key reservoirs that supplies northern Taiwan, dipped to 11.1% as of Thursday.

  Wu Ray-shyan, executive vice president of the National Central University and a hydrology and water resources expert, said if the monsoon season did not bring sufficient rain this month, then Taiwan would have to wait until the typhoon season, which generally starts in July, to ease the drought.

  “I don’t mean to be alarmist, but if typhoons are delayed, as they were last year, we will have to rely on groundwater resources,” Wu told Nikkei Asia. “Water supply not only needs management and conservation measures, but also an increasing capacity of storage facilities to meet demand, which is rising in tandem with economic growth.

  “Taiwan is not like Israel, where the rainfall is really scarce. We [in Taiwan] sometimes on the one hand deal with floods in typhoon season and on the other hand deal with droughts…Taiwan’s problem is that we don’t have enough storage capacity to really store this rainfall,” Wu said.

  

  On power infrastructure, the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen plans to phase out nuclear power by 2025 and to use natural gas and coal-fired power to fill the gap before the planned installation of solar and offshore wind power comes online.

  The government is building a third and large natural gas terminal off the coast of Taoyuan to increase the use of liquefied natural gas as a key source of electricity. Local environmental groups, however, oppose the plan, meaning it could be delayed by years or forced to locate elsewhere on the island.

  In 2020, Taiwan’s power usage reached 271.1 billion kilowatt-hours, up 2.1% from the previous year, while total power generation was 279.8 billion kilowatt-hours, according to Economics Ministry data released this month. Coal-fired electricity contributed 45% of the total power generated last year, while natural gas accounted for 35.7% and nuclear power 11%. Renewable energy, however, contributed a mere 5.4%.

  The government forecasts that electricity demand will grow by 2.5% each year from 2021 to 2027, after factoring in inbound investments amid the U.S.-China trade war and the massive investment plans by semiconductor companies.

  National Central University’s Wu said Taiwan needed better infrastructure planning for the long run.

  “The last time Taiwan built large infrastructure for either power plants or reservoirs was a very long time ago,” Wu said. The last time a large reservoir was created was in 1994 when the Nanhua Reservoir, which supplies the Tainan Science Park, was dug, he added.

  “Large infrastructure takes 10 or even 20 years from planning to completion,” he said. “What Taiwan needs is long-term development planning — undisrupted by the rotation of political parties — for utilities over the next 30 to 50 years.”

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 19:20

• Are Chinese Stocks Ready To Outperform?
  Are Chinese Stocks Ready To Outperform?

  By Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at SaxoBank

  Summary: Chinese equities were rallying 3.6% today on signals from the Chinese government to curb inflationary pressures from rising commodity markets reducing inflation expectations and boosting the earnings outlook. US equities are currently valued at a valuation premium to Chinese equities which suggest historically that Chinese equities could outperform over the next 26 weeks. The two country’s technology sectors are equally valued on a 2-year forward basis on EV/EBITDA but with a valuation skew on Chinese technology mega caps making them more attractive on valuation. The long-term growth outlook is better for Chinese technology companies and thus we expect the market to begin leaning into Chinese technology stocks.

  As we alluded to in today’s podcast, CSI 300 futures (tracking mainland China equities) broke out higher up 3.6% during the session. The Chinese government’s signaling that it would curb excesses in commodity prices pulled technology stocks globally higher as lower commodity inflation means less pressure on interest rates which in turn means less pressure discount rates on future cash flow. Lower input prices also lift future profit margins and earnings growth.

  

  Chinese companies operate generally at lower profit margins and thus respond more to expectations about inflation and interest rates as the marginally change on profits are bigger for low margin businesses. China’s stimulus has also been limited this year as the country is enjoying the tailwind from stimulus in the US and Europe, but it is our expectation that as that growth momentum slows down the Chinese government will take over a launch more stimulus to keep the economy humming. This should underpin the earnings growth outlook for Chinese equities.

  Last Friday, we wrote about how cheap mega cap Chinese technology stocks have become measured on FY22 free cash flow yield which is almost twice some of the largest US technology stocks. On a 2-year horizon Chinese technology stocks (Hang Seng TECH) are valued at the same equity valuation as US technology stocks (Nasdaq 100) which is cheap in a historical context because of the better growth outlook for Chinese technology companies. Broadening out the scope US equities are right valued at a 6% valuation premium to Chinese equities compared to a historical 5% discount for US equities.

  

  Chinese equities were beginning to get back to their historical valuation premium over US equities in the beginning of the year, but the hedge fund Archegos’ collapse and the Chinese crackdown on the technology sector have for now negatively impacted investor sentiment. The current US equity valuation premium suggest that Chinese equities could outperform over the coming 26 weeks, but this prediction comes with a wide prediction interval and the key assumption of this trade is that Chinese equities will move back into premium. Helped by better growth outlook and a weaker USD we believe that is most likely the trajectory.

  

  For inspiration on Chinese technology and consumer stocks looks at our China consumer and technology equity theme basket consisting of 40 stocks.

  

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 19:00

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• Visualizing The Copper Intensity Of Renewable Energy
  Visualizing The Copper Intensity Of Renewable Energy

  The world is moving away from fossil fuels, towards large-scale adoption of clean energy technologies.

  Building these technologies is a mineral-intensive process. From aluminum and chromium to rare earths and cobalt, as Visual Capitalist details below, the energy transition is creating massive demand for a range of minerals.

  Copper is one such mineral, which stands out due to its critical role in building both the technologies as well as the infrastructure that allows us to harness their power.

  

  The above infographic from Trilogy Metals highlights the role of copper in renewable energy, and how the adoption of wind and solar energy will affect its demand going forward.

  Copper’s Role in Renewable Energy

  Copper has one of the highest thermal and electrical conductivity of all metals. As a result, it’s the most widely-used mineral among energy technologies and is essential for all electricity-related infrastructure.

  According to Navigant Research, here’s how much copper wind and solar farms use per megawatt:

  

  Solar photovoltaics (PV) primarily rely on copper for cabling, wiring, and heat exchange due to its efficiency in conducting heat and electricity. Wind energy technologies make use of the red metal in their turbines, cables, and transformers. Offshore wind farms typically use larger amounts because they are connected to land via long undersea cables that are made of copper.

  In addition, copper is also a key part of the grid networks that transmit electricity from power plants to our homes. With the increasing adoption of renewable energy, the demand for copper will only grow.

  Copper Intensity of the Energy Transition

  According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), solar and wind energy installations need to scale up significantly under their REmap scenario, in which efforts are made to limit global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees by 2050.

  Based on the copper content figures from Navigant Research and IRENA’s required capacity projections, here are the copper requirements for annual solar and wind installations in 2020 and 2050:

  

  Copper content figures were calculated by multiplying copper content per MW in tonnes with annual installed capacities in 2020 and 2050.

  Relative to 2020 levels, annual copper demand from solar PV installations could more than double by 2030, and almost triple by 2050. The largest percentage increase in copper requirements comes from offshore wind farms. IRENA’s REmap scenario requires 45,000 MW of annual offshore wind installations in 2050, which translates into 432,000 tonnes of copper—a 648% increase from 2020 levels.

  By 2050, annual copper demand from wind and solar technologies could exceed 3 million tonnes or around 15% of 2020 copper production. However, it isn’t clear whether we will have enough supply of copper to meet this growing demand.

  Will Supply Meet Demand?

  According to Citigroup, the global copper market is expected to be in a 521,000 tonne deficit in 2021—and the transition to renewables is still in its early stages.

  While the demand for copper comes from a range of industries, the majority of its supply comes from a few regions, making the supply chain susceptible to disruptions. Mine shutdowns in 2020 exemplified this, as copper production fell by around 500,000 tonnes.

  Additionally, average ore grades in Chile, the largest producer of copper, have fallen by 30% over the last 15 years, making it more difficult to mine copper.

  Although copper is available in abundance, declining ore grades and concentrated production are a cause for concern, especially as demand rises. Therefore, new sources of copper will be valuable in meeting the growing material needs of the clean energy transition.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 02:45

• Alternative Version Of Who May Be Behind The Minsk Special Operation
  Alternative Version Of Who May Be Behind The Minsk Special Operation

  Via South Front,

  On May 23, a plane of RyanAir airlines flying from the Athens to Vilnius carried out an emergency landing at the Minsk airport, following a bomb alert. This is widely claimed to be a special operation ordered by President Alexandr Lukashenko aimed at arrest of one of opposition figures Roman Pratasevich, who was on board. However, a closer look at the incident and the newly-released data prove that other forces could be behind this ‘special operation’.

  

  Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (R) and his Belarus’ counterpart Alexander Lukashenko walk in as they attend a session of the Supreme State Council of the Union State at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 3, 2015. AFP PHOTO / POOL / SERGEI KARPUKHIN (Photo credit should read SERGEI KARPUKHIN/AFP/Getty Images)

  Reports about the explosive device on board were not confirmed. Passengers took another flight. Everyone except Protasevich, his girlfriend to whom he handed his personal belongings, including a laptop and a phone, and four Russian citizens, “who were GRU officers for sure “.

  Roman Protasevich is one of the main figures of Belarus opposition, a co-founder of the Telegram channel Nexta that was used for coordination of mass protests since August 2020.

  One of the main proofs that the incident was a planned operation of Belarus special forces is the publication on his Telegram channel of his private message, where cautious Protasevich described a suspicious Russian man, who tried to take a photo of his documents before landing. The authors of the channel consider this as proof that Roman Protasevich began to be followed back in Athens.

  “I was silent, and he turned to me in Russian with some stupid question,” – Protasevich wrote to his friends.

  “Such a middle-aged, fit, with a bald head. In one T-shirt, in light-colored pants and a leather case.”

  

  A closer look at the chronology of events casts doubts on the claims of a “special operation” of special forces.

  The crew commander of the aircraft of the RyanAir company informed Minsk about the mining on May 23, at 12:50 local time. At that moment the plane was already near the Lituanian border, but the pilots decided to act in accordance with the international security instructions and requested a landing in Minsk.

  A recording of the pilots’ call with the dispatcher has been recently published online. It confirmed that it was pilots’ decision to land in Minsk. At this moment, Minsk airport received an e-mail about the bomb on board. The crew’s decision to land in Minsk was also confirmed by reports from the communications department of the Lithuanian International Airport.

  Immediately after the call, the information was reported to President Lukashenko, who gave the command to take measures and secure the landing. The air forces of Belarus reacted to the emergency in according with international standards. The MIG-29 was following the aircraft in order to provide assistance if necessary.

  As soon as the plane landed, passengers were evacuated, after which sappers and rescue services were deployed. At the same time, passengers were screened in accordance with safety standards.

  Exactly at that moment, a photo of Protasevich appeared online with reports about his arrest. It was published by the assistant of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on his Twitter account. According to reports, the photo was allegedly sent to the “opposition team” by Protasevich’s girlfriend, who was flying with him, for internal use, but they rushed to post it on the Internet even before official reports of his arrest.

  BREAKING! The regime landed @Ryanair plane, which was flying from Athens to Vilnius,in order to arrest the famous Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich. In Belarus, he faces the death penalty. Belarus has seized a plane,put passengers in danger, in order to repress an opponent pic.twitter.com/TEv22to5XM

  — Franak Viačorka (@franakviacorka) May 23, 2021

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

  Meanwhile, the so-called ‘special operation’ was carried out right on the eve of the first offline European Summit, where the European diplomats are going to have a strategic debate on Russia. What a coincidence!

  The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, following the results of the EU summit on May 24, will have to prepare a report on relations with Russia.

  Hype in global media platforms based on accusations of Lukashenko in neglecting international norms and in ‘international terrorism’, is aimed to have an impact on the results of the summit. European countries were going to discuss new restrictions against Minsk before the incident, but after an international scandal, this topic may become the main one on the forum’s agenda.

  

  The European Union is considering the closure of not only air, but also ground communication with Belarus in response to the actions of President Lukashenko, Bloomberg reported, citing a senior European official close to negotiations on new EU sanctions against Belarus…

  Read the rest of the ‘alternative version’ here.

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 02:00

• CJ Hopkins: Greetings From "New Normal" Germany!
  CJ Hopkins: Greetings From “New Normal” Germany!

  Authored (mostly satirically-ish) by CJ Hopkins via The Consent Factory,

  On April 1, 1933, shortly after Hitler was appointed chancellor, the Nazis staged a boycott of Jewish businesses in Germany. Members of the Storm Troopers (“die Sturmabteilung,” or the “Storm Department,” as I like to think of them) stood around outside of Jewish-owned stores with Gothic-lettered placards reading “Germans! Defend yourselves! Do not buy from Jews!”

  The boycott itself was a total disaster — most Germans ignored it and just went on with their lives — but it was the beginning of the official persecution of the Jews and totalitarianism in Nazi Germany.

  

  Last week, here in “New Normal” Germany, the government (which, it goes without saying, bears no resemblance to the Nazi regime, or any other totalitarian regime) implemented a social-segregation system that bans anyone who refuses to publicly conform to the official “New Normal” ideology from participating in German society. From now on, only those who have an official “vaccination pass” or proof of a negative PCR test are allowed to sit down and eat at restaurants, shop at a “non-essential” stores, or go to bars, or the cinema, or wherever.

  Here’s a notice from the website of Prater, a popular beer garden in Berlin:

  

  Of course, there is absolutely no valid comparison to be made between these two events, or between Nazi Germany and “New Normal” Germany, nor would I ever imply that there was. That would be illegal in “New Normal” Germany, as it would be considered “relativizing the Holocaust,” not to mention being “anti-democratic and/or delegitimizing the state in a way that endangers security,” or whatever. Plus, it’s not like there are SA goons standing outside shops and restaurants with signs reading “Germans! Defend yourselves! Don’t sell to the Unvaccinated and Untested!” It’s just that it’s now illegal to do that, i.e., sell anything to those of us whom the media and the government have systematically stigmatized as “Covid deniers” because we haven’t converted to the new official ideology and submitted to being “vaccinated” or “tested.”

  Protesting the new official ideology is also illegal in “New Normal” Germany. OK, I think I should probably rephrase that. I certainly don’t want to misinform anyone. Protesting the “New Normal” isn’t outlawed per se. You’re totally allowed to apply for a permit to protest against the “Covid restrictions” on the condition that everyone taking part in your protest wears a medical-looking N95 mask and maintains a distance of 1.5 meters from every other medical-masked protester … which is kind of like permitting anti-racism protests as long as the protesters all wear Ku Klux Klan robes and perform a choreographed karaoke of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama.

  Who says the Germans don’t have a sense of humor?

  I don’t mean to single out the Germans. There is nothing inherently totalitarian, or fascist, or robotically authoritarian and hyper-conformist about the Germans, as a people. The fact that the vast majority of Germans clicked their heels and started mindlessly following orders, like they did in Nazi Germany, the moment the “New Normal” was introduced last year doesn’t mean that all Germans are fascists by nature. Most Americans did the same thing. So did the British, the Australians, the Spanish, the French, the Canadians, and a long list of others. It’s just that, well, I happen to live here, so I’ve watched as Germany has been transformed into “New Normal Germany” up close and personal, and it has definitely made an impression on me.

  The ease with which the German authorities implemented the new official ideology, and how fanatically it has been embraced by the majority of Germans, came as something of a shock. I had naively believed that, in light of their history, the Germans would be among the first to recognize a nascent totalitarian movement predicated on textbook Goebbelsian Big Lies (i.e., manipulated Covid “case” and “death” statistics), and would resist it en masse, or at least take a moment to question the lies their leaders were hysterically barking at them.

  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Here we are, over a year later, and waiters and shop clerks are “checking papers” to enforce compliance with the new official ideology. (And, yes, the “New Normal” is an official ideology. When you strip away the illusion of an apocalyptic plague, there isn’t any other description for it). Perfectly healthy, medical-masked people are lining up in the streets to be experimentally “vaccinated.” Lockdown-bankrupted shops and restaurants have been converted into walk-in “PCR-test stations.” The government is debating mandatory “vaccination” of children in kindergarten. Goon squads are arresting octogenarians for picnicking on the sidewalk without permission. And so on. At this point, I’m just sitting here waiting for the news that mass “disinfection camps” are being set up to solve the “Unvaccinated Question.”

  Whoops … there I go again, “relativizing the Holocaust.” I really need to stop doing that. The Germans take this stuff very seriously, especially with Israel under relentless attack by the desperately impoverished people it has locked inside an enormous walled ghetto, and is self-defensively ethnically cleansing.

  But, seriously, there is no similarity whatsoever between Nazi Germany and “New Normal” Germany.

  Sure, both systems suspended the constitution, declared a national “state of emergency” enabling the government to rule by decree, inundated the masses with insane propaganda and manipulated “scientific facts,” outlawed protests, criminalized dissent, implemented a variety of public rituals, and symbols, and a social segregation system, to enforce compliance with their official ideologies, and demonized anyone who refused to comply … but, other than that, there’s no similarity, and anyone who suggests there is is a dangerous social-deviant extremist who probably needs to be quarantined somewhere, or perhaps dealt with in some other “special” way.

  Plus, the two ideologies are completely different.

  One was a fanatical totalitarian ideology based on imaginary racial superiority and the other is a fanatical totalitarian ideology based on an imaginary “apocalyptic plague” … so what the hell am I even talking about? On top of which, no swastikas, right? No swastikas, no totalitarianism! And nobody’s mass murdering the Jews, that I know of, and that’s the critical thing, after all!

  So, never mind. Just ignore all that crazy stuff I just told you about “New Normal” Germany. Don’t worry about “New Normal” America, either. Or “New Normal” Great Britain. Or “New Normal” wherever.

  Get experimentally “vaccinated.” Experimentally “vaccinate” your kids. Prove your loyalty to the Reich … sorry, I meant to global capitalism. Ignore those reports of people dying and suffering horrible adverse effects. Wear your mask. Wear it forever. God knows what other viruses are out there, just waiting to defile your bodily fluids and cause you to experience a flu-like illness, or cut you down in the prime of your seventies or eighties … and, Jesus, I almost forgot “long Covid.” That in itself is certainly enough to justify radically restructuring society so that it resembles an upscale hospital theme park staffed by paranoid, smiley-faced fascists in fanciful designer Hazmat suits.

  Oh, and keep your “vaccination papers” in order. You never know when you’re going to have to show them to some official at the airport, or a shop, or restaurant, or to your boss, or your landlord, or the police, or your bank, or your ISP, or your Tinder date … or some other “New Normal” authority figure.

  I mean, you don’t want to be mistaken for a “Covid denier,” or an “anti-vaxxer,” or a “conspiracy theorist,” or some other type of ideological deviant, and be banished from society, do you?

  Tyler Durden
  Wed, 05/26/2021 – 00:05

• Eating Meat Is The Norm Almost Everywhere
  Eating Meat Is The Norm Almost Everywhere

  On average, 86 percent of people surveyed for the Statista Global Consumer Survey in 39 countries said that their diet contained meat – highlighting, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz notes, that despite the trend around meat substitutes and plant-based products, eating meat remains the norm almost everywhere in the world.

  

  In only five out of the 39 countries – Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, China and India – fewer than 80 percent of respondents said that they ate meat.

  The latter country had the lowest score at 43 percent meat eaters. China, which had the second-lowest result in the survey, still counted 75 percent of respondents saying they ate meat.

  

  You will find more infographics at Statista

  India’s penchant for vegetarian fare is connected to Brahmanism or Vedic religion, a belief system connected to the caste of Brahmans, which are highly regarded in the Indian caste system, making vegetarianism equally desirable.

  In Western countries, vegetarianism is more often tied to environmental concerns or concerns over unethical practices in meat production.

  To satisfy the hunger for meat, 333 million tons of meat were produced worldwide in 2020. Because meat consumption typically increases as countries grow wealthier, that number has been rising.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 23:45

• Fusion GPS Is Losing The Fight To Keep Its Records Secret
  Fusion GPS Is Losing The Fight To Keep Its Records Secret

  Authored by Techno Fog via The Reactionary,

  There’s a fight brewing in a DC federal court over Fusion GPS’s internal correspondence and records. And they’re losing.

  

  Background

  In 2017, the owners of Alfa Bank (we’ll call them Alfa Bank for the purposes of this article) sued Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson for their publication of false statements accusing Alfa Bank of “bribery, extortion, and interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.”

  Now, the Alfa Bank is on offense. They have filed a motion to compel, asking the Court to require Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson to produce nearly 500 critically important documents improperly withheld as privileged.

  Fusion/Simpson have fought the production of the documents, arguing that they are subject to the “attorney-client privilege” and otherwise privileged and not subject to production.

  These are weak legal arguments – and the attorneys for Alfa Bank recognize it. First, Fusion/Simpson previously admitted the purpose of their work was political, and not for the purposes of any ongoing litigation.

  

  Alfa Bank further observes that Glenn Simpson has even testified that the purpose of his work was pure politics, saying his goal was to “to expose an opponent’s vulnerabilities, provide source material for the media, and feed attack ads.”

  As their motion argues:

  Perkins Coie did not engage Defendants to perform legal or litigation-focused work; rather, Defendants have admitted (and publicly boasted) that Perkins Coie engaged Defendants in a “political context” to perform “political work.”

  Second, even if these 500 documents were subject to the attorney-client privilege (and they most certainly are not), that privilege was waived when Simpson/Fusion leaked their research to third parties, including the media and government officials.

  

  One has to be curious about exactly why Fusion GPS and Glenn Simpson are putting up such a fight to keep these 500 documents hidden. We think it’s because thus far, the public hasn’t seen the communications between Perkins Coie and Fusion GPS/Glenn Simpson or the internal Fusion GPS correspondence.

  What are they hiding? Let’s take a look.

  During the Alfa Bank litigation, attorneys for Fusion/Simpson have filed “privilege logs,” which give brief explanations on the type of document and the privilege that prevents its disclosure.

  By their very nature, privilege logs don’t reveal much information.

  What we see in the latest court filings, however, is that Fusion/Simpson want to keep secret e-mails and attachments that include their ongoing research and likely their internal observations about strategy and the veracity of their work/sources.

  For example, recall that Christopher Steele was the source of a Mother Jones article titled “A Veteran Spy has Given the FBI Information Alleging a Russian Operation to Cultivate Donald Trump.”

  The David Corn article (which led to the FBI’s “termination” of Steele as an “official” source) was a cause of a lengthy e-mail chain (excerpt below) at Fusion GPS. This discussion even included the obtuse anti-Trump/Barr writer Lloyd Green. (Not that Lloyd Green is important, but more that the outsider included in the e-mails defeats their privilege argument.)

  

  The privilege log further reveals Fusion GPS correspondence on August 30, 2016 regarding the Alfa Bank/Trump allegations. Internal Fusion GPS e-mails mention the“Alfa Playbook.” Two months later, Slate would run the false allegations that a Trump server having nefarious communications with Alfa Bank servers.  

  

  The Slate article would become a popular topic within Fusion GPS.

  

  Additionally, the privilege logs reveal the existence of May 2016 correspondence among Fusion GPS employees/principals, including Glenn Simpson, regarding their early work on Trump/Russia.

  

  Fusion/Simpson are also keeping secret the communications from January 11, 2016 between Fusion GPS and Michael Sussman of Perkins Coie, which would reveal the history of the relationship – and possibly any prior work – that Fusion GPS did on behalf of the DNC’s law firm.

  

  The privilege logs show us the early work on the Carter Page research from late July 2016. (This was after the FBI met with Christopher Steele in early July 2016 and before the FBI “officially” opened Crossfire Hurricane.)

  

  Other Info

  Documents filed in support of Alfa Bank’s efforts to compel production of the Fusion GPS records show a timeline of the Fusion leaks to reporters. (Much of this info on the leaks is public knowledge.) This was provided by the attorneys for Fusion/Simpson.

  

  Final Thoughts

  We find it highly likely that Alfa Bank gets their hands on most of the 500 documents they believe to be critically important. The Fusion/Simpson privilege arguments are rather weak.

  We’ll continue to follow this case closely. If Fusin/Simpson are required to produce these documents, there’s no telling if Alfa Bank will file them with the court or otherwise release them. But we’ll be publishing them if they do.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 23:25

• Pilots Tell Israeli News Channel They Flattened Gaza Buildings To "Vent Frustration"
  Pilots Tell Israeli News Channel They Flattened Gaza Buildings To “Vent Frustration”

  According to a report in Israel’s prominent Channel 12 news outlet, multiple Israeli pilots which were engaged in bombing operations over Gaza during this month’s eleven days of fighting voiced that they often leveled entire buildings to “vent frustration”. 

  A series of pilots were interviewed under anonymity so they’d be willing to speak more freely on things like the controversial ‘roof tapping’ procedure which warns residents in buildings to get out minutes before they are pummeled, as well as the air force’s techniques for entirely flattening buildings. 

  

  A total of nine high-rise buildings had essentially collapsed in their own footprints during the bombardment, including the al-Jalaa media building which housed Associated Press and Al Jazeera offices. This would often involve a series of precision strikes at specific angles aimed at a structure’s base. Additionally multiple hospitals and other health facilities had also been hit during the aerial campaign which in all took 248 Palestinian lives, among these 66 children, and wounding close to 2,000 more. 

  One Israeli pilot, identified only as “Major D” in the Channel 12 report, stunned by saying he sought to intentionally level entire towers as “a way to vent frustration” over Hamas’ rocket fire and attacks on Jewish Israelis. 

  “I went on a mission to carry out air strikes with a feeling that destroying the towers is a way to vent frustration over what is happening to us and over the success of the groups in Gaza,” the pilot explained according to a translation in Middle East Eye. Major D added: “We failed to stop the rocket fire and to harm the leadership of these groups, so we destroyed the towers.”

  The report further detailed that Israel’s military says the intent of such tower-leveling actions is “to damage Hamas assets” but also “to deter the terrorist organizations in Gaza from continuing to launch rockets at Israeli cities.”

  As Palestinians return to their destroyed homes in Gaza after the ceasefire, an Israeli pilot said destroying Gaza’s residential towers was a way of “venting frustration.” pic.twitter.com/OmRnLutHBb

  — AJ+ (@ajplus) May 25, 2021

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  As for the rocket count from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, Israel’s defense ministry has tallied nearly 4,000 rockets over the period between May 10 and May 21 – after which the current ceasefire (which is over 5 days in) took effect.

  While many of these rockets were brought down by the Iron Dome anti-air system, which the US has committed to replenishing for its closest Mideast ally, an unprecedented number scored hits in urban and residential areas, killing 12 civilians and injuring hundreds. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 23:05

• Bhandari: Inside India's "Hunger Games"
  Bhandari: Inside India’s “Hunger Games”

  Authored by Jayant Bhandari via Acting-Man.com,

  Scavengers Out in Full Force

  I have just returned from a visit to my family in India. It was hard to escape. To get to the US from India, I needed a COVID test. The Indian government has seriously restricted who can provide COVID testing, treatment, and vaccination. Private doctors and hospitals that are not approved face brutal legal consequences if they provide COVID treatment.

  

  India’s experience with the COVID pandemic was particularly unpleasant… [PT]

  Emergency powers were centralized early last year in the hands of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. He gave himself direct control over the bureaucrats of the states, making local governments largely impotent and dependent on him.

  Getting vaccinated, the Indian way. pic.twitter.com/GztV3nhnbs

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 12, 2021

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  In their supreme wisdom, government bureaucrats concluded that because the prefix “COVID-” exists in treatment, vaccination, and testing, they must all be performed at the same place. For my test, I sat in a petri dish of COVID, with those coming out positive sitting right next to me. Desperate, vulnerable old people, who merely wanted to get their jabs, sat among us. Those who were sick for reasons other than COVID were among us too, for the government has required everyone who is sick to be tested for COVID first .

  A microcosm of how everything is done in India, the tests were given haphazardly, with samples getting mixed up, nurses spending most of their time fighting among themselves, and — lacking a lineup system — people crowded together, pushing and breathing into the mouths of one another.

  A few days earlier, the government had given notice of the rate of tests and further restricted where they could be performed. A bribe-taking system would have been my preference to bypass government restrictions, but no such system has evolved yet. Nevertheless, corruption has exploded, and self-centeredness, apathy, a dog-eat-dog environment has come to the surface. You see this everywhere; the scavengers are out in full force.

  I went to a private COVID hospital. The situation in government hospitals is far worse, beyond my capacity to cope with it.

  The World’s Worst Lockdown

  Yet the story of COVID in India is hardly about COVID as such, which is nothing more than a trigger. More than twice as many people died of fairly easily treatable tuberculosis in 2020 than of COVID. Instead, this is a story of foolish rulers, completely hollowed out institutions, and a pathetically irrational and tribal society.

  India’s Hunger Games: There is no history of Indians fighting back, for they lack moral consciousness. They also know that if they do fight back, their nails will get pulled out and they will be beaten with the stick on the sole of the feet, the usual practice. Courts do nothing. pic.twitter.com/228lSn3ejw

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 13, 2021

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  The lockdown that India declared in March 2020 was the world’s most atrocious. It was a nationwide curfew, with no-one allowed to leave home, not even to shop for groceries. The police destroyed grocery shops that dared to open. It took the government a couple of days to realize that people needed to buy food — the original decision had been a shot from the hip, completely bereft of any effort to think things through. During the four-month curfew, the police ruthlessly beat up people, particularly those who looked poor. Trains, flights, and all transportation had come to a complete, grinding halt.

  India’s Hunger Games: Given an India a stick, and you can be assured he will use it. Give him a position of power, and he will abuse it, exploit people and humiliate them. Indians have no moral consciousness. They feel no righteous anger. They are either exploiters or exploited. pic.twitter.com/TZ7qD97dvX

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) April 27, 2021

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  India’s Hunger Games: The old way to control covid has come back with a vengeance. Destroy food and livelihood so that people instead die of hunger. There is no plan, only shooting from the hip. pic.twitter.com/xXB1nWrufI

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) April 16, 2021

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  Many people relished to no end that they were allowed to restrict and abuse others, doing so by masquerading as do-gooders with the support of the law, inflicting pain on those who did not resist and taking the appalling results in stride. They then experienced elevated, sadistic, perhaps even sexual pleasure. As always, the exploiters and the exploited were two sides of the same coin, though forever interchangeable — the reason why India never finds an escape from its drudgery.

  India’s Hunger Games: Police humiliating people to make them self-responsible. Only the stupid Indian regime knows how this adds up. pic.twitter.com/BVuqDUEbhR

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 3, 2021

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  When people were allowed to go out grocery shopping, the government required shops to open for limited hours each day, as if the virus were more dangerous at other hours. This led to overcrowding — so the opening hours were restricted further! Soon shops were instructed to open only for a limited number of days each week. After a year of this policy, the government is still unsure why crowding has continued to worsen.

  India’s Hunger Games: Restricting opening hours of shops, according to the rulers, results in more social distancing. If that does not work, they do more of the same. This has been going on for a year. Now, grocery shops, in places, are open for only 4 hours, thrice a week. pic.twitter.com/m7AlFQa0el

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) April 22, 2021

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  The country has actually been barricaded, making it look like a war zone, with many roads and highways entirely closed off. The remaining streets have only one side open for two-way traffic, leading to numerous head-on collisions. The barricades are not fluorescent, a technology that Indian safety experts have yet to appreciate.

  Train services are minimal, and only a very limited number of security lineups is open at airports. The government believes this promotes social distancing. Wherever one is permitted to go, one is facing neck-to-neck over-crowding.

  After a year of lockdown, the government hasn’t a clue how to control covid. They make utopian policies that do not work in India. Every new lockdown measure creates massive chaos, which spreads covid more than it contains. Here is Delhi, just before lockdown is to take effect. pic.twitter.com/5JC6h3RMZM

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) April 20, 2021

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  With the city barricaded, it took me forever to get to the airport. To protect politicians (from COVID and increasingly from irate citizens), large areas where they live have been completely closed off. Sick people cannot find a way to get to the hospital, although only those keen on dying should actually go there.

  Shortages Everywhere

  No hospital that is allowed to dispense COVID treatment has the beds, oxygen, or medicine available. Not one. A single dose of critical medicine, otherwise sold for $10, is selling for as much as $1,000. I even heard a price of $7,000. Oxygen cylinders, usually priced at around $10, today go for as much as $1,000, if you can find them. It is worth remembering that more than 80% of Indians live on less than $2 a day.

  While people are desperately looking for oxygen cylinders, those savvy enough have stockpiled them and medicines at home. What would have been a slight shortage has snowballed into a complete disappearance from the market. So bad is the situation that people in top political positions are pleading for them on social media. One person I know had to get the governor of his state to let his relative be given priority in cremation.

  The girl killed herself. The Indian police, instead of moving her body in a car or an ambulance, forced it on her father to walk with her body for 35 km for autopsy. This is the kind of apathy Indian institutions have. pic.twitter.com/DfL7wIEeSI

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 12, 2021

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  Getting an ambulance (which is no more than a broken taxi with a metallic stretcher) for a short ride, can cost many hundreds of dollars, in some cases running into thousands. Those who haven’t lived in India may find it hard to imagine, but this is not unique to these COVID days. India has never had a functioning ambulance system. That is why hundreds of thousands lacking help to get to the hospital die in the streets every year.

  India’s Hunger Games: Indian way to send bodies to crematorium. pic.twitter.com/TWgalZj6mz

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 2, 2021

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  But this is not a compassionate country. I was brought up in India, but I learned the meaning of “compassion” only when I left the country. During the past year, the police have brutalized many people in India, but not one Indian court has taken a suo motu interest in charging the police. Justice is merely some words scribbled on parchment.

  Early this year, when Indian COVID cases were falling rapidly, there were talks about how the use of turmeric in Indian food, cow urine and dung in “treatment,” the “goodness of Indian genes,” and India’s “ancient, spiritual civilization” were behind the success. India was advertising itself as the savior of the world.

  Treatment for covid: Cow dung. pic.twitter.com/TWycysEKQj

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 12, 2021

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  In fact – if facts mean anything –  the Indian diet is among the worst in the world, full of carbohydrates, sugar and oil, and poor in nutrients and proteins. It is the kind of diet that makes one susceptible to chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. And a year of lockdown has seriously reduced the health of everyone. Those who could afford to sit at home gained weight, lost general immunity, and did not exercise. Poor people became much poorer, victims of massive unemployment and relatively high inflation. The beggars on the street remind one of the impoverished 1980s.

  Hospitals Are For Dying

  India has 0.5 hospital beds per 1,000 people, a fraction of what is required — only 5% of hospital beds are in ICUs. Even before COVID hit, Indian hospitals were overflowing with patients. They occupied every single bed, often with more than one person in every bed, and the space in corridors and between the gate and the buildings. I have never seen this any other way.

  Japan had no lockdown. Its 2020 death rate fell. Covid has been chiefly a test of how well the institutions work, people manage their health, and the health system is structured. After a year, India hasn’t organized even the basics. pic.twitter.com/6IrjDulL15

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) April 21, 2021

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  Doctors and nurses are very ill-trained, lack competence, and are arrogant and heavy-handed. It is natural selection; the better ones tend to leave for the West. I have never been to a hospital — not even a private one — where work flowed correctly. My earliest memory of visiting a hospital is of two nurses giggling when one had given a wrong injection to a patient.

  India’s Hunger Games: Dealing with the dead, the Indian way. pic.twitter.com/W7eyxulxPx

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 2, 2021

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  Many years ago, someone I was helping out ended up in a government hospital. The doctor wanted to amputate his hand, for it was the easiest thing to do. We had to smuggle him out by bribing the policeman to a private hospital where his bones, with some work, could be set in place. Also, many years back, my granddad died, struggling for oxygen. He had gone to a private hospital, in his scooter, for a minor checkup. They ended up doing a few operations on him. While he struggled, the two doctors argued about how the pressure difference provided oxygen and drained urine.

  India’s Hunger Games: The problem is not covid but an extraordinarily corrupt and apathetic medical system with no accountability. And these scenes are nothing new—I have never seen it any other way in India. One should avoid hospitals as much as one can pic.twitter.com/WqfoH9kD7Q

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 4, 2021

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  The Indian medical system is one big orgy of doctors exchanging commissions for cross-referring to each other and getting laboratory tests done, making it the most corrupt sector of Indian society, worse than the government itself. Organ harvesting is not unknown. You go to an Indian hospital to die — and absolutely every Indian has stories to tell about this.

  Lacking a functioning legal system, killer hospitals and doctors face no consequences. Today, given the new rules, COVID patients are removed from the sight of their families, ensuring that apathetic medical workers can do whatever they want.

  India’s Hunger Games: Sadists, who have very fragile egos, want citizens to beg and self-flagellate before they do their jobs. When people genuflect, the low-lives running feel they are gods. One must be reminded that the exploiters & the exploited are two sides of the same coin pic.twitter.com/sf2tIdGNlR

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) April 28, 2021

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  Oxygen is very easy and cheap to produce, but even that has been in shortage forever. The sight of patients sitting outside hospitals with their oxygen cylinders is common and always has been. One must have government approvals to run, operate, and supply oxygen. Indian hospitals — even the big ones — do not have oxygen-producing plants.

  India’s Hunger Games: You must realize that this is the second season of the games. Sadism is ramping up, incompetence is surfacing, and institutions have devolved into tyranny, the stick & the uniform. Happy hunger games. pic.twitter.com/FSf3yhqoUP

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) April 29, 2021

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  Merchants of Death and Grotesquely Stupid Rulers

  India, of course, doesn’t have a clue what crisis management is about, which is the primary reason behind today’s crisis. COVID is merely the straw that broke the camel’s back. Lacking a crisis management unit or reflective thought, “managers” miss the fact that a slight shortage of critically needed items can create massive deficits as people start hoarding these essentials. Indians who are sane are ensuring that they keep their sick relatives outside the hospital system and are setting up improvised ICUs at home.

  A few years ago there was a lot of talk about India providing medical tourism. Then it disappeared from the map, for those who did go to India for treatment realized that they were taking huge risks with their lives. Indian government hospitals exist only in name; Indian private hospitals are cesspits of corruption, incompetence, and utter apathy. I know no Indian who does not have a close relative who died because of the mess Indian hospitals are in. But they still cost a fortune to use, bankrupting millions of Indians every year. The COVID crisis is minting money for the merchants of death, leaving millions in desperate financial situations.

  Let us do some simple math. India has approximately 700,000 hospital beds, very few of which are in ICUs, and a large number of which are reserved for politically connected people. For beds that are available, oxygen supply and doctor availability have always been a problem. With 400,000 new COVID cases happening every day, the system had to fall apart, regardless of the fact that only a tiny proportion of the population required hospitalization.

  At least in mourning, one expects relatives to join in shouldering the dead to the crematorium. The absence of medical institutions in India has left society is fear-based paralysis. So this man is carrying his dead teen-daughter. pic.twitter.com/XxaJqDxgw0

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 17, 2021

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  The problem isn’t the number of cases, which is negligible as a proportion of the population, but the shiver of fear that the nonexistent medical infrastructure has sent down the spine of society. The country is drowning in fear and mourning, and this crisis can hardly be blamed on COVID. It must be blamed on the grotesque — almost incomprehensible — stupidity of its rulers. The government has no plans. Worse, it is doing the exact opposite of what should be done.

  Modi centralized everything in precisely the opposite way from what he should have done. After a year, he still has no clue that limiting opening hours of grocery stores does not decrease crowding but increases it. Similarly, he doesn’t know that it makes no sense to send those looking for vaccination and testing to places where COVID patients are. Yet, over a month ago, he declared a win over COVID. He organized massive gatherings for election canvassing — just the thing to celebrate vanquishing an epidemic, right?

  At least in mourning, one expects relatives to join in shouldering the dead to the crematorium. The absence of medical institutions in India has left society is fear-based paralysis. So this man is carrying his dead teen-daughter. pic.twitter.com/XxaJqDxgw0

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 17, 2021

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  Merely a Symptom

  About 28,000 Indians die every day. These days, 3,000 people extra people die of COVID, a slight increase in overall deaths. The blame doesn’t go as much to COVID for filling up India’s crematoria as it goes to a lack of excess capacity. People have always waited in line for cremation. While the international media shows how packed crematoria are, this is nothing unusual, except that a 10% increase in cremations has clogged the system.

  India’s Hunger Games: Indian’s problem is not covid, but the absence of institutions, and no planning. A slight increase in hospitalization, oxygen, and medicine need has brought the system crashing down. pic.twitter.com/Cy4DLuZKkw

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 2, 2021

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  But COVID is real, and there are cases everywhere. Entire families are affected. Many people my family knows have died. The death rate is guaranteed to increase as time goes by. India has stopped treating people for anything other than COVID. People are dying of kidney failures, heart attacks, lack of trauma care, etc. And COVID patients cannot get oxygen.

  Those who get into the hospitals are getting overdosed for COVID by the clueless medical staff. Those who should get expensive medicine get something else instead, while what they paid for gets smuggled out by nurses — when the patients are removed from the sight of their relatives, there is no one to check on what is happening.

  Those lucky enough to find a bed in a private hospital are spending at American rates. But this isn’t just the problem in COVID days. This has always been a problem.

  

  India’s prime minister,  Narendra “Teflon” Modi – despite his numerous blunders, he has yet to suffer a backlash from voters. In fact, his popularity appears to be perfectly intact so far, which is quite astonishing. [PT]

  Over the last year, Modi spent a lot of time making noise, patting himself on his back, and destroying the economy, sending at least 75 million new people into desperate poverty. But he and his yes-men failed to organize such simple things as oxygen, new beds, and logistics for essential medicine. It would have made a lot more sense to quadruple beds in Indian hospitals rather than destroy at least 10% of the economy, as Modi did in 2020. He should have set up a system to make the medical profession accountable. Had he done these things, the recent COVID spike would not have been much of an event.

  After years of a love affair with Modi, the international media have left him as rats leave a sinking ship. All fingers are now pointing at him, as if India, the biggest democracy in the world, would change course if only he were to be removed. Alas, all this pain and suffering is nothing unusual for India. The West is simply overreacting to the visible aspects of COVID.

  There is no evidence that democracy leads to more liberty and peace. As the character of the masses increasingly reflects in the democratic institutions, what you get is more violence and decadence. Post-election scenes from in West Bengal (India): pic.twitter.com/7r6SlvyN9S

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) May 4, 2021

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  The Indian government is merely a symptom of India’s tribal culture. Indians vote along the lines of their caste, their religion, a politician’s offer of freebies, etc. They lack moral and social consciousness, thus it is hard to believe that they would elect a government in possession of same — Modi is just a symptom.

  India does not have a COVID crisis. India has a government crisis. More fundamentally, it has a crisis of irrationality. There is never any planning and forward-thinking, neither at the individual nor at the institutional level. The nation is always at the precipice of disaster. Over the past 73 years of so-called independence, Indians have hollowed out the institutions the British left behind. These fragile institutions are now collapsing.

  India’s Hunger Games: The hungry and sick must come out. And the sadists absolutely love it. The inertia of the British system is coming to an end. Can the hollowed-out institutions survive? pic.twitter.com/OxskrKjeVz

  — Jayant Bhandari (@JayantBhandari5) April 12, 2021

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  India’s population is ten times larger than it was before the British arrived. With all benefits bestowed on India by the British slowly getting neutralized, it does not take great mathematical skills to realize that eventually the Indian population will, without continual help from the West, revert to its former equilibrium, 10% of what it is today. COVID or whatever else will merely be the catalyst.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 22:45

• Every Nerf Gun Could Be Turned Into "80% Or Greater Receiver" Under New ATF Rule 
  Every Nerf Gun Could Be Turned Into “80% Or Greater Receiver” Under New ATF Rule 

  A Twitter user who appears well rounded with 3D-printing technology tweeted Saturday about the consequences if every “Nerf gun/foam dart gun were to suddenly become an 80% receiver.” 

  Twitter user “00MEAT” said while the Biden administration is going after ghost guns and unserialized weapons. There could be a “list of consequences if every Nerf gun/foam dart gun were to suddenly become an 80% receiver, and if the ATF were to suddenly consider 80% receivers as firearms. I’ll just let you imagine what the below image is.” 

  

  00MEAT continued: “I mean, think of the children, does the ATF really want to go after every kid once they have an 80% sbr?” 

  With some fiddling around with basic computer-aided drafting software, 00MEAT was able to create the “Nerf .22 adapter,” which could theoretically “make every foam dart gun everywhere into an 80% receiver.” 

  

  They even built a Nerf .22 adapter and attached it to the child’s play weapon that can easily be bought at Walmart or Amazon. 

  “There we go. Every nerf gun is now an 80% or greater receiver. If you have a kid with a nerf gun, please let the ATF know you don’t want your kid charged with purchasing a firearm while under 21.”

  

  

  

  00MEAT responds to someone asking, “What do I need to make this?” 

  They said: “A 3d printer, a washer, and a nail. I used a little epoxy to glue the nail in and put the new head on the dart. Also 2 small screws. to attach the barrel. The blowback is definitely going to be a problem and I don’t know of the dart will hit it hard enough to set it off.” 

  What it appears is the lower receiver of the Nerf gun fires the dart with a modified firing pin at the bullet in the slightly modified barrel. 

  

  00MEAT ranted some more:

  “Mirror Mirror on the wall, who’s the biggest FFL of them all? That’s right, it’s Walmart. With aisles full of nerf guns that are “readily convertible to a firing state”. What does that proposed new rule say that FFLs have to do with such devices again? Serialize and record them?” 

  

  They concluded: “Don’t they also have to do a background check? and also cannot sell to anyone under 21? That’s not good for sales. Somebody with lots of lawyers should do something about this rule, 2021R-05. @Hasbro @Walmart.” 

  The takeaway, in 00MEAT’s view, is that big-box retailers have aisles of Nerf guns that, under ATF’s proposed new rule Definition of “Frame or Receiver” and Identification of Firearms, could be classified as a weapon “readily convertible to a firing state.” 

  

  Just imagine if the new rule was proposed – would that mean, besides 80% lowers bought online or at gun stores, Nerf guns could also be serialized? That would crush sales of big-box retailers and Amazon and piss off many parents who have kids that all they want to do this summer is play Nerf with their friends with no masks. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 22:25

• Mystery Gain Makes Chinese Stocks Exciting Again
  Mystery Gain Makes Chinese Stocks Exciting Again

  By Bloomberg reporter and commentator Sofia Horta e Costa

  China’s battle to maintain stability in its financial markets took a surprising shift on Tuesday when stocks surged the most since July, buoyed by record buying via exchange links in Hong Kong. Traders will be keen to see whether the gains extend on Wednesday.

  There were few obvious catalysts for the rally, which came after an almost three-month stretch where the CSI 300 Index appeared stuck in a tight trading range. It may be that investors shifted cash from the commodities market as authorities intensified their efforts to cool price gains in raw materials. Mutual funds may be looking to juice their returns to make up for a lackluster few months. Perhaps traders are betting officials want to see a strong market leading up to the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party on July 1.

  Bullish technicals added grease to Tuesday’s gains, with the CSI 300 closing 77 points above its 100-day moving average — a difficult resistance level for the index since March. The CSI 300 last breached that line almost exactly a year ago, just before one of the fastest rallies in Chinese stocks of the past decade. The yuan punched past 6.4 per dollar in offshore trading — also a key level for chart watchers — further enticing overseas buyers of Chinese assets.

  

  Whatever the trigger — and in China, such outsized gains are often driven by sentiment — the sudden stock rally is another example of how quickly a trading frenzy can start in China. Imported inflation and capital inflows are complicating monetary decisions for the central bank, which has pledged to stick to its tightening path with no “sharp turn” in policy. Endorsing an even stronger yuan to offset inflation — an idea floated by one official before the article was deleted — would be a risky strategy if Beijing wants to avoid one-way bets. Ensuring a “basically stable” currency remains a key priority for financial stability.

  For now, kicking the ball of money into the stock market and away from commodities may be the lesser of two evils. At least higher stock prices won’t pressure inflation, and the wealth effect might even provide a much-needed boost to consumer confidence. For a government obsessed with control, an overheating stock market would be more easily tamed than an overheating economy.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 22:05

• Jobs Are Only Barely Starting To Trickle Back In New York
  Jobs Are Only Barely Starting To Trickle Back In New York

  Among the hardest hit cities from the Covid pandemic was New York: it was a hotbed for cases early on, much of the city relies on tourism and hospitality for income, and the Mayor – well, he’s the slightest bit in over his head.

  As we move past the one year anniversary of when those in government finally figured out that Covid could be a problem, the country – including New York – is finally starting to re-open. But the pace of that re-opening is modest, at best, the New York Times pointed out this week. 

  While trends are moving in the right direction – for example, New York City’s official unemployment rate declined slightly to 11.4 percent in April, from 11.7 percent in March – the speed with which the recovery has taken hold isn’t accelerating anywhere near as quickly as the city was shut down. 

  Of those additions, 15,000 restaurant jobs came back last month and the city’s restaurants had 3 times as many employees last month as they did in April 2020, during the worst of the shut down. 

  Barbara Byrne Denham, senior economist at Oxford Economics, told the NYT: “For the restaurants, we have two very strong forces at work. Most of them are allowed to reopen, and many people are very eager to eat out.”

  

  Heading into May, New York has added back about 375,000 of the 900,000 total jobs it lost due to Covid. Economists think it will still take “at least a couple years” for those numbers to go back to normal. James Parrott, an economist with the Center for New York City Affairs at the New School, thinks a full recovery may not come until 2023 or 2024. He called April’s gains in New York a “relatively strong rebound”. 

  New York had “been on a decade-long expansion that produced more jobs and lower unemployment than at any time on record” heading into the pandemic. Unemployment was below 4% for 11 straight months and wages were rising at a “robust rate” for several years. 

  But in those two months in 2020, government lockdowns were successful in shuttering all of those gains, and unemployment spiked to 20%.

  Denham continued: “New York City has trailed the rest of the U.S. every single month on every single measure. The city lost more jobs and a higher share of its jobs than any other city did, and only Las Vegas has recovered more slowly than New York.”

  Nationwide, the U.S. added just 266,000 jobs last month. Elena Volovelsky, a labor market analyst for the state Department of Labor, still thinks New York City’s rate of recovery lacks the nationwide pace. “In the next few months, the recovery of jobs in hotels and other business that cater to tourists could become more robust,” she said. “Hotel employment has yet to rebound and remains weak, having lost about 37,000 jobs since last year.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 21:45

• Pentagon Now Says China Is Top "Pacing Threat" Not Only On Earth But Also Space
  Pentagon Now Says China Is Top “Pacing Threat” Not Only On Earth But Also Space

  Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

  The head of US Space Command said Saturday that the “Chinese” are the top “pacing threat” facing the US not only on Earth but also in space. “Our pacing threat is the Chinese, so we are watching how they are growing their space capability,” said Army Gen. James Dickinson said in Tokyo during a visit to US Forces Japan.

  Space Command is different than the military branch known as Space Force. The command integrates other military branches for space operations and would oversee any future wars in space. “The Space Force is responsible for organizing and equipping space forces. We are about warfighting,” Dickinson said, explaining the difference between the two organizations.

  

  The Pentagon recently identified China as the top “pacing threat” facing the US military, a phrase US military leaders are now repeating.

  Beijing is serving the Pentagon as a reason to justify massive military spending. After President Biden requested an all-time high military budget of $753 billion for 2022, the Pentagon said its share of $715 billion was needed to confront China.

  When it comes to space, competition with China, as well as Russia, is the focus of US Space Command and Space Force leaders to justify the new branch and command’s existence. “Space is very important right now,” Dickinson said.

  “We are seeing what our competitors are doing in space.” Dickinson said the US is watching China’s space program “very closely.”

  

  President Biden has made it very clear that China is the foreign policy priority of his administration. In his first address to Congress, Biden said the US is in competition with Beijing to “win the 21st century.” He’s framed the relationship as an ideological battle between “autocracy” and “democracy.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 21:25

• Zoltan's Latest Shocker: The Taper Will Be Bullish If…
  Zoltan’s Latest Shocker: The Taper Will Be Bullish If…

  Ask around on Wall Street (or any street) what the biggest bogeyman to capital markets is and 11 times out of 10 the answer will be “the taper“, even though the fact that everyone is fully aware of the risks from the Fed’s looming announcement, also means that it is more than fully priced in.

  Which is why, in light of the fact that the market’s true biggest risk is runaway, out-of-control, inflation, we previously suggested that far from being a crash catalyst, the taper may well end up being a trigger for further market gains especially since it would mean that the unprecedented flood of liquidity in the market which has sent the Fed’s reverse repo facility to near record levels…

  

  … as banks simply no longer have a place where to store all the Fed’s reserves, will finally ease.

  Translation: there is so much excess liquidity in the system, banks don’t have a place to store it and are BEGGING the Fed to taper.

  Yes, taper will be bullish https://t.co/nFrmsr2ooK

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 21, 2021

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  taper will be bullish https://t.co/5gh2f2VxkF

  — zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 11, 2021

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  Incidentally, we are not the first ones to make that argument: back in 2013, just around the time Ben Bernanke spooked the market with the first “Taper Tantrum”, none other than hedge fund titan David Tepper made the same argument:

  Regarding Fed policy, Tepper said investors shouldn’t fret about the central bank tapering its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program. In fact, he hopes the Fed starts pulling back on the stimulus sooner than later.

  “There better be a true [Fed] taper or else you might be back into the last half of 1999,” Tepper said. “…”If the Fed doesn’t taper back, we’re going to get into this hyper-drive market. It’s a backwards argument. To keep the markets going up at a steady pace the Fed has to taper back.”

  Tepper said he expects the central bank to find a “natural” way to ease its way out of its bond buying program. There should be no “hand-wringing” by markets over concern about a tapering, he said.

  “Guys that are short, they better have a shovel to get themselves out of the grave,” Tepper said.

  Fast forward to today when the same logic applies: the longer the Fed does nothing, the more likely it is to lose control of inflation altogether (not to mention flooding the repo system with liquidity beyond repair) and so we expect that within the next few weeks ahead of the Fed’s September “Taper bomb”, the narrative will change accordingly.

  Which brings us to the first indication thereof: in his latest Global Money Dispatch note, repo guru Zoltan Pozsar (formerly the NY Fed’s market plumbing wunderkind and currently at Credit Suisse), the Hungarian provides a rather technical and more nuanced, if altogether similar argument: the taper could well lead to lower rates (i.e., no bond market tantrum when then jumps to stocks) provided that at the same time, the Fed announced the end of Wells Fargo’s asset growth ban, activating some $500 billion in unused balance sheet capacity, or more than enough to offset many months of declining Fed purchases courtesy of a brand new private sector entity.

  For those curious how the groundwork is being set to paint the taper in a positive light, here is the full Pozsar note:

  There is the QE problem, the Wells Fargo problem, and the taper problem…

  The QE problem has to do with the Fed buying way too many mortgages, richening MBS relative to Treasuries. The Fed is buying $40 billion of MBS a month, and Bank of America is providing a tailwind by buying as many MBS as the Fed.

  What will fix this issue is either the Fed buying less MBS and more Treasuries, or Bank of America doing the same – the Fed for “market functioning” reasons and Bank of America for relative value reasons. Either way, fixing the QE problem will require one of these banks to buy more Treasuries before taper commences.

  If you are concerned about the MBS float, the last thing you need is the Fed suddenly lifting Wells Fargo’s asset growth ban. Well Fargo has an unused balance sheet capacity of more than $500 billion, and after years of no growth and a shrinking loan book, it would be stepping into duration markets with force.

  If the QE problem is bad enough for MBS and leads to a bid for Treasuries, the QE problem plus freeing Wells Fargo now would mean MBS trading even richer and, by extension, an even stronger bid for Treasuries. Timing is everything…

  …and getting it right can turn a problem into an opportunity.

  While lifting Wells Fargo’s asset growth ban now would do more harm than good, it could come in handy when the Fed commences taper later this year or next. The market assumes that taper will lead to a sell-off in rates, like in the past – but that need not be the case. The Fed could announce its plans to taper, while at the same time announcing the end of Wells Fargo’s asset growth ban, so that fewer purchases by the Fed would be offset by more purchases by Wells.

  Less buying by the Fed and more buying by Wells Fargo…

  …and rates don’t have to sell off, provided there is coordination at the Fed. The monetary and regulatory arms of the Fed typically do not coordinate, but never say never. Using the Wells Fargo “option” could help the Fed make taper a smoother affair than the 2013 experience, which wasn’t smooth to begin with. It’s one thing to taper against a boring fiscal backdrop like during 2013, and another to taper against a backdrop painted with cumulonimbi of fiscal issuance – given the fiscal outlook, the Fed should be creative with the Wells Fargo option.

  Then there is the consensus problem, which is that everyone expects rates to go up from here, and “if everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking”: the macro reasons for higher rates make sense, but the potential for more Treasury purchases either by the Fed or banks before taper commences, and Wells Fargo deploying $500 billion of balance sheet after taper commences, could set off a rates rally from here. Consider these problems at least as risks…

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 21:11

• Lumber Firms Applaud, Home Builders Angry As U.S. Moves To Double Canadian Lumber Tariffs
  Lumber Firms Applaud, Home Builders Angry As U.S. Moves To Double Canadian Lumber Tariffs

  by Robert Dalheim of Woodworking Network

  

  The U.S. Department of Commerce says it will seek to double tariff rates on most Canadian softwood lumber, angering home builders. New rates vary by company. West Fraser goes from 9 percent to 11.4 percent, Canfor from 4.6 to 21 percent, Resolute Forest from 20.3 to 30.2 percent, and J.D. Irving from 4.2 to 15.8 percent.

  The overall increase is from 9 percent to 18.32 percent.

  Home builders, who had been urging for a removal of tariffs, expressed their disappointment.

  “At a time when soaring lumber prices have added nearly $36,000 to the price of a new home and priced millions of middle class households out of the housing market, the Biden administration’s preliminary finding to double the tariffs on Canadian lumber shipments shows the White House does not care about the plight of American home buyers and renters who have been forced to pay much higher costs for housing,” said National Association of Home Builders chairman Chuck Fowke.

  “The administration should be ashamed for casting its lot with special interest groups and abandoning the interests of the American people. It knows that the lumber tariffs are nothing less than a tax on American home buyers, renters and businesses that rely on lumber products and they could not have come at a worse time. Lumber prices are already up more than 300 percent from a year ago. If the administration’s decision to double tariffs is allowed to go into effect, it will further exacerbate the nation’s housing affordability crisis, put even more upward pressure on the price of lumber and force millions of U.S. home buyers and lumber consumers to foot the bill for this ill-conceived protectionist action.

  U.S. lumber producers on the other hand, applauded the decision.

  “A level playing field is a critical element for continued investment and growth for U.S. lumber manufacturing to meet strong building demand to build more American homes,” said Jason Brochu, U.S. Lumber Coalition Co-Chair and Co-President of Pleasant River Lumber Company.  “The U.S. Lumber Coalition applauds the Commerce Department’s continued commitment to strongly enforce the U.S. trade laws against subsidized and unfairly traded Canadian lumber imports.”

  Canada, as one would predict, was also unhappy.

  “U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber products are a tax on the American people,” said Mary Ng, Canadian Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade. “We will keep challenging these unwarranted and damaging duties through all available avenues. We remain confident that a negotiated solution to this long-standing trade issue is not only possible, but in the best interest of both our countries.”

  The decision comes as somewhat of a surprise. Home builders had been lobbying hard for a temporary removal of tariffs. Many Republicans had championed the NAHB’s claims. They had asked trade chief Katherine Tai to eliminate the tariffs.

  It’s unclear how much the new tariffs will affect lumber prices.

  Lumber companies say tariffs hardly make an impact.

  “Lumber only makes up 4 percent of the cost of a new home— with near-zero impact on homebuyers,” the Lumber Coalition wrote in an opinion article published on Woodworking Network. “The NAHB’s claim that import duties cause today’s high lumber prices and therefore drive up the cost of homes is false. Supply and demand, not import duties, cause price fluctuations.”

  The article was controversial, drawing in heavy scrutiny online.

  The NAHB argued back, saying the Coalition was severely and intentionally underrating the cost of lumber in a home.

  “If you walk into a home, you may notice that cabinets, windows, doors, and trusses are also often made of wood. And if you watch a home being built, you will see a lot of plywood and OSB being used for sheathing, flooring underlayment, siding, and interior wall and finishing, just to name a few uses. Also, builders do not in general buy lumber from sawmills, but from an intermediary like a lumber yard that operates with a profit margin.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 20:45

• Russell Brand In Viral Video Destroys MSM & Silicon Valley For Hiding "Troubling" Hunter Biden News
  Russell Brand In Viral Video Destroys MSM & Silicon Valley For Hiding “Troubling” Hunter Biden News

  In a rare and refreshing interview which on YouTube has garnered 100,000 views in less than 24 hours, British comedian and actor Russell Brand and former Intercept journalist Glenn Greenwald teamed up to explain last year’s scandalous coordination by the mainstream media and social media companies to ensure the Hunter Biden laptop story and accompanying revelations over the Hunter-Ukrainian Burisma energy company scandal never reached broader public view. 

  “I’m not a pro-Republican person,” Brand introduced while talking to Greenwald on his YouTube channel. “I don’t see myself that way. I don’t see myself as conservative, or that I’m in a Trump, or Giuliani, or the  kind of media establishments that were reporting on these revelations [about Biden’s family]. They are not my cultural, social, or political allies. That’s certainly not how I see myself.” And then he blasted away: “However, it seems to me — what reason is Hunter Biden sat on the board of an energy company in… Ukraine?” he questioned. “What reason is James Biden sat on the board, or receiving payments from an energy company, in China?”

  Recall that The New York Post among others saw their Twitter account suspended for a whopping 16 days over the news story, while Facebook also aggressively cracked down on users’ ability to share any content related to Burisma, the Biden family’s Ukraine dealings, or the infamous laptop archive. 

  Brand said further in the interview, according to a transcript:

  “We’re talking about sleaze, corruption, financial misdemeanors, and relationships between corporations, big business, and politicians — let’s face it, unless you’re bloody stupid, you know that’s going on all the time.”

  “For me, revelations that there are financial connections between energy companies in… Ukraine, energy companies in China, and the Biden family are troubling. That should be public knowledge.”

  Brand emphasized “That should be public knowledge.” He went on to discuss Silicon Valley’s efforts at controlling and blatantly censoring the political conversation in order to “protect” a crucial election… or rather to outright prevent a Trump victory. 

  “And it’s even more troubling that Twitter, and Facebook and the media at large deliberately kept it out of the news because they didn’t want it to influence the election,” Brand told Greenwald.

  In part two of my conversation with journalist Glenn Greenwald we discuss events surrounding his Hunter Biden revelations…what are your thoughts?

  Watch the full video here: https://t.co/VxdqoDlqMT pic.twitter.com/5m2zA7q5jT

  — Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) May 24, 2021

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  And more…

  What is democracy then? It suggests to me that democracy is, ‘We want you to vote for this person. We don’t want you to vote for that person.’ 

  As I’ve said, Donald Trump, you know, I don’t think Donald Trump’s the answer, but I’m sad to realize that I can no longer even claim to believe Joe Biden or the Democratic Party might be the answer, because look at how they behave. And look at the relationships between media, social media, and that party.

  Using word choice that clearly denotes his concluding that there was a choreographed plot among big media and big tech to sanitize information before it reached the public, Brand concluded, “They conspired to keep information away from you because it was not convenient to their agenda.”

  Really interesting from Russell Brand, of all people. “Did Media conspire with social media to CENSOR Joe/Hunter Biden Corruption Report? (Yes!)” https://t.co/oGGWMwBtPu

  — Mollie (@MZHemingway) May 25, 2021

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  And Greenwald later commented of the new interview with Brand: “US media and tech giants united to bar millions of Americans from hearing this reporting before they voted” – in reference to the Biden Family laptop archive.

  Meanwhile it will be interesting to see how long YouTube actually leaves up the new Brand-Greenwald interview, or whether it gets slapped with a restrictive “warning” label. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 20:25

• Romney First GOP Senator To Say He Would Back Current Jan. 6 Commission Bill
  Romney First GOP Senator To Say He Would Back Current Jan. 6 Commission Bill

  Authored by Janita Kan via The Epoch Times,

  Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Monday said he was willing to support a Democrat-led bill that was passed by the House to create an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol.

  

  Romney answered that he “would support the bill” when asked by reporters how he would vote if Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) starts a debate on the House bill, according to multiple congressional reporters. He is the first Republican in the Senate to do so.

  The Utah senator’s comments come on the same day that Schumer vowed to bring the bill for a vote on the Senate floor.

  “I will bring to the Senate floor the legislation passed by the House to create an independent commission to investigate and report on the January 6th attack on the Capitol,” Schumer said in a statement on Twitter.

  Currently, Democrats are short on the 60 votes required to defeat a likely filibuster from Republicans, who have expressed opposition to the bill in its current form.

  During the House vote, most Republicans voted against the measure, with only 35 Republicans crossing the aisle to approve the bill.

  The National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex Act, also known as HR 3233, is modeled after the investigation into the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The proposed measure would create in the legislative branch an independent, 10-member commission to investigate “relevant facts and circumstances relating to the attack on the Capitol,” and “evaluate the causes of and the lessons learned from this attack.”

  The commission must also submit reports of their findings, alongside recommendations to “improve the detection, prevention, preparedness for, and response to targeted violence and domestic terrorism and improve the security posture of the U.S. Capitol Complex.”

  The bill will grant the commission powers such as the authority to hold hearings, receive evidence, and issue subpoenas. It also enables the commission to appoint staff.

  Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who says she backs the creation of a commission but has reservations, has begun suggesting amendments to the House’s proposal. In an interview on Sunday, Collins said her support is conditional on bipartisan staffing and a report issued no later than by the end of this year.

  “I think that both sides should either jointly appoint the staff or there should be equal numbers of staff appointed by the chairman and the vice-chairman,” Collins told ABC’s “This Week.” She also expresses optimism that Congress would be able to get past the issues.

  In a separate interview, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said he believes Senate Republicans are likely to decide that it’s “too early” to establish a commission. Blunt also said he is opposed the establishment of such a commission over concerns of delays and effectiveness.

  “I’ve actually opposed the idea of a commission from the very first because I think we’ll start waiting for a commission rather than moving forward with what we know we need to do now,” Blunt told Fox News.

  “There’s a bipartisan effort in the Senate with two committees to produce not only a report but also a number of recommendations, and we should be able to do that in the first full week of June, and we haven’t even waited for that to decide what a commission should do,” he added.

  Last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said he would oppose the House-passed bill, characterizing the proposal as a “slanted and unbalanced” study of the Jan. 6 incident.

  “After careful consideration, I’ve made the decision to oppose the House Democrats’ slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of Jan. 6,” McConnell said on the Senate floor on May 19.

  Meanwhile, top Democrat leader House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday issued a statement calling for the Senate to quickly act on the bill, saying that “there is no time to waste or room for partisanship in keeping our Capitol and Country safe.”

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 20:05

• Easing Of Vessel Congestion At LA Ports Reverses As More Ships Join Queue
  Easing Of Vessel Congestion At LA Ports Reverses As More Ships Join Queue

  Last week’s good news of easing vessel congestion earlier this month outside the busiest U.S. gateway for trade with Asia showed a glimmer of hope that supply chain disruptions could subside had flipped last week as more containerships join the queue.  

  Bloomberg data shows the number of containerships queuing off the coast of Los Angeles reached the highest in two weeks.

  As of Sunday, 21 containerships were anchored waiting for entry into L.A.-Long Beach, compared with 19 a week earlier. The bottleneck peaked at around 40 vessels in the queue in early February and has steadily declined ever since, but the latest data shows progress could be reversing. 

  

  Shipping data shows another 16 vessels are expected to arrive at L.A.-Long Beach over the next few days, with ten of those scheduled to be moored offshore and join the queue. 

  On Friday, the average waits for berth space, a designated location in a port used for mooring vessels when they are not at sea, was 5.9 days, compared with 6.1 a week earlier. That number peaked in April around eight days.

  Readers may recall the collapse of the trans-pacific supply chains has been among the main reasons for soaring prices. It’s also hardly a secret that the most vulnerable section of supply chains are West Coast ports where congestion remains off the charts (as recently discussed in “It’s About To Get Much Worse”: Supply Chains Implode As “Price Doesn’t Even Matter Anymore” and “Port Of LA Volumes Are “Off The Charts.””) Which is why the first, and most critical step to restoring normalcy in both supply chains – and prices – will come from stabilizing and normalizing shipping congestion and backlog… at some point.

  But as new data suggest, shipping congestion and backlogs are reversing and could result in even higher prices for any product that has to cross the Pacific before ending up in an Amazon warehouse or Walmart store shelf. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 19:45

• Iran Kicks Off Large-Scale Electronic Warfare And Air Defense Exercise
  Iran Kicks Off Large-Scale Electronic Warfare And Air Defense Exercise

  Via South Front,

  On May 25th, the Iranian Army kicked off a large-scale military drill to practice electronic warfare tactics, this drill on electronic warfare is dubbed ‘Separ-e-Aseman 1400’ (Sky Shield 1400).

  

  According to a statement, this joint drill is being held by the strategic electronic warfare forces of the four forces of the Army and covers large areas of Iran. Rapid response and electronic warfare units of the Army’s Ground Force, Air Force, Navy and Air Defense are participating in the joint aerial maneuvers, codenamed Sky Shield 1400, whose headquarters will be located in Iran’s central province of Isfahan.

  According to Deputy Chief of Iran’s Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the drill is the most practical exercise in the field of military electronic warfare in recent years. He said the Iranian Army is going to use its latest achievements and combat capabilities during the drill, with offensive as well as defensive electronic warfare tactics to be put into practice.

  Sayyari also pointed out the high significance of electronic warfare in both operational and intelligence aspects of present-day military encounters, stressing that the Iranian Army has developed the necessary infrastructure for defense and electronic warfare. Sayyari said aerial interception and cyber defense operations will also be conducted in the drill.

  Participants in the drill practice using electronic defense tactics against small aircraft and intruding drones as well as, perform cyber defense maneuvers and evaluate function by eavesdropping, electronic jamming and target detection systems. During the drill, drones and smart micro aerial vehicles (MAVs) will also strike predetermined targets using electronic warfare cover, he said.

  Accuracy and speed in detection of aircraft will be analyzed, and electronic eavesdropping and jamming systems monitored.

  According to Iranian state media, in recent years, Iranian military experts and technicians have made great progress in indigenously developing and manufacturing a broad range of equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in this regard.

  Iran’s Air Defense holds annual war games in order to enhance capabilities to defend the country’s airspace.

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 19:25

• "For Our Health & Safety" – No COVID-Vaccinated Guests Allowed At This Montana Airbnb
  “For Our Health & Safety” – No COVID-Vaccinated Guests Allowed At This Montana Airbnb

  An Airbnb listing hidden deep within western Montana’s woods has been taken down after it discriminated against vaccinated people with “COVID misinformation.” 

  “WE ARE RESTRICTING THE CABIN TO NON-COVID VACCINATED GUESTS ONLY,” the listing read. 

  

  “For the health and safety of not only other guests but also ourselves, all COVID vaccinated guests are asked to find another vacation rental that allows vaccinated guests,” it said.

  The listing continued: “It has now been scientifically proven and is clearly stated on the vaccine manufacturers web sites, that the MRNA protein in the ingredients SHED through the vaccinated persons skin, breath etc, and will be passed along to non-vaccinated people.” 

  Charlie Warzel, a former reporter at BuzzFeed News, brought attention to the listing on Twitter on Sunday. He direct messaged the owners of the property and asked about their vetting process. The owners replied by saying they abide by the honor system. 

  “We are not able to prove we have not taken the shots so it’s all on the honor system. We just have to all trust each other. If you say you haven’t taken the shots we trust you and you are more than welcome here,” one of the owners told Warzel. But the conversation ended quickly as Warzel believes the owners saw his tweets about the property, which had gone viral. 

  Update 2: I think they saw the tweets! (fwiw I did not request to rent it, only to message the host!) pic.twitter.com/5sO3eHfFl3

  — Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) May 24, 2021

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

  An Airbnb spokesperson told BuzzFeed the listing for the Montana cabin was suspended Sunday night “for promoting COVID misinformation in violation of our content policy.”

  The continued canceled movement has reached new levels. Any opposition to vaccines and big tech will censor, suspend, or delete opposition accounts. The division between vaxxed and non-vaxxed continues to grow as the country is more fractured than ever. 

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 19:05

• Capitalism Can't Fix An Artificial Labor Shortage
  Capitalism Can’t Fix An Artificial Labor Shortage

  Authored by John Tamny via RealClear Markets (emphasis ours),

  If you want to act in movies or on television in Hollywood, you must be a member of the Screen Actors Guild. That’s why the accession of a “SAG” card is such a momentous achievement for actors. It means they’re Hollywood legal as it were.

  

  So why does acting professionally require union membership? The answer is very simple: SAG wants to prevent those yearning to be stars from flooding the market, and subsequently bidding starting wages down to zero.

  It’s as old as the hills for actors and actresses to wistfully proclaim that “I just want a chance to show them what I can do.” Since they’re all looking for a break, it’s not unreasonable to speculate that most actors would take next to nothing (or nothing) just to be in a television show or a movie. If it’s all about getting in the door, why not give the labor away for free with the long-term in mind?

  In reality, a wholly free market for actors would likely result in negative wage minimums. Any ambitious entertainer would logically and happily pay Steven Spielberg for the opportunity to act in one of his films. Why not? The exposure achieved in a film directed by someone known to helm blockbusters would be much more valuable than negative wages endured amid production.

  All of this explains why SAG limits the number of actors legal to work, all the while pushing up minimum wage floors for its limited membership. In a figurative sense “everyone” wants to work in movies and television, so SAG erects barriers to supply and price so that excessive supply combined with a willingness to work for “anything” doesn’t push down actor pay. 

  The Screen Actors Guild stands athwart market forces in order to keep entertainment compensation artificially high. Capitalism is not fully at work in the movie business.

  This came to mind while reading a recent piece by New York Times economics writer, David Leonhardt. The columnist believes he’s got an easy answer to the present labor shortage in the U.S.: capitalism. The problem, one not diagnosed by Leonhardt, is that the present labor shortage he’s writing about has nothing to do with capitalism, and everything to do with the fleecing of capitalists.

  To see why, let’s stop and consider why there’s a shortage of labor in the first place. It’s a consequence of a much-too-belated opening of the U.S. economy after over a year of needless lockdowns. With them finally ending, labor-intensive businesses are finding it exceedingly hard to hire workers.

  Leonhardt says the presumed shortages are nonsense, that the “capitalism” he routinely attacks in his column is ready-made for fixing the shortage. In Leonhardt’s words:

  “When a company is struggling to find enough labor, it can solve the problem by offering to pay a higher price for that labor — also known as higher wages. More workers will then enter the labor market. Suddenly, the labor shortage will be no more.”

  Leonhardt’s diagnosis is much more than naive. 

  Stated simply, labor is a price like any other. Just as SAG keeps the price of hiring an actor artificially high by limiting supply, so has government to some degree done the same over the past year. With unemployment benefits abnormally high due to Congress’s generosity with the money of others, the incentive to work isn’t as great as it was before the lockdowns began in March of 2020.

  Put another way, generous unemployment benefits are bidding workers to the sidelines. The able-bodied have a choice right now: they can either resume working again, or they can receive unemployment checks that in all-too-many instances are greater than what they would earn if they were working. In which case capitalists are hit hard in two ways: government intervention has made it artificially expensive to hire, plus that same government is also limiting supply of workers; thus making it more expensive to hire from a shallower pool of labor.

  Leonhardt believes that the labor shortage problem is as simple as businesses offering better pay, that increasing compensation to lure individuals back to work is the capitalist way, but he conveniently ignores that the labor shortage is a direct consequence of a lack of capitalism. Government has intervened in the labor market, and created an artificial shortage. Much more galling about the shortage is that it was created by government taking from the capitalists. 

  Lest readers forget, governments have no resources. They only have spending power and faux swagger insofar as they arrogate to themselves a rising percentage of the production created by capitalistic endeavor. In other words, capitalism is the source of congressional largesse. In 2020, Congress chose to use the wealth extracted from capitalists in order to make hiring quite a bit more expensive for capitalists.

  The mystery about all this is why Leonhardt can’t see the obvious contradiction in his thesis. Government is paying individuals not to work, and more than a few are biting. Labor shortages are the result.

  In short, a lack of capitalism is behind the labor shortages and the higher cost of labor. If Leonhardt doubts this truth, he need only visit left leaning Hollywood. It’s there that unions long ago perfected the art of artificial labor scarcity that Congress is foisting on us now through its own interventions.

  John Tamny is editor of RealClearMarkets, Vice President at FreedomWorks, and a senior economic adviser to Toreador Research and Trading (www.trtadvisors.com). His new book is titled When Politicians Panicked: The New Coronavirus, Expert Opinion, and a Tragic Lapse of Reason. Other books by Tamny include They’re Both Wrong: A Policy Guide for America’s Frustrated Independent Thinkers, The End of Work, about the exciting growth of jobs more and more of us love, Who Needs the Fed? and Popular Economics. He can be reached at jtamny@realclearmarkets.com.  

  Tyler Durden
  Tue, 05/25/2021 – 18:45